Chapter 3: Old Habits Die Hard

August 14, 2020, Alola Region

It was a beautiful morning in the Alola Region with average temperature and a soft breeze. Humans, pokémon, and anthros were out and about, doing what they needed to do and being productive and enjoying the perfect day, except for one lazy Luxray and a very tired Umbreon who needed sleep. It was getting close to 11:00 and James was still in his bed, fiddling with his phone. He heard a knock at his door. He lazily got off his bed with a groan and went over to his bedroom door. He opened it to see his father in the hallway holding something.

"Mornin' sport!" John said to his son.

James only let out a tired sigh. Not because he was tired, but because he didn't want to do anything other than play the new game he bought, and he wasn't looking forward to whatever his father wanted him to do. "Hey dad." James said, feigning sleepiness.

His dad chuckled. "Oh don't be such a downer. Besides, I have something special for you to do today!." John said enthusiastically.

"And that is?"

"You are going to give our guest a tour of the city." The blue Luxray said to his son.

James' attitude did a complete 180 when he heard those words. He thanked his dad, immediately went back into his room, and started getting ready for the day. He put on what could only be described as generic. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans with a brown belt, a pair of black sneakers, and a brown leather jacket. He looked at himself in the mirror and fixed his ruffled fur to look presentable. After he got himself ready he went over to Chase's door and opened it. James peered inside the room and found it dark. He saw the silhouette of his new friend under the bed sheets. The Luxray checked the time on his phone.

"Jeez. 11:03 am? He must've really needed this." James muttered to himself. He looked at Chase again and decided to ease his friend out of sleep instead of making it sudden, as he had learned the hard way that the Umbreon didn't like surprises.

James opened the curtains to let in a little bit of light while he gently prodded Chase out of his slumber. Said Umbreon stirred from his sleep immediately. His eyes bolted open and he jumped out of his bed in a frenzy, panting heavily, as if he was ready to kill.

"Whoa! Easy Chase! You're alright. You're still here in the house."

He looked at James before calming down and sitting on the bed, letting his heart rate settle before clutching his head in his hands. "Sorry..."

James sat next to him and pat him on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You only got here yesterday. Frankly I'd be quite concerned if you didn't still have that fight-or-flight response."

Chase nodded and thanked him. James stood up and opened the closet, throwing him a pair of black jeans and boots. "You should get dressed. I'm gonna be your tour guide for today. We're going to get breakfast out and hit the city square. From there, it's your choice."

Chase caught the clothes that were thrown at him and stood up, "Got it. I'll be out in a minute. Just gotta take care of something."

James nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Chase alone with his stuff. He eyed the rifle that was poking out of his bag, and brushed off the idea of bringing it with him. If he did, he would have been arrested. Instead, he took off the bayonet and put it in a holster on his belt. He then started getting dressed. He put on the clothes that James gave him, including a white shirt. He put them on, and set his gauntlet on a little table. He reached into his bag and grabbed out a tool kit that he brought with him. He brought the tools over, and went to work, tinkering with his device. All he really had to do was strip it of what made it desirable, and render it down to a storage unit for VEGA. After around fifteen minutes, the Umbreon had finished his modifications and looked at a device that more resembled a large watch but with no dial to indicate that it was one. It only had an indent on the top of it for the holographic display of VEGA to appear. Chase powered on the watch and said AI appeared as a holographic model of an Absol in its mega evolution wearing normal office wear. Grey suit, white undershirt, blue tie, grey pants, and black dress shoes.

"Good morning Dr. Gardner. I hope you've had a pleasant evening." VEGA greeted his creator with a visible smile on his digital face.

"I told you to stop calling me that, VEGA. I'm not a scientist."

"But you did solve your father's code cipher that brought me online. I'd say that earns you the title." He looked at chase with slight smugness.

"Fine, fine. But I don't like that name. It's too informal. Just call me chase, please." He put the remains from the gauntlet into his bag. He didn't want to scrap it all. He might need them later.

"I will, Chase. Would you like to know the weather forecast for today?"

"Hit me with it."

"It is currently an exquisite 65 degrees today with a small breeze. There are no signs of overcast skies today." VEGA chirped.

"Chase nodded and was about to put the watch on until he heard a voice behind him.

"What's that?"

Chase whipped around and nearly hit James on his muzzle. He took a step back and tried to hide the device while VEGA retreated into the its mainframe. The dark type decided that there was no point in hiding it and stood aside, revealing the watch.

