"Chapter 2: Back in Action"
"I'm home!" Ash said as he walked through the front door and threw his books to the floor. Pikachu jumped up into Ash's arms to greet his friend.
"Hi honey," his mom said from the living room.
"No time to talk, Mom. I'm going over to Professor Oak's house!"
"Okay honey, be home before dinner."
Ash barely heard her as he and Pikachu were already out the door and on the way to Professor Oak's lab. When Ash got there, he pressed the button for the doorbell. It rang, but no one answered.
"Strange," he said, pressing it again. After no one answered again, he tried the door and found it was unlocked.
"Hello?" he said, going in, wandering down the hallway that connected to the front door. "Anybody home?"
"Pikachu?" Pikachu called as well. They both stopped when the heard a quiet rumbling.
"What in the world was that?" Ash wondered aloud. He turned the right, the direction he thought he heard the noise come from, and suddenly saw a giant Pokémon running down the hallway right at him.
"No, stop!" Ash shouted, but it was too late, as Meganium collided with him, knocking Ash to the ground.
"I'm happy to see you too, Meganium," he said to his Pokémon, slowly getting back on his feet. "Where is everybody?"
Meganium led Ash and Pikachu out to the backyard, where all of Ash's other Pokémon swarmed around to greet him.
"Whoa, hey guys!" Ash exclaimed, giving all his Pokémon hugs. Ash looked up to see Professor Oak, the Professor's grandson, Gary Oak, and the Professor's assistant, Tracey Sketchit.
"Your mother phoned ahead and told me you were coming," Professor Oak said. "I just had to let them out to see you."
"Thanks, Professor," Ash said.
"Hiya, Ash" Gary said.
"Hey Gary!" Ash said, greeting his former rival. "How's the studying going? Still buried in Pokemon books, I assume."
"Becoming a Pokémon Researcher isn't a piece of cake, but when you've got the world's greatest teacher as your own grandfather, it goes a little easier. Believe me, I'll be a professor in no time."
"I figured as much. How are you, Tracey?"
"I'm great Ash," Tracey said. "Good to see you and Pikachu are doing well."
"Since your Pokémon are already here, care for a battle, Ash?" Gary asked.
Ash's eyes lit up. He hadn't had an actual Pokémon battle in the longest time, and he was just dying for one.
"You're on!" Ash said. "I may be a little rusty, but I still think I can take you."
"We'll see about that," said Gary, confident as always. Ash looked over his Pokémon and thought about which one he should use against Gary.
"I know," he said. "I choose Charizard!" Charizard gave a loud road and took its place beside Ash.
"Think you can beat Charizard this time?" Ash asked.
"Just watch me," Gary said, taking out a PokéBall. "I've got the perfect Pokémon for this battle. Go!"
Gary threw the PokéBall before Ash, and a Ditto materialized out of it.
"A Ditto?!" Ash exclaimed. "I never even knew you had one."
"Surprise is a key element in Pokémon battles, Ashy. Let's see if your Charizard can handle a battle against itself. Ditto, Transform!"
Ditto transformed its body into a mirror image of Ash's Charizard.
"Make your move, Ash." Gary said.
"You asked for it," Ash said. "Charizard, Flamethrower now!"
Charizard sent a massive streak of flames at Ditto, but the copy Pokémon quickly took off into the air, avoiding the attack.
"After it!" Ash ordered. Charizard blasted off into the sky and straight into Ditto, ramming it hard.
"No copy is quicker than the original," Ash said.
"Maybe so," Gary said, "but there are other ways to win besides speed. Ditto, Aerial Ace now!"
Ditto zipped towards Charizard. Charizard braced for impact, but before anyone knew it, Ditto was gone.
"Watch out!" Ash said, seeing Ditto appear behind Charizard. It was too late, though, as Ditto came out of nowhere and clipped Charizard with its wings. Charizard was sent spinning out of control and straight into the ground. Ditto landed a short distance away.
"Get up, Charizard!" Ash shouted. Charizard rose to its feet and prepared to attack.
"Let's match fire vs. fire, shall we Ash?" Gary suggested.
"Fine with me," Ash replied. "Charizard, Fire Blast!"
"Ditto, Fire Blast!"
The two fire attacks met head-on, both burning with intense heat. Charizard tried to push its flames harder, but Ditto would not give in, matching Charizard's determination.
