This was totally, TOTALLY not how I expected my first attempt at a date to go out.

Aurora, my friend Bayleef, was now walking right next to me as we both kept taking glances at the small baggage in my arms. The mentioned baggage being my supposed ‘date’ who seemed to have made her current goal in life to snuggle me as hard as she could to fill whatever deficiency she was currently having.

I gazed at the confused Bayleef again who was most definitely waiting for an explanation for all this as much as I was, but a few gestures and eye movements were enough to tell him that we would get to the bottom of this in greater detail soon enough.

I had to also gather my own thoughts on all this too after all…

Seriously, I have SO many questions about the being I'm currently carrying right now, and this was NOT the place to talk about issues dealing with possible apocalypse level matters that they likely are if I know myself well enough.

Haaah… and I was expecting the worst I would have to deal with in the foreseeable future was Uxie’s warnings and complaints about the terror that was the upcoming journey of Ash Ketchum, apparently THE chosen one if I were to believe her, who would begin his Pokémon journey on his birthday which I would guess was still a few months away if I understood her correctly.

I don't really understand why Uxie was making such a fuss about it, but I got the gist of it that it was going to be bad somehow and I trusted her word enough to just decide to take a vacation in the brief peace we still had before whatever was about to happen did start.

But now? I have a completely different and completely out the left field issue to deal with as well most likely.

As joyful as gaining this supposedly new possible 'soulmate' situation seemed to be for my baggage, it seems to also come with a caveat of signing both of us to apparently saving the world, just the type of trouble that I would expect from legendary level issues, exactly the types of trouble I TOTALLY didn't want to deal with right now on my off-work time!

"So… Digimon…. haaaah……"

My silent sounds of suffering were only answered by another unsure look from the Bayleef towards the carry-along who only kept increasing her grip on me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well then, let the Rescue Team Righteous emergency meeting commence!"

Me and my family sat down at the dinner table way too large for four not to even mention the usual count of three.

Each of us took one side of the large table with Aurora taking the one to the opposite to me while Lunamon and Merry the Maractus, The green cactus Pokemon of the house.

Merry was currently boasting a beanie that looked like a sunflower that she had placed over her left cactus flower stump on her head while her bright yellow custom-made tablet hung around her neck with a comfortable leather strap with the device having been designed specifically for her to be durable enough to handle her needle-like fingers.

She was currently watching our newest friends with a sense of curiosity with her bright yellow eyes as her zigzag mouth chewed on the blue and round Oran berries we had placed on the table beforehand in a wicker basket.  

Aurora was similarly wearing a tablet strapped around his neck, this one being bright blue and slightly larger than Merry's one, with having a curved design specially created to make it easier for him to keep the device steady while holding it with his vines if he ever needed to type while moving.

He was in fact already using the tablet as it lay on the table as he used his vines to type on its keyboard, perhaps to prepare some things beforehand.

I still honestly found it quite baffling just how few trainers actually took the effort to teach their Pokémon to read and write, a skill that most humans around considered essential to their lives.

Some of them at least had some semblance of a reason for not teaching their Pokémon, like the traditionals, citing that learning to communicate with your Pokémon through their vague sounds and expressions was just core part of the trainer experience, while the ones focused only on battle didn't bother because it was basically a useless skill in battle.

Then there were the actual pricks who just didn't want to find out if the Pokémon was possibly smarter than them, or worse, the ignorant bigots who still see Pokémon as simple-minded creatures and refuse to listen or hear anything that would refute that statement.

Even more baffling is the amount of Pokémon who just outright refuse to learn it, some seeing it as demeaning as if it was somehow proving their normal way to communicate was inferior while the battle focused ones just refuse to learn anything not meant to harm someone. Or even worse, the Pokémon supremacists who just see humans as inferior beings and want nothing to do with anything regarding human inventions be it devices or ideas. At least most of those types tend to stay far and away from any human civilization so they don’t bother the rest of us.

Honestly, screw all of them, if me and my friends have to deal with a few mean looks aimed at us every now and then for the chance to actually understand each other, then so be it.

Not to mention, it's kind of almost a necessity in this line of work I am stuck in.

