The Very Best:

Chapter 19:

Something Unexpected

Opening (If you really want to): GO! (From Naruto, performed by Flow)


The ocean.

That is all the 8 people on Gyarydos, and Wartortle, saw as they kept traveling for miles.

The calm movement of the ocean and the occasional sentence from the Pokémon or Trainers was all that could be heard for a long time. No one attempted to make any kind of small conversation as they were all hyper focused on getting back to Vermillion and getting away from this disaster of a day. Brock was cleaning off his arrows by dipping them in the water and placing them back for time later. If the sun and heat wasn't going to kill everyone here, then the boredom would definitely get the job done.

"I'm so boreddddd." Ash and Ryan practically said at the said at the same time, although Ash tried not to make his too obvious so that everyone wouldn't get annoyed at him.

"Just calm down, guys." Misty sounded like she rehearsed this line as she said this. "We should hopefully be seeing some kind of land soon."

"Besides, you are the one who decided that this was the right path." Jessie pointed out in a bit of a snarky way. This got the former Gym Leader's attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess you just had a better choice in mind then." Brock defended Ash as he looked up, placing his now clean arrow back.

"Well, it's not like anyone on this overgrown fish knows the exact right way to go." James retorted as Meowth sat on his lap, still feeling a bit weak. The Team Rocket member the cranked his head to see Gyarados's head. "No offensive."

"Gyarados." Was all the Pokémon said back.

Sakura tried to remain calm as all of this was happening. "Idiots. We must remain c-"

"I can't believe Ash let you guys come with us." Brock mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Jessie questioned in agitation. "Come on, closed eyes. Say it clearly to us."

"I can't believe Ash let you guys come with us!" Brock repeated in a much clearer tone, not hiding the annoyance in his voice. "Why would he let the same people that almost killed Ryan with us?"

"Don't worry, Brock." Ryan tried to assure him in a bit of a shushed tone. "I'l-"

"Did you think that all of this was our idea? That we thought of raiding a ship full of people?" Jessie interrogated as she glared at Brock.

"Of course not, because you are both too stupid to come up with that."

"EXCUSE ME!?" The Three Team Rocket members were downright pissed after hearing that. "Do you want to go, brat? Because we'll gladly do it right here and now!"

"Oh, it will be my pleasure to defeat you like the others." Meowth stood to use the last of his energy to fight, while James pulled out Golbat's Poke Ball as that was the only other Pokémon that they had. Brock took out the Poke Ball that contained his Golbat as he didn't want to use his bow right here and now, no matter how much he wanted to.

Anger and hate were on both sides.

Before things can escalate even further than they are now, Sakura gave a hard punch to Brock's forehead with surprising strength. James got a slap across his face courtesy of Misty herself, who tried not to hit the Team Rocket member too hard. Both were forced to back down and focus on the pain that they just gained from the people on Gyarados. Gyarados, after hearing all of this, finally decided to stop himself from going on any further.

"What do you 4 think you're doing?" Misty asked in a bit of outrage that Brock of all people would do this. "You are seriously going to do that right here? In case you haven't noticed, we are stuck out in the middle of the ocean with no land or food in sight. We are all suffering this! The least that all of you could is actually considerate of the other people on the Pokémon that acts like our boat."

"Misty, calm down." Ash placed aa comforting hand as Gyarados also tried to keep the girl in check. "We ca-"

"All of you are acting like children while the rest us out here are actually being mature and silent. I hope you realize just how sad that is!" Misty continued as she was actually starting to become mad as her face was starting to become red, or that may have just been from the sun. "I hope you realize just how lucky you are that you are actually alive and here right now! That you are still able to cling onto some kind of hope during all of this! That we can all be here for each other! Why are you all just so blind to see that?!"

Misty angrily huffed after she said all of that, this taking a lot out of her. Everyone was genuinely surprised that Misty of all people would actually do this or ever get this mad. Everyone remained still as all of this went down. Sakura was actually trying to hold back a genuine smile and chuckle as she thought that all of this was pretty funny for her standards. Misty was able to finally calm herself and realize what she did as she looked around.

"Misty," Ash began as the surprise on him didn't leave. He hesitatingly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you... okay?"

Misty quickly cleared her thought as she tried to wipe her still loose hair away from her eyes. "Sorry. Sorry. I-I don't what came over me right there."

"I never knew that you had it in you." Sakura remarked as she tried to remain calm, but her smile was slowly starting to escape her face.

"Wartortle." Wartortle moved in the water and placed one his hands on Misty's leg hanging from the side, giving the girl a warm smile.

"I am going to be fine. Let's just go on ahead." Misty assured her as she pointed determinedly in front of her. "Gyarados, onward!"

The large Water type was still a bit unsure if his Trainer was actually alright. "Gyarados." The Pokémon finally began to move forward again in order to search for some kind of land again.

The silence came back as everyone on Gyarados just began to focus on ahead, Wartortle still in the water and right beside them. Brock was left alone to calm himself while Team Rocket was actually in thought right now. The argument that they just had with Brock actually had a good point, why did that eleven-year-old twerp let them come? They looked at Ash to see that the kid was just enjoying making funny faces for his Pokémon.

"Ash," The boy was shocked that James would actually say his real name, as Team Rocket usually only said brat or twerp. "Why did you safe us in the first place? Why did you let us come, even though were enemies?"

No one said anything as they waited for the young Ketchum to actually answer. Ash turned away from messing around with Wartortle to actually look at Team Rocket. Ash gave the Team Rocket members with a shrug before giving the answer.

