Pokemon: Knights of Roma [Firehead]

[mrblah]

Professor Aster looked to the side, appearing a little sheepish with her request as she frowned. "... Yes, I suppose you're right..." She sighed. "It's honestly quite irresponsible of me... but I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Most foreigners your age and of your... physique, are interested in the Knights of Roma challenge, so I figured..." Her gaze turned to the Riolu, who merely glared back silently, then back to Dan. "Allow me to restate my intentions. While this could be a convenient way for you to be eligible to participate in the challenge, it would also greatly assist me with this issue. You see... this Riolu used to belong to a member of Team Crown, but they abandoned him for a stronger Pokemon, after the Riolu failed to beat said Pokemon. I saw the Riolu in need of help, so I... tried to help him. But as you can see... he doesn't seem to trust humans much right now." She referred to the Pokemon's hostile behavior, that didn't let up even as his story was told.

"I think... he needs a good trainer. Someone kind, but able to deal with his 'rough' behavior... you looked the part, so selfishly, I thought I could both reward you for your help with a Pokemon and help the Pokemon to have a good trainer." The young Professor paused for a second, seeming a bit uncertain before continuing. "If... this is too much responsibility and you want no part of it, I understand. While I couldn't handle taking care of this Pokemon myself, I suppose you're right that we could leave him be and let him go back to the wild... but judging from some of his behavior, I think he was hatched by his trainer. He might have a rough time out in the wild... a-and, if you do decide to take care of this Pokemon, then I'll offer a few things to get you started on your journey?" Her last comment came off as a bit desperate, and Dan could spot some sort of emotion of that sort in the girl's behavior.

[Firehead]

Dan listened as Aster explained the situation. He'd thought the Pokemon had been wild, but it turned out to be abandoned instead. The situation seemed ridiculous to him, and to be abandoned by someone you trusted just because you lost a fight made Dan clench his fists. "So his trainer just tossed him aside because he lost? I thought the whole point of a trainer was to make a Pokemon get stronger? They train Pokemon, isn't that just common sense?" He looked back to Riulo with a bit of pity in his expression now. No wonder the thing was distrusting of humans if its trainer did something like that. He could also tell the Professor Aster was sorry about jerking him around with this. While he still didn't really approve of the way she'd done this, she did have her heart in the right place giving him a chance to take on the challenge while giving this Pokemon a second chance. Especially if her only alternative was to keep him under her care in the lab. Wouldn't be any chance for him to prove he was still a fighter there.

Taking a moment to breathe and calm himself he turned back to the Professor. He was about to tell Aster he would accept, but he hesitated for a moment. After what Riolu had been through, he figured it was better he not try to decide that kind of thing on his own. Afterall, if the Pokemon decided it wasn't going to accept him as its trainer, what the hell was he going to do about it? He turned back away from the Professor striding up to the Pokemon. Extending his hand he gave the Pokemon a smile. "What do ay say, you ready to give this challenge a second go?"

[mrblah]

At hearing his response, Professor Aster only smiled. "Yes... that's how it should be, shouldn't it?" She looked surprised as Dan walked over to the Riolu, who stared at him distrustfully as he approached. His glare was as hot as ever, his look giving the impression that he'd be quick to attack should Dan proceed carelessly. As the hand was offered with the smile, Riolu could only look a little confused, as he expected the human to have tried something... he looked back up at Dan's face, then down at his hand, then up, then down again, expression telling of his mixed feelings on the matter.

But it seemed to understand its situation. Hesitantly, Riolu reached out to grab Dan's hand, an uncertain expression on his face with a hard glare thrown Dan's way, promising pain if the young man tried anything. Seems like he's willing.

Riolu has been recruited!

Species: Riolu
Ability: Inner Focus
Type: Fighting
Level: 5

Stats
HP: 20
Attack: 10
Sp. Attack: 5
Defense: 6
Sp. Defense: 6
Speed: 8

Moves:
Endure [Endure allows the user to survive all attacks in that turn with at least 1 HP (including Pokémon that already have 1 HP remaining).]
Quick Attack [A very quick attack that has a priority of +1. Usually goes first.
Foresight [Resets any Speed buffs and allows for Ghost-types to be hit with normal attacks.]

