A New World, A New Family

by Lance Skyes

17. The Question

As a gentle afternoon breeze blew through the Everfree Forest, Mangol woke up from her nap. At first, she didn't quite remember where she was, but it took only a quick glance at the sleeping Ampharos she was cuddled up against to jog her memory. She smiled and closed her eyes once again, not wanting this moment to end. Never wanting to leave Drake's side. All she wanted now… was to be right there with him. Forever.

Unfortunately, and she would think in hindsight that she should have seen in coming, she heard a noise not too far away. A rustling noise that seemed like it was coming near, but at a slow pace. She was careful not to wake Drake as she got up to investigate, but this failed as the Ampharos stirred just as Mangol stood up.

“Something the matter, dear?” Drake asked, though he didn't seem to be paying much attention. His eyes were still closed and he still wore a content smile. He hardly even rolled over in Mangol's direction.

“It's probably nothing, Drake,” Mangol replied as she looked back and returned the smile. “I just wanna see.”

Drake chuckled. “You and your curiosity.”

Mangol returned the chuckle halfheartedly before turning back to the source of the approaching noise. The Zoroark heard the rustling get within feet of where she was, but then it stopped. ”It could be nothing,” she thought to herself. ”Maybe it wanted to approach, but got scared when it realized I knew it was here? Or… an injured Pokemon, perhaps?” Overtaken by curiosity, Mangol reached down towards the brush before her and pulled a couple branches away to try to reveal what or who was beneath. What she found was, indeed, an injured Pokemon. A Butterfree, and a seemingly unconscious one at that. (Although, they never so much as blink, so Mangol wouldn't have been able to tell.). She reached down and tried to pull it out, but found that it was cold to the touch. Near frozen. Despite this, she pulled the Butterfree up and out. “Are you alright?” she asked as she held the Butterfree in her arms. She noticed here that its wings were torn slightly in some areas and were covered in a layer of frost. The Butterfree seemed barely able to move, but it managed to slowly look up to face Mangol and hold out one of its tiny legs. It whispered something, but Mangol couldn't hear. “What?” Mangol asked as she leaned in closer.

“Help… Breeze…” the Butterfree choked out before losing consciousness.

In Ponyville, Lyra and Bon Bon were at Carousel Boutique with Blitz, Kanga, Roo, and Tiny. Felix and Marcus, on the other hand, decided to stay outside the shop and let the girls do their dress shopping.

“You know they're gonna come out here pretty soon and force us to go inside and try something on, right?” Marcus asked Felix as he looked on at the town, which had almost completely acclimated to the Pokemon by now.

“Yeah, I know that,” Felix replied with a chuckle. “But I wanted a chance to talk to you. Like… friend to friend.”

“Oh?” Marcus asked, turning to the Meganium. “I'm listening.”

“It's…” Felix started. “Eh… it has to do with… this.” Felix indicated himself and Marcus. “What Arceus did to us, I mean.”

“Just to clarify, you mean how he turned us into Pokemon?” Marcus asked.

“Exactly,” Felix replied. “I've been thinking over the past few days, I understand how this is a gift that so many people back on Earth were denied – obviously for good reason in most cases – but… what did it cost us?”

Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking for the obvious answer, or are you trying to get deep?” he asked.

“Little bit of both,” Felix replied.

“Alright,” Marcus said with a nod. “Then the obvious answer would be our old lives, our old bodies, and our old world.”

Felix nodded. “But… what if there was a fourth thing we lost? Or rather, a fourth thing that can be lost, but isn't even worth hanging onto anymore?”

Marcus sighed. “You're talking about our humanity, aren't you?” he asked.

“I am,” Felix replied as he looked up. “I mean, I'd like to try to hang onto it so we don't become…” the Meganium paused and looked around to make sure no ponies nor Pokemon were in earshot, then leaned in and whispered, “so we don't become animals.”

“Um…” Marcus said, taking a step back. “I don't know if saying that is such a good idea.”

“You act like I wanted to say it,” Felix said with a shake of his head. “My point is, if we're not human anymore, is our humanity worth hanging onto?”

Marcus took a deep breath before replying. “You know… I'd been thinking about that as well,” he said. “And… I think I decided this a long time ago, actually.”

“What do you mean by that?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean…” Marcus started. “I love Blitz. With all of my heart. I've loved her for years, but… we've never been able to connect on a level she's satisfied with. She wouldn't say it to my face, but I pick up on it.”

“Please don't get innuendo-y,” Felix said.

“That's not what I meant,” Marcus replied. “I mean, like… we were from two different worlds. Worlds that were never meant to cross in the way we did. And…” Marcus sighed. “I've never told anyone this, not even Blitz, but… I didn't want to be human anymore.”

Felix gasped. “What? You mean… like… you wanted to be a Pokemon?”

Marcus nodded. “It had been my dream to become a Pokemon and spend my life with Blitz. Properly.”

“But…” Felix started. “Sorry, it's a little difficult to wrap my head around. I mean, you seem so sure of this. Granted, we're two different sides of a coin when it comes to relationships with Pokemon.”

“Not so far away these days, though, are we?” Marcus asked with a smirk.

Felix backed away and looked down, though a slight smile was on the corners of his lips. “How'd you figure it out?” he asked.

“Not hard when you're in tune with your Pokemon side,” Marcus replied with a chuckle. “I mean, you could sniff out a pair easily if you gave it some effort.”

Felix shook his head. “We're getting off topic here,” he said. “Here I was, wondering if I should hang onto my humanity, and come to find out my best friend and role model says no?”

Marcus was silent for a moment before smiling. “You think of me as a role model?” he asked.

