Hey guys, AzAlexzZ here!
It's the 25th Anniversary of the Pokemon Anime.
This is the second chapter of the rewrite of 'Hearthome Academy'! Chapter 3 will be out in 1-2 weeks since I haven't really been working on it due to exams!
I don't have much to say except for the fact that I changed the way that the story flows. I'm planning on writing longer chapters than the original version so look forward to 8000-9000 word chapters.
With that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!
Chapter 2: Flames of Distress!
Ash, Gary, and Leaf have arrived at Hearthome Academy in the Sinnoh region, excited to work closer and closer to their dreams. They are put in a team with Sinnoh natives Barry, Dawn, Paul, and Zoey along with Bianca from the Unova region. After the Opening Ceremony, the students are almost ready to begin the semester. But before that, Ash and Bianca have 3 days to make their first respective captures. How will they do? Who will they catch as their second partner at the academy?
Let the chapter begin…
Following the events of the last chapter:
"With that, we have concluded the Ceremony. It's not late enough yet, and I'm sure many of you are eager to move around the campus," Professor Oak concluded, "so please, join me in concluding the Hearthome Academy's first-ever Opening Ceremony."
The students all reacted with happiness, excitement, and energy. There were different sounds from every which way. Students were cheering, whistling, clapping, crying out in joy as their Academy life had officially begun.
In the crowd, Ash and Pikachu looked around them, excited at the prospect of working towards his dream. Though it was loud around them, Ash's eyes were fixated on the screen showing the Logo of Hearthome Academy.
I'm finally going to begin my journey at Hearthome Academy. This will be my first step to becoming a Pokemon Master, the Greatest of them all.
(6 months before Hearthome Academy opened)
In the forest area east of Mt. Coronet, an orange Chimp pokemon with a burning fire on his rear was leaping from tree branch to tree branch. If one were to walk by, they would think that he was undergoing some type of endurance training or perhaps partaking in a fun activity.
However, if one looked at his facial and body expressions, one would see a completely different story.
It was a Chimchar with widened eyes and an accelerated heart rate. Chimchar was constantly turning his head, peering behind him. He was also looking underneath himself, showing that he is possibly fleeing from something or someone.
Out of nowhere, a barrage of moves shot up at Chimchar. The attacks missed as he dodged them, albeit barely, instead, the attacks impacted the tree that the Chimp pokemon was about to jump to. The tree collapsed quickly, forcing him to descend. The pokemon landed on the ground, eyeing his pursuers.
The pursuing pokemon closed in on the lone pokemon, sly grins on their faces as they unleashed a barrage of attacks. Chimchar was able to dodge the attacks initially, but the intensity and speed of the attacks only grew. With the combination of fatigue and stress, as well as the previous injuries he had sustained, Chimchar could no longer keep up with the attacks and got hit in the abdomen, falling onto his back. The group kept on attacking their target as he almost fell unconscious. After they had their fun, the pokemon slammed the injured Chimchar against a tree and left, snickering along the way.
Hours went by as Chimchar laid there in immense pain. He didn't know what it did to deserve this. He hated this. He hated the way that he was treated. Maybe it was jealousy from the other pokemon; maybe Chimchar had the potential to be great, so the other pokemon were mean to him.
He vowed to himself to become stronger. He vowed to be powerful so that one day, he may be able to protect himself from many enemies and pokemon that would seek to cause him harm.
But first, he needed to get out of here.
Chimchar went back to his home to let his companions know of his decision, though they were sad, the family supported him. And so Chimchar left his home, moving eastward until he came across two elderly humans who placed him into some sort of sanctuary.
This was where Chimchar would carve his path, and he had a feeling that things may just improve for the better.
(The evening after the Hearthome Academy Opening Ceremony)
"I'm not the only one pumped about all of this, right?" Barry asked excitedly as the group of 8 walked out of the auditorium, hardly containing themselves after what they had just heard from the Opening Ceremony.
"Are you kidding me? This is epic, just so spectacularly epic," Zoey answered.
"I'm so glad that enrolled in this school, it's going to be epic!" Leaf exclaimed, joining in with an outburst of energy.
"Hey, my father wants me to take a lot of photos here," Bianca said, "since we're all going to be in a group for the rest of our time at the Academy, I want you guys to be the first people I take a photo with, oh and of course alongside our Pokemon!"
"Sure, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Gary nodded in agreement, "though we probably need to find a better location for that than in the middle of the hall."
"Well then, let's go look for one!" Ash said as he pumped a fist, running ahead as the group followed him.
The group looked around for good a background to take the photo at, and they eventually found a cluster of academy fountains. The group chose a fountain that had the least amount of water splashing out of it, and of course, they chose a cool design. They found one with a sculpture that included Arceus, the Creation Trio, and the three Sinnoh Lake Guardians. After they decided on the angles they would take the photo at, the group called out their pokemon and got ready to pose.
However, a problem occurred as Bianca realized that her arms weren't long enough for a group photo with all of her group members and their Pokemon.
"Uhhh, guys, I can't take the photo," She whimpered, "my arms aren't long enough."
The group looked at her as she was a bit sad that they weren't able to take the photo together.
"Oh wait a minute! I may have something that can help us take the photo!" Paul's mind clicked as he placed his bag down and opened it, taking out a peculiar stick-shaped device, "my brother went ahead and got me a selfie stick for the year. I didn't think that I would need it, but I guess he has a special kind of clairvoyance."
