Disclaimer: If it wasn't already painfully obvious, I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape, or form. That honor lies with Game Freak and Nintendo; I just enjoy playing in their sandpit.
Chapter 1: Like no one ever was
The departure from the only place he had ever known was an odd feeling for Ash. Not once had he left the territories of what was once Pallet Town; it was both exciting and admittedly terrifying for him. To fear the unknown is something all creatures experience; every instinct we have tells us to stick with what we know; that familiarity is safe…and this is true. That however, did nothing to deter Ash; he had always wondered what lied beyond the ever-present trees; what did the rest of the world look like? It was something he greatly wished to see. He had visited the somewhat nearby beach several times during his youth; he would never forget seeing that endless expanse of water stretching into the horizon.
His anxiousness stemmed primarily from his lack of companions; mainly of the pokemon variety. While admittedly his departure from the laboratory without a starter pokemon would be considered foolhardy to most, he abstained for two reasons. First and foremost was to honor his brother. No matter what anyone else said, Surtr was and would always be his 'starter', though he simply preferred to call him brother. To choose another would, in Ash's mind, sully his memory. The second reason was his relatively newfound animosity towards the entire philosophy and mindset of being a 'trainer'. The act of fighting a creature, knocking it out, then capturing it and forcing it to serve you was nothing less than slavery in his mind. While he had no doubts that there were exceptions to this rule, they were just that; exceptions…outliers.
Thankfully, of all the places to start one's journey, the area of former Pallet Town was one of the safest. Located on a peninsula jutting out south into the ocean, it was a rather isolated area, and thus somewhat easily monitored. This would explain why most starting trainers in Kanto began their journey in Viridian City, which was located only a few dozen miles north of Oak's Lab.
The next few hours of his day saw him traveling along the route at a brisk pace, while his eyes kept on the lookout for pokemon. He knew that most pokemon along this route, especially next to the route itself, were either looking to be caught or were too young to notice. The thought made him pause in thought for a bit, frowning. He honestly wasn't sure how to approach this, now that he was out here. It was nearly an unspoken rule that pokemon expected a trainer to fight them before capturing them; yet he had no pokemon with which to fight. He supposed if push came to shove he could fight them himself if they really wanted to; the vast majority of pokemon in this area were inexperienced and young; he could take them if needed. Still, the thought was not a pleasant one.
He walked a little more along the route before looking up towards the sun; it was about noon, so he decided to eat some ration bars as his 'lunch'. He'd much rather keep moving than stop to fix a meal. That being said, other than the occasional pidgey, caterpie and rattata, the route was rather…boring, truth be told. Just a worn trail that cut through the forest and plains along the route. Frowning as he munched on the bar (which tasted like cardboard), he nodded to himself before heading at an angle from the route into the surrounding wilds. He would stay close enough to see the route, or at least the trail it cut through the forest, but he was more interested in what lied beyond the beaten path.
An hour later, he had his answer for the most part; forest. Lots and lots of trees. He also saw far less pokemon, which made sense; pokemon this far from the trail most likely wanted nothing to do with trainers, not that he could blame them.
Not long after, Ash came upon a clearing, and the breeze that swept across the field and under his red and white cap felt miraculous. Kanto, this region in particular, was rather hot. Being on a peninsula meant it was also very humid; travelling outside during summertime could be very unpleasant. Combine that with travelling through trees that let no breeze through, and it was comparable to breathing in a stagnant swamp.
All this, combined with the alluring breeze, was a temptation Ash could not ignore. Taking off his cap Ash sunk to the ground, leaning against a tree on the edge of the clearing and enjoying the breeze. Time passed by quickly for him, and almost an hour had passed before he heard rustling and squawks from the clearing.
Ash froze; while the calls were not close enough for them to notice him yet, he recognized them: spearow. Probably the only truly dangerous pokemon in this region; while alone, spearow were typically rather weak and easy to fight off…but spearow were never alone. In the wild they clustered together in large flocks, constantly fighting over territory with their rivals in the pidgey evolution line. Their unpleasant, hyper-territorial temperament meant that any trainer mad enough to catch one faced an uphill battle, and for little gain. While their evolved form, Fearow, was indeed a very capable pokemon, it was also far worse than its unevolved fellows in temperament.
All this was bad enough for Ash, but what was even worse was what he could see; spread out between each other by a large margin were several spearows on the ground, looking like spiky balls of fluff as they forced their feathers to stand out as much as possible, while they themselves turned and curved in odd ways. For the average person, they would think the spearows suffered from some illness; for Ash he knew better. This was a mating dance; the males on the ground were showing the condition of their plumage and wings to the females watching intently in the trees above.
'Mating season. And I just happened to stumble across a flock of the surliest pokemon there are…who are even WORSE during mating season. Great.'
Taking that as his cue to quietly leave, all the while mentally singing praises to Flare and his teachers for teaching him how to move silently, Ash slowly slunk back into the forest….or would have. He damn near shit himself when he heard the loud gait of someone else nearby trudging through the forest as if they weighed several tons, and actually let out several quiet profanities when they spoke loudly.
