Note: This chapter is based on episode 11.
15: Charmander vs. Damian
Jessie, James, and Meowth huddled under the tree, still unable to stop the rain from completely soaking them as it poured down around them. James shivered, Jessie sneezed, and Meowth licked its fur before spitting some back out, then shaking itself in a fruitless attempt to stay dry. "Hey," James began quietly. The other two turned his way, their arms tightly folded to their bodies in an attempt to stay warm. "Um, Jessie, maybe we should take off our uniforms."
Jessie looked toward him humorlessly. "If you want to walk around naked, that's fine, but I'm not giving you a free show," she said.
"That's not what I meant," James said, frowning. "It's just... How everyone reacted back in that last town."
"We're getting famous!" Meowth cheered, then tried to huddle under Jessie's hair.
"It's just because we're still relatively close to Pokemon Tech," Jessie said. "We're not that famous yet. Though I imagine we will be someday, especially me, once I get around to pursuing my career as an actress." Jessie then scowled. "I'm fine with wearing the uniform right now. It's the only uniform I've worn that I can be proud of. Next time, just don't bother holding the door for anyone."
"Good idea," James said. He'd just done so by habit. He shouldn't really be worried or offended by their reaction in screaming, then calling the police. It was natural, considering Team Rocket's methods, for people to be wary. Not everyone was behind the organization, after all. That's why they still had to work outside the law and were still labeled as criminals. They were villains, for the most part.
Jessie stood up, wringing her hair out as Meowth ran to try and find another shelter. "I think I'm done waiting here," she said. "I haven't heard anyone go by for a while. We'll find another way to get to Vermilion. We don't need to be there for a while."
"Yeah. Let's get out of this place." Meowth stood up and again tried to shake some moisture off. "It's miserable out here. I wish I were back at base, sitting by the fire pit with the boss, eating delicious food."
"You can think of doing things like that once you've earned it," Jessie said irritably.
Meowth tried to stand with more confidence and pretend it wasn't really soaked in the rain as they started on their way. Its paws trudging through the mud made that difficult. It then looked ahead, gasping dramatically at what it saw.
"What?" Jessie asked harshly, assuming it was nothing.
"I see it ahead! I see it! A fire!" Meowth grinned, trying not to cry. "I bet it's an old man, half blind so he won't see your dumb uniforms. He'll feed us and let us dry off before the rain lets up."
"I don't think it'll let up for a while," James said.
"And do we really want a half blind guy cooking with fire?" Jessie asked.
"Let's just go see what it is," Meowth said. It ran ahead of them, thinking good thoughts until it finally saw the true source of the fire, sitting just as miserably as them on a rock.
"Char," the charmander called, putting its head back down after it softly greeted them.
"No food, no warm fire... Well, at least it's a pokemon for us to nab," Meowth said.
"Oh no," Jessie groaned, looking away. "This weak thing reminds me too much of those pokemon from the forest. How are we even going to get it back to base? Let's just leave it."
"We can just call Mondo, or mail it, I dunno," Meowth said. "Hey buddy, want to join up with us? We'll find you a trainer in Team Rocket."
"Charmander!" The tired pokemon picked up its head just enough to call out in protest of the idea. It then puts its head back down, facing away from the group.
"Yeah, that's it. I'm not fighting a pokemon that doesn't want to come right now," Jessie said, starting to walk down the path past the fire type pokemon.
"Jessie," James began, not immediately following her. "Its flame is pretty weak."
"I saw that." Jessie stopped, not even turning around. "And so?"
"Well, so much rain isn't good for a fire type," James said.
"And so?" Jessie repeated, her voice thick with impatience as she paused along the path, not turning back.
"Well, don't you think we should help the poor thing?" James asked.
"No," Jessie said firmly, only briefly glancing back at James. "No one wants our help."
"It doesn't matter who help comes from, does it?" James asked, still observing the obviously sick pokemon slumped on the rock.
"Of course it does," Jessie said. "Now let's go!" she raised her voice as she continued on.