"Thank you so much, Paul!" Bianca exclaimed as Paul handed her the selfie stick. She took it gladly and fastened her camera on it. After adjusting the length of the selfie stick, Bianca asked everyone to pose again, this time taking a good photo.
Bianca removed her camera from the selfie stick and showed the group the photo that they took. The group of 8 all smiled brightly at the photo, please with how it turned out.
"This is great! Thanks so much, guys!" Bianca said as she placed her camera in her bag and returned the selfie stick to Paul.
"I had fun, this was a great idea, Bianca," Paul said as he placed his selfie stick back in his bag, "so what's next?"
"Well, we're already at the fountain and our pokemon are all out, we might as well spend some time talking or sky gazing," Leaf suggested.
"We could also play a game of 'I Spy'!" Ash said as the group looked at him with funny expressions, "What? It was fun when I was younger. There are many people, things, and pokemon around here so it could be an actual challenge."
"Oh, come on guys," Ash pleaded as the group continued to look at Ash with funny expressions on their faces.
"I don't know, seems like a very childish game," Barry pointed out as the others nodded in agreement
"Well, any of you got a better suggestion?" Ash asked in a frustrated tone.
The group got to thinking for a moment, surprisingly, they found it difficult to think of a good game to pass the time with.
"What about the game 'Truth or Dare'? That game can be very fun to play," Zoey suggested.
"Nope, I am not playing that game," Bianca replied quickly while shaking her head, "that games caused enough childhood trauma for a lifetime."
"Seconded. One of my friends from Twinleaf town asked me to climb into a Hippowdon's mouth once," Barry added, "that experience scarred me for a long time. So that's a 'no' for me too."
"Ditto. My whole class made fun of me for saying I liked Leaf during our trip to the Whirl Islands in Johto," Gary nodded in agreement, "so a 'no' for me too."
"Yeah, me too. I got electrocuted by a Plusle and a Minun in kindergarten. I had terrible hair for the rest of the day and also got a horrific nickname," Dawn added, "I'm never playing that game again."
The group got to thinking about another game to play.
"How about 'Charades'?" Paul suggested. The group was interested in Paul's idea for a brief moment... until they realized they were out in public and there were many people around them relaxing and chilling just like they are.
"Too many people here, so 'nope' for me!" Leaf said.
"Seconded," Zoey nodded in agreement, "I don't want to look like an idiot in front of everyone before the first day."
"Hmmm"
The group continued to think of more games to play until Dawn spoke up.
"Why don't we just take Ash's suggestion and play 'I spy'?! even though it may seem like we're too old for this game, a least this one doesn't involve childhood trauma or making a fool out of ourselves, and I'm starting to see what Ash meant when he said it can be challenging."
Ash looked at Dawn and smiled brightly, she gave him a thumbs-up as the rest of the group looked towards one another.
"Fine, let's do it. I'll start the game!" Bianca said with a sigh before shaking her head and taking a good look at her surroundings. When she found a tricky target, she decided to go with that, "I spy, with my eyes, something... red!"
The group looked around. Trying to locate items, people, or pokemon that were red. However, it turns out that many things were red, and it was hard to pinpoint what exactly Bianca was referring to.
After another 2 minutes, Barry asked everyone to point at what they thought is the answer. Dawn pointed at the Growlithe standing by its trainer nearby; Paul pointed at the red light close to them; Zoey pointed at her hair; Leaf pointed at her skirt; Gary pointed at Bianca's Tepig; Barry pointed at the Charmander standing close by; Ash pointed at Pikachu's cheeks.
"Nope, none of you got it right," he then walked up and went to touch Ash's hat, "I spy... Ash's hat."
"...I missed that ahahaha," Ash laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head with his hands, "well, that was embarrassing."
"Okay, I'll go next!" Zoey said, taking a look around, "I spy, with my eyes, something... black!"
After a few moments of observation. Ash pointed at his shoes; Dawn pointed at Zoey's Misdreavus; Barry pointed at his Litten; Gary pointed at his Umbreon; Leaf pointed at Ash's hair; Paul pointed at a Blitzle nearby; Bianca pointed at a student's black hoodie.
"Bianca got it right!" Zoey announced, "it was that student's hoodie. Good job Bianca!"
"It's my turn now!" Gary said.
"I'll get it right this time!" Leaf pumped her fists into the air
"No you won't, I will!" Ash interjected.
"Will you guys shut it and let me start the game?" Gary demanded, "Thanks. Now, I spy, with my eyes..."
(Later that night)
The soothing flow of the wind carried leaves and dust into the air as the moon hung brightly in the night sky. It was a peaceful night, Hearthome Academy was silent as most people and pokemon have gone to bed and fallen asleep.
In the forest, many nocturnal pokemon have begun to wake up from their slumber during the day. Among those, are Noctowl, Hoothoot, and Murkrow, many of which are flying around, looking for delicious berries to feast on. Many other pokemon have fallen asleep in groups or hiding away from gazing eyes.
In another part of the forest, Chimchar was trying to sharpen its moves. It first started by running around a huge boulder quickly as it focused some energy into its hands, and it started punching it, trying to break it down into smaller chunks. However, it didn't go as well as it wanted to, as the boulder's sheer size made it hard to crack, however, that did not dampen the spirit of the feisty pokemon as it continued to repeat that process until it had completed its goal.
A few hours passed and Chimchar was no closer to cracking the boulder into smaller chunks. Overwhelmed with fatigue, the Chimp pokemon rested its body against the boulder, sleeping soundly for the night.
Perhaps, it would have better luck when it wakes up later.
