Yes, I know the chapter has a cheesy title. And I know that it doesn't reference a song, rather a TV show that's rather popular with a certain section of the population. I'm not personally a Brony, but you know what? In "honor" of the chapter title, the song of the chapter is "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" by The Offspring.

I hope everyone likes this chapter, and as usual, feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!

CODY HARVARD, 19

Based on what I've told you thus far, you probably won't be surprised to learn that when the time finally came to pack up my belongings and take them to college with me, I was over the moon.

On the appointed day, I got up nearly two hours before my usual time of waking. I didn't have any more packing to do; I was simply that excited to be doing something, anything, other than languishing around at home.

Later that morning, I bade my parents good-bye, giving each of them a tremendous hug. I might have been a little old to be showing affection in that way, but in hindsight, this was something of a paradox.

In a way, becoming a were-Lycanroc had forced me to grow up more quickly. Suddenly I had to manage my own medication, figure out who needed to know about my condition, and deal with the emotional elements of having a chronic illness such as this one. When you're fourteen years old and relatively carefree, getting bitten by a Lycanroc can really burst your bubble.

On the other hand, it had also delayed my transition into adulthood. Legally, of course, I'd been an adult for just over a year, but it hadn't felt that way when I barely did anything for myself other than driving. And even then, I wasn't putting the miles on my own car.

I didn't know who had bitten me, but if I ever met them, in the very unlikely event that I recognized the specific Lycanroc who was the culprit, I promised myself I would make sure they paid the ultimate price.

This promise scared the hell out of me. Sometimes, when you're as angry as I was, you aren't yourself. You might say things you don't really mean, or threaten to do things you don't actually intend to follow through with. And it was rather terrifying to wonder what I was capable of.

As I drove for roughly an hour along the Trans-Sinnoh Highway towards Pastoria City, I had a lot of time to think about all of the above and more. What would happen once I got there? Would the others accept me?

They will, because I'll be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. Nobody will ever have to know about my secret. Well, except for the people who already know.

The fact that there existed people outside of my family and those who were intimately concerned with my medical history, who knew about my condition...well, suffice it to say that it made me feel sick to my stomach. On two occasions, I pulled over and thought I was going to vomit, but managed to hold it back at the last moment.

Once I arrived at the campus of Greater Pastoria University, I located my dorm room and began setting it up. I knew then that it was going to take forever; I had all sorts of belongings to carry inside, and only one pair of hands to do it with.

I wish I'd let my parents come here to see me off, I thought bitterly as I made my third trip from my car to the residence hall. That would have made the job so much easier.

Alas, I could not go back in time. Were I able to do so, there would be a long list of decisions I might have reversed, though number one on that list should be obvious.

When I returned from my car with the fourth armload, my duffel bag of clothes for the dresser, I saw that there was someone else in the room.

He was a guy about my age, with green eyes and jet black hair. His hair was slightly longer than average for a male. He was about my height, but a bit skinnier.

"Hello" he said, springing up from the bed he'd been sitting on. He offered me his hand to shake, but I still had a question for him.

"Why aren't you helping carry things in?" I asked. It was hardly the most important thing I was wondering, but it was the first question that came to mind.

The other young man chuckled. "My stuff's already in here, dude. What's your name?"

There was no reason to lie to him, because he wasn't an enemy. Besides, the truth would come out pretty soon if I did.

"I'm Cody Harvard. You?"

"Max Saint Lawrence."

"Wow, what a fancy name" I responded, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "Seriously, if I were writing a story, and needed to give a rich family a last name, that's what I would call them."

Yes, it was a rather rude thing to say, but that's how far my social instincts had deteriorated in the last five years. I realized my mistake almost immediately, but the damage had already been done.

Fortunately, Max didn't seem that bothered. He simply laughed it off. "I get that a lot," he replied, smiling. "Trust me, it's okay."

"So it's nice to meet you" I told him, eager to change the subject. "Do you have any Pokemon partners?"

My roommate nodded. "Yes. I've got a Charmander in the Pokeball on top of my dresser. I might let him out later; he could use some exercise, so long as he doesn't end up burning this place down."

Imagine having a Pokemon partner. Couldn't be me.

Unlike dating, there was no specific reason why I couldn't have one; I just hadn't seen it as a very big priority. If we became close friends, Max and I might well go down to the university's battling court together, where his Charmander would be able to train. And maybe, once there, I could show off my moves that I could use as a Lycanroc.

