"Pika!" Pikachu squealed. Ash had just suggested they go out for ice cream, which had the little yellow puff-ball in hysterics.

"Gosh, Pikachu!" Ash beamed, patting his long-time friend on the head. "Excited?"

"Pika-CHU!" The Pokémon replied, nodding.

"Well, what are we all just sitting around for?" Misty questioned, her bright, orange hair bobbing with her words. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Brock yelled in agreement, pumping his fist. "Last one there buys!"

The trio and their Pokémon all sprang up at once, scurrying to the door of their temporary home- a shack just outside of Kokoro. They rushed through the house, racing toward Main Street.

A couple days earlier, the group had been on their way to yet another anticipated Pokémon competition, when they stopped in to visit Misty's uncle, Curt. He insisted that they stay for a week or two, and had provided a guest bedroom for the kids to sleep in.

Now, Curt was at work, but the night before he had suggested that Ash, Brock, and Misty get out and explore the town- which is exactly what they planned to do.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Ash yelled, in first place. Pikachu was clinging to his shoulder, his tiny face determined.

"No, you won't!" Misty returned, just behind Ash. Croaguonk was following close behind her, and Brock was last, panting hard.

The troop sprinted through town, dodging people left and right. Ash nearly collided with an elderly lady crossing the street, and Misty jumped straight over a fruit stand's pile of watermelons. People gasped and pointed, but the Pokémon only welcomed the attention, smiling and performing tricks for the startled onlookers as they scuttled along.

"Everywhere we go, we seem to call attention to ourselves," Brock stated, trying to catch up. Misty giggled and proceeded to glance back at her weary friend. "Don't pass out now!"

"Shut it!" he joked, trying to find the energy to grin.

Ash caught sight of the ice cream stand just ahead of them, and began tearing through the bushes on his way to get there. He'd never lost a race before, and he wasn't going to start now.

The Pokémon trainer was absorbed in his own domain of concentration, and didn't notice the green-clad man he was close to smashing into. He didn't hear Misty's shout of warning behind him, and he didn't even recognize Pikachu's shrill, shriek of horror. Instead, he barreled into the unsuspecting figure and Pikachu went flying skyward.

"Ash!" Misty and Brock screamed together. They ran with a renewed burst of energy, and when they finally caught up to the stunned duo, the poor man that Ash had tackled was on his feet and brushing himself off.

"You okay, Pikachu?" Brock asked the electric creature, which had just crawled up painfully behind Ash, dazed and confused.

"Pika," Pikachu murmured, to reassure his worried companion.

"I'm so sorry," Ash sympathized, turning to the baffled man next to him. "I really didn't see you in front of me. I was racing my friends for ice cream, and-"

"Oh, it's okay," The man interrupted with an accent that was obviously Italian. He was dressed in blue jean suspenders, with bright-green clothes underneath. Spotless, white gloves covered his hands, and his lime-colored hat was stamped with an emblem that simply read "L."

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Ash pleaded.

"Didn't you mention ice cream?" the man said, chuckling.

In five minutes, the party was all set, everyone gripping an enormous cone chock-full of their favorite flavor. Brock ended up having to reluctantly pay the vendor, even though the loser-pays thing was his idea. The crowd sat at a picnic table, with the sun beating down on their heads and birds merrily chirping around them in the trees. Pikachu happily licked his ketchup-flavored frozen treat as Ash and their new friend had a laugh over their little accident.

"By the way, I'm Luigi," The man informed everyone.

"I'm Ash, and this is Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Croagunk." Luigi scanned the group inquisitively and raised his eyebrows.

"What a crew! You know, I'm not from here."

"What do you mean?" Brock questioned.

"Well, last night, I was strolling along a path in the Mushroom Kingdom, taking an evening walk with my girl, Daisy. We'd just finished eating dinner together, and we stopped at a little pond to sit and talk. Silly me though, tripped on a pebble and actually fell into the water. I struggled for a while, and then resurfaced, only to find that it was daylight, Daisy was gone, and I was in a different forest."

"How is that?" Ash wondered aloud, looking puzzlingly at the others.

"I don't know!" Luigi admitted. "But I've been wondering around this place for hours trying to understand what happened and where I am." He put his head in his hands and wailed. "Oh, why, why, why?"

"Now you're in a town called Kokoro. I've never heard of your Mushroom Kingdom, so it must not be close." Brock told him.

"My uncle has a map of every city in the area." Misty added. "I'm sure he'd let us use it."

"Why don't you meet us downtown later for dinner?" Ash suggested. "Misty's uncle should be home by then, and after we eat we can head over to the house and figure this out." He peeked at Misty to see if she was annoyed at his proposal, but instead she smiled at him and nodded.

"We'll see you later then," said Ash. He swallowed his last chunk of waffle cone, rose up, and stood by the table with his hands on his hips. The Pokémon all buzzed in agreement, and Brock and Misty followed Ash's lead.

Luigi smiled and said, "Until then," and waved them off. As the eager teenagers headed out to sightsee once again, the plumber watched them curiously. Even though they were young, they carried themselves like adults, and they seemed so close. Even in the half hour he had spent with them, he noticed that they had a bond that wouldn't break easily, even in the worst of circumstances.

He heaved a sigh, and resumed licking his ice cream in solitude. They might even help me get out of this place, he hoped silently as he took another look around the colorful, foreign town.