(In the morning)
Ash and Pikachu woke up early, though not as early as the previous day. The duo took some time in the morning to organize their corner of the room some more while thinking about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. It was an exciting day for the duo as they planned on adding a new member to their team.
"So Pikachu, let's go grab some food and go out in the field. Since we got the whole day before us, there is no better way than to explore the forest!" Ash whispered as his trusty partner jumped onto his shoulder. Ash wrote a short note for his roommates and placed it on the dorm room table, the note telling them where Ash and Pikachu were going to be for the rest of the day.
As Ash and Pikachu walked out towards the hallway towards the cafeteria, he noticed that there was a large painting on the side of the walls of the Academy. Many students stood there, observing the painting. Curious as to what the painting was, Ash and Pikachu stepped closer to get a better look.
One painting included pokemon such as all the starter pokemon from the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar regions and all the legendary and mythical pokemon from those regions. There were also paintings of some of the discovered Ultra Beasts from the Ultra wormholes in the Alola region.
On the other side of the hall, there were portraits of the regional Champions engaging in battle.
The Champion of the Galar region, Leon, was commanding his Charizard as he fought against the Kanto and Johto Champion Lance's Dragonite. Both their pokemon were portrayed as flying gracefully in the sky.
"Lance and his Dragonite are awesome, can't wait to meet them or even battle them one day," one of the observing students exclaimed.
"He might be awesome, but take a look at the World Champion Leon, his mighty Charizard is so powerful. This is likely the most powerful Charizard ever!" Another student said as the duo went on to debate about who's stronger out of the two.
Ash grinned as he moved on to see that the Hoenn Champion Steven Stone and Kalos Champion Diantha were in the middle of the wall, battling with their Mega-evolved Metagross and Gardevoir respectively.
"OHHHHH MYYYYYY GOSH! Steven and Mega Metagross, what a King! I can't wait to shake his hands one day!" One student, who was a fangirl of Steven Stone was almost drooling as she was mesmerized by the portrait of Steven.
"Forget that, have you seen Diantha?! She's so unbelievably beautiful! And her Gardevoir is so perfect!"
I would love to use the Mega Evolution mechanic sometime in the future. Ash thought as he continued to admire the photos.
Ash let out a very low chuckle as he found the love for those champions to be very moving. It was nice to see so many passionate students look up to such awesome model figures. He walked over to the end of the hall, the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia and her Garchomp were going blow for blow against the Unova Champion Alder and his Bouffalant.
"Cynthia," Ash spoke out.
Pi Pikachu
"Yeah, remember when we battled her last year?! You and I, it was a narrow loss, to be honest," Ash said, "but it wasn't just because of the type disadvantage, just the presence she commands is overwhelming."
"Pikachu, beating her will be a way we get closer to our dream, until then, we need to keep working hard," Ash stated, pumping his fists with excitement.
Pika Pikaaaa
"Now, we should probably go make a new friend," Ash said, "I'm sure there is plenty of awesome pokemon for us to catch!"
grrrrrr grrrrrr
A rumbling came from his stomach as Ash held his stomach embarrassingly. Luckily for the raven-haired teen, the people around him were so focused on observing the massive painting on the wall that they have completely tuned out all other noises or distractions.
Ash and Pikachu left the hallway quickly, the duo heading straight to the Academy cafeteria.
(In the cafeteria)
It was relatively busy in the cafeteria despite the early hour, however, Ash and Pikachu were lucky that the queues were shorter than they expected. Ash chose to grab a traditional Sinnohan breakfast that consisted of Miso soup, an egg dish, bacon, assorted vegetables, and a bowl of rice. He also grabbed some pokefood for Pikachu who cried out in joy as he was eagerly waiting to start his day off with a delicious meal in his belly.
The duo found an empty table and sat down. Ash poured some pokefood into an empty bowl before seasoning it and adding Pikachu's favorite sauce, Ketchup. Not wanting to wait any longer, the two friends dug into their food eagerly as they began stuffing their faces in.
"Hey, you two, can we join you?" A voice asked as Ash and Pikachu looked up. It was Bianca and Dawn, who were holding their tray of food. On their shoulders sat their pokemon Tepig, Piplup, and Cyndaquil respectively.
Ash and Pikachu waved at Bianca, Dawn, and their pokemon as they sat down. Bianca and Dawn poured some pokefood for their pokemon, and the girls started to eat too.
Ash looked at what Dawn and Bianca got for Breakfast. Bianca got the western Breakfast but Dawn elected the same breakfast option that he had selected.
Looks like Dawn and I have similar tastes in food. And quite literally in this case. Ash mused as he downed a mouthful of food.
"You're up early, Ash," Bianca stated, "I take it you were able to sleep well last night?"
Ash was unable to answer Bianca's question as he was still chewing through the food in his mouth. He pointed at his mouth as Bianca and Dawn chuckled slightly.
"Sorry about that Ash."
"No you're all good, just caught me at an unfortunate timing," Ash replied, "I slept well. I'm up early because I wanted to make my first capture. Did you girls sleep well?"
"I did, I slept like a log," Bianca answered.
"Me too, it was a great nap," Dawn said, "I've been wondering. Do you only have Pikachu? I noticed you didn't pick a regional pokemon yesterday."
"Yeah, I wanted to catch all of my pokemon with Pikachu," Ash explained, "since it's Friday, I can make a capture today and still have time tomorrow and on Sunday to do some training. That way, we'll be ready for Battle class next Monday."
"We have a special session in our class," Bianca stated, "I'm super excited."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. We're having mock battles where all the students participate in battles," Ash answered, "every student is going to battle against another student in a 1v1 match."
