Chapter Sixteen: I Will Always Believe in You

"Hey, buddy, anything can be discussed. Just have your Charmander take its claw off me first. I promise I’ll tell you everything I know, no holding back." The hunter raised both hands high, squatting on the ground in a surrendering pose, a fawning smile plastered on his face.

He was utterly terrified. The Charmander’s sharp yet warm claw rested right against the artery in his neck. One wrong move, and who knows if that claw would come down. He could tell this little Charmander hadn’t killed before, but… he couldn’t afford to gamble on that.

His Octillery had been knocked out by a single Ember. Honestly, that was just absurd. If it had been a Charizard with Flamethrower, fine, but this was just a Charmander using Ember—and his Octillery was done for?

So, was the Charmander cheating, or was his Octillery playing dead?

What he didn’t know was that Chen Ou really had given his Charmander a cheat code. After raising his mastery over the Flare-Flare Fruit, Chen Ou had experimented in the Viridian Gym’s training grounds, trying to combine his abilities with his Pokémon. That’s when he discovered his fire manipulation powers could enhance Charmander’s Fire-type moves, even imbuing other moves with Fire attributes.

Chen Ou had been moved to tears. Damn, five years! His golden finger had finally come through.

(Golden Finger: I’ve always been here. Don’t blame me if you don’t know how to use it.)
(Chen Ou: Get lost!)

With this, Charmander’s strength could no longer be measured by normal Pokémon world standards. Chen Ou finally breathed a huge sigh of relief. He’d always thought his own talent wasn’t much different from Red and Green, but was it just about talent for them? No, it was protagonist’s luck.

Now, finally, he had what it took to challenge Red and Green within a year.

Chen Ou dragged Xiao Chen out of the sack, sized him up, and realized at a glance that he matched the information he’d received—a boy named Xiao Chen. So he knew who this child was.

Chen Ou nodded in satisfaction. Half his plan was complete.

He dropped Xiao Chen on the ground, not bothering to wake him, and was rough about it, almost wishing he could throw him harder.

This kid was notorious for causing trouble.

He walked over to the hunter, gestured for Charmander to back off a little. Charmander glanced at Chen Ou, nodded, and moved aside, but its eyes remained fixed warily on the hunter.

Chen Ou looked at the hunter squatting on the ground, his face twisted in disgust.

These hunters were even worse than those villainous organizations. Groups like Team Rocket at least had a creed—either aiming to rule the world or reshape it. But these hunters? They were in it for money alone, like flies buzzing around, feeding off scraps left by the League and the villains, just trying to survive.

You might feel awe when threatened by a tiger.

But with flies, all you feel is disgust.

The hunter noticed Chen Ou’s disdain and smiled even more obsequiously.

"I’ll ask, you answer. Lie, and you die."

Chen Ou’s voice was ice-cold.

"Absolutely! If there’s a single punctuation mark that’s a lie, may I never catch another Pokémon in my life!" The hunter swore emphatically.

Chen Ou nodded. Oaths were cheap, but that one was vicious enough. In this world, Pokémon were family, were strength. That oath carried about as much weight as swearing never to have children.

"Who hired you to go after this child?"

"The mayor of Viridian City, Mr. Bell."

"Why?"

"The kid bullied Bell’s son—supposedly stole his starter Pokémon. For something that rotten, no one would blame him for being taken out."

"Do you know anything about the kid’s family?"

"Just a merchant without power or influence. I don’t know why Bell used such hidden means to deal with him, but that’s none of my business."

"You sold out your employer so easily—aren’t you afraid of retaliation?" Chen Ou asked, genuinely curious.

The hunter chuckled, "Not at all. I’m only passing through Kanto; my main operations are in Kalos. I just took this job because I happened to be here, and now—well, you caught me."

Chen Ou found himself speechless at the man’s straightforwardness. The guy was far too accommodating—answering everything, and his logic made sense. No signs he was lying.

More importantly, he'd just provided a crucial detail: Bell wanted to secretly take out a child where secrecy was hardly necessary. Why?

Chen Ou already had a theory. He cast a meaningful glance at the still-unconscious Xiao Chen, then continued questioning the hunter, "What’s your name?"

The hunter brightened, detecting the slight relaxation in Chen Ou’s tone. "My name’s Lei."

"Lei… I’m calling the police."

"No need! I’ll do it myself." Lei promptly stood up, pulled out his phone, and right in front of Chen Ou, dialed the emergency number, even showing Chen Ou the screen to prove he was really calling the police, and turned on speakerphone.

"Hello! I’d like to report a crime! There’s a hunter in the forest east of Viridian City."

"Nervous? Me? Not at all."

"Oh, where’s the hunter? He’s the one calling you right now."

"No, I’m not joking, I really am a hunter."

"Yes, yes, thank you, please hurry and take me to the police station."

Uh…

Chen Ou was utterly bewildered. It felt like this world was different from what he’d known.

Do hunters moonlight as comedians now?

How could this guy… just…

Chen Ou pressed his lips together, at a complete loss for words.

After hanging up, Lei gave Chen Ou a fawning grin. "Is that good enough?"

I’m the one who just took care of this guy, so why do I feel like I’m the one getting bullied here?

Chen Ou was more confused than ever.

"Fine…"

"As long as you’re satisfied!" Lei’s grin was radiant. The brighter he smiled, the more uncomfortable Chen Ou felt.

So, he simply ignored the man, gave Charmander a look to watch him, then went to wake up Xiao Chen, ready to help Charmander resolve part of its inner struggle.

On his way over, he gave the nearly-awake Octillery a good kick to keep it unconscious.

Chen Ou walked up to Xiao Chen, who was snoring with drool at the corner of his mouth, and nudged him with his toe. "Get up, get up."

Xiao Chen opened his eyes slowly, still groggy. "Is it morning?"

Chen Ou was exhausted. Everyone he’d met tonight was a weirdo…

"Get up and battle me."

Xiao Chen shook his head, suddenly recalling something. He jumped up in fright and looked around wildly, "Hunter! There’s a hunter after me!"

No, the one after you is a stand-up comedian…

"Cut the crap, you’re safe now. Battle me, then get lost," Chen Ou snapped impatiently.

Xiao Chen calmed down, saw the fawning man squatting nearby, and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t connect this guy with the vicious hunter from earlier, but the resemblance was unmistakable…

"What is going on?" He was completely baffled, unaware he’d just had a brush with death.

"Charmander, come here. It’s time to prove yourself," Chen Ou said, clearly done wasting words. He called Charmander over, then turned to keep an eye on Lei.

Xiao Chen was confused, glancing at Charmander and then at Chen Ou. Scratching his head, he said, "I have no idea what’s happening, but as long as I beat your Charmander, right?"

He pulled out a Pokéball.

"Go! Squirtle! Give it to him!"

A flash of white light, and a Squirtle appeared, striking a defensive pose. Seeing the familiar Charmander, it grinned menacingly.

"Squirtle!" (I’m going to take you down!)

Charmander just stared in silence, then in a flash of white light, zipped in front of Squirtle before it could react, its glowing claw sweeping toward Squirtle’s head. Instinctively, Squirtle ducked into its shell.

But Charmander abruptly retracted its claw and, with a blast, spat an Ember straight into the shell.

Boom—

As Xiao Chen watched in shock, Charmander tossed the defeated Squirtle aside and turned to walk toward Chen Ou.

"See? I told you I could finish them quickly too," Charmander said, looking up at Chen Ou earnestly.

Rotom didn’t come out to translate, but Chen Ou understood exactly what Charmander meant.

He placed his hand gently on Charmander’s head, a doting smile on his face.

"I’ll always believe in you."