Chapter 9
A sigh escaped Ash's lungs as he gripped the binoculars in between his fingers. He scanned the mountainous area around them, only managing to find one form of life: a bird Pokémon with black, brown and salmon feathers. He watched with hardly any interest as the Pokémon pecked at the ground, and a few more from the flock poked their head out of the tall grass they were hidden to inspect a noise he couldn't hear. "There's nothing but Spearow around here," the boy complained, lowering the binoculars with a frown.
The two traveling Trainers were in a small clearing and taking a break. Their backpacks were resting on a tree stump, giving their tired shoulders a break from carrying their supplies. As Ash described it, they were 'just a little lost' while on their way to Vermilion City, and so Brock saw it best to bring out the map so he could try and figure out where they were. Of course, it had been ten days since they left Cerulean, and they should have been there by now, but with all the shortcuts that they were trying to take, what should have been a short journey had ended up becoming an even longer one.
"I just can't make heads or tails of this map," Brock finally concluded, folding it up. Ash held his hand out in an offer to try and read it, and unfolded Brock's handiwork before scanning the face of it.
"According to this, we're right in the middle of nowhere," Ash concluded with a nod. But after studying it a bit, he pointed somewhere near the top of the map. "But it looks like Route 24 leads right to Vermilion City."
"Yeah, but does this trail take us to Route 24?" Brock questioned with uncertainty, as if he already knew the answer but was giving Ash the opportunity to do so anyway.
"According to my calculations it does!" the Pallet boy responded positively with a smile. Brock still wasn't convinced, especially considering that Ash's 'shortcut' from a few days ago was the reason they were out in the middle of this forest trail to begin with, but decided it wouldn't hurt to progress in any way. Both of them collecting their rucksacks, they headed back out onto the main trail.
Ash's eyes were glued to the map, trying to figure out which way would bring them back, so he wasn't paying attention to the large shadow that seemed to eclipse the sun behind it. It towered high above them, and shocked Ash to the point of flinching backward. "It looks like some kind of giant Pokémon!" he cried, immediately whipping out a Poké Ball and throwing it out to defend himself. "Wartortle!" The Pokémon appeared between Ash and Brock and whatever was in their way, and in the flash of light, they could see its true form. This became true as well when the sun ducked away behind the clouds, and they could see the huge, towering figure wasn't its shape at all, but instead a giant boulder with a flat top. What he thought was the Pokémon's head was actually a Pokémon itself; an orange one curled up with a flame burning on the tip of its tail.
"A Charmander!" Brock said, and the Pokémon let out a yawn.
"Chaaaaarrrr!" The pair of Trainers fell to the ground, embarrassed to the fact that they were intimidated by the little Pokémon.
Picking himself up, he pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the perched Pokémon. "Charmander. A flame burns on the tip of its tail from birth. It is said that a Charmander dies if its flame ever goes out."
"When I went to get my first Pokémon from Professor Oak, I was really torn between choosing Squirtle or Charmander," Ash reminisced. When his Wartortle frowned beside him, Ash gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "But I'm really glad I did choose Squirtle, of course!" Looking back at Charmander, his eyebrows came together as he smirked. "Now I can catch my own Charmander."
But the pair looked more closely at Charmander, and it looked back at them weakly, as if it would collapse at any moment. The Pokémon looked at them faintly, and was breathing heavily. "Yeah," Brock agreed. "Catch it and we'll take it to the Pokémon Center for help." Agreeing with his words, Ash twisted the brim of his cap backwards and pulled out an empty Poké Ball from his belt.
"Poké Ball, go!" The Charmander's eyes flashed as it watched the Poké Ball soar at it from Ash's hand, and summoning its strength, it whipped around and struck the Poké Ball back with its tail. The Poké Ball soared back at Ash and he caught it in his hands with a confused look on his face. "It looks pretty healthy to me," he said to Brock. "You think I should have Wartortle battle it first to weaken it and make it easier to catch?" The Pokémon Breeder studied Charmander for a moment before pointing at the Fire-type.
"Hold on a minute. Take a look at the flame on its tail," he pointed out. Now Ash focused on what Brock said, and he saw indeed that the flame was very small compared to the picture he had seen on his Pokédex, and even what he had seen with Marina's Charmander back on his first day of his journey. "There's no way it could still have the strength to battle. Ash, try the Poké Ball one more time."
