Okay before today's chapter I want to answer the review of the previews chapter.

To our guest: I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter, as well as the Lyra reveal. As I said before, be on the look out for the Gym badges, that'll be important later on. Hopefully what's on today's chapter will keep you hook. To answer the bit with Red, I wrote it like that because even in the manga he also tends to be little dense from time to time (I mean, it literally took him years to discover that Yellow was actually a girl, so), I think he seemed more dense that Ash because Ash hasn't been in a situation like that just yet.

I did intended to make Ash a little of an outcast compared to the Dex Holders, so I'm glad that you appreciate it. I thank you for telling me in my typos. As I said, english is not my main language and I'm writting it in english to practice my spelling (not like I'm good at it in my native language either but still). I always reread them like three ot four times before posting to make sure I don't mess things up, but as you can tell, there are times in which those things go pass me. I guess it's because when I read them, I read them in the way they should be instead of the way it is actually written (if that makes sense).

If you liked Lyra then stick around till the end, you might find something interesting. Also, don't appologized for long reviews, I actually like to read them.

With that out of the way, let's get to the main attraction.

Chapter 8: Cerulean Reunion!

Cerulean city, he had arrived not more than half an hour ago.

Green wanted to go directly towards the Cerulean Gym, but he still felt tired from all the walking he did. He was also quite hungry, so he might as well look for somewhere to eat. He heard that there were some good restaurants near downtown. With the money he had from beating Pewter city's Gym leader, multiple trainers he had faced and the reward from helping stop that Rocket recruitment project, he had more than enough money for him to treat himself with some nice meal. That's without taking into account the golden pebble he still had.

As he was walking down the street, he heard a sudden ding coming from his pocket. He pulled out his Pokedex, recognizing that it was most likely what caused it. When he looked at the screen, he read a message that read:

Attention, Pokedex Holders detected nearby.

He had remembered reading about this in the manual his grandfather gave to him and his friends. Whenever the Pokedex were close by, they would emit a sound that would announce their proximity to their owners (A.K.A, Red, Green and Blue). Yet he was still surprised, this was because of the fact that he hadn't expect to run into the two of them so soon. Green rose his sight and indeed, the machine was right.

Standing right in front of him, just a couple of meters from where he was, were the other Dex Holders.

Blue, wearing her typical black dress, a white belt held a pouch that was resting on her side, she was also carrying her backpack with one strap as always. What was weird about Blue, was the fact that she was being accompanied by a scrawny looking boy that seemed to be as old as his older sister. Considering how reserve Blue tends to be, he must be something special if she was allowing him to accompany her.

Another thing he noticed, was the fact that both Blue and the other guy seemed to be looking for something, or someone.

If he turned his gaze a few degrees to the right, he could see his other friend and rival, Red. As always, wearing his trademark red jacket, plus that cap he bought before they left Pallet town. Besides him, was a red-headed girl that was a bit taller than them. Her presence wasn't as weird as the other boy's, since Red was nowhere near as reserve as either Blue or even the young Oak himself.

Almost as if they had suddenly noticed each other's presence, the other Dex Holders suddenly turn towards each other. Their reactions differ slightly from one another; Blue had a wide smile plaster on her face, which did not surprise Red, Green and even the guy she was with. To her, the other two boys were practically the closest thing she had to a family, so of course she would be pleased to see them.

Red was a bit shocked to see them, he went on back and forth, looking between his Pokedex's screen and the other chosen children before realization dawned on him. Once it did, he let out a bright grin cover his face.

As for Green, his face showed that he was a bit annoyed that it seemed to have taken them a while to realized what was going on. Still, he quickly let out a small sigh before facing them both with a small smile. He was also happy to see those two again... although of course he would never say it out loud to them.

Before anyone could react, Blue went straight for Red, grabbed his arm and quickly pulled him towards Green, leaving the other two companions alone and a bit confused. Bill didn't mind at all, the way Blue talked about them when they met and the way she reacted when she learned of the possibility of meeting the two of them once again. It was obvious that the two Dex Holders were special to her, so she doing that was quite obvious.

Misty however, didn't felt the same way.

Sure, Red had told her about how she reminded her of a friend him with a trouble past. But an odd feeling ran through her body. Now, of course she was happy that he could reunite with his other friends, but the actions of the brown-haired girl didn't sit well with her. Misty didn't have as many friends as other kids her age and especially not like Red. So the fact that a pretty looking girl literally yank him out of her side felt wrong to her.

Granted, that could be because of the fact that, because she was the youngest out of four sisters, she tended to be the one to get the short end of the stick in a lot of things. Her sisters were prettier than her for example as well as more talented than her in other things. They also had the better toys growing up and when they grew tired of them, Misty tended to get what was essentially the leftovers: broken and old looking dolls among other things. And of course, there was also the fact that despite their lack of interest in battleling, they were handed the reins of the Gym. It seemed as if she was always overlooked and ignored by others.

