Pokémon Tails: A Journey to the East
DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Pokémon.
CHAPTER 3: The Call of Destiny
Team Rocket was sitting around their laptop.
"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie began.
"To unite all peoples within our nation," James added.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" both declared. "To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Meowth!" Meowth snapped angrily. "Put a sock in it, yous two! Da Boss'll be calling any minute now!"
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" James gushed. "We finally have a chance to make up our failure to the Boss!"
"Yeah, but don't forget how easy that twerp defeated us last time," Jessie reminded him.
Memories of their encounter with Gohan flashed through their heads.
"Meowth! Dat boy's a lot stronger dan we first thought!" the talking Pokémon said. "But he must have some weakness."
"If there is then you'd better believe Team Rocket will find it!" Jessie promised with a pumped fist. "No one stops Team Rocket for long. We will discover that twerp's secrets, and when we do, we'll be one step closer to making all our dreams come true."
"And Meowth gets to be da top cat again!" Meowth said dreamily.
They laughed madly just as a blue light began blinking incessantly on their laptop while a steady beep accompanied it.
"Right on time, too," Jessie said as she pressed the "RECEIVE" button, and Team Rocket huddled closer to the computer screen.
The shadowed man appeared on the monitor.
"I have a new assignment for you," he wasted no time telling them.
"Ooooh, is it stealing a vault full of rare and expensive stones?" James inquired.
"No, I bet it's capturing a hundred rare Pokémon!" Jessie chimed in.
"Meowth says it's gotta do with overseas expansion!" Meowth finished.
"Will you idiots shut up for just one second?!" the shadowed man demanded, causing Jessie and James to cower.
"Yes, Boss!" Jessie assured him, whimpering pathetically.
"We promise to listen very, very, very closely!" James added.
"That's better," Team Rocket's boss said, clearing his throat. "Now then... I am ordering you three to obtain a genetic sample from your target. Anything will suffice; a skin follicle, a strand of his hair, even a fingernail clipping — we have to analyze the true depths of the boy's power if we're going to find out how to fight it."
"If that's what you want, then consider it done!" Jessie vowed.
"We'll get you that hair or skin sample!" James added, sounding much more excited than he really should.
"Even if we have to rip out his entire hair to do it!" Jessie agreed.
"Or our name's not Team Rocket!" Meowth finished in a grand voice.
"Yes, do this and you'll be greatly rewarded," the Rocket Boss said.
And the line screen went black, leaving Team Rocket to ponder their new assignment and how to complete it...
"I see," Misty said as they walked through the forest. "So the golden-haired transformation is called the Super Saiyan."
"Mm-hmm," Gohan nodded. "It boosts your power level fifty times and makes you practically invincible."
"So how strong are you?" Ash wondered while Pikachu trotted by his side. "All those attacks looked like Pokémon moves."
"But he's not a Pokémon, Ash," Misty said through gritted teeth. "We've been over this before."
Ash just rubbed his head and laughed.
"Pika Pika," Pikachu muttered, embarrassed.
"Well... it's really hard to say," Gohan said, tapping his chin. "All my power is amplified through my use of ki, and with the right amount of training, your ki can reach endless levels. In my Super Saiyan form, well, I can destroy the entire planet, at least."
"No kidding?!" Ash exclaimed. "You're really that powerful?"
Misty gulped. "Well, then, it's a good thing you're on our side."
Gohan nodded. Oh you have no idea... he thought privately.
Suddenly, Misty gasped delightedly, and Ash glanced in the direction she was looking as a happy smile lit up his face. He ran up atop a nearby boulder to get a better view as, sure enough, he now caught sight of a city sprawled out before them.
"Yay, Pewter City!" Misty cried, sounding very relieved.
Ash sat down on the rock. "Phew. For a while there, I thought I was gonna be in this forest for the rest of my life!"
"Chu," the Electric Rodent agreed.
"So, Ash, why are we here?" Gohan asked. "What's so important about Pewter City?"
"Well, you see —" Ash began, but before he could elaborate on that...
