A/N: Well, here's my attempt at a Pokemon fanfic.
First things first. Pairings have already been decided, just so all of you know. Ash/May, Brock/Lucy, James/Jessie, Butch/Cassidy, Wes/Rui. So, there you have it.
Also, Pokemon that we haven't seen from for quite some time will be making reappearances! That's right; Primeape, Lapras, Larvitar, Butterfree, even Haunter! Wait, is Haunter an actual word? It doesn't say that it's wrong on Microsoft Works Word Processor…
Here we go!
Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, Ash wouldn't be such an idiot, and would've scored with at least ONE of the females he has met on his trips.
Chapter One: Prologue
Ash groaned as he sat on his bed; ever since he lost to Tobias in the Sinnoh League Finals, all he had been doing was sitting at home, waiting for some news to come of a new region, and training his Pokemon. He constantly felt the need to move around; his legs just couldn't stand to sit still for too long. He could practically hear adventure beckoning to him. But where to?
Finally listening to his leg's need to move, Ash got up and headed downstairs. Checking the house, he concluded that his mother must be outside. Indeed, he found her taking care of the garden, along with her Mr. Mime, Mimey. She looked up at me, smiling as she did so.
"Hi there dear. Going somewhere?" she asked kindly.
That was one thing he loved about his mother; she was always there for him, no matter what. Usually with a kind word, too. Plus, she was a great cook, and, to his slight annoyance and embarrassment, always reminding him to wash his clothes.
"Probably going to Profess Oak's lab. Pikachu opted to stay there to train with Sceptile and Charizard, so I'm kinda lonely." He explained.
"Aww, well, just make sure you're home in time for dinner!" Came her cheerful reply.
Ash sighed as he walked towards the lab. He considered his options. Maybe he could compete in the Indigo League again? If nothing else, that could be his back-up plan.
Of course, wondering what to do with his Pokemon journey wasn't the least of his problems. Now 17, Ash had attracted the attention of many young women, it seemed. And not just his traveling companions; several girls around his age in his own hometown were constantly gossiping about him, fluttering their eyelashes at him and such. And when he had gone to visit Brock and Misty, there was that many more women to deal with. It was more than just confusing; he had no clue how to deal with them. Pokemon battles, sure, he could do that in his sleep. But when it came to dealing with the opposite sex…not so much.
"Pika!"
His closest and most trusted partner quickly ran up to him, launching itself onto his shoulder.
Laughing, Ash scratched Pikachu under its chin.
"Hey buddy. Miss me?" Pikachu cooed in agreement.
Now that he was in the vicinity of the lab, he looked out on the massive property. He noticed that there was quite a ruckus; there was a huge dust cloud, and it seemed to be getting closer…
Wait…was that…all of his Pokemon?
As the dust cloud got closer, he realized that it was indeed all of his Pokemon. And they were all apparently happy to see him.
Too happy.
"Gah!" Ash was quickly finding it hard to breath under the many bodies of his Pokemon, although thankfully none of the heavier Pokemon had joined in on the dog pile. But if Snorlax or Charizard decided that they wanted in on the fun, he was dead. He was already starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel due to Muk and Bayleef trying to nuzzle up against him (with the intense smell of Muk making breathing that much harder), so he was forever thankful when Bulbasaur rescued him with his Vine Whip.
"Thanks, Bulbasaur," Ash gasped, panting.
"Bulba," it smirked, obviously amused.
"Well, if it isn't Ashy-boy. About time you showed your face; your Pokemon were getting restless." an all too familiar voice called out.
Ash groaned good-naturedly at turned to his long-time rival, Gary Oak.
"Yeah, well I'm here aren't I?" Ash retorted.
"Late as ever." Gary shot back.
They glared at each other, then burst out laughing.
After Ash was done visiting his Pokemon (having to be saved several times from Muk and Bayleef), he sat down in a chair opposite of Gary in the lab, exhausted.
Gary smirked. "Already out of shape? C'mon, it's only been a couple of months."
Ash had half the mind to flip him the Pidgey, but decided against it. Instead, he chose to ask Gary the question he had been considering for awhile.
"Hey Gary…do you know any new Leagues that have opened up recently? I want to get out and about; if you think my Pokemon were restless, then what do you think I am?"
Gary's eyes lit up; before he could say anything, Ash quickly added, "Don't answer that."
