Edited 11/23/22
Go Story! Use New Chapter!
With the rain gone the road to Viridian City was a bit easier. Unfortunately, it was still damp and muddy but there wasn't much they could do about that.
Ash had his illusion back up and was carrying Pikachu. Misty, on the other hand, had tried to transport the charred remains of her bike, but with her leg hurt it had been an exercise in futility. She had tried wheeling it alongside them but the front wheel had been bent badly. Whether from the crash or the metal warping from the heat of the attack was unclear, but the result stayed the same. Trying to carry it on her back did not work out much better as she had nearly collapsed when first lifting it.
So they continued to Viridian City, no bike and Misty limping alongside Ash. Feeling at least partly responsible for her lack of a vehicle, he did offer her his condolences.
"I'm really sorry about the bike, I didn't even know Pikachu could do an attack that strong." He admitted. That attack had been amazing though.
"It's not fine but it is what it is." She grumbled, glancing down to check her makeshift bandage.
As it turns out, they had found a use for Ash's spare set of clothes, they had used the shirt to wrap the wound and the two socks tied in knots to hold it in place. It wasn't exactly proper first aid but it was the best they could do until they got some real help.
He still felt bad though. "I mean, maybe we could help pitch in to get it fixed? Or a new one?"
Misty glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do you even have money?" Then considered. "Well I guess your trainer might…"
"I mean I'll get money, I'm a trainer too after all." He told her. She already knew about his disguise, so he might as well go all in at this point.
The girl stumbled and Ash worried for her leg but she caught herself quickly. "I'm sorry, could you explain that?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You said you're a trainer," Misty said.
"I am." He confirmed.
She blinked at him in disbelief. "But you're a Pokemon, I mean that's not allowed, is it?"
Ash smiled, happy to make use of the research he conducted. "There's no rule against it! I checked, and I needed a sponsor, a parent or guardian's permission and to be at least ten years old!"
"Huh." Misty got a faraway look in her eye. "I guess it works…"
"Sure does!" Ash agreed. "But yeah, I might be able to help pay back the bike. Eventually at least. How much do bikes usually cost?"
"9,800P." Misty told him deadpan.
"...that might take me a bit."
"I guess I'll be sticking around for a bit."
"Uhhh…" that was something Ash hadn't considered. He had wanted to see the world and meet new friends though so this was a start right? "Try not to mention the whole…"
"The fact that you're a Pokemon?" She acknowledged with a sigh. "Honestly I think I'm taking this whole thing rather well. But fine, I'll stay quiet about it unless you bring it up first. To tell the truth, if I had met you like this." She gestured at his current disguise. "I probably never would have known. Are the illusions what let you talk though? You're the first Pokemon I've met that can."
"All Pokemon can talk," Ash said defensively. "It's not our fault you can't understand us when we do. But if you mean to talk like a human…" Ash went cross-eyed remembering the long hours of studying the human language. "I had to learn that the hard way. The illusions don't let me talk. I have to practice so I don't just look the part, but sound it too."
"Really?" She asked. "So any Pokemon can learn human language?"
"I mean we understand it well enough. It's recreating the sounds that are the hard part." Ash smacked his lips. "Why do you have so many different sounds? The letter 'P' alone…" He shook his head. "But yeah, well theoretically. I know Pikachu wasn't interested at all and I remember Professor Oak mentioned something about Zorua maybe being predisposed to mimicking other sounds to make our illusions work."
"Well, you certainly sounded like a real Ursaring back there." She brought up. Clearly remembering his desperate stand to try and intimidate the Spearow flock.
Ash smiled faintly. "To you maybe, I've never actually met an Ursaring so I was going off what I'd heard of it in the past. I'm pretty sure I was speaking with a very heavy accent."
They continued for a bit in silence. Ash kept glancing down at Pikachu to make sure he was okay. His eyes were closed but his breathing was steady so he was hopefully just resting. Whatever the case, the sooner he got to a Pokemon Center the better.
They were stopped on the way however by Officer Jenny.
She did not stop them immediately, as they approached she was making an announcement of some sort over the intercom. They could hear it echoing.
"...Pokemon Thieves. Be on the lookout for suspicious-looking strangers. Repeat, be on the lookout for suspicious-looking strangers." She looked up from her radio receiver and noticed the two children coming towards her and stopped them.
"Stop right there suspicious-looking strangers!" The blue-haired woman ordered.
"Suspicious looking?!" Misty was aghast at the accusation. Ash felt annoyed at the delay more than the accusation.
"I have reports of Pokemon thieves in the area. And you two come into town roughed up and holding a Pikachu instead of carrying it in a ball, I'd like to see some identification please." She said looking down at them, hands on her hips.