No! What was I thinking? That was a ludicrous suggestion, not only for the most obvious reason, but also because I didn't know any moves. For all of my transformations over the years, I'd stayed in the house, where I clearly didn't have enough space to even try to learn anything.

No, the reality was that college would feel a lot like high school. The only difference is that my secret might be even harder to hide.

But then again, is keeping it bottled up truly preferable when I'm this miserable about it?

Yes. It absolutely is. Put a sock in it, Cody, if you tell the truth you're going to be history.

And then, in the midst of my reverie, I saw that Max was still waiting for me to respond. He looked at me quizzically, presumably wondering what was taking me so long.

"I've got to get more stuff from my car. We can talk more later" I told Max, slightly proud that I'd found a way to escape these rough waters.

Once I had returned with my final armload of luggage, I saw that Max wasn't in the dorm room anymore. If I'm being honest, that was more than a little relieving, since I didn't really feel like talking at that point.

Still, it did hurt somewhat to see that he was already off enjoying himself, making new friends. He was probably having the time of his life playing billiards in the student lounge.

That's not going to be me, though. Unless I make it that way.

If Max hadn't known the other residents of this hall before, he would in theory have been just as nervous as me. Of course, he didn't have the same reasons as myself for feeling anxious when it came to one's social life.

I looked at the Pokeball on top of the dresser. If there truly were a Charmander in there, I was surprised that Max had been allowed to bring his Pokemon to GPU with him. Wouldn't a Fire type also be a fire hazard?

I shook my head. If he'd been permitted to do that, there had to be a reason that this case was special. A mitigating factor, if you will.

The next thing I looked at, once I was sure that Max wouldn't be coming back for at least a few minutes, was the bottle of wolfsbane in my drawer. It was still there, with the prescription label exactly the same as it had been for the last five years.

Taking a deep breath, I realized that there was no refrigerator in the room. This should have been an obvious point to make, but it had slipped my mind until now. I simply hadn't cared enough to pay close attention.

There probably is a fridge in the common area, but I'm not going to put the wolfsbane in with anyone else's food or medication. Because if they should discover it, I'm dead meat.

And yet...leaving it like this in the drawer, without any way to cool it down, didn't seem like a very good omen. I didn't have definitive proof that it was a horrific idea, but I just had a gut feeling that something was going to go wrong.

That evening, I sat down with Max for dinner in the dining hall. It had taken me all afternoon, but I'd finally worked up the courage to ask for a platonic date, and he had accepted my offer.

Max let his Charmander out of his Pokeball so that the Fire type could also eat some dinner. My roommate explained that Pokemon could survive in their Pokeballs almost indefinitely, but would need food in the outside world if they left the devices.

The Charmander, whose name was Probst, gleefully gobbled up the grub that had been offered at the Pokemon section of the buffet. I only wished I could have been so carefree; even though the food here was delicious, I wasn't going to let my guard down.

"So what are you interested in, Max?" I asked eventually in between bites of my food. "Anything you particularly want to talk about?"

My roommate's response was not what I expected. The instant he said it, I felt my heart pound hard enough that I could hear my own pulse.

"Well, one of my biggest interests is with the occult" Max replied, as casually as someone might say they were into snowboarding, or tennis, or watching battling tournaments on TV.

I nearly spat out my food. "The occult?"

He nodded. "There could be all sorts of things going on that we're not aware of, Cody. The world's a complicated place."

My eyes began darting around the room, and I felt my palms start to sweat as something occurred to me that seemed almost unthinkable at first.

What if they put me in the same room as Max, knowing that I'm a lycanthrope and he's very interested in that? If so, how long until he finds out? And when he does find out, because it's a matter of "when", not "if", what does that mean for me?

As those questions raced through my mind like Rapidashes at the Pastoria Derby, I tried to think of something to say that would show I was interested, while also not giving away the fact that this was a touchy subject.

"I suppose it is," I replied, picking at my food with my fork, the way we were always taught not to do as kids. "But there are enough things to worry about that we know exist, Max; we don't need to think about the supernatural."

My roommate shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm sorry for bringing this up."

The rest of the meal was eaten in relative silence, and it reminded me of one I'd had five years ago. I had almost forgotten about the event, but here it was in my memory banks, just waiting to be pondered again.