It was probably because of the way she grew up that she tended to act the way she does now. She was quick to be angered whenever someone did something she didn't like, or whenever she was overlooked in exchange of someone else. She also tended to be a bit possessive with a few things. Like for example; she tended to explode whenever someone took something belonging to her without her consent, or if someone were to break or damage on of her belongings. Whether it be her bike, a doll, anything to be honest.

And of course, she tended to be a little bit jealous whenever someone else talked with her friends (and especially if said someone literally pulled them away from her). It was an awful feeling she hated to have, but it was hard for her not to feel like that in certain occasions. An irrational fear that someone would try to steal her friends would sometimes wash over her. Of course, she would have to remind herself that she was not their only friend, much less their owner. Misty had to, once again push those thoughts away for the moment, especially once she noticed the boy that was with the girl was approaching her.

"Guess we were left out." – said the boy.

"Guess so." – she said, a bit salty about the whole situation.

The boy chuckled a little but before introducing himself to the red-headed.

"My name's Bill, nice to meet you." – said Bill offering a handshake.

"I'm Misty." – she said accepting the handshake.

"Just a heads up, Leaf might mess up your name for a bit. Please don't hold it personally, she doesn't really mean to anger you or anything like that."

"Is that so?" – asked Misty.

Bill nodded before he continued to speak. – "She seems to have a bit of troubles remembering names. When we met, she kept getting my name wrong for a while and when she finally realized that, she berated herself. She also did something similar when she said someone's else name wrong."

"Huh, well thanks for the warning Bill." – she said before the two of them turn to the Dex Holders.

"Leaf seemed to be happy to reunite with them." –said Bill.

"I bit too happy if you ask me." – said Misty with a tick on her left eye. She was still salty that Leaf took Red away without even acknowledging her presence. – "What do you think they're talking about?"

"They're probably catching up." – guessed Bill.

"You want us to do what?" – asked both Red and Green.

"Refer to me as Leaf as long as those two are around." – said Blue.

"Okay seriously, I know you have trust issues, but don't you think this is taking things a bit too far?" – asked Green

"He's right you know, you didn't made up another identity back in Pallet town, why do that now?" – asked Red.

"Because back then I didn't have much of an option. Also, don't mention anything important about me. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Green became more and more annoyed when she said that, but Red seemed to pale out and started to try and look away. Blue quickly noticed it and started to stare at the boy.

"Red, what did you do?" – she asked.

"H-hey, did you do something to your hair? Because if you did, it looks good on you." – said a nervous Red, trying to deviate the conversation to another topic.

"Red. What. Did. You. Do?" – asked Blue, more serious than before.

"... I swear she doesn't know the details."

"Goddammit Red!" – said Blue, trying not to raise her voice as much as she could.

"Look, I'm sorry, she was going through something. I promised her to help her out and, in the process, I mentioned that you were going through something yourself, nothing else I swear." – said Red, trying to calm his friend.

"I don't care, I thought I made myself clear that day that I didn't want anyone that I couldn't trust to know about that." – she said, glaring daggers at Red.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but in Red's defense, we also told you that you should open to more people so that we could help you better. Besides, he did say that he never mentioned the details, so he technically didn't broke the promise we made back then." – intervene Green.

"Yeah, what he said. Besides, Misty is really reliable, she's the youngest sister of the Cerulean city's Gym Leaders. Not only that, but they said that she was actually stronger than them and after all the training we've have done, I can confirm it." – said Red, ignoring the fact that he's rival just defended him.

Blue looked at the two of them carefully. She was still a bit mad that Red mentioned something about her to a complete stranger, but if she was as reliable as he claims her to be, then she might let it pass. Plus, the fact that Green went out of his way to defend Red (something that was as rare as catching a Tauros in the Safari zone if what she heard is true) then there is no way she could win. She sighed and then looked at Red.

"You're going to pay for my food to make it up to me." – she said, pointing a finger to him.

"Sure, I don't mind. We were actually going to have breakfast; you guys should come, it'll be fun." – he said with a smile.

"I was going to look for a place to have something to eat, might as well go with you and make sure you guys don't choke on your food or anything." – said Green, a small smile appearing in his face.

"Well, I did say that you were going to pay for my food, so why not." – said Blue smiling as well, seemingly forgetting her anger towards Red. – "But the thing about you guys calling me Leaf is still a thing."

"Do we really have to?" – asked Green in annoyance.

"He's right, come on Blue. Don't you think you're exaggerating a little bit? Misty's really nice and I'm sure that guy is too since your letting him tag along." – said Red.

"He's name's Bill and yeah he's nice and all, but I don't want to give him too much information without making sure I can trust him completely. Come on guys, could you do this for me? Pleeeeeease?" – begged Blue.

"Sigh, fine I'll do it. I kind of owe it to you, but I still stand by what I said." – said Red.

Blue seemed to be happy and smiled widely. She then turned to Green and waited for his answer with a hopeful expression.

"... You know, I always said that you would grow into a troublesome woman one day. I was wrong, you're troublesome now... Fine, but you owe me one Leaf." – said Green, crossing his arms in resign

Leaf's smile grew even wider than before and she then proceeded to pull the two of them into a bear hug. – "Thank you guys, you're the best."