The two grumbled but complied. "Pikachu doesn't like going in his Pokeball, I have it in my bag along with my Pokedex." He gently set down Pikachu for a moment and showed both to the officer who nodded once the device had confirmed that he was a trainer from Pallet Town.
"And what about you?" She directed at Misty who was digging through her pocket.
"I hope I didn't leave it in my- ah! There it is." She pulled a card out of her shorts and flashed it to Jenny who leaned in to read it. Ash watched her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline at whatever the text said.
"Wait, you're a… I'm sorry, miss but what are you doing here." The officer's demeanor was completely changed. Ash was sorely tempted to see what was on that card himself but Misty put it away before he could get a look.
"I was fishing when I ran into him and his Pikachu. A flock of Spearow got disturbed by a local Pokemon and started lashing out at anyone around." Misty explained. "We need to get to the Pokemon Center quickly, please. We're hurt and exhausted."
"I only have room for one on my bike car," Jenny said. "Otherwise I'd offer to take you but I'll get you some directions, hang on a second." She went back into her booth and got them both a map and a note that told them which turns to take.
As they were about to leave, Ash's eyes went wide. "Oh, Misty the Spearow!"
"Right!" Misty nodded at the reminder. "Officer, the Spearow are still out there. We managed to knock a bunch of them out for a while but they may recover soon if they haven't already, could you put a warning out?"
"Thanks for the information. I'll put a bulletin out and make an announcement. That should help keep people safe. I'll put out a call to the nearest Ranger Union and see if they have someone who can come and help calm them down." She acknowledged and picked her radio up as they left and began calling out the new warning.
As the sun went down and darkness began to cloak everything, none of those below noticed the sinister shape floating over the boundary of Viridian City.
High in the sky, a hot air balloon floated menacingly.
Yes. A hot air balloon.
"'Pokemon thieves,' she calls us. What a joke. We're so much more than that." A male voice bemoaned and held his temple in his disappointment.
"It's certainly short-sighted of the local law enforcement to underestimate us. They'll soon learn to regret that." His female partner agreed, lounging against the edge of the basket.
"It's not inaccurate though." A third nasally voice added in. "But we're no small timers."
"Of course not, and this city is right for picking." The redhead stopped lounging and instead turned and faced down toward the city.
"We're Team Rocket, the best of the worst. We will come upon them and strike from the shadows. Like a malevolent ninja." The blue-haired fellow threw his arm out in a grandiose gesture.
There was silence at this final statement for a moment. "Wait, which one of us is the ninja?" Meowth asked, confused.
"Err, well I just thought it sounded cool and threatening," James admitted looking sheepish.
"But why ninja?" Jessie asked.
"Because ninjas are cool." James defended himself.
"Hold up what's she saying now." Meowth had pulled himself to the edge of the basket and was looking over.
Down below the voice of Officer Jenny echoed up to them. "The local flock of Spearow has been riled up and is attacking travelers. If you're planning to travel towards Pallet Town, please be advised."
"Spearow, eh?" Meowth muttered.
"Not our problem at the moment." Jessie pointed out.
Meowth considered that. "I don't know, it could make our getaway harder."
"Well that's an easy solution, just don't go towards Pallet Town." James asserted.
With that simple agreement, the nefarious trio stealthily floated into the city, intent on causing mayhem and worry.
It had been a seemingly quiet night at the Pokemon center so Nurse Joy was able to take Pikachu and look at Misty's cut fairly quickly. Ash was sore and a bit roughed up himself but he couldn't exactly show that. Instead, he just took a seat as soon as he could and let himself rest as his partner and new friend were seen to.
He had asked about any local shops so now he knew where to get potions the next day at least. So it was seemingly all's well that ended well.
Alone in the center's lobby, he decided to make some calls back home. First to his Trainer… Mom? Trainer-Mom? Mom-Trainer?
Whatever the correct terminology was, he gave Delia a call.
He caught her as she was preparing for bed, evident from her bathrobe but she was ecstatic to hear from him.
"You made it to Viridian already?!" She sounded surprised. "That was fast, did you and Pikachu not run into any trouble on the road?"
Ash debated how much to tell her but figured he'd just spare her some of the more violent details. "Not really, we got attacked by a flock of Spearow, we managed to fight a few of them off but ended up jumping into the river to get away. We did meet a girl named Misty who helped us out and get to Viridian City."
Delia's expression changed to worry. "Are you two okay? I don't see Pikachu…"
"Pikachu should be alright, we both got a bit banged up but he got hurt worse. I should be fine after some rest but Nurse Joy is looking at him. I used the potion on him but then he did this crazy attack! He took out like the entire flock in a big blast! It blew the clouds back and everything, it was awesome!" Ash exclaimed, excited about Pikachu's incredible last stand against the Spearow.
