The worst part about cooking without modern equipment was the lack of heat distribution. Arven had to watch the oven's flames almost constantly and readjust whatever he was preparing to make sure he didn't end up with one half blackened and the other half a step above room temperature. He assumed he would get the feel for it eventually, but until eventually happened, he double-checked everything.
Tonight he'd decided to keep dinner simple. He didn't always get to be in charge of the senator's evening meal, and he'd get thrown back to the prehistoric age before he let himself mess this one up.
He shuddered at the thought. When he'd first stepped out of that strange Pokémon-only world, he'd found himself in a barren wilderness with no civilization anywhere to be seen. If there were other humans around, they did not want to be found.
Ting-Lu had not fared much better. The exclusive Pokémon realm might have been more friendly to him than to Arven, but it wasn't without its dangers. Apparently, a Jigglypuff had picked a fight with him soon after Arven left. An extra-large Jigglypuff with Golbat-like fangs that nearly bit his head off.
He'd described the whole incident to Arven later, at which point Arven had looked up the creature's name in his mother's notes. Scream Tail. Why did that not surprise him? He'd seen one of these Pokémon before. But back then-or was forward then more accurate?-his friends stood alongside him and helped defeat it. They'd supported him in a world where as creepy as Paradox Pokémon were, they were at a disadvantage. They were strangers in the modern era, and he was the local. He had a phone that could call up any info he needed on command. He could navigate his way through the world. Hell, he'd been doing it since he was eight. Now Arven was on history's home turf.
Thankfully, they didn't get stuck in that first time period for too long. The stabilization machine had worked as expected right away, grounding him in this period and eliminating the threat of any shifts to reality. But also as expected, it took several days before Arven got the signal that Sada had cleared him for another jump.
The signal was a Poké Ball. Arven came out of his makeshift shelter on the fifth morning to find it sitting there in the dirt, pulsing with a white glow. He'd spent most of his time hiding in caves and surviving off the supplies he'd brought. He was surprisingly good at preparing meals for himself in caves nowadays. But he couldn't deny that the Ball was a relief to see. He called Ting-Lu to his side, and the two of them touched the item at the same time. Far in the future, Sada's time machine read the cue and activated. A red glow surrounded them, and Arven felt for a moment like the earth itself was swallowing him. Like he and Ting-Lu were one in the same.
When Arven opened his eyes, he found himself on a hillside. A tiny clan of definitely human farmers dwelt in the valley below. Ting-Lu kept himself hidden while Arven went to investigate. As best he could tell, these people had only recently transitioned from being straight-up nomads who hunted and foraged whatever they could find as they moved from place to place. Despite everything he'd seen in movies, the ancient people did not think he was a deity. They did suspect he might be a barbarian from a distant land, which didn't pan out well. The girl tending her family's herd of Gogoat whacked him upside the head with a large stick when he approached their grazing area. Maybe he hadn't been dense enough to travel in his school uniform, but the furs he'd worn were clearly like nothing these people had ever seen before. He managed to pacify them by showing how good he was at milking Gogoats and preparing the mushrooms they'd gathered for eating.
Well, he called them Gogoats. They lacked a Gogoat's typical leafy mane and didn't seem to use any attacks or understand him when he spoke. The family simply called them "goats." Maybe because they'd been domesticated and therefore, didn't go places as much as they used to?
Or...maybe these weren't Pokémon at all, but other creatures that lived with humans in this universe? Ting-Lu, who found himself able to freely travel through the veil that separated humans and Pokémon here, suggested he "borrow" a goat and see if it could come back with him.
Arven did not think the herding family would take that well and talked him out it.
The family skeptically let Arven stay, albeit in a tent away from everyone else. Was it lonely and uncomfortable? Yes, without question. But he took it as a step above being beaten with sticks for goat theft. He also acquired a few pieces of clothing that actually looked like came from an ancient civilization. Because, well, they did.
This time, the stabilization machine worked right away, but the Poké Ball didn't appear for another four months. It dropped him off here in Michina City, where he'd been much more welcomed. But after nearly a year, the time machine didn't seem keen on sending him anywhere else.
So how come I still can't cook without checking the food every minute? Arven thought as he ran a knife across the skins of some fresh-picked carrots. In theory, he was steadily moving forward through history on his eventual way back home. There was no straight path, only a series of stepping stones. But since he had skipped nearly every history class for his first year and a half of school, his sense of place on the timeline was shaky at best.
It didn't help things when he realized that like his last two stops, Michina also had no Pokémon. But the people here at least seemed aware of their existence, naming them Sources and occasionally even calling them into the human realm. They also got pretty judgey when it came to what type of Source a person had. Arven did not think introducing everyone to a foreboding Dark-type born out of fear would go over well. So, when pressed for details on his Source, he'd described his Scovillain from back home.
Which had also earned him the name Pepper. He supposed there were worse things to be called.
The scent of smoke jostled Arven out of his recollections. He left the knife and carrots on the stone island in the center of the prep area and hurried back to the brickwork oven.
It's done already? Crap! Did I burn it? I better not have burnt it!
He scrambled for the paddle and carefully pulled the steaming dish out of the oven. He'd been going for an ancient version of a panini-vegetables sliced lengthwise, drizzled with oil, vinegar, and seasonings, served between two pieces of flatbread. He might have been stuck in some weird version of the ancient past, but he would not give up his love of preparing sandwiches.
