Deep in one of the many forests of Hoenn, a young girl was happily riding her lovely red bicycle down the path that led towards Littleroot Town. She had long light-brown hair and was dressed in a red t-shirt with a dark blue circle around her neck, dark blue bike shorts, a white skirt, a pair of black socks, red and yellow sneakers, and dark-blue and white gloves. On her head she wore a red bandanna with a white Poké Ball print, while attached around her waist was a yellow waist-pack for carrying things.

The girl's name was May, and she was just starting her own Pokémon journey. She was on her way to visit her father's friend, Professor Birch, to receive her first Pokémon, after which she would then continue on her journey to become a Pokémon trainer. The thing was, though, May was not particularly interested in becoming a trainer, and was actually more keen on travelling and seeing new places.

As May cheerfully pedalled on, she was delighted to spot Littleroot Town just ahead. But as she began to pick up speed, a ghost-type Pokémon known as a Duskull unexpectedly appeared right next to May, making her jump with fright and end up losing control of her bike, skidding down the path and crashing right into a tree!

"I guess I should've worn a helmet," groaned May dazedly as the Duskull lost interest in her and floated away.

Quickly recovering, May resumed her pedalling and soon started to climb up the hill, at the top of which she had a great view of Littleroot Town in the distance, as well as the ocean, upon which she could see a passenger ferry coming in to port.

"The truth is that I don't even like Pokémon," May mused to herself, thinking how ironic her journey was in that regard. "But the travelling? I just love it!"


Back in the passenger cabin on the ferry, Ash and Misty had gently wrapped the feverish Pikachu in a blanket, enabling Ash to cradle the unwell Pokémon, who kept giving off sparks from its red cheeks.

"Poor Pikachu," said Misty as she and Togepi looked on in concern. "What can be wrong with him? It looks far too serious to be a simple cold or something!"

"Just try to rest, Pikachu," a glum-looking Ash said consolingly to Pikachu. "As soon as we dock, we're gonna take you right to the Pokémon Centre."

"Yeah, just take it easy, Pikachu," added Misty soothingly, trying her best to encourage Ash as well as Pikachu. "Things will soon be fine, you'll see."

"Togi," said Togepi sadly, as Pikachu continued to twitch and spark.


While Ash and Misty were busy tending to their ill friend, Team Rocket had finally managed to free themselves from the electromagnet and climb up onto the main deck, in time to hear an announcement from the public announcement speakers, stating that the ship would soon be arriving at Littleroot Town.

"Littleroot Town?" remarked James.

"The city whose colours will never change," said Jessie with a strange nostalgic look on her face.

"Huh?" said James and Meowth, puzzled by what Jessie just said.

"That's right," continued Jessie with a whimsical smile. "Littleroot Town has remained true to its roots. I guess my colours have slowly been changing over the years."

"What do you mean?" asked Meowth, baffled by Jessie's strange statements.

"Jessie, have you been here before?" asked James.

Jessie nodded, then said in an oddly melancholic tone:

"Is this really all that there is?"

"HUH?!" said James and Meowth again in shocked unison, completely taken aback by Jessie's uncharacteristic attitude.

"Following the twerps and trying to catch Pikachu?" elaborated Jessie. "James, have we ever truly blasted off at the speed of light?"

Somewhat dumbfounded, James turned to Meowth. "Is she speaking hypothetically?"

"If that means wacky, then yes," replied Meowth, who was quickly forming the opinion that Team Rocket's recent series of defeats and blast offs were finally taking their toll on Jessie.

"Wobbuffet," said Wobbuffet as it popped out again.

With a dejected sigh, Jessie calmly got out Wobbuffet's Poké Ball and zapped the goofy creature back inside, before resuming her wistful mood, with James and Meowth groaning in despair at this.


As soon as the ship had finished docking, Ash and Misty dashed straight off to search for the Pokémon Centre, only to soon discover from the port attendant that Littleroot Town did not have one!

"What are we going to do, Ash?" asked Misty, anxiously holding Togepi as they wandered dejectedly along the pier. "Pikachu needs help now! We can't wait till we reach a Centre in the next town."

Ash nodded in agreement as he looked sadly down at Pikachu, shivering in his arms. Then his face lit up as an idea popped in his head.

"I know! Let's find a phone and contact Professor Birch. Maybe he can help!"

"That's a great idea!" said Misty brightly, as they quickly ran to the nearest public video phone.

Fortunately, Professor Oak had already given Ash the call number for Birch's lab, and Ash was quickly put through to Birch's assistant, Joshua, a handsome young man with green hair and glasses.

"Hello?" said Ash to the image of Joshua on the video phone screen. "Is this Professor Birch's laboratory? I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town. I'm here in Littleroot Town with my friend Misty, and we've an emergency here!"

"What? Your Pikachu's ill?" said Joshua gravely after Ash quickly related what was wrong. "That's terrible! Unfortunately, Professor Birch is out on the field right now conducting an experiment. Stay put, Ash. I'll try and get in touch with him."

"Great. Thanks a lot," said Ash gratefully, before Joshua ended the call.

"I guess there's nothing more we can do now but wait," sighed Misty as they sat down on a nearby bench.

"Guess so," said Ash dismally, as he gently cradled Pikachu. "It's okay, Pikachu. Everything's going to be just fine now."

But as the anxious friends waited, time passed by until it became now a full hour since Ash had made the phone call, with no sign of Professor Birch. To make matters even more discouraging, Pikachu seemed to be getting worse, the sparks on its cheeks becoming more frequent and intense.

"Pikachu..." sighed Ash morosely, with Misty and Togepi looking almost as miserable as he felt.

Suddenly, Misty's ears pricked up as she heard the distant screeching sound of a jeep from down the road. Turning her head hopefully towards the source of the sound, she saw a SUV speeding right towards them. Behind the wheel of the jeep was a somewhat muscular middle-aged man with brown hair and a brown beard, wearing a white lab coat over a blue t-shirt and dark green shorts.

"Ash, look! I think this could be the Professor now!" Misty said excitedly as the jeep pulled up right beside them, and the man urgently got out and went over to them.

"Are you Ash Ketchum and Misty?" asked the man, who began examining Pikachu immediately.

"Yes! Are you Professor Birch?" asked Ash hopefully.

The Professor nodded in reply, as he checked Pikachu over, his expression becoming more serious by the second.

"Not good," said the Professor. "Let's get over to my lab straightaway!"