Chapter 6: Let the Journey Begin
As Ash, along with Pikachu, Buneary and Axew, ran towards Professor Oak's laboratory, Ash was trying to think what kind of surprises the professor had for him. Maybe it's a new gadget for him to test out. He would soon find out when he gets there. But as he began to ascend the hill that led to the lab, he was beginning to slow down. Ash was really exhausted from running on the road, but he got there without much trouble.
As he opened the door, he heard the professor's voice. "Ash, if that's you, I'm in the main laboratory.", he called out.
"Ok, Professor. I'm coming.", said Ash walking towards the lab room. When he got there, he saw Professor Oak standing with three pokeballs in his hands. Behind him, a strange device was resting on a table. It resembled a normal wristwatch, but it was slightly bigger, had more buttons and there were no watch-related characteristics. Axew and Buneary were standing on either side of him.
"Good morning, Professor Oak.", greeted Ash eagerly. He couldn't wait to see what surprises he had in store for him.
"Good morning to you too, Ash. It looks like you had a good night's sleep and I'm guessing you really want to know what the surprises I told you about yesterday are, correct.", asked Professor Oak.
"Yes, Professor.", replied Ash, "and has it got something to do with those pokeballs you are holding?"
"That's right Ash. In these pokeballs are three of your pokemon, Squirtle, Primeape and Haunter.", said Professor Oak as he gave the pokeballs to Ash.
Ash's eyes widened. He had completely forgot about these three pokemon during his travels, but now that he has been reminded of them, he was beyond overjoyed to see them.
"Thanks so much professor!", said Ash excitedly and then turned to his pokemon. "Did you hear that, Pikachu? We'll be seeing some of our old friends again after so long."
"Pika Pika Chu.", exclaimed Pikachu happily, clearly wanting to see the trio of pokemon again.
Ash turned to Buneary and Axew, who were confused on who Ash was talking about. "Buneary and Axew, these are some of my pokemon that I travelled with during my first journey. Haunter was only with me for a short time before he stayed with the Saffron City Gym Leader, Sabrina. And to tell you the truth, I never caught him. I only befriended him. But I know that you two are going to be great friends with them once you get to know them."
Axew and Buneary smiled and nodded their heads, showing that they trust their trainer. Axew was looking excited in particular.
Ash then turned back to the professor. "When did they arrive professor?", asked Ash, only calmer this time.
"Primeape and Squirtle have just arrived today. I called Anthony and told him that you needed Primeape on your journey, but I didn't tell him about the betrayal. He told me that he was going to call me soon anyway so you could have Primeape back because there was basically nothing left to teach Primeape and he was an accomplished P1 Champion. When Primeape heard your name on the other side, he began to hit the monitor furiously as if your were trapped in it. Then I called the Officer Jenny that was in charge of The Squirtle Squad. I told her that you needed Squirtle back and she said she was fine with it. She also told me that there have been less fires because the Squirtles have learned powerful water-type moves. And because that the team has been so successful, the other Squirtles allowed yours to go with you since they could handle things perfectly while he was away. I didn't tell her what happened either."
"That's great to hear, Professor. What about Haunter?", asked Ash since Professor Oak didn't mention the ghost-type pokemon.
"Well, Ash, Haunter arrived last night after dinner. Sabrina called me a few minutes after I got home. Because Sabrina is very good with psychic powers, she told me she had sensed the betrayal happen and she was going to send over Haunter. Haunter was very sad about what happened and wanted to re-join you. Also, she officially caught it for you.", explained Professor Oak.
"Alright. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk to me about?", asked Ash.
"Yes, my boy. There is one more thing that I want to give to you that might come of great use.", said Professor Oak as he grabbed the machine that Ash had seen earlier on his table, "This machine is called a Micro-Dex. It is the first of its kind and I think you should have the privilege of testing it out for me while you are on your journey. It has the functions of the most advanced Pokedex, PokeNav, Pokegear, X-Transciever,, Poketch and a few other devices. You can use it to scan pokemon like a regular pokedex, you can use it as a map like a PokeNav and you can call people like an X-Transciever."
Ash was given the Micro-Dex, which he was amazed by its lightness. He put it on his left wrist and stared at it with awe, but he looked back at Professor Oak had more to tell him and continued to pay attention.
Professor Oak continued, "I have programmed this Micro-Dex with all of your data. Gym badges collected, leagues competed in and in what place you have got to, captured pokemon and other details of your own trainer record. I also have removed the limiter from the part of the machine where you can only carry six pokemon at a time, so now you can carry an unlimited amount of pokemon with you. If you are going to be on a very long journey, you might as well take all of your pokemon."
"That's awesome, Professor Oak. Looks like I won't have to keep on switching out pokemon anymore, but if you ever need to study them some more, I can always send them to you.", said Ash.
"That's very generous of you, but I have studied all your pokemon the best I could, so the only pokemon you could bring here are the new ones you might catch in the future. The Micro-Dex also has a miniature inbuilt pad that can be used for transporting pokeballs to my laboratory. Also here is the manual on how to use the Micro-Dex, so I suggest you read it before using. And I'm quite surprised at one thing over the duration of your entire journey.", said Professor Oak as he gave Ash a small booklet.
