Yo! It's Zeomancy AKA Zeo here, bringing you the second chapter of the triple update! I guess now it's kind of like a New Years Eve Special, huh? Yeah, let's roll with that. I hope you all enjoyed chapter one and I hope you even further enjoy Chapter 2!
And with aaaaaaaaall that out of the way...
Master Quest: Kanto Saga!
Chapter 2:
"The Adventure Begins!"
Opening: "Dream Shooter", By "Sea A"
"Let the battle begin!"
Neither opponent wasted time on that front.
"Charmander, use Scratch!" Ash ordered as soon as Professor Oak dropped his arms. Charmander's finers were coated in glowing white light as it ran forward.
"Squirtle, dodge and use Leer!" Cheren shouted, and Squirtle ducked underneath Charmander's first swing, it's eyes momentarily glowing before it jumped back to avoid the second. Ash briefly wondered why Cheren didn't use a damaging move, but quickly pushed that thought to the side. He didn't have time to waste on that. He had a battle to win!
"Charmander, try another Scratch!" Ash repeated, and Charmander repeated the steps, fingers glowing as it ran at Squirtle a second time.
"Squirtle, use Bubble," Cheren countered calmly, and Squirtle briefly drew in it's breath, before blowing out a steady stream of bubbles from it's mouth. Ash's eyes widened. He'd totally forgotten about Squirtle's Water Move for a second!
"Quick Charmander, jump up!" He yelled, and Charmander jumped high into the air, cleanly avoiding the bubbles, "Now use Scratch as you fall back down!" Charmander's glowing fingers seem to slightly grow as Charmander pointed downward, it's speed increasing as it plummeted towards Squirtle.
"Using the momentum of the fall to give your attack more impact, that's pretty smart," Cheren complimented, "But it isn't smart enough! Squirtle, roll out the way and use Bubble!" Squirtle barrel rolled to the side, causing Charmander's Scratch to collide with nothing but the ground. before Charmander could regain it's bearings, Squirtle fired a barrage of Bubbles, knocking the fire lizard back a few feet. Charmander winced a bit in pain, but shook it off fairly quickly. It would take more than one Bubble attack to keep Charmander down!
"Charmander, you okay buddy?" Ash called out. Charmander nodded fiercely, slapping it's tail to the ground just to show off how okay it was. Ash grinned. This fight wasn't over yet. Type advantage or not, they were going to win this. Together. "Alright Charmander, use Scratch, one more time!" Charmander rushed at Squirtle again, slashing away with it's glowing hands. Squirtle did everything it could to avoid them, ducking and rolling, leaping over them, but eventually the flurry of swings became too much, and Squirtle caught a scratch to the jaw, sending the water type flying back a bit, but it managed to land on it's feet.
"Squirtle, use another Leer," Cheren ordered, calm as ever despite the attack landing. Squirtle's eyes began to glow again, and Charmander could feel it's defenses dropping. Fortunately, Bubble was a Special Attack, so it wouldn't do any extra damage. It could still win!
"Charmander, try an Ember!" Charmander breathed in, before blowing out a flurry of fiery pellets at Squirtle.
"Bubble!" Cheren said quickly, and Squirtle fired another wave of Bubbles from it's mouth. The two attacks met in the middle, the collision causing an explosion of thick white steam to cover the field. Ash smirked.
"Now's our chance! Charmander, use Scratch and give it all you've got!" Charmander strained it's eyes to try and see through the thick steam, finally locating the dark shadow of Squirtle. Smirking much like it's Trainer was, Charmander ran forward, fingers glowing.
"Squirtle, listen for Charmander's foot steps," Cheren ordered, and Squirtle nodded, closing it's eyes to focus. Charmander was approaching closer, closer, closer...
Just as Charmander swung, Squirtle opened it's eyes and back flipped out of the way. The steam finally cleared up, and both Pokemon stood relatively still healthy. Ash and Cheren both had very serious expressions on their faces. This was each of their first battles after all, so naturally, both really wanted to win.
