1
As the early morning sun crept over the horizon, it seemed that nothing could disrupt the serene tranquility of its light. Unfortunately for Ash, this was not the case. Today was destined to start the same way it had every day for the last six years.
"Pi…ka…CHUUUU!" A sparking thunderbolt jolted across the room, springing Ash to his feet. Startled by his furry alarm-clock-of-a-friend's shocking awakening, Ash quickly spun to face his old pal, Pikachu. Who would have thought such voltage could have come from a little yellow rodent!
"Hey, what's the big idea?" he snapped.
Pikachu scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Pika, pikapi, pikachu!"
"What do you mean you've been trying to wake me up?" Ash grumbled back. After a brief sigh, he continued, "Well, I guess that's what you get for trying to sleep in."
Not a moment later, the two heard a call come from downstairs. "Ash, wake up! Breakfast will be ready any minute!" The wafting aroma of warm toast and sweet syrup flowed into the room.
"I'll be right down, Mom!" Ash called back, and he quickly dressed, and he and Pikachu ran out of his room and down the stairs.
As he bolted into the kitchen, the sweet aroma strengthened, causing Ash's stomach to growl. "Oh, dear, you even sound hungry!" his mother joked. "It'll be just a minute, so have a seat, sweetie. When I get this dished up, I have some news for you."
"What kind of news, Mom?"
"Well, as it turns out…Professor Oak told me that he managed to acquire a ticket for you to travel to a new region—"
"A new region? Where, when, I want to hear everything!" Ash interrupted.
"I knew you would be excited, sweetie," his mother chuckled. "As for the journey, you'll be taking a boat to Sinnoh. When you reach the Pokémon center in town, Nurse Joy will have the ticket for you. It's a short train ride from there to the first town. I think it's called Grassebb Town."
"Sinnoh, huh? You know, I should call Dawn before I go today," replied Ash.
"That reminds me! Dawn called earlier from the Hearthome Pokémon center, but I had to take a message because you were still asleep. I could hear you snoring from clear down here!"
"I'll call her right as soon as I've talked to Professor Oak, Mom," Ash said as he cleared his plate and scurried towards the front door. "I'll be back soon, Mom!"
"Okay, dear. Enjoy yourself, Ash," his mother shouted, interrupted by a slamming door.
After a short walk, Ash pulled up to the front of Professor Oak's laboratory. As if run like clockwork, the door crept open, revealing a jolly, middle-aged man in a white lab coat.
"Professor Oak!" Ash exclaimed.
"Ash, good to see you! Delia told me about how well you slept through the night!" Professor Oak noticed a faint red hue forming over Ash's cheeks. "Not to worry, though!"
"Is there anything Mom managed to not share with you…" Ash mumbled grudgingly.
"Oh, I could probably imagine, young man," Professor Oak jested. "Anyhow, enough of this small talk! I have something of great importance to share with you!"
"Is this about that new region?" Ash inquired.
"Why, yes, Ash! Did your mother tell you about it?"
"A little. What is this new region?"
"Well, Ash, a short ride west of the Sinnoh region lies the Obella region. Like each of the regions you have visited before, it too has its own set of Gyms, and of course, the Obella League coming up in the fall. I thought this would be the perfect time to tell you so you could start on a brand new journey to be a league champion!"
"All right! Another journey! I wanna go now!" Ash yelled. "How do I get there again?"
"Well," Professor Oak muttered, thoughtfully. "First you need to make your way to the ferry near here that will take you back to Sinnoh. When you arrive, Nurse Joy will have your Train Pass to get you to Grassebb Town from Hearthome City. When you arrive in Grassebb Town, Professor Fern will explain where to go from there."
"Right, I see, Professor," replied Ash. "Before I leave, can I use your phone? Dawn called earlier and it sounds like I might see her when I get to Sinnoh."
"Why, that sounds like a grand idea, Ash! Perhaps you two might travel together again, too," said Professor Oak.
"That would be great! I'll call her now."
Across the room, Ash stopped at a large computer-like machine. After stroking several large keys, the screen lit up in a bright green. After a few seconds, a familiar figure appeared on the screen.
"Dawn!" Ash blurted.
"Ash!" Dawn shouted back. "Did you get my message earlier?"
"No, sorry! I only heard you had called."
"Well, Ash, you heard about the Obella region, right?"
"Yeah. I'm going the first chance I get!" Ash asserted. "I'll be in Grassebb Town in no time!"
"Hah, Ash, you were always so eager to travel," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, I'll be in the city all day, so let's meet at the Pokémon center when you arrive, okay?"
"Will do, Dawn! See you later!"
"Bye, Ash!" With a click, the screen went blank.
Turning his attention back to the professor, Ash returned to the other side of the laboratory. "Well, Ash?" the professor asked.
"Dawn wants to meet in Hearthome City," Ash responded with a slight hesitation in his voice. Professor Oak noticed this, and gave him a rather perplexed look.
"Is that so? I wonder what she wants..."
"Me too, Professor," Ash replied. With an awkward chuckle, and reached and scratched his head as if her were trying to downplay some kind of nervousness.
"Well, if that's the case, you should hurry on to the ferry. I'll let your mother know that you left to meet up with Dawn. Good luck, m'boy!"
"Thanks, Professor, will do!" Having only just enough time to get those words out, Ash bolted for the door. An instant later, there was no trace of him.
"That boy sure can move," Professor Oak quipped, a bit shocked.