[Firehead]

Dan watched as Riolu looked from his hand to his face in a moment of tension. Dan had to remind himself the Pokemon had had a bad trainer and a few inspiring words weren't going to be enough to get over that. He just had to leave it up to the Pokemon as to whether or not he was going to have a chance to back those words up with actions. Finally, Riolu landed on the decision to at least give him a chance. The grab was clearly hesitant, so Chad made sure to wait for the Pokemon to grab his hand before giving a firm shake. He remembered nicknames were a common practice, but he wasn't really sure about naming a Pokemon he hardly known. "I'll think for a bit about the nickname."

Finally, he turned his attention back to the Professor. "Alright, I've got my first Pokemon now. I believe I remember you saying there were some things to help me get started on offer." While he had been considering taking on this challenge, he hadn't made any preparation just yet, so he could probably use whatever starter kit the Professor had in mind. "Also, while I've been looking into the challenge, it's probably best you go into detail about it in case there's something I missed."

[mrblah]

"Yes... I did..." The Professor nodded with a grateful smile, looking between Riolu and Dan. "Naturally... I'll keep my promise. We'll need to relocate..." She looked to the Riolu with a searching gaze, looking him over and checking him for any signs of injury or fatigue. "He seems to be well healed... as expected of a Pokemon Center... they're as effective as always. He'll be able to leave with us." Professor Aster then walked over to the door, opening it and leading Dan out, with Riolu getting up to follow him begrudgingly.

Professor Aster had signed a few papers with the Nurse Joy out in the front, getting the issue totally settled before they continued on their way out of the Pokemon Center. She led the Pokemon and human back to her lab, stating along the way that the supplies were there. Unlocking the door, she stepped into her building, proceeding to her lab and asking Dan to wait by the door. When Aster came back a few minutes later, she was carrying a distinctly clear Trainer Bag. It was a backpack designed with a Pokemon Trainer's every needs in mind, giving them slots for their Pokeballs, compartments for potions and other such items, enough space to fit random items and TMs, and if you ordered it online, it even came with a free badge case! This specific Trainer Bag had the signature colors of a Pokeball on it. "Here... this bag has a number of items in it that you may find useful on your journey..."

Inside of the bag was 10 Pokeballs, 2 potions, a badge case, and a Pokedex. "Now... you said you needed more information about the challenge? I'll answer any questions you may have..."

[Firehead]

Dan nodded as Professor Aster told him they'd need to go back to her lab following behind her with Riolu. Despite the bandages still on him, Riolu seemed to still be in pretty good shape and found himself wondering if he really could take the fighting type one on one. The challenge would give him a chance to test out his own abilities as well. Perhaps he'd even get a chance to slug the trainer that abandoned Riolu some day.

After an uneventful walk through the town, he got his hands on the pack full of supplies opening it to reveal its contents. Nearly a dozen Pokeballs, a couple potions, his badge case, and a Pokedex. He went ahead and opened the empty case. "If I remember there's like twelve of these champions, right? It sounded like they traveled a lot though. Any way to tell where they are? I'd hate to just wander past one or have to scour half the region searching for the last few. I'm also not fully clear on the battles where the trainers fight each other while their Pokemon fight. What happens if one trainer wins, but his Pokemon loses." Once he had his answers he'd raise his hand in farewell to the Professor. "Well, that's all I needed for now, but I might contact you if something comes up. For now, I'll go get ready to leave. C'mon, Riolu we'll go over to my place, so I can pack my own stuff."

Arriving home, he opened the door looking around for his mother. "Mom? I'm back. And Professor Aster set me up with a starter."

