The Narrator: Dead
The Version: Saved
What happens next?
After the Narrator
Published: 04/01/25
0 Days
Joey crawled out of the portal to the Land of the Dead, exhausted from the battle that had just taken place. The first thing he noticed as it closed behind him was his Raticate that he used to train waiting for him. "Hey... Great... Seeing..."
Joey passed out from exhaustion. His Raticate sat by him. Guarding him. Waiting for him to wake up.
The two Team Rocket goons' final Pokémon fainted. They quickly recalled them and started to run.
"Not so fast," Red called out. "Velociraptor, cut off their escape root. Muk... Clean up the garbage."
No matter how small the dinosaur and whether it has scales or protofeathers, a carnivorous dinosaur growling at someone tends to cause them to hesitate about heading in that direction. This allowed the large pile of sludge to pin both down. Red took his time getting a simple rope out of his backpack.
"This outfit is dry-clean on--" One of the goons yelled, before regretting it as some of Muk's ooze got into his mouth. His complaint was interrupted by spluttering.
"Yeah. I know. I used to work for your organization. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a new outfit soon." Red approached the two, and as his Muk gradually moved off of the two of them, he expertly tied them up. "Now... Where to leave you..." His eyes glanced around the area. "...No dumpsters or toilets... Shame. We'll just have to make do." He had his Velociraptor herd the two goons to a railing.
"You can't be serious. We'll die out here." The other goon flatly stated as she let herself be tied to the railing.
"Don't worry, I'm going to call a contact to come pick you up right now." Red proceeded to call someone on his phone. "Hey. Got another couple of gifts for you. They're tied to a railing on Route 35. No problem. Tied to a railing is less secure than sealed in a dumpster, so you'll probably want to come quick." He hung up. "See. Looker will be here to pick you up shortly. He works for the International Police. I'm helping him wrap up the loose ends since I decapitated the organization."
"...You were the one who killed the Boss? And are working with the cops? Have they never heard of murder charges?"
"It was ruled self defense, seeing as he was going in for the kill himself when it happened. Hope your inevitable trial goes significantly worse for you than mine did for me. Later." Red recalled both his Raptor and his Muk and flipped the two Rocket goons off while walking away.
Simon's psychic control system for his life support tank that he was pickling in wasn't finished. Truthfully, construction on it hadn't really begun. Instead, he'd been controlling it based on Narration - That was how he moved. This presented a problem when Sandy reformed from its constituent atoms without the Narrator and became whole again. Communication was simple enough, he still had lips and a tongue and teeth in his tank, even if they weren't actually attached to anything. He could still talk, he could still ask for help, but he couldn't actually do anything himself.
1 Week
Tex looked at his orchard of Palm Trees, all inert. The hole in the ground they surrounded where he had made his escape from their attack via the use of his chainsaw. He cautiously approached them, not sure if it was or wasn't the Narrator that had been the animating force behind them. He tapped one with a shoe. It grunted, as if in pain.
"...Are you alive?" He asked it, before realizing how dumb a question that was. It was a plant. Of course it was alive.
"Palm." Tex figured that was a yes.
"...Do you still want to eat me?"
"Palm." Likely another yes.
"I'm standing close enough for you to attack, so... What's stopping you?"
"...Palm Tree tree..." I can't, maybe?
"You can't? Why not."
"Palm tree palm tree." At which point Tex completely lost all sense of what the Palm Tree was saying.
"...Sorry, didn't understand that one. Twenty questions time..."
The Palm Tree groaned in annoyance. Communicating with humans - When it didn't attack and/or consume them - had been so much easier back when the Narrator had been around.
Eventually, the Palm Tree managed to communicate to Tex that it was still animate, that it wanted to kill and consume flesh just as much as it had done previously, but movement was a lot harder now that the Narrator was no longer around so while it still desired the delicious taste of fresh meat it wasn't actually able to act on that desire any more. It had taken a lot more than twenty questions.
"Will you starve to death without meat?"
"Tree..." A no.
"...So what's in it for me to give you any?"
The Palm Tree hesitated. This had just turned dangerously close to being a negotiation with something that was neither a Palm Tree nor a god. And yet...
"In fact, why shouldn't I put up a warning sign so any flying or bug Pokémon in the area know you're sapient and therefore shouldn't be landed on, unlike some other patches of palm trees? You don't need to eat meat to live, after all."
The Palm Tree realized it wasn't being negotiated with, but instead being blackmailed. "Palm tree Palm Tree palm?"
"I'm guessing you just asked me what I want?"
