Chapter 6: A Green Battler

Normally, Luigi was a pretty easy sleeper. He could lay down on a rock covered in sticky garlic-smelling drool and be asleep in seconds (though he honestly didn't like thinking back to that instance). That night, though, he couldn't sleep.

He kept waking up every half-hour or so in a cold sweat, and he knew exactly why. When he'd tried to reach down his link to his brother, he'd gotten nothing. Their link had never failed before, not even when Mario was turned into a painting, and not knowing his brother was okay… That was terrifying.

Eventually, morning came. Luigi was tired, but he'd gone longer on less sleep. He and his friends packed up, and were on their way to Pewter City. Ash and Misty talked and bickered, as old friends do. Every once in a while, Luigi asked a question, some of which he imagined were pretty basic, but just explained it as things working differently where he was from.

… They'd probably get curious about where exactly that was, eventually. For now, Misty seemed to have dropped it after her question last night. He didn't know how he'd explain it to them… He'd have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

The walk was peaceful enough for the first few hours, but then they were rudely interrupted by a ten year old dressed as a samurai with a bug net and a sword jumping out of a bush.

"Hi-yaaa! Greetings, o awkward teenager!"

"Hey…" Luigi was more than a bit annoyed at having a sword shoved in his face, but he was trying to be polite… Mario probably would have smashed the sword by now, but Luigi was willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. He was not, in fact, in any way afraid of swords.

"Why would you just shove a sword in someone's face, huh?" Misty asked.

"Are you by chance the Pokémon Trainer who comes from Pallet?" The bug catcher completely ignored the orange-haired girl, his focus purely on Luigi.

"Uh, no." He didn't know where or what Pallet was, but he was from Toad Town, born and raised.

"Alas, my search continues," the samurai-boy said, sheathing his sword… Before promptly turning around and giving Ash the same greeting.

"That's me, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Ash said cheerfully, despite the sword in his personal space.

"I am Samurai! I am shrewd, fearless, and completely invincible in combat!" The rude boy said, sheathing his sword once more.

"… And full of yourself," Misty said.

Luigi had to agree with Misty, but was more concerned about who gave kids weapons like that. Then he was reminded of a pair of one-year-olds swinging around half-ton iron mallets, and decided that he really wasn't one to talk.

Samurai ignored her. "I came for a Pokémon match! We shall see who triumphs… The novice with the shabby-looking Pikachu, or the incredible samurai extraordinaire!"

"Pika!"

"Well, you see, Mr. Samurai," Misty said, cutting in front of Ash. "He's not a novice, he's actually nearly eleven! And look, he's got a Pikachu, that's not one of the starters Professor Oak gives out!"

"Hey! But I did just-"

"Ash, shut up," Misty whispered. "Look, remember how annoying this guy is? Let's just get out of here before he manages to call a swarm of Beedrill on us again!"

"You don't look like you'd provide a good battle, anyway." Samurai either hadn't heard Misty or was acting like he didn't, Luigi wasn't sure. "You! Awkward Teenager!"

"It's Luigi." And he didn't much like this kid's… name for him.

"Yes, yes, Linguini," Samurai said. "How long have you had that Bulbasaur?"

"… Two days?"

"Ah! So you are a novice! I assume you stopped in Pallet to get your starter from Professor Oak?"

"… Yes?" Luigi said nervously. He remembered Professor Oak, at least.

"Ah! That explains why your Pokémon handling is so dimwitted and clumsy! Your Bulbasaur has been walking alongside you this whole time. Don't you know how to call it to its ball?"

"Uh… No…?" … It really should have been more obvious that that was a thing he could do, but he hadn't even considered it.

Samurai pulled a Pokéball from his pocket. "Defeating you in battle should be easy. You're not up to snuff with the other Pallet trainers."

"I'd actually prefer not-"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur interjected, leaping in front of Luigi and glaring at Samurai. "SAUR!"

Luigi sighed. Well, looked like he was taking part in his first battle after all.

"Go! Pinsir!" Samurai said, throwing out a ball. An absolutely enormous stag beetle popped out, and to make things better, it had huge thorny horns.

Luigi took out his Pokédex and pointed it at Pinsir.

