(this fic has a bunch of pictures in it that you can view on my tumblr (golby-moon) or you can see them right in the fic on the ao3 version of this fic under the same name)

(4,775 words)

Dean met Castiel when he was ten and his dad sent him out to get himself a Pokemon (Dean's used his dad's Pokemon before that even though he technically isn't supposed to, but the idea of something all to himself was…amazing). Dean lured a Salandit over with food and went to grab a PokeBall, only to find his backpack empty, because of course he forgot the most important thing when trying to catch a Pokemon.

He remembers being worried the Salandit would get away when he noticed a boy around his age watching and waved him over, asking if he had any PokeBalls. The boy was quiet and kind of weird, English imperfect and choppy enough for Dean to wonder where he came from, but he had a single PokeBall he picked up somewhere. Dean caught his first Pokemon and made his first friend that day, but didn't set out on his own journey until he was eighteen and Sammy and his Rockruff (he'd tried to get Sam an official starter, but that didn't pan out) and their best friend Cas could go with him.

It's awesome being able to explore Aloha with his two favorite people. Every day, they come across new people, new Pokemon, new towns, and new experiences. Dean discovers a love for Mantine surfing enough to even catch one himself. Sam finds a new skill in getting great pictures of Pokemon in the wild, which is how he finds his Stufful. Cas…Cas just seems to enjoy just about anything, as long as they're around.

One day when they're eating lunch in a field, Dean notices Cas watching a group of Cutiefly intently and a thought occurs to him. "Hey Cas, how come you don't have any Pokemon?" Cas instantly tenses, but Dean presses forward. "If you're nervous, me and Sammy can help you catch one."

"I'm all right, thank you. I don't need any Pokemon."

Dean watches the way Cas' eyes linger on the Cutiefly and exchanges a look with Sam. "But you want one."

"I don't need one."

"But you'd like one," Dean insists, and Cas wilts a little.

"I…would," he concedes, "but I won't… I can't take a Pokemon from its home, Dean. They deserve to be free. Besides, it…wouldn't be appropriate."

Dean shakes his head and puts his sandwich down. "Man, how many times do we have to tell you? We're not your weird family, Cas. You're allowed to be happy and live your life."

Cas doesn't talk about his family much but from what he has said, it sounds like they're a bunch of controlling dicks against all things fun (except for a brother named Gabriel, who apparently is against all things but fun). They've tried to get Cas out of that mindset, but it's pretty clear he hasn't escaped all the tendrils of his family's control.

"Cas, Pokemon like traveling and seeing the world, too," Sam says as Rockruff starts eyeing up Cas' abandoned sandwich. Dean, meanwhile, scarfs the rest of his lunch down to dig through his bag, and as if it knows what he's thinking, his Salandit sits up and grins in excitement. "There's so much out there to experience that most will never know about since they don't have a trainer to take them."

"C'mon, Cas, I need you a sec." Dean pulls Cas up by the wrist and brings him to the Cutiefly that are jumping from flower to flower. "Now, watch closely, huh? Salandit, use Ember!"

"Dean—"

"It's all right, Cas, I got it."

Salandit lands the attack, but not on a Cutiefly since a Ribombee jumps in and takes the attack. As an added bonus, it attacks back with little balls of pollen that piss Salandit off, and Dean grins, enjoying the challenge. A few more attacks and he launches a PokeBall at the weakened Pokemon, jumping in delight when the PokeBall catches the Ribombee.

He steps over and picks up the PokeBall, handing it to Cas, who takes it but gives him a look, like he wants to hand it back. "It's a gift, Cas. You keep those." Dean claps Cas on the shoulder and smiles. "Besides, now we can have Pokemon battles. Don't you wanna battle and train that little guy up to be strong?"

Cas opens his mouth then closes it. Finally, he presses the button in the center of the PokeBall and brings the Ribombee out. "You're already strong," he tells it, and Dean's smile softens a little.

