Roy immediately recalled Pidgeotto and rushed forward.
He quickly took off his soaking wet jacket, intending to wrap up Charmander.
"Charmander, the rain is too heavy, let's leave here first!" Roy said urgently, reaching out to pick up the stubborn little guy.
Wu... wuwa... Charmander cried out weakly twice. Although its body was shivering with cold, it stubbornly shrank back.
It looked up at Roy, its large, wet eyes full of persistence. Then it pointed its little claw toward the intersection, then at the rock beneath it, and finally made a waiting gesture.
It was saying: Thank you, but I have to wait here for my master. Master said he would come to pick me up.
"You idiot!" Misty also rushed up, rain constantly dripping from the tips of her hair. "The rain is so heavy, you'll get sick!"
She looked at the flame on Charmander's tail, which was so weak it was almost invisible, and felt anxious with worry.
Charmander cried out softly again, shook its head, and continued to gaze toward the intersection.
There was a kind of almost stubborn trust in its eyes.
"Is it... is it waiting for its master?" Delia also came to the side of the rock, her voice full of heartache.
Although she didn't understand Charmander's words, she could roughly guess based on its movements and expression.
"Definitely!" Misty stomped her foot in anger. "That bastard Damian! How could he possibly come back!"
Outspoken as she was, seeing Charmander like this, she could no longer hold back.
She bent down, looked directly into Charmander's eyes, and said word by word:
"Charmander, listen to me!"
"Your master, Damian, has already abandoned you!"
"He lied to you to make you wait here! He's not coming back at all!"
"You were tricked by him! Do you understand? He doesn't want you anymore!"
These words stabbed out like knives.
Misty knew this was cruel, but letting Charmander continue to wait foolishly in the heavy rain for someone who would never return was even crueler.
Wu... wuwa?
Charmander's body trembled violently.
Its eyes widened, and it shook its head desperately, its little claws waving frantically.
No... it's not like that... Master said he would come back... He told me to wait for him here... He said he'd come pick me up... But... the flame on its tail, in that very instant, weakened significantly at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The already weak flame now had only a tiny spark left flickering with difficulty in the rain, as if it could go out completely at any moment.
The weakening of the flame directly reflected the rapid decline of its physical strength and spirit.
Roy looked at the light quickly fading from Charmander's eyes and knew he couldn't wait any longer.
He took a deep breath, and an invisible Aura Power spread out gently from his body.
This was not an aggressive Aura, but one full of soothing, warmth, and goodwill.
This wave of energy softly enveloped Charmander.
Charmander, who was sinking into panic and despair, suddenly looked up.
It felt it.
A warmth and sense of security it had never felt before emanated from the human in front of it.
That feeling... was completely different from its master.
Its master was always impatient and irritable, while this person... Roy opened his eyes and half-knelt, bringing his gaze level with Charmander's.
His voice remained clear and steady even in the heavy rain:
"Charmander."
"Even if you want to wait, you have to survive first, right?"
"If you get sick from the rain here, or... if the flame on your tail goes out."
"Then you really won't be able to wait anymore."
Roy reached out, palm up, and held it in front of Charmander.
The warmth of Aura radiated from his palm.
"Come with me first and get your body healed."
"When the rain stops and you're better, if you want to come back and wait, we'll come together."
"Alright?"
It was a white lie.
But it was to save it.
Charmander stared blankly at Roy's palm, then looked into Roy's eyes.
In those eyes, there was concern, sincerity, and a respect it had never seen in Damian's eyes.
The spark on its tail flickered once more.
Its little head was in an intense struggle.
Master said for me to wait... but this human is right... if the flame really goes out... Finally, under the continuous soothing of the Aura and in Roy's sincere gaze, Charmander used its last bit of strength to nod gently.
Wuwa... with a weak cry, its little claw trembled and rested on Roy's palm.
"Good boy," Roy said softly.
He immediately used the jacket he had taken off to carefully wrap Charmander's soaked body, pulling it into his arms to shield it from the rain as much as possible.
"Let's go! Back to the Pokémon Center!" Roy turned and shouted.
"Right!" Misty and Delia immediately followed.
The three of them ran through the heavy rain toward the Pokémon Center, carrying Charmander.
The rain fell harder and harder.
The paths in the forest became extremely muddy.
But the speed of the three did not slow down at all.
Roy held Charmander tightly in his arms, trying his best not to let the rain touch it again.
