Back again with chapter 15! Well, you're right on that Angelina is attracted to someone, but it's not Ash and there's a huge reason, which will be explained later. Anyway, this chapter is based on "Charmander, The Stray Pokemon"; half-episode and half-own ideas. Enjoy!
Chapter 15: The Stray Charmander
It was a couple hours after Angelina arrived at a Pokemon Center located near Route 24, which leads right to Vermillion City. Along the way she battled a few Pokemon trainers and also found a Charmander sitting on a rock, whom was waiting for his trainer to come get it. It was also storming, and Angelina was very worried about to Charmander. She noticed its tail-flame was so small and the storm was so bad it could kill the poor creature. She was calming her nerves and sitting on a chair reading a book on Pokemonology; she was so caught up in the book that it was suddenly snatched away.
"Hey!" Angelina yelled. She glared at a young boy with black hair and dark blue eyes wearing a white sleeveless shirt and black jeans. "Give that back, Damien!"
"How can you read this? There are no pictures?" the boy said, flipping through the pages. He was one of the many Pokemon trainers that Angelina battled and wasn't thrilled about losing.
Angelina got to her feet and was only an inch shorter than him, crossing her arms. "Well some people like to use their imagination. Can I have my book back, please?"
Damien looked at her like she just told him the sky was bright red. "All right," he said, holding out the book. "But you should get your head outta those books and start paying attention to more important things."
Angelina rolled her eyes, "Like you? Yeah okay." she reached out her hand, but Damien quickly pulled the book back and threw it over his shoulder. "HEY!" she was about to retrieve her fallen possession when she was grabbed around the waist and turned around facing the boy.
"How bout you let me make every feel all better?" the boy grinned, leaning his face toward hers.
"In your dreams!" Angelina spits back. "Let me go!"
"Damien, what are you doing?"
The boy looked up and turned seeing four other guys that just arrived. He released Angelina and walked over to them. Angelina sighed in relief, grabbing her book and resumed reading in the comfortable arm chair. She didn't even notice that Ash and his friends were eating dinner nearby. There was laughter and the group of guys were situated on the couches talking.
"Sure gotta lot of'em," said a guy staring at Damien's Pokeballs on the table.
"Just look at them," Damien smiled proudly. "Pretty cool collection."
"Way cool. You're the man, Damien." said another guy.
"Yo, I thought you had a Charmander, too?" asked a third guy.
"Yeah, I had one. But that pewny thing was so weak, it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents." Damien replied.
"So what did you do with the Charmander?" the same guy asked.
"Eh, I left it on some rock in the woods." Damien said, and Angelina quickly closed her book as it was no longer interesting and prayed she didn't hear right. "That thing is so stupid! No matter what I do to it, it keeps on following me. So I finally go rid of it by promising that I would come back for it! It's probably still there waiting for me!"
"I bet its still up there wagging its tail," smirked one guy.
"It'll probably wag it so long it'll put its flame out." agreed another guy.
"Yeah, for sure," Damien laughed.
"You self-centered #$%$&#!" Angelina shrieked across the room, just as Brock walked over and grabs Damien by his shirt collar.
"Go and get it!" Brock demanded. "That Charmander is still waiting for you! Go and get it now!"
"Why should I?" Damien asked.
"You lied to your Pokemon and said you'd be back, now its waiting out there in the rain for you. And if it's tail-flame goes out, it'll die!" Brock said, and Damien flinched.
"What I do is none of your business." Damien sneered.
"Do what he says!" Ash ordered.
"What did you say, nerd?" Damien glared.
"You heard what I said, and you wanna be a Pokemon trainer," Ash said with the utmost disgust in his voice.
"You're disgusting!" Misty said.
"And you're also despicable." Angelina added.
"You wanna fight with me?" Damien grabbed one of his Pokeballs.
"You better not mess with Damien," warned one of the guys.
"Bring it on! He doesn't scare me!" Angelina challenged.
"Let's break it up!" called out a voice that silenced everyone. They looked up and saw Nurse Joy standing over them, not too pleased. "Pokemon are never to be used in personal fights. It's disrespectful to the Pokemon and their trainers."
"Yea, tell them cause they were the ones that started it." Damien said, then walked off with his friends.
Angelina was steaming mad, but she calmed her temper when Nurse Joy told them not to mix up with Damien's group and their bad reputation. "So, what's going on?"
"We're going to rescue Charmander." Ash said.
"Good, let me come with you." Angelina said.
"No Angelina, stay here." Brock said. "Ash and I will handle this."
"But-" Angelina tried to protest about Misty going, but thought better and retired to her room. After finishing her book from earlier, she changed into her pajamas; a white tank top with a Teddiursa on the front and purple plaid lounge pants. She slipped out of her room and quietly walked down the hall where Ash and Misty were sitting on a bench while Brock was pacing right in front of the emergency room.
"Is Charmander okay?"
Ash and Misty looked up, even Brock stopped pacing.
"We all hope it is," Brock said, pointing up to the red light above the door that was on.
A light 'ding' sounded, Nurse Joy walked out from the emergency doors and smiles, which relieved Ash and friends, "Charmander is recovering, it should be fine in the morning."
