Chapter 2: The Fiery Fights of Galar!
They had finally arrived after a while of flying through the sky. The Galar Region! A region that is full of wonderful views. "So, according to the Rotom Phone, there should be a lab nearby. I want to see what the starter Pokémon of this region are!" Ash said excitingly. "Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu said, also very excited. The boy looked around, as he saw a large building nearby. "There! That must be it! Great work Charizard!" Ash said. Charizard then begins to fly down toward the building, when suddenly, they feel weird energy. "Hm?" Pikachu looks and turns around. "PIKA! PI-PIKA!! PIKACHU!!" Pikachu shouts at Ash, who looks over their shoulder and sees a large red light. "Charizard! Quick! Spin to the right!" Ash commands as he grabbed on to Pikachu. Charizard spins around, barely missing the weird object, which then lands in front of the building's yard. "What was that?" Ash's Charizard flies down and lands near said object. The three then walk over towards it and look at it. Ash sticks his hand out, slowly but surely picking it up. "What is this?" Ash asked himself. Pikachu sniffed at it before they heard a door open. "What's all this ruckus?" An older lady in a lab coat came out of the building, accompanied by a younger girl with orange hair.
"I'm very sorry! We were just flying and this weird object just landed here. It almost knocked us out of the sky!" Ash explained. The older woman came over and inspected the object in Ash's hand. "Just as I thought. This is a Wishing Star." She said. Ash tilted his head in confusion. "Wishing Star?" The woman then comes over to Ash and picks up the object from his hand. "I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Professor Magnolia. And this is my granddaughter, Sonia." She said, with Sonia waving happily. "Nice to meet you! I'm Ash Ketchum! I come from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region! I just arrived in Galar from Kanto." He said. "Huh?! You flew all the way here?!" Sonia asked surprised. "Yep! And this is my partner, Pikachu! And this is one of my Pokémon, Charizard!" Ash said. "Alright. Why don't you come inside?" Magnolia says. Ash just shrugs and nods. He returned Charizard to his Pokeball, before following the two inside.
"So, what are these wishing stars?" Ash asked while Pikachu was being petted by Sonia. "Wishing Stars are little stones that have Dynamax Energy inside." Magnolia explains. "They are what allow us to make Dynamax Bands." Ash's expression was a face of confusion. "What is Dynamax?" He asked. Magnolia then says, "Dynamax is a phenomenon, of which a Pokémon grows gigantic and gains an exponential power boost, even gaining brand new moves." Ash's eyes glowed, with an excited expression on his face. "That sounds awesome! That would make for a great Pokémon battle!" Ash said. Magnolia smirked as she then hands Ash a white band. "Hm? What's this?" Ash asked. "This is the Dynamax band I was talking about. You seem like a trustworthy young man, so I am allowing you to have one. However, these can only be activated when near power spots, at least according to my research." Magnolia said smiling. Ash smiles as he lightly grabs it and puts it on his wrist. "Awesome!, Pika-Pikachu!" Ash and Pikachu said happily.
"So Ash, what brings you from Kanto to Galar?" Sonia asked curiously. Ash smiled happily. "I have two goals. To be a Pokémon Master, and travel the world!" He said proudly. "Wow! That's quite the goal!" Sonia replied. "What's your goal, Sonia?" Ash asked curiously. "Oh! My goal is to be a Pokémon Professor! Just like my grandmother!" She replied. "That sounds awesome!" Ash said. He then remembered something and turned to Magnolia. "Oh, Professor Magnolia! Do you know where I can get a Galar Starter Pokémon?" He asked. The professor thinks before saying, "Oh yes. A trainer by the name of Leon has them." She replied. "Where can I find him?" Ash asked. "I know!" Sonia replied. "He's by the town called Wedgehurst. He said he was going to do some speech or whatever." Sonia gets up and goes over to Ash. "I can take you to him." She said. Ash smiled and replied, "Thank you, Sonia!" He then runs to go out the door, only to end up running into it with Pikachu, before falling over. "Agh... Pikachu..." Ash and Pikachu groaned in pain. "You need to watch where you are going, Ash." Sonia said. "Thank you for the advice, Sonia." Ash replied genuinely.
