The Beast of the Cursed Mask: I'm not planning to make Gintama a chonky fluffball, so no, you won't see that anytime soon.
MillieBelle: Oh, I feel your pain. So, I decided that 'if no one's gonna do it, then I'll do it!'
Viridian City, Kanto
"Okay, so I ain't dreaming..."
Tai and his Pokemon partners sweatdrop as he watches Scyther eating the porridge he has served like a vacuum cleaner. Judging from the scratches his plates suffer, he can see that it's a real deal.
His emotional pain of seeing his bought item get damaged was too painful to handle, and he had yet to wake. He can hear the money he spent to buy those items stare at him with a disappointed look, saying 'Thank you for your lack of appreciation.'
But, this scenario made him wonder a bit. Why does a wild Scyther pop out of nowhere? Judging from his game knowledge, Scyther was a very rare Pokemon. You could either buy it at the Poke-Casino or have a rare chance encounter in the Safari Zone. In the anime and the Adventures Manga, it also shows that wild Scyther wasn't supposed to exist.
Then, it hit him. Is it possible that he was in a Pokemon world where it defies the game, anime, and manga continuity? Where could Scythers be found in the early route if you're lucky enough? Does that mean he should toss every idea he has about the game?
But, he believes maybe the situation wasn't as complicated as he thinks. He looks at Gintama, who looks at him curiously. He can't help but frown at the possibility. He wishes that he was wrong, but he can't ignore it. So, he decides to ask for confirmation.
"Scyther," Tai calls the Pokemon out, who was slowly recovering from the hunger. Tai can't help but be amazed at the Full Appetite effect, but he shakes his head to focus on the current situation. "Are you...abandoned by your trainer?"
Scyther's eyes widen in shock before growling in anger and looking away. Tai can't help but grimace at the reaction. He's still new to communicating with Pokemon and trying to understand them, so he doesn't know if the anger is from hitting the nail or from something else.
"Yes, he says, and I quote, 'So, what? Why do you care!?'" Tai can't help but feel bad for Scyther after hearing Yuuki's translation. His childish mind screams at how cruel it is and that they shouldn't be doing this, but his adult self reminds him that it's just how humans work.
It's a cruel world where bad people or Pokemons exist. Yes, he believes Pokemon can be bad as well. It's not fair to pin all the blame on humans because if you can feel emotions, you are either capable of good, bad or in between. His old world emphasizes how most Pokemon's evil nature comes from humans, not Pokemon itself. Team Plasma's N also believes in such a notion based on his speech, but it is wrong.
Tai believes humans and Pokemons are not so different. They show many times how similar they can be. So, he thinks that judging other's evil nature just from circumstances is not always the right point of view. But that's a topic Tai would gonna need to discuss another time.
Right now, he can't help but think how that sick son of a bitch would abandon their Pokemon. If you don't like that Pokemon, don't catch it in the first place and let other people better than you do it for you.
Another thing that puzzles Tai is how Scyther looks so skinny and starved to the bone (And yes, he knows how ironic it is given any Bug-type Pokemons or those that look similar to Bug-Type have exoskeletons instead of bones). It looks like he wasn't able to hunt food for a week.
"Scyther...why didn't you hunt for food and starve yourself?" Tai asks as Scyther is startled by the question before looking away. Tai notices that compared to Scyther's previous reaction, now he sports a blush on both of his cheeks, which confuses Tai.
"If...you're wondering, Tai. The reason why Scyther here didn't hunt foods is because he no longer remembers how." Tai was baffled at Yuuki's reply. How does that work? "Since Trainers always keep their Pokemons in their Pokeballs, they didn't get the chance to stretch their legs out. And add the factor that trainers feed their Pokemon daily; they start to feel like hunting is no longer necessary, and they slowly forget how."
"...does that mean every released Pokemon was doomed from the start?" Tai mutters in horror. "You're saying that those Pokemons are forgetting to hunt to the point they starve themselves?"
"Not necessarily. Some Pokemons could survive by simply eating fruits, berries, or other plant life. Some Pokemon could readjust easily to hunting life. It depends." Tai was somewhat relieved that not all Pokemon die from that, but he couldn't help but feel his gut twisting.
"..." Tai sighs as he rubs his head. 'We need professionals for this issue. I already have one Pokemon with problems I am barely able to handle other than overdose him with the power of friendships and love. I doubt it'll work for him, given his issues are abandonment and betrayal. Wait, scratch that, it is what he needs. But...will I be good enough to handle it?'