"James, this is what's left of the gauntlet you saw me wearing yesterday. I told you it was a storage unit, but I never told you what was stored inside. VEGA. You can come out."

As soon as he said that, VEGA emerged onto the display and looked at the Luxray next to his creator.

"Hello. I am VEGA. The sentient AI create by Dr. Gardner to assist his scientific endeavors. After his passing, it has been my responsibility to ensure the safety of Chase and His allies. It is a pleasure to meet you, James."

This revelation sent James reeling. AI was only a thing of fiction right? Like in those cheesy space shows. "What?! You have an Artificial Intelligence right in the palm of your hand?!"

Chase shut him up by covering his mouth. "Not so loud! I kept him secret for a reason!"

This got James to calm down. "Right, right. As if there aren't enough grim ramifications already. So, what now? What about all of the other tech stuff you used to get here?"

He pointed to his bag. "it's all in there. It might be useful later so I'm not gonna scrap it."

James nodded and pulled Chase along down the hall. "We should be heading out whenever you're ready. Just come downstairs and we can get going."

Chase nodded and was about to go down the stairs until the luxray pulled him back.

"I just remembered. The breeze is going to make it a little cooler today. You might want a jacket. Follow me." James then motioned for Chase to follow and entered his room. The umbreon followed without pause. Upon entering, he saw what could only be described as a museum. James's room was clean and bright, with pictures and posters lining the walls, and shelves holding different trinkets and the paint on the walls, which was unironically a combination of black and gold in a sort of striped pattern, was starting to scratch off with age and the metal stands and wood frames of the various pictures and collectibles looked worn down too. The room somehow looked both pristine and lived in. James started rummaging through his closet looking for something suitable for the Umbreon in the room with him. Eventually, he found two old black leather jackets. One with silver accents, and one with gold accents.

The electric type held the jackets up in front of his friend. "I don't know your preference, and these are the only other jackets I have. Pick one."

Chase looked at both jackets and stroked his chin. The one with gold accents looked cool, but it didn't seem to call out to him as much as the silver one did. Eventually he chose the silver jacket and put it on. The accents perfectly matched his white rings and made him presentable. James whistled, as he wasn't expecting Chase to look that good in a Jacket that he didn't like. Said Umbreon turned around to give the jacket a full display.

"As much as this seems to fit me, I'm gonna have to give you this by the end of today." he said.

"Nonsense. I never liked either of the jackets that I let you choose. You can keep that one. It suits you better than me." James said with a smile.

Chase said nothing as he adjusted his new jacket. He only nodded in response. What reassured James though was the genuine smile on his friend's face. Chase put the thin gauntlet on his left arm. They both walked out of the room and down the stairs, where they saw John and Linda sitting on the couch, watching some kind of show that neither of them recognized. James told his parents that they were going and they exited the house.

"Alright." James started. "What should e do first? Oh! I know! How about we get a bite to eat. I know a place close to here that's killer!"

The two were walking along the sidewalk of one of the streets heading away from the restaurant they had just ate at. For James it was the norm, But for Chase, saying that he liked it would be the biggest understatement in the history of understatements. He will definitely be going there a lot more often. The duo were walking down the sidewalk on their way to their first destination.

The square was bustling with humans, pokémon, and anthros alike. People were everywhere, just communicating, and talking. Chase was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he remembered the once welcoming streets and people of his home, but this time, the thought wasn't dashed by reality. Instead it's luster was only amplified by his memories of the past, now that the Umbreon was seeing people... actually be people instead of savages fighting for dominance. Chase and James walked over to the center of the square, where they saw a set of three statues carved into one stone pedestal. The statues were of a human male, a Pikachu, and an anthro Lycanroc, all holding onto one stone orb. There was a gold plaque at the base of the pedestal that read:

In recognition of Jason Warrik, Watt the Pikachu, and Evelyn Jones the Lycanroc for their service to Hau'oli City for their acts of bravery and devotion to anthro rights. They will always be remembered in the minds and hearts of those they fought for.

Chase looked back up at the statue. He looked at the figures and then at the people around him.

All of this. All of this was possible because of these three?

He couldn't stop himself. As much as he didn't want to, he found it to be the only solace, despite his lack of religious faith. He knelt down in front of the statue and made a silent prayer that only whatever ruled above could hear. He stopped when he noticed James looking at him. He stood up and brushed off his knees.

