A/N: Hello again everyone. =) It's been nearly a year since I've done anything with this story here, though I have been working on it diligently and I believe it's in a place where it's ready to be shared again; the right way this time.
For those of you who followed the original story and have come back to read again, welcome back! Don't expect to see too much of a change in the main storyline, though you will notice plenty of changes in the grammatical errors and in Mason's overall personality, as well as a few extra scenes I felt were necessary.
For those of you who are reading this for the first time, welcome, and thanks for taking the time to check it out. I'm writing this story as a personal challenge I've imposed upon myself, and I hope that everyone else can enjoy it as well.
Without further adieu:
The world of pokemon. A fascinating world inhabited by humans and creatures, working together since the dawn of time. These creatures named pokemon aid us in our everyday lives, with everything from recreation and fun to battling and serious contests. In this world are many legends, and many mysteries waiting to be revealed. Great powers lie dormant in every corner of the world, silently keeping watch over the ecosystem and balance of the entire planet. There are some, however, who seek to use this power to accomplish their own means. Different people under different names, working to disrupt the natural balance and gain control over powers that mankind can never understand. In the past these organizations have battled each other for control over different regions of the world. However, a terrible plot is being hatched, one that can bring the entire planet to its knees.
A lone man sat in a large, empty room. Beside him lay his persian, calm and collected as always. With the touch of a button, a large screen lowered from the ceiling and flickered to life. Archie, the leader of Team Aqua; Maxie, the leader of team Magma; and Cyrus, the leader of team Galactic appeared in opposite corners.
"It's nice to finally have a chance to talk to you all again," the man said.
"What's this all about, Giovanni? And why is he here?" Archie grunted, gesturing to Maxie.
"I was just about to ask the same-"
"Enough of your petty squabbling," Maxie was interrupted by Giovanni before he could finish. "Let us put our differences aside for a moment and discuss the future, shall we? Although our past encounters haven't been so pretty, we all have one thing in common. Each of us sees pokemon for what they really are and what they are truly capable of. Now, I've just stumbled upon something very…interesting. Regrettably, my plan cannot be completed by Team Rocket alone. For the time being, working together may be the most mutually beneficial thing any of us have ever done. I promise you, gentlemen, that once this discovery is realized, the entire world will be sitting in the palms of our hands." Giovanni let out a deep chuckle.
"…What is it we need to do?" Cyrus was genuinely intrigued. To this question, Giovanni simply smiled, and then revealed his horrible scheme.
In a small town, nestled quietly away from the noise and excitement of the city, an alarm went off. Unfortunately for Ash Ketchum, it wasn't quite enough to wake him from his slumber. Another half hour went by before Pikachu finally decided to take matters into his own hands and give his friend a thundershock.
"Wah!-I'm up!" Ash sat straight up, taking a moment to let the voltage finish coursing through his body. As he regained his senses, he glanced at the clock. "Huh…oh no! I'm late! Mom's gonna kill me! Come on, Pikachu!" Ash quickly threw on his clothes and rushed out the door with Pikachu tailing closely behind him.
On his way to Professor Oak's lab, he ran into none other than Professor Oak himself. "Ah! Ash! I was just looking for you! You've kept everyone waiting!" The professor quickly slapped his mouth shut when he realized he had just given everything away.
"What do you mean everyone's waiting? I thought I was supposed to be helping my mom out cleaning the lab up today?" Ash asked, still running in place.
"Uh-eh-well you see I-Er your pokemon of course! They'll be helping you both out with the chores today!" Oak crossed his fingers, hoping his white lie was successful.
"Oh, of course! I'll be there soon!" Ash took off again with the professor and Pikachu tailing behind him now. It was a small town, but Professor Oak's lab was all the way on the outskirts with land surrounding it, plenty of room for all of Ash's pokemon to roam. Ash only hoped he wouldn't get a pep talk from his mom about timeliness, blissfully unaware of what was waiting for him.
On the other side of town, a passing stranger was having a little bit of trouble with one of his pokemon.
"Come on Poof! Give 'em back!" A boy cried toward his haunter. He and his ninetails were chasing him down, but as was usual for haunters, he was quite the escape artist, and also happened to have the boy's shoes, making it no easier to chase him. The boy pulled out a pokeball and attempted to recall the unruly haunter, but it simply vanished. It re-appears behind the boy, pulling on the boy's cheeks causing him to make funny faces.
"Blaagghalagg-Knock it off! Get back here!" The boy cried out as the haunter floated away laughing. The boy and his ninetails continued to give chase throughout the town, running in and out of shops, apologizing as they went. Inches away from victory, the boy was led right off of a dock into a pond. The ninetails screeched to a halt at the end of the dock, a smug look on its face. The boy surfaced and looked around, noticing his ninetails. "Oh shush. It's cool and refreshing anyway!" He splashed a little water towards the dock that the ninetails dodged easily.
