Disclaimer)- "Good evening, I am Pontificator man, father of Disclaimer boy and Exclaimer boy, I shall now give a prepared statement" Pulls a soap-box out of stuff space and steps up on it, "In my humble opinion it is wrong, verily, wrong I say that one who writes Fanfiction should monetarily profit from the writing of such. The only thing such a one should receive is some form of verbal appreciation, in keeping with said writers actual skill level. The particular works this Fanfiction is based on are Ranma half and Pokemon, which are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and the Nintendo corporation respectively and Porthos112," He looks at the writer and whispers, 'That is your name right?' at my nod he continues, "Er correct, Porthos112 makes no claims other than to his own intellectual property in the stories he creates with the characters. I thank you for your attention." The lycra clad individual steps down from his soap-box and takes a bow.
Who's a Pokemon master?
Chapter 3 'When Pikachu attack!'
Authors' notes.
I don't know what to say, frankly I'm stunned. I thought the reader response to 'Phoenix Ascension' was fantastic, and it is. But the response to this fic has left me, um, stunned (I already said that), flabbergasted, shocked, er yeah; I think you get the idea. I was hoping to get people interested in this but never had any idea people would respond so positively. I may not respond to reviews, I just want people to know how appreciative I am that they took the time to review. I've just got my own internet connection though it's extremely time limited being a Wi-fi internet connection. I said something about reviews inspiring me; well you can consider me duly inspired.
I was thinking of changing the name of this fic, to tell the truth I kind of liked one reviewer's suggestion, "Of pigtails and Pokemon," wish I'd thought of it. Now that I've got two chapters up and this one about to, well I think it might be too late to do that, but let me know what you think.
Some of you have asked for a basic timeline, well ok I guess I can do that. Ranma half is between learning the Umi and the Yama sen-ken, so he knows, kachu amaguriken, Bakusai(yes I know he didn't get taught it, but he did observe it), Mouko Takabisha, plus of course the Umi-sen-ken, Hiryu Shouten Ha, splitting c-c-c-at hairs, and rudimentary hidden weapons (he's seen that too). The Pokemon timeline, read this chapter and all will be revealed.
There are no planned match-ups yet, but that may change at my discretion, and if things do change it won't (WILL NOT) be female Ranma + male character. It would take too much attention away from the plot. Not to mention the groundwork I'd have to prepare to make it happen in a believable manner. Also I don't think that's in Ranma's character, for him it's girls all the way, and fifty percent of the time that's an absolute truth.
Capitalization of Pokemon speak is to show that the Pokemon emphasize certain parts of the words and that's how the word 'pikachu' can mean so many different things. As for Vorgon Poetry, well all I can say is you'd swear like that too, and 'screamed' is such a passé way to say that major pain has been inflicted via auditory overload.
Personal pronouns, confusing yes, I'm trying honest, but Ranma will always refer to himself as a male. "I'm a guy!" He's said it often enough but I'll really try to cut out the confusion. Sorry about that.
Let the chapter begin.
After all the excitement of yesterday Ranma finds himself heading into the peaceful town of Pallet. On his way to meet Professor Oak he's treated to a strange sight. Alright I'll clarify, stranger than usual.
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Ranma was doing something he had very little chance to do in his life, he was simply walking and breathing in the day. Simple, unadulterated pleasure in the touch of the sunlight on his skin and the thought of a new life without the complications of the old. Above the sky was filled with high clouds and nary a threat of rain. Life he decided was good.
"Hey Dex, I just thought of something."
"What's that Ranma?"
"Well we may have a problem with the story you put together."
"Go on." Even AI's don't like to be told they've made a mistake.
"Um, well I don't speak good English. What language should I be speaking if I lived in Hoenn?"
"You'd be a natural speaker of English, I see, I hadn't computed that into our situation."
"We could just say I'm from that Crimson city place you mentioned and keep the rest of the story. Nothing says I can't choose to enter this regions league rather than the one in Johto does it."
"No, the rules are pretty flexible in that respect. Though it is preferred that you start in a region close to home and family."
"Yeah but I don't have any family so that don't work for me. I'm an orphan with a little sister who's gone off on her Pokemon journey, freeing me to begin my own. Um, Dex?" Ranma paused and blinked a few times to make sure his eyes were working properly before looking at the pokedex in his hand.
"Yes Ranma?"
"I just wanted to check, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"That depends Ranma, what are you looking at?"
"That boy over there with the Pikachu?" Ranma left the question hanging.
"If you're referring to the fact he's dragging it with a rope and wearing pink rubber gloves then I can assure you I'm seeing the same thing."
"Oh good. I thought living in Nerima for a year might have turned me strange."
"See things like that often did you?
"Um not quite like that but I've seen some pretty strange things, in fact 'that' only just gets on my top twenty strangest things I ever saw."
"You've seen stranger? Hmmm, I wonder if that boy actually owns that Pikachu. It could be one reason for him having to restrain it like that."
"You serious? Then let's go, if that Pikachu needs rescuing then I'm the one to do it."
"Remember to use caution Ranma, he may have his own Pokemon."
"Yeah, yeah, did I tell you, you worry too much?" Ranma sprinted across the field in the direction the young boy had departed.
"It's part of my job description." It really is, a Pokedex is there to guide young children and teenagers through the wilds of Pokeworld and make sure they come through the experience whole and hearty.
"Hey you!! Stop!!" The boy in question turned at the shout from behind to see a young man approaching at high speed.
"Hi, I'm Ash from Pallet, and this is Pikachu." Ash gave a short lived smile as the stranger pulled up and spoke for the first time.
"I know it Pikachu, what don't know is why you drag it. You steal?"
