Night came and the group finally halted.
Ash gingerly sat down on a log, too exhausted and in too much pain to even make a token effort at protesting when Aoba and Melanie started to set up his tent for him. Pikachu gently nuzzled into the boy's side while Ash opened his backpack with slow, careful movements and retrieved yet another disgusting energy bar for his dinner.
"I am going to be so happy to see that pokémon center," Ash declared. "And I hope I never have to see another one of these"- he nearly spat the word, glaring at the energy bar- "again."
"There are worse things out there," Aoba said while he helped Melanie with the finishing touches on Ash's tent. "You've never seen some of the cooking experiments that I came across in university."
"Sciencey cooking?" Ash asked.
"Not always, it was mostly drunk cooking," Aoba told him. "Too much beer and sake led to some rather…. Shall we say unique and unsettling dishes."
"Ah, yes, college cooking fun," Melanie sighed happily. "I've got a few horror stories from the botany labs. Have you ever seen someone try to make a triple decker sandwich using a vileplume pollen inspired sauce, victreebel leaves, and exeggutor clippings?"
"No, but there was a sort of sciency cooking incident that tops that. One time someone created a new life form from cloned ditto tissue and then cooked it after it died," Aoba replied. "Funnily enough it did taste alright. Last I heard Alice was thinking about trying to take it commercial."
"Oh my," Melanie said giggling and covering her mouth.
"It would be an improvement from most cloned meat, or so I hear," Aoba went on grinning. "I know some people claim that they can taste the difference between the cloned stuff and the real meat, but I can't. Ted's always so offended….." Aoba trailed off, his grin fading. Melanie paused in her work.
"Ted was always so offended by my choice of deli meats." Aoba rallied, continuing to talk, "He always claimed I had no palate and that's why I was never allowed to help out with the baking."
Aoba shook his head and smiled again, but Ash could see the wetness leaking out of the corner of his eyes. "Baking is supposed to just be applied chemistry, but I was never up to his standards. I could put together a list of ingredients, but I could never pick the right type of ingredient. I always got the wrong type of eggs or something."
"I know I had a large amount of trouble along those lines when I started cooking out here," Melanie said, making a point not to look at Aoba's face as she resumed working on Ash's tent. "You can't substitute blueberries for blackberries, or chestnuts for acorns, at least not if you want things to taste acceptable. It took me two years to understand that."
"Before I met Ted, I just ate what was in front of me," Aoba confessed, hiding his face behind Ash's tent, pretending to fiddle with a strap. "Meals were just something I did so you wouldn't be hungry, you know? Coffee, I learned to appreciate coffee because drinking a cup was a little ritual to start the day or take a break. But food was just fuel."
Ash didn't say anything and neither did Melanie.
"But meals became a ritual too after we started living together," Aoba went on, lost in a memory. His voice was growing tighter, higher, and Ash could hear the unshed tears in it. "I learned to appreciate food like I did coffee, because it meant I was taking time to sit down with him."
Once more Ash and Melanie were silent.
"And now I'll never get to do it again," Aoba said, falling to his knees and disappearing behind Ash's tent. Melanie rushed around the tent and Ash followed as fast as he could without aggravating his back.
Aoba was kneeling on the ground, body wracked with silent sobs. Melanie knelt down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Aoba, I'm going to hug you, is that alright?" the blue haired woman asked the sobbing scientist. The man nodded and Melanie wrapped her arm around his shoulder and embraced him.
"It's okay," she cooed. "It's okay. Just let it all out."
"Why?" Aoba asked in a tone Ash couldn't remember another human ever using. "Why did they have to kill him? They wanted me, why did he have to die? Why couldn't they have just killed me instead? It hurts so much. I'd rather be the one who was dead."
"So, you could hurt him like this?" Ash opened his mouth without thinking.
"What?" Aoba looked up with eyes full of tears.
"Sorry," Ash said, realizing what he had said. "But if he loved you back, then he would probably be feeling like this if you were dead."
"Yes," Aoba looked down over Melanie's shoulder, tears falling to the ground. "But he'd be alive to do so. That's the point."
