Man in the Mirror

Chapter 21: ...Ready For It?

"It's alright Litleo, you're well now. You can go home," May encouraged the lion cub alongside Ash and Pikachu. The trio watched the Fire-type take small steps toward the woods, but it appeared to hesitate.

Ash raised an eyebrow, "I thought Litleo was eager to leave this place when it awoke yesterday."

"I thought so too," May crossed her arms with concern.

Litleo looked back at her with doubt. The feline knew it was healed, but it could not find itself to go back to the woods as much as it wanted to. As a Litleo, it knew it had to brave the dangers of the jungle and make something of itself, but the cub couldn't answer the call of the wild. "Leo," the Pokémon lowered its head with shame.

The cub stared at the grass, remembering the shadowy pursuer that injured it in the first place. Its fearsome roar and impenetrable armor were difficult to forget. Litleo tried to overwhelm his opponent with everything it could, but it wasn't enough. It failed to hold its ground. The incident turned its pride into embarrassment. May approached Litleo, "What's wrong, Litleo, don't you want to go home?" The girl crouched to look at him.

Ash walked over to them with Pikachu and crouched too. "Litleo seems hesitant. Maybe it's afraid to go out on its own," the raven-haired teen believed.

"Lit!" Litleo barked, trying to argue that it wasn't afraid. Ash nervously laughed and apologized. He didn't wish to offend the cat.

May petted the cub with an understanding gaze, "It's ok to be afraid Litleo. You've been through a lot, so being scared is completely normal."

"Pi pikachu," The mouse jumped off Ash's shoulder and patted Litleo on the back. Pikachu also tried to make the cub feel better over its doubts. It was evident that Litleo was afraid.

"Litleo," Litleo muttered with an uncertain expression. It looked at the trio with uncertainty. It wanted to go home, but was it ready? That's when the cub looked into the distance behind Ash, May, and Pikachu. It saw Sceptile and Blaziken engaging in close combat to keep up their strength while Venusaur and Charizard sparred in an exchange of special attacks. The cub's eyes fixated on the four starters for several moments. It could see the fire in the eyes of these formidable Pokémon, "Lit..." Litleo admired their ferocity. That's when Litleo turned its eyes back to Ash and May, who were still trying to interpret his feelings. Staring at Ash and May made Litleo realize that the powerful Pokémon training in the background was a result of the pair's endeavors to make them stronger.

Ash and May noticed its focus on Sceptile, Blaziken, Charizard, and Venusaur. Before they could recognize what that meant to Litleo, the feline's expression turned into a fiery one. Litleo knew what it needed to do if it wished to get stronger. Litleo cried its name as it eagerly ran over to the four starters. "Litleo, hold up!" May chased after it.

"C'mon Pikachu," Ash and Pikachu followed behind May. The trainer recognized the fiery look in Litleo's eyes when it dashed off. It was an unmistakable sign of the desire to be stronger. A smile grew across Ash's face.

"Leo!" Litleo made itself known to the starters once it was near. The four of them stopped their training to look at the small cub. They stared at it curiously. Litleo smirked at them, "Litleo leo lit," Litleo expressed his wish.

"Scep, Sceptile," Sceptile crossed its arms with a smirk.

Blaziken stepped forward to kneel. It stared intensely at its fellow Fire-type, but the cub did not back down as it returned a fiery stare. May stopped to look at the exchange between the five Pokémon. She could tell there was something serious going on between them. Before she could call out to Litleo, Ash came up behind her. "May, I think Litleo wants to stay and train with us for now!" he believed.