"The entire flock." Delia blinked in surprise. "How does Pikachu do it? His attacks seem much stronger than they should. I remember you telling me he managed to stun Shelldon a couple of times and I remember how strong they were as a Pichu…" She hummed in thought.
"I don't know," Ash admitted. "I've never really questioned him about it. He was technically Professor Oak's Pokemon for a while, maybe he might know."
He got a deadpan look in response. "We both know how uncooperative he was with Professor Oak." She sighed. "Still maybe I will ask him, you should probably give him a call too and let him know you're there."
"Will do-" Ash was about to continue and mention the weird bird they had seen after the storm but the light on the door flashed, signaling that the treatment was over. "Oh! I think Pikachu's all set! I'll talk to you later Mom."
"Stay safe!" She told him as he hung up the call and rushed over to the opening door.
Nurse Joy pushed a cart with a healthier and happier Pikachu sitting on it. Not only did he look fully healed, but also like he'd gotten himself a bath and electric charge. Misty came limping along behind, her leg wrapped in some real bandages this time, using a pair of crutches. He blinked in surprise at that, he'd ask her once he'd checked out Pikachu.
"Your Pikachu is all set. He was a little roughed up but not as bad as he could have been given what you said happened." The nurse shook her head. "How did you manage to provoke an entire flock of Spearow?"
"It wasn't us, it was this Diglett… oh it doesn't matter I'm just glad you're okay." He said to Pikachu and pulled him into a hug.
"I will allow this only because we had what could be called a near-death experience. Maybe. If you squint. Honestly, it was fine." The electric mouse claimed as Ash finished hugging him and let him climb onto his shoulder.
"I gave him a potion when we had a moment of rest but I only had one, I'll have to pick up some more tomorrow!" Ash mentioned to the nurse to help explain why Pikachu hadn't been in worse shape.
The redhead sighed. "I'm glad you have some sense at least. Try to be more careful, wild Pokemon can be dangerous. And you young lady!" She turned to Misty who didn't quite quail under her gaze but still looked put on the spot. "Don't put any unnecessary weight on that cut! I can't stop you from leaving town but I will let my sister in Pewter know to keep an eye out for you."
Misty grumbled but thanked the Nurse for her care.
"Is the cut that bad?" Ash asked worriedly as he looked at the crutches.
"It's bad but not horrible. It did need some stitches though." She sighed. "I don't need the crutches technically but they're to help make sure I don't accidentally tear the stitches while the cut is still healing."
Nurse Joy was walking back over to her desk. "I'm guessing you two are going to need rooms for the night? Separate I'm going to assume."
"Yes please." Misty agreed and Ash shrugged. It didn't make a difference to him since he no longer had anything to hide from Misty but if she wanted some privacy he was okay with that.
"Okay then, let me just-" As Joy started typing the lights went out and the four in the room looked around in confusion.
"Did the center just blow a fuse?" Misty asked only half rhetorically.
"It shouldn't have." The nurse shook her head. "Nothing stressful was running that might have caused any issues." She gasped in concern. "We've got Pokemon in special treatment who need the electricity on. We're going to need to get the backups working!"
"Do you need any help?" Ash asked immediately.
"Thanks for the offer young man but I'm not sure there's much you can-" She was cut off again this time, not by the power going out but by an explosion.
Light flooded into the space from above and a trio of shapes dropped down from a new hole in the roof. They posed under the new spotlight, white uniforms, with bold red R's standing out united them. After waiting a moment to bask in the admiration they began their introduction.
"Prepare for trouble!" A woman with red, gravity-defying hair announced.
"Make it double!" A man with shoulder-length blue hair agreed.
"To protect the world from devastation." The woman claimed.
"To unite all peoples within our nation." Her counterpart joined.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" She continued.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" He added.
"Jesse!" The woman introduced herself.
"James!" The man claimed his name.
The woman pointed at the people in the Pokemon Center. "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
The man joined her in pointing at them. "Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" The third figure who had stood in the wings silently jumped in at the end, apparently a Meowth.
The inhabitants of the Pokemon Center stared at them in shock. Not awe, or amazement, just shock.
"Hold on, I'm confused." Ash started, the first to recover. "You're here to protect the world from devastation and unite all people in our nation? But you just blew up the roof, isn't that causing devastation? Also what was that bit about truth and love?"
"Maybe they hit their heads on the way in?" Pikachu suggested. "Well, Meowth maybe, the other two are humans so who knows what goes through their heads."
"Did that Meowth just talk?" Nurse Joy asked, she was caught up in processing her own confusion.
"You're thinking about it too hard!" The red-haired woman declared pointing at Ash. "It's our motto! It's supposed to let people know who we are and that we are a force to be reckoned with!"
"Like a malevolent ninja!" James agreed.
