Pines and Arlert came home with Newt after he attended the Festival of Lights. While he would have happily brought more of the felines he met home, these two seemed to bond to the wizard and ended up following him through the entirety of the festival.

Newt decided to name them after two of his friends from the world he previous lived in, Ford Pines and Armin Arlert, as a bit of an homage to his fellow scientists.