Chapter 49; acceptance

Chikorita walked through the forest alone for the first time in its life. The calming sounds of the woods would help most relax, but Chikorita felt the conflict rising within it with every step it took, every moment it spent alone.

Sonic's words the night before had broken its heart. They were also the reason of the immense conflict it found itself in.

"As your trainer my primary obligation is to keep you safe and happy. As Sonic the hedgehog, me and my friends are heading into danger. And I can't let you follow me into that danger. Not as Chikorita".

"How can you keep me safe and happy if I can't be myself?" Chikorita thought in confusion as it reached a lake and looked at its reflection.

"Look at me. What is so wrong with me that I need to evolve?"

Chikorita stayed there for a few moments pondering that question. It ultimately was unable to get a satisfying answer.

"What do I do now? Where do I go?"

At that moment Chikorita realized it that its plan to just run away had a major flaw; Sonic still had its pokeball and since it was functioning, no other trainer would be able to catch it.

"So that's it?" Chikorita thought slumping down on the ground "I'm destined to be alone? Or with a trainer who will never accept me?"

While these thoughts were occupying its mind, Chikorita didn't pay attention to its surroundings, leading it to be tickled by an aipom which came out of nowhere.

"Hey quit it" Chikorita said annoyed.

Aipom merely laughed and dodged as Chikorita tried to use vine whip on it. It annoyed Chikorita to no end.

Soon enough the duo were joined by Aipom's trainer, a girl named Lisa.

"Woah a chikorita. Nice find aipom. Tackle it".

Chikorita found itself being tackled by Aipom. In its confused stated it went again and again for vine whip not even thinking to use another attack. Lisa seized the opportunity and threw a pokeball towards it.

The pokeball however hit the forcefield that appeared around Chikorita, indicating it already belonged to a trainer.

Sonic felt Chikorita's pokeball buzz in his pocket at the same moment in Goldenrod city. Realizing this meant Chikorita would probably join whoever tried to catch it even if it wasn't caught, he became visibly saddened. To cheer him up, Tails and Knuckles suggested they grab a chilli dog before heading to the gym. The idea did make Sonic feel a little bit better but still not enough as the reality of Chikorita living had not sunk in completely yet.

Back in the forest Lisa was disappointed.

"Oh man. You would have been an awesome catch little guy. Where is your trainer though?"

Chikorita obviously couldn't communicate back but looked down in sadness.

"Were you abandoned?"

Chikorita nodded.

"What a jerk whoever that was. Why would they keep your pokeball though?" Lisa wondered as she looked around.

"Well this is a nice place. We could camp here for a while".

Five minutes later Chikorita was socializing with Lisa's pokemon; the aipom from earlier, a quagsire, a butterfree, a mankey and a snubbull. Lisa also prepared food for everyone including Chikorita. The latter was able to forget its conflict for a while.

After lunch, Lisa took snubbull away from the group to train. The other pokemon apart from aipom also split up to do whatever they wanted in the moment, leaving aipom and Chikorita alone.

"Sorry for before" Aipom said in its own language though Chikorita was able to understand it.

"No worries".

"How come you're out here alone in the woods?"

"… I left my trainer".

"Really? Why?"

"Because he said he was going to abandon me if I didn't evolve".

Aipom was taken aback by this response. Its gaze shifted to Lisa and snubbull momentarily who were training for that very reason.

"What?" Chikorita asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Nothing. Just that… I don't understand your logic".

"What do you mean?"

"Do you see my trainer and my friend snubbull?"

"Yeah".

"They're training because we think snubbull's time to evolve is soon to come".

"And they're actively pursuing it?"

"Yes".

"But why? Snubbull is cute as is. I've met its evolution, granbull, before being picked by my trainer. It is, no offense to your friend, ugly. Why would your friend pursue evolution?"

Aipom looked at Chikorita in question.

"Why wouldn't it? Evolving is cool. It gets to be bigger, stronger. Who wouldn't want that?"

"I don't want that. I like who I am. If I evolve will lose my current self".

Aipom's usual permanent smile slowly disappeared.

"What?"

"… I know we just met but… if I'm being honest I'm jealous of you".

"Huh?"

"You speak of your potential future with such a distaste and denial… but have you ever wondered what other pokemon think of evolving?"

