Vulpix didn't quite know what had happened, where she was, or how she got here. The only thing she did know was that something terrible had happened, and someone she cared greatly for needed help.

He was hurt, and she had to do something. A quick check ensured he was stable. A brief goodbye before she sprinted into the forest, desperate to find someone who could help. The sound of the car grew quiet as she ran with the only sound audible, or at least the only one that mattered, was her laboured breathing.

It took much longer than she was expecting but fortuitously, she found two individuals who seemed to be trainers wandering the forest. It didn't take much to convince them to follow, as an agitated Fire Pokémon is usually not something you want to leave unattended in a forest. 'When in crisis, use every advantage you have.' She thought, as she raced back in the general direction of the car she just recently left.

Fortune favoured her this day, as she was able to quickly re-locate the vehicle with the aid of the alarm. Guiding the two presumed trainers to it, they involved themselves hastily in the situation and went about ensuring that the newly found and injured man was not in immediate risk of death before bringing him back whence they came.

The little Vulpix followed along, albeit at a distance. Concern wrecked her body, but she remained calm. 'Running in will just get us both killed.' The thought, whose source was unknown rattled her and gave her an overwhelming sense of dread. 'You got help and let them do their job. You've done all you could. Let the professionals take over.' Her attempts of reassurance did little to calm her, but it was all she could do as she followed the trio back towards their home.

As they made it to town, they deftly navigated the few streets present and brought the unconscious man into a large wooden house with a teal roof. She followed them inside. There, they brought him to a small clinic room of sorts. A man with a white lab coat awaited and discussed with the pair what had happened.

"That Vulpix would not let up, brought us right to a crashed car with this guy outside of it." The girl said, helping her compatriot carry the unconscious man to the bed in the room. He was conscious when we got there, albeit delirious. Might have been in shock or something. Wasn't a pretty sight."

"That's good, at least." The labcoat man replied. "Help me with him if you please, Ethan. Lyra, grab a couple of the berry extracts we got from the fridge. Sitrus, Perism, and Rawst should be enough."

The man, probably Ethan, moved to assist. The woman, likely Lyra, held a look of confusion. "What? Elm, we're not taking him to the Joys?"

Already with the man's shirt off, presumably Elm responded while looking over the injuries sustained. "Unless I find something critical, no. There's no need to bother them with this. It'll be hard enough as it is keeping everything neat, tidy, and clear cut. Last thing we need is to willfully invite prying eyes to our little slice of peace and quiet. Ethan, get the x-ray setup. Need to check his ribs."

Lyra looked between the three men, hesitating as she took a few reluctant steps towards the door. "Look." Elm continued. "Let's make sure he's not actively dying, and I'll fill you in. But please, the extracts."

The girl gave a terse nod before leaving the room, Ethan following suit. Elm looked towards the Vulpix. "Good think you were there to help, little one. For all I was told, it did not include -where- in the forest he was. Just in the forest. He owes you for that, and by extension I do too." He returns to the heavily bruised man laying before him and continues his work. Vulpix watches silently, her prior thoughts continuing to echo. 'You've done all you could.'

It didn't help any more now than it did then.

As Nick dressed himself, shirt largely unscathed from the events of yesterday, the little vulpine watched him with something between great interest and even greater concern. It took a few minutes to collect himself, don his clothing, and make his way to the door taking care not to overexert or otherwise strain his healing body.

Once finally ready, he took in the room once again before departing. It looked like an examination room in a doctor's office only instead of diagrams of human anatomy, it held detailed information on Pokémon. 'I guess that makes this closer to a vet here then, doesn't it?' He wonders idly whether or not Johto has any non-Pokémon fauna. Or if anywhere does, really. 'Man, thinking of myself here is forever going to be a stretch.'

"Well anyways, shall we you little finger biter?" He asks, looking towards the small red furball. It glares in turn. His gaze lingers, taking in her look as it shifts from concern to dismissal. 'Not only am I here, but I have this little buddy with me.' He smiles."To be fair, it's a factual descriptor. I have the marks to show it, and Elm would agree, me thinks." They glare in response. "Now let's go see what all this 'trainer' business is and how screwed I am at for being here instead of back home." The Vulpix notably rolled its eyes before turning to leave, feelings of annoyance emanating from it.

Leaving the room, Nick found himself in a long hallway. On one end, a door with a window showed the great outdoors. On the other, a small sitting area where some very expensive looking machinery peaked out. 'I could just run. Lyra(?) mentioned about sneaking me out.' He considered his options. 'Well, Elm is the devil I know, and he hasn't been outright hostile. Aside from the whole… wallet… thing.'

