We all live… in a Pokémon World.
Delia Ketchum fought to hold back tears. Yet how could she not weep when her son was gone and was never coming back? The music that played, a somber tune on a violin, tore away at her heart and dredged up memory after memory. She set several pictures down into the coffin, memories of a family that once was before retreating away.
Others stepped in and added their own contributions after.
"Friends, loved ones, we are gathered here today to honor the memory of the departed Ash Ketchum. Though his body is lost to us, we lay his spirit to rest in these trying times." The local priest stood before the coffin, a sutra and prayer beads in hands. Incense burners smoked behind him.
The crowd wept, tearing up in mourning for a boy who had a big dream. So many people had been gathered before an empty coffin, all because Ash had played a small part in their lives. As each person walked up and paid their respects, they left something of theirs behind, usually a knick knack or personal effect that perhaps held an important meaning to the deceased.
Most of those present were natives of Pallet Town who had known Ash ever since he was born: teachers, classmates, the parents of other children he played with, shopkeepers who he regularly visited, and more. But, what surprised Delia the most was just how many people that had showed up that she had never even heard about before.
She knew that once her son had started traveling and making connections with people wherever he went, it was inevitable that he would have made friends on his own. A small handful of them showed up to pay their respects. There were several boys of Ash's age, one being his opponent during the Indigo League and another who had a sandshrew and several championship belts; all of them vowed to grow strong in their fallen rival's memory. Ash's own Primeape showed up, too, weeping as she held her instructor in a deathgrip of a hug. A photographer offered several photographs to the coffin; apparently, they were taken with Ash's help. A small family with a kangaskhan offered condolences, saying that it was because of Ash they were reunited. Then, one girl and her rapidash came all this way from Fuchsia City and offered several flowers. There were even Gym Leaders, such as the elusive and secretive Sabrina or the tough by reputation Lieutenant from Unova.
There were even more people and even Pokémon, but Delia couldn't keep up. Ash had touched so many lives in his journey, even as short as it turned out to be. The boy may have only met many of these people once, but they felt obligated to come to his funeral once they knew of his passing.
Maybe, there was a lesson there, about how it wasn't the length of one's life, but how one lived it.
"Hey, buddy…" Gary's voice pierced Delia's thoughts. The boy looked uncertain as though he had very little idea of what he was doing. He walked up the coffin and placed half of a Pokéball into the coffin. "I know it's not the whole thing, but I-" He shook his head. "Look, I think you need it more than I do."
The boy frowned and walked away. Though he hid it well, Delia could see the small tears streak down his face. They two of them had practically known each other since before they could crawl.
One by one, the coffin was filled until it was near bursting, memories and trinkets all forming a grand collage. At the end, the priest gently lifted the coffin's lid and shut the box. "Ash Ketchum, please rest well," he said to the box.
A trevenant grabbed hold of the box and gently placed it into the grave, like one might handle fine china. The sentient tree then slowly shifted the earth over, covering the coffin one fistfull at a time.
Delia burst out in tears, falling to her knees. The dam inside of her broke, all at once. It was like her heart had been stabbed by a knife and bled.
Firm yet gentle hands were placed upon her shoulder, as Professor Oak lended his presence to her comfort.
The crowd shared in her sorrow one way after another as the ceremony reached its conclusion. Some cried like rivers, some stood as still as statues, some prayed to distant gods.
And then all that was left of Ash was a mound of dirt with a framed photograph of him and his team at the end of the Indigo Conference as well as a small bouquet of flowers on the headstone.
With the service concluded, the crowd slowly dispersed, one after the other.
Delia continued to stare at the grave, wondering why it was that she was the one who stayed alive whilst everyone else in her family died around her. Was she cursed? Was it something that she had done?
The grieving mother trembled and wiped the tears from her eyes.
She didn't know how long she had stayed there, grieving, but by the time she had stopped, she and a few others were the only ones who were left.
"Are you okay?" Samuel asked, his tone weary, yet concerned.
Delia sniffled. "I… I might need a bit more time." Her voice felt raw, her throat hard. "It's just… I never thought things would be like this." She shook her head. "Without Ash, I need to figure out what to do with myself. My house, it's empty, even with Mimey giving me company."
"You're still young, you still have most of your life ahead of you. You could perhaps go back to school and finish where you left off. Or maybe even go on a journey of your own?" Professor Oak offered.
Delia nodded her head. "I'll think about it." Neither plan sounded appealing to her, but that might have been her grief dulling all other emotions. Maybe it was an avenue to look into, though at another time.
The widow pushed herself off the ground and dusted dirt and grass on her dress. "Thank you, Samuel, thank you for everything," she replied.
The old man gave her a smile. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
Delia nodded her head. And then taking one last look at the grave she said her goodbyes to her son and made her way home.
Delia Ketchum walked through the outskirts of Pallet Town towards her home on a distant hill.
Yet as she was about a stone's throw away from her home, a stray thought entered her mind. Are you… Ash Ketchum's mother?
She wondered why would ask such a question, before she realized that… that it wasn't her own question. Was the psychic touch of a telepath? It sounded like it was addressed to her. She spoke aloud, not certain that whoever was speaking to her was able to access her mind directly. "Who's there? How do you know my son?"
The reply came immediately, at the speed of thought. I knew your son. I felt it right to visit, given the… service he had done for me.
Delia nodded her head, though realized she looked silly for nodding her head to no one. Instead, she spoke aloud, making her intentions known. "If you're a friend of my son, you deserve the right to mourn him, just like anyone else." It wasn't any less silly, but no one was paying attention to her.
Thank you.
Delia smiled, glad that whoever it was seemed legitimately grateful. Granted, the fact that this character felt it necessary to discreetly telepathically communicate with her implied some sort of reservation or shyness. Perhaps, this person did not want to be seen in public for any number of reasons. While she knew nothing about this person, if they wanted to harm her, they probably would have done it already and without informing her. "You know, I wouldn't even have known you were here if you didn't tell me. Why are you here?"
I am curious. I have not been to a funeral before… I don't understand their purpose. Such as why is it that we bother with funerals? Surely, this wouldn't help the deceased. Oh, so it was curiosity that made this person ask. The telepath simply wanted context. Maybe they lacked experience or understanding funerary customs.
"Funerals… in a way are as much for the living, as much as they are for the dead." Delia tried to answer. There was a truth in the telepath's words, that the dead did not benefit as much for the deceased. "It's a time for those left behind to figure out what comes next as much as it is about instilling peace of mind. Think about someone you knew and what you'd do for them to honor their memory."
That is… curious. I would not have thought about it that way. The telepath still felt rather perplexed, but they seemed to be gaining more and more understanding.
Delia wondered who exactly she was speaking to. Maybe it was just that she was still grieving or maybe it was a desire to fill the void in her heart with someone or something new, but she wanted to know more about this mysterious person that Ash had once known. After all, what was the harm? "You know, it's almost lunch time. Do you want to grab a bite to eat? It'll be on the house and in the house for that matter."
There was silence for a good minute, long enough for Delia to walk up to the front door of her home. What?
"I have a small restaurant, I'm inviting you to eat inside, if you'd like," the mother said, a part of her curious enough to want to meet whoever this was. They seemed quite mysterious and intriguing, given the communication. They also had to be in earshot and following Delia given that whoever it was able to listen in.
I… I … There was a flare of uncertainty, maybe surprise at the statement. I have… many Pokémon. Will you be able to feed them as well? Will this be private?