[mrblah]

"Yes... it would be quite annoying to have to journey so much to find a few certain people." Professor Aster nodded. "... You're in luck, however. You can find one of the Champions in the next town over. Last I heard, she was visiting family for some important matters and she'd be there for some time, so I'm sure she's still there. Her name is Catarina... and yes, I do mean Catarina Lytle. Little known fact that she's a Champion... but she primarily uses Water-types." The name Catarina Lytle was familiar to Dan. She was a rather popular celebrity who grew from modeling and went into acting. Dan could recall that his mother watched Catarina's own TV show. "I don't know the whereabouts of the others... but maybe Catarina would know?"

"As for Trainer battles... when you're battling a Champion and fighting alongside your Pokemon, you must totally defeat the Champion with both your Pokemon and yourself, so if you have even one loss, it's a total loss..." With those questions answered, Aster followed Dan to the door to see him out. "Ah, then we should trade numbers for future contact... if you wouldn't mind?" Taking Dan's phone, Aster made sure to put her contact info in under the name of 'Aster', and put Dan's own number into her phone. "Thank you again for all of your help... please, feel free to contact me if you need anything. Take care, you two..." She opened the door to allow Dan and Riolu their exit, and the trip back home was as uneventful as the trip to Aster's.

"Hm?" Anne looked up from the couch, seemed as if she had been watching a television program just as Dan returned. Her eyes glanced at Dan and went back to the TV. "Oh, welcome back." She said in a distracted tone of voice, seemingly not having heard Dan's announcement. And it was no wonder why. She was watching a news report about the latest wrongdoings of the recently relevant Team Crown. Apparently, they had robbed the Seastone Museum in Galena City, stealing some valuable and rare artifact. Galena City was also where his father worked. She was probably worried that her husband might have had a run-in with them. "We can move the boxes in a little bit, Dan. Take some time to eat if you need to."

[Firehead]

Dan nodded. Seemed he'd just have to ask around to track these people down as he went, but at least he had an idea of where to find what he assumed was the nearest. He figured these champions would have celebrity status, so if they're near someone would probably be talking about it. He whistled when he heard the name Catarina. Even back in Johto she was well known. It would be interesting having the chance to fight someone his mother knew so well. He shrugged when he learned both he and his Pokemon had to win to consider his challenge successful. "Hear that Riulo? We'll both have to work our hardest if we want to make it through this challenge, so I won't let you slack." With that, he got the Professor's contact information and headed back home.

He was a bit surprised when his mother didn't have much of a response to his greeting until he saw what was on the T.V. He'd forgotten when Aster mentioned Riulo's trainer was a part of them, but now he recognized that Team Crown was this region's main criminal element. At the very least, if he was going to give Riulo's former trainer a piece of his mind he'd have to look into their activities. It seemed currently they'd caused a scene in Galena City. She was probably worried that dad might have gotten mixed up in it, but it was supposed to be a big place. All he could do was hope his father had stayed out of the way.

He turned back to Riulo, "C'mon, let's get something to eat." Heading into the kitchen, he scrounged around in the fridge to see what was there to eat and cooking it up himself if he had to. He wasn't quite sure how to serve Riulo. He didn't mind sitting the Pokemon at the table, but the chairs were a bit low to allow such a short Pokemon to sit on it and reach a plate on the table. "Let me see if we have something." He began looking around. Perhaps a phonebook on the seat would give him that extra height.

[mrblah]

In the refrigerator, Dan didn't find too much to cook with. He found some bacon and eggs, as well as enough ingredients for a sandwich, but not much else. Someone should probably go shopping to fix their food supply situation. Riolu watched him as he shuffled around in the refrigerator, then took some food out to prepare it, then go searching for something for Riolu to sit on. He stared at Dan's choice with a face, seeming disgusted as he glared at it, then at Dan. Moving over to the refrigerator where he discovered the food was, he did his own scrounging, throwing some of the food on the floor as he searched for something he smelled - and pulled out last night's leftover pizza. It was two slices on a plate. Riolu promptly sat down where he was and began scarfing it down as if he hadn't ate anything in a while.

