Chapter Twenty-Six:
The Azalea Hour
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form. The only "ownership" I can claim are the personalities and my interpretation of how Pokémon look in a more realistic light, but other than that...yeah, I don't own anything on them. XD I do, however, own my original characters and writings, unless otherwise stated. In an exceptional case, a few special OCs belong to their respective owners, I'm merely borrowing them for the story that's to unfold. I'll point them out when their time to show up comes. :3
Note: Apologies for the mild hiatus, I am currently in the middle of a fiscal year changeover at work, and also away at a month-long course that heaps on the homework by the cartload!
As far as story notes go, I'm trying not to linger too long in towns, so we can move forward with storylines. I also don't want to hurry plotlines along, but some areas just aren't meant to be drawn out.
And yes, Darkhammer, Team Rocket are cowards. They'll get their comeuppance one day soon, however. :P
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"Who's side are you on, anyway?"
"I know what it's like to live with something unresolved. That's all."
"Congratulations. You just described the entire planet."
-Peter Bishop and Olivia Dunham, "Fringe"
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"Of all the harebrained—"
"Uh-huh…"
"—stupid—"
"Right…"
"—idiotic—"
"Hey, now that's just mean."
"Quote-unquote 'rescues' I have ever seen in my life—"
"Now you're really hurting my feelings."
"You have got to be the one that takes the cake, because that was the stupidest attempt I have ever seen!"
Lupin mock pouted at the older man as she feigned undoing his ropes. He groaned and griped about being careful with his old bones, and more or less, she complied. Finally done playing the part of useless fiddling, she tore at one loose length and the rest came unraveling in a jumbled pile. The old man hissed and carefully pulled his hands out front, muttering under her breath and rubbing at his wrists.
"Bastards. The lot of them. They've defaced our sacred pokémon, mutilated them for years to come."
He side eyed Lupin, lips drawn into a heavy frown that made the lines of his face seem deeper than usual. His gaze slid to her pokémon beyond them, carefully working at the pen doors to get them open. The Slowpoke still whole were crying out, voices overlapping one another, little words of thanks cropping up the most. The others whose tails had already been taken were being tended to now by Kurt, working furiously to staunch those still bleeding.
The werewolf, in the meantime, allowed him to continue his mutterings, not taking his words entirely to heart. He was upset and relieved, and the two were furiously combatting with one another at this point between thankfulness and aggravation. She was feeling the same, in all honesty.
A flashbang. I got bested by a stupid flashbang grenade. I thought I was something better than a human.
She should have anticipated something like that. But she hadn't, and those bastards had gotten away. She would have gone after them, but the old man's wailing had redirected her priorities to helping him and the Slowpoke instead. After getting him loose, he was off like a pistol…a very slow, aching, bruised pistol that was. He hobbled off toward the pen toward the injured pokémon first, helping them and directing her to free the others while he did his work.
Now she could feel his eyes on her again and she turned to face the old man, finding him glaring at her once more.
Oh, great. What now?
As though reading her thoughts, he thrust an arm out, index finger pointed rigidly at the well's entryway.
"Go and call the police and pokémon medical services right now, young lady, before we lose any more of our Slowpoke! Hop to it!"
She held up her hands in immediate surrender, scurrying away to obey. She quickly clambered out to get a signal on her pokégear and after a few failed attempts at trying to call out, managed to finally get ahold of law enforcement and medical services. At first, the dispatcher had sounded wary and skeptical at her claims. At long last, however, he reluctantly offered to send out an officer and medical official to the Slowpoke Well.
After the call, she scampered back down to find most of the uninjured Slowpoke free of their constraints, while Kurt continued to help nurse those of the incapacitated pen. Her pokémon remained at a distance from the old man, eying him warily. He didn't seem to notice or care at the moment, but when he laid eyes on her, he motioned for her to come forth impatiently.
Hesitantly, Lupin approached, only to be yanked down to his level on the hard rocky ground. A pink otter-like creature was thrusted into her lap and her hand roughly manipulated toward the animal's rump. "Come here, put pressure on this one's backend, she's beginning to bleed again. Hurry, come along now, I don't have all night!"
