SZ: *chuckles sinisterly*
GT: We's gonna be evils this chapter.
SZ: Eeyup...we's gonna get a certain someone this chapter…
Makoto: Why're you two acting so sinisterly over here?
GT: No reason. *discreetly hides a scroll on Kyutoryu Asura behind my back*
SZ: Yeah...no reason at all…
Makoto:...okay?
GT: Good. So we're all in agreement that there is nothing going on here and that there are no disclaimers on Nintendo and Game Freak owning Pokemon and Arc System Works owns Blazblue.
SZ: Agreed, so onto the story.
GT: Good. *pulls out a sign reading 'This curtain thinks that Women stink' and puts it on the curtain*
Makoto: Uh…
GT: Wait for it. *a fireball slams into the rope of the curtain, dropping it* There we go.
Entry 009: I am Kajun Faycott. Whilst on a break from our journey, Makoto went off to restock her supply of Chestnuts with Berry, leaving the rest of us to ourselves. It was then we encountered an Oddish drinking out of a small puddle. Mai attempted to catch it with Terra, but he was quickly defeated when a Bulbasaur ran in and protected Oddish. Ashton seemed quite excited upon encountering the Bulbasaur and sent out Butterfree to try to capture it, only for the two to get away after Bulbasaur beat Butterfree. While this was happening, Makoto and Berry encountered an Emolga...a rather cunning one at that as she stole their remaining chestnuts and eluded them at every turn.
At the same time, we attempted to give chase after Bulbasaur on Ashton's insistence and ultimately came upon a rope bridge. As we made our way across, the bridge gave way and Brock and I fell into the river far below. With how fast the river was going, I was sure Brock and I were heading towards a waterfall or, worst, the ocean...luckily we were saved by a girl named Melanie...who Brock seemed to gained quite the affection for. Ahem...anyways, with Ashton and the others, they had just gotten up the broken bridge and ran off to search for us, only to end up in one of the traps Melanie had supposedly set up. Well...more akin to quite a few traps that resulted in the last one being a pair of net traps that coincidentally ended up with them reuniting with Makoto, who was trapped in one as well. The reason for this? She lost track of the Emolga, and got caught while she wasn't looking...mayhaps Makoto may need to retake stealth class to keep better track of traps. Ahem! Anyways...after Brock got them down, they lead them to where Melanie and I were, the Pokemon Sanctuary, a haven of sorts for Pokemon that were injured or abandoned by their trainers.
After a while of tending to the Pokemon there, Mai was apologizing to the Oddish we had encountered before...only to end up being attacked by Bulbasaur, thinking Mai was attacking him and trying to take him away from the sanctuary. When Ashton attempted to intervene, Melanie intervened on Bulbasaur's behalf and explained why he was there; to protect the Pokemon there. We also learned that the Emolga Makoto was after was abandoned repeatedly and became callous to other Pokemon due to it. As Bulbasaur started threatening the rest of us, Makoto looked for Emolga. I think the reason Makoto went was because she felt a sorta kindred spirit in Emolga, mainly because before she met Noel and Tsubaki, she was cold towards everyone due to her Beastkin heritage.
As the two bonded in a way, Bulbasaur continued to threaten us until Noel pointed out he was scaring Yuki. When he calmed down, we learned from Melanie that Bulbasaur has a weakness to protecting hatchling Pokemon. Before anything else could be said, Makoto came running in wit Emolga flying after here, the former stating there was a giant floating stadium coming our way...and it turns out Team Rocket were the ones controlling it. ...To be blunt, I...I just give up with them. No matter what I say, no matter what we did...they just won't listen. I doubt they'll even follow a restraining order...and to make things worse, they began using Baseball puns...ugh! Honestly...ahem! I am getting off track here. Team Rocket attempted to steal the Pokemon using a giant vacuum from the stadium they were piloting...okay seriously. Where did they even get the money to build that?! AHEM!
A-Anyways, we were able to get all the Pokemon into Melanie's cabin, but Bulbasaur climbed onto the roof because you do not mess with a hatchling when Bulbasaur is around and he proceeded to whip the vacuum that was far bigger than him with ease using his vines. Emolga was also helping out by using an Electric attack to shock Team Rocket before flying away just in time. The reason for this? Ashton called out Pidgeotto and had her use a recently-learned Hurricane, a powerful Flying Type move that literally blew not just Team Rocket away, but the stadium they were piloting as well. ...Ashton truly has a powerful Pidgeotto right there if she's capable of blowing away such a large construct.
With the crisis averted, Bulbasaur and Emlg challenged Ashton and Makoto to catch them. Ashton used Pikachu while Makoto had Berry. The Double Battle of sorts began and while it seemed like Emolga and Bulbasaur were at the advantage, Berry and Pikachu were quick in turning the tides and were quickly caught. Once we resupplied from offering by Melanie, we proceeded to head off, Makoto's new Emolga, now named Cherry, sharing Berry's 'mobile home'. I have yet to ask why Ashton was so excited with Bulbasaur. Perhaps today's adventure will let me see some insight to it…
"Hmm…" Ash mummered as he looked through a pair of binoculars, seeing nothing but a group of bird-like Pokemon with red, brown, and black feathers, "...There's nothing but Spearow around here."
"Pika…" Pikachu mumbled in wariness.
"Oh yeah...You were chased by a flock of Spearow on your first day," Misty recalled.
"Yeah...Not one of my proudest moments really..." Ash admitted.
"Why were they chasing you anyway?"
"...rock."
"Hmm?"
"I...ended up throwing a rock at one because Pikachu was ignoring my commands," Ash replied with an embarrassed blush.
"You threw a rock...at a Spearow," Brock deadpanned, "You are aware that a Spearow's grudge is something that they never drop unless they're caught or put down, right?"