"Which is super awesome! I'm so excited about that!" Bianca exclaimed.
"We're doing Pokemon evaluations that test the effects and glamour of the moves that our pokemon use," Dawn said.
"Sounds interesting. Did they say anything about needing 3 pokemon for the class?" Ash asked.
"It was a recommendation, but not a requirement. 2 pokemon is good enough variety for performances to work," Dawn explained.
"Same for Battle Class. It was also recommended that we have 3 pokemon, but 2 is fine for now," Bianca said, "though I think 3 pokemon is the amount that we should have by the time the third week comes along."
Ash, Dawn, and Bianca continue to converse while eating their breakfast, discussing their excitement for their classes. When they finished eating, Ash and Pikachu decided to head out to find their newest capture.
"Hey, can we come with you?" Bianca asked as she ran after Ash, catching up with him.
"You sure? You girls aren't not doing anything?" Ash asked in a surprised tone.
"Like yourself, I also have one pokemon so I was thinking we could both try to catch pokemon together," Bianca said.
"And I'm free, so you can have me for the whole day," Dawn said with a smile, not realizing what she said. Ash raised an eyebrow as he was rather confused at the way that Dawn phrased that sentence
What was that? That felt so... weird... Ash thought, clearing his thoughts as he took off running after Dawn and Bianca.
The raven-haired teen caught up with the girls, the trio walked together in silence as their pokemon ran around, having a good time.
"So what's your goal, Ash?" Dawn inquired with great curiosity.
"Me?" Ash was surprised at the sudden question, "I want to become a Pokemon Master!"
"That sounds... oddly vague," Bianca said, as Ash looked at her with a weird expression.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked in a confused tone.
"Well, let's see..." Bianca took a moment to organize her thoughts, before an idea came to her, "for example, Dawn is going to take part in pokemon contests, and she wants to become a Top Coordinator."
"Seems fairly straightforward, and not too hard to understand," Dawn added.
"That's true," Ash said, trying to understand what Bianca and Dawn are eluding to.
"But, a Pokemon Master," Bianca continued as the duo just stepped out of the academy building, walking towards the forest, "What does that mean? Do you want to become a Gym Leader? Or a member of the Elite Four?"
"Perhaps a Battle Frontier Brain?" Dawn added.
"Or you could challenge, beat and become a regional Champion?" Bianca continued, "There are too many questions to ask. Hence why I said it sounds vague."
"Ah, I guess that makes sense when you two put it like that..." Ash stated, thinking through what Bianca and Dawn had just said, "I guess it includes all of them and none of them at the same time?"
"I don't follow, what does that mean?" Dawn asked as Bianca nodded in agreement. The girls weren't sure what to make of it.
"To be completely honest, I don't know if I can answer that question yet," Ash said as Bianca and Dawn looked at him, curious about what he had to say, "I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out. But I have an idea of what it means to me. All I care about now is if I'm with Pikachu and my pokemon, we'll be able to do anything. And of course, my friends. If that's all I have then I think I'm good."
"That sounds very unconventional to me," Bianca chuckled, "but it makes sense, I guess."
"Yeah, I'm not too worried about figuring it out, I'm more excited about the journey than the title," Ash responded.
(An hour later, in the forest)
Chimchar had just woken up from his slumber. After a quick stretch, the Chimp pokemon found some berries and quickly munched on them, filling his belly as it savored the peculiar yet juicy taste of the berries.
After he was done eating, Chimchar once again began his training as he targeted the huge boulder in front of him. Focusing energy into his hands, Chimchar punched the boulder repeatedly, trying to crack it with each strike. Interestingly enough, Chimchar was not using any of the moves that he knew, instead just using brute force as a method of offense.
Since last night's method didn't exactly work out for Chimchar, he decided to think about what he could have done differently to make it possible for him to put a crack in the boulder. An idea came to the Chimp pokemon and he decided to try it out.
Chimchar started by using the technique that he used last night. He ran around the boulder as fast as he could to gather momentum, when he felt that it was generating enough momentum, he leaped to a tree and use it to anchor himself, launching him toward the boulder. The Chimp pokemon drew his fist back as he punched the boulder with a lot of force, but he could hardly do anything as the impact was proving to be quite painful for the pokemon. Chimchar grasped his hands and was trying to ignore the obvious pain in his palms.
Working through the pain, the Chimp pokemon continued to rush towards the rock, however, a sound coming from across the trees caught his attention as it heard a loud cry.
It sounded like a cry of distress.
The Chimp pokemon quickly rushed toward the source of the sound, finding it. What Chimchar saw was a small owl-like pokemon with a roundish body shape, the pokemon with large black eyes and beige-colored feathers. Its beak was white on the top half and brownish-orange on the bottom half. It had a white patch that resembled the infinity sign that covered the areas around its eyes, it also had white feathers on the underside of its body. Finally, 2 leaves made a bowtie-like decoration on the Rowlets chest.
This was being targeted by 4 other larger pokemon. It was a Scyther, Zangoose, Inkay, and Murkrow. The bird pokemon had some food in its beak, and the pokemon were attacking it to try to get it to let go of the food.
Chimchar's blood boiled as he grit his teeth, he was overwhelmed with anger. This was exactly like how he was treated before he came here. However, he couldn't just rush in, since he was outnumbered. But the more he waited to make a plan, the more time he spent thinking, the more time the poor bird was getting bullied like that.
