CHAPTER 16: Training Montage 3!

SERENA

"So we all meet up at... the house... on Route 25, then?" I confirm, and Brock nods.

"Well, first, you'll have to get through Route 24, but yes, meet then, sundown." Brock laughs, and we all team up, or go our separate ways.

Misty goes alone, as do me and Hilary.

Ash sticks with Brock.

I release all my birds, and trudge into the treeline.

It doesnt take long to find the first victim.

"Belle, Bane! Use Peck!"

Both chicks swoop in, slamming the large moth into the nearest tree.

"VENO!" It sends a cloud of purple powder at the chicks.

"Dodge, then Confusion!"

They dodge the slow moving, airborne cloud easily, and send pink telekinetic waves of pure energy at the bug, rendering it unconscious instantly.

"Yah!" I cheer, but the chicks land quickly, huddled together.

I rush over to them, worried they had gotten hit by the Poison Powder, but as soon as i come close, both chicks start glowing a bright white.

ASH & BROCK

"Todays the day, Brock! Today, i'm GOING to catch a pokemon!" Ash struts proudly ahead of the older boy, who is laughing.

"Oh really? And what pokemon were you planning on catching, oh mighty one?" Brock laughs, but Ash smiles.

"Whichever one i see fir-OH LOOK!" He takes off, Pikachu in tow, towards a small yellow and brown blur thats moving in the grass.

Laughing, Brock jogs over in time to watch the battle commence.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!"

Pikachu throws a bolt of white-hot electricity at the pokemon.

It's to slow to dodge, and gets hit head on, throwing it back into a nearby tree.

"Now i've got you! Pikachu, Thunder Wave!"

Pikachu sends a large wave of static electricity at the pokemon, rendering it paralyzed.

"Now, its my turn! Go, POKEBALL!" Ash throws the pokeball with practiced precision, and it captures the pokemon beautifully.

It starts to shake...

Once...

Twice...

POP!

The pokemon pops out of the pokeball, and proceeds to Teleport away.

"Are... You... KIDDING ME?!" Ash squeals in anger, and Brock pats his back.

"Kid, that was an Abra. They arent easy to catch, especially at your level. Maybe go for something easier to catch in this area, like a Sunkern, or maybe a Bellsprout." But the look in Ash's eyes had a different idea.

"Oh, i'll catch an Abra today, all right. Just you wait and see." And with that, the determined boy stomps off, deeper into the tall grass.

MISTY

"What do you think guys? Do we need another team member?"

Misty decided she would cheat the Route, because she didnt feel like dealing with all those grass types, so she tied all her stuff to her backpack (water-proof, of course), and hopped into the river, swimming slowly upstream with her pokemon.

Horsea nods enthusiastically, but Goldeen seems a bit... less excited... at the idea.

"I mean, we've done good so far, right?" Misty asks, floating on her back, kicking her way upstream.

Horsea shoots a Pidgey out of the sky with a quick Water Gun, then shakes her head.

"Horse! Horsea!" She purrs, nudging Misty's side.

"I know, i know. A full team is technically six members, but what if... I dont... really WANT six members?" She sighs, thinking out loud.

"There are so many amazing water type pokemon in Kanto and Johto, why should i HAVE to limit myself, even if i did want that many.

A small flock of Pidgey's falls from the skies as Goldeen uses an Ice Beam.

"Good shot, Goldie! Say, you two are about due for an evolution here pretty quick, arent ya?"

Horsea nods, and Goldeen just blubs.

"That'll be so exciting!"

Flipping over, Misty dives down, swimming under the water for a few seconds, before coming back up again.

"Maybe a new member would be... so bad?" She wonders,pushing her hair out of her face.

"Oh, i'm helpless!" She finally turns over again, floating on her back.

Horsea and Goldeen continue to shoot birds out of the sky, as Misty slowly makes her way upstream.

HILARY

"K.O, your originally from Kanto, remember?" He nods.

"What if... we got another team member? From Kanto?"

All three of her pokemon look at her confused.

"I know, we have this egg now," She lightly holds it up for emphasis, "but i think we should be more... open to the idea of it. Having a full team, i mean." She explains, and her whole team nods, in thought.

'Machamp. Mach." K.O hugs her gently, and nods approvingly.

Sunshine floats up, nodding as well, as Hilary kisses her forehead.

Finally, Spritzer nods, shaking his tail in excitement.

"Perfect! Then, together of course, we will think about and find a new team member!"

Before they have the chance to cheer, though, the Egg in Hilary's arms makes a small noise.

"Huh?" Hilary sits down, immediately, and places the Egg in her crossed legs.

"Oh my gosh, you guys! I think it's happening!"

Egg's can take anywhere from a week, to a whole year, depending on the type and gender of pokemon, as Hilary knew.

