The Journey Continues
Hey, everybody. It's Friday and I'm back with another new chapter as promise. Only two more chapters left until we've finally reached the halfway mark of this first installment in the trilogy. Enjoy my latest chapter because a familiar face makes her appearance.
9
"Welcome to the Pokémon Center where we heal your Pokémon back to perfect health."
Ash, Serena, Pikachu, and Eevee almost jumped out of their skins. Brock's voice echoed loud enough to match an Exploud on a vicious rampage. He sprinted through the childhood duo and right for the front desk. He took Nurse Joy by her hand with hearts for eyes. Ash knew one of his most notorious speeches was about to go underway. "Nurse Joy, it's always a pleasure for you to welcome into my heart."
To say that Nurse Joy was baffled would be an understatement. Nurse Joy just smiled while a drop of sweat was running down her face. "Oh. It's good to see you too, Brock," she responded.
"Even though I'm not a Pokémon, I'm in need of some healing too. Healing for my broken heart that can only be cure by your beauty."
Brock stopped his proposal midway once he felt his right ear getting tugged from behind. "You'll wait in the waiting room like everyone else," Ash stated before pulling Brock away from the front desk.
"Welcome back, Ash. It's nice to see you again." Eevee jumped on top of the counter to greet the medical professional. "Well, hello there. Aren't you such an adorable Eevee?" Nurse Joy commented while petting the Evolution Pokémon. Eevee was bouncing in place, filled with glee following Nurse Joy's compliments. "Your Eevee is quite energetic. Full of high spirit."
"The thing is that's not my Eevee, Nurse Joy. Me and my friends ran into it the other night when it was attacked by an Incineroar," Ash started explaining. He also detailed that they believed Eevee belonged to Cross.
Upon hearing that, Nurse Joy scanned for any signs of bruises of any kind. Redness, markings, or any part of Eevee's body that appeared to be swollen. "This Eevee doesn't appear to be injured."
"Eevee was injured last night, but it was all thanks to Brock. He was the one who nursed it back to health," Serena chimed in.
"That's impressive." Serena whipped out her PokePhone and showed Nurse Joy a picture of Cross. "As for this young man, I haven't seen him. So, I'll be sure to put out a Missing Pokémon Bulletin."
Shortly after the trio exchanged their gratitude to the pink haired nurse, a trainer sprinted into the Pokémon Center carrying a Charmander in his arms. He screamed Nurse Joy's name with a high-pitched tone in his voice. "Nurse Joy, please help my Pokémon!"
"Oh dear. What happened?"
"Me and my Charmander were trying to catch a Pokémon, but it got injured," the trainer explained. Nurse Joy came from behind the counter to examine the starter Pokémon. The trainer wasn't lying about Charmander's condition. It was highly weakened and the flame burning from the tip of its tail was getting low. But the biggest hint was Charmander's face was purple with bubbles popping out.
Ash noticed Brock was scanning the Charmander. He thought that maybe his friend wanted to test his skills as a Pokémon Doctor-to-be or just to show off for Nurse Joy. Knowing Brock like he did, maybe it was a little bit of both. "Mind if I take a look at Charmander?" The trainer handed his injured partner over to Brock. "Was Charmander hit with a Sludge Bomb?"
"Yeah. We were trying to catch a Venonat, but it got away from us."
Chansey placed the poisoned Fire-type Pokémon on top of a waiting stretcher. "How did you know what poison move Charmander was hit with?" Nurse Joy asked. "A Venonat can also use Poison Powder too."
"Poison Powder is not powerful enough to leave behind this amount of damage. Sludge Bomb also left traits of brown globs behind too," Brock explained.
Chansey wheeled Charmander through the double doors and straight into the emergency room. Nurse Joy informed her partner that she would be back there in a few moments. "How would you like to help me around here, Brock?" She proposed. "You're studying to become a Pokémon Doctor, right? And it gets really busy around here this time of the day. I'll be happy to give a good word out on your behalf after you graduate."
"Really? You mean that?"
"Sure. We can work together and help each other out."
Brock's face went red and his eyes changed into hearts again. "I will extend my hand to assist you any given day of the week."
Unfortunately for Brock, his excitement was cut short after his ear got tugged again except more aggressive. The only thing coming out of Brock's mouth was his teeth grinning in pain. "Alright. How about you assist Nurse Joy at a safe distance?"
Ash remembered that voice from anywhere especially at the way she was pulling on Brock's ear. "Misty!"
