As I walked back through the room, backed full with families of houndour and houndoom, I could hardly believe it was happening. Intellectually, I supposed that I should’ve known that it would’ve had to at some point; no one makes it all the way to the League finals with just a one-member team, after all.
Well, I amended in my head, no one who isn’t either insane or trying some kind of challenge.
Regardless, I’d known that I’d pick up a second team member at some point. I hadn’t been looking for anything, specifically, mostly figuring that I’d just come across a Pokemon that I just clicked with. I hadn’t anticipated that it would be so soon, especially with the first badge in my case not even a day old at this point. The houndour at my side, already as tall as my thigh despite his young age, brushed against my leg. I looked down and met his slightly nervous gaze with a smile, which seemed to calm him somewhat, though he still tried to keep his head up in the eyes of his… Well, they weren’t peers, not strictly speaking. I was sure that the Poke that filled the room were plenty powerful, but from the way they seemed to defer to the mother of this houndour, and the houndour himself for that matter, I guessed that they were roughly analogous to some kind of royalty.
My head spun a bit at that thought, and I had to take a quick breath to steady myself, still not quite believing. At this point, I was just going along with it- no other way to act, I supposed. All I could do was roll with what was happening and accept that it was.
We climbed the steps up to the raised area of stone at the other side of the chamber from where the two alphas still watched us, serene and unmoving, Drake at my right and the houndour at my left. As we reached the top, the houndour turned, staring across the room and back at his parents. I froze for a moment, watching closely as he inclined his head to them, and they did so in return. I hesitated, then followed his example, Drake then following my lead. The houndour lingered a moment longer, sweeping his eyes across the room and his family, before turning back and padding to my side.
The heavy wooden doors swung shut behind us, and I immediately let out a deep breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding, followed swiftly by a somewhat nervous laugh. Drake looked on in exasperated amusement, the houndour simply confused, as I wobbled over to the stone wall and placed my back against it before sliding down and taking a seat. Drake sat, the poochyena seeming perfectly happy to wait for me to recover, while the houndour hesitantly came up to me and nosed my knee, concerned eyes watching me. I simply shrugged, reaching out and rubbing one of his ears with a thumb.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just… naturally anxious, and I just finished being in an entirely unexpected spotlight. I’ll have to shake it out later, I think, but I’m alright.” I shook off the remaining cobwebs of anxiety, then focused on the houndour. My legs slid down into a cross-legged position, and my hand came away from his head and settled with my other hand in my lap. “Still, before that, before we go anywhere, we have something much more important to discuss. Serious.”
The houndour looked at me, curiosity dancing in his eyes, mixed with just a tinge of uncertainty. Drake, hovering in the background and sensing the change of mood, seemed suddenly solemn.
“First, I’m- well, not from this world.” The houndour gave me a bewildered look, blinking, then glanced back at Drake. “No, I’m entirely serious.” He looked back at me, question in his eyes. “I, well, came from a place similar to this one, but without Pokemon. We had games that involved them, stories and shows and the like, but they- your kind, were purely fictional where I came from. Bit of a shock, when I realized what sort of situation I’d found myself in. With that in mind, are you alright to continue traveling with me?” He nodded immediately, not even time for thought, and I couldn’t help the expression of surprise that flashed across my face. “Really? Are you-?” He barked, making both Drake and I twitch, seeming almost offended that I’d question him on this. “Ah… alright. Thank you.”
He nodded, a slightly nervous smile flitting across his face, butterfly-fragile and quick. That done, there was just one other thing to speak about.
“Names are serious things. It’s-” I frowned, considering my words. “I don’t know what other trainers think of them, when they give names. But, when I do it, it’s a promise, an oath between the two of us, something significant and meaningful. A name is a pact, and one I want to honour with my life. That I will do my utmost to protect you, to- to lead you, as best as I possibly can. Do you understand?”
The houndour nodded, and suddenly I could see that bit of his parents in him. The hesitation, the nerves, those were gone, and replaced with something else. He sat straight, silent, watching me with an unbroken gaze. He recognized solemnity when he saw it, knew a serious promise when it was presented. Good.
“That said, that promise is in two directions. My promise to be the best that I can be for you, and your promise to be the best you can be for me, and for those you call allies.” I glanced behind him, to where Drake sat, watching silently. “Drake is named for a character, a strong, capable, and resourceful man with willpower to spare. Would you-” no, that wasn’t how I wanted to word it. I hummed. “Are you willing to accept my promise, and return it in kind?”
There wasn’t hesitation or nervousness in those eyes, now, just a seriousness that spoke of his understanding of the situation. I thought for a moment about what his upbringing must’ve been; ritual and tradition must have been a large and enduring part of his life from a very young age. He was the product of a household that could trace its lineage back farther than I ever had, and he showed it. He nodded, and it was certain. I smiled.
“Good.” I ran my tongue across my teeth, thinking for a moment, about who he was, his lineage and what I’d seen of him in the few moments we’d been together. “You understand, we don’t have to pick a name right now. If none I suggest are to your liking, it is something that be left for now.” He nodded. “Alright, then…” I hummed again. “Well. Ifrit is a- a great fire spirit, powerful and not easily chained, life giving and destructive.” A shake of the head. “Hm. Okay, Gilgamesh was the hero-king, the oldest whose stories there are records of.” Shake. “Uh… the flame god Flann, who married the daughter of the sun god Gwyn.” Shake.
I chewed my lip, thinking about it carefully, combing through the names that I knew and their meaning. Lineage, darkness, flame, nervousness but a determination to honour and carry out duty, something that had been plain as day in this houndour. And my mind alighted on something half-forgotten, buoyed to the surface of my mind out of faded memory.
“… Ancient Greece was the source of many stories still told, back in my world. Heroes and gods, kings and monsters. Ajax was two of them- a hero, powerful and certain, descended from a line of hero-kings that traced their lineage back to the Greek gods themselves. A powerful family, a strong lineage, a man of honour and tradition, upholding the responsibilities of his family.”
