"Did I do something bad?" Chikorita asked, looking up at her parents worriedly.
Charizard and Meganium moved closer to each other. "No, dear," Meganium said, smiling to reassure her.
"Not at all," Charizard said proudly. "We're quite proud of you, actually. We've never seen you defend yourself before; we were afraid you'd grown timid."
"We'd never want to see you become a bully," her mother said. "But we also didn't want you to act helpless when it was time to be brave."
Chikorita swayed back and forth, listening to her parents, confused as to where they were going. Whenever they spoke to her like this, it usually meant they'd made some sort of decision together.
"Lately, your mother and I think we might be sheltering you a little too much. We want you to become the brave, little Chikorita you're destined to be, without fear of disappointing us."
"So we've decided to give you that opportunity. We want you to go on an adventure- to explore the wide, open world out there."
Charizard gave her a friendly rub on the head. "You'd be surprised how small our forest is when you come back."
Chikorita's back legs gave way as she sat down on the floor. "Y-you're making me leave by myself?"
Not a day went by when Chikorita hadn't thought of leaving the forest. Every day, at the top of the hill, she'd stare quietly at the empty field just beyond her home and invent stories about Pokémon she'd never met, of heroes and explorers traveling through the field on their way to more exciting locations.
But Chikorita knew the difference between stories and reality. She knew real life tended to be less glamorous, less thrilling, and a lot less safe than any of the stories she could conjure. Adventurers staying at the Explorer House more often told stories of nights where they'd huddle against a tree, using their bodies as a shield to protect their supplies from the rain, of days without water, forcing them to drink directly from puddles, hoping they wouldn't get parasites because of it. And with the recent upheaval of bad Pokémon, happy endings were becoming a scarcity.
"Absolutely not. We'd never send you out alone," her father said. "We'll send an explorer with you, to teach you all you need to know."
Meganium knelt down to her eye level. "And you're always welcome back home. We don't want to alienate or exile you. We just want you to grow up into a strong, healthy Pokémon."
With a sniffle, Chikorita tried her best to keep eye contact. "Absol?"
The two of them looked a little disheartened. Meganium was the first to respond. "We know Absol's been like a big sister to you... but... but she can't go on your journey. She and Gallade will be leaving in a few days to explore Forlorn Tower. That place is far too dangerous for you."
"What about your new friend though? I'm sure you, Gible, and that Bulbasaur could visit the nearby field tomorrow and find bugs there or something," Charizard said with a weak grin.
Chikorita scratched the ground with one of her hooves, sighing. "I guess so." She didn't mention Bulbasaur's strange outburst when he woke up or that she hardly knew him. As long as Gible was going along, everything would probably be all right. Gible wasn't a terribly exciting explorer, but he was a nice Pokémon and a calming influence.
"Do you want to tell Gible and Bulbasaur then, or would you like us to do it?" her mother asked.
"I can tell them," she said, trying not to sound ungrateful. She really did appreciate what they were trying to do, but to have the news dropped so suddenly made her uncomfortable. And even though Bulbasaur didn't seem like he had harmful intentions, she wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet. She would have liked some time to stop and think, but her parents seemed eager for her to leave.
There was a loud squeal just outside the door followed by a series of scratching sounds. Charizard ran to the door and opened it as fast as he could, only to find Axew sprawled out on the doorstep. Absol had a paw on her tail and was looking down at her contemptuously.
"What's going on out here?!" Charizard demanded.
"I didn't do nothing!" Axew insisted. "I was just playin' hide 'n' seek."
"You were going to paw through Bulbasaur's stuff," Absol growled. "You tricked him into playing your stupid game so you could ransack his belongings- just like you did to Psyduck."
"Bulbasaur didn't even bring anything," Chikorita said with a smirk.
"What? That's crazy!" Axew exclaimed, brushing herself off after pulling her tail free. "And I wasn't even doing that," she added, just in case anyone still believed her.
Meganium looked outside. "It's getting dark anyway. We should probably call everyone in."
"Allow me," Charizard said, puffing out his chest. He stepped outside and with the loudest voice he could muster, shouted, "DINNERTIME!"
Several heads poked out from their hiding places. Gible, Shuppet, and Bulbasaur all heard his cry and came running from various corners of the clearing, all eager for the promised food. Charizard laughed as all three of them shuffled in, gathering around the giant, round table in the center of the room.
