Lucky barked in excitement at all the new things, his entire lower body swinging with the force of his tail wagging. Spin, who had been the most protective of the egg before it hatched, looked like he was having second thoughts. The new pup was energetic, excitable, and loud. When Lila poked her head in to see what the commotion was about and began gushing over my new teammate, I thought he'd had enough. With gentle force, he worked his paws under my hands, taking our puppy and wandering out of reach with him.

Lucky was tiny, barely as big as Vola. The Sandshrew was at least twice his size. I was about to protest when Spin's tough digging muscles easily enfolded Lucky in a hug, then he curled around the little Growlithe protectively.

I smirked. He may be able to big-brother Lucky for now, but I had no doubt he'd soon be as big as Spin, if not bigger. As I thought it, I looked around my little one-person tent, now crowded with four Pokemon and one-and-a-half people, and realized I'd either have to start having some of my team stay in their Pokeballs at night, or else buy a bigger tent.

Vola, no longer having to worry about over-cooling an egg trying to hatch, climbed onto Spin and wrapped her tails around what was left poking out. Dart frantically looked for a place to perch, obviously unwilling to be left out of the dogpile but not wanting to dig the claws I'd warned her about into one of her friends. She finally settled for flopping, wings spread, over the whole pile. It didn't look like a comfortable sleeping arrangement, but she seemed happy enough with it. I watched Lucky wriggle his head out from under the pile of new friends, his jaws open in a happy grin.

Lila whispered to me, "Look, they're all shaking a little. I'll bet under all that your little Growlithe is still trying like crazy to wag his little tail!"

There was, indeed, a regular shudder running through the mound of fur, feathers, and scales. If and when they'd all evolved, there was no chance this could happen. I doubted I could find a tent big enough to fit all of them comfortably, especially as big as an Arcanine or as spiky as a Sandslash, much less be able to afford it.

But that was something to worry about for the future.

Seeing the idyllic expressions on everyone's faces, I decided that this was fine for now.

I tried to carry Lucky the next day, but he kept wiggling free to chase Dart, or tackle Vola off my shoulder, or bat at Spin as he rolled along, or… well, any number of other distractions. I'd picked a good name, though, because lucky was exactly what we were that he hatched when he did. Apparently the increase in Zubat activity was a result of traveling deeper into the caves, not time of day. They were no match, however, for the insistent, defensive growls and barks that such a small Pokemon shouldn't have been able to produce. The loud, threatening echoes were too much for any Zubat, and though it was certainly a noisy trip, it was an unmolested one.

For us, at least. The various hikers and scientists that frequented the place didn't appreciate it.

I know, because at least two told me so (if not quite in such polite language) before challenging me to try to make me put Lucky into his Pokeball. I did feel bad about it, and while the absence of near-constant Zubat attacks was nice, I adamantly refused for another reason. I was going to give Lucky the loving, nurtured life I'd promised, and I didn't think spending his first day or so in a Pokeball was the way to start that.

The first battle was fairly straightforward. A hiker with an Onix thought its size would be more than enough, but Vola treated it like her own personal playground. She ran up and down its massive length, blasting it with sub-zero breath while it slammed itself blindly against walls trying to dislodge her as it was pelted by her hailstorm. We ended before a KO because the cavern started rumbling, and the hiker knew enough to have his Onix shore up the battered walls before it caved in. I offered our help, but he just yelled that we'd done enough already, and that this wasn't his first near-cave-in. That frightened me enough to scoop up Lucky and Vola and skedaddle.

A scientist studying Clefairy or something wasn't nearly as easy to handle. Spin dealt with his Voltorb easily enough before it could Self-Destruct. His Magnemite, though, floated out of reach of any dirt or mud he could fling at it, and he was immune to its retaliatory shocks.

I wasn't about to send Dart against something with such a clear advantage, and it would practically ignore anything Vola could do. I was wracking my brain, trying to figure out an edge I could give Spin, when Lucky seemed to, once again, live up to his name.

Obviously wanting to play with Spin and his new friend, he slipped out of my arms and bounded across the intervening ground, his ruff igniting as he ran. The blaze couldn't keep up with him, and when he used Spin as a springboard to launch himself at Magnemite, it was as a flaming streak.

When he hit our opponent, his bell was rung nearly as much as Magnemite's, but he shook it off first, scratching and biting at the red-hot steel of its body. He clung to it as the heat started to effect the magnetic field keeping them aloft, and I got over my own surprise enough to yell, "Lucky, come back here!" I ran out to collect him as the scientist overcame his own shock at my grievous breach of battle protocol, holding out his Pokeball and returning his discombobulated Pokemon.