"All right, I will!" Ash complied, and reared his arm back. "Poké Ball, go!" This time, Charmander didn't resist – or was too weak to – and it grimaced as the Poké Ball hit its side. The ball opened up and converted it into red energy. Within moments, it was sucked inside, and the metal sphere landed on the rock with a plop. "All right!" Ash celebrated too soon, however, as the ball barely had time to rock back and forth before it leapt up in the air again and burst open, releasing Charmander. Before it even had time to form back into the Lizard Pokémon, the ball ricocheted back to Ash and clocked him on the head, making an audible noise as metal hit the top of his skull.
"It sure has a lot of spunk," Brock commented with his arms crossed.
"A little too much if you ask me," Ash murmured with contempt, holding the Poké Ball in one hand and rubbing his head with the other. Wartortle, however, didn't share its Trainer's attitude, and trotted up to the rock. Jumping up and hoisting itself up, Charmander gave it a nasty look as Wartortle and it began to converse.
"Wartor? Wartor Wartortle?"
"Char... man... der... Char!" Charmander's response was breathless and painful to listen to.
"War! Tortle!"
"What's the story, Wartortle?" Ash asked his Pokémon as the Water-type climbed off the rock and walked back to the party of two.
"War, wartortle," the Turtle Pokémon responded, making a gesture at its neck and trailing one hand down the front of its shell.
"A man, maybe?" Ash questioned, curling his finger around his chin. Wartortle nodded and pointed at Ash to show he was correct, then continued the game of charades by pointing at one end of the ground and raising both arms in an arc before landing on the other side.
"Hey Ash, why don't you try to figure out what Wartortle's saying," Brock suggested. Ash knelt down, as if giving him a closer, more level look with the dark blue turtle Pokémon was going to give him a better idea of it, and Wartortle took off on a talking spree while wildly gesturing here and there and finally ending with its arms in the air. Ash nodded along, and finally stood up and smiled.
"Okay! I think I got it! Wartortle says that Charmander is waiting on that rock for somebody to come and get it."
Brock frowned at the translation, but gave another glance for Charmander. "If it's waiting for someone, I think we better leave it," he proposed. "It's probably best if its own Trainer takes care of it."
"I hope its Trainer comes back soon!" Ash responded with a smile up towards the Fire-type, recalling Wartortle back into its Poké Ball and the pair headed off in the direction they were initially going before encountering Charmander.
o 0 o
After finding their way back onto the main path, they continued north from there, and seemed to stumble upon a main road that was well-traversed from how much it was patted down. This was very welcomed to the pair of traveling Trainers, as it had been a while since they had been on a main road.
With each passing minute, the sky above them seemed to grow darker and darker, and while it was due to the sun starting to go down, this couldn't be seen from the thick, black clouds that were gathering and blocking out the blue sky above their heads. The two tried to ignore this, especially when the air pressure began to drop and grow colder. The smell of rain was lingering around when they reached the top of a hill, and looked down to see a large wooden cabin with a red roof and a large 'P' on it facing them.
"Look! It's the Pokémon Center! The one on the map!" Ash said with a smile spreading on his face. "Route 24 can't be too far!" And they had made it just in time, too, for thunder sounded from the clouds above them, and as their eyes drew skyward, specks of rain dotted their faces. Before they knew it, the rain was coming down in sheets, quickly making the dirt path muddy that stained Ash's shoes as the two took off down the hill. "Hurry!"
By the time they got inside the front doors of the Pokémon Center, Ash's hair was stuck to the sides of his face and over his ears. Brock's vest was clinging to his chest like a suction cup, and as they crossed the barrier through the door, water dripping onto the wooden panel floors inside, they were able to let out a sigh of collective relief.
Opting to not rent a room or drop off their Pokémon, they mutually decided it would be best if they just waited for the storm to pass. The more they dawdled, the more time it would take to get to Vermilion City. So as Brock sat down without a word at a table and bench fashioned out of tree logs, Ash went to the order window to order food.