The first day of school I'd attended after originally being bitten by that Lycanroc; that's what I remembered. More specifically, when I'd eaten lunch with my then-best friend, Frank Speech.

Frank and I had not spoken to each other since graduation. As it would turn out, our friendship may not have been built to last after all, since we stopped seeing each other as soon as we no longer attended the same school.

In addition, Frank had been one of the people I'd invited to my ill-fated 19th birthday party at the Chauntecleer. The fact that he had not even bothered to show up really brought down my opinion of him, but then I remembered something my father had told me once.

Friendship is like a muscle. If you don't constantly use it, don't speak to your friends on a regular basis, it's going to atrophy.

Perhaps that's the lesson the universe had wanted to send me. I had never been a very superstitious person, even after my first encounter with the supernatural five years prior, the one that came in the form of a were-Lycanroc bite.

As soon as I left the dining hall, I was sucked into my new schedule. On some level, this was a good thing; anything that kept my mind occupied and away from self-pity, even if it was boring college work, was a blessing in disguise.

Every morning, I woke up at the bright and early hour of 6:00. My alarm was loud enough to wake me, but not loud enough for Max to even stir. This made me wonder...if I were in the dorm when I became a temporary Lycanroc, would Max even notice, if he were asleep?

That's not going to happen, Cody. You're going to be somewhere completely different when your transformation occurs, and you know it. It's for the better; you'd hate to hurt Max, to condemn him to the same fate you've met with.

Although we had different sleep schedules, I generally got along fairly well with Max, even if that simply meant we stayed out of each other's' way. That was better than arguing in my book.

A week into the semester, I received an email from Health Services reminding me that it was time to start taking my wolfsbane again. I tried to do this as Max's back was turned to me, but this was easier said than done.

Max saw me holding the bottle. "What's that?" he asked me. "Is that some kind of paint?"

I couldn't help but glare at him. Showing any form of defensiveness was probably a bad idea, but I didn't care at that moment.

"It's my medicine. I have to take it every morning for a week."

My roommate narrowed his eyes in a skeptical manner. "What kind of medicine is burnt orange? Like, no offense, but that color is revolting."

"It tastes revolting too, trust me" I replied. Of course, it was probably better to say as little as possible here, but if friendship is a muscle, I was definitely out of practice.

"Well, what type of medicine is it?" Max asked. He didn't sound as though he intended to make fun of me, but his words made me feel a jolt of anger.

"Why should you care? I'm entitled to my privacy, so please mind your own business."

I realized then that if Max truly wanted to know what I was taking, he could simply look in my drawer and read the label on the bottle. As such, I decided that I would keep it in my backpack for the foreseeable future. I would never let it leave my sight, because if it did, my reputation would be ruined.

Then again, it's not like I have much of a reputation to ruin in the first place.

A couple of days later, I was shown to the spare dorm I'd be staying at while I was a Lycanroc. The person from Health Services who helped me carry my belongings there was great about it, but my face was beet red from nerves. After all, it's not easy to be discreet when you're carrying duffel bags.

"We will bring all of your work here for you" the woman told me. "And your meals; just order what you want online and it will arrive at your door. The people delivering these items do not know why you're staying there."

"Are you sure?" I asked, speaking as quietly as I could while she still heard me. "Because I really, really don't want the others to find out the truth."

"Your secret is safe with us," she replied, smiling sadly. "Now, I have to get back to work. But if you ever need me, just shoot me an email and we can talk about whatever you might require."

I nodded to show that I understood, and then the woman turned around and left. Turning the key into the lock, I opened the door.

The spare dorm had been completely undersold; I'd been picturing a room not unlike the one I currently shared with Max. I certainly hadn't expected an entire apartment. There was a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, everything!

Could they have built this apartment for this specific purpose? Like, did they think that they would eventually have a lycanthrope as a student?

The apartment's novelty wore off after about an hour. It was just off the main campus, a decent distance away from the other residential halls. This meant that I didn't see any other students that afternoon.

It's just as well, really, I thought to myself as I watched the sun slowly go down. I'd already had dinner; while the food here was pretty good for the most part, it wasn't nearly as tasty when there was nobody else nearby. There was just something about being in the company of other students that I hadn't fully appreciated until now.

You know what they say: The grass is always greener on the other side, and you don't really know what you have until it's gone. I couldn't remember where I'd heard that quote, but I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly.

