Ash Ketchum: Being More

by Merodach the Original Sin

Delia Ketchum loved to travel. As she went abroad, she always took her child with her. In the years before Ash Ketchum had even set out on his journey, he had already seen a lot of the world, but there were three places that left the greatest mark on the boy that would, in the end, change the child into something… More.

2. Chapter 1: Start of Your Journey

Ash Ketchum: Being More.

Start of Your Journey.

Today was a very special day, Ash mused as he woke up from a long night of fitful sleep.

Today he would set out on his Pokémon journey. His quest to become the best that he could be; to become a Pokémon Master. He had been eagerly awaiting this day for years now.

Ash had been a trainer for close to two years, but he didn't actually feel like a real trainer. Lucario was simply so strong that he couldn't help train him in any meaningful manner. But today he would get his own starter Pokémon. A Pokémon that he could nurture, raise up to be a powerful battler, and forge an ironclad friendship with.

The Aura user jumped up from his bed at the crack of dawn. He was simply too excited to try and go back to sleep. Quickly shutting off the alarm clock before it could go off, he stepped towards his closet. The excited-to-the-point-of-bouncing-up-and-down-on-the-balls-of-his-feet young man quickly took out his clothes and began putting them on. He finished his ensemble with his brand new official Pokémon League Expo hat. He looked at it fondly before he put it on. It fit just right.

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Sir Aaron's gloves laying neatly on his desk. Lucario had given them to him as a gift when he had turned ten years old. He smiled and walked towards the desk. He picked up the gloves and put them on. Just like his hat, they fit perfectly.

Ash took one last look at his room. It would probably be some time before he would see it again. He smiled and quickly walked out the door.

He found Lucario out in the hall waiting for him. He was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. His mentor smirked at him. No words needed to be exchanged between the two; they knew each other too well for that. They quickly made for the kitchen where, to their surprise, Delia was already making breakfast.

"Good morning you two," Delia said. She smiled at Ash and Lucario. "You're right on time, I've just finished making breakfast."

Ash and Lucario wished her a good morning back and took a seat at the kitchen table. They helped themselves to a hardy breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, and tomato juice. Delia joined them and ate her share. The breakfast was held in companionable silence.

"So dear," Delia spoke up as she finished her breakfast, breaking the silence. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "I've already packed my backpack. It's up in my room. I intend to get my Pokémon from Professor Oak first and then come back for it."

"Good," Delia said, pleased. She would be able to say goodbye to her son in due time. It was a very sad thing for her that her son was leaving, but that was just the way it was. Her son was growing up, and he was going to pursue his dreams. She couldn't have been more proud of him.

Ash and Lucario finished their own breakfast shortly after Delia. Seeing that it was still a good two hours before he could go and get his starter Pokémon, Ash and Lucario decided to go and do some training.

"We'll be back soon mom!" Ash assured happily. His mother nodded at him. He nodded back and Lucario stepped close to him. Ash grabbed ahold of Lucario's arm and closed his eyes, concentrating. A blue glow emanated from behind his closed eyelids as he called upon his psychic powers. In a flash of white light and a crack of sound the two disappeared. Delia recognized a Teleport when she saw one.

Ash and Lucario reappeared in a meadow deep inside the forest surrounding Pallet Town. He let go of Lucario's arm and opened his eyes. Ash looked around their training ground fondly.

"Well," Ash spoke up with a big grin. "What'll we be do-" He quickly jumped back, narrowly evading a lightning quick swipe from Lucario.

Lucario's scarlet eyes glinted in amusement. "Combat," he answered simply. Pumping Aura into his muscles Lucario rushed at Ash, becoming nothing more than a blur thanks to the awe-inspiring speed he was moving at.

Ash was ready for him. He sidestepped the first jab, cocked his head to the side to avoid a devastating haymaker and jumped over a Low Kick. He back-flipped away from Lucario to give himself some more room and swiftly put his hands together, forming and Aura Sphere in less than a second. He hurled it at Lucario.

Lucario batted the azure glowing sphere away contemptuously, causing it to hit a tree instead. "You call that an Aura Sphere?" Lucario taunted. Ash ignored it. He had learned quickly that giving into anger during combat was a one way street to defeat. "This is how you really do it!" The Aura Pokémon shot two small Aura Sphere's from each palm, before holding both paws together and creating one double the size of the others and launching it a second behind the first two.

Ash didn't bother trying to dodge. He knew perfectly well that Aura Sphere was an attack that couldn't be dodged no matter what. It could only be blocked. That's why he didn't hesitate to call on his psychic powers. His eyes burned blue as he took control of the two smaller Aura Spheres and slammed them into the larger one, causing them to detonate long before the attack could reach him.

He jerked back when Lucario suddenly appeared in front of him, having used the smoke caused by the destruction of the Aura Sphere's to hide the fact that he had used Extreme Speed, and kneed his student in the stomach. Thanks to the speed Lucario had been moving at Ash doubled over like a lawn chair and was launched away from Lucario.

Ash recovered quickly in spite of the pain. He flipped in midair and planted his feet firmly into the ground, skidding over the forest floor for nearly ten feet before coming to a stop. He didn't have long to recover though as Lucario had already used Extreme Speed again and had disappeared from his eyesight for a second time.

He wasn't going to let Lucario get away with doing the same trick a second time, though. Closing his eyes, he focused his Aura. His perception of time seemed to slow down as the world was replaced by a clear blue representation of it in his mind's eye. Lucario reappeared behind him and threw a punch at him. Ash ducked underneath the fist aimed for the back of his neck with time to spare.

He swiftly spun around and tried to take Lucario's feet out from under him, only to have him jump up to evade. Ash quickly placed his open palm up against Lucario's stomach and charged an Aura Sphere at point-blank range. Lucario's eyes widened as he tried to jump away to give himself enough room to block the attack, but Ash's Aura Sphere simply followed him mere inches from his fur. Ash smirked. 'Got you,' he thought in satisfaction as he detonated the Aura Sphere, catching Lucario in the explosion.

Ash looked expectantly into the smoke. It was rare for him to land a hit on Lucario and he savored it every time that he succeeded in doing so. When the smoke cleared his face fell; a green force field that he recognized as a Protect surrounded Lucario. It dropped a moment later, having done its job of protecting him against Ash's Aura Sphere.

A good attempt. You nearly had me there, Lucario admitted. A wild grin appeared on his face. But you're still not fast enough.

Ash hid his frustration behind a calm mask and charged up another Aura Sphere. He hurled it at his foe. Lucario's grin widened and caught the Aura Sphere in between his paws. Ash's eyes widened when Lucario added his own Aura to the Aura Sphere and tripled it in size before throwing it back at Ash.

Ash gulped as absolutely huge Aura Sphere soared towards him. Knowing that this particular Aura Sphere had too much force behind it to stop psychically he decided to err on the side of caution. He clapped his hands together and focused his Aura, allowing it to course up his arms and into the palms of his hands. Pulling his palms appeared and throwing his arms wide he send out an ever-expanding shockwave of Aura outwards towards the immense Aura Sphere. The sphere and wave of Aura clashed with spectacular results. They detonated into a magnificent fireball that lit up the clearing and threw small embers everywhere.

Suddenly, Ash went on the offensive. Pumping a large amount of Aura into his legs he quickly closed the distance between himself and Lucario, who grinned and shifted into a slightly different combat stance.

Ash grinned back and shifted the Aura in his legs in a very peculiar manner, causing his speed to suddenly triple, to the point of leaving after images of himself behind as he moved at blinding speed. Ash began circling around his enemy at his highest speed, creating several images of himself as he blurred in and out of sight between them, attacking from every angle, every opening he could find. Lucario recognized the danger immediately.

Said Pokémon blocked the attacks with some effort. His eyes were closed as he followed Ash's every single move with his Aura, allowing him to evade Ash's ferocious attack uninjured. Suddenly, his left fist shot out and caught Ash in the shoulder, causing him to recoil and breaking his offensive. Smirking, Lucario attacked. The spikes on the back of his paws glowed silver as they erupted and took the form of triple bladed claws, using Metal Claw.

Ash's eyes widened mere moments before he began a dance of death with Lucario. He was forced to dodge every single lightning fast claw swipe that sang for his body as they passed mere inches from his skin. He weaved in between every single strike as he was steadily pushed back by the assault.

A bit of his hair was cut off as he dodged a little too late.

The Aura trainee snarled. With speed that Lucario hadn't expected, Ash's arms batted away his next two swipes. Thrown off balance, Ash stepped into his guard, reared back, and punched him straight in the jaw in one fluid movement.

Ash smirked, happy to have finally struck Lucario.

So exultant was he that he missed the hardening of Lucario's eyes. Before Ash knew what had happened Lucario had kicked him in the chest. Ash stumbled back, coughing as the blow had robbed him of all his oxygen. Not giving Ash a chance to recover, Lucario took Ash's feet out from under him with a Low Kick. Ash moved to stand up but the touch of steel at his throat halted his motions.

Ash looked up and wasn't surprised to see Lucario standing over him, holding his Metal Claws to his throat. He sighed. "I concede," he said dispassionately.

Nodding, Lucario dismissed his Metal Claws and offered his hand to Ash. He took it gratefully and was pulled upright by his mentor. Dusting himself of Ash looked up to regard Lucario.

"That was the first time you went all out on me, isn't it? Right there at the end," Ash deadpanned.

Got it in one, Lucario nodded. I was surprised you were able to strike me when I was actually taking you semi-seriously, so I decided to up the ante.

"How did I do?" Ash questioned, eager to hear his mentor's response.

All things considered, very well. You blocked and evaded nearly all of my attacks, showed great tactics in the heat of battle, and actually managed to hit me. Many Pokémon wouldn't be able to do the same to me, even when I'm battling only semi-seriously, Lucario said, pride shining through his speech.

Ash grinned, proud of himself and basking in Lucario's praise. Pausing, he looked upwards toward the sun. "Hmm, it's still too early to go and get my starter Pokémon. What do you want to do until it's time?"

Lucario shrugged. I'm going to meditate. You can do whatever you like. Having said that Lucario dropped down to sit in the grass and assumed a cross-legged position. Closing his eyes, Lucario quickly lost himself in his meditation.

Ash sighed. Deciding that Lucario had the right idea he too sat down on the grass. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes and started to meditate. His heart slowed down as he centered himself and became one with nature.

Mere moments before his mind entered a Zen state he had only one thought.

'Life is wonderful.'

---

Two hours later, Ash was walking down Pallet Town's main road towards Oak's lab. Lucario was back inside his Pokéball that hung around his neck on a silver chain. As he walked he smiled and waved to some of the people who wished him good luck on his journey. Pallet was such a small town that everybody knew that he and a few other kids would be starting today.

It barely took him ten minutes to reach the lab. Ash's eyes idly ran over the white building, having seen it many times in the past. He saw three other kids standing in front of the doors leading in. Before he could greet them he was interrupted by a familiar yet irritating voice.

"So, you showed up after all," Gary said arrogantly. "I'm already looking forwards to proving how much better I am than you, Ash."

"We'll just have to see about that," Ash responded, rolling his eyes at Gary's attitude. "Having a famous grandfather doesn't automatically make you a great trainer."

The other two kids looked uncomfortable at the mounting scene. Ash recognized them, they lived in Pallet Town after all. One of them was a rather tall - for his age at least - and handsome boy named Dennis and a pretty young girl named Ani.

"No, it doesn't," Gary surprisingly agreed. "But being talented does, and I am very talented."

"Yeah right. If you're so talented with Pokémon then how come you didn't know not to go trespassing into Beedrill territory?" Ash asked, referring to an incident two months ago when Gary had accidentally wandered too close to a Beedrill hive and got stung all over for his troubles. He was lucky that the Beedrill only wanted to drive him of; they hadn't used poison. To Ash's amusement, Gary had been covered in nasty purple welts for a month after that. Just thinking about it almost made him laugh.

"Shut up!" Gary snapped, his face colored in embarrassment or anger, Ash didn't know which. "At least I don't go strutting around with toys around my neck!" He shouted, pointing at the Pokéball hanging around Ash's neck.

Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Pokéball wasn't a toy. It was, after all, a genuine article and held a very powerful Pokémon, but Gary didn't know that. He could see why Gary would think it was fake or a toy.

As a matter of fact, no one knew of Lucario's existence besides himself, his mother, and professor Oak. Simply because Lucario wanted to avoid attention. The only reason that professor Oak knew of him was because one of his own Pokémon, a dreadfully powerful Alakazam, had picked up on Lucario's presence and had immediately informed the good professor.

