GPS: I hope you enjoy! The title is a play on the obvious metaphor and I think it nicely describes what Ash's been through. I own nothing legally in regards to the Pokémon franchise!

The days had gone by and September was in the past, bringing out the cool, crisp air of October. It had been 22 days since Machop had undergone his operation and he had improved so substantially better that it was a complete surprise to everyone. Nurse Joy explained that the reason that Machop recovered so quickly was because his species frequently got into serious fights and it was natural for them to heal at a faster pace than other Pokémon so they could continue to get stronger.

During the three weeks, emotions spread across all parts of the spectrum. There was crying from both Ash and Machop, rage from the two of them as well, sorrow for Erika as she informed Ash some of her past. Ash learned that Erika's middle name was Grace and her surname was Warriner and other information about her sister estranged sister. They would casually talk to one another as well as Machop and he would go to physical therapy later in the day. The routine was getting rather mundane and Ash was getting really bored of the lack of action. One day, Erika took a brief run to the Celadon Department Store while Machop was taking a nap and she bought a few things for Ash. She got Kanto's TM09, take down, and an exportedTM16 from Unova called light screen. She explained to Ash that Machop needed some offensive and defensive move if they wished to excel.

Friday, October 17, 1997

Ash was sleeping on the small couch of the bedroom when all the sudden, a small playful nudge woke him up.

"Chop!" said the fighting type as he smiled at Ash.

"Good morning, Machop. Nice to see that you are back on your feet again," said Ash as he petted the Pokemon's head. "You know, I bet that we can leave soon if you check out alright."

"Cho-" began the Pokemon but all the sudden, he was interrupted and frightened when he saw something.

"What's the matter?" asked Ash. Machop began to tremble and pointed to behind Ash. The boy turned around and it was…

"Haunt, haunt, haunt!"

"Whoa!" shouted a surprised Ash as he almost jumped out of his skin. "Haunter, how did you get here? And why are you here?"

"Haunt…er!" said the ghost Pokemon as he began to dig into his mouth with his hands. He grabbed something and pulled it out with a smile as he proudly showed it to Ash.

"Is that…an egg?" asked Ash, to which Haunter nodded. Haunter extended his floating hands out for Ash as a signal to take the egg, which he did. Ash grabbed a pillow from the couch and set it on the table next to Machop's bed and set it there for safekeeping. He noticed that there was a sticky note attached to the egg and Ash took it and read it. It said,

Ash, thank you again for making me whole again. I found out that Haunter is a male and somehow, he stumbled across an abandoned egg. I asked if he had anything to do with it, and he said no. I know you are a good-hearted trainer and I thought that you should have this egg. Be sure to treat it with utmost care. Good luck in your future!

Sabrina

Ash was speechless and so was Machop as they both stared at the egg with great interest and Machop smiled at it. "Machop!" he said with excitement and picked up the egg while standing on his tip-toes. He gently rotated the egg to examine it better and said his name in confusion while looking at Ash. He walked over to the boy and held out his arms and Ash took it. It radiated a bit of warmth and Ash could only guess what type of Pokémon was inside.

Ash chuckled and said, "I wonder what Erika will say once she sees this. I bet-"

A knock was heard at the door and it opened. It was Nurse Joy and she walked in with a clipboard.

"Good morning, boys," she said with a smile. "How-" She immediately stopped when she saw the egg that Ash was carrying. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes," said Ash as he handed it to her when she approached it. "Sabrina's Haunter found it and she wanted me to have it."

"I say, this is such a wonderful find," said Nurse Joy as she closely analyzed it. "Pokémon eggs are not uncommon to find, but your egg here seems to have a unique pattern to it. I advise that you buy something to protect it from any impact damage. You hold the life of a potentially rare Pokémon, young man, and it would be a tragedy if anything were to happen to it."

"I…I don't know what to say," said Ash. "I've never been entrusted with something this important."

"I've seen you mature in your stay with Machop, Ash," said Nurse Joy. "I believe you will be just fine in raising this egg properly."

"I agree," said Erika who just walked into the room. "This is a miracle, Ash, and I do believe what Nurse Joy said."