Ash grabbed the booklet before looking at the professor. "What has surprised you, Professor Oak?", asked Ash.
"From day one of your journey to today, you still haven't checked your money savings.", said Professor Oak.
This confused Ash because he didn't know anything about any savings that he had. "What do you mean by my savings?"
"You see, I keep on forgetting to tell you something important, but since I just remembered and you are here, I can tell you. Every beginning trainer gets a bank account on the first day of their journey. You see, you can earn money form battles. This includes trainer battles, Gym battles, Frontier Brain battles, League battles, Elite Four battles, Champion battles and contest battles. The amount you get depends on what pokemon you and your opponent use and what level they are, what strategies are used, how long the battle lasts, type advantages and class of battles. All of your savings then get transferred from your Pokedex to the regional bank of the region it is made in. All of your savings records have also been recorded to the Micro-Dex. Why don't you take a look at them?", said Professor Oak.
Ash was surprised he even had an account. He was given a good amount by his mother at the beginning of his journey, but he never knew he had a real account.
"I might just do that.", replied Ash. He quickly went to the section in the booklet on How To Check Personal Details and Finances. He then followed the instructions and went through the Micro-Dex data until he reached Personal Savings. He opened that file and then began to read it's contents.
Name: Ash Ketchum
Hometown: Pallet Town
Current Age: 15
Home Region: Kanto
Bank Account Number: 380295
Kanto Regional Bank Balance: 485,690 Pokedollars
Johto Regional Bank Balance: 367,902 Pokedollars
Hoenn Regional Bank Balance: 534,807 Pokedollars
Sinnoh Regional Bank Balance: 669,467 Pokedollars
Unova Regional Bank Balance: 430,682 Pokedollars
Ash couldn't believe his eyes. He had that much money in the bank account he never knew he had. During his travels, Brock and Cilan always seemed to spend money to provide for the group's needs, but now he could provide for himself and his pokemon since he is going to be traveling alone.
"Professor, this is incredible.", said Ash while stuttering
"I know, my boy.", said Professor Oak, "now, why don't you go back home? I'm sure your other pokemon will want to really meet those three. I'll see you later on in the afternoon. Your mother invited me for lunch and I'll bring some pokemon food over."
"Great, Professor. I'll see you then, ", said Ash before turning to Pikachu, Axew and Buneary, "C'mon, guys. Lets go introduce the others to these three. You'll get to see them too."
As Ash ran out of the lab and down the hill with Pikachu on his shoulder, Buneary hopping behind him and Axew sitting in his head, he was beginning to imagine what the faces of the others would look like when they saw the three new arrivals. Charizard would start a rivalry with Primeape since he was beaten him when he was a Charmander, Squirtle would be happy top see the pokemon he knew over the Kanto journey and Haunter would probably start to play pranks on everyone the moment he gets out of his pokeball.
As he ran up to his house, he saw his mother with Mr. Mime, picking some parsley from her small herb and vegetable patch. He decided to stop and tell her what happened over at Professor Oak's lab.
"Hey, Mom. I'm back from the professor's lab.", said Ash. Delia turned to see her with three pokeballs in his hands and the three pokemon beside him. She also couldn't help but notice there was a strange device on his wrist.
"Hi, sweetie. How did things go over there? And where did you get those pokeballs and the machine on your wrist?", asked Delia with interest.
"Do you remember me telling you that I had a Primeape, Squirtle and Haunter?", said Ash. Delia thought for a moment before answering.
"I do. Why do you ask?", asked Delia.
"Well,", replied Ash, "they are in here in these pokeballs and they also wanted to come with me on my journey. In case you are wondering about the machine, that's called a Micro-Dex. Professor Oak gave it to me so I can use it as my new pokedex. It also has other features like a map and a phone. So you can call me whenever you need to."
"That's great. I'm going to start making lunch soon. The other pokemon are now awake and they've been wondering where you were. You should go see them.", said Delia.
"Ok, Mom. I'll come help you with making lunch after.", replied Ash as he ran to the back garden.
Delia smiled. She was happy to be spending some extra time with her son. She then went inside with the parsley as well as with some other herbs.
xxxxx
When Ash arrived at the garden, he saw that the pokemon were indeed awake. They were all talking to each other and seemed to be observing each other's attacks, but Leavanny was trying to stop Heracross from once again extracting the nectar from Bulbasaur's bulb.
"Hey, everyone! I'm back,", called out Ash. They all turned to face their trainer with smiles and happy grins, "I've got some friends I want you all to meet, but some of you might know them already."
Some of the pokemon were confused at who Ash referred to, but they were soon about to find out.
"Come on out, guys!",said Ash as he tossed the pokeballs into the air. They snapped open and a white beam of light shot out of each. Those beams then shaped themselves into three different creatures. The first one was what seemed to be a giant ball of white fur with a pig snout, two ears two arms and two legs that have a metal ring on the wrists and ankles sticking out and a pair of assertive eyes. There was also a belt with a big golden buckle that was normally seen at wrestling matches. It had the words Primeape: P1 Official Champion engraved around what looked like the official trademark symbol of the wrestling league.
