Welp. Been a year and a half. I got no excuse. I lost my momentum, and then just couldn't get it back. I pecked at bits and pieces of this chapter on and off, but just couldn't get it really going like my last streak. Doesn't help that I got a new job and suddenly I had a lot less time. For loyal readers, I appreciate your viewership. For new readers, this is me, warts and all. You have been warned. So, I'm happy that there were so many positive responses to me making Giovanni a spy for the League! As I mentioned before, it was an idea given to me in a review which I decided to tag on last minute. And I don't regret it. Hopefully ya'll like this chapter. The on and off way I worked on it makes me think it looks disjointed. But if ya'll like it, that's all that matters. Enjoy!

Ash smiled as he left the Pokécenter, bag slung over his shoulder. He had just said his farewell to the Nurse Joy who he had bonded with during his short stay, exchanging numbers as well as a promise to keep in touch. Now he was on his way to the local Pokémart to get supplies before he wandered into the Viridian Forest. All of his Pokémon were in their balls, Ash deciding to let them rest for now as he intended to make them walk (or their equivalent) through the forest in order to build strength and stamina.

Quickly spotting the blue-roofed building, it wasn't far from the Pokécenter after all, Ash walked in.

Almost immediately Ash's vision was assaulted by rows upon rows of various Pokémon-themed products. And not just trainer supplies, but beds and toys and other items for domestically kept Pokémon. It made sense, since if the Pokémarts only relied on traveling trainers for custom, they'd only lose money year-round as there were only around a dozen or so traveling trainers in a given town for most of the year. Though the numbers did tend to spike towards both the beginning and end of the tournament season.

Traveling through the aisles, Ash mentally catalogued how much he had to spend. As awful as the encounter with the one Officer Jenny had been, it had proved an unexpected boon with the large credit voucher the Chief had given him. It should be more than enough for some starting supplies, as well as some TMs.

Of course, Ash would have been set supply-wise anyways. After all, his Pokémon journey was sponsored by Professor Oak, and therefore counted as a League sponsorship. That gave him a 3,000 yen starting balance, an expanded storage poképack, and a single standard-strength potion. Not only that, but Ash had been a returning guest of the Oak ranch for years, eventually even becoming an unofficial assistant. This had netted him some additional funding. And though Ash hadn't been the smartest saver, he had still saved up an additional 3,500 yen to start his journey with.

So credit and voucher combined, that gave Ash 31,500 yen to work with. More than enough.

Ash first made a beeline for the medical supplies. Eager as he was to get to the TMs, sense came first. And all the TMs in the world meant nothing if your Pokémon were too hurt to use the moves.

First thing Ash grabbed was 9 potions, bring his total of them to 10, as well as two super potions. That should be enough to see him through the forest. Ash hesitated at the antidotes though. He only had three Pokémon, and two of them were of the poison typing which made them immune to the status effect. But Ash couldn't neglect Neptune just because his other two Pokémon were immune, plus there were any future Pokémon he might catch to consider.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, Ash grabbed 5 antidotes, as well as an additional 5 paralyze heals.

Next up were revives. Essentially, pure adrenaline. A single dose could have a near-death Pokémon up and fighting like they were uninjured for a short time. Of course, aside from some coagulating agents mixed in to slow bleeding, revives didn't do anything to actually heal Pokémon. They were an emergency medicine that you used in a life-or-death situation. Most trainers eschewed them as they were expensive, rarely necessary, dangerous to their Pokémon if used wrong, and were banned in battle. Smart trainers still carried some just in case.

Ash added two revives to his basket, knowing that one day the diamond-shaped vials of pure adrenaline would come in handy. He just prayed that day was far off. He grimaced as he glanced at the price though. Those two revives were almost as much as all of his potions.

Medical shopping done, Ash then turned to food. He himself had enough of the trainer meals to last him for a few weeks. He would also sooner eat twigs and berries. Not to mention that the only Pokémon food he had was a small bag of the general brand, and that would only feed a single Pokémon for two more days.