"What other pokemon think about it matters not to me. I like who I am and I refuse to be abandoned by my trainer because he doesn't accept me".

Aipom looked away and then down.

"What now?"

"I too had that fear once. That my trainer won't accept me as I am".

"You… did?"

"Yes. My species can't evolve as far as I know. So what is an option to you is a set path for me. I am destined to be an aipom forever".

Chikorita listened not saying a word.

"And you tell me that you have the chance to evolve and abandon your trainer over it?"

"He was going to do that to me".

"Are you sure he would?"

"Yes. He told me himself. That he would go into danger him and his friends. And that his duty as my trainer was to keep me safe and happy but his duty as Sonic the hedgehog was to…"

"As what?!"

Chikorita was surprised by the sudden outburst.

"What did you just say?" Aipom asked in shock.

"I said that he has a duty as Sonic the hedgehog to…"

"Your trainer is Sonic the hedgehog?!"

"Yes".

Aipom turned around and called out to Mankey and Butterfree to come to them. Once they approached it told them of who Chikorita's trainer was. Both mankey and butterfree were shocked to hear that.

"What's the big deal about who my trainer is?" Chikorita interrupted their conversation.

Butterfree and mankey looked at Chikorita as if it was a lunatic.

"Your trainer is the reason my 2 friends here are free and happy" Aipom explained.

"How so?"

"They were captured by team rocket in the Kanto region but freed after your trainer brought the team down. It is thanks to him that they were able to escape and meet our trainer. And butterfree is the luckiest of us. It was only a metapod back then so it couldn't really do anything but harden".

Butterfree smacked aipom playfully with its wing receving a 'what it's true' answer from its teammate while laughing. Chikorita was about to say that he was aware of it until butterfree walked forward.

"Aipom can't ever express how grateful I am to your trainer. Had it not been for him..."

"Had it not been for him you would still be a metapod. Would that be so bad?"

"You're too fixated on your own desire to remain a chikorita to listen. Because no, had it not been for Sonic the hedgehog I would have either been sold away, or locked up with a rocket collar around my neck, electrocuting me unless I obeyed any command given to me. I remember… I remember wishing to die during my captivity. That I would give anything to have a chance to escape that hell. And your trainer saved us from it. And from what we heard from pokemon in Azalea town he did it again with the slowpokes there".

"I know! And he didn't bring me out to help!" Chikorita asked in rage, feeling more betrayed than before.

"From what we heard from a slowpoke we met there he and his friends were heavily outnumbered. You indeed wouldn't have been much help to him in your current form".

Chikorita felt dizzy.

"What is so wrong with my current form?!"

"It's your first form. Your trainer was going to battle an entire small army. If you had evolved maybe you would have been able to help him".

"Why can't I help him as I am now?"

Aipom looked down for a moment. Chikorita was too stubborn to see past its own desire to remain the same.

"You said earlier" aipom suddenly got everyone's attention "that you would never change who you are for anyone right?"

"Right".

"Ok. And what about the rest of the pokemon travelling with your trainer?"

"They're nice. The wooper we met a while ago is playful and the tyrogue that hatched from an egg my trainer came across is eager to grow…" Chikorita said until it realized that Tyrogue and it were polar opposites, both first form pokemon and yet Tyrogue raced to evolve.

"Your friend is eager to evolve into whatever it evolves into" Aipom said hoping they were finally getting somewhere "because it doesn't look only inward but outward. He feels itself part of the team. Didn't you?"

"Of course I did. But how can he expect me to throw away the version of me I love?"

"Because he isn't expecting you to. He is expecting that self to grow to something far greater than it could ever be as a chikorita. Evolution isn't always only change. It's also improvement. Maybe you should try seeing it as such".

Chikorita pondered this question.

Could it be true? Could evolution really improve it instead of changing it as it feared?

"How can you be sure if I evolve I will still be lovable?"

"Your form will change. But what is on the inside… it will remain the same. If not improve. I'm sure of it. Sunbbull too" aipom said looking at snubbull biting a fat stick in order to break it "is sure that's what expects it".

Chikorita looked at Snubbull as understanding began washing over it.

Sonic was indeed speaking the truth.

And so was Raichu.

"I… have to find my way back to him".

"We'll help you. Once our trainer falls asleep after training we will help you find him".

