The answer was simple: not good.
That kind of thought was something only a thirty-year-old should have.
A sixteen-year-old should be doing what a sixteen-year-old is supposed to do.
Even though Nova had lived thirty years in another world, that gave him no right to throw away the energy and potential that belonged to the Nova of this world.
And more than that, he could not let down the partners who had chosen to trust him.
Nova had made them a promise — that they would stand together on the highest stage and shine at the very peak. He could not let himself grow lazy just because he had finally found a warmth that was hard to come by.
Nova pushed himself up from the sofa and grabbed the little troublemaker that was tugging at Aresdra's skirt with its teeth, acting cute the whole time.
There was no way to reason with this one. The only option was to hold it in his arms and keep it from causing any more chaos.
So Nova had Growlithe locked down — or rather, Growlithe had Nova locked down.
The small Fire-type squirmed left and right in his arms, refusing to settle. When it finally realised it couldn't wiggle free from Nova's grip, it decided to make peace with the situation. It had only wanted a hug anyway. Whether it came from a girl or a guy made no difference to Growlithe.
But settling down was not the same as staying quiet. The title of "home-demolition expert" wasn't earned for nothing.
Growlithe began licking Nova's wrist over and over with its soft, wet tongue, as if it were trying to use Lick to slowly wear his hand down like an ice-cream cone in summer. After half a minute of that going nowhere, it switched tactics and started rubbing its coarse grey fur against Nova's arm instead — the kind of rough, bristly fur that felt like sandpaper against skin.
As long as I rub long enough, stupid Nova's hand will wear away eventually, and then I'll be free!
Nova let out a quiet sigh. This Growlithe truly never sat still for even a moment.
Was it too late to swap with Aresdra? He would have much preferred to hold the peacefully sleeping Riolu.
Aresdra, for her part, was watching the whole scene with a smile. Nidoking and Corviknight both had their own little schemes and would pull pranks on Nova from time to time, but they were generally reliable Pokémon. Because of that, Aresdra had almost never seen Nova looking truly helpless in front of one of his partners before.
"Have you given it a name yet?" Aresdra asked.
Nova shook his head. He had always had a relaxed attitude when it came to naming his Pokémon.
On one hand, he felt that a Pokémon's species name referred to the whole species. It couldn't represent a single individual, and it said nothing about what made that one Pokémon unique. So a proper name felt necessary.
After all, people in his old world didn't just call their pet cat "Cat," did they?
On the other hand, having grown up with games and anime, calling them by their species names felt completely natural to him. It was just how things were done.
His thoughts pulled in two directions, and in the end, it was Growlithe itself that broke the deadlock.
So Nova never stressed over names. He went with whatever came to mind. Most of the time he just called him Nidoking, and on the rare occasion he wanted to tease the big Pokémon, he would use the nickname "Arno."
Corviknight's name had been given by Aresdra, though the Pokémon didn't seem particularly fond of being called "Little Blue." Understandable, really. That was a bit of an embarrassing history for a Pokémon with such a proud and imposing presence. The leader of the crow family couldn't be expected to answer to that every day without losing some dignity.
As for Growlithe, Nova simply hadn't had time to think of anything yet. So he turned to the little naming expert beside him.
"I haven't named it yet. Any ideas?"
Aresdra tilted her head, watching Growlithe bounce restlessly in Nova's arms.
"It never stops jumping around, does it?" she said. "What about Archie?"
To be fair, that really did suit a dog Pokémon. And Nova vaguely recalled that in the Pokémon Adventures manga, Crystal's Arcanine had gone by something similar — "Arch," he thought — a name that carried the same wild and spirited energy.
Nova agreed to it without a second thought. He didn't bother asking Growlithe for its opinion at all.
Then Aresdra, seemingly out of nowhere, lifted Riolu up and held it out toward Nova.
"Want to swap?" Nova offered right away. "I'd love that, honestly."
"No!" Aresdra pulled Riolu back quickly. She couldn't deal with Growlithe's restlessness. "I want you to name it. Isn't it sweet — naming each other's partners?"
It was, honestly. Every time they called their partner's name, they would think of the person who gave it. Even apart, that was a kind of closeness.
It seemed Aresdra still had a touch of separation anxiety. Ever since Nova had come back this time, she had been quietly finding small ways to prepare for when he would have to leave again. She used to hide it well, but her acting had slipped a little lately.
Or maybe it was simpler than that. Maybe her bond with Nova had just grown deeper.
Nova thought about Riolu for a moment. It was known as the Emanation Pokémon — a species said to be capable of sensing the emotions of others through the ripples of aura, reading feelings like happiness and anger without a single word spoken. The moment the word "ripples" crossed his mind, he thought of that man.
A grin spread across Nova's face.
"Let's call it JoJo," he said.
Aresdra blinked. She didn't understand the reference, but she knew Nova well enough by now to recognise that look on his face. He had worn the exact same expression when he named Nidorino "Arno."
"Does it mean something?" she asked carefully.
"Are you serious?" Nova said, eyes gleaming. "The man behind that name is the greatest ripple user I've ever known."
He then turned to the still-sleeping baby Riolu, extended a fist toward it with great solemnity, and declared — "JoJo! This is my final ripple!"
"What on earth are you doing!" Aresdra stared at him.
If she ever understood that reference, Nova decided, he would have to seriously reconsider whether she had been reincarnated too.
Either way, baby Riolu's name was settled. Nova was already wondering whether he should find another strong and stylish Pokémon to name "Dio" one day. Though he couldn't think of any Pokémon with a vampire theme. He wasn't about to catch a random Golbat just to fill the role.
And so, a fairly quiet weekend passed.
For those two days, Nova and Aresdra went nowhere. No routes, no battles, no errands. They stayed close at home, and the only thing that changed was how much Nova was moving around.
In the past, he had been too lazy to walk anywhere and had simply ridden Nidoking whenever he went out. Now, for the sake of the dogs, he and Aresdra were jogging five kilometres a day — once in the morning, once in the evening. If this kept up, it didn't matter how the Pokémon turned out. Nova himself was about to stop qualifying as someone who could be called scrawny.
Why do these two puppies have so much energy?
Monday arrived, and Aresdra had to go to school. Riolu was still too young to be brought along, so it was left in Nova's care.
Before heading out, Aresdra reminded him not to forget to take the Pokémon out for their walk.
Walk the dogs? Nova thought. More like let the dogs walk me.
He flopped onto the sofa and decided to give himself a proper rest.
Whoever wanted to handle those two could go right ahead.
As for worrying that their energy might lead to the house being torn apart — that was easy enough to manage. Nova simply let Growlithe and Riolu out into the tidy backyard, and the two of them immediately began chasing each other around without any prompting.
Nova closed his eyes and finally let himself relax.
Then, from somewhere in the corner of the living room, a burst of bright white light suddenly flared up.