Looking disappointed, Gary then adopted a look of concentration. "Hmm. Now that you mention it…I DID receive an invitation to go to a new region to research the Pokemon habitat…"
Rummaging in a desk drawer, Gary soon pulled out a piece of paper.
"Here it is. The Orre region. The region is infamous for its lack of wild Pokemon, and also for a couple of instances involving an organization called Cipher. I guess they are finally getting a League of their own 7 years after the Shadow Pokemon incident."
"Shadow Pokemon?"
"Yeah. I guess Cipher somehow created a machine or made a medicine or something in order to close off Pokemon's hearts, making them fighting machines. They'd even attack people. Fortunately, Cipher has been put down for good; 12 years ago, some trainer named Wes, who used to work for a team similar to Team Rocket, went renegade and with his partner Rui, they managed to save the Shadow Pokemon and defeat Cipher for good. Or so they thought. Then, 7 years ago, a younger trainer, a boy named Michael, got caught up in the next uprising of Cipher and managed to save more Shadow Pokemon, and this time put them down and kept them down. Thankfully, no Shadow Pokemon were transported out of the region, and now all research concerning Shadow Pokemon is now destroyed."
Ash whistled. "That's some story…but it sounds fun! You think I can tag along?"
Gary smiled. "I thought you'd ask that. Actually, I can take two people with me. I was going to ask you anyway, and as for the other one…who do you think should come?"
Ash frowned. His choices were limited; Misty was too busy at the Gym to come, and Tracey was too busy with his Pokemon Watching. Brock was now a Pokemon Doctor, and Dawn was on another adventure, or so he was told. Max had just started his own Pokemon Journey, and May…
Ash's frowned deepened. He had heard May was now home, but something had apparently happened on her Contest journey with Drew; since then, she had kept mostly to herself. Ash had no idea what had happened, but it couldn't be good. If only there was something to bring her spirits up…
Then something went 'ding!' in Ash's head. Of course! Some traveling might help her get her mind off of whatever had happened! Ash smiled.
"I think I know the perfect choice."
"Who?"
"May. I heard she was down in the dumps, so I figured that maybe she needed a vacation."
Gary shook his head; unlike Ash, he knew EXACTLY what was causing May to act the way she did. Nobody told Ash due to what he would likely do upon hearing it; Drew was lucky to escape with his life after Norman got a hold of him, and if Ash found him…
Then again…maybe Ash could pull her out of her depression. He had a knack for doing that kind of stuff.
"…All right. May it is. Now, who are you going to bring with you?"
Ash mulled it over. He hadn't thought about that. Pikachu, of course. But who else?
He looked out the window. He took note of each of his Pokemon, how all of them would glance occasionally in the direction of the lab, as if they knew he was deciding who was going with him on his next journey.
His eyes fell on Totodile. The Water Pokemon was dancing around Kingler, being chased around by Corphish, who appeared to be angry at it. They were both quickly stopped by Bulbasaur, who proceeded to whip them both repeatedly with Vine Whip.
He smiled. "I think Totodile and Bulbasaur will do nicely."
His eyes turned to another group of Pokemon. Quilava, newly evolved from Cyndaquil, was dozing off next to Snorlax. Noctowl, Swellow, Pidgeot and Staraptor were all in the tree above them, sizing each other up. Heracross was sucking sap from the tree, although Ash knew it would only be a matter of time before it went after the bulb on Bulbasaur's back.
"Quilava should come too."
He looked over a bit farther. Infernape, Torterra, Charizard, Sceptile and Buizel were all glowering at one another. It was comical to see the smaller Buizel try to look as impressive as Charizard, although Ash knew fully well how strong Buizel was. Not too far away from them, his herd of Tauros were grazing, with Gliscor gliding above them. Bayleef was currently bickering with Muk, more than likely about who he liked better.
His grin widened. He had found his team.
"Buizel and Bayleef will round off the team. Not bad, eh?"
Gary didn't look so sure. "You sure with that, Ash? I mean, I know how strong your Pokemon are, but that's not a well-rounded team. And don't you think you should at least take Charizard or Sceptile with you? Even Infernape or Snorlax?"
Ash shook his head. "No, I think I should use Pokemon who haven't been able to travel for awhile, not to mention those who are close to evolving."
