Brock hovered over the cauldron, steam wafting out of its top as water boiled. The lycanroc breathed in the vapors, drawing it into himself before expelling the mist from his body. A part of him felt a little unsettled being so close to those boiling liquids, but he had overcome almost all of his instinctive fears involving water.
"Good, you're doing well with your attunement to the liquid," Cinder said as she paced around him. Her Master, Scholar Aspen, was present, though only in a supervisory role rather than as a teacher himself. "It's very important that you form a connection so that you can properly control the Essence you'll infuse it with."
Brock did not move his head. He narrowed his eyes as he looked deeper into the mist. Milk, liverwort, salt, basalt, and a dozen other ingredients boiled together underneath, some of which the lycanroc had never heard about. Most of the items had been cut or ground down, but they were still largely intact and visible.
"Now, this is an important step. Take your ladle and start stirring the pot," Cinder commanded. She walked over to a different cauldron and placed herself over it. "As you've not done this much, I'll demonstrate."
The fox then bit into the ladle and lowered it into the pot. She began to stir it by slowly moving her head in a circular motion.
Brock looked over at the large, wooden implement by the cauldron's side. He bent over and bit into the wood, securing the ladle firmly in his jaws. It felt a little strange to hold onto something like that, but he had come to accept that this was just something he had to get used to. He didn't have hands and likely never will.
He then dipped the ladle into the cauldron and started shaking his head back and forth to control the implement.
"Good," Cinder commented. A soft, almost indistinct glow seemed to radiate from the zorua. "Now, while doing this and maintaining your connection, I want you to channel some of your Essence through the ladle and into the mixture."
Brock closed his eyes and reached into himself.
Alchemy was strange in Brock's opinion. At its core, it was essentially the same as ordinary chemistry, with various substances reacting with one another to have a desired and predictable effect in the correct circumstances. Where alchemy differed was while the ingredients were often physical objects, Essence seemed to serve as some sort of catalyst. Essence, the power of a Pokémon, transformed the mundane into the magical, imbuing the otherwise simple and inert with power.
And it was this Essence that Brock was now using. He dug into himself and reached into the power that was deep within his own heart. Like reaching into the earth to dig a well, he pulled out a portion of himself and forced it down through the wood. The ladle resisted slightly, but Brock's power still flowed like water from a geyser. Or, maybe it was better to call it a rockslide, or a tectonic shift?
Whatever he wanted to call it, the canine saw the liquid in his cauldron start to boil and bubble. Previously stable ingredients began to dissolve into the fluid as his power ground everything within reach into dust.
"Now, focus on each ingredient and you have to dictate the effects. In a way, the simplest of potions are moves and techniques that are suspended for later use. Imagine and visualize the techniques you wish to impart to those who drink it, the simplest of all potions are applications of whatever techniques you can learn natively," Cinder urged. "I won't tell you what moves to use, that's something you have to figure out on your own."
Brock took a deep breath and stilled his heart.
His mind wandered over to Zubat, who had been injured in the previous day's events. While she had already received medical treatment, the bat took a beating and was out for most of the day. She received several broken bones for her troubles — bones that the lycanroc wanted to heal. Further, he wanted to wish her a good rest, to hopefully have a speedy recovery.
The rock hound reached into himself and understood his nature. Rock-types like himself were renowned for their toughened bodies, hard and as rigid as stones. It was this element that he wanted to impart, to mend the small fractures and rents in her body.
A surge of power built up within him, one that made Brock feel like his muscles had swelled to twice their normal size. The wolf seized that power, but did not use it for himself. Instead, he wrested the power from his body and put a small sliver of it into the potion.
The potion glowed, and blinding, silver light blasted the wolf's eyes.
Brock reeled back in surprise, his eyes watering from what he had created. He shook his head to regain his composure, though he felt exhausted. Like he had just gotten done running a marathon. "...Did it… did it work?" he asked, feeling unsure of himself.
"I'm… not sure," Cinder admitted."This is the first time I've taught anyone, let alone someone who didn't share any aspects with me."
Scholar Aspen walked over to Brock's cauldron. He grabbed the ladle and scooped up some of the potion into a glass flask, and showed it to the lycanroc. The flask full of silvery fluid almost seemed to glow with faint moonlight. "It looks stable," the owl commented as he slipped a cork on the bottle. "I assume Bulk Up or some other technique to fortify the body was used as the base."
Brock nodded his head. He panted, drained. "Is it good?"
Aspen scrutinized the bottle. "It's passable, I think. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than you intending to heal someone by adjusting the bones." He turned towards Brock with an interested gleam. "Now, why would you do something like this?"
"Calcium, a mineral, builds bones because they are partly made of it," Brock answered. He slowed down his breathing, though he still felt a little tired. "We had plenty of milk in the mixture and I thought to myself, maybe I could help strengthen Zubat's bones."
"Indeed you can," the owl answered, satisfied. "Most apprentices don't ever think about something so… basic. Often, they think that investing one's own lifeforce is enough, without thinking of the little details."
Brock nodded his head, accepting the praise for what it was. "Can I… is it safe to give to Zubat? Or anyone else for that matter?"
"It should be, though it likely will not be efficient without practice. It will likely supplement what she has already taken, but is not a substitute for more potent mixtures." The owl rubbed his beak. With many Moons of practice and proper schooling, you could one day be a talented alchemist if this is what you can create already. It takes most students many weeks before they can brew their first potions"
"Most of your students are a bit younger than Brock, on average," Cinder commented. She gave a shy smile to her Master. "I was… seventy-eighty Moons old, wasn't I? Brock is double that."
"Hm, indeed," Scholar Aspen agreed. "But the point still stands, not many can so quickly learn to discipline themselves enough to create a potion in a few weeks time. For that, Brock should be commended."
Brock felt his chest swell with pride. It was proof of how much he had grown, of how he was no longer just someone who could only provide guidance to others. He could help others with this. He wasn't useless anymore.
"It is a shame that you will not likely pursue the craft. You show plenty of potential," the owl continued to say. He shook his head and handed the potion flash to Brock. "Regardless, this lesson is over. I have some duties to attend to."
The lycanroc put his mouth around the flask, careful to not bite so hard that he shattered it under his teeth. He gently placed the bottle into a small sack and carried it out the door. He turned his back and walked out the door, his heart fluttering at the thought of his healing his friend.
As he made his way towards the room he and his friends lodged in, Brock pondered a simple question. If he continued to be an alchemist, where would he be in a few years? Could he end up as some sort of a doctor? A healer despite his lack of hands? He couldn't exactly be a breeder, but he still wanted to care for others. That was something to think about.
The lycanroc walked down a side corridor, passing by several of the healers as they went to treat the few remaining patients.
A trio of herdier walked past him, all of them girls roughly his age. They gave the lycanroc shy glances and polite smiles.
Brock blushed slightly. He could see the interest in their eyes; they thought he looked cute. The lycanroc would have been lying if he said didn't feel the same way. In a different life, he could have spent hours describing the perfect shapes of their fangs, the subtle and inviting softness of their pelts, and the sweet perfumed aroma that seemed to follow them, but he had other matters on his mind. He flashed the canines a polite smile and quietly excused himself.
