Red's team:
Pikachu – Zeus
Leaf's team:
Alolan Vulpix – Luna
Chapter 2
Leaf was annoyed.
Her day was going just great!
Her best friend forgot her birthday and just left Pallet town without her. After that, she was chased by a flock of Spearow!
And even thought she managed to find Red and lose the flock, she was even more irritated than before!
She couldn't even be angry at Red after he came up with that strategy without looking like an asshole!
"Fucking red eyed prick and his great cooking…!" Luna turned around in concern, stopping the training of her Snow Warning ability. "I'm alright… just, keep going."
Still doubtful but unsure on what to do, the Alolan Vulpix activated her ability again, resulting in a slight snowfall to appear around her.
Meanwhile, Leaf let her eyes drift over to Pikachu, who was trying and failing to release his electricity in an even flare, before finally focusing on Red, who's behaviour was even weirder than usual.
…Not that she hated his weird behaviour.
But after 10 minutes of watching Red just…sitting there, she finally couldn't hold herself back anymore and walked over.
"What are you doing?"
Red didn't move, and for a moment Leaf thought that he was asleep. But just as she was about to leave, he answered.
"I'm unlocking my Aura." His voice made Leaf jumped slightly, before she processed on what he just said.
"Aura, as in Aura? The thing scientists have been trying to unlock for decades?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "You know, the superhuman ability that only a selected few people in the entire worldcan use?"
"Yes."
'Wait, is the serious?' Leaf opened and closed her mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.
Sure, he had been weird since she met him, but wasting time on his first day as a trainer? That was like… like spending the first day at a new job browsing the Pokenet for Purrloin videos instead of actually working!
"Oh! I think I have it!" Red suddenly exclaimed, standing up. "Hey, Zeus! Come over here for a moment!"
She was starting to worry for his mental health; he had been acting weird the entire day now actually. Maybe she should call his mom or Professor Oak that Red was acting strange… stranger than usual?
"Pika?" Pikachu, or Zeus as Red had called him, asked cutely after reaching them.
"Hey! I actually understood that!" Red grinned before explaining himself to his confused starter. "I've unlocked my aura to make it easier to communicate. I've never been good at pantomime so I looked for another way for us to talk!"
'Actually,' Red mused. 'Old Red was surprisingly good at pantomime, probably from observing Humans and Pokemon so much.'
"What are you talking about?" Zeus asked him in bewilderment. "Have you finally lost it? Only took you, what. Three hours after meeting me?"
"Na, I haven't lost it…yet." He grinned, still feeling his newly discovered Aura moving beneath his skin. "Just ask me something complicated; I will answer it."
Zeus gave him a doubtful look.
"Alright? Then… say Pikachu backwards?"
"Uhcakip!" His sudden 'nonsense' answer seemed to be the last straw for Leaf, who quickly reached for her Pokedex to call for psychological help.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Red panicky exclaimed the moment he realized how all this must look for Leaf; he wasn't risking having a psychic in his head! "I really unlocked my Aura, just… let's do a simple test!"
"…What kind of test?" She asked hesitantly, holding her Pokedex protectively to her chest.
"Uhm… tell your Vulpix something that I don't know. After I translate it, you know that I can use Aura!" Leaf was still very much suspicious of his behaviour. But, against her better judgement, she went along with it.
"Alright." She said before leaning down and whispered something into Vulpix ear, who frantically looked between the worried Leaf, the confident Red and the still confused Pikachu, before slowly repeating what Leaf just said.
"You are a… big meany?" Vulpix hesitated, very much uncomfortable with her trainer's choice of words. "And your mother told Leaf to… make sure you take care of your hygiene!"
Any excitement to unlocking Aura disappeared instantly. Mechanically, he turned to Leaf. "Please tell me she didn't…?"
Leaf looked at the rapidly reddening face of Red and answered hesitantly. "She did…?"
"HAHAHA!" Zeus suddenly howled in laughter. "I'm soooo going to keep that info as blackmail material!"
Red turned from Zeus to Leaf, horrified and embarrassed beyond anything he ever felt before.
"… Don't make your Vulpix insult me!" He said swiftly, trying to change the topic; which didn't seem to work.
Pikachu was still dying of laughter…
"Sorry?" Leaf finally managed, starting to get embarrassed herself. She didn't expect him to actually understand Vulpix!
