Author's Note:
Here it is, the second chapter of Hoenn. We meet the first member of Serena's Hoenn team and our hero's also come together for the first time. Because of how underused Vincent was as a rival (being more of a rival to Jimmy in Johto) I plan on the two trainers who start with May, one being Ash's rival in early Hoenn and one in later Hoenn, so it more so evens out. Also, because it was a common concern after the author's note last chapter, the couple which'll explore a cheating arc will NOT be Ash and Serena. The actual couple have yet to be introduced in the series. Not much else to say, just hope you all enjoy it and are hyped for the Sinnoh remakes and that new legends: Arceus game, can't wait to find out more about them and see if I can added any new ideas to my series. Don't forget to vote in the poll, and with that, let's begin.
Chapter two: Class Time
Ash stepped on the ground and looked around as he was on the tarmac of the Lilycove sea-based airfield. His mouth went instantly dry as he flapped his tongue around in an attempt to return to normal. Raising an arm and wiping his forehead, he discovered a trail of sweat already forming.
His arm blocked the bright orange sun as he looked around, the first thing he noticed was a large beach expanding out from the airfield for miles. Hundreds of people and Pokémon were scattered around on the golden sand. Some were even out on the water, clear of the airports fenced off area, of course. Part of him want to rush out and check out all of the Pokémon, with many seeming to some he's never seen before. Although they were pretty far away.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Serena asked, grabbing his hand. The two of them started walking away, with Pikachu and Sylveon leading the way.
As the airport building came into view, he looked behind the small square building to see a series of skyscrapers lining the sky behind. The sounds of cars and vehicles could be heard even if not seen. Although the laughter of the beach goers could be heard from behind them.
"They weren't kidding when they said Hoenn was hot," she smiled, "it's really nice."
"How aren't you dehydrating or something?" Ash asked, "this is even hotter than the Orange Archipelago."
"That's because the orange archipelago are still pretty close to Kanto," Serena explained, "and I guess that I just handle hot weather better."
"Urg," he groaned, as he stepped into the airport. It was barely an improvement, without any sort of aircon. Making the muggy humidity even worse in a confined building, "the sooner we get to little root, the better. Hopefully, the lab has aircon, at least."
"Don't worry, Ashy," she giggled, "but why don't you go and get Pidgeot ready and I'll call Professor Oak to let him we've arrived."
Nodding in agreement with her, he clipped the female birds Pokéball of his belt and made his way towards the doors. Stepping outside, he walked over towards a small grass field as the busy city life came into view. It felt more like Goldenrod, even if the weather was less bearable. He continued to look around to see a large mountain off in the distance, easily the largest thing around for miles, possibly in the entire region.
"Alright Pidgeot, I choose you," he called, releasing the normal flying type.
In a flash of light, the female bird appeared on the grassy field. She didn't appear to affected by the weather, much to his surprise. Looking around, his bird Pokémon noticed the large mountain and quirked her eyebrow up.
"How you feeling?" he asked.
"Fine," she shrugged, "a little warmer than I'm use to but nothing to complain about."
Ash felt like that was a direct dig at him.
"Huh, that mountain, that will make finding our way easier," she continued.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well a mountain that large surely has a name," she replied, "you human names anything and call it a landmark. But with seeing the map, I'd have a real-life scale of where we are relative to it. So, I'll be able to tell if we're on the right track without too much difficulty or having to look for civilisation below."
"I guess that makes sense," Ash muttered.
"And that is why we leave the flying to me," Pidgeot sighed, "and directions to myself and Serena. Speaking off-"
With her wing gesturing behind him, he turned to see the honey blonde beauty walking out with a smile on her face. His breath caught in his throat as the sun seemed to make her pale skin glow and thus make her stand out even more.
"Hey, so I called Professor Oak and apparently we're right on time," she explained, "by the time we get to Littleroot, it should be ten, which is when the new trainers are meant to arrive. He gave them an extra hour to prepare for their travels. So, are you ready to go?"
"Yep," he smiled, "although it will feel weird. Flying over the region before exploring it," he muttered, "I mean, imagine all the adventures we'll just be skipping straight over."
"Don't worry, we'll have all those adventures, just starting in Littleroot instead of here," Serena smiled, "although speaking of Lilycove, its tied for being the biggest city in the region. And apparently one of the biggest tourist attractions not just in Hoenn but the world."
"That's awesome," Ash smiled, "almost a shame to just leave."
"Which is why I was thinking," she replied, holding her arms behind her back, swaying from side to side, "we're likely going to be in Hoenn for a while and we'll almost certainly be passing back through here at some point. So... why don't we make Lilycove the place we celebrate our three-year anniversary?"
"Serena," he went to reply but was quickly cut off.
"I know our anniversary in Alto Mare wasn't exactly what we hoped but we did have great time in Goldenrod," she quickly explained, "the first time around and like we said before, we don't know where we'll be when the actual day rolls around so having a location planned to celebrate whenever we get here would work just as well."
"I... guess Lilycove is as good as any place," he shrugged, "but we should probably get going. Don't want to be late for those new trainers."
Smiling at him, she quickly pecked his check before pulling out her Pokegear. Bringing up a holographic map of the region, Pidgeot took in our location and used the large mountain, which he learnt was an inactive volcano called mount Chimney to decided which direction to take off from.
With her decision made, Serena recalled her Sylveon and climbed onto the mighty bird first. As Pikachu opted to use this flight for some rest, probably suffering jet lag as he climbed into the raven-haired boy's backpack. Securing it back onto his back, he climbed on behind his girlfriend. Checking everyone was ready, they took off into the air, quickly gaining altitude as Pidgeot spread her wings.
