A/N: I'm back again! Nearly three times less than it took me last time too! I feel like I'm really starting to hit my stride as a writer. Honestly, this chapter was the easiest by far to type out. I can now sit down and hammer out about 4,000 words without even blinking an eye. It's great for me and you hopefully! I think I'm gonna try to keep my chapter lengths around 7,000 to 10,000 words. Is that alright with everyone? I'm also a little concerned about making my story a little too wordy and not moving the plot along enough. I'm worried that I'll get so caught up in the quality of my writing that I'll end up spending two or three chapters on only one part of Ash's journey. If anyone has any advice for me, please don't hesitate to leave me a review or two. I love checking my email and seeing three or four emails notifying me of a review on my story. It really brightens my day! Anyway, I'll address the reviewers, then on with the chapter!
animekingmike: I agree with you completely concerning the anime. And thanks for including my story in your community! Yes I noticed that! Enjoy the chapter!
lightningblade49: Glad to be back and thank you. Can't say I was planning on it, but I might incorporate that if I need another side plot. Thanks for reviewing!
partner555: Thank you for all of your complements. I slipped up with electric type attacks not affecting rock type pokemon. Thanks for pointing that out. Enjoy the chapter!
Nauran: Again, thanks for pointing out my slip up with electric and rock types. I hope that you enjoy the beginning of Ash's journey.
pokemaster4life4eva: Of course I couldn't forget the underwear joke! Thanks for reviewing!
saveme57: Thanks for reviewing again! I think you'll enjoy how I planned Ash's and Misty's meeting. Enjoy!
XoreandoX: Glad you enjoyed the long chapter update. Ash will do better in the respective leagues. As for how well, I can't say without giving away spoilers. Looking forward to the Lt. Surge battle? That should be within the next three or four chapters. Keep on reviewing and enjoy!
malefan: No the story will not be affected by the delay in his journey. Everything will happen like it did before, just three years later. I have plans for him catching a few rarer pokemon throughout his journey. I'm not gonna spoil that for you though. Keep on reading!
ToucanMan: I love your name! Ash won't catch all of the same pokemon, but he will catch most of them to stay similar to cannon. I was looking for 10-15 pokemon a region. Glad you like the story. Enjoy the chapter!
GaijinSamurai: No, I'm planning on having Seadra stick with Ash for the entire story. Glad you like Ash's maturity and intelligence. Enjoy the chapter!
Vital Info: I always look forward to your long reviews! It took me a second, but I did laugh at your shockrange joke. Glad you liked both the drama and humor scenes. I will send you a message if I need some help with Hoenn when the time comes. Enjoy the chapter!
LazyFoxLover: No I didn't give up. Like I explained in my last chapter I just had a really hard time finding opportunities to write. Most of you questions will be answered in this chapter. Enjoy!
xNamikazeKyuubix: I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm capable of writing an Ash/Seadra fanfic… I wasn't really planning on it for this story anyway, so I'm sorry if that disappoints you. Misty and Brock will of course leave their gyms to stick to cannon, but I plan on having better explanations concerning how they leave. Keep reading and your other questions will be answered in time. Thanks for reviewing!
awesomeness-rocks: Here you go! Enjoy!
Kaiser Haller: I'm glad you enjoy the story. Please keep reading and hopefully I won't disappoint you!
mamoswineFTW: Yes! It's good to be back! Glad that you enjoyed the chapter. I could have said daily, but annual covered it too, and I felt like mixing it up a bit with my wording so I went with annual. I hope you do pursue writing your own story. If you do, I guarantee I will be a reader and reviewer like you are for mine. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! Do you? I didn't think so, unless you're Nintendo, Gamefreak, or someone else who actually does own Pokemon! In that case, sorry! Enjoy the story!
The Prodigy
Chapter 4: A Mist Over Viridian
*Sigh* "I'm so bored!" Ash Ketchum shouted which echoed through the scenic plains of Route 1. Ash and Pikachu had now been traveling for about three hours since their encounter with the rainbow-colored bird.
After his initial adrenaline-fueled sprint had lasted about fifteen minutes, Ash settled for a brisk walk through the Pallet hills, which were beginning to give way to the Viridian plains. The cause of Ash's frustrations however, lied in the fact that they had not encountered a single wild pokemon, or even another human being since they had cleared Pallet Town.
"What the hell? This journey is supposed to be the greatest time of my life! Where are all the countless pokemon I'm supposed to catch and befriend? Where are all of the precious friends and companions that I'll treasure for the rest of my life?" Ash exclaimed in exasperation while remembering the lectures Professor Oak had given him about how rewarding his journey would be.
Pikachu patted Ash on the top of his head with it's tail in an attempt to pacify him. "Pika-pi!"
Ash took a deep breath as he began to calm down. "You're right buddy. The heat must've been getting to me. We're only a couple hours in…it's bound to get better!" he exclaimed; cheering up. Turning his head and focusing forward again, Ash noticed they were coming up to a small clearing next to a decent-sized pond.
