Episode 2: Kanto, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!

"Wah, it's so pretty!" Bonnie said as the taxi arrived. "It's like Vaniville Town but less crowded!"

"Thank you!" Serena said to the taxi driver, paying him the last of her savings from being Kalos Queen. Adjusting her hat, she took her first breaths of Kanto in a long, long, time.

"It's just like a painting, is it?" Clemont said. He had some trouble pulling out his backpack from the trunk. "Pallet Town is such a nice place to grow up in!"

"Chu pika pi!" the Pokémon agreed.

"Well, first things first," Serena said. "Let's—"

"Let's go to Professor Oak's!" Clemont interrupted. "I want to find out what he's researching!"

"Do you think he'll give me a Pokémon?" Bonnie said. "Bonnie is old enough!"

"A few more years, Bonnie," Clemont said.

"Dedenne!"

"You two go on ahead then," Serena said, smiling. "There's something I want to check up on. I'll meet you at the lab!"

"Wait, Serena!" Clemont said, raising a hand, but Serena had already dashed away.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Bonnie said. She had lost her enthusiasm.

Clemont put a comforting hand on Bonnie. "She'll be fine. We just have to let her know that she can rely on us. Ash is gone but we still have to stick together. For Serena's sake. For our sake. For Ash's sake."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Serena knocked on the door. She had memorized a speech on the plane but the words were tumbling out of her ears.

"Hello Mrs. Ketchum," she thought. "I'm an idiot and I let go of Ash. No. I managed to save Pikachu instead of your son! No. No! Okay. Be calm. Some dumb powerful creepy scary dude kidnapped your son and probably took him to some dark creepy cave. Hrrgh!"

The door to the Ketchum residence opened.

"Hi-Mrs.-Ketchum-I'm-really-sorry-and-it's-all-my-fault-but-I-let-Ash-get-kidnapped-and-now-I-won't-be-able-to-go-out-"

"Mime?"

"Pikaaa!"

Serena nearly fell over with Pikachu. "What's that Pokémon?" she wondered out loud, pulling out her Pokédex.

"Mr. Mime. The Barrier Pokémon," the Pokédex chimed. "It is adept at conning people. It is said to be able to create walls out of thin air by miming."

"Conning?" Serena said. "Mr. Mime, don't tell me that you conned Mrs. Ketchum out of the house..?"

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu said frantically, pulling on Serena's skirt.

"Pikachu, are you telling me you've never seen Mr. Mime before?"

"…pika."

"Hello!" a woman said, her red hair tied in a simple ponytail. She was wearing an apron and held a broom. "Sorry I couldn't answer—the restaurant was busy today. How may I help you?"

At her initial glance, Serena thought in her superstition thought the woman in front of her, Delia, was in no way related to her son. She didn't exactly look like him. As Serena looked at the mother, though, she felt her skepticism melt away.

"Hello. I'm Serena. And this is Pikachu. He's your son's Pikachu."

Serena expected Mrs. Ketchum to hit her, or turn mad, or depressed, but Delia just smiled.

"Come in! Ash has told me so much about you! Please, have some tea. Or do you want coffee?" Delia said.

"I can't stay here long," Serena said. "I have to go soon. Professor Oak—"

"Please, stay," Delia said, resting one of her hands on Serena's.

"I'll have coffee. Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum" Serena said.

"Call me Delia," she said. "Pikachu and Mimey, you want some food too, right? Serena, your Pokémon too, right?"

"Pika!"

"Yes, please."

The house was small but comforting. There was a lot of furniture and most of the floor was carpeted. As Serena passed the hallway to the kitchen, she smiled at the photos on the wall. They ranged from Ash's Pokémon to battles at various League conferences. Then Serena stopped.

"You have a photo of Ash back at Professor Oak's Summer Camp?" Serena said. In the photo, all of the kids who attended Oak's Summer Camp had wide, cheery smiles. Her younger self was sitting next to Ash. Then Serena's jaw dropped to the floor. She was clearly doing a hover hand-hold with Ash's.

"You're the girl in the photo, are you?" Delia said.

"Mrs. Ketchum, please, it's all my fault," Serena said. "I could…I could have saved him. If only I was stronger. I couldn't break the ice. It's all my—"

"Please, call me Delia," Delia said. "And here Pikachu and Mimey and Serena's Pokémon! Your food is ready."

The two of them drank their beverages in silence, the Pokémon being the sole source of sound. Serena looked around again.

"It must have been so lonely for her here," she thought. "Pallet Town is beautiful, but it must be quiet. And Ash doesn't call home often, does he?"

