Disclaimers:
I do not own Pokémon, its characters, locations, mechanics, etc. I love parody law!
I'm rating this T to cover all the bases I may need
I'll be using Anime rules of physical and special attack/defense (i.e. whatever works for the plot)
I'll mention any other major rule changes if and when they happen
I will not be repeating this disclaimer in every chapter. It will remain here for your viewing pleasure.
Prologue
"Pikachu and Latios are both unable to battle. All six of Ash's Pokémon are unable to battle, so moving on to the finals is Tobias, the victor."
The referee's announcement ends the battle and a young trainer's journey through the Sinnoh region. In a moment all hands will be on deck preparing for the battle between Tobias and his doomed opponent, but for now the conversation in the top box centers on the battle that just ended.
"A real shame the kid didn't make it farther this time, eh Cynthia?" the wizened president of the Pokémon Association asks his colleague, "I suppose you'd best start preparing to face that challenger and his legends."
"I suppose so," replies the Sinnoh champion. She stands up and leaves the box, forgetting a newspaper behind her. Charles Goodshow calls out to her to return her property, but fails to get her attention. Looking down at the paper he sees the headline of the article Cynthia was reading: "Twisted Sisters of the Elite Four Is a Flop! Has Shauntal Lost Her Inspiration?"
Three Days Later
In the faraway land of Unova an elegant woman in glasses, a purple dress and tights, and a scarf shaped like a cat stands on the shores of her friend's villa calming down after her latest book was panned in the reviews. Of course, as a member of the region's Elite Four, this trainer calms herself in Pokémon battle rather than relaxing on the beach. In front of her floats a blob-like creature with frilly pink tentacles that appears to be wearing a crown and a dress. A similar creature swims nearby in the ocean, though it appears blue and far less frilly than the one at Shauntal's command.
"Jellicent, use Energy Ball!" the ghost-type trainer commands. Her female Jellicent launches a green blast of energy at the wild male, nearly winning the battle in a single blow. Very resilient, Shauntal muses of her foe, a worthy addition to my team.
"Now Will-o'-Wisp," she commands her Pokémon to disable the wild one. Following a blast of eerie blue flames, Shauntal throws a Poké ball at her opponent, catching it quickly. Bending down to retrieve her newest partner, she hears the door to the villa open.
"Ms. Shauntal, a guest would appreciate a word with you," Jervis proclaims.
A Few Days After That
Viridian City is fairly calm as Jessie, James, and Meowth arrive after their journey following the twerps through Sinnoh. As they reach Team Rocket headquarters, they decide to approach the boss's secretary to get their next mission.
"I'm sorry, why did you say you were here again?" the secretary asks, "I have no recollection of a Jessie, a James, or a Meowth anywhere in the boss's mission logs for the last three years. I believe there was a notation of 'lost cause' in each of your files."
Just as Jessie's temper is about to get the best of her, she sees Cassidy and her forgettable team member escorted up to the boss's office without hesitation. She drags James and Meowth out of HQ and starts whispering: "They see us as lost causes? Well I say we show them what we can do! I was a semifinalist in the Sinnoh Grand Festival! Meowth, you're one of the only Pokémon I've ever heard of that can translate Pokémon speech to humans! James, you're filthy stinking rich and have placed in all sorts of competitions all over the place! And as a team we've taken down Teams Aqua, Magma, and Galactic! So here's my plan…"
An hour later the trio hug goodbye as they prepare to split up temporarily. Jessie has spotted a poster at the Viridian Contest Hall depicting a tall, willowy blonde model advertising a trial run of contests in the far off Unova region. James heads to his old mansion to check on his Chimecho before meeting up with Jessie in Nimbasa City. Meowth heads to Celadon City University so he can register as an emancipated Pokémon for protection as he gets certified as a Poké-linguist. As the "lost causes" of Team Rocket leave the base of operations, no one in the organization pays them a second thought. But if Jessie's plan works that will prove a fatal mistake.
Meanwhile, Ash, after exiting the ship he boarded in Sinnoh, speeds towards his hometown of Pallet, his trusty friend and partner Pikachu at his side. Upon reaching the Vermillion Train Depot, he anxiously checks the time until the next train to Viridian City. Luckily, his wait is quite short and he is soon racing through Kanto by train.
