A few days later they were all sat down around the fire eating when Ash looked up and saw rainclouds heading their way. "Uh oh, looks like there's a storm coming soon guys. Let's head inside" an hour later they were all huddled together as the rain pounded their tent. Suddenly they all tensed up as a massive spike of Aura washed over them.
"Ash that was fear, something out there is scared" Pikachu said.
"I know, but this storm is too fierce to brave it at the moment Pikachu" Ash said "we wouldn't be able to help whatever is out there if we can't even see in front of our hands. We just have to hope that it survives the storm" Nodding reluctantly they all sat waiting when another wave hit them.
"Ash, we need to do something. I can't sit here and do nothing" Pikachu said standing up.
"Very well" Ash said standing up and putting on his raincoat "but if we haven't found whatever it is in twenty minutes we're coming back here. We'll be no good to anyone if we're sick. Eevee and Bulbasaur I'm going to return you to your Pokéballs. Hopefully we find whatever is out there quickly."
Rushing out of the tent Ash ran in the direction his Aura had spiked from. It was a vague guess Ash thought to himself, but it was all he could do. Pulsing out his aura he felt a faint blip come from a particular direction. Shouting over the howling winds to Pikachu "It's coming from over there Pikachu, let's go." Running in the direction Ash felt another wave of fear go through him. Immediately they knew what was wrong. A Pokémon was in clear distress. Rushing out into a small clearing he saw a Charmander huddled on a rock holding a leaf over its tail while a couple of Spearow attacked it.
Immediately Ash saw red and fired off two Aura spheres sending the Spearow flying into the nearest trees where they hit with a squelch. Uncaring of if they were dead Ash immediately took off his coat and wrapped the Charmander up ignoring its faint protests about its trainer. Running back to their tent took a seemingly long time for Ash. He was desperate to get this Charmander out of the rain and seeing their tent appear out of the gloom brought a wave of relief to them both. Opening up his tent he immediately placed Charmander down and began to rifle through his bag for medicine and immediately began to apply it to the Pokémon as it passed out. Calling out Eevee and Bulbasaur he sat back and watched over the little lizard.
"All we can do now is wait Pikachu." Ash said in relief.
"Why was he out there though Ash?" Pikachu asked angrily.
"I share your anger my friend. And if I find out his trainer is responsible for this, we will deal with him" Ash said looking over at Eevee and Bulbasaur who were quiet in contemplation "I cannot abide abusers, you know this Eevee seeing as where I rescued you from. If I hadn't called Professor Oak and given away where I was, I would have likely killed A.J and no-one would have ever known. Every Pokémon I have caught, with the exception of Pikachu seems to be rescues so far. Cleffa, Eevee and Bulbasaur. All of you had people unworthy of your time. I hope that this Pokémon is simply lost, and his trainer couldn't find him in the storm but if I find out otherwise there will be hell to pay. Let's take turns keeping watch. I'll go first."
Eevee looked at the Charmander and immediately thought back to A.J. She was incredibly grateful to Ash for rescuing her as she had feared that being stuck with A.J was it for her. Pokémon can't leave a trainer unless the trainer says so and it burned her up inside for months after being caught. She had prayed and prayed to Arceus for months for help and then Ash appeared and rescued her. It was the main reason why she happily joined him. Arceus had clearly heard her. Ash being her chosen One cemented it for her and while she wouldn't be with him much longer, she knew that she would still be in his life forever more. She could take that. She would take that.
Bulbasaur looked at Charmander and felt a wave of pity. He didn't say it to Ash yet as he saw how angry Ash was, but he knew an abandoned Pokémon when he saw one. He had looked after them for years now at Melanie's shack and he knew all the signs pointed at an abusive trainer who abandoned their Pokémon to die. Shaking his head, he wondered on Ash's final words to them. Could he accept the death of a trainer as a suitable punishment? What gave Ash the right to make that call in the first place? He was clearly missing something here.
"Pikachu" he asked waking him up "I need to talk."
"Go on" he said coming to his new partners side "What's up?"
"What gives Ash the right to make life and death calls?" Bulbasaur asked "who is he to be able to bring judgement on anyone?"
