Chapter 8: Toxic Shock


The weeks following the break-in at Pokestar Studios were, in a word, hectic. For Rena, it meant constantly being escorted by security, one part in case the poachers came back, two parts to fend of the mob of reporters biting at the chomp to get to the root of the incident. Evidently some of the policeman had loose lips, and soon rumors of her true identity spread across the region like wildfire. Seeing no way out, Rena begrudgingly revealed herself officially at a press conference.

Her fans were…divided in their opinions. Most comments were from young men around Alex's age who expressed lamentations about the "Vixen of Virbank" being a literal vixen. Her career wasn't completely ruined, but it was obvious she would have to work hard to win back her place in the acting world.

The police destroyed Rena's Ultra Ball, just to be safe. She reluctantly agreed to be bound to a Pokeball belonging to Pokestar Studios, on the condition it be given to her for safe keeping. While discussing the fight, Rena pointed out how well Purrloin used Dark Pulse and offered to teach her how to use the move properly. Alex and Purrloin readily agreed. In the meantime, Louie helped Lucario learn Aura Sphere. The blue jackal had difficulty at first, but eventually mastered the move.

Alex mostly kept off his ankle, allowing his sprain to finally heal enough that he no longer needed the ankle brace. He noticed that it took Purrloin longer to use Dark Pulse than it did her other moves. After some experimentation, he realized Purrloin had the ability Prankster, meaning she could use non-attacking moves quicker than most pokemon could use attacking moves. It dawned on him that until now all of her moves were non-attacking, and suddenly how a little Purrloin was able to keep up with and outmaneuver two Lucario made a little more sense. Inspiration struck, and they began working on a new strategy...

In the meantime, the police were far from idle. They arrested and interrogated the men impersonating the guards. Naturally, they initially refused to cooperate, but when the charges started piling up (breaking and entering, assault, attempted murder, attempted kidnapping…) and it became clear no lawyer in the world could combat the mountain of evidence against them, they reluctantly agreed to a plea deal.

The first thing they shared was the scope of their involvement. The plan was relatively simple; replace the guards and let the poacher in after-hours, wait until he captured Rena, then "discover" him and escort him to their getaway van. When asked why the poacher would draw attention to himself like that, the men said he insisted there was no way to do this quietly, especially with Rena being a wild pokemon he would have to battle. Besides, the poacher was a cocky bastard who they suspected enjoyed the limelight.

Which led into arguably the most important piece of information they shared; they'd worked with the poacher before. They knew almost nothing about him, a strictly enforced condition of their on-again-off-again employment, save for the name "Ringo."

As it turned out, Ringo was an alias used by a member of a particularly notorious group of Unovan poachers. Ringo was known to be the most flashy and impractical, but made up for it by being one of their most dangerous and skilled battlers. All things considered, everyone involved had been very lucky.

The police shared this information with Rena, who in turn shared it with Alex. During his stay in Virbank, the young trainer took to visiting her in the afternoon. Rena, relaxing in her natural form, shared a couch with Louie. Alex took the chair opposite them, Lucario leaned against a wall, and Purrloin was curled up in her trainer's lap. Two security guards dutifully patrolled outside, and a third inside stood next to the door.

"You think he'll come back?" Alex asked. "I mean, I'm not trying to make you paranoid or anything, but he did say whoever hired him offered a lot of money."

Rena shrugged helplessly. "I have no clue. The police hope maybe all the extra attention put on me right now will at least deter him, if only for a little while. Then again, he apparently likes attention so who knows what he'll do…"

Don't worry Rena, Louie assured. If he ever comes back, I'll be ready for him! I'll knock that Arcanine of his into the next region if I have to! Rena smiled and nuzzled against the Lucario's cheek.

Purrloin gagged, decided she was bored, and left her trainer's lap to pester the security guard. She mewed at him, got him to bend down to pet her, and then ran up his arm and promptly sat on his head. He tried to remove her, but decided to leave her be after the third or fourth scratch on his arm.

Lucario glared at her. You can really be a nuisance, you know that? Purrloin responded by sticking out her tongue.

Alex sighed. "Purrloin, leave him alone and come back over here. Please don't make me put you back in the pokeball." Purrloin meowed rather indignantly but obeyed. Rather than hop back into Alex's lap though, she climbed him and sat on top of his head instead. Alex groaned, but decided it was a good enough compromise and allowed it. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" he asked while scratching behind her ears.

