Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
After Ash warned Brock what would happen if he just cut the rope and let them fall, he had Pidgeotto help him hold it up and gradually let the rope slide out of his hands so Ash and Misty would be let down gently.
"Thanks, Brock," Ash said cheerily though she was more focused on doting on her pidgeotto who was preening at her attentions.
"Yeah, no problem." Brock replied easily.
"What happened to you and Pidgeotto, Brock? We've been looking all over for you," Misty asked in concern. He went on to explain how they had met a beautiful girl named Melanie that offered the two a place to rest, especially Pidgeotto who was worn out from carrying Brock for so long, at her cabin by a lake. Brock was happy to take us to her after Ash returned Pidgeotto to his pokeball.
"Melanie, this is Ash and Misty," Brock introduced when they came upon the cabin and she noticed them, getting up from where she was kneeling in front of a paras.
"Hi, Hello," Misty and Ash greeted simultaneously.
"So you're Brock's friends. He told me all about you," Melanie said with a kind smile.
"Great!" Misty responded with a cheerful expression that quickly turned into an astonished one. "Wow do all those pokemon belong to you?"
"Oh no," Melanie answered, seeming mildly surprised at the assumption.
"This is a place where pokemon are able to rest and relax," Brock said as he kneeled to pet the same paras that Melanie was looking at before.
"Like a resort?" Ash inquired.
"Yeah, sort of. You see, when pokemon are injured or abandoned, they can come here. Melanie takes care of them until they feel better. Then they leave," Brock explained.
"So this is like a pokemon center and Melanie's like a pokemon doctor," Misty replied.
"Oh no," Melanie shook her head. "I'm not qualified to be a pokemon doctor," she replied with a smile.
"This is more like a pokemon health spa," Brock explained.
"Here the pokemon don't battle with one another. They relax and try to enjoy themselves until they recover," Melanie continued.
"Cool!" Misty praised.
"Melanie collects plants to use for medicine. She knows all about which plants can help a pokemon feel better or grow stronger when it's too weak," Brock finished.
"So you and Melanie both like to take care of pokemon," Ash commented slyly.
"We do," Brock replied, a grin on his face as he watched Melanie play with the insect and plant pokemon.
"Well, it looks to me like there's something else Brock might like," Misty teased, Brock's face turning an impressive tomato red. he shuffled in place hilariously before jumping over to Misty to clamp her mouth shut with his hand.
"Be quiet! She might hear you!" Brock growled as Misty pried his hand off her mouth and laughed.
"Who put that net up in the tree?" Ash asked, already knowing but asking anyways.
"Probably the same person who dug the hole I fell into," Misty said with a frown.
"I'm sorry. I was the one who set those traps. I wanted to catch pokemon trainers before they reached the village. Since you got caught I guess they really worked, didn't they?" Melanie smiled kindly.
"But why?" Misty questioned.
"There are so many injured pokemon here, I have to protect them," Melanie answered, looking over to the eating pokemon.
"So the bridge was a trap as well?" Ash surmised.
"Yes," Melanie replied, making Ash sigh.
"Figures."
"I promised Melanie we wouldn't capture any pokemon here," Brock stated.
"And did you seal the promise with a kiss?" Misty jeered with a stupid grin. She was rewarded with a fist to the top of her head. "Ow!" She glared up at Brock's extremely red face, embarrassed and angry. Misty's grin returned. "So that must mean you really do like her," she continued, rewarded with another bump on the head.
"I don't have a problem keeping that promise," Ash snickered out, trying hard not to laugh at the scene the two made.
"Only bad guys try to capture sick pokemon," Misty replied, rubbing her sore head.
"But those traps seem too mild for robbers determined to come here," Ash commented. Especially Team Rocket, she thought privately. "You do have to be pretty unobservant to fall into pit traps and trip the rope for a net trap," Ash murmured.
"Hey!" Misty yelled in complaint.
Ash watched silently as Brock gently splashed water on a staryu, momentarily looking into the lake to watch a magikarp swim by. "Does that feel better, Staryu?" She asked after the water pokemon shook itself off. Ash brought her attention to Misty when she was apologizing to the oddish from before. She couldn't help but comment on the last thing she said.
"...I hope I'm not becoming heartless," Misty said.
