Starmie hovered in the air as Ash talked to Houndour, who was doing her best to ignore him, though she was actually staying near the fence so Ash could see her.
"I'm sorry I left you, Houndour," Ash was saying. "I wasn't mad at you, I was mad at my dad." He pulled on a blade of grass. "Do you even remember me?"
At this, Houndour turned and looked at Ash, who was gazing down at the ground. A hint of sadness passed through her eyes, and, so softly that Ash and Starmie couldn't hear her, she said, Yes.
"I don't know what my dad did to you, but I'd like to apologize for whatever it was. He had no right to be mean to you...But he does a lot of things that he has no right to do." Ash got quieter, and the blade of grass suddenly became even more interesting to him. After a minute, he began speaking again. "I wish that I had kept you and been able to save you from all the pain you've gone through..." Intense sadness washed over his face. "I can understand why you're mad at me, but I want to help you. I want to be the friend that you've never had. I want to show you that you're worthy of loving,...that humans aren't all bad."
Houndour brought a leg up and scratched at her ear, seemingly not paying attention to him.
But Ash knew better. "I know you're trying to act like you're ignoring me. But you're not growling at me, so I think you're trying to listen. I don't know what you expect from me. You probably think that I just want to train you and hurt you more...But I don't want to train you if you don't want to be trained...I just want to be your friend."
At this, the Fire- and Dark-Type's eyes flared in anger, and she barked out madly and caused Ash to flinch. You say that and pretend you want to befriend Pokémon, but you are no different than the rest. All you want to do is train and battle with your Pokémon. They are not your friends. They are your machines!
As the somewhat bewildered Ash forced himself to stare at the suddenly speaking Houndour, he found that he understood what she was saying. Starmie had granted him his request!...But it was strange. It didn't seem like Starmie was actually translating for him; it felt instead like Starmie had just provided him the missing link he needed to understand Houndour...
Pushing those thoughts to the rear of his mind, Ash forced himself back to the present. "That's not true! My Pokémon care for me, and I care for them. I would die for them...And they would die for me."
Houndour snorted and then turned around, appearing to be ignoring Ash once again.
Ash stood up on an impulse and began yelling for Kingler. Soon enough, the crustacean showed up, happily scuttling towards Ash.
"Kingler!" Ash exclaimed happily, sitting down and hugging the Pokémon. He smiled, then looked at Houndour.
"Kingler, you do know that I would give my life for you, don't you?" Ash asked the crab seriously.
The Pincer Pokémon replied in its squelchy voice. Yes, I do. And I would give up my life for you...
Ash looked at the skeptical canine, who snorted once again.
Kingler says that only because it is your slave, Houndour said caustically.
The trainer glared at the Dark Pokémon. "All right, you want some proof?" His eyes flashed. "Slaves do anything their masters ask them without question, right?"
Right, Houndour said, yawning.
Ash stood up. "Kingler, I want you to use Bubblebeam on me."
The Water-Type stared at him for a moment, then began to protest, But—
"If I were your master and you were my slave and I told you to do something, you would do it, wouldn't you?"
Kingler looked confused. Yes, but—
"Attack me with Bubblebeam."
Kingler knocked his overgrown pincer against the ground with some effort. No, Ash, the Pincer Pokémon said. I refuse to hurt you.
Nostrils flaring, Ash turned to Houndour. "If my Pokémon were my slaves and they hated me, don't you think they would jump at a chance to attack me?"
The crab Pokémon blinked. I don't hate you, Ash.
It's gonna take a lot more than some wimpy crab to make me believe you, Houndour said, her eyes glinting.
"If you don't believe anything I say, then how come you're talking to me?" Ash asked, clenching his fists.
The Dark Pokémon threw a glare at him, then got up and turned her back to him, sitting down. Quietly, she said, You're no different from your father.
Ash untensed his fists, and he began to tremble. "That's not true," the trainer whispered. "I care for my Pokémon...I would never have abused you as he did..."
Rejection is no longer considered abuse? shot back the Houndour, turning around to face him.
"I was just a kid," Ash defended himself. "I didn't know what I was doing."
The canine's anger faded away and was replaced by extreme sorrow. Yes, youth seems to blind us to everything...
"I'm sorry your youth was ruined by my father," said Ash quietly.
I'm sorry, too, Houndour said, before standing up and walking away, disappearing once again.
Ash stared after her for a long time before he left.
Misty rapped quietly on Ash's door. "It's Misty," she said.
"Come in," Ash's voice came to her.
She opened the door. Ash was sitting on his bed, staring blankly into nothingness. There were no remnants of crying visible on his face this time, just a profound sadness that seemed so unlike him.
The redhead lightly sat down beside him. After a few moments, she queried gently, "How did it go this time?"
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "...But I think...I think I'm not scared of her anymore...Well, maybe a little," he amended, "but now that I understand more, I know why she did what she did."
Misty placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "As long as things are improving..."
"Yeah," Ash said, a little unsurely. Then he put more confidence into his voice and repeated himself, "Yeah..."
He only hoped things really were improving.