"Hey Pikachu, take a look at that up ahead!" Ash pointed out to his electric companion. "I think it's about time we took a little break from traveling. That clearing up ahead looks perfect for you and Seadra to get a little bit of training in. What do you say buddy?"
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu chirped in excitement at the chance to stretch it's legs out a bit and get a nice workout.
After about another minute or two of walking, Ash and Pikachu found themselves in the middle of the clearing. Taking off his backpack and setting it to the side, Ash unclipped Seadra's pokeball from his belt and tossed it towards the pond. "Go Seadra!"
The small water dragon materialized in the pond as the pokeball returned to Ash's hand. Glad to be out of it's pokeball, Seadra swam a couple quick laps around the pond as it took in it's surroundings. Seadra first noticed that something was up when it determined that it was no longer on the professor's ranch with the other water pokemon. Seadra was able to put two and two together and realized what had occurred when it looked over and saw just who was standing there holding it's pokeball. Seadra was just about to fire off it's ritual Water Gun that it reserved just for that particular trainer a long time ago when it noticed the particular look the trainer was giving it.
"No Seadra…there's another time for that later. I can tell that you've already realized it, but Professor Oak has entrusted you to me. And as my pokemon, when it's time to train, it's all business. There's time for fun and games later, but for the next hour or so I want you to focus and work hard so that I can help you become as strong as you can possibly be. Am I clear?" Ash asked rhetorically while giving Seadra a stern, but non-menacing look.
Seadra nodded it's head in understanding as it disengaged the Water Gun it had planned to meet Ash's face. Although Ash would never know it, Seadra's respect for him grew tremendously in that moment from seeing how he flipped the switch from cheery and carefree to commanding and serious.
"Alright, let's see… I know everything that Pikachu can do since I've trained him from the start, but Seadra, other than battling with you a couple times, I still don't know everything that you can do…" Ash muttered as he took up a thinking pose. "Here's what we're gonna do, Seadra, you stay here and swim laps around the pond while I go and set Pikachu up with what he's gonna do. After I have him situated, I'll come back over so I can assess what you can do now, and plan out your training regimen from there. Focus on your speed while I'm over there! Pikachu, follow me," he remarked while walking towards the center of the clearing; Pikachu right behind him.
Reaching the center, Ash turned around and faced Pikachu with a pensive look on his face. "Okay, Pikachu… When we left off in Pallet, you could do Thundershock, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team, Slam, Agility, Thunderbolt, and Thunder right?" he asked while counting each move on his fingers.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried as he nodded his head up and down in confirmation.
"Alright, that's what I thought… That right there is almost all of the basic moves that you can learn without too much trouble. I'm really proud of you for working as hard as you did at the professor's to get most of those down in a year. However, I don't think you're ready for Light Screen or a couple other moves I have in mind yet, so I think we're gonna have to work on your natural speed, power, and agility for a while…" Ash murmured, thinking aloud.
This lasted for a few moments as the cool summer breeze blew through the clearing until suddenly…"That's it!" Ash cheered as an imaginary light bulb lit up above his head. "We can kill two birds with one stone! Pikachu, stay here and practice Double Team for a couple minutes, I'll be right back!"
To the common eye, it suddenly appeared as if about fifteen more Pikachu decided to simultaneously populate the clearing as Pikachu worked on Double Team while Ash made his way back over to the pond. Ash stopped at the edge and called Seadra over, who was still swimming laps.
"Seadra, I have an idea for training that will help out not only your aim, but Pikachu's speed and agility at the same time!" he exclaimed as excitement shone in his eyes. "Before we start though, I want to get an idea on what kinds moves you can use. I know from our battles that you definitely know Smokescreen, Twister, Water Gun, and Agility. Why don't you show me what else you can do?"
Seadra eagerly swam to the middle of the pond with a loud cry of excitement at the chance to show off it's skills. Seadra started off with a small jet of bubbles that it fired from it's mouth. After a few moments, the velocity and amount increased dramatically to form a more powerful jet of bubbles. "Bubble and Bubblebeam huh? That's good…" Ash mumbled to himself.
The jet of bubbles died down as Seadra began to focus in the center of the pond. Gathering itself, Seadra then whipped her fins around rapidly, forming an impressive-sized whirlpool which Ash could feel the water spray him from where he was standing. 'Whirlpool? That makes sense though since she already knows Twister…'
After the powerful whirlpool had finally died down, Seadra turned away from Ash and began taking in a deep breath of air. A powerful, blue-ish, purple-ish energy began to form in Seadra's mouth. Ash's eyes widened as he recognized the sound of the energy crackling and felt the power emanating from it. Just as Seadra looked like it was about to let it fly, the energy seemed to sputter out and quickly dissipate, causing Seadra to slump over slightly from exhaustion.
Taking a moment to pick his jaw up off the ground, Ash finally managed to stutter out in pure awe, "No way… Was that a Dragon Pulse? Even though you haven't mastered it yet… that's still a very high level technique…"
Seadra seemed to shy away slightly in embarrassment from both botching the Dragon Pulse, and from Ash's high praise. "That's incredible Seadra! I didn't think you'd be able to learn Dragon Pulse for quite some time! Once you get that down, that'll be a great ace in the hole against your opponents!" Ash praised from the edge of the pond.
