And now for a sidequest!

[Insert disclaimer here]

Chapter 10: Up

Honestly, I'd reached for yes as soon as the Pierre family had left.

[Quest Alert!]

A Hand Up: Help Louis Pierre catch a new pokémon to begin rebuilding his team.

Completion: 500 EXP, 5 great balls, €5000, +500 to [REL] with Kalos

Failure: 50 EXP

Accept? [Y]/[N]

The next morning had me facing down a completely different blond. And he wasn't happy with me at all.

"I thought we agreed that going places alone with people we don't know was a bad idea." Tierno was giving me a fairly impressive glare all things considered. I had just sprung my plans with the Pierre boy on him in the middle of breakfast.

"And that's why I'm telling you," I cajoled, "So I won't be alone. Look." I clenched my fists, thinking of what had happened to Louis Pierre. "This guy is our age. He just got his pokémon a few months ago. And he had the misfortune of running into Team Flare. Only he didn't get lucky like we did, Tierno. His friend is dead. And if they aren't already, his pokémon won't be far behind. He lost everyone, Tierno, his whole team. And I …" I stumbled, trying not to think of how badly I'd take it if I lost my pokémon on top of everything else right now. "That was almost us, Tierno," I warbled, "I'd want someone to help us, so I'm going to help him. Come with me, please?" I latched on to his upper arm, careful of his bandage, and gave him my best pleading expression. Luckily, Tierno crumpled easily.

"Safety in numbers?" he said, giving me a wan smile.

"Exactly," I grinned back, rolling up several crepes with jam for later and shouldering my bag. Tierno rolled his eyes, but stuffed the few scattered bits of his supplies in his backpack and followed me out, munching on the last of his croissant.

Honestly, I'd been hoping for Shauna. Of all the teens I'd been thrown in with, my fellow brunette was probably the easiest to get along with. Tierno was large and loud and liked to move suddenly, so no matter how sweet and well-meaning he was, and he really was, that was probably always going to startle me. Trevor was calm and intelligent, but incredibly shy. And Serena … well, my Relationship screen had put her firmly in the Friendly category, though the other 3 were nearly to Well Liked, but there was just something about her that put me on edge. She was clearly smart, capable, and confident … but also seemed a little arrogant and used to getting her way. I got the impression she was a little bit … spoiled was the only word I could really think of. Either way, she wasn't here now. Apparently, Serena had dragged Shauna off to shop for supplies and train. Trevor had taken a bus to Lumiose first thing this morning; his older sister had pretty much demanded him home the moment she'd heard what happened. Tierno had stuck around to let me know, as I was the last one up.

I made a point to enter my phone number into his cell and snagged everyone else's number while I was at it. I had no idea how we'd skipped exchanging numbers before, but text messages existed for a reason.

"So how did you meet him anyway?" Tierno asked as we shuffled down the street. So I had to explain about Jean and the scatterbug I'd given away. Tierno was a little incredulous that I'd simply given the insect away, but at least seemed mollified when I protested the idea ever charging a child for a pokémon. Especially for a bug I didn't really want and felt guilty for even catching. "And where are we meeting him for this?"

"The Trainer's School just off the Font du Rosé," I answered. "His mother teaches there and wanted me to come by before we went off."

The fountain wasn't that hard to find. It stood in a giant plaza off the biggest road in Santalune, Le Grande Rue de Santal, which bisected the South Boulevard a few kilometers from the Pokémon Center. The Santalune City gym was in its own wooded complex northeast of the plaza, taking up a whole block on its own, but it was on the same road as the school, which stood proudly at the northern border of the plaza. Well-to-do flats, cafés, and boutiques took up most of the remaining space around the fountain plaza, all with the same stately grey stone walls as Aquacorde but with deep green roofs instead of blue.

Entering the school, a secretary was quick to direct us to Madam Pierre's classroom. It was almost 9, the end of the first class, so we waited in the hall, peeking through the window on the door just long enough to wave to the woman. Soon enough, a gaggle of preteens poured out of the room.

"I am so glad you came!" she said sweetly when I introduced them to Tierno.

"I really appreciate this." Louis clasped Tierno's hand gingerly, and both boys looked at each other's bandages with a knowing grimace. "I don't know how long it would take for me to get another pokémon otherwise," he admitted with a brittle smile. "The rangers who brought me in said it could take months for the League to issue any reimbursements, because I have no actual proof that my pokémon are…" he trailed off, and his mother placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed before you set out," she explained, pulling a crate off a shelf by her desk. It held several pamphlets and bulky travel cases. "Do you know about status effects?" she asked.

