Author Notes: Warning for this chapter… Damian. (This includes mentions of blood and Pokemon abuse, but what do we expect from him really?)
Regardless, Ash and his companions continue their search for Ash's Kanto Starters. While Ash did technically find a Sinnoh starter (Piplup) that wasn't his and Gible rather than Bulbasaur, will he find the rest of his Kanto starters?
I know this chapter is early, but I have a long shift tonight and I just wanted to make sure it was up before tomorrow and not after. Enjoy!
—
With Gible and Piplup situated, Ash caught Misty and Gary up on what had happened back in the Hidden Village as he couldn't explain anything around Melanie.
"So it looks like we won't be finding Bulbasaur anytime soon." Ash sighed deeply, looking up as the clouds darkened. "The next Pokemon that I'd be catching would be Charizard… or rather Charmander."
"Do you think there will be more Butterfree effects in your Pokemon team?" Gary asked curiously. "Like Gible and Piplup aren't even Kanto native Pokemon. I mean, they normally live in Sinnoh."
"I hope not. We will have to see how the next couple of captures go," the dark-haired boy answered with a mutter, scratching his cheek in thought. "We will need to make our way towards the route where we found Charmander."
"What if Charmander isn't there? Would that be a waste of time?" Misty asked, seemingly a bit annoyed about the fact that the order of Ash's Pokemon seemed to have been shuffled around.
Ash shot a glare at his long-time companion before adding. "I don't care if Charmander is there or not, but if it's a situation like what happened with Bulbasaur, Gible, and Piplup…" He then tossed up a Pokeball, sending out his Pidgeotto. "Let's go, girl. No matter whether it's Charmander or someone else, we have to go because they're likely in trouble."
"You got it, Ketchum. I'll keep my eyes peeled." Pidgeotto nodded in confirmation as she flew off towards the direction that Ash had told her to. Ash soon ran after his flying-type Pokemon with Pikachu and Riolu riding onto his shoulders, hanging onto their trainer.
"We probably should follow him…" Gary mumbled as he and Misty watched the Ketchum boy run off.
"Yeah, not a bad idea. We should make sure that he doesn't get himself in trouble." Misty nodded in agreement before the two went to follow Ash.
It had begun raining hard by the time that Ash got to the boulder where he found Charmander last time. However, there were no signs of Charmander anywhere which worried him.
"Pikachu, see if you can smell Charmander or anyone." Ash instructed his starter who nodded in agreement before Pikachu ran off in search of Charmander.
He sighed heavily as he looked around before noticing a broken Pokeball. 'So Damian was definitely here…' Ash thought to himself as he picked up the broken Pokeball before pocketing it. He knew that he'd need it later when he saw Nurse Joy. After walking a bit more, he couldn't help but to notice a trail of blood.
"Blood? That can't be good…" Ash muttered nervously to himself, glancing over towards Riolu.
"We'll have to follow it and see if we can find someone that way," Riolu commented worriedly, sitting on Ash's shoulders as he held onto his trainer's head gently.
"Not a bad idea." Ash nodded in agreement as he and Riolu followed the trail of blood. It was several moments before his eyes widened when he saw an unconscious Pokémon laying there.
"That's not Charmander…" the aura Pokemon muttered in worry as he took in the scenery in front of the two while Ash scanned the Pokemon with his aura sight to see if it was someone familiar.
However, Ash scooped up the Pokemon immediately before Riolu could say anything more, surprising the aura Pokemon. "Ash? Are you okay?" Riolu asked worriedly as Ash glanced down at the unconscious Pokemon in his arms.
"I'm fine!" the raven-haired boy quickly snapped in panic as he began to run. "But Chimchar isn't! He needs immediate medical attention!"
"Chimchar?" Riolu asked in surprise, looking down before his eyes widened. Laying in Ash's arms was none other than an unconscious and heavily injured Chimchar. "Oh shit…" he muttered, now realizing the gravity of the situation.
'Chimchar should be with Paul in Sinnoh…' Ash thought worriedly as he continued to run with the injured fire-type monkey Pokémon in his arms. 'What if there has been some kind of Butterfree effect and Paul is the one who left Chimchar out to die which would mean that Damian would be my new rival…' He growled at the thought. 'Freaking hell… this better not be true…'
To Ash's relief, he was quickly able to locate the nearby Pokecenter. Hee ran straight in, hollering over to Nurse Joy who looked horrified at the state that Chimchar was in. "I need help! I found this Chimchar and he's hurt pretty badly!"
"Chansey, get the trauma stretcher for the Chimchar immediately!" Nurse Joy cried. A pair of Chansey ran in and took the injured fire-type monkey away from Ash's arms. They rushed him into the emergency surgery with Nurse Joy following behind.
