Hey, guys!
It's Sentai Red here!
And man, I just can't believe it! A new chapter out - already! I tried to get this done and luckily for me, this one was one I was anticipating to write the most! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
His stomach roars.
His tail wags lamely.
He whimpers.
He's so hungry. So tired.
Where's his trainer?
Why did he leave him alone?
Why isn't he here?
These are the raging thoughts of Charmander, who is currently laying down on a pillar of rock that he built himself for comfort. He whimpers, laying his head down once again for the umpteenth time. He was told by his trainer he'll be back and that Charmander should just stay put until he comes back. However, it's been days. Where is his trainer? "Char… Charmander…" He weakly calls out for his trainer.
Damien… Oh, Damien…
Those were the words coming out of Charmander's mouth. Crying out for his trainer. Helpless. Alone. Scared. Where was his trainer? Did he do something wrong? Why would his trainer just leave? Will he come back? "Char… Charmander… Char…" He cries out, yet again. Damien… I'm here… Damien…
His stomach hurts. His tail wagging lamely. The fire on the tip of said tail dimming. Why is he so weak right now? He just ate mere moments ago… Were the berries hurting him? They couldn't be… they looked so yummy at the time. His stomach continues to growl, and he feels sick to his stomach. He hasn't eaten much. But what else is there to find out here in the forest? Wherever he is, he just can't find much food. Berries… Nuts… Leaves… Small little weird creatures that burrow in the ground, that's all he can find to sustain himself. If he were to stray far from the spot Damien told him to stay at, he may end up missing the time when, in eventuality, Damien would come and pick him up!
Would Damien come and cry?
Would Damien hold him and say he missed him?
Would he cry, telling Charmander he's a great Pokémon?
Would Damien even care?
He can't think such things! Damien does care! He must… He was Damien's first pick, after all! That must mean something to the blue haired boy… It has to. Charmander was there from the beginning; watching Damien grow. He was there when Damien used him to battle a Machop. He was there when he battled some guy with spikey brown hair using an Onix. He may have lost, but Damien was able to win the battle using Machop. He was there from the very start… when Machop evolved… And when Damien caught a Spearow… He was there for that, too. He was there for Damien's highest of highs, and lowest of lows.
He was there from the beginning… Why is he all by himself now?
"Char…"
Hungry…
He whimpers once more, looking around from his mound, in hopes of finding food. He scrambles himself off the pillar of rock, tumbling to the ground with a painful thud. He once again whimpers, feeling weak from the landing. He struggles to get up, his breath laborious. He struggles to stand up, his legs weak and his entire body feeling heavy. His tail sags on the floor without a care in the world. He waddles slowly over to a small bush and uses his claws to dig through the shrubbery in hopes of something… He's so hungry… "Charmander…" Food…
Leaning further into the small shrub, his entire weight shifts and causes him to fall over. He cries out weakly as the leaves and twigs all scratch him, leaving some minor wounds. With a small groan, Charmander forces himself over the shrubs. He looks over to see a small apple on the floor. He smiles. Maybe the pain was worth it… He goes over to grab the apple, but a Ratticate tackles him away. It snarls at Charmander, who promptly takes a step back from the savage rat. Ratticate grabs the apple and scurries off. Charmander watches in sadness.
"Char, char… Mander, char…" I guess another night of no food…
With a sniffle, the salamander Pokémon trudges along, weaker than before, back to the pillar of rock. He looks up and whines. Why is it so tall? How did it get so tall?
He wraps his stubby arms around the mound, digging his claws into the dirt in the process. He lifts himself up, putting his feet in the dirt to support him. He makes his way up to once more. The Sun's harsh rays beat on him as he does so. He forgot his giant leaf… With an annoyed huff, he slips himself down and grabs a huge leaf from a tree off in the distance that produces such large leaves. He grabs it slowly, putting it on the mound, before beginning his climb up yet again.
His heart beating faster and faster, he pants as he lays on his back to face the sky.
It's so hot… Even for him.
Using the leaf, he covers himself with shade. This will have to do… The shade provides some decent comfort for him, but it doesn't beat the luxury of being in his Poké Ball. It doesn't beat the smell of cooked food, in a nice place, in a nice building… far from the dangerous Pokémon waiting to hurt him; to take his food. When was the last time he even had Pokémon Food? He'd rather have that than just berries all day. At least he can have food with his trainer, rather than fighting to procure food for himself.
The image of him playing as a baby Charmander with a younger Damien began to make him sad.
The boy was so sweet… He was such a happy boy… And he, himself, was a happy baby Charmander. Damien once told him they would always stay together; to become strong together. But here he is now: alone, hungry, tired, and afraid. He lets out a small sob. He misses those days…
He turns himself over to lay on his stomach.
Silently, and without care, he begins to cry.
"Char…" Damien…
"Char char…" Where are you?
"Char char char…" I miss you…
Episode 19: Loyal – Charmander, the Stray Pokémon!
The travel through Route 24, or what is presumably Route 24, is going rather smoothly.
Despite some minor setbacks, like Serena getting them lost with her tablet and wound up having a dead tablet as a result, Brock was able to get them back on course. With his tablet. Although, he would defend the fact his trusty, reliable physical map is what got them back enroute. Serena had comical tears spur out from having to deal with a dead tablet, unable to use it to read up on the latest fashion trends or even news about contests. Ash almost got himself in trouble with her by poking fun at how addicted she has become to her electronics. Luckily for him, Serena did dejectedly agree with him and bemoaned the fact she should really buy a portable charger for her tablet for these instances.
As they continued to travel through the route, Ash and Serena would train with one another whenever the group would take a break from walking. Ash would train his Pokémon, have them battle and be able to use their moves more efficiently. Serena would often watch and give her own piece, often stating Ash should also work on their weaknesses, should they be cornered or be in a tough matchup. Ash heeded her advice and began training them accordingly.
With Bulbasaur, Ash's newest catch, he was a rather strong Pokémon, with his only glaring weakness being his speed. Sure, he was able to outrun them at first, but speed in battle was different from running away; and that's something both Ash and Bulbasaur agreed to tackle. Bulbasaur began to train under Pikachu and Froakie for that instance, learning how to best dodge attacks and be able to respond in a timely fashion. While the training is going rather slow, it is not any less productive.
Ash began having Pidgeotto build endurance from Electric-Type attacks, while Butterfree would deal with Flying-Type attacks. One thing they've noticed is that Butterfree has found ways to counteract Gust.
With Butterfree, he often must flap his wings to stay air bound. And while Gust would put a strain on his body, what with the minor scratches he may endure from it, he was able to use it to help gain a sense of air control and fly seamlessly in the attack, thereby negating any serious damage done and mitigating a major weakness. Ash found it amazing that Butterfree was able to learn it all by himself. Pidgeotto took it upon herself to challenge Butterfree and see how far the butterfly could take it, much to the bugs' chagrin.
Pidgeotto must have felt a tad insulted and wanted to get some vengeance.
When they learnt of that, Ash remembered the saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." And, as obvious as the metaphor doesn't apply in this instance, the life lesson behind it can, in some way, be attributed to this very phrase.
For Serena, she began to worry about what her team composition is like.
Serena knew she could rely on Eevee, Fennekin, and Beedrill, but Clefairy and Oddish still needed work.
