Capítulo 124: 124. Damian
"Damian is so powerful, he's tamed so many Pokémon with ease."
A group of teenage boys walked by, showering compliments on their leader—a blue-haired teen dressed in denim, his sunglasses resting on his forehead. He wore a proud expression, soaking in their praise.
"Heh! Isn't it easy to tame Pokémon?" Damian smirked, clearly pleased by the flattery from his friends.
Suddenly, Charmander's expression shifted. It darted forward, causing Ash and the others to notice the group approaching.
"What's wrong? Does Charmander know that person?" Misty asked, puzzled.
"That guy is Damian! He goes out to catch Pokémon, but if he thinks they're too weak, he abandons them without hesitation!" Nurse Joy explained. She recognized Damian but clearly didn't like him.
"So he's Charmander's Trainer!" Everyone realized at once that this was the person who had abandoned the little Charmander.
"Huh?"
When Damian heard Charmander's growl, he turned his head. The group of boys with him also looked over.
He looked down and saw a Charmander standing before him. Damian seemed surprised for a moment, but the Charmander stared back with hopeful eyes.
"Oh, it's you!" Damian sneered in disgust instead of showing any happiness at seeing the Charmander again.
"Damian, is this the Charmander you abandoned?" one of the boys asked.
Birds of a feather flock together, and Damian's friends were just like him—careless and unashamed about the abandonment.
Charmander's once hopeful expression darkened when it heard the word "abandoned." Even though Ash and his friends had said Damian had left it behind, Charmander had held on to hope. Damian hadn't said anything about abandoning it before, only that he would return to pick it up later.
Now, hearing it from Damian's own friend, Charmander finally realized the truth. Damian had lied and never intended to come back.
"Yeah, that's the one! It couldn't even beat a Poliwag and kept annoying me. I didn't expect it to follow me here!" Damian scoffed.
"I told you to stay where you were! Not only are you weak, but you can't even follow simple orders. It's a good thing I released you."
Instead of feeling guilty, Damian mocked Charmander even more, proud of his actions.
Hearing this, Charmander finally understood everything. Not only had Damian deceived and abandoned it, but now he insulted Charmander for not following his commands.
Ash, Misty, Brock, and even other nearby Trainers frowned at Damian's attitude. While there were Trainers like Damian, there were also those, like Ash and his friends, who loved their Pokémon deeply. Though they were furious, they hesitated to cause a scene because of Damian's gang.
"How can this guy be so awful?!"
"He's a jerk!" Brock growled, fists clenched tightly. Misty, infuriated, looked ready to charge at Damian, but Ash held her back.
"Ash, let me go! I'm going to teach him a lesson!" Misty struggled, determined to confront Damian.
"Calm down, just watch," Ash said quietly, trying to soothe her anger.
"What, you still want to come back to me? Really? My team doesn't need weaklings like you," Damian taunted Charmander.
"But sure, if you want to come back, I'll give you a chance. Defeat my Poliwag, and I might take you back."
Damian's voice dripped with contempt. He never intended to let Charmander rejoin him—he just wanted to humiliate it in front of everyone, proving that it was weak and worthless. His goal was to boost his own ego in front of his followers.
"Charmander!"
Charmander listened to Damian's words, but its eyes hardened. It let out a low growl, flames flickering in its gaze.
Though Pokémon aren't human, they can sense kindness and malice even more keenly. Charmander now fully understood—it had been abandoned and deceived. But Pokémon have their own pride.
Charmander accepted the challenge, not because it wanted to return to Damian, but to prove it wasn't weak.
"Ha! So you're accepting the challenge? Alright, follow me!" Damian sneered, turning toward the door, his group quickly trailing behind him. Charmander followed closely, and many Trainers joined, eager to watch the showdown.
Ash, Brock, and Misty also went outside, though Nurse Joy stayed behind, too saddened by what was about to happen.
They arrived at a clearing beside the Pokémon Center, where many Trainers had already gathered. Charmander stood across from Damian, who wasted no time pulling out a Poké Ball and releasing his Poliwag.
Poliwag appeared, its round body and long tail wiggling. The most distinct feature was the spiral pattern on its belly, resembling a mosquito coil.
As its name suggests, Poliwag is a Water-type Pokémon, able to thrive both in and out of water.
"Damn it! He's doing this on purpose," Misty muttered angrily.
Anyone could see that Water-types hold an advantage over Fire-types. Damian had picked Poliwag not to give Charmander a fair fight, but to humiliate it.
While Ash had learned not to obsess over type matchups, Charmander didn't have a Trainer giving it commands, making the situation even more difficult.
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