"Hi, Ash! You're back in Kanto!" Pikachu jumped right off of Ash's shoulder and into Misty's arms. He rubbed his cheek on the left side of Misty's neck. "It's so good to see you too, Pikachu," Misty giggled. "How was your time in the Galar region?"
"We had a great time. You should consider taking a trip over there," Ash explained while Serena stood beside him. For a moment, he almost forgot to introduced his childhood friend to his former traveling companion. "This is my old friend, Misty. She traveled with me and Brock all through Kanto and the Johto region."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Misty, an internationally known beauty, the Cerulean Gym leader, and future Water Pokémon Master." Misty finished her introduction by holding up her middle and index fingers into the shape of the letter V.
"Nice meeting you too, Misty. I'm Serena, Pokémon Trainer from the Vaniville Town in the Kalos region, regionally known beauty, and future Kalos Queen."
During the small gathering, Brock slipped on the white coat Nurse Joy gave him to wear. "Well, I better go help Nurse Joy out with Charmander. I'll meet up with you guys later."
"Brock, I need you to get me some Pecha Berries for the poison?" Nurse Joy asked the Pokémon Doctor-in-training.
"YES, NURSE JOY! YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!"
"That Brock certainly gets around. Now, I see where Forrest got it from," Serena proclaimed while walking through the automatic doors.
"Brock's brother flirted with you too? No surprise there. Those two are brothers, after all," Misty stated. "I had dinner with Brock and his family one night and all Forrest focused on was me the entire time." Her statement earned her a nervous chuckle from Ash.
"But he'll always come through in the end," the male trainer protested.
Ash, Serena, and Misty walked to the nearby battlefield outside the Pokémon Center. There were three other trainers, but they weren't using the battlefield. It appeared they were simply talking while waiting to be called by Nurse Joy. It was the perfect time for Ash and his Pokémon to practice battling. It also gave Serena and Misty a chance to know one another and for the latter to catch up on what happened since the last time she saw Ash. "So, Serena, Brock was telling me a lot about you," Misty talked to Serena. "You're a Pokémon Performer from Kalos?"
Serena nodded to the gym leader's question. "My dream is to become the next Kalos Queen."
"Pokémon Showcases are a lot like Pokémon Contests, right?"
"Well, Showcases and Contests are about Pokémon Trainers showing off their Pokémon's talents in front of an audience and there are two stages," Serena started off explaining. "The differences between the two is when it comes to Showcases, Performers can use up to six Pokémon. Also, Performers compete for princess keys instead of contest ribbons. If you collect three, you can advance to the Master Class where you can compete for the crown of Kalos Queen."
"That sounds a whole lot of fun," Misty commented.
"This'll be my sixth year as a Performer and I'm going all the way this time."
Misty wished Serena the best of luck. "If that's the case, I'll fly to Kalos just so I can cheer you on." Serena thanked Misty for her support.
"You should also check out the Galar region especially the Hulbury Stadium," Ash suggested.
"The Hulbury Stadium? I heard of that place. It's one of the gyms in the Galar region trainers can challenge and it specializes in Water-type Pokémon," Misty said. "My sisters are doing a photoshoot over there. I think the gym leader's name is Nessa, right?"
"Yeah, and she's really strong too. Maybe you and Lana could take a trip over there and have a battle with her." A battle against another Water-type gym? Misty's smile and her head nodding was all the signs to know she was more than interested. "Maybe I will. I'll have to reach out to Lana and tell her about that. I'm sure she'll be excited as I am," the orange-haired gym leader proclaimed. "Speaking of gyms, Brock told me about your plan to competing in this year's Kanto League again. You still want to challenge me, Ash Ketchum?"
"Of course, I want to battle," Ash replied not that it was really necessary.
"Great. We'll have our battle first thing tomorrow morning."
That was music to Ash and Pikachu's ears. Both the trainer and his Pokémon partner threw a couple of punches in the clear blue sky. Misty's confirmation meant they were one step closer from competing in the Kanto League. However, the cheering stopped after Ash caught wind of the last two words at the end of her sentence. "Hold on. Did you say tomorrow morning?"
"The Cerulean Gym is closed today for its annual Pokémon Inspection Agency test, so there's no gym battles today," Misty explained.
Ash and Pikachu felt their faces pointing toward the ground. Heavy thin frowns traced the edge of their lips. "But I really wanted to battle now."
"Good grief. I expected some form of maturity by now, but you're still lingering that little kid inside of you." One thing Ash didn't miss about Misty was her constant insults. He rolled his eyes until his eyelids went narrowed. Not wanting to see the female gym leader laughing at him some more, Ash turned his head and folded his arms.