"Plan B, Charizard," Ash said. Charizard stopped shooting its fire attack and leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding Ditto's oncoming attack. It then flew straight down towards Ditto, swooping behind it and grabbing it under the arms.
"No!" Gary shouted.
"Bet you didn't see that one coming," Ash laughed. "Finish it off with Aerial Submission!"
Charizard flew straight up into the air, still holding onto Ditto who struggled to try and break free. Charizard began to spin rapidly. The spinning quickly left Ditto confused and unable to mount a counterattack. Quickly seizing the opportunity, Charizard flung its foe down to the ground, where it hit the earth hard, sending a cloud of dust into the air. When the dust settled, Ditto has reverted back to its original form, defeated.
"Ditto can no longer battle," Tracey announced. "Ash and Charizard are the winners!"
Gary recalled Ditto to its PokéBall and walked up to shake Ash's hand.
"Guess you've still got it," Gary said.
"You too," Ash complimented, shaking his hand. "Great battle." Ash suddenly sensed someone was watching him. He turned around to see Brock and Misty standing in the porch doorway.
"About time you got here," Ash said. "How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to see you almost lose that battle," Misty teased, walking over to Ash and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Ash," Brock said. "Long time, no see."
"I know," Ash said, shaking his friend's hand. "It's been some time since we've all been together like this."
"KachuPi!" Pikachu exclaimed, jumping up into Misty's arms.
"Hi Pikachu," Misty said, delighted to see the Pokemon. "How are you?"
"We should probably head back to your place, Ash," Brock said. "Your mom told us to make sure you came back for dinner."
"Figures," Ash said. His attention quickly shifted to Pikachu, as he noticed its ears were heightened, as if Pikachu sensed danger.
"What is it, Pikachu?" he asked. Pikachu hopped out of Misty's grasp and quickly sped off towards another end of the Professor's yard, surprising everyone.
"What's got into Pikachu?" Tracey wondered.
"I don't know," Ash said, "but I think we better find out." They all ran off in the direction Pikachu headed off to. When they found Pikachu, they saw it starting down something. It was a strange Pokémon. A Pokémon none of them had ever seen before...
"I'm home!" Ash said as he walked through the front door and threw his books to the floor. Pikachu jumped up into Ash's arms to greet his friend.
"Hi honey," his mom said from the living room.
"No time to talk, Mom. I'm going over to Professor Oak's house!"
"Okay honey, be home before dinner."
Ash barely heard her as he and Pikachu were already out the door and on the way to Professor Oak's lab. When Ash got there, he pressed the button for the doorbell. It rang, but no one answered.
"Strange," he said, pressing it again. After no one answered again, he tried the door and found it was unlocked.
"Hello?" he said, going in, wandering down the hallway that connected to the front door. "Anybody home?"
"Pikachu?" Pikachu called as well. They both stopped when the heard a quiet rumbling.
"What in the world was that?" Ash wondered aloud. He turned the right, the direction he thought he heard the noise come from, and suddenly saw a giant Pokémon running down the hallway right at him.
"No, stop!" Ash shouted, but it was too late, as Meganium collided with him, knocking Ash to the ground.
"I'm happy to see you too, Meganium," he said to his Pokémon, slowly getting back on his feet. "Where is everybody?"
Meganium led Ash and Pikachu out to the backyard, where all of Ash's other Pokémon swarmed around to greet him.
"Whoa, hey guys!" Ash exclaimed, giving all his Pokémon hugs. Ash looked up to see Professor Oak, the Professor's grandson, Gary Oak, and the Professor's assistant, Tracey Sketchit.
"Your mother phoned ahead and told me you were coming," Professor Oak said. "I just had to let them out to see you."
"Thanks, Professor," Ash said.
"Hiya, Ash" Gary said.
"Hey Gary!" Ash said, greeting his former rival. "How's the studying going? Still buried in Pokemon books, I assume."
"Becoming a Pokémon Researcher isn't a piece of cake, but when you've got the world's greatest teacher as your own grandfather, it goes a little easier. Believe me, I'll be a professor in no time."
"I figured as much. How are you, Tracey?"
"I'm great Ash," Tracey said. "Good to see you and Pikachu are doing well."
"Since your Pokémon are already here, care for a battle, Ash?" Gary asked.
