Ash's Pokemon
Rayna: A Riolu and Ash's starter. Female.
Known Moves: Quick Attack, Foresight, Force Palm, Counter and Blinding Rush (combo of quick attack and force palm).
Ziggy: A Noibat, Male
Known Moves: Tackle, Supersonic, Screech, Absorb, Gust and Confusion Bell (combo of supersonic and absorb).
Fletcher: A Rowlet, Male
Known Moves: Tackle, Leafage, Growl and Peck. Is currently still recovering from starvation and not training or battling.
Noelle: An Alolan Vulpix, Female
Known Moves: Powder Snow, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes and Tail Whip.
Feebas, Female
Moves Unknow
Amaura Fossil
Ash tapped his foot nervously on the ground from his place at the back at professor Kukui's classroom as he waited to be called forward. Most of his team ran around the room frolicking with the other Pokémon present, only Fletcher choosing to forgo play in favor of snoozing in Ash's backpack hanging off of desk seat close by. Thankfully the only people occupying the room were Ash's new friends, the Alola gang as he'd started to call them in his mind. His presentation would be videotaped and watched by the rest of the classes whenever was convenient to each teacher. His team ran around the room playing with the other Pokémon present.
He occupied himself by reading the article Mikiko had posted about him on her blog this morning. Thankfully it had nothing but good things to say about him, remarking on his fast growth and strategy of catching a full team quickly and then using the entire season to train them before the league. The two arranged for Ash to keep Mikiko informed on what he was up to so she could give monthly updates on the page she had dedicated to him.
"Ash," Professor Kukui called from the front as he stepped to the side. "Your up."
The boy swallowed harshly as he stepped forward to take his place in front of the white board, reference cards dangling from his hand. Battling in front of people came naturally to him. He only had to play attention to his Pokémon and opponent, his love for the sport helping him easily block the rest of the world out. Representing his home region as part of a classroom lecture…that wasn't so easy.
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region," the trainer started for the cameras sack. Everyone in the room already knew who he was.
"I recently started my Pokémon journey and am extremely fortunate to spend the first week of it here in Alola in exchange for running a special errand here for Professor Oak. Professor Oak is the head regional professor of Kanto and your headmaster's cousin. The other requirement for my trip is introducing you all to how the league and government system works in the other regions."
Ash's foot was tapping on the ground again nervously as he dove right into his cards trying to read as fast as he could while making sure his listeners could still keep up.
"Before you can even become a trainer back home you have to complete at least five years of schooling with at least one of those years dedicated to Pokémon. You can only get your trainers license if you pass the final exam with a 95% or above. As I understand it's the same here. It's after you graduate that things start to differ. From what I've gather in Alola upon graduation you receive your first Pokémon either as a gift or have someone help you catch one for you in the wild. Maybe you've already found a Pokémon partner and all that's happens once you get your license is that the official guardianship of the Pokémon passes from your parents to you. Many of you will continue to chase your career choice with your Pokémon by your side, some will travel for awhile to explore your region and a few will take on the island challenge. By completing the island challenge and continuing to be a trainer of high standing throughout your life you might someday become a Trail Captain or even your islands Kahuna. In the rest of the world our path after graduation is similar in some ways. Besides the island challenge all the paths that you have are available in Kanto and other regions. The biggest difference is the majority of trainers will choose a path you don't have available to you here, to take on the Pokémon League."
"Scattered across the Kanto region are 30 gyms, each home to a strong gym leader whose job it is to protect and lead their city and surrounding area. Overseeing the gyms are the eight strongest gym leaders, the Top Eight, who each oversee two to four different gyms depending on how close they are to each other. They are usually from the eight biggest cities in Kanto. Over the Top Eight are the Elite Four. They are the four strongest trainers in the region who are in charge of everything that comes with running a country. Protecting, infrastructure, trading, policy, etc. They are quite similar to your Kahunas if they all worked together and operated all over the region, not just their island. Above them all is the Champion who leads the region and makes all the final decisions. He or she is also the strongest trainer in the region. Usually gym leaders choose their own predecessor with the approval of the Top Eight or Elite Four and the Elite Four are chosen by the Champion. The Champion wins their place by beating the former Champion in battle. But it's not as simple as simply challenging the Champion. If that were the case he or she would spend all their time battling challengers instead of running the region. No, you have to win the right to battle for the position of Champion."