"Because even though we are enemies, you were people that were in need of help. And me not helping others is like living without oxygen, it's just impossible." Ash responded with a comforting smile on his face. "But I do have another reason for doing this."

"And what is it?"

"I can tell that you guys aren't completely evil, and that there is some kind of good still present within your heart." Everyone was bewildered to actually hear that, especially Team Rocket.

"W-What are you talking about?" Jessie asked with agitation. "We are Team Rocket. Of course, we are evil!"

"You try to tell yourself that, but you know that you are only lying to yourself like that." Ash responded as he wasn't fazed by Jessie's emotion. "You think that you are beyond helping others, but that's not true. I know that people are able to understand their mistakes and fix them, and I believe that the same thing can happen with you three as well."

"So what? Do you really think that even the worst people can just turn for the better?"

"I understand that not everyone can be a good person, but everyone can make at least 1 good choice." Jessie gasped a little after hearing that simple sentence. "It is never too late to make an unselfish choice. That even for the worst people in the world, it is still possible for them to make at least good decision." Ash still gave them a comforting smile. "You guys are not beyond help, and I know that you can still change."

Team Rocket became silent after hearing the confidence that was in Ash's voice. The kid really seemed to believe that they were able to change for the better, and nothing seemed to make him think otherwise. James and Meowth went into deep thought as they took these words to hear, while Jessie wanted to seal this conversation away in her mind. The girl was too stubborn to actually accept this.

Jessie finally gave a soft scoff after a long time. "Whatever, brat." Jessie muttered to herself as she turned away. But there was a weird and negative feeling in her body, and it had come from Ash's talk with them. Jessie still kept it down though.

Ash mentally sighed as he saw that Jessie was being rather difficult right now. Suddenly, Misty touched his shoulder to look forward. "Ash, look!"

"What is it?" Upon looking on ahead, pure hope and relive came over his entire body. "Guys! Look! There's land!"

Everyone moved their bodies and necks to see if it was true, and it actually was. The coast of Vermillion City itself was within eyesight and only looked to be about 10 whole minutes away. Everyone began to cheer as they saw that all their hope was actually worth it. Gyarados managed to give a small smile as he saw just how happy his Trainer and friends were, glad to see that they were back to their usual self.

"Oh, Jessie." James happily hugged his fellow Team Rocket members as small tears of happiness threatened to escape. "Were finally going to get out of here!"

"High five, Brock." Ryan called out to the former Gym Leader, and Brock actually had a smile as he returned the gesture.

"Looks like we're going to be okay after all." Sakura remarked in her monotone way, but a very small smile present on the inside.


Everyone finally got off Gyarados and set foot in the boundaries of Vermillion City.

"Ooohhh. Ground, how I've missed you." James was pratically praying the very earth itself as he thought that he would've never seen it again.

"Woah." Ryan was a bit wobblily as he tried to get his bearings. "My legs feel a lot like jelly right now."

"Don't worry, you should be able to walk normally again after a few minutes." Misty assured him as she placed a friendly hand on the boy's shoulder.

Meowth looked around to see that they were only a simple walk away from the very front of Vermillion City. "So, now what happens to us? Meowth." The Pokémon questioned Ash.

Ash flashed them a smile. "Well, you are able to get out of here now. It's not like there are any other people around to report you to the Officer Jenny in Vermillion." Ash pointed out.

"I guess you're right." James admitted as he looked at Ash. "T-Thank you fo-"

"You don't have to thank us." Ash assured with a dismissive wave. "We were just helping out those in need."

"Oh, yes they do." Brock remarked as he decided to intervere in this conversation.

"Being grateful to you guys is the least we could do, especially after everything that just went down earlier." James responded as he and Meowth actually wanted to be this to them. "We thank you for helping us out within our time of ne-"

"Oh. Stop sucking up to them, James." Jessie pulled the boy's uniquely colored hair as she wanted her teammates to be thankful to them. "Come on, let us get out of here already."

"Yeah, James." Meowth swiftly agreed with the female grunt, mostly out of fear of what would happen if he didn't do so. "Let us leave. Meowth."

All the three Team Rocket members finally moved away from Ash's group as they hoped to find a Team Rocket vehicle so that they would be able to travel back to base. Everyone is Ash's group, beside Misty, Sakura, Ash and Wartortle, were silently cheering that the bad trio was finally going to leave them behind. Jessie thought back on what Ash told them and was confused on why this brat, someone that she and the others have been fighting against, was still kind to them.

Suddenly, Jessie froze in place.

"Hey." She turned around to look at Ash. "Don't think that is going to change anything between us, alright? We are still enemies."

Ash just gave them a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten yet. Just don't ever forget this moment, alright?"

Jessie said nothing back as she faced forward and began their walk away from the group. Everyone watched as Team Rocket finally began to leave them behind once and for all, only James looking with an unsure look. No one said anything until the other was finally too far away to communicate with one another. Ash's smile never left his face as the boy still thought that they could still change for the better. And on that day, the boy's words would always stay within the Team Rocket members mind, but none of them would ever admit. Especially Jessie.

Team Rocket finally left their line of sight in the forest.

Ash let out a sigh after they saw Team Rocket finally leave them. "You know that we are going to see them again, right?" Ryan asked as he looked at Ash. "And that they are going to be fighting us all over again."

"I know." Ash responded as he was still confident in what he said to Team Rocket.

Misty looked to were Vermillion City. "Well, I think that we should finally go back to Vermillion and spend another night there. We don't have much sun left for today."