"No!!!! This is my Pikachu; I just got him from Professor Oak." He thought about kneeling down and hugging the Pikachu to himself but had to admit he'd already had enough shocks for one day. I'm going on a Pokemon journey with Pikachu here. We haven't made friends yet though." He flipped open his Pokedex which introduced him and told them that the Pikachu had indeed been given to Ash as a starter Pokemon. "You don't trust me do you Pikachu?"
"Pika!" The yellow rodent shook its head emphatically.
"Not even a little?" The boy had a forlorn expression as the Pikachu again confirmed its opinion of him.
"Chu!"
" sigh At least you're not shocking me any more. Anyway who are you?" Ash flipped his caps brim as he nervously observed the muscled boy in front of him.
"Ranma Saotome. I from Crimson city." (1)
"Where's that, I think I've heard about it in geography."
"It in….Dex you speak me right yes?"
"Hello I'm Dex; I am registered to Pokemon trainer Ranma Saotome from Crimson city in the Johto region. I help him with knowledge of the Pokemon in this world."
"Whoa, you've got a Pokedex too! Are you a trainer?"
"Yes I'm a trainer, I came here to meet Professor Oak and start my own journey," Dex translated.
"But you're so old." It was disconcerting to hear Ranma speak in a different language and then to hear something totally different echo from the Pokedex but it didn't stop him from using the high art of 'Foot fu'.
"I've been looking after my sister since our parents passed away. Now she's gone on her journey I'm free to follow my dream."
"Cool, so what Pokemon do you have?"
"I've just got a Pikachu like you, and a Fearow. I caught them yesterday." He didn't mention any of the other Pokemon he now possessed thanks to Skye.
"How did you catch them if you didn't have a Pokemon before that?"
"Um, trust I think, plus I think Skye my Pikachu really wanted to come on an adventure." There was a muffled 'Pikachu!' from Ranma's pack. "I'd let you meet her, but she's a little indisposed at the moment." He barely restrained the urge to snicker.
"What happened?"
"She ran into a Caterpie, she didn't know anything about String shot and now I've got to get her to town to free her, I don't have a sharp enough knife, and I didn't want to risk hurting her by trying anything else. That silk is tough." Plus he was determined that Skye was going to learn from the experience, taking on half of the forest wasn't a good idea, and boredom definitely wasn't a good enough excuse. He pulled the pack off his back and pulled out what at first appeared to be a white stuffed animal, it was just over thirty seven centimeters tall and weighed eight kilograms. Ash jumped a little as it wriggled.
"PIKA!!"
"I told you, I can't get you out yet Skye. You'll have to wait till we get to town." He turned to face the young boy and his Pikachu who'd fallen on his back and was laughing its little yellow head off.
"That's…..unusual."
"Yeah well I thought she'd gone to hunt up breakfast. When I went to investigate this is what I found." Technically it was true, just not all of it. Maybe it was time to go before Ash asked him anymore questions. The other boy obviously hadn't stolen the Pikachu now that he got a good look at the two.
"I'm sorry about asking if you stole your Pikachu, but you've got to admit it looks kind of strange." He tried to ignore the fact that the Pikachu in question had walked over to Skye and was prodding her through the silk. "Anyway I'd better get going or I'll be even later to meet Professor Oak than I already am."
"Pikachu?" 'Are you alright?'
"PIKa!!!" 'Get lost laughing boy!!!!' Skye was totally unappreciative of being the butt of the joke, plus boys were icky except for her trainer.
"Pi pika pika kachu!" 'Well you don't have to be like that, you've got to admit it'd be funny if it weren't you.'
"Pika!" 'Get knotted!' At this point a thoroughly affronted Pikachu went back to Ash who'd just finished saying goodbye to Ranma. It seems Ranma isn't the only one to have problems with girls.
Ranma watched for a moment as the two departed, 'A boy and his Pikachu.' It was hard not to laugh, but then he wasn't one to speak after Skye's performance of the morning. Repacking his presently incarcerated Pikachu in the pack he shouldered it and turned towards the small rural town at the far end of the valley. From what he could see it looked like many of the farming communities in Hokkaido that he and his father had passed through on their training trip. Except for the fact the buildings were modern and of Western design. The town couldn't be populated by more than a few thousand people.
"So this is Pallet town huh?"
"Yes, though it's much smaller than I remember, but I suppose eight hundred years will do that."
As they walked through the nearly deserted streets of the town Ranma could feel the excitement in the air, there were streamers hung from the porches of houses all over, and in the distance someone was letting off fireworks.
"Must be some kind of festival going on. What do you think Dex?"
"If the date is what I suspect from meeting Ash then I'd say this is 'Trainers day', every year children as young as ten are allowed to apply to the local sponsor for a beginners permit to train Pokemon, they also receive a starter Pokemon for their journey. We'd better hurry Ranma, Professor Oak may leave the laboratory at any time to join in the festivities and then we won't see him till late tonight or tomorrow."
"Right, so where is this lab I'm supposed to find?"
"It's that building there, across the stream with the windmill attached. It's a privately owned but government funded facility that the Oak family started nearly a hundred years ago." Ranma sped up as he approached the grounds until he jogged across a small bridge, the building say on top of a small knoll, the garden was surrounded by a red-brick wall with large gateposts. Ranma hesitantly pushed the iron gate open and started up the steps. He jumped straight up as a sprinkler system turned on suddenly and was surprised that when he looked down to see where it was he could see a turtle spewing water at an incredible rate as it watered the lawn and shrubs. From this angle he could see quite a few of the small blue turtles.
"Squirtle!" The small water Pokemon shut off his water gun and looked up at the young man who was descending rapidly from the top of his thirty foot jump. Several others of his kind came over to look at the young man also, it wasn't everyday that they saw a human able to jump so high.
Ranma smiled as he touched down softly, 'Ha! I avoided the water.' He thought to himself. "So what are they? I heard one say squirtle or something like that."
