I stow away my stethoscope with a nod. "Well, you're recovering quite quickly – probably thanks to the natural resilience of your species." I softly laugh at myself as the Gardevoir looks at me in confusion. Once again, letting my incredibly giant brain leak into my words. Should probably have a plumber look at that...

"I...I hope you don't mind if Lucario here has another look at you – would you mind?" Lucario approaches, his palms held out and eyes already closed in order to scan her Aura to determine the date of her release. The Pokémon simply nods, sitting meekly as she lets Lucario hover his paws a few inches off of her body and move about, checking each of her organs and all of her cells.

Observing my patient/specimen, I take down some notes on her behavior, such as how she nods or shakes her head in response to almost every question. Unfortunately, she's refrained from utilizing the universal Pokémon language or telepathy as of yet, so it's sort of up for grabs what she means.

Once my chicken scratch is complete, I sit back and watch, marveling at the nature of the Aura.

-Technical Stuff Inbound-

Essentially, the Aura is the same exact thing as what Psychic Pokémon use – that is, amplified brain waves and a point of the body to channel them through, packed with nerve clusters. However, due to the different natures of Fighting and Psychic Pokémon, the Aura and the "psychic net" as it's called differ quite drastically.

While a Psychic Pokémon can observe an organism and determine its intention, a Fighting type Pokémon can go deeper than that. Personally, I think it's because Fighting Pokémon tend to focus the energy the use inward to empower themselves, before moving it outwards in the form of a physical attack, which allows for them to internalize the brainwaves and signals they receive and use a portion of their own energy to decode it.

In contrast, a Psychic Pokémon will immediately release their energy, instead focusing on special and ranged attacks that mostly repel or inhibit a threat. Think of it as two different types of formulas: one takes a value and returns it immediately, such as addition. This is the case of a Psychic type Pokémon. The other, however, takes a value and internalizes it as, say, a variable, and then integrates and derives it to come to a more in-depth conclusion. That would be the nature of a Fighting type Pokémon.

Of course, this challenges the belief that Fighting type Pokémon are unintelligent brutes, whereas Psychic Pokémon are excessively intelligent. However, this only applies to energy flow – information flow is very different, and the only reason that Lucario and similar Pokémon can read the Aura so effectively is because of their lesser-known tertiary type – Psychic – which allows for them to comprehend the information they produce from their internalization.

Ah, of course, the tertiary types. I knew I'd end up thinking about these before the day was through – I always do. Every day.

I'm starting to think it's a rather unhealthy obsession.

In any case, every Pokémon technically belongs to every type. In reality, it's actually just the balance of these types that results in the Pokémon's nature. The two most heavily used attributes are labeled as their primary and secondary types, and the third their tertiary. Anything after that is referred to as vestigial, as they don't actually utilize anything from these further natures. And if a Pokémon happens to be balanced between all of them, it's called Normal type – no special abilities, no psychic powers, no energy flow. Just an organism that happens to have the ability to bite stuff really hard.

-Technical Stuff Over-

"Peter."

Lucario's sudden psychic message snaps me out of my reflection. I look up, anticipating Lucario's conclusion. My anticipation fades away as I see Lucario's face – it's set and focused, as if he's still attempting to piece something together.

"We should discuss this...somewhere else." I cast a glance at the now-dozing Gardevoir. She's still recovering, and the pain medication is making her rather fatigued, but she'd still be able to hear me. I nod as we leave, and I gently close the door behind myself as I wait for the answer.

"Two years. She was released two years ago."

My jaw nearly drops at that. "Two years ago!?" I lower my voice as I ask a sensitive question. "She was barely surviving when I found her – how the hell did she make it for two years?"

"As far as I can tell, she nearly didn't. I hadn't looked this deep into her Aura before, and...let's just say...I don't think I want to look any deeper than I already have."

That sends a chill down my spine. I can't imagine what this poor thing went through, being alone for two years...

"Are you familiar with the nature of scars, Peter?"

I glance at him, his question confusing me and startling me out of brief reflection. "I understand their biological basis, but...that's not what you're referring to, is it?"

Lucario shakes his head. "No. The Aura...it is bound to the body, just like the soul and the flesh. As such, injuries that have a permanent impact on the body have a permanent impact on the Aura. And just like a doctor can examine a mark and determine what caused it, I can examine the Aura of a mark and discover the story behind it."

"So, you're saying that each of her scars has a story? That's pretty much common knowledge," I point out, not very impressed by the information.

"Yes, but through the Aura I can relive those stories. I can visualize how she viewed them – how her Aura registered the event. I chose not to after the first few..." He sighs and shifts his weight uncomfortably. "She is quite adept at handling herself – she held her own against a small pack of Beedril, and she also knows Recover." My eyebrows hike up in disbelief. That scrawny thing held off Beedril?

"Compared to the wild Pokémon here, she's a prime fighter. But she was weakening – when you found her, she was barely able to hold off a couple of Glooms, which is what gave her the scar on her left leg."

I nod, and Lucario turns to look me in the eye. "But that's not what I need to tell you Peter."

"Quite a lot of those wounds are more than two years old."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "So, you're saying that she had an abusive trainer?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Shit – that's gonna make getting her to open up a lot harder...no wonder she was so terrified of me at first..." I shake my head as I lean against the wall in thought. "And of course, now she's worried that we're gonna do the same to her after a while..." I run my hand through my hair in exasperation. "Fuck – this is a lot more than I expected. It's gonna be tough..."

