Viridian Forest

It was a bit of a chore to carry Crum back to our makeshift camp, but that's what I got for leaving his ball. I was just happy we made it out of that fight alive. An enraged Primeape could have been a death sentence. Shimmer seemed to have already forgotten she had been hit earlier and was bouncing around. Blink was being conspicuously wary of all surroundings like he was expecting something to attack at any moment.

"You okay there Blink," I asked. My only response was a growl like he heard a noise but couldn't be bothered to pay it any attention. I frowned at that. I didn't like where this was heading.

As we got back to the camp and I started to clean up I turned to Shimmer.

"Shimmer, is there any friends you want to say goodbye to before we leave. It might be a while before we are back in the area."

Shimmer gave a pleased snort and licked my scalp before galloping off into the trees. I wiped the horse spit from my face and stared after her. She was going to be a handful. I turned to face my current problem Pokémon whose head was on a swivel.

"Blink." The Shinx turned to me and stared up at me. His aggression seemed to vanish too. That was strange considering how he was acting earlier.

"Now I get you've been wild and free all your life, but I can't have you so openly aggressive. It will freak everyone out if you snarl at every passerby."

He mewled in out in misunderstanding. He wasn't getting what I was saying. Supposedly you develop a sixth sense as Trainer to connect on an empathetic level with your Pokémon. Every Pokémon and Trainer reached this point at different points. I was there already with Crum because we had known each other for so long. Looks like it was too much to hope I had gotten to that point with Blink in so short of a time.

"I'm going to return you for a bit bud." He meowed in disagreement at that. "It's just until we get out of Viridian. If I really need you, I will let you out." He relented at that and resigned himself to being returned to his Pokeball. I figured I just needed more time to connect with him to curb his instinctual tendencies to fight.

I sat for a few minutes alone with all my Pokémon returned waiting for Shimmer to return. I began to fiddle with my Pokedex when I felt my hair go wet.

"Blegh! Shimmer, goddamit," I yelled at the Ponyta. She neighed at me with a blissful smile. I doubted she thought she did anything wrong. I sighed as I looked past her into the tree line. A multitude of Pidgey, Rattata, and Nidorans seemed to be saying goodbye to her. I smiled at the scene. Shimmer must have been really special to the younger Pokémon of the area.

"You ready?'

Shimmer whinnied at me and we headed off to Viridian City to continue on my journey.

xxx

Viridian was a lot livelier now that the morning lull was over and everyone was going about their day. It was about 3 pm so everyone was getting ready to finish there day. Not that everyone wasn't glued to a screen watching the current League semi-final match. I didn't much focus on the fanfare on the field as the cameras panned over the Leaders Box. It was where all of Kantos leaders sat during the tournament. All either Masters or previous tournament Champions in their own right these were people who had proven their capability to not just police an areas Pokémon activity, but also dictate whether someone was skilled enough to rise the ranks of being a Trainer.

Badges were not the end all be all for life, but if someone wanted a career dealing with Pokémon it would always come back to how many Badges a person earned in a season. The Trainer season started right after the Pokémon League Tournament and ended about a month before the tournament began on the summer solstice. Now you weren't expected to attain Badges every year for your job. Say if you were a Pokémon Nurse you simply needed to have attained six Badges prior to your job. Badges had no time limit.

The camera continued to pass over the Leaders before settling on the last one on the right, Giovanni. I didn't know what was louder, the stadium or Viridian itself as they cheered for the man. Giovanni was regarded as the strongest, most charismatic, and most charitable Leader in Kanto if not the world. Prior to Lance attaining the League Champion position, Giovanni had battled the previous Champion and won. Instead of taking the title he simply became a humble Gym Leader and started several charities for the less fortunate. He was loved and admired. He was also secretly the head of Team Rocket, but only I knew that.

That was a struggle for me when I first saw how much he idolized by the region years ago. I realized that no one was going to listen to a child with no evidence saying that "Kantos Greatest Trainer" was a criminal mastermind. I just told myself that I would deal with him in time. He was beaten by a ten-year-old in the games, so now he would be beaten by one in this world too. At least the body of a ten-year-old would beat him.