"Well, since you say so," said Ash, "then I'm willing to give it a shot! I feel like I am one step closer to resume my dream of becoming a Pokémon master, even though life my journey decided to come to a complete restart."

"Machop!" said the Pokémon triumphantly.

"Great!" said Nurse Joy. "Now, I'll just have to run a few tests with Machop. He should be good to go in a few hours if all works out."

"Sounds like a plan," said Ash. Nurse Joy instructed Machop to follow her, which he did, leaving the two teens alone. Ash turned to her after a few minutes of silence and said, "Erika, what are you going to do about the gym if you going along with me?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," said Erika. "I was gonna tell you, but some other stuff happened. My parents took me to Indigo Plateau, where the Pokémon League is located. We went two weeks ago and I had to fill out some paperwork to resign from the title as gym leader."

"Who will become the new leader?"

"Stephanie. She had to brush up on a lot of studying, but she managed to pass the test required."

"And the perfume shop?" asked Ash with interest.

"A new part-time manager has already taken the position," said Erika. "Everything is under control, and I appreciate the concern. I also was thinking about what route we should take. It's your choice on where to head out, but you definitely need to expand your team before tackling the other gyms."

"I didn't think the day would come where I would say this, but…I'm fixing the mistakes I made. I want to follow a path that is not what one would expect given the circumstances," said Ash.

"What are you talking about?" asked Erika. "I don't follow what you're saying."

"Since it appears that I'm virtually starting off to be a trainer again, I want to follow that path," said Ash. "I want to properly earn the badges versus being given one as some sort of consolation prize. I don't want to be viewed as a weakling. I'm going to do this the right way. Forge my own path through Kanto with you, Krabby, and Machop as my moral support and friends. I've gotten to know the three of you better over the course of three weeks than I did with Misty and Brock. We are going back to Pewter City and redo things how they were meant to be."

"Heh, I really can't say that I was thinking of the same thing, but it is your destiny," said Erika as she smiled. "I had a different idea, but you seem to have a more interesting plan now that I think about it."

"Plus, there are some things in the area that I never got to do," said Ash. "As cliché and a bad pun it is, a phoenix will be born from the ashes!"

Erika nodded and gave Ash a high-five. The two of them passed time by watching the television in the room until Nurse Joy finally came back about an hour later. Ash swiftly turned off the television to hear the news that she had to report.

"Machop performed excellently on all the tests. It is amazing how well he turned out in such a short time, but I am not that surprised considering his species."

"Does this mean that we are able to finally leave today?" asked Ash with high hopes.

"Of course he can," said Nurse Joy with a smile as she looked down to see that Machop was hugging her leg with a wag of his tail. "I'll miss you, Machop. You were a good patient."

"Thank you again, Nurse Joy, for all that you've done," said Ash as he extended his hand for her to shake.

"I would do everything and anything at all to help a Pokémon," said Nurse Joy. "Although I've seen a lot of…worse cases, I form my own bond with the patients no matter what happens. I find happiness knowing that I help two individuals out."

"Thank you, it means a lot for me, too, to see Pokémon get better and for the trainer to be happy," said Ash.

Nurse Joy reached into her pocket and handed Ash a black piece of fabric. "This is a black belt," she explained, "and it boosts the attacks of fighting moves. A Pokémon such as Machop will make excellent use of it."

"Wow," said an amazed Ash as he took the belt and looked at it for a second. He smiled and handed it to Machop. "Here you go, pal. You have the honor of putting it on."

"Chop!" said the excited human-like Pokémon as he eagerly took the belt and wrapped it around his waist. He looked down at the belt and smiled and said his name again, making the humans in the room laugh.

"So, Ash," said Nurse Joy. "Although it is none of my business to ask, what are you planning to do now?"

"No, it's fine," he said with a nod. "I screwed up big time, and this time, I'm going back to learn from my mistakes. Any and all advice will not fall on deaf ears like with my previous companions. I'm starting back from the beginning, and that's with Pewter City."

