Chapter Text
Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard had a lot to be thankful to Leaf for. The three of them owed her a debt they weren't sure they could ever repay in their lifetime. But they hoped to.
Contrary to what many believe, Leaf didn’t become a Pokémon Trainer the traditional way. In the Pokémon world, when a child turns 10—14 if they live in Unova—they get the chance to receive their first Pokémon and begin a journey across their region to become a great Trainer. Some aim high and dream of challenging the Elite Four to become regional champions.
Leaf, however, met her first partner when she was just 5 years old, and it wasn’t through a wild encounter or because someone gave it to her as a pet or companion. Her first partner found her—not the other way around.
She remembered it well: she had left her house in Kanto to gather some berries because her grandmother was visiting and wanted to bake a pie Leaf had loved as a child. Just as she finished picking them, something caught her attention: a group of Bulbasaurs, led by a couple of Venusaurs, was passing nearby. Leaf felt a little scared—she had never seen Venusaurs up close, and at five years old, they looked big and a bit frightening to her.
The Pokémon, however, simply kept walking. A few Bulbasaurs looked at her and smiled, but they moved on. As they disappeared into the distance, she saw four Ivysaurs at the back of the group, pulling baskets full of eggs. She assumed they were Bulbasaur eggs.
At the time, Leaf just laughed and turned around, basket of berries in hand, running home excited to tell her family what she’d seen... unaware that one of the Bulbasaur eggs an Ivysaur had been carrying had fallen out and was now rolling in her direction.
The egg tumbled downhill through tall grass and bushes, unaware that its fate was about to change forever. Leaf was only a few meters away when she heard it—a soft sound, like a crackling among the branches. She froze, looked over her shoulder, and spotted something white and oval stuck between some roots.
"Huh?" she whispered, gently setting her berry basket on the ground.
She approached slowly, a little scared at first. She didn’t know if it was a Pokémon egg or something else. But the moment she recognized the greenish pattern on the shell, she understood. It was a Bulbasaur egg!
She looked around, searching for the group, but they were gone. When she climbed back up the hill where she’d come from, there was no sign of the Venusaurs or the other Ivysaurs. They had vanished into the forest.
"Oh no..." she said quietly, her heart pounding. She was only five, but she knew she couldn’t just leave that egg there.
Very carefully, she cradled it in her arms. It was bigger than she expected, and warm to the touch. She didn’t know how long it had been since it had fallen, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She ran home, the egg in her arms, forgetting all about the berries.
That night, everything changed.
The adults didn’t know what to do. Her mother wanted to take it to a Pokémon Center, but it was too late and the town was far away. Her grandmother, with more experience from the old days of Pokémon raising, suggested they keep the egg wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire.
Leaf never left its side. She slept next to it, stroked it, talked to it. She sang lullabies her mother had taught her.
It was only three days later, during a rainy early morning, when the egg began to glow faintly.
Leaf woke up to a soft tap on her forehead. When she opened her eyes, she saw a small bluish-green creature staring at her with big, curious eyes. A tiny plant was growing on its back, just a sprout. The newborn Pokémon made a soft sound, as if greeting her.
"Bulba... saur," she said in a trembling, gentle voice.
Leaf didn’t scream or run to call her family. She just smiled and hugged it, feeling something warm in her chest she couldn’t quite put into words.
"Hi, little one... Will you stay with me?"
And from then on, she did.
Bulbasaur became Leaf’s first partner—not because she wanted to be a Trainer, but because she, or maybe fate itself, had chosen to be with her. The egg had rolled away and followed her, after all—as if even before hatching, that Bulbasaur had already decided she wanted to be with Leaf instead of staying with her kind.
And that was just the beginning.
When Leaf turned eight, she and Bulbasaur were near a lagoon. They had gone to run an errand for her dad and had stopped on the way to rest. She was drinking some water from a bottle while Bulbasaur drank from the lagoon.
Neither of them noticed the pair of red eyes and the round, bluish head rising from the water, watching them with mischievous amusement.
Leaf put her bottle away, but just as she was about to stand up, she felt someone splash her arm. It startled her, especially since it nearly soaked her clothes.
"Huh?" she exclaimed in confusion, then looked suspiciously at Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, did you try to splash me?"
The Pokémon stopped drinking and looked at Leaf with confusion. "Bulba?"
Leaf frowned, uncertain. Clearly, it hadn’t been Bulbasaur. So then... what was it?
Another splash. This one louder, followed by a playful giggle. Leaf turned toward the lagoon just in time to see a blue figure dive back under the water. She caught a glimpse of a curly tail vanishing beneath the ripples.
"Who's there?!" she called out, stepping toward the edge. Bulbasaur stepped in front of her, as if trying to protect her.