"Palm." A yes.
"Simple. Safe harvesting of coconuts. In exchange for offal from the butcher each week to your entire copse."
The offer lacked dignity. It implied they were tame pets. "Tree!"
"Well... I'll start making that sign. See if you feel the same way after a few months without any chance of feasting on meat."
"Palm..." Tex figured it was asking him to wait.
"Reconsidering?"
"Palm." A yes.
"I'll let you talk it over with your copse."
The Palm Trees communicated among themselves before the one Tex was talking to spoke to him again.
"Palm palm Palm Tree palm tree palm tree tree palm tree palm tree tree." It angrily said.
"Not sure what that was exactly, but it didn't sound like a yes. More like an impotent threat for some point in the future."
"Palm tree palm..." It sounded less angry. Almost resigned. "Palm tree palm."
"Yeah, I don't have a good rapport with you, I'm going to need it simpler. Do you accept, yes or no?"
"Palm." A yes.
"Great. I'll be sure to pay the first batch of meat in a few days' time. I need to get settled back in my bed first."
"Let's see now..." Joanne Bloggs entered Sand Savers. Since she forced a spirit into running away, she hadn't been able to find any alcohol that was classified as a spirit. She was... Hopeful... This would change now that the Narrator and its love of puns was no longer around. She missed her vodka.
Browsing the aisle with the drinks, she found some wine and some beer, but absolutely no spirits. "...Wait, seriously?" She asked a store worker where the vodka was.
"Oh. Yeah, we just sold out. All our spirits, actually. Weirdest thing. Never happened before. Can I get back to my actual job now?"
"Sure. Cheers." Joanne was absolutely certain this wasn't a coincidence. What she was less sure about is if it was the Narrator's puns continuing to curse her even after it left, or if the spirit she'd mildly annoyed about 18 months ago was still screwing with her even without the Narrator's help. She picked up a six pack and sighed. Apparently, she was still going to be sticking to beer and wine, even in the absence of the Narrator.
1 Month
"...Sandy's really free from it, huh?" Ben was directing the question to his old Raticate, but in reality, he was talking to himself.
"Rat i cate." Raticate gave a noncommittal agreement, knowing full well that Ben was having this conversation to work things out in his mind rather than wanting actual engagement.
"...What if there are other nests..."
"Cate?"
"...I mean, if there are other nests out there, then... I need to work out how to make a comma without being able to pluck it out of the Narrator's text. To defend the Version from new gods..."
"Rat Raticate."
"Yeah. New Narrators. That's what I said."
"Raticate rat Raticate cate rat icate Raticate."
"...I guess, but... Defence against one type of god is a start?"
"Rat."
Ben headed out to find the tome Red had mentioned to him in passing, written on blue flesh Narrators couldn't see, to see if it contained information on crafting punctuation based PokéBalls.
Powerful Psychics from across the version had come together to build Simon a psychically controlled body for his life support tank, at the request of various Nurse Joys. What had surprised the consortium of psychics and Joys - and accelerated the development of the technology - was that the gym leader Sabrina had decided to assist. This also expanded the scope, giving Simon's tank additional features - Arms. Hands. He, essentially, had a personal mech at his psychic command, his pickle jar mounted inside it. Still... The way Sabrina had smiled at him as she told him she'd make sure he had adjusted to the tank later that year unnerved him.
It had been a long journey home for Joey and his Raticate. People were still adjusting to the Narrator disappearing for a second time, making the journey home from the outskirts of Kanto take longer than it should have done. Various things the godlike being had said over the past few months made them think it was gone for good this time, leading to some amount of chaos even without needing to figure out how movement worked without it this time around. He knocked on his own front door, it not feeling right to just walk in - It being the first time he'd been home in almost three years.
His mother answered the door. "...Joey? Is that really you?"
"Hey. Sorry for worrying you. Can I come in? My Pokémon journey was a bit more eventful than--" The wind was taken out of his lungs as his mother embraced him in the tightest hug he'd ever had. "Love you too. Ribs. I have ribs. Also, need to breathe. Would prefer not to get a hat trick on death any time soon."
"You're not going out again for a while," Jean said to him in response, her eyes stained with tears, as she loosened her grip from a bone crushing hug to merely a tight one.
Joey smiled. "Wasn't planning on doing."
3 Months
Joanne's Phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, she saw the text was from Red. She turned to Catherine, who was snuggled up beside her. "One second, I need to handle this."