Blood seeped from the wound, oozing from through the bandages, hot and slick. The creature in her lap squirmed pitifully and trying to escape her grasp, whimpering all the while. Kurt moved onto another, frantic to check them all, muttering obscenities under his breath as he went.
"They don't feel their tails being cut off right away. Their pain nerves are wired differently than ours. But they're feeling it now, just listen to them crying," Kurt huffed, moving from one to another, checking to see who was in need of immediate assistance. "And I'm betting they had their stash already packed away at another location. Otherwise we could've just reattached their tails."
He seemed to be speaking mostly to himself, perhaps a tic to calm his own nerves, but Lupin couldn't help but blurt out loud, "You can do that with these guys?"
Kurt snorted at the werewolf's sudden inquiry, but paused to look at her curiously. Riptide gave her a reproachful look from behind the old man, and she clenched her jaw tightly, as though that could take back her carelessness. The cave wasn't incredibly expansive, but even the softest voice carried across and bounced off the walls. Kurt, however, had been so quiet and soft in his words, she doubted a human could have heard him even in this place.
Thankfully, Kurt turned back to his previous checkups.
"Of course. Slowpoke are unique and special. They saved our town from a dreadful drought four hundred years past. It had been going on for years before they saved us. Our water tables were spent and the only water left to us was the salty seas to our south and from the lakes and rivers deep in the Ilex Forest. Too deep for us to venture into and bring back in a timely manner, and certainly not enough to water us, let alone our apricorn orchards. Slowpoke are sacred to the people of Azalea. They are our loyal companions and saviors."
Lupin swallowed back any further questions, deciding it was best to research everything later on than to carry on stupidly with more questions. Now wasn't the time for a history lesson. She looked to the pokémon in her lap, who was still struggling weakly in her arms. Its coppery blood was strong, especially in this immediate proximity and it was making her head spin. She didn't find it, in any way, delectable to sniff. She doubted she'd want anything to do with eating one of these things, either.
It wasn't long before she could hear the drawn out wail of sirens heading their way. It wasn't much longer after that when voices carried off from a long distance heralded closer until they were coming down the well and inside. Kurt was shouting at the officers to hurry it along. A small word-war started up, but eventually the old man won out and within the hour, more officers and medical officials were on their way, flooding the well with their presence.
The little Slowpoke in Lupin's lap was taken away at last, limp and barely conscious. Riptide and Growlithe moved in closer, watching the swirl of organized chaos sweep around them. Kurt came to them after several minutes, offering a hand to the woman. Lupin declined and pushed herself up to her feet. The old man wasn't much taller than her, but it was enough for him to glower down at her.
The severe look he gave her was not enough to scare her, and after a moment of intense scrutiny, he seemed to realize this and huffed.
"Let's get this out of the way. Hopefully we'll be out of here before nightfall, if we're lucky."
He led her away without another word toward the leading investigator. She was mildly surprised to find it was the same officer who had helped her at the Charicific Valley. He was more surprised, which then quickly shifted into amusement. He thumbed the brim of his cover, a smile planting itself across his broad, square face. His Arcanine lingered close behind him, while a few other officers continued their work with the Slowpoke.
"Well, Miss Ferus. Fancy seein' you here. Seems like you got knack of sticking your nose in other people's business more often than naught. I don't suppose you're gonna be making it a habit, are you?"
Lupin offered the tall, barrel-chested man a nervous smile and shrugged. Riptide gave her a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye. Bullet was more preoccupied with staring in awe at the Arcanine planted behind the human police officer.
"Hopefully not," she eventually answered. Kurt continued to scowl before he snapped at them that they were wasting time. The officer frowned, but nodded all the same and offered to try and expedite the process of getting their testimonies. After noticing how Kurt was grimacing, he further added that he'd have an EMT look over them before releasing them.
"Hmph. This is nothing. You fall down once, you fall down a hundred or a thousand times before. I'm alive, aren't I?"