The Pokemon buzzes happily and follows them back to their little picnic area. As Dean could've predicted, all the food has mysteriously disappeared, but between Stufful and Rockruff, that's to be expected. When they set out on the road, the Ribombee rides around on Cas' head. It never does go back into its PokeBall unless they're at the Pokemon Center, since the big healing machine does things a whole lot faster than the one nurse does.

Before they leave the area, Sam catches a Vullaby that's all too happy to gobble up whatever PokeBeans he might make as they go. Sam also feeds a Growlithe until it just allows itself to be caught. Dean's not sure what direction Sam's team is going beyond each member's insatiable appetite, but he's supportive nonetheless. Still, Sam's team isn't the only one expanding.

Somewhere along the way, Dean catches a Cubone and offers it support; he knows a thing or two about dead mothers, after all… The Cubone is always kind of…withdrawn, but it likes battling (and eating PokeBeans), so they get along pretty well (unlike Vullaby and Cubone, who seem to kind of hate each other. He blames the weird bone-bits they both wear). He also catches a Poliwag that seems to like sleeping more than anything else in the world, though fighting is a close second.

After Dean's trial at Wela Volcano Park, they head out to check out a fancy hotel. As predicted, it's way out of their price range, but that doesn't mean they don't check out the beach that night. That's where Cas finds a little buddy that won't leave him alone in the form of a Pyukumuku that likes sleeping even more than Dean's Poliwag does.

"It likes you," Sam remarks, though they could've figured that out without the words. The Pyukumuku is fully relaxed against Cas thigh, eyes closed as Cas carefully pets over its face half.

"You should catch it," Dean says, and Cas looks up, almost startled. "C'mon, it likes you! 'Sides, wouldn't want your Ribombee to get bored when it's healing up in the Pokemon Center." Said Ribombee flies down from Cas' head to Cas' unoccupied leg at the words, observing the Pyukumuku with one little hand at its mouth, looking like a curious little kid. "I'll even catch it for you if you want."

"No, it's not that. I just…" Cas' hand stalls on the Sea Cucumber Pokemon's head until the Pyukumuku squirms and butts its head into his hand. "I was…never meant to catch Pokemon. They're not mine to catch and travel with, Dean."

"Why not? This another idea your family shoved down your throat?"

"Dean—"

"Look, you're not with them anymore, Cas," Dean interrupts, and Cas goes quiet. "You're with us now. You're allowed to have your own Pokemon, even if you don't do more than love on 'em a little. Now, if you really don't want Pokemon of your own, that's fine, but don't not get any because of what your family said. Capiche?"

"I…capiche." Cas looks down and says quietly, "I think I'd like to catch you." The Pyukumuku lifts its head up, as excited as Dean's ever seen it, and Dean hands Cas a PokeBall with an encouraging smile. The Pyukumuku gurgles happily as the PokeBall taps against its forehead and sends it inside, and there's no struggle for it to get out as the PokeBall clicks shut. "I…I caught a Pyukumuku."

"Sure did, buddy." Dean grins proudly and slaps him on the back as he releases the Pyukumuku. "Gonna let that one ride on your head, too?"

Cas thinks about it and shakes his head, clearing out a space in that white duffel bag he carries everywhere (a great way to stash all their Potions and status condition healing stuff, though Cas doesn't want them to keep PokeBalls in there for some reason). Just like that, the Pyukumuku has a neat portable home that it can poke its head out of whenever it wants, and Cas' Ribombee maintains its coveted spot on top of Cas' head.

At some point, Dean realizes that Cas isn't…normal. For somebody who's never had Pokemon before, he's weirdly good at understanding what they want or need or like. Not that he hadn't noticed that when they were kids and Cas was, like, mega nice to Salandit, but it's even more obvious now.

He first notices this when he orders a malasada for his Pokemon, only to ask for a different flavor when his Ribombee apparently isn't over the moon about it (it looked happy enough with the flavor to Dean, but then again, it's not his Pokemon and he doesn't know all its mannerisms or anything).

The next incident happens shortly after Sam's fourteenth birthday. Rockruff, who's been with Sam for almost four years now, keeps rubbing at Sam's pant legs and face with the sharp rocks on its neck. Cas takes one look at the thing and says, "Oh. You Rockruff is close to evolving."