Ash grimaced and didn't say anything.
Looking at the broken man in front of him, Ash wondered if Aoba's hunters understood what pain they had caused, or if they could even care. Those faceless figures in the shadows chasing the scientists, Ash wondered what would happen if they ever felt grief. What would happen if Aoba's hunters could care about someone? What would happen if they lost that person?
But Ash couldn't imagine the hunters as people, not really. They couldn't know human emotions, human pain. Because, if they knew that pain, then why would they cause it?
Aoba eventually regained control of himself. He stood up, accepted a hand-towel from Melanie, and cleaned his face while sniffing.
"I'm sorry," Aoba finished wiping up his face, "I can't seem to do anything but cry."
"You don't need to apologize," Melanie said softly. "I know what it's like."
"Yeah," Ash chimed in. "We all cry sometimes."
"Yes, but we've got more important things to worry about then my feelings," Aoba told them. "Such as how we're all going to survive the next couple of days."
"Maybe they've given up," Melanie suggested with a shrug. "Or maybe they went back to help their teammates deal with Brock and Misty?"
"I certainly hope they did," Aoba responded.
"But you don't think they did," Ash pointed out. "I don't think they did either," Ash continued, turning to Melanie.
"I was certainly being more hopeful than I was being realistic," Melanie admitted. "But Aaron, you and Bulbasaur did beat them once already. Isn't it a possibility that they've given up? Or maybe they don't have any pokémon left."
Ash thought for a moment, carefully resting his chin in his hand. What would he do if he had been trying to attack Aoba?
Well, he never would, so Ash thought about what he would do if he was trying to destroy some piece of equipment that was meant to be used for nefarious purposes?
What could he have known about himself, or at least the people who would be doing the same thing in the hypothetical situation that Ash was doing in real life? He knew that they knew they were being tracked….. actually, Ash realized that he wouldn't know that for sure. He wouldn't know if the group he would be tracking in the hypothetical situation would know that he had split off from his main group.
Ash would be able to know the number of pokémon that were out, at least possibly. Well, he would if he had a way to scout, that was. If he didn't, he would have to learn what pokémon were out when he attacked for the first time. And he would have to wait until he attacked to see if he couldn't see what pokémon were still kept in their pokéballs.
So, then he wouldn't use everything he had for that first attack, not if he had a choice, Ash realized. If he sent in everything at once, he might stumble right into a pokémon that could hard-counter his pokémon and then everything would be over.
"They'll have pokémon left," Ash told Aoba and Melanie. "They wouldn't want to send all their pokémon at us unless they knew what we had."
"And after the attack yesterday they know what fighting pokémon we have," Melanie nodded, following along. "That means they're going to attack us again."
"We've got to-"Ash started talking, making the mistake of standing up quickly as he did so. His back immediately reminded him why that was a bad idea.
"We have got to deal with this in the morning," Melanie gently chided, moving to assist Ash. "You need to rest so you can recover."
"No," Ash shook his head. "We need to think of what we need to do as soon as we can!"
"Aaron, kid, you need to relax," Aoba said, coming to help Melanie with the boy. "You need to recover before you think you can take care of protecting anyone."
"No time," Ash gasped as the two adults helped him over to a new seat. "They could come back anytime."
"Well then, we already wasted the entire day," Aoba pointed out, "since we're only discussing this now. Aaron, it's time for you to rest. We'll talk this over in the morning when you've had a chance to sleep on it."
"What if they come back tonight?" Ash asked as the other two humans led him into his tent.
"What if they had come back last night?" Melanie asked, gently holding the boy's arm. "I can take first watch, and then Bulbasaur and the Squirtle Squad can handle the other watches. Just like last night. If they come, we'll at least be ready to run."
"I shoulda come up with a plan last night," Ash groaned. "I screwed up."
Idiot, Pikachu slapped himself in the face and groaned through his forepaw. Why do I have to have the stupidest human in the world as a trainer? Why are you so eager to push yourself too hard?
"Aaron," Aoba sighed, "just sleep, okay? I'll come up with a plan in case they attack us tonight."
