Ash sighed, and with his tail he caught the bars, resting his serpentine head on them. From now on, this cage was his prison.
He was not angry or vindictive... Just sad.
Deep inside, Ash began to understand how Pokemons felt being trapped in Pokeballs, due to the fact that he himself began to experience it on his own... scales?
Something however, threw him out of his mind.
"Char... mander?"
Arbok slowly crawled unsteadily to the left side of his cage, to locate the sounds going from there.
Ash could not put his head out because of his big cobra hood, so all he could do was look around.
On the left side? Nothing...
Opposite? Nothing...
On the right side? NOTHING!
Ash let out a annoyed groan, and looked around the Pokemon room one more time.
He realized that the sound, does not come out of either the left, or right side... Only from the bottom of the cage.
Arbok raised his eyebrow, and looked down.
Right next to Ash's cage, there was a small orange lizard with a fire standing on the edge of his tail, which could imitate a candle.
Young Charmander's eyes gazed curiously at the large purple cobra, as in a holy picture.
Ash chuckled, and despite the difficulty with which he moved on his new limbless body, he managed to kneel down, to look at it, from a closer look.
"Arbok" he smiled, waving his tail towards the little Pokemon.
"Charmander!" Charmander smiled, and waved to Ash as well, with his talons.
Before Ash's eyes appeared the image of HIS Charmander, who thanks to the trainings, evolved into Charmeleon, and finally in Charizard.
He was sorry, remembering how he had to return it to Oak.
His smile was replaced by tears, as his pupils became bigger.
Though he often did not show it, Ash was very emotional about it.
His new form, the death of his companion Pikachu, and adaptation to new conditions.
"Char... mander?" The orange fire lizard, asked him with a sad eyes, not knowing why Arbok is crying.
Arbok wiped with a tail his teary eyes, and looked back at Charmander.
"A-Arbok..." Ash spoke, still sobbing, with a hoarse but still understandable voice.
Charmander shrugged, probably not understanding him. "Charmander..." before leaving crying cobra alone, in its cage.
The young poisonous pokemon with tears in his eyes, desperately tried to catch the orange lizard with his poked out tail from the bars, but he only frightened it.
"CHARMANDER!" Charmander screamed with horror, running away from Ash.
Ash stepped back in fright, being terrified by his own behavior.
"A-arbok!" the young pokemon gasped, with the feeling that he wanted to do something to the small creature.
Did I want to eat... that Charmander? he thought. No... Maybe I'm hungry, but not so desperated.
I'm starving! Ash thought, and looked around the cage, in search of some food. Where is the food for me?
Talk of the devil!
Just behind him, two bowls laid under the bars.
Ash licked his lips, and with little difficulty, he began to crawl there.
He was about to dive his mouth into the bowl, until he remembered not eating anything blindly.
For a moment he lifted his head away from the bowl, to look more closely at what was in it.
Lots of raw meat, that were elegantly arranged in the shape of a circle.
Ash gulped, and stared into his food bowl, one more time.
He never ate raw meat, in his whole life.
Ash felt his Arbok instincts overwhelming him, while he thought about that.
Maybe raw meat is not so bad... Ash thought. I think I should give it a try.
Arbok feeling more hungry, just looking at it, began to eat without reflection.
Ash was not that hungry in his whole life.
He ate quickly, but tried to savor every chunk,
This food was delicious,
Arbok burped, to feel lighter, after a full-fledged meal.
Now he wanted to drink.
Ash looked at the bowl of water. It was clean.
Arbok slowly sank his snake mouth into the water.
When he drank, he felt the water circulate freely around his limbless body. He understood that his body was half his stomach.
The young pokemon, took breaks between drinking, to enjoy a refreshment, coming through his body.
This feeling was unearthly. It was nice to drink clean water again.
It was enough for Ash to feel crushed.
Arbok after the meal, began to look thoughtfully ahead.
Maybe this new body was not that bad. He heard, that apparently Arboks had the ability to adapt to any temperature.
He sighed, and heard doors being open.
He saw the doctor in front of him, the one he had met earlier.
The doctor walked closer to the cage, to get a better look at the new housemate of the young pokemons.
"Well, well" the doctor smiled, seeing Ash's food bowl, being empty. "Rattata's meat must have been tasty"
Ash's eyes widened, quickly covering his snake mouth with his tail, and feeling his cheeks filled with vomit.
Oh gosh... he thought. I just... I just... ate another pokemon?
Ash swallowed his barfs back to his serpent stomach.
He did not want him to know, that he nearly puked.
The doctor fixed his glasses, before looking back at purple cobra pokemon.
"Do you remember, why did you end up hurt?" he asked, staring back at the purple cobra pokemon. "Although you can not speak, you can still show how it happened"
"Arbok" Ash shook his head, which meant, that he did not remember anything.
What fight? Arbok thought. I do not remember any fight!
The doctor looked back into his notes, writing something, while Arbok looked at him, through the cage bars.
He sighed, and looked back at confused snake.
"Was that Pikachu... Your friend?"
Ash expanded his cobra hood, and with sad eyes looked at the doctor. He did not said anything.
The doctor, looked at his notes, writing something with a pen.
"I understand that you are still feeling weak" he commented. "I think I should leave you alone, with that kinds of questions"
The doctor sighed one more time, before leaving sad cobra alone.
Arbok only sadly looked at his reflection in the water bowl.
Who did it for Pikachu? Ash thought.