As she also knew, the actual hatching process starts with a single crack in the shell, and can last from a couple seconds to days.

The shell already has a large crack, thats spreading rapidly.

Sunshine uses Sunny Day, warming the air instantly, and providing a nice yellow glow of sunlight under the foliage of the trees above them.

The egg suddenly bursts open, revealing a baby...

SERENA

"OH MY GOD! YOU GUYS!" I throw my arms around the newly evolved Noctowl, but i can barely reach around their new, huge bodies.

Both birds are now easily twice my size, bigger than their mother.

"Noct?" Belle purrs, almost in confusion.

"Wow! Just... Wow!" Bane nuzzles my neck, surprising me and forcing me to take a step back.

Belle's orange eyes light up, and i slowly lift up of the ground, to be placed gently down again.

"Hooo..." She hoots, rubbing my arm with her wing.

"Well?" I ask expectantly, and both birds turn their heads, confused.

"Don't you want to try out your new wings?!" I throw my hands up, and they both take off, spiraling around each other as they escalate.

I smile, whooping as they flip and turn and dive.

Suddenly, Belle shoots down to me, hooting loudly.

I'd only ever done this with Ace, and he wasn't as big, but i got for it anyways.

As soon as Belle gets close... I leap into the air, landing square on her back, as she shoots back up.

"WOOOOHOOOOOO!" I hold onto her back with my legs, barely holding on, but i dont care.

Throwing my arms up, i whoop and shout.

ASH & BROCK

"GO, PIKAC- DAMN IT!" Ash shouts, the fifth Abra that day Teleporting away.

"Ash, calm down, you'll catch one."

"The suns almost down, i dont have much time left, Brock!" He sighs, exasperated.

"Honestly, focus on Paralyzing them first, then throwing the pokeball, and you'll do fine. Stop trying to attack it first, thats why it Teleports away."

"But if i dont weaken it, how am i supposed to catch it?" Ash says, close to tears.

"Not all pokemon need to be weakened, epsecially in this case." Brock pats his back, and Ash sets off again, sighing.

Eventually, they find another Abra.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!" Ash whispers, and Pikachu sends a large wave of static electricity, Paralyzing the Abra.

Ash quickly throws a greatball, the only one he has, and it lands perfectly on the Abras snout, as a bright flash of red catches it.

He runs up as it starts to shake...

Once...

"Come on, i can feel it!"

Twice...

"Please please PLEASE!"

Three...

"Oh my goodness, please yes!"

DING!

Ash falls back, landing in the grass beside the Abra's greatball.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Brock plops beside him, and they both start laughing.

"Well, THAT was fun..." Ash laughs, grabbing the greatball.

"Are you going to name it?" Brock asks, and Ash shrugs.

"Pikachu didnt want a name, so i'll ask it." He releases the Abra, who tilts its head, almost in confusion.

"Hey! I'm Ash and im your new trainer!" He smiles brightly.

A... Ash?

A light, female voice responds in his head.

Ash flies back, running into the nearest tree.

"Ash, whats wrong?" Brock shoots up.

"Did... did you just say my name?" Ash asks hopelessly.

I did, Ash. I apologize if i've startled you.

The soft female voice replies, with the Abra's hand raised.

"Whoa! WHOA!" Ash runs up, kneeling beside the small Psychic type pokemon.

"Abra! Is... is that you?!"

Hello, Ash. Nice to meet you.

Abra sticks out her hand, and Ash shakes it gently.

"Ash? Are you okay?" Brock slowly steps forward, but Abra turns to him, and his face goes white.

"W... what?" He asks the Abra, who giggles and sticks her hand out.

Brock hesitantly grabs her hand, shaking it gently as well.

There, now both of you can hear me.

Ash and Brock look at each other, and start to laugh.

I'm so sorry, did i miss a joke?

Instead of replying, Ash sits beside the Abra.

"Do you have a name you go by?" He asks, and she tilts her head.

A... name?

"Yeah! Like... what should we call you?"

Oh... i dont think i have... a name.

"Thats okay! I could give you one if you'd like?" Ash asks excitedly, and the Abra perks up.

Oh please do! I would really like a name!

Smiling at her, Ash starts to brainstorm.

HILARY

"Spin... Da?" The baby asks, looking up at Hilary.

"A Spinda..." She lightly rubs its ears, and it purrs.

"Mach? Machamp?" K.O asks, and Hilary knows the question, even though she cant understand him.

"It's a girl."

Sunshine shrieks happily, floating around them.

"What should i name you, baby girl?" She whispers, letting the baby walk around, rather unsteadily.

"Spin... DA! Spinnn... DAA!" She twirls around, and its neither graceful nor ugly.

Spritzer catches her one time when she goes to fall, and she lands on his tail, passing out.

