Here's an update on the Eevee-lution poll:
Eevee, Vaporeon, Flareon – 0; Jolteon, Leafeon, Glaceon – 1; Sylveon, Umbreon; - 2; Espeon – 3
Please continue to post your favourite along with pokemon you would like to see with our heroes. Now on with the chapter.
"speech"
'telepathy'
"pokespeech"
'Character thoughts'
(Own thoughts)
Arrival
Aboard the MV Empire Windrush, we find the group by the pool with all their pokemon out with them. Ash, Sakura, Bianca, Misty and Brock were all in the swimming pool. All of Misty's pokemon were with them along with Eevee. Pikachu and Umbreon were talking while looking out to sea. All the other pokemon didn't like the water too much due to weaknesses, but all are having fun in the moonlight.
"Why don't you join us Latios?" Ash calls out to the invisible pokemon, "There's no-one around, so what's the harm?"
'If there is trouble like earlier today, I would like for one of us to remain able to be free. If we are all visible, it'll be easier for whoever to take all of us.'
"Come on, whoever even decides to take us is stupid. We'll get out of any situation thrown our way. Just enjoy the night and the pool with us."
'No thank you Ash. I feel better up here watching over everyone.'
'Let him be Ash. I agree with you but what he says does make sense.'
"Fine. I just wish he would be less cautious at times."
'He's had to be cautious all his life. It'll be hard to change that. Come on, race you to the other side.' Sakura pushes off the wall and speeds towards the other side of the large pool, Ash following closely behind.
By the edge of the ship, Pikachu and Umbreon are talking,
"When did you first develop feelings for me?" Umbreon asks.
"When I first saw you as an Umbreon. We were in Johto and you fought an Alakazam with such skill that you knocked it out without sustaining any damage. It was amazing."
"That was one of my first battles as an Umbreon. I'm surprised you remember that."
"How can I not? You were elegant yet destructive. The combination of defence and attack that you displayed was beautiful." Pikachu says, looking at Umbreon.
"Thank you." Umbreon replies, blushing as she looks back at Pikachu.
"I've never seen you like at night before."
"Why is that important?"
"Because your rings are illuminating you to make you seem like a night angel." Umbreon blushes,
"They're meant to make people scared and to leave me alone."
"It's doing the exact opposite to me. You look beautiful." Pikachu kisses Umbreon on the cheek. They then both lie down next to each other and try to fall asleep.
"Look at those two." Misty whispers to the others, "They look so cute together."
"They've just been talking about when Pikachu first fell in love with her."
"We should leave those two alone and probably should get some sleep as well." Brock replies.
"Yeah, you're right. Although I don't want to leave, I won't get up in the morning if I stay up much later."
'You'll wake up; I'll make sure of that' Sakura grins.
"I'm not sure if I'll like that or not."
'You'll like it alright.'
"Once you two have stopped flirting, you should return your pokemon and head off to your cabin." Misty says, breaking their moment. They recall their pokemon except for Pikachu and Umbreon.
"Could you look out for these two Latios. I don't have the heart to move them from each other's side." Ash asks.
'Don't worry Ash, no harm will befall them tonight.'
"Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow then." Ash says as he walks inside to his cabin.
The next morning, the MV Empire Windrush pulls into the docks at Slateport city. A bell is sounded throughout the ship to alert the passengers that they have arrived and they start to exit the ship. However, as usual, Ash was still asleep, having slept through the bell and announcement. Latias floats next to the bed watching him rest.
'Should I wake him? He looks so peaceful though. However we really should be leaving. Oh, I don't know.' Latias goes to the window and looks down at Slateport. 'So this is where my parents came from. I can't wait to explore Hoenn. In that case, I better wake Ash up.' She turns back to Ash and kisses him on the lips, causing the boy to stir. His eyes remain shut but instead of looking sleepy, they look dreamy.
'Come on Ash, it's time to leave. I think everyone else has left.'
"Do we have to? Can't we spend some more time together? Alone?" He replies sitting up.
'Not now. We need to meet up with the others.'
"Fine." Ash grumbles as he goes to the bathroom with some clothes to change into. He walks out a few minutes later and takes Sakura's hand, who has just transformed, and they walk off the ship. Once they step onto Hoenn soil, Pikachu runs up and jumps onto Ash's shoulder.
"Your finally off the boat."
"Sorry Pikachu, but you know me and my sleep."
"Yes, unfortunately for you, so does Misty." As Pikachu says her name, her voice shrieks out across the docks,
"ASH KETCHUM! HOW HARD IS IT TO WAKE UP WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAKES UP?"