“Who wouldn't think of you as a role model?” Felix asked. “You're an excellent trainer, a wonderful friend, and… basically a damn good person. That day we met all those years ago at the Unova Young Trainer's Camp, how we instantly became friends, the way you saved me from those bullies, I've looked up to you from that day on.”

“Aw, Felix,” Marcus cooed. “How come you never told me this?”

“Don't know if you ever noticed, but we don't meet very often,” Felix replied.

“Oh,” Marcus said.

Felix shook his head again. “It's just so confusing for me,” he continued. “I've been wondering for so long if it's worth fighting to keep my humanity, and I thought I'd come to you for help, but…”

After a moment, Marcus realized Felix wasn't going to continue. “Look, Felix, there's something you should know,” he said. “I'm flattered that you saw me as a role model for these past seven years we've been friends. Really, I am. But you can't let me be the basis of your life. We're two different people, remember. If I want to take this chance to learn how it feels to live as a wild Pokemon, I'll do that, but you don't have to. It's up to you to choose your path.” Marcus smiled and pulled Felix in for a gentle hug. “You're not a kid anymore, Felix. It's time you started living your own life. If you want to go out there and be a human Meganium, go right on ahead. No one's gonna stop you.”

Felix looked over to Marcus and smiled. “Thanks Marcus. I really needed to hear that.”

“I think we both did, really,” Marcus replied. “I think I've finally come to realize-”

“Marcus! Felix!” the two heard Tiny call from the entrance to the boutique. “Your lady friends want you to get your flanks in here. That Rarity pony wants to take a look at you two.”

Felix chuckled as Marcus released him. “You called it,” he said.

“I guess I did,” Marcus replied. “Well, at least we had the chance to have this talk.”

“Yeah,” Felix replied as the two made their way inside. ”It's finally off the table,” he added in his head. ”Two sides of the same coin…”

At a camp somewhere just east of Castelia City, one little six-year-old boy was huddled in a corner with a group of three older kids standing around him.

“Aw, look,” the leader of the three said in a mocking tone, “the baby's crying. Does someone want his bottle?”

“Please go away,” the boy said quietly as he tried to hide his tears.

“I'm afraid we can't go away,” one of the older kids said. “You still haven't payed up.”

“I don't… have any money,” the boy almost whispered. “Please just leave me alone.”

“Oh, well if you don't have any money,” the shortest of the three said, “then I guess we'll just have to-”

“Hey!” another voice called. The three turned around to see a kid just a year older than them walking up to the group. “Mind telling me what you three are doing here? You know we're not allowed in the mess hall this time of day.”

“We're just getting acquainted with our friend Felix here,” the leader said as he indicated the boy. “I mean, this is his first year here. He's gotta make some friends, doesn't he?”

The new kid said nothing as he took a step forward, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Pokeball. “Here's how this is going to go down. I have with me a Pignite. If you three don't clear out of here and promise to leave this first-grader alone, I will send him out, and he will ruin. Your. Day. Sound like a good deal?”

The three bullies were silent for a moment before the leader nudged the second-in-command's shoulder. “Let's bail, guys,” he said. “We'll get a better bounty ratting this one out for having a Pokemon on him.” With that, the three left, never losing their glare on the oldest kid, who glared back until they left the room.

“They didn't learn their lesson,” the kid said with a shake of his head. “But they will one day.” He then turned around and started walking towards Felix. “Hey, you alright?”

Felix sniffed and wiped his eyes before looking up at the other kid. “I-I'm fine,” he said. “Thank you.”

“It's not a problem,” the kid said with a smile. “My name's Marcus. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand, and after a moment's pause, Felix took it and was helped to his feet.

“I'm Felix,” he said. “Um, how come you came to help me? No one ever comes to help me.”

“Because it's about time someone did,” Marcus replied with a smile. “I saw you yesterday when we all got here. Ducked into the crowd, instantly noticed by those three creeps, no one around you, I couldn't just stand by and watch.”

Felix smiled. “No one's ever done that for me before,” he said. “I don't have very many friends.”

“Can you put a number on that?” Marcus asked jokingly.

“Um… zero,” Felix replied.

Marcus chuckled. “Well, change that to one,” he said. “It's great to meet you, Felix.”

“You too, Marcus,” Felix said. “Um… can I see your Pignite, by the way? I've never seen one in person before.”

“Ah, I don't have one,” Marcus said, pulling the Pokeball back out and opening it to reveal that nothing was inside. “I was just bluffing those three out.”

“Oh,” Felix said, a little disappointed. “You know, I was planning to make my first Pokemon a Tepig. I guess I'll get my chance to see one then.” There was a pause before Felix got an idea. “Hey, do you wanna come over to my cabin so we can hang out? I brought my Super Grentendo and a copy of Jiggly Super Star. We could play that together if you want.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Marcus said with a smile. “But, um… you're gonna have to teach me how to play. I've never played a Jiggly game before. The only Grentendo game I've ever played is Kid Moltres.”

“Ooh, that one's difficult,” Felix said. “But don't worry. Jiggly is a lot easier. Come on.” With that, Felix began running out of the mess hall, Marcus close behind, and both of them thinking to themselves that this was the start of something beautiful.

Author's Note:

Sorry about the short chapter. I really only needed a filler chapter this time, and there was a question I really wanted to address early(ish) in this story. As well, I couldn't live with myself having killed off Butters and Breeze, so... three Pidgeys with one Rock Throw in this case. Oh, and a little bit of background into Felix's and Marcus' friendship, so make that four. Let's see... can I make this a full swarm of five...? I finally got back to Mangol and Drake. I guess that counts.
Anyway, that's this chapter. Cya next time.