She quickly glanced through her notebook, and texted him the three most likely locations for Team Rocket goons still operational in Johto, before going back to snuggling with Catherine, who simply raised an eye as an invitation for Joanne to elaborate. "That Red kid I rescued from Team Rocket is... Cleaning up the remnants. I happen to have contacts who know where they're still operating."
Catherine hesitated. "Aren't you worried about them capturing him or something?"
"Nah. He has a contact with the International Police as well, plus, well..." She took a bite of pizza and swallowed it. "...Before coming to this arrangement with me, he was the kid who was responsible for the arrest of a huge number of Rocket goons a little before the Narrator left. From out of an unusually dirty refuse pipe straight into the arms of the law. Also killed Giovani - Strictly in self defense, of course." Another bite. Another swallow. "He can handle himself."
Catherine paused. "Huh. That... Doesn't sound exactly healthy, mentally."
"Nope. But since I wasn't going to be able to stop him, I figured I'd make it easier. Besides, whatever therapist needs to unpack that kid's traumas already has a meal ticket from him, a little mopping up on his part feels minor." She offered Catherine a bite of her slice of pizza, who accepted it. "Honestly I'm more concerned that he might decide he owes it to me or Solveig to take after us as thankyou for rescuing him or some bs like that."
"I was sure there were Selkie here..." Horace muttered to himself, alone in a boat off of the coast of Galar.
Behind him a familiar voice spoke, causing him to jump and nearly sending him overboard. "Oh, there are. I've just been manipulating their movements to cause them to avoid you." Horace turned around; a shimmering hologram of Grantchu was hovering over the water behind his small rowing boat. "Sorry, been busy with keeping Sandy operational after your plan forced me to sacrifice myself. I just bought myself about five minutes now. Hi."
"...Hi? Err... Your voice is familiar but I don't quite recognize you?" Horace sounded apologetic.
Grantchu stared at him, not quite believing that he didn't recognize him. "Grantchu. I was called Grant when we last met?"
"Oh! The Human who was gaining Pikachu features from the island. I see the process has... Developed." Horace wasn't entirely successful in his attempts to sound polite.
"...Yeah, had to force it to complete to get through the door. To follow up on your plan. Your welcome for me managing it in time to save your sorry ass."
Horace looked at him, trying to process this last part. "My sorry... What did I do?!"
"Left me and Pikachu alone on an island! Came up with a plan that forced one of us to sacrifice ourselves! Was generally an asshole to both of us!"
"Oh. Right. Yeah... Still, at least we saved the Version?"
"...And I'm stuck in a room doing cosmic data management as a result of it while you're... Living out the rest of your life."
"...What is it that you want?"
"Just finally had the opportunity to let you know that I'm going prevent you from encountering any more of your precious monsters you clearly love so much. Goodbye." Grantchu vanished.
"...Wait!" Horace called out into the nothing, panicked.
Grantchu reappeared. "What?"
"Is there anything I can do to... Not... Suffer your petty revenge?"
"Well, before this conversation I'd have accepted an apology, but after it? I'm not sure that would be enough. You didn't even think to pretend to apologise even after I listed my grievances. Even when panicked you didn't pretend to be sorry for using me as a pawn in your plan, just... Pleaded as a bargaining chip. Enjoy your life, Horace. I'll try and make the best of mine." Grantchu disappeared for a second time, leaving Horace alone with his thoughts.
6 Months
In the time since Jim, Kirk and Spock encountered the nest of Narrators, they were able to secure a mysterious ore with unusual properties that they were able to use to contact Starfleet. After being rescued after multiple years stranded on the planet, the planet was quarantined.
There was a knock on Simon's door.
"Come in, it's open," Simon called from his secondary life support tank, his mech mounted primary one was currently being cleaned via his psychic connection to its body.
Sabrina calmly walked into Simon's flat. "Hello. I see your control of your tank has extended to having it clean itself while you're outside of it. This is excellent news."
"Err... Yeah?" Simon was a bit flustered by the unexpected home visit from Sabrina. "I was expecting an appointment rather than a random home visit when you said you'd check that I'd adjusted to the tank..."
"We will." Sabrina simply responded. "After."
"After what? If this isn't the appointment, why are you here?"
"I need a Favour." Simon could hear the capitalization in her voice. This wasn't good.
"...What sort of favour?" He tried to hide the fear in his voice, wincing as Sabrina smirked as he said it, clearly having failed.
"There is a certain artefact that I would appreciate as a Gift to express your gratitude for the tank. I will provide you the details." Again, Simon could hear the capitalization.
"...I'm guessing this artefact isn't for sale?"
