Chapter 2: A Shocking Entrance
The Sun is shining on our heroes today as Ash, Dawn, and Brock continue on their Journey. After visiting the coliseum and seeing their friends, Cory and Lira, head back to the Johto Region, Ash heads to SunnyShore City to earn his final Sinnoh Gym badge to compete in the Sinnoh League Competition. Hopefully, they will be ready for any new challenges that will "drop on by."
*Yawn* "Man, I'm beat," Ash said as he folded his arms behind his head. He was a boy who wore a red cap with a blue pokéball insignia along with a black collared shirt with a yellow "V" on his front. He even had blue pants and red and black shoes to match. He had on black gloves and carried around a green backpack. He has dreams of becoming the world's best Pokémon Master and travels the world in hope to carry out his goal. Resting on his pack was a small yellow mouse with red cheeks and a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt.
Walking down a dirt road can get pretty boring, especially if you're by yourself. Luckily, he had his friends to keep him company. There was Dawn, a Pokémon coordinator with a black short-sleeved blouse, a pink skirt, black knee socks, pink boots, and a white beanie cap. Dawn began traveling with Ash in order to become a top coördinator and have Pokémon enter contests for appeal, style, and battle tactics to compete in the Sinnoh League Grand Festival. In her arms she held a small blue and white penguin.
The final member of the group is none other than Brock, a taller tanned man with spiky hair. He wore a forest green shirt under an orange-brown vest, khaki brown pants, and blue and black shoes. He is a great chef and trains to become a world-famous Pokémon Breeder in the future, so he carries high knowledge of Pokémon information such as nutrition, facts, and training.
"C'mon Ash, we just left town a while ago," said Dawn.
"I can't help it. It's morning and we just got up and took off without any breakfast," Ash patted his stomach feeling how empty he felt without any food.
"If you're really that hungry, then I'll just cook us some nice stew to get our energy up and running," Brock stopped and sat his bag down. He started to pull out some cooking utensils.
"Sweet," Ash yelled in satisfaction, "Time for some old fashion Brock cooking!"
"Pikachu!" called out the small mouse.
"Looks like somebody just woke up," whispered Dawn.
"Piplup," the penguin agreed.
It was going to take a while for the food to be done cooking, so Ash and Dawn started setting up the chairs and table for the feast. Brock sat up a small campfire and had a pot tied above the pit to start cooking. Meanwhile, Pikachu and Piplup were playing out near an open area away from the others. Piplup would chase after Pikachu and then they would switch rolls.
"Hey guys don't wonder off to far," Ash called out.
Piplup stopped and puffed out its chest in showing itself to be a responsible Pokémon. That is, until a small bird with a musical note for a head tossed an acorn at Piplup, making it land face first into the ground.
"Piplup! Piplup!" looked behind to see the bird laughing at Piplup's predicament. Piplup grew angry and yelled at the bird to come down and fight it.
"Chatot," The bird only pulled down its eye and stuck its tongue out. Pikachu rushed towards Piplup to try to calm it down. Chatot then turned around and waved it tail trying to moon Piplup. Growing frustrated, Piplup let out a beam of bubbles directly for Chatot. It quickly took to the sky as the bubbles knocked the branch out of the tree. It started flying high up in the air and headed straight into the forest. Piplup immediately chased after it with Pikachu following right behind as the trainers continued to set the table.
An hour later...
After a while, Piplup and Pikachu both lost sight of the Chatot and came to a dead end, a side off a cliff that reached its way pretty high from their point of view. Piplup looked around for any clues about where the bird might be. It tried to climb one of the trees, but just slid right back down to the ground. Sighing in defeat, Pikachu comforted Piplup with a pat on the back. Piplup sweat dropped from its failed attempt. Suddenly, Pikachu's ears shot up as if hearing a noise nearby.
"Piplup?" Piplup was curious to what Pikachu was doing. Just then, rocks started landing on Piplup's head. Confused, it stuck out its wing to see if it was raining…gravel?
"Pika!" Pikachu pointed to the top off the cliff. Piplup followed Pikachu's gaze to see a person hanging on for his life. With one hand, he was holding on to what looked like a stick jabbed to the side of the wall. In the other hand, it was a Pikachu shutting its eyes from the tremendous height. Piplup and Pikachu started running in circles thinking what to do. Ash and the others were too far to get help and there wasn't any material or Pokémon nearby to pull off a rescue.
A loud crack pierced the area and the two started falling from the cliff.
"CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"
Out of hesitation, Piplup quickly launched out a raging whirlpool to catch both of them in. The mouse landed inside and was thrown out due to the spinning cycle. The man landed in the center for a short second until he splashed right through.
CRASH!