"And now the moment you have all been waiting for! Ladies and gentlemen, your Indigo League finalists," yelled a voice from the screens that were scattered across the street. I gazed up to see who was battling. The thought of it being a little close to the previous fight went through my head, but I concluded that Janine and Wills's fight was simply for third place.

"On the red side, we have from Ecruteak City, the domineering Dark-type Trainer, Karen Salem." The crowds both in the stadium and city cheered. While Kanto and Johto were separate regions, the fact that they both were in the Indigo League led to a certain level of camaraderie. Kanto was still better in my opinion despite the Champion being a Johtoian.

"Then on the blue side, the Move Master of Alola, Olivio Kukui," the voice of the announcer reverberated through the stadium. The applause was not quite as loud for Kukui as Karen. Alola was no well known to have strong battlers and he was a relative unknown compared to Karen's career. His appearance in the Final was a testament to his skill though.

I continued walking to the Pokémon Center to heal my team. there were too many screens scattered around for me to miss the match so there were no worries there. By the time I entered through the sliding doors, I saw Kukui's Snorlax land a Dynamic Punch on Karen's Umbreon. Kukui had supposedly done well in his previous matches due to the rarity of Alolan Pokémon. He was also the better battler by far compared to his opponents, but everyone looks for an excuse.

"Hello, how may I help you today," questioned the Nurse behind the counter. She was looking past me to continue watching the match which amused me. I understood seeing as this was a match no one wanted to miss no matter if they were working or not.

"Yes. Could you heal my Pokémon? We had a bit of a tussle with a Primeape." She looked startled at this.

"Oh my. Do we need to call the Rangers?" Her worry was genuine in one of the jobs the Pokémon Rangers did was to keep stronger Pokémon out of areas deemed to be low-level areas. Low-level meaning severity of threat not power like in the game. That's not to say you won't see a Nidoking with a pack of Nidoran in an area declared low level. The Rangers only interfered in the habitats in an area if enough reports of aggressive Pokémon occurred.

"No, no. She had just evolved during the fight so I'm sure in a few days she will move up into the mountains."

"Oh good. I'm glad you weren't harmed by it. Primeape can be very temperamental."

"I never would have guessed," I said while smirking back at her. Not to belittle her intelligence, but I probably more knowledge on Primeape behavioral patterns than she did in Pokémon biology. No one expects the child genius.

"Ok Shimmer, I'm going to return you to your Pokeball." the surprisingly well behaved Ponyta just stared back at me blankly. She then licked my face in a very sloppy manner. "Blegh," I cried out and quickly returned her. I was not a fan of that habit.

"Well, you certainly have a loving Pokémon. She seems like a sweetie," giggled the Nurse behind her hand. A few people in the center saw the display of affection and were chuckling at me as well.

"Yeah she's a real charmer," I grumbled with a grimace on my face. I wiped the saliva from my face and hand them to the Nurse. I handed her the balls and went to sit on a couch to watch the match. I must have been more tired than I thought as I quickly passed out.

xxx

I woke up to the Nurse nudging me awake. "Young man, your Pokémon are healed. Would you like to go back to your room? I'm sure it's far more comfortable than this couch." She smiled at me in a way one does to a child they think is adorable for being just a child. I hated that look.

"Yes, and thank you," I got out groggily. I walked back with to the counter to get my team and looked outside to see it had become dark. "Who won the Finals match by the way?"

"You were asleep during it? Oh, I don't get how you could have. It truly was the best match this year. That very handsome man from Alola," she said with a sparkle in her eye. Seems like the "Abs of Alola" had acquired a new fan. I rolled my eyes as I re-clipped the balls to my magnetic belt.

I said goodnight to the Nurse when I looked at her name badge and saw her name was Joy. I sighed thinking on how as many things were different there was still plenty the same. I walked into my roomed and released my team. Crum and Blink stretched and loosened up while Shimmer started exploring the room.