"...To be fair, I thought it was a Pidgey I tried to catch."
Behind him, Mai glanced down at Pidgeotto's Pokeball on Ash's waist. She could barely see a twitchy eye in the ball's semi-transparent top.
'Guess Pidgeotto is going to be crossed with Ash for a little,' Mai thought.
"...Moving on…" Misty sighed a bit, "I'm starting to get a bit tired here..how long have we been trying to look for the main path that leads to Vermillion City?"
"Ten whole days," Kajun replied, looking through her notebook.
"Ten whole days?! Ugh...I can't take another step further. Can't w-" Misty began.
"Um. There's a bug near you," Brock pointed out.
"AHHH!" Misty screamed as she literally climbed on top of Ash, "G-get it away!"
"Oh hold on…it was just a cattail," Brock noted as he picked it up, giving a slight chuckle.
"..."
"...Pfff…"
"Makoto…" Misty began as Yuki tried to paw at the cattail.
"S-Sorry, but...Pfffft!" Makoto started before she, Berry, and Cherry started laughing...until two fans bonked all three, "Owie!"
"No. Just no," Tsubaki deadpanned.
"Riolu…" Luka agreed in a deadpan tone as both put their fans away.
"...Seriously though, where are we?" Mai couldn't help but ask as Misty climbed off of Ash.
"From what I'm seeing…" Kajun began as she looked at a map, "We're not too far from a Pokemon Center. From there, we can travel onto Route 24, which leads right to Vermillion City if we don't get sidetracked."
"That's great!" Ash beamed.
"Alright!" Misty beamed as well as she picked her bag up, "Then let's get this show on the road!"
"That...that does s-" Noel began before tensing up, seeing something large before the group as the shade from the trees blocked view of it, "...Um...e-everyone…"
"What's up, Noel?" Makoto asked before seeing it, ,"Hoo boy! That's a big Pokemon!"
"...Pika," was all Pikachu said as he dove into Makoto's tail.
"Emol/Chip!"
"Pi!" Pikachu yelped as a pair of tiny feet punted him out and onto his face on the ground.
"...Hold on…" Tsubaki spoke up as she squinted her eyes a bit, "I think it's just a smaller one sitting on a rock."
"Aw…" Kajun mock-whined while discreetly erasing the sketch of a monstrous being with claw-like tongues coming from the massive mouth on its stomach from her sketchbook on Pokemon.
"Wh...what is it then?" Noel asked.
Ash looked at the top of it before his eyes widened. While the larger part of it was indeed a large rock, the smaller part was a Pokemon. It resembled an orange lizard of sorts with big blue eyes and a cream underbelly. It had three claws on its feet and four on its hands while the tip of its tail was literally on fire.
"A...Charmander…" Ash whispered as he quickly pulled out Dexter.
=Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. A fire burns at the tip of this Pokémon's slender tail, and has blazed there since Charmander's birth. The flame can be used as an indication of Charmander's health and mood, burning brightly when the Pokémon is strong, weakly when it is exhausted, wavering when it is happy, and blazing when it is enraged. It is said that Charmander dies if its flame goes out. However, if the Pokémon is healthy, the flame will continue to burn if gets a bit wet and is said to steam in the rain= Dexter analyzed.
"Char~" Charmander yawned.
"You seem rather awed by Charmander," Kajun noted, seeing the look in Ash's eyes.
"When I went to Professor Oak to get my Starter, I had a lot of trouble choosing between the normal three; Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. If no one had gotten him, I would've gone with Charmander," Ash explained, "Though, I don't mind since I got Pikachu. Right, buddy?"
"Pika!" Pikachu beamed.
"...So that's why you were so excited with Bulbasaur before," Tsubaki realized.
"Eeyup," Ash nodded, "And seeing Charmander has me really excited….I'm gonna catch it!"
"...W-wait…" Noel spoke up, making Ash pause in trying to reach for a PokeBall, "Th-the flame on his tail...look."
"Huh?" Ash blinked twice.
Everyone looked at the tail. The flames on it were...were small. Roughly no bigger than one of Cherry's ears. Looking at the Lizard Pokemon, it seemed to be skinnier than most with some scratches littered about its form. Tsubaki thought she even saw some ribs.
"Oh my…" Misty gasped.
"What happened to it?" Makoto pondered.
"Good question…" Brock replied, "...Ash, try catching him with a PokeBall. We can have Nurse Joy look him over."
"...Good idea," Ash nodded, now starting to worry about the Charmander as he pulled out a PokeBall, "PokeBall, go!"
"Char," Charmander moved his tail and bopped the ball back into Ash's face, knocking him over.
"Ooh...That's gonna leave a mark," Makoto cringed, "...Still, for something that's practically skin and bones right now, he's a pretty tough little guy...Cherry, Berry, think you can get something out of the hot head?"
"Chipa!" Berry nodded.
"Ga!" Cherry gave a thumbs up before she flew up, carrying Berry, "Emo!"
"Char?"
"Pachipa! Chipa Pachirisu."
"Em-Emolga-ga!"
"Char...man...der. Char…"
"Pachi/Emol?!"
Charmander nodded, "Cha…"
"I really wish I knew what they were talking about," Mai noted.
"If it cries, lick the tears," Kajun whispered.
Noel said nothing as she looked at the Charmander, worry evident in her eyes. Was it abandoned? If so...who would be cruel enough to leave it here to starve and fend for itself?
"Emol…" Cherry whispered as she flew back down, carrying Berry as the two landed before the group.
"So what did he say?" Makoto asked.
Berry held up three fingers on her paw.