On top of that, no one knew that Ash was an Aura user and a psychic. Again, only his mother, himself, Lucario, and Professor Oak knew. He was proud of his abilities, yes, but thanks to Gary's constant boasts during his childhood and Lucario's training, both physical and mental, he had developed a serious aversion for boasting. So he kept his abilities to himself. He wouldn't have any problem showing them to people, he just didn't like parading his abilities around for everyone to see. It was just too much hassle.

Before Ash could snap back at Gary the glass doors of the lab neatly slid open. Ash rushed in first, followed quickly by Gary, Dennis and Ani following close behind. At the end of the cold, sterile room they had entered stood a petite woman in a neat and blemish-free white lab coat.

"Hello," she greeted them warmly. "You must be the new trainers I was told about. Follow me and I'll take you to Professor Oak."

The petite woman quickly led them to the professor's private room. The group didn't talk with each other as they walked, they were too anxious and excited to get their starters for that. After a moment of walking they entered a small room to the right of the main lab.

Ash immediately ignored the rest of the room as his eyes were drawn to the very center of the place. There, on a round white pedestal, laid three Pokéballs holding the starter Pokémon, ready to be picked. He swallowed.

Professor Oak, the foremost expert on Pokémon, stood beside the pedestal. He smiled at them and greeted them by name, easing the tension a bit. He waved them over and the group quickly stepped closer in response.

Ash quickly noticed a small problem.

"Uh, professor?" Oak looked over to him curiously. "There're only three Pokéballs and four trainers, so..."

"Oops," The professor muttered quietly, realizing the problem. He brightened up as he thought of something. "It's no problem. I have a fourth Pokémon here. It's a bit feisty and hasn't been properly tamed yet for the use of a rookie Trainer, but I am sure that each of you would be able to handle it. Now, who's willing to wait for their Pokémon? I don't want the others to have to wait."

There was a pregnant pause amongst the hopeful trainers. No one wanted to wait for their Pokémon. After half a minute of awkward silence Ash sighed. He supposed it was time to take one for the team, so to speak. Besides, he had Lucario to help him. He was the best equipped to deal with a Pokémon that was going to be rebellious.

Ash shook his head and raised his hand. "I'll wait," he said sadly. Professor Oak nodded and looked impressed with him.

Oak turned away from him and addressed the others. "The Pokéball to the left holds Bulbasaur, a Grass-Type. The Pokéball in the middle holds Charmander, a Fire-Type. The Pokéball to the right holds Squirtle, a Water-Type. Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, but a skilled trainer can use any of them very well."

Gary, ever the confident one, was the first one to step forwards and boldly grabbed Squirtle's Pokéball. He released it and smiled down at it, pleased with what he saw.

Dennis stepped up next and chose Charmander. He released it and looked down at his new partner curiously. Charmander looked back up at him, black eyes hopeful and happy. Bending down, Dennis petted it and whispered soft words into Charmander's ear. Apparently it liked what it heard because it practically leaped into the waiting arms of Dennis.

Ani was last and picked Bulbasaur. She released the Grass-Type starter as well. Bulbasaur yawned as it was released and laid down on the ground to sleep. Ani giggled, apparently finding the Grass-Type very cute. She pet and cooed at it as it slept.

"Now that's done please return your Pokémon," Oak said seriously. "I have an important favor to ask of you all."

There was some disappointed grumbling from the new trainers, but they heeded the request and returned their Pokémon. They looked curiously at Professor Oak as he took out four strange red devices from the pockets in his lab coat, two from each one, and handed each youth one of the strange red devices.

"These machines are my newest invention, the Pokédex," Oak announced proudly. "You can scan any Pokémon you run into with this machine and it will provide you with detailed information regarding that Pokémon. For example, the Pokédex will tell you what type it is, what it likes to eat, what species it is, which gender it is, and it will tell you what moves that Pokémon knows."

Four pair of eyes widened as the trainers looked down at their Pokédexs in awe. Professor Oak's voice quickly broke through their reverie.

"These Pokédexs will collect a detailed amount of information on any Pokémon you use it on, adding extra information to my memory banks on that particular Pokémon, but I need someone else to search the world for me. I'm too old to gather them myself you see. So I'm entrusting each of you with a Pokédex to collect the information for me," Oak explained calmly. The four trainers nodded, accepting the responsibility.

Oak looked pleased. "Good. Now that that's done I suggest you leave and get ready for your journey. Ash, stay behind."

The other three trainers nodded and turned to leave. Ash waved goodbye to Dennis and Ani as they left, while Gary briefly spoke with Professor Oak before leaving as well. Ash expectantly turned to the professor.

Oak smiled at him. "Well, Ash. I was hoping that you would be the one to have this Pokémon. I was rather understating it when I said it was feisty, but I reckon that with Lucario aiding you it will be no problem for someone like you," he said as he pushed a button on the side of the pedestal. A slot opened in the middle of it and a Pokéball with a lightning bolt sign carved into it popped up. Oak grabbed it and handed it to Ash.

Ash took it eagerly and stared it for a moment. He smiled and released the Pokémon inside of it. The Pokémon materialized in a flash of white light on the edge of the pedestal.

He recognized it immediately; there was really no mistaking it. The Pokémon had a slightly plump yellow body with long spiky ears with black tips. A lightning bolt-shaped tail twitched behind it and brown stripes lined its back. It had coal-black eyes and red circles on its cheeks, which sparked with electricity. Two stubby arms were crossed in a haughty manner as the Pokémon observed him in turn.

It was a Pikachu, and its first ever words to Ash were: "Oh great, so you're the idiot I'm stuck with."

Ash twitched at the insult. "What did it say?" Oak asked curiously.

"Why are you asking him you old fart? It's not like he can unde-"

"He called me an idiot," Ash grouched, shocking Pikachu. "And you an old fart," he added.

Oak's nostrils flared and he glared down at the Electric-Type. Pikachu shrank back a little at the glare, but refused to cower in front of the suddenly very imposing professor.

Pikachu's eyes were drawn back to Ash. His curiosity was piqued by this strange Human that could understand him. "How can you understand me? You aren't Pokéraised, are you?"

Ash shook his head. "No. Have you ever heard of Aura?" Pikachu's large ears twitched as he nodded. "Well, I can use it and there's a skill that you can learn if you have access to Aura that will automatically translate PokéSpeech if you master it."

Pikachu looked interested at that. "I see..." There was a pause. "So, now what?"

Ash looked quizzically at the Electric-Type. "Umm, I'm going to train you to become super strong. That's what trainers do."

Pikachu doubled over laughing his ass of. "Nice joke!" He spoke in between his guffaws. Now Ash looked offended. Seeing this, the Electric-Type started laughing even harder. "Oh, you were being serious? That's even funnier!"

Ash's face colored slightly. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and counted back to ten. Pikachu stopped laughing after a minute and looked back up at Ash.

"Look, kid. I appreciate the offer, but I've been doing just fine on my own. I don't need your help," the Electric-Type said seriously.

"I can train you," Ash said. He ignored Pikachu's eye roll. "Come on, what do you have to lose by giving me a chance?"

"Time," Pikachu deadpanned. "And lost time cannot be regained like some other things. I have already wasted too much of it here because of this old fart," the Pokémon said, gesturing to Professor Oak. "And now that we're talking about the old fart..." His cheeks sparked as he launched a tiny stream of electricity at the professor. Oak yelped as he got a nasty shock and his hair, what was left of it at least, got frizzled into a mess.

"That was for the wire thing you old fart! They were delicious and you had to go and ruin it!" Pikachu raged. Oak glared at him and tried to get his hair back in order.

Ash made a show of looking Pikachu over. "What I've seen of you so far I doubt you'd be able to beat me, let alone another Pokémon," he taunted, knowing that it was unfair to make that allegation. He was an Aura user and a psychic after all. One that was strong enough to keep up with Lucario, a Pokémon that was approaching Elite Four levels of strength. He knew that he could kick Pikachu's ass, but if taunting him like this got him what he wanted, then he was all for it.

Pikachu twitched. "What did you say, Human?" The Pokémon hissed.

"I think you heard me just fine," Ash returned. He stared down at the fuming Pikachu.

"Why you little..." Pikachu started shouting. Ash interrupted him by raising his hand and finger flicking him. Having used his Aura to magnify his strength, the seemingly light bump launched Pikachu away like a rag doll.

Ash smirked and lowered his hand. "You were saying?"

Pikachu got up from his position on the floor and rubbed his head where Ash had finger flicked him. It felt like he had been hit by a Drill Peck to the forehead. He was pissed! Gathering his power quickly, Pikachu launched a medium-sized Thunderbolt at Ash.

Professor Oak screamed at Ash to dodge, but he was ready for it. His eyes burned blue as he exerted his will upon the world and mentally grabbed the Thunderbolt. The attack wavered and boomeranged back at Pikachu, who gasped in surprise and was struck by his own attack.

The attack didn't do much, it merely singed his fur a little, but it pissed him off even more.

"I thought you were an Aura user, not a psychic!" Pikachu shouted angrily, shaking his slightly singed fur.

"I don't remember saying that I wasn't a psychic either," Ash returned calmly.

Seething, Pikachu took off in a blur of motion as he used Quick Attack, moving so fast that all you could see of him was a yellow blur. The Electric-Type lunged at Ash from the side, his head angled to hit Ash in between the eyes.

Ash snorted and casually snagged Pikachu up in midair mere inches from his face. "You know, a smart Pokémon wouldn't attack head on when they know that their opponent is stronger than they are."

"You aren't stronger than me!" Pikachu shouted. He trashed around helplessly in Ash's iron like grip. Getting an idea the Mouse Pokémon closed his eyes and used Thunderbolt at point-blank range, allowing it to surge all over his body and into Ash.

Not hearing the expected cry of pain Pikachu opened his eyes and looked at Ash in shock. Said person was smiling as Pikachu's Thunderbolt danced across his body without any visible effect. Even his clothes weren't affected.

"Come on! How are you immune electricity!? You're human!" Pikachu raged indignantly.

Ash smiled. "Oh, it's simple really. I'm using my Aura to channel it harmlessly into the ground. Neat isn't it?"

Giving an unadulterated scream of rage Pikachu increased the voltage. It only succeeded in tiring him out faster. Ash held his amused smile as the electricity dancing across his body grew thicker and brighter in color, but still did nothing to him.

Pikachu was panting deeply when he finally let up on the electricity. His fur was soaked in sweat and his body was trembling from overexertion. He sagged in Ash's grip.

The electric mouse was close to despair. He had tried so hard and yet he had not even been able to scratch the Human. A Human! How absurd could you get?

"I give up," Pikachu said morosely. "You win. I'll follow your commands."

"Pikachu, one thing that I don't want is blind obedience," Ash said, surprising the Mouse Pokémon. He sat down on a chair in the room and moved to cradle Pikachu in his arms. Calling on his Aura he placed his right hand over the Pokémon's chest. His hand flared blue, directing his Aura to restore the Electric-Type's energy reserves. The blue glow spread to cover Pikachu's entire body, who gasped as he felt his strength return to him. He stopped trembling and his electrical energy returned in full.

"Why... Why did you help me?" Pikachu questioned in disbelieve after a moment of dumbfounded silence. He got up but didn't move to get away from Ash; something that made the trainer grin.

"Because I didn't like seeing you so weak. Because I don't want to be your enemy," Ash looked Pikachu in the eyes, black meeting brown as he earnestly tried to appeal to Pikachu. "Because I want to be your friend and trainer."

Pikachu remained silent for a while after Ash's declaration. He just started Ash in the eyes, not looking away for even a second, trying to find any hint of a lie. After a moment of silently starring the Pokémon spoke. "You'll make me strong? Be my friend through thick and thin? Do anything to help me?"

Ash nodded resolutely; there was no doubt.

A brilliant smile lit up on Pikachu's face. "Alright then. I'll be your Pokémon, partner."

Smiling brightly at the declaration of partnership Ash drew Pikachu in a one-armed hug. "Thank you," he whispered.

Professor Oak cleared his throat to get their attention. Ash and Pikachu looked over at him, "Now that you've made friends and nearly destroyed my lab while doing so," he gave them a hard look. Ash and Pikachu looked sheepish. "I think it's time for you to set out, Ash. It's a big world out there and you will need all the time you have to explore it. Now, off you go!"

Ash laughed and stood up. Pikachu scampered up his arm and took a seat on Ash's shoulder, settling down on it like he had been doing it for ages. Somehow, it just felt... right; like it was meant to be this way. He gave the good professor a two-fingered salute and a mocking bow before storming out of the lab, laughing all the while.

"Good luck my dear boy," Professor Oak said fondly. He smiled into the distance. "Knowing your luck, you're gonna need it."

---

Ash's mother was watching TV when Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, walked in the front door. She jumped up and squealed in excitement when she saw the small Pokémon on his shoulder.

