Ash's Arc

Chapter 2 of 14

By midday Ash found his first real fight. A trainer with round glasses waved him over near a stand of trees. Her Meditite sat cross-legged in the grass, eyes half closed and calm. Ash's stomach flipped. He had a Pokémon now. He needed a win to prove he'd chosen right. He tossed the ball and let his fire pig out. The pig landed, snorted smoke, and looked back at Ash. It didn't face the Meditite. It stared at him instead, tail ember flickering low, as if daring him to fail it like the others had. "Tackle!" Ash yelled. The pig flicked one black ear and stayed put. "Please. Just once." Nothing. The Meditite opened its eyes and struck first, a fast palm that knocked the pig sideways into the dirt. Ash's face burned. Two trainers had returned this Pokémon. Now he understood why. It wouldn't trust a single command. "Get up," he begged. The pig climbed to its feet, but it kept its back half turned, watching him, waiting for him to quit. The Meditite gathered focus for another blow. Ash had a choice. He could shout louder, or he could stop shouting. He knelt in the grass, right down at the pig's level, and dropped his voice. "I know they gave you back," he said. "I'm not them. I picked you when he told me not to. Hit that thing with me, not for me." The pig turned. For the first time in the battle it looked at the Meditite instead of at Ash. Its ember flared bright. When Ash pointed and said "Now," the pig charged. It slammed into the Meditite before the strike landed. The blue Pokémon skidded back and lost its calm. Ash jumped up. "Again! Ember!" The pig spat a spray of hot sparks. The Meditite curled away, singed, and dropped to one knee. The other trainer sighed and recalled her Pokémon. "Good pig," she said, and adjusted her glasses. "Didn't expect that." She paid Ash a few coins and walked off toward the trees. Ash dropped back down beside his partner. The pig pressed its warm nose to his knee, the way it had in the lab. It obeyed him now. It trusted him now. The reject had won its first battle. "We did it," Ash breathed. Then he heard a low growl behind him. He turned. A wild Pokémon stood in the shadow of the trees. It was tall and shaggy, gray and white, with a stiff mane and red eyes fixed on the tired pig. A cracked metal ring hung from one black arm. It had watched the whole fight. It had seen the pig burn something weaker, and it wanted a turn. The pig backed against Ash's leg, ember shrinking. It trusted Ash now. That trust was about to be tested against something far bigger than a Meditite.