They’re walking in silence for a long time before Tepig finally gets sick of it and talks. <Trainer.>

Kazuki doesn’t stop, busy pathing through the uneven stones. Often, he has to take longer routes or kick away obstructions to ensure the path is feasible for a pokemon with such stubby legs. Sure, he could just pick him up like a melon and cart him to the next encounter, but he can’t have Tepig learning to skip leg day at such a young age. “What?”

<Why was I traded?> Tepig for his part, is following quite well. He doesn’t protest at their pace. He doesn’t ask for help when the jump down feels a little too high. He simply grits his teeth and gets it done. Yet he can’t seem to get over this tidbit of his life—this, in all honesty, useless question, since his original trainer means nothing to him.

Right?

Kazuki pauses, experiencing vivid flashbacks of clocking Tepig’s trainer with an espeon's pokeball and rifling through his pockets as the man dressed like a dead poet tried shoving him away. “… It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

The trek has gone dead silent, which is good on a hunt, but unnerving by this point. Kazuki looks down to Tepig walking beside him. The pig had made one attempt to spark conversation and had left it at that. Compared to his starter, who babbles endlessly and bears his emotions like a signal light, this one is a bit more reserved.

“You’re not still thinking about earlier, are you?” Kazuki asks, a little irritable.

Tepig blinks, looking up at him, shaking his head, but the trainer doesn’t buy it. Not when they’re moving so slowly.

“I don’t know about your trainer, but you’re on my team now.” He picks up the pace, and Tepig, albeit lagging a bit at first, actually keeps up. “Yeah, you’re weak. Most of the team is, but that’s why we’re out here.”

Kazuki scoffs. “By the time you see your old trainer again, you’ll be able to kick his and his team's ass without breaking a sweat.”

Tepig doesn’t want to do that at all, and he's uncertain even if he'd like a reunion, but he is intrigued. He has never been part of a team before, and the promise of becoming stronger is tantalizing. He watches his trainer toss away another small boulder and finds himself wishing fervently for the day he’ll be able to do the same.

After being hit with flames, the Klink retaliates, diving down to catch Tepig between its gears in a Vise Grip.

Tepig attempts to dodge, but his lack of speed leads his leg to get caught by the downward swoop. It deals considerable damage, but Tepig remains standing when he pulls himself free, though a bit unsteadily, as if the leg remains tender.

“You’re too slow. You need to make it come to you,” Kazuki instructs. “Stay put.”

Tepig stays in place, staring down the Klink until it tries to pull him into its gears again. He hears the order and covers himself in flames, preparing a close-quarters Flame Charge.

And misses.

Kazuki blinks, and then laughs. “That thing is like 2 feet away from your face. How?”

Tepig blinks, bewildered himself. Shocked enough that it gives the Klink leeway to slam into him, and he growls in frustration, coating himself in flames again.

Kazuki waits, still a little amused as he tosses his pokeball in his hand. Well—at least he learned how to use fire defensively; he seems to be a quick learner overall. But that aim will be a problem.