Though outwardly cheering, inside Ash's mind, he was already busy planning on how to best train Seadra. 'I know from personal experience that Seadra already has pretty decent aim with it's Water Gun at least. I'll only have Seadra work with Pikachu for a little while; then I'll start some one-on-one training so I can give Seadra a little more variety in her moves…' he thought as the gears in his head began turning.
Ash's train of thought was broken as he witnessed Seadra attempt to perform Dragon Pulse once more. Just as before, it looked promising in the beginning, but sputtered out as Seadra tried to release it. 'First things first, I should definitely have Seadra work on mastering that Dragon Pulse seeing as she's so close... Next, it would probably be a good idea to have her get Hydro Pump down. That would be another good finishing move. From there, we can work on covering her weaknesses. Maybe start with Ice Beam and Toxic to cover her disadvantage to Grass types…'
Ash quickly put his thoughts to the side as he remembered that they were supposed to be training. "Alright Seadra, to work on your aim, I want you to pick a spot somewhere in the middle of this pond and swim over. Once you're there, I want you to stay in that spot and attempt to hit Pikachu with a light Water Gun while he runs around the area attempting to dodge. Once I deem you proficient enough at aiming while you're stationary, we'll do the same thing with you moving as well. Got it?"
Seadra gave nod of understanding as it quickly swam into an area of it's choice in the pond and established it's position. Pleased at Seadra's eagerness to train, Ash turned around and headed back over to Pikachu where he explained the drill as he had done with Seadra. He then quickly moved towards the edge of the clearing as both pokemon awaited his signal to begin from their respective positions.
Feeling that he was far enough away from the upcoming crossfire, Ash cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled, "Go!" Immediately things began to pick up in the clearing as Pikachu began to blur in and out of sight as it frantically dodged the surprisingly accurate rapid fire Water Guns that were coming from Seadra. For Pikachu's safety under Ash's orders, Seadra had powered down it's Water Gun to the point that it would only sting a little bit if it made contact with Pikachu.
Having trained with Pikachu as long as he had, Ash's sight was able to keep up to an extent as he watched the two pokemon go at it from his own vantage point. From what he was able to see, Pikachu was able to dodge most of the Water Guns, but every so often, one of the blasts of water would come in contact with Pikachu and a brief look of discomfort would flash across it's face.
Ash had to resist the urge to smile at the effort his two pokemon were putting into their training. His mood immediately began to lift as he thought of how much Pikachu and Seadra would benefit from this exercise. The excitement of adventure began to course through his veins as the beginning of his journey finally began to hit him. Nothing could possibly ruin the all-time high that he was experiencing in that one moment. Nothing that is, until a piercing shriek suddenly reverberated throughout the clearing, startling Ash and his two pokemon.
"Squaaa-ccckk!" The shrill cry sounded as if it had come from a Flying type pokemon. No later than a few seconds after Ash had heard the shriek, a small figure dropped out of the sky and landed in some light foliage at the opposite end of the clearing.
After seeing the figure crash into the bushes, Ash, Pikachu and Seadra all turned and looked at each other with the exact same look on all of their faces… 'What the hell just happened?...'
Just then the bushes began to rumble as something attempted to find it's way out. After a few more moments of struggling with it's natural restraints, a lone Spearow finally emerged, covered in leaves and twigs, and with it's face dripping wet from water...
'Uh-oh.' The red light in Ash's head went off as he pieced everything together and realized what had happened. A stray Water Gun must've hit that Spearow while it was flying over and startled it enough to cause it to crash… Not seeing the potential danger as Ash had, Pikachu made it's way over to the downed Spearow to see if it was alright. "Pika-pi?" Pikachu uttered with a semi-concerned look as it held out it's hand towards the Flying type.
"Spear!" Spearow crowed in rage as it suddenly fired a point-blank Sand Attack right into Pikachu's unsuspecting eyes. Pikachu cried out in pain as it fell backwards, furiously rubbing it's eyes in an attempt to see.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in concern as he ran towards his injured companion. Before he was even halfway there however, the severely agitated Spearow took flight and began to cry out very loudly. "Spear-row! Spear-row! Spear-row!"
'Please tell me that's not what I think it is,' Ash mentally pleaded, praying that he was wrong. Ash's fear turned out to be spot on however as he heard multiple pitched cries of "Spear-row!" pierce the silence, followed shortly by a very loud sound of wings beating.
Ash swore as he then saw the huge flock of Spearow approaching rapidly towards the clearing from their nests in a nearby tree. "Shit! We gotta get out of here, quick!" He contemplated trying to outrun the Spearow, but quickly threw that idea aside as he saw them converge on the exit, effectively trapping him inside of the clearing.
Just as Ash was about to give in and pray the Spearow didn't hurt them all too badly, he suddenly heard the professor's voice with one of the lessons he had taught him a long time ago. "Remember Ash, no matter what else you do, make sure that you never lose your cool in the middle of a battle, or even in a tricky situation in life. Losing your cool leads to rushed, bad decisions; you must remain calm and find a logical solution for the situation at hand. There will always be one!"