I smiled at them and started to thank them for today. "Today you were great guys. You all did amazing especially you Crum. You really saved our bacon." He preened at this while for some reason Blink did some weird shuffle. "Well, tomorrow we are going to head towards Pewter City. By the time we get there, the new season will start and we will have our first chance to prove ourselves." The boys seemed to perk up at this while Shimmer just continued to snoop across the room.

I started to get ready for bed. I left to go shower and when I returned, I saw my team had gotten settled. Crum was in a cross-legged position back against the wall. His breathing pattern told me he was passed out likely still tired from his battle. Shimmer had somehow gotten into the top bunk of the bed and was snoring peacefully. I was immediately thankful that a Ponyta's mane and tail were not actually fire unless provoked.

Surprisingly, staring up at me was Blink as if he was waiting for me. I quirked an eyebrow as I crawled into bed in which he followed behind me. He quickly snuggled up beside me and was out like a light. I was a bit surprised at this. Earlier he seemed wild and reluctant to follow my commands, but now was cuddling like a housecat. I shrugged mentally as I fell asleep. Despite my nap, I was still tired. Damn child's body.

xxx

I was annoyed. No, maybe I was exasperated. Either way, this old man in front would not let me leave. The old man who thinks I don't know how to throw a Pokeball.

"I'm telling you that you only think you know how to catch a Pokémon. I was catching Pokémon before your daddy was in diapers, little lad," he lectured as he leaned heavily into his cane. I just stared severely back at him. When my daddy was in diapers, he wasn't even a single line of code. Not that he would understand that.

"Please Grandad. You can't simply lecture every young trainer that comes through," spoke his granddaughter. She looked to be in her early twenties and was somehow very familiar. Something about her hair color and oversized glasses reminded me of someone. I couldn't tell the color of her hair as of course the only thing my adult body and child's body share was the fact I was colorblind.

"Now Lara it is my duty to guide and protect all those who come through Viridian. Especially when that upstart Giovanni isn't here to do his job."

"Grandad, you haven't been the Gym Leader in eleven years and you know Giovanni is at Indigo Plateau for the tournament," sighed the woman I now knew was named Lara.

"Pshaw. So, he has an excuse this time. I swear he is never in that Gym. I don't care if he beat me. He is still too brutal and uncommitted to be a Gym Leader. No matter what the League says."

"Excuse me, did she say you were the Gym Leader before Giovanni?" I asked genuinely surprised. There was plenty I didn't know of the Pokémon world but it rarely came up anymore after living here so long.

"Why yes, I was. Basilio Lilvana. First Gym Leader of Viridian City. Normal-type Master. At your service, little lad."

No, I was even more surprised. Masters were rare and to have one right in front was flooring. Despite the stigma against the effectiveness of Normal-types, to become a Master of any type spoke of a prowess far beyond that of 99% of the population. Rarely was a Master a Gym Leader. They usually became an Elite or Champion.

"Grandad, please you're retired remember. Raticate doesn't even leave the house anymore he is so lazy."

"Well age has caught up to him, but I'm still as spry as the day I started on my journey. The world was very different then. There weren't all the corporations and breeding programs making the job of a Trainer so easy," ranted Basilio. Lara had started escorting him back inside as he kept going on about the good old days and how easy the younger generations have it. I smiled at his little speech. Like always the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Lara came walking back after she returned him to his house. "I'm sorry about that. He means well, its why he had his house be at this entrance. So, he could see everyone coming and going."

"It's fine. I was a bit annoyed at first, but since he's a Master he probably does know more than me," I said with a smile not believing a word I said. Sure, he's a Master but I'm a real person. I have a much greater self-awareness.

"I appreciate it. I worry about him. My parents are in the city, but he is still far enough away that if something happened…well I'm moving away so he won't have me there to keep him company." She seemed a bit distressed not that I cared. Not my problem, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Oh, are you moving far?" I asked in that way a curious child does. All cute with big hopeful eyes. Awful!