Chimchar smacked its head lightly. He had no time to think of a plan, he had to catch those pokemon by surprise. Chimchar decided that the best way to approach this is to capture their attention momentarily and bring it away from the small bird pokemon.
Chimchar began by leaping from tree to tree, making a lot of noise. The 4 pokemon heard the sounds that Chimchar made and lifted their heads, trying to find out what was making that sound. Due to Chimchar's speed increasing through his training, he was going so fast that the other pokemon could not see him.
Chimchar decided that there was no better time to strike, now that he had the attention of the pokemon. He engulfed himself into a ball of hot, red flame and slammed into the 4 pokemon, sending them flying back.
The 4 pokemon were annoyed that their playtime was interrupted, they got up on their feet and glared at the young Chimp pokemon, their lips curling into evil smirks.
They unleashed their attacks on the Chimp Pokemon, who used his attack to shield itself and the bird pokemon. The 4 attacks crashed into Chimchar, overpowering the Chimp pokemon easily. Chimchar ran towards them and rammed his fist into the Zangoose. The impact sent Zangoose flying into a tree, and Chimchar let off a proud smirk. However, the Scyther, Murkrow, and Inkay launched long-range attacks that knocked Chimchar back.
The Chimp pokemon didn't relent as he got back up to its feet, unleashing a Flamethrower attack. The 4 pokemon responded with their attacks as it once again overpowered Chimchar and knocked him to the ground, Chimchar landing on the ground with a loud thud, coughing as he was hit hard.
The owl pokemon looked at Chimchar as it was running to her rescue. She forgot about her injuries momentarily and grew more concerned about the Chimchar that had put its body on the line trying to protect her. What she did not expect was the Chimp pokemon continue to resist, standing up once again.
This time though, the 4 pokemon didn't relent as they fire their attacks again causing the Chimp pokemon to be slammed against a tree. They unleashed another round of attacks on the tree that Chimchar was hurled against, causing the branches to fall on top of the Chimp pokemon, hurting him further.
Chimchar could feel his consciousness fading away, he felt like that again. He was being pulled back to that day when he was being bullied by the three pokemon. He felt so powerless, even though he vowed to get stronger. Now he failed again, and this time another pokemon was going to suffer for his shortcomings.
Row Rowlet
Chimchar's ear picked up a desperate cry from the pokemon, the Rowlet was chirping, almost as if it's cheering on Chimchar.
Something stirred within Chimchar as it felt a strange sensation. But it wasn't a warm sensation, instead, it felt more like a scorching burn. And it was not the most pleasant feeling as Chimchar felt it welling up in him.
He burst out of the pile of branches, tree trunks, and leaves, the flame on his rear enlarged more than he has ever experienced. Chimchar was filled with rage and he soon found that it was harder and harder to contain it. His emotions fueled the flame on his rear as it burst forth, attacking and burning everything around him.
He spewed flames from his mouth and engulfed himself into a sphere of flame much larger than the one it previously unleashed, ramming into the 4 pokemon, sending them flying. The 4 pokemon were hurled so far away that the bird pokemon almost thought that they were soaring through the sky. But that would be the least of her worries.
Chimchar's flame, despite the absence of the aggressive pokemon, wasn't shrinking. Instead, the flame grew larger as the Chimp pokemon lost all sense of reason and started attacking everything near it.
(A few moments ago)
Ash, Dawn, and Bianca were currently running through the forest, chasing after their target. It was a grass-type pokemon that Bianca had set her eyes on, but the group couldn't find it. As a result, the group had lost track of the pokemon as they traversed deeper into the forest.
"Hmm, I guess we lost the pokemon, well that's just great," Dawn stated with a sigh.
"Aww man, I was hoping to catch it," Bianca complained, "that's so lame!"
"It makes sense that a pokemon living here would know it better than us. Probably ditched us a long time ago," Ash added.
"Well, no use idling here, let's go find something else to catch then," Bianca suggested as Tepig sniffed something weird and pointed toward a direction.
"Hey, do you girls see that?" Ash asked as he pointed toward the smoke rising from deeper in the forest. There was a strange energy signature drawing him close. Ash was confused, he could feel it as it was a strange feeling, yet it pulled onto him as if asking him to run toward it.
"Is a forest fire happening?" Dawn asked with a worried expression.
"We won't know unless we go check it out, I can feel a weird presence" Ash stated, deciding to address this weird sensation, "come on Dawn, we may need Piplup for this!"
The trio started running deeper into the forest, desperately trying to find the source of the smoke. As they traveled more into the forest, there were pokemon running away in the opposite direction.
"These pokemon are all running from something," Ash pointed out.
"That must be where we'll find the source of the smoke," Bianca called out, "let's hurry!"
The group eventually arrived at the spot that Chimchar and Rowlet were at. They were horrified to see the rampaging Chimchar and the frightened Rowlet.
"Oh my gosh, so that little pokemon is responsible for this much damage?" Bianca asked.
"No time for that kind of talk, Bianca. We got a fire to put out," Dawn said, as Piplup jumped onto the ground, "Piplup, use Whirlpool back to back. Ash, get Pikachu to use Iron Tail to cut up the whirlpools so it scatters around the area to douse the fire."
"Gotcha!" Ash said, "Pikachu, you heard her, use Iron Tail after Piplup summons the whirlpools."
Pika Pika
Pip Piplup
Piplup summoned forth 2 large Whirlpools, one after the other. He suspended them in the air as Pikachu jumped up and sliced the water up with his Iron Tail attack. The water converged on itself and created a mine tidal wave that covered the whole area, putting out all the fires. The Chimchar was still rampaging, though the water did manage to catch his attention.