By this time I had completed the day's homework and done some studying for my Economics quiz the following week. There was only one thing left to do; sadly, my least favorite part of the day was saved for last.

The sun finally went down, and almost immediately, I felt the familiar sensations that heralded the worst part of every month. After several minutes of much groaning, I was a Lycanroc once again.

One of the worst things about being a Lycanroc and having claws, as well as being on four legs, was that this made everything more difficult. After more than sixty times doing this, twelve months times five years, some things had gotten a little easier, but not everything.

Typing, for instance, was an activity I'd been able to adapt to fairly well. Autocorrect obviously didn't hurt. Writing by hand, however, not so much; even in my human form, my handwriting had never been the best.

I sighed as I walked on four legs to the corner of the bedroom. That was yet another thing that had become easier with time and practice, but I found it hard to be happy about that when I still felt so lonely.

I've spent five years largely isolated from the world. For five years, I have lived what feels like a partial life. And now, here I am.

I'd been a fool for expecting college to be any different from high school in this regard. The only aspect that was different was that it would be a lot harder to hide my condition, as I'd learned just a few days prior.

A few minutes later, I felt my eyes begin growing heavy, but not with sleep; rather, they were prepared to unleash a deluge of tears down my face.

Since there was nobody near me to see or hear that I was crying, I let the tears flow. All of the general frustrations of life as a were-Lycanroc coalesced into the fit of sobbing described above, as well as an internal feeling that life was only going to get worse from here.

Eventually, I did fall asleep, and right after my mind went blank, it instantly transported me into a dream.

I found myself floating in a black void full of tiny golden pinpricks of light. For a moment, I wondered if this is what it was like to be an astronaut; the job everyone wants as a kid until they learn just how dangerous it is.

And then I saw all of the gold sparkles start to be driven towards one point in front of me. It was not unlike a group of meteors being drawn to a planet's orbit, only I knew somehow that I had nothing to fear from this.

Indeed, there was a reassuring sensation in the air. I was not a Lucario, so I couldn't sense aura, but I was sure that had I possessed this ability, I would have been almost overloaded with a benevolent aura.

It was an overwhelming feeling of...belonging, to put it one way. But where was there to belong in the middle of space?

The golden dots coalesced into the form of a golden wolf-like Pokemon species, one I recognized all too well. It was the one I became for a few days out of every month.

"Ah, Cody Harvard" a kind, ethereal voice announced through the void. "It is nice to meet you."

I considered rolling my eyes, but knew that this would be a bad idea. Instead, I simply stared at the golden Lycanroc in front of me as though it were from another planet.

"You probably have many questions for me," the golden Lycanroc told me, leaning so that its snout was pointed straight upwards and emitting a low howl.

The howl was one of the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard, to the extent that a sound can be called "beautiful." It was almost like an instrument that might be used in folk music.

Anyway, back to the questions. While I did have a lot of questions for the golden wolf, I didn't know where to begin. However, I was eventually able to decide on one to start with.

"Who are you?" I asked the ethereal Lycanroc.

There was a laugh, one that seemed warm enough to melt the world's largest glacier. It practically filled my heart with warmth and light, and almost made me forget about my woes in the real world.

"Alas, Cody Harvard, that is one question I cannot answer. Someday, the truth will be yours, but that day has not arrived yet. Next?"

"Why do you have me here? This is only a dream, isn't it? And how did I get here?"

There was more laughter. "You just asked me three questions, and they don't have easy answers. Again, some questions I can answer, some I cannot. But rest assured that you will have your answers, in due time."

I was starting to become incredibly irritated with this creature. It was telling me to ask questions, but refused to field the questions. So what was the point in me asking them?

"Alas, our time together must be short; time passes faster in your dreams than it does in real life. But we will meet again."

The golden Lycanroc snapped its fingers, and I found myself opening my eyes again. I had a pounding headache, not unlike how I'd imagine a hangover feels (although I'd never experienced one before.)

What was that? Arceus, that was...it was quite something.

Although my dream had certainly been notable, I tried not to think about it that much over the next few weeks. Life on campus could be quite demanding, especially once the work picked up, and I simply didn't want any unnecessary distractions.

Little did I know, however, that the thing I dreaded the most, what I had considered absolutely unthinkable since the moment I was bitten, would come to pass later that semester.