"Oh, you must be tired..." Hilary picks the baby up, cradling her gently.

She reaches over and grabs a pokeball, gently tapping it to the Spinda's hair.

The baby is caught almost instantly, to tired to fight back.

As soon as shes caught, Hilary releases her, and cradles her again.

"Lets get going guys, its almost time to meet up with the others..."

The group starts heading towards the end of the Route, with Hilary deep in thought.

Finally, it hits her.

"I know! I'll name you... Jojo." She whispers, kissing the sleeping pokemons head.

With that, they speed up, excited to introduce Jojo to the rest of the gang...

MISTY

"... I wonder where everyone is?"

Misty is sitting with her pokemon, on a bench beside the house at the end of Route 25.

"Horsea?"

"Yeah, your probably right. They must have gotten pulled into training."

She kicks another rock, towel drying her hair.

Goldeen floats around, eating the odd insect, while Horsea is sitting patiently beside Misty.

"I guess we wait..." But as she finishes her sentence, she hears two familiar voices.

".. about Wicca? Like a witch?" Brock asks, but Ash shakes his head.

"To... dark. Shes too nice for that, plus! This is her first and ONLY name!" He says, and Brock nods.

"Whose name?" They both jump, finally noticing Misty.

"Oh! Misty! I caught my first pokemon today!" Ash smiles widely.

"Thats amazing, Ash! What pokemon?" Ash steps aside, revealing a little Abra.

It looks up at Ash, who nods.

"Thats Misty, shes a friend."

Pleasure to make you aquaintance, Misty.

A quiet, female voice says quietly, and the Abra sticks its hand out.

"AH WHAT?!" Misty jumps back onto the bench.

Brock looks at her seriously.

"Are the voices talking to you, to?" He asks, gasping in mock-fear, then him and Ash laugh.

"Hey! But really, who said that?!"

The Abra waves it's hand.

That would be me, Misty. Sorry if ive startled you.

Slowly, Misty shakes the Abra's hand.

"Nice to meet you... Abra?"

Oh! I am not the one called Abra, though that is my species. My trainer, Ash, has yet to provide me with a name i shall cherish.

The Abra smiles, tilting her head.

"Oh! I got it!" Ash exclaims suddenly.

"Got what?" Brock asks.

"Her name!"

Abra turns suddenly, looking at him expectantly.

"My great-grandma had an Alakazam once, and i'd like to name you after her, if thats alright?" He kneels down, placing his hand on top of Abra's head.

A name fit for an ancestor? Please, Ash! I would love nothing more!

"Well, my great-grandma's Alakazam was named..."

SERENA

"Lets head to the house!" I shout over the winds, all my bird pokemon in the sky, with me riding Belle.

She nods, and starts to descend, heading for the large house in the distance.

We make quick work of the trip, and see everyone has arrived before us.

Belle flips by the ground, and i release her, somersaulting and landing neatly, a few feet away from the group.

"Are those...?" Hilary starts, and i nod.

"Please, welcome to the stage, Bane and Belle, 2.0!" I throw my hands out, and both Noctowl land neatly as i say their names.

"Whoa..." Ash walks slowly up, and i notice a small brown pokemon sticking close to his side.

"And who is this little sweetheart?" I ask, bending down to greet the pokemon, who automatically sticks it's hand out.

I do not go by sweetheart, but i appreciate the sentiment. My name is Arnarra.

I shake her hand gently, and she smiles.

"Nice to meet you, Arnarra." I smile back.

"How is it that neither you nor Hilary was perturbed by Arnarra speaking to you?" Brock asks, and Hilary shakes her head.

"Mom had a Gardevoir, Mizara. She spoke using ESP." I explain.

"Wow! Is your mom still back in Sinnoh? I'd love for Arnarra to meet Mizara!" Ash asks.

Hilary's face drops.

"Oh... um... our mom... she passed away... a while back..." I stutter, and Ash's eyes go wide.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"No, thats okay. We have jurisdiction over moms pokemon, so when we get back to Cerulean, i'll grab Mizara from the PC." I smile back, and Ash's face picks up a little.

"Anyways, i wanted to introduce you to someone, sis!" Hilary turns aorund, picks something up, and turns around again.

"Hm?" I see a small pokemon in her arms.

"Ser, meet Jojo."

"OH MY GOSH! Is she from the Egg?" I ask, snatching the wriggling baby pokemon from Hilary.

"She is. Jojo is a Spinda, and she LOVES to dance!"

Almost as if on cue, the little Spinda jumps out of my hands, landing unsteadily, and teeters away, giggling.

"Alright guys! Lets head in then, if we are all here!" Brock says, striding towards the door.

Returning all my pokemon except for Alto, i follow him in, everyone close behind us.