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Stepping lightly to the side, the Zoroark narrowed his eyes at his opponent. Assuredly, this human was no amateur. He had skill, that was certain. But already he was panting with exhaustion. Aww, was the poor little human tired? Poor baby. The Zoroark was not about to strike down a defenseless opponent, and so he simply hoped that the human would put up at least a fighting chance.

Guy's breathing was already somewhat labored. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep up with the Pokemon's attacks. All he could to was try to wear down his opponent's defenses at least a little so that he could get in a counter-attack. From the way that the Pokemon was standing, Guy doubted that it would strike him while he was down. Surprisingly noble for a wild Zoroark. Perhaps there was more to this creature than he had first suspected.

Still on one knee, Guy slowly caught his breath and glanced around quickly. His eyes caught sight of Miss Izumi hiding behind the tree nearby. Okay... So she was safe for now. That was very good. At least he had that small comfort. She was probably scared out of her mind. Guy... didn't really blame her. Finally feeling rejuvenated, Guy leaped onto his feet and ran towards the Zoroark, his sword poised for a stab.

The Zoroark scoffed and smiled teasingly as Guy attempted to rush him. Such a feeble attempt. He let the human get closer and closer to him and swiftly dodged the attack, moving to the inside of Guy's guard. He lingered for a moment, a stoic expression on his face. Then, a devious grin shone upon the Zoroark's face as his body changed form. His appearance became remarkably human-shaped as he grew light-blue hair atop his head, a metallic-looking left arm, and lined tattoos across his now pale body. A sweet and disarming smile shone brightly on the Pokemon's - the woman's - face. Guy watched on in horror.

"M-Mi-Miss Iz-Izumi?!"

Anonymes, unaware of his master's current frightening dillema, looked about frantically for the Pokemon he saw just a few moments earlier. Where was that Pokemon...? Suddenly, he noticed a strange blob of brown among the green of the bushes around them. Blinking triumphantly, the Lampent pushed through the grasses and twigs to try to find the perpetrator. Where on earth could they be...? Anon wished that Master was helping him find this guy... But Master was busy fighting the other Pokemon. Master was doing well! Anon knew. Master always did well, because he was Master! Master could do anything, even defeat that nasty, mean-looking Zoroark! Anon had complete faith that Master would win. He had to. He was Master, and that was that. And so... Anon had to look for the mystery Pokemon himself. Oh well.

All of a sudden, Guy's heart pace and breathing increased exponentially as he began to panic. His face lost all color and his feet felt as heavy as lead as he stumbled backwards away from the vision of Miss Izumi in front of him. So close... Too close! Far too close! Faint, ghost-like visions began to appear before Guy's eyes as he fell backwards onto the ground. A sense of child-like confusion and dread washed over Guy as he recognized a faintly familiar face coming closer and closer to him. It was not the face of Miss Izumi, though. The hair was far too blonde, and the shape of the face was slightly rounder. It felt like a large weight was being pressed onto Guy's chest, and he struggled to breathe. For a split second, all Guy could see was a cloud of deep red, then, as suddenly as he fell into his state of shock, he came out of it.

The sound of Miss Izumi's voice brought him back to reality. He gasped sharply, looking blindly around him for the sign of his acquaintance. When the real Izumi was nowhere to be found, Guy turned his attention back to the Izumi-illusion. His eyes narrowed as the illusion smirked cockily. "It's a fake, Miss Izumi. Zoroarks... They can transform into anything that they have seen or encountered. I've seen it before." He recalled both Seraphine's Zorua and that Asch-b*****d's Zoroark and Zorua. "He used your face to trip me up, and unfortunately it worked. Dammit..." That sneaky a*****e!

The Zoroark, meanwhile, watched the human's episode of shock with a mixture of boredom and intrigue. Was it truly that frightening to the human male to see a vision of his companion before him? Then again, the wild Pokemon did recall noting that the male human maintained a fair distance from the female as they spoke. Perhaps... The male was frightened of females of his own species? That would certainly be odd. If that were true, it would make mating particularly difficult for the human, the Zoroark mused. But enough of that. It was obvious that the human was at a disadvantage if he was under a female human guise. In the spirit of sportsmanship, it would only be right to return to his regular form. With a 'pop,' the Zoroark returned to his original beast-like form, his arms held up in a fighting stance. Your move, human.

Anonymes, being the surprising dense Pokemon that he was, had no clue as to his master's plight. Instead, he was focusing on the perplexing sight before him. In lieu of discovering a brown-colored Pokemon in the bushes like he had anticipated, Anon was greeted with the sight of a fellow Lampent! Well! What were the odds of that? One of his own brothers, out here in Kodo! What luck! ["Hello,"] he said to the other Lampent cheerily. ["It's lovely to meet you! Say, have you seen a little brown Pokemon around here somewhere? I think he might have been trying to attack the woman over there!"] Really... The nerve of it all.

When the Zoroark stepped into his fighting stance, Guy stood and tightened his grip on his sword and hilt. His weight shifted to the balls of his feet as he sprinted towards the Pokemon, blade poised and ready to strike. When he neared, he swung his sword at his opponent in a series of strikes and cuts, and the Pokemon dodged and blocked against the attacks. Guy pushed forward, forcing the Zoroark to move back, putting him on the defensive. The Illusion Pokemon growled in frustration as the tide of the battle turned in favor of his human adversary.

Out of the corner of his eye, the Zoroark suddenly caught a glimpse of his Zorua companion making a mad dash towards the human's picnic basket. His eyes widened in shock. What on earth was she doing?! How could she call that covert? Such a foolish child!

