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-/-
"This is Officer Jenny," a female voice said from the other end of the line. "I think we might have something to discuss."
Upon hearing who exactly had called him, Joey abruptly ripped the Pokenav away from his ear to stare at the small yellow device.
Getting a call from the police…
He looked down at his outfit. Stolen.
He looked up to see Jessie playing with Happiny to distract her from what had occurred with the Ekans. Stolen.
You'll never catch me alive, is what he wanted to say, but it was probably better to hear the woman out first.
"Whassup?" he asked somewhat suspiciously.
"What?" Officer Jenny asked in a confused tone that carried over even through the phone connection.
"What's going on?" he enunciated more properly. The connection wasn't that stable; maybe she'd misheard him. Or maybe he was just too hip and cool for this world.
"It's about the recent incident," the officer continued.
"What about it?" Joey asked, not quite sure what she was talking about. Depending on how much the police knew about his exploits, there were three different things she could have been talking about.
"The Pokemon taken from the two Team Rocket members have all been cleared for rehabilitation," Officer Jenny explained, at which Joey gave a sound of relief.
"That's great news!" he said to cover up his reaction.
"We're quite satisfied too," Officer Jenny replied kindly, seemingly taken with his enthusiasm. "However, we're now having some issues relocating some of the pokemon. We were able to find a new home for most of them, a simple task considering they expressed a preference to return to the wild or to stay at the rehabilitation centre to help future victims of criminal abuse."
"I see," Joey said, not quite knowing where the woman was going with this.
"Anyway, two of the Pokemon expressed an interest in finding a trainer to further explore the world. Considering your track record and that you initially helped liberate these Pokemon you are the first person we are reaching out to. Primarily because if you are interested, then we won't have to explain the situation to anyone new," Officer Jenny said, finally getting to the point.
Joey paused and stared into the distance.
"I have five slots on my team due to my five badges," Joey replied to the officer. "And one free space. However, I'm not really sure that I'm the best option for continued rehabilitation. I'm primarily focused on participating in the conference at the end of the year. This means I train hard and don't really have the luxury of alternating any particular plan for ease or comfort."
He had sympathy for traumatised Pokemon. Of course, he did; he wasn't a monster.
However, having sympathy and taking care of someone with a traumatic past were two very different things. He knew that those who'd suffered abuse deserved a gentle hand and understanding heart. He thought he had both of those, but a person who wasn't in the middle of a rather hardcore journey would probably be a better option. Someone like Michael, for example, is a hobby trainer with no chance of ever winning anything significant.
"We're aware of this. Your record is impressive. It can't have been easy," Officer Jenny replied. "We actually reached out to you because of this. The two Pokemon who expressed their desire to continue travelling and battling were noted by our psychologist to primarily have a desire to return to a sort of normality. What I'm trying to say is that they don't want to rest. They want to be pushed like a trainer would push any other Pokemon. They want to go back to experiencing a reality in which they were never considered broken, not be treated with kid's gloves."
"I see," Joey said softly as his mind churned. However, his philosophy for team-building necessitated him getting to know the Pokemon first to see if they fit personality-wise. Taking a randomly-selected and traumatised Pokemon was likely as far from that philosophy as it could get.
Additionally, he wanted to keep his links to Team Rocket as small as possible. That was a mess he didn't want to touch with a six-foot pole.
"I think I'll have t-" he started, only to get interrupted.
"If you're worried about the free slot and the potential monetary cost of a Pokemon that might not be as fit for battling as needed, I'm happy to inform you that a rehabilitation slot will be allotted, expanding your team size limit by one. To a maximum of seven, if you gain six badges. Additionally, your stipend will be increased accordingly by the Kanto Institute for Pokemon Psychology, through which we run our rehabilitation efforts. Considering the potential special needs of your new team member, the stipend will be considerably higher than the usual, somewhere in the realm of XXXXX per month."
Officer Jenny used a financial incentive.
It was super effective.
"Additionally, if the rehabilitation is deemed successful, the Kanto Institute for Pokemon Psychology will issue an acknowledgement of service, which should help with any future scholarship applications and promotions if you are to enter, for example, the police force, or the rangers. Only thirty or so such acknowledgements are handed out by all League-associated organisations per year, so don't underestimate the prestige that they bring."
Joey coughed awkwardly.
"Officer Jenny, please," he started in a sugary voice. "As I was saying, I think I'll have to gracefully accept the opportunity to help the disadvantaged that Arceus has been kind enough to drop into my lap. In fact, there has never been a day that went by in the past months where I did not think of those poor, abused Pokémon being used by Team Rocket to commit their crimes. Their fate has been weighing heavily on my mind, and the only worry I have is if I will manage to fulfil whatever request you may have with enough compassion and empathy."