"Ah, now there's something you don't hear every day," said Nurse Joy as she accepted his choice. "But then again, what happened to you…is something that one doesn't see every day, nor should ever see. Whatever you do, know that you have my unconditional support."

"I'll need as much as I can get," said Ash as he again thanked her. "Let's head north to Cerulean, then go through Mt. Moon to get to Pewter."

"The best way to get to Pewter is for us to head south to Vermillion then go through Diglett's cave," said Erika. "That would avoid having to go through Mt. Moon twice and I am not that fond of caves."

"You seem to know more about the geography than me," said Ash. "Okay, let's head to Vermillion City; I want to see the beautiful harbor again."

"Do you want to face the leader while you are there?" asked Erika.

"No; it has to be in the order that I started," explained Ash. He tightened his fingerless gloves and adjusted his hat. "Start fresh and make new memories with Machop, Krabby, and this egg!"

"I admire your spunk, Ash, but you should work on that," said Erika. "Don't forget to stay on your guard and stay alert at all times; that is one of the key components to being successful not just as a Pokemon trainer, but for any career. Shall we head out now?"

"Yes, let's," agreed Ash. He picked up the egg and looked at it again and laughed. "You will be safe with us. I promise."

The two of them left the Pokémon Center with Machop eagerly walked in between them with tons of energy. Erika suggested that they go find something to store the egg in and they went to a nearby shop and purchased a shatter-resistant case that was specialized in holding Pokémon eggs. Ash carefully set the egg in the case and stored it in his backpack and they finally left Saffron City after getting some camping equipment. Machop was more than happy to carry the equipment in a huge backpack that Erika bought; with all the stuff inside, it easily must've weighed about 200 pounds, but no complaints from the Pokémon that was only 2'07"!

"This is delightful," said Erika as they walked along Route 6. "I've never been along this route during this time of year. The taste and scent of the ocean, the trees changing color…Nature is in harmony."

"You know, I think this is a good time to let out our other Pokémon," said Ash. He reached Krabby's ball off his belt and let out the crustacean Pokémon. Erika took out three balls and released Gloom, Tangela, and Ivysaur. Ash smiled but was confused about Ivysaur.

"If I recall," he said, "didn't you say that Ivysaur was your father's? And that you used him for gym battles?"

"Yes, but he wanted me to have Ivysaur so that a part of him would be with me. I'm sure that Ivysaur would appreciate a different scene than the gym, right, Ivysaur?"

"Ivy!" said the cheerful grass Pokémon as he began smelling the fresh air. Ash was a bit sad when he saw Ivysaur; he reminded the raven-haired teen so much of his Bulbasaur, but the 23 days after the incident have improved Ash's ability to not let it depress him as frequently or harshly. He knew that along the way he would more than likely encounter one of the fellow Pokémon that were apart of not just his team, but of Misty's and Brock's. The biggest crushing blow would be seeing a Pikachu in the wild or with a trainer.

"Where are you now?" asked muttered lowly, but Erika was able to hear him.

"Where is who?" she asked as they stopped their walking.

"Was it your intention to bring Ivysaur the whole time?" asked Ash who was getting tense and also raising the volume of his voice while directing a snide glare at Ivysaur.

"Ivy?" said the Pokémon who sweat dropped with fear as he looked at Gloom and Tangela for support.

"Yes, because Ivysaur is the strongest grass type my family currently has," said Erika as she was getting annoyed. She watched as Ash turned his back to her. "Do you have a problem-" she began before stopping herself. "I see it now. Ivysaur reminds you of Bulbasaur, right?" Ash nodded. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't consider that. It isn't too late for me to send him-"

"No, that's not necessary," said Ash. "You don't have to apologize. It should be me for losing my cool." Ash turned back around and approached Ivysaur who began to step backwards with nervousness. He got on his knees and extended his hand out to the Pokémon who looked away with a scoff. "It isn't your fault. I had a Bulbasaur, and, well…you just looked so much like him. I vented my temper the wrong way, but I am at least glad that I got it out of my system. I apologize for my inappropriate behavior and I hope you forgive me." Ivysaur accepted the apology and extended a vine that Ash shook as their form of a "handshake".