"Ah," Tierno rubbed the back of his head, "That's more Trev's thing than mine."

"Another friend," I explained when Louis gave me a confused look. "He had to go see his family. I know a bit about pokémon getting poisoned or paralyzed in battle, but I'll take all the help I can get."

"These should be very helpful for you then," Mdm. Pierre smiled, giving all three of us a pile of pamphlets and a case each before going into full lecture mode. "Now, it's very important to approach status effects with proper caution. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you've given your pokémon a bit of medicine that the problem has gone away. If you look at poison, for example, there's a lot to consider. The first thing you must think about is dosage, or how much medicine to give your pokémon. Ask yourself, "How big is my pokémon?" and "How strong is the pokémon that poisoned it?" Bigger pokémon might be able to shrug off an attack from a less potent poison attack with only a small dose, whereas smaller pokémon or stronger poison attacks necessitate using more antivenom.

"And then you have to think about how the poison was administered. Did it soak in through the skin? Was it injected? Did your pokémon somehow eat it? Topical poisons are easily treated with the normal spray antidotes. But those antidotes work much more slowly on poison that's been injected or consumed. The bottled antidotes will work orally, but many pokémon dislike the taste and you will have trouble getting it in them that way. Berries work better for this, though if your pokémon's been bitten, you should combine oral medicine with topical treatments at the injection site. And always get your pokémon to the clinic as soon as possible."

She went on to explain how to treat other common ailments. A paralyze heal spray worked best if it was combined with a thorough rubdown with a carbon fiber brush that she showed us. And pokémon were more susceptible to being paralyzed again if they were re-exposed to electricity too soon. Confusion and sleep could actually be mitigated by simply calling to your pokémon, though the medicines available did help them retain focus. Commercial burn heals were apparently less effective than the traditional methods like aloe or rawst berry paste, but at least one of the medicines was necessary to treat the infections and blisters that often accompanied burns, as well as ensure the elasticity of the skin as it healed. And she cautioned us about using commercial ice heals on grass type pokémon, because the salt content in the medicine could be toxic if we weren't careful.

All in all, it was an exhausting lecture, and I was incredibly glad she pointed out where all the information was in the pamphlets, because I was cursing myself for not having a notebook. In the end, she pointed out each of the medicines that were in the pouch with the brush so we'd know what they were. Tierno was looking a bit wide-eyed by the time she was finished, and I was more than happy to see a tiny +1 WIS bubble pop up in my HUD, but Louis had definitely been through this lecture several times. He still tucked his pack away carefully and we all thanked his mother for the generous gift. I had the vague feeling of cut-scene again as she ushered us out, but the amount of medicinal supplies Mdm. Pierre had given us completely made up for it.

"Do you have bus passes?" Louis asked as he headed for a small glass pavilion just outside the school. Tierno did, but I had to shell out a few coins as we got on a city bus headed west. I could get one at Intermarché, according to Louis, and they worked on all public transit within Kalos including inter-city bus routes. "Though those are getting reduced soon," he grumbled.

We got off at Détourner Gate, at a thick wall at the eastern edge of the city. A few cars rumbled by, heading to another gate further north, but we headed out what had to be the original judging by the heavy wooden portcullis on display inside the stone barbicans. The paved walkway ended just outside the gate, giving way to a wide stamped path. A green sign just outside the wall read "Route 22- La Chemin Détourner 180 kilometers à Mont du League".

"The Santalune Forest is actually the best place to train and catch rare pokémon," Louis apologized. "Especially if you go further in. The forest runs all the way to the reserve in Auffrac-les-Congères. But the rangers have closed the forest road off right now, so Détourner is the next best thing. There's nothing worth catching on Route Parterre unless you get lucky enough to find un tarsal."

"A ralts, right?" I clarified. I didn't know much about the French names of pokémon, but I did remember getting frustrated trying to find one of the psychic types early in the game. Everything else on route 4 really was useless. "I think I remember route 22 had stuff like litleo and riolu. Guide book," I explained quickly at his raised eyebrow.

"Oui," he nodded, jaw firm. "If I am lucky." He didn't look too hopeful.

"We'll make it lucky," I promised.

