Wade sighed as he settled the first book he picked up, it took him way longer than he'd thought it would to read it. The small clock, which was a part of the TV, told him that it was 2:30PM. Houndour had found the TV show to be boring after an hour, he figured out that Houndoom was apparently one of the bad guys, and stopped watching it. He shortly joined his trainer after he decided to ignore the television(Houndour didn't know how to work the remote). So the two had been sitting, practically since they woke up, just reading the book.
Much to Houndour's displeasure, the book talked about how untrustworthy the Houndour line was! What did his kind ever do to gather such a bad reputation? He would've burnt the book had Wade told him not to, which still seemed super tempting… "I know bud, this is slander, but this is Professor Juniper's book. When I get paid, I can get you a copy just so you can burn it, how does that sound? Wade offered. Luckily, it was enough to satisfy the canine's anger, and enough to keep him from flaming the book.
On the bright side, the book did have good insight on what moves the Houndour line could learn(naturally or with a Technical Machine, T.M for short), suggested diets, training regiments, and even the best spots to scratch. Houndour was more than a willing test subject for the last one. Needless to say, Wade knew that he was going to be spoiling the hell out of Houndour sooner or later. As it turned out, Houndour, and most pokemon with a similar canine-like build, could eat pretty much whatever. There were small preferences here and there, but Wade was just happy to know that he wouldn't be feeding something poisonous to his pokemon by accident.
"Y'know, we've been cooped up in this room pretty much all day, and I want a break from reading. We're basically waiting on White's birthday in a few weeks so… wanna go out on a walk?" Wade asked. Much to his surprise, Houndour got just as excited by that question as a regular old dog would… but with much more energy than a dog. Houndour jumped up on the bed, off a wall, and almost struck his head on the ceiling when the question was asked. "Jeez, alright, I got the message. Walks are a huge yes for passing the time…"
The two stepped out of their room, Wade figured he wouldn't need a leesh, and didn't have one anyways. So the two began making their way down the hallway towards the lobby, without Professor Juniper, the two would've gotten lost. Luckily their host was kind enough to leave signs that pointed towards where the lobby was, so getting lost wasn't the issue. What was the issue was Professor Juniper stepping out in her pajamas in the room next to where White and Bianca were sleeping. Wade stopped himself from walking into her, but that didn't stop from scaring her awake.
"Why are you getting up so late?" Wade asked. "Because usually, where I'm from at least, we usually don't wake up at 2:00PM." Professor Juniper began to look a bit sheepish, she wasn't expecting anybody to be leaving their rooms this late… her hair's a mess, she's dressed in her Emolga onesie for crying out loud! She scratched the back of her head before sighing.
"Okay… so after learning of your… unexpected origins, as well as Houndour's odd birth, I began to read up on the Multiple Universe Theory. There are some theories where there are worlds like ours, but without Mega Evolution, some like yours with a lack of Pokemon! Oh, and this really cool theory is that each universe is linked and…" she paused as she realized she was rambling. She giggled and regained her composure. "In other words, I was up all night… I couldn't find out why, of all places, you ended up here, or how Houndour came to be… but I do now know a really basic understanding of the Multiple Universe Theory."
Professor Juniper then put her hands on her hips and grinned. "So, why are you getting up so late? Were you pulling an all nighter like me or…"
"Oh, I was reading one of the books you left in my room… Houndour might've wanted to burn it," Wade said. "Turns out that book, as helpful as it was, was also pretty slanderish towards the species in a lot of aspects. Houndour are apparently pretty short tempered, evil, untrustable, and what have you. For all we know, Houndour can be just as loyal as a Ninetales, but that book says otherwise. Meanwhile, Houndour saved me from getting mauled by a god damned Pidgey, and is pretty friendly. Even if he did try to take my hand off when we first met him."
Houndour then nipped Wade's hand. "Hey, I can't blame ya for that. You pretty much pop into existence, and then have some dumbass immediately try to pet you," the young man chuckled. Houndour got up on his hindlegs and nuzzled the hand he just nipped. The two remained in silence until Juniper cleared her throat.
"Wade, that book has what it does in it for good reason. Hold on," Professor Juniper stepped back in her room and came out a minute later. Now, instead of the Emolga onesie, she was more formally dressed for scientists. In other words, Wade thought she just quickly put her clothes on from last night because it was the first set of clothes she could grab. "C'mon, let's go into the computer room, there's quite a few videos that I want you to watch… because I think your Houndour might be an exception."