Ah, so this was a trainer that Ash knew? Maybe one of those rare psychics? That would explain the telepathy. "That's not a problem, we're used to having Pokémon around." Admittedly, they generally didn't eat with the human visitors, but a few extra mouths wasn't going to severely dent her pocket book. "And if you're worried about people looking in, I can just make it a private gathering if you want. No one but us."
Thank you for the invitation, though I worry I might upset you, the telepath responded. Though he seemed a little apprehensive.
Delia almost laughed. "It's fine, I've seen all sorts of things. You won't be a problem." After all, her son and her husband were prone to all sorts of strangeness. Also, Professor Oak and anyone working with him were known to encounter the usual oddity from time to time.
I… will be there in a moment. I need to organize things.
"I'll be sure to set up a table or two," Delia replied. She then felt… something leave her, perhaps the telepath's presence. It was hard to make out, since she didn't really understand what happened.
Regardless, the grieving mother decided that despite the day starting such a dour note, she could make the most of it by having a guest.
She walked up to the door and opened it. Inside, the chairs were stacked up on the tables and lights were kept to a minimum. Oh, right she forgot. The restaurant wasn't open today, because she was attending the funeral and thought she would have wanted the house to be quiet afterwards. But, as the owner, she was the one who determined the word hours.
Delia spotted her Mr. Mime hard at work. "Hi Mimey!" she greeted.
Mimey was busy cleaning the kitchen, using disinfectant sprays and cleaning solutions on the oven and the stove. "Mime! Mime!" the mime waved at her in reply. He looked quite pleased with his work.
"We're expecting guests any minute now!" the woman said with a cheer. "Can you help me get the restaurant open just for them?"
"Mime!" Mimey shouted in the affirmative and saluted her. He used a small towel and wiped off the cleaning solvents he placed onto the cooking surfaces.
Meanwhile, Delia pulled the chairs down and set up a small area for a Pokémon trainer and their team.
A bright flash of light came from the front door, the glow spilling into the restaurant for a flicker.
Delia wondered if that it was a daylight lightning strike outside her door, but realized it wasn't when the door knob twisted open. She went to greet her guests. "Hello, Ash's friend and-" she cut herself off when she realized that she wasn't greeting an ordinary trainer.
Does my appearance alarm you? The bipedal feline strode into the room. He resembled something like an espeon except much taller and with strangely humanlike anatomy. There was also an extra tube on the back of the neck. This was a Pokémon, but what kind was hard to make out species.
Delia took a second to get over her surprise, but she could feel this being was who Ash had met. "So, you're Ash's friend?" she asked. And then she pointed towards the Pokémon behind him. Some of them such as the Gyrados were just so big that they were never going to fit in the building and would have to be served outside. "And these are… the Pokémon you train?"
Yes. Though, friend isn't quite the right word, the telepath answered with a firm, yet apologetic tone. However, I respect your son. And I feel that the world is a darker place without him in it.
Delia nodded. "Yeah, I wish he was still here, but I can't change the past. He died. I have to make due with that fact." She shook her head. "Do you have a name? My name is Delia."
The strange Pokemon seemed to hesitate before resolving. Mewtwo. That is what I was designated.
Delia thought it was a little strange that this Pokémon was named after the legendary Mew. Was that name even a proper name and not a species name? She probably did not need to know the full story. She decided the best thing to do was to get everyone eating. "How about we get to the part where we cook you guys some food?"
That is acceptable. Mewtwo looked at the establishment, observing the simple decorations and knick knacks strewn about. I admit, I have up until now realized I have never seen the inside of a restaurant. It seems quite a pleasant establishment.
Delia smiled. The mother looked behind the strange Pokémon, towards the more typical looking species behind him. They were all standard Kanto Pokémon, yet bore strange facial and body markings. There was even a Pikachu that was nearly identical to the one Ash had. It was far more than she had been expecting, but she didn't mind. "Are you guys hungry?"
The Pokémon all shouted in glee. They rushed towards the tables and took seats, some even pushing each other out of the way in an effort to get the best spots. Mimey immediately dove in to try to stem the chaos.
"Hey, no pushing!" Delia laughed, marveling at how ridiculous this looked. "We'll take your orders, but be patient, alright? We actually have to cook what you're eating!"
The Pokémon eventually managed to seat themselves.
How does this work? Mewtwo asked as he took a paper menu and read through it.
"It's very simple. You just say what you want to a server and then we'll cook it up. Normally, you'd have to pay money, but I'm giving you free food because I want to be nice."
Your hospitality is appreciated. But I will… pay you back at some future point. Mewtwo promised as he went to make his order.
The Pokémon beside him all looked over the menus. Delia had a hard time taking their orders, but the Pokémon were smart enough to make their selections by simply pointing at pictures that appealed to them. There had to have been something like twenty Pokémon altogether. And some of them like the Vensaur, Charizard, and Blastoise were going to need quite a bit of chow to fill up.
With the orders taken, Delia was about to head into the kitchen to help up everyone's selected meals. But that was when a shimmering light erupted in the seating area.
Delia averted her eyes away from the blinding flash. When she opened them once again, she saw something that… honestly made her think that she had undergone some sort of psychological breakdown.
Mew floated in the restaurant with apparent disease. The pink cat spun in the air before conjuring a bubble to sit upon.
You're late. Mewtwo reprimanded, tapping his foot. This was your idea and you're late.
"Mew Mew! Meeeeew!" the cat replied, a laugh in her tone.
Delia wiped her eyes just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. No, a mew was right there, in her restaurant as if it was the most casual thing in the world. And Mewtwo, apparently… knew this creature. Perhaps the name was a dead give away. "Uh, hello?" she asked meekly.
Mew turned to glance at her, seemingly quite enthusiastic. She bounced off her bubble and went to reach out to touch the necklace around Delia's neck. "Mew mew? Mew mew mew!" she said excitedly.
"Uh, thank you?" Delia replied, not sure what the Pokémon was saying.
Mimey, also in disbelief rubbed his eyes and then promptly went to the kitchen and threw water over his head, like he had been trapped in some dream.
"Mew mew!?" Mew seemed quite alarmed.
"Is something wrong? Can I help you?" Delia asked, trying to puzzle her way through this situation.
Apparently, Mew is convinced she knows you. Mewtwo replied. Yet, it's clear you don't recognize her.
"Oh? Well, I'm sorry for not remembering. But are you really sure it's me?" Delia frowned. If she had met Mew before, she was certain that she should have remembered it. Then again, maybe this was something to do with the fact that she was missing a good chunk of her formative years. Could the mythical Mew be involved?
"Mew!" the cat sounded very insistent. She then touched her lip as if thinking. "Mew? Mew?"
Delia turned to Mewtwo, waiting for a translation. "What did she say?"
Mewtwo glared at the pink cat. Mew, perhaps it's best to telepathically communicate.
Mew pouted, looking like an upset child as she did.
I can't translate everything like this. Mewtwo complained. And it's rude.
Mew made an exaggerated groan before giving up in defeat. Finnnne, she replied, quite agitated.
"Uh, sorry for the inconvenience," Delia apologized, not sure.
No, no, it's fine. I should have remembered you would have forgotten. Say, how is your crush? Did you finally tie the knot? Mew asked, her eyes flicked all over the room.
Crush? Tie the knot? Okay, clearly, Delia had to have had a very interesting life if a mew of all beings was going to ask such questions. "...I don't know. I kind of don't remember. I did marry someone, but I don't know if he's who you're talking about." She then took a gamble. "What do you mean, anyways? Did you know me?"
