The Master's Cup Chapter 10: Let The Journey Begin, a pokémon fanfic

Hello. Greetings to each and every Trainer, Coordinator, Breeder, and Reader out there! And welcome to the tenth chapter of the Master's Cup!

Last time, "Red Satoshi" was caught in a massive fire storm! How could he possibly survive this ordeal? And May had hatched a special Dratini inside the Dragon Den. What is so special about this one pokemon?

One of the three challenge questions in the last chapter was this.

Which is better, the original or a newer copy?

The is the key to the story of The Master's Cup. Your answers will determine what the ending will be so choose wisely.

The beginning of the Unova Journey is at hand. So let us commence.

Last time on The Master's Cup

Pikachu smelled a mysterious scent in the air. It was familiar, yet strange. It was similar to the storm but something was different this time.

His trainer walked into the forest. Pikachu knew something was seriously wrong. No matter what he did, his trainer would not wake up. He used his Thunderbolt but it didn't do a thing. Reluctantly, he used Iron

Tail on his trainer. It knocked him down, but he got right back up and continued walking.

That strangely familiar scent was really strong now. Red had stopped. He looked straight up. Pikachu looked up too, expecting the black storm clouds once again.

What he found, was the opposite.

They were storm clouds alright. White ones with a red aura pulsing from the eye of the storm. The air began heating up brutally. Two blue eyes shot through the storm, looking straight down at them.

A flash of violent red burst from the white stormy heavens above. An arrow of red flames collided with the earth and engulfed Pikachu's trainer.

The white cloud roared.

The Master's Cup

Chapter Ten

Let The Journey Begin

"PIKACHU!" The electric mouse screamed. The enormous tower of flames had engulfed its trainer. He couldn't see inside the column and worse, he couldn't see Ash.

Suddenly, the spinning flares ceased and shot back up into the skies.

Pikachu ran over to the still body of its trainer. Amazingly, he hadn't been incinerated. He hadn't even been burned. There was not a scratch on him. He was simply out of it like they had been when the thunderbolt had blasted them both.

Pikachu stared up at the enormous white cloud. It could have been a twin to the black one. Something was going on here. What were these clouds? What was the purpose of that huge thunderbolt and column of fire? And why hadn't they hurt when they slammed into them? And perhaps most important, who did those eyes belong to?

There had been red ones in the thunder cloud and blue ones in the fire cloud.

The red eyed pokemon had made a blue thunderbolt and the blue eyed pokemon had made a red column of fire. That had to have some significance. The clouds and the pokemon inside of them were connected. The mouse knew that they had to be! But…what were they?

"Ughh…" Someone groaned. It was Ash!

"Pikachu!" The mouse cried of happiness and jumped onto its trainer's chest. He left no part of Ash's face unlicked.

"Pikachu! Are you okay buddy?" Ash asked worriedly Pikachu stared at his best friend in shock. He was the one who had been hit by a huge blast of flames!

"Cha!" Pikachu said.

"I'm so glad." Ash then looked up at the sky. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder to get a better look.

"Pika?"

"I wonder what that was." Ash thought aloud. "All I saw were a pair of blue eyes and then…everything went black. Just like with that other cloud!" Ash realized. "Only…it was a black cloud and they were red eyes. And everything went white too! There was something else…what was it?"

And despite going through all his memories of those clouds…he could not recall what it was.

"Pi…cha chu!" The mouse said.

"Maybe we'll figure it out later." Ash said hopeful for the future. "Well…let's get back to the lab."

"Pika!" Pikachu was about to follow his friend when something caught his eye. Right before he turned to head back to the lab, Pikachu could have sworn that he something in Ash's eyes. One was bright and the other was dark. He rubbed his eyes and looked back. Ash was already walking towards Nuvema Town.

Pikachu ran ahead of Ash and looked back into his eyes.

His trainer's eyes were their normal color. It must have been a trick of the sunlight or something. But still…

Pikachu knew that he had seen something.

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In a region far far away, within the mountains of an ancient village, a miracle was happening. It was the birth of life.

"Dratini!" The baby mumbled to the new world.

"It's…it's so cute!" May said. She and the baby pokemon locked eyes. The snake like pokemon crawled out of the water, and curled up into May's lap. She gently stroked the newborn and it fell into a deep sleep.

"I've never seen anything like this before!" Clair, the Blackthorn City gym leader mumbled quietly.

"What's wrong?" May asked, still stroking the baby.

"May…from generation to generation, for hundreds of years, my family has bonded with the Dragons. We have cared for them as they have for us. But never before have I seen something this incredible!"

"What do you mean?" May asked. She knew little about the Dratini species, let alone any Dragon pokemon.

