Chapter 23

"I don't believe you," Cinder said.

"But he did!" Selven said. "He decided to fight to defend and save them all! How could you explain all this?!"

The Ivysaur turned around to gesture with his leaves to the activity around them. In the damaged building with corpses the nervous, anxiety-filled humans raced about in a frenzy. They either were lining up to communicate with someone on the other end of the PC inside or crying over the dead bodies. Two of them were kicking the two dressed in Rocket uniforms while they were bound with Selven's vines.

Practically none of them were sitting still as they were all very restless. The only ones not mired in sorrow or confusion was Red and his Pokemon. Their trainer was sound asleep in a corner while the four of them were gathered around one another in the mostly dark room. There wasn't much in the way of light save for Cinder's tail flame that allowed him, Leta, Selven and Hurzer to see each other very clearly. The light from the PC's screen was another source of light but it did little in the way of illuminate the building where the lights had been killed for some reason.

Cinder was aggravated with Red enough as it is that having to fight and be injured by the many Pokemon between Cerulean and here was downright mortifying. The many packs of Persians they'd had to fight left claw marks on both him and Hurzer. He had lost so much faith in his trainer for his cruelty and apathy he'd thought about mutinying and asking if anyone wanted to leave with him. Even being healed by the spray medicine found in the daycare's closet wasn't enough for the Charizard's hatred to be quenched. All Cinder could think of was Red sending out Kurer to die in battle.

I witnessed it with my own eyes. He seethed every moment of every day. I saw him let the Electabuzz die.

The Charizard remembered Kurer telling him that she wanted to kill Misty for retribution against her destroyed species. At the time, Cinder could only think that was grossly immoral but with the memories that humans killed Geodude, Bulbasaur and exploited many others was just infuriating. Was it wrong to want to rid the world of an evil, callous person who's lack of regard for human life killed innocents? Cinder didn't think so, regarding people like Misty as no different than Team Rocket.

And Kurer wanted to kill Misty but…I think she had the right to do so. He thought. I mean…how could I condone the slaying of Team Rocket grunts and not someone who destroys the habitat of Pokemon?

And Red was no different. He willingly kidnapped Pokemon to throw them into an arena and watched them die. Just for the sake of building his own ego. Even when Red had Cinder. In fact, Cinder hated Red even more than the Rockets. Or Misty. Or Brock. Or anyone else he'd ever known.

At least they do it to service their economy and make profit. He thought. As bad as it is, they killed for the same reason a Pokemon in the wild does to eat, protect territory or eliminate enemies. Humans are the apex predators of this world after all. Red does it just for the sake of boosting his inferiority complex. There's no survival reason he sent Klecer, Kurer or anyone else to die. And…and…

The second realization hurt more than anything.

He had me. Cinder thought. He had me. He thought more highly of Blue, Green and the entire world more than me. I would have been his friend whether he won a hundred battles or none. Does he think so little of my friendship that he'd trade it for the vain respect of being a glorified warmonger? Because that's what training is. Enslaving kidnap victims to fight for you.

The Charizard glared at the Ivysaur. Selven looked terrified at the sight of the Fire-type's wrath. Cinder's body began to tense up as if he was needing to fight.

"I still don't believe you," he said. "Why would Red all of a sudden be a nice guy and try to defend hapless citizens when he doesn't even care for his Pokemon? Doesn't even care for us? For me?"

"I-I-" Selven stuttered in fear. "I just-"

"Are you claiming his friendship with me was worth less than these complete strangers?" Cinder asked. "I thought I remembered that Rocket telling him that their deal was that Red was supposed to let him go. And Red ignoring those Geodude in peril…are you lying? Then convince me I'm not crazy!"

"N-no-" Selven said. "Well…um-as you can see-!"

"Cinder!" Leta said.

The Ivysaur and the Charizard turned to see Leta lifted into the air by her graceful wings.

"Don't you see that this is a good thing!" the Butterfree cried. "He's regained his morality! We've gotten through to him and now he's become a better person! We should be glad!"

Her happy voice was hard to ignore as it naturally lifted up Cinder even during his darkest days.

"The fact that Red risked his life to help these people is a sure sign he's on the right path!" Leta said. "His course has changed now and we shouldn't be skeptical about his motivations! We should congratulate him now that he's done a good deed so that Red will keep doing good deeds! If this keeps up then he'll be better in no time!"

Cinder glared at the Butterfree, unable to be comforted by her words.

"But he was already better before he decided to become a trainer," the Charizard said. "He was a sweet, kind boy who allowed himself to become a monster. All you're doing is wanting him to revert back to what he already was before taking on this destructive path, paved with the dead of those he forced to follow him. Red deserves to lie in the grave he buried himself in."