Gary nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Are you going to be swapping out a lot, then?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah, most likely. Find out if Squirtle is going to be available, too. I think he should have the honor of going through this League with me. I want to see how powerful he's gotten since I've last seen him."
"Sure thing. You going to contact May?"
"Yeah. I'll do that now. Get everyone rounded up for me, okay?"
"Got it."
Ash went over to the phone. Dialing the number, he waited patiently, listening to the electronic voice saying "Dialing…dialing…dialing…". Finally, a clicking noise, and Ash was greeted by the face of Norman, May's father.
"Hello?"
"Hey Norman. Long time no see."
"Ash?" Norman asked, shocked. "How have you been? I haven't heard a thing about you since the Sinnoh League! What have you been up to?"
Ash laughed. "Well, I've been bored and sitting at home. I actually just got an invite to go to a new region with Gary. You ever heard of the Orre region?"
Norman nodded. "Yeah, I've heard about it. You going to challenge their new League?"
"That's the plan. We can also bring another person, and I could only think of one person who isn't busy right now, to the best of my knowledge. You think she'll be up for it?"
Norman shrugged sadly. "I don't know Ash…the incident with Drew has messed her up pretty badly…her Pokemon are extra-defensive about her nowadays. Just the other day I was almost roasted with a Flamethrower for knocking on her door!"
Ash frowned. Apparently the situation was worse than he had thought. Just what had Drew done to her…?
"Well, can you at least ask? I would hate for that extra invite to go to waste. Who knows, maybe this is what she needs to get back on her feet. I don't know exactly what happened, but moping around isn't going to solve it."
Norman's eyes widened. "Nobody told you what happened?"
"No, why?"
"…Maybe it's better if you get it from May instead of somebody else. But at any rate, I hope you're right. Maybe this is just the pick-me-up she needs. Hang on a sec."
Norman left the screen. Ash could hear footsteps, a knocking, a very loud bang and a yell, what sounded suspiciously like a Blazekin about to fry something, and a feminine voice that yelled "STOP!". Some murmuring, then more footsteps. Finally, a disheveled May came into view. Ash fought back the urge to give a comment on her less-than-stellar appearances, and instead worked his face into a bright smile.
"Hi May."
May gave him a small smile that almost made him cringe; just by her smile he could tell that she was nothing but a shadow of her former self.
"Hi there Ash. So good of you to call…"
Her voice just about made Ash cry. It was so…unlike May. What had happened to the young vibrant woman he had once known?
"It's nice to see you again, May. What have you been up to?"
"Oh, nothing. Just sitting at home…the usual, you know…"
The usual his ass. The usual for her would be more like training for her next Contest.
Forcing himself to keep smiling, he got down to business. "Ah. I see. So. It just so happens that I am traveling with Gary to a new region. It's called Orre. I'm going to compete in the League there. We can bring one more person with us, and it's been awhile since we've traveled together. You up for it?"
May frowned; Ash got the fleeting impression of a frowning skeleton. That gaunt look did not look home on May's face.
"What about everyone else…?"
"I can't tear Misty away from the Gym. Brock is getting his new career underway, Max is on his own journey, Dawn is doing her own thing, and Tracey is too immersed in his work. And you know me; if left to my own devices, I'll end up starving or something."
May smiled softly. Ash's smile widened slightly; it was a start. At least she was smiling at his jokes.
"So, what do you say? We can train together like we used to."
May seemed to ponder for a bit, then slowly nodded.
"Sure. I think my Pokemon are getting a bit antsy anyway. When do we leave?"
"Three days from now. Monday." Gary's voice made Ash jump.
"Oh, hi Gary. Monday, eh? I'll get a boat trip there tomorrow. See you then…" And with that, May hung up.
Ash sighed. "Wow. She sure has changed, hasn't she? I don't know what happened to her, but I hope this will bring her back to the way she used to be."
Gary nodded. "Yeah, I hope so too. Here," he handed Ash five Pokeballs, "Your team. They all seem really excited. You better go say goodbye to all of your other Pokemon; they all are anxious, now that you're leaving again."
Ash groaned again. He was going to be sore tonight…
A/N: And there you have it. Chapter one, complete! Next chapter: James and Butch make their appearance, an old friend shows up, and a mysterious new stranger appears!
Until then.
~The Doc