"That's correct Ranma, most Pokemon are named for the call they make. Occasionally there are exceptions to this rule. This is Squirtle, it's a water type Pokemon, often used as a Pokemon trainers starter Pokemon."
"Cool, so what other Pokemon are used as starters?"
"Well in the Kanto and Johto regions there are three that are most common. Squirtle as I already mentioned. Bulbasaur, the grass type Pokemon I told you about yesterday. The last is Charmander, a fire type Pokemon. Ranked for power they would be Charmander first, Bulbasaur second and Squirtle as a third choice."
"Hey if that's the case why'd you say to take Bulbasaur?"
"Versatility Ranma. Charmander may eventually become Charizard and be the most powerful of them all, but it won't be as flexible in its attacks and its other abilities as Bulbasaur and as I mentioned Bulbasaur is both a grass and a poison type Pokemon. Also as Charmander evolves he becomes more temperamental and thus harder to control."
"Right, so do you think Professor Oak will give me a starter Pokemon?"
"He may, but I don't think it's necessary at this stage you already have a number of good specimen."
"Yeah tell me about it." Ranma sighed again, it wasn't like he'd set out to capture so many of them this morning, but he must still be a chaos magnet and so things happened that he couldn't foresee and any thought of control was a joke.
"Come on Ranma, don't feel bad about it. You're about to meet Professor Oak."
"Yeah I suppose. Alright let's get this over with." He walked up the remaining stairs with several sets of Squirtle eyes following him. When he reached the heavy oak door (What other kind of wood would it be?) and prepared to knock.
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Squirtle came around the corner of the building and spied the person standing at the door, its little face lit up for a moment thinking its owner had returned to collect it as it did with any visitor to the professor. Then it took a closer look and sighed as she realized this boy whoever he was, was too old to be its owner and started to turn away dejected yet again. A small pebble under its foot gave way and it lost his balance, flailing its arms around, it tried to regain its balance but only added momentum to the spin and landed in a heap. As is known a Squirtle on its back is vulnerable in the wild so they instinctively panic when it happens.
"SquIRTle!"
Ranma turned towards the yell just in time to see the downed Squirtle fire its Watergun attack almost straight up in surprise. He followed the graceful arc of water and then sighed in resignation. He really should have known better as the wave of cold water hit him full force with the expected results. Now the Squirtle that had been watching a young boy knock on Professor Oaks door really had something to talk about. Ranma was muttering to herself at the same time as she raised her fist to knock on the door, barely restraining her present urge to do damage to something she still managed to put a few dents in the wood.
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Professor Oak was having a really busy morning, especially in light of the television special he'd done the night before. Then early this morning his grandson and two others had descended on him to get their starter Pokemon. Then just as he thought he'd finished for the day Ash Ketchum had deigned to make an appearance dressed in his pajama's no less and asking for a starter Pokemon as well. He'd nearly refused as the boys' tardiness and manner of dress didn't reflect well on him but really didn't have the heart to refuse in the face of such enthusiasm. Now it looked like he could take a well earned breather before taking on his afternoon chores, and then there was that fascinating project about 'Variance in genetics of same species Pokemon' he'd been meaning to edit. And there was still the 'Trainers day' festival to attend.
Really it was getting to be a bit much, but what can a poor researcher do? 'Right, first things first, I need a nice cup of tea.' He made his way towards the kitchen…..
Knock-knock. Professor Oaks shoulders slumped in resignation as he sighed at yet another interruption. There went his lunch break. Turning back to the door that he'd only just managed to close he opened it to find an exasperated young girl dripping on his welcome mat. Her red hair was plastered to her face almost hiding the blue eyes that gazed at him, and he tried not to notice the way the silk shirt was plastered to her body, he really did. He found himself staring into her eyes determinedly, which raised the old man in her books. Most of the guys she knew would have ogled her shamelessly, even old man Tendo had been caught by surprise a few times, and of course the way she used to run around the compound didn't help at all.
"Yes can I help you young lady?"
"Um, er, I think so Professor." The professor was very surprised to say the least, the girl was speaking in a foreign language. It seemed that her Pokedex had a translation function built in though. It was eerie to hear her speak and a moment later to hear a dry male voice repeat it.
"I'm sorry, er, I don't even know your name." He raised an eyebrow inviting the young girl to introduce herself.
"Ranma Saotome, sorry about this." She shook her hand and watched as water droplets sprayed across the dark tiled floor.
"Ah Ranma, so what can I do to help? I'm having a rather busy day."
"Well I was hoping to be here yesterday but I got lost on the plains up there, then I ran into a Pikachu. Speaking of which, do you have a very sharp knife I could use to free Skye?"
"Well you'd better come in, I was about to make some tea. I can get you a towel at the same time."
Ranma looked up at the tall man and let her eyes go all wide and sparkly as she clasped her hands between her healthy bosom and gave her most kawaii attack, the one dreaded by ice-cream vendors the length and breadth of Tokyo. "Oooh Sensei!! I've wanted to meet you for so long. You're as nice as I thought you'd be!" An evil glint entered her eye as she glomped the professor as enthusiastically as Xian Pu would have. When she released the man he was decidedly soggy to the point he was holding his trousers away from his skin.
"Well it seems I'll have to get a towel for myself at the same time." He tried to sound dignified but after having just been treated to the much feared 'Fangirl' attack he wasn't having much luck. The fact that he was dripping water whilst dabbing at twin tendrils of blood that leaked from his nostrils certainly didn't help his dignity in any way. He straightened his jacket as he led Ranma deep into his home and laboratory.
Fifteen minutes later found Ranma sitting on a comfortable leather couch drying her unbound hair as Professor Oak, who'd changed his clothes was preparing tea for them.