"I didn't take you for the religious type." He had a sincere expression on his face.

Chase shot him a glare but calmed down quickly. "I'm not. But what other choice is there in a time of crisis?" He thought back to the people in the refugee center. The way they looked at him. He let them down.

He was pushed out of his thoughts when out of the corner of his eye, he saw an anthro Sylveon walking through the street. He didn't know why this specific Sylveon caught his attention. Maybe it was the strut in her step that contradicted the movement of the others at the square. His focus shifted when he saw a human and a Charizard tailing her. They didn't look to have pure intent. Eventually, they reached an alley and the human pulled out a knife while the dragon type ignited his own flames. They had the Sylveon back into the alleyway, out of earshot and sight. Chase immediately switched into gear, running after the group, leaving James behind, who apparently was telling the story of the statues. The Umbreon ran into the alleyway and saw the two muggers cornering the Sylveon, who was confirmed to be female due to her tone of voice and the clothes she wore. She had a look of absolute terror on her face as the Charizard lit a hand-held flame close to her face. The dark type decided that taking a more direct approach and using intimidation/confusion would be the best option.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Chase called to the crooks.

"Mind your own business chump! We're not leavin'! You should be." the Human said is a posh accent.

"Really? Then I guess I'll have to do something about it." He cracked his knuckles and started walking towards them.

Both muggers were confused by his lack of fear, but brushed it off as him being crazy. The human raised his fists while the Charizard kept the Sylveon in place. The man charged forward, ready to throw the first punch. He threw his fist, but it only hit air as Chase sidestepped the attack with ease. The man threw more punches, while Chase kept dodging them without effort. The Umbreon saw an opening and pushed his hand forward, hitting the man in the throat at lightning speed, causing him to fall to the ground and start choking. With the man out of the way, Chase went for the charizard. A charizard was more complicated, but he's dealt with dragons before. The dragon threw a fireball that Chase sidestepped. He dove over a second and slid under the third before jumping up and kicking the fire type in the jaw. The dragon charged at him with ni regard for collateral. Big fighters needed to be outplayed with speed and agility. Chase knew that his brute strength wouldn't hold a candle to the stronger dragon type. He kept dodging and weaving around punches, throwing in flurries of his own as he dodged each. As he slowly wore the brute down, he noticed an opening and took it. He kicked the crook of the charizard's leg, causing it to collapse. While the beast was vulnerable, Chase charged and dropkicked him into unconsciousness. After all was said and done, the dark type went over to the Sylveon, who was cowering in the wake of his ferocity.

"Hey. You alright?" He asked while helping her up. The Sylveon looked up into his pristine gold eyes and nodded shyly, a noticeable blush on her face.

Chase didn't notice however, as he had already turned himself back towards the man, who had recovered, and now had a knife in his hand. Chase once again stepped forward to meet him.

"Do you not recognize that I have a knife?" the crook asked.

Chase laughed. "Ha! That's not a knife.". He pulled out the bayonet from his belt. It was more than four times the size of the man's tiny Balisong.

"THIS is a knife." he said as he pointed the large blade at his aggressor. The man tried to attack, but was intercepted by a hand grabbing the man's arm, and a blade's tip slashing his face, giving him a fresh but shallow cut. The man recoiled and touched his cheek. He saw his hand stained with his own blood and booked it out of there, almost leaving a trail of fire as he left his partner in crime behind. Chase sheathed his blade and turned back to the Sylveon.

"Well. That was interesting. Don't you think?" He said to the Sylveon.

"Y-Yeah. I-It was." she said back to him. She still had the blush on her face and she was mentally cursing herself for not being able to suppress it.

"Well. You were lucky that I noticed you being tailed, or you would've been dead." Chase said, this time noticing the blush. He ignored it however and spoke again. "So. What's your name?" he asked.

The fairy type was snapped back to reality when he asked her the question. "O-Oh! U-Uhm, my name is Rose. Rose Torrent." she said.