Digging out the old Pokedex tells Dean that he's probably right since Rockruff do get more aggressive with their affection as they mature, and one battle against a trainer down by the beach gives Rockruff that final push to evolve into a Lycanroc, midday version. It's stronger, faster, cooler, and definitely gives Cubone a run for its money when they battle later.

Speaking of which, the same thing happens not too long later with Dean's Cubone, where Cas says it's close to evolving and it just is, bursting into the blue light of evolution mid-battle against Team Smoke's self-proclaimed leader (some creep named Lilith who keeps looking at Sam funny). Now, Dean's not complaining at all, and Marowak's Alolan form is awesome and super powerful, but it's definitely weird to hear out of the blue that one of his Pokemon is about to evolve.

All the time, Cas just…says things about how their Pokemon feel about something (apparently Sam's Stufful's favorite color is yellow, and Dean's Poliwag loves hugs). He always knows just how each Pokemon wants to be pet, and always talks to the Pokemon like they can respond. It reminds Dean of those people that humor little babies when they babble and acknowledge the gibberish like it makes any sense at all. Hell, Dean used to do that with Sammy as a way to keep him entertained on long nights in an empty house…

Either way, Cas' Pokemon seem to like the attention, so Dean decides to try it one time with his Salandit, who's picking at bits of food with its claws. "Uh…hey, buddy. How's it goin'?" Salandit barely glances up, but Dean continues, "Good, that's good…" The Toxic Lizard Pokemon finally looks at him and grunts. "Yeah, that's interesting, buddy. Couldn't agree more."

Salandit's face twists down in annoyance right before it chucks a Pecha Berry at his head. Dean's not sure what he said, but he probably deserved it. Later, he somehow finds the courage to repeat the little experiment on Mantine. Mantine doesn't get angry, but looks so confused every time Dean agrees to something. He rewards its patience with a thorough petting and doesn't try again.

The weirdest thing is how Cas acts around certain people. He'll just sit there and squirm as much as he can without really moving. This is what happens when Sam mentions that weirdo Zach that they helped out earlier in Ula'ula Meadow wanting to give them a tour of Ethereal Paradise after Dean's upcoming battle against the kahuna.

"Dean," Cas urges quietly as they're climbing on the ship, Dean one island stamp richer.

"Yeah?" Cas opens and closes his mouth before stepping between him and Sam as a guy in a funky white suit crosses in front of them. "Something wrong?"

"No," he replies too quickly, eyes wide and darting around every few seconds. "Everything's fine."

Sam and Dean exchange a look, but neither says anything, though Dean does give Cas a one-armed hug the entire boat ride, figuring he must be seasick. Cas is quick to leave his side when they get off the boat, and Dean doesn't want to see his friend throwing up or anything, so he doesn't follow. Cas will meet them inside, surely.

"What is this place?" Sam asks quietly as they're brought inside a huge building, white as far as the eye can see in every direction. It reminds Dean of a really fancy dentist office.

"Welcome to Ethereal Paradise, boys," Zach says with a huge smirk. "Pretty neat, huh? We got this place set up on its own floating piece of…Heaven. Practically an island." Zach's boasting is cut short when something in his pocket beeps, his face then twisting into a face of displeasure. "Sorry, boys, looks like that's my cue. Hey, you, take over, will you?"

A woman with long, red hair rolls her eyes but steps over to them as Zach turns the corner. "Excuse him, he thinks the entire solar system revolves around his own image. I'm Anna, and I'll be giving you two a tour of this place, as thanks on my colleague's behalf." They head to the elevator and go to the first floor that isn't underground. "This is the main entrance. There's a place to heal your Pokemon by the reception desk, if you need it."

"We're okay," Sam assures with a smile, his Lycanroc keeping in perfect step by his side while Dean's Salandit is clinging to the side of his head with its creepy little hands, even though it knows Dean hates that. They get to the second floor, which has significantly more Pokemon on it. "Oh, wow."