Suddenly, the water burst like a fountain, and a small creature shot into the air with a spinning leap. It was blue, with smooth, shiny skin and a large tail shaped like a coiled shell—it was a Squirtle!
"Squirtle, squiiirt!" it cried as it splashed back into the water, sending even more water flying than before. The laugh it let out was loud, joyful, and teasing.
Leaf wiped her face with a grimace and put her hands on her hips, trying to look annoyed. Though deep down, a small part of her was starting to laugh too.
"Hey! That wasn’t funny," she protested.
The Squirtle peeked out from the edge of the lagoon, grinning cheekily. It didn’t seem to have a trainer, nor did it look abandoned or afraid of humans. It was wild, no doubt... but it acted like it wanted to play.
For the next few minutes, Squirtle followed them from the water, blowing bubbles, doing flips, and flashing mischievous glances at Leaf every time it managed to splash her. She tried to ignore him, but she couldn’t help smiling. Bulbasaur, though wary at first, eventually joined in the fun too—using Vine Whip to dodge the water or playfully bop their pesky new friend.
When it was time to head back home, Leaf said goodbye with a smile, thinking the little Squirtle would go on its way. But as she walked down the forest path, she heard footsteps behind her... and there he was, waddling along a few meters back, as if he’d simply decided he wanted to follow her.
"Huh? Are you following us?"
Squirtle let out a happy noise and crossed his arms, as if saying yes—and that he had no intention of going anywhere else.
Leaf laughed, a mix of disbelief and affection. She crouched down and picked him up in her arms, while Bulbasaur used her vines to climb onto her partner’s shoulder.
"First Bulbasaur... and now you. I can’t say I don’t like this."
And just like that, Squirtle became her second partner. Another Pokémon who wasn’t caught, but who chose Leaf on his own.
But without a doubt, the most special of them all would end up being the third—one she did choose, because if she hadn’t, he would have died.
When she was ten years old, Leaf was running through the rain, with Bulbasaur and Squirtle close behind. She had gone out to search for a plant for a school assignment, but it had started raining. She decided she’d wait for the rain to stop before continuing—until Squirtle suddenly halted, having noticed something, and called her attention.
Leaf turned around—and swallowed a scream when she saw a poor Charmander lying on the ground, unmoving, eyes shut, with the flame on his tail nearly extinguished. She ran over and found he was injured too. Carefully, she picked up the poor Pokémon in her arms and ran as fast as she could toward her house, using her bag as an improvised umbrella for Charmander, praying to Arceus that he’d still be alive by the time they got home.
The journey felt endless. The rain grew heavier, and the mud made it hard to run, but Leaf didn’t stop for a second. Her boots splashed through puddles, her clothes were drenched, and still she held the fragile Charmander tightly to her chest, shielding him with everything she could. Every time the fire on his tail flickered weakly, her heart skipped a beat.
"Hold on... please, hold on..."
Bulbasaur and Squirtle followed close behind, clearly distressed. Squirtle even used his shell to deflect some of the rain when he could, loyally putting himself between the sky and the group.
At last, after what felt like forever, the silhouette of her house appeared through the trees. Leaf pushed the door open with her shoulder and shouted:
"Mom! Grandma! Help, please!"
Her mother rushed out of the kitchen, alarmed, followed by her grandmother, who was already holding a towel. When they saw the Charmander in Leaf’s arms, their faces went pale.
"Oh my goodness!" her mother gasped, running for dry blankets and a hot water bottle.
"Put him here, near the fire," her grandmother said, already tossing more wood into the fireplace. "And bring me some honey, quickly!"
Leaf gently laid Charmander on a large cushion near the fire. The little Pokémon was cold, so weak he could barely move. His flame was barely more than a spark. Bulbasaur sat beside him, clearly worried, and Squirtle, in a surprisingly mature gesture, removed his shell briefly so the fire's warmth could reach him more directly without the water dripping off him.
For hours, Leaf and her family did everything they could to keep Charmander alive. They rubbed him with warm towels, gave him tiny drops of honey, and kept him as close to the heat as possible. With every cough, every faint whimper from the little Pokémon, Leaf felt a stab of pain in her soul.
And then, past midnight, it happened. A stronger spark lit up at the tip of Charmander’s tail. He let out a harsh cough, slowly opened his eyes, and raised his head.
"Oh, thank Arceus. I was afraid you wouldn’t make it, little one!" Leaf said, her expression shifting into one of pure relief.
Squirtle and Bulbasaur came closer too—Squirtle smiling as always, and Bulbasaur still worried.
The poor Charmander blinked, looking around in confusion, still hurting and, as far as Leaf could tell, very scared. He noticed he was wrapped in a warm blanket, and he seemed even more confused by that.
