Chapter 32
"And it looks like that's the last of your wounds," Red said.
The Oddish looked up at him with a joyful smile. After jumping up in happiness it ran down the route to eventually disappear into the grass. After spraying the medicine on the Grass-type Pokemon, Red looked around him.
Many of the Pokemon they had freed were still in sight. Growlithe barked jubilantly, pacing the edges of the meadow they stood near with renewed optimism. Flying-types they had freed and restored to health like Pidgeotto and Spearow soared overhead. Red could still make out Sandshrew that had been recently released scurrying across the route. The Pokemon held both in Pokeballs and PokeCubes had been freed on this new route.
"You think they'll be okay?" Leta asked as she flapped her wings. Her wing had grown back after enough spray medicine and now she hovered above Red. "I mean…this is a new environment for them."
"I'm pretty sure of it," Selven said, his body long since been replenished after the battle with Blue's Blastoise. "These Pokemon are wild for the most part and know how to survive from living in it for so long. With the medicine we gave them they should be fine."
"Not to mention they agreed to gather in groups and look out for each other," Cinder said. "So while they're adjusting to their new environment, they'll be keeping one another safe."
Red couldn't help but smile. He looked out at the shore just past them. For some reason, the world seemed more open and bright than it had been to him in a long time.
The remains of the SS Anne were quickly sinking over the horizon, Red's team quickly dismantling it once they reached the nearest body of land. They had made sure to unload the useful supplies and any Pokemon captured. After using the spray medicine to thoroughly heal any Pokemon they found, Red salvaged any leftover medicine for himself. Anything else valuable they couldn't use he took with him in his bag.
They sailed the ocean for a few days using the SS Anne, relying upon maps found in the ship to steer them to a safe location. The location he felt was safest was Route 12, a seaside route nearest to Lavender Town. Red decided on it for many reasons.
The first was that it was isolated, one of the least traveled places in all of Kanto. This meant it would be unlikely anyone would find them out or catch them if they docked near it. The second was that due to being a spot with so much grassland, forest and seawater near it meant it would act as a perfect habitat for the majority of the Pokemon they'd freed and given medical attention. And third was that it was relatively close as Vermillion City, where the SS Anne had originally sailed from, was not far from Route 12.
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The Water-type Pokemon they freed all looked happy to be plunging into the edge of the water, groups of Squirtle, Psyduck and Slowpoke wading at the shore before jumping in. They all disappeared into the water, ready to continue their life without hindrance. Red secretly wondered how happy his Pokemon would be had they never met him.
It was so selfish of me to kidnap them from their home. He thought. I've lost more Pokemon than I currently have. I'll never forget that.
"Should we get going?" Selven asked. "I mean…you said Lavender Town was where we should lay low for a while and hide out."
"Right!" Leta said. "If we intend to live somewhere in peace, then it should be somewhere remote! And you said Lavender Town was just that!"
Cinder looked down at Red, the Charizard smiling.
"Are you ready to try making it like the old days?" Red asked. "Peaceful and without strife? No ambition, no expectation…just easy living?"
"I think we're more than capable," the Charizard said.
"I can't believe it was this easy," Red admitted. "To just…let go. Now that I've finally let go of that grudge I've had against Blue for all these years…I honestly understood how much time I've wasted on it. All that time wasted…which I could have used for helping those I cared for."
"I know," Cinder said. "But…now that you've shed yourself of all the toxicity that Blue imbued within you…you can finally live the life you've always wanted. However you choose to walk your path is a valid decision…now that you've learned all you have."
"I want to settle down in a nice, small town like Pallet Town was," he said. "And…recharge. I don't know what I'll do afterward but…I think that's the point. To decide what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I've been so focused on surpassing Blue that I never really thought about what I truly wanted out of life if that were no longer an issue."
"Yeah, well," Selven said. "I sort of have the same feeling. I've been wondering what I want to do if I didn't feel obligated to fight for Pokemon that reminded me of the Bulbasaur I was corralled with but…if I don't have to worry about that I'd like to travel the world. I'd like to see everything there is to offer in this giant place…and I think Lavender Town seems like a good place to start. Doesn't traveling the world feel like a good way to brush off your worries?"
Red nodded, glad of that answer.
"Yeah," he said. "I-I just…"
His voice trailed off as he thought of Hurzer.
"I just wish we had all survived to this moment," he said.
He looked around at his Pokemon, wondering if what he said had been too dark. They all looked sort of concerned at his words, afraid to say anything further. However, after a moment, they smiled back at him.
"We'll just make sure to never let something like that happen again," Selven said.
"Hm," Red nodded in agreement.
No one seemed reluctant to leave for the city, so Red gestured for them to follow. The four of them began marching toward Lavender Town, the route assuredly headed straight for the isolated Kanto city. As Red wondered about the likelihood of getting caught by the Kanto military in such a place, Cinder spoke words that rejuvenated him.
"This feels like old times," Cinder said. "Like old times indeed."