Entry #13: Pokemon and People.

I'm not a sociologist or anything, but it's hard not to want to learn more about the dynamics and whatnot of a world with more than one sapient species. Pokemon change just about every aspect of life, from big to small, and often in ways I didn't expect. I know I've learned a lot of new words with all my research and stuff, but I bet I'll need to come back and touch up this entry when I know more technical terms.

Anyway, everyone knows about the most basic of basic human/pokemon partnerships, that being pokemon and trainers. The trainers get fame and fortune, and the pokemon get all of their fundamental needs fulfilled, along with strength (something all pokemon seem to instinctively crave) and new foes to test that strength on. Along the way, everyone gets to be good friends, have some Shared Struggles, and learn about themselves. It's a grand old time. Most people and pokemon are just programmed to like each other, so the friendship that results here is seldom forced.

Then there is the more mundane stuff. A lot of pokemon can replace machines or even fulfill various industrial niches that are impossible otherwise, so businesses love having pokemon around. The many Aggron and Lairon employed in the Oreburgh mine are a good example. They don't need the maintenance of heavy machinery, can follow complex instructions, and can make critical judgment calls, which is something great to have in a dangerous environment like a mine. I got to speak with one of the mine workers briefly, and he explained how the pokemon on-site aren't subordinates. In some cases, they're actually their superiors.

One of the Aggron was actually a mine safety inspector, and he used his own body as a giant measuring tool. He'd lumber down the tunnels carefully judging everything around him, making sure the walls weren't too close or too far from his shoulders, and the ceiling wasn't raised too high or too low. If Inspector Aggron indicated that a tunnel was out of spec or wasn't safe, the miners got out like hell was on their heels. No questioning, no backtalk, they simply listened. They trusted him to know better, and their work is all the better for it.

And then there are "those" kinds of human/pokemon relationships.

I ended up using a portion of the prize money I won from Roark on a new phone, as my old one was a piece of shit that barely worked. Armed with a browser that didn't crash the device half the time, I did a bit of digging (after setting up a VPN to cover my tracks) to see how accepted "that" kind of stuff is.

Short answer? It's more common than you'd think.

I'll be honest, I was shocked. The world has operated firmly on Shonen so far, and the lack of accidental breast grabs and mistaken shower walk-ins reinforced that. I guess I've been so caught up in trainer life that I straight-up forgot that sex was a thing.

Okay, not really. Puberty sucked the first time, and it sucks the second time. I guess the problem there is that I'm fifteen, and the girls interested in me are also around fifteen. I don't mind them admiring me, because I look good. Who wouldn't be 'mirin? Regardless of my bodily age, I'm still actually thirty, so teen girls are a bit of a turnoff because of the creep factor.

Getting back on track, I was surprised. There are forums, image boards, and other places all dedicated to the topic of not-so-forbidden love. Everyone does their best to remain in their little containment zones and not bring up the subject anywhere unless it's explicitly allowed, which is nice of them. Considering these are the first places that I've seen such things, I say they've been successful.

I went deeper, and on the 4th page of results, there it was: a porn site featuring pokemon, the first one I've seen in this world. I opened it up, morbidly curious.

The website asked for my ID to verify my age, as it had a big billboard pop-up saying it had to verify me for legal reasons and wouldn't let me continue until I did.

Ha, I don't think so!

The website wasn't designed very well, so I was able to slip past just by blocking the element in the webpage responsible for the pop-up. After reloading the page, I was in.

For the shocking content it hosted, the website was kinda underwhelming. There were fewer videos than expected, the layout was clumsy, the QoL nonexistent, and the content was vanilla and amateurish. In retrospect, I'm not surprised. Porn in general is probably seen as naughty and deviant by most of the population here, so there is low demand, and what is available isn't the best. That's fine with me. No foot weirdos poisoning my internet is great.

My curiosity died when I saw a video thumbnail with a Lucario on it, though.

I closed the site before any funny thoughts could take root. We are not going there. Hell no. Lulu is my best friend and I am not about to fuck that up with any weird ideas. Not only is she a pokemon, she's too good for someone like me, anyway.

"Here you are, Mister Angelo. Your Croagunk should be in top form!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Julian grins and accepts the pokeball handed to him. "I hope he didn't give you too much trouble because he was pretty fight-y as I caught him."

"He was an angel," the nurse smiles.

Beside Julian, Lulu scoffs. "An angel? Not the word I would use," she murmurs. "My eyes still itch from his poison."

