It was another early morning as the sun began to rise on Ash and Co. a few hours outside of Viridian City. Pikachu and Charmander were snoozing away in the tent, unaware that their trainer was already awake and attending to his morning rituals outside.
Ash was on his knees by the stream splashing some water onto his face. He was a bit disappointed they hadn't run into any wild Pokemon or any other trainers so far, but was overall happy with the state of his team. Speaking of his team, they were about to be in for a rude awakening. Literally.
With a sly grin on his face, Ash walk over to the tent, peeked his head through the opening, and spoke... "UP AND AT EM GUYS! DAYLIGHT IS BURNING, or it will be soon enough. TIME FOR MORE TRAINING!"
Half asleep and frazzled, Pikachu and Charmander sprang to attention, looking for the source of the evil sound that dared to wake them at the ungodly hour. They of course find Ash grinning at them and put two and two together.
Thirty minutes later, the camp was cleaned up and packed, and everyone was ready to start training. Sure Ash had to dodge a few Thundershock and Scratch attacks from his irate Pokemon, but details like those don't matter that much.
Turning to his now fully awake Pokemon, Ash proceeded to explain the early morning training. "We are a few hours outside of Viridian City guys and we still have to cover a bit of distance to get there, so I figured we could turn it into some training. Sometimes a battle will last a long time and the winner will be the Pokemon who can endure the most. Rock types can be pretty bulky as well, which means we need to start improving now. That is why we are going to start running every morning to train our endurance and stamina, and this is where I will be joining you guys in training."
Pikachu and Charmander didn't think it was a bad idea. Besides, Ash would surely tire out after a little bit, and would let them walk the rest of the way. Those poor naive Pokemon.
Ash led the two Pokemon on a 3 hour jog, which turned into a sprint as soon as Viridian City came into sight. By the end of it, Pikachu and Charmander were crawling across the ground, trying to force their worn out bodies to continue. Ash was exhausted himself, but did not look like he was on Death's door. Between their gasping and inhalation of oxygen, Pikachu and Charmander looked at Ash with an expression of disbelief.
Ash saw this and nervously chuckled. "Guess I forgot to mention that I have been training for over a year to get ready for my journey," Ash said as he awkwardly scratched his head. The two glared at the raven-haired boy with a look promising similar vengeance to what they dished out earlier that day.
After recovering for a few minutes, the three looked around and took in their surroundings. Viridian City was larger than anything they had ever seen. Buildings and skyscrapers covered almost the entire landscape. In the distance, they could see a large Pokemon Center in the middle of the town. According to the town Map Ash had packed, the Gym was somewhere deeper in the city, but didn't matter much for now since it had a 7 badge requirement for all challengers. Ash figured his Pokemon could use a quick checkup and the three began the trek towards the Pokemon Center.
As they got closer, Ash noticed several police cars and officers scouring the Center with a checkpoint set up barring anyone from entering. At the center of the mess was an Officer Jenny, who was coordinating the officers. Curious as to what was going on, and still wanting to get his Pokemon looked at, Ash and his Pokemon approached her.
"Excuse me ma'am, what happened here? I was hoping to get my Pokemon checked out," Ash said, catching the Jenny's attention. "Sorry, but unless you can show your ID we are not letting anybody through. A robbery took place last night and several Pokemon were stolen," the Officer Said, shocking Ash.
"WHAT," the shocked Ash exclaimed. "Who could have done such a thing... and yeah I got my ID here," said the concerned boy as handed over his Pokedex.
Officer Jenny verified his ID, answering Ash while doing so. "Eye witness accounts point to two uniformed Team Rocket operatives and a talking Meowth, though that last part is suspect. We can't take the risk that any Rockets might sneak in out of uniform though, which is why we are checking everybody. Speaking of, everything seems to be in order. You can go ahead young man. Be careful and keep your Pokemon close," warned the Office as she handed back the Pokedex.
"Thanks Officer. I think I will take your advice now," said Ash and he immediately recalled Charmander. Pikachu of course refused, but jumped onto Ash's shoulder to stay near the boy. Walking through the checkpoint and up the stairs to the Pokemon Center, As was conflicted. On one hand, he was happy his Pokemon were safe and sound, but on the other, he couldn't help but feel that he could have done something to prevent this. Maybe if he hadn't run into Damien and stayed that night at Professor Oak's, he could have stopped those villains from acting. Pikachu noticed the conflict on Ash's face and nuzzled the boy to cheer him up.
