Chapter 1

Ages:

Ash: 18

Brock:23

Gary:18

May:17

Dawn:16

?:19

Ash's POV

Ash steps off the boat as he arrives at a new region, a new challenge. Just weeks after the Unova pokemon league, he received a message from the Tajon Region. It invited him and any friends he wanted to bring along to the region to compete in their league. Their league had different rules than any of the other leagues he had gone to, with him not taking part in a tournament, and immediately being able to challenge the Elite Four after beating all 8 Gyms.

"We're finally here, eh Ash?" A voice says shaking Ash from his thoughts.

Ash turn around to see all of my friends that he decided to bring along. He of course decided to bring along his longest traveling mate, Brock, who is the one that speaks up. Then there's May and Dawn. They both have already won the Grand Festival in their own regions, so they thought it would be fun to travel with him again. Max had started his own pokemon journey, so he couldn't come. Then there was Gary. Despite their old rivalry, Gary asked to come along due to the fact that this is the only region that has all known pokemon living on it together in. Too bad Cilan and Iris couldn't come, it would have been nice to introduce them to my other friends. Misty also couldn't come along. It just doesn't feel right to Ash to go on this big adventure without her. But when he had called the Cerulean Gym, her sisters said that she had already left for a new journey.

"Yea. We've finally reached Polaris town." Ash announced to his friends.

"Finally, that boat ride took forever." Gary stated.

"So where should we go first?" May asked.

"The message I got said go to Professor Osage, so I think that we should go there first." Ash stated.

"Well then let's go!" Dawn cheered, as she started running... in the wrong direction.

"Dawn! The lab's this way!" Brock shouted.

"I knew that..." Dawn said, walking back looking ashamed.

"Well, now let's go." Ash said.

"Hey, Ash" Gary said, "What pokemon did you bring?"

"Well, I obviously took Pikachu." Ash said, "Besides him, I brought my Dewott, Buizel, Heracross, Sceptile, and Charizard."

"Those are some of your strongest pokemon," May stated "Are you sure that you should use them this early on?"

"Remember May." Brock said "Only the strongest of trainers are invited to participate in this league. Ash has to bring his A-game if he wants to make the cut."

"I wouldn't be surprised if I ran into some of my old rivals out here." Ash said.

"Hey Ash, speaking of rivals, you wanna have a battle for old times sake?" Gary asked.

"Really? I thought you gave up battling." Ash said.

"I'll referee when we get to Professor Osage's lab." Brock says.

"Well we're here, so how about you guys go out back and I'll tell him we're here and about to have a quick battle?" Ash asked

"Sure." They all say as they walk into the back as Ash steps towards the door.

The quick opening of the door before Ash gets to it causes him to run into the person that was exiting the lab and makes him fall down.

"Sorry about that." Ash says before getting up. He can't see very well, due to dirt getting in his eyes when he fell, but he can easily see the person tense up at the sound of his voice before running away.

"That was odd." Ash said before rubbing the dirt out of his eyes and turning around. But he can't even see the person. "Did you get a good look at them, Pikachu?"

"Pi chu, pika. (not really)" Pikachu answers, avoiding looking at him with a smirk on his face.

Thinking nothing of it, Ash walks into the lab. "Hello? Professor Osage?" He calls out.

"Help!" A cry comes from the back room. Ash rushes to the back to see an aging man, most likely Prof. Osage, and two men in black uniforms, one with a Drapion and Beedrill next to him, and one with an Absol and Shiftry next to him.

"Stop right there!" Ash said. 'Wait a second, I know that uniform.' "You're Team Rocket aren't you."

"My, my. It seems we're kinda famous, now aren't we." The first grunt says.

"Beat it kid, this doesn't concern you." the second one says.

"Please. Help" Prof. Osage says.

'Shit, these guys aren't like Jessie and James. They obviously mean business.' Ash thought.

Before he could react, a voice from behind him speaks.

"I got this Ash." The person said. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam. Tentacruel, Hydro pump."

Before Ash can even turn around to see who was talking to him, the two beams fly past him and hit their targets, knocking out the Beedrill and the Shiftry.

'They were knocked out in one attack! Those are some strong pokemon.' Ash thought.

"I hope you can handle the rest." the person said. "Gotta catch ya later!" the person says running off.

"Wait!" Ash shouts, but as he turns around, the person's no longer there. 'How do they know me?' he thinks, before remembering the situation at hand.

"Damn it. That kid just knocked out two of our pokemon. Grr.. Drapion Attack! Crunch!" The first grunt yelled.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" Ash says.

Pikachu barely dodges the lunging Drapion and charges at him with an aura of lightning around him.

"Grab him." the grunt says.

Ash isn't able to react in time and Drapion dodges and grabs Pikachu around the waist.

"God damn it." Ash says taking out another pokeball. "Heracross, go! Megahorn Drapion!"

"Absol! Sucker Punch!" the other grunt shouts

"What!" Ash shouts as Absol appears behind Heracross and hits it in the back. Luckily, Heracross' bug typing is resistant to Dark types.

"Pikachu! Break out with a Thunder attack!" Ash said.

Pikachu unleashes a powerful thunder attack, knocking out the Drapion.

"We have to get out of here. He's too strong." the second grunt said.

"Grr, fine" the first grunt said

The two grunts quickly escape through an open window.

"Are you ok?" Ash asks the Professor.

"I'm fine. So you must be Ash?" Prof. Osage presumed. "When I told the girl that was in here before you that were coming, she literally bolted. I hadn't even given her her pokedex yet."

"I can go and give it to her if you want." Ash suggests. "But who was that?"

"You mean you don't know her?" Osage asks.

"She sounded familiar, but I wasn't able to get a good look at her." Ash admitted.

"Well, her name is..." Osage said.

?'s POV

She's been running for awhile, trying to get to the next town. Or so she's been telling herself.

'I can't believe he's here.' she thinks. 'actually, I can. This place is made for strong trainers like him.'

She reaches into her pocket saying, "Well now, I'm gonna do the..." She realizes that in her haste, she hadn't grabbed the badge case and pokedex that she needed to compete in the league here.

"Shit. And knowing Ash, he probably suggested that he take it to me, even if he didn't notice it was me." She sighed. "Well, so much for my alone journey." though on the inside she knew i would be more fun with Ash and who ever he has coming along with him.

"Well I'll wait for him in the next city." She said. "Look out Tajon."

"Misty's comin'"