Exuberant, Bulbasaur turns to the familiar man and instinctively moves towards him.

Seeing Bulbasaur hiding behind the man for protection, Ash scratches his head. He felt as if he missed an opportunity, "Your pokemon?"

Jared glances behind himself before turning back, "No."

Fiddling with his cap, Ash looks confused for a moment, "Oh... you said he was looking for his mother... maybe I can help!" - Mr.Mime furiously shakes his head.

Smirking at the Mr.Mime, Jared turns Ash down, "I appreciate your kind intentions, but that is unnecessary, and I think your Mr.Mime agrees with me."

Ash looks slightly bummed, "Mr.Mime is my mother's pokemon, I don't have one yet..."

With shining eyes, he cheers up, "But, I'm already an official pokemon trainer, and when I turn ten I will get my first pokemon! I can't wait!"

...I wonder

"I'm not doubting you Ash, but how did you become an official trainer without a pokemon?"

Ash points to Mr.Mime, "Me and Mr.Mime scored first place a year ago!"

...Hmm, this is similar to Akoni! His Vaporeon looked more like a bodyguard than his partner.

"Anyways Ash, it was nice to meet you, but I think me and Bulbasaur should get going."

"...Okay," Ash looks behind Jared with reluctance, "I hope you find your mother Bulbasaur!"

With that, Ash gives a smile towards the Bulbasaur, and with one final wave, he heads back the way he came.

Once out of sight, Bulbasaur gives a few appreciative noises to his savior, but Jared was currently lost in thought,

...That was THEE Ash Ketchum, wasn't it? But... Why is there an *Ash Ketchum?* It doesn't make sense, and going further, why would this world follow the plot of a fictional series from earth? Could it be...

Feeling Bulbasaur nudge his leg, he puts the thought aside for the moment, "It seems you got yourself into some trouble"

"Bulb bulbaa"

"And it won't be the last time this happens either"

Bulbasaur tilts his head questioningly, so Jared slowly enlightens him, "In this world... Erm, how can I phrase this? " - " Basically, people... Er... people like the Rattata trainer and Ash are everywhere, and if they find you, they will try to capture you."

"Bulba?"

Nyx interjects in Jared's mind, "He's asking why."

...So he understood all that huh... It seems his comprehension of the English language is already better than I thought, "Bulbasaur, this world is a dangerous place, and we humans are especially weak... do you understand?"

Bulbasaur looks up innocently, prompting Jared to scratch his chin,

...He's still asking why? Do I really suck that bad at my explanations?

Clearing his throat, Jared continues, "Erm... what I'm trying to say is, pokemon are strong while we humans are weak, so humans and pokemon team up together, and... that's just the way the world is."

Bulbasaur nods, "Bulb- b-bulb sur bulbb bulbba" (How come you can understand me while others can't?)

Nyx translates the words, and in response, Jared scolds himself inwardly, ...I can't always have Nyx act as my personal translator, and It's not a good idea to reveal Nyx's identity to Bulbasaur... so it's best he thinks I was just guessing.

Jared tilts his head at Bulbasaurs question, "Are you hungry?"

Bulbasaur shakes his head, "Bulb buulbusb"(You can't understand me?)

"Not hungry?"

Bulbasaur gloomily replies, "Saar"(No)

"Alright, well, I don't have enough provisions for another trip into the forest, so I need to return to town and get more. Do you want to hide here for now?"

Nudging Jared with his front leg, Bulbasaur asks, "sabsar bu saar" (No, can I come with you?")

"You want to come with?"

Bulbasaur nods

Jared bites his lip, then responds after a moment, " Alright, you can come with, but keep close."

Back in town, a man and a Bulbasaur walk side by side, "Have you never seen a town before Bulbasaur?"

"Saar"

People stared enviously at Jared, as he followed the GPS.

...Judging by these looks i'm getting, It seems bulbasaurs aren't classified as a rare species for nothing.

Standing before a store called Pallet Town Grocery, he was stopped at the door by a burly man with a stern expression, "Pokemon stay outside unless you are an official trainer"

Jared nods,

...Official trainers really have it all, don't they? Well, we are in the middle of town, it should be fine to leave him unattended for a few minutes...

With a full bag, Jared exits the store to find a few children attempting to pet Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur avoids them but doesn't retaliate.

Breaking up their fun, Jared smiles, "That's enough kids, come, Bulbasaur"

"Aww"

.

