Chapter One: The Beaten and the Lonely

Adam slowly walked back from the store. His mom had asked for him to go pick up a few things. He walked alone singing quietly in his head. He was a young man of only nineteen years. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a light jacket. A bag of groceries was swinging in one hand. Suddenly, a commotion from down an alleyway caught his attention. It's sounded like an argument. Adam thought to leave it be, after all…it really didn't concern him. Then, it sounded like things got escalated. Adam headed down the alleyway. If someone was in trouble, he couldn't just sit back and let it happen. As he approached the commotion, the voice grew louder.

"You're so useless!" The voice called. "Just weak and pathetic. I don't even know why I bother dragging you around with me. You make me look like a failure with you lack of skill and power!"

As Adam turned the corner; he saw a young man not much older than him standing over a cowering figure. He was endlessly ranting and degrading it. He then struck the figure several times. When the figure fell to the ground, Adam realized that it was a Pokémon. This trainer was just senselessly beating his Pokémon. Adam wasn't gonna stand for that.

Dropping his bag of groceries, he ran forward and pulled the man away from the Pokémon with a hard pull. He then slammed him against the wall and struck him in the stomach several times. The man sat there gasping painfully.

"What…what the fuck do you think you're doing?" the man asked. Adam back handed him, sending him to the ground.

"How the hell do you like it?" He asked. "How do you like getting beaten around?"

"Hey, I don't need anyone telling me how to raise my Pokémon." He replied. "It needed to be disciplined." With a growl, Adam kicked the man in the side.

"You need to be disciplined." He replied. "Why would you hit your own Pokémon?"

"Because, it's worthless. If it spent more time training and getting stronger then maybe it wouldn't lose so much."

"Well maybe it just needs a better trainer."

"You trying to say something?"

"Yea…give it to me. I'll take care of it."

"And why would I do that…what's in it for me?"

"Let's just said I won't beat your ass right here right now."

The man sneered. He glanced at his Pokémon, then back to Adam. With a snort on amusement and disgust, he drew a pokéball from his pocket. He shoved it in Adam's hand.

"Here…take it then." He said, then turned and strode away. "It's your problem now."

Adam wanted to chase him down and beat the shit out of him but he needed to see if the Pokémon was injured. Turning to it, he saw that it was a Typhlosion. It lay cowering face down on the ground. A mixture of dirt and dust clung to its fur but it did not hide the bruises. Adam knelt next to it and place a gently hand on its trembling back.

"Are you alright?" he asked. The Typhlosion slowly and shakily looked up at him. Adam smiled at it reassuringly. "It's alright…you're safe now." It quickly moved towards him and wrapped its arms around him, burying it head into his chest. Adam held it close and stroked it softly to calm it. After a minute, it looked up at him. He brushed some of the dirt from its face.

"Now then, do you have a name?" he asked. The Typhlosion hung its head and shook it. "Well then, I guess we will have to give you one." Adam said with a smile. "But first we need to find out if you're a male or a female. The Typhlosion looked up.

"Are you a boy?" Adam asked. It shook its head. "Then you're a girl?" It nodded. Adam smiled. Well then…you a female Typhlosion, which it a fire-type. Hmmm…how does Cinder sound?" She looked up happily at him, tears welling up in her eyes. She hugged him again to hide her face. "I guess you like it then." Adam chuckled.

He stood up and pulled out Cinder's pokéball.

"Well then, get in and when we get home I can take a look at your injuries." Cinder shook her head. "What...do you like being in a pokéball?" She shook her head. "Ahh…I see. Well, let's make a deal: You get in the pokéball, then when we get home…you don't have to go in it again unless you want to." Cinder sat there for a minute thinking about it. Finally, she gave a reluctant nod. Adam held out the ball to her and it flipped open. In a flash of red, Cinder vanished into its depths.

Standing, he clicked the button on the pokéball and it shrank down into a smaller size. He tucked it into his pocket and then went to gather his groceries. He then turned and headed how as quickly as he could. Once there, he strode through the backdoor. He slipped off his shoes and headed down the hallway into the kitchen.

"Hey there, did you get everything?" his mom asked when he set the bag on the counter.

"Yep." He replied with a nod as he unzipped his jacket and hung it on the wall hanger.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "You look a little flustered." He quickly told her what had happened. She shook her head and sighed. "Some people…" she said. "And do you plan on keeping her?" He nodded. "Well, then…she is your responsibility. I expect you to take good care of her."

"Yes, ma'am." He replied with a smile. With a sigh, she looked at the wall clock. It read 8:46a.m.

"Well, I'm off to work." She gave him a hug and grabbed her keys. "I'll see you around lunch."

"Alright…have a good day."

She went down the hall and out the door closing it behind her. With a sigh, Adam shook his head. He drew Cinder's pokéball from his pocket. He pressed the button on it and it expanded to its original size.