Meowth followed her without further comment. James paused for a moment, seeing the pokemon's flame seem to dim even more as the rain poured down. Right, earlier that day, it had mattered that he offered the people help by holding the door. Another person would have been fine, the helpful gesture occurring without incident. Jessie was right, of course it mattered. Besides, Meowth had already offered for the pokemon to come with them, and it had declined. There was nothing left to do. James turned his head and followed his teammates down the muddy path.
Trying to move quickly down the path in the rain without slipping in the mud or splashing any water, Ash kept an eye up ahead. "What is that?" he asked as he noted the colorful splotch in the distance with a hint of flickering flame. Standing still as the rain dripped down his poncho, he tried to make it out.
"The pokemon center should be up soon, but not yet. Let's keep going!" Brock said, prodding Ash by his shoulder.
"No, I see something too, not a pokemon center," Misty agreed.
"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed.
The group approached the area cautiously, but Ash soon ran with no regard to the mud as he saw the pokemon on the rock. "A charmander! And it's just right there!" Ash exclaimed happily. "I bet I can catch it."
"Wait." Brock put up his hand, staring seriously at the pokemon on the rock.
Ash stopped his approach. "What?" he asked, a little annoyed.
"This is not normal behavior for a charmander. Or any fire type, really," Brock asserted, still giving all his attention to the stray pokemon.
"Brock's right. There has to be a reason it would be out here like this," Misty said.
The group approached the pokemon cautiously. Ash got right up next to it. The charmander stared back his way with a sad expression, unmoving, pulling its lighted tail toward its body. "It's not running away or trying to battle," Ash noted.
"Maybe it's too weak to," Misty suggested.
"I guess I shouldn't battle then." Ash looked from the pokeball he'd taken out back to the pokemon.
Pikachu hopped on the rock next to it. "Chu?" it inquired if the pokemon was okay.
"Charmander." The charmander looked away, not wanting to accept any help.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu wondered if it was waiting for its trainer.
Charmander lifted its head up, smiling. "Char! Mander!" Its call was much more animated in response. It emoted a message of a human it loved, one that would soon be returning.
"Pika. Pikachu," Pikachu gave its salutations. It smiled, hopping off the rock and heading down the path toward the pokemon center.
"Wait, Pikachu," Ash called.
"I think Charmander must have told Pikachu something," Brock said.
"Like maybe it's fine. Waiting for its trainer," Misty said.
"Char," Charmander confirmed with a nod.
"Well." Brock paused, observing the pokemon's tail. "I really don't see any other reason it would be out here. I hope nothing happened to the trainer. Let's ask around later."
As the group continued toward their destination, the charmander put its head back down, pulling its tail closer as it rested.
Back at the pokemon center, several groups were spread out in the crowded lobby, many trainers having rushed to get to a pokemon center in the pouring rain. Ash, Misty and Brock met up in the lobby after showering and changing, Ash and Misty finding a spot on the couch. "Thanks," Misty said as Brock handed her some warm tea. Ash took his own, turning his attention to a group that was loudly talking and laughing nearby.
"I guess I'll start asking," Brock said.
"About Charmander?" Ash asked.
"About the trainer. Leaving their fire type like that means they might be in trouble," Brock said. "In pokemon breeding circles, they talk about keeping fire type pokemon in dry locations to keep them the healthiest. Breeders of fire types might even get dehumidifiers to create ideal conditions. Out there, that's the opposite of ideal. We might have to go searching, and we'll definitely have to get Charmander out of the rain. Well, I'll go ask."
Brock went to the counter, starting a conversation with the nurse. "Hehe, I wonder if he'll try to flirt with the nurse again," Misty mused, but Brock's current demeanor was more serious than shy and awkward like with the nurse at the last pokemon center.
Ash ignored the comment and kept drinking the warm liquid as he warmed up, listening to the boys nearby brag about their various powerful pokemon. "Pikapi." Pikachu curled next to Ash, seeming annoyed at all the noise. Ash patted it on its head, then offered a cookie. Pikachu cried happily as it took the treat.
"Didn't you have a charmander too, Damian?" one of the boys next to them asked.
"Hmph." The boy that had been referred to looked away, shrugging as he closed his eyes. "Yeah."