"Now, is there anything else I can do for you today?" Nurse Joy asks. When Julian shakes his head, she bids them farewell. "Have a wonderful day!"

Julian turns and waves goodbye over his shoulder, Lulu following along after him. Together, they exit the Oreburgh Pokemon Center, and Julian's feet start towards the east, where he feels no human auras in the forested expanse around town. The hand not holding Croagunk's pokeball dips into his pocket, where he withdraws his phone and sends both Paul and Zoey a text message.

Julian: New pkmn I got yesterday is out of the pc. Going to somewhere with no bystanders for meet-n-greet cuz he might be in a bad mood. Back later.

He only needs to wait a moment for the replies.

Zoey: Be safe! C U later!

Paul: ok

Lulu takes notice, and Julian sees her squint her red eyes as she looks at the phone screen. She visibly struggles to read the words he typed out.

'I really need to make time to resume Lulu's reading lessons,' Julian frowns. 'I feel like an ass for forgetting.'

After a second of sounding out words under her breath, Lulu speaks. "We're not going to go watch Ash Ketchum's gym battle?" She asks with a tilt of her head.

Julian shakes his head in reply. "Nah. I have a decent idea of how it's going to turn out, and I did say that there was no guarantee that we would show up. I think the affairs of our own team are more important," he explains, lifting Croagunk's ball for emphasis.

The Lucario nods, easily accepting his words.

Man and pokemon fall into a companionable silence as they walk. Around them, the people walking the early morning streets thin out as they approach the outskirts of town. The silence, however, leaves Julian alone with a wily foe: his own thoughts. 'I really hope that Croagunk isn't going to be a constant drama queen. He's a good fighter, and I would hate to have to let him go just because we can't find a way to mesh him into the team. We'll have to test that nutty fighting style of his. Purposely leaving your guard wide open to bait the other pokemon is suicidally risky, but it worked so good on Lulu. Shit, with some good training and archetype building, he could become a real menace.' The blonde teen then goes back to Croagunk's words the day prior. 'The whole spiel about how friendship and love are fake…' He pauses.

That sounds like something Julian himself would have said a scant six months ago, before he was seemingly gifted a do-over of his life.

'For all I know, it really was fake in my past life. If it wasn't, does that mean that there was something wrong with me? Is there something still wrong with me?' The thought is disquieting. He physically shakes his head, chasing the thought away. 'No. No, there can't be. I have Lulu, Aniki, Zoey, and even Paul despite him being a bit of a bastard. They're my friends, and I can feel it. I can feel the Friendshipbetween us. Lulu showed me what it felt like…'

Remembering the fateful night months ago when he and Lulu clasped hands, officiating the beginning of their bond, it makes Julian's stomach warm yet light.

Perhaps it doesn't matter if it was real before, because he has it now, and it feels incredible.

And he has Lulu to thank for it.

"Julian?"

The blonde teen blinks his eyes as Lulu's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, realizing that his aura has been spiking wildly, almost enough for wisps of blue to escape his skin. He takes a deep breath and calms himself, then turns his head towards Lulu. "Yeah?"

"Are you well? Your aura was all over the place," she asks, expression morphing into concern. "If something is troubling you, I would be happy to listen."

Julian smiles and waves her off, the warmth in his chest returning. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about how we met, and how lucky I am to have you. If I'm being honest with you, I feel like I was barely living before we started this adventure together, and I don't think I could go back to life before this."

On his chest, his keystone visibly sparkles.

The Lucario's eyes widen a fraction, and a faint pink blush bleeds through the fur of her face. Her surprise swiftly transforms into a small, gentle smile, and then Julian's sixth sense lights up as he feels that mysterious Something inside of her once more.

The Something is impossible to miss, for it's like a pure diamond catching sunlight, captivating in its beauty and drawing notice unchallenged. The tiny, occasional flashes of the Something Julian feels from her and the giddy, lighter-than-air sensation that sweeps through him as a result is beginning to drive him mad. Oh, he wants more, but he doesn't know what it is or why an unnatural hesitation rides the coattails of his desire for more.

"I sometimes have the same thought," Lulu quietly admits, her smile growing a smidgen. "I think – Well, no. I don't think, I know I wouldn't be as strong as I am now were I still back home, nor as well learned. In these last few months, I feel as if I've grown so much as both a warrior and a person. And…" Her paw slowly, hesitantly reaches out, and takes his hand. "…I certainly wouldn't be as happy. Not without you."

