The Chronicles of Black.

Despite how he intended the thought to be private, having Vulpix's head inches away from his own makes Lee's thoughts as clear as spoken words over the thin telepathic band between them. Vulpix presses her cold nose to his cheek and huffs before he even finishes.

He absently reaches up to pet her. 'Maybe not on my own, but still.' "What's that?"

Lee stiffens and stuffs the card in his pocket with speed borne of embarrassment. He turns to glare lightly at Brendan, who only blinks in return.

"Nothing important..." Lee says, looking away.

Brendan hums under his breath."You were staring at that card so hard I thought it was going to go up in flame. We've been walking for like ten minutes."

"In-joke, don't worry."

"Here should be good."

"Ughhhhh..." the sweat-soaked Brendan groans. "Sweet, sweet shade. I promise to never take you for granted again."

Lee blows out a breath and pulls at his own damp shirt collar. "Yeah, no joke." The pair had been walking for almost six hours. The early morning chill was merciful, making the first several hours leading to and slightly after the sunrise little more than a pleasant stroll to the north. After the sun rose, however, Hoenn began to show it's tropical climate as the heat rose without a sea-side breeze to cool anyone unfortunate enough to venture out into the sun. Lee even had to put Vulpix in her ball because having her on his shoulders made for a nausea-inducing amount of heat, even with her using Drought to try and redirect the sun rays.

And in a horrid bout of luck for Lee and Brendan, the road north of Littleroot to Oldale is nothing but flat grasslands, and today is nothing short of scorching. Not even pokemon were out and about.

That's why a copse of large trees off the side of the road made both trainers beeline for the soothing shade they offered. Brendan drops his backpack and collapses on his back in the cool grass below one of the trees. "Ahhhhh yeah, that's the stuff," he groans in delight.

Lee is a little more graceful, but still more or less flops down as he digs in his bag and pulls a plastic water bottle from it, still as blessedly cold as when he pulled it from the lab fridge this morning.

"Sliph tech my ass," Lee huffs as he unscrews the bottle and downs the entire thing in three huge, refreshing gulps. "Huh. More like Sliph magic," he says, wiping his mouth.

"I know, right?" Brendan laughs and opens his own bag, digging for his own water. His other hand travels to his belt and snags Mudkip's pokeball. "I think it's time for lunch. C'mon out!"

Mudkip's ball flies into the air and snaps open, dumping a pokemon-shaped mass of energy on the ground that slowly turns into Mudkip. "Mud?"

Lee follows suit, tossing his sole pokeball up and letting open with a snap-hiss. Vulpix lands gracefully before she's even fully materialized. "Vul."

The older trainer opens his bag and fishes out the bag of self-made pokemon food he had prepared the night prior, making Vulpix's tails wag. "Alrighty girl, lunch first, then some light training?"

Mudkip turns to Lee and Vulpix, his little eyes shining with an almost malicious light, only for Brendan's hand on his head to snap him out of it.

"Light training pal," Brendan says with a sheepish laugh. "If you and Vulpix burn down or knock over the trees, then we're outta luck."

Poor Mudkip slumps and Vulpix rolls her eyes. Both trainers set out food and water for their pokemon, who dig into their meals with gusto. Brendan produces a simple sandwich from his bag and wolfs it down, totally ignoring Lee's warning to slow down before he gets sick.

Lee stares into the darkened maw of his Sliph bag, debating with himself internally. 'It's too hot to cook an actual lunch. Something light will do fine.'

So a few mouthfuls of granola became lunch, and Lee steadfastly ignores his younger companion moaning as a stomach ache hits him.

As he rests, Lee watches both Vulpix and Mudkip finish up their meals, mulling over what he's watching. 'The games never had any systems for personal care like food, hygiene, and one-on-one time in place for the pokemon, and it certainly would not have been cost-prohibitive even such systems were in place. One isn't much to care for, but six or more could add up to more time and money than I have,' Lee thinks with a sigh. 'I guess my plans for a Snorlax are shot. Damn.'

Vulpix's face scrunches up as she chews her last bite of lunch. Her distaste plain for such an... Unsightly? Unattractive? Slobbish pokemon? The feeling of what she wishes to convey is in the telepathic message she sends, but she can't tie the feeling to a human word.

'I know what you mean, love,' Lee sends back and he reclines back into the grass. 'But give credit where credit is due. Snorlax is a powerful pokemon and would be on everyone's team if they didn't have such unearthly upkeep.'

Vulpix's side of the telepathic link is silent before she concedes the point with a flicker of agreement and only a slight undertone of lingering disdain.

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