"Christ Misty, not so loud. You know I'm a deep sleeper. I really should bring an alarm."
"You did in Johto, except you slept through that too." Brock smiles.
"Yeah, now I remember. What happened to it?"
"Misty smashed it because it woke her up and not you."
"Hey, you would've done it if I hadn't so don't push all of the blame onto me." Misty replies angrily. Brock shrugs his shoulders as if he doesn't care.
"Come on guys. We need to get to Littleroot town to meet Professor Birch. We should get out of the city as soon as possible and fly there."
'Bianca's right. The faster we get there, the quicker we can start our journey.'
"Well let's go then!" Ash exclaims as he starts to speed walk out of the docks.
"Do you know where you're going?" Misty asks, "Because I'm pretty certain you don't."
"It's a city. It shouldn't be too hard to find an exit or two."
'Actually, Slateport is quite big. If you all head down this road and take the second right, I'll see where the nearest exit is so we can fly off to Littleroot.' Latios says.
"Thanks, now I definitely know where I'm going." Ash smirks at Misty. The group walk in the given directions and sit on a nearby bench waiting for Latios to return with news of where to go. Luckily for the group, it didn't take too long.
'If you go carry on the way you go, you should see a turn going right after a few hundred metres. Then follow the road north and you'll see the exit fairly quickly.'
"Thanks Latios. Do you know if there's a gym here?"
'Sorry, Ash but there isn't. However, there is a contest arena.'
"A contest arena?" Bianca perks up.
'Yes, it's where coordinators show of their pokemon's moves in style, whether it be cool, tough or beautiful. If you pass the first stage of showing off your pokemon's moves, you go onto the battle stage where you'll battle other people trying to take points from your opponent by attacking and defending.'
"That sounds like a lot of fun. I might have to enter one of those."
"You'll need to practice different moves with your pokemon and get them stronger too so they don't go down easily in the battle stage."
"You're right, but for now we should focus on getting to Littleroot town." The group walk on in silence taking in the surroundings. In next to no time, they were out of Slateport and flying to Littleroot.
"Hoenn sure looks like a lovely place." Misty says, looking down at the towns passing them by.
"I agree. It's nice to be out and travelling around. You get to see so many different things." Bianca replies.
"That's not always a good thing Bianca."
"You had to ruin the moment Ash." Misty exclaims.
"Sorry, but I was trying to give a fair warning."
"Don't worry Misty, it's okay. Nothing will deter me from having a good time, even if a drill machine tries to capture everyone in a dojo." This got the group laughing.
'If you look ahead, you should see Littleroot. It'll take about five minutes to reach it.' Latios says.
"Great, then we can meet Birch and tell him we're here and to have a good look at the Hoenn starters." Ash says eagerly.
"What are we going to do once we've done that? Stay in Littleroot or camp out?"
"I think we should let Bianca decide."
"Decide what?"
"Right, you can't understand pokemon. Pikachu is wondering whether we'll be staying in Littleroot or camping out and I said it's up to you."
"I think it'll be a good idea to camp out. I need to get used to setting up a fire and the tent."
"Wise decision Bianca. But first, Littleroot town." The group descend to route 201 and walk into Littleroot. They walks to the lab and knock on the door.
"Hello! Professor Birch?" Ash calls out. The door opens and a skinny man appears.
"Hello, you must be Ash."
"Are you Professor Birch?"
"No, sorry I'm his assistant, Professor Cedar (I know this isn't his name in the anime but I couldn't remember it. Instead I went with the tree themed names)
"Where's Birch then?" Bianca asks.
"He's out doing research, if you would like to –"
"We'll go find him then, thanks." Ash says as he walks off briskly into the forest with his friends close behind.
"Wait, you don't even know where …. He is. Teenagers these days. That's the third person I've tried to stop today." Cedar sighs and walks back inside.
"Birch! Birch!" Ash shouts out.
"You do realise he may not even be around here."
"Yeah but the louder I make my voice, the more chance he has of hearing me."
"I knew we should've stayed at the lab."
"You could've Misty, I didn't make you come along."
"Stop bickering you two. Let's just calm down and find Birch quickly." Brock says.
'I sense a presence over there.' Sakura points into the woods.
"Let's go that way then." Ash says as he takes the lead. "Birch! Birch!" He calls again.
"Ash?! Is that you?" A voice calls back. The group walk into a clearing and see two people. One has a beard and is wearing a lab coat, a satchel while the other is wearing a red bandanna, shoes and top. She also had some short shorts on too.
"Hey, you must be Birch." Ash says, walking over to Birch and holding out his hand.
