The Journey Continues…
Welcome to "The Journey Continues" and the first installment of my trilogy of the same name. Taken place six years into the future, the story focuses on a sixteen-year-old Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu. Ash and Pikachu have traveled around the world over the years from region to region. Challenging gym to gym, making friends, defeating rivals, meeting all kinds of Pokémon, and reuniting with some familiar faces. Let's follow up to see what Ash has been doing and find out what's next for him.
1
"The battle between Ash and Verity will now go underway," Sorrel announced. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Ash and Verity. The battle will be over when the Pokémon from either side is unable to continue. Trainers, please call out your Pokémon."
Verity tossed out her Poke ball until her Pokémon appeared in front of her. Her partner was a mixture of blue and dark blue. It had a yellow beak with yellow ridges extending from it.
"A Prinplup, huh?" Ash tilted his head for a quick moment while smiling. He turned to his Pokémon who was sitting comfortably on his left shoulder. "How about it, buddy? Ready to battle?" He asked his partner, not that he needed to in the first place after he nodded. "Pikachu, I choose you!"
Pikachu ran down Ash's arm and jumped onto the field, standing in the opposite of Prinplup. It was the perfect choice since Water-types were weak against Electric-types. "Alright. Battle, begin!"
"Let's go, Ash. I want to see what the first Alola Pokémon Champion is really all about," Verity shouted.
"Okay, but I have to warn you: I'm not going easy," Ash fired back. "Let's start it off, Pikachu. Use Quick Attack."
Pikachu affirmed his command and sprinted forward toward Prinplup. He disappeared and then reappeared multiple times with a white outline surrounding his body. As Pikachu was coming closer, Prinplup was simply standing there. Ash wondered when will Verity give her Pokémon a command.
Verity smirked seeing Pikachu was getting closer to her partner. "Prinplup, use Metal Claw," she commanded. With its flippers glowing white, Prinplup lifted them in front of its face just before contacting Pikachu's Quick Attack. However, Prinplup neglected the Quick Attack.
"A steel move, huh? Okay then. Iron Tail," Ash said.
Pikachu collided with the Metal Claw again using his tail that was glowing white. It was a match between steel move versus steel move. While Pikachu continued to strike with Iron Tail, Prinplup was on the defense. Both steel type moves collided again and again without showing any signs of backing down. "Use Hydro Pump."
Prinplup opened its beak and released a powerful stream of water surrounded by white rings directly at its opponent. Pikachu couldn't find time to evade the attack. The Mouse Pokémon ended up falling flat on the ground. "Pikachu, are you alright?" Ash asked.
Although Pikachu was shaken, he was still able to continue. "Now use Drill Peck. Let's go," Verity commanded. Prinplup's beak started to grow by a few feet as it jumped into the air. Its beak and the crown from the top of its head were glowing white. Prinplup started spinning its body around like a drill and aimed straight for Pikachu. Luckily, Pikachu was able to dodge the Drill Peck.
"Thunderbolt!"
Yellow sparks appeared around Pikachu's red cheeks before releasing a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body and straight for Prinplup. "Behind you, Prinplup. Intercept with Drill Peck."
Prinplup nodded and spun around like a drill again. In a shocking turn of events, the Drill Peck was reflecting Pikachu's Thunderbolt like a lightning rod. Drill Peck was a flying move and yet Prinplup didn't took any damage from the Thunderbolt, an electric move. So, to say both Ash and Pikachu were speechless would be an understatement. "And it was a direct hit too," the Pallet Town trainer pointed out.
"Impressive. Right, Ash? Pikachu is strong, but it'll take more than type advantage to beat us," Verity fired. Ash wasn't expecting an easy battle, but Prinplup should had taken some damage from Pikachu. However, Verity had a point about one thing. It was going to take more than having a type advantage to win a Pokémon battle. Still, Ash loved a good challenge. "Bubble Beam."
The inside of Prinplup's beak glowed light blue and it fired blue bubbles at Pikachu. However, Pikachu dodged the attack in a quick second. Watching his partner evading the Bubble Beam, Ash needed to come up with something. Otherwise the battle was going to be over soon. He remembered the Hydro Pump attack and knowing water conducts electricity, all Ash had to do was drench Prinplup and finish the job using Pikachu's Thunderbolt. But first, Ash had to get Verity to command Hydro Pump.
"Pikachu, climb up to the trees using Quick Attack," he said.
Pikachu climbed up in the nearest tree while dodging another round of Bubble Beam. "Don't let Pikachu out of your sight. Keep using Bubble Beam."
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the branches."
Pikachu started knocking down a few branches. The branches fell on top of Prinplup. Verity used Metal Claw to handle the branches, allowing Pikachu to reappear from the bushes with his tail still glowing. "Haha. Just a decoy."
"HUH?"