"Three words?" Makoto guessed, earning a shake of Berry's head as Cherry began to circle Berry as she curled up into a ball while the sky squirrel was sparking a bit to act as light, "...days?" Berry shook her head and curled up as Cherry flew around her twenty one times in a circle, "...weeks?!"
"Pachi/Emol," the two nodded in response.
"Charmander has been up on that rock...for three weeks?" Mai gasped, "But...but why?"
"Pachi," Berry spoke as she pointed to Ash while she began to pace around.
"...Oh! I think I get it…" Ash realize, "I think she's saying Charmander is waiting for his trainer."
"Emolga!" Cherry held up a tiny sign with a circle on it.
"But for three whole weeks?" Misty frowned.
"Without even eating anything?" Noel added, "Poor thing…"
"Hold on, I think I have some Fire Type Pokemon food," Brock noted as he rummaged through his backpack.
"And if he doesn't want to eat it?" Tsubaki asked as Brock pulled out and opened a can with a fire symbol on it.
"Pidgeo~"
"Huh?" Ash blinked twice as he turned to see Pidgeotto out, "Pidgeotto?"
*WHAP*
"Ow!" Ash yelped as he rubbed his head from where the bird slapped him with a wing.
Pidgeotto flew over, grabbed the canister from Brock, and flew up to the rock. Pidgeotto put the can before Charmander, who snorted and turned his head away. Charmander froze as he felt something behind him. Slowly turning his head, he saw a dark glint in Pidgeotto's eyes. Slowly, Charamander grabbed the can and began to eat it, sweating heavily. Pidgeotto nodded before flying over to Ash.
"...And this is why everyone but Bulbasaur is wary on making Pidgeotto upset," Ash shook his head.
"Pidgeo~" Pidgeotto nodded a bit.
"...I think we should call the officials once we get to the Pokemon Center," Tsubaki spoke up, a frown evident on her face, "Seeing Charmander like this...this is a clear case of abandonment and cruelty towards a Pokemon."
Brock nodded as he looked at the map, "It's just up ahead not too far from here."
"Good. But…" Mai began as she looked up, seeing a few dark clouds forming in the sky, "..Should we really leave Charmander out here, especially since it looks like it's about to rain?"
"I'll try one more time," Ash offered before throwing the PokeBall...earning another return to his face, "Gah!"
"Ooh…" Makoto cringed.
"...Shelter," Noel spoke up, catching the others' attention, "I-if he's not gonna move from that rock, at least we could build a little shelter for him so the rain doesn't put his tail flame out."
"Good idea," Brock nodded as he began to pull out ropes, a spare tent, some tarps, and a few other items from his backpack, "Now let's see...If the weather's just a light drizzle, it shouldn't be too bad. But it's better to be more prepared for if the storm gets even worse, so some tarps and some extra strong rope to hold it to some trees. A few metal poles to keep the tarp elevated enough that it will protect Charmander, but not catch fire from his tail…"
'Where does he keep all that?' everyone pondered.
"Char…" Charmander yawned a bit as he just finished off the canister of food, stretching a little before he noticed something being built around him, "Char?"
"D-don't worry," Charmander looked down to see Noel looking up at him, "W-we're just building you a shelter to keep you safe from the rain."
"..." Charmander blinked a bit before he looked up, seeing quite a few storm clouds forming in the sky, "Char…"
"Vul…" Charmander looked at Yuki, who was using Powder Snow to make a mound of ice in a bowl.
"F-For when you're thirsty," Noel explained as she put it beside Charmander.
"..." Charmander blinked before tensing until realizing a blanket was put on him, leaving his tail out.
"And so you'll be warm, too!" Ash grinned.
"...Char…" Charmander whispered a bit, wondering why these strangers were helping him out like this.
"I really hope Charmander will be okay with all the stuff we set up for him," Ash noted as they walked along the path.
"Well if something does happen, the monitor I set up will let us know," Brock noted, holding up a speaker where the faint sounds of Charmander sleeping were heard.
"Why do you even have a baby monitor with that kind of range?" Makoto asked.
"...The twins would sleepwalk and tend to somehow end up in a twenty yard radius of the house," Brock explained.
"Ahh…" Makoto nodded before she spotted something not too far from where they were at, "..I think I see the Pokemon Center just up ahead."
"Good. The sooner we get inside, th-" Tsubaki began before a rain drop hit her nose, "...We should head inside now."
"Agreed," everyone nodded, barely making in inside as the rain began to fall.
Just as the group had walked in and looked for a place to sit, they soon spotted a small group sitting near the large open flame talking and laughing a bit.
"Just look at 'em," one of the young men-who had styled blue hair and a pair of white rimmed shades- in that group spoke, pride and ego heavily laced in his voice, "It's a pretty cool collections, isn't it?"
"Way cool!" one of the other young men agreed.
"You're the man, Damien," one of the young men sitting next to him sitting stated.
"Quite unusual. I thought you were only allowed six Pokemon with you at a time," Kajun noted as the group found a spot nearby.
"Chansey?" a Chansey walked over, offering a platter of soups.
"Oh...why thank you," Kajun nodded as the Chansey began placing the soup bowls down.
"Yo. I thought you had a Charmander too," one of the young men asked Damien.
"Yeah. I had one, but…" Damien paused as he chuckled a bit, "Bloody thing was so puny and weak, it couldn't even beat a Caterpie or Magikarp, the two weakest Pokemon in the whole world. Heck, it couldn't even stand up to a little Poliwag."
"...I don't like him," Noel frowned as the group overheard the conversation.
"Me neither," Misty added, "I don't like that attitude of his."
"Poliwag's a Water Type, of course a Charmander would have difficulty fighting them," Brock frowned, "What's important is to develop strategies around those weaknesses like Ash tried against Misty's Gym's Poliwhirl with Butterfree."
