A/N: It's good to be back! I want to apologize in advance for how long it took for me to update this story. That last two months have been hell with a combination of finals in school, two jobs, and two sports respectively. To be honest with you, I couldn't find any time at all to write and most of what you're about to read was written in the past few days. Now for a little bit of good news…most of what you're reading was written in the past few days! Meaning that things have died down a little bit for me so I now have more time to write! I wanted to make up for the very long wait with an extra long chapter that's twice the size of chapter 1, and almost twice the size of chapter 2! On a final note before I address the reviewers, I have decided to up the rating on this story to M just for safety. With Ash hitting thirteen years old I decided to be a little more profane in character speech. (What teenager doesn't swear?) You have been warned, now to the reviewers:
Tempest86: Thanks for being a returning reviewer! Yes I decided to go with Pikachu, I couldn't have written this story without him or else I would feel like I'm betraying a part of my childhood. I'll keep an eye out for your story and I'm looking forward to it.
Vital Info: Thanks for reviewing again! I'm glad you liked the description of his day-to-day events; that was my favorite part to write. That was something that rubbed off on me from reading Naruto fanfiction where he does intense training and doesn't suck like he does in the manga. Pikachu's development will be something that will be addressed in the upcoming chapters with a few flashbacks maybe or whatever I decide to throw in.
Tendou Souji: I always love reading your reviews! They're very long and I greatly appreciate the effort you put into helping me with my grammar. I want to particularly thank you for introducing me to the horizontal ruler. It does make the story flow much better. Thanks again for all of the other various grammar corrections; hopefully I wrote this chapter a little better. Enjoy!
saveme57: Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the chapter!
Shades of Grey: Thanks for being a return reviewer! I'm glad that you enjoy the way the story is moving and I greatly appreciate all of your other comments!
Nauran: Thanks for the grammar tips! I'm also glad that you're a fellow original pokemon fan! Enjoy the chapter.
partner555: I'm glad you like the humor to drama transitions. Thank you for reviewing and enjoy the chapter!
exeafirm: Thanks for reviewing and read on, maybe it will happen…
lightningblade49: Thanks for reviewing! And I agree with you…
DBZFTW: Thank you! Enjoy the chapter!
LazyFoxLover: Thank you for your reviews! I'm trying to make Ash smarter and more interesting, but I agree that you also have to love his fun and naïve side.
XoreandoX: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad that you appreciate the story. The jaws scene might have been a little over the top, but I had that idea in my head for a while and wanted to put it in. Those won't be common but I might have one every once in a while if they're stuck in my head like that one was. Enjoy the chapter!
kyunaru: Thank you very much and enjoy the chapter!
mamoswineFTW: I feel your pain man, I've browsed through the Pokemon archives for hours looking for good stories of that type. Unfortunately, there are only a handful that are even related to this topic and even fewer that are worth reading. So I decided to follow a saying that I can't remember where I heard it from: If you can't read it, write it. We need more smart Ash stories that appeal to older pokemon fans! And they only author I can recommend to you, even though he hasn't updated in ages, would be Thomas3Garchomp. Hope that helps you.
Auriansmule: Thank you! Enjoy the chapter!
GaijinSamurai: I can see where you're coming from with not liking Pikachu because of what the anime did to him. I too am very frustrated with how Pikachu would go and beat a legendary pokemon then lose to some kid's starter he just got on that day. I can assure you that my Pikachu won't be like that, MY Pikachu will be the way THEIR Pikachu should've been. I hope you can still enjoy the story with Pikachu as Ash's starter. As for a pairing with Ash, I can't reveal too much at this point without heavily spoilers, so sorry about that. Either way, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Believe it or not, I do not own Pokemon. If I did, real Pokemon would have somehow been invented and I'd be coming at you with my own personal Charizard.
The Prodigy
Chapter 3: Reminiscence, Goodbyes, and New Horizons
"Pull!" A loud shout pierced the silence in the clearing of the dense forest on Professor Oak's ranch. Following the loud cry, a round disk soared through the midday sky only to be struck and instantly vaporized by a powerful Thundershock, "Pika!"
"Great job buddy!" exclaimed a thirteen-year-old Ash Ketchum. He now stood at an impressive 5'7 for his age after finally hitting his growth spurt. He still wore his regular blue jeans, black t-shirt, and his short-sleeve jacket, only they were a size or two larger now. The only two glaring differences were his slightly longer hair and his more angular, defined face due to hitting puberty. He still wore his trademark hat, but his hair now slightly poked out from beneath and hit about two inches above his shoulders.
"Again! Pull!" he yelled as he threw two disks from the pile next to him this time. "Pikachu!" Taking a split-second to lock on to the disks, electricity began swirling around his tiny body as hundreds of volts coursed inside of him. A second later, two powerful, accurate bolts of electricity were released from Pikachu which hastily incinerated the two disks. As the electricity dissipated from his body, Pikachu turned towards Ash with a seemingly mocking look on his face as if he were looking for more of a challenge.
Ash stood there with pleased smirk on his face while reflecting on just how far Pikachu had come with his training in only one year, "That Thunderbolt is really coming along nicely Pikachu! One more and we're done! Give me everything you have with this last one, Thunder!" he cried as this time he rapidly fired off the last remaining three disks.
Gathering every bolt of electricity that his powerful, compact body could muster, the ground began to shake and small chunks of earth rose from the ground as electricity began to fly wildly in every direction centered around Pikachu. As suddenly as the electricity had appeared, it all vanished back into Pikachu's body as everything else seemed to die down. Pikachu visibly trembled as he struggled to contain the immense power that was being restrained by his tiny frame. Unable to contain the massive amount of electricity anymore, Pikachu released it all in a spectacular explosion that scorched everything within a thirty yard range, including the three unfortunate disks…
Having already been aware of his partner's reputation as a property damage nightmare, Ash began walking towards Pikachu from his self proclaimed 'safe zone' about forty yards away. Pikachu turned towards Ash with an exhausted but satisfied look on his face, "Pika" Pikachu chirped embarrassedly as he surveyed the mess he had just made out of the Professor's land.
While still managing to keep a cool exterior, inside, Ash still couldn't believe how powerful Pikachu had managed to become. "I know for a fact that Team Rocket didn't do anything but put him into a blind rage from the Professor's tests, but that power is still unbelievable! No fully matured Pikachu should have that kind of power let alone one that young. He could give a full-grown Electabuzz a run for its money!"
Ash's train of thought continued as he reached his exhausted partner and lightly petted him on the head. "That overflow of electricity does concern me though. Pikachu wasted so much power on that last Thunder and it even seems to hurt him a little bit when he tries to use it. I'll have to get some advice from the Professor when we get back…"
"Still too powerful for your own good huh buddy?" he joked light-heartedly as he picked Pikachu up and set him on his shoulder. "Don't worry though, one of these days you'll be able to control all of that power, and I'll be right here to help you do it," Ash smiled as he looked at Pikachu. "As much as you don't want to hear it, we might have to use you sparingly against some of the rookie trainers or you'll end up frying their pokemon," he said jokingly.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu voiced his displeasure as he smacked Ash on the back of his head with his tail. Amused at his pokemon's reaction, Ash looked back at Pikachu and attempted to pacify him. "Don't give me that, you'll still get to battle, we'll just have to teach you some self-restraint," he said with a sweatdrop as he surveyed the cause of the upcoming headache he was bound to receive from the Professor.
"Pi-ka-chu, pika-pi," the electric rodent shot back with a dry look at the first human he had come to trust. That roughly translated to "Are you seriously complaining about having a Pokemon that's too strong?" Ash still couldn't fully understand everything Pikachu said, but now he could at least always get the gist of it.