The other two looked at James who glanced between them. "What?"
"James, we talked about this, the ninja thing just don't work," Meowth told him.
"I beg to differ." He crossed his arms. "We're threatening them malevolently after coming down from the ceiling."
Misty whispered to Ash out of the corner of her mouth. "Are these guys real? You're the expert on illusions."
"I'm fairly certain they're real." He admitted giving them a second look. "I think."
"Enough of this." Jessie decided and pointed at Nurse Joy. "Bring out all the Pokemon you have here at the center. Nice and easy now, don't worry we'll be giving them a wonderful new home and purpose in life at Team Rocket Headquarters!"
"What?" Nurse Joy's confusion was quickly replaced by righteous anger. "The Pokemon we have here are sick and injured! They need help! I'm not giving them to a couple of thieves like you two!"
"Well, you can't say we didn't try and do this the nice way," James claimed with a chuckle. He held up a Pokeball. "Go Koffing!"
"Ekans!" Jesse added throwing her own.
"I just found a way you can help young man, keep them busy, I'm going to get the backup power online and start transferring our Pokemon to another center!" She rushed back towards the door with surprising agility.
"Ekans! After her!" The team rocket member called.
"On it mistress!" The snake lunged forward after the nurse.
"Pikachu use Quick Attack! Don't let him reach her!"
Pikachu lunged forward with a word and slammed into the Ekan's side, sending the snake skidding across the floor and into the wall. This bought Joy enough time to leave the room.
The woman growled. "Dumb twerp, isn't it passed your bedtime?"
"I don't have a bedtime!" Ash pointed at her. "Why are you doing this?"
"We're Team Rocket." Her partner answered. "All Pokemon in the world belong to us, whether they know it yet or not."
"Scram kid, you're out of your league." Meowth sneered at him.
"Good thing he's not alone." Misty fired back and pulled out a Pokeball of her own. "Goldeen!"
The fish flopped around on the floor. She flapped her fins in the air a bit before maneuvering herself to look at her trainer.
"Misty this is not a suitable environment." The water-type gurgled at her.
"Shoot, sorry Goldeen." She winced and returned her Pokemon. "I'm used to having water nearby. This bites."
"Ekans certainly will. Bite you that is." Jessie mocked as her Pokemon lunged toward the orange-haired girl.
Without direction Pikachu sent a shock at the snake, zapping it and making it hiss in pain and stop its assault.
"Nice save," Ash told Pikachu. "Now hit him again before he can recover!"
"Did you forget she's not alone?" James asked them. "Koffing tackle that little mouse!"
"I'm helping!" Koffing cheered and crashed into the ground where Pikachu had been standing. The electric type was nimble though and moved out of the way in time.
"Staryu!" Misty threw another Pokeball, this time her Pokemon stood on solid ground.
"Fear enemies of water! For I am the champion of the ocean and all those that dwell within it! Cower before my just strength and I may forgive you your transgressions and hope that the law may have mercy upon you!" The star-shaped water type declared dramatically.
Of course, only the Pokemon in the room understood this. Everyone else just heard "Staryu."
"Two on two then?" Jessie asked, her bravado held despite this. "Let's uneven the playing field again."
"Right," James agreed. "Koffing, use Smokescreen!"
"Hooray!" Koffing cheered as dark spouts of smoke billowed from the holes on its surface and began filling the room.
The already dark room became pitch black. Even the spotlight where the Team Rockets members had entered was completely hidden from view.
"I can't see a thing," Misty complained, rubbing at her eyes.
"That's the idea!" Jessie cackled, hidden from view.
Suddenly Pikachu was knocked to the ground by another Tackle from Koffing.
"Darn it!" He hissed. "Ash a little help?"
"I can't see anything either!" Ash answered, coughing as he inhaled some of the Smokescreen. "Misty?"
"Staryu, Flash!" She called.
"Let there be light!" Staryu agreed and threw the clouds rays of light shown through. A small area was lit by a now apparently glowing Staryu. The smoke still oppressed them on all sides but now they could see a little.
The newly lit area revealed Koffing who was still spewing out smoke. It would fill the space again momentarily if they didn't move quickly.
"Staryu, Water Gun on Koffing let's go!"
The blast of water hit Koffing like a bullseye and sent the round Pokemon shooting backward into the wall of black. There was a satisfying, "Oof!" From one of the Team Rocket members.
Speaking of whom, now that they were hidden from view they were having a small meeting.
"Oww…" James complained and then rubbed Koffing rather than his aching side. "Are you okay Koffing?"
"That hurt. I didn't know water could hurt." His Pokemon said sadly.
"This is so not going according to plan." Jessie hissed. The fury radiated off of her in waves. "This was supposed to be quick in, get the Pokemon, scare whatever bratty trainers are here, and get out."