*gasp* "Is that a….it is! A shiny spearow! Bulbasaur, go!"
Ash instinctively followed the gaze of whom he now recognized as one of his fellow graduates, quickly taking note of the spearow with off-green plumage, yet quickly discarded the information as unimportant; shiny pokemon, while extremely rare, had no special qualities other than as bragging rights for trainers. It said a lot about his fellow graduate that she was going for it for that reason alone. Yet even more alarming was that she was not paying attention to the situation! His stomach dropped somewhere near his shoes as he noticed that every damn spearow had turned their beady eyes in their direction; the time for sneaking had passed it seemed.
'Shit, this damn airhead has killed us!'
He recognized her from class; he believed she preferred to be called 'Green'. He also did not give a damn. Turning, he shouted at her, giving this idiot one chance and ignoring how she jumped in alarm, apparently not even knowing he was there.
"You damn idiot! RUN! That's an entire flock of spearow you just pissed off!"
He was already beginning to dart through the trees when he heard several hundred wings flapping furiously, their owners cawing just as fierce. As for Green, he didn't look back; he had given her sound advice when she just possibly killed the both of them; he wasn't going to babysit her too.
Just as he was thinking he may yet escape with his life, he heard a howl followed by yaps of agony. Spinning around, using a tree as support, Ash took a look towards the sound and winced; he couldn't see what made the sound, as it was currently covered in a small swarm of spearow. There were so many they appeared to be lifting it off the ground in their frenzy.
"Shit! Arceus save my bleeding heart!"
Ash started sprinting towards the mob of spearow, picking up several large, sturdy branches from the ground as he did. Internally he was calling himself all sorts of unpleasant names, yet he could not ignore this. While he was well aware that many pokemon were carnivorous and ate others, this was not a hunt. This was some idiotic, pampered snot of a trainer instantly endangering every pokemon within several miles. Being torn to pieces by a swarm of pissed-off spearow was not a fate he would wish upon anyone, let alone some random pokemon that did nothing wrong.
Upon finally reaching the mob, Ash started swinging; and he was aiming for the wings. It might be brutal, but he knew very well that they would do far worse to him; thus he was taking out their ability to follow him. There were several shrieks of pain as bodies started hitting the forest floor, followed by more shrieks of outrage. Soon enough he too was being attacked, and if not for all the evasion training he did he would most likely have died. Even then, by the time Ash had either downed or scared off the small mob of spearow, he had several gashes along his arms, with far more numerous cuts wherever exposed skin was; his clothes were almost certainly a lost cause. Yet none of that mattered to Ash as he quickly dashed towards the fallen form of what appeared to be a canine, scooping it up and continuing to run as quickly as he could through the forest. The group he had frightened away would soon return with the flock, and he wanted to gain as much ground as possible.
His current train of thought was derailed as he felt a maw filled with many sharp fangs latch onto his arm.
"Ow! Will you stop *pant* that, I am not a spearow! I'm trying to save your *pant* ass and you bite me?!"
The maw full of teeth belonged to what he now recognized as a houndour. Its eyes, which had been narrowed to small pinpricks in abject terror, slowly dilated as it realized that no, it had not been picked up by the spearow again. Upon realizing it was literally biting the person who saved it, the houndour unlatched its teeth and gave a whine before relaxing its tensed muscles a bit, its eyes lidding with exhaustion and pain.
As for Ash, while he was very glad he was no longer being bit, he was very worried; the pup was in bad shape. It had only been perhaps ten seconds between when it was attacked and when he arrived to fend off the spearow, but the damage had been done. Multiple, large lacerations marred the soot-black fur, almost all of them oozing blood. A considerable chunk of its left ear had been bitten off, leaving a beak-shaped tear in the ear. Thankfully, the houndour's large bony head-plate had protected its eyes, but its muzzle bore twin gashes that ran across its length. As for the houdour's body, Ash was pretty sure the only reason it hadn't been gutted was due to the two large protective bone plates that curved around its back and sides. Honestly, Ash was impressed the houndour was still awake. That being said, he had to focus on getting away from the spearow first.
The next twenty minutes was a harrowing experience for Ash, which mainly involved finding the thickest part of the woods he could, heading back towards the trail, regulating his breathing, and keeping pressure on his cargo, using his arms and body to help staunch the bleeding. Thankfully, luck decided to stop crapping all over him, and the spearow flock ran afoul of a rival pidgey flock as they crossed into their territory. Ash was sure the battle was bloody and large, but he was too focused on getting back to the path for now; he needed to get to Viridian City quickly.
After twenty more minutes, Ash finally made it back to the route and slowed his pace to a brisk walk to try and get his heaving lungs back under control. Once he had his breath back, Ash quickly set the houndour down, its quiet whimper and lidded eyes the only clue it was still conscious. Looking over its injuries Ash winced; it had lost a lot of blood…most of which was all over his clothes mixed with his own blood. Even if he bandaged it up, he wasn't sure it wouldn't be too little too late. Fishing one of his canteens out of his bag, he quickly crouched down next to the dog. With one hand he lifted its muzzle, and once he had its bleary attention he spoke.