He swam back to the dock and climbed out of the water, shaking his hair as dry as he could. The haunter appeared again, crying tears of laughter.
"Oh haha, very funny." The haunter simply smiled and vanished, appearing again in front of the boy with his shoes.
"Thank you!" The boy swiped them and dropped to the ground, reaching down to pull them over his wet feet. Unfortunately, the haunter couldn't help but seize such a perfect opportunity. He silently crept over to where the boy's pack was, hooked a hand through the loop, and vanished once more.
"Noone…did he just…" The boy asked, not bothering to look up or stop tying his shoes. The ninetails simply let out a sigh and looked down. "Well…no use in sitting around. Come on. We'll take it easy this time, okay?" The boy stood up and spread his arms out, and the ninetails promptly let out an ember attack. Although it was quite hot, it quickly dried the boy off. They then set off, walking back into town after the boy's pack.
Back at Professor Oak's lab, Ash, Pikachu, and the Professor himself were just arriving. They paused at the door to catch their breath before walking in. The room was dark, with all of the windows covered and the lights out.
"Huh. That's odd…" Ash fumbled for a second and found the switch.
"Surprise!" A deafening yell came from the room. Ash jumped back, shocked by what he saw and the loud welcoming. There in the lab were Misty, May, Dawn, Tracey and Brock, almost all of his closest friends. "Happy Birthday Ash!"
"Wuh…Oh! It's my birthday today!" Everybody groaned before letting out a chuckle. "Wow! Thanks guys! How'd you all know?" Ash stood in the doorway, astonished to see everyone right there in front of him.
"Your mom called us, and even arranged the ferry schedules for us to come over!" May said, smiling at Delia. "And of course I'd never miss something like this! Not in a million years!"
"Of course not! Besides, I always wanted to see what Kanto was like anyway!" Dawn exclaimed. "You live in such a beautiful town! And your mom's such a nice woman!"
"Oh Ash, it's just like you to forget something like this," Delia said, "always thinking about your pokemon and your journeys." She came forward and gave her son a hug. "I hope you like your present!"
"Eh-Of course, mom, but you don't have to choke me-" Ash weezed as his mom's grip tightened. Delia eased up and tipped Ash's hat.
"No matter how old you get, you'll still always be my little pokemon master."
"Thanks, mom. And thanks everyone for being here! It's awesome to see everyone again, it's been too long! Let's eat some cake and-Hey, where's Max?"
"Oh he's still back at the gym," May said, "He really wanted to come, but he's taking his responsibilities there pretty seriously and couldn't afford to take any time off. He said he'd call you later when he got the chance."
"Aw, that's too bad. But it'll still be great to hear from him. Alright everyone, let's have a party!" With that, they ran outside to the cake and began slicing it up, chatting amongst themselves.
"Hey guys, why keep all the fun to ourselves? Why not let our pokemon in on the action?" Brock suggested, holding up a pokeball.
"Great idea!" Dawn said, reaching for her pokeballs. "Come on out, everyone! Let's have some fun!" Everybody threw their pokeballs into the air and suddenly they were surrounded by pokemon. Brock served up some of his famous pokemon food while everyone else cut into the huge cake. Buneary was all too excited to see Pikachu and wasn't afraid to show it, grabbing him by the hands and twirling him around.
"So Ash, how's it feel to be 15?" Misty asked, leaning on the table next to him. "You're not that little kid I fished out of the river all those years ago, you're almost all grown up!" She gave him a smile.
"It honestly doesn't feel too different.," Ash said, looking up at the clouds while he ate, "And I'm not the only one who's growing up, you're just as old as I am you know, and you're not so little anymore either."
As most girls would, Misty took this to mean something much worse than what it actually was, and retaliated in her normal way. "I am not fat, Ash Ketchum!" She yelled, grabbing him by the collar, "You take that back!"
Everyone turned to see Misty holding Ash in the normal headlock, her fist dug into his head. "Those two are already back to their old antics," Brock said and chuckled, "Some things just never change, do they?" He turned to Tracey and they laughed while May and Dawn looked on in confusion.
"Is it always like that between them?" Dawn asked, still watching as Ash tried in vain to explain to Misty what he meant. "I thought they got along well…"
"Of course they do," Tracey answered, "This is just like any normal day for those two. It might not look like it, but they're really great friends." As if to prove Tracey right, Misty released Ash and the two of them burst into laughter.
All throughout the party, people and pokemon alike were laughing and enjoying seeing each other again. Even with all of her unwanted affection towards him, Pikachu was more than happy to see Buneary again after such a long time. Misty and Tracey got to meet Dawn for the first time and Ash got to feel a sense of adventure again, being this close to all of his friends after such a long time.
A/N: And the journey begins again.