Chapter 11

"I really love this!" the professor said.

Red could feel a bundle of excitement as he heard the words of Samuel Oak from the computer in front of him. The image of the professor's face was plainly visible on the screen as well as the three fossils bundled in his arms. The Cerulean City Pokemon Center Red stood in didn't have that many trainers that day so he was able to contact Oak as soon as he arrived into the city. Mt. Moon's exit being just outside the city allowed the trainer to rush in and get his Pokemon healed up before sending the fossils to the professor using the PC system's transportation technology.

"You've really outdone yourself, Red!" Oak said. "Neither Green nor Blue have given me anything close to this! To think I could study Pokemon revived from fossils!"

"So you'll deposit some money into my bank account?" Red asked.

The professor nodded.

"I'll do so as soon as I get these transported to the lab in Cinnabar," he said. "I'm good friends with the researchers there and then I'll make sure you're account balloons!"

Red nodded.

"Red," the professor said. "I'm sorry that your Pokemon perished in the battle with Brock. I hope you're doing fine. Your mother and I were watching intently.”

He sighed, trying not to get upset upon hearing his father saw him lose.

"Don't worry," Red said. "With renewed confidence I'll be training to battle Brock once again. But first I'm going to take on the Cerulean Gym."

"Good plan," Oak said. "Well...see you later."

Red turned off the computer before exiting the Center. Upon leaving the building he took in the surrounding landscape. Cerulean City looked just as it had been described to him.

The city was almost surrounded by wide waterways. The flow of water paralleled the urban area on its west, north and east sides. The seawater acted as a moat that bordered the city to protect it and provide transportation ways. When Red attempted to enter the place he had to cross a retractable bridge that led to the exit to Mt. Moon. There were many bridges that connected the external land portions, arching over the wide river of saltwater. Ships both large and small docked and left the barges at the sides of the city, carrying captured Pokemon and other goods.

Cerulean City was one of the most prosperous cities in all the Kanto region, generating huge revenue for the continent as it acted as a major shipping port. From what Red knew, the gym leader of the city, Misty, used her Water Pokemon to surround the city with water as protection from wild Pokemon, to allow a prosperous fishing industry and economically viable transportation routes. She was regarded as a genius by the Kanto government for doing this and one of the most highly regarded trainers in the region for her accomplishment. Red never watched her battles very much on television as there were too many other gym leaders to keep up with but Misty's reputation preceded her.

I'm gonna have to catch some really strong Pokemon to beat a genius like her. He thought. No, no just strong, but have a type advantage. I'll have to make sure I don't lose my cool like I did last time.

He walked down the smoothly paved streets, observing the various shops as he did. He was walking along the northwestern corner of Cerulean City, admiring the deep blue water being parted by the ships. Red found that across from the waterway was a white fenced off area where lush grass grew.

Within the fenced off area were quadrupedal Pokemon whose lime green, frog-like bodies had a deep green flower bulb on their back. Red recognized the Pokemon as Bulbasaur, as Cerulean City was the number one producer of Bulbasaur bulbs. The farmers raised them before humanely slaughtering the Grass and Poison-type Pokemon for their bulbs that after being cooked while the Bulbasaur was still young enough was a fairly cheap but tasty delicacy. It was the number one selling vegetable in Kanto. Just looking at them brought memories of eating his mother's deliciously seasoned bulbs and made his mouth water.

Not far from the Bulbasaur farms, he found a bench on one of the street corners and sat down. Red took his Pokedex from his pocket and began scrolling through the map function to find if there were any Grass or Electric-type Pokemon in the area. He wasn't sure of the notion of catching many Electric-types in the area but there had to be Grass-types considering how much water there was in the area.

When Red looked at the areas surrounding Cerulean City, he was surprised to find that the surrounding routes contained quite a few wild Grass-types. Oddish and Bellsprout and their evolutions were plentiful in the area. However, what really surprised him was the fact that at the end of the route furthermost east of Cerulean was a large conglomeration of Electric-types that could be caught. From what he read, it was due to the presence of the Kanto power plant. It was a power plant that generated electricity for many of Kanto's cities and Electric-type Pokemon gathered to eat that energy. It contained just about every Electric Pokemon native to the Kanto region.

Alright. He thought. Two new targets.

Red motioned for Cinder's Pokeball and tossed him out. The Charmeleon appeared in front of him with a strange expression. He was both disappointed and saddened, a look the Fire-type usually didn't give him.

