“I don’t remember Route One being quite so long,” Cashe said, wiping sweat from his forehead. The path to Viridian was almost entirely grassland, with only a few small patches of trees and a few rocky hills to provide any shade. With the warm morning sun turning into late afternoon heat, Cashe was feeling the stress of the day sooner than expected, “How far did you say until we get there?”
“I told you to bring enough supplies for a week, right?” Emilia said. She was in much better shape than Cashe was, but still sweating through her clothes around her arms and neck. She had long since returned Omanyte to her ball, the heat and the travel proving too much for the water type pokemon, but Charmander was hopping along just fine, following closely in Emilia’s shadow. Bulbasaur also appeared to be enjoying the weather, often running ahead of the group and waiting for them to catch up.
Now, however, Bulbasaur was glaring suspiciously at a bush, just a few feet up the path. Both of Bulbasaur’s vines were out of his bulb, and were swaying warily in front of his face.
“Whatcha looking at, buddy?” Cashe said, wandering over to Bulbasaur and bending by the bush. Bulbasaur’s vines were hovering by one particular section. Cashe reached out pulled a branch aside to get a better look. He could make out something moving and-
“What are you doing?” Emilia crashed into him, tackling him away from the bush, just as a Sewaddle poked its head through the gap made by his hand. It looked like an overly large, yellow caterpillar wrapped in green leaves.
“Wad.”
Bulbasaur lowered his head at the pokemon, using his vines to make sure it didn’t get any closer.
“Ow,” Cashe groaned, finding himself pushed back to the ground as he tried to rise. Emilia had him mounted and pinned, and she was holding him still with both arms. Cashe squinted through the bright light of the sun shining down on his face. He could just make out the shadows of Emilia’s face. She was mad.
“What are you doing?” She hissed again. Her face was inches from his now, her dark brown eyes boring into his own. Each word sent specks of saliva flicking over his face.
“I just wanted to see what Bulbasaur was looking at?” Cashe said, too confused to put up any fight.
“He was obviously looking at a pokemon!” Emilia spat, “So I ask again, what were you doing?”
“Just trying to look, I swear,” Cashe insisted.
Emilia sat up, glaring down at him, “If you are trying to kill yourself, let me know so I can get you help,” she said, “How could you be so stupid?”
“I have no idea what you’re so upset about,” Cashe said, “It’s a Sewaddle.” Cashe sat up, pushing Emilia off his chest and pointing at the bush. The Sewaddle was trying to poke its head back out of the bushes but Bulbasaur kept hitting it on its head, like a game of pokemon whack-a-mole.
“You didn’t know that!” Emilia said, standing with arms crossed, “And even if you did, it could have bitten your finger off. What if it were a poison type? You’d be dead.”
“Annie handed me a Weedle within the first minute I arrived here,” Cashe said, standing and brushing himself off, “We are both fine.”
“Pokemon that live near people grow used to them! In case you didn’t notice, we are in the middle of a Route! The pokemon here might have never seen a person in their entire lives, you have no idea how one might react. What if that were its nest? Speaking of Weedle, what if that were a Beedrill?”
“I didn’t know, I’m sorry, okay?” Cashe said, “I'll be more careful.” He looked over at the bush again. The Sewaddle had wandered off, having been successfully repelled by the vigilant Bulbasaur. “Would a Beedrill really be that big of a deal?”
Emilia sighed and relaxed, shooting Cashe another glance before turning towards Charmander. The poor guy was hiding his head in the long grass, ducking behind a small rock at the sound of their fighting. Emilia walked over and gave him a comforting scratch on his head. After a few words, she sat down and placed him in her lap, continuing to scratch his head and neck. Only after another withering glance at Cashe did she respond.
“It’s so obvious you’ve never seen one in real life,” she sighed, “They’re three feet tall, can fly, move in swarms, and are extremely territorial. They have three poisonous stingers and are fast, aggressive, and smart enough to be cunning. It’s not an exaggeration to say that controlling them is the Poke Ranger’s number one responsibility in Kanto. Yes, they are a big deal.”
“Oh,” Cashe joined Emilia on the ground, pulling off his backpack and sitting down. He turned to Bulbasaur. The little guy was really looking out for him, “Thanks buddy.” Bulbasaur waddled over rubbing his head against Cashe’s leg and giving him a throaty chirp. Cashe scratched at his chin and Bulbasaur closed his eyes in pleasure. Cashe looked back at Emilia, “And my thanks to you, too. I wouldn’t want to become Beedrill food.”
Emilia nodded. “Bulbasaur probably would have held one off long enough for me to help,” she admitted, letting Omanyte out of his ball and taking out a few packs of prepared food for her pokemon, “But he probably wouldn’t have won that fight, even with your guidance.” She frowned at him and squinted up at the blazing sun in the sky, “You really should get to training his ability. And maybe a few more moves. If he had that, he could stand a chance.”
“Yeah?” Cashe picked up Bulbasaur, holding him in front of his face, “What do you say, a quick lunch and then a bit of training?”