The man opened his eyes to see what had just happened. "Holy Crap, I'm alive?" Looking around, he noticed that his clothes were drenched as well as a penguin standing next to him. "Uh…hello?" As he sat up, he felt something squishy pushing up behind him. He checked and pulled out Pikachu from the tail. "YOU! THIS ALL YOUR FAULT! WITH YOUR STUPID THUNDER ATTACK AND THE RHYHORNS…"
He continued to shake Pikachu furiously until a sudden earthquake shook bellow them. A large beast blasted itself out of the ground and separated everyone in different directions. Pikachu regained consciousness and leapt onto all fours ready for battle. Piplup ran next to Pikachu making sure to outnumber the beast. The man rolled to his side trying to regain his balance. This creature looked to have a grey skin of armor and a large bulky tail while standing on its hind legs. On its nose was a large iron drill which might explain how it was able to dig from underground.
"Whoa, isn't that a Rhydon?" Rai said in astonishment.
"GRAAAAAAWR!" the Rhydon yelled out and only stared at the man across from him. It dragged its foot across the dirt ready to charge.
"Whoa, Whoa, easy buddy, no need to go charging in…" but the Rhydon rushed full throttle in anger towards him. Rai jumped out of the way while the Rhydon's horn got lodged deep in the side of the cliff. "Ha! Not the sharpest tool in the shed are you?" Rhydon spun its drill at full speed, releasing itself from the rock, only to stare daggers at him. "Oh come on!"
"CHU!" an electric shock nudged Rhydon on its side and saw Pikachu letting sparks fly from its cheeks. Pikachu let out an even stronger lightning bolt at Rhydon. "CHU!" The bolt had hit Rhydon, but bounced right off its armored belly.
"Piplup," Piplup charged right at Rhydon with its beak glowing and extending a few inches from its face. Diving in, both Rhydon's horn and Piplup's beak locked in a stalemate. Rhydon's arm began glowing and slammed Piplup straight towards the ground, forming a crater. Rhydon lifted his huge foot ready to crush Piplup under its massive weight.
"Back off," Rai launched a full body tackle toward Rhydon and pushed it a few feet away from Piplup. He rushed over and picked up his scythe for battle. "Looks like we're gonna have to make it three against one."
With everyone taking a corner against Rhydon, they charged in for attack. Pikachu landed blows with its iron tail, followed by Piplup using quick drill pecks, and Rai striking with the rod side of his cutter. Each time, Rhydon countered with either flying boulders or massive arm chops. So far, all these simple attacks were hardly putting a dent on the enemy. Damn, this is getting us nowhere, he thought. Looking around, he noticed that his clothes were still drenched from earlier. Wait, I got wet…but how, he quickly glanced at the penguin and took into consideration, now I get it. He then looked back at Rhydon still trying to attack both Pikachu and Piplup.
"Hey guys!" he got both Pikachu and Piplup's attention. "When I say now, use all that you got. Understand?" Pikachu and Piplup both looked at each other, nodding in agreement. Rai began running directly at Rhydon with all his speed. Rhydon took notice and lowered his horn, ready to drill right through him. At the last second, Rai jumped over on Rhydon's back. He quickly grabbed Rhydon by the arms and pulled back as hard as he could. Rhydon tried to break free, but was being forced like reigns on a horse. "NOW! AIM FOR THE HORN!"
Piplup launched a bubblebeam at Rhydon's head, causing it to stumble. Pikachu began charging its power as electricity began escaping its cheeks. "PIKA-CHUUUUU!" It let out a supercharged Thunderbolt, slicing through the air like an arrow aiming directly at Rhydon's horn. Just before the attack hit, Rhydon's drill span, releasing water all over the area. Once the lightning made contact, everything around them was zapped with jolts of electricity.
Breakfast
"Alright, it's ready," Brock said as he placed the stew on the middle of the table. Ash and Dawn ran over ready to chow down.
"So, all we have to do is head east and we'll be on our way to Sunnyshore City," said Ash as he started removing his gloves.
"Right, and then you can fight the Gym Leader for your last badge," replied Brock.
"Before you start battling, you might want to start eating before your food gets cold," Dawn pointed out.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Dawn's head. "Hey, where are Pikachu and Piplup?"
Ash looked around, "You're right, where are they?"
"Weren't they playing a while ago?" Brock added. From a distance, a ray of electricity shot into the sky with voices yelling in electrocution.
"It's Pikachu's Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.
"Are they in trouble?" Dawn said. Everyone quickly took off from their meal and ran toward the commotion.
Flashback
"I'm so close! Just one more level!" Young Rai continued playing with his Gameboy. He was so close to leveling up his last Pokémon before it was ready to evolve. "Once my Pokémon grow stronger, I'll fight the Elite Four and be the best champion!"
"Rai, you'll be late for school if you don't hurry up," his mother called.
"I'm coming," Rai quickly tried to finish up his game until…"I need to go to Lavender Town again? Aw, it's creepy there!"
Sinnoh
Rai started to come to. His vision began blurry but eventually cleared when he noticed three figures looking him over. Voices could be heard in the background.
