I have decided to begin yet another new project, this one taking place in the same universe as my other story "Natu-rally the Best".
I hope you enjoy reading this!
Sitting on the floor in a room was a broken spherical alarm clock, red on one half and white on the other. The culprit responsible for the alarm clock breaking was a certain boy with jet black hair that pointed out from all sides.
Sounds of steps coming from outside of the room could be heard, as the boy's mother opened the door to see his son in a funny sleeping position, with a very damaged alarm clock on the floor.
'What am I gonna do with him...' She sighed inwardly as she knocked on his door loudly to wake him.
"Ash Ketchum, you're very late, didn't you tell me you were gonna get up on time on your own?" He stirred in his sleep, slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"What time is... it" He paused to yawn.
"Probably too late for you to receive your first Pokémon..."
All of a sudden, he perked up and looked at her with a shocked expression.
"Oh no! I hope I didn't miss out on my big chance!" As he was talking he leaped off of his bed and onto the floor and dashed out of the room, still in his green pajamas.
"Ash wait, you're still!... Shoot, and there he goes." Ash's mom stood at the doorway, sighing as she walked over to the remains of the alarm clock.
Ash Ketchum had recently turned 10, and now that he was old enough to get his trainer's license and begin training his very own Pokémon he was very excited, enough to have slept in by accident. Ash wasn't new to tardiness, but this might be his worst case yet, at least as far as he is sure.
"Professor Oak! Heeey!" Ash shouted as he approached a laboratory belonging to Professor Oak, an old man who is known as the authority on Pokémon because of his extensive knowledge on them.
Ash slowed to a stop as he made it to the front door, hastily knocking on it. After a few seconds, Professor Oak opened the door, holding a cup of tea.
"Ah, Ash my boy, I'm so glad you were able to arrive, though you are a tad late."
"Yeah yeah I know..." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"You might not be too late though, please come in." Ash accepted Prof. Oak's invitation and stepped into the lab, following him to a room with a machine in the middle of it holding three capsules, coloured red on top and white at the bottom.
"Oh wow, the Poké Balls!" Ash stepped ahead and grabbed a Poké Ball with a water drop sticker on it. "I choose Squirtle!" He pressed the button in the middle of the ball, the top half opening, but nothing coming out.
"I'm afraid that one's good as gone." Professor Oak said.
"Er, alright, then..." Ash put down the ball and picked up the one with the fire sticker. "Charmander doesn't sound so bad either." He pressed the button, expecting his new partner, only to find that it too was empty.
"That one's no good either."
"Oh really? Well, no worries, because I choose Bulbasaur next!" He picked up the last ball, with a leaf sticker on it and pressed the button... Only to find it, too, was also empty.
"You know the old saying, the early Pidgey catches the Caterpie, or in this case, the new lifelong partner. Sorry Ash, I'm afraid you missed out... Well, that would be the case, but as it just so happens I have another one, although that one's a bit... different."
"Oh that's fine! As long as I can begin my journey then anything's fine!" Ash said excitedly.
"Well, if you say so..." the professor pressed a button on the machine and a new ball appeared in the middle, this one having a yellow lightning bolt sticker.
"I must warn you though, you may find this little one to be quite shocking."
"Like I said, anything's fine if it means I have a partner." Ash picked up the ball and pressed on the button, the top half opening and released a red streak of light hitting the floor next to Ash's feet, a shape materializing from the beam. After a few seconds, the light dimmed from the beam as the Pokémon fully materialized.
"This is Pikachu, an Electric type. It can build up electricity in the red spots on its cheeks and release it all at once as a bolt of lightning." Professor Oak explained.
"Wow! So awesome! And it looks really cute too! Hello there Pikachu!" Ash greeted it. However, the Pikachu looked unimpressed and simply turned its head.
"You see, it has a bit of an attitude, but I believe if you treat it well it will warm up to you quickly, just don't be shocked if you two don't become fast friends. And I mean that both figuratively and literally."
"Don't worry Professor, I'll take extra good care of him!" Ash kneeled down to the Pikachu, who only glanced at him. "Hey, I hope we can be best buddies!" The Pikachu turned to him and looked up at his bright smile. While it is true that wild Pikachu live deep in the woods, this one had actually been in the possession of other trainers in the past, however, without fail, it would always be released some time after due to apparently not living up to its trainers' expectations, so it came to distrust humans, but never had it seen such a smile, so the Pikachu was a little conflicted.