Ash's eyes lit up. He hadn't had an actual Pokémon battle in the longest time, and he was just dying for one.
"You're on!" Ash said. "I may be a little rusty, but I still think I can take you."
"We'll see about that," said Gary, confident as always. Ash looked over his Pokémon and thought about which one he should use against Gary.
"I know," he said. "I choose Charizard!" Charizard gave a loud road and took its place beside Ash.
"Think you can beat Charizard this time?" Ash asked.
"Just watch me," Gary said, taking out a PokéBall. "I've got the perfect Pokémon for this battle. Go!"
Gary threw the PokéBall before Ash, and a Ditto materialized out of it.
"A Ditto?!" Ash exclaimed. "I never even knew you had one."
"Surprise is a key element in Pokémon battles, Ashy. Let's see if your Charizard can handle a battle against itself. Ditto, Transform!"
Ditto transformed its body into a mirror image of Ash's Charizard.
"Make your move, Ash." Gary said.
"You asked for it," Ash said. "Charizard, Flamethrower now!"
Charizard sent a massive streak of flames at Ditto, but the copy Pokémon quickly took off into the air, avoiding the attack.
"After it!" Ash ordered. Charizard blasted off into the sky and straight into Ditto, ramming it hard.
"No copy is quicker than the original," Ash said.
"Maybe so," Gary said, "but there are other ways to win besides speed. Ditto, Aerial Ace now!"
Ditto zipped towards Charizard. Charizard braced for impact, but before anyone knew it, Ditto was gone.
"Watch out!" Ash said, seeing Ditto appear behind Charizard. It was too late, though, as Ditto came out of nowhere and clipped Charizard with its wings. Charizard was sent spinning out of control and straight into the ground. Ditto landed a short distance away.
"Get up, Charizard!" Ash shouted. Charizard rose to its feet and prepared to attack.
"Let's match fire vs. fire, shall we Ash?" Gary suggested.
"Fine with me," Ash replied. "Charizard, Fire Blast!"
"Ditto, Fire Blast!"
The two fire attacks met head-on, both burning with intense heat. Charizard tried to push its flames harder, but Ditto would not give in, matching Charizard's determination.
"Plan B, Charizard," Ash said. Charizard stopped shooting its fire attack and leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding Ditto's oncoming attack. It then flew straight down towards Ditto, swooping behind it and grabbing it under the arms.
"No!" Gary shouted.
"Bet you didn't see that one coming," Ash laughed. "Finish it off with Aerial Submission!"
Charizard flew straight up into the air, still holding onto Ditto who struggled to try and break free. Charizard began to spin rapidly. The spinning quickly left Ditto confused and unable to mount a counterattack. Quickly seizing the opportunity, Charizard flung its foe down to the ground, where it hit the earth hard, sending a cloud of dust into the air. When the dust settled, Ditto has reverted back to its original form, defeated.
"Ditto can no longer battle," Tracey announced. "Ash and Charizard are the winners!"
Gary recalled Ditto to its PokéBall and walked up to shake Ash's hand.
"Guess you've still got it," Gary said.
"You too," Ash complimented, shaking his hand. "Great battle." Ash suddenly sensed someone was watching him. He turned around to see Brock and Misty standing in the porch doorway.
"About time you got here," Ash said. "How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to see you almost lose that battle," Misty teased, walking over to Ash and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Ash," Brock said. "Long time, no see."
"I know," Ash said, shaking his friend's hand. "It's been some time since we've all been together like this."
"KachuPi!" Pikachu exclaimed, jumping up into Misty's arms.
"Hi Pikachu," Misty said, delighted to see the Pokemon. "How are you?"
"We should probably head back to your place, Ash," Brock said. "Your mom told us to make sure you came back for dinner."
"Figures," Ash said. His attention quickly shifted to Pikachu, as he noticed its ears were heightened, as if Pikachu sensed danger.
"What is it, Pikachu?" he asked. Pikachu hopped out of Misty's grasp and quickly sped off towards another end of the Professor's yard, surprising everyone.
"What's got into Pikachu?" Tracey wondered.
"I don't know," Ash said, "but I think we better find out." They all ran off in the direction Pikachu headed off to. When they found Pikachu, they saw it starting down something. It was a strange Pokémon. A Pokémon none of them had ever seen before...