The Concept of Abandonment
Summary: After the Pokémon get washed up on the island of giant Pokémon, old ghosts begin to hit Charmander as it questions the loyalty of its trainer.
Ash wouldn't do that...would he?
The thought hit Charmander with a wave of horror as it realized the full potential of the situation. They had washed up on this island, separated from their trainers, and both parties were lost with no idea how to reconcile with each other. Strangers to this island no one had a clue about the dangers out there, or how to survive. They only had each other and the hope that, somehow, they would find their masters once again.
Charmander had only felt this level of fear once in its short life – when it had been stranded on a rock, underneath a leaf in the middle of a thunderstorm after its old trainer had abandoned it. Stupidly and naively it had believed its old trainer would actually come back for it. The worst thing was, he actually did come back – only after realizing Charmander wasn't as useless as it looked, but by then it was too late: The damage had been done and Charmander had left him, choosing to follow Ash instead.
Ash had been its saviour back then. Even though he could have chosen to forget about the little Pokémon, he had battled through the wind and rain to save it, had wrapped it in a blanket and protected the dimming flame on its tail until they were able to get back to the Pokémon centre. After that, Charmander had come to trust Ash with its life.
Now old ghosts were starting to return as it wondered if Ash might choose to abandon Charmander as well. It wouldn't be the first time.
But Charmander was comforted by the fierce and determined expression on Pikachu's face as Pikachu insisted that there was no way Ash would ever do a thing like that. With absolute certainty and conviction, Pikachu reassured the rest of the Pokémon that they would eventually find their trainers and that everything would work out for the best. It was this conviction that calmed Charmander's fears as it realized that Pikachu knew Ash better than the rest of them, and hence, it could trust Pikachu's word.
Charmander learned in that moment that Ash was different from its old trainer. Unlike the old trainer, Ash was loyal, a quality that Charmander placed high value on. Ash would never stop looking until he was reconciled with absolutely all of his Pokémon. And that made being lost on the island of giant Pokémon just a little more bearable.
A/N: Hope you liked it, please review!