"Pewter City is gray," someone said. "The color of stone. This town has always been famous for stone."
Suddenly, Ash, Gohan, Misty, and Pikachu noticed an old man sitting down below them.
"Huh? What the..." Ash wondered. "Who's this old guy?"
"Never met him," Misty answered with a shrug.
"Excuse me, sir, but are you resident of Pewter City?" Gohan inquired.
"In a manner of speaking, young man," the older man answered. "I travel far and wide, climb the highest mountains, but always my heart remains in Pewter City, longing always, and out of reach. How sad."
"That sounds like a poem," Misty noted.
"Name's Flint," the man grunted. "And your friend is sitting on my merchandise."
It was true; Ash had been sitting on top of the large rock.
"Oh sorry!" Ash apologized hastily, scrambling off the boulder.
"You mean you sell rocks, Mr. Flint?" Gohan asked him.
"They're Pewter City souvenirs," Flint replied. "All handpicked here in Pewter City. Wanna buy some?"
"Actually, sir..." Gohan began, and then he gasped. "Of course!"
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu glanced over at the half-Saiyan boy.
"What's up?" Ash asked, looking concerned for his new friend.
"Is there something on your mind, Gohan?" Misty added.
"Chu?"
"What kind of rocks do you have here, Mr. Flint?" Gohan inquired politely.
"I have many kinds, young man," Flint said mysteriously.
And like he had been possessed, Gohan began picking out all of the different rocks Flint had in his possession.
"I'll take this one over here, and that one there," Gohan said. "Give me two of those please. I'll also take that big one there. And give me six of those ones. Oh, and four of those little ones. Oh, hey, do you have any coal?"
"What's Gohan doing?" Misty asked with a big sweatdrop.
"Buying some for later, maybe?" Ash guessed, looking nervous.
"Pikachu," the yellow rat said, seemingly just as bewildered.
"Thanks!" Gohan said once he was done and paid for them all. "These are going to come in very handy!"
"It's not every day that you find a young man who appreciates the quality of stones," Flint said.
"Um, Gohan, why did you buy all those stones?" Ash asked.
"You'll see," Gohan responded, stuffing them all in his backpack.
"Well, if you're done squandering our money," Misty said hotly, "we really need to be getting to the Pokémon Center."
"Pokémon Center?" Flint perked up. "I know where that is. I'll take you there. Follow me."
"See, looks can be deceiving," Ash admonished Misty. "He's really a nice guy."
"Are you sure?" the redhead ventured doubtfully.
"By the way, that will be a two-dollar charge for resting on my rocks," Flint added, causing everyone to fall over.
But true to his word, Flint led the four kids to a structure with a "P" stamped above it and tiny Poké Ball statues scattered across it. They all entered and Ash put Pikachu and his two Poké Balls on a tray.
"Please revitalize my Pokémon," Ash requested, thrusting the tray at Nurse Joy.
"Sure!" the pink-haired woman replied. "Right away, Ash!"
"Do you two know each other?" Gohan wondered.
"No..." Ash said. "At least, I don't think we do. You're Nurse Joy, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm Nurse Joy," she informed the Pokémon Trainer cheerfully.
"But this is Pewter City, not Viridian City," Ash said.
"The Joy in Viridian City is my little sister," Pewter Joy explained. "I'm the older Joy. I've heard nice things about you. Very nice."
"Thank you," Ash thanked her.
"Aww, well, wasn't that sweet of her?" Gohan pointed out.
Nurse Joy giggled. "Well, thank you, young man. And you are...?"
"Gohan," Gohan said with a bow. "Son Gohan. It's very nice to meet you!"
"If you're traveling with Ash, you're going with a trouble magnet," Nurse Joy said.
"Why do you say that?" Gohan inquired, tilting his head.
"When Ash and his friend left Viridian City, the Pokémon Center was completely destroyed," she said.
Ash and Misty fell over from sheer exasperation.
"By the way, have you checked out that poster yet?" Nurse Joy asked Gohan.