As the Zoroark's attention was diverted, Guy saw an opening in the Pokemon's defense and took a split-second chance. With a low sweep of the leg, Guy tripped up his opponent's footing and sent him falling ungracefully towards the ground. The Zoroark barked in pain and moved to try to stand, but Guy's blade was already pointed at the Pokemon's neck. Blinking, the Zoroark slowly raised his arms up in surrender. Unfathomable... He was bested. By this human. Surely, this human was a worthy adversary. The Zoroark reckoned that he could learn a thing or two from him.

Guy stared in amazement as the Pokemon cautiously, with his arms still aloft, knelt on one knee and bent at the waist in a respectful bow. The Pokemon moved one arm behind his back and placed his other paw over his heart. Guy opened his mouth in his confusion, closed it, then looked towards Izumi. "Um... Am I supposed to catch him?"

Anonymes looked in the direction that the other Lampent had indicated, brow furrowed. But... He was sure that the brown creature didn't go that way! At least, he thought he was sure... Turning back around, he caught a moment's glimpse of the same brown creature making a dash for Miss Izumi's picnic basket. Anon lowered his eyes and quickly pursued. ["Hey! G-get back here! Please?"]

A small frown appeared on Guy's face as he looked from Miss Izumi to the Zoroark kneeling respectfully in front of him. Well, this was a slight dilemma. He knew that, to officially capture a Pokemon and make them your own, one needed a Pokeball, but he was at the moment lacking any type of those capsules. How troublesome it was. It would do him well to remember to keep at least one empty Pokeball on him at all times, just in case situations like this arose. Lesson learned.

"Well..." Guy turned to the Zoroark. "I supp-" But he cut short his words when a second Pokemon came running towards him and the Zoroark, standing in between them and growling in a somewhat pitiful attempt to seem menacing. Guy pursed his lips, then sighed tiredly at the brown Zorua. "Oh, don't tell me you want to fight me as well?"

When the young Zorua stepped in between them, the Zoroark blinked once, then shook his head slowly, gently placing one paw on the younger Pokemon's head. Was she trying to defend him after his defeat? That was very... compassionate of her. The Zoroark wasn't accustomed to such kindness. ["Young one... There is no need for that. The human bested me, and so it is my duty to serve him now. I'm sorry."] The poor thing. The Zoroark knew that she was hungry and desperate, and she wouldn't do very well on her own. Unless... The Zoroark looked up and caught sight of the blue-haired female human he had copied earlier. A thought popped into his head, and he looked back down to his Zorua companion. ["Young one, why not go to see the blue-haired woman over there? She certainly does not look menacing, and I doubt that she would do you harm. She might even be kind enough to give you some food."]

Anonymes blindly pursued the brown Zorua with much gusto and determination. Indeed, he followed her so willing and determinedly that when she suddenly stopped, Anon saw that he was going to crash right into her. His momentum was far too great for him to simply stop, and so he tried as hard as he could to skid to a halt in mid-air. As a result, he sailed right over the head of the Zorua and tumbled into the ground... If a Ghost could really fall down, that is. Either way, this lead to his being upside-down, feeling quite dizzy.

The Zoroark closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. His young friend was probably so confused. He felt... He felt an odd weight settle on his heart. Was it... guilt? Perhaps. ["It is my duty to serve this one now. It might be your own fate to be with the female."] Opening his eyes again, the Zoroark gently placed a hand on his Zorua-friend's head. A hint of something resembling affection reflected in the larger Pokemon's gaze. ["We won't be far apart."]

"They're are Zorua and Zoroark, I believe," Guy said to Miss Izumi as she walked around them and attended to Anonymes. "And it should be safe..." Guy looked back to the Zoroark before him. "You will... do what I say?"

In response, the Zoroark nodded stiffly and bowed his head.

As Miss Izumi lifted him up, Anonymes regained his balance and seemed to smile at the woman [while he distinctly lacked a mouth - he smiled more with his eyes]. How sweet of Miss Izumi to take care of him! She must be so caring and kind, however timid she might be. What courage! What bravery! In thanks, the Lampent hovered over to Izumi's right shoulder and wrapped his arms around hers, giving her a grateful hug.

["Because,"] was the Zoroark's immediate answer. ["Because... You aren't bound to this one like I am! You can go about your own life. You can't depend on me for everything!"] Why could she not understand?

Anonymes' expression lit up with joy. Miss Izumi smiled at him! She was happy with him! How wonderful! She truly was a wonderful person, just like Master! She and Master were both such great people! In his elation, the Ghost happily upgraded his hug as he instead wrapped his arms around Miss Izumi's neck and cuddled her.

The Zoroark blinked as his young friend walked away from him without another word and withdrew into one of the devices on the female human's belt. Was... Was she mad at him? Did he say something wrong? The Pokemon's eyes widened. He didn't mean to insult her! He hoped he would have a chance to apologize...

Anonymes released Miss Izumi from his hug and floated back over to Guy, who was looking down at the Zoroark thoughtfully.

"Well... you can just follow me around until I can get a Pokeball, I suppose," he said. The Zoroark nodded and stood up on his hind legs. At his full height, he was almost a foot shorter than Guy. Guy shrugged and gave his new companion a little smile.

"For now, I think I'll call you Oki. How's that sound?"

The Zoroark was motionless for a moment, then he slowly bowed his head. He would accept the name. It would be the binding contract between him and this human. In the back of his mind, the newly named Oki hoped that his young friend would receive a proper name from her new human, and he hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him.

"We should be going, I think," Guy said to Miss Izumi. "Um... Thank you for the company, and the sandwich. I'll... see you around, I guess." With that, Guy gave his acquaintance a small wave and turned to walk away with his two Pokemon in tow. What an odd picnic it was.