The second creature resembled a turtle. Its body was a light blue colour with large eyes. It had a red shell with white outlines and a light yellow underbelly. It had a tail that looked a bit like a swirl.
The third creature looked a lot like a ghost. It was completely purple in colour and floating in mid-air. There were purple teeth that seemed to blend in with its purple face that had a pair of mischievous-looking eyes. And there were also a pair of purple hands that weren't connected to the rest of the body.
"Squirt Squirtle Squirt!", said Squirtle upon release.
"Primeape!", said Primeape, possibly looking for a strong opponent to defeat.
"Hau Hau Haunter!", screeched out Haunter.
When they looked at the large group in front of pokemon in front of them, they were slightly confused since they didn't look all that familiar, apart from a few, and there was no sign of Ash. The then they heard a voice behind them that belonged to their trainer.
"Hey, guys. It has been a while, hasn't it?", said Ash with a small chuckle.
When they turned around, they saw Ash and immediately ran up to him. Primeape gave him a huge bone-crushing hug, Squirtle hugged his leg and Haunter floated over his head in delight. Then he went right through him, sending chills up his spine, just for some laughs.
"Ok,ok, you guys can let go now.", assured Ash to Squirtle and Primeape, who decided to let go.
"It's very wonderful to see you all again,", said Ash, "and judging by your belt, Primape, It looks like Anthony kept his promise and made you the best P1 Champion there is. Congratulations."
"Primape.", said Primeape in agreement.
"I know it has been a while, so I don't think you know all of these pokemon. While you were away, I went through other regions during my journey and caught them to be on my team.", said Ash, "so why don't you get acquainted with the rest of them? They have all been very eager to see you. And they are friendly."
The three newcomers walked towards the large group, while Ash went back inside to help his mother with cooking lunch, and were greeted with open arms. They took turns introducing each other. Primeape even recognised Charizard as the Charmander he battled once, and he apologised for any inconvenience between them. Charizard accepted the apology. Haunter got in a contest with Krookodile on who can make the most scariest face. Squirtle got a good welcome by the pokemon did know.
Suddenly, when Primeape turned around when someone tapped him on the shoulder, he met the leering eyes of Scraggy.
"What are you looking at, shortstuff?", asked Primeape, who got into battle stance.
"You look tough and strong, but I want to battle you to see if you are what Ash says you are.", said Scraggy.
"Is that so? Well then, lets fight now.", said Primeape angrily. The two looked at each other with fires in their eyes, but Pikachu had other ideas.
"C'mon, guys. Can we all just get along? Save your new-found rivalry for training time. I mean, this is Ash's house and his mother won't like it if we turn it into a battlefield.", said Pikachu crossly.
Scraggy and Primeape both looked at each other one more time before going the opposite directions to the other pokemon. Pikachu sighed in relief.
"So, Pikachu. Is there any reason why we were needed on a new journey on Ash? Professor Oak looked a little bit desperate when he was talking.", asked Squirtle.
"Well, Squirtle,", explained Pikachu, "Ash has decided to go on a new journey through all the regions we went through again and this time, he is confident that we will be the best, in both battling and contests."
"Contests?", said a surprised Haunter, "I've seen a few contests that happened in Saffron City and by the looks of things, they focus more on beauty instead of power. Why would Ash decide to compete in something like that?"
"Well, something bad happened that made Ash feel really down.", said Pikachu.
"WHAT?! What happened to him that made him feel sad?", asked Sqiurtle with demand.
Pikachu looked to the pokemon who knew about the betrayal and they nodded, showing him that the three returnees had the right to know about what happened. Axew and Buneary ran up to Pikachu's side, wanting to help explain their involvement.
"Well, it started like this…", explained Pikachu
xxxxx
Ash and his mother were in the kitchen preparing lunch. Ash was busy cutting up some leaves of lettuce while Delia was making some chicken cream soup. Ash as was about to finish the last leaf , Delia spoke up.
"Ash, I forgot to tell you. I had also made you some fingerless gloves that are upstairs in your room. I think now would be a good time to go pack for your journey so you won't have to leave too late.", said Delia, "I also have a new backpack for you and it's in your room.
"I'll go do that, Mom. Thanks.", replied Ash as a put the chopping knife on the table and exited the kitchen.
When he entered his room, he noticed the new backpack on his bed. It was a little bit bigger than the usual bags he normally took with him and it had a few more zippers meaning there were more pockets. It had the colours of black, green and silver. The new pair of gloves that his mother mentioned were on the bed also. They were just like the ones that he had on his Sinnoh journey, but they were white and black. He firstly packed a few pairs of clean underwear from his closet so that his Mom wouldn't have to remind him, the costume from Queen Ilene, some other spare clothing, a sleeping bag, a cookbook that his mother gave him for the journey and a water bottle.