A jolt runs from Lulu's paw, through Julian's hand and into the rest of his body as quick as a lightning strike. Unbidden, his face grows warm, and the Something shining in Lulu's soul grows even brighter.

How can a callused paw be so soft? Arceus above, he wants more.

"Y-Yeah," Julian smiles, struggling to keep his composure. "Same here."

The Lucario next to him smiles a little brighter.

Lulu doesn't let go of his hand, and he can't let go of her paw, so for the last few moments of their walk, they do so hand-in-hand.

When they do eventually find a forest clearing, Julian reluctantly releases the paw in his grip, and in doing so, is hit with a sobering clarity, like ice water thrown over him. He subtly shakes his head. 'What the hell was going on there? Was the Something doing that to me?' He puts it aside for now, but silently reminds himself to look into it later.

"Alright," Julian takes Aniki and Croagunk's pokeballs in hand and tosses them both high. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Both balls snap open, each one depositing a mass of white light on the ground. When the lights fade, Aniki and Croagunk are left behind.

"Jules," Aniki greets with a smile, throwing the teenager a two-finger salute.

"It's about time…" Croagunk grumbles. The frog pokemon crosses his arms over his chest, which is devoid of any bruising or discoloration from the cannon-like punch Lulu struck him with yesterday. "The pink woman and her minions were overbearing."

Julian hums under his breath, inspecting Croagunk. "You have to admit that they do good work, though. You're looking pretty good for a guy who got slugged by a pissed-off Lucario."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Croagunk merely shrugs. "So, trainer," he begins, adding a mocking amount of emphasis to 'trainer', "what is it you have planned for me today? Am I to slay your foes? Perform a song and dance, perhaps?" He asks, rolling his eyes.

Croagunk's words draw a frown from Aniki and Lulu. "I'm not sure what kind of misconceptions you've got, but that's not how it works," Aniki says, planting his massive fists on his hips. "Especially not with us and Jules."

The frog merely raises an eyebrow. How he can make such a small gesture look insulting is a mystery.

"C'mon, man," Julian sighs. "Hear me out before you assume the worst. I gave you the friendship spiel yesterday, so at least let me put it into practice before you judge. If you end up being miserable, just tell me and I'll let you go."

"Very well…" Croagunk reluctantly agrees. "I am listening."

Julian clasps his hands together with a grin. "Firstly, I'd like to know your move pool. That'll help me help you with strategizing and planning for encounters. I prefer letting my team do their own thing in fights, with me only making callouts as necessary. After that, I'd like to have a spar between you and me, so I can get a real good idea of how you fight. Once that's done, we need to decide on a name for you."

If Croagunk's expression was any flatter, one would swear that he was smacked in the face with a frying pan. "A human and pokemon? Fighting? Don't make me – "

Julian swings his arm, launching a tennis ball sized Aura Sphere right at Croagunk's feet.

"– Laugh?" Croagunk's eyes widen as the blue ball flies toward him. He leaps backwards, making safe distance as the Aura Sphere hits the ground and explodes like a grenade, throwing grass and turned earth all around.

As the remnants of the explosion echo off the surrounding trees, Croagunk narrows his eyes, surveying the pockmark in the ground intently. He then turns his wary, yellow eyes to Julian.

"You're going to be a better fighter than me, that much is certain," Julian lowers his arm, hiding how his hand is shaking from the steep cost of that one mediocre attack. "If you think I'm not going to put up a worthwhile fight, though, then you're wrong. I train with my pokemon."

It takes a moment for Croagunk to answer, and when he does, it's slow and deliberate. "Very well," he replies. "I'll 'play ball,' as you humans say. If you wish to know my repertoire, then listen carefully: I have mastered Poison Sting, Taunt, Double Team, Feint Attack, Revenge, Brick Break, Mud Bomb, Rain Dance, and Poison Jab."

Julian nods along, doing his best to dedicate the moves to memory. "Not a bad lineup. I'll see if I can't get you something like Dark Pulse so you can deal with Psychics at range. Psychics are strong against both Fighting and Poison, right?" He asks, looking between Lulu and Aniki.

"Yep!" Aniki nods.

"Great!" Julian grins. "Now, time for the fun part."

The blonde teenager shrugs off his backpack and removes his Keystone necklace, handing both to Lulu. He ignores the tingling sensation when their hands briefly touch, and kicks off his boots and socks. Once he partially rolls up the legs of his jeans, he steps forward and falls into the starting stance of the Lucario style. "First knockdown, no projectiles or poison?"