Mew seemed hesitant. Well, we weren't close or anything. You were just a contestant and you won. I and a few others simply gave your prize, but the price of it was that you'd forget.
Delia blinked. What kind of prize involved forgetting that she'd have been a… contestant in whatever game this was. "You mean that, the fact that I don't know my childhood years is because I … won something?"
Yes! Mew replied.
The widow and mother looked down into herself and… didn't know how to feel. She had always wondered where she had come from, who she was, and now, after her life had nearly fallen apart, she was being given some answers. Who was she? Where did she come from?
Mewtwo butted in. I'm sorry, but if you are suffering memory problems, maybe I could assist?
Mew rolled into a belly laugh mid air. That's very ironic, you know.
Mewtwo stared at the pink cat, a not-too harsh glare from his eyes. Still. The offer stands. I could attempt to fix your memories.
Mew gave her counterpart a hard look and shook her head. I know you're well meaning, but you won't be able to restore her memories, not while she's here.
And why not? Mewtwo frowned at Mew dismissively.
Because her memories aren't here. Mew replied, shaking her head.
Delia wondered how just an idle conversation and an offer of hospitality led to this. She had expected a simple get together with some trainers his son knew; not, discussions about her missing memories with the mythical Mew. Maybe, this was a sign she was undergoing some sort of vivid hallucination? "I mean, I'm curious, admittedly. I've always wondered who I really was, like if I had friends and family. So, if it's not too big of a deal, what can you tell me? Like, what kind of prize involves… amnesia?"
Well, you wanted to leave your homeland… Mew responded, she seemed quite uncertain. Your homeland, Citrine, has it as part of its laws, no mortal is allowed to retain memory of the lands outside of it, and those that leave forfeit their memories of the time in its borders. In your case, that was your whole life.
The woman stared, not believing what she was hearing. What kind of place had laws like that? No country on Earth had anything that extreme! How was it even enforced? Granted, the source for this was none other than a supposedly immortal cat. "... Is it possible to go back there?" She found herself asking.
Mew frowned. She squinted an eye. Why do you want to go back?
Because she was lonely. And she wanted to find out more about herself. If that was her homeland, maybe there were friends and relatives that she had left behind. Would they accept her back?
I see. Mew answered then.
Delia blinked. She didn't say anything, but she supposed that Mew might have read her mind.
Mew then from out of nowhere presented the mother with a flat square like object.
Delia brought it to her face. It was a small card-like object that had a depiction of the sun emblazoned on its back. Gold and red lined the edges.
If you want to go back, this is what you'll need. Though, be careful in what you're doing. Mew responded.
Delia opened her mouth to ask for more information, but instead Mimey came by.
"Mime!" the Psychic mime spoke, a partially filled clipboard on his hands.
It suddenly occurred to Delia that while she had her conversation, Mimey had taken the order of every other Pokémon present… and that they were going to need to cook for some many.
"Uh, maybe we should take your order first," Delia offered.
Can we have ice cream!? Mew pleaded. Oh, oh, maybe cake!
This place does not offer cake on the menu. Mewtwo responded.
Delia wasn't sure what to make of this, but one thing was certain. No one was going to believe her, least of all herself. Might as well have fun with it. "We do have pie," she offered.
Ash couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night.
While the riolu was truly grateful that people were able to be saved and hopefully receive the medical treatment that they needed as well the fact a dangerous criminal was now no threat to anyone, he felt like there was still more to be uncovered.
Why did Verge to stone after copying Pikachu? That didn't happen before when Duplica's ditto copied him. And why did the ditto turn to stone anyways? What did his grandfather mean about the ditto losing control of his Essence?
"Hey, Boss, your soup is getting cold!" Squirtle warned, snapping Ash back to reality.
The riolu blinked several times before realizing he was back in his grandfather's house, in the dining room. Before him was a bowl of soup made of chopped veggie and noodles. His team were the only ones present in the room, the rest having other issues to attend to.
"Maybe I did it wrong?" Charizard asked, bringing a claw to his chin. "I mean, this is a first for me."
"I just have… alot of my mind." Ash admitted. He wasn't going to lie to the people closest to him, not when he didn't know what to do with himself. His usual solution of training himself to exhaustion wasn't going to work when both A. just woke up and B. was covered in bandages because he broke several bones and needed to heal. If there was an upside to his current situation, he didn't have to wear that goofy costume his grandfather put him in; if that happened, he'd probably have looked like a mummy.
"It did sound like a rough night." Squirtle crossed his arms. "Now, I regret not coming along."
"Hey, I did want to help out!" Charizard complained. "But, you guys said it was a bad idea."
"Someone had to guard the house," Bulbasaur cut in, his tone authoritative. "And that would have required waiting for hours until midnight for a situation that might not have happened. Not a lot of us have that kind of patience."
"Still," Charizard grumbled.
Ash dipped a spoonful and took a bite out of Charizard's latest work. He immediately coughed and took a massive gulpfulls of water into his mouth. The lizard's dish was not bad per say, but wow, he did put a lot of spice in that soup.
Charizard looked at him disappointedly. He squinted and shrugged.
"We lost," Pikachu interrupted. All eyes on the table turned to the rodent as he gently picked up some berries from a plate and put them into his mouth. The Electric-type looked back at everyone, a weary expression on his face. "If… whatever happened to Verge didn't happen, what would he have done?"
Ash's stomach crawled. He had tried to keep it out of his mind, but that was something that had to be addressed sooner or later. "He might have taken us… as much as he could have carried, I guess?" he admitted.
Pikachu nodded his head. "And then, we might have ended up like Vulpix, all weird looking and…. warped."
Ash felt the dull ache of unease creep upon the table. The fox had been among the many victims recovered from Verge's abuses and while she was in a stable condition for the meanwhile, she was still marked by the experimentation inflicted upon her. It was perhaps a small mercy that as far as everyone knew, she was still unconscious.
It might have been cool in principle to have moves and techniques that weren't typical for his kind, but not at the cost that ditto tried to enforce.
"I mean, all things considered, it's not the worst injuries we've had!" Ash told them. "I mean, compared to the fight with Silver, we'll be back to normal by tomorrow."
A wave of agreeing nods swept the table. It was one of the great advantages to being a Pokémon; their bodies healed so quickly.
"But that's only because our opponent… defeated himself!" Pikachu complained.
"Yeah, but why did that happen? Like, Boss, I know you can be really lucky at times." Squirtle then pointed to Ash's cap, the one-in-a-hundred exclusive that he had won in a sweepstakes because he had gotten a lucky draw. "But, the bad guy basically won, and he turns to stone just after your victory."
"I mean, it didn't feel random." Ash shrugged. Sure, it came out of the blue, but there might have been a reason why it happened, one he just didn't understand. "Like, Gramps seemed to know exactly what's going on."
"Maybe it's because I can't evolve?" Pikachu guessed. He looked down at himself. "Like, I went through most of life thinking I didn't want to evolve again, but when I tried to use a Thunder Stone, nothing happened to me. I was the same!"
"Jessie and James can't evolve either," Bulbasaur pointed. "Both tried to use Stones to evolve, too. And nothing happened for them!"
"But they're weird!" Pikachu crossed his arms in defiance. He clearly resented being compared to his regular kidnappers.
"I don't know, rat, maybe you're human?" Charizard shot out of the blue. "Or part human, like Cinder."