Ash and Misty looked over, both paying more attention to the conversation at that question. Brock also walked over, folding his arms as he stood near them, also listening in. "Did it evolve?" The conversation continued.
Damian shrugged again. "It wasn't ever going to."
"So, did you trade it?"
Damian snickered. "Do you want a weak, useless pokemon?"
"Pi?" Pikachu whispered as it looked up, completely losing interest in its snack.
Damian shook his head. "No one does. I just released it."
"Yeah, gotta do that sometimes," one of the other boys agreed.
"Too bad, I bet a charizard would have been cool." Another shrugged.
"That pokemon could barely work up a little tiny flame," Damian said. "So it's gone now. But get this." He smiled as he continued. "It didn't get it. It didn't get that I deregistered it, was done with it. It just kept following me around like a little puppy to its mommy."
The other boys laughed as they visualized the sight. "Ain't it supposed to be a tough monster?" one pointed out.
"Yeah, really annoying," Damian continued. "So I told it to wait for me out there on some rock, that staying right there was really important, and I haven't seen it since. Finally."
"Hey!" Ash said, standing up.
But it was Brock that approached Damian first. "You know that Charmander's still there, don't you?" he said.
Damian turned to Brock, surprised at someone new joining their conversation. He just smirked and put up his nose as he replied. "Oh yeah?" Damian shrugged. "It's probably just sitting like a lump on a log with eyes, and just as stupid," he said, chuckling as he shook his head.
"Go out there," Brock goaded harshly. "Even if you don't want that charmander, it really believed you. Go get it."
"I'm not going out in the rain," Damian completely rejected the idea, looking out at the still dismal weather. "I'm not gonna be some weakling's baby-sitter."
"Just do it," Brock spat. "Charmander's flame was pretty dim. Don't you know that it could die out there?"
"Hmph. Yeah, of course it can. That's the whole point. Then it'll definitely stop bugging me."
Hearing that declaration, Brock approached Damian, grabbing the other boy by the vest. Damian shoved him away, then punched him. As Brock approached Damian again, the other boys started whooping and laughing, while the other patrons got away. "Excuse me!" The nurse walked out, and Damian stood up, backing away from Brock, who also calmed. "There is a code of conduct here," the nurse continued. "I'm going to have to ask you and you to leave." The nurse pointed at Damian and Brock in turn. "Show me your licenses on the way out."
"Not my fault some guy wanted to fight. I'm not leaving," Damian said.
"Do I have to call the police, or maybe ban you completely from all pokemon centers?" the nurse challenged.
Brock grabbed his backpack. He and Damian both wordlessly went to the door, showing the nurse their trainer licenses on the way out. Ash and Misty also got their belongings, getting ready to follow. "You two just stay here," Brock told them before he left.
"That guy is terrible," Misty said as both she and Ash looked out the window, trying to make out what was happening in the dark surroundings.
Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder, rubbing the window as it looked out. "Pikapika." It imagined the unhealthy looking charmander, sitting on the rock with its tiny spark of a tail. The emotions it had shared with Pikachu were a love for its trainer, as well as faith that the boy would return. But Damian had just said that Charmander should die, so then he would be left alone. Was that what it meant to be useless to humans? "Chuu..." Pikachu leaned down, almost falling off Ash's shoulder as he backed away from the window.
"I know, Pikachu." Ash hugged his pokemon. "I can't believe there's people that are like that. We should tell Charmander about it."
Misty grabbed Ash by the jacket. "It's raining, it's nighttime, and we're not in best lit area here. You're just gonna get lost if you go out. Stay put like Brock said," she said.
Ash bit his lip, going to the other side of the building. Maybe where they'd seen Charmander was too far for him to make it out, especially in the dark. With the inside lighting reflecting off the glass, he wasn't able to see anything at all. Eventually, he stopped looking and went to let his pokemon out, getting them some food from the vending machines since Brock wasn't there.