The houndour took a breath in, eyes wide, muscles still. He could see what I was thinking, the parallels I’d drawn between him and the mythical hero. It appeared that, for just a moment, the breath that he’d taken in caught in his chest. He looked at me, eyes alight, and he nodded. I smiled wide, hands moving to his neck, thumbs tracing the underside of his jaws.
“Welcome to the team, then, Ajax.”
----------------------------------------
Ajax, fortunately, appeared to know his way around the place just as well as his parents, otherwise Drake and I would’ve been lost among the hallways full of ancient artifacts for much longer. He was certain about his directions in a way that told me that he’d spent long hours exploring and walking through the home, and I reflected, for a guilty moment, that I was about to take this wonderful creature away from the only home he’d ever known. A moment later, however, I ruthlessly suppressed that thought, replacing it with the fact that I’d given him the choice and he’d accepted without a moment’s hesitation. To go back on that, especially now, would be at best an affront to his honour, if not directly insulting. I shook off the last cobwebs of it, making certain that I was just behind the houndour confidently leading us: I didn’t particularly want to be separated from the group again.
A quick series of hallways and turns and corners led us back to a familiar looking sliding door. Listening closely, I could hear the sounds of Pokemon combat and the undercurrent of discussions on the other side of the thin material, coming through clear as day. I went to step forwards, aiming to take ahold of the door and slide it open for the three of us, and nearly tripped over Ajax. I quickly recovered with a minimum of embarrassing stumbling, and without destroying a single expensive item. I frowned, looking down, but whatever comment I was thinking of died an ignoble death on my tongue.
Ajax peered at the thin rice paper that made up the internal structure of the door with apprehension, anxiety. He shifted slightly, padding to the left and right, and I immediately recognized it; the motions of someone trying to work up the courage to face something. I turned my gaze towards the door, thinking about what was on the other side, his family and pseudo-family in the form of the trainers of the family. Individuals he no doubt knew, respected, and who knew him in an intimate sense. People that were about to be shown a large change in his life. I glanced at Drake, who was giving the poor houndour a markedly sympathetic look. Sensing my attention, he glanced at me, but I didn’t think I needed his encouragement in this case.
I put a hand gently on the hellhound’s back, feeling how his muscles tensed in surprise under the contact. His head jerked, turning enough in my direction that his eyes could find me, surprise and nervousness teeming in them. I crouched, bringing my head to roughly the same height as his, and gave him a small, easy smile.
“Hey. These are your family, and they love you. Nothing’s changed in the past hour that would shake that in the slightest.” I nodded towards the door. “We’re going to go out there, and while I don’t know them as well as you do, I can probably guess what their reactions will be- surprise, yeah, but I have little doubt that they’ll be happy for you. This is your choice, your decision, and they’ll back you to the hilt on it.”
Surprise fluttered across his face, then gratitude, before he schooled his expression a bit and lifted his head higher. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch despite myself at his attempt to look dignified, reaching out and taking ahold of the sliding door, pushing it out of the way and letting the light of the courtyard shine into the hallway.
Out in the center of the courtyard, Shota and Mirra’s match appeared to have stopped, at least for the moment. The two of them were sitting with their Pokemon, speaking with them, and it was immediately apparent that Shota’s houndoom was the worse off of the two of them. The rest of the family were still in the respective places that I’d last seen them- it was a strange thought, but I realised that not much time had actually passed between the Jinnouchi matriarch taking me aside and my being led back here by Ajax.
As we stepped through the opening, Drake directly behind me and Ajax right on his heels, heads turned in our direction. Natsuki smiled and waved to us from where she was still settled at the bar, where the red faced man, whose name I still hadn’t learned, appeared to have engaged the woman from earlier in another argument that I couldn’t divine the nature of. The various children didn’t appear to pay me any attention, but the adults and their Pokemon glanced in my direction at the very least as I came through. That glance, however, turned right back around to surprise as Ajax slipped through behind me. Even Shota and Mirra, sensing the sudden shift in attitude, turned their heads to see what was happening. I placed my hand gently on Ajax’s head, eliciting a small indignant noise from the houndour- who was trying very hard to look dignified- as Mirra’s face split in the biggest smile I’d seen on it since I’d met her.
“Hah! Knew it!” She crooned.
She pumped her fist in the air, giving Shota a triumphant look, which he didn’t even see. Shota’s houndoom looked like it had run into a glass sliding door and was still trying to figure out what had happened, while Shota himself looked absolutely poleaxed. His eyes went back and forth between myself and Ajax, mouth opening and closing like a stunned fish, until he suddenly threw his hands up in the air.
“I JUST-THIS- YOU WHAT- ARRNNGFFULIOKUDOR!”
He yelled something… entirely unintelligible that I wasn’t sure was in any language that existed, then turned around and punched one of the wooden pillars that supported the roof that surrounded the central courtyard. His houndoom snapped out of its trance, looking alarmed, as Shota gripped his hand, opened his mouth to say something, then bit his lip hard enough that I could swear I saw blood. The rest of the family seemed to be somewhere between exasperated at his antics to struggling to hold back laughter.
“I knew you had it in you!” Ajax, Drake and I nearly jumped a meter, though I wouldn’t have made it more than a centimeter off the ground with how the hand clamped around my shoulder felt like iron. “The moment granny pulled yah aside, I had my suspicions!” The red-faced man tapped the side of his nose with a grin, arm now fully slung over my shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you something to drink, you’ve got something to celebrate!”
“Oh, uh, I don’t, um-”
My weak protests did nothing to stop the man from dragging me over to the sushi bar, where Natsuki was watching me with a friendly smile. I noted that the woman I’d seen earlier had moved to one side, and was swirling a glass full of something. The man practically plunked me down onto one of the seats despite my half-hearted resistance, Natsuki’s smile turning somewhat commiserating as he moved to return to the back of the bar.
“Sorry, they’re about to be a little rough on you two- three, now.” She ruffled Ajax’s headfur, and he gave her an indignant look that only made her smile a little wider. “Amazing. You know, I expected something like this but I didn’t expect-” She shrugged. “Well, the Alphas tend to be picky about who they choose to give blessings to personally, let alone a blessing to carry one of their offspring. They must’ve seen something they liked about you!”
