"In short, I can guarantee this human has never been captured by any Pokémon."
When Luke woke up again, Slowking, covered in dust from head to toe, was standing in front of a large display screen, explaining something to the two younger Pokémon.
"Just as I suspected at the beginning, the reason human balls do not work on him is not because he already belongs to another Pokémon. It is because the capture mechanism simply does not apply to him at all."
"…Luke."
Just as Slowking continued her explanation and Luke prepared to drag himself out of the bed that was far too soft for comfort, a small voice interrupted her.
Both Pokémon turned toward Kirlia.
This time, unlike before, Kirlia showed no sign of nervousness under the gaze of her mentor and friend.
"He has a name," Kirlia said calmly. "His name is Luke."
Her voice echoed through the room again. Slowking, meeting her eyes, could clearly see the anger that had not yet faded. After taking several Psychic attacks over the past few minutes, Slowking immediately understood what her junior meant.
"Luke, Luke… how remarkable. You even have your own name?"
Feeling Slowking's gaze fall on him, Luke stiffened on the bed for a moment, then nodded and climbed down from the overly soft mattress.
"How are you feeling?" Kirlia asked. "Does your head still hurt?"
Seeing her human awake, Kirlia immediately lost interest in arguing with Slowking. She teleported to Luke's side, concern filling her voice.
Luke shook his head. Before he could speak, a deliberate cough sounded from across the room.
"Ahem. Kirlia, I know you are anxious," Slowking said. "But compared to worrying about this human, there is something far more important that you must understand."
Gone was the kindly grandmother and the comical scientist beaten senseless earlier. After that cough, the Pokémon famed for her intellect finally looked the part.
"Even though I cannot yet determine why human balls do not work on Luke, since he is willing to become your human, you must now take responsibility for his life."
In a normal Pokémon world, this statement would have been perfectly reasonable. It would simply be a responsible professor teaching a new Trainer to care for their Pokémon. But with their roles reversed, Luke found the words deeply unsettling.
"For Trainers, human balls are not only used to capture wild humans," Slowking continued. "They also serve another critical purpose."
She stopped there, staring intently at Kirlia.
"I know!" Primarina raised a flipper eagerly. "If a human loses the ability to fight during a battle, they can be recalled using a human ball!"
After answering, the blue sea lion glanced at Kirlia in confusion. Kirlia had dreamed of becoming a human Trainer since childhood, so it was strange that she had stayed silent.
"Correct, but only halfway," Slowking said, nodding. "Kirlia?"
Now even Luke felt puzzled.
From what he had learned so far, aside from the reversed relationship between humans and Pokémon, this world functioned almost exactly like the original Pokémon world. Even the tools were the same, only renamed.
Poké Balls captured and recalled Pokémon. Human balls did the same for humans. So why was that only half the answer?
Then Luke realized it.
At the same moment, Kirlia spoke.
"The other function of a human ball is protection," she said softly. "Unlike us, most humans are extremely fragile. To prevent death during battles, a human ball will forcibly recall a human when they suffer life-threatening injuries."
Human battles in this world were no different from Pokémon battles. Victory was usually decided when one side lost the ability to fight. But compared to the vague idea of being incapacitated, there was a far clearer line.
Near death.
For Pokémon who could tank Thunderbolts without issue, the word meant little. But for humans, it meant everything.
A dying human would never bounce back like a Pokémon after a quick visit to a center.
"Excellent answer," Slowking said with a satisfied smile. "So, Kirlia, do you understand now?"
Unlike Slowking, who relaxed after hearing the answer, Kirlia felt her limbs grow unbearably heavy. Even breathing took effort.
She stole a glance at Luke.
Seeing him lost in thought, her heart clenched painfully, as if gripped by an invisible hand.
Her heart was crying.
At some point, her hand had pressed against her chest. She lowered her head. She was not crying, yet she could hear a wail echoing within her.
…No.
Even knowing it was wrong, Kirlia resolved to let Luke go and reached out to sense his emotions.
The moment she connected, her pain turned to confusion.
Resignation. Relief. Anger mixed with exhilaration. Emotions she had never felt from any other human flooded her senses.
Only one thing was missing.
Fear.
Kirlia lifted her head in confusion and looked at Luke. Worried he might not fully understand their discussion, she decided to explain.
"Luke, without a human ball to protect you, if something goes wrong during battle… your life will be in danger."
"I know," Luke replied. "One mistake and I die, right? Don't worry. If I can't win even at full strength, then no matter how much you call me, I won't fight."
He rested one hand on his hip and smiled, deliberately casual.
In truth, Luke was not surprised that human balls did not work on him. Based on his earlier interaction with the rare-type clown girl, even rare humans differed significantly from what Luke considered true humans.
Rare-type humans were closer to humanoid Pokémon. They were strong, intelligent, and could understand speech, yet they could not communicate verbally with Pokémon or Luke. If that was the case, then it made sense that a genuine human like Luke could not be captured.
After all, aside from one wildly imaginative movie, Pokémon canon had never featured a ball capable of capturing humans.
As for fighting…
Luke glanced at the wristband and pressed his left hand against his body.
It just meant that every battle was a fight to the death.
"All right, all right," Slowking said cheerfully. "What is with the long faces? You too, Kirlia. And you, Luke."
Unlike the heavy mood between Kirlia and Luke, Slowking's smile never faded. She walked to a wall and pressed her claw against it.
With a series of futuristic sounds, the smooth wall opened into countless compartments. Moments later, shelves filled with healing medicines of every size and color appeared before them.
Watching the stunned expressions of one human and two Pokémon, Slowking clasped her hands behind her back, clearly pleased.
"So what if we don't have a human ball?" she said proudly. "If there's no safety net, we'll just build one ourselves."