The refreshing breeze blew onto his sweating skin and made him smile. The higher they went, the lower the humidity seemed to be. Looking down over the region below, he noticed just how much of the region was green. It was amazing to see a place so infused with nature after living in Kanto most his life, which was always more progressive with technology and cities. As he turned to look over the other side of the region, he was surprised to see just how small the land actually was. He saw maps of Hoenn after they discovered this would be their next adventure but seeing the amount of water and oceans was different.
Another flying type came into view. It had a large yellow beak covering most of its body and extending along its underside. It's feathers were white with a short, blue crest on top of its head. There were three blue digits on each of its wide wings, and it had blue feet, each with three webbed digits. The eyes were difficult to make out but appeared to be black semicircles with a horizontal white line between them. Part of him wanted to reach for his Pokedex and check the flying type out but that wasn't possible. Not only was it dangerous to let go but due to her close proximity, Serena might've thought he was reaching somewhere else. He really didn't want that sort of misunderstanding, especially since they'll be travelling alone.
Several small Pokémon which shared a vague resemblance to the large Pokémon created a flock behind. It was amazing getting to see new Pokémon already.
Ash held on tight, almost squashing Serena between himself and his Pidgeot as they came into a running landing. It only took Pidgeot a couple of hours to fly across the region. It wasn't nearly as difficult as he once believed. Sliding off her back, he offered Serena a hand as she got off, as well.
"That was fun," she giggled, landing in his arms as he twirled as to not fall onto his behind. He gently set her down on her legs, ending the embrace.
"It was," he agreed, turning towards his large bird Pokémon, "thank you Pidgeot. You ready to head back to the lab?"
"Of course," she smiled, "but remember this is Hoenn, not some sort of day care. Love birds."
"Pidgeot!" Ash cried out, feeling his cheeks burst into flames.
"Don't worry, I'll keep 'em on the straight and narrow," Pikachu declared, scuttering up his body to rest on his shoulder.
"Sure, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Pidgeot sarcastically rolled her eyes, "we all know what you and Sylveon have been up to."
Pikachu stuck his tongue out. Shaking his head to try and regain his composure after the intense embarrassment the two of them caused. Grabbing the device off his belt, he recalled Pidgeot with a final word of thanks. Pulling out his Pokedex, he used it to send her device back to the lab.
"I guess that we should get going to the lab," he sighed, turning towards his girlfriend.
"Actually, I've been thinking," she twirled a single lock of hair between her things in the most adorable way possible, "Littleroot isn't a big city or anything but it has a few shops. Maybe I should pick up some supplies for the road so we can leave right when those other trainers do."
"Don't you want to meet them?" Ash asked.
"I do and I will," she replied, "but they asked to see you because of your Silver conference placement. So, I can shop then come and meet them afterwards."
"Alright," he shrugged, embracing her in a hug, "just stay safe. We are in a new region and town, after all."
"Of course," she giggled, turning towards the town.
It was larger than Pallet with streets of building lining the way, but the roads were old fashion dirt paths and while a couple people could be seen, it was hardly crowded. A large woodland forest surrounded the place. A large two-level metal building off in the distance being the only thing to stand out.
"That must be Professor Birch's lab," Serena explained, "there's a dock on the far side of the town but you need to pass through a forest area to get there."
"Right," he nodded, "guess I'll see you later at the lab."
The two set off in opposite directions waved bye as they disappeared from sight. Once on route, Ash focused on the large metal building, and just walked in the general direction of it. It didn't take him long to find his way to the building. It seemed about on par with Professor Oak's, but it was just the building, no ranch could be seen behind it. Casting a glance at his starter, who simply shrugged, he stepped up and knocked on the labs door.
A slight patter of footsteps could be heard from within the building and about twenty seconds later the door opened. Stood in front of him was a large man in probably his early-to-mid forties. He had medium length brown hair but what stood out even more was a large brown beard covering his bottom half of his face. A navy-blue shirt was under his white lab coat and cameo-green cargo shorts. His legs seemed slightly hairy with open toe sandals on his feet.
"Ah, Ash Ketchum," the man smiled, offering a handout, "I'm Professor Birch. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I know the new trainers are really going to appreciate the chance to meet a conference finalist."
"It's no trouble at all," he smiled, retuning the handshake, "I know I would've loved it if we got a league finalist visiting when I started my journey."
"Is no-one else with you, Ash?" he asked, "Professor Oak said you'd have a girl with you-"
"Serena!" he blurted out, "she decided to go shopping for supplies while I did this. Just a way to save time. So are the trainers here?"
"Two of them are," he smiled, "my son Brendan and the other boy is called Sawyer from Oldale town. Come on it, I'll introduce you."
Entering the lab, he was surprised how homely it seemed. Professor Oak's lab was also half a home of a lab but in almost every room you could see some tech laid out or a paper being written. A single assistant dressed in mountain climbing gear with spiky brown hair could be seen at a table on a laptop.
"So, what sort of research do you do, Professor?" he asked.
"Please, call me Dan, Ash, or Birch. I don't mind really," he smiled, "I might be a Professor but I'm not really one for formalities. And I specialise in Pokémon habitats and migration patterns. It's always nice to get out into the field and really watch what's in textbooks in real life. Professor Alden is my assistant."
"I hear ya," he smiled, giving a small gesture to the man, he nodded an acknowledgement, "nothing is better than getting to meet new Pokémon and learning more about them."
"Amen!" Pikachu interjected from the shoulder.
