I let Tyrogue pick his opponent this time. There were a few more Trainers hovering around now, though I hadn't spotted Theo thankfully. I was certain Tyrogue would start seeing red if he had to fight that Shinx again.

As we made a full lap around the entire arena, I finally spoke up.

"This was your idea," I goaded him. "Pick someone, or I'm picking for you."

He glared up at me before seeing something behind me and walking towards it, and I turned to see what had his attention. A girl with dark hair in a high ponytail was doing stretches with a burly looking Machop by her side. She was tall, and wore a grey hoodie and leggings. Tyrogue pointed to the both of them, then looked back at me.

"Those two? Are you sure?"

He gave me a nod, still pointing at the Trainer and her Pokemon, who'd now noticed us.

"Hey, we'll take you on!" She called out, grinning. "Machop versus Tyrogue okay with you?"

"Yeah, cool with me," I responded.

I had a feeling I knew how this fight was about to play out. Machop might've been the first stage of its evolutionary line, but in terms of overall strength that still put him a step above a Baby Pokemon like Tyrogue.

As we took the field, I shouted across to our opponent while Tyrogue began stretching and warming himself up.

"Can you start us off?"

"Sure, we'll start when the timer goes," she said, pulling out her phone and setting it on the ground near her.

Around ten seconds later, a shrill alarm blare issued from her phone, kicking off the battle.

"Go for a Low Kick!"

I didn't issue a command of my own. Tyrogue was on his own for this one. He wanted this fight, he could do it himself if he thought he could win without me.

Machop ran forward and ducked low, his leg sweeping out to catch Tyrogue and trip him up. Normally, it was a move that gained power against heavier targets by using their weight against them. But for this fight, it would put Machop in a more advantageous position if Tyrogue fell to the ground.

Tyrogue leapt forward, avoiding the Low Kick as he threw his weight into a Double Kick that caught Machop in the shoulder. The second kick didn't land as Machop grabbed his leg before it made impact.

"Seismic Toss!"

Now caught in his opponent's grip, Tyrogue struggled to break free, thrashing around desperately as Machop spun around in place before throwing him across the battlefield. Disoriented, Tyrogue hit the ground in a jumbled mess before standing up, shaking his head as he looked around and found his opponent.

"Are you freezing up? You have to actually give your Pokemon commands and tell him what to do," my opponent shouted, a look of irritation growing on her face.

"No, we're good. Keep going," I called back, giving her a thumbs up before placing my hands in my pockets.

"Alright, whatever. Machop, Seismic Toss!"

As Machop approached, Tyrogue settled into his stance, the same one he'd used for what I was guessing was Dizzy Punch. It hadn't worked against Shinx, but maybe this time it would be different. As his opponent lunged, Tyrogue threw his leading arm forward, slapping Machop's hands away as he turned and pivoted, putting the full weight of his body's twisting motion into his punch. It looked like a practiced maneuver, something he'd done as many as hundred or even a thousand times. Tyrogue's glowing fist crashed into Machop's jaw, sending him staggering backwards. In a few moments, his opponent recovered and regained his footing before spitting blood onto the floor. With a yell, Machop charged and Tyrogue rushed with a Tackle to meet him head on.

Dizzy Punch had worked, but there was simply no way for Tyrogue to out muscle Machop. It became obvious as they clashed and the other Fighting Type easily knocked him to the ground. As he went down, Tyrogue raised his arms in a cross block as Machop stood over him, raining down a hail of Karate Chops that bruised him but hadn't broken his guard.

I could step in now, right? Or would he still ignore me? Would I be getting in the way by distracting him with commands? My opponent looked livid with me, and I realized I'd been so honed in on the fight I hadn't heard her giving her Pokemon any orders. Tyrogue just needed to put some space between himself and his opponent. And it was subtle, but he was slightly faster, even if he lacked the raw power his foe had. Tyrogue rolled and broke away, avoiding a Karate Chop before leaping back in, landing one kick to Machop's gut while the other grazed his shoulder.

I stood there, nervously shifting my weight from foot to foot as I watched them fight but I couldn't bring myself to intervene. Arceus, this was embarrassing though. It was bad enough losing, but Trainers who struggled to give their Pokemon commands were generally looked down on and considered unskilled. It was a quality of a beginner but coupled with Tyrogue refusing to listen entirely meant forcing him to fight bordered on abusive. I could only hope that I didn't have spectators.