"Ah, I wondered how long it would be before you asked that" Pikachu said. Eevee had woken up at Bulbasaur's question and trotted over. This had clearly been on her mind too "You both were born from eggs and then immediately captured, weren't you?" seeing their nods he carried on "then you won't have learned the lessons wild Pokémon are taught from birth. There's only a few, but they are integral to life and balance. We are here to keep the world running, humans and Pokémon alike live in a symbiotic relationship. We're taught from birth by our parents that to live alongside each other a certain amount of push-back will happen, but overall to respect Arceus' blessing of life. To that end wild Pokémon learn quickly what life is really about. It's something Pokémon that come from an egg to be immediately given to a trainer will never learn. They will never know what it feels like to have to scavenge for food, to be attacked daily by other wild Pokémon after your territory, social hierarchies, have brothers and sisters to compete with every day or to live in constant fear that you may die any day. It is nature at its finest.
The flip side is to become a trainers Pokémon. There are both pros and cons to this however as you have found out to your cost. If we are caught then it's understood that we will never have to find our own food, want for shelter and generally lead a longer life than we would wild. Some are battlers, some are simply pets. The downside of this is it is very rare to choose your own trainer. Ultimately you are stuck with who you get. If you're lucky you will find a nice trainer will treat you well. If you're unlucky you will not. Now Ash may not be the nicest person in the world. But I have found that is only to humans, specifically those he deems unworthy of his time. Abusers are a different thing. Ash is a crusader, a knight if you like. Some would call him a guardian; however, I wouldn't call him that to his face as it brings negative thoughts of the Aura guardians. That's another story though and for Ash to tell you about. The main thing you need to know is that Ash despises Pokémon abusers.
Now we're taught at birth to adhere to Arceus' code with one exception. We've been told stories for millennia about The Chosen Ones. They are heroes to Pokémon throughout the world as they are Arceus' judgement on earth that arrive to halt tragedies and to preserve the balance at any cost. Ash is the latest one in a longline of them. Ash is vital to the world. I'm not just saying this because he's my friend either as I knew from the moment I met him he was special. That is not to say that all Pokémon will welcome him with open arms, no. We all have our own thoughts and feelings after all. But you will rarely find a wild-born Pokémon who will let the Chosen Ones be disrespected. Ash is Arceus' voice on Earth, her will is undeniable. He has been tasked with seeking and eradicating evil from the world to restore balance. Now, Ash WILL mess up and kill the wrong people from time to time. He is human after all, but he is gathering around him a family that will call him on issues that they feel is wrong. So far, his kills have been justified which is why I haven't said anything negative about it.
Team Rocket is a plague on this world. Trainers like A.J and Charmanders trainer are a blot on the landscape and deserve death. Yes, we all can see that he is owned and believe me so can Ash. And we can all recognise abused traits in a Pokémon, again as can Ash. Ash is giving Charmanders trainer the benefit of the doubt at the moment because that storm was horrible, and they simply could have lost him. It is unlikely though. So Bulbasaur, I will give you until morning to think over what I have said. If you cannot stomach killing when necessary, I expect you to talk to Ash, tell him your reasons and leave. Ash will respect that and help you find someone else if need be. If you stay, then we will never bring up this topic again" with that Pikachu went back to Ash's sleeping bag and curled up. Looking up into Ash's face he saw he was awake and likely had been for a while. Nodding slightly Ash closed his eyes and they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning Bulbasaur didn't say anything to Ash, so he didn't either. Watching over the Charmander all night had given Bulbasaur a fresh perspective on things. His worries while still there were not as prevalent as they had been. Ash had given him a chance to become the best he could be and he wasn't going to change his thoughts on that over an abusive trainer. Ash woke up and saw that Charmander was still out like a light and looking on his Pokégear he noticed that the nearest Pokémon centre was less than a mile away down the road.
"Let's go guys. We'll pack up and take Charmander to Nurse Joy" Ash said "Charmanders tail is still dangerously low and I have no doubts if we hadn't rescued him, he would have died last night. Thank you, Pikachu, for forcing the issue" he finished giving Pikachu a look. They both knew it wasn't just for Charmanders sake.
"You're welcome, Ash" Pikachu said, "it had to be done".
Packing up didn't take as long as they thought. With them all pitching in where they could they were away from their campsite within the hour. Walking down the track with Ash holding Charmander they eventually saw the big red housed building and went inside. Nurse Joy immediately rushed over and saw Charmander in his arms.
Before she had a chance to berate him, he said "Don't, it is not what you think. I rescued this Charmander last night as it was left alone on a rock in the middle of the storm. Now I have sprayed him with a full heal mixed with Oran berries, but his tail is still dangerously low. I brought him here as soon as I was able."
Nodding and thankful she hadn't said anything she took Ash and Charmander to a room where she placed Charmander in an incubator. Trying to read the charts Ash's head quickly gave him a headache. "It's in a better condition than I feared. You did well Mr?" Joy started.