"Well, that's what friends are for, right?"

"Besides, if we didn't accept, you would be an even bigger pain than before."

"Yeah right, you guys love me and you know it." – she said before breaking the hug.

They then turned towards the two other companions that were left behind and apologized for doing said thing.

"Sorry, I was caught in the moment." – said Leaf as she approached them.

"Don't worry Leaf, we understand." –said Bill.

"Yeah, what he said." – seconded Misty.

The brown-haired Dex Holder then offer her hand and decided to introduce herself. – "Red said your name's Misty, right? Nice to meet you." – she said, much to the surprise of Bill. How come she gets her name right on the first time?

"Yeah, Bill already told me to call you Leaf, nice to meet you too." – she said, accepting the handshake with a smile.

"I'm Green, Red over here mentioned something about getting something to eat right?" – asked Green.

"Yeah, I was taking him to Wigglytuff's bakery, wanna come?" – asked Misty.

"Wigglytuff's bakery?" – he asked.

"You know about it?" – asked Red.

Green nodded. – "My sister said that she used to eat there whenever she could when she was on her journey. You know, the one that she took on that far away region."

"That's kind of a coincidence, we were also on our way there. Can you believe that Leaf has the special coupon that will give her a membership card?" – said Bill.

"No way! How could she get one? They only released like, ten of them in the Kanto region!" – said Misty shocked to hear that.

"Is the place really that special?" – thought the three trainers as they walk towards the establishment.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center, how may I help you?" – said Nurse Joy.

Before either Ash or Lyra could say anything, Brock rushed to the pink-haired nurse with nig hearts for eyes.

"You could help me by joining me in this journey we call live as husband and wife my sweet Joy!" – said Brock

The two kids, as well as their two rodent companions stared at their friend, with a comedic size running through their forehead.

"Hey Ash, is he always like this?" – asked Lyra to the raven-haired boy.

"Honestly, this is the first time I've seen this side of him." – he replied.

"You know, I didn't knew there would be nurse Joys even all the way here in the Kanto region." – said Lyra.

"Wait, there's nurse Joys all the way in the Johto region too?!" – asked Ash.

"Yeah, there's one on New Bark town, as well as in another Pokémon Centers I've been."

"I thought there were only like, twins that decided to all become nurses. But then not only am I seeing yet another one in front of me again, but I'm learning that there are more in another region?!"

"I know, right? As if that wasn't enough, they usually said something like, 'Oh, that was my sister in law' or 'You must be talking about my third cousin'." – said Lyra, remembering her experience with all of the Joys she's encountered.

"Yeah, and it's even weirder if you consider the fact that they all look 100% the same."

"YOU GUYS ARE COMPLETELY WRONG!" – shouted Brock, letting go of Joy's hands and shocking both Ash and Lyra, as well as both Pikachu and Marill, whom almost fell to the ground. – "The nurse Joy of Viridian city has a lighter shade of pink hair compared to the one in Pewter city, whom has her eyes 0.002 mm farther apart from one another. As for this nurse Joy, she is 0.01 mm taller than the two of them as well as her nose being slightly shorter too."

Both the young trainers, as well as the mouse Pokémon look at Brock with a combination of both awe and confusion. On one hand, they were amaze that Brock was capable of noticing such small details that he could tell them apart. On the other hand, they still looked the same to them.

"Oh, I see you been to both Viridian and Pewter city as well. How are my aunt's nephew's wife's younger sisters doing?" – asked Joy.

"See! What did I told you?!" – said Lyra.

"Ok, I'm pretty sure we hit our heads harder than we thought. There's no way this is actually happening." – replied Ash.

Both Marill and Pikachu looked and each other and agreed to try and help their trainers the best way they could. By launching attacks at them both.

Pikachu immediately electrocuted Ash as Marill shot a powerful water gun at her face. The two kids were knocked to the ground, Ash had electricity going through his body while Lyra was shooting water from her mouth as if she was a fountain of sorts.

They both got up and faced the nurse, whom still had Brock by her side. – "Excuse us nurse Joy, could we go to the cafeteria?" – asked Lyra.

"Of course you can, would you happen to be Pokémon trainers?" – she asked, the two of them nodding. – "Well, if you could please show me your license, that way the two of you could have both your meals and an extra one free of charge."

The two of them took their license and handed them to the nurse. She took them both and her happy smiled turn into a small frown for a few seconds. The two of them had a 65, the lowest of grades a trainer could get. Of course she wouldn't denied them of the service she was obligated to do. But she felt a bit uneasy that two of seemingly unprepared trainers were acting as carefree as they were.

Then again, looking at where they came from suddenly made her feel a bit more at ease. One of them was from Pallet town, home of professor Oak, he there's the possibility that he could have given him a few advices on what to do. Plus, the fact that he reached Cerulean city in under a week is a bit impressive for not only a trainer from Pallet, but especially for a trainer with this kind of grade.