The herdiers all accepted that with soft giggles before heading deeper into the house.
Brock left them behind, his thoughts consumed by an idle thought. It was strange to think that there was nothing wrong with him stopping to admire other Pokémon… After all, that's what he was. He was as much a Pokémon as anyone else. And there was something freeing about knowing that.
Perhaps what was more surprising was that he didn't think to go ask them out on a date, but the lycanroc had little time to contemplate that.
The wolf soon found himself looking at the doors to his lodgings, where he and his friends stayed for over a week. He slid the door open and slipped inside.
"Brock!" The first to greet him was Onix, his voice a booming avalanche. The large snake slightly raised his head, careful not to hit the ceiling. Brock didn't know why the Tajiris needed such a massively oversized guest room but he was thankful for it, since it allowed Onix to stay inside the house when on all previous occasions he'd been forced to stay outside. Granted, he couldn't travel the hallways, but it's the most he'd been accommodated for. "How go lesson?"
"I managed to make a potion!" The lycanroc responded.
Onix's head nodded, just barely scraping the ceiling. "Good. You smart. Well learned."
"A potion?" a shrill voice called before making a pained groan. "Ow…"
"Hey, careful with your voice! You know it's not healthy for you to do too much right now," a different voice reprimanded.
"Oh, come on!" the first voice argued. "Like you're one to talk. I heard you went all out against Brock!"
"That's different and you know it!"
Brock smiled as he walked further into the room and found Zubat and Vulpix next to each other. Zubat was lying flat on the bed, a small cloth over her body like a blanket. "Hey, Brock! Ow!" she greeted before immediately making a wince.
"She keeps doing that, even when it hurts her," Vulpix groaned. The fox was within the firepit, soaking up heat and warmth from the flames.
"Broken bones. Stubborn Zubat," Onix agreed.
Zubat made an annoyed groan. "Not my fault most of my bones are lightweight," she grumbled. "And I'm mostly recovered now! Ow."
Brock smiled faintly. She did take quite a beating from a much larger and more powerful Pokémon, but the bat had largely recovered from the worst of it once she had received medical treatment yesterday; it was enough to turn a weeks long recovery into a days long recovery. "I might have something for that," the lycanroc offered. He set the small sack containing his potion down on the floor.
Zubat tilted her head. "Oh?"
Brock reached into the sack and pulled out the potion he made, before placing it beside Zubat and uncorking the bottle. "I don't know how good it is compared to what you've had earlier, but every little bit helps, right?"
"Hopefully!" Zubat cheered, before immediately making a pained groan.
Brock then realized something. He blinked and noticed that there wasn't exactly someone in the room who could lift the potion bottle and feed it to Zubat. Normally, he would have Geodude do it for him, but his other partner was… not here. And he just did not trust himself to delciately pour healing liquids down the bat's throat. "Uh, how do I get this into your mouth? Maybe I could go fetch a nurse or something?"
"I'll just have to get up, I guess." Zubat shrugged. The bat pushed herself out of her covers and stumbled over to the bottle.
"Do not hurt self," Onix commanded. "Be careful."
"I will, I will," Zubat promised as she brought herself to the lip of the bottle. She was just barely bigger than the potion. "I'm not that injured that I can't get up every now and again."
Still, Brock felt a little awkward that Zubat had to essentially force herself out of bed to take her own medicine. If only he had the power to just… lift bottles.
Zubat tilted the potion bottle into her mouth and lapped the silvery liquid into her mouth with her tongue. Before anyone knew it, half the bottle's contents had disappeared. The Poison-type set the bottle back down and wiped off some leftover residue with her wing. "Oh, wow, that feels kind of nice!" she said, flexing her wings.
"It is?" Vulpix asked.
"Yeah, like, I still hurt a bit, but I feel kinda warm!" Zubat cheered. She flapped a wing before making a pained cringe. "Can't fly yet though."
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Brock said, happy at this outcome. Maybe he had made the right call in trying to heal the bat's broken bones. "Has it really helped that much?"
"I think so!" the bat cheered. "See? I'm not hurting myself by talking at my normal volume!"
"Normal? Really?" Vulpix eyed skeptically.
Brock smiled faintly, as did everyone else.
A moment passed and Zubat crawled back in her bed. Vulpix raised the covers over her friend. Some idle chitchat passed by. Where everyone went, what was for breakfast today, what some of the others had been doing, and eventually came the topic of Team Rocket's progress.
"So, they're almost done?" Zubat questioned.
"Yeah, we'll be setting sail and leaving the island in a few days, by the looks of it," Brock answered.
"Hm. Will need to overeat. Will need to hibernate," Onix made a pained groan.
Yeah, Onix was going to need to go back into a Pokéball really soon, until they hit landfall somewhere. Brock hated that his first friend and Pokémon had to go through something like this, but it was unavoidable while they were traveling. And it wasn't Kanto, where they had accommodations for this sort of thing.
"Will miss City. Capital nice. Full of fun," the rock snake commented. "Plenty of sites. Went shopping. Never went shopping before."
Vulpix made a low frown. "Yeah, I liked our stay here, too, We had some fun." She omitted what befell her earlier in the week, but Brock didn't mind that she wanted to put them out of mind.
"Yeah, I don't think we've ever gotten a chance to just… shop before," Brock agreed. "Like, I went shopping before, but I never exactly brought any of you guys out when I did that back in Kanto."
"Is Pewter like Capital?" Onix asked.
Brock blinked, not understanding the question.
"Is home fun?" Onix rephrased. "Been there. Never entered. Remember?"
And Brock was at a loss for words. It was then that the former trainer realized one important fact. He had never brought Onix along with him anywhere in Pewter except in a Pokéball. It wasn't really his or anyone else's fault, but their home town was not designed to accommodate a very heavy rock snake slithering through it. Most cities frowned upon the idea of very large and potentially destructive Pokémon being out and about, especially on their own. Often this meant that Onix was only allowed in certain areas or could only be let out of his Pokéball in the rural areas. The Capital of Citrine, being made for Pokémon of nearly every size, accommodated Onix, even if just barely.
"I mean, there's the Science Museum. I went there, it's got all sorts of exhibits…" Brock then frowned, realizing that there was no way for his buddy to see it up close. Even if they had managed to go back home, the museum would never admit Onix unless he was in a Pokéball. And that wasn't really a good way to enjoy the place.
"Sounds nice." Onix nodded his head. "Wish could go. See museum together," the rock snake lamented.
Brock felt a little sad that his oldest buddy was essentially left out of his life just by the fact that he was… not human. Not equal to him. Not in a world that catered to Pokémon as big as he was. It wasn't fair. And they only had, maybe a few more months before they went back home. "Same here," the lycanroc muttered.
"Hm. Something bothers you?" Onix mentioned, with a raised eye.
"I was just… thinking." Brock answered. Obviously, his oldest partner knew when he was thinking about something. The canine looked up at the gigantic serpent. "We have half the Emeras we need. We still need to go to the Crucible and then win the tournament we're competing in, but that's all theoretically something we can do in the next few months."
Onix nodded his head. "Time short. Running out. Sands in glass."