"Guess we're going this way." He makes his way towards the open room, the Vulpix following closely beside him.

Once he exits the hallway into the central area, he takes in the room before him. There was a small lounge-y area with a TV, a sofa and a chair, a little kitchenette from which a man was working on making breakfast, and a table in which the girl from before sat alongside Elm as they looked over papers together. The Professor looked up as Nick entered the room and waved him over. "C'mere!" He almost shouted, his face lit up as a child in a candy store. "Come, grab a seat. Ethan should have food in a moment, and we have a lot to go over. This is so exciting!" He squealed.

The girl gives Nick a pained look of apology as he and his Vulpix make their way over to the table. He takes a seat between the two people already there as the girl speaks up. "I'm Lyra, by the way." She says, extending a hand. "I don't believe I've formally introduced myself."

Nick reaches to shake it as Vulpix stands up and places their paws on his leg, looking expectantly up at him. He sighs and picks them up, placing them on his lap before reaching to shake the outstretched hand. "Pleasure. Nick, though I suppose you knew that already." Lyra gives a slight smile.

"And I'm Ethan!" A loud and boisterous voice echoes from the kitchenette. "Food'll be ready in a bit, not allergic to dairy or eggs, I hope."

Before Nick can even hope to respond and contemplate the nature of eggs here, Elm exclaims "Right! Let's get down to it. We need to fill out the paperwork for the Johto Pokémon League, others may call it the Kanto league but they're wrong, get you registered as a professional trainer and representative of myself and the lab, and fill in any blanks you may have regarding this region. Now, before we get started, do you have any questions?" He looks to the blonde man, who almost shrinks himself down.

'Is this guy crazy?' He thinks a moment. He looks down to Vulpix. They share a glance. 'Probably.' He then speaks. "Why uh. Why are you trusting me with all this? I mean, you don't know me, only met me properly like, twenty minutes ago, and are now taking me on as essentially a grad student without knowing absolutely anything about me. Just." He takes a deep breath. "Why?"

The Professor nods. "A valid question." He says, pondering a moment before continuing. "A friend vouched for you. With that, the fact you didn't blatantly lie, and your companion here, you have my full confidence." He finishes his statement with all the confidence of a child who found a shiny rock and declared it to be the single most valuable thing in existence.

"R-right." Nick responds. "And uh, who is this friend? Since I don't think I know anyone here." The words hurt as he speaks. 'Or anyone, for that matter.' He begins to give the Vulpix on his lap head scratches, focusing on the feeling of its fur in his hand. The warmth emanating from the creature cozy and reassuring.

Elm gave a small chuckle. "That's privileged information. In due time, mayhap you'll encounter them, or you'll find out. Until then, just know that someone cared enough to forewarn of your arrival."

'But I don't know anyone. There's no one who knows about me, let alone cares enough to do this. They didn't back home, let alone here. Mysteries upon mysteries.' He focuses on the vulpine, trying not to let his thoughts stray too far.

"So…" Nick takes a deep breath, chest tight as his anxiety mounts. 'Focus on the fox, Nick. Focus on the fox.' Almost as if they heard his thoughts, it gave a distinctly cat-like purr. "You know I'm not from around here, then." He continues, slow with his choice of words.

"Quite!" The professor replies. "While I'm not quite sure from where, that matters little at the moment and while you're at liberty to share, you're under no obligation to. I'd ideally like for this to be a safe space for you." He gives a nervous cough before continuing. "What does matter is you're here now, and I am to see that you settle in well. I feel this will be mutually beneficial in more ways than one. I help you accommodate your sudden change in surroundings, and you can help me by providing a new way of approaching my research and studies." Lyra seems to have taken great interest in the woodgrain of the table, her white hat barely containing her two ponytails as they strive in vain to break free.

Before the soon-to-be-trainer has a chance to contemplate the definitions of 'Coercion' and 'Indentured servitude', Elm continues. "Though if you wish to go in a different direction, and we part ways, it's no harm from me or on my end. If nothing else, I'm following through on my friend's request. I just think that, given your history, you would be interested in working with us. I think you'll find some of the stuff we're doing here fascinating." He gives a sigh of contentment as he looks around the room, eyes lingering on the various machines dotted about.

