The trio of rookie trainers marveled at the size and beauty of Viridian City. Hundreds of shops and business lined the road side. Towering skyscrapers rose high above them, parting clouds and casting ominous shadows over them.
The lure of tasty morsels wafted over to them, ensnaring their sense of smell on all the scents of food prepared by various food cars, successfully forcing them to buy one of them. Adam got himself a sandwich, bursting at the seams with meat. Julia got herself a salad made of exotic vegetables and plants that Ash had never heard of. And Ash got himself a smoothie made with the blended juices of native berries. The flavors of sweetness, tart, and the unique flavor of the berries themselves collided into a liquid greatness.
"Well you guys enjoy yourselves. I'm heading to the Pokemon Center, I'm beat." Adam said while stretching.
Once Adam was out of sight Julia spoke up. "Do you want to look around?" she said a light blush dusting her cheeks.
"Sure" Ash replied, his blush luckily hidden by his helmet.
The afternoon was spent with Julia and Ash just looking around the massive city of Viridian. There were restaurants, malls, stores, libraries, and anything you could think of. They spent most of the day looking around the city and its many sites. They stopped here and there to catch their breath or to get a better look at peculiar site.
Ash had to admit, today was the most fun he ever had and he enjoyed he was with Julia. Julia was very pretty and she had a nature that Ash found enjoyable.
They ended their little escapade on the visitor's tower. It provided a bird's eye view of Viridian. Along with the setting sun made the sight even more beautiful. Julia was quickly enveloped by the sight and stared at the sitting sun with wonder in her eyes.
Ash, however, was at the opposite staring blankly at the coming night. This was the exact spot where he spent his last day with his mom before his fight with Gary. And it was bringing some unpleasant memories.
Julia turned her attention back to Ash and saw his blank gaze and grew worried. She had known him and Adam since they were in kindergarten, but ever since the town started treating him like trash he became more secluded.
"Ash, you okay?" Julia asked. Ash snapped out of his daze and turned his attention back to Julia.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied, his voice cracking a bit.
"You've been here before haven't you?" Julia asked. Ash's acting couldn't fool her.
Ash turned his gaze back to the approaching night and said, " Yeah, it was before my fight with Gary and its bringing some... unpleasant memories."
Ash almost fell off the railing when Julia hugged him from behind. After regaining his composure, Ash just snaked his hand to hers and gripped it tightly.
"I'm sorry I brought you here." she said while hugging him. "I wish I could help."
Her eyes widened with realization and she gained a heavy blush on her cheeks. She swiftly took of his helmet, threw it on the ground and kissed him on the cheel, to his surprise.
After what seemed like an eternity she broke apart.
"I hope that helps you out." Julia said her face now entirely red.
Ash was still planted on the spot completely shocked and unmoving. He just got kissed and it was from his best friend.
Unconsciously they gripped each others hand and held each other. Finally Ash spoke up, "Yeah it does." he said with a grin.
Ash gripped her hand as they left the tower. His unpleasant memories for sure would be replaced by these ones.
The moon was out by the time the couple made it to the Pokemon Center. The resident Nurse Joy had showed them the room Adam had booked for the night.
The room itself was cozy. There was a small kitchen tucked away in the corner, two beds, a TV, and one bathroom. The floor was carpeted and brought comfort to their sore feet.
Adam was passed out one of the beds, snoring loudly with Shinx curled up by his feet. Julia and Ash blushed when they noticed they had to share one bed.
"I could sleep on the floor." said Ash removing his armor.
"No-o-o, I don-n't mind-d sha-aring." she said nervously, a blush returning to her cheeks.
"You sure?" Ash asked, his blush now revealed. He liked Julia, but he didn't want to make her feel awkward.
"Yeah I'm fine with it." she answered.
After removing his armor and placing in a neat pile, Ash grabbed his night clothes from his satchel, a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt.
After Julia took a shower, Ash made his way to the bathroom. Ash turned on the hot water and let the shower warm up before stepping it. The cascading rush of water destroyed any stress that his body felt. The constant traveling and uncomfortable sleeping positions, put some massive discomfort on his body that left him sore and aching.
Ash walked in from the bathroom shirtless, steam rolling off his skin from his hot shower. Ash felt wonderful, it had been too long since he had a good shower.
Julia was already in bed, wearing a night gown, and reading book. She looked up and blushed at Ash's bare chest. Ash wasn't old enough to have muscle tone, but his constant swordplay and wearing armor took its toll on his body, sculpting it down and refining it. Plus with his mother's horrible beatings it put some large scars on him.
Ash slipped into bed next to Julia and instantly contracted on contact with the soft, cool surface. Sleeping on the ground or on a log did that to your body, it grew used to the rough surfaces and the comforts of the modern world grew unfamiliar to his body.
After relaxing into the covers Ash turned to Julia who calmed her blush down to a minimum, before swiftly kissing her cheek and turning off the lights. Even in the darkness Ash could tell that her blush had returned.
Even through her embarrassment she gripped his hand before sliding beneath the covers and succumbing to the her dream world.