"Yeah, then things will mostly be back to normal," Vulpix muttered with a frown. "We could all be back home in Kanto."
"And with me human," Brock said. The lycanroc should have been overjoyed, even hopefully to return to going back to human form; now, his feelings on the matter were mixed. In many ways, spending a few more months as a lycanroc started to seem like it was such an uncomfortably short amount of time.
"It would mean we… can't talk to each other like this." Vulpix bowed her head.
And that was ignoring the possibility that they'd still forget their entire journey within Citrine. They would go back to being in what were effectively separate worlds, one of humans and one of Pokémon. Even though in actuality, they were much closer than he or anyone else every thought possible.
"Sooooo…" Zubat drew out the syllables to an extended length. "What are you going to do about it?"
Everyone turned to her.
"I mean, like, it's kinda clear that it's not the best plan, so…. You gotta make changes, doncha?" Zubat continued.
Brock sighed, reining in his emotions. He… didn't exactly have a concrete plan, but he had an idea of what he wanted to do. "I think I'd tell everyone that Pokémon and humans are the same species."
"What you mean?" Onix asked. "What end goal? Sound like start. Plan leads where?"
"Yeah, like, what's that going to accomplish?" Zubat asked.
"I don't know if any of you knew this before, but humans have always wondered where they came from. We've created all sorts of theories about what kind of Pokémon gave birth to humans or if other animals were responsible. It's one of the big mysteries about us that we've been searching for the answer for." The lycanroc's tail wagged in excitement. "But now we know. We know where we came from. We know… who we are."
Everyone else looked at the wolf and slowly nodded their heads. Brock was certain that they hadn't fully comprehended what he was saying, so he broke it down. "People have always debated where Pokémon stand in terms of intelligence, but with this, there's no more doubt. We'd know each and every Pokémon is itself a person just as capable as any human." He frowned. "It'd cause changes throughout all of society, some good, some bad, but I think it's worth letting people know: We're all… just Pokémon. Pokémon who forgot who we were."
"BROCK!" a voice shouted.
Everyone turned and saw a familiar buizel and geodude hobbling into the room, a number of bags and supplies in their hands.
"Misty? Geodude?" Brock sputtered, surprised to see the two of them here.
"We came back from shopping. You know, for when we leave?" Geodude muttered, his tone a little surprised.
"Only to find you saying something so…. Crazy!" Misty blurted out, her eyes strained.
"Crazy?" Brock asked, a little surprised she was so upset. In fact, he didn't really know what part she was bothered by.
Misty ground her teeth. "Humans and Pokémon aren't the same!" she said.
Brock and everyone else blinked. This… was not a not what he expected the buizel to say at all. Why was Misty acting like this suddenly? Did something happen? "But, Mister Tajiri and everyone else told us that."
"We were told by crazy people, one of which is a lonely old dog who doesn't want to lose his grandson!" Misty defended her choice of words, yet her tone was… shaky, like a stiff breeze could knock over her words. Though, she did have a point.
Brock's team looked at him, as if waiting for him to make a call. "But it makes sense, doesn't it?" the lycanroc offered. He walked over to the buizel and drew in some of the power in his heart. A silver glow flowed around him, easily convertible into an offensive move at a moment's notice, but all the wolf needed it for was to make a display. "The power inside of us, our Essence, it's something that comes naturally to us."
Misty glared at him, arms crossed. "We aren't supposed to be Pokémon!" she shouted, her voice tearing.
Brock knew something was up. The buizel had never been so defensive about her current form before. In fact, after they had first awakened on that beach, she practically reveled in her change. Something happened. Was it that confrontation with Mister Tajiri? Brock hesitated about wanting to ask the question directly, yet his instincts and training said that deescalation was the best strategy. "Hey, it's fine. We'll be back home in no time. And… everything can go back the way they were."
"Yeah!" Zubat pipped up. "Like, you're still a trainer and all! None of us are trainers, but you guys."
Yet, somehow, that only seemed to enrage the orange weasel. Misty gritted her teeth in frustration. She turned her head away, perhaps wanting to avoid a dialogue altogether.
Brock started to feel nervous. He stopped channeling power around his body. He didn't know what to do here, but he felt uneasy just letting things slide. He took a gamble and went directly to the issue. "Misty, what's actually bothering you?" the lycanroc pleaded. "You can tell us. We can help."
Misty's paws clenched. Water streaked down her face. "You're just happy that you can fawn over female Pokémon now and it isn't weird!" she blurted out.
Brock stared, a little stunned at her fury. He didn't have time to process what it was she said.
Misty turned her head and ran out the door.
Brock nearly ran after her, to try to make sense of what was going on. A single word kept his feet planted to the ground.
"Stop," Onix bellowed.
The lycanroc turned to his oldest partner.
"Cannot help now. Stay away," Onix explained.
"I can't help her?" Brock asked, a little put off.
"No." Onix confirmed. "Duty. Someone else's."
Brock wanted to ask for more details, but Geodude was the one to explain.
"I think what he's saying is that, well, I think that you're what's setting her off," Geodude answered. "Like, you, specifically, are bothering her."
The large rock snake nodded.
"Why? What did I do wrong?" Brock questioned. As far as he knew he did nothing wrong. He hadn't really spoken to Misty all that much in the past few days, either.
"Because out of all of the humans, you're the one who's changed the most," Vulpix muttered. "You're… not the same."
Brock frowned as he looked over himself.
Her words made a certain degree of sense. The lycanroc had to endure being completely quadrupedal, having to rely more and more on the natural impulses that came with his body. His habits were the most obviously weird from the human point of view. He scratched himself by bite the affected area or raising his back legs to reach his back. He even had no shame when it came to licking others. In comparison, Misty didn't really change all that much, while Ash arguably hadn't changed at all.
Had he gone native?
The lycanroc shook his head. No, that was something to ask himself about later. "But what about Misty?"
"I'll handle it," Geodude said as he hopped away.
Brock grumbled, but trusted the living geode could do something about it.
Misty hated herself for what she did. She didn't really know what compelled her to argue against Brock, but something in her snapped and caused her to act like an idiot!
She must have sounded like a fool saying what she said! Yet it was all she could think about. She had nothing else.
And now, she was alone.
The buizel ran out of the mansion and into the gardens. She didn't know if anyone saw her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone, where no one else was.
A part of her wondered if she could run into the city, but the weasel immediately shot down the idea when she realized that'd mean having to put up with all of the noise and traffic… and especially all of the Pokémon traveling the road. No, the gardens were probably the best place for her now; no one was there to bother her.
The Water-type stumbled her way forward, barely able to watch where she was going. Her normally waterproof eyelids were covered in tears that blurred her vision, but she could make out the indistinct shapes of trees.
Misty wiped her eyes and laid her body against one of the trees.
Misty wasn't supposed to be like this. She was too old to cry. She wasn't a little girl who was allowed to. She was a Gym leader. She was the most responsible girl in her family and arguably the whole group, even being better at it than her older sisters or Brock! She was being so ridiculous!
And yet, it felt like she had her heart ripped out from her chest, like a weight had been put on her shoulders, like she was a prisoner. The only thing that she knew was that ever since Mister Tajiri told them everything, something in there ate away at her.