"You've done this before?" Ash asked as Melanie unzipped the tent and the two adults helped him inside.
"Not exactly," Aoba admitted. "But I played rugby in university, so I know a tiny bit about tactics."
"What's rugby?" Ash asked as Melanie unrolled his sleeping back.
"It's a sport where you try to get a ball to the opposite side of the field, like soccer," Aoba explained, "but instead of only being able to kick the ball, you can throw it or run it too. But if you're running the ball you can get tackled."
"Oh," Ash said.
"Do you need help getting undressed?" Melanie asked after Ash's sleeping bag was set up. "Or can you handle it yourself?"
"I'm good," Ash said almost indecent haste. "I can do it."
"We'll leave you to it then," Melanie said. "Actually, can you let out Pidgeotto and Butterfree first? We'll need them to help stand guard tonight."
White light blazed and Ash's other two pokémon joined the group.
"Pidgeotto, can you join Aoba on first watch?" Melanie asked. "We'll need you to fly some sort patrols. And Butterfree, can you join me on second watch? It'll be too dark to fly patrols, but if you could try to, uh, psychically sense Team Rocket, that would help."
"That's not a bad idea," Ash said. "Pidgeotto, Butterfree, listen to the lady."
On it! Pidgeotto said with a mock salute of her wing.
I'll nap until it's my turn, Butterfree said, fluttering outside the tent.
"That's settled then," Melanie said with a nod. "Now Aaron, go to bed. We'll need you at your best tomorrow."
"Fine," Ash sighed. The two adults left the tent.
You know, if you hadn't been so stupid yesterday, people wouldn't be fussing over you now, Pikachu pointed out.
So, everyone has made clear, Ash sighed. Honestly, I think not being able to move properly is bothering me worse than anything else.
Maybe that will keep you out of trouble then, Pikachu huffed as Ash undressed and crawled into his sleeping bag.
I doubt it,Ash yawned, laying back in his sleeping bag. And then he sighed.
What? Pikachu asked as he curled up on Ash's chest.
It's just- I don't know, Ash grimaced. This Ted guy is dead, Aoba's hurting, Melanie's life is wrecked, and all of the pokémon she was taking care of are suffering. And we don't even know why this is all happening.
'Cause Team Rocket is a bunch of bastards, that's why, Pikachu replied, closing his eyes.
But why start this? Ash asked, looking up at the tent ceiling. He sighed again. I mean I know they're awful, but why are they being awful to Aoba specifically? And why did they decide to go after Melanie too?
Who cares? Pikachu said, not bothering to open his eyes.
I do, Ash told his pokémon.
Then you'll have to capture some member of Team Rocket and ask them, Pikachu told his trainer. But you can worry about that in the morning. Go to sleep before I call Butterfree over here to use Sleep Powder.
Aoba and Melanie stood outside Aaron's tent. They had a quick conversation about the logistics of that night's watch schedule and then Aoba turned around to head off to take first watch.
Before he could get far, however, Melanie spoke up again.
"Aoba, about that plan you mentioned to Aaron earlier," she started, making Aoba turn around to face her. She was giving him a pointed, unamused look that made him want to squirm. "If Team Rocket attacks tonight you wouldn't happen to be planning to lead them away from us by sacrificing yourself, now would you?"
"Uh," Aoba winced. That actually had been his plan.
Melanie slowly shook her head.
"Here's a new plan," she told the former biochemist, hands on her hips. "You shout to wake everyone up and then we all do our best to fight or run, together. Do I make myself clear?"
"It would be best if I-"Aoba tried to protest, but Melanie cut him off.
"If you don't think you can agree to that plan, I'll have to ask Bulbasaur to keep an eye on you," she went on. "Or maybe I can convince Butterfree to use Sleep Powder."
Aoba grimaced. "I'm not worth it," he said to the blue haired woman. "I-"
"Am under my care, just like all the pokémon here," Melanie finished for him. "And I'm not going to abandon you anymore than I would abandon one of them. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Aoba said, defeated.
"Good," Melanie nodded. "Now I believe you have first watch."
Team Rocket did not attack them that night.