"The way you knocked out Oddish was rather cruel," Ash commented unnecessarily.
"Mind your own business!" Misty barked, making Ash snicker. At least until Bulbasaur suddenly appeared and tackled Misty to the ground. "Hey! It's rude to tackle people!" Misty cried from where she landed. The bulbasaur's only response was to swipe his front paw on the ground like a tauros would right before charging.
"Misty, I think Bulbasaur just thought you were yelling at Oddish. Look how it's taken a defensive position in front of it," Ash said, helping Misty up.
"S-she's right!" Melanie rushed over, standing defensively in front of the glaring pokemon. "Bulbasaur was only trying to protect Oddish. He volunteered to protect our whole village. It protects all the injured pokemon whenever enemies try to attack them," Melanie explained. "Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal pokemon I know."
"So that's why Bulbasaur attacked me. You were right, Ash. It must have thought that I was taking Oddish from the village," Misty said in understanding. Ash looked down in surprise when Bulbasaur started pressing his head against her shins in an obvious action telling her to leave. "Now what?" Misty questioned.
"Bulbasaur doesn't like pokemon trainers. He wants you to leave the village now," Melanie explained sadly.
"But we're not here to capture pokemon!" Misty argued. "We're here to help you!" Bulbasaur never stopped pushing at Ash's leg with his head.
"It's true, Bulbasaur. These are our friends," Melanie defended softly. Ash smiled gently down at the pokemon that never stopped pushing at her
"Bulbasaur wants to protect the injured pokemon so he became the village bodyguard. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a partner," Ash praised.
Ash gave an exasperated sigh when Team Rocket made their grand entrance. "Here we go again," she muttered.
"Today only at Jesse Stadium, it's the Team Rocket Pokemon challenge!" Jesse announced grandly. Suddenly a large hose came out from a compartment that slid open on the side of the large floating metal 'stadium', immediately giving off a powerful suction that had Ash wondering what their obsession with vacuums was. "All pokemon are invited to the stadium!" Jesse welcomed.
"Step right up," James intoned darkly.
"Yeah, we're not hosin' ya! Well, maybe we are!" Meowth followed up, making Ash roll her eyes. She dove for the staryu from before that was losing ground, holding it to her tightly.
"They never run out of ideas, do they?" Ash questioned.
"Hurry, everybody get in the cabin!" Brock cried over the gusting wind, everyone promptly doing as told.
"Wait!" Misty cried as Oddish slipped through her fingers and got swept up in the air. "No, Oddish!" Of course Bulbasaur was quick to rescue the little pokemon, catching it with his vine whip and wrapping his vines around it securely as he brought it closer. "Bulbasaur!" Misty said happily. Ash ran over to hand the pokemon in her hands to Misty.
"Here, take Staryu," Ash called as she immediately ran over to help the two pokemon out as Bulbasaur seemed to be struggling. She ran behind him and helped by acting as a buffer, pushing him forward towards the door. "Don't stop, Bulbasaur," Ash encouraged, having a harder time than she thought pushing the pokemon forward. She sighed in relief when the door closed behind her but there wasn't much time to relax as the hose focused on sucking the roof off the cabin. Bulbasaur quickly put Oddish down and climbed to the roof, slapping the hose away with his vine whip. Ash ran out as soon as he did so and threw a pokeball into the air. "Butterfree, I choose you! Use gust attack!" She called. The opposing forces in the air caused a tornado to form in the center, heading straight for Team Rocket and blowing them and their stupid stadium away. Ash just sighed in relief that the 'terrible trio' were finally gone.
"Is everyone feeling okay?" Melanie asked in concern.
"Well, I just had the wind knocked out of me," Ash joked poorly, though Bulbasaur seemed to chuckle and smiled at the two happily. "This village is well protected with Bulbasaur here," Ash commended.
"Ash, don't you think that Bulbasaur would be an excellent addition to your team?" Melanie suddenly asked.
"Of course! He'd be great!" Ash enthused.
"I think Bulbasaur should go with you," Melanie replied.
"Wait what?" Ash asked. Melanie picked Bulbasaur up.
"Bulbasaur stayed here to protect the weaker pokemon, but this village is too small. The bulb on its back can't grow here. It needs to go out into the world now and I know you'll take good care of him. Please do me this favor. Take Bulbasaur with you on your journey. He'll be a good companion," Melanie promised, offering Bulbasaur to her.