Ash eventually picked his head back up once he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. "Don't be in such a rush, Ash," Serena informed. "You need to use this time to come up with a battle strategy."
"Yeah, I supposed you're right."
It was at that moment, Misty decided to head back to her gym. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ash, and don't expect me to go easy," she stated. "It was nice meeting you, Serena."
Once Misty had left, Ash's head dropped back down to the ground. "I was really looking forward to battling Misty today. Now, what am I gonna do for the time being?"
With that question, Serena felt something lit inside her head like a light switch being turned on. "Hold your head up, Ash. Nothing we ever do is a waste of time," she stated to her childhood friend. "I have an idea, Ash. Let's have a battle."
"Really? A battle?"
"Yeah. Here's the thing; Meowstic evolved not too long ago prior to use arriving in Kanto and you need to come up with a strategy for your gym battle against Misty tomorrow."
"You're right, Serena. What do you say, buddy?"
Pikachu was all for a good battle. If they couldn't battle Misty, then they would just battle Serena. Meowstic stood in front of her trainer after Serena released it from her Poke ball. "Meowstic, we're going to be battling against Ash and Pikachu." But that wasn't going well for the Psychic Pokémon. Meowstic shook her head in denial and jumped out of Serena's arms. "Meowstic, I'm not going through this with you again. If you want to compete in Contests, then you need to do some training."
Once again, Meowstic refused to hear what Serena was saying. A growl slipped through of the performer's lips. She felt an eyebrow twitching. "Meowstic doesn't seem to be interested in training."
"The thing is I've been raising Meowstic ever since it hatched into an Espurr," Serena explained. "But since she evolved, she started to act like a spoiled child."
Serena wasn't sure, but she believed Meowstic didn't want to train out of the fear of getting dirty. Braixen came onto the scene and tried to convinced Meowstic to train with their trainer. It was a back-and-forth discussion, but Ash and Serena couldn't make on what they were saying. "Maybe Braixen is trying to convinced Meowstic to change her mind," Ash suggested.
"Meowstic does looked up to Braixen like an older sister." Serena thought of an idea to get her Pokémon on board. "How about this, Meowstic. I'll make some of your favorite Poke Puffs if you battle with me." That was all Meowstic needed to hear. Once Serena nodded her head in confirmation of her promise, the Psychic Pokémon ran out to the battlefield. She was eager to battling Pikachu. "She's up for it."
"Alright!"
Ash and Serena were on opposite ends of the battlefield. Pikachu and Meowstic were standing on the field and both Pokémon were ready to battle. The trainers agreed to have a one-on-one battle that would end when one Pokémon on either side were unable to continue. Unknown to both sides, Eevee was watching them from inside the Pokémon Center. It ran outside to join Lucario, Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon from the stands. "Kay, Pikachu. Let's start things off with a Quick Attack," Ash commanded.
Leaving a white outline behind, Pikachu sprinted full speed toward Meowstic. "Meowstic, use Protect."
Meowstic's yellow eyes glowed a turquoise colored as a greenish-blue energy shield appeared in front of the Pokémon. It was right on time too because Pikachu failed to land a mark on Meowstic. Instead, he bounced right off the shield and back on his side of the field. "That's some defense," Ash commanded.
"That's not all we can do. Use Psyshock," Serena commanded. Meowstic formed a purple orb of energy from her hands that started firing three dark purple beams at her opponent.
"Dodge it using Quick Attack."
Pikachu sprinted in fast speed while leaving a white outline. With that level of speed, Pikachu avoided all three beams like it was nothing. Meowstic's attack was nothing against Pikachu's massive speed. "Use Psychic. GO!" Serena commanded.
Just like that, Pikachu was stopped in his tracks. His entire body was outlined by a light blue color. Meowstic had her ears extended with the eye-like patterns on her inner ears exposed and glowing blue in the center. Ash and Pikachu had no idea what to do at that moment. Unfortunately for them, Serena knew exactly what to do. "Oh no. I totally forgot about Psychic."
"Time for a sky lesson," Serena cued. Using her Psychic move, Meowstic lifted Pikachu into the air. Pikachu's screams echoed the blue sky.
"Pikachu!"
"Let's try this again. Use Psyshock, but spin around this time."
The purple beams surrounded in front of Pikachu and each circle started to collide with one another. It was a creative way for a Pokémon Showcase. In the position of the Psyshock, Pikachu would end up falling right inside the spinning Psychic move with the beams colliding one another like crazy. That was when Ash came up with a counter. "Pikachu, use Thunder Punch," Ash demanded.
