AN: Hello again everyone!
K: I see you're better.
SV: Yeah, that hiatus was really helpful.
P: Am I right in thinking that this is the forest?
SV: It is a bit.
K: Anything we need to talk about first?
T: I can't think of anything. We can do it after if there is.
SV: Right. Let's go! -
Chapter 15.
Ash and Mia walked towards Viridian City, both Bolt and Crimson outside and walking with them. Crimson and Bolt were talking in the background, and Ash was examining the Rainbow Wing. It was a shiny one, showing that it came from Helina, not Helios. Bolt was explaining to Crimson what had happened during the storm, due to the fact that she couldn't have been out in the rain. She didn't seem as surprised as Bolt that they had seen both Ho-oh and his daughter.
'Well, we are travelling with Miss Mew and Master Ash, so I think we can expect to meet most of the legendaries in Kanto, along with their children.'
"That's probably true." Ash said to Crimson, joining the conversation. "But don't forget, they do have jobs, and along with the hybrids, they won't just be appearing out of nowhere." He lowered his voice slightly. "Oh, and by the way, Mew is Mia. Remember, it isn't necessarily just hybrids that can understand Pokemon, though it is likely to be them. So if you don't mind, be careful what you call us. And no 'master' on my end either, please."
'Ok Ash.' Crimson replied.
'So, what are we doing first?' Bolt asked.
"We're going to stay in Viridian City for the rest of today, and maybe we'll head through Viridian forest tomorrow. We might stay on Route 1 for a while."
"Sounds like a good plan Ash." Mia said. "We can get some training done too."
"Not like it matters, if you just plan to warp to another dimension."
"True. We should probably try and do some training in the real world too, though. Just because our Pokemon might get too powerful too fast, which could cause some people to be suspicious."
"That's true." Ash shrugged. "Oh well, let's hurry up." He held out his arm for Bolt, who jumped up to his shoulder. Crimson bounced over to Mia, who picked her up. She curled her tail forwards a little, making sure to keep the flame away from her shirt.
"Don't worry about the flame. I'm Psychic, remember? I can keep it away myself."
'Ok. I'll be careful anyway.' She snuggled into Mia's arms.
"Hey Mia, do you think the gym will go ok?"
"It should. We might want to catch a Pokemon in the forest, though it will have a type disadvantage."
"We can't expect these two to be able to beat the gym alone, even with our special training." Ash replied.
"Halt!" A voice interrupted their conversation. An Officer Jenny walked up to the four of them. "Where are you going with those Pokemon?"
"We're taking them to the Pokemon Center." Mia said coolly. "They got into a bit of a fight with a few Spearow, and we want to be sure that they're ok."
"Ok then. It's just odd to see Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs. Just show me your I.D and you can go." Ash and Mia pulled their Pokedexs out of their pockets and passed them to the officer. She looked them over for a few moments before nodding and handing them back. "Ok, thanks. You two twins?"
"Cousins." Mia answered before Ash. "Mind if we go?"
"Of course." Mia and Ash ran over to the Pokemon Center and walked through the doors.
'Cousins?' Ash asked silently.
'Why not?' Mia retorted, giggling. Ash rolled his eyes.
"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center. How can we help you?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Can you give these two a check over please?" Mia asked, placing Crimson on the desk as Bolt hopped next to her.
"Also, can we get a room each for the night?" Ash added.
"Of course. Here." Nurse Joy bought a pair of keys out from below the desk and passed them over to Mia. "Is there anything else?"
"No, thank you." Mia smiled. The two went and sat over in the waiting area to let Nurse Joy heal their Pokemon.
'Do you think you'd do contests?' Ash asked Mia.
'I might. From what I remember, contests aren't really a thing in Kanto or Johto. It's mostly Hoenn and Sinnoh that do them.'
'Yeah, I remember that Sarah and Shannon liked to watch them.' Ash smiled. 'Those were some pretty funny stories.'
'Yeah. I'm surprised that Sarah would be ok with pretending to be a plush toy.' Mia snickered mentally.
'Well, it's not like they can get TV reception on the Gracidea Island. At least Shannon looks old enough to be a trainer.'
"Mia Mauller and Ash Ketchum, your Pokemon are healed!" The two stood up and walked to the desk. Bolt jumped straight up to Ash's shoulder, while Mia picked up Crimson.
'Nice last name choice. Has a nice ring to it.'
"Thanks." Mia replied aloud, speaking to both Nurse Joy and Ash's telepathic statement.