Heeding the professor's advice, Ash took a few deep breaths and began to calm down as a grim smile crossed his face. 'Geez, only a few hours in and I'm already beginning to forget what you taught me. Let's see, Pikachu's blinded right now so I can't have him safely blast all of these Spearow out of the sky... Wait, maybe we don't even have to fight, there's gotta be a way somewhere out of this clearing…'
With that thought in mind, Ash began scanning the area for any kind of route they could use to escape. Looking over at Seadra, he noticed that she was jerking her body in an odd way towards a certain direction. His eyes followed in the direction Seadra was jerking, causing him to spot a small delta in the pond that flowed out into a river. 'There it is!' Ash cheered, mentally praising Seadra for finding an exit.
Ash quickly had to sidestep a diving Spearow which had attempted to impale him while he was planning their escape. "Here they come!" Ash yelled as he began to spring into action. He started with picking up Pikachu who was still trying to get the sand out of it's eyes next to him. He then raced across the clearing, dodging the dive-bombing Spearow who were getting more and more vicious with their attacks, and flung his backpack over his shoulder once he had grabbed it on the opposite side.
Having everything that he needed, Ash began to sprint to his final destination, the pond, when he noticed a lone Spearow standing in his path to escape. It was the Spearow that Seadra had shot out of the sky! Judging from the look on it's face, Ash could tell that it wasn't going to simply let him run by and make it to Seadra, who was waiting for him to swim out the delta into the safety of the river.
Prepping himself for what he was about to do, Ash strapped his backpack on to his back securely, and tucked Pikachu into his side almost like a football. Lowering his shoulders, Ash sprinted full speed towards the Spearow. As he neared it, Ash took two steps like he was going to the left, but immediately juked back to the right, narrowly missing the razor-sharp beak which Spearow had lunged at him with.
Having temporarily cleared the hostile Spearow, he took no chances and wasted absolutely no time running the rest of the distance to the pond. Ash dove headfirst into the pond with a beaming smile on his face at having successfully faked out the Spearow. 'I can't believe that worked! I thought only those huge guys in the pads I saw on TV could do that!'Ash thought victoriously as he broke the surface and emerged back up from underwater.
Pumped up and with his adrenaline racing from his narrow escape, Ash grabbed on to Seadra with one hand and firmly gripped Pikachu with the other. "Let's get out of here Seadra!" Ash yelled in pure excitement. With a grunt of confirmation, Seadra swiftly took off and swam down the delta, into the river.
(Route 1, About Half a Mile Downstream)
"Man, I'm not getting anything today…" sighed fourteen-year-old Misty Waterflower. She was currently sitting on a ledge overlooking a river, hoping to catch a few Water pokemon today with her fishing pole.
Misty was a tomboy-ish, yet cute girl, with short orange-red hair she wore in a ponytail up to the side. She stood about 5'5, and wore red and yellow sneakers, short jean shorts, and a yellow top with red suspenders that had well… filled out a little more over the past three years. Her most defining feature however, was her crystal blue eyes, which perfectly reflected her intense love of water.
She had rode out to this spot on her bike a couple of hours ago hoping to catch some Water pokemon, but she had yet to have a single bite all day. "How am I supposed to prove them wrong and become a Water Pokemon Master when I can't even catch a lousy Magikarp?" she sighed once more.
Looking down into the river, she saw her three older sisters looking back at her, taunting her, telling her that she would never be like one of them. "No, I won't give up! I can't let them think they're right! I did not stay there those extra three years and let them treat me like that longer just to give up and head right back home!" she fierily exclaimed as her water-colored eyes seemed to boil.
"Now I just have to start out by catching something…" she moaned with fake tears as her demeanor did a complete one-eighty back into sorrow. Her fishing rod nearly flew out of her hands as it suddenly jerked harshly forward. A grin of determination crossed her face as she began to tug back. "I've finally got something! It's huge too!"
Misty battled with whatever was hooked on to her line for a good minute. The longer she went on, the more and more her excitement grew, which translated to adrenaline. With all of her built up adrenaline exploding on all levels, she pulled with all of her might causing whatever she had hooked to fly out of the water and on to the ground a few feet away from her.
"Aww man, it's just a kid." Misty whined; seeing the back of the boy as he was slumped over facing away from her.
With a low moan, Ash rolled over to face the source of the voice while rubbing his backside in pain. "Oww, what the hell just happened?"
"Cute!" Misty squealed with large hearts in her eyes once Ash had fully turned around.
Ash froze up in shock and didn't know how to respond as a light blush touched upon his cheeks. 'A girl other than my mom calling me cute? What do I do? What do I say? I bet I look like a huge idiot right now!'
Just as Ash began to panic, repressed memories of his mother teaching him about girls flooded into his mind all at once. Memories of little exercises his mom had him do, memories of his mom telling him what to look for in a girl, memories of his mom teaching him how to talk to girls his age and others released themselves into his fragile teenage mind.