"Exactly. And it is protected from me, but not from you."
Simon hated every part of this. "And if I don't?"
Sabrina looked at his living room window. The glass shattered, blasting outwards. Sabrina turned back to Simon and gave him a cold, predatory smile.
"...Got it."
Over the months following the Narrator's disappearance, Pikagrant came to be increasingly close to his neighbours, and some even started hiring him to teach their children to swim, what with him having a hobby as a surfer.
Maria had tried to get involved in Beth's TTRPGs. But trying to think of different things to say at different points was something she just didn't find enjoyable. She did, however, continue to find joy in creating small regions of the world where Beth left... Gaps that hadn't needed fleshing out for the actual campaign.
As Beth's first campaign drew to a close, Maria asked if Beth would be interested in her doing the world design for the next campaign, leading the two of them to become co-GMs, Maria doing the world building she enjoyed, while Beth ran the actual games in those worlds.
10 Months
Joey made one long term exception to his resolve to not go out for long in the first year of his third chance at life. Visiting a small graveyard in Kanto. While Jean and the Raticate that he used to train stayed outside at his request, he went to one tombstone in particular, giving a melancholy smile down at it. "Hey. You fought well. Hope you're able to keep yourself together and stick around for long enough for me to offer you a rematch when I rejoin you. Not that I expect it will have the same stakes..." He placed a wreath resembling a Pidgey on the grave and left.
As he exited the graveyard he noticed that Raticate wasn't waiting with his mother, but was instead chattering away with another Raticate. A figure wearing shorts was standing off in the distance, looking like he had something to say but was too self conscious to approach. Joey nervously approached the figure instead. "...Hi Ben. Been a while."
"Yeah... My old Raticate told me you'd be here, and... Well... Look, our old Raticate are friends, so... We owe it to them to at least try and get along?"
"Put the past behind us? Sure." Joey reached out a hand and gave a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Joey. The Raticate I used to train is top percentage, and even now I no longer train him, he's been staying by my side since I came back to life. Both times, too. Pleased to meet you."
Ben blinked in surprise. "...Heh. You want to go for that much of a fresh start? Makes sense..." He reached out his hand to Joey's in a firm handshake. "Hi. I'm Ben. I like shorts. The Raticate I used to train seems to like yours. I hope we can be friends, even though you're not wearing shorts!"
Joey let out a chuckle. "Yeah... Friends. I'd like that. Give me your number, and I'll call you when I get home. I had a very eventful three years and am trying to make up for it by being an indoor kid for a while."
"Sure thing." Ben typed his number into the phone Joey offered. "...I'm also looking for a very uneventful few years after three years of absolute chaos."
1 Year
Emojiman's podcast continued to be hugely popular after the Narrator left the version. If anything, after the Narrator's death, its popularity grew, as the one entity who struggled to understand Emojiman's text in Sandy Version had... Disappeared, meaning all obstacles in its production and for people listening to it had vanished.
The plays Romeo had been able to get into also saw an increase in popularity, simply because of the free coverage on a popular podcast that came from his partner hosting one of the most popular podcasts in the Version.
Simon entered Saffron City gym for his checkup. As far as anyone was aware, Sabrina wasn't actually using the golden choker he'd stolen for her - Or that he had stolen it for that matter. She'd snuck some very interesting tech into his mech's body while assisting in its construction - Just that she now had it, and wore it at all times. This was, as far as anyone else knew, the first time they were going to interact since she had assisted in making his mech.
He navigated the warp panel maze and faced her. "So... Clearly we both know I've adjusted to the controls of my tank."
"Indeed." She nodded. "But we need to have this meeting for appearances. We wouldn't want anyone to suspect you acquired my new toy for me."
"What do you even do with it?"
Sabrina smiled her cold, predatory, smile. "It's a simple power enhancer that people were concerned I'd abuse if I acquired it. As you can see, I'm still content to simply be Saffron City's official gym leader."
Simon wasn't sure what to make of this "...Right. How long do we need to keep this up to make it look like you're assessing how well I've taken to my mech."
"I think this is long enough. Oh, and Simon..." She smiled. "...My range of psychic influence is no longer simply the room I'm in. Did you replace your windows after the accident they had during our last meeting?"
Simon chose not to respond to the implicit threat. "So the recent expansion of the authority of gym leaders in Kanto within their city was..."
Sabrina's predatory smile grew. "Entirely down to the current Champion, Gold."
Simon went to leave, but before stepping on the warp panel out, he turned back to Sabrina. "...I see. I trust this will be the last time we meet?"