As for the other girl, she came from New Bark town, all the way on the Johto region. She also mentioned been in a few Pokémon Centers already and the fact that she's standing here seemingly fine was also very impressive. Besides, they were been accompanied by someone older and whom probably knows what he's doing. With that in mind, her smile returned and then she returned the two kids their I.D's.

"The cafeteria is right over there; would you like me to heal your Pokémon while the two of you are eating?" – asked nurse Joy after pointing them int the direction of the cafeteria.

"No thanks, my team is in perfect conditions." – said Ash.

"Mine too, I think they'll be fine." – said Lyra.

"Very well then, enjoy your meal."

"I'll enjoy my meal more if the two of us were to-" – Brock was interrupted as Ash and Lyra grabbed both of his arms and started to pulled him towards the cafeteria.

"Come on Brock, I'm very hungry."

"Pika, Pikachu."

"Yeah, besides nurse Joy is probably busy. We shouldn't bother her."

"Ma, Marill."

"H-hey guys wait a second! At the very least let me ask her her phone number!" – pleaded Brock as he was been pulled away.

Once on the cafeteria, they quickly got to a table to sit after taking a table and something to eat. Then, both Ash and Lyra decided to let out the rest of their teams. So they took two pokeballs each, and from them, four Pokémon emerged next to them. From Ash's came Pidgeotto and Butterfree, whom quickly flew circles around their trainer, happy to be able to spend some more time with him.

From Lyra's, came two Pokémon that Ash had never seen before. One was a small and green spider-like Pokémon with a small horn and what seemed to be a face on the back of its abdomen. The other one was a black canine-like Pokémon with a red underbelly and muzzle. Something that attacked Ash's attention, was the fact that it had a simplistic, stylized skull on its forehead with the eye orbits creating eyebrow patterning above its actual eyes. Just like Ash's Pokémon, Lyra's were also very happy to spend more time with their trainer. The green spider crawled its way to rest on top of Lyra's head. The black dog sat on the floor, looking at her while he waved his tale.

"Wow! I've never seen those Pokémon before!"

"Pikachu!"

"Aren't they awesome? Let me introduce you guys to Spinarak." – said Lyra pointing at the spider on top of her head. – "And Houndour."

"Spinaral!"

"Houn."

Well, I'm Ash Ketchum. These are Pikachu, Piedgotto, and Butterfree, nice to meet you."

"Pika!"

"Butterfree!"

"Pidgeotto!"

Once presentations were over, the group started to eat their meal. Both Ash and Lyra from time to time fed some of their own food to their Pokémon. Pikachu tried to convince Marill and his friends the benefits of adding Ketchum to their foods while both Piedgotto and Butterfree sighed at their friend's behavior. Brock chuckled at all of it, all while still enjoying his own food.

Lyra then noticed something that she hadn't noticed before. – "Hey Ash, what happened to your hand?" – she asked.

Ash looked at his left hand, he had taken off his globes so that he could eat, revealing the still healing injury he had received on his first day as a trainer.

"Oh that, well. On our first day together, we kinda pissed off a Spearow. Next thing we knew, we were being chased by it and its friends. You can probably tell what happened next." – he explained, a little embarrassed.

Lyra stared at Ash for a few seconds before turning to Marill. They both looked at each other and chuckled a little bit. Before anyone could ask what they were laughing at, Lyra pulled up her right sleeve to reveal a scar running across the upper part of her arm.

"We have a story similar to it." – she said.

"What happened to you?" – asked Brock with everyone else also curious to hear her story.

"Well, on the first day we met, we had an encounter with a Skarmory. It's kind of a miracle that this scar is the only thing I received back then." – said Lyra, rubbing the back of her head. She too was a bit embarrassed to tell the story as well as Ash.

"Skarmory?" – asked Ash.

"They're a kind of Pokémon native to Johto if I remember correctly. The best way I can describe them is for you to imagine a big metallic bird." – explained Brock.

"And at the very least, the one I met had quite the temper." – mentioned Lyra.

The more Lyra talked, the more Ash and Pikachu could relate and the more they wanted to hear. Lyra and Marill also felt the same, it was nice to meet someone that had similar experience to them. Soon, they started to ask questions of those encounters and Brock sat back with a smile. He knew that Ash didn't had that many friends his age, if any. He also had a feeling that Lyra was a similar case, so the fact that they could meet and bond with someone that could understand them put a smile on his face.

Before he realized it, they also started to ask questions to him, which he happily answered. Time started to pass and they were halfway done with their meals, but they could spend hours talking and bonding with one another. The humans weren't the only ones to do so, because the Pokémon were doing the same thing. Right now, Houndour and Spinarak had their jaws (well, at least Houndour) wide open as they watched Pikachu downing a bottle of Ketchum like there was no tomorrow. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto and Butterfree were watching in disbelieve as Marill devoured a candy bar that was almost as big as him with no trouble whatsoever.

"So, how well have you guys been doing?" – asked Leaf to her two friends.