Ash let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding as the doors opened behind him, revealing a soaked Misty and Gary. Pikachu was currently in Misty's arms while Pidgeotto sat on Gary's shoulders.
"Ash!" The dark-haired boy turned his head to see his soaked electric starter jump onto his shoulder as he asked his trainer a question. "Did you find Charmander?"
"No, I didn't." Ash shook his head, frowning as he looked towards the doors that Nurse Joy had rushed Chimchar in. "But I did find Chimchar."
"Chimchar?!" Pikachu exclaimed in shock, not expecting to hear about Ash's powerful Infernape turned Chimchar being in the emergency room. "Is he okay?"
"He's hurt pretty badly," the Ketchum boy explained, frowning. "I haven't found out whether it was Paul or Damian yet, I'm still waiting to speak with Nurse Joy."
"I see." Gary nodded quietly, scratching his chin in thought before getting an idea. "If you'd like… after your Chimchar wakes up, I could see if Officer Jenny is willing to take a report that's translated by my Kadabra," he offered. "I know how much you hate the Damian guy, and I'm happy to help you to make sure that your Charizard or well…Chimchar gets justice."
Ash smiled softly at this, glad that Gary was willing to help. He just nodded at this before speaking. "Thank you, I'll take you up on your offer if he's not too traumatized."
Gary nodded, patting his rival's back in comfort. 'Maybe I won't have to be in Ash's shadow this way. Helping Chimchar out this way should at least get me out of there.'
The minutes wore on as the trio waited anxiously for any news in regards to Chimchar. Ash was worried about the Pokemon that had been one of his strongest, and it was understandable after what the Pokémon had gone through with Paul last time.
After an anxious hour, the emergency light finally turned off as Nurse Joy came out and looked towards the group. She gave them a gentle smile before speaking up.
"The Chimchar that you brought in is in a stable condition at this time. He's recovering from the emergency surgery that we had to perform," the older woman explained before questioning. "Did you see anything like anyone who might be responsible for this?"
"Yeah, actually…" Ash muttered, digging into his pocket before handing over the broken Pokeball to Nurse Joy. "This was found near Chimchar, I thought that it might help you to investigate to see what's going on."
"Thank you." Nurse Joy nodded as she took the broken Pokeball from Ash's hands before moving towards the computer where she inserted the Pokeball in it. She began to type away to see if she could find any information. It was several moments before she spoke up again. "Okay, so I have some information if you'd like to hear about it."
"It would help greatly," the dark-haired boy confirmed. "I want to put in a report for Pokemon abandonment because it really seemed like a case of it. Especially if a Pokeball was found near Chimchar."
The pink-haired woman was about to speak again when the Oak boy spoke up in support of his rival. "If it helps with the report, my Kadabra will be more than happy to translate Chimchar's statement when he wakes up if he's not too traumatized. I offered that to Ash, and he's willing to allow that as long as his mental state isn't bad."
"That would certainly help. I usually don't allow other trainers' Pokémon to translate on our official Pokémon's behalf, but since you are the grandson of Professor Oak, I will make an exception this time." Nurse Joy smiled kindly towards the boys then looked towards the computer screen. "According to the Pokeball, it was previously registered to the Chimchar that you brought in here. The original owner appears to be Paul Shinji from Veilstone City in Sinnoh." Ash was about to speak up in anger before the brunette placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling the raven-haired boy to wait for a second. "However, it appears that three months ago, Paul Shinji made a trade of his Chimchar with Damian Shahid of Viridian City, who traded his Charmander to Paul Shinji in return." She then looked up. "So it appears that Damian was the last trainer that had Chimchar prior to the abandonment which resulted in his serious injuries."
"So, Damian had Chimchar and Paul currently has Charmander…" Ash muttered quietly after he and Gary finished listening to Nurse Joy's explanation, nodding. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I can go ahead and take you to Chimchar now if you'd like? I'm sure he will need someone by his side when he wakes up, but I will go ahead and call Officer Jenny for you while we wait." The pink-haired woman smiled kindly; she could see how much Ash cared about the Chimchar despite being unaware that Ash knew him from the past timeline.
"Yes, please. I'd really appreciate it," Ash confirmed as the nurse motioned for the trio to follow her into the recovery room where Chimchar was currently sleeping and recovering. She left Ash, Gary, and Misty alone as the Ketchum boy pulled a chair towards Chimchar's bedside before sitting next to his Infernape turned Chimchar.
Misty and Gary looked at each other before moving to sit down themselves, deciding to leave Ash and Chimchar be.
It took a while but Chimchar did eventually wake up. He seemed calm, which Ash was surprised by; he was expecting for the fire monkey to freak out as said Pokemon began to look around at his surroundings.
"So I'm finally free from Damian…" Chimchar mumbled, scratching his head as he turned towards Ash with a small smile. "Thank you."