Focusing on the Pokémon food first, Ash grabbed two large bags of the general Pokémon food, as well as a large bag each of the poison and water-type blends. Depending on the Pokémon, a large bag of Pokémon food would last anywhere from a week and a half, to 3 days. Or three seconds if the Pokémon in question was a Snorlax.

From Ash's own, admittedly limited, experience Salmissra only needed to eat one generous helping of food a day, less if she hadn't exerted herself much. Independent study on his pokédex confirmed this. And Abyss, being an ethereal ghost-type, didn't actually need food. Though he might grab a few pellets every so often if he got curious.

Neptune would be the heaviest eater, as the breed packed on fat in order to survive the intense chill of their native environment. But mixing the bag of general food with the water-type mix would last him enough for Ash to get through the forest. That left a single bag of the general feed for emergencies, or if he caught another Pokémon.

Of course, all of this prep would come to naught if Ash's Pokémon caught their own food in the wild, as Ash intended to let them do. Many trainers tried to curb that instinct, thinking that once captured Pokémon should behave more 'civilized'.

Ash came from an older school of thought, believing that having Pokémon hunt for their own food instilled an edge on them that 'properly' raised Pokémon just didn't have. Interestingly, it wasn't Professor Oak who instilled that mindset into Ash. It was his mother. Ash couldn't prove anything, but he was convinced Deliah Ketchum used to be a trainer. Though what happened to make it so that she never breathed a word of it to him, as well as what happened to most of her team, Ash didn't know.

Regardless of his mother's (unconfirmed) past, Ash had been taught at her knee that it was wrong to suppress a Pokémon's instinct to hunt for itself. Not only did it help relieve a trainer's perpetually-strained budget, but it denied a Pokémon a part of itself. And, in case said Pokémon ever got separated from their trainer, the ability to hunt or gather for itself would ensure its continued survival.

And as for whether or not being able to fend for themselves made a Pokémon stronger? Well all Ash had to do was recall the time that Delia's sole Pokémon, a Mr. Mime, had single-handedly erected and maintained a barrier that covered well over 300ft and defended dozens of Pallet Town citizens when a large swarm of Fearow had altered their migration route to go right through Pallet Town. Ash had watched hundreds of attacks bounce off of that invisible barrier for almost an hour until several of Oak's Pokémon had finally run off the flock. And it still helped clean and repair buildings for hours afterword.

That incident was permanently engraved in Ash's mind. Psychic strength of that caliber would be rare even among Sabrina's team, and she specialized in the type! After that, any scrap of training advice Delia tossed his way he eagerly followed. Anything from actual advice to offhand comments, Ash devoured as he made his plans for his journey. This was also what cemented the thought that she was a former trainer, though Oak had refused to let him have access to the trainer records database.

Shaking his head to break him from his thoughts, Ash moved on. Food for his team was taken care of, now he needed some for himself. The instant trainer rations he had were horrendous. And while they were nutritionally balanced and would probably outlast Kanto itself, Ash would give serious thought to starving first.

Taking a look at the food fit for human consumption, carefully avoiding the dusty FEED (Fully Enriched Energizing Rations) bags that lined one of the shelves, Ash grabbed a few bags of dried jerky as well as some bags of rice and porridge. Picking up some freeze-dried mixed veggies as well, Ash was now fully-stocked and ready to turn his attention to the small and almost unassuming display located near the front of the store.

Inside a simple display of hinged tempered glass lay the unassuming rows of disks that could instantaneously teach Pokémon moves that would otherwise take them weeks to learn. Divided by type and arranged by single and continuous-use, they sat there for any enterprising trainer to peruse and buy. Well, any trainer that could afford them.

Luckily, a near-death experience and the quick wits to haggle over it had left Ash with the credit to buy a couple of TMs even with the supplies he was buying.

Leaning over the case, Ash looked over the selection. While Viridian City certainly received more commerce than most towns due to being a gateway to the Indigo Plateau, it was still too small and the wrong season for the store to have more than a few of most types. Still, it was bound to have a few that could be of use to Ash.

