[Atsushi nods, running one of his hands through his awfully cut hair.]

It'd be a start, at least. Honestly I didn't think he'd stick around long enough for me to figure out what he was, but...he's been with me all this time.

[The concept of trainer-pokemon bonds is still a foreign one to Atsushi considering how...blank everything's been, but he might be starting to understand it a bit more now that he's seen the way the others act with the members of their own teams. Or the way Jake's carrying around that Shellos like it's just a thing to do.]