"The Nurse bolted, she's probably transferring all the Pokemon out as we speak," Meowth complained. "There might be some behind that desk we can grab that are already healed up and waitin' to be picked up in the mornin'?" He suggested.
"That's probably our best bet at this point." James agreed sullenly. They had been so excited for their big first heist but with the way that things were going…
"I'll try and slip through the smoke, you twos keep them twerps distracted a bit longa'," Meowth told his partners in crime and jogged into the clouds.
"Can he even see in that?" Jessie doubted him.
"Give him his chance, let's show these kids not to play in the big leagues." James decided, standing back up. Jessie joined him, fists clenched in a mix of determination and rage.
"Ekans! Bite the nearest one to you! Pokemon or brat, it doesn't matter which!" Jessie called.
As it was, the closest to him was still Misty so he reared up again to make another attempt. Staryu was the one to stop him this time with another blast of Water Gun.
Pikachu quickly added in with a Quick Attack sending the snake into the clouds as well.
"Give up you jerks!" Misty called into the smoke.
Ash glanced over at her. "Misty you're facing the wrong way."
"What?" She looked back at Ash. "No, the front was definitely this way.
"I'm pretty sure it's this way." Pikachu disagreed with both of them.
Before the argument could continue, Koffing burst from the smoke again, straight at Ash this time! He bumped into the disguised Zorua who fell back out of his illusion and barely restrained his panic. He blasted the Koffing with a Dark Pulse and immediately reapplied his disguise.
"Shoot, shoot…" He muttered, now letting his panic run free.
"That Koffing seemed a bit slow on the uptake, hopefully, you're fine." Pikachu tried comforting him.
Staryu seemed to be staring at him. It was a bit hard to tell though. "Misty did that boy just turn into a Pokemon and back again." Misty did not respond. "Oh right. Drat."
Misty was staring at Ash herself. "You know I'd almost forgotten you could do that?"
Ash smiled at that. "That means I'm good at what I do."
Koffing had come out next to Team Rocket, without crashing into his trainer this time. The poor Pokemon was low to the ground and unhappy. James fretted over him.
"What did they do to you?"
Meowth came back with a sack full of Pokeballs just as Koffing answered him. "That boy hit me!"
"The boy hit you?!" Meowth said aghast upon hearing this.
"That little monster!" James agreed. He turned to the smokescreen filled with fury. "Don't you know it's against regulation for a trainer to get involved in a battle! Hitting a Pokemon! And people call us evil!"
Another bright light cut through the smoke as Staryu used Flash once more. The two sides faced each other once again.
"We didn't call you evil though," Ash said. "You said truth and love were evil! And Koffing attacked me! I panicked!"
"That's what they all say." James was rolling up his sleeves and looked ready to throw down himself.
"He's not worth it James!" Jessie held him back. "Don't stoop to his level!"
The other Rocket member shook himself. "You're right of course. Let's make our dramatic exit! Like-"
"I swear if you say anything relating to ninjas I will push you out of the balloon," Jessie told him as they climbed up a ladder that had dropped down during the confrontation, as if by magic. It had been set on a timer to drop after five minutes in case things went wrong fast but they had at least partially completed their goal so now they were leaving victoriously!
"Ekans return!" Jessie paused on the rope ladder to return her Pokemon before continuing on her way.
"Koffing, give us a Smokescreen to mask our escape!" James called to the floating poison-type.
"Can't hit me up here!" Koffing declared and spewed smoke again.
"They're getting away!" Misty worried. "Staryu, use Swift!"
The stars blasted out of Staryu's gem and into the clouds. They peppered the escaping rockets but did not stop their ascent. They did however pierce the sack of Pokeballs causing them to spill out onto the ground below.
"The balls!" Meowth worried as he felt his sack rapidly empty.
"Forget it," Jessie growled. "This whole night has been a mess and waste. We'll go somewhere with less 'heroic' morons."
"Heroic!" James repeated aghast. "If this is what heroes are like I'm glad I'm the villain!"
"Pikachu!" Ash glanced at his friend whose cheeks sparked dangerously. "Thunderbolt." He nodded at the mouse.
Pikachu's grin was sharp and eager. He raced across the floor and leaped up several feet into the air. "Thunder-bolt!"
The electric attack lanced toward the balloon, but was not on target, in fact, it would have missed! But it hit the clouds of Smokescreen and they ignited.
Suddenly a way of heat and fire flashed and the people still on the ground threw themselves to it out of fear. The roof of the Pokemon center was blown clear off! But Team Rocket themselves were blown away from the center and from Viridian.
"Bested by a little mouse and some twerps." Jessie bemoaned.
"That kid was the worst," James complained.