A small chorus of laughs erupted from the table. Even Ash got involved. It sounded so ridiculous that it wasn't possible.
Pikachu groaned, mildly unamused. "I'm not human! I hatched from an egg as a pichu!" he then frowned. "But I don't know who my parents were… I was adopted… my egg was found…."
Ash sensed a flare of distress running through the rodent.
"...What if I am?" Pikachu grabbed onto his ears and dragged them down in sudden distress. "I mean, I wouldn't mind being human, but uh…"
The small existential crisis Pikachu had stopped all other forms of laughter as the rest of the table started to take the joke seriously. Everyone else gave each other uncomfortable looks as they tried to resolve what to do next.
Ash finally decided to step in and remind everyone about some facts. "I mean, Brock evolved. And Verge turned into Misty just fine, so maybe it's not a human thing."
"But they don't evolve by using Stones." Pikachu winced. "I mean, Evolution Stones are kind of unnatural. Maybe that's a factor."
"Pikachu," Bulbasaur spoke in an authoritative tone. "It's not worth thinking about, especially when none of us know what's going on. You're going to make massive leaps in logic doing what you are right now."
The Electric-type grumbled. "I know you're right, but-"
"It doesn't matter," Bulbsaur insisted. "Now, calm down and think this through rationally. You're going to make yourself a fool if you don't start with the basics."
Squirtle whistled, which was strange given he didn't have lips.
Ash felt very impressed. Bulbasaur definitely showed off his people skills here. Of everyone in his team, he was definitely the most mature. Possibly even the oldest.
Pikachu grunted but did what was asked. He took a deep breath and simmered down. "Okay, so… maybe I'm not human. I probably don't have human parents, but I don't think I'll ever find out." He sighed. "All I know is, that ditto… malfunctioned the moment he touched me and… became me."
"He didn't do a very good job," Ash commented. "Duplica's friend was able to turn into you, but all it got wrong was your face. Verge couldn't get the colors right."
Pikachu brought a paw to his face and thought it over. "He couldn't get Jessie's colors right either. Maybe there's a relationship there? Almost kind of wish he copied James then."
"Huh, does that mean you'll get new powers depending on what kind of outfit you wear?" Charizard posed.
"No!" Pikachu immediately rebuffed. "Is it pick on the pikachu day or something?"
Ash choked in sudden laughter. "I mean, maybe there's something, but the only pikachu we know that's like you is James."
"I don't get new powers when I wear clothing!" Pikachu answered. He then frowned. "I mean, I never really tried it out, but really, guys?"
"I mean, maybe it isn't clothing," Ash tried to placate his best friend. Really, the entire idea was silly, but it was funny to think about it. "But maybe you've got some special talents that you don't know about."
"Like Volt Tackle?" Pikachu considered. He looked down at himself and looked at the wrappings that covered parts of his back."Hm, maybe I should think about that… when I'm out of these bandages."
It might have been a good idea to look into. Granted, Ash had no idea why Jessie and James had such odd powers for the species of Pokémon they were. There was no explanation as far as he could tell. Maybe they'd find out in the future.
"Ash," a new voice entered.
Ash turned and saw Cyclizar open the sliding door, poking his head into the room. "We have a visitor who wishes to speak with you."
"Why?" Ash asked. "If they're with the healers, shouldn't they go into the uh… guest rooms? You know, where everyone is." The normally empty house buzzed with activity in the past few hours. Gramps had offered the family's ancestral home as a place to mend and restore the sickened and battered from last night's events - the rooms weren't to be used for anything else.
"Well, he is rather insistent." Cyclizar frowned. "I don't know him, but he claims to know you. He's a decidueye if that matters. He says he's an alchemist."
"Oh!" Ash immediately understood who it was. "Bring him in! We know who he is!"
Cyclizar nodded his head and stepped out of the room.
A minute later, the lizard came back with a tall owl behind him.
Scholar Aspen stared at Ash for a half second before bowing for a moment. "Greetings, Ash. It has been quite a while. I see, you've done well for yourself in the past two months.."
"You can say that again," Pikachu said, flashing his trainer a grin.
Ash stood up and mimicked the bow. He felt that if this was part of how people greeted each other, he should do the same, even if his shoulders ached. "Well, things were a bit rough. I mean, I've learned quite a bit about my Mom, if that helps." The pup scowled at the owl, realizing something important.. "Hey, what brings you here? Like, it's a fair distance from Opalton."
"Originally? I was called in to assist in investigation work regarding a certain fugitive who is now… incarcerated. Now, my duties involve tending to the ill, as I arrived too late to assist in my former task." Scholar Aspen shook his head and then turned to Ash. "But before then, I feel it necessary to address the soon-to-be lord of the manor, as well as to apologize for… not having been completely honest when we first met, son of Hanako."
"Yeah…" Ash sighed. The owl certainly felt sincere in his apology, it was not a lie as far as the riolu could tell. Yet the idea he was one day going to inherit the whole manor still didn't sit right with him. "How did you know I was, well… you know, human? And who my mom was? I didn't even know who my mom really was; she never told me."
"Aside from the hat and the fact you look exactly like your uncle when he was your age?" the decidueye murmured. "I overheard you and your friends discussing where you came from that night. The walls in my abode are thin, such that I could hear everything within them. I did not really know of your origins until then."
Oh… So, he overheard everything. Ash remembered vaguely that during that first night, he and the others talked about how this adventure of theirs was going to be different from every other crazy episode in their lives. "And you still trusted us even when we lied?" Ash asked, trying to sense the owl's motives.
"We… are all entitled to our own secrets," the owl eventually managed to say. "It is not my right to invade your privacy, especially since in this land you have good reason to be wary. Otherwise, you did not seem ill intentioned. I felt it safe to trust Zorua to you."
"You know, you could have told us everything…" Pikachu complained, rubbing his back where not too long ago he got shoved into a wall. "It would have saved alot of trouble with Cinder's father!"
The decidueye raised a feathered finger. "Again, that was not my secret, I had no right to tell it. To be frank, I don't think it would have been wise to tell you. Would you have even believed me that I knew Hanako? That she was your mother?"
"Maybe?" Ash shrugged. Granted, maybe learning that his mom was actually a Pokémon would have seemed far fetched if it was some random stranger. And well, Mom never gave him a reason to suspect she had been a Pokémon before.
"Regardless, that's the reality of the situation." The owl shook his head. "If you are satisfied, I'd like to ask to go see the patients now, with your blessing, of course."
"Uh, why do you need that?" Ash squinted, a little confused as to why basically a Professor was essentially asking for his permission.
"Boss," Squirtle called out. "It's your house. You're, well… the Boss, aside from your Gramps."
Ash blinked. Oh. Right. "Uh, sure. Go on, uh help who you can."
The decidueye nodded his head and promptly walked out of the room. Cyclizar followed, acting as his guide.
Pikachu walked over. "You know, we could have asked him all sorts of things."
Ash scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, but I think that can wait."
Bulbasaur nodded. "There are people who need him more than we do."
Ash sat down and looked at his soup. It had gone cold, though he wasn't concerned about that. Rather, he realized something important. If Scholar Aspen had known his mom way back in the day, did that mean he knew the answer to that made humans different from Pokémon?
But before Ash could reheat his soup, his grandfather's voice struck him. "Grandson."
The riolu turned his head and saw his grandfather walking into the room. The old lucairo carried a long wooden pole that he used for support. Several bandages covered his arms, whilst globs of cotton protected his face.