Ash gave Pikachu an annoyed look, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just get back to the lab already so you rest up and I can grab a bite to eat. I'm so hungry right now I could probably eat that rock over there," he said as he pointed at an odd shaped, circular-looking boulder next to a tree.
The aforementioned rock, suddenly sprouted arms and legs as it revealed itself to be a mid-sized Graveler. Not taking too kindly to the prospect of being eaten, the Graveler slowly made its way towards Ash before coming to a halt directly in front of him. Having been abruptly woken from it's nap, the Graveler settled for simply giving Ash an 'I'll-get-you-for-this-later look', before slowly edging its way past him to most likely continue it's nap elsewhere.
"He-he-he," Ash awkwardly laughed once the Graveler had left. Pikachu just sat there on his shoulder with a mirthful look his face as nothing more had to be done to after that display of Ash's bad luck and stupidity combined. "As I was saying, I think it's about time we make our way back to the lab…" he finished as he began his trek back towards the Professor's lab with his companion on his right shoulder.
(Back at the lab)
It had been a hectic day for Professor Oak. That was a complete understatement; it had been an extremely hectic day for the Professor. In fact, one could argue that today is one of the busiest days of the entire year for the Professor. The reason being that today was the day before the first group of new pokemon trainers would be leaving Pallet Town for the first time in three years since the league had increased the rookie trainer age.
Oak was currently running between the lab and his office as he was simultaneously checking the roster of arriving trainers and running final examinations on the starter pokemon which had arrived yesterday, courtesy of the Pokemon League. Such was the sight that greeted Ash as he walked in the back door with Pikachu in tow.
"Ahhh! Air conditioning! How I missed you!" yelled Ash in exhaustion as he walked in and immediately collapsed on the couch. "Professor! Would you make me a sandwich? I would make it, but this couch is way too comfy. Hey, I thought you started all of that stuff for tomorrow at seven this morning. How are you still working on it?"
A tick grew on the professor's forehead as he turned towards Ash with an annoyed look, "Well it turns out we have way more trainers coming tomorrow than I anticipated. And make your own damn sandwich, some of us have been working since the break of dawn unlike others who decided to go out and have fun training all day," the frazzled professor finished with a huff.
A look of amusement and fake indignation crossed Ash's face as he quickly countered, "What do you mean I didn't work today? I've been doing the most important work of all! I'm working towards becoming the best pokemon master in the world!" he finished with heroic pose, Pikachu playing along, right behind him.
"Are you finished? Whenever you are, eat your sandwich, then grab this clipboard, and head into my office and finish organizing the information of the upcoming trainers," he said with a dry look.
"Awww really? But I wanted to go check on the starter pokemon! After all, one of them will be mine tomorrow, right?" he asked with an expecting look.
Deciding to play Ash's game, the Professor pulled rank, "Did you attend the Pokemon Academy in Viridian City for eight years to become a registered Pokemon Professor? I didn't think so. Only officially registered Professors may handle starter pokemon before they reach the hands of their first trainers. Besides, who said you were getting one of them?" 'This will be good,' he thought with a mental chuckle.
One could hear pin drop as Ash stared at the professor with a blank look on face. That blank look however, was immediately replaced with one of pure horror, then pure rage. "What? What do you mean I don't get a starter pokemon? I'm going to be a new trainer tomorrow! All new trainers receive a starter pokemon from their regional Professor! It's in the rulebook! Why am I any different?..." these objections were followed only by more complaints, a loud string of curses, and incoherent mumbling.
'Why didn't I bring a camera for this?' thought the professor whose mental laughter by now had grown into full blown hysterics.
"Ash," began the professor only to be drowned out by his increasing volume.
"Ash," he tried once more, only to meet failure once again.
"Ash!" he yelled finally losing his patience with the complaining teenager.
"What?" Ash yelled, finally deciding to acknowledge the professor.
"Would you please explain to me what the definition of a pokemon trainer is?" the professor said with a thoughtful look on his face.
Without second thought, Ash began, "A pokemon trainer is one who catches wild pokemon with pokeballs, raises them, and trains them to battle other trainer's pokemon. What does that have to do with anything though?" he asked thoroughly puzzled.
"That is correct. So tell me, am I right in saying that since you have already caught a pokemon, trained with it, and battled me numerous times, that you are already a pokemon trainer?" he finished with a keen look.
Knowing what the professor was getting at, he answered. "If that's the case, then why didn't I get a starter pokemon after I caught Pikachu? Assuming that you registered me as a pokemon trainer after I caught him." he asked with a smirk, believing he had beaten him.
Feeling that the conversation had begun to lighten up, the professor knew he was going to get another kick when he dropped this on Ash. "Yes I did register you shortly after that, and you may think so, but tell me, what is the definition of starter in its loosest form?" the professor questioned as he already began doing his own victory dance in his head.
He didn't see the professor's trap at first. "Well, as far as I know, starter means first, or beginning… hey! Are you saying that makes Pikachu my starter pokemon then?
Having been silent while watching the exchange, Pikachu felt slightly offended at Ash's last remark. Sparks began to crack around his body as he slowly advanced towards Ash with a look that promised pain.
"Not that there's anything wrong that!" he quickly added, hoping to diffuse the electrical time bomb slowly heading his way.
Pacified for now, the sparks began to dissipate as Pikachu turned back around with a forceful "Pika!" Which Ash roughly translated to 'Damn right!'
Relieved that his lab just narrowly avoided being wrecked by Pikachu, the professor got back on track. "Anyway, as I was saying, yes that does make Pikachu your official starter pokemon. Most people only assume that Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle can be a trainer's first pokemon since that's how it usually turns out. But in reality, any pokemon can be considered a trainer's starter," he concluded informatively.
Ash was beginning to make sense of the situation, but one nagging thought kept popping up in his mind. "Alright, I get what you're saying about the starter pokemon, but something keeps bothering me. If you're saying that I've been a pokemon trainer for about a year already, then haven't I broken Pokemon League rules? I thought I wasn't allowed to legally be registered as a trainer until I was thirteen years old."
The professor had an answer for this however as he had expected Ash to ask that question eventually. "Normally you would be right, but being the apprentice of a world renowned pokemon professor does have its perks…" he began with a toothy grin.
"Well aren't you modest," he said with light sarcasm. Then the reality of the situation hit him, "Wait, you pulled strings for me? I don't want people thinking that the only reason I'm a good trainer is because you handed me everything without me having to work for it!" he cried beginning to get upset.
"Ash," the professor said with a stern look. "Don't ever think that I handed you everything ever again. You worked harder than I could have ever imagined and surpassed everyone, including my own expectations. Your hard work will be the reason you are successful in the future, not me. I can also assure you that no one else thinks that, because making you a trainer early was really the only thing I've done for you behind the scenes."
"But wouldn't people think that an extra year would give me an advantage over all of the trainers just starting out?" he asked worriedly.
"Not in your case, not too many people even know about it, and those who do know the reasoning behind it. Between the details of the power plant incident and my reputation, the higher-ups in the Pokemon League had no problems letting you keep Pikachu seeing as you caught him, already made a connection with him, and they knew that your mother and I wouldn't let you out into the wild until you were thirteen anyway," he said allaying Ash's worries.
"Besides," he continued, "It's not like this is that big of a deal anyway. All you did was just have possession of one pokemon. You didn't travel out into the wild or battle trainers other than myself. That's really what the age change was meant for, not prohibiting the ownership of pokemon. So you're fine, don't worry about it anymore."
With his worries put to rest, Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright then, I just don't want people thinking that the only reason I win battles is because I learned under you. I really appreciate everything you taught me, but now it's mine turn to do things alone. The whole world is gonna know my name when I reach the top!"
"Just make sure you keep that confidence of yours in check boy, I didn't teach someone who's going to rub all of their victories in others faces, besides, saying something and doing it are two completely different things." he quipped in a matter-of-factly tone.