"I was just hired by the Aether Foundation to help set up there new Alola branch. Actually, I have a question for you. Are you heading to Pewter City?"

"Yes," I drawled out. That set off a flag.

"You see before I head off to Alola I'm supposed to pick up some data from the Pewter Museum. I figured since you're such a new trainer it would be good to have a more experienced trainer to guide you through the Viridian Woods."

I blinked at that. I did not need anyone's help. People were just going to get in my way. "Uh…no…I'm fine. I don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense, Grandad might be a bit overbearing, but its like he taught me, 'It's the duty of the strong to protect the weak'."

"I'm not weak. Trust me on that." I was about to just leave when Basilio called out from his house.

"Lara, could you grab my slippers? Your mother put them in the top of the closet for some reason and I can't reach."

"Oh of course Grandad. I will do that right now." As Lara went in Basilio came back out. He shuffled over to me and stared me down.

"I heard your conversation. Now I know you don't know me little lad, but I need a favor."

I perked up at this. A favor from a Master could be very useful. This could my first step in getting home. "What do you need, sir?"

"Oh, you have manners now, huh? Smarter than you look, I guess. Now look, my granddaughter, is a sweet girl and is great with Pokémon, but she's no battler. She didn't inherit the battling spirit from me. So, I'm worried about her heading off into the woods alone, but she is a bit sensitive about it. I'd consider it a deep personal favor if you went with her."

The wheels in my head turned. I couldn't see how this could hurt me. Get Lara to Pewter and have a Master and ex-Gym Leader in my debt. This was too good to pass up.

"I would gladly go with Lara. Nothing bad will happen. I promise and I never break a promise."

"Fantastic."

Lara came outside right when we finished talking holding Basilio's slippers. Slippers that looked suspiciously like miniature Mareep. I turned to look back at Basilio and while it was hard to tell he looked to be blushing a bit.

"I have a bunion," he grumbled while looking away. I rolled my eyes. As if I cared.

"Grandad don't ask me to get you something and just leave. Are you bothering…I'm sorry I never did ask your name? That was rude of me."

"It's Al Brown."

"Well nice to meet you, Al. Now Grandad quit bothering Al. I'm sure he has somewhere else to be."

"Oh, I wasn't bothering him. Simply just commenting on how to get the right spin on a ball to confuse a Pokémon," he said while winking at me.

Catching on to his implications I started to go along with him. "Yeah, he has just been great," putting just enough inflection in my voice to convince Lara I was annoyed with Basilio. "Actually, Lara I think you're right. It's probably better to go together to Pewter especially since I'm so new and all."

Lara perked up at this. Man, people sure believe most things coming from a child's mouth if they sound innocent enough. "Oh perfect. I will grab my things. Just give me a few seconds," she scurrying back into the house slippers in hand. I turned back to smirk at Basilio.

"Not bad, little lad. You're not a bad little actor are you."

"How you do me a favor and not call me little lad," I deadpanned back to him.

He chuckled at this. "Now you don't want to waste that favor already, do you?"

I just stared back at him knowing I've been outplayed. I just sighed in defeated and waited for Lara.

xxx

Lara was nice. That kind of nice that even assholes like me can't be mean too. Just an absolute dear. But God I wish she would shut up. She had taken it upon herself to try and become my friend. I don't need friends. Then she tried to have small talk. I don't do small talk. Now she decided her role was that of teacher and was listing all the information about Viridian Forest and the species with it. She was actually very knowledgeable. There was just one problem. I knew more than her!

"That's why it is recommended for Trainers to avoid any trees that look like they have died since Kakuna are more likely to be there weighing down on the branches," she said ending her fascinating lecture on the laying habits of the Weddle line. If only I hadn't learned about it five years earlier. Small talk had now become a better alternative to this.

"So, Lara, have you always lived in Viridian, "I asked just wanting her to stop lecturing for a few seconds. We had been walking for about three hours and I was quickly getting worn out by her.