As Ash sprinted towards the dock, he could see it clearly: a pristine white boat with a sky-blue trim. It looked more like a luxury liner than the simple ferry he had taken to Sinnoh his first time four years ago. As he arrived, he showed the ferryman his ticket that Professor Oak had given him and quickly boarded. After wandering through narrow hallway after narrow hallway, he found his way to the deck just in time to see the ship set sail. As it accelerated, he gazed at his house and watched it disappear into the horizon.
"Another journey," Ash muttered to himself. "I guess that's the last time I'll see home for a while. I can't wait to start."
As he stared into the blue expanse, his thoughts turned to his upcoming journey. It had been a full four years since he had seen Dawn in person, at the dock where his and Dawn's last journey had ended. Even though they talked frequently by phone, he couldn't help but notice his stomach tighten. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and recited what he was supposed to do upon arriving in Hearthome city.
"So, Professor Oak told me that Nurse Joy had my ticket…and I also know Dawn will be there, too. Dawn knew about the Obella region, so I bet she knows what to do next after that! Guess all there is to do is wait to arrive."
A short while later, a voice came over the PA, "Attention passengers, we have arrived at our destination at Hearthome City". Not giving any second thought, Ash quickly scurried down the hallways, squeezing through the crowd until he met the fresh Sinnoh breeze at the dock. He looked around, trying to assess his location and to find the Pokémon center. Having not been to Hearthome City for so long, Ash meandered for a minute until something caught his eye; however, it was not a Pokémon center.
"Ash!" a distant voice hollered. He quickly spun around to see a girl with long navy hair, pinned up on the sides with small gold barrettes. In her arms, she was holding a small, blue penguin-like creature with gleaming black eyes and a small yellow beak.
Ash instantly realized the familiar face. "Dawn! And Piplup!"
"Oh Ash, I knew you'd get lost!" Dawn teased.
"Oh, why's that?" Ash growled playfully.
"Some things just never change, you know!"
"Hah, I guess," Ash conceded. "So, what's with this Obella region and stuff? And the Pokémon center! I need to get my train ticket!"
"No need to worry! I have it all sorted out!" Dawn replied, flashing a small piece of paper. "Here's your ticket. I got it from Nurse Joy for you, since I knew you'd get lost. And as for the Obella region, what I wanted to tell you earlier was that, well…there is a Grand Festival coming up in the summer, so when I heard the Obella League was being held around the same time, I just had to tell Professor Oak!"
"Wait, you told him about it?" Ash stammered in disbelief.
"He was going to tell you about it anyway, but he didn't know about the Grand Festival. I thought we could, uh, head over there together, maybe?" Dawn asked, batting her eyes pleadingly.
"Like old times, right?" Ash replied.
"Like old times!" Dawn asserted with a giggle.
"That'd be great, Dawn!"
"Well, then, we should get over there soon. It'd be horrible if you got lost and missed the train, you know!" Dawn winked at Ash, nudging him in the side.
"As if I'd get lost that much," Ash joked. "Hey, race you!" With that, he took off down the street.
"Last one's a rotten Exeggcute!" Dawn yelled, running after him.
The furious race to the station resulted in a tie. Exhausted, they stopped to catch their breath. As he regained his composure, Ash looked up at the massive building. The finely-detailed pillars holding the monument gave way to an arch that draped over the entire structure. A mythical Dragon Pokémon, carved in stone, could be seen at the top of the arch, seemingly looking down over the town. Having never been to the station before, Ash looked up in amazement over the majesty of the building.
"Wow," Ash stammered.
"Well, this is it," Dawn stated, unfazed by the majesty of the building. "Once we get inside, the train is right there. Let's go!"
"Alright, let's get going."
Ash and Dawn boarded the train, heading down the narrow central hallway and moved towards the back of the train. Pikachu, who had been napping on Ash's shoulder most of the day, suddenly sprung to life and jumped onto one of the seats and curled back up for another nap. Ash sat next to Pikachu, and Dawn sat on the other seat, next to the aisle.
"When will we arrive?" inquired Ash.
"Obella isn't far from Sinnoh, so it won't take long at all." Dawn replied. "We'll be there by lunchtime."
"Awesome, I'm starvin'," Ash stated eagerly.
No more than a half hour had passed when the mountainous countryside broke away to reveal a lush meadow that was visible for miles. The grass was permeated with elegant pastel flowers. Fluttering butterfly Pokémon—Butterfree and Beautifly-could be seen floating around the meadow as far as the eye could see.
"It's…so beautiful!" Dawn whispered, starstruck.
"It really is…" murmured Ash breathlessly.
"This means we're close to Grassebb Town, Ash!"
The meadow surrounded a quaint train station. Though it seemed like an odd place for a train station, the antique aura of the station only seemed to enhance the town's simple beauty. As the train coasted to a stop, the other passengers departed the train, with Ash and Dawn being the last to get off. For as empty as the train seemed when they first boarded, the crowd of passengers looked misleadingly large. The passengers all started to make their way to town, when in the distance, one of the passengers caught Ash's eye. Mesmerized, Dawn peered over to see what Ash was looking at until she realized she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Ash, is that-?" Dawn stuttered.
Without so much as an acknowledgment, Ash hurriedly walked to catch up with the crowd. When he caught up to the passenger he had been following, he couldn't contain his excitement.
"Is that-?" Ash shouted. The passenger turned around to reveal a brown-haired girl about their age. The girl flinched.
"Is…that…Ash?" the girl said hesitating between each word.
Ash did a double-take, wondering if the girl was really who he thought she was.
"…May?"