Here is chapter two! Please vote on my poll. I'd like to know who your favorite male Naruto character is!
Thanks to:
Kiyomaro-kun - thanks for the review! Oh, and he's 14 because the day he left was his 14th birthday.
Pratik Roy - Aww, how sweet. Thanks for your review and thanks for the compliments. Well, what I meant was that I wanted to finish some of the other stories before I really got into this one. Like shorter time between updates and perhaps more original characters (I have a few already lol). Stuff like that. Hope you like the update!
MCRDanime - Thanks for the review and I hope you like the chapter!
Chapter Two
Pokémon – I Choose You! Part Two
What Ash didn't expect was that in her home Calyne was planning her escape. It was true that she didn't expect Ash to get her a gift, but there was no way she was letting her best friend go on an adventure without her. She was running away tonight!
She rummaged through her mother's cabinet and pulled out six sealed bottles of her medicine – it was the liquid version that lasted for quite a long time. Although she was being as quiet as she could, so that her mother and father wouldn't wake, the fiery haired girl somehow managed to wake her older sister. Lyra was two years older than Calyne and had already started on her grand adventure around the world. She was back for a visit.
"Calyne? What are you doing up?" Lyra questioned, brushing her long brown hair away from her face. She was slightly taller than her little sister and had startling blue eyes. Lyra's Pikachu was curled in her tan arms.
Calyne shushed her elder sister, dragging her back to Lyra's room. In the corner sat an incubator with a Pokémon egg. She couldn't see much detail because of the incubator. A Jolteon – a sort of electric fox – and a Flareon – a fiery fox – were curled up in their beds on the floor while a Persian – a giant tan cat with a jewel in the center of its forehead – was situated at the end of her bed. A cute little Charmander – a recent addition to Lyra's team that looked like a little red dinosaur with fire on its tail – was curled up on a pillow that had fallen to the floor. Lyra let them choose whether or not they wanted to sleep in Pokeballs since they had been on the road a lot.
"Lyra, you can't tell Mother and Father about this."
"About what?"
"I'm…I'm…" Calyne started to explain herself a few times, but she always paused afterwards.
"You're running away." Lyra said with a knowing smile. Calyne looked at her older sister with wide eyes.
"How did you know?" the younger sister asked in a hushed voice.
"Because I did the same thing. Mother and Father didn't want me to leave, either. The only reason they can't stop me now is because Dustin is a Pokémon Ranger…and he'd come bust me out if they kept me here." Lyra said, "Well, maybe being a Pokémon Photographer for Professor Oak has something to do with it."
"I didn't know that." Calyne said with a smile. She had a newfound respect for her sister.
"Yeah, well, I kind of don't go around telling people that." Lyra said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Let's go back downstairs and let Kouken know you're alright. Stay here, Pikachu." She said in a soft voice. The little electric mouse nodded sleepily before hopping out of Lyra's arms and heading to the pillow the Charmander was on. The two siblings crept back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lyra helped Calyne rummage through the cabinets once again for food and water, plus other necessities she would need. Lyra also gave her a couple hundred PokeDollars to take with her.
"I know it's your dream to become the world's greatest Pokemon Medic. Good luck, little sister." Lyra said as Calyne and Kouken slipped out of the back door.
Now, it was time to find a place to sleep for the remainder of the night…and then to tail Ash.
A few hours later and it was morning. A Dodrio, a three headed bird Pokémon, stood on top of a barn to crow. It woke the small town for the day. Ash, who had a fitful dream about leaving Calyne behind, woke for the day. He looked to the floor and realized he had accidentally snatched his clock in the middle of the night and it had broken it. The raven haired boy promptly started to panic.
"Oh no! What time is it!" he exclaimed as he saw that the sun was up. Without looking for another clock he got out of bed and got his shoes on. Without even bothering to change, he ran for Professor Oak's lab. What he didn't notice was that a certain fiery haired girl and her shiny Growlithe was following him.