Bending over to examine the writing on the disks, Ash's gaze instantly focused on one in particular. With a bright purple stripe to distinguish its typing, the Toxic TM almost seemed to beckon the young trainer. A potent move that could bring down even the mightiest Pokémon if given enough time to work, its biggest disadvantage was both the time it took to circulate in a Pokémon's system and how it poisoned the battlefield it was used on. Luckily, the poison only last for a few minutes when not circulating in a living system. Otherwise it'd be banned so that poison-type trainers didn't accidently ruin wide swathes of land while training.

Ash was going to get it. With two poison types on his team, he'd be stupid not to get something like this. The only question was, single use and have one teach it to the other? Or permanent and use it on both? Ash didn't exactly plan to get many more Pokémon that could use it, so permanent might be impractical. But the permanent one meant that Salmissra and Abyss would be able to practice it on each other.

Leaving it to mull over in the back of his mind, Ash's gaze next settled on one with a light-blue stripe, denoting its icy typing. Ice Beam, the move that he had casually snarked at Gary with. Ash was honestly surprised to see it here. It was a higher-level move, and while it wouldn't be out of place in Celadon or Saffron City malls, it was certainly out of place in Viridian. Especially when it was nowhere near tournament time, where trainers would take advantage of their passing through the town on their way to the Indigo Plateau to grab some TMs as a last-minute power up. The only thing Ash could figure was that it was a leftover of the last tournament season. It was a single-use, but that suited Ash just fine as he only had one Pokémon that could use the move anyway.

So, Toxic and Ice Beam. Single-use TMs were 6,000 yen each, so those two single use TMs alone would eat up a third of his budget. But the Ice Beam was listed as 8,000, likely marked up due to it being rare to find outside of big cities. So, 14,000 yen, not including Ash's groceries. Ash did some quick tallying. All of his supplies and groceries equaled up to almost 11,000 yen.

Ash grimaced, the price for the permanent-use Toxic TM was 12,000 yen. Literally twice the price of the single-use. But Ash couldn't deny its usefulness. Not only did he have two poison types that could greatly benefit from it, but a good number of grass types could learn it as well, especially the ones native to Kanto which typically had a poison subtyping. Ash didn't intend to specialize, but not taking advantage would be foolish. Making his mind up to get the permanent version, Ash returned to the front of the store.

Bringing his items to the register, Ash told the employee about his desired TMs so that they could get them from the locked case.

"So someone's finally getting that Ice Beam TM huh?" The storekeeper said conversationally as he retrieved said TM from the case along with its Toxic counterpart.

"Yeah," Ash said, digging the voucher the Jenny had given him out of his pocket in preparation. "I was honestly surprised to see it. Even during tournament time, it can't be a common sale item. Ice Beam's powerful and versatile, but even with a TM you need time to refine it for battle."

"It was a special order." The shopkeep explained, ringing it up along with Ash's other items and putting them all into some bags. "Trainer was going to pick it up a couple of weeks before the last tournament, but got his cocky ass handed to him in a battle and lost the money to pay for it. Speaking of money, 30,700 for the lot." The shopkeep shrugged as if to say 'such is life' as Ash handed him the voucher, along with some actual money to cover the difference.

The shopkeep eyed the piece of paper suspiciously, as if he thought Ash would try something, before his eyes lit up in recognition. "So that cranky flatfoot's still cashin' in on my generosity, huh?" He said, crumbling up the paper and tossing it into a nearby trashcan and putting the actual money in the register. "Well, it's all paid for kid. Though out of curiosity, how'd Jenny end up owing you such an amount? It's not unusual for her to toss around a few credit offers. She likes to play a little loose with the rules and free shit smoothes over people's irritation. But she's never offered this much before."

Ash thought back to that night, less than a week ago. How one Jenny tried to kill him, how the other one intervened and bribed him for his silence on the matter. Should he talk about it? Fabricate a story? Stay silent? Moment's passed like minutes with Ash deliberating under the storekeeper's gaze.