"Certainly."
Simon warped out of the gym.
Red didn't know what to do with himself after cleaning up the remnants of Team Rocket. After being diverted from his Pokémon journey for several years, firstly from joining Team Rocket, then from being captured by the Alphabetical Order, he didn't know what to do with his life. He didn't mind playing at being a big brother to Ben on occasion, but Ben had a real big brother. He wondered about trying to become a journalist, like the woman who helped get him out of Team Rocket, but he wouldn't really be able to start with that for years...
"Come on, Pichu, stop sparking at Pidgey, you know she doesn't like to play rough." Sam gently scolded the Pichu who was doing an electric attack equivalent of not touching a Pidgey that hadn't quite figured out the flight thing yet.
"Chu." The Pichu responded, before continuing regardless.
Sam put on their rubber gloves, "Fine. Be like that." Before picking the Pichu up while Pichu attempted to shock them through the gloves. "Pidove, could you give a pep talk to Pidgey while I give Pichu the attention."
"Pidove." Sam's Pidove responded, the only of the Pokémon present who was both mature and who was actually Sam's rather than being here as part of Sam's new vocation.
"Now then, Pichu. Are you just bored or is there something more..." Their voice trailed off. "...What's that in your foot? This is going to sting a bit..." They pulled at the offending item, the resulting shock from the pain of its removal just enough to despite the rubber gloves they were holding the Pichu by. "...Ow. Don't worry. I'm fine. Instincts. I get it. Who the heck left a Lego block out to get stuck in your paw? You still need to apologise to Pidgey. And next time let me know if there's something causing you pain rather than letting it irritate."
There was a knock on the door, leading Sam to mutter to himself "...Oh, right, Kangaskhan was due to arrive, though I think he'll be moving on from us soon... Really need to thank his mother. This is both more exhausting and more rewarding than mail delivery..."
2 Years
Pikagrant collapsed onto his hammock, exhausted, but with a satisfied smile on his face. His old friend, Grantchu, stuck maintaining Sandy seemingly for all eternity, manifested a holographic projection in the shack with him. "So, it's official?"
"...Yeah. Certified swimming school. I've been doing private jobs with neighbours for a couple of years now, but... I can start taking actual clients tomorrow." He looked at Grantchu's projection. "...You sure you can't get out of that chamber of yours? With the Narrator no longer being around, things seem more predictable. Surely that means--"
"'Fraid not." Grantchu shook his head. "If anything there have been more things for me to fix since the Narrator disappeared. Apparently, the Narrator was a stabilising force on the bodge job whoever created Sandy did. Now I have to play god and fix bugs." A look of concern spread over Pikagrant's face. "Metaphorically. I mean do the things the Narrator was apparently doing in the background, on top of the things the Narrator was ignoring like portals to eldritch cities."
Simon gave his newly acquired Sableye some gems as a treat, while his other robotic arm petted the Houndoom he had swiftly acquired after learning what Sabrina used her choker for. He didn't know if they were strong enough to protect him - either his mind or his tank - against the subtle and unsubtle influences Sabrina's powers now had seemingly no range limits on, but having his dark type Pokémon out of their balls made him feel safer. He checked his plane ticket to Unova for tomorrow morning. A Zoroark would be a fine addition to his family, he felt.
Solveig was in the middle of a cryptic crossword when she received a phone call from Joanne Bloggs. After the two exchanged pleasantries, Joanne gave her the information that she had actually called about - An island that disappears and reappears unpredictably, sometimes to one person and not others in a group, in the Hoenn region. The phone call ended, with the suggestion that it sounded more like Solveig's thing than Joanne's - Any findings from here were more likely to be for the journals than newspapers.
Solveig thanked Joanne for the information and finished her crossword. Relocating to Hoenn for a few months to consult on puzzles there alongside investigating this island sounded like a refreshing change of pace.
3 Years
Simon wasn't sure where his Zoroark had disappeared last week. He was sure Sableye and Houndoom knew, but neither was telling him and had and had hidden Zoroark's ball. They'd also been staying weirdly close to him this past week. He turned on the news.
"Earlier today, Gym Leader Sabrina of Saffron City was found dead in her own gym. The last challenger before her body was discovered, a Youngster, cannot be found, nor can records of his existence prior to today be identified, but there are no signs of foul play - She appears to have died from a heart attack."
Simon saw Sableye grin, as his door opened to Zoroark.