“Obviously they saw something of the Jinnouchi fighting spirit!” The red-faced man had made his way around the back of the grill, and was setting something into a bath of boiling oil that smelled- well, delicious, honestly. “That’s why they bonded to our line, you know- Tenka, first of the Jinnouchi, was a samurai way back in the days when the clans were warring to decide how Hisui would be divided up between us! Back then, Tenka had moved on after the collapse of the Takeda clan he’d been sworn to, following rumours of a powerful Pokemon in the southeast-”
“So, did he give you a name as well?” Natsuki asked Ajax, completely ignoring her family member’s story, her houndoom rolling their eyes and focusing on my houndour with interest.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Ajax.” I shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “I have pretty specific beliefs about giving my partners names.”
“Ajax, huh?” She tasted it on her tongue, then nodded. “That’s a good name, I think. Sounds appropriate. Don’t you think so?” Ajax stood tall, which meant that his head was nearly on level with the bar, obvious pride radiating from him.
“I hope he thinks so. He chose it.”
“Really?” Natsuki made a noise of surprise. “You really are an atypical trainer, aren’t you? Most people give their partners names, but I only know of a couple that left the choice up to the Pokemon themselves. Well, a couple outside of the family, that is.”
“Really? You’d figure that more people would have more respect for their Pokemon.” I said, perturbed. Natsuki shook her head.
“It’s not a matter of respect- well, maybe the amount of it? Only someone stupid doesn’t respect their Pokemon, but there’s a difference between treating a Pokemon as your subordinate and treating them as your partner, or even your peer. You understand?”
“I think so, yeah.” That was at least a lot more palatable than what I’d thought she was getting at.
“Your average person probably keeps a pretty lazy, mild-tempered Pokemon as something closer to a pet than a partner. A young trainer in the challenge course treats them as a friend, and, ironically, an older trainer in the battle course will probably treat them as… troops to order around, maybe? But League types, they tend to be a little more respectful towards them, especially the ones that get above rank eight.”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense. A kid is more likely to come to this without preconceived notions, I guess?”
“Something like that. They don’t know any better, and so, in contrast to older trainers, they tend to form closer bonds with their partners. There’s a sweet spot, or the opposite of one I guess? Where the trainers are old enough to enter the battle course, but not so old, experienced, or close enough with their Pokemon to treat them fully like their own people. Those trainers tend to start dropping out after the fourth badge, just because they can’t perform as well, not without changing their entire approach to training. And that’s not an easy thing to do, particularly if you’ve spent all that time establishing how you do things already.”
I felt some amount of pride, that I saw my Pokemon as essentially people in their own right, that that was so positively indicative of me. It was something that I believed, sure, but having your beliefs validated by someone who obviously had more experience than you did was always a big shot to the ego. Always felt nice to have someone like that nod in approval at what you were doing.
“Hey, I just treat them like they’re people I’m working with- because they are.” I smiled at Drake, who swished his tail once, obviously pleased.
“Well, keep that up, and it’ll serve you well.”
“- And that was how Tenko and his army of houndoom and warriors won the first battle for the valley that would later become the stronghold of the Jinnouchi clan!” The man said proudly.
He set a large plate in front of us, a layout of Japanese foods, some of which I recognized and some of which I… didn’t. Gingerly, I poked one of the deep fried rings drizzled with an orange sauce, neither of which really rung a bell with me. Well, other than the usual sort of ‘I’ve probably seen this in a food related anime’ one, but that was nearly everything on offer. Still, it all smelled delicious.
“What’re these?”
“Ika ring- fried squid rings!” He crossed his arms, obviously proud. “Fished them myself not a couple days ago, keep ‘em in containers of water to keep it fresh!”
“Oh. Huh. I’ve actually never tried squid.” I mused. I picked up one of the rings, giving it a suspicious look. “It’s not spicy, is it? Drake might be a fanatic for things like that, but I’m not much of a spicy kinda person.”
He waved a hand. “Nah, not at all- try it, you’ll see?”
I stared at it a moment longer, then shrugged. Not every day you get a chance to try something completely new, I guess. I popped the ring in my mouth. The man hadn’t been lying; the first thing I noticed about it was the sauce, which had sweet overtones, with a bit of richness to it. I chewed, finding the squid a little bit chewy, the deep fry giving it just a bit of crunch and a nice texture rather than just something gummy. I swallowed.
“Huh, that’s actually pretty good.” I glanced back and forth between them, their expressions amused. “What?”
“You’re supposed to eat them with chopsticks, not your fingers.”
I clicked my tongue. “Well, it’s not my fault I didn’t know how to properly eat a food I’ve never seen before.”
The man laughed, then handed me a pair of chopsticks wrapped in a napkin. I took them, mentally resigning myself to embarrassing myself with them for however long they wanted to keep this going.
The three of us were quickly taken on a journey through a number of traditional and new Japanese- or Hisuian, I suppose- foodstuffs. Ajax recognized nearly everything that was put in front of us, and tried to guide Drake and I towards foods that he thought we would like. I made a point of watching what Drake liked and staying away from those dishes, while Ajax himself appeared to prefer things that I quickly found to be more bitter. I tended towards sweet or savoury, with a particular regard towards the meats, and though Drake tended to turn up his nose at anything particularly sweet, he seemed to agree with my latter tastes well enough. After all, between the hyena on one side and the canine on the other, one was carnivorous and one omnivorous- if I was recalling my facts well enough. Honestly, things that I remembered about canines or hyaenidae might not be completely accurate to Pokemon, but… well, I figured it was close enough.
At some point, each member of the family present made their way over, a steady stream of compliments and comments that were overwhelmingly positive in their nature, steadily buoying Ajax’s mood. The only one that seemed to struggle to find anything positive to say was Shota, and given how Ajax seemed dismissive of the more negative phrases instead of dismayed, I figured that the hellhound didn’t so much mind it.
The family flowed around the space with ease, a group of people intimately familiar with the space they occupied and each other. They shared words with me, with the rest of the family, easy interactions as they swept in and out. At some point, I realized that I’d basically been rolled right into dinner without even really being invited, as some of the family vanished into rooms for long periods before reappearing with trays of food. At some point, those of us around the bar found our way to the table, where the Sakae-sama finally made a reappearance, settling into the seat at the head of the table as if she’d never left it. The family quieted as she raised her hand, the gesture more than enough to capture all of their attention.