Gohan turned to discover a poster over on a corner advertising the Pokémon League Championships for the Indigo League.
"The Pokémon League!" Ash declared, pumping his fist. "All right! I've been waiting for this!"
"What's the Pokémon League?" Gohan wondered.
"You mean you don't know what the Pokémon League is?" Nurse Joy said. "My goodness, you're not from around here, are you?"
Gohan laughed sheepishly. "Not really. In fact... I don't even have any Pokémon."
"No Pokémon?" Joy gasped. "Did you fail your Pokémon Application Test?"
"No," Gohan said awkwardly. "Let's... let's just say I come from a place where we don't have any Pokémon."
"Wow, I never heard of a place that didn't have any Pokémon," Nurse Joy said. "It must be really far away."
"Farther than you can imagine," Gohan said truthfully.
"You might want to consider taking the Pokémon Application Test, young man," Joy said. "Not everyone who takes it earns the right to become Trainers, but for those who do, it's extremely rewarding."
And with that, she carried the tray with Pikachu and Ash's Poké Balls away, leaving Gohan to his thoughts.
I never even thought about owning Pokémon, Gohan thought. But would I even make it past the exams? And what about getting home? I'll never make it back if I'm distracted by my Pokémon!
"I'm gonna enter the Pokémon League!" Ash shared. "And one day I will be a Pokémon Master!"
"Ha!" Misty scoffed.
"What's the matter?" Ash wondered.
"Do you even know what you have to do to compete in the Indigo League, Mr. Big-Shot Pokémon Master?" she asked him.
"Of course I do!" Ash retorted. "I'm not an amateur!"
"What do you have to do?" Gohan inquired.
"It's the goal of every Pokémon Trainer to travel to Pokémon Gyms to collect Gym badges," Ash explained. "When you have eight badges, you can compete in the Pokémon League of each region. The one who can beat all of the other Trainers is offered the chance to battle against the Elite Four, and if you beat them, you become the Pokémon Champion!"
"Oh, so it's like a fighting tournament!" Gohan said, getting it.
"Well, it seems you're not completely dense after all," Misty mused. "But Gym Leaders aren't your average Pokémon Trainers, Ash — it's going to take more than blind luck and reckless courage if you're really serious about challenging their Pokémon. So... think you're up to it?"
"Of course I am!" Ash asserted confidently.
Flint, who had been listening in, came up to them. "Don't tell me you plan on challenging Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader?"
"Of course I do!" Ash responded, with even more confidence than he had shown before, placing his hands on his hips. "As soon as Pikachu and my other Pokémon are better, I'll have no problem. Take me to this Brock's Gym. I'll beat him."
Flint laughed. "You'll beat him." And still laughing, he turned and left. "Good luck."
Ash just growled angrily.
"So, since we have some spare time, why don't we grab a bite to eat?" Misty suggested.
"Sure, whatever you say," Ash muttered, still preoccupied with Flint.
Gohan, however, appeared to come to an internal decision on his own, and he walked off.
"You go ahead," Gohan said. "I'll catch up with you later."
That got Ash and Misty's attention.
"Is something the matter with Gohan?" Ash asked.
"Maybe he's feeling ill," Misty speculated.
Meanwhile, Gohan caught up with Flint. "What is it, young man?"
"Excuse me, Mr. Flint, but I was wondering if you knew where I can buy some books about Pokémon?" Gohan asked politely.
"Hmm..." Flint pondered. "That would be in the bookstore. If you want, I can take you there."
"Thanks," Gohan said, bowing. "I'd really appreciate that, Mr. Flint."
Unknown to the both of them, however, the pink light that had been following Gohan last night now shone brightly behind them as the two departed the Pokémon Center and headed for the bookstore, always taking great pains to ensure that it was never seen...
"There you go," Flint said, stopping in front of a simple blocky building with a giant Clefairy sign on the front. "The Pokémon bookstore."
"Thanks a lot, Mr. Flint," Gohan said as he headed inside.
