Ash ran as fast as he could through the dark alleys of Pallet Town. In his arms he carried the unconscious Clefairy that came out from the meteorite.
His body was hot and his eyes closed.
I need to get to Oak's lab before it's too late.
In the town of Pallet there was no center so, whenever some Pokémon were seriously injured, they were taken to Professor Oak's laboratory to be taken care of by the man. Ash just hoped that at that time of night he was still awake.
When he arrived at the lab, Ash stopped and began to breathe heavily with exhaustion. It was the second time that day he had arrived at the place in that state.
He knocked on the door with one of his hands.
Nobody showed up.
He had to hit it again, harder and longer this time.
The door was opened by Professor Oak, still in his lab coat. He looked at him with sleepy eyes.
"Ash... what are you doing at this time knocking on my door?", he asked in a sleepy voice.
Ash replied, breathless: "A Clefairy... He ended up falling close to my house... He's hurt...", Ash tried to explain.
Oak looked at the Pokémon in Ash's arms and widened his eyes.
"Come on, come in."
Ash entered the lab through the door.
When he arrived, he deposited the Clefairy on a table that was there.
Oak had taken out his stethoscope to hear the pokemon's heartbeats.
"The heart rate is still normal," he said as he listened through his stethoscope to the sound coming from Clefairy's chest. "He's probably just too tired. No need to worry, he's out of danger."
Ash blew air into his lungs in relief at hearing what the professor had said.
He sat on a couch in the lab, resting.
Oak had taken some kind of medicine from one of the drawers in a cabinet. Then he stuffed a pill into Clefairy's mouth.
"And now, do you intend to tell me what happened?" he asked, looking at Ash with raised eyebrows.
Ash explained everything that happened, from the fall of the meteorite to its trip to the crater in the ground.
"Something very unusual even for me, who've seen it all, if you'll let me say he he," Oak said.
"Do you know why that Clefairy came out of the meteorite?" Ash asked with growing curiosity.
Oak pulled out a chair and sat in it.
"Clefairys are a very rare and mysterious species of Pokémon. According to some reports recorded in Pokédex they seem to have some kind of mystical connection with the moon and space still very unknown to current science," he explained. "I even need to add a new entry to the records mentioning this fact which, to me, is completely unknown."
Ash had remembered something.
"Professor... While I was near the meteorite I heard a voice speak inside my mind. I know it might sound crazy... But I believe it was Clefairy communicating with me."
The man laughed.
"It's not crazy at all, Ash. There have already been documented cases in the world of Psychic-type Pokémon with the power to communicate through telepathy. Despite being very rare in Pokémon of other types, it's still not entirely impossible."
A shiver ran through Ash's body.
"That's kinda bizarre."
"There are more bizarre things out there, I can guarantee you that."
The two looked at the table at the same time as they noticed Clefairy move. He appeared to be regaining consciousness.
He opened his eyes and began to float through the air, confused and disoriented.
"Apparently he woke up," Oak informed.
Ash looked at the Pokemon excitedly, hoping to see him speak once more.
The Clefairy, however, continued to float back and forth across the lab.
"Clef Clef Clef", growled the pokemon, much to Ash's disappointment.
"And now, what am I going to do with him?", he asked Oak, not knowing what he would do from there.
Carvalho looked at Clefairy for a few seconds, scratching his chin as he thought of something.
Suddenly, his expression brightened.
"I have an idea! Actually, Ash, more like an opportunity."
Ash was confused.
"Since I failed you earlier I think it's only fair that you catch this Pokemon for yourself!"
Ash automatically replied, "Me!?"
"Yes, you don't have a starter Pokémon yet, I suppose. I still intend to study this Clefairy further, besides the fact that he might be able to communicate telepathically. It wouldn't be fairer than if you were left in charge of staying with him. In addition to be helping on your journey, you would still be collaborating with my studies."
Looking that way, Ash didn't think it was a bad idea.
"All right!" Ash grinned wide looking at Clefairy, already wondering what kind of adventures the two of them had ahead.
My first pokemon.
The man got up from his chair and walked towards his closet drawer, pulling out a Pokeball. Then he handed it to Ash.
"I think you know how to catch a Pokemon."
Ash stood and looked determinedly at the sphere in his hand. "For sure!"
Ash aimed the Pokeball at Clefairy as it wandered back and forth through the air.
Memories of the day at the pokemon school when he practiced in Rattata began to invade his mind. Gary's mockery and the expression of disappointment in Teacher Matilde's eyes. On that occasion he had been a failure, but this time he would have done it right.
I won't miss. I can't go wrong.
He released the Pokeball.
The Pokeball hit the Clefairy in his belly. The Pokemon was sucked into it by a beam of red light. The sphere dropped to the ground and stirred three times. Then it stopped, informing him that the capture had been a success.
Ash picked up the Pokeball and held it in his hands, without reaction.
"Now you need to go back to your house... Otherwise I'll have to explain everything to your mother and I'm sure you don't want that to happen, do you?"
Ash turned and glared at the man.
"You're right. Thanks for the help."
Ash exited the laboratory through the front doors and walked through the night streets of Pallet, chuckling to himself as he daydreamed. Tomorrow he would be leaving Pallet to begin his journey, and that prospect sent cold gusts of excitement through his belly. The first chapters of his life as a pokemon trainer started to be written from that day.