"...I wonder…" Tsubaki whispered as she closely listened in with Luka.
"So what did you do with that Charmander?" one of Damien's 'fanboys' asked.
"Eh, I just left it on some rock in the woods," Damien shrugged.
"?!" the group looked at one another in surprise.
"Seriously, the bloody thing was so stupid!" Damien laughed, "No matter what I did, it kept following me around like a lost Growlithe. I finally got rid of the damn thing by promising I'd come back for it. It bloody fell for it like an idiot! It's probably still waiting for me there too! Hahahahahahaha!"
"Rio…" Luka growled, clenching his paws tight enough that they were starting to dig into the skin.
"So that means that guy abandoned Charmander," Ash scowled.
"Yeah, and he's still waiting for him on that rock even after three whole weeks," Misty added.
"..." Noel said nothing as she was about to stand up.
"No no," Tsubaki spoke, making Noel stop, "Let Brock and I handle this."
"...Okay," Noel nodded.
"Huh? Handle what?" Ash blinked as both Tsubaki and Brock stood up and walked over to where Damien's group was, "...Brock? Tsubaki?"
"Heh. I bet it's still up there wagging it's tail," one of Damien's fanboys grinned.
"It'll probably wag it so long, it'll put the flame out," another one of Damien's fanboys added.
"Yeah, for sure," Damien agreed in a smug manner, "It would do everyone a favor i-"
*SLAP!*
"Gah! Bloody Hell!" Damien shouted as he fell out of his seat, a bright red hand mark on his face, "The hell's your problem, l-Hey! Put me down!"
"What is wrong with you?" Tsubaki scowled as Brock pulled Damien up.
"That Charmander's been up on that rock for three weeks still waiting for you," Brock glared, "Practically starving itself just to stay up on it, even."
"We were lucky we found him when we did," Tsubaki added, "If we hadn't set up a shelter for him just before the rain started, his tail flame would've gone out."
"...And I should care why?" Damien asked.
"If that Charmander's tail flame goes out, its death will be on your hands," Tsubaki replied as Luka growled beside her, "You tricking Charmander into doing this is nothing short of pure abuse and abandonment."
"...Shut it!" Damien snapped a bit as he forced Borck off him "What I do with my Pokemon is none of yer bloody business. So why don't you two and your nerd friends over there just me leave alone and mind your own business?"
"What you're doing is cruel and an insult to all Pokemon Trainers," Tsubaki stated as Luka nodded, "An affront to all things good."
"You tell that smug jerk off, Tsubaki!" Makoto shouted from her seat.
"Mind yer own beeswax, cosplayer!"
"Not a…" Makoto began before a sharp whistle went off, making everyone turn to see Nurse Joy approach while lowering a whistle from her lips.
"This is a Pokemon Center," Nurse Joy calmly informed, the calm not reaching her eyes as they looked at them all with restrained anger, "I do not condone violence in this place and have half a mind to have all of you thrown out into the storm without your Pokemon for treatment."
"...I apologize, Nurse Joy," Tsubaki bowed a bit, "It won't happen again."
"Riolu," Luka followed her lead.
"...Tch. Whatever. They were they ones that what started it anyway," Damien scoffed as he began to walk away, "Come on, guys. We're out."
"...You're lucky Nurse joy is here, otherwise Damien would've kicked your nerd butts with his Pokemon," one of Damien's fanboys scoffed as he grabbed the PokeBalls that were on the table before he and the rest of Damien's group followed after him.
"I really am sorry about the interruption to the peace of this place, Nurse Joy," Tsubaki noted, "It's just…"
"We found an abandoned Charmander that wouldn't leave a rock," Brock explained, "We managed to make it a makeshift shelter so that the storm wouldn't do much to it, but still...it's been up there for three whole weeks if what we were able to guess was right."
"...Did it have anything to eat?"
"Aside from some Pokemon Food my friend here gave it, no," Tsubaki replied, "We attempted to catch him so he could be treated here, but he wouldn't leave due to the 'promise' his trainer gave."
"At most we made as good a shelter as we could, gave it a bowl of melting ice to drink, and a few warm blankets," Brock added.
"I see," Nurse Joy noted, "...Once the storm clears up, I'll be sure to inform Officer Jenny about this...hopefully this means Damien will be locked away."
"...I take he's been a problem here before?" Tsubaki asked.
"Yes. While not as bad as this Team Skull group that reside in Alola, Damien and his group have a pretty bad reputation around here," Nurse Joy explained, "Recently, I've heard he's even started to take other people's Pokemon as 'prizes' for beating them in battle."
"What?!"
"A-Ash, calm down!" Mai yelped a bit as she and Kajun held back a livid Ash.
"CHU!"
*BZZRT*
"Ow…" Ash, Mai, and Kajun groaned before collapsing, the collapse removing Kajun's foot from Pikachu's tail.
"Well, aside from that, the news about him stealing Pokemon is a shocking development," Makoto noted.
"Vul."
"Now isn't the time for jokes," Noel frowned.
"N-n-n-n-noted…" Makoto shivered, ice and snow on her body.
"Yeah...still, w-" Misty began before she heard some tearing noises coming from the monitor, "...Uh, Brock? Something' happening."
"Hmm?" Brock ran over and picked up the monitor, listening to the tearing noises, "...The shelter's being torn apart. But by wh-
=SPEAROW~!=
"?!" Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened before they were the first sprinting out of the Center.
"Darn it, Ash…" Makoto muttered as she pulled out a raincoat and ran after them, "Berry, Cherry, come on!"
"Chipa/Emol!" both replied as they jumped into her tail as she ran by them.