"You really love Pokémon, don't you Ash," the Professor smiled.
"Of course," he replied, scratching his electric starter under the cheek. Birch stopped at a door and pushed it open.
"Well the two trainers are just in here, if you want to make yourself comfy," he smiled, "we're still waiting on the last one. A girl called May from Petalburg."
"I'm sure she won't be too much longer," Ash smiled, "I mean, who would want to miss out on the chance to get a Pokémon and start a journey!"
With a smile on his face, he stepped into the room where two boys were already waiting. Both of them around ten. The first had a white beanie hat on his head but a little brown hair could be seen sticking out from the side. He was leaning against the wall and staring out of the window. His top looked like one a cyclist might wear with a combination of red and black. Beside him was a green backpack with a Pokéball design on the front. Knee length black biker shorts covered his lower half, with a nice tan colour on his skin. Green and white trainers covered his feet. He looked like a biker more than anything else.
"Hey, you must be Ash," he smiled, approaching with a handout, "I'm Brendan. It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, hi Brendan," he replied, returning the handshake, "sorry. I just thought this visit was going to be a surprise."
"It is... well for the others," he shrugged, "my dad runs this lab, and he isn't the best at keeping secrets. It was easy enough to find out what he arranged."
"Sawyer will be happy and surprised to meet you too," he gestured towards the other boy in the room, "he followed your silver conference battles closely."
Turning towards the other trainer in the room, he saw a much shorter boy sat in an armchair. His head buried in a book which he was writing in, not that Ash could make out anything significant from this distance. His hair was dark green and seemed to be a dome cut, with two long streaks dangling by his cheeks, his clothing looking awfully professional with a green sleeveless blazer over a pale button shirt and red tie tucked underneath. Green cargo shorts with several pockets on them and black trainer shoes. Whatever he was writing, he seemed deadly focused on, not having looked up once.
Putting a smile on his face, Ash approached. Even his shadow covering the book didn't draw his attention, as he held a handout, "hey, your Sawyer, right? I'm from Pallet town. Ash Ketchum."
"Huh?" he turned up to look at him. He blinked a couple times before shoot up out of his seat, "you're the silver conference finalist!"
"I am," he blinked at the outburst, "but erm, what are you doing here?"
"Well Professor Birch invited me to see you guys get your starter Pokémon," he smiled, "it's nice to meet you."
"This was quite a surprise," He stiffy stood at attention, "I took notes on how all your Pokémon battled but I didn't think I'd actually meet you."
The door into the room opened and Professor Birch walked in, his assistant Professor Alden was walking in behind whilst pushing a metal trolly. Looking on top he saw three large Pokéballs in the centre, each marked by the type symbols of grass, water, and fire. Around the edge with three sets of five Pokéballs and a single Pokedex. Standing off to the side, Brendan and Sawyer lined up in front of him.
"Has May arrived dad?" Brendan asked.
"No, not yet son," he replied, "but I don't want to keep you or Sawyer waiting. Its customary for those starting together to pick their starter based on who arrived first. I'll contact her dad at the Petalburg gym once were done to see if he knows what's happened to her."
"Petalburg gym?" Ash muttered.
"So here you both go, these Pokedex's have each been registered along with your new trainer cards to make you official trainers," he explained, as the assistant handed out one set to each of them, "you have five Pokéballs so along with your starter, you can-"
"Make a full team, yeah, yeah, we already know that dad," Brendan cut him off.
"So, as you was here first, son, you get to pick your starter first," he smiled, "I believe you both know which are the three starters new Hoenn trainers can pick from?"
"Of course," Brendan smiled, stepping forward as Sawyer nodded as well, "and I'm going to pick Mudkip as my starter."
He picked up the large Pokéball which rested next to the water symbol and smiled as he held it in his hand. With a push of the button, it burst open and a red light flashed down onto the floor. A small, amphibious, quadrupedal Pokémon appeared in front of him. It had a blue body with a light-blue underside. It had a large head with a blue thin on top and a light-blue tail fin behind. It had black, beady eyes and orange, star-shaped gills on its cheeks. The top fin wiggled around and swayed left to right with a bright wide smile on its face.
"Wow, Mudkip looks so cool," Ash burst out, moving in closer. Mudkip walked up to Brendan and placed the front legs on his chin, as if asking to be picked up.
"And one might think they're the new trainers getting their first Pokémon today," Pikachu muttered from his shoulder.
The Professor's son kneeled down and scratched him on the top of his head, a soft caring smile written on his face, "hey there Mudkip. My name is Brendan, how would you like to be my first Pokémon as we set off on this adventure?"
"Yeah," Mudkip cried out in a happy tone. The boy smiled and picked the water type up, standing up in the process.
"Cool, so you already knew which starter you wanted to pick?" Ash asked.
"Of course," Brendan smiled, "Swampert are powerful swimmers so if I cover the Hoenn gym's on the mainland whilst training him up, then he should hopefully be fully evolved so we can travel the ocean routes together. A good trainer always keeps a strong water and flying type on hand, in case of emergency."
"Hahaha," the Professor laughed, patting his son on the back, "you see Ash, all the trainers starting today have been under my education for the last couple of years. I don't mean to boast but Brendan especially is quite the prodigy and has more knowledges than a lot of trainers do starting out, even more than some who have a league conference under their belt."