Ash woke up to a back that was hurting, but the pain was not as bad as it had been yesterday. While getting up, he discovered that his range of movement had increased.
Ash reflect that it looked like there actually had been something to everyone 'go rest' arguments.
Ash dressed and got out of his tent to find Pidgeotto and Butterfree sleeping in a nearby tree. The pokémon from the village were scattered around the forest, sleeping. Ash noticed that the Squirtle Squad was sleeping in a pile close to his tent.
He must have made some noise because the squad's leader jerked a few times and then sat up, adjusting his sunglasses and yawning.
Good morning, Ash said to Squirtle.
Thanks, Squirtle replied with another yawn. Good morning to you too.
Thanks, Ash replied. He and Squirtle stood there for a full minute of silence that grew more and more awkward.
So, uh, thanks for taking that hit for me, Squirtle said, rubbing the back of his head and looking at the ground.
You're, uh, welcome, Ash replied, remembering not to shrug.
Does it- Does it still hurt? Squirtle asked.
Yeah.
Oh. That's too bad.
Thanks.
Um….. I'm sorry that you had to do that for me, Squirtle said hesitantly. I should've handled that fight better.
It's okay, Ash reassured the water type. We all had some tough fights that day.
Yeah, but, well,Squirtle shuffled his feet as he searched for the words, I'm the leader of the Squirtle Squad. I'm supposed to do better than that.
I mean you weren't fighting with your full squad, Ash said. And they had type advantage.
It doesn't matter, Squirtle grimaced. It's my responsibility to take care of my squirtles and I couldn't do that. You ended up having to do it.
Well, I mean, you were only in this situation because you're protecting Melanie and her pokémon, Ash pointed out. And you did succeed at that. You stopped Team Rocket from attacking us from the rear. I just helped you with the stuff that came after.
I guess, Squirtle sighed. But still… I should've done better.
Why? Ash inquired.
Just- just because, Squirtle said, looking up at the morning sky. I guess it's because the reason I became the leader of the Squirtle Squad was to take care of my comrades, which I didn't do yesterday.
Why did you need to make the Squirtle Squad to do that?
Well, they were hurting too much to live normally in the wild, Squirtle explained. I thought I could help them remember how to do live like that again. Get them to change back, ya know? But I ended up changing instead.
I mean, I became a lot cooler! Squirtle said, smiling over at Ash and sticking his inner claws up in an imitation of the human 'thumbs up' gesture. We got these sweet shades and had cool adventures! Squirtle quit smiling as he went on. But I never got them to learn how to live like they used to. I think they actually miss living like trained pokémon.
I mean, yeah, Ash replied. Pokémon with a trainer don't have to worry about hunting or being hunted. I'm guessing that the Squritle Squad doesn't hunt?
Yes, Squirtle nodded.
And you probably don't have to worry about predators as much because you're living in a group, Ash went on.
Yeah, Squirtle nodded again. Hmm…. I guess you're right about them missing the life. And then the water-type sighed. But they're not getting stronger like trained pokémon are supposed to. I mean I started getting stronger when I took over, there was a lot of stuff I had to learn. But now I'm not getting stronger. And I think that's going to be a problem.
Maybe, Ash stopped himself from shrugging. I mean, it sounds like before Aoba stumbled across you guys, the Squirtle Squad was more than strong enough to protect the village from whatever it had to deal with?
The occasional pokémon poacher snooping around and maybe a big pokémon on a rampage, Squirtle told Ash. At least that's what Bulbasaur said that he had to deal with.
It doesn't sound like you needed to be stronger then, Ash told the water type. You were plenty strong-
No, Squirtle shook his head. We weren't strong enough to stop the trouble following Aoba. I wasn't strong enough to protect my team and my team wasn't strong enough to protect everyone else without help.
Well you did have help, Ash pointed out.
Not the right sort of help, Squirtle sighed. I need help getting stronger. If I can't help my squad remember how to live wild again, then I need to be strong enough to lead them through whatever danger they have to deal with.
Oh, Ash said and then there was a stretch of silence.
Do you have any tips on how to get stronger? Squirtle asked.