"Hey, dipshit, do something!"

A voice jeered at me from somewhere in the arena.

"Bro, it's a Pokemon battle! You have to actually give them commands!"

I watched as my opponent called for another Seismic Toss. Machop grabbed Tyrogue by the wrists, swinging him around while he flailed helplessly before slamming him into the ground. When he didn't get up, I quickly recalled him, his body dissolving into red light.

I turned to walk away, and noticed that there were half a dozen other people watching me. Meanwhile, my opponent was stomping her way across the field, Machop following behind her. She was pissed.

"I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that you can't even give your Pokemon a command in battle or that it got hurt because you refused to help him," she scolded.

"I've had him for one day," I snapped. "Less than six hours. He picked this fight. And I didn't refuse shit, I didn't give him commands because he doesn't fucking listen to me."

She recoiled, and I realized that I'd begun raising my voice.

I felt the eyes of other Trainers on me. Ducking my head down, I quickly exited the arena and made my way back to the Pokemon Center.

"I'm Kristy Richards, live in Solaceon Town where a number of local ranchers as well as residents of the town have reported missing Pokemon. This is just one of many in a string of disappearances that began almost two weeks ago. When we tried to reach out to Fantina of the Hearthome Gym and Maylene of the Veilstone Gym, they declined commentary and questions. However, one brave resident, Jed Edderson, was willing to answer some of our questions regarding the missing Pokemon…"

"They dun' took ma' Tauros! Mah prize winnin' Tilly, and her calf too! Tauros don't do nothing like that, they don't up and dis'ppear, ya can hear 'em coming a mile away!"

As the TV reporter in the Pokemon Center droned on, I was doing a bit of research on Tyrogue and the results were about what I expected. From what I read, and I took what I was finding with a grain of salt, it really did come down to just keeping them happy through battle and exercise. I knew Tyrogue wanted to win, but I had to make him see that he was better off working with me rather than trying to spite me by not listening. Still, I knew I'd have to explain to Wendell everything that had happened today.

By the time I left the Center and returned to the Rehome Project it was after 4 in the afternoon. On the walk back I'd opted to leave Tyrogue in his ball. Frankly, I think the little monster and I had had enough of each other for one day. I'd spent a little over half of the money Wendell had given me getting Tyrogue treated. I set the bills and coins down on his desk, along with the Pokeball with a loud thud. Leaning back in his chair, Wendell raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well? How'd he do?"

I began to explain how our day had played out, the first battle, Tyrogue's defiance and how he'd insisted on going back to the arena for more. I was starting to explain how the second fight had gone wrong when the old man cut me off.

"Wait, ya stopped givin' 'im commands? Like completely?"

"I mean yeah," I responded. "He wanted to do things on his own, and he didn't listen to me last time."

Wendell closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, and I swore I saw his jaw clenching.

"Do you speak Pokemon, Titus? Did Tyrogue tell ya he wanted to fight on his own?" the old man said in an exhausted tone.

"No, but…"

Shit.

"Then how would ya know? You're not in his head and ya don't know how he's feeling," Wendell lectured before taking a deep breath and looking at me. "Look, it'd be easy to blame all 'a this on Tyrogue bein' a hotheaded little punk, but that's ignoring the fact that ya refused to show up for 'im. Yeah, it's likely he wouldn't have listened and yeah, he probably won't obey ya next time either, but you still have to try."

"So I have to go get pointed and laughed at by other Trainers because he doesn't want to listen?"

"Well, boo-freakin-hoo. Why do ya care what a bunch a Deerling-eyed little shits have to say 'bout the way you battle? They're not in your shoes. Quit puttin' so much stock in what people like that say."

He raised a good point. I got anxious and panicky when I felt other people watching me battle, even more so when they began to heckle me.

"Look, I won't fault ya for havin' a tough time with 'im. They can be ornery, and he's clearly been through somethin'. Ya just have to break through to 'im, make it known that you're on his side. Just don't give up on 'im yet, it takes time."

Wendell was right though. He'd gone through this sort of thing with Etta when she first arrived here. But over time she warmed up to him, and now Wendell was her favorite person here.

