"Do you know where Nero is?" Julia asked, really hoping he didn't run off into a village on his own again. The Linoone, having spent the past two hours picking berries in the backwoods outside their cabin, did not want to have to come home to yet another Nero-induced panic session. "Better not to think about what happened last time. It won't happen again, I've taken every step to ensure that he can't gain access to my bank account again."

Arthur Hendricks, the Heliolisk frantically pacing in a circle in front of her, buried his face in his hands. "I don't know! He just- He tricked me! With all due respect, your son is a psychopath, Ms. Moreno!"

"He's six years old, Arthur," Julia said. "What kid doesn't get a little hard to manage around this age? It's perfectly normal."

"Ms. Moreno, I don't know how to tell you this, but there is not a single thing 'normal' about your son!"

"What'd he do to you this time?" Julia asked.

Arthur's face turned red. "That's… That's not- Look, please don't laugh." Julia nodded, giving Arthur the confidence to continue. "...He suggested that we play hide and seek, and that I be the hider. This was an hour ago, and I only now realize that his challenge was not made in earnest."

True to her word, Julia didn't laugh, though it took some effort. "So he did run off somewhere." She took a deep breath. "I'm not upset with you, per se, but I-"

"I'm back!" The troublemaking Zigzagoon proudly marched out of the backwoods, covered in berry juice and dirt. "Hey, Hendricks. Looks like I caught you!"

"What do you-" Arthur started. "N-No you didn't!" You didn't even try finding my hiding spot! You forfeited!"

Nero let out a carefree laugh. "Looking for you sounded hard, so I thought I'd just wait for you to get bored and leave, and find you that way."

"You- That is not how the game is supposed to be played!" Hendricks yelled, his frills flaring up involuntarily.

Nero stuck his tongue out at Hendricks. "Still won though, didn't I? Isn't it time for math class now?"

Arthur sighed. "That depends. Did you learn today's material in advance so that you could make a fool of me again?"

"I don't do it to make you look dumb, I do it 'cause you're too slow and boring," Nero said. "Mom, I'm thirsty," he said, before anyone had a chance to react to the last thing he said. "Do we have any Oran juice?"

"Check the ice box, honey," Julia said, trying not to let her exasperation show. "But please rinse off first, you look like you wandered into a paint factory." Once Nero was out of earshot, Julia gave Arthur an apologetic look. "Thank you for agreeing to be his teacher. I know how difficult he can be at times, so it means a lot to me."

Arthur took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. "Not at all, he practically does my job for me. I can't remember the last time I actually taught him something, to be honest. He'd be a dream student, if only he had some peers to release all that pent-up energy with."

Julia sighed. "…Yeah, if only." It didn't bring her mind to great places, thinking about how socially and emotionally stunted her son was because of his unorthodox upbringing. She needed to lighten the mood, for her own sake. "Who knows? I hear Claudius had a brutal fight with Dorinel recently, maybe it finally killed him?"

"Dorinel has never been the strongest of the two, as far as I'm aware" Hendricks said. "I don't believe there's a force in the world that can stop him. Not even old age, if Mai keeps acting so sloppy."

"Mom, who's Claudius?"

Julia frantically whipped her head towards the cottage window, where Nero sat, listening in while casually sipping on a juice box. "You! Uh- Have you been listening to-"

"He's my father, right?" Nero continued. "What's he like?"

How could she ever begin to start talking about what kind of man Claudius was, looking into Nero's adorable, innocent eyes? "He… He's not… a very nice man," she said cautiously. "We don't have to talk about-"

"Oh, is he kinda like the Big Bad Boltund?" Nero asked, referencing last night's bedtime story.

"He is worse than the Big Bad Boltund," Julia answered. Nero's mouth hung open, visibly shaken up at the notion. "C'mon, you know it's rude to listen in when grown-ups are talking. Finish your Oran juice in the dining room, okay?"

It seemed like Nero left, but Hendricks still kept his voice quiet, just to be safe. "Are you… sure about continuing to shelter him?" he asked. "I understand that he's your son, but I can't overstate how dangerous this is."

"We'll be fine," Julia said. "We're the only three people in the world who know that this cottage exists, and even if an enemy finds it, Nero's easy enough to hide."

"...If you insist." Arthur stood up, taking another glance into the cottage window. "Oh, so that's where I left my lunch bag. I was starting to worry, I left my whole week's worth of meals in there." Julia followed along as Arthur headed into the cottage for his bag.

But as soon as he opened it, it was clear that something was wrong.

"Arthur?" Julia asked hesitantly.

Arthur's hands shook as he gripped onto the bag. "It's empty." He took in a deep breath, before shouting. "NERO!"

Nero casually strolled in. "Hey, Hendricks."