'Wait…'
"YOU CAN USE AURA?!" She suddenly shrieked, startling Zeus out of his laughing fit. "HOW?!"
"I just tried to feel for it!" He answered energetically, readily jumping at the chance to change the topic! "It took a while, but I just…found it? It's kinda hard to explain."
Leaf looked at him with shining eyes.
"Can you teach me?" She asked, grabbing his hands. "Pretty please? I take it as my birthday present!"
…Instantly, the mood turned awkward and Red finally realized what had been bugging him the entire day.
It was Leaf's birthdayand for months, they had planned to travel together… and he just left her standing there.
"I'm so sorry." He finally managed, both guilty and unsure on how to salvage this situation.
"It's… It's okay." Leaf replied quickly, uncomfortable with the sudden new dynamic. "It happens to the best of us!"
For the first time since waking up as Red, he really looked at Leaf; at her flowing brown hair, her striking green eyes and the painfully fake smile on her face.
And for a moment, his stomach fluttered.
But he quickly caught himself and regained his usual calm and confident demeanour. 'I think I found the female lead.'
"Sure, I'll teach you." He said, leading her to the tree where he meditated at. "Just sit there and I will guide you."
Leaf felt dirty for pretty much pressuring him into teaching her the possibly most sought-after ability there was. But she was far too interested in said ability to let this chance go, so she did as he said.
Meanwhile, Pikachu looked at Vulpix and just shrugged before restarting his [Discharge] training.
Sure, for a human to have Aura was rare and made most Pokemon trust the user instantly – Aura users where renowned for helping Pokemon; it still didn't change that he was pretty much enslaved to him.
'…Maybe this isn't all that bad.' Zeus allowed in the privacy of his thoughts; the delicious food still fresh in his mind. 'He gave me a cool nickname and we can talk normally now; that's already much more than most captured Pokemon ever have.'
Split on what to feel, Zeus decided to stop thinking about it and started to charge up his electricity instead.
[Discharge] wouldn't learn itself on its own.
Early in the next morning, before anyone else was awake, Red left his tent to relieve himself.
After trying to unlock Leaf's Aura in vain, they had gone to bed early. They had a walk-intensive day before them; Leaf had read about a small tournament in Viridian later this afternoon and wanted to try her luck, so they needed to leave early for her to attend.
Considering that it was at the start of the new League season and Viridian City was known for its Ground gym, her opponents will mostly be locals who own Ground types, so her chances were actually pretty good.
'Not that it matters for me,' he grumbled slightly. 'There is no chance I can win that tournament with Zeus.'
After answering the call of nature, Red let his eyes wander before abruptly stopping. In the distance, he caught sight a multitude of different colours hanging from a tree.
"A Berry tree, huh." He mumbled to himself, smiling as he walked over to the tree.
Grabbing a low-hanging Pecha berry, he nearly moaned at the sweet taste.
He had a multitude of Berries in his bag thanks to his trusty Devon bag; it allowed him to carry enough rations to last him a month easily, but freshly plucked berries just tasted better. Fresher.
After making sure that there was no Pokemon hiding inside the tree, he climbed up and started to gather as many berries as he could carry, already salivating just imagining the delicious food he could make with them-!
A loud thud, followed by another, and another made him freeze up.
Slowly but surely, the loud stepping sound was coming closer, until a gigantic Pokemon walked out of the dense trees.
Easily two heads taller- and at least four times as wide as Red, a Snorlax walked over to the Berry tree… only to tense up the moment it saw him.
Without Zeus; not that the Pikachu could have helped him much in this situation, he had no choice but to bet on the diplomatic route.
"Good morning!" He said in a 'calm' and friendly tone. Confidence, faked or not, was pretty much always the best way to start any type of negotiation.
But to his confusion, it actually seemed to have the opposite effect; the Snorlax tensed up even more, looking weirdly… protective?
A quick glance behind the massive Pokemon confirmed his suspicion; a group of Munchlax was hiding behind the Snorlax, curiously peeking at him from behind her.
"Actually, this is perfect." He improvised. "You and your children should join us for breakfast, the more the merrier!"
The Snorlax relaxed slightly, probably seeing him as a low threat considering he didn't have a Pokemon with him.
Still, it continued to stand protectively before its children before questioning him in a feminine voice. "What do you want?"
Confident that she wouldn't suddenly attack him, he slowly climbed down the tree, making sure not to make any sudden movements.
'She looked even taller from down here.'