"Agreeable," Croagunk rises to the challenge with a smirk. He settles into his own bizarre stance, one riddled with holes ripe to be exploited, about fifty feet away. "Show me what you're capable of, trainer."

'That's the same form he used on Lulu, one filled with holes to bait counterattacks,' Julian thinks to himself. He lets his aura churn under his skin, filling him with that euphoric feeling of supernatural might. 'Fine then. I'll just let him have the first move. We'll see how effective he is when I'm not jumping into it.'

At first, no one moves. Ten seconds stretch into thirty, and then thirty seconds into a minute. A breeze blows through the clearing, making the grass and loose leaves dance. The entire time, Croagunk's eyes are locked onto Julian's.

As the five-minute mark begins to near, Julian fidgets. 'How long is he going to stand there? He can't be patient enough to – '

Julian's aura-fueled instincts scream.

Throwing himself to the side, Julian avoids a webbed hand that slipped right past his guard and nearly collapsed his windpipe with a brutal knife-strike. 'Arceus! He is –'

In a flash, Croagunk is in Julian's face again, and the teen throws a palm strike that could shatter concrete.

Almost in slow motion, Julian watches Croagunk push his wrist to the side with infuriating ease, redirecting the palm strike and overbalancing Julian. Croagunk's hand blurs again, and Julian throws his entire body into a somersault, following the momentum of his botched attack. As he rolls forward, he lashes out with a kick aimed at Croagunk's face.

The frog leans back just enough, letting Julian's rising heel miss his chin by less than an inch.

'–fucking fast…' Julian finishes his aborted thought, flipping to his feet and whirling to face Croagunk, only to find his foe missing. "Where the hell?"

Once more, his aura frazzles itself in warning, and he ducks, letting a webbed hand sail through where his head occupied a split-second prior. Without looking, he lashes out behind him with a kick and hits nothing but air. He turns again, finding Croagunk only inches away and –!

WHAM!

Julian coughs out an explosive gasp as he nearly folds around the knife hand planted in his gut.

"Hrm…" Croagunk seems bored on the surface, but his eyes are calculating. "Better than the average human, I suppose."

Julian grits his teeth and clenches a fist, but before he can swing, Croagunk leaps backward out of range. He takes up his hole-filled stance once more.

With a growl, Julian pushes his aura to flow faster. Wisps of blue radiate out from his skin, and the pain from Croagunk's strike has the edge taken off of it. "Damn," he says, shaking his head. "Your senses and reactions are something else. I've never seen someone so dedicated to counterattacking, let alone someone who leaves themselves so wide open to bait attacks. You're damn fast on the offensive, too."

"I have cultivated a potent poison to debilitate my opponents, but I am not so foolish as to rely on one method of attack." Croagunk answers, shifting his stance slightly. "My kind are not afforded great reach or overwhelming power, so when my poison is not an option, I will create a new vulnerability in my foe. I've seen few who can strike and defend at the same time."

Taking a deep breath, Julian bounces on the balls of his feet, tightening his guard up. "You really were the best fighter in your colony, weren't you? That's good. Where we are going, we're going to need that skill."

"Oh?" Croagunk raises an eyebrow. "And where, trainer, are we going?"

"It's not obvious?" Julian tilts his head with a smirk. "Together, we're going to the top."

The frown that tugs at Aniki's face slowly begins to ease as he watches Julian and Croagunk launch into another furious clash. The tall fighter can't say that he cares for the frog's attitude, but Croagunk's skills are undeniable. Julian is one of the most slippery, unpredictable fighters that Aniki has ever encountered, but Croagunk keeps pace easily.

Out in the field, Croagunk ducks a kick that would have sent him sprawling, then jumps when Julian abruptly twirls and swings his other leg in a low kick. Croagunk throws his own kick in retaliation, aiming to bust Julian across the jaw. The boy ducks, then steps forward with a rising uppercut.

'That one should hit,' Aniki thinks. 'Croagunk is still midair and doesn't have the time to wind up for an evasive maneuver.

Croagunk coils his body like an accordion and leans back. Reaching a foot out, he catches Julian's fist and then pushes, springboarding himself away. He backflips through the air and lands safely on his feet.

'…Or not…' Aniki blinks.

Julian doesn't give Croagunk any time to breathe and moves in as a blonde blur, one that Croagunk is prepared for. The air is filled with the sound of melee as the teenager and pokemon launch into a blistering exchange. Fists and palms meet half a dozen times a second as both attempt to overwhelm the other without opening themselves up. Croagunk's visage remains cool, while sweat is running down Julian's forehead.