"That's good to know." Angelina smiled.
"Great, we'll come by tomorrow and see Charmander," Ash got to his feet. "For now, let's all get some sleep." They walk down the hallway to their rooms.
"What time is it?" Misty asked, stretching her arms and yawning.
"Last I checked the time, it was ten o'clock." Angelina said, although her ears picked up a nearby Pidgey clock chiming eleven times. "Guess its later than i thought." she laughed softly. She approached her room and unlocked the door, then was about to enter when she felt a lite tapping on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Brock, he looked like there was something on his mind. "What's up?"
"I know you care about Charmander, and I should've let you come with us, but I-"
"It's ok, I'm not even worried and it was for the better that I didn't," Angelina said, she gently wrapped her arms around the gym leader's waist and smiled up at him. "Besides, I can see you being a great trainer for Charmander than Damien anyday."
Brock blushed at her comment, "Y-you really t-think so?" he asked.
Angelina nodded her head slightly. "Goodnight, Brock." she whispered sweetly and kissed his cheek, then pulled away and walked into her room.
Brock just stared in awe, his hand touching the spot where it was kissed. "Goodnight, Angelina." he replied, then re-tired to his room to sleep.
In the morning, Angelina woke up and dressed in her traveling outfit. She grabbed her backpack, made sure her hair was brushed, and left the room. She walked down the hall and opened the door where Charmander was recuperating from last night.
"Charmander," Angelina smiled, she sat down on the small bed. The Pokemon was sleeping and it's tail was four inches high.
"Char?" the fire lizard stirred, it's purple eyes flickered to Angelina. "Mander, char!"
"No danger here." Angelina reassured. "You're safe from Damien, he abandoned you from your weakness. I know it's not you, Charmander. Please understand."
"Char." the pokemon saw an opened window. "Charmander!" getting off the bed and climbing out.
"Oh no!" Angelina stood quickly and rushed from the room. She ran through the center and out the front door, down the dirt path where Charmander is now walking away. "Charmander!" she cried as she came to a stop, catching her breath. "Please…. Damien doesn't want you. He left you on that rock…. Tricked you to thinking he'd come back…. Said you were weak compared to his other strong Pokemon…. Believe me…. Ash and Brock care, Misty cares, even I care!" she collapsed to her knees, tears leaking from her eyes.
"Char." The Pokemon lifted its paw to Angelina's face and brushed away her tears. "Mander, char, char!" (Even if I were abandoned, I still don't want another trainer.)
"Okay," Angelina nodded, she got to her feet and walked down the path. "Well, I'll join you till it's safe to leave on your own."
Angelina and Charmander walked through the forest and out of some bushes, upon seeing two people digging a large hole.
"Char, mander?" (Who's that?)
"Team Rocket," Angelina growled, noticing the white uniforms with red R's on front she and Charmander hid in the bushes.
"Hurry up! Those brats will be here any minute!" Jessie said to James and Meowth.
"Oh no, it's a trap!" Angelina whispered to Charmander, they watched Team Rocket hide inside other bushes.
Just then, Ash and his two friends were walking down the road, with Pikachu in front.
'They're going to fall in the trap!' Angelina thought to herself.
Pikachu walked across the trap, which didn't fall, but the others fell through upon walking over it.
"Pika-chu!" the electric Pokemon looked back and saw his friends in the hole. (Way to go) Then he turned and saw Team Rocket appear in red shiny suits. (What the-!)
"Hahahaha! Pikachu, you're ours now." Meowth cackled.
"Piiiiii, kaaaaaa, chuuuuuu!" Pikachu released an electric shock, but the rockets were not affected.
"Rubber suits, electricity doesn't affect them." Angelina realized as Jessie explained to Pikachu about the suits.
"So try escaping us now," said James, pulling out a bazooka gun. "From our Pika-balloon bazooka."
"Pikachu, RUN!" Angelina and Ash cried in unison.
The electric Pokemon ran as James fired the bazooka that released a red balloon that chased Pikachu and captured. James picked up the rubber balloon that held Pikachu.
"We finally capture Pikachu! Hooray!" cheered the Rockets.
"Hello down there." Jesse laughed at Ash and his friends. "Thank you so much for dropping in."
"Pikachu!" Ash was trying to climb out. "Give it back! You won't get away with this, Team Rocket!"
"Don't worry, Pikachu is safe with us. We won't lose it like you did." James remarked.
"Chu." (Stupid) Pikachu moaned.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Meowth instructed.
The Rockets turned to leave, but they were stopped by Charmander.
"Char, char, mander char!" the fire lizard said angrily. Angelina silently grins from her hiding place.
"It says 'You'd better give Pikachu back to those guys right now'!" Meowth translated.
"It's got to be kidding!" Jessie said flatly.
James sneered. "Now step aside, you insolent little firebug. We haven't got time to mess with you!"
"Team Rocket plays tough! So get moving!" Meowth threatened.
"HEY!" Angelina stepped out of her hiding place. "Thought Charmander said to release Pikachu!"
