@dethqveen asked: Flashback + when he first got his Charizard/Charmander
The hatchling's grown a lot this past year. He's softer now, heavier, his tail noticeably fatter. That's the sign of a healthy Charmander, your dad says: they need the extra fat to keep the flame burning strong, even when faced with harsh weather conditions. It's what stops their tails from sputtering out the second they get hit with a single drop of rain. That's good, you say, Galar gets a lot of rain. Your father laughs.
The hatchling's gotten a whole lot more affectionate, too. Whereas before he'd been all fangs and claws, clearly hesitant to accept human company after all he'd endured, now he can't seem to get enough of you. He clings to your hand and lays across your shoulders and cuddles up against your chest at night, and it makes you teary-eyed to think about it too hard. He trusts you. You trust him too, have done so since the moment you chose to look after him. For all his previous aggression, he's never once caused you real harm, and you know now that he never will.
You're friends, after all.
But, friends or not, you can't make him your partner. Not until your father's satisfied that this is a mutual decision. It's those Ranger ethics kicking in, you know -- he just wants what's best for the Charmander.
And so here you sit, cross-legged in front of the open front door, the Charmander placed between you and the outside world. He's free to leave, if he so chooses. The spring air is warm today, carrying the scent of blooming Roselias and the distant baas of the farmland Wooloo, and there's nothing standing between him and the garden gate. Alternatively... he could turn back and return to you. Reject the wild life and choose to enter into the pokeball sitting on the floor. You watch as he looks between the two possibilities, sniffing at the air curiously. You watch, breath held, as he inches closer towards one of the lavender bushes growing in your garden and takes a sprig of it into his mouth. You watch as he spits it back out, tiny snout crinkling up in disgust.
You watch as he takes one last look at the garden before running back inside, throwing himself into your arms with a force unexpected. His tail flame flares up brightly as you hug him tight, glowing almost blue with the heat of it. Your father moves to crouch down in front of you both, the pokeball in one hand and his thumb hovering over the button.
You pull back to look your partner in the eyes.
"Char!" You've been sitting on that name for a while.
"Chah!" he replies, his tail flame flaring white.
He disappears from your arms in a red glow, sucked inside of the pokeball in your father's palm. It wobbles once, a movement so small and weak it's barely even noticeable, before closing with a definite click. He's your partner now.