"But what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, who's going to protect you?" Brock questioned in concern.
"It's true that Bulbasaur's done a great job, maybe too great a job. The thing is, these pokemon shouldn't remain in the village forever. After they recover, the pokemon are supposed to leave, but it's too safe here, so none of them want to go. They don't want to return to the outside world. But I think it's important that all of them return to the wild. That's where pokemon belong and hopefully someday, they'll find good trainers like you. Of course taking care of sick pokemon will always be my mission, but I know my job isn't finished until they return to where they came from. So it's the day when a pokemon leaves that is most rewarding to me," Melanie said passionately.
"Melanie, I-" Brock started.
"So, please. It's time for Bulbasaur to leave. Please take him with you. He won't be a burden, I promise. Bulbasaur still has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where I'm sure he can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash," she finished with a warm smile, making Ash smile back just as warmly.
"Well, if it's alright with Bulbasaur, it's alright with me," Ash stated happily.
"Bulba~saur!" He said to Melanie.
"What'd he say?" Ash asked curiously.
"Bulbasaur will join you on one condition. He wants to battle you in a pokemon match, right Bulbasaur?" Melanie asked, Bulbasaur nodding in agreement.
"Alright! Now that's what I'm talking about! I'll be happy to give you a battle, Bulbasaur!" Ash enthused.
"Oh please let me battle Bulbasaur, pretty please?" Misty pleaded. Ash just laughed at her.
"Sorry, Misty, not gonna happen."
Pikachu stared at Bulbasaur from across the field with a confident smirk. "Pikachu go! Use quick attack."
"Pika!" Pikachu growled as it charged. Bulbasaur used vine whip to smack him aside, but Pikachu dodged them as he continued charging and managed to knock Bulbasaur aside.
"Bulbasaur!" Pikachu's opponent shouted as he recovered faster than anticipated and returned his quick attack with a tackle.
"Cha!" Pikachu cried as he was knocked away.
"Pikachu!" Ash called in concern, relieved when he got up quickly. "Hit him with a tail whip!" Pikachu glared in determination and managed to do so, but Bulbasaur caught him with his vine whip and started slamming him into the ground.
"Pika-chu!" He cried out in pain.
"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Pikachu regained his footing and charged his cheeks.
"Pi-ka-chuu~!" Pikachu let out his adorable war cry and electrocuted Bulbasaur onto his back.
"Now's my chance!" Ash stated as she threw an empty pokeball. Ash stayed stock still as the pokeball rocked gently after taking in Bulbasaur, the red light still flashing and only relaxed when it stilled completely, the red light vanishing. "Alright! We got Bulbasaur!" Ash cheered with a happy smile, making a peace sign.
"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu celebrated with her, copying Ash's sign adorably.
"Have a safe trip," Melanie said sincerely to the group, Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and Bulbasaur by her feet as Ash let him out to say goodbye to Melanie.
"I promise to take great care of Bulbasaur," Ash promised just as sincerely. Melanie kneeled down to pat Bulbasaur affectionately on the head.
"Bulbasaur, thank you for watching over us," Melanie thanked with a bittersweet smile.
"Bulba~" the pokemon responded softly.
"Uh, Melanie," Brock stepped forward, his cheeks red, "I've been thinking," he started.
"Yes?" Melanie questioned.
"Well since Bulbasaur's leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out," Brock offered.
"That's very kind of you, but we'll be okay. I wouldn't want to keep you from all your wonderful adventures," Melanie replied with a happy smile. Ash snickered into her palm as Brock tilt his head to the side dejectedly.
"Oh, I guess you're right," he replied.
"Bye Melanie!" Ash waved back to her cheerily as they left.
"Goodbye!" Melanie called after them, her and the pokemon also waving them off with smiles.
"Bulbasaur!" He called back as he watched their shrinking figures.
"Don't worry, Bulbasaur, you'll see your friends again. As soon as they feel better, they'll leave this place too," Ash assured her new bulbasaur.
"Bulba~," he replied, sounding more at ease.
"Take good care of each other!" Melanie called out to them. "Bu-bye!" Brock looked back wistfully before turning forward with a sigh.