"Pinsir, the stag beetle Pokémon. It can grip a foe weighing twice its weight in its horns and easily lift it. This Pokémon's movements turn sluggish in cold places."

"This will be a two-on-two battle!" Samurai said. "When one trainer's Pokémon are both unable to battle, it ends! Pinsir use Tackle!" He gave his first command with no warning, and the giant bug shot forward.

"Jump!" Luigi yelled, reacting quickly. Bulbasaur complied, and not a second too soon. Pinsir was moving too fast, and passed underneath him.

"Not so fast! Pinsir use Vice Grip!"

Luigi was able to figure out what that meant quickly, or at least he hoped he was. "Jump again! Try to land a counterattack!"

As Luigi had predicted, Pinsir tried to grab Bulbasaur in its horns. Bulbasaur just barely cleared them, and then sent out a vine and smacked Pinsir's back.

"Ha!" Samurai said, as Bulbasaur tumbled over Pinsir. "Vine Whip? Grass attacks aren't very effective against Bug-type Pokémon!"

Good to know… So he'd have to think of something clever… Great. Mario was so much better at this part… What tools did Bulbasaur have? The vine whip thing, and those leaves he'd sent at those weirdoes in white uniforms. Luigi didn't have any clue how to use them offensively, especially as this bug apparently resisted them, but defensively… That could work, Luigi thought.

"Pinsir, double back and use Vice Grip before it recovers!"

"Stand your ground!" Luigi said. "Ready Vine Whip!"

"Saur?!"

"Trust me!" Effective or not – Deflect an opponent's attack, and you've got an opening.

Bulbasaur nodded, and quickly brought out his vines, standing at the ready as Pinsir rushed him.

"Grab its horns and push up!"

Bulbasaur wrapped his vines around Pinsir's horns and pushed up on the larger Pokémon as much as he could. It was just enough for Pinsir's horns to miss Bulbasaur entirely, and the large bug kept going and tripped over Bulbasaur.

It knocked Bulbasaur over, causing him to completely lose his grip on the horns. Pinsir was much worse off. Having tripped over Bulbasaur, it kept going, and tumbled headfirst into a tree.

"Shake it off and use X-Scissor!"

Pinsir did so. Its claws glowed green, and it slashed in a cross pattern before Bulbasaur could dodge. The super-effective attack sent Bulbasaur flying. Despite being battered, Bulbasaur managed to land on his feet, and his expression remained determined.

"Alright, let's finish this, Pinsir! Time for Guillotine!" Samurai yelled, raising his sword to the sky. Pinsir raised an arm, a glowing blade of light forming along it.

"Bulbasaur, when I say 'Now', I want you to jump and slam down as hard as you can!" Luigi hoped that this would work - He didn't even know if Bulbasaur could do a jump counter, but he didn't like the idea of finding out what an attack called 'Guillotine' did.

"GO!" Samurai yelled.

Luigi waited a second, and once Pinsir was just a few feet away from Bulbasaur, made his move. "Now!"

Bulbasaur leapt into the air, ending up directly over the rushing Pinsir's back, and used Tackle. What happened was exactly what Luigi was hoping for - Pinsir stumbled and fell on its own Guillotine, instantly knocking itself out.

Bulbasaur landed in front of Luigi, battered and panting, but the winner of the battle was as clear as day.

"That was cool!" Ash exclaimed, as Pikachu cheered Bulbasaur on. "Where'd you think of that?"

"I'll admit, that was pretty clever," Misty added.

"You're not as bad as you look," Samurai said, bringing out Pinsir's ball and pointing it at the bug. "Return!" A beam of light shot out, and pulled Pinsir back into the ball.

… Well, now Luigi knew how to put Bulbasaur back in his ball.

"We're not done yet, though! Go, Metapod!" He sent out another Pokémon, which was… A green cocoon with eyes?

"Wait, that's not fair," Ash said. "He doesn't have any other Pokémon yet."

"Hmph. Fine." Luigi was immediately reminded of a certain black hedgehog with a grudge against him. "Metapod, Return!"

"Uh… Well, I guess that was more fun than I was expecting," Luigi said. "… I've never really done that before." … No, that wasn't completely true. He'd done something similar, though that hadn't ended well.

