RyuNoRainbow, the simple fact is is that the people in the world of pokemon are pretty ignorant. They didn't even know the Sudowoodo wasn't a tree at first, remember? Gold and Silver believe that Luffy's a pokemon because that's what they want to believe. And because that's what my plotline calls for. ^-^
Luffy skipped along, singing another nonsensical song with his pokemon. So far, Gold and Silver had been able to tune him out, but little snippets of gibberish made their way into the conversation occasionally.
"How are we going to defeat Bugsy? Toto is a water-type!" Silver kicked a broken pokeball, upset about the bug-type gym leader they had yet to face.
Gold grinned. "You should have gotten a Slugma from that guy back in Violet City. Fire-types would show that guy who's boss!"
"Slugma? Slugma, what's a slug? Can it kill the big, bad bug?!"
Ignoring the pokemon's song, Silver frowned at his friend. "Someone was giving out pokemon?"
"'Someone' is Bill… But Primo's big brother lurks in the back of Violet City's PokeCenter. If you tell him the right password, he'll smuggle pokemon eggs to you, and some secret wallpaper, if you're lucky!" Gold shot a glance in Luffy's direction. The rubber boy was out of earshot, so he continued. "We could go back and get you one, if you want."
Silver shook his head, astonished at the boy's lawlessness. "Smuggling?! Isn't that just like pirating?"
"Pirates! Pirates! That's our name! Who wants to join our smuggling game?"
"Hyp-Hypo!"
"La-lava!"
Gold grabbed his pokemon by the scruff. "Hey, it's not pirating! And we're not going! Who said we were going to go, at all?"
"You did," Luffy pointed out, picking his nose. "So, who else wants to practice being pirates?!"
"Toto-to!"
Silver moaned, rubbing his pokemon's head in defeat. "Not you, too!"
"You know we'll have to go all the way back to Violet City, right?" Gold asked, trying to talk Luffy out of it. He'd only been joking about Primo! That had been based completely off of speculation and rumors, and a certain black market website…
Silver shrugged with a sudden change of heart. "If it will help me beat Bugsy, I'll do anything. And Luffy's my nakama, so he'll support me all the way!"
"Yeah! Let's get a pokemon, and smuggle it good! Be a pirate, just like you should!"
"Luffy, those are actually starting to make more sense," Gold warned.
The rubber pokemon gasped, clapping a hand over his mouth. "I'd better stop, then…"
…
"My feet hurt. There's no dirt. Pokemon love to play!"
"If you dare to keep on singing… you won't live past today," Gold growled. Violet City was just around the corner, but it had been a taxing journey. With Luffy singing nonstop and Silver jabbering about the need for power, Gold was at his wits' end.
Silver patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be that way, buddy. If you really want him to stop, challenge him to a pokemon battle. Cinders will have the advantage!"
"But Hyperbeam is almost a level 50 by now, and he's still got Pokey. That long-nosed thing is a water-type!" Gold shook his head in frustration. "And if worst came to worst, Luffy would knock out Cinders, himself! I really need more pokemon…"
Luffy trotted up next to him, already on the eighty-sixth verse. "And when you need a nakama, your friends will help you out! So you can count on Luffy, and he will…?"
"Go away," Gold muttered.
Silver frowned. "That didn't rhyme. And it was terribly insensitive, considering Luffy's topic."
"Do I look like I care?!" Gold cried. "He's being awfully annoying, and I can't think about the upcoming gym leaders at all! And you guys are all following him around like it's the most natural thing in the world! How can you team up with a criminal pokemon who can't even guarantee your safety from the government, which, by the way, is after our heads?!"
Silver turned around, crossing his arms. "You're following him, aren't you?"
"Not anymore, I'm not! If he wasn't so irritating, I'd… huh?" Gold trailed off, staring at Luffy.
The boy sat on the ground, the four other pokemon huddled close. Toto and Cinders glared at Gold as they nuzzled Luffy's hidden face. Hypo was twittering sadly, sitting on the boy's lap as a soft mumble carried on the wind.
Silver crept forward. "What are you saying, Luffy? Aren't we going to get my Slugma? Who cares about Gold! We can go without-"
"Not again."
The boys stepped back in surprise. The short sentence was enough to badly confuse Silver, and put Gold to shame.
"Not again," Luffy repeated, standing up with a determined look in his eyes. The pokemon huddled in his arms, staring at the other boys. "Gold isn't going to leave! We're sticking together, because nakama are friends forever!"
"Luffy…" Silver was at a loss.
Gold wasn't. "Who said I was your nakama?! You did! I never agreed, so how can you say that? Give Cinders back; he's mine!"
Luffy shook his head, hugging the pokemon tighter. "They're my nakama. All of them. And I thought you were, too! So what if I'm a legendary pokemon? So what if I might be just a Blue Sea person with devil fruit powers? So what if I'm annoying?! That doesn't matter to you, really… does it?"
Gold stared at him for a while. This argument had grown far out of proportion. He sighed. "I'm just really worried about all this… And a little homesick, too."