"Is there anything else you need?" She asked.
"No thank you, that's-" The rest of her sentence cut off as the sound of glass shattering came from behind, and the room filled with smoke. Both of them turned sharply.
"What the heck was that?" Ash gasped.
"Don't know." Mia replied. 'Start a psych scan?'
'I agree.' Both of their eyes started to shine with a pink glow, and they looked at the area. Bolt and Crimson were stood at their side, and Nurse Joy was behind them, so it was easy to ignore those. Mia looked like a bright pink star, and Ash slightly dimmer, but that didn't even bother them. They were too used to it. What they did notice, however, was the five psychs on the other end of the room.
'Two Poison types, a Normal type, and two humans.' Mia stated.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"What the heck?" Ash asked again.
"A talking Pokemon?" Mia gasped. Ash raised an eyebrow and shot her a hidden glance.
'Like you're one to talk.'
"What are you doing here?" She shouted at them, choosing to ignore Ash's statement.
"Why, stealing the Pokemon, of course." The woman, who had referred to herself as Jessie in the crazy song motto, told her.
"And I think we'll start with those two." James continued, pointing at Bolt and Crimson.
"There's no way you'll get to any of the Pokemon here! Crimson, Ember!"
"Bolt, knock them into it with Quick Attack!" Bolt flickered out of view and rammed into the Ekans, which crashed into the Koffing next to it. Crimson bathed them in fire, which caused them both to fly backwards.
'They aren't very bright, are they?' Mia snarked.
Or powerful. Bolt added, the Psychics picking it up. Mia passed it on to Crimson, who nodded.
"Meowth! Get them!" Jessie yelled, whacking him.
"Right!" He slowly charged forwards, ready to scratch at them.
'Jeez, I have barely any training and I can do better than that.' Ash telepathed, rolling his eyes. "Bolt, Thundershock." He deadpanned aloud.
'Got him boss!' He said cheerfully, shocking the cat Pokemon back to his team.
"I think we should retreat!" James yelled.
"We agree!" The other two chorused, running out of the doors.
"No you don't! Flare Shock!" Ash and Mia shouted. Their voices merged with anothers from outside.
"Hydro Pump!" The three attacks exploded on the Rockets, and they went flying into the sky.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off!"
"Good job you two!" Mia smiled at the little Pokemon.
'Thanks!' Crimson grinned back.
'Where did that Hydro Pump come from?' Bolt asked, sniffing around.
"Hey, is everything alright?" A girl said, running into the center.
"Yeah, thanks." Ash replied.
"That's good. I saw the three that just went flying run out, and had my Starmie use Hydro Pump to stop them. Then those other attacks happened. Any idea what they were?"
'Well, I guess that answers that.' Crimson sighed.
"Yeah, that was a combo I saw once. It's called Flare Shock." Mia answered.
"It pretty much just wraps Ember in Thundershock." Ash explained.
"Well, it looked really powerful." She smiled. "I'm Misty, by the way."
"I'm Ash, and this is my cousin Mia." He replied. Mia smiled at her, then frowned.
"Hey… aren't you the girl who was being attacked by those Spearow earlier?"
"Yeah, that was me." Misty grinned. "Thanks for helping me out."
"Not a problem." Mia assured her.
"And thank you for saving the center." Nurse Joy told them all, appearing from the back room.
"Like my cousin said, it isn't a problem. Those three were pathetically easy to beat anyway." Ash shrugged.
'As pathetic as they were, I still want a nap.' Bolt yawned. 'Can we go to sleep now?'
'Oh come on.' Crimson scoffed. 'You're that tired after those three?'
'No!' He quickly denied, shaking his head. 'I just want to sleep, that's all!'
'Sure.' She rolled her eyes. Bolt glared at her, and she glared back, not moving an inch.
"They sure seem like good friends." Misty said, giggling at the scene.
"Yeah, they are." Mia replied, giggling as well. She picked up Crimson. "Come on you two, stop being silly."
'Ok Miss M… Mia.' Crimson caught herself before she finished the sentence, and snuggled into Mia, keeping her tail flame away. Ash chuckled, and picked Bolt up too.
"Same for you, little one." He grinned at Bolt.
'Be quiet. I'm the same height in your other form.' He fired back, bobbing his tongue out at Ash before doing the same as Crimson.
"Nurse Joy, do you mind if I get a room for tonight?" Misty asked, moving past the two Mew and their Pokemon friends.