"So you've come all the way from Crimson city to join the Indigo league? Why don't you tell me about that?" He hadn't started his search on transnet yet, plus he liked to form his own opinion of a person without dry data cluttering his mind. First impressions and all that.
"I came here for one reason only, I wanted to meet you."
"I'm flattered, but why me?"
"My father told me to always find the best sensei which was him in the martial arts," Slight exaggeration, "but when I started wanting to learn about Pokemon as well as our family art he started looking around the transnet to find out all he could about sponsors and teachers. He told me to look for either you or Professor Birch in Hoenn." She'd covered this earlier with Dex thinking about other possible trainers they could have approached if they hadn't have arrived so close to the Oak's family laboratory.
"Really, well Professor Birch really is a fine man, I'd have chosen him over anyone."
"Maybe, but I couldn't get to Hoenn, and besides I think I like this places facilities better. I saw some of it as I came down the valley and it's just what I hoped for."
"It is true that I have the best care facility in the Kanto region, with over a thousand hectares of land I can let the Pokemon out of their balls so they can get some exercise."
"That was the decider for me, I 'know' if I leave my Pokemon with you that they'll be well cared for." Professor Oak cleared his throat after being hit with another 'kawaii' attack, it really wasn't doing his blood pressure any good at all.
"Hmm, so what did your father have to say about you traveling so far?"
"My father passed away six months ago, but he told me to follow my dream then he said something strange. He said not to make the same mistakes he did, but he wouldn't tell me what the mistakes were."
"Oh and your mother?"
"She hasn't been around for a long time. Pops wouldn't talk about her at all, and my brother, he thought she left because of him, which is funny, because I always thought it was me. In the end Pops admitted that she said he cared more for training than he did for her. I haven't seen her since I was five, I think." Ranma let some of her own bitterness enter her voice as she spoke about her mother. Sometimes the truth is the most potent lie of all; she didn't even need to act. (3)
"That's sad to hear, how does your brother fit in. I believe you mentioned he felt to blame for your mother leaving as well?"
"Yeah, but he's alright now, he's been looking after me and Pops for so long that when Pops died I just couldn't stop him from going on his Pokemon journey. I'm glad, he looked after Pops and me for years, and now I think he's happy."
"That's good to hear. So you said you met Skye just yesterday?"
"Pikachu." Skye looked up from the glass of orangeade she was drinking from, the sweet drink hit the spot as the Pokemon hadn't been able to get a drink for more than hour. The bubbles were an added bonus as they tickled in her throat unlike anything she'd ever tasted before. In fact she was going to have more and promptly took Ranma's glass and started on that one as well.
"Hey that was mine Skye!"
"Pika?" Her ears flopped as she looked into the eyes of her trainer.
"Ah that's alright Skye. It's not a problem." She reached down and scratched Skye between the ears until the Pikachu grinned and went back to slurping the softdrink
"Are you sure you've only had her for a day? She seems awfully happy to be captured."
"Yeah, just the one day. I'm not sure why she's so happy, I think she really wanted to come with me though."
"Well Pokemon have just as many emotions as humans I find. So she's the bold, fearless explorer type is she?"
"You ain't got no idea Doc. Um, er, sorry about that, I just used to know someone like you and I always called him Doc."
"Don't worry about it Ranma, I take it as a compliment that you're able to relax this much with me. It's a good sign for our working together. Now what did you mean I've got 'no idea'?"
"Um, well it goes like this….." Ranma made some quick decisions about how much of the days events he'd tell the professor, after all one could give away too much, and in the case of Ranma and Nabiki, give and give and……
-Flashback-
Dex was deep in conversation with her trainer and had been for nearly an hour since her trainer had taken a leap off a hundred metre tall cliff and nearly scared everyone to death even if they had avoided that fate. After that the Fearow had been put in its place and things had settled back down somewhat. Now Skye was bored, bored and oh yes bored. There was nothing to do, and trees were boring after you'd seen a few of them and the ground was just that, plain as dirt. The sky was nothing new, and she came with her trainer to try different things. Skye got up and looked around carefully looking for something to do, and finally spotted movement a few metres away. Ah-ha, bug, big bug, and it had been so long since breakfast.
"PiIi!" 'Snacktime!' As she chased the scuttling bug into the under growth.
She became so intent on catching a meal that she didn't see the attack until it had struck her. The Raticate was more than double her size and outweighed her by a good fifteen kilos, so when it hit Skye with Hyper Fang she was sent sprawling in pain, the Raticate would have followed up the attack but found he'd been paralyzed by the static charge she carried in her fur.
"Raticate, RaT tICate!" 'Leave here, this is our territory!' The large mouse Pokemon forced the words out even though it was painful to move.
"Pika! piKA Chu!!" 'Hey! I'm walking here!!'(4) She staggered a little as she regained her feet and regarded the large brown rodent, its size didn't daunt her at all. No way was she going to back down, letting loose with a Thunderwave she reinforced the immobilizing power of her static and then hit it with Thundershock. Raticate was in trouble it wasn't going to take too many of those before it was out of action completely. It strained against the confinement and broke free only to be met with a Quick Attack plus Thundershock combination that picked the Raticate off its feet and slammed it back into one of the massive pines, the follow up Thundershock was unnecessary but made sure she wouldn't be attacked anymore, unfortunately there were more of them and the Rattata that were following their leader decided to attack. Attacking from different directions, Skye had to use Quick Attack to even get out of their way; the one that passed over her head landed in front of her after its attack failed and got the shock of its life and a badly smoking rump as she let loose another Thundershock.
She couldn't dodge the return of the other two and took damage from a Quick Attack, narrowly avoiding the others Hyper Fang. Pine needles went flying as she crashed into the undergrowth. Thinking they'd won they followed to make sure when the Thunder Shock came out of the bushes in a golden shaft of power that fried both of the remaining Rattata who dropped into unconsciousness joining the rest of their nest mates.