"...Brock, you go with them," Tsubaki spoke, "We'll stay here and keep an eye on things."
"Got it," Brock nodded.
"Spearow!" a Spearow shouted as a flock of them tore into the shelter Charmander was in, a few flying in and clawed and pecked the weakened Lizard Pokemon.
"Char…" Charmander whimpered as he kept the blankets close, protecting him from the talons and beaks.
"CHUUUUU!"
*CRACKLE!*
"Knock it off!" Charmander cracked an eye open to see Ash running up, Pikachu sending another Thunderbolt at the Spearow to scare them off.
"Spearow!" the Spearow shouted as they attempted to dive at Ash.
"EmolGA/PachiRISU~!"
*BZZT!*
"Yeah you better fly away, you buzzards!" Makoto snapped, shaking a fist at the fleeing birds while Brock ran over.
"Those Spearow tore everything apart," Brock scowled, seeing the damage to the shelter before Ash grabbed the spare jacket.
"We have to get Charmander to the Pokemon Center!" Ash called, seeing his flame had shrunk to just the size of a quater.
"Easy now," Makoto gently scooped up the Lizard Pokemon, keeping the last blanket that survived bundled around him.
"I'll make sure his flame doesn't go out!" Ash declared as he kept his jacket over Chamander's tail.
"Good. Now let's hurry before the storm gets worse," Makoto stated.
Ash and Brock nodded as the group began to hurry back to the Pokemon Center.
"I see them!" Misty called.
"Hurry with that stretcher," Nurse Joy ordered as everyone's Pokemon were helping as best they could.
"Chansey!" her assistant saluted as she ran over with a stretcher.
"Once Charmander is on it, bring it to the ER stat," Nurse Joy ordered as she went off to prepare it for a Fire Type.
"Chansey!" her assistant nodded.
"Gangway!" Makoto shouted as she, Ash, and Brock ran in, the trio sopping wet from the storm, "Where's the stretcher?!"
"Chansey!" Chansey shouted as she quickly rolled it over.
"Easy now, Charmander," Ash whispered as Makoto laid him on the stretcher.
"CHANSEY?!" Chansey freaked once she saw Charmander's tail flame.
"Yeah...It's that bad…" Makoto nodded as Chansey nodded and quickly headed straight for the ER, the light coming on almost immediately after the doors closed, "...Stupid Spearow...they practically tore everything apart."
"The only thing that survived was the first blanket that Ash put on him," Brock added as Ash sat down at the bench near the ER, his Pokemon joining him as they looked at the doors.
"...Stupid Damien…" Makoto frowned as her fist clenched up, "If I see that egotistic selfish jerk again, I'm gonna...excuse me for a moment." she quickly grabbed a raincoat and stepped outside once more.
"...What's she…" Misty began.
"Most likely? Venting her anger," Kajun replied.
"When we were at the academy, she'd go to the gym to vent through workouts," Mai noted, "But since there are none…" everyone heard the sound of a large rock exploding, "She's punching large rocks."
"..." Brock slowly placed a hand on Geodude and Onix's PokeBalls.
"...But Makoto makes a good point right now," Tsubaki spoke, a scowl evident on her face, "Damien better pray he doesn't run into any of us…"
"Ri," Luka nodded before looking over at Ash, seeing the worry on his face, "lu…"
"You're worried, too?" Tsubaki asked as she picked up her Starter, earning a nod, "We'll have to wait until we get the results from Nurse Joy."
"...Rio," Luka nodded.
"Sand...shrew...sand...shrew…" Terra grunted as he performed push ups while trying to not end up in a ball from his Macho Brace.
"Seems everyone's trying to keep their minds off it," Mai mumbled as she looked over at everyone trying to keep busy aside from Ash and his four Pokemon just looking up at the ER's sign, "..." she walked over to the youngest member of their group, "How you holding up?"
"...worried…" Ash replied, "...and angry…"
"...I'm guessing the latter because of Damien, correct?" Mai asked, earning a slight nod from him, "...I figured as much. But he's not important right now. Right now you just have to pray for Charmander and hope he pulls through."
"...yeah…" Ash nodded as Makoto walked in, shaking the water off her, Berry and Cherry following her lead.
"I feel just a bit better," Makoto stated before seeing the light go out, "The operation's done."
Everyone quickly gathered around as Nurse Joy walked out of the ER, a solemn look on her face. Ash gulped as Nurse Joy looked at them all. After a few moment, she gave a small smile and nodded. For many of them, they felt like they'd collapse in pure relief. Chansey rolled out a cart with Charmander on it, sound asleep with a larger flame.
"You were able to get Charmander here just in time," Joy informed, "I had to give a rather strong sedative, so Charmander will wake up sometime in the afternoon tomorrow."
"Th...That's great, Nurse Joy…" Ash smiled before sneezing.
"Ash?" Mai pondered before putting a hand on Ash's forehead, "?! He's burning up!"
"He went out in this weather without a jacket," Misty frowned as Mai caught him as he started to fall over, "And he didn't even take a shower since he was so worried for Charmander."
"There's a room available for him near where I'll have Charmander stay," Joy informed.
"Thank you," Brock nodded.
"You'd be surprised at how often a Trainer gets sick, especially when they're training a Water Type that tends to enjoy hitting them with Water Type Moves," Joy shook her head as she had Chansey push the stretcher to where Charmander would be placed.
"Come along, Ash. Let's get you into some dry clothes," Tsubaki said as she helped Mai carry Ash.
"Okay…" Ash mumbled.
"So what's your relations to the Nurse Joys in Viridian, Pewter, and Cerulean?" Makoto asked.
"Oh, well, I'm the cousin to Cerulean and aunt to Viridian and Pewter," Joy replied, "Any reason why you're asking?"