"Ah, what did Melanie say when you said you loved her? Did you kiss her goodbye?" Misty teased. Brock growled and put his hand over her mouth again.
"That's enough stupid questions! Will you please stop embarrassing me?" Brock asked. Ash, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur just watched from the sidelines, Ash's hands behind her head. "You know, okay, so she's cute, I understand that, but-" Brock ranted as he shook Misty back and forth, obviously very flustered.
"Aw, poor Brock. Maybe I'll remind him of this place later. It'd be a good place to practice being a pokemon breeder after all," Ash said to herself.
"Bulba?" Bulbasaur inquired curiously, looking at the funny scene in confusion.
Ash sighed as all she spied in the grass was spearow. "Nothing but spearow around here."
"Right now, that's the least of our worries," Misty glowered at her from where she was slumped on the ground, their packs on a tree stump between the three.
"C'mon Misty, lighten up. Just because we're lost, doesn't mean I have to stop looking for pokemon does it?" Ash asked.
"Chu~," Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Of course not, enjoy yourself," Misty said sarcastically before slumping and sighing. "I just can't go one step further," she complained. "We've been looking for Vermillion for ten days!" She suddenly shouted.
"Uh, there's a bug on your-" Brock started, but didn't even finish before Misty screamed.
"Get it away! She yelled as she suddenly jumped onto Ash's back, who grunted at the added weight. She had thought that her being a girl would have stopped Misty from doing things like this to her, but obviously she was wrong.
"Oh, it was just a piece of grass," Brock chuckled, holding up a cattail grass. Misty glared at Brock as he laughed sheepishly and was stopped when Misty gave him a high kick to the face.
"I'm going crazy! Where are we?!" She shouted to the sky as Ash caught the map that flew out of Brock's hand.
"According to this map, we're in the middle of nowhere, but it looks like Route 24 leads right to Vermillion City," Ash pointed, showing the map to Misty who smiled at it happily.
"Does this path take us to route 24?" Misty asked hopefully.
"According to my calculations it does," Ash replied.
"Alright!" Misty called energetically, swiping up her bag and marching forward. "Then let's get this show on the road!" She cheered, only to stop a few feet forward when something large cast a looming shadow. "Huh? Hey, Ash, take a look at this thing," Misty called. Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder as she walked up to take a closer look.
"Misty it's just a charmander on a tall boulder," Ash said, the other two walking up beside her. The charmander yawned cutely from where it lay, making Brock and Misty fall over in disbelief while Ash just laughed. She flipped out her pokedex.
"Charmander: a flame burns on the tip of its tail from birth. It is said that a charmander dies if its flame ever goes out," Dexter stated.
"I was actually planning on getting a charmander when I went to Professor Oak's, but I doubted I'd even get a starter with how late I planned on going. And I still ran into that jerk Gary," Ash grumbled to herself. "Not that I mind, I got Pikachu and I wouldn't trade that for the world. Pikachu flushed and rubbed his cheek against Ash's, pleased at the statement.
"Cha~" he purred cutely as he snuggled against Ash, making her giggle.
"But it looks like I should catch this one. It looks like it's in bad shape," Ash commented, noting how dirty and worn it looked. "I should take it to a Pokemon center. She tossed a pokeball at him, but he only slapped it back with his tail. "It still seems to have a lot of energy, but doesn't the flame on his tail seem too small?" Ash asked.
"There's no way it can still have the strength to battle." Brock stated seriously.
"I'll just try the pokeball one more time," Ash said as she threw it again. This time it was inside for a moment before almost instantaneously being released again.
"It sure has a lot of spunk," Brock commented.
"Too much, I think. He'll only make himself worse," Ash said worriedly.
"I think this charmander has an attitude problem," Misty frowned, a hand on her hip. Pikachu stared at the charmander for a moment before hopping off and climbing up to the charmander, popping his head over the ledge.
"Pikachu~" he called in greeting before casually getting on the ledge and walking up to it. "Pika, pika?"
"Char...mander, char," the charmander replied.
"Pika-cha!" Pikachu exclaimed before hopping down to Ash again.
"What's the story, Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu made a strange motion with his paws.
"A necktie?" Misty questioned.
"No, a man," Ash replied.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, raising a paw to say Ash was correct. Pikachu then made an arch with both his little arms.