"Why say that?" Leta asked. "If he was a good person in the past it only means that there's an even greater chance of him becoming good again!"

The Charizard snorted in laughter, a bit of flame escaping his nostrils.

"Oh please," he retorted. "When a piece of white paper is stained with black ink, there's no use in washing the ink off. It never will come off and any attempts to make it do so will only destroy the paper. It's as good as useless. Red is is stained with the blood of those he let die."

"That's not true!" Leta said. "Good people who've lost their way can always find their way back!"

Then why wasn't I able to keep him on that path? He thought. What was so much more important than me that changed his morality? Does me standing by Red when he had no one and nothing chalk up to zero? How could his first and only friend be worth less than whatever else he found on this suicide mission?

As Cinder sighed, feeling it was pointless to argue, it was Hurzer's time to chime in. The Nidoking began laughing. While Leta had been sitting up and listening before flying up, Selven was on all fours unable to contain his excitement, and Cinder curled up to give them warmth and light, Hurzer was lying down apathetically.

"You guys amuse me," he said. "At first I thought it was just humans that had pointless debates about morality but now I see Pokemon doing the same. It's funny you think that any of this actually matters."

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Leta sighed in sadness, retreating from midair back to the ground. Selven turned to give a confused stare while Cinder merely glared. The attention the Nidoking was receiving only seemed to amuse him more, his laugh continuing.

"I can tell that you guys have been sheltered by humans your whole life," Hurzer said. "Because in the wild none of that morality stuff matters when your life's on the line. You only care about survival. So what does it matter if Red does act naughty? I don't."

"Of course a selfish oaf like you would think that," Cinder said. "I never really liked you, Hurzer. You were never much of…of…well, anything. You seem to care about nothing. I don't even know if you care about your own life that much."

"I just didn't think I'd survive that long," Hurzer said. "Most of my kind didn't make it past being a Nidoran. But to become the legendary Nidoking…that is truly amazing. The way I see it…I'm fine this way because…now that I've achieved my kind's strongest form I have little reason to believe I'll die any time soon."

"But there are some things more important than survival," Selven said. "For example…while I liked living on the Bulbasaur ranch…I always wanted to travel and see the world. I mean…what's the point of living without seeing all that life has to offer? Freedom…freedom to make your own way in this world and determine your own destiny…that's even more important even if you die doing so."

"And the friends you make along the way," Cinder said. "I thought I'd never have anyone close to me before Red and Oak came along…that I'd just be another Charmander used for kindling like so many others. What is survival without a dream or goal?"

The Nidoking chuckled again.

"You domesticated Pokemon really are something else, aren't you?" Hurzer said. "Living in the wild…you have no idea what it's like. We don't have time to think about pretentious things like life's purpose or friends. We are too busy trying to outrun whatever's trying to eat us. You get so caught up in all that high thought garbage you forget that just living every day is something to be thankful for. You obviously don't know what it's like to not know if today is going to be your last day."

"Well I for one was raised in the wild and I believe there's more to life than survival," Leta said. "And my desire is to see those around me happy and good people. I want them to be the best people they can be and I was born in the wild. So I don't see your point."

He then shook his head.

"You were a Caterpie when caught," Hurzer said. "You weren't alive very long and probably wouldn't survive unless Red caught you. For you worms…it's either evolve quickly or be eaten immediately. You may as well be domesticated like these two."

He then shrugged.

"I don't think Red's doing a bad job," the Nidoking admitted. "I didn't like him much when we started out…but then I realized that having a trainer's pretty cushy if you're strong enough to beat down whatever they force you to fight. And I'm plenty strong for that. You morons worry about friendship, freedom and morals while I worry about seeing the light of day and have been since I was born. I just don't understand what higher purpose any of you eggheads want."

"So then what do you want to live for?" Cinder asked. "To be dragged around everywhere Red goes with him as your master? No purpose beyond such?"

"Survival is my master," Nidoking said. "Eating and breathing is my purpose. Only cushioned, pampered brats like you three think there's something beyond that. Once your life has been on the line one too many times out in the cold, dark wilderness you see what all these higher ideals you talk about are…all fluff. Friendship and freedom are fluff and nothing more."

"So why live?" Selven asked. "Why even bother to continue on if you just want to gorge and take up space?"

"Because I'm a Pokemon," the Nidoking replied. "A beast born in the wilderness. There are thousands if not millions of us in the woods and mountains that do nothing but struggle to carve out a place for themselves. I am–and by extension every other Pokemon–are too small and insignificant to contemplate anything else. We're just grains in the sand, another star in the sky, another rock in the hills or tree in the forest. For us to contemplate a higher purpose is the job of humans–not us."