He then turned to the pokeballs of the legendaries that were on his desk. He didn't know whether to pack them too so Professor Oak an Delia wouldn't be surprised. But as he was about to pack them too, her heard Giratina's voice inside his head.
"Ash, why don't you introduce us to the others? It would be great to meet your mother and mentor as well. And don't worry about attracting too much attention from the townsfolk, because Darkrai can take care of that.", said Giratina.
"Ok, Giratina, I'll do that. ", responded Ash. He then minimised the pokeballs and put them in a little satchel.
When he was done packing the rest of his required things, he decided to bring his backpack downstairs in the corridor for later. The pokeballs of the other pokemon were still in the dining room, but he would take care of those later.
After bringing his bag down, he went back to the kitchen to see his mother washing dishes. He took the satchel of pokeballs with him and attached it to his belt.
"Hey, Mom. I've finished packing what I need for the journey. And before you ask, I did pack some extra underwear, too.", said Ash proudly. Delia smiled.
"Glad you remembered, Ash. Can you give me a hand with this cooking?", asked Delia politely.
"Sure, Mom. The faster we can get lunch finished, the better.", said Ash.
xxxxx
While Ash was busy doing things in the house, Pikachu, Buneary and Axew had just finished tellin Primeape, Squirtle and Hauntervthe story of what Ash's friends did to him and why the new journey was going to be completely different. He also told them that they also thought that all the pokemon Ash had would always stay weak. The trio were furious at hearing this.
"How dare they hurt Ash like that! I ought to turn them into piles of mush for this!", shouted out Primeape in rage. He began to punch the ground in frustration, but Donphan stopped him with his trunk.
"The next time I see them, I think I'll lay a curse on them just to teach them a lesson.", said Haunter.
"I'm just glad that you two decided to join our team instead of sticking with those losers.", said Squirtle to Axew and Buneary.
Pikachu decided it was time to put that in the past. "Ok, guys. That's enough for now. We can all show those traitors that they are the ones who are weak by beating them at their own games when the time is right."
"Well that explains why Ash decided to do contests too. ", said Squirtle.
"For now, lets just drop that subject and focus on something else,", said Buneary, "because if we keep on mentioning those idiots, everyone here will soon want to find them and fight them."
xxxxx
Meanwhile, something else was happening in a faraway Team Rocket Headquarters. The man in the black business suit known as Giovanni, the supreme leader of the crime organisation, was watching footages of specific events during the adventures of one of his most annoying enemies, Ash Ketchum. The trio of Kaleb, Jessie and Meowth had just finished explaining their latest failure of capturing Ash's pokemon and their leader decided to watch some evidence. On multiple screens, I continued to show Ash in many different locations with many different Legendaries. There was Ash in Altomare helping Latias to stop Annie and Oakley, him during the time that Jirachi was awakened and he was stopping the fake Groudon from destroying everything, him trying to save Zorua and helping him to get back to his mother while stopping another man, him saving Lugia from Professor Namba's rage-triggering machines, him riding upon Zekrom while trying to stop the sword-shaped castle form disturbing the Dragon Force and many other scenes where it involves him saving the world and Legendaries. He also decided to see some scenes where he was responsible for the failures of Cassidy and Butch, the trio's latest failure and when he first showed himself at Viridian City where he first stopped Team Rocket from stealing pokemon from the Pokemon Centre.
"So this brat has been a thorn in Team Rocket's side for about five years and stopped many of our major plans. And he has met just about legendary in existence and stopped other criminal organistaions. What's so special about him that gives him those kinds of opportunities?", said Giovanni in a low voice.
Kaleb decided to speak up. "Sir, I know that I just met that kid, but by the looks of him and the strength of his pokemon, I can tell you that he is no pushover. He means business."
"I see.", replied Giovanni as he turned to Jessie and Meowth, "You two seem to know him best since you are always seem to try to steal his Pikachu. What's so special about that Pikachu that separates him from the rest? And since James decided to quit, can you tell me?"
"Well, sir,", began Jessie, "ever since he first stopped us in Viridian City, we began to trail him during the twerp's journey trying to catch him. It may have been a waste of time, but Pikachu was getting stronger every step of the way. Heck, he defeated a Regice that belonged to Brandon of the Kanto Battle Frontier and, just last year at the Sinnoh League, a Latios that belonged to a trainer who also had a Darkrai. As well as that, at the beginning of the twerp's Unova journey, he was shocked by Zekrom and that had to mean something. And because of the bond he shares with his trainer, he used his electricity to break free himself and Reshiram from Team Plasma's mind control device. And, if you remember, he fired a huge Electroball at us when he foiled Operation TEMPEST. He is far stronger than any normal Pikachu."
Giovanni was surprised. Normally, Pikachus, to him, would be only good for trainer or gym battles. But this one was mainly used to save the world and defeat two Legendaries.
"Is there anything else that you want to tell me about the boy? Because now would be the best time since we are talking about him.", asked Giovanni as he picked up a cup of hot coffee.
"Well, sir, there are two more things that are very surprising about him. The first one is that he is somehow descended from Sir Aaron and can use aura. And the other will be most shocking to you. Most Legendaries that he met referred to him as The Chosen One. We found out about that when he stopped Lawrence the Pokemon Collector.", said Meowth.
