A/N: Here's the next chapter.

If anyone needs this, double quotes mean that a human is speaking. Single quotes either mean a human is thinking or a Pokémon is speaking. Single quotes with italics means that a Pokémon is communicating with someone or something in their mind. Italics are also generally added for emphasis.

The Poké Ball clicked to signal that its target had been captured successfully. Grinning in delight at this new catch, Lucas tossed Ares, a small and rather docile Chimchar, a cracker to chew on for his good work. Grabbing the ball from the grass, he brushed off the dirt, all the while staring at the Starly confined within. For all of her shenanigans before capture, she was surprisingly calm once inside the Poké Ball. He had heard stories of Pokémon becoming severely claustrophobic while within their balls, to the point where they couldn't stand even going into caves. Hopefully, such a thing wouldn't happen to him.

"Now… what to call you," he muttered to himself. She seemed rather unruffled by his gaze, glaring back in defiance. "Something fitting for you… if I'm going to go along naming my Pokémon after ancient gods and goddesses of distant cultures, I might as well call you Athena, or… Nike. That fits, doesn't it? Nike?" he questioned, releasing his newly caught Pokémon in a bright flash of light. The Starly stared at her new companions with an almost bored look in her eyes. Lucas laughed grimly, patting the bird on its petit head. "You're gonna help me do great things, Goddess of Victory." Fishing into his bag, he released a rather small, but bold, Bidoof who scampered over to the side of Nike while hissing at Ares, the means of his capture.

Lucas frowned at this. "No need to be hostile, here. You two are going to become partners in my endeavor, and neither of you can do that if you don't get along with the strongest Pokémon in this party. Do you understand? Daisy, sweet Arceus, will you stop hissing at Ares?" Growling at the Bidoof's antics, he made eye contact with her. "I told you to stop!"

Daisy immediately sat up, staring at her black-haired Trainer with wide eyes. 'Human… stopped me? How? Small bird, how?' she questioned with small barks.

'How would I know? I've been with it for less time than you, whatever you are.' Nike responded, tone as cold as ice.

'The Master can hear all of us… you should know that. He understands our voices and calls us Pokémon, as well. Please, please don't make him mad, or…' Ares intervened, trailing off at the end while glancing at Lucas nervously. 'Master, if I may explain to these two…'

"Of course, Ares. I'll prepare some food for them while you give them a quick rundown of the situation," Lucas responded, patting the Chimchar forward encouragingly before popping open a seal and beginning to prepare a small fire in their clearing. Ares, returning his gaze back to the other two, now rather frightened, Pokémon, attempted to placate them.

'He isn't harsh, the Master, if anything… I would say that you're lucky to be captured by him!' the Chimchar exclaimed. 'Both of you are sure to become valued teammates!'

'How can he hear us?' Nike asked, somewhat surprised at this turn of events. 'I simply don't understand. I've never met a human that could do that.'

'First of all, you should know that my name is Ares, and the humans call my species Chimchar. You are Nike, now, and your species name is Starly. You,' he explained, pointing now to Daisy. 'Are now Daisy, and your species name is Bidoof. It's all rather fascinating, I think-'

'Chimscar using big words… bird, help,' the Bidoof protested desperately.

Ignoring Daisy, Nike glared at the back of Lucas. 'Why haven't you two run away, yet? He can't even see us from over there. All three of us could easily escape and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. In addition, how did he make "Daisy" stop?'

Scratching the back of his head, the Chimchar attempted to explain. 'There are several reasons, I think. The Master spoke about those balls, over there,' he gestured to the red and white balls that they had been contained in. 'He said that they track us, if you understand, and we can't run without being found by others. I think it would be wiser just to stay.'

The Starly frowned, her beak contorting. 'I doubt it, honestly. How would that even work? However… if you do trust in it, "Ares," I suppose it would be better not to test it. How often will we be fed by this human you call "the Master?" Is there anything else I need to know? Oh, and in addition, you haven't answered how he was able to make this Bidoof do something so strange.'

While Daisy was simply looking confused as the two other Pokémon carried on their conversation, Ares was visibly relieved that Nike had elected to stay for now. 'For the first, the Master feeds me at least twice a day, sometimes more. Really, it depends on what he believes we need. As for the latter…' the Chimchar frowned, looking perplexed. 'I'm not sure… it may be something to do with those balls back there, they're called Poké Balls by the way, but he's able to do this with me as well. It improves my technique in battle, being in sync like that. At least, that's what the Master says.'

