Journey Chapter 1

Dawn

It had been about six months since the last time Emiko had been called to the Pokémon World. During that time, she had finally, with help from Lettuce, Zakuro and Pudding, taught everyone except Pai how to cook. Kisshu and Ichigo were better at it than Mint and Taruto, but Mint and Taruto weren't bad.

Pai was still banned from the kitchen, and he had finally accepted that fact. Everyone in the house had given up on playing poker, since Pai won everything. Instead, Scrabble was becoming popular, as was Frisbee, since they had a large amount of outdoor space.

Mint had suggested getting into Monopoly, but this went downhill after Kisshu said he hated it. They did try, of course, but Kisshu got so frustrated that he destroyed the game. That was the last time they played Monopoly.

One day, Mint and Ichigo got into a fight about whether or not Mint could turn into a bird if she was kissed. It was the stupidest argument Emiko had ever heard, and it was giving her a headache. Suddenly, Emiko heard a voice in her head. It sounded like Pikachu, so she got up and left the room where Ichigo and Mint were screaming at each other. Sure enough, Pikachu was calling for help. Emiko ran to find Kisshu. She found him in the kitchen, and said, "I have to go back to the other dimension again. I don't know when I'll be back, so could you let the others know?"

"Yeah, sure," Kisshu said. "By the way, what's all the screaming about?"

"Mint and Ichigo are fighting over whether Mint can turn into a bird if she's kissed," Emiko said. "I can't believe how stupid they're being. Why not just kiss Mint and find out?"

"Yeah…." Kisshu said.

"I'm going to get going, so I'll be back as soon as I can," Emiko said. Kisshu nodded, so Emiko went and put her boots on, then teleported to the Pokémon's dimension.

She found herself in a forest, and listened for Pikachu. Instead, she heard a girl shouting, "I don't care who you are, you can't have this Pikachu!"

Emiko ran toward the sound of the girl's voice. She finally reached a large clearing, and saw a girl and a blue Pokémon that looked like a penguin standing between Pikachu and Team Rocket. Pikachu looked like it was in pretty bad shape. Both sides looked up as Emiko ran in.

"YIKES! It's HER again!" Meowth shouted. Jessie and James looked nervous, and Seviper cowered behind Jessie.

"Yes, I'm back," Emiko said. "What did you do to Pikachu?"

"We stole it, but then our balloon blew up, and we've been looking all over for it, but this girl and her Piplup stopped us!" Jessie said.

"How long should I set the time limit for this time?" Emiko asked.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! Don't do it!" James screamed. "We'll stop chasing Pikachu! Just don't freeze us again!"

"I don't believe you, but I guess I'll be nice and not freeze you for too long," Emiko said. Then she snapped the fingers on her left hand, and said, "Team Rocket, bind. Spell, self maintain. Time limit, 86 hours." Team Rocket froze in place. Then Emiko waved a hand, and Seviper and Cacnea were sent back to their Poke Balls. Then she lifted her hands, but suddenly stopped. "I think I'll just leave you here for the next 86 hours, instead of wasting energy on blasting you with an energy ball," she said.

Team Rocket glared at her, but didn't say anything. Emiko then walked over to the girl who was standing in front of Pikachu, and said, "Hi, I'm Emiko, what's your name?"

The girl sounded like she was coming out of shock as she said, "I'm Dawn, and this is Piplup." She pointed to the blue Pokémon next to Pikachu. Then she asked, "Are you Pikachu's Trainer?"

"No, but I'm friends with both Pikachu and his Trainer," Emiko said. She turned to Pikachu, and said, "Pikachu, you don't look too good. Do you want me to heal you?"

Pikachu nodded, exhausted. Emiko said, "I have to put you to sleep, okay?"

Pikachu nodded again, so Emiko put a hand on Pikachu's forehead, and soon Pikachu was sleeping. Then Emiko put a hand over Pikachu's heart, and her hand started to glow. The scratches covering Pikachu's body started to vanish. Finally Emiko took her hand away and said, "Okay, Pikachu will be back to full strength when he wakes up." She turned to Dawn and asked, "Do you live near here?"

"Not really," Dawn said. "I just started my Pokémon journey. I want to be a Top Coordinator, like my mom."

"What's a Top Coordinator?" Emiko asked. "I'm not from this dimension, so there's a lot I don't know."

