Cashe got up early in the morning. Emilia was still asleep and the sun was just cresting over the horizon. The rain dissipated overnight, and the clouds were now only a layer of gray in the distance. The morning sun painted a tapestry of color across the sky, with pinks, oranges and yellows all clashing in a gentle wash of light.

Cashe snuck out of the camp, waking Bulbasaur along the way, his loyal pokemon having refused to return to his ball. Cashe was silently thankful for it. He had needed his comfort the previous night.

“Bulbasaur?” Bulbasaur croaked as Cashe roused him from his slumber. He blinked slowly, one eye after another, like a giant frog.

“Not now, Bulbasaur,” Cashe whispered, “We don’t want to wake Emilia. It’s my fault she had it rough yesterday, I don’t want to also be the reason she doesn’t get enough rest.”

Bulbasaur nodded and followed Cashe out of the camp, taking his backpack with him. Cashe led them into a mostly cleared area down the road, taking out one pokeball and a handful of berries, provided by Emilia’s friend, Debbie.

Next, he took out a book Blue provided. It was a basic trainer’s guide to berries, their uses and flavors. He picked through his handful of berries until he had one of every flavor lined up.

“Okay Bulbasaur,” Cashe said, no longer whispering, “I’m going to let Mankey out of the ball. We want to welcome him-”

“Bulba.”

“Really? How can you tell? Actually, never mind. We want to welcome her onto the team. That means being friendly, even if she’s a little cranky, okay?”

Bulbasaur nodded and yawned.

Cashe pressed the button on the pokeball and a second later, Mankey stood before them.

Cashe had healed her with his potions the previous afternoon. He didn’t know if Mankey could feel anything in the pokeball, but he didn’t want her spending the whole day in a state of discomfort if she could.

As a result, the Mankey that came out of the ball was a far cry from the Mankey that went into it. Her fur had regrown so that there were no missing patches on her body, her foot was straightened and supporting her full weight, and blood no longer oozed from minor wounds. While she still looked like she might like some rest, she no longer looked like she was on the brink of collapse.

“Good morning, I’m Cashe,” Cashe said as Mankey got her bearings, “And this is Bulbasaur. Do you remember meeting us?”

Upon hearing his voice, Mankey started, hopping in place and bending over onto all fours in an aggressive stance. She didn’t screech or growl, but eyed both Cashe and Bulbasaur with wary suspicion, her tail curling with tension.

“Easy there,” Cashe said in a low voice, “You were hurt, remember? Bulbasaur here helped you get to sleep, and I healed you the best I could.”

“Bulba-saur,” Bulbasaur said.

Mankey looked at her body and relaxed. Had she not realized she was no longer injured?

“See, I’m not here to hurt you or any of your troupe,” Cashe said. He sat down on the damp forest floor. He took his assortment of berries and displayed them in his hands, “Look, I have food. I didn’t know which kind you liked, so I brought a lot.”

“Mankey,” Mankey took a hesitant step forward and snatched the berries from Cashe’s open palm. She jumped several paces back and snuffed at her prize, taking loud, deep sniffs of the different berries. After a moment, she selected one and tore into it, dropping the rest.

“Bulba,” Bulbasaur complained.

“You can take one as well,” Cashe said, holding up a finger and wagging it at his pokemon, “But only one. You need to stick to your diet, mister. Don’t think I didn’t see you munching down those tufts of grass and pinecones. Those are empty calories.”

“Bulbasaur?” Bulbasaur tilted his head to the side, confused.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I won't be gaslighted.”

“Bulbaaa,” Bulbasaur bowed his head in embarrassed admittance and waddled forward, retrieving the berries.

When he approached Mankey, she kept a cautious eye on him, but did not retreat, despite the fact that Mankey was only half the size of Bulbasaur. Cashe took it as a good sign. Bulbasaur snatched up his preferred berry and brought the other three back, using his vines to carry them.

Cashe took the berries and gave Bulbasaur an appreciative scratch.

“So what do you say, Mankey? Come with me and there will be more berries. And like I said before, I can make you stronger than you can even imagine.” Actually, could pokemon imagine things? Cashe had no idea, but it seemed like Mankey understood.

