Ash and Pikachu walked towards the edge of Pallet Town with their heads held high. Well; Ash walked. Pikachu was still riding on Ash's left shoulder.
"Oh yeah, I never scanned you" Ash crouched down to safely release the egg from his grasp. While he did this, Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder.
He stood back up and whipped out his Pokédex.
"Pikachu: the Mouse Pokémon. When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms. (These storms are known to attract Electabuzz that are prepared to evolve.) This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up. If it's not getting enough sleep, it will only be able to use weak electricity."
"Remind me to not fall asleep next to you" Ash said, before continuing to read.
"This Pikachu is male, and knows the moves: Tail Whip, Growl, Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, and Reversal."
The last move caught Ash by surprise. Pikachu had an egg move. Unfortunately, this move required Pikachu to take damage before he could use it to strike.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't ya?" Ash remarked as he picked up the egg and Pikachu hopped back onto his shoulder.
Smug satisfaction was rolling off of Pikachu in waves.
They kept walking until they passed the last building in town, when Ash got the weird urge to look up as a feeling of boredom popped into existence and popped out of existence 3 seconds later. As he tilted his head, he saw the silhouette of a Pokémon flying not too far from the treetops. It's wings were huge!
Ash was mesmerized by this sight. He didn't even notice that Pikachu was frantically tugging on a tuft of his hair. Ash just kept staring at the bird Pokémon until he saw something fall past his eyes. It was a feather… that was flashing between red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
"This must belong to that bird" Ash reached down to pick it up, despite Pikachu's attempts to dissuade him. As soon as his right hand clasped the feather, Ash felt a sharp pain in his hand. He let out a short yell before looking down, and saw that his hand was bleeding. He also noticed that the strange feather was now nowhere to be seen.
He pulled up his glove and saw a thin horizontal cut across his hand.
Ash reached into his bag with his left hand and pulled out a Band-Aid. It would hopefully slow down the bleeding long enough for him to get the wound disinfected at the Lab.
"You leave for an hour and you already get injured." Professor Oak said as he examined the wound. Ash had told him about the feather that disappeared after cutting him.
"There's only one bird we know of that has feathers capable of changing between 7 colors on a whim. Ho-Oh."
This confused Ash, "Why would Johto's Beast Master be on this side of the mountain?"
Suddenly, Ash's palm started to itch. There was a pale blue glow where the cut was made.
"Who knows, but it can't mean anything good. The Legendary Pokémon haven't actively moved from their resting places since I was a little boy." Oak replied as he grabbed a pair of silver tweezers. He could see the feather now, time to extract it.
"So, where did the other birds go?" Ash asked in an attempt to distract himself from the cold metal inside his hand.
Oak saw no harm in telling Ash the truth. It's not like Legendary Pokémon existing was a secret. Confirmed Locations on the other hand, were kept away from public knowledge.
This didn't extend to Moltres though, as the League wasn't worried about anybody capturing it. Nobody would be dumb enough to challenge a godlike Fire-type in a pit of lava; nobody was strong enough to do it. Not even Lance.
"According to the stories, Moltres hid in volcanoes. Articuno and Zapdos just disappeared, nobody knows where they went." Oak answered as he grabbed the feather and yanked it out.
"Gah, why did that hurt so much! It's just a feather." Ash screamed, jerking his hand away from Professor Oak in the process.
"It looks like it doesn't it? But this feather isn't the same as one you'd get from a common Pidgey. Look"
Professor Oak let go of the feather and it shot towards Ash again.
"It's alive"
This time, it harmlessly attached to the back of his ungloved hand.
"One legend about Ho-Oh, talks about a rainbow wing. It was used to mark people that he found interesting. One more thing, The legend also said something about a tower, but I can't remember the name. I guess old age is finally catching up."
Ash was shocked by this, "Why am I interesting?"
"Another legend claims that Ho-Oh only seeks out the pure of heart. Maybe that's why." Oak guessed as he sprayed the wound with a modified potion before bandaging up the affected area. The last thing Ash needed was to have something slip into the cut at the last moment.