"That sounds amazing," Officer Jenny said happily. "Although I don't see any documentation that you ever inquired about the condition of th-"
"I did not wish to remind the Pokemon of their traumatic past, so I reluctantly kept my distance," Joey interrupted. "I contented myself to keeping those poor souls in my prayers, which I complete five times per day, once upon waking up, once before every meal and once before sleep."
"Are you by any chance religious?" Officer Jenny asked. "We actually prefer not to work with… your file didn't sa-"
"Of course, what I meant is that I pray to the glory of the scientific method," Joey quickly explained. "My disdain for religion is as legendary as my compassion. God is dead, for we have killed him. The judgment-adjacent thinking of religious groups is the furthest away from my personal ideology, which is based upon thanking the universe for the medical and agricultural advancements which permit the existence of our post-scarcity society. In fact, whenever I see a religious artefact, I make sure to spit on it."
"..."
"In fact, there's a statue of Arceus right in front of me," Joey said before loudly spitting on the ground in front of him. "Disgusting," he commented.
"..."
"Anyway, I'll take both of them," Joey said.
"We're planning on separating them, actually."
"Is it wise to separate those brothers-in-arms? Perhaps it might help them to have someone nearby who fully understands their experience. As an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, I can say from personal experience that it was very important for my psychological growth to have people around me who understood my specific type of pain."
"It's simply policy, I'm afraid," Officer Jenny replied.
"I shall accept any burden for the chance to be the positive change that I wish to see in the world."
"Well, I'm glad to hear you're so enthusiastic…" Officer Jenny mumbled. "Regardless, the first step is, of course, to actually meet the two Pokemon in question and see if you bond with them. If you tell me your location, we can arrange a meeting at the local Pokecenter and have the case psychologist explain the specific needs and legal obligations you would be required to meet."
"A relationship not codified by the rule of law and by sound psychological principles is like a soup without water. I am currently at Cinnabar and can be at the local Pokecenter in 30 minutes," Joey was quick to say.
"How about two hours?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Your word is my law and your voice is my chorus," Joey replied.
"Please stop," Officer Jenny said in a pained voice.
"I am so sorry."
"Two hours."
-/-
Four hours later, Joey returned to the clearing where he'd left his team to train and Jessie to relax.
He was throwing a luxury pokeball up and down in his hand and thinking back to the meeting he'd just had.
The Pokemon Psychologist he'd met had turned out to be a rather severe older woman with a PhD who reminded him of the people in his last life who had more sympathy for animals than humans.
She'd quizzed him harder than he'd ever been quizzed in his life, but had seemed to like his answers as she'd cleared him to actually meet the two Pokemon she'd brought with her in one of the Pokecenter's private rooms.
Joey had always considered himself to be a relatively empathic person, so it didn't surprise him that he'd managed to bond more with at least one of the Pokemon.
Perhaps it had helped that he'd had a dog as a kid in his last life.
That initial bond had put his foot in the door, at which point the psychologist had explained to him the responsibilities and obligations he'd be required to comply with.
Nothing Joey hadn't expected, he'd signed those documents with peace of mind.
The gist was the following. Joey had to attend weekly feedback sessions with his new Pokemon for the first month, before those sessions became monthly instead. A complete re-evaluation would occur after a year. If the yearly evaluation concluded that the Pokemon was fully rehabilitated, Joey would get a one-time monetary reward but lose the stipend. The extra team slot could stay if he was considered responsible enough, and the institute might reach out to him again in the future.
One interesting thing was that Joey was actually encouraged to give away or trade away the Pokemon he was tasked with rehabilitating if he found an environment which they liked more. Of course, the new potential caretaker of the Pokemon would have to undergo an evaluation, but if Joey's new Pokemon ended up liking contests instead of battling, he was encouraged to enable that switch.
Basically, these formerly criminal Pokemon got better healthcare, counselling and rehabilitation than any taxpayer Joey had ever met in his last life.
They also had more rights.
The responsibility of rehabilitating the Pokemon was quite severe, but so were the benefits, and out of all thirteen-year-olds running around the region, Joey did genuinely think he was the most suited for this task.
He looked at his team. Rattata was trying to combine Detect and Dig while fighting with Diglett underground. Misdreavus and Metapod were practicing their Dream Eater and Sleep Talk on each other.
This wasn't necessarily how he'd expected to find a fifth team member, but sometimes the biggest blessings in life came unexpectedly.
