A young man by the name of Ash Ketchum has just turned ten years old which means his life as a Pokémon trainer will begin. Ash is quite happy with finally being able to get his own Pokémon as Ash has always been quite jealous. Seeing other people and trainers with their own Pokémon while he has none always infuriates him. Ash plans to wake up bright and early the next morning. He wants to be the first person to reach Professor Oak's laboratory and claim his starter Pokémon for his very own. Now another trait about Ash is that he may want his own Pokémon for his own, however he only wants the strongest, fiercest, and most powerful of them all. Ash growing up while not a mean kid could be a bit brash and extremely irritable. Many other kids including the adults could never bring themselves to like him. Even some of the town's Pokémon kept their distance from Ash as he could be a bit cruel towards some of the lower level type of Pokémon in the town woods.
Well now it is the next morning and as promised, Ash wakes up bright and early and races all the way to the laboratory. He practically knocks down the door to the professor's lab and walks in to demand his Pokémon. Professor Oak has an almost comical reaction and pounds on his chest to make sure his heart does not explode from the shock he obtained. Ash wants his Pokémon right now and Professor Oak has no choice but to give him one. However the professor could not bear to give either a timid Squirtle, shy Charmander, or a sweet Bulbasaur to Ash. So Professor Oak will give Ash a Pokémon he kept locked up in a Poké Ball because of its vile temper. Professor Oak lets it out to reveal a Pikachu which has a very wicked temper and does not take to kindly to anyone. Ash sees it and while is not a typical starter of this region Ash likes it better. The Pikachu does not warm up to Ash at first and even shocks him with a thunderbolt attack.
Ash gets on it for doing that so Pikachu prepares to do it again only for Ash to say, "This is exactly the kind of Pokémon I want to be as my partner. No other Pokémon will get away from me when I catch them all. I will be the greatest trainer of all and every single Pokémon will call me master!" Pikachu seems to like Ash's confidence and almost rutheless nature, so he now wants to go along with Ash. Although Pikachu isn't going back in that stuffy little Poké Ball so with his electrical powers, Pikachu destroys it with an almost savage way of enjoyment. Finally Ash is given a Pokédex and five more Poké Balls and plans to start his journey right now. He wastes no time in wanting to go home and says bye to his mother and now soon begins his journey. Walking out of the building he can see his childhood rival Gary who is Professor Oak's grandson. Ash simply ignores Gary and leaves him with an almost snobbish grin for Gary to glance at.
Now Ash may be excited to catch Pokémon for his very own, however Ash is quite lazy in fact. The journey part of his rise of being a true master of all Pokémon was not really what he wanted to do. It was at request of his mother to go on the journey and to be more like his father. Plus she hopes with his journey Ash might loosen up some and lose his temper and attitude towards people and Pokémon. Now Ash plans to make it to the nearest town which so happens to be Veridian City. Along the way he hopes to capture more Pokémon besides his Pikachu and even evolve it into a very powerful Raichu. Now the forests between Pallet Town and Veridian City are piled with many different types of Pokémon from bug types, flying types, and grass types. In fact making his way Ash spots a cute little Caterpie in the woods which Ash looks up in his Pokédex. However it does not grab his attention, so Ash and Pikachu move along to find more.
So far there are no Pokémon that he finds powerful enough to suit his needs, so Ash simply keeps moving forward. As the days are passing, Ash finally reaches Veridian City where it seems the town is put on high alert. There seems to be thieves in the area and are stealing Pokémon from their trainers as well as the surrounding area. As Ash walks into town, an Officer Jenny spots Ash and his Pikachu. She notices it isn't in a Poké Ball and asks for Ash to prove it belongs to him. Ash has to tell her, "Beat it lady! This Pikachu is mine and as it so happens my Pikachu destroyed his Poké Ball. He didn't like being trapped inside that thing so he used his thunderbolt and destroyed it." To further prove his tale he shows pieces of the shattered Poké Ball. Officer Jenny is willing to believe the story but does not like Ash's rudeness toward her. Although since Ash seems to be a beginning trainer she overlooks it and sends him off to the Pokémon Center. He can stay there for the night and should probably stay there until the thieves are caught.
Which now in the sky with what appears to be an odd shaped hot air balloon with three figures inside. One is a rather stunning looking woman with long fiery red hair and another a man with not as long, but not short blue hair. Along side them seems to be a Pokémon but what is strange is this one can talk. It's a Meowth which has a cat like appearance with a golden charm centered on his forehead. They managed to swipe a wanted poster of both the man and woman whose names are finally given. They're Jessie and James; two members of the organization Team Rocket. Whose only goal in life is to capture rare and valuable Pokémon then to eventually take over the planet. The pair even managed to spy Ash and his Pikachu and while not rare or particularly powerful; Team Rocket plans to steal it as well. Along with all the Pokémon in the Pokémon Center, as they see it as a clean and easy steal.
Ash finally made it to the center at last and quite frankly is tired as is his Pikachu so they decide to take a break. Ash and Pikachu are hungry and get something to eat, however something goes wrong. An explosion goes off in the lobby of the center followed by black smoke. All the inhabitants in the Pokémon Center run in a frantic, but soon both Jessie and James with their talking Meowth enter. Team Rocket demands all the Pokémon in the center and send out their two Pokémon Ekans and Koffing to do battle. Ekans and Koffing send out a combined haze attack which engulfs the building. Ash demands to know just who these people are and soon something is heard.