"Dat's none of your business, kid!" Meowth snapped. "Now beat it!"
"Charmander, Flamethrower!" Angelina ordered.
"CHARRRRRR!" the fire lizard breathed a blast of fire at Team Rocket.
The fire attack fried the Rockets and turned their rubber suits black. The bag containing Pikachu was dropped and the Rocket's fled.
"You see? Didn't I tell you we needed fire-proof uniforms!" James asked while running.
"Shut up and keep running!" Jessie yelled angrily.
"Some geniuses. Meowth!" Meowth muttered under his breath.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the Rocket's yelled in unison.
With Angelina's help, Ash and his friends climbed out of the hole.
"Charmander, how'd you like to join up with us?" Ash asked. "I'm afraid your trainer isn't coming back."
"Hi Charmander! Been looking all over for you!" a new voice greeted, everyone looked over and saw Damien.
"Damien! It's you!" Ash glared.
"What do you want, Damien?" Brock said in distate.
"I came back for Charmander. Just like I promised." Damien answered. "So let's go!"
Angelina was shocked, as was everyone. They believed that Damien never meant to keep that promise, but then again, he did.
Charmander stared up helplessly at Brock.
"Be careful. This trainer has already abandoned you once before." Brock warned.
"Charmander is mine." Damien said. "I'm the one who caught it, remember?"
"Damien, you bragged about how you abandoned it!" Ash reminded.
"Good thing I did, that toughened it up." Damien replied. "Besides, what's wrong with dumping over a weak Pokemon?"
"HOW DARE YOU? You dump off a weak Pokemon just because it's hard to train? You don't deserve to be a pokemon trainer! Further more, you should be ashamed of your self! What person abandons a living creature like it's a piece of furniture? I have a good mind to knock you cold and leave you to be ravaged by the houndour. Then we see how heartless you are!" Angelina thundered, with Brock holding her back from pummeling Damien.
"I..I..I'm glad I did. I wasn't going to come back for it, but now that I've seen what it can do, I'm really glad I ran into you guys. The best thing is, I didn't have to raise it myself." Damien said.
"That's terrible!" Misty yelled.
"Raising a Pokemon is the best thing about being a trainer!" Brock said.
"You wish!" Damien laughed. "It's the most boring part of the job."
"How dare you call yourself a Pokemon trainer!" Angelina growled.
"You see, he doesn't care about you," Misty told Charmander. "He just wants to use you to win matches."
"Charmander-" Ash started.
"Charmander!" Brock interrupted, pointing at Damien.
Damien reached for a Pokeball and threw it. "Charmander, RETURN!"
Charmander snapped his head up as a Pokeball came flying at him. He hit the ball with it's tail, sending it flying back and smashed Damien in the face.
"That's it! I'll crush you with every Pokeball I've got!" Damien yelled, and he picked up a ton of Pokeballs. But Charmander had other ideas, he started using Flamethrower and Pikachu joined in with a Thundershock.
Damien just stood there for a second, roasting black, then he turns running away. "Boo-hoo-hoo! Mommy!"
"So Brock, I guess you'll get Charmander?" Ash asked quietly.
Brock looked over at Angelina and thought back to their little conversation last night, her smile made him hope that he would do the right thing, and he smiled. "Go ahead, Ash. You get Charmander. It will be a great Pokemon!"
"But Brock, you saved it. So you deserve it, I guess." Ash said.
"Right, but don't forget you were the one that kept the flame on its tail lit. I'm sure you'll raise Charmander to be a great Pokemon." Brock countered.
Ash grinned, Angelina and Charmander smiled.
Ash pulled an empty Pokeball from his belt. "Come on, Charmander! Welcome to the group!" he threw the Pokeball.
"Char, char!" (Ok buddy) the Pokemon said happily, it jumped and disappeared into the ball through a red beam.
"You got a Pokemon, and a new friend!" Misty said.
"Yeah!" Ash smiled.
And so, Charmander joins Ash and friends on their journey. Maybe getting lost isn't so bad after all, especially if you're lost with your friends. Of course finding your way with your friends is even better.
§To Be Continued§
*Ash catches a Charmander.
*Chapter is based from the episode "Charmander, The Stray Pokemon", which is also the second episode where Ash gets each of Kanto's starter Pokemon.
*The conversation between Angelina and Damien is based from Walt Disney's movie (and my favorite as well) Beauty and The Beast, the conversation between Bell and Gaston.
*Brock thinks Nurse Joy is pretty, but yet he keeps a slightly straight head around Angelina, although he does get flustered during their conversation and after she kissed him goodnight.
*It is revealed in the episode and this chapter that using a battle to settle a personal argument is frowned upon, and that Pokémon battles are not supposed to occur in Pokémon Centers. Ironically, Platinum introduces the concept of battling trainers in Pokémon Centers.
*Damien is shown to be carrying around twenty Poké Balls, all allegedly containing Pokémon; however, it is later established that a trainer can only carry six Pokémon at a time in their party (just like in the games). This may be because he wasn't shown to have a Pokédex; therefore, he doesn't send his Pokémon anywhere.
Thanks for reading, next chapter will be up soon!