Ash and his team woke up each morning at the break of down and ran around Viridian City until they couldn't go any longer. After that, the group would retire to the Pokemon Center for breakfast. Then they would head out back to the Pokemon Center's practice battle fields to work on their moves. Charmander continued to improve Smokescreen and was able to use the experience to increase his internal body temperature. This allowed the fire type to finally master Ember as well.

Meanwhile, the endurance training helped Pikachu to chain together his quick attacks in both a longer and faster manner, which eventually translated into the small mouse Pokemon learning agility. Ash had started him on learning Iron Tail, but Pikachu had little luck thus far where that was concerned.

After practicing moves, the group would break for lunch. The afternoon was dedicated entirely to mock battles and strategy. Pikachu and Charmander's rivalry drove the two to give their all. Charmander's Metal Claw grew in strength and Pikachu was able to increase the closing speed on his Thundershock, hitting Charmander a few times from a distance. To Ash's delight, even Bulbasaur enjoyed watching the battles between the two, though the grass type still refused to participate. As Nurse Joy predicted, Ash was unable to find anybody to battle.

The group would wrap the day up with dinner and relaxing in the evening, doing nothing of importance. Ash decided to maintain his team's brutal training regime for an entire week. Everyone was exhausted, but they were also far stronger than before.

Today, Ash let the team sleep in a bit as a reward for all their hard work. After washing up and a quick breakfast, Ash, Pikachu, and Charmander headed towards the exit of The Pokemon Center.

"Ash! Please wait a moment," called out Nurse Joy. "I have a phone call from a Delia Ketchum for you."

Ash stopped in his tracks and turned white... He couldn't believe he had forgotten to call his mom and the Professor. Hopefully, she was in a good mood, he thought as he walked to the video phone and began to pick it up. Otherwise...

"ASH RED KETCHUM!"

Yeah he was screwed and on top of that his Pokemon were giggling behind him. "YOU HAVE BEEN GONE OVER A WEEK AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO CALL YOUR MOTHER," yelled the enraged Delia Ketchum.

"Um mom I..." Ash tried.

"AND WHAT IS THIS I HEAR ABOUT CRIMINALS ROBBING THE SAME POKEMON CENTER YOU HAVE BEEN STAYING AT!? THE PROFESSOR AND I HAVE BEEN WORRIED SICK YOUNG MAN."

"Mom please! I really am s-s-sorry," pleaded the somewhat panicking Ash

"WELL YOU HAVE A FUNNY WAY OF SHOWING IT YOUNG MAN! NEXT TIME YOU DON'T CALL YOUR MOTHER THE MINUTE YOU STEP INTO A CITY, I WILL DRAG YOU BACK HOME MYSELF!"

Thoroughly cowed and full of guilt, Ash just nodded his head.

"I'm glad we came to an understanding sweetie," said Delia flipping her personality back to her normal kind demeanor in an instant. "Now, how is your journey going? Are you staying safe? Remembering to change your underwear?"

"MOM," cried the embarrassed boy, looking around. Thank goodness, nobody else appeared to be around, aside from his Pokemon who were now rolling on the floor with laughter. There goes all the respect he had drilled into them. Turning back to his mother and speaking softly he answered.

"It's going good mom. We are all growing really strong! Don't worry though, we are staying safe. I wasn't at the Pokemon Center the night it got robbed anyway... And yes I am remembering to change my you-know-what everyday."

"I am delighted to hear it Ash," Delia cheerfully replied. "Remember to call the Professor and let him know you are ok. I love you son," the smiling Delia said as the connection mercifully died.

Ash's head dropped and he sighed in relief, before turning to his very amused Pokemon. "We can still do some running today if you guys want to keep laughing it up," Ash deadpanned. This sobered up Pikachu and Charmander right away.

"I thought so," chuckled Ash. "Guess I better give the Professor a call." Ash dialed up the man in question and found Professor Oak staring back at him expectantly.

"Uh Hi Professor Oak," Ash weakly said with a shaky wave.

Oak sighed with his fingers massaging his temple. "I will spare you the lecture that I am sure your mother already gave you Ash, but please remember to stay in touch on a regular basis from now on."

"Of course Professor! Just got caught up in training and... Yeah I promise to give you both a call next time I am in the city," the boy said with his innocent sincerity.

"Very well Ash. In other news, tell me about all the Pokemon you must have caught. Why Gary called me just the other day and said you probably wouldn't have any new Pokemon by the time you reached Viridian City. I bet him a million dollars that he would be wrong," said Oak with glee.

"Well... money isn't everything," Ash said with a sweat drop.

"Why do I even bother," the disappointed Professor responded with his had hanging low.

"Well in my defense Professor, we didn't exactly run into any wild Pokemon on Route 1 other than that one... Hey wait a minute! I meant to ask you about something important," Ash said excitingly.

"Oh," replied the Professor with renewed interest.

"I saw this giant bird Pokemon just outside of Pallet Town after I left the lab. It had red, green, white, and gold colors, and was headed west. The funny thing is that Dexter didn't recognize it. Do you have any clues about that Pokemon?"

Professor Oak was a bit shocked. Based on the description Ash gave, he knew what the boy was describing, but he held it in as he wanted to confirm Ash's story. "Hold on Ash. Let me pull up a picture I have here on screen." An ancient image of the Pokemon, carved in a wooden engraving appeared on screen. "Did it happen to look like this?"

"Yeah that's exactly right," exclaimed the boy.