Oddish, being the newest, had no attacks or any possible moves that can be used in succession to impress the audience or the judges. While that did leave Oddish a bit dejected, Serena was quick to tell the Weed Pokémon she would do everything she can to make it become an awe-inspiring performer. Fennekin and Eevee both jumped in to give it words, or yips, of encouragement. Beedrill cried and hugged Oddish, holding it gingerly in his arms, practically babying it and buzzing around it would do everything to make it strong for their trainer. Oddish, who has never once seen an emotional Beedrill, immediately took to its niceties and became instantly close with it as a result.
Clefairy, Serena realized, was still too afraid to do anything, making her worried. Clefairy would rather hide behind Serena's legs than participate, or even be near its friends and fellow teammates. Eevee tried to get close to Clefairy, by being its usual chipper self, but the Fairy-Type would often be skittish and bounce away, much to the fox's annoyance. Fennekin would try, but Clefairy, yet again, would distance itself away from the fire fennec. When it came to Beedrill? Hah, it didn't want to get close to the bug at all, much to Beedrill's despair.
She also realized she needed to find more routines with her Pokémon. She knew that Eevee could take the spotlight, but it wouldn't be fair for any of her other Pokémon. Thus, when she turned to Ash for insight, he spoke to her about finding new moves for them to learn. Since Fennekin now knows Flame Charge, on top of Ember, they can find ways to make her do a Fire-Type theme performance and improve from there. Ash even offered to look up moves for her using his PokéDex, much to her delight. While she could have done that herself, she was nonetheless appreciative of his attempts to help her out in any way possible.
Out of sheer instinct, she jumped onto him to deliver him a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and put her head in his neck, making him shiver when she breathed directly into his neck. In response, Ash held her tightly to him, not knowing what he was doing. To him, it felt nice. He didn't really think about how nice she felt to hug, up until now.
When she realized what she had done, she immediately panicked and jumped off, apologizing to a slightly red Ash. Ash, who didn't know how to process what just happened, nodded dumbly to her, and gave her a thumbs up in response.
Luckily for them both, as they went back on the road, the little incident was merely swept under the rug.
As they walk through Route 24, Serena comments, "You know, this is probably the most peaceful trek we've had this entire time. There's literally nothing around us, aside from some Spearow here." She notices Ash and his two starters wince at the mention of the word 'Spearow', and she snickers, remembering what had happened when he first started his journey a couple of months ago. It seems even her brave, and reckless, idiot has something to fear.
"Yeah, I'd rather keep it that way," Ash mutters to himself, with Pikachu and Froakie nodding slowly.
They'd rather not deal with another flock of Spearow.
"Honestly, it's no surprise," Brock states as he sort of childishly holds out his tablet in front of the group, teasing Serena with his working tablet, "this route is just short of reaching Vermilion, so we should be reaching civilization sometime soon. Or so it says on my tablet," Brock leers mockingly at Serena, still enjoying the fact he can use his tablet and not her. Sure, he's not doing it maliciously, but what kind of older brother is he if he can't poke fun at his surrogate siblings' misery? He grins at her scathing glare, putting it away as a way to appease her.
"Ducon," Serena whispers, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"I forgot you know Kalosian," Brock says with a bead of sweat dripping down his brow. She can totally say inappropriate stuff to him, and he would be none the wiser.
"Man, you have to teach me Kalosian, 'Rena," Ash exclaims with an excited grin. He seems to really enjoy hearing her speak Kalosian! Serena's glare softens as she nods happily, eager to one day teach her crush her native tongue! Maybe they can one day speak to each other with sweet prose! Oh, how romantic would that be…
"Have you ever considered learning our language, Serena?" Misty asks politely.
"I have! Ash promised me a long time ago he would," Serena turns to Ash, "isn't that right, Ash?"
"Did I?" Ash asks dumbly, trying to remember when he promised something like that. Seeing her pout, he immediately changes his tune and snaps his fingers, feigning his epiphany, "Right! Right, I did promise that! That promise was a long while ago, so it must have slipped my mind." Serena smiles, knowing he's just saving face, but doesn't say anything about it. She nods. He lets himself internally sigh, glad to have dodged a bullet with her for now.
"Anyway, we should be getting close to Vermilion City," Brock states, changing the subject, "if we keep up at this pace, we should be reaching it by tomorrow."
"And we can finally get back to civilization!" Misty exclaims, her eagerness to get to a bed palpable, "At least we're not lost this time around, and it's all thanks to Brock!" She eyes the two kids with a hint of a glare, "Next time, let's just have him be the designated navigator. Is that okay, Ms. Dead Tablet? And Mr. Blind Leading the Blind?" Both Ash and Serena just stick their tongues out childishly at her, before ultimately relenting. Guess it makes sense…
"Well, it's not always about the destination, but the journey," Brock chuckles, trying to defend his two friends.
Misty shrugs, letting the discussion end there. Ash then notices something on her leg and points at it, "Uh, I think there's a bug -"
Before he can even finish that sentence, Misty immediately shrieks and jumps into the air. She latches onto Ash's back, "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" She shakes her entire body, trembling on top of Ash's back, who is trying to recover from the sudden burst of force hitting him. He grunts as she tries to shake off whatever is on her leg, not enjoying the fact he has even more extra weight on him.
"It's just a piece of grass," Serena pulls out a blade of grass that was latched onto Misty's leg.
"Hehe, oops? Ow!" Ash goes from a nervous laugh to an immediate whine as Misty punches him upside the head. He whimpers, feeling a knot form on the back of his head.
"Maybe now you'll know how to tell bugs from grass, Ketchum!" Misty roars, jumping off Ash's back to scold him for scaring her. Brock and Serena sigh, shaking their heads at the duo. Although Brock did praise whatever deity out there that Ash took the fall and not him. In some other universe, it could have been him that could have got socked in the face with her foot or something if he was the one to have said anything. He can already feel the pain. Maybe the alternate Brock did just that?
Despite that small incident, they continued through the trail. They almost had a panic attack when they came across a sign that was pointing to Route 24. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but the sign was pointing the other way – the path they were walking from. Brock went straight onto his tablet, ignoring his map for once, to find out if they're actually going the right way. Melanie just told them to take the path straight and it would lead them to their destination! She wouldn't just lie about that! She's an angel, after all!
Ash whines thinking how they'll never be able to get to Vermilion for his 3rd gym battle. Serena mopes that she'll be late for her 2nd contest. And Misty just complains that she wants to eat at a restaurant and sleep in an actual bed for once.
Brock continues to scramble on his tablet, looking at the map app installed. He zooms out the map, trying to figure out where exactly they are. He then sighs a breath of relief, "It seems we're fine, guys," he puts his hand against his chest, trying to calm his heart. "The map says we're going the right way."
"Yeah, but why is the sign pointing the other way?" Misty counters. She doesn't want to spend more time than necessary trying to get to a single city.
Why couldn't they have hitchhiked or something?
"I'm guessing, for whatever reason, someone turned the sign around?" Brock responds, trying to find a logical explanation.
"Maybe it's a –" Serena begins, but Froakie puts his paw on her mouth to shush her. They don't need her to start scaring them. Again. She nearly bites Froakies paw in retaliation, but acquiesces as Froakie was probably doing her, and everyone else, a favor. She gives it a small nod in response. Ash and Pikachu just eye one another, thankful for Froakie taking the fall for that one.
"Well, either way, I say we continue on," Ash ends the discussion with a tone of finality. The more they talk about it, the less and less time they have to get to their actual destination. Why did the way to Pewter City and Cerulean City take a shorter time than getting to Vermilion? Was some deity out there testing their patience? If so, he's this close to losing it. He turns around to continue his walk, but stops a couple of steps as he notices something in the distance, "Huh?"
