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He pushed himself off and away from the counter and located the temperature control on the oven, giving it a spin to the required number as the word "PRE" was illuminated in green on the little LCD screen.

"It's not too terribly difficult," Lucas said with a shrug, looking through the cabinets and locating the needed baking sheet. He set it down at Nyx's side. "I could show you, if you ever want to learn." Granted, he wouldn't be able to explain much, but he could demonstrate like no one's business.

"Running's always a good start," he said with a laugh. "Not always the most plausible, depending on your situation, but when it works, it works well." Come to think of it, hadn't he been assigned to teaching new recruits several times over the last few years? Idly Lucas wondered how he had pulled that off. He must be a better teacher than he gave himself credit, he decided. He moved a little closer to the stove when it beeped, signifying that it had heated to the designated temperature, in anticipation that Nyx would soon need the oven door opened.

Lucas placed the sheet on the rack carefully and shut the door while Nyx took care of the timer. Teamwork, GO! This whole 'cooking' thing was pretty enjoyable, all things considered, and he was beginning to wonder if he would be able to do it on his own some time.

"Trouble with your pokemon?" That was a story he'd heard often enough. He'd even told it himself before, although it was more due to his own incompetency as a trainer rather than his pokemon's willingness to comply. "'Fraid I don't have a whole lot of advice on that one..." Nay, his first pokemon had been abandoned. He had only kept the second because he was forced to, and he wasn't even sure what triggered the change in their attitudes toward one another. "I know a lot of people that have said compromise does the trick, though. Or that's what they called it, anyway. It might have just been thinly-disguised bribery..."

"Ahh, I hear ya on that." He leaned against the counter once more, backwards this time with his hips against the surface and his palms bracing his body. Idly he reached into his pocket and drew out the little red and white ball. "What do you say, Merry? How'd you like to meet a new friend?" Lucas pressed the release and the Chimecho formed from the resulting light, immediately wrapping her long tail around her trainer's neck like a scarf and ducking behind his head.

"What's up, Merry? There's nothing to be afraid of," he assured, reaching up a hand to coax her out of hiding.

"She's just a bit overprotective," Lucas said, tugging gently at the tail-wrap to loosen it. "Both of me and herself, I think. Come on, Mer, no one's out to hurt us."

The Chimecho unlatched herself yet remained close to her human, her tail draped over his shoulder. She tucked her head down at Newton's wave. "Chiiiime..."

"She was assigned as my partner when I finished training in-- Uhh, in Sinnoh." There was enough truth to balance against the lie that it would come out neutral, right?

Merry furrowed her brow slightly. "Chime, chi..."

"Oh, hush."

"Ah, I've heard that before," Lucas replied, struck with a memory. "Had a friend who believed it. She was into that sort of stuff. I'd be interested to hear what you figure out." He smiled fondly at Newton who, for the moment, embodied those simple days. The chime of the timer, however, drew him out of his reminiscence, and he pulled open the oven and grabbed the baking sheet with a nearby pot holder.

Merry, too, was drawn towards the sweet aroma. She peered at them from behind Lucas' shoulder, curious if she would be permitted a sample but holding on to no expectations.

"No a problem, ma'am," he said with an incline of his head that would equate to a tip of the hat were he wearing one. He set down the tray on the counter beside the designated bowl. "Do you uh... have a recipe, perchance?" Merry glared at her trainer. Knowing him, he was sure to cut or burn himself in the endeavor...