Chapter 1
16-Year old Ash Ketchum awoke to the booming horn of a boat, announcing its presence to the nearing bay. Groaning, he sat up in bed, threw the covers off, and threw on his clothes, nudging Pikachu awake as he did so. His partner slowly stirred, exhaustion evident in his face. Both had possessed quite a bit of difficulty sleeping the previous night, their excitement over today's adventures getting the best of them. The young trainer quickly brushed his teeth, threw on his cap, and grabbed his pack before heading to the door, his faithful companion leaping onto his shoulder happily as he exited the room.
"You ready Pikachu?" The boy asked, fully aware of the impending response, but asking anyway out of tradition. Pikachu merely nodded, smiling as he emitted a determined "Pikapi!" The boy gave a small grin from the sudden energy of his companion as they continued down the hall and out to the deck. He gently nudged open the door at the end of the chamber and entered into the daylight of the outside world, where most of the voyagers were already leaning over the railing, snapping photos and pointing to the nearing coast excitedly.
"Looks like we got here a little late buddy," he remarked as he examined the crowd. "In any case, I doubt it'll slow us down too much. In the meantime, let's phone Professor Oak."
"Pii 'pi chu!" his friend agreed, and Ash pulled out his new Pokémunicator to dial the professor. A few moments went by, and Ash tapped his foot impatiently. After a few rings, a voice greeted him from the other end of the line.
"Ah, Ash I wondered when I'd hear from you! I trust you made it to Newbark safely?"
"Just arrived Professor. Figured I'd let you know while the crowd is thinning out onboard," Ash responded, smiling at the sound of his mentor's voice. "Should be off the boat soon enough."
"Excellent! I trust you remember the instructions well enough?"
"Soon as I get on shore, I'm heading to meet Professor Pine at the lab right? East side of town?"
"Quite right, he'll fill you in from there."
"Gotcha. I'll call you later to fill you in on anything unexpected."
"Are you anticipating something unexpected?"
"It's been six years Prof, you know how this goes. At this point it seems a waste to even bother keeping a schedule," the trainer joked, eliciting a laugh from the old man on the other line.
"Fair enough. I'll expect your call later then."
"You got it. In the meantime, the crowd's thinning out. I better get on shore."
"Of course, don't keep Professor Pine waiting. Give him my regards!"
"Will do Prof. Talk to you later," and with that, Ash ended the call, placing the Pokémunicator back in his pocket as he ambled off the vessel, turning his attention to his surroundings for the first time that day.
The town was small, but cozy, not unlike Pallet Town back in Kanto. Far above, avians circled in the sky, with Wingull scattered along the beach and Taillow nestled in the trees. Families traversed the town, shopping, chatting, and eating in various buildings. Children played in the nearby park, and it wasn't uncommon for a stray Zigzagoon to approach the younger ones. The terrain itself seemed to be comprised of a grassland biome, hills visible in the distance, trees jutting up occasionally from the expanse. Climate seemed temperate, not feeling overly hot despite the sun overhead. After a few seconds of examination, Ash spotted a large building to his left, clearly in the eastward direction.
"That must be it Pikachu," he murmured, cocking his cap down a bit to keep the glare out of his eyes as he adjusted their course for the building. Upon reaching it, he stopped just outside and glanced up at the sign, reading it aloud. "Professor Pine's Laboratory – Detailing regional biodiversity for almost 25 years." After reading the message, he pushed the door open and entered the lab, glancing around.
Computers littered the room, and several high-tech machines could be seen in this room alone. Many of them were completely unfamiliar to Ash, but he recognized a few from Oak's lab. Pokéballs could be seen on a large shelf on the left side of the room, and notes were scrawled above each of them, including name, type, and number in the Pokédex.
"Professor?" Ash called out, glancing around the room. A few moments passed. "Anyone here?"
"One moment!" a voice called from the adjacent room. A few louds clatters sounded off, and a light flickered for a moment, before a shorter man with wild, snow white hair peeked out from the room. "Are you the Ketchum boy?" he asked, intelligent eyes gazing curiously.
"Yeah, that's me…" Ash responded, examining the man. He was shorter, probably 5'9, with pale Caucasian skin. His lab coat was not abnormal, though there were a few loose strings on the sleeves. His hair, snow white in color, was unkempt, sticking out every which way as though he had just been electrocuted. He wore glasses over his eyes, steel rimmed, with circular lenses, which added to the professorial appearance. His most interesting feature, however, was his eyes: Light blue in color, with a large amount of intelligence hidden in them, but also a fair amount of curiosity, and – above all else – Eccentricness. The man looked completely unorthodox, and most certainly had a few marbles rolling around upstairs. Ash took a liking to him instantly.
"Samuel told me you'd be around right quick, though he warned me you might be a bit late," he stated, running around the room as he fiddled with various gadgets. "I trust you know the basic principle of my request?"
Ash glanced around the room, trying to figure out exactly what everything was. "Uh, essentially. He said you'd brief me on specifics, but I assume it has to do with the Pokédex?" Professor Pine nodded in response, frantically running past Ash toward a computer monitor behind him. Ash had to whirl around to even continue talking to him.
"Yes, yes, exactly, the Pokédex, that's exactly what- Don't touch that!" he shouted, Ash halting his finger in midair. He had been reaching toward a small blue light on a nearby machine, curiosity enveloping him, but the Professor's warning signaled him to stop. The man quickly ran over and hit a combination of keys on the built in keypad, and the light turned off. "As I was saying, that's exactly what I needed to ask you about. I trust you have yours?"
"Yeah, it's filled pretty well. Most of the regions are in here by now." He responded, pulling it out to examine it. The Professor snatched it from his hand and cycled through the data sheets, scanning them intensely.
"Good, I need someone who knows what they're doing. I trust you planned on traversing the region anyway?"
"Yeah, I was intending to challenge the Pokémon League here, provided there is one."
"Well of course there is boy, what kind of region do you think this is?" the professor exclaimed, lightly tapping Ash on the head with a stick, though Ash wondered where he obtained it from.
"Just making sure," Ash assured him as he rubbed the point of impact.
"Good. You can start by heading to Gladesville, it's just south of here. You should encounter quite a few entries along the way. Be ready after that, there will be plenty of surprises."
"I doubt anything will surprise me anymore Professor, but thanks for the warning," Ash responded, eliciting a chuckle from the man. "What's so funny?"
"You'll understand later, I assure you. On another note, I may have a Pokémon around here to loan you. I've heard your Pikachu is strong, but electric types will have some trouble in these parts," he warned as he searched the room for scattered pokéballs. Pikachu grumbled at that remark, emitting a small "Piii, Ka…" in response.
"If it's all the same to you Professor, Pikachu and I would like to do this on our own merits, capture them ourselves. Anything else would feel like cheating," Ash explained, and Pikachu nodded in agreement. The Professor stopped at this, glancing over at Ash, studying him and his partner.
"A noble sentiment… well, if that is your wish, I don't see why not. Best of luck to you Ash," the man responded, using Ash's first name for the first time the entire conversation. Ash grinned and turned to exit, then halted at the door.
"By the way, Professor Oak sends his regards," he finished, and then left, leaving the professor to his work. The man smiled slightly at this, watches the door Ash had just exited a few seconds, and then returned to his scurrying, fiddling with everything in sight.