"This is the conservation area," Anna explains. "Here, we take care of Pokemon targeted by Team Smoke, and some other species that just need a little extra protection. Corsola, for example, thanks to all the Toxapex in the area. Although, sometimes it's hard to figure out if it's really better to interfere with nature or to just let it go." Anna's jaw tenses and she looks at the floor. "Naomi is over there. She runs this place. You'll probably want to talk to her."

Sam and Dean exchange a look and slowly approach Naomi, a woman in a crisp white suit, hair short and tied back against her head in a neat bun. There's a certain coldness and dissatisfaction in her eyes that makes Dean uneasy, and even Salandit seems to feel it as it grips his head a little tighter.

"All these Pokemon…I'll keep them all safe. I'll protect them all." Naomi turns to fully face them. "You must be Sam and Dean. I've been expecting you. Zachariah told me about your achievements. Congratulations on your victory, Dean. Sam…I'm not sure what it is you do, but I'm sure it's impressive."

Dean's jaw ticks as he has to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything. Salandit licks at its own…lips slowly, but doesn't attack. "Yeah, that's us," he bites out instead, because Sam's indecision is his own problem and everybody should just butt out. "A pleasure."

"I'm Naomi, the president of the foundation. I'm glad that there are people out there like the two of you, seeking to learn more about Pokemon, but unfortunately, there are so many out there only seeking to profit off of Pokemon or otherwise try to harm them. Pokemon in all shapes and sizes deserve to be treated well, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam replies, but Dean's watching the weirdly blurry spot over Naomi's shoulder, eyes widening when something white and jellyfish-like slips out into the world before hastily ducking back inside, the spot disappearing.

"Did you guys see that? That-that jellyfish thing?"

"Oh, that was likely an Ultra Beast," Naomi says, like they're talking about finding a Rattata out on Route 1. "They appear here with increasing frequency through Ultra Wormholes. Their world is… Well, I hear it's rather twisted, and a very unfortunate place to live. It's only reasonable that they'd like to come to this world, isn't it?"

"Uh," Dean shifts and takes a step back, not liking how intently he's being stared at, "yeah, maybe. As long as they're not…planning on taking over the world or anything."

Naomi's lips tip up into a small smile. "Yes, that wouldn't be good news for the humans, would it? After all, humans are inferior to regular Pokemon in so many ways, but compared to Ultra Beasts?" She shakes her head. "Nevermind. I'm sure you'd like to get back to your trials, hm? Anna? Be a dear and take them back to the main island, won't you?"

"Can't wait to get outta here. This place gives me the creeps," Dean mumbles to Sam as they get in the elevator. "Can see why Cas didn't wanna come…"

"Cas? As in—you know Castiel?" Anna asks, surprised. Dean's surprised she even heard him.

"What's it to you?" Dean shoots back, skeptical and protective. Sam eyes Anna up too, but Anna just sighs. "How do you know him?"

"Castiel is…a friend. I haven't seen him in many years. Is he all right?" Dean just raises a silent eyebrow, urging her to get to the point, and Anna says, "In any case, tell him I need to talk to him. Tell him…tell him about the surge in energy. He'll understand."

Dean seriously doubts Cas would understand anything if he walked up and said something about a surge in energy, but nods anyway. It's whatever—he'll tell Cas if he wants to tell Cas. Besides, he's known Cas since he was ten, and he's never heard the name Anna before, so even if they do know each other, there's probably a reason they're not talking these days…

They meet back up with Cas at the Pokemon Center. Of course, they don't know he's going to be there, so it's pretty late when they find him again. "Hey, Cas, some chick called Anna said to tell you about some energy surge. You know what she's talking about?" Dean asks as his Pokemon heal after a long string of battles.

"Yes…" Cas looks strangely squirrelly about something, and when he offers no more information, Dean presses for more.

"Funny, I never heard you talk about her, or about some damn energy surge." His tone is considerably more bitter than he means for it to be and he isn't sure why. "Where do you know Anna from and why haven't you mentioned her, huh?"