"I know that Ash will come back one day," Delia said.

"Huh?" Serena said. Deep in her thoughts, she didn't catch Delia's words.

"He's the type of boy that can't stay in one place," Delia said. "And he has many friends that support him. Including you."

Serena's eyes were getting watery but she tried to hide it by wiping her face on a napkin. "Thank you."

Some more time went by before Serena got up. "I have to go to Professor Oak's now," she said. "He's waiting for me."

Delia waved. "Try harder with Ash, okay?" she said. "He's pretty dense and focuses way too much on battling. You're a nice girl."

Serena felt like the floor suddenly turned into lava. "Ah! Thanks for the meal Mrs. Ketchum!" she said, nearly throwing the dishes into the sink. "Ihopetoseeyouagainsoon!"

"Braixen!" the Pokémon yelped as it tried to chase its trainer out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello, Serena!" Bonnie said. Clemont, Bonnie, and what Serena assumed to be Professor Oak were standing outside of the laboratory. Bonnie and Dedenne was playing with a little green sauropod.

"Is that Ash's Bulbasaur?" Serena said, remembering Shauna's starter Pokémon.

"Ah yes, yes," Professor Oak said. "Ash has a lot of Pokémon that he sends here, including—watch out! His thirty Tauros are coming!"

The group leapt over the fence as the herd of Tauros raced by.

"They like to run, you see," Professor Oak said, his clothes quite disheveled.

"Professor, tell us more about your research!" Clemont said.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked. Perched on Serena's shoulder, it pointed at Bulbasaur and even other Pokémon that grazed the fields.

"Do you want to play with your old friends?" Serena asked.

"Pika!"

"You should play too," Serena told her Pokémon. Braixen nodded and Pancham grinned, but Sylveon stayed near Serena's boots.

"Bunnelby, come on out!" Clemont said. "You too, Chespin, Luxray!"

"Good thinking brother!" Bonnie said as Bunnelby motioned for Sylveon to go play. Sylveon hesitated at first, but a reassuring stroke from Serena persuaded it to follow the rest of the group which now included a Kingler, Totodile, and Snivy.

"What was I talking about again?" Professor Oak said.

"You were mentioning something about Eevees!" Bonnie said.

"You're researching Eevee evolutions?" Serena asked.

"Oh, no those Eevees," Professor Oak corrected. "E.V., short for Effort Value! See, I've found out that training on certain types of Pokémon improve a Pokémon's capability in some shape or form!"

"What do you mean?" Bonnie said.

"For example: Magikarp! If a Pokémon defeats a bunch of Magikarp, its speed goes up by a lot!"

"Is it because Magikarp are fast so you can get better at learning how to hit them?" Clemont said.

"Who knows? That's what I'm trying to find out," Professor Oak said. "And I've learned that there's a limit. Now, there's something a bit different I've also discovered-Individual Values, or I.V.s for short."

"What do those do?" Bonnie said.

"I'm not sure yet. I know each Pokémon has their own Individual Values that affect their battle ability. I'm still trying to find out if these can be found or even changed! I hypothesize that a trainer's love and compassion can change these I.V.s."

"Wow! Cool!" Bonnie said.

"Are all of these Ash's Pokémon?" Serena said. The group was quite large now. There were many Pokémon with different shapes and sizes Serena had never seen before.

"Yes! Ash started his journey when he was quite young, you see. As soon as he turned ten. He was quite excited to become a Pokémon trainer, too. It's funny—did he ever tell you how he overslept the day he was supposed to get his first Pokémon?"

"And that's how he ended up with Pikachu," Serena said.

"Yup! And Bonnie can't wait until I get a Pokémon, too!" Bonnie said."Professor, would you pwease let me have a Pokémon? It's only a few years…"

"Sorry little miss," Professor Oak said. Bonnie seemed to like that. "Rules are rules. But I do have another present for everyone!"

"What is it? What is it? Bonnie wants to know!"

"Here, come on inside to the laboratory."

Quite a distance away from the field, Team Rocket weighed their options.

"Now's the time to capture Pikachu and the rest of the brat's Pokémon!" Jessie said.

"I dunno, there's a lot of them," James said. "What if they overpower us?"

"I've got just the right idea for this," Meowth said. "Let's hurry up and build it—the brats might come back out."

"Wobbbuuffeet!"

Back in the laboratory, the trio were introduced to one of Professor Oak's assistants.