"I'd hope so. Anyway, here is a special device I created, an encyclopedia on Pokémon, a Pokédex." Professor Oak picked up a red device from a desk nearby and handed it to Ash.
Ash took the machine and thanked the professor, before picking up the yellow mouse's Poké Ball. Just then it immediately had a fearful look on its face, which Ash picked up on quickly.
"Hold on a moment, you don't like being in these?" Ash asked the Pikachu, lifting the ball higher, to which the little guy nodded vigorously. "Well, then I won't force you to stay in it, what kind of trainer would I be to make you do something you don't want to?" Ash said as he put the shrunken ball in his chest pocket. The Pikachu merely looked at him incredulously at his words. Just how in the world could such a nice human exist?
"That is indeed a bit peculiar, however I'm glad that you're considering its needs like that, you'll be a fine trainer my boy. Now, with all of that settled, I think it's about time you got prepared for your journey for real." After the professor said that, Ash looked down at his pajamas and sweat-dropped.
"Whoops, guess you're right. Oh! Hey Pikachu, so would you rather walk next to me or is there something else you had in mind?" Ash knelt down to Pikachu again as he asked the question, the yellow mouse holding its paw up to its chin in a thinking pose, before promptly hopping onto Ash's shoulder.
"That's a great idea Pikachu, I think it's time we headed back to my house so I can get ready. Oh, and you'll meet my mom too, just promise me you won't electrocute her or anything, 'K?"
Pikachu sat up and made a cross motion over its chest to signify it will keep the promise.
"Good! OK, see you later Professor!" Ash dashed out of the room and left the lab, Pikachu riding on his shoulder. The Pokémon Professor only chuckled at the two, before closing each ball and shutting off the machine.
Some time later, Ash and Pikachu arrived at Ash's home. Before they went inside, Ash stopped at the door and took Pikachu in his arms.
"OK, first things first, my mom is super nice, so don't worry if she suddenly hugs you or something." The Pikachu was a little nervous from being held, but nodded anyway.
Ash opened the door and shouted "I'm home!" to let his mom know he's back.
She appeared from the kitchen with a smile. "Hello dear. Oh! I see you've picked out a Pokémon! But... I don't remember Pikachu being one of the three you can choose."
"Well... that's because it isn't, Professor Oak just so happened to have one for me." Ash explained.
"I see. Well, he's very cute!" She said, walking up to Pikachu who had a worried look, but calmed down very quickly when she gently patted his head. Pikachu was previously astounded by Ash's behaviour, but he could see now why he's so nice.
"I came back because I realized I'm not exactly dressed for the outdoors." Ash scratch his cheek, looking to the side.
"Well it's a good thing I anticipated this day, so I ended up sewing you an outfit a few weeks ago." Ash immediately grinned when she finished her sentence.
"Wow! I wanna see it!"
"OK, wait right here." She left the living room and walked up to her room to take a jacket she had sewn some time before, as she had stated earlier. She walked back downstairs to see Pikachu back on Ash's shoulder, and giggled at the sight.
"Here you are Ash!" She held up the jacket for him to see. It was a red jacket, with a gold colour lining the zipper, and white along the cuffs of the sleeves and at the bottom of it.
"Woah! I love it, thank you Mom!" He quickly took it and held it in front of him, hugging it.
"I'm glad you do, it was quite the task to work on. Try it on."
Pikachu took that as the cue to hop onto the arm of the couch as Ash fitted on the jacket over his pajama shirt.
"It fits perfectly! It's so awesome!" Ash said with a big smile.
"I also decided to take care of packing your things for you, so go change into something more appropriate for being outside and look through your bag." His mom instructed, to which Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder as he took off to his room.
Ash ran into his room, seeing a white shirt and blue jeans on his bed with a green backpack at the bottom of his bed. He walked up to the bag and unzipped the main compartment to find another white shirt and pants and underwear. in another large pocket was some of his favourite snacks. In a smaller pocket was a pink Poké Ball and one that's black all over. 'That must be a Heal Ball and... I dunno about the other...' Ash thought to himself as he zipped up his bag again.