"I don't get it," Misty said.
"Hey, Ash, why don't you try to guess what Pikachu is saying," Brock suggested. All three kneeled down in front of Pikachu in unison and watched as Pikachu began to blather on excitedly, making a bunch of motions with his arms. Ash nodded occasionally before standing up.
"I think I get it. I think Pikachu's saying that the charmander is waiting on that ledge for somebody to come and get it," Ash stated.
"You mean it belongs to somebody?" Misty asked.
"I...I'm not sure," Ash murmured hesitantly, not wanting to suggest the poor thing was abandoned in front of it.
"If it's waiting for someone, I think we better leave it. It's probably best if its own trainer takes care of it," Brock suggested. Ash frowned, knowing it was a far cry from the truth.
"I hope his trainer comes back soon," Ash stated sincerely despite knowing it wasn't going to happen.
"Hey you guys, look over there! It's the Pokemon Center!" Misty announced, but Ash was looking at the sky, the gray clouds making her brows furrow in concern.
"It was the one on the map so route 24 can't be too far," Ash stated, trying to distract herself from her thoughts. Ash picked Pikachu up when his cheeks started to give off static as the rain started. "Let's hurry before it starts to pour down hard," Ash suggested as they all ran to the Center.
Ash stared unblinkingly out the window in worry as the rain continued to pour down heavily, her foot tapping incessantly as she knew the charmander was still out there. If Brock noticed her fidgety behavior, he didn't comment.
"Here's some nice, hot soup," Misty said as she came back to the table, serving a bowl to Ash.
"Thanks Misty," Ash replied absently.
"Have some soup, Brock," Misty said as she offered a bowl to him. "What's wrong?" She asked when she saw his scrunched expression.
"I wonder...do you think anyone picked up that charmander yet? What if its trainer left it there?" Brock questioned before turning to Ash. "You're worried too aren't you?" He said in more of a statement than a question, obviously noticing her behavior.
"I'm worried about whether Charmander would actually wait this long or not," Ash murmured in reply.
"I don't think so, the trainer must have gotten him by now," Brock reassured. His reassurance was cut short by raucous laughter coming from the group of boys sitting by the fireplace in the center of the room.
"You sure have a lot of them," one called.
"Sure," the blue haired one with sunglasses said, "just look at 'em, it's a pretty cool collection," he continued with a strange 'groovy' British accent. One snickered.
"Way cool."
"You're the man, Damien," the short one with the white headband said.
"Yo~, I thought you had a charmander too!" The one sitting next to this 'Damien' guy said, making Ash stiffen and frown.
"Yeah~, I had one, but that puny thing was so weak it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents," 'Damien' whined out in that phony accent. By now Brock and Misty were frowning too, Misty taking a seat.
"I don't like his attitude," Misty crossed her arms.
"Charmander may be weak against water pokemon, but if their trainers try hard enough, they can be strong," Brock backed up.
"So what did you do with the charmander?" The same guy as before asked.
"Eh~ I left it on some rock in the woods," Damien answered with a shrug, making Ash's knuckles turn white from how hard she was gripping her hands into fists. "That thing is so stupid! No matter what I do to it, it keeps on following me," did Ash just hear suggested abuse? "I finally got rid of it by promising I'd come back for it." He grinned at his mates. "It fell for it! It's probably still there waiting for me," he laughed, his friends laughing along with him. Ash had borne enough and got up from her seat, slamming her hands against the table as she stomped over to the group.
"I bet it's still out there wagging it's tail," the same guy as before said.
"It'll probably wag it so long it'll put the flame out," the headband wearing one joked.
"Yeah, for sure," Damien agreed, guffawing loudly and setting them all laughing again. Every word made Ash more angry than before and she lifted Damien by his collar, not even bothering to go down the steps to be on level with him, instead lifting him into the air with both her hands and making him yelp in surprise.
"You scum!" Ash shouted angrily. "That charmander is still out there waiting for you! Just for abandoning it alone I could have you charged with pokemon abuse and abandonment, but for leaving it to die out there I could have you arrested for attempted pokeslaughter!" Ash growled out. Damien gulped at the furious girl holding him up in the air, but managed to glare back.
"What I do is none of your business!" Damien retorted, his friends quick to back him up.