Pikachu's fist became surrounded by yellow sparks that turned into a ball of electrical energy. Using his fist, Pikachu punches the Psyshock. Both attacks exploded and filled the air in a large cloud of yellow and purple sparkles. Ash, Serena, and their Pokémon were amazed how the two moves created such a gorgeous presentation. "Incredible," Serena commented first.
"I'll say. You and Meowstic are really in sync," Ash stated to Serena. "But I'm not surprised at all, Serena. You've really raised some Pokémon."
"Aww. Thank you so much, Ash. You and Pikachu never ceased to amazed me every time you two battle. But our bond is no different and it's just as strong. Right, Meowstic?"
Meowstic nodded to her trainer's statement. "Well, we're not losing either. Use Iron Tail!"
As Pikachu's tail was glowing white, he charged full speed again at his opponent. "Dodge it, Meowstic." Within a split second, Meowstic dodged Pikachu's Iron Tail before the attack could come in contact with her. "We've been keeping up with Pikachu's speed."
"Let's see if you can keep up with this. Thunderbolt."
"Dodge it again, Meowstic."
Serena took notes on the way Meowstic was dodging. Whenever one of the bolts of lightning were aiming for her, Meowstic would jump on one foot and spun around on the other. On some occasions, she would land on her hands. It was like the Constraint Pokémon was performing a dance routine. Ash followed by commanding Pikachu to use Iron Tail. Before Serena could ordered a move, she noticed Meowstic's two fluffy white tails were sticking straight out and glowing as white as Pikachu's tail. Was it a sign of a new move?
Serena's question was answered as Meowstic somehow trapped Pikachu's tail in between her tails. Ash, Pikachu, and all the other Pokémon watching couldn't think of anything to say about what they just witnessed. "Amazing, Serena. Meowstic just learned Iron Tail."
"You're right. Meowstic, you just learned Iron Tail."
"Yeah. It's good she learned a new move, but too bad she's immobile. Thunder Punch."
"Oh no. Meowstic, quick. Use Psyshock."
Pikachu balled his hand into a fist again as yellow sparks was surrounding it. The sparks grew into an electrical ball as Meowstic formed yet another purple orb in her right hand. Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon were obviously cheering for Serena and Meowstic. Lucario was rooting for Ash and Pikachu. Eevee, on the other hand, wasn't interested in picking a side. It was just hyped seeing the battle carrying the way like it did. The Evolution Pokémon was bouncing all over the place, hollering filled with excitement.
Eevee couldn't hold its excitement anymore and dashed straight out into the field. Lucario called out to Eevee, but the Normal Pokémon wasn't listening. Since it didn't look where it was going, Eevee found itself in the middle of Pikachu and Meowstic's battle. IT was a collision attack from both the Thunder Punch and the Psyshock. Pikachu, Meowstic, and Eevee were in a thick grey cloud. Neither Ash, Serena, their Pokémon or Eevee could make on whether they were still standing. A few moments after the smoke cleared, the Pokémon were laying on the ground. Both fainted from the attacks and neither one of them appeared to be waking up. "Pikachu! Eevee!"
"Meowstic!"
It was undecided if one or the other could continue battling or if Eevee was alright. Ash and Serena ran out onto the battlefield to check on the Pokémon. They were all covered in bruises from head to toe, but the Pokémon didn't seem that badly injured. "Are you alright, buddy?" Ash asked his partner.
Pikachu eventually lifted his head to confirmed he was okay. Meowstic eventually came too shortly after Pikachu. The rest of the gang came out into the field and all eyes were on Eevee as it stumbled back on its feet. "Eevee, you shouldn't run out like that while we were in the middle of a battle."
Eevee apologized for interrupting their battle especially Pikachu and Meowstic. Pikachu was easy to forgive the Evolution Pokémon, but the latter wasn't that open to forgive. Before they could resume the battle, they were interrupted by a random rumbling noise. It sounded close, but nobody else was around them. That could only mean one thing. "I'm guessing you're hungry. Right, Ash?" serena suspected.
"I guess I am. Sorry about that."
"Why don't we put a pause on the battle?"
Ash and Serena decided to end their battle in a draw. The sounds of laughter rolled on as the day faded into night within several hours. Bellies were full with smiles on their faces as the trainers and their Pokémon were stuffing their faces with some of Brock's delicious cooking. Brock finished helping out Nurse Joy for the day and he was joining Ash and Serena at the table. "Meowstic can used Iron Tail now? I don't think I've ever seen a Psychic Pokémon learning a Steel-type move," Brock claimed.