"OK, now to get ready. Er, could you turn around Pikachu?" Ash asked, scratching his cheek as Pikachu complied. After a few minutes, Ash was changed into an outfit he'd soon find himself wearing often. He wore the jacket his mom made for him over a white shirt with a red horizontal stripe on the chest area, with light blue jeans. Lastly, he took his very special hat that was red on the back and above the brim, and white on the front and underneath the brim, with a green L-shaped symbol in the center of the white spot.
"Lookin' good eh? C'mon buddy, we should go now" Ash said, putting on his backpack and kneeling down so Pikachu could hop onto his shoulder. Ash looked back into his room for a moment, and then shut the door as he went back downstairs. He was gonna miss being in his room, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity for adventure, so it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
"Mom, I'm ready to go!" Ash shouted as he walked downstairs to the living room. His mom smiled at him, but had a sad look.
"I knew this day was coming, but I'm still sad that you'll be going." His mom tried her best to hold back her tears.
"Yeah, I'm really going to miss you, my room, and your awesome cooking." He walked up to his mom and hugged her, which she lovingly returned, her eyes finally stinging with tears.
"Do me proud, OK dear?" She asked, feeling her son nod as the hug ended.
Pikachu kinda awkwardly sat on Ash's shoulder as it happened, but even he smiled at the scene. Not just once, but twice had he been shown that there were good humans in this world after all.
"Gotta go now, see you soon mom, I love you!" Ash said as he put on his shoes.
"I love you too Ash, have fun on your journey!" She wiped her tears away as he ran outside and onto the dirt path, heading towards Route 1.
Ash walked along with Pikachu on his shoulder, the both of them strolling along the dirt path and near a forest as they approached Route 1. While walking, Ash took notice of some Pokémon he's been seeing, one being a group of Rattata and another being some Pidgey here and there. The walk was rather peaceful, though it did seem like it was getting cloudier and cloudier. Pikachu could feel something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what it was, though the clouds did unnerve him a little.
"You know what? I think we should try to battle some wild Pokémon, how does a Pidgey sound?" Pikachu was snapped out of his thoughts as he nodded at Ash, who ran off the path and closer to the trees so he could get close to a Pidgey.
"Oh that's right, it might be a good idea to check on your stats and stuff, this Pokédex must be able to scan you." Ash said to Pikachu, pulling out his Pokédex and fliddling with the buttons for a second, to find the Scan function.
"Here we go! C'mere Pikachu" Ash kneeled down and held his Pokédex up while Pikachu ran up to Ash and stood in front of the red device to be scanned. A faint blue light enveloped Pikachu briefly, and disappeared as the Pokédex finished scanning.
"POKÉMON INFO PAGE 1. PIKACHU, THE MOUSE POKÉMON, AN ELECTRIC TYPE. PIKACHU LIVE IN FORESTS AND LOVE TO EAT BERRIES ROASTED PERFECTLY BY THEIR ELECTRIC SHOCKS. THIS PIKACHU IS MALE AND HAS THE ABILITY 'SURGE', FOR MORE INFORMATION ON 'SURGE' PRESS THE 'Info' BUTTON." The Pokédex said in a mechanical tone. Ash was confused by the ability Pikachu possessed and pressed the Info button as instructed. When the button was pressed the machine began to speak again.
"SURGE, UPS THE USER'S ELECTRIC ATTACKS IN A PINCH. CAN BE COMPARED TO BLAZE, TORRENT OR OVERGROW IN EFFECT." Ash smiled at the explanation.
"Wow, that sounds handy, right Pikachu?" He said, the yellow mouse nodding in agreement. Ash then fiddled with the machine again to get the second page of information.
"POKÉMON INFO PAGE 2. KNOWN MOVES ARE THUNDER SHOCK, TAIL WHIP, PLAY NICE AND THUNDER WAVE. MET LOCATION IS PALLET TOWN." When it finished speaking, Ash closed the Pokédex and stuffed it back in his left jeans pocket.
"OK, so your best attacking move is Thunder Shock. I don't really know what Play Nice does-" Ash was cut short by his Pokédex suddenly speaking up.