By this time the rest of the forest seemed to be aware that there was a new entrant into the territory game, this was a time for some to expand and others to contract their zone of influence on the limited food supply. Others would hardly be affected, those that lived in the trees had nothing to worry about but that didn't mean they couldn't watch. Several assorted Mankey(5) and a small flock of assorted Pidgey perched in the trees and watched as a limping Pikachu headed back towards her trainer.
Skye's great day went downhill rapidly, and unfortunately so did she, disoriented in her fight with the Raticate, her ears still ringing from the two Hyper Fang attacks she turned the wrong way and headed further into the forest.
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The Beedrill were busy collecting pollen and nectar for their hive (6) but were curious about the wandering yellow flower that entered their territory, until they got close enough to sense it wasn't a flower. In fact this particular 'flower' had more thorns than anything else at the moment and after the first fight she was going to fry things and then ask questions later, maybe. The Beedrill didn't know what hit them, some; the fortunate few were able to wobble away on unsteady wings, their flight made uncertain by having their antennae slightly charred. The one at the front fell from the sky the gossamer wings on its back useless as they crumpled due to dehydration as the electric attack passed through them on the way to the others they'd recover in time but the Beedrill would be in trouble if it were attacked in the meantime.
Skye dodged a Twin Needle attack and shot another Thundershock at the retreating Beedrill, which dodged as it caught sight of the attack using its huge compound eyes. The Mankey in the tree above it wasn't as lucky and fell from the tree twitching, smashing through several branches on its way down. The remaining Beedrill decided they'd get reinforcements and come back to teach the little rodent proper manners. The Mankey groaned as it sat up and then slumped back to the ground as it finally felt the full effect of the attack and the fall.
Skye was starting to get winded, sure she'd taken on long odds before but they'd usually come all at once like a flock of Spearow and she'd known they were there. The assorted Pidgey seeing the Mankey fall decided enough was enough and that this was no longer a spectator sport they flew away, they didn't need to be anywhere near the violent female.
The only witness to the end of the fight other than the participants was a Pidgeot that remained at the top of a tree, it could see the Pikachu was nearing the end of its endurance and was curious to see what happened next.
Pikachu looked up through bleary eyes at her next opponent, the Caterpie sweat-dropped as it realized this might not have been the best time to find a Leppa berry bush. The punch drunk Pikachu wobbled unsteadily and didn't even bother to ascertain if she was in danger or not before she started to charge up her cheek pouches ready to attack. Caterpie seeing its instant doom decided to String Shot the Pikachu in an attempt to avoid being fried, and managed to coat the electric rodent in silk just as Skye released her attack. Pidgeot in the tree above also saw the Caterpie and decided it was lunch time and swooped out of the tree. The bug Pokemon saw the bird coming and let out a cry.
"Ewheehheheee!" Which loosely translated means 'Oh shit! What'd I do to deserve this?" Almost simultaneously Skye released her attack with a loud whummpf as the Thundershock was shorted by the silk surrounding her and then through her body into the ground taking her last reserves as she took half damage from her own attack. The shock wave caught the Pidgeot unawares and caused the bird to slam into the ground at full speed only managing to clip the Caterpie with an outstretched wing. Being as Caterpie was so weak even that was enough to take it down and the Caterpie joined the rest of he unconscious Pokemon in the clearing.
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Back with Dex and Ranma who'd finished their conversation about the same time Skye finished with the Rattata, and were patiently waiting for the Pikachu to come back from her exploring when Ranma heard the muffled whummpf in the distance and decided to investigate just what his Pikachu was up to, Using all the trail skills he'd learned from living in Nerima for a year while being attacked by all comers he followed her trail easily. About a hundred metres in he found the first casualties.
"What do you make of this Dex?"
"Judging by the damage I'd say an electric type mouse went through here a couple of minutes ago."
"Yeah that's what I thought too, so what should I do, I mean I can't leave 'em like this."
"Well if I were you I'd do what a Pokemon trainer is supposed to do and capture them. This is what you have Skye for you know, though she's supposed to wait for you."
"But why would she attack other Pokemon like this, it don't make any sense?"
"Most Pokemon are extremely territorial, the one who controls the territory controls the food. So you see Skye may not have attacked them, they probably attacked her, and as they're normal type Pokemon they couldn't beat her ranged attacks." Ranma took three pokeballs out of his pack and captured two Rattata and the Raticate before looking for signs of Skye.
"Hmm, looks like another Pokemon dragged itself away over here." He pushed through the undergrowth making sure not to startle the Pokemon if he came upon it. "Oh crud! This can't be good." The Rattata was in bad shape, suffering numerous burns to its body.
"I'd suggest the use of nanites to repair the damage Ranma, but we'd better be quick." Ranma didn't waste any time in pokeballing the Pokemon and inserting it into Dex so he could release nanites into the ball. "There that should do it; I'll just monitor the situation. It shouldn't take too long to fix this."
"I found Skye's trail Dex, looks like every third step is a little lighter than the others. I'd say the rats weren't the only ones to take damage."
"Rats? They're called Raticate and Rattata, they are not rats."
"One thing I learned Dex, if it looks like a rat and acts like a rat then it probably is a rat."
"I dare you to say that to Skye."
"Um, no dare, what do I look stupid?"
"One thing I've learned Ranma….."
"Yeah yeah, lap it up laughing boy."
"Coward."
"Hey no fair, erm Dex we may have a problem."
"I see, Pikachu's last stand. Don't forget the Mankey behind that bush over there."
"Huh, oh yeah I see it. You're gonna have to tell me what we're going to do with all these Pokemon when we get some time."
"You're going to train them to be stronger than they already are and then you're going to follow the dream of Pokemon trainers everywhere."