"Awesome!" Ash smiled, as the young man pulled out his Pokedex to scan his new starter:
Mudkip, The Mud Fish Pokémon. The fin on Mudkip's head acts as highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movements of water and air, this Pokémon can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent
Hidden Ability: Damp (Note: This hidden ability is currently locked)
Gender: Male
Nature: Hardy (Note: This nature could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Tackle, Growl, Water Gun, Mud Slap
"Well I bet you and Mudkip will make a great team," Ash smiled, turning towards his starter, "just like us, right buddy?"
"Yep!" Pikachu cheered in agreement.
"Wow, so you got a Pikachu as your starter?" Brendan asked, "but I thought the Kanto starters were Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander."
"They are but there were a lot of us starting that day so Professor Oak brought some extras," he smiled, scratching his starter under the chin to which he cooed, "and I wouldn't trade Pikachu even if you paid me."
"Although you do have the Kanto starters, right Ash?" Sawyer asked, "I remember seeing them in the Silver conference final. Venusaur, Blastoise and Charizard."
"I sure do, but they are back at Pallet with most of my other Pokémon," he explained, "they have already proven themselves tough so I want Hoenn to be a chance to build up a new team from scratch and not just have an easy ride with them. I'll still bring them back from time to time, though, when the situation calls for it."
"So, what about you, Sawyer, are you ready to pick your starter?" Professor Birch asked.
"I sure have, Professor," he smiled, stepping up to the table. He grabbed the Pokéball next to the grass symbol and pressed the button to unleash it, "and I've picked Treecko."
In a flash of light, the second Hoenn starter appeared in front of the young boy. It was a small, green, bipedal reptilian Pokémon. It had large yellow eyes with long, narrow pupils. Treecko's hands and feet each had three digits covered with pads, which Ash guessed would allow him to stick to walls based on how he saw other Pokémon use them like Caterpie. Its stomach and throat were red. It also had a line across its stomach, resembling a pouch. Treecko had a large, dark-green tail with two separate lobes. A confident smirk rested on his face.
"Nice to meet you, Treecko," Sawyer held his hand out to the grass type, "my name is Sawyer and I'm your new trainer."
"Cool," he replied, returning the handshake. Sawyer quickly ended the gesture and used his new Pokedex to scan his starter:
Treecko, The Wood Gekko Pokémon. Treecko is cool, calm, and collected—it never panics under any situation. If a bigger foe were to glare at this Pokémon, it would glare right back without conceding an inch of ground
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow
Hidden Ability: Unburden (Note: This hidden ability is currently locked)
Gender: Male
Nature: Calm (Note: This nature could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Pound, Leer, Leafage, Quick Attack
"So, what made you pick Treecko?" Brendan asked, "I would've thought Torchic because a fire type can help with cooking when on the road."
"Well, it's because you picked Mudkip," Sawyer replied, putting the device away, "I know out of the three of us starting, your my biggest competition so getting a type advantage this early can only be a positive for our rivalry."
"You sound like my brother," Ash chuckled, "always planning seven steps ahead."
"Your brother?" Sawyer asked, "you mean one of the trainers who lost in the group stages of the Silver conference?"
"Yeah but don't let that fool you," Ash replied, "good trainers can be knocked out early in tournaments if they come across strong trainers."
May came to a stop in front of the lab let out an exhausted sigh. Having lost all her momentum from the hill made cycling her a lot more work and now she was running late. Hopefully, Birch hasn't called her family to find out where she is, otherwise, her dad would send out a swat team to find her.
Locking her red bike up against the railings outside of the lab, she shook her head and approached the door. Knocking, she waited about half a minute, but no signs of life could be seen through the frosted glass. Shrugging, she reached for the handle and pushed it open. She's been to the lab numerous times over the last couple years and knows her way around like it's her own home. A slight noise was coming from the main lounge, drawing her attention.
She pushed her way into the room and saw her two other starting trainers with their new Pokémon, a Mudkip and Treecko, respectively. She also another guy in the room with some yellow Pokémon on his shoulder, who looked kinda cute in all honesty. As her eyes rested on the two lab workers.
"Sorry I'm late Professor, I was cycling down the hill then this Pokémon popped out and knocked me off course and-" she quickly tried to explain.
"Oh May," Birch smiled, turning towards her, "I'm just glad that you're okay. Are you ready to receive your starter?"
"Sure," she smiled, as Alden handed her a tray. It contained five Pokéballs, which she attracted to her belt, and a red brick which sort of looked like a big phone. Shrugged as she inspected it, she placed it in her pocket.
"Along with your starter, you have five Pokéballs to create a full team. And of course, a Pokedex," Professor Birch explained, "unlike Brendan and Sawyer, your father has opted for your extra Pokémon to go to his gym so you can exchange them with him. Now for your starter, its customary for the trainers to pick based on who arrived first so there is only one remaining for you."
"That's fine," she smiled, reaching for the remaining Pokéball off the table. Part of her would've just clipped it to her belt but seeing as everyone else has their starters out, so with a deep breath, she pushed in the middle button. It opened up and a red light materialised her starter on the floor in front of her.
It was a small, bird-ish Pokémon with stubby downy yellow wings. It tried to jump up, flapping them but didn't get high off the ground. Its body was covered with orange feathers. There was an orange and yellow crest on its head that resembled a flame. Its two thin legs and short beak were a light brownish yellow, and the feet had three toes on the front and one on the back. As it spun around a small black spec was visible on its rear. It ran up to her and nuzzled its fluffy head against her leg, causing her to giggle at the ticklish feeling.
"Hey there," she smiled, leaning down to scratch its head, "you sure are friendly."
"Torchic are very loving species but due to their fire, can also be quite dangerous," Professor Birch noted, "why not use your Pokedex to learn more about it."
