Chapter 6

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

"Stop the attack with Psybeam!"

A pinkish orb of otherworldly energy formed on Dexter's beak, and the Porygon fired it with all its might at Angelina's Bulbasaur. The Seed Pokemon was struck right in the head and was sent sprawling into the ground, creating a small dust cloud.

Ash pumped up his fist. Dexter had finally gotten the hang of the new move, which had been useful against a few of the Fighting and Poison types he battled earlier that day. One more Psybeam would finish the job.

"C'mon Bulbasaur! Get up! You can do this!" Angelina urged it, trying to motivate her starter to continue fighting. The Grass/Poison Pokemon winced as it got up on its short legs, using the last of its strength to lift its bruised and battered body up. Ash noticed a sizable bruise on its forehead from where the Psybeam struck, but was surprised that it was able to pull through.

Suddenly, it let out a loud cry and its body started to glow brightly. Ash and Angelina's eyes both widened at the sight of Bulbasaur's evolution. Ash felt shock and dread as Angelina felt excitement.

It's body and legs started to grow larger and its ears grew bigger as well. However, the most notable change was the bulb on its back, which sprouted into a flower bud. Four lush, green leaves sprouted from the bulb as well, surrounding the large budding flower. Finally, Bulbasaur's body stopped glowing, and it marveled at its new body, its eyes scanning over itself and testing its limbs.

Ash whipped out his Pokedex and scanned his new opponent. "Ivysaur." the Pokedex's robotic voice spoke. "There is a bud on Ivysaur's back. To support its weight, Ivysaur's legs and trunk grow thick and strong. Sunlight increases this Pokemon's strength, and if it spends more time in the sun, it is a sign that the bud is going to bloom."

"Alright, Ivysaur! Finish this with Razor Leaf!" Angelina ordered. Her newly evolved Ivysaur obeyed, and Ash didn't even have time to shout a command before the bladed leaves hit Dexter with increased speed and precision compared to when it was a Bulbasaur. Porygon hit the ground with a thud and didn't get up.

Ash gave a small sigh as he recalled his first partner. Sparring had become a bit of a challenge ever since his friends had started getting noticeably stronger. Nate had started beating him more and more with his newly evolved charmeleon and nidorino. Petal couldn't hold his own against the powerful Pokemon, and even Dexter struggled to stay in the fight, despite being able to hold them off easily during their first few days together.

Now that Angelina had an Ivysaur, things were going to get much harder.

"Great battle, Ash!" Angelina called from the other side of the battlefield. "If Bulbsaur hadn't evolved just now, you definitely would've won!"

Ash smiled at the praise. Training had been a bit slow, as he'd be running out of ideas on what to do next. He didn't want to overwork his Pokemon, so he'd stopped training for a few days, besides a few friendly spars with his companions. It had been a stressful past few days after all.

The three of them had been staying in Cerulean City for a week and a half. Angelina insisted on staying to see the sights, much to the dismay of Nate and Charmeleon, who both were against the idea of staying near the water. Nate had apparently been in a traumatic experience involving the ocean that he didn't seem to want to talk about, and Charmeleon's hate for water was pretty easy to guess.

Ash took out his Pokedex once more and scrolled through information on the Porygon. For a Pokemon that had been artificially created not too long ago, there sure was a lot of information on the species as a eyes were drawn to a move he hadn't yet reviewed. "Conversion 2", a move that allowed Porygon to change its type to one that resisted the last move its opponent used. Ash's smile widened. He could already see the numerous strategies he could use with it, and he couldn't wait to start practicing.

As for Petal, the Weed Pokemon had finally gotten its powder moves down, and they became extremely useful in shutting down his opponents. However, it had been acting a bit strange. Or rather, smelling a bit strange. Recently, every time Ash came close to the Oddish, his nose would be hit by a foul stench and he would fight the urge to throw up. He didn't want to insult Petal, so he stayed strong, but it was getting to be pretty annoying. Dexter was the only one not affected by the stench, since it had no sense of smell anyways.

He'd have to ask Professor Oak about it sometime. As for now, he was occupied with more important matters.

Ash went inside the Pokemon Center to heal up his Pokemon. They'd been working hard, so they deserved a bit of a rest. Besides, their gym battle was tomorrow, and rest was important if they wanted to do well.

From what Ash had heard, the Cerulean Gym was a Water-type gym. Makes sense seeing how the city was located near the ocean. Petal would be superb during the gym battle, but he couldn't get cocky. One wrong move and his strategy could fall apart.

He looked over at Nate, who had been discharged from the hospital a couple of days after they arrived in Cerulean City. He was talking to another Trainer in the Pokemon Center, and Ash could see the happiness on his face. It was almost as if the events of Mt. Moon never happened.

Almost.

The fact that Nate had almost been killed still stuck with the boy. Sure, he knew it wasn't completely his fault. But he still couldn't help but feel a strong sense of guilt whenever he thought about it. He had told them to go into a criminal organization's base blindly, and it resulted in all of his and Angelina's Pokemon getting hurt, and Nate receiving some serious injuries. Ash knew one thing though, he would make sure the jerk that attacked him would pay.

He had seen on the news that the Rockets had been busted by the League, and many were sent to prison, although there were still quite a few members who escaped. Ash started to feel a bit worried about what it could mean.

All of them had been interrogated by the police as soon as he was discharged by the hospital, and the three of them had even been interviewed by a few reporters, although they had declined an interview. Angelina had reminded them that they were big targets of Team Rocket now considering they had just taken down one of their hideouts almost two weeks prior. It was bad enough that they had charged recklessly into a dangerous situation like that, but being on the Rocket's hit list was even worse. He'd done some research a few nights prior, and there were plenty of news articles detailing their crimes. Stealing, torturing, and killing Pokemon were just a few of things they had done, and Ash couldn't risk that happening to his Pokemon.

A few minutes later, Nurse Joy called his name, snapping the boy out of his thoughts, and he picked up his Pokemon and thanked her. He exited the Pokemon Center and took a breath of fresh air, and then walked down to the beach. Maybe a nice stroll would help him clear his thoughts. It always helped him to be outside whenever he was dealing with a lot of things at once. A ten year-old shouldn't have to worry this much after all.