"Why is my lunch bag empty?" Arthur demanded.

"I dunno."

"You don't?" Arthur said, his voice several octaves higher than usual. "Look at all the bristly fur that got stuck in the bag! Who do you think left that there?"

Nero stared at the bag and shook his head. "Mom, you know it's wrong to steal food."

"Nero," Julia said in the sternest voice she could muster. "How many times do I have to tell you? Treat others how you want to be treated!"

Nero rolled his eyes. "I was hungry."

"We give you as much food as the rest of us combined!" Arthur shouted. "And there was enough in that bag to feed me for a week! How much can you eat?!"

"Am I really going to have to ground him over this?" Julia thought. At least this explained why Nero tricked Arthur into that one-sided hide and seek game. "You know better, Nero! Food isn't easy to-"

She was cut off by the overwhelmingly loud noise of Nero's belly rumbling. "Uh…" Nero trailed off. "Wow, strange, where did that come from?"

Arthur nearly exploded. "How could you possibly still be hungry?!"

Julia had the feeling that something else was going on. "Nero, did you really eat all that food?"

"O-Of course! What else would I do with it?"

There was only one way to find out, Julia decided. She marched outside to the trail that Nero initially emerged from, with Arthur and Nero trailing behind. It didn't take long to find a distinct zigzagging trail of pawprints leading out into the woods, which she wasted no time following.

Nero was doing just about everything he could to stop Julia, from biting down on her ear to attempting to push her back. Of course, with him being six years old, none of his efforts amounted to much. "I told you, I ate it all! Just ground me or something!" The further they got, the more desperate Nero's pushing, shouting, and crying got, until suddenly, he went completely silent.

"Nero?" Julia asked. "What's going on?"

"Quiet," he whispered.

It took a second for Julia to notice what Nero was talking about. There was a family of feral, morbidly skinny Panchams gathered under an overhanging cliff, the oldest one not looking any older than Nero, gorging themselves on a mountain of berries, apples, and sandwiches. "Nero?"

Nero pouted. "...Their mom was dead on the ground in front of them, and I ran out of food to give them from my own stash."

Arthur facepalmed. "Nero, those are wild Pokémon!"

The Panchams scattered at the sounds of Arthur's yelling, bringing as much food as they could with them.

Julia couldn't help but give Nero a sympathetic look. She didn't want to shut him down for doing a kind deed, but at the same time, this wasn't something that could keep happening. "Nero, that's very nice of you, but it's still wrong to take someone else's food. And like Mr. Hendricks told you, these Pokémon are all feral. They can't think like we do."

"I don't care," Nero said. "I thought I was supposed to treat others how I wanna be treated?"

Julia let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't use my lectures against me."

"Why is it okay for them to go hungry?" Nero demanded. "Just because they're feral doesn't mean they can't feel pain! Or die!"

A slight smile crept up Julia's face, hearing the righteous passion in Nero's voice. If nothing else, this could be a sign that she was raising him right, despite it all. "I… No, no, you're right. How about, next time you see something like this, you tell us about it, and we can sort it out together."

"Are you serious?" Arthur complained.

"Does this mean I'm not in trouble?" Nero asked, staring at Julia with the most adorable pleading eyes she had ever seen in her life.

Julia squinted at him. "Nero, are you seriously trying to use Baby-Doll Eyes on me?"

Nero grinned. "Is it working?"

"Not well enough," Arthur said, thankfully stepping in before Julia could let him off easy. "We can decide on your punishment-"

"I'm gonna take a nap now."

"Wha- No!" Arthur protested. "You are not going to sleep until-"

Arthur had more to say, but it was hard to hear over the sound of Nero's snoring, which he started doing only seconds after his head hit the ground. Even in sleep, he had a cocky, winning smile on his face.

"At least… he was trying to do something nice?" Julia said.

Arthur looked weary. "Julia, you have to be harder on him sometimes."

Julia sighed. "I just… I can't help but be happy to see him choosing to be selfless. I've lost more sleep than I'd care to admit, worrying about the possibility of him turning into his father one day. I'm just relieved, that's all."

"Of course, yes," Arthur said, suddenly looking distant. "Well, I suppose he's your child at the end of the day. Do with him as you see fit, just please ensure that he doesn't gain access to my food supply again."

"Thanks for understanding," Julia said. She used her maw to lift Nero up by the scruff of his neck and toss him over onto her back. "I'll forage more food for you later, I promise."

Part of Julia was glad to see Nero being carefree enough to pass out in the middle of the woods. No kid deserved to live with an existential threat like Claudius looming over every aspect of their lives. Innocence like that was all too fleeting, and Julia wanted to preserve it as long as she could. She couldn't protect him forever and she knew it, but despite that, she was always going to be in Nero's corner, no matter what.