"Oh, just trying to keep track is all," Makoto replied as she tried to ignore the faint scribbling of Kajun writing in her 'Nurse Joy/Officer Jenny' Notebook.
"Oh...I see," Joy noted before seeing Ash come in, "And it seems your friend's awake now."
"How you doing?" Mai asked as she helped Ash sit down at one of the tables.
"Better," Ash replied, "H...How long was I out?"
"About a day or so," Mai replied as Chansey placed a bowl of oatmeal before Ash.
"A...And Charmander?" Ash asked.
"He got through the surgery just fine," Mai replied.
"Oh good…" Ash sighed in relief, "Can I see him?"
"..."
"Is...something wrong?"
"Charmander...got out while we were sleeping," Mai sighed.
"What?!" Ash exclaimed.
"We think it went back to the rock to wait for Damien," Kajun added, still writing in her notebook, "Despite how he was treated, Charmander is still loyal to him."
"...That is true," Joy sighed, "There's nothing we can do until Charmander realizes the truth."
"So even if we get the guy arrested, Charmander would wait forever for him?" Makoto asked.
"Sadly, that's correct," Joy nodded.
"Oh, Charmander…" Tsubaki whispered.
"I thought Charmander understood that we cared," Brock sighed as they began to leave the Pokemon Center.
"I think he did, but he thinks that Damien cares, too," Tsubaki frowned, "Despite the fact Damien is a horrible person."
"Ugh…" Makoto sighed, "I just wish we could get him to see what kind of person Damien really is…"
"...Maybe we can," Kajun noted, earning looks from the others, "Ash, send out Pidgeotto and Butterfree. Brock, we'll need Zubat as well. See if you can find Damien."
"Huh? But what's the plan?" Mai asked.
=Huh? But what's the plan?= everyone looked at a pen with a Pokeball on the top in Kajun's hand.
"I got this from the gift shop in your Gym, Misty," Kajun smiled.
"..." Misty faceplamed, "Of course they'd make a gift shop…"
"I see now. We find him, confront him, make him confess, and then take the confession to Charmander," Brock realized.
"Exactly," Kajun nodded.
"Cherry, up for finding a jerk?" Makoto asked as Ash and Brock sent their Pokemon out.
"Emolga!" Cherry nodded as she took to the air.
"That's my girl!" Makoto grinned.
"I just hope this plan works…" Noel whispered before she noticed Yuki looking at something "Hmm? Something up, Yuki?"
"Vul…" Yuki whispered as she hopped out of Noel's arms and walked over to a spot on the ground, pawing it a bit as she began to uncover something, "...pix?"
"...eh? A-are those sticks tied together?" Noel pondered.
"Sticks?" Brock repeated.
"...Let me see," Kajun spoke as she walked over to examine it, "...The ground here was recently dug up."
"Dug up?" Ash repeated.
"Yes. And not by a Pokemon either," Kajun added, "...it's a pitfall trap."
"Pitfall?!" Ash yelped.
"Correct. No doubt someone set it here to try and capture someone...mainly us...ugh…" Kajun sighed, "I already got a good idea who set it up, and I'm already getting a migraine just thinking about it."
"...It's Team Rocket, isn't it?"
"..."
"...Your silence says it all," Misty sighed.
"...Let's just walk around it," Kajun stated, "I am NOT up for dealing with their lunacy today."
"LUNACY?!" Jessie's voice snapped.
"Well, dere goes dat plan...And I still don't get why we used da hole again!" Meowth's voice complained.
"Firing the APAPRB!" James called before an explosion went off.
"PI/PA!"
"Ah! Pikachu/Berry!" Ash and Makoto exclaimed as pink bubbles shot out and sucked up Pikachu and Berry before a String Shot came out and pulled the bubbles into the foliage.
"Ta-ta~!" Team Rocket's voice called.
"Oh no you don't!" Makoto snapped as she ran after them, "Get back here, you creepers!"
"We are not creepers!"
"You keep coming after us!"
"Not our fault you own rare Pokemon!"
"Not my fault I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU LIKE BUGS IN AN AVALANCHE!"
"Yer bluffin'~"
*BOOM!*
"SHE AIN'T BLUFFIN'!"
"Did she just punch that boulder in two?!"
"SHUT UP AND RUN!"
"..." everyone began to run after the explosions that popped up every so often.
"Char?" Charmander pondered, seeing an explosion go off from his rock. Did a Graveler use Explosion or something? Not that he cared at the moment. Right now he wanted to wait for his master to return...and yet he couldn't help but think back to those trainers that helped him out. Why did they help him out when he wasn't even their Pokemon?
"GANGWAY!"
"Char?" Charmander pondered before three figures in blue, rubber hazmat suits with two carrying pink bubbles over their shoulders erupted from the bushes.
"GIVE ME BACK PIKACHU AND BERRY!" Makoto's voice roared.
"GAH! She's still after us!" Meowth freaked.
"Why did you have to call her a squirrel cosplayer freak?!" James asked.
"I thought we got away from her!"
"YOU BA…!" Makoto began to roar as she jumped out of the bushes.
"Firing another round!" James yelped as he whipped out a blue bazooka and fired a large pink bubble that engulfed Makoto.
"HEY!" Makoto snapped as she punched, only to be bounced about in the bubble, "Gah!"
"...We should use this on Fighting Types, too," James noted as the trio watched her fail.
"Agreed," Jessie nodded a bit, "...Now come on. Let's get out of here a-"
"Is dat a Charmander?" Meowth spoke up.
"Huh?" the other two looked to see Charmander looking at them from his rock.
"Char char-charmander-char."
"He's sayin' we'd better give Pikachu and da Pachirisu back to da twoips or else," Meowth translated.