It was a few minutes before Ash could see the beach. Luckily, the beach was pretty empty aside from a few people enjoying the last hours of daylight. The sun was starting to set below the horizon, turning the sky a clear orange. The calming sound of the waves crashing soothed Ash's mind and he relaxed his muscles. He'd been feeling pretty tense lately, and letting go of the metaphorical weights he was carrying made him feel much better.

He took a deep breath and sighed, laying there for a few minutes. He definitely wouldn't mind taking a nap here sometime. As he closed his eyes, he left himself being lulled to sleep by the soothing atmosphere.

*Snap!*

Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from behind him. He whipped around and saw a strange sight, a clefairy looking at him. Clefairy were rare, but finding one so far from its home in Mt. Moon confused Ash. Maybe it was lost? Did it's Trainer abandon it? He didn't particularly want a Clefairy, but maybe he could find someone to take care of it or take it back to its home. He took out a PokeBall and threw it at the Clefairy, but was flabbergasted when the Fairy-type immediately jumped out of the way and shook a fist at him.

"Hey! You hooligan!" The Clefairy yelled, shaking a tiny fist at the boy. "Watch where you're throwing that thing!"

"What the-!" Ash yelled, dumbfounded. This was the second time he'd met a talking Pokemon, apart from that Meowth he'd seen in Viridian City. But this one didn't seem particularly malicious or hostile. The Clefairy seemed to notice his confusion and surprise, because it crouched down on its knees, clasping its hands together. "Please, you've gotta help me!" it pleaded. "I'm Bill, I'm a scientist who lives nearby. I was doing some experiments with my Clefairy, and long story short, I'm stuck in her body!"

Ash raised an eyebrow, making it clear that he was skeptical. Bill stood up and crossed his little pink arms. "Hey! Don't give me that look!" he protested. "I'm telling the truth; I'm a true blue Pokemaniac! I live on the far end of Route 25. It's only a few hours from here. Please, I promise I'll make it worth your while!"

The boy looked towards the sky. He could probably make it back by the evening if he didn't run into any interruptions. He looked back at Bill, who was doing his best to make his cutest face possible. "Alright, I'll help you." he responded. "Hop on my shoulder. It'll be easier to pretend that you're my Pokemon, in case we run into any Trainers. You won't be doing any battling though."

Bill hopped up and down happily. "Oh thank you!" he said joyously. "You're the only person who hasn't tried to catch me, listened to me and still tried to catch me, or run away screaming! Um... but can I get a boost?" The Clefairy held out his arms. Ash smiled, placing the small Pokemon on his shoulder, and headed off towards Route 24.

For half an hour, Ash walked with Bill on his shoulder. He was surprisingly light for a Clefairy, and even with the weight of his backpack as well as his new passenger, he wasn't slowed down very much. Finally the duo made it to a large yellow bridge, and Ash put down his bag and crouched down. Bill hopped off his shoulder and gave him a questioning look.

"Tired already?" Bill asked. "I don't want to spend the night out here you know..." Ash chuckled.

"Relax." he said. "I'm just getting some water. It isn't exactly easy to travel you know."

"Well can you hurry?" Bill pressed, tapping his foot. "I have some Pokemon back home that need to be fed like... now."

Ash just sighed, pausing to sip his water canteen. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a Trainer, a brown-haired boy with a green shirt and khakis. The boy noticed him, and his eyes seemed to gleam as he ran over to Ash and Bill. "Hey you!" he called. "It's time for a battle!"

"Wait what?" Ash said, backing away. "Sorry, I really can't. I have somewhere to be and-"

"Don't care!" the boy said, unlatching a single PokeBall from his belt. "Our eyes met, so its time to battle! Whoever wins gets 500 Pokedollars!" Without waiting for Ash to agree, he threw the PokeBall. "Go Butterfree!"

A large, purple butterfly-like Pokemon with red compound eyes appeared, letting out a soft cry. Ash grumbled to himself and sent out Dexter. He really couldn't deal with this today. He looked over at Bill. "You're okay with this right?" he asked the human-turned Clefairy. Bill shrugged.

"It's fine." he said, and then he looked over at Dexter and his eyes widened. "What the- you never told me you had a Porygon!"

"You never asked." Ash said, as he watched Dexter nail Butterfree's wing with a strong Ice Beam. "Wait, how do you even know what species Dexter even is?" he asked him, squinting. Bill looked slightly offended. "I thought I already made it clear I'm a true blue Pokemaniac. I've been dying for the chance to study one of these! How did you get one?" he asked. He suddenly raised an eyebrow. "You didn't get one from the black market, did you?"

Ash raised his hands. "Of course not!" he said. "Professor Oak gave me one!"

Bill looked shocked. "Normally I wouldn't believe you, but you were kind enough to help me out." he said. "I'm so jealous! Professor Oak is one of my idols! He must really trust you to give you such a rare and powerful Pokemon! Is it really true that they can change types?"

Ash nodded, smiling. "It is true. In fact I-" he replied, but paused when a loud crash was heard. When the dust cleared, he saw the unconscious form of a Butterfree, and Dexter, who had escaped the battle relatively unscathed. The other boy's jaw dropped, before he came to his senses and recalled his Pokemon. "Welp, guess that means I lost." he said, conceding defeat. "Here's your money."

The boy reached into his pocket and dropped a crumpled pile of bills into Ash's eyes and ran off before Ash could say a word, probably to heal his Pokemon. Ash uncrumpled the bills and put them in his wallet. He really hoped that was the last interruption for today.

It wasn't.

He had to face four more Trainers, all of which went down relatively easily to Dexter. The last Trainer however, was giving him a little more trouble with his Raticate. It was clear he raised it well, as Ash watched it jump toward Dexter with surprising speed. Dexter squinted, blasting it in the face with a Thunderbolt. However, its Trainer, a boy with blonde hair wearing a leather jacket, still had a cocky grin on his face.

"Now Raticate!" he called. "Hyper Fang!"

Ash's eyes widened as Raicate's huge incisors glowed. "Float above it and use Psybeam!"

Dexter waited until the brown rat got close, before levitating upwards quickly, blasting the fellow Normal-type with a ray of otherworldly energy. All the while, Bill watched, observing closely. "Its ability to process commands is astounding..." he muttered to himself. "Maybe if I... no that won't work..."