"Right," she nodded, reaching for her device. Flipping the cover open, she pointed it towards her starter:
Torchic, The Chick Pokémon. Torchic has a place inside its body where it keeps its flame. Give it a hug—it will be glowing with warmth. This Pokémon is covered all over by a fluffy coat of down. Despite its small size, they are known to be incredibly fast on land.
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze
Hidden Ability: Speed Boost (Note: This hidden ability is currently locked)
Gender: Male
Nature: Naive (Note: This nature could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Scratch, Growl, Ember, Peck
"Torchic sure is cool," the boy with the yellow Pokémon on his shoulder spoke up, "too bad I never got face Harrison's."
"Pikapi," his Pokémon added.
"Oh right," he shook his head, turning to face her with a toothy grin, "nice to meet you, May. My name is Ash Ketchum and this my buddy Pikachu."
"Nice to meet you," she smiled, shaking his head.
Her eyes flickered across his body, his jacket was open, and his black undershirt seemed awfully tight. Inwardly smirking, she had to admit that while not expecting anyone else here, but she'd happily spend more time in Littleroot. After her dad sheltered her from boys, she'll make the most of her journey.
"Hey Ash," Sawyer pipped up, "would you mind giving us some tips on training? We can't pass up on the opportunity to learn from an experienced trainer."
"Sure, I'd love to," Ash smiled.
"Why don't you go outside to the front battlefield?" Professor Birch offered, "it would be good to get some practical done as well."
May was mostly silent and followed the boys outside to the large dirt field with several white lines marking it out. She stood next to both of the other starting trainers as Ash walked out in front. His Pikachu jumped down onto the floor and he pulled out two more Pokéballs. In flashes of light, a small blue Pokémon with a flappy truck and ears appeared, along with a taller pink Pokémon, who stood tall and looked incredibly intimidating.
"Okay, so the first thing you should do is look up what your Pokémon evolve into," he explained, "when developing a fighting style, you don't want to make it completely different to how their evolved form might battle. For example, Pikachu here uses a lot of speed but his evolve form is more about roar power!"
"Have you had a Pokémon affected by a bad battling style?" Brendan asked.
"I have," he admitted, "and it took a long time for us to get over it. Once you know where your Pokémon is going, you know what features to work on and how to develop a proper battle style.
Serena stepped out of the general goods store, one hand holding her two paper bags and the other engulfed by Sylveon's feeler. Murkrow was resting on her shoulder. Stepping out of the way of the doors, she felt the sun heat up her skin once more.
Sighing as the heat took over, she reached into the bag. One of them contained the food, the cans of Pokémon food and spices which they mix in for them individually, along with the ingredients for the meals for herself and Ash. Looking into the other one, she saw several bottles of sunscreen. Pulling one out, she sprayed it over legs, arms and even her stomach. Why she didn't pick some up before the plane is beyond her.
"Better," she sighed, "so are you two ready to head towards the lab?"
Her two Pokémon nodded in agreement and they started to walk towards the large metal building which towered over the rest of the small town. As they walked, she dropped the sunscreen into the bag and pulled out a packet of biscuits from the other. Opening them, she handed one to Sylveon's free feeler and held a second one out. Murkrow happily pecked the treat and took it off her. She took one for herself as her two Pokémon ate theirs.
"So Murkrow, I've been thinking," she started, "you have a solid solo performance laid out for yourself already."
The dark flying type nodded.
"But typically showcases use more than one Pokémon in the freestyle performances," she continued, "so how about as we find new friends in Hoenn, we get them to work on working with your performance. This way you can better make friends with them and not need to adjust to someone else's routine."
"Mur Murkrow!" she called out.
"Huh?" Serena asked.
"She said that she'd be up to trying it," Sylveon explained through her inner voice, "but no promises."
"Ya know, I really wish there were a way to use ESP to speak with dark types," Serena sighed, "it feels like a connection is being denied."
"Maybe you could learn Miracle Eye," Sylveon shrugged, "I know they say you can't teach humans new tricks, but I believe in you."
"You take too much after Pikachu," she shook her head.
"Murkrow, Murk," Murkrow pipped up.
"Shut up you," Sylveon replied in a playful manner. She paused and glanced back towards an alleyway they just passed, "hold on, someone's watching."
The trio turned silent and Serena turned to face the alleyway completely. Part of her wouldn't have thought twice about it or even noticed it without her friends pointing it out. Cautiously, they moved closer, trying to see who was watching. Sylveon's feeler detached as she prepared to attack.
Slowly, movement could be seen behind one of the rubbish bins. Stopping in their tracks, they watched the Pokémon tentatively hop out of the shadows, the sun landing on its body. It was a green, bipedal Pokémon with a round body and cactus-like stiations. It had a dark green rhombus shaped above its face, and six dark green rhombus shapes that ring around its waist. It had dark circles around its eyes, and its mouth composed of several similar circles. It had two dark green spikes on each side of its head, along with a yellow flower bud on top of its head. It had two club-like arms that are ringed with dark green spikes, and its two stubby legs are dark green and conical. The way the big round eyes looked up seemed filled with fear, which melted her heart.
"Hello?" Serena asked through her ESP.
"W-who... was that one of you?" a male inner voice asked.
"Yes," Serena smiled out loud, "I have psychic abilities. And I can communicate with it."
"So, can I ask why you was watching us?" Sylveon interjected.
"T-the food," he stuttered, pointing towards the cookie packet, "it's been a while since I've eaten a-and was hungry."