“I would like to thank you all for coming together to celebrate my eighty-ninth birthday- it’s always so wonderful to see the family gather just to celebrate an old woman growing older.” There were laughs around the table, smiles, nods, from trainers and Pokemon alike. “Still! That is not the only thing we’re celebrating. We would also like to welcome a new trainer into our midst, and into being an honourary member of our family. Cam, if you would stand?”
Suddenly, my face felt hot. Ajax nosed me in the arm, and I shook it, frowning at the hellhound. “Alright, alright, I’m getting up.” I stood, resisting the urge to hunch my shoulders as I was suddenly the focus of attention for the entire family.
“Speech!” Demanded the red-faced man, who’s name, I’d learned, was Mansuke. Other members of the family laughed, the call being echoed by a few, and I suddenly found myself in the awkward spot of coming up with something on the spot.
“Oh, well, um…” Just don’t think about it, I guess. Drake licked my hand, and I straightened my back. “Today’s been- a really active day. I started it after a week of training with Drake, and we walked right into a battle with Fantina, and I’d promised Drake the spiciest food I could find for him if he won, so I guess he took that challenge personally.” I took the smattering of laughter around the table as encouragement, a small smile settling on my face. “So, when he beat seven shades of hell out of her Pokemon-” I was drowned out by a cheer, and a comment about ‘fighting spirit’ from Mansuke, and waved my hands to quiet them. “So when he beat all three of her Pokemon on his lonesome, well, I guess I was stuck in the deal I’d made. So I scoped out a bunch of places, and at one of them, who else should I find but-”
I made a two handed gesture towards Mirra, who appeared to be nursing a glass of clear fluid in her hands. She cheered in response, raising her glass, her chair tipping farther back, much to Shota’s audible consternation. Her grovyle, however, was there to catch it and tip it back towards its feet with a sigh and a shake of a head.
“So, I asked her whether she knew of this place I’d heard from a few trainers that had spicy as hell food, and she said something along the lines of ‘well, you’re the first one that didn’t ask me out for a date, a battle, or both, so why not’. And then, she dragged me here, where you have all been- well, you’ve been wonderful hosts, and I couldn’t be more thankful.” I lowered my hand, resting it on Ajax’s head. “Without all of you, I wouldn’t have met Ajax, and I wouldn’t be here, right now, having a good time that I didn’t expect in the slightest.” I paused for a moment, awkwardly; I’d never been good at ending these things. Then, I smiled a little as I remembered a discussion I’d had with one of them earlier. “Ah, so, to end my kinda-speech, I’d like to thank Mansuke-san for correcting my usage of honourifics- given, of course, that I have so little experience with them.”
Mansuke immediately sat up, eyes widening a little. “Uh, now, hold on-”
“And second of all!” I said, speaking over him, “I would like to thank the head of the Jinnouchi for allowing me to stay, for giving me this chance, and for putting me together with a second partner.” Struggling to keep the grin off of my face, I bowed at the waist towards the head of the table, trying to manage a formal bow as best I could. “Thank you… Sakae-kekka.”
There was a brief moment of silence, and then the table exploded in laughter. I came out of my bow, not bothering to hide the smile on my face, as Mansuke looked increasingly panicked- and then was pinned in place with a cool stare from the head of the table.
“Mansuke-kun,” He flinched. “Perhaps you’d like to explain yourself?”
I settled back into my seat, listening as Sakae-sama- it felt wrong not to include the honourific even inside my own head- needled Mansuke with rapier-quick stabs, while he spluttered and tried his best to defend himself. Everyone else at the table got in on the fun, siding with one or the other, suggesting interpretations of events that ranged from plausible to completely nonsensical. Shota tried his best to remain neutral in the conflict, but eventually ended up arguing the semantics of various honourifics that I’d never heard of before with an aunt whose name I didn’t know. Mirra, who I sensed was about as part of the family as you could be without marrying or sharing blood, danced through the arguments, sowing as much chaos as she possibly could and stirring the sides around at random.
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I let myself be drawn along the tides of conversation, pulled this way and that by the tide. Eventually, the game of Sakae-sama versus Mansuke lost its luster, and the family isolated themselves into their smaller conversational clusters. Mansuke had gained back some of his customary bluster, and was telling some other ancient tale of the Jinnouchi clan, some battle that they’d won back in the days of samurai. I listened with one ear, somewhat impressed by how well the man told the story, intricate historical detail woven with some talent for oration. I wondered if he’d ever put it together into a book of some kind; I might even read it out of genuine interest.
“Are they always like this?” I asked Ajax in slightly hushed tones.
The houndour looked up at me, exasperated expression on full display, and nodded tiredly. I covered my mouth and let out a little laugh, Ajax’s exasperation breaking into a fond smile. He surveyed the table and the members of his family, blood and not, that sat around it. There was a little bit of nervousness about that, a little bit of sadness as he seemed to realize that he wouldn’t be living in this warm and happy place anymore. Still, when he looked at me, there was a staunch determination that flared behind that gaze; as much as he loved this place, loved his family, I knew without a doubt, just from that look, that he wanted to be out on the road that much more. I returned it, Drake a solid presence at my side and looking on with that same determination.
“Don’t worry. We’re gonna go out there and show the world what we’re made of, us three and whoever we meet along the way. And, hey-” I bumped his shoulder with my knee. “You’re not leaving forever, now are you?”
He made an imperious huff, but his eyes held nothing but gratitude aside from that determination. He licked my knee, tongue warm through the fabric, and I cupped his head with my hand, scratching his fur.
Eventually, the party that had sprung up began to die down, the almost endless tide of delicious food and drinks, the alcoholic ones I’d refused of course, slowly petering out. The family began to drift to bed; first those with young children, then the elders, begging tiredness. Soon, it was only the adults and their Pokemon left in the courtyard. Mirra, somewhat tipsy after a large amount of drinks, was practically being supported by Shota, who was attempting to lecture her through her either blowing him off or poking fun at him. Mirra’s grovyle had taken up a stance in the middle of the battle area, performing a series of slow movements that put me in the mind of yoga, occasionally glancing Mirra’s way with an almost brotherly concern. The houndoom, and some of the older houndour, were putting themselves through fire control exercises.