Bianca looked between the two with her usual grin. "They both look so cool!" She gushed, looking up at her own Pokemon. "Right Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur rubbed it's eyes, having barely been paying attention. It saw Charmander and Squirtle, and instantly yawned again. It didn't care much about battling right now, it just wanted to sleep.
"Saur," It replied lazily, and Bianca sweat dropped when the Pokemon went right back to sleeping.
"Charmander, Scratch again!" Ash shouted, and Charmander rushed at Squirtle once more.
"Dodge and use Leer!" Cheren countered the same way he'd done before. Squirtle side stepped the first Scratch, it's eyes starting to glow before it rolled out the way of the second swing. Charmander attempted to swing a third time, but Squirtle rolled under it, stopping once it was a good distance away. "Now use Bubble!"
"Charmander, dodge and try to use Scratch again!" Ash called. He couldn't use Ember too much, because Squirtle was far too fast to get hit. And even if it did hit, it would barely do any damage since Squirtle was a Water Type. Scratch was his only real attack right now, so he just had to keep up the pressure until it worked.
Squirtle fired off another barrage of bubbles, but Charmander jumped to the side to avoid it. Not skipping a beat Charmander got in close range and delivered a fierce scratch in the form of an uppercut, knocking Squirtle into the air.
"Hit'em again while it's in the air and can't dodge!" Ash continued, smirking. it looked like he was finally gaining the upper hand! Charmander jumped into the air, hands still glowing, and delivered an axe handle to Squirtle's gut, sending the turtle Pokemon crashing back down to the ground. Charmander landed a few feet away, watching tensely to see if Squirtle would get up.
That question was answered only a few moments later, when Squirtle crawled back to it's feet. The Scratch had hurt, but Squirtle still had plenty of fuel in the tank. It wouldn't be taken down that easily. it was going to become the strongest Pokemon, after all.
Cheren smirked. That's what he expected from a prideful Pokemon like Squirtle. "Alright Squirtle, use Leer!" Squirtle's eyes took on a familiar eerie glow, and Charmander involuntarily shivered as it's defense dropped even further. Again, Ash was stumped. What was Cheren trying to do? Leer wouldn't help a Special Attack like Bubble, so why did he keep doing it?
"Squirtle, use Bubble!" Squirtle blew out more Bubbles, and Ash decided they'd done enough dodging.
"Use Scratch to knock them all away!" Ash fist pumped the sky as he gave the command, as if he was the one attacking. He was getting fired up, alright. Charmander's hands began to glow, and it's body tensed as it waited for the bubbles to get within reaching distance. As soon as they did, Charmander begaslashing furiously at the Bubbles, knocking them to either side as quick as they came at it, until there was nothing else left to hit. Charmander panted lightly. It had been running and swinging at things for most of the battle, and it's fatigue was starting to show.
But it wasn't done yet.
Not even close.
"That should do it!" Delia said with a grin, zipping Ash's backpack shut. She packed his underwear, socks, jeans, some fresh t shirts, a toothbrush, deodorant, some soap, a face towel, a body towel...
She stopped her train of thought for a moment when a particular object caught her eye. She smiled warmly as she picked the object off of Ash's dresser. It was a photo of herself, Ash, and his father, all standing together. Ash was about seven at the time, and this was one of the most recent pictures of Ash's father that he had.
"I'm sure he'll want this, too," She unzipped his bag, taking the picture out of the frame, folding it, and placing it inside the bag. Zipping it back up, Delia made her way downstairs, heading out the back door to see how their battle was going. Spotting Bianca and the Professor watching a few feet away, she decided to stand near them.
"So, how's everything going?" She questioned as she reached them. Bianca and the Professor both turned to the sudden voice, but relaxed when they saw who it was.
"Oh, hi Ms. Ketchum!" Bianca greeted, "Everything's really intense! Ash and Cheren are super good!" Delia smiled at that. She knew battling was in both their blood. Ash's father and herself were both good battlers back in their day, and Cheren's father was a former member of the Elite Four before resigning to continue his training.
"Indeed, those two are quite something. We definitely made the right call in giving them Pokemon, it seems to come naturally to them," Professor Oak agreed.
"That's my Ash," She replied, and the trio returned their attention to the battle at hand.
"Charmander, Scratch!"
"Squirtle, dodge it and use Bubble!"
The heated battle between Ash and Cheren hadn't slowed down one bit. It was nonstop attacking and evading for both sides, and despite the exhaustion that was beginning to set in,neither Pokemon showed any sign of backing down.
Charmander ran at Squirtle before it's hands could even begin to glow, but they were glowing by the time Charmander swung with a long right. Squirtle leaned back to avoid the swing, before firing a stream of bubbles at Charmander's face.
"Charmander, lean back and trip it with your tail!" Ash shouted, and Charmander copied Squirtle, leaning back to dodge the Bubbles before using it's long tail to whip at Squirtle's legs, tripping it over and causing it to land on it's back. "Now use Scratch!" Charmander brought it's glowing hand down smack dab in center of Squirtle's expose belly, causing the latter to wheeze for air.
"Squirtle, try and use Bubble again!" Squirtle winced in pain, but managed to shoot a stream of bubbles that hit Chamander right between the eyes, causing it to stumble backwards a bit. Charmander shook it off, although it was definitely feeling the pain now. It couldn't take much more, but neither could Squirtle. The next big move would end it for sure.
Ash and Cheren both looked up at the same time, and as if some conversation happened between the two, both nodded at each other. the others weren't sure what, but the two had agreed on something.
"Charmander, let's give it one last go, alright?" Ash called out to the fire starter. Charmander nodded it's head, slapping it's tail against the ground. it was ready to finish this battle once and for all.
"Squirtle, this'll be our final effort, so give it everything you have," Cheren said calmly, and Squirtle nodded as well, tensing up. That Charmander was it's first obstacle on the road to being the strongest Pokemon. it was not going to lose, not now, not ever.
Meanwhile, Profesor Oak seemed to finally catch on to what they were doing.
"They intend on ending the battle with this final clash," He noted, and the other two spectators both raised their eyebrows, Bianca especially, as she grew even more excited.
"It's like one of those cowboy showdowns!" She said excitedly, bouncing up and down. "This is so awesome! Isn't it awesome, Bulbasaur?" She looked up to her starter, who lazily looked up at the battle again. They both looked tired, just like it was. Maybe they wanted to take a nap too...
"Bulba," Bulbasaur muttered, before going back to sleep. The trio sweat dropped. Just how long did Bulbasaur plan on sleeping?
"Alright Cheren, I hope you're ready, because you're about to get all the power we've got!" Ash called out to his friend. Cheren smirked, adjusting his glasses.
"Same to you Ash, you're about to see just how strong we are!" the two both smiled the most sincere smiles they'd had all battle as they seemed to speak at the same time. Without even waiting on their commands, Charmander and Squirtle ran at each other.
"Charmander, Scratch!"
"Squirtle, Pound!" Ash's eyes widened as he heard Cheren's command. Pound? Why was he using that all of a sudden? He'd only been using Bubble and Leer until now...wait a second...
Charmander's hand was coated in blinding white light, as was Squirtle's fist, and as the two collided, a sudden gust of wind blew throughout the backyard.
"For baby Pokemon, those two sure are strong," Delia commented, and Oak nodded.
"Well, they're in the hands of strong trainers, after all," He replied. Bianca just watched in amazement.
Both Charmander and Squirtle stood sluggishly on their respective sides, staring at each other with eyes that showed no sign of defeat. After what felt like an eternity of the two staring each other down...
Charmander collapsed to the ground.
"The battle has been decided!" Professor Oak's voice broke the sudden silence as he stepped back onto the battlefield, "And the winner is Cheren!" Bianca and Delia both clapped as Cheren smiled proudly, returning Squirtle to it's Pokeball.
"Thank you, everyone," Cheren said politely bowing. Professor Oak patted him on the back.
"Excellent work, Cheren!" The Professor commented, "That was a very exciting battle!"
"Yeah! It was super cool!" Bianca added, "You guys were like, 'this battle ends now', and your Pokemon were like "grrr!", and then you did your moves and it was "booom!", and "wooosh!", and it was amazing!" Everyone sweat dropped. They, as per usual, had no idea what the heck Bianca was talking about.
Meanwhile, Ash walked over to Charmander, a sad smile on his face. He may have lost, but he'd come so close. He was sure they'd win next time.
"Hey buddy," He said softly, picking up Charmander, who was beginning to regain consciousness, "You did a great job." Charmander teared up a little bit. It had lost it's first battle with Ash. It had let him down, and even then, Ash didn't look mad at all. He was even smiling at it.
"Char," Charmander got teary eyed, and Ash didn't have to speak Pokemon to know Charmander was saying it was sorry it lost.
"It's okay," Ash told it calmly, like his mother did to him when he was young, "You never gave up, and that's what's important. My Dad always told me, 'Never give up until the end', and you didn't. I'm proud of you, Charmander." Charmander couldn't help but let the tears flow as it hugged it's trainer, and Ash just patted the fire lizard's back. He felt the same way that Charmander did. He was frustrated, but he just knew they'd win the next time they battled Cheren.
"Great job to you two as well," Professor Oak said suddenly, drawing the duo's attention.
Cheren, Bianca, Professor Oak, and Delia all clapped for Ash and Charmander as well, causing the two to look at them all in surprise.
"Huh?" Ash muttered, not expecting any applause.
"You almost had me a few times during that battle," Cheren admitted, shaking Ash's hand.
"Yeah! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! You two were awesome!" Bianca complimented, cheery as usual.
"You were great sweetie," Delia finished with a smile, and Ash looked down to Charmander.
"See? Everyone else thinks were did a great job too." Charmander stared at everyone, before looking back up to Ash. They were right. Charmander had nothing to be ashamed of. It had given that battle it's best effort, and it should be proud of that.
"Well, now that the battle's over, you two," Delia pointed to Cheren and Bianca, "Better go tell your parents and get your bags packed too!" Cheren and Bianca blinked. They'd both totally forgotten about that.
"Right, I'll go now. Goodbye everyone," Cheren said politely, running out the back gate and heading out. Bianca looked down in what looked like sadness, until Ash called her.
"Bianca?" Ash called, snapping her out of it. "You okay? You look sad all of a sudden." Bianca frantically waved her hands in front of her face.
"No, nothing's wrong at all! I was just kinda sad i didn't get to battle is all," She lied, laughing a bit too much to sound real, and rushing out of the backyard, leaving Ash puzzled.
"But she said she wanted to watch me and Cheren battle. If she wanted to battle too, why didn't she say that?" He muttered, scratching the back of his head/ meanwhile, Delia and Oak watched her leave with concerned frowns on their faces. Bianca wasn't one to lie or feel too sad in general.
What did she have to hide?
"Are you sure you're ready?" Delia asked for the eighteenth time as she brushed some non existent dust of of Ash's shoulders, and straightened out the wrinkles on his jacket that she'd already straightened twice. Ash sweat dropped. Even he could tell she was just being her usual worried self.
"I'm gonna be fine Mom, don't worry about it," He tried to comfort her, but she just squeezed him tight, a bit too tight for him to breathe properly.
"How can I not worry?" She sniffed, "My baby's about to leave home forever!" Ash sighed. She could really be dramatic when the moment called for it.
"I'm not leaving forever, just until I'm done travelling through Kanto. I'll be back to visit plenty of times, too." Delia sniffed a few more times, before finally letting him go.
"You're right," She sighed finally, "I'm just being a big old worrywart." Giving Ash one last genuine hug, she smiled into his shoulder. "Good luck Ash. I'm rooting for you," She whispered, and Ash nodded.
"I'll do my best, Mom," He assured. her smile turning into a mischievous grin, Delia continued.
"And make sure to change your underwear every single day." Ash blushed bright red as she released him.
"Mom!" Ash groaned, and the woman chuckled at his reaction.
"It's about time you get going. Don't want to keep Cheren and Bianca waiting too long," She handed him his backpack, and placed his signature hat on his head. Ash nodded, and headed for the door.
"I hope you'll be watching the Indigo League, Mom," Ash gave her a thumbs up, "Because I'm gonna be winning it!" With that Ash was gone, leaving Delia alone in the Ketchum household.
"I promise you Ash," She whispered to herself, "I'll be watching." She flopped down on the couch, looking at the mess the children and Professor Oak had left behind.
"I'm gonna miss having Ash around to help clean the house," She sighed, before closing her eyes. "But for now, it can wait."
"No. Absolutely not," A man's voice denied. That voice belonged to Gregory Belle, the father of Bianca. "There's no way I'm letting you go on a journey." Bianca looked absolutely crushed at his decision. She'd known it was coming, but even still, she wanted to deny the feeling of sadness that she'd felt in the back of her mind when Professor Oak first said she could have a Pokemon. She'd tried to believe that maybe, just maybe, her father would say something different, that he'd have a miraculous change of heart, but deep down inside she'd known.
She'd always known.
She'd known she could never go on a Pokemon Journey.
But even though she knew, she still had to try. If only for them.
"But Dad," She argued, ignoring the tears in her eyes, "I got a Pokemon and Pokedex from Professor Oak and everything! He thinks I'm ready to go on a Journey, why don't you?"
"Professor Oak isn't your father, I am!" Greg snapped, causing her to flinch. "Professor Oak doesn't know a thing about our family, and he doesn't know a thing about you!" Lydia, Greg's wife, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Greg..." She she began, but he cut her off.
"No! I'm tired of her bringing this up! I told you, you aren't ready to go on a Journey! Pokemon Journeys are too dangerous for you, there's thieves and rapists and murderers out there!" He shouted, and Lydia frowned. She knew how overprotective Greg could be with Bianca, but this was just too much.
"And those same people were out there when we journeyed as kids," She pointed out, "And when our parents did it, and when their parents did it! They've always been here, Greg, it's just a fact of life! You can't protect her from the world forever!"
"I'm not protecting her from the world, I'm protecting her from herself!" Greg turned to his wife, "I've known Bianca her whole life, I'm her father, and I know that she's not ready for the responsibility of being a Pokemon Trainer! She's too reckless, and she doesn't even have a reason to go on a journey! She isn't doing anything but following Ash and Cheren!" Flinching again, Bianca stood there, teary eyed, as her parents argued. Her father was right. She was nothing but a stupid little girl riding her friends' coat tails. Deep down inside, she'd known it all along.
She'd always known.
Like her dad said, she didn't even have a goal, like Ash and Cheren did. She was just tagging along for the ride because she thought Pokemon were cute, and she didn't want to get left behind by her only real friends. She didn't want to collect badges or do anything special like them, she was just becoming a Trainer for no reason. She was so stupid!
She should've never taken a Pokemon from Professor Oak.
"She's just not ready for the responsibility of being a Pokemon Trainer!"
She should've never thought about going a journey.
"She's too Reckless,"
She should've never even asked in the first place.
"And she doesn't even have a reason to go out on a journey! She isn't doing anything but following Ash and Cheren!"
"Mom...it's okay. Dad's right. I'm not ready," Bianca said suddenly, head bowed. Lydia and Greg both turned to the blonde, who was wiping tears out of her eyes. "I was only doing it to follow Ash and Cheren, but a Pokemon Journey's supposed to be taken seriously. I'm sorry for wasting your time. I'll go and give Bulbasaur back to the Professor." Nobody else said a word as Bianca slowly made her way to the door. Bulbasaur, who had slept through it all, didn't protest when it was returned to it's Pokeball.
When she pulled the door open she spotted Ash, heading towards her house and smiling as usual. She'd almost forgotten that she had to break the news to Ash and Cheren too. She kept walking until she reached the sidewalk, where Ash was now waiting for her.
"You ready to go Bianca? I'm sure Cheren's already waiting for us in front of his house, he's always early for stuff like this." When Bianca didn't respond, Ash frowned in concern. "Uh, Bianca? You okay?"
"Ash, I'm really sorry, but, um, I'm not gonna be going with you guys after all." She didn't look up from the ground to see Ash's reaction, but she imagined that he was surprised, to say the least.
"What? Why?" Ash questioned, his frown changing from one of concern to one of confusion. Bianca bit her lip and blinked back the tears. She'd already cried in the house, she wasn't gonna cry again.
"My Dad said no," She explained, and before Ash could march into the house, Bianca continued, "And he's right about everything he said." Those words caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
"Whadd'ya mean he was right?" Ash couldn't understand what would make Bianca think she shouldn't go on a Journey. All you had to do was be ten, she was definitely old enough. So what was the issue?
Bianca sighed. She should've known he wouldn't just let her go without a reason. "I'm always making mistakes, even doing little things like walking downstairs and pronouncing words. If I act like that on a Journey, I'd just hurt myself and get in your way," She felt the tears coming back, but forced them away again. She couldn't mess this up too, not like she did with everything else. "And I don't even have a real reason to be a Trainer, I only wanted to go because you and Cheren are, not because I want to be a Pokemon Master or anything else. If I went with you two, i'd just hold you and Cheren back, so you're better off without-"
"Stop!" Bianca's eyes widened at Ash's sudden interruption. "Stop putting yourself down like that!" Ash's eyes seemed to light on fire as he stared into Bianca's with a passion she usually only saw when he was talking about Pokemon or his next meal. Greg, wondering why he was hearing so much talking outside, came to the door, but stopped once he saw Ash talking to Bianca.
"You can make mistakes, that's okay. And you can not have a clue what you wanna do, that's okay too! A Pokemon Journey's about more than goals and all that serious stuff, it's also about fun! You try and reach your goals because that goal is fun! Me and Cheren love everything about Pokemon, and we think that Pokemon Battles are fun. That's why our goals are to be Pokemon Masters!" Ash stopped for a moment, before extending his fist to Bianca. "Maybe Gym Battles aren't your thing, but as long as you keep doin' what's fun to you, I'm sure you'll find your goal!"
Bianca finally let the tears fall, but this time her tears were ones of joy rather than ones of sadness. She was so focused on her problems that she'd forgotten what she had forgotten what a Pokemon Journey was even about! She wanted to have fun, and maybe discover what she wanted to do along the way. Wiping away her tears, she grinned as wide as she ever had, fist bumping Ash.
"Thanks for reminding me of what a journey's about Ash! I'm gonna try and get my Dad to let me go!" A fired up Bianca thanked, but before she could act on those words, a third voice spoke up.
"That won't be necessary," Greg said suddenly, causing the two kids to turn to the door of Bianca's house. Bianca and Ash's eyes both widened in surprise. They hadn't noticed him there the entire time.
"Dad, how long have you been there?" Bianca questioned.
"I heard the whole thing, and Ash, you were right. A goal is something acquired on a Journey, but a journey isn't started by having a goal. It's started by having a desire to go on one, and even if it's a shallow reason behind it, her desire is very real. I can't deny that." Bianca and Ash both grinned. did that mean what they thought it meant?
"However," He continued, "That still doesn't change the fact that this world is dangerous. And it doesn't change the fact that my daughter could get hurt, or even die out there. Goal or not, I can't trust my Daughter to fend off criminals and other terrible people just because she wants to travel." So she still couldn't go. Her father had already heard everything she was going to say, and even if he hadn't, she still couldn't argue against what he was saying. She was very careless and easygoing, she knew that, and that could cause her to get hurt on a Pokemon Journey. Even after everything that Ash said...
"Then trust me." Both Bianca and her father turned to the aforementioned boy in surprise.
"What?" Greg couldn't help but ask, and Ash pointed his fist at Greg, much like he had with Bianca.
"Trust me!" Ash repeated, If you can't trust Bianca to handle a Journey on her own, then trust me instead. I'll protect her!" Greg looked down at the boy in disbelief. Where did he get the nerve to go around making bold statements like that?
"And what makes you any different? You're a kid too," Greg pointed out, "Why should I put my Daughter's life in your hands?"
"Because she's my friend!" Ash declared.
Greg raised a brow. He felt a tiny bit of nostalgia, but put the memory aside. "And what does that have to do with her safety?" Ash smiled again, before pointing to his heart.
"My Dad told me the most important thing I'd ever have is my family," He explained, "To me, friends are family, and Bianca's one of my best friends! She's family, so that means I'm gonna protect her with all I've got!" Again, Greg and Bianca found themselves surprised.
For Bianca, this wasn't how Ash usually acted. Neither of them were the super emotional type, so Ash rarely, if ever, talked about how much she and Cheren meant to him, simply because it never came up, so she had never thought that she was that important in his eyes to be considered family.
For Greg, there was a heavy sense of Deja vu. He'd heard those words before, and he'd heard them from the same man that Ash heard them from. Life was funny that way. He was getting the same speech he'd gotten nearly two decades ago that he was getting right now. Out of nowhere, Greg started laughing like a mad man, clutching his stomach. Ash and Bianca watched with confused expressions as Greg laughed hysterically, like he'd heard the funniest joke he'd ever been told, like he was on the gas the dentist gave Ash when he got a tooth pulled. Once the man finally calmed himself down, he took a deep breath. For a moment there had been a different boy standing in Ash's place.
"Alright then Ash, i'll leave the protection of my Daughter in your hands." Greg then quickly turned around, crossing his arms. "Now get going before i change my mind." Ash and Bianca grinned at each other, high-fiving, before turning around towards Cheren's house, which was down the street from Bianca's.
"Thanks Dad! Bye!" Bianca called back as the two left off, and Greg sighed heavily.
"Those kids, I swear." He turned around to the sound of giggling, to see his wife standing there.
"I'm proud of you, honey. You finally stopped being so overprotective." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before giggling again. "And Ash was pretty charming down there, sticking up for her, don't you think?" As she walked off, Greg's eyes narrowed in parental fury.
"If that boy lays a hand on my Bianca..." He growled, watching the kids walk off.
Ash and Bianca sweat dropped as they approached Cheren's house. They knew they had taken a lot longer than he'd expected, and judging by how he usually acted when they were late, this wasn't gonna go over too well. When they finally reached the steps, their theory was proven correct. Cheren was standing in front of his door, arms crossed and his scowl even more scary then usual as he tapped his foot patiently against the ground.
"What took you so long? I've been here for half an hour!" He huffed, and both kids laughed nervously. Yep, he was upset alright.
"Soo~rry," Bianca apologized, "But we're here now, so it's fine!" Cheren face palmed at her logic.
"No it isn't! That's not how that works!" Cheren sighed, adjusting his glasses, before shaking his head. "Whatever, let's get going." Ash and Bianca laughed as the trio made their way to the exiting point of Pallet Town, the beginning of Route One. As the trio stood on the edge of their home town, a thought suddenly came to Bianca's head.
"Hey guys, can I ask you two a favor?" Bianca questioned suddenly, and the two boys both turned to the blonde, one curious and one slightly less curious, and still irritated from earlier.
"What is it?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
Bianca scratched the back of her head. "Well, since we all became Trainers together," She began,"I kinda wanted to take our first steps out of Pallet Town together too!" Cheren pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Seriously? That's just plain corny," He deadpanned, "Absolutely not." Ash threw his arm over Cheren's shoulders, grinning.
"Aw c'mon Cheren, don't be so serious. Just let her have this one," He egged the boy on, "It won't hurt you." Cheren sighed in defeat once Ash let him go. He couldn't believe he was about to do this.
"Fine," He grumbled, and Bianca jumped up and down in celebration.
"Alright!" She cheered, and together, the trio turned back towards the road ahead of them. "On the count of three! One!"
Ash turned his hat backwards. One final step, and his life would change forever. "Two!"
Cheren rolled his eyes. This was still too cheesy. "Three." And in a single step, Pallet Town, the only place they'd ever known, stood behind them...
And a whole new world loomed ahead.
And there goes Chapter 2! I know Ash kinda friend zoned Bianca this Chapter with the whole "friends are family" thing, but it's only Chapter 2, so fear not my dear readers. The ship has not sank.
'Till next time,
Peace!