Wedgehurst
Ash and Sonia had arrived in Wedgehurst, seeing a large crowd of people. "Wow. What's with the crowd?" Ash asked. "Must be because of Leon. He is the region's Champion after all." Sonia replies. "HUH?!, PIKA?!" Ash and Pikachu were in complete shock. They sit and wait for the speech to be over, as everyone walks away. "Alright, now I can finally talk to him!" Ash said as he runs up to him. "Wait! Ash!" Sonia said, running after him. Leon looks and sees Ash, having a look of interest on his face. "You're Leon, right? The Champion of Galar?" Ash asked. "Yes, I am! And who might you be?" Leon said. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region! And this is my partner Pokemon Pikachu!" Ash replied. "Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu said. Leon smiled before asking, "So, are you taking on the Galar Gym Challenge too?" Ash looked confused. "What's the Galar Gym Challenge?" He asked. "Ash! Don't just run and start talking to someone like that!" Sonia said. "O-Oh, sorry." Ash said. "Sonia! Nice to see you again. It has been a little while." Leon said. Sonia smiled and said, "Nice to see you too, Leon." Ash once again asked, "What is the Gym Challenge?" "It's basically where you have to fight Eight Gym Leaders, before battling in the Champion Cup, where you fight trainers in brackets. And if you defeat all the trainers and win, you get to fight Leon and have the chance to become the Champion!" Sonia explained. "Man! I am so psyched!" Ash said happily. "Oh, Leon. Ash wanted to know if he could receive one of the Galar Starter Pokémon?" Sonia asked. "Oh yes! I was on my way anyways to"
Before Leon could finish, a voice shouted at him from the distance. "Hey, Lee!" Two people ran down the path, both a boy and a girl. "Oh Hop! What brings you here? I was on my way to see you and give you your starter Pokemon." Leon said. "I wanted to introduce you to Gloria sooner, but she overslept." Hop said, with a slightly annoyed look. "Oh come on! I was only two to three minutes off!" Gloria argued back. The two friends then look and see Ash. "Who's this Lee?" Hop asked. "Oh, this is Ash! He comes from the Kanto Region." Leon replied. "The Kanto Region? What are you doing here?" Gloria asked. "I'm on a journey to become a Pokémon Master, and travel the world! Those are my goals! And doing this Gym Challenge will help me beg to my dream faster!" Ash said. "You're doing the Gym Challenge too? Awesome!" Gloria said happily. She then notices Ash's Pikachu. "Aww! What a cute little Pikachu!" She said, petting his head. "Piiiikaaa~!" Pikachu purred happily, liking the petting. "I think I heard your name, Gloria right?" Ash asked. Gloria smiled and spins around. "Bingo! You heard right! It's nice to meet ya!" She replied. "And I'm Hop! I'm Lee's brother!" Hop said. "Nice to meet you as well!" Ash said. "Alright you three, how about we go and finally get your starter Pokemon?" Leon suggested. "Yes!" Ash, Gloria, and Hop said in unison and ran up the hill. "Oh! Ash!" Sonia said. "Hm?" Ash ran back over to Sonia. "Here is something that could be of use to you. It's called a Pokémon Box Link. It links to your Pokémon Box at all times!" Sonia said. "Wow! Thank you!" Ash said. He then ran up the hill to follow Gloria and Hop.
Postwick
At the outside of Hop and Leon's house, they were having dinner outside, before receiving their Pokemon. "Hey, Ash." Hop said. "You said that Pikachu was your starter Pokèmon?" Ash looked at him and smirked. "Yep! He's been with me since the beginning!" He said, petting his partner Pokemon. "Do you think we can have a Pokémon battle?" Hop asked. "Hm? I thought you didn't have a Pokémon?" Ash said. Hop shakes his head, as he grabs a Pokeball and throws it, sending out a sheep Pokémon. "Woah! So cool!" Ash said. He took his Rotom Phone and scanned it. "Wooloo. The Sheep Pokémon. A Normal Type. Its curly fleece is such an effective cushion that this Pokémon could fall off a cliff and stand right back up at the bottom, unharmed." The phone said. "Alright! I'll take you up on that battle!" Ash replied.
The two trainers get on the battlefield outside of Hop's House. "If you don't mind, I'll make the rules. Single Battle, only One Pokémon each. Is that fine?" Hop asked. "That's fine with me!" Ash said. "This should be interesting." Sonia told Leon. "Indeed. I have my hopes for Hop, but that Ash seems to be very experienced." Leon said. "Alright! Battle start!" Gloria shouted, swinging her hand downward. "Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!" Ash shouted out. "Pika!" Pikachu was surrounded in a light aura, as he sped off towards the sheep Pokemon, hitting it with intense power. "Alright, Wooloo! Use Tackle!" Hop shouted out. Wooloo curls up and spins at Pikachu, but Ash called out, "Pikachu! Jump and dodge it!" Pikachu nods as he runs and jumps into the air. "Now! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu was surrounded by electricity, as he fired a massive bolt at Wooloo, dealing significant damage, before landing on the ground. "Don't give up Wooloo! Use Stomp!" Hop called out. The sheep Pokémon jumped at Pikachu and stomped on him multiple times. "Pika!" Pikachu groaned in pain. "Gotcha!" Hop said. But he was getting too cocky. "Heh! Thunderbolt, once again!" Ash shouted. Pikachu managed to withstand the pain as he fired yet another Thunderbolt and hits Wooloo, knocking it out. "Wooloo is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner! This means that the winner of the overall match is Ash!" Gloria shouted. "Alright!" Ash jumped up with Pikachu, both high-fiving one another.
Hop had a shocked and disappointed look. Not in Wooloo, but himself. "You did good Wooloo. Take a nice long rest." He said as he returns his Pokemon. Leon walks over to Hop and pats him on the shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. This was your first battle. You don't always win. Use this experience to improve yourself." He told his younger brother. Hop looks at Leon, his face of disappointment turning into a face of determination. "Alright!" Hop said. "Wow, Ash! You were amazing!" Gloria said, very impressed. "It's not that impressive. It was just a simple Pokémon battle." Ash replied. Hop walked over and took Ash's hand, shaking it. "You did great Ash!" He said. Ash smiled and shook his hand as well. "You were great to Hop. For a first battle, I'm surprised Wooloo had a strong move like Stomp." Ash replied to him. "Ash, from this point forward, I will use any experience in battle as a learning point. From this point forward, I want to be rivals!" Hop said. Ash was a little taken aback, before smiling yet again. "You bet Hop!" He replied.
"Alright, everyone!" Leon shouted. Ash, Gloria, Hop, and Sonia looked over. "It's time for you to receive your Galar Starter Pokemon!" He said. He threw three Pokeballs, sending out three Pokémon. The Grass Type, Chimp Pokemon, named Grookey. The Fire Type, Rabbit Pokemon, named Scorbunny. And finally, the Water Type, Water Lizard Pokemon, named Sobble. "Alright trainers. Which Pokémon will you pick?" Leon asked.
Ash's new journey has taken him to the Galar Region. With a Dynamax Band, a Pokémon Box Link, new friends and rivals, and readying to receive a new Galar Pokémon, he is almost ready to start his journey through Galar to take on the Gym Challenge. What will happen next? Find out in the next Chapter.
To be continued...