"Is that what you want to try to catch?" Tierno asked, starting to warm up to the other boy.

"That or a psyduck," Louis said. "They are a little silly, but the typing is good. Especially when they evolve."

"Why not all three?" I grinned, wider when he gave me a startled look. "We've got all day. More even, if you really want to. My gym battle isn't until Thursday."

Louis was quiet for a long moment. "You are very generous."

I shrugged off the compliment with a mild blush. "We'll be looking around for a while anyway. I think there are marill here too."

Louis agreed, though they would be by the river, which was quite a ways from the city along the southern fork. "Almost to the Valley Gate," he mused. "To stop trainers from going into the Central Mountains unless they are qualified." Because apparently the pokémon to the east of the range were much more dangerous, and the League restricted foot travel where they could.

The north fork of Détourner Way was much flatter, looping almost up to a place called Odyssey Village, and was a popular place for younger trainers like us to have pokémon battles. The southern fork jutted right up into the lower mountains, and was a much harder trek. About an hour in, I was doing alright, having lost only 3 ED to a few patches of particularly rough terrain, but both Tierno and Louis were breathing heavy. Tierno was rubbing his hand with a frown and Louis was limping slightly on his left leg, and I could see more bandages under his shorts when he went to massage it. I immediately called for a time out.

"You should have said something," I chastised, as I rummaged through his bag for a travel icepack he swore he'd brought. I handed it to him with a reproving frown. "We could have taken the northern fork."

"And spent all day fending off trainers who still have their teams," Louis disagreed, with a hurt snap in his voice.

I shook my head at Tierno when he looked ready to scold Louis for his tone. The guy had lost five pokémon and was stuck relying on younger trainers to help him get back on his feet because the League wasn't doing anything for some reason. He had a lot to be angry about. And honestly … I could empathize. I still had a lot to be angry about too, but helping Louis was already giving me a new focus. Sometimes, the best way to solve your problems really was to help someone else with theirs.

Looking around, I could see that we were a pretty good distance up into the foothills, with rough woods packed densely on either side of the path. It was a welcome change from the manicured path of Santalune Forest and reminded me much more of home.

"So how do you want to do this?" I asked Louis. "Do you want me to do the battling and you the catching, or do you think you want to try battling with one of my pokémon?"

"You brought pokéballs right?" Tierno added in, rummaging through his bag to fish a few out.

"I did," Louis answered him, declining the offered capture devices. "And …" he turned to me. "Would your pokémon listen to me? I do not want to simply drag behind your own battles but…"

"Loxley will," I assured him, releasing my fennekin from his ball and skritching his huge ears, enjoying the warm steam pouring out of them in the cool mountain air. A quick introduction was all it took for Loxley to obediently sit beside Louis, who gingerly pet him while holding the icepack to his leg. He was only mildly distracted, puffing up and yipping proudly, when I released Zen. Tierno and Louis both spluttered at the sight.

"You have two fennekin?" Louis gasped, while Tierno just gaped at the pair of yellow foxes.

"Nope," I giggled, as Zen squeaked at the sight of the two boys and scrambled into my vest. "She's not a fennekin."

Tierno gave me an incredulous look but Louis' eyes lit up in understanding when Zen quickly lapped my cheek, the still black tongue giving her identity away. "A zorua?" he breathed.

I nodded. "I think she got pushed out of her den by whatever Team Flare did. She was hiding with a bunch of gothita. I thought she was one when I caught her."

"That's what you guys caught before we ran from les desséliandes?" Tierno asked, making Louis' head whip in his direction. We had to explain what had happened in the forest, about the pan-trio horde, Team Flare, and the trevenant, to our shocked companion.

"You are all stupidly lucky," he said finally, eyeing Zen's still yellow head as she peeped out from my vest. "A female zorua … Team Flare must have really messed up in Santalune Forest to have pushed one so far west. No wonder the rangers have closed it off." He palmed the icepack, no longer cold, and eased back upright. Loxley surprised him by leaping up, but Louis caught him easily enough and my starter grinned as he made himself comfortable on the boy's shoulder. "He is used to being pampered, I think," Louis teased me before giving Loxley a good look. "He looks close to evolution."