Chikorita smiled thanking its new friends.

After a few more minutes Lisa's training session with Snubbull ended. As the former dozed off by the lake, the pokemon hatched their plan. Butterfree and Aipom would get Chikorita back to Goldenrod city, Aipom swinging from the trees and Butterfree carrying Chikorita.

After Chikorita bid farewell to everyone of its new friends, it rode on Butterfree's back and with Aipom leading the way, headed off northwest.

As the trio of pokemon raced through the woods, Aipom asked Chikorita how they would find Sonic. Chikorita said that they would probably be somewhere in the city.

While Chikorita was busy trying to remember where Whitney's gym was exactly, an air cutter attack came out of nowhere and knocked aipom down.

Butterfree too was hit by the attack, crashing down on the ground. A zubat came out of nowhere followed by a rocket dressed in a white suit. Red heir. Menacing face.

Ariana.

"It's her!" Butterfree said to its friends in horror.

"Is she with team rocket?" Aipom asked it urgently.

"Yes! She is dangerous, we have to run!" Butterfree said to its friends trying to fly away only to be struck by another air cutter.

"None of you is going anywhere" Ariana said with a menacing smile as she was planning to knock them all out them effortlessly trap them and take them back to base.

She hated having to do a grunt's job but everyone had to carry their weight for a little more after the blow team Sonic inflicted on them. She would tolerate it but do it her way.

Aipom charged the zubat intending to use fury swipes. Zubat countered with a powerful supersonic attack that confused Aipom, giving zubat the opportunity to use leech life on it, weakening it severely.

Chikorita tried to tackle the zubat as well as leech seeding. The leech seed did work but zubat was too fast. It used air cutter sending Chikorita crashing down on Butterfree. Aipom tried to get its attention so the leech seed could heal Chikorita but the confusion got in the way. Zubat bit the aipom causing it to stumble back in pain.

"And then there was one" Ariana said looking at the seemingly weak Chikorita.

Chikorita tried attacking again with vine whip. The attack barely did anything.

Zubat tried to leech life and partially struck Chikorita, not damaging it too much but also gaining some health back. Chikorita realized at that moment that they were trapped.

This was a battle of endurance between itself and zubat. And at this point zubat had the upper hand.

"Get out of here" Aipom said to Chikorita.

"No. I'm not leaving you" Chikorita declared.

"But…"

"I said no!"

Zubat attacked again. Chikorita stood its ground but the attack too hard to take.

Chikorita felt its body go numb, but something inside of it kept it from falling.

It was running on will. The will to protect.

"You were right you know" Chikorita admitted closing its eyes as it struggled to rise "sometimes you have to look outward" it said smiling.

Ariana grew impatient.

"Get it over with zubat!"

Zubat attacked again with air cutter. Chikorita rooted itself to the ground using vine whip to stay standing.

"Looking outward for me" it said looking back at Aipom "means protecting my friends".

To Ariana this all sounded like simple pokemon cries.

"Chiko. Chikorita! Chiko! Bay!"

Chikorita's body began glowing as it finally let go. Aipom and Butterfree looked on in awe as Chikorita finally embraced the evolution that it had been holding back for so long. Its body became bigger and its neck grew longer.

When the glow stopped, Chikorita's transformation was complete.

"Bay! Bayleef!" was what Ariana heard. What Butterfree and Aipom heard was "now I'll teach you to mess with my friends!"

"Damnit zubat get it already!" Ariana pushed zubat onward still believing she had the upper hand.

Zubat used air cutter again but this time bayleef's higher stats compared to its stats as Chikorita allowed it to better tank the attack. After taking the hit, Bayleef used its new move, absorbing the sunlight and using synthesis, healing itself almost to full health. Butterfree and aipom looked on in awe at their friend's new move, synthesis.

Bayleef wasting no time –not that it had the time to waste playing who can survive the longest with its opponent – unleashed its last new move razor leaf. While the attack was very ineffective against zubat, the sharp leaves got a critical hit, slashing zubat hard and getting a knock out. Ariana was about to send out another pokemon though in that moment Lisa arrived. Outnumbered and not willing to risk compromising team rocket, Ariana fled.

Lisa immediately chastised her pokemon for straying off and getting into trouble but stopped when she saw the chikorita they had encountered had evolved into bayleef.