Eventually, Ash shrugged his shoulders. He had taken that bribe in exchange for silence. And that's what he would give. He was a man of his word after all. "Sorry, but it's between me and her." Ash said as honestly as possible, not disclosing the details but undoubtedly stoking the storekeeper's curiosity.

The man frowned a little, but quickly brightened back up. "Well, I guess I'll just have to badger her about it later. You come back in again young man. And next time, pay for all of it with real money please!"

Ash chuckled as he grabbed his bags, making his way out of the store and back onto his path to Viridian Forest.

Stopping only to properly store his groceries in his poképack, Ash soon stood at the exit of Viridian City.

Well, the exit had actually been a fair few meters before where he was. But this was where the paved road gave way once more to dirt and rocks.

Deciding that it was time, Ash unclipped all three of his filled pokéballs from his belt and threw them into the air, unleashing their occupants in three blinding flashes of scarlet light.

Neptune growled and shook his head before giving his surroundings a quick check, still unused to the pokéball and how its stasis made it disorienting when coming out. Salmissra, who was used to pokéballs having been bred in captivity, merely stretched out before slithering towards Ash. Abyss, on the other hand, didn't appear immediately. Remaining from sight for a few moments, the Gastly slowly phased into sight while letting out a haunting chuckle.

To their credit, Salmissra's and Neptune's reactions were immediate.

Abyss suddenly found itself bobbing and weaving, dodging the hail of Poison Stings and Water Guns that were being lobbed at it with decent accuracy.

Making a mental note to devote some time to accuracy training that evening, Ash decided to step in and stop the brewing situation before it got out of hand.

"STOP!" Ash shouted, stepping forward to get his Pokémon's attention but making certain to keep a certain distance so as not to get hit by any stray attacks.

Again, to Salmissra's credit, the snake Pokémon stopped immediately. Neptune, on the other hand, ignored Ash as it continued to shoot Water Guns at Abyss. That is, until Salmissra gave its head a quick whip with her tail to get his attention. Neptune glared at Salmissra, but backed down. She had earned his respect in their battle so he would obey her, for now.

No longer being attacked, Abyss settled down colder to the ground, hazy form bobbing along as he chuckled and chortled, seemingly unaffected by the sudden assault.

"All right team." Ash began, addressing the trio. "First off, Salmissra and Neptune. I know that the two of you know that I was to meet Giovanni today. The meeting went well, and as a result of it Giovanni saw fit to reward me. Which brings us towards our newest member, Abyss."

Ash paused to nod his head at the floating Gastly, who took advantage of the attention on it to break into another round of ghoulish laughter.

"According to Giovanni," Ash began, focusing back on the other two Pokémon. "Abyss here was a former Team Rocket Pokémon which had been used on the attack on Viridian. I would like to state though, that he was unwilling. He was forcibly taught a hyper destructive move and was also forced to use it."

Salmissra, whose rattle had begun to shake threateningly, reluctantly began to calm down. Though she did give the all-to-happy ghost type a side-eye. He seemed good-natured enough, but after that first night in Viridian Salmissra was very leery about anything to do with that heinous group.

"Despite his origins, Giovanni deemed him safe enough to give to me as a reward for both defending the center, and fingering the Rocket agents in charge of the attack." Ash looked both Salmissra and Neptune in the eye. "Can I trust the two of you to work together with him?"

Salmissra nodded, albeit reluctantly. She didn't trust the ghost-type's origins, but she trusted Ash enough that she was willing to put up with him, for now.

Neptune just growled before giving a slight incline of his head. He didn't know or care about this 'Team Rocket', but he'd work with this unknown. At least, unless it dragged him down.

Ash noted Salmissra's reluctance and Neptune's apathy before sighing. "Well, at least they're not flinging attacks at each other anymore." Ash thought to himself. "Gotta count my blessings there at least."

"All right…" Ash said, pulling out his pokédex. "We're going to be heading into the Viridian forest on our way to Pewter City for the next couple of weeks. Normally I'd wait until we camp to scan your moves Abyss, but since there's a chance of wild Pokémon attacking I'd feel better checking on those now."

