'Text written like this is Poké Speak' humans cannot understand this, only Pokémon
Now that the Cerulean Cape Tournament had ended, and Leaf has split from the group, Ash, Misty, and Brock were now on their way to Vermilion City, where Ash's next Gym Battle would take place. But to get there, the group had to pass through Cerulean City once more. Before continuing towards Vermilion, the group took a rest stop at the Pokémon Center. Ash took this time to make a couple calls home, one to his mother, and one to Professor Oak.
He had been meaning to call home for a while now, but he never got the chance. He hadn't called since he'd arrived in Viridian City, so his mother was probably worried about him by now. So, he decided to call her first. The call went how he expected it to, she scolded him for not calling in so long, asked him how is journey was going, and finished the call telling him to change his "you know what" every day. Now it was time to make the call he'd been meaning to make since before the Nugget Bridge, the call to Professor Oak about that strange dream he'd had about five days ago.
He dialled the Professor's number and hit call, a few seconds later, the old man answered, and smiled when he saw Ash on the screen. "Ah, Ash my boy, good to hear from you" he greeted.
"Yeah, good to see you too, Professor" Ash replied.
"Oh yes, I noticed you captured a Bulbasaur a few days ago, correct?" the Professor asked. Ash nodded. "Would you mind if I had a quick look at it? The starter Pokémon are quite rare in the wild after all"
"Sure" Ash agreed, taking Bulbasaur's Poké Ball from his belt, "Bulbasaur, come out" he said, as he opened the ball. The grass type formed in a flash of light on the floor with a "Bulba", and Ash reached down to pick him up. He turned back to the screen so the Pokémon and the Professor could see each other, and Bulbasaur's eyes widened at the sight of the man. 'Professor!' Bulbasaur exclaimed in surprise. He finally had a chance to let Ash know they had already knew each other, he just needed the Professor to recognise him. The two humans noticed Bulbasaur's surprise and looked at him curiously. "What's wrong, Bulbasaur?" Ash asked, Bulbasaur extended a vine and pointed it at the screen.
"Professor, I feel like Bulbasaur recognises you or something…" Ash said with a bit of confusion in his voice. At his trainer's statement, the Seed Pokémon nodded his head vigorously.
"Hmm, it would seem you're correct, Ash" Oak agreed, "Where did you find him?"
"He was protecting a hidden village which took care of injured and abandoned Pokémon, apparently, he was released by his previous trainer…" the boy explained, thinking back to what Melanie had told him.
Bulbasaur decided he would need to use different method to tell them what he wanted to. He thought for a moment, when an idea finally came to him. He extended his vine once again, and touched it to the screen, but rather than pointing at the Professor like last time, he pointed next to him, at the laboratory.
"Huh? Wait, are you pointing at the lab?" Ash asked the Pokémon, Bulbasaur nodded.
"Well, that would explain how he knows who I am…" said the professor. He then turned to a laptop beside him, and began to search for something. He seemed to find what he was looking for, and picked up the laptop, pointing the screen towards Ash and Bulbasaur. On the screen of the device, was a grid of images, showing many different people, with a name and a date beneath each one.
"Bulbasaur, this is a list of every trainer who has received a Bulbasaur from me as their Starter Pokémon" he explained, "If you are from the lab, the person who originally received you should be on the list."
Bulbasaur nodded, and began to scan the screen for the one who had abandoned him. After about a minute, his eyes lit up, and he pointed his vine at an image of a boy with blue hair, sunglasses on his head, and a smug look on his face. Ash moved a bit closer to the screen, so he could read the name of the boy easier. When he made out what it said, he told the professor, "Damian Daisuke."
Oak's eyes widened at the name, "Ah, I remember him, he seemed very arrogant when he came for his Starter, even more than Gary if you'd believe" he stated, causing Ash to shiver, there was someone more arrogant than Gary Oak? That was possible?
Suddenly, Professor Oak looked deep in thought. "If this is the same Bulbasaur I gave to Damian…" he murmured, then a small smile appeared on his face. "Ash, if this is that Bulbasaur, then I believe you two may have already been acquainted."
"Huh?" Ash said in confusion. Bulbasaur on the other hand, was ecstatic. Professor Oak remembered him, and now Ash could finally learn the truth.
"Ash, this would be the same Bulbasaur you, Gary, Leaf and your friend who moved to Kalos played with when you were younger!" the man explained.