The door opened just as the nurse was about to lock up, and Ash and Misty were about to go to sleep in back. "Hey!" the nurse said harshly as she saw Brock's face. "You aren't allowed-" The nurse stopped as she saw the raincoat he held in his arms held a pokemon in a makeshift cover. A limp charmander was inside, the end of its tail a small ember. "Please," the nurse began, locking the front door as she spoke. "Carry it back here." The nurse went down the hall, Brock following her hurriedly.
"Is it gonna be okay?" Ash asked.
"We should probably just let her work," Misty said.
She and Ash went back and slept in the dorms. In the morning, the pair of them went early to the nurse, but just saw Brock at the counter. "What happened to Charmander?" Ash asked.
"It's okay," Brock said, stretching. "It made it through alright. Its flame got stronger during the night. I just checked on it a couple minutes ago. Let's go see it now."
The group walked down the hall. Brock shouted in surprise as he opened the door to the empty room. "It was just right here," he said.
"Pikapika?" Pikachu jumped on the pokemon-sized bed, observing the rest of the room.
"Hm." Misty looked to the open window as Brock and Ash looked on and under the furniture. "I think I know where it's gone." Leaving the pokemon center and going down the path that had led them there, the group indeed found Charmander sitting on a rock as they had found it.
"Good," Brock said as he observed its tail flame, burning brighter. "It's doing better now."
"I think it probably won't rain today either," Misty said, looking up where there were only a few clouds in the sky. "So that's good too."
"It's not good at all!" Ash exclaimed. He rushed over to the rock, putting his eye level at the same level as Charmander's. "Listen up, Charmander. You can't stay here. Your trainer was that Damian guy, right? He left you here on purpose to die! He's never coming back! You've gotta know that!"
"Pikapi?" Pikachu was taken aback by its trainer sharing all that painful information at once. Charmander didn't react much at all, its expression changing as it lifted its head up, just barely. It probably couldn't even process such a thing.
"Ash, come on," Brock said, pulling him back.
"No! Charmander, stop waiting for that dumb guy! He's awful! He doesn't care about you, so why do you care about him this much? You've gotta find somewhere you can be better!" Ash kept spouting out various painful truths without pause.
"Char... Mander..." Charmander lifted itself up from its resting position on the rock, now standing with its paws raised menacingly above its head.
"Pikapika?" Pikachu just barely got out of the way as the fire type pokemon jumped off the rock and lunged toward it, trying to scratch it. "Pika!" Pikachu called for the other pokemon to back off.
"Char! Charmander!" it called, defending its trainer. Pikachu noted the description of the trainer Charmander was trying to share seemed a little more shaky, much less sure of its love and faith.
"Pika..." Pikachu called out in sympathy, holding out its paws. "Pikachu, pikapi..." it informed that Ash was telling the truth about Damian, who had been resting at the pokemon center without worry.
"Charmander!" Charmander expressed nothing but aggression toward Pikachu in return.
"What's going on?" Ash asked in dismay. "We're not trying to hurt it! Maybe it didn't understand."
"I think it did," Misty said with a sigh, touching her head.
"Listen Ash, you've got to learn to have a little more delicacy," Brock said.
"No!" Ash shouted. Charmander looked to him as Pikachu perked its ears in his direction. "I don't think so. Charmander doesn't want to be delicate at all. Charmander looks like it wants to fight. Let's go, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu vigorously called out, grinning as it dared Charmander to have an actual battle.
"Charmander!" Charmander replied it just wanted to keep waiting.
"If I beat you, then will you believe me?" Ash said, clenching his fists as he stared down at Charmander.
"I don't think it's as simple as-" Misty began.
"Charmander!" Charmander interrupted, declaring it would certainly beat them.
Pikachu arched its back, tired of Charmander's threats despite its initial sympathy. "Pikachu!" the electric type called back roughly. It would be the one to win, following direction from a trainer after having slept soundly in a pokemon center.
"Char.." Charmander faltered, not clearly communicating its message. "Charmander!" It again tried to communicate that message of the trainer it loved.
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head, now unable to get what Charmander was trying to communicate at all.
"Charmander!" Charmander finally was able to share that it had a trainer that could order it properly as well.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu turned around in a circle. "Pikachu!" it teased with a grin. Charmander's so-called trainer wasn't anywhere around them.
