Beep—Beep—Beep—
Watching Chansey push Charmander into the treatment room, Ash finally took off his raincoat. Misty handed him a towel, and he used it to dry Pikachu.
"Pikachu, are you okay?"
Pikachu struck its classic "strong pose," indicating it was perfectly fine.
"What happened to those two Trainers?" Ash asked.
Earlier Misty had said the police couldn't arrive immediately, so the two Trainers were told to report themselves to the police station later. For now, their Trainer licenses had already been revoked.
"They got off too easily," Brock said angrily. If he could, he would have hung that guy up and beaten him senseless.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to vent his anger.
At that moment, Damien and his companions saw Ash bring Charmander back to the Pokémon Center for treatment. Their expressions turned ugly.
"So you ran out in the rain to find my Charmander, huh?"
"Were you planning to steal my Pokémon?"
"That useless Pokémon, and you actually want it? Then again, you even caught a Pikachu—those things are more common than stray dogs."
"What else can I say?"
Damien sneered sarcastically, clearly unable to tolerate people who genuinely cared about Pokémon.
His companions seemed to realize the situation was serious and quietly tried to persuade him to stop talking.
"Whatever. It's just losing my Trainer license," Damien said dismissively.
When the time came, he would just bring Charmander to the authorities as proof, and everything would be fine.
Just like before—say a few nice words, and Charmander would obediently follow him again.
It was that simple.
"Heh. It won't be that easy," Ash said calmly, stopping Misty and Brock, who were about to step forward.
Trainers were not allowed to fight inside a Pokémon Center. At best, it meant fines. At worst, it meant losing their Trainer license.
"Why are you stopping me?" Misty asked angrily.
"That guy deserves a beating! I don't even know how someone like him managed to get a Pokémon!"
"You can't fight here," Ash reminded them. "We'll get punished."
Brock paused.
"I actually forgot about that rule… I almost broke it."
The guy had simply pushed him too far.
Any normal Trainer would be furious hearing those things.
Brock looked at Ash in surprise.
Despite how infuriating the situation was, Ash remained calm.
Ash was even younger than him—yet somehow he seemed more mature.
Compared to him, Brock suddenly felt like the emotional child.
As for Misty… well, she was still basically a kid. Being emotional during adolescence was normal.
"So we're just going to let them go?" Misty complained.
The punishment felt too light.
If someone had enough money or influence, they probably wouldn't even care about such penalties.
"Let's wait," Ash said quietly.
The rain outside was still pouring. Damien wasn't going anywhere for a while.
Right now, the most important thing was Charmander.
Ash sat down on a sofa, waiting for news from Nurse Joy.
Meanwhile, Damien grew more irritated.
Ash's group ignored him, and the surrounding Trainers were looking at him with disgust.
All of this humiliation…
It was because of that useless Charmander.
If not for it, he wouldn't have been mocked by his friends or ended up in this situation.
After some persuasion from Misty and Brock, Ash finally changed into dry clothes.
He had just planned to contact Professor Oak to ask if there were ways to increase the punishment for Trainers who abandoned Pokémon.
"Ash! Nurse Joy is coming out!" Misty called.
Ash immediately hung up the call he had just placed to Professor Oak.
He could call again later.
Somewhere far away, Professor Oak stared at the Pokédex screen while heating instant noodles over an alcohol lamp…
…and fell into deep confusion.
"How is it?" Ash asked.
"Charmander had many injuries," Nurse Joy said tiredly.
"But it's no longer in danger. With a night of rest, it should recover."
"That's great!" Brock said.
Seeing how exhausted Nurse Joy looked, he said gently, "You worked hard. Would you like a massage to relax?"
"Stop bothering Nurse Joy!" Misty said, dragging Brock away.
At that moment, Nurse Joy walked up to Damien.
Her usual sweet demeanor disappeared, replaced with an icy expression.
"Trainer Damien, please report to Officer Jenny in Vermilion City tomorrow."
"You are no longer recognized as Charmander's Trainer."
"For further details, you will need to speak with Officer Jenny."
Damien's face turned pale.
He glared viciously at Ash and his friends.
If they hadn't interfered, none of this would have happened.
He sat down unwillingly, staring silently at the Poké Ball on the table.
With the matter settled, the other Trainers returned to their rooms.
The Next Morning
Ash was woken up by Pikachu.
After washing up, he headed to the dining area.
"You always wake up so late," Misty complained.
"Breakfast is almost sold out already."
Despite her words, she had thoughtfully prepared breakfast for him.
"Sorry. My fault," Ash said immediately.
No arguments—eating came first.
After finishing breakfast, Ash went to check on Charmander.
Charmander sat quietly on the bed.
Only when it saw Ash did a faint spark return to its eyes.
"Charmander, how are you feeling?"
Nurse Joy had said Charmander refused to eat.
It was probably because its Trainer had abandoned it.
Charmander gave a quiet response and reluctantly ate a Berry.
Perhaps the Pokémon Affinity Reputation Ash had just obtained was having an effect, making Pokémon naturally feel more comfortable around him.
Charmander stared at Ash for a moment.
Then it walked outside the Pokémon Center.
"Is it going to look for its former Trainer again?" Brock said grimly.
Charmander really had terrible luck with Trainers.
Pikachu quickly followed to comfort it.
Pokémon communicated better with each other, and Charmander seemed willing to talk with Pikachu.
"Let them talk for a bit," Ash said while watching through the window.
Pikachu was gesturing dramatically while talking.
It probably wasn't telling embarrassing stories about Ash again to cheer Charmander up… right?
"What is that guy trying to do now?" Brock suddenly said and rushed outside.
Damien had approached Charmander and was trying to recall it with a Poké Ball.
"Graaa!"
Charmander slashed the Poké Ball out of the air with its claws.
Then it spat a burst of Flamethrower toward Damien.
"Stupid Charmander! What are you doing?!" Damien shouted while barely dodging.
"Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson."
"Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
Ash gave the command without hesitation.
Electricity struck Damien directly.
Charmander seized the chance and blasted him with another burst of flames.
"Pika-pi~!"
Pikachu then led Charmander back to Ash and began explaining with enthusiastic gestures.
The rough meaning was:
Charmander had given up on its former Trainer.
Now it wanted to travel with Ash.
After it was injured earlier, it had survived by using the Potion Ash left under the tree.
That allowed it to hold on until Ash finally returned to rescue it.
For the first time in its life—
Charmander had seen a human care about it so much.
Someone who sheltered it from the rain.
Someone who carried it to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
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