Author's Note: Yes, I admit my chapters are pretty short, so I combined them. But I like the way they were divided, so they're all still the same length individually. Thanx to Proto D's Volumes of Stupidity for giving me the idea of what to do with all these loose chapters!
Charizard's Story
Chapter 1
"Go! Charizard!"
Ash threw his Pokéball, and Charizard appeared.
"Go, Scyther!"
"All right, Charizard, I'm counting on you!"
Charizard heard him, but scoffed. It didn't have any reason to listen to that pathetic boy who dared to call himself its trainer. Charizard decided to take a snooze.
"Charizard!!" Ash called out desperately, "Please! You have to battle! Please?"
Charizard ignored his pleas and began to enjoy its nap.
"Your Charizard isn't battling," called out Ash's opponent, "Scyther is the winner."
"Hold on! It's just…using its Rest attack! It'll battle…I know it will…"
"Pika…" Pikachu said in pity.
"Charizard! Use your Slash attack!"
Charizard didn't do anything.
"This will be too easy, Scyther. Swift attack!"
"Scyytherrrrrrr!!!"
It rapidly churned its blades to create dozens of sharp yellow stars that headed straight for Charizard.
"Charizard! Get up! Get up, please! You're gonna get hurt!"
Charizard opened its eyes and saw the stars coming towards it. It sat up and used its wing to absorb them.
"Charizard! You decided to battle for me! Great! Use Flamethrower!"
Charizard blew smoke out of its nostrils and crossed its arms.
"Uh-! Charizard! You have to!"
"Wanna give up, kid?" asked the other trainer.
"Urgh…No way! Charizard!"
Charizard looked back at him with one eye. What did that kid want now? Charizard gazed up at the sky. What? It couldn't be…
"Ch-Arrr!"
"Ret-! Huh?" said Ash.
Charizard spread its wings and started flapping them. It gained lift, then began to soar higher and higher.
"Charizard!! Where do you think you're going?"
"Pikapi!!"
Charizard blocked out their distant cries. It was intent on following what it had seen in the sky.
"Wow! That is the most disobedient Pokémon I've ever seen!" said Ash's opponent.
Ash glared at him. "That's not funny." He held out Charizard's Pokéball. "Charizard! Return!"
A beam of red light shot out, but Charizard was too far away.
"No! Come back!" he yelled in alarm, "CHARIZARD!!!!"
Charizard's Story
Chapter 2
Ash watched helplessly as Charizard faded into the distance. He turned to his opponent, who had just finished calling back his Scyther.
"You!" he shouted, "This is all your fault!"
"What are you talking about? It's not my fault that you're a pathetic Pokémon trainer. Now I must go. I can't waste my time with people who can't even keep their Pokémon in a battle. Goodbye."
"Urrghh…"
Ash angrily watched him go. Misty stood up.
"Gee, I always knew Charizard wasn't the most obedient Pokémon, but I never thought it would run away."
"It didn't run away!" Ash yelled.
Misty looked at him sadly. "Then what did it do?"
"It…it……It flew! So there."
"Ash…" Brock began.
"I don't have time for that!" Ash yelled at Brock, "I have to go get Charizard back. Are you guys coming or not?"
Misty and Brock exchanged glances. In unison, they said, "We're coming."
Charizard's Story
Chapter 3
They'd been walking for a long time, and the group was losing hope.
"Ash, I don't see Charizard anywhere," Misty said wearily, "Can't we at least rest for a little while?"
"No! I'm not stopping until I find Charizard!" snapped Ash.
"…He's getting a little touchy, isn't he?" Misty whispered to Brock.
"Having your Pokémon run away from you is a big embarrassment for anyone," he replied.
"Pi, ka…" Pikachu sighed. At this rate, Ash was never going to stop, or find Charizard.
Ash knew that Charizard couldn't have just flown off for no reason. There must have been something…something that made it want to go somewhere…It couldn't have been his fault…It just couldn't have been…
"Ash…Do you realize that this path is starting to look like a mountain trail?" Misty asked.
"So?" he countered.
"Well…I don't really feel like mountain climbing right now…Maybe we should stop."
Ash spun around. There was a dangerous light in his eyes.
"Then stop! I never said you had to come! You can go straight back down if you want, and I won't even think twice about it! So stop complaining!" With that, he turned around again and continued up the path.
Misty was stunned. She had made Ash mad a lot of times before, but never like this.
Brock took a step forward, then stopped. "He didn't really mean that, Misty."
"Huh?…I…I know that!…Hmph. Maybe I WILL go back down. That'll teach him…Stuck up little brat…"
"……Do what you want…but…I'll care if you decide not to come with us."
Misty hesitated before turning around and going back the way they had come.
Brock watched her go, and shook his head sadly. He quickened his pace to catch up with Ash.
"Ash," he panted when he did, "Misty left."
"Pika!?"
"Good for her," Ash muttered.
"…Ash…Don't you even care?"
"No. I already told you, you guys didn't have to come. This is my problem, and I'm gonna solve it. You don't have to help me."
Brock stopped walking.
"Are you sure?"
"Uh-huh," said Ash, not stopping or looking back.
Brock gazed down at path.