"Kanto and Johto are a little weird. We share the same Champion and Elite Four. The reason for that is that they are the only two regions share a close border and used to constantly fight over resources hundreds of years ago until they were united by an aura guardian named Kiyoko. It's a long story we wouldn't get into now but it's really interesting and worth looking into if you have the time. Kanto and Johto's Champion, Lance, also is a member of the Elite Four as well as being Champion. When the last Champion, Red, disappeared over a decade ago a lot of people panicked and jumped ship including half of the then Elite Four. Lance has only been able to find one person strong enough and of high moral standings to fill the spot so far, but we have two Elite Four trainees that will be stepping up soon. Lorelei will retire when that happens to peruse her passion as a scientist and Lance will revoke his Elite Four title becoming only Champion."
"To reach that level you start as a beginner trainer just like me and many of you. You travel the region catching Pokémon and training until you feel you're ready to challenge a gym leader. If you win your battle against the gym leader they will award you a badge. At the end of every season if you have eight badges or more you're invited to compete in your regions conference to battle it out for the top spot. This is a critical time for most trainers. Hundreds of people enter each year and the chances of winning are atomically small. What most are really battling for is a job at the league. League jobs are famous for high pay, great benefits, payed time off and early retirement. Your gym badges are your resume, the more from the Top Eight the better. How well you battle and how far you get at the league is your interview. If you're strong and smart enough to win you earn the title as that year's victor and the opportunity to battle the Elite Four and Champion. You have to battle and beat all the Elite Four in order of weakest to strongest to reach the Champion. You are only allowed defeat three times and for every time you lose you have to start over with the weakest Elite Four member. Remember, they've battled you now and know all your tricks. You have a five-year window to use your three attempts. If you defeat the Elite Four you have only one shot at the Champion. If you lose its all over and you have to go back and win your eight gym badges all over again. If you win you become the new Champion and leader of the region."
"Another career path gaining traction in most regions is Contests. Not only do you have to battle and defeat your opponent but you also have to make your Pokémon look as good as possible while doing it. You start with the appeal round where it's just you and your Pokémon showing off your moves to dazzle the crowd and make your Pokémon stand out. It's all about bringing out your Pokémon's potential and helping them really shine. The top ten appeals move onto the battle rounds. In the battles it's you job to beat your opponent while making it look as beautiful and effortless as possible. Every battler has a set number of component points and for each mistake or hit your Pokémon takes you lose points. You can win by knocking out your opponent's Pokémon, your opponent's component score reaching zero or having the most component points when the five-minute timer goes off. If you win the contest you receive a ribbon. You need five ribbons to enter the grand festival at the end of the season. For now, since Contests are still so new the only prize for winning the grand festival is the title, a giant cash prize and the fame. There's no chance to battle last years top coordinator or the champion. You can either start all over in a different region, retire as you can live quite comfortably for most if not the rest of your life off the prize money, or pick up another career. A lot of top coordinators become Pokémon consulates or something similar. I've heard rumors though that Pokémon league officials in Hoenn where Contests started are starting to use Contests as a way to scout out potential employees."
"While making a career out of Pokémon through the league is great and all I can't stress enough how much more you can learn and grow by challenging the gyms and just traveling in general. It's common place in Kanto for every teen 13-15 years of age to travel with their Pokémon even if they don't peruse training professionally. Questions like 'what did you learn on your journey?' often pop up on job applications."
Ash flipped the card he was reading from over only to find it blank. He honestly hadn't been paying to much attention to what he was reading, just hoping to be done as soon as possible. The trainer looked up to find the other teens on the edge of their seats listening intently. Kiawe, Mallow and Lana seemed to be having a hard time containing their excitement while Lille and Sophocles seemed to be deep in thought.