"I know, I know, trust me, even with all I've learned from you I know it's not gonna be easy," Ash said with true sincerity. "Anyway, so what's going on with me tomorrow since I'm not getting a starter?" Ash asked, switching gears.
The professor seemed to get a glint in his eye which slightly unnerved Ash. "Oh, don't you worry about that; I have something very special planned for you. You could call it another one of the perks of being my apprentice," he said cryptically. "Now, let's get this work done so I can send you home to get a good night's sleep. You're going to need it for what I have in store for you tomorrow…" he finished as he handed Ash the clipboard and walked off towards the starter pokemon.
"O-kay…" he said, severely weirded out by the change in the professor's behavior. "Well you heard him Pikachu, let's finish this work so we can head home, I wanna spend some more time with mom before we leave tomorrow anyway," Ash said as he turned and made his way towards Professor Oak's office.
"Pika!" Pikachu responded enthusiastically as he jumped, gracefully landing on his companion's right shoulder.
- (A Few Hours Later, Ketchum Residence)
Ash and Delia were currently in the kitchen eating a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes; Ash's all time favorite, while Pikachu took a nap on the couch in the living room. The house had a very loving, yet somber feel to it as this was the last night Ash would be spending in it for a quite a while.
It had taken Ash around two hours to finish organizing the information about the upcoming trainers. He was still a little shocked at just how many trainers there were, and how much information had to be in order about them. After finishing, Ash and the Professor had a very important conversation about a certain electric rodent, and they went over a few more last minute details concerning his journey before he was dismissed.
To his immense frustration however, the professor did not reveal a single detail concerning what was planned for him tomorrow, and it was still bugging him to this very moment.
"What's wrong honey? Steak and potatoes are your favorite. They should have been gone ten minutes ago! If anyone should be bothered by anything, it's me," she moaned, referred to fact he was leaving tomorrow, something she had done numerous times already that evening.
"I'm just a little anxious for tomorrow mom, that's all. We both knew this day was coming eventually; we should enjoy the rest of the time we have together," Ash said in an attempt to cheer up his mother.
However, that was the wrong thing to say apparently as Mrs. Ketchum suddenly burst into tears. "My baby is leaving me! I'm going to be all alone while he's out exploring the world!" she cried, unable to contain the grief of Ash's departure any longer.
Ash rose from the table and walked towards his mother, as he reached her; he pulled her into a loving embrace, one which seemed to express gratitude for everything she had ever done for him the past thirteen years. "C'mon now mom, I'm all grown up, it's time for me to take care of myself now. I'll still be in touch, and you can rest assured I'm leaving millions of times more prepared than if I would have left three years ago, and it's all thanks to my great teachers," he finished with a warm smile.
Tears continued to flow from the eyes of Delia Ketchum, not from grief, but from love, and from pride of the man her son had grown to become. "You're right, you are grown up. And I couldn't possibly be any more proud of how you've turned out. You better keep in touch with me young man, and don't even think of passing by Pallet without stopping by and seeing your loving mother," she said as she held her son in her arms for what she knew would be the last time for a while.
All traces of somberness left the Ketchum household as the mother and son embraced for the final time before Ash's departure. Delia looked up from the embrace, "Ash, you have to promise me one more thing before I can let you leave," she said, breaking the tender silence.
"Anything mom, what is it?" Ash responded.
"You have to promise me that you'll make sure you change your underwear every day," she said with complete sincerity.
"What? Mom! You can't be serious!" Ash yelled as he jumped away from his mom, effectively ruining their mother-son bonding moment.
With a little too much enthusiasm in her voice for Ash's comfort, she replied, "Well of course I'm serious honey! How can you expect to become a pokemon master when you can't even remember to change your you-know-whats each day?"
Realizing there was no swaying his mom, Ash sulked. "Do I really have to promise?" he groaned, feeling every bit of his newfound grown-up, take-care-of-himself attitude leaving by the second.
"Yes honey, I won't let you leave until you promise me," Delia said with a stern, enforcing glare that only a mom can effectively pull off.
"Fine…I promise that I'll change my underwear every day..." Ash finally surrendered as he discovered the cold hard truth concerning arguments with your mom…there is no hope of winning arguments with your mom; ever.
"See Ash? Now was that so hard?" she asked with a satisfied grin.
"Yes, yes it was," Ash murmured despairingly as felt the last of his manhood crumble before his mom's will.
"Either way! With that taken care of, I can now officially give you my full support for you leaving tomorrow!" she cheered, opposite of the grief she had felt earlier. "Oh, and don't worry about the dishes honey. You need some sleep so that you're ready for your big day tomorrow!"
"Thanks mom, I'm pretty tired, and I do have to be well rested so that I'm ready for whatever the world the professor has in store for me tomorrow." Ash said as he walked into the living room to pick up his still sleeping companion, and began to make his way up the stairs.
"That's right Ash. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early then. Goodnight!" she said unsurprised with a knowing look in her eye, uncaught by Ash as he was in the other room.
"Night mom! Love ya!" Ash yawned as he reached the top of the stairs holding a sleeping Pikachu, and turned towards his bedroom. Missing the fact that his mom knew about the professor's plans despite Ash not mentioning a word of it to her…
(An Hour Later, Ash's Room)
Ash's room for the most part remained unchanged from three years ago. Still adorning his walls were various posters of different pokemon including a large poster of the three Kanto starter pokemon. A pokeball alarm clock still rested on his nightstand next to him. He had bought a new one shortly after he had destroyed the original now exactly three years ago. Lying on top of his dresser were his clothes set out for tomorrow, topped with his trademark official Pokemon League hat. He had promised himself a long time ago that he would never get rid of that hat for as long as it was still intact.
The two main differences in his room from before included a bookshelf packed with various books and magazines Professor Oak had Ash read over the years, and a small, functioning laptop on a neat, wooden desk. He got it for Christmas two years ago as a present from his mother and the professor. He used his laptop to stay updated and informed on what's going on in the pokemon world, and in his free time, to casually browse the web and play games like any other normal teenager.
However sleep seemed to avoid Ash that evening. For the past hour Ash had done nothing but toss and turn in his bed, unable to sleep due to the numerous thoughts that were flying through his head. Worries, regrets, and mistakes from the past few years attempted to flood his thoughts, only to be pushed back by confidence. Confidence in the professor's teachings, confidence in his mom's guidance, and confidence in himself.
His thoughts were currently focused on planning out his course of action throughout his journey. He had drawn up a rough plan in a little black notebook a long time ago, but he knew from the professor to always expect the unexpected, and that things won't always turn out like the way he had planned.
Ash's train of thought was now focused on what type of pokemon he wanted to catch. He knew that if he wanted any hope of succeeding, he would need a balanced team that would cover all different kinds of type match-ups. He was so focused on his thoughts that he failed to notice the light tap of something hitting his window.
'I'm definitely going to need a strong fire, water, and grass type pokemon to cover the three basic types, and with Pikachu being an secondary electric type, I'm going to need two more that would cover a broad range of types…" Ash thought as he mentally scanned through which pokemon would fill those spots, failing to notice the tap on his window once more.
'Yes, those two would make great pokemon if they were trained correctly,' he thought as he smiled through his pillow. 'But why should I limit myself to just six powerful pokemon? Gotta catch 'em all right? The more types of pokemon I have, the more I'll keep my opponent guess…'
"Ahhhh!" Ash suddenly yelled as he jumped out of bed in fear from the sound of something crashing through his window.
"What the hell was that?" he gasped while lying in a heap at the foot of his bed. Pikachu who had also been woken from the crash, was now awake and fully alert at it's master's side. Quickly gathering himself, he faintly noticed a round object lying in the middle of a pile of broken glass as he rushed to his window to find the culprit.