"But how long will that take, the Doctor said I'd only be here a couple of years."
"And you believed him? Let me tell you what he said to me before putting me in storage. He said, 'Don't worry Dex, it's only for a short time, then I'll return you to Pokeworld.' As you can see he kept his word, I'm back on Pokeworld it just took a lot longer than he said. I'd prepare to spend the rest of your life here if I were you."
"No way, he told me…."
"Oh I'm sure he didn't lie, but he's ever so forgetful. In fact if you hadn't needed rescuing I'd still be in storage; so in a way I'm grateful, and ever so sorry."
Ranma finished rounding up the Pokemon and tucked Skye under his arm before heading back to the rest of his gear. He didn't like the sound of what the pokedex had told him but he couldn't get it out of his head. It was an adventure, just like all the others he'd faced, he was supposed to learn some great lesson and then return to show off the fruits of his labour, not be trapped in another world where nothing he accomplished meant anything.
"I ain't givin' up ya know. This ain't gonna beat me, I'll be here when he returns and if he isn't here in a couple a years I'll kick his sorry ass."
"That's the spirit Ranma, and if you wouldn't mind you could kick it a time or two for me. In the meantime you've got a whole new world to explore. So let's get busy."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's hit Pallet town."
-End Flashback-(7)
"I see, so you in fact have a number of Pokemon already. That's highly impressive, I do so hope Ash Ketchum does as well with his Pikachu."
"You mean that boy that was dragging his Pikachu."
"Oh you met him? Yes that's a sad story, Pikachu didn't like being captured, I mean he really didn't like being captured. The trouble was he was injured so badly, not as badly as the man who ran him over though. They had to cut him out of his car."
"What? You're telling me a Pikachu could do that much damage to a car?"
"It wasn't the impact that did the damage it was the fact that Pikachu's electric attack spot-welded the cars metal parts together, then the engine and gearbox exploded due to torque. It took a long time for Pikachu to recover from the damage and when he did he was very angry. When Ash was late for his starter Pokemon I took the chance to get Pikachu back out into the world where he belongs. I hope Ash can teach him that not all humans are like the man in the car was."
"Oh yeah, that looked like it was going real well."
"I had to do it Ranma, I can't keep Pokemon here indefinitely without a trainer, they have to be released to the wild or to a Pokemon trainer and Pikachu had been here too long to be released back into the wild. The problem was no one wanted poor Pikachu, and as time passed he got became despondent until he got even angrier. I don't have any regrets about giving him to Ash though; I don't know what it was; I just felt good about those two together. I think they've got a bright future. From what you've told me I'd say you've got one as well."
"We'll see, I certainly don't intend to be quiet and sedate. They're gonna know I'm in the world when I hit the Indigo League."
"That's the spirit, now the problem is you're only allowed to take six Pokemon with you. You can swap them around at any time, but you'd better choose wisely for the first leg of your journey."
"Does that mean you're gonna take me on?"
"Well I just have to check a few things, like your school records and the like and then I can answer that question. Come with me Ranma, we'll just access my computer and see." Professor Oak led the way to his Transnet terminal(8) and took a seat.
"Hold up Doc I just need to use the bathroom. Can you wait for me?
"Of course, don't be too long though, I'd really like to make it to the festival."
"Yeah I'd like to see that as well." As the day progressed Dex was finding that Ranma spoke more and more English words, he was only having to cover for complex ideas at the moment. In fact the machine was surprised that a human could pick something up so fast. As Ranma headed for the bathroom he pulled Dex out of his pocket.
"So did you get it done?"
"Of course I did Ranma, I had it done a few seconds after you sat down to talk to Professor Oak."
"That's good I'd hate to have him pull up my files and find nothing." Ranma sat down for a moment and waited. "So where do I go from here."
"We'll have to wait and see what the Professor says. I'd suggest going North towards Chep town or maybe south towards Loscam (9). Before heading for Pewter city and the first Pokemon Gym."
"Yeah I suppose I'll need time to train my Pokemon, right lets head back and find out what my education was like." Ranma smirked because it was likely to have results like he'd never have seen on his own world.
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Professor Oak looked up from the screen and watched as the diminutive red-head returned to the front-room.
"Ah there you are, I'll just finish this and then we'll have a look at your bio." He punched a few keys to save his work and then some more to bring up the records he needed to see. "This is good Ranma, I always like to see someone take their education seriously. You never know when you'll need it. Yes I think I can take you on, if you'll plug your pokedex in I'll just download all the pertinent information. Now remember your pokedex has a number of features that you can make use of."
"Thanks professor." Ranma glomped him again for good measure, after all there weren't many people he knew that would do something for him without asking for even more in return.
"You're quite welcome. Then all we have to do is get you a starter Pokemon."
"Er, I don't need one professor; I've already got my own."
"Yes, yes, I meant to ask you about that. So what do you have?"
"Um let's see, there's the three Rattata, one Raticate a Mankey, several Beedrill a Pidgeot and a Caterpie. So with Skye and Feather Duster all up I've got nearly fifteen Pokemon, I don't need another one at the moment. I don't know what to do with the ones I've got as it is."
"I see, that's quite a good mix you have there. Though it'll be hard to get your first badge, you see it's the Rock badge and the gym leader uses only rock and ground type Pokemon. To really stand a good chance you'd need a water type to weaken them and that's what I planned to give you."
"Nah that sounds too much like cheatin ta me, I wanna do it my way."
"Well Ranma it's good that you have the drive to make it on your own. While it's your choice on how to battle I'd still suggest you take the water type Pokemon anyway. You never know when it'll come in handy. Stay here for a moment and I'll go get her." After that Professor Oak didn't give her a chance to protest and walked from the room closing the door behind him.
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"What do you think Dex?"