"Ewww…" Ash couldn't help the involuntary noise and shiver that escaped his body once all of those experiences had re-established themselves in his memory. Not that all the advice his mom had given him was bad, it just felt so weird having that advice come from his…mom.
"Oww!" Ash screamed in pain as Misty's hand made contact on the top of his head with a resounding smack! "What was that ewww for? Am I ugly? Do I disgust you?" Misty began to rant with a large vein pulsing on her forehead.
"No…I…please…don't…ah" Ash stuttered incoherently as he waved his hands frantically in front of him. Misty had her hand raised to hit him once more, but settled on giving him a harsh look before she bent over and picked Seadra up off of the ground, who was lying next to Pikachu in front of Ash. "You'd be going right back into that river where you came from if you didn't have such a cute Seadra." Misty then promptly settled for ignoring Ash and began to cuddle with Seadra while making cooing noises.
'She wasn't even talking about me… Seadra you lucky bastard…' Ash thought with a sweatdrop as he watched Misty hold Seadra in her arms, all of her attention on it. Quickly shaking that thought out of his head, he turned his attention towards Pikachu, still lying in a heap in front of him. "Hey buddy, are you okay?" he asked as he slightly nudged Pikachu's tiny body.
"Piii-kaahh" Pikachu whined as it made a gesture of rubbing it's eyes while facing the direction that it had heard Ash's voice. "You still can't see from that Sand Attack from earlier? Don't worry Pikachu, hang in there. I'll get you taken care of when we hit the Pokemon Center in…" Ash was abruptly cut off as the sounds of wings flapping filled his ears for the second time that day.
"Damn it! They still haven't given up! Seadra we gotta go!" Ash cursed as he gathered up Pikachu in one of his arms. "Ah!" Misty cried as Seadra suddenly leaped out of Misty's arms and into Ash's free arm.
"Spear-row! Spear-row!" Ash began to sprint down the path as he heard the Spearow preparing to bear down on them at any moment. Making a split-second impulsive decision, Ash decided to set Seadra into the basket of the girl's bike, and tucked Pikachu into his jacket as he got onto the bike himself.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going with my bike?" Misty shouted as Ash began to furiously peddle down Route 1. "I'm sorry! I have to borrow this! Meet me at the Viridian City Pokemon Center tonight!" Ash yelled back through all of the Spearow's cries just before he disappeared from Misty as he went down a hill on the horizon.
(Route 1, About Three Miles out from Viridian City)
Ash could feel every single muscle in his legs crying out in pain as he continued to keep up his frenetic pace to avoid the Spearow. He didn't know how long he had been riding, but he was now running purely on willpower as the last of his energy had given out a while ago.
*Crash!* And to make things even better, it had just begun to thunderstorm. Not one of your average, run-of-the-mill thunderstorms either, the rain was pouring so intensely that it was hard for Ash to even see a few feet in front of him. The earth seemed to tremble from the intense lightning that was preceded by eardrum-shattering thunder.
"Gotta…keep…going… Can't…let them….catch up," he gasped out with his lungs feeling as if they were on fire. "Ahhhh!" Ash screamed as the tires lost traction on the mud causing him to slip and crash painfully into the ground. "Shit!" he swore in pain while the Spearow continued to advance.
Finally seeing their prey vulnerable, the Spearow began to squawk in excitement as they increased their speed even more to close in on Ash, Pikachu, and Seadra. One by one the Spearow began to dive at Ash, scratching him with either their claws or beak as they went by.
"Argghh!" Ash screamed in pain as one of the Spearow's talons dug particularly deep into the flesh of his arm. 'No! This is it! There's no way out of this now! I can't believe after all that hard work, that it's all gonna end right here…' he thought in despair as the Spearow just kept on coming.
Gathering the last of his remaining courage, Ash stood up in front of Pikachu and Seadra, arms spread wide preventing the Spearow from harming them any longer. "Just go ahead and try it Spearow! I won't let you harm my pokemon anymore! I'm going to be the greatest Pokemon Master that ever lived! And I won't let you end it right here before I even get started!" he proclaimed at the top of his lungs.
Seeing Ash offering himself up, the original Spearow, circling from above, finally decided to take it's turn with intentions of ending it. Diving out of the sky at breakneck speeds, Spearow lunged at Ash, claws unhinged, just about to make contact with Ash's head… Ash by now had closed his eyes, preparing for the end when he felt the tip of the talon come in contact with his forehead which was sure to be followed by death when…
"Pikachu!" When suddenly the Spearow cried in intense pain and lit up as it was zapped by an incredibly powerful Thunderbolt. Ash hesitantly opened his eyes and looked down to see the bird pokemon black and charred, twitching in pain from the electric type attack.
Looking to his right, he met Pikachu's eyes which were looking directly back at him. The rain must have helped Pikachu finally wash all of the sand out. In those eyes he saw furious rage at the Spearow who had attacked him, and genuine concern for his own well being. Shaking off the intense emotions that came with believing that he was going to die, Ash took a second to gather himself before he finally decided that enough was enough.