Even if I can repair Bulma's Dimensional Hopper, Gohan realized to himself, or if I do buy enough new parts to get it in functioning shape again, it's still going to take a while, so I may as well just relax and try my hand at Pokémon training. Maybe, when I return home, I'll get to keep some of them too! Won't Mom be surprised? After she faints.
The messy-haired boy chuckled at the thought.
Walking around the small shop, Gohan was amazed at all he saw — there seemed to be books on every single Pokémon subject known to humans. As he walked, he hardly noticed all the people around him, who were staring at his tail with shocked looks on their faces.
"Do you see that?"
"Impossible! That boy has a tail!"
"I can't be real! It's gotta be glued on or something."
"Maybe he has a Mankey tucked down beneath his shorts!"
"Yeah, everybody knows humans don't have tails."
Walking up to one of the shelves, Gohan perused the covers on the books in front of him. Spotting one which looked interesting, Theories on Pokémon Origins, Gohan pulled it out and smiled rather happily.
Suddenly...
"You're standing in my space."
A female's voice caught him off-guard, and Gohan turned to find a girl standing next to him — or rather, he was standing next to her.
"Oh, oops!" Gohan apologized, stepping away from her. "I'm sorry!"
The girl tossed her head back lazily. "Well, I guess mistakes do happen."
Now that he was standing away from the girl, Gohan took a second look at her. She had brown hair tied in pigtails, sharp blue eyes, and a light apricot skin, and she was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt, gray pants, and brown boots.
"There's quite a stir over the shop about you, you know," the girl said.
"Oh?" Gohan said, blinking rather rapidly. "And why is that?"
"Because most people believe that tail is real," she said in a simple, bored voice.
Horrified, Gohan looked down to notice his tail hanging loosely by his head, and quickly, he wrapped it around his waist.
"However, I know it's gotta be some kind of trick," she stated. "I mean, people don't have tails. Pokémon have tails, right?"
"Right," Gohan agreed, laughing weakly.
Tossing her head again, the girl picked out one of the books from the shelves. "This is the perfect book for beginning Trainers."
Gohan caught a glimpse of the title, All You Need To Know About Pokémon, before he smiled and looked back up.
"Thank you!" he said gratefully.
The girl flashed him a light smile. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday."
"Maybe," Gohan agreed as she turned and walked away.
Outside the bookstore, Team Rocket watched the events unfolding.
"Okay, he's in the bookstore," Jessie said. "All we gotta do now is go in there and get that sample!"
"Wait, have you really thought this through, Jessie?" James asked.
"Of course I have, dimwit!" she snapped. "We go in there, yank one of the twerp's hairs out, and run. It's as simple as that."
"Meowth, and what happens when da brat gets mad again?" Meowth asked.
Jessie's face turned white as she remembered the way he'd effortlessly sent them all blasting off.
"To get dat sample we gotta use strategy," Meowth said in a superior tone. "And Meowth knows just da way to do dat!"
"Okay then, if you're so smart, tell us!" Jessie demanded.
Inviting them to come closer, he whispered a few words to them both.
"It's fantastic!" Jessie cried excitedly, her hesitance now forgotten.
"The perfect ploy to get us in there, get his hair sample, and out again in one piece!" James cried.
"What are we waiting for?" Jessie said, smirking. "Let's get going!"
With two nods, they both took off behind her, barely missing the pink ball of light that floated up next to the window...
After an eventful afternoon spent deciding which books he wanted to buy, Gohan walked up to the cashier's counter with dozens and dozens of them perched in his arms, supporting the combined weight easily.
"Um, excuse me?" Gohan called, unable to see in front of him. "I'd like to buy some books, please."
A long-haired woman turned to him, wearing glasses and a cap.
"Yes, I vill be vith you right now!" she said in a bad foreign accent.
Gohan just stared at her, blinking in confusion. "Um, pardon me, ma'am, but have we met?"
The woman instantly tensed up as tight as possible.
"You look familiar to me..." he added, struggling to remember where exactly he'd seen this woman.