Uh….. Ash thought about the question. I guess? Do you know what you're good at yet?
I'm a bit of a generalist, Squirtle replied. But I've got a slight edge when it comes to special attacks over physical combat.
Well then, you've already done that, Ash thought some more. I don't think I've had a chance to see you fight, so I'm not sure what you need to improve on. Or what new things you should learn. Hmm…. maybe once we get to the pokémon center we can work together and see what you can do.
Sure, Squirtle replied with a sigh. We can make a decision then.
Huh? Ash felt like he had missed a piece of the conversation.
Don't worry about it, Squirtle said with a wave of his forepaw. We've got other things to worry about today.
Squirtle started to wake up the rest of his squad while Ash watched, puzzled. And then the human shrugged and set about to tending to his pokémon.
"We need a plan," Ash announced to his pokémon and to Bulbasaur, Charmander, and the Squirtle Squad. "For when Team Rocket attacks up again."
They were all gathered in a clearing, having finished with their various breakfasts. Melanie was checking over Aoba and a few of the pokémon from the village, making sure that everyone was still healthy. Ash knew that if he wasn't careful, she would insist of checking up on him as well. His back was feeling a lot better that morning, but he didn't want to give her any excuses to slow the group down.
They're probably going to have more pokémon this time, Ash went on. And they've got a good idea of what we can do. So, we can't rely on the same tricks as last time.
What do you think they'll do differently? Bulbasaur asked.
Well, for one, if they have any dark or steel types that they didn't send out last time, they'll send them against Butterfree this time, Ash told the grass type. Let's see… that's all I can say for sure right now. I think they'll just mainly be prepared for the tactics we used last time. So, we have to think of some new things.
Like what? One of the squirtles asked.
I don't know, Ash confessed. I mean, I've got a few ideas, but I don't know if you'll like them.
Just toss 'em out here, another squirtle said.
We might need to work on having Pidgeotto and Charmander counter their bellsprouts, Ash told the squad. And that means we'll have to practice coordinating.
You mean we'll have to train, one of the squirlte said in a dark tone.
Yeah, Ash grimaced. I know. But maybe Squirtle and Bulbasaur can work on training you instead of me.
I don't know how to train pokémon, Squirtle protested, fiddling with his angular sunglasses.
I know a few tricks, Bulbasaur replied. Learning how to coordinate with flying types isn't that uncommon.
It's a good start, Ash said, nodding. But it's not going to be enough. Especially if they attack while we're in the middle of training.
Ash drew in a deep breath and winced. He knew his next suggestion wasn't going to be popular. We might need the other pokémon to help us.
No! Bulbasaur growled.
They can't fight! Squirtle protested.
Ash, have you forgotten why they're here? Pikachu asked. They're not up to this.
Well then, they might have to, Ash replied. Either here, or when they're captured by Team Rocket.
They won't be very good at fighting though, Pidgeotto pointed out.
Well, I didn't mean I wanted them to fight-fight, Ash explained. I just thought they could help us. They might have some moves that could prove useful.
Well, that makes more sense, Pidgeotto said.
Why didn't you say it like that in the first place? Squirtle asked.
Ash is an idiot, more news at eleven, Pikachu said, rolling his eyes.
It's not an idea I like, but it's one I might have to put up with, Bulbasaur grumbled. We'll have to find out what moves they know.
While we're at it, do you know if there's a list of what pokémon were actually at the village? Ash inquired.
It turned out there had been two geodudes, four caterpies, three rattatas, five pidgeies, three bellsprouts, two weepinbells, a staryu, two magikarps, and a tauros that had been at the village when Team Rocket had attacked. Bulbasaur had mentioned that some of the wild pokémon near the village had been former patients of Melanie's, but they hadn't joined the group from the village.
We had a croconaw stay with us for a little while, Bulbasaur said. Her trainer got rid of her because she had temper issues. She probably got those issues from that piece of shit trainer. I had to help Melanie keep her from hurting anyone; it used to be my biggest chore. The grass type sighed. It's a shame she ain't with us now.