Rena chuckled. "You know, I just realized something. Neither of your pokemon have nicknames." Alex gave her a confused look and she explained, "I always heard that trainers nicknamed their pokemon. Is there a particular reason you don't? I'm just curious, that's all."

Alex blinked. "I…hadn't really thought about it," he admitted. "I mean, Lucario's not really 'my' pokemon, and I just didn't think of it when I caught Purrloin."

"Not your pokemon…?" Rena was slightly confused. "But…you travel together and train together...doesn't he have a pokeball?"

I used to belong to a different trainer and I'm not registered to a pokeball right now, Lucario projected. The short explanation is Alex and I made an agreement to challenge the Unova League together. There's a bit more to it than that, but it's…complicated, and a bit personal for both of us.

"Yeah, what he said." Alex then looked up at Purrloin—at least, the best he could, given where she was—and asked, "Hey Purrloin, now that Rena's mentioned it, what do you think about having a nickname?"

Purrloin mewed inquisitively and mulled over the question. She shrugged and meowed, "Sure, why not? Be warned though, if you come up with anything stupid I will scratch you."

Lucario dutifully translated and Alex chuckled. "Fair enough….okay, let's see…" What would he call her? "Well, it's supposed to be a nickname, right? And her name is 'Purrloin'…what about 'Purrly?'"

Two scratches across the face made it clear she did not approve. Rena snickered and Lucario face palmed. You know, Louie said, normally I'd take your side over hers, but that…that was bad. That was really, really bad…

Alex rubbed his face—the scratches stung like hell—and grumbled. "Alright, alright, I get it! I suck at nicknames! Maybe I'll think of something later…" He turned to Lucario and asked, "What about you? Do you want me to think up a nickname for you too?"

Um, no, Lucario said rather bluntly. After seeing what you came up with for Purrloin, I'm scared what you'd think up for me.

"Bah! Everyone's a critic!" Alex said with an exaggerated wave of the hand. The metaphorical lightbulb dinged and a wide grin spread across his face. "You know, it's a shame because I just thought of a really good one for you." He pretended to think something over and added, "Yeah, in fact, I think it's perfect! From now on I'm going to call you 'Lulu!'"

Lucario did a double-take. Purrloin fell off Alex's head laughing, and it was all Rena and Louie could do not to bust out themselves. Wha…'Lulu!?' But that's a girl's name! What the hell kind of nickname is that!?

"So?" Alex replied, careful to appear as serious as possible and not give away the fact he was just teasing. "Guys can have girl names, just like girls can have guy names. Besides, 'Lulu' for 'Lucario'; it's like how 'Alex' is short for 'Alexander.' I think it's a great nickname!"

Lucario became increasingly verklempt. No, no, no-no-no, and no! You remember the horde of Scoliopede I threatened you with before? Start calling me that, and what I'll do to you will make that look like being tickled by Cottonee!"

Alex couldn't keep a straight face any longer and burst into laughter. Rena and Louie did so too, and even the guard by the door started chuckling. It finally dawned on the blue jackal that he'd been goaded into overreacting.

Lucario folded his arms and made an effort to look supremely indignant. Oh ha-ha, just laugh it up…


Overall, the group spent almost a month in Virbank. Aside from training, they explored the city, ate at a few restaurants, went to see several movies, and took the time to properly enjoy their stay. Eventually, Alex decided they were ready to face Roxie and booked a challenge for the next day. Despite how hard he worked with Purrloin and knowing Lucario was immune to Roxie's main type, Alex was still a little nervous. Roxie was a gym leader after all, and there was no telling what kind of tricks she'd use in their match.

What concerned him more, however, was how Lucario acted. He'd been acting a little weird the past week to begin with, but when Alex told him they were challenging the gym Lucario suddenly became very nervous and kept to himself even more than usual. It reminded him of how Lucario acted back in Aspertia, right before they challenged Cheren a second time. He tried to ask what was wrong, but Lucario either deflected the question or insisted it was nothing. Eventually, Alex gave up and let him be.

Lucario was up long before Alex the next morning, the latter sprawled across his bed and snoring rather loudly. Purrloin was still in her pokeball and most likely asleep as well. That suited him fine—while he'd grown to tolerate the Devious pokemon's presence, her smug attitude got underneath his skin a lot of the time. The worst part about it was she did it on purpose. He pointed this out to her once, and the purple cat grinned and told him it was all just a game and to lighten up, what did the big mighty Lucario have to prove anyway?