"May…for the most part…a pokemon species is born the same color. There are extremely rare occasions where a pokemon is colored differently. But research has shown that there can be only one color alteration for a pokemon species. We call these rare pokemon Shiny Pokemon."

"So Dratini is a Shiny pokemon?" May asked. She had watched on the news about Professor's discovering Shiny pokemon. They have already been discovered, then why was Clair so shocked?

"May…you don't understand. A Dratini is normally blue in color. This Dratini is not however."

"I know that."

"A Dratini's Shiny form is pink. This one as you can see…is not."

May nodded. "It is Black." Indeed. The new born was covered with scales of the darkest night.

"Yes. This has never been discovered before. A Black Dratini. She is special May."

"She?" May asked.

"You can tell it's gender by the shape of the wings on a Dratini's head."

"Wow…"

"Yes and she is also a bit larger than most full grown Dratini. The average full grown Dratini is about six feet long. This one is was just born and I can tell that she will become very powerful if loved properly. Will you give this Dratini the love it needs?"

"Yes. I will. I promise." May assured her.

"Good. I leave her too you." Clair turned around and left. May watched her retreating form until it vanished behind a rock.

"Dra?" She heard. She looked down and saw that her new friend had just awakened.

"Hello Dratini. So would you like to come with me?" The black Dratini wrapped herself around May's neck.

"Tini!" It cried out in happiness.

"I'll take that as a yes." May giggled.

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Back in tiny Nuvema Town, our protagonists were just about to begin yet another journey.

"So you're leaving already?" Hilda asked, shocked at how quick he had gotten ready. She still had half of her bag to pack!

"Yep." Ash, under the new name of Red, answered. "I want to explore this land and meet tons of new people and pokemon."

"We agreed that we're going to head out tomorrow." Cheren informed him. "It's getting late so we will be fully awake to begin our journeys."

"It's up to you. I prefer to sleep under the stars so I want to go find a good camping spot before it gets to dark."

"Well…okay." Bianca said sadly.

"Cheer up. We'll run into each other again soon." Red said.

"And when we do, I'm going to battle you and win!" Hilbert proclaimed. Red laughed.

"I see a lot of myself in you four. Both the good as well as the bad. Do what you want to do and follow your own hopes and dreams, not what others tell you. You're in charge of your journey. Learn from your mistakes and make new discoveries. And most importantly, always believe in yourself and your pokemon."

"Osha!" Red was immediately tackled to the ground. He found a blue otter nuzzling him.

"Aww!" The girls cooed at the sight.

"Hey Oshawott. What are you doing here?" Red asked.

"I believe that Oshawott wants to go with you Red." A new voice spoke. They all turned to find Professor Juniper smiling at them.

"Really?" Red asked.

"Really." She confirmed. "As long as it's alright with you."

"Of course!" Red exclaimed. Juniper smiled and placed something into his hand.

"Here is Oshawott's poke ball."

"Thanks." He turned to the blue otter. "Oshawott return!" A red beam recalled the otter back into its spherical home. He turned to face the others. "Well then…I guess this is goodbye…"

"Don't worry." Juniper said. "Like Red said before, you'll all meet each other once again."

"Right." The children affirmed.

Red waved a hand to them. "Until next time."

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse called out to them. Red turned around and walked in the other direction.

They continued to watch his retreating form until it hid itself behind the trees.

"Well I think you all best get to bed. There's a whole world just waiting for you." Juniper told them. The kids headed off to their respective houses.

Juniper looked down the path that lead to Route One. She thought only one word.

'Ash…'

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Red walked down the path, breathing in the fresh air. He let his hood down and put on his new hat. It was white and red with a pokemon symbol in the middle. He wanted to reminisce that first day he became a trainer.

Something came across the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw and old, battered wooden sign.

Route 1

"Just like old times huh buddy?" Red asked his best friend.

"Pika. Pi. Chu." The mouse nodded its head.

"And to think that back then I had to tie a rope around you to get you to move." He laughed.

"Pika!" The mouse joined in.

A soft breeze rippled through the trees. It picked up his hat and flew away with it.

Red sighed. "Why is it that something is always stealing my hat?"

"Pika?" The pokemon shrugged. They walked off of the main path in search of the missing cap. Rather than run after it like he used to, Red simply followed the direction of the breeze. After a few trees passed by, he found his hat lying against a small cliff.

He picked up his hat, placed it back onto of his messy hair, and took a good look at his surroundings.

He and Pikachu were mesmerized. The spot they found themselves in was perfect. IT lied right next to a small lake and had many trees to protect them from the elements.

"Looks like the wind's trying to tell us something Pikachu."

"Pi." The rat nodded.

Red grabbed a poke ball off his belt and threw it. Out came the Sea Otter Pokemon better known as Oshawott.

"Osha!" The blue and white pokemon wrapped its stubby arms around Red's leg.