Bulbasaur nodded, giving Cashe a grin. He was always up for training.
“Great. Hey, Emilia, how do you train an ability?”
***
“Okay, buddy,” Cashe said, holding his pokedex close to his face, reading the lines in it over again. He was laying on his back in the middle of the grassy field, stretched out in the warm sun. Bulbasaur was beside him, mimicking his pose, but having a bit of trouble maintaining it as his bulb kept getting in the way and rolling him back to his feet., “Let’s concentrate now. Do you know what meditating is?”
“Bulba.”
“It’s basically when you close your eyes.”
“Bulba?”
“Oh, yeah, and you have to feel the power within or clear your mind or whatever,” Cashe said. He pointed to the pokedex, “It says here you should start by closing your eyes letting the sun bear down on you.”
“Bulba.”
“I know, right? It’s not like you have much choice,” Cashe grinned as Bulbasaur closed his eyes and huffed. He set his little green legs and steadied himself in a comfortable position. Cashe nodded and continued, “Okay, now you have to feel what the sun is doing to you. You should feel it giving you energy or power or something.”
“Bulba.”
“I know I’m no pokemon master, but there’s no need for that,” Cashe said.
Emilia gave him a confused look, “What are you talking about? Bulbasaur definitely didn’t mean anything offensive.” She was doing her own ability training with Charmander, which unfortunately meant getting beaten up by Omanyte.
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It looked awful. Her Omanyte was keeping Charmander just at the edge of fainting, backing off just before Charmander was unable to continue. He would get up and send a weary blast of flame at the Omanyte, who tanked the attacks without flinching.
“Just having a bit of fun,” Cashe said with a shrug, “Okay, Bulbasaur, I want you to build up that energy as much as you can, until you don’t know what to do with it.”
Emilia smiled at Bulbasaur as his face tightened in concentration, “It looks like you’re both on the right track, which is good. Expected, but good.”
“Expected?” Cashe said. He was pretty sure any progress he made as a trainer was unexpected at the very best. Maybe even miraculous.
“Ability training comes naturally for most pokemon,” Emilia explained, “It’s usually just about choosing a training direction and letting nature take its course.”
“I actually had a question about that,” Cashe said as Charmander got back to his feet again, teetering in the direction of Omanyte. The mess of blue tentacles that made up Omanytes face almost looked amused at the effort. If tentacles could be amused. “You’re trying to get Charmander Blaze, right?”
“You know your abilities,” Emilia said, “I am. Was that your question?”
“I was wondering about abilities that are physiological,” Cashe said, “How exactly do you train those? Like, take Snorlax. All Snorlax are fat. Wouldn’t they all have Thick Fat as an ability?”
“Almost all would,” Emilia confirmed, “Like I said, most abilities are just training in one direction and letting nature take its course. With Munchlax, you barely need to do anything and it will develop the Thick Fat ability. But if a trainer got a Munchlax at a young age, they could work hard to keep it from developing Thick Fat, and instead develop one of its other abilities first. The Snorlax would still turn out fat, but it wouldn’t have the same properties with its fat belly that other Snorlax might have.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Cashe rubbed his chin, “So what about stuff like Mega Evolutions that change abilities?”
“You’re thinking of making Bulbasaur undergo Mega Evolution training?” Emilia said, glancing over at the concentrating Bulbasaur and raising an eyebrow.
“Definitely considering it,” Cashe said.
“Well you don’t have to worry. Evolution is a weird thing and we don’t really understand everything that goes on with it. Take your Snorlax example. If Munchlax evolves with the Pickup ability, it turns into Immunity. We don’t know why, or how they are related, but that’s what happens.” Emilia shrugged, “It’s just the way it is. By the way, you might want to check on Bulbasaur. It looks like he’s almost there.”
Cashe glanced back at Bulbasaur. The little guy’s eyes were squeezed shut in concentration and he was shaking where he stood. The leaves around his bulb were quaking from his effort.
“Great job, Bulbasaur!” Cashe said, “You’re doing fantastic! Take that energy, and run! As fast as you can, I want to see you move!”
Bulbasaur’s eyes shot open and he exploded out of his spot.
“Damn, he’s quick,” Emilia said as Bulbasaur disappeared into the grass, only an expanding trail of flattened plant life could be seen of him now.
Cashe smiled, proud, as Bulbasaur darted across the field, zipping around and heading towards where Charmander and Omanyte were training. Bulbasaur flew by, causing the bleary Charmander to blink in confusion as he tried to focus on the little, green blur.
“Buuuullbaaaaassaaaaaaaaaur!” Bulbasaur cried, rushing towards Cashe at top speed. He jumped, crashing into Cashe’s chest and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Cashe fell, laughing, and held Bulbasaur in the air. The little guy’s legs were still flailing mightily, trying to maintain his incredible speed.
“That was amazing, Bulbasaur, I’m so proud of you!” Cashe laughed, “Now we just have to figure out how to do that quickly.”
