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I woke the next morning, snuggled up close to Zane, his arms wrapped softly around my body. I attempted to wiggle out lightly, but stopped when I felt my footpaws brush something hard and solid. Zane moaned in his sleep as I looked down between us and saw there was something poking out from near his waist.

Tilting my head, I rubbed my footpaw on it again, pushing against it. It flattened down with my footpaw against Zane's leg and he moaned again in his sleep.

I wondered what it was, but my curiosity was overridden by the strong signal my bladder suddenly sent me and I wiggled out of my trainer's arms again, hopping down off the bed and scampering to the restroom. My thing was poking out from my waist this morning, due to how badly I had to go. I had no idea what it was, but I'd seen it before, like this morning, when I have to go to the restroom badly.

It went back into me when I finished, my fur was thick enough that I couldn't even see where it went though too. I ignored it like I always did, washing my paws at the sink using a stool that Zane's mom had put in there for me to use.

When I came back out, I sat down in front of the TV and watched the weather after figuring out how to turn it on. It was supposed to rain tonight from what it seemed the pretty young lady on the TV was motioning to on the board. I played with my footpaws a bit during, just idly passing time, examining each digit slowly a moment. From all the training and being outside over the last few days, my pads were scraped and marked now. Running my fingers along them kind of made them itch, they were sensitive.

I heard Zane rustle behind me a bit and I looked back at him as he sat up in bed, and he looked down at me as I still had one of my footpaws grasped up in my paws.

"Hmm morning Riolu." He smiled as he rubbed his eyes with his hands, then he snapped awake suddenly, gasping and pounding the bed with his hands, "Today's the day..."

He jumped up from bed and started to rummage through his dresser. This time I watched him change, thinking maybe I could get to see what it had been that had been poking out from his bed shorts earlier, but now, as I looked, the only thing there was a limp thing between his legs that dangled a bit. I didn't get much more of a look, as Zane quickly was pulling on some new clothing in his haste.

"There's so much to prepare for Riolu!" He scrambled over to me and scooped me up and onto his shoulder, then we fumbled down the stairs in a rush.

"Easy Zane!" I heard his mom call out as he tumbled down.

"Can't! Too much to do! See you in a bit Mom!" Zane called and he raced out the door with me hanging onto his neck with both arms to prevent myself from falling.

___________________

"Professor Florence!" Zane shouted when we reached the laboratory building where he had first met me.

"Oh! Zane, you're here early, eager to start your journey? It's supposed to rain tonight, are you prepared?" She was holding a clipboard in one of her hands, a pair of other pokemon were on the table in front of her, I recognized them as two of the others who had been here when Zane came to choose one of us.

I hopped down next to them off of Zane's shoulders as he walked close, "I'll prepare for that later, I'm excited to actually be registered first!"

She smiled at Zane and she reached into her pocket a moment, "Give me a moment, I'll be right back with your things."

As Zane waited by the counter, I approached the other two pokemon, one was pig like with flame markings on his body, and the other was green and slender like she was a snake on legs.

"Hey guys." I waved softly as I smiled and blushed a bit.

"Hey." Was all they both said.

A bit of silence followed and I kicked with one of my footpaws, "Um, what's been going on here?"

"Nothing." The pig pokemon snorted at me, "We expected that we'd be moving on by now, but as it turns out, he," he nodded towards Zane, "Was the last human to pick for the next year."

"What?! But then, you're all...stuck here till next year?"

"Yup." He snorted again and looked away, clearly he was slightly upset that I had been chosen.

"I'm sorry..." I started to say, but the green pokemon snapped then at me instead.

"You're sorry? Pathetic little weakling. You never even learned how to use your natural power!" She tapped at me with a long vine that slithered out from her body and I slapped it away, growling myself now.

"Not my fault I was separated from my parents earlier than the rest of you!" I snapped back and drew a fist at them both.

"Hey! Easy!" Zane noticed our squabble and he looked between me and the other pokemon, "Tepig. Snivy."

The green pokemon, who it seemed was called a Snivy, pushed her way in between me and Zane, and she pointed at herself with her vine and made a big show in front of him, "Take me instead! You don't want this puny, untrained weakling!"

