Chapter 5: A New Take on Life
Maybe Blue had hit his head too hard or something else cosmically strange had happened. But beyond reasonable doubt he could now understand Pokemon.
It was the sort of thing he'd heard of in fairy tales: people understanding Pokemon, humans turning into Pokemon or vice versa, Pokemon enslaving humans and taking over the world as the dominant species…
Oh…nah, not that last one. Least I don't think. Blue thought.
"Blue?" Anya asked, worried. She and his Pokemon were still staring at him except for Pikachu, who was nodding contently with his forelegs folded. Blue moved his eyes between each and every one of them.
What do I say now? I mean, was I imagining any of this, or…
"U-Uh," Blue spoke up. A bolt of pain snaked through his head and he clutched it, wincing. "AH! Geez, that hurts…"
"If you don't want to go to the hospital, I can't force you, but you need to rest your head, Blue. I still don't advise doing at-home treatment."
"Right, I know. If…if it ever gets…unbearable," Blue panted, winded from just speaking, "…woof, t-then I'll go. I promise."
Anya lowered her eyelids. "I see your other hand behind your back. Are your fingers crossed?"
Damn! Should've known that wouldn't work, Blue thought. His body was struggling to keep itself upright and he suddenly felt very drowsy.
His memory suffered for the next few hours. He could only recall brief moments whenever he was lucid enough…Anya laying a blanket over him, his Pokemon crowding around him, sounds floating from the kitchen, Eevee cuddling up close to his chest…
Then suddenly, he opened his eyes and realized that things were brighter. It was a sunny morning. The light hurt his eyes and the sound of Anya cooking in the kitchen hurt his ears. Blue groaned and rolled over on Eevee.
"AH!" she yelped herself awake.
"Oh, shit! Sorry, Eevee!"
She jumped off the couch, then back on again. For a rare moment neither of them knew what to say.
"Um, so…" Eevee started.
"Yeah?"
"You can really…"
"Uh huh."
"Wow. Um."
They stared at each other.
"This doesn't have to be awkward, Eevee."
"Awkward? I mean you—you realize you're not exactly dreaming, right? This is real life!"
"You're absolutely right, as usual," Blue said, running a hand through his hair. "What's that gotta do with me understanding you?"
"Uh, the fact you aren't losing your mind or gushing about it," she barked. "Haven't you always said this is something that you wanted?"
"Yeah, but I never thought it'd come true."
"Right! So back to my original point—why aren't you freaking out?!"
"I dunno. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet. This is cool, but at the same time, this is like, normal. Like, it feels normal. It feels right."
"Uhhhh, huh?"
"I promise you, Eevee. This will hardly change a thing between us," Blue exclaimed. "Me, you, and the others. I think it'll bring us closer! What do you think?"
"Ehh…yes? It will…probably do that," Eevee said carefully. "Um…but…this, still isn't…normal. You know."
"Oh well. For now it is. Oh, shoot! No! What if this wears off? I hope it doesn't. We'll have to freeze time to make sure I can talk to Pokemon forever!"
"That doesn't even make sense," Eevee complained. Blue cackled as he stood, slightly unsteady on his feet.
"Haha! Eevee, I'm just messing with you. I'm coherent."
"You should be! We had to feed you all of the Persim berries in the cabinet before you would at least stop hallucinating."
"What? Hallucinating? With what? I mean, what'd I see?"
"A lot of things," Eevee said, lowering one ear pitiably. "The Professor, Red, your mother, Bill, your father, Daisy…you would hear things, too. It really freaked us out."
"…oh," Blue said, scratching behind his head.
Eevee quickly added, "But, looks like you're all better now. All thanks to a one hundred percent, well-fortified diet of expensive berries! That…you'll have to restock. Ahem," she coughed, looking aside, "I know the Sitrus berries cost a lot..."
"Aw hell, you guys gave me all of them?!"
"Not all! And the Orans weren't enough, but at least—"
A yellow blur zipped up onto the couch, yelling, "Hey, let me in the conversation, too!"
"Pikachu," Blue exclaimed, as if meeting his long-lost nemesis, "so good meet you on the same side of the language barrier."
"Ha! I can't believe it! This is just what happens in fairy tales," Pikachu said, spreading his little front paws out. "Something crazy happens, like a star falls from the sky and hits you, or you get bitten by a radioactive Spinarak, or you trip and stub your toe—then! You get special powers!"
Blue rolled his eyes. "Uh, the only thing I can do is understand what you guys are saying."
"Yeah. Isn't that special? I mean," Pikachu scoffed heartily. "You can do something Red's wanted to do for so long!"
Blue's expression dropped. Eevee sighed, pressing a paw into her forehead.
"…really?" Blue asked quietly, grinning. "I can do something Big Red can't?"
"Yeah. I bet he'd be jealous of you. Like, super jealous. Anyone would be, right?"
Blue threw his head back and cackled, raising his fists triumphantly. Eevee sent Pikachu a sarcastic look.
"What I'd do?" asked Pikachu.
"Did you really have to get him started like that? Of course Red can't talk to Pokemon!" Eevee hissed. "He could've figured that out on his own!"
"Then we wouldn't get a show like this. Look, he's breaking it down!"
Eevee gasped; Blue was breakdancing on his coffee table. "Blue, get down before you fall!"
"Ha ha!" Blue leapt to the ground. "Finally! I can do something he can't! I can't believe it! I thought I'd never hear it! Ah, this is great!"
