There was silence as Ash smashed another cage. Then he spoke very quietly, glancing over to Danny who was freeing another Vullaby.

"They kept trying to take Danny. Every time I turned around, some Pokemon had their claws in him. They told me to stop delaying the inevitable." His hands tightened on the iron bar, smashing another lock with more force than was really needed. "And Danny wasn't strong enough to fight back so I just. Started throwing myself at them."

His expression was dark as he focused on the locks, head lowered. "But that's the thing. I don't know why they're doing this shit. People start things like this but then they get youngsters in, like the kid I hit. And there's so many shitty reasons people end up in shit like this."

"I just thought that. I thought there were more options." He smashed another lock bitterly.