'Well, I don't really have any other options.' Vulpix looks up at the man, who returns their look. 'Though he's not wrong, assuming I'm actually here, there would be countless research opportunities. Pokémon egg groups, IV's and EV's, move sets, innate vs. learned behaviours. I mean heck, an Octillery would make Monty green with envy.' His mind lingers momentarily on the red cephalopod before pushing the thought from his head.

"Well doctor." Nick speaks up after contemplating his words for a handful of seconds, trying to channel positivity he's not quite sure he has. "This is lowkey a dream come true for me. While the circumstances weren't ideal, the end result is probably a good one. Who knows, maybe whatever research I end up doing will actually get supported here." The lingering pain of rejection still fresh in his mind. He strokes the fox, hand tracing the length of its body from head to tail.

Elm gives a hearty "Hah!" while knocking over a glass of water. He quickly attempts to contain the water before it wets the papers in front of him. "Apologies. Though I have no doubt though that you're going to bring quite a few new and fascinating ideas to life. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll discover an entire new branch of science! After all, you are talking to the man who discovered the fact that Pokémon lay eggs. So it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for one of my apprentices to do the same! Though you'll have to contend with Lyra and Ethan here and they're no under dogs when it comes to scientific pursuits." He leans back in his chair, a self-serving smile on his face.

Lyra looks up to Elm and raises an eyebrow, makes direct eye contact, holds it with him for a moment, before rolling her eyes. "You're going to crush him with expectations at that rate." She turns to the boy between herself and Elm. "Just follow your passion. If you become a trainer, you'll have a lot of freedom to pursue what you find interesting." She looks to the papers in front of Elm, who has begun filling them out. "I know it's a lot, but if what Elm says is true about you, then I think you'll be happy here."

'I think you'll be happy here.' The words shook him, not for their meaning but for the memories they ignited within him.

'That's exactly what she said before she left. It's going to happen again, isn't it? It's going to happen-' His downward spiral is interrupted by a very firm spoken "Vulpix." From its namesake on his lap. He looks down to it, only to find a gaze of unbridled concern.

He takes a deep breath.

'One… two… Three…'

Exhales.

'One… two… three…'

"Sorry, just..." He trails off, looking up to the table. Lyra looks almost as concerned as the vulpine on his lap while Elm is muttering to himself as he looks over a particularly arduous sheet.

She leans over and whispers, "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. I don't know exactly what happened, but… I went through something similar." Her words a slight comfort and distraction as he puzzles over how or when she faced something similar to what he had. He gives a nod.

"I appreciate it. Might take you up on it. But." He turns to Elm. "Let's get this good and done, never liked paperwork before, still don't." As he finishes speaking, Ethan pipes up.

"Breakfast is served! Sorry about the delay, it's a real small kitchen I'm working with here. Hopefully it's aggregable though, did my Saturday Morning Best!" He sets down four plates, one to each of the seats at the table. "Three cheese omelette with a variety of vegetables and prosciutto, enjoy everyone! I know I will." No sooner does he sit down does he dig in.

Elm looks surprised momentarily before resuming his paperwork. Nick takes his utensils and cuts into his food, only to notice the Vulpix on his lap staring intently at it food. He cuts a quarter of his omelette, places it on a nearby napkin, and places the napkin between his plate and himself before nudging the red furball on his lap whom looks as if they hadn't eaten a thing in the past three years if their expression is anything to go off of.

Ethan is too engrossed in his food to notice, as is Elm in his papers. Lyra stifles a laugh as she watches the fox eat part of the omelette.

The rest of breakfast is largely uneventful, with Nick answering the Professors barrage of questions regarding his Pokémon League application. Before too long, 13 pages are filled out with questions going so far as to include 'Favourite Pokédex style, preferred Pokémon type, ideal team composition, preferred number of Pokémon per team, what school do you attend, who is your homeroom teacher, and an essay style question requesting one describe why they wish to become a League Endorsed Pokémon trainer. Most of it certainly seems to be tailored for children or young adults.

Later, there were several questions relating to the institution that is submitting the application, and what kind of research he'll be assisting with as well as what areas of interest the trainer-to-be finds interesting.

Turns out, Professor Elm spends most of his time researching Pokémon breeding. Who knew those genetics courses would turn out to be useful?

Lacking a prepared answer or in-depth knowledge on how much of the games he played applies here, Nick simply opted for a safe bet of Pokémon genetics. Both as a way of pleasing the Professor and as a genuine means of determining just how many traits are inherited by Pokémon. Though his choice may end up changing, for the time being, it was a safe call.

