Pokémon Opal and Obsidian
Episode 1: Welcome to Anora!
The Anora Region! A mysterious land in the Pokémon World shrouded with intrigue and secrets! It's a place filled with dense forests and giant mountaintops! Huge caverns and all kinds of strange and exotic locales!
The scene cuts to various locations in the Anora Region, the camera panning over a sandy desert as some Trapinch and Diglett trudge through the sandy wind. It then cuts to some kind of murky swamp where some Marill and Goomy are seen splashing around in the water as the buzzing of Yanma can be heard from overheard. The scene cuts once again to a frosty hillside showing some Snorunt and Snover plodding along through the snow, leaving footprints behind.
The Anora Region is a place filled with many kinds of different Pokémon, both new and old! It's known for its mysterious legends and folktales, as well as the people of the region, who strive to cherish their culture and heritage as much as possible!
The scene pans over various cities and towns in the region, showing many people and Pokémon working together in harmony.
It's a great place for any Pokémon trainer to have an adventure! And it seems that a certain, well-known Pokémon trainer is getting ready for an adventure right now…
The scene now shows a small white house with a red roof, surrounded by fields of lush, green grass. In front of the house, a Mr. Mime is busy sweeping the path to the front door. The camera heads all the way up the staircase before heading through an open door into a messy bedroom, a young boy, who is jumping around his room with excitement.
This young boy, as I'm sure you all know by now, is Ash Ketchum, a Pokémon trainer who is striving to eventually one day become a Pokémon Master! This plucky 10 year old kid right now seems to be in quite the hurry to get somewhere immediately.
"Oh man! I can't wait! Professor Oak has got something cool to show me, and it's about a new Pokémon! How cool is that Pikachu?!"
Pikachu, who by this point, has been sitting quietly on the side of Ash's bed, nods in agreement.
"Pika."
Ash leans his left arm down, allowing Pikachu to jump up and land on his shoulder, before Ash races through the door and high tails it down the stairs, straight for the door.
"And just where do you think you're going, young man?!" a loud voice rang out, bringing Ash to a sudden stop as his face slammed into the front door.
"Ow…" he moaned, rubbed his face before leaning his head up to his mom. "Sorry mom! I'll have breakfast before I leave!"
Ash was hungrily wolfing down his toast and bacon, whilst Pikachu was guzzling the inside of a ketchup bottle.
Delia sighed.
"Ash, you could at least try to eat your breakfast a little more slowly." she sighed.
"Oh! Sorry, mom! I'm just really excited about seeing this thing Professor Oak has to show me!" Ash exclaimed in between mouthfuls of toast and bacon.
Only a few seconds later, and Ash, once again with Pikachu sitting atop his shoulder, dashed out of the kitchen and flung the door open before legging it down the street and towards Professor Oak's lab.
"Bye, mom!" Ash called until he was just a blur in the distance.
Delia stood at the open door of their house and sighed as she watched him leave.
"He never slows down, does he, Mimey?" she asked Mr. Mime.
"Mime, mime!" Mr. Mime nodded in agreement.
Tracey Sketchit, Professor's Oak assistant, was busy cleaning the floors on the inside of the lab, when Ash raced in through the door, just barely missing him.
"Oh, Ash! Professor Oak is in the-" But Ash had already rushed past him.
"-the back…" he sighed and went back to his cleaning.
Professor Oak was outside at the back of his lab, writing down notes in his notebook, whilst occasionally glancing up at his Dragonite. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard Ash rush in before standing out of the way as Ash tripped up and rolled onto the grass by his feet.
"Ah, Ash! You're rather early, my boy! Makes a change I suppose." Professor Oak gave a hearty laugh.
Ash bolted right up, his eyes gleaming with joy as he stood straight up, dusting off the grass and dirt from his clothes.
"Hey, Professor! Have you got that thing about that brand new Pokémon to show me?!" he asked excitedly, not stopping to take a single breath in between.
"Oh yes, I might as well show you it right now since you're here."
Professor Oak led Ash back into the lab before he sat down at his desk and picked up a strange looking object so that Ash could look at it. It seemed to be some kind of greenish-blue scale.
"Woah, was that from some kind of Pokémon?" Ash asked, the scale glinting in his eyes.
"Yes, though after many hours of research, it doesn't match any other Pokémon that has scales on its body. Though, I have a theory that this scale somehow ended up all the way here from the Anora Region."
"The Anora Region?" Ash asked, puzzled.