Ash woke up early the next morning, the sun was just beginning to rise but it was still mostly dark outside. After untangling himself from Julia's embrace, who some how managed to curl up into his arms, Ash quickly got dressed before grabbing Charmander's pokeball and heading to the door. But before he left, Ash stopped and wrote a hasty note before finally leaving.
After exiting the Pokemon Center, Ash fought the morning chills and headed to Viridian forest. He needed to help Charmander learn Metal Claw and the forest was teeming with wild pokemon to train with.
When Ash made it to the forest he released his starter. Charmander appeared in a flash of white energy, which dispersed in a brilliant display of polygons. Charmander yawned and stretched before breathing a small stream of fire in anticipation.
Ash plucked a berry and gave it to Charmander, before giving one to himself and settling down on a log. While Ash watched Charmander devour the delectable fruit a thought came to Ash's mind. Ash never was one to boast fame, but he wanted him and his team to be remembered throughout history. Not just as the everyday Charizard or Kingdra but a legend with a name.
"Charmander would you like a name?" Ash asked. Much to his surprise Charmander dropped his berry and looked at him in complete surprise. But Charmander snapped out of its daze before nodding excitedly.
"What about Blaze?" Ash asked. Charmander shook its head.
"Inferno?" Ash continued. Charmander shook its head again.
" What about Smaug!?" Ash asked exasperated. He had spent an entire 20 minutes finding a name for his picky starter and it was wearing on his patience. But luck was on Ash's side this time and Charmander nodded its head vigorously. Ash smiled at the newly named Smaug before finally getting up and get to the reason he was here.
"I need you to learn Metal Claw. Without it we would be crushed by the first gym." Ash stated. Smaug nodded before he finished the rest of his berry.
After about an hour of training the duo had stopped by a river to rest from the intense training session. Smaug was making progress, a single punch from the little dragon could make a huge dent in a tree. Rock was harder than wood, but it was a good sign of progress.
While laying on the river bank, Smaug suddenly stood up and started growling at the churning water of the river. Ash raised his eyebrow, he knew the river teemed with water pokemon that posed a serious threat to them, but Smaug at let them go by without even a second look, so what could possibly catch his attention.
Suddenly, a blue blur burst from the water and attempted to slam into Smaug, but with cat-like reflexes Smaug nimbly side-stepped the blur. It gave a lurching stop before its true form was revealed.
"A Seadra." Ash said breathlessly. It shimmering blue scales glimmered in the sunlight and produced a rainbow of light. But its eyes were focused on Smaug, its eyes clouded by something he saw everyday in Smaug's eyes. Determination.
Then a burst of water erupted form its large snout directly at Smaug. Smaug managed to get out of the way of the descending river, but not with out getting nicked on the shoulder.
"Smokescreen!" commanded Ash. A cloud of smoke was spewed out of Smaug's mouth and soon the entire are was full of smoke, that stung Ash's eyes and made it hard to breath. He would have to help his starter control his smoke diversion later.
Soon the wind carried the smoke away, but not without leaving its mark. The wild Seadra was floating around frantically, its eyes watering and bloodshot. Ash took advantage at the pokemon's momentary distraction and commanded his starter to go on the offensive.
"Dragon Pulse!" barked Ash, excitement threatening to overcome his self-control. He was about to catch the first member of his dragon team and he was literally about to break something to release some stress of his body.
The familiar orb of draconian energy slammed into Seadra sending the water pokemon a few feet back because of the raw force the attack emitted. His starter had worked insanely hard on mastering Dragon Pulse and getting over the massive power drain it took to use the attack successfully.
"Metal Claw!" said Ash. Smaug's hand gained a metallic glint which he crashed it into Seadra, still stunned by Smaug's previous attack, was sent plummeting to the ground in a cloud of dust.
When the dust cloud disappeared Seadra was revealed, its armor chipped and beaten in a few places and some of its skin had turned a deep purple, but it still looked at them with determination.
What seemed like an eternity later, Seadra finally closed its eyes and fell to the ground beaten. Smaug happily jumped around at its victory, while Ash threw a poke-ball at the downed pokemon. Seadra's body disappeared in a flash of red light, which was sucked into the ball as data. It bounced around a bit before a satisfying ding signaled its capture.
Ash stood there, speechless before a smile threatened to split his face apart. He had just caught his first pokemon! The second member of his team of dragons had made its debut.
Ash turned to Smaug and said, "Be ready, I'm releasing it." Smaug nodded before its hand gave a metallic glint as his starter prepared for the release of the future water dragon.
Seadra appeared in a flash of white energy, its levitating form still bruised from the beating it received from Smaug. Seadra's eyes darted around the area before landing on Ash. A few tense minutes later, Seadra gave a respective nod to Ash before its injuries caught up to it.
Seadra fell to ground unconscious. Ash sighed before he scanned the fallen pokemon.
Seadra the water dragon pokemon
Sex: Male
Moves: Water Gun, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Dragon Rage, (Egg move) Surf
Ash and Smaug marveled at their newest team member's attacks. It seemed that Pewter's Gym wouldn't possess a problem anymore. Ash returned Seadra and Smaug before heading back to the Pokemon Center to heal up.