The Raticate, having suffered too much strain from the battle, collapsed. The other boy's eyes narrowed, withdrawing his Raticate. He grumbled something incoherent, before placing some money in the palm of Ash's hand and storming off. The raven-haired boy shrugged, pocketing the money.

Suddenly he heard a clapping sound, and turned to see a man approaching them. He wore a black sweater and pants, and wore a hood that covered most of his face. "I must say, I'm quite impressed." the man spoke. "You managed to make short work of the challengers here with..." he gestured to Dexter. "...that thing. I feel obligated to give something, so here." He reached into his pocket and tossed something golden towards Ash. He caught it and inspected it, and his eyes widened.

"A nugget..." he said breathlessly. "Wow..."

"Beautiful, eh?" the man spoke. "And there's more where that came from, if you'd like to hear my offer."

Ash raised an eyebrow, pocketing the nugget. "What offer?" he asked. He could see the man smirking.

"My organization has been looking for strong Trainers such as yourself." he explained. "if you were to join now, you could easily become an officer. Maybe even an admin, depending on if my boss sees your potential. What do you say, kid? Want to join the Rocket cause?"

Ash gave a start. "Did you just say Rocket?" The man nodded and grinned, upzipping his sweater to reveal a large red R on his shirt, but stopped when he noticed Ash's expression. His eyes narrowed. "Actually, let me rephrase my offer." he said, a menacing smile on his face. "Join us, or I take your Pokemon and possibly kill you. It's your choice."

Ash gritted his teeth. "Not gonna happen." he said.

"Fine. Have it your way." the man said. "Grimer, Zubat, kill him."

He threw two PokeBalls, and with a flash of light, released the Poison-types, who both came toward him with the intent to harm. Ash unlatched Petal's PokeBall and threw it, giving a command. "Petal, use Acid on Grimer! Dexter, Thunderbolt!"

Petal spat a glob of goo at the Grimer, who merely absorbed it into its sludgy body and ambled toward the group. However, Drxter was much more successful, striking Zubat with a powerful bolt of lightning that caused it to let out a shriek of pain.

"Zubat, Poison Fang. Grimer, Mud Shot." the man ordered.

"Dodge!"

Petal dived left, managing to avoid the globs of mud that Grimer had sent toward it, before countering with a Mega Drain. However, Dexter wasn't so lucky. Zubat dived towards Dexter before it could move, sinking its venomous fangs into its body. Dexter warbled in discomfort, and Ash could see its body starting to glow purple. "Your Porygon's been poisoned." Bill analyzed. "Oh... this isn't good.. what if I get captured too?"

"I trust my Pokemon." Ash merely said. "Dexter, Psybeam on Zubat! Petal, Acid on Grimer!"

"Grimer, get in front of Zubat." the man commanded. As Ash's Pokemon were about to unleash their attacks, Ash suddenly called out. "Now! Switch targets!"

Suddenly both Pokemon were blasted back, Zubat by the corrosive power of Petal's Acid which managed to sail over Grimer and hit it hard, and the Sludge Pokemon immediately lost its form as it was hit, turning into a puddle of purple liquid. Suddenly the man immediately withdrew his Pokemon, and recognizing that he had lost, started to run.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash called. "Petal, Stun Spore!"

Before the man got to far, Petal had already blasted him with the paralyzing powder, causing him to drop to the floor and yell in pain. "Ngh... I get you this you little brat!" the Rocket grunt said before he was assaulted by another wave of pain.

Ash walked past him, putting Bill back on his shoulder. "Glad that's over." Bill said with a sigh. "You're much more resourceful than I thought." He noticed Ash looking at Dexter's PokeBall worriedly. "Don't worry about your partner. I have plenty of medicine at my home."

Ash gave a appreciative smile to Bill, and they continued their trek.

"It's just beyond those trees." Bill said as he pointed a stubby finger at a group of saplings. Ash and Bill traversed the small hill and Ash made out a cliff in the distance, next to a large beach. Ash could see a few Psyduck and some Slowpoke by the beach, as well as a few Krabby scuttling along the rocks, but decided not to catch one. He had a job to do.

At the the top of the hill was a lighthouse, made of stone and facing the sea. "This is where you live?" Ash asked as he looked in awe. Bill nodded.

"Yep!" he responded. "Nice place, isn't it? Now get me closer. The door is voice activated."

Next to the old wooden door was a touch panel. Ash held the Clefairy up to the panel, who pressed a few buttons. After a moment, the panel spoke. "Password please." it droned.

"Nye." Bill spoke. After a few seconds, Ash heard the sound of a lock opening, and he pushed opened the door. Ash looked in awe at the interior, a long hallway with many, many rooms. Bill wriggled out of his grasp and pointed toward a door. "There!" he said. "Let's hurry! I have a body to get back to."

Ash opened the door and Bill rushed in, anxiously waiting. He looked at the numerous papers, coffee cups, and books scattered all over the floor. A computer sat in the corner of the room, and there were a few bookshelves next to some of the walls. "This is my private study." Bill said. "I haven't had time to clean up, since these tiny hands can't exactly hold a broom. Now come on! The machine is over here!" He pointed his stubby finger at two pods that were connected by a thick wire, with a computer screen hooked up in the middle.

"I'll go in one of the pods. Once I do, all you have to do is power on the computer, boot up the system, open up the control center, and click "Activate". You'll see a lot of smoke coming from the machine, but don't worry, it's perfectly safe." he reassured him, which did not make Ash feel any better about the safety of the machine. It looked hastily put together and outdated, but he decided to at least give Bill the benefit of the doubt and walked up to the computer screen.

Bill walked into one of the pods, although not before giving Ash a thumbs up. Ash did what Bill asked, which took a while, considering that the computer seemed to be pretty outdated. As soon as he clicked "Activate" the machine started to hum and shake, and tons of smoke started coming out from both pods. This went on for a minute, and Ash was considering turning off the machine, for fear that Bill was in danger. He did get himself into this mess in the first place.

Finally, the doors opened, and from one of the pods came a man with messy brown hair wearing a blue dress shirt and green pants. The other pod opened up and within it was a dazed Clefairy. Bill immediately picked it up and sat it down at one of the chairs in his lab to rest. It seemed it couldn't wrap its head around the day's events.

