You asked, and you shall receive... This is one of those "We were gonna train... then this came up..." kind of episodes where they get sidetracked from what they were planning to do. Without further adieu, I present to you the next chapter in the saga of Pokemon: Return to Kanto!


Last time, Ash battled Celadon City Gym Leader Erika for the Rainbow Badge... after a heated battle, Ash emerged victorious, claiming his eighth Kanto Gym Badge. Now eligible for the Pokemon League Conference, Ash and Misty are traveling back to Pallet for whatever coaching tips Professor Oak may have for them... although, there may be some unexpected stops on their trip.

Ash and Misty stopped at a familiar Pokemon Center. It was in a small city just outside Fuschia, and the next town over was just past a bridge that the pair could not see the end of.

"You remember that bridge, Misty?" Ash asked while they ate across from each other.

"Hm?" Misty had been daydreaming about riding the waves on a windy day like today. She didn't often go surfing outside of training her water Pokemon, but today was one of the days she wished she were out there just enjoying the sunshine.

"The bridge, do you remember it?"

Misty thought about it and had flashbacks of a nasty storm which rolled over as they were attempting to ride bicycles to deliver specialized medicine to a sick Pokemon on the other side. She remembered how Ash had refused to wait even a second longer when the weather had gotten bad and elected to jump a draw bridge. Together, Ash, Brock, and Misty had been on so many adventures— it was hard to keep them all straight. But she distinctly remembered being ready to beat the snot out of Psyduck with her bicycle because of how infuriating the little yellow Pokemon was being.

They'd been making some good time up until the bike gang showed up and slowed them down. They ended up stopping for longer than they should have and tried to double time it to Sunny Town. Unfortunately, the storm was raging by the time they got moving.

"Yeah, I remember."

Ash smiled, "You remember trying to smash Psyduck's head to give him a headache?"

She giggled, "Well, I probably also wanted to smack you in the head."

"What— why?"

"I don't know, but you probably did something stupid."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

Misty smiled, "You're such a little kid sometimes."

"Am not," Ash caught her point right after he said it. "Very funny, Mist."

The door to the Pokemon center slid open and in came a man with spiky red and yellow hair. He was accompanied by a girl with pale complexion and green hair. They handed their Pokeballs off to Nurse Joy and went to sit down at a table near the two trainers.

"Hey Chopper, do those two look familiar?" The female asked, glancing at Ash and Misty, who hadn't yet noticed the newcomers.

Chopper thought about it, "Awesome Ash!" He exclaimed, surprising Ash and Misty. "I knew I recognized ya, soon as I walked in the door."

"And Mighty Misty!" Tyra agreed, also remembering the nicknames the two were given by the bridge bike gang so many years ago.

"Chopper."

"Tyra."

Ash and Misty were equally surprised when the two bike gang members slid into the booths and sat beside their gender opposites. Misty scooted a little closer to the window, remembering that Chopper was a little too friendly when he decided that he liked someone. Although, he wasn't all that nice leading up to that point. Ash felt equally awkward with Tyra, who struck up a conversation with Misty about that "goofy Pokemon she had a while back."

"He evolved into Golduck," Misty explained. "But before he did, he was actually strong enough to beat Ash's Kingler."

"Really?" Tyra and Misty continued their talk while Chopper spoke with Ash about his own battling.

"How's that little Charmander doing for ya?" Chopper asked.

"He's Charizard now. He trains in the Johto region most of the time. A place called the Charicific Valley."

"I knew you'd do good things, Ash. I knew it from the moment I saw ya."

"Is that why you battled me?"

Chopper scratched his head, "Well, I uh... it's just a formality. Gotta prove yourself to cross the bridge."

The door to the Pokemon Center slid open again with a man flailing his arms around, "Is there anyone who can help me?"

"How can I help you?" Nurse Joy inquired.

The man seemed out of breath, "Please, my daughter disappeared while she was playing on the beach. She was only gone a minute, when I saw this Pokemon glide past my little girl and take her off the shore."

"A Pokemon did that?" Ash asked, Tyra having gotten up so that Ash could get closer. "What kind?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it before. You've gotta help me."

"Okay, we'll help." Ash told him, specifically talking about him and Misty.

"We'll get the entire gang on it, Ash," Tyra promised.

"Absolutely," Chopper agreed. "I'll get the boys, you get the girls."

"Right."

Nurse Joy returned Ash and Misty their Pokemon and phoned Officer Jenny.

"They'll be waiting for you at the beach," Nurse Joy told them.

"Thank you Joy," said Misty, Ash was already out the door with the terrified father.

"Where did you last see her?" Ash asked as they approached a spot on the beach.

"It was right here," the father complained, his hands ruffling his hair. "I swear she was right here..."

"It's alright, we're going to find her." Ash took a Pokeball off his belt and threw it into the air, "Riolu... I choose you!"

