Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I have written all of this story and it is important to me that my work is not stolen or plagarized. Thank you.

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Chansey could never get away from conflict. Well, none of them could; but as far as she could tell, she was the only one to whom this mattered. Kadabra fought for knowledge; Chansey found that just by watching him in a battle. His movements were slow and fluid, his eyes always open, observing every move by the opponent. After every battle, he sat in silence and thought with utmost concentration. No one ever asked him what he thought about, but his focus was tangible throughout the air. And by the time the next challenge arose, Kadabra already had a strategy in mind.

Machoke fought to become stronger. He thought a lot of himself and his incredible strength, which he made sure to increase at every opportunity. Chansey often wondered just what he did with all the muscle he garnered, besides lifting boulders and smashing down stone walls. Clearly it meant everything to him—it was all he thought about; all his time centered around his training. Chansey supposed after a while that the strength belonged to more battles.

Aipom fought simply for fun, attempting to bring entertainment to every battle. She went into every fight with a grin on her face, and always did her best to make it enjoyable for herself. She fought unconventionally, erratically, and often nonsensically, but she didn't care, as long as it was amusing.

And Mightyena fought for the love of his master. It was truly inspiring to watch: time after time he pulled out of a sure defeat, devotion blazing in his eyes, to strike back at the enemy with every conscious breath. He was almost always the last to go down in battle, but those few defeats he suffered he was unable to forgive himself for. Still, his resolve never dimmed, and in victory he was radiant.

Chansey sat with them once as they each reflected on their goals. Kadabra spoke shortly of the fulfillment of understanding. Mightyena mentioned how rewarding it was to hear their master cheer after a victory. Machoke rambled and bragged and flexed his muscles. Aipom just told of the time she made an opponent's Electrode laugh so hard it exploded. Listening to all this, Chansey frowned and tried to think of what it was she fought for. Everything seemed so dreary in battle; she strained to pick out happy memories. Finally, she said,

"I fight to heal!"

Her companions laughed affectionately and told her that she wasn't making sense. To fight was to hurt, of course, to set the enemy back.

"What you must mean," said Kadabra, "is that you fight alongside us to heal our wounds."

Chansey shook her head, making her ears flap. "That's not all the way right… after all, you're never hurt the worst at the end of a battle."

"Of course not!" boomed Machoke. "But why on earth does that mean we shouldn't be healed?"

"I want to heal everyone," said Chansey. "And that means I want to heal those we defeat. You see, it's not just their injuries they have to deal with. They have to face their master's disappointment, and all they look forward to is the same hard work they did before. While we move on among praise and glory, they sit with discouragement."

"I would never want to leave our master disappointed," said Mightyena with a nod. "But if I did, that would make me work even harder for the next battle! I fight to serve!"

"Besides," said Aipom, "every team has its ups and downs. Each Pokémon we've beaten has beaten dozens before it. That's how the world works. It's nothing to feel badly about!"

None of their words did anything to comfort or persuade Chansey, so the next morning she approached her trainer and asked him,

"Master, why do you fight?"

The trainer grinned as he replied, "To become a Pokémon League Champion!"

"But why do you want that?"

The trainer was silent for a moment, lost in thought. At last he spoke: "A lot of trainers are only interested in winning that title for the fame and the money. But I would use the winnings and authority to open a Pokémon training school in my hometown, so I could teach other trainers the right way to train and battle."

This left Chansey with more questions than answers, but she was not bold enough to ask any more of her trainer. Still, his words weighed on her mind for the next few days, until she found herself wandering off their campsite to think on her own for a while. She stopped at the edge of a small creek and sat down heavily, exhausted by her racing thoughts. The sound of the water trickling down across the rocks was soothing; it reminded her of the tiny Chinglings she used to hear in the meadow where she lived as a Happiny. She closed her eyes and listened to the sweet sound, letting her thoughts seep away until—

SPLASH!

Chansey was caught off guard; she blinked vacantly until she felt the wetness on her skin. After shaking herself dry, she looked back down at the water to see a Magikarp staring up at her.

"Hello," said Chansey, a little blankly.

"Good afternoon!" said the Magikarp. "I saw you sitting down by my stream. Are you lost?"

"No… well, yes. I just want to ask you a question," Chansey said. "What is it like to be wild?"