"Oh, Ash! It's so cute!" She cried before grabbing Pikachu from his shoulder and crushing him in a hug. Ash was momentarily concerned that Pikachu might try and shock her after being grabbed so suddenly, but a second look told him all he needed to know; Pikachu seemed to enjoy the attention.

After a moment of fawning over Pikachu his mom set him down before going to get his backpack from his room. Pikachu walked back to him and jumped back on his shoulder. "Your mother is rather...energetic," he mused. Ash snorted at the gross understatement.

Delia came back a few moments later carrying his backpack, and he took it gratefully. Zipping it open, he looked inside to make sure that he had everything that he would need on his journey.

Food for himself and his Pokémon? Check.

A map? Check.

Rope and potions? Check.

A few more things were in the bottom and side pockets, but he didn't look at those yet. He had all the necessities and anything else he could buy at Viridian City. Now all that was left was to say goodbye to his mom.

Ash turned to her, but before he could say anything she had wrapped him in a crushing hug. He sputtered and wheezed as his ribs were being squeezed painfully tight, and when his mom finally let go he gasped for air.

"Stay safe," she said. Ash thought that he could see tears in her eyes, but she pushed him out of the door before he could check.

---

After having said a quick goodbye to his mother and getting his backpack full of supplies from his room, Ash had quickly left his hometown behind. He quickly found himself on Route 1 heading toward Viridian City. He smiled as he took in the beauty of nature around him.

"This is nice," Ash commented as he surveyed the scenery of Route 1. Pikachu nodded in agreement from Ash's shoulder. He had been in that dusty old lab for far too long for his liking. It was nice to be out in nature again.

Ash took a deep breath and started trudging down the beaten path. Pikachu cocked his head curiously at Ash. "When will we start training?"

That question brought Ash up short. He pondered it shortly and nodded decisively as he came to decision. The rookie trainer walked off the path and into the tall grass. "We'll start training right now. It would be better if I had a better grasp of your abilities anyway."

Pikachu nodded and observed his trainers as he searched for a good place to train, which he found a few moments later. They now found themselves in a small meadow a fair ways away from the path. Lush green grass stretched out as far as the eye could see and a pond of clear blue water added to the scenery.

Ash came to a stop and smiled at the scene. Pikachu jumped from his shoulder and turned to face him, standing at attention. Ash took out his Pokédex. Pikachu cocked his head curiously at it as he hit the scan button.

Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pichu. The Pokédex droned in monotonously. Pikachu's tail is sometimes struck by lightning as it raises it to check its surroundings. This Pikachu is Male and knows the moves Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, and Volt Tackle. Note: The move Volt Tackle is hereditary and is very rare for one of the Pikachu evolutionary line to possess. This Pikachu has the ability Lightningrod, which forces all electrical attacks to target this Pokémon no matter what the circumstances. In addition, all electrical attacks will do no damage and will increase this Pokémon's attack power.

To be frank, Ash was stunned that Pikachu already knew so many powerful moves. He had some incredibly powerful Electric-Type moves behind him, and many of his attacks would bring down other Pokémon easily through a mix of sheer power, and the paralysis effect that would follow them. The extremely handy Lightningrod ability was the icing on the cake.

After all, Electric-Type attacks tended to be exceptionally powerful against most organic Pokémon. Even if they didn't do much real damage they tended to be incredibly painful and could easily stop a Pokémon in its tracks. Most living creatures weren't meant to take thousands of volts of electricity, even if Pokémon were tough enough to handle it.

All he could say was. "Wow."

Pikachu looked pleased at the reaction and gave him a mocking bow. "I aim to please."

Ash shook his head and refocused. "You certainly weren't lying when you said you were doing fine on your own," he commented. Pikachu smiled. "There's one problem, though. Most of your attacks are all electrical based, which makes Ground-Types your bane," he continued. Pikachu's smile turned into an ugly grimace, showing that he knew that as well. "And seeing as the first Gym Leader uses Rock and Ground-Types that could be a real problem."

Pikachu nodded, his grimace slowly setting itself into a determined expression. "So, what do we do about it?"

"We train and teach you some new moves, to round you out and give you a weapon against Ground and Rock-Types," Ash said as he pondered which moves to teach Pikachu. "Iron Tail and Dig are good choices. Since Rock-Types and Ground-Types are generally rather slow I also think we need to work on your speed to give you an edge. Throw in Double Team and I think we can be reasonably sure that they will have a lot of trouble hitting you at all, let alone taking you out. What do you think?"

Pikachu was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected to be included in on the decision-making process. He was the Pokémon and Ash was the trainer after all. It did make him feel oddly pleased, though. "Hmm, what you said sounds good to me. Let's do it!"

Ash nodded and smiled. "We will, but first I want to introduce you to someone." Pikachu blinked, wondering as to who Ash wanted to introduce him to. Ash pulled the Pokéball off the silver chain around his neck and released Lucario, who materialized right next to Ash in a flash of white.

Hello Ash, Lucario said after he was released. He stretched and placed his arms carelessly behind his head. The Aura Pokémon lazily glanced at Pikachu and smiled. And who is our new friend?

"Pikachu, this is Lucario, my mentor and friend. Lucario, this is Pikachu, the starter Pokémon Professor Oak gave me," Ash smiled as he introduced his Pokémon to each other.

"What does he mean by 'my mentor'?" Pikachu muttered to himself, a little put out that he wasn't Ash's first Pokémon.

"Exactly what it sounds like, actually. Lucario was the one that taught me about Aura and trained me in the ways of Pokémon," Ash answered, having easily overheard Pikachu's muttered question.

"Makes sense," Pikachu said with a nod. "There would be no better teacher for learning how to use Aura then an Aura Pokémon."

"Quite," Ash agreed. He smiled as he continued. "Now that the introductions are out of the way let's start training. I think it would be best if we teach you the new moves first and then work on your speed as we travel to Pewter City for our first Gym match."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. Lucario observed the two silently. He was happy that everything seemed to be running smoothly.

"How are you going to teach me these new moves?" Pikachu asked curiously. "If they were easy to learn, then I would know them already."

"Oh, that's easy," Ash replied happily. "For Pokémon, learning new attacks comes instinctively for the most part. Attacks that they learn naturally are easily taught if you know the right training exercises. And as for attacks that they don't learn naturally, it just takes a bit more prodding for them to learn. We'll start off with Double Team since you can learn that naturally. After that we'll work on Iron Tail and Dig while we travel. We can work on your speed at the same time."

A big grin spread across Ash's face.

"Are you ready?"

Pikachu nodded resolutely, grinning right back at Ash. "I was born ready!"

Laughing, Ash promised, "You're gonna regret it."

---

Oh, and how he regretted it!

Pikachu moaned as fell down next to the campfire. He was spent from an entire day of traveling and training. Ash was right, he regretted it already. The training was brutal and the traveling in between was annoying. And it was only day one!

It was not without its rewards, though. He had already managed to learn Double Team and had made some progress on Iron Tail. Never before had he believed that one could make so much progress in one day.

Rolling over, the Mouse Pokémon took deep breaths as he gazed at the night sky. He wondered what he had gotten himself into.

Lucario sat down beside him. He grinned at the exhausted Pokémon. It was tougher then you thought it would be, wasn't it?

"Shut up," Pikachu grouched through his exhaustion. "I'm hurting enough already without you harping on me."

Chuckling in amusement, the Aura Pokémon turned his attention to Ash, who had taken a seat on the other side of the campfire. It went well today.

Ash nodded in a pleased manner. He was happy with the progress they had made. "That it did. Pikachu, you're amazing." Despite his tiredness, Pikachu smiled at the compliment. "At this rate you'll have mastered the new attacks in no time, leaving us plenty of time to work on your speed. I was also thinking that it would be a good idea to work on your control over electricity, but that will come later."

He fell silent after that. Lucario was the one that broke that silence. What's your plan for the Gym? The Aura Pokémon asked curiously. Do you have a strategy in mind?

Ash nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. "Yes, hit and run tactics. Dance around every attack thrown at us with incredible speed and then hit hard when the opportunity presents itself. I also want to catch one other Pokémon before we hit the Pewter Gym. Rumor has it that the Gym leader fights two on two battles, so I need a second Pokémon to use."

You could use me, Lucario suggested, smiling.

Ash snorted. "Lucario, using you would make it too easy. I bet that with you alone I could beat every single Gym leader in Kanto without any problem," he gave a short laugh, imagining the faces on the Gym leaders as he ripped their teams to shreds with only Lucario. "As a trainer, I need to prove that I'm capable enough to enter the Indigo League. If I use you I will never be able to prove that. No, I will only use you at the Indigo League or when the situation demands it."

Lucario nodded in agreement. Beside him Pikachu painfully turned his head towards his trainer. His eyes were wide. "How powerful is Lucario?" He asked with curiosity and trepidation.

"You know of the Elite Four and how strong their Pokémon are?" Ash questioned. Pikachu nodded. "Lucario is around their level of power. Maybe a bit beneath it."

Pikachu gaped at him. Turning towards Lucario Pikachu stuttered. "Y-you're really that strong?"

Lucario nodded. The last time the good old professor tested me he rated me around that level of strength. He looked down at Pikachu. His scarlet eyes where kind and yet serious. I have a lot of experience under my belt and a lot of moves to call on if necessary. And you want to know why? It's because I trained my body to the bone every day. Keep training like you have today and one day you'll be as strong as me, if not stronger.

Pikachu nodded and silently promised himself that he would one day reach that level of strength. One day he would be the strongest Electric-Type in the world; he swore it to himself.

Ash took out his Pokédex. The discussion had reminded him that he hadn't used it on Lucario yet. Said Pokémon looked at him curiously and with a bit of amusement as he raised the machine and pointed it at Lucario. With a push of a button it activated.

Lucario, the Aura Pokémon, and the evolved form of Riolu, the Pokédex stated. By sensing the Aura of its opponents, Lucario can read their thoughts and movements. This Lucario is Male and knows the moves Force Palm, Extreme Speed, Aura Sphere, Close Combat, Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Bone Rush, Metal Claw, Low Kick, Detect, Protect, Swords Dance, Calm Mind and Feint. This Lucario has the ability Inner Focus, which means that this Pokémon will never flinch and will never hesitate to strike.

Ash's jaw was touching the ground. He knew that Lucario had a lot of moves but not that many! The sheer amount of strategies, attack patterns, and combos you could set up with such a diverse move pool were so immense that his head nearly exploded just thinking about all the possibilities. He almost started to drool as he thought about them all.

Lucario snorted at the stupefied look on his students face. From the corner of his eyes he saw that Pikachu had a similar look on his face. I know, I know, I'm incredible. You may grovel at my feet.

While a pretty stupid joke it broke the spell over Ash and Pikachu. They snorted at his remark.

The group fell silent after that. It was silent for nearly half an hour before it was broken by Ash's yawn. "Well, I'm going to sleep. It was a tiring first day."

Lucario nodded, not looking at him as he gazed at the campfire. Ash shrugged and was about to say goodnight to Pikachu. He paused as he heard the snores of the tiny Mouse Pokémon. Pikachu was already asleep. Snorting softly, Ash took out his sleeping bag from his backpack and laid it down on the ground next to the sleeping rodent.

Goodnight Ash, Lucario said. I'll stay up a bit longer.

"Goodnight, Lucario. Don't forget to put out the fire when you go to sleep," Ash said as he was about to crawl into his sleeping bag. Lucario smiled at him and waved him off to his sleeping bag. He yawned as he slipped into it and felt blackness begin to overtake him. The last thing Ash felt was the comforting warmth of the campfire.

---

Ash yawned as he woke up and stretched his stiff muscles. He looked around and noticed that Pikachu was standing next to him. Impressive, he mused. There weren't any signs of exhaustion on Pikachu anymore from yesterday's training. The small rodent could evidently recover quickly from strenuous activities. A handy trait to have as a Pokémon. The small Pokémon wished him good morning and scampered of.

He slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag and cracked his neck. Looking around he spotted Lucario already awake and meditating next to the extinguished campfire from the night before. Said Pokémon cracked an eye open and smiled at him.

Ash wished his mentor a good morning, which was returned, and quickly took out some breakfast from his backpack. He, of course, first made sure that Pikachu had some food, some simple Pokéchow that you could buy everywhere. The Mouse Pokémon ate it ravenously. He didn't give Lucario any, the Aura Pokémon could take care of himself and would likely take it as an insult if he tried to give him food.

He himself sat down on a tree stump with some simple sandwiches his mother had made for him and a bottle of water. It wasn't long before he was finished with his breakfast. Drinking the last bit of water, Ash frowned at his empty water bottle. He would need to restock at Viridian City. He still had plenty of food and water left, but it wouldn't be enough to last him to Pewter City.