"Why? Your parents probably don't even care that you're-" Silver was cut short by Luffy, who approached Gold cautiously and handed him back his pokemon.
"Your mother hasn't called you, has she?" The boy looked as solemn as Gold had ever seen him.
He nodded. "And she's all I've ever had. I thought she would be more concerned about me, and she even offered to watch my money, but…"
"Come. Follow me." Luffy tugged on his arm, leading everyone into Violet City with the remaining three pokemon in his arms. Gold hugged Cinders tight and followed him.
Silver trailed his friends to the blue PokeMart, quiet as a Rattata. Luffy smiled cheerfully at the man standing next to the counter.
"Hey, I'm back! I brought Gold with me this time."
Silver stared at him. "When did you ever visit a PokeMart?" Judging by how familiar Luffy was with the delivery man, he had definitely come more than once…
"Welcome. I'm assuming you're Gold? Your mother sent you quite a few packages that she bought with her own hard-earned money." The man leaned over the counter to pick up dozens of small boxes.
Gold shook his head in confusion. "But Mom's dead broke! She doesn't have any… oh, no. You've got to be kidding me! All my prize money…" He broke down, mock-sobbing on the floor.
"But, look! You got some berries, and a nice white scarf, and some berries, and a weird rock, and some more berries…" Luffy raised the goods high, displaying the gifts to his distraught friend.
Silver laughed, doing it silently to avoid adding to Gold's already-long list of things to be infuriated about. Luffy grinned, waving the stone in front of the crying boy. "Hey! Get a load of this!"
"I'm not…" Gold looked up, his eyes actually close to tears. "I'm just surprised she cared enough to send me these gifts… even though she completely wasted my money." Luffy handed him the goods, and he stood up shakily. "I thought she'd forgotten about me, but she sent all this stuff! Why didn't she call?"
"Oh, I turned off your phone app because Joey was calling every five seconds," Silver muttered. "And mine, too…"
Luffy bounded up to him, handing Toto back. Silver still wasn't sure how the rubber pokemon had managed to hold all the smaller pokemon and the gifts at the same time… maybe it was just one of those flexible rubber things.
"Really? Maybe your dad called you!" He cried, fiddling with the device. "I bet you've got loads of messages, and your dad is really missing you, and-"
Silver clamped a hand over his mouth, adjusting Toto in his other arm. "Thanks, Luffy, but you don't have to try to cheer me up. I know my father would never… whoa."
Thousands of messages had popped up on the PokeGear's screen, each one by the same person. Angry tears formed in Silver's eyes as he scrolled through the row of frantic calls from 'Dad'. "Buddy, come home!" "I miss you. I'm so lonely by myself!" "Why did you leave?"
"He never cared about me at home," Silver growled, glaring at his device as the voice messages progressively got more sad and upset. "He has no right to be bothering me while I'm on this journey!"
"Maybe so, but we do," Luffy laughed, patting his nakama on the back. "Ace told me that family will never abandon you, and we're all nakama! Even if you don't accept your dad, we'll always stick together, right?"
Silver couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw a flicker of doubt pass over Luffy's face before he resumed his signature smile again. A new thought crossed his mind, and he gazed at the pokemon with new concern.
"Luffy… pokemon have parents, don't they?"
The boy frowned, scratching at the scar underneath his eye. "Um, I guess they do. I think I did, once. I mean, my dad is still alive somewhere… maybe."
"Luffy, you don't have a family?!" Gold cried, jumping onto the boy and nearly knocking all the pokemon to the floor.
"Of course I have a family!" Luffy laughed, laying a hand on his straw hat as he sat up and rocked on his heels. "I have Ace, Shanks, and you guys, of course… and Cinders and Toto, and Hypo and Pokey! And… Cebi! You're all my nakama! How would I be Luffy without you guys?"
The three boys smiled at each other, each one thinking about their old and new familial bonds. Remembering his former friends from the East Blue, Luffy sat back and hugged Hyperbeam tighter, without quite explaining why.
…
The Celebi hovered next to the window, her humming becoming more fast-paced. The boy had said she was his nakama! Even though she'd left him so long ago… No, she reminded herself. It had only been a few days! It somehow felt like years, though. In fact, it really had been millennia since she'd visited this time…
Cebi dropped closer to the glass, her small lips twisting into a frown. She'd have to take him back to his own time, eventually… She was fully capable of restoring him to the exact moment he'd been taken from, so the world would not be doomed after the years he'd been meant to take part in. But he still hadn't finished his job in this time… and Cebi knew she couldn't return to him just yet. Dialga himself had ordered her to stay away, but it was so hard!
Seeing how the boy still cared for her and all of his nakama, she just couldn't help herself! She wanted to be his pokemon, not Dialga's slave of time! The green pokemon hissed, the tune she had been humming long forgotten. Dialga… Why was he so cruel? Would history really change that much, if she was allowed to travel with him?
The boy looked up suddenly, his eyes flashing to the window. Cebi squeaked, ducking beneath the windowsill. He'd already seen her, though. And she knew she'd never forget that smile…