The Dex Holders and their new companions were currently sitting on a table in the fable Wigglytuff's bakery. After exchanging the coupon, Leaf was given a membership card with a 50% off of any purchase and a jelly fill donut. Everyone else bought their own desserts which include an order of cinnamon rolls for Bill, a cherry flavor slice of cake, some mochi for Green and two cheesecakes for Red.

Well, actually one, since he had to give the brown hair girl the other slice.

"Well, I've already beaten two Gyms and got their badges. Check it out." – he said as he opened his jacket to show off the badges that were stitched to the inside of it.

"Neat." – said the young trainer as she took a bite out of her donut. – "af fou Jeen?" – asked Blue.

"Don't talk and eat at the same time. It's disgusting." – said Green trying to cover the sight of his friend. – "I was planning on challenging this city's Gym. But if what Misty and Red is true, then I may as well skip it. I would be wasting my time."

Misty flinched at his comment, but decided not to make a comment on it for the time being. Although Bill was a bit shocked with what he said.

"Really? I thought you needed eight Gym badges to enter the Pokémon League, aren't you planning on entering?" – asked Bill.

"Of course I'm going to enter and I plan on winning the whole thing and beat Red there. You actually don't need to have eight Gym badges, that's a misconception. Everyone can enter as long as they're license trainers, the whole eight badges thing is just to be able to skip the preliminaries."

"Who told you that?" – asked Misty, honestly because of the fact that her sisters aren't that interested in battles, they barely talked about the Pokémon League so she also didn't knew.

"My gramps, apparently that's how it was back in the day and that's how it is still handle today." – he replied.

"My, aren't you being a little overconfident? What if someone knocks you out of the preliminary?" – asked Blue

"Heh, like that would ever happen. I don't plan on losing until I reach the finals and beat whoever it is that stands in front of me."

"And what makes you so sure of that? For all intends I may as well be the one winning the tournament." – declared Red with a cocky smile.

"Because: A) I scored a higher grade than you and B) because I'm going to make sure I catch the strongest Pokémon I can find." – replied Green with a similar smile.

"If a grade is really that important then that means I'm better than the two of you." – intervene Blue, raining on their parade.

The two boys faced their common friend with a scowl developing on their face. – "The only reason you score higher was because you studied three months in anticipation. Had either Red or I did the same then I'm sure our grade would have been in the 90's." – said Green.

"Oh, I actually didn't need to study, you know? I could have gone without studying like you two and still have my score been in the 90's at the very least." – teased Blue.

Before either Red or Green could reply, Bill intervened. – "Speaking of catching Pokémon, have you guys capture anything special in particular?"

"Well, I already had Poli and I chose Saur to be my starter. So far, the only Pokémon I have captured is a Pikachu back in Viridian forest. I named him Pika."

"Of course you did." – said Green and Blue.

Red looked at the two of them and glared daggers at them. – "Oh yeah? How about you guys, have you catch anything else?"

"Well, I have Blasty, I caught a Ditto in Nara town and named him Ditty and before leaving Mount Moon a Clefairy approached me and asked me to capture it. I'm going to name him Clefy, it sounds cute." – said Blue.

"A Clefable also gave us two fossils that were laying somewhere on Mount Moon, so we could add those to your list of catches." – mentioned Bill.

"So, how many Pokémon have you captures, Mr. League victor?" – asked Blue with a triumphant smug on her face.

Green grinded his teeth as he stared at Blue before responding. – "I've only caught two. But the reason being because I just don't go around catching everything in front of me like you two."

"Suuuuure." – said the other Dex Holders.

Green glared at the two of them one more time before resuming with what he was saying. – "As for my Pokémon, they are my Charmander named Char, a Machop named Champ... and I caught a Pidgey this morning." – he said, with a bit of hesitation as he mentioned the last member of his team.

Both Red and Green gave a quick glance at Blue to see if she was ok. Although she was a little put off by that last member, she seemed relatively fine. The two of them mentally sighed just as Misty was about to speak.

"What's the name of the Pidgey?" – she asked, noticing that he didn't mentioned a name.

"He doesn't have on, not sure if he'll one." – he replied.

"What do you mean?" –asked Bill.

"As I said, I plan to win the Indigo League Conference. To do so, I'll need the strongest Pokémon I can find. Both Char and Champ have proven to myself that they're just that. As for that Pidgey, I'm still not sure." – said Green.

"So you're saying that you're not going to use him?" – asked Red, a little angry at Green's reasoning.

"Don't be stupid, of course I'm going to use him, I'm a trainer after all. But if there is someone more fitting to be on my team then I'll choose it over Pidgey and give it a proper name. But I'm not planning on just discarding Pidgey, so calm down." – replied Green, as if reading Red's thoughts.

Before Red could say another thing, Green decided to quickly ask something he's been meaning to ask since reuniting with the others. – "Have any of you had any encounters with team Rocket."