The flapping of wings pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up and spotted, to his surprise, a Pidgeotto hovering over their campsite. It was unusual to see a Pidgeotto on Route 1. Generally the Pidgey that evolved around these parts moved on to Viridian Forest where there was more prey to sustain their now more ferocious appetite.

He noticed that this Pidgeotto was a pretty large one as well, and looked more powerful than you would expect from a recently evolved Pokémon. While he wondered what such a powerful specimen of its breed was doing here, the Pidgeotto's eyes spotted him. It chirped curiously down at him and surveyed their campsite.

Suddenly, the Flying-Types sharp eye sight locked on to the pile of Pokéchow Pikachu was still eating from. The Pokémon's eyes gained a hungry glint and dove for the pile, sharp talons clearly outstretched to snag up some food for itself.

"Pikachu, look up!" Ash cried in warning. Pikachu stopped eating and heard the whipping of air. Looking up he spotted Pidgeotto diving towards him. He gasped in surprise and stumbled back from his food. "Quick, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Following the command without hesitation Pikachu released a Thunderbolt straight up towards Pidgeotto.

With it diving straight towards him at a very high-speed it was impossible for Pidgeotto to dodge the attack. It shrieked as the Thunderbolt struck it, setting its nerves on fire with electricity and causing its muscles lock up. It fell straight from the sky. Thankfully, it landed in the soft grass, sparing it from further injury.

"Use Thunder Wave before it can get back up!" Ash followed up. Pidgeotto was already struggling back up on its talons. That was pretty impressive, taking a Thunderbolt and still being able to battle despite its type disadvantage. Many a Flying-Type would have flat-out fainted from such a powerful Electric-Type attack.

Pikachu clenched its tiny fists as blue electricity gathered at his cheek pouches. Allowing it to build up for a moment or two he released the attack. It split off in multiple arcs and converged on Pidgeotto. The attack struck, causing it to shriek as blue electricity danced across its feathers and paralyzed it, locking it in place.

"Wrap this up with Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted. Pikachu dropped to all fours and rapidly bounded towards the paralyzed Pidgeotto. Electricity erupted from his body, shrouding him in a veil of electricity. With great speed, Pikachu slammed into Pidgeotto, who shrieked as its nerves where once again fried by thousands of volts of electricity. It was sent flying by the hit and it crashed into a tree, denting it with a sharp crack of bark.

Ash swiftly unclipped an empty Pokéball from his belt and threw it at Pidgeotto. It struck the unconscious Pidgeotto on the head. The Pokéball popped open as the Pokémon turned into scarlet energy. Pidgeotto was sucked into the Pokéball, which fell to the ground. It immediately clicked shut and didn't even wiggle as the Flying-Type was captured.

Grinning, Ash walked up to it and picked up the Pokéball. He looked at it briefly before shrinking it down and clipping it to its belt. "You did awesome, Pikachu. Keep fighting like that and our first Gym battle will be a cakewalk."

Pikachu grinned at the praise. He basked in it for a moment before he went back to his pile of Pokéchow and started eating again.

You did great too, Ash. Lucario stood up from his cross-legged position and approached his student. You acted quick and decisively in the small amount of time you had. Your tactic of locking Pidgeotto into place and blitzing it worked perfectly, he said and clapped Ash on the shoulder as he praised his student.

Ash smiled and scratched the back of his head at the praise. "Thanks for the compliment," he replied. Meanwhile, Pikachu had finished his Pokéchow and had approached them.

Once again standing at attention, Pikachu looked up to Ash. "I'm ready to train," he announced and pumped one of his tiny fists. "Let's get to it!"

Grinning, Ash clapped his hands. "Good! I want you to have Iron Tail mastered before we reach Viridian City. If we stop training at around noon I think we'll be able to reach the city when the sun goes down." He looked up towards sun and read the time from its position in the sky. "That leaves us about... four hours. Plenty of time."

Bending down he picked up some small rocks from the ground. With no prompting Pikachu turned around and tensed. Ash hurled one rock at Pikachu. Said Pokémon's lightning bolt-shaped tail wacked it away from him. For a split second his tail glowed white as it hardened into steel before reverting back to normal.

Ash's grin widened. Pikachu was closer to mastering Iron Tail then he originally thought. He threw another rock, which Pikachu dutifully knocked away with his tail.

They would have this attack mastered in no time.

Lucario observed them for a moment before walking off to do his own training. He couldn't let his own skills deteriorate, even if he wasn't going to be used a lot in battles any time soon. And besides, he could still increase his own fighting skills.

Later that day they arrived at Viridian City. They made for quite the sight. A ten-year old with a Pikachu on his shoulders followed by a Lucario, which most people didn't know anything about, tended to attract attention. The group got plenty of curious stares as they made for the Viridian City Pokémon Center.

Ash's eyes trailed over the city as they walked. It was just like he remembered it. He had been here with his mother when he was six. The city hadn't changed one bit since then; it still had that old and traditional feel to it.

Lucario and Pikachu looked around with undisguised curiosity; they had never been here before. Pikachu had been in some of the larger Kanto cities, but Lucario had only seen small towns like Pallet and Rota.

It didn't take them long to reach the Pokémon Center. It was easy to find. The large red roof of the building could be seen from quite a ways away. Automatic doors slid aside as they approached.

A Nurse Joy who sat at the counter looked up when they entered and smiled at them. "Hello, how can I help you?" She asked cheerily. A Chansey stood beside her and waved at them, calling its name out happily.

"Hello Nurse Joy," Ash said as he unclipped a Pokéball from his belt. "I captured this Pidgeotto on the way to Viridian City. Would you mind looking it over?"

"No problem," Nurse Joy said as she took the offered Pokéball. Turning around she placed the Pokéball inside one of those healing machines that Ash had once seen on TV. The good-natured nurse activated the machine with the push of a button and read the data it collected from a screen attached to it. All the while, the machine was healing Pidgeotto from any injury it might have had.

"Pidgeotto is just fine," she said, taking the Pokéball back out of the machine. Nurse Joy handing it back to Ash. "It had some minor burns and scraps, but was overall in good condition."

"Thank you," he said as he clipped the Pokéball back onto his belt. "I would also like a room for tonight, please," Ash requested. He found it strange that she wasn't looking at them funny like the people out on the streets had done. Then again, she probably saw a lot of trainers walking around with their Pokémon out and about with them every day. And as a Pokémon nurse she was perfectly aware of just what Lucario was.

The nurse smiled at him. "Of course," she said and took a keycard out from underneath the counter. Handing it to him she instructed. "Your room number is twelve. Just enter the hall to your right and you'll find it. You can come and go as you please. Just hand over the keycard when you leave tomorrow, okay?"

Ash nodded and thanked her. Instead of heading towards his room he headed into the direction of the lounge. Pikachu was still on his shoulder and Lucario dutifully followed him.

They paused as they entered the lounge. A wall of noise assaulted them. Peering inside they saw that the room was packed to the brim with what appeared to be rookie trainers. All of them were either chatting up their fellow trainers or taking care of their Pokémon.

Ash and Lucario had to watch their step as they walked into the room. They didn't want to accidentally step on one of the many Rattata scampering all over the floor, now did they?

A variety of trainers turned to stare at them curiously for a moment, their gaze lingering on Lucario, before returning to whatever they were doing, except for one person. A youngster who stood alone in a corner of the room was sizing him up. Nodding to himself the youngster walked up to Ash. He smiled. "Hey, do you want to battle?"

Ash paused at the question. A grin appeared on his face as he turned his head towards Pikachu. "Well, buddy. Do you want to battle?" Pikachu nodded enthusiastically. A fire appeared in his eyes.

Turning his attention back to the youngster Ash nodded at him, grinning. "All right. Two on two then?"

The youngster grinned back. "That's alright by me. We can have our match out back." He gestured for Ash to follow him, which he did. The youngster led him to the back of the Pokémon Center. They left the building through a backdoor, which led into a small green field behind the Pokémon Center.

Ash looked around the small clearing. Judging from the holes and trenches carved into the soft dirt he speculated that this small field was used frequently for battles. While he was thinking that the youngster had taken a place at one end of the small field.

"Are you ready?" The youngster shouted from across the clearing, already holding a Pokéball in his hands. Ash grinned and nodded.

"Show him what you can do, Rattata!" The youngster shouted again and released the small purple Pokémon. The Rattata snapped its large front teeth in anticipation as it finished materializing. The rodent glared heatedly at them and hissed out a challenge.

Ash looked calmly back at it. "Pikachu, you're up." His starter nodded and jumped from his shoulders. Electricity sparked from his cheek pouches as he landed on all fours, glaring right back at the Rattata.

On some unspoken signal, the battle began.

"Quick Attack," Ash snapped. His choice of attack was simple. It was a common tactic. Strike before your opponent can react, which was easily possible with an increased priority move like Quick Attack.

Dirt was thrown back as bright white light erupted behind Pikachu and he rushed head long at the Rattata. Before it or its trainer could react the Mouse Pokémon slammed into the purple critter, knocking it back.

"Strike back with Hyper Fang!" The youngster countered. Ash's eyes widened, that was a very powerful attack, especially for an un-evolved Rattata. They would normally only learn it when they had already evolved into a Raticate. Its trainer must have taught it the move.

Rattata shook off the blow and focused. Its large front teeth glowed a sharp white. The critter lunged at its opponent, its maw wide open and sharp glowing teeth aimed to take a chunk out of Pikachu.

"Double Team," Ash ordered. Pikachu nodded and closed his eyes. His yellow form wavered for a moment before it split up into multiple illusionary copies. They formed a circle around Rattata. Said Pokémon hesitated in its attack as it was uncertain which Pikachu to attack. That split second of hesitation would cost it.

"Thunderbolt!" he shouted, already smelling victory. All the Pikachu's clenched their fists and growled as they gathered the necessary electricity for the attack.

"Dodge with Dig!" the youngster cried out in panic. Rattata quickly dug into the earth with its front paws. It disappeared into the ground just in time before it would have been struck by the Thunderbolt, sparing it from a painful electrocution.

"Get ready to move, Pikachu!" The Mouse Pokémon nodded and tensed to dodge. In spite of that, he was still surprised when Rattata exploded from the ground underneath him. It smacked into him with a dry thud. Pikachu stumbled back from the blow.

"Grab it and use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Pikachu righted himself and lunged at Rattata. His stubby arms wrapped around the tiny critters neck. Before it could react Pikachu used Thunderbolt. Rattata screeched as it was shocked silly by the point-blank attack.

Pikachu let up on the attack a moment later. Rattata's smoking form fell to the ground in a dead faint. Its trainer recalled it immediately. The youngster had a big frown on his face and reached for his second Pokéball.

A Butterfree appeared in Rattata's place. It chattered and flapped it wings as it was released.

"Quick, use Sleep Powder." The youngster spoke so softly that Ash almost didn't hear the command. Almost. Butterfree made an odd clicking noise before flapping its wings directly towards Pikachu, releasing the blue cloud of Sleep Powder and blowing it towards Pikachu as it did so.

"Thunderbolt," Ash deadpanned. Pikachu casually shot a tiny stream of electricity into the cloud of Sleep Powder. It ignited into a fireball in an instant. Butterfree clicked angrily as it was burned lightly. The fire was too far away from it to do serious damage, but it still hurt.

"Confusion!" The youngster snapped. Butterfree's compound eyed burned blue as it exerted its psychic powers. Before Pikachu or Ash could react the Mouse Pokémon was covered in a veil of psychic energy. Pikachu was yanked up in the air and brutally slammed down into the ground.

Pikachu groaned and shook off the blow. He stood up and glared at the Butterfree. Electricity sparked and crackled all over his body. Butterfree simply looked back at him with an unimpressed expression. Ash got the distinct impression that it was radiating smugness.

"Again!" The youngster repeated his order. Butterfree's compound eyes started burning blue once more.

"Double Team. Then follow with Volt Tackle. End it with Iron Tail," Ash ordered calmly. He was sure that Pikachu could follow his commands to the letter without any trouble.

Pikachu's form once again split up in multiple illusions of himself. All of them were flickering, making it impossible to find the real one. Butterfree tried to find the genuine article with its psychic powers, but it proved too slow. All the Pikachu dropped to all fours and rushed headlong at Butterfree, all covered in a veil of crackling electricity as they bounded towards their opponent.

Butterfree tried to dodge by flying up, but all the flickering Pikachu simple leaped up towards it. Several fake copies passed through Butterfree before the real one slammed into it from behind. Butterfree screeched and fell to the ground, electricity crackled painfully along its body.

Pikachu flipped down from above, the last remnants of the Volt Tackle dispersing around him, and brought a glowing white tail down on Butterfree. It struck the Bug-Type in the back with a sickening crack, right in between its wings. The Butterfree screeched one more time and arched its back at an unnatural angel before falling limp, defeated.