At that moment, Giovanni dropped the cup he was holding and it smashed on the floor and splattering coffee everywhere. He couldn't belive his ears. The boy? The Chosen One? This had to be a joke. But that had to explain why he met so many legendary pokemon and they respected him.
"You two,", said Giovanni sternly to Jessie and Meowth, "I want you to give me as much information on this kid. Where he has been, events he participated in, leagues competed in, well-known achievements, friends, home, family, pokemon captured, everything. Then I want you to keep on following him on his journeys and report to me anything that is of high importance. But don't disturb him or let him see you, because he will suspect our actions. That will be your new assignment and you will be provided with fundings and supplies. Kaleb will join you. It looks like Ash Ketchum is something more than just a nuisance."
Jessie and Meowth were shocked that their boss was giving them a mission that seemed important to him. And it was tracking the twerp like they always did. So they began by telling him everything they new on their enemy.
xxxxx
In Viridian City, the traitors were busy touring the place. They decided to stay here since there was going to be the first Pokemon Contest tomorrow for the year since the Grand Festival just ended. They wanted to see May and Dawn compete for the first ribbon of the year. Ursula, Drew, Harley, Zoey, Kenny, Nando and some other co-ordinators were also going to compete, but they had no idea that a certain raven-haired trainer was also going to be in the contest.
But at the Pokemon Centre, Blaziken, Glaceon and some other pokemon that belonged to their master's friends were relaxing after practicing for the contest. Blaziken and Glaceon were the only two awake, so they could talk.
"I hope Ash gets to this town soon, because the sooner he gets here, the sooner we can get away from May. I really hope Sceptile can forgive us.", whispered Blaziken.
"I just hope Pikachu and the others will be able to accept us like they must have accepted Buneary and Axew already.", said Glaceon sadly, "He is really important to me and Ash looks like he can somehow make me better."
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the room. That caught the attention of Blaziken and Glaceon and the light was beginning to wake up some of the others. As the light died down, there was a pink bipedal creature with a dark pink skinned tail floating in midair.
This was Mewtwo. His eyes began to glow a light blue colour and the same coloured aura surrounded all pokemon except Blaziken and Glaceon. The ones that were beginning to wake up suddenly went back to sleep and the ones who were still asleep stayed asleep. Mewtwo must have used Hypnosis.
Blaziken and Glaceon were about to get into battle stance, but Mewtwo spoke to them silently, "Hello."
"Who are you and what do you want?", said Blaziken.
"I am Mewtwo. I am not here to fight you. I simply want to talk to you two in particular.", said Mewtwo in a low quiet voice.
"Why?", asked Glaceon.
"I have been watching you and read your thoughts. You really want to go back to Ash, don't you?", said Mewtwo.
The two were surprised that this mysterious new pokemon knew about their wants. But they remained calm.
"How do you know that?", asked Glaceon.
"I know Ash as a friend and I can help you get to him. All I ask from you is to trust me.", said Mewtwo in a serious voice.
"How do we know this isn't some kind of trap? What if you work for people like Team Rocket?", asked Blaziken.
Mewtwo got a little angry when he mentioned the name of the group that created him and betrayed him, but he kept his cool.
"Team Rocket created me, but they soon betrayed me when they tried to use me as a tool for their dirty work. I ran away from them and I've been running ever since with other clone pokemon. I met Ash along the way and he helped me in my time of need. And I trust him.", explained Mewtwo.
That sounded convincing to the duo because they relaxed.
"Yes, we do want to go to him, but we don't know when he'll be here, where to find him or how to get him to trust us.", said Glaceon.
"I can tell him what you think of him and I can convince him to trust you. He is planning to do contests on his new journey, so that might increase your chances of being accepted into his team.", said Mewtwo.
The duo smiled at this. But even though they now know Ash will be doing contests, they both agreed earlier that they wouldn't mind battling as well.
"So, what's the plan, Mewtwo?", asked Blaziken.
Mewtwo explained the rest of his idea to them.
Xxxxx
Soon, it was lunchtime. Ash and Delia had just finished preparing lunch of hot sandwiches, flavoured milk and salad for themselves and Professor Oak. Like yesterday, they decided to eat outside on the same table with the pokemon. It wasn't set up in the same fashion, but it was good enough for a good lunch.
As Ash was getting the plates, the doorbell rang, showing that Professor Oak had arrived. When he opened the door, Professor oak was standing behind a cart of fresh pokemon food. He didn't have his lab coat as usual.
"Hello, my boy.", greeted Professor Oak.
"Hey there, Professor. Are you ready for lunch?", said Ash.
"I sure am, Ash. I have brought some special food for your Snorlax. If you remember the Pokeblock that I showed you that is made just for Snorlax, I made it into pokemon food. ", said Professor Oak as he gave a container to him, "This contains it for the journey ahead of you along with the recipe, but I got some with me for now."
"Thanks, Professor. This will do me good.", said Ash as they entered and he helped push the cart in.