Serena smiled sympathetically and raised her hand to use her telekinesis abilities. Lifting the bag up, she pulled out a single cookie and sent it over towards the small Pokémon. He caught it in his club-like arms and paused. A silent message in his eyes as he looked at her.
"Go on," she encouraged, "we have plenty to share."
He paused only a moment later, before slowly eating the cookie. Taking each bite and savouring every crumb. It was almost heart-breaking to see how much a simple cookie meant to the little guy. As he finished, he looked up with a more hopeful expression, "thank you."
"I don't mean to be mean, but this forest doesn't seem to be a natural habitat for you," Sylveon pipped up.
"Mur Murkrow," the dark flying type added.
"W-well it isn't," he stuttered, "I had a trainer... another human-"
"Trainer's usually are," Sylveon nodded, "even if Pokémon are more qualified."
"Hehehe, your funny," he giggled, "a-and he was doing that gym challenge thing... he tried to use me to battle a rock gym specialist and... it didn't go right, and I got hurt. Then we tried a normal gym and that went even worst. He said he was tired at being let down and released me."
"Aww, I'm sorry," Serena apologised, kneeling down to be more at an eye level. Holding the packet out completely, "h-here. We've got plenty."
He slowly reached out and took the back. The spikes on his arms ripped the top of the bag open, even if it was obvious, he didn't mean to. He picked out a single cookie and began eating it a little faster than his first. Smiling at him, she stood up and turned around. They began walking away, happy to have helped the little guy even if just a little. They barely got two buildings away before Murkrow turned her head to look back.
Turning to look in that direction, she was surprised to see the little guy hopping along after her. She stopped and watched as he stopped a little back, "was there something else?"
"D-didn't you capture me?" he asked, "I-I mean, you did feed me."
"Technically no," she kneeled down, "after being abandonded, I didn't think you'd want another trainer. Not so soon or-"
"Did you want to be captured?" Sylveon asked.
"Murkrow," the female bird added.
"W-well, yeah. I don't like being alone or hungry," he admitted, "and your kinda pretty. I like kind and pretty people."
"If you're sure," she smiled, using her ESP to move an empty Pokéball out of her backpack. It was placed on the floor and he cautiously hopped up to it. His club-like arm touched the button, and he was sucked inside with a red light. The ball dinged instantly, and Serena pulled out her Pokedex to check it out:
Cacnea, The Cactus Pokémon. The more arid and harsh the environment, the more pretty and fragrant a flower Cacnea grows. This Pokémon battles by wildly swinging its thorny arms. It can store water in its body for weeks at a time to survive trips across large deserts
Type: Grass
Ability: Sand Veil
Hidden Ability: Water Absorb (Note: This hidden ability is currently locked).
Gender: Male
Nature: Lonely (Note: This nature could change when/if this Pokémon evolves)
Move(s): Poison Sting, Leer, Absorb, Growth, Leech Seed, Sand Attack, Pin Missile
She picked the device up and it burst open, a red light materialising the grass type on the floor. A bright smile on his face, and he jumped up, wrapping his stubby arms around her stomach in an affectionate manner.
"Ow!" she cried out, as he fell back to the ground.
"Sorry," Cacnea apologised, "I-I'm a hugger. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I-it's alright," she tried to regain her composure, remembering her certain fossil Pokémon from Kanto, "I'm almost use to it by now."
"So, what do you do? As a trainer I mean," Cacnea asked, "do you do gym battles or-"
"Well, it's not so cut and dry. I do battles but never been one for the gym challenge," she explained, "but recently we did a contest circuit back in Johto and now we're looking into showcases. Some of my Pokémon have chosen to stick to one particular avenue so whichever you personally like, I'm happy to accommodate."
"I-I don't like battles, to be completely honest," he replied, "they're... ouchie. But showcases sounds fun. C-could I try them?"
Serena shared a look at Murkrow, who simply shrugged and rolled her eyes. Ideas of how these two could perform together already formulating in her mind, he really is a sweet little guy. It's pretty amazing that she already found a new friend in Hoenn.
"Of course, you can try them," she smiled, "but for now we have to go and meet someone. Why not think over what sort of performance you could do, and we'll talk about it in our first training session together."
She smiled and disappeared in a red light, as she attached his Pokéball to her belt. Murkrow also opted to take a break in her device, so with Sylveon by her side, they set of back towards the Pokémon lab.
May smiled as she watched that Ash guy work with her fellow starting trainers. Stood off to the side with her bike close by, her fire type stood by her feet. Just like he suggested, they looked up what their starters would evolve into and determined what sort of styles they'd have. She tried to look up what her Torchic would evolve into, but she really doesn't have a drive to get it to there.
Brendan had been paired with Ash's pink Pokémon, Granbull? Apparently, when the water type evolves, he'll have a sort of brawler fighting style similar to her and she was giving tips on how to use that. Her best friend's water type was spraying her with a water jet out of his mouth. It struck the intimidating mon's chest as she stood her ground, slowly pushing towards him. Surprisingly, the Granbull seemed to enjoy being hit with the attack.
While Ash was stood with Sawyer, clearly giving the young lad some tips. As his blue Pokémon, Phanpy she thinks he called it, was rolling around, avoiding Treecko as the grass type attempted to land series of leaves on it. Never quite getting the accuracy on him. Every so often, the rolling Pokémon would turn and strike the starter, sending him flying over the field. Landing with a face full of dirt.
"Treecko needs to prioritise dodging over landing an attack," she heard the Kanto native explain, "and he's putting too much effort into each attack."
"But if it hits, its sure to cause a lot of damage," Sawyer retorted.