Just like Chansey's trainer, the Magikarp hesitated for a minute before he responded. "You know, I had a trainer for a little while. He was simply a fisherman who caught nothing but Magikarps like me. I don't think he was ever satisfied with any of us, because after we all lost our first battle he released us. I tell you, there is nothing better than swimming around in the rivers and streams after you've been stuck in one of those round machines. But, I still have a wish."

"What's that?" asked Chansey.

"I wish to someday join a kind and devoted trainer, so I can become a mighty Gyarados!" exclaimed the Magikarp, splashing around in the water as he said it. "Say, Chansey, do you have a good trainer?"

"I don't know, really," she said. "He treats us with respect and kindness, but I… he still makes me fight other Pokémon, even though I hate doing it.

"That's why I wanted to speak to you, Magikarp, to know if I wouldn't be better off in the wild. I don't really remember it very well, I was so young when I was captured… Would I be at peace in the wild? Would I be able to heal?"

At this, the Magikarp looked down, away from Chansey, as if in shame. "You're part of a team. You have companions to fight with, and a master to fight under. But in the wild, there's nothing like that. Everybody fights each other, just to be more powerful. There's no room for a healer out here."

Chansey looked away too, fixing her eyes upon the Pecha sapling a few feet away. "That's all right. I know someday I will be glad I'm on a team. And I can't upset my master by running away." But she didn't feel any of what she said. She bid goodbye to the Magikarp and walked back to camp.

So, Chansey continued to fight alongside her master and companions. She watched them grow more skillful, three of them even evolving along the way. But with each new opponent, Chansey's hand grew slower, more reluctant. As her comrades became stronger, Chansey became weaker. She couldn't stand to fight any longer for someone who made her fight.

Ultimately, the time came for the team to challenge the Pokémon League. They had traveled through cities and forests, over mountains and through the daunting Victory Road, and there they sat in a large, high-ceilinged building, awaiting their battles. Never had Chansey seen so many trainers gathered in one place. She and her companions were among the few not encased in Pokéballs at the moment; they gazed nervously around at the human faces in the crowd. Mightyena called them determined, but Chansey found them menacing.

Hours and hours they waited, until finally they heard their trainer's name called. Lost in her thoughts, almost sick about the upcoming battle, Chansey paid little attention to where they were walking. All at once, they were outside, on a grassy arena. Their opponent had already appeared on the other side, but too far away to clearly make out. Mightyena stepped forward, as did the opponent's Golduck; Chansey and her other companions were instructed to wait on the sidelines. She closed her eyes at the word "go".

A great cheer rose from their side of the arena, and Chansey looked up—Golduck had been knocked out. In a flash, the foe withdrew him, and awed gasps echoed throughout the stadium for the stunning Milotic that took his place. Mightyena wasted no time in a renewed attack, but in mid-lunge he was caught on the underside by a powerful blast of water from Milotic's mouth. He yelped and landed roughly on the concrete outside the boundaries. Chansey moaned and moved instinctively towards him, but their trainer caught her with his outstretched arm.

"He's done," he said, and withdrew the poor creature into his Pokéball. Chansey looked over at the Milotic, who stared wearily back, before focusing her attention on the smug-looking Ambipom before her. The nimble primate moved first; she raised her fists high in the air and pounded the ground for an impressive Thunder Wave. It caught Milotic as she attempted to jump, and she fell to the ground amidst sparks, her tail limp and useless. As she struggled to get up, Ambipom leapt forward, giggling madly, and pummeled her in the face with an Iron Tail. Milotic rose tremulously, blood trickling down her long neck. She turned to her trainer, a doleful look on her face, but turned back upon seeing his stolid expression. And at this, Chansey decided to act.

She overstepped the boundary line and stole into the grass, hearing a furious shout behind her but not heeding it. Ambipom froze in the middle of her attack, looking comical as always but with a misfit expression of shock. Chansey stopped at Milotic's tail. She took the egg out of her pouch, gently, and held it up to Milotic. The stadium was alit with laughter and yells, but Chansey just looked up at her foe, stiffly offering the egg.

Then suddenly she felt a jerking sensation, and next she knew she was in the dark, warm confines of the round machine. She could still hear the outside; the crowd was jeering. "Disqualified" rang throughout the arena. Chansey felt the bitter shame and anger distantly.

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As her trainer rambled happily about the next hour's battle, Milotic stared at the spot where the strange Chansey had disappeared and left her egg cracked and broken on the ground. She glanced over at the defeated trainer, raging to himself.

What a battle fought, to show kindness! Milotic felt an indelible comfort as she looked back at the egg. Cracked, just like the world of inane battle finally was.