Seriously, how else was I supposed to know that the 'aggressive' giant bee Pokémon squad that was the Beedrill swarm coming full speed from the forest towards the nearby town all stings glowing, was simply just trying to get to the nearest Pokémon medical center while being entirely too overenthusiastic with the protection their sick little worm Weedle of theirs needed if I didn't have someone translating that to me in my team.

The newcomer 'Digimon' on the table was currently looking mighty meek while holding the 'DigiDex' like it was the most fragile thing ever as she struggled to deal with the currently not so friendly gazes aimed at her as the small thing squirmed silently on the chair she was standing on.

I start the session by saying, "As we have a guest on table today, let's start with some introductions!"

I point to the at the green leafy dinosaur at other side of the table and say: "On the opposite side of me, we have the green leaf dinosaur Aurora, a Bayleef who is my starter slash oldest friend slash bunk pal slash censor slash mother slash nuisance slash-"

I Get a quick and light vine whip slap as a response from the aforementioned nuisance as he proceeds to give a polite bow and say "Lee Bay leee." at the newcomer on the table.

But as no response seemed to be coming back from the said newcomer who only seemed to be confused at him.

Aurora frowns at the response before saying to her "Bay lee?" as he stares at our guest 'Digimon' while trying to ask her something.

The target of the stare looked very clearly uncomfortable and confused before she finally tries to respond with an uncertain,"Ummm… hey?"

Aurora frowns at the response before he begins to type rapidly into his tablet's keyboard with four small vines coming out of his neck sprouts.

Eventually, he presses a specific custom button on the device intended for quick and simple text to speech function access as a stoic male voice says, "As I previously was trying to say, it's a pleasure to meet you. Am I to assume correctly that you are, or well, were, our trainer's supposed date?"

Somewhat shocked by the sudden monotonic sound, Lunamon hastily answers, "Y-yes, yes I am."

Aurora quickly begins to type another message while the Lunar rabbit waits with some clear nervousness in her eyes, " Well, I have heard plenty of good things about you from him, albeit I don't think anyone here on this table expected that person to be... well… like you. No offense. Am I to assume correctly that you weren't looking for a romantic partner to come out of this but something else?"

Aurora gave her a Stern gaze while he waited for a response from the currently timid Digimon who tried her best to keep her composure under the pressure as she answers,” no, I, I was l-looking for my partner, but not a romantic one."

The sounds of someone typing on a keyboard began to sound out again, this time from another side of the table.

Merry had also set her tablet down on the table and had begun to type her own message before she activates her own text to speech as a cheery female voice begins to sound out and say, "Then what exactly where you looking to gain from that date of yours? Because trust me, if it was the physical kind of partnership, you might just be a bit too small for that. 😊"

"Aurora, slap her." I say to punish the cactus for even suggesting that.

The green dinosaur in a rare moment of obedience followed the command of his trainer, as the overly smug looking Maractus gets slapped by a vine to her face and falls off the chair as the sound of maracas play out.

Seeing the punishment dealt with, I proceed to introduce the currently downed troublemaker to our visiting lunar rabbit, "The one that just got slapped there is Merry, our household Maractus and our shut-in seamtress. She has a bit of a… personality.”

Thankfully, the confusion Lunamon had on her face likely meant she was way too innocent to even understand what went unsaid there, albeit the question that followed from her made me very worried about that innocence.

"I'm… too small? I'm too small for my partner?" she asks with a sense of sadness and concern, clearly having a very different meaning in her head if I knew her cute innocence from our online talks compared to the actual intended meaning of the atrocity that was just said to her.

The troll that is Merry who had already sat back down on the chair began to type a response on her keyboard with glee, but I decided to stop this lunacy before she gets to make that currently being written message public.

 I say to her in a stern voice, "Merry, if you dare to publicize whatever you are writing now, I will confiscate the sewing machine for the rest of the month. I have warned you."

The cactus, quickly realizing she was about to overstep the imaginary boundary, gave me a pout back as an answer for ruining her fun, and seeing as Aurora was preparing for another slap, I saved her from another quick trip to the floor for trying to again detract the meeting again.

"Luna, you are totally fine as you are, so don't listen to the words of the spiky lady too seriously." I give the still somewhat concerned guest a reassurance to perhaps get us out of this derailment.