"You better not mess with Damien!" One called, but their cocky attitude and bravery withered with one cold and furious glare from Ash. She tossed Damien into his friends, knocking them all down like pins at a bowling alley.
"The rest of you aren't in any position to defend him! I could charge you three with aiding and abetting! You all will be lucky if all that happens is that your pokemon licences get revoked!" She shouted down at them angrily. "Come on out guys!" Ash called, letting out Pidgeotto, Butterfree, and Bulbasaur, Pikachu joining the trio. "Make sure these criminals don't try to escape!" She barked, her pokemon sensing her angry mood and getting angry as well, knowing these humans probably deserved it as they menacingly surrounded the sufficiently frightened and intimidated groups.
"Brock! You go tell Nurse Joy to contact Officer Jenny immediately! Once I bring Charmander back here, his health and our testimonies will be what makes sure these guys never own a pokemon again!" Ash commanded, making Brock snap to attention and salute automatically, admittedly intimidated by this angry Ash.
"Yes, ma'am!" Brock replied.
"Misty, stay and make sure Brock isn't too distracted by Nurse Joy to do his job!" Ash told her companion.
"Oh, I'll do more than make sure," Misty said as she glowered at the sheepish Brock.
"I'll go get that Charmander," Ash stated.
"But it's dangerous to go out in a storm to help a pokemon," Misty said worriedly as Ash prepared to go out, quickly finding a raincoat from somewhere and putting it on. "What if you catch pneumonia?"
"I'll take the risk if it means saving Charmander's life," Ash replied seriously before running out to rescue the poor pokemon. Misty stared at the doorway in awe, Brock doing the same.
"Ash can be really cool sometimes can't she?" Brock said, summarizing what they both thought.
"Sometimes?" Misty questioned making Brock laugh nervously under Misty's glower.
"Uh, hey, where'd Pikachu go?" Brock suddenly asked, getting the attention away from himself.
"Huh, he must have followed Ash. Well, I suppose it's better that way. He'll make sure she's safe." Misty replied and Brock could only nod in agreement.
AN: Ash's party thus far-
Pikachu(male), known moves: thundershock, thunderbolt, tackle, quick attack, double team, growl, tail whip
Pidgeotto(male), known moves: tackle, sand-attack, gust, quick attack, whirlwind, wing attack
Butterfree(male), known moves: string shot, harden, confusion, poison powder, stun spore, sleep powder, gust, psychic, supersonic
Bulbasaur(male), known moves: tackle, growl, vine whip, razor leaf, leech seed, poison powder, sleep powder, sweet scent, take down
Charmander(?, male), known moves: scratch, growl, ember, smoke screen, slash, flamethrower
Pokemon with Professor Oak(Pokemon caught between chapters or off screen)-
Clefairy(female), known moves: pound, growl, sing, double slap, metronome
Weedle(female), known moves: poison sting, string shot
Rattata(male), known moves: tackle, tail whip, quick attack, bite, crunch
Spearow(female), known moves: peck, growl, leer, fury attack, drill peck
Paras(male), known moves: scratch, stun spore, poison powder, leech life, aroma therapy
Poliwag(male), known moves: bubble, hypnosis, water gun, double slap, bubble beam
Magikarp(male), known moves: splash, tackle
The reason the pokemon with Professor Oak aren't mentioned is because they won't be relevant to the story line. I'm not trying to be heartless, but that's pretty much it. One of Ash's goals is to complete the pokedex and the information fills out more if you catch the pokemon so she does. She still cares for her pokemon, but the ones she sends to Oak are more for him since she decided to help the professor research every type of pokemon. You can be sure she inquires as to how they're doing when she calls Professor Oak and sends him reports on the things she's observed from the pokemon with her. This won't be a major part of the series as it will focus on Ash's adventures and gym battles at first, but you should already be seeing signs of a more professor like Ash in this chapter so her knowledge on pokemon should integrate slowly into the story and stay that way. She's not going to forget general pokemon knowledge like canon Ash seems to do whenever going to a new region.(-_-')
I also added Charmander to Ash's party at the end just because he'll be joining Ash in the next chapter anyways. That question mark will be filled with something surprising and if you can guess I'll be amazed...or wonder if I gave it away somehow. Well, you'll find out next chapter so until then, as usual, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are most welcome.