Ash Ketchum was late.
Not a little late. Not the kind of late that could be fixed by running faster. This was the kind that pressed down on his chest and made his thoughts tangle as he bolted upright in bed, sunlight already flooding the room.
"No—no no no!"
He scrambled out from under the covers, tripped over his own shoes, and nearly collided with the wall. Today was supposed to be perfect. Today was the day he became a Pokémon Trainer. Professor Oak was waiting. His first Pokémon was waiting.
Downstairs, his mother's voice followed him like a warning bell.
"Ash! Breakfast!"
"I'll eat later!" he shouted back, already pulling his jacket on.
He burst out of the house and into Pallet Town, the familiar streets blurring as he ran. He passed the tall grass at the town's edge, remembering Oak's words from a hundred warnings past. Never go in there without a Pokémon.
He stayed on the path.
At first.
The forest beyond Pallet was quiet, too quiet. Ash slowed, breath fogging the cool air. Then he heard it.
A sharp cry. Cut off too quickly.
Ash stopped.
Something about the sound twisted in his stomach. He knew Pokémon cries. This wasn't wild. This was fear.
He stepped off the path.
Branches scratched his arms as he pushed through the trees, heart pounding louder with every step. The forest opened into a small clearing, and Ash froze.
A truck sat there, its back doors wide open.
Cages lined the inside.
Pokémon.
Some small, some large, all trapped. A Pidgeotto slammed against metal bars. A Bellsprout lay limp, its vines bound tight. Ash's breath caught as his eyes moved farther back.
Something big shifted in the shadows.
Orange scales, dulled by dirt. A long tail dragged weakly across the metal floor. Folded wings trembled as the Pokémon tried to rise.
A Charizard.
One wing hung wrong, its membrane torn and stiff with dried blood. The Charizard's chest rose and fell heavily, but when its eyes opened, they burned. Not with fire. With rage.
Ash took a step forward before he realized what he was doing.
"Hey…" His voice shook. "What are you doing to them?"
Three men turned. Their clothes were dark, practical. One of them laughed.
"Kid wandered into the wrong place."
Ash's fists clenched. He didn't have a Pokémon. He didn't have a plan. But he couldn't turn away.
"Let them go," he said, louder now. "They didn't do anything to you."
The men exchanged looks. One reached for his belt.
A Poké Ball clicked open.
Something lunged.
Ash moved without thinking.
He ran forward and threw himself between the cage and the attack, arms raised, body screaming at him to stop. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs and sent him crashing to the ground.
Pain flared. The world spun.
Through the ringing in his ears, Ash heard a sound that made the air itself vibrate.
A low, furious growl.
Metal shrieked as claws scraped against the cage floor. The Charizard forced itself upright, flames flickering weakly at the tip of its tail. It spread its wings, one dragging uselessly, the other straining as if it could still remember flight.
The smugglers swore and backed away.
Before Ash could push himself up, a sharp voice cut through the clearing.
"That's enough."
A girl stepped forward from the trees, older than Ash, calm in a way that made the chaos shrink around her. She released her Pokémon with practiced ease. The smugglers didn't argue. They ran.
Silence fell, broken only by Ash's uneven breathing.
The cages were opened one by one. Pokémon fled into the forest, some limping, some flying, all free.
All except one.
The Charizard tried to take off.
Its wings twitched. Failed.
It stayed.
Ash sat up slowly, wincing. He looked at the Charizard, really looked at it, at the scars along its arms, at the way it refused to lower its head even now.
"I won't leave you," Ash said quietly. "I promise."
The Charizard didn't answer.
But it didn't turn away either.
Far away, in a quiet lab in Pallet Town, Professor Oak checked the clock and frowned.
Ash Ketchum was late.
And the journey had already changed.
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T/N:
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