"Yes, that's me." He replies, shaking Ash's hand, "I see you've brought some company."
"Yep. This is Misty, Brock, Bianca, my buddy Pikachu and my girlfriend Sakura."
"Nice to meet you all. This is May, it's her first day as a pokemon trainer." Birch says, gesturing to the girl behind him.
"Hello, nice to meet you all."
"I've heard you've had a lot of experience when it comes to travelling Ash, how about you let May tag along with you?"
"Um, ok. I suppose that's true. I don't have a problem with that."
"Good. Now let's go to the lab and May, you can pick your first pokemon." The group all walk back to the lab and meet Cedar there.
"Hello Birch and everyone else. Where's the other kid who went to see you?"
"Oh he helped me out with my situation and then took a Treecko and left."
"Oh. Well we have another one over here."
"Good. May come with me." They walked over to a table with a pokeball on it. Birch brought two more out of his bag and placed them next to each other. "First of all we have Treecko, the wood gecko pokemon and the grass type starter. Next is Torchic, the chick pokemon and the fire type starter. Finally we have Mudkip, the mud fish pokemon. Whichever you pick will be your partner on your journey."
"Hmmm." May ponders. "Treecko looks kind of scary. I don't really get along with Mudkip so I'll pick Torchic." May picks up the chick pokemon and it smiles and snuggles against May's chest.
"He's taking a liking to you May. I'm sure you'll be a great team."
"Thanks Birch."
"Shall we get going then? The nearest town is Oldale town. If we get going we will reach it my tonight." Brock says.
"Why don't we stay here a while Brock? I would like to see what other pokemon Birch has here and we did say we would camp out tonight." Bianca replies.
"Ok then, I'll go and prepare some lunch while you lot do something else." Brock says heading for the kitchen.
"Can you show me some more pokemon Birch?"
"Sure thing Bianca, right this way." Birch says, walking from the lab.
"Wait for me guys, I want to come too." May exclaims (She's not afraid of pokemon in this because I hated her being afraid in the anime.) The three of them leave.
"So what shall we do?"
"I dunno buddy. Want to wander around the surrounding area?"
"Sure, why not?" Pikachu jumps onto Ash's shoulder as they walk out, Ash and Latias' hands interwined.
Unknown to the three, a figure is watching them walk into the woods. 'He can talk to pokemon. What an interesting guy. I would like to meet him and battle him. My first opponent.' The figure thinks to himself and he follows them.
Back with the three, they walk into a clearing before Pikachu asks,
"What's your first impression of May and Birch?"
"Birch seems like a nice guy. He seemed excited when May picked her first pokemon which I thought was a bit strange since he must do it a lot, but then again he could feel that way because he gets to witness the start to a trainer's journey. May seemed nice too. She seemed pleased with getting a new pokemon."
'I agree. All I felt were positive emotions from the both of them, although they both had a hint of unease. Possibly due to the other trainer that left earlier.'
"Could be. I wonder what happened to him?"
"Well he couldn't have gone far."
"You searching for someone?" A voice says, causing the three to turn around. Standing there is a male teen with flat blond hair and blue eyes. He's wearing a grey pair of tracksuit bottoms, hoody and trainers. He had a belt where a lone pokeball was held and a black bag on his back.
"Hello, who are you?"
"I'm Rob, What are your names?"
"I'm Ash, this is my buddy Pikachu and my girlfriend Sakura."
"Nice to meet you all. I overheard you talking and came to investigate. I heard you talking to your Pikachu like you understood him. How is that possible?"
"Uh, it's a long story involving a near death experience I'd rather not talk about."
"Sorry, I'm always told that I'm too curious for my own good. Did you receive your first pokemon just now?"
"No, Pikachu was my first pokemon. I'm from Kanto so I don't get a starter from Hoenn, despite it being my first time here."
"Ah, that's a shame. Don't worry about it though, the woods just past here are full of Treecko's and the lakes are full of Mudkip so if you want one of those, you should go there. Not sure where to get Torchic from, possible up north somewhere."
"You know a lot about this place, do you live here?"
"Yeah, I live in a city in the trees up north called Fortree."
"Cool. We'll have to go there, won't we Sakura." Sakura nods her head shyly, keeping her eyes on Rob warily.
"She doesn't speak much does she."
"That's because… well… she's a mute."
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know. It must be hard for the two of you." Rob says apologetically. A smile appears on Ash's face.
"Not really. She's a psychic, so she speaks through telepathy."
"Wow. I've never met a psychic before." Ash laughs at Rob's shocked expression.