"Machop!" said the fighting Pokémon with delight that his trainer resolved the issue. Ash laughed and Erika said,

"It's apparent you still need time. Talking about your feelings is a great way to help get past this."

"Thank you for being so understanding," said Ash. "Everything is okay now. Let's move onward."

The two humans and the Pokémon resumed their advance until a voice stopped them.

"Hey, boy! You better watch where you are walking! I'm laying down cables!" The man's voice was more in concern than anger, then Ash turned to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," he confessed.

"It's okay," said the man as he wiped his brow. Despite the cool weather, his job was making him sweat noticeably. "I need a break. Are you up to a Pokémon battle?"

"I-I…" started Ash with hesitation. Machop showed his answer with a shout of his name and a clenched fist to show he was ready. No way could the teen turn down the offer. "You bet! My buddy Machop will be your opponent."

"Which of these other Pokémon is yours?" asked the engineer.

"That would give you an advantage!" protested Ash with a chuckle. "But how about just a one-on-one? I've wanted to try out my new Machop in a battle now that he's recovered." Machop nodded and took off the heavy backpack.

"Sounds fine with me," said the engineer. "Go, Magnemite!"

"Magnemite!" said the floating magnet with a warbled electronic voice.

"Magnemite, huh?" said Ash a little puzzled. "That is an electric type if I recall correctly. Doesn't really give me much of an advantage."

"Yes, Ash, thinking about and recognizing the opponent's Pokémon is one crucial thing you must remember," commented Erika proudly. "Although it would be wise if you did it mentally when against a trainer."

"Well, I'll stop you there and say your half right and half wrong," said the engineer.

"What do you mean?" said Erika.

"Scientists have done extensive research and now show that Magnemite possess another type besides electric: steel," explained the engineer. "They have very intrinsic properties if I do say so myself."

"Erika, none of the lessons that you had involved steel types!" said Ash who was almost at the point of panicking.

"None of the books I have mention that," said Erika. "The most current book that I have, as well as research on the internet, has only mentioned abilities that Pokémon have. They said nothing about this steel type."

"Steel types have been around for a while, miss," said the engineer. "It's just that you were probably reading books that were exclusively for the Kanto region. The articles you have read may not have been up-to-date before the diversification of Pokemon in Kanto. Plus, the internet is still fairly new. Anyways, scientists had documented originally 150 or 151 Pokemon based on whom you read or ask, but now it seems more have appeared in the past few months."

"Like Kenshi's Lucario; he said Lucario was from Sinnoh," said Ash.

"Interesting. I'll have to see him at the dojo one day," trailed off the engineer. "Now, how about we battle? By the way, my name is Nicholas."

"You bet," said Ash with a confident grin. "And my name's Ash. You make the first move, Nicholas."

"Magnemite, show them a tackle attack!" said Nicholas. The floating Pokémon hovered towards Machop at an increased pace and was about to slam its metallic body, but Ash said.

"Move out of the way and use your new move take down!" commanded Ash. Machop was swift enough to get out of Magnemite's way and he returned the offense by launching a darting tackle at the Pokémon, pinning Magnemite to the ground.

"Magnemite, free yourself and unleash a sonic boom!" said Nicholas. The Magnemite hummed very loudly to the point that Machop was unable to pin it down and Magnemite spun around very fast. A white horizontal beam of energy was hurled from its body and zoomed in on Machop who unfortunately did not evade it in time. Machop fell to the ground and Ash called out,

"Are you okay, Machop?" Machop brushed off the dirt from his stomach and gave a thumbs up. Ash faced Erika and said, "How powerful was that move? Would another one be able to take him down?"

"Hmm, I doubt it," said Erika. "Sonic boom always does a fixed amount of energy; it's mainly used to gradually whittle down an opponent if there is no type advantage."

"We will show them that we are made of sterner stuff!" said Ash confidently. "I'm viewing life from a different perspective now and I am viewing with sheer optimism!"

"I am very glad of that," began Erika, slightly annoyed by his arrogance, "but remember when I told you that you mustn't get cocky; this is Machop's first battle after his recovery, after all."