While Daisy seemed to be placated by the fact that the Starly hadn't bolted yet, Nike was certainly not satisfied by Ares' answer. Without warning, she flapped over to the side of her new Trainer, catching his attention.

'You can understand me and I can understand you clearly. However, you've named us and all this "Ares" has for you is "the Master." Surely there's something else we can call you? I have no desire to show such obvious servitude to my fellow "Pokémon," or whatever you call us.'

Grinning in surprise, the black-haired Trainer lifted the dish he had just heated up to his lips with a small spoon. Satisfied with the taste, he set down the plate and turned to the small bird.

"You may call me Lucas if you so desire, Nike," he responded sternly, his gaze boring into hers unflinchingly. "All of you, come and eat. It's just some dry packaged food for you, but soon enough I'll get the three of you a bit of real meat."

The other two bounded over, with Ares tugging Daisy along and the Bidoof simply complying because she had no clue what else she could do. Stopping before their small plates, Nike and Daisy simply stared at the ugly looking food while Ares dug in. Glancing over, he gestured to their plates.

'Hurry. The Master heated them to make it a bit tastier, but they get cold fast,' he whispered urgently. 'Just eat it, alright? It's good for us, he's said. Filled with vitamins, or some other such thing. I didn't really understand it all, but I'm sure it's safe… and, honestly, it's all you're going to get for a while.' Waiting for a response, he sighed before going over and pushing the plates closer. 'Hurry and eat before the Master gets mad, please!'

The Starly grimaced. 'Oh… how the mighty have fallen,' she whispered, bending over and beginning to consume the distasteful looking grime. Her expression contorted immediately afterwards in disgust, but she managed to swallow. 'I… I suppose it didn't taste as bad as I thought, but that texture… ugh…'

Ares nodded understandingly. 'I deal with it by swallowing as quickly as possible… oh my.'

Lucas laughed as he watched Daisy consume the disgusting food with a wild abandon he had only seen in Barry during a dinner that Dawn had cooked, the sheer hilarity of it surprising him. "I suppose she's taken a small liking to it, hasn't she?" Turning to Nike and Ares, his expression grew a little more serious. "You could have told me you didn't like the texture, Ares. I'm sure I can do something to fix it with my cooking experience. It won't be anything grand, but probably there's something that I can do to make it a bit more desirable."

The Chimchar lowered his head in shame. 'I'm sorry, Master. I didn't want to burden you with such a small thing. It's nothing, really, and it does taste alright-'

"I don't want to hear that," the black-haired Trainer cut him off. "If any of you need something, I need you to tell me. It'll help us keep in touch, do you understand? Keep us in sync." He said this while looking pointedly at Ares.

The trio nodded, although Nike and Daisy were notably less enthusiastic about the whole affair, with Nike being rather hesitant to trust such a stranger so totally and immediately and Daisy not fully comprehending everything that was going on.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't bolted yet, Nike," he said, smiling warmly at the Starly. "Daisy tried to run away the minute I let her out of her ball. I had to recall her quickly, and I haven't let her out this whole day. Why haven't you?"

The gray and white bird seemed a little perplexed by this herself. 'Under any other circumstances, I think I would… I'm not entirely sure why I haven't. Perhaps this Poké Ball is influencing my conscious thought? I've always considered myself intelligent, even among my own kind. As such, I can't fathom why I haven't already attempted to escape. Although I did discuss the possibility with this "Chimchar," as you call it, he dissuaded me. At this point, I've chosen to simply take my chances. At the very least, it seems that I'll be fed reliably… but I am curious. Exactly what are you going to do with us three? I assume you'll be capturing more of our kind, more "Pokémon," but what do you intend to use us for?'

At this, Lucas frowned. "That answer is rather complicated. The short and simple version is that I mean to use you three and anyone else that I end up catching in battles. You'll be pitted against other, trained Pokémon in matches to the death-"

'The death?! Are you mad?!' Nike exclaimed, cutting him off. 'You can't be serious, can you? Ares? He must be lying to us.'

The Chimchar simply looked grim. 'What the Master says is the truth. We'll be fighting others of our kind to the death in something called "registered matches" and "Gym Battles." Honestly, I don't understand it all… but if the Master needs me to do something, I will do it to the best of my ability. Besides, as a wild Pokémon, haven't you killed others? Surely Kricketots, at least for sustenance?'