"Of course." She smiled, passing a third key over the counter. Bolt yawned quietly, trying to stifle it, but the sharper hearing of the young hybrid picked it up.
"Looks like someone's sleepy." He grinned.
'Am not.'
"Yes you are little one." He retorted. "Come on, to bed with you." He walked out, with the small Pikachu protesting quietly. Misty giggled.
"They seem to get along well. He really understands Pikachu."
"Yeah, my cousin only got him today. He's always been really good with Pokemon, though."
"Only a day?" Misty said, shocked.
"Yep. Funny story is, he wasn't supposed to get Pikachu. I ending up getting the last Pokemon from the Professor, and I didn't realise Ash was supposed to be starting today as well."
"Do you come from Pallet too?"
"No, I live on a group of islands called Faraway. We aren't into battling much there, but I decided I wanted to try a league or two. I ended up getting Crimson here from the Professor the other day, and met Ash on Route 1. Bolt, his Pikachu, had run off and I thought he was wild."
"Sounds like that went over well."
"It went great. Then I ran into Ash, and we started travelling together."
"I really want to hear more about these islands, but I need to get to sleep too. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow." The redhead walked the same way as Ash.
'Hey Mia, how do I keep my form overnight?'
'Easy, just store more Psychic energy in the form lock you put up.'
'Thanks. Goodnight.'
'Night to you too.' Mia walked over to the videophones in the corner and rang a number she had gotten as Delia.
"Hi Professor!"
"Hello Mia. What have you been up to?"
Chapter 16.
The next morning, Mia ended up waking Ash up psychically.
'Ash! Get up! NOW!'
"Holy Mew!" He jumped, falling out of bed.
'Yes, it was me, now come on!'
'Coming!'
'Good morning to you too.' Bolt said, jumping off the pillow.
"Hey bud. Have a good night?"
'Yeah, it was great until you woke me up.'
"Hey, blame Mia, not me. She yelled at me."
'Suuurrree.' He rolled his eyes and ran to the door. 'Get ready, I'll go wait with the girls.'
"I swear…" Ash sighed, and quickly got ready, dispelling the thought.
Bolt bounced down the stairs to Mia and Crimson. He could hear them down here somewhere, and Mia had a very distinctive scent, even when disguised as a human. The fact that his new trainer was half Mew, and related to the original Mew, had been enough of a shock for the first day. He was still trying to get that fact into his head. It amazed him that she would choose to look after a human, even if Ash wasn't human anymore. And along with that, Mew was taking the form of a human, simply to be able to travel inconspicuously with her child. That was what surprised the young Pikachu the most out of everything. That Mew, the goddess of everything, had adopted a human boy and was traveling with him in a vastly confined form to be with him.
"Hey Bolty." Mia waved from a table.
'Hello Mia.' He replied, hopping up on the table and inclining his head respectfully.
"Please, don't do that." Mia told him, patting his head. 'Remember, I'm Mia, not Mew, and I deserve no respect aside from what I will try and earn on these travels.'
'Alright. Though, it's kinda an instinct now that I know who you are.'
"I get it." She chuckled quietly. "But please, do your best not to."
'I'll try.'
"Where's Ash? I thought I called him."
"You did." Both of them, along with Crimson who had been quietly watching the exchange, looked up at him. "Thanks, by the way."
"It's my job, little cousin." Mia grinned, and Ash rolled his eyes as Bolt climbed up to his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, sure." He sat down next to them. "We're off to Pewter today, right?"
"That's the plan, yeah." She nodded. "We'll get some training in, and maybe catch a few new teammates."
"Sure thing." The small group kept talking and making plans, sometimes in telepathy, as they ate. As they finished everything up, the arrival of a somewhat familiar redhead caused them all to stop.
"Hi, Mia, Ash." Misty smiled.
"Morning Misty." Mia grinned. "What's up?"
"Well, I was wondering if I could travel with you through the forest." She asked awkwardly.
"Sure!" Mia replied quickly. "How come?"
"I just wanted a partner to travel with for a while, that's all."
"Alright. Feel free to come."
'It sure doesn't seem like she just wants a partner, or is that just me?' Ash asked rhetorically.
'No, I think that too. Shall I see if I can read her?'
'Not right now. Maybe later.' He replied. 'Though, I get the feeling that we'll find out soon enough.'
'As do I, honestly.' Mia replaced her smile and nodded again. "Let's just finish clearing up."
*2 hours later.*
'You were right Boss.' Bolt said, staring at his trainer. 'You were definitely right.'