As he watches the blur through the windows, Ash reminisces about his two journeys through this region. The only two constants on both journeys were Brock and Pikachu, the former of which will be away at medical school for the foreseeable future. Pikachu, of course, will still be accompanying Ash on his upcoming third trip through the region. Ash considers the remarkable difference between the Pikachu when he first left Pallet Town and the Pikachu who will join him now. The first took severe damage from a flock of Spearow, while the last fought a Latios to a draw. This vast improvement in his best friend's power level is what made Ash decide to retry the Indigo league. Well, that and the fact that he doesn't know of any other regions with leagues he hasn't tried yet.
Once he arrives home, Ash notices a sign on the door telling him to meet his mother at Professor Oak's lab. The trainer rushes over, eager to see his family and friends, only to find his mother and Professor Oak drinking tea with a mysterious woman. She stands and introduces herself to Ash.
"Greetings, Mr. Ketchum," she begins, "my name is Shauntal. I have been an author for quite a while, but lately I have encountered difficulties in finding inspiration for my novels. I enjoy writing about the bonds between trainers and their Pokémon, and heard from a friend who watched your recent Sinnoh League battles that you may provide insight for me."
"Oh, well, umm…" Ash seems not to know how to respond
"I was hoping to test your bonds with your Pokémon via a battle," Shauntal prompts, seeing Ash's slight lack of eloquence.
"A battle!" the change in Ash's demeanor is both sudden and total, "Yeah! Let's do it!"
The group moves to the wide open space in the back of the lab and Professor Oak agrees to referee.
"I will choose my Pokémon first," Shauntal offers, "Jellicent, let's weave a wonderful tale." A blue jellyfish pops out of the Poké ball and hovers over the battlefield. Ash takes out his Pokédex to scan the unknown creature. He is flabbergasted when Dexter does not have any information for him.
"What's going on Professor?" Ash questions Oak, "is my Pokédex broken?"
"Your Pokédex is functioning quite normally, Ash," Shauntal hijacks Oak's response, "but my Jellicent is from the Unova region, located a great distance from here. I am not surprised that Samuel has not been able to include its Pokémon's information in your data. To be fair, though, I will tell you that Jellicent is a water- and ghost-type Pokémon."
Ash's eyes widen at the mention of a new region with new Pokémon to see, but he decides to battle first and ask questions later. Knowing his opponent's type but still being unfamiliar with its species, Ash calls out his most trusted partner, who just happens to have an advantage over the jellyfish.
Pikachu and Jellicent position themselves on opposite ends of the battlefield as the match is about to begin. Shauntal gives Ash the chance to call the first move. He unsurprisingly orders his Pikachu's signature Thunderbolt. To Ash's surprise, Shauntal has Jellicent take the hit only for the Pokémon to come out completely fine. The author has her Pokémon use Recover to remove the effects of Ash's initial attack. After his original attack failed to leave lasting damage, Shauntal's opponent has Pikachu run in for an Iron Tail. A contemplative Shauntal has Jellicent catch the rodent with Psychic and send it flying with Hydro Pump.
Ash grits his teeth as his attack fails to get close to the floating blob. Deciding to chain his attacks together, the Pride of Pallet orders a Thunderbolt followed by an Iron Tail. To his astonishment, however, his trusty sidekick cannot seem to create its primary attack.
"My Jellicent has the ability of Cursed Body," explains Shauntal in response to Ash's obvious confusion, "any attack that lands a hit on it has a chance of becoming disabled,"
Ash's frustration only builds as he can't seem to land an attack at all now. Meanwhile, Shauntal asks her Jellicent to use its Shadow Ball attack.
"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash orders, "Then use Quick Attack!"
Shauntal is puzzled by the Sinnoh League semifinalist's use of a completely ineffective move and tells her Pokémon to stop Pikachu in its tracks with Psychic.
Ash's strategy pays off, however, as Pikachu darts out of the way of the psychic waves ending just under Jellicent. Ash yells for an Iron Tail, which Pikachu executes perfectly. Shauntal's surprise at Pikachu's speed and strength is short-lived, though, and she orders Jellicent to float higher and use Recover once more. Ash realizes that without Thunderbolt, he has no chance of dealing enough damage to get around the ghost-type's recover. Still, the only way to access a move that has been disabled is to switch out the user. Such a switch is impossible in a one on one battle Ash thinks, looking around the ranch at the field of battle. While looking at Professor Oak's humongous habitat for Pokémon the aspiring master is struck with an idea.