"I'm not sure how it is possible, but it seems you may have encountered the legendary Ho-Oh. An ancient Pokemon of myth from the Johto region that hasn't been seen for thousands of years. In fact, it may have been heading there, if it was indeed heading west as you said," mused the Professor.

"A Legendary Pokemon... but why me and why didn't Dexter pick it up," asked Ash

"Your Pokedex is only registered to pick up Pokemon native to the Kanto region right now Ash, but I will make you a deal. If you manage to collect 8 Gym badges, I will upgrade it to the national version. As for why it showed itself to you, who knows? Keep an eye out Ash, maybe you will see it again someday," smiled the Professor.

Ash frowned at the vague answer, but accepted it. "I guess... and it's a deal about the Pokedex. Well, we have been training long enough and are going to head out to Pewter City for our first Gym battle!"

"I'm sure you will do us proud my boy. Better pick up the pace though. Your fellow Pallet Town trainers have already left for Cerulean City with their first badge secured," Oak warned.

"WHAT," Ash shouted. "GOTTA GO! CALL YOU IN PEWTER CITY! BYE," Ash quickly rattled off as he hung up, scooped up his two Pokemon, and sprinted out the doors towards Viridian Forest.

On the other end of the line, Professor Oak blinked when the connection abruptly cut off, and then went about his business as normal. Some things will never change, he thought.

Meanwhile, Ash was speeding along through north Viridian City, with Pikachu and Charmander hanging on for dear life on his arms. Eventually, the boy took pity on his Pokemon and transitioned into a brisk walk as he came upon Route 2. Charmander decided to rest in his Pokeball, while Pikachu walked alongside Ash. The landscape was full of trees and tall grass. Ash could actually hear wild Pokemon and see flocks of Pidgey fly through the sky high above him.

It was a good 30 minutes into the route, when Ash heard footsteps rushing towards him and words he longed to hear.

"Hey you! I challenge you to battle," shouted an approaching boy.

Ash grinned and turned to look at his prospective opponent. He found a boy shorter than him in what looked to be a bucket hat, a white sleeveless shirt, and some blue shorts. He also was carrying a big net. Ash had read about this kind of trainer before. Looks like A standard bug catcher.

"My name is Ash Red Ketchum and I accept your challenge," Ash replied with his exuberant energy.

"The name is Bug Catcher Ed, and you're going down," replied the boy as he took his place opposite Ash and reached for his first Pokeball. "Go Caterpie," said the enthusiastic Bug Catcher. A small green worm with red antennas sprung out of the Pokeball ready for battle.

"Pika! Pikachu," cried Ash's companion.

"Ready for battle huh Pikachu. You got it then! I choose you Pikachu," and the yellow mouse jumped forward onto the battlefield.

Ash looked at the situation ahead of him and saw this his opponent looked to be inexperienced, and his Pokemon didn't exactly scream strength either. No need to analyze things on a deeper level here.

"Tackle Caterpie," cried the Bug Catcher. The small green Pokemon began to move at a decent speed for a worm towards Pikachu, leading with its head.

"Lets end this quick Pikachu. Meet it head on with a Quick Attack," Ash calmly said.

The two Pokemon collided, but thanks to Pikachu's massive speed edge, size advantage, and training, Caterpie went flying back to its trainer. The small green Pokemon had swirls on its eyes and was clearly out for the count, while Pikachu looked like it took minimal damage, if any.

Not deterred, the Bug Catcher recalled his Caterpie and sent out his next choice with no hesitation. "Go Weedle!" A small yellow worm Pokemon with a stinger on its head and tail appeared on the battle field.

"Good work Pikachu. Time to give Charmander a chance. Return." Pikachu jumped back besides Ash, as Charmander was called out of its Pokeball, and onto the field.

"Charmander," said the fire type, pumped up for battle.

"Try a String Shot Weedle."

White threads shot out towards Charmander, who easily dodged the attack without prompting from his trainer.

"Lets keep our distance Charmander. This stinger can induce Poison if we give it the chance. Start with Smokescreen," called out Ash.

The orange dinosaur blew a great amount of smoke onto the field, blocking Weedle's vision and making its eyes water.

"Get out of there Weedle," cried out its concerned trainer to no avail, as the little Pokemon began to panic. Charmander took advantage and positioned itself close to Weedle, but out of its eyesight.

"Finish up with Ember," Ash said in his collected voice.

Charmander fired his Ember into the smoke and right at Weedle. A short pained cry was heard followed by a small thud. A few moments passed and the smoke dispersed, revealing the knocked out Weedle.

"Return Weedle..." sighed the disappointed Bug Catcher. Ash also called back Charmander, praising the Pokemon for its good battle.

"Guess you win," muttered Ed as he handed over some prize money and headed towards Viridian City to heal his Pokemon.

It was an easy battle... Ok a VERY easy battle, but Ash didn't care. He finally won his first trainer battle, not counting Damien, and he couldn't help but walk with a spring in his step, as he neared Viridian Forest.

END CHAPTER

Soooo... Ash did not exactly make it to Viridian Forest, but he (and I) kinda forgot that he needed to check in with his mom and the Professor. The good news though is that he did manage to win his first trainer battle outside of Pallet Town. Points to whoever can guess where I got Bug Catcher Ed from, without looking it up first.

Next time - Ash ventures into Viridian Forest, catches some Pokemon, and battles a familiar face.

Confused - Thank you for the review! I suppose I can see your point of view, but I can't bring myself to change Pikachu and Ash's dynamic. Ash will likely catch some other electric Pokemon though if that helps. I also like to think that plenty of other things have already changed and will continue to change as well.

Remember to review with your thoughts/critique :)

Smell ya later!