"Kurt, you could be seriously injured and not even know it until it's too late. Let the medical team look you over before you rush off again, all right?"
Kurt waved him off dismissively, but ultimately agreed to it. Somehow, Lupin felt that it wasn't so much an offer as it was an order coated with a honeyed tone of voice.
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An officer with a huge Pidgeot took her and Kurt back into Azalea City by evening. The sky was awash with colour, the last dregs of light bleeding into the horizon and disappearing behind the tall emerald arms of the Ilex Forest that reached skywards. The streetlights were coming on, one by one, wrapping the city up in a sleepy golden slumber until it was a shining jewel in the darkness, pinned between dark forest and mountain.
"Over there, right over there," Kurt directed the officer over the wind. Lupin glanced down over the bird's pumping wings, her heart pounding in her chest. Strangely enough, she didn't feel afraid of the massive height between herself and the city's grounds. It was more out of exhilaration and it felt…right. Or maybe that wasn't the most accurate description, but it was close enough. She felt more at home with the wind tugging at her and the fresh air filling her lungs.
The ride ended all too soon, and the Pidgeot and her trainer were descending fast at Kurt's direction. Almost immediately, she realized they were passing over the block of cityscape where the Pokémon Center was. She could even recognize the red-tiled roof from the air as they swooped away, heading further north of the city.
"Hey—do you think you could drop me off first, the center's right there—!"
If the officer heard, he gave no visible sign that he had. Kurt, however, spared her a glance, huffed a breath and turned back to give direction.
"Kurt, sir, we know where you live. Half the force knows where you live by now," the officer drawled in a faintly exasperated sigh.
"Don't you talk back, young man. Just get us down there and then you can be on your way."
The last leg of the flight came to a fast close as they honed in on a less industrialized, modern section of the city. There were open fields and orchards of trees blooming with fruits and flowers. There were fewer homes and properties they passed over as well. Nestled against the corners of the Ilex Forest, they came upon another household. The lights were on, and wood smoke poured from the chimney.
The last tendrils of light finally bled away and gave in to the velvety night, stars glimmering coldly in the sky above them as the Pidgeot landed at last. The lingering feelings of tingling exhilaration were fading just as fast as the light of day in Lupin, and soon she felt that yawning emptiness in her once again.
The feeling didn't linger long enough for her to dwell upon. Kurt hopped down from the Pidgeot and she remained on the giant raptor, watching the old man as he hobbled toward his home. He paused when he noticed he was the only one, and looked back at Lupin.
"Well?"
She stared, taken aback.
"Get down here, girl. I have something for you. Chop, chop!"
Hesitating, Lupin slowly slid down the back of the bird pokémon and waved her thanks to the police officer. He gave her a nod, as did the Pidgeot, before they took off into the night sky and sped away back toward Azalea City proper.
"Hurry it up, I don't have all night!"
Lupin turned at the voice and heaved a sigh, trotting after the old man. The front door swung open before either of them reached it. A young girl—a child really—stood in the doorway, clinging to the doorknob and staring out at them. She looked barely ten, decked out in yellow pajamas with cartoonish-looking penguins decorating them. Her auburn hair was tied back in pigtails, her blue eyes wide with relief.
"Grandfather! I thought I heard you out here!"
Kurt's demeanor changed entirely. His face softened and so did his gaze. The little girl trotted out on short legs towards her grandfather, throwing her arms around his middle. He laughed softly, returning the embrace and patting her head.
"Oh, Maisy. I told you I'd come back."
"It's been almost three days!"
Kurt chortled, leading the way back inside and taking Maisy's hand in his. "It has not, it's only been two."
"That's still a long time. I was alone…"
The older man laughed again and patted his granddaughter on her head.
"I'm sorry, Maisy. I never meant to be away as long as I have been. I'll make it up to you. I promise."
The little girl considered this as they stepped into the house. Lupin followed at a slower pace, already inhaling the scent of a fresher wave of wood smoke. It was heady and delicious, as was the smell of whatever was cooking inside. Stew, perhaps. The aroma made her realize how hungry she was and her stomach gave a grumble of protest at being empty to remind her as such.