"Oh shit! She's gonna kill me!" Ash barely heard in a somewhat familiar voice from a figure in black who he caught fleeing his house at feverish pace.
As the man turned the bend which led into the center of town, Ash realized that any hope of catching him disappeared as quickly as the man had. Labeling the figure as a lost cause for now, Ash turned his attention to the mysterious object lying on the floor.
Picking it up and holding it to the moonlight in the window, he was shocked to discover that the object in question was in fact, a pokeball. Instantly the pros and cons of opening it rushed through Ash's brain, which was already in overdrive from believing it was in danger earlier.
On one hand, if it was a pokemon, Ash knew that Pikachu would most likely be more than enough to handle it. On the other hand, having Pikachu would do Ash no good if it was instead some kind of trap, or worse, a bomb.
After taking a moment to weigh out his options, Ash decided to test his luck as he enlarged the pokeball and lightly tossed it to the other side of his room. He immediately saw a light emerge from the pokeball which seemed to take the shape of a pokemon, but he wasn't quite sure as he was instead focused on the thing that was rapidly flying towards his head…
"Pika!" Pikachu wailed as sparks flied from it's body, seeing the thing fly at Ash and believing him to be in mortal danger.
"Ahhh!" Ash cried as the thing was merely inches away from his face. His screams were quickly drowned out however and he began to choke as if from water?
*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!* Ash lied on the ground hacking his lungs out; knocked off his feet from what he now realized was a water gun. The sparks around Pikachu disappeared is it calmed down after realizing the identity of the attacker.
Standing in all of its glory in the opposite of the room, was Seadra, standing there and admiring it's work, which was still recovering on the floor, it's coughing died down.
"Seadra, what are you doing here? You nearly gave me a heart attack," Ash groaned as he pulled himself back up into a sitting position.
With a satisfied cry, Seadra made its way over to Ash and Pikachu while flapping its fins. Ash thought that Seadra was just celebrating how good it had managed to get him this time, but as his attention was drawn to it's fins, he noticed a piece of paper taped to the side of the right one.
"What's this?" Ash asked aloud as he carefully removed the piece of paper from Seadra and began to unfold it. To his surprise, there was a note addressed to him written on the inside of it…
Ash,
It's been a good three years. You've learned a lot and made all of us proud. However, now it's time for your last test, a final exam if you will. In all of your time here, despite all of your accomplishments, you have yet to defeat me. In fact, I've even kept score for you. Isn't that considerate? Officially, the score is eight hundred and sixty one wins for me, and none for you. You have one last chance to prove to me that these last three years have not been for naught, and that you have surpassed me. Meet me at the battlefield at the break of dawn and make sure you come alone. We will be having a 2-on-2 battle. You will be using Pikachu and the pokemon I provided for you, and I will be using…well, that's for you to find out tomorrow. I have faith in you, but do not think for one moment that I will go easy on you. If you do not come focused tomorrow, I will decimate you like I did in your first year here. I will give you one piece of advice that you would be wise to take if you want any chance of winning tomorrow. Refer to strategy Delta 09. You have been taking notes from our lessons I hope?
Oak
Shaking his head with a smirk on his face, Ash picked himself up off the floor and walked over to his desk. "He would do something like this. Of course I'm not allowed to just leave for my journey tomorrow; he would never make it that easy for me. I don't think mom's gonna be too happy about that window though," he chuckled as he threw the note away into his garbage can.
Heading to the bookcase, he reached on the third shelf down and pulled out a notebook with the word 'Strategy' written in large letters on the front. 'Of course I took notes from those strategy lessons of yours, how else was I going to learn how to finally beat you?' he thought with a smile on his face.
Pulling on a bookmark with the letter 'D' imprinted on it, the notebook opened to a section that was entitled 'Delta'. Scrolling down until Ash reached the number nine; his smile grew wider as soon as he saw what was written next to it. "And he would also pick that strategy out of all of them. That one's not going to be easy at all."
(The Next Morning, Professor Oak's Battlefield)
The cool, crisp morning wind brushed past Ash's and Pikachu's faces as they stood on the edge of the Professor's battlefield. Ash and Professor Oak's annual battles had really relit the professor's flame to the point that he decided to splurge even more of his earnings into renovating the field. The small battlefield the professor spared a little bit of his spare money to build a few years ago had undergone a stunning transformation and was now a sight to behold.
State-of-the-art bleachers and spotlights now surrounded the battlefield, making it possible for spectators to watch, and for battles to take place at night. There was also an opening in the bleachers on the north side which bordered the ranch allowing some of the professor's pokemon to have a front row seat to watch some of the battles. The actual battlefield, the regulation soft ground surface, was neatly painted with white lines, and adorned with a large pokeball in the center. However, the field also had another feature, one which truly made it rival even the Indigo League's fields.
What truly made the professor's stadium stand out was the fact that you could hold a battle in any possible terrain. Beneath the surface lied three more battlefield surfaces which can easily be switched with another, each one favoring the strengths of different types of pokemon. The first layer was rocky, mountainous terrain which obviously favors rock and ground type pokemon. The second layer was a lush, overgrown terrain filled with shrubs and high grass which favors grass, bug, or any type of pokemon that utilizes stealth.
Finally, the final layer was simply an underground pool that could be raised to the surface. The pool contains a few floating surfaces for pokemon that can't swim, but it's really intended to have great aquatic battles between water pokemon. Also, using a cooling system, the surface of the water can be frozen to create an ice surface, which favors ice pokemon.
Topping off the professor's stadium was the announcer's booth, and the large, HD scoreboard programmed with the latest software in pokemon battle technology. Being one of the foremost authorities in the pokemon world really does break the bank. Finally, by the main entrance, were two, fully grown oak trees in all of their glory holding up a large sign bearing the name of the professor's stadium; 'The Mighty Oak'.
All in all, the professor really got his money's worth as he now had one of the most luxurious battlefields in all of Kanto. The professor's love for battling had been completely reignited from his and Ash's annual battles. However, did you think that the professor invested all of that money just for his and Ash's enjoyment? No, the professor has already contacted the Pokemon League and plans to host future tournaments and showcases, bringing a little more revenue to Pallet Town.
Getting back to the moment at hand, Ash and Pikachu stood at the edge of the stairs that led up to the challenger's box, a tired expression on their faces, just as the morning sun began to peek over the Pallet hills. "Well, here I am. Knowing him he's gonna make some big, overblown entrance…" Ash yawned, but still remained focused.
Right on cue, two spotlights suddenly lit up, piercing through the still dim morning sky, illuminating the opposite trainer box in light. From what Ash could see from his viewpoint, there was a figure standing in the box, but he was surrounded by shadows from the spotlights. As Ash and Pikachu made their way up into their own box, he was able to fully discern the figure in the opposite box. "Oh no he didn't…"
Standing in the opposite trainers box, with a focused look on his face, was indeed Professor Oak, but he was wearing clothing that was about two sizes, and thirty years too small. His get-up was not too different from Ash, he wore a pair of blue jeans with a bulging button, a white t-shirt which was dangerously stretched with a red jacket similar in design to Ash's, and a hat with a red and blue pokeball emblem emblazoned on it.
"Professor? What the hell are you wearing? And what's with keeping everything a secret from me in favor of chucking a pokeball with instructions through my window last night? Ash yelled across the battlefield, now fully awake, and somewhat pissed.
"I'm not Professor Oak. My name is Sam Oak, I'm a pokemon trainer and I'm here to be the final test for your skills. Not that you stand a chance against me anyway," the professor said in a smug tone, playing his part well.
Ash's male ego didn't take too kindly to that direct insult. "What was that?" he said angrily. "I see what's going on. Why don't you back that up then with a battle? Ash taunted as he enlarged the pokemon he grabbed from his belt.