"Finally! Back in my old body!" Bill said, clearly relieved as he flexed his limbs experimentally and patted himself. "I really can't thank you enough." He then seemed to realize something. "By the way, I wasn't able to ask what your name was."

"It's Ash." the boy responded.

"Well Ash, you really helped me in my time of need." Bill said. "Anyways, I'd better call Officer Jenny. Your Oddish seemed well trained, but that Stun Spore should only last for an hour more, so we'd better be hasty. In the meantime, why don't you look at my sanctuary? All of my Pokemon are in there. Its the last door on the right, you can't miss it."

Ash didn't need to be told twice, and was already racing toward the door. He opened it and gasped at the sheer size of the area. It was a large glass dome overlooking the sea, with a small artificial river running through it, as well as a small battling area and ton of plants. Pokemon species he never knew existed frolicked around the area, and Ash pulled out his Pokedex to scan them right away. His eye caught a Pokemon that looked like it was covered in blue spaghetti, most of its face hidden from view.

"Tangela." the Pokedex recited. "The Vine Pokemon. Its vines always jiggle when it walks, effectively unnerving dangerous foes. If that doesn't work, its vines can also snap off without pain, allowing it to make a quick getaway. They regrow in just a few days"

"Woah." Ash said to himself. A Pokemon like that would definitely be useful in a battle. Another Pokemon caught his eye, a seahorse-like Pokemon that had just burst through the surface of the water. "Horsea." the Pokedex spoke once again. "The Dragon Pokemon. While not an actual dragon, it can spit pitch-black ink to escape from its enemies. Horsea have the powerful to summon small whirlpools, and they compete often to see who can make the biggest one."

Ash merely watched as it dived back into the water, using its tail and fins to swim away. Then he saw a slender, purple fox-like Pokemon with a glowing violet eyes and a red gem at the center of its forehead. "Espeon. The Sun Pokemon. It is extremely loyal to any Trainer it considers worthy. It uses its powers to protect its Trainer from harm, but isn't good at battling at night." The Espeon sensed his presence, regarding him for a moment before walking away.

"Ah, I see you've met Lavender, my Espeon." Bill said from behind. He eyed the device in Ash's hands. "A Pokedex!" he marveled. "I heard Oak was in the developmental stages of it, but I never thought I'd see the finished product! He truly is a genius!"

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, it's just that you have so many cool Pokemon!" he exclaimed. "It must be awesome taking care of them!"

"It sure is!" Bill said happily. "I just got off the phone with Officer Jenny. She said incidents regarding Team Rocket have been increasing. That's why I installed a better lock on my door. But feel free to interact with all of them. In return however, if you don't mind of course, do you mind if I study your Porygon? I've never seen one up close!"

Ash beamed. "Sure!" he said, releasing Petal and Dexter. The Porygon stayed by Ash's side, although Petal had immediately ran off to go play with Tangela. He ran after Petal as well, the stresses of the past few days leaving his mind.

"Interesting..." Bill muttered. "Its body is smooth, but it doesn't seem to be made of any sort of organic material. Truly fascinating."

It had been a couple of hours since Ash had arrived at Bill's lighthouse, and he was currently sitting on the grass, watching Petal and Tangela play a game of tag. He looked towards the window and his eyes widened as he realized the sun had already almost set. He wouldn't be able to get back to Cerulean City before nightfall!

He approached Bill, who was currently taking notes in a notepad. "I'm sorry, but me and my partners have to go." Ash said. "I have to get back to Cerulean City, my friends are staying there with me."

"Oh! No worries, I've already collected enough data." Bill said. Then his eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He ran out of the sanctuary, and after a moment came back holding a leather case in his hands. He unlatched the locks and opened it to reveal three PokeBalls.

"As a reward for helping me out today, I've decided to let you pick between these three Eevee." Bill explained. "They're the kits of my Espeon and Umbreon, and they're old enough to explore the world now. I can't go out much, my research calls of course, but you've proven to be trustworthy, dependable, and to deeply care about your Pokemon, so you seem like the perfect Trainer to take on the responsibility of taking care of one of these. Now, if you don't want to take one, I understand, but-"

"I'll take one!" Ash said, a huge smile on his face. Then an idea formed in his head. "But do you mind if I take all of them? I want the other two to be for my friends. They've helped me out a lot over the past few days, and so I want to give them something in return."

"Of course!" Bill replied. "If they're even half as good of a Pokemon Trainer you've demonstrated yourself to be, I know they'll be in good hands. Some updates every now and then on how they're doing would be great too!" He handed the case to Ash, the PokeBalls clinking around inside, and Ash took it in one hand. "Now, it would be unjustified to send you off on your own, especially with those Team Rocket hooligans running around, so I'll have Abra teleport you!"

"Thank you!" Ash said. "You won't regret it!"

"I know I won't!" Bill responded as he pressed the release button on a PokeBall. A levitating, yellow cat-like Pokemon appeared. Ash raised an eyebrow. "Is it... sleeping?"

"Oh, Abra does that a lot." Bill explained. "They sleep most of their lives, at least until they evolve. He can still hear us and teleport you. Anyways Abra, would you mind taking this kind boy to the Cerulean City Pokemon Center?"

Abra said nothing, although Ash noticed its body starting to glow. Bill waved goodbye to him and before he could wave back, he felt a strong pull and was wooshed out of Bill's lab. He was blinded by the light that followed the teleportation, and it felt like Ash was going through some sort of ultrabright tunnel at supersonic speed. The sensation only lasted for a split second however, as he felt the ground below his feet and as his eyes started to adjust he recognized the familiar logo of the Pokemon Center.

Luckily he hadn't lost his new cargo, and he strolled into the Pokemon Center and went straight to his room. When he opened the door, he found Nate and Angelina both on their beds. Angelina was playing with Jigglypuff while Ivysaur slept soundly on the floor, and Nate was scrolling lazily through the Pokedex. As soon as the door opened, they sprang their attention away from what they were doing and ran over to Ash.

"Where were you!?" Angelina almost shouted. "Did you even think to bother to tell us where you were going!?"

