The Fire Tree, I thought. Although from the Center Stone no tree appeared to be immediately labelled as the Fire Tree, the best candidate seemed like the one shrouded in steam, with the only visible part of the Tree being the flickering leaves whose light shone through. I began to walk to the Fire Tree, making note of the Purple tree to its left and the Tree jutting out of the waterfall to its right.

That, I thought, is where the steam comes from. The runoff from the waterfall flows towards the Tree covered by steam, which meant that it must be the Fire Tree. As I advanced through the steam and felt like I was in a sauna, I managed to appear right before the trunk of the Fire Tree which was a dark crimson, though bits of what appeared to be embers appeared to be visible in gaps in the tree.

“Hi,” I heard a voice say, and I turned around to see a Flareon looking at me. Behind her I thought I could make out an Eevee - was that Althi? - talking to another Flareon. I couldn’t tell since this Tree seemed much more populated than most. I returned my attention to the one before me and said, “hi.”

“So, considering being a Flareon?” she said with a sly grin, “you like the heat?”

“Actually, not really. I only like being warm when it’s freezing and I can cozy up under a blanket or something. Otherwise, I can’t stand the heat.”

The Flareon gave me a blank stare then just laughed. “Well, while we can manage high heat better than others, you’re better off at another Tree since you’ll always be a bit above warm. We’re one of the strongest here, but that means jack if you’re not comfortable in your own skin.”

“Fair enough, sorry for the troubles.”

“Oh. None at all, and good luck with whatever you want to be,” said the Flareon before walking away and disappearing back into the steam.

I turned back to the tree and, though I know fire-types were definitely powerful, the Flareon was right: I wouldn’t be happy as one. That, and though I felt a twinge of awe at this tree, seemingly on fire with its leaves giving the same impressive appearance, I felt no real connection to it. With that, I returned to the Center Stone and asked myself what Tree I should visit next.