Just a Pokémon Reality Show

After coming through the portal and finding himself back at his own house again, Morty was a little confused, though not completely baffled. He carefully checked a few details in his room.

He discovered that this world was almost exactly the same as the previous one.

So did that mean...

"Don't think about it. The world we were just in was only a substitute. This is where you spent the previous six months."

"Uh..."

Seeing his grandpa turn to leave after saying that, Morty immediately stepped forward and grabbed him.

So many incomprehensible things had happened over the past few days, and now his grandpa wanted to pull that same old routine of just leaving and saying they could continue their adventures next time.

Morty couldn't take that.

He felt as if he had always been kept in the dark. There were advantages and disadvantages to that.

After all, people who knew too many secrets were more or less at risk of getting killed, so Morty had never asked his grandpa too many questions.

For example, if ten identical versions of you appeared at once, what secret code should I shout to find you immediately?

But now that he knew Dimension C-137 was hostile toward his grandpa.

The nature of the matter had changed.

Of all people, why did you have to provoke C-137?

If you loved courting death so much, don't drag me into it!

"Want to know a little of the truth?"

His grandpa paused thoughtfully after Morty grabbed him, then asked that question.

Seeing Morty's serious expression, his grandpa shrugged and tried to persuade him in a helpless tone. "Jesus! Morty, you need to understand that once you learn even a little of the truth, there'll be no turning back."

"Like I have any way back!"

Since the kid was so insistent, his grandpa gave up trying to persuade him and simply walked outside.

Morty, who had been expecting him to continue, realized the guy had actually just left.

He instantly blew up.

What the hell!

What happened to honesty!

You just agreed so readily!

Why did you suddenly change your tune again!

What kind of bullshit was this!

Believe it or not, I'll cut ties with you myself!

Seeing his grandpa really about to head downstairs and return to his garage, Morty picked up the Silent Sword and pressed it against his own throat.

"Rick! Tell me something! I sure as hell don't want to be used as a weapon by you without knowing anything!!!"

"If this is my destined fate, if you're going to arrange every detail of my life for me, then I'd rather die right now!"

Morty intended to force his hand with death, and his grandpa frowned.

I'm still trying to figure out the C-137 situation. Can you quit causing trouble...

Turning back around, his grandpa raised a handheld device fitted with a suction cup and a memory storage tube, aimed it at Morty, and pulled the trigger.

"Alright, get some sleep!"

After sucking away that memory, his grandpa gently carried Morty back to his bedroom and laid him on the bed.

Ignoring Jerry, who was watching TV in the living room and greeting him, he entered the garage, opened the door to his underground base, and went into a small room. He took the storage tube at the back of the device, now containing that memory, and inserted it into the slot in front of him.

After casually tossing the device onto the floor.

His grandpa, his face already filled with exhaustion, looked at the wall of cabinets nearly three meters tall, containing sixteen metal storage lockers, and let out a deep sigh.

Over the past six months, the Morty he had chosen had still managed to catch clues from one incident after another, uncovering truth after truth.

That courage and intelligence, far surpassing 99.999% of Mortys.

Had left his grandpa physically and mentally exhausted.

He truly didn't know why he had picked a Morty like this...

Taking out the cigarettes he carried with him, his grandpa lit one, took a deep drag, and fell into thought.

After remaining in that small room for a long while, alone with nothing but Morty memories stored in the cabinets surrounding him, his grandpa seemed to finally make some kind of decision.

He said to the air around him, "AI, save today's records... then disable the recording function. Don't record any more information about Morty."

AI Rick, who had been playing games on the server, jumped out in holographic form and immediately started cursing. "This game is only halfway through! Only the winning AI gets to leave here with Rick. Are you trying to get me deleted in the end?!"

"No! I absolutely refuse to be deleted!"

"If you don't want to play this game, then I'll play it for you!"

After saying that, AI Rick moved to lock the door and trap his grandpa inside.

But unfortunately for him, his grandpa had the highest authorization. He entered the command first and shut AI Rick down.

Then, dragging his exhausted body, he climbed out of the underground base.

Sitting beside the workbench, he picked up the half bottle of beer left on the table. As he drank, he stared toward a hidden corner of the garage.

Though there was nothing there, he knew there was a camera.

And why was there a camera?

Of course, it belonged to the Citadel of Ricks!

The people over there had always been able to see what was happening here, as well as everything around him. As for the reason...

Heh! Those hypocrites at the Citadel of Ricks, always going on about how Ricks should live together and stick together for warmth! Fuck that!

What did our lives become after we got together?

Morty Pokémon! A reality show!

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What kind of Rick does that make me?! Pokémon Rick... fuck Pokémon Rick!

I can't take it anymore! I really can't take it anymore!

There's no freedom at all!

I feel like I'm about to suffocate spiritually under these conditions!

The more he thought about it, the angrier his grandpa became. He smashed the bottle in his hand and headed straight toward Morty's bedroom. Right now, all he wanted was to wake Morty up.

Then the two of them could run away together.

But when he reached Morty's door, he calmed down.

To block a Rick's brainwaves on a daily basis, one Morty was enough. But to strengthen the interference enough to make a Rick disappear completely, the average requirement was at least a hundred Mortys.

If the Citadel of Ricks came to capture him personally, then with his level of technology, he would need twenty Mortys to evade them completely.

Twenty...

That number could be easily obtained at the Citadel of Ricks.

But here.

It was practically a hopeless fantasy.

Because in this universe he had specifically chosen, there was only this one Morty by his side!

What do I do... There's no way to escape... What am I supposed to do...

Who can save me...

I really can't take it anymore!!!

As his grandpa sank into despair, sitting on the floor while his mental world gradually began to collapse.

Morty, who had slept for several hours, was awakened by the need to pee. So when he came out of his room.

He happened to see his grandpa sitting in front of him, his eyes red, his expression both despairing and pained, as if he were suffering some immense inner torment.

"Jesus! Rick, what's wrong with you?"

"Morty... lies! It's all lies! Everything is just a show! We're nothing more than two characters pushed onto a stage, acting out what they want to see according to their script!"

"I can't take it anymore. I'm going to kill myself..."

"Goodbye!"