Being human wasn't a lie. She was born one, grew up as one. She wasn't a Pokémon!
Misty did not want to believe him or the old man and his juniors who were being ridiculous, yet denying it was like denying her own arms and legs. Essence, the power of a Pokémon, was buried deep into her heart. Humans weren't supposed to have anything like that, yet touching it came as second nature to her, like it had always been there. Perhaps, it had always been, but always just out of reach; she had always held a special connection with water.
One of her paws reached towards a small decorative pond nearby. Though she didn't touch it, she could feel the ebb and flow as though it was her own body. Water rippled and danced, each ripple like a heartbeat.
Idly, Misty moved her paw, causing the water to shift and stir at her actions. She spun the water, forming a tiny whirlpool. Thoughts stormed in her mind. She made such a fool of herself, didn't she? Why did she do what she did? She had no answer.
"Misty?" Staryu's light shined into the whirlpool.
The buizel froze, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her first Poké girl wiped away the tears from her eyes, not wanting anyone else to see her weakness, especially not him.. She raised her head and turned to the source. "Hey, Staryu," she grumbled.
"Are you okay?" the starfish questioned, floating his body closer before landing on his feet. "I heard about what happened." He sounded apologetic.
Misty frowned, her feelings mixed. She liked that Staryu was here, just…. She didn't know if she was helped or bothered by his presence, especially since someone told her about her little outburst. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know."
"I'm here for you, you know that," Staryu hobbled over and knelt down. "I've always been there when you needed it."
Misty winced. He and Goldeen had basically been her only friends growing up, a fact that brought a small bit of comfort. "... I know."
Staryu laid his back against the same tree. "I heard about what you said to Brock. You took offense to… being a Pokémon, did you?"
"It sounds even stupider when you say it," Misty grumbled. "Yeah, I did."
"Why?" Staryu asked, pointedly.
Misty didn't have a concrete answer, yet her thoughts were filled by images of how Brock had rapidly turned from mild resentment and hesitation to… letting go ever since Mister Tajiri had that talk. "I hate the idea that being human was fake and that my life as one was a lie.," she frowned. "Yet, I can't just… ignore it."
"It does imply a lot of things," Staryu said simply. "You weren't afraid or resentful of being a Pokémon before. You were also very willing to return back to the status quo."
Misty winced. The status quo, the way things used to be, felt very distant at that moment. "Is it right for me to go back to being human? Am I just going to be lying to myself when I go back? Will I regret burying… this side of me?" And that wasn't even half of it. The entire world as she knew it was one of humans and Pokémon, but if they were even one and truly the same… what did that mean for the world as a whole? In the law, Pokémon were fundamentally treated more like animals rather than people, animals that you loved and cared for ideally, but more pets than persons. And now, Misty was supposed to be a Pokémon.
"And what if you stayed a Pokémon, and in turn, lost a part of yourself in the process?" Staryu countered, kneeling next to her. "You were born and raised human and despite being told that your heritage is that of a buizel, your upbringing, your education is that of a girl raised to take over a Gym in Cerulean City."
Misty frowned, realizing that he was right. She would be essentially picking which part of her, a side of her and cutting off and suppressing the other. She imagined that it might have basically been ripping off her own arm. "I'm going to have to pick, aren't I?"
Staryu nodded. "It appears so, but I admit, I wish you didn't have to choose. Both are equally important and losing one or the other would be quite unfortunate."
"Equally important?" Misty blinked. She had been under the assumption that being human was, in Mister Tajiri's opinion, one big lie. So, to hear that they were still equally valid was a surprise.
"Why do you assume that just because the human experience was not a natural creation, that what you experienced in your life lacked value?" Staryu explained. "In a practical sense, we are shaped by our experiences, from our environment, the roles we take, and more. This is something that's universal that humans and Pokémon share."
Misty blinked, completely taken aback that Staryu somehow understood a concept like this. She barely understood it, yet the starfish just pulled out… philosophy? "Since when were you an expert on this?"
"Uh, I might have seen something on the TV one time," Staryu shifted slightly, flustered. "But the point I want to make is that the idea of "Misty" isn't something that can just be restrained to human or Pokémon."
"Restrained?" Misty muttered.
"You are more than just a Pokémon, just a human girl." Staryu uttered, raising his limbs at once. "In fact, I can describe who you are without using either word."
"... You can?" Misty sounded stunned.
"I can, though, you might not like it." Staryu's body sagged in a sigh before straightening back up. "At your core Misty, you're a bossy girl who likes to think highly of yourself."
"Bossy?" Misty said, taken aback by how her supposed first Pokémon took a veritable ax to her.
Staryu just kept going. "It is in part because you think so highly of yourself, because you like to have high standards for yourself. You have a potent ego and you love to get your way. in part because you want to upstage your sisters who are similar. You admire your appearance, you have pride in yourself. Part of why you're so upset is because what you've learned has shattered a part of your self image, how you see yourself."
Misty stared, amazed at this side of Staryu. She had no idea that this was how he saw her and despite her earlier fury, she couldn't find a reason to dispute him.
"Yet, despite or perhaps because of your abrasiveness, there are positive qualities to you. You want to see other people improve, to meet your standards; which is why you wished Ash obtained all of his badges correctly, why you want to get your sisters back into being proper Gym Leaders, or why you are so demanding that Psyduck gets stronger to make up for his weaknesses. You also have a kinder, more thoughtful side, most especially when it comes to young Togepi. You want to raise her well, you want to protect the vulnerable." Staryu then stopped talking and made sure to look his trainer in the eyes. "And all of that is true regardless of what species you are. I'd say it's even more important."
Misty laid back down, pondering over the words. She didn't know how much Staryu's perceptions about her were accurate, but he had described her as best as he can without falling back on her species. She was more than just human or buizel. "Huh, so, I'm bossy you say?" she laughed.
"Honestly, looking back, it might just be inherent to your family. You and your sisters…" Staryu shook. "But, more importantly, are you feeling better?"
"A little," the buizel admitted. She stood, as though the whole world were suddenly lighter, like the gravity of everything had been turned down. It was as if simply knowing that her body did not completely define her was a sort of freedom.
Though, a small part of her was still bothered and upset. Even if she wasn't going to be defined entirely by what form she took, she still was limited to one or the other. "I still have to choose between both of them, you know? I can't be both."
"As far as we know, that is the case," Staryu admitted. "But I think that whatever choice you make will involve giving up something."
"Yeah." Misty nodded as she thought about it. "I don't… hate being a buizel. In fact, I loved it, like I felt free. Maybe because for the first time, I felt like… I could do anything. I could swim with the rest of you. And I could fight, too." She raised her paws to her face. "If I had to live like one forever, it wouldn't be bad, I think. Maybe I'd get to evolve into a floatzel when I'm older. Maybe I could even get my own Dojo, like what Cinder's parents had."
Staryu nodded. "Goldeen and I would always be by your side. And in this form, we could speak and have conversations like this with you. We could play games or even fight on your side… or even against you as true equals. You could truly raise Togepi like this, too."