She crossed her arms, considering the offer.

“You’ll see lots of places besides this little forest,” Cashe said, “We’re going to Alola soon. There’s a real jungle there.”

“Mankey?”

“That’s like a forest but with way more trees and plants and pokemon,” Cashe explained.

Mankey uncrossed and crossed her arms again and began tapping her foot. What the hell? Was she just waiting for him to offer something else? Greedy little monkey.

“And you’ll get to train against the strongest pokemon?” Cashe said, not sure what else to offer, “Plus, if you get strong enough, people all over the world will know how great you are.”

The last seemed to do the trick and Mankey nodded in acceptance.

“Great!” Cashe smiled, “Welcome to the team. It’s just me and Bulbasaur now, but we’re going to expand as soon as we can. Now, let's get you back in your pokeball so you can rest.”

“Mankey!” Mankey hopped in place, her tail curling again.

Cashe exchanged a glance with Bulbasaur, trying to express a look the question of whether Bulbasaur could keep an eye on her. Bulbasaur gave him a little nod.

Huh. Did he understand that, really?

“Okay,” Cashe said hesitantly, “You don’t like the pokeball, so you can walk with us for now. But you have to be on your best behavior. We’re going back to meet my friends, and I don’t want any fighting, understand?”

“Mankey, man-key!”

“What now? You don’t want to walk?” Cashe sighed.

“Mankey.” Mankey nodded.

Seriously? Obstinate little brat was already getting on his nerves.

“Fine, you may ride on my shoulders,” Cashe eyed the Mankey. She was small enough for sure, and it wasn’t like a monkey would have any chance of falling off.

Mankey made a noise of delight and darted up his leg. Cashe grunted in shock as she clambered up his torso.

“How are you so heavy?” Cashe said. The little Mankey stood only a foot tall, less than half of Bulbasaur’s height, but easily weighed twice as much as him. He could already feel the backache he was going to have carrying her around. At least it would be good exercise.

“Key,” Mankey replied, perching on his shoulder. She immediately began running her hands through his hair, pulling out mud and twigs and straightening his knotted hair as she to groomed him.

“Uh, thanks,” Cashe said. Crazy pokemon was defiant one second and-

Cashe blinked. Wait a minute.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He took out his pokedex, scrolling over to registered pokemon. Mankey was there, of course, and in her profile, her ability: Defiant.

Cashe felt himself going gray as he stared at the screen. A wonderful ability to have on a Mankey, but having known the pokemon for less than an hour, he could already see how it was going to be a problem.

He kept scrolling, looking into the details of his new companion.

“What have you been doing all your life?” Cashe muttered. Mankey was strange. According to his pokedex, she was right around average size and weight, but that was where the normal stopped.

To start, she had Defiant, the rarest of Mankey’s possible abilities. That wasn’t so weird, given her personality, but her known moves were something else.

It started innocuous enough, with moves like Scratch, Leer, Low Kick, and Fury Swipes, but it quickly expanded. Uproar and Spite? Made sense for an angry monkey. Lash Out, maybe, but it was dark type. Rock Tomb? Okay, not too unreasonable. Endeavor and Endure? He could see a wild Mankey learning those. But Protect and Acrobatics? Much less likely. Encore and Thunderbolt? No wonder this Mankey won the brawl. Except there was no way Cashe could rationalize those.

“Have you had a trainer before?” Cashe said.

“Mank,” Mankey said, shaking her head from her seat on his shoulder.

“No? Guess I’ll have to ask Emilia. Alright, time to head back. Let’s go, Bulbasaur.”

“Bulba.”

Cashe looked down at Bulbasaur. He was standing in front of Cashe, sitting down like a dog, with big, wide eyes openly begging. His vines were extended towards Cashe’s shoulders and waved back and forth slowly, like a child begging his parents to pick him up.

Cashe stared at Bulbasaur in disbelief for a full minute, before sighing in defeat.

