Chapter 96: I Have to Fight for Them
A Weedle with a broken horn.
A Rattata with a missing front tooth.
A Meowth with a tail that had been severed for some unknown reason.
The most normal-looking Pokémon was a Growlithe that was blind in one eye.
To put it bluntly, aside from the Growlithe, the other three Pokémon would have been culled from the gene pool in the wild. A Weedle without its weapon, a Rattata missing its fang, a Meowth that had lost its tail for balance—how could they survive out there?
Apart from their various issues, the little ones were not small in stature. Their fur was a bit rough, probably from a poor diet, but from the looks of them, they were at least getting enough to eat.
Clearly, this incredibly bold young man, Ren, had saved these lucky little ones. Of course, you could also say that Ren was the lucky one. After all, a Pokémon like Growlithe was quite rare. In this era, and even in the near future, its evolution, Arcanine, was even referred to as a "Legendary Pokémon," and was described in the Pokédex as a "majestic Pokémon from ancient Eastern legends."
Not to mention its high 555 base stat total and handsome appearance. Looking at the species alone, Growlithe was an extremely excellent Pokémon. They are naturally loyal, brave, friendly, intelligent, and obedient. To have earned a Growlithe's acknowledgment meant that Ren was a Trainer it would recognize for life.
"Come here, puppy, let me see," Will said, walking over to the Growlithe. He picked up the completely non-vigilant creature and stared into its blind eye. The entire pupil was gray. It was most likely a congenital defect, not a later injury. An eye like this would be difficult to heal; the only hope would be through evolution.
"There was a big storm that day. This little guy came out of nowhere, ran into my field, and ate a whole bunch of my corn. I was so mad. But he was so weak he was about to pass out, so I didn't hold it against him," Ren said, walking out of his hut holding a large bundle of steaming hot corn on the cob. This must be the food he grew himself.
He distributed the cobs to the little ones, then stuffed two into Will's hands.
"After that, the little guy just decided to stay at my place," Ren said, taking a bite of his corn. He reached out and rubbed the Growlithe's head, and the puppy comfortably lay on the ground, rolled onto its back, and wagged its tail.
"You seem to like them a lot." Will sat down on the ground with a loud thump, which scared the nearby Meowth so badly it shot up onto the roof.
Ren seemed to have rarely met someone he could "talk" to like this, so he began to chatter away at the massive Dragonite.
"I've been alone since I was little, raised by everyone in the village. With them around, I'm not lonely anymore, so I've never driven them away."
"Of course, I know they're what the big shots call 'primal beasts,' but I don't think they're that scary."
"And hey, don't look down on them because they're small. They're amazing."
"All the green bugs that used to ruin the crops? They're the ones who chased them away. The villagers who didn't like them before had their impressions completely changed because of that. Now everyone has adopted one or two beasts for their own fields."
Ren told Will his story as he gnawed on his corn, watching the sun. In the process, Will came to understand why the people in this village were not afraid of Pokémon at all.
"But it's a pity... in a few days, I'll have to leave them. I'll have to ask the uncles and aunts in the village to take care of them," Ren suddenly sighed, his eyes filled with reluctance as he looked at the Growlithe.
"Why? Where are you going?"
Will knew Ren couldn't understand his words, but he could use an inquisitive tone to let him sense his "curiosity" and "confusion." He then took another bite of his corn. He'd never eaten it straight off the cob in this world before; at the palace, he'd only had corn milk and corn cake.
"The capital is recruiting soldiers. I'm going to enlist, achieve great things, and become a big shot!"
Will's chewing abruptly stopped. He turned to look at the young man beside him and said casually, "You're asking to die."
He wasn't trash-talking. In his view, he was simply stating a fact. A war between two nations would inevitably result in countless casualties, especially for the fragile humans. When the war began, regardless of whether the Dragonite or Land Kingdom won, the human death toll would be in the tens of thousands at least. Ren was just an ordinary country boy who had spent his whole life farming. His physique couldn't possibly compare to the Pokémon-like muscle-men in the army. In Will's eyes, this so-called recruitment by the Land Kingdom was just looking for cannon fodder to scout the enemy and act as shields. With Sakaki's style of doing things, this was a given.