"I agree with Misty." Sakura spoke in an emotionless way. "Let us go back to the town and rest to resume our journey once again."

Brock then realized something after all of this, and that he has not even brought out the newest member of his team. "Wait, everyone. I have an announcement to make." This made everyone look at him as he placed the black case that contained his bow on the ground. "I have a new Pokémon on my team."

"Wait! Really?!" Ash showed his and Wartortle's excitement almost immediately. "What is it? When did you get it?"

"Yeah, Brock. When did you get this new Pokémon?" Misty was most curious about the answer to that question in particular.

"I got the Pokémon back when we were on the S.S. Anne." Brock began to explain as he took out the Poke Ball containing his newest member. "Jack gave her to me before we all met up together. He said that I seemed like someone who would be a great Pokémon Trainer for her, and I really wasn't given another choice." Brock looked down at the Poke Ball. "This Pokémon is all I have left of Jack now."

"Don't worry, Brock. I bet Jack was able to get out with everyone else before the ship began to sink." Ryan tried to cheer up his friend as he gave a smile. "And you should be happy that he left you with this Pokémon in the first place. That means that he trusts you enough."

Brock smiled back. "Thanks for telling me that."

"Well, let's see your brand-new Pokémon then!" Ash was very excited for this as he kept a carefree look on himself.

Brock had a firm grip on the ball as he opened it up, releasing Eevee out into the world. The Normal type looked around for a few seconds before looking up at Brock, who she gave a happy smile towards. "Eevee."

"Awww. How cute!" Misty squealed in delight as she sat on the ground and opened her arms. Eevee saw this and came to Misty so that the two can share a hug together. "Eevee's are always so cute."

"Hey, it's just like the one Red had back in Viridian City." Ash pointed out to Wartortle as they saw Misty interacting with Eevee.

"Wow. I've always wanted to see an Eevee." Ryan came up and gently pet the head of Eevee. Her fur was so unbelievingly soft that Ryan couldn't believe it for a second. "So soft."

Sakura remained indifferent as she witnessed all of this, already seeing an Eevee back at the school. She thought that the multiple evolutions of this one Pokémon were kind of interesting, but that was really it.

Brock came and Eevee left Misty behind after seeing her Trainer nearby, leaving the poor orange haired girl all alone now. "Hey, Eevee. Welcome to our group." Brock bent down to pick up the Eevee. "I promise to take care of you, okay?"

"Eevee!" The Pokémon happily replied as she began to lick Brock's face, something that made the older boy accidently giggle. Ryan then realized something.

"Hey! I just remembered." Ryan spoke up as everyone looked at him. "I also got a Ponyta back when we were on the S.S. Anne, and I want to show you guys."

"Well, show us then." Sakura said as everyone placed their focus on the boy taking out the Great Ball.

"Alright." Ryan threw the Poke Ball up into the air and saw the thing open up, bringing out a blob of white light that began to come towards the ground. The mass of light took form into a Pokémon that they were all expecting to be Ponyta, and the overall shape of the Pokémon was making it seem that way. The transformation finished and the new Pokémon stood in front of them.

All the smiles and excitement all disappeared off of everyone's faces.

"Ponyta!" The Pokémon chirped in a joyful way.

Everyone was left in complete bewilderment at what they saw in front of them.

"What the?" Ash questioned as Wartortle was right by him, even more confused than his Trainer.

"Huh?" Brock was left very confused.

"That's no Ponyta." Misty was actually confused as she tried to think of an answer to this.

"W-What is that?" Ryan was the most shocked out of everyone there, which was saying a lot. Sakura just had her eyes widened as she tried to use her brain and think about what is going on here.

The Pokémon in front of them was something that none of them have ever seen before.


Team Rocket's boats kept on going through the water.

Their many boats were all tied together to make sure that none of them were to separate from each other. All of them carried Team Rocket members that have lost their entire team on the S.S. Anne, and some of the grunts were receiving medical attention from things like Brock's arrows. All of them were still able to live to see another day, but a couple weren't so lucky and perished during the mission.

The most notable one who died was Evan. Team Rocket became aware of the fact that leader of the whole mission had died by falling off the ship and sinking in the water. Heck, some of the members had been there to witness it. Now that everyone was able to settle back inside their boats, a male Team Rocket member was currently trying to connect back to HQ. They knew that the reaction the higher ups was going to be bad, but someone had to do this.

A small device was near the Team Rocket member that was going to give the report. The device turned on and showed a holographic screen in front of them that revealed a tall woman in the center of a mostly dark background. The girl wore a white cloak, similar to the one Isaac and Jacob had, with brown glasses on her face. Her hair tied into a tight bun that was on the back of her skull. She also had a birthmark on her check.

This was Olive, Lieutenant of Division 5 of Team Rocket.

"Lieutenant." The Team Rocket member quickly saluted her before beginning his nervous explanation. "I am so sorry to call you on the personal line, but something bad has happened with the S.S. Anne mission."

Olive didn't even seem remotely surprised by this. "What happened? Where is your leader, Evan?"

"H-He fell off the top roof of the boat after he used his Seel to sink it with an Ice type attack." The grunt explained. "I have no idea what happened up there, but a few Team Rocket members said that he went against a girl before he was killed."

the Lieutenant took in all this information with a calm look on her face. "I see." Was the only response she gave after a couple of seconds.

