Hello Friends and Fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Aura Heart Journey! Ash is going to make his way a little further on his journey and meet a certain red-haired Water-Type trainer. Will her bike survive the encounter or not?
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Chapter 2 – Fishing and a New Friend
Ash and Pikachu had just left Pallet Town a couple of hours ago and started their journey on Route One. Both trainer and Pokémon were looking around the area and taking in the scenery as well as looking for potential new Pokémon team members for Ash to catch and add to their growing family. Ash had seen a few Pidgey and Rattata, but none of them had really stood out as a Pokémon that Ash wanted to catch and train. Supposedly, during certain times of the year, different Pokémon could be found on Route One including Oddish, Bellsprout, and Sentret when the Johto native rodents migrated every year. Finding the evolved forms of any Pokémon on Route One was unlikely as Raticate and Pidgeotto often left soon after evolving to seek more food and establish their own territory; and the seasonal Pokémon rarely evolved during their migrations.
All in all though the start of the journey had been going well enough, it was a nice day even though the clouds slowly gathering indicated rain later. Ash was confident he'd have at least a couple more hours of travel and searching time before he'd have to find shelter from the rain or set up his tarp as a makeshift shelter to stay dry. A shape moving through the tall grass caught Ash's attention and he motioned to it so that Pikachu could be ready to battle. A few moments later a Spearow emerged from the grass pecking at the ground for seeds and small bugs.
"Huh, that's odd, what's a Spearow doing here?" Ash mused to himself aloud. Spearow were usually only found in this part of Kanto around Route Twenty Two. Though the forest separating Route One and Route Twenty Two was the same forest, Pidgey and Spearow competed for many of the same insects, seeds and nuts and rarely intermingled. To find a lone Spearow on Route One was odd to say the least. The Spearow looked up when it noticed Ash and Pikachu and chirped aggressively before ignoring the Trainer and Pokémon and continuing its' search for food.
"What do you think Pikachu, should we try and catch it?" Ash questioned his starter as the Electric Type gazed at the Spearow.
"Pi Pika. Pika Chu Pika." Pikachu vocalized while shaking its' head no and pointing towards the tree line on the side of the road. Ash turned to where Pikachu was pointing to see at least three dozen Spearow in the grass or in the trees watching over each other as they all searched for food.
"Yeah, maybe just leave them be, right buddy?" Ash stated with a nervous chuckle as he carefully walked away from the Spearow flock. Catching a Spearow wasn't worth angering an entire flock; the species, including their evolved form of Fearow, were known to be aggressive when angered and many a trainer had been injured when they'd run afoul of the species. "How about we head towards the river in the forest and try out this Old Style Rod my dad made for me, buddy? Having a Water Type will only help at the Pewter City Gym." Ash questioned Pikachu as he pointed towards the bamboo rod strapped to the side of his pack.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with a nod causing Ash to chuckle.
"Alright, to the river we go!" Ash stated smiling, changing his direction to enter the forest and the river that should only be a few minutes of walking away. The walk through the forest was pleasant, the sounds of nature were calming and the smell of the forest was pleasantly familiar to Ash and Pikachu. Within ten minutes the two could hear the sound of the gently flowing river and emerged from the trees to spot the river in question with a mostly flat shoreline covered in rocks and light grass on either side of the water. Looking up and down the river for a good fishing spot Ash noticed an orange-red haired girl in jean shorts and a yellow sleeveless shirt that showed her midriff, two suspenders went over the girl's shoulders to complete her outfit. Deciding to calmly announce himself to the girl Ash walked over to her making sure that his steps made a little more noise than usual on the rocky shoreline. The girl turning to face him when he was a few meters away let him know that his plan had worked.
"Hello, did you need something?" the girl asked quietly so as not to scare away any potential Water Type Pokémon that she could catch.
"No, I was just looking for a spot to fish and noticed you were already here. I was just making myself known so that I didn't startle you later." Ash replies with a short bow.
"Oh, thank you then. It would have been surprising to look up and suddenly see another person that wasn't there a minute ago." The girl said with a nod. "My name's Misty by the way, what's yours?"