"Squirtle, bulbasaur, charmander…" he panted as he ran, "anyone's fine…just please, save one for me!"
Ash arrived at Professor Oak's lab, confused to why there was a crowd of people gathered. Perhaps it was because they were leaving for their adventures? Cheerleaders were in front, standing around a brunette boy in a purple shirt and black pants. He wore a necklace around his neck – the top part was green and the bottom part was yellow and there was a wavy line in the middle separating the two. He was Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Professor Oak.
"Gary, Gary, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!" they cheered, "Gary, Gary, he's our – Aah!" they cried out as Ash broke through them.
"Sorry, sorry!" the raven haired boy cried as he continued to run. He ended up running into Gary, causing him to fall on his behind. Calyne had managed to merge with the crowd unseen and she told Kouken to lay low for a while. He was noticeable enough as it was being a shiny Pokémon. She frowned at Gary – he was an obnoxious brat in her opinion.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" he cried before smirking and turning back to Ash, who was still on the ground. "Well, you must be Ash. Better late than never, I guess." He said smugly, "at least you got the chance to meet me."
"Gary?" Ash questioned, cocking his head to the side.
"It's 'Mister Gary' to you. Show some respect." The brunette boy said before smirking, "Well, Ash, you snooze you lose. You're way behind right from the start. I've got a Pokémon and you don't."
Ash was shocked.
"You got your first Pokémon?"
Gary smirked again as he enlarged his pokeball. He spun it around on his finger and acted in his usual cocky manner.
"That's right, loser, and its right inside this pokeball." Gary sneered down at the boy who was still on the ground. Calyne didn't like Gary's attitude and would have said something about it, but she didn't want Ash to know she was following him just yet.
"Let's go Gary, Let's go!" the Cheerleaders continued to chant. Gary raised his arms as he thanked the crowd who had gathered around them.
"Thank you, fans!" he shouted, "Thank you all for this great honor! I promise you that I will become a Pokémon Master and make the town of Pallet known all around the world!"
The crowd cheered while Ash looked to him with excitement shining in his eyes.
"Excuse me." Ash began, being polite to the arrogant teenager.
"Yeah?" Gary said.
"I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of Pokémon you got?" Ash leaned forward to get a better look, but Gary just looked at him, disgusted. He leaned forward slightly, but he held his pokeball away from Ash.
"None of your business. If you'd shown up on time you woulda seen that I got the best Pokémon from Professor Oak." The brunette teenager bragged, "It's good to have a Grandfather in the Pokémon business, isn't it?"
He turns to thank his fans once again.
"Thank you for coming out to see history in the making! Now I, Gary Oak, am off to learn the ways of the Pokémon trainer!"
Ash finally got upset with Gary's obnoxious behavior. The raven haired teen growled and clenched his fist while Calyne was cheering silently in the crowd.
"Oh, I'll show you." Ash said, but he was interrupted by a familiar grey haired man.
"So, you've decided to show up after all." He said, causing Ash to squeak in surprise.
"Professor Oak! Where's my Pokémon?" Ash begged him, excited at the prospect of getting a Pokémon.
"Your Pokémon?" the man wearing the white lab coat questioned.
"Yes, I'm ready." The teenager eagerly replied.
"You look like you're ready for bed, not Pokémon training." The older man laughed good naturedly, "I hope you don't think you're going to train in your pajamas."
"Oh." He said in realization, a blush forming on his face as he realized that he was still clad in his nightly wear, "No professor! I got messed up this morning and I was a little late. But, believe me, I'm ready for a Pokémon!"
The older professor nodded and led the boy into his lab. Kouken appeared and the crowd gasped, never having seen a shiny Growlithe before.
"My Lady, I found a place where you can wait for Master Ash." He barked, nudging her hand with his wet nose. His tail wagged as she followed him with a smile. It was a good place to wait – it was right outside one of the windows of the lab where she could watch them and still not be seen.