Compared to some of the other Pokémon Centers Ash had been in, this one was significantly smaller. Most of the first floor was in one room, aside from the ER behind the nurse's station. The video phones were on the other side from where Ash and Brock were sitting, and a couple Trainers also looking to duck out of the rain took this time to call their friends and family and keep them updated on their journeys. In the middle of the lobby was a circular space that dropped inward, where some rows of tables sat with a wood stove burning intensely to warm up the lobby and give it a homey feel. All of these tables were filled with Trainers in their late teens, however, and Ash barely glanced at them oohing and aahing over a pile of Poké Balls on top of the table as he walked back to the table with two bowls of soup in his hands.
Placing one in front of Brock, he put the other next to his hat that he put down to save his seat across from the Pokémon Breeder, though it was unnecessary. Mouth watering from the smell of the soup already, Ash opened his mouth, but saw the steam rising from the spoonful of food he almost put in his mouth, and blew on it to cool it down. As he did, his eyes looked across at his friend sitting across from him. He was still staring out the window with a look of discomfort on his face that he had never seen the former Gym Leader make. He almost would have figured that he found something gross in his soup, but the steaming food sat untouched where Ash had put it down. "What's wrong, Brock?"
"I wonder... Do you think anybody picked up that Charmander yet?" he answered with a question of his own. "What if its Trainer left it there?"
"I don't think that Charmander would wait around this long, do you?" Ash responded, putting down the spoon.
"I don't either, Ash," Brock said, leaning up from his hand and a small smile appearing on his face. "Its Trainer must have gotten it by now."
Their conversation was broken by the group of teenagers in the middle of the Pokémon Center. They were huddled around a pile of Poké Balls, and they all let out loud laughs, which gained Ash's and Brock's attention. The one sitting in front of the pile sat with his arms crossed over his pink collared shirt and leather vest, looking smugly down at them, unlike the others who looked at them in awe.
"Just look at 'em. It's a pretty cool collection," he boasted.
"Way cool!"
"You're the man, Damian."
"Yo, I thought you had a Charmander, too!"
The teen with the blue hair, Damian as the others referred to him, gave a sour look and opened one of his eyes towards the boy who just spoke. "Yeah, I had one," he answered, then smirked and shrugged. "But that puny thing was so weak, it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents."
"Charmander may be weak against Water Pokémon, but if their Trainers work hard, they can be strong," Brock commented quietly as his and Ash's faces hardened at the terrible words they overheard.
"So what did you do with the Charmander?" the boy with both of his ears pierced beside Damian followed up.
"Eh, I left it on some rock in the woods," Damian said non-nonchalantly with an airy shrug, and Ash and Brock both gasped and locked eyes with each other. "That thing is so stupid! No matter what I do to it, it keeps on following me. I finally got rid of it by promising I'd come back for it. It fell for it! It's probably still 'dere waiting for me." The group all began to laugh, and Brock gave a low growl.
"He's the one who abandoned that Charmander..." Ash grumbled. Without warning, Brock slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "Brock, what are you doing?" But Brock didn't answer, and instead walked over to the group of teens, who hadn't even noticed yet and were still joking amongst themselves without realizing how loud they were being.
"I bet it's still up there wagging its tail," one of the boys snickered.
"It'll probably wag it so long, it'll put the flame out!"
"Yeah, for sure!" Damian agreed, and let out a hearty laugh, but it was cut off when Brock grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with both hands and lifted him up.
"Go and get it!" Brock yelled angrily. Damian glared at Brock, but reeled back in confusion. "That Charmander is still waiting for you! Go and get it, now."
"Why should I?" Damian shot back, wrapping his fingers around Brock's wrists in an attempt to get the Pokémon Breeder to let him go, but he didn't loosen his grip.
"You lied to your Pokémon and said you'd be back. Now it's waiting out there in the rain for you. If its tail flame goes out, it'll die." The two glared at each other while the words lingered in the air, and Ash put on his hat and rushed up to support Brock as the blue-haired teen shoved his arms back and made Brock release him from his grip.
"Oi! What I do is none of your business!"
"Do what he says!" Ash exclaimed, and Damian looked past Brock's shoulder and glared.
"What'd you say, nerd?"
"You heard what I said," the Pokémon Trainer answered, his words dripping venom as he clenched his fists. "And you want to be a Pokémon Trainer." Without even glancing away from the pair, Damian reached an arm down and picked up one of the Poké Balls sitting on the table and held it in his grip.