"Hey there, bud. I know you're in a ton of pain and probably feel like doing nothing but sleeping, but you need to drink some water fast; you've lost a lot of blood and need fluids quickly. Just let me pour it in and you gulp it down; we don't have time for anything else."
His only acknowledgement was the fact that it did what he asked, and thankfully drank a considerable amount. He capped the canteen before continuing.
"Ok, that helps a lot…that's good. What's bad is you've lost a lot of blood, and I'm not sure if you'll make it before I get to a pokemon center. I hate to ask this…but will you let me catch you?"
By the way the hound suddenly tensed, he had his answer.
"I know, I don't like it either. Really." He felt the need to add that last part upon seeing the look it gave him. "We don't have a choice; I don't have the items needed to stabilize you, but a pokeball puts your body in stasis. As soon as you get healed I'll let you break the ball; I refuse to force anyone into what is little more than slavery. But we need to do this now."
The houndour bent its head over to look at the injuries marring its body, along with the oozing blood. It then looked back at him for a long moment, before huffing in defeat and letting its head rest against the grass, its eyes closing. Ash didn't waste any time, pulling out a pokeball and gently tossing it against the houndour's side before it was drawn into the pokeball. It shook only once before its blinking indicator registered a successful catch.
Ash took little notice, simply clipping the ball to his belt before standing up again. The sudden wave of vertigo that swept through him almost saw him back on the ground, but he pushed through. Ash slowly picked up speed again, and before long was once again full-on running down the road towards Viridian City. While a pokeball put the body in stasis, it did not do the same for the mind; with the injuries it sustained, there was a very real chance of the houndour going into shock if not treated quickly, thus his urgency.
The desperate run was one of the most difficult things Ash had ever done in his life. Dimly, in the small part of his brain that wasn't focused entirely on just keep running, Ash yet again thanked his upbringing. If not for his constant physical exercise and training with the ranch pokemon, Ash knew he would not have been able to do this. Even then, he wasn't sure how; he was already exhausted before he began this mad dash. Yet despite his lungs desperately trying to escape his chest, his breathing haggard and gasping, and his legs feeling like liquid fire replaced his veins, he still somehow kept running.
Unbeknownst to him, under his clothes, a very dim blue light could be seen faintly wisping from his legs occasionally.
It was several hours later in the early evening when the locals of Viridian City saw an odd yet worrying sight; what appeared to be a trainer running down the sidewalks feverishly, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding buildings. Yet that was not what worried them; it was the fact that most of his upper body was covered in blood; even a good bit of his head was covered in dry, flaking blood. Eventually the spectacle drew the attention of an Officer Jenny, who proceeded to try and get the trainer to get on her motorbike; yet every attempt was deftly avoided by the trainer who just continued running. Eventually she decided to follow him on her bike while notifying the EMT of the situation; hopefully together they could stop him and get him the help he clearly needed. Yet not soon after, his destination became clear as he turned a corner and picked up speed towards the pokemon center.
For Ash, he could not recall much of the past few hours; all he could think about was just keep running and getting to a pokemon center. He couldn't even begin to take in the sights of Viridian City in the evening; he was far too delirious for that. Dimly, he thought someone was following him but he didn't much care; what did catch his attention was the iconic red-and-white painted building with the large pokeball on the front; he had found his destination. Pulling from reserves he wasn't quite sure existed, he picked up speed, barely not crashing through the automatic glass doors. Ignoring the few screams and other inconsequential sounds around him, his feverish eyes bore into the alarmed blue eyes of the Nurse Joy on duty. Making his way to the desk, he placed the pokeball down on the desk as he spoke…or at least tried to. His brain-to-mouth function was just as fried as the rest of him.
"Nrse Joy, sperwr attk, hundrr nds hlp qik."
Despite the illegible slurr, Nurse Joy seemed to get the idea and quickly took the ball and gave it to a chansey before just as quickly turning back to him and talking intently to someone behind him. Ash tried to turn to see, yet didn't even make half it half-way before the world violently tilted. Ash was confused, especially when everyone around him seemed to be growing taller very fast. He felt a dim sense of annoyance as he heard yet more screams that hurt his ears, then switched back to confusion as he felt hands wrap around him. He wasn't able to ponder much else before the world went dark.
-Scene Break-
When Ash once more became aware of his surroundings, it was to the strong scent of cleaning chemicals and a pounding headache. Wrinkling his nose at the smell and groaning at the feeling of someone using a jackhammer on the inside of his skull, Ash slowly opened his eyes to ascertain his surroundings. Feeling the almost excessive amount of grit in his eyes as he woke, Ash moved his arm to wipe it away, only for a sharp burst of pain to emanate from his wrist. Hissing at the pain, Ash jerked his arm back to its original position. He heard a door quickly open, soon followed by the strange sensation of what felt like one large limb with an overly-dexterous ending feeling around his wrist where the pain came from, followed by strange yet melodic mutterings. They sounded familiar so Ash completely opened his eyes, thankful for the relative low-lighting around him, and turned towards the source.