[Firehead]

Dan shook his head as he saw the lack of options. Someone was going to need to do some shopping soon. Grabbing the eggs and bacon, he decided to cook the two of them up an omelet. He was a bit off-put when Riolu didn't seem too pleased with his cooking and instead decided to scrounge around in the fridge finding the left-over Pizza. There was quite a bit to deal with there, and he decided the rudeness at the cooked food could wait.

He set the plates down at the table walking beside the Pokemon. "Hey, that's no way to behave. First, you gotta clean up." He motioned toward the food he'd scattered on the floor. "And second, you're leaving the fridge open while you eat, and we can't have that." He hadn't really imagined this would be the first bit of training he would be doing with a Pokemon. Especially one that had a previous trainer.

[mrblah]

Riolu glared at Dan again, growling a little in annoyance at being ordered around. The Pokemon seemingly still hadn't fully accepted him as his new trainer, and still appeared distrustful. "Grr!" He replied, speaking a language unique to his species. He followed it up with several more growl-like replies. Seemed like Riolu was still very distrustful and hadn't fully accepted Dan as his trainer. His peace said (but not understood), it went back to eating the pizza, ignoring Dan as if he wasn't there.

"Dan?" The recognizable voice of Dan's mother called out from the doorway as she stepped into the kitchen. "What's that noise? I heard something weird so..." Anne stopped as she caught sight of the mess and Riolu, a shocked expression on her face as she glanced between it, the mess, and the pizza. "Dan..." She spoke in a low tone... then quickly moved over to the Riolu, grabbing it in a hug and squeezing the poor Pokemon as if it were a plushie. "Why didn't you introduce your new friend to me sooner? Dawww, look at how cute he is! Just so adorable!" She had an expression of bliss on her face as she shoved the Riolu's own into her chest, though Anne Kurth didn't exactly boast a large one.

[Firehead]

Dan was getting a bit frustrated at the rebellious Pokemon. He was about to grab at the plate ready to risk starting a fight if necessary. If he was going to be this Pokemon's trainer, he was going to need its respect even if it meant a struggle. He stopped though when he heard his mother's voice. She'd apparently heard the ruckus and came to check on what's going on.

He jumped back when she froze seeing the Pokemon in front of the open fridge food scattered about around him. He was about to apologize for the mess when she grabbed Riolu into a hug. "I uh, mentioned him when I came in, but you were busy watching the news, so you didn't notice. Dr. Aster gave him to me. Apparently, his last trainer was pretty bad." He stopped himself from bringing up Team Crown. He knew his mother wouldn't blame the Pokemon for its trainer's behavior, but he didn't want to remind her of what she'd been watching on the news when he'd arrived. "Anyway, we were getting something to eat, and I was just about to get him to clean up after himself."

[mrblah]

Riolu struggled in Anne's grasp, and luckily, she was perceptive enough to notice. She released the poor Pokemon, who made an angry noise and glared up at Anne, his eyes bearing a dangerous glint that promised retribution for the - he froze, staring at Anne's face. "... Er..." Anne made an uncertain noise, but then followed it up with a surprised yelp as Riolu suddenly hugged her, rubbing his face against her chest with a happy expression on its canine-like face. "Arr!"

"Aw... he likes me!" She hugged him back, apparently unaware of the hidden intentions of the Pokemon as it was essentially motorboating Dan's mother. She glared at her son, holding the Pokemon protectively as if he wanted to hurt him. "Dan! You're supposed to be his trainer now, aren't you? Why force such a cute Pokemon to clean up after himself when he's so young? As his trainer, it's your job to care for him, and no doubt it was just a mistake!" It seemed she had been so charmed by Riolu that she was immediately launching to his defense. The Pokemon clearly noticed this, as it momentarily stopped sexually harassing Dan's mom to shoot him a mocking grin, before it returned to it.

