CHAPTER 24 – THE CRUEL REALITY

*Note: First of all, I want to apologize to you guys for not being able to upload the chapter yesterday, but something important came up and I didn't come back until that night, so sorry about that...

And that said... you know, leave me a comment with a "thank you", please, that always cheer me up and if you can leave me a 5 star review, you are welcome :)

One last thing, I'm thinking of writing my own novel, not a fic, but a real novel, I've already prepared several things and I calculate that in the near future, I'll start writing it and believe me, It won't be like the failure of last time, I've learned from my mistakes and I assure you that you'll like it... but you'll have to wait a little longer, because I'm just finishing up the last few details so it's perfect and not like last time.

...

Hearing my scream, all the Charmanders looked at us and frowned.

"Mander!" - shouted the largest.

It's as if he told me to leave.

"Do you think it's nice to harass this little guy?" – I asked angrily.

"Mander!" – said the Charmander.

I don't understand what he said, but as I could guess he said something like... It's none of your business!

"Isn't it my business? If it were a normal fight, I wouldn't say anything, but you are many against one, how about we equal you in numbers?" – I asked.

"Pika pi" – Pikachu said as she positioned himself next to Charmander.

"Do you need more help? Chansey, I choose you" – Celeste said.

"Come on, Nosepass" – Roxanne said.

The boss Charmander was a little scared at the sight of those three Pokémon, maybe if they had been wild Pokémon, he wouldn't have had problems against the three of them, but they had humans training them, therefore, even if there were more, they couldn't win.

"Mander..." – said the Shiny Charmander suddenly.

Then, he positioned himself in front of me and stared at me.

At that moment, I felt like I was looking at myself, insecurity, but an amazing determination and no desire to give up, to keep fighting and to hope that everything would be resolved and I could lead a better life, I saw myself before I went to jail and was accused by my ex-wife.

That's what I believed at first, I believed that things would be resolved, I believed that justice would help me, I was convinced, so I didn't give up fighting and I did everything I could to continue with my life, but when I was unjustly locked up and locked up in jail for a crime I didn't commit, all that determination was extinguished without a trace and instead of continuing to fight, I committed suicide because I had nothing to live for, when I looked at that Charmander, it was as if I was looking at myself in a mirror.

"Do you really want to fight?" – I asked.

"Mander!" – he nodded.

"Even if you're most likely to lose?" – I asked.

"Ash..." – both girls said.

They didn't know why, but at that moment, they could feel an enormous sadness coming from Ash, it was a huge sadness, as if he had suffered more than anyone else.

"Mander!" – he nodded.

"Then I won't let that determination go away, you may not be able to overcome alone, but that's what friends are for, to help each other and let me tell you that, from now on, we are friends, so tell me something friend, do you want my help?" – I asked.

The Charmander hesitated, after all, he had just met the human, who would trust someone he had just met? But for some reason, when he looked at Ash, he felt like he looked a lot like him, he felt like a special connection, he felt like he could trust him, it was a nice and curious feeling.

*Note: the "he" and "him", doesn't mean that this charmander is male, at first, I always put "he" and "him" because I don't want to say if the Pokémon is male or female, although we already know the gender, but I want to do it in that way...

"Char!" - the Charmander exclaimed.

It was true, without friends, he could not win, the Charmander who attacked him had friends who supported him, that is why he could be victorious no matter how many times he challenged him, but he had no one, he was rejected by his family for having been born of a different color, that's why, since his birth he was always alone and when he met this group of Charmander, he decided to befriend them, but he was also rejected but, unlike his family, these Charmander continued to harass him to this day, but he would not give up, he would keep fighting until he won!

"So... let's teach that group of Charmander a lesson! Are you ready? Girls?" – I asked.

"From the beginning!" – they both exclaimed.

They didn't know what kind of situation had caused so much sadness in Ash, but they would find out in the future, for now, what they would do is give him all the love possible, so much love that it would make him completely forget that unpleasant situation.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock, Charmander, use Ember!" – I exclaimed.