"Maybe, but he is also wasting a lot of energy by giving it his all every time," Ash sighed, "and that is leaving him open. Notice how Phanpy has got off three solid blows with his rollout?"
"But that's because he's so much more experienced," Sawyer replied, "when Treecko gets to that level-"
"First off, Phanpy probably isn't that much more experienced than starters," Ash interjected, "I hatched him from an egg a few months back and his only real strategy when battling is what you're seeing now. I'm telling you, have Treecko focus less on giving full power for every attack and more on dodging. His superior speed will get him into a better attack position and even if not full power, a weaker leafage will do more than one that completely missed."
He cast a glance in her direction and she quickly realised that he must've caught her staring. Acting as quickly as she could, she dropped down to her knees and picked up the Torchic which was stood by her side. A blank expression written on his face.
"Okay, we'll try it your way," Sawyer admitted defeat.
"Cool," Ash replied, "Phanpy should be fine on his own so I'll go and check on how the others are doing."
She didn't dare chance a glance to the side, but soon the shadow over her made it clear he was standing right next to her. As her eye carefully looked without turning her head, she saw him squatting down so they were at eye level.
"You didn't have Torchic start any sort of training with Pikachu," he commented, "he needs someone to keep him on his toes, don't want him going soft."
Looking over towards the yellow Pokémon he gestured towards, she saw him laid out on his back on a small flip out sun chair, reflective sun mirrors in his hands and a pair of sunglasses on his eyes. She couldn't help but chuckle at the over the top relaxation.
"Well I looked up what Torchic is meant to become but I have no-idea what sort of style it would have," she admitted.
"I remember seeing its evolved form back in the Silver conference. That Blaziken was pretty powerful and well trained," Ash smiled fondly, "it mostly jumped around and added in martial arts with fire attacks. I've had couple fighting types but nothing with the complexities that Blaziken showed in battle."
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah, I mean. My Primeape's style is pretty much punch stuff and if that fails, punch even harder," he laughed, "and my Heracross is similar but with flight."
She turned back and looked towards her own starter, jumping around with fire feet, and showing off martial arts stuff does definitely sound amazing but all she has is a little Torchic. How could this little guy possibly perform any of that?
"You can't just go straight into doing the expert level, cool moves," Ash added, "you need to start with the basics. Once you have a strong foundation, you build and progress upon it and over time you get to that sort of level. Together."
"So, what sort of basic level stuff would you suggest?" she asked.
"Landing a move is pretty difficult, even more so when running around and avoiding other attacks," Ash shrugged, placing his fingers in his mouth as he turned toward his yellow Pokémon, whistling, and catching Pikachu's attention. The mouse looked over and quickly left his stuff on the sun chair, scattering over towards them, "I'll have Pikachu run and Torchic can try and land an ember whilst also running."
Shrugging, she turned towards her starter. He seemed to like that idea and struggled in her hands. Unable to keep her grip, the fire type leaped out and landed on floor. He fell on his behind. Getting back up to his feet, he spun around and charged towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu, your target practise," Ash called out, "make it an appropriate difficulty."
May watched her starter run forward, his beak glowing bright white and extending outward. Making a dive for the electric type, he simply jumped to the side, landing on all four paws. As her fire type skidded across the dirt, coughing as he stood back up. The two running off, as small fire balls fired out of the beak.
She couldn't help but blush as she stood up, Ash standing next to her. Despite having his jacket over his arms, she couldn't help but imagine his biceps being like the size of tree trunks. He is certainly in good shape, his tight undershirt which she saw early proved that and with his charming good lucks, it only makes sense he has the full package. Besides, the way he is helping her. The only one to help in such away was Brendan and that's because of his obvious crush on her... that can only mean one thing, Ash must have feelings for her as well. It doesn't matter if its only based on physical appearance right now, it's how it was with her after all, but they can get to know one another.
Unable to voice anything as she glanced to the side. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip, as she focused more on the boy next to her instead of the training. To her dismay, however, Brendan caught sight of them and looked furious. He quickly stomped over towards them, his Mudkip quickly following at his heel.
"What's going on?" he asked, in a tone she didn't like. She already turned him down on multiple occasions so what was he playing at?
"Well Torchic is only getting started," Ash none-chalantly replied, "just working on getting his aim. How's Mudkip getting on?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?" he scoff, much to her embarrassment, "I challenge you to a battle."
"Huh? I'd love to Brendan, I really would," he replied, "but the three Pokémon you've seen are the only ones I've got on hand. I don't want to overpower or pummel your Mudkip. Maybe once you've got some more experience and I've caught some Hoenn Pokémon myself."
"Well why don't we even it out, then," Sawyer suggested, as he walked over with his Treecko by his side. Phanpy on the other side of him.
"What do you suggest?" Ash asked.
"You use Pikachu, just Pikachu," Sawyer suggested, "and you face all three of us at once? Give us a taste of a real battle."
Ash seemed to look around at the three trainers, all six Pokémon now surrounding them. A smirk formed on his lips, "alright then." He returned the two other Pokémon and Pikachu took up a spot on the field, facing the middle circle. With Ash walking towards the small white box on the far side of the field.
Pikachu verses New trainer's:
May stood next to her fellow beginning trainer's. Their respective starters stood in front of them and Pikachu was their first sight. He crouched low on all paws, an excited gleam and smirk on his face. His cheeks sparked as he raised a hand, gesturing them to come towards.
"Give us cover," Sawyer instructed.
His grass type took off from his position. Hopping across the field with pretty impressive speed.
"Water Gun!" Brendan yelled.