Deciding to finish the introductions before we derail too much, I say, "Then lastly in this house is me, Silver, the supposed 'trainer' of this group I suppose but I think that got lost somewhere along the way, not like anyone here seemed to care at this point. I'm just another member of this mad family I somehow ended up with."

And lastly, I begin to introduce our guest who quite animatedly and forcefully inserted herself here, "Today, we have a guest in the house, my supposed 'date' that apparently wasn't looking for an actual date in the regular sense but something else. The same online friend I have talked about with you two for a decent while now."

"So, do introduce yourself to the curious crowd. Who are you, what did you want from our 'date' and why you are here now. We are waiting." I ask her while not hiding the dislike for her act of essentially forcing us to take her with us to our home.

She seemed to have understood that this was important as she takes a breath to compose herself before giving us an answer by saying,"I'm Lunamon, a Digimon, I was looking for my destined partner to journey with them just like the legends say, to fight by their side, to help others with them, to find a lifelong friend as the chosen ones to protect the digital world!"

and finally, she begins to show clear visible joy as she exclaims, “And I found it, I really found it! After so many months, so many tries, the warm soothing feeling as you feel your partner, As the DigiDex lit up, Its all real! I finally found it!"

It was hard to not notice just how overjoyed she seemed to be about those facts, as she also kept saying that stuff all the way back at the park while having essentially forced herself to come home with us while refusing to take a no as an answer.

Honestly, if she wasn't exactly like the friend I had slowly come to know and enjoyed being with remotely, I would very likely be far more annoyed and far more reluctant to bring her here than I otherwise would have.

Not to mention, I couldn't deny the fact that I also kept feeling that soothing feeling she mentioned as I felt her next to me.

It was still an incredibly odd and pleasant feeling, and it was both making me happy and creeped out at the same time. I have way too many experiences when it comes to my mind being manipulated, and this was still new to me despite having Uxie give me some lessons on the subject to me.

The weirdest thing about it was that it wasn't even trying to hide what it was doing. It was just there as a subtle feeling behind my back that promoted me to try to take care of the little rabbit to the left of me. And considering that it didn't seem to anything else but that, I didn't find it too dangerous as I could just ignore it without a problem.

The only fear I had for it was the possibility of it being a future time bomb just waiting to manipulate me when I let my guard down, something I very much would not like to have for an extended period of time if that was the case.

I may have to consult the three resident expert goddesses dealing with the mind if I can't get good idea of it before that.

And yet, that is just the tip of the iceberg about all of this.

So many unknowns about this, so much I had never even heard of despite my utterly insane experiences in the past.

But honestly? Right now, none of that really mattered.

I didn't care about what a Digimon was, what the Digital world is supposed to be, nothing about that unknown mattered to me, because right now, there was only one relevant question that needed an answer from the guest who was currently clearly trying to conscript me for another bout of madness with her.

So, I will ask the singular question I want answered from her right now. Anything else dealing with this can come later.

I say to her with clear seriousness in my voice, “So, from what I have understood from all of this from you so far, you searched for months, chasing what could be best described as a folklore in your world, failure after failure with no results, that I would only describe as desperation, just to find someone that you would put into a position to jeopardize their life with you for the sake of 'heroism'."

She looked absolutely horrified with the way I was describing her goal, and before she manages to yell anything back at me, I ask her the only question that I must know the answer to right now, ”So why, why were you so desperate to find me, why are you so willing to put yourself into danger, why do you wish to be a 'chosen hero', to be so willing to risk your life away for others. WHY, I ask, should I help you and possibly risk my life with you?

I give her a glare towards her before I continue saying, “Tell us, because if I don't like your answer, I'm kicking you out of this house. Because I'm not risking me, and my family's lives, for a cause I don't agree with for someone who right now, is very selfishly just trying to pull us into their troubles we have nothing to do with."

I pause a brief moment before finally giving my final ultimatum in a stern voice," Make your case, you got one chance."

The 'Digimon' must have understood just how dead serious I was with my demand as everyone in our family stared at her with a stern glare oozing with hostility towards her as we eventually watched her have a myriad of emotions surge in her face.