Inside the lab, Professor Oak led the raven haired teenager to where he stored the beginner Pokémon.
"I've thought about it a lot and it took me a long time, but I've finally decided to choose Squirtle." Ash opened the pokeball and was disappointed when there was nothing inside of it.
"Already taken by someone who was on time." the Professor said.
"Oh, I wish I hadn't overslept…but now I will chose as my Pokémon, Bulbasaur!" he opened the second pokeball and was disappointed when it, too, was empty.
"That one was also taken by a kid who wasn't late." The Professor nodded.
"Oh…well, that's no problem because my Pokémon will be Charmander…" Ash groaned in disappointment when the third pokeball was empty as well.
"The earlier bird gets the worm…or, in this case, the Pokémon." Professor Oak commented, feeling sorry for the raven haired teenager in front of him.
"Does that mean all the Pokémon are gone?" Ash questioned with a sad face. The Professor could hardly stand it.
"Well…there still is one left…but I…" he stammered, but was cut off by the excited boy.
"Professor, I'll take it!" Ash said, not caring what Pokémon it was.
"I think I should warn you that there is a problem with this last one." Professor Oak said, but Ash didn't care.
"But I have to have a Pokémon!"
"Well, in that case…" he drew out a pokeball with a small lightning symbol on it. The pokeball opened. Electricity flew out of the pokeball in all directions and revealed a small yellow mouse Pokémon. It was a Pikachu.
"Pikachu." It stated.
"It's name is 'Pikachu'" Professor Oak explained.
"Oh! It's so cute, it's the best of all!" Ash exclaimed as he looked down at the yellow mouse.
"You'll see." Professor Oak warned, getting ready to watch what the Pikachu would do to Ash. Outside, Calyne was smiling widely.
"Oh, a Pikachu!" she said, happy for her friend.
"My Lady, the Pikachu doesn't seem to be happy about the situation." Kouken barked, amused. It was true. The little Pikachu looked like it would start biting things at random, not that it needed to.
Inside, Ash was ignoring Professor Oak's warning. He picked up the Pokémon and cuddled it to his chest.
"Oh, hi, Pikachu!" he said, happy beyond all reason.
"Pika." He stated, not happy at all. Then, suddenly, he released a giant bolt of electricity. The electricity shocked Ash to the point where his hair was standing on end.
"He's also known as the electric mouse. They're usually shy, but they can also have an electrifying personality." Professor Oak said before the Pikachu stopped his attack. Ash was left with charred marks.
"I see what you mean." He said while twitching.
"Shocking, isn't it?" Professor Oak asked while nodding. "Now take these." He said, handing Ash a small red device and six small pokeballs.
"Thank…YOU!" the second word came out forcefully as the Pikachu shocked Ash once again. This time, he had been touching Professor Oak's hand so that meant the Professor was shocked as well.
"You're welcome!" the Professor forced out. This time, when Ash went outside, there was a group of people waiting for him. This included his mother…but Calyne was nowhere to be found. He really didn't expect her to show up because of her parents, but it still hurt a little bit that the day before was the last time he'd see her in a long time.
Little did he know, she was hiding in the shadows with her faithful companion.
"Mom!" Ash exclaimed, surprised.
"Oh, Ash! I'm so proud of you!" his mother said in a happy tone, "You're finally going to fulfill your dream and start your Pokemon training." She said, holding a green backpack that belonged to Ash. "But…I'm going to miss you…so much!" she cried, burying her face into the backpack. "Oh, my little boy!"
"Pika…Pikachu." The little Pikachu said, cutely smiling up at Ash's mother. She stopped crying to open up his backpack. She began to pile stuff in his arms.
"I packed your sneakers and jeans, nice clean shirts and underwear, your favorite snacks, and some hot chocolate in case you want something hot – but be careful not to burn yourself – and a pair of rubber gloves to do your laundry, and a new clothesline to hang it out to dry…" she was cut off as Ash snatched the bag from her in order to stuff everything back inside the bag.