"Ash Ketchum, I just started today and I thought I'd come over here to the river to try and catch a Water Type Pokémon." Ash answered her with a smile.
"That's a good idea. Water Types are super useful and the best Type in my opinion." Misty said with a smile of her own.
"So I take it you're a Water Type Specialist then?" Ash questioned as he found a large, mostly flat, rock to sit on just a couple meters from where Misty was sitting.
"Yep! I've always loved Water Pokémon, they're all so adorable! My dream is to catch as many species of Water Type Pokémon as I can and become a recognized Water Type Master." Misty gushed happily while telling Ash about her dream.
"That's a good dream, Misty. I'm sure you can do it with some hard work and determination." Ash nodded as he set down his pack and let Pikachu down off his shoulder to lay on the large rock next to him. Ash deftly unstrapped the rod his father had made for him and untied the end of the cord so he could unwind the rest of it and tie some bait onto the end.
"That's a nice Old Style Rod you've got there. I take it you're aiming to snag a Magikarp or a Poliwag?" Misty asked as she looked over the fishing rod Ash was working with.
"Poliwag preferably, Magikarp are good but they can be hard to train in the beginning and after they evolve they can be unruly and aggressive even towards their own Trainer." Ash stated as he opened his pack and looked through the premade meat jerky and packaged vegetables that his mom had packed for him, wondering which one would attract a Poliwag more.
"I'd go for the jerky if you're hoping for a Poliwag." Misty suddenly spoke up. Ash turned to look at her with both foodstuffs in his hands, a confused look on his face at her recommendation. "The Poliwag in this part of the river are fairly young, so they're looking for protein to grow larger. That's Tauros jerky, right? If so that'll be the kind of protein packed bait that a young Poliwag would snap up quickly." Misty explained causing Ash to look at her amazed at her knowledge.
"You're so smart, Misty! Thanks for the info!" Ash exclaimed as he put the packaged vegetables back into his pack and tore a piece of jerky off before tying it securely to the end of his cordage fishing line.
"Don't mention it, Ash." Misty replied with a grin as she turned back to watching her own line in the water. After tying the jerky onto the end of the line Ash gently cast out his line as far as he could. The cordage line was about six meters long not counting the amount that was tied onto the bamboo pole itself so Ash was hopeful that it would reach down to where the Poliwag were swimming. This river was known to be fairly shallow for about two and a half to three meters from the shoreline but quickly dropped off into almost ten meter deep water past that. This narrower space was another reason that newly evolved Gyarados often headed downstream towards the ocean soon after evolving.
"So what kind of rod is that?" Ash asked after casting his line into the river.
"This is a Good Rod; they're reliable and can handle larger and stronger Pokémon than Old Style Rods. Since Water Types can move through rivers and streams without much notice you can sometimes catch something unexpected while fishing. Right now I'm hoping for a Poliwag myself, but the chance for a Krabby or possibly a Poliwhirl is there when using this rod." Misty explained as she watched the surface of the water near her line.
"Huh, that's a good point, I wonder if there are any Krabby around here? I know most of them only stay in rivers while they're young and when they get bigger and closer to evolving they head towards the coast for more space and more food options." Ash mused as he tore off a piece of jerky and gave it to Pikachu. The Electric Type squeaked happily as it grasped the jerky and began gnawing on it. Ash then put the rest of the piece into his mouth and chewed it for a minute while watching his line. A pleasant silence between the two trainers ensued with only the sounds of the river heard, after a few more minutes of this Ash reached for another piece of jerky before glancing over at his fishing companion.
"Hey Misty, do you want a piece of jerky?" Ash asked as he held out a piece of the Tauros jerky to the girl.
"Sure, thanks for the food." Misty replied as she took the piece of jerky from Ash and popped it into her mouth. Ash also took another piece of jerky and started chewing it after seeing that Pikachu had wandered over to a bush with small blue Oran berries on it. Apparently his starter liked Oran berries as there were a few remains of already eaten berries at Pikachu's feet.