"Tai." Tai snaps out of his thoughts as he hears Yuuki calling him. "You do realize that we could help you and you can discuss this issue with us, right?"
"..." Tai Mareepishly rubs the back of his head. "Right, sorry. I used to handle issues either on my own or with my family, and I never handle it with my friends, well except for cooking."
"...how socially stunted are you?" Yuuki asks as Tai flinches before nervously fidgeting his fingers.
"...yes?" Tai says as Yuuku stares at Tai for a moment before face pawing. Tai felt something rubs his legs and looked down to see Gintama staring at him with a concerned look. Tai stares back before sighing.
"...I might need your help with this," Tai admits, getting their attention. "I plan to bring Scyther with us."
"...and?" Yuuki asks with a raised eyebrow.
"So, none of you are objecting?" Tai asks as they both shake their heads. "Okay...so, my plan was for you guys to be his friends."
"...that's it?" Yuuki asks in confusion.
"It...may look like nothing, but my entire plan is to help him and Gintama. Given that one of them lacked knowledge of social department and the other one was dealing with abandonment and betrayal." Tai looks at Gintama, who hesitantly nods. He does lack in the social department as he was faced with nothing but discrimination and violence.
"So...you want me to help them by being a good and loyal friend?" Yuuki asks.
"You won't be the only one doing all the work, of course, but yeah," Tai says while rubbing his head. "I'm sorry if I come a bit selfish."
"Tai, none of your requests are selfish," Yuuki says as he gently nudges Tai's hair. "I would've done the same thing. You just gave me the right excuse to do so."
"Oh..." Tai felt a bit embarrassed.
"But, there's another issue," Yuuki says. "You clearly state that he's facing betrayal and abandonment, so how are you going to convince that you won't do it?"
"..." Tai nervously looks away, his face turns as red as his hair.
"...you have no idea, do you?" Yuuki asks in a deadpan manner.
"I do! But..." Tai nervously played with his fingers, subtly pointing at the empty porridge pan. Yuuki notices this and looks at where he points before staring at Tai in disbelief.
"Bribery!?!" Yuuki hisses quietly before looking at Scyther consuming the last of the porridge, much to Gintama's sadness. "I expect better from you!"
"I-I know it's a stupid plan, but it's the only plan I could think of. W-well, more like an emergency plan. I was hoping I could befriend him first to see the progress before deciding to resort to the last plan." Tai admits while looking down.
"...then why do you tell me your emergency plan first?" Yuuki asks curiously.
"I would rather not create distrust between us, so I tell you the information I would've hidden from others," Tai admits before looking away. "I've seen too many dramas to see how bad it was hiding things from friends."
"...thanks for trusting us and telling everything, even if it sounds...bad," Yuuki says as Tai merely nods. "But, you're right. If your first plan fails, then that would be a good alternative. I don't trust leaving this task to others."
"Yet, you trust me?" Tai asks.
"You've willingly told me a lot about your secret, some that are worth hiding and some that are disturbing. You trust me enough to tell me that, so I put my trust in you." Yuuki says as Tai smiles.
"Don't worry, I won't plan to betray that trust," Tai promised as Yuuki nodded. Gintama tilts his head, curious at what are they talking about. "Oh, right, I haven't told you about myself. Here, status window."
As he said that, a blue holographic screen appeared in front of Gintama, startling the hell out of him. He stares at the screen, displaying Tai's status before staring at Tai with the 'What the fuck is all this?!' expression.
"As you can see, I'm...no normal human," Tai says as he rubs the back of his head Mareepishly. Gintama stares at the screen before fainting. "...well, that could've gone better..."
"You think?" Yuuki asks in a deadpan manner as Tai sighs before looking at the Scyther, who's still staring at Tai cautiously.
"You know, if I want to harm you, I could've just added poison to that food or just refused to let you eat it and let Yuuki deal with you, but I didn't." Tai points out as Scyther can't help but flinch at how easily he could've been disposed of. "I think that I earn some benefit of the doubt."
Scyther stares at Tai for a few seconds before he huffs, agrees that he does but thinks that it doesn't matter. Tai sighs before approaching and grabs the plate, silently grimacing at the scratch marks it has on it.
'I wish you would at least spare the utensils.'
To be continued
To be continued