Bianca ran over to the Rowlet and picked it up, cradling it in her arms.
"It looks like this one is injured badly," Bianca said, "I'll run back to the Academy center and get it healed up. I'll meet you guys back there!"
"Okay, be safe!" Dawn called out as Ash's attention was fully on the rampaging Chimchar.
"What is that?" Dawn muttered as she walked next to Ash, "Is that a move?"
"It could also be an ability, maybe the Pokedex will tell us," Ash said as he pulled out his Pokedex to scan the pokemon in front of them.
Chimchar, the Monkey Pokémon. Chimchar lives on mountain tops and easily climbs the sheerest of walls, ledges, and cliffs. When it sleeps, it extinguishes its flames. Chimchar's primary ability is Blaze and it can increase the power of its fire-type moves when reaching critical health.
"This is Blaze?! It can't be! I've seen this ability before, but this is nothing like that," Ash stated with a bewildered expression, "Even from fully-evolved Typhlosions and Charizards, I've never seen didn't have this much explosive power."
This is it, the aura of this pokemon, I can feel it, it's so intense and I've never felt something like this before.
"Perhaps this Chimchar has a special kind of Blaze," Dawn stated, "could be a perfect first capture for you."
"You think so?" Ash asked, "it looks pretty injured. I don't want to cause it any more harm."
"With the way that it is rampaging now, I don't think you have a choice, Ash," Dawn pointed out as Ash took a moment to consider it before he adjusted his cap and pumped his fist as he approached the Chimp pokemon.
"Hey Chimchar, let's battle!" Ash called out as the Chimp pokemon turned to face it, glaring daggers at the raven-haired teen and his electric mouse pokemon.
The Fire-type let out a huge Flamethrower that caught Ash and Pikachu by surprise. Pikachu managed to dodge it, albeit barely. The mouse pokemon sighed a breath of relief as he jumped toward Ash.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail, we gotta end this quickly!" Ash called out as Pikachu jumped up, his tail shining with energy that was a bright white color. Pikachu launched himself toward Chimchar as the flame pokemon used a Flame wheel attack to counter it.
The attacks resulted in a stalemate, but Chimchar was far from done. He launched toward Pikachu with a glowing red fist.
"Pikachu, use Quick attack to dodge that attack!" Ash called out. Pikachu used its speed to move out of the way, just in time but Chimchar's attack connected with a tree nearby and managed to mow down the tree completely.
"That was a Power-Up Punch, but that move is meant to be weak early..." Dawn stated, "this is not a normal Blaze, it is somehow powering up all of Chimchar's moves, not just his fire-type moves."
"Well then, we better watch carefully," Ash said, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu unleashed a jolt of powerful electricity that got countered by another Flamethrower. Flamethrower managed to overpower Pikachu's attack as he managed to jump out of the way just in time t avoid any damage.
That Chimchar is not calming down, and its attacks are stronger than ours. We need to find a way to stop it, its ability is... Ash thought, before pausing.
"I got it!" Ash cried out as he had an epiphany, "since Chimchar is all about abilities, then we'll just utilize ours. Pikachu, run towards Chimchar at full speed. Don't use an attack, let him tag you."
Pikachu ran towards Chimchar quickly, the Chimp pokemon retaliating by pulling back its fist, and punching Pikachu. However, sparks flew off of Pikachu and traveled all over Chimchar's body, causing the Chimp pokemon to be paralyzed.
Chimchar struggled to stand as he felt the effect of the paralysis as it hindered his speed. Though his anger sustained him for a while, the fatigue he felt was starting to be overwhelming.
"Pikachu, let's end this with a Quick Attack!" Ash called out as Pikachu launched itself toward Chimchar, slamming into the injured pokemon, and pushing it back.
Chimchar collapsed quickly, swirls in its eyes as the toll from its earlier battle was finally settling in. The raven-haired teen immediately tossed a Pokeball that captured the pokemon. He walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. He quickly called out Chimachar and found that the Chimp pokemon was still unconscious.
"Dawn, in my bag. There are a couple of Oran berries I prepared for today, can you grab one for me?" Ash asked as the blunette opened his bag quickly and took out an Oran berry.
"Pikachu, use Iron tail to cut open the berry, please. Make sure they're in half," Ash instructed as his pokemon gave him a nod, cutting open the berries with its tail. Ash took the halves of the berry and squeezed the liquid into Chimchar's mouth.
"I was hoping that our first encounter would be under joyful circumstances, but I guess you can't always have what you want. Seemed this whole situation has been pretty hard on Chimchar," Ash stated as most of the liquid of the berry had entered Chimchar's mouth.
"Well, let's not waste more time, we need to go get him healed," Dawn suggested as Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder, and the duo ran toward the Academy building.
(A few moments later)
Ash and Dawn had just arrived at the pokemon center. They were hoping that it wasn't too busy so that they could get Chimchar healed. They took a look around, and it seemed like Arceus favored them as barely anyone was in there.
"Ash, I'll go look for Bianca. You go ahead and get Chimchar and Pikachu healed," Dawn informed Ash.
"Alright, I'll meet you in the waiting room when we're done," Ash said as Dawn took off toward the waiting room, leaving Ash, Pikachu, and Chimchar. The raven-haired teen took Pikachu and Chimchar's Pokeball to the front desk as the on-duty Nurse Joy had just returned from her break.
"Hi, how can I help you? Mr. uhhh..."
"Ash Ketchum, ma'am," Ash replied politely, "I need to get my pokemon healed up please."
