Episode 3: A Bird in the Hand

Today we join our heroes in the small town of Aster. It's the first stop for trainers wishing to enter the Tenno League. What adventure could this place have in store for them? Let's find out.

Ash, Brock, and Brenda stroll into a town. While still keeping the feeling of a small town, it also has several more futuristic aspects, such as holographic signs, or some hovering vehicles. Brenda says excitedly, "This is it, Aster Town!" She looks around, taking in the sights.

Brock is reading a guidebook. He says, "According to this, this is the place where new trainers sign up for the Tenno League."

Ash raises his fist in to the air excitedly. "Yeah!"

Brenda continues to looks around. She says, "This is the farthest I've ever been away from home."

Ash asks, "Really, you've never gone on any trips or anything?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's part of the reason I wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. It's the perfect opportunity to see the world."

Brock comments, "You've got that right. Come on, let's get to the Pokémon Center, so Ash can sign up for the Tenno League."

The group walks into the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy is standing behind her desk with a Chansey next to her. She says, "Hello, welcome to the Aster Town Pokémon Center. How may I help you?"

Ash starts to say, "I'd like to-"

He's cut off by Brock jumping in front of him and kneeling before Nurse Joy. His eyes turn to hearts and he says in a trace-like voice, "I'll tell you how you can help me. You can come with me, we'll live out our lives together as the perfect couple. Just tell me you'll say yes, and you'll make me the happiest man-"

Brock is then interrupted by Nurse Joy's Chansey ramming into him. "Chansey!" Brenda has been watching this entire encounter with an extremely confused look.

Nurse Joy scratches the back of her head awkwardly. She apologizes, "Sorry, my Chansey doesn't take well to people getting that close to me."

Ash laughs with slight embarrassment, then says, "No, it should be me apologizing. My friend can get a little crazy around girls."

Brock, who's still lying on the floor, slowly raises his hand and says, "I regret nothing…" and the hand falls.

Ash says, "Anyways, I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner Pikachu. I just got to this region, and I want to sign up for the Tenno League."

Nurse Joy smiles. "Of course. Do you have a Pokédex?"

Ash digs around in his pocket and pulls out his Pokédex. "Here it is."

Nurse Joy takes it and turns around, plugging it into a computer. The electronic voice of the Pokédex says, "This unit is registered to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." On the computer screen a picture of Ash pops up, along with one of Pikachu and slots for five other Pokémon.

Nurse Joy unhooks the Pokédex and hands back to Ash. "Alright, you're all registered. This is your official League Pass," she hands Ash an ID card with his picture on it, "and this is your badge case." She hands him an ornately designed box with the picture of a starscape on it.

Ash takes both. "Tenno League, here I come!"

"Pika!"

Ash turns to Brenda and suggests, "Hey Brenda, why don't you sign up, gym battles are a great way to test your skills as a trainer."

She shakes her head. "No, I actually have something else in mind."

"Really, what?"

She smiles. "It's a secret."

Just as she's saying that, two young boys run into the room. One is carrying a Weedle, the other an Oddish, both are hurt. The one with the Weedle shouts, "Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy! Please help our Pokémon!"

She asks, "Oh no, what happened!?"

The other boy explains, "It was that Apprentichick again."

"Oh no, don't worry, I'll take care of your Pokémon." Chansey brings in a gurney and the boys place their Pokémon on it. Nurse Joy and Chansey run into the back room with them.

Ash asks, "What happened to them?"

The first boy exclaims, "Didn't you hear me? The Apprentichick happened!"

Brenda steps forward. "I'm sorry, we're not from around here, we don't know what you mean."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize. You see, about a month ago, this Pokémon, Apprentichick flew into town, and ever since, if it sees a Pokémon, it will challenge it to a battle, and it won't take no for an answer. If it ever comes close to losing, it will just fly away, but then it'll just come back later to fight again. It's not only a major annoyance, but it also hurts Pokémon that aren't ready for battle, just like ours."

Brock, who's spent the past few minutes on the floor, springs up saying, "That's awful!"

The other boy says, "Tell me about it. There's nothing we can do about it. It just won't stop."

Brock looks thoughtful. "I wonder what would cause that kind of behavior in a Pokémon."

"Nobody is really sure."

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are now walking down the streets of Aster Town. Brock still looks concerned. He says, "The story with the Apprentichick concerns me. There's something else going on beyond just it wanting to fight."

