CHAPTER 8: Abandoning him?
The journey to Nimbasa City was very long, but they arrived at last and decided to rest on the Pokémon Centre. It was there when a problem happened, the Pokémon in their Poké Balls of the building were being stolen and were taken to the subway of the city. Ash, Iris and Cilan went to investigate who were behind the robbery, and they realized that it was Team Rocket. Meowth was tricking the three Pokémon trainers all this time to steal their Pokémon and the ones from the Pokémon Centre.
It was a mission of rescue rather dangerous and difficult. Team Rocket had planned the robbery of the Pokémon days ago and they had all thought. It was a plan very coldly calculated. There wasn't so much hope to recover the stolen Pokémon, but with help of the subway bosses, they had a chance and they were able to rescue all the Pokémon that were stolen by Team Rocket. The evil team had no other option than escape empty-handed.
Once they returned all the Pokémon to the Pokémon Centre, Ash had the possibility to fight against Nimbasa City's gym leader for his fourth badge. At the beginning, Ash had planned that would use one Pokémon in specific with type advantage that would defeat all the Pokémon from the gym leader, that specialized on electric-type Pokémon. He used Palpitoad, but Ash's strategy didn't work as he thought, so he had no other option than return to the Pokémon Centre and get another Pokémon that would help to beat the gym leader. After some minutes, he returned and took Snivy out to fight, however, Ash's plan didn't work either. He didn't know what to do.
Pikachu, all this time, wanted to fight in the battle, but Ash, previously, said to him that he would use his other Pokémon. After seeing his trainer in a total desperate, and ignorant, situation, he got very mad at him and he yelled that he wanted to fight to end the battle once at for all. And that was it, Pikachu entered into battle and beat the remaining Pokémon of the gym leader. Ash had his fourth gym badge and was ready to go to the next city for his fifth one, the problem was that the bridge that connected to the next city was under maintenance, so Ash, Iris and Cilan walked around Nimbasa City until the bridge was completely repaired.
Once the bridge had been repaired, the three trainers went to the next city for the fifth gym badge for Ash.
Days later, Ash and his friends continued with their path to the next city. In one moment, they decided to rest before lunch, and their Pokémon had free time to do whatever they want. Oshawott was a little bit worried about Snivy, after the gym battle in Nimbasa City, she behaved in a rather different way. She was seen far away from others, more than the usual. Something bad happened to her. When all were waiting the lunch, Snivy wasn't present in the surroundings, it seemed that she had went too far way and nobody knew where she was. Ash was worried about her absence, until Oshawott said that he would go to look for her, and his trainer accepted the idea.
The Sea Otter Pokémon entered in the forest and went to look for the grass snake. He didn't see her anywhere, until she saw her near a tree. She looked like she was upset for something. He had to find out what happened to her. Oshawott came closer and said to her:
"Snivy?"
"Oh, hi, Oshawott." Snivy answered trying not to show upset at him.
"Snivy, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to rest in middle of the nature. All here is calmer."
"Hmm… yeah, you're right, this place is very calmed."
"Why did you want to look for me?"
"Well… you've lastly been behaving in a very strange way. It seems that something bad happens to you in these days. What's wrong with you to behave in that way?"
Snivy was in silence for some seconds.
"Snivy?"
After giving a heavy sigh, she finally answered:
"Okay, I'll tell you. Do you know what really happened when Ash battled in Nimbasa City's gym?"
"I wasn't there, I didn't know from the others either, so…"
"Well, I'll tell you. It seemed, Ash had planned a strategy, that he would use Palpitoad against the electric Pokémon of the leader Elesa. From what I know, Ash's strategy didn't work out, so he had to exit the gym, in middle of the battle, to go to the Pokémon Centre, just to get another Pokémon for the battle, and he chose me."
"Are you talking seriously? Did Ash have to leave the gym battle for a moment just to get another Pokémon?"
"That's right."
"Who would do that in middle of an important battle?"
"Exactly!" Snivy exclaimed upset, "Who would do that stupid thing just to try to win, and in a gym battle on top of it?!"
Oshawott felt that Snivy was upset, that made him unsettle a bit. He asked:
"What happened later?"
"Later, after getting me, he returned to the gym and took me out to battle. When I entered to the battlefield, my opponent was an Emolga. Elesa ordered her Pokémon to use Attract, and Ash ordered me to use the same. We used Attract, but we didn't receive the effect of the move. It turned out that Elesa's Emolga was female like me. What followed I couldn't believe it. Ash forgot that I was a female Pokémon."
"Seriously? Did he really forget that you were female?"
"That's right!" getting angry, "How can Ash forget that I, ones of his first Pokémon that had in Unova, was female all this darn time?! I can't believe it!"