That said, Ash pointed the red device at Abyss. An invisible infrared beam shot out, scanning the Gastly and analyzing it before the results appeared on the screen.

Gastly, the Poison Gas Pokémon

This Pokémon's body is 95% made up of gases. When exposed to a strong wind, the gaseous body quickly dwindles away. It wraps its opponent in its gas-like body, slowly weakening its prey by poisoning it through the skin. It's said that the remaining 5% is made up of the souls of those who died from the gas. Said to appear in decrepit, deserted buildings.

This Gastly is male and knows the moves Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, and Explosion. It has the egg move Thunder Punch. It possesses the ability Levitate.

Ash frowned at the results. Abyss was clearly still in its earlier stages of development, fully half of its moves were ones that Gastly knew almost from the beginning. Luckily, it had an egg move like Salmissra. Bonus, it was one that would be effective against the various bug-types found in the forest.

"Would you mind demonstrating Thunder Punch for me Abyss?" Ash asked the patiently bobbing ghost Pokémon.

"Ga-a-astly!" Abyss responded, a small portion of its gaseous body separating from the mass that made up its form. Almost immediately, arcs of electricity began arcing around the clump of gas as the smell of ozone filled the air. "GASTLY!" Abyss shouted, throwing the clump at a nearby tree.

Surprisingly, the lightning-coated ball of gas seemed to have more mass than readily apparent as the tree shuddered slightly from the impact. Though close inspection revealed that aside from a few cracks and burn marks, the tree was largely unharmed.

"…So that's how you can use Thunder Punch if you don't have hands." Ash muttered to himself before shaking his head and focusing on Abyss. "Ok Abyss, I'm not gonna lie. That Thunder Punch was… Underwhelming. But it's good enough to use to stun an enemy."

Abyss seemingly shrunk in on himself, letting out a low moan before bouncing back up with a huge grin on its face. It looked like the ghost-type was taking the criticism well.

"All right team, let's go!" Ash said. "Sal, Neptune, Abyss, I want the three of you out of your balls for right now. Walking along like this is good to build up stamina, and even with your speed techniques two of your species aren't quite known for speed so it's good to work on that early."

Neptune glared at Ash while Abyss chortled, but both nodded as Ash put his pokédex away and started walking along the trail.

Same as the time leading up to Viridian, Ash alternated between letting his Pokémon out to increase their stamina, and keeping them in their pokéballs to allow them to rest. In addition, while he had them out, Ash would have them working on some of their moves. Salmissra would practice with her Poison Sting, Neptune with his Water Gun and Ice Shard, and Abyss with his Thunder Punch. The idea was to increase the speed with which they could shoot off the move, as well as the accuracy. Their targets would be objects that Ash would randomly point out on the road, with Ash time how long it would take for them to attack and how many shots it took to hit.

Of course, Abyss's on the road training was a bit different. Ash would have the jovial ghost-type alternate between Night Shade and Thunder Punch. And instead of speed, Ash had Abyss working on the strength of his Thunder Punch. It barely had the strength of a Thunder Wave currently, and Ash intended to get it to a good strength before he had to use it in the bug-infested Viridian Forest.

As they practiced, Ash's Pokémon showed the typical Pokémon's aptitude for rapid improvement. Not to say that that Neptune was squirting out Hydro Pumps, or that Abyss was generating miniature thunderstorms, or that Salmissra was darkening the sky with her poison-coated stingers. But throughout the course of the day, improvement could definitely be seen, minor though it seemed.

It was a well-known scientific fact that due to the unique structure of the underlying genetic code shared by all Pokémon that their bodies could rapidly adapt to changing conditions. Muscle built quicker, speed and stamina increased at high rates, and their bodies became more rugged and durable to handle the stress of their moves. And of course, to tank the moves of others. This meant that while for a human such as Ash, it would take weeks or months to improve to the same point that a Pokémon could do in days.