“Fine,” Cashe groaned, letting Bulbasaur wrap his vines around his shoulders and pull himself up to his chest, “But you are seriously too big for my shoulders. I’m carrying you like this only. “ Cashe wrapped his arms around Bulbasaur to hold him in place and returned to the road, heading back to camp.

“Bulbasaur.”

“I know, buddy.”

***

The walk back to camp took substantially longer than the five minutes it took to leave it, thanks to the two pokemon hanging off his body. Luckily, this gave Emilia enough time to get up and start her morning routine before Cashe made it back. He wasn’t sure he would be able to let her sleep with a Mankey and a jealous Bulbasaur in his wake.

Emilia was looking better. Or at least not as harried as the previous evening. She had changed into a dark tracksuit and from the puddle of water soaking the ground and the dampness of her hair, Cashe guessed she had used Omanyte to help her clean up.

She looked up as Cashe approached, glancing quickly to Mankey on his shoulder and Bulbasaur in his arms. She looked away with the smallest of smirks, turning back to the fire and the breakfast she was making. Mankey tensed on his shoulder upon seeing her, so Cashe gave her a comforting scratch to help her relax. After a moment, she returned to her grooming.

“Morning,” Cashe greeted. Emilia grunted in response. “I have a question about pokemon, if you don’t mind.”

Emilia gave him another quick glance. She looked tired and annoyed but did not complain aloud, so Cashe continued.

“Mankey has a lot of moves that I can’t explain,” Cashe said, handing Emilia his pokedex, “She says she has never had a trainer before.”

Emilia took his pokedex wordlessly and glanced at Mankey’s known moves. She raised an eyebrow.

“She probably inherited most of them.” Emilia said, handing the pokedex back to him.

Cashe pocketed it, “I didn’t know moves could be inherited.”

“If one of her parents was a trainer’s pokemon, that would explain it,” Emilia shrugged, turning back to her breakfast, "Lots of trainers breed and release pokemon that don't match the criteria of what they are looking for."

“Is that why you have all those moves, were your parents trained?” Cashe said to Mankey. Mankey shrugged.

“She probably never met them,” Emilia said, “The Rangers wouldn’t let a Primeape stay in this area at all if they were wild. They’d relocated it to the mountains to keep the route safe. If she was released, it would have been when she was very young.”

“Is that right?” Cashe gave Mankey a comforting pet on the back of her head.

“Don’t make that face,” Emilia muttered.

Cashe made the face. “Poor girl, growing up without parents must have been tough.”

“Mankey.” Mankey nodded gravely, leaning into Cashe’s hand scratches. She held out her hand.

Cashe took it, slightly confused. Mankey pushed away his hand and held out hers again, palm up.

“Idiot,” Emilia snickered, “She’s trying to manipulate you to get food.”

“No she’s not, she’s a good girl,” Cashe said, “You wouldn’t do that, right, Mankey?”

Mankey shook her head and held out her hand again.

Huh. Maybe she would.

***

The journey from Saffron only took four days, and the trip was uneventful. The forest provided a good amount of shade for Cashe and Emilia, so they were not subjected to the harsh sun as they were on their way from Pallet Town, and the road they followed was used often enough that most wild pokemon kept a good distance from it. Those that did not were friendly and used to being fed by travelers.

The journey could have been even shorter, but they stopped to train several times and kept days short so Cashe could rest. He still wasn’t in the kind of shape that Emilia was, and while hours upon hours of walking each day were helping him catch up quickly, he was also now lugging a Mankey around on his back.

The training was basic. Cashe almost exclusively worked on coordinating with his pokemon as two things about Mankey became very clear: she did not like listening to his orders, and there was no such thing as going half pace.

It presented two rather significant problems for Cashe. When battling Emilia’s pokemon and Bulbasaur, Mankey’s inclination to ignore him half the time and do whatever she thought was best was only a minor issue. Emilia, of course, took full advantage of the lapse in tactics, but there were no stakes. It was only training. Against the weaker trainers that he had faced so far, it also would not be a problem. However, as soon as he faced anyone who knew what they were doing, like the Beedrill trainer, he would be in a rough spot.