Maisy finally seemed to realize that she and her grandfather weren't alone and turned her wide blue eyes toward Lupin. Curiosity filled them as they looked her up and down. Lupin gave an awkward wave, and offered a small smile.
"Grandfather, who's she?"
"Hm? Ah. Her. Yes, she helped me at the Slowpoke Well. It turned out that a group of very bad men really were there, hurting our sacred pokémon. She…managed to wrap things up when I couldn't do so."
The comment, though purposefully vague of detail, felt strangely humbling to the werewolf. The old man's expression was soft with his granddaughter and endearingly so. Those blue eyes continued to watch Lupin carefully, as though sizing the older woman up. Slowly, a smile began to crease the corners of her lips.
"Your pokémon must be strong, then! What kind do you have? And grandfather, why couldn't you take care of these bad men with your pokémon, what happened?"
"I fell down, Maisy dear. And the bad men took my pokémon before I could get to them. I suppose it was a good thing she came along and helped out, or something worse than what was happening could have occurred."
"Like the Slowpoke disappearing from town?"
"Yes, something worse than just our Slowpoke disappearing from town. Which reminds me, my dear…"
From the sleeves of his hakama, he withdrew a pokéball and gently deposited it in Maisy's hands.
"Here, Maisy. I got Pokey back for you, just like I promised."
The little girl gasped big and loud, clutching at the pokéball with fervor. "Oh, grandfather, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
She immediately tossed it into the air and light coalesced, quickly taking shape into another Slowpoke. This one was, however, whole and healthy, if a little tired-looking. The Slowpoke turned its eyes toward Maisy and gave a belated cry of happiness to her. Maisy quickly scooped up the otter-like creature, hugging Pokey close. Kurt watched on with a faint smile tugging at his lips before he turned toward Lupin. His expression remained more or less the same; relaxed and comforted by the atmosphere, although a retention of his earlier gruffness remained present in his eyes.
"Now, as for you…you have my thanks for your help at the Slowpoke Well. As much as it pains me to admit, if you had not come, I fear I would still be down there, unable to do much except watch as those heathens desecrate our sacred pokémon. It could have been days or weeks, before the police force finally rallied their forces up to investigate things."
He kicked off his geta and placed them by the front door's step, and motioned for her to follow. Noting that both Maisy and he were barefoot, Lupin did the same, carefully arranging her boots to by the step before pattering after the older man.
"You can let your pokémon out, if you wish. Maisy, please prepare the guest room for her, and set out some food for her pokémon."
"Yes, grandfather! C'mon, Pokey."
Maisy placed her Slowpoke down and hurried toward a set of shoji, where the scent of cooking meats and vegetables was strongest. The Slowpoke was delayed in its response, but it ambled along after the little girl nonetheless. Lupin gathered up her two pokéballs and released Riptide and Bullet. She allowed them a moment to adjust themselves.
"Hey guys. Just stick around here, okay? You'll get some food in a few minutes. I'll be back soon."
Riptide gave a soft snort and a tip of his snout, while Bullet woofed out his own agreement. Her lips flicked into a small smile before she followed after Kurt.
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The array of colours before her were astounding. Beautifully hand-crafted and painted pokéballs each marked with their unique brand of strengths and catchability rate. Kurt had led her to his workshop in the back of his home. Lupin vaguely recalled the symbols from the course back in Violet City. The brief chapter that covered the various pokéballs aside from the common ones sold in the marts or malls across the country.
"These were made by apricorns, weren't they?"
Kurt's laugh was more bark than anything else, but he sounded pleased nonetheless.
"It's my craft, girl. I am perhaps the only one left in all of Johto who still creates pokéballs from apricorns. There are a few specialists in Kanto, but they aren't as traditional in their means of crafting them. Mass production devices, meant for the tourists that visit from other regions. Pah!"
Kurt moved to one shelf where a row of pokéballs were, their chassis painted obsidian and sleet blue. He plucked one off the shelf between weathered fingertips, rough from years of hard work.
