Kanto - Vermillion City

Surge gave Ash a contemplative look when he pat Charmander's head and he relaxed his aggravated stance against him. He had decided to meet the other two Pokemon, Bulbasaur and Squirtle who had watched him warily when Ash released them. They were protective of their trainer although not as clingy, in fact they followed the Lucario's que just like one would follow a group leader. Gou was watching them curiously from the side as Scorbunny talked to the Charmander clinging to Ash.

Surge, "Alright, I don't see an obvious worry about these two like the little guy but I want to see the two in action first. Ralph, if you could take them to the training fields."

Ash blinked, "I just started training Bulbasaur and Squirtle so our coordination may not be as good as the others."

Surge, "That's fine, I just want to observe how well you do first. Welcome to the training track."

Ash nodded and looked at the training field it was filled with all sorts of obstacles, "Alright Bulbasaur you are up first."

Bulbasaur, "Bulbasaur."

Ralph, "Come on Voltrob!"

Voltrob, "Trob."

Surge, "Okay kid listen up, this match is not about winning it's about Bulbasaur. So do your best. The first round is a racing round, you will race with your Pokemon through these obstacles, let's see how well you do."

Ash nodded he was not sure what it'll show but if it helps Bulbasaur get the all clear, "Right! Ready bud?"

Bulbasaur look at the different obstacles and nodded, "Saur bulba."

Surge, "Get set, begin!"

Ash and Bulbasaur ran after Ralph and Voltrob who were faster than them and obviously more used to the track. They crawled under the net and Ash had to help Bulbasaur get free from a barb that got caught on his bulb.

Ash, "You okay bud!"

Bulbasaur nodded ready to move on, "Saur!"

Ash grinned, "Let's do this buddy."

Surge meanwhile was watching Charmander who looked ready to run into the field but luckily did not thanks to Scorbunny, Lucario and Squirtle. The two Pokemon helped in keeping him calm and grounded thankfully enough. But he was not sure he would listen to them once he evolved into a Charmeleon or a Charizard.

Ash sighed, "Finally out of that thing."

Bulbasaur shook his bulb, "Bulba bulbasaur."

Ash rubbed the part which was healing again, "You sure, you are okay?"

Bulbasaur nodded, "Saur!"

Ash looked at where Ralph was rope climbing with Voltrob on his head, "Let's catch up to them bud."

The raced off after the two, but first they had to cross a mud field filled with thick mud, Ash picked Bulbasaur up and Bulbasaur used vine whip to get them out of the field. Surge didn't say anything about Pokemon using moves during the race anyway. They reached the ropes and started to climb, Ralph was already ahead of them and climbing a cliff wall. Ash was half way up when he noticed Bulbasaur at the top lend him his vine whip. Ash smiled as he grabbed the vine and was hauled up quickly, he pat Bulbasaur in thanks and raced off to catch up with Ralph. They had to cover a 400 mile race track before reaching the cliff wall and starting to climb it. He could see a few places to grab hold on to climb it and Ash hummed a bit, thinking how to tackle this.

Bulbasaur, "Saur?"

Ash bent down, "Climb on, I have an idea!"

Bulbasaur got in Ash's back as he started to climb the first stage, "Bulbasaur used vine whip to grab onto that holding and pull us up."

Bulbasaur looked at the holding that was too far for Ash to reach and nodded, "Saur!"

Ash grabbed on to another holding, "Nice, we can do this."

They worked in tandem as a team as Bulbasaur using vine whip to grab onto holdings that were too far and Ash carrying them. They soon reached the top where Ralph helped them up before going down to meet Surge.

Surge, "Not bad kid! You already have a good base going with Bulbasaur. He's as healthy as can be with a bit of distrust against new people. Something that can be solved by having him communicate and get along with the Pokemon first before meeting the person."

Ash sighed in relief, "That's good. You hear that buddy. You are gonna be okay. It'll take time but you will reach there."

Gou, "That was awesome Ash, you and Bulbasaur worked really well together."