"But we are all currently back in our boats and escaped before the ship was able to fully sink." The Team Rocket member tried to desperately think of something positive that came out of this failed mission. "Some of us did not make it out though. We promise to come back to HQ and prepare ourselves for the next mission!"

"So that you can fail just like you did this one?"

The Team Rocket member wasn't expecting this kind of serious reply. "W-We'll make sure tha-"

"It is quite clear that you failed the mission in taking over the S.S. Anne, and it seems like you couldn't get anything from it." Olive pointed out with an unapologetic look in her eyes. "You know that Team Rocket doesn't support failure."

"Who failed their mission, Olive?"

Everyone who heard that male voice froze completely after hearing that. Olive turned around as she tried not to show any fear or weakness. Y-Yes, Captain."

"Why is there a Team Rocket grunt talking to you through the personal line?"

"I apologize for allowing this to happen." Olive gestured her arm quickly at the screen. "It's just that I-"

"I'll take it from here." Someone appeared on the screen and made the Team Rocket grunt feel a cold shiver go down his spine.

The main person on the screen was a tall and thin young man. He has bright purple hair cut short at the sides with a large curl on top, a short purple beard, purple eyebrows and purple eyes. He wore a blue cloak and seemed to not be fazed by what was happening, keeping a very nonchalant expression on his face. Olive was in the background with a satisfied smile as she saw her Captain was going to be taking over.

The Captain of Division 5.

"My Captain." The Team Rocket member quickly saluted once again as he saw someone that could rival an Elite Four member. "I-I am so sor-"

"You don't have to apologize." The Captain simply interrupted as he looked at the Team Rocket grunt through the screen. "So, what mission did you fail at?"

Team Rocket gulped down a nervous lump in his throat. "W-We failed in taking over the S.S. Anne. Some of our members, like the leader Evan, was killed off as well."

"That's no good." The man didn't sound even remotely sorrowful or serious as he said that. "But since you contacted us, I assume you and the others were able to properly escape?"

"Yes. We escaped in time."

The Captain thought for a mere second. "I will send you some coordinates, where you will be able to find other Team Rocket members that will bring you back to HQ. Your punishment will be decided later on."

The Team Rocket member bowed at the conditions. "I accept."

"Alright." The Captain kept a nonchalant look on himself. "And you should be smiling. You are alive after all."

"Okay." The Team Rocket member didn't want to make the Captain upset and put on a forced smile. "We won't fail you next time, Captain Petrel."

The communication finally ended, and the Team Rocket member let out a deep sigh, happy that he and everyone was going to be okay.

"I personally think that you are too soft on them, Captain." Olive said from behind Petrel's back. "They failed their mission, and they should be punished for it."

"Woah. Why so serious?" Petrel kept a carefree look on his face. "It almost sounds like you want to hurt them."

Olive just gave a scoff at h her Captain's childish nature. "Whatever." As she was about to leave the room, she turned her head to see a Team Rocket grunt by the door. "Hey. You. I need you for something."

Instead of a boy that is past being a teenager, the Team Rocket grunt in front of her actually seemed to be a kid that was exactly the same age as Ashe Ketchum. He wore the standard male Team Rocket uniform; it was downsized so that it could actually fit him. But the most noticeable thing about this boy was the untamed blue hair and glasses that rested on top of his head. An impartial look on his face.

And who was this familiar looking kid?

"I have papers that had to be delivered to Division 2." Olive explained. "Take the for me, if you can."

A smile was present on the boy's face. "I accept, Lieutenant." Damian respectfully said with a small smile.


Ash's group were now at the Pokémon Center.

"Maybe this is a Pokémon from a different Region." Brock suggested as Ash and Sakura were already on one of the computers there, about to contact Professor Oak.

Ryan had his arms crossed as he kept on thinking, the Great Ball that contained Ponyta in his hand. "It has the body of the Ponyta, but it looks nothing like one."

"And you said that you got this specific Pokémon from a girl on the S.S. Anne?" Ryan nodded at Misty's question.

Ash and Sakura put in the phone number and saw that the computer was trying to connect. "We'll be able to find the answers soon enough." Ash confidently said as he brought the phone receiver to his ear, sitting on the chair. "I'm sure that Oak has the answer to this."

"Wartortle." His Pokémon agreed as he sat on his lap.

The screen kept on dialing as everyone waited anxiously for the professor himself to respond. Finally, after almost thirty seconds, the screen showed Oak himself sitting at a desk with a computer on it. A practically eaten plate of food right next to him with a dirty fork on it. Oak coughed to clear his voice as he adjusted his lab coat.

"H-Hi Ash." The professor quickly greeted as he finished fixing himself and put all of his focus back on the group. "Apologizes. I was just finishing my food as you called."

"Sorry about that, professor." Ash replied as he didn't mean to do that. "Something has just come up with one of our Pokémon, and I was hoping that maybe you could help us with it."

"I'll do my best." A thought quickly came to the man's mind. "Wait. You're all in Vermillion City right now. Did you and Ryan already claim the Thunder Badge?"

Ash and Ryan gave a smile. "As a matter of fact, we did!" Both of them gave their Thunder Badges to Wartortle, who cheerfully showed it off to Oak with a wide smile and closed eyes. Oak actually clapped his hands after seeing this.

"Well done, you two. You are both making great progress so far."

"Thank you, Professor Oak." Ryan gratefully told as he and Ash put away their badges. His face became normal again. "But can we focus on the Pokémon."

"Oh. Right. You said that something was wrong with one of your Pokémon, correct?" Ryan nodded in response. "Bring it out and let me see. I might be able to tell what is going."