"Yeah, Ash!" Nate followed up, waving his arms. "I'm not saying I agree with Ms. Worrywart over here, but I didn't think a trip to the beach would take five hours! You weren't even there when we checked! Tell us where you were!"

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Ah-well... I kind of had to help someone. They were in a really sticky situation, so it took a few hours to get them on their feet. They give me this though." He held up the briefcase proudly. Nate and Angelina raised their eyebrows.

"That's not... anything dangerous... is it?" Angelina said, eyeing the briefcase with suspicion in your eyes. Ash reeled back.

"Who do you think I am, some kind of criminal?" Ash asked. "It's perfectly safe."

"Well you're being pretty vague about so-"

"Who cares? It's not like it's gonna explode!" Nate said, clearly having no qualms about opening the mysterious package as soon as possible. "Just open it! I wanna see what's inside!"

Ash shrugged, unlatching the case, revealing three PokeBalls. He set the briefcase down onto the floor and all of them crouched a good distance away from it, waiting with anticipation to see what's inside. They all pressed the release buttons on the PokeBalls, and shielded their eyes from the blinding light they produced...

The three tweens stared at the Eevee kits in front of them for a moment, taking the sight in. Then Angelina broke the silence.

"Oh. My. Gosh." she said breathlessly, standing and picking one up, hugging it close to her face. "They're so adorable! I'm taking this one!"

The Eevee she was holding blinked. "Mwrh?" it let out. Angelina's Jigglypuff, after seeing the attention given to the new Pokemon, started to pout.

While Angelina was hugging her Eevee to death, Nate grabbed his Pokedex from his bed and scanned the other Eevee to get some information. "Eevee." the device droned. "The Evolution Pokemon. Eevee has an unstable genetic makeup that suddenly mutates due to the environment in which it lives. Radiation from various stones causes this Pokémon to evolve. The question of why only Eevee has such unstable genes has still not been solved."

"Woah..." Nate said in awe. "Ash... how did you get your hands on these?"

Ash shot him a look. "I thought I already told you."

Nate chuckled. "Yeah I know, I know." he said. "But the person you helped must've been pretty loaded! I mean, Eevee are prized for their ability to evolve into the largest variety of types out of any Pokemon! And they're super hard to find in the wild! Just one would be amazing, but three!?"

Ash nodded. Bill did seem pretty rich. After all, he did live in a giant lighthouse, with expensive machinery and a huge sanctuary for his Pokemon. "Well, he was originally going to give me just one, but since he had three available, I asked if I could take all three. The other two were for you guys."

Nate raised an eyebrow, and Angelina stopped snuggling her Eevee. "But Ash... why?" Angelina asked. "You barely even know us. We've only been together for a month and a half. You didn't have to give this to us."

Ash looked down. "Well, I just wanted to thank you guys." he said. "Coming with me to fight the Rockets and risking your lives. I felt like I put you guys in danger by being so reckless." His eyes shifted to the shoulder that Nate was bitten on. It was hidden by his shirt, but Ash clearly saw the large teeth marks just a few days ago. Nate had dismissed it though, saying that scars would just make him look tougher anyways.

Nate put his hands on Ash's shoulders. "Well, that's what friends are for, right?" he said, giving him a smile.

Angelina nodded. "It wasn't your fault that Nate got hurt." he said. "He is a bit of a dummy anyways."

"Hey!"

The blonde ignored him. "You did the right thing Ash." she said. "Neither of us blames you for what happened. It would've been a lot worse if you hadn't been with us."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. "If I hadn't been with you guys, you wouldn't have walked into the Rocket hideout!"

"That's not what I mean." Angelina said, shaking her head. "You've always pushed us to work harder at training Pokemon. I always try to follow your example when training Ivysaur and Jigglypuff. Heck, if you hadn't pushed Ivysaur so hard during our spar, he wouldn't have evolved!"

Nate nodded vigorously. "Yeah Ash, don't sweat it!" he said with a toothy grin. "Besides, like I said in the hospital, I'm fine right? Sure, I got a scar, and I'll probably be afraid of Golbat for the rest of my life, but think about what we did! We took down some bad guys! I think that's pretty awesome."

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Well, when you put it that way..." he started. He supposed it was a little like Pokemon battling. You might end up losing, and your companion might end up getting hurt, but the only thing you can do is pick yourself back up and hit back harder. Most Pokemon wouldn't leave their Trainer after one bad experience, and it was the same for Nate and Angelina.

"Thanks you two." Ash said with sincerity. He looked toward the other two Eevees, who were watching their exchange with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. He looked over at Nate, who was looking at the chocolate-colored foxes as well.

"You wanna pick first?" Ash asked him. "I'm giving these to you guys after all, and Angelina already picked hers."

Nate beamed. "Well, if you insist..." he trailed off as he rubbed his chin in thought. His eyes shifted to one of the Eevees, who had a cool, calm expression, and was watching him intently. It cocked its head and walked slowly towards him. The bespectacled boy smiled.

"You wanna come with me, huh?" he asked it, ruffling its fur. The Eevee gave a slow nod, and Nate's smile widened.

Ash turned to the remaining Eevee of the group. "Guess you'll be coming with me then?" he said. The Eevee cocked its head. "If you want to of course! I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm on a journey to become a Pokemon Master. It would be really awesome if you could come with me. I could help make you stronger and we could conquer any opponent together if we work together. What do you say?"

The Eevee perked up after the word "stronger" left Ash's mouth. Her demeanor changed into a fierce determined look, and Ash smiled. Then a thought came to his head.

"Hey, do you maybe want a nickname?" he asked. "All of my other team members have one." The Eevee shifted her gaze downward, considering this, before nodding. Ash smiled. "Great!"

He took a few moments to consider the Eevee's nickname. He wanted it to sound good, so that the Eevee wouldn't think he was some kind of moron. Then an idea popped in his head. "How does Kit sound to you?" he asked the Normal-type. He silently pleaded that it would be good enough. The Evolution Pokemon then gave a small smile and nodded.

Ash grinned. "Welcome to the team, Kit."

