Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Other standard stuff applies as well. You don't like Pokemon smut or are under 18, leave now. Otherwise, enjoy.

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Fast-forward a couple of years. I was fourteen, and the stretch of time since I had met Riolu had done both of us well. For instance, I wasn't nearly so secretive about her to my friends, who often came over to my house for random get-togethers. It was often difficult to determine whether they were more interested in my X-Cube 950 or my Riolu. Oh, that's another thing; I started referring to her as "my" Riolu after some time, as she tended to spend most of her time with me rather than my grandparents. As of lately though, I was starting to feel that the term was rather degrading, putting emphasis on her status as a possession, as a pet, the complete opposite of what I truly regarded her as. I had never voiced these thoughts aloud, but somehow I think she knew about my changing feelings for her. Had anyone asked me who my best friend was, I would have had no hesitation in naming her, a non-human, and would not have considered it strange at all.

But back to the point. I was fourteen and was ready to start my own Pokemon journey. I'll admit it was a difficult decision, and I had been debating about it for months beforehand until I finally came to a decision, but it helped that my grandparents gave me their full support no matter what I chose. So ultimately if we leave my friends out of the picture, it boiled down to a choice between school and adventure. Three guesses as to which one I ended up going with, and the first two don't count.

And so as the weeks passed by, the time came for me to depart, as many had done before me. There was laughter, there were tears, there was... well let's just forget all the boring details for now, as again, I'm sure you've heard it all before. One important point I do wish to note is a conversation I had with my grandmother about a week before I left. You see, I wanted to take Riolu with me on my journey, but I knew that she still technically belonged to my grandparents. I reluctantly approached my grandma to ask about it, to which the response was exactly what I wanted to hear:

"Justtyn, we knew ever since the two of you met that you were destined for each other, if one believes in destiny that is. She's been so much happier since you arrived at our house that we'd be criminals to keep her here with us old folk. She'd die of boredom. Go on, take her, and don't worry about it in the slightest."

"Are you sure grandma? You don't need her to keep you company?"

"I've got your grandfather for that, don't I?" she responded, chuckling somewhat afterwards to add jokingly, "as long as I can get him out of bed before 3 PM that is."

A smile crept onto my face as my joy got the better of me, and I ran the short distance to my grandma to give her a hug, something I had considered myself "too old" to do for a year now. "Thank you," I said simply. "Thank you."

So after saying goodbye for the Nth time, I finally departed. I had all the essentials: a tent, sleeping bag, money, potions, toiletries, spare clothes, cell phone, sandwiches, GPS navigator, the kitchen sink, you get the idea.

I took a quick stop by Professor Oak's lab, not to gain a starter Pokemon like I had feared I might have had to, but to obtain a Pokedex, which was provided free of charge by the laboratory (though the number of corporate logos on it tended to increase every year, I noticed). A quick conversation and some safety tips later, I headed outside my town on my own for the very first time. I was ready for adventure, for glory, for fierce battles and wondrous tales to tell afterwards.

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

It wasn't that my first day was "boring" or anything. It just simply lacked the flair I had come to expect after reading about so many trainers' journeys. I should have come across a rare Pokemon, used my extensive knowledge about my own Pokemon to battle it into submission, and made it a valuable part of my team. Problem one: Caterpies aren't rare. Problem two: I didn't know a thing about Riolu's battle capabilities. Problem three: I had no Pokeballs aside from Riolu's, a gross oversight on my part. So I mostly played the "avoid the Pokemon" game while traveling, at least until I could come across a shop to buy some more supplies. Another slight problem: I wasn't accustomed to walking for so long. I wasn't out of shape or anything, but anything over 3-4 hours was a little bit too much for one time.

So I hadn't made it too far into the forest before I decided to set up camp for the night (at 5 o'clock in the afternoon). I set up my tent and got things ready before heading out to gather some firewood for later. After gathering a sufficient amount and starting the fire, I let Riolu out of her Pokeball for some fresh air. Yet almost immediately, I sensed that she wasn't her usual chipper self. I could FEEL her sadness permeating the area around her.

"Riolu, what's wrong?"