Some ten minutes later Jared was back in his rented room, making something to eat.

"Bulbasaur, I bought some vegetables, do you want some?"

"Saar"

"At least try some, you can't just eat rice."

"Saar"

Sighing, Jared bends down and places a bowl of rice to the side, along with a platter of a few different vegetables such as carrots.

Bulbasaur ignored the platter and finished the bowl of rice in the blink of an eye, prompting Jared to chuckle, "You said you weren't hungry earlier, but look how fast you polish off that food!"

Nyx suddenly growls in Jared's mind, "Jared, I'm hungry too!"

"Patience Nyx"

"Damn human, The green shit doesn't want to join you, what game are you playing?"

"Nyx, that remains to be seen, you never know how things will turn out until the end... I've learned this through my life."

"Hrmph, I give you one day human, one more day and this charade ends."

"Why are you so rushed, Nyx? You don't need negative energy to live, and you can fully restore yourself from possessing me"

"I NEED NEGATIVE ENERGY TO GET STRONGER"

Jared sighs in response, ...Nyx is losing it, if I delay this matter it's only going to get worse.

Exiting the hotel with his supplies, Jared leaves town with Bulbasaur in tow.

.

After some hours of traveling, they were in a deep forest.

Sitting down on a toppled log, Jared beckons Bulbasaur over to him, "Bulbasaur... the truth is, I have a partner, his name is Nyx."

"Bulbba?"

Gesturing to empty air, Jared commands, "Nyx show yourself"

...Let's hope Bulbasaur doesn't recognize his kidnapper...

From above, a core of haze began to condense, and soon the visage of a young haunter was formed.

Shocked by the sight, Bulbasaur inches closer to Jared for protection.

Meanwhile, Jared secretly gauges his reaction.

...He's scared, but he's coming to me for protection. I told him Nyx is my partner, so if he knew Nyx was his kidnapper, he should logically run from both of us, but Bulbasaur isn't connecting the dots... so this is a good sign.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

With Bulbasaur cowering next to him, Jared began stroking Bulbasaurs head until he calmed down.

Letting go, Jared spoke, "There's a reason I'm introducing you now, and that is because he's hungry, and I need to feed him. The way I do this is a bit strange, and I've been putting it off because I didn't want to scare you."

Bulbasaur looks at Nyx, then at Jared, then back at Nyx, "Nyx eats... painful energy, and I need to harm myself to produce it for him."

"bu saru buarusu sarr r- bulsarrr"

"This will only take an hour, stay here for a while, it's better you don't watch."

Leaving Bulbasaur behind, Jared sits his back against a tree, as Nyx circles around in anticipation.

Pulling some pins out of a small container, Jared jabbed the first one underneath his fingernail. He began sweating as the agonizing pain forced his teeth to clench.

"Heheh, The stupid green flower is watching you, human"

Hearing that Bulbasaur was watching on, Jared forced himself not to scream as he added another needle.

Jared endured the torture for a full hour and a half before ending it. He didn't make a sound except for some sharp breathing.

Looking over, Jared finds a teary-eyed Bulbasaur.

As usual, Bulbasaur spoke in the pokemon language, but Jared understood what he meant without Nyx, "Yes, it hurt" Jared chuckled weakly.

"Basaur sbulbaa B bul sarr bubllar"

"I do this to myself because Nyx is my partner, and we walk the same path. A little pain is nothing."

Bulbasaur shook his head, " balbaa basaur bulbb" (You are hurt, it's not nothing.)

Gathering some spirit in his face, Jared replies, "Bulbasaur, you don't need to cry for me, this is all for the dream I chose."

"Bulbb buulb" (What is a dream?)

"A dream is something all humans have, but few accomplish..."

The two sat in silence for a short time, "Among humans, my dream is the most unrealistic... I know this well, but I'll keep walking towards it until the end."

"Basur bulb-ba"(What is it?)

Jared's eyes begin to burn with fire, as he remembers the past, "I once saw two children murdered right before my eyes, and the ones responsible were left unpunished. I want to create a world without these evils, but I can't accomplish this alone."

Deep within his eyes, his anger simmered down, "I've come to realize that the minimum requirement to create this kind of change is overwhelming strength. It's silly, isn't it? I am just a weak human, yet I need to become the strongest. Yes... and that's why I need strong allies like... Nyx."