"Yes. A newly discovered region that has quite a lot of new Pokémon species." Professor Oak reached up to his bookshelf and pulled out a rather lengthy looking book titled "Anora - Histories and Mysteries". He placed it down on his desk and flipped through several pages before ending on a page that showed a rather blurry picture. Ash squinted at it and could just make out some kind of big, serpentine-like creature that was coloured the same colour as the scale.
"What kind of Pokémon is that Professor?" Ash asked curiously.
"This my boy is what is believed to be a Legendary Pokémon in Anora. Though we have very few amounts of information on it, I think that this scale came from this Pokémon."
Pikachu held one paw out and tried to reach out to touch the scale.
"Now, I was wondering if you would be able to travel to the Anora Region for me and take this to a researcher there. His name is Professor Locust and was once a student of mine. He isn't exactly known for being the friendliest type, but I trust him very much. And I trust that you will be able to take this to him."
He handed the scale to Ash, who after taking another look at it, placed it gently and carefully inside his backpack.
"Don't you worry, Professor! I'll get it there for you!"
"Excellent! I know you'll love visiting Anora! You might even be able to catch some new Pokémon there and meet some new friends!"
"Awesome! Come on, Pikachu! We're heading off to the Anora Region!"
Ash leapt into the air as he began to rush around in circles, he could hardly contain his excitement.
"Ash! You can head to Anora via a plane! If you wait, I can reserve you a seat!" he tried desperately to call out.
Ash managed to stop and sat down, taking deep breaths as he laughed.
"Ok, Professor! I'll wait!"
Before Professor Oak sat back down again, he turned to Ash and handed him a new Pokédex. This one was red like the others, and was rather sleek and long in shape, with two sets of buttons of either side.
"This is the model of Pokédex usually used in the Anora Region, complete with the list of Pokémon you can find there." Professor Oak exclaimed. "And here are some extra Poké Balls just in case you need them."
"That's awesome, thanks, Professor!" Ash exclaimed happily.
Meanwhile, outside of the lab, three shady looking characters were listening in on the conversation between Ash and Professor Oak. Long-time fans of the Pokémon anime already know them to be…
"Hey! Did you hear that?" Meowth asked. "Seems the twerp is heading for the Anora Region!"
"To try and find a new Legendary Pokémon!" James added.
"If we tell the Boss this, he might give us a legendary load of cash!" Jessie declared.
The three of them sneaked out of the bush they were hiding in and hurried off to the nearest payphone.
James rummaged around in his pockets and found only a single quarter. He popped it into the machine and dialled a number, before holding the phone up to his ear and glancing at the video screen above the buttons.
A rather sullen looking woman blinked as the screen flashed on.
"Yes?" she asked.
"We've got important info for Giovanni! About a new region, and new Pokémon, and-"
"Hold on, I'll direct him to you now."
The screen blurred a bit before the static left and the screen turned on now to Giovanni, sitting in his armchair at his desk in his typical orange suit with Persian sitting by his feet.
"Oh, good grief, not you three…" he groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Yes, us three!" snapped Jessie. "We have word that there is a region named Anora with tons of new Pokémon species just waiting to be caught, and we are planning to head there for you, Boss!"
Giovanni sat staring at the screen blankly before sighing.
"I don't think that the Anora Region is one I really have heard about that much. Though, if it gets you out of my way, and preferably me some new and strong Pokémon, that would please me greatly."
He paused for a moment, before looking back at the trio.
"Alright, I shall make you three the first Team Rocket operatives in the Anora Region." he declared, "If you want, I shall allow you to take some of your Pokémon we have here at HQ with you."
Jessie, James and Meowth cheered in delight before immediately standing to attention.
"We won't let you down, Boss!" James declared.
Giovanni groaned.
"If I had a dime for every time I heard that one…"
The screen went blank.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Meowth exclaimed, leaping to the air before rushing out the payphone booth. "We have tons of new Pokémon to nab!"
"It feels so great to get back into the spirit of things!" Jessie smirked happily, following suit.
"Let's go get everything ready for our adventure and then head to the balloon!" James declared, Meowth and Jessie nodded in agreement before all three of them raced off into the distance.
Ash, meanwhile, had finally made his way to the Anora Region at long last. He stepped off the plane and looked around in excitement. Pikachu glanced from left to right, looking at all the people and Pokémon walking around nearby.
"So, this is the Anora Region!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.