"Oh yes all my life. Well, I went on my journey when I was thirteen. I didn't really accomplish much, "she said bashfully. "Then I went to university and major in wildlife conservation. I was quite lucky to be picked up by the Aether Foundation. I'm very thankful."

I responded with a noncommittal grunt as I examined the forest canopy. The occasional Pidgey or Caterpie would peek out curious about the two humans. As long as we stayed on the League path, we would likely not encounter many Pokémon.

"How about you, Al? Where are you from?" she asked in a truly genuine manner. I internally sighed. Too nice to be mean to.

"I'm from Pallet Town. Been there all of this life," I spoke dryly. I always liked dropping these little hints. No one ever caught on though. Why would they? My situation was outlandish.

"Wow, what is it like to live so close to Professor Oak?"

"Terrible. If his assistants don't tell him to, he forgets to bath for days. He smells terrible." He wasn't really that bad, but it happened enough to be a habit. Good memories though.

"Wait you get close enough to smell him? I heard he never leaves his lab."

"I wouldn't say never, but rarely yes."

"Wait, Al…you're Albert Brown! you're the Smallest Acorn," she yelled out suddenly realizing who I was. Man did I hate that nickname. Once the media figured out a young child was working at the Oak Lab it became a field day. Thankfully Sam kept me protected from the publicity and it eventually died down. In certain circles, though I was still a subject of interest. Much to my joy and chagrin.

"Just Al is good Lara. Just Al," I sighed out. I hope she would drop this.

"Oh sorry. It's just, wow, you're a celebrity." She wasn't going to drop it.

"Barely a celebrity. I don't think I've had an article published about me in two years. Well, except for my own scholastic articles."

"Wait you're published? How do I not know about this?"

"Probably because I use a pseudonym. I publish under the name Albert Einstein." Now that was one of the funnier things I had done. Not that anyone else but me would get the joke.

"you're Einstein! People say you're the second coming of Professor Oak!"

"Oh please. I like to think he's just the first coming of me," I said with a self-satisfied smirk. Now as much as I hated being identified I did love my ego being stroked. Though technically I cheated a bit with my prior knowledge of Pokedex. I considered it a victimless crime. The forest seemed to be buzzing around us.

"Wait did you even need me to come with you," she said with realization showing on her face. Uh oh. That's not good.

"No. No. I legitimately thought it would be safer with you," I stammered out. The forest wasn't buzzing, it was humming.

Lara had stopped walking and was looking down. A look of devastation spread across her face and eyes started to water. "My Grandad asked you to come, didn't he. That's why you changed your mind. Little Lara is a waste of time, but not Master Basilio. No, he can battle. Lara is just a…" she went off as the humming became a symphony.

The symphony soon became louder and sharper. We both cried as the sound started to pierce our eardrums. I started to rack my head over what used sound-based attacks in the forest. I leaned against a tree as I tried to think, but I couldn't concentrate. Suddenly Lara was in front of me and shoved something into my ears. The sound was still hurting, but I could at least think.

Lara gave an ok sign with her hands to which I nodded back to. I pulled out my Pokedex after I figured out what was attacking us. I flipped the screen to her to show we were being attacked by Kricketot. She nodded in understanding and followed me into the brush. Not even five feet from the main road we found them. A whole swarm.

Damn, it must have been there mating season. These Kricketot were simply just calling out for each other. We just had the bad luck of getting to close to the ritual. Alone a Kricketot can annoy a person, but a mating swarm can hit notes that pierce blood vessels. We need to stop them fast.

However, as we got closer the sound got louder and sharper to the point that even whatever Lara shoved into my ears was losing its effectiveness. Soon I was on my knees unable to do anything while Lara was still standing. Later I would realize because I was younger, I was picking up the higher tones from the chorus better than Lara. So why I was incapacitated Lara sent out her Pokémon.

