"I liked the sound of Tintin. I liked that it is short, and it has a rhythm. Moreover I liked that it is a name for a boy."

"I... don't think I would like a boy's name. Yours is nice but I don't want it."

"I did not say you should be named Tintin! But it is a shame to use a name that you do not like. Perhaps I will simply call you friend."

"...okay."

Oh good. The human is less distressed. Triumphant pats.

Hmf. Milou nuzzles its trainer competitively.

It is good when the human friends are happy!

A girl runs past, crying. "My poor Pokémon!"

"What was that?" Tintin asks her.

She turns to them. "Those - those Team Plasma people - they took my Buneary!"

Tintin stands up abruptly, causing Milou to be catapulted to the ground and complain loudly. "They what?!"

"They told me - they said they were testing the relationships between Pokémon and their trainers - and they said she hated me and I didn't deserve her -" The girl is now crying entirely too hard to be understood.

"Milou, viens ici. Nous allons chasser." Milou comes to heel. Tintin turns sharply to Chantal. "My friend, will you come with me? These Plasma people, whoever they are, need badly to be taught a lesson."

Chantal looks down at Starshine.

Starshine looks up at Chantal.

Simultaneous decisive nods.

"We're coming," she says, scooping up her friend and following Tintin.

"Do you have anything that your Buneary touched a great deal - a held item, or something like that?"

The girl sniffles and offers up a Soothe Bell.

"Excellent," Tintin says decisively. "Take us to where she was taken, and Milou will find them."

The girl leads them down the road a ways, then indicates that this was where Team Plasma took her Pokémon. Milou sniffs the Soothe Bell and follows the Buneary's scent to a nearby cave.

Tintin gives Chantal a questioning thumbs-up.

Chantal is very uncertain about all this, but is ready to follow Tintin wherever adventure may lead them.

Milou pit-pats into the cave, and Tintin follows.

"Team Plasma!" he calls out in an echoing voice, hands on his hips. "You will either relinquish the Buneary you took from that little girl, or we will beat you down and take her."

Milou flares, revealing two dumbfounded teenagers, one male and one female, standing in front of a small pile of Pokéballs. "...which one was the Buneary?" the girl asks the boy.

"I'm not sure it matters?" he hedges. "Let's beat the kids and get out of here before the actual cops show up." He takes a ball off his belt and releases a Zubat. She nods, and releases a Poochyena.

Starshine meeps aggressively and hops down from Chantal's arms.

Milou squares up beside her. He faces off against the Poochyena, nudging her with his nose in the direction of the Zubat.

The battle which follows is brief but intense. Milou proves to be just as capable of setting things on fire as Starshine, and if anything even more enthusiastic about it. The Zubat tries repeatedly to poison Starshine, eliciting not much overall effect. Milou and the Poochyena are even worse-matched; it keeps harrying him with savage bites, which he dodges with grace and precision while blasting back with blasts of fire and floral scent.

Starshine is nervous and cautious at first, but grows bolder with continuing success.

Milou defeats his opponent first; the Poochyena yelps mournfully as it collapses, then withdraws back into its Pokéball. But Starshine's foe the Zubat isn't far behind.

"Now give us the Pokémon you stole," Tintin says flatly. "Unless you'd rather deal with the police."

The teens look at each other, mildly panicked. "Ghetsis would -" the boy starts.

"Ghetsis isn't here," the girl says. "This crazy kid is, and could set us on fire. Let's cut our losses."

She kicks the pile of Pokéballs, sending them scattering in all directions, then runs. The boy runs after her.

Starshine leaps after a single stray Pokeball and manages to stop it from scattering, but it is nearly as big as she is and she can't grab a second one.

"Bastards!" Tintin calls after the fleeing Plasma. "Make better choices!"

Then he sets about collecting the Pokéballs where they have landed. "Clean-up, clean-up," he mutters, half singing. "There is always clean-up after adventures."

Chantal helps.

Once they have the balls collected, Tintin hefts his newly filled bookbag over his shoulder. "I shall take these to the Pokémon center, if you have no objection? They should be able to connect the 'mon to their rightful owners."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Would you like to come with me? I intend to challenge the Gym of Striaton City for my first Badge, and if you would come with me I think we would make an excellent team."