"He's perfectly strong," I agreed, grinning despite the reminder of the level cap I was currently under. We continued up the path a few more kilometers before the forest opened up into a decent sized meadow with an assorted mix of plants nearly as high as my shoulder and white and yellow flowers just beginning to blossom. Large pines were packed around the edges, but the scent of water wafted in from over a rocky ledge a few hundred meters and the whole thing looked promising. Letting Louis take the lead, we wandered into the tall grass. We only got a few meters in before a small group of bidoof charged out of the foliage grunting loudly.

"Have you ever been in a double battle?" Louis asked as he rolled his shoulder to send Loxley down. My starter obliged, landing nimbly on his feet and taking a moment to slurp up a few bits of twigs.

"Teach me oh wise one," I grinned as I set Zen on the ground as well. She hissed at the largest bidoof trying to intimidate Loxley, and spat imaginary fire at it as a distraction. With Louis' help, I coaxed the little zorua into using captivate on the horde. Lowering their special attack did little, as the bidoof were such low levels that they really only knew physical attacks, but captivate had the added benefit of thoroughly distracting the four males in the bunch. Zen danced between them, chortling as they puffed up and stomped the ground loudly, only to turn once she was behind them and pounce with a vicious black aura. One fell immediately under the dark attack while a second reared back trying to shake off the mental effects of captivate. A third managed to butt Zen in the head just hard enough to disrupt her illusion, but the little black fox just batted her eyes at the rodents again. Once back under the influence of captivate, the two bidoof quickly fell to Zen's fangs. Louis had Loxley use his flame wheel to flank the last of the wild Pokémon, herding them back to Zen. I quietly praised the little fox as she scared off the final bidoof. An alert came up, showing she'd leveled up her Pursuit attack, and her progress bar stopped just shy of level 12.

"That was really cool!" Tierno cheered suddenly. I winced at the sudden volume and Louis had to shush him before he scared off any other pokémon that might be around. He did agree to do the next battle with Tierno though, and I watched the two boys square off against a large bunnelby. A series of ember and bubble attacks had the grey rabbit exceedingly unhappy, and it rounded on Tierno's corphish with a brutal double-slap from its ears, the little lobster gurgling under the heavy blows. Louis had just palmed a pokéball, and ordered Loxley into another flame charge, when the large rabbit pokémon suddenly turned tail and ran. Both boys groaned in frustration, and Louis shoved the pokéball back in his pocket with a glare in the rabbit's direction. I tossed Tierno a potion for his corphish and we moved further into the meadow. A few more bidoof charged us, but all of them ran at the first blast of an elemental attack, scurrying into burrows and left us all disappointed at the lackluster encounters.

"I need a pokémon that will fight!" Louis groaned, rubbing his shoulder after chasing off another bidoof.

As if summoned, a chorus of snarls echoed around us and a circle of litleo stalked out of the grass to surround us. Tierno gulped at the growling fire types and released his corphish again. Zen hissed, dark fur rising at the sight of so many enemies, but she stood her ground in front of me. I wished I could summon my staff, but didn't want to deal with questions caused by the sudden appearance of the weapon. Still I scanned the ring of lions, levels 5-7, and gasped in surprise.

"Louis!" I reached around to tug the boy's sleeve. "That one's male!"

The older boy took a sharp breath, zeroing in on the litleo I'd pointed out. Males were just as rare for litleo as females were for zorua or eevee, and extremely impressive once they evolved. From the gleam in his eye, I knew Louis was determined to catch it. If I hadn't already had a fire pokémon of my own, I might have been tempted myself. As if sensing our intent, the male litleo roared ferociously for such a little pokémon, and the entire group leapt at the same time. Loxley took the male head-on wrestling and yowling as they traded bites and scratches. Zen was quick to use Pursuit again and again as I danced around a pair of females, kicking the little lionesses when I had the chance. One fled with her sisters, who'd been barraged with bubbles from Tierno's corphish. The other I slammed with a pokéball of my own, and it barely shook once it was sucked inside. I decided I'd trade it for something later and turned back to Louis' battle. Loxley's higher level had quickly overtaken the little litleo, and Louis had the shaking ball pinned underneath him while he swore in Kalais. I pulled a second pokéball from his bag just in case and waited as the ball continued to rattle underneath the determined blond. Tierno and I held our breath. Five seconds, ten… the ball gave one last, desperate rumble before falling still under Louis' weight.

"I caught it," he whispered, and prinpricks of tears threatened the edges of his eyes as he pulled himself up and stared at the ball. I smiled at him and dropped the extra ball back in his bag.