Up ahead was a giant figure.
He couldn't see who, or what it was. Serena looks to where he was facing and nearly jumps, "Gah! W-what is that?!" She hides behind Ash, poking her head slightly out to see what it was. Brock and Misty turn to face the figure as well, wanting to find out what in the world was that.
Froakie jumps down, ready to attack should anything happen.
Pikachu just hides behind Brock, much to Ash's displeasure.
"Pikachu…" Ash whispers, shaking his head in disapproval.
As Ash forces himself to get closer, with Froakie taking the lead, he sighs in relief seeing what it really was, "Phew… Guys, it's just a Charmander!" Everyone begins to relax, thinking the situation wasn't all that serious after all. Serena rubs her arm sheepishly, realizing how dramatic she was in that instance.
"Well, I'll be, it is a Charmander," Brock exclaims in mild surprise. A Charmander out in the wild was almost unheard of!
Ash takes out his Poké Dex, scanning Charmander's data for record keeping. They all shivered when the Poké Dex mentioned that if Charmander's flame on the tip of its tail ever dissipates, it dies. How morbid…
"Huh… You know, when I was younger, before I met Froakie and Pikachu, I always wanted a Charmander," Ash begins, reminiscing, "I even remember a kid moving to Pallet Town sometime around when I was eight years old, and he too was just as obsessed with Charmander. Probably even more so." Froakie nods, remembering the kid all too well. Pikachu vaguely remembers the kid, considering he wasn't really around Ash until the boy was nine years old.
"That kid that barely talked, right?" Serena recollects, remembering Ash speaking to her about him. Apparently, whenever Ash would try to say 'hi' to the kid, he would always just nod or shake his head, before walking off. Ash always found it weird and once told Serena about it. "I remember you talking a lot about him. Whatever happened to him?"
"You know, it's weird," Ash hums in thought, "I didn't even see, or hear, anything about him getting a starter from Professor Oak. However, the old man did say that Charmander was taken, so I'm guessing the neighbor got him after all. Or at least, I hope. He kinda scared me with his love of Charmander, and I thought I was a Pokémon fanatic!"
Ash turns to face Brock and Misty, "Have you guys ever battled a kid with black hair, wore a red cap similar to mine – well he wore mostly red, actually – and… never talked?"
Brock and Misty turn to look at one another. Misty shakes her head, while Brock puts a hand on his chin, "You know, I think I have. Pale looking kid with dark brown eyes, right? Yeah, I think so! He lost to me several times, only really using a Charmander against my Pokémon. Even when I tried to use weaker Pokémon on him, he still lost. I think around the 4th time trying my gym, he finally won, but only because he had a Charmeleon this time around. Weird kid. Didn't even really say anything to me when I gave him the badge. He just looked at me, grabbed it, nodded, and walked off."
Misty snickers, "Probably didn't even battle my sisters. They would have mentioned some weird kid like that to me. What was his name? I'll have to ask Daisy if she ever met this friend of yours."
Ash shrugs, "Honestly, he wasn't a friend of mine, so I don't really remember. I think it was Fred, or something, like that."
Serena chuckles, "Fred? And he wore red? It's like he wanted something to rhyme with his name."
They turn their attention back to Charmander, who's breathing was quite heavy and ragged. Ash frowns, "Does it seem weird that a Charmander is just out here, all by himself? He doesn't even look healthy. What do you guys think?"
Brock nods, frowning at the sight of Charmander. One can see the obvious paling scales of Charmander. Charmander's usually have bright orange scales, to signify their strength and health. However, the fact this young, or what looks to be young, Charmander is losing its luster, is quite worrying. One can even see the tail limply hanging off the edge of the mound of rock that Charmander is perched on. "I guess your best bet is to catch it, Ash. If you can catch it, then we can take it to get some help. We can take it to a Pokémon Center. If we run, we can probably get to Vermilion City sooner and get Charmander here treated."
Ash nods, thinking that was the best course of action, "I'll just throw a Poké Ball. It doesn't seem even strong enough right now to take hits from Froakie or anybody for that matter." He enlarges a Poké Ball and throws it at Charmander, who swats it away with his tail. Charmander pants slightly from the movement but has enough energy to glare at the people in front of him. They weren't his trainer; they had no right to try to capture him. If he had enough energy, he would have used Ember to scare them away!
Serena blinks, seeing the action, "Huh, guess he's healthy enough to have done that? Maybe you should battle it, Ash."
Misty grins, "Well, let me battle it! I can catch it for us!"
Serena eyes Misty with a judging look, "Let's not forget what happened with a certain Grass-Type, Misty…" Misty stiffens, before laughing sheepishly at Serena, rubbing the back of her head with a mild blush on her face. Serena gives her a small smirk as a response.
Ash looks at the Poké Ball, before giving Charmander another glance. "I suppose I can try it again?"
Brock shrugs, "You can always try, yeah. I suppose once more wouldn't hurt anyone."
Ash throws the Poké Ball once more. This time it connects. The ball lands on top of the mound, shaking. Once. Twice. Thrice – The ball opens, releasing Charmander out. Charmander, getting really annoyed, smacks the Poké Ball. The ball collides with Ash in the face, making him wince. Serena and Misty both giggle at Ash's misfortune, though Serena did go to him to get the ball out of his face. Ash rubs his nose in pain, hoping it doesn't get crooked. Brock makes a comment about Charmander having some spunk, to which Ash replies with a soft, "Too much, if you ask me."
"It could have an attitude problem," Misty puts her two cents in, trying to figure out why Charmander wasn't getting in the ball so easily.
"Why don't you let Pikachu and Froakie talk to it, Ash? Maybe they might know something we don't," Serena suggests, "I can even send out Fennekin, considering it's also a Fire-Type." She sends out Fennekin, who looks around.
"Fen?"
Serena crouches down and rubs her fennec's head, "Hey, Fennekin, why don't you talk to Charmander," she points to said fire salamander, "and asks why is he up there all by himself? You can have Froakie and Pikachu help out, too." Fennekin glances over to Charmander, then looks over to Froakie who gives her a wave. She yips nervously, using her tail to hide her face from Froakie. The frog just blinks, unsure why she's acting so weird in front of him. Pikachu tilts his head as well. Why was she so weird?
Despite that, the three climb up the mound, with Froakie helping Fennekin up by using his frubbles to give her a grip on the dirt.
Froakie has noticed that Fennekin does not like getting dirty, and any dirt will make her incredibly upset and become prone to crying. To mitigate this, he decided to help out his fellow Kalosian Starter and prevent any waterworks from flying out.
They all get on top of the mound. Charmander eyes them with suspicion. However, noticing another Fire-Type, even if it's one not native to Kanto, has made it a little relaxed.
"Char?" Yes?
"Froa-froakie, Fro-fro?" Why are you here, Charmander?
"Pipipikachu, pi." Yeah, especially by yourself.
"Fenn-Fennekin." It looks so lonely here.
"Char… Charmander char… Mander char…" Yeah, I'm just waiting for someone… is all…
"Pikachu?! Pikachu pi…" Someone?! That's odd…
Froakie stays silent, thinking the same. The more Fennekin and Pikachu talked to Charmander, the more he was able to piece it all together. He was waiting for someone, Charmander stated to them. Charmander began to tell them that he was told to stay put and that his trainer will come by to pick him up. Froakie, realizing where this was going, asks, "How long ago was this?" That's all he wanted to ask. Charmander freezes.