"Alright," the trainer said. "We've got to head to the wilderness again. There's a possibility we can win against Misty if we catch some super effective Pokemon around here."

The Flame Pokemon's sorrowful expression didn't change.

"What's wrong?" Red asked.

"You didn't free the Geodude," Cinder said. "Brock refused to as well. Why...was it so hard for you to do the right thing?"

The trainer began to panic, growing irritated as a result.

"Cinder," he replied. "You know Pokemon are used by human beings for their own end. You thank me that you're not used as a source of heat for human technology like the other Charmander were."

"Yeah," Cinder said. "Because I thought you were better than that. And at least the Fire-types were allowed to live. They're given food and some amount of aid to allow them to survive. Those Geodude were screaming in pain, tortured to have the rocks drilled out of their head. That's beyond evil."

"Well what did you want me to do about it?!" Red yelled. "Save everyone?!"

"Yes!" the Charmeleon replied. "You could have told Brock you weren't going to stand for it!"

"He would have killed me if I did that!" he replied. "He would have killed you! If I wasn't strong enough to beat his Rock-types with super-effective Pokemon, what hope did I have to beat him with a Fire-type?! You want to die for something we couldn't ever hope to do?!"

"You've just…" Cinder replied. "You've just become so callous. What happened to that sweet boy who just wanted a friend when you were young? I was willing to die for you back then but...but now? Red, I think you've lost sight of yourself."

His expression softened.

"What...what do you mean?" he asked.

The Charmeleon's blue eyes seemed to look cast over, as if a sort of a fog dispersed over them. He had never seen the Pokemon express that before, a look of utter sorrow. A sadness that tears couldn't even begin to describe.

"You just seem so…" Cinder said. "Obsessive, is it? Uncaring? Lacking empathy?"

Red was beginning to grow afraid. It wasn't a normal fear, like the feeling of your survival being jeopardized. It was honestly something he'd never come close to knowing before. Red's heart almost stopped beating he began to grow so worried.

"You're no longer the same kid I came to admire when you were young," the Charmeleon said in a voice that sounded like he was speaking past Red. "When you were young you loved everything and everyone. You would do anything to help others. You hated seeing others in pain and were disgusted by the cruelty of Pokemon being extorted. You were the best friend a person could ask for. Not even the best trainer, just the best friend ever."

The Charmeleon seemed to begin crying without actually tearing up. Cinder's eyes looked as though he wanted to sob but was just unable to, he was just that torn up. Red wasn't sure if the Fire-type was truly sad due to his lack of tears until the pain in his voice could be viscerally felt in his chest.

"But something changed," he said. "As you grew older...the jeers of your classmates got to you."

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Red froze, too afraid to move. Something about his Pokemon's voice sounded so tortured. It wasn't a scream of pain that did it, it was just the lack of any discernible emotion in his tone. And yet somehow it felt worse than any sob story Red had ever heard.

"As the years went on and you found yourself on the losing side of every Pokemon battle with Blue and Green," he said. "You began to cry more and more. I had to go and find you in the wilderness where he would huddle under the trees near Pallet Town. You wanted to be lost and never found out because the harder you tried to win, the worse you would feel when you failed. I remember one time after Blue beat you in the morning that I had to search literally all day and couldn't find you until night. You were looking up at the sky and when you saw me…"

He shook his head.

"You said you never wanted to see me again," Cinder said. "Because you had failed not only me but everyone you knew. Your father who was hardly around, your mother only wondered when you'd finally match your father, Oak who saw potential in you, Green who spurned your affections and Blue who...who honestly was jealous he didn't have your father's legacy so he held it over your head that he could beat you no matter what."

The Charmeleon's shoulders began to slump and go limp.

"And do you remember what I told you that day?" Cinder asked.

"That you could never fail me," Red said. "Because you didn't care about personal strength. Anyone could become strong, is what you said. A person could forsake anything and everything for a lifelong training regime and grow bigger muscles than anyone else. It takes a special person to care. A special person to empathize. A special person to help others."

"And I thought you were that person," Cinder said. "The only human I could say besides Oak or maybe even Green to care about Pokemon. And yet you cared more than they did. But something happened."

He looked down at the street and sighed.

