Cyndaquil woke up that morning to crackle of thunder in the distance. She stretched, and attempted to stand up, though she was weak from the last few months since she met Anonimo. She felt another harsh tickle in her throat, which forced her to cough. Most of the other symptoms of her illness had disappeared, but she still had a sore throat and she was low on energy. She looked over the hill and saw a great thundercloud in the distance. When she saw the flash of lightning, she gulped, ignoring the stinging.

That cloud looks threatening. Anonimo better get out of here, quick, she thought, seeing that the cloud was rolling towards their area. Despite her throat feeling like needles, she began squealing loudly, in hopes that her trainer would get the message.

Anonimo crawled out of the tent, rubbing his eyes before shooting a glare toward the noisy Pokémon. Even when her body language should have informed him that she was distressed, he growled, picked up a rock and threw it at her. Much to his relief, Cyndaquil stopped her squealing when the rock nailed her on the eye. Even so, he still glared at her, yelling, "Shut up, you dumb Pokemon!"

He went back into the tent, and started stripping his pajamas off, grumbling all the while. He pulled on his usual black shirt and dirty jeans, and then proceeded to put on his shoes. He crawled back out a few minutes later, now dressed and smelled the air. Liking the damp smell, he snatched the five occupied Pokeballs on his belt, and released the Pokémon, with full intent to train them. He glanced at the black-eyed Cyndaquil, who had resumed squealing.

That Cyndaquil has a lot of nerve to defy me. It couldn't even defeat that Chikorita yesterday! Anonimo thought. Annoyed by the continued squealing, he strode to the Fire Mouse, casually kicked her, and then growled a spiteful warning to her. He turned around and went back to the other Pokémon, who displayed little emotion, with the exception of Croconaw, who looked like he had been kicked.

Anonimo delivered a kick to Croconaw's side, and said, "You know as well I do that the little rat deserved it."

Croconaw winced at the kick, but still stood. When Anonimo turned away from him, he shot a spiteful glare in the trainers direction, thinking, She didn't deserve it. You're just a bad trainer.

Cyndaquil's eye stung and she felt like throwing up again. Yet all she could muster was dry heaves that only produced spittle. A bad taste in her mouth accompanied her heaves, and she felt as if her arms and legs were to fall off and leave her lying on the dirt. The rope around her neck still burned, and she'd choke every time she heaved. Her small, open wounds felt like bee stings, and her head still hurt from the battle the day before.

Trying not to cry, as that was a sign of weakness, she heard another rumble of thunder. She glanced back to the thundercloud, and noticed that it had rolled closer to them. Biting her lip, she hoped that Anonimo would just pack up and take shelter from the coming storm.

Anonimo was still training when the storm reached them, and he didn't care when he had begun to rain. He thought it would pass, like all storms do. However, even when the lightning flashed or the thunder rolled, he continued to train his Pokémon, even the more reluctant Croconaw. The Big Jaw Pokémon was continually glaring at him and shaking his head, wondering if the trainer was selectively blind to lightning or deaf to thunder, and secretly wishing the creep would get struck.

Cyndaquil, on the other hand, was very actively panicking. She pulled as hard as she could on the rope, while her feet trudged in the mud puddle that had formed at the base of the tree. She also was wondering if Anonimo was deaf, but with more of a sense of worry. She tried squealing again, but her voice was drowned out by the rain. Frustrated, she tried gnawing on the rope, but her teeth hurt when she chomped down on the rope, making her yelp. The rain fell even harder, yet Anonimo paid no mind. Once again, Cyndaquil pulled with all her might, hoping the rope would break, despite how weak she felt.

BOOM!

She spun around quickly, giving herself a rope burn. It stung her for a moment, but she paid more attention to the tree that had been struck by lightning. It was charred completly, and had been split in half. It was no more than a mile away, which terrified her. Another tree was struck, in the same manner, but closer. Cyndaquil knew she had to break free or Anonimo was done for!As the lightning came closer and closer, with thunder booming ever louder, she struggled to break free from the rope, hoping to warn Anonimo before it's too late.

Meanwhile, the other Pokemon stopped and stared at the lightning that was closing in on them. They watched with awe as it hit one tree after another. When the thunder boomed, they all realized that they were prime targets, and all of them ducked for cover. Croconaw still eyed the continued flashes, his heart pounding. He anticipated the lightning to hit either Anonimo, who stood straight up, or Cyndaquil, who was tied to the tree.