"Hey, Gramps!" Ash called out. It had been a while since he had seen his grandfather, but he seemed to be doing well given he was able to walk.
His friends gave out similar introductions.
"And greetings to you, too." The old lucario replied to each of them. He then turned to grandson and bowed his head. "Ash, do remember how I said I'd explain things to you yesterday?"
Ash blinked, having forgotten all about that until just now. All of last night's activities just took up so much time. "Uh, no?" he admitted.
Gramps sighed. "Then, it's time we had words."
Brock paced nervously in outside of the newly dubbed "treatment wing", once a host of various assorted guest rooms in varying quality. Now, it served as a place of healing and recovery.
The previously sparsely occupied mansion was now abuzz with activity and purpose as attendants and healers of various sorts worked around the clock to tend to the wounded. The soldiers who fought last night had been injured and battered, but reportedly, none of them suffered scars. Verge's victims, on the other hand, their situation was far more dire; there were consequences for what he had done.
"Hey, Brock… have you slept?" Zubat yawned from a post near the ceiling.
The lycanroc stopped his pacing to greet the at. "I'm worried," he admitted. "How can I not be?"
"I know, but… you can't just… have your heart beating so fast all the time," Zubat called, placing a wing over her chest. "Like, that's not healthy when I can hear it!"
The wolf touched his chest, noting the heavy beating of his heart. Brock stopped his pacing and looked at the bat. "I'm worried," he admitted. "I just… I don't know what's going on."
"I know, but please don't get yourself even more hurt," Zubat pleaded. "Like, it's bad enough that you had several cuts and burns!"
Brock groaned. Intellectually, he knew he should take better care of himself, but his heart beat violently. He couldn't sit down.
"Like, maybe the best thing to do is to get you out of here?" Zubat offered. She swooped down and landed atop her trainer's head. "Like, maybe find a distraction, to keep your mind off of things until we learn more?"
Brock frowned, but he saw the point. Geodude and Onix were both elsewhere in the house, called in for labor since they were injured. If Brock hadn't had a doctor's order telling him not to have strenuous activity for the rest of the day, he might have chosen to do that to keep his mind off of his current woes.
Just then, a door slid open, revealing a weary looking noctowl and zorua. Both looked exhausted, almost like they would collapse into a pillow if they could, but Brock wasn't going to let that happen.
The lycanroc immediately ran up to them, hoping for any good news. "Did anything happen? How are the patients?"
The noctowl shook his head. His name was Hemlock. "I am afraid that… we've made little progress," the owl looked ashamed to admit. "Though none of them are suffering from hallucinations, their physical conditions have worsened since last night."
Brock frowned.
"Partly, that is the side effect from the potion that made them violently unstable; the consequence of pushing their bodies past their natural limitations meant that afterwards, there would be a toll on their health." Cinder visibly deflated, as though she didn't like what she had said. "But, the worse problem is that their Essences are still… tainted. It's hindering their ability to self mend."
Brock didn't know what Cinder was talking about, but he didn't need to know the specifics. "...How bad is it?"
"Brock…" Zubat warned. "Are you sure you want to know? Like, this sounds bad."
"I have to know," Brock answered.
"All things being equal, we are uncertain of their survival. Their condition is stable for the meanwhile, but it will likely deteriorate within the next few days. After that, we do not know." Scholar Hemlock bowed his head in obvious shame. "We are considering what our options are in light of that."
Brock's heart trembled at the word. It sounded like some sort of sick, cruel joke. He had fought and bled, yet despite having arguably come out on top, one of his friends was still going to die despite that. A part of him wondered where Verge's statue was, all so he could bite it and tear the twisted ditto to pieces.
"Brock?" Zubat's words rang in the lycanroc's ears.
The Rock-type looked down, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do now. What was he going to tell Suzie? Or what about-
"What seems to be the problem here?" a new voice entered the room, drawing attention to himself.
Brock and everyone else turned to greet the newcomers.
A familiar decidueye walked into the room, escorted by Cyclizar. "This is where we treat the injured," the lizard told the new owl.
The red-orange feathered owl nodded his head. "Thank you, Cyclizar, you may go if you wish."
The lizard nodded his head and promptly left.
"Master?" Cinder responded, her eyes wide.
"Greetings, my apprentice. It has been some time," the Grass-type bowed his head. He then turned to Brock, and did a double take. "And I see you've matured, Brock. That is an unusual coloration for your kind."
"Thank you," Brock muttered, trying to be polite. His worries kept him from doing more than an automatic reply.
Scholar Aspen then turned to Hemlock and did the same. "And to you, Hemlock. I heard you have something of a problem."
The noctowl responded in kind. "We have dozens of patients who are suffering from an Essence … alteration," he said, as if trying to best describe the situation. "Someone tried to modify their Essences in a mostly permanent manner; this is the source of current woes."
"One of them is Vulpix, the one that travels with us. You know her," Brock clarified. He had no idea if the new alchemist could help in this situation, but he was willing to try anything at this point. Besides, he was able to help Zubat last time their paths crossed.
"That is quite the predicament," the decidueye rubbed at his beak. "And not something modern alchemy has explored."
Hemlock nodded his head. "If we had more insight into what exactly had been done, we might have been able to come up with a solution." He shook his head. "So far, all we have are the leftover texts and experiment notes the culprit left behind."
"Is there anything that can be done?" Brock pleaded. "I don't want Vulpix or anyone else to suffer."
Scholar Aspen looked down at the lycanroc. He seemed to contemplate something, his eyes narrowing into a harsh expression
Brock stared back. He wasn't a mind reader, but he could see that the decidueye was debating something internally. "Please."
The decidueye turned a glance to his former apprentice and then he spoke to Hemlock. "There… is obscure lore that I have recently read that deals with such a problem."
"Truly?" Hemlock seemed surprised. "This has been a problem that you have seen in a text?"
"My collection contains many obscure subjects," the Grass-type replied. "Of these are those pertaining to those thinkers who attempted to consider more applications for Mantling techniques. They simply lacked viable applications and were… lost to history."
Brock did not know if the owl was being honest or not, but he didn't care. If this helped, he was all for it.
"I see," Hemlock replied. "If these texts shed some light into our current predicament!"
"Indeed." Aspen confirmed. "Take me to Vulpix. We'll start with her. Zorua, please come with us. I want you to observe."
"I have a- yes, Master!" the fox yelped.
Brock stepped forward, eager and hopeful that something could be done. "I want to come, too."
"Same," Zubat chimed in.
Scholar Hemlock frowned. "Very well." He waved a wing, beckoning them to come forward.
The owl led the way through the repurposed guest rooms. Soldiers, healers, and laborers strode through the hallway in a way that resembled the modern hospitals from back home. Brock caught glimpses of a number of alchemists like that one aromatise and the ferrothorn. At some point, he was certain he saw Dexter translating something to one of the patients.
Abruptly, Hemlock cracked open one of the doors and stepped into the room.
The smell of incense filled the room in an almost choking haze. Vulpix laid still on a sleeping mat, mercifully unconscious. A clay cast covered one of her legs, whilst bruises dotted her flanks. The fire fox still bore patches of white fur that were out of place on her body, though Brock felt like her fur had become paler as of late.
"Hm, how long has she been like this?" Scholar Aspen questioned.
"Perhaps…somewhere over a dozen hours? It has not been a day since her disappearance." Hemlock admitted.