"Hah," Ren sighed again.
"You need to be alive to enjoy wealth and power. I think you shouldn't risk your ambition for..." Will started, shaking his head, trying to figure out how to persuade him. He felt Ren was a good person at heart and shouldn't have to sacrifice himself for the Kingdom of the Land. Fuchsia Village was located in a place that the war wouldn't reach. There was no need to take such a risk. He could just wait quietly for the day peace arrived.
But at that moment, Ren suddenly interrupted his "gibberish."
"I have to fight for them."
Ren's gaze rested quietly on the Growlithe and the others.
"I believe that humans and beasts can support each other and survive together!"
Will's mouth fell open. He stared blankly at the suddenly passionate young man before him. After a moment, he closed his mouth. This world was definitely not lacking in people who realized this. Liz in Johto, Ren in Kanto... there must be others in other regions. It was because of the existence of people like them that the Era of Leagues could come into being.
It's just that... both Liz and Ren had appeared too early. It would be very difficult for them to change this era, where the negative impression of "beasts" was so deeply ingrained, within the limited span of a single human life.
"I've seen it. The passing Land army slaughtered many innocent little ones. They hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, they would occasionally help the villagers by driving away pests."
"Sometimes I wonder if the reason our village hasn't been attacked by other beasts for so long is because of these little ones."
"I don't think the King of the Land is right. Maybe it's because I'm not in a position to understand his thinking. But at least for now, I want to become a big shot. I want to change all of this."
"The words I say now, no one will listen, no one will understand. But if I become a big shot, then won't the people of the entire kingdom be able to hear my voice and accept my ideas?"
Ren passionately poured out the "ambition" that had been bottled up inside him for so long.
Perhaps because he didn't get a response from Will, Ren felt a little awkward and sat back down, quietly gnawing on his corn. In his eyes, Will was just a big "beast" who wouldn't understand his thoughts.
But Ren would never know that in Will's eyes, his words were like a clap of thunder. Will stared at him, a complex emotion swirling in his gaze, a lump forming in his throat. Of course he could understand everything Ren was saying, but that was because he had been influenced by the great thinkers of his past world. But Ren was different. He had never heard of anyone doing or saying such things before. This was an ideal that had awakened within himself.
"Do you know that this is a path to death?"
The awkward Ren heard Will's voice again and looked up at the behemoth beside him. He couldn't understand the words, but he seemed to sense their meaning. "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of my death being worthless."
Though thousands may oppose me, I will go on. The phrase inexplicably echoed in Will's mind.
"...Good luck," Will said, not saying much more, but his heart was filled with a new vitality.
His and Liz's path was not a lonely one. There were definitely many other people and Pokémon in this world, fighting with all their might for this common ideal.
After that, Ren, seeming to realize that Will could understand him, began to speak endlessly about his vision and plans for the future. He said he wanted to establish an organization to protect all the beasts in the world. He said he wanted every person in the world to be able to meet a beast that they could connect with on a spiritual level.
Time passed, and the sky began to darken. Will looked up and felt it was about time for him to leave.
"Are you leaving?" Ren asked, seeing him stand up.
"Yes," Will nodded.
"Alright. Thanks for listening to me so much today. By the way, you seem different from other beasts. Do you have a name?"
"My name is Will."
"Hmm... I don't understand, haha. But it's okay. My name is Ren Damaranchi. Oh, right, wait a second," Ren said, scratching the back of his head. He suddenly remembered something and ran back into his hut.
But Will was frozen in place, stunned by his name.
Damaranchi...
In the future Era of Leagues, there was a very famous man named... Mr. Damalanch. He was the president of the Pokémon League Executive Committee, who managed the Indigo League Torch, and often served as the person in charge of the Pokémon League Conference. At the same time, he was also called the "greatest man in the Pokémon League."
Thinking about it now, it was possible that Ren was President Goodshow's ancestor.
"This is for you. When I used to wear this while farming, I always felt full of energy!" Ren said, handing Will a red headband with a flame pattern on it.
"...Thank you. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
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