He could feel the small body in his arms shivering slightly, and the spark on its tail was getting weaker and weaker.
"Hang in there! We're almost there!"
...They ran for an unknown amount of time.
The lights of the Pokémon Center finally appeared through the curtain of rain.
"Nurse Joy! Emergency!" Roy rushed into the center's doors and shouted loudly.
The three of them, soaked to the bone, immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Nurse Joy and a Chansey quickly ran over, pushing a medical gurney.
"Quick! Put it on the gurney!"
Roy carefully placed Charmander on the gurney.
The moment the jacket was lifted, Nurse Joy gasped.
Charmander was soaked, its skin was ice-cold, its eyes were half-closed, and the flame on its tail was reduced to a barely visible spark, struggling to stay lit.
"The flame is about to go out!" Nurse Joy's expression was grave. "Chansey, prepare for emergency treatment!"
"Lucky!" Chansey immediately went into action.
The gurney was quickly pushed toward the emergency room.
Roy wanted to follow, but Nurse Joy stopped him: "Leave it to us. You all go change into dry clothes first, don't catch a cold."
The emergency room door closed.
The red light above the door lit up.
Time passed minute by minute.
Every second felt exceptionally long.
Misty clenched her fists tightly, Delia prayed silently, and Roy stood leaning against the wall, his expression calm but with worry hidden deep within.
An unknown amount of time passed.
The emergency room door opened.
Nurse Joy walked out, a tired but relieved smile on her face: "The rescue was timely, Charmander is out of danger."
"That's great!" Misty almost jumped up.
"The flame on its tail has stabilized, and its body temperature is recovering. However, it's still very weak and needs rest," Nurse Joy said. "It's awake now, you can go in and see it, but not for too long."
The three immediately entered the ward.
On the hospital bed, Charmander was lying down, covered with a warm blanket.
Its tail poked out from a corner of the blanket, and the flame on it had resumed a steady burn. Although it wasn't very bright yet, the danger of it going out was gone.
Seeing Roy and the others enter, Charmander's eyes lit up slightly.
Wuwa
It gave a weak cry.
[Ding! Quest 'Charmander's Redemption' completed!]
[High-Quality Charcoal has been issued to the system space.]
The system prompt sounded in Roy's mind.
But all his thoughts were currently on Charmander.
"Are you feeling better?" Roy walked to the bedside and asked softly.
Charmander nodded, then its gaze drifted toward the window, looking in the direction of the intersection.
Everyone understood what it was thinking about.
Roy's eyes darkened slightly.
He turned to Nurse Joy: "Nurse Joy, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"What favor?"
"I want to retrieve the surveillance footage from the Pokémon Center lobby from earlier today."
Nurse Joy was taken aback: "Surveillance? This... the center has regulations, surveillance usually isn't for the public..."
Roy said calmly: "It's evidence regarding this Charmander being maliciously abandoned by its Trainer. That Trainer, Damian, publicly admitted to deceiving and abandoning Charmander in the center lobby."
"I need that footage to show to Charmander."
"To let it understand the truth."
Nurse Joy hesitated.
According to the rules, surveillance footage indeed couldn't be retrieved casually.
But looking at the weak Charmander on the bed and remembering Damian's face, Nurse Joy gritted her teeth.
"Wait a moment."
She turned and left the ward.
A few minutes later, Nurse Joy returned, holding a portable display screen.
"I'll make an exception this once," she said in a low voice. "You saved this Charmander, and I can tell you truly care for its well-being."
Clearly, the 10 points of general favorability Roy had accumulated with the Joy Family had played a role.
"Thank you," Roy said sincerely.
Nurse Joy operated the screen for a bit, and the surveillance footage began to play.
It was exactly the part where Damian was speaking arrogantly in the lobby this afternoon.
The picture was clear, and the audio was recorded very well.
Damian sat with his legs crossed, saying nonchalantly:
"Oh, you mean that piece of trash?"
"I left it on that big rock at the eastern intersection. I lied and told it to wait for me there, and the idiot is actually still waiting."
"I don't want that one anymore, it's too garbage."
"That's called being bloated! Looks okay but useless."
"Hmph, that Charmander is total garbage. It couldn't even beat some random Poliwag it met on the road. It's an absolute embarrassment!"
"I wanted to throw it away, but the trash kept following me like glue. It's so clingy, I couldn't get rid of it."
"I had no choice but to lie to it and tell it to wait obediently on the rock."
"Now it's finally quiet. So annoying, don't mention that trash anymore, it's a mood killer."