"Char… Char…" About… Ten days…
Froakie's eyes narrow, and so does Pikachu and Fennekin's. They offer him their blessings, before dropping down to stare at their trainers.
"Well, Froakie? Pikachu? What did Charmander say?" Ash asks, unable to decipher what they were saying at first. Charmander seemed despondent when Froakie asked him a question. Was he sad? Ash could tell something was definitely wrong, but just couldn't pick up what they were saying to get the overall picture. It was then that the three Pokémon began to talk, all about the same time, doing gestures to best convey the message they were trying to relay back to their trainers. Ash begins to pick up on it.
"Ah, so he's waiting for someone, is that right?" Ash asks.
Before they can say anything else, Misty groans, "Well, guess there goes that idea of capturing it. It already belongs to someone else."
Serena frowns, realizing that Fennekin looks sad at that notion, "If that's the case, shouldn't they be back already? I mean, if what you guys are saying is true, and Charmander isn't looking all that healthy, then I don't think the person is really coming back." The others begin to process what she says, and Brock agrees with her sentiment.
"Agreed. However," Brock unfortunately becomes the contrarian, "we don't know the full story and unfortunately, it seems Charmander here isn't willing, or looking to be convinced, to get off the rock and come with us. If it's waiting for that person, be it its trainer or someone else, they must also be prepared to take care of it and get it back to full health. We can only do so much here. Although," Brock pulls out some food, "the least we can do is offer it some food and water."
Ash nods, taking out a bottle of water, "As much as I don't like it myself, you're right about that."
With permission, Ash takes the food from Brock's hand and gingerly puts some in a disposable bowl. He then puts the bottled water right next to it. Charmander stiffens, baring its fangs out, not trusting Ash after what the boy tried to do. With a gentle smile, Ash scoots the bowl and bottle closer to the Fire-Type. "Hey," he softly greets himself, "sorry about trying to catch you. Listen, we'll be on our way. We won't bother you anytime soon. Just eat this in the meantime, you sure look like you need it, after all."
Charmander's eyes narrow. Why should he trust the boy and his friends? Sure, the Pokémon that he spoke to a minute ago sounded like they can be trusted, these other-non-Damien people? He's not so sure about that. However, as much as he would love to bite the kids' hand, his hunger is getting the best of him, and the Pokémon food left for him does look appealing… He sniffs the food, and his mouth begins to water… It smells so much better than eating only berries… He looks up and sees a warm look in the boys' eyes and it feels warm, and safe, like how he used to be…
Ignoring the negative thoughts, he begins to chow down on the food as if it was the last meal on Earth. Ash pets the salamander gently, before leaving. Charmander felt a loss of warmth and began to shiver. Why?
He looks up to see the boy and the others leave him.
His heart feels heavy.
"Char…" Don't leave me…
The three Pokémon turned to face him, their eyes of sorrow.
As they leave, walking forward and passing Charmander, Ash couldn't help but feel sadness engulf him. He looks back to see Charmander staring at them, a longing look in the young Fire-Types eyes. Ash purses his lips, turning back to Brock, "Are you sure we can't just take him, Brock?" He asks with a hint of a pleading tone, not liking the fact they're leaving it behind. Brock, for all intents and purposes, hesitates to answer, but pats Ash on the shoulder sympathetically.
"I don't like it either, bud, but… what can we do? Even if the trainer is a jerk, this can be seen as theft on our side. No matter how awful the trainer may be, if he does come back for it and finds out we took away their Charmander, we may be seen as the people in the wrong. It's a tough decision, but we're not left with many options." Brock laments, shaking his head at the situation at hand. It's a depressing thought. Even he too feels pity for the young Kanto starter, wishing nothing more than to take it and have it get checked out by a Nurse Joy.
Fennekin's ears droop, which Serena notices. She picks up her Kalos starter and scratches her ears gently, "Oh, it'll be okay, Fennekin… I hope."
Nothing else was said.
As they walked in silence, all thoughts about Charmander were stuck in their minds.
Another couple of minutes passed by and they finally saw a building for weary travelers, a building they know good and well: a Pokémon Center. They all sigh in relief, happy to get some rest after traveling nonstop. For a moment, Charmander slipped out of their minds as they all rushed into the building to get into some wonderful A/C. The heat was starting to get to them as well. Misty looks up for a brief moment before entering the building, "The clouds are getting heavy. I'm glad we made it in. It looks like it's about to rain."
Both Ash and Brock begin to think about Charmander, hoping he can at least find shelter. Or hopefully his trainer actually comes back.
As they get comfortable in the Pokémon Center, all opting to sit in the lobby, Brock continues to eye the window. He keeps a lookout, in hopes of Charmander's arrival. Hopefully the Pokémon will come in and seek shelter here, and maybe they can convince Nurse Joy to take care of it long enough for it to become healthy once more. His heart becomes heavy with guilt. He should have done more. His fists clench. He was a breeder, a future doctor in training, and yet he just left a possible patient out in the wild… This trainer better come back, otherwise there will be absolute Hell to pay!
Ash closes his eyes, deep in thought. While Brock laments the lack of action, Ash feels a strange pull; a sharp, acute noise popping up within him. It was the same feeling as when he was crossing the bridge that would lead him to Bulbasaur. While the last time that happened, it was a feeling of danger, this time… it felt like he should be angry. It's calling out for him to attack someone; to attack the one responsible. But who?
'He's here…'
Who's here?
'Hurt him… Make him suffer…'
What's going on?
Ash grinds his teeth, his face scrunched up in both pain and in thought. A fist of his trembles, and the other hand grabs it to stop the trembling – the shaking still ensues. He tries to calm himself down, but the more he tries to fight it, the more he struggles to contain himself.
'Hurt him!'
'He's here! Make him suffer!'
'What are you doing, boy? Charmander is going to die! Save him! Hurt the person responsible!'
'Charmander needs you!'
'Hurt him!'
The thoughts keep coming and coming, getting louder and louder. With every thought being hurled at him, they sound more like him – sounding more feral. He's never thought of something this dark before, but the voice – his voice – is getting louder and with every yell in his mind, he would grip his head in pain. He lets out a low whimper, but no one hears it. He clenches his fist, ready to punch whoever gets to him! He raises his hand as he feels someone getting close!
'Hurt them!'
'Make them pay!'
'Charmander needs us!'
"Ash?"
'Get up and deliver some divine justice, boy!'
"Ash?"
'I ORDER you to get up – NOW!'
"Ash!"
His eyes snap open, his breath raggedy as his eyes dart around looking for the person who called his name. He looks over to see a concerned Serena and Misty, eyeing him. They are holding bowls of food for both him and Brock. Serena nervously places the bowl on the coffee table they're in front of and crouches down to stare at Ash eye-level. She places her hand against his forehead, noting its wetness. He stares in her eyes and almost loses himself in her eyes as a result.
"Are you okay?" Misty asks, handing Brock his bowl. She sits down next to Ash to place her hands on his back. He almost flinches at her touch. The voice in his head, no – his voice was telling him to hurt someone, and, in that instance, he was ready to just hurt his own friends. He felt something coming close, and his fists were ready to just let loose. Why would he want to hit them? What's wrong with him?
