"Now, Ash, I won't keep you from doing what you want to do, but are you absolutely sure that this is a good idea?" Professor Oak asked, staring at the young trainer in front of him. The Pokémon Professor's misgivings were written clearly on his face.

"I don't know if it's a good idea," the youth answered, "but I'm gonna do it. No matter what."

"Piiika," pleaded the little yellow Pokémon on Ash's shoulders. The mouse turned to Samuel Oak in distress, begging the Professor to change his trainer's mind.

"It'll be okay, Pikachu," Ash tried to reassure him.

Professor Oak thought for a moment before speaking. He didn't think letting Ash go with the Houndour was wise at all, but he had a feeling in his gut that it was important for Ash to follow through with this. Why? Samuel Oak did not know. The gut feeling just persisted. "Do you want to take Starmie with you?" The Starmie wasn't exactly his, but he was sure its trainer wouldn't miss it too much.

Ash thought for a moment. Having Starmie along to translate would be rather handy, but he didn't want that obstacle in the way. He preferred to learn to communicate with his Pokémon on his own. "No," he answered firmly.

Helloo? Pikachu protested, waving his arms in front of his trainer's face.

"I still don't know about this, Ash," Professor Oak said unsurely. "You could get hurt again..."

"It's a chance I'm willing to take!" Ash said. He was beginning to get a little annoyed.

"And what if she tries to hurt someone else?" Professor Oak pointed out.

"Pikachu and I won't let that happen. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika," Pikachu turned his head aside in rejection. He was not a happy electric mouse.

"Don't worry, Professor Oak," the youth stated. "Things'll turn out all right. You'll see."

"I do hope so, Ash." Professor Oak turned. "Here is Houndour's Pokéball. Please be careful...And I wouldn't advertise the fact that you're taking Houndour with you to your mother just yet."

Ash nodded, a slight grin on his face. "I'm not gonna let anyone know until after we've left Pallet Town tomorrow. Pikachu won't tell anyone, right, buddy?"

Pikachu ignored him, jumping onto the ground. He crossed his arms. "Pikachu," he said frustratedly.


"Before we leave, I'm gonna go get my Pokémon," Ash told his mother and his friends. "I'll be right back."

Bulbasaur followed him, singing to himself, "Bul-ba, bul-ba..."

Pikachu, now left alone with the three humans, quickly set to work. "Pika pika!" he said frantically, getting their attention. He pointed to the door where Ash had just left, then he pulled at his face and tried to make his face resemble Houndour's.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Misty asked, puzzled.

Seeing that wasn't working, Pikachu pulled at his ears and shortened them, then tried to make his face look like Houndour's without the aid of his hands. "Ka ka!" Pikachu barked as well as he could.

Delia laughed. "Such a silly little Pikachu."

Scowling, Pikachu tried to bend his tail to make his short like Houndour's, and he tried barking again.

"It looks like Pikachu's ready to get on the road," Brock laughed.

"Pi," Pikachu sweat-dropped. He mumbled angrily to himself, Stupid humans.


Ash visited Squirtle in Professor Oak's laboratory first. "Hey, Squirtle, you ready to go?"

"Squirtle!" the turtle said.

Ash held out Squirtle's Pokéball, and the turtle disappeared with a flash of light. He turned to Bulbasaur. "You ready to go back into your Pokéball yet?" he asked.

"Bulba," the Grass-Type nodded. Soon, he disappeared as well.

The next Pokémon Ash got was Muk, who was very happy to see him again. Charizard, on the other hand, was not happy at all to see him, and after getting the Fire-Type into his Pokéball Ash was more than slightly charred. Ash's many Tauros and his Kingler were sad to see him go, but they knew they would see him again.

Ash's last stop was Houndour.

"I'm here," Ash stated.

"Houndour," the canine snorted, and Ash thought he sensed a bit of sarcasm in her speech. However, beneath the sarcasm he felt like he could sense Houndour's surprise that he was really going through with it all.

"Uh, first off, do you mind Pokéballs?"

Houndour threw him a vicious glare.

"I'll take that as a no," Ash muttered. "Well," he said, smiling nervously, "you'll have to be in one at first until we leave Pallet Town, and then I'll let you out and you won't have to back inside...Is that okay?" He held his breath, crossing his fingers behind his back.

The Dark Pokémon stared at him a few moments before inclining her head in agreement. Yes.

"Great!" Ash said, beaming. "Oh, uh, one more thing..."

Houndour looked at him.

"The moment I saw you, I had a nickname for you, but after everything that happened, I never got to give it you...I was wondering, if you'd...well, you know, if you'd...let me call you...Flamekist." Ash seemed hopeful, his brown eyes wide.

The canine gave him a suspicious look. That name sounds almost familiar...

Ash only got pieces of what she said, but he was able to discern her meaning. What she said sparked his memories of a time many years ago.

"Heya, sport," a deep voice said. It was accompanied by a long, strong arm that came down and ruffled the dark hair on young Ash's hair. "Watchin' Pokémon Justice League again, I see."

Little Ash smiled up at his father. The show was new, and it was Ash's favorite. He loved seeing all the Pokémon protect people from harm. His father knew that he liked the show, and whenever he could, he watched it with him.

"That Flamekist's a beauty, isn't she?"

The boy nodded. "I want a Pokémon like her. A dog that can fire people."

The man laughed, a pleasant sound. Eyes twinkling, he said, "A dog that can fire people, huh? Maybe someday you'll get one of those."

Young Ash brightened. If his father said it, it was usually so.

Ash shook his head, clearing away the memory. Softly, he told Houndour, "Flamekist was my favorite character on the television show Pokémon Justice League..."

Houndour stared at him for a minute. Finally, she sighed in acquiescence. All right.

"Great!" Ash said, grinning widely. "Well, you'd better go into the ball now, but I'll be seeing you soon." She nodded, and he threw her Pokéball at her. A few minutes later, after saying goodbye to Professor Oak, he was on the way back to his house, where an angry Pikachu, a saddened mother, and two ready friends were waiting for him.