"Then, this will be easier," the decidueye knelt down. He reached into a satchel and pulled out a crystal not unlike the ones Brock trained with earlier in the week. He put it near Vulpix and it lit up in a swirling vortex of orange-red and pure white energies. "Hm, as expected."
"What's going on?" Zubat asked. "I can't see for myself."
Cinder answered. "It's an Essence reading crystal, just like the ones we used, just with almost no resistance so it can determine a Maiju's Essence without any significant effort needed. Not normally used for medical work as there's usually no point."
"Indeed." Scholar Aspen looked at the crystal for a moment before returning it to his bag. "I don't know who did this, but it's clear to me that they were attempting to see if they could convert Vulpix's Essence into that of a known related species in the hopes that such a procedure would have been easy. Instead, they simply got caught half-way, unable to proceed further, hence why Vulpix bears both aspects of both Fire and Ice elements."
"This is what we have determined from the lunatic's notes," Hemlock provided.
"... Is that good?" Brock asked, not sure how to handle it.
"It means that this isn't irreversible, in theory." Aspen confirmed. He waved over Vulpix's still body. "The perpetrator could not redefine the core of Vulpix's Essence. Instead all he did was to infuse her with an Ice attributed Essence, in the hope of overwhelming Vulpix's natural pattern. Normally, such Essence would fade, as it does for those who practice arts such as Mantling."
Put that way, the problem Vulpix faced seemed like something so comprehensible, so simple. "Then, how do we remove that Essence?" Brock asked. "Can we drain it?"
"Not without killing the patient," Hemlock stated with a frown. "The reason why this is so difficult is that this foreign Essence is mixed in with what is natural to her; we would be drawing from both aspects rather than or the other."
"Fortunately, I think I know what spell he tried," Aspen snorted. He pulled out a small bottle from his bag that contained an dark, oily liquid.
Scholar Hemlock looked incredulous at the other owl. "Is that a potion? How are we going to get her to drink it while she sleeps?"
"Thankfully, this is not meant to be drunk," the decidueye countered, a light chuckle coming from his mouth. "Though admittedly, I am uncertain of the results. This will be the first experiment."
Brock felt worried about using some unproven method to hopefully cure Vulpix, but what if there were side effects? But as things were right now, they had few other options.
The decidueye poured the liquid onto Vulpix's body. It sizzled and bubbled, turning into vapor contact with her fur. It sounded a lot like a flying pan filled with hot cooking oil with the way it worked. Faint plumes of mist made it difficult to see what exactly was going on.
Brock winced, the sound instinctively unsettling the wolf.
The mist cleared, Vulpix became visible once again, but she was once again different. The patches of white fur on Vulpix's body returned to their natural rustic browns. Within a minute, only a few dull gray marks were left over; and most of those were quickly vanishing. The fox tumbled and rolled in her sleep, completely unaware of her life being fixed,
Brock could only stare, his heart leaping for joy at the sight. It was like he had seen something miraculous.
"Did something happen?" Zubat questioned, blind as could be.
"Vulpix looks normal again," Brock said. Beat up and injured, but normal looking. Sure, she was going to need some time to recover, but injuries were mundane.
"...How?" Cinder stared, almost at loss for words.
Scholar Hemlock looked at his contemporary with similar disbelief. "Why? I… I suppose you are a valuable contributing member of the Imperial Court." He shook his head. "You must share with us the source of this knowledge. It may have further contributions in medicine and perhaps alchemy as a whole."
"It's probably best to focus on what we can already make use of," the owl replied. He seemed a little torn, though tried to put up a smile. "I should probably teach you the recipe, so that we may create more of this solvent. Though, I also have other matters to attend to while I am here."
"There is a laboratory not too far from here," Hemlock suggested. The two owls stepped out of the room, the noctowl grilling the decidueye for more information.
Cinder almost went out the door, following her former Master. She then stopped herself and turned to look Brock in the eyes. "...So, Master saved Vulpix. And will probably save many of the other patients, too."
"Yeah…" Brock confirmed. Vulpix was mostly back to normal, only a few scant remains of off-color fur left on her body. He had honestly thought it would have been a more arduous ordeal, perhaps requiring more work to be involved from all of the healers. Instead, Scholar Aspen came in and… cured her so casually. "It's kind of weird he just… had a potion, er, solvent, for exactly this situation."
"... It does seem a little unlikely." Cinder admitted. "Maybe he simply had it on hand for some other purpose? I know I carry a few potions like that can be used for different applicable tasks."
But if that's the case, what was the original intention of having this kind of concoction on his person? And if so, why was it also applicable in this situation? Something didn't add up.
Brock shook his head. No, he shouldn't look a gift pontya in the mouth. The decidueye had his reasons, perhaps even good ones; they didn't matter at the moment. The health of his friends was more important than that.
And this ordeal taught him one thing. He understood so little, yet alchemy had so much potential in it.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, an old lucario walked into the room. "There you are," he said to them.
"Tag!" Togepi shouted, bouncing up and down as she fled her
"Get back here!" cried the young olive. He leapt up and down, laughing as he did.
Misty smiled faintly, a small laugh escaping her lips. She loved watching the sight of her precious baby playing out in the gardens from a comfortable patio. A part of her even wanted to join in, but she busted something last night and needed to take it easy.
"So, dat's Togepi's little friend from the day care?" Meowth muttered as he took a seat next to the weasel. "I guess it's a good thing that she's got friends her age."
Misty nodded her head. "Smolive's relatives thought it would have been a good idea to let them have a small playdate since the clan's leader would be visiting the household." She was a little uncomfortable that even something as simply a playdate for children needed to be so formal, but at least the children got to play.
"Igotcha!" Smolive said really fast before he darted away from the fleeing egg.
"NOOOO!" Togepi shouted, though she was still clearly enjoying herself.
"Go get 'em!" Meowth shouted with glee, clearly enjoying the sight himself.
"Hey, Uncle Meowth!" Togepi dashed by, narrowly avoiding Smolive tackling her to return the favor.
Misty could see it in the cat's expression, how he enjoyed the little egg's joy. It wasn't that long ago where he had nearly won the right to raise Togepi not too long ago.
"So, how is everyone else?" Misty asked, thinking to make some small talk. She hadn't really paid attention to what happened with Team Rocket, nor had she seen them since last night's events.
Meowth shrugged. "Eh, it's just our regular Tuesday. Da only thing missin is da Blast Off!" He then frowned. "Mostly, dey just got knocked out. Nothing permanent, though I think Victreebel's going to need to regrow some bits."
"If you say so," Misty acknowledged, glad to know that Team Rocket had made it out from last night's events relatively unscathed. She had honestly forgotten the fact that they were used to getting beaten up and launched to the horizon multiple times a week.
Smolive and Togepi ran through some bushes, turning their game of tag into hide and seek at the drop of a hat.
"Marco!" Togepi shouted.
"Who's Marco?" asked Smolive as he climbed up some topiary.
"I dunno!" Togepi giggled as she burst out from a bush and ran behind a tree.
"So, when exactly did Jessie and James become… odd?" Misty hadn't really thought about it until recently, but it was something of an open secret in their little group that Jessie and James had unusual powers for the type of Pokémon they were. James had that thing where he got powers from his clothing and Jessie had the various elemental moves that were definitely not normal for an eevee. They couldn't evolve either.
None of this was all that important or noteworthy until that ditto tried to copy Jessie and kept malfunctioning. And then when he tried to copy Pikachu, he just… lost control.
Meowth shrugged, still paying attention to the little kids. "Jessie and James we always da weird ones. Even back before we got sent stranded 'ere."