Scorbunny, "Scor Scorbunny!"

Bulbasaur grinned, "Saur saur bulbasaur."

Surge, "Now, time for Squirtle."

Ash put Bulbasaur down and returned Charmander's hug, "Hey bud, wish me and Squirtle luck yeah!"

Charmander, "Char!"

Squirtle got a up, "Squirtle!"

Ash, "Our turn buddy!"

Surge chuckled at their enthusiasm before clicking a button on a remote that Ash was sure was not in his hands before. The ground rumbled as the field separated from the middle showing a large pool of water with posts on the other end.

Surge, "Penny you are up!"

Penny, "Let's do this Lanturn."

The blue fish Pokemon also known as star of the sea dived into the water excited to start, seeing this Squirtle looked at Ash. Ash nodded and he joined the pool of water as well. Penny was in a swimsuit and Surge passed Ash and extra one and pointed towards the changing room. Ash changed his clothes and walked out to see penny had joined Lanturn in the water, he guessed what the next challenge was and joined Squirtle who cried happily.

Surge, "Alright this is the second round, you are to swim with your Pokemon in laps around the five poles till you reach the end."

Squirtle, "Squir squirtle!"

Penny grabbed on Lanturn, "Let's do this boy."

Ash noticing this grabbed Squirtle, "We can do this Squirtle."

Surge, "Ready begin!"

The two water Pokemon swam across the water field with their trainers and reached the first pole without any problems. They crossed the pole and swam back towards the second pole located on the opposite side of the field which now had rock formations they had to dodge. Ash frowned as he wondered what will come next but shook it off as he helped Squirtle maneuver through the field. They reached the second pole and the moment they crossed it the rock formations had disappeared. Instead the water had become rapid and Ash and Squirtle had to put in a lot of effort to not get swept behind by the currents. They managed to cross the third pole although they were panting slightly because of the exhaustion.

Ash, "You, -pant- okay bud?"

Squirtle panted before hitting his chest, "Squir squirtle!"

Ash nodded as the saw the rock formations had returned along with the strong currents this time. Ash focused on avoiding hitting the rock formations while Squirtle took the lead in taking them forward. Ash trusted him to reach the goal, the same way he trusted Ash to keep an eye out for any crashes. More then once Ash had Squirtle use bubble or water gun to avoid hitters the rocks. Surge was in the meantime watching Charmander's reaction, he was frowning, it didn't look good.

Ash and Squirtle crossed the fourth pole and he noticed Penny and Lanturn were leagues ahead of them although they were swimming slower. The reason for that being the turbulent water, it had become more rapid and harsh then before and Ash looked at Squirtle who nodded smirking back. The two started to swim towards the end goal, there was only one pole left ahead of them. Squirtle was stubborn despite the exhaustion he wanted to finish this, he may not know who that human Surge is but he understood his approval was necessary. He was not going to allow one lap around the pool stop him from getting it, he had a feeling that Surge was an important milestone for Ash.

The two of them swam neck to neck with Penny and Lanturn before the two gym trainees pushed ahead of Ash and Squirtle much to their annoyance. They did not give up however and gave chase and followed them thr the turbulent water till the finish line. Ash blinked when it was all over and Surge clapped and helped him and Squirtle out of the water.

Surge, "Well, I can see Squirtle is doing fine as well."

Ash smiled relieved, "So they have the green to take part in training and battling?"

Bulbasaur startled, "Saur?"

Squirtle looked surprised too, "Squir?"

Surge laughed, "Yes the two of them do, however.... "

Ash was tackle hugged by a distraught Charmander, "Char? Charmander char? Char?"

Surge, "Charmander has a very bad case of separation anxiety, coupled with lack of trust in his fellow Pokemon. He was terrified you would be hurt and would have jumped into the water if your Lucario was not keeping him calm. Although I'm not sure how much that worked."

Ash saw the bite mark in Lucario's hand, "Lucario, you got hurt."