Already, Ash could see that Salmissra was a little bit faster and could follow him for longer than when he first got her. Abyss's Thunder Punches were making the trees shudder just a little bit more, the char on the bark spreading and penetrating deeper. Neptune's improvement could be seen in that not quite as much water splashed out when he used Water Gun. While Ash made sure they all hydrated frequently, Neptune was still well away from the type of watery environment that would allow him to be more wasteful with his internal reservoir. This meant that in order to achieve the same results, Neptune was having to use less water.

The road was long, and despite how close the forest was to Viridian City itself Ash had still yet to reach the main bulk of it by the time the sun began to set. Luckily, Ash managed to find an area next to a small stream that seemed to feed into the forest to set up camp. Letting his Pokemon out to relax or hunt as they desired, Ash began to set up camp. Neptune immediately dived into the stream, of course. Ash could see glimpses of him as he cavorted, and occasionally Ash could see a flash of color as it became apparent that Neptune was indeed hunting for his meal.

Salmissra, on the other hand, seemed content to wait until Ash set out her food bowl. Ash set out one for Neptune as well anyways, in case he decided he needed more or if his hunting trip was not quite as successful as the impression Ash had been getting. Ash also tossed a couple bits of the Poison-type Pokémon food in the air for Abyss to catch, which the Ghost-type did with good humor, even if it probably didn't need it.

Camp set and Pokémon fed, Ash settled down and built up a campfire so that he could cook his own food. Soon, Ash's Pokemon finished eating, with Neptune only taking a bite or two from his bowl. While he cooked, Ash had them practicing again. No stamina or speed drills, purely technique work as Ash had Salmissra practice Acid and Neptune worked on Aqua Ring and Ice Shard. Ash had wanted to wait until they were stationary to practice these moves, since they were still new to his team and he figured it'd be easier for them to figure the moves out if they weren't focusing on moving at the same time.

Abyss worked on Night Shade and Thunder Punch as normal, as all of his other techniques were status-afflicting aside from Explosion. And Ash was not practicing that without supervision.

The training was light, more a cool-down though Neptune seemed to go at it with his usual ferocity. Ash had settled down with his meal and was occasionally giving out instructions or tips to his Pokémon, in between bites of the stew he had made for his dinner. Quickly demolishing his bowl, Ash reached for dessert. In reality, it was something of a group dessert. Some berries for his Pokémon to enjoy, and a large pear for Ash.

Telling his team to stop training and enjoy the treats, Ash scattered the berries for his team and brought his pear to his mouth for a bite. At that moment though, a scream pitched through the air. It was not the scream of a human though, it was the high-pitched yet throaty warble of a bird-type Pokémon.

Jerking back instinctively, Ash managed to not get a face full of feathers as the Pokémon that emitted the cry swooped down out of seemingly nowhere and stole the fruit from Ash's hands.

Recovering quickly from the shock of what had happened, Ash began barking out orders. "Salmissra! To me! Abyss, Mean Look! Neptune, try to shoot it down!"

Ash's Pokémon instantly complied, Salmissra slithering over to Ash to protect him from any additional attacks and Neptune tracking and shooting Water Guns at the dark blur. Abyss though, his eyes glowed bright red as the air around him took on an ominous quality. From behind Abyss, a giant purple eye seemed to materialize and opened wide. Instantly, an ominous opaque smoke seemed to line the clearing. There was a startled squawk as the mystery Pokémon ran into the barrier, bouncing off of it.

The Pokémon turned back and squawked angrily at Abyss, and Ash got his first good look at it.

Its feathers were long and dark, though a bit unruly. Especially near the top of its head, where the unruly feathers joined together in a large mess that almost seemed to resemble a hat or crown of some kind. A large, curved yellow beak rested below twin red eyes that stared at the group accusingly. From its large claws, Ash's dessert still hung.

"MURkrow!" The Pokémon, Murkrow shouted out at the group. Ash looked at the Pokémon, and something stirred in him. This Pokémon was challenging them. Well, right now it was chastising them for preventing it from getting away with its ill-gotten prize. But by attempting to make off with that prize in the first place, the challenge had been made. And Ash intended to deliver.