"Team!" Joey shouted, causing everyone to suddenly perk up, undig themselves from the underground and look at him with wide eyes.
He'd have enough time to explain to them what was happening before he'd left.
Joey held up the black and gold Pokeball in his hand, at which point all his teammates ran up to him excitedly.
"Meet your new family member!" Joey said excitedly as Jessie watched on curiously in the background.
He pressed the release button.
"Houndour!" Joey exclaimed as the dual fire/dark type Pokemon materialised in a beam of red light on the ground.
The puppy Pokemon, noticing the intense scrutiny being directed his way, promptly ran to hide behind a tree, stubby tail peeking out from the back.
"We'll work on that!" Joey announced loudly and cheerfully and clapped his hands. "Get back to training!"
-/-
After a few minutes of coaxing, after the skittish Houndour had seen that Joey's team was distracted with training again, the dark Pokemon emerged from behind the tree with wide, hopeful eyes and a pitiful bark.
Joey tried to think of something encouraging to say. "In these situations," he started and smiled. "I like to think that a stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet!" He shot his newest team member a thumbs-up.
Houndour simply tilted his head to the side and whined in confusion.
"That was it," Joey told him. "That was my best shot." He paused, narrowed his eyes. "Believe it!"
Houndour laid down and did a roll, tongue lolling out as he laid on his back with his paws in the air.
"Alright, at least you're cute," Joey muttered and crouched down next to the Pokemon and started scratching his belly while making cooing sounds.
"Who's a good boy, who's a good boy," he muttered, getting a bark as a response at every repeat.
"Although, how to say this," the trainer eventually said with a sigh. "You don't really feel like a battler, although Diglett is also quite shy…"
Before he'd even finished the sentence, Houndour was gone again, half-hiding behind a tree, tail sticking out.
"But that's alright, because you simply have to want it!" Joey exclaimed loudly while standing up and doing a dramatic spin that ended with one of his feet being held up next to his knee and his pointer finger pointed at the dark Pokemon. "It's my job to make it happen!"
After a few awkward seconds, Houndour came out from behind the tree and looked more resolute, stance serious.
"Alright Houndour," the trainer said and dramatically pointed towards the large rock in the middle of the clearing. The one Ekans had been hiding underneath at the start of the day. While Houndour was focused on the rock, Joey pulled out his pokedex and analysed the 'mon. The Pokemon knew six moves, which was a good start. Leer, Ember, Howl, Smog, Bite and Tackle.
"The first step to improving is knowing where you're at, so show me your moves starting with Ember!" Joey shouted.
Houndour reared back his head and opened his mouth. A mostly mediocre barrage of miniscule fireballs escaped the pup's mouth and pelted the rock, leaving behind small scorchmarks.
"That was amazing!" Joey praised exaggeratedly. "Now show me Smog!"
Houndour froze, as if unsure what to do, before turning around to Joey to look at him in confusion.
Joey furrowed his brows.
Has the Pokedex been wrong?
Well, it was an earlier version than the one seen in the anime, so may-
Houndour was scrunching up his face, as if trying to not puke, and Joey was just about to tell the Pokemon to not do anything that made him uncomfortable when a loud "pprrpprrrppt" sound was released from behind the puppy.
A purple miasma escaped from underneath the Pokemon's tail and floated off into the air.
A Pidgey promptly fell to the ground from god knew where with its eyes rolled into swirls and its feet pointed upwards.
Joey quickly picked up a stick and threw it up towards Houndour. "Show me your Bite!" he exclaimed.
That seemed to be a more straightforward command, and Houndour quickly jumped up, dark energy coating his mouth.
The stick didn't stand a chance.
Tackle was good, too.
Leer and Howl were harder to analyse but seemed fine.
That essentially meant that Houndour had five usable moves. Six, if anyone was foolish enough to approach him from behind.
Joey thoughtfully crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his elbow as his mind raced. He spoke as he thought. "Five moves that can be used in battle, one self-buffing, one debuffing. One dark and one normal physical move. One fire special attack. Good enough move coverage for the moment, but what we need most at this stage is to master the moves more methodically to raise their effectiveness and work on our synergy as trainer and Pokemon."
He looked at Houndour, who was calming down more by the second, getting used to this new environment.
Joey nodded. That was good, so he could be pushed and wanted to be pushed, just like the psychological profile had said.
"I would say your moves are about enough to stand your ground in a 2-badge level battle, which means you'll have some work ahead of you to catch up with the rest of the team."
Houndour hung his head.