Vulpix continues to purr in his lap and frequently nuzzles him, either eager for attention or simply attempting to be a source of reassurance and comfort. Whichever it is, Nick is grateful.

"Alright, I think that about does it. Now, it'll take a bit for this to get processed and for you to get your paperwork and ID. Until then, you…" He ponders a moment" …Don't exactly have any money or proof of, well. Anything, really. Nothing necessary to get by, at least. So, assuming there's no objections, you're free to stay here until the League sorts everything out and you're able to start making progress as a budding new trainer. I remember when I was your age, studying under Oak. Truly groundbreaking research we were doing back then. Though I still cannot believe he only gave me an A minus for-" He's cut off as Lyra coughs before taking a drink.

Inhaling sharply, he continues. "Right, sorry. As I was saying, normally this is about the time I'd give you your starting Pokémon, though it seems like you've already got one. I assume you're content with your Vulpix? Which, I'd ask where you found but given the way she's glaring at me I'm going to refrain from doing so." Elm gives a nervous chuckle as Nick can feel the six-tailed fox vibrate in his lap. He strokes the critter, calming it as they las their head upon his leg.

"I thin I'm happy with… Her, you said?" He looks towards the Professor as the Vulpix gives a huff.

He nods. "Did a study with them a few years back, can identify sex purely off appearances. Which is quite the skill given they're not dimorphic. See, one of the interesting things about the Vulpix line is that-"

Both Ethan and Lyra speak at the same time, "Professor."

He sighs. "Anyways, I can't say I found a Pokéball on you before, I can't imagine you left it back in the forest, eh?"

Nick shakes his head. "Don't have one. Suppose I should get one for you, eh?" He looks down, only to feel the canid give another huff.

The professor nods in agreement. "It is most certainly important that you get one. I have a few spares I can part with, one for your Vulpix and a couple others in case you see anything that catches your fancy. Lyra, if you could grab them and head out back with Nick to sort that out. I'm going to fax over these forms." He stands up, collects the papers, grabs his largely empty glass and begins to head back down the hallway they all emerged from earlier.

Nick facepalms.

"Of course it's a fax machine. Wouldn't be bureaucracy without a fax machine." Lyra snorts. "I take it you have experience with the behemoth that is bureaucracy?" He asks, prying the hand off his face as he looks towards her.

She smiles as she leans onto the table. "I have, though given the disdain and disappointment in your voice, not nearly as much as you have."

Ethan clears his throat before standing up. "Welp, talking about faxing things is the least intellectually stimulating thing that I could be doing right now. I'm going to go count the Chansey eggs." Before heading down the hallway, he cracks open a drawer below one of the machines. Rummaging around, he eventually produces three Pokémon balls.

"Batter up!" He almost shouts before underhand tossing the three balls towards Nick and Lyra. Lyra catches two while Nick the third. He looks over its red and white pattern before pocketing it. "Your balls, now if you'll excuse me, I have large fluffy pink friends to hug." He follows the Professors path and walks down the hall.

Lyra gives a smile to him as he leaves, rolling her eyes as she turns back to Nick.

"Well, you heard the Prof. Let's get you outside and your Vulpix acquainted with their ball." Lyra stands up and while stretching, heads towards the side exit Nick saw earlier.

As if on command, Vulpix hops off the blonde boy's lap and moves to follow her stopping only momentarily to look at her trainer-to-be.

"Alright alright I'm coming you two." He too stands up, tucks in the chairs that were left out in chaos, and follows the duo as they head outside replaying the events of the past couple hours as he does so.

'This… isn't a dream, is it? This is actually real.' It felt both comforting and alien to confront the notion that this was in fact his life now.

He watches the Vulpix walk in front of him, turning back to look at him through the corner of her eye every few seconds as if worried he could disappear at any moment.

'Quite the cautious one, I wonder why? Cetaceans can mourn and experience trauma, mammals as a whole I'm pretty sure can too. What happened to you to give you such a worry streak? And why me specifically?' While thinking, he gives the little fox a small smile and wave. She stops and waits for him to catch up before bumping into his leg as he walks.

As they stroll past the many doors, Professor Elm can be seen in what looks like an office fighting with a fax machine. A pink, coral-y Pokémon watches over the unfolding scene with glee.

'Well, whatever happened, I'm here for you now. Not that I know how we found each other but I certainly won't turn down the companionship.' Feelings of comfort wash over him as their eyes meet, the vulpine looking visibly content for the first time today.