"Pikachu, blast those things out of the sky now! Thunder!" Ash yelled furiously, his anger from being attacked by the Spearow boiling to the surface. Feeling just as pissed as Ash, Pikachu quickly climbed up Ash's back and launched itself from his shoulder towards the oncoming Spearow. Suddenly a blue streak of lightning stuck Pikachu mid-air as it prepared to launch it's attack.
A round blue aura briefly surrounded Pikachu before giving way to a massive implosion of yellow sparks. An enormous pillar of electricity shot towards the sky, enveloping all of the unfortunate Spearow before blowing up in a spectacular, deafening explosion. Cries of anguish from the Spearow echoed throughout the entire forest before being silenced as they all simultaneously fainted, landing in a clearing adjacent from where Ash and Pikachu were.
All went quiet as the last of the electricity dissipated from the sky. The darkness in the sky from the thunderstorm began to clear as rays of sunlight began to peak from between the clouds. One lone ray shone on Ash and Pikachu, who were lying face up on the ground next to each other, relieved smiles gracing their features.
Ash couldn't stop himself from lightly coughing due to the pain he was feeling. "Man Pikachu, you really got them good if you hit them as hard as you got me," he joked before breaking out into another fit of coughing.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried in concern seeing the condition the Ash was in.
"I am a mess aren't I buddy?" he joked again as he looked himself over. Blood was dripping from multiple cuts that littered his body all down his arms and chest, courtesy of the Spearow. The cuts then gave way to his singed clothing, charred black from being caught close range in Pikachu's devastating Thunder.
Pikachu cried again in concern as it got up and made it's way next to Ash. Pikachu began licking some of the wounds on Ash's arms, attempting the only way it knew how to soothe it's master's pain. "Pikachu stop that, I know that can't possibly taste as good as ketchup. I'll be fine. I just need to get patched up and get a little rest and I'll be good as new. I promise," he reassured Pikachu as he struggled to get up.
Finally pulling himself onto his feet, he turned around to find Seadra, fainted from being in range of the blast as well. "No! Seadra was too close too! We have to get her to the Pokemon Center quick!"
Pulling out Seadra's pokeball, he quickly returned her knowing that every second counted. His muscles ached even more now and his arms were throbbing, but Ash fought through the pain and wouldn't rest until he knew Seadra would be okay. Scooping up Pikachu in his arms, he prepared to take off but paused for a moment as he spotted the wrecked remains of that girl from the river's bike.
"Shit, she's gonna kill me," He stated, unknowingly quoting the professor from when he had smashed in his bedroom window. Quickly burying the thought of what that girl would do to him when she finds her bike in favor of worrying about Seadra; Ash mentally steeled himself for the last two mile walk to Viridian as each footstep took more effort than the last…
(The Entrance to Viridian City)
It had been a relatively ordinary day for the Officer Jenny of Viridian City. Nothing unusual had happened other than the city-wide warning of two potential pokemon thieves on the loose. Officer Jenny crumpled up the wanted poster in anger as she stared at the two suspects; there was nothing more inexcusable than stealing another trainer's pokemon…
She was snapped out of her reverie as she spied someone with a Pikachu in his arms approaching her gate at a very slow pace. As he neared her, she noticed his particularly ragged clothes and a heavy limp, but could not see his face due to the way his cap fell over his face.
"I'm sorry sir! But we don't allow pokemon in the homeless shelters!" Officer Jenny yelled, making an assumption. "I'm not homeless!" the person yelled as he lifted his head and made his way fully into her sight.
Finally able to see the person completely, Officer Jenny gasped as she noticed the numerous wounds that littered the person's body. She was shocked once more as she realized that the person was only a teenager as well.
"Young man! Are you alright? What happened to you? Was it the pokemon thieves?" she blurted out, slightly startling Ash.
"Yeah, I'm alright, I just had a run-in with some of the local Spearow. I need to get my pokemon to the Pokemon Center quick though! And what do you mean pokemon thieves?" Ash asked, puzzled, losing his urgency momentarily.
"There are two criminals on the loose who are accused of stealing some trainer's pokemon. You wouldn't happen to know anything would you?" She said with a suspicious tone. "I mean, it is a little suspicious that someone would just come waltzing out of the woods with a few critically injured pokemon and some pretty bad wounds themselves…perhaps they're from someone fighting back?"
"What? No! I didn't steal somebody's pokemon! Now let me through so I can get mine to the Pokemon Center! They're running out of time!" Ash yelled, infuriated by the Officer's accusations.
"Alright, alright, maybe I was a little too suspicious in blaming some kid who doesn't even look a day over fourteen. Just show me your identification, and I'll even give you a ride there on my motorcycle to make it up to you."
"What? Oh yeah, the professor did say something about that, hold on a sec," he said as he fished through his pockets. After a moment, he pulled out his red Pokedex, and pressed a yellow button on the left hand side. A small picture of Ash popped up on the tiny screen followed by a robotic voice that said, "I'm Dexter. A Pokedex programmed by Professor Oak for the pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum of the town of Pallet. My function is to provide Ash with information and advice regarding pokemon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."
