Chapter 3: Arrival

The rest of the plane ride went smoothly. Ash and the others got dinner and blankets
served to them. And they spend the night in peaceful harmony.

Finally, the plane arrived at Tokyo International Airport. Everyone gasped when they saw
the airport. It was huge.

"So this is Tokyo," Misty said gawking. "It's unbelievable."

"Incredible," added Ash. Since there was no need for anyone to get any luggage, the
group hailed a taxi and Prof. Oak gave instructions for the driver to take them to Nerima.

"You no want go to Nerima," the driver warned in broken speech.

"Why," Duplica asked.

"It dangerous place. Noone wants go there anymore."

"But what makes it so dangerous," Sabrina wanted to know.

"Martial artists. Half the city is destroyed every day when martial artists come out to
play."

"Hey cool, that rhymed," Yoshi commented. Everyone else was face-fallen upon hearing the
comment.

"Martial artists extremely powerful," the driver continued. "Japanese government try
sending in national guard. Over half of guard beaten severely by end of day. Everyone stayed
away from city ever since."

"Um... Professor," Ayako said nervously. "Maybe we should skip to another town."

"Hold on," Ash called. "We all faced worse than this. Bring these martial artists on.
I doubt any of them have gone up against a Pokemon. So, we'll have an advantage."

"Ash is right," Prof. Oak said crossing his arms. "We have to go through with this.
Besides, I doubt these martial artists are really powerful."


Ranma screamed as the fence he was standing on caved in.

"Sheesh, Akane," Ranma said from the ground. "All I said was that with Ukyou and Shampoo
around, there's no need to open another restaurant."

"Why do you have to put down all my ideas, Ranma?"

"I didn't put all of them down, just the one about you opening up a restaurant." Akane
swung her mallet but this time, Ranma rolled out of the way and backpedaled back onto his feet.

As Akane was about to hit Ranma again, Ranma suddenly looked to his left and put his hand
out. Almost immediately, Akane stopped.

"Now, what's wrong?" She asked. Ranma turned her blue hair-colored head to see a small
crowd of people gathered around a sign. The two martial artists went up and as the crowd
dispersed, they were able to get a clear view of the sign.


POKEMON IS COMING.

"Pokemon? What's that?" Akane asked.

"You got me," Ranma replied. Ranma then noticed Shampoo and Cologne, Ukyou and Ryouga
also staring at the sign.

"Hey Old Ghoul," Ranma called. "You know anything about this Pokemon crap?"

"What I know, Son-In-Law, is only rumors," Cologne replied. Then as if she was the only
one there. "Whispers of an island housing creatures of incredible power. Creatures that are
neither good nor evil, but are what their masters intend them to be."

"Masters? Who are their masters?" Akane asked.

"Whoever lives on the island," Cologne responded simply. "But I have only heard rumors
of course."

{I wonder if these Pokemon creatures can cure me of my curse.} Ranma, Ryouga, and
Shampoo were thinking the same thing. {If they are so powerful like she says they are. But
are they rumors? Or real?} The sign itself gave no real information. It was like one of
those religious signs that said, "We need to talk... God."

Ranma's eyes widened. {What if Pokemon is some new foe! But why would Pokemon, whoever
they may be put up a sign announcing that they're coming? Well stranger things have happened
in Nerima.}


The Sunrise Hotel was about five miles north of downtown Nerima. It was also right
across from the Nerima Convention Center. While small, the center was perfect for setting up
stands. Volunteers from Tokyo (Prof. Oak didn't trust any of the residents of Nerima after the
reputation the town has earned) help set up displays with different pokeballs (red were for
trainers and masters, blue for competitors in the Pokemon League, orange were for gym leaders
and so on), televisions to play different kinds of Pokemon battles and so forth. The big
project was the stage. Prof. Oak was going to have Ash and his friends battle against one
another as examples of real life Pokemon battles.

Ash and Co. checked in the moment they got there. They then began setting up tables.
Pikachu even helped set up the sound system.

Deciding to have a little fun, Pikachu went up to the podium, hopped on top of it and
spoke into the mike. Unfortunately, Ash was still setting up speakers when Pikachu yelled into
the mike.