A chansey greeted his visage, which made sense as to why he recognized it; Oak had one in his ranch. This one was currently fussing over a needle in his arm attached to a tube. Following the tube, he saw it led to a large bag of what appeared to be water on a rack. His attention was brought back to the chansey as she tapped his arm; he didn't even have to understand what she was saying as her frown and general attention to his wrist gave a more than clear message; don't touch this.
Ash opened his mouth to speak and assuage the chansey that he wouldn't, only to suddenly find himself under a rather painful coughing fit. 'My throat feels like sandpaper!' He couldn't ever recall having felt his throat this dry, or suddenly so thirsty. He was dimly aware of the chansey rushing out of the room, yet all he could focus on was getting something to parch his throat. He was about to drag the IV stand into what looked like a bathroom when the door opened yet again, admitting not only the chansey, but the clear form of Nurse Joy as well. It was enough to give him pause for a second. Chansey were oftentimes used as nurses in both pokemon centers and hospitals due to their kind and oftentimes maternal natures, along with their soft appearance; where most others failed to calm or soothe patients, they would more than likely succeed. However, ironic as it may be, Nurse Joys only worked in pokemon centers. Ash wasn't even going to try and think about why they all looked exactly alike; he wasn't going down that rabbit hole. Nonetheless, the fact that she was here meant he was in a pokemon center…being treated. All these questions and observations however went out the window as he saw what she was holding in her hands; a large cup. His eagerness drew a laugh from her as the cup was basically snatched from her hands.
"Try and drink slowly if you can manage at first; let your throat get used to it."
For the most part he obeyed, yet paused soon after; this water was…salty? It wasn't an overbearing taste, yet it was definitely there. Glancing down he saw it was also tinged a light pink in contrast to the white of the cup. Before he could ask however, Nurse Joy saw his observations and answered for him.
"Don't worry, that water has just been infused with a good bit of electrolytes; they should help you hydrate faster." Her good demeanor soon vanished however, as she brought up another topic. "That being said, once you are able to talk, we need to have a serious discussion. The state of your houndour was….horrific, to be frank. Far, far beyond what any sanctioned pokemon battle would allow, and definitely can be construed as abuse. If it was just your pokemon that was in horrific shape, you would have soon found yourself being moved to a jail and awaiting trial. However, seeing as how you were far passed delirious and suffering from extreme dehydration, exhaustion, numerous cuts and gashes, along with a moderate case of heat stroke, I'm willing to hear your story."
As she was talking, Ash listened quietly and slowly sipped his drink now that his throat wasn't on fire. Able to think straight now despite the headache, Ash wasn't surprised at the stern, threatening disposition she took as she described the houndour's state. He may not remember the last stretch of that sprint, but he clearly remembered the eviscerated state of the hound before he captured him. If anything, he was pleased to know she not only took her job seriously, but honestly seemed to care for pokemon. He waited until she was done talking and attempted to talk, grimacing and drinking some more before clearing his throat and trying again, ignoring the incessant headache.
"A-ahem. Right. Before I begin, I have two questions; how is the houndour, and why am I in a pokemon center? Shouldn't I be in a hospital?"
Her face softened a small bit on hearing his first question, yet sharpened again when he referred to his pokemon as 'the houndour' and not 'Houndour'.
"Before I answer that, why did you refer to your pokemon as 'the houndour'? You speak as if he doesn't have a name."
Ignoring the terse tone she took, Ash nodded a bit before continuing. "Well, to be honest, I don't know his name. I just caught him hours before arriving at the city, and I won't presume to call him a name before he agrees." He decided to not mention the fact he fully planned on releasing the houndour after this, if it wished.
She looked at him for a bit, as if to weight the truth of his words, before shrugging and answering with a simple. "I see." Pausing for a moment to gather the information, she continued. "Houndour will live, and thankfully has made a full recovery. We had to use blood replenishers to stabilize him, and utilized hyper potion solution due to the severity and number of gashes on his body, but he's fully healed and last I checked was awake, if sore. However, his ordeal was not without lasting effects; the larger gashes will leave scarring and fur growth will be partially stunted at those locations. His left ear has been mangled; a decent chunk of it is missing. Lastly, he suffered two long gashes along his snout. Luckily, they were not deep enough to disrupt his olfactory abilities or breathing, but they are large and very visible scars."
Here she paused to compose herself; while she had seen more severe cases before, they were few and far between.
"As for why you are here and not in a hospital, it was due to your condition. In the exceptionally rare circumstance for a trainer to arrive at a pokemon center in critical condition, we have a few rooms for human patients. Frankly, I'm puzzled as to how you still have intact ligaments and muscles in your legs right now. Considering how all of your vitamin and mineral levels were far below what they should have been when you arrived, your muscles should have long ago cramped up to the point where walking would have been physically impossible. I'm not even going to talk about your tendons, only that you should consider yourself very lucky you have retained the ability to walk and run…once you recover fully, at least. I expect you to remain here for at least a few more days until your vitamin and hydration levels are back to where I deem them sufficient."