I couldn't hear anything but the Kricketot so I had no idea what she had till she sent it out. The light of release revealed a Ditto. Lara quickly had its transform. She didn't realize the weakness of the Ditto species. While versatile and capable of copying any species, they had one issue. Ditto could only copy one set of DNA at one moment. Two different species would not confuse the Ditto, but as soon it encountered several of a species, its limited brain function would not know whether to latch on to which individual. Sadly, for Lara's Ditto, there was at least twenty Kricketot.

As soon as the Ditto transformed it went into stasis as it shifted from individual Kricketot to the next. Soon another Kricketot had joined the swarm, but thankfully it simple fell over in a state of mental limbo. Lara looked distraught and lost. She crumpled in a way that I couldn't tell whether it was from defeat or pain. I felt blood coming out of my ears. I tried reaching for my belt to release Shimmer, but I was starting to pass out. Just before I slip, I pressed a button on of the balls.

I went into state unconscious awareness. Unable to move, but able to see somehow. Instead of fire though I felt static. As the ozone started to become charged, I lurched up to I had summoned Blink. He was jumping back and forth among the swarm biting and slashing all the while having his Charge coat active.

A lesson on soundwaves came back to me as I watched my Shinx massacre the swarm. Sound needed a medium. Be it air, water, or metal. However, heat, cold, or even electricity could change the frequency or outright disrupt it. Soon I had gained my bearings and saw Blink in front of me.

He stood between me and everything sparking wildly, snarling at the Kricketot fleeing and even Lara who had returned her Ditto. I stared at the back of his head as sighed in relief grabbing his attention. He turned back to me and I smiled back at him.

"Blink when we get Pewter, you're getting a big steak," I said wearily. He didn't know what steak was, but judging by how he beamed he knew it was good.

xxx

Lara and I set up camp after we recovered from our encounter. I set up the fire while Lara readied our sleeping bags. Blink was patrolling our camp keeping out all intruders. Soon we sat by the fire and decompressed from the day.

"I'm sorry, "croaked out Lara.

"Don't be. I promised your Grandad nothing bad would happen and I broke."

"No there was nothing you could have done, it was bad luck. Besides, I'm older and more experienced I should have been the one stop the Kricketot, not you."

"Remember I'm a prodigy. It should have been up to me to be more aware," I reasoned with her. That wasn't the real reason why I should have been more alert, but she didn't need to know that. I genuinely felt bad for failing her and my promise. I hated seeing her look so down on herself. She shouldn't have that look on her face.

"I'm just a failure. I couldn't be a great battler like my Grandad and I couldn't be a good enough researcher to catch what was happening, "she sobbed out. She wasn't crying, but she was close to it.

"Hey by that same token I'm just as guilty. I barely got Blink out and even then, I meant to summon my Ponyta, though I'm glad I called him out instead," I smiled as I stroked behind Blink's ears giving a purr that sounds like a mix of a house cat and a small motor. He leaned into my touch relishing the contact.

"I'm glad you did too. At least one of us did something. I just stood there and got my poor little Ditto hurt."

"Hey, I wouldn't have been able to do anything if you hadn't shoved that whatever into my ears."

"It was cotton balls. They were part of my medical supplies. I like to heal any Pokémon that I find in the wild."

"See there you go. I couldn't have done anything without you and why would you need to be a battler? you're too nice to do it."

"you know its not the most helpful thing to have a child try to cheer you up," she smiled at me while tearing up.

"Well, now you know how I felt when I had Professor Lara lecturing the whole trip." She giggled at that. She seemed to brighten a bit at me mocking her. "I'm sorry if I'm not a great conversationalist by the way. Being who I am and what I am I didn't have many friends my age. I mostly talk to adults. Half either talk down to me and the other half get jealous. It doesn't make for good social learning." While my situation was total of my own make unlike most children, it was ironic how much childhood in my second life reflected my first. Alone. Ostracized. It hurt so much. Then I finally learned how to be with people. I got friends and family whom I loved and I would do anything to get them back.