"You wanna fight wit' me?"
"You better not mess with Damian," one of his friends spoke up as his other friends stood to support him.
"Let's go!" Ash exclaimed, pushing his jacket out of the way and reaching for his belt. The two boys stood across from four, all of them glared in a stare-down, trying to see who would make the first move first.
Instead of them, it was Nurse Joy who made the first move, and approached the lobby area with a hardened look on her face and clapping her hands together. "Let's break it up! You know the rules!" she scolded, and all six faces turned towards her. "Pokemon are never to be used in personal fights! It's disrespectful to the Pokémon and their Trainers."
"Yeah, well, tell them they were the ones who had started it," Damian spat, turning around and walking away and leaving his Poké Balls on the table, so one of his friends had to quickly gather them up and hurry after him. As they left, Nurse Joy jumped down into the seating area and watched with a hand on her hips as they disappeared upstairs. Once they were gone, her face softened.
"I think you'd be better off not to get mixed up with them," she warned, and smiled at Brock, who flinched back like she had slapped him. "They have a very bad reputation."
"Uh, thanks for the advice!" Brock responded with his voice shaking slightly. Nurse Joy gave a slight laugh, and walked off to go back to her duties. "She sure is pretty. I've never seen anyone as pretty as her."
"Yeah, it's a Joy-ful world," Ash muttered back sarcastically, and shook his traveling companion's shoulder. "All right, snap out of it! Remember Charmander!" His thought bubble popped visibly, and the Pokémon's name brought back the Pokémon Breeder with a gasp.
"That's right – we've got to help it!"
The pair borrowed a pair of rain cloaks from the Pokémon Center, and without a second thought, ran out into the pouring rain. It had definitely picked up in the time that they had been inside, and small rivers were running through the dirt road from how much water was pouring down from the sky. But their minds were only focused on getting to Charmander as they splashed through the puddles. Ash could already feel his socks getting soaked, but the teal rainproof jacket he wore kept everything else from getting wet. The rain was still coming down sideways, so his hair stuck to his forehead beneath his cap, and raindrops hung uncomfortably on his face.
When they finally made it back and found the rock that Charmander was on, it was being attacked by three Spearow. The Tiny Bird Pokémon was taking advantage of the fact that the Pokémon was weakened and unable to fight back, and pecked and clawed at it while the Fire-type could only sit with its arm covering its head to protect its face instinctively. In its other hand, the poor Pokémon had found a giant leaf to cover its body from the freezing rain, but even so, the flame on its tail was dangerously small.
"Knock it off!" Ash screamed, picking up a rock that had been upturned from the dirt eroding away from the rain and threw it at the three Flying Pokémon. The Pokémon moved away from the Charmander, but the Spearow that the rock had hit angrily let out a caw and flapped over to Ash, angrily attacking him with its claws. Ash raised his arm over his face and could feel the Pokémon's talons rake against the raincoat but not rip it thankfully while Brock ripped off his own purple raincoat and used it to beat away Ash's attacker. After a couple tries, the Spearow relented and flapped backwards, giving Ash the space he needed. Pulling out a Poké Ball from underneath the rain jacket, he tossed it forward. "Water Gun, Wartortle!" The blue Turtle Pokémon burst from the Poké Ball, and it drew in a deep breath before releasing a well-aimed stream of water. The attack hit the three Spearow and knocked them out of the air, but before they could hit the ground, they caught themselves and retreated off into the sky.
Running past Wartortle, Ash and Brock climbed up on the rock and looked at Charmander. It was covered with scratches and marks, and its whole body was shivering – whether from weakness or cold Ash couldn't tell. It had dropped the leaf it was holding to protect itself from the rain, even too weak to hold up the plant, and its tail lay on top of it, though it was too wet to catch on fire. Seeing the flame on its tail, Ash gave a gasp. "Oh no! The flame on its tail is almost out!" Brock was one step ahead of Ash, and took the rain jacket he had already ripped off his body to swipe against Spearow and used it to cover Charmander's body.
"Let's get it to the Pokémon Center," Brock said, and Ash followed suit and ripped off his own rain coat.