"But that would have been the case with any new capture!" Joey quickly reassured. "We'll get there! The question is just whether we should start with some move training or some light sparring to get the synergy flowing. There's a lot of trainers on the island, and I bet they'd love to practice against a fire-type, so once we're done with that, we have an easy path to progression!"
Houndour seemed to be listening along well enough and let his gaze sweep over Joey's team to identify a potential sparring partner.
Joey followed the puppy's gaze to see what he was seeing.
Diglett was causing earthquakes on one side of the clearing, the ground beneath him cracking and tearing apart. Rattata, with his mastery of Detect and Dig, was combining the two moves to pop up and down depending on the timing of the tremors.
Houndour whined and swept his gaze to Metapod and Misdreavus.
The ghost Pokemon was cackling evilly and using Dream Eater on Metapod, a bright stream of pink energy flowing from the bug to the ghost.
Metapod was meanwhile giving just as good as she was taking, her Sleep Talk working in overdrive as she absolutely covered the immediate area around her with String Shot and Electro Web, a maelstrom of destruction and status effects.
Houndour whined.
"Well, we can always work on the moves first, build some confidence," Joey said reassuringly before he glimpsed Jessie looking at him with Happiny in her arms. She was feeding the baby Pokemon with a milk bottle.
Houndour went to stand at Joey's feet and tilted his head at the pink baby.
"Unless…" Joey muttered. "Maybe Happiny is ready to start sparring lightly as well?"
Happiny, as if hearing what they were talking about, fixed both Joey and Houndour with a thousand-yard glare while sucking on her bottle. One arm slowly went up to her neck, and she made a slitting gesture while looking the duo dead in the eyes.
"Well, maybe not," Joey muttered and looked down, only to see that Houndour had disappeared again.
He turned around and sighed as he saw a trembling tail peeking out from behind a tree.
"Well, in these situations I like to say!" Joey loudly exclaimed. "The only way we can go from here is up!"
-/-/-/-/- Montage
Cinnabar Island, half of it covered in tourists, half of it covered in wilderness, forest and volcano.
The view zooms into the camp shared between Joey and Jessie.
The girl is currently talking to Happiny about what the baby Pokemon wants to do in the future. It seems to be a somewhat serious conversation.
The two are suddenly interrupted by a strong Earthquake as Diglett accidentally hits a high level Magnitude. They fall to the ground. Rattata suddenly emerges next to them and chitters worriedly, making sure they're fine.
On the other side of the field, Metapod and Misdreavus are facing off against each other, their eyes glinting with fierce competitiveness. A flash of purple meets a flash of yellow. Electricity on Hypnosis.
The camera cuts to Joey commanding Houndour to heat up the rock in the middle of the clearing. The previously weak Embers have grown in strength and are slowly being concentrated together into a more violent cone of flames.
-/-
Joey is channelling ghost energy to his arms as he spots his starter bench-pressing a medium-sized tree.
The purple rat's arms are bulging with muscles, and it locks out a set of ten with a scream of its name. "Ra, ra, rattata!"
A stubby black tail is sticking out from behind a tree right behind the two, and a beady pair of eyes watches curiously.
-/-
Diglett is awkwardly looking at Houndour while the puppy does the same.
Neither of them finds anything to say.
-/-
Metapod is spitting out wads of poison under Joey's command as he encourages her. There are tears in her eyes; it's one of her bad days, but with her trainer's support, she knows she will make it one day.
Jessie is writing down calculations next to the two Happiny in her lap. She is trying to calculate if it would be alright for Metapod to up her daily toxic training to remove the Everstone faster.
-/-
Misdreavus watches over her group of friends as they sleep, repressing the urge to scare them awake by screaming in their ears. She spots a pen peeking out of Jessie's backpack. The urge is hard to resist. The group wakes up with moustaches drawn on their faces the next morning. Houndour has his moustache drawn on his white forehead for better visibility.
He doesn't wash for three days. The drawing is eventually dissolved by a rain shower that hits the group mid-training.
-
Happiny is practising throwing knives at a picture of Joey plastered on a tree. Whenever Jessie looks in her direction, she hides the steel implements behind her back and pretends to smell a flower.
-/-
Joey and Houndour are running in a field of daisies while laughing. They got distracted collecting firewood.
Houndour suddenly disappears into a hole covered up by leaves.
Joey wrestles the puppy Pokemon out of the mouth of a Victrebell.
The dark Pokemon is covered in slobber, but after the grass-type is defeated, the two of them hug each other while laughing/barking happily.
-/-
Rattata completes his daily training with sweat on his brow, knowing that he did his best once again. 1000 Detect and Dig combos. 1000 rounds around the island. 1000 sets of each muscle group.