A lot actually... Despite how much stronger he'd gotten, that night he lost to Cheren he felt just as miserable about himself as when he was a Riolu. Then Alex gave him another chance, worked with him and developed a strategy, and then they'd actually won. The rush of victory, the way Alex scooped him into his arms and showered him with praise…it felt so good. Then Alex's father found them and he witnessed that horrific moment where Alex was disowned. Abandoned, just like him. It wasn't until later that Lucario realized he'd found something he never knew he wanted.

He found someone that needed him, and for once he could actually help.

Lucario absentmindedly walked over and sat at the foot of Alex's bed. He watched the teenager's breathing, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm, and reflected further on their unique partnership. There was no doubt in his mind Alex considered him a friend; there was no other reason the boy insisted on talking to him so much or including him in everything they did. What about him though? Did he consider Alex a friend…? He knew he wanted to. Alex was nice, mostly selfless, and respected him as an equal.

But what if he wasn't an equal? What if their battle against Cheren was a fluke? What if he wasn't as strong as Alex thought he was? Lucario knew he wouldn't leave him like Ricky did, but in that hypothetical scenario, where he somehow didn't meet expectations, he was afraid Alex would somehow think less of him. He knew that in that scenario, being friends with Alex would mean allowing himself to be hurt. He wanted to open up…but he didn't want to be hurt even more. He wouldn't take the chance.

(Did he even have a choice?)

Lucario tried to take a breath but went into a coughing fit. For a brief moment he panicked, worried he might have woken up Alex. Mercifully, he didn't stir and Lucario allowed himself to relax a little bit. The past week he felt his habitual illness creeping up on him. He couldn't afford to be sick right now and would not succumb to the quiet exhaustion, or the dull ache, or the burning flame of his budding fever. He had a gym battle today. Purrloin might be weaker, but she was highly skilled and he figured her performance would at worst soften up their opponent's team. He refused to let his weakness hold Alex back! Everything would be okay. He would do fine. He was strong enough to win this battle.

He had to win…

…please let him win.

(…please let him be strong enough to win…)


Alex woke up a few hours after Lucario. A shower, a change of clothes, and a quick breakfast-run later and the three set off south towards the gym. Not that you'd know it was one from the outside; the building was small and unassuming, notable only for its bawdy purple paint among a sea of gray warehouses. However, that was only on the surface; underground was an impressively large and vibrant club and bar, complete with dance floor that also pulled double-duty as the arena for gym challenges.

They stepped inside the small lobby and a secretary confirmed their appointment before leaving to inform Roxie. Lucario took a deep, calming breath and tried to steady his nerves. Alex noticed and placed a hand on the pokemon's shoulder. "Hey, Lucario, calm down buddy. There's no reason to get nervous, okay?"

The Aura pokemon stiffened a little, then relaxed and regarded the boy curiously. You seem more confident than in Aspertia, Lucario observed.

Alex blinked, mentally compared how he felt now to then, and decidedly shrugged. "Well, I wasn't sure if we would win last time, mainly because I wasn't sure I was a good enough trainer. But we did and we've won against everyone we've fought since." A small smile crept across his face. "Between how much we've trained and your poison immunity…I actually feel pretty good about this."

Lucario considered that for a moment. For the sake of argument, let's say something happens today and we do lose. What would you do then?

Alex thought it was an odd question, but answered anyway. "I don't know…I guess I'd try to think about why we lost and figure out a plan for next time, just like with Cheren. But seriously though, I know that we'll be fine." He meant for that to put him at ease, but somehow Lucario seemed even more nervous. Alex frowned and crossed his arms. "You've been acting really weird," Alex pointed out. "You know, we don't have to challenge Roxie today if you don't want to. I'm perfectly fine waiting a day or two. It's your call."

Lucario looked up at Alex—saw his face, full of concern—and did his best to smile in a way that seemed reassuring. No, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you; it's an old habit, getting nervous like this before a battle. If you're ready, then I'm ready too!

Alex smiled and patted Lucario's head. The secretary returned and told them Roxie would see him now and wished him good luck. They descended a long, dark staircase and stopped in front of a door. When they opened it, human and pokemon were greeted by a wave of pure, unadulterated rock. Up on a stage, Roxie and two other band members played. The music was loud and energetic, brisk in pace and melodious in tone. Just listening to it made Alex excited, and it was likely that was by design.