"Yeah, but they couldn't… do weird stuff like that until, well, you know," Misty said, tiptoeing around the fact that none of them were Pokémon until recently.
Meowth laughed. "Ya, but da costume thing? James always had dat." He then made a sour expression. "Ya seriously gotta see his stash back in Kanto. He's got an embarassin moltress wingsuit!"
Misty gave a stink eye. "What?" She struggled to imagine what the human James would have looked like if he got into a costume that resembled Moltress.
Meowth snorted. "I said what I said. James was always weird."
"And Jessie?" Misty continued.
"She always thought she was special. Ya know how she is. Guess she is now." Meowth shook his head and bit on his lip. "Ya know, da first time dey got in a fight, against some ol pirate, they learned they had dese weird powers."
"So, we don't know when this all started?" Misty scowled. "They just… had these strange abilities since they got here?"
"Pretty much," Meowth confirmed.
In short, there were no leads as to why Jessie and James had been so weird, which also coincidentally meant that finding out what happened with Pikachu was also a bust. The buizel stared once again and started thinking to herself. "You know, you're weird yourself, Meowth."
The cat glared daggers at her. "Ya, don't remind me."
Right, alot of Pokémon thought Meowth was a little freaky because he liked to walk bipedally. And back home, he spoke Japanese, which was a trait most Pokémon in general didn't have. "I mean, is there a chance you're like Jessie and James? Maybe you have some special powers or something you don't know about?"
Meowth squinted. He brought his paws against the back of his head. "I mean, maybe?"
"Might as well find out, somehow," Misty urged. She had no idea if there was any merit to the idea, but she was kind of curious now if all of the members of Team Rocket were strange.
"It's not like I can check if I can evolve or not by touchin a rock," Meowth muttered. "And I don wanna evolve."
"Watch and be amazed!" Staryu's voice rang out as he spun and twirled in the air above the small children. Smolive and Togepi bounced and leapt as the flying starfish performed all sorts of maneuvers in the air.
"Hey, don't do anything reckless, Staryu!" Misty shouted, cupping her paws against her mouth. She really did not want Togepi or Smoliv picking up something dangerous they would have tried to imitate. There was also the fact that Staryu had a few injuries and he was supposed ot take it easy, but it was mostly the first thing the buizel was worried about.
The cat snickered
Misty glared at him, shutting him up, though Meowth still had a big smile.
As the children continued to play under the watchful eye of Misty's first Pokémon, the buizel caught motion in the corner of her eye.
She turned her gaze and noted a familiar looking Samurott walking up the steps to the house and towards a red-orange feathered decidueye. Fjord, the owner of a large trade company, and Scholar Aspen, an famous alchemist, met each other steps away from the Tajiri household. They spoke to each other, their words inaudible at this distance.
Misty thought it was a little strange the two of them were here at the same time. While she knew that Aspen and Fjord were childhood friends, they lived very far away from each other. Further, she knew that there was some sort of bad blood between them and Mister Tajiri. So, to have them both here, something had to be up.
"Mind, watching Togepi and her friend for a bit?" the weasel asked of the cat.
Meowth glanced at her. "Hm, alright. If ya want," he said without further need to convince.
Misty had no fear of Meowth doing anything wrong to her little egg; the cat very much liked the Togepi.
The Water-type got out of her seat on the patio and walked towards where she saw the older Pokémon discussing. She hid slightly out of the way, behind some shrubs.
Fjord let out a tired and weary sigh. "...read the reports yet?"
Aspen nodded. "I had little time to study, but having seen the patients, I think I know what's going on."
"He knew. This ditto was on the path to recreating the…" Fjord's words were cut off by a feathered hand by his compatriot.
"Not in public," Aspen scolded. "Too many people able to overhear."
Misty squinted an eye. Were they talking about Verge? It sounded like they knew something about the ditto. But if so, wh-
"You know, it is rude to listen in?" the soft tone hit Misty's ears like a sledgehammer.
The Water-type out of her hiding spot in and onto the floor in surprise.
Scholar Aspen stepped forward, his razor sharp talons mere inches away from the weasel's face. He glared at Misty with a hard expression before letting a out a sigh. "Oh, just you… Misty, was it?"
"Yeah." Misty coughed out some dirt that had gotten in her mouth in the fall. She looked up at the decidueye with an awkward expression. "Uh, sorry, I was just curious as to why you were here."
"While I admire your curiosity, you should be more wary of other's privacy when possible," the owl stated.
"Well, you were out in front of the house," Misty defended herself. The buizel got onto her feet and shook the dirt out of her fur.
"That is true," Fjord admitted. "Though, next time, you should just walk up to us and ask. The direct approach is more honest."
The buizel nodded her head. "Right. Mind your business unless you're invited," she summarized. But her curiosity still got the better of her. She still wanted to know. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what was it that Verge was doing? Assuming I'm allowed to ask that is."
The two adult Pokémon turned to look at each other, as if silently communicating with a glance alone.
"There will be… a place for this sort of discussion in a moment," Aspen admitted. The owl bowed his head. "Lord Tajiri has requested our presence. That includes you, by the way."
Misty blinked. "Why?"
"Because," Fjord said bitterly, "Old Takemoto wants you to know something very important."
Ash wished Pikachu was allowed to come with him, but he understood the reason why his grandfather had prevented the rodent from joining. After all, Pikachu wasn't human or didn't have human relatives, but Brock and Zorua certainly did.
Gramps unlocked the door and unveiled a small gallery of weapons and armor. "This is the family armory," he said as he pointed towards ceremonial armor, sharpened spears, and even a few weathered bows. "It hasn't been… needed in some time, but it is with a doubt the most secure and private place in the house. No one will bother us here."
Ash could feel the slight hum of uncertainty within his grandfather. He realized that whatever he planned to say, he wanted it to be as secret as possible, especially given the house was crawling with soldiers and alchemists.
From his friends, he could sense an uneasy wariness creeping upon them.
"So, are we ready?" Brock said, his voice guarded. He stepped into the armory, his shoulders stiff, as if expecting a fight. The wolf also looked agitated, his eyes straining from a lack of sleep. "Why did you want us?"
Meanwhile, Cinder continuously eyed every crack in the wall, as if scanning for ways to get out. And when that didn't work, Ash could tell she was very closing examining each of the artifacts and weapons, perhaps thinking up some impromptu disguises in the near future.
"Soon," the lucario promised. He then pointed down the hallway, towards three other Pokémon.
"Misty?" Ash blinked, almost surprised, though really he shouldn't have been. Other than Team Rocket, who was currently still in bed last he checked, there was one other human in their group.
"So, what's all this about?" Misty asked. The other two walked in and closed the door. Scholar Aspen and Sir Fjord took put positions on the outer edge of the room, their eyes watching carefully.
"Gramps and I… he knew that we were human," Ash said, recalling the events before Vulpix got kidnapped and everything had happened all at once. So much had happened in just a few hours.
Brock and Misty stared at the lucario, both interested in his response.
"That is correct." Gramps said. The old lucario stepped towards an old sword that hung on a wall. "I did not have a firm I idea on who exactly had been human or not, but I studied how you interacted with my grandson and other Maiju. I could see that while others might take a more subservient role, you regard yourselves as equal with my Ash."
Ash sensed Brock and Misty both feel like knives had struck them. They had all been careful to not bring up their origins to people out of their group, yet Gramps was able to figure them out just from observation alone. While they had become closer to their Pokémon, Ash knew, the way they all related to their friend was still heavily influenced by the trainer-Pokémon dynamic that they had been so accustomed to.