"Yep." Mia added quietly. "Gotta admit, this is funny though." The four of them watched silently as Misty ran away from a Weedle that had surprised her.
"It is a little. You want to try and catch the Weedle, or may I?"
"I'll get it." Mia put Crimson down on the floor and walked over to the Weedle, levitating ever so slightly to avoid scaring it. "Hello there." She said softly. It jumped.
'What! How did you sneak up on the mightiest of all Viridian Weedle?' He shouted.
"Magic." She giggled. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if you want to join my team."
'Humph!' The small bug type turned his head. 'What a stupid question! Not only do you humans not understand me, but there is no way you could make me strong! I have seen many new trainers pass through here, and none of them could ever have a hope of training one as powerful as me!' During this small speech, Crimson had started to simmer slightly, and after it had ended she exploded.
'How dare you! Miss Mia can understand you just fine, you numskull, or did you not notice that she replied perfectly? And she could train you to be much more powerful than anyone here! She isn't just some upstart trainer, she's-'
"Crimson, enough." Mia commanded in a soft tone. "He may have insulted me, but that doesn't make it necessary to do the same back. And anyway, I only asked if he wanted to join, so he has every right to refuse." The Mew stood back up and walked to her little fire type. "I think we need to work on that. Teach you to hold your anger back, and harness it properly when it is needed. We can't afford to have that happen in battle, it'll mean you end up doing something stupid."
'Of course Miss. I apologize.'
'As do I.' The Weedle crawled over. 'I see my rudeness was uncalled for.'
"Would you like to travel with me now?" Mia asked.
'If you do not mind.'
"Of course not. Welcome to the team." She tapped him on the head and caught him.
'Ooooh boy, he is going to go insane later when he figures out who he insulted.' Crimson chuckled.
'Yeah. We are training later, right?' Bolt asked.
"Yes, we are. Same place as usual." Ash told him. Misty crept back up the slope she had run down and peered around nervously.
"Is it gone?"
"Yeah, I caught him. Your welcome." Mia smiled. "I take it you don't like Bug types?"
"No, I hate them." She shivered.
"Right." Mia leaned over and picked up Crimson. "Here." She said, handing her to Misty. "Crimson will keep you safe from Bug type, how's that?"
"Is that alright with Crimson?"
'Yeah, that's ok. If it makes you more comfortable with being in the forest, sure.' She replied with a nod, curling her tail to her stomach again.
"Thanks Crimson." She patted her on the head.
'No problem. Now come on.' She pointed forwards.
*3 hours later.*
"Holyhellhelp!" Misty screamed.
"What's wrong?" Ash said, turning to her. Mia had gone ahead with Crimson to find a place for their camp, so Ash was walking with Misty.
"BUG!" She shouted. Ash glanced down, and saw a Caterpie slowly crawling towards her. Ash chuckled and held out an arm.
"Bolt, hop over." The Pikachu got his meaning, and jumped to Misty's shoulder. Ash then took out a Pokeball and went over to it.
"Please don't tell me you're going to catch that." She shuddered.
"Well, I'm hoping to." He replied.
"I'm going to go find Mia then." She ran off, Bolt clinging to her shoulder.
"Right, glad she's gone. Hey Caterpie, would you like to come and travel with me?"
'I guess so… I wanted to go with that red haired girl though, but you seem nice enough.'
"Yeah, Misty's scared of bugs. I'm not sure why, but she is. And my mom made sure that I respect Pokemon." Ash grinned.
'Well, I'll come with you.' Ash held out the Pokeball, and he tapped the center. Once the capture was complete, he stood.
"Right, where are the others?" He closed his eyes and looked around psychically. He found them, and started heading off.
AN: And done!
K: I hope you're ok now.
SV: A little better.
P: Either way, I think we have some stuff to talk about.
SV: Sure. Right, first off. New Beginnings is really close to being finished, or at least the first bit. So, my main focus will be over there and getting that finished.
T: Second, Shadow has been working with Ki on another story.
K: Technically, stories plural, but only one that matters. I'm not sure, but Shadow should start uploading that once New Beginnings gets done. Then after that, the uploads will be random once the next bit comes along.
P: Three, Shadow rebuilt her Living Dex in Alpha Sapphire. She was pretty focused on that, so writing was slow. But either way, this is going to be taking a back seat for a few weeks to finish New Beginnings, then back to the forefront.
SV: I think that's everything. I'll be seeing everyone another time!