They walk together into the great unknown. Neither of them knows what lies before them, but the comfort that they at least have reassures him.

Turns out the great unknown resembles a fenced in field amongst a forest as the backyard of the hybridized house-lab. Within the field stands a wild Ethan amongst a small group of Chansey and a single Blissey. In one corner, a small group of Sentret stand in a loose circle. By a relatively centered pond, a Totodile splashes around with a resident Quagsire and a few Psyduck. Floating in the pond itself are numerous lily pads which seem to all be located everywhere except the Totodile plays. Two small Bidoof work to make a small dam on one of the corners of the pond itself.

'You know, if anything newer than Sinnoh shows up, I'm going to be royally screwed in the nomenclature department.' He tries desperately to recall anything from Sword and Shield, failing as only Scorbunny enters his mind. 'Huh, maybe I could get a Scorbunny. Wonder if they're predisposed to liking football non-americano.'

As the group of three enter the field, two Marills sprint towards them. Lyra kneels and welcomes them as they jump at her and into her arms. "H-hey you guys! Come on I wasn't gone that long!" They both almost scream "Marill!" As they hug the female trainer. "Okay, okay, we'll have time to play later. I have to help Mr. Nick here with his Vulpix!"

The two Marill climb down off the brown-haired girl and each peak around her to get a glimpse of the newcomer and his Pokémon.

An audible, almost "Wooaah!" sound is heard as their eyes sparkle taking in the details of the Trainer-to-be and his Vulpix. They both begin to run around Lyra and approach the pair.

Vulpix immediately takes up a defensive position in front of the man and growls at the two. Before she begins in earnest, Lyra is already in the process of collecting the two little blue balls of joy and wonderment. "Nope! I know you two love new friends, but we need to give Mr. Nick and his Vulpix some space. They've had a long couple of days and need some time. Okay?" Both Marill give a nod, and she places the recently scooped Pokémon back onto the ground. "Why don't you go give Ethan a hug? I know he could use one!" They both beam with excitement before rushing off towards the only other person in the field.

Nick kneels into the grass, the dampness soaking his pant leg, and gently pets the vulpine. "Hey, it's okay. No need to worry about it. They were just excited is all." She gives a frustrated huff, flames warming the grass before being smothered by cool wetness.

Lyra stands and turns, looking over the two. "Sorry about them, they just love making new friends. It can definitely be overwhelming for an anxious Pokémon." Her gaze lingers on Vulpix, who sits, eyes locked on the departing Marills.

"Anyways." She continues. "You two ready? Got a ball, hopefully you both are good to go. Just toss it at her and it'll take care of the rest. Shouldn't be any problems since one would hope she's alright with it."

Vulpix, gaze unflinching from the little water fairies, sneezes.

Nick chuckles and speaks up, "I think that's as much of an agreement as I can get." Before producing the Pokéball from his pocket.

Finally, the rorangey canid looks away, meets the gaze of her companion, stands up, and nuzzles his leg before pulling away and standing a few meters back.

"Well, here goes nothing, I suppose." Nick gently blows on the ball for good luck before tossing it towards the small vulpine.

In a brilliant flash of light, the Vulpix disappears and the ball falls to the ground.

It does not even shake once before a 'Ding!' is heard from the ball.

"Huh." He remarks. "That was both easier and more anti-climactic than I was expecting."

Lyra shrugs. "Not having a heroic battle before hand takes some of the wind from your sails, eh? In any case, grab it! You are now the proud owner of a Vulpix."

Nick closes the distance and picks up the ball. It looks just as it did before, the only difference being an illuminated light on the front in the center of a button. He pushes the button.

With a click, the Pokéball opens, and a Vulpix materializes on the ground in front of him. It shakes, fluffing its fur before looking around, gaze lingering on her new Trainer.

"And there you go!" Lyra exclaims. "You are now a genuine Pokémon trainer! It's just that easy, though I suppose you did have it easier. Most people spend a while looking for their first Pokémon. Which…" Her voice trails off.

The man pays no mind as he kneels once again and holds out a hand towards his new, official companion. "Hey… Doing okay?" He asks, somewhat concerned that the Pokéball somehow swapped the Vulpix he had spent the past several hours with with a different one.

It sniffed his hand, before walking into it and nuzzling him. Feelings of comfort and gratitude radiate into him. He shivers, the warmth emphasizing how cold he's been.