"Well it would be the easiest way to get the gym badge, and it's always a good idea to have a good mix of Pokemon types. The other thing is you really can't refuse, he's your sponsor now and he's giving you a gift." Ranma hung her head for a moment in thought.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, that means I've gotta choose the other four Pokemon to take along."
"Well we should take at least one of the Beedrills; though I think I'll unlock the ID tag on the ball so we can hide it. That Beedrill took too much damage to leave it here with the professor, and it won't be of any use in battle for at least a month, maybe more. Fearow still needs training, Skye is an obvious choice. So what does that leave?"
"You're right, I ain't goin' anywhere without Skye an' it wouldn't be fair to leave Feather Duster here. Hmmm, well I want the Mankey and maybe one of the Rattata." Skye looked up at her trainer inordinately pleased that he considered her indispensable.
"Why not take the Raticate? It's the stronger of the two types." The small handheld computer sounded doubtful.
"Well yeah, it's the stronger of the two. Even I can see that. The thing is I want to train the Rattata from the start and see how strong that makes Raticate when it evolves."
"Makes sense in the long term I suppose. Okay so you've got four of them together what about the last one?"
"Oh that's easy, I'm gonna take Caterpie, look how easy it took out Skye."
"PIKACHU!" This is unprintable, nope definitely unprintable. Let's just say that she's no lady.
"Sorry Skye but you took it on and it beat you. You can't argue with that."
"PiKA Pi ka pi." 'But I didn't know what it was.'
"Now maybe you didn't know what it was and weren't prepared for it or….I don't know, but the simple fact is you were beaten by a Caterpie. I'd like to know why, Caterpie are much weaker than you are." Dex spoke as if Skye hadn't said anything to him, which is true if you consider the language barrier.
"Something the 'Anything Goes' style is famous for, making others underestimate us. Oh hi professor." Ranma turned to the doorway in time to see the older man walk back in the room, followed by another of the blue turtles she'd seen outside.
Professor Oak closed the door quietly as he led a Pokemon into the room. "Ranma I'd like you to meet Squirtle. Squirtle, Ranma here will be your new trainer."
"Squirtle?" 'For real?' The small turtles eyes lit up and she started to run towards her new trainer only to trip on the edge of the floor rug. When she belly flopped on the floor she let loose a torrent of water that picked Ranma up and slammed her back into the bookshelves that lined part of the room.
"Not again! Damn it Professor I only just got dried out from the last time." As she said it something twigged in the back of her mind. "It was you! Last time, out there in the garden, you're the one who tripped and soaked me. Aren't you?" Squirtle looked up and nodded sadly before turning dejectedly to leave the room. Rejected again.
"Hey and where do you think you're going? IF I'm gonna be your trainer we're gonna have to work on that clumsiness of yours." An incredulous expression crossed Squirtles face as she turned back and looked into her new trainers blue eyes. Excitement overcame her better judgment and she started to run to hug Ranma again. "Ah-ah, no running Squirtle, we've gotta teach you how to walk first." Ranma crouched down to meet the Squirtle.
"SqUirtLE!" The water Pokemon was too happy at finally having a trainer again that she didn't mind what ever Ranma wanted to say to her.
"Well I can see that this is going to work out just fine, I'll just finalize your registration in the Kanto Pokemon Association as a beginning Pokemon trainer and explain a few things to you." Professor Oak turned back to the screen and punched up a new page and started typing, punching a final button with a flourish the older man turned back in his swivel chair and stood up. "There you go, all done. Now it's a little late for me to start on my afternoon research so why don't I escort you to the festival and we can talk on the way. Here I'll take that for you, I don't know how you managed to carry such a large pack all the way he-ergh!" He strained as he attempted to pick up the pack.
"That's alright Doc, I'm used to it. It's part of my training in fact." Thinking fast she said. "Don't feel too bad, there's like ten kilos of supplies in there and another hundred kilos in weights plus my clothes. It makes for great strength and stamina training."
"Oh yes, that would be rather effective wouldn't it." He closed the door to his lab as he led the way out of the compound. "Alright, the first thing you need to do to gain your full trainers license is to gain eight gym badges. The nearest gym is a rock type in Pewter city, and the person you need to speak to is Brock, he's the current Gym leader."
"Yeah I heard about that place, um so I just go in and challenge Brock?" Ranma thought back to the discussion he'd had with Dex earlier that morning.
"That's correct Ranma, he'll specify the standard league rules. I'm sure you'll find out that the battlefield at each Gym will favour the Gym leaders Pokemon, but other than that you should do fine. If not you can always re-challenge as soon as your Pokemon have recovered. Now second batch of information, you may challenge or be challenged by anyone who has a Pokemon, whether they're a licensed Pokemon trainer or not Most will specify that league rules apply, though they may stipulate any kind of rules as long as you agree. It is illegal to profit from these Pokemon battles, anyone caught gambling on the outcome may have their Pokemon taken away from them, in addition licensed trainers will receive a two year ban on entering official Pokemon tournaments and they'll find themselves on probation, meaning any infraction against league rules will cost them their license. Repeated offences are penalized to the full extent of the law, and may carry prison sentences from no less than fifteen years to multiple life sentences"
"Okay, I can live with that, the thought of making money off the pain of my Pokemon don't make me very happy an it won't make anyone who offers me a bet very happy either." Ranma cracked her knuckles to add emphasis to her statement.
"Good, I think that covers most any situation you might meet up with. So how are you doing for supplies?"
"I'm going to have to buy some more for me and the Pokemon. Do you know where I can get some around here?"
"Yes I'll introduce you to Peter before we go on to the festival." Ranma noticed that the streamers were getting thicker as they got closer to the centre of town, and up ahead was a large number of stalls which masses of people thronged around checking out the merchandise on offer. Games of chance and physical skill were all over the impromptu market place. The children running all over the place and the loud music announced to anyone who hadn't already guessed that this was a festival and not market day.