"I'll make sure its tail flame stays lit!" Both of them getting soaked to the bone, they hurried back in the direction they had came from. Running in the opposite direction, even the wind seemed to be against them hurrying, and it was strongly pushing them backwards. Huddled together as close as they could, Brock held Charmander in his arms, wrapped protectively in his rain jacket with its tail hanging down under his arm. By its tail, Ash had draped his own rain coat over Charmander's backside, and holding it up so as to not smother the flame while at the same time protecting it from the rain. Their lungs were burning, but adrenaline fueled them and kept them going.
"Hold on!" Brock cried over the rushing wind to send words of support to the Lizard Pokémon. "You can make it, Charmander!"
When they finally got back to the Pokémon Center, the lights were off, and the window drapes were just about to be closed since it was just at curfew when they burst in the door. The pair seemed to scare the living daylights out of Nurse Joy, and even in the dark, they could see the whites of her eyes from how wide they were. The two stopped, breathing heavily now that they were at their destination, and the water that dripped off of them and pooled onto the floor made its own puddle that matched the ones outside. "Joy..." Ash muttered in between breaths. "Please help us..."
Realizing it was an emergency, she rushed up to them. "What is it?! What's wrong?"
"This Charmander is in bad shape," Brock told her, and Ash pointed to where he had been holding.
"The flame on its tail..."
Nurse Joy lifted up the front of the rain coat to look at the Charmander's face, and immediately the color drained from her face as she gasped. "There's not much time!"
She allowed them into the ER area of the Pokémon Center, and told Brock to unwrap Charmander and place it on the bed while she prepared. Apparently, this Pokémon Center wasn't too busy as hinted at the fact that she didn't have a Chansey beside her, and had to do everything herself. Their bodies and clothes were still dripping, but they dared not make a single sound as Nurse Joy equipped a stethoscope and ran it up and down the shaking Fire Pokémon's midsection. She propped up its tail on a small lift, and kept glancing at the flame on its tail nervously, as if it would go out at any second.
Finally, Brock was the one to ask the question that was on everyone's mind. "Will it survive?"
"Charmander is very weak," she answered, and pulled the medical device from her ears and placed it around her neck before glaring at the pair. "How could you let it get into this condition?"
"It's not our fault!" Ash argued back, gripping the metal footboard of the bed. "Damian was the one who abandoned it!"
"What?"
"Well, Damian promised Charmander to come back for it. Charmander's loyal to Damian, so it believed him." Joy's eyebrows fell sadly as she looked down at the Fire-type.
"Poor Charmander..." she said, and looked out the window behind her. "And Damian just left with the rest of them."
"Joy, I'm begging you!" Brock spoke up, approaching Joy with his hands clenched. "Please, save it! Charmander has got to get better!" Joy's face hardened into one of determination, and she gave him a nod.
"I'll do whatever I can."
o 0 o
The waiting area outside the ER was a small hallway which led to the main lobby. Not a sound could be heard even coming from upstairs. All of the Trainers who had decided to book a room in the small Pokémon Center were asleep, ready to head out as soon as curfew was lifted and the storm had passed. The only ones awake were Ash and Brock, who waited in the polished and pristine hallway. Neither of them dared to sleep, anxiety keeping them up too much, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst while Nurse Joy worked her magic behind closed doors.
Restless Ash bounced back and forth as the time went on. His legs seemed to be full of energy, and boredom was taking over his muscles, and he wouldn't stay in one place for very long, choosing to lay on the bench with his legs in the air, to going to sit on the floor. Fiddling with his legs was the only thing he could do since he didn't have anything in his hands.
Meanwhile, Brock stayed planted in one spot, not taking his eyes off the red light above the door showing that the ER was currently occupied. Not even swaying from leg to leg as time went on, his only focus was putting all of his hopes and prayers into Charmander – that much was obvious to Ash.
The minutes melted into hours and they were now into the dead of night when the light finally turned off. The sudden noise of the electricity on the light above the door being cut off grabbed their attention, and they both gasped slightly and waited for movement on the other side. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Nurse Joy emerged from the door with her eyes to the floor, and when she looked up at them, she was surprised to see not only the boys still awake, but waiting for her. But when she finally made eye contact with them, she smiled and held up her fingers in a peace sign. They both let out a simultaneous sigh of relief; it was like they had been holding their breath all night. They could finally breathe.