"Thanks Pikachu. I needed that," Ash said petting his companion. Ash walked into the Pokemon Center finding it empty for the most part. A few trainers were inside, some talking to Officers and begging them to get back their stolen Pokemon.
Ignoring the pit in his stomach at that sight, Ash walked up to the front desk and spoke to the Nurse, who he identified as one of the many Nurse Joys of Kanto.
"Hey Nurse Joy. I was hoping you could look over my Pokemon real quick. They aren't hurt or anything, but they are a bit exhausted from some training."
Nurse Joy looked at the boy with a forced smile, still feeling awful for her perceived failure to protect the Pokemon last night. "Of course young man," she said taking his Pokeballs and Pikachu. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Can you go ahead and register me for the Kanto League," Asked the slightly embarrassed Ash as he handed over his Pokedex.
"Sure thing." Nurse Joy took the Pokedex and inserted it into her computer. Some quick typing and clicks later, and Ash was officially registered. "There you go Ash. You are now eligible to compete for Gym badges in the Kanto League, and to enter the tournament if you qualify. The next tournament is almost a year a way, so you should have plenty of time. Best of luck! As for your Pokemon, I will have them back to you in a few hours. I installed a program on your Pokedex, which will notify you when they are ready."
"Thanks Nurse Joy. Guess I will be back later," Ash muttered taking back his Pokedex.
Deciding to use his time productively, Ash exited the Pokemon Center and did some shopping at the local Poke Mart. He bought some additional Poke Balls, potions, paralyze heals, antidotes, and awakenings. After all, they would have to cross through Viridian Forest to get to Pewter City, which was full of bug types that could paralyze, poison, or induce sleep quite easily. Ash also kept his promise to Pikachu and picked up some berries and other food specific to each of his Pokemon's preferences. He also bought some easy to make meals for himself. Looking at his wallet after all the shopping, Ash frowned. He would have to start winning some battles soon, or he would be broke and forced to head back home. Lucky for him, the money he won from Damien did give him a bit of cushion to work with.
Walking back to The Pokemon Center, his thoughts turned towards Team Rocket again. Living in Pallet Town out in the middle of nowhere, Ash hadn't seen the group operate before. The realities of the ugly side of the Pokemon world were just being shown to Ash and he didn't like it at all. He vowed to stop those criminals if he ever ran into any of them in the future. That would mean upping his training again, but it would be worth it to stop Team Rocket and others like them. Ash's thoughts were interrupted by his Pokedex beeping, indicating that his Pokemon were ready to be picked up.
Picking up his pace, Ash made it to the Pokemon Center in no time at all and picked up his healthy Pokemon. "Thanks Nurse Joy. Say, is there anywhere around here that is a good sport for training," asked Ash. "Of course. We have some battlefield in the back for mock battles and training purposes. You probably won't have much luck battling any other trainers with everything going on right now, but you could use it for training all you want," said the Nurse.
"Great! If you don't mind, I think I would like to stay here a few days and do some training. Can I have a room for me and my Pokemon?"
"We have plenty the spare, and as long as you are officially registered to compete the rooms are free, but you will have to pay for food from the cafeteria if you choose to go," said the Nurse is a voice less than cheery now as she was reminded why the Center was pretty empty. Ash was given a key to a room and directed to its vicinity.
After settling in and storing his goods, Ash buckled down and got to work. He and is his Pokemon would be in for a brutal few days of training. That was the price to be paid on his journey to be a Pokemon Master.
END CHAPTER
Ash leaving 1 day late has its first big negative impact on the world. Without Ash and Pikachu, Team Rocket succeeds and manages to steal several of the Pokemon from The Pokemon Center. I will not have them appear as much as they did in cannon, but Jessie, James, and Meowth will show up from time to time as well as other Rockets. I already have the first face off in mind.
Next time, we see the results of Ash's brutal training and Ash ventures into Viridian Forest. Hopefully he catches some Pokemon and engages in actual trainer battles. We will see.
What did you guys think of the chapter? Remember to review with your thoughts/critique :)