Smiling at the older boy, Tierno pulled his own pack back up his shoulder. "How about we break for lunch?" he joked. Louis broke into hysterical laughter and the tears finally fell freely. Nodding at Tierno, I helped him haul Louis all the way up and we pulled him to some rocks to sit down as the stress finally rolled off his body.

XYXYXY

"Fuegneur, flammèche!"

"Tobio, gust!"

I grinned as Tobio blew the litleo's ember attack back in its face and it tumbled it off its feet. Louis' new pokémon was stubborn; it had taken quite a few puffs of ember from Loxley and tons of cajoling and treats from Louis to convince the feisty lion cub to listen to his new trainer. But a new spark of intelligence gleamed from the little cat's eyes as it drank in a solemn oath from Louis to become stronger than ever before and it had raised its chin to puff a flare of agreement in the end. Now Louis was running him hard, pitting the lion against my team and wild pokémon alike for almost two hours after we'd sat down for a quick lunch. Tierno had worried that the little lion might get frustrated, but Louis had assured him that was the point.

"Predators such as hélionceau respect power most of all," Louis explained. "Show them you are strong, and that you can make them strong, and they will follow."

It was an odd philosophy for me to wrap my head around, but it made a certain amount of sense in the face of highly intelligent carnivores that could wield powerful elemental forces on a whim. And it certainly seemed to be working. Louis' litleo, now dubbed Feugneur, yowled in fury as he clawed his way upright. Getting beat by a bird was clearly grating on his pride, though it had done wonders for Tobio's levelling. My pidgey had hit the level cap a while ago and now perched proudly on my shoulder, feathery crest wide with bits of orange starting to show. I didn't think he'd be able to evolve before I managed to get my first badge, but he was definitely ready. I watched as Louis praised his own pokémon, offering a type of jerky treat as a reward for the litleo's hard work. Considering Fuegneur had gone from level 7 to level 10 in just a few hours, it was well deserved.

"Do you want to try finding more pokémon?" Louis asked me after he recalled his litleo.

"Absolutely," I answered, looking over the cliff to the rapids below. "I could really use a water type on my team. And you said you wanted a psyduck, right?"

"Yes," he agreed. "Though we will need to head further up if we want to find a calmer stretch of river."

"I could stand to find something too," Tierno chimed in.

Louis' knowledge of the area was beyond invaluable, as he guided us around another popular picnic area crawling with trainers, and we made our way east up the mountains.

"Valley Gate has a small rest stop for trainers," Louis promised. "Late night and early morning are the best times to find pokémon by the river, but…"

"Let's not be out after dark if we can help it," Tierno shuddered, clearly remembering the trevenant, and we all agreed that staying the night at the gatehouse would be best.

The rest stop had just become visible through a clearing in the trees when a blue blur dashed out from the forest to slam into Zen's side. I screamed in alarm, rushing to my pokémon, who'd finally had the courage to trot ahead, and goal kicking the blue monster on top of her with all my might.

"Fuegneur, tackle it!" Louis commanded, releasing the litleo again. A snarl of approval had the lion rushing forward as I plucked up my yowling zorua, and a pokéball followed soon after, hitting the attacking pokémon just after the litleo did. Louis darted forward, scooping up the pokéball and holding it tight against his chest as it rocked back and forth. I handed over my pokédex as it finally stopped moving, and grinned at the displayed information.

"Riolu, the emanation pokémon. It uses its aura to share its emotions, communicating with its companions. It can use this ability to warn others of danger. Usually found in mountains, riolu are almost always male. This riolu is male, level 6. It knows foresight, quick attack, endure, counter, and agility."

"Looks like you got lucky after all," I grinned at him. Louis returned it with a sharp smirk of his own. I had to blink and fight down the urge to blush. 'Oh,' I thought in my head, 'oh, no. Bad brain, down!' Why? Why did smirking suddenly make Louis that much more attractive? What was wrong with my damn head? First Oscar and now this? I was never this boy crazy before. Taking a deep sigh to ground myself, I chalked it up to teenage hormones and put it firmly out of my mind. Plucking up Zen so the little fox could hide in my vest again, I turned to follow my companions up the path.

It was only another ten minutes before we were at the Valley Gate outpost. Louis quickly assured the guard that we weren't going any further into the Central Mountains, just staying the night, and we were directed to a small lounge area with a closet full of foldout cots. It was almost seven, but we were literally the only people in the lounge.