Stepping aside to let them take a peek into the dark room, they looked and saw Charmander in a small incubation pod that was having special oxygen pumped into it. Its tail flame was still small, but it was much more lively than it had been when they first found it. She had done it. "Charmander's recovering. It should be fine by morning," the Pokémon nurse reported.
With that out of the way, Ash and Brock headed out into the lobby. They hadn't rented a room since they weren't expecting to stay for so long, and they couldn't be let out until morning when curfew was lifted, but Nurse Joy was kind enough to let them sleep in the lobby, and provided them with blankets and a small pillow to rest their head on. The anxiety that filled their bodies now let out like a broken dam, and soon was replaced by soothing bliss, and once Ash's hat was off and his head hit the pillow, the events from the night caught up to him, and he quickly fell asleep.
o 0 o
The light was peeking in through the closed blinds of the Pokémon Center, but Ash was completely ignorant to this as he lay snoring on the cushioned bench in the lobby. "WAKE UP, ASH!" Brock shouted. The sudden yell startled the Pokémon Trainer, and his eyes flew open as he jumped up and rolled, suddenly falling onto the floor where his blanket and pillow lay from him tossing and turning all night. At least he had a soft landing.
Sitting back up, he looked up to see the older boy breathing heavily as if he had run in here and gave him a questioning look. "What's up, Brock?"
"It's Charmander!" Brock answered. "Charmander has disappeared from the ER!"
"But how?!" Not even giving himself enough time to put on his hat or pick up his blanket, Ash climbed back up to the lobby and him and Brock rushed to the small ER room, where Nurse Joy looked over at Ash. A frown was etched upon her face, and behind her, the messy bed had the incubator taken off it, and the window behind the bed was opened with the curtain blowing in the morning breeze. It was assumed that was how Charmander got out. "I bet it went back on that rock to wait for Damian..." Ash murmured with a pang in his heart.
"We've got to go back!" Brock exclaimed, but Nurse Joy frown only seemed to curl her lips deeper.
"I'm afraid it's no use," she told them, closing her eyes and shaking her head so her pigtails shook slightly along with her. "There's nothing you can do until Charmander realizes the truth." They were both quiet as they mulled over her words, and they both realized she was right. It's not like they could force Charmander to go with them, and from what they saw when they first encountered it, even though it was weak from the weather, it was determined to wait. They admired its loyalty, but their heart still went out for it. Knowing there was no other option, the pair exchanged a look of sadness before heading back out into the lobby to collect their things.
o 0 o
It didn't take them long to collect their gatherings, but they did so in silence with both of them stuck in their own heads. They both had the Fire Pokémon on their minds, but neither said anything about it, and after thanking Nurse Joy and leaving out the front door, they continued down the path opposite of where Charmander was presumably waiting on the rock. The first couple of steps in the opposite direction was hard, but Ash managed to pull through, while Brock lingered behind for a bit, still trying to decide if he should go try and convince it but ultimately decided Nurse Joy was right and followed after his traveling companion.
"I thought Charmander understood that we cared about it," Brock said. Solemnly looking to the sky after a heavy sigh. Ash stopped, and faced the Pokémon Breeder, knowing that his friend was torn up inside.
"Brock, Charmander knew that we care, but don't you see? It couldn't forget about Damian; it's still loyal to him." Ash drew in his own sigh. "That's why it went back." Brock's face lightened a bit, and a small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. With a nod, he caught up to Ash, and side by side, they continued their way to Route 24.
Further down the road where the forest gradually got more thick on either side of the path, they had barely seen any life around when suddenly, a group of bird Pokémon flew from the trees and blocked their path. There were four Spearow all together, and they all glared at the pair angrily as they approached.
"Hey..." Brock murmured apprehensively.
"Isn't that those same Spearow from last night?" Ash questioned, raising his guard as they tensed up upon seeing the pair. But, they had apparently brought a friend. And this friend was a lot bigger than normal Spearow, and a lot more rougher-looking as well. It looked as though it was in the process of molting, as its feathers were patchy-looking in some places. A scar dragged down its left eye, and its beak was slightly cracked as well.
"I think it is, and they got mad we beat them so they brought a friend to gang up on us," Brock explained. Just then, the four Spearow all gave a loud cry and the sound of wings beating filled the pathway. Without warning, the flock of Flying Pokémon shot at them, their eyes locked on the two humans. It was obvious they were looking for revenge.