"Hello to you to Oshawott. Now, we need to set up camp. It's going to get dark in a few hours so we need to hurry. Now Oshawott, hold still for a minute."

"Osh." The otter complied. Red pulled out his new pokedex and scanned his new friend."

"Okay then. Right now you know Tackle, Water Gun, Tail Whip, and Razor Shell. You're pretty talented to know those moves already."

"Oshawott." The pokemon blushed and rubbed his hand behind his head."

"Okay then, here's what we're going to do." Red scanned the area. "Oshawott, see those fruits and berries in the trees?"

The otter looked to where he was pointing and nodded.

"I want you to use Razor Shell to make them fall to the ground. Only those three trees. The rest I want you to leave alone. There is a nest behind you and we don't want to disturb the pokemon that live there. Understand?"

"Osha!"

"Good. Pikachu, once Oshawott cuts down those berries, I want you to use a light thunderbolt on them to soften them up. I'm going to set up the sleeping bags."

And so, the three began to prepare for nightfall.

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May exited the cave holding a strange poke ball. It was similar to the normal style but where there was white on a normal poke ball, this one had black.

She had found it lying on the ground after Clair had left.

The baby Dratini stared at it with fascination. May had picked it up and Dratini pressed her nose to it in curiosity. The ball automatically opened and Dratini was pulled inside. The ball did not even struggle. Dratini wanted to go with May.

"Gla?" Her icy pokemon asked.

"It is strange Glaceon. It sure is. But we still need to find Ash and Pikachu."

She started to walk through town once again. She had not found what she had been looking for, but she had made a few new friends.

The sun was sinking behind the mountains. She had been inside the Dragon's Den longer than she had thought.

"Well…we're not going to be able to see anything once it's night. And the mountain pokemon are extremely vicious. Let's get a hotel room and start off again tomorrow."

"Glaceon!"

"Okay! Okay! I promise I won't sleep in this time!" May reassured her companion.

Glaceon sighed. She knew her trainer was telling a big fat lie. But she was really tired herself and followed May into the hotel.

Ten minutes later, Glaceon and Dratini passed out onto the soft bed. The sun sunk behind the mountains and the moon began to rise. May sat out on the balcony, starring up at the glowing orb.

'I know that you're looking up at the same moon as me. Wherever you are, I will find you.'

She paused. A small breeze past by her.

"Ash…"

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Red, Oshawott, and Pikachu had easily set up their campsite and had a feast of fruits and berries. The young sea otter pokemon had shown lots of potential. Red knew that Oshawott would be a great friend.

The two pokemon, full from their feast, had fallen asleep immediately. Red however, could not find slumber to be so easy to grasp. He gazed up at the stars. There had to be a million of them. Billions. Maybe trillions. No…there could be no word to describe the number of stars out there.

The moon however, outshined all the stars combined. It bathed the world in its lunar light.

Red thought deeply. So much was going on at once. Should he have told Professor Juniper about the white cloud? Maxie, Archie, Saturn, Giovanni, and all the other enemies. What if they started targeting everyone who has a connection to Ash Ketchum? But one thought reigned supreme. He uttered one word as he gazed at the lunar orb in the sky.

"May…"

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A/N: And there you go. Chapter ten has arrived. Red and Pikachu are now beginning a new journey on route one with their new friend Oshawott. While May and Glaceon have found a new partner in the rare Dratini.

Two mysteriously linked clouds have shined upon Red. What is the purpose behind the clouds?

And why did I place an Ash losing his hat reference in the chapter? The answer is pretty obvious. Every new region in the show is required to have at least one episode where Ash loses his hat. I decided to follow the tradition and place it in the story. But Ash, or Red, whichever, is a lot more mature. And the last reason is simple. Because I wanted to!

What could happen now? How will May find Ash? What new adventures wait in store for our heroes? Do the challenges below and find out next chapter!

Thanks To…

Elinea Espeon960 Lightningblade49

Vital info Ghost for Linkin Park NEBSparky86

PhantoMNiGHT321 ZXCVBNMEM Gamenerd808

LAWLS117 Obliterator1519 Luiz4200

Advanceshippingforever Mafee the dragon master

Mafia-Maori-Spartan BuraiArt DemonBloodFeeder

Maxy2010

Bragging Rights go to…

Elinea-different colored shiny

Vital Info-Above normal sized Dratini

Mafia-Maori-Spartan-different colored Dratini

Challenges

1. What effect did the clouds have on Red?

Plasma will make their grand opening next chapter. What will they do?

3. Which is better, the original or a newer, more advanced copy?

4. How will May find out that Ash/Red is in Unova?

Next time we will discover Team Plasma and meet the mysterious N!

See you all next chapter!

SuperXBrother