As he's saying that, they hear a bird-like Pokémon cry from above, "Apprentichick!" The Pokémon lands in front of them. It is a small bird Pokémon with dark grey feathers about a foot high. Around its head and face is a pattern of lighter grey feathers, causing it to appear as if the Pokémon is wearing a knight's helmet. For a bird of its size, its legs are fairly large, inferring that it is as good a walker as well as a flyer. Along with those large legs are even larger talons. It hops from leg to leg and holds up its wings, as if they were fists. "Chick! Apprentichick!"

Ash pulls out his Pokédex. "Apprentichick, the Squire Bird Pokémon and a Flying and Normal combo type. Apprentichick are known to challenge Pokémon several times their own size to battle and are famous for their fighting spirit. Apprentichick spends up to ten hours a day training. Evolves into Falcoknight at level 17."

Brenda exclaims, "That must be the same one!"

Apprentichick shouts, "Chick, chick!" and points at Pikachu.

Ash grins determinedly. "You want to battle Pikachu?"

"Apprentichick!"

Pikachu jumps off of Ash's arm. "Chu!"

Brock warns, "Be careful Ash!"

Ash turns his hat backwards. "Don't worry Brock, we've got this."

Apprentichick flies into the air and then dives, with its wings glowing. Brock says, "Look out, here comes Wing Attack!"

"Pikachu, dodge! Then use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu rolls out of the way and Apprentichick misses, and then flies upwards. "Pikaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes its Thunderbolt, which hits Apprentichick dead on. Apprentichick ignores it and dives down again. Just as it's about to hit Pikachu, with a sudden burst of speed it disappears and then reappears behind Pikachu, hitting it with a Wing Attack.

Ash asks, "What was that!?"

Brock explains, "That was Apprentichick's Aerial Maneuvers attack, it can make the Pokémon very tricky to hit." Apprentichick comes flying at Pikachu, with its talons glowing and poised for attack. Brock then explains, "And now its preparing to use Talon Grapple! That move inflicts both Flying and Fighting type damage!"

Ash says, "Alright, if it wants to fight close quarters, we'll fight close quarters. Pikachu, rapid fire Iron Tail!" Pikachu's Iron Tail slams into Apprentichick's talons. The two continue to attack each other, continuously impacting one another. Ash then commands, "Switch to Electro Ball!" In a break in attacks, Pikachu launches its Electro Ball, which hits Apprentichick directly, knocking it back. It quickly gets back up and then flies away. Ash calls out, "Wait, don't you want to finish our battle!?" But it ignores Ash. Pikachu climbs back up on Ash.

In a nearby alleyway, Team Rocket is hiding behind a dumpster. James states, "That Pokémon's got spunk."

Jessie shrugs. "I don't see the big deal."

Meowth cries, "What!? This Pokémon could be our chance at the big time!"

Jessie states, "I'm listening."

"Alright, consider this. The Boss is the leader of an army of Pokémon, right?" As he's a saying this, an image appears of Giovanni overlooking a large number of various powerful Pokémon training by attacking punching bags. "Now of course, he needs to train those Pokémon, but who wants to volunteer their precious Pokémon to get pummeled by The Boss' primo Pokémon? That's where Apprentichick comes in. It always wants to battle, no matter who the opponent is." The scene now shows Giovanni watching Apprentichick battle a Nidoking. "The best part is, that Apprentichick knows its limit, so it will stop, so it can fight again another day. After seeing the perfect living punching bag, The Boss will surely say 'Meowth and friends gave me a way to train my Pokémon better. They deserve to be rewarded.' And then we'll be rich!" The fantasy ends.

Jessie and James appear to agree with Meowth. They all chant, "Catch the Apprentichick, then we'll get rich quick!"

Wobbuffet comes out and continues the chant, "Wobba, Wobba, Wobba!"

Who's That Pokémon!?

(That's right, I decided to try this out for fun. If you think it's too silly, just skip it. If you want to play along, just read the provided Pokédex description, and guess which Pokémon I'm describing. The answer will be given during the next break.)

Thanks to its gargantuan jaws, which could shred thick metal plates as if they were paper, this Pokémon was invincible in the ancient world it once inhabited.

The group is now on the outskirts of town. Ash looks down. He says, "I can't believe it. We were having such a great battle, why would it run away like that?"

Brenda jokes, "Maybe it didn't like you?"

Brock says seriously, "Like I said before, that's not normal behavior, even for Pokémon like an Apprentichick."

Brenda points up in the sky, "Hey, look at that!" She's pointing at a big group of Pokémon flying above. In a large circle are various bird Pokémon, such as Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Pidove, and Fletchling. In the center of the circle are two Pokémon facing off, a Pidgeot and the Apprentichick. She asks, "Who's that Pokemon?" and pulls out a pink Pokédex.