She nodded her head vaguely in the direction of the Pokeball I had discarded to the side. Almost immediately I understood. She had never really been in one of those contraptions for extended periods of time, and obviously she wasn't very fond of them. I never really thought about what to do in this situation before, but I was more than willing to compromise.

"How about this: I'll promise to leave you out of the Pokeball as much as possible, but you need to go back inside when it gets too dangerous, alright? Do we have a deal?"

Her change of mood was instantaneous, evidenced by the shift I noted in her aura. She gave a quick "lu!" and nodded briskly, and again I was aware of the fact that my own mood was heavily influenced by hers, as I too became much more light-hearted than before. The rest of the night went smoothly, and once the stars came out I decided to head off to bed.

Then the dilemma came up in my mind. Riolu had always slept with me back at a home, usually at the foot of the bed or to one side (I had a queen-size that easily accommodated more than one person at a time), but I knew there was just a SLIGHT difference between a large bed and a sleeping bag, especially considering the fact that I only wore boxers when I slept. I had made a promise to her though, and somehow I doubted I could convince her that the Big Dipper was enough of a threat to send her back into her Pokeball, so after settling myself in the sleeping bag I held the flap open, gesturing for her to join me. She climbed into the tent somewhat timidly, apparently sensing my own reluctance, and zipped it close behind her before slowly lying down beside me, her back to my chest as we both laid on our sides. It was a rather small tent, and so any other position wouldn't have worked out all that well. We were both on edge, both feeling the awkward tension in the cool air, and at first neither of us could relax enough to fall asleep. It was extremely odd for both of us to feel so awkward around each other after all the years we had spent together, and I didn't know exactly what to do.

Very slowly, my anxiety faded, and to my relief I sensed the same in Riolu. I began to reflect on her nature, or at least as much as I had discovered in the past few years with her. She was almost like a cat, distrustful yet curious of new people or objects, yet friendly and loving after trust was earned. Awake, she was playful and energetic; asleep, docile and peaceful-looking and, dare I say it, even cute. Her fur, though rather short, was smooth and was a pleasure to pet (she especially liked head scratches), and her paws contained three fingers or toes each with no claws in sight. All in all, I had never once had a reason to dislike her. She was the perfect pet--no, not that word again--the perfect companion, and I was very glad to have her with me on my journey.

Presently I decided to try to break the ice with some conversation.

"Riolu?"

Her eyes opened and she grunted a quick "rio?"

"You sure you're alright with this? If you're too uncomfortable, we could use your Pokeba--" She cut me off with a fierce shaking of her head. To be expected I supposed, after the promise I made. "All right then, I guess it's settled."

Minutes passed that felt like hours. She seemed to be slowly drifting off to sleep, though I remained awake, contemplating some more. It struck me that I was more than just "glad" she was here with me. I realized that at that point I simply could not imagine life without her, at least not a life I wanted to live out. She didn't just SEEM special to me, she WAS special, and she needed to know that.

"Riolu?" I called out once again.

"Mm?" came the sleepy response.

"Would you like a name? I mean, a real name? I can't just keep calling you 'Riolu' all the time. It's too... impersonal, if the term even fits here."

She nodded.

Of course, at that point I was at a loss as to what to actually name her. I had concentrated so much on the idea of giving her a name in the first place that I failed to consider the specifics. Suddenly I was struck with a burst of inspiration, the origin of which I'm still unsure about. But the question was, what would SHE think of it?

"How about Neko?"

I hadn't expected her to agree to the very first name I proposed, but that's exactly what she did. She gave no objection at all, and instead gave a small yet noticeable nod and an almost unintelligible murmur of assent. There. The deed was done. I was finally able to rest easy enough to fall asleep, but right before I did, when I was at that last possible point of conscious recognition, I heard a voice in my head, high pitched yet pleasant sounding, very obviously not my own. It said a single word, almost as if testing the way it sounded.

"Neko"Chapter End Notes:My apologies for the delay in posting this. I've been busy moving into my college dorm and attending classes.

This chapter is slightly longer than the others, though ideally I'd like for them to be a bit longer still.

As always, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome