Ash and co.
"The forest sure is peaceful," Serena said. The quartet had been walking through the forest for about 10 minutes now, and they were fairly deep inside the woods outside of Lumiose City.
"Yeah, I agree," Clemont said. "It's a great place to find Pokémon in their natural habitat."
"Speaking of Pokémon," Ash jumped in, "Maybe I can find my next Kalos region Pokémon here!"
"Yeah! I hope it's a cute one!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Will you let me take care of it Ash, please please please?"
"Of course! But first I have to catch it," Ash replied. Suddenly a rustle came from the bushes.
"Here's your chance, Ash!" Serena said, turning towards the bush.
"You ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner.
"Pikachu!" the tiny mouse Pokémon replied, hopping off his trainer's shoulder. Sparks came from his cheeks as he put on a determined expression. The bushes continued to rustle, getting more violent by the second. The quartet stood where they were, looking at the bushes, Bonnie tightly clutching her brother's jumpsuit. Then, out of the blue, a growl was heard. One that sounded like something mad. Suddenly, out from the bushes jumped a huge orange-furred creature. It had no eyes, a massive mouth with large, pointy teeth, and it's fur seemed to be tough and sturdy instead of soft and fluffy. It also had a strange metal plate on its left shoulder with some sort of symbol that looked like a white hourglass on it. Ash and co. took a step back, gasping in awe.
"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash asked, taking out his Pokédex.
"I've never seen anything like it before!" Clemont mused.
"It's kinda cute!" Bonnie added. The creature growled at the comment, as if it understood. Ash scanned it with the Pokédex, but no picture cake up. Instead, it spoke.
"No Pokémon detected. Please point the Pokédex at a Pokémon."
"Huh, that's weird," Ash said.
"You got that right. That thing isn't a Pokémon?" Serena added. "It sure looks like one to me." The creature growled again, this time sounding confused.
"Well, let's try and catch it, just to be sure the Pokédex is right," Ash said. Pikachu lifted up his ears a little. "You ready, buddy?"
"Pika!"
"Alright, then let's use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu started generating electricity, and finally shot a bolt of lightning at the orange creature. The creature leaped out of the way, rebounded off a tree, and started running through the woods.
"Ah! Come back!" Ash shouted, beginning to run after the monstrous creature, Pikachu close behind. Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont began to run as well, Clemont wishing his friends wouldn't run so much.
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball at that thing!" Ash called to his partner.
"Pikachu!" the electric type said, jumping in the air. Electricity began to gather on his tail, forming a ball. Once it got big enough, he cast it at the orange dog-like creature. It hit it square in the back, knocking it over. It yelped in pain as the ball of electricity hit its back and drove it into the ground. It remained on the ground, panting.
"Alright, here goes. Let's see if the Pokédex was right," Ash said, taking a Pokéball out of his pocket once he caught up to the creature. His friends were close behind, Clemont drenched in sweat and panting. Ash tossed the Pokéball on the creature. It bounced off the animal and onto the ground, but nothing else happened.
"So the Pokédex was right," Serena mused.
"I wonder what this thing is," Bonnie said, walking to take a closer look at the beast.
"Maybe it's not from here," Clemont suggested as soon as he caught his breath.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"Well, if it's not a Pokémon, then it can't be anything from here, right?"
"I guess," Ash replied, thinking.
"Do you think we should keep it?" Bonnie asked, kneeling down by the creature. She stroked it's arm, feeling how tough it's fur was.
"Bonnie, be careful! That thing could be dangerous!" Clemont shouted in alarm as he watched his younger sister place her hand on the beast.
"Relax, Clemont. I think it's asleep or something," Bonnie replied. Then her facial expression changed suddenly as her hand got a bit deeper in the creature's fur. She took her hand off the creature, red liquid on her fingertips. "Eww, that's gross!"
"Oh no, it's hurt!" Serena exclaimed, worry clouding her eyes. Suddenly, the hourglass shape started flashing red, and a beeping noise came from it.
"What the-," Ash started. He was interrupted by a bright flash of red light. Everyone shielded their eyes from the bright light. Once it faded, everyone gasped.
In the creature's place was a boy, about age 10, laying face down in the dirt. He had brown hair and was wearing a white t-shirt with black tipping the sleeves, around the collar, and on a stripe down the front, army green cargo pants, and black and white shoes. He had cuts and scrapes all over him, a particularly large gash on his left arm. He groaned, signaling to the quartet that stood above him that he was in pain.
"Oh my gosh, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Serena screeched.
"That creature… It turned into a boy… But how?" Clemont pondered this, pupils tiny with shock at what just happened. Then he noticed a strange-looking watch on the boy's left wrist. It had the same hourglass shape on its face but in red.
"I wonder…" he said to himself, quietly so only he could hear.
"Forget what just happened, we have to get him to a hospital!" Ash exclaimed, concern showing in his eyes. "We'll figure out what's happening later!"
"Ash is right! Let's help this poor boy," Serena agreed, sounding much more calm and confident. "But we're nowhere near a hospital, so we'll get help at the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy should be able to help. Ash, you grab his left arm and put it around the back of your neck. I'll do the same with his right arm. We can carry him to the Pokémon Center just up ahead." Ash nodded and lifted the boy up with Serena on his other side. He was about as tall as Ash, so his feet dragged on the ground a bit. Pikachu followed close behind the trio looking worried. Bonnie looked frightened. Clemont noticed this and took concern for his little sister.
"Are you okay, Bonnie?" he asked.
"Mostly. I'm just so worried about that boy…" Bonnie trailed off, tears gathering in her eyes. One spilled over and started running down her cheek. "He just looked so pained and… sad…" She sniffed, wiping away the tear. Dedenne popped its head out of its pouch, yawning from its long sleep. It saw how sad Bonnie looked and gave the child a small rub with its head, trying to comfort her.
"He'll be okay, I promise," Clemont comforted his sister, kneeling down and giving her a tight hug. She hugged him back, and Clemont lifted her up so they could catch up with Ash and Serena. I really hope that boy will be okay, Clemont thought as he jogged down the path towards the Pokémon Center, Bonnie silently crying in his arms.
—P—
Clemont, with Bonnie still in his arms, burst through the Pokémon Center doors, looking worried. Nurse Joy gasped at the sudden appearance of the pair.
"Is something wrong?" she asked politely, concern clouding her eyes.
"Yes! My friends and I found an injured boy while we were walking in the forest! Can you help us please?" Clemont explained fairly quickly. He set Bonnie down and ran back to the door, opening it when Ash, Serena, and the boy arrived. They sat him down on a pink-cushioned sofa as Nurse Joy quickly came from around the counter towards the boy. Wigglytuff, Nurse Joy's assistant, came rushing over to help in any way it could.
"Oh, the poor dear!" Nurse Joy cooed, kneeling down in front of the boy. "What happened to him?"
"We don't know. We just found him in the forest like this," Ash explained as Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder, Ash glancing at Clemont and Serena saying that they shouldn't tell about the orange creature incident. Bonnie walked over to where everyone was standing and the boy groaned and opened his eyes a bit. Once he could focus his eyes and he saw what was happening, they shot open wide and he jumped a bit. He looked scared.
"Ah! Who- what- where am I?! Grandpa!" he shouted frantically, looking around. He tried to get up, but he cringed and sat back down.
"Relax, you're okay," Nurse Joy said calmly. The boy turned towards Wigglytuff and he leaned back a bit.
"What is that?" he asked looking at the Pokémon. Wigglytuff cocked its head, looking back at the boy. Nurse Joy and everyone else also looked a bit confused.
"That's Wigglytuff, my Pokémon assistant," Nurse Joy replied. Then the boy looked confused.
"What's a Pokémon?" he asked. At that, everyone gasped.
"'What's a Pokémon?'?!" Serena exclaimed. "You must be joking."
"I'm not. What is a Pokémon?" the boy pressed. He looked curious now, and slightly embarrassed. Ash couldn't blame him. After all, asking what a Pokémon was was like asking what water was.
"We'll explain stuff later," Ash jumped in. "First, let's get you cleaned up and get your cuts and scratches taken care of."
"My thoughts exactly," Nurse Joy said, rising from where she was. "I'll be back with a few things to take care of those scrapes." She began walking towards a door behind the desk she was behind just before.
"So you really don't know what a Pokémon is?" Bonnie finally spoke up. The boy turned to look at the little girl and shook his head.
"So, uh, what's your name?" Clemont asked somewhat awkwardly.
"I'm Ben. I guess I should thank you for bringing me here," the boy now known as Ben replied.
"Oh, no problem at all," Serena said.
"Just trying to help each other out," Ash added.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said cheerfully. Ben looked curiously at the little Pokémon.
"Is that a Pokémon too?" he asked, pointing to Pikachu.
"Yup," Ash replied. Then he realized what happened earlier with the Electro Ball. "Sorry about earlier," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.
"That little guy sure packs a wallop," Ben replied, laughing a little. "But I've been through worse." Sure am glad Wildmutt's fur is tough so I didn't get burned, he thought to himself.
"Wow, really?" Clemont asked. This looked pretty bad. How bad was 'worse'?
"You don't know the half of it," Ben said, wincing a bit. The sound of a door shutting signaled that Nurse Joy was back. She had an odd-looking spray bottle and a bundle of bandages in her hands.
"I'll have you fixed up in no time!" she said when she got over to where Ben sat. "Now this might sting a little, but it'll help the wounds heal and stop the pain," the friendly nurse explained, holding the spray bottle. She sprayed it on all of Ben's wounds (9 to be exact), each time he narrowed his eyes a little because it stung. Then, Nurse Joy wrapped the wound on his leg and on his left arm in a bandage.
"So what are all of your names?" Ben asked as the nurse wrapped the bandages around his cuts.
"My name is Ash," Ash said, Then gestured to Pikachu. "And this is Pikachu."
"Pikachu!" the little animal replied, lifting up a paw to saw hello.
"I'm Serena," Serena introduced herself.
"My name's Clemont," Clemont said.
"And I'm Bonnie!" Bonnie said. Suddenly, a little creature popped out of her yellow bag. "This is Dedenne." Bonnie looked down at the little critter.
"Nana!" The creature squeaked.
"I'm Nurse Joy, and this is Wigglytuff," Nurse Joy said.
"Wigglytuff!" the pink Pokémon said.
"There, all done!" Nurse Joy said when she finished wrapping Ben's arm. "How do you feel?"
"A whole lot better," Ben replied, smiling as he stood up to test his leg. "Thanks a bunch!"
"Any time," Nurse Joy replied.
"We better go," Ash said.
"Thanks again Nurse Joy!" Bonnie said as the quintet headed towards the door.
"You're welcome!" she replied, waving and smiling as Bonnie closed the door.
—P—
The group of five had been walking for about five minutes before anyone said anything.
"So, what exactly is a Pokémon?" Ben finally asked, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had blanketed the group.
"Well," Clemont began, "a Pokémon is a creature that can act as a companion to a person who catches it with a Pokéball. Trainers like to battle their Pokémon in gyms and tournaments, especially because most Pokémon have special attacks based on what type it is. Take Pikachu here for example. He can use electric attacks since he's an electric Pokémon."
"That's cool! Now I want one," Ben said. He rubbed Pikachu's fuzzy head a little, making the little critter smile.
"You could probably catch one," Ash replied. "Which reminds me! How did that orange thing turn into you?" At this Ben tensed a bit.
"Oh, right," he said slowly. So much for keeping my secret. But since these people had seen him transform from alien to human, he sighed and began explaining. "It's kind of a long story…"
So he told them about the Omnitrix, how he got it on the first day of summer, and how it allowed him to turn into aliens.
"So far I have 17 or 18 aliens I can turn into," Ben finished.
"Whoa, that's so cool!" Ash exclaimed. "I wish I could do that!"
"Yeah, it would've really cool to be in another being's body!" Serena agreed.
"That is one amazing piece of technology," Clemont said, examining the alien "watch".
"The Omnitrix does have its drawbacks though," Ben admitted.
"How could such an amazing thing have drawbacks?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, for one, it doesn't always give me the alien I choose to be. Like before when I wanted to turn into this plant alien I call Wildvine but instead I got turned into Wildmutt, that orange dog like alien you saw before."
"That doesn't seem so bad," Ash said.
"Well, remember when I said I had been through worse that this?" Ben asked, gesturing to himself. The foursome around him nodded. "The Omnitrix is considered the most powerful thing in the galaxy by many beings, including Vilgax. Vilgax is an evil alien who wants the watch so he can rule the universe. He's normally pretty tough to beat, but I pull through."
Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie stayed quiet for a little bit, staring at the Omnitrix.
"That's… harsh," Ash finally stuttered.
"But he's not the only one I have a grudge against," Ben continued.
"What?!" Serena exclaimed. "How many beings in the universe are after you?"
"That's a good question," Ben replied, thinking. After pondering this for a minute, he finally answered her question: "At least 15."
"15?!" Bonnie shouted, eyes big as dinner plates.
"At least?!" Clemont added.
"Yup. Who knew a watch could hold that many grudges? But it's alright, Grandpa and Gwen and I take them out every time…" he trailed off. His expression changed to sad. "Grandpa and Gwen…"
"So how exactly did you get here?" Serena asked. "All we saw was you jumping out of the bushes and running through the forest."
"Well, it's kind of confusing," Ben began. "I was at a playground in my world with my Grandpa Max and cousin Gwen, and we were finally getting a chance to relax a bit. But then, of course, Dr. Animo, one of the people after the Omnitrix, jumps in on his huge mutant frog and I go alien to beat him, and Gwen and Grandpa get up to help. Then Animo pulls out this thing that looks like some sort of weird laser gun and explains that it can send something to a whole different world that he didn't know about, but that he only had enough fuel to send one of us. He points it at Grandpa, I jump in the way, and get sent here."
"Whoa," Serena said.
"You sacrificed yourself for your Grandpa?" Ash added. Ben nodded.
"I just hope I get to see those two again," Ben said sadly.
"So what kind of Pokémon do you want to try to get first, Ben?" Bonnie asked, changing the subject to try to cheer everyone up.
"Good question," Ben replied, thinking. "What types of Pokémon are out there?"
"Well, there are 18 different types, and some have two types," Clemont explained. "There's Bug, Dark, Fire, Water, Ground, Flying, Grass, Electric, Rock, Steel, Ghost, Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Ice, Psychic, Poison, and Normal."
"That's a lot of types," Ben replied. "They all sound awesome."
"They are," Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu added.
"Which sound the coolest to you, Ben?" Bonnie asked.
"I like the sound of Dark, Fire, Dragon, and Electric types," Ben replied after thinking for a bit.
"We'll keep our eyes peeled for a Pokémon you may want to catch," Ash said to Ben. "Maybe you can use Pikachu or another one of my Pokémon to battle it."
"Wow, really?" Ben replied, excitement showing on his face. "Alright!"
And so the group of five continued on their journey, talking about all sorts of Pokémon Ben might want to catch. But little did they know that they were being watched.
—P—
A trio of individuals sat behind a bush, peeking their heads out as they saw the quintet walk down the forest path. These three were known as Team Rocket, and consisted of James, a man with blueish purple hair, Jessie, a woman with long reddish pink hair, and a talking Meowth. They constantly plot to take Ash's Pikachu and other Pokémon.
"Did you see what I saw?" James asked.
"The twerps got a new friend!" Meowth replied.
"And by the looks of it, he's completely clueless," Jessie added.
"Yeah, which means swiping Pikachu should be easier with the new kid on their minds!" James concluded.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go for it!" Jessie replied, and the trio melted away into the shadows, continuing their plots to kidnap Ash's partner.
To be Continued…