"THAT'S RIGHT! DO IT!" Pikachu spun his body around with his tail glowing white. Using his Iron Tail, Pikachu knocked Prinplup off its feet. It was the perfect chance to counter while the opponent's defenses are down. "Now, use Thunderbolt."
Pikachu released another bolt of electricity from his body and electrocuted Prinplup. There was no dodging from that attack unlike the last time. Prinplup is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner, which means this victory goes to Ash," Verity announced thus ending the battle.
"Thanks, Prinplup. You gave it your all," Verity returned her partner back in its Poke ball.
Meanwhile, Ash was petting the top of Pikachu's head. "We did it, buddy. You were so great," Ash commented.
"Ash, that was an amazing battle," Verity extended her hand out. "You and Pikachu make quite the team."
"Thanks, Verity," Ash replied while shaking her hand. "You and Prinplup are pretty strong yourselves." The alarm in Ash's phone started to go off. He reached inside of his pocket to take out his smartphone. On the screen was a reminder of something important to Ash. "Oh, crap. That's right."
"What's the emergency, Ash?" Verity asked.
"I'm meeting up with a friend of mine at the airport. She's supposed to be landing in any minute now."
"You guys didn't have to walk with me."
"No, but I have to walk pass the airport be on time for my next gym match," Verity explained.
As the trio were heading to the airport, Ash pulled an apple from a nearby tree. He broke it in half to give one to Pikachu. The other half he could eat for himself. "So, how many badges do you have?" The Kanto native asked Verity.
"Only two. It would had been three, but the Cerulean Gym was closed," Verity answered. "Perhaps I'll try again later."
"Closed? Hold on. You mean nobody was there."
"I got to the gym and the doors were locked." Hearing that the Cerulean Gym was closed shocked Ash. One thing Ash knew about Misty was that the only she would step away from her gym was to take a vacation. Usually when that happened, she would get her sisters to fill in. Perhaps Ash should visit Cerulean City to see if everything was alright over there. "What about you, Ash?"
Ash snapped out his deep thought after hearing his name. "Huh? Did you say something?"
"I asked about the number of battles you have? You are participating in the upcoming Kanto League as well. Aren't you?"
That was right. The Kanto League was about to take place within a few weeks. "Actually, I returned home following my journey in the Galar region not last Tuesday. I'm just taking some time to figure out my next move," Ash replied. "What about you, Sorrel? You must have a reason for traveling all the way from Sinnoh as well."
Sorrel nodded his head in response. "True, but not to compete in the league. I'm studying to become a Pokémon Professor, so Professor Rowan suggested I should meet with Professor Oak."
The trio eventually came across the airport's main entrance. Before Verity and Sorrel departed, Ash wished them good luck on their Kanto journey and the Sinnoh natives did the same for him. After saying goodbye to Verity and Sorrel, Ash walked straight inside of the airport. "Excuse me miss," he called to the female clerk standing behind the front desk.
"Can I help you with something?" The female clerk responded.
"I have a friend who is supposed to be landing today. I just wanna know when is her flight expecting to land."
"Can you tell me what flight she was on? I can look it up on my computer."
Ash searched through his messages to find the text mentioning Serena's flight. But the messages were really long, the male had to read every single one from top to bottom. He eventually stumbled upon the text he was looking for. "Okay. Serena's flight is Staraptor Airlines Flight G57," Ash stated.
The clerk started typing on her keyboard. "Staraptor Airlines…Flight G57?"
"Yeah."
"Flight…G57…here it is," the clerk announced. "Flight G57 should be landing in approximately 30 minutes from now."
"Got it. Thanks for that information." Apparently, Ash arrived at the airport earlier than expected. "Now, what should I do?" Pikachu's stomach started rumbling in Ash's ear. "Feeling hungry, buddy?"
Redness ran across Pikachu's face in embarrassment while he scratched the back of his left ear. Out of nowhere a distinctive sound can be heard which was followed by a bright light. Pikachu wasn't the only Pokémon hungry. "You too, Lucario?" Lucario nodded while rubbing his stomach. Suddenly, Ash's stomach was rumbling too. "I guess I'm hungry too."
"This is DJ Mimi from WPOK." Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario turned their heads to the large television screen from across the room. The announcer was a young woman with blonde hair wearing over the ear headphones. "This goes out to all my fellow trainer taking part of this year's Kanto League. If you haven't gotten your eight badges yet, you still have plenty of time, but its better to get a move on because registrations are already filling up."
"That's right, Mimi. And this is Michal giving you this update," Michal announced. "Don't forget that the winner of this year's Kanto League will have a chance to battle in the Championship title. The chance that every trainer is going for: to face off against the Elite Four and the Champion himself, Lance." Michal finished his report by informing trainers watching to hurry up and get those eight badges. Ash looked around and people already started talking about it. Some were trainers themselves and discussing how they would win the league. A very few went far and bragged about how they would be the next Kanto Champion to the point two trainers started arguing to where airline security had to break them up.