"RIO!"

"Riolu, use your aura to try and find a trace of this man's daughter."

Riolu understood the gravity of the situation immediately and put his paw to his heart, quieting out all other sound to sense the aura of someone he didn't know. This made it especially challenging for the young Pokemon, so much so that Riolu pouted.

"Rio..."

"Nothing?" Ash asked as the little Pokemon hung his head low. He turned to the father as Misty approached them, "What did the Pokemon look like?"

"Big, blue... it almost looked like a legendary Pokemon, but I'd never seen it before. I couldn't be sure. Gosh, what happened to my little girl?" He started muttering things under his breath and wandered off closer to where the trio had come from.

"It's going to be okay," Misty said. "We just need to know what Pokemon we're looking for."

"Could be a Suicune," Ash whispered to Misty.

"Or a Dratini..." Misty countered. "Big and blue doesn't help."

"I hoped Riolu would be able to help," Ash explained when she eyes the young Pokemon still sitting in the same spot, staring aimlessly instead of being its usual hyper self.

In an instant, Misty was gone.

"MISTY!" Ash called out, but his surroundings had disappeared as well. He found himself in a familiar place but one thousands of miles away from where he should have been. "This is the Tree of Beginning... but how did I get here?"

He walked through the tree as he'd done once before in search of Pikachu under the guidance of a Lucario, the evolved form of the Pokemon he happened to be using at that very moment in real time. A fact so ironic that Ash was starting to get nervous.

"HELLO!" Ash called out, waiting for someone... anyone to respond. "HELLO!"

In another brief moment, the Tree was gone. Misty was back, saying something...

"... I could see why he was a good choice, but he's still young. He doesn't really know how to control his power. I wonder if we should be looking in the sky or in the water." Misty thought aloud.

"RIO!" Riolu suddenly got excited, running around like a crazy Pokemon and repeating its name in anguish.

"What is it, buddy?" Ash wondered while Pikachu got closer to investigate Riolu's sudden excitement.

"RIO! RIO-RIO!" Riolu's screams had attracted the father.

"Did he find something?" He asked, his eyes crying of desperation.

"Pika-chu," Pikachu was looking at Riolu. The older Pokemon seemed equally confused by the baby's actions, but Riolu continued to run in circles while shouting its name. "Pika... chu?" Pikachu looked at Ash in defeat.

"What does that mean?" Misty asked, normally able to translate Pikachu-talk almost as well as Ash.

"I think Riolu thinks he found something, but he's too crazy to tell Pikachu."

"Pika," Pikachu nodded.

"ARCCCCC!" Ash, Misty, and the father turned to the roar of a Pokemon.

"Is that an Arcanine?" Misty asked, noticing that it was twice the size of a normal Arcanine.

"It looks like one," Ash commented, pulling out Dexter to confirm.

"No data," the Pokedex replied.

"No data on an Arcanine?" Misty asked incredulously.

Arcanine started growling and Riolu tried to stand up to it.

"Rio, Rio... RIO!"

"Riolu, return!" Ash commanded, switching to a different Pokeball on his belt.

"ARCCCC!"

Ash had enough experience with Arcanine to know that it was powering up for an attack. He tackled Misty and the man out of the way, yelling at Pikachu to get down.

The Fire Blast missed them by inches, but it was enough to where Ash was able to release Donphan.

"Donphan, use rollout!" Ash called out, scrambling to his feet to check if Pikachu was injured.

Donphan collided with the Arcanine and sent it flying.

"DOOOOON!" Donphan called out as its opponent crashed into the ground. Strangely, the wind started rushing around in every direction and by the end... Arcanine was gone. "Don?"

"Thanks Donphan," Ash said gratefully, returning his Pokemon to its place in the Pokeball. "That was strange.'

"PIKA!" Pikachu's ears stood up and it used Thunder Bolt on something behind Ash and company.

"What the...?" Ash practically fell over, turning around and seeing a Weavile looking just as angry as the Arcanine had been. "A Weavile?"

"I don't understand," Misty stated. "Why are wild Pokemon attacking us?"

"I don't know... we were fine when we were sitting here." The girl's father mentioned, worry becoming even more pronounced on his features.

"Something made them mad," Ash pointed out. "Pikachu, use thunder bolt!"

Pikachu's attack hit its mark just as another cloud of sand was kicked up. The wind was strong enough to send Pikachu flying, but Ash managed to catch his little buddy.

The trio looked around and saw no trace of the two Pokemon Ash had battled.

"You said that my aura was like Sir Aaron's," Ash told Lucario when the latter was unable to reinvigorate Mew and, by extension, the Tree of Beginning. "It's time to test if it's really true."

"No, it's too dangerous," Kidd warned. "You'll end up destroying yourself."

"If I don't do this, the Tree will die... and so will the Pokemon who live here." Ash said determinedly. "I'm not gonna give up."