"I thought you would never ask…" Oak said mockingly as he pulled out his own pokeball. He was just about to throw it when suddenly…
"Wait!" A feminine voice boomed from the press box. A moment later, Mrs. Ketchum came running out onto the field in her old official Pokemon League referee uniform, which still actually managed to fit her quite well.
"Mom? Not you too! What are you doing here?" Ash screamed as he completely lost focus.
"Oh! Hi honey!" she waved cheerily at Ash. "Sam here asked me if I wanted to dig up my old referee uniform and call your big match! He said it would be a good chance to see you battle in person one last time before you go!"
Alarmed, the professor attempted to whisper to Delia, only to have it echo in the stadium for all to hear. "Delia! You're not supposed to tell him all that! You're messing everything up!"
Even Ash was afraid as Delia turned towards the Professor with a glare that could break even the mightiest of men. "I'm messing things up? Who decided to chuck a pokeball right through my baby's window? What if some of those glass shards had hit him?" she finished as fire seemed to radiate from her eyes.
"Eh-he-he, it was as an accident?" the professor stuttered out as he began to crumble under Delia's gaze.
"Oh don't worry about it, I'll be having a nice talk with you about it later…" Delia said sweetly with a badly hidden hint of venom. Pulling out her flags which were strapped to her hip, Delia signaled to both Ash and Professor Oak. "Enough with the arguing, I came here to see my baby fight! Are both competitors ready?" she asked, becoming serious.
"Yes!" both Ash and Oak responded as they gripped their respective pokeballs.
"This will be a 1-on-1 battle with both sides having two pokemon each! The match will go on until one side's pokemon are unable to battle! Green side!" she yelled as she faced Ash. "As the challenger, you will release your pokemon first!" she concluded.
"Alright then!" Ash responded. Turning towards Pikachu and saying that only he could hear, "Pikachu, I think I'm gonna save you for last okay?"
"Pika!" he responded enthusiastically, nodding his head. Ash turned back towards the battlefield and grabbed his pokeball. As he threw it a bright light emerged which took the form of a small sea dragon. "Go Seadra!"
"I figured you would start with that one," Oak mumbled to himself. Grabbing his first pokeball, he threw it onto the field and yelled, "Go Vileplume!"
From the Professor's pokeball, a large, purple grass-type pokemon with a huge red flower on it's head materialized. "Plume!" it cried as it readied itself for battle.
'Shit!' Ash mentally cursed. 'If it knows that move this battle's gonna be way harder! I have to give it to the professor though, if he does what I think he will that will perfectly fit in with Delta 09,' he thought as the gears began turning in his head.
"From the look on your face you already have an idea on what's coming. I guess it's a little better seeing a punch coming instead of getting blindsided." Sam taunted as he pulled out a small, gray remote.
"I'll tell you what though," Sam began as he pressed a button on the remote. "Since I already knew what pokemon you would be using beforehand, I'll even things up a little bit." As soon as Sam finished talking, a loud rumbling noise pierced the air as the ground began to shake heavily.
Both pokemon, alarmed at the sudden tremors, ran out of the battlefield to the safety of the sidelines. Just as they had both made it off the field, both sides suddenly retracted revealing a large pool filled with many floating surfaces.
After the pool had raised itself up to become level with the rest of the stadium, Seadra dived into the water and Vileplume jumped onto one of the little islands. "You know, I never get tired of watching that," Ash remarked momentarily breaking the tension.
"Neither do I boy, neither do I," Sam commented, giving the pokemon a little time to get used to their new surroundings. After a few moments of Seadra swimming around and hitting Ash in the face with a water gun, and Vileplume getting it's balance on the platforms, both of them returned to their starting points and took battle stances.
"Well, it looks like both pokemon are ready to go. Are the combatants ready?" Delia asked, raising both of her flags. She was answered with a nod from both trainers. "Alright then, begin!" she yelled as she swung both flags down.
"Quick Seadra! Use Water Gun! Rapid fire!" Ash yelled.
Seadra immediately began firing Water Gun after Water Gun at Vileplume. Water soared through the air at a high speed right in the direction of Vileplume.
"Dodge Vileplume!" Oak yelled, seeing the water approach at a rapid pace.
Vileplume managed to sidestep the first few Water Guns, but could not avoid the next few that made direct contact. However due to the type disadvantage, Vileplume was able to shake it off and remain standing.
With the Water Gun barrage finished, Oak yelled out to Vileplume, "Now! Use Sunny Day." As soon as Vileplume heard the command, it built up it's energy for a few moments, then shot a circular orb of light from the center of it's flower which sped straight up into the sky.
'No!' Ash thought as he watched the immediate sky over the professor's stadium light up dramatically from the Sunny Day-amped up morning sun. 'There goes half the power of Seadra's water attacks, and I'm pretty sure I can guess what's coming next…' he thought as he then began to feel the effects of Sunny Day as harsh sunlight began to beat down on the battlefield and himself.
Taking advantage of the new environment and finishing up his combo, Oak yelled, "Vileplume, Solarbeam!"
Needed no time to charge thanks to the sunshine on steroids, a powerful, green and white beam immediately fired out of Vileplume's flower and began to barrel it's way towards Seadra in the water.
Knowing it was game over if that Solarbeam hit, Ash quickly yelled, "Seadra! Underwater! Now!"
Not needing to be told twice, Seadra quickly dove underwater and swam to the bottom of the pool, away from the incoming Solarbeam. It dove just in time too as it immediately made contact with the surface, vaporizing the top layer of the water and expelling steam into the air.
Pushing his advantage and with a plan in mind, Oak commanded, "Keep firing Solarbeams!"
"Stay underwater Seadra!" Ash yelled, knowing it would be suicidal to surface right now.
Ash thought it was odd that the Professor would keep firing off Solarbeams when all he was hitting was the water when he realized, that was what he was aiming at! Not Seadra! As steam began to rise in copious amounts from the water, Ash had to strain his eyes to see through the steam, but he realized that the water level kept decreasing after each Solarbeam!
'I need to come up with something before all the water's gone and Seadra's a sitting duck! That was really smart of him; dissolve all the water and think I wouldn't notice because of the steam. Wait! He's probably having trouble seeing too! That's it! I've gotta take away his sight completely!' If you could see through the steam you would notice the light bulb going on over Ash's head as he came up with a plan to counter the professor's.
Knowing he had to act quickly before the water's gone if his plan was to work, he yelled, "Seadra! Close your eyes and use Smokescreen underwater!"
'What's he up to?' the Professor thought as he sat back and watched his pokemon vaporize the water.
In an interval between two of the rapid Solarbeams, Ash noticed a black, inky substance pour from a spot in the pool, and watched it spread out and mix with the rest of the pool, effectively turning all of the water jet black. 'Yes! Seadra heard me! Now, please work, please work, please work…' Ash mentally pleaded as he watched Vileplume fire of the next Solarbeam.
As soon as it made contact with the surface of the water this time, foul, black smoke rose into the air instead of the usual white steam. The smoke rose into the air, completely blocking out everything in the professor's line of sight, and even had the added bonus of neutralizing the sunlight.
'Ingenious!' thought the professor in horror as he was no longer able to see his Vileplume who was now stranded inside the thick black cloud unable to fire Solarbeams any longer.
Ash began to mentally cheer, thrilled that his plan had worked. 'Yes! Now it's time to finish it!' "Seadra! Use Twister underwater! Fire it straight up!" Ash yelled, immediately coughing after from inhaling the black smoke.
Neither Ash, Pikachu, or Oak were able to see, but a horrible sound of water churning began to fill their ears and they all had to grab onto the rails as they felt something sucking them in deep from inside the smoke.