The youngster sighed before recalling Butterfree. He looked sullen and downtrodden for a moment before shaking his head and walking up to Ash. Meanwhile, Ash was congratulating Pikachu on his performance, who had once again taken up residence on his shoulder.

"That was a great battle. I hope to fight you again someday," the youngster said, smiling. He extended his hand for a handshake. Ash took it with a smile and nod of his own. The youngster sighed before sticking a hand into his pocket and retrieving a fat wallet. He took out a few bills and handed them to Ash, who took them with a raised eyebrow.

"What is this for?" Ash asked curiously.

"If you've got more than a thousand Pokédollars you have to give the winner of a battle a share," the youngster explained. "It's a pretty new rule, but it's made to give trainers a reason to get better. No one wants to lose money just because they're bad at battling."

"Oh," Ash said. He frowned for a moment. "What happens if you lose all your money? How would you buy food and stuff?"

"If you have a thousand Pokédollars or less you don't have to pay," he explained. The youngster stomach suddenly rumbled. He blushed and said, "See you later. Dinner's calling," and quickly went back inside the Pokémon Center, looking for a meal.

Ash shrugged and shoved the bills into his own pocket. More money for food and supplies was always a good thing in his book. He had gotten plenty of money from his mother to take care of himself on the road but a little extra was a nice addition.

You both did great, Lucario said, surprising Ash and Pikachu. They had both forgotten that the Aura Pokémon was there the moment they had initiated the battle. After all, the battle required their full attention.

"Thanks Lucario!" Ash said. He was thankful for the praise. "And you did wonderful, Pikachu! I knew you would be an awesome battler."

Pikachu grinned at Ash's own praise and gave him a thumps up.

"Do you need healing?" Ash asked. He looked Pikachu over with critical eyes, trying to find the telltale signs of injuries.

"Nah, I just have some small scrapes and bruises. They will heal naturally in a day or so." Pikachu shook his head at the suggestion of healing and leaned back on Ash's shoulder. "What do you want to do now?"

"I was thinking of getting to know our new teammate," Ash suggested eagerly. His hands twitched for the Pokéball holding Pidgeotto attached to his belt.

"Yeah, let's do that! It will be interesting if nothing else," The Mouse Pokémon agreed with a nod of his head. Lucario quickly agreed as well. Ash unclipped the Pokéball holding the Normal and Flying-Type.

The Aura Guardian-in-training regarded the red and white spherical device for a moment, contemplating what it held and how it was going to help him achieve his dream. Ash smiled and tapped the release button. In a flash of white light Pidgeotto appeared in front of him.

Its talons dug firmly in the soft soil as it finished materializing. Pidgeotto cawed and looked at him with measuring eyes. It puffed out its chest and looked less than impressed with him. "Great, I've been captured by a rookie trainer. This won't end well. I need to escape before something bad happens," Pidgeotto muttered. Its voice had a soft and feminine quality to it.

Ash twitched. Were all the Pokémon that he was going to capture on his journey going to be smartasses? First Pikachu and now Pidgeotto. "Thanks for your kind words," he said drily. Pidgeotto's sharp eyes widened and her beak dropped open in shock. "Yes, I can understand you," Ash continued, slightly amused by the Bird Pokémon's shocked expression.

Pidgeotto gathered her wits and looked at him with new eyes. "Hmm, interesting," the Pokémon mused. Her eyes narrowed and something sparked in the back of her head as she thought of something. "So, you can understand me perfectly?" Ash nodded. Pidgeotto cocked her head inquisitively at him. "Tell me, now that you have captured me, what are your goals?"

Ash blinked, surprised at the line of questioning. He was expecting Pidgeotto to ask him to release her or why he had captured her in the first place, but not this. "Umm, my dream is to become a Pokémon Master and to become the best that I can be," Ash answered earnestly. He looked at Pidgeotto with eyes full of hope. "I was actually hoping that you would help me realize my dreams. I need strong Pokémon like you on my team to make them a reality. Will you help me?"

Pidgeotto did not immediately answer. She just looked him in the eyes. Ash held them, trying to convey his sincerity. Her sharp eyes turned to regard Pikachu curiously. "How does your trainer treat you? Are you well taken care of?"

Pikachu blinked. He had been thrown off guard as well by Pidgeotto's line of questioning. He answered earnestly and without a hint of doubt. "I've been with Ash for only one day so far, but he has treated me with respect and dignity all the while. His training is brutal, but it's rewarding and yields results quickly," was the Pokémon's answer. Ash smiled at him.

Pidgeotto nodded and turned her head towards Lucario. Before she could ask her question the Aura Pokémon answered. My student will treat any and all Pokémon he meets with respect, whether they are a part of his team or not, he said without a hint of doubt. Lucario trusted his student without question. I've trained him and seen him grow up. I know he will treat you like you deserve to be treated.

She regarded him for a moment, before nodding to herself. Her eyes turned back to Ash. To his relieve and rising hope she smiled at him. "Well, trainer. Your Pokémon speak highly of you. And you even apparently trained under one of them for a time. If that isn't a sign of a good relationship between Pokémon and their trainer then I don't know what is. Yes, I think I will help you on your quest to become a Pokémon Master."

Ash's answering smile nearly blinded the Pidgeotto. Sharp eye sight could be such a bother at times, she mused to herself. Pikachu's reaction was a bit more incredulous. "Just like that!? You're gonna go with him and give up on your current life just like that?"

Pidgeotto did the avian version of a shrug. "Sure, why not? After all, there are quite a lot of advantages to being a caught Pokémon. For one, if I'm with a trainer I will no longer have to hunt for my own food. All my necessities will be taken care of for me by my trainer. Besides, I've always wondered what it would be like to travel the world together with a trainer. It'll be interesting, if nothing else."

Pikachu was gaping at Pidgeotto's line of reasoning. After a moment of stunned silence he closed his mouth. Thinking it over some more, her words did make some sense, in a logical point of view anyway.

"Great!" Ash laughed. He took out his Pokédex. Pidgeotto studied it with a curious gaze. She looked up at Ash, a question burned in her eyes. "This is Pokédex. It holds information on all the Pokémon in the world. I can use it to scan any Pokémon and learn some basic facts about them. Like what they eat, their nature, and what kind of attacks they have. I'm just going to scan you for a moment," he answered. Pidgeotto nodded and with a push of a button the Pokédex activated.

Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon, and the evolved form of Pidgey, the Pokédex droned in its customary cold voice. It's armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be more dangerous. Approach with extreme caution. This Pidgeotto is female and knows the moves Tackle, Sand-Attack, Gust, Quick Attack and Wing Attack. This Pidgeotto has the ability Keen Eye, which means that nothing but solid matter can block this Pokémon's gaze. It will see through anything else without issue.

Ash nodded and smiled. Pidgeotto had the moves he had expected her to have. There was nothing really remarkable in her move pool. Not like Pikachu with his Volt Tackle and Lucario with his immense arsenal of moves. It was still a very sweet move pool for a Pokémon held by a rookie trainer like himself, though.

"Not bad. I can work with that," he commented and looked Pidgeotto over, thinking of ways to improve her fighting skills. Pidgeotto looked calmly back at him. She was curious as to what he was going to suggest. "Hmm, I think you would most benefit from a similar training regimen that Pikachu is following. Since the first Gym leader uses Ground and Rock-Types I've tasked him with learning Dig and Iron Tail to even the odds, and Double Team to aid in evading attacks as well as working on his speed."

Pidgeotto nodded at his line of reasoning. "Makes sense," she muttered. The Bird Pokémon looked up at him shrewdly. "Let me guess. Steel Wing for attack, Double Team for defense, and an increased priority move to aid me in attacking?"

"Uhh..." Ash was shocked. Pidgeotto had hit the nail right on the head. Pikachu was once again gaping at her and Lucario was looking at her with new eyes. Their newest teammate was smart. Very, very smart.

"Right," the Aura Guardian in training coughed and gathered his wits about him. "While Quick Attack gets the job done just fine you can learn a far better increased priority move: Aerial Ace. It's much faster than Quick Attack, so much so it's almost impossible to dodge; and it hits hard. It's the perfect move for you to learn."

Pidgeotto nodded in agreement. She cracked her neck and absently clawed at the ground with her sharp talons. "Will we start training right now or will we wait till tomorrow?"

"Depends," Ash answered. "Do you feel up to training?" he asked sharply.

Pidgeotto nodded after a moment of thought. Her new trainer smiled at her, "Good. That will give us more than enough time to for you to learn the new attacks and increase your speed a bit before we hit the Pewter City Gym. Get ready. I'm not holding back."

Pikachu gave Pidgeotto a sympathetic look. "You're so gonna regret this," he softly muttered, just loud enough for the Bird Pokémon to hear it. Seeing the strange glint in Ash's eyes and the wince on Pikachu's face, Pidgeotto was already second guessing her decision.

She had a split second to wonder what she had gotten herself into before Ash commenced her first bout of training.

---

Later that day Ash and his team had retired to their room in the Pokémon Center. Pikachu was laying down on the corner of the biggest bed of the room and Lucario had taken a seat next to him on the bed. As for Pidgeotto and Ash...

Pidgeotto released a sound that could easily be construed as a growl and glared at Ash with her sharp and murderous eyes.

Ash simply snorted softly and stared back with bemusement.

"When you said that you weren't holding back," Pidgeotto spoke with a low growl to her voice. "I had at least expected for you to start off slowly, but nooooooooo. You had to start off with dodging practice, using Pikachu and his Thunderbolts as incentive to try and teach me Double Team." Her talons tightened to such a degree around her perch, which happened to be the back of a desk chair, that it almost snapped off from the pressure. "Give me one good reason not to claw your face off and peck out your eyes."

"Oh, that's simple." Ash smiled, undaunted by Pidgeotto's anger. "One, you agreed to be my Pokémon and as such, I can train you as I see fit." Pidgeotto twitched. "Two, they say that necessity is the mother of invention and progress, and I say its father is duress. I simply took advantage of that fact." Pidgeotto started twitching harder. "And three, it worked didn't it. You have Double Team down pat now." He smiled at the now furiously twitching Bird Pokémon. "I'm proud of you," he offered.

Pidgeotto glared at him for a few moments longer before deflating. She sighed and pouted. "Well, I can't argue with the results," she admitted. Her voice regained her hard edge as she spoke up again. "But we're never doing that again."

Ash shook his head and chuckled. He looked even more amused now. "Yes, we will. I'm not throwing away such a handy training exercise just because you've yet to get used to your new situation in life."

Pidgeotto started twitching again. "No, we will never do that again."

"Yes, we will."

"No, we will not!"

"Yes, we will."

"No, we will not!"

"Yes, we will."

"NO, WE WILL NOT!"

Pikachu and Lucario were watching the scene with barely repressed amusement. Pikachu was shaking and was holding his stomach as he valiantly tried to keep from laughing. Lucario didn't see the need to do so and was laughing heartily at the scene.

Ash raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. It's late and I want to go to bed. We can argue about this some more later." Pidgeotto huffed and nodded her agreement.

He gave Pidgeotto one last smile and was about to head towards his bed until...

"Wait, Ash," Pidgeotto called out to her trainer. Ash paused and turned back to look at her. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you." Her trainer signaled for her to continue. Pidgeotto hesitated a moment before asking her question, "You seem to know a lot about the Pewter City Gym leader," she noted. Pikachu and Lucario were listening in on their conversation with interest. "How is that? Did you study up on the Gym Leaders before setting out on your journey or something?"

Ash blinked at the question. He looked off in the distance as a smile bloomed on his face. He became lost in memories. "No, I actually met the Pewter City Gym Leader some time ago," he said, surprising Pidgeotto. Neither Pikachu or Lucario had known that either and looked at him curiously. "Shortly after my seventh birthday my mother and I visited Pewter City and I met Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader. He had only just gotten the position and he was so nervous at the time..." he trailed off. "Anyway, my mother and I actually stayed with him and his family for a time when the hotel we were staying at unexpectedly closed down because of some structural damage that could bring the whole building down," Ash explained. "He was nice enough to offer us a place to stay at his home." His smile widened. "It was a rather rowdy night. Brock is the eldest of a family of ten children and he takes care of his nine brothers and sisters by himself because both his parents have disappeared."

Lucario blinked. Both his parents disappeared? How did that happen?

Ash frowned as an uncharacteristic dark look appeared on his face. "I'm not sure. His father just up and left when he was young for some reason. I don't really know why, but it had something to do with following his dreams. His mother on the other hand..." He snarled, a noise that surprised everyone in the room. "She had slowly distanced herself from her family over time and then she just suddenly disappeared. No notice, no nothing. She had up and left just like his father."