"Oh, yeah," remembered Ash. "I get a little bit overconfident when I battle. Machop, attack Magnemite with a low kick."

Machop began to run towards Magnemite and jumped to perform a drop kick, but Nicholas gave Magnemite an order.

"Evade and use supersonic." Machop missed his target and fell to the ground, but not before using his hand to greatly lessen the impact. He stood back up on his feet and clenched his feet and teeth with a burning spirit as he carefully watched his opponent. The floating magnet released a pulsing set of energy rings towards Machop, effectively c onfusing him as he then started to lose his balance and having difficulty focusing. Ash did not need to hear anyone say that Machop was in no condition to attack at the moment, which left him with another choice.

"Seems my attack left your Machop in an unfortunate state," chuckled Nicholas. "Now use thundershock, Magnemite."

Just as the electricity began to crackle and flash on the two horseshoe magnets on Magnemite, Ash said,

"What do I do now, Erika? He can't fight back now!"

"Don't think of offense; think of a defensive strategy," she advised as she was concerned that Ash may not do what she intended. "Balance both of those; focusing on only offense leaves you vulnerable to the enemy."

Ash had to think for a second. What was the best way to counteract this situation? The lectures of Erika all seemed scattered and not concretely in place in his mind. The new move! "Machop, if you can hear me well and keep your balance for a second, use light screen!" said Ash. Machop said his name and his fingers began to glow. He waved his hands around frantically and a hemisphere of light covered him. The electric attack finally reached him and attacked him, but it did little damage. Machop finally was able to shake off the confusion and was ready for the next order.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" cheered Ash. "Show 'em your karate chop!" With a dashing leap, Machop's hand began to glow and with a well-aimed strike hit Magnemite head on.

"Crictical!" said Nicholas. "Your Machop rebounded nicely and took advantage of Magnemite's weakness of fighting moves. Well done."

"I thought electric Pokémon were weak only to ground," stated Ash.

"That's true," said Nicholas, "but steel Pokémon have a weakness for fighting types as well as fire and ground. Since this is your first time hearing about this, you should definitely keep that in mind."

"I certainly will," said Ash as he took out his notebook and jotted down the words the engineer said.

"You must be a new trainer," commented Nicholas.

"You could say that," said Ash. "You make your move."

"Heh. I like your spirit, kid. Magnemite, why don't you show this kid another sonic boom?" said Nicholas.

"Magnemite…" said the warbled voice of the Pokémon. The magnet began to spin in the air in order to prepare its attack and Ash felt that this was a great time to counterattack.

"Low kick before it finishes!" ordered Ash with caution. Machop's senses were as clear as ever and he advanced towards his target with surprisingly fast speed. Ash was cheering Machop on as he jumped into the air and performed a drop kick, interrupting Magnemite's attack process. "Good job! You stopped Magnemite from launching its attack!"

"Low kick has a chance to make the enemy flinch, interrupting their attacks," stated Erika. "It's a secondary effect, remember? A large portion of moves can do something other than just damage."

"Sometimes it's hard retaining all the knowledge when we covered so much," confessed Ash. "I should remind myself to go over it once we've settled for the night." He made a reminder in his spiral notebook about this information and set it down by his feet in case he needed it again.

"You really are a novice at this, are you kid?" said Nicholas.

"Long story that's personal," said Ash. "Machop, show them that karate chop of yours. And don't hold back!" Thinking of why Ash was apparently so new to this only fueled his determination to win; looking back at his past mistakes made him feel embarrassed, but at least he was taking a far more rational approach versus going all offense. "Just try to stop us if you can!" he taunted.

"I will gladly if you wish that," said Nicholas. "Magnemite, use thunder wave! Stop Machop in his tracks!"

If there was one thing that Ash was quite aware of, it was that Machop had the ability known as guts. The weak electric current was almost finished and upon impact, it would cause paralysis. Ash knew that this status condition would raise Machop's attack power, and Ash said, "Don't dodge – run straight into it!"