He looked up and saw a flock of unfamiliar bird Pokémon fly right over his head. He quickly turned around and watched them fly off into the sunset.
"Woah! I've never seen those Pokémon before!"
He then looked to the water and saw some brand-new fish Pokémon jumping in and out of the waves.
"Wow! Check that out, Pikachu!" he said, rushing over to the water to catch a glimpse.
As Pikachu began to look at his reflection in the water, the two of them failed to notice that Team Rocket's signature Meowth balloon was gently floating above their head until too late.
"Yoink! The Pikachu is ours!" Meowth declared, as a cartoonishly large robotic hand grabbed a hold of Pikachu and reeled him all the way up to the basket of the balloon.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried as he raced after the balloon.
The Team Rocket trio laughed confidently as they stood up in their basket and looked down at Ash, as Jessie began their motto.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!" James continued.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
Mime Jr. and Wobuffet suddenly jump out of their Poké Balls to finish up the motto.
"Wobba, wobba!"
"Mime, mime!"
"Can't you guys just leave me alone already?!" Ash shouted up to them.
Pikachu desperately tried to use Thunderbolt to free himself from the giant hand, but nothing worked.
"Ha ha! You didn't think we would Pika-fy our gadgets, did you?" Jessie laughed confidently.
"So long, twerp!" James called as the balloon began to rise higher and higher.
"Come back, Team Rocket!" Ash yelled, running as fast as he could after them.
"Use Karate Chop!" a loud voice rang out from atop the buildings nearby.
Ash looked up to see a mysterious figure, mostly obscured by shadows, with a Hawlucha in front of him.
"Hawwww!" The Hawlucha leapt high into the air and its right wing glowed as it swooped down upon the arm connecting the basket to the hand and it broke instantly. The Hawlucha as soon as it had used the attack, rushed back to the side of the strange person.
Jessie gasped in alarm and watched as the hand fell down to the ground and burst open, releasing Pikachu, who raced over at Ash and jumped into his arms.
"Pikachu! You're ok!" Ash cried happily, hugging him tightly.
"Pika!" Pikachu replied.
"Who does that clown think he is?! Trying to stop us from poaching Pokémon!" James fumed angrily, turning his attention to the mysterious stranger, who had now stepped out slightly from the shadows.
He was wearing a suit not unlike that of a superhero and had a mask with triangular edges covering his face. A cape fluttering about in the breeze behind him, and a confident smirk underneath his mask.
The people around Ash and Pikachu cheered and clapped in delight.
"It's him!"
"Captain Hyper! He's here!"
"I can't believe I'm seeing him in person!"
Ash looked all around at the people cheering for the man and then looked back up to see Captain Hyper's Hawlucha leaped up once again into the air and was sailing straight towards Team Rocket's balloon.
"Use Acrobatics!" he declared loudly.
"Hawwwwwww!" Hawlucha darted about in the sky in all directions before barrelling straight through the balloon, causing it to burst and be sent flying away, with Team Rocket still sitting in the basket.
"Oh, come on! We only just got to this region and already we're being beaten by some superhero?!" James cried out.
"You have to admit, he was rather dashing." Jessie smiled happily.
"But now it looks like we will have to be dashing because…" Meowth began.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" all three of them shouted in unison before they flew away into the sky with a flash of light.
Everybody around Ash and Pikachu cheered even louder for Captain Hyper, who was standing atop the building looking down at the people with a smile.
"Fear not, citizens! For I, Captain Hyper, will always be around to those who require help and assistance! Don't hesitate to call me if you are in danger, I'm just a Hyper Beam away!"
And as quickly as he arrived, he and his Hawlucha had vanished.
"Well done, Captain Hyper!" one man cheered.
"You were amazing as always!" a woman declared.
"Go, Captain Hyper!" a group of young children shouted.
Eventually, the crowds of people began to disperse, and Ash and Pikachu walked along the streets, happy to be reunited again.
"It's getting pretty late, Pikachu. We should find a hotel before heading off again tomorrow."
"Pikaaaa…" Pikachu yawned sleepily.
Ash chuckled before heading towards the nearest motel, and he walked through the sliding doors towards the desk.
Ash and Pikachu have now arrived in the Anora Region on their way to meet Professor Locust and give him the strange scale. What kinds of new Pokémon will they meet? What new friends will they see along the way? And who exactly is this mysterious Captain Hyper? There are some many questions, and the only way to find the answer to them is to stay tuned!
To Be Continued...