"I, uh, yeah… I, I was just thinking. That's all…" Ash stammers but continues to softly look at Serena's eyes. She always had nice eyes…
"Pikapi… | Fro-froakie…" His two starters jump on him, hoping he's alright. Breaking his gaze from Serena's, he turns and hugs his two Pokémon, comforting them and assuring them that he's alright. In a strange gesture, one that he never really does: he kisses the top of his two starters' heads. They look at him in shock, both wondering if he's truly okay.
"Must have been the same thing I was thinking," Brock surmises, "about Charmander?"
With a slow nod, Ash sighs, "Yeah, I'm worried about him. I don't think we did the right thing."
Before anyone else can say their piece, they all wince when they hear obnoxious laughter echoing across the lobby. They turn around to see a guy with a cocky look on his face, arms spread across one of the couches, and his leg over his other in an arrogant manner. On the table appears to be 20, if not 30, Poké Balls, all piled up together. He basks in the awe that many of his admirers are giving him. One of the trainers, praises all the Poké Balls on the table, "Wow, that's sure a lot of them!"
"For sure!" Another kid responds, his voice nasally.
"Just look at all these Poké Balls! You must have a pretty cool collection, man!" Another admirer states, his eyes wide as he looks at all the Poké Balls gleam in the light. The boy being praised just smirks at their adoration.
"So cool!"
"You're the man, Damien!"
"Didn't you have another Pokémon with you? Where's it at?"
Damien just shrugs uncaringly, he doesn't even bother to seem fazed at the question, "Yeah, I had a Pokémon that just followed me around. Little shit was so weak, it couldn't even beat a stupid Poliwag. Had to leave it behind, just so it wouldn't embarrass me!" The admirers just laugh, agreeing with him.
The group just stares at him, unimpressed and upset at what they're hearing. Ash more so. His heart begins to race. He doesn't understand why, but the look of that blue-haired boy's face is making him want to punch him.
"I don't like his attitude," Misty remarks with a frown. She narrows her eyes in disgust as she overheard the boy talk bad about his Pokémon. What kind of self-respecting trainer does such a nasty sort of thing?
Serena nods, repulsed by the boys' behavior. "Me neither. He's a huge jerk."
Brock nods, an upset countenance, obviously angered, "And he's talking about abandoning his own Pokémon because it was too weak? It's not the fault of the Pokémon for that; it's the responsibility of a trainer to make them strong. Any good trainer should know that."
Ash continues to stare blankly at Damien, breathing lightly as the voice begins to pound in his head.
'It's him…'
'He's our enemy…'
'Hurt him…'
'Make him suffer!'
"What Pokémon was it? Couldn't have been anything interesting!" One of Damien's followers asks.
"Oh, it was some stupid Charmander. Had him since I was a kid, but he ain't nothing! Just some weak baby. I even left him on some stupid trail in the woods." Damien's words echo across the hall. The entire group freezes. Their thoughts rush back to a miserable looking Charmander, who they were told was waiting for their trainer. Serena, Misty, and Brock all eye one another in a horrifying realization… This was Charmander's trainer! Before they can do anything, Ash abruptly gets up. Froakie and Pikachu scamper off him in surprise, never seeing him get up so quickly like that before. Everyone looks at Ash and, in his eyes, they see nothing but a blank gaze. No sign of life. Whatever he's doing, it's as if he's on autopilot.
'Hurt him, boy! Do it!'
'Make him pay!'
'Save Charmander – and kill this boy!'
'Wipe away his very existence!'
His voice keeps pounding in his head. His breathing gets heavier and louder, and faster, and raggedy.
"Ash?" Serena asks, slowly getting to Ash, but he doesn't hear her. He's just fixated on Damien.
"That thing is so stupid! No matter what I do to it, it just keeps following me like a damn child! I had to get rid of the blasted thing by promising it that I'd come back for it! And the funniest part is that it's probably still out there waiting for me! Hah! As if, right mates?" He laughs haughtily, and his lackeys follow suit, laughing merrily.
"That creep admitted to abandoning Charmander!" Misty gasps out in horror.
Ash's fist clenches. They look at him again and this time the blank face morphs into seething anger. Destructive hatred. The fire in Ash's eyes is set ablaze, and, for some reason, the air becomes thick. They try to breathe normally, but Ash bares his fangs and his eyes glow blue. He makes a mad dash to the boys at the other side of the lobby.
"Ash, wait!" Brock follows suit, rushing after Ash, knowing something is about to happen. Serena and Misty, along with Froakie, Pikachu, and Fennekin, all chase after them. Serena begins to fear for Ash's safety as she hopes nothing bad is about to happen to Ash.
"Heh, it's probably still out there, just wagging its stupid tail!"
"And maybe if it does, the flame on its tail will go out! Wouldn't that be something?"
"Hahahah, maybe! That's for sure!" Damien laughs hard. All the others laugh. However, one by one, they all get shoved aside. One falls hard on the table, causing it to nearly crack. Damien looks and stares at a crazed looking Ash staring down at him. Before he can say anything, Ash just grabs him by the scruff of his shirt. "Woah! What the-?! Who the Hell are you?!"
Raising his fist, Ash can hear his voice continue to tempt him. Urging him to punch the boy. Urging him to rip the boy's throat out! Kill him – Kill him! Kill – Kill – Kill – Kill!
Serena immediately pulls Ash away, holding him and pulling him away from Damien. "Ash – NO! Stop!" She pleads, putting space between him and the kid he was about to punch. "Stop, Ash, just don't do it!" She cries out, holding him tightly to her, with her hand against his wrist. He snarls, trying to escape Serena's grasp.
"Go and get it!" Brock intervenes, grabbing Damien, "Get Charmander now! Get him and apologize for what you're saying to him!"
"Pfft! And why should I?" Damien dismisses them, not at all fazed by Ash wanting to pummel him.
"Why 'should' you?! You're horrible! If you don't get Charmander, the flame on its tail will go away and when that happens… it'll…" Misty couldn't finish the sentence, not wanting to spell it out for everyone. Damien, on the other hand, smacks Brock's hands away and dismisses it all.
"You left it all alone! You said you promised you'd come back for it! It's waiting there for you and it's about to rain! Either you do it, or we will!" Brock yells in front of the boy, wanting hard to pummel him. Damien just rolls his eyes, turning away from the group.
"Do whatever you want, bruv. Ain't matter much to me!" He walks away. Ash, enraged even more, gets out of Serena's grasp and grabs Damien, pushing him down to the ground. He turns the boy around and raises his fist again, ready to strike first blood. "Oy! Let go of me, you chump!"
'Hit him!'
'Hurt him!'
'Make him bleed!'
"You better not mess with him, or you'll deal with all of us!" One of the trainers on Damiens' side taunts, getting out a Poké Ball.
"Argh!" Ash roars, closing the gap and trying to punch Damien.
"Hold it!" Nurse Joy yells out. Nurse Joy arrives with a whistle and a Chansey. Chansey uses Aromatherapy. It's a soothing scent that not only heals statuses, but also calms everyone involved. It works as Ash's enraged state begins to simmer down. His fist relaxes. He blinks but doesn't make note of it as Damien pushes him off.
"No more fighting! Any of you! If you all continue, I will call Officer Jenny and have you all escorted and banned from this Pokémon Center! Do I make myself clear?" Nurse Joy threatens them, frowning at them all, wanting to see if any are stupid enough to dare fight her on her proclamation. Damien scoffs, walking off.
"They're the ones who bloody started it," he mutters. He gestures to his goons to follow him, to which they all oblige. They glare at Ash hatefully, before turning away and walking off with their idol.
