The next day, Spike brought his egg with him to school, startling both his classmates and his teacher. In fact, if Miss Johanna had not seen Spike’s mother walking him to school, she might have considered taking it away from him to keep it safe. To her relief, he treated it gently throughout the day and mostly kept it wrapped in a warm blanket while avoiding other kids. She also noted that the Zigzagoons at the back of the class didn’t tremble in his presence as badly, especially after they observed how carefully he handled the egg, much to her relief. Although the Zigzagoons happily played with the other children on a regular basis, she had never found a way to help them overcome their fear of the class bully and often worried it might traumatize them.

Later, during recess, she noticed that Spike was nowhere to be seen. After looking around for a while, she finally found him in the small grove of trees that was home to many of the small Pokémon who played with the children during recess. When she saw three Ralts shuffling around him and rolling a small ball back and forth with him, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Unable to believe it, she rubbed her eyes and looked again, barely catching a glimpse of the three Ralts noticing her and teleporting away. She almost felt guilty when she saw the sad look on the boy’s face when the Pokémon left.

Another few weeks quickly passed, and even the other students noticed the change in ‘Dilon’ who kept telling them to call him Spike now whenever somebody said his name. Honestly, Miss Johanna found that hilarious since he still felt the same as the old Dilon whenever that happened. Every other day, she went to the grove in the playground to observe him from a distance. Every single time, she saw him playing with multiple Ralts, young Zigzagoons and Seedots, and even Taillows or Pidgeys that seemed to enjoy perching on his shoulders. To top it all off, from the first day he brought that egg to school, it never left his arms. Miss Johanna wondered if the egg was the reason the boy had changed so much.

Meanwhile, the object of her observations spent his days without paying much attention to lessons since he basically knew everything. Instead, he focused mainly on his physical condition and his egg that seemed closer and closer every day. While waiting for it to hatch, he continued exercising every day and practicing with Medicham. He also spent a lot of time with his Aunt since it seemed like Mara had asked her to babysit as much as possible after his previous trek into the woods. Occasionally, he also found chances to remedy his reputation, like helping clean the classroom or feeding the Zigzagoons that liked staying in the classroom. One day, he even helped a Taillow with an injured wing by bringing it to the school infirmary

Finally, almost a month after he had arrived in this world, cracks appeared on the egg’s surface while he was walking home. To avoid gathering attention, he stepped into a small alley and waited. He watched as the cracks spread over the upper surface of the egg. It wiggled several times before eggshell pieces started falling off of it. Before long, a small red eye peeked out of the cracks and locked onto Spike.

At that moment, he felt like the world stopped. His heartbeat quickened, and he felt like everything around him became clearer as though a fog had been blown away. Spike felt like a whole new world had opened up for him. He could feel the dirt under his feet and the cobble road outside the alley without looking. He could feel people walking by and know how they were feeling. Most of all, he could sense his partner, his heartbeat, and his joy at meeting him for the first time. Spike instantly knew they would always be together no matter what came at them.

Blinking in surprise, Spike briefly looked down at his body before focusing on the egg again. Moments later, a small black-furred fist smashed open the top of the egg, and a blue-furred head with black ears looked up at him. Small red eyes met Spike’s green eyes for the first time. Spike’s lips gradually curled upward. The Riolu’s lips did the same.

“Nice to meet you, partner.”

“Riolu!” The Riolu barked in reply.

* * *

Holding Riolu in his arms, Spike walked toward his home with lips pressed together. The weird sixth sense he experienced while the egg was hatching quickly left his grasp afterward, but the world still felt clearer to him than before. Colors glowed more vibrantly. Sounds and smells entered his ears and nose as though vying for his attention. After returning home, he saw his father’s Medicham meditating in the living room.

“I’m home,” Spike said.

Medicham opened its eyes to greet him, but the moment it saw Riolu, its eyes lit up, and it bounced over while clapping its hands together and dancing back and forth on its toes. In response, Riolu stared at Medicham with curiosity. The two then greeted each other in Pokemon speech, though the newborn Riolu didn’t say nearly as much.

Feeling Riolu shuffling slightly in his arms, Spike looked down at him while wondering if he was shy. However, the little guy stared at Medicham unblinking with a fire in his eyes. Spike gently scratched Riolu’s head, causing the little guy to close his eyes and smile under the gentle touch.

“Medicham?” Medicham asked, tilting its head at Riolu.

“I don’t think he’s quite as energetic as you, Medicham,” Spike said, looking up into the Pokemon’s eyes and shrugging.

Medicham grinned in response.

“For now, I’m going upstairs to talk with Riolu for a bit. I’ll be back in a few minutes if you don’t mind waiting for me here.

“Medi- Medicham,” Medicham said while giving a thumbs-up.

“Thanks.”

With that, Spike carried Riolu upstairs. Before entering his room, he noticed his parents’ bedroom door was open and the lights were off, which meant his mother had likely already left for work.

Entering his room, Spike closed the door and sat cross-legged on the floor while placing the young Riolu on its feet across from him. Riolu faced him and looked him up and down with curiosity.

“Well, let’s get to know each other. First off, I’m Spike, and it looks like we’ll be partners in fighting crime or whatever,” Spike said while putting a fist out toward Riolu.

Riolu tilted its head while glaring at Spike’s fist with narrowed eyes. The small Pokemon then raised its paws hesitantly as though ready to spar.

“Pft. This is a gesture of comradeship. You tap my fist with your own, though I guess it would be your paw in this case.”

Eyes flashing with understanding, Riolu lowered one of its arms and tapped Spike’s fist with the other. Spike smiled, and Riolu followed suit with a small smile that quickly disappeared.

“You’re rather stoic, aren’t you?”

Riolu blinked, not understanding what he meant.

Scratching his nose, Spike coughed and changed the subject by saying, “Anyway, since we’re going to be partners from now on, how about I give you a good name? I feel like it would be weird if you didn’t have one.”

Riolu nodded slightly.

“How about Ares? I was originally thinking of a different one, but your demeanor changed my mind. What do you think?”

For a moment, the room fell silent. Riolu closed its eyes and crossed its arms.

Breaking out into a cold sweat, Spike asked, “Do you think Ares is a good name?”

Riolu’s ear twitched a little when Spike said the name again. Then, opening his eyes, Riolu smiled and gave a small nod before confidently barking out, “Riolu.”

“Phew. I was worried for a second there that you didn’t like it. It might not be original, but it’s a strong name, right?”

“Riolu,” Ares replied with an affirmative nod.

“Cool. Let’s get along well in the future, then, Ares,” Spike said while holding out his fist again.

“Riolu.”

Fist and paw bumped together, and the two smiled at each other.

“Now, brother, how about we ask Medicham to help us train for the rest of the day?”

Eyes beaming at the suggestion, Riolu excitedly answered, “Ri!”