"Well guess Pikachu is having his lunch already." Ash chuckled to himself quietly before finishing his jerky and looking over at Misty out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't be much older than him and he was almost fifteen, so she might be fifteen or sixteen Ash thought to himself as he observed the girl. She was in good shape based off her toned stomach and strong looking legs. Those legs were also long and smooth causing Ash to blush faintly before moving his gaze upwards. Misty's jean shorts stopped just past mid-thigh and her top showed off the swell of her chest without giving a glimpse at her cleavage. If Gary were here Ash was pretty sure he'd confirm Ash's estimate of Misty's breasts being a B-Cup that would be a good handful each. 'Ah no! I can't let Gary corrupt me with his playboy ways!' Ash thought as he shook his head slightly and refocused back on his line in the water a blush prominent on his cheeks.
Another few minutes passed before Ash noticed his line moving against the river current. Just a few small tugs let Ash know that whatever was at the end of the line was examining the jerky bait and hadn't actually taken it yet. A slight gasp from Misty revealed her line also being messed with by an underwater Pokémon. Ash did his best to keep the fishing rod steady as the Pokémon below water continued to move his line around. Misty, showing much more experience, kept her fishing rod steady and her posture tense ready to jerk the Pokémon out of the water as soon as it took the bait.
"Ash, you pull your catch to the right and I'll pull mine to the left; that way we'll both have enough room to battle the Pokémon if we want to catch them, ok?" Misty quietly stated getting a nod from Ash. Pikachu noticing the small commotion came back over to Ash's side.
"Get ready buddy, we might have a battle on our hands." Ash said to Pikachu getting a nod from Pikachu as he dropped down to all fours and lightly sparked his cheeks.
With a sudden jerk Ash's line went taunt as the underwater Pokémon took the bait and tried to dive. With a strong pull Ash jerked the struggling Pokémon into the shallow waters closer to the shore. Among all the splashing and flailing Ash could make out a dark blue body and a white tail. Giving another strong jerk of the fishing rod had the Poliwag on the edge of the shore; the Tadpole Pokémon trying to get its' balance and stand up to face Ash and Pikachu. A quick glance over at Misty showed the Water Type trainer reeling in her own Poliwag; the other Tadpole Pokémon thrashing violently as it was pulled out of the water and onto dry land.
"All right Pikachu, let's catch Poliwag!" Ash called out as Pikachu cried out and jumped in front of Poliwag just as the Water Type got its' balance and stood up. "Let's try and take it down in one shot! Pikachu use Thundershock!" Ash called out. Pikachu sparked his cheeks before letting loose a bolt of electricity at the Poliwag shocking the Water Type and causing it to cry out. Ash quickly pulled out a Pokeball and waited for the right moment to throw the capture device. The Poliwag quickly turned back towards Pikachu before unleashing a Water Gun attack at the Electric Type. "Pikachu dodge and give it another Thundershock!" Ash commanded as Pikachu jumped to the side of the Water Gun and let another Thundershock fly at the Poliwag. The second Thundershock struck and sent Poliwag onto its' back in the shallows. Seeing his chance Ash enlarged the Pokeball before tossing it at the downed Poliwag. The Pokeball tapped the Poliwag before opening and sucking the Water Type inside, the Pokeball closed and began to shake as Poliwag struggled against the ball. After a few shakes the ball stopped moving and let out a sound that signified a successful capture. Ash stood in shock for a moment at his first successful capture before whooping in joy as he ran over to collect his Pokeball and the new friend inside.
"Alright, we caught a Poliwag!" Ash cheered as he held up Poliwag's Pokeball.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu called out happily as he cheered with his trainer. The duo quickly turned back to see if Misty had managed to capture her Poliwag yet.
"Come on out, Staryu!" Misty called out as she tossed a Pokeball between herself and the Poliwag in front of her. From the ball a white light emerged that took the form of a large brown Starfish Pokémon with a metallic looking center and a bright red jewel-like core. "Alright Staryu use Swift!" Misty ordered the Water Type. Staryu quickly unleashed a barrage of golden star-shaped bolts of energy at the Poliwag each striking with perfect accuracy. The Poliwag fired back a Water Gun of its' own trying to fight back. "Use Rapid Spin to dodge, Staryu!" Misty called out and in only a second the Starfish Pokémon was rotating at high-speeds and moving away from the incoming attack. "Finish it with Psywave!" Misty said as she prepared to end the battle. From the jewel-like core of Staryu a bright multi-colored wave of light emerged and struck Poliwag sending the Water Type reeling. Misty quickly took out a Pokeball and with a deft flick had it enlarged and thrown at the downed Poliwag. With a tap the Poliwag was caught and a short struggle later the Pokeball chimed a successful capture.