"My apologies, Dean. The next time I know someone other than you and your brother, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Okay, okay." Sam gets in between them, his hands raised in defense for them. "Cas, of course you're allowed to know other people. We're just…intrigued because you've never talked about her."

Cas nods slowly, shoulders slumping as all the fight leaves him. "Yes, I understand. Anna was… We were close, but when I cut myself off from my family, we lost contact. I try not to think about it more than I have to."

Before Dean can offer more than a clap on the shoulder, his Pokemon are coming out fully healed and ready for a meal, and by the time they finish with that and leave the Pokemon Center to go set up a camp, Dean almost forgets about the whole thing. That evening, Cas gets all stiff and awkward and says he has to leave for a little while, and Dean doesn't realize until after Cas already left that he'd left Pyukumuku and Ribombee behind.

"Think I offended him?" Dean asks later that night as Salandit rolls around in the dirt and hisses at blades of grass that it apparently finds offensive.

"I wouldn't say…offended, but Cas was definitely acting weird about going in there. And about Anna," Sam replies as Vullaby steals half his dinner and Growlithe begs for the other half. To the side, Cas' Pyukumuku is sleeping against Dean's newly-evolved Poliwhirl's side, Ribombee resting on its head. "I think he just needs some space for a little while. He'll come to you when he's ready to talk."

Turns out Cas is ready to talk that night, as Dean's awoken at about four in the morning by someone shaking his shoulder. Bleary-eyed, he forgets he'd been given Cas some space and grumbles, "Cas, what the hell? I was sleeping, man."

"Um…Dean, I…"

"Pew!"

They both jump, and when Cas' hands fly to his bag as his eyes widen, Dean's eyes follow. "Uh, Cas? What's in the bag?"

"Um… We should wake Sam. I'd rather only have to explain once." Dean leans over and pinches Sam's nose until he jolts awake with a startled gasp, then looks at Cas expectantly. "I may or may not have…found a Pokemon. A very special one. It needs our help."

Before Cas can explain further, a little wispy thing with an adorably dumb face pops out of the bag. "Pew!"

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" Sam asks quietly, reaching out towards it. The Pokemon lets the hand get close until Sam's finger touches its head and it chirps happily.

"His name is Jack. He's…the energy surge." Cas pets along the ridge on its head, looking at it with so much fondness Dean's heart feels like it's gonna explode. "He's very special, and he needs to be looked after. And hidden, if possible. If something happens to me, do you promise to look after him?"

Dean shifts, because it's obvious Cas is addressing him and him alone, blue eyes boring into his very soul. Jack floats by beside him, innocently unaware. "Uh…gee, Cas, you act like it's your kid or something."

Cas' eyes widen a little before he nods. "Yes. Jack is my son now. You have to take care of him if something happens to me." Dean opens his mouth, then closes it and offers a weak nod, wondering what Cas thinks is going to happen. Cas' face falls into that of a kicked Lillipup. "Are you declining?"

"No! No, I'll, uh, I'll take care of…him," Dean assures awkwardly, very tempted to throw something behind him and hope it hits a certain little brother when Sam snickers quietly. "Your other Pokemon, too. I'll keep 'em safe."

Cas' whole body relaxes and he smiles, big and gummy. "Thank you, Dean." Damnit, Cas. He's lucky he's cute…

"Yeah, no problem. Can we get back to sleep now?"

Jack is admittedly a fun addition to their group. Despite being a Pokemon (he thinks), Jack is clearly not one of Cas' Pokemon; despite traveling in the same bag as Pykumuku, who seems to greatly enjoy the company, Cas treats Jack as if it's more…sentient than the other Pokemon. Given that he already treats his other Pokemon like they're people, Dean actually didn't think this was possible. Yet, he always asks Jack what it wants to eat and asks why it's upset when it starts crying or making noise.

It's a new side to Cas that Dean's never seen before, and Dean…kind of likes it. Cas has always been on the soft side, but to see him interacting with Jack like it's, well, an actual baby, is a new experience Dean can't say he dislikes. Jack itself is pretty cute, too, and while he's not sure Cas should be giving it candy, Jack always gets adorably excited when presented with it.