"But in exchange, I'd never see my sisters again. Those inconsiderate jerks probably don't even realize I'm gone." Misty lamented. As much as she hated and loathed her sisters at times, she couldn't deny she missed them getting on her nerves. "And then, I'd never be able to talk to Ash or Cinder again; I know both of them want to leave Citrine as much as possible."
"And not Brock?"
Misty thought about the lycanroc. "I don't know what he'd do. He's just… accepted being a Pokémon, I think."
"And the other option?" Staryu then asked.
"The complete opposite. I'd be able to go back home and talk to my sisters and maybe follow Ash's antics again until he pays back my bike…"
"Misty, we both know that's an excuse." Staryu chastised. "Really, you should tell Ash as much."
"And let him gloat? No!" Misty waved him off. Did Staryu really know her that well? She barely knew Staryu's depths it seemed. And she might not have the chance if she returned back to the old status quo. "But if I went back to being human, leaving Citrine, I'd never be able to talk to you or Goldeen again."
"We can try managing some alternatives," Staryu uttered, though not so sure of himself. "But yes…. We could never have a talk like this ever again. I'll always be able to hear you out, even if you can't understand what I say. "
"I could go back to being a Gym Leader. I liked doing that and I like to throw down from time to time." Misty continued. "And I thought I looked good as a human, especially if I wore something nice."
Her face scrunched as an uncomfortable thought crept into her mind. "... Do the Pokémon at the Gym actually like it there." It was a question that she never thought about in earnest before, but liked to think that they did. Now she could get an answer, especially since their opinions were just important. "Like, my family basically… captured other people, didn't they? We're even breeding Pokémon in those tanks."
"Misty, you need to remember that while Pokémon are people, their living standards are very different from humans, especially in the wild." Staryu answered. "In all honesty, they take pride in their home and their work, especially because they get to enjoy a consistent supply of food and medical care."
"Really?" Misty said. "They're proud of being in Cerulean City's Gym?"
"Yes. It's more like a job to them, a duty they get provided for in both food and medical care. And occasionally entertainment. All in exchange for a little work." Staryu drooped. "Most of them, including me, have only known the Gym growing up. To us, it is as much your home as it is yours."
"I never thought about it like that." Misty looked down at herself, an understanding setting in. "...There's a lot of you, a lot of… people in the Gym."
"Don't blame yourself for that. You can't have known. And it isn't as though many of us bother trying to communicate in all but the most basic ways," Staryu responded. "Besides, for most of us, it is hard to imagine needing much more. Again, our standards are much lower than yours. Though, that's not to say there can't be improvement."
Misty nodded her head. That's something to think about if she ever went back home. She barely knew anything about the people she essentially lived her whole lives with. That was something that had to change. "So, how do I improve it? Like, do you have any ideas, any problems they have?"
Staryu shivered, as if suddenly cold. "Uh, well, uh, you see…" he stuttered, having something he wanted to say yet hesitant about it.
"See what? Is it important?" Misty squinted.
"Please stop trying to cancel the water shows," Staryu said finally.
The buizel blinked at her first Pokémon. "What?"
"Misty, please understand," Staryu begged. "But for a lot of Pokémon, it's essentially their job to go out on stage and perform. Many of them take pride in their work. The performances wouldn't be nearly as successful with the dozens of Pokémon present, willing to give it their best. Many love being on the stage, where others could see them perform. I understand your point, but for most Pokémon, they aren't fighters like you or I."
Misty blinked. That was not at all what she had been expecting. It made no sense to her, why seemingly why she was the only one who cared about bringing the Gym back to its former glory, back to the art of battling. Then again, Staryu made it sound like it was… their job, because that's what it is. Plus, it wasn't like they were her sisters, who essentially abdicated their responsibilities. She needed to think about this more. "Good to know," Misty answered.
The buizel fell onto all fours and stretched out her spine. Relief fell upon her.
Having run through a gamut of emotions, the aquatic weasel found herself better for it. She hadn't quite figured out her answers to all of the questions that had been plaguing her mind, but just having Staryu around broke through some of her woes. Though she didn't really know what to make herself, she did understand that her species was just one factor in who she was. Human or Pokémon, there were parts about her that were immutable.
At the same time, Misty became very aware of what she didn't know. She didn't know anything about the Pokémon of her Gym. If she ever made it back home, she would fix that. That was something she would do no matter what. But for now, she had things to resolve. She turned towards Staryu, intent to learn more about her first Pokémon. "So, what's this about watching TV? When did that happen?"
"When you started going to school." Staryu looked down, clearly not wanting to talk about it.. "I… was quite bored out of my mind a lot of the time, but one day, someone left the TV on where I could see it."
"Huh, I guess that makes sense," Misty muttered. Many Pokémon could watch television and enjoy it, she supposed. A Pokémon just needed to be able to watch the screen and listen in. It wasn't as though the viewer needed to…act it out. Wait. A realization struck Buizel. "Wait, is that why you're so weird when you fight?"
Staryu shivered, like he could die of embarrassment. "I may have taken some inspiration from…a certain genre."
Suddenly, all of those excessively flowery move names and even the random shout when he fought seemed to make a whole lot more sense. Misty couldn't recall what it was from specifically, but she got the idea. She just shook her head. "I honestly never suspected that you'd be this way, you know."
"It was something of a childhood dream, one that I just act out," Staryu's light glittered. "We all have them, some more ridiculous than others."
"Yeah… more ridiculous than others, " Misty's voice trailed off. Her own dream, to become the greatest Water-type specialist in the world, required catching one of every Water-type Pokémon in the world. Now, not only was she unsure of the idea of catching Pokémon, there were so many Water-type. That was something to think about later.
"MISTY!" Goldeen's voice called out in the distance. The fish swam through the air haphazardly. She hadn't spotted the buizel or Staryu.
The buizel turned towards her partner.
"Ah, I think we might have taken too long. She was searching through the house and I think she's run out of rooms." Staryu commented. "Are you willing to return now? It would save her the effort."
Misty smiled faintly. It was good to have people willing to look out for her. Her friends were so loyal to her. She did not say anything, simply walking towards her wandering goldfish.
She was better now, though a thought did cross her mind. If only the world was more fair.
Ash paced around his private room, a sense of unease falling upon him. He simply did not have a clue on what he wanted to say to his grandfather and the indecision was driving him to madness. The jackal pup wasn't normally the kind of person to spend so much time thinking about what to say in advance, but his grandfather… was the most difficult person he had ever tried to speak to.
"What if I said Mom missed him? No, she doesn't remember him. Or maybe I can talk about how things are like back home… No, scratch that, he's going to think I go running into danger every other day," Ash murmured, going through what felt like the same options over and over again. Nothing seemed to fit.
At least, he had his friends with him to back him up. His team sat all around a firepit and kept themselves warm. "Get a hold of yourself," Bulbasaur urged. "Your grandfather is a nobleman and a retired general. He will value your ability to keep an even temper."
"I'm trying," Ash winced, pacing through the room for what might have been the twentieth time. "It's just… what if I say the wrong thing and he hates me for it?"
"He's not going to hate you," Bulbasaur promised. "You just have to try to reason with him, to get him to see your point of view."
"Yeah, like. You're his only grandkid and he's well, he's kind of lonely. So, he'll listen to you," Squirtle interjected.