"You replaced your own desire to help others and take care of the weak with the need to grow strong," he said. "You wanted to prove yourself powerful, so you have forsaken everything to travel the path of power. That path has taken you down the place where you are today, devoid of empathy for not only Pokemon but people. The taunts of those you once knew in Pallet fill your heart and drowned out the pure person you were. And now you don't know how to view anyone or thing as anything but a tool for your own advancement. Red, I can understand you becoming that if you had no one in your life but…"

And the Charmeleon did lift up his head and start crying then.

"But you have me!" Cinder said. "Do I mean so little to you that you want to throw everything away to prove to those snobs that you can win a gym badge?! Why-why be concerned about what they think when I've been by your side for as long as I have comforted you?! Why hold their opinion in high regard when all they think about is something as superficial as physical power when I wanted nothing to do with that?! All I wanted was a friend to hold me through the darkest times instead of being a slave! And I thought I had found it!"

Other humans began to stare at the Charmeleon as he screamed at his trainer. While most onlookers only gave side glances, some stared intently as they wondered what was wrong. Red felt mildly embarrassed at the weird expressions of everyone around him. It was seen as very unprofessional on the part of trainers if their Pokemon were caught arguing with them. It was seen as the trainer being weak and gutless for not disciplining their Pokemon properly.

"The Red I would have known when he was ten wouldn't have turned such a blind eye to the plight of those Geodude!" Cinder said. "He would have fought to the point his bones were broken to free them! If you are so adamant about proving to Blue and the rest that you're a powerful trainer that you give no thought for any Pokemon or person that won't help you become a champion I don't even know why I'm fighting for you! I don't fight for you because I'm forced to, I do it because you're my friend and I'd die for you! Because anyone who wouldn't die for their comrades isn't a real friend! They're a manipulator and nothing less!"

The onlookers to Red's side were mostly gone, only occasional glances being given. However, the trainer was no longer concerned with that. He was only concerned with the prospect that Cinder would no longer obey him.

And it had nothing to do with his battle strength. Any other Pokemon, Red wouldn't have cared about what they said as he had learned to disregard them as tools. He had forsaken the philosophy of empathizing with Pokemon because almost no one in the world viewed Pokemon that way. Barely anyone he knew regarded Pokemon by their names, whether they be the ones given to them in the wild or by humans. Everything the Charmeleon was saying was true.

Except that he had never lost respect for Cinder. No, it was more than that. Red considered Cinder his one and only friend. The idea that the Fire-type would abandon him frightened him in a way he couldn't express. As far back as when he was ten, it had just been the two of them. Always together, through good and bad. If Red had never had Cinder he most likely would have committed suicide between the ages of twelve and thirteen. His life was just that dark and bitter without the Charmander's light to warm in the cold emptiness of being forsaken.

And it still was that way. Red could still never see anyone being his friend to this day he'd only known the Fire-type as a companion for so long. Yeah, he would love for Blue to lick his boots. He'd love to have Green as arm candy to show off and marry him. He'd love for his mother to never do anything but compliment him and tell Red how proud she was of him. He'd love for Oak to say that Red was his best student and for Lance to declare that his son had surpassed him in strength.

But as for them being Red's friends, someone that touched his heart, someone that he couldn't live without, a person he'd honestly live and die for. That person was only Cinder. Everyone else was just a trophy for him to lug around to convince the trainer that he wasn't the scum of the earth. If Cinder left him or took his love from him...Red would lose all the will to live. He didn't know if he could go on without the Pokemon.

No. The trainer thought. I cannot lose him. If I lose him...I'll lose myself. No, forget that. If I lose him I won't want to live.

"Cinder…" Red said, very close to crying. "I'm sorry...I'll do anything...just please don't leave me."

The Charmeleon looked at him with intense distress and an unconvinced expression.

"Just tell me what you want me to do!" Red said.

Cinder turned to the side. He pointed to the fenced off area where the Bulbasaur resided. The trainer quivered in fear as he was painfully aware of what the Fire-type was suggesting.

"No," he said. "There's no way we can get away with that. If we tried to free them, they'd all be hunted down and we'd be imprisoned at the very least."

"Then save just one of them," Cinder said.

"What will one less Bulbasaur do?!" Red demanded. "If I save just one it won't mean anything for the rest of them."

"Exactly," the Charmeleon said. "Some people go out of their way just to save one person. Doctors spend hours on just one patient and family members thousands on just a single loved one. It may not save everybody but it will mean a lot for that one person."

He then turned back to Red.

"Are you not able to show compassion on just one victim?" Cinder asked.