Ajax had decided to join his blood family, and was sitting with a group of houndoom and houndour that were attempting to sync their breath with the rest of the group. A small flame in front of each of them shrank and grew in time with their breathing, the flames of the older Pokemon perfectly shaped while the younger’s flames flickered like candle flames. Ajax, I noted, was closer to the former than the latter, not to mention the fact that his flame was slightly bigger.
Drake had started speaking to one of the houndoom earlier in the night, and now the older and larger Pokemon appeared to be trying to coax him through using a move. Watching, I was pretty sure that Drake was trying to figure out using feint attack reliably under the tutelage of the houndoom. Occasionally, he’d flicker like an old TV broadcast, and then he’d lose it in a burst of black energy. Still, he patiently listened to the growled words of the older canine, and the flickering was a little more solid with every attempt. I didn’t think he’d get it by the end of the night, but he was getting there.
“So, you’re Cam.”
I turned my head, looking to my right from where I was leaning against the railing around the central courtyard. One of the older family members, though one I’d deduced to be the youngest of Sakae’s children, leaned against one of the support pillars, with what appeared to be a Pokedex in his hands. Unlike my model, which was the definition of ‘outmoded’ and was the DS-like Diamond and Pearl ‘dex, his was all spotless colours and clear screens. It folded in half at the center, though it still had two screens, one on top of the other. It appeared to resemble a flip phone instead of a console. I… remembered the ‘dex from X and Y being a red square that had a clear piece of glass between the two halves, so it was either the ‘dex of Heartgold and Soulsilver, or Black and White. Probably the former?
“Unless there’s someone else around with the same name.” I glanced at his face, thinking for a moment, but if I’d been introduced to him, I couldn’t remember his name. “Have we been introduced?”
“No, I don’t believe so. I’m Jinnouchi Mansaku.”
He didn’t bow, but inclined his head. I returned the gesture; politeness didn’t cost anything. I shook the little imaginary box in my head that contained all the disparate pieces of information I’d collected. Nothing stood out, however.
“Are you a trainer, or…?” I nodded to his ‘dex.
“Me? Oh, no. Not anymore, not for years. I guess you could call me a researcher, but I’m more specialized in human medicine than Pokemon.” He raised his ‘dex a little with a smile. “These devices are capable of medical diagnosis for more than Pokemon, you know.”
“Huh. I guess that tracks… not like sensors would just magically not work when pointed at a human as opposed to a Pokemon.”
“You’re a League trainer, right?” I nodded, turning around so my back was to the railing. “Do you have a Pokedex of your own, yet?”
“I’ve got this.” I slid my hand into my pocket, pulling out my own ‘dex, the thing beaten to hell and back and contrasting quite starkly with his well cared for and advanced model. I smiled apologetically. “It’s not the best, or the newest- I was mostly handed it to take it back to Sandgem.”
“Still perfectly functional, though. And I have little doubt that Professor Rowan will hand you a more updated version once you’ve reached Sandgem. If what I’ve heard about you is true, you’ve already proven yourself more than once.”
“Oh, ah, thanks.” I paused for a moment. “Did you want to talk to me about something specific?”
“Oh, yes, of course- distracted there for a moment. Here, hold out your ‘dex.”
I shrugged, offering it to him. Instead of taking it, he held his out in return, and after a moment they both beeped. I pulled mine back, the small screen on the back of the upper half stating that the file transfer had been successful. I gave Mansaku a questioning look.
“Medical information, some family things- for houndour and houndoom in a general sense, and for your, eh, Ajax, specifically. We have our own diagnostic facilities and even some staff, though I’m the only one that works here, and we keep our medical information to ourselves. Pays not to have a database of your exact strength out there, where any thief can get to it.” He tapped his glasses with a smile. I nodded.
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Is there anything specific I should know?”
“Ah, yes, good question. Well… houndour tend to be somewhat aloof around people they have no real regard for, but Alphas in particular are quite a bit more self-assured than even normal members of their species. Hmmm, there are higher dietary needs-”
What followed was a lecture on the care and feeding of an Alpha Pokemon of Ajax’s typing, size, and lineage. It wasn’t a surprise to me that an Alpha would eat more than a normal member of their kind, though I audibly groaned when I was told that being a Fire type would stack a higher metabolism on top of that. I could imagine that, between Drake and Ajax, who was still growing and whose appetite would grow with it, I would quickly start running into money problems given my limited stipend if I kept adding team members. As it was, I was already trying to budget and conserve money, I didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to try and feed a full-grown Alpha and several other team members.
Mansaku reassured me, thankfully, that it wouldn’t be hard to find food to sustain them when hiking the wilds. He provided me with the names of a few types of supplement that might be important with diets limited by whatever we could forage plus whatever supplies we could carry, and I jotted them down on a list of things to buy before I left town. A list that quickly grew to encompass a new harness, sized for a Pokemon that was the size of Ajax, as well as camping gear that could take advantage of the inherent heat of a Fire type. One thing, however, took me off guard.
“... A saddle?” I asked, incredulously.
“It’s not something you need to think about right now, but Ajax will soon be large and strong enough to carry you on his back. My mother made a name for herself in her day by riding Rutsubo, apparently a large number of trainers found that somewhat intimidating.” He shrugged. “Of course, Ajax will have to grow some, and evolve, of course. However, by the end of it, you’ll have a houndoom that you can easily ride from place to place at high speed, and a properly designed saddle is vitally important to comfort on longer journeys. Here-”
He held out his Pokenav, which resembled his ‘dex somewhat, being a flip phone that reminded me of the Pokenav of Emerald. I took mine and held it up in return, a short chime marking the fact that we’d exchanged contact information.
“When he evolves, call me. I’ll want another scan of him, and I’ll be able to direct you to someone. Their family has been in the business for centuries, making custom saddles for riding Pokemon, and they’ll be happy to give an honourary member of the Jinnouchi clan a discount. They keep a small stock of houndoom saddles around in storage for just such an occasion.”