Luckily, due to Aromatherapy, the mood has shifted, and everyone is no longer as abrasive, or in Ash's case, aggressive. Nurse Joy sighs, shaking her head, "Never have I ever imagined a brawl about to happen in my own Center," she glares at the kids, though not as harshly as one would expect, "I don't know what your deal is with them, but do not get yourselves mixed up with people like them. Damien and his little posse all have a terrible reputation."
"Right, sorry…" Ash mutters in a dazed state. He shakes his head. Pikachu and Froakie get to him, trying to shake him out of his funk.
"Ash…" Serena whispers, concerned.
"Thank you for your advice," Brock bows to her. An appeased looking Nurse Joy nods. She bows and heads back to her desk. Brock waits, before giving a dopey smile at her direction, "She is so pretty… I've never seen anyone as pretty as her."
Misty rolls her eyes, "Oh, boy. She looks like any other Nurse Joy. How can you even tell them apart?"
Ash remarks, "What a Joyful world…" He shakes his head, snapping himself out of his own stupor. "Wait! We need to go!" He stands up quickly, "We need to get Charmander!"
"Right!" The three friends agree.
Serena recalls Fennekin, thanking her for being with them.
As they all head off, Nurse Joy quickly provides them rain coats to wear before it begins to storm. They thank her, before heading off. And luckily, they're happy they took them from Nurse Joy, because as soon as they bolted out of the Pokémon Center, what started as a small drizzle, became a downpour.
They scramble to put them on as they run.
As they run, Serena can't help but stare at Ash as he runs. His determination to save Charmander, while absolutely admirable, is also very worrying. The fact he snapped made her concerned for his well-being. Sure, she has seen him snap and attack someone out of anger, Samurai being the punching bag for it, and she has heard he snapped and fought a pair of Rocket thugs, but to see him absolutely go feral like that? That's a side she has never seen before. From what it looks like, even he wasn't in control of himself.
'What am I?' she remembers him asking aloud to her.
She recollects that time when he almost broke down, trying to find out if he was even human. And while she assured him, he was and he was the Ash she loved, or loved seeing in high spirits, she couldn't confess just yet; she knew this wasn't the Ash she knew. The Ash that almost beat up Damien with such hatred, such animosity, couldn't be the Ash she likes. When she saw him gripping his head in pain a while ago, it made her remember how he reacted when going through the bridge… and when that creep, Solomon, recited something about the 'Monarch'.
'I need to talk to him,' Serena thinks to herself, hoping to get Ash to say something. She'll be there for him. No matter what. Even if he doesn't act like the Ash she knows and cares for, she'll be there to pull him back. Whatever is happening to him, she'll help him. He has done so much for her, and in her mind, she needs to give back. Repay him for all that he's done for her. Unclenching a fist that she didn't know she had, she looks back to the main pathway, wanting to get to Charmander as quickly as possible.
The downpour was beating on them. The winds were blowing harshly, and lightning cracks at the sky, illuminating the world for seconds before disappearing into the void. They all wince when the lightning's crackling sound finally looms over them and nearly makes them cover their ears.
As they push through, they get back to the spot where they met a shivering Charmander. In his hands, he's holding a giant leaf that's protecting him from the vicious rain. Unfortunately, he's also trying to swipe away from the wild Spearow attacking him. They try to attack him for the remaining food in the bowl, something which Ash's stomach churns at. He left him food and now it's biting poor Chamander in the tail for it! They all notice a terrifying sight: the flame on its tail is dimming!
Springing into action, Ash calls out for a Thunderbolt from Pikachu, who easily obeys. Ash throws Pikachu in the air, and the Thunderbolt connects with the Spearow, all of whom just fly away, not wanting to risk taking extreme damage like that.
Throwing his raincoat off, Ash rushes over to cover the dimming flame, he turns to his friends hastily, "I'll make sure his tail stays lit! You guys just need to lift him and help get him to the Pokémon Center!"
Brock, Serena, and Misty all rush to aid. Serena helps by taking off her raincoat as well to provide more coverage, sheltering the tail from the winds and rain drops, while Misty and Brock hold onto Charmander's front side. As awkward as they look being huddled up, any semblance of it is tossed aside as the situation continues to get dire and dire. Charmander continues to shiver, coughing up phlegm, and his tail wagging erratically. They rush all huddled together back to the Pokémon Center.
The storm begins to worsen, making the others curse at whatever deity is out there trying to prevent them from helping Charmander.
"Just hold on, Charmander! You can make it through! Just stay with us!" Brock shouts encouragingly, trying to keep Charmander awake. Charmander slowly looks around, seeing everyone protecting it. He can't see Ash, but he can feel his warmth… He lays his head back down. The shivering stops. The boy is near him…
"Don't die on us, Charmander, we're almost there," Serena pleads, biting her lips anxiously.
To their relief, the Pokémon Center is within distance, and they sprint, ever more motivated to get there as fast as possible. They can see Nurse Joy standing out the door, holding an umbrella, waiting for them. Her worried face changes to that of relief when seeing them burst through the door, with her moving aside to let them in. Her relief then shifts to horror at the sight of Charmander, "Oh, my!"
"Help him, please, Nurse Joy!" Ash quickly begs. Time is of the essence!
Nurse Joy grabs Charmander, "His tail is almost gone! I must hurry! Chansey!" She rushes out to the emergency room, with Chansey rushing with a stretcher. They put Charmander on the stretcher with efficient speed and rush into the room, locking it up as soon as they enter. The light signaling intensive care blares on, alerting the group that Nurse Joy is now working diligently. Or, at least, they hoped so.
The entire group collapsed on the floor. Their adrenaline now gone. They all pant heavily, with Ash holding his head once more. The voice, now soft, congratulates him.
'You did well, child…'
And with that, the voice in his head goes dormant.
The waiting game also began.
Brock stood front and center of the door, while everyone else began to doze off. Misty got everyone pillows and sheets. Knowing how Brock must have been feeling, she puts Brock's share on one of the couches. She tells him when he's ready to sleep, he has his in that spot. Brock thanks her earnestly, before staring at the door again. She sighs, wondering if Brock has some sort of guilt over it all.
And, Brock, indeed, does. He begins to shame himself for being out of character. He should have done more. He should have just grabbed Charmander and took it to the Pokémon Center. Or came back to grab it when they saw the Center within view. He should have done more. Then, his regret turns to that of anger. He curses Damien in his mind, wishing Serena hadn't interrupted Ash. He wishes that Ash punched Damien, giving him a nasty concussion, to make him regret ever abandoning Charmander like that. This poor Pokémon didn't deserve this kind of treatment; no Pokémon does. He then lets out a few tears. He begs in the back of his mind that Charmander would forgive him…
What kind of breeder was he? He wanted to be a Pokémon Doctor someday too, but this? How can he say he would be one if he just left an abandoned Pokémon to suffer?
As Brock suffers internally, Ash and Serena lean against one another. Ash's hand hangs off the couch and Serena, deciding it would be nice, grabs his hand and gently squeezes it. He squeezes her hand back, and the two just hold hands in a comfortable silence. He doesn't know why, but it just feels nice to hold her hand. A content Serena lets out a small sigh, but she also decides it's best to talk to Ash about what happened earlier. Giving his hand a final squeeze, she let's go of it, much to both of their disappointments. She steels herself, but she continues to lay her head against the back of his. She may as well stay comfortable while talking to him.