The next day, Ash was trying to squeeze in some last minute training. Nothing too rigorous or exhausting, since his Pokemon needed the strength for the Water-type gym, but he wanted as much preparation as possible for his next big battle. He'd done a lot to prepare, from decreasing the startup time of Dexter's Thunderbolt, to having Petal try its best to weather Ice Beams. It was likely the Water-types at the Cerulean Gym would have some sort of ice move, so he wanted to be prepared.

His members of choice were Dexter and Petal, since both of them had super effective moves against Water-types and were his best team members. From what he had heard, the gym's arena was made almost entirely of water, and since Dexter didn't need to breathe, it could fight its opponents in or out of the water.

He didn't know didn't know how strong Kit was and didn't know her moves, so he opted against using her until he figured out her strengths and weaknesses. He couldn't check which moves she knew until he got her registered as one of his Pokemon, since it was still in the ownership of Bill and therefore he couldn't check the moves it knew.

So he stood by the sidelines with the Eevee comfortably resting in his arms, as they watched Dexter blast a Thunderbolt to fry an incoming Acid attack. Ash trusted Dexter to not get hit, since he needed the Porygon to be in tip-top shape for the Gym battle. Both of them had been working hard. After a few minutes, he put Kit down and walked towards his other team members. Dexter noticed its Trainer and paused its attack, and Petal did the same.

"Alright you two." Ash said. "Great work. Get some rest. We've got a difficult battle ahead of us." He withdrew Petal and Dexter back into their PokeBalls and looked down at Kit. He ruffled her fur and smiled.

"Don't worry." he told her. "You'll be watching from the sidelines. I want to show you what my team can do."

He picked her up again and walked into the Pokemon Center, where he spotted Angelina taking her PokeBalls from Nurse Joy. She was wearing a pink tank top and blue shorts, her hair straightened like always. She noticed the boy and waved, running up to him.

"Hey Ash!" she said. She looked down at Kit and stroked her ears. "Hey there Kit! Is Ash treating you well?"

The Eevee responded with a cheerful yip and Ash grinned. "She's been great." he said. "She's been super engaged in our training. It won't be long before she's as good as Dexter."

"You're heading off to the Gym right?" Angelina asked. "Think you're ready?"

Ash grinned. "Totally!" he said. "Next time you see me, I'll be holding a shiny new badge!"

He walked out of The Pokemon Center, and after a bit of searching, he finally came across a dome-shaped building with a large painting of a Dewgong in front of it. The boy couldn't help but feel nervous once again, just like before his battle with Brock. He really hoped he had done enough training to prepare for a battle like this. He steeled his nerves, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Inside of the building was a small lobby with a reception desk. A few people lingered in the room, and Ash walked up to the desk, where he saw a red-haired woman typing away on a laptop. She noticed him and Kit after a few seconds and smiled.

"Welcome to the Cerulean Gym!" she greeted him. "Are you here to see the show? You're quite early, our next performance won't be for a few hours."

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I'm here for a gym battle." he said. The receptionist frowned.

"Battle, huh?" she said, resting a finger on her chin. "We haven't had a challenger in weeks. Are you sure you don't want to see our next performance? Everyone else comes here for it."

Ash narrowed his eyebrows a little. "I'm sure."

"I see. This way please." The receptionist led him down a long hallway, and Ash saw that they were walking through an aquarium. He was able to make out a few fish Pokemon like Magikarp and Goldeen, and there were a couple he didn't recognize, like a pink and white fish Pokemon with a tail shaped like a butterfree, and a serpent-like Pokemon with pink antennae.

Finally they walked into a large room which featured a giant pool with a large landmass in the middle of it, with bleachers on opposite sides. Ash heard a loud splash and saw three young women resurface and climb out of the pool. He heard them talking amiably between each other as the receptionist led him toward them.

"Daisy, Lily, Violet, this is Ash. He's here for a battle." the receptionist said as she gestured to the boy. "Ash, these are the three Cerulean Gym Leaders: Daisy, Lily, and Violet. Also known as the Sensational Sisters." She gestured to each of the sisters.

Ash waved hello at the three girls, unsure of why they didn't have some sort of battlefield set up. One of the girls, who had long blonde hair, squinted at him. He was pretty sure this one was Daisy. "Do we really have to?" she groaned. "We haven't done a battle in like... a long time. Can't we just practice for the next show?"

"But... my Gym battle... how am I supposed to get a badge?" Ash asked weakly. Did he really come all the way just to end up not being able to get a badge?

"Oh, if you want a badge, there's like a box of badges back there." the blue-haired girl named Violet said, jutting her thumb to the other end of the room. "You can just like, take your badge and go, and then we can practice our shows! Do we have a deal?"

The ten-year old stepped back. "No!" he said. "You're telling me I put all of this time into training and I can't even get a good battle? What kind of Gym Leaders are you!?"

The red-haired girl stepped forward, putting her hands on your hips. "Well why can't you just be grateful that you're getting a free badge? You don't want to actually put in the effort in trying to win right? Just take the badge, it'll be easier!"

Anger started to well up in Ash's stomach, and Kit shifted in his arms, whimpering. "Well you can keep your free badges!" he snarled. "I'm out of here!"

As he was stomping out of the room, the confused gazes of the Sensational Sisters lingering on him, he heard a voice shout. "Wait! I'll battle you!"

He turned to the source of the voice and saw an orange-haired girl wearing a yellow shirt and red sneakers running toward him, waving her hand. She stopped and gave a look of hostility toward the Sensational Sisters. Wait a minute... didn't she almost run over him with her bike a few days ago. Heh. This would definitely be a good battle.

"What did I tell you guys about turning down challengers!?" she hissed. "Why can't you guys be more invested in the Gym Leader's position?"

Daisy shrugged. "The benefits are great you know." she replied. She then sent a smirk towards the girl. "It's a shame you can't be the Gym Leader, Misty. Oh that's right, you're too young."

Misty's cheeks turned red and she looked down. "If I was a toddler I'd still be twice the Gym Leader you guys are." she muttered. Then Misty shot a glare at them. "The only time you actually take a challenger is when the inspector comes in or if they're a cute boy!" Ash looked back and forth between the older sisters and the hot-tempered girl in front of him. If he had to guess, they were probably all sisters.

"Well we have shows to do." Lily piped up. "Besides, it's not like you do anything. We're the ones making money."