"There, am I good? Can I please take my pokemon to the Pokemon Center now?" he asked as he attempted to walk past Officer Jenny.
"Yeah, you're good! But wait here a second!" she yelled as she stopped him, and then ran inside her Station real quick. A moment later, the garage opened followed by the loud roar of a motorcycle engine. Officer Jenny startled Ash as she suddenly pulled her bike less than a foot next to him.
"I promised you a ride didn't I? Now hop in, sit back, and don't yell," she ordered as Ash sat himself down in the passenger seat. Officer Jenny waited no longer than after Ash had buckled himself in to pull the throttle all the way back, leaving a large black cloud of exhaust as they flew forward at an intense speed.
"Whoaaa!" Ash yelled as he held onto Pikachu for dear life. "Hey! Didn't I tell you not to yell?" Jenny screamed over the noise of the engine. "I didn't think you would be trying to kill me!" he screamed back as they rounded the block and continued on to the Pokemon Center.
Back at the Station where the exhaust had just dissipated, stood a choking Misty, holding the charred remains of her bike behind her head. "Just how long does he think he can stay away from me?" she yelled in rage as she began to stomp towards the Pokemon Center herself.
High above the station in the dusk sky floated an odd shaped hot air balloon. The balloon seemed to resemble the shape of a Meowth. It too was floating steadily towards the Pokemon Center, the passengers on board with less than good intentions…
(About a hundred yards out from the Pokemon Center)
As Ash and Jenny continued to speed down the roads of Viridian at speeds nearly twice that of the speed limit, a huge dome-shaped building began to loom on the horizon. "There it is!" Jenny said as she pointed towards the building.
"That's the Pokemon Center? It's gigantic!" Ash exclaimed in wonder at the size of the building. "What did you expect? We're Viridian City! We always gotta do everything bigger and better here! Now hold on! It's gonna get a little bit tricky here!" she yelled as they approached the front door of the Center.
'What could she possibly do now? My pokemon would've been in better shape if I walked here! Wait, where's the driveway? Why aren't we stopping? We're gonna crash!' Ash mentally screamed while his eyes nearly popped out of his head at approaching stairs of Center.
Showing extreme skill with her motorcycle, Jenny launched her motorcycle off of one of the handicap ramps, over the stairs, and through the automatic doors before skidding to a halt just a few inches from the reception desk and an irate Nurse Joy. What made Jenny's feat all the more impressive was that she accomplished it all while Ash held her in a death grip, loudly screaming in her ear that she was going to kill them all.
"Again? Jenny this is the third time this week! We have a driveway you know," Nurse Joy scolded with her arms crossed.
"This time's different though! This kid's pokemon need help!" she shot back, pointing at Ash who was now hyperventilating in the passenger seat after his second near death experience of the day.
Ash quickly shook it off as he remembered the danger that his pokemon, in particular, Seadra were in. "Nurse Joy! My please help my pokemon! Pikachu isn't that bad, he's just mostly exhausted, but my Seadra was caught in the crossfire of one of Pikachu's most powerful attacks and she isn't doing well at all!"
"Alright, I'll get right on it," she said as she took Pikachu and Seadra's pokeball out of his hands. She then picked up the paging system attached to her computer, "I need a stretcher for a small electric type pokemon, and a tank for a small water type pokemon."
After a few moments, four Chansey came running down the hallway, two with a stretcher, and two with a small tank of water. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they're all right," Nurse Joy reassured Ash as Pikachu was strapped into the stretcher and Seadra was released into the tank. "Take Pikachu to the Minimal Care Unit and take Seadra to the Critical Care Unit."
"Chan-sey!" All four Chansey saluted before wheeling Pikachu and Seadra back down the hallway. Turning towards Ash, Nurse Joy began, "And now for you…" "His name is Ash." Officer Jenny cut in, ruffling Ash on top of his head, much to his annoyance.
"Alright then, Ash, what I want to know is how you managed to be so irresponsible as to let one of your pokemon get hurt by another one of your pokemon? I thought holding the new trainers back another three years was supposed to stop these incidents from happening," she concluded with a disappointed glare.
"But Nurse Joy! You don't know what happened! It was an accident! We were being chased by a flock of angry Spearow and I had Pikachu use an attack to get rid of them but Seadra got caught up in it!" Ash yelled as he pleaded his case.
"Regardless, you have to be more careful, especially with your own wellbeing! Have you looked at yourself recently? You look just as bad if not worse than your pokemon do!" Nurse Joy yelled, angry that someone so young would put themselves in such danger.
"This?" Ash asked as he ran his hands across the lacerations and slight burns on his body. "I jumped in front of the Spearow when they were about to hurt Pikachu and Seadra. This is nothing; I would gladly take this and more as long as my pokemon are alright!"
Her temper softening after hearing of his heroic gesture and words, Nurse Joy put her hand on his shoulder. "Either way, you still have to be more careful… Now, while my Chansey take care of the prep work, let me take care of your injuries, follow me into the patient room," she said as she attempted to lead him away.