Absol watched from outside the house, joined together like a mismatched but happy family. After everyone had settled into their places, she closed the door, lay down by a large rock atop the hill, and watched the distance intently.
Bulbasaur looked down at a plate of crisp, red apples and blue Oran berries. Although such foods were not foreign to humans, Bulbasaur hadn't thought about Pokémon exclusively eating such things. He'd always assumed they ate each other in some sort of unexplained food chain. It seemed almost laughable that a big, bad Charizard would be satisfied with some fruits and berries while so many small Pokémon gathered around him.
Chikorita made another conspicuous glance his way, believing herself terribly sneaky. Bulbasaur took note of this and tried to start a new conversation amid the louder ones.
"So... I never caught your name."
"I'm Chikorita," she said, taking another berry and popping it in her mouth. "Where did you come from?" she asked abruptly, her mouth still full of mashed berries.
Bulbasaur looked down at his ceramic plate. "I dunno," he said cautiously. "I'm having trouble thinking right now. Maybe I'm still shaken from that battle."
"Do you need to sleep?" she asked, double-checking to make sure there was a cot available to him. "If you have a concussion though-"
"Nah, nah I'll be fine. I'm still a little confused is all," he confessed as he nibbled on the skin of an apple. "I'm still not sure why I remember being a human when I'm clearly a Bulbasaur, y'know?"
"Maybe you've seen a human before?" she offered. "I heard one Pokémon say he saw a whole army of them one time."
"Did this Pokémon tell you where?"
"No, he was sorta... sick... in the head. But maybe if you explored the area, maybe you might find something," she said, silently praising herself for the clever segue.
He turned to her. "I don't know the area though. And if there are bad Pokémon around, I couldn't possibly face them on my own. Honestly, I don't even know how to fight. I'm completely useless."
"You fought Machoke," she pointed out.
"I didn't even beat him though. And I don't think I could do it again," he admitted. "Not without someone like you protecting me."
He paused. Chikorita could see the gears turning in his brain. She anticipated the inevitable question.
"Do you think your parents could help?" Bulbasaur asked.
Chikorita blinked. She was surprised and slightly insulted he hadn't asked her to join him. She looked down at her food disappointingly, shuffling the food on her plate without clear intention.
"Yeah, probably, but I-"
She cut herself off, afraid she was speaking too hastily. Her heart nearly skipped a beat.
"Hm?"
She could feel Bulbasaur's eyes watching her. Sucking in a moderate gulp of air, she readied herself to speak again.
"I could help you too," she said, as she organized the food on her plate.
"Okay," he said nonchalantly, unaware of what he was agreeing to.
Suddenly, the whole room became awkwardly quiet. Several Pokémon were looking at Axew.
Charizard stood up. "I'm sure she's fine. She's probably out looking for Gallade."
"Who?" Bulbasaur asked. "What's going on?"
"Absol," Axew answered. "She's gone."
"I could go look for her," Gible volunteered.
"No one is looking for anyone," Charizard ordered. "It's dark out. If we go out and start looking for each other, pretty soon all of us will be lost. Have a little faith in your fellow explorer."
No one spoke against him. The decision had been made. Instead, Shuppet lifted himself a little higher and gave a nod. "Thanking you for the food. It's time for sleeping for me."
A chorus of gratitude and agreement filled the room as Pokémon sat up and stretched.
Meganium smiled. "That's a good idea. It's a big day tomorrow," she said ambiguously.
Bulbasaur watched the explorers get into their respective beds as he waited for his opportunity to claim one. When everyone except Chikorita's parents were all settled, he made his choice. There were three mattresses available, but two of them were near Axew, making his choice easy. He chose the most remote bed, sandwiched between Chikorita's mattress and the wall.
"You mind if I sleep over here?" he asked, already laying his head down.
"I don't mind," Chikorita said softly as the weight of the day's events began to take its toll. She yawned and curled up in a ball, wrapping her leaf around herself like a blanket.
Bulbasaur watched as Charizard snuffed the lanterns out with his hands, leaving his fire tail as the only source of illumination left. But even that dim light faded as he and Meganium went downstairs, leaving the house quiet once more.