"Vell, Viva Vandergarden vould haff no idea vhy that vould be so," she said, sweating bullets.
"Well, Miss Vandergarden, can you please ring these up for me?" the half-Saiyan said, laying all the books on the counter.
"Sure, Viva Vandergarden vill do that before you can say 'Polish sausage!'" she said, checking all the books.
What a strange woman, Gohan thought to himself. I wonder where she comes from. And why can't I shake this feeling I should know her?
After a couple minutes spent sliding the books through the scanner, "Viva Vandergarden" calculated those figures together.
"The price for these books vill be..." she began, and then the number appeared on the screen. "Eleven thousand, fifty-nine dollars!"
"YOU'RE KIDDING?!" Gohan shouted. "Are you nuts? Why do your books cost so darn much?"
"Vell, ve've fallen on some hard times, and this is the only vay to pay back the taxes ve owe to the government," "Viva" explained.
Gohan drooped sadly. "I'm sorry, Miss Vandergarden, but... I don't have that kind of money."
"Oh, really?" she said. "That's a shame, but there is a different vay to pay us, young man."
"What is it? Please tell me," Gohan said. "I'd rather do anything than pay that much."
"You see, our owner is a brilliant but eccentric man whose head has gone around the bend," Viva said with a mischievous grin. "He enjoys to collect hairs from everyone who steps foot inside his book shop."
"He collects hairs?" Gohan asked dubiously.
"Yes, alas, he's quite the oddball, but if you give us some of your hair, then Viva Vandergarden vill forego the charge," Viva said.
"Well, okay, if you say so," Gohan said, reaching up and plucking a hair away from his head.
With trembling fingers, "Viva Vandergarden" accepted the hair rather simply.
"Thank you for the souvenir!" Viva said. "And now you are free to leave vith your books!"
Gohan picked them all up again. "Thanks!"
As he headed out the door, "Viva" suddenly smirked. "That was too easy!"
Very pleased with herself, she turned and left the cashier's counter, passing by the tiny alcove where the bound and gagged clerk could be seen wriggling through the ropes and desperately calling for help...
With all his books now stuffed safely inside a wood drawer, Gohan pressed a button on the side, and, with a poof of smoke, the drawer capsulized again. Reaching down to pick it up, Gohan smiled.
"Well, now that that's over, I really should be getting back to Misty and Ash," he said.
Stretching out with his ki sense, he found a surprise.
"Huh, that's strange," he said. "Misty and Ash must have separated."
He shrugged, not bothering to find out why they'd separated.
"I'll just go find Misty. Maybe she can tell me what's going on," he decided.
And he took off into the sky, unaware of the bright pink light which was hovering near the corner of the bookstore. A second later, it took off into the sky as well, clearly in pursuit of the unknowing Gohan...
Misty stormed into the forest, practically shaking in anger.
"Oh that no-good stupid idiot!" she growled furiously. "He thinks he can do everything by himself! Well, if he believes he can defeat Brock so easily, let him try it! He'll eventually come crawling back to me!"
Just then, Misty tripped over something. Rubbing her butt, the redhead groaned.
"Owww," she said. "What on Earth was that?"
Annoyed, she glanced back to see what the offending object was...
"Huh, what's this?" she wondered as she discovered the cause.
It was a flat-disced circuit, looking as if it had come from some kind of machine.
"How weird," she mused. "I wonder where this came from?"
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something. Standing up, Misty walked over to the other object, passing by a couple bushes, until the green-eyed girl caught sight of what the object was. Poking upward in a cylindrical design, with a trio of sharp-tipped pods arrayed in a circular pattern around the object, she marveled at what it could possibly be.
"Must've come from this," she shrugged. "But how did this get here? What is it? It doesn't look like a car or an airplane..."
"Hey, Misty!" Gohan announced.
Distracted from her examination of the machine, Misty turned to see Gohan dropping down to the ground next to her.
"What's up?" he asked the red-haired girl.