One of the bellsprouts and the two weepinbells knew Sleep Powder. The geodudes knew Rock Throw. One of the rattatas knew Super Fang. Three of the pidgeies knew Gust. All the caterpies knew String Shot, though none could claim any skill with it. The staryu only knew Water Gun. And Tauros only knew Tackle and Horn Attack.
Do you think you can do anything with that? Squirtle asked after the human had finished talking to the pokémon from the village. Bulbasaur had decided to distract Melanie while Ash had been doing that by dragging Charmander over to her for a checkup.
Unfortunately for Bulbasaur, Melanie decided to give the grass type one too while he was there.
Hmmm… Ash murmured. Well, I can't think of anything revolutionary, but there might be a couple of tricks we can do. We also need to talk about how we can counter the pokémon they attacked us with last time.
What's your plan? Squirtle asked.
Pidgeotto takes care of that machop, you guys can take care of the aron, the cubone and the slugma, Bulbasaur can keep the bellsprouts busy, Pikachu's got the zubats again, and we'll keep Butterfree in reserve, Ash told the water type.
It seems like you're just relying on type advantage, Squirtle pointed out.
I mean, yeah, Ash shrugged, careful not to aggravate his back. We don't have time to set up anything complex and complicated plans are easy to mess up. If we had a better way to keep an eye on them, then we could maybe try to lure them into a trap but Pidgeotto's the only one who can do that. And I don't want to put her in danger by sending her out to scout them alone.
If something happened to her we'd be blind, Squirtle nodded.
Well, that and she'd be hurt and we'd have no way to help, Ash said, but being blind would be another issue.
Also, true, Squirtle agreed.
And then there's those unknown pokémon, Ash sighed. We can't make a good plan to deal with them if we don't even know what they're going to be.
Oh, great, Squirtle growled. Now I'm starting to get worried about what they might bring.
Welcome to my world, Ash sighed. Now let's see what else we can do.
Ash spent most of the day talking to pokémon, scurrying around the group as they traveled to confer the pokémon from the village, or the Squirtle Squad, or to talk things over with Pikachu and Bulbasaur.
By the time the sun had started to sink Ash thought that he had done all that he could to prepare.
Unfortunately, what he had been able to do was not nearly enough.
Ash had managed to come up with a rudimentary plan, got it checked over, and then made sure everyone knew about the plan. On top of that, Ash had done his best to get the pokémon from the village to practice their part in the plan, so that they wouldn't be completelyunprepared when the attack came.
And that had been a mess.
Ash's back was hurting from having to dodge accidental showers of Sleep Powder, stray String Shots, inaccurately thrown rocks, and the high winds of accidently discharged Gust attacks. The black-haired boy silently groaned, just thinking about how much worse it was going to be, having to deal with the upcoming Rocket attack with his injured back.
The boy fell into step alongside Tauros and Aoba, discreetly leaning on the pokémon. The man's eyes were still red rimmed, his face was too pale, but the former biochemist was looking healthier than Ash had ever seen him (in the few days that he had known the man).
"How are you feeling? Ash and Aoba asked each other at the same time.
"You go first," Aoba said. "You were hurt more recently."
"You were hurt worse," Ash shot back.
"And I'm the adult here," Aoba rebutted, sitting up straighter. "It's my job to make sure you're alright and get you a juice box if you're feeling thirsty."
"Do you have one?" Ash asked eagerly. Juice boxes had been a rare treat in his life, usually only found at school.
"Sorry kid," Aoba said, looking like he was holding back some laughter. "Maybe I'll treat you to one when we get to the pokémon center. How's your back?"
"It hurts," Ash admitted with a grimace, "but it's better then it used to be."
"Well, that's good to hear," Aoba said.
"Now it's your turn," Ash said, giving a pointed stare to Aoba. "How are you."
"Surprisingly good," Aoba answered, tenderly prodding at the wound on his side. "Melanie's done a pretty good job."
"That's good news!" Ash said with a broad grin on his face. "Maybe you won't even need a doctor when we get to the pokémon center!"
"You know, technically speaking, I am a doctor," Aoba told the boy.
"Should we call you Doctor Aoba then?"