"It roughly takes me a day to craft a dozen of these, true, but I put love into every one I've ever made. Can't same the same for the machine-manufactured rubbish they shove out of their factories in Kanto."
He let out another noise of disgruntlement before setting the pokéball in his hand back onto the shelf.
"I am in your debt for the help you provided me at the Slowpoke Well. I offer my services to you in the only way I know how. Whenever you wish to have a specialized pokéball made from apricorns, I will gladly provide you with just that. You can even send them via pokémon air mail to quicken the services, so long as I have a return address to send them to."
His smile was a little more genuine and it softened the rough, weathered lines on his severe face. It was strange kind of comfort to Lupin and she nodded at his offer. Today had certainly take on a surreal kind of quality. From beating up pokémon-maiming thugs to being offered pokéball crafting services by an elderly man, she wasn't sure which the strangest part of it all was.
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News of the events at the Slowpoke Well spread like wildfire across Azalea City, and soon across the nation of Johto and then the other regions shortly after that. Tongues wagged wherever she went, although the one consistent thing that she was grateful for was her identity had not been revealed. There was much speculation, but the police had done a rather surprisingly good job at keeping the details under wraps. Kurt was not so fortunate to escape the allegations. The morning after the events, his peaceful home by the Ilex Forest had flooded with news reporters, journalists, and cameras alike. They didn't stick around long when Kurt came out, wielding a long bō staff and threatening to sic all his pokémon on them if they didn't scatter to the winds.
She left later that evening under the cover of the night, even though Kurt and Maisy offered her another night's stay. She waved their generous offer away, not wanting to impose upon their hospitality any further than she already had.
The morning after leaving Kurt's, Lupin opted to try the police station for her case.
"Maybe the gym leader is back today, too," Bullet commented off-handedly as they strolled down sidewalk.
"It's a possibility. Perhaps someone managed to contact him in the middle of his training and he came back due to the recent events," Riptide conceded with a nod. He plodded along after the Growlithe and his trainer. He felt more at home on his hind legs the longer he walked, although the transition had been difficult at first. His entire posture felt wrong for a crocodilian. His legs were thick with corded muscle and his arms were much longer. If he didn't pay attention, he would stoop so low that his front claws scraped along the ground, nearly bringing him back to all fours out of habit.
Lupin offered to carry him if he ever felt uncomfortable, although each time he waved her away, determined to master this strange new posture as a more permanent one. As a Totodile, he felt more at ease on all fours than on his hind legs. Now as a Croconaw, he'd have to adapt.
Riptide scratched at his scaly belly, watching as Bullet darted ahead, back and forth, to sniff at this tree or to greet that pokémon and their trainer strolling along beside them. The Croconaw reeled when something tapped his head and he back-stepped with a surprised hiss, jaws gaping. Lupin paused mid-step, staring at him with a bemused grin. Her hand was outstretched toward him, but she was quietly pulling it back with her fingers curling into her palm.
"Uh…earth to Riptide?"
He closed his jaws with a clack, gushing air noisily through his nostrils.
"We're here. And it looks like we're not alone."
He blinked slowly at her, not quite processing what she had said at first, but when she motioned across the street, he understood. The Azalea City Police Department was indeed swamped. Reporters with their microphones, news vans, cameras and phones were all creating a clamour at the foot of the steps of the department. The chief himself was standing at a podium out in front of the double doors, his Arcanine standing beside him like a silent sentinel. The low drone of voices trying to talk over one another to be heard. Some people along the streets stopped to stare as well, although they didn't linger for too long.
Bullet was enraptured by the giant, his blue eyes wide and focused solely on the Arcanine. Lupin sighed above them both, frowning to herself.
"Looks like we might have to wait a while," she murmured, looking disappointed for only a brief moment. "Maybe we should look into the gym leader first. If we kill some time there, this crowd might be gone by the time we get back."
Bullet whined, dancing in place as he glanced between the crowd and his trainer.