Of course Zane didn't understand her, and he tilted his head, and moved to get to me, but now Tepig joined into it, and he jumped between me and Zane again, "Yeah! In fact, you should be taking me! I'm a fire type, I could kick her butt across the ground!"

Snivy turned on Tepig now too, leaving me caught in the middle of her vines as she japped at him, "Ex-CUSE me? What makes you think you could even hit me with those little puffs of smoke you puff out of that mouth of yours?"

Tepig growled, and he took a deep breath, and then let it loose. I think he meant to shoot out flames, but instead, clouds of black smoke seeped out and washed over both me and Zane. Zane coughed and waved his hand around, I clung to my throat as I coughed.

"Oh gosh, so rancid...that smell!" I yowled and Zane managed to scoop me out from between the two pokemon. Snivy was just outside the cloud of smoke, standing there smugly while Tepig glared at her as the smog cleared and he blushed a bit, embarrassed by his lack of ability to make flames.

"Hey, now stop it!" A stern voice called as one of the lab doors opened, and Professor Florence returned, striding towards the two pokemon on the counter, "Stop that this instant! Getting into a fight is not going to make you anymore likely to be chosen next year or any other year."

"It's not about getting into next year!" Snivy shouted at the Professor, "This is about that little runt who somehow even got into this year's selections!" She pointed at me with one of her vines, and the Professor looked at me and hummed.

"What is it Professor?" Zane asked her as he held onto me tightly to his chest.

"I think they're jealous of Riolu." She said and looked at her clipboard a moment, "Riolu wasn't meant to be in this year's rotation of starters, it was too early to take him away from his parents, but we were out of fighting type starters, and it was only half a year earlier than most. It doesn't seem to have harmed his personality anyway. But it robbed these two of the chance to be chosen."

"I see, are they mad I take it?" Zane asked, and Snivy made a snapping motion with her vine.

"You will battle me for right of the trainer!" She said, and I realized she was talking to me.

"Why should I? Zane chose me!" I barked at her, pushing against Zane's chest with one paw and shaking a fist at her with the other.

"Then you admit you're a coward who won't fight!" She snapped again and whipped her vine on the counter again.

I growled, and wiggled against Zane's chest, and he let go of me. I jumped down onto the counter in front of the snake grass pokemon,

It was obvious to Professor Florence that we were about to fight each other and she waved her arms, "Whoa whoa whoa, not in here! Go outside if you're going to battle."

______________

Zane took me outside the lab, and the Professor took Snivy. The pokemon made it clear, by a series of whipping and shaking of her head to questions that this was to be a fight for the right to be Zane's pokemon.

Zane, reluctantly agreeing, was then dismayed to find out that Snivy didn't want him assisting me giving me orders in the battle, she would be fighting like she was a wild pokemon, so I had to do the same.

I wasn't about to let him down though, if this annoying grass type was wanting a fight, then I would give it to her. I was confident after defeating the trainer from yesterday, that I could defeat this untrained pokemon.

Zane and the Professor stood nearby, as me and Snivy stared each other down for a moment, before I asked, "Why do you want to do this so badly?"

"Because I deserve it more," She pointed at me with one of her vines again, "YOU are just a little squirt who got lucky in the picking that a trainer took a liking to you. You should not have even been there two days ago when Zane was here. I'm the strongest out of all the starters, I deserve him."

"I've grown, I've learned a lot." I took a small fighting stance, glaring Snivy down "I'll show you what I've learned."

"Your true strength has yet to come out, like I said, you are just a little runt, you should still be with your mother." She sneered at me and another vine joined her other one, sprouting from her other shoulder and I eyed them both warily. What kind of threat did those pose, how far could they reach?

I didn't get time to think about it before she sent one of them at me, it stretched straight out towards me quickly, and I dodged to the side. All the while she just stood there, her arms crossed, and the other vine was raising up and then came slamming down as I dodged, and it slammed me down against the ground. I yelped in pain, feeling my back crack from the force behind the whip.

"Riolu!" I heard Zane call out in worry to me, but the Professor stopped him from doing anything more as he tried to run toward me, and the vine lifted from me and I rose up on my paws and knees, groaning.