Lyra speaks once again. "You don't have to answer, Elm didn't tell us much. But… What happened to you? How did you find a wild Vulpix? It's unusual to find one at all, let alone so far away from their regular territory."

'I was wondering when she'd ask. I could use this to probe her for information, figure out exactly how much they know about me and what happened.' Nick gently pets the Vulpix, sitting down in the wet, morning grass and gently nudges it closer. The general feelings of contentment growing the closer it got.

The girl continues, "The car, whatever. It's probably better if I don't know that part. But, it's not often we find someone injured in a forest without Pokémon while being essentially watched over by a somewhat uncommon and mildly elusive Pokémon who is very, very far from its home." She stands, shifting side to side as she fiddles with her own Pokéball.

The comforting feelings fade as he recalls his entry here. The driving, waking up in a car wreck. It's hard to recall anything else that happened, but something certainly did. He sighs.

"Truth is, I don't know. I'm… a long way from home. I don't really know how I got here, or why or anything." His thoughts linger on home. Not the apartment, the aquarium, or Monty, but Home. The familiar feelings of hollow coldness slowly settle in. His words grow quieter as he speaks. "Only thing I know is that I have nothing left."

His Vulpix closes the little remaining distance and climbs into his lap before lying down. A small comfort, and a welcome one.

Lyra stands silently for a while, almost speaking numerous times. She approaches and sits down next to the man, simply remaining in silence.

Minutes pass as they look over the field, the distant sound of bird Pokémon, the laugh of Ethan as he's swarmed by Marills, the happy splashing of a Totodile

Eventually, the distant sound Pokémon is broken once more.

"I don't know what happened to you," Lyra spoke, her voice breaking at points. "But I know what it's like, losing something you care for. Though I guess I'm lucky, what I lost was only temporary." She takes a deep breath.

"The Professor mentions a friend who vouched for you. I don't know who it is, but I have a hunch. If I'm right, then maybe you and your Vulpix are together for a reason. Whatever the true cause for this, something you should remember. At the end of the day, you're not alone." Nick looks up to her, her gaze piercing the distance, planted firmly on the horizon of trees.

They sat in silence a few minutes more, Nick not knowing how to respond, the weight of her words crushing any idea of how to process it.

Eventually, she turns to him, a dim smile illuminating her face. "This was nice, it's not often I get a moment of peace. Between Elm, Ethan, and the Pokémon here, there's always something that needs doing." She stands up and tosses her held Pokéball on the ground. In a flash, a Cyndaquil emerges. It yawns as it blinks the sleep from its eyes, looking around. Its gaze hits Lyra and a happy smile emerges as it hugs her leg.

She returns its smile, before turning to the blonde man once more. "I ought to get started on today's work. Need to get some training in for little Cyndi here, make sure he's developing well before being handed off to an aspiring trainer." She looks over the field, tracking each of the Pokémon within. "I'd like if you came with. Your Vulpix already has a fairly strong bond with you and is quick to rise to the occasion. It wouldn't hurt to get some practice in and see how well her powers are developing. Plus…" She trails off, looking over the pair. "It'd give you two an opportunity to spend some time working together, without either of you being stressed about something."

'Huh. I guess I am basically a Pokémon trainer now, aren't I? Guess that means I need to like… Train… Pokémon…' He focuses on the words 'Pokémon trainer' as if testing how it sounds.

"What do you say, Vulpix? Want to get some training in? See how well each of us works together?"

She looks up at him, eyes filled with a steely determination. "Vul." It says with contagious confidence and a single nod.

He looks back to Lyra. "Well, you heard her. Guess this means I've got to get my game face on. Most training I've done is trying to get an octopus to learn how to hide in a coconut. Well I mean I guess dogs too, but coconut octopus makes for a more interesting story."

Lyra stifles a laugh and gives him a grin. "You'll have to tell it to me while we walk, I'm curious to know what you did as a… Marine biologist you said earlier?"

He smiles and takes a deep breath, reminding himself not to ramble as Professor Elm so commonly does.

"Okay." he starts, "Before anything else, I need to give you the context of Monty."

The pair set off to walk, both Cyndaquil and Vulpix following up behind them, each paying close attention to their trainer's discussion.

Cyndaquil looks over to Vulpix as they walk. The fox Pokémon almost twice the size he is, though more lanky against his compact build. "I uh… Heard some of what they were talking about." He says, almost as quiet as a whisper. "Is… Is it true that you were free?"

Vulpix sighs, staring straight ahead as they walk.

'Nothing's quite easy, is it?'