"Arguably, this is all a problem because you both care for each other," Bulbasaur commented. "You both want what's best for each other, but you may not necessarily agree on what that is."
Ash frowned, despite his friends' reassurances. Maybe it was because he could feel the mix of skepticism and worry around them? Or maybe that was just his own? He had an idea of what he wanted, but his grandfather… had a very particular set of ideals and opinions that made this hard. "I just want him to come home with me. See, Mom, you know?"
"Is it really that important to you?" Charizard sat by the firepit, a fish roasting on a stick in his grip. "Like, why do you want to do this?"
Ash nodded and pursed his lips, searching inside of himself for an answer. "I guess, it's because I never really had grandparents before, since my dad's parents passed on before I could remember them. I never really thought about it much, but a small part of me was always a little jealous that Gary had Professor Oak. And Professor Oak was always one of those cool grandparents because he was a Pokémon professor and was a famous trainer back in the day."
Ash then frowned as he continued. "Also, once we're gone, Gramps is going to be stuck alone in the house again. Those soldiers and patients in the house, they're slowly moving out as the patients get better. He said he had kept himself near isolated for the last twenty years and I don't want him to go back to that. So, I want to ask him to come with us, to leave Citrine behind."
"It would mean… giving up a lot to do so," Squirtle grumbled as he gestured to the room around him, full of knick knacks and treasures from years and years ago. "Like, I don't know him all that well, but look at all of this stuff here. This is the kind of house that an old family that has kept collecting things over generations tends to have, the kind of family that at one point may have held a strong meaning to him. I don't know if he could just leave this behind."
Ash's memories turned towards Cinder's own father, a zoroark who remained in an empty house, because that was all that was left of the life he and his team wanted to have. So much of his heart was in those walls that even when his daughter asked him to leave with her, the zoroark couldn't muster the will to leave it behind. Was the riolu basically going to ask his own grandfather to do the same thing?
"This is depressing," Ash murmured.
"Yeah," Pikachu agreed, his ears flattened against his head. "Hey, anyone got a different topic? Maybe we need a break from this?"
Ash shrugged and sat down. The riolu felt exhausted thinking about that upcoming conversation he wanted to have with his grandfather, so he was willing to try changing gears. "Well, yesterday, Misty and Brock said that since humans were basically Pokémon, there was something about a problem because of it. Anyone got an idea of what they mean by that? "
The room paused.
"That's not really… lighter," Squirtle muttered.
"It's not?" Pikachu blinked.
The turtle crossed his arms. "Well, it's kind of heavy, actually. Though, probably less personal."
"Really? You know what's the problem?" Ash frowned at him. "It kind of almost feels like everyone knows something obvious, but I don't."
"Hey, don't look at me, I'm lost, too," Pikachu replied.
"I can't even imagine what the problem would be either," Charizard answered, biting on his fish stick.
"I have a vague idea, but Squirtle probably knows it because he was a former criminal," Bulbasaur commented. "And knows how to break the laws."
"Yup, it's pretty much that," Squirtle confirmed. He rubbed his chin. "Like, you know how that the law in Kanto treats Pokémon and humans differently, right? Like Pokémon can't be trainers or have citizen ID's and things like that."
"Like Dexter?" Ash turned towards his possessed Pokédex, who at the moment had been reading some books and scrolls in a corner of the room. "Like, he's got my Trainer ID and all of your registrations."
"Right, so, here's a thing, Boss. Pokémon aren't thought up as humans. They're thought up as intelligent wild animals for the most part, which to be honest, most of us don't really care to correct. Wild Pokémon aren't considered people and that means, it's assumed by law we don't have personal agency," Squirtle pointed to himself. "In my case, in all of the property damage crimes I committed, I don't have to pay for any of them because I'm a Pokémon. But if I was treated as if I was human, I'd have to work off or pay damages."
Ash stared, blinking a few time. He barely understood, but just enough. "And this is the same reason why if say Pikachu broke something, I'd be the one to pay for it?"
"Simply put, yeah. Because Pokémon aren't people, things like that are just accepted. Pokémon can't pay for anything." Squirtle nodded smugly, then frowned. "But if Pokémon and humans were of equal standing, it'd mean all sorts of problems arise. Suddenly, a whole lot of things that we just accept might have to change."
"Like what?" Ash questioned. He didn't understand what his friends were referring to, yet, he could feel their unease.
"Well, think of it this way, is catching Pokémon the same as kidnapping?" Squirtle asked.
"No." Ash blurted out immediately, but then he thought further. Did catching other humans and putting them into Pokéballs count as kidnapping? Did being a Pokémon mean that it was fine? But then, why was it kidnapping when a Pokémon was stolen from their trainer? "I mean, maybe? I don't know. Why is it kidnapping?"
"Ash, think of it this way." Bulbasaur extended a vine and pointed towards Pikachu. "When you and Pikachu first met, he would have run away from you if he had the choice. But he didn't, because he wasn't allowed to. His only options were to stay by your side or to find a way to escape."
"Yeah, I mean, I was thinking that I had to be careful and sneak away or shatter my Pokéball to make an escape." Pikachu admitted. "If I tried to run and I wasn't careful, you could have just zapped me back in and locked me inside to punish me."
"I would never do that!" Ash shouted.
"Yeah, I know that now, but back then, I had no idea who you were. You were just… this annoying kid who I was stuck to," Pikachu frowned. "I was thinking of just running while you were out trying to catch Pokémon yourself, you know, back when you tried to shove a pidgey into a bag? If I didn't think your antics were funny, I probably would have bolted before you noticed."
"And a human wouldn't have been stuck with me." Ash felt something heavy fall upon him. He had already known this side of Pikachu's story, about how they didn't get along until much later. But now, it illustrated a point he had known, yet not really fully grasped until that moment. Pokémon weren't allowed to have a choice for themselves if a human wanted to keep them. "Humans aren't allowed to catch other humans."
Among other things, yes. Dexter floated from his corner of the room, towards Ash and the others. If we take the assumption that humans and Pokémon are well and truly the same kind of creature, capturing Pokémon would likely be rendered illegal to an extent. Though, given the utility of Pokéballs, it is likely they will still be sold though likely in a restricted manner.
"And, well, you don't need to catch Pokémon to be a trainer, right?" Ash smirked, pointing out an obvious loophole. "Like, if I'm a Pokémon, I can train myself, and any friends I have, right?"
"Yeah, that's the spirit, training Pokémon doesn't mean you have to catch Pokémon, Boss!" Squirtle laughed.
"Hey, come to think of it, have you actually, you know, caught any of us against our will?" Pikachu said. "You didn't catch me. I was given to you!"
And I was made and given for the express purpose to aid you, Dexter intoned. And I didn't really have a sense of self until just recently.
"I mean, there's me, but I'm a special case," Bulbasaur pointed out. "I asked to fight you first."
"And I swore to fight by your side," Squirtle said.
"... And I practically leapt into your arms," Charizard murmured. And then he broke out in a throaty laugh. "Huh, so in a way, you didn't actually catch any of us?"