"You're welcome, Ash,", replied Professor Oak, "and that is a fine smell of sandwiches."
Ash laughed. "Yep. The table is all set outside. You can sit down while I bring the pokemon food out."
After he wheeled the cart into the backyard, he grabbed the food bowls that were in the cupboard and set them all out on the grass. The pokemon saw this and began running towards Ash, in hunger. Even the Tauros ran in an orderly fashion.
"Don't worry, everyone. Lunch will soon be here. I'll just fill the bowls up for you,", said Ash. The pokemon then sat down. When Snorlax sat, a small earthquake could be felt, "Also, we're going to have a some more friends joining us for lunch, and I think you guys are going to be very surprised by who they will be."
Everyone except Pikachu was confused. They didn't think there would be anyone else joining them.
Ash pushed the cart beside the bowls and began to fill them up. Some pokemon began to drool at the smell of their lunch, but stood their ground. When Ash got to Snorlax's bowl, he only put a handful of pokemon food in the bowl. This confused Snorlax.
"Lax?", asked Snorlax.
"Snorlax, do you remember that Pokeblock that Professor Oak made for you that would fill you right up? Well, he made it into pokemon food. This should be enough for you since it expands and you might only have to eat a few of them. I'll bring some on the journey, so don't you worry about a thing, buddy.", said Ash.
Snorlax smiled. He liked that Pokeblock a lot, but now he wanted to taste it in its food form. When Ash finished filling the rest of the bowls, he heard the screen door opening.
Delia came out with a plateful of steaming sandwiches, a glass of chocolate milk. Ash went into the house and came back out with a bowl of salad. They put the food on the table and then took their seats.
"Ash, is there anything that you would like to tell us all before we eat?", asked Professor Oak.
Ash took the satchet form his belt and emptied the pokeballs onto the table.
"Yes, I do, Professor,", said Ash before turning to his pokemon, "in fact, I'd like to show you some more of our teammates."
The pokemon looked eager to see who were joining them.
"Ash, I don't remember seeing these pokeballs before.", said a confused Professor Oak, "Who are these pokemon that you caught?"
"Actually, I didn't catch them. They decided to join me.", smiled Ash before throwing the pokeballs in the air, "Come on out, everyone!"
The fourteen pokeballs snapped open and a flash of light from each came out. These lights soon solidified into fourteen unexpected pokemon. They were Ho-oh, Lugia, Jirachi, Latias, Azelf, Manaphy, Giratina, Darkrai, Shaymin, Victini, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo and Meloetta. The bigger ones materialised outside the fence while the smaller ones, no bigger than Snorlax, materialised inside the garden.
Immediately, Manaphy, Shaymin, Latias, Keldeo, Jirachi, Victini and Meloetta all sped in Ash's direction. As they collided with their friend, Ash fell off his chair under all the weight. They all hugged him with delight, happy to see him after so long.
"Papa, it's really you. I'm so happy we are together again.", said Manaphy in tears of joy.
"It's so good to see you again, Ash.", said Latias while still hugging Ash.
"Ash! Great to see you in good shape, buddy.", said Keldeo.
"Friend Ash, it has been a while. It is joyous to see you again", squeaked out Jirachi.
"Nice to see you again, Ash. Do you have any macaroons on you?", asked Victini.
Meloetta spoke next. "It is so good to see you after all this time, Ash."
"It's good top have you back to your old self, Ash.", said Shaymin
"It's great to see you all too.", said Ash, "It's great to see you in dreams, but it's even better to see you in reality."
However, Delia, Professor Oak and Ash's pokemon were completely open-mouthed and speechless. They could not believe that in those fourteen pokeballs were fourteen different Legendaries that they helped over the years. No-one saw Ash capture them, so they were all really confused how Ash has them.
"Oh. My. Goodness.", stuttered Professor Oak, " Ash, would you mind explaining why you have fourteen legendary pokemon that you never told us about and how did you catch them?"
"Ok, but I'll introduce the them to you first,", said Ash, "Everyone, this is my mother and Professor Oak."
The legendary pokemon all gave their greetings, but when Latias shook Delia's hand, it felt like lukewarm and lovely.
Ash and Pikachu turned to each other. They were the only ones who knew about the dream and the truth. Ash then turned to Professor Oak and Delia while Pikachu turned to the pokemon.
"Well, as for your explanation, Professor, I didn't really catch them. What really happened was…", began Ash.
"Pika Pikapi Pikachu Chu Pika Pika Chupi", explained Pikachu to the others.
xxxxx
Unbeknownst to them, three figures were watching the whole thing unfold from the top of a cliff through binoculars. It was Team Rocket.
"Guys, are yous seein' what I'm seein'?", said a relatively shocked Meowth.
"I do, Meowth, The twerp has legendary pokemon with him and the other pokemon didn't know about it. And if I'm not mistaken, that must be the same Meloetta that we tried to capture.", said Jessie, "We should try to steal them."
"There's no way that's happening, Jessie. ", said Kaleb, "after all, the only stuff we have is this communication gear and laptop. I suggest we call the boss and tell him."