"You see? You can't even stand up to me, I'm too fast, too strong. I'm a proper starter. You're nothing but a pet. I bet you have a little bed on the floor at home." She taunted me with a laugh and I growled lowly in annoyance, mostly because that was true, there was a bed on the floor for me. But what Zane said stuck to me then.

"You aren't my pet, don't know why my mom got that for you."

I got up onto my feet, turning to face Snivy again, as she stared at me.

"I...am not a pet!" I growled at her and clenched my paws into fists. "I am his partner!"

She lifted up the vines again as she scowled at me, "You are a runt!"

I charged, using Quick Attack to boost my speed while dodging the whipping vines nimbly. It took her awhile to lift her vines after attacking with them, which gave me time to charge up close to her, but the one of her vines came around me and snapped around my waist.

"Ah!" I struggled against the vine as it held me tightly and lifted me up into the air, trying to push it off and I felt it start to lift me up off the ground. She lifted me higher and higher, until we were staring at each other at an angle.

"Stay down this time!" She shouted and slammed me down to the ground head first.

"Riolu!" I heard Zane call out again, and I snapped my eyes open at his call. I started humming the lullaby to calm myself. Time slowed as I was brought to the ground.

I focused and pushed out my arms, catching myself on the ground. I grunted as Snivy's vine continued to push me down into the ground, but held myself up with my arms above my head, pretty much doing a handstand in place. With the aura helping me, strength poured through my muscles enough to stall her attempt to slam me into the ground. When I felt the vine slack, I reached up and grabbed it. I stopped humming and time resumed, as I grasped the vine with one hand, balancing with the other and tugged as hard as I could.

"W-What?!" Snivy gasped in surprise as I yanked her off the ground and towards me. The vine released me as it slacked, and I rolled up to my feet as Snivy flew toward me. I could feel something welling up inside me, fueled by the anger I felt at being called a pet and a runt, and it was pooling up in the palm of my hand.

"I'M NOT...A PET!!!!" I screamed out as I pulled back a palm, and then punched forward with it. As my pawpads made contact with Snivy's cheek, a blast of energy exploded from my palm. She gasped again at the force behind it, the fact that she had been flying toward me only increasing the power.

"You stay down instead!!!" I yowled and finished my punch. She went flying backwards away from me this time, landing and skidding across the ground, bouncing up a few times before she came to a stop, her vines laying across the ground between us. I panted, hearing blood rushing through my ears as I glared at Snivy, and she lifted her head a bit before her eyes closed and she passed out.

"Don't...call me...a runt..." I panted and felt my body relax, and I fell back slowly, passing out myself from exhaustion.

___________

"Come on little one...wake up..."

I groaned softly at the sound of the voice, opening my eyes to see Lucario standing over me, passing his paw over my body as it glowed a soft purple color. I could feel energy flowing into me each time it passed over me.

"Ah there you are." He said and smiled down at me.

"What happened?" I groaned again and rubbed my head with my paw.

"You defeated Snivy. You proved you are more worthy of being Zane's pokemon. I've been trying to revive you for awhile now. Professor Florence called Herb over after you both fainted. You are very strong young one."

"I was getting tired of being called weak." I growled loudly and sat up slowly, and then I felt familiar arms touch me. I looked up to my left to see Zane there. He looked worried and I felt bad for making him worry about me.

"You're definitely not weak." Lucario chuckled as he stood up, "Using Force Palm for the first time without even having your trainer helping you in the battle, and you're only half a year old. I hope you remembered what you felt when you used it. It'd help you learn it for later."

"I was just...mad." I said as I turned my head back over to him.

"Well, remember that feeling, use it when you need it." Lucario chuckled again and walked over to Herb nearby.

I looked around, then remembered something, "Hey hey! Wait a moment! I have questions." As I struggled out of Zane's arms, and dashed after Lucario, who looked up at Herb a moment.

Herb nodded and stopped Zane as he came after me, "Let Riolu be with Lucario again a moment, talk with me, there are things you need to know if you're going to learn how to train Riolu the right way."

I followed Lucario back to the training field we had been at a few days ago, while Herb took Zane off to the side, who peeked over his shoulder at me quite a few times still.

"Let's see if we can get you to use Force Palm again and-"

"No!" I shouted and stamped my footpaw on the ground.

"No?"

"How do you get Herb to understand you?" I asked him quickly and eagerly, "I'm tired of Zane not understanding me!"