Ash laughed, realizing that his friend spoke true. It was funny to realize that none of the Pokémon he caught the traditional way were not present; all of his friends here came with him because they wanted to be around him or were given to him. "So, yeah, I don't need to catch Pokémon to be a trainer! I'm still your trainer!"
"No," Pikachu refuted. He walked over and grabbed Ash's hat and put it on his head. "I'm your trainer!"
"You're not ten!" Ash argued, reaching over to grab his hat back.
The rodent rolled out of the way. Pikachu stuck out his tongue. "I'm eighty! We're not in Kanto, remember?"
The room burst out in a short fit of laughs.
"You know, if humans are really Pokémon, this probably means that you could actually get a trainer license or something." Ash pointed out, as he finally stole his hat back, giggles escaping his lips. "I mean, we'd have to tell other people first…among other things… but it's not like you're a separate species."
"Huh, yeah. Maybe you're right." Pikachu placed a paw on his chin. "Like, I would've said I'd need to be human first, but maybe it doesn't matter."
It would require an overhaul of legalities and citizenship papers. Possibly an adoption form to acquire a legal adult guardian. And all of that assumes a form of communication between certifiers. Theoretically possible, if unprecedented, Dexter responded. His camera eye focused on Pikachu. Though, I believe a Pokémon becoming a trainer is not even the most radical scenario if human society were to become aware of this information.
"Like what?" Ash asked. "Like, catching Pokémon is probably a problem, sure, but there's more?"
There are a whole slew of issues. Several of them are purely legal and procedural, but a great deal of which are ethical. Dexter's body shifted downward, a small burst of concern radiating from his body. For instance, in Viridian Forest, how do you apply property law to communities of birds, bugs, and rodents who have lived there as far as anyone could remember?
Ash stared, not understanding. "Dexter, what's property law? I need you to explain the problem, not give me more!"
Does a beedrill own a tree? And if so, how much of the tree and the land around it? What if there are pikachu living in the tree as well? How do you prove who owns which parts? If a bird roosts on someone else's house, is it now trespassing? If Pokémon had the same legal rights as people, should there be an age requirement before they're allowed to compete in battles? Dexter answered with a buzz. Despite not having a face, Ash could sense his nervousness. The legal system as we understand it assumes that Pokémon and humans are distinct creatures with different expectations in society. If that distinction were to be removed… I don't know what would happen.
Ash blinked, listening to his friend's words. Put that way, all of that did seem to be a big problem, the kind that he couldn't just punch or beat down. And it sounded so complicated, too. "So, if Pokémon are people, too, it'd mean we'd… have to change how people treat Pokémon?" Ash surmised eventually.
It is made more complicated by humans being Pokémon themselves, such as whether or not assumptions and rules meant to apply to Pokémon should now be applied to humans Dexter added, a well of unease formed inside of him. It opens up questions about the nature of humanity, especially as the human condition itself is not a natural occurrence.
"So, what?" Ash scoffed. "Being natural is nice and all, but just because something is not natural doesn't mean it's bad! I mean, you're not natural either, Dexter. You were a Pokédex! And you're still our friend."
Dexter closed his body in a gesture that could almost be interpreted as being flustered. I… Uh….
Pikachu laughed. "He's got you there! You're definitely the oddest Pokémon on the team."
I suppose I am. I just never really thought of myself in that fashion before. Then again, I haven't been a myself for that long. Dexter reopened his casing.
Ash gave his friend an awkward smile. He didn't intend to embarrass the rotom.
"You know, all of this talk about what could happen makes me wonder…" Squirtle thought out loud. "Your parents knew all of this stuff, Boss. We've been told about them forgetting about it when they left, but it makes me wonder what would happened if they let the world know the big secret. Like, we're definitely sure that it might have made waves."
"The few people we do know here who know about the origins of humans and the Crucible have been very adamant about keeping the both of them a secret," Bulbasaur added. "Given how much we've talked about how human society would change if they found out, would the Pokémon of Citrine have the same discussions, the same thoughts?"
"Pokémon here are strange." Charizard spoke up as he took another fish on a stick and grilled it over a fire. "I mean, all of this is so human. I never cooked anything for myself like this before."
"Yeah, it's kind of funny. For all their talk about disliking humans, Pokémon really like acting like them," Pikachu agreed. "Like, if you told me about Citrine, but left out that everyone's a Pokémon, I wouldn't have thought it was full of humans, too.."
"But then again there's not really a difference, is there?" Squirtle smirked.
Ash frowned as he listened to his friends. His thoughts turned towards his grandfather and how he had still chosen to dislike humans despite knowing their origins. He could maybe understand that he was hurt by the loss of his family, but humans were people, too. Just because humans couldn't understand Pokémon, couldn't directly use their innate powers, it did not mean humans were lesser, anymore than the fact Pokémon being captured into Pokéballs meant that they were just animals.
And then realization struck him.
The riolu suddenly bolted onto his feet, the urge to speak with his grandfather swelled.
"Hm? Ash?" Pikachu called out. "Something wrong?"
"No," the Fighting-type replied. "I think I know what I want to say now."
"Oh?" Pikachu stared.
"Yeah, I'll be right back," Ash answered, walking to the sliding door and cracking it open.
"Wait, you're going alone?" Pikachu demanded, nearly leaping in front of the door to bar his trainer's way.
"It's something I think I have to do alone," Ash answered. "It's between me and my Gramps. I have to tell him how I feel, especially if I never see him again."
Pikachu stared, frowning to himself. But the Electric-type stepped out of the way. "Alright. I get it. It's important."
Ash sensed a great deal of conflicting emotions coming from his partner, including an odd sense of nostalgia and bittersweet longing that seemed out of place.
The riolu walked out into the hallways and traversed his way towards the other end of the building and up a flight of stairs. There was barely anyone in the house now, with more than half of the patients admitted being discharged and most of the soldiers stationed there slowly beating away, though there was still plenty of activity.
He crossed paths with Kyuko, the ninetales priestess, preaching health and wellness to those who listened to her. She didn't pay him any mind as he walked by, though Ash couldn't help but feel the looming cloud of inadequacy coloring her words.
Ash put her out of mind and then went to the location he wanted to find.
The door to his grandfather's private room stood in front of the riolu, somehow intimidating in their plainness. He almost felt like the barren sliding doors would have been better characterized if they had spikes or were on fire. Yet, Ash wasn't the sort of person to let that stop him.
He pushed through.
Gramps sat in a lotus position in front of a circle of stones. His back was turned, his body completely still. An ear twitched. "Grandson?" he spoke in a calm voice.
No turning back. Ash steeled himself as he followed his course. A part of him worried that he did not have the right words to say, but Ash wouldn't be the person he was, if he didn't throw caution to the wind. He stepped forward. "Hey, Gramps."
The elder lucario sensed something. "You have something to say. I can feel it. You've made a resolution."
"Yeah," Ash confirmed. He walked over to his grandfather and sat in front of him, copying his pose. "My friends and I are going to leave for the next Dojo real soon."
A hurricane formed within Ash's grandfather, a violent swirl of longing and pain tore around him. And yet, at the middle of it all, the eye of the storm was that of clear and obvious pride. "It is expected. Now that all of your transport is repaired and you have achieved what you set out to do it, there is little reason for you to linger." Gramps stared down at the riolu. "I lament that you have to leave, but the Quest you have undertaken requires sacrifices like this."