"Way to go Misty!" Ash cheered as Misty went to collect her new Pokémon, the girl smiling happily at the cheering as she walked back towards Ash with Pokeball in hand.
"Thanks Ash, it wasn't anything special though." Misty said with a hint of pride as she puffed out her chest at the praise. This movement had the effect of drawing Ash's eyes to the girl's chest before he forced himself to look away so that he wouldn't have to explain why he was blushing to Misty.
"Well I'm going to let Poliwag out to treat it and scan it with my Pokedex." Ash said as he tapped the button on Poliwag's Pokeball letting his new Water Type out. In a flash of white light Ash's Poliwag materialized still looking worse for wear. "Hey there Poliwag, I'm Ash and if you'll let me I'd like to be your Trainer from now on. I'd like to start by healing you up from your injuries if you'd like." Ash soothed the Water Type as Poliwag eyed him tiredly. With a nod of acceptance Poliwag sat down in front of Ash and let him start to help it recover.
"He's so kind to his Pokémon, its sweet." Misty said to herself as she walked towards the trio of Ash, Pikachu, and Poliwag.
"Ok Poliwag, this might sting just a bit but you'll feel better right after." Ash warned the Pokémon as he took out a Potion and sprayed it on his Poliwag's injuries. Poliwag flinched from the slight sting before the injuries began to slowly heal up and disappear from the Tadpole Pokémon's body. "Have some of these too, they'll help you recover." Ash said as he plucked some Oran berries off the nearby bush and placed them in front of Poliwag. The Water Type happily used its' tail to bring the berries to it's' mouth and eat them one by one while Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned his new Pokémon.
"Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon, its newly grown legs prevent it from walking well. It appears to prefer swimming over walking. Its slick skin is thin and damp. A part of its internal organs can be seen through the skin as a spiral pattern. This Poliwag is Male, Type Water; known moves are Water Gun and Watersport." The Pokedex's robotic voice listed off Poliwag's information.
"That's pretty handy, Ash, what else can it do?" Misty asked curiously. To her knowledge the first Pokedex was made by Professor Oak almost twenty five years ago. Now days the Pokedex project was an international scientific research project and about a dozen new trainers a year per region were given a Pokedex to assist with data collection. Each of the dozen trainers were always picked by Pokémon Professors that were licensed to give out Starter Pokémon as well so only a few trainers a year got to own the rather useful item.
"It can also tell you a Pokémon's Ability. I discovered that about an hour after I first scanned my Pokémon. Pikachu's Ability is Static and my Riolu's Ability is Inner Focus." Ash replied as he hit a button on his Pokedex changing it to Ability Identifier mode. "Let's check Poliwag's Ability." A quick scan and the Pokedex began to speak again.
"This Poliwag's Ability is Water Absorb. This Ability allows Poliwag to heal when soaked in water making Water Type moves ineffective against this Pokémon." The Pokedex stated.
"That's cool; do you think you can scan my Poliwag for moves and Ability?" Misty asked hopefully.
"Not if it's out of its' Pokeball. The Pokedex is programmed not to scan the moves and Abilities of other Trainer's Pokémon. It's to prevent things like cheating by knowing an opponent's moves and Ability ahead of time." Ash stated before holding out his hand. "But I can scan it if I put the Pokeball directly in front of the scanner."
"Thanks Ash, this will be a big help to start out Poliwag's training." Misty thanked him as she let Ash scan her Poliwag's Pokeball.
"This Poliwag is Female and knows the moves Water Gun, Watersport, and Hypnosis." The Pokedex informed. A quick button press and another scan gave the Ability information. "This Poliwag's Ability is Water Absorb."