"I am so sorry," I said, panting, as I scrambled to keep a hold of my excited puppy, who was now trying to go to Spin to keep playing. "He hatched last night; we're still getting him acquainted with things."

"Then if you're going to insist on keeping it out of its Pokeball, may I suggest putting it on a leash?"

I shrank back from his indignation, mortified by my Pokemon's behavior.

"Yessir," I mumbled, but he was already stalking away.

With some maneuvering, I managed to get Lucky turned around to face me. "Lucky, I know you want to play, and that's okay sometimes," I chided. He cocked his head in confusion, doggy tongue dangling as he panted from exertion. It reminded me of Dart's first flyby, and I had to work to keep my face serious. "Everyone has to be willing to play with you, Lucky. You need to let everyone know before you join in. And if someone doesn't want to play with you, you need to be willing to leave them be. Do you understand? I'll even let you know if someone wants to play and you're not already around, okay? "

Lucky listened closely, then snapped his jaws shut to nod vigorously, before giving me a sharp, "Lith!" of what I hoped was both understanding and agreement.

I sighed in relief. I looked up to see Lila looking at me strangely.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Why don't we stop for lunch?"

Lucky was way more subdued for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't sure if it was our conversation or if his first battle, such as it was, had taken more out of him than I'd originally thought. We reached the Route 3 side of Mt. Moon around sunset, which meant we finally got to stay in a Pokemon Center again. Chansey showed Lila to a room we could use while Nurse Joy checked over my team.

"Your Growlithe has quite a pedigree!" she told me when she handed him back to me with the tray holding my other Pokemon in their Pokeballs. "Reversal, Flare Blitz, and Wild Charge aren't attacks that just any Growlithe or Arcanine knows. If he just hatched, his parents must be quite impressive. Do you know if they had evolved?"

"Yeah," I said. "His mom's an Arcanine that just earned an eighth Badge. Why?"

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "That's quite impressive. I just ask because Roar doesn't quite fit with the rest. Growlithe can't manage every move an Arcanine can, like Extremespeed or Solarbeam, but Roar is pretty easy for even a newborn pup."

I smiled at her, "Yeah, we noticed." Then I frowned, and asked, "Is it okay? Those powerful attacks, I mean. Flare Blitz and Wild Charge both have some risk, right? Can a young Growlithe like Lucky handle them?"

Nurse Joy pursed her lips, pensive. "He should be okay, but I'd say it's up to you. The fact that half of its techniques will hurt him isn't exactly going to be helpful, but if you take good care of him after battles and he doesn't seem to mind, I don't think there would be any long-term physical effects. And they'll certainly work well with Reversal, which I imagine was the idea for his parent. Still, he will be getting hurt regularly, so there could be psychological effects. I can't recommend sending a baby out to hurt himself regularly, but I can't stop you."

I took that in, and shook my head, "No, I wasn't looking for permission. Honestly, it made me a little nervous, but I didn't know if it was normal and I was worrying for nothing. I'd just as well trade them for something a little less aggressive without the risk."

I realized I'd made the mistake of taking my eyes off Lucky when a girl interrupted us, holding him up by the scruff of his neck.

"He's yours, right?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry! He didn't hurt anyone, did he?"

"He ruined my take!" she asserted. "I'll have to start my video from the beginning because you couldn't keep your Pokemon under control!"

"Wait," I interrupted, "what did he do?"

"He got in my shot and pulled the viewers' attention away!"

"What? You're mad that he wandered into frame for some selfie?"

"I have to scrap an entire five-minute vlog because of him!"

I fixed her with a flat stare, which she didn't seem to notice.

"Just keep your mongrel under control," she said, turning on her heel and walking away.

Girl was apparently a savant at saying exactly the wrong thing. I said my goodbyes to Nurse Joy, and made my way towards the dormitory hallway. I stopped inside, just barely in view of the girl in the lobby setting up her video again. With Lucky under one arm, I released Vola.

I crouched down so I could whisper to her, "See that girl over there? She was mean to Lucky just because he got into the background of that video she's shooting in the lobby."

Vola looked where I was pointing with narrowed eyes.

"I'll leave both the door and window open enough for you. Don't get caught."

Then I stood and made my way to the room I'd be sharing with Lila, leaving my Vulpix to her own devices.