The second problem was that Mankey had no chill. In every fight she would go full bore, fighting as if her life depended on it. It was excellent for her personal growth, but counterproductive to training with Emilia and Bulbasaur. It also meant that she would be a poor choice in the friendlier battles that many trainers seemed to prefer. Cashe already had to worry about his reputation as a ‘poisoner’, and he didn’t want to reinforce that with Mankey’s brutal battle style. Emilia offered some advice, but it basically amounted to ‘be patient and continue training’.

“That’s strange,” Emilia said. They were approaching a small town at the end of Route Six, just a few hours outside of Vermillion City. It was midday and the sky was overcast with a layer of thick, gray clouds.

“What is it?” Cashe said, brushing Mankey’s hand out of his hair. She had grabbed a handful and pulled painfully at hearing his tone.

“Where are the trainers?” Emilia gestured around them, waving a hand down the road.

The forest ended a few dozen yards from them and the road opened up to wide fields and farmland, followed by the outline of a small town just visible in the distance. It was similar to the outskirts of Saffron, but unlike Saffron, the road was empty. There were no trainers in the field, no children playing with their pokemon or school children practicing their battling.

“Maybe they are avoiding the weather?” Cashe said, just as the first drops of rain began to fall, crashing down to earth in big, wet, plops.

“Maybe,” Emilia said, but she didn’t sound convinced.

“What do you think it is then?” Cashe said, placing Mankey on the ground and summoning Bulbasaur from his ball.

“I don’t know, but something is wrong,” Emilia said in a low voice, “Let’s go. And be careful.”

Cashe and Emilia moved towards the town. The wind whipped around them as they exited the forest, pulling at their clothes and driving rain into their skin. The rain began pouring down, chilling Cashe through his clothes and causing his hands to go numb and clammy.

They set a slow pace. It was miserable, but as they got closer and closer to the town it was clear something was wrong.

The town was small, not much larger than Pallet Town in size, but even with the rain pouring down, Cashe expected to see someone. Anyone. There were no people on the road, no one working in the fields, not even a traveler passing through.

The town was deserted.

A wooden sign outside the town read ‘Welcome to Campton’. It had little Whismur painted on it, welcoming visitors inside. In the dark of the rain, they looked dead, their pink bodies gray, their eyes crossed out in cartoonish shorthand for death. Cashe and Emilia walked up to the sign. Cashe stared at the Whismur’s eyes. They stared back.

Apart from the tumult of pouring rain, the town was silent, the only noise the sounds of Mankey grumbling as water splashed her. It felt like the world around them held its breath.

They came upon a small square where several streets of Campton met up. Small stores, cafes, and restaurants lined the square, visibly empty. A Pokemon Center stood to one side, bright and welcoming, but when Cashe approached it, the doors were locked. The lights of the Center were still on, but Cashe saw no one through the glass, the counter empty and forlorn.

Emilia gave him a questioning look as he returned to the square. Cashe shook his head. She pointed down a side street to a small row of houses.

“Wait here,” Emilia whispered to Cashe. “I’m going to check it out.”

“You want to go in there alone?” Cashe whispered back. He could barely hear over the sound of the torrential rain.

“I’ll be fine, Omanyte is good in the rain.” Emilia released Omanyte from her ball as she spoke. The small nautilus-like pokemon shivered as it entered the downpour.

Cashe looked at it, doubtful, “Charmander won’t be much help.”

“It’s fine, I’m just going to the first home,” Emilia pointed down the road. The closest building to them was a small house. It had a tiny yard and faced the road. A garden, near flattened by the rain, was well tended and groomed. Clearly, someone had lived here recently, but no light came from the windows; like the rest of the town, it appeared deserted.

Cashe nodded. Emilia wiped her wet hair out of her face and left.

Cashe watched her go. She approached the home from the side, keeping low and out of the window’s line of sight. Omanyte followed close behind her, moving with ease across the soaked terrain.

Emilia reached the edge of the house and pressed herself up against the side, inching towards the corner. She darted around, keeping below the window and stepped up to the front door. Cashe saw her jostle with the handle.

The door swung open.

After a brief hesitation, she went inside.

*****