"What in the seven hells is wrong with you," Riptide snapped his jaws sharply, drawing the puppy pokémon's attention toward him. Bullet stared wide-eyed and taken aback, uncertainty colouring his face. He looked between Lupin and Riptide, then back at the crowd beyond.
"I…I want to be an Arcanine! I just need a Fire Stone, right? Can we get one? Please, Lupin?"
The werewolf stared, her lips parting in surprise at the abrupt request. Blue eyes watched her keenly, almost in a desperate fervor. Riptide regarded the Growlithe with a cooler expression through half-lidded eyes. He snorted softly, thumping his tail to gain Bullet's attention.
"Fire Stones are incredibly rare and very expensive. Even then, they're only sold at specific locations region-wide. Some people or pokémon are lucky to stumble upon them in the wild, but you're more likely to find it at a department store in a major city like Goldenrod City," the big jaw pokémon carefully articulated, keeping the Growlithe pinned under a scarlet gaze.
Bullet's ears folded back slowly, looking crestfallen at the prospect.
"I'm afraid he's right, Bullet. I actually looked into it a little after you came aboard the team. They're obtainable, but they're expensive." She gave him a hopeful grin. "Maybe if I saved up money from some battles, we can scrape up enough to get you one. But it seems a bit early to try evolving you."
He perked, but only slightly. Lupin motioned for him to briefly step out of the way so that they weren't blocking the sidewalk, ushering them all closer toward a storefront.
"I…I don't feel brave enough, sometimes. I was afraid when we fought Falkner back in Violet City…and I was afraid at the Charicific Valley and at the Slowpoke Well. I want to be braver for you. You always seem so fearless when you stand up to people and I want to be just like that."
Bullet had dropped his gaze halfway through, finding it easier to speak to his paws than to Lupin's face. For a long series of seconds, she said nothing and her silence grated against his ears. Finally he looked up, unable to take it anymore.
"I want to fight for you like I couldn't for Benjamin! I don't want to run away all the time like I did in Violet City, I want to stand my ground and fight like you do! You're not even a pokémon, but you don't let anyone scare you, you…you…"
His voice caught in his throat and he stopped himself short, breathing deep to calm himself.
"I want to brave like you."
There was a profound and sudden silence that followed in the wake of his final statement. His voice had been strained and it had cracked halfway through. He was looking at her now, his blue eyes searching her face desperately for a response. Lupin felt her breath catching sharply, and it hurt to try and draw in another. She stared at the Growlithe, taken aback for only the briefest of moments. She was glad for the relative quietness. Even with the shouts from the crowd across the way, to her, it was white noise. It brought her thoughts into focus and she quickly pulled the Growlithe up into her arms.
"Bullet, I'm only brave because I have to be, not because I want to," she said softly, burying her fingers into his scruff. She felt his snout press against her neck while his ears folded back against his head. From the corner of her eye, she could see Riptide inching closer, his crimson eyes flicking between her and Bullet. "Sometimes, I think you're braver than me, buddy. You fight other pokémon that are sometimes faster, bigger or stronger than you, but you don't give up. You've got heart, Bullet. That counts for something. I can't say I knew your trainer, but I'm sure he'd proud of you. You were the only thing he remembered, even when he kept forgetting things. That alone says you were something special to him."
The paw on her shoulders flexed and dug into her and a whimper sounded off next to her ear.
"I think you should wait to evolve. I know that's not what you want to hear, but I think letting you reach your potential as you are now might help in the long run. You won't learn skillsets you could if choose to become an Arcanine, or ones that would take twice as long if you evolve. Just wait a while. If you still feel the same in a few months' time as you do now, I'll put in an order or request or just outright buy that Fire Stone for you. Okay?"
Bullet stirred in her arms then, pushing away just far enough to look her in the face. His hot blue eyes studied her with hope shimmering in their depths, and a small doggy grin pried his lips up.
"You think I'm brave?"