"Are you feeling better?" Leaf asked gently, leaning closer to see him better.
Squirtle approached cautiously, watching him curiously, while Bulbasaur remained alert at Leaf’s side.
"You look a little scared," Leaf continued, never taking her eyes off him. "Don't worry, you’re safe."
Charmander seemed... touched by that, and the way his little face almost crumpled made Leaf’s heart ache.
He shifted under the blanket, still feeling weak. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness made him stop.
"Don’t push yourself. You’re still weak," Leaf whispered with a smile, a gesture Charmander didn’t miss.
"C-Charmander..."
"Shhh, don’t strain yourself," she said softly, carefully picking him up in her arms. "I found you in the forest, hurt and with your flame about to go out. I don’t know how you ended up like that, but I do know Charmander aren’t wild. Were you... abandoned?"
Charmander didn’t answer, but the way he began to tremble slightly and the tears that welled up in his eyes answered for him—and Leaf felt her heart twist again.
"Shhh, it’s okay... It’s over now. You’re with me," she said as she cradled Charmander in her lap—just before Squirtle and Bulbasaur jumped in to hug him too, making her laugh. "With us."
"Squirt, Squirtle!"
"Bulbasaur!"
"My name is Leaf," the girl said as she gently stroked Charmander’s head. "And from now on, I’ll be the one taking care of you, okay? I don’t know what they did to you or why they left you, but I promise you this—I will never hurt you."
Charmander clung to the warmth of the blanket and the soft touch of Leaf’s hand, feeling something he hadn’t in a long time—something like safety. His small claws gripped the edge of her sweater as he slowly closed his eyes—still exhausted, but no longer afraid.
That night, he slept deeply, with Bulbasaur and Squirtle by his side and Leaf gently stroking his back. And at dawn, as sunlight filtered through the window and the fire still crackled softly in the hearth, the little one opened his eyes with a new spark: the spark of someone who had been saved... and now had a reason to keep going.
From that day forward, Charmander never left Leaf’s side. Wherever she went, he followed. At first, he was shy, even a bit withdrawn. But over time, and with the warmth he received not just from Leaf but also from Bulbasaur and Squirtle, he began to regain his confidence. His flame grew, as did his bond with his new companions.
And so, Leaf—the girl who never planned to become a Pokémon Trainer—found herself walking alongside three Pokémon she never caught... but who had chosen her.
As the years went by, Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur, while Charmander grew strong enough to become Charmeleon and, later, Charizard. For several years, Charizard had been somewhat ungrateful toward Leaf after evolving, but he had learned his lesson a few months back.
In fact, it was he who took the initiative to suggest what they were about to do.
One night, while Leaf was sleeping in her room at Smash Mansion, Charizard lifted his head, making sure she was truly asleep. Squirtle and Ivysaur, pretending to sleep just like him, opened one eye, waiting for a signal. Once Charizard confirmed she was asleep, he nodded to the other two, who immediately stood up.
Ivysaur used Vine Whip to slowly open the bedroom door while Charizard continued to ensure Leaf remained asleep. Once Squirtle and Ivysaur stepped out, Charizard followed, quietly sneaking out of the room. When the three of them were finally outside, they gently closed the door behind them.
They checked to make sure no one was in the hallway, and with the coast clear, they made their way to the kitchen on the first floor. As they went down the stairs, Squirtle peeked around the corner into the kitchen to make sure it was empty. But someone was there: Sonic was rummaging through the fridge, his backside wiggling a little as he looked for something inside.
Squirtle signaled the others to back up, and they did. Meanwhile, Sonic finally emerged from the fridge, carrying a bunch of snacks and two six-packs of soda, closing the door with his foot and wobbling awkwardly out of the kitchen. The mountain of junk he was carrying prevented him from noticing the trio’s very poor attempts at hiding—Charizard was pretending to be a floor lamp, Ivysaur was hanging from the ceiling trying to pass as a light fixture, and Squirtle had flattened himself on the floor like a rug. Sonic just kept walking back to his room, unknowingly giving them the all-clear to enter the kitchen.
Once inside, the three got to work as best they could. Their plan? To make something special for Leaf, to thank her for taking care of them. Their eternal debt to her wasn’t something they made up: the three of them had chosen Leaf, and she had chosen them. She chose to love and care for them—not just as their partner, friend, or trainer. To them, Leaf was the closest thing they had to a mom.
Ivysaur had always seen her that way, having hatched in her presence; Squirtle had lived alone in the woods until she came along, and Charizard’s previous trainer had mistreated him so badly he was left behind, abandoned without a second thought. Leaf had taken them in and made sure she’d never let them go. They had to thank her somehow.