'Of course,' she snapped in return. 'But-'

"Then I don't see the problem," Lucas interrupted her, his gaze boring into her with a sense of gravity that surprised her. "And don't worry. I only intend to use you in battles that you are certain win. Pitting you against something that has an advantage against you would be madness." At this point he grinned in what could only be described as a brief madness. "What, do you doubt your combat abilities?"

'Combat abilities? I'm a hunter! I hunt insects! Those are completely different and you know it!' the Starly squawked. Turning to Ares angrily, she stomped on the ground with talons. 'Have you already participated in something like this? Huh?'

The Chimchar lowered his head, staring at his toes. 'Yes,' he whispered.

The Starly snorted. 'And what happened? Did you tear whatever it was to shreds? Obliterate it?'

"Of course he did," Lucas saved Ares the trouble of answering. "I commanded him to. It was a matter of survival. And it isn't like we challenged this boy. He chose to fight us, overconfident in his abilities to win. As a registered Trainer in the Sinnoh Gym Challenge, I couldn't refuse without serious repercussions. He should count his lucky stars that he wasn't registered as well, or that would've been the end of his life, for all intents and purposes."

Daisy looked back and forth between the three, trying to catch on to the gist of the conversation and failing miserably. Glancing back to her plate, she decided it would be significantly easier to just lick the last of the remains of her meal off of the plate than try to follow something she couldn't understand. She was sure that Nike-something-or-other would take care of it just fine.

'No,' the bird in question shook her head. 'I'm not doing this. It's absolutely crazy. You're going to let me go or I'm going to peck your eyes out, do you understand? I refuse to take part in this.' With a wave of her wing, she took off to a nearby tree. 'Good luck, you two. I hope-'

"You realize that I can't just let you go. If you're found by another Trainer and you're still registered to this Poké Ball," he said, holding Nike's ball in the palm of his hand. "They are fully authorized to eliminate you. No one wants a disobedient Pokémon. Not to mention that if you refuse to come along, I'll be forced to use others, perhaps even less suited than you, to perform the tasks you should be performing. In addition to all of this, I can promise you relative safety and security in that I will never send you into a battle where you don't have a strong advantage. Of course, you will be provided with comfortable lodging and enough food to keep you strong and at the top of your possible performance."

For a moment, the whole clearing was still, Ares poised for a possible attack and Daisy simply watching the movements of the other three.

'I hate you humans,' Nike finally responded. 'Always so clever and manipulating.' Turning to the trio, she huffed. 'Fine. I will assist you in your journey on one condition.'

Smiling amiably, Lucas nodded, giving her permission to continue.

'I want Daisy out of this mess. She's obviously clueless.'

The smile didn't fade as she had expected it to. He simply sat up, recalled Daisy, and put her on his belt. "That can be arranged," he answered. "There's this handy system that I'll be able to access once we reach Jublife City, which is only a mile or so ahead. It'll allow her to stay entirely safe from harm. Unfortunately, for the reasons I've previously stated, I cannot release her, but this should do, no?"

The Starly sighed, flapping back to their position and tapping her head on her Poké Ball, which her black-haired Trainer had set on the ground.

'I suppose that'll have to do… Lucas,' she muttered before disappearing in a bright flash of red light.

The moment she disappeared, the smile faded from the Lucas' face and he turned to Ares. "I want you to search the surrounding area for any wild Pokémon. If you think you can take them, defeat them. The combat experience will be valuable for you. If you don't, return here, and I'll assist you after I've packed up," he commanded. The Chimchar leapt into action, glad to be occupied while racing through the trees. Sighing in relief at the quiet, the black-haired boy began to pack.

'I hope they aren't all this difficult to convince.'

A/N: So… another quick update. I'm pumping through them right now, it seems. This one had no actual description of the battle with Nike or the battle with the infamous first Youngster, but I half-didn't want to do it and half-figured you guys wouldn't really want to read it. So I didn't write it.

Feel free to favorite or review. I can always use criticism on my writing.

The current team I had at this point, although I unfortunately never wrote the levels down when I had caught these two, in my party were:

A Docile Chimchar, nicknamed Ares because Infernape is just that badass.

A Calm Starly, nicknamed Nike because it fits with the whole Goddess of Flying Victory thing.

A Bold Bidoof, nicknamed Daisy because nothing else came to mind. Bidoofs are, after all, famous for their derp. Derp = too stronk.