PokeStory

7. Flashback!

The pokemon stepped out of the bush, and there was an intake of breath.

As the Luxio stared at Hotaru, he grinned evilly. "Hello, again!" he purred, edging closer to her.

"No...no!" she yelped, screwing her eyes shut tightly. She remembered her first encounter with him.

She had been so young- just a foal, skipping through the forest, singing happily to herself. She had been trying to learn the names of all the flowers when she saw a pokemon a few feet away. "Oh. Hello!" she had greeted the stranger, innocent and cheerful.

He had not returned her warm welcome, though. He growled and said, "This is MY territory, runt!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hotaru had exclaimed, her apology sincere. She didn't like to be caught up in arguments, particularly not with those bigger than her. Besides, she truly was sorry for inconveniencing him. "Well, I'll just be leaving, then!" She had just began to walk away when she heard his gravelly voice again.

"Not so fast!" he had yelled, and Hotaru had froze to the spot. What had happened next was strange...she didn't like to remember it, so she usually just skipped to a few moments later, when he had said, "It's too late for apologies."

Hotaru was confused, because in her herd, they lived by the philosophy that forgiveness was the most important virtue a pokemon could ever have. Then there were another few moments that Hotaru had pushed to the back of her mind, after which Hotaru had said, "No, really! It was an accident! I didn't mean to come on your land! I...I-I-"

The luxio had laughed menacingly as means of interruption. "I don't CARE!" He had then lunged at her, teeth bared, and attacked her.

For Hotaru, that was where the memory ended, because she had blacked out. 

But the luxio remembered that he had walked away, leaving footprints of her blood.

Hotaru brought herself away from the flashback and looked at the luxio again. "No...no, it can't possibly be you!" she exclaimed, terrified.