Oshawott little by little was gaining more fear for hearing Snivy getting even angrier. She hadn't definitively liked at all what Ash did in that gym battle. She hadn't finished to tell all what happened in that moment.
"Did you know what happened next? He said that he had chosen me because grass-type Pokémon were resistant against electric-type attacks, but the gym leader commented that her Emolga was also a flying-type, and I presumed that she had also flying-type attacks. What I heard later was a scream of sudden regret from him after hearing that. What happened in his head in that minute?! Did he never know that Emolga that was fighting was a flying-type?! What a foolish thing he had just done to me!
The Sea Otter Pokémon was with a lot of fear with the increasing rage of his teammate. He was scared by her angry attitude while she said more about what happened. It hadn't ended there yet, she continued talking:
"I had no other option than to try to beat that Emolga. Ash ordered me to use Vine Whip. I attacked several times, but Emolga dodged them easily. I used Leaf Blade, but she also dodged it. And finally, I used Leaf Storm, and the attack hit the target; however, it didn't do any damage to her. I mean, What the hell could I do in that instant?! None of my attacks worked at all against that Emolga! Did really the only thing that I expected was losing?! And I haven't finished yet! Elesa's Emolga used Acrobatics several times on me, and I couldn't avoid those attacks; and finally, she used Aerial Ace to finish with me, and I fell fainted at the end. When Ash remained to use his last Pokémon for the battle, he used Pikachu and he managed Elesa's remaining Pokémon, and well, Ash won his fourth gym badge, but I'm not happy with that."
"Why not, Snivy?"
"DID YOU NOT REALLY HEAR ALL WHAT I SAID?! ! !" Snivy yelled at Oshawott with all her unleashed rage, "I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO DO ANYTHING PRODUCTUVE IN THE BATTLE! ! ! I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING AT ALL! AND ALL BECAUSE THAT DUMB ASH! ! !"
"Du… dumb Ash?"
"That's right! He has never thought about things carefully and he had never done something intelligent to win in this last period! Not only the battle against Elesa, but in other occasions in the past! Did Ash not learn anything in his other adventures in other regions?! He should have learnt and matured with all what he has lived after he left his hometown to be a Pokémon Master! Or did he forget all of that and wanted to start from zero, like his first adventure in his home region?!"
"But, Snivy… he…"
"Bad choice of Pokémon, bad use of moves, not knowing what to do in the most critical moments, bad strategies for battle! The battle that I had against Elesa is until now the most humiliating one that I have had! HOW CAN HE THINK THAT WITH ONE POKÉMON CAN WIN THE BATTLE, AND EVEN HAVING FAITH ON HE CAN ACHIEVE IT?! ! ! HOW CAN HE NOT KNOW THE KIND OF POKÉMON THAT HE IS FACING?! ! ! AND ABOVE ALL, HOW THE HELL CAN HE FORGET THAT I'M A FEMALE POKÉMON ALL THIS TIME?! ! ! DID HE REALLY HAVE THE INTENTION ALL THIS DARN TIME FOR ME TO LOSE ON PURPOSE AND HUMILIATED IN FRONT OF ALL THE SPECTATORS?! ! ! I HAD ENOUGH OF THAT STUPID BOY! ! !"
Oshawott, after hearing Snivy's rant about Ash in the most violent way imaginable, he got completely terrified by the extreme rage from his partner. If he said one more word or he said the opposite, he could get seriously hurt by painful whiplashes with her vines. The terror and feat in his face for all what he just heard could be seen.
The grass-type, after seeing the Sea Otter Pokémon very terrified by all her rant that he had done, felt very bad. It seemed she had become exaggeratedly violent in front of her teammate, that he wasn't his fault all this time. She had turned into a monster possessed by the unleashed rage that she had inside. After realizing that, she tried to calm herself down slowly and talk normally. She said:
"I'm really sorry, Oshawott. I didn't want to get mad in an exaggerate way in front of you. It's not your fault for all of this. Sorry for that."
Once the otter heard her apologies, he stopped to get too tense and went calming himself with the seconds. After a while, Snivy's rage had gone, Oshawott take that to his advantage to said to her:
"So, Snivy, you are very upset for all what Ash did with you in that gym battle, right?"
"Yes, that's right. What was he thinking in that moment?! What had happened to him to behave so stupidly?!
"Snivy, how can you say such things to Ash? He's your trainer."
"So?! He had no justifiable reason for that kind of behavior, having in mind that he had made several journeys through other regions! I'm tired of him! I don't know what to do now!"
"What do you mean?"
"I… I was thinking on abandon him like my previous trainer."