"Hear that Pikachu, I'm special. Bet you're really glad I'm your trainer now" Ash said with a grin stretching across his face.
Pikachu wasn't as happy as his Trainer. Every Pokemon instinctually respected and feared the Legendaries, but they also knew that being singled out by a Legendary wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Ash put his glove back on, its leathery exterior hiding the fact that the interior was soft and comfy on his tan skin.
Soon enough, Ash, Pikachu and his shaking egg were back on the road to Viridian City. There were wild Rattata scurrying across the forest floor, making Ash really glad that Pikachu was on his side now.
Ash was thinking about how to train Pikachu. The species wasn't known to be very bulky, so tanking hits wouldn't be the best strategy after Brock's gym. The only way Pikachu would beat Onix into submission was by using Reversal. But Ash wanted another strategy just in case.
Speed and agility.
If Pikachu could evade Onix for long enough, Onix would be too exhausted to do anything. It would be unable to battle, and Ash would win by forfeit.
It'd be cheap victory, but a victory nonetheless.
"Look who it is, it's Ashy-boy" a familiar voice said from somewhere in the forest.
"What do you want Gary?" Ash groaned. It was a redundant question. The only reason Gary would be waiting for him is if he wanted to battle.
"A Pokémon battle" Gary answered as he released his Pokémon. In a flash of red, Gary's Starter Pokémon materialized by his side.
"I knew you'd pick Squirtle," Ash smirked "You always did like to choose the easy route."
"Why make the journey harder than it has to be?" Gary responded "I want to get far away from here as fast as possible."
Pikachu hopped down, eager to fight. On the other side, Gary's Squirtle was having a mini panic attack.
"I know we haven't had a chance to practice yet, but I know you can beat him." Ash whispered to Pikachu.
"If you're done giving the mouse a pep-talk, we can start our one-on-one battle." Gary commented.
The Trainers backed up, leaving their Pokemon to square off. Pikachu was down on all fours with electricity sparking from his red cheek pouches. Squirtle was crouching down, ready to retreat into its shell at a moment's notice.
"Get in close with Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.
Pikachu's body was glowing white as he sprinted towards his foe. Ash could barely follow Pikachu with his eyes.
"Dodge and soak the ground with Water Gun!" Gary commanded.
Squirtle narrowly dodged the white blur and he started to spew water across the forest floor.
Ash narrowed his eyes, "Just what are you planning Gary?" That's when he noticed Squirtle starting to sink. The dirt below him had become oversaturated with water and turned into mud!
"Now retreat into your shell and use Water Gun" Gary ordered.
"So that's your plan" Ash thought to himself, the mud was there to reduce friction. Now there was a red shell chasing after his Pokémon. "Pikachu, Jump into the air and use Thunder Shock."
Pikachu launched himself into the air and switched from channeling Pure energy to producing electricity.
As soon as Squirtle reached his previous position, Pikachu unleashed six thin bolts of electricity, but only two hit the intended target. The two shocks weren't weak, especially when considering the opponent, but not a lot of damage was done to the tiny turtle Pokémon.
"You fell right into our trap, the mud coating Squirtle's shell will protect him from most of your Pikachu's electricity." Gary said mockingly as Pikachu landed on the ground, his legs swept from under him by Squirtle's shell.
Squirtle fired Water Gun again, turning himself around. Pikachu was hit before he could regain his footing.
Squirtle fired Water Gun for the 3rd time, spinning himself around. Pikachu was hit once again before he could find his balance.
This continued for several minutes until Pikachu got fed up with this and his body became wreathed in red energy. He smacked the speeding shell with his tail, sending it careening into a tree.
"So, that's Reversal" Ash said with a dumbfounded expression on his face
Pikachu lunged towards the stationary target and latched onto the shell that had now come to a total standstill despite all the thrashing it had been doing not so long ago.
"Good thinking Pikachu, now hit him with a full power Thunder Shock!" Ash's Pikachu has a smirk on his face now. His cheek pouches start sparking with yellow electricity.