"Of course, I'll take your pokemon right now, just place their pokeballs or the pokemon here," Nurse Joy said as she handed Ash a medical cart, and the raven-haired teen placed Pikachu and Chimchar's Pokeball on the cart.
"I will call you when they're both healed up. In the meantime, you can go wait in the waiting room," Nurse Joy as Ash gave her a nod and walked over to the waiting room.
Ash walked through the pokemon center, his mind playing what had just happened like a short film.
What happened back there. Ash thought. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why the Chimchar would be in such a frenzy, it was as if he was rampaging.
"Did the bird pokemon make Chimchar angry? That can't be. Chimchar wasn't attacking it, at least not directly," Ash muttered as he placed a hand on his chin. The raven-haired was so busy thinking about what had happened that he didn't notice Dawn and Bianca waving at him.
"Hey Ash, over here!" Bianca called out. The raven-haired teen snapped out of his thought bubble and waved back at the blonde girl and the blunette.
"Hey, girls, what's up?" Ash asked as the duo moved over to let him sit down.
"Oh nothing," Dawn said, "we are just waiting for Rowlet to heal up."
"Rowlet?!" Ash inquired with curiosity, "that's what the bird pokemon is called?"
"Yep," Bianca took out her Pokedex and looked up the information on Rowlet.
Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokémon. A Grass and Flying-type. It stores energy during the day from photosynthesis. It swoops down without making a sound and unleashes a powerful kick without being noticed.
"That's so cool, I've never seen one of them before," Ash exclaimed, "does it say where they are from?"
"Yeah, Rowlet is native to the Alola region," Bianca stated as she put her Pokedex away, "I've never left my home region before coming here, so I'm not too familiar with the different regions."
"I've never been to Alola either, so I'm interested in what that place is," Ash added, "though I heard there are a couple of students who are from that region."
The trio continued to converse about regions that interest them and what they might do if they had the chance to visit. Time passed quickly and after about 30 minutes they heard their names being called at the front desk.
"Calling Bianca Bel and Ash Ketchum!"
"That was fast," Bianca commented as the trio rushed to the front desk. they saw Nurse joy push out a medical cart with Pikachu and Rowlet there, but Chimchar was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Pikachu, how are you doing?" Ash asked as he rubbed the electric mouse's cheek. Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder and made a relaxing sound.
Pi Pikachu
"And you Rowlet? How are you?!" Bianca asked. The little bird pokemon has made herself comfortable on Bianca's head, chirping joyfully
Row Rowlet
"Where's Chimchar?" Dawn asked in a concerning manner.
"Unfortunately, Chimchar sustained a lot of injuries from previous battles and is deprived of energy," Nurse Joy explained as the trio shared a sorrowful look, "but don't worry though, he's going to be okay. He just needs to stay under my supervision for the rest of the day."
"May we come to visit him later?" Ash asked.
"Yes, you may. Is Chimchar your Pokemon? If you leave his Pokeball here, I can recall him once he recovers fully," Nurse Joy asked.
"No, he's not my Pokemon. We found him in the forest when we were trying to catch some pokemon," Ash explained.
"Hmm, well, I will keep an eye on him," Nurse Joy said, "would you want me to make a capture now?"
"I think I'd be more comfortable if I caught him because he wants to or through a battle," Ash stated, "I can always go look for him later."
"Understood, well you are welcome to come and visit him at any time," Nurse Joy said, "the two of you can also come if you wish."
"Awesome! Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash stated as Dawn and Bianca smiled cheerfully.
With that, the trio left the pokemon center.
(A few moments later)
"Okay Rowlet, you can go now, you're healthy again," Bianca stated as she looked up at the Rowlet who was resting happily on her head.
Rowlet looked at her with a curious expression. The owl pokemon flew in front of Bianca and pointed at the Pokeballs on her belt. It then moved forward and got into a battle stance fitting for the owl pokemon.
"Rowlet? What's going on?" Bianca asked, confused at what the owl pokemon is trying to do.
Row Rowlet
"I think she wants to join your team, Bianca," Ash stated as the blonde teen looked at him with a surprised expression.
"But only after a battle, it seems," Dawn stated, "look at her spirit! Come on Bianca, you can't let this opportunity go!"
If it wasn't for Ash and Dawn's words, then it was Rowlet's adamant expression that convinced Bianca to take this step.
"Well, if you're serious about this, then I'm not about to back away," Bianca smirked, taking a Pokeball off her belt.
"Tepig, come on out, we got ourselves a battle!" Bianca hollered as the ball flew into the air, and red energy coursed out of it, materializing into a black and red pokemon.
Te Tepig
"Alright Tepig, let's start this off with Ember!" Bianca hollered as Tepig jumped up and released a wave of sparkling flames toward the little bird pokemon.
Rowlet took to the skies and dodged the attack easily, she then descended upon Tepig, her beak shining a bright white.
"That's a peck attack, be careful!" Dawn called out.
"Tepig, intercept attack that with Flame Charge," Bianca ordered.
Tepig was covered with Flame as he dived towards the Rowlet, their attacks collided in a joust of strength. Eventually, Tepig managed to overpower Rowlet, slamming into her and pushing her back. However, Rowlet recuperated and immediately unleashed a barrage of leaves that traveled quickly, impacting Tepig.
"Wow, that one knows Razor Leaf? That's awesome!" Bianca exclaimed, "use Flame Charge again!"
Tepig once again was engulfed with flame and slammed into Rowlet, this time hitting her hard and dealing super-effective damage. Rowlett crashed onto the ground as Bianca cheered loudly.