"Our glorious entrance was completely ruined." Meowth finished.
"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off!" They all called as they flew through the air, towards Pallet Town.
And the Spearow.
Misty and Ash had gotten to stay the night still. Nurse Joy wasn't exactly pleased about the roof of her Pokemon Center being blown off but she was glad they had protected the Pokemon.
"I'll keep the blame on Team Rocket for the roof, even if they had a bit of help." She eyed Pikachu who was looking up rather than meeting her gaze.
"The clouds sure do look pretty this morning." He noticed. "Very interesting."
With some rest and some food, they'd made a stop at the Pokemart to buy potions and other supplies before leaving the boundaries of Viridian and heading towards Pewter through the forest.
Misty was still using the crutches but she was able to make pretty good time on them, using them to make larger strides.
"Well, traveling with you is going to be interesting, Ash." She decided. "Even if it is just until you help me replace my bike."
"I mean you could stick around after." He told her. "I don't mind."
"Maybe." She acknowledged. "But I have a gym to help run and I don't trust my sisters to do it."
Ash stumbled and nearly dropped his illusion. They were still within sight of Viridian City though so he fought to maintain it. "You're a gym leader?!"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Or one of them, my sisters and I are all qualified to be the Cerulean City, gym leaders."
He stared at her for a moment. "How old are you?"
She glared at him. "Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"
"Sorry but, I mean I had to wait to become a trainer until I was ten and you look about that age so how did you become a gym leader?" He explained. Ash had waited years to be a trainer! Could he have become a gym leader instead sooner? He hadn't thought of that.
"I'm twelve actually," Misty admitted with a sigh. "I couldn't be a trainer but the gym has Pokemon I learned to work with before I turned ten. When I was ten I got Staryu and then I got Starmie from the gym and I caught Goldeen myself."
"You have a Staryu and a Starmie?" Ash checked his Pokedex to confirm they were the same evolutionary line.
"Staryu's my starter but I practiced with Starmie when I was younger and he wanted to come with me," Misty explained.
"Huh, I never thought of having more than one of the same line…" Ash hummed in thought as they came to the forest edge.
"You are not getting a Raichu." Pikachu directed at him. "I can live with a Pichu. Maybe. But not a Raichu."
"Why not Raichu?" Ash asked Pikachu.
"I have yet to meet a decent Raichu," Pikachu explained. "It's like the thunderstone has some sort of jerkiness factor to it that integrates with the Pikachu during the evolutionary process."
"Are you using words you picked up from Professor Oak again?"Ash pressed him. What he said had almost made sense but he had also used the word 'jerkiness' so...
"Maybe," Pikachu admitted without any shame.
Once they were a bit into the forest and far out of sight of wandering eyes Ash dropped his illusion and stretched. "That's better."
"I feel like I'm taking the whole, I'm now friends with a talking Pokemon thing very well," Misty said, mostly to herself.
"It's kind of weird how things work out." He told her. "If you hadn't seen my real form I would have been against you coming with us. I'd probably feel guilty about it but I'm not ready to just show myself to people all over the place."
"Why is that?" Misty asked him. "I mean we just met another Pokemon who could talk like you."
"Yeah, but he was working for a group of Pokemon thieves." Ash pointed out. "I'm not sure I want to be associated with that."
"I still don't get it but if it's what you want. It's your decision, not mine." she suddenly snorted in amusement. "Oh, what if Pikachu had burnt my bike and I hadn't seen your real form? I would have followed you whether you liked it or not!"
Ash laughed with her. "And I would have kept trying to get away and what would that look like?"
"I'd think you were trying to welch on the debt! In reality, you would have just wanted to drop your illusion for a bit and relax as you travel." She laughed some more.
"You know. She's kind of growing on me." Pikachu admitted to Ash. "Like a tumor."
Ash jabbed at him with a paw. "You're the one who fried her bike, you know."
"I know, I know," Pikachu admitted as Misty sighed at being left out of their conversation before getting a thoughtful look.
"Hey, you managed to learn how to speak Japanese which is definitely what we're speaking right now?" She said elaborately.
"Obviously." Ash agreed, wondering why she specified it like that.
"Well if a Pokemon can learn to speak like a human, can a human learn to speak like a Pokemon?" Misty questioned him.
Ash thought about that. "I don't know, maybe!" He decided. "Try saying something like Pikachu."
Misty frowned and said, "Pikachu."
"No, no." Ash shook his head. "That was just saying Pikachu, you have to say it the way Pikachu says it. Pikachu, why don't you give her an example."
"Death to humans," Pikachu said with a cheeky grin. Ash rolled his eyes but it served its purpose.
Misty narrowed her eyes and tried again. This time in a higher pitch that more closely approximated Pikachu's voice she said. "Gloves for trees."