***
The sun had long since set and they were camped at a site beneath a rugged cliff that looked like it was used many times before. The grass was cleared away, leaving only flat, packed earth behind. The moon was bright in the sky, and stars sparkled in and out of sight. A long stretch of light ran across the sky, the Milky Way, in all its splendor, shining high about them. A fire, pathetic compared to the wonder lighting the skies above, flickered slowly, keeping their small camp warm.
Cashe and Emilia were settling down for the night. Cashe was struggling to set up his tent as Emilia watched in amusement.
“What the hell?” Cashe said, glancing over at Emilia. Emilia’s pokedex was buzzing in her pocket. She took the pokedex out and flipped it open. On the screen, instead of any of the usual interface, were Blue and Misty’s faces. They were sitting together on the couch in their small living room, sitting up like they were having their picture taken. Unfortunately, the camera was pointed straight up their noses.
“Hey, Mom, Dad. You’re calling just in time to watch Cashe fail setting up his tent for the fifth time.” Emilia teased, “I didn’t think he’d have any trouble, but you know what they say about old guys and getting things up.”
“Emilia, Annie is in the room with us,” Blue groaned as Misty burst into laughter beside him. Cashe heard the young girl ask what they were laughing about.
“Sorry, Dad,” Emilia said, obviously not sorry one bit, “What’s up?”
“We were just calling to see how our daughter’s first day as a trainer went,” Blue said, speaking in a very loud voice, “And to tell you we miss you.”
“You don’t need to yell, Dad. And it’s not like I haven’t been away before,” Emilia rolled her eyes, but she was smiling wide, “Cashe almost got his thumb bitten off by a Sewaddle.”
Misty laughed again, “I bet that brings back some memories,” she said to her husband.
“It does, indeed,” Blue sighed, “The first night away from Pallet Town with Red, we both almost died to a Weedle,” Blue chuckled and Emilia gave Cashe an ‘I told you so’ glare, “That was almost fifty years ago, but it feels just like yesterday.”
“You and Red left town together?” Cashe said, surprised, “I thought you two went your separate ways.”
“We did separate, when we left Viridian City,” Blue rubbed his chin and looked off, trying to recall something, “Though for the life of me, I can’t remember why.”
“Wasn’t it because he beat you in a pokemon battle?” Cashe said.
“No, that couldn’t have been it,” Blue muttered as Misty burst out laughing again, “He had his Charmander and I had Blastoise, well, Squirtle back then. No way he would have beaten me again.”
“Again?” Emilia grinned, “This is the first time I’m hearing this story. How many times did he beat you now, Dad? I thought it was only once, right after you beat the Elite Four?”
“I just remembered, it was only once, I misspoke.” Blue said, hastily.
“Aww, he’s embarrassed,” Misty cooed, “Come on, tell us the truth. It’s not like the man is around to ask.”
“He’s not?” Cashe said, “Did he never come down off of Mt Silver?”
Three sets of eyes turned to look at Cashe.
“What?” Cashe said. His eyes went wide, “Oh my gosh, did he die up there? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I-”
“What do you mean by he never came down off Mt Silver?” Blue said, leaning forward towards the camera. His face was set and serious.
Cashe blinked. Shit. He had just revealed game knowledge that was apparently not common. “Um, you know, that’s where he went back home,” Cashe said.
Blue and Misty looked at each other, “Where on Mt Silver, Cashe?” Misty said.
“I mean, I don’t know exactly,” Cashe said, “Maybe the highest peak? There was apparently this cave system that ran the height of the mountain and opened up at the very top.”
“That’s not uncommon,” Blue mused.
It wasn’t? Of course it wasn’t.
“Emilia, I love you, but I have to go,” Blue said suddenly, “I have to check some things out. Cashe,” Blue flicked his eyes over to him, “I hope you are correct in this.”
“Our worlds are very different,” Cashe said, “I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”
***
The screen of the pokedex winked out. Blue leaned back on the couch and heaved a heavy sigh. “I need to contact Elm and the Pokemon League. I’m going to need permission to head up there.”
“Are you sure?” Misty said. She took Blue’s hand in her own, “If he were up there, the Pokemon League would have known, right?”
“You didn’t need permission back in the day, remember? You and that brat went all sorts of places you wouldn't be allow to go today,” Blue said, “It was only after Red disappeared that we started creating dangerous zones around the world. Plus he would have been Champion back then. There wouldn’t have been anyone to tell him no.”
“Still,” Misty said, squeezing Blue’s hand, “it’s dangerous. You aren’t so young anymore that you can just run off whenever you want.”
“Please,” Blue scoffed, “Don’t forget who I am.”
***
The screen of the pokedex winked out. Emilia turned away from it, her gaze distant. Slowly, she focused on Cashe, coming back to the present.
“Was he really on Mt Silver?” She said. Her voice was quiet and soft.
“He was,” Cashe said, “Does it matter if he is?”
“If he is, Cashe, you just changed the world.”
The even wind was picking up, whipping across the plains. Fields of grass rolled in waves, reflecting the evening’s moonlight on their thin stalks. The rustling was endless, a soft tumbling of sound to punctuate the quiet night.
“Oh.”
*****