The trainer shook in fright, unable to think rationally at this point.

I would never want to do this. He thought. Never even dream of it. But if I don't do something fast...Cinder will never forgive me.

He took a Pokeball from his backpack. He walked toward the fence to look at the Bulbasaur roaming the grassy lawn. Knowing they were fairly young and complacent meant he had a good chance of catching one. As Red approached the edge of the fence, one of the Seed Pokemon wondered up to him. The completely green Pokemon had a very big smile on his face, his eyes full of curiosity and friendliness. Red looked over his shoulder to find that no one was watching him, the streets devoid of the people who were observing his argument with Cinder.

The trainer quickly dropped the capsule-like device onto the Bulbasaur, the ball bouncing off his large, green flower bulb before swallowing him in a flash of light. Just as Red expected, there was practically no resistance as the Pokeball rolled a few times before clicking. The trainer reached down and took the Pokeball of the recently caught Pokemon through the space in between the fence posting. After doing so he motioned to Cinder to quickly follow him.

"Come on," he said. "We need to hurry."

The Charmeleon nodded as they briskly walked all the way to the other end of the city. Red and Cinder moved all the way to the other side of town, their departure from the west to the east side of Cerulean City taking at least an hour. They walked in silence, the Charmeleon's expression showing he was made more compliant while Red kept looking over his shoulder in fear of being caught. By the time they did, it was late afternoon and Red was tired of walking.

While the bridge that connected the eastern side to Route 9 was down, they both hurriedly crossed it. Upon arriving to the other side the trainer collapsed onto the bare dirt path. He looked up at Cinder.

"Happy?" Red asked.

"Better," the Charmeleon said. "Now, let's greet our new friend."

The trainer pressed the button of the Pokeball he'd kept in his hand. The Grass-type appeared in a flash light, smiling at him. He walked up to Red, almost like he was expecting to be petted.

"Hi there!" he said.

He looked down at himself.

"Wow," the Bulbasaur said. "I can speak human. Neato!"

"Yeah," Red said. "So...want to come join us?"

"Join what?" he asked. "You guys in the circus or something?"

"No…" he said. "More like...traveling the world."

"Oh!" the Bulbasaur said. "Like an adventure! I've always wanted to go on an adventure! The field's so small and I've always wanted to travel the world! It must be an interesting place!"

Red smiled at the little guy, the Pokemon reminding him of a kid.

Boy. He thought. He's so energetic. Just watching him makes me feel joyful.

He then walked up to the Charmeleon. Cinder kneeled down and smiled. The Grass-type rocked back and forth happily.

"Hello little one," the Flame Pokemon said.

"Cool!" Bulbasaur said. "I've never met a Fire-type before! My kind are scared of you but I always thought it'd be cool to be born a Fire-type! Do you breathe fire?!"

The Charmeleon nodded. The Bulbasaur then turned to Red. He rocked back and forth in a spirited sort of way.

"What's your name?" the Seed Pokemon asked.

"Red," he answered. "And this Charmeleon here is my very first Pokemon, Cinder."

"Nice to meet you!" the Grass-type said. "I'm Selven. It means 'beautiful petal' in Bulbasaur!"

"So," Red said. "You want to travel with us? You want to get strong and become a big strong Venusaur someday?"

The Bulbasaur began jumping in glee.

"Boy would I ever!" Selven answered. "I can't wait to show my parents once I see them again!"

Cinder and Red froze, their expressions darkening.

"Say," he said. "When do you think I'll ever see my family again? I hope I evolve before they do! That would make them so proud!"

Red glanced to the side, nervous as he realized just how naive the Grass-type was.

"Well," he said. "Selven...have you noticed that some of your herd, once they get old enough sort of...go away?"

"Of course," the Bulbasaur said. "From what the humans tell us, it's a rite of passage that we have to go through once we get strong. It's called the 'great passing' in Bulbasaur culture. I still haven't seen my parents after they passed. Do you think they're Ivysaur by now?"

Red looked to Cinder, his face in distress. The Fire-type's expression was the same, shrugging as they were both clearly unable to determine what to say. The trainer then looked down at Selven.

"Um…" he said. "Yeah...they probably are Ivysaur by now."

"Alright!" Selven said. "So I better try to work as hard as possible as fast as possible if I'm to make them proud! I can't wait for my entire herd to see me when I become a Venusaur!"

Red sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "Let's go make you a Venusaur."