"If you had taken me with you into the forest instead of Shinx, we could have-"

"This is not the time for that, Lucario," I warn. He nods, falling silent as I continue. "And besides, can you honestly say that you would've left her out there, on her own?"

"Knowing what I know now, and having seen how pathetic and worn-down she looks...definitely not."

I nod. At least I taught him some morals.

I sigh as I rub my neck. "But, I just...how could anybody treat a Pokémon like this?" I incline my head towards the door. "Those scars were...awful. I mean...to be able to hold off Beedril...whatever piece of shit scumbag had her before must've really pushed her to make her this strong." I shake my head. "Obviously, they pushed too hard, and expected too much."

Lucario nods somberly. This is something that's become all too common – and it's an issue that both Lucario and I are personally invested in. Because Pokémon aren't considered people, an abusive trainer is charged with animal abuse, and the Pokémon is confiscated and put into a pound. A lot of the time, the Pokémon is put down shortly after.

In fact, it was in one of those pounds where I met Shinx. I had gone to meet a friend of mine who was helping preserve Pokémon rights, and needed some of my preliminary data to hand out to a group of activists he'd assembled. Fortunately, he actually runs that pound, and was able to ensure quality housing for each of the Pokémon. Shinx just happened to rub up to me while I was leaving, and I discovered that he had been rescued from a known Pokémon abuser. Fortunately, he was confiscated before the scumbag had a chance to start abusing him.

I immediately fell in love with the little scamp and brought him home with me. Lucario was pissed about me making such a rash decision, but I know that he cares for Shinx. It's just that Shinx constantly plays tricks on Lucario, like that one time he sent a current through the shower Lucario was using.

Lucario still doesn't know that it was my idea.

"But we still have to try, correct?" I nod at his suggestion. "Good. If you said 'no' now, I would kick your ass."

"Just yesterday you were all reluctant to use Gardevoir for this study, and now you're all over the idea," I point out with a smirk. "What – did you fall for the vixen already?"

"What!?" He growls at me indignantly, blushing a furious red. "Of course not – it' just that we've already come far enough, and I don't want to give up now!"

"Alright, alright – I get it," I sigh. "But there's still the matter of winning her trust – and protecting her from capture by other Trainers..."

Lucario nods, and stands aside expectantly. After a few moments, I have an idea. I run it past Lucario, and he nods in agreement. I take a deep breath before turning to enter the room, and Lucario follows me to act as a intermediary, in case she doesn't want to converse with me directly.

"Gardevoir?" I call softly. She stirs. "Gardevoir – I...I'd like to have a word with you."

She sits up slowly, watching me with her ever-cautious gaze. Despite reaching into my mind in the forest earlier, she still seems to inherently mistrust me. In regards to the study, this will be a dilemma at best.

I sigh inwardly as I pull over a chair and sit at her bedside. I carefully choose all my words as I speak.

"So...you can understand me, right?" She nods, almost incredulously. She had nodded to my questions before – of course she can understand me. But, given the circumstances, it's a necessary question to obtain consent...

"Your previous Trainer...was he abusive?" She remains stoic, but her body language noticeably changes – she grows tense, and her lips draw into a small grimace. "Did he ever...hit you? Yell at you? Treat you unfairly?" She nods once. While I would rather spare her from remembering her abuse, I'm afraid that I must press on.

"Well...would you like for him to see justice?" I lean in a bit at this, careful to tread lightly. "Would you like to see him arrested, and possibly punished?"

The interesting thing about Gardevoirs is that they tend to develop an undying loyalty to their Trainers, even when they are abused. I'm quite relieved to see that this is not the case, but also rather worried as she nods, curtly and promptly. What could this guy have possibly done to have altered her inherent nature by so much...?

"Well...here's the thing...it's possible that we could track him down, bring him to court, and have him punished. But..." I swallow some anxiety. "Technically, you aren't considered...a person." She frowns at that, and I wish that this could be used as evidence for my study. By Arceus, I wish it could – but it would be shot down immediately. I'd need more than one instance of her displaying human-like attributes, and over an extended period of time. Plus, without a recording due to the lack of consent, (which I am determined to acquire for the sake of the study,) it could easily be seen as faked data.

"Thing is...I'm a Pokémon Professor. And...I'm conducting a study to prove that Pokémon really are people. I'd like for you to be my subject in this study. We would have to travel for at least a few months together, and I would essentially become your Trainer – but without a Pokéball. And if we prove that Pokémon are people...you can be a witness in the court to ensure a guilty verdict."

She stares at me, and I can feel time extending as she examines me. After a while of her not nodding or shaking her head or showing any sign of comprehension, I'm getting ready to leave her be when I feel a probe in my mind. A distinctly feminine voice says only one word.

"Yes."

I turn to her in shock, but she's already closed her eyes and started to meditate. It's clear that I'm not going to get anything else out of her, no matter how hard I try.

I smile triumphantly as I exit the room and relay the good news to Lucario. He grins, and we start to discuss the best way to record her consent.

While succeeding at obtaining her consent is great and all, I...I still feel guilty, using her abuse to my advantage like that. There's no guarantee that her Trainer is still in the region – or if he hasn't already been convicted of Pokémon Abuse, which is a possibility. However, most abusive Trainers are very adept at hiding the abuse – or know enough people willing to look the other way for the sake of a stronger team.

I sigh, and Lucario pats my back, understanding my moral division. I give him a weak smile, and we proceed to my study to draft up a consent form that Gardevoir can actually fill.