A horrendous vacuum-like noise then filled the air as all of the black smoke began to rotate, and then be drawn towards whatever was in the middle. They all had to tighten their grips on the railings as the suction become even more powerful. Poor Delia Ketchum had long since fled towards the bleachers, holding onto them for dear life.
As the last of the smoke vanished, everything looked up to realize that it had been replaced with a grotesque ink black, water twister that was rotating in the middle of the pool with Seadra at the base of it, struggling to keep it up. "Plume!" was heard shortly after the sound of one of the platforms breaking as Vileplume was presumably sucked into the raging behemoth.
"Seadra! Let it go!" Ash yelled through the rushing wind, becoming worried for everyone's safety. With a fierce cry from Seadra, the vacuum noise began to die down as the twister began to slow down it's rotations. Not moving fast enough to contain itself any longer, the ink black water fell back into the pool with a large crash.
After the water had calmed back down, everyone looked in to see Vileplume, with swirls in it's eyes, floating face up in the middle of the water. Next to it was Seadra, treading water with a proud, accomplished look on it's face. "Wow Seadra! That was amazing! Great job…." Ash began to say when Seadra promptly fainted on the stop from exhaustion, joining Vileplume floating in the pool.
"Both pokemon are unable to battle, this match is a tie," Delia said raggedly as she returned to the referee box. "Is this how you guys always battle? I didn't expect to be roasted by Sam and cooled down by a water twister! Just look at my hair!" she cried as she cradled her mutilated locks.
"He-he-he, no, they're usually not this bad, but this one's kinda important…" Ash said as he returned Seadra to it's pokeball. "You did great Seadra."
Returning Vileplume to it's pokeball, Oak looked on in despair at the murky black water. "Well you sure left me with one heck of a going away present; do you know how long it's going to take to clean that?" he cried with fake tears, dropping his 'Sam Oak' act.
"Says the guy who tried dissolving it all to hit Seadra!" Ash countered.
"That's of no importance…" the professor said brushing it off. Pulling out his little remote once more, he pushed a different button this time. "Oh well, I guess I'll just deal with that later," he said despairingly while the pool sank back into the ground and the original field returned.
"Are you ready buddy?" Ash said as he looked over at Pikachu. "Pika!" he replied enthusiastically as electricity sparked around his cheeks. He jumped out of the trainer box and onto Ash's half of the field where he took a fighting stance.
"This is it Ash, you have one last chance to finally beat me, but no pressure right?" the professor taunted as he threw his last pokeball. "Go Graveler!"
A large, round, craggy boulder with four arms was suddenly released from the professor's pokeball. At the sight of Ash and Pikachu, the Graveler's eyes lit up and it began to pound it's fists together in anticipation for revenge.
Eying up his own pokemon's odd behavior, the professor remarked, "I've never seen Graveler this excited to fight someone ever before! Have you two already been acquainted perhaps?" the professor asked honestly.
Slightly disturbed by the gleam in Graver's eyes and the motions it was making, he responded, "Well… I guess you could say that"
"Are both combatants ready?" Delia asked, holding her flag in the air once more. After seeing a nod from both Ash and the Professor she swung her flags and yelled, "Begin!"
'C'mon Ash, this is do or die. He picked the absolute worst match-up for Pikachu ever! Graveler's not only a rock type, but it's pretty quick too so I can't beat him purely on speed! Pikachu's faster though so I'll have to dodge everything he throws at me, and wait for an opening…' Ash wasn't liking his chances as he examined the situation.
'How's he going to fight his way out of this one?' thought the professor in amusement as he called out his first command. "Graveler! Rock Throw! Get him moving!"
Knowing Pikachu was in immediate danger, Ash yelled, "Quick Pikachu! Use Agility!
Although Ash had mainly worked with Pikachu on it's electric attacks instead of it's speed over the year they spent together at the lab, Pikachu was still a naturally quick pokemon which was proven as it raced across the battlefield with blinding speed while dodging the incoming boulders being thrown by Graveler.
After the Rock Throw attack had concluded ash surveyed the battlefield and wasn't happy at all with what he saw. Large boulders now littered every part of the battlefield and Ash realized with horror that Pikachu's speed advantage was just completely negated. 'Damn it! I fell into his trap! There's no way Pikachu can dodge while he's stuck in there!"
"Well Ash, it's looks like we're having a battle on the rock pokemon field now instead of the regular one," the professor commented in amusement. "Let's see that speed of your's dodge this now, Graveler! Use Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
Ash stood there and watched as Graveler curled up into a ball and seemed to become even more bulky and heavy. After a moments, Graveler began spinning rapidly and immediately shot towards Pikachu with surprising speed.
Ash's thoughts we're immediately on red alert and he recognized the professor's choice of moves. 'Not good! Defense Curl doubles the power of Rollout! If that hits Pikachu he's done!' "Pikachu! Dodge it!" he yelled desperately.
As the rolling tank that was Graveler neared Pikachu, he attempted to sidestep it to the left only to realize that a large boulder stood in his way. Pikachu then raced to right instead and managed to dodge the main force of the attack, but was still clipped and thrown violently against one of the other rocks.
"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash yelled in concern for his first pokemon.
"Pi-ka," Pikachu forced out as he slowly lifted himself back to his feet.
"Keep it up Graveler! Rollout once more!" the professor yelled, attempting to end the match.
Using the speed and momentum it had as it was still spinning; Graveler turned around and rolled towards Pikachu at what seemed like an even faster pace. The ground seemed to lurch as the rock type pokemon barreled at Pikachu at a breakneck speed.
'This is it! I need to do something now or Pikachu's done! C'mon! Three years of training under this guy! There has to be something he taught me that can get me out of this situation!' Ash thought desperately as he looked for anything, anything at all…
Time suddenly seemed to slow down for Ash Ketchum. He felt his adrenaline pumping at an all-time high. Colors stood out more; everything seemed to become more clear, so vivid. Something on the edge of the battlefield stood out to him that he didn't notice before. 'Are those, black spots? That's it!' he realized, coming up with a course of action.
Time returned to normal as Ash yelled out his next command, "Pikachu! Use Agility to bounce off the rocks! Lead it towards the edges!"
Slightly confused but trusting Ash anyway, Pikachu darted towards the nearest rock and proceeded to jump on the first one, to another, to another, and to another as Graveler continued to follow.
It was like real life pinball as Pikachu and Graveler bounced off each rock. Eventually, Pikachu managed to find a somewhat open area on the edge of the field and jumped off the rocks to begin racing down it. Graveler was not far behind and as Pikachu ran down the narrow strip, he noticed that at some points he was running through black water?
Realization dawned on Pikachu's face as it realized that there were still some puddles on the edge of the battlefield from the last battle! As Graveler followed Pikachu down the strip, it rolled right through the puddles too, completely covering it water.
Seeing his plan of getting Graveler wet had succeeded, Ash could barely contain his excitement as he yelled, "It's time to finish it Pikachu! Use Thunder! Full Power!"
"Ash, I thought I taught you better than that. It's basic knowledge that electric type attacks don't work on rock types." Oak stated the obvious, not aware of Ash's plan.
Pikachu jumped on top of one of the boulders and turned around as Graveler continued approaching. Electricity began to crackle around his body as he built up every bolt of electricity he could muster. Compacting it all within his body, Pikachu released it all in a large explosion engulfing Graveler, and a good portion of the battlefield. Professor Oak and Ash both waited expectantly for the results of the explosion.
As everything began to finally calm down, Professor Oak looked on in horror, and Ash looked on in amazement, to see a victorious Pikachu standing on top of a toppled Graveler.
"Pikachu is the winner! The victory goes to my Ashy!" Delia yelled in joy at the great battle.
Ash immediately jumped over the railing of the trainer's box down into the battlefield and raced across to embrace Pikachu. "We did it buddy! You were amazing! After three years for me and one year for you, we finally beat him!"