[Firehead]

Dan tensed when he noticed Riolu's aggression. He wasn't going to let his own Pokemon hurt his mother, but before he could do anything, Riolu seemed to calm in his mother's grasp even hugging her. Then he noticed the way his Pokemon was rubbing his face into his mother's chest. Was his Pokemon actually motorboating his mom? Either way, she didn't seem to take notice of the harassment.

He was taken aback when his mother chided him for trying to teach his Pokemon basic discipline. "What? You just expect me to let him do whatever he wants and clean the mess up myself?" This from the woman who thought it lazy for humans to have extremely strong Pokemon carry heavy things for them. He doubted she'd even recognize the hypocrisy in her worldview. He got down and started cleaning up the food that had been thrown on the floor. He almost considered putting the plate of pizza on the table, but he wasn't going to do that for the Pokemon too, so he simply slid it away from the fridge, so he could close the door. He glared back at the Pokemon when it mocked him. Enjoy it while it lasts, he thought. She won't be around to spoil you forever. He got to eating his omelet while turning some thoughts in his head. Was his Pokemon really attracted to humans women? It seemed a strange thought to him. Though he had heard vaguely of humans with such thoughts toward Pokemon. He'd always dismissed the idea as some people just being weird but now he was experiencing something that at least seemed to be similar.

[mrblah]

Instead of replying to Dan's question, Anne instead chose to cuddle and baby Riolu, who seemed to only play along to further his attempts at touching her. Eventually, she remembered she had things to do and stood up, walking over to the table to sit with Dan. Riolu seemed a bit disappointed, but quickly realized he had food to eat. The Pokemon promptly returned to the pizza.

"So... I suppose you'll be off on your journey, then? Since you have a Pokemon now and everything." Anne smiled as Dan ate, continuing on before he could reply. "Hm... just like how I was at your age. You remember that I was a trainer, right? I was around your age, maybe a little younger when I went on my Pokemon adventure..." She seemed to reminisce a bit, looking away with a wistful look at her younger days. "So," with a more serious look, she turned her attention back to Dan, "some words of advice; don't be too trusting with strangers, you never know who's who or what they want. Don't go off adventuring in weird places, since you never know if you'll be stumbling into some place you shouldn't. Always have your Pokemon with you at all times, and most importantly; treat your Pokemon well!" She ticked her fingers off as she listed her advice, pointing at Dan with her last sentence.

"You know I usually don't condone violence between Pokemon... but you have a Riolu, a fighting type. Fighting's in their nature and depriving them of that would be worse than anything... and, well, you're like that too. So if you really want to participate in Pokemon battles; get willing partners. I know we don't see eye-to-eye on what's abusing Pokemon and what isn't, but I know I raised you well enough to know right and wrong, so I'll trust your judgment..." As she continued talking quickly to not let Dan get a word in, her smile strained a bit, and she stumbled in her speech. "And remember to make friends along the way, okay? I know we're in a new region so you must miss your old ones, but there's lots of people here who are nice, so find some people like that, and..."

[Firehead]

Dan got to eating his food as his mom continued to coddle his Pokemon intent on not letting the Pokemon's behavior bother him. They'd be away a long time, and he'd have plenty of opportunities to break any bad habits Riolu had picked up.

Turning to his mother he got ready as he prepared for what she might have to say. "Yeah, I'd been considering it, and when Professor Aster told me how Riolu got abandoned by his old trainer, I thought it would be nice to give him a second chance." He nodded when she brought up her old days as a trainer. "Sure, how could I forget. You still keep Pyrite around after all." Dan rolled his eyes when mom got to the part where she gives him life advice most of which he already knew. "Why is it I get the impression you don't think I can handle this. You did just say you went off on your journey at about my age." He smirked at her chuckling to show he wasn't really serious with the jab. "Sure, I'll make sure to take care of them, and I know that means more than getting them to the Pokemon Center whenever they faint.