Her expressions screamed of fear, anger, desperation, sadness, a mix chaotic and negative emotions, that all eventually settled to that somber and so very tired look of sadness as she began to make her case to us as she spoke her very heart open in a silent voice oozing of sadness,

"I come from a small fishing village. A small, serene community of Digimon that want nothing else but to live their lives in peace, a peaceful and tight nit home that I cherish so very much.

But the world I call home isn't as kind as yours. Ours cares not how the weak think as only the strong have any rights while the rest of us cower with scraps.

In best cases, we pay tribute to them for protection, in worst cases, we run, run from the danger, run from our homes, from the place we briefly cherished, just so we can stay safe.

But that safety never lasts, it never does. We may be able to run from one problem, but another one always comes, and forces us to run away from them once more.

Tears begin to come out of her eyes as she continues to whimper her tale, "Every so often, not all of us manage to escape. Sometimes we are caught unaware, too late to just escape from danger, so some of us must make the sacrifice for the rest of us, to be left as toys for the strong to play with, so that at least some of us would make it to see the next morning.

I am tired of losing my friends, losing my home over and over, constantly feeling afraid, feeling helpless, feeling so useless..."

She began to yell at us with a mix of anger and sadness mixed in her voice, "SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN MY PLACE IF YOU STUMBLED ON A CHANCE TO CHANGE ALL THAT!?  TO FINALLY BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PROTECT MY HOME, TO PERHAPS HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE HOW MY WORLD WORKS, TO NO LONGER FEEL SO HELPLESS AND POWERLESS!? TO FINALLY BE ABLE TO HAVE THE POWER TO TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE!?"

She takes a moment to calm herself before pointing at the DigiDex that was currently on the table and continuing, "So when I one day woke up with that device next to me, knowing exactly what it was, what it entailed, what chance it could offer me, from all the legends of heroes I heard and read about, of saviors that changed the world!?"

She paused and looked at us before answering her own question as her voice took a tone of finality to it as she says, "I took it” before continuing on after pausing on those three words briefly, “I accepted that responsibility the device asked of me, as it sent me to this world, confirming to me that the device I held was the real deal, that I had a true chance to no longer feel that my life to be out of my control."

With now her anger and strength seemingly spent, She continues in a tone of apathy as if she hadn’t been the one who experienced all that she would say next, "And so, Here I was now, away from my home, stranded in a place completely unknown to me, as I blindly looked for that fabled partner without any clue who they were or how they looked like, with the only clues being of those fabled mentions of an unbreakable bond and the device that connected it."

Tears began to flow from her eyes again as her voice barely manages her stop wailing out at us, "So. many. times. I almost lost hope, failure after failure, as the device refused to light up again, as I never felt that fabled bond, But I kept going, kept trying, kept my hopes up that I could change my life, to no longer feel as helpless anymore as I watched my friends sacrifice themselves to let me escape over and over again."

She finally finishes her tale, in a way as if to mock her own story, in self-pitying, sad, and bitter manner, "And now I hear I am, all that effort, that searching, all that work, all that hopelessness of being a stranger stranded in a world unknown to me, for this chance to meet you so I can have the possibility to change what I am, to have a way to face the hopelessness I kept losing to, that I still keep losing to."

Finally, She yelled at us with all the strength in her voice, carrying all weight of the burdens she had held on for who knows how long, as all that desperation and hope she had been holding on came out in a last and final emotional cry with her all in it:

 

"PLEASE SILVER! LET ME BE YOUR PARTNER! GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO NO LONGER FEEL SO HELPLESS! GIVE ME THE CHANCE TO PROTECT ALL THAT I CHERISH, ALL THAT I LOVE, TO FINALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE, TO CHANGE MYSELF INTO SOMETHING I CAN BE PROUD OF, TO CHANGE MY VERY FATE INTO SOMETHING I CAN CHERISH!"

" SO PLEASE!......"

”...Help me…!”

 

'… The exact same words' I wondered in astonishment as I reminisced an old memory that had long since been burned into my mind even before I heard her last words that could only be considered a desperate silent whimper for help as she slumped down sobbing.