The two Pokemon stared at her before laughing. "Hey! What's so funny! I tried hard on that one."
"It's not that!" Ash tried to calm her. "You did say something! It didn't make any sense though but you did say it!"
"Wait, really?" Misty eyes went wide. "That's cool actually. But I guess it doesn't help me. I can't understand it even if I can say it."
"Hmm, I guess we can try and help you figure it out. It might take a while though." Ash admitted.
They continued for a little while making idle conversation, occasionally they'd see a Pokemon cross the path either on the ground or in the air but none stopped to talk to them.
Then as they were passing a larger tree a Pidgeotto came to land on one of the branches where it looked at them curiously.
Ash noticed this and turned to the bird. He waved his paw up at the tree. "Hi there."
Pidgeotto blinked. "Hello there." She greeted them. "Are you three from Pallet Town too? You're the fourth group I've seen, although only one of the others let her Pokemon out of the balls like you."
"Pikachu and I are," Ash explained. "We met Misty on the way. Why do you ask?"
"Well I'm from Pallet Town too actually, or the area anyway. My father lives somewhere around Professor Oak's lab and I remember being there when I was younger. I wanted to set off on my own though and well I think I've done pretty well for myself." She puffed up her chest and flapped her well-kept wings. "But I was curious and wanted to know why you're all going through the forest."
"Oh cool!" Ash said at the explanation. "Well I'm a trainer and so were the last three humans to come through."
Pidgeotto tilted her head at him. "You're a trainer?" She asked with evident doubt.
"Yeah, Professor Oak approved and everything!" The Zorua declared proudly, puffing out his own chest this time.
The other Pokemon did the bird approximation of a shrug. "Why would you want to be a trainer? I don't see much point to it."
"Well I have a trainer and she helped me get stronger and I've seen how strong Pokemon can get with trainers. I wanted to go out and become one myself! Help other Pokemon get stronger and become a…" He paused. His goal for so long had been to be a trainer and now he was one. Now what? "I guess I'm gonna get the gym badges and try to win the Pokemon League!" That seemed like a good place to start.
"I still don't get it," Pidgeotto admitted to him. "I managed to evolve without a trainer, why would any Pokemon need one?"
"You can get stronger with a trainer. Really! Pikachu was strong and then we started working together and now he's even stronger!" Ash explained eagerly.
Pikachu nodded. "He's right actually, as hard as it is to believe. I was against the whole trainer thing but it comes in handy to have an outside set of eyes while training and in battle. Not to mention the free food."
"Free food is good." The bird in the tree acknowledged. "But I'm still doubtful."
"I have an idea!" Ash suggested. "How about we have a battle, if you win, then you can continue on your own and keep getting stronger, but if we win you come with us and we help you get even stronger!"
"Hmm." Pidgeotto seemed to think about it. "I guess I might as well, if I win then I win and if I lose I still win in the end. Seems like a good deal." She flapped her wings and looked down at the pair, ready for a fight. Misty, realizing what was going on, limped several feet back to get out of the way.
"Alright! Pikachu let's go!"
"Right!" Pikachu agreed, leaping forward and squirreling his way up the tree at speed.
"Woah!" Pidgeotto gasped and barely managed to get off the branch in time to avoid the Quick Attack. "You're certainly fast, I'll give you that."
"Thundershock!" Ash called and Pikachu followed through.
The electricity coursed through the air and hit Pidgeotto even as she tried to bank out of the way. She cried out in pain but managed to steady her flight before crashing to the ground. Her beak glowed as she circled back around for a Peck attack.
"Steady," Ash told Pikachu who stayed still on the branch even as she rushed towards him. Once Pidgeotto was too committed to the attack to alter her course he cried out. "Now!"
Pikachu jumped over the attack and flash bright with light as another Thundershock lanced out of him straight down onto the other Pokemon.
She spiraled down into the bushes this time and didn't flap her way back out. She stumbled on her legs out of the brush and shook herself. "I… I didn't even stand a chance. I don't believe it."
Pidgeotto stared ash down, not with malice but with determination. "Alright, I'm in, if you help me to get stronger I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth and beyond."
Ash grinned. "Awesome." He applied his illusion and reached into his backpack. "Go, Pokeball!"
He threw the ball towards Pidgeotto, it bounced off and she vanished inside in a beam of light. It rocked back and forth a few times on the ground before with a ping it stilled.
Ash's smile grew even more. He laughed for the sheer joy of it and pranced forward picking up the ball. "Alright! I caught my first Pokemon!"
"I'd correct you to 'we' but yeah, I'll let you have this one," Pikachu said as he scurried down the tree. Ash tossed the ball lightly and Pidgeotto appeared again with a flash. She blinked in surprise and ruffled her feathers.