He nodded when she started to get to the part about respecting Pokemon taking in her words without comment. He was sure he'd be better than Riolu's last trainer, but that was a pretty low bar to begin with, so he supposed he could try it his mother's way. Besides, it probably wouldn't be much fun to travel with Pokemon that didn't respect him, and how would he earn respect if he didn't respect them too? "Sure, I'll make sure to do what's right by my Pokemon. And stop worrying about me making friends. Isn't that half of what these journeys are supposed to be about?" Finishing up his food, he got up and washed his plate before setting it to dry. "Alright, I'm all fed now, so let's get these boxes put away."

[mrblah]

Anne glared at Dan lightly. "I'm your mother. 80% of my job is worrying about you." Was her response. "... But you're right. I'll also trust you to know what to do there, then. Let's get the boxes moved in." As Dan stood up to wash his plate, Riolu followed after him to put his own plate into the sink, surprisingly. He then walked off to who knows where, apparently losing interest with the human proceedings of the day. Anne watched him walk off with a pitied look. "I sure do hope you take care of that Riolu, Dan. If he was abandoned like you say, then he's probably gonna have a hard time adjusting to you..." She sighed.

Time passed by, and the Kurths had spent it at work moving the boxes into their home... or, rather; Dan did. His mother mostly watched, lifted small things precious to her, and told him to lift everything else. It was afternoon now, and the final box was moved into the living room. Anne was sitting down on the couch again, eating out of a bag of crunchy noodles, and Riolu was watching TV. It was a popular cartoon about an alien from a super violent race who fell to Earth, lost his memories, and became a hero of justice, fighting bad Pokemon and humans alike with his cool alien powers. "That's the last box." Anne stated the obvious, biting down on one of her crackers. "Now all that's left is for me to unpack everything... tomorrow."

[Firehead]

Dan couldn't help but smile when Riolu put his plate in the sink. At least he wasn't just going to leave it where he ate. Perhaps there was some hope for the Pokemon after all. "It's just what Professor Aster told me, but I get it. I'll do what I can to make this work."

For the next while, Dan moved most of the boxes except what was too delicate for his mother to trust him with his arms feeling quite tired by the time every box had been moved in. He found his Pokemon lazing about now in front of the T.V. He sighed as he decided to let it go trying to think about what he was going to do with the rest of the day. He was too tired to think about doing any training whether training himself or his new Pokemon. He could pack his clothing and stuff in preparation of going, but after carrying all those boxes, packing was simply not something he was up for. He went ahead and took a seat on the couch planning to just rest a little. The show seemed a little mindless, but he decided to give it a chance seeing just what was interesting Riolu.

[mrblah]

The episode on air was about the main character's brother, Raddish and his Rapidash, coming to Earth to destroy it. The main character, whose name was Goko, had to battle his alien brother together with his Monferno and his weird green pickle friend to save the world. Pickle friend, whose name was literally Pickle, just shot through Goko with his Hyper Beam while he was holding Raddish still. It was a very emotional scene. Riolu was kind of tearing up.

"So..." Dan heard to the side of him. His mother apparently decided to start a conversation. "When are you leaving? Your dad will be coming home tonight so you might want to stick around for that. It'd be nice to have a good family dinner again." Dan's father had a tendency to work late, and he'd often miss dinner, coming home after getting takeout at his workplace. It became so common that Anne had stopped preparing meals for him. "Barring any unfortunate mishaps like his shift getting extended..." She grumbled a bit under her breath.

[Firehead]

Dan watched the show a bit mystified. It certainly wasn't very grounded, but Riulo seemed to be into it. He especially found himself confused by Pickle. Was he supposed to be a Pokemon? It wasn't any kind he'd ever seen, but he did know Hyper Beam for whatever reason.

He turned to his mother as she decided to start a conversation wanting to know when he'd be going off on his own. She seemed intent on trying to get him to stick around for dinner in the hope that it could be one last dinner with the whole family assuming his father didn't get delayed from getting home again. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Just call dad and let him know what's going on. Maybe he'll be more likely to not get delayed if he knows what's going on. Speaking of, I should go ahead and get packing. If I'm staying for dinner I'll want to get a decent start in the morning." He stood up stretching before heading off to his room.