"Pika-pikachu!" Hi, everybody! Ash jumped so high that he held onto one of the
ceiling beams. Misty and Kojiyoshi, who were setting up chairs, burst into laughter at the
sight. Brock, taking pity on Ash, released Onix to bring Ash down. The rest of the set up
went without a hitch. Soon, it was time to open the doors and let everyone in.

Over a five hundred people showed up to see the first ever Pokemon Convention. Most of
them were just curious about what "Pokemon" is. Among the people there were Ranma Saotome,
Tatewaki Kuno, Akane Tendo, Shampoo, and Ukyou Kunoji. Of course, nobody knew that each other
was here because it was so crowded.

Prof. Oak watched from behind the curtain. He looked back at Kojiyoshi. "Yoshi, when I
give you the cue, throw the pokeball with your Charmander in it up on stage, all right?"

"Sure thing, Professor," Yoshi replied. Prof. Oak took a deep breath and stepped onto
the stage and to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Prof. Oak greeted. Some people chuckled because they knew Ranma
Saotome was in the audience and he qualified as both a lady and a gentleman. "My name is
Professor William Oak. I like to thank you for coming out today.

"Since time began, the people on my home island, Pokemon Island, have been entrusted with
the safety of a bunch of incredible creatures called Pokemon. Pokemon are animals with
fantastic physical, elemental, and psychic powers. Most of our way of life is revolved around
Pokemon. But we don't call it an obsession. That is why we have taken Pokemon on the road so
to speak, to share with the whole world our pride and joy. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...
Pokemon!" From behind stage, Kojiyoshi took out a pokeball.

"Charmander, strut your stuff," he called. The audience gasped and some laughed as the
pokeball rolled onto the stage. The ball burst open and red energy shot up into the air.
People gasped. The red energy landed and took the form of a Charmander.

"Char!" Charmander greeted. Hi. Some of the audience smiled and awed at it. Prof.
Oak went over to pick up Charmander.

"This little guy is called Charmander," Prof. Oak introduced. "He's a fire Pokemon. The
common characteristic that this one and all fire Pokemon have is a tail flame that is..."

"JOANNA!" The crowd turned to see a girl clothed in a pink dress and ice skates running
up the aisle, arms outstretched. Ranma groaned. It was Azusa Shiratori, lover of anything
"cute."

Azusa ran up onto the stage and started chasing after Charmander. The fire Pokemon was
fast, but its feet were too short. Azusa picked it up and squeezed it and squeezed it until
its orange face turned blue and white.

"Oh, aren't you just the cutest little thing. You're coming home with me, Joanna."

From back stage, Yoshi rushed out and picked up the pokeball.

"Charmander, return," Yoshi called. The red energy successfully collected Charmander and
returned it to its pokeball.

"Give me back Joanna!" Azusa pouted.

"The name is Charmander," Yoshi corrected her. "And he's mine. I caught him fair and
square."

"GIVE ME BACK JOANNA!"

The distraction was what Ash needed. "Bulbasaur," Ash called. "I choose you! Bind her
in your vine whip!" Everybody turned to see Bulbasaur form on the stage from the pokeball Ash
rolled onto the stage.

"Bulbasaur!" Surprise. Bulbasaur's vine whip enclosed Azusa. Lifting her up,
Bulbasaur carried her to the exit and threw her out.

"Bulbasaur!" And stay out! The crowd laughed and applauded. Ranma was definitely
impressed. Any creature that could defeat Azusa like that was definitely something. Then
again, P-Chan could beat Azusa.

"As mentioned before," Prof. Oak said as if that fiasco never happened, "Pokemon are used
in our everyday life. Some are raised as pets. Some we use as guardians. And some we just
keep around for companionship. Pokemon are extremely intelligent creatures. Some Pokemon
Researchers such as myself believe that Pokemon are smarter than humans."

{How can a bunch of animals be smarter than humans,}Ukyou asked herself.

"Each job on Pokemon Island usually involves in one way or another, working with Pokemon.
Lights please." From the back of the room, Ayako and Misty turned off the main lights and a
slide projector came on.

"Some occupations for example are Pokemon Doctors." The first slide was of Nurse Joy and
her Chanseys working on a sick Squirtle.