"Huh, I guess your Poliwag is a bit older than mine. She knows Hypnosis already, but we'll catch up soon right Poliwag?" Ash asked his new Water Type getting a noise of confirmation from the eating Tadpole Pokémon.
"I know my Staryu has the Ability Natural Cure and the moves Harden, Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Recover, Psywave, and Swift. But that's because you can find out that information at the Pokémon Center." Misty said as she pet her Staryu.
"Wow six moves, you must've had Staryu for a while. Most wild Pokémon only know three or four moves except on rare occasions." Ash replied while recalling his now recovered Poliwag. "So what now, do you plan to keep fishing here or are you heading out?"
"I'm going to head to Viridian on my bike, if I leave now I'll be able to get there before those clouds turn into rain." Misty replied as she pointed to a bike leaned up against a tree a few meters down from where they had been fishing. Ash looked up at the sky noticing that the clouds had gathered while they'd been fishing and they probably only had an hour or two at most before the rain would begin. With a bike Misty had a good chance of getting to Viridian before the rain hit.
"Alright then, it was great meeting you Misty. Have a safe trip to Viridian City." Ash said as he gave the girl a short bow.
"Thanks Ash, it was nice meeting you too." Misty replied with a smile as she returned her Staryu and started walking towards her bike. A large splash of water and a terrifying roar stopped both Trainers in their tracks before they could part ways. Turning back towards the river and the source of the noise both Trainers saw a Gyarados roaring from within the river while glaring at them. With a motion of its' massive serpentine body the Gyarados quickly whipped up a fearsome gale of wind that began to form into a spiraling tower in front of the large Water/Flying Type Pokémon.
"Oh man, that's a Twister attack!" Ash yelled as he quickly grabbed Misty's hand and ran for cover behind the trees with her and Pikachu. Gyarados unleashed the Twister attack shortly after the trio had found cover amongst the trees of the forest; the wild column of wind and Dragon Type aura throwing around everything in its path before tearing apart dozens of branches from the trees.
"Hold on tight!" Misty yelled as she, Ash, and Pikachu were gripping on to a strong tree while the vicious wind ripped through the forest around them. After a few moments the attack dispersed and the trio was able to loosen their grip on the old tree.
"You think it's gone?" Ash whispered to Misty as they tried to be as quiet as possible.
"I don't know. Without knowing what set Gyarados off we can't be sure that we're its intended targets or if it's just lashing out at everything." Misty replied back quietly.
"I'll peek out and check." Ash volunteered as he and Pikachu slowly poked their heads out from behind the tree and scanned the area. Not seeing the Gyarados in the immediate area the two turned to Misty and shook their heads. Misty sighed before the trio walked out of the forest and back to where they started to observe the area.
"Oh no, my bike!" Misty cried out in shock at the sight of her mangled bicycle. It looked as if the bike had been hit by the Twister attack and thrown against the trees at high speed on top of that. "What am I going to do now?" she lamented as she looked over the wreck of aluminum and steel.
"Sorry about your bike Misty, I'll stay with you until we get to Viridian if it'll make you feel better." Ash offered with Pikachu nodding on his shoulder.
"Thanks Ash, but are you sure, you don't have somewhere else to be do you?" Misty questioned not wanting to keep Ash from being somewhere else he might need to be. Suddenly the Gyarados from before broke through the surface of the river with a deafening roar and leered down at the Trainers.
"Watch out!" Ash yelled as he put himself between the Gyarados and Misty. "Pikachu hit it with Thundershock and I'll try and scare it away!" Ash called out getting Pikachu to jump off his shoulder and let loose a Thundershock at the Gyarados.
"Ash don't be crazy! How are you going to scare a Gyarados? We should escape!" Misty called out from behind him a slight chill of cool air hitting Ash's back for some unknown reason.
"Don't worry Misty! I've got a plan!" Ash yelled back over the roar of pain Gyarados let out as it was hit with the four times effective Electric Type attack. Ash gathered up his aura and enhanced his lungs and vocal chords for the technique he was about to perform. As soon as Pikachu's attack ended Ash opened his mouth and let out what could only be described as a Roar! "Graaaahhhh!" Almost visible waves of sound travelled across the area sending Pidgey flying from the trees and causing nearby Rattata to scurry away in terror. The Gyarados, still trying to get over the effects of getting hit with Pikachu's Thundershock, stiffened up at the loud sound as it's' brain registered danger and it quickly dove back into the river and began rapidly swimming downstream towards the ocean.