“I can do that, easy.” I smiled. “Honestly, I’ve been really surprised how welcoming you’ve all been. It’s… been nice, I guess.”
“Ah. Hit some of the usual suspicion regarding Dark types, have you?”
“A… a bit.” I thought back to some of the people I’d come across, giving me suspicious looks, or the two that had out and out attacked me. “I think I’ve had an easier time of it than others might, been really lucky in that regard, but I’d be lying if I said that it was all smooth sailing.”
Mansaku nodded sagely.
“It’s a common sentiment. Those with Dark Pokemon have to stick together, and you’ve more than proven that you have a place here, if you wish.”
“How-” I paused, licking my lips and thinking about what I wanted to say. “I didn’t know about the trial when I came here. I still don’t think I understand it, or what it means to have passed it.”
“Ah. That’s easy enough to answer.” He flipped his Pokenav closed, slipping it into his pocket. “When you were called an honourary Jinnouchi, that wasn’t just an affectation. It’s tradition that the houndour and the houndoom of the Jinnouchi clan are only partnered with members of the family, or members of branch families. The trial is to prove that one is worthy to become one of the clan, in all but blood and name. It is an honour that carries the weight of the Jinnouchi over the ages, and the implicit promise that, should one call, the forces and strength of the clan will stand with them.” His face was serious, and his eyes watched me closely through the glare of his lenses. “The trial is taken by few, and passed by even less. Whatever the Alphas saw in you, they thought you worthy of being part of the clan.”
I was tense, eyes wide. I hadn’t even realized how important the trial I was going through was, how major it had been. I felt a flash of irritation at the Jinnouchi matriarch, that she’d put me through it when she knew that I had known only what I inferred from a couple of mentions and some words. Still, more than that, I felt completely taken aback by the honour that had been bestowed upon me, when I hadn’t expected anything. I hadn’t even realized I’d been earning anything, and Ajax alone was enough that I had thought that the end of it.
“I… Thank you. I didn’t…”
“You didn’t expect that. You didn’t expect anything, really, and were caught by surprise when offered a partner, let alone everything else that came with it.” He breathed out, shaking his head. “Mother, up to her tricks again… still, whatever she saw in you when she pulled you aside, she clearly had no doubts that you’d be able to pass the trial with ease. And, well, you weren’t chased from the inner sanctum by a pack of angry houndoom, so I think we can safely say that she was right. So, welcome to the Jinnouchi clan.”
“... That can happen?” I asked weakly.
Mansaku simply patted my shoulder. “Well, nothing to worry about now.” He cast his gaze over the remaining people and nodded. “Well, anyway, it’s late, and I think it’s time that I rest for tonight. I’ll have a few hangovers to treat in the morning, I suspect.” His head turned back towards me, and he regarded me with a much more friendly expression. “If you don’t have anywhere else to be tonight, you’re welcome to spend the night here. Natsuki can show you to the guest rooms if you ask.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He nodded to me, and I nodded back. I watched his back as he walked away, stepping through one of the sliding reed doors and closing it behind him. The moment he was gone, I turned around, resting my arms on the wooden railing in thought.
I hadn’t expected something to this degree, when I’d come here. Hell, I’d come looking for a meal, and I was walking away with a new partner and, apparently, an adoptive clan. Omnissiah only knew what that meant for me in the long term. Would having passed the trial factor in when I spoke to Rowan, whenever I reached Sandgem? Would it mean something to the League, when I took my evaluation after the fourth badge? I shook the speculation out of my head; no use thinking myself in circles about something like that. Still, there was something warm in my chest, when I thought about that promise that the Jinnouchi clan would stand behind me, if I needed it.
This world, the world of Pokemon… I knew, in a meta sense, that it worked on friendship. Ironically, in that sense, it wasn’t so dissimilar to the world that I’d come from: one made their way in the world based on their friends, on the connections that they made. Here, it was just that friendship, relationships, were a tangible force. Strong bonds meant stronger partners, meant that trainers would answer with all the strength they had when called. I wondered, if Ash Ketchum had ever called for all the friends that he’d made in his long journeys to commit their strength and the strength of their partners to a cause, would they call? And would the region they did that in be the same, after? I thought about the friends I’d made since I’d come here. Alice, Kevan, Jen, Blake… people who had helped me, or who I’d helped.
I shifted. Thinking about Alice, she’d probably want some kind of news. I felt my stomach clench as I tried to recall if I’d told her I’d call her when I got to Hearthome- a little late for that. Still, I grabbed my Pokenav, raising it and snapping pictures. First, Drake, training to try and use feint attack under the tutelage of the older houndoom, then of Ajax, working with the circle of his family- now trying to put all their flames into one bonfire. I scrolled through my contacts to her number, then put together a text, labeling the pictures ‘working hard’ and ‘new team member is the big one’, respectively.
“Aaaaand, sent.” I muttered to myself, pressing the button.
To my surprise, mere moments later, the ‘nav buzzed. It wasn’t exactly early, getting on towards ten at night, though not so late that I shouldn’t have expected a reply, I supposed. I glanced at the new text.
A: Is that a houndoom?
I went to type out a reply, but before I even got a chance, another message arrived.
A: Wait
A: WAIT
A: IS THAT A JINNOCHI HOUNDOUR
A: DO YOU HAVE A JINUOCHI HOUNDOUR
A: HOW DID YOU DO THAT
I couldn’t help but laugh, quickly typing out a response before Alice could get up a head of steam.
C: Found them by accident
A: TAUROS SHIT YOU FOUND A JINNUOCHI HOUNDOUR BY ACCIDENT
I shook my head and made an exasperated noise.
C: Not the houndour, the Jinnouchi. Was looking for a meal and got guided to their compound by some trainer.
C: The head of the family decided she liked me, I guess, so she kinda
I poked my tongue out, trying to figure out how to phrase it. To be fair, Sakae-sama had, from a certain point of view, tricked me into taking the trial. However, I’d consented to whatever she wanted help with, and I was pretty sure that I could’ve backed out if I’d been insistent or really hadn’t wanted to do it. To a certain degree, I’d been okay with it, if only to see where it was going.