Jessie: Prepare for trouble.
James: Make it double.
Jessie: To protect the world from devistation.
James: To unite all people within our nation.
Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love.
James: To extend our reach to the stars above.
Jessie: Jessie!
James: James!
Jessie: Team Rocket blast of to the speed of light.
James: Surrender now or prepare to fight.
Meowth: Meowth that's right.
Ash demands to know just who Team Rocket is and exactly what their purpose is for coming to the Pokémon Center. They explain how both Jessie and James are members of Team Rocket. An organization bent on capturing the rarest and most powerful Pokémon and use them to take over the world. Now that seems to get Ash's attention, but not so much the world domination aspect, but capturing rare and powerful Pokémon. Which then Ash has to ask, "So then Jessie and James right? What would a guy have to do to join Team Rocket?" Jessie and James gasp when Ash says that, which then they have to ask if he's joking. Which Ash admits he's not joking one bit, as all Ash ever wanted to do is capture powerful Pokémon for himself. His so called journey and all this training is something Ash never wanted to do one bit. The duo can see Ash is quite serious and see a nasty streak in the young beginning trainer and mentions something. Their boss mentions how he wants to start a junior division of Team Rocket.
If this kid is serious then Jessie and James will bring Ash to their boss so then Ash can prove if he is worthy enough to join Team Rocket. Now time has passed a bit and both Jessie and James brings Ash to the Team Rocket base. Their boss seems angry at their inability to capture any of the Pokémon Center's Pokémon. Which he hopes they have a good explanation, which both Jessie and James do have one. They both met a young man who wants to join Team Rocket. They told the kid that their boss wanted to start a junior membership and this kid so far is the only one who wants to join. That might make up for their failure and their boss orders for the possible recruit to show himself. Which Ash does and Team Rocket's leader speaks, "Welcome then young man, I am Giovanni and Team Rocket is my organization. I understand you wish to join our little family I see? What are your qualifications to want to join Team Rocket in the first place?"
Ash has to admit he has little experience with being a trainer, however all his life, Ash studied all Pokémon. Their types, advantages, disadvantages, and possibly where to find some of the most powerful Pokémon. This is indeed quite interesting and Giovanni does enjoy Ash's enthusiasm. So he will let Ash prove himself by being trained and tested to prove his worth. If Ash succeeds, not only will he be allowed to join, but Ash will recieve a Thunder Stone as a reward. It will then evolve Pikachu into a Raichu which is something both Pikachu and Ash want very bad. So then Ash's training regiment is to begin first thing tomorrow morning and Ash can not wait. Jessie and James realize however that if Ash prevails it could mean stiff competition from him. So then Jessie and James decide to sabotage Ash's chances of getting in and they first plan to make sure he's late for training.
Ash goes to bed early in the evening and as he sleeps: Jessie, James, and Meowth sneak in to reset the time on his alarm clock. So then silently moving forward Jessie and James reset the clock to an earlier time. Which then they silently sneak out, however it seems Ash was not asleep. He turns around to see his clock has been changed so then Ash changes it back to its original time. Ash now knows those three are going to be a problem if he is to join full time. So Ash is going to keep a close eye on them and make sure they don't ruin his chances of getting in.
Now it is indeed the next morning and Ash awakens to see a Team Rocket trainee uniform and quickly puts it on. Now the training facility is in view with Giovanni waiting for the new recruit to arrive. Jessie, James, and Meowth are there with a wicked smile on their faces as Ash cannot possible arrive. However he does indeed arrive and says, "Sorry I'm a few minutes late sir. I had to get into the uniform that was left in my room." The trio gasp at the fact Ash is here and do not understand how. Unless possibly he wasn't asleep and Ash knew the three of them tried to sabotage him. So then Giovanni commands for Ash's training regiment to begin. The training is not just of power and strength, but also of the mind to better strengthen Ash's ability in the field. It is hard for sure, but Ash is more than willing to under take this kind of stress. Pikachu is also tested with moving targets for it to blast as well he must coordinate through traps and hazards.
Ash himself is also tested with knowledge of different kinds of Pokémon like their strengths and weaknesses. Ash in all fields is doing really well and it seems Ash does indeed have what it takes to be a member. Days are becoming weeks and weeks are becoming months with Ash excelling in everything. The final day of training has come for Ash and Giovanni is there to say, "You have done well recruit Ash. You've excelled in all the tasks I made for you. You are indeed the kind of person I need for Team Rocket and it does this organization good to welcome you to our team. Your new uniform which has been tailored to your specifications is in your quarters. Now change out of your trainee uniform and meet me back here in one hour. It will soon be time to start your first field mission." Along with that Ash is given his Thunder Stone for his Pikachu who is quick to take it. Pikachu begins to glow and soon he is Pikachu no more, but a very powerful Raichu.
Ash goes into his room and sees his new uniform and is quick to switch from the old one and into the new. Ash in his new uniform goes to meet Giovanni and stands by his side with now a new chapter in Ash's life starts. A life as the newest member of the evil organization Team Rocket and he is going to enjoy this a lot.
TO BE CONTINUED...