The song ended, and Roxie looked at Alex with a wide, cocky grin. "So, you finally found the guts to come challenge my gym. About friggin' time, it's been almost a month you know!"

Alex rubbed the back of his head. "I wanted to train Purrloin some. She was kind of a new addition to the team."

Roxie pulled the strap of her guitar off her shoulder. "Oh well, doesn't matter now," she said while gently sitting aside her instrument. "I hope you're ready to give it your all, because I'm gonna' knock the sense outta ya', cheap-ass steel type be damned!"

"You…don't seem to like steel types very much," Alex observed.

Roxie shrugged. "It's not that, I'm just tired a seeing 'em all the time. There's a lot of Magnemite in Virbank Complex, and it seems like every punk that challenges my gym goes there and catches one first." The irony of Roxie, who could be generously described as "punk rocker personified" calling other people punks, was left alone. "Anyway, how many badges you got?" Alex answered "one" and demonstrated Cheren's Basic Badge. Roxie nodded and retrieved three pokeballs from a case behind her. "Alright, listen up! I'll be using three pokemon, and you can use however many you have on your team. We'll both send out our first pokemon at the same time, and after that you can switch freely. The battle continues until one side runs out or punks out. You got all that?"

"Yeah, I got it," Alex said. Roxie grinned and jumped off the stage, and both combatants took their place at opposite ends of the dance floor-turned-battlefield. One of Roxie's band mates took up a position on the side, acting as a referee. Trainer and gym leader readied themselves for the fight ahead.

Roxie pulled out her first pokeball and sent out a Grimer at the same time Alex called out Purrloin. A purple blob of what could only be described as living sludge with eyes and a mouth materialized in a flash of light, and a putrid stench filled the air. Purrloin gagged and Lucario raised a paw to cover his muzzle.

"Alright Grimer, let's open this up with Poison Gas!" Roxie yelled. The blob of sludge rumbled and exhaled a thick purple mist that traveled towards Purrloin. The purple cat leapt away, dodging the cloud of toxin, and fired off a Dark Pulse. The beam pulsated across the field and struck Grimer's center-of-mass, knocking it back a few feet.

"Purrloin, surround Grimer with Double Team, and then use Dark Pulse again!" Purrloin did as Alex instructed and Grimer was encircled by a ring of illusionary copies. She hit Grimer from several different angles, who tried to respond by launching globs of poisonous sludge. Most of the attacks missed, but one managed to strike Purrloin in the face with a wet plop. She accidentally swallowed some of it and immediately became ill.

Roxie's eyes widened when she noticed. "Grimer, Purrloin's poisoned! Quick, hit her with Venoshock!" The Grimer rumbled and fired a stream of green liquid. The poison made her more vulnerable than normal and the attack sent Purrloin sprawling across the field.

"Hang in there Purrloin!" Alex called out. Purrloin was weakening, but so was Grimer. Another strong hit would probably finish it off. "Alright, time to show her what we've been working on. Use Dark Pulse again, on the double!"

Purrloin caught the signal and readied another Dark Pulse. Roxie ordered Grimer to use Venoshock and Purrloin purposefully waited until he moved first before launching her attack. The beam of pulsating darkness collided with the stream of green sludge and exploded. Before the dust could settle, a second Dark Pulse ripped through the air and launched Grimer across the floor. The purple glob of sludge landed with a wet splat and promptly fainted.

"What…was that?" Roxie asked as she recalled her Grimer. "How did your Purrloin manage to fire two Dark Pulses so quickly?"

Alex grinned. Copycat worked by using the move last used in a battle. By purposefully waiting for Grimer to go first, Purrloin could use Prankster and Copycat to effectively fire two Dark Pulses at once. No sense telling Roxie though; this was a battle after all. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to keep that to myself for now."

Roxie grumbled. "Alright, fine, be that way. Koffing, you're up next!" A purple floating sphere emerged in a flash of light, covered in pores which leaked noxious-smelling gases. On its "belly" was a crude skull-and-crossbones, which contrasted with the utterly delighted smile plastered across its face.

