Bonds of Bronze [Refresh]

Bronze, in his considerable years walking the real world, had possessed a large variety of pets. Cats, dogs, beetles, snakes, lizards - all acquired in the attempt to fill the hole that ate at him with an insistent, dull ache. It had never quite worked. Oh, he had loved them, one and all, and treated them to the very best life that he could give them, but it had never quite hit the mark. Even the dogs, with their boundless love and simple, wordless loyalty, could never make the longing go away, not truly.

Maybe this would be different. Pokemon were far more complex creatures than the animals that roamed Earth, and significantly more intelligent - this was obvious enough even from observing them engaging in every day activities, but the fact that they could speak made it impossible to judge them as anything but equal to humankind in terms of mental capacity. Usually, anyway. As with everything, there were those that were...Lacking.

Not, he was pleased to acknowledge, in the case of any of his companions. Though their personalities varied drastically, one and all were possessed of keen minds and an ability to learn and grow that was apparent even in the short time they had been together. It was not the mind that Bronze tended to, today, however. No, today, he tended to the body. More specifically, to the maintenance and cleansing of a particular, scaley body.

Varivus was laid flat out upon his belly, limbs splayed before and behind him like a roast chicken - or akin to some dogs that Bronze had seen. The reptile was, he suspected, passed out, having been lulled into dozing off not long into the process of cleaning his hide. Bronze sat cross-legged before the small creature, his tools neatly arrayed beside him on a roll of cloth - oil, stiff-bristled brush, two distinct cloths, a tub of polish, and a soft buffer to use it with.

The sun gleamed off his Totodile's shining scutes, as his trainer gently, diligently worked the buffer in tight, concentric motions as he rubbed at the now flawlessly smooth scales, utterly free of flakes of peeled skin, specks of dirt, and even the most minute of blemishes. He was resplendent, burnished like a tiny metal sculpture of a dozing crocodile - but more importantly, he was clean, he was healthy, and he was happy.

Bronze sat back, a faint smile upon his lips, and nodded to himself in satisfaction before quietly packing up the grooming utensils. Perhaps he would join Varivus for a nap in the sun.

TOTODILE'S RARITY INCREASED BY +5 ( VERY RARE)