A lonely houndour lifted its head a few inches as a door opened, filling the dungeon he was chained up in with light. A girl stepped in. She was dressed in leather pants, jacket, and a black midriff. She had a whip tied to her pants. "All right, Marcus. Are you going to evolve now?" The houndour did not answer, for he knew what her response would be either way. She drew the whip and hit him.

"Evolve!" He stood and bowed, trying to show that he was subordinate. She whipped him again, this time blood splattered on the wall.

"Evolve now!" He whimpered. She brandished the whip for a few moments before striking him with it. Marcus, the houndour, whimpered and tried to escape but the chains he was bound by only allowed him to move a few feet.

"Dammit, Marcus! Evolve!" She struck him again and again, splattering his blood on the walls. He collapsed in a pool of blood, wheezing out raspy breaths. However, he did not stay down for long.

Marcus growled and started to aim a flamethrower at her, but stopped. He could not hurt this girl. She was his trainer and no matter what she did, he would always be loyal to her. He slowly walked over to her and licked her hand. She gave him a look of disgust.

"Get away from me you stupid cur!" She punched him in the head, creating a sickening cracking sound. He slid across the floor, leaving a trail of blood. He shakily stood, his bones cracking with every move. His body ached with every breath.

"You stupid mutt! This wouldn't be necessary if you would just evolve!" Marcus couldn't believe what he saw in her eyes. He saw neither hate nor anger, he saw sadness and pain. Did she really care about him? He took a step towards her. Marcus whimpered as the chains rubbed against his wounds. But he did not care about the pain. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her that he forgave her, but he could not. He was a pokemon. And pokemon could not talk. Marcus could not believe what he saw next. He saw tears in her eyes.

"Goddammit, Marcus! Just evolve!" When Marcus did not stop advancing, the girl turned and walked slowly to the door. "Maybe a few more days without food will change your mind." The door slammed loudly, leaving Marcus in total darkness. He slowly walked over to the wall to relieve the stress on the chains that bound him. He laid down and licked what wounds he could reach. When he was done, he tried to go to sleep. However, all his mind could think about was the tears in her eyes. She really did care, and knowing that alone gave Marcus the strength to live another day.

Fin.