"Ash Ketchum Miss Joy" Ash said pulling out his Pokédex and showing her his ID.
"It's just Nurse Joy" she replied happy with this trainers' manners "he will need to stay in this incubator for a day or so while we re-ignite his core heat to how it should be. He used up most of it keeping himself alive it seems. Now you said you found him last night in the storm?"
"Yes" Ash nodded "he was being attacked while he stayed on a rock by some Spearows. I chased them off and took him back to my tent where I gave him first aid and tried to keep him warm. I fear he may have been abandoned by his trainer as wild Pokémon would never stay where it's wide open, especially during a storm."
"Yes, you're correct" Joy said frowning "unfortunately until Charmander awakens we won't know for sure."
"Well, I will stick around until he does" Ash said "do you need any help around here? I may as well make myself useful. I trained with Professor Oak for years in how to handle Pokémon."
The rest of the day flew by as Ash helped Joy examine Pokémon from the many trainers that were passing through Route 5. Discreetly using Aura, he was able to establish that they were all being cared for reasonably well. There wasn't a single Pokémon that caused him concern. That was until his last trainer of the day came forward and handed him a bag of Pokémon.
"Take care of these" he said before walking off. Going immediately to Nurse Joy she frowned at them. "It's uncommon for a trainer to not have any ID with them but it happens though. Let's have a look at them shall we."
Passing them through her healing machines she was immediately concerned. "These Pokémon aren't doing too well Ash. A lot of these are showing signs of forced evolution and malnourishment".
"Is there anything we can do?" Ash asked.
"No sadly" Joy said "it's the worst part of my job this. I can only heal them and give the trainer a warning and as he has no Pokédex number I can't report him, so he'll likely just ignore me. I will definitely flag him to the other Joys and Jenny's but without proof of abuse, and no trainer ID we can't do anything else" Nodding sadly she left to heal them, and Ash made his way out to the counter with Pikachu on his shoulder.
Sitting down and eating it wasn't long before he was disturbed by the very trainer he was thinking of "Nice Pikachu. How much will you sell it for?"
Looking up and frowning he said "He's not for sale and never will be."
"Come on man, it's a shiny Pikachu. You must have bought him yourself so one dealer to another, how much?" the guy said.
Standing up and staring him down he said "I did not buy him; he is not for sale. Now piss off before I hit you."
Snorting the man turned to leave but not before saying "by the time I leave I will have that Pikachu, whether you're alive to see it or not".
"And if you try anything you will leave here in a wooden box, is that clear" Ash said leaking Aura everywhere in anger and punching him in the face. Blood spurted everywhere as he flew back. Quickly his friends pulled him to their table before anything else happened and Ash stalked off back to his room.
"We need to be alert tonight, Pikachu. He won't let this slide, you know that" Ash said. Ringing Sam, he explained the situation and gave him a description of the man. Sam replied that he would forward it on to all the police stations just in case Pikachu went missing. Before hanging up though he warned Ash to be careful, and to make sure anything he did could clearly be seen as self-defence. All night they were awake, which left Ash in an irritable mood. Finding Nurse Joy, he saw she was in some distress. "Charmander has gone. He left as soon as I opened the incubator and I can't leave here to find it".
"I know where it will have gone" Ash said. "I believe he was that abusive trainers Pokémon yesterday. I have no proof of that though. Charmander will have gone back to that rock so I'll go and find him."
Leaving the centre Ash headed back to the rock. Furious with himself that he wasn't there to ask Charmander who he belonged to. Coming up to the rock an hour later he heard a voice and walking around the bend he saw that it was that trainer he had punched who had Charmander gripped by its neck in his hand.
"I told you to stay on this rock if you wanted to be my Pokémon. You clearly disobeyed me. I have no use for a disloyal Pokémon whose Ember attack can't beat a Bellsprout" The man said throwing Charmander to the ground.
"If you don't want him then I'll have him" Ash said coming forward.
"You" the man said loathing written all over his face "You want this weakling? Why?"
"A Pokémon is only as weak as his trainer" Ash said walking up to them "If Charmander is weak then it's because you're a shit trainer. You clearly don't want him, so I will. You don't have to put up with this abuse Charmander."
"No, I don't think so" he said sneering "I'll just order it to sit here again until it's not my problem anymore."
"Or" Ash said "I break your arm to go along with your nose, rip it off and use it to press that release button on the ball so Charmander goes free. Your choice"
Clearly thinking was difficult for this trainer "I have another idea. You want this pathetic Pokémon badly so you can have it, but I want that Pikachu in return."