"You're about to turn 18. How long are you gonna stay financially dependent on me?"
That was the question Ashen Crowe heard every single morning for the past few months, as if repeating it would somehow unlock the answer.
"Mom… you know I'm trying,"
Ashen said, looking at his mom, who was making breakfast, her hands moving fast.
"I know that, but all the kids in our Pallet Town have already left their houses to become trainers or are doing some kind of job."
She clenched the pan tightly, tears dropping from her eyes.
"I… I just don't wanna see you left behind."
Ashen got up from his seat and hugged his mom from behind.
"I'll try to apply as an assistant under Professor Oak. My grades are good enough. I'm sure he'll take me."
Ashen held her tight, trying to reassure her.
Her tensed body finally relaxed a little as she wiped away the tears and gave him a soft smile.
"Yeah, that's better. My mom looks way more beautiful with a smile on her face."
She chuckled at Ashen's comment.
"Yeah, yeah, you say that every morning."
"What? I'm just stating the truth."
Ashen grinned, pulling back just enough to see her face. The faint laugh lines at the corners of her eyes deepened as her smile lingered—a rare sight these days.
"Just promise me you'll actually go, Ashen," she said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead.
"No more 'tomorrow' or 'next week.' Go today. Talk to Professor Oak."
"I will," he nodded. "Right after breakfast."
Ashen finished his breakfast quickly and stepped outside. The morning air greeted him with its usual freshness, the scent of dew and distant flowers mingling in the breeze.
The quiet streets of Pallet Town stretched out before him—familiar, peaceful, almost frozen in time. Kids playing in yards. You'd never guess anything bad could ever happen here.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Alright," he muttered, setting off toward Professor Oak's lab.
It was a short journey, and Ashen reached the lab pretty quickly.
Ashen pushed open the lab door. It creaked like an old coffin, the inside dim and quiet.
"Hello?" he called out. "Professor Oak?"
No response.
The only sound came from the corner of the room—a dusty old TV buzzing with static, before a breaking news alert flashed on screen.
"An unusually large Charizard has been spotted flying over Route 1. Witnesses claim it's heading toward Pallet Town. Authorities warn that due to the town's lack of qualified trainers or a Pokémon gym, civilians should remain indoors. The Pokémon is considered extremely dangerous."
Ashen watched the news but pushed the thought aside. Pallet Town had always been peaceful, and he never thought anything could ever go wrong here.
He sat down on a nearby bench, trying to focus. Minutes passed. Ten. Maybe more.
Then the door slammed open.
Professor Oak burst in, panting hard. His lab coat was burnt along the edges, smoke still trailing from it. His white hair was a mess, sweat running down his forehead.
Ashen stood up quickly.
"Professor Oak!"
"You see, I'm a really smart guy. You could even check my grades. So I was hoping—"
Ashen said, walking beside him.
Oak didn't even look at him. He rushed straight to a secured cabinet and began typing furiously on a keypad.
"Damn it. Where's the emergency roster?" Oak muttered. "I need a Water-type—any damn Water-type! Someone's house is burning down near the west end of town!"
A sense of worry grew inside Ashen. His house was also on the west end.
No way… it couldn't be his house, right?
"The west end?" he asked, stepping forward. "Whose house?!"
Oak spared him a glance—brief, distracted.
"I don't know, kid. Flames spreading fast. No trainer on site. If I don't find something to stop it—"
Ashen didn't even hear the rest. He quickly started looking around with Professor Oak.
"I think a standard Squirtle you give to trainers as a starter would be a good choice."
Professor Oak looked at him, definitely impressed with his quick thinking.
He tapped something on the screen. Three Pokéballs popped up. He took the one with a water sticker on it and rushed outside.
Ashen rushed after him, praying to God that it wasn't his house.
Finally, they saw smoke rising in the distance.
Professor Oak, though older, kept pace with surprising urgency, clutching the Pokéball in one hand and a Pokédex in the other.
And then they turned the final corner.
Ashen's heart stopped.
It was his house.
Flames had engulfed the entire home. The roof had completely collapsed. The living room windows had shattered, and thick black smoke poured from every opening. Neighbors stood at a distance—some crying, some holding each other back, others trying to run in.
"No..." Ashen whispered, his voice hollow.
He fell to the ground, his entire body shaking. 'What do I do? What do I do?'
The same thought kept running through his mind.
But he was snapped back to reality as soon as he heard his mom's screams from inside the house.
Without a second thought, he ran toward the house.
"Kid, wait!" Oak shouted.
But Ashen ignored him. The heat slammed into him like a wall, burning his skin.
"Mom!" he screamed. "MOM!"
But instead of a human scream or groaning, he was met with a deafening screech. He looked around, and his eyes finally met—
It was the monster that had burned his house down.
Orange skin. Massive wings. A tail burning like a torch.
It was a large Charizard.
Charizard opened its mouth and used Flamethrower against him. The intensity of the heat pushed him back.
His right arm was completely blackened, even though the flames hadn't directly touched him.
Professor Oak, seeing the situation, tossed the Pokéball into the air—a Squirtle popped out.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Oak shouted, pointing at the house.
Squirtle stood there for a while, then looked back in confusion.
It didn't know how to do a Water Gun. It wasn't trained.
Oak sat down near the Squirtle, trying to explain it to him quickly.
In the meantime, the screams inside the house grew louder and louder.
Ashen, though badly injured, still got up, trying to get back inside.
'I have to save her,' Ashen thought, as he slowly walked toward the house. But a sudden gust of wind blew him away.
The Charizard flew up. Its speed so fast it destroyed the house completely, debris shooting out in all directions.
The flames were dispersed.
Ashen stood up again, coughing through the smoke, eyes darting across the rubble.
"Mom...?" he called out, his voice cracking. "Mom!"
There was no answer. Just the distant crackle of dying flames and the murmurs of stunned neighbors.
He stumbled through what used to be the doorway, stepping over burnt debris, fragments of furniture, photos.
'Just tell me she's still alive!' the thought kept repeating, louder, more desperate.
Neighbors joined the search, sifting through the wreckage, calling her name, hoping. But no one could find anything.
Nothing but ashes.
'Where is she?!'
As Ashen thought that, a drop fell on his head.
He touched it. 'Is it raining?'
'No... it's too thick to be water.'
He smelled it—it was blood.
He immediately looked up.
The Charizard hovered there in the air, circling the town… a blacked-out body in its mouth.
Ashen's heart dropped. He knew she was dead, but seeing her being torn up by a Charizard was still too much for his heart to bear.
He fell to the ground, screaming as the Charizard snapped her head off and munched on it.
Oak came to his side, trying to calm him down—but it was no help.
He kept screaming and screaming, slamming his head on the ground…
Until finally, he fell unconscious from the physical strain.