"You're from a different dimension?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, I came because Pikachu called me, but I didn't get here as fast as usual, since I was trying to break up this really stupid fight between two of my friends," Emiko said.

"Oh…. Well, a Top Coordinator is someone who collects five ribbons from five Pokémon Contests, and then wins the Grand Festival, which is the biggest Contest in the Sinnoh Region," Dawn said.

"Are Pokémon Contests like battles?" Emiko asked.

"Um… sort of, but they're more about making your Pokémon's moves and appearance look beautiful," Dawn said.

"Oh…" Emiko said. "Can you help me find Pikachu's Trainer? You seem to know your way around."

"Um…. Sure," Dawn said. "Isn't there someone we could call, to see if they know where he is?"

Emiko thought, then said, "Professor Oak might know, but I don't know his number."

"Maybe Professor Rowan would know," Dawn said. "I could call him if we find a phone."

"I guess we should go find a phone, then," Emiko said. Dawn nodded, and they set off, Emiko carrying Pikachu. They finally came to a building with the letter 'P' on it. "This Pokémon Center should have a phone," Dawn said.

Emiko nodded, and followed Dawn inside. The nurse at the desk said, "Can I help you?"

"We need to use the phone," Dawn said.

"It's over there," the nurse said. "Hey, is your Pikachu okay?"

"He's not mine, and he'll be fine when he wakes up," Emiko said. "I healed his injuries and exhaustion, so he just needs to sleep off the healing."

"Okay…" Nurse Joy said doubtfully.

"Emiko, we have to call Professor Rowan," Dawn said.

"Right," Emiko said. She followed Dawn over to the phone and watched her type in a number. Suddenly a man's face came up on the screen, and Emiko squeaked, because he was wearing a white lab coat. She backed up a bit.

"Emiko, what's wrong?" Dawn asked.

"I'm scared of people in white lab coats," Emiko said.

Before Dawn could respond to this, Professor Rowan said, "How's it going, Dawn?"

"Well, I was protecting a Pikachu from a group of thieves called Team Rocket, and then Emiko, the girl next to me, came and saved all of us," Dawn said. "We were wondering if you know a Trainer named Ash, since the Pikachu belongs to him."

"No, where's Ash from?" Professor Rowan asked.

Dawn looked at Emiko, who said, "I don't know the name of the town, but it's where Professor Oak lives."

"Pallet Town," Professor Rowan said. "I can give you Professor Oak's number, so you can call him."

"Thanks," Dawn said. She got a piece of paper and a pencil, then said, "Okay."

"It's 564-780," Professor Rowan said. "Good luck."

"Thanks!" Dawn said. Professor Rowan nodded and the screen went blank. "Okay, Emiko, you can call Professor Oak," Dawn said, handing the paper to Emiko.

Emiko nodded and typed in the number. Soon after, Professor Oak's surprised face came up on the screen. "Emiko?" he asked. "What are you doing in the Sinnoh Region?"

"Pikachu called me," Emiko said. "Team Rocket got it again. Do you have any idea where Ash might be?"

"No, all I know is that he's in the Sinnoh Region too," Professor Oak said. "Who's that next to you?"

"This is Dawn," Emiko said. "She was protecting Pikachu when I found him."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dawn," Professor Oak said.

"Thank you, sir," Dawn said. "Um, is there a reason Emiko's afraid of people in white lab coats?"

"I'll let her tell you," Professor Oak said. "I have to go, but I'll try to contact Ash and let him know that Pikachu is safe. You two should try to find him."

"Will do," Emiko said. Professor Oak nodded and hung up.

Dawn turned to Emiko and said, "So why are you afraid of people in white lab coats?"

Emiko sighed and rolled up her sleeves, then held her arms out and said, "This is why."

Dawn's hands flew to her mouth. "You were tortured?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"That, and turned into a Cyniclon," Emiko said. She covered her arms again. "I'm not a human. The scientists tortured me if I didn't do as I was told."

"That's awful!" Dawn said.

"Yeah," Emiko said. Then changing the subject, she said, "Do you need to make any more phone calls, or can we get going?"

"We should get going," Dawn said.

Emiko nodded and picked up Pikachu again. He was still sleeping. Then she and Dawn left the Pokémon Center after saying goodbye to Nurse Joy.

"Let's go find Ash," Emiko said. Dawn nodded, and the girls set off.

Next installment coming later!