[FIN] Was Assured It Was A Good Idea...

[Gwennythe]

"Yeah, I guess 'at makes sense, kinda. Bit sad 'e thinks that un's a best 'n, but aye, I ken wot you're sayin'." Clancy nodded, looking a little bemused, but nodding to show his understanding.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Very good, then," she said with a nod, rather than try to explain that not everyone would prefer a fish over other kinds of pokemon. "Moving on from that matter," the elite gestured a hand to the pokeball he'd placed on her desk what seemed like ages ago and prompted, "you wanted to discuss concerns you had with your Absol?"  

[Gwennythe]

"Aye! She's defective, bloody thing! Keeps snarkin' at me, and pokin' me with 'er 'orn and bloomin' bein' a right ruddy /arse/!" Clancy sat forward, eyeing the pokéball himself now, and jabbing a finger at it.
"Got a ruddy attitude pro'lem, she 'as! Uses attacks I don't bloomin' ask f'r! Sure, they still flamin' work, but I ain't got a clue wot she's doin' when she does 'em and she acts like 'm not the flamin' master 'r some't. No bloody respect!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Claire nodded along as he spoke, and when he finished, she asked simply, "Have you given her a reason to respect you?"  

[Gwennythe]

Clancy looked utterly and entirely confused, and said nothing at first, as though his brain was processing what he'd just been asked.

The pause stretched out a bit, his mouth opened, and the pause continued a little more.

Finally he seemed to settle on what he wanted to say.

"Well, I'm, er, the human, see..." was his entire justification.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The elite nodded. "Yes, you are, and while 'I'm the human, you're my pokemon, so you do as I tell you' is enough for some pokemon, for others - typically more intelligent pokemon - they require more substantial reasons for them to respect you. In their case, you must give them good reason to respect you, either through your words, actions, or a combination of both. Why should she respect someone who hasn't earned that respect yet?" Especially someone who couldn't remember how to pronounce her species.  

[Gwennythe]

"Soooo... There's a cheat then, right? Some kinda bloomin' quick path way t' be getting on there, eh? Is it food? Is there some kinda food I need to be bribing the bloody thing with?" Clancy appeared to be asking quite seriously. "I got the words and bloomin' actions thing down, surely, so it's got t' be some kinda food trick I don't know 'bout Appsales..."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Absol," Claire corrected with a light frown, "and some pokemon can be bribed with food - it can make them easier to train if the reward for good behavior is food - but it doesn't work for all of them. You'll have to work with your Absol more to discover what works with her and how you can earn her respect. I suggest you start by remembering and pronouncing her species correctly," the elite said with a meaningful forward tilt of her head and raise of her eyebrows.  

[Gwennythe]

"So food's worth tryin'... Gotcha!" Clancy grinned, seizing on 'some pokémon can be bribed with food', that idea sticking inside his head even though he listened and nodded to the rest of what Claire said.
"So, try the food, remember wot the blinkin' eck she is, an' that should get the ruddy thing to be'ave, right? Cuz that 'orn bloomin' smarts!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"It might work," she emphasized the middle word heavily in the hopes it would stick. "It's entirely possible that it won't work with her. You should be prepared to try other methods in case food doesn't work."  

[Gwennythe]

There was only a momentary frown from Clancy as he recognized the word 'might' in there and what it represented before he was shaking his head and brushing the idea away.

"Right, right. 'S like any'owt, right? 'Avin' a bunch o' backups. Gotta bloody good feelin' 'bout this food bribin' lark, though; whole thing makes a bunch o' sense."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Claire inhaled deeply and held it once more before she nodded. "All right," she said, "then if that is your last concern, I'll leave you to your Absol. If you need assistance with her, or any of your other pokemon, there are a number of Agents that can help you more readily than I can."  

[Gwennythe]

"Aye, think 's it! Thank y' for y'r time, marm! 'S bloomin' 'elpful. I'll remember wot y' taught me- some folks don't 'ave top fish, an' food t' solve me trainin' issues!" He leaned over as he stood, Clancy's hand extended, waiting in offer of a handshake, as though he'd just finished a job interview that he thought had gone very well.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yes," she said rather flatly, and as he stood and offered his hand, she conveniently turned to her computer at that precise moment, seemingly missing it. Whether this was intentional or accidental remained unclear. "And you'll remember not to go insulting higher ranks - or their pokemon - and that bribing with food might not work," the elite stated more than asked, as she began typing on her computer keyboard and focusing her gaze on the screen.  

[Gwennythe]

Ah. Okay then.

Clancy un-smoothly turned his offer of a handshake into a salute.
"Aye marm, I'll remember!" It probably wasn't very reassuring even if it was somewhat enthusiastic.

Sensing he'd been dismissed- he wasn't that dumb apparently, thankfully- the grunt made to exit, feeling like the meeting had actually gone excellently.
That would certainly be what he told people anyway.