“Ah… Tianlin, what kind of Pokémon do you like the most?
I like Ground-type Pokémon the most.
I think Ground-types are amazing—calm and steady like the earth itself.”
On that day, as Tianlin and Sundae continued heading toward Professor Bill’s Lighthouse, they chatted while walking.
“For me… I think I like Steel-type and Fire-type Pokémon the most,” Tianlin replied.
“Steel represents an unbreakable will, and Fire represents burning ambition.
That’s what a real trainer should have.”
“Haha, then you’ll definitely never beat me in the future,” Sundae said proudly.
“Those two types are weak against Ground-types.”
“Oh?
Then Miss Sundae, please go easy on me in the future,” Tianlin said with a smile.
“Charmander, use Ember!”
“Poliwag, use Water Gun!”
Suddenly, the sound of battle echoed from ahead.
“There’s a Pokémon battle going on!” Sundae said excitedly.
“Tianlin, let’s go take a look!”
Up ahead, a boy and a girl were battling.
The boy was using Charmander, while the girl used a Poliwag.
Their moves clashed—but Fire-type attacks were naturally at a disadvantage against Water-type attacks.
The Ember was instantly overwhelmed, and the Water Gun struck Charmander hard, knocking it out.
“Tch… useless!
You lost to a weak Poliwag?
Trash!” the boy shouted angrily.
Then, in frustration, he turned all his anger toward Charmander.
Sundae’s expression turned cold.
“Hmph.
You’re the one who made the bad matchup decision, and now you blame your own Pokémon?
What an awful trainer!”
“Hey, what’s it to you?
You’re cute, but mind your own business.
I don’t need this weak Charmander anyway.
It can go wherever it wants!” the boy snapped, then turned away and walked off, leaving Charmander behind.
“Hey!
Wait!
Your Charmander is injured!” Sundae shouted.
“Forget it, Sundae.
Don’t waste your breath on trash like that.
Let’s treat Charmander first,” Tianlin said, also clearly irritated.
After a simple treatment, Charmander slowly woke up.
“Great!
You’re awake!” Sundae said happily.
But Charmander ignored her completely.
It stood up, looked around anxiously, and searched for its trainer. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“You’re still looking for that guy?” Sundae said angrily.
“He abandoned you!
He doesn’t want you anymore!
Just find someone who truly cares about you!”
But Charmander refused to believe it.
Ignoring her words, it followed the scent of its trainer and ran off.
“Why won’t it listen?” Sundae complained.
“Pokémon are very loyal,” Tianlin said.
“Some of them see their trainers as everything.
Even if they’re abandoned, they’ll still choose to follow them.
That’s its own decision.”
Not long after, they saw it again.
“Why are you still following me?!
You useless thing, get lost!” the boy shouted when Charmander finally caught up.
But Charmander said nothing.
It just stayed behind him silently, refusing to leave.
The boy eventually stopped, irritated.
He pointed at a large rock.
“Fine.
I have something important to do.
Stay here and wait for me.
I’ll come back later.”
Charmander believed him without hesitation and obediently lay down on the rock.
The boy immediately took the chance to run away.
A while later, Tianlin and Sundae arrived at the same place—and saw Charmander lying alone on the rock.
Tianlin paused.
This scene… I remember it.
He quickly checked Charmander’s data.
Charmander—the Lizard Pokémon.
Ability: Blaze.
Naive nature.
Height 0.6m, weight 8.5kg.
Top-tier potential… capable of surpassing Champion level.
It really is it…
“This is too much!” Sundae said angrily.
“I’m going to confront him!”
She immediately chased after the boy and caught up with him.
“You idiot!
Charmander trusted you so much and you just abandoned it?
Do you even deserve to be a trainer?!” she shouted.
“Ha?
You again?” the boy sneered.
“Real trainers should catch strong Pokémon.
Sundae was about to explode.
“Tianlin, don’t stop me—I’m going to beat him up!”
But Tianlin stepped forward.
“Training a Pokémon from weak to strong is what a real trainer does,” he said calmly.
“A powerful trainer doesn’t abandon Pokémon just because they’re weak.”
The boy scoffed.
“Hmph.
Too much trouble.
I can just catch another Charmander later.
There are plenty of them in the valley anyway.”
And with that, he walked away without looking back.
Sundae clenched her fists.
“That guy…”
Tianlin held her back.
“It’s useless.
Even if we force him back, he wouldn’t treat Charmander properly anyway.”
He looked toward the direction the boy left.
In the future… when that Charmander becomes a Charizard and stands at the peak… or even faces Legendary Pokémon… I wonder what face you’ll make then.
“Then what do we do?” Sundae asked.
“You want me to take it, don’t you?” she suddenly added.
“You said you like Fire-types.”
Tianlin shook his head.
“Not now.
It still trusts its original trainer.
Even if I tried, it wouldn’t accept me yet.
And more importantly… its fate isn’t with me.”
Sundae frowned.
“What do you mean by that?
How do you even know that?”
Tianlin smiled slightly.
“Trust me this time.
You’ll understand soon enough.”
He then added, more honestly, “But… I am interested in that valley.
He said there are many Charmander there.
I want to take a look.”
After all, in this world… how could he possibly miss a chance at a future “Ace Charizard”?
Sundae sighed.
“Fine.
Let’s go.”
She still looked unhappy, but followed anyway.
Tianlin glanced back once at the lonely Charmander on the rock.
Your real trainer… should be arriving soon.