"PLAY NICE, A NORMAL TYPE STATUS MOVE THAT ALWAYS LOWERS THE FOE'S ATTACK POWER SLIGHTLY."
"-until now. I have an idea of what Tail Whip and Thunder Wave does, that last one should help us capture Pokémon. That being said, let's find a new friend!" Ash said happily, Pikachu chirping its name with the same energy. Ash knelt down so Pikachu could hop off, as the yellow mouse approached a tree with the Pidgey. After a few moments, Ash finally issued a command.
"Use Thunder Shock!" Pikachu built up electricity in its cheeks rapidly and unleashed a small bolt of electricity at the unsuspecting Pidgey, knocking it off of the tree branch as it descended to the ground with a thud.
"OK! Go Heal Ball!" Ash shouted, tossing his pink ball to the downed Pidgey, as it got sucked inside of the ball with a beam of light. The ball hit the ground, and started to shake. It shook once, twice, and then a third time, and a distinct clicking sound was heard.
"Awesome, I caught a Pidgey!" Ash dashed to the ball, picking it up and releasing his first capture. A bunch of pink sparkles released from the ball along with the Pidgey, who perched on top of Ash's head and pecked at his hat's brim in a playful matter. Just then, Ash's Pokédex spoke up.
"PIDGEY, THE TINY BIRD POKÉMON, A NORMAL AND FLYING TYPE. PIDGEY DON'T USUALLY FLY ALONE, OFTEN BEING LED BY A POKÉMON NAMED PIDGEOT IN A GROUP. TAKE CAUTION IF YOU SEE A LONE PIDGEY."
Just then, darker clouds begun to roll in as a cry could be heard in the distance. Pikachu looked back at the sky with worry, Pidgey looking up as well, but for a completely different reason. It was happy to hear the cry, because it belonged to the leader of its group. Ash couldn't tell what the cry belonged to however, though he did have some idea guessing from what his Pokédex mentioned.
"Uh oh, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means." Ash said, as he returned Pidgey and picked up Pikachu, who promptly dashed up to Ash's shoulder from his arms.
"Let's just keep moving." Having decided on that, the two of them went back to the path and continued walking along Route 1.
Meanwhile, in another part of the route...
"Bulbasaur no!" A female voice shouted in worry. The girl had hazel eyes and short brown hair, just barely grazing her shoulders. She also wore a light blue knitted sweater, with a darker blue shirt underneath, as well as navy blue jeans and a completely white baseball cap save for an abstract symbol on the front of it, and finally sneakers of a similar design to her cap.
Her Bulbasaur just sustained damage from a Tackle attack as it skidded along the dirt and towards its trainer.
"Nice one Squirtle, now let's finish this." Another female voice said, though in more of a snobby tone. She had long blond hair and green eyes, with a mostly grey outfit that consisted of a plain jacket, skinny jeans and light grey sneakers.
"Not so fast! Bulbasaur, please use Vine Whip!" The Bulbasaur trainer said to her partner, who nodded. A pair of vines came out from the sides of the bulb on its back, as it swung its vines towards its opponent.
"Oh no! Squirtle are you OK?" The little blue turtle was struggling to stand back up after it took hits from the Grass type attack, which it was weak to as a Water type.
"It's over. Bulbasaur, raise yourself above the ground with your vines and launch yourself at the foe and Tackle it!" The Bulbasaur looked a little unsure, but complied nevertheless, lifting itself above the ground and throwing itself at the Squirtle for a stronger Tackle attack. The Squirtle was shoved back at its trainer as its eyes were replaced with swirls, signifying defeat.
"That was a great battle, good job Bulbasaur!" The girl with the Bulbasaur said happily, as she ran towards her Pokémon to pick it up. The other trainer only looked sad from the defeat, and returned her own Pokémon to its Poké Ball.
"Although I only became a trainer last week, I haven't actually lost a battle until now. My name is Elaine, don't you forget it!" Elaine said, walking to the other girl and holding her hand out for a handshake.
"Er, my name is Lonnie, thanks for the fun battle." She took her hand and shook it.
"I'm headed to Route 49 from Pallet Town to catch some strong Pokémon, where are you headed?" Elaine asked after ending the handshake.
