â€œ...Thatâ€™s actually where I met up with Irvine, here. Iâ€™d offer a friendly wager on a potential battle or something, but Iâ€™m sort of afraid heâ€™ll be a bit too into it for it to be... friendly.â€ Jack explained to the crowd, grinning at Irvine the whole time. The Sneasel was already staring back, but not for the reasons his trainer likely expected. He was waiting to see if a demonstration would be necessary.<br/><br/>â€œI think weâ€™re just starting to get the hang of friendly.â€<br/><br/>Evidently not. Rather than trying to intimidate the other trainers, Jack was trying to reassure them. What he said was an overstatement bordering on willful deception, but if it meant that Irvine would have a chance to fight something that wasn't recruited from the native wildlife, he wasn't about to interrupt. For good measure, he even made an effort to look less menacing, though it accomplished little. The other humans and Pokemon alike were keeping their distance, and some of them looked tired enough to fall asleep on the spot. Those that didn't still weren't particularly willing to test themselves against one another, at least not to the extent that most trainers he had met were. One child had even attempted to convince Jack that merely making eye contact was a valid declaration of challenge. A ludicrous idea, although the inability to<span style="font-style: italic">refuse</span>such a declaration did seem rather appealing to him.<br/><br/>â€œSooo, Irvine. You alright? I mean, you had an okay time against Brock and all, but youâ€™ll be able to get to the pokecenter tomorrow morning no problem, right? If youâ€™re tired or something tomorrow we can have Othello or Kicks take the lead. Honestly I think you did more damage to Shades than Brockâ€™s Geodude did.â€<br/><br/>He nodded his head at Jack. It was one of the few ways he had learned to communicate his decidedly non-violent intentions to another being, and something he picked up by necessity while working for the Boss. The night had just begun and Brock's Onix had left him with barely more than a bruise to remember it by. His trainer likely wanted to spread the responsibility of taking the lead to the other members of the team, but Irvine was far from tired and well above caring about Kicks, Shades, or Othello's development. They could watch him from the sidelines as he systematically destroyed every obstacle in his way, faster and more efficiently than they ever could. If they didn't like it, they could learn to fight the same way he did... perhaps even against himself. He had certainly turned out better than they had, hadn't he?<br/><br/>A glance at Shades told him that he was wrong - that there was more to it than how well he could crush some overconfident trainer's pet. The Sandile was comfortably leaning against Jack's side, idly searching for something more edible than the grass beneath it. While it was no less of a pet to Jack than any of the countless Rattatas he dealt with earlier had been, it was one both in and out of battle. The two spent nearly all of their time together, and that was when Shades wasn't busy playing with Kicks and Othello, who also received their fair share of attention from Jack. Irvine was grateful to be treated as an equal instead of a simple, obedient animal, but it was impossible for him deny. Sitting there, away from the dancing light of the campfire, he was the one watching from the sidelines.<br/><br/>â€œSo, Irvine... is there anything in particular youâ€™re going to want to do? I mean, we can go straight through the gyms, or we could take some detours if thereâ€™s anything interesting. I figure all this is as new to you as it is for me. I donâ€™t think either of us is really familiar with this whole typical trainer business.â€<br/><br/>Jack's attempts at conversation came off as awkward and forced, despite his undoubtedly good intentions. Irvine still wasn't quite sure why he asked questions that couldn't be answered, but it wasn't the first time he had done so, nor was it likely to be the last. The Sneasel wondered if Jack himself knew the reason, given just how little the two understood about each other. It was definitely true that neither of them knew how to behave like proper partners, but he didn't care. At the moment, he simply wanted to be left alone. His silence would communicate that to Jack far better than any gesture he could make.