Lacking tongs or a spatula and not quite trusting himself to wield the paddle when he started, Arven had taken to using chopsticks for moving any hot food around. He pulled the latest pair he'd made from his apron pocket. This was the test version of the panini, so it didn't have to be perfect, but a few prods revealed a crispy crust with delicate, soft innards. He pulled a piece of carrot and pepper out at the same time. The texture was perfect-the pepper melting on his tongue, while the carrot kept a nice firmness.
Arven sighed with relief. With the first test successful, he could stay on schedule and move right into preparing the meal proper. He took a few more bites of his creation to satisfy his growling stomach before he picked up the knife again.
He'd peeled five more carrots when he perked up at the sound of Bridge's voice far down the hallway.
"Interesting. So these Pokémon of yours...some of them travel alongside you all the time?"
The knife slipped from Arven's grip. It didn't do any damage, but it did fall on his chopsticks and send them spiraling. They slid over the table's edge and chattered to the stone floor. He hurried over and picked them up right as Bridge walked in with a total stranger.
A total modern stranger.
If he hadn't used the term "Pokémon," his outfit would have given him away even to someone born in this time period. The guy looked to be a few years younger than Arven, wearing a white and red T-shirt, a blue vest, and jean shorts. Oh, and a cap with the Kanto Pokémon League logo on it. Maybe he wasn't perfectly out of Arven's timeline-he looked a bit more like he belonged in the 1990s-but it was close enough. Arven struggled to stay calm. Did this mean the machine was active again? That he could get one step closer to home?
But no one else has ever used it before, he mused. I didn't think that was possible. Unless this kid came here in some unrelated way?
"...and this is Pepper," Bridge was saying.
Arven suddenly realized his mentor was gesturing towards him. The modern kid smiled and held out his hand.
"Hi, Pepper!" he said with excessive enthusiasm. "I'm Ash!"
He threw his hand out to shake, which Arven looked at skeptically before taking it. Ash had a strong grip. Nemona would get along great with the guy. "So, Bridge here says you time-traveled, too?"
Arven nodded. It was a fact he preferred to keep under wraps, but if Bridge had already let the secret out, there was no need to deny it.
"I...said I knew someone who used the word 'Pokémon' to refer to Sources," Bridge said. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Although I suppose the connection wasn't so difficult to make afterwards. I take it you two do not know each other, then?"
Arven pulled himself free of Ash's extra-long handshake and shook his head. "Afraid not."
"It's okay, though!" Ash said. "If we're the only modern people around, I'm sure we'll get along great. Which Pokémon sent you here, Pepper? Was it Dialga? Celebi? Arceus?"
"Whoa, whoa!" Arven held up his hands, the chopsticks still in his grip. "Why are you talking like you've met those Mythical Pokémon?"
"'Cause I have," Ash said like it was the most obvious thing in the time-space continuum. "I kind of assumed you've met them, too. How else would you get to the Michina Town of the past?"
Arven held up a finger. "First off, it's Michina City, and second-"
"Oh, wait, I don't think Dialga is considered a Mythical Pokémon," Ash said, mimicking the motion. "Most people call it a Legendary one. Pretty sure the other two have Mythical status, though."
"That is so beside the point, I can't even-"
From behind the two of them, Bridge let out a chuckle. "Well, I'll leave you two to your work, then." And with that, he turned and waved Arven good-bye as he walked back out the open doorway. Arven's jaw went slack as he watched the man leave. Not that he had any standing to complain to Bridge about anything. Bridge had taken him in, given him a job, and even trained him in this world's strange way of using Pokémon's powers. If anything, he should have been looking for ways to do Bridge a favor.
All the same, if I had to pick what kind of favor to do...
He glanced back at Ash, who stood waiting for directions. "I guess I could use a hand now and then," he admitted. "How are you at chopping vegetables?"
"Not bad," Ash replied. "The pieces don't always come out the same size, though. Is that all right?"
Arven sighed. Well, it wasn't the first cooking lesson he'd had to give. And it likely wouldn't be the last. "Why don't you sit over there..." He motioned towards a barrel in the corner. "...and you can watch me first?"
Ash nodded and eagerly plopped himself down. At least the kid had enthusiasm-something Arven hated to admit he hadn't experienced himself in a while. When each day became about survival, emotional energy kind of faded from the picture.
He held up the knife. "Rule number one is never slice towards your hand. Antibiotics haven't been invented yet. Neither have pain killers, for that matter. You hurt yourself, you'll be way more sorry than you would back home."
Ash frowned and gave a solemn nod. "Don't kill myself making a salad. Understood. What else, Mr. Pepper?"
"'Mister'?" Do I look that much older? Arven cleared his throat. "Um, just 'Pepper' is fine." He pulled some more carrots from a basket hanging from the ceiling and laid them out in front of him. "Actually, 'Pepper' is the name I got when I came here, after we figured out which Source-erm, which Pokémon I could connect to."
"Oh, neat!" Ash said. When Arven didn't elaborate, he added, "So...which one was it, then?"
"Maybe I'll tell you later," Arven said and went on to peeling the carrots. Just using the term 'Pokémon' again felt pretty nice. He could see himself getting used to Ash after all.