"Ah, nothing much," she replied. "Just trying to figure out what this is."
Curious himself, Gohan swiveled his head to look, and once he did, he gasped in shock.
"Impossible!" he cried. "No, it's not real! How can this be here?"
"You know what it is?" Misty wondered, sounding completely stunned.
"Yes." Gohan rapped on the surface. "Unless I'm mistaken, this is the time machine Bulma invented in the future!"
"A TIME MACHINE?!" Misty exclaimed. "I can't believe it!"
Gasping even louder, recalling his discovery back in his own world, Gohan now raced around the surrounding dirt, stomping on various patches with the sole of his shoes, bending down to check in a few places, and just frantically rushing about, to Misty's confusion.
"Um... hey, Gohan, what are you doing...?" she asked.
But Gohan didn't pay any heed to her. The time machine still looks fairly clean, so it must've got here only a short time ago. But I haven't felt the ki from anyone I recognize, so if they're not here, maybe Cell is! I have to be sure!
Persisting in his mad zeal for several moments, Gohan finally contented himself that there were no burrow spots which might indicate a larval Cell nearby, at least so far as he was able to ascertain.
"Okay, maybe I don't have to worry," Gohan muttered. "But I don't get it. This just doesn't make any sense! I thought I was the only arrival here from back home?"
"HEY!" Misty said loudly. "EARTH TO GOHAN!"
"Huh?" He returned his attention to her. She had lain the balls of both her fists down upon her hips and was gazing sullenly at him.
"Are you going to fill me in on what you're doing anytime soon?" she complained.
"Oh, sorry!" the onyx-eyed boy said contritely, giving the area one last visual examination. "I just thought maybe somebody I knew from back home was here — or a villain that we fought. But it looks like whoever brought this here abandoned it. I just hope it isn't... him."
Misty blinked rapidly. That had sounded... a little personal.
"So what do we do with this?" she said instead.
Gohan got up from his crouching position and moved to the machine, then tapped his finger into a button on the side. Instantly, the machine exploded in a cloud of smoke, and once it cleared, revealed that it had reverted back into its capsule. Gohan scooped it up and shoved it in his pocket.
"We should probably take it with us," he suggested.
"Good idea," Misty said sensibly. "We don't want the wrong person getting their hands on it and changing history." But though she agreed with Gohan, she still had a million questions burning in her mind. How exactly did Gohan know what this was? Was there more that he wasn't telling her? "But, Gohan, I..."
And just then, a loud chirp came from the woods. Misty jumped, worried something was going to attack them. Gohan turned around, instantly assuming a defensive posture, until he saw the source.
"Huh?" he said.
It was a small, catlike Pokémon with a sleek, slender body, a long tail, and a cheerful, happy expression on its face.
"Mew!" it called to them. "Mew! Mew!"
"Hey, Misty, you don't have to worry!" Gohan told her. "It's just a Pokémon."
Still trembling in fear, Misty turned, slowly opening her eyes.
"You're right!" she said, completely forgetting about the time machine. "OH WOW! IT'S SO CUTE!"
The Pokémon flew circles around the two kids, twisting and turning and wheeling about and soaring high in the air for their benefit like a Blue Angels demonstration with energetic squeaks of, "Mew! Mew!"
"I've never seen a Pokémon so cute in my whole life!" Misty gushed, her eyes sparkling. Then suddenly a determined expression appeared on her face, replacing that adoration before it. "I'm gonna catch it!"
However, before she could reach for her Poké Balls, the little creature flew up to Gohan and began nuzzling against his cheek.
"Mew! Mew!" it chirped innocently. "Mew!"
"What, do you like me or something?" he asked it.
Misty's eyes bulged, jaw dropping to the floor.
"Oh, I should have known," she sighed, slumping in sadness. "It likes you best! Figures."
Reaching forward, Gohan patted the tiny Pokémon on its little head.
"Well, you're a friendly little creature, aren't you?" He smiled.
"Mew! Mew!" it confirmed, wrapping its tail around him.