Ash felt his grandfather's suffering and felt sorrow. He didn't want to hurt his grandfather's feelings, but he had to do it. He had to speak now… or never again. "And, after that. Hopefully, we'll get all of the Emeras to get into the big tournament."
A small smile poked from Gramp's muzzle, though it was marred by bittersweet sadness. "And then, in your victory, you will ask the gods for a favor." He lowered his head. "One that weighs heavily on you. I sense it, the heavy heart that you carry with you, though not what burdens you."
Ash stiffed his body. There was no going back now, not when his grandfather called it out so soon. "I want to go home, Gramps. I want to see more of the world outside Citrine. I… I want to be the greatest trainer in the world and I don't know if I can do that while I'm here." It hurt to say, but this was necessary. "It was fun to meet you. I never had a grandfather before, nor did I know anything about Mom's side of the family. But this place, this building, this country, it isn't mine."
To Ash's surprise, the storm within his grandfather remained steady, as though the old lucario held himself in check. "I know. I can't expect you to have strong feelings for a place that you've only found yourself in for such a short amount of time." Yet, it was clear he was disappointed, hoping for a different outcome.
Ash winced, hoping he wasn't ruining things. "But I don't want to leave you alone. I don't like the fact that as soon as I'm gone, you'll go back to living alone in an empty house."
"In a way, perhaps I deserve it, for my prior decisions." Gramps muttered. "I have had many thoughts about it, in the Moons since your mother left me and once again, when you came to visit me."
Ash frowned. Of course, he had to have done that - he spent years as a relative hermit doing who-knows-what.
"In hindsight, I realize that I may have been too harsh with my daughter. She was never raised to inherit more than a pittance, and in turn, was allowed to roam where her siblings were not. She reacted poorly at my attempts to install her as the new heir to the Clan, when she was the only option left to me. It only got worse when I forbade her from associating with your father, while I searched for a worthwhile suitor, as was tradition," Gramps sighed. "As to your father, I saw him as a scapegoat for the tragedy that befell my family, a feeling that magnified when I realized that he had not always been a Maiju."
Ash turned his head down, the regret and heartache in his grandfather reaching him. Was this the sort of thing that other old people had?
"Ultimately, I think your mother chose to leave because your father offered her something that I could never give her: a life that would be lived on her own terms, whatever that might be," the elderly lucario then forced himself to laugh, a small bright spot of humor in the sea of gloom. "And as it turned out, that life might have been to manage her restaurant."
Ash gave his grandfather a small smile. "She's good at it. And she likes cooking."
Gramps nodded, the moment of humor fading. "Regardless, I sometimes wondered if your parents would have stayed here had I chosen to meet your mother halfway. Perhaps you would have been born here, raised in this household. By tradition, as the first born son, you would have been named Satoshi." He sighed. "There are times where I wished I had made the right choice."
Ash briefly imagined that world, wondering what that might have been like. He wondered if that version of himself would be all that different. He probably would still be the kid who wanted to climb to the top. He would have been a riolu, but did that really change all that much? Ash couldn't say, but "Satoshi Tajiri" did not exist. The jackal pup still had something he needed to do. "Gramps, do you want to meet Mom, with me?"
The color drained from the old lucairo's face, as though his blue fur had rapidly whittened from aging a hundred years, though that might have just been a trick of the light. He looked at Ash stony faced.
"You miss Mom, I miss Mom," Ash pleaded. "And… I don't want you to be alone."
"You mean to leave Citrine," Gramps replied, suddenly sounding so tired.
"I do," the jackal pup confirmed. Ash could practically feel his grandfather's hesitation. The old lucario's heart was torn in two directions, as though indestructible chains pulled at each end. "I want to show you my home, too."
"It is a world of humans," the old jackal answered.
"It's a world of people," Ash answered back. "Some of them are human, some of them are Maiju. Is it any different from how the Emperor is a pancham and there's an entire Dojo full of bugs and plants?"
Gramps shook his head. "Grandson, it isn't remotely the same."
"Why not?" Ash complained, narrowing his eyes and leaping out of his seat to meet his grandfather at eye level. "What's different about being human?"
"Because the state of humanity is a lie, one that robs those afflicted by it their birthright." Gramps raised his voice. He stared at Ash. "I admit, I had never met a human, but I know this. Humans can't even feel their own Essence, can't touch what is in their own hearts. And as a result, they cannot truly understand themselves, let alone other Maiju. Do you dispute that?"
"No." Ash's body tensed, but he stood firm. There was no lying about that fact. Humans couldn't understand Pokémon and they treated Pokémon differently; Ash, himself, was guilty of that, even if he felt like he was getting better and better at understanding Pikachu. But the riolu's convictions held. "But does it have to be this way? Maybe humans right now don't know anything about this, but don't think they'd deserve to know?"
"I do not know," Gramps admitted, a pained rasp escaping his lips. "Admittedly, I am of the same opinion. They should know what curse they have been born into, and then freed from it."
Ash stared, not expecting his grandfather's opinion to follow this direction. But as he thought it through, he remembered something he said. "When you said that you wished that humans didn't exist…"
"I wished then I could return them to the state of nature, as the gods created us to be." The old lucario turned to his grandson and offered his paw. "I don't know what madness caused this schism, what curse was cast to divide our world so, but I would have it mended by any means necessary."
On instinct, Ash reached towards his grandfather's paws. They touched one another and their emotions flowed into each other. Hopes, fears, and regrets mingled and mirrored one another in one continuous chain, both wishing the other saw things their way. "... You don't like the idea of me becoming human again, don't you?"
"I have… tried to ignore that." Gramps admitted, shame flowing off of him in waves. "I admit, a part of me wishes that you would lose the Tournament so that you would not lose who you are. Though, that wars against my desire to see you triumph."
"Gramps, I like being a riolu, but I've lived my whole life as a human, too. It's as much a part of me as well… this." Ash pointed towards himself.
"I see…" Gramps's disappointment grew, but only just.
"And Gramps, all I want is just you to see Mom again," Ash pleaded once more, putting his will into his words. "I just want….a whole family, I guess. For the longest time, it's just been me and Mom. Dad's nowhere, but he sends money every month because of his job. It doesn't matter if you're a lucario and I'm human or whatever, you're still my grandfather."
Gramps guilt welled. He broke the connection and withdrew his arm, a visible tremble rattled his paw. "I will… consider your proposition in the next few Moons. For now, you should go."
Ash winced. He hoped he didn't say something that offended him, but he could feel that his grandfather didn't hate him. What was it that he said? Regardless, it seemed like it was his time to leave.
The riolu got up and made his way to the door.
"Ash…" Gramps called one last time.
The jackal pup turned.
"You're too much like your mother," his grandfather said.
Funnily enough, Ash had always been compared to his father. This had been the first time anyone ever compared him to Mom. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
He put those thoughts out of mind and walked out the door.
There's a lot of talking here, a lot of character interaction that needed to be done.
Each human character has undergone a number of ordeals and as a result, changed their idea of themselves dramatically.