While certainly not happy at having his adventure stalled so quickly, Ash was mature enough to realize that Nurse Joy knew far more about the intricate workings of bodies than he did, and that ignoring her input would be foolish at best. That being said, he began his relatively short tale, letting her know of his realization that he was near a spearow flock during their mating cycle. The widening of her eyes, followed by her wince said she already knew where this was going. He told her of Green and her foolishness, along with the houndour who was an unfortunate victim in the wrong place at the wrong time, and how he was forced to capture him to stop the bleeding. His curt ending of "After that, I just ran." garnered a snort of exasperation from the nurse.
There was a visible pause as he ended his explanation, Ash digesting the fact that he nearly died on his first day, and Nurse Joy digesting everything he told her.
"Well…that would certainly explain the multitude of lacerations, along with the missing part of the ear. Alright then Ash, for now you're to rest. If you need to use the bathroom, press the bell icon on your bed and Chansey here will help you; don't give me that look, right now your muscles are too weak to support you at the moment. The remote for the television is in the drawer on the desk to your right. Chansey will also check up on you every hour, just in case. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances and Houndour being your only pokemon, he cannot be returned to you yet. From what I understand, the police have requested a specialized psychic from the League so they can get Houndour's side of the story; most psychics aren't able to bypass a dark-type's energy to connect telepathically, after all. Assuming his story checks out with your own, he will be released back into your care. Lastly, do I have your permission to share what you've told me with the police? Chances are they'll just come in to ask you the same things otherwise." At his nod she left the room with Chansey, and Ash quickly found himself closing his eyes again; his experimental squirming followed by the lances of pain it caused let him know full well that his body needed all the rest it could get.
-Scene Break-
The next few days were some of the most boring he could recall in recent history. No training. No playing with pokemon. No anything besides sleep, eat, crap, and watch tv. He was able to have brief, short bits of talk with the chansey, whom was surprised yet delighted he could understand her even if it was rough and only the ideas she was trying to convey. Even then, those moments were brief and short; the Vermillion City pokemon center was almost always extremely busy. Not only was it one of the larger cities in Kanto, but its close vicinity to the Indigo Plateau was also a factor. As such, he only saw Nurse Joy perhaps once or twice a day too; frankly, he was bored stiff. By the time he was released three days later, he nearly leapt out of bed; his muscles ached slightly at his activity, but it was no longer the ache of overuse, but of inactivity. This was also the day he was given back the houndour he caught; his story correlated to Ash's, and since he held no grudge towards his newfound trainer, they turned him over to Ash's care.
For Ash, he simply held the pokeball in his hands for a few seconds, looking at it with an inscrutable expression on his face before he thanked Nurse Joy and walked out into the city proper. If this little venture had taught him anything, it was that he needed to be FAR more prepared, if his first day of his journey was any measure. Eventually finding his way to a large pokemart, Ash proceeded to make his bank account cry. Frankly, if it wasn't for the inheritance his mother left behind, he couldn't even afford to do this. Yet if there was anything he knew she would approve of, it would be spending it on the safety and health of himself and any pokemon he may get. Muttering a silent prayer and thank you to his mom, he got to shopping.
Several hours later he exited the store, bank account nearly depleted but feeling far safer and confident than he had when he first arrived. His main purchases were numerous, yet all had their purpose. A large, expandable tent made out of thick tarp and reinforced steel rods, able to withstand windstorms and was moderately fireproof; ugly as sin to look at, but very practical with a mottled green color that blended in well. Next was a new backpack with a larger storage capacity and made with a Kevlar weave; expensive, but allowed him to carry vast quantities with him, and would require a pokemon's full attention to damage. Next was a berry blender so he could make nutritious treats for everyone; himself included. Following that, a large water container, designed to withstand extreme heat so as to purify the water inside. A good amount of dry rations designed with nutrition and preservability in mind; good for both human and pokemon consumption and designed to provide nutrients, not taste. He was well aware they would probably taste like cardboard, but they were for emergency purposes only. Potions, antidotes, a few revives, as well as bandages and a suture kit followed; after his last encounter, he was taking no chances.
Hesitantly, he purchased five more pokeballs as well; he didn't even give the other types a glance. Ten was the maximum amount of pokemon one could carry with them, though it was recommended no more than six; as all legal battles had a limit of six-on-six, and taking care of many pokemon could be expensive. That being said, Ash had long ago promised himself he would catch no more than ten pokemon; forcing pokemon to go to a ranch and just….wait around, hoping their trainer wouldn't forget them just seemed too cruel. Ash fully planned on having his team with him, always, so they knew just how much he cherished them.