Grabbing her hand off of his shoulder, Ash looked at Nurse Joy with a commanding stare. "No, take care of my pokemon first, this is nothing. I'm not stupid enough to refuse treatment, but take care of me only after my pokemon completely alright."
Nurse Joy was about to disagree, but ceased after seeing the intense look Ash was giving her. "Alright…" she sighed. "Go sit in the waiting room and try not to find any other way to hurt yourself," she teased with a smirk as she smacked him on the back.
Ash had to bite down a yell but couldn't prevent the shiver that rattled his body from the pain that followed Nurse Joy's "love tap". "What's wrong tough guy? I thought you said that was nothing?" she chuckled as she walked down the hallway. "I'll be back to deal with you after I'm done with your pokemon," she finished, followed by the door closing behind her.
Never seeing Joy act so…fresh with a trainer, Officer Jenny took that as her cue to leave. "Well kid, I'm out of here. Good luck with your pokemon, and try not to be too rough with Nurse Joy," she joked with a wink as she mounted her bike and drove away out of the Pokemon Center.
"Why would I be rough with Nurse Joy?" Ash asked himself, not understanding the blunt innuendo. "She seems like a nice lady, and she's helping my pokemon, I'm obviously not getting something here…" he said, thoroughly puzzled.
Without warning, a picture of his mom with a victorious grin on her face flashed through his head. Confusing him even more, was that his mom seemed to be mumbling something…something about preserving innocence…anyway, the picture did have one use in reminding him that he was supposed to call her when he got to Viridian.
Walking over to the video phone, Ash quickly dialed his home phone number, waiting for his mom to pick up as the annoying ring ring ring! ring ring ring! phone call! phone call! rung out throughout the center.
"Hello? Ketchum residence." he heard his mom's voice say through the screen, the video not enabled as of yet. "Hey mom, it's Ash," he said, awaiting his mom's enthusiastic reply. Right on cue, he heard, "Oh Ash! Give me one second!"
After a few moments, Ash saw his mom's cheerful, young face pop up on the screen. What started out as a smile at seeing her beloved son quickly morphed into horror as she saw the condition he was in. "Ash! Oh my gosh! What happened to you?"
Knowing he was dealing with a time bomb that was waiting to go off, Ash had to watch what he said as he searched for a proverbial "blue wire", that would be able to calm his mother down. "Now mom… It's not as bad as it looks…" Wrong thing to say, Ash apparently clipped the red wire, and immediately prepared for the oncoming explosion.
"Not as bad as it looks? Ash, look at you! You're bleeding! You're burnt! You look like you're about to pass out! What the hell happened to you?" Delia screamed. Ash knew he was done now as he had never before in his life heard his mother swear.
"Mom, please, relax. I'm fine. These are just a few small cuts that bled a little more than they should have. Nurse Joy is going to fix me up right after she's done with Pikachu and Seadra. Please don't worry about me," he pleaded as he waved his hands in front of him.
Delia grabbed her head and began to shake it in worry. "Oh I knew this was a bad idea sending you out on your own. Day one and you've already landed in the Pokemon Center, beaten up and I'm assuming Pikachu and Seadra are the same?"
"Yes mom, they are. We just had a little bit of bad luck today, that's all. I promise I'm fine, it was what both you and the Professor taught me that saved me actually."
A slight look of relief flashed across Delia face. "I believe you Ash. I know we both had you better prepared than anyone else. You just must have seriously had some of the worst luck ever today," she sighed as she began to lighten up a bit.
"You don't even know the half of it," he said with a sweatdrop. "Anyway, I was just calling in to let you know we made it to Viridian safe and sound, even though it doesn't look like it," he joked with a slight chuckle.
"That's great honey! It took your dad four days to get to Viridian! He would be so proud of you for making it in only one!" she exclaimed, her worry for Ash gone.
"Thanks mom, I'll give you a call when I hit Pewter," he said, somewhat embarrassed.
"Alright sweetie, try and be more careful! I'll see you then, I love you."
"I will mom; I love you too, bye." Ash said as he clicked the telephone off. Getting up from the table, Ash began to pace for a little bit while his mind wandered. During his pacing, he noticed the large plaque hanging up behind the main desk.
The plaque contained four legendary pokemon, all of which Ash could name from his studies with the Professor. One of the pokemon in particular drew his attention, the fierce looking bird pokemon in the top right corner. After examining it for a moment, Ash realized with shock that it was the same pokemon he had seen earlier today.
'There's no way I should have ever seen that pokemon though. People have spent their entire lives for centuries just trying to get a glimpse of that pokemon. Should I tell the professor about it?' Ash's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the phone on Nurse Joy's desk. Ash debated whether or not he should pick it up, but he shrugged his shoulders and made his way over as he knew that if he didn't, no one would.
"Uh, hello? Viridian City Pokemon Center, can I help you?" Ash asked in a semi-formal voice after picking up the phone. "Ash, is that you? Hold on a moment," came the all too familiar voice of Professor Oak. After a second, Ash found himself looking at the back of the professor's head.
"Ah Ash, just