"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack to run around the ranch!" Ash calls to the confusion of everyone in earshot. Or, Shauntal thinks seeing Pikachu follow the command without hesitation, everyone EXCEPT Pikachu. Shauntal commands Jellicent to follow the rodent and use Hydro Pump repeatedly. Pikachu avoids every jet of water as it runs until eventually, its cheeks start to spark. Pikachu's trainer, who has followed his friend while it ran, sees this sparks and silently cheers in victory. He then calls for another Thunderbolt (maximum power of course), which causes Shauntal to wonder is her opponent's short-term memory has been damaged. Her surprise when Pikachu lands a ridiculously powerful hit against her most recent capture only strengthens the validity of Ash's recommendation. Of course, she deduces, the ranch is large enough that enough running around simulates switching Pikachu out of battle, thus reversing Cursed Body's effects.
Both trainers know that the battle will soon be over and prepare for their finishing moves. Shauntal, the more experienced of the two, smirks as she comes to her decision first and calls a last Hydro Pump. As the jellyfish shoots a massive blast of water, Ash merely nods to his best friend. Shauntal is puzzled as she sees Pikachu running straight toward the attack, and possibly glowing a little, she's not sure. When Hydro Pump hits, the ghost-type user is sure she has won, until she sees a yellow ball of light travelling up the jet of water and straight into her Pokémon. Jellicent is thrown back as Volt Tackle slams into it, and both Pokémon hit the ground. Neither gets back up.
As Professor Oak calls the match in a draw, Shauntal recalls her partner and reflects on the implicit trust between her opponent and his Pokémon. Pikachu followed commands that seemingly made no sense until after the fact without hesitation and possibly even while understanding its trainer's end goal. She realizes that her plan to interview him after the battle will never work: a talent like Ash's must be observed to be understood. The ghost master notices her opponent seems somewhat down after the battle and plans to lift his spirits and further her own goals simultaneously.
"I am quite impressed," she says to her opponent, "it is a remarkable feat to draw against an opponent one has never seen or heard of before, much less one belonging to one of the Unova region's elite four."
Ash is shocked by the revelation that this had been a battle with a member of the elite four of a region. The knowledge of just how powerful his opponent really was has Ash elated. His excitement only grows as he remembers Shauntal's mention of a new region for him to travel.
"You said you were from Unova! What kind of Pokémon are over there? You're from the Elite Four so there has to be a league, right? How big is the region? Are the gym leaders tough? How's the food? –"
"Ash," Shauntal attempts to refocus his attention, "I must thank you for the opportunity to observe such a strong bond between you and your Pokémon. I am disappointed, however, because this just raises so many more questions for my novel. While I would certainly be willing to answer all of your questions, I am hoping you would instead agree to let me accompany you on your travels in Unova so I can continue my research."
Excited by the prospect of learning from a member of the elite four, Ash wholeheartedly agrees to journey through Unova with Shauntal. The elite trainer tells Ash that she has a few tasks to take care of before she joins him, and can meet him in Accumula Town in just over a week. Ash runs up to tell his mother of his changed plans for the upcoming league season. Delia, however, surprises her son by presenting him with new clothes and a plane ticket to Unova's Nuvema Town leaving in a week.
Replying to the questioning look in her son's eyes she states, "A mother always knows."
Ash goes to talk to Professor Oak about leaving everyone but Pikachu at the lab for his upcoming Unova journey. Professor Oak sighs, but tells Ash he'd be happy to look after the trainer's Pokémon. Ash then runs off to start his to do list for whenever he comes back to Kanto. He wonders how Pidgeot, Misty, and all the other friends he's off to visit are doing.
"That boy really needs to learn to use all his Pokémon on his journeys," Professor Oak muses aloud, "he'd be a much stronger trainer if he did."
A/N: Here's the new prologue. I feel it better links the end of Sinnoh and the beginning of this story and better introduces the motivations for Ash's traveling companions than the old version did. I also combined the old chapter 1 after I got rid of the homecoming party that did nothing to advance the plot. I also put in a mention of one of my headcanons. The anime never claims to account for every day of Ash's adventures, so I choose to believe he visits Pidgeot and some of his human friends whenever he stops back in Kanto. It makes more sense than him completely forgetting his promise while still accounting for the lack of Pidgeot. Lastly I've added some musings of Professor Oak's. All in all, I hope the new version makes the story better.
Until next time, -Me