Jessie sighed. "Alright, but one day, we will have those legendary pokemon. Mark my words, twerp."
xxxxx
When Ash and Pikachu had finished explaining to everyone why the Legendaries are here, they were all very surprised and shocked. These were all the Legendaries that they knew the best or had grown a strong friendship with. Giratina also explained to Professor Oak and Delia about Ash's dream and how they agreed to go with him on his journey. Ash now decided to tell the complete truth about what he had done in his travels. He told Professor Oak and his mother his conflicts with Team Plasma, Zero, Phantom the Pirate and all other villains he had faced in his travels. Professor Oak was speechless, but Delia was crying. Not because she was sad with him because he would've died, but because she was crying because she now knew he son kept on risking his life to do the right thing and help others.
"Ash, do you have any idea how depressed I would've been if you went into one of these conflicts and…never came out again alive?", asked Delia sternly through tears.
"I do, Mom. But I was only doing the right thing to save them like I helped to rescue others.", answered Ash, "but if I believed in myself, I would always make it through."
Delia hugged her son tightly, still in tears, but now smiling. "You remind me so much of your father. He was almost the same as you. He would risk his life to do something important and come back out alive in the end. I'm not asking you to stop doing these good deeds for others, but try to consider what would happen if…you didn't make it."
"Mom, ", answered Ash, "I always think about that, no matter what."
Delia let go of Ash and smiled. "Thank you, sweetie your father would be very proud of you."
Professor Oak, on the other hand, was zooming from one legendary pokemon to another, examining them with keen eyes. This really creeped out Manaphy when the Professor was staring at him, but he didn't burst into tears.
"Ash, I still can't believe you have so many legendary pokemon who want to travel with you. You are a very lucky young man to have such powerful and extremely rare pokemon.", said Professor Oak as he made his way back to the table.
"Thanks, Professor,", replied Ash as he went to the Legendaries, "if you guys are hungry, would you like some food?"
Some of the Legendaries refused the offer, but Manaphy, Meloetta, Keldeo, Shaymin, Latias, Victini and Jirachi's bellies were grumbling for some food. Ash went inside and came out with some plates and put some leftover pokemon food in them. He grabbed a salad sandwich for Keldeo since he liked the food that he had with Ash and company when he first met them. Kyurem got some leftover Snorlax food that instantly filled him after a few. Ash's pokemon introduced themselves to the Legendaries, but some were already familiar with them since they met before.
And then everyone dug into their meals. Ash talked more about his adventures with his family while the pokemon chatted away the Legendaries and each other. Sceptile was even getting along with Darkrai, since he had defeated the one that Tobias owned in the Sinnoh League. Zekrom began telling Pikachu that he would begin teaching him how to unlock the energy he has been granted and how to master Bolt Strike and Fusion Bolt at the duration of the journey.
Professor Oak looked like he had been thinking while he was eating, and he decided to speak up. "Ash, if this Jirachi is the very same Jirachi that you met back in Hoenn, how is it awake now? Normally he would be asleep for a thousand years."
"That's an interesting question, Professor. I'll ask him.", replied Ash as he turned to Jirachi, "Hey, Jirachi?"
"Yes, Ash?", answered Jirachi.
"I forget to ask you. It hasn't been one thousand years yet. How did you get yourself to wake up after only a few years?", said Ash in wonder.
"Well, Ash, my kind do sleep for a thousand years before waking up again, but there is another way that we can force ourselves awake for as long as we need. The planet houses a specific energy called the Ilumina Force that can affect the normal life cycle of a Jirachi.", explained Jirachi, "We simply feed on it and the more we consume, the longer we can stay awake for. This happening is extremely rare for Jirachis and the planet creates more of this energy everyday than a single Jirachi can ever feed on."
Professor Oak had been listening to the whole thing and had been taking notes on a small pad of paper. "Truly fascinating, Jirachi. This is to be a great new topic for a new paper. You don't mind do you, Jirachi?"
"Not at all.", replied Jirachi.
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the middle of the garden. It soon died down to reveal another legendary pokemon, Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo? What are you doing here?", asked Latias.
"I have come here with a message for Ash,", replied Mewtwo before turning to Ash, "Hello, Ash."
"Hey,Mewtwo.", said Ash, "How's everything going for you and the other clone pokemon?"
"Not bad, I must admit. We seemed to have gotten along with normal pokemon in the Hoenn region and there have been no disruptions from Team Rocket whatsoever.", said Mewtwo, "I'm sorry I couldn't join you, but maybe I'll help you in the future."
"That's Ok, Mewtwo.", replied Ash, "Now, what was the message that you wanted to tell me about?"
"Are you familiar with May's Blaziken and Glaceon?", asked Mewtwo.
Ash went a little dark when he heard that name, but he didn't have anything against the two pokemon mentioned. "What about them?"
"They wish to join your team as well as Buneary and Axew.", replied Mewtwo, "I have been watching them for a little while now and they have made their decisions to get away from her because they don't agree with what she and the others said about you yesterday."
