Pokemon: The adventure begins anew
Chapter 2: Familiar faces
Ash walked down the stairs from her room, dressed in clothes almost identical to what she wore when she had first begun her journey, but made for a girl. She was staring at every picture she saw on the wall. Each of them was familiar to her, but instead of seeing her old face, she saw the girl she had become.
"This is so weird." Ash said. "Everything's the way I remember it. Even though I haven't been here in months…" Ash had to wipe some tears from her eyes as memories she would rather forget came flooding into her mind.
"What did you say, Ash?" Ash's mother, Delia, asked.
"Nothing mom, just excited for today." Ash said as she walked into the kitchen. She nearly gasped when she saw how young her mother looked.
"You should eat something before you go. Do you want me to make you something?" Delia asked.
"Um, I'm not sure I have time for anything…" Ash said.
"Nonsense, there's always time for some food. Sit down, it'll only take me a minute to make." Delia said as she forced Ash into a chair. She looked up at the clock, which stated the time as 7:38.
"I suppose." Ash said. In a matter of minutes, she was set up with eggs, toast, and some orange juice. She ate it as quickly as she could, and by the time she had finished, it was 7:46.
"Mom, I should get over to Prof. Oak's place." She said as she stood up.
"Okay, I'll be over there to see you off in a little while." Delia said as she started to wash the dishes.
Ash walked outside and began the walk to Oak's lab. "All of this has brought back so many memories. Good and bad. Everything that happened since Oblivion appeared. All of the people he…" She took a deep breath. "I will stop him this time. He won't do it again."
By the time she had snapped back to reality, she found herself at the lab. She walked up to the door, and was reaching for the knob when the door opened.
"Well, hey there Ash. Figured you would get here a few minutes early." Gary said.
Ash looked at him. "Well, you know. Big adventure awaits. Gotta be on time." She said. Gary stepped out of the doorway and let Ash go in.
"Gramps said you can go in now. I already got my Pokemon, so I'm just hanging around." Gary said.
"Okay, thanks Gary." Ash said as she walked toward Oak's office. She stepped in and Oak turned around.
"Ah, Ash. You're early. Couldn't wait to get your Pokemon, eh?" he said.
"That's right." Ash said.
"Well, the two that are left are Charmander and Bulbasaur. Which would you like?" Oak asked her.
"Actually, I was kind of wondering if you had something else?" Ash asked.
"Why would you be wondering that?" Oak asked, clearly confused.
"Well, I was just thinking that you may have some other Pokemon." She said.
"Well, I do have this one…but it's pretty temperamental." Oak said, pulling out a pokeball with a small lightning bolt on it.
Certainly sounds like Pikachu when I first got it. Ash thought to herself. "Can I see it?" she asked.
"Of course." Oak opened the pokeball, revealing the electric rat.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked around the room. When it's eyes landed on Ash, it jumped onto her shoulder, looking very happy.
"Wow. I've never seen that Pikachu look so happy around anyone." Oak said, astonished.
"I'll take it, Prof." Ash said. She took Pikachu's pokeball and put it in her backpack.
"Don't you want to put it in the pokeball?" Oak asked.
"No. I think it'll be happier out of the ball. Thanks Prof." Ash said, and she started to leave.
"Wait. Ash, I want you to take these." Oak said, and he held out a pokedex and five pokeballs.
"Thanks Prof." Ash put the pokeballs on her belt and opened the pokedex.
"This Pokedex is issued to Ashley Ketchum of Pallet Town." The electronic voice said.
"Take care of that, Ash. And record as much data on Pokemon as you can." Oak said.
"Not a problem, Prof. See you later." She said, and walked out of the office. Gary was waiting in the lounge.
"So, get your Pokemon?" he asked.
"Of course, can't you see it?" She asked, referencing the Pikachu on her shoulder.
"You picked that? Oh well, I guess it suits you. It seems to like you, anyway." Gary said. Ash began to walk away. "Hey Ash."
"Yeah?" Ash asked, stopping.
"Good luck on your journey. And we may even bump into each other once in a while." Gary said.
"Th-thanks Gary, good luck to you too. And I'm sure we will bump into each other." Ash said.
"You better not slack off then. If I run into you out there, I'll expect a battle." Gary said.
"You don't have to worry about me slacking, just worry about yourself."
"Heh, like I'd be the one slacking. See you later." Gary said as he walked down the hall to where Prof. Oak was.
"Yeah, see ya." Ash said as she left the building. "That was weird. He wasn't that friendly to me this early on last time." Ash said to herself. She walked down the stairs of the lab, and found her mother waiting for her with some things.
"Oh, is that your Pokemon?" she said, seeing Ash.
"Yup. This is Pikachu." Ash said, and Pikachu cheerfully chimed in as well.
"Oh, it's so cute. Well, I know you have to get going now, so I took the liberty of packing some of the things you may need or want." Delia placed the things in Ash's backpack. She then gave Ash a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck. And I expect you to call me as much as possible."
"I will mom. Thanks." Ash said, and she began to walk away.
"I packed your diary for you too, just in case you wanted it." Delia said.
"Um…thanks." Ash said. So, I have a diary in this world. Maybe I'll check that out later. Ash looked back at her mother, and her hometown. She then looked down at Pikachu. "We'll make a difference this time. We'll beat him when we meet him next time."
Pikachu looked up at it's master, unsure of what she meant.
"In the meantime, all we can do is train, and be ready for when that day comes." Ash said.
To be continued.