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Ranma left her pack in Officer Jenny's police booth once she'd bought all the supplies she'd need for the trek to the next town. She'd been thinking about the money Dex had created for her and didn't like it one bit. Sitting up in a tree before they went off to look at the festival Ranma decided to broach the subject and make sure Dex didn't get them all in trouble.
"Dex we aren't gonna do that very often are we? It's illegal an' I don't wanna be like Pops."
"I know Ranma, the problem is we needed immediate funds for the supplies, Professor Oak wouldn't have allowed us to depart if we didn't have money. Also it would be impossible to get supplies on credit given your youth. I don't particularly like it either, but it was expedient for me to do so. I only created a couple of hundred dollars in your account. Now if you don't like it I suggest you find another way to make money."
"Right! So let's think, who's gonna hire a girl who looks like she's only twelve or thirteen? Don't bother answerin' that cause I already know it. So I could supply something others need, but I ain't got the foggiest what that could be. You said that cloth maker thing could make me some money but we don't have any raw materials for it."
"Actually we do Ranma, Caterpie is a good source of silk for it, in fact a single Caterpie can produce enough String Shot in one day to produce a metre of high quality raw silk, or a few hundred metres of silk thread. With the addition of coloured dyes you could sell skeins of embroidery thread at fairs and markets like this."
"That sounds a lot better than stealing. So we're gonna go down there and get some dyes. We could also enter some of the competitions they have at festivals?"
Ranma dropped from the tree and headed off towards the fair carrying nothing but her pokeballs, Skye trotting a few paces behind her. "You ready to explore the festival Skye?"
"Pi!"
"Great, just remember don't shock anyone unless I say so okay?"
"Pi?" 'Who me? Skye cocked her head to one side in an innocent look that he wasn't buying for one second. He'd been around too many violent women in his time to doubt her capability to inflict pain on people she deemed deserving. She just gave him the 'look' before trotting off to explore a little of the market before he thought to tell her to stay with him. Of course a rodent that's only a foot tall doesn't tend to see very much other than the legs of passersby. A strong sense of smell on the other hand was a very handy thing to have; it led her straight to the first food stall where the vendor became the day's first recipient of the Pikachu cute attack.
Ranma shrugged as his new friend disappeared into the crowd of people, he'd catch up with her later he supposed or visa versa. Looking around for a particular kind of booth was pretty easy, their were only about eighty vendors for the few thousand residents of Pallet and the surrounding area. He quickly demolished the guy running the 'Pea shuffle' game as his hands weren't quicker than her eye and she saw him try to palm the 'Pea', he'd very quietly paid her the winnings she would have won and watched her disappear back into the crowd, sighing to himself he played a straight table for most of the rest of the afternoon. The giant running the arm wrestle nearly rolled out of his seat laughing at her when she asked to compete, that is until she asked if he was too weak to take on a little girl. The man did roll out of his chair as Ranma rammed the back of his hand into the table so fast it almost blurred. He lost a little money there but made it all back as the spectators rushed to fleece the obviously weak man.
The next stall Ranma discovered turned out to be the one he needed to buy dyes and stuff, he also got a fair idea of value for her proposed merchandise asking Dex to take note of the prices and stuff.
"Right, I wonder where I should go next?" The noise was starting to give her a headache, 'it might be time to leave.' She thought to herself then dismissed the idea. It was still a little early.
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Skye in the meantime was sitting back and watching the people pass by as she patted her stuffed belly, when the cute attack failed on the vendor she could usually find a customer who'd buy something for the cute little Pikachu. She'd paused a couple of times during the afternoon to see if she could find Ranma but had chosen not to join her trainer on the one occasion she'd noted his presence. She was enjoying herself too much as she explored a totally alien world to her normal experience.
"PiKA! Ka PIKa pi." Skye looked up in time to see a couple walk by, she didn't know that much about humans but there was something about them that drew her attention, and being the adventurous type she decided to follow them. After all she was full and she'd already seen everything that the small fair had to offer. Neither of the two seemed to notice the small yellow Pokemon as it followed them towards their destination.
Ranma replies too easily here I know, the thing is most people may understand more of a language than they speak. The hesitation in their replies isn't necessarily a lack of understanding but in quickly being able to formulate a reply in a new language. A simple question such as "Who are you?" is easily answered because names don't change.
The basic 'cute' attack, the 'puppy eyes' attack utilizes only the eyes and maybe a pout all depending on the desired intensity. The 'kawaii' attack, or second stage brings online other pertinent assets, drawing attention by clasping or wringing hands together over the pertinent area(breasts for those who're curious). The third and final stage is the 'Fangirl' attack which adds the glomp into the mix, this attack has been known to leave victims unconscious due to pure saccharine overdose, and has nothing to do with induced blood loss due to the victims hentai thoughts.
At this time Ranma hasn't been reunited with his mother in canon, and his father has left him to form his own opinion of his mother. Seeing all the happy families with a mother could lead a lonely child to make some really bad conclusions about this situation.
Pikachu with a New York attitude.
When I say assorted and use the lowest evolution of a species like this I'm trying to say that there are different evolutions of that species. So assorted Mankey means there are Primeape there also, assorted Pidgey means there might be Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and\or Pidgeot.
I'll call it a hive for the simple fact they're basically bees or wasps and as such their group name should reflect that.
Of course he edited out all the bits about being from a different world and the conversations with Dex.
Transnet is the Pokeworld equivalent of the internet, it uses the Transporter network as a carrier signal.
Chep and Loscam are types of wooden pallet as in Pallet town, it's a joke and they don't really exist in the Pokemon world. I thought I'd keep the naming convention of some of the other Pokemon worlds regions such as naming towns and cities after colours.