It says in a female voice, "Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon and a Flying and Normal combo type. Pidgeot have the ability to fly at speeds up to Mach 2. Its wings are so powerful that when taking off, it blows away anything not attached to the ground. Evolves from Pidgeotto at Level 36."

Brock exclaims, "It looks like those two are battling!"

The Apprentichick makes the first move and charges at Pidgeot with a Wing Attack. The Pidgeot uses a Wing Attack of its own. The two collide in midair. The Pidgeot turns around and goes in for another Wing Attack, Apprentichick is too slow and gets hit. It falls towards the ground and lands with a thump. All of the bird Pokémon make noises as if they're laughing at it. Pidgeot turns and flies away. The rest of the flock follows.

Ash runs over to where Apprentichick fell. He looks down at it and asks, "Apprentichick, are you okay?"

It wakes up and sees Ash. It angrily shouts, "Apprentichick!" and launches a Gust attack at Ash, knocking him back. It then flies away.

Brock and Brenda run over and help Ash up. Brock says, "I get it now. It looks like Apprentichick wants to join that flock of Flying-Type Pokémon, but the initiation requires it to battle that Pidgeot. It's been training to raise its strength. It all makes sense now."

Brenda says, "I feel so bad for it. I wish that there was something we could do for it."

Ash states, "We've got to go back to the town."

Brock asks, "Why?"

"No one understands why it's doing what its doing. I want a chance to talk to it. Maybe I can convince it to train somewhere else, somewhere it won't bother people."

Brock and Brenda nod. Brock says, "Alright, let's do it."

It's Tyrantrum!

Ash, Brock, and Brenda have made it to the center of the town. There seems to be a gathering of people. In front of them all is a raised platform with an official looking man in a suit standing on it. The man announces, "People of Aster Town, I have wondrous news! For too long now our town has been pestered by a certain, annoying, bird Pokémon. I, the mayor of Aster Town, am here to tell you now that we finally have a solution. I present to you the kind folks from Rocket Extermination!" Out on to the stage walk three people. Two tall, a guy with blue hair and a girl with red hair, and one short guy, with no hair, and oddly colored skin. They're all dressed in grey jumpsuits. "These kind people have offered to rid us of our problem."

The girl with red hair grabs the microphone from him and adds, "For a modest fee of course."

"Um…yes…of course. Anyways, we won't have to deal with that annoying Apprentichick ever again!"

Ash climbs up onto the stage and shouts, "No, you can't do this!"

The mayor tilts his head and asks, "Is something wrong young man?"

"Give me the chance, I think I can convince Apprentichick to leave your town alone…and I'll do it for free!"

The blue haired one says with outrage, "What?! Why would these kind people ever want a twerp - I mean young man - to do this instead of us, we're professional."

The short one adds, "Yeah! What he said!"

The mayor thinks it over. "Hmm…How about a contest!? Whoever can solve our problem faster gets to use their method!"

The red haired one shouts, "What?!"

She is pulled aside by the other two. The short one whispers, "Don't worry about it, I have a mech for this. There's no way the twerps could beat us." They all nod. The short one then says to the mayor, "Okay, we accept your challenge."

"Good, good! And you boy?"

Ash states, "I accept."

"Okay then, start at your convenience!"

Ash and the gang are now walking through the town. Ash calls out, "Apprentichick!"

Brock and Brenda also call, "Apprentichick!"

Brock stops and thinks aloud, "Hmm…I have an idea. I happen to have some Flying-Type Pokémon food. Maybe if we put some of that out, it will attract Apprentichick."

Brenda exclaims, "Good idea Brock!"

Brock pulls off his backpack and takes out a can of food and pours it into a bowl. He sets the bowl out and then the three of them hide behind a nearby car. After a few moments of waiting, the Apprentichick perches next to the bowl and starts pecking at the food.

Ash whispers, "It worked!" He runs out from behind the car and shouts, "Hey, Apprentichick, I want to talk to you!"

The Pokémon is startled by Ash and flies up a little. Upon seeing Pikachu, it lands again, and goes into a fighting stance. "Apprenti! Apprenti!"

Ash asserts, "I'm not here to battle! We need to talk! There are people who want to hurt you after you!"

"Apprentichick!"

Suddenly a voice over a loud speaker announces, "Too late!" Down the street comes marching a giant humanoid robot. One of its hands is a net and there's a glass dome covered cockpit on top of its head. The glass retracts to reveal the three "exterminators" that are sitting inside of it. The red-haired one says, "Hand over the Pokémon!"