Gary's eyes widened, "Shake him off!" he sounded frantic at the idea of his Pokémon taking a point blank electric-type move. That thin layer of mud wouldn't protect him from that! Squirtle popped out of his shell and stood on shaky legs as he started to try to pry Pikachu off of his back. He eventually tried to retreat into his shell and use a quick burst of Water to knock him off.
But it was too late.
Just like that, everything ended with a yellow flash and a boom.
Both Trainers were forced to cover their eyes due to the light's intensity.
The crash of thunder dried up the mud in the immediate area and made a huge plume of smoke.
Silence filled the area as the smoke took awhile to clear, but when it did, Gary's and Ash's jaws dropped.
It was a double Knockout.
Squirtle was wedged into the ground and covered in burns. Meanwhile, Pikachu's body was smoking and he was knocked out with his head pressed against a tree. The sudden stop must have sent him flying forward.
"You did good Pikachu. Take a rest" Ash whispered as he sat down the egg that was still shaking in its case and pulled out Pikachu's Pokéball. Ash returned Pikachu to his Pokéball. He couldn't carry him and the egg at the same time. Plus, that head smash could have done internal damage, which would turn into a major problem if he wasn't put into stasis during the trip to the Pokémon Center.
"So, this is a draw" Gary stated as he returned Squirtle to his Pokéball.
While picking up the egg case containing the violently shaking egg, Ash denied this. "Squirtle went down first. It should be my win."
"It doesn't matter, when nobody is left standing, it's a draw!" Gary vehemently refuted Ash's claim.
They continued to go back and forth about this issue, unaware of the looming danger.
Suddenly Ash dropped to one knee as a wave of rage flooded his senses.
"We better run!" He shouted while pushing himself into a standing position.
"What's coming?" Gary asked. He had known about Ash's crazy sixth sense for years and has learned to trust it.
"A lot of rage, its probably that Spearow flock Professor Oak warned us about." Ash sprinted towards Viridian City, with his egg in tow. Gary quickly followed after him, catching up effortlessly.
"This is your fault Gary, the battle drew their attention!" Ash blamed him before speeding up again.
"Pikachu is the one who made the bright flash!" Gary rebuked, speeding up as well.
""Yeah, because you challenged us to a battle" Ash reminded him.
The Spearow's cries were starting to get louder. Which probably meant they were getting closer.
Ash made the mistake of looking back.
He really shouldn't have done that.
20 Spearow all flapping their wings in sync, and they were gaining on them!
"We aren't going to make it!" Ash shouted. He could've sworn that he had just seen a couple birds use agility.
"Quitter talk," Gary huffed, starting to slow down.
Ash hadn't slowed down at all, but you could clearly see the sweat pouring down his face. His right palm was starting to glow pale blue again. That blue aura quickly enveloped Ash's body.
"Ash, you're glowing!"
"You think I didn't notice my vision gaining a blue tint?" Ash asked. "I have no idea what it does, though."
He didn't notice that he was picking up speed again.
"Maybe you can fire an energy blast and save our lives" Gary suggested.
"This isn't a Saturday morning cartoon. I can't just reach out my hand, think about shooting a ball, and expect that I'll shoot something at the Spearow" Ash thought, shrugging as he did. He shifted the egg into his left hand.
Trying never killed anyone.
"If this doesn't work, I'm jumping down into the river." Ash said before turning around, running backwards and thrusting out his hand. "FIRE!"
You could imagine his shock when a marble-sized orb of pale blue energy shot out of his hand.
"Holy crap" Gary gasped as the orb hit a Spearow, exploding on impact.
Both of them slowed to a stop, but for different reasons. Ash was dead tired after firing that orb. Gary was out of breath and was greedily gulping down air.
The smoke disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Ash wasn't happy about what he was seeing. There was a bright white light sitting in the sky
"I think we just made that Spearow evolve out of sheer anger." Ash muttered.
"Let's not stick around to find out how mad it is." Gary said before a gust of wind smacked into the nearly evolved Fearow.
Looking behind them, Ash saw a sight that made him want to scream in joy.
A flock of Pidgey.