Ryan let out a steady exhale as he held the Great Ball. "Come on out, Ponyta." He opened up the Poke Ball and let out the creature inside. Ponyta came out of the Great Ball and looked up at her Trainer.

But it didn't look like a Ponyta.

It had the overall shape and body of the Fire type, but everything else was completely different. Ponyta was now purely white, and her mane resembles light blue and purple clouds, instead of being just pure fire. The fire that was once on her legs was replaced with purple fluffy fur. This Ponyta also had a black horn with a single white stripe on her forehead. A cheerful look was on her face.

"Ponyta!" The unique Pokémon went up to Ryan and affectionally rub her hair on his leg. Ryan not giving a reaction as this had also happened last time.

"Do you see that, Professor Oak?" Ash asked as he presented the strange Ponyta to the old man. "That is what we meant by strange?" Instead of being in complete shock or surprise, Oak just gave a smile.

"Oh. I definitely wasn't expecting this." The Professor said in a rather moderate tone. "But you shouldn't worry, guys. This is not some kind of weird, undiscovered Pokémon."

"Then when is it then?" Ryan quickly asked.

"That Pokémon you have with is known as a Galarian Ponyta."

Everyone was a bit confused by this name, except for Sakura who finally had something click in her smart brain. "...Galarian Ponyta?" Brock repeated.

"Glaraian Ponyta. A Ponyta that comes from the Galar Region." Oak explained with crossed arms. "You should be proud that you have that kind of Pokémon with you. You can't find this kind of Ponyta in any other Regions."

"But why does it look so different from a normal Ponyta?" Ash questioned as he was confused by this Galarian Ponyta.

Oak placed a hand on his chin, trying to think of a good explanation. "Well, as you know, Pokémon like Pikachu and Koffing can be found in other Regions. All Pokémon aren't exclusive to the Region that they are discovered in." Oak began to explain to the group. "However. Certain Pokémon in these Regions are forced to change the way they usually function in order to survive in these different Region. Their body and mind slowly adapt and evolve to suit these kinds of new behaviors, and this may result in the Pokémon in becoming something completely unique."

"Thinks like climate, land, food there, and what other Pokémon are there are usually the main reasons why these Pokémon change." Sakura added as she was aware of all of this.

"That's very correct, girl." Oak complimented at Sakura's understanding.

"You knew about this stuff?"

"Did you forget that I was top of my class and was placed ahead of everyone else?" Sakura asked in return, causing Brock to sweat drop at this.

"So, you said that my Ponyta is one that changed in the Galar Region." Ryan told Oak, who gave a nod to show that he was correct. "Are there other Pokémon that have changed like Ponyta?"

"There are. Let me show you an example." Oak began to type something on his computer and brought up a picture of a normal Rattata. "This is a normal Rattata. Correct?" Everyone gave a quick nod. "But this, is a Rattata that is in the Alola Region."

Another image popped up that showed a completely unique Rattata. It had black fur instead of the usual purple. Its undersides were now a darker beige color, and their fur was much scruffier, leaving its whiskers as tufts that resemble a moustache. The inside of its ears is also a dark blue color. Everyone but Sakura were surpirsed by this new Pokémon.

"Woah. It looks cool!" Ash commented with a smile as he saw the Rattata, the same expression on Wartortle's face.

"Here's another example. This is a normal Raichu." Oak put an image of a Kantoian Raichu on the screen. "And here is the one that you can find in Alola."

Alolan Raichu slightly resembles an Audino. Its tail is now in an oval shape that allows Raichu to stand on it as if it is actually surfing. Alolan Raichu also now has bright blue eyes, darker skin tone, white hands and feet, and yellow ears pointing upwards. Ash and Wartortle were still looking at these new forms in a positive way.

"Is it actually surfing on its tail?!" Misty asked in amazement.

"Indeed, it is." Oak answered in a neutral tone. "Not only does this affect the appearance of a Pokémon, but also its typing as well. That Rattata I showed is still a Normal type, but now part Dark type as well." Oak pointed to Ryan's Ponyta, who was still showing genuine love to her Trainer. "And as for your Ponyta, it is no longer a Fire type. But rather a Psychic type now."

"Psychic type, huh?" Ryan looked down at how much love Ponyta was showing her new Trainer, finally deciding the gently pet her soft, beautiful hair. "I can... get used to this."

"So, I have a question?" Brock spoke up, catching Oak's attention. "Will Ryan's Glarain Ponyta still become a Rapidash, or will she be something else?"

"No. She'll still evolve the same way as a normal Ponyta, although Rapidash's appearance will be different." Oak politely answered. "But there are a few rare cases that the different form of a Pokémon will evolve into something else that isn't it's normal evolution."

"We understand." Ash assured as he became the main focus of the screen, Ryan placing his Galaraian Ponyta back after a little bit of playing. "Thank you so much for this, Professor. We were worried that something was wrong."

"Just come to me anytime you have questions for Pokémon." Oak responded as he gave a warm look to Ash. "I'll always be happy to answer."

"Thanks again, old man."

"Hey!" Oak complained in a joking way. "I may be only year away from 60, but that doesn't mean I can't keep going."

"Sorry. It was just for fun. Goodbye!" Ash waved at the screen as everyone besides Sakura joined in.

"Wait."

Everyone became silent as they heard Sakura's very direct voice. She signaled for everyone to step out the way and for her to be the one to sit on the chair. Everyone decided to go along with these orders out of confusion, but Ash verbally let out a small complain. She sat down on the chair and looked at Oak with a empty gaze.