Ash arrived at the Pokemon Center around 9. After dropping off Seadra at the front desk and to the care of Nurse Joy, Ash made his way to their room.
To his surprise he found that the room was empty. The room was spotless and the beds were made, like that nobody was there the night before. Ash was about to leave when he noticed a note pinned at the back of the door. Ash tore it off and read it.
Dear Ash,
Adam and I have left for Viridian Forest. Will wait for you around the enterance.
From Julia
P.S. Hope last night I didn't move a lot. ;)
Ash folded the piece of paper before exiting the room. After picking up Seadra from the front desk and thanking the Nurse Joy for her efforts, Ash exited the Pokemon Center fro the last time.
The streets of Viridian were bustling by the time Ash left the Center. Cars were blaring and people were rushing about, enveloped in their daily routine. It was about lunch time and Ash doubted that they picked up any lunch for themselves so Ash took the liberty of getting them something to eat. Ash found a small sandwich shop tucked away on a street corner and decided to buy some.
The inside was clean and the line to the counter was rather short so Ash got in line. Once Ash was at the counter, the cashier, a large burly man, took his order. The man was rather nervous around Ash, he eyed Ash's sword when he thought Ash wasn't looking.
"Six roast beef and cheese sandwiches and 3 cookies, please." Ash said. The man shook is head before disappearing behind the counter.
The man appeared again with a large bag and soon he was typing something at the cash register.
"That will be $20.75 sir." he said. Ash rummaged in his satchel and pulled out the money and the correct change.
"Thank you sir, have a nice day." the cashier said as Ash exited the shop.
Ash made it to the entrance of Viridian Forest soon after. He walked down the dirt path a bit before he stumbled on a large clearing of grass, where he found his two traveling companions. Adam was laying on the ground seemingly napping, while Julia was combing Eevee's hair.
Ash threw the bag of food on Adam, who instantly woke up due the sudden weight on his chest. He glared at Ash, but before he could say anything Ash said "Got us lunch."
Adam looked inside the bag, his eyes widening before he said, "And people say your not nice." Ash gained a tick mark at his little statement.
"Well we better start going. I don't wan't to be stuck in this forest when its night." said Julia, munching on a sandwich.
"Yeah, but we got to show Ash what we caught!" Adam whined. Julia sighed before grabbing two poke-balls off her belt.
In a flash of white light two caterpillars appeared. One had green skin and one had orange skin with a white horn.
"A Caterpie and Weedle, nice." Ash complimented. The two small insects blushed from his compliment.
"Yeah they're good but look what Adam caught." she said annoyance evident in her voice.
Adam released his newly caught pokemon. A large purple snake appeared beside a small bird with a large beak and brown feathers.
"I found these two fighting over there. What luck! Can you believe I caught a Spearow and a Ekans!" Adam exclaimed. Ekans started angrily hissing at Spearow, who returned it with angry screeches. But before anything got violent Adam recalled them back.
"They still have some steam in them." he said sheepishly, while rubbing the back of his head.
"Did you catch anything in your morning training?" asked Julia, behind her and his back they gripped each others hand.
"You have no idea." Ash said as he released Seadra. The water dragon's presence was announced as his sparkling scales shined brightly with the sun's glare on it. With a deep rumble it turned to its trainer and gave Ash a respectful nod before turning towards his friends.
Its large dorsal fins sprang up and its rumble became more threatening as his eyes bore down on the smaller pokemon, who hid behind their trainers, frightened by the dragon.
"Seadra! Calm down these are friends of mine." Ash barked at him. Seadra stopped its threatening posture and relaxed.
Ash walked behind his water dragon and started rubbing its head. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you a battle later." he said. Seadra gave him a happy look and respectful nod before heading to a small pond and sinking into its murky depths.
"Wow! Ash that was awesome!"Adam complimented, still stunned from his friends recent capture.
"Seadra would be a big help against Brock." stated Julia as she picked up her shaking Eevee and soothing the frightened pokemon.
Adam led the trek through the forest challenging any pokemon or trainer that crossed his path, instantly crushed by his pokemon's raw strength. Either it being zapped, bitten, or clawed they all fell under is fury.
While Adam, crushed anything that crossed his path, Ash and Julia walked behind him, resting her head on his shoulder, while he gripped her hand.
When Adam wasn't paying attention they would talk about their current relationship, Ash was worried that the town would shun Julia for dating him, but she said she didn't care as long she was with him. So they became a couple and for the first time in 6 years Ash felt loved.
Adam and Julia were ahead while Ash was picking berries for Charmander, due to his small height Charmander had a difficult time reaching the branches that held fruit so Ash took it upon himself to get them for his starter.
Suddenly a quick rustling of leaves and foot steps blew not to far from him. Instantly he drew his sword and pointed it in the general direction of the noise. But to his dismay nothing was there. It was to quick to be a bug, to large to be a Rattata, and Ash was pretty sure it didn't have wings. The longer he stayed there the more he felt he was being watched, a feeling he didn't like. Ash quickly ran to catch up to Julia and Adam wondering what pokemon had darted by him.
But the thing that was watching him was much, much worse and it would haunt him for the rest of his life.