"Pikachu, let's stop messing around and go," Ash said, unsure of what the pokemon might be communicating to each other. "Come on! Start with thundershock!"
Pikachu decided to follow the order exactly. "Pika CHU!" it called, easily performing the less powerful of its two electric type attacks.
The electricity surrounded the fire type, which only appeared angry in return. "Charmander!" Charmander ran forward, doing scratching Pikachu across the face.
"Pika." Pikachu fell to the side, soon regaining its fighting stance and scowling at the lone pokemon. "Pikachu!" it taunted Charmander for using such a weak attack.
"Char." Charmander started to panic, holding out its arms and stepping to the side, unsure of what to do next.
"Hey, Charmander," Ash said, punching forward in the air. "You're a fire type pokemon, huh? Why not try a fire type attack? You can do ember, right?"
Charmander stepped forward again. "Char!" it called, opening its mouth and releasing several small fireballs.
Pikachu flinched as it was hit. "Pika pika!" it called as it turned back to its opponent. Not bad, though not really much of anything, was it?
"Charmander!" Charmander's call contained a mixture of sadness and anger. Pikachu gave it another thundershock without waiting for the order, enveloping the fire type in bright electricity. "Char!" Charmander called after it was hit, now expressing only anger toward Pikachu.
"Alright, Charmander! You did it!" Ash said. "Can't you do better, though? Why don't you use all that energy stored up, and, and, flamethrower!"
"Ash, come on, if it doesn't know it, it doesn't know it!" Misty chided.
But Charmander did know the attack, or at least, it had seen it before, when another pokemon had done it. Could it really perform such a powerful technique on its own? Charmander recalled Damian shouting at it, telling it how weak it was before ignoring it to order his other pokemon or talk to his friend. Charmander was weak enough that it was ignored more often than not. It couldn't really do much of anything.
"I think it can," Ash declared. "Just looking at it... I know it can!"
Charmander looked up, both Pikachu and Ash in its field of vision. Pikachu stood ready, but still didn't attack, as if giving Charmander a chance to do so itself. Both pokemon and human waited expectantly together, taking Charmander very seriously as a threat.
"Char... mander!" Charmander cried, spitting out a fire type attack again. This time it was a steady stream of flame, stopping right at Pikachu as the other pokemon was hit. Pikachu cried out, this attack apparently had more of an effect. "Charmander!" Charmander cried out in joy this time, proud it really had been able to use the technique the humans called flamethrower.
"Alright!" Ash cheered. "I knew it could. Now it's your turn, Pikachu. Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu smirked, its cheeks sparking as it got ready to perform the ordered technique. It hadn't minded giving the other pokemon a chance to try, but in the end, it was sure to win this battle. "Pika CHU!" As Pikachu fired its supposed ten-thousands volts of electricity, it hit Charmander, knocking it out. The stray fire type slumped to the ground.
"Alright. And now." Ash fished around in his pockets, soon finding the empty pokeball. "Go!" he shouted as he threw it.
The pokeball wiggled once, twice, and then opened. Charmander came out, standing up with its arms out. "Charmander!" it protested, breathing heavily.
"What happened?" Ash asked. "Damian didn't release it after all?"
"No," Brock said. "That's not it. The pokeball would have flashed red three times and released Charmander right away. Charmander's wild now."
Misty swallowed, furrowing her brow as she observed the poor, abandoned pokemon. "I heard that pokemon can't be caught unless they want to be," she said.
"I don't know if that's true. But Charmander does seem to really be opposed to it," Brock said.
Ash stomped one of his feet forward. "Why not? What's wrong, Charmander? You don't think I would make a good trainer?"
"Charmander!" Charmander called. It already had a trainer.
This time, Pikachu noted the notes of resentment mixed in with Charmander's emoting of its trainer. Even so, Charmander still loved its trainer. Pikachu could relate. "Pika," it called, more gently than it had addressed Charmander before. "Pikapi. Chu." Pikachu communicated about its own true trainer. An irresponsible, impulsive, dark-haired boy, but tall and lanky - not Ash. There was a lot of sadness and anger mixed in with Pikachu's description of this person as well. "Pika pikapi!" But now, Ash was the one to order it, and took care of it well enough. "Pikachu?" Pikachu suggested maybe Charmander would be better off with them.