"Neptune!" Ash called out, designating the Seel as the Pokemon that would be battling. "Water Gun!"

Neptune obeyed immediately, a blast of high-pressure water erupting from its mouth and aimed towards the crow Pokémon. Said Pokémon immediately took alight, the Water Gun missing it but the takeoff making it drop the fruit. In a surprise move, the Murkrow flew straight to Neptune, its wings glowing a sinister purple as it slapped Neptune in the face. The Astonish, for the was the only move it could have been, caused Neptune to flinch back, give the Murkrow time to use Haze.

Immediately, tendrils of fog gathered. Opaque white filled the area, cutting down on the visibility and making it more difficult for Neptune to aim.

"Neptune! Try to find it as best as you can and use Water Pulse!" Ash ordered. Eyes superior to a human's and with the addition of being designed to hunt in murky waters, Neptune was able to get an approximate location of the Murkrow and obeyed Ash in firing out a Water Pulse. Starting out as a condensed ball of water, the ball expanded out into a ring as it sailed through the air. A startled squawk and the immediate lessening of the Haze showed that Neptune had managed to get a hit in.

But as the air cleared, it became apparent that the attack had only clipped the Murkrow as it was still fighting-fit, hovering in the air with little signs of effort.

"Krow!" The Murkrow screamed, once more making its way to Neptune. Again, its wings glowed, though this time it was a simple white glow.

Recognizing the move as Wing Attack, Ash began to give Neptune his commands. "Give it a close up Icy Wind! And throw in a Headbutt if it's still close enough!"

Giving an affirmative bark, the Seel let out a long breath composed of frost. This frost coated the Murkrow, weighing down its wings and causing it to shiver in the plummeting temperature. Its slowed reaction time allowed Neptune to follow through with the ordered headbutt. But quick thinking on the Murkrow's part had its beat glowing with the same white energy that its wings had been, and with a cry it bashed said beak against Neptune as the Seel impacted against the Murkrow.

The pair separated, the Murkrow on the ground and now clearly pained and a thin line of red along the side of Neptune's body showed that the Murkrow's Peck attack had gotten through.

"Water Gun! One more time!" Ash commanded, with Neptune immediately shooting out a stream of water at the tired flying type.

The Murkrow dodged, but not at the same speed as before. Clearly tired, the Water Gun clipped its wing as it began taking off, causing it to land back on the ground.

This time without waiting for Ash's input, Neptune used its Water Gun/Icy Wind combo to shoot a straight line to the Murkrow, impacting it with another Headbutt.

Detaching one of the pokéballs from his belt, Ash weighed it in his hand for a moment and threw it at the down Pokémon. The Murkrow disappeared in a burst of crimson light, its condensed energy being sucked into the red and white sphere. The center button glowed angrily as the ball rocked, the Pokémon's willpower trying to override the ball's mechanisms. But the Murkrow was too exhausted, and with a chime the pokéball finished recording the Murkrow's data.

The purple barrier caused by Abyss's mean look dissipated, the Pokémon it was meant to hold no longer being in the area. At least, not in physical form. Neptune chuffed proudly and Salmissra slithered over, offering her own congratulations. Abyss's hysterical laughter echoed through their campsight as Ash walked over and grabbed the pokéball containing the first Pokémon to be caught with nothing but his and his team's power, the first Pokémon not given to him. The first indication that Ash had the ability to catch Pokémon as a trainer.

"Yes! I caught a Murkrow!" Ash shouted out in celebration, holding the ball out for his team to examine as they all celebrated. To the side, the innocuous fruit that had started the confrontation lay forgotten as they celebrated the capture of their latest teammate.