"Well, I like you too!" Gohan said happily. "You're really cute!"
The Pokémon reacted wildly at this news, soaring as high as it could go with delighted cries of, "Mew!" Once it was finished, it shot back at Gohan, sending him flying into the grass floor as it collided with him, but Gohan didn't appear like he even cared about that and he hugged the Pokémon while petting its back, which really seemed to please it.
"Look at it," Misty said, and now a genuine smile lit up her face. "It really likes you! You should catch it, Gohan!"
"Do you think I can?" Gohan asked, glancing over at her.
"Sure, it's easy!" Misty said, grabbing a Poké Ball.
Clicking a button on the front, she enlarged it, then tossed it to Gohan.
"Go ahead," she said, though her smile seemed tinged with sorrow. "You two are made for each other."
Gohan looked back at the Mew. "Well, what do you say? Do you wanna come with me?"
"MEW!" it squealed excitedly, and Gohan laughed.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said.
The Mew moved forward, inching closer until it was face-to-face with the Poké Ball, and then, it tapped its nose against the small button on the front; a red beam shot out of the ball, transforming the Pokémon into particles of pure energy, then withdrew into the ball, which shook for a couple seconds in Gohan's hand before it registered the capture, and just like that, Mew was now Gohan's Pokémon.
"My first Pokémon in this reality," Gohan said with a bright smile.
"Let's just hope you don't end up like Ash," Misty taunted.
Gohan chuckled awkwardly. Just then, they both heard something nearby.
"Hey, what's that?" Gohan wondered.
"... river is dry right now," somebody was saying a short distance away.
"Then what did we come here for?" another voice demanded.
"They sound like voices," Misty pointed out.
"It's Ash!" Gohan said, and he took off towards the sound of his voice.
"Wait, Gohan, stop! Don't go that way!" Misty yelled after him. "Gohan, are you listening to me?! Gohan!"
But Gohan didn't appear to be paying any attention to her, and Misty sighed as she ran off after him.
Flint finished connecting two wires to Pikachu's electric sacs.
"Pikachu's all hooked up," he informed Ash.
However, before they could do anything more, Gohan burst out of the bushes nearby.
"Hey, Ash!" he called, waving to the both of them. "Hey, Flint!"
"Well, I'll be, it's that kid from earlier," Flint noticed.
"Hey Gohan, where were you?" Ash demanded, sounding slightly hurt. "You missed my Gym battle!"
Gohan suddenly felt very foolish, and very small. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Ash. I completely forgot about that."
"It's just as well, little dude," Flint said. "Your friend never even stood a chance."
Ash fell over with a big sweatdrop on his head.
"So what are you two doing out here, then?" Gohan inquired.
"Trying to power up Pikachu so I'll stand a chance against Brock!" Ash replied, pumping a fist.
"That's super!" Gohan said. "I hope you manage to succeed!"
And with that, Ash began walking up and down on the windmill he was standing on, generating electricity for Pikachu.
"Cha!" the tiny Pikachu protested as electricity arced around its sacs. "Cha!"
"Take it easy, Pikachu," Flint advised the little rodent while Pikachu struggled under the intensity of the generator. "All this power may be shocking at first, but sooner or later, your body will get used to the high voltage."
Just then, Misty walked up.
"Hey Ash, you know, you don't have to do this," Misty said casually, placing a hand on her hip as she gazed up at the revolving boy. "Don't you think you stand a better chance against Brock with some of my Pokémon too?"
"Forget it!" Ash snorted. "I'll win without your help."
Misty blinked in shock as her faced morphed into a disgusted look. "Well! If that's the way you wanna be, fine!"
And with a loud harrumph, she turned and stalked off.
For a couple seconds, Gohan was completely torn, looking between Misty and Ash, before he finally made his choice and took off after the steadily retreating red-haired female. "Wait, Misty, hold on! Misty!"
Now furious, Misty stomped a dozen feet into the forest before she finally came to a complete stop in front of a large tree, sitting down at the base of the trunk as she laid her back against the cool surface.