 

"PLEASE UXIE! LET ME BE YOUR TRAINER! GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO NO LONGER FEEL SO HELPLESS, GIVE ME THE CHANCE TO PROTECT ALL THAT I CHERISH, ALL THAT I LOVE, TO FINALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE, TO PROTECT THE FAMILY THAT I LOVE, TO CHANGE MYSELF INTO SOMETHING I CAN BE PROUD OF, TO CHANGE MY VERY FATE INTO SOMETHING I CAN CHERISH!

" SO PLEASE!......"

 ”...Help me…!”

 

… Was this how Uxie felt when I gave her my desperate plea, as I fully knew we were nowhere strong enough to even try to challenge her, as I desperately pleaded the goddess of knowledge for a chance to change my cursed life around?

To longer have to run away from the criminal organization I was forcefully once part of, to finally be free to live the life I wanted, to be able live a life free of fear, free of having to not worry for my life or the lives of my friends, to finally gain a safe haven to be in, to finally be free of the curse that was the all-encompassing presence of Team Rocket.

I do not know what Uxie saw in me that day as despite delving into my mind and seeing all the sins I had once committed, but it must have been something for her to give me a chance, as what she offered may not have been me being her trainer, but it was far more than I could have ever hoped for when I made that desperate cry to her while risking my life while facing a being far more powerful than me.

I watched as Merry looked absolutely livid from the story she had just heard as she clenched her arm.

After all, it was way too close to comfort for her.

We, as in the world, solved world hunger ages ago and artificial meat has been mass produced, dirt cheap and widely available anywhere with plenty of flavors available that were widely distributed around all parts of the world in the wild by various organizations all willing to make sure no Pokémon needs to die anymore to sate another.

And yet, all it requires is a single psycho or an ignorant prick to ruin someone's life in a single moment.

Merry could do nothing but run as her family gave her the chance to escape from a single, malevolent, sadistic crooked red and black striped bipedal crocodile of a Pokémon. A Krookodile who just killed her family for the sake of its own sick enjoyment.

The little Maractus looked absolutely miserable when we found her by chance during one of my training trips in the Unovan desert resort as she clung onto us for her dear life for just a single small act of kindness we had offered her.

Honestly, I guess we did something right considering just how cheery she turned out from the meek Merry she used to be.

Aurora also had a somber look, as he could more than understand the desire of wanting to protect which you cherished.

He was and still is one of the biggest sins of my life, as he is the only Pokémon I ever stole and forcefully recruited directly in the name of team Rocket.

I had intentionally avoided any and all possible missions specifically dealing with Pokémon theft, but it was the one time I could not avoid it, and I still regret it to this day despite Aurora himself not minding it whatsoever.

It was a long time later that I realized just how low his self-esteem used to be while still being the much smaller form of his evolution line as a Chikorita.

He hated fighting, He still hates battling. a Pokémon that absolutely hated combat, which was entirely unusual as they tend to be born with at least some interest and desire to grow stronger.  He never seemed to get that though, he hated the pain, the exertion, everything regarding battles, and the other Pokémon in the lab he had grown up with had noticed it and ostracized him for it.

Thus, he began hating the idea of growing stronger, as it meant possibly having to deal with more of those battles, and thus did his fear of evolution develop, which only further seemed to reduce his self-esteem as most Pokémon desired to evolve.

Me and Mephis, my first Pokémon, noticed his aversion to fighting fairly quick after he became my second Pokémon as I scrambled to make sure Aurora was assigned to me in the organization. We covered for him as much as we could as it was the only thing I could really do after bringing him to the same hell we were in.

I still remember just how much he cried when I showed him the Everstone, the one sure way to prevent an evolution in a Pokémon, as in his mind, it had meant that I had validated his existence, that he wasn't just going to be thrown away for being a useless Pokémon that so many had called him to be.

Today, he still very much hates battling, and always prefers to go for the option that doesn't require it, but he is way too kind to just let the rest of his family face the dangers we do without him, so he tolerates it and trains to get stronger in order to help keep us safe from harm the best he can, even if it once meant having to face the fear of evolving to save us.