It had come as a surprise to Ivysaur and Squirtle that Charizard, of all of them, was the one who suggested this in the first place... but they didn’t object, and so here they were, helping him with an idea that could go very right—or very, very wrong. After all... they were Pokémon, not humans. Cooking wasn’t exactly in their skillset.
At first, the kitchen was controlled chaos. Ivysaur tried using her vines to move utensils, with mixed results: the knife nearly slipped out of her grip, and the raw eggs ended up with more shell than yolk in the bowl. Squirtle, meanwhile, tried to read the instructions on a box of cake mix, eyes darting side to side with a deep frown, though it was clear he didn’t understand much of what it said. He relied mostly on the illustrations, pointing his stubby finger at each step and mumbling to himself as if reading out loud.
Charizard, the biggest and clumsiest of the trio, was in charge of lighting the oven—which was a risk in and of itself. He lit the flame with his breath, trying his best to control the intensity. Thankfully, nothing caught fire... yet.
"Charizaaaard," he murmured proudly, crossing his arms.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle said, pointing at the bowl so Charizard could help stir the batter. Charizard nodded and picked up a wooden spoon, only to break it on his first attempt to mix the thick dough. He frowned, then tried again more gently with a new spoon... which somehow held together.
Ivysaur, meanwhile, used her vines to bring down sugar, milk, and flour from a high shelf. She had to balance herself carefully and almost pulled the whole shelf down, but Squirtle rushed in and caught a falling bag of sugar using his shell as a shield. The two of them looked at each other, breathing in relief, then shared a quiet laugh.
Despite the slip-ups, the trio worked with surprising coordination. It was clear they'd been together for years. Charizard no longer acted like the arrogant rebel he once was during part of his evolution. Now, he was a determined leader, guiding his siblings through this secret mission of love and gratitude.
At last, after mixing, stirring, and placing everything in the oven, all that was left was to wait. Squirtle climbed onto a chair and set a timer—badly, but with good intentions. Ivysaur did her best to clean up with a kitchen towel she dragged around in her mouth, and Charizard kept watch over the oven, one eye closed and the other monitoring the cake, gently blowing whenever it seemed to brown too fast.
As the sweet aroma filled the kitchen, the three of them sat down on the floor, exhausted but happy. Squirtle leaned against Ivysaur, who rested her head on Charizard’s leg. For a few minutes, they said nothing. They simply enjoyed the silence, the warm scent of vanilla, and the thought that, for once, they would be the ones to take care of Leaf.
Minutes later, Leaf stirred in her bed, slowly waking up as a strange but tempting smell reached her nose. She blinked, sniffed the air... was that cake? At this hour?
She sat up, confused, and looked toward the door. Everything was still closed... but something felt off. And she knew her Pokémon far too well not to suspect they were up to something.
She got up, slipped on her slippers, and stepped into the hallway. When she reached the first floor, what she saw left her speechless.
There they were: Ivysaur with flour on his face, Squirtle with sugar stuck to his belly, and Charizard... wearing an oven mitt that barely fit his claw, carefully pulling out a fluffy and slightly messy cake from the oven.
All three turned when they noticed her. For a moment, there was silence.
"What... are you doing?" Leaf asked, covering her mouth with her hands, unsure whether to laugh, cry, or both.
Charizard was the first to approach, lowering his head as if struggling to find the words. But then, with one claw, he handed her a small, crumpled piece of paper: a childlike drawing, made by Ivysaur with Squirtle's help, showing the three of them with Leaf, hugging in front of a big house under a smiling sun.
At the bottom, written in messy handwriting, it said:
"Thank you for taking care of us. We love you."
Leaf dropped to her knees, unable to hold back the tears, hugging all three of them as if they were the most precious thing in the world.
"You dummies... you didn't have to do all this," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I've already got everything I need with you."
The three Pokémon just hugged her back, letting out soft growls that could almost be mistaken for purrs. And so, in the early hours of that morning, with the cake steaming on the table and the kitchen barely surviving the ordeal, Leaf realized something deep: the love you give always finds its way back to you.
The next morning, the kitchen was a disaster. It wasn’t anything that couldn’t be cleaned up quickly, but Peach still felt the urge to scream when she saw utensils scattered everywhere, flour where it had no business being, a broken wooden spoon, and an oven steaming more than it should have.
Luigi, who had come with her to help make breakfast for the entire mansion, stared at the scene in disbelief.
"Wow... who the heck was in here in the middle of the night and didn’t even bother to clean up?" the green-clad plumber asked.
"No idea," Peach replied sharply, picking a spatula up off the floor. "But for whoever’s sake it was... I better never find out."
With that, Peach bent the spatula in half without much effort, and Luigi swallowed hard, stepping back to give her space before she completely lost it.
End of Chapter 44.