Upon hearing his question, everyone present reacted differently. Both Red and Blue were surprised by the fact that Green knew of their encounters with team Rocket. Bill gulped, remembering what had happen on Mount Moon. Misty frowned, no longer smiling her grip on her spoon grew as she clenched her other hand into a fist.

"By your expressions I can see that you have." – said Green before turning to Blue. – You said that you caught your Ditto on Nara town, I assume that was after stopping that day care cover up right?"

"How do you know that?" – asked Blue.

"Because before arriving here, I took part in what I thought was some sort of competition. I was wrong, it was all just some sort of Rocket recruitment project." – he said, his friends suddenly grew worried that they could have done something to him, but Green was quick to speak. – "Don't worry, the idiot tried to convince me to join their dumb group. I of course declined the offer and I kept him at bay long enough for the police to arrive. When they took him into custody, one officer told me of other instances of Rocket operations being stopped and how all of them were done by rookies from Pallet town."

"W-wow, I didn't knew we would become famous like that." – said Red.

"Then, that means you were the one that defended the Viridian city Pokémon Center right Red?" – asked Green to his rival.

"You did?!" – asked Misty.

"What? No I didn't. I stopped an operation that took place in Viridian forest?"

"What?!" – asked Green, shocked that learn that Red didn't do it.

"Didn't you hear me saying that I caught my Pikachu at Viridian forest?"

"All of us had to go past Viridian forest to arrive here, I thought you caught it before arriving at Viridian city!"

"But I haven't even been to Viridian city. When the police arrived, they offered to give me a ride to Pewter city after telling me that the Viridian Gym leader was absent." – explained Red.

"Actually, now that I think about it. I haven't been to Viridian city either and since you thought that one of us was the one that defended the Viridian Pokémon Center, then that means you haven't either." – mentioned Blue.

Green was perplexed, if neither Red nor Blue did it, then that meant... that meant... – "So that means Ketchum was the one to do it?" – he asked himself.

"Wait, you mean Lash?!" – asked Blue, only for her to realized something. Upon doing it, she palmed her hand on her forehead. – "Why can't I never get that guy's name right?"

"So that's what Bill was talking about?" – thought Misty.

As soon as they mentioned him, a thought occurred through his mind. – "Wait, Bill you said that when all the Pokedex were together, they would emit a sound to signal their owners that the others were close by, right?" – asked Red, Bill nodding to answer his question. – "So, does that mean Ash is somewhere around Cerulean city?"

Both Green and Blue had forgotten that Ash was also on a journey of his own, but now that they remembered his existence, they reacted in different ways. Blue felt awkward, while she didn't quite dislike him, they weren't that close (which is odd considering he was the first person in Pallet town to approach her and be friendly). There was also the fact that to this day, she tends to mess up his name.

Green also didn't like the idea, while it is true that he wasn't really a bad person, the young Oak could never get along with him. Honestly, no matter how hard they tried, they could never spend more than five minutes without getting into a fight (9 times out of 10 because Green started it).

"Ash?" – asked Bill, confused as to whom this person is.

"Yeah, he was the fourth kid to leave Pallet town so it's likely that professor Oak also gave him a Pokedex, which means he must be close." – said Red.

"But, the professor never mentioned anything about a fourth Pokedex Holder." –replied Bill.

That surprised the Dex Holders, considering that professor Oak was almost the surrogate father for Delia Ketchum, they all assumed that he would also give him a Pokedex upon his arrival.

"Are you sure? Because I'm sure we saw that he had four Pokedex." – said Blue.

"Positive, the last time we talked, he mentioned that he had yet to find the last bearer of the fourth Pokedex. As far as I'm aware, you three are the only Pokedex Holders." – said Bill.

When they heard that, the Dex Holders reacted differently. Red felt a bit bad for Ash, he always hated to be looked down by others and now, he has just learned that the professor didn't even considered him to be bear a Pokedex. Blue felt less awkward, again, she doesn't detest Ash. But there was something inside her that always told her not to trust him just yet. She innerly curse at that man once more. Not only did he took away the possibility of her having a normal childhood, but he also took away her ability to socialize with normal people as well. Green felt somewhat relieved, while he was still surprised that Ash was capable of doing something like protect an entire Pokémon Center by himself, he knew that if the two of them met a fight was no doubt to occur.

Seeing the way that the Dex Holders reacted, both Misty and Red wondered, just who is this Ash Ketchum person. And what's up with their reaction. Misty decided to ask them about this individual.

"So, is this Ash someone with history with you guys?"

"Well, like I said he was supposed to start his own journey on the same day as us."

"Are you like, in bad terms with him or something?" – asked Bill.

"Not really, he's a nice guy as far as I'm aware. As long as you don't provoke him he'll also be nice to you. Unless your name is Green Oak that is." – said Blue as she looked at her friend.

"... What?"

"I'm assuming that you two don't get along, or am I mistaken?" – asked Misty.

"... Ok, fine we usually tend to get into arguments from time to time, and sure, I'm partly responsible for them. But in my defense, the guy can be annoying as heck. I'm sure that at least half of our fights are because he instigated me."