Lastly, he chose to update his clothes, he needed something far sturdier than what he originally thought. First, he bought a red vest that like his backpack, had a Kevlar weave; it was thick and stiff, but served its purpose; to protect his vitals. Underneath he wore a simple black shirt with white sleeves, with several identical ones packed away. For pants, he chose dark grey cargo pants that felt like they were made of tarp, yet promised longevity and durability. For his feet, he replaced his sneakers with thick leather hiking boots. His red hat with a simple white half-circle on the front remained; it was one of the few things he had left that reminded him of his mom, considering she gifted it to him the same year she died. His last purchase was more difficult to find, due to how seldom used they were; two matte black nightsticks that would each rest on clips hanging off his belt. While his last purchase garnered odd looks, he didn't much care; if his very first day was life threatening, he wanted to have something to protect himself for next time.
With one last despairing glance at his wallet, Ash set out for the Viridian Forest north of the city both dreading and looking forward to the upcoming conversation ever since he first caught the houndour. It took about an hour, but Ash finally made his way past through the suburbia surrounding Viridian City and into the forest, but only barely inside. Finding a quiet spot with a small clearing, Ash sat down on a rock and tossed the lone occupied pokeball; a red flash heralding the materialization of the hound that he hadn't seen in what felt like forever. The dog was disoriented for a few seconds at the sudden release, before he regained his bearings and his eyes locked onto Ash's form, as Ash did the same.
For a minute, both did nothing, just looking over each other's form. For Ash, it was a rather heartbreaking sight; this pup, who couldn't be much over two feet tall, looked like a war veteran. Scars wracked the small body, the patched black fur only partially hiding the pale flesh beneath created a strong visible contrast. His left ear had its tip and part of its backside completely torn off, leaving a garish reminder of his ordeal. The muzzle, while covered in soft orange fur, did nothing to hide the two large swathes that cut across it, which drew attention to his eyes; black pupils that watched him with equal intensity, yet also showed that he wasn't quite over his ordeal, not that Ash could blame him.
For the houndour, he was getting his first good look at the human who saved him. It was clear by the red welted lines that littered the arms and even a few on the face that the human had not escaped unscathed either, very likely risking life and limb to save him. His main question at the moment was why; he had heard the human lambast the other for her utterly naïve actions, so it was apparent he already knew full well how dangerous spearow flocks could be, yet he dashed into the middle of one and saved a pokemon he didn't even know…it didn't make sense to him. Upon seeing a strange pockmarked pattern along the human's arm, he stared at it in a moment in confusion before wincing in guilt as he remembered biting the human in pure fear. He looked away, feeling rather terrible that he rewarded such bravery, foolish though it may have been, with fangs and blood.
Ash, having been watching the hound intently, saw the wince and upon looking at where the pokemon had been staring, found the red bite marks on his arm standing out in stark contrast with his tanned skin. 'Well, that won't do.'
"Hey now, I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinking, and let me just say it wasn't your fault. I picked up a pokemon that had just been maimed and thought they were coming back for more; frankly I'm surprised you didn't try and fry me, though I'm thankful nonetheless." Ash finished with a chuckle, realizing he could have been far worse off than just a bite. When the houndour whipped his head back around to stare at Ash incredulously, he just gave a sardonic smile.
"I'm no stranger to the capabilities of pokemon. But let's move on to more important matters; my name is Ash. I know most wild pokemon never use names, instead preferring scents to identify, but I'll ask just in case; do you have a name?" At the hesitant shake of the head, Ash continued. "Well then, I suppose that follows to the next step." Here Ash moved his hand holding the pokeball, the houndour once more looking at it with a wince…yet blinked at what Ash did next.
Slowly approaching the small hound, Ash gently placed the pokeball on the ground right next to it and guided a paw to rest on it, much to the pokemon's confusion. Ash then sat down next to him and continued.
"You look confused, so I'm not sure if you remember what I said or not. When I caught you, I did so because without the pokeball's ability to put you into stasis, you would have bled out and died. But I also promised you I would let you break the ball as soon as you were better." Here he gestured to the ball, ignoring the shocked expression on the hound's face. "There you go. Pokeballs are made of sturdy stuff, but with it under your paw like that you can easily break it."
For the houndour, his mind was whirling with thoughts as he drew his incredulous gaze from the human called Ash to the ball now resting under his paw. He had indeed forgotten that Ash said that…but having been reminded, he now remembered that Ash hadn't just said that; he also mentioned viewing capturing pokemon against their will as slavery. Now, he couldn't exactly call himself an expert on trainers, seeing how he tried to avoid them, but last he checked that was not a mindset shared amongst them. Now that he thought about it, he never saw Ash take out a pokemon of his own, yet he was clearly a trainer. As these thoughts went through his mind, his eyes drifted to Ash's belt, where he became even more confused. What few trainers he had seen in his travels had pokeballs clipped around their waist, yet this one had none.
Ash, whom had been watching the houndour in his silent contemplation, noticed the hound's wandering eyes focus on his belt. It took a moment for him to guess its thoughts, but when he did he chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in minor embarrassment before he spoke.
"Ah, you're probably wondering where my other pokemon are, aren't you?"