"My name is Tracey Sketchit," the teenager dressed in a white lab coat said. Reaching out and shaking everyone's hands, he continued, "And you're surely Clemont, Professor Oak uses your inventions all the time. You're Bonnie, right? You're the cuter version of your brother! And you're…oh dear Arceus."

Tracey's face turned a light pink.

"I'm Serena," the girl said, smiling. "I'm from Vaniville Town, in the Kalos region."

"Oh, he knows that," Professor Oak said, laughing. "Tracey makes sure to record all of your Poké Videos and Pokémon Performances!"

"CanIaskyouaquickquestion?" Tracey muttered.

"Excuse me?" Serena said.

"Can I draw a picture of you?"

"Eh?" Serena said, her face becoming comically in disbelief.

"It'll be quick. Only five minutes. And you don't have to stand still!"

"Ooookay?"

"Wow, Serena, even people in Kanto know you!" Bonnie said.

"Uh, Professor, can we get back to your present?" Clemont said.

"Sure!" Professor Oak said. He pulled on a blanket. "Under this cloth…are some bicycles!"

"Wooow!" Bonnie said. Three shiny bicycles gleamed in the sunlight. There was even a small pink one for Bonnie.

"Time is of the essence! You will need faster speed if you want to find Ash!"

"Find Ash?" Serena asked. "Professor, how did you know we were here to find him?"

Professor Oak tapped his head. "It's not that hard to figure out. A lot of Ash's friends and even rivals have stopped by my lab or talked to me from Johto recently. So when three of his newest friends come along, I want to help. After all I'm also Ash's friend!"

"I wish I can come," Tracey said. He paused from his drawing. "I used all of my vacation days already, and Professor Oak won't let me off to search for him…"

"Vacation days? On what?" Clemont asked.

"…a trip to Kalos."

"Please don't say anymore," Serena said.

At the end of those words, the ground shook and there was a loud bang which threw the group off of their feet.

"What was that?!" Professor Oak said.

"If you say 'What was that?'" a catlike Pokémon said.

"Prepare for trouble!" said the all-too-familiar female voice.

"And make it double!" said the also recognizable male voice.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To stand by the evils of love and truth!"

"The lovely, charmy, villains!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"The pair from Team Rocket soars through the galaxy!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

"Woooobbuffet!"

"Team Rocket!" Tracey Sketchit said.

"You know Team Rocket too?" Bonnie said.

"That's a different motto!" said Clemont.

"Obviously!" Meowth said.

"A new region, a new motto, and new ways to capture Pikachu!" said James. The villains were in their usual Meowth-shaped hot air balloon. This time it was attached to something metallic.

"Now that the brat boy isn't here, we can win!" Jessie says. She pressed a button. The ground shook under the field, and suddenly a large net ripped through the ground. Everyone looked in horror as all the Pokémon from the thirty Tauros to Dedenne were ensnared by the net.

"…Pika!" Pikachu said, just barely jumping escaping the closing net. Leaping down, it found itself at the protagonist's feet.

"Oh no! We didn't catch Pikachu!" James said.

"Tsk! We'll have to get him later! Look at the haul we got!" Jessie said.

"Luxray, use Thunderbolt! Chespin, use Pin Missile!"

"Nuh uh!" Meowth said. He pressed a red button on a controller, and the net grew tighter. The electricity and bug attacks ricochet inside the net and hit some of the other Pokémon. "If you use any moves, you'll hurt your own Pokémon!"

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu said.

"Ash!" Bonnie said. "What are you waiting for? Our Pokémon are…oh."

"Clemont, you're an electric-type gym leader, right?" Tracey said. "Use an attack!"

"Uh uh…Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Clemont said.

"Oh no you don't!" Jessie said, tossing out a Pokéball. "Go, Gourgiest! Shadow Ball!"

"You too Inkay!" James said. "Blind Pikachu!"

"In…kayy!" the squid squealed, launching some black ink that hit Pikachu's eyes. Soon after, Gourgiest's Shadow Ball connected, sending Pikachu crying out and flying.

"Uh, uh…" Clemont hesitated.

"Tracey! You know what to do right?" Bonnie said.

"I just draw pictures!" Tracey said. "Professor?"

Professor Oak was just frozen in his tracks, in disbelief at the scene.

Time seemed frozen for Serena.

"What do I do?" she asked herself. "I can't battle with Pokémon! I don't have a badge!"

A memory drifted inside her head. "Serena! Remember to never give up until it's over!"