Ash blinked, again surprised at how calm Chimchar was despite what he had just gone through. He did speak up again after a moment.
"No problem, Officer Jenny is here to take your statement about Damian. That will be done with Gary's help, involving his Kadabra," Ash explained, causing the monkey Pokémon to blink in surprise that Ash could understand him. "I know it's weird that I can understand you, but this is because of my Aura ability that apparently lets me talk to you without any communication barrier."
"I see…" The fire-type monkey nodded. "I'll take you up on your offer, I will give a statement."
The Ketchum boy nodded as he turned to Gary to quietly let his rival know to go ahead to get Officer Jenny. The brunette let out his Kadabra before stepping out of the room, swiftly returning with Officer Jenny along with Nurse Joy.
"You ready?" Ash asked gently, stroking Chimchar's head in reassurance as he had been worried about some potential trauma.
"I guess I'm as ready as I can be." The fire monkey Pokémon sighed before he explained to Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy of what had happened, which Gary's Kadabra began to translate.
"According to Chimchar," the Psi Pokemon began as he listened to the monkey Pokemon intensively, "Damian never treated him well during his travels. He often yelled at him or had his Vaporeon and Tentacruel force him into doing things that Damian wanted him to do. So he decided to try to escape one day because he felt like he deserved better." He paused for a moment before continuing. "When Damian found out that Chimchar had broken his Pokeball, he was furious and forced his Pokémon team, consisting of Scyther, Tauros, Vaporeon, Eevee, and Tentacruel, to attack him."
Ash growled at this, but he remained quiet otherwise as he allowed Kadabra to do what he needed to do.
"After Chimchar was beaten to the point that he was drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, he heard Damian tell him that he had hoped that Chimchar would die because this was his punishment for being a pain in the ass." Kadabra finished, nodding over at Gary who quietly thanked him before returning him. The brunette after recovering from the state of horror then turned towards Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny who looked horrified at what had been described. Misty could only watch on in disgust, furious at how Chimchar had been treated.
Officer Jenny coughed as she cleared her throat a moment later. "Based on Chimchar's statement which was taken via Professor Oak's grandson with his Kadabra. I believe this is sufficient enough that Damian Shahid can be charged with attempted murder. He will no longer be allowed to own any Pokémon," she explained to everyone in the room before glancing out of the window. "I will get him," she said as she walked out of the room in search of Damian. Ash, Pikachu, Gary, and Misty followed immediately to help, while Riolu decided to stay behind to keep an eye on Chimchar while the fire monkey rested.
They searched for the blue-haired trainer around the area for the next half-hour with no luck. Officer Jenny was about to make a decision for everyone to return to Nurse Joy when she heard yelling.
"Are you kidding me!?" The voice hollered. "Your Water Pulse is pathetic, Eevee! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Ash looked at Pikachu, hearing the familiar voice before exhaling. "Sounds like Damian, alright."
"Exactly who we're looking for," Officer Jenny commented as she retrieved her Pokeball. "Arcanine, come on out!"
Arcanine soon materialized, giving out a mighty roar as his tail wagged. He looked towards his trainer who nodded towards him.
"Let's go, Pikachu," the dark-haired boy said as the group ran up towards the bushes. Once they had gotten there, they immediately saw Damian belittling an Eevee who was cowering fearfully away from him.
"Vaporeon, is this pathetic failure of an Eevee really all you could give me?" The blue-haired trainer sneered as he shot a glare towards his Vaporeon who could only whimper in response.
"I...I…I'm sorry…" The water Eeveelution meekly responded as she looked down, shaking in terror. This clearly did not please Damian as he kicked her away, causing Vaporeon to cry out in pain. Seeing this, Arcanine immediately ran up towards Damian and bowled him over, pinning him onto the ground. Officer Jenny was quick to walk up with Ash and his companions following her from behind. At this, Scyther came out of his Pokeball and tried to defend his trainer only for Arcanine to blast him with a point-blank Flamethrower. This caused the bug-type to faint immediately, as he clearly hadn't been properly trained to handle super-effective moves.
"What the hell?!" Damian yelled out in anger. "Are you on some sort of a power trip?! I will have my lawyer sue the hell out of you!"
"Damian Shahid, you are charged with one count of attempted murder involving a Pokémon, as well as multiple counts of Pokémon abuse," Officer Jenny explained calmly as she collected his Pokeballs. She then glared at the blue-haired boy. "As such, effective immediately, your trainer license has been permanently revoked. Your egregious actions towards your Pokémon while under your ownership will be reported. You have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer."
"What kind of bullshit is this?" the blue-haired boy hissed angrily. "I did no such thing!" He spat into Officer Jenny's face.