"You missed a good battle, Brock. Meowstic was really strong," Ash stated. "She was like WHOOSH and YEAAAHH! Serena and Meowstic were in sync."
Serena giggled as red marks appeared on her cheeks. "Let's not forget the battle was called out after Eevee just ran out in the field like that."
"Maybe Eevee wanted to battle too," Brock laughed out loud.
Speaking of Eevee, the Normal Pokémon was the only one not eating. While its friends around him was chowing down on their dinner, Eevee was running around in circles. Bothered by all the ruckus, Pancham grabbed onto Eevee's tail to scold it. Only for the Playful Pokémon to be tackled to the ground by the Evolution Pokémon. "That still seems to be the case now," Serena commented.
After tackling Pancham, Eevee tackled Pikachu. Eevee tried tackling Lucario, but the Aura Pokémon simply dodged out of the way. "Excuse me, Ash?" Nurse Joy called out.
"Hey, Nurse Joy. I'm guessing you find some information about Cross, right?"
"The Nurse Joy from Saffron City reached out after seeing the bulletin. It turns out Cross released Eevee from his care," Nurse Joy explained.
Whipping out his Poke Phone, Ash looked through Cross's profile page on the Rotom App. Eevee's picture was placed under the word 'released' at the bottom of the page. "Nurse Joy's right. He released Eevee, but what prompted him to do that?"
"All Cross said that he didn't care and that he was leaving for Vermillion City."
All three trainers were at a loss for words. To hear a trainer would just selfishly release a Pokémon without so much of a single care was unforgivable. "The nerve of somebody just throw away a Pokémon like that," Serena voiced.
"Not like this is something new. I've seen this plenty of times," Brock responded. "Trainers catching Pokémon and raise them to be strong. But if a particular Pokémon doesn't match their expectations, usually they'll trade Pokémon with another trainer. On the other hand, some trainers just released the Pokémon into the wild."
The more Ash was thinking about it, the more outrage he was becoming. He understood it was Cross's decision and trainers had every right to keep or released a Pokémon back into the wild, but Ash's problem with Cross was the way he cut Eevee loose. The Pallet Town trainer was watching Eevee constantly jumping around as Sylveon was holding Pancham back using her feelers. Eevee was full of life and Ash could tell it enjoyed a good battle. "But that doesn't make it right, though," he fired. It's the trainer's job to help that Pokémon become stronger.
Ash was speaking with experiences. For years, he befriended Pokémon who were abandoned and poorly treated by selfish trainers. There were some Ash personally offered them to join his party. "I get it, but what can we do? It's not like we can make them changed their minds," Serena informed.
"We can by proving them wrong." Ash pulled out an empty Poke ball from his pocket and presented it to the Evolution Pokémon. "What do you say, Eevee? How would like to travel with us?"
It was like Eevee was frozen solid in a blizzard. Eevee's playful smile was flipped upside down while its eyebrows were pulled closer together. "Maybe Eevee is still yearning for its former trainer. I'm sure it's not easy switching from one trainer to the next."
"She's right, Ash," Brock added. "How about we return Eevee to Cross? Maybe we'll ran into him in Vermillion City. I'm sure that's your next gym battle after battling Misty."
But Ash shut that idea down by shaking his head. "Cross already made up his mind. He doesn't value the bond between trainer and Pokémon," he replied and turned back to Eevee. "You obviously love battling too, right, Eevee? The way you ran out into that field like that."
Continuing his proposal, Ash informed Eevee of his plan on competing in the Kanto League and his goal of becoming the next Kanto Champion in order to become one step closer of becoming a Pokémon Master. Ash also promised Eevee that they would grow stronger together. Pikachu and Lucario came in the picture convincing their new friend to join them. Pressing the button using its little feet, Eevee voluntarily went inside the Poke ball. Within the few seconds, Eevee was officially caught.
"Eevee is now registered into your Pokedex," Ash's Poke Phone confirmed.
"ALRIGHT! I JUST CAUGHT…AN EEVEE!"
Serena and Brock congratulated their friend on his latest capture. Once Ash released Eevee from its Poke ball, Pikachu greeted his new partner with a high five. Lucario extended his arm in which Eevee high fived it using its own tail. The Evolution Pokémon and its new trainer exchanged eye contact with one another with smiles on their faces. "Eevee, from now on, let's grow stronger together."
Now that Ash has added Eevee into his growing team, the time has finally come for his long waiting gym battle against Misty. Only two chapters remain until we've finally reached the halfway mark. See you at the next chapter.
Stay safe stay tuned