All the Pokémon in the room frowned. What Ash had just told him was inconceivable to them. To most Pokémon, children were the most important thing in the world until they were full-grown and could take care of themselves. Then, in most cases, the offspring leave their home and start building their own lives away from their parents. A parent leaving their children before they could take care of themselves...

That was disgusting to them.

Ash shook his head to clear himself from his dark thoughts. He sighed. "Despite what's happened to him and his family, Brock is a very kind guy. He's my friend, one that I've held contact with over the years." Ash smiled. "I look forward to battling him." He suddenly yawned and continued on with his track to his bed, "Good night everyone and sleep well. We're gonna need it for tomorrow."

He received three affirmative calls before slipping into his bed. Pikachu remained where he was and curled up to sleep. Pidgeotto placed her head beneath her wing and started roosting. Lucario got up and made for his own bed.

It wasn't long before darkness claimed them all.

---

The next day, Ash found himself on the edge of Viridian Forest. His backpack was heavy with newly bought supplies and his gaze was centered on the thick vegetation of the forest. Pikachu lazily reclined on his shoulder and Lucario stood beside him, looking into the forest with his sharp eyes and senses. Pidgeotto was in her Pokéball.

"So," Pikachu spoke up from Ash's shoulder. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to be traveling 'till about three in the evening," Ash answered as he started trekking down the path leading into the woods, Lucario following him. "Also, we will be challenging every Pokémon trainer we meet. Then, we'll train until it gets dark. We'll repeat this until we reach Pewter City."

Pikachu gulped. That sounded like a very arduous schedule to keep. Their entire day would be about traveling, battling and training. After a moment of hesitation he hardened his resolve and he relaxed on Ash's shoulder. He had sworn to himself that he would one day be the strongest Electric-Type in the world. That would take hard work; work that Ash was willing to put himself and him through in order to reach their respective goals. He will do it without complaint.

The group trekked down the path in relative silence for some time. They encountered numerous trainers along the way. Bug Catchers, who as their name suggested, only caught and used Bug-Type Pokémon. They weren't really much of a challenge to Ash. As proven when both Pikachu and Pidgeotto were able to defeat the entire teams of these Bug Catchers by themselves.

Finally, after traveling for a couple of hours, both Pikachu and Pidgeotto were starting to get tired from the constant battling. Luckily, it was nearing three o'clock. Ash decided to set up camp when they found a suitable clearing. Ash tasked Pidgeotto to gather firewood for a campfire and Pikachu to make a trench for it. Ash himself and Lucario scoured the clearing with the incredible sight their Aura granted them to make sure it was safe.

Once they finished setting up camp Lucario quickly informed Ash that he was going to find his own food in the forest. He left soon after and disappeared into the greenery of the forest.

While Lucario took off to find his own food, Ash made sure to feed Pikachu and Pidgeotto. He also gave them both a potion to treat the various injuries that they had sustained from the constant battles and to energize them a bit for the coming training exercises that he had planned the day before.

All the while, he was completely oblivious to what was happening in the forest.

---

Half an hour later Lucario still hadn't returned.

Ash wasn't worried. His mentor was strong; far too strong for any of the Pokémon in the area to be a threat. Still, he mused, it was better to be safe than sorry. He closed his eyes and placed his palm in front of his chest and mentally intoned, 'The Aura is with me.'

Suddenly, the darkness of his closed eyelids disappeared. Instead, the world around him became clear to him. It was depicted in his mind's eye in the form of a blue outline. His sight extended a mile in every direction. The Aura of everything: the Pokémon, occasional Human, and even from the ground and all the vegetation was now visible to him.

It didn't take him long to find where Lucario was, and what he saw made him gasp. Pikachu and Pidgeotto looked over at him, concerned. They had been training, trying to learn the respective techniques Ash had commanded them to learn. Dig for Pikachu and Steel Wing for Pidgeotto.

Before they could ask what was wrong, Ash's eyes shot open. "We've gotta go, now! Lucario needs our help!" Pikachu immediately jumped up on Ash's shoulder, who immediately took off running in the direction that he had seen Lucario in.

"What's going on?" Pidgeotto asked. She was flying a little above Ash's head and her sharp eyes were peeled ahead, trying to see what had spooked Ash so much. "Is Lucario in trouble?"

"Lucario is fine," Ash answered. He had his eyes closed as he raced through the forest, using his Aura to find the shortest path to Lucario's location. "It's the situation that he has stumbled onto that's all kinds of wrong."

"The situation?" Pikachu asked confusedly. "What possible situation is th-"

"Shh," Ash hissed as he placed his palm in front of Pikachu's mouth. He quietly returned Pidgeotto. The flapping of her wings would give away their position. With silent and slow steps he continued to walk forwards.

He opened his eyes and glanced around a tree. Lucario was there, crouched down behind a thick bush. The Aura Pokémon had his eyes closed. He wordlessly signaled Ash to come over, who complied and crouched down next to Lucario.

I knew you would come, Lucario muttered softly. I would have contacted you earlier but this situation demands my full attention, lest something horrible happens. I had faith that you would show up in time.

Ash nodded and closed his eyes, once again activating his Aura sight. His gaze centered on the clearing beyond the bush where he saw a truly horrible scene. He saw fourteen adult men in black uniforms with big red R's decorating their fronts. They were patrolling the clearing they were in.

The Aura user immediately knew who they were dealing with. He'd seen those uniforms in various news articles and on TV. Only one organization wore uniforms like that – the notorious Team Rocket.

All the Rockets had one or two Pokémon out. The vast majority where Zubat and the occasional Golbat, but he also saw a few Grimer and Koffing. In the middle of the clearing, surrounded by the Rockets and their Pokémon, sat two roughed up but otherwise alright trainers. They had their hands bound behind their backs and their Pokémon lay besides them, unconscious and bleeding from various injuries.

"What's going on?" Pikachu hissed lowly in Ash's ear.

"Team Rocket," Ash spat. His starter's eyes widened. Pikachu knew perfectly well who the infamous crime syndicate was. "They've taken two trainers and their Pokémon hostage. They are holding them in the clearing on the other side of this bush."

I've overheard what they are planning, Lucario said, his eyes still closed. They are going to keep the Pokémon for themselves and try to ransom the trainers in exchange for their freedom. His eyes opened and he growled. They aren't planning on keeping their word. Once they have the money they are either going to kill trainers or try and convert them to follow Team Rocket's goals. There has even been talk of killing one of them already to show the police and families that they mean business. That's why I didn't contact you earlier, if they were going to make good on their threat I had to be completely focused on them to stop the Rockets in time.

Ash nodded; that made sense. He frowned as he thought of what they should do in this situation. In the end he decided to defer to Lucario's expertise. "What do we do?"

There isn't enough time to go and get help, Lucario deduced quickly. His muzzle clenched in anger before it relaxed a moment later. Luckily, I can easily take care of the Rockets and their Pokémon, they believe in quantity over quality, but that still leaves the hostages. If I go in alone they might get in danger in the melee that will surely follow. He turned his serious eyes over to his student. Ash returned it with a hard stare of his own. Ash, while the rest of your Pokémon and I deal with the Rockets I need you to free the hostages and get them to safety. I have a plan and you need to follow it to the letter.

Ash nodded resolutely. There was no time to debate how this was going to go down. The Rockets could kill one of the hostages at any time. They had to move now.

Lucario quickly shared his plan with Ash and Pikachu. The two listened intently and nodded at all the relevant parts; it wasn't the best plan but they had little time to strategize. It was simple and to the point.

Ash released Pidgeotto and quickly instructed her on her task. She nodded and stayed behind with Lucario when Ash, with Pikachu still on his shoulder, crept around the clearing and took up position on the other side of the Rockets.

Through his Aura sight he saw Lucario signal to him that he was about to enact the plan. He signaled back an affirmative and tensed to move. Pikachu growled from his shoulder and was equally tense.

Lucario acted quickly. Almost too fast for Ash to see he charged up an Aura Sphere and hurled it at the presumed leader of the Rockets, a grunt with a Golbat and a Grimer. The man never saw it coming and was struck dead center in the back. Crying out in pain the grunt fell, catching the attention of everyone in the clearing.

All the Rocket grunts screamed for their leader and their Pokémon looked shocked. The lead grunts own Pokémon looked murderous. All eyes turned over to the direction where they had seen the Aura Sphere appear from.

That was Pidgeotto's que. With a few strong flaps of her wings she bolted high up in the air. She lined herself up with harsh sun overhead. The grunts and their Pokémon looked up at her and were immediately blinded by the light. Pidgeotto flapped her wings as hard as she could towards the ground, kicking up an enormous dust cloud that quickly covered the entire clearing. The Rockets and their Pokémon gagged as dirt entered their lungs and were forced to close their eyes.

Lucario bolted over the bush and rushed the nearest grunt and his Pokémon. With great speed, precision, and stealth he struck the grunt and his Pokémon with a few precisely aimed strikes to specific weak points, immediately knocking them out. Having finished the first few enemies Lucario again utilized his great speed and went for the next few enemies. He made great use of their current helpless state and their confusion to knock them out without issue.

While this was going on Ash had rushed in from the other end of the clearing towards the bound trainers, his Aura sight guiding the way. A single grunt and his Pokémon stood in his way. Thanks to the heavy veil of dirt covering the clearing his and his partner's approach were completely missed. The man and his Pokémon never saw him and Pikachu coming.

Ash's starter jumped from his shoulder, cheeks sparking with electricity. With Ash guiding his movements via his Aura, Pikachu's Thunderbolt struck true and electrocuted the grunt's Zubat and Koffing. Zubat was immediately knocked out cold, but the Koffing survived, barely. The moment Pikachu landed on the ground he shot off toward Koffing with Quick Attack. With a thud Pikachu's forehead struck it in the face. Koffing fell down, the last strike simply being too much.

Not allowing himself to be distracted by Pikachu's impressive display of combat prowess, Ash closed in on the grunt, who still wasn't aware that his Pokémon had been taken out.

Ash bent his knees lightly as he came close to the grunt and jumped. Spinning around he delivered a devastating spinning kick to the Rocket grunt's jaw. There was a satisfying crunch as the grunt's head snapped to the side, his jaw set at an awkward angle. The grunt fell down, the blow having knocked him out cold on contact.

The moment he landed Ash rushed toward the hostages, Pikachu hot on his heel. The haze of dirt had lifted enough that they could see the trainers and their Pokémon clearly with their eyes. They both winced when they got close to the hostages and saw the extent of their injuries.

The trainers were way worse off then one would expect from a single glance. One of them, a pretty fifteen year old girl with long blond hair, had a swollen eye and bruises on multiple places on her body. The other one, a stocky young boy with a baseball cap on his head, had a broken arm that was being held at an awkward angle. With his arms being bound behind his back that had to be painful. Their Pokémon where in a similar state.

Ash grabbed the girl by the arm. Her head snapped towards him. There was fear in her eyes, but it disappeared when she saw him. It was replaced by hope. Ash put a finger in front of his mouth and signaled her to remain silent. The boy had noticed them as well. They both nodded at him, silently placing all their hope for escape in his hands.

Pikachu quickly jumped towards the boy and undid the ropes holding his arms behind his back. It took some effort, considering his small size, but he got it done. Ash undid the girl's bindings.

Both rookie trainers got up as fast as their injuries allowed them to. To Ash's relief they still had their Pokéballs, which they used to recall their badly beaten Pokémon. It would have been troublesome to have to carry those Pokémon with him.

"We have to go," he hissed at them. They nodded wordlessly and followed him with difficulty; the girl stumbled with every step and the boy cradled his arm as they followed him. Ash quickly led the two injured trainers out of the clearing and tucked them behind a couple of bushes far away from the melee that was still going on between Lucario and the Rockets.

Ash was the only one that could look into the haze, thanks to his Aura sight. He alone knew what was happening. While Pikachu was aware of Lucario's strength the two injured trainers were not. They were scared.

It wasn't going to last much longer.

Ash smiled.

Finally, after another nerve-wracking minute the dust cloud had finally lifted. Both rookie trainers peered into the clearing with worried eyes, and saw what Ash knew would happen from the very beginning. Lucario stood in the middle of the clearing, totally unharmed. While the Rockets and their Pokémon all laid unconscious on the ground around him.

Ash left his cover and approached Lucario. "Well," he started. "That went better than expected."

Lucario nodded and smirked. Quite. The plan worked better than I thought it would. We all did our parts perfectly.

Both injured rookie trainers emerged from behind the bushes and gave Lucario a flabbergasted look. Lucario twitched; that look was starting to annoy him, big time. "How can that Pokémon talk?!" The cap wearing boy wondered incredulously. The blond-haired girl looked very curious about the answer.