"No, that's alright. I just sometimes like to brag about surviving graduate school." Aoba said, face neutral, but there was a grin hidden in his voice.
"Was it that bad?" Ash inquired. "School was pretty fun for me."
Aoba blinked, looking surprised at Ash's statement. "I generally don't hear that from anyone under eighteen," the man said. "Most people don't enjoy school until they get to university."
"Why not?" Ash asked. Except for first grade and his first day of fifth grade, Ash had always enjoyed himself at school.
"I don't know," Aoba replied with a shrug. "I didn't particularly enjoy primary school, but I didn't have anything against it either. If nothing else, the library had a nice collection of non-fiction books."
"School was were all the people were though!" Ash exclaimed. "That's where I got to see all my friends!"
"None of my friends went to the same school as me," Aoba replied. "I found school boring when we weren't in science class or when I wasn't in the library."
"Why didn't you make some more friends at school?" Ash asked, unconsciously taking his weight off of Tauros while he was distracted by the conversation.
"My fellow students didn't share my interests," Aoba confessed. "I wasn't very interested in pokémon, pokémon training, pokémon coordinating, or sports. I was the oddball interested in chemistry instead. It wasn't until high school that I found friends who shared my interests in Chemistry Club."
"Oh," Ash said. He searched his memory, trying to think of someone who hadn't been interested in pokémon in the schools he had gone to. He drew a blank.
"Since you're a pokémon trainer, I'm guessing you didn't have that problem," Aoba said with a crooked smile.
"Well, not really," Ash said, reaching to rub the back of his head. But his back twinged as he reached up and Ash stopped himself with a flare of annoyance. He hated how much his back was limiting his movements.
"Yeah, stiches are never fun," Aoba, who had been watching Ash, said.
"I keep not thinking about them and almost doing something that hurts," Ash complained.
"Yep," Aoba agreed. "And then there's the itching."
"Oh, that's going to happen?" Ash groaned.
"Oh yes," Aoba hissed, glaring at his side where his stiches were. "And then all your doctors warn you not to scratch them."
"Oh no," Ash moaned, thinking of the stitches running up the length of his back.
"And then we're going to need to see a doctor when it's time to remove the stiches," Aoba went on. "And then they'll scold us for scratching the itch, remove the stitches, and then tell us again not to scratch the itch."
"Great," Ash leaned against Tauros again.
"And the doctors will tell us how it's our fault for everything taking so long," Aoba complained. "Like we're so happy with the situation."
"Really?" Ash whined. He didn't want his medical ordeal to get any worse.
"Oh yes," Aoba nodded. "I've been through stiches enough times to know the pattern." Seeing Ash's quizzical look, Aoba went on, "the graduate school chemistry labs tended to have problems with….. pressurized combustion. And the biology labs had subjects that weren't always feeling cooperative. You either learned how to duck or how to deal with stiches."
"What sort of things didn't feel cooperative?" Ash inquired.
Aoba spent the rest of the day's journey regaling Ash with tales from his time at graduate school. Ash listened to stories about idiot geniuses and their dangerous experiments, about drunken hijinks, about the stupid fights and about the childish rivalries the twenty-something students were constantly engaged in.
Time passed quickly and before Ash knew it Melanie and Bulbasaur were indicating that it was time for the group to stop and rest. They struck up camp, ate, set up a watch schedule and then everyone went to bed.
Laying in his sleeping bag Ash thought back on his conversation with Aoba. About the glimpse of the man's life he had seen during their travels. About how that life was in danger of being snuffed out by Team Rocket.
Ash wondered how many lives like Aoba's, how many lives like his own were threatened by hunters. How many unique experiences and stories could disappear into the void because inhuman human monsters had decided that they needed to die or vanish?
It wasn't a comforting train of thought.
AN: I'd like to thank BlackCatSpecialist for beta reading.
Again, thank you all for the reviews and comments.
On one hand, I'm worried that I'm being a bit melodramatic with Aoba's grief here. On the other hand, though, I know some people who actually process grief in that manner. Whether its melodramatic or not might be up to your personal experience. Guess we'll just have to see.
Anyway, don't forget to leave a review!