"Come on out, Cinder." He said pushing the button again. There was a brief flash of light and then Cinder materialized in front of him. She shook her head as if she was trying to rid herself of an annoying fly. She then looked around the room trying to get a feel of her surroundings. "Welcome to your new home." Adam said with a smile. "You can look around shortly but first we need to get you cleaned up and see how bad you're hurt."

He led her to the bathroom where he drew her a tub full of hot water. He then helped her into it and rolled up his sleeves. He left momentarily to grab a few things. She sat down and let the steamy water soothe and relax her. Adam returned with a small hand scrubber and an empty pitcher.

He used the pitcher to pour water over her. He did this a few times before he grabbed a special bottle of Pokémon shampoo. It was in the leftover Pokémon care paraphernalia his older brother had sent him just in case he should get a Pokémon of his own. It smelt like pecha berries. He lathered the shampoo into Cinder's fur. He remembered to be gentle with the bruised areas.

Once her fur was fully shampooed, he used the hand scrubber to gently scrub away the filth that still clung to her. She winced a few times when he brushed a sore spot. Once done, Adam sensed the shampoo out of her fur and then grabbed a bottle of conditioner. It would make her fur not only softer, but also give it more of a shine. He did the same for it like he did for the shampoo before he rinsed her down and let the water out. He grabbed a towel and dried her down the best her could. Once done he had the chance to see how injured she was.

She had a few bruises here and there…but all in all; she was healthy as could be. Adam took a super potion and sprayed her bruises. She winced slightly as he did. Finally he was finished; he helped her out of the tub. She stood there and looked herself over before looking up at him. She didn't have to look up much since she only stood about five inches shorter than him.

"Do you feel better?" He asked.

"Yes, I do." She replied. "Thank you, very much."

"Well, that's good to hear…..wait….YOU CAN TALK?" he asked when he suddenly realized that she spoke. She nodded. He sat down on the closed toilet and took a moment to let it sink in. "Why didn't you talk to me earlier?" he asked.

"Because…I did not know how you would react. I thought you would be angry with me."

"Why would I be angry with you?" he asked.

"My last trainer didn't like me talking. He said it was unnatural for me to be doing so."

"Well, I'm not like your last trainer. I think it is rather neat that you can talk."

"Really?" she asked, her ears perking up slightly. "You don't mind than I can talk?"

"Not at all." She seemed relieved to hear that. "So, have you always been able to talk or did you learn how?"

"It's kind of long story." She replied. Just then Adam's stomach growled. He chuckled lightly. It reminded Cinder of how hungry she was as well.

"How 'bout you tell me over breakfast." He said with a smile. She nodded and followed him into the kitchen. "Is there anything you want in particular?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I could go for just about anything." She replied. He nodded. He walked over to the stereo in the dining room and turned it on to the local rock station. "If you Only Knew" by Shinedown was playing. He turned it up some and started making breakfast. He made up some scrambled eggs with some bacon and toast on the side.

He made two plates and set them at the dinner table. He clicked off the stereo and sat down at one of the plates while Cinder sat down at the other. They took a few bites. Cinder had never tasted anything so delicious.

"So…how did you come about talking?" Adam asked. Between bites.

"Well, as you could tell from earlier, my trainer wasn't the best." Adam nodded in agreement. "He rarely spent any time with me. He would normally go off with his other Pokémon and win money from battles at the park. He would often leave me with his older sister. She wasn't bad. She ran her own bookstore. Every day, she would read to me. She eventually taught me how to read myself. I read so much that I eventually started to learn how to speak. My trainer on the other hand didn't like me reading or speaking. He would often say that I was just wasting his time by reading instead of training to get stronger. One day I had had enough and told him that maybe if he would actually spend time training with me I could get better. He got mad and that's pretty much were you come along."

"Well, I was just glad I was able to get there in time before he managed to really hurt you." Adam replied.

"As am I." she replied. "And I thank you for that. I don't know what would have happened if you had not have shown p when you did. For all I know…I could very well own you my life."

"No, no, no." Adam said shaking his head. "You don't owe me anything. Like I said…I'm just happy to have gotten there in time." She smiled sweetly at him and he returned the smile. They finished eating and once finished, Adam washed the few dishes that were dirty. He turned and saw Cinder yawn.

"If you're tired you can go rest if you want." He said. She yawned again.

"I think I would like that." She replied.

"Come on." He said walking past her. They went through the dining room and into the living room. It held two chairs a couch and an entertainment center. Adam led her to his room. It had everything he needed. A bed, dresser, work table and a small tv.

"You can sleep there if you want." He said pointing to the bed.

"Thank you…" she said. She then stepped towards him and gave him a hug. "'For everything."

"Don't…don't mention it." Adam said returning the hug. "You can rest for as long as you need. I'll be cleaning in the kitchen if you need anything." With that said, he turned and closed the door behind him as he left the room.

Cinder stretched her stiff body and looked around the room briefly. She turned to the bed and pulled the blankets back before climbing into it and covering up. Adam seems very nice. She thought to herself. I think I am going to enjoy it here.

Next Chapter: Long Days, Longer Nights