Anonimo, getting frustrated, began to yell at them. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?! I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO STOP!"

Cyndaquil heard him yell at the other Pokémon as she pulled. She noticed them ducking for cover, knowing Anonimo wouldn't return them to their Pokeballs. She saw Anonimo pull a whip from his belt, much to the dismay of the ducking Pokémon. He was not realizing that a lightning bolt just struck over the hill, with any offshoots surprisingly missing him. She knew he was next.

She felt that familiar surge that hadn't been within her since the battle with the Venusaur. With a newfound determination giving her the strength she lacked, she grabbed the rope around her neck, and then snapped it with a single pull. Her neck hurt from the rope burns she received, but it didn't matter to her. In a rush, she broke off into a run, filled with this strange energy from within her, hoping to help her trainer. As she ran, time seemed to slow down, and the bolt of lightning that flashed above seemed to slither slowly toward its target.

Anonimo lifted his whip as a bolt of lightning appeared above him. Most Pokémon would have feared that it was too late to save their trainer; Cyndaquil didn't. With speed that seemed impossible to accomplish, she had managed to shove him out of the way just in time, with him rolling onto the ground, splattering mud all over his face. Cyndaquil was in midair when the bolt hit the replacement target, which happened to be none other than her. The lightning hit her, and that's when she felt electricity surging through her veins. Her heart raced, she sweated, and a great deal of pain overcame her. She shrieked as she felt burns erupt from within and without her, and her fur stood on end, and for a brief moment, her flames exploded out of her back in a strange reflex. In that split second, she thought she was done for.

The other five Pokémon gaped at the turn of events that happened in the blink of an eye. Croconaw tried to comprehend it, trying to figure out how the malnourished Cyndaquil managed to run fast enough to beat lightning to its target. This was the same Cyndaquil that lost so many battles, she managed to make a Magikarp look like a champion. And yet, the charred little body before them had sped to the rescue of her trainer, and succeeded. And when the little body squeaked and moved (albeit slowly, since she seemed a bit paralyzed), it was even more incredible. Croconaw stared in amazement, knowing that he'd never see an action like that again. He looked at Anonimo, hoping he had seen that and would hopefully give more respect to the little one, but much to his chagrin, the trainer had his face in the mud.

It took her a moment or two to realize that it was over, but it was difficult to believe since she still felt pain. She stood for a moment, then fell on her face. Breathing heavily, she marveled that she had survived being struck by lightning. The electricity stung her, and the rain didn't help. She laid there, stunned, and looked at the amazed faces of the other Pokémon. Smiling weakly, she attempted to stand up, but fell onto her face again. She giggled weakly, despite the buzzing in her ears.

Anonimo wiped the mud from his face and spotted her laying where he once stood. He glanced at the tree where she was once tied to, and there it was, the snapped rope. His gaze fell on her once again, with visible breathing and audible giggling. Croconaw was stepping forward, and trying to help her up, but he pulled back after touching her, and sucked on his finger to ease some pain. After realizing that she had managed to pull free from her restraint somehow, his thoughts churned out the message, It pushed me. It broke free just to push me! And I bet that was practice for when I'm near a cliff!Snarling, he picked himself up, and grabbed his whip.

She finally managed to stand up, although she was still a little woozy from what happened. She felt limited in her movements, but when she saw Anonimo approaching her, she attempted to run to him for a hug, expecting a reward after saving his life. But what she didn't notice, but Croconaw did, was that his face was full of rage, and his hand gripped the whip.

"Cyndaquil, wait!" Croconaw cried.

Cyndaquil didn't have time to heed the warning before it happened. Something long and hard smacked her right arm, with a force that would have cracked her head open. The thing burrowed into her skin, and it felt like it hit a bone. When the thing left the new trench in her arm, it ripped pieces of flesh from it, and felt like it was going to tear her arm off. Instinctively, Cyndaquil grabbed her pain-riddled arm, trying hard not to scream. It happened within a few seconds, but it had felt longer than that. She looked up Anonimo, whose whip now had a smear of red on it.

"That's for knocking me down," he growled.