"...What did you do?" He asked his Pokémon. It responded by flooding his mind with an illusion of fire, of brimstone, and of... Kalos? Zoroark stopped before any of these illusions became too intense for Simon. "...OK, scary imagery until she had a heart attack. Does set my mind at ease a bit about what she might do to me. Bit confused about Kalos, though..."
Sableye's grin grew wider. He pulled an old encyclopedia off of Simon's shelf and opened it to the entry on guillotines.
"...OK. Right. Yeah. You showed her... Shouldn't have asked." He looked at the PokéBalls for Houndoom and Sableye - Houndoom put Zoroark's into his robotic hand, having retrieved it from where Sableye and itself had hidden it when seeing the news of Sabrina's death. "I... Guess I don't need to have you three out all the time anymore..." Simon hesitated, looked at Zoroark's ball, and moved to place it with the other two. "...But it wouldn't feel right to have you stay in your balls after having you out all this time..."
4 Years
Jacob walked into his mother's home, having moved out properly a couple of years ago, a bit surprised at having to open two different doors, one inanimate, one the Pokémon of his younger sibling, Ben. Ben had started to keep his Pokémon out of their balls due to a bad experience Jacob had had with them years ago, but he'd... Not gotten over it, exactly, but was fine with PokéBalls now, so particularly seeing Ben have them out at his home was a bit surprising. He walked into his mother's living room to see his brother on the phone, his Arbok cuddled up on top of him. Jacob realized why Ben had his Pokémon out seeing that.
"You know I've been OK with occupied PokéBalls for months now?" Jacob teased his brother by way of letting him know he'd arrived.
Ben hurriedly hung up the phone. "Hi. Wasn't expecting you to pop round. Mum's doing groceries."
Jacob noticed the speed with which Ben had put his phone away and took a guess at who Ben was talking to. "...You're still in contact with Joey?"
"He's... Better?... Than he was..." Hesitantly started before changing tacks. "I need to stay in contact with him so our Raticate can continue to hang out."
Jacob paused. Joey had been about 8 when he'd captured Jacob, and 7 years from that age was enough time to grow a conscience. "Sure. It's your life. Just don't expect me to hang out with him." There was a bitterness in his voice that he wasn't able to hide.
"Right. Of course." Jacob could swear that there was a blush on Ben's face as he said that. Something beyond guilt for being on friendly terms with the kid who Jacob hadn't been able to forgive. "How are you, anyway?"
The two brothers started making small talk with each other as they waited for their mother to get home. As they did, mixed feelings swelled within Jacob - pride that his younger brother was clearly attracted to someone, and annoyance that those feelings were towards a complete asswipe of a human being, even with the knowledge Ben was probably right about Joey being better than he used to be. He swallowed down his extremely mixed feelings about the situation and stuck to safer topics.
5 Years
Maria had managed to convince Beth to let her publish the setting she'd made for Beth's game - Two consecutive campaigns of it at this point - online. It garnered a small audience, but those who found it were fond of it.
Maria had found creating it satisfying but knew she desired to do something bigger than what was needed for a TTRPG setting - Something that would be impractical in that context. She began further work.
Red looked at Joanne in silence, unsure what to say to the woman who had been instrumental in getting him out of Team Rocket. She looked back at him. "Listen, kid, we both know you're no longer a protagonist type, spit out whatever it is you want to tell me."
"...Will you take me as an apprentice journalist?" He finally blurted out.
"No." She flatly responded.
"What? Why not?!"
Joanne looked him up and down. "Because you don't want to be one."
"Why would I be asking you this if I didn't?"
"Because you want to follow in the footsteps of one of the two people who rescued you - Me, from Team Rocket, Solveig from both the Sudoku room and that prison you were trapped in. And following in mine involves fewer puzzles, which you're clearly terrible at." She paused, pouring herself a beer. "Am I wrong?"
Red stared at her, and opened his mouth to protest, before closing it again and giving out a sigh. "...No..."
"Listen. If you feel like you want to repay me, her, whoever... Find your own path in life. Don't make yourself miserable imitating either of ours." She sipped at her beer.
"...Right..." He looked at her. "...And how do I figure that out?"
Joanne paused, considering. "You either have passion for something you feel a burning desire to do..." She took another sip. From what she recalled of talking to Solveig, that was how she wound up being a consulting puzzle solver or whatever it was she called it. "...Or, like the rest of us, you keep trying things until something sticks. Be that as a career or as a hobby."
Red stared at her. "Do you have any idea how unhelpful that answer is?"