"Ahh…Any Questions?" Ash asked with a shrug feeling confused as of what to do next.
"Are you allowed to enter other regions leagues and contests?" Lana asked quickly with an excited light in her eyes.
"You are," Ash answered with a slight hope blooming in his chest that he might be bumping into some of his new friends on his journey. "You're allowed to enter other regions leagues and battle another regions Champion but if you can only gain the title of Pokémon Master and add the achievement to your resume. You have to actually be a citizen of that region to take his or her place as Champion. But trust me, if you beat another regions Champion or even make it far enough to battle with them your home region will be contacting you with an Elite Four or Top Eight trainee position. I imagine your home islands Kahuna would be reaching out in your guys case."
"How long does the season go for?" Mallow asked.
"September first through the beginning of June. The Indigo Conference and Kanto Grand Festival and in July while the Silver Conference and Johto Grand Festival are in August.
"Is it too late for us to enter this year?" Lana asked nervously, directing her question at Professor Kukui.
"I don't believe so," the professor answered with a comforting smile. "You all have your trainers licenses and the season has only just begun. Whiles there much you can still learn from me here I would say the experiences you would have battling and traveling in a different region far outweigh what I can teach you in a classroom. Especially if any of you want to make Pokémon your livelihood. While you do learn and grow taking on our Island Challenge it just doesn't compare to what's out there in the bigger regions. All our Trail Captains and Kahunas competed and did well in another regions conference or grand festivals sometime in their career as well as beating the Island Challenge. Kahuna Nanu actually won the Vertress Conference in Unova back in his hay day."
"Did he beat any of the Elite Four?" Sophocles asked enthusiastically.
"Nope. Never got passed the first one."
"Aww," the boy moaned looking down disappointed.
"I believe this is a great opportunity for all of you and I encourage you to talk it over with your parents. As this is Ash's last day in Alola and I'm sure you all have a lot of questions to ask him I'm letting you go early as long as you stay on campus. Have a good day everyone!"
A few hours later Ash watched on with amusement from his spot under the shade of a large tree on campus he and his friends had claimed as the Alola gang crowded around his pokenav to watch an exhibition battle between Lorelei and Bruno. Their expressions of outright amazement were something to behold. Rayna was also perched on Mallows shoulder so she too could watch, her red eyes wide with hero worship.
"I never knew a Lapras could do that!" Lana exploded passionately. "They've always seem so gentle and sweet but Lorelei's is a beast!"
"Plenty of trainers have fallen to her because they underestimated that very Pokémon," Ash added, his amusement rising.
"Ow, I have to go!" Lana squealed. "Imagine all the new waters types I could meet and how much I could learn about them! I know I want to do something with water types for a career, I just don't know what. Maybe I'll figure that out that by doing some real training and battling gyms or competing in contests?"
"If you want to learn more about water types I would suggest heading over to Cerulean City and talking to Misty. She's a water type prodigy and one of the Top Eight in Kanto."
"That sounds like a good place to start," Lana mused thoughtfully with a tilted head. "I'll have to talk to my parents. What about you Kiawe? You've dream has always been to someday be the Kahuna of Akala Island. Traveling would be really good for you."
"I think I'll finish the Island Challenge first and let my little sister get a little older so she can take over some of my chores when I leave," The older boy replied. "Then I can also use the prize money from the Island Challenge to hire extra help for the farm while I'm gone."
"That's very thoughtful of you," Lillie said with a kind smile, speaking for the first time in a while. The girl was slightly depressed about the chance of some of her friends leaving but she wouldn't get in the way of them pursuing their dreams. Because she didn't have any Pokémon there wasn't any reason for her to go on a journey. Besides, while her mother might be keeping her distance at the moment she knew without a shadow of a doubt the woman was keeping an eye on her and having her followed. The last thing she wanted was to do anything that might grab the obsessive woman's attention. "What about you Mallow? Do you think you'll be leaving?"
"I don't know," the green haired girl pondered as she leaned back and scratched the side of her nose. "It would be sorta mean to leave my dad alone with the restaurant but if I'm ever gonna achieve any of my dreams I'll have to leave eventually. And I'm still not sure if I want to be a chef or pursue Pokémon professionally. I've been doing the chef thing for a while now, maybe it's time I give Pokémon a shot?"