Ash's eyes widened. A memory came to his mind, one he hadn't thought about in a while…
Four children, around 6 years old, stood in front of Professor Oak, inside his laboratory. "Now, I know none of you kids are old enough be trainers yet, but I wanted to introduce you four to a couple friends" said the professor, holding three Poké Balls. He threw them, releasing the Pokémon inside, a Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle all appeared. Three of the four kid's eyes widened in excitement at seeing the Kanto Starters, while one, a girl with honey blonde hair, looked a bit nervous.
"Awesome!" the raven-haired boy, Ash, exclaimed, kneeling to pet the Bulbasaur on the head. The brunette girl, Leaf, picked up Squirtle and hugged it tightly while squealing about it being "so cute" Gary tried to act cool, but anyone could tell he was just as excited, as he stared at Charmander with his eyes shining.
Ash turned and noticed the honey blonde was only watching from afar, so he decided to call her over, "Serena! Come over and say hi to Bulbasaur!" he called out. Serena swallowed before going over to Ash. Bulbasaur looked up at her, as she looked at him, "Bulba!" he greeted. "H-hello, B-bulbasaur" Serena responded nervously. The Seed Pokémon noticed her nervousness, and decided to release a Sweet Scent from his bulb, in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed to do the trick, as the honey blonde gained a somewhat sleepy and relaxed expression. She squatted down and gently petted the grass type on the head, "Thank you, Bulbasaur" she thanked, to which Bulbasaur smiled in response.
The next few days, the kids came to play with the three starters, until the Pokémon were given away to new trainers. By then, Serena had also moved back to her home region of Kalos, and Ash knew it would be a long time before he saw either the girl, or the starter Pokémon…
Except, here one of those starters was, right under his nose for the past few days. He had unknowingly captured a Pokémon he had befriended years ago (back when Gary wasn't as much of a jerk…).
"So, you're really the same Bulbasaur from that time?" the boy asked the Pokémon in front of him. "Bulba" Bulbasaur replied with a nod. "Well, at least we know now!" Ash exclaimed, "and if we ever see that Damien, we'll show him he was wrong to abandon you, right buddy?"
"Saur!" the grass type answered, raising a vine up.
"Well then Ash, is there anything else you need from me?" the Professor questioned, causing Ash to remember the whole reason he had called in the first place!
"Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you about something I saw in a dream the other day" he stated.
"A dream you say?" Oak asked with a curious expression. Ash began to describe the mysterious Pokémon (or so he assumed), he had seen, the shining golden bird-like Pokémon, and the shadow figure. He was surprised at how well he could remember the dream.
"Hmm… I'm not really sure what they could have been, though there is a legend from the Johto Region about a bird Pokémon that resembles what you described…" Oak stated.
"Really?"
"Yes, I don't remember it exactly, but it's about a bird Pokémon called Ho-Oh"
"Ho-Oh…" Ash muttered, pulling out his Pokédex and looking up the Pokémon. He found the dex entry, but unfortunately the only image shown appeared to be from a cave painting or something, though it did look somewhat similar to what he saw.
"Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokémon. Legends say it will reveal itself before a pure-hearted trainer by shining its bright rainbow-colored wings"
"Thanks Professor, but my friends are waiting for me, so I gotta go" Ash stated.
"Oh, of course Ash, it was nice seeing you again, you two Bulbasaur" Oak replied. Bulbasaur waved goodbye with his vine, before Ash returned him to his Poké Ball.
"Well, see ya Professor!" he exclaimed in goodbye, waiting for the man to reply with his own goodbye, before hanging up. He ran off to meet back up with Brock, Misty, and Pikachu. But, as he ran, his thoughts turned back to the honey blonde girl from his past, Serena. Hmm, I haven't seen her in ages, I wonder how she's doing…?
But, for now it was time to continue on the road to Vermilion City.
Hey, I updated two fics in one day (in my time zone at least), that hasn't happened in ages (if at all...)! So, Ash finally knows about he and Bulbasaur's past, as well as bit of info about the dream he had in chapter 7. This chapter was originally supposed to be Squirtle's capture, and only the beginning was gonna be about Bulbasaur's past, but it got to my normal chapter length before I could get to the Squirtle stuff. But next chapter will definitely be Squirtle's chapter, so people who were wondering when Ash would get a water type, there you go. And for people wondering about shipping, it won't be for a long while (especially with how often I update…), but this chapter should have given you an idea of who Ash will end up with eventually.
Current Teams:
Ash:
Pikachu (Male)
Charmander (Male)
Pidgeotto (Female)
Beedrill (Male)
Nidorino (Male)
Bulbasaur (Male)
Misty:
Poliwag (Male)
Staryu (Genderless)
Goldeen (Female)
Oddish (Female)
Brock:
Onix (Male)
Geodude (Male)
Zubat (Male)