'Why do I keep remembering that day?' Ash wondered in his head. Then it dawned on him... a memory captured by a time flower in the Tree of Beginning. As Sir Aaron called out to Mew, the little pink Pokemon appeared... but not in its own form. In fact, Ash wasn't sure what kind of Pokemon it was. But the giant bird transformed into Mew.

Ash reasoned that Mew could likely transform into other Pokemon, although that didn't explain why Mew would choose to attack trainers for no reason at all. It also didn't explain why Mew attacked only in forms other than its own. Did it not want to be seen as Mew? What was going on here?

"Mew!" Ash called out, Misty and their third companion looked at him like he was crazy. "I know it's you, show yourself." After no response, Ash returned Riolu to the outside world and concentrated on his aura. After several seconds, an injured, winged Pokemon appeared under the nearby bridge. "Over there!" Ash started running. It wasn't a far run, but Riolu still got there way ahead of everyone else.

"Rio?"

"Hooo..." the winged Pokemon transformed back into Arcanine and then into Weavile. Electricity fizzled off the weak Pokemon as Mew tried to remain in one form or another. As it switched between Pokemon, Ash realized that only he and Misty had come running to the exhausted Pokemon.

"Where did that guy go?" Ash asked Misty, who was still trying to figure out how Ash deduced that this was a Mew.

"Mew..." Mew returned to its own body at last and rested upon the ground. It complained and tried to roll over in the sand.

"What's wrong, Mew?" Ash asked.

"It's sick, we need to get it to the Pokemon Center!" Misty exclaimed.

Ash tried to pick Mew up, but it transformed into an Entei and roared in his face before keeling over and returning to its tiny, natural pink body.

"What's wrong, Mew? You know me." Ash cooed. "Don't you remember the Tree of Beginning? Lucario and I helped you save the Tree."

Mew picked up its head as if recognizing the words Ash was saying but not yet associating the meanings with their enunciations.

"Let me help you," Ash requested, gingerly petting Mew on its head.

"Mew... Mew..." Mew cried.

"Rio..." Riolu whispered.

"We were there... in Cerulean Cave. With you, Mewtwo, Entei... all of them. We defended the Scale for you, don't you remember?" Misty asked Mew.

"Mew, Mew..."

"Why is she sick again?" Ash wondered. "Team Rocket was defeated..."

"The Marauder..." Misty realized. "He must have somehow found the Scale of Life and taken it from Cerulean Cave."

"If that's true, the whole world is in danger," Ash muttered. "Not just Mew."

"Mew..." Mew complained.

Ash pulled out a Hyper Potion and sprayed it on Mew after convincing it to stay still. The legendary Pokemon was not at a hundred percent, but she was noticeably perkier and was flying around again.

"Mew, how do we find the Scale of Life again?" Ash asked.

"Mew Mew..."

Pikachu tried to translate, "Pika Pika... Pikachu. Pi-KA-chu."

"MEEEEEW!"

Before they could react, Ash and company were teleported far away from the beach. They landed one on top of the other in the middle of Pallet Town, with no idea why Mew dropped them there or where the Pokemon had gone afterward.

"Very strange," Professor Oak commented when they finished telling him the whole story.

"Do you think there's a chance that the Marauder stole the Scale of Life?" Misty asked.

"I doubt it. It was incredibly well protected, so much so that the entire force of Team Rocket was unable to stop us. I wonder if it not more likely that the Marauder has managed to capture an even more powerful Pokemon... one that may have been able to detect and/or wound Mew."

"But Mew is one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world, isn't it?" Ash asked.

Professor Oak nodded, "But great power doesn't always guarantee victory. Perhaps the Marauder, as you call him, managed to corner Mew and use multiple Pokemon to defeat her. Or it's also possible that Mew was injured in some other way— and she sought your help by getting your attention via Pokemon battle."

"That is a good way to get Ash's attention," Misty pointed out.

"Whatever it was," Professor Oak began, "it worries me. Legend has always said that Mew is one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world. But these days, we keep discovering new and more powerful Pokemon that trainers have captured... I'm starting to wonder if there is such a thing as the 'most powerful' Pokemon. And if there isn't— just how much power can one Pokemon have?"

"Do you think we'll see it again?" Ash wondered.

Professor Oak sighed, "I think if it needs you... it will find you."

Following an unexpected meeting with Mew, Ash and Misty are more confused than ever about where the future will take them. After so many experiences, much remains unanswered. Who was the mysterious man with the missing daughter? Who was strong enough to injure Mew? Who really is the most powerful Pokemon in the world? And will Ash ever get around to training?


I had a lot of fun with this chapter because it's going to set up future plot points. Given the point in time we're at now, I estimate that the story will range between 30-35 chapters. The story will include the Pokemon League in a similar fashion to what we saw in the first season of the anime. But... for now... until next time.