"I hate to do this, Ash, but if you're going to be like this, then I don't have any reason to help you."
"I don't care."
"Bye, Ash."
Ash didn't reply.
Without another word, Brock followed after Misty.
"Pika! Pika, pi!" Pikachu cried after him, but it still clung to Ash.
"…Thanks Pikachu. With your help, I know we'll find Charizard."
"Chu…"
Charizard's Story
Chapter 4
Misty walked down the street towards the Pokémon Center, holding Togepi in her arms.
"Misty! Misty!! Hey! Wait up!"
Misty turned around to see who was calling her. It was Brock. He ran towards her and finally stopped when he reached her.
"Hey, Brock. What a surprise to see you here," she greeted him.
"Hi…" He was panting from his sprint. "I…decided that…there was really no reason…for me to…go with…Ash…"
"Hm. Serves him right."
"I don't know what happened. I guess he was a little more upset that I thought."
"Well, I was going to go to the Pokémon Center and find a good place to just sit down for a while."
"Yeah…That sounds like a good idea."
Together, they walked to the Pokémon Center.
"You know, now that I think about it, we never really had any good reason to follow him around anyway," said Misty.
"Huh?"
"I mean…What makes him so special, anyway? Why'd we follow him all over the world? Not for the time of day, right?"
"…Well, I know you were following him because he owes you a bike."
"Huh? Oh no! You're right! If something happens to that kid, how is he gonna pay me back!?"
Brock chuckled. "Don't worry. Ash can take care of himself. Otherwise, I would've kept going just to make sure."
Just then, they were stopped by a man in really tacky clothes.
"Hellooo tourists!" he announced far too loudly, "And may I interest you in a FREE brochure of Rouge Town sites?"
"Uh…Sorry," said Misty, "We're not tourists."
"Ah! That's what they all say." Then he laughed loudly and heartily. He shoved some brochures into their hands. "Enjoy your stay! Rouge Town always greets visitors with open arms!" With that declared, he gave them a big hug, then dashed off to stop another wandering group.
"That…was really weird," said Misty.
"Agreed," said Brock, "Shall we go inside the Pokémon Center before someone else tries to give us something?"
"Definitely."
They went inside, entered the cafeteria section, found a booth, and sat down. Brock opened up one of the brochures.
"Shouldn't you be looking at the menu, instead?" asked Misty.
"Nah. All the Pokémon Centers have the same menu. I have the whole thing memorized."
"Oh."
"…Hey! Look, it says here that one of the big attractions of Rouge Town is their active volcano."
"I've never heard of Rouge Town before," Misty said idly. Then she realized what he'd just said. "Brock…?"
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Um…Where is this volcano located?"
"Let's see…It says its just northwest of town."
"Do you have a compass?"
"Sure, why?"
"Just let me see it."
Brock fished his compass out of his pocket and handed it to Misty. Keeping it away from all nearby metal objects, she watched the needle spin around.
"……Brock?" she asked quietly.
"What?" he asked. She sounded like she'd hit on something big.
"You know that mountain that Ash is on?"
"Uh-huh."
"That's northwest of town."
Charizard's Story
Chapter 5
"Pika…Pikachu…" Pikachu complained.
"We're gonna find it, Pikachu. Don't worry," said Ash.
"Pikachuu…"
"……You're not gonna leave too, are you?"
"Chu…Pika…"
"Oh, come one, Pikachu. We're almost at the top. I'm sure we'll find Charizard there."
"Pika?"
"Huh? Well……Then we'll go look somewhere else."
"Cha…"
They kept walking.
"…Hey, isn't it supposed to get colder as you get higher?" Ash asked.
"Pikapi?"
"I think it is……Are you getting cold, Pikachu?"
"Chu. Pika."
"No? Me neither. That's weird."
"……Chu! Pika!"
"Huh? What?"
"Pikachu!!"
Pikachu was pointing up in the sky. Ash looked. To his surprise, a Charizard was wheeling around in the sky.
"Charizard!!" he cried in relief, "I finally found you! Come on! Let's get outta here right now. Return!"
The Charizard let out a screeching cry.
"Arriiii!!"
"Huh…? Charizard! Return!" Ash tried again.
"…Zzaaaarrrrrddd!!!!" roared the Charizard and flew straight towards them at a high speed.
"PIKACHUU!!!" screamed Pikachu.
"Aaahhhh!" screamed Ash. He started running back down the mountain path.
"Chaaaarrrr!"
The Charizard slammed into the spot where they had just been, then turned its head towards them.
"Zaaaarrrrrrrrd!"
Ash screeched to a stop and whirled around.
"Charizard! What are you doing!?" he demanded.
"Charizaaaaarrrrrrrrdd!!!!!" Charizard screamed, sending monstrous flames into the sky. "Zaaaaaarrrrrd!"
"Pika…? Pikachu?" Pikachu asked in wonder.
"What?" Ash asked.
"Pika! Pika pi!!" Pikachu said in alarm.
"What!? You mean that's not my Charizard!?"
"Pi, chuu!!"
"Uh-oh……And we just made it mad…"
Charizard glared at them through crystal blue eyes. It didn't look very friendly…