"Arf! Arf! Arf!"
Early in the morning, Julian was eating the breakfast prepared by Love when, just a few bites in, Arcanine's barking echoed from the doorway.
Since Julian had closed the door, Arcanine couldn't get in.
Love was about to open the door but was stopped by Julian, who knew exactly what the dog wanted.
Standing outside, Arcanine grew anxious as the door remained shut. Its not-so-big dog brain couldn't help but wonder—was Julian trying to go back on his word?
After all, they had agreed yesterday that today he would take it to the Dog Park. It had been a long ti since its last visit.
It had been excited all night, and now in the morning, it wasn't even being let inside.
'Yes—he must be trying to weasel out of it. He is breaking his promise!'
Thinking this, Arcanine gave the door a nudge, and directly knocked the door open.
Bang!
The door fell to the ground.
"Cough, cough—"
Julian was startled, nearly choking on his egg.
"Arf!"
Arcanine: "Are you trying to cheat ? Are you going to break your promise?"
Julian finally managed to swallow the egg and looked at Arcanine with admiration.
'This dog really is bold—daring to tear down the house right in front of Love. Does it think this is still the Imperial University villa? Back then it could destroy the house whenever it wanted, but this is the domain of Empress Love.'
Still caught up in its dissatisfaction, Arcanine hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation.
'Ah, still too young.'
Julian shook his head.
Seeing that Julian still wasn't paying it any attention, Arcanine grew a bit angry. Just as it was about to step inside, Love suddenly appeared before it.
Love said nothing, simply staring quietly at Arcanine.
Arcanine, who feared neither heaven nor earth—not even Julian—suddenly began to tremble.
Looking down at the door panel beneath its feet, Arcanine finally rembered what it had just done. This wasn't the old Imperial University villa where it could wreck things as it pleased—this was the territory of Empress Love.
"Trainer…"
Arcanine looked pleadingly at Julian.
Only Julian could save it now.
It could already see Celebi and Jirachi turning their heads away—those two were really unreliable in monts of crisis.
"Dee?"
Love: "Did this door offend you?"
Love's tone was calm, and it even wore a gentle smile, but even so, Arcanine's legs began to shake uncontrollably.
'I’m dead, I’m dead...'
Its head shook frantically, trying to convey that the door was innocent.
Still it was his beloved dog. Finishing the last soup dumpling, Julian spoke up, "Love, Arcanine didn't an it. How about we let it go this ti?"
Love turned and looked at Julian.
Julian: 'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'
"As its Trainer, failing to properly manage your Pokémon—do you think you’re not at fault?"
Julian’s expression stiffened. 'What's happening? Wasn’t it Arcanine that caused trouble? How did this suddenly beco my fault?'
"My fault?"
Julian instinctively pointed at his own nose.
"Mm."
Love let out a faint hum.
Julian shivered and quickly added, "Yes, yes, my fault. It's my fault."
He hurried over to Arcanine, pressing its big head down as he said, "Hurry up and apologize to Love. You can't do this again in the future."
Arcanine quickly apologized.
"Fix the door."
With that, Love walked over to the dining table, began clearing the dishes, and headed into the kitchen.
"Whew..."
Seeing Love leave, both Julian and Arcanine let out a sigh of relief.
Watching Arcanine slump weakly to the floor, Julian couldn't help but give it a light tap. "Hurry up and put the door back."
Arcanine: "My legs are weak, give a mont."
"I wonder if you'll dare wreck the house again after this." Julian chuckled at that.
Arcanine nodded: "I will, but not here."
aning: 'As long as Love isn't around, I'll wreck things. I fear Love, but I don't fear you.'
This annoyed Julian a little. He placed both hands on Arcanine's head and began vigorously rubbing it, until the dog forgot the fear of being dominated by Love and happily stuck out its tongue, panting happily.
There was no need to fix the door—the lock core was broken anyway. Julian made a call, asking soone to co later and install a new door.
Then he took Arcanine to the dog park.
Lake City had built a new dog park, larger than any before, and Arcanine had been dreaming about it for a while now.
Besides Arcanine, Julian also brought along Pawniard, the "grind king," to let it relax a bit.
After about an hour or so, they arrived at the dog park. The journey was a bit long, mainly because Julian didn't have tagross use Teleport.
Unless pressed for ti, he rarely relied on Teleport for travel. He preferred riding leisurely on his Pokémon's back to reach his destination.
"It really is quite big."
As he examined this dog park, it indeed was much bigger than the ones he had visited before. Not far away there was even a race track, and many Pokémon were happily sprinting across it.
Among his Pokémon, Julian's Arcanine was considered the standout in terms of looks.
It had a tall, majestic build, an imposing deanor, and lustrous fur, giving off an aura of natural authority even while standing still.
Its appearance was undoubtedly top-tier.
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the park, Arcanine drew the attention of many dog owners and other Pokémon.
There were also several other Arcanine present.
While Arcanine was considered a rare Pokémon, in a city as large as Lake City, there were still over a dozen of them—five of which were here right now.
Among them, three were female and two were male.
Initially, the two male Arcanine had been quite pleased and proud to be surrounded by the three females.
But as Julian's Arcanine appeared, the three female Arcanine dashed away in a flash.
The two male Arcanine were left staring at each other.
Seeing the three female Arcanine trying to cozy up to it, Arcanine showed a hint of disdain and let out a low growl, telling them to keep their distance.
This scene was witnessed by the other two male Arcanine. Already displeased with the newcor, they grew even more annoyed and walked over.
Despite facing an Arcanine that was a full size larger, the two males showed no fear at all.
Arcanine were inherently brave and loyal Pokémon—they wouldn't back down even against a Legendary if it ant protecting their Trainer, let alone a fellow mber of their species.
Male Arcanine #1: "Hey, kid, you think you're hot stuff? Don't you know about first co, first served?"
Male Arcanine #2: "Big bro, why waste words on it? Let's teach it a lesson!"
Judging by their conversation, these two Arcanine belonged to the sa Trainer.
Unfortunately, Arcanine's charm was simply too overwhelming. Even though it had rejected them, the three female Arcanine didn't leave. Instead, they now stood protectively in front of Arcanine blocking the two males.
Female Arcanine #1: "How dare you speak to our lord like that!"
Female Arcanine #2: "How could trash like you even compare to our lord?"
Female Arcanine #3: "Get lost, now!"
Watching from a distance, Julian stroked his chin with great satisfaction. "The dog takes after in this regard—charismatic, and popular with the ladies."
*****
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