Lupin returned the smile. "Very. You're my brave boy. And you were Benjamin's brave boy, too. I meant what I said. Based on what he sounded like before his Alzheimer's, he must have been a good man. And he would have been proud of you." She gave him a soft scratch behind the ear. "You'll be an Arcanine one day, Bullet, I promise. I'll make sure of it."
The grin broadened on his muzzle, and the doubt that had riddled him slowly melted away. His bushy tail wagged a little and he pushed away from her, claws clicking on the sidewalk.
"Then we should get going, huh? Make those months fly by. Maybe I'll be stronger then!"
"If you train correctly and don't screw up any battles, you will be," Riptide remarked dryly. Bullet regarded him for only a moment. He returned his blue gaze to bear on Lupin again.
"I'll wait then. I'll wait a few months. If I'm stronger as a Growlithe before I'm an Arcanine, then I'll be an even stronger as an Arcanine."
The werewolf chuckled. "That's kind of the point. I want you ready for ready for anything. But there are some moves that take longer to learn if you evolve too soon. If you wait and learn everything, you won't have to build up to those skills. It'd take too long."
The puppy pokémon considered her words, his face screwing up into a contemplative look, it dragged on for a little longer than his last moment of reflection. Riptide stepped closer and nudged Bullet.
"Come on, you dunderhead. We've got a schedule to keep. I don't remember a crisis of your self-worth being on it. You're a valuable enough asset to stay on the team. Blah, blah, blah."
"I think that's the highest compliment you've ever paid anyone, Rip," Lupin replied, offering the big jaw pokemon a wry smile. Riptide snorted and nudged Bullet again. The Growlithe huffed, although he didn't look too displeased. Pushing himself up to his paws, Bullet regarded the Croconaw for a long moment, then darted forward and slurped his tongue across Riptide's snout. Riptide reeled backwards with a hiss, swiping away the spittle on his snout.
"Disgusting mammal! You and your excessive slobber!"
Bullet was already trotting ahead on fast paws and calling over his shoulder, "Come on, you buncha Slowpokes! You said we have a schedule to keep, let's go keep it!"
Riptide let out a soft string of expletives, watching the Growlithe with narrowed eyes. He snarled louder when he noticed Lupin was failing to stifle her laughter and gave her a sour look.
"This is what I get for being nice! Spittle all over my face!"
Lupin let out a louder laugh that time, not bothering to hide it any longer.
"Why would you wipe his spittle away? It's his way of saying, 'I like you', Rip!"
Riptide would have crinkled his nose if he was physically capable of it. Instead, he went with his next best option. He sprayed her in the face with a water gun and trotted away on his long legs, grateful for the extra height he had as a Croconaw. The sounds of the rabbling reporters faded away the further away he got, their own activities a world away compared to him and his own. He was sure they'd repeat their live reporting later on in the evening news. He felt a little better hearing his trainer splutter and snort behind him, too shocked to do or say anything right away. He glanced over his shoulder to find her glowering at him, and picked up a light jog to catch up. He merely spurred himself onward a little quicker, slowly catching up with the Growlithe ahead of him.
…actually, it made him incredibly happy to ruffle his trainer. He had to get his kicks somehow.
OoOoOoOoOoO
Additional Note: Before I get someone who finds the idea of an "upright crocodilian running is unrealistic" comments in the future, lemme introduce you to Kaprosuchus saharicus (6.5 m long, dagger-like tusks, armoured snout for ramming prey) and Laganosuchus thaumastos (pancake-flat head, lurked in rivers and waited for unsuspecting fish to swim past its gaping jaws to snap up). They both were primitive crocodiles from back in the days of dinosaurs that could both gallop on all fours or upright. Yes, I said gallop. Almost akin to a horse. They had long limbs that enabled them to do this, but they were also incredibly capable of swimming due to their long tails. Modern day crocs have to crawl with their bellies close to the ground now as their limbs are sprawled out their sides, but their ancestors had their legs more or less beneath their bodies.
Thus, a galloping dog-sized Croconaw is not that farfetched. Oh, and those crocs I mentioned? They ate dinosaurs. Yeah. Be glad they're extinct. You're welcome for your daily dose of nightmare fuel.