"Chase Gardner. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." the Umbreon said with a smile, extending out his hand for Rose to shake, who gladly did. Chase became serious again. "Those guys who were tailing you. I don't think you have to worry about the Charizard, But the human. He's gonna be trouble. I don't know. Maybe it's paranoia, but here." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. It was a pager. "Take this. Press the button to send a message, and I'll come to you. Just in case he tries to pull anything else." He handed her the pager and started walking off. "Till we meet again." Chase called before walking out of the alleyway and leaving a stunned Rose in silence. She was swirling in new thoughts about the Umbreon that she just met a few moment ago. She continued to swim in these thoughts as she got out of the Alleyway, and walked to her destination.

Chase had walked back to the square, where he met a not too happy Luxray. "DUDE! Where did you go!? I looked for you around the whole square!" He said in between breaths.

"I'll explain while we walk. Because there is a lot to explain, and we're losing daylight." Chase explained.

James only nodded and they continued walking through the city streets. But he didn't go without punching Chase in the arm.

5 Hours later

The duo returned home after a very long day of touring the city. They saw almost everything that it had to offer, including the new science building on the other side of town that had opened only a few weeks prior. They had already eaten dinner on the way back home, so they were just sitting in the family room until they saw it fit to go to bed.

"So Chase. How was the tour?" James asked.

"The tour was decent. It was very informative and VEGA already made a map of the city. Well- most of it anyway." Chase replied. He had already shone James' parents to VEGA and they were as surprised as their son was, but they got used to the AI quickly, often laughing at his witty remarks.

James then remembered the incident at the city square. "Hey Chase. You never told me what happened at the square today."

"Oh right. I never did tell you what happened. Okay. So you were explaining the origins of the statue when I saw these two crooks tailing a Sylveon. They pushed her into an alleyway, most likely to mug her. So I intervened. The Charizard went down without much of a hitch, but I had to give the human a cut in order to scare him off. I gave her one of my pagers in case something like this would happen again." Chase explained.

James had a devilish smile. "Oh. The Sylveon was a HER."

Chase already knew what his friend was getting at though. "No. I don't like her. I'm impartial at the moment. I barely know her besides her name."

"Oh COME ON. You have to dude! You saved her hide when you probably wouldn't have been given the same favor if your positions were swapped, and you gave her the means to give you a booty call! Come on man!"

For the first time, Chase was actually flustered when he reflected and realized the reality of what he did. "O-Oh come on. It's not like that. Old habits die hard I guess." Not entirely a lie.

James let out a hearty laugh. "Don't worry about it man. I'm just teasing you. Besides, you've had it rough. I don't blame you if you're not willing to trust everyone."

Chase smiled at this. "Thanks for understanding. Now I think I'm gonna go to bed. See ya tomorrow." he said as he climbed the stairs to his room.

"Alright. And don't have any of those dreams alright?!" He called back. Chase only gave his friend the middle finger as he went up, sparking more laughter from the Luxray.

It was roughly around 4:45 when she finally arrived at her small apartment. Rose opened the door and stepped inside. The place was less than ideal. The walls were rotting. The floor was dirty. Old furniture was all that filled the rooms. The floor creaked under her weight and she could hear strange moaning sounds coming from the floor above her. To say that her home was a pigsty would be an understatement. The Sylveon put her bag on her kitchen counter and sat on the couch in front of her crappy TV. She turned on the television, and of course, there were no good programs on. She sighed to herself and got up. She then eyed the balcony of her apartment and went outside.

On the balcony, was a table with a pair of chairs. They looked rugged and old as well. She sat In one of the chairs and stared out at the sunset looming over the region. If there was anything good about her apartment, it was the stunning view that she got. It always cheered her up to see the sunset after a long day of work. The fairy type looked out towards the city and immediately remembered the Umbreon that has been plaguing her thoughts all day. His sleek style, his calm demeanor, his seemingly lack of nervousness or fear, and his eyes. Arceus above if she couldn't get lost in those eyes.

What am I doing? I'm fawning over someone I just met! Come on Rose get it together!

One side was telling her to try and ask the Umbreon out, and the other was telling her to get to know him better. Her logical side was stronger in this regard and so she decided to try finding him around and maybe get some coffee, just to get to know him. She watching as the hours passed and the sun disappeared below the horizon, letting the stars reveal themselves. She decided that was enough site seeing and headed off to bed after eating a quick snack bar. She entered her room, which was just as bad as the rest of her apartment, and laid down in her bed after changing into some pjs. After getting in bed she instantly found her eyelids getting heavier. She welcomed it though.

Who knows. Maybe I like him only because he saved my life.

And with that final thought, sleep overtook her.