"Ash…" she remembered. The first time he went Rhyhorn racing. He was terrible at it, of course. But…but…

"Pikachu!" Serena said. "Use Quick Attack! Use the net as guidance—I'll be your eyes!"

"Pi-ka!" the electric mouse said. White energy surfaced around it as it started darting up the net.

"Inkay, Psybeam!" James said.

"Dark Pulse!" Jessie commanded.

"Dodge left! And then right!" Serena said. The other four stopped their confusion and looked at Serena.

"Whaat?" Jessie said, holding her hair. "How did Pikachu avoid our attacks? Gourgeist, use Seed Bomb!"

"Psybeam!" James yelled.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail in front of you!" Serena said. Its tailing glowing white, Pikachu spun around and deflected the attacks into the tip of the net, which broke the device and freed the Pokémon.

"Luxray! Chespin! Bunnelby!" Clemont said.

"Dedenne!" Bonnie said, reaching forward to catch her Pokémon.

"Whaat?" Jessie said in some weird one-legged frantic pose. "We lost the Pokémon? To the brat girl!?"

"Pikachu!" Serena said. "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pi ka…chuu!"

The Thunderbolt arced and hit the balloon, ripping open a massive hole. The hot-air balloon begin zipping at a tremendous speed far away from Pallet Town.

"Oh no!" James said. "It was going so well too!"

"A new region, a new season, and…some new failures?" Jessie said.

"The brat boy wasn't even there!" cried Meowth.

"We're blasting off again!" the trio said, disappearing in a white star.

"Wooobbbuffet!"

"Pikachu!" Serena called out as she dove and caught the Mouse Pokémon. Rolling across the ground, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Pika pi~," Pikachu said.

"Here, let me wipe that off for you," Serena said, taking out a handkerchief from her purse and rubbing the ink from Pikachu's face. "Braixen? Pancham? Sylveon? Are you alright?"

"Braix!" "Pan!" and "Syvl!" they all asserted.

"Serena, that was amazing!" Professor Oak said. "I have never seen such a bond between trainer and Pokémon before! Both of you trusted each other!"

"It's no big deal," Serena said. "Anyone could have done it. There. All better Pikachu?"

"No," Clemont said. "I…it felt weird for me to be using Ash's Pokémon. Since he's not here. But Pikachu seems just fine in your company. I know you've been looking after him, but will you be his trainer for now? Until Ash gets back?"

"That's a big responsibility," Serena said, taken back. "And Ash isn't here. I'm not sure if—"

"Knowing Ash, I'm sure he would agree," Professor Oak said.

"I think so too!" Tracey said. "You're one of his dear friends that traveled with him for a long time."

"Bonnie agrees too!" Bonnie said, waving a hand. "And look at Pikachu! I'm sure he agrees!"

"Pika!"

"B-but I don't have his Pokéball," Serena tried to protest.

"You know how Pikachu hates his Pokéball!" Clemont said. "Come on! Why are you so hesitant?"

"A-alright," Serena finally said, to which everyone cheered.

"It's getting late," Professor Oak said. "Here, before you go to the Pokémon Center to sleep, let me grab the bikes. Come on Tracey."

"Hey Serena?" said Bonnie.

"Yes?"

"I'm sure Pikachu wants to be one of the first ones to see Ash again," Bonnie said. "And Bonnie feels like you will be the first one to see him again. No. I know you will be the first one!"

That put a small smile on Serena's face. "Thanks, Bonnie."

"And here's your bikes!" Professor Oak said, returning with the shiny devices. "You won't believe how expensive the bike shop in Cerulean was selling them before! Good thing I got a lot of grant money from my Rotom paper!"

"Before I forget," Tracey said. He opened his notebook. "Serena, take a look. What do you think?"

The result of Tracey's sketch stunned Serena. Her portrait was smiling, yes. But the smile didn't quite reach her eyes and it looked like she was looking at something off in the distance.

"Very accurate, Tracey," Serena said.

"Return to Pokémon Showcases soon, okay?" Tracey said.

Serena just chuckled.

"Hey Serena! These bikes are amazing!" Clemont said, doing a small mini-lap. "Try it out! I'll never be slow again!"

"Okay!" Serena said. She leapt onto the bike perhaps a little too enthusiastically, like it was a Rhyhorn. Jamming her foot down, her front wheel went across Pikachu's tail.

"Pi ka…chuuu!"

"My bikes!" Professor Oak said.

"Nooo!" Clemont said.

Everybody's hair was all poofy as people looked at Serena and Pikachu.

"…sorry," Serena said.

"…pika."