A smirk crossed her face. "Good advice rarely is. It's the bad advice that's easy to use." She gave a chuckle at the expression that crossed Red's face at this. "How old are you now, anyway? 17? 18?"
"18, why?"
She handed him a bottle. "Welcome to adulthood. It's all downhill from here."
He poured the drink. "...I spent the best part of a year being held as a prisoner of war as a child. After spending months where the only bathroom facilities I had was a a bucket that I had to feed to my Muk to empty. How does it go downhill from that?"
"Fair." She smiled. "To adulthood, in all its complicated messiness, then?"
He smiled back. "I don't feel like I have a handle on anything that comes with it..."
"That's the secret. You never start to. You just improvise from one crisis to the next, coming out more tired from each than you went in."
He clinked her glass. "To adulthood."
8 Years
Joey was finally an adult and was hosting a small party to celebrate. He, Mikey, Ben and his mother, Jean, alongside his and Ben's old Raticates, neither of which had been recaptured in all these years. A small number of people, for sure, but... He didn't like to push the boat out. He'd had more than enough adventures for one lifetime, all those years ago.
Just after they'd had their first slices of cheesecake - The favourite type of cake of both Raticate - there was a knock on the door. Joey went to answer it and opened the threshold. "...Jacob?! I thought you--"
His sentence was interrupted with a hard punch to the face, knocking him backwards and off his feet. He looked up at Jacob, who was looking down at him, nursing his fist. "Been waiting until you turned 18 to do that. Wouldn't want to beat up a kid, after all." Jacob's expression turned to a warm smile, as he extended his hand to help Joey up.
Joey just looked up at him, confused. "...You hit me and now you're...?"
"Eh, you did something awful to me when you were a kid, I've taken the time to heal from that, and just gave you a smack in the jaw in return. I figure that makes us about even. Let's get off on the right foot this time." Joey accepted the help. "I'll let you get back to your party." He turned to leave.
"Wait," Joey called before Jacob could pull the door closed. Jacob turned to look at him. "...You came all the way from Kanto to see me. At least stay long enough for a slice of cheesecake. Although you'll need to be quick about it since..."
"...Two Raticate are going to make very short work of it. Sure. Sounds good." The two went inside.
10 Years
Beth had left home for college. Tails had flown her there, while Shadow dropped off her luggage. Both were back at home. The two looked awkwardly at each other - Tails in his red sneakers, Shadow in his hover boots that were also meant to be red - having mostly been cohabiting because while they had previously been friends they both technically had a part in her... Birth, of a sort. Neither was exactly sure what they were meant to do now.
"So... Are you moving out?" Tails was the first to speak.
Shadow blinked. "...Why would I be moving out? I paid the deposit."
"After getting my previous home burnt to the ground. Besides. I have more stuff set up here, between the lab and the garage for the biplane."
"I wasn't planning on moving out, I assumed you'd be doing so since, well... I know you still hate me for what I did to you."
"...Using your Bloodeon to mind control me into resurrecting a dead corpse? Nah. I forgave you for that years ago, guess I forgot to tell you."
"...Wait, what? But you dyed my shoes neon green last week. Still waiting for the new ones to come in."
"Oh. Yeah. I'd kind of forgotten that I'd started doing those pranks on you to get you back for the mind control thing? You make the most adorable faces when I mess with you." Tails chuckled.
Shadow's face scrunched into a bewildering combination of expressions as he tried to process what Tails had just said before he settled on responding to the final sentence. "...Are you... Trying to flirt with me?"
"...What? No! Why would--" Tails suddenly realized that he'd accidentally called Shadow adorable. "Oh. Yeah. No."
"Cool. So... Neither of us is moving out?"
"Seems that way."
"...What the hell are we now Beth's moved out if we're still cohabiting?"
Tails paused, before tentatively suggesting "...Happy?"
Shadow smiled. "Happy. Sure. That works. I like it." He paused, the smile changing to a smirk. "Of course, if I'm forgiven for what I did..." He trailed off, before pulling out his chaos emerald. "Chaos Control!" Shadow vanished.
Tails felt a chill over his body before looking down at himself. He was suddenly completely bald. He looked around the room, seeing it covered with his own fur, before noticing Shadow, putting away a shearing kit. "What the hell?!"
"...Then I guess I get to pay you back for some of the pranks you've been pulling on me since you forgave me." Shadow finished the sentence he was in the middle of before - apparently - having frozen time. "And I have an emerald that I can harness for teleportation and time control. Just something to bear in mind before you decide to see me make another... How did you phrase it? Adorable face?"