C: Well, she didn’t trick me into taking the trial, per say, but she didn’t tell me what was going on until it was.
A: YOU PASSED THE
A: YOU DID
A: JFKD;SAHI [OF
A: Nobody’s crazy enough to do that trial unless they’re some kind of saint
A: How the hell
C: I don’t know. I think they just liked me.
A: You really are some kind of dark type prodigy, aren’t you.
C: I guess so?
If I had a magic eight ball, I was pretty sure it would say ‘all signs point to yes’, though I still had no idea how I was doing it. The best thing I probably could do was just not think about it too hard, lest it be like flying by missing the ground, where the universe noticed you doing something impossible because you thought about it and went ‘hang on a moment’.
A: Arceus, I’m going to see you on the news next, aren’t I
C: Maybe?
C: Was anybody talking about the thing with the gym?
A: What thing
A: What gym
A: What did you do to hearthome’s perfectly respectable gym
C: I beat Fantina
A: You have to be kidding me
A: No
A: I just looked up the texts, that is somehow more believable than the rest of this
C: Three Pokemon vs Drake, we won
A: I’m not even surprised anymore
A: You can make up for stressing me out by sending me the medical data of that houndour
That… should be okay, right? It’s not like I was sending the entire family database to her, just Ajax’s. Besides, this was Alice. I trusted her.
C: Can do
C: How
A: Link your dex & nav, send the file through text
Okay. That shouldn’t be hard. I quickly pawed through the settings of my ‘dex, to where it spelled out ‘wireless connection’. Interestingly, instead of BlueTooth, it appeared that there was something similar in terms of functionality that occupied the same sort of slot- BlueFang. Shockingly close, just a little bit off in terms of definition. Did it share the same frequency as a WPAN? I hardly thought that there was the same sort of FCC regulations here that sectioned off the BlueTooth and WiFi frequencies as junk frequencies, to be used for whatever commercial or scientific applications.
It wasn’t hard to set up a handshake between the two devices, directing the ‘dex to package Ajax’s medical data into a compressed file format and send it over. From there, it was a simple matter of selecting the file from my phone’s internal memory and pressing the send button. After a minute of uploading, off it went, carried off by a little cartoonish pelipper.
A: Yessss
A: I shall be the jealousy of researchers region wide
C: Don’t share that around too much, I don’t think the clan would be happy with me if that got out
A: Not uploading it to the net or anything
A: Don’t worry
C: I’m worrying
C: Come to think of it, I’ve got a few other people I wanna send stuff to
C: Mind being added to a group?
A: I am as happy as could be right now
I navigated the menus, figuring out how to get a texting group together. This wasn’t something I’d ever even done back home, given my tendency to contact my friends through message boards and IM programs rather than through text. However, it wasn’t hard to figure it out, and soon I had Kevan, Jen, and Alice lined up in a little texting group. I thought for a moment, then named the group ‘Travel Buddies’ on a whim, before sending the same photos and their attached messages to the group.
I turned off my ‘nav, slipping it back into my pocket and leaning back on the railing. A few more had broken away from the group, excusing themselves to go in various directions and to various rooms. The circle of his kind that Ajax had been a part of appeared to have shrunk, the remaining members attempting to keep the flame in the center at the same size it had been when there were more contributing to it.
I watched them as they worked together, without gaps or hesitation, and I wondered at it. It was something that appeared to have come together completely on agreement of all parties, and appeared more of a game than a training exercise. However, I could easily see how it filled the role of both, honing the ability of those in the circle to precisely control flame even as it served as a source of bonding and amusement. Given the near-universal understanding the group of Pokemon seemed to share about the game, I wondered if it was something like tag. The game was passed almost through osmosis from generation to generation, and served a number of different purposes. Given how far back the family could trace their roots and how multiple generations seemed to intermingle, I could easily see how a game like this might pass from generation to generation, changing little over decades or centuries. Non-human tradition… I wondered whether there was a Pokemon Professor that specialized in that.
Were there traditional games that trained a Pokemon for a specific move? I could see something like hide and seek trying to guide a Dark type into learning feint attack, or something like tag or keep away influencing them into developing movement techs like quick attack. While it might not teach a Pokemon a move, it might make them more receptive to learning it and how to properly utilize it. I recalled something about animals play-wrestling with their offspring to teach them habits that would serve them later in life. Maybe something similar, though perhaps more immediately complex, was at work here.
I watched as Drake bowed to his houndoom tutor, the hellhound nudging one of the houndour from the circle and the two of them stalking off towards bed. The little ‘yena sighed, staring up through the center of the courtyard and into the night sky, before looking around for me. I waved him over, and he came.
“How do you feel about it? Figuring it out?” He shrugged, sitting next to my foot and placing his chin on a lower railing. “You just used it successfully for the first time earlier today. You’re not gonna get it instantly, and I don’t expect you to do so.”
He nodded, reluctantly, but appeared to accept what I was saying. I took my arms off the railing, crouching down next to him, watching him glance at me out of the corner of his eyes before turning his attention back to Ajax and his circle. For a moment, I was somewhat at a loss as to what to say- until I realized how closely he was watching Ajax, how easily the houndour mingled with his family in the courtyard, how he practiced with them.
“Oh, buddy…” I sighed. “He’s not going to replace you, okay?” Drake huffed a breath out of his nose. “I mean it. You’re my starter, and I’m not going to just up and replace you with some other Pokemon that comes sauntering along. There’s not going to be a Drake mark two that pushes you out of your slot in the group.” I nudged his shoulder. “Besides, I need you. Do you think Ajax could’ve pushed through three different Pokemon under the command of an actual Gym leader, all on his own, in his very first gym battle?”
Drake grunted, reluctant to accept what I was saying but unable to not see the logic in it.
“None of that. You beat the hell out of Fantina’s group. You, not Ajax. And eventually, the two of you are going to work together- keyword, together. You’re going to each have your own strengths and weaknesses and specialities, and as a team, you’re both going to cover each other's weak spots and emphasize your strengths. And I’m going to need both of your help to keep it balanced that way, because anybody who thinks it’s all about the trainer is an idiot. Besides, you’re my ace.”