"...Surely it's kidding," Jessie deadpanned.
"Now stay quiet, you insolent little firebug," James ordered, "We haven't got time to play with you."
"Yeah. Team Rocket plays rough, so g-" Meowth began.
"CHARRRRRRR!"
*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*
Makoto yelped as the bubble she was in popped from the heat, "Owie...I landed on my tail…" she blinked twice, "Huh? Charmander?"
"Char!" Charmander smiled as the burning bubbles popped, dropping an unharmed Pikachu and Berry that ran away from the smoldering Team Rocket, their rubber hazmat suits just ashes engulfing their bodies.
"I knew we should've gone with fire-proof suits…" James groaned.
"Just...shut up…" Jessie groaned.
"Oh, Pikachu~, Berry~" Team Rocket painfully turned their heads to see the two at Makoto's sides, their cheeks sparking ominously, "Thunderbolt."
"...Oh no."
"PikaCHU/PachiRISU~!"
*BZZT! BOOM!*
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again~" Team Rocket groaned as they flew through the sky, becoming a twinkle in it, just as Ash and the others ran over, panting.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu called as he ran over to Ash.
"Ah! Pikachu, you're okay!" Ash beamed as he hugged the electric mouse.
"Berry, too," Makoto grinned before pointing her thumb over to Charmander, "Thanks to a little friend of ours."
"Char…" Charmander nodded a bit, sitting on his rock.
"Thanks for the help, Charmander," Brock smiled.
"...Um, Charmander?" Noel spoke up, "W...would you like to come with us? I..I know your...trainer, promised he'd be back, but…"
"Hey! Give me those back, ya little flying rat!" Damien's voice snapped.
"Speak of the literal devil…" Mai whispered as Cherry swooped in and landed on Makoto's head...Damien's shades over her eyes.
"Emol," Cherry stated in a serious tone, Berry and Pikachu struggling to not laugh at what she said.
"Ga...where did you…?" Damien began as he ran into the area, "...Oh. It's you nerds again."
"Says the guy pretending to be a Trainer," Tsubaki noted.
"Shut it you," Damien ordered before he spotted Charmander, "Oh, Chamander. Good timin'. I've been looking all over for ya."
"Is he for real right now?" Makoto whispered with a frown.
"Come on. Let's go," Damien ordered.
"...Char…"
"Don't go," Noel spoke up, making Charmander look at her, "He already abandoned you once before."
"Shut it, little boy. Besides, Charmander is mine," Damien stated, Noel slumping at being called a 'boy' yet again, "I caught it, remember?"
"Says the 'trainer' who bragged about abandoning him," Mai frowned, Terra growling at her side.
"It's a good thing I did. It helped toughen it up," Damien countered, "Besides, what's wrong with dumping off a weak Pokemon?"
"Char…?" Charmander's eyes widened at that.
"Honestly, I wasn't gonna come back for it. But after what I learned about Mega Evolutions, I'm glad I ran into you dweebs," Damien smirked, "And the best part? I didn't have to bloody raise it meself."
'Mega Evolution?' Kajun pondered.
"You want this Charmander, you'll have to go through me," Makoto informed as Cherry and Berry sparked their cheeks while Needles popped out of her ball.
"Hold it, Makoto…" Tsubaki spoke up, her eyes glaring at Damien, "First off Damien, you abandoned Charmander, so don't go and change your mind because you feel like it. Second off; Raising a Pokemon is what a Trainer is all about."
"Pfft! Yeah, and it's the most boring part of the job too," Damien scoffed.
"It's the most rewarding part," Tsubaki shook her head, "Raising your Pokemon means you bond with them, growing alongside them and understand one another. You grow to rely on them just as they grow to rely on you, creating strong bonds between each other."
"Which again, is the most boring part of the job," Damien countered once more.
"..."
"But if you want Charmander so badly, let's cut a deal," Damien grinned, "I'll trade it for all of yer Pokemon. Sound like a fair trade? I'll even throw in a few Premium Balls to sweeten the deal."
"Ri…"
"Huh?" Damien looked down to see Luka's paw on his stomach, Pidgeotto helping him reach it.
Luka used Force Palm.
"GWAH!" Damien yelped as he was sent backwards, tumbling away from them.
"It's Super Effective," Makoto snickered.
"Why you…!" Damien growled as he shot up, pulling out every single PokeBall he had, "I'll crush you nerds with every Pokemon I got!"
"Sure you want to do that?" Makoto asked, "Especially since there's two Gym Leaders here?"
"The bloody hell are you on about?! There ain't no..." Damien began before he spotted Misty and Brock pulling out their badges, "...I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Well, let's see…" Brock noted as a shadow overcame Damien.
"Iwark…" Onix rumbled ominously, Starmie on his head.
"You abandoned a Pokemon just because you didn't want to raise him yourself, tricked him into staying on a rock for three weeks with little food or water…" Misty went on.
"...Which caused him to be attack by Spearow in the middle of a harsh storm…"
"...And had to be taken to the ER before his flame went out."
"So to answer your question…" an ominous glint appearing in Brock's shut eyes, "Yes. Yes you are."
"...Mercy?"
"Nope."
"...Parlay?"
"Only works with pirates."
"...Uncle?"
"Two words: Starmie...Psychic."
"...oh bugger," Damien squeaked.
"CHAR!" everyone stopped and looked at Charmander, who was hopping off his rock and walked towards Damien.
"Heh. So much for that," Damien smirked before heat engulfed him.
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Charmander roared.
"Ooh...That's Inferno," Kajun cringed as Charmander ended his attack, "Low on accuracy, but when it hits...it will leave a burn."
"Ahh…" Damien whimpered as he stood there, completely burnt from head to toe...even his PokeBall were scorched.