With her eyes closed, she hums a small tune. Ash, knowing the tune, hums it as well, and the two smile.
It was a small tune from a show that Serena used to watch when they were younger. It was a show in Kalos that she had on DVD. She once sent them to Ash to watch and see if he would like it. It was a show about a boy and girl, fighting crime, while also going to school together. The catch was that the girl liked the boy but wasn't aware of his identity as the boy who helps her fight crime. And vice-versa, the boy doesn't know the girl exists, but likes the crime fighting girl partner he has. Despite the silly romance elements, the show was a good watch for the two of them.
"That takes me back," Ash whispers, full of nostalgia.
"Yeah," Serena trails off with a small sigh of pleasure, "and I remember you begging me to let you keep my DVDs. I had to fight you for them back," she lets out a light laugh, to which Ash responds with one of his own. The two just continue leaning against one another, back against back, enjoying their time together. "And you told me that I was a horrible friend as a result," she teases him with that memory.
"Heh, yeah, I remember that… I did like the show, more than I expected. Though, you knew I was only kidding when I said that" Ash says with a wistful smile.
"Mm. Do you also remember when you and I snuck out of our rooms and would call each other when our moms were asleep or away?" Serena asks with a nostalgic smile of her own.
"Yeah, I do…" Ash chuckles, his eyes getting cloudy, reminiscing of all those events. "We were trying so hard to be rebellious, that it wasn't like us at all!"
"You're right, it wasn't. And something happened today that made me realize one of us wasn't like our usual self," Serena comments, with Ash frowning, realizing what she means. "Ash," she starts, "is there something you're not telling me?" She asks him, being direct with him. Ash hesitates to answer and that's where she knew she had him. "So, there is something you're hiding from me." She plainly says with a hurt look on her face. "And here I thought we wouldn't hide secrets from one another?"
Ash closes his eyes, "I'm sorry, but it's not like I was trying to hide it…" he scratches his cheek nervously, "rather, it was like… how do I even talk to you about it?" He can sense her raise an eyebrow. He asks her, "When did you start noticing?"
"Since the day we thought we lost Brock, you weren't your usual self when we got to that bridge, remember?"
"Do you remember when I asked if I was even human to you?" He feels her head nod, "Well, I forgot about those events until recently. When we got to the bridge that led us to Melanie's cabin, I began hearing voices. It sounded ominous. It was telling me of upcoming danger; it was even telling me about those traps, the one Misty fell in." The two silently chuckle, remembering Misty's shrieks that day. "But, yeah, it began that day and… it came back today… but the weirdest part is that the voice… sounded just like mine? And it was telling me these disgusting, and dark, things to do – like hurt Damien – to kill him! It didn't explain why, but when we found out he was the reason Charmander was abandoned and possibly hurt, I lost all sort of control… and then next thing I knew was that I was on top of Damien before he pushed me away."
Grabbing his hand, Serena squeezes it again, "To think you're going through this, Ash… I'm not going to lie, I'm scared. I'm scared for you, but also of you." When she said that, Ash's heart felt like it was about to burst. He didn't understand why he felt that way, but it felt like she was about to rip his heart from him. "I'm scared because I don't want to lose the real you. You, the Ash that can make me smile, the one that loves his friends and Pokémon, always willing to help those in need, but never in a way that puts you in danger… or hurts anyone to the point of severity. When I stopped you, you didn't look like yourself; you weren't yourself. I get it now." She lifts up his hand and rubs her cheek against it in a soothing way, "I want to help you control yourself, Ash. You've done so much for me, that I want to help you stay true to yourself. You're special to me, Ash. I don't want to lose you in any way shape or form. You, this Ash, is the Ash I admire a lot. You're my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. If you ever lose yourself in darkness, I will find you. I'll be the light that makes you whole again."
"'Rena…"
"Heh, it's been a while since you called me that, Ash… I missed it."
The couple, or the almost couple, stay in pure silence. Serena's proclamation makes Ash's heart beat fast. Faster than ever before. His cheeks redden at feeling her cheek brush against the top of his hand. What was this feeling? He turns his head slowly to stare at her, but she snores lightly, letting him know she was asleep. He smiles at her, before facing away to let sleep overtake him as well. He never saw that Froakie and Pikachu snickered amongst themselves, high fiving one another. They're so close.
A few hours pass, and the group, even Brock, all wake up to see Nurse Joy walking out of the intensive care room. Her brow full of sweat, and her shoulders sagging from exhaustion. However, the moment she looks to see the group staring back, she gives them an accomplished smile, much to their joy. Despite their exhaustion, they all cheer quietly, giving each other hugs for helping Charmander out. Nurse Joy smiles at the sight.
"Now, how did this happen?" She asks, which sours the mood for them, but they knew she needed to know.
With that, they begin to explain the situation, with how Damien confessed that he abandoned Charmander out in the wild. While she wasn't surprised, it was still upsetting to know that someone like him would do that to a Pokémon as sweet as Charmander. With a heavy sigh, Nurse Joy gives them a grateful smile, "Well, at least you all did what anyone should have done and helped take this little thing to me. It wasn't easy, but he's now stable and sleeping. Unfortunately, Damien did release him, so while highly unethical and discouraging, Damien was in his right to release a Pokémon." That piece of news didn't sit well with Ash or Brock, but Serena and Misty both rub their backs to calm them down.
"And with that, I must bid you all a good night," she yawns, "Charmander should be fine with some good night's rest. And I suggest you all go back to sleep. I thank you all for being here for poor Chamander's time of need." They all bow, and she heads off to her room, to sleep.
The group turns to one another, and they all decide it was time to sleep. This time, a lot better, knowing that Charmander was in stable condition and on the path to recovery.
As the sun begins to rise, the group sleeps all huddled near one another. Ash and Serena are still holding hands with one another. Misty sleeps huddled nearby Ash, and Brock's back against the couch, his arms spread out on the top of the couch, with his head hanging over the couch. They're all so exhausted that drools all escape from their mouths. Ash and Brock even snore louder than usual, but the girls aren't bothered by it considering the peaceful looks on their faces as they sleep. It felt like a family outing.
Nurse Joy would wake up before them. She smiles seeing the same trainers sleeping nearby one another. She then turns to see an already awake Chansey, who offers her a cup of coffee. The nurse gladly accepts the coffee, sipping it and humming in delight at the taste. Her Chansey really knows how to make great coffee!
When she enters the room that Charmander is inhabiting, she gasps in horror. The window is open, and the fire lizard isn't there! Her gasp of horror was loud enough to awaken the group, all of whom just jump and stand, ready to battle. Ash and Serena let go of each other's hands, blushing at the fact they held each other like that. Presumably all night, too!
They rush to where Nurse Joy is and they too gasp in shock, finding the room completely empty! Brock frowns, "He escaped… back to the rock…" They stare at the room dejectedly. After all the trouble they went through, Charmander was still loyal to Damien? Ash frowns, not wanting to accept this.
"Why?" he simply asks. His fists clenched tightly.
"I don't know," Brock sighs. He rubs a hand in his hair, trying to calm his anxiety down. "Even after rescuing it, it still holds in the belief that Damien will come back to it. Even if Damien is a pile of trash, there's nothing we can do now to convince Charmander that fact."
Nurse Joy sadly agrees, putting a hand over her cheek in worry of the poor Fire-Type, "Exactly that. It's up to Charmander to realize the truth."