"Wow you're incredible!" she exclaimed "whoever your trainer used to be they are definitely missing out!"

Bayleef, remembering Sonic, looked to the barely visible through the treeline Goldenrod city.

"That's where your trainer is?" Lisa asked it.

Bayleef then got an idea. It had seen its mother use the same move before to look around for predators. It rooted its vine whip in the ground, using a sort of echolocation by allowing the vines to feel into the ground for the vibrations of the beings around for a good enough radius to hopefully find Sonic.

It felt of course Lisa and her pokemon then felt pokemon further away. Forest pokemon like caterpie, weedles and ratattas. In the fields several drowzees as well as a couple of pidgeys hopping on the ground.

And then the city. A huge number of vibrations of both pokemon and humans all at the same time. And yet, one different from the rest; one vibration heading outside the city that seemed to be two beings yet vibrating as one.

Bayleef opened its eyes. It knew where Sonic and Raichu were.

Quickly thanking Lisa's team for the guidance and Lisa herself for the food by offering her a small leaf as a thank you and goodbye gesture, Bayleef ran off heading for a small hill on the northeast of Goldenrod.

On said hill, Sonic and tyrogue had quickly knocked out Whitney's cleffairy. Now the real deal was coming.

"Go Miltank!"

Miltank emerged. The pink, round and menacingly smiling cow of death.

"Brace yourself tyrogue" Sonic warned it.

"Miltank rollout!"

Miltank curled up and started rolling towards tyrogue.

"Tyrogue use fake out quick!"

Tyrogue used its move momentarily disorienting Miltank enough to stop the rolling.

"Now's our chance! Brick break!"

Tyrogue jumped and landed a devastating brick break on Miltank's head. Miltank fell back but wasn't done yet.

"Miltank mink drink!"

Miltank healed itself putting Sonic and tyrogue immediately back to square one.

"Tyrogue again before it moves!"

"Miltank rollout!"

Miltank started rolling again just as tyrogue landed the attack minimizing the damage. Tyrogue was completely run over by Miltank though not knocked out. But it was just as Sonic feared. Despite its incredible and very quick growth, it was still too early for it to face such a powerful opponent.

Before Miltank could run over Tyrogue again Sonic recalled it.

"You were perfect tyrogue, get some rest while we wrap this up" Sonic said turning to Raichu".

"I wish it didn't have to be this way Raichu. But I want you to go out there and tip this cow".

"Rai!"

"My second pokemon will be…" Sonic said about to send out Raichu before a loud cry reached his ears.

"Baaaayyyy!"

Bayleef jumped over the team by using vine whip as best it could though it made a note to self to never try that again as it was no longer as light as a Chikorita. Sonic's eyes met Bayleef's. Raichu cried out in excitement realizing who this Bayleef was.

"What the heck is that?" Tails wondered aloud in total disbelief.

Knuckles immediately took out his pokedex and scanned the pokemon.

"Bayleef, the Leaf Pokémon. The evolved form of Chikorita. Bayleef emits a spicy aroma from the leaves around its neck and its razor leaf is extremely powerful".

"The evolved form of…" Knuckles began to say.

"Chikorita?! Is that you?!" Sonic finished the sentence.

"Bay!" Bayleef nodded.

"You evolved" Sonic whispered in admiration, his earlier sadness now turning into joy and excitement.

"I assume bayleef is your second pokemon?" Whitney asked eager to continue.

Sonic and Bayleef's eyes met once again and both nodded.

"Yes it is".

"Good! Miltank rollout!"

Miltank started rolling towards Bayleef.

"Bayleef use leech seed!"

Bayleef fired the seed before taking the attack head on. With its newfound determination to protect its friends it was able to tank it very well, eventually jumping out of the way to allow Miltank to continue rolling while at the same time healing thanks to leech seed.

"Here it comes again! Poisson powder!"

Bayleef unleashed the poisonous powder. Miltank rolled right through it getting poisoned. Bayleef stood its ground again tanking the attack before Miltank rolled away taking damage from both leech seed which healed Bayleef and from poison.

"Bayleef won't be able to tank rollout at this level if it keeps building" Sonic thought "this is a longshot but… maybe our only chance".

"Ram them Miltank!"