"That's…one happy looking pokemon," Alex said to himself. He then noticed Purrloin swaying; the poison was starting to get to her. "Alright Purrloin, that's enough for now," he said while recalling the purple cat with a red beam of light. The pokeball would keep her in stasis, meaning the poison wouldn't cause any more damage than it'd already done. He looked to Lucario, who nodded and promptly stepped into the arena.

Roxie grinned. "Figured you might switch to him. Alright Koffing, you know what to do!" With a toothy smile, the poisonous planetoid flew forward to deliver a full-body tackle. Lucario raised his arms and absorbed the blow easily before replying with an Ice Punch. The blow sent Koffing spinning, and Lucario ran after with another fist coated in glowing ice. The Koffing regained its balance, grinned, and spewed a torrent of red flame right before Lucario attacked. Caught off-guard, he didn't have time to dodge and took the full force of Koffing's Flamethrower.

The attack subsided and Lucario fell to his knees, smoke and heat rippling off his body. He was burned in a few places, making it exceptionally painful to move. "Lucario, are you okay!?" Alex yelled. Lucario gave him a look, and he realized how dumb of a question that was. Koffing prepared another Flamethrower and Lucario promptly dodged. "Lucario, keep your distance and hit him with Aura Spheres. It won't hurt him as much as Ice Punch, but you can't afford to get hit by Flamethrower again!"

Lucario did as instructed and made sure to keep out of range of Koffing's stream of fire. The blue jackal fired off several balls of aura, all of which hit their mark and erupted into blue balls of flame. They individually didn't do much damage, but over time the assault left Koffing battered and struggling to remain in the air.

"Alright, finish it off!" Alex yelled. "Use Bullet Punch, and hit as hard as you can!" Lucario rushed forward in a burst of speed and hit Koffing downwards with a steel-coated fist. The purple gas ball bounced across the ground a few times and rolled to Roxie's feet, unconscious. "Wow, even knocked out, it still looks happy," Alex mused.

"She," Roxie corrected as she recalled her Koffing. "All three of my pokemon are girls. Yes, including the Grimer."

Alex blinked, but decided not to ask how she could tell and to just take her word for it. He looked at Lucario, who winced with every breath. The Flamethrower primarily hit his chest, and it was likely that's where the majority of the burns were. "Lucario, come back and rest for a moment. Purrloin might not be able to finish off her last pokemon, but she can at least weaken it." Roxie glared. "Er, weaken her," Alex corrected. Roxie nodded approvingly.

"Alright, his team's on their last legs! Let's get him Whirlipede!" Roxie sent out her last pokemon, a wheel-like cocoon of poisonous thorns, red markings, and two angry-looking yellow eyes. Alex recognized it as the middle stage of the Venipede line and winced at the memory of the mamma Scolipede.

Lucario reluctantly came back to Alex and sat down. He seemed to have a really hard time breathing. Alex noticed, explained it away as Lucario being winded, and sent out Purrloin. Not that she looked much better; poison really wasn't something to mess around with. He couldn't afford to drag this out. "Purrloin, keep using Dark Pulse and crank them out as fast as you can! Do as much damage to that Whirlipede as possible!"

"Whirlipede, use Rollout to dodge!" Roxie ordered. Whirlipede whirled into motion and just barely dodged the first of Purrloin's Dark Pulses. Purrloin kept firing in bursts of two, but the longer Whirlipede used Rollout the faster she got. Purrloin paused after her latest assault, panting, and Roxie saw her chance. "Whirlipede, quick, hit her with Rollout, and then follow up with Venoshock!"

"Substitute, then Copycat!" Purrloin heard the command and hastily created a body-double that absorbed the Rollout attack, then spun away herself before Whirlipede could use Venoshock. Rather than build up speed as her opponent did, she chose to ram into the bug almost immediately. Afterwards, she rolled out of the attack, jumped into the air, and fired a double burst of Dark Pulse point-blank. Both shots hit home, and Whirlipede flipped across the ground a few times before skidding to a halt on its side. Purrloin gracefully landed, slurred on something said in a smug meow, and promptly fainted.

"Good work Purrloin, you were awesome!" Alex said as he returned the purple cat for the final time that battle. He turned to call out Lucario, but paused. "Lucario, are you okay? You...don't look so good."

I'm fine, he insisted, taking heavy breaths as he stepped onto the battlefield. By now Whirlipede was upright, and the two pokemon stared each other down. Lucario took a deep breath and calmly settled into a fighting stance.