"And a count of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer," the teal-haired woman stated calmly. She then hauled the struggling Damian away as Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Gary watched from afar. They decided to return to the Pokecenter to deliver the news to Nurse Joy.
"Well, now that that's over with," Nurse Joy announced with a smile once the group had returned and delivered the news to her, "I'd like to invite you guys to stay the night. Officer Jenny has delivered Damian's Pokeballs and I want to give these Pokémon to everyone who has been involved with Chimchar's rescue and the assistance that led to Damian's arrest. I will check over these Pokemon but they will be ready in the morning. I would feel better if they went with you guys." The pink-haired woman then turned and walked away.
There was a moment of silence before Chimchar stood up shakily before walking over towards Ash pulling him into a tight hug, surprising the raven-haired boy.
"Thank you." The monkey Pokémon smiled softly in response.
Ash just smiled as he hugged Chimchar, glad that he was okay.
"Is it possible that I could come with you?" the fire-type Pokemon asked after several moments, surprising the dark-haired boy. "I'd like to repay you by joining your team."
"Do you not want to battle before I catch you?" Ash asked. "I'd love for you to join my team, but I don't want for you to miss your opportunity to battle for it."
"Even if I wanted to, my body is still too sore." Chimchar chuckled softly before looking up at the raven-haired boy with a grin. "Though I will for sure battle you later during training."
"That's fine." The dark-haired boy chuckled as he retrieved a free Pokeball before holding it out towards Chimchar. "We can battle later for sure. You're welcome to battle whoever you want."
The fire monkey Pokemon looked over at Pikachu and Riolu before turning to Ash, smirking. "I'd like to battle with Riolu when it's time, it'd be good to pick up some fighting moves." He then placed a hand on the Pokeball which promptly sucked him in. The Pokeball dinged to indicate that Chimchar had been captured.
"Alright, come on out!" Ash threw up the Pokeball, which opened and revealed a confused Chimchar as he looked around his surroundings.
"Owww…" The fire monkey Pokemon groaned as he felt the state of his body. He then looked over at Ash before letting out a yawn. "You're going to need to explain what happened after I get some rest."
"I plan on it, don't worry," Ash reassured Chimchar as he pulled the fire-type Pokemon into his arms so he could rest for a while.
The next morning, after Ash caught Chimchar up on what had led to them returning to the past, the group met up with Nurse Joy the next morning. As promised, she gave Ash two Pokeballs which contained Damian's Eevee and Scyther. She then gave Misty two Pokeballs which contained his Vaporeon and Tentacruel. Finally, she gave Gary a Pokeball which contained Damian's Tauros.
With that done, the trio left the Pokecenter with their destination set to the town of the Squirtle Squad.
"That was interesting…" Ash sighed, shaking his head.
"Tell me about it," Pikachu sniggered as he rested on Ash's shoulder. "I'm glad that Chimchar is okay." He then paused. "Do you think Charmander will be okay with Paul?"
Ash turned to look towards his electric starter. "I'm not sure if he'll be okay," he admitted. "If he had his memories, I would be okay with him staying with Paul because I know he'd be wanting to train to become a Charizard as soon as possible. But he doesn't, so I don't know."
"Is there a way to get Charmander?" Misty asked, sensing Ash's worry.
"I'd say that I could use Pidgeotto but she isn't big enough to carry us yet. So we'd have to wait until she evolves into a Pidgeot." Ash sighed, glancing towards Gary. "Does Kadabra know Teleport?"
"He does, but we haven't had a chance to work on it. He could take you anywhere in Kanto, but beyond that, it's unpredictable," Gary commented as he thought over his Psi Pokemon.
"Man, I guess we have to wait until Pidgeotto evolves into a Pidgeot." The dark-haired boy groaned, worrying about his Charmander. He then blinked as he heard the first part of Gary's last sentence. "He could take me anywhere in Kanto?"
"Yes, he could." The brunette responded as he chuckled. "Just let him know of the destination and he'll do it."
"I may have to take up with you on it, maybe after our third badge." Ash grinned. "I think it'd be easier to pick up the rest of my Pokemon in Kanto that way."
"Just let me know." Gary nodded, thinking. 'So it seems like there's another opportunity to be outside of Ash's shadow.'
"Thanks." Ash then fell into silence as he thought about his old friend, he was worried about Charmander. He knew how awful Paul had been towards Chimchar before he became a better person, and it didn't help that Charmander wasn't very confident at the beginning.
"I hope he'll be alright," Pikachu muttered quietly before looking towards the route. "So Squirtle next, huh?"
"Either Squirtle or another one of my Pokemon that's taking his place." Ash sighed, crossing his arms as the trio continued to walk. He couldn't help but to worry about his Charizard turned Charmander. "I guess we'll see when we get there."
Pikachu nodded in confirmation as the trio continued to travel south.