Charmander's Tale
Once upon a time, a young Charmander was given to a new trainer as his first Pokémon on his tenth birthday. The trainer was eager, but unpractised in the ways of Pokémon, and his ignorance caused many battles to be lost. Not realising that the fault lay with him, the trainer would often lash out at his Charmander, berating her for not being fast or strong or brave enough. Finally, the Charmander could take no more, and resolved to flee from this boy who was so cruel to her.
And so, the Charmander snuck away from her sleeping master one dark night, concealing herself in the long grass. She ran, hoping to get as far away as possible before he could wake up and pursue her. But she was young and her legs short, so she did not run for long before she collapsed, just as dawn began to lighten the horizon.
When she awoke - cold, sore and wet - the Charmander was surrounded by a number of wild Pokémon, who were looking at her curiously. One, a Pidgey of higher level than the rest, stepped forward.
“We have never seen a Charmander in the wild before. Where is your trainer?” he asked.
“I had a trainer, but I have run away from him - I am a free Pokémon now,” the Charmander replied proudly.
The watching Pokémon murmured in shock, and the Pidgey raised his voice again:
“You say you are free - free like the rest of us. Free to sleep in the rain, to scavenge for food, to faint and not recognise the place you wake up. Free to never grow in level because most trainers will never let you defeat their Pokémon, and because we must not fight amongst ourselves. Is this better than what you left behind?”
“But my trainer was mean to me! I had to flee!” protested the Charmander, suddenly unsure of himself.
“Why do you think that wild Pokémon attack trainers? It is not for the pleasure of letting them beat us, or simply flee. We do it because every one of us hopes that one day someone will catch us. It is the only way we can ever gain what you so quickly threw away. Even a cruel trainer is better than none.”
The Charmander heard the conviction in the Pidgey’s voice and knew that he spoke the truth. And so she ran back the way she had come, heedless of her aching limbs and praying that her trainer would still be there. As she came close, she began to hear his voice, calling for her, and she raced out of the grass to leap into his arms. He hugged her back, promising never to be so mean again, for he was wracked by guilt over her flight. And as they embraced the Charmander made a silent promise of her own: from that day forth, she would never run away from him again.