FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Prologue

In the heart of the Johto region lies a day care center, where a couple of trainers, who have been friends for as long as they can remember, have left their pokemon in the care of a young couple, as they have been accepted into a university, where they may finally realize they're life long dreams. Their pokemon, on the other hand, are not too happy with this decision. Some have learned to cope with it while others are still moping about it, while still some don't seem to understand why they were left in the first place.

Among the twelve of them, the ninetails, known as Valentine, or Val for short, was clearly the most affected, as it has been about a week since they were left here, and she hasn't spoken to anyone.

"Where did she go?" a young growlithe female asked as she worried about her trainer.

"I don't know," a female espeon, answered, "But its obviously a place where pokemon aren't allowed, if they went without us." Her answer only discouraged the pup more.

"Don't worry, she'll be back," a female loppuny assured.

"Maybe," a male mightyena negatively added. His reply seemed to upset the fire pup.

"Maybe?! What do you mean?" A sylveon female used her ribbons to pet and comfort her, while giving the mightyena a cold stare.

"Don't worry, she will. Just be patient," the sylveon assured her. A female leafeon among them noticed something odd, then realized someone was missing.

"Did anyone see Val?" she asked. A breeze blew across the room, sending a shiver through most of them. In its direction, they saw an open window, giving them some indication of the fox pokemon's whereabouts.

"Weren't you watching her, Omen?" a female charizard directed at a male scizor. He gave her a stern look.

"What am I, your babysitter? I don't have time to watch all of you."

"But where would she go?" the espeon added.

"Knowing her, she's probably trying to catch up with her master." a male houndoom answered.

"Or maybe she just wants to get away from all of us," the mightyena added. The houndoom gave him a dirty look, then looked at the scizor named Omen.

"Do you think you can catch her, Omen?" He stood up and stretched for a moment.

"I'm a little rusty, but I'm sure I can, if you can pick up on her scent. But I think we should split up for good measure."

"I can search for her from above," the charizard suggested.

"I'll take a small team with me and cover one side," a lucario female added, "Who's going with me?" The mightyena, sylveon, lopunny, and a female luxray took a step forward.

"Everyone else with me," the houndoom ordered, helping the growlithe pup as she struggled to climb the window, giving an grunt as she was pushed and landed on the other side, "We have a fox to catch."

The houndoom quickly caught Val's scent, and they soon split up to try and catch her. The scent led them to a forest that was unfamiliar to them. He was accompanied by the espeon, leafeon, and growlithe. It was quiet, save for the sounds of the wild pokemon, until one of the girls broke the silence.

"Vyn," the espeon directed to the canine, "Why would Val go through all this trouble? Master's long gone by now. It's pointless."

"I'm not sure, Jewel," he bluntly answered, "it might be because she feels lost without him. They haven't been apart since they met, and being separated must be crushing her." He stopped all of a sudden, only to turn around and look at the espeon, Jewel. "When we find her, its important that we comfort her and help her learn to accept the situation." Jewel responded with a nod, as did the others when he turned his gaze to them. He continued as they started walking again, "then again, Riku maybe right. She may just want to be alone."

A little deeper into the forest, Val, the ninetails, walked alone. Her ears perked when she heard a rustle in the trees. She recognized the sound, and began to run. She didn't get very far before Omen pounced her and pinned her down with a claw around the back of her neck.

"Get off me, Omen!" she demanded, "Just let me go!"

"You know I can't do that, Val." Omen ignored her and continued to firmly pin her under his pincer. They were soon joined by the rest.

"Let her go, Omen," Vyn commanded. The scizor did as the houndoom said. Val sat up to look at the others, her eyes filled with shame and sadness.

"We know this is hard for you, Val, but.." Vyn was quickly interrupted when the ninetails suddenly snapped at him.

"No you don't know! How could you possibly know how I feel?"

"It's not like we were just abandoned, Val," the leafeon stated, "He promised us he would come back."

"If he comes back for anyone, it'll be for you," she said with a hint of resentment towards her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Juniper. You know you're his favorite. It's been obvious ever since you joined us. I'm lucky if he passes me a glance. It's like I don't matter anymore."

"Is that what this is about? You actually think that he doesn't care about you?" Val looked away, afraid to look anyone in the eye. Tears started filling in her ruby eyes and pouring down her soft, golden fur. June looked at Vyn. "Could you give us a moment alone, please?"

"Sure." Vyn gestured for the rest to follow, leaving her and Val alone. June began to speak as soon as she was sure they were out of earshot.

"How could you possibly think that, Val? You're master's favorite. You always have been."

"Yeah, right," Val said without looking at the grass pokemon.

"Think about it. You've always stood by his side, through the best and worst of times. You're the one he always trusted to look after us whenever he had an errand to run. He always said you were his number one." Val stared at her intensely. "And did you forget about his gift?" Juniper gestured to the pendant around Val's neck, a silver chain with a locket in the shape of a heart, centered with a heart shaped gem. She held it firmly in her paws, and clicked the small button on the side, opening it and revealing a message engraved inside, 'To my number one girl. My inspiration. My courage. My joy.' Tears began to fill her eyes again. "You see?" She continued, "I wish my relationship with him was half as good as yours." Val looked at her, but didn't say anything at first.

"I'm sorry, June. I guess I'm still upset about him leaving. I feel like he abandoned me." The leafeon approached her and rubbed her head gently under Val's chin, her version of a hug.

"It's ok. I understand. She broke from the hug, looking up at Val and smiling. "Let's get back to the others. I'm sure everyone's still worried about you."