"Ash?" Misty mumbled in shock at what her new friend had just done.
"Yeah, I should probably explain, huh?" Ash asked as he turned towards Misty while rubbing the back of his head. It wasn't until he looked at Misty that he realized where the slight chill in the air had come from; for surrounding Misty's hands was a dense pure white mist, perfectly imitating the Mist technique used by Ice Type Pokémon. "Misty?" he questioned as he became slightly shocked too.
"You can use Aura!" both Trainers exclaimed at the same time as they pointed at each other, the mist around Misty's hands dispersing as her arm moved.
"Well, I mean, yeah. I'm from the Ketchum Family we can all use Aura, we're born with it active." Ash explained as he stared at his new friend. "How do you know about it?"
"My…parents…they taught me and my sisters before they…passed." Misty replied sadness creeping into her voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry or bring up bad memories." Ash apologized as he raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"No…it's okay. It's been a few years now. Just thinking about it gets to me sometimes." Misty responded as she looked back at Ash with a lopsided smile.
"If I may ask, what's your last name Misty?" Ash questioned his new friend gently not wanting to upset the girl again.
"Heh, figured you'd ask that next." Misty chuckled lightly. "It's Waterflower, Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City."
"Yeah, that would explain it. You're from a Gym Leader family." Ash smiled at her gently. Among the few people in the world that still practiced Aura, Gym Leaders and sometimes their families were among the most common. It was actually a requirement to be either adept at Aura use or a full-fledged Master before becoming a Gym Leader in any Region affiliated with the International Pokémon League. Only Aura Masters were ever permitted to join the Elite Four or become Champion of a Region as well. Mostly because the defense of a Region from criminals, violent wild Pokémon, or even Legendary Pokémon incidents were dealt with by Gym Leaders in their own towns and cities and the Elite Four and Champion if the Region itself was threatened.
The actual military of a Region was only used for full-scale war, defense against invasion by hostile powers, or if a situation had gotten so bad that military force was needed to resolve it. Thankfully the world hadn't had a war in the last couple decades, most of the Regions preferring peace as long as they could maintain it.
Most Trainers didn't use or even know about Aura and this was what gave those that had put in the blood, sweat, and tears to learn and master the power the advantage in Pokémon Battles. Aura gave a Trainer better insight into the battles between Pokémon, from timing to reading the battle field; an Aura user would have a much better grasp of the entirety of the battle as compared to a normal Trainer. This was why most Trainers that actually beat a League Tournament and gained the right to challenge the Elite Four often failed to defeat any of them.
"So was that a Roar technique you just used?" Misty questioned as the two moved past the awkwardness of Misty's parental situation.
"Yeah, it probably only worked because Gyarados was already in pain, but it sends most of the weaker Pokémon running for the hills." Ash chuckled as Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder.
"Still I was going to use the Mist technique to cover the area and have us escape while Gyarados couldn't see us." Misty sighed as she looked back at her destroyed bike. "I was planning on being back in Viridian before the rain hit, but without my bike I won't be able to make it back before nightfall much less before it starts raining. I only brought my rucksack because I wasn't planning on doing any camping, I don't even have a sleeping bag for the night."
"Well I have a tarp and a one person tent. We can use those to camp out tonight and head out first thing in the morning." Ash suggested as he pulled the mentioned items from his large pack.
"You mean share a one person tent? Wouldn't that mean we'd have to be pressed up against each other?" Misty asked nervously. She wasn't the type of girl to just sleep next to some guy she just met even if he was nice enough.
"What? No, no, I meant I'd let you have the tent for the night and I'd set up the tarp over it and sleep under it to keep dry. As long as it doesn't start raining sideways for some reason I should be fine with just my cold weather coat as a blanket." Ash responded nervously, he didn't want Misty to think he was that kind of guy.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything." Misty said touched by how much Ash was willing to do so that she would be comfortable for the night.