"Mom! You're embarrassing me in front of all these people. Don't you know I'm a teenager? Pokémon trainers can take care of themselves!" he said, unaware that Calyne was laughing at his misfortune. Actually, she wished her own mother would act like that with her, but it was funny enough to see it in person.
"I understand." Delia said, sulking like a child. "Hm?" she questioned as she looked down, spying the little electric mouse, "That's your Pokémon?"
"Pikachu." The mouse said.
"Yeah, that's my Pokémon."
"Pi." Pikachu said, turning his head to the side. Ash laughed before turning to his mother and bringing up a fist.
"With Pikachu by my side, I'll get all the Pokémon in the world!" Ash said with conviction.
"I thought all Pokémon stayed inside their pokeballs?" his mother asked. "Why doesn't this one?"
Calyne shook her head. Kouken didn't stay in his pokeball at all.
"Oh, right." He brought out Pikachu's pokeball. "Pikachu, get in the ball, now." And he tossed the pokeball at Pikachu, but the electric mouse just deflected it with his tail. He tried several more times to put Pikachu in his pokeball, but Pikachu deflected it each time.
"Aww, you're playing catch. You're friends already!" Delia said in delight.
"Uh…yeah. Pikachu and I are pals, aren't we Pikachu?" Ash said as he bend down to pluck the electric mouse from the ground.
"But, it's a little weird." His mother interrupted him.
"Weird?" he squeaked, noticing that his Pikachu got offended by his mother's comment. Suddenly Pikachu let out the biggest wave of electricity he ever had, shocking everyone present except for Professor Oak.
"Those rubber gloves your mother packed for you will be useful." The Profess or said as he watched everyone become shocked.
"Why?" Ash asked in pain.
"Rubber blocks electricity." The Professor told him. Soon after, Pikachu was done with shocking everyone. They fell over and his mother was seeing stars.
"Don't forget to change your underwear." She said in a dazed tone. "Every single day."
"OK…" Ash replied, just as dazed as his mother. Pikachu, however, didn't look disturbed by what just happened.
"Pikachu." He said with a smile on his face.
Under an hour later, Ash had changed clothing. He was now wearing a black undershirt with a blue jacket that had white sleeves. He was wearing his normal jeans, shoes, a brown belt, and the red and white cap he had won. His dog tags were secured around his neck. He was also wearing the green backpack and the pink rubber gloves that his mother gave him.
Calyne followed at a safe distance, Kouken following her. He growled at all of the wild Pokémon, effectively scaring them away. The fiery haired girl was frowning at how her best friend was treating the Pikachu. He tied a rope around the Pikachu's waist and was dragging him behind him. The Pikachu was squeaking in protest.
Finally, Ash stopped. Calyne was trying to find a good way to jump out after him – to surprise him and help him catch more Pokémon. She would be more than happy to help him care for them. She had learned a lot from various books and the Nurse Joys from surrounding Pokémon Centers.
"Pikachu, are you gonna be like this the whole way?" Ash asked. Pikachu turned his head away from Ash, closing his eyes and making a noise of dismissal.
"Is it because you don't like me?"
"Pika Pika?" Pikachu said as he nodded.
"Well, I like you a lot." Ash said, but Pikachu only scratched his head with his food. "And since you're the Pokemon I'm training…don't you think I could be a little nicer and just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?
Pikachu turned around and opened its mouth very wide. Calyne couldn't help it and burst out laughing. Unfortunately, Ash heard her.
"Who's there?" he exclaimed, eyes widening in both shock and excitement when a certain shiny Growlithe came bounding up to meet him. Calyne followed shortly after with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Cal? What're you doing here?" he questioned. It wasn't often that her parents even let her out of the house.
"I ran away." was all she said. "And I'm not going back until our journey is complete."