"Wartortle, I choose you!" Pulling out the Water-type's Poké Ball, Ash threw it forward, and it burst open just in time for Wartortle to appear in between him and the Spearow. "Water Gun, Wartortle!" Upon his command, Wartortle shot a blast of water at the Spearow, successfully hitting two of the four.
"Zubat, let's go!" Brock called next to Ash, throwing out his own Poké Ball. The burst of light formed into the small blue bat Pokémon, and it clicked as it appeared and soared out of the light. "Zubat, use Supersonic!" Swooping upwards, Wartortle jumped back behind the Poison and Flying Pokémon as it released a high-pitched noise from its mouth, and rings of orange light came pulsing out of it, expanding outward and moving past the pair of Spearow that hadn't been knocked away by Wartortle's water attack. The two stopped in midair, and then turned and faced each other before furiously clawing and pecking at the other. Taking the opportunity, Wartortle jumped forward once again and blasted them both with a Water Gun.
The two sprawled on the ground, and the bigger Spearow was the first to pull itself back up. Sending a glare at the pair of Pokémon in front of it, it turned away, and at first, Ash thought that the Tiny Bird Pokémon had had enough despite its big and tough appearance, but it soon took in a deep breath and gave a blood-curdling call.
"SPEAAARRRROOOOWWW!" Its cry echoed through the forest trail, and with one more cry, everything went dead silent. Soon enough, the cause for the cry was apparent, and Ash's blood ran cold as he looked into the air. The Spearow had summoned the rest of its flock, and there was about twenty other Spearow now flying in from up ahead, all of their beady black eyes locked on Ash and Brock.
"What are we gonna do?!" Ash exclaimed, unconsciously taking a step backwards as the flocked closed in on them. "Wartortle isn't going to be able to hit that many at once, and it's the only one that would be able to hit multiple Spearow."
"Same here," Brock responded, a bead of sweat appearing at the side of his face. "Zubat's Supersonic is only wide enough to hit four at a time, at most." Both Trainer and Pokémon prepared for the swarm with lips peeled back from their teeth with nerves, but as the swarm descended on them, something orange stepped out between the pair of Pokémon Trainers.
"Charmander!" Charmander cried, walking out and standing beside Wartortle.
"It's Charmander!" Ash exclaimed. "It followed us after all!" Compared to how they had seen it last night, it was looking loads better. All of the scratches and marks on it were gone, and its tail flame was burning brightly. But there was no time to make pleasantries with the Fire-type, and Ash's attention turned back to the Spearow, who were now joined by the four who blocked their path before and were swooping down on the three Pokémon. Charmander, however, stepped in front of both Zubat and Wartortle, and closed its eyes before drawing in a deep breath.
"Chaaaarrrr!" it called, and released a powerful stream of fire from the back of its throat at the flock. Starting at one end, it quickly charred the Spearow before turning its head and sweeping the flames along to the left, hitting and engulfing every single Spearow in flames. When Charmander stopped the attack, the Spearow were frozen in midair, their feathers singed to a brown crisp. One by one, the swarm of Flying Pokémon scattered away in defeat, disappearing in the distance and in the tree tops.
"Oh, wow!" Brock said in awe, watching as the last Spearow, the rough-looking leader of the group, gave them one last glare before disappearing through the brush. "Thanks for the help, Charmander!" Pulling out Zubat's Poké Ball, he recalled the Pokémon back inside. "Way to go."
A bright smile stretched across Ash's face, and he looked down at the Fire-type. "Charmander, how'd you like to join up with us? I'm afraid your Trainer isn't going to be coming back." Ash tried to keep as much venom in his words as he said 'Trainer' as possible, but before Charmander could make a decision, a new voice spoke up.
"Hey Charmander; been lookin' all over for 'ya." All heads turned up the path from where they had come from, and saw Damian standing there but without his posse, looking down at Charmander with his hands folded innocently behind his back.
"Damian, it's you!"
"What do you want, Damian," Brock spat, his voice dripping with hate.