"I think it will be better if we get you help first before we answer any questions," Ash cut in, mercifully saving his mentor. Lucario gave him a thankful nod. Ash looked over the various injuries on the trainers. "Do either of you have a phone or something? Traveling with those injuries won't be pretty."

The boy winced at the thought, but the girl smiled and took out a small yellow machine from her pocket. "That won't be needed. I have a PokéNav. We're damned lucky that the Team Rocket members didn't know that I had one... And that my mother placed the national police number in here," she said as she dialed in the number.

Ash nodded and he turned to survey the clearing. It would be better if they rounded up the grunts and their Pokémon, he mused. To make sure that they didn't get away. Before he could start working on it Pidgeotto descended from the sky and landed on Ash's shoulder.

He smiled and ran his finger underneath Pidgeotto's beak. She chirped in contentment. "Good job," he complimented her. His eyes turned over to Pikachu and his smile widened, "You did great as well, Pikachu." His starter gave him a thumps up. Finally, his eyes landed on Lucario. He snorted. "I don't think any words I'd say would quite describe how well you did."

Lucario snorted back at him and set to work to gather up the Rockets, having the same idea as Ash. He returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs and placed them in a big pile in the center of the clearing.

Ash sighed. This was not what he had expected to happen in his foray into the Viridian Forest.

He smiled. Good; his life, and his journey, would always be interesting.

---

Half an hour later, the police had arrived on the scene. Police officers were snooping all over the clearing, surveying the scene and gathering evidence to be used in court. A medical tent had been erected in the center of the clearing where the injured trainers and their Pokémon were being treated. The Team Rocket members were still out cold and had been handcuffed. They were about to be placed in the back of a big, armored police van capable of holding them all. Their Pokémon had been confiscated.

Lucario was currently watching the scene with interest. The method of dealing with criminals was quite different than what he had grown used to in his own time. Pidgeotto had been returned to her Pokéball and Pikachu had once again taken up residence on Ash's shoulder.

Earlier, Ash had been with the hostages, getting checked over for injuries in spite of the fact that he had told the officers that the Rockets had never even seen him, let alone touched him. Still, the officers had insisted to have him checked over.

He had been 'treated' in the tent earlier. The boy had thanked him profusely and the girl...

Ash blushed.

At the moment Ash was being questioned. He faced an Officer Jenny, who had immediately segregated him from the rest the moment his role in this whole mess became clear.

"...So while you were saving the hostages your Pokémon, the Lucario, had been tasked with taking out the Team Rocket members and their Pokémon, correct?" Officer Jenny questioned him sternly, but not unkindly. She was holding a clipboard where she wrote down all his answers.

"In a nutshell, yes," Ash nodded.

The officer nodded back and wrote down his response. She looked at him and spoke sternly as she addressed him. "Normally I would reprimand you for acting so irresponsibly. Taking on an entire Team Rocket task force by yourself..." She shook her head. Ash's expression turned strained but he held his tongue. "But considering that you saved the hostages and defeated the Rockets without your Pokémon even taking a lick of damage I can ignore it, this time." Jenny gave him a hard look. "Next time, though, call the police and get help. Ten year olds, no matter how strong, have no business dealing with Team Rocket."

"If we hadn't acted immediately Team Rocket would have-" Ash started to protest, but Officer Jenny cut him off.

"I know why you did it, and I respect you for it," she said, her gaze softening slightly. "But you shouldn't place yourself in such danger regardless. That's my job," The officer sighed at his stubborn look. "Please, buy a phone or a PokéNav so that you can call the police for the next time you run into any unfortunate situation. If not for yourself, then for my and your family's peace of mind."

Ash reluctantly nodded in agreement. He supposed that it wasn't a bad idea to get a Phone or a PokéNav. It would at least allow him to remain in contact with his mother and Professor Oak back in Pallet Town all the time. He didn't think that he would ever need to use it to call the police for help, though. It wasn't like he was going to run into anymore situations like this any time soon.

A shiver went down his spine at the thought, and he wondered if Murphy had just gotten on his case.

"Now, do you want a ride to Pewter City?" Jenny asked him kindly. "I can easily arrange for transport if you want to."

"No thank you," Ash shook his head. He would rather travel by foot. As a rookie trainer he needed the experience. He perked up as a question came to him. "How are the hostages? They didn't look so good the last I saw them. Their Pokémon weren't in the best of shape either."

"Yeah, thanks to those damnable Rockets," the officer snarled. She quickly reigned in her temper and spoke more evenly. "The boy, Thane, had his arm broken in three places and has a few fractured ribs. The girl, Alexis, on the other hand, has a black eye, a sprained ankle, and bruises lining her entire body. As for their Pokémon..." She held back another snarl, but only just. "They were so bad of that they almost died from their injuries. Luckily, we managed to get to them in time before it got that far."

Ash frowned heavily and quickly squashed the urge to go and beat up the Rockets. He had no intention to spend the night in jail that would undoubtedly result from such an action. Instead, he gritted his teeth and focused on the officer of the law in front of him.

Officer Jenny smiled at him and lowered her clipboard. "Oh, and before you go I need to see your identification. We need to be sure of who you are if we need you to appear in court at a later date."

Ash nodded and took out his Pokédex. Officer Jenny's eyes widened at it. She obviously knew about it and was surprised to see it. Ash wasn't surprised that she had knowledge of the device; the Pokédex was a rather new invention that doubled as identification, it was her job to know about these things. He handed it to her and watched her as she flipped it open and activated it.

I'm Dexter, a Pokédex designed by Professor Oak for Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, the Pokédex said. My function is to provide Ash with information regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced.

Officer Jenny nodded, satisfied. She handed the Pokédex back to Ash and took her leave after wishing him good luck and saying goodbye. Ash watched her go and took one last look at the clearing. He turned to leave...

"Wait!" a shout halted him. Ash turned back and spotted something surprising: Alexis and Thane. They were sluggishly moving toward him. Both had their injuries bandaged. Thane had his arm in a sling and Alexis had half of her face covered in bandages. Ash felt a new surge of anger and a desire to go and beat the ever-loving shit out of the Rockets, but he repressed it. He smiled at them.

"Yes?" Ash asked as they got close. He knew without looking that Lucario was watching the scene with interest from behind him. As was Pikachu from his shoulder. Both Thane and Alexis hesitated for a brief moment before suddenly acting.

"I- No, we- don't know how to tell you this b-but-" Alexis began, but cut herself off. She swallowed thickly and pulled Ash into a hug. "Thank you." Ash was so surprised that he almost didn't react when she kissed him on the cheek. Almost. His face went beet red. Again. He should have become used to this by now, with how much this was happening to him lately.

Thane chuckled at his expression. When Alexis stepped back from him he walked forwards and placed his good hand on Ash's shoulder. "Thank you, kid. If we ever meet again I swear I'll pay you back," He patted him on the shoulder and gave him one last smile before backing of.

"Good, good. Now that you're finished 'thanking' this young man you can both return to the tent," a clearly annoyed voice spoke up from behind the teens. They lightly jumped in surprise, causing them to wince from their aggravated injuries. Ash raised an eyebrow at the irate looking doctor that had suddenly appeared behind his two new tentative friends.

"See?" The lightly balding doctor exclaimed as he took in their pained expressions. "That's what you get when you walk of in the middle of treatment."

He glared at them for a few moments, making them shuffle uncomfortably, before his eyes softened slightly. The doctor ushered to two trainers back to the tent, but not before they said their goodbyes.

"Bye, and stay out of trouble!" Ash shouted as they were herded away. Sweatdropping, he wondered if he was being a hypocrite by saying something like that. After a moment of deliberation he shrugged and left the scene, Lucario following close behind him.

Today he would rest, and tomorrow he would continue on to Pewter City.

He smiled.

Brock was waiting for him.

---

Two weeks of traveling later, Ash and co. arrived on the outskirts of Pewter City.

The last two weeks of traveling through the massive Viridian Forest were thankfully less exciting than what had happened on the first day. Ash had noted that the further they traveled into the massive forest the amount of Pokémon trainers decreased. Instead, there were a lot more roofing groups of wild Pokémon.

None of them had been a real issue. His partners were strong enough to take out nearly any Pokémon in the forest without trouble. Not even the bands of Pikachu that were widely regarded as the most dangerous critters in the forest came even close to being a problem. His own Pikachu, who had the now extremely appreciated ability Lightningrod, made nearly all their attacks useless.

Ash's eyes skirted over the buildings as they made their way through the city. The place was known as the city of rock, and it showed. All the buildings were made out of simple bricks that where lightly decorated to please the eyes. The road wasn't basalt, it was an old style brick-lined road. Even the various signs lining the road were made out of brick.

After seeking out the Pokémon Center and reserving a room for the day, Ash hunkered down with his Pokémon to make a few final decisions on their earlier discussed strategy on who would fight first. Having done that, Ash quickly headed towards the Pewter City Gym, whose location he had gotten from the ever helpful Nurse Joy.

The Gym was much less imposing than he had imagined. It had thick slabs of stone at the front, supported by massive wooden beams. The stone only covered the front, though. On the back and the sides it was just an ordinary looking building.

Lucario looked up at the Gym building. He wasn't impressed. It looks like a badly hewn out rock. How utterly unimaginative.

"So," Ash started. "This is the Pewter City Gym? I was expecting something more...grand."

"It is a Rock-Type Gym," Pikachu pointed out. "What had you expected it to look like. A flower?"

Ash shrugged at the question and walked up to the thick wooden doors of the Gym. Lucario, as always, followed close behind. The door was quite heavy, but Ash was easily able to push it open with his impressive strength. The room was dark and they could feel hard stone underneath their feet as they slowly walked in. They saw that there was a thin path of flattened stone that led to a small lit area.

A teenager with dark skin and a green vest sat on a small pedestal. Ash recognized Brock immediately. The teenager stayed still as he saw them enter, until his eyes focused on Ash. His eyes widened for a split second, just long enough that you were actually able to see his eyes for a moment, before the eyelids closed again as usual.

The broad smile that appeared on Brock's face lit up the dark room. He jumped down from his pedestal. "Ash, it's great to see you again," Brock exclaimed as he approached the group.

"It's great to see you too, Brock," Ash said as he clasped hands with the Gym leader, smiling. Brock was one of the people that he had held contact with over the years. He was one of Ash's closest friends.

Brock's eyes landed on Lucario and his eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch. He shrugged and focused back on Ash. "I see that you have some interesting Pokémon." A grin appeared on his face. "Let's stop dawdling. You came here for a battle and as the Pewter City Gym leader I accept your challenge," he said formally. Ash smirked, he was so ready for this.

"It will be a three-on-three battle. You can switch Pokémon at any time. The victory will only go to whoever knocks out all of their opponent's Pokémon, although forfeit is allowed. Are you ready?" Ash nodded at the explanation. Then he blinked, a three-in-three match? Brock must have changed the rules recently. After a moment, he shrugged. There was more battle to enjoy this way.

Ash was nearly vibrating as Brock led them to the battlefield. It was so exciting! He was about to have his first ever Gym match, a match he was determined to win.

Brock quickly led them to the battle arena. Ash and his Pokémon looked at the massive chamber in awe as they stepped in and examined the landscape carefully. The Gym's interior had been carefully molded into a rocky battlefield with a small flat area in the very center.

He looked around and saw that there were balconies far above the battlefield, presumably for spectators. Ash noticed that Brock had walked over to the opposite side of the massive battlefield and was patiently waiting for Ash to finish looking around.

"Get ready!" Brock shouted from across the battlefield. Ash smiled and unclipped a Pokéball from his belt.

"Go, Geodude!" the Gym leader acted first. His Pokéball released a powerful looking Geodude. Its eyes settled on Ash and it clenched its rocky fists in anticipation.

Ash released Pidgeotto a moment later. She screeched and flapped her wings, quickly climbing high up into the air. The Bird Pokémon studied Geodude intently once she was high enough in the air.

Brock looked confused for a moment at Ash's choice of Pokémon, before shrugging it off and starting the match.

"Rock Throw!" he snapped. Geodude reared back and punched the ground with one of its stone fists. A rock nearly the size of Pidgeotto's body shot up from the ground and soared toward the Bird Pokémon.

"Dodge it, then use Sand-Attack," Ash countered. Pidgeotto flapped her wings rapidly, bolting upward and evading the rock thrown at her. Before she could follow the rest of his commands, Brock gave another order.

"Rock Blast! Don't allow it to attack!" The gym leader cut in. Geodude nodded and closed its eyes. As it concentrated, dust particles gathered in front of its face and formed another rock. The Rock Pokémon launched into a rapid fire attack, firing several head-sized rocks at Pidgeotto in a matter of seconds.