"I'm fried to a crisp! You could stick a fork in me! YOU'LL PAY, LUIGI!" Blooey had forgiven him in the end, but it had still stung.

"Yes, you did, indeed, give a good battle. You'll go a long way, grasshopper! But a long way yet, you still have to go! The Pewter Gym leader is tough! Far tougher than I! Type advantage alone won't win you this match, of that I am sure!"

"I'm not sure if I'm going to challenge anyone else," Luigi said. "I mean, it was fun, but I've got things to do… If Bulbasaur wants to, then sure, but… Well, I'm on a journey for other reasons."

"Ah! But what about protection? Some wild Pokémon are unfriendly! They may attack, and you may need Bulbasaur to protect you, but without experience it may not be able to!"

Luigi shrugged. "Thanks for a fun battle, anyway."

"Yes! You're very welcome, Lukas."

"That's not – Never mind…" Luigi said. At least it was closer than 'Green Stache' or 'Mr. Green Mario Brother Guy'. "Well, goodbye…"

"Yes, good-bye! May we meet in battle at the League." Samurai jumped into a bush in a dramatic exit, and was gone. Or hiding and pretending to be gone, Luigi never was sure what these types did to make their dramatic exits work. He didn't even know all of Mario's tricks, and he probably never would.

Soon, they were on the road again. Pikachu was riding Ash's shoulder, chattering away to his trainer, and Bulbasaur was on Luigi's head.

"You know," Misty said. "I hate to admit this, but that guy had a point. Luigi, if you don't train Bulbasaur, you really could find yourself in a dangerous situation, especially travelling with us."

"Hmm, maybe…" Honestly, he'd planned to just handle any dangerous things that came up on his own, hopefully leaving his new friends none the wiser about what happened. But… Come to think of it, it was always easier with someone by his side. Mario always said that an ideal world wouldn't need the Mario Brothers, and that it was their duty to impart their skills on other people. "Alright… I'll try. Bulbasaur seemed to like it, anyway."

"Great!" Ash said. "Hey, whenever you need some help, or a battle, me and Pikachu are happy to oblige!"

"Pika-pika!"

"Ah, thanks. I'll probably take you up on that, later."

"Cool! Hey, I just realized – You must know Professor Oak, right?" ("Just now?" Misty asked.)

"Um, I guess so. He kind of just gave me this thing," He pulled out his Pokédex, "And Bulbasaur, before shooing me out of his lab. He seemed really busy."

"He's a great friend of my mom's. And he's always busy this time of year. I've known him forever, even before the thing with… Um, You know what, I'll tell you that later. Pikachu lived with the Professor a really long time before we met, too! He's a really nice guy."

"… Yeah, he was," Luigi said. "I was really overwhelmed by everything, but he seemed good."

"Wonder what he's doing… Oh, right! I can call him!" He started fiddling with his watch, which Luigi took a sudden interest in. A watch phone? That was cool. Maybe Professor Gadd could invent something like that, instead of hacking his TV when he wanted to talk to him.

Then again, a watch was probably too small to use the Pixelator with, so there was no chance of that.

"… Hey, Pikachu, do you know how to work this thing?" Ash asked. Pikachu clambered down to Ash's wrist, and managed to get the device ringing in a few moments. "Thanks, bud." The mouse gave Ash a thumbs-up (or something quite close to it) and leapt back to his shoulder. It took a while, but eventually an image of Professor Oak appeared on the tiny screen.

"Ash! I'm terribly sorry, but there's a lot going on today. Oh, hello, Misty! And… Is that Luigi with you? You're travelling with Ash?"

"Uh, hi, Professor," Luigi said. "Yeah, since yesterday…"

"Bulbasaur!"

"Interesting… Does he know, Ash?"

"Know what?" Ash asked.

"Pika-chu…"

"Oh! Uh, no, not really," Ash said. "You see… Um…"

"We'll talk about that later. Luigi… I've actually run into a few issues with your registration. I'll need to talk with you later about them, but I'm busy right now, and may need to talk to Ash in private."

"That's fine," Luigi said. "Everyone's got their secrets. But, hey, if it's something I can help with, let me know, okeydokey?"

"You bet!" Ash said. "Well, everything's just… kind of crazy right now, you know?"

