[crow]

"Okay!" said Joli, snapping his headband into place and bracing his hands on his hips. "It's time to get pumped up! Come on, Nico!"

Nico... was staring at the headband he had been given and questioning his choices in life. Just how had he manged to find himself here anyway?

... No, he knew how it had happened. That didn't make the reality any easier to deal with though. Faced with the prospect of going to the gym, which he had never stepped foot in before... What would this day be like?

[crow]

Granted, it was a new establishment, which explained why he had never gone as a Cubone. The problem was that he had never gone when he had been human either, for completely different reasons. Most of which being that he was already out of shape--- which was no excuse not to go, and rather, should have been a reason for going in the first place--- and, well, because he hated it.

Nico had been one of those kids. Always picked last for gym, that kind of deal.

[crow]

It wasn't that he minded, since he wasn't very physically inclined, and most of his interests were intellectual anyway. But sometimes it did make life a bit inconvenient. Like every year of school where gym class had been mandatory, for example.

But as soon as that stopped being a thing, he just went on to live the sedentary student life full time, and never gave it a second thought. The gym? Pay a place to get sweaty and tired and out of breath? Gee, how could he say no?

[crow]

Now that he was a Pokemon... Well, he wasn't living a sedentary lifestyle anymore. In fact, he would venture to say that he was worlds more active--- ha ha ha--- than he had been before. But he still wasn't some brawn master musclehead, and besides, most Pokemon kept in pretty good shape. Even the ones you wouldn't necessarily expect, like Snorlax. Gosh, most Snorlax Nico had met could press him like an empty soda can.

"What's this gym like anyway?" Nico asked. "What... What do Pokemon do at the gym?"

[crow]

Because... that was the key question, wasn't it? He always figured they got enough exercise just doing their thing, rescuing other Pokemon from dungeons. Why would they need to go to the gym if they were already exercising and in good shape?

But Joli shook his head. "Didn't you hear when Lairon was announcing it yesterday? The gym is specifically designed to hone our skills! We're going to fight more effectively than ever before, with his patented program!" Joli looked very excited about the prospect.

[crow]

Sounds like a sham... Nico thought it but he didn't say it out loud, not wanting to kill Joli's enthusiasm for this. It didn't do anyone any good to be a spoilsport right now, and anyway, what if he was wrong? It just wasn't worth it.

Though he supposed he could understand why Joli was especially gung ho about this. Joli... did have a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his combat prowess, given that he was an Audino, and they weren't really known for being great fighters.

[crow]

Plus his family was always trying to undermine his confidence in what he was doing to get him to come back home... Well, when they weren't ignoring the fact that he existed, anyway. Okay, he could see why the idea of becoming stronger would appeal to Joli.

"Alright, let's just get th--- let's do this," said Nico, catching himself. He gave a rather weak, half-hearted fistpump, but it was the best he could manage. Even empathy for Joli's plight didn't make him enthusiastic about a gym membership.

[crow]

They walked through the doors of Lairon's gym, which... definitely was aiming for a specific aesthetic, that was for sure. The outside was stark black and white, a surprisingly modern look, but the interior was a lot of metal and exposed beams and stuff. A Steel type's creation, through and through.

"Hey, little guys!" said Lairon, coming out from behind the counter to greet them. Apparently he was personally overseeing the gym's operations. "Glad you could make it! You guys ready to get pumped?"

[crow]

"Yeah!" said Joli, who had clearly already bought fully into whatever this experience was going to be. Nico stayed quiet since he didn't think he was going to be able to muster a more enthusiastic response than his fistpump had been. Better to just let Joli's answer speak for the both of them.

"Sweet!" said Lairon, grinning. "That's what I like to hear! C'mon, I'll show you around. The equipment doesn't bite, you know! Hahaha!" At least he got right to the point, Nico thought.

[crow]

Lairon walked off to another door behind him, past the counter, and Joli and Nico fell into step behind him. "This is where the magic happens," he said, leading them into a brightly lit room.

It... Well, there weren't treadmills, which was maybe what Nico was dreading. There were a lot of sandbags, more than Nico expected. He'd only seen them at human gyms if those gyms specialized in boxing or something, which... tended to be a more intense type of gym than he went to anyway.

[Wild Pet Found]