"Trainer," Croagunk speaks up, deflecting a palm strike and launching one of his own. "I have explained my abilities to you, yet you have not done the same for me. Seems unfair, no?"

"Hah, fuck!" Julian just barely manages to block a strike from Croagunk. "If you got questions – " Julian jabs at Croagunk's face, only to be parried, "– then ask. I'm listening."

Croagunk manages to sneak a Seviper-like strike past Julian's guard, grazing Julian's kidney and drawing a grunt from the blonde boy. "That was an Aura Sphere that you threw at me earlier. How did you learn such a thing?"

A grin rises to Julian's face, despite how he's slowly losing ground. "My best friend is a Lucario and you ask me how I know how to use aura? I told you, man, real friendships can open a lot of doors."

For a moment, Aniki goes back to the conversation shared between himself and Julian last night.

"…And that's about everything," Julian lets out a sigh and leans back into the outer wall of their hotel. Around them, the parking lot is vacant and there isn't another soul to be seen. "I'm sorry about keeping this from you for weeks. I know that you're the best kind of guy, bro, but I'm still new to the whole 'trust' thing. That, and it's kinda crazy to explain."

Aniki crosses his arms and looks up at the sky, which is in the final stages of dusk.

His trainer's full story…

Different worlds…

The secrets of the universe…

It sounds insane; completely deranged. Aniki's first instinct was to ask if Julian was on drugs and knock some sense into his trainer if the answer was yes, but Julian never faltered or wavered throughout the entire story. Despite that, his skepticism remained.

"Still kind of hard to believe, huh?" Julian smiles sardonically. "Here, maybe this will help."

Julian raises a hand to his throat and murmurs something beneath his breath. His next words reach out and touch the very core of Aniki's being.

"I'm not lying. I swear."

Whatever it is that Jules did, Aniki could feel the weight and undeniable truth in what was said. The Machoke is about to ask what happened, then he sees Julian turn and spit a glob of blood on the ground.

"Ech…" Julian grimaces and rubs his throat, letting out a little cough. "Sorry about that. I've only ever used that trick with Lulu, and it hurt like hell then, too. It's just a little something to help me get my point across. Would you believe me if I said I used all that secret knowledge I have to bullshit a lie-proof language into existence? You felt it, right?"

Slowly, Aniki shakes his head. "Using bullshit to tell the truth. Jules, be real with me, are you ever going to stop being surprising?"

The blonde teenager roughly clears his throat, grimacing once more. He spits out a wad of saliva with a worrying pink tinge. "If you think that's weird, then buckle up. It only gets worse from here."

"Weird is fine, just please don't do anything else that makes you spit up blood."

Aniki pulls back out of the memory, returning his attention to the fight.

"Friendship, hmm?" Croagunk skeptically hums, batting away a punch.

Aniki glances beside him at Lulu, who is watching the bout intently. He has to wonder, is she not cheering Julian on because she's just being professional, or is it because her support would give Julian an unfair edge? 'Can something as simple as cheering actually make someone stronger?'

Back in the field, Julian grins and sidesteps a knifehand – Croagunk seems fond of those – before answering. "I know nothing will convince you in a day, but you'll see. Hell, maybe you'll even learn how to use it yourself!"

That puts an interesting gleam in Croagunk's eye.

For as good as Julian is as a fighter, he's still only human. Croagunk ducks low and chops at the side of Julian's knee, making his leg crumple. Off balance, the teen can only screw his face up in frustration when Croagunk boldly leaps into his guard and slams a dropkick right into his chest.

Julian is thrown off of his feet and flies half a dozen feet before hitting the ground, the wind knocked from his lungs. Rather than rise right away, he lays sprawled out on the grass for a moment, catching his breath. "I guess that's my loss," he grumbles.

Across the way, Croagunk relaxes, lowering his arms.

Lulu starts walking into the makeshift battlefield, and Aniki falls into step with her.

Julian turns his head towards them, then climbs back to his feet. "Okay, that's a pretty good baseline for day one," the trainer says. He bends to brush away loose grass on his clothes, and if the steadily darkening bruises on his arms bother him, then he doesn't show it. "A lot of our daily training is kind of like this. We also usually meditate, do some move practice, and a bit of nightly brainstorming and bookwork. We also do cross-training with the other trainers and teams we're traveling with, so you won't have any shortage of new stuff to do," he says, addressing Croagunk.