"Double Team! Then Gust!" Ash snapped. Pidgeotto's form wavered for a brief second before splitting up in multiple illusionary copies, all arrayed in a circle around Geodude. The Rock Blast's went straight through a fake in Pidgeotto's previous location, dispelling it, but not hitting the real one. Acting quickly Pidgeotto and her copies flapped their wings at Geodude, kicking up a fierce wind in seconds.

Geodude weathered the attack easily. It barely grimaced as the harsh winds buffeted it.

"Hidden Power! Shoot them all down!" Brock ordered over the howling winds. Geodude growled, a sound that reminded Ash of stone grinding against stone, and closed its eyes. A white glow enveloped it moments later and white spheres of energy coalesced around it. It then fired the attack in all directions. The white spheres struck every Pidgeotto, dispelling the fakes on contact and hitting the real one.

Pidgeotto screeched and started falling down from the sky, eyes closed in pain. Ash noticed immediately that Geodude had dropped its guard the moment the attack had hit, secure that it was already victorious.

Ash's eyes narrowed. It was now or never. "Steel Ace!" Ash ordered. He smirked at Brock's confused expression. It was hard to know what your opponent was going to do if you don't know what kind of attack he was going to use. So he had combined Steel Wing and Aerial Ace into Steel Ace. Brock had no idea what was coming.

Pidgeotto's eyes snapped open and narrowed in determination. With a single flap of her wings she righted herself. A second later she disappeared, having used Aerial Ace to speed up so much that she became invisible to the naked eye. Brock's eyes widened in panic and was about to scream something to Geodude, but he was already too late.

The Normal and Flying-Type smashed into Geodude with a silver glowing wing as harsh winds whipped around her body in the form of white wind blades. The Steel Wing, sped up by the Aerial Ace, smashed the Geodude away and into one of the gigantic boulders on the battlefield, shattering it into a million pieces.

"Geodude!" Brock cried out in concern. A moment later Geodude became visible again. It had been knocked out cold instantly by the Steel Wing and Aerial Ace combo. The Gym leader sighed and recalled the Rock Pokémon.

"Impressive…" Brock muttered before grabbing another Pokéball. "But that was just practice! Go, Boldore!"

Ash blinked as a strange Pokémon he had never even heard about appeared on the battlefield. The Pokémon was primarily bluish in coloration. It has an array of red crystals on its back and front, and a spine protruding from between its yellow ears. Rocky chunks at its sides make up pincer-like limbs, tipped with red crystals similar to the ones on its back. It honestly looked a little weird to him.

Brock smiled at his confused expression. "I see that you don't recognize Boldore. Not surprising, Boldore is from the far off Unova Region. I got it from a family friend that lives there. Most Pokémon that are common there like Boldore don't appear in Kanto, and vice versa."

Ash looked interested at that. He quickly shunted his curious thoughts to the back of his mind. Instead, his mind focused on his strange new opponent. He didn't know anything about this Pokémon or what it was capable of, which put him at a disadvantage. His eyes narrowed, he had to be careful with this one.

Or don't even give it a change to fight at all. "Steel Ace!" he ordered once again. Pidgeotto disappeared once again as she used the ultra-fast move, but this time Brock was ready for it.

"Sandstorm!" The dark-skinned teenager countered. Boldore screeched in reply and reared up. It smashed its pincer-like limbs into the ground. Immediately, a ferocious sandstorm enveloped Boldore. Harsh winds whipped around the battlefield, catching Pidgeotto within its grasp.

Pidgeotto was thrown off course by the whipping winds, stopping her attack cold and throwing her away from Boldore. She gasped in pain as she was spun around rapidly thanks to the spinning winds. The rough sand particles buffeted her painfully all the while. Ash's eyes widened, this was bad.

"Finish this with Flash Cannon!" Brock ordered. Despite the sandstorm nearly blocking out all sound Boldore was somehow able to hear the command. It reared back as its center crest glowed silver in preparation for the mighty Steel-Type attack.

As Pidgeotto was trapped in the sandstorm she was unable to evade the attack. A brilliant beam of silvery energy speared through the sandstorm and struck the Bird Pokémon, triggering an explosion and disrupting the sandstorm.

Pidgeotto smashed into the stone floor of the Gym and the sandstorm abruptly ended. Ash sighed and was about to recall Pidgeotto until...

The screeching of talons against stone reached his ears. His eyes widened in disbelieve as he saw Pidgeotto struggle back on her feet. She was far more resilient then he had given her credit for.

Brock looked equally as surprised. He quickly ordered an attack to finish the match for good. "Rock Blast!"

Ash's counter command caught him flat-footed. "Stay where you are." As he ordered that he secretly made a mental connection with Pidgeotto using his Aura and added, Dodge with Double Team at the last moment and then use Steel Ace.

Multiple rocks of varying sizes rocketed towards Pidgeotto, who hadn't budged from her position at her trainers command. At the very last moment she used Double Team, evading the attack. Without missing a beat she and all her copies flapped their wings. Once again becoming airborne, she and her copies disappeared into Aerial Ace a moment later.

Boldore never stood a chance.

Half dozen fake Pidgeotto's went through Boldore before the real one smashed into it with a glowing wing. Boldore screeched in pain as it recoiled from the attack. It was too heavy to be sent flying by the attack, something that Pidgeotto made brilliant use of.

Her other wing lit up with silver light as well as it too was infused by the power of Steel Wing. She brought both her wings above her head and then smashed them both down brutally into Boldore.

The Rock-Type screeched once again in pain as its head crest cracked under the force. It fainted a moment later. Ash winced, he knew that Rock-Types could easily heal cracks in their rock-hard bodies, but that injury looked quite nasty from where he was standing.

Brock frowned and recalled Boldore a moment later. He clearly hadn't been expecting that. Ash hadn't either, not that he was complaining. Pidgeotto had done great and had acted quickly when the opportunity presented itself.

"Ash," Brock called out over the battlefield. "You're far better than I had expected you to be, but this is where I beat you. Go, Onix!"

Now it was Ash's turn to frown as the behemoth of a Rock-Type appeared on the battlefield. He looked at Pidgeotto and took in her tired and pained expression. The Bird Pokémon collapsed a moment later, she wasn't in any shape to fight anymore. He recalled her immediately.

"You did great Pidgeotto. I couldn't have asked for better," he said. The Pokéball wiggled in response. He shrunk it and clipped it back to his belt.

"Pikachu, it's your turn." Said rodent looked up at Onix, shaking in fear. His eyes hardened a moment later and his shaking stopped. He had trained hard for this battle, too hard for a bit of fear to hold him back. He had promised himself that he would one day be the very best Electric-Type in the world. If something as simple as fear could hold him back he would never reach that goal. He was going to fight and he was going to utterly crush that Onix.

The Electric-Type jumped from Ash's shoulder and landed on the battlefield on all fours. Lightning crackled along his fur and he growled at Onix as the smell of ozone suddenly filled the Gym. Onix looked less than impressed with him.

"Stone Edge!" Brock all but roared as he started the match. Onix's answering roar completely dwarfed his. The Rock Snake Pokémon closed its eyes and concentrated. Sharp, jagged rocks were yanked up from the ground and angled directly at Pikachu moments later.

"Double Team and then Dig," Ash ordered, so softly that Brock and Onix didn't hear it. Pikachu's form wavered for split second. Moments later illusionary copies appeared all over the battlefield. Most of them stood on the rock floor and a few appeared on top of the boulders that dotted the chamber.

Onix quickly adjusted its aim to hit all the copies. The sharp, jagged stones fired in all directions and struck every single fake Pikachu, dispelling them, but not hitting the real one, who had disappeared underground mere moments before. The rest of the stone shards hit the ground and boulders alike, shattering them.

Both Brock and Onix, unknowing that Pikachu had disappeared underground, tried to find him. Suddenly Pikachu appeared underneath the stone behemoths massive bulk and smashed into it. Onix buckled and nearly fell down from the blow. Pikachu quickly jumped back from the behemoth. He had no desire to be crushed under its immense bulk.

"Slam!" Brock ordered. Onix righted itself and reared back. It suddenly lashed towards Pikachu, its long body easily carrying it towards its opponent, ready to slam into the tiny rodent with all of its massive bulk.

"Dig," Ash ordered. Pikachu quickly dug himself underground, evading the head on attack with ease.

"Follow it!" Brock countered. Onix reared up and came smashing down into the ground, cutting through it like a knife through butter, and followed Pikachu underground. Ash's eyes widened. If Pikachu and Onix met underground... He knew exactly who would have the edge there, and it certainly wasn't Pikachu.

There was a moment of tense silence where Brock and Ash only looked at each other across the battlefield, trying to find out what the other was thinking. It was shattered when the ground suddenly shook. There was an explosion of stone and dirt at the very center of the battlefield. Pikachu came flying out, followed closely by Onix.

Pikachu was in pain. Onix had smashed him up out of the ground, but Ash saw an opportunity to end it. "Iron Tail!" He roared. Pikachu's ears twitched when he heard the command. He righted himself and angled his fall down towards Onix. His tail glowed a solid silver as he readied Iron Tail.

Brock's eyes widened in alarm when he heard the command, "Get away from there Onix!" His Pokémon started following the command, but for all the things that an Onix was, it wasn't by any means fast.

Pikachu came falling down from the sky. He was spinning rapidly to build up momentum. His tail was tucked in tightly to his stomach. With on final spin he brought down his Iron Tail dead center on Onix's head.

There was an audible crack and Onix gave a deafening screech of pain, before falling down and fainting outright. The ground shook as the immense Pokémon collapsed. Both trainers nearly fell down from the tremors caused by its fall.

Ash blinked.

It took a moment for it to sink in.

A megawatt smile appeared on his face. They had done it! They had just won their first ever Gym match!

Pikachu came running up to him, having landed on the ground mere moments before. He jumped into his waiting arms. "That was awesome Pikachu!" He said and hugged the electric rodent to his body. Pikachu happily clung to him and basked in his praise. Lucario, who had watched the entire match from beside Ash, looked proud.

"That was an incredible battle, Ash," Brock's voice cut through his celebration. Ash looked up and was surprised the see a smiling Brock standing right in front of him. "As prove of your victory I hand you this symbol, the Boulder Badge," he said, holding out a Badge. It was shaped like a boulder.

"Another boulder, how unimaginative," Pikachu grumbled. He was ignored.

"Thank you," Ash said and gratefully took the offered Badge. He examined it closely before smiling and pinning it to the inside of his jacket.

"You deserve it," Brock said. He looked Ash over curiously. "Where are you going next?"

"Cerulean City. If memory serves correctly, and I'm certain it does, the Gym there specializes in Water-Types. With Pikachu here it should be a cakewalk," Ash responded. "And what are you going to do?"

"Gym leader duties and taking care of the family," Brock answered with a shrug. "What else is new?" He said with a laugh.

"Nothing much," Ash said with a good-natured chuckle. He held out his hand for Brock to take. The Gym leader took it firmly. "It was great seeing you again Brock, and battling you was awesome. Next time we'll have an even grander battle."

"The same here, Ash. Good luck on your journey. I look forward to seeing you compete in the Indigo League," Brock said, smiling. "Go out there and kick some ass."

"Of course!" Ash said with a laugh and let go of Brock's hand. He turned to leave. "Goodbye Brock, and good luck!"

"Goodbye!" Brock screamed after him as Ash left his Gym, followed closely behind by his Pokémon. He smiled as he saw Ash leave through the heavy wooden doors. Brock had a feeling that Ash was going to shake things up big time in the Pokémon World.

He was looking forward to it.

---

The very next day, Ash was once again on the outskirts of Pewter City. Pikachu was, as usual, on his shoulder, and Lucario stood beside him. Pidgeotto was in her Pokéball. They were facing the direction of Mt. Moon.

His last day in Pewter City had been mainly spent on relaxing and buying new supplies for his trip into Mt. Moon. He had also taken the opportunity to buy a brand new PokéNav. They were expensive as all hell, but he could easily afford it. The winnings from all the matches that he had won in the Viridian Forest were substantial.

Ash grinned and started walking, the promise of another Gym battle pushing him forward. He savored any chance at showing how good he was, and what was better than a Gym match?

Cerulean City awaited him.

---

And that was the second chapter. I hope you guys liked it.

PS: If you hadn't noticed, I drew inspiration from two other stories to make this chapter. Those Stories are:

Traveler by The Straight Elf and Symbiosis by ConstructiveWriter

Both writers and stories are incredible, in my opinion at least. I especially like Traveler. It was my main inspiration for Ash Ketchum: Being More.

Anyway, I highly recommend that you guys go and read those stories. They are sure to hold your attention for quite a while.