Nicholas was stupefied by what Ash ordered and said, "Are you trying to end the match early, kid? Well, you asked for it!" Magnemite fired the electric current towards Machop and the voltage attacked his cells and muscles, slowing his movement drastically. At the same time, a scarlet aura flashed around Machop's body and his eyes turned red; Machop felt like a surge of energy awakened some sort of latent power of his.

"All right! You can do it!" said Ash. Machop had to act fast or paralysis would completely overwhelm him. With a glow of his left hand, he unleashed a mighty vertical slam that knocked Magnemite to the ground; it was over for the electric type and Machop fell to his knees with his hands planted in the ground, gasping for breath as he ran out of energy.

"Wow…" said Nicholas with widened eyes. "I know when I'm beaten. Heh." He withdrew Magnemite and clipped the ball back on his hip. "Good job, boy," he said to Ash, "and thanks for entertaining me; it really lowered my stress. I best get back to work. Stay safe out there and good luck on your journey!"

Ash and Erika said farewell to the man who left the area. Ash took out something from his backpack; it was a yellow medicine bottle.

"C-c-chop," said Machop as he was straining and trying to keep himself up.

Ash walked behind Machop and set a hand on his back. "Here, buddy, open your mouth; this is to cure the paralysis." Machop obeyed and opened his mouth as the extremely bitter medicine entered his system. Ash closed the lid on the bottle and put it back into his backpack and grabbed another bottle. It was a potion. He sprayed it on Machop, who winced as the medicine slightly stung, but he sighed in relief a few seconds afterward as he felt the energy returning to him. Ash extended his hand for Machop to help him up, but the Pokémon had a sly grin and wanted to return the help in a sneaky way. Machop got on his feet and hugged Ash's legs with a quick wag of his tail.

"Aww, that's so adorable that he wants to show his thanks like that," said Erika with a smile as she petted his head.

Ash wanted to give Machop a hug at his level, so he got on his knees and was about to return it, but Machop placed a hand on each side of Ash's area above the hips and tossed him into the air!

"Heeeeeyy!" echoed Ash's voice as he ascended into the air. Surprisingly, he did not really have fear in his voice, just shock at the completely unexpected prank.

"Maaachooop!" cried the Pokémon with a near laugh in his voice.

Erika gasped and placed her hands over her mouth as the boy was about 8 meters in the air and still going upwards. "Ash! Machop! How could you?!"

Machop glanced back at the girl and held out his pointer finger to signal "one moment". The grey Pokémon looked at the ground below him and saw the shadow of his trainer increasing in size and he smiled. He looked up and held out his hands, catching Ash under the back and under his legs, like bridal style. He set his trainer onto the ground and smiled. Erika ran over to them and said,

"Machop! That was a bad thing to do!" Machop turned his head away and let it sink in dismay. "Ash?" said Erika. Ash was there completely motionless. His blank face turned into a smile.

"That was awesome!" he said as he playfully and gently punched Machop's shoulder. This earned a smile from the little human-like Pokémon. "I'm not mad at you at all; I trust you completely and I knew you wouldn't do anything evil. Just advise me next time." Machop nodded. "I'm completely pumped now! Let's keep moving!"

"I almost skipped a beat since I was so scared," admitted Erika with her hand on her heart. "I think it is now time to critique your first battle. After all, learning from your mistakes makes you stronger. Think back of it; tell me the positive and negative aspects."

"Let me see," said Ash. "Let's analyze the negative. We didn't know that Magnemite was steel type!"

"Yes, that was a bit of a curve ball," said Erika. "Just when you learned all the types of Kanto's Pokémon, they discover something new to throw us both off! But luckily you had an advantage." Machop turned to her and gave her a thumbs up and she giggled. "What else is there?"

"I was too arrogant," said Ash. "Thinking about just winning and not remaining calm and focused is a way to lose, right?"

"Right," nodded Erika proudly. "Do you know what else?"

"Um…Machop got paralyzed?" said Ash with hesitance.

Erika shook her head slowly. "True, but not what I was thinking of. Think of low kick and what happened."