We looked at each other as our guest 'Digimon' sobbed after her plea to aid her, and words were not needed to be exchanged between us that we were on the same page, as each of us was outraged from the injustice we had just heard, as each of us felt the desire to help the one who had so desperately pleaded us for aid to help her push herself out of the dark mire she had found herself in.

If she had been just a selfish glory monger wishing to become a hero to obtain glory, fame, and power, I would have shooed her away immediately. But we could all sympathize with her desire to become stronger for the sake of a better life for herself and others when having been stuck in a horrible situation.

We all here had our demons and circumstances, and she now begged us to help fight hers.

Still…. 'soulmates’ you say huh…… can't really think any other way to explain that disturbing coincidence in words.

Haahhhh…. I guess our vacation was going to be cut short, back to the madness it is then. I guess it’s at least lost for a good cause, helping a friend, even if they had been just an online one for now.

Finally, I decide to break the silence and answer our guest, "I see, so you wish to become partners with me in order to grow stronger, so that you protect what you love, to change the very fate of your life to one you can be proud of?"

The Digimon answers me in a tone filled with resigned hope, "…Yes…"

"Well, I do not know what being a partner to you would exactly entail, but if you wish your family and what you cherish to be protected, we could do that for you, as that is what we normally do already, but you don't want that, you want to do it yourself, to become strong enough that you can protect them yourself, isn't that right?"

Lunamon seemed to have noticed the leading question I gave her as she answers with a bit of hope now in her voice now,”...Mmm."

I take a more formal, authoritative stance as I begin my role as a representative and say, "Then, As the leader of the Platinum rank Rescue Team Righteous, I offer you the chance to join our organization, the Swords of Justice, as a trainee member of our Rescue team."

I begin to give a brief explanation of the organization I was in to the one I was throwing my recruitment pitch to, "Our organization's objective is to follow the creeds of helping, saving, rescuing and aiding whoever needs it, even if it means getting into very dangerous situations, and we will be getting into plenty of those frequently considering how much chaos everyday seems to always offer.

We make sure that weakness is never a sin, and make sure to protect people from those who believe otherwise and wish to abuse their power.

If you join us, we will promise to make you strong, to be able to protect what you love, to be able to follow the honored creeds we ask of you if you join us, we will work together as a team, fight as a team, grow as a team, as Partners through thick and thin, together as one."

I offer her my hand to her as I say, "Will you accept the creed to help others whenever you can and join us in the fight for a better future, to protect those who need it the most, to hold peace and bring justice wherever it would be needed, as partners through thick and thin through dangerous moments with us?"

She stares at the arm  facing her as she processes every word I said in her head, and very soon, tears of joy begin to drop from her eyes as the heavy weight she had been carrying finally seems to begin releasing her as she meets my hand with two of her own and dearly holds on to it as she answers while barely holding her tears in to speak:" … yes…. yes! Thank you! thank you…. uhhhhh……"

"Everyone, we have an oath to do" I say as I look at the Pokémon already typing their lines into their tablets as the overly cheerful Merry and the somber Aurora move next to us.

"Two makes better than one!" I call out with conviction in my voice as my arm glows with an aura of lavender.

"Three makes better than two!" sounds out Aurora's message. as he puts a foreleg above mine and lunamon's hand as his leg glows with an aura of green.

"Four makes better than three!" sounds out Merry's message as she puts her arm above Aurora's paw as her arm also glows with green aura.

I continue the oath as I begin gradually raising all the attached limbs up, "When comrades make their powers become one…" and stop at the highest point reasonable for our smallest addition before we the veterans of the group all say out loud together,

"TRUE STRENGTH AND GENUINE COURAGE WILL BE BORN!"

I look around the others currently in the circle around me before looking towards our newcomer and saying, "And with that, the oath has been shared, and your joys and burdens are now ours to bear as well, together, as one."

The Lunar rabbit looked like she was an over the moon rabbit now as all her earlier fears seemed to have faded away as her all her work, all her desperation, all her searching, had finally paid off. All the effort, all the hopelessness of being alone, stranded in an unknown world, had been for this, as her partner finally confirms it to her with finality as he says to her,

"Welcome to the Swords of Justice as now the newest member of Rescue Team Righteous. I look forward to working with you in the future, Partner."