Chapter 3: The Reluctant Scorbunny
"It's time to choose your Pokémon. Which will you choose?" Leon asks. Hop, Ash, and Gloria look at the cute starter Pokemon. "I've never seen these kinds of Pokémon before!" He grabs his Rotom Phone and scans them. As he is scanning them, he notices the fire type, Scorbunny. It seems rather, distant. Ash doesn't know why, but that is the vibe he is getting. However, that somehow wants him to choose it more. "I'll take Sobble!" Hop said. Sobble looked a little hesitant, but as Hop petted him, it grew a little closer and gained more courage. It jumped up and high-fived Hop, with a big smile on its face. "Hmm. Then I guess I'll take Grookey!" Gloria said as he picks up the little monkey Pokémon. "Gro! Grookey!" Grookey was very happy to find a trainer. "So Ash, I guess you'll get-" Leon stopped mid-sentence, seeing Ash and Scorbunny make eye context. "... Scor... Scorbunny..." Scorbunny spoke in a very annoyed tone. Ash smiled sweetly as he sticks his hand out. "So Scorbunny, want to come with me?" Ash asked.
Scorbunny looked at Ash, sticking its paw out, before smacking Ash's hand away. "Huh?" Ash said. Scorbunny just simply turned away and jumped into the nearby tree and laid down. "Was it something Ash said?" Hop asked. "Nope. That Scorbunny has always been picky. She has been here for over three years. It doesn't seem to like any trainer." Leon said. "THREE YEARS?!" Gloria and Hop shouted surprised. "I don't think that's it." Ash said. Leon looked at the boy, who then looked at Leon. "When I looked into her eyes, I sensed she felt rather distant. I think she has a hard time trusting trainers." Ash explained. "You could tell all that just from staring into its eyes?" Gloria asked. "Well you know what they say, the eyes are the windows into the soul." Ash replied. Gloria slightly smiled. She was surprised at how mature he seems. Ash walked over to the tree and looks up. "Hey, Scorbunny. It's okay. You can take your time." He said to the rabbit Pokemon. Scorbunny looked down at Ash, before jumping down the tree and running away. "Hey! Scorbunny! Wait!" Ash begins to run after it, with Pikachu running behind him. "A-Ash!" Gloria said as she begins to run after him too. Scorbunny ran into a nearby forest that was near Gloria's house. Ash with no hesitation, ran in after her. "I'm going to go help!" Hop said. Leon nods, as Hop runs after Ash.
Slumbering Weald
"Scorbunny!" Ash shouted, trying to find her. It was hard to with this fog converging their vision partly. Suddenly, something bumped into Ash. It was Gloria! "Ash! You can't just run off like that! You could get hurt!" Gloria said. "I'd rather get hurt than have something bad happen to Scorbunny!" Ash argued back. Gloria opened her mouth, but she couldn't find a retort. Suddenly, something bumped into Gloria. It was Hop! "There you guys are! Is everyone okay?" He asked. "Yeah, but we are wasting time. We need to find Scorbunny." Ash said. He began to call out to her once more. Gloria and Hop helped out by calling for her as well. But suddenly, more fog began to stir. "Hm?" Ash looks around, confused. "Hey guys, are you-" When Ash looked, he saw that Gloria and Hop. "Guys, this better not be a prank!" Ash looked and saw Pikachu, looking very defensive. He looked in Pikachu's direction and saw a large Pokémon. It was blue and had a dog physique to it. "What kind of Pokémon is that?" Ash said. There was a slight movement in the bushes, but Ash didn't notice. It was Scorbunny. She was currently watching Ash. "Look, whatever you are, you aren't giving my buddy a good vibe. Leave now!" Ash said. Suddenly, the dog figure howled, releasing more fog.
"Tch! Alright, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Pikachu jumped into the air, electricity surrounding him. He unleashes the massive electric attack at the figure, but it goes through the Pokémon. "Huh?!, Pika?!" Ash and Pikachu were surprised. The Pokémon then unleashed more fog around Ash and Pikachu. "Piika..." Pikachu began to stumble and fall, but Ash caught him. "Pikachu! Are you okay?!" He asked. He began to feel lightheaded. He was feeling very weird. He laid on the ground, hugging Pikachu. "Please be safe buddy..." Ash said. Suddenly, there was a large fire that was shot into the middle of the field and swept some of the fog away from Ash and Pikachu. "Agh..." Ash's doziness began to go away, as he stands up. Pikachu began to wake up as well. "Huh? The fog is gone?" Ash heard a noise behind him and looks, seeing Scorbunny.
"Scorbunny! There you are! I was worried about you." He said. The little rabbit Pokémon smiled at Ash, for the first time in a while. She walked over to him and rubbed her head against his leg. "Oh? You want to come with me?" He asked. Scorbunny nods at him. Ash smiled and picked her up. "That fire earlier were you trying to help us right?" Ash asked. Scorbunny nodded. The two looked into each other's eyes. They began to understand each other, on a deeper level than any of them had expected. And they had only just met. Maybe looking into each other's eyes was giving them a glimpse into their future with one another, as trainer and Pokémon. Their bond was bound to grow stronger and stronger. "Ash!" Gloria said, running with Hop. "Guys! Where did you go?" Ash asked. "We wanted to ask you the same thing! This weird fog surrounded us and we saw a weird red dog-like Pokémon!" Hop said. "The same thing happened to me, only with a blue one." Ash replied. "But hey, we finally found Scorbunny!" Gloria and Hop smiled and pet the rabbit Pokemon. "Now let's get out of here." Ash said.
Postwick
The group had finally returned from the Slumbering Weald, back to Hop's House. "Finally! What happened you two?" Leon asked. "We finally found Scorbunny, but we saw two illusions of two dog-like Pokémon. One blue, one red." Gloria explained. "What?!" Sonia said. "Hmm... I think I heard about those Pokémon before!" She said. "I don't know what kind of Pokémon those could've been!" Hop said. Ash was looking through the Rotom Phone and showed two Pokedex entires. "Could these be them?" He asked. The phone showed pictures of the two dog Pokémon, even their names. "Yes! That's them!" Sonia said. "Zacian and Zamazenta, huh? They are Legendary Pokémon. But, those were illusions. Does that forest have something to do with them?" Ash asked. "I don't know." Sonia said.
"But anyway, I think it's time we finally start our Journey!" Hop said, petting his Sobble. "Agreed!" Gloria and Ash said, petting their Grookey and Scorbunny respectively. "Here is Scorbunny's Pokeball, Ash." Leon said, handing Ash said Pokeball. "Thank you!" Ash said. The three began to walk down the pathway, but Ash stopped and turned around. "Hey Sonia! Do you want to come with us?" He asked. Sonia was taken aback. "Why would you want me to come with you?" She asked. "You want to be a Pokémon Professor right? Maybe journeying with us can help with that!" Ash said. Sonia thought about it for a little bit, but finally came to a decision. "Y-Yes! I will come with you!" She said smiling. She runs over to the group and begins to walk with them. She waved to Leon, with Leon smiling and waving back. However, up in the sky, there was a large hot air balloon, with a huge R on it. "That brat boy has been here all this time." Jessie said. "We'll get that Pikachu," James said. "If it's the last thing we do!" Meowth said.
And so, Ash's journey through Galar is finally beginning. With a new friends and a rival by his side, this is sure to be an interesting journey. However with some villains on the horizon, just what will happen next? Find out in the next chapter!
To be continued...