He turned his head, giving me an incredulous look. His head turned towards the fire circle, where Ajax towered head and shoulders over even the houndoom, then turned back to look at me as if asking if I was serious. I nodded gravely, though I think the little bit of a smile on my lips broke up the mood just enough.
“Yeah, I’m serious. Ajax is big, and he’ll be ludicrously strong one day, but you have more experience than any of us- even more than me. When he reaches where you are, you’ll be that much more ahead. I did a lot of research on Pokemon and teams in the past week, and you know what I found?” I paused, watching him. Eventually, he gave in, sighing and turning his attention towards me with a questioning look. “I found that the ace of a team stays the same, unless they’re swapped out or retired. And I don’t plan on doing either, so what I said before sticks.” I reached out, wrapping my hand around the other side of his head, thumb coming up over his ear. “You’re stuck with me.”
He let out another breath through his nose, but leaned against my leg, his tail slowly wagging. I smiled at him, then turned my head at a small sound of shuffling to find Natsuki standing behind me. She smiled apologetically, but I simply waved it off.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be witness to something so, well… intimate.”
“It’s fine. If we really wanted privacy, I could’ve just taken Drake into one of the halls.” I stroked his ear, then stood up. “What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you were about ready for bed. Everybody’s winding down, me included, and I wanted to show you to a room before I went off myself.”
“Yeah, I think we’re about done. Traveling to do tomorrow, you know? Gotta get across Coronet.”
She nodded, then snapped her fingers, digging in the pocket of her kimono and pulling out a Pokenav of her own. This one was a more modern model, closer to my smartphone-like device rather than her… uncle’s? Yeah, uncle’s more retro flip phone model.
“Here, let me add you to the clan server. It’s mostly about houndour and houndoom care stuff, but I think you’ll find that plenty useful, even if you don’t look at it for anything else.”
I tapped my ‘nav against hers, both producing a soft chime, then waved for Ajax. The big houndour saw it, disengaging from the circle and coming over, paws leaving big prints in the loosely packed sand that filled the courtyard. The three of us followed Natsuki and her houndoom through a different sliding reed door and into a section of the building that I hadn’t been before, leading out towards the outer rings of it where a number of rooms had views out into a small moonlit garden.
“There’s some bed stuff already in the room, so you should find anything you need there. Mirra said she’d show you out herself tomorrow morning. Anything else you need?” I shook my head. “Alright. Sleep well.”
She closed the door to the room. I breathed out, then turned to find Drake already settling onto the bed, while Ajax watched me closely, trying to intuit what I was going to do. I shrugged, setting my bag down and removing Drake’s harness, stripping off my pants and shirt and tucking them into my bag to avoid them getting the sheets dirty. With that, I slipped myself under the covers.
I was asleep practically the moment my head hit the pillows.
----------------------------------------
By the time the knock came at my door the next morning, I had already discovered that Ajax was an early riser, and that he’d lick me awake if I refused to get up the first couple of times he nudged me. I slipped on the shirt I’d taken off the night before, not dirty enough to justify swapping it out for a different one, and opened the sliding door. Mirra smirked at me, her grovyle stretching himself behind her and affording me barely a glance.
“Ready to go?”
I nodded. “Just gimme a second to get my bag and clip on Drake’s harness, and I’ll be good.”
I stepped back and gestured her into the room, then walked to where I’d leaned my bag against the wall the previous night. I noted with a frown that Drake’s harness had tangled itself somewhat when I’d tossed it aside, various bags and straps weaving around each other in that magical way that they tended to do when left in a pile. Ajax was performing a regiment of stretches in the early morning sunlight of the garden while Drake watched closely, attempting to mimic some of the stretches and grimacing if he realized he wasn’t flexible enough.
“You know, you didn’t strike me as a morning person.” Mirra observed.
“I’m not.” I turned my head, giving Ajax a dirty look. “He is.”
The hellhound simply looked innocent, and went back to his routine.
It took me a few moments to get the harness untangled from my backpack, then a few more to get it untangled from itself. By the time I’d finished, Ajax had completed his brace of exercises, and was watching me closely as I arranged the straps and buckles. Drake came to my side, shifting his shoulders and frowning at the other Pokemon, though he obliged when I had to move a limb to get this or that strap into place.
Finally, the last buckle was buckled, and I patted Drake on the head before swinging my backpack over my back. I gave Mirra a nod.
“Alright, now I’m ready.”
The now increasingly familiar journey through the house felt a lot more welcoming than the previous times, though I wasn’t sure whether to chalk that down to my being more familiar with it or Ajax’s obvious comfortableness in the place he’d grown up in. Still, it felt much quicker and much less foreboding, less mysterious building and more the place of residence of a family I’d come to know to some degree. By the time we found our way to, and through, the front entrance, I felt almost sad that I had to leave so soon. Still, as I stood between the stone houndoom that guarded the entrance, there wasn’t any illusion in my mind: it was time to move on.
“Hey, one sec.”
I turned in surprise towards Mirra, Drake and Ajax pausing together. She seemed to debate internally for several long moments, then nodded to herself.
“You know, if you don’t have to leave immediately, you and I could go out for a meal together. Maybe surf a couple breakfast joints I know about, scout out the early open battle places.” She looked at me, something I couldn’t identify in her expression.
I hummed to myself and thought. I was a bit hungry, to be certain, and I didn’t want to make the mistake that I’d made when I left Vinewood in an overly-eager hurry… but, honestly, I wasn’t that hungry. Even if I wanted to eat, I had some breakfast bars and things in my bag that I could snack on on the go. And besides that, I needed to secure another harness and a set of bags for Ajax’s use, not to mention that I needed to find Blake, and start the journey to Coronet as early as possible.
“... Ah, sorry, but I think my schedule’s too tight. Gotta get started on Coronet as soon as possible, you know? Still, thanks for everything.”
I smiled and nodded to her, then turned towards the road, slipping my ‘nav out of my pocket and tapping in the name of the surplus I’d visited. Drake and Ajax followed right on my tail as I began humming a song that bounced around the interior of my skull, something from a soundtrack for a game I’d played once.
As a result, I entirely missed Mirra’s completely poleaxed expression.