"I'm not really sure, but I know I'd like to keep exploring Kanto, so my best guess would be to head to Viridian City I suppose." Lonnie answered.
"Gotcha, well see ya around!" Elaine ran off to Pallet Town, while Lonnie decided to keep heading down the dirt path that leads to Viridian City. Just then, she heard a cry from a Pokémon she does not recognize.
"Sounds like I should make a run for it." She said to herself, returning her Bulbasaur and walking back to her brown bag to clip Bulbasaur's Poké Ball onto the side of it, and then running back onto the dirt trail.
Ash and Pikachu were still walking along the dirt path, though Pikachu was still wary about the cry that was heard minutes ago. A loud crash was heard as thunder boomed, startling Ash.
"Uh oh, sounds like there'll be a storm coming, we should hurry to Viridian City." Ash said to Pikachu, as it held on tight while Ash made a run for it. The sky was thick with dark clouds now, as Ash could feel a rain drop hit his forehead.
"Of all the things I could have packed, I just had to forget an umbrella..." Ash complained to no one in particular.
Pikachu's ears perked up as it noticed a girl running onto the dirt path from the thin forest to the right of the path.
"Oh, hello there." The girl greeted Ash.
"Hi, are you headed to Viridian City?" He asked.
"That's right, and I suppose you are as well."
"Yup. I just became a trainer today, but I was not expecting it to rain all of a sudden. What a start to my journey, right Pikachu?" The electric mouse Pokémon cried its name in agreement.
"A Pikachu? I didn't know Professor Oak gave those away as starters."
"He doesn't really, he just happened to have one. I kinda slept in today by accident, so I was late to receieve a normal starter, but I'm glad I had a late start, this little guy packs a punch." Just then Pikachu threw punches at the air, causing the girl to giggle.
"It sure is cute too, not as cute as my Bulbasaur of course, but Pikachu is up there."
As they were talking, they approached Viridian City.
"All right! Soon I'll be at a Pokémon Center, and Pikachu will be resting safely." Ash exclaimed when he noticed they were getting closer to their destination.
"Yeah, it'll be great to be indoors and out of the rain." The girl said, before continuing. "Oh I almost forgot, my name is Lonnie, I became a Pokémon Trainer a few days ago, but I held off on it for a year to study Pokémon to have an advantage in battle." She introduced herself.
"My name is Ash Ketchum, my dream is to become the strongest trainer anyone has ever seen! I plan to sign up for the Indigo League and challenge gyms, that way I will become stronger and take the steps towards achieving my goal." After he finished his sentence, all of a sudden a gust of wind was blown at them, and it wasn't from the storm.
A large bird Pokémon flapped its wings to create a gust of wind to knock over Ash, which it succeeded at.
"H-hey, who did that?!" Ash shouted, looking around before his gaze landed on the large bird. Just then, a muffled voice spoke up.
"PIDGEOT, THE BIRD POKÉMON, A NORMAL AND FLYING TYPE" Ash quickly took out his Pokédex to get a better listen for it. "THIS POKÉMON IS VERY FAST, IT CAN EASILY REACH SPEEDS OF MACH 2 WITH ITS POWERFUL WINGS. IT LEADS A GROUP OF PIDGEY IN THE WILD, IF YOU'RE EVER FACED WITH ONE THEN GOOD LUCK SURVIVING." It finished. Ash looked really nervous because of the description.
"Pikachu, I'm not ready to give up my dream, so help me out here and use your Thunder Shock attack on it!" Ash commanded his partner. Pikachu had a determined look on its face, it didn't want to disappoint its new trainer and risk being abandoned again, so it built up electricity and lauched a small bolt of lightning at the opponent.
"Geooot!" The Pidgeot cried from the shock, it did not do especially well against Electric types because it's weak to it, however it was somewhat unfazed because of the difference in power between it and the little Pikachu. In retaliation, it dove at the yellow mouse with wings spread wide for a Wing Attack.
"Jump on its back!" Ash said, Pikachu quickly jumping off of the ground and onto Pidgeot as it flew by. "Now use Thunder Shock again!" Pikachu surrounded itself in electricity as it scored a direct hit, hurting the Pidgeot. Unfortunately, it ended up falling off of its back.