"Misty!" Gohan called, catching up to her. "Misty!"
"Why are you following me?" the fiery girl demanded. "Why don't you just leave me alone like Ash is doing?"
Gohan knelt down beside her, a genuinely sincere expression on his face that caught the Water Trainer off-guard.
"Aw, come on, Misty, I could never do that," he promised.
Misty just stared at him for a second before blushing. "Well, then what do you want from me, huh?!"
"I don't see what's so wrong with letting Ash try to win his Gym fight on his own merits," Gohan said, sounding confused.
Misty sighed. "You're really just like Ash, aren't you? You just don't get it!"
"What don't I get?" Gohan wondered. "What do you mean, Misty?"
"I'm just trying to look out for him is all!" Misty shouted, now totally red in the face but sounding even angrier. "Ever since I started on this journey, all he's ever done is complain, but now that I finally have a chance to help him, he doesn't want it!"
"Don't say that," Gohan pressed, laying a warm hand on her knee, something that startled her. "You know that's not true. I've seen it in the way you two interact. You're friends, I can tell. You just have a hard time admitting it to one another."
Her stared at her with those oh so delightfully adorable puppy dog eyes that practically had Misty in her power.
"I like you," he said earnestly. "You're my friend too. And I don't have a hard time admitting it, either."
"Oh, Gohan," Misty sighed, placing both hands on her cheeks as a goofy expression appeared on her face. "Do you mean it?"
Gohan nodded, now smiling cheerfully. "Mm-hmm!"
And with that, the fiery tomboy sighed. "Well, maybe he can win it on his own. Who knows?"
"That's the spirit!" Gohan commented happily. "Let him stand on his own two feet and he may surprise you."
And with that, Misty stood back up, rubbing the dust off her butt. She glanced off into the forest.
"Hey, Gohan, how do you think that time machine got here?" Misty wondered.
"I wish I knew," Gohan said dolefully.
"Still, if it came here somehow, maybe that means you can find another way home!" she said encouragingly.
"You're right!" Gohan proclaimed. "And even if I can't, maybe I can cannibalize parts from it to use in the Dimensional Hopper!"
"There you go!" she said strongly. "Don't give up." Taking ahold of his hand, she winked at him. "Come on, let's go meet up with Ash."
And Gohan stood up too as the pair headed off into the forest under the baleful gaze of stars above...
The screen flashed as the Rocket Boss appeared on it.
"Well, have you three done as I asked you?" he demanded curtly.
"Success, Giovanni!" Jessie announced, sticking the hair in front of the monitor. "We got the hair just as you asked."
"Excellent," the man called Giovanni purred smoothly. "Send it to me at once."
James took the hair sample and stuck it in a slot near the side of their laptop. The computer processed the hair, and a couple seconds later, a bunch of data appeared on a side screen next to the Boss's image; by pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, the Rocket Trio was able to transmit the information right to Giovanni's personal computer. After receiving the data, the Team Rocket Boss analyzed it for a few seconds before finally smirking in the shadows which concealed his face.
"You have done well," he said. "Far better than I'd anticipated. This information will come in very handy for our plans. For now, just watch the boy, but also seize him if the opportunity presents itself to you."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Team Rocket said with a salute.
And the screen went blank, leaving the Rocket Trio behind, looking very happy.
Woo-hoo! Finally, Chapter 3 is now up! Now we enter the main Pokémon storyline, but as you can see, there are some differences, and even a lot of mystery too! I could really use some help from someone with punny names for each chapter, if that's okay.
Just so all of you know, I'll be ending this fic after the Unova arc, as I felt any semblance of quality after that was gone. Just a warning.
Please review!
EDIT (9/11/2022): I edited out the Saiyan space pod Gohan and Misty found originally and replaced it instead with the time machine Trunks used to travel back into time. But who does it belong to, Cell or Trunks or someone else? I'll reveal that as time passes! As for the mysterious Saiyan, don't worry, I'll incorporate them into the story in a different way. Thanks for your time! Out.