Beth continued to run games for her school's TTRPG group - With Maria as a co-GM mostly doing world creation - Until college, where she struggled to find people interested in the sorts of games she enjoyed running. This led her to rekindle her enjoyment of creative writing which had caused her to get into TTRPGs in the first place, joining her school's creative writing program.
20 Years
Maria placed Encyclopedia Impossibalia onto her bookshelf. A thick tome, for sure, and compared to actual stories the audience for an in universe encyclopedia of a fictional world was thin, but... She was happy with it and had been able to fund a small print run of a hardback version of what she had assumed would be a PDF project.
Beth read Maria's Encyclopedia Impossibalia with great interest. The two had stayed in touch with each other, being twin sisters of a sort, but their lives had caused them to move in different circles meaning they rarely had deep conversations with each other these days. Inspiration struck her as she read it.
25 Years
Beth was hosting a book signing event for the release of Impossibalia Tales - A short story anthology set in Maria's Encyclopedia Impossibalia, largely unconnected from each other aside from taking place around the nominal present of the world.
A young boy - In the olden days the Narrator would have called him a Youngster, he was even wearing the shorts - a bit younger than the audience the book was aimed at, perhaps, but the content was largely harmless, asked her to sign his copy. Well, his mother did, while mentioning that he wanted to know how she had gotten into writing. She answered it while signing, noticing that he also had a copy of Encyclopedia Impossibalia with him.
As she was answering his question she glanced behind him, and saw Maria standing in line behind the boy and his mother. "hold on one second" she told him in the monotone that came from not quite being alive, but not being exactly dead either. "how are you maria" she asked behind him.
"I'm fine. You should finish with your current customer first." Maria gave a small chuckle as she said it to help cover for Beth's lack of social graces.
"normally i'd agree with that" she continued on to her next sentence without pause, "but i'd appreciate it if you could pop behind the table with me i think he has something for you as well"
"...Huh? This is your event, but whatever..." Maria bemusedly went around the table and grabbed a spare chair. "Why do you think he wants..." She trailed off, noticing her world book under his arm. "...Ah."
"this is maria she created the impossibalia world i noticed you have her encyclopedia impossibalia with you would you like it signed as well" She smiled to the boy in something that approximated a warm smile.
He wordlessly presented it to Maria, his mother mouthing the words "Thank you" at both of them as Maria signed it.
"Before you ask, I was inspired to get into world building by YouTube videos." Maria seamlessly slipped into covering for the overwhelmed silence of a child not knowing how to speak to a celebrity.
70 Years
Ben was still wearing shorts, all these decades after growing up. He was waiting with two Raticate - Joey preferred to do this annual tradition of his alone. While the two preferred to keep their Pokémon out of their balls at home, they put them back in their balls when travelling.
He watched as Joey came back to them. "I never asked who it was you came to see each year. They must have been close..."
Joey smiled. "Nah. Only ever met him once, we were both dead when I did. Owe him a rematch, though clearly, the stakes won't be as high. But he's probably faded away to non-existence by now... Not that it will be much longer before I join him if he hasn't..."
"Don't say that!" Ben chided, gently punching Joey's arm, before sighing. "I mean, we're getting old, but..."
"...Getting? You've had those shorts longer than your knee."
"...Whatever. Shall we grab something to eat? I know a great dessert bar in--"
"We discovered it shut down about three decades ago. You forget when we do this trip every year."
"Raticate rat Raticate." Joey's old Raticate said to the pair. "Raticate rat icate rat icate."
Joey blinked. "...The woman you helped back when I was dead the second time? Why's shy meeting us here?"
The Raticate rolled its eyes. "Raticate rat i cate rat raticate. Raticate rat i cate."
"You know, that's fair," Ben interjected. "She probably does know where is still open that's good considering I only come back to Kanto a few times a year... Not sure how you knew we'd need the help, though."
Ben's old Raticate gently guided its former trainer out of the graveyard. "Raticate rat rat i rati cate."
"Are we that predictable that you two can plan around conversations we haven't had yet?"
"Rat!" The two rodents cried simultaneously.
"Well, that sure tells us." Joey chuckled, walking towards Maria's car that just pulled into the graveyard's parking lot. "No wonder the Narrator picked us as its rubes back in the day..."
Ben instinctually fingered the comma shaped pendant he'd kept wearing around his neck since looking up how to craft one from scratch all those decades ago, never having quite shaken the idea that a Narrator would reemerge despite no one having found another Narrator nest after the one he destroyed while with Jim. "...Don't remind me..."