She breathed heavily and looked down, slowly relaxing her grip on her right arm, and then sneaking a look at the wound. Noticing that her left paw was also smeared red, she quickly realized what had happened. The mark was no papercut. It was terribly large and deep, just as she felt, which meant Anonimo hit pretty hard. When the wound started gushing, she clung onto it again, feeling the warm liquid against her paw. She whimpered as her blood seeped from her covered wound and trickled down her arm.

When an alarmed Croconaw rushed to help her, Anonimo noticed, and dealt the same force on the Pokémon's left eye. The force knocked him onto his hindquarters, and he ended up covering the area he had been hit, and he felt his blood seeping from his stinging eye. He sat transfixed as he watched the whip smack Cyndaquil's forehead.

"That was for losing to a little Chikorita yesterday!"

She backed up and tried to run, but the whip landed on her back.

"That's for losing every battle!"

She hated the feeling of the whip as it smacked her over and over. Each stripe left her in agony, especially since the teenager had a surprisingly strong arm. He would lash her, curse at her, and blame her for something that she couldn't help. She meet eyes with Croconaw, who had his jaw slack, and the strongest look of disbelief that she would never forget, as if beating a baby Pokémon to a pulp was new to the trainer. At this point, she realized that nobody was going to help her, not even Croconaw. She bit her lip, wishing for it to be over.

Whack!

"That's for sneaking food!"

Whack!

"That's for not training hard enough!"

Whack!

"That's for goofing off! That's for being so lazy! And this is for being an all-around weakling!"

Whack! Whack! Whack!

Anonimo had stopped to catch his breath, and he stilled glowered at the now-beaten bloody mess before him. By this point, his whip was now painted red. He scowled at his Pokémon, who all looked at him in immense, slack-jawed, shock. When he looked at Croconaw, he noticed that the Big Jaw Pokémon's face was not shock, but one that looked like he was ready to kill him. The two met eye to eye, and Anonimo simply tossed Croconaw's Pokeball toward him, and did not even move when the Pokémon crushed the Pokeball between his jaws.

"To think that you were my starter..." Anonimo sneered. "Now leave... or I'll make my healthy Pokémon kill you."

Croconaw stood up, gazing at him with the most intense combination of hurt and anger that there had ever been. Taking one last mournful glance at Cyndaquil, whose eyes were now full of tears, he started walking away, with his hurt eye covered by his claws. The other Pokémon then took the liberty of chasing him away, while Cyndaquil still cried out toward him, "Don't leave me!"

Now left all alone, Cyndaquil felt immense pain as she tried to stand up, and her rasping cough stung her throat worse than before. A great deal of wounds and bruises covered her body, her own blood stained her fur, and her left arm began changing colors. She felt weak from the amount of blood that seeped from her arm, and her head hurt even worse. Unable to bear the agony, her misty eyes spilled over and drenched her cheeks even more than before. While it had stopped raining sometime during the whipping, she still felt cold and wet. Anonimo who had been watching the others exile the Croconaw, laid his eyes on the pathetic mess on the ground, and snarled.

"I shouldn't have caught you. You little crybaby!" he said as he kicked her. Her face collided with the ground, and any wounds touching the dirt were rising in pain, making her cry even more.

"I thought you would evolve in no time, with that power I saw! But, I ended up with such a little weak brat like you! No one should have a Pokemon like you!" he hissed, taking out Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "And I'm going to make sure that no one else catches you."

Before she could make any sobbing protests, he had returned her.

Anonimo believed the hole was deep enough. Setting his shovel aside, he took out a Pokeball and stared at it. Pulling his hair back, he spit on it, and dropped it into the hole. He picked his shovel back up, and then shoveled the dirt back into the ground.

This Cyndaquil will never bother anyone again, he thought. When he finished, he patted the dirt firmly, and with a resolute nod, he turned and walked away, not looking back. There was no reason for him to turn back; not now, not ever.

Author's Notes: Well, hello everyone! How did you handle this story so far? Yeah, I know, this is depressing, especially since we've just seen our protagonist get beaten to a bloody pulp! D8 Sheesh, who gave Anonimo that whip, anyway? :(

And now Cyndaquil's stuck in that Pokeball... :( Decide for yourself on what that means.

But don't worry! This story's not over yet!