"Way to go Tepig!" Bianca exclaimed as she took out a Pokeball and tossed it toward Rowlet, "let's get 'em Pokeball."
The Pokeball flew towards Rowlet, and upon making contact with her body, the Pokeball absorbed Rowlet into it, and after a few moments of shaking, concluded the capture with a soft 'ding' sound. Bianca ran over and grabbed the ball, her Tepig excited to have another team member!
"Alright! We got ourselves a Rowlet!" Bianca cried out joyfully as she ran towards Ash and Dawn.
"I did it! I made the capture!" Bianca said as she tossed the Pokeball high up. Rowlet emerged from within the ball materializing before her Trainer as she chirped happily, landing on Bianca's head.
"Congratulations Bianca, that was a wonderful battle!" Ash cheered loudly.
"Yeah, great job!" Dawn added.
"Thanks! This is awesome!" Bianca said, "I hope we get to be great friends Rowlet!"
Let Rowlet
(Later that evening)
"Ta-da!" Bianca announced to the rest of the group as she presented Rowlet, the newest addition to her team, "I caught a Rowlet!"
"Funny story, I was with Ash and Dawn today," Bianca said excitedly, "Ash and I wanted to catch a new pokemon each so we went to the forest, we first found a Pansage running around the forest, and I wanted one so we chased behind it, but it was super fast and we ending up losing it."
"We then heard an explosive sound nearby, and we could smell smoke," Bianca continued, "so we searched around the forest. It turns out, there was a raging fire-type pokemon-"
"Chimchar," Ash interjected quickly.
"Right, Chimchar was losing his cool, hehe," Bianca smirked as slotted in a pun that made everyone sweatdrop, "what? I thought was funny... Anyways, to the point. Rowlet was nearby, battered and bruised."
"Oh my, that is bad, did the Chimchar do that to Rowlet?" Leaf asked.
"We don't know, but Chimchar wasn't attacking her directly so we didn't come to that conclusion," Dawn answered.
"Dawn had a plan to stop the fire from spreading," Ash added, "We dealt with it as Bianca took Rowlet to the pokemon center."
"She was healed up, we took her outside to let her go," Bianca stated, "but Rowlet didn't want to leave and challenge me to a battle. As a result, I got Rowlet."
"That is incredible!" Zoey stated as the group nodded their heads in agreement.
"So are you going to do about this Chimchar?" Gary asked Ash.
"It's not yet recovered so it's staying in the pokemon center. I plan to spend the night there and wait for it to recover," Ash responded.
"I don't think that's what he meant," Paul interjected as Ash looked at him with a confused look, "I think Gary's trying to ask if you are planning to catch it?"
"I already caught it, technically, but I don't know how it feels about joining me since I caught it in that circumstance. I'm thinking of leaving it up to Chimchar, to be honest. If it wants to join me then that's that. I won't force him," Ash stated, "but for now, he needs to recover, so this will have to wait till tomorrow."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Barry said.
"There is something odd about that Chimchar, too," Ash stated.
"What do you mean?" Leaf asked.
Ash and Dawn proceeded to explain to the group about the peculiar blaze ability that Chimchar had.
"That must've been scary," Zoey commented.
"It wasn't that, I was more worried about Chimchar than anything else, Pikachu was an absolute champ out there, taking the punishment from Chimchar was not easy," Ash said as he gently rubbed Pikachu on the cheeks.
Chaaaaa
"Well, I believe that Gramps and Prof Rowan would have an idea about this whole situation," Gary stated, "I think that Chimchar might be a rare specimen of its kind."
"Whatever it is, Chimchar needs to be trained," Ash said with a troubled expression, "I don't believe it knows how to control that kind of power, which means that if it stays unchecked in a wild environment, it can hurt others... or worse."
"Do you think you can do it?" Dawn asked concerningly.
"I don't know, but I'll try my best," Ash said, "if it allows me to, of course. As I said, I'm not trying to force it to be with me."
"I do recommend that you go talk to Professor Rowan and Professor Oak about the Chimchar," Gary suggested, "I think they're in their office right this moment, so if you go now you might be able to still catch them."
"I'll do just that!" Ash said.
I'll figure out what to do. This Chimchar needs help, and I'll try my best to help it.
"Guys, don't forget! The final battle of the World Championship battle between Leon and Lance starts in 40 minutes. We should go watch it!" Barry reminded his friends as the group nodded their heads in agreement walking toward the Academy Lounge area.
"Let's go!"
This is a good place to end the chapter!
Bianca made her first chapter, Rowlet really likes her and hopefully, they'll go a long way. Blaze Chimchar is also back with a different backstory. Although it's similar circumstances, there are differences in the details. Unlike in the anime, Ash will catch him first instead of Paul catching him first.
We're getting closer and closer to the start of the school year, and our group is excited for their first day, for now. Most of them will be training with their new pokemon. Ash is the only exception since he has no new ones, but he is still concerned about Chimchar, so he'll set that straight.
Thanks for reading! AzAlexzZ Out!
These are the pokemon that the main 8 have:
Ash: Pikachu, Chimchar.
Dawn: Piplup, Cyndaquil.
Paul: Elekid, Turtwig.
Gary: Umbreon, Squirtle.
Leaf: Espeon, Bulbasaur.
Barry: Litten, Piplup.
Bianca: Tepig, Rowlet.
Zoey: Glameow, Misdreavous.
Next Chapter:
Chapter 3: Battle time! Training and Bonding!
To Be Continued...