Wade and Houndour looked at each other for a second before following the professor down the same hall that led into the dining room, only to take a right turn. They stopped in front of the first room and followed her inside. For what should've been awe-inspiring, was actually more akinned to a high school computer lab. A row of desks with, admittedly expensive looking, computers from a brand that Wade didn't recognize. Even if Wade's knowledge on computers came down to 'Dell will brick itself, and Apple products cost too much.'
Next to a window sat a nicer computer than the rest, that turned out to be Juniper's personal computer. Why it was in a computer room, where anybody could walk in and steal it, Wade wasn't sure. "Pull up a chair, we're going to be sitting here for a while," Professor Juniper said, she very quickly typed in her computer's password and had the video player open by the time Wade pulled a chair up. Houndour hopped into his trainer's lap, awaiting to see what was about to be played.
Houndour sat in extreme interest, the main subjects of the video were usually Houndoom or Houndour. From the… extremity of the species' hunting methods, which usually involved them hunting their prey down and eating them alive, to behavioral patterns. Houndour shivered at the thought of being eaten alive, there was no way he could imagine eating another creature without putting them out of their misery. Nobody deserves to feel such pain.
The next clips caught his attention again, where a Houndoom that was clearly covered in week old bruises, turned around and fired at her trainer. He barked and nudged Wade and pointed a paw at the Houndoom. "What is it bud?" Wade asked. "Hey Professor, is it just the potato quality, or can I count the ribs? Like not just the rib-like structures, but its actual rib cage?" He asked. The Houndoom, while bruised in Houndour's eyes, was very thin. Houndour got another look and could genuinely count the ridges of a spinal cord along Houndoom's back. She was either poorly fed, or deprived of food.
Professor Juniper nodded. "Nobody really… thought about the condition that the Houndoom was in. Everyone was more in shock that she was attacking her trainer, but this is the only Houndoom attack that could be explained by something else. I think that Houndoom is now some child's pet. And the trainer is behind bars for poor treatment of, just not the Houndoom, but his entire team. Other than that…" the screen flashed to a healthy Houndoom turning around and using what looked like Bite on their trainer.
"Before you ask, that was Crunch. The footage cut off before the rest of the attack could play out, but Houndoom was killed shortly afterwards… his trainer was a mangled corpse by the time anybody stopped him," Professor Juniper explained. Houndour just sat in shock, he personally couldn't see anything wrong with the Houndoom, so he now knew that attack came out of nowhere. Clip after clip of perfectly healthy Houndoom attacking their trainers before Wade got up and actually shut the monitor off.
"Alright, I get it. Some of Houndoom's prejudices are valid… but all of those were Houndoom clips. What about Houndour?" Wade asked. "Well, we don't really have much in regards to Houndour attacks. In fact, all of those clips were from tournaments on professional levels, in League Conferences, to other events where strong trainers compete… no Houndoom attacks outside of those. In fact, there was a case of a Houndoom watching over some girl's Togepi until it could reunite the girl with her Togepi," Juniper explained.
"And I'm not going to be taking part in any of that shit. If I end up building a team, when I'm not even allowed to use my ace? Fuck that. Just ignoring not being able to fight with my Houndour at my side, it all just seems stressful. Having your worth be proven by eight pieces of metal, to having that much attention on your failures? God, to imagine that 10 year-olds are going through the gym challenge just floors me… I could never handle something like that at their age… I couldn't imagine doing that now."
Wade sighed as he realized his pokemon hadn't moved. "Hey Houndour, are you alright?" Houndour jumped when he felt a hand pat him on the back. "We aren't going to be letting this get us down, right? We got a whole region to explore, places to see. So what if people think you'll snap at any moment?" Wade paused as he realized how bad that sounded. "Well, ignoring how bad that sounded, you shouldn't let that get you down, or fear evolving. No matter what, you're gonna be my best friend, alright?" Houndour just nodded and smiled. If his trainer approved of him, what else mattered?
"Great. Now my emotional well being is solely based on if you approve of me. Here I was, expecting to spend the rest of my life hating you, but… I'm glad that I didn't," Houndour said.
"Well… you don't have to partake in the Gym Challenge. That wasn't a part of our deal for your employment… so I have an idea for what you can do," Professor Juniper added. "You and Houndour can travel as usual with White and her friends, but once Houndour evolves, make note of any changes in his personality. And once Houndour does evolve, let me know, and I'll send you two a little present that I think you both could benefit from."
Wade nodded. "Gotcha, anything else?" Wade asked. "Well, just keep memos for me with this," Professor Juniper handed him a Pokedex. "This has a built-in microphone and recorder. I also went ahead and also tied it to your ID, so don't lose it! You just record a memo and send them to me whenever you get the chance… which can really only be done at a Pokemon Center, you do know what that is, right?"
Wade nodded. "A building with a reddish, orange roof," he answered.
"And I'd assume these games you mentioned also taught you how to catch a pokemon?" Juniper asked. 'I need you to explain to me what these things are about.'
"Yeah, fight them, throw a pokeball. or I can capture a pokemon because it wants to come with me. I… will probably screw up throwing the pokeball, since I'm used to messing up pretty basic stuff," Wade answered.
"Well, you've got the jist of being a trainer, not a lab trainer like White, Cheren, and Bianca, but a trainer nonetheless," Juniper noticed the confused look on his face. "A Lab Trainer are trainers that go out, help people, take on Gym Challenge, and win tournaments. For every tournament they win, they make my lab look good, which gets me more funding and more slots for lab trainers. Luckily my lab's been around for awhile under my dad's name, and all the perks stuck around. Since you said you don't plan on being a Gym Challenger because of how stressful it sounds, I'd assume you don't want to be a Lab Trainer either, since that can also get a little… tense. Just know that, if you change your mind, you can be a Lab Trainer in a heartbeat," she explained.
"Ah, that's… way more in depth than the games. In those, you just give a letter to your 'mom' and fuck off. Well, me and Houndour are gonna go on a walk. That's what we were gonna do until we got a bit sidetracked with… all of this," Wade gestured towards the computer and the professor.
"Why did you gesture at me to?" Professor Juniper asked.
Houndour let out a sly whistle, much to Wade's surprise. He looked slyly at his trainer and back at the professor. "No Houndour, we are not going to go there today," Wade said. His cheeks were starting to turn red as Houndour kept shooting looks at the Professor in a suggestive way.
"Go where?" Professor Juniper asked.
"Nowhere! Anyways, we gotta go, b-buh-bye!" Wade plucked Houndour up and off of the ground, and walked out the computer rook before Juniper could say anything or ask any more questions. "Are you trying to get me killed, bud?" Wade whispered as soon as they stepped out of the lab. The canine began to snicker at his trainer's expense. "Alright, I'm gonna make you eat a… fuck, you'd probably just like that," Wade sighed in defeat.
"Well, I can't make you eat a jalapeno… if that even exists, so instead I'm gonna make you eat a coffee bean." At the prospect of food, Houndouur's ears perked, but was quickly forgotten as he and his trainer began to wander around Nuvema town. There was really no rhyme or reason to it, just turning right, and right, and right again. Some window shopping later, and Wade was in the town square where a crowd had formed. Houndour began to trot towards the crowd and his trainer followed closely behind him.
"Pokemon are living beings as well, and they are our equals! And they can only become our equals if we make trainers release their pokemon. Join us, Team Plasma on our quest to bring forth a new age. A new age where pokemon and humans are equals, not one where pokemon are nothing but mere slaves to their owners! Hail to the King!" People in the crowd then started to disperse while sending up a storm of whispers. Save for one guy.
"Odd… I swore that Team Plasma was introduced in… Accumula Town? Why the fuck are they in…" Wade shut his jaw as he was approached by the one guy who remained after the speech from Team Plasma. He was a tall, slender man with pale skin. He wore a baseball cap, with waist long hair in a ponytail. He wore a white, long sleeve shirt and tan, longpants. Wade immediately recognized the man as N, who apparently had a much longer name that Wade couldn't remember at all.
"Interesting… I've… never seen a Houndour before," N said before reaching out to pet the canine. Much to the stranger's surprise, Houndour bared his fangs and almost snarled, but stopped when Wade rubbed his cheek. "That is amazing. I've never seen somebody calm down a pokemon so quickly. You two must have known each other for years," N said. At least, that's what Wade said. N was speaking a little too fast for his tastes.
"Uh… you can say that. Houndour just doesn't like getting petted by anybody that isn't me," Wade explained. "Ain't that right bud, you're picky about who's giving you a back massage! That's right, you are!" Wade grinned as Houndour took to being babied better than he'd expected. In fact, Houndour was reveling in it. The dog's tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth, and rolled on his back to recieve a belly rub which was so happily given.
N simply smiled at the two's interaction. "So, how about a battle? It'll-" he got cut off when Wade delivered a quick 'no' and he nodded.
"I ain't gonna have my Houndour fight anybody for the time being… I don't want him getting hurt. I know he could probably take a beating, but I couldn't handle seeing him take a beating. So good day, my good sir," Wade began to walk away, Houndour beside him. The latter seemed to try getting his trainer to give chase. Soon after, the trainer was chasing his pokemon down the sidewalk.
Wade had entirely forgotten about his encounter with N by the time he caught Houndour.