"I came back for Charmander, just like I promised." Everyone in the group gasped, including Charmander. Unfolding his hands out from behind him, he crossed them knowingly in front of his chest. "So let's go." Charmander looked conflicted, and it gave a sad hum as fallen blue eyes glanced between Ash and Brock.
"Careful," Brock warned the little Fire-type, kneeling down to get on eye level with it. "This Trainer's already abandoned you once before."
"Charmander is mine. I'm the one who caught it, remember?" Damian reminded smugly.
"Damian, you bragged about how you abandoned it!" Ash argued back, and Damian nodded, not denying it at all.
"Good thing I did! That toughened it up!" he replied. "Besides, what's wrong with dumpin' off a weak Pokémon?" At their feet, Charmander flinched back, though Damian didn't seem to notice. "I wasn't gonna come back for it, but now that I've seen what it can do, I'm real glad I ran into you guys." He sneered down at his Pokémon, and it lowered its head sadly, unable to make eye contact with the blue-haired boy. "The best thing is, I didn't have to raise it me-self!"
"Raising a Pokémon is the best part about being a Trainer!" Brock objected, quickly getting back onto his feet. As a Pokémon Breeder in training, the words stung deep.
"You wish! It's the most boring part of the job."
"How dare you call yourself a Pokémon Trainer!"
"See, Charmander? He only wants you back because you beat those Spearow!" Ash pointed out to the Lizard Pokémon, and it only looked at him briefly before letting out a conflicted sigh. "Charmander!"
"Charmander!" Brock added.
Damian, however, had enough, and pulled out a Poké Ball from his vest. "Charmander, return!" But because he had officially released Charmander, he couldn't just simply recall it, and threw the red and white sphere forward. Charmander's head perked up instantly at seeing the movement in front of it, and it closed its eyes before finally letting them open with determination, and swung its tail around as the ball soared towards it as it had done with Ash's Poké Ball the previous day. Like before, the ball was hit back, but with a lot more power behind the swing, and Damian let out a gasp of surprise before the metal ball collided with his face. Ash and Brock gasped in shock as the ball clattered to the ground, and involuntary tears of pain formed at the corner of Damian's eyes. His eyebrows suddenly crashed together, and he reached into his backpack before drawing as many Poké Balls as he could muster out of it and held them in his arms. "You! That does it! I'll crush you with every Pokémon I've got!" Damian didn't have a chance to throw the Poké Balls, however, before he was suddenly engulfed in flames.
"Chaaaaarrrrrr!" Charmander exclaimed, releasing a Flamethrower out onto its former Trainer. Beside it, Wartortle also took in a deep breath, and let out a blast of water from its mouth at Damian. Fire and water both hit Damian, the fire singing his body while the Water Gun blasted him backwards and knocked him onto his back while Poké Balls scattered on the ground around him. He stared at the sky in disbelief for a moment before quickly jumping back up and gathering his Poké Balls all together before running away and sobbing for his mother.
"Way to go, Charmander!" Brock cheered with a fist pumping in the air.
"Yeah, good work!" Ash agreed with a smile. Now that the reality of the situation had sunk in to Charmander's head, the Fire Pokémon now turned to the pair of Trainers, and Wartortle stepped up beside Ash as they all decided to come to a final decision.
But much to Ash's surprise, Brock reached out and patted him on the back. "Go ahead, Ash. You get Charmander. It'll be a great Pokémon!"
"But, Brock, you saved it, so you deserve it, I guess," Ash concluded, and Brock nodded.
"Right, but don't forget, you're the one who kept the flame on its tail lit," he reminded. "I'm sure you'll raise Charmander to become a great Pokémon." A smile growing on Ash's face, the black-haired boy nodded.
"Thank you, Brock," he thanked, and then looked down at Charmander and pulled out a spare Poké Ball. "Come on, Charmander. Welcome to the group."
"Char! Char!" the Fire-type uttered with a giggle, the biggest smile growing on its face that Ash had seen from it, and as Ash tossed the Poké Ball forward, Charmander leapt towards it as well. The two collided in midair, and the Poké Ball sucked in Charmander in a red flash of light. It soared back into Ash's hands without even shaking once before clicking shut.
And the smile that spread across Ash's face as he looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand could only be rivaled by the one Charmander had just given him.
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Wartortle (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Bite
Pidgey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind, Quick Attack
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip
Charmander (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