He dropped onto the couch, pleased. Eevee shot Pikachu a mean look. "Um, as I was trying to say," she continued, padding over to her trainer, "it looks like you've healed up pretty well. You looked and sounded really bad at first, Blue."
"Huh? Oh, well, I really have to thank every single one of you," he said, carefully tracing the bandages around his head. "In all honesty, my head's sore but it's nothing compared to how bad it was hurting earlier. Yesterday, I think."
Eevee climbed into his lap, carefully bunting her head into his chin. She was his first Pokemon, so he shared a slightly different bond with her compared to the others; Eevee was like his second-in-command, capable of thinking in ways he wouldn't, and had no issues calling him out when she needed to.
That was before now, when he could finally understand what she was saying. How they communicated wouldn't change much since he was so good at reading her before.
…I hope this doesn't drive me crazy, Blue thought as he pet Eevee on the head. This…means I'll be able to understand socialized and wild Pokemon, and…that means I'll hear words everywhere I go, from everyone and everything and…
Do people and Pokemon even talk about the same things? Maybe it depends. Has to. But what if…
"Blue?" Anya was coming out of the kitchen holding plates. "Are you done talking to your Pokemon, dear?"
"Huuuuuuh?!" he cried. "What—wait, how did you…?!"
"Oh, you mentioned it once or twice in your sleep when you were lying down. And I overheard you just now. It sounds exciting!" she said, giving him his food. "Since when were you able to do that?"
"Since…uh…hitting my head?"
"You're kidding! From that?"
"Yep...it's something fresh off the press. Don't worry, I'm not holding out on any important secrets."
That reminded him of something else. The letter! Blue glanced around his living room but didn't see it. He couldn't even remember where he'd had it last.
I can ask Eevee, he realized. I will ask Eevee. I'll be able to get a ton of more information the way I am now, won't I? Hearing things from a Pokémon's mouth is second to none!
He looked down at his plate. Oran toast with Tepig sausage. He knew something was still wrong with him when his stomach turned over at his favorite breakfast dishes.
"Did I make too much?" Anya asked.
"No, no, I was just thinking. About something."
Anya put on her favorite morning game show as she usually did, then took a moment to check his temperature. "Oh, thank Arceus…your fever went down. So fast, too," she said, trailing her hand down to his cheek. "How are you feeling? You sound better."
"I'm aching, but I feel a whole lot better than before."
As they ate and talked he kept looking around for the letter. He didn't want to ask Eevee in front of Anya. He spotted his bag over on the dining room table and noticed there was a basket sitting next to it. Anya usually carried a basket (almost always full of homemade food) to his house, so he didn't think much of it.
"...and I wanted to ask you something, Blue." Anya held up a purple envelope. "How long have you had this?"
He almost spit out everything in his mouth. "Mmphmwhaaaat? You already got to it?"
"Yes. Don't worry, I would never open it. But I saw it and thought it looked familiar, so…"
"Yeah! Grandad gave it to me." Blue ground his teeth together, gripping his fork tightly. "He, and Daisy, and Agatha, they all kept it from me for half a decade. I was supposed to get it when I turned eighteen, but they were in on something. And they don't want me to read it."
"Are you going to?"
"I don't know…I haven't even gotten over the fact that it exists."
Anya looked confused and a little hurt. "You said Agatha knew about it?"
"Yeah…and we both know how she and Mama got along."
"Oh," Anya sighed. "Oh, my goodness. I never knew Violet left a letter for you. Why on earth would Samuel not give it to you when he was supposed to?"
"That's what I'm sayin'!" Blue exclaimed, flinging his hands up. "Then somehow I'm the bad guy for getting angry about it? I can't believe them!"
"Now, did your grandfather really give it to you, or were you being figurative?"
"Oh yeah, I kinda stole it then bounced. I'm an adult and it's my property, so I can do what I want with it."
"Yes, of course! But when are you going to forgive them?"
The question made Blue's temperature go up; one could almost hear a tea kettle whistling.
"I'll…get back to you on that," he answered calmly, watching Pikachu crawl under his TV stand. "Pikachu, will you get out from under there? And speaking of forgiving someone, Anya…Red. Would you happen to know where your boneheaded kid is?"
"No, no, not I," she laughed. "I thought you would know! I was surprised to see Pikachu and Charizard here. Oh! I thought for sure he'd leave his Pokemon with me if he ever needed to, but…"
The whistling in Blue's head turned louder. "Ah. I see," he hissed. "I figured that as well. I didn't get an explanation either, so I guess I'm babysitting for him in the meanwhile. Whatever he wants, right?"
Anya held a slight smile on her face as she watched TV. "It's fine by me. I'm always just thankful to see some sign of life from him. I still can't believe he left Pikachu…that makes me slightly worried, but I know he'll be fine."
This is the last straw. He's getting his ass beat when I see him again. Can't believe this guy, Blue seethed. He's got the sweetest mother on earth and he treats her like this? How much does it take for him to just drop by and say something? ANYTHING?
"Anya," Blue exhaled, "I'm gonna—"
He was about to say he'd find Red and drag him back there even if the struggle put them both in the hospital, but she suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
"I almost forgot! Do you see that basket over there?!" Anya cried.
"Eh, oh yeah. It's different from the one you usually carry."
"But it isn't mine. When I arrived, I found it on your porch. Blue, someone's gifted you a Pokemon egg!"