As good a son as ever, Tobias didn't say a word as Marco began, just listening quietly. After a little while, he began to frown again, looking down at his hands. It wasn't for the reason most would think, however -- no, now Tobias was bothered because everything Marco was saying made sense.

He had never considered himself stronger or better because he couldn't fight. But... things that he read, or stories he heard, a lot of them were about the heroes who kept going no matter what... right?

He snuggled into Marco when the latter scooted closer, letting out a slow breath. Pokemon... yes... he... could remember very clearly how he used to do things.

"...Trainers challenge each other. The Pokemon fight and hurt each other and sometimes the trainers do too, but when it's over everyone is taken care of and nobody wants to hurt hurt each other. Pokemon who love their trainers will... fight other Pokemon, wild ones, so that their trainers aren't hurt... and sometimes they fail and sometimes everyone gets hurt, but that just makes the Pokemon fight even harder."

He bit his lip, opening and closing his hands.

"...Pokemon who don't get hurt ever do things like contests or performances. They and their trainers don't fight because they help people in other ways, by making them laugh or happy or something... But... we can't do that here..."

The bite got a bit harder, enough to force a trickle of blood, though Tobias didn't seem to notice it.

"...So... is that why? Everyone's getting hurt like this... so that they can help everyone else...?"