"Are they trustworthy?", asked Ash.
"They are. I have spoken to them and I asked them how they can be trusted. Glaceon said that Pikachu was one of her best friends and Blaziken said that Sceptile was one of his most trusty companions throughout Hoenn and Kanto."
Sceptile and Pikachu were surprised by this. Glaceon and Blaziken had to be two of May's most trusted pokemon. They would never leave her. But it was true that the they were great friends and the story did make sense.
"Ok, everyone,", said Ash to his pokemon, "Should we allow them into our team?"
They roared in agreement. Since they seemed convinced with Mewtwo's story, it was only fair to give them a chance.
"Ok, Mewtwo. Everyone here agrees.", Ash said to Mewtwo, "Did you tell them where they should meet us?"
"I did. There is a pokemon contest tomorrow in Viridian City and I told them to meet you in the northern outskirts of the city when the event finishes.", answered Mewtwo, "I'll go inform them. See you another time, Ash."
"See you later.", replied Ash. The same light appeared from before, but this time, Mewtwo was gone when it died down.
"Well, Ash, it looks like your team is going to get even bigger.", said Professor Oak, "Pretty soon, you might even have the biggest team the world has ever seen."
xxxxx
After about half an hour, lunchtime was over. The pokemon had finished their meals and Ash helped Professor Oak to gather up their bowls back into the cupboards. Delia was washing the dishes in the kitchen with Mr. Mime at her side. Manaphy stayed with Ash the whole time since he was his father and because it has been a long time since they saw each other.
"Papa, can I ask you a question?", asked Manaphy.
"Sure, Manaphy. Ask away.", replied Ash as he got the last food bowls in the cupboard. He then went outside to clear the table.
"Do you think, now that May is not my mama anymore, that we will find a new mama someday?", said Manaphy in a shy tone. He didn't want to mention his former mother's name.
That was a question Ash had not yet considered. May was no longer his friend or Manaphy's mother and he was not so sure there was any other girl he could trust. But thinking back to what Celebi said in his dream, there was likely a girl he could still trust and perhaps…love.
"Yes, Manaphy. I'm sure we will find a new Mama on our journey.", replied Ash as Manaphy suddenly hugged him.
"And I hope that Manaphy's new 'Mama' could be my future daughter-in-law.", said a giggling Delia as she stepped outside. It turns out she had been listening to the whole thing.
"Mom! Not in front of the pokemon.", cried Ash. The pokemon and Professor Oak burst out into laughter.
"Hero of Ideals, she does have a point, you know. Someday you might find a significant other for your life.", said Zekrom while still laughing.",said Zekrom while still laughing.
"Yeah, Ash.", agreed Jirachi.
"Well, Ash. Everything is all taken care of now.", said Professor Oak, "The only thing left to do now is…for you to begin your journey."
"You're right, Professor.", said Ash as he put the small box of pokeballs on the grass, "Guys, I can now carry an unlimited amount of pokemon with me thanks to Professor Oak's Micro-Dex, you can all come with me together."
All the pokemon cheered in delight. Ash then began to return them to their respective pokeballs, but he decided to let Manaphy, Buneary, Axew and Meloetta stay out with Pikachu. After that, he went to his backpack and stuffed the pokeballs into it, but there was still some space left for other things.
When the humans and Pokemon came out side of the Ketchum residence, Ash's mother stopped him.
"Honey, I know you are getting all grown up, but I still want to tell you one more thing before you go.", said Delia sternly.
Ash had an idea of what it was, but he decided to let his mom say it. "Sure, Mom, What is it?"
"Please make sure that you change your underwear daily.", said Delia with a giggle.
Ash sweatdropped as the pokemon and Professor gave out a huge laugh. Then he remembered something he was going to ask. "Meloetta, since the Legendaries were all here, how come they didn't attract any attention from the other people?"
"When Darkrai came out earlier, he used Hypnosis to put the entire town to sleep except us. They should be waking up soon.", explained Meloetta.
"Oh, well that explains it.", said Ash.
"Well my boy, it looks like your new journey begins. I've decided to give you some spare pokeballs so that you can catch any pokemon before you get to Viridian City.", said Professor Oak as he handed Ash six fresh pokeballs. He also gave Ash Pidgeot's and Butterfree's old pokeballs, just in case.
"Thanks, Professor. I'll be sure to call you whenever I can. I'll stay safe and so will everybody else.", said Ash to his mentor and mother.
Delia suddenly ran up to her son and hugged him tightly in tears. "Ash, no matter what anyone else tells you, you will always be the best Pokemon Master to me, Professor Oak and all those who still care."
"Thank you, Mom. So, this is good-bye for now, but I'll be sure to visit soon.", said Ash as he was released from the hug.
"We'll be seeing you soon to, Ash, my boy.", said Professor Oak.
"Good-bye, sweetie. I'll see you soon and perhaps your girlfriend.", said Delia.
Ash blushed at this and started to run towards Viridian Forest with his pokemon behind him. He knew he wouldn't let his family and pokemon down, so starting today, no more fooling around. He waved back at his family, who waved back.