Kuno stood up and declared, "the woman houses a beauty unlike anyone I have ever seen.
The only exception is the saintly Akane Tendo and the voluptuous pig-tailed girl." Akane and
Ranma sunk into their seats. Kuno thought Ranma (in his female form) was the "voluptuous
pig-tailed goddess."

The next slide showed Suzie, the Pokemon Breeder Ash and Co. met in Celadon City giving a
Chansey a massage. Brock gawked at seeing her face. It wasn't like she was actually there,
but it was good enough for him.

Prof. Oak scratched his head at Kuno's outburst before continuing. "Other such
occupations are Pokemon Breeders, Pokemon Collectors, Pokemon Researchers such as myself, and
even Pokemon Translators." During each example, a picture of a person in the mentioned
position appeared on the screen. To the surprise of Ash and his friends, the picture of the
Pokemon Translator was Kojiyoshi. Finally, the lights came on again.

"This was just an introduction into the world of Pokemon. Tomorrow, we will go into more
details about Pokemon, how they're caught and raised. Thank you and good day." The audience
applauded. Prof. Oak stepped down.

"Well, I'll say that went pretty well," he commented.

"Except when that girl tried to steal my Charmander," Yoshi put in. "Thanks for rescuing
it, Ash."

"Not a problem," Ash replied. "That was almost as fun as beating Team Rocket."

"Better get some sleep, guys," Prof. Oak said as he gathered up his notes. "Tomorrow
will be another big day."

"There was something weird about that girl that tried to grab Yoshi's Charmander," Ayako
commented as she and Misty left the Convention Center.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Well, the girl kept calling it Joanna. Yoshi never names his Pokemon. And especially
not a name that makes the Charmander sound female or male. I think she's just an escape asylum
patient."

"Maybe you're right," Misty said. "Besides, did you notice she was wearing ice skates?"

"No."

"Well she was. Even a mental patient would at least take their ice skates off before
running out into the street."

"She must either be really insane or a very good ice skater."

"All right, that's enough," a voice called. Misty, Ayako, and Brock who was walking with
them (he wanted to hit on Ayako) turned to see Mikado Sanzenin standing behind them, a pair of
ice skates over his shoulder and a defiant look in his eyes.

"Azusa may be eccentric, but she's my partner and I won't have you treat her with
disrespect! Skate-blade slice!" Swinging his ice skates around, Mikado released his ice
skates intended on severing the Pokemon crew's mouths from their heads. Or at least their
heads from their bodies.

"Onix, protect us!" Brock cried. With a huge roar, the rock-snake Pokemon threw its
body in the path of the ice skates. The skates were deflected but not before slicing a cut in
Onix's rock-hard skin.

"Onix!" Brock cried as the giant rock Pokemon fell to the ground. Onix moaned. The
skates had struck a sensitive part of Onix's body. Brock quickly took out a super potion and
sprayed it on Onix.

"You'll be all right," Brock assured him and returned Onix to its pokeball to get some
rest. He then turned to Mikado. "What right do you have to attack my friends like that?"

"Your friends were insulting my partner. I have every right to exact my revenge."

"Then so do we," Ayako said stepping forward. "Squirtle, I call upon you! Use shell attack!"
A Squirtle that looked a lot like Ash's was released from its pokeball. It drew its head, arms,
legs, and tail into its shell and threw itself at Mikado. The Squirtle nailed him on the head
sending him back. Squirtle landed and released a water blast that threw Mikado into a wooden
fence. Squirtle was recalled.

"Come on, girls," Brock said, placing a hand on each shoulder. "Let's get back to the
hotel. After encountering this guy, I'm afraid to meet any more of the natives." The Pokemon
Trainer and two Pokemon Gym Leaders walked away leaving a extremely furious Mikado behind.

Ranma watched from the top of the fence.

{Those guys are good,} Ranma thought. {But let's see if they can handle people like
Ryouga, Kuno, and Akane.} And speaking of Akane, she hit the fence Ranma was crouching on with
her mallet.

"Come on, bakka," Akane said. "Dad wants us home for dinner."

"You could've just told me," Ranma said from the ground.

"Where's the fun in that?" Ranma groaned and followed Akane home wondering {why me?}