"I do your chores all the time because you guys are too lazy to get off your sorry little-"

Ash cleared his throat. "So... can we battle?" he asked. "I've already been here for the past five minutes."

Misty blinked. "Oh. Right." she said, fiddling with her thumbs. "Sorry about the holdup. My dumb sisters never accept any challengers these days. They're always too caught up in their shows." She suddenly locked eyes with Ash and squinted. "Hey... you look a little familiar..."

Ash grinned. "Here's something to jog your memory." he said. "Remember that boy with the glasses that called your bike a piece of junk?" Misty's eyes widened as the realization of who she was talking to slowly sunk in. Her eyes narrowed and she looked away.

"Hmph. Well if you're as dumb as you were that day then this should be easy!" Misty shot. Ash rolled his eyes.

"Let's just battle." he sighed.

"The battle between Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum will now commence!" Lily announced. Since no one else was around, and she was the youngest of the sisters besides Misty, she had to be the referee. "This will be a two-on-two battle, and substitutions are only allowed on the challenger's side. Trainers, send out your Pokemon! Ugh, this is so dumb..."

"Let's show 'em, Staryu!"

"You're up, Dexter."

A brown sea star-like Pokemon with a red jewel in the middle of its body came from Misty's PokeBall in a flash of light, which Ash immediately scanned with his Pokedex.

"Staryu. The Star Shape Pokemon." the tablet rattled off. "An enigmatic Pokémon that can effortlessly regenerate any appendage it loses in battle. Staryu's center section has an organ called the core that shines bright red. If you go to a beach toward the end of summer, the glowing cores of these Pokémon look like the stars in the sky."

Ash frowned. A regenerative Pokemon was going to be a problem. He needed a plan to do as much damage as possible to it before it could heal itself.

The two Pokemon took to the pool, and Misty's Staryu immediately jumped into the water, while Dexter's eyes flashed as it hovered over the surface of the water, scanning for any signs of its opponent.

"Keep your guard up." Ash told his starter. "That Staryu could be anywhere."

Dexter simply nodded as it levitated over the surface of the water. Suddenly a splash, followed by a smacking sound was heard, and Ash made out a bruise on Porygon's body. That Tackle had come out of nowhere. He had to be careful.

"Dexter, fly higher above the water." Ash ordered. "When Staryu comes close, blast it back with a Thunderbolt." The porygon warbled in response and floated higher. He suddenly heard another splash followed by a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, he saw that Dexter was unscathed and Staryu was descending back into the water, with a small crack on its core. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Use Conversion." Ash commanded. Porygon's body started to glow, and its body started to glow a faint yellow. Perfect.

"Oh no you don't!" Misty yelled. "Staryu, resurface and use Water Gun!"

Ash smirked. Bingo.

"Use Thunderbolt to cut through the Water Gun!" Ash ordered. Staryu resurfaced and blasted a moderate volume of water from its core at Dexter. The Porygon warbled and shot its own supercharged Thunderbolt, which cut through the water-type attack with ease and zapped Staryu, shattered its core and caused it to go unconscious.

"WHAT!?" Misty screamed. "But how!?"

"Water conducts electricity." Ash called from the opposite side of the battlefield. "I used Conversion to strengthen Dexter's Thunderbolt and bait you into attacking. If your Staryu used Tackle, Dexter would have enough time to zap it before it made contact. And using Water Gun gave you the result you see here."

Misty shot him a dirty look as she recalled her fallen Staryu. "Hmph." she grumbled. "You're smarter than you look. But that doesn't mean you'll win. Go, Starmie!"

A Pokemon similar in size and appearance to Misty's Starmie appeared, although it seemed to have five extra arms and was blue this time, prompting Ash to scan it.

"Starmie. The Mysterious Pokemon." the Pokedex said aloud once more. "Starmie swims through water by spinning its star-shaped body as if it were a propeller on a ship. The core at the center of this Pokemon's body glows in seven colors. It is said that it uses the seven-colored core of its body to send electric waves into outer space."

Ash knew Misty wouldn't fall for his strategy a second time, so he decided to just go on the offensive now that he had already set up Conversion.

"Use Thunderbolt!" he ordered.

"Dodge with Rapid Spin and use Ice Beam!" Misty called. Starmie's body spun out of the way of the attack and retaliated by sending a ray of ice at the porygon, sending it spinning. That gave Ash an idea.

"Use Ice Beam on the pool!" he shouted. Dexter charged up his own icy ray and shot at the surface of the pool, freezing the water and coating the surface with a thick layer of ice.

"Now's our chance! Psychic!" Misty ordered. Starmie's core glowed and it took hold of Dexter with its psychic power before sending it flying toward a wall.

"Dexter!" Ash yelled as his partner Pokemon flew into the air and slumped to the ground, its eyes now swirls. That Psychic attack had caught him off guard, and by the looks of it, the move was powerful. But that didn't matter. Porygon had already done its job. Now it was Petal's turn.

"Not so tough now are ya?" Misty taunted. "Send out your next Pokemon. Starmie and I will take it out easily!"

"It's all up to you, Petal." Ash called as he sent out his Grass-type. Petal took the field, being able to hold its footing on the ice. The familiar stench coming from the oddish hit him, and Ash recoiled from the smell. It seemed that Misty could smell it too, as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Start this off with Stun Spore!" Ash commanded. Petal raced toward Starmie and shot the paralyzing powder at it. The Mysterious Pokemon started twitching in pain, and Ash smirked. Step one was complete.

"Now, while it's immobilized! Use Growth!"

"Not so fast!" Misty called. "Wash off the powder, and then use Psychic to throw Oddish in the air!"

Starmie submerged itself in the pool, easily washing the Stun Spore off of its body. When it resurfaced, its core started to shine, and pink energy started to radiate around Petal before the oddish was launched into the air, not having time to counterattack.

"Now knock it out of the sky with Rapid Spin!" Misty yelled. Starmie jumped out of the water and spun like a top toward Petal, hitting it out of the air and sending it flying towards the ice.

"Petal!" Ash screamed. The oddish landed with a crash on the ice, and it contorted its face in pain. A few seconds later it used its little legs to push itself back up and glares daggers at its opponent.

"That's the spirit!" Ash cheered. "Use Mega Drain!"