Apparently, the wispy blob of space dust likes nougat.

Still, though Cas has never really been one for battling, he never sends Jack out to fight, even when Jack looks like it might like a little tussle in the grass sometimes. Somewhere along the line, Cas' other Pokemon get pretty protective of it, with Pykumuku always keeping it company in Cas' duffel bag and Ribombee always going out to fight whenever a battle is imminent. It's weird, but Dean's pretty used to Cas' weirdness by now, enough so to be somewhat fond of it, even.

For a while, Dean thinks the most impressive thing about Jack is its ability to eat an entire Big Malasada in a single sitting despite its small size or maybe just how loud it can get when its naps are interrupted also despite its small size. This is before they're jumped by some Team Smoke bozos one minute and out in a flowery field somewhere the next.

"Um," Dean expresses eloquently, comforted by the fact that Salandit and Poliwhirl look equally baffled (and maybe a little pissed about their battle being cut short). "What just happened?"

"I think we were…teleported," Sam replies slowly. Luckily, there's nobody in sight as far as the eye can see, meaning nobody else could've seen whatever the hell just happened.

"It was Jack," Cas says quietly, not meeting their eyes. Beside him, Jack is floating innocently, gurgling happily when Pykumuku uses its giant retractable mouth-hand to wave at it. "He sensed our distress and reacted accordingly to keep us safe."

"'Distress'?" he repeats flatly. "Dude, speak for yourself. Poliwhirl was this close to punching that Rattata in the nose." Poliwhirl knocks its fists together in agreement, expression sour. "Yeah, two more minutes and we would've owned that thing." They didn't even get a chance to try out any new moves!

"That was Teleport, right? I didn't know Jack knew that move," Sam says, because of course he'd be thinking about that.

"Jack is very powerful, but he needs to be protected." Cas pets Jack with a fond smile on his face that makes any traces of Dean's annoyance disappear. "He's still learning about the world. Even if you could have handled that battle easily, he didn't realize that. He just saw your Salandit get hurt and acted accordingly."

Dean doesn't really know what planet Cas came from that he thinks Jack needs protection when it's clearly at least strong enough to get away without help, but he doesn't mention it. At this point, he's been assuming for a few weeks now that Anna gave Cas an egg or something that Jack promptly hatched from.

Dean's never even seen a Pokemon egg in person before, so he assumes it's probably at least a little normal to be overly protective. And he's seen people in shows refer to their plump Purugly as their Pokebabies and such, so he slowly stops seeing even that as weird.

Now, Cas himself is still weird, of course; he wouldn't really be Cas if he didn't have all kinds of qualms about food textures and strange ways that he thinks Pokemon should be treated (not that Sam or Dean treat their Pokemon badly by any means. They just don't spoil them as much as Cas does or try to talk to them like they understand their every word). Sometimes though, Cas acts stranger than usual, which is really saying something.

The weirdest Dean's ever seen Cas, however, is when he suggests checking some place called the Ethereal House out. Cas is hesitant and says he'd rather stay back, but Dean pushes him to come with them, not sure where his hesitation is coming from. Sure, the Ethereal House is kinda creepy, but it's an orphanage for kids and Pokemon, so it can't be that bad.

The place is mostly empty with just a few kids and Pokemon, and two guys in funky white suits that keep giving Cas funny looks, making Dean wonder if he should've forced him to come along, though at least Sam gets to fangirl over the Oranguru at the front desk, talking about how he's never seen one before and taking about three dozen pictures of it before they leave.

Yeah, it's a fine adjustment period sprinkled with Mantine surfing, Pokemon battles, and the occasional sporadic teleportation up until Cas disappears from the fancy hotel room they stayed in the night before, the only trace of him having ever even been there being the duffel bag he never leaves behind sitting on the floor beside the messy sheets of the pullout bed.

On top of it all, Jack cries and cries, inconsolable despite the best efforts of Sam, Dean, and both of Cas' Pokemon.