"Who is this guy?" one said.
"He could be a trainer passing by," another voice added, but more mature.
"But what's with all this stuff he carries?" a feminine voice said.
Finally back as his old self, Rai realized he was in a camp setting. There were tables and chairs with a cooking pot over a fire and children sitting beside him. As he sat up, he noticed he was wearing a blanket with his clothes gone…except the underwear.
"Ok, where are my clothes?" Rai asked.
"We had to remove them since they were wet..and kinda roasted," Brock pointed out.
"Oh…alright. Thanks, but uh…did she…," Rai pointed to Dawn.
Dawn began blushing wildly, "No! No! I didn't! It was Ash and Brock who took care of that job!"
After having a good laugh, Ash brought Rai some fresh stew cooked with some meat, noodles, and a side of rice. "Here, eat up."
Rai was famished. After seeing the meal, he saw it if it were a gift from God. "Food! I'm starving!" In a minute, Rai chugged down the food and had his plate completely cleaned off. Ash, Brock and Dawn were dumbfounded only to barely even have tasted the food themselves. "Man that was good." Soon, the others started eating while Rai began chatting about his situation. Meanwhile, Pikachu ate its meal happily. Piplup was still in a frozen position after taking Pikachu's electric attack. It wasn't long for Raimundo to learn that he had seen these people before. As a child, he grew up playing the Gameboy games back in the Kanto series and would watch the cartoon that came up on Saturday mornings. Ash training to be the best trainer ever while Brock made the food and Misty always being the mature one. He noticed, however, that they seemed more different from before and the female protagonist was new. Growing up meant having the show is more leaned toward the younger audience and eventually he stopped enjoying the game he loved playing. It seemed the characters became more…dense this time around.
"You were chased off a cliff by Rhyhorns!" Dawn yelled out.
"Yea, really wasn't the best place to have a stampede." Rai sweat dropped.
"Then you went one on one with a Rhydon?" asked Ash.
"Yup, but thanks to these two we pulled off, no problem," said Rai
"But, how did you get caught up with Rhyhorns chasing you in the first place?" Dawn asked.
"Let's just say a certain MOUSE had given them a fright with an electric attack." Everyone looked over to Pikachu who was chewing on a loaf of bread.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu looked confused.
"Did you really scare the Rhyhorns, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Pikachu shook its head. "Pika Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu told its side of the story.
"Mmhmm," Ash nodded his head.
Rai looked puzzled. "You can understand that?"
"Sure, it is my Pokémon. Pikachu said that you were on the edge of a cliff holding on to another Pikachu before you fell on top of it."
"Another Pikachu?" Rai looked back at Pikachu, "now that you mention it, it had scruffy hair on its head." Looking at Pikachu, it looked clean-cut.
"I'm surprised that you aren't from around here. America huh, sounds pretty far away," Brock stated.
"Yeah…not from here…., long story short I need to find someone who knows space and time to get me on the right track. I'm kind of on a mission," Rai explained.
"Space and Time," Dawn pondered.
"Doesn't that sound like Dialga and Palkia?" Brock realized.
"Yeah, your right!" Ash cried out.
"Who?" Rai asked.
"Dialga and Palkia are legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh who have the power to control time and space. Cynthia should be able to know more about them if we run into her," said Brock.
Pokémon that control time and space, Rai thought, last I checked there were 150 Pokémon. Guess they added some more to the list. "And this Cynthia, you think she can help me?"
"Of course, she is the Sinnoh League Champion," Ash declared.
Rai began to take some serious consideration on who this person was. Since she was the champion of this region, she could know more about this place and its Pokémon. "Interesting…alright then, I'll take you up on that offer. I'm guessing that you are off to find a gym battle right?" Rai asked.
"Yeah, but how did…"
"Just a gut feeling I have. With your gym battles and my predicament, we can hang out and get both our quests done. You guys ready!" Rai made his statement as he stood in declaration. Only to have his blanket fall and revealing his underwear. Dawn quickly shielded her eyes. "First, I need my clothes back."
Rai's clothes were now fresh and dry after much time of airing out. Ash handed back his tool belt while Brock gave him his scythe.
"Hey, why do have a scythe with you?" asked Brock.
"I'm a… swordsman," replied Rai.
"With a tool belt?" Ash followed.
"It's an American thing."
"By the way, I'm Ash!"
"My name is Brock."
"And I'm Dawn."
"Great to meet you, I'm Raimundo Ortega or Rai for short."
With a brand new ally named Rai by their side, Ash and his friends continue to the next town and their next big adventure!
"Did anyone else hear that big announcer voice?" asked Rai
-To Be Continued-
Man, I have been busy with the past few months, haven't had the chance to get back to this. Sorry for the long wait -_-, with a new job and all. Same as always, I don't own the rights to the characters being used in the story and I hope to get comments on what you think. Thank you and peace out!