"What? But? But how?' the professor babbled on in confusion as he returned Graveler to it's pokeball and walked to meet Ash and Delia in the center of the battlefield. He still couldn't comprehend how an electric type attack had managed to beat a rock type.
As he reached Ash and Delia, Ash turned toward him with a smug grin on his face and proceeded to say, "Hey professor… how does it feel to finally lose!" Ash shouted while attempting some form of a victory dance with Pikachu.
"Ash Ketchum! Be respectful towards your opponents!" Delia scolded her son by gripping his ear.
A grin spread across the professor's face. "Let him go Delia. He deserves at least that much for finally overcoming the person who's been beating on him for the last three years."
Shooting a glare at the professor while rubbing his sore ear, Ash whined, "Everybody's always gotta ruin my moments…"
Done with his complaining, Ash turned towards the professor only to find a hand outstretched towards him. Ash could feel the pride oozing out of the professor as they exchanged a firm hand shake. "Ash, I have to say, that was one of the best battles I've had in a very long time. I can now say that you've officially surpassed me, and I couldn't be any prouder. I know that if you keep that strong work ethic of yours and stay focused, nobody will be able to stop you from rising to the top."
Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment at the professor high words of praise. "Gee, thanks professor. I couldn't have done it without either of you though," he said modestly.
"Don't worry about it Ash, we'll talk about it later, but first I have to ask you a question," began the professor. "How in the world did you manage to beat Graveler with Thunder? I know Pikachu there is way more powerful than most Pikachu, but that should still be impossible!" he professor yelled, the subject obviously stuck in his mind.
"Oh, that?" Ash said as he walked over to the edge of the battlefield. "I had Pikachu run through here on purpose so that Graveler would roll through these puddles, getting him wet," Ash explained.
The professor pulled his hair in realization. "So that's how you did it! How didn't I notice that when you did it?" he asked himself rhetorically. After taking a second to vent his frustration, Professor Oak calmed down and began to chuckle. "It seems like you did take good notes in our lesson after all. I'm assuming you looked up strategy Delta-09 last night? Because you followed it perfectly to defeat me."
A grin took over Ash's face. "You know it professor! Strategy Delta-09: Using your environment and battlefield in order to come back from severe type, or statistical disadvantages!"
Another look of pride flashed across the professor's face. "You got it boy, now let's get out of here. We'll drop the pokemon off at the lab to be healed and I believe your mother has a homemade breakfast waiting for us at home?"
Delia joined them as they all began to walk out of the stadium. "Why yes I do! We'll have one more big breakfast together before Ash has to leave!" she said cheerfully, but you could still detect a little bit sorrow at thought of her Ash leaving.
"One of your homemade breakfasts is just the thing I need before I have to deal with all of those new trainers later today, Delia," Oak whined as they all left the stadium with the morning sun now high in the sky.
(Ketchum Residence, After Breakfast)
Ash and Delia were now in the living room going through all of the things Ash had packed one last time. Mrs. Ketchum still proved that she was the queen of cooking with the huge, delicious breakfast buffet she had prepared for all of them. Pikachu had even gotten a small helping of ketchup, and immediately after tasting it, had run out of the kitchen taking the bottle with him.
Shortly after eating, Professor Oak had excused himself saying that he had to make some last minute preparations in the lab. He told Ash to stop by after he had said goodbye to his mother as he had a few things that he had to discuss with him
Both to make sure Ash had everything he needed, and to extend the time they had together, they both decided that it would be best to go through his things one last time. "Let's see, you have clothes, underwear, a sleeping bag, a canteen, some containers for food, money, matches, and everything else it looks like…" Delia remarked, closing the top of Ash's backpack.
"Yes mom, I've been preparing for this three years in advance, I'm pretty sure that I have everything I need," Ash said confidently.
With a few tears beginning to fall down her face, Delia said, "I know you do Ash, I know you do, I just can't believe that this day is finally here."
Ash struggled trying not to get emotional himself. "You said you weren't gonna cry mom, you've got me all worked up now."
Wiping a tear out of her eye, Delia continued. "I'm sorry Ash. It's just hard letting go. These last three years have been amazing watching you grow and mature, it's gonna be hard not seeing you every day."
"I know mom, it's gonna be the same way for me. It's gonna be hard for me waking up in different places each day without you around. But you and Professor Oak have been preparing me for this for the last three years, and it's time for me to take care of myself and go see the world," Ash said, his heart breaking at the thought of leaving his mother.
"I agree with you Ash. I know that you're ready for this journey and that it's an important part of you becoming a man. Just promise me you won't forget about me here at home?" she asked, tears falling rapidly.
Now with a few tears in his eye, Ash pulled his mom into one last hug. "I promise mom, I promise I'm gonna return here a champion, someone who'll make you and all of Pallet Town proud.
Letting go of the hug, Delia beamed at Ash. "Oh Ash, you already have. Now I think it's time you get going before I start asking you not to leave."
Picking up his backpack of the couch, Ash smiled back at his mom. "I think you're right, I don't wanna keep the all of the pokemon waiting before I catch them right?" Ash joked which got a laugh out of his mom. "Speaking of pokemon, where's Pikachu?"
"I don't know honey, I thought you did, last I remember he ran out of the kitchen with the ketchup bottle," Delia said confused.
"Pikachu! Where are you?" Ash yelled in the house.
"Piiii-kaaa," Ash heard a weak response coming from out on the porch.
Heading towards the front door, Ash turned to his mom and said, "I think he's outside mom, let's go look."
Opening the door and heading on the porch, it didn't take long for Ash and Delia to find him. Pikachu was at one of the ends of porch, keeled over in a pool of red with a ketchup bottle lying next to him. Mrs. Ketchum, not seeing the bottle at first and believing Pikachu to be mortally wounded, immediately screamed waking up all of the residents of Pallet Town who were not awake already.
After calming his mom down, Ash grabbed a towel and began to clean Pikachu up. "That's the last time I'm letting you near ketchup anytime soon," Ash said as he wiped the last of the red substance off. "Pika!" Pikachu immediately shouted in protest.
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll still let you have it, but I really do need to teach you some self-restraint…" Ash noted as he picked Pikachu up and placed him on his shoulder.
Walking with his mom to the end of the walkway and onto the road, Ash turned towards his mom. "Well mom, it looks like this is goodbye."
"Yes it is sweetie, but like you said, I get to look forward to seeing you come back as a champion," she smiled with a few tears building up again.
Beginning to walk away from his mom and head towards the lab, Ash turned around one more time. "You can look forward to it! Bye mom! I love you!" he yelled turning back around to hide the tears falling down his face.
"Bye Ash! I love you too! Call me when you get to Viridian!" she yelled back with tears, heading back into the house alone…
(Professor Oak's Lab)
The tears had long since dried out by the time Ash was at the front door of the lab. He had just knocked, and was now waiting for the professor to open the door. "Ah Ash, I'm glad you could make it, come on in," the professor welcomed Ash inside.
Ash followed the professor into the lobby and sat down across from him on one of the leather sofas. He grabbed one of the two cups of tea he had set out in anticipation for his arrival. "So professor, you said you some things to discuss?" Ash asked.
Taking a sip of his tea first, the professor began, "Well, not necessarily some things to discuss as we've already covered pretty much everything, but I do have some things to give you."
"I've told you before professor, I don't want anything that puts me above any of the other trainers," Ash warned the professor.
With a lighthearted chuckle, the professor said "Relax boy, you've made that very clear before and I've never planned on doing it. Nothing I plan on giving you puts you ahead of any of the other trainers stopping by in about an hour," the professor said reassuringly.
Ash took the last couple sips of his tea and placed the empty cup back onto the table. "Alright then professor, I'll bite. What do you have for me?"