"Um. Hello, Sakura." Oak quickly greeted as he saw the girl have an emotionless look on her face. "Do you need something from me?"

"Yes. I have a question, Oak." She answered as she didn't blink and kept her eyes locked on the professor. "Do you think I can become the next Pokémon Professor?"

Oak was confused why the girl seemed so serious about a simple question, but the man decided to give her his usual answer. "Why, of course! As long as you study and have a desire to keep on exploring the unknown, I think that anyone can be a great Pokémon Professor."

"Interesting." Sakura had no emotion after hearing that answer. "Just... one last question?"

"Alright then. Go ahead."

Sakura said the next sentence in a whisper. "Why don't you tell the truth?"

Oak was shocked on the inside but kept a normal expression outside. "What do you mean?"

"You are aware of what I am talking about, Professor Oak." Sakura didn't sound like she was playing any kind of games with her tone of voice. "Or do you go by a different title? One that demands respect from people?"

"Sakura." Brock called out as he saw the girl whispering to him. "What are you doing?"

"Oak's face remained neutral. "I have no idea what you are talking about, girl. But I don't recommend talking about things that don't concern you."

"You know what I am talking about. You know that you are only lying to yourself." Sakura slammed her hand on the table and her sentences no longer were whispers. "Just say it."

"I don't k-"

"Don't give that! You know what I want from you!" For the first time ever, Misty actually saw genuine anger come out of Sakura. Sakura and Oak spitefully glared at each other.

"That's enough." Brock and Ryan removed Sakura from the chair without using too much force, something that Sakura didn't stop them from doing as she still glared at the man. Brock picked up the receiver and looked at the screen. "Sorry about that, professor. I have no idea what came over Sakura."

"It's quite alright." Oak told them as he quickly forgave the girl. "I should probably leave you alone now."

"Goodbye, Professor Oak." The screen turned off and Oak was no longer on the screen. Brock turned around to see that Sakura was being questioned by the rest of the group.

"What were you thinking, Sakura?" Misty asked the other girl of the group. "You can't talk to people like that. Especially to someone as smart as Oak."

"Wartortle!" The Water type scolded as well.

Sakura just let out a scoff. "Whatever."

Ash let out a sigh as he saw his friend being like this. "Let's not focus on this anymore." Ash finally said as he tried to get everyone's attention on something else. "What should we do now?"

"Well, we should all find a place to sleep for tonight." Brock pointed out as he kept the case close with him. "I think that hotel we went to before is still open at this hour."

"Me and Misty will go get a room then." Ryan volunteered as he stepped forward, everyone giving an agreeable nod to this.


Red had a blank expression on his face as he kept on going through the path as his black flashlight was in his hand.

The nighttime had fallen upon them as the moon was nowhere in sight tonight. Red kept on traveling forward through the woods as he was going to enter Rock Tunnel tomorrow, assuming that the map he had was correct. Red was going to keep on going until he couldn't anymore, and the same thing went for his Pikachu as well.

Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder and stayed close to the boy that he considered a best friend, although it took a lot before they actually reached that stage. The two saw a nice running river going through their path, a punch of rocks sticking out that they could use to get through. Red and Pikachu came to the edge of the water and the boy knelled by it, turning off his flashlight.

"If you are thirsty, Pikachu, then you can get off." Red told his partner in a kind way.

"Pikachu!" The Electric type went off Red and began to lick the water that was in the stream, now realizing just how thirsty he was.

Red grabbed a portion of water with both hands to examine if the water was okay for him to drink, taking a small taste test as he couldn't spot anything big in the clear water. Red took out a flask and let the rushing water go right into it and refill it all the way to the brim. The boy let out a content sigh as he sat on his butt and watched his best friend drink like there was no tomorrow, the sight of which brought a small smile.

Suddenly, then heard something move in the nearby bushes.

Both of them stood up and tensed up. Red quickly turned around and took out his Poke Ball from his pocket while his other hand still held the flask. Pikachu quickly went to front in order to protect his Trainer from the Pokémon that was in the bushes. The bushes kept on rustling and making sounds that made them tense up even more. Both of kept their open as they saw whatever it was come out, and it actually was not any kind of dangerous Pokémon.

Instead, a girl came out of the bushes.

Red and Pikachu were confused as they saw this new person dust off their clothes. "Ow. I hurt my finger." She said with a grimace as she looked down at her hand, the pain

In front of Red was a young girl with green eyes and platinum blond hair. Her outfit to a white sailor-like shirt with a blue ribbon and a very short white miniskirt with a light blue line. The hair she had was a ponytail tied together with a braid. She also wears a pink backpack with a white ribbon and white penny loafers with white ankle socks.

Red and Pikachu dropped their guard down after they saw it was just a girl. "Mrs. Are you okay?"

The girl was surprised and let out an 'eep' after she saw the two looking at her. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't see you there." The girl quickly apologized.

Red just brushed it off. "It's alright." He came up to her and glanced at her hand. "You said your finger was hurting. Correct?"

"Huh?" The girl took a second before she realized what Red was talking about. "Oh. It's fine. Nothing worth getting mad about."

Red, not exactly satisfied with the answer, offered his flask over to the girl he just met with a calm look. "Here. This is some water."

"Oh. Thank you!" The girl gratefully took the flask from Red. The girl actually began to scarf down the water inside as her throat was quite dry. Red and Pikachu were a bit surprised by how quickly the girl drank until there was a little less than half the water, giving out a small sigh after drinking it. "Sorry. I was just really thirsty."