"Yeah it's fine, you've lost your bike and weren't expecting to camp out, so helping out seems like the right thing to do." Ash stated with a grin as he found a clear spot in the forest a little way away from the river and unstrapped the single person tent. The tent did exactly what it was designed for and popped up almost completely by itself, all Ash had to do was take the set of stakes that came with it and drive them into the ground in the designated areas built into the tent itself to keep it from moving. After that he handed his rolled up sleeping bag to Misty and motioned for her to set herself up inside the tent. Misty had done so after a heartfelt thank you to Ash.
With the tent set up and Misty getting herself situated for sleeping later that night; Ash went about unfolding his tarp and setting it up with some of the long branches the Gyarados had broken from the trees with its' Twister attack. The tarp covered a fairly large square footage because it was rather thin, the amount of space would more than cover the small one person tent with room left for Ash to stay dry as well. Thankfully the tarp, even though thin, was completely waterproof and could hold up even under a heavy rain as long as the wind didn't pick up much.
After getting the tent and tarp set up Ash estimated they had only about an hour to get some food cooked up before it started raining so he asked Misty to gather some firewood while he got out some packaged vegetables, a kit with some basic seasonings in it, most importantly salt and pepper, and a package of dried noodles that came with a package of bouillon powder for flavoring. He'd once seen his father improvise a dish like this on a camping trip they'd taken together and it was a fairly simple meal that would still be filling. A few minutes later Misty came back with an armload of firewood and Ash asked her to fill up his largest pot, a mere ten inches across but about five inches deep, with water so they could filter and boil it for cooking up their dinner. It was a short time later that a bubbling pot of flavored noodles and vegetables was simmering over their campfire. Ash quickly dished out a portion for Misty in his only bowl while he ate out of a smaller pot from the set his mother had gotten for him.
"Ash, this is actually pretty good." Misty said with some surprise as she ate from her bowl.
"Thanks, I once saw my dad make something similar on a camping trip so I was pretty sure I could recreate it." Ash replied with a smile. By this time the clouds had covered the sky completely and it looked like the rain would start any second. "Well we've at least had dinner even if it is a few hours early. Now just got to feed our Pokémon and we'll be good to sleep through the rain."
With that Ash and Misty released their Pokémon for dinner. Pikachu, Riolu, Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, and two Poliwags were soon getting their fill of local berries as well as finishing off what remained of the noodle soup. After everyone had eaten Ash and Misty returned their Pokémon, excluding Pikachu, back to their individual Pokeballs and set about putting out the fire and quickly cleaning the dishes. The two had just finished putting the last of the dishes away when the first drops of rain hit the tarp above them.
"Thanks for everything Ash; I really appreciate all of this." Misty thanked him again as she entered the tent.
"No problem Misty, I've got my big pack to sleep on and my cold weather jacket for a blanket I'll be fine for a night as warm as this one. The pack might need to be rearranged for more comfort as an impromptu mattress but I'll take care of that." Ash replied as he pulled his cold weather jacket out of his pack and started getting his pack organized to be a makeshift mattress.
"Good night, Ash." Misty said with a nod as she closed the tent and zipped it up.
"Night Misty, sleep tight." Ash replied as he got his pack set up and he laid on it with Pikachu jumping up onto his chest to sleep as Ash draped the large fluffy jacket over the both of them. No one in the camp knew that the next morning in the rays of the sun a Legendary Pokémon would be seen by Ash Ketchum for the first time.
-End Chapter-
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So how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know with reviews!
So Ash and Misty both caught a Poliwag! Wonder which evolutionary route they'll go down?
Not to mention we got to see Aura being used in a real scenario in the wild. Did you enjoy the Aura use? Were you surprised Misty could use Aura?
Did you notice that I'm not skimping on the daily necessities involved with what is essentially backpacking across the Region? I always felt that the show could have shown at least a few more scenes involving what it takes to be a travelling Pokémon Trainer, like camping and proper preparedness for the realities of travelling the wilds for days on end before reaching another town or city.
Anyway I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Until next time, later!