"I… don't think of myself that highly," Cinder whimpered. "Though, I suspect you knew of my family given how closely yours was tied with mine."
"What are you going to do now?" Misty demanded, her tone level and cold. "Do you hate us for what we are?"
"No." The lucario shook his head. "I understand that… it is not your fault for how you were born. Rather, I think you should consider yourselves blessed."
"Blessed?" Brock growled, taking offense. "I don't particularly find myself blessed, even if some of the priests think I am."
"But then, why did you say that things would be better if humans we just… gone?" Ash accused, pointing a finger as his grandfather. Why would he say something like that?
"Because, that is what I believe. The world would be a better place without humans in it." Gramps replied, a firm resolve burning inside of him. "Because in truth… humans were never supposed to exist."
Ash blinked, not understanding what his grandfather was saying.
"Wait. What do you mean by that?" Misty immediately called out.
"Yeah, like, how can humans not be … not meant to exist?" Ash looked down at himself. "Like, I existed, didn't I? I was human."
Gramps shook his head. "Children, what god is the patron of humankind?"
"Patron?" Ash said.
"In the stories, the first gods were either the progenitors or the creators of other Maiju. Like, many birds call the Lugia their distant ancestors. Others go by the opinion that affinity to specific element or biome is proof of one's heritage, such Kyogre creating all those whose home is the sea," Cinder explained, squinting her eyes. "The specifics get argued about but the point stands."
"I don't recall anything like that," Ash frowned. He knew he wasn't that book smart, so maybe some else knew. He turned to Misty and Brock, hoping they had an answer. "Have you guys heard of that?"
Misty shrugged. "I don't think I have."
"I mean, I've heard a Latios and a Latias being the patrons of a city in Johto," Brock answered. "But that's explicitly a city that they live in, not something like… people."
"So, what's the point then?" Ash demanded, not seeing the idea behind this.
"Humans lack a patron because they were not created by gods," Gramps stated very plainly. He looked over all of the humans in the room, his expression one of pity rather than any malice. "In truth, you were never meant to be human. No one was."
"What do you mean by… no one?" Ash said. He had gotten used to the idea that his Mom was a Pokémon, having had quite a bit of time to process it all. Sure, it was a surprise it first, but he got over it. But what Gramps was talking about.
Misty and Brock looked at the old lucairo, their eye betraying a sense of warines.
"You assumed that just because you were born human, that when you found yourselves within Citrine, that you had transformed yourselves into… Pokémon." Gramps raised a finger and one at a time, he pointed at their chests. "In actuality, you saw yourselves in your true forms for the first time in your lives; these bodies you find yourselves in, this… is your natural state. How you should have been."
Ash felt a thunderclap reverberate around him, as the words not only sunk into his mind, but those of all of his friends present. He didn't want to believe it, it sounded so ridiculously impossible, even factoring his mother having once been a lucario.
"But I can't… What does this mean? Does this mean?" Misty sputtered, words seemingly failing her.
The old lucario looked at her and spoke. "Your ancestors, I don't know what madness possessed them, but they... lost themselves and were transfigured into the first humans. You should count yourselves fortunate, because you were given the chance to regain what had been taken from you."
The buizel stared, not quite seeing things the same way.
Ash turned towards the other adults in the room, hoping to get more answers. "Is what my grandfather said true?"
The decidueye nodded his head.
Fjord likewise did the same. "When I asked you if you could tell me what the difference between humans within Citrine and Maiju was, I was hoping you had come to realize the intention of the question, of what it was meant to point out."
"That there was no difference," Ash said finally, having now understood. He and the others tried to find a difference between them and their Pokémon, yet they couldn't really point to anything concrete. It wasn't education, it wasn't knowledge, and everyone seemed fairly normal outside of Team Rocket. His friends, the ones that had been born Pokémon, were people in every way that really mattered.
"There is no difference…" Brock muttered, repeating Ash's words. He seemed lost in thought, still processing the revelation.
"Who else knows?" Ash asked, idly, still trying to piece things together.
"Even amongst those who know of humans within Citrine's borders, most of those who know this exact truth… are now within this very room," Scholar Aspen stated. The riolu sensed him being very apologetic about it. "Only those who were within our group back then or close to Hanako learned about this when we examined the Crucible. We felt it too dangerous to share with the rest of Citrine."
"Dangerous?" Ash found himself asking. Sure, he was surprised, even stunned to learn that humans… were Pokémon. But, was it really that dangerous?
"It was the end of the Usurpation War, grandson," Gramps said. The old lucario turned his attention to a collection of tattered banners. "During that war, when I had lost… nearly everything, because weapons of human make fell into the hands of a tyrant, I and many others had wanted to punish humans for their actions."
"Which in turn, would have led to many uncomfortable questions at a time when stability was at an all time low," the decidueye shook his head. "Ultimately, we decided we'd rather not add more chaos when the land was already suffering."
Gramps nodded his head. "When I had learned of your father once being human, Hanako and I argued. I wanted to punish him out of revenge for the family I had lost and because he, in my eyes, was part of the problem plaguing our world. Hanako argued, saying that in essence, he was no different from anyone else, since in her eyes, there was no difference." He seemed ashamed, as though he knew he had done something wrong. Gramps sighed. "We… continued to argue. It was perhaps that more than anything else that led to our estrangement."
Ash winced, thinking about the tense relationship that his family had with each other. A small of him wondered that if things had gone differently, if his grandfather and mother were able to resolve their difference of opinion, he might have been born a riolu, just as his grandfather would have wanted, ironically enough.
Gramps put a paw over the riolu's shoulders. He knelt down so that he met Ash's eye level. "My grandson, I know that what I said is so much to take in, but please understand that this is who were meant to be."
Ash frowned, his ears lowered. He didn't know how to feel about everything he had just learned. Sure, the idea that all of humans were actually Pokémon sounded radical, and even shocking, he still didn't know what to do with the idea… except to digest it at all. Where did the idea of trainers even fit in, if everyone involved was actually all people? And
"I know, give it time. Think on it," Gramps said, perhaps sensing his grandson's discontentment. "We can talk later, but please, try not to tell too many people what you have learned today."
The riolu nodded. He wasn't going to ask anyone he didn't fully trust in the first place anyways.
With that, the lucario cracked open the door and ushered everyone out of the armory. Ash and his friends left immediately, none wishing to remain much longer.
"So, what do we do now?" Misty asked. She sounded exhausted.
"For now, we still have to find the Crucible. Maybe Fjord will still help us out despite us not having answered his riddle," Brock muttered.
"... Should we start thinking about what we're going to do, if he won't help us?" Cinder proposed. She seemed very anxious if not guilty.
"Could we ask Dewott?" Ash suggested. In the back of his mind, he wondered how his team would react if he told them about what he had just learned. He had a feeling that for most of them might wouldn't be bothered; they were still friends and a new… fact wasn't going to change that.
For those familiar with PMD lore, you'd probably know what Mew just gave Delia. Though it doesn't quite have the same mechanics as in Gates to Infinity.
I kind of thought that since the PMD setting humanized the Pokémon, I wondered what would happen if you deliberately made the differences between humans and Pokémon the center of the plot.
Which then led to the realization, what if there was no difference? In the real world, humans are scientifically a type of animal, one that has attained higher functioning intellect. I imagined, what if humans themselves were Pokémon by this logic.