The Love Story of Charmander

To celebrate the spirit of Pride, here's the love story of Charmander.

A long, long time ago, when washing hands was still a taboo subject and the Champions League final was still played between champions, there lived a humble Pokémon named Charmander.

He was short in stature, round-edged, with dry saffron skin and a tail that could emit fire. After acing his board exams and CET with flying colours, he continued his nerdy ways and his habit of charming teachers throughout engineering. His relentless efforts earned him a gold medal and a job at one of the world's top tech companies with a six-figure salary.

Just when everyone thought he was society's prodigal son, he encountered a major hiccup in his love life.

Charmander had been secretly in love with Tom (a human male) for five years but never found the courage to express his feelings. His grandfather would never approve of Tom's caste, and he feared his friends wouldn't accept his sexual orientation. (In their defence, relationships between Pokémon and humans were still rather uncommon back then.)

After much pondering, Charmander decided to consume a substantial amount of whisky and morphine until everyone else's opinions faded into exile.

It worked.

For the first time, he confessed his feelings to Tom, who, fortunately, had been in love with Charmander all along. (Tom did add, "Nothing serious," though.)

Three years later, they're still together and seem destined to live happily ever after, with or without each other.

Moral of the story

Love anyone, consensually.
Love doesn't need validation, nor is it an obligation. ❤️🌈