Ash, Brock, and Brenda get in front of Apprentichick. Ash says, "We'll never let you take Apprentichick!"

Brock says, "Yeah, you guys are nothing but trouble!"

The two taller ones twitch. The blue haired one asks, "Did…he just…say…trouble?"

Brenda adds, "Yeah, and you might as well make it double!"

The red haired one says, "Prepare…for…trouble…"

The blue haired one says, "Make…it…double…"

The red one shouts, "I can't take it anymore!" She throws off her jumpsuit, revealing her to be Jessie. "Prepare for trouble!"

The blue haired one throws off his jumpsuit, and is in fact, James. "And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Instead of saying his line, Meowth, now out of his costume, whacks the two of them on the back of the head and says, "You guys are morons!"

Ash shouts, "Team Rocket!"

Brock asks, "These guys are still following you around Ash?" Ash nods.

Brenda, who is confused, asks, "I don't get it. Who's Team Rocket?"

Ash explains, "They're a group of bad guys who are always chasing me, trying to steal Pikachu."

"That's awful!"

Jessie says, "Why thank you. We take pride in our despicableness."

James says, "Well you don't need to worry about us taking Pikachu, we're here for the Apprentichick!"

Meowth adds, "Yeah, and we're going to get it!" He presses a button and the arms of the robot extend out towards them. The normal hand swats Ash, Brock, and Brenda back, while the net hand catches Apprentichick. Meowth states, "Good luck getting out of that net, its designed so you can't break out of it!"

Ash shouts, "Apprentichick, no!" The Pokemon struggles to get out of the net, but it can't. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumps forward and attacks. The bolt hits the robot, but does nothing.

James laughs, "Hah, do you really think that we would forget to pika-proof our mech!?"

Ash looks angered. "Pikachu, Iron Tail on the net!"

Pikachu jumps at the net holding Apprentichick, "Chu, pika!" and manages to cut it open and Apprentichick flies out.

Team Rocket gasps. Jessie asks, "Hey, I thought you said that that net couldn't be broken out of!"

Meowth is embarrassed. "I said you couldn't break out. I never said anything about breaking in."

Apprentichick cries in challenge, "Apprentichick!"

Ash shouts, "Apprentichick, if you want to beat Team Rocket, listen to me!" It looks at Ash and nods. "Alright, Apprentichick, Wing Attack!" The Pokémon dives at Team Rocket's mech. The arm that isn't broken raises and tries to swat at Apprentichick. "Now, use your Aerial Maneuvers!" The Pokémon vanishes from sight, avoiding the arm, and then reappears behind the mech. It slashes at it with its wing, then repeats two other times at different angles. A triangular section of armor falls off. The mech turns around to try to stop it, but expose the new weak spot to Ash. He smiles. "Perfect. Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu begins to run at the weak spot and becomes covered in electricity. "Pika pika pika pika pika pika pika chu!" It rams into the exposed area, causing the mech to explode. Team Rocket is sent flying by the shockwave.

As they're flying off, they shout, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Ash shouts, "Great Pikachu!" He looks towards Apprentichick, who's flying towards him. "You too."

It says happily, "Apprenti!"

Ash looks at it for a few seconds and then says, "Hey, you and I make a pretty good team. I know that you want to get strong and join that flock of Pokémon." It nods its head. "I may not be the same as the flock, but I can help you get stronger. Why don't you come with me? We can train together, and maybe someday we can come back here, and you can have a rematch with that Pidgeot."

It thinks it over, and then nods its head. It exclaims, "Apprentichick!" happily.

Ash pulls out a Pokéball and throws it into the air. Apprentichick flies up and meets the button on the Pokéball, sucking it in. The ball falls back down to Ash and wiggles in his hands. After several shakes, the ball clicks. Ash holds the Pokéball towards the sky and poses. He shouts, "I just caught an Apprentichick!"
Pikachu adds, "Pik pikachu!"

Brock smiles. "That's great Ash!"

Brenda adds, "Yeah, amazing. I feel like that Apprentichick was meant to be with you."

The three turn around and start to leave the town. A voice shouts, "Wait!" They turn around to see the mayor running towards them. He catches up with them and says, "That was brilliant! I watched the whole thing over security cameras. I can't believe that I almost hired criminals to do that job. Thank you so much. You have done a great service to our town."

Ash smiles and says, "I'm pleased to be of service."

The mayor nods and turns back around to leave. Ash, Brock, and Brenda continue out of the town.

And so our heroes leave Aster Town having gained a new friend in the form of a very determined Apprentichick. How will this new Pokémon effect their journey? Find out, as the journey continues.

To Be Continued…