Lucario shook his head, -It will heal, the little one however.-

Gou, "He was shaking really bad."

Ash frowned hugging Charmander close, "What do I do? I won't be able to send him home to the lab at this rate. Or even leave him out during matches where extra Pokemon are not allowed to stay."

Surge, "We'll figure it out, Charmander's still young after all. We'll start with a simple routine first, I'm guessing you will be training for the badge and contest both?"

Ash nodded, "Yes, I will."

Surge nodded, "You can use that to help Charmander here out. While training get him to spend more time with your other Pokemon then yourself. I'm guessing you haven't had proper one on one training time with your Pokemon lately, have you?"

Ash, "You guessed right, my Pokemon don't blame Charmander however, they understand the situation."

Surge, "Talk to your Pokemon about this idea and get them to help you. You are traveling in a group right? Ask your group to talk to their Pokemon about this as well. Charmander doesn't look like he'll trust other humans outside of you if the glare he's sending me is saying something."

Gou sweatdropped noticing it now, "He looks angry."

Scorbunny, "Scor!"

Ash rubbed Charmander's head, "Charmander, it's okay. He's not separating us, I promise."

Charmander looked at Ash and nodded, "Char charmander."

Surge grinned, "At least you don't have to worry about him not trusting you."

Ash, "Small mercies."

Lucario, -We'll get better together.-

Bulbasaur nodded using his vine whip to gently hold Charmander's paw, "Bulbasaur."

Squirtle pat his chest, "Squirtle."

Ash laughed, "Thanks guys, Charmander and I will count on you then."

Surge, "Now the last match was a battle but I don't think Charmander is letting go anytime soon."

Ash, "Yeah! Sorry!"

Surge shook his head, "Don't apologize. In fact this was like I said an observation. Besides two cleared so it's not a loss."

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I have two other Pokemon at the lab who were emotionally abused before they were abandoned. I would like to bring them tomorrow."

Surge, "I see, very well. I will see you and your Pokemon tomorrow then. Come on I'll escort you and your friend out."

Ash and Gou walked beside Surge in quite contemplation thinking about what they had learned today. From what they could tell it is going to be a long recovery process for Charmender. Ash thought about the other two back home in the lab, they got along well with his mom and the other Pokemon so he hoped their case won't be so bad. From what he could tell Anne was a beginner herself so she wouldn't have been able to cause much damage like Damien did.

Gou, "Ash, you okay?"

Ash turned to Gou, "We will be with time."

Gou looked at his friend, "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

Scorbunny pat his chest, "Scor scorbunny scor."

Lucario, -It is appreciated, thank you.-

Gou, "Scorbunny and I will help you out. Besides Charmender gets along with Scorbunny well so perhaps we could help out."

Ash smiled, "What do you say Charmender?"

Charmander looked at the two infront of him before nodding, "Char char!"

Ash smiled at least Charmander was not completely against it and wanted to get better as well. Lucario pat Charmander's back and told him not to worry about it when he apologized for biting his arm. Gou separated from Ash after walking to the crossroads, he was staying at the Sakuragi Institute. Ash wished him good night and went to the Pokemon centre, he needed to call the lab and see how his Krabby was doing.

The little crab Pokemon had entered his bag when they were not looking and caught himself, they only realised when Dexter had chimed in with her data making Ash choke. Misty had laughed her ass off at his predicament as Brock tried to help him out despite his snickers and before Ash could do anything Krabby had already been sent to the lab. Ash sweatdropped remembering Lucario telling him the Krabby had really liked his food and probably caught herself for that.

[A. N.: Sometimes I wonder if some of my readers are masochist. 😅

Like in the synopsis I made it clear this is a fanfic that also a leisurely written one. Not a serious book. I write this on a 'whim'. To kill time!

Yet they'll comment expecting something special and it gets really awkward real fast and I really don't know what to say, really don't.

It's a fanfic enjoy it for what it is, yeah?

That's all I have to say. If you want a good novel then I can suggest you search for one tagged Pokemon novel.]