Red got his flask back and went back to the river to refill his thing once again. He glanced back at the girl as he finished. "I'm guessing that this is your first time here in this forest."

"It is." The girl responded as she seemed a bit sad that it was that obvious to spot. "What gave it away?"

"People don't tend to wear an outfit that could easily be stained out in a forest."

The girl just gave a sweat drop as she scratched her head with a small laugh. "I guess that was my mistake." A realization suddenly came to the girl's mind. "Hey. Do you know where Rock Tunnel is?"

"Are you going there?"

"Yes I am." The girl answered quickly. "I need to get too Celadon for the Rainbow Badge."

This got caught Red's attention as he placed his flask away. "Are you going for the eight badges?"

"Yup. And here's my very first one." She took the Tunder Badge from her backpack and showed it to the duo, who in turned showed the three badges that Red has. "Woah. You must be a strong Trainer."

"I guess I'm okay." Red tried to sound humble when he said this as they put away their badges. "And to answer your question earlier, I know where Rock Tunnel is. I am going there tomorrow, as a matter of fact."

"That's great!" She happily cheered as she looked at Red with clasped hands. "Could you let me join you? At least for a little bit?"

Instead of giving a smile yes or no to the question, Red simply just shrugged his shoulders. "I won't stop you. You can come with us."

"Thank you so much." She said in a grateful way as she looked down at Pikachu before looking up at Red. "May I please touch your Pikachu? He looks very cute."

"Sorry. But my Pikachu doesn't like to be touched by anyone that is not me." All of a sudden, Pikachu went right up to the girl and tugged on her socks. She looked down with a confusion in her eyes. Pikachu, now seeing he got her attention, raised his little hands up into the air.

"Pikachu!" The Electric type actually wanted to be picked up by this new person. The girl slowly picked up the Pokémon and smiled at it, Pikachu smiling back. Red was actually surprised that Pikachu wanted to be picked up by someone that was not him, usually shocking with his electricity if anyone tried to do it.

"How odd. My Pikachu seems to take a liking to you." Red finally realized that this girl has not actually introduced herself. "Hey. What's your name?"

"Oh. I haven't introduced myself yet." The girl gently placed Pikachu on the ground, readjusting her backpack as she faced Red with a shy smile. "It's Lillie."

Red brough out his arm for a handshake. "The name's Red, and you can clearly see that's my Pikachu." The now named Lillie happily returned the handshake as Red turned away to cross the river. "I guess we can set up camp on the other side of this river."

"Sorry if I am being a bother." Lillie apologized after hearing that. "You don't have to help me if you don't want to."

"Don't worry, I'll help you." Red assured as Pikachu was back on his shoulder, the two looking at the water. "You can hold my hand if you are worried about making it through."

The two were forced to jump across the large rocks to get to the other side. Red was able to quite easily do this as Pikachu was still sitting on his shoulder, and Lillie was also able to clear the stones pretty easily as well. The girl almost slipped at one point, but Red was able to quickly grab the girl to prevent her from falling. The two safely made it to the other side and Lillie thanked Red once again for catching her.

Both of them went down to find a good place to find camp. "So, Lillie. Mind telling me about yourself?"

"Well, I came here from the Alola Region and entered the Kanto Region through Vermillion City." Lillie explained how she came to Kanto.

"The Alola Region?" Red had heard about this Region and researched a little bit about it but has never actually been there.

"Yup. My brother Gladion and my best friend Selene are there." Lillie added as they continued walking. "Selene is actually the current Champion of Alola."

Red gave an interested look at the girl as he heard this. "Very cool. Anything else going on with you?"


Misty let out a content sigh as she breathed in the forest air. "Isn't it nice out here today?"

"Yeah. It is pretty nice out here." Ash replied as he and Misty were actually walking together, with Wartortle and the group following behind them. Ash gave a quick glance to the sky. "Although, it might rain later with all the cloud around."

"It will be smart to set up camp early in order to be prepared if that does happen." Sakura pointed out as she gave a calculating look at the sky.

The group were finally back on their scheduled travels through the long and beautiful forest of the Kanto Region. The way to Rock Tunnel was slowly going uphill and the path became rocky as they went through, but neither of these even remotely stopped the resilient group. They knew that it would take a few days before they reached Rock Tunnel, and they knew that it would be a struggle to get through one of the darkest places on the planet. But they all took it as a challenge, except for Ryan who was slightly scared about the Rock Tunnel.

"We've already lost a lot of travel time already." Brock mentioned after hearing Sakura's words. His black case that contained his weapon was now strapped to his backpack as Ryan helped him with finding a better way to carry it. "If we don't reach Erika before the start of August, then we'll be forced to wait a month until the Pokémon League."

"Well, July is going to start in about two days. So, we'll have a full month to get to Celadon." Misty quickly calculated before pointing a thumb at Brock. "And, during that that time, is going to be the 16th birthday of Brock over here."

"Congratulation, man." Ryan quickly approached Brock and wrapped an enthusiastic arm around the older boy.

"I guess I'm excited for it." Brock simply said with a smile.

Sakura walked up to Brock and gave him a small smile, something the boy wasn't expecting. "Happy early birthday, Brock."

The boy was very surprised by this. "Thank you?" He responded as he saw Sakura walk away, being weirded out that she of all people would do that.

Ash and Misty were chatting up a storm while all this was happening behind them, and Ash was happy to see and hear that the rest of his friends were doing pretty well right about now. Neither really talked about anything particular. Ash enjoyed these moments with his friends, because it made him happy to see other people happy. How he wished that these moments could last forever.