"I hear there's a gym in Unova run by three brothers who are also chefs," Ash butted in. "My mom loves to watch their cooking show. I don't know much else but it might be worth looking into and paying a visit. They have the same passions as you and managed to make a career out of both."
"I think I know the brothers your talking about! I just didn't know they were gym leaders also. I'll have to do some research when I get home."
"I'm gonna stay here," Sophocles added to the conversation as he stroked Togedemaru head absentmindedly. "I love Pokémon but my real dream is to be an electrical engineer. I need to stay in school."
"Do you have an videos of contests Ash?" Lana asked curiously, an excited lit in her voice.
"I don't have anything downloaded but I'm sure I can find some good ones on Poketube."
"Why don't we head to the restaurant now that's schools out so I can make a picnic for us all and then we can head to the beach for the rest of the day?" Mallow asked. "That will also give Ash time to find some really good videos."
"I'm down with that," Sophocles said joyously while rubbing his stomach. "I could do with some food about now."
General agreement chorused among the teens as they all stood to gather their things and head towards Mallow's family restaurant.
Early the next morning Ash watched Alola disappear from the window seat on his plane ride home, the rising sun just starting to appear over Wela Volcano. It was bittersweet to be leaving, the region already evoking nostalgia in him. A lot of firsts in his Pokémon journey had taken place in Alola and the small island nation would always hold a special place in his heart for it. He had made plenty of new friends that he was almost certain he would be seeing again sometime during his journey, some sooner rather than later. Ash would also never forget how Professor Kukui had generously taken him into his home without a second thought and become something of a temporary guardian to him, offering him advice and help whenever he needed or wanted it. And most importantly he had caught five new Pokémon if you included the Amaura fossil. Five new lifelong companions who he and Rayna would hopefully become a family with.
Finally, what was once the region of life in the horizon gave way to blue endless ocean and Ash leaned back in his seat, the teens mind now on his home region which he was returning to. The boy's flight would take sixteen hours but luckily the time change was working for him this time. Ash should arrive home at seven at night Kanto time, still in time to catch one last more home cooked dinner with his mother before setting out on Route 1 tomorrow morning. He would also be meeting Elite Four trainee Will at the airport who would become one of his new traveling companion until the league (aka a slightly overprotective Lance) decided the threat to his and Gary's safety had passed (not very likely) or that the boys were strong enough to fend for themselves against Team Rocket (something that would take a very, very long time).
Ash wiggled restlessly in his seat as he tried to make himself as comfortable as possible for the long flight ahead, his fingers grazing his pokeballs wistfully. Soon he could let his Pokémon out. Soon, he would be home.
So this chapter has been a pain in the butt and rewritten many times. It's a lot shorter than usual but I wanted to start Ash's journey in Kanto and this chapter wrapped up everything I needed it to in Alola.
I originally planned a Team Skull encounter but ended up trashing it mostly because I wanted your guys opinion if you would be comfortable with how I was writing them. I think everyone is expecting Team Rocket to act like what they are what we've known them to be, the highly organized professional crime group who rules the criminal underbelly of Indigo, and encounters with them to be realistically violent and gory. Team Skull I ended up writing as more drug/alcohol gang related. They're the dropouts and runaways that turned down a dark path. They're angry at the world and cause problems for the sack of causing problems. And the characters I wrote were high, drunk and and swearing up a storm. Not to mention dropping hints of sexual assault and rape. Before I unexpectedly threw that curve ball into my story, I needed to make sure most of you would be okay with it as I know that direction is more likely to touch more people personally. So let me know what you think. I before any of you ask I believe I will be writing Magma/Agua/Galactic as radicalized religious terrorists which I know can also be a touchy subject for people.
Last but not least a little hot about future shipping's. The latest episodes of Sun and Moon when Misty and Brock visit Alola totally changed my plans! Ahh! How did I not see it before!
REVIEW!...it makes me happy.