Roxie noticed Alex's hesitation and spoke up. "Everything alright over there? You seem a lot less fired up than before." She gave a cocky grin and added, "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now? C'mon, you've done so well this battle, I know you've got a little bit more in you!"

Alex shook away his concerns and refocused on the match. "Y-yeah, we're fine! Lucario, keep using Ice Punch, and if she rolls away with Rollout use Aura Sphere to chase her down!"

Lucario ran forward with fists coated in ice. Whirlipede rolled out of the way of the first attack and raised a shield of green energy to block the second. Lucario growled and leapt backwards, recognizing that so long as Whirlipede had Protect up he couldn't damage her.

The poisonous bug spun away, using Rollout to zoom across the battlefield and build up speed. Lucario charged and fired Aura Spheres as fast as he could and each one followed Whirlipede and hit. However, with Whirlipede being both bug type and poison type, the fighting type projectiles did next to nothing. Suddenly, she made a sharp turn and rammed Lucario full force.

Lucario's double resistance to rock type attacks mitigated a lot of the damage, but it was a powerful blow and his burns were beginning to take a toll on him. The Aura pokemon landed with a loud thud on the floor. With a great deal of effort, he got back to his feet and took a defensive stance, keeping a weary eye on Whirlipede.

Alex needed to think of something. Lucario's burns were inhibiting his movement and whittling down his endurance. She had to be getting tired, all Lucario had to do was land one good hit with Ice Punch and that would likely be the match. Whirlipede started spinning again and went into Rollout. Lucario fired Aura Sphere and Alex watched it explode into a cloud of bluish fire. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Lucario, hold off on Aura Sphere; don't attack until I tell you to."

The order confused him, but Lucario obeyed nonetheless. Roxie wasn't sure what he was playing at, but knew Whirlipede could cancel out of Rollout into Protect fairly easily and decided to continue with her attack run. "Whirlipede, pick up as much speed as you can and then hit the Lucario with everything you've got!"

The venomous cocoon responded by revving up faster than before and making a sharp turn towards Lucario. Alex quickly shouted, "Fire an Aura Sphere at the ground in front of her!" Lucario did so and the blast made a large hole. Whirlipede didn't have time to change course; she hit the pothole at full speed and bounced high into the air. Lucario caught on and jumped after her, making sure to face her back to avoid her Protect screen. With a loud roar, he used Force Palm to push himself downwards and then hit Whirlipede with Ice Punch. The icy blow knocked her into the ground hard enough to make a small crater, from which Lucario landed a few feet away. She twitched for a moment before going limp.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Victory goes to the challenger!"

Alex fist pumped the air. "Way to go Lucario!" he shouted. It was touch-and-go for a bit, but they'd won again, and on their first try too! Alex ran from his spot and intended to scoop the blue jackal into a celebratory hug, so excited he was with their victory.

Lucario turned and saw Alex running towards him, hollering and grinning and congratulating him on how well he did. A weary smile stretched across his muzzle. It was a struggle to breathe, and he was cold and sore, but for now that didn't matter. They'd won. He was strong enough to win. He didn't disappoint Alex. He was...strong...enough...

Right as Alex reached him, Lucario blacked out.


Author's Note: Well, that's two badges out of the way. And it only took me ~45k+ words to get there. Fucking hell…

Shout out to Vandenberg, who pointed out the oddity that Alex's pokemon aren't named and inspired the scene where he tries to correct that. (Also, bonus points to anyone who can figure out where I pulled Lucario's nickname from. I will give you zero hints.) The reason Purrloin doesn't have a nickname yet is because, honestly, I haven't thought of anything good for her. Same went for Lucario when I started this story, although that can at least be explained in-universe as Alex not being comfortable naming someone else's pokemon. Lucario probably won't get a nickname, but Purrloin probably will in a later chapter and other members of Alex's team probably will too.

I debated having Lucario get sick here, but it lets me set up the introduction of a new character next chapter that will end up joining Alex's party. Well, technically the character's already appeared before, but...eh, fuck it, you'll see.

Also, quick note: the next chapter may take longer than the others. I've been able to keep to a weekly release schedule thus far, but as of this chapter I've exhausted my buffer. With college starting up again soon, I may have to switch to a bi-weekly schedule for a while. Also, beta readers would be greatly appreciated; if you are one (and are willing) or know of a good one, please be sure to let me know.

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!