"Bayleef use your vine whip to change its trajectory!"

Bayleef of course having forgotten vine whip in favor of synthesis and tackle in favor of razor leaf, got slammed hard but immediately used synthesis to heal itself impressing Sonic greatly. The Miltank however was coming back for more.

"Bayleef get ready to dodge!" Sonic warned it.

But Bayleef had another idea. It unleashed razor leaf, sending the leaves to the ground. The leaves got stuck on the ground, their pointy edges protruding upward. Miltank rolled right through them. The pain of the sharp leaves caused it to lose focus and roll past Bayleef, stopping the rollout.

"Miltank milk drink again!"

Miltank healed itself again. Sonic however smiled.

"Whitney you shouldn't continue it. Your Miltank can keep rolling all you want but a strategy of brute force like it will never get through my amazing teammate!"

Bayleef was overjoyed. Its new friends were right. It was no longer as cute as a Chikorita but Sonic obviously didn't mind.

It also felt overjoyed that next time it would be able to help against team rocket. It had unfinished business with Ariana now.

"Thank goodness then I have more! Miltank attract!"

Miltank blinked at Bayleef. Bayleef looked at it in confusion.

"You're kidding! Your Bayleef is a girl?!"

"Why the surprise?" Sonic asked confused as well.

"Well um Sonic…" Tails intervened "pokemon like Chikorita who are given to trainers as starter pokemon in gym challenges are actually bred in special farms because their birthrates are unbalanced, with gender ratios being one female to eight males. You are indeed lucky to have received a female chikorita".

"Huh the more you know" Sonic joked "oh well. There goes your attract strategy".

"This isn't out last trick! Miltank stomp!"

Miltank didn't obey immediately as while Tails was explaining the starter pokemon breeding process, had eaten the lum berry it was holding the entire battle, finally curing it from the poison. It then attack Bayleef, though the latter was able to hold on determined to not let Sonic down.

"Bayleef poison powder again quick!"

Bayleef used the move while Miltank was still stomping on it causing it to stumble back.

"Razor leaf!"

Using its leaves, Bayleef unleashed a barrage of leaves against the unaware Miltank causing it great damage. Miltank still snared by the leech seed and once again poisoned struggled to get up.

Whitney contemplated using milk drink again but there was no point. It was checkmate. They had used all 4 of their moves and even resorted to the lum berry and yet it clear as day bayleef would outlast Miltank. Smiling she recalled it to spare it any more beating.

"That was an impressive although unusual battle. It's like you bayleef came out of nowhere to help you out. In any case you've won. The plain badge is yours".

"Thanks" Sonic took the badge smiling "and thank you too Bayleef. Your arrival was just on time".

"Bay!" Bayleef cried out rubbing itself against Sonic, resulting in it being pinched by one of his quills by accident.

After the battle the team returned to their earlier campsite, setting camp once again. Sonic and Raichu went a little further away from the others with Bayleef to have their private chat.

"Bayleef… I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sure I made you feel unwelcomed… and probably made your fear I would abandon you".

Bayleef spoke to Raichu and once again through mimicking, Raichu got the message that Bayleef did actually feel that way.

"I would never abandon you" Sonic continued "I only wanted you to be safe. When we battled Silver… your lower stats compared to that of his Croconaw brought you to the jaws of danger. Quite literally too" he said remembering that night.

Bayleef told Raichu to tell Sonic that it was ok now and that he was right when he referred to his old team, about how they had probably sacrificed their older selves for the team. Bayleef now knew full well what such an act meant.

"I'm glad you do" Sonic sighed in relief after about 5 minutes of translating raichu's mimicking "and I'm glad you're back with us. And I hope it will be all the way" Sonic said hugging it.

Bayleef affirmed his hope by knocking him down playfully. Raichu also chimed in. Trainer and pokemon rolled on the ground playing as Tails and Knuckles looked on smiling, Knuckles petting Quilava at the same time.

Both Sonic and Knuckles had begun building their bonds with their teams now. Knuckles wondered whether an all-out battle was in their future.

"Probably with the league coming up sooner than we think" Knuckles thought but then also remembered Ash. The rival triangle was not fully formed yet. But after team rocket's future fall it would be. And Knuckles wondered if he would be ready to face his strongest ally at full power when that time came.