Green tendrils of energy were absorbed into Petal's body as its core started to flicker. The bruises that lined Petal's body started to patch up a little, showing the useful side effect of Mega Drain in action.

"Don't let it damage you any longer! Use Psychic again!" Misty ordered.

Starmie's core started to glow once more as Petal started to rise high in the air once again. But this time, Ash was prepared.

"Use Acid! Aim for the core!" Ash yelled. Petal complied and spat a glob of sticky sludge at the Water-Psychic type, causing it to lose focus and drop the oddish onto the ground.

"Use Acid once more!"

"Counteract with Ice Beam!"

The two attacks met, creating a small explosion and causing smoke to appear. Misty took this opportunity to yell out a command while visibility was reduced.

"Use Rapid Spin through the smoke!" she called to her Starmie. The Water-Psychic type's core started to glow as it locked onto the oddish through the smoke. It spun its body using psychic energy and took off through the dissipating smoke, slamming into Petal and knocking it into the air.

"Finish it off with Ice Beam!" Before he could give a command, Ash watched in horror as Starmie fired the beam of icy energy at Petal. A layer of ice started to form on Petal's body, and it was too weak to do anything about it. The Ice beam was thinner, more concentrated than Dexter's, Ash observed, and it wasn't long before the Weed Pokemon was encased in a block of ice.

The boy immediately ran over to his partner and crouched over it, the oddish's expression of pain frozen on its face.

"I'm so sorry, Petal." Ash murmured. "I froze up, and I couldn't help you at all during that battle. This is all my fault."

"Alright! We won!" Misty cheered. "Nice job, Starmie. He never stood a chance!"

Unbeknownst to them however, Lily didn't call the battle. Her eyes were focused on the oddish, still inside its icy prison. Was it… glowing?

Ash started to notice it too, and he backed away from Petal. Misty gasped. Cracks started to appear in the ice as Petal's body grew larger and larger. Finally the ice block exploded, sending chunks everywhere.

Ash closed his eyes and shielded himself from the ice flying all over the place. When he opened them, he no longer saw Petal. A larger Pokemon with an orange flower on its head was in his place.

Snapping out of his surprise, he took his Pokedex out of his jacket pocket and fumbled with it until he started scanning the Pokemon.

"Gloom. The Weed Pokemon." The Pokedex stated. "Gloom releases a foul fragrance from the pistil of its flower. When faced with danger, the stench worsens. If this Pokémon is feeling calm and secure, it does not release its usual stinky aroma. What appears to be drool is actually sticky honey coming from its mouth."

"It evolved!?" Misty yelled in surprise as she gawked at the new and improved Petal. "But how!? I froze it!"

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Ash said as he shrugged his shoulders. "But that means we're not out of the battle just yet! Petal, use Growth!"

"Stop that smelly plant with another Ice Beam!" Misty commanded her Starmie. The starfish sent another chilling ray of ice at the Gloom, but Petal finished its Growth much faster than before and jumped out of the way of the attack.

"Retaliate with Acid!" Ash ordered, finally getting back into the swing of things. Petal rushed toward Starmie before shooting a much larger ball of poisonous goo at the Starmie, covering it in the purple substance.

"Finish this with Mega Drain!" he commanded. Misty could only watch as her beloved Starmie's energy was sucked away by the attack, causing it to lose consciousness and fall over.

"Starmie is able to battle!" Lily announced. "Gloom wins! Which means the winner of this battle is Ash!"

Ash ran over to Petal, who turned around and ran toward him happily. He picked him up and put him on his hat, something the Weed Pokemon had always enjoyed.

"You did it, Petal." Ash said. "You've pulled through again… and you evolved! I'm so proud." He noticed the four sisters walked over to him and smiled. The three older sisters looked at him with respect, while Misty just kept her head down.

"Wow." Daisy said in awe. "That was like, such a good battle. You managed to defeat our runt here. And your Oddish evolved was really cool, especially since it evolved because of you."

"Wait… but you guys don't even like battling." Ash said. "How'd you know it was because of me?"

"We might not battle often, but were not, like, stupid or anything." Lily piped up. "It was easy to see your oddish evolved because it wanted to make you proud. So I'd like to present you with this." She pulled a badge out of her pocket and handed it to Ash. It was shaped like a water droplet with a sky blue hue.

Ash beamed. "Thanks a lot. It was a great battle, Misty. Maybe I could come back and challenge you again sometime."

The orange-haired tomboy lifted her head and a smile creeped its way onto her face. "I'd like that." she murmured.

Just then, they heard the door to the pool open and in walked the same receptionist, accompanied by Nate, who waved at Ash.

"Hey Ash. Didn't expect you to be here. Did you finish your battle?" Nate asked. Ash just pulled out his Cascade Badge and Nate flashed in a smile.

"Nice job!" Nate congratulated him. "I'm about to battle now! Think you can watch me…" His eyes drifted over to the three sisters, then to Misty, and he started to realize who he was up against. Misty, who hadn't been paying attention, caught sight of the boy, and they both pointed at each other.

"YOU!"

Ash just suppressed a laugh as Misty immediately ran out the gym to heal her Pokemon, muttering something about "idiotic boys".

End of Chapter 6

Author's Note: Heya! Thanks for making it to chapter 6! This chapter is gonna have a lot of juicy stuff in it, so read till the end!

I change a few things in previous chapters, most notably the "good luck charm" that Satoshi gives. It's supposed to be a Leaf Stone, but after a bit of thinking I decided that it's better if Ash actually receives a Leaf Stone later on in his journey, which one of my readers suggested. It just flows better than receiving the Leaf Stone so early and then bringing it up randomly twenty chapters later.

I also just added in some more detail to the first few chapters. Looking back, I can see that my work has improved (at least in my eyes) over time. I've been adopting a few techniques that I've seen other authors do, and I feel like it's been paying off.

I also changed the title of this story to "An Adventure Can't Be Planned". Looking back at my old title, I really don't know what I was thinking when I made it. Oh well.

Here are some more responses to reviews.

Reader: Yes, I'm planning to make Satoshi be some sort of rival to Ash. I thought it would be cool for Ash to battle… Ash!

Guest: It's all part of my master plan. Don't worry.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading!