Chapter 22

"Thanks," the old man said. "You saved us."

"What a noble Ivysaur you are!" the elderly woman said. "Your trainer must be so proud of you!"

Selven felt odd after defeating the Rocket trainers. He had never personally known any humans besides the ones who cared for him on the farm or his trainer. He once trusted people, but after learning that humans harvested Selven's species, he couldn't feel he was aiding the enemy. He wondered how many in this room had eaten the ripened flowers of Bulbasaur. He trembled at the sight of them.

Part of me is glad we freed them… He thought. But then again…I…I…how could I free the kind of people who would kill and eat my parents? Am…am I just as bad for doing that?

After binding the Rockets with his Vine Whip and freeing the daycare workers, the workers applied medicine to the rest of Red's team. The daycare workers stocked the place with medicine, so Hurzer, Cinder, and Leta recovered from their injuries. While Red's other three Pokemon mostly kept to themselves while Red recalled the Rockets' Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

However, Selven couldn't stand by while they all recovered from their wounds. He had to know what these people thought about his species. Were they all so cruel? Were they all so willing to rip and tear apart weak Bulbasaur limb from limb to eat? And what did they think of him? Did they think of Selven as an exceptional circumstance?

I need to know what they think of it. Selven thought. I need to know how they can justify raising some for meat and some for not. What makes us so different? But…but to get that, I shouldn't tell them I know what happens to the Bulbasaur.

"We don't know what you would have done if it hadn't been for you!" the elderly woman said. "If you need anything again, we'll be glad to do so!"

"Yes," Selven said, trying to put up a false smile. "I'm glad! I enjoy people who care for and treat Pokemon with respect…like you guys do!"

"Well, we love Pokemon," the male elder said. "It's our lot in life to make sure they grow up happy and healthy!"

"Of course…" the Ivysaur said, shifting his eyes to the side. "Like the Bulbasaur, I grew up on my farm with…they were cared for and aided. Do…do you do anything like that after they mature and leave the farm?"

"Oh no," the elderly daycare manager said. "We don't raise other trainers Pokemon like your kind to be eaten."

Selven quivered in shock at the casual tone of the older man. He said it as quickly as he would have pointed out the sky was blue. There was no guilt that the Ivysaur could discern from voice or mannerisms. Selven had to turn away to keep himself from facing the daycare couple. He had to wince back to hold tears, anger boiling inside him as he suppressed the urge to tear them to pieces with his Vine Whip.

So they knew and treated me differently because I saved them all along? He thought. Where's the fairness in that? And they just assumed that I knew so? Why should my kind be used to eat while other Pokemon aren't? Why must we suffer?

"Yes," Selven said, dangerously close to breaking down. "And I've always wondered why humans harvested my kind. Any ideas?"

"Bulbasaur bulbs have great nutrients within," the elderly woman said. "Once cooked and eaten, it releases those nutrients that are both delicious and very healthy. Not to mention that Bulbasaur grow relatively quickly, so other Grass-types that also have nutrients stored in their bodies aren't as easy to cultivate. But they have higher amounts of digestible nutrients than even other Grass-types, so they're the best candidate for widespread farm raising."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Why do you ask?" her husband asked. "Did your trainer specially request a Bulbasaur to train?"

"Yeah," the Ivysaur said once he saved face. "Well, where does your passion for raising Pokemon come from? Is it because you think you'll treat them better than their trainers?"

"Well, you have to understand we took up Pokemon raising very early," the elderly woman said. "As soon as we married, we knew we each had a strong desire to raise Pokemon. We first started by taking in Pokemon that formerly belonged to trainers."

"Yes," her husband said. "Many Pokemon are discarded or left for dead by their trainers if they prove ineffective at the battle. Rather than let them die or stay abandoned, we raised them as our own. Afterward, they would be rehabilitated and released into the wild or live with us."

"After that, we were renowned as great Pokemon caretakers," the elderly woman said. "However, we were having trouble funding our care of Pokemon, so others offered to help. We hired workers, and we soon became an actual business that saves Pokemon's lives and prepares them for battle. That way, trainers don't feel they need to abandon Pokemon that are too weak. This is not only an improvement for Pokemon but human society as a whole."

"We not only take care of Pokemon ourselves," the male daycare worker said. "But we also train workers to do the same. Now we aid the Kanto government in preparing Pokemon for trainers while they're unavailable to do good work. We couldn't be happier doing what we love for a living. The Pokemon we raise and the trainers who pay us are often beyond grateful for our service."

Their positive reflection of their job confused the Ivysaur beyond words. Selven didn't say anything because he didn't want to anger them and was at a loss for words. Their blindness to their own hypocrisy was astounding.

You train and raise Pokemon while also condoning the slaughter of Pokemon for food. Selven thought. You obviously love Pokemon but…you don't mind innocents dying. Their complacency…is the reason I'll never see my parents again.

He had to hold back tears of anger as he didn't want to show any emotion.

And what's worse is that you knowingly aid the industry of people who are so cruel they'd easily discard Pokemon for being unfitting for their inhumane standards. The Ivysaur thought. You don't change the trainers' hearts of the trainers…make their tools, their slaves, more efficient so that Pokemon are not tossed into the garbage like a used napkin. I…I have to ask them about this…even if I threaten to offend them.

"Well…" Selven said. "If you said that you prevent Pokemon from being discarded because…because you strengthen them when their trainers can't and…and potentially give them back to those trainers…do you think they'll just discard them in the future again?"

"Probably not," the elderly man said. "According to statistics and polls conducted amongst trainers, the more people like our workers who train them on the side or us, the less Pokemon are disposed of. Sometimes trainers catch too many Pokemon to train at once, some species are harder to handle than others, or some individuals of said species have tougher challenges."

"We act as a middleman who prepares those potentially discarded Pokemon so that their trainers won't throw them away," his wife said. "So we are positively changing the world around us."

"But you're not changing the heart of the person," Selven said. "That potentially cruel trainer who only cares for the strength of said Pokemon doesn't become a better person…their broken tool or weak slave becomes better at their job. Does…does it bother you that the only reason you do what you do is because…because you allow them to continue in their evil rather than change the heart of that person?"

"Well, we can't change every person," the elderly man said. "Only the circumstances we are in control of. And I can tell you from personal experience that changing a person's heart is far more difficult than increasing someone's power."

"We can only do what we can," the elderly woman said. "So if our clients don't like their Pokemon, we certainly do and enjoy spending time with them."

"Oh," Selven said. "I see."

His anger began to rise again. The idea that these two were facilitating the exploitation of Pokemon for people they knew were evil enough to leave them for dead was horrific to him. The Ivysaur couldn't determine what kind of people they were, which scared him the most.

They honestly seem to love and care for Pokemon. Selven said. There are certainly people out there that have that disposition to caring for others, and these people are it but…their charitable aid only facilitates evil people to carry out more evil.

"Thank you," Selven replied. "I'm glad I could understand your perspective. You surely are doing the best you can."

He then smiled and walked away, the daycare couple nodding in response. The Ivysaur found a corner of the building unoccupied by the living or dead and knelt on all fours. Selven began sobbing out of anger and sorrow, hating that Red had caught him.

They do treat us like disposable objects. He realized. To be eaten or enslaved…I wonder…does Red see me that way?