So that was chapter 09. Everyone, give a big hand to Ace of Hate! A new reader whose simple review inspired me to blaze through the last bit of this story to finally present ya'll with a new chapter! Now some might wonder why Ash has not yet given his team the TMs he had bought. The answer is simple, he wants them to finish the moves they're already working on. Salmissra's still working on Iron Tail and only just started on Acid, and Neptune's also learning two new moves at the same time. The idea of how Pokémon develop faster than humans is an idea from a different story, though I can't immediately place which one. If anyone wants, I can expand on it a bit more next chapter which hopefully won't take a year and a half. Also, first Pokémon! Well, first one that Ash has caught. I tried to give it a bit of gravity since this is literally the first Pokémon not literally handed to him. Probably didn't come across that well considering how I rushed the fight scene. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll wrap this up and hopefully it won't take nearly as long to get Chapter 10 up and running! So on to review replies!

shaowtala: I'm glad that you like my writing! I've been tried to strike that balance between detail and not having the story drag on. Good to know it's been working so far!

Monxu Aki: Obviously this is its own story and not all of the 'canon' Team Rocket events between the anime and the manga will be happening, but some of them will be. As for how soon, I'll not say. ;) And as for Giovanni's sense of humor, I imagine him as being the type of guy to have a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor, the kind that you're not entirely certain is a joke until he starts chuckling himself. That makes people think he's very serious when in all reality no one gets his sense of humor.

Silverleone: Once again, I'm glad that people (like yourself) are reading the stories I recommend and are enjoying them! As for Giovanni's plans for Ash, he genuinely hopes to leave Ash out of future dealings with Team Rocket. But he also has the feeling that might not happen so he's preparing him by giving him Abyss.

Uvuvwevwevwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwe: I thank you very much for your kind words an encouragement! I once again apologize that this update took so long but its reviews like yours that make me enjoy writing, no longer how long it takes!

nick: Awfully demanding, aren't you? But I see no reason not to answer. In order: 1. Primarily, it's about Ash having a team of Pokémon that have evil reputations or having good reputationed Pokémon with dark dispositions. It could also be about how Ash is becoming morally grey because of his choices in his team, such as when he accepted that payoff so as not to raise a stink over that one Officer Jenny trying to kill him. 2. All the major cities in the game, obviously. A few of the minor locations from the anime as well. And I'll be branching into other regions eventually too. 3. No, I can not. 4. Many familiar faces will be seen, all the gym leaders and elite 4. Minor characters will be seen as well, but I'm afraid I can't be too specific as I'm still trying to decide which arcs to keep and which to discard. 5. Ash is 15, Brock and Misty are both older. I'd put Misty at about 17 and Brock 21 or 22. Giovanni would be in his late thirties, with Deliah being a few years younger. Everyone else, you'll need to wait and see. And I aged everyone up because it really made no sense to just let a 10 year old loose in the wild for months/years. At the very least, I'd imagine that would need to be at a point where they've already passed puberty and have the necessary strength, knowledge, and skills to survive without running into two gym leaders willing to travel with you within a week of your journey.

Gouravsilentreader: It's a bit late, but I hope you stayed safe too.

Ace of Hate: It was your review that got me to open up this story again and get it posted. A pat on the back for you!

And that's it! And now, for the story recommendation! And I choose... A story not on this website! The website is Archive Of Our Own. Some of you might recognize it, some might not. The story in question is Pity of the World by appending_fic! It's a great story of where Jessie and James meet each other as children (with Jessie being a cousin to Jessabelle, James's crazy fiance) and run away from home. Instead of joining Team Rocket, they become something akin to vigilantes, stealing abused Pokémon from their cruel owners and taking them to safe homes. They meet up with Ash at the same point in canon and decide to stick with the poor, clueless kid and help him out instead of Misty joining him. Includes an Ash that can instinctively use aura to communicate with Pokémon, though that doesn't happen for a while, a genderfluid James (FINALLY an explanation for all the crossdressing!), and a Meowth that's coming to terms with the fact that this twerp ain't so bad. Also, Susanoo, Thunder God. Three guesses who that is!

And that's all for now! Hopefully won't be too long before I see ya'll next! Night!

Edit: A couple of people have asked for a list of Ash's team as they've forgotten which Pokémon he actually has because of how long it's been since my previous post. So below is a list!

Ash's Pokemon:

Ekans - Salmissra

Seel - Neptune

Gastly - Abyss

Murkrow - ?