"Fennekin?"
Seeing the Pokémon that suddenly appeared, Elias and Cogita stared blankly for a moment.
Both of them recognized it immediately.
It was a Fire-type fox Pokémon native to Kalos—famous for its appealing looks and potential as a trained companion.
Not exactly rare, but certainly not common—especially in the wild.
And yet now…
One had just casually wandered right in?
Snapping out of her daze, Cogita narrowed her eyes and turned suspiciously toward Diancie.
"Did you bring her here?"
Her question wasn't without reason.
Because upon closer inspection, the lethargic little fox was covered in tiny shards of diamond.
Under the sunlight, each delicate pink crystal glittered brilliantly, impossible to ignore.
This time, instead of immediately denying it, Diancie stood dumbfounded.
Truth be told, she herself was confused.
After examining carefully, she had to admit—the diamond shards scattered on this fox's fur… seemed to have indeed come from her.
But Diancie had absolutely no memory of doing anything of the sort!
In fact, this was the first time she'd ever seen this type of Pokémon, so how could it possibly be covered in her diamonds?
With a stern expression, Diancie marched directly up to the little fox.
"Hey you! Where did you run from? Explain clearly, right now!"
Hands planted firmly on her tiny waist, Diancie interrogated fiercely.
She absolutely did not have a habit of bringing strange things home.
More importantly, if Elias misunderstood and thought she had secretly run off to play without him, it would be terrible!
However…
After hearing Diancie's questioning, the little fox merely lifted its head weakly, blinking its tired eyes.
Then—
Plop!
As if finally losing all strength, its legs buckled, and it collapsed onto the ground.
Diancie: …
Clearly, for some reason unknown to Diancie, the little fox had reached its limit and fainted right on the spot.
Now, if Diancie wanted to clear her suspicion, she'd have to wait obediently until the fox woke up.
Even though she had only been awake for a short while, Diancie felt today was extraordinarily unlucky.
At the same time, Cogita furrowed her brows deeply, openly staring at the unconscious Fennekin.
The moment the little fox fainted, she felt herself grow irritated.
The reason was simple—Cogita had never liked fox-like Pokémon. In fact, she was starting to have some serious trauma about them.
She'd just recently managed to send away one troublesome fox, and yet another had now wandered straight up to her doorstep.
Looking down at the unconscious Fennekin, Cogita's fingers twitched slightly. For an instant, she had the urge to pick the fox up and toss it straight out.
Unfortunately, with Elias standing nearby, she obviously couldn't do something like that.
"It's fine… It's probably fine."
Cogita placed a hand over her chest, quietly comforting herself.
"Should we bring her inside?"
Diancie glanced up at Elias, gently asking.
She was counting on the fox to wake up later and clear her name, so she wasn't entirely against bringing it into the house.
Besides, to Diancie, it was just a small Pokémon resembling a fox—it couldn't possibly pose any real danger.
Upon hearing Diancie's question, Elias stepped forward, carefully checking Fennekin's condition.
He gently lifted the Pokémon's warm little body into his hand and scanned it with telekinesis.
He quickly discovered what was wrong.
To his surprise, Fennekin's injury was exactly the same as Ralts's from before—its body was slowly petrifying.
...
Fennekin felt she'd nearly died of fright recently.
As a relatively weak, wild Pokémon, her life should have been calm and uneventful.
Every day, she simply needed to search for food, eat her fill,
then comfortably curl up in the sunshine, spending lazy afternoons without a care.
But not long ago—an aggressive-looking red bird and a deer Pokémon flashing with multicolored light suddenly erupted into a fierce battle in the forest she called home.
The terrifying strength of these two Pokémon shattered everything Fennekin thought she knew.
Rocks, previously indestructible, shattered even more easily than paper under their assaults.
Entire swaths of forest fell in moments.
Most horrifying of all—every Pokémon touched by the red beam from that dreadful bird, whether a weak little Fletchling or a normally intimidating Pancham, had instantly turned into cold, lifeless stone.
This was infinitely worse than skipping a few meals or losing a few days of naps.
Luckily…
Thanks to her clever mind, Fennekin narrowly survived the worst moments of the conflict.
If she waited just a few more days, she could safely flee the forest.
Yet despite her perfect plan, after days without food, she soon realized she wouldn't last that long.
If she didn't risk leaving immediately, she'd probably starve to death first.
Just as she wavered, trapped in indecision, a group of outsiders caught her attention.
Their sudden appearance enraged the huge red bird again, plunging the quieting forest back into chaos.
But what astonished Fennekin even more—was that the powerful red bird seemed unable to deal effectively with these intruders.
Despite relentlessly chasing them, the intruders miraculously remained unharmed.
Sensing an opportunity, Fennekin's clever mind decided she could slip away while the battle distracted them.
Immediately afterward… she got grazed on the tail by that awful red beam.
The petrification slowly invaded her body, draining her energy bit by bit as her life force faded steadily away.
Knowing she was about to face death, she made one last, desperate decision.
Using her keen sense of smell, she tracked down the outsiders who'd indirectly caused her trouble.
It was all their fault she was turning into a statue!
Even if she had to die, she'd make sure to find them first.
At the very least, she could turn to stone right at their doorstep. That thought alone gave her some comfort.
After struggling all night, she finally reached her destination shortly after dawn.
"Mmnn…"
Subconsciously recalling these recent miserable experiences, Fennekin's small brows knitted tightly, even in her dreams.
Her body twitched restlessly, eyelids fluttering slightly, before she finally opened her watery eyes.
"Woo…?" Where…am I…?
As her vision slowly focused, Fennekin stared blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings, dazed and disoriented.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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