Inside the cave, next to two small campfires.
Vale said in surprise, "A Pokémon battle?"
As a Trainer, Vale would naturally agree to such a challenge. However, as the handsome young man stood up, Vale clearly saw all the surrounding Pokémon simultaneously take a half-step back.
He turned to glance at his old rival, Jack, whose expression was incredibly strange—a mix of four parts fear, three parts distress, two parts discouragement, and one part schadenfreude. Vale's heart pounded. When did Jack, who was famous for being reckless, ever have such a complex facial expression? When did he, usually so careless, start noticing such details?
Something wasn't right. Something was really off.
After a moment of careful thought, Vale said hesitantly, "We just got caught in the rain. Both my Charmander and I are in poor condition. How about we save it for another day?"
As he spoke, he released his starter Pokémon, Charmander. Seeing the dim flame on its tail and its listless expression, it was indeed sluggish and in poor shape.
"That's perfectly reasonable," the handsome young man nodded, then paused before adding, "But if you both recover your condition, you'd be ready to battle me immediately, correct?"
"Of course!" Vale replied loudly, eager to show he wasn't afraid to accept the challenge.
"Excellent." The handsome young man suddenly placed his hand on the heads of both Vale and Charmander. A faint white glow lit up, and Vale instantly felt all his fatigue vanish, leaving him feeling exactly as he had that morning when he first set out.
"Char~" Charmander puffed out its small chest, indicating it was in top condition.
"Now, are you ready to battle me?"
"Yes, y-yes…"
This handsome young man was, of course, Aomori. He and Absol had sought shelter from the downpour in this cave. First, he beat up all the Pokémon already inside. Then, he ran into Jack and, to complete a task, he took on three of Jack's Pokémon and defeated him three times, though it only counted as a single task completion.
More importantly, Aomori had learned a lot of information about this world from Jack.
Jack came from the legendary Pallet Town, knew Ash and Gary, and they were currently in Viridian Forest in the Kanto region. The Indigo Plateau Conference was scheduled to take place at the Indigo Plateau in three months.
Learning that this world had no Red and that he wouldn't be able to witness Red's magnificent style, Aomori felt a little regretful.
Getting back to the matter at hand, the Pokémon cooperatively cleared a space on the ground for Aomori and Vale's battle.
"The Pokémon one-on-one battle will now begin. Both sides, please send out your Pokémon." Jack, quite formally, took on the role of referee.
"Just a moment. Before the official battle starts, shouldn't we agree on the stake for this match?" Aomori asked, politely raising his hand.
In this world, the Pokémon League encouraged adding stakes to outdoor battles, provided both parties agreed—Aomori hadn't known this until Jack brought it up during their battle and subsequently lost two months' worth of living expenses.
"Uh, well, I don't have much money," Vale stammered.
"It's alright. If I win, you can just let me borrow your Pokédex to look at it," Aomori said kindly.
"No problem!" Vale agreed immediately, thinking that Aomori was a good person after all and that he had been overthinking things earlier.
'Huh, why didn't he mention what happens if he loses? He must have forgotten,' Vale thought, his lips twitching, but he ultimately didn't speak up to remind him.
During the preparation stage, Aomori sent out Absol, and Vale sent out Charmander.
"Absol?" Vale curiously pulled out his Pokédex, only to be surprised by the automated response: "Unidentified Pokémon."
'It's a truly rare Pokémon,' Vale thought. Looking at Absol's cool design, a desire to catch one sparked within him. 'After I win, I'll ask him where I can catch an Absol. Heh heh.'
"Battle start! The challenger, Vale, will take the first move."
"Charmander, use Ember!" Vale issued his habitual opening command.
"…" Aomori stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing. Absol, however, had already darted away on its own, weaving left and right with a serpentine movement as it rushed toward Charmander.
As a mature Pokémon, Absol was capable of battling independently.
"Ah, what…?" Vale had never seen a battle like this. Weren't normal battles turn-based, with alternating commands? If you don't speak, how am I supposed to know when it's my turn?
Vale was completely bewildered. Charmander, receiving no instruction from its Trainer, anxiously spun in circles on the spot. Absol seized the opportunity, struck it head-on, sending it bouncing off the cave wall and onto the ground with swirling 'Dizzy Eyes.'
"Charmander is unable to battle! The winner is Aomori!" Jack announced. He sighed inwardly, remembering that his first match had been lost in the same confusing way. Even though he'd caught on during the next two matches, his commands simply couldn't keep up.
"I lost," Vale said dejectedly as he recalled Charmander.
"But… but Aomori, how did you do that?"
"A Pokémon battle is, ultimately, a battle between Pokémon. The Trainer's command is only necessary when the Pokémon is confused. Pokémon should have their own thoughts and shouldn't depend entirely on their Trainer. This is the result of the special training I put Absol through." Perhaps because he was speaking to a child, Aomori offered more explanation than usual.
"No, that's wrong!" Vale countered. "The Trainer's command is more important! If Pokémon can battle on their own, why do they even need us Trainers?"
In traditional thinking, the Trainer is the sole core of a Pokémon battle. People revere the Trainer, not any particular Pokémon under the Trainer's command.
Jack stood to the side, deep in thought.
'Just be a good accessory,' Aomori thought, having no interest in arguing, and extended his right hand toward Vale.
"What for?" Still agitated, Vale reflexively took a step back.
"The Pokédex."
"Oh, right." Vale remembered the agreed-upon stake and quickly pulled out his Pokédex, placing it in Aomori's hand.
After asking how to use it, Aomori and Absol returned to a corner and sat down, keenly starting his research.
Vale and Jack were still reeling from the battle. They each found a spot to sit down, having lost the mood for catching up.
Silence fell in the cave, broken only by the whistling wind at the entrance.
After a while, the more Vale thought about the battle, the more frustrated he became. He stood up and went to the cave mouth, gazing at the hazy white sky. The rain drifting in slowly calmed his mood.
"Huh, what is that?"
Vale suddenly noticed a rag-like object in the air not far away, bobbing up and down, left and right, in the storm.
"No, it's not a rag."
A rag wouldn't move forward against the wind.
It was a Pokémon, one flying wildly in the storm, yet also at the mercy of the elements.
Vale's heart wrenched and began to pound again.
He spun around, ran back to Aomori, and urgently said, "Aomori, there's a Pokémon outside in the storm! Quick! Hurry and save it!"
Vale knew he couldn't possibly rescue the Pokémon in the storm and could only place his hopes on Aomori, who possessed mysterious healing methods.
Aomori frowned and handed the Pokédex back to Vale.
Lacking the right tools, he had only managed to examine the surface features of the Pokédex, though he did manage to memorize the map of the area around Viridian Forest.
Aomori walked toward the cave entrance. The Pokémon all pressed against the walls, making way for him. Vale and Jack quickly followed.
"There!" Vale pointed toward the mid-air.
With his superior, enhanced Physique, Aomori had better eyesight. He saw it, and saw it clearly.
"Don't worry. It's enjoying itself, enjoying the storm."
A Pokémon version of a storm petrel?