"Don't worry, I lot of people haven't and are just as shocked as you are."
"Anyway, the real reason I was here is because I'm a new trainer, I wanted to have a battle and learn from someone who is more experienced, so can we battle?" Rob asks as his eyes focus on Sakura's.
"Sure thing, you're on."
'Are you sure Ash, I don't get a good feeling from this guy.' Sakura says as Rob walks to the other side of the little clearing.
"Don't worry so much Sakura. He seems like a nice guy and he's new to this so I think it will be good for us to battle."
'I feel some strong negative emotions coming from him though. I don't know what they're about but I don't trust him.'
"It's fine. We'll have this battle and then we'll tell him we need to go."
"As I've only got one pokemon, we'll do a one v one battle."
"Sure thing." Ash replies, picking a ball from his belt, "I choose you, Cyndaquil!" The ball burst open and Ash's Cyndaquil appears, its flame on its back blazing brightly.
"Oh God." Rob says. "The best is all I ask, go Treecko!" He throws his pokeball into the air and out of it appears his new partner.
'That Treecko looks adamant. It won't go down easily.' Sakura tells Ash.
"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine. As you have the disadvantage, you can go first."
"Thanks Ash. Treecko, let's start off with quick attack." Treecko races towards Cyndaquil, closing the gap between the two blindingly fast. Treecko slams into the Cyndaquil, knocking it flying.
"Cyndaquil, retaliate with swift." Cyndaquil uses the moment of the quick attack to flip and unleash his swift attack.
"Dodge it Treecko." Treecko starts to backflip away from the swift until he is backed up against a tree and the swift hits the target. "Treecko! Let's show them you won't go down to one hit, no matter how powerful. Use quick attack again."
"Cyndquil, use flame wheel." The two pokemon charged toward each other, one with a white streak of light behind him and the other surrounded in flames. The two collide and Treecko flies backwards. Rob runs to his pokemon and kneels down beside him.
"Are you alright?" Treecko nods and slowly rises to his feet, wanting to fight on. "Treecko, you're too tired to fight. Let's go to Oldale and we'll get you rested up there." The Treecko looks up at his trainer and shakes his head. "Ok, but I don't want you too badly hurt." Rob walks back to his original spot and cries out, "Use absorb." Treecko releases a red beam from his mouth that slams into Cyndaquil, draining his energy.
"Cyndaquil, use flamethrower to get that off you!" Ash exclaims. Cyndaquil's fire burns brighter. His whole body starts to glow. Treecko stops the attack in shock and everyone stares at Cyndaquil. His legs grow a little longer and his body extends. The flame on his back gets bigger and a new flame appears on his head. They light fades and Cyndaquil was gone and Quilava was standing there. "Yeah, you evolved Quilava!" He pulled out his pokedex and it gave the data on Quilava. "Ok then, let's try your new move then, use Eruption!"
"Let's do this!" Quilava shouts and releases the powerful attack.
"Treecko return!" Rob calls out. Treecko disappears from the battlefield, moments before the eruption lands.
"What? Why did you do that?"
"I had no chance of winning Ash. Your Quilava is too powerful for Treecko and I couldn't see my Treecko get hurt by that attack, especially in his weakened state." Ash nods and smiles,
"That's wise. Thank you for the battle."
"No thank you. I hope to see you again." Rob replies and then looks at Sakura, "Both of you." He then turns and disappears into the forest, heading for Oldale.
"See, he wasn't that bad. He knows what he's doing. I've had a bit more experience and of course you helped." Ash says smiling and stroking his Quilava.
"Thanks. I feel so much stronger now. It feels good to be bigger too."
'There's something about him though. He has a… a… darker side to him that he isn't showing.'
"Don't worry about it Sakura. He's gone now. We should get back to the lab for lunch." Ash says. He takes hold of Sakura's hand and they walk back to the lab with Pikachu and Quilava at their side.
Here's another chapter. Do you trust Rob? Don't know if it's as good as previous chapters because the heat here in the UK is really getting to me. Please let me know of any errors. Also, my friend and I are rating all of the pokemon from gen1-5 on a scale of 1-10, except for six pokemon – these will be given 11 and would be on your team in an ideal pokemon world. If you would like to do this too, send your name and your ratings to and I'll forward them on to my friend who will be putting the ratings onto Excel which will show which pokemon are liked more than others and which gen people like the most. If you have any questions, put them in a review, pm me or send them to me via an email with your name. Finally, I'm writing another fanfic at the same time except it isn't a story. It's about me and my life and anything you want to know about me you can ask in that 'story'. K9wolf369.