"Yeah! It wasn't easy to hit Magnemite because it could float! I gotta remember to not use that on floating Pokémon." Ash picked up the notebook and made that reminder and underlined it, but upon setting it down, he was greeted by Erika who has slightly frustrated. "But!" resumed Ash, stopping her from speaking. "That was not the major issue with low kick. I was unaware that the move can make enemies flinch. I also need to keep in mind that take down is a move along with several others that damages the user. Using it too frequently will make Machop faint, right?"

Her frustration subsided and was replaced by a smile. "There you go. You covered the weaknesses well. I was impressed by the use of light screen. Do you know why?"

"It makes moves that are based on special attack weaken," said Ash. "I figured that most electric moves are special, so I'd give Machop a defense boost in that area."

"Wise on your part," praised Erika. "Keep in mind Machop's stats, such as attack and defense. Machop has—"

"Weak special defense," added Ash. "Normal defense for a first-stage Pokémon in a three-tier evolution line, horrible special attack, but awesome physical attack power. Isn't that right, Machop?"

"Ma!" he said with triumph and flexed. The humans and the Pokémon all began to continue towards the south they resumed for about three more hours with surprisingly little action other than a few encounters with wild Pokémon that were not of much interest such as Rattata or Weedle. A sign showed that they were still 15 more miles until reaching Vermillion and figured that they could rest in a quiet area.

Ash and Erika were in two separate tents and Machop had an adult sleeping bag that practically swallowed him due to his size; it was okay because he'd need it once he evolved. Ash was there in complete silence and looked upward into the fabric of the tent and darkness. He could not fall asleep because he had stuff running through his mind. Like what was in the egg? Where were his former Pokémon? Where was Misty? The red-haired girl's image was still in his heart, but…how could he get her out of his mind?

"Erika Grace Warriner," he mumbled lowly. The fabric of Machop's sleeping bag began to rustle and then a zipper was undone.

"Mnnn," grunted Machop as he wiped his eyes. Ash turned his head to Machop without sitting up and said,

"Psss, Machop, you can't sleep either?" Machop shook his head slowly. "Whatcha thinking about, buddy?"

"Ma, ma, chop, ma," he whispered. Ash noticed something; Machop didn't have his teddy bear!

Ash unzipped his backpack and showed the stuffed toy to Machop. "Is this what you wanted?" Machop slowly nodded and accepted the bear, but Ash felt that it was not what was on the 'mon's mind. "Any better?" he asked the grey human-like Pokémon. Machop nodded with a smile and hugged the bear which he treasured so deeply; it was one of the nicest things that he has ever had in the world on a material level. No, it was the best thing that he had apart from Ash's support and friendship and he would never part with the bear. Should Ash ever say good-bye and wished Machop, or possibly Machamp then, a happy future, he would always have the bear. But saying good-bye was Machop's fear; even out in the wild and having a mate with offspring would not fill in the void. He would ask himself day after day why they had to part ways and would look for him, crossing the ends of the world if necessary.

Ash looked back and saw that the Pokémon had fully fallen asleep as indicated by his soft snoring. The boy was at peace when he had his buddy around; because Ash knew that he saved a Machop from unfathomable conditions, he felt that he had a stronger connection at this point with Machop than he ever did with Pikachu. At least Machop didn't attack him on the first encounter and the fighting type was a lot more obedient, but still, it just left Ash wondering what became of Pikachu. Despite the treatment Ash suffered, he would never wish it on Pikachu. He only hoped he, as well as the other five, were okay.

Saturday, October 18, 1997

The cool but welcomed light of the sun illuminated Route 6, causing all the bird Pokémon to unleash an unwanted cacophony of off-key singing.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!" sang Erika; it was the only pleasant thing Ash heard all morning. Ash looked around and saw that Machop was nowhere to be seen. Ash turned the other way and then turned back around so that his view was towards the ceiling of the tent and closed his eyes again. Erika whispered to Machop and Machop opened the tent quietly and stood behind Ash's head, peering down at his trainer's eyes. He squatted down so that he was about six inches from the raven-haired teen's face. Ash felt the slow breathing and opened his eyes, almost jumping in place from the surprise of his up-close wake up call from Machop.

"Maaa chooop~" sang the fighting Pokemon as he gently tapped Ash's forehead. Ash laughed and shooed the hand away.