"Somehow I don't believe that." – thought both Misty and Bill to themselves.

After that, they decided to go back to talk about other things, trying to put away the issue of Ash Ketchum to the side. However, none of the people present at the bakery were able to do such thing. Both Misty and Bill couldn't help but wonder who this person was. Even though it seemed that he was in relatively good terms with the Dex Holders (outside from Green, but that was understandable), they couldn't help but to feel bad for the guy. The way they described him, for a small of information as it was, painted the image of a lonely boy. To a certain degree, the two of them felt like they could somewhat relate to him.

While they were thinking that, the Dex Holders were also lost in their own thoughts. They knew that he was the one that was looking forward that day the most. Part of them felt a bit guilty for leaving before making sure he was also ready to go. Looking back, it felt as if they had simply forgot him behind, as if they were trying to leave him, like they were trying to alienate him from them. Truth be told, that wasn't their intention, they were just excited to start their journey as fast as they could. He could understand... right?

As they continued to eat, all of the Dex Holders, even Green, prayed that Ash's journey was going well for him. And that wherever he was, they all wished that he was having a good time.

"Man, you two sure are alike." – said Brock as he looked back and forth between Lyra and Ash.

"What do you mean?" – asked the girl.

"Well, you two talk similar, thin similar, seem to have an endless black hole in your stomach. Heck, the way you befriended your first Pokémon is also very similar."

The two kids looked at each other and let out a small laughed. Indeed, they were very similar in a lot of aspects. That would probably explain why they clicked with each other in such a short amount of time.

"True, but there's something that happened back then that was pretty special. I'm sure that you didn't experienced something like that." – proclaimed Ash crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh really? Because I also have a story that will surely blow your sucks out of your feet." – said Lyra with confidence.

"Yeah right. My story is like ten times more awesome than yours."

"Then what are you waiting for? You tell your story and I'll tell mine."

Ash was about to do so, but then, he opted not to. A small frown appeared in front of his face. – "You guys wouldn't believe me."

Both were surprised to see this side of Ash. Why would he think that? Brock knew that Ash was a good kid so he wouldn't lie. As for Lyra, she felt as if she had seen that looked before. Then it dawned on her; she usually tends to see that look on her own reflection. She decided to put a reassuring smile before she began to talk.

"Come on, what do you think would happen if you were to tell us?" – she asked.

"You could laugh at me."

"As if, my story I wouldn't laugh at you. If I did I would be an hypothetic, remember I also said that my story was crazy."

"Lyra, I think the word you're actually referring is hypocrite." – said Brock.

"Yeah, that too."

"Still, Lyra's right, we wouldn't laugh at you Ash. Come on you can tell us."

Ash however, still felt a bit reluctant to say anything. Lyra saw it and then an idea came to mind.

"How about this. If I don't believe you, then you're allowed to laugh at me and my story all you want and I'll do nothing about it." – said Lyra.

Ash looked at Lyra. Truth be told, he couldn't imagine himself laughing at her. He also couldn't imagine either Lyra or Brock laughing at him and mocking him. He looked towards his Pokémon, whom were all giving him a thumbs up. They were trying to reassure him that everything would be ok. Which made him chuckled a little bit because Pikachu was doing so with a Ketchum mustache on his face.

"Fine, I'll tell you." – he said as everyone got a bit closer to listen to what he had to say. – "After Pikachu and I dealt with the Spearow, we saw something in the sky."

"What did you two saw." – asked Brock.

"Well, it looked like a bird, but it wasn't a Fearow or a Piedgot. It was bigger, looked more majestic and it radiated so much power, that at the moment I thought I was looking at something even greater than the three legendary birds." – said Ash.

His two friends were staring at him with wide eyes. Brock was having a hard time processing said information. The idea of something greater than the embodiments of fire, ice and lightning was something that had never crossed his mind. Meanwhile, Lyra was reminiscing about her encounter, on her way to the Pokémon Center, she also had similar thoughts to Ash.

"How did that bird look?" – asked Brock.

"Well, it was really far away and we were still recovering from the attack. But I do remember that it had a golden aura that gave a warm sensation and that it seemed as if a rainbow was following all the time."

"A golden aura and a rainbow. I don't think I've heard of a Pokémon like that." – said Brock, placing his hand on his chin.

"Something about that description... I think I heard of something like that before. Something about a burned tower and the three legendary dogs. You know, Raikou, Suicune and Entei." – mentioned Lyra.

"Ash looked at the two of them a bit nervous. But then, his fears quicky vanished once the two of them looked at him and smiled.

"Then again, the world is a very big place, so I'm sure we can find answers as to what Pokémon that was along the way." – said Brock.

Ash smiled at him; it seems that Brock did believed him. He then turned to Lyra whom merely chuckled for a bit.

"Brock's right, we are very similar. Well, you told me your story, might as well tell you mine." – she said, now having the spotlight, Lyra decided to elaborate. – "When the Skarmory left after we buried it under a rockslide, we saw something on the sky. It was like, some sort of green serpent-like dragon gracefully flying across the sky. I've never seen something like that before, but just by looking at it, I could feel so much power emanating from his body. Like its mere presence could shatter all the mountains nearby. Guess you could say we had a similar feeling to the one you had."