Ash finished eating his food when he received a text message from Serena. It was reading that her plane would be landing any minute. The last time he saw Serena was the day she was heading for the Hoenn region to grow stronger as a trainer and soon-to-be Kalos Queen. That was after they concluded their journey in Kalos along with Clemont and Bonnie. Ash hadn't seen Serena in person since that day, but he kept in contact with her ever since. He didn't want to lose contact with her again.
Ash first met Serena when they were attending Professor Oak's summer camp. Both of them were too young to become trainers at the time. One day, Professor Oak was taking them and a few other children to an excursion around the forest to examine the wild Pokémon living in there. However, the professor warned everybody about some Pokémon who were extremely territorial especially when their offspring were involved. Nevertheless, it didn't stop Ash from chasing down a wild Poliwag. Looking back, Ash glad he chased after that Poliwag. That same Poliwag would become the symbol of Ash's strong and everlasting friendship with Serena.
Going through his backpack, Ash pulled out an old photo he took with Serena back in Kalos. It was in the middle of their journey. Beside the two and Pikachu, Clemont, Bonnie, Korrina, and her Lucario in the picture as well. Just seeing that picture brought back so many memories. "Excuse me, sir, but could you help me with something?"
The male looked away from the picture to noticed a female standing in front of him. Her wardrobe consisted of a button front striped dress with a white collar. The dress was sleeveless with two-tone colors for the stripes being either pink or light pink. She was also wearing black stockings and a pair of brown ankle boots. All while wearing a pair of white sunglasses that were hanging over her head, a pink and carrying a pink handbag with black decals on it.
Her waist-length honey blonde hair was tied into one ponytail from the back by a blue ribbon. If Ash was correct, that was the same blue ribbon he gave to Serena years ago. But the biggest hints were the Braixen standing beside her with a red ribbon tied to its branch, a Pancham wearing a pair of red sunglasses, and a Sylveon. "Umm…sure. How can I help you?" Ash replied.
"I just landed from the Kalos region and I'm supposed to meet up with a friend of mine," Serena said. "And I couldn't help but noticed that you favored him in so many ways."
Meanwhile, Briaxen embraced Pikachu into a hug with her white arms. Seeing that Pikachu recognized Braixen confirmed that the young lady was indeed Serena. Chuckling through his teeth, it was his turn to hug a familiar face. "For the record, I knew it was you," Ash whispered in her ear.
"Sure, you did," Serena giggled before pulling away. The childhood friends gazed into one another's eyes after being apart from some time. "I'm so happy to see you again, Ash. Not to mention the fact you recognized me on sight this time."
Ash chuckled again but nodded in agreement. It had been a minute since they saw each other. Fashion was still her specialty, but no doubt Serena changed in more ways than one. Her hands were smooth as if she just came from a manicure while her fingernails were covered in pink nail polish. "Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I have my hands back?"
Realizing he was still holding onto Serena's hands, a flustered Ash let them go. "Oh. Sorry about that." In the meantime, Pikachu were greeting Pancham and Sylveon. While Serena's Pokémon and Pikachu were getting acquainted with one another, Serena turned to Lucario. "This is the Lucario you've been telling me about," Serena wondered.
"Yeah. Ever since it hatched into a Riolu, Lucario has been my side ever since," Ash explained.
"Nice to meet you, Lucario. I'm Serena and I'm a friend of Ash." Serena introduced herself with her hand out. However, the Aura Pokémon turned to his trainer a bit unsure.
"Don't worry. Serena is my best friend and she's the sweetest person. I trust her a lot," Ash explained. With support from Pikachu, Lucario shook Serena's hand. "Lucario doesn't open up to people very much besides me."
But Serena wasn't bothered by the fact. "In a strange way, Lucario reminds me of Korrina's Lucario."
Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon all greeted their new friend with hospitality. In exchange, Lucario smiled at the Pokémon and shook their hands or a feeler in Sylveon's case. "Oh yeah. That reminds me. I want you to meet somebody," Serena said before reaching for another Poke ball and throwing it in the air. "Come on out."
The Pokémon Serena released was predominately white excluding the tuft of fur on the top of her head, the collar around her neck, and the base of her tail. Ash's eyes were shining with excitement. He only saw a Pokémon like it back in Kalos and it was only a few times. "You caught a Meowstic?"
"Mhm. I caught it after returning home from my journey in Hoenn. It's been my partner ever since," Serena explained. Pikachu went up to Meowstic to greet her, but the Psychic Pokémon brushed him to the side by turning her head to the side. "Although, Meowstic can be quite reserved."
Ash reached into his pocket after feeling his phone vibrating. "Change of plans, Serena. We're not going to my house," he announced.
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"Mom texted me saying we need to head for Professor Oak's lab. She said it was an emergency."
That wraps up the first chapter, but this is only the beginning. Chapter two is already near completion and will be up sometime this week. Until next time...
Stay safe, stay tuned
