"So why are you a pokémon trainer?" Anzu asked.

Russell smiled. "I wanted to leave home," he said, flatly. "I mean, my friends are there, my family, and I still love them. But... It was just like..." He pulled up a blade of grass and idly tore it while he thought. "It was almost like I was suffocating there. Everyone there knew me--practically my whole life. And that's all fine and good, but sometimes..."

"You just want to get away from your past?" Anzu finished.

Russell nodded. "Don't get me wrong; I didn't do anything wrong, but--" he chuckled. "now that you mention it, there are a few things I wouldn't mind if everyone forgot."

"Like?"

"Oh, you know. The day you dress up in a superhero costume and run around the neighborhood pretending... No one seems to want to forget that except me." Russel chuckled. "But I'm not worried about it."

"So why training?"

Russell shifted and started motioning with his hands. "I like to learn things. Not just book learning, mind you, that's fine and good for history and stuff like that. But I actually want to experience things. I want to know what life is like for a trainer, for the pokémon... That, and Saffron University offers scholarships for accomplished trainers. So my plan is to train for a while, get the badges, then go to school and take what I learned in the field."

Anzu nodded. "But what about your pokémon?"

Russell sighed. "Well, you can obviously tell I don't have many." Anzu nodded. "I've caught more. I caught a geodude and a paras in Mt. Moon, but I let them go before I got out. They just didn't want to be trained, and I didn't want to be the one to force them to train. Some pokémon are built for the job, other's aren't. I'd like to say that my pokémon are with me on their own free will, but..."

"But what?"

Russel shrugged. "It's probably not true when you think about it. I mean, if Jenn tried to run off I'd probably recall her... I just..." He pulled up another blade of grass. "Sometimes I wish I could just talk to them. I mean, these guys do most of the work. I can talk the talk about how training is difficult too, but at the end of the day it's these guys that go in the rejuvenator, not me."

Anzu nodded, her face understanding. The two of them sat for a few minutes, watching the fire burn slowly.

"Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be immortal?" she asked.

"Yup," Russell said simply. "I'd spend my time learning and doing stuff. When I'm done writing my novel, I'll start a business. Head back to school, then maybe go on another training journey, maybe this time in Jhoto or Houen or something. There's just one problem."

"Oh?" Anzu asked with a smirk.

Russell looked her in the eyes. "I'd want someone with me. Life sucks being alone and this is just one life. If I had someone I could share experiences with---human, pokémon, I don't care--then it wouldn't be so bad." Russell suddenly laughed. "But what about you?"

"Oh, no," Anzu said, shaking her head despite the smile creeping across her face.

"Come on," Russell said. "I've been talking this whole time; it's your turn. What about being immortal?"

Anzu stared into the fire as the goofy smile slowly left her face, and Russell thought he could see something else... a soul that had seen more days than appearance let on.