Tiel-va has always been a bit different from her friends and family - bold, brash, and fascinated by humans. When she meets a trainer called Matty, Tiel-va leaps at the chance to learn more firsthand, but it's not long before she discovers that human culture is very different to that of her small community. Life as a trainer's pokemon is not the magical experience she'd imagined.

People always talk about starters. Every celebrity interview asks, "So what was your first pokemon and how did you meet?" Magazine articles recommend asking about your date's starter as a simple, friendly icebreaker. Romcoms have a cliche flashback to the main character meeting their future pokemon partner. But really, people glamorize things a lot. Short story collection.

To pass a winter's evening, an old ninetales storyteller tells a fable about a young vulpix's quest to bring back the spring.

A short set of drabbles exploring aspects of the Pokémon world beyond training. Normal people living normal lives with their pokémon.