"I have them in the lab, follow me," he said as he got up and walked towards the lab. Pikachu decided separate from Ash and to go say goodbye to a few of it's friends on the ranch. As Ash followed the professor, he looked outside the windows at the ranch and reminisced on all of the time he had spent there. 'I'm really gonna miss this place, from all the pokemon, everything I learned, and all the memories I have, I really did have it good here…'
Once they had reached the lab, Professor Oak led Ash towards one of the back tables. He had overdramatically put cloths over the three items that he had laid out on the table. "Well Ash, I have three things for you here. Pick a cloth, any cloth," he said in a bad accent as he gestured to them once more with his hand.
With a sweatdrop at the professor's bad attempt to sound mysterious, Ash pointed at the middle one and said, "I'll go with that one."
"Ah, good choice, for under this cloth lies…" he began as he slowly pulled of the cloth revealing a red, high-tech looking device. "Your very own Pokedex! I also had a memory chip placed in that has all of your notes from the last three years in case you ever need a refresher!" he said with pride at his own accomplishment.
Ash picked up the red device and pocketed it after briefly looking through it for a couple minutes. "Thanks professor!" he said gratefully.
"You're very welcome! I also had it updated with new software that allows you to call people from anywhere! Who would've ever thought we'd be able to do that? Now which cloth do you want me remove next?" Professor Oak asked him.
Still thinking of how amazing that new feature was on the Pokedex, he wasn't even thinking when he pointed to the one of the left.
"You want this one next? Alright, under this cloth lies… five pokeballs! Courtesy of me!" he exclaimed joyously.
"Thanks again professor! Now what's under the last cloth?" Ash asked as he put the five pokeballs in his left pocket.
A grin flashed across the professor's face, "I'm glad that you asked that! I personally think that you'll like this one the best! Because I know what's under there certainly likes you…"
Ash's face immediately lit up in excitement. "Is it a pretty girl to travel with?"
The professor had to laugh when he pulled up the cloth and saw the look of disappointment on Ash's face that there was in fact, not a pretty girl under the cloth.
"Professor, there's just another pokeball under there, didn't you already give me five of them?" Ash asked clueless.
The professor had to resist the urge to smack himself in the forehead. "I really do worry about you sometimes… Why don't you open the pokeball and see what comes out?"
"There's a pokemon in there? You said you weren't gonna give me one though! All right!" Ash yelled as he opened the pokeball.
As soon as Ash had opened the pokeball, he was met with a Water Gun to the face, letting him know just which pokemon the professor had given him before he even saw it. "See Ash, doesn't she like you?" the professor pointed out resisting the urge to laugh.
"I like you too Seadra…" Ash mumbled through his hands as he wiped the water off of his face. "Good to have you on the team," Ash said sincerely as he returned Seadra into it's pokeball.
"Well Ash, with that out of the way, I think it's about time you get going before the new trainers arrive," the Professor said to him as they stood by the front door, Ash with Pikachu back on his shoulder.
"That's it? No big teary goodbye? No you make me so proud?" Ash joked with a laugh.
"Please, I'm not your mother. And don't push your luck, you know I think all of those things already," he said with a smirk.
"If that's it then I guess I better get going, the world's waiting for me you know?" Ash joked as he turned and pretended to walk down the stairs.
Shaking his head, the professor said, "Get up here and shake my hand one more time before you go you troublesome boy."
Many different types of thanks were exchanged in the following handshake that took place. Thanks for teaching me so much about pokemon. Thanks for being such a great student. Thanks for letting me interact with all of the pokemon. Thanks for helping me take care of all of those pokemon. The funny thing about those thanks was the fact that none of them had to be mentioned at all.
"Go get them Ash; it's your turn now. Get out there and make a name for yourself," were the professor's last words as they broke their handshake.
"Don't worry; I'll make you and the rest of Pallet Town proud." With that, Ash turned around and walked away from his home away from home, and the closest person he could call a father for the last three years.
"I know you will Ash, I know you will," the professor said with a smile, suddenly feeling much older. He turned back into the lab and mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of new trainers about to arrive…
(Edge of Pallet Town)
"This is really it Pikachu! We're almost out of Pallet Town!" Ash exclaimed as he saw the sign signifying the beginning of Route 1. "Pika-chu!" Pikachu cheered, sharing in it's trainer's excitement.
The afternoon sun was very harsh today and was beating down mercilessly on Ash and Pikachu. Seeing a small stream and a few trees a little further up ahead, they agreed it would be a good place to take a small pit stop.
"My feet feel like they're on fire!" Ash complained as he sat down next to the stream and began to take his shoes and socks off. "Ahhh, much better…" he sighed when his feet were fully emerged in the water.
"If it wasn't so hot, today would be beautiful," Ash remarked as he closed his eyes and laid back, enjoying the shade of trees. For how long he laid there, he didn't know, but he was woken up by a loud "Pika-pi!" from Pikachu.
"What's up buddy?" Ash asked as he sat up. "Pika-pi! Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried loudly pointing upwards. Looking up, Ash felt his eyes almost bulge out of his head at what he saw. Flying across the sky at a steady pace was a huge, majestic, rainbow-colored bird that left Ash speechless.
'Is that? No it can't be! The books I read said that it was only a legend…' he thought, his mind blown at the possibility of it existing. "Could it be? Ho-Oh?..." muttered Ash as he pulled his Pokedex out of his pocket.
"There is no data. There are still pokemon yet to be identified," said the robotic voice of the Pokedex as Ash held it up towards the rainbow-colored bird. With an impulsive thought that would prove monumental in the future, Ash hit the picture button on the Pokedex, catching a picture of the rainbow-colored bird just before it flew over the horizon.
"Pi-kaaa…" Pikachu uttered in wonder, still staring at the sky where the bird had just been. "Wow is right buddy, you know what that means though, right? he asked as the excitement began to boil in his veins.
"It must mean that we're destined for greatness! Let's get going buddy! The world of Pokemon is waiting for us!" Ash exclaimed as he got up and sprinted towards the horizon with Pikachu right behind him. So with Pikachu by his side, and his new friend Seadra clipped on his belt, Ash charges towards the beginning of his new journey…
A/N: And….done! As much as this part was crucial to the story, I'm glad it's finally out of the way so I can finally start the journey! Again, sorry for the long time between updates but hopefully this extra long chapter might have somewhat quelled your anger at me. Ash has now finally taken care of all of his business in Pallet Town, and now I can get to the fun part of the story. For all the original Pokemon fans out there, I hope this is bringing back as many memories for you as it is for me! Because now we're getting to the back to being somewhat similar to cannon with all of that original stuff done.
Speaking of that, for all of those wondering what direction I'm planning to take this story, I think I have it mapped out like this…
Kanto is going to be similar to cannon, with of course my personal touches and maybe a side arch or two.
Johto will be loosely similar to cannon. I will stay a little bit in the boundaries of the anime but I'll start to stretch it out a little bit.
Hoenn will be where everything is completely different. I completely lost touch with the anime when it got to Hoenn so if I manage to get that far, I'll either have to do a ton of researching or I can be creative if you want me to. I'll leave that up to you.
Sinnoh and Unova are wayyy to far ahead in the future for me to have any accurate plans about. I do like Sinnoh, and I'm knowledgeable about it from the video games, but anime wise I'm in the same boat as Hoenn. Unova, if I'm to be completely truthful, I can't stand at all. I tried to get back into the anime with Unova, but I dislike the characters, I hate the new pokemon, and I'm horrified what they did to Ash! So I honestly don't know if I'm going to even include Unova in this fic other than have Gary come back from it eventually…
With that said, I hope that you are enjoying the story so far, and I hope that you stick with me and read as I continue to write. Thanks again for reading, and please review! Reviews are a great motivator if you didn't know!
DBF out