His water type stepped forward, gritting his feet into the floor. With a deep breath, he launched a powerful jet of water straight at the mouse.
Pikachu leaped his tail overhead as it shone with a metal coating. It struck the earth, forcing a slab of the ground up, which he cowered behind. The water gun struck it and sent the water gun upwards. Striking Treecko who tried to attack from above with his tail.
The grass type landed next to the water gun, soaking wet. Kneeling up and growling angrily.
Ash's electric type shot to the side and spun on a heel. His tail struck the wood gekko, sending him flying and smashing into Mudkip, ending the attack.
"May!" Sawyer snapped, "we need to regroup! Have Torchic keep him busy while we formulate a plan."
"Erm, right," she stuttered, "Torchic run in and use Ember!"
Her chick Pokémon charged forward and opened her beak, a series of fire balls firing in front of her. Their opponent leaped back over her starter and landed behind. Torchic attempted to come to a stop and turn but ended up falling on his behind.
Treecko had recovered and positioned himself high above their opponent. Sending down a leaf tornado and trapping Pikachu out of sight.
Mudkip charged forward and came to a stop right in front of the leafage attack. A ball of electricity shot out of the tornado and Pikachu leaped out.
He landed right in front of Brendan's water type, who used his tail fin to send a pile of dirt straight into his eyes. Pikachu began panicking and backing up as his eyes were squeezed shut, pawing at the dirt in an attempt to clear his vision.
"One o'clock, nine o'clock and six o'clock!" Ash shouted.
"He's giving away our Pokémon's locations!" Brendan retorted.
A field of electricity engulfed him. With a small, single bolt of lightning shooting off towards Treecko.
The grass type jumped out of the way. She could only watch as the lightning struck her nearby bike. Leaving it charred and destroyed. Her eyes widened and mouth dropped slightly at the sight. Her bottom lip quivered as she took in the sight.
"my... bike..." she whispered.
Unable to focus on anything else, she starred towards her destroyed bike. She barely noticed the arrival of girl with golden glasses walking past.
An explosion drew her attention.
Turning around she saw a collision of leafage, ember, and water gun. The chaos caused blocked vision of their opponent. Pikachu shot out; his eyes still squeezed shut. He dived into the water gun, face first.
Landing next to the attack, he spun on a heel and whacked his glowing tail into Mudkip. The water type smashed into Torchic, and they stumbled over.
Leaping up to the air, he sent out another thunderbolt. It would struck the ground as the wood gekko dodged out of the way. Shooting down to the ground in the blink of an eye, he struck the grass type and knocked him into the other starters.
May quickly made her way over to the charred remains of the bike, she felt upset at first but quickly shrugged it off. She knew it was a total accident just bad luck on her part. Sure, she would've liked the idea of biking around the region from city to city but maybe this was a sign that her journey should be different.
Sighing she stood up and turned towards the others. Sawyer and Brendan were stood off to the side with Professor Birch, having recalled their starters. She looked down at her fire type and simply recalled him to his Pokéball. Clipping the device to her belt, she looked towards the cause of this damage. While upset over her bike, she could definitely use it to her advantage.
As she scanned the front of the lab, she found Ash with his electric mouse positioned on his shoulder. However, that girl that showed up during the battle was now stood with him. They seemed to be having a happy conversation as she laughed at something he said. She felt her hand tighten in anger when sh wrapped her arms around his neck. What sort of guy is he; does he just flirt with any girl that comes around the corner?
"Hey May," a voice called out, she turned to see Brendan approaching her. Behind she saw their fellow starting trainer heading off down the path.
"Guess your off on the road," she rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the raven-haired boy.
"Yeah," he sighed, "I know you said no before, but seeing as its actually time to leave. I dunno, maybe you've changed your mind. It's gonna be a big-"
"No, I told you before I'm not interested in you Brendan, " she cut him off, "not in that way."
"I know and I don't mean as boyfriend and girlfriend," he explained, "but as, ya know. Friends."
"Thanks Brendan, but no thanks," she replied, "I'll see ya around, though."
She heard him sigh and set off down the past. Casting a glance at her friend, she saw him walking away. Knowing they'd likely meet up at some other point in their adventure, she turned back to the issue at hand. Angered by the closeness of this new girl and Ash, she walked over towards them.
"Hey Ash," she forced a smile onto her face, "whose this?"
"This is my girlfriend, Serena," he smiled, as they both turned towards her, "Serena. This is May, one of the new trainers who started today."
"Girlfriend?" May asked, "isn't that moving a little fast?"
"Not really," this Serena girl raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I've known Serena for... six years?" Ash asked, turning towards her.
"Six and a half," she corrected, "closer to seven now."
"Right," Ash replied. The flirty banter made her want to threw up, "anyway, I see Brendan and Sawyer already left. Guess you'll be going to."
"Yeah," she sighed, raising her arms up and resting them behind her head, "but even heading off to Oldale town makes me a little nervous, to be honest, especially now my bikes destroyed... thanks to your Pikachu, mister. There must be a solution, a way to get there safely on foot."
"Why don't we travel together," Serena pipped up, "there's always safety in numbers and I know how scary the prospect of travelling alone can be."
"I thought you two travelled together," she pouted, "if you've nearly known each other for seven years, that is."
"We have," Serena shrugged, "but when first starting our journey, we were gonna travel separately. I was a little nervous to ask Ash if he wanted to travel together but, in the end, he invited me the day we set off. But what do you think, Ash?"
"Sure, it'll be fun having someone else on the ride," he shrugged, "the more the merrier."
Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...