He looks to the side and sees that Metapod is still struggling through, the area around her mouth burned away by the toxicity of her therapy.
He sighs before bending down and starting to do push-ups, paws shaking with exertion.
1000, 999, 998…
-/-
Diglett is slowly bringing the powerful Earthquakes under his control. He can feel his control over ground-type energy sharpening with every day.
One day, he will be a pillar his team can rely on. This he swears while looking at a scenic sunset at one of the island's many cliffs.
Ho-Oh is flying over a rainbow in the background as a rain shower churns up the sea, but Diglett doesn't notice.
His eyes are very bad in direct sunlight.
He only sees a bright splotch of light in the distance.
It is very inspiring.
-/-
Misdreavus is working hard on perfecting her Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo.
Joey told her that once she masters those two moves, she will have mastered heaven and earth.
She pushes through the monotony, using her decades-long experience of being not alive to make even the boring seem interesting.
She will protect her newfound family.
-/-
Metapod feels something shifting in her stomach, as if a weight has suddenly gotten noticeably lighter.
She rejects the spark of hope that threatens to glimmer.
She had been burned too many times.
-/-
Joey and Houndour are at Disneyland. Joey is wearing a Goofy mask while Houndour is wearing a pink tutu and eating a hot dog.
They are currently waiting in line for the roundabout teapot attraction.
Life is good.
A broken soul is finding healing.
-/-
Rattata wakes up at four in the morning and sneaks off to train.
Yesterday, Joey had reprimanded him for training too much, saying that he needed rest.
Rattata knew that this was true, but he also knew that diamonds formed under immense pressure.
After an intense two-hour session, he cleaned himself, looking at his face reflected back at him in the stream. It was a tired face, but a face filled with a quiet dignity. He returned to the tent and pretended to wake up with the rest of the group.
Misdreavus, perpetually on night watch, pretended not to see him. Later, a few extra berries appeared in her food bowl.
She happily gave those to Houndour, getting an excited yelp from the puppy.
She didn't need to eat after all.
The secret remained with her regardless.
[CENTER]
Anata wa watashinotomodachidesu!
[/CENTER]
Houndour looked at the people who'd taken him into their midst during lunch.
The training had been rewarding, and the food was nutritious.
There was so much laughter he didn't know how to handle it.
He went to hide in the bushes nearby, tail wagging while he covered his mouth with his paws.
[CENTER]
Eien ni anata no soba ni imasu!
[/CENTER]
Diglett felt a group of aggressive-sounding footsteps coming towards their camp. He popped away underground, excusing himself for a moment.
He reappeared several hundred meters away in front of a group of arrogant Charmeleon, clearly looking for a fight.
He felt the sting as they mocked him, asking him how he dared to face a group of five evolved Pokemon while only being a stupid small mole.
He looked down, and a shadow covered his eyes.
Bravery and strength had been foreign concepts for him for too long. Now that he'd found his nakama, nobody would disturb their peace.
The earth groaned, and five knocked-out Charmeleon were flung back towards the volcano looming in the distance.
Diglett returned to the training ground within a minute.
He would never tell anyone that he'd protected the group.
Enjoying the joyful laugh of his friends… Undisturbed. That was reward enough.
[CENTER]
Tatoe anata ga kodoku o kanjite mo, watashi ga anata o mamorimasu!
[/CENTER]
Joey was sitting at a desk with Houndour as the puppy laughed awkwardly.
In front of them was the dark Pokemon's math homework.
Joey patiently explained how to properly multiply double-digit numbers while his newest team member looked at him with his tongue lolling out.
Joey huffed and put his arms on his hips. Then he wagged his finger.
Houndour hung his head and apologised, expecting a reprimand.
He was enveloped by a hug.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
By the end of the day, he knew how to multiply double-digits.
He used the skill to become a part-time accountant on the side of his battling career and used the money to buy every one of his team members and for Joey a farm to retire too.
When they found out about this at the ripe age of twenty, they all reprimanded him, sold the farms, and bought one big amusement park where they played together until they died of old age.
The End.
[CENTER]
Anata wa watashinotomodachidesu!
[/CENTER]
-/-
Announcement:
I've decided that I will go on Hiatus from maybe like 10th july till 1st September. I timed it so the break happens on an arc break, right after gym battle. Been having some health complications and will be travelling to spend the summer with family I haven't seen in a while. Nothing serious, just a recurring fungal skin infection that's draining all my energy. Anyway, just a heads up. Read ahead on Patreon, which will keep updating during those 6 weeks of break if you want to (there I can schedule chapters in advance so I can just do that and maybe go online to reply to some comments every now and again