"There's no curfew up here," Louis offered, when Tierno instantly collapsed on the single sofa. "And this place is almost always empty unless it's October. It's still light outside, and we could try the river if you like."

"I would like that," I nodded as I tossed my bag on the sofa next to Tierno. "But it is gonna have to wait a minute. I will be right back." And I shuffle-dashed to the restroom without an iota of shame.

XYXYXY

Tierno chose to remain at the gate's lounge. And by chose, I mean he was sawing logs by the time I was out of the bathroom. Shaking my head with a rueful smile, I gingerly lifted my bag back up and plucked out my phone. I shot Tierno a quick text message about leaving, and stifled my giggles when he slept right through the alert. Louis and I paused at a set of vending machines, getting lemonade and some jerky and crackers as a substitute for dinner. I poured the lemonade into my water bottle and chucked the can in the recycling bin. Louis raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and followed suit.

"At least you're not going to litter," he said.

"I hate people who do that," I grouched. "People who have no respect for nature should stay out of it entirely."

"They should," Louis agreed, "but they never do."

We joked about clueless, entitled rich kids on our way out to the riverbank. I really only had stories from back home. It took a minute to reframe some of them for my current age, but Louis was properly aghast at my tale of a girl who called in sick the morning of her finals through an email thinking that the professor would just let her retake it whenever she wanted. Since this was from when I was in college, I had to pretend it was from fancy prep school instead. Louis was horrified, and agreed that if someone tried that on his mother she'd fail them in a heartbeat. He had some absolute doozies about snotty trainers thinking they could buy whatever pokémon they fancied, including one about a young woman who threw a tantrum worthy of a toddler when he wouldn't sell her the spritzee he'd had. Talking about his old team drew him into a bit of a funk though, and we stood by the water for several minutes as he worked through it.

"I truly am grateful for this," he reiterated. "You've done more than simply help me get a new pokémon, you know. As I said this morning, litleo … riolu… they are hard to find on Détourner. And you've let me capture both of them."

"The riolu was all you," I countered.

"I seem to remember a football kick from someone," he countered, and his amusement pulled him a little further out of his bad mood. "But the litleo, especially when you pointed out 'ze male... You did not have to do that. And I would not have the riolu without him."

I shrugged, kind of embarrassed at the thanks. "I meant it when I said I'd help, you know. And I don't really need another fire type of my own." A frown was aimed at the very conspicuous fifth ball in my bag's front pocket. "I'll probably try and trade my litleo for something else when we get back to Santalune. Do you know how to access the GTS?" I asked, hoping it was still a thing here.

It was, thankfully, and Louis agreed to walk me through it once we were back in town. For now, we wandered along the bank. The gatehouse was situated on a fairly flat stretch of ground, and the river was calm for about 200 meters between the rapids up and downhill from us. Louis warned that even the deeper water still had a strong current, but as I wasn't stupid enough to go into a mountain stream in March it was rather a moot point. At least Louis finally laughed when I told him that. We prowled the edge of the water several times before I let Delacour out to scare up anything he could find. I felt bad at Louis' sudden heartbroken look as he watched my fletchling dart around. But he shook himself after a minute, and offered hoarse praise for the little bird, so I didn't offer to recall him. Louis would have to face that pain eventually. Gulping, I stared out at the water, knowing I would too.

To Anti-Akuma: That is EXACTLY why the French is here. XD I spent several years overseas and not being able to understand what was going on despite all my efforts was the most annoying thing... It will come and go, but yes, it serves mostly to frustrate the MC. Sometimes it's simple enough to understand, but serves as a reminder that she's not a native to Kalos.

To DodemGM: The French do no worse than what I've seen in the US and other countries, honestly. There are plenty of people with a global mindset who love to see others be interested in their culture ... and then you have a bunch of people who are all very "Us First! Everyone else never!" and there are lots of nuanced reasons the attitude persists. I'll probably do a terrible job showcasing it and it will all be very confusing. Mostly because I don't understand it myself and yet it's there...

The whole game is supposed to be one giant mind trip for me. I'm having fun making a mess of it. :)

And yes, Loxley and Zen ARE the cutest and I will have them out way too much. Note to self, allow other pokemon screen time...

To yochan123: I only stalk AO3, sorry ^_^*