The houndour very much wanted to let him know that was just one of many questions he had, but since he didn't know how to communicate that, just settled for nodding.
"Ah…ehehe. Well um, that is to say… I don't. Have any other pokemon, that is."
At this admission, the houndour's face went through several different emotions. The first was obvious; shock. A pokemon trainer without a pokemon just didn't make sense, it was unheard of. The next expression was marred by two very different emotions; gratitude and anger. Gratitude since that meant this human, Ash, jumped into danger to save him without any backup. Anger for the exact same reason; while brave, it was also exceedingly foolish. Unbeknownst to the houndour, he was verbalizing his thoughts. What made him stop and blink was when Ash somehow started piecing together what he was thinking; his sharp ears easily picking up Ash's mutterings.
"Hrm…never spoke with the houndour line before…seems to bear a close resemblance to how the growlithe line speaks, which makes sense considering both are canid." Here his mutterings became incomprehensible as he attempted to piece together what the hound had said, seemingly lost in his own world until he looked up and addressed the now confused hound in front of him.
"Could you repeat that again? I haven't spoken to one of your line before, it's a little like the growlithe line but with a really heavy accent, I just need to piece it together."
For his part, the houndour was looking at Ash carefully; there were two possibilities in his mind, and both were crazy…just in completely different ways. Either this human could somehow 'kinda' understand pokemon, which was amazing…or he was absolutely off his rocker. Considering how he charged an enraged flock of spearow with no pokemon, option two was looking very likely, much to his worry. Ignoring Ash's request, he decided to be blunt and find out which it was. What came out of his maw would sound like barks, growls and groans to humans, but what he said was simple; "Can you understand me?"
Ash for his part was a little annoyed that the canine obviously said something completely different, but the serious look on it's face put his annoyance to the side. It took a little bit of mulling over, but Ash figured he got the general gist of what was said; it even made sense too, considering the situation.
"Did you ask if I could understand you?" The widened eyes and the way the hound now focused intently on him gave away the answer. "Hrm…well to be fair I can't…at least not like how you can understand me. I don't really understand your words so much as I understand the meaning behind the words. Even then, if it's a species I've never spoken to before, I need time and patience to basically learn that particular 'dialect'. The only reason I can, with effort, understand your meanings is due to your close resemblance with the growlithe line."
Here Ash paused, not even needing to look at the houdour to know its next question, yet hesitant to answer. After a moment of contemplation Ash nodded to himself; it may be faint, but the fact that the houndour hadn't broken the pokeball yet gave him enough hope to continue.
"I already know what you're going to ask; why? Why go through all that trouble? That is…a very long story, but I'll give you the short version. Get comfortable though, the short version is still pretty long."
Taking his words to heart, the houndour settled down fully, one of his paws close to the pokeball yet no longer on it; he wanted to hear this story, hear why this strange trainer became what he is today. He at least owed Ash that much.
"I was, at first, much like any other kid. Dreaming of becoming a trainer, becoming famous, having a ton of pokemon. In a word, I was naïve. But I suppose that's a good thing for a kid to be, isn't it? Anyways, I had a mom named Delia Ketchum, never knew who my dad was, never felt right to ask." Bringing up his mother wasn't easy, the slight grimace on his face being his only tell. The houndour caught that, and didn't miss how he said had a mom. He didn't like much where this was going, but it wasn't uncommon in the wild either.
"She worked with a professor in what used to be Pallet Town, south of here. Worked with and around pokemon constantly, and thus so did I. Looking back, it was paradise. Everything I wanted. And then she died. I was told there was an explosion at the lab that took her life, but I didn't much care for the details. I was just a kid when she died, and for months afterwards I simply…fell apart. I wanted nothing to do with anyone, even pokemon. Eventually the professor I suppose got tired of me moping around and put me in the pokemon ranch for the day as he went to work. It was then that things changed; as I watched the young pokemon play, I couldn't help but want to play as well, as all kids do. It was a little odd at first, but in no time we stopped seeing each other as human and pokemon, and instead just fellow kids and playmates as we roughed around. For me it was cathartic; no pitying looks or empty words, no disappointed sighs or lectures. My love for pokemon came back to life with zeal; since the last of my known family was dead, pokemon were the only thing left that I loved. We played the day away, and all too quickly it was becoming night and it was getting colder. The other kids had by then gone to their awaiting families, and I was starting to get very cold…and then she came. A female charizard had apparently saw my plight and took pity on me, offering me warmth that I gladly accepted." Here he paused, remembering that night fondly. Upon seeing the incredulous, disbelieving look from the houndour, Ash laughed.
"I know, sounds crazy right? It gets crazier. After that I spent all the time I could in the ranch, doing everything with the pokemon within. Playing, eating, sleeping…and, with a lot of trials, errors and effort, talking. It's how I understood you just now; through years and years of being surrounded by pokemon and their language. Here's where it gets crazy; that charizard that helped me the first night? Well, she did the same the next night…and the next; and the next after that. Eventually it seemed she decided that if none of the humans were going to raise me, she'd just have to do it herself; and thus I was adopted by my new mom, Flare the charizard." Ash laughed again at the face the houndour was making, enjoying his reactions greatly. Yet as he continued, he grew wistful.