The frog blinks. "I will admit, that's more comprehensive than I expected."

Julian nods with a smile, one that becomes frazzled when Lulu steps forward and gently takes one of his arms. "Lu?"

The Lucario and Ace of the team clicks her tongue, looking up and down at the marks on his bare arm. "That last exchange was too reckless, Julian," she insists. Her paws glow with the gentle, pink light of Heal Pulse. Like wiping the stains off of a countertop, she runs her paws down his arm, and the scrapes and bruises vanish. "I know you could have come up with a better strategy than 'punch faster'."

'Uh oh, someone upset the boss lady!' Aniki hides his amused smile behind his fist.

Julian looks away, an embarrassed tinge of pink on his cheeks. "I was just testing Croagunk, is all!" He says adamantly. "I need to know how he compares to me at my best, so I can gauge how he grows!"

Lulu gives him a hard stare. "I know that you're fibbing."

Wisely, the teenager says nothing else.

Croagunk comfortably sits in the customary squat of his species, watching as the team Ace removes the marks he inflicted upon his trainer.

Trainer. Trainer. He has a trainer. The last twenty-four hours have been a roller coaster, to borrow a human phrase. At the very least, the newest change to his life comes with some benefits, such as food and board. If the spar he just had with his new trainer is to be regular, then perhaps the times ahead will be somewhat interesting as well.

You'll see. Hell, maybe you'll even learn how to use it yourself!

The prospect of learning the art of the secretive Lucario is incentive enough to stay for a time.

Once the Lucario is finished tending to the human's visible injuries, Julian clears his throat and addresses him once more. "Now, for the most important part of today," he says, clasping his hands together and pointing his joined index fingers at Croagunk. "You need a name."

The wily frog rolls his eyes. "I don't particularly care for one. Call me whatever you wish, so long as it isn't stupid."

The blonde human brings his hand to his chin in a human gesture of thought. "Lancer? No, that's too on the nose… Ronin is too weeb-ish… Pepe? Nah."

As Julian thinks, Croagunk sees the Lucario turn her attention to him. "You really have no opinion on a name?" She asks, tilting her head. "Julian has big plans for all of us, and it's very likely that our names will be in history books. If you have any preference on one for yourself, now would be the time to say so."

"Hmm…" Croagunk makes a noncommittal sound. Adding one's name to the history books? Ambitious, bordering on foolhardy. "Lulu and Aniki, was it? What inspired your names?"

"Mine was just a nickname Julian called me before he could understand pokemon," Lulu smiles tenderly. Croagunk's old mate sometimes wore such an expression around him, and the frog hides his frown from the unpleasant memory. "Perhaps it's not the most original name for a Lucario, but Julian gave it to me, so I wear it with pride."

Croagunk turns his eyes to the Machoke, waiting for an answer.

"Aniki means "big brother" in one of the languages from Julian's homeland, and was the name of an entertainer who brought joy to thousands," Aniki smiles widely. "I liked it, the sound, the meaning, and the legacy."

Croagunk withholds a sigh. Fantastic. Both of his new teammates are the sappy, idealistic sort. Looks like enjoying intelligent conversation is going to be out of the question.

"I got it…" Julian suddenly says, smiling. "Yeah, that's perfect!"

"You thought of a name?" Croagunk asks, crossing his arms. "What kind of moniker am I to suffer?"

"Kane."

Croagunk blinks, incredulous. "Cane? As in, a walking aid? Are you serious?"

Julian shakes his head. "No. Kane, K A N E." He says, spelling out the letters. "It can be spelled in a few different ways, but I've never heard of someone named Kane who wasn't someone of great consequence."

Consequence. That is something Croagunk can understand. He still carries the consequences of daring to expose the coup within his colony.

"Like I said earlier, we're going up to the very top of the ladder," Julian says, his voice severe. "We're going to redefine the term Pokemon Master, so that when anyone even thinks of the phrase, what they see in their head is us. There's going to be big consequences for shaking up the world like that, and I need someone beside me who can deal with the pressure," he says, holding his hand out towards Croagunk. "What do you say?"

That's insanity.

You're a moron.

This is doomed to fail.

Don't even bother trying.

Yet, despite his doubts, Croagunk reaches up and clasps the offered hand.

The hum – Julian grins, his eyes aglow as he grips Croakgunk's webbed hand. "Good to have you along, Kane."

Kane grunts, gripping back. "Don't make me regret this."