"I guess the grass isn't always greener. Huh?" mused Lara.

"I'm actually kind of jealous of you," I told her. She looked surprised at that. "You seem so easy to talk to. So friendly. So, kind. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so jaded so I could be someone like you," looking back at her.

"You know you can change yourself?" she said with such concern that it made my tiny little heart break. "you're still young." Ha. Not as young as she thought. I still had her beat by almost a decade.

"Sad part of it is part of me doesn't want to. I like being an ass sometimes. Being a sarcastic cuss. It's a part of me now. I just try to be better knowing I never will." Lara's face scrunched up at my cussing but let it pass probably because the day we had.

"Not a very healthy way to live."

"Look who's talking." She seemed to stop at that. She leaned back and looked to be gathering herself.

"I didn't start my journey until I was thirteen. I wasn't a late bloomer Trainer but I really struggled to get my license. My parents said I didn't have to but I really wanted to make my family proud. The day I got my license was the happiest day of my life." She seemed like she was going to keep going. I kept quiet not wanting to interrupt.

"My best friend Claire got it at the same time. We had been friends since kindergarten. We got our starters together. I had my little Teddiursa and she had her Poliwag. We traveled for a year. We battled in the Gym circuit, but we could never win. For once I didn't care if lost. We were having fun. Then we got trapped in a storm. We found a cave to hide out in." Here was the turn I was expecting. Seeing how Lara looked I had a terrible feeling there wasn't a happy ending.

"We set up camp and laughed at how wet we were. Teddiursa went off exploring while Claire and I talked. I can't remember what we were talking about. I wish I could remember what we were talking about. I hope it was important." Lara said through tears that openly went down her face. I frowned in sadness knowing something was coming, just not what.

"Then I heard Teddiursa cry out and we ran deeper to find her. We never did. I'm glad we never did. before we could a Kangaskhan came running at use. I think it thought we were a threat. I don't know. Everything became a blur. I remember it grabbed Claire and threw her into the wall. She didn't get up. I somehow returned her Poliwag and ran out of there. I just kept running until I got to town. Then I got sent to a hospital. The next the Rangers found our cave. The found Claire's body but not Teddiursa. The next week I returned to Viridian with the only thing to give my best friends family being a scared Poliwag. They weren't even angry or called me a coward. They just hugged me. They hugged me while I cried."

By this point, Lara was a mess. She was shaking and her entire front was marked with tears. I may have not wanted or needed a friend in this world, but Lara did. so, I did the only thing I thought I could. I hugged her. No words. She had heard enough in her life. Too many 'Not your faults' and 'There was nothing you could have done'. It didn't matter if they were true, Lara didn't want to hear it. She would never get over it. She shouldn't have to. Her Pokémon and friend's death were a part of her now. The only thing I could do was be there.

xxx

I woke up that morning to Lara making breakfast. Looked like freeze-dried bacon. Gourmet living today it seemed.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

I stretched out as I answered her "Well enough. You?"

"Strangely, yes I did. I'm sorry for getting so emotional with you last night and dropping all of that on you," she said a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry about. I did it first. How are you feeling now?"

"It might seem weird, but better than I have in a long time. I had never told anyone about Claire. To those that cared they simply knew from the reports. They always asked how I felt, but never what actually happened. You never did that, thank you."

"Sometimes you just need to tell a stranger."

"I tried therapist but they never worked. Maybe I just needed a friend," she said with a smile. I looked at here in concentration. Any friends I made in this world were going to simply be hurt when I left. I was setting her up for more pain. But despite her smile, I could still see the hurt in her eyes. A hurt I could never fix, but maybe I could ease it.

"Yeah I guess so," I said around my bacon. Lara just smiled back at me and somehow a weight looked to have been lifted off her.

"Finish your breakfast Little Grump. I want to get to Pewter by lunch." Just like that, it was if our earlier conversations had never happened, but they did. only for us though. Just like everyone to ever live we had problems. We just lived through them not around with a little help from a friend.