"That wasn't so bad actually." She decided.
"Speak for yourself," Pikachu told her.
She looked at Ash again. "Weren't you a Pokemon a few moments ago, I didn't know what type but definitely a Pokemon."
"I am!" Ash confirmed and his human disguise vanished. "I'm a dark-type."
Pidgeotto shifted her gaze downwards to meet his eyes again. "Not quite what I meant."
He blinked. "Oh! You mean what species, I'm a Zorua, we can make illusions and look like humans, Pokemon, and even inanimate objects, but that's boring." To prove his credentials, he shifted into his human disguise, a Pokeball, and finally Pidgeotto.
Pidgeotto stared at her double for a moment. "Well, I signed up for this. No use in complaining now. Where to, Mr. Trainer?"
"You can call me Ash." He told her, "And we're heading for Pewter City! Welcome to the team!"
And chapter end.
So, Team Rocket is sighted! Pidgeotto joined the team! Misty has crutches!
In case it's not obvious things are already going differently from the show and they will continue to go further and further off the rails as things continue. Some will remain the same, others not so much.
Wherever the journey leads we will follow.
Touching on ages for a bit, yes, Misty is twelve. Well sometimes. Apparently, in the original dub, she said she was ten in episode three but in the Electric Tale of Pikachu (which I've referenced here before), she said she was twelve, and considering she's a gym leader I went with the older option.
On some ages I didn't quite touch on, apparently, Jessie and James are seventeen! Crazy right? No, they're not really dangerous and threatening adult gang members, they're a couple of high school delinquents. I find this hilarious.
I was actually a bit worried my motivation died this week but I think I managed to get it going again. And I had an idea to help me continue this trend.
I'm making a discord, or I've made a discord rather. I have a couple people in there from another story's discord that I'm a part of but the reason for it is for my own stories so feel free to join!
The link is:discord gg kESdTfhAwG
Let's get to the reviews!
PenguinBandit523: Misty is part of the crew for the foreseeable future! And yes she is slightly more mellow, I understand how you feel, I can't watch the OG series in its entirety anymore. I can watch episodes and clips but back to back the characters and their personalities can drain on you.
Nightfiredragon: Some problems caused, other problems solved, will he evolve into Zoroark? Who knows? We should ask him! Jokes aside, that is definitely a spoiler question.
Patch6782: I tried that while writing this but I couldn't quite make it work the way I wanted. Still, it's an amusing idea!
Only a Guest in Disguise: I'm happy to leave you smiling
Emu Thing: I sent you a PM explaining what Pavlov was but for anyone else curious:
Pavlov was a scientist who worked with dogs, one of the more famous experiments was he would ring a bell every time he fed the dogs and they would come to relate the sound of the bell with food, so even if there were no food they would still expect it if they heard a bell. There have been numerous other experiments since of similar vein. In this case the joke I made was that Pikachu had been blasted by Shelldon so much, he froze up for a split second expecting a much stronger attack to launch him into a tree or just out of bounds.
As to the rest of your review, nope, she was not notified about Ash although that fact might come into play later. I vaguely remember the rule being brought either in the anime or the manga where either Ash or someone else tried to rush onto the field to cradle a hurt Pokemon.
PokeDan: I vaguely remember someone asking about the Master of Mirage Pokemon before, I think I had an idea at some point but it's long gone now. So at the moment I have no plans to include it.
Oakley: Team Rocket has been introduced but as of yet Meowth knows nothing. Someday mayhaps?
Stillplayingpretend: I'm happy to hear that, really. I hope you continue to read my work
DRMAK: No it means I needed a fourth Pallet Trainer to use for that one scene
Eb3yr: I'm glad you like the pacing I remember being worried about that in the past
Lupercus1944: I don't know, did you prefer sword or shield? Regardless, I really look forward to your reviews. It was actually your old review from chapter 6 that made me decide to include the scene with Shelldon. As for Diglett and Spearow I wanted to have him make a vengeful comeback but I couldn't decide if it would be via him, more Diglett and a Dugtrio or if he would be the one to set off the Spearow, I went with the latter simply because I had a better idea of how it worked. Yeah Misty took that a little too well I guess. I wanted to show her surprise but also didn't just want to have her POV be incoherent screaming so it was a more subdued Misty EXE has stopped working. As for the Bike crash, I actually went and rewatched the scene from the anime while writing so I could get Pikachu's attack right and there is over a minute between the crash and the Spearow actually moving to attack, most of that is Ash standing there yelling at the Spearow. So I figured that was plenty of time for them to talk a bit before Pikachu's big attack.
Algor: I haven't heard it called ZoruAsh but I suppose it's accurate. Thank you for reviewing!
Until next time! Feel free to join the discord until then!
~FriTik
R&R