"Excellent answer, Charmander," Kajun complimented before a siren was heard, "And right on time."
"Wh...what?" Damien managed to get out just as a police bike drove into the area, Officer Jenny riding it.
"Alright. Which one of you is Damien?" Jenny demanded, a scowl evident on her face.
"He's the one that's currently scorched," Makoto replied.
Jenny nodded before getting off and approached him, "Any reason why he looks like charcoal?"
"Oh, his abandoned Charmander made it clear on what he thinks of Damien," Misty replied as Charmander nodded before growling at Damien.
"Ahh...Now then," Jenny began as she glared at Damien, "You're under arrest for Pokemon Abandonment, abuse, and from what my friend Joy explained to me at the Pokemon Center, stealing people's Pokemon in illegal ante battles."
"What?!" Damien exclaimed, "No, officer ye got it…"
=Don't go= Noel's voice spoke up, making Damien freeze =He already abandoned you once before=
=Shut it, little boy. Besides, Charmander is mine= Damien's voice stated =I caught it, remember?=
=Says the 'trainer' who bragged about abandoning him=
=It's a good thing I did. It helped toughen it up= Damien began to sweat =Besides, what's wrong with dumping off a weak Pokemon? Honestly, I wasn't gonna come back for it. But after what I learned about Mega Evolutions, I'm glad I ran into you dweebs. And the best part? I didn't have to bloody raise it meself=
"Your evidence, officer," Kajun smiled as she gave the recording pen to the officer.
"Why thank you," Jenny smiled, "Kajun Faycott, right?"
"Indeed. Glad you remember my name from the phone call," Kajun smiled.
"Of course," Jenny nodded, "Now then...Damien?"
"...You'll never catch me!" Damien yelped as he began to run.
"...Growlithe, Arcanine….sic him."
"AH!"
"Huh...so that was an Arcanine," Kajun noted as they watched the bike drive off, a scorched and bite-covered Damien in the side car with handcuffs on him.
"That Growlithe...it was as cute as Yuki," Noel whispered.
"Still, what are you going to do now, Charmander?" Ash asked as he knelt down to the Lizard Pokemon.
"...Char…"
"...Know what I think?" Tsubaki spoke up, making Ash look over at her, "I think Charmander wants to go with you, Ash."
"H-Huh?" Ash blinked.
"Char! Char!" Charmander beamed.
"Well, think about it. While we all did small things, you made sure he had a warm blanket, your Pidgeotto made sure he ate something…" Charmander suppressed a shiver at Brock's last bit, trying to not look at Pidgeotto, "...and you took a big risk going out into a storm without anything to protect you just so you could get Charmander to the Pokemon Center after the baby monitor picked up the Spearow attacking him. I'm sure you'll raise Charmander to become an amazing Pokemon."
"...Yeah. Thank you, Tsubaki," Ash nodded with a smile as he pulled out a PokeBall, "Come on, Charmander. Welcome to the group."
"Char! Char!" Charmander beamed as he tapped the PokeBall, letting it catch him.
"Seems you finally got the Charmander you wanted to get, huh?" Mai asked.
"Yeah…" Ash nodded, looking at the PokeBall that housed Charmander.
"Professor Kajun's Pokemon Corner!"
The curtains rose once more, revealing Mai in her labcoat while Hikari was on the table with Ash's Charmander, who was looking around in confusion.
"Char?"
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to another round of Pokemon study," Kajun greeted, "As you can see, today's subject of study is none other than Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. Better known in Japan as…" she looked at a notebook, "...Hitokage…Fire lizard or salamander. Interesting..."
"Ralts…" Hikari nodded.
"...Ahem. Now then, let's start with the obvious trait of a Charmander; their tail," Kajun informed as Charmander hugged his tail, "While it's rumored that a Charmander will die when the fire on its tail goes out, it's actually the reverse; when a Charmander dies, then the flame goes out. This is because the fire reflects Charmander's life force and how strong or weak it is at a time."
"Char," Charmander nodded.
"It is more likely that if a Charmander's flame is extinguished while it lives, it just means that the Charmander is unable to use Fire Type attacks," Kajun went on, making Charmander freeze, "In the wild, they hunt in groups with one often calling others in when they find food. Though I am still curious about the fire...Hikari, please fetch a f…"
*FWOOOOSH!*
"CHARRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"N...Nevermind…" Kajun groaned as she fell over, her head covered in ash.
"Ralts…" Hikari coughed, her body covered in ash.
"CHAR!" Charmander screamed as he fled as the curtain fell.
-linebreak-
GT: *laughs* TAKE THAT, YA BASTARD!
SZ: Ahahahaha! It was still good, and we kept it to a T-rating! Mmm...delicious ultra violence~
Makoto:...normally I'd be concerned about this, but after what happened….yeah.
Cherry:*wearing Damien's shades* Emolga.
GT: ...And I think Cherry's keeping those.
SZ: She can keep them. Where Damien's going, he's not gonna need them.
GT: Agreed.
Cherry: *smirks* Emol
SZ: Anyways...tune in next time folks.
GT And read and review!
Cherry: *lands on a Ponyta* Emol.
Ash Ketchum: Pikachu [Starter], Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander
Misty: Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie [Starter]
Brock: Geodude, Onix [Starter], Zubat
Makoto Nanaya: Berry(Pachirisu) [Starter], Needles(Kakuna), Cherry(Emolga)
Noel Vermillion: Yuki(Alolan Vulpix) [Starter]
Tsubaki Yayoi: Luka(Riolu) [Starter]
Mai Natsume: Terra(Sandshrew) [Starter]
Kajun Faycott: Hikari(Ralts) [Starter]