Lucario blinked at me a few times, "That's something you're not ready for, physically and mentally. Wait another year."

"You just said I'm strong." I persisted anyway, "Tell me how to talk to him."

"The link between a human and one of us can't be created on a whim." Lucario told me calmly, folding his arms, "But...you seem to care enough for Zane that you'll fight another for the right to be his pokemon."

"You'll tell me how then?" I smiled and jumped a little excitedly.

"No, I won't." Lucario said again and I glared at him, and he smiled, "It's not up to you to make the connection. It's up to Zane." Lucario closed his eyes a moment, and then opened them again. "There, I just told Herb to tell Zane how to make the connection. If you're truly ready for what is required, just let what happens happen. Zane will decide when he's ready."

"O-oh...okay..." I tilted my head slightly, I was satisfied enough I guess, though I wish he had told me what was needed.

"Now, let's practice your Force Palm."

______________________

I spent most of the day with Lucario, practicing my Force Palm and mastering the feeling needed to use it. When it was late afternoon, Zane returned with his mother, Professor Florence, and Herb all following. Zane picked me up onto his shoulder again. He was wearing a backpack now. I remembered this was the day we were getting ready to leave for our journey, and excitement bubbled up inside me again at the though of getting to see the world with Zane.

"Do you have everything?" Zane's mom asked him.

"Yeah mom, this backpack is filled to bursting with essentials."

"It's supposed to rain later tonight, did you pack a tent?" She continued on worriedly.

Zane smiled and he chuckled, rubbing my ears softly. The rubbing felt a little different this time, as he kept his hand there much longer than he ever had before, but it felt nice so I wasn't complaining, "Yeah mom, I packed a tent and sleeping bag."

Professor Florence stepped in before his mom could get in another question, handing out a small square like object to Zane, "Here Zane, this is yours now. It verifies that you're a trainer to others, and acts as your encyclopedia of pokemon of sorts." She tapped a button and the small device powered on, the screen flipping open to show a picture of Zane on it as it spoke.

"Greetings! I am Pokedex number one three six dash zero one, registered to Trainer Zane Triune. I act as a GPS locator and information center. If found, please return to the nearest Pokemon Center." With that, the device made a small blip noise and powered down to a standby mode.

"Point it at a pokemon when you see one, and it will examine and give you information on it." Professor Florence told him, "If it's in the index anyway, there are some out there that still haven't been studied."

"Thanks Professor." Zane nodded and smiled.

Now Herb stepped foward, "Zane, you're a strong young man, and you have a strong pokemon. Keep your head high out there and don't let up. Be sure to get more pokemon soon, the more you have, the better your ability to survive out there, you'll never know when a fire type's flame can be useful for starting a fire, or a grass type for getting over a cliff with those vines. Riolu is strong, and he can probably remove a lot of obstacles too."

The old man stepped forward, looking at me a moment as Zane rubbed my ear, "Remember what I told you too, make sure it's what you want if you're going to try it..."

Zane only nodded lightly, and I felt his hand press against my head softly and I murred a bit.

"Be strong..."

Lucario spoke to me next to Herb, "Zane knows what needs to happen for you to be able to speak to him, it's up to him if he wants to make it happen though, so don't push it."

"I wish you'd tell me what it was too." I grumbled at him.

"If I told you you'd try to force it." Lucario grinned and I pouted a bit, folding my arms and closing my eyes.

"Hehe, stay healthy Riolu, your life is just beginning today. Keep an eye out for that trainer who ambushed you earlier too. If Zane's father is that serious, he won't give up after just one battle."

I flexed an arm and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm getting stronger by the day!"

Lucario grinned again, "That you are...you make me proud..."

I blushed and wagged my tail, "Thanks Lucario. I'll be on TV one day in one of those battles, be sure to watch me!"

I waved to him as Zane turned, and we faced the path that would lead us away from this small hometown and into the great big world beyond it.

Zane looked at me, "Ready for this Riolu? Our journey starts now, we have a hard first night with rain, but we'll be okay with the tent." I nodded eagerly at him, and we started forward together, as the others saw us off.

In Zane's house close by, a figure watched us leave in the window, vanishing as we disappeared over the hills...