Now, it was Ash's turn to be amazed. He stared at her new friend, he had never heard of a Pokémon that looked like that, but then again, he had never heard of a Pokémon like the one he saw.

"And how did you felt after that?" – asked Brock.

"Honestly, it made me feel even more motivated to become a trainer! I had so many questions that day and I want to answer as many as I can! That is my dream, to become a someone that people can rely on while at the same time, trying to answer as many questions of the Pokémon world as I can!" – she declared, Ash smiled at her and he too, decided to share his dream.

"And I want to be the very best, like no one ever was! To be a Pokémon Master, that is my dream!"

"And I'm sure you'll reach that dream!"

"Thanks Lyra, I'm sure you'll achieve your dream too."

The two of them looked at each other, a flame of determination shined brightly on their eyes. They didn't need to share words, they knew exactly how the other one felt.

"Is that why you came to the Kanto region? To try and find answers as to what Pokémon that was?" – asked Brock.

"Well, not really. I was doing what most trainers do when they become trainers. I was challenging the Gyms of the Johto region. It took me like a month and a half since when I became a trainer, but I had finally beaten my second Gym. Then, there were rumors of a group of weirdos trying to break into some of the Gyms. The one that had people worried the most was when they tried to break into the Violet city Gym. This is because its Gym leader was going to retired soon. The Pokémon League decided to shut down the Gyms of the region until they could sort things out."

"Wow, that's some story." – said Ash.

"Do they have any suspects?"

"Not that I know. I was pretty depressed because of how they shot down the Gyms even if only temporally, so I decided to return to New Bark town. But then, a friend of mind told me that I should go explore another region in the meantime. That way, I could return home and show just how much my skills improved. So, I took a bus to the closest region I could find, which was Kanto, and the rest is history... Well, I actually got lost a few times here and there, but that's not that important."

"Can I see your badges?" – asked Ash.

"Sure." – she replied. She then took a small rectangular flat metal box out of her bag and opened it, revealing its content to the two Kantonians. – "Here you go."

One of the badges was silver and was shaped like metallic wings while the other one was round and shaped like a lady bug seen from above. After that, Ash opened up his jacket to show Lyra his own badges.

"By the way, where did you get that box?" –asked Ash.

"Oh, this? A friend of mine bought it for me as a present for becoming a trainer. That way it would be easier for me to hold my badges."

"Man, I wish I could have one like that."

"I have a another one, you can have it if you want." – said Lyra as she pulled another metal box from her bag.

"Wait, really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, to be honest, my friend bought two for one and gave me the other one just in case I ever lost one. Can't say I blame him thou."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I was planning on visiting the region and see what it has to offer. But I have a proposition for you Ash."

"You do."

"Yep, what do you say I tag along with you? I think it could be beneficial for the both of us."

"I think she's right. I'm sure that you could learn from one another and become even better trainers. And if any of you need help, I'll be there to assist you both."

Ash didn't even need to think things twice. – "Sure! That'll be awesome!" – he said.

"Sigh, thank god you said yes. I didn't want to go on my own alone in this region, I'm sure I would got lost again."

"Don't worry, as long as you're with us, you won't get lost. Right Brock?"

"Just leave the map to me and we'll have had travel the whole region in no time!"

"Well then, partners?" – asked Lyra, offering a fist bump to Ash.

"Partners!" – he said bumping his fist with her.

Their Pokémon all cheered, excited with the idea of them traveling together. After that, they all finished their food, rested for a bit and once they were ready, they took off to the city's outskirts. Once there, they set their sight to their destination: Vermillion city. It should take them no time to reach their destination... or at least it would had they chosen the path on the right.

And with that, the Dex Holders have reunited, all while Ash, Pikachu and Brock had made a new friend and a new companion in the form of Lyra and Marill. The paths ahead remain a mystery, but it is one that they are excited to discover.

As the journey continues...

The Dex Holders have reunited and Ash, Pikachu and Brock have officially joined forces with Lyra and Marill. What will the future await them?

First off, I have an anouncement, well, two actually.

The first one is that this would be the end of what you could call the introduction arc, so to commemorate such thing, I decided to make a double upload today. Not only will I be posting this chapter, but also a Oneshot of Lyra and Marill called "The Tale of Lyra and Marill" (hopefully no one else has thought of that name yet) . It will escentially be the equivalent of chapter two, but for Lyra and Marill. It has some world building and hopefully you huys will enjoy it.

The second anouncement is that, I am now officially back to school. I technically returned like two week, but they were pretty light, which is why I decided to write both chapter 8 as well as the oneshot. But from now on, I may not have enough free time to write, so if I don't upload as fast as I do, it's not because I'm dead (probably), but because I'm probably busy with school work. I hope you can understand.

Well, that was everything I had to say, until next time.