Luigi nodded. "Yeah. These last few days… It's been crazy. I've dealt with worse, I once fell into a hole to the past and had to fight off aliens, but Mario was with me then... Anyway, I'm going for a walk. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, I've probably gotten myself into a situation that's unlucky, painful, improbable, dangerous, or some combination of those. See you around!" He dashed off, quickly out of sight of Ash and Misty.

"Did either of you catch what he just said?" Misty asked. "Time-travelling alien invasions?"

"Curious indeed," Oak said. "But I honestly don't have time to dwell on it. There's been a lot going on these past couple of days. People vanishing overnight; gyms being destroyed; unknown objects appearing from nowhere; Pokémon suddenly starting to speak; new, unknown Pokémon appearing all over the world... I feel it's all connected to this, but there's too much going on to say, right now."

"Well, has anyone contacted you about time travel?" Misty asked. "I'm sure some people have figured out that you're the first person Ash will go to."

"Actually, yes – Both the Pewter City and Petalburg City gym leaders contacted me about this."

"Brock, May, and Max!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yes, all of them had things to say about you," Oak chuckled. "You're quite popular, it appears."

"What about my other friends?" Ash asked. "Like Serena, Clemont, Cilan…"

"The girl from the summer camp, and two more gym leaders?" Professor Oak asked. "No, I haven't heard from them. Kalos and Unova are quite some distance away, though."

"Oh… What about Iris, or Dawn?"

"… Dawn?" Professor Oak asked, an edge in his voice. "Johanna's daughter?"

"Yeah! Did you hear anything about her?" Ash asked eagerly.

"… Yes," Oak said. "I can't believe you haven't heard, it's been all over the news… She's the first of these mysterious disappearances."

"… What?" Ash asked. "Oh no! Professor, do you think she's okay?"

"… I hope so," Professor Oak said. "… I'm guessing that, much like you, she's found herself in another time and place. Hopefully, she's found herself with people willing and able to help. I've got to go, Ash, I'm very sorry, but I have five more people waiting to call me. I'll keep you up-to-date as much as possible. Good luck, my boy!"

After a few minutes at a run, Luigi slowed to admire the scenery of Viridian Forest.

"You know, it's really nice to have a forest that isn't constantly trying to kill you."

"Bulba?" The little green Pokémon asked from his spot atop Luigi's hat.

"Back home, all the forests are really dangerous. There's poison water everywhere, haunted woods where day never comes, endless mazes of twisted space…" Luigi said. "… You almost never see a place like this. It's really pretty refreshing."

Luigi walked in silence a bit longer.

"... I need to tell you something important. It's a secret, though," Luigi said. He brought Bulbasaur down, and looked him in the eyes. "Can I trust you to keep it, Bulbasaur?"

"Saur." Bulbasaur nodded.

"… Thanks." Luigi returned Bulbasaur to his head. "What I said before… That's the truth, but not all of it. I really am from the Mushroom Kingdom, and I'm really looking for my brother and friends. Earlier, I realized I really can't do this on my own. So, the truth…"

Luigi sat down under a tree, setting the Grass-type down next to him.

"I guess you could say I'm an alien," Luigi said. "I'm not sure, exactly, but I know this world is nothing like the one I'm from. The Mushroom Kingdom's a huge, magical country – Everyone's heard of it. But here, it's nothing."

Luigi sighed.

"... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I guess I wanted to just be normal for a while. I'd never leave someone to get hurt, or worse, but… Having so many people depending on you, and judging you for everything you do … It's really stressful, and the sorts of things that happen to me… They're terrifying."

Luigi looked to Bulbasaur.

"... I've got no clue what I'm doing. My powers aren't really worth anything right now. So… I'll ask this properly." He held out his hand to Bulbasaur. "Friends and partners?"

Bulbasaur deliberated for a moment before sending out a vine and shaking Luigi's hand.

Luigi battles! I wanted to give him a specific style in how he does, to contrast Ash - Everything is defensive or a counterattack, to reflect how Luigi usually is in the Mario & Luigi series; while Ash is all about speed and misdirection.

This chapter... The entire second half of the chapter was re-written. Originally, the battle didn't really lead to anything, it was just there, and the rest was just about them going to Pewter City. Now... Luigi's a trainer for real now.