"Pikachu!" Ash very quickly ran towards where Pikachu was falling and managed to catch it in his arms.
"Are you OK buddy?" Ash asked in worry. Pikachu blinked its eyes and looked up at Ash, now understanding how caring its trainer is to catch it. With a renewed determination, Pikachu jumped out of Ash's arms and landed on the ground in front of him, looking back at him.
"Pika!" It cried, smiling at its trainer. Ash had a big grin, and gave it a thumbs up.
"Okay! Pikachu, wait for Pidgeot to swoop in and land a Thunder Shock!" Ash commanded, Pikachu complying and crouching on the ground. The Pidgeot shook off the attack and looked angry now, as it dove at Pikachu again for another Wing Attack, but Pikachu was ready.
"Now!" At the signal, lightning happened to strike Pikachu at the same time it charged a Thunder Shock, supercharging the attack to rival even the strength of a Thunder attack, striking its opponent hard with the large bolt of lightning.
"Geooot!" The Pidgeot never felt such pain before as it crashed to the ground, its eyes in a swirl.
"Awesome job Pikachu!" Ash praised Pikachu, who gave a thumbs up of its own to Ash before it fell to the ground in exhaustion.
"You did an awesome job buddy, let's get you to the Pokémon Center now so you can rest, you deserve it."
The entire time the battle went on, Lonnie stood by in amazement. Had Ash glossed over telling her that he was a day one rookie, she would have assumed he'd been battling for years.
"Wow Ash, that was really something else." She managed to say, to which Ash rubbed the back of his neck.
"I think we should keep running towards the city." Ash said, Lonnie nodding as they continued running to the city.
A large group of Pidgey flew towards their leader, sad that it lost to a rookie trainer. The Pidgeot finally got up from the ground and looked on in the direction that Ash went, gaining respect for the kid that managed to best it in battle.
The pair finally reached Viridian City as the rain gradually cleared up, running by a gate before a female voice yelled at Ash.
"Woah woah woah, slow down kid, where're you coming from?" A female police officer approached Ash from the building next to the gate, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him.
"My Pikachu is exhausted from a battle and I'd like to know where the Viridian City Pokémon Center is." Ash explained.
"Same here, I'd like for my Bulbasaur to get some rest at a Pokémon Center."
"It's just down the road from here, it's straight ahead so you can't miss it. But hold on a second, I'm gonna need some I.D. here." She said, holding her hand out.
"Err, I'm not sure I have any, will my Pokédex do?" Ash handed her his Pokédex.
"Yes, perfect! Now let's see here..." She pressed a few buttons and the machine spoke up.
"THE RIGHTFUL OWNER OF THIS POKÉMON INDEX IS ASH KETCHUM FROM THE TOWN OF PALLET."
Lonnie took out her own Pokédex and handed it to the officer as well, which she took and did the same thing to Ash's Pokédex.
"THE RIGHTFUL OWNER OF THIS POKÉMON INDEX IS LONNIE TRAYNA OF THE TOWN OF PALLET." Lonnie's Pokédex said.
"That's all the identification I need." The officer handed back their Pokédexes and continued. "You see, there's been a robbery recently and I need to keep look out to capture the culprits." As she explained, she pointed towards a notice, which had dark pictures of two human figures and a Pokémon.
"We're certain it's the notorious group known as Team Rocket, they've been giving us trouble for months, so I must ask you to report when you see Team Rocket." The officer asked of the pair, to which they both nodded.
"Thank you officer, we'll be going now." Ash said as he and Lonnie went down the road and headed to the Pokémon Center.
They finally reached the large building with a Poké Ball symbol on the front of it.
"We made it!" Lonnie exclaimed happily while Ash ran inside and up to the counter.
"Hello, Nurse Joy? I'd like to heal my Pikachu." Ash asked. Just then, a nurse with pink hair walked up to the counter and took the damp Pikachu in her arms.
"OK, your Pikachu will be well rested in no time!" She said.
"Can you take my Bulbasaur as well?" Lonnie asked, as she unclipped Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and handed it to the nurse, who took it with a kind smile.
"Of course! You can wait on the seats over there." She pointed towards some seats by a wall.
"Thank you Nurse Joy." The two thanked the nurse, who nodded and walked away. Ash and Lonnie got seated on the seats.