"Should I keep battling with him then?"

"Battling and exercise. Try takin' 'im for a run or something, get the blood pumping. Unless you're planning on givin' up on 'im after jus' one day?"

Not helping him with Tyrogue was an option too. Wendell and Elaine we're probably more capable of taking care of him and giving him what he needed. Mom always said you only have to do today once. So even if this first day was rough, it didn't mean better days were out of the question, right?

"No, I want to keep trying to help him, if you'll let me."

Wendell beamed, his expression visibly brightening as he leaned back into this office chair.

Warehouse work wasn't glamorous, but it paid the best of my jobs, even if I only worked there one day a week. Mostly, it just involved unloading trucks as they were brought in and if they needed help, I occasionally got to sort and categorize different items. There were only a few trucks that came in, so the day was rather slow. When I wasn't doing that, I opted to sweep the warehouse. Once I'd walked the entire floor with the push broom I began mopping.

I was finishing up one of the large aisles filled with steel shelving that held pallets and boxes of various goods the company shipped out, when I heard something an aisle over.

It was one of my co-workers, Selene, talking with the warehouse manager, Carrie, a woman with large front teeth that frequently butted into conversations and insisted that no one worked as hard as she did. As far as bosses went, she was my least favorite.

"...you really shouldn't talk like that Carrie, he's a good worker and there's nothing wrong with him being quiet-"

"He's creepy, and he's only here one day a week. It's just laziness, y'know there used to be a time when people actually worked instead of this namby-pamby crap they have goin' on now-"

I didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Frankly, I think my reaction would've been worse had I stayed to listen to whatever else came out of her mouth. It was infuriating to be told you don't work hard enough but if my boss was going to talk shit on me she could've at least said it to my face. I tilted over the mop bucket, letting the dirty contents spill out onto the warehouse floor before I clocked out and left.

I was in a terrible mood, stomping my way around Jubilife. I didn't want to go home yet, it was still the middle of the day but I wasn't sure about going to the Rehome Project. They might ask questions about why I wasn't at work and I didn't have it in me to tell them about it.

Something near me crashed to the ground with a great metallic clatter. Whipping around, I found the source of it behind me, a cluster of dented metal trash cans on their sides and spilling over with garbage. I'd walked right past the thing but hadn't touched it. And if weren't for me hearing something rustling around and moving in the pile of refuse, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Walking back over, I caught a brief glimpse of something trying to hide itself under a trash bag. I pulled it away to reveal a feline creature with purple and cream colored fur, staring at me with despondent green eyes. Around her neck was a faded and worn looking lime-green collar with a bell attached to it. It was shivering, fur matted and torn, covered in mud and grease and Arceus only knew what else. The most pathetic looking Purrloin I'd ever seen.

The Dark Type flinched and recoiled as I knelt down before scooping them up into my arms. I opened up my coat and tucked the miserable looking creature inside, keeping them close to the warmth of my body. I couldn't do much for them at home. I thought of the Pokemon Center as another place to take them, but they treated injuries, not something like this. Purrloin let out a pathetic mewl that I could barely hear. Either they were just quiet, or they were too weak to make much noise. Quickening my pace, I changed direction from the wandering course I'd been taking to the Rehome Project.

It took almost twenty minutes of walking with Purrloin shivering against me before I reached the Rehome Project. I stepped inside, looking around for-

"Oh, Titus!" Elaine piped up, looking up with a smile from the binders and paperwork she had splayed out on the desk. "I thought you were working today?"

As I approached the desk, I unzipped my coat to reveal the Pokemon inside clinging to me for warmth.

"Elaine, please..," I pleaded. "It needs help."

Elaine's happy demeanor quickly fell to serious and concerned as she stood up and walked around the desk. At her heels was Deeni, who had been curious about the commotion.

"Oh, Arceus, what is…is that a Purrloin? Where did you find it?"

"They were in a pile of trash, I couldn't just leave them there," I explained in an anxious and panicked tone. "And I didn't think a Pokemon Center could or would do anything, I don't think they just take in strays and I-"

Elaine grabbed my arm, her hand wrapping tight around my wrist.

"Hey, it's alright. We're gonna do everything we can, ok?"