"Char?" Charmander expressed surprise at what Pikachu communicated. "Charmander!" Did Pikachu suppose that Ash really was that much better as a trainer?
"Chu." Pikachu shrugged. It really didn't. "Pikapi." Even so, Ash was something. "Pika pikachu!" it bragged that it had beaten Charmander. Pikachu was the winner and Charmander was the loser, no matter how good or bad a trainer Ash was.
"Come on, Charmander." Ash squatted down, approaching the fire type slowly. "Damian - No, forget him. I'm here. Won't you give me a chance?" Ash absent-mindedly pushed the empty pokeball from one hand to the other, frowning as he looked from it to Charmander.
Brock had been right, Charmander knew. It would have been rejected from the pokeball right away if it hadn't been released, instead of having to fight to get out. Had Damian said something about wanting to release it? Charmander hadn't listened, hadn't wanted to. But apparently that was the reality. And here was another boy, promising to train it. Ash had believed in Charmander, and that belief had pushed Charmander to perform that impressive attack for the first time.
Yes, it was something. Charmander walked forward, reaching out and tapping the pokeball in front of it. As it was drawn in, it didn't fight this time, allowing itself to be registered as Ash's pokemon.
"Oh!" Ash stood up in surprise, holding the pokeball as a grin spread on his face. "I did it!" he said, swinging his hand up with the pokeball in hand. "I captured a charmander!"
Misty laughed at his enthusiasm as she clapped, honestly happy for him. Brock nodded. "Good. I'm glad. I was worried about just leaving it out here," he said.
Later that day, they'd completed their checkup at the pokemon center, and sat outside, pokemon and human alike having some of Brock's delicious food. "Bulba. Saur," Ash's other new catch greeted the newest one.
Charmander lowered its gaze, seeming somewhat intimidated by Bulbasaur's aura. Charmander forced itself to pick its head back up, meeting the eyes of the serious, yet overall friendly grass type. "Charmander," it greeted the other pokemon right back.
Damian and his friends walked by, laughing to each other as they had been the other night. Damian noted the group, though he just glared at Brock. Instead of saying anything to any of them, Damian tossed his head up like he didn't recall any of them at all, then went into the building.
"Charmander." Charmander cowered somewhat, moving close to Ash as it ducked down.
"Hey, Charmander." Ash patted the pokemon's head, smiling widely at it. "It's okay!"
"Charmander!" Charmander's calls emoted only happiness in that moment, expressing its love for its current trainer. It took the offered food, eating it while staying right by Ash's side, observing the other pokemon belonging to Ash and his traveling companions before glancing up at Ash himself. "Char!" It really loved its new trainer.
Pikachu observed them closely. Despite having encouraged it to accompany them, Pikachu found the fire type pokemon's reactions confusing. Charmander was able to ignore Damian with ease. It honestly seemed happy about having Ash as a trainer now, and accepted the simple comfort of "that's okay" with ease. But was it really okay? Was Charmander really fine with it? Was it okay to be left on a rock by its trainer with no intention to return?
Pikachu hadn't been left on a rock, but it had gotten up on one to see the area it had been left more easily. The place Pikachu had been left had been full of fire type pokemon much larger than it, so Pikachu had needed that advantage. So it had stayed there, looking in each direction constantly as it had waited for its trainer to finally return. That hadn't been fine at all. Did Charmander really feel okay now, leaving its designated waiting area behind without having been picked up? Was it really just perfectly okay with all of that?
Because Pikachu still wanted its trainer to come and pick it up off that damn rock.
I remember a lot of fan discussion of episode 11 wondering why Brock didn't get Charmander instead of Ash. I hope it's clear as to why here: Though Brock helped, Ash acted as the trainer. But Brock was great. Him training Charmander might be an interesting AU on its own, though I'm not about to write it myself anytime soon.
Next chapter: The Squirtle Squad vs. Lunch