"So you're from Pallet Town too?" They asked at the same time, and then laughed. Ash nodded and promptly spoke up.
"You know, your last name sounds like "trainer", kind of." Ash said with a chuckle.
"Yeah? Well your last name sounds exactly like "catch 'em", like as in the phrase "gotta catch 'em all"!" She retorted.
"Ahaha, that's true..." Ash said with a light chuckle. Some minutes passed with silence, before Lonnie finally started talking again.
"You know... I wanted to start my journey as a Pokémon Trainer so I could see the sights, I kind of got a little sick of seeing the same old grassy hills, I wanted to check out oceans and forests and cities and stuff, you know? Of course, I held off on it for a year as I've said, but I ended up getting contemplative during that year, and now I'm not sure of what my goal is for my journey."
Ash looked at her with a serious expression, nodding along. "Well, if you'd like, you can travel with me! After I sign up for the Indigo League I'll be travelling to each Pokémon Gym, which means I'll be seeing a lot of sights, maybe you can use that as an opportunity to think about what your dream is?" Ash offered with a wide grin. Lonnie looked at him and smiled.
"That sounds like fun, count me in!" She said while holding up her arm. Ash was unsure of what she was doing, until it clicked and he locked his arm with hers.
"Heh, you got it!" She said happily, before unlinking their arms.
"The rain really came down, huh? My clothes are still kind of wet, I should probably get changed." Ash said, walking to a restroom. Lonnie realized she was the same and headed to a restroom as well. Ash had changed into one of his sets of the same clothes, but Lonnie's sweater was knitted for her so she had to use a different set altogether, which consisted of the blue undershirt she wore underneath the sweater, and a dark brown pair of pants, it was otherwise very similar to her usual outfit. After getting changed, they got seated again on dry seats and waited until their Pokémon were healed fully.
"Oh! That's right, I caught a Pokémon earlier today, say hello to Pidgey!" Ash said, taking out his Heal Ball and releasing his Pidgey, which was followed with large pink sparkles.
"...Pidgey? Uh, didn't you realize that Pidgeot was after you because of that capture?" Lonnie said. Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I guess you're right, but I didn't know about that until after I scanned it with my Pokédex."
Just then, a friendly chime could be heard, as Nurse Joy walked up to the counter with a well rested Pikachu and a Poké Ball. Ash returned his Pidgey as he and Lonnie got up to retrieve their partners.
"Your Pokémon are well rested. We hope to see you again!" She said with a bow. The two thanked her, and Lonnie went back to her seat, but Ash stood by for a moment.
"Hey, uh... can I register for the Indigo League here?" Ash asked, to which Nurse Joy nodded.
"Yes of course, just set your Pokédex here." She said, pointing at a rectangular shape on the counter. Ash took out his Pokédex and placed it on the counter, Nurse Joy's computer screen and the space the Pokédex was on lit up as a voice came from its speaker.
"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is now registered to compete in the Indigo League, good luck Ash Ketchum!" The voice said as the light from below the Pokédex dimmed and shut off.
"There's a gym here in Viridian City, however I suggest going to Pewter City just north of here instead, once you're there head to the Pokémon Gym in that city and challenge Brock, he's always up for a new challenger." Nurse Joy suggested.
"Great! Thank you!" Ash thanked the nurse and walked over to Lonnie, taking a seat next to her.
"Alright, I'm all set up for the Indigo League, and I'm just one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Master! I just need to get all 8 gym badges and win against the Kanto champion, dethroning them and earning the title of Kanto Champion!" Ash said confidently.
"That's certainly an admirable goal, but it's going to be a long journey. I'll be behind you every step of the way though, I learned a lot in the last year and I can teach you some stuff." Lonnie offered.
"That would be awesome, thank you Lonnie!" She smiled at his enthusiasm and they both started laughing.
Ash made a new friend in Lonnie and captured his first Pokémon, Pidgey. What adventures await him next? Find out, as the journey begins!
A/N: So, throughout this story I will be revealing original moves and abilities of my own ideas, the first is Surge which acts like a starter Pokémon ability akin to those mentioned earlier on in the story. Look forward to a new one in the next chapter, and please leave constructive feedback! Until next time!