"She and a few of the other elder pokemon in the ranch banded together to teach me what I assume most young pokemon are taught; how to forage, move silently, track, and if need be, hunt. For a good long while my life consisted of school, followed by playing, training, eating and sleeping with pokemon. Yet one day things changed in a wonderful way. Unbeknownst to me, Flare had been gravid for a while, and gave me the surprise of my life when she showed me the egg she had lain. Once I got over my shock I was overjoyed; I was going to be a big brother, even if not by blood! The following weeks were some of the most anxious in my life, but it eventually happened, and the egg hatched."
Here, Ash's eyes took on a distant look in what was clearly fond remembrance; it was what helped convince the houndour that this was all true.
"When I first laid eyes upon my new brother I was struck speechless, and when he looked at me, I'm pretty sure I forgot to breathe; his eyes spoke of a passion for life that left me humbled, a blue so bright it burned. His name is Surtr, and for years afterwards we did everything together if it was possible. We both agreed that when I began my journey as a trainer, he would be my starter, though we both didn't think of it that way. Those years were the happiest I've ever been…" Here Ash trailed off, and it was very clear to the captivated houndour how Ash's face crumpled in a mixture of anger and grief.
"…and then he was taken. Taken because some rich, spoilt brat of a trainer wanted my brother for his potential power. I wasn't even told ahead of time; I just came back to the ranch from school, and found out he was long gone. I was…devastated, and so was Flare. Angered beyond belief, she took me into the wilds and we stayed there for a few months as we grieved. It was there that I made an epiphany, and changed my outlook on being a trainer forever."
Here he paused, looking the houndour dead in the eyes before continuing.
"I put myself in my brother's place; bound to some ball that could instantly hold him against his will, completely at the mercy of the one who owns said ball…and I suddenly understood. What do trainers typically do? Go out into the wilds, find a pokemon they desire, fight said pokemon, and when it is too weak to protest, capture it against it's will and have it fight for it's new master. Granted, there are exceptions to this, and many pokemon go out of their way to look for trainers so they can be captured and get stronger, but that does not excuse the fact that pokeballs can, will, and are being used to basically enslave pokemon, stealing them away from whatever life and/or family they had beforehand."
Ash paused a moment, before lowering his face so it was close to the houndour's own.
"I no longer wish to be a pokemon master. I don't even want to be a trainer in the traditional sense, since that implies I own pokemon. I want to make a change; I want the rest of humanity to realize what I've realized; that to even think of owning another sentient being, regardless of their shape or species, is wrong. But I can't do that if I'm an unknown; in order for my words to be heard and considered, I need to become recognized and respected; being a famous 'trainer' is the best route for this to happen. That being said…" Here he glanced at the still intact pokeball by the hound's feet and back at his eyes again. "The fact that you haven't broken your ball yet gives me hope that you'll consider carefully what I say next. In order for me to become a famous trainer, I'll need a team. If you are agreeable to it, I would very much like for you to be part of that team…but make no mistake, this would only be a team on paper. To the rest of humanity, you would be part of my pokemon team; but to me? You'd be an equal; you'd have just as much say as I do, and I would hope that in time we could be friends. I have no interest in training a team…but training a group of friends, even family? I can get behind that." It was hesitant, but Ash slowly offered his hand. "This is your choice; I will abide by whatever decision you make."
For his part, the houndour was reeling. Not only was the story that Ash told the most unique he's ever heard, but here was a human who actually understood. While he, like the vast majority of pokemon, desired to get stronger, he refused to give up his freedom for it; he would never become some trophy to be shown off and used. Yet this one offered a viewpoint he'd never even considered possible; equality and understanding. Granted, if he accepted this, he would still be at the mercy of a pokeball…but this human, Ash, gave him all the time he needed to break his ball and flee.
The houndour mulled over it for a bit, almost won over, yet needed to do one last thing. Raising his head, he looked at Ash and let his senses tell him the story. The human's eyes were the most telling, nervousness being the most prevalent with his nose confirming it…yet hope shone bright as well. The hand he held out shook minutely, yet remained where it was. There was no deceit here, only a fervent hope. The hound paused, closing his eyes and nodding to himself before he opened them once more, a new goal gleaming within. Stepping forward, the houndour placed his front left paw firmly on the trembling palm, giving a bark of approval as he did so.
Ash nearly broke his composure as he both felt and watched this brave little houndour place his trust in him; this was it, the beginning of something great. His eyes ablaze with joy, he slowly closed his fingers around the paw as he spoke.
"I swear to you now, with Arceus as my witness, I will not fail you, nor abuse this trust you placed in me. You are now my partner, and equal, and I will do everything I can to see you thrive like nothing this world has ever seen." Ash's smile was stretched almost painfully across his face as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"Welcome to the family."