"Me and my traveling companion just started our journey yesterday." He started, emphasizing their lack of powerful Pokemon in hope to appear as even less of a threat. "I would feel bad if I just left you here without at least offering you breakfast; even more so after I took so many of the berries!"
Before she could answer, one of her young – easily the tallest of the bunch, slipped past her.
Red's heart dropped; you don't interact with the children of a mother Pokemon without her explicit permission.
"Can I have one?" The Munchlax asked hungrily, looking at the berries in his arms, unaware of the danger he just pushed Red into.
"Sure!" He replied, carefully passing him a Berry, mostly focusing on its mother. Much to his relieve, she was starting to ease up.
"Very well." The Snorlax finally said, still eying him warily. "Where is that camp of yours?"
"Barely two or three minutes from here." He replied while climbing the tree again – breakfast will need to be bigger than he had planned for. The Snorlax evolution-line had a massive appetite after all. "If you could help me carry the berries, it would be much appreciated."
She nodded and started to help him pluck the berries, before suddenly eying him sharply.
"You can understand what I say?"
Leaf woke up from loud noises, forcing her out of her dreamland.
Grumbly, she pushed herself up and left her tent-
"What?" Leaf asked no one in particular, rubbing her eyes.
…Was she still asleep or was Red animatedly chatting with a Snorlax?
"Good morning, Leaf!" Red greeted her, a rare smile on his face. "Perfect timing, breakfast should be ready in a few minutes."
"Snoor-lax!" The Snorlax said?
She rapidly looked between Red and the Snorlax; it was dawning on her that she wasn't sleeping!
It took Red a moment to notice her dilemma before he quickly translated.
"Snorlax wishes you a good morning."
"Pikaaa!" Zeus sudden cry made her turn to the side, and she tensed up even more.
A group of six Munchlax where intently focused on Pikachu. Zeus was, with a surprising flare for dramatics, retelling their escape from the Spearow yesterday.
At least that's what Leaf assumed, considering that Pikachu was mimicking flying, getting electrocuted and being frozen.
…Zeus was a surprisingly good actor.
After calming down the panicky Leaf, who had a healthier respect for a mother Snorlax than Red, he continued his conversation with said Pokemon.
"And then the Graveler gang had the nerve to demand for us to leave our cave!" She exclaimed, greatly annoyed at her current predicament. "My babies are still too young to fend for themselves. Worse, there isn't nearly enough food around here to realistically feed all of us for a prolonged period of time!"
After learning that he could use Aura, Snorlax had lost all her fears and worries and started to tell him of her current problems and worries instead.
… Her behaviour reminded him of an aunt of his actually, who randomly called sometimes to talk to someone about her daily worries.
Apparently, after getting chased out of her old home, she was nearing a food shortage. Furthermore, the local Pokemon avoided them like the plague; understandably, meeting a hungry Snorlax was like stumbling onto a newly evolved Gyarados.
It was pretty much suicide.
"Have you considered asking Humans for help?" She eyed him sceptically, so he elaborated. "Around an hour from here lives a renown Pokemon Professor who owns a corral. In exchange for helping him in his research, you would get all the food you and your children need and you would have a safe place to sleep."
She fell silent, contemplating the solution to her problems he so casually gave her.
"Breakfast is ready!" Red called, prompting the Munchlax and Zeus to stop their theatrics. Seeing them rushing towards him, he hurriedly stopped them. "No need to push, there is enough for everyone!"
And there really was, he made multiple gigantic portions of Curry, easily enough to feed a group of ~50 Growlithe… which should be enough for all of them. Maybe.
"How do we get to this corral?" Snorlax asked him after he distributed the food.
"I can call the Professor after we've eaten." He answered, taking his first bite.
It was delicious, a notion the biggest Munchlax seemed to agree with; it had already finished its first plate. "Actually, do any of your children show interest in fighting? I would love to have a future Snorlax on my team."
He really would; his dream team consisted mainly of bulky mons, and a Snorlax fit that theme perfectly.
She tensed up for a moment, and for a moment Red was worried that he overstepped. But thankfully, she relaxed quickly, releasing a deep sigh before digging in as well; his question unanswered.
After the filling, if slightly heavy breakfast, Snorlax shot Red a meaningful look before pulled her children aside. Red took this chance to take out his Pokedex to videocall Professor Oak.
"Good morning." The professor greeted him absentmindedly, barely glancing at the camera. "To what do I own the pleasure?"