"Chansey, use Disarming Voice!" – Celeste said.

"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!" – Roxanne said.

They all launched their attacks towards the Charmander, however, the Charmanders managed to dodge all the attacks and countered with their own.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack against the other Charmander and keep them away from their boss!" – I exclaimed.

"Pika pi!" – Pikachu said.

"You do the same, Chansey, use Disarming Voice again!" – Celeste said.

"Nosepass, help them and use Harden to protect Chansey from the Charmanders' attacks!" – Roxanne exclaimed.

Pikachu landed a heavy blow on two of the Charmanders, but the others were able to dodge it and directed their attacks towards Chansey, however, at the moment when their attacks were going to hit Chansey, Nosepass got in the way and used Harden to repel the Charmanders' attack.

Sensing the increase in their Defense, the Charmanders had no choice but to retreat, but just at that moment, Chansey's attack hit them pushing them back even further.

"Now, use Rock Tomb and finish them off!" – Roxanne said.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Charmanders were trying to pull themselves together, Roxanne's Nosepass hit a Rock Tomb on them that sent them flying, completely weakening them.

Meanwhile, with Ash.

"Finish them off, Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Thunder Shock!" – I exclaimed.

At impressive speed, Pikachu positioned himself behind the two Charmander and landed a powerful attack that completely weakened them.

"Now it's only you" – I said looking at the boss.

"Pika" – Pikachu said.

Pikachu was prepared for the battle and was releasing electric sparks from her cheeks, just a command from Ash and she would attack with everything.

"Char!" – said the boss.

Then, he took several steps back.

"Mander!" - cried the Shiny Charmander.

The Shiny Charmander looked me in the eye and I understood what he meant.

"If that's what you want... Pikachu, let's let Charmander beat him" – I said.

"Pika pi!" – Pikachu exclaimed.

Then, she went back to her favorite spot, Ash's shoulder.

"Char!" - the boss exclaimed.

It seems that now that he knew that the Shiny was going to be his opponent, he was sure of his victory and as soon as he won, he would leave the place.

His teammates? He didn't care, for him, the important thing was to flee the place as soon as possible.

"Come on, Charmander, let's get started!" – I said with a smile.

"Char!" - the Shiny exclaimed.

"Mander!" - exclaimed the chief.

"Charmander, use Scratch!" – I exclaimed.

Charmander's claw lit up and he lunged straight at the other Charmander.

The other Charmander, seeing his attack, did exactly the same and when the two collided, the Shiny was sent flying.

"Are you okay?" – I asked worriedly.

"Char!" - the Shiny nodded.

"It looks like that Charmander is stronger than this one" - Roxanne said.

"That's right, it seems to me that a frontal confrontation is not a good idea" – Celeste nodded.

"In that case... Charmander, use Ember!" – I exclaimed.

Charmander listened to his temporary trainer and used his Ember at full power, but the boss did not turn away and instead launched the same attack again, causing both attacks to explode on contact.

It's difficult, this battle is going to be extremely difficult, for all of you to understand, if this were a video game, the Shiny Charmander would be level 5 while the boss Charmander would be level 10, it's very difficult to win this fight, but...

"No matter how strong the opponent is compared to us, we will win!" – I said with determination.

I have a risky idea but one that can work!

"Mander!" - exclaimed the Shiny.

"Charmander, I have an idea, but it may be painful at first, however, I assure you that we will win, do you want to try?" – I asked curiously.

Charmander thought about it for a bit, but in the end he agreed, why? Because in life if there are no pain, no gain, if you want something, you will have to pay something in return, it is a law of life.

"Char!" - Charmander nodded.

"Then let's do it, use Scratch without stopping over and over again!" – I exclaimed.

Could I have used Smokescreen? Yes, but... what I want is to overwhelm him with raw power and I'm sure the Charmander in front of me wants the same.

Shiny Charmander continued to attack the boss Charmander, however, no matter how many times he tried to hit him, in the end the Shiny always backed away and became more and more tired, until..