Ash sighs, "Well, I say we go to him either way and at least tell him the truth." He looks over to his two partners, "You up for some pep talk, Froakie? Pikachu?"
"Fro! | Pika!"
He smiles, heading off to get to Charmander. The others, sans Nurse Joy, chase after him, calling out his name as they run.
And there, they see Charmander staring off into space, deep in thought. As much as he looks still exhausted and in poor shape, he's certainly healthier looking than when they first saw him. Seeing them appear through his peripheral vision, he mutters his name in surprise. Why are they here? Ash slowly walks up to him and offers his hand gently, to which Charmander stares at it curiously. Ash gives the young starter a warm smile, before lifting his hand over Charmander's and begins to rub it gently, much to the said starter's delight. "Char…" He coos in delight.
Ash chuckles lightly, "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better, Charmander…" He gives him a sad smile, "We thought we almost lost you, y'know? We were all very worried for you… Me, Brock… Misty, and Serena… Pikachu, and Froakie… All of us were very worried. But here you are, alive and putting up a fight for another day? Y'know something? I wish Damien was here, to see how truly strong you are; to see how much of a trooper you really are. That way, he can realize how special you are." Charmander's eyes widened at the name. How did they find him?! Seeing the surprise, Ash inhales deeply, "Well… I think it's time you know the truth, Charmander… Y'see, Damien… well, he, uh… How can I even say this?" Ash mutters to himself, trying to find a way to say it.
"Froa-fro-kie-fro…" He abandoned you…
Froakie was the first one to say it, with Ash looking at his Water-Type starter and sighs, nodding, surmising what Froakie had said. "He's right… Damien left you, on purpose. He had no intention to come back. And… I'm sorry, Charmander…"
Ash tears up lightly, "You don't deserve that… you don't deserve to be mistreated like that! Look at you! Just… the loyalty you give to him, and this is how he repays you?! If you were my Pokémon, I would never abandon you! I'd make sure you were taken care of! To be loved! To have a home!" Ash chokes back a sob as tears fall down his face, letting his emotions overtake him. The others watch sympathetically, nodding with what Ash is saying. Charmander begins to cry, feeling the emotions pouring from Ash. He refuses to believe it, but all the signs point to the boy being right… Damien did abandon him!
"Char… mander…" Charmander begins to sob. He bites his lips, huffing his cry. As soon as that happens, Ash engulfs him in a hug. Followed by everyone else. They can hear Charmander wail in sadness. Their hearts break.
"Heh, well, looks like you survived after all," Damien states with a snarky tone, an ugly smirk on his face.
Everyone, minus Charmander, all glare hatefully at Damien. Serena growls, "What are you doing here, you pile of garbage?!"
Damien almost looks affronted, before laughing, "Well, I guess that's a bit harsh since I'm here to come back to get Charmander now!" His tone, anything but sweet, or remorseful, is caught by Charmander, who closes his eyes in sadness. He never cared… All these years, and for what? To be tossed aside? To be forgotten about? This wasn't the Damien he used to know…
"You can forget about it!" Ash shouts gravelly, his voice almost cracking with anger. He points at Charmander emphatically, "You left him alone – to die! You don't care about him! You're just doing it to save face! Knowing how you acted at the Pokémon Center, laughing about his impending death, you'd probably take him somewhere and leave him to truly die! How sick can you really be?!"
Damien grabs Ash, hoisting him up to his face, "Well, you punk, you really wanna finish this shit? Boy, I'll punt ya so hard, even your own mum wouldn't know who you are! You wanna fight? Then come on then! Hit me!" Ash snarls, ready to do so.
Wham
Someone knocks Damien onto the floor and everyone stares in shock as Serena is panting hard, cupping the fist she used to knock Damien off his feet. Her eyes are completely shadowed, as she grits her teeth, "Don't you dare hurt him… Don't you dare hurt my Ash, you ugly, sack of merde!" She cusses in Kalosian, grabbing a rock and throws it hard at Damien, hitting him square in the forehead, making it bleed. "Just go away and leave Charmander and us alone!" She keeps throwing rocks at him, to which he shields himself from them, albeit still a tad dazed from the sucker punch.
His entire right cheek is bruised and is showing signs of swelling. He glares at her, ready to attack her, but Charmander steps up. His own eyes shadowed. He then looks up and stares at Damien with anger and frustration. This piece of dirt will not hurt his new friends! That's it! They're his friends now! They did more for him than Damien ever has! And there's no way that Damien will ever hurt them! No way! Not while he's here!
With a roar, Charmander unleashes a very powerful Flamethrower at Damien. The boy starts to run away, terrified, and in dire pain.
As he runs off, he trips, hurting himself even more. Serena grabs one more rock and throws it with a curve up. As it lands, it lands directly, and precisely, on the teens' jewels. The boy howls in pain, crying crocodile tears as he scrambles to get up. When he does, he hobbles away in pain, cursing them from a distance, but unwilling to do anything about it now.
Ash and Brock both wince, but knowing he deserved it. Ash looks to Serena, who is beginning to calm down, and he gives her a nervous smile, "Remind me to never make you mad." She exhales and gives him a wink in return. He just chuckles in response to her, before turning to look at Charmander.
Charmander sags his shoulders in relief, sighing. It's over… Then he looks over to Ash.
The two stare at one another and Ash smiles, "Well, you're officially a free Pokémon, Charmander. What are you going to do now?" Charmander hesitates to answer, opting to poke his two claws together, glancing at Ash's set of empty Poké Balls. He then points at one of them, hoping to join the team. Froakie and Pikachu's eyes widen and jump happily, wanting Ash to accept the offer. He'll have a team of six now! And it'll be a strong teammate! They can feel his potential!
Ash looks over to his friends, "Should I?"
Serena nods with an emphatic, "Of course!"
Misty shrugs, "I guess so!" She jokingly winks at him, letting him know it's okay in her books.
Then Brock pats Ash on the shoulder, "You deserve him… More than any of us. You went out your way to fight for him, buddy. Go and accept him as your newest catch." With everyone's blessings, Ash crouches down and opens his arms out with a huge smile, wanting Charmander to run to him. Charmander, who's eyes widen at the gesture, begins to tear up and he smiles, rushing to Ash. The two new teammates embrace tightly, with Charmander's lit tail growing larger in response. The warmth this boy is giving him… it's empowering!
With that, Charmander uses Flamethrower in Ash's face with a gleeful look.
Everyone stares in shock. Ash just coughs up some soot, before he begins to laugh, "Wow! Now I know how Damien felt! That was one strong Flamethrower, Charmander!"
Serena glares at Charmander, to which said Pokémon offers an apologetic look to her. She then caves, rubbing his head, "Oh, you're so cute. I can't stay mad at you. Just… don't do it to me, please!" Charmander nods with a smile, much to her delight.
"Welcome to the team, Charmander!" Ash calls out, using an empty Poké Ball to officially catch him. No shake. Ding.
Getting up, Ash smiles at his friends and partners, "Well… I guess it's time to head out. We need to really get to Vermilion City now. Don't you guys agree?" The others agree, and as they walk back the path that leads to Vermilion, Ash stares at the Poké Ball holding Charmander and thinks to himself that he'll show Charmander all the love in the world… to make him a strong Pokémon and show him his true worth to the world. And to Damien. He then glances at Serena's free hand. He blushes lightly, wanting to hold it, but he refrains… Maybe one day, he can ask her if he can hold her hand. That would be nice, wouldn't it?