A powerful screech came from the sky.

Ash froze up completely after hearing it.

Ash stood completely still as he turned his head to where the screech came from. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw Ash was as still as a statue and his eyes completely widened. "Ash. Are you okay?" Misty instantly went to check on him.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Was the only think that came from Ash's mouth as he didn't turn to face them.

"Hear what?"

Another powerful screech went throughout the cloudy sky.

Ash began to charge directly at the direction it was coming from, cutting through the trees and bushes. "Wait! Stop!" He heard the group trying to call him back, but that didn't stop him.

The boy had heard this exact same screech before back at the beginning of his journey. From the mysterious Pokémon he saw before back in Route 1, the same one that Oak brushed off when he tried to mention it to him. But he had heard once again on the path to Rock Tunnel, and the boy wanted to be sure that what he saw before was truly real. That what he saw was once again upon him.

"Are you here now?" Ash thought as he kept on running through the plants.

The boy stopped at an edge that led to a pretty decent fall down. The glanced back and forth as he tried to desperately search for the creature, panting a tiny bit after all that running. He glanced all over the area and into the sky and saw no Pokémon nearby. The boy was wondering if what he heard just now was something his made came up with, and that he now looked crazy right about now.

A third screech happened.

Ash looked up and shock went through his face at what he saw. The large, bird-like creature he saw once before was soaring through the sky once again. Electricity followed directly behind it as pure power and energy came from the creature.

"HEY! UP THERE!" Ash yelled out in the vain attempt that the creature would notice him. The Pokémon actually looked down to see the boy trying to get his attention but didn't come down or stay off its path. "HEY! YOU!"

Ash saw that tearing apart his own throat was going to do no good to it. In a last attempt to find out what this thing is, Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it straight to where the Pokémon was going to be at. "There is no data." Was all the Dexter could give.

"No!" Ash desperately said as he looked down at the Pokédex before turning to face the sky.

The mysterious Pokémon had disappeared into the clouds.

"Dang it!" Ash practically growled out as he saw the creature that he had wondered about for a long time just fly away like that. He stomped angrily on the ground as he saw that his attempt was basically futile at this point. He was so annoyed and mad at himself that he didn't notice that a few rain drops began to fall from the cloudy, grey sky.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around.

Misty and the rest of the group had finally caught up to him, all looking annoyed. "Ash!" Misty practically yelled at the boy. "What are you doing?!"

"I saw a weird Pokémon going through the sky." Ash tried to explain as he realized just how mad the group was.

"Ash. It was probably just a Pidgeot." Brock told him as he tried to remain calm with the boy. "They are common around here. And you can't just run a-"

"But this one was different." Ash quickly interrupted as he wanted them to understand. "This Pokémon was yellow, large, had wings, and some kind of lightning kept on following it."

Everyone stopped being mad at Ash and gave a confused look after hearing that description. "Lightning? That usually means an Electric type." Ryan quickly deduced after hearing that. "But I've never seen or heard of an Electric type with wings."

Sakura suddenly walked forward and came to Ash. "Let me see your Pokédex." Ash complied with this request and gave the girl the device. Sakura began to quickly type on the Pokédex and showed the little screen on it to Ash, which contained an icon of all the Electric types in the Kanto Region. "Do any of these Pokémon look like the one you saw?"

"No. I tried to use the Pokédex on it before, but not even Dexter knew what it was."

Misty considered the possibilities as more rain drops continued too slowly come down. "Maybe it's a Pokémon from a different Region. Professor Oak said that the Pokédex isn't able to identify them."

"The thing is. I've seen this creature before, back in Route 1." Ash turned to his beloved Wartortle. "Don't you remember, buddy?"

"W-Wartortle." The Water shook his head as he couldn't remember what Ash was talking about, as his memories were very fuzzy when he was in that weakened state from the Spearows.

Ryan placed a comforting hand on Ash's shoulder. "Come on, Ash. It's gone now." Ryan pointed out as he wanted the boy to focus on the rain that was building up. "We need to set up camp before this rain gets any worse."

"I'm not crazy, alright?" Ash quickly said as he didn't want his close friends to not trust him. "I know what I heard and saw."

"We didn't say you were crazy." Misty responded in a gentle way to the boy. "But it's best to not focus too much on the past. Especially with this sudden rain on us." Ash finally noticed some drops coming on his head and knew that he couldn't go out looking for it now. The boy gave a reluctant nod in order for them to set up camp.

Everyone was able to finally bring Ash back so that they could make shelter from this rain. Ash was able to help with making the tents and prepared the interior of the tent, while the others made sure the thing was tied to the ground and that the rain tarp was over it. Ash tried to brush off anyone's concerns over him, even when people like Misty and Wartortle asked him. He just gave them a smile and a reassuring answer.

But one thought went throughout Ash's mind as he did all of this:

"I know what I saw."

END OF CHAPTER 19


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Ash's Team: Wartortle (M), Pidgeotto (F), Sandshrew (M), Gloom (F), Dratini (M)

Misty's Team: Starmie (N/A), Seel (F), Gyarados (M), Squirtle (F)

Ryan's Team: Pinsir (M), Ivysaur (F), Slowpoke (M), Galarian Ponyta (F)

Brock's Team: Golem (M), Onix (F), Golbat (M), Eevee (F)

Sakura's Team: Nidoqueen (F), Charmander (M), Shellder (M)