He then groaned in pleasure.

"Know your place, you insects," Hurzer finished.

Leta sighed in sorrow while Cinder glared on but Selven looked more confused than anything.

"What about my people?" he asked. "The Bulbasaur that were raised to be harvested to eat? Are we not supposed to strive further or think more of ourselves than meat because humans assigned us that role?"

Hurzer shrugged again.

"I don't know," he said. "Probably not. In the wild, the world is ruled by prey and predators. Sometimes those roles overlap but if your species was so weak that they could be used as prey then that's their lot in life. Us Nidoran are strict herbivores until evolution in which we can eat both meat and plants. So our role is different from a Pokemon that is relegated to prey."

The Ivysaur's face was struck with sheer shock at his words. Cinder turned to see the Grass-type's expression was a mask of pain and sorrow. At first the Charizard was afraid Selven would begin crying but it looked like he was beyond that. The callousness of what the Nidoking had said was overwhelming to him.

"We…we were relegated to that destiny?" the Ivysaur asked. "To be nothing but meat? Is that what you're saying?"

"Of course," Hurzer explained. "It was your destiny to be eaten by a bigger, stronger species like humans just as I would catch a Rattata to devour."

Selven then began looking at the floor with a pained expression.

"That…" Selven said. "That…that makes sense."

"Selven," Leta said. "He-he didn't mean it."

"No…" he said. "No it–it makes sense that…that is our lot in life. To be as disposable for food for humans as Rattata are for predators. I–I just-"

"No!" Cinder said. "You're not! You're not a disposable anything! For food or as a tool or anything! You said you want to travel the world, right?! Then do that!"

He glanced toward her, taking deep breaths as if to keep himself from panicking.

"Yes," the Ivysaur said. "Maybe you're right. Unlike the rest of the Bulbasaur…I always wondered what was outside the fence we were never allowed to leave. That's how Red caught me. Maybe their destiny was to be eaten and mine was to…to be a trainer's Pokemon and see the world-"

"No!" Cinder said. "That's still wrong!"

"So-?" Selven asked. "Was I meant to die like the rest of them?"

The Charizard then turned to the apathetic Nidoking, Hurzer looking nonchalant.

"What?" he asked. "You don't want me to explain reality to those too pampered to know what the world is like?"

"No one deserves to be told that their species is worth only to be eaten," Cinder said. "You're claiming he was worthless because of how he was born."

"No," Hurzer said. "I'm claiming his worth is determined by how he was born."

"What do you mean?" the Charizard asked.

"All of us need to eat, right?" the Nidoking asked. "And those of us that must eat meat must feast on something that once lived. His species' purpose is to be meat to humans. The same with the Caterpie until she evolved into a Butterfree to be a pollinator. Your species purpose was to be prey to humans but in a unique way. From what you've told me…it seems that the heat your kind generates is able to be used to provide energy for all the fancy gadgets humans have. See?"

Cinder glared, his tail flame increasing in heat as his anger burned.

"My purpose was to be Red's friend," he said. "And those he was raised around corrupted his innocence into a monster determined to only seek power above all else. His morality is now shot because of fools like you who believe that purpose and destiny is determined by power alone. You are the same as Blue, the boy who made him this way. And all I wish…is that he would return to the good person Red was in childhood."

"Then he's better as his callous self," Hurzer said with a laugh. "I don't care what happens to Red but I do want the trainer I'm under to be tough minded enough not to let stupid concepts like kindness and friendship get in the way of logic and survival. In fact…"

He then looked around at all the human activity in his surroundings.

"I'd say I wished that he didn't do this," the Nidoking said. "From what it seems like, Red took a risk in helping the people here when he could have ran. Making more decisions like this could not only get him killed but put us in trouble. So…looks like you got your wish."

Cinder thought of spitting fire at him, his words were so vile before he contemplated the Nidoking's words. Hurzer actually did make some sense. If Red was willing to put his life on the life to help these people when it would have been easier to just duck out and leave…could it be a sign of change? The Charizard turned to the sleeping Red.

But he also made a deal with that Rocket grunt to get money out of him, thinking he was acting in our best interest. Cinder thought. His morality is so twisted that he can't even think in terms of helping us except through such shallow means as providing money. So I don't trust him.

He watched as his chest rose up and down as he breathed in his sleep. It reminded Cinder of how he'd sleep outside with Red some nights as a child and he would often be the last of the two to fall asleep. He was always worried a predator would pounce on Red even so close to home.

But he did want to join this special military division for our sake. Cinder said. I don't know much about it but it seems like a safer way to make a living than training for gyms. And Red apparently made this decision for the sole sake of having a less deadly occupation than gym battling. Could he be turning back into the boy I once knew?