"Did you think on abandon Ash?!" Oshawott exclaimed in complete shock.
"Yes, it seems that history repeats for me."
"But, Snivy, he's our trainer. Ash loves you, how can you think on abandoning him?"
"I know that Ash loves me, but I think that, for all what I told you about what happened in that gym battle, that's the last straw for me. I don't want to see him anymore after what I lived that day."
"Snivy, please, don't do it. Ash, Iris and Cilan, and all their Pokémon, would be very sad if you leave. I can't take the fact that my friend has gone forever, and that I won't be able to see her in my life."
"I know, Oshawott, but I couldn't help to feel very upset by the stuff that Ash did in that battle."
"Snivy, please, I'm begging you!" he said as he cried, "You're my partner and friend! Sniff… You're going to leave a tremendous hole in my life is you abandon us! What am I going to do without you to accompany me?! Sniff… I'll be very sad by your absence! I tell you that what happened that time is not going to happen again to you! Please, give Ash another chance! Sniff… Please, Snivy, please! I don't wanna lose you! I don't wanna be alone! You're special for me! You're my best friend that destiny has given to me, and I wanna protect you with all my being! Sniff… Please, Snivy, stay with us! I beg you with all my soul!"
Afterwards, Oshawott cried a lot, leaving Snivy very thoughtful. She had been humiliated several times in battle thanks to Ash's ineptitude. If she was getting more and more distanced, it would be because she planned to abandon him and her friends. What he had done in Nimbasa City's gym was unforgivable for her, but… she thought later about the consequences if she abandoned her group. All would be very sad, she had Oshawott crying disconsolately in front of her. The grass snake would live as a wild Pokémon again, like what happened after abandon her previous trainer. I would be very difficult to live in the wild and hostile nature again. She had memories of moments that almost costed her life. She didn't want to live it again.
If Snivy let herself get caught by Ash, it was because she considered him a very determined and little seen Pokémon trainer for her. The first time that they saw each other's faces, he protected Pikachu from the Vine Whip's attacks, putting himself upfront of his dear Pokémon so that no more harm would come to him. That act caused the grass snake a lot of intrigue. First time in a long time that she saw a trainer protect its Pokémon from danger. After what happened with her previous trainer, she stopped believing that there was a good bond between trainer and Pokémon, but that scene made her consider that it still existed people that trained Pokémon that protect them from any hazard. She didn't want to believe it in that moment and escaped from there.
Later, it followed the mania of Ash wanting to catch Snivy, he failed several times in his attempt to catch her; nevertheless, he continued forwards until she was part of his team. The grass snake put him traps and beat his male Pokémon in that moment to want to move away from him again, despite that, he still wanted to catch her. He didn't give up until he eventually had achieved his objective. Ash was an exceptional trainer for Snivy, she had seen a few time that kind of people in her life. She let herself get caught after giving him her approval, and since that moment she had a new home traveling with him. She also liked his friends that accompanied him all the time, and their Pokémon were nice, well, except Emolga, but she thought that she would get used to that.
Ash loved her since she was caught by him, but Snivy doubted that he was the trainer that the grass snake had idealized. He had taken many bad decisions when she had been in battle under his orders; however, like Oshawott said, maybe that humiliating event that she had lived had gotten in the past, and that it wouldn't happened again. Oshawott. With only thinking on him had a feeling attachment for him, he was her partner and friend. It would be a pity that he saw Snivy leaving forever, he would miss her a lot and would be depressed by that, not only him. She thought that she would miss him and her partners, both humans as Pokémon, after abandon them. It would be something very difficult to forget, her life wouldn't be the same without him. What could she do? She had the Sea Otter Pokémon crying very hard by the possible departure that she had planned days ago. Afterwards, she took a decision.
In one moment, when Oshawott continued crying, Snivy dried the tears with her vines. That made the water-type call her attention. Later, he heard his partner to say:
"Oshawott, don't be sad now."
"Sniff… what do you mean? Sniff…"
"I have thought now and… I'm not going to abandon Ash."
"Are you… taking seriously?" he said getting happy.
"Yes, I'll be with him, despite the difficulties that I may encounter later on. Besides, I would feel very alone without all of you, especially with you."
"Oh! Thank you, Snivy! Thank you so much!"
Oshawott, immediately, gave big hug to Snivy, that took her by surprise. It was the first time that someone hugged her in a long time, she didn't know how to take it, but… she felt good by the hug from her teammate. It was a new sensation that she had liked it a lot. She just hugged him as well to make him calmed. After the hug, they two decided to go to where the trainers and Pokémon were, with the next destination to the next city to win the fifth gym badge for Ash.