Every word was like a knife.
The ward was silent.
Only Damian's malicious laughter and words from the surveillance footage echoed.
Charmander stared blankly at the screen.
Its body began to tremble.
Its eyes widened bit by bit, filled with disbelief, hurt, despair... Wu... wu... it let out a low whimper.
When it heard words like "trash," "garbage," "embarrassment," and "annoying," the flame on Charmander's tail wavered visibly.
When it heard Damian personally admit "I lied to it".
Charmander's entire body froze.
It sat on the hospital bed, motionless.
It was as if all the strength in its body had been drained away.
The light in its eyes went out completely.
It was extinguished more thoroughly than the flame that was nearly put out by the rain earlier.
It was a darkness like the death of a heart.
Roy silently picked up the display and walked to Charmander's bedside.
He deliberately pressed the replay button.
Damian's voice sounded again, over and over.
Charmander stared blankly at the screen, listening to those words.
Its expression went from pain, to confusion, to finally... nothing but emptiness.
Finally, on the fifth replay, Charmander closed its eyes.
Two crystal-clear drops slipped from the corners of its eyes.
Roy once again spread out his Aura.
The warm, soothing waves gently enveloped Charmander.
"Charmander." Roy's voice was soft but firm.
"It's not worth it for a scumbag like that."
"You deserve a better Trainer."
"You deserve companions who truly care for you, understand you, and cherish you."
Roy emphasized the word "companions".
Not "master," not "property."
But "companions."
Charmander suddenly looked up at Roy.
Companions?
This human... he said "companions"?
It recalled the days spent by Damian's side.
When it won, Damian would only say impatiently, "It's alright, I guess."
When it failed to beat the Poliwag and returned to Damian.
Damian had kicked it away, calling it "trash," "garbage," and a "disgrace."
When it tried to get close, Damian would push it away roughly.
There was never a stroke, never any encouragement, only impatience and disgust.
And today... this human had found it in the forest despite the rain.
This human had wrapped it in his jacket and carried it through the storm.
This human was looking at it right now with such warm eyes.
This human said "companions."
Charmander turned its head to look at the display again, where Damian's words were still repeating.
"Trash..."
"Garbage..."
"Lied to it..."
"Annoying..."
Every phrase was like a needle prick.
But every phrase was the truth.
Charmander took a deep breath.
It raised its little claw and wiped the corners of its eyes.
Then, it looked at Roy and let out two soft, tentative cries:
Wuwa... wuwa?
It was asking: Can I... can I follow you?
It hurriedly added a few more cries, gesturing with its little claws:
I might not be very strong right now... but I will definitely work harder!
I definitely won't be defeated by a Poliwag again!
I promise!
There was anxiety in its eyes, expectation, and the fear of being rejected.
Roy looked at it and smiled slightly.
He slowly reached out his hand.
Charmander instinctively pulled its head back, a conditioned reflex developed while with Damian.
Every time Damian raised his hand, it was either to push it away roughly or to hit it.
But Roy's hand only landed gently and tenderly on its head.
A warm palm, a soft stroke.
"Charmander." Roy's voice was gentle yet powerful.
"Fighting is never something you do alone."
"It's the result of our efforts together."
"I won't blame you just because you can't beat someone for the time being."
"I will train with you, and we will grow stronger together."
"Together, we will become the world's strongest."
"Are you willing?"
The gentle stroke.
The encouraging words.
"Stronger together."
"World's strongest."
These words were like sunlight, shining into Charmander's frozen heart.
This new master... no, this new companion... he's so good... he won't hit me.
He will stroke me.
He will encourage me.
He says "together."
Light reignited in Charmander's eyes.
This time, it wasn't the blind trust and waiting it had for Damian.
It was true fighting spirit and hope that belonged to itself.
It nodded forcefully and firmly!
"Wuwa!!!"
A loud cry!
The flame on its tail flared up with a "whoosh," burning even more vigorously!
For my new companion!
For this human who strokes me gently and encourages me!
I must become strong!
Become even stronger!
I must defeat that Poliwag!
Roy smiled.
He rubbed Charmander's head: "Rest well and get healthy first. We'll take the training one step at a time."
Pika-pi~
Just then, a familiar, excited voice came from the ward's doorway.
Roy turned around.
Pikachu was standing at the door, little paws on its hips, with a proud "mission accomplished" expression.
In its little paws, it was holding Roy's pokédex.