Ash stared at her with a weird expression on his face. It was kind of like a mixture of disbelief and happiness.
"What…you really didn't expect me to let you travel alone, did you?" Calyne looked at him with a sad face. When Ash didn't say anything, her face dropped.
"Well, fine. If you didn't want me to come with you all you had to do was say so. Let's go, Kouken." She quietly said. The Growlithe whined, but followed his Mistress, but before Calyne could even go two paces, Ash snatched her hand.
"Wait!" he exclaimed, panic lacing his voice. "Wait." He said even quieter.
"What?" the fiery haired girl questioned, bringing up a hand to rub at her chest. There was a twinge of discomfort there.
"I…was just so happy you're here." He said, wrapping his arms around Calyne in a fierce hug. "I just didn't think you would be able to get away from your parents."
"Well, Lyra helped with that." Calyne said, hugging Ash back. "Now, let's see to that Pikachu." She said.
"Cal, wait!" but she had already picked up the Pikachu. The Pikachu stared at her for a moment and thought about shocking her, but Kouken's growl brought him back to attention. The Growlithe was strong.
"Pikachu." He said, tilting his head to the side.
"Is your name all you can say?" Ash asked it. Calyne looked at Ash with a weird expression on her face, but Pikachu nodded his head.
"Well, you're just like all Pokémon, so you should act like one. You need to get inside the pokeball, just like it said in the Pokedex." Ash said.
"Ash, do you need reminding that Kouken is a Growlithe – a Pokémon – and he doesn't need to stay in his pokeball."
"Well…" Ash trailed off, pulling out his Pokedex.
"While being trained, a Pokémon usually stays inside its pokeball."
"Yeah. Usually. Not always." Calyne said, scoffing before poking Ash in the shoulder. "Pikachu doesn't have to if he doesn't want to."
After she said this, Pikachu poked a button on the Pokedex. Calyne laughed a bit while the Pokedex started to talk again.
"However, there are many exceptions. Some Pokémon hate being confined."
"See?" the fiery haired girl laughed even harder.
"Okay then. This oughta make things better." Ash said as he unraveled the rope from around Pikachu. Then, he took off the pink rubber gloves. He then reached out with a finger, but Pikachu shook his head and turned in Calyne's arms to face her chest. It was then that Ash noticed what she was wearing.
She wore a black midriff tank top with a silver tube top that flowed down past her hips. The center of the front parted so that you could still see the skin of her stomach, but the fabric around her breasts – on top of the midriff tank top - was about three inches wide. She wore a silver miniskirt with black cargo pants underneath. She wore black sneakers and there was a red arm band on her upper right arm. Then, the one thing that got his attention, was that she was wearing the necklace he gave her the day before.
Calyne had changed her hairstyle, too. Instead of keeping it down, she had it up in a bun. Two thick strands framed her face, but she had braided them to keep them out of the way.
"What?" she said when she noticed that Ash was staring at her.
"You…look different."
"Is that a bad thing?
"No!" Ash exclaimed, waving his hands in front of his face. "I like it. I've just never seen you dressed like this before." Calyne smiled brightly.
"Because my mom wouldn't ever buy me new clothes. Lyra and Dustin, her boyfriend, got these for me." the fiery haired girl explained, smiling even wider.
Suddenly the four of them heard the footsteps of something in the grass. The four of them turned to see a bird Pokémon and before Kouken could growl at it, Calyne had hushed him.
"A Pidgy."
"Pidgy is a flying Pokemon. Among all the flying Pokémon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. The perfect Pokémon for a beginning trainer to tests their Pokémon's skills." The Pokedex spoke.
"This is great! It's our lucky day!" Ash cried. Calyne put the Pikachu down and Kouken watched attentively to see what his Mistress' friend would do.
"Pikachu, go get it." Ash declared, but the Pikachu only turned his head. "Aren't you ever gonna listen to me?"