"Good morning, I have a little bit of a situation here." He began, pointing the camera towards Snorlax and her children. "I have a mother Snorlax plus children in need of a new home, can you take them in?"
"Are you alight?" Professor Oak asked hurriedly, giving Red his full attention now. "Are they sated? The surrounding shouldn't have enough natural vegetation to fulfill their daily food demand!"
"They have been exceptionally peaceful and even helped me gather berries for breakfast." He explained, soothing the professor's sudden spike of worry. "I doubt you will have any problem with them, besides being protective of her children, the Snorlax has been a pleasant company."
The Professor barely hesitate before agreeing to take them in. "I will send Arcanine towards you, he should be there in around 10 minutes. Be careful!"
Only moments after the call ended, Snorlax walked over to him, followed by the biggest of her children.
"My eldest is interest in joining you." She stated, pushing said Munchlax towards him. "He has been giving me trouble since he hatched; he has continuously been picking fights, wherever the Pokemon he challenged was stronger than him or not."
The Munchlax puffed out his chest at the 'praise', which earned him a slap to the back of his head. "Ma, stop that!"
"He is also the strongest of my children." She continued, bowed slightly. "I would feel relieved if an Aura user like you watched over him."
He looked a little closer at the Munchlax, his mind already going over fitting nicknames. "Don't worry. I will make sure to take care of him." He promised, also bowing slightly.
The events after that went by in a flash.
Arcanine arrived shortly after Snorlax said goodbye to her son, followed by an adorable goodbye 'hug-circle' from the Munchlax.
"Welcome to the team, Munchlax." Red said after his family left. "I will make sure to turn you into an absolute beast on the battlefield, trust me on that!"
Red hold out a Pokeball and Munchlax gave him a resolute nod before pressing the button, officialising his capture.
But before he could release him again, Leaf stormed over.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!" Leaf, who had been keeping her distance from the group, hissed at him. "ASnorlax mother? What were you thinking?!"
Red winced slightly, unable to meet her eyes.
While he had been, at least partly, forced into interacting with the Snorlax, he shouldn't have left the camp without at least altering Pikachu. That nothing bad happened could truthfully be considered a miracle.
It would have been much more realistic that Snorlax just… killed him and claimed the berry tree for herself. Pokemon, despite their human-like intellect… weren't human. They, especially wild Pokemon, still largely operated by their instincts and didn't follow a strict moral code like most humans did.
Furthermore, most Pokemon where especially protective of their young; mother Pokemon protecting their children was actually the most common cause of death among trainers.
So, yea. That he was still alive and got a new Pokemon out of this was unbelievably lucky.
'Well, I am the Protagonist,' he mused, seemingly unaware how dangerous his thought process was. "I will be more careful, but I think I handled the situation pretty well."
Leaf opened and closed her mouth in exasperation, before finally releasing a deep sigh. "Just… be careful, okay? It went well this time, but… you know how high the death rate for new trainers is!"
With her piece said, she turned around and started to swiftly dismantle her tent; they still had plans to reach Viridian City after all.
For a moment, Red just stood there, contemplating on what she said.
"When are you finally going to release him from his Pokeball?" Zeus suddenly said, jumping on his shoulder. Shrugging, he put the conversation with Leaf behind him and released their newest team member.
"Woah, the Pokeball's inside is really confortable." Munchlax said the moment he appeared, much to Pikachu's chagrin. "It's really cosy! Like…, like lying on ma's stomach!"
Red grinned, any lingering worry dissipating. "Now that you are part of my team, how about a nickname?"
"A what?" he asked in confusion.
Before Red was able to explain, Zeus jumped in.
"I, for example, am a Pikachu but I'm called Zeus now." The Pikachu explained with a surprising amount of pride for his name. "And he is named 'Red', even though he's a human. A name differentiates us from the rest of our species, so when we do something amazing, the world will remember us by our name, and not just the name of our species!"
Munchlax nodded slowly, but Red had the distinct impression that he had no idea what Zeus was trying to say.
"How about 'Atlas'?" Red suggested anyways. "In legends, Atlas was responsible for holding up the sky, preventing it from crushing onto the earth."
"Sure, sounds cool!" Atlas agreed easily.
"Well then, let me repeat myself." Red exclaimed, with a big grin plastered on his face. "Welcome to the team, Atlas!"
Thank you for reading!