"All right, all right, I'm getting up, ma!" chuckled Ash. He got dressed and saw Erika collecting some wood, as well as Krabby.

"What's going on?" he questioned as he greeted Krabby and the other Pokémon.

"Collecting wood for a fire and berries," said Erika. "I found some herbs along the way and a few edible plants. Do me a favor, please, and get a pale of water from the stream and start a fire; I'm gonna make soup. Put the herbs in the pot as soon as you get the water."

Ash did not protest but he did have a concern. "Is the water sanitary?"

"It should be, but as a backup, Gloom makes a non-toxic substance that kills pretty much all bacteria and other microscopic things," explained Erika, relieving Ash. She set the wood down and left the area. Ash took the large pot and got water from the river and Gloom purified it with a drop of liquid that formed on the flower on her head. After putting the herbs in, Ash used some flint stones to light a fire, successfully warming the pot up.

Ash was sitting there completely bored from watching the water. His vision wandered all over the place until it focused on Erika's tent; it was open and he saw what looked like a book lying there. Ash felt it would not be wise to leave the fire unattended, even if her tent was about only 20 feet away, but curiosity got the better of the boy.

"Hey, Krabby, watch the fire while I go…check out something," said Ash with a sneaky voice. The crustacean answered and Ash walked out of sight of the Pokémon. He then approached the tent from behind and quietly opened the zipper and got on his knees to grab the book, only to discover that it wasn't a book. "A calendar?" he said in a puzzled voice. He looked at it better to see that it was a monthly planner that was opened to the calendar section. The entire month of October took up two pages and he saw stuff such as the lessons that she had taught him; nothing overly special. He flipped it over to November to see that it was blank, so he turned the page to December. On the first page near the very top, Ash saw something that caught his eye; on December 4th, there was a tiny pink sticker of a slice of cake. "Is it her birthday?" he said to himself. He flipped through the book and found out that sure enough, it was her birthday. She was going to turn 15 on December 4th which was almost four months older than Ash's April 1st. He had to keep that date in mind.

"Gloom?" said the flower Pokemon that randomly snuck up on Ash.

"Whoa!" said a beyond startled Ash. He put his hand on his heart and exhaled sharply. "You scared me and-"

"Gloom?" said Gloom as she opened her eyes. She saw that Ash was holding her trainer's personal book and was upset. "Gloom, Gloom, Gloom!"

Ash understood that Gloom was upset at his snooping through Erika's stuff. "Gloom? Please, I beg you, not to tell Erika. I want to tell you something, but keep it as a secret. Okay?" Gloom said her name and approached Ash as he whispered something to her. She seemed pleased and Ash felt that he could trust her not to tell Erika. Ash set the book back down in its proper position and went back to the pot that was boiling the water. Just if on cue, Erika showed up a minute later with a handful of berries and put them in the pot. The two of them ate their breakfast quietly and began to head for Vermillion City and then Diglett's Cave.

GPS: Who's inside the egg? I will give you these hints: underrated (to me) and pretty much seldom appears in fanfiction. Also, this Pokemon is/will not be from The World's in Your Hands. It is also a type that he currently does not have in either story. So I humbly ask that you please do not guess in a review for you must wait to find out!

Also, in terms of reviews, I would greatly appreciate that those awesome individuals who do leave a review to please provide specifics about what you liked or disliked. (But no profanity, please.) I respect and appreciate all those who have said something, but merely saying "Good job" or "Nice story" leaves me guessing as to what area you liked. I want to know where I should improve as a writer. I also take suggestions of Pokémon to consider, but I ask that it be a Pokémon that doesn't appear in TWIYH. Something underrated and interesting; it can even be a Pokémon that Misty or Brock had but seldom used like Goldeen or Vulpix. Also, Ash will still be a bit forgetful and slow, but will progressively get better and better as each chapter goes by since he begins to understand the name of the game.

And for those who got some sort of idea, no, there will not be any human x Pokémon romance. Any and all relations in the future will be M/F between human x human or Pokémon x Pokémon.

Anyways, this is GPS wishing that you have a happy new year!