The first thing we did was bathe the Dark Type in a large metal tub. We filled the bottom of the basin with warm water and placed Purrloin inside before applying soap and washing them by hand. Deeni was too short to reach up to the tub, so it was up to Elaine and I to bathe her. Several times, Purrloin slipped out of our hands and attempted an escape. The whole time they were shaking and shivering worse then when I'd picked them up. By the time we were finished, the water had turned a black color, and I spotted numerous fleas dotting the surface of the water. We drained the tub and rinsed Purrloin off one last time before drying them and swaddling them in a warm towel. My clothes were also soaked, the front of my hoodie and pants were splashed repeatedly throughout the bath and now they were cold and clinging to my skin.

Elaine wiped the sweat from her forehead as she held the bundled up Purrloin, whose face was barely peeking through the folds of the towel they were wrapped up in. She turned to me with an exhausted look.

"We'll examine them more closely later, but for now we should just let them rest and eat. I'm sure you know this by now, but this isn't normally how we do intake," she reminded me.

"I…I know..I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's alright. But we can't take in every stray Pokemon. I know that hurts, I know it doesn't feel great to leave them but the Rehome Project was never meant for helping feral or stray Pokemon. It's for the creatures that have suffered at the hands of humans," she stated.

I picked up the faded green collar we removed before bathing Purrloin and held it out to her, shaking it to let the tiny bell attached ring.

"Pokemon don't just willingly place collars around their necks like this. They belonged to someone, Elaine."

"We can check to see if they're registered to someone, but if they were willing to leave them in heaps of trash like you said then they likely never had them registered. Here," she said, holding out the bundled up Pokemon. "I have to get some food for our newest guest, and let Wendell know about all of this."

I took the swaddled Purrloin with both hands, cradling it in my arms and finding somewhere to sit while Elaine left the room. Even through the towel, I could feel them shivering and shaking.

"It's alright, you're safe now. We're gonna take good care of you here, get you plenty of good food to eat..", I whispered to the feline Pokemon, trying my best to soothe them.

I know this had to be terrifying for them, I just hoped we were doing everything we could to comfort Purrloin while they got used to us.

A few minutes later, Elaine came back with a bowl of Pokemon feed in her hands and Wendell in tow. Following them was Deeni, who was holding a few toys that the other Pokemon liked to play with.

"Give 'em here, Titus. S'a good thing ya did, gettin' this little one off the streets." With strong hands, the old man took them into this arms and opened the bundle up to see Purrloin's face before reaching in to scratch its chin. A slight rumbling purr ensued from the blanket.

"Y'should go see what Tyrogue's up to while we get this one fed up and looked into," he stated without looking away from Purrloin. I swear I saw him smiling and his eyes had a brightness to them that wasn't there before.

So I did. I left down the hall and went to several of the different rooms and environments. He wouldn't be with the cave dwelling or aquatic creatures., and certainly not any of the Grass Types. Finally, I found him in one of the larger play areas with a group of Pokemon running around. There was a glass window that I could watch them through as they ran around the room, playing and messing with the various toys that were scattered about. I expected to find Tyrogue sulking in the corner but…

He was on the outskirts of the group, rubbing his arms and looking at his feet as he kicked one of the big rubber balls. Two Bidoof and a Lillipup make their way over to him, and though I can't hear or understand what's said between them, Tyrogue runs after them with a wide smile as the three other Pokemon begin chasing each other around the room. They begin kicking and pushing that same rubber ball around, making a sort of game around it to bounce it off walls and push it to one another.

Tyrogue was happy, actually smiling and playing with other Pokemon. Yesterday felt like a total disaster and yet, here he was enjoying himself and interacting with others.

I felt a heavy hand clutch my shoulder and turned to see Wendell there, beaming as he too looked through the glass.

"Yeah, it happened this mornin' but I'm glad ya got to see it first hand rather than us jus' tellin' ya 'bout it," the old man mused. "He didn't give us no fuss or trouble, didn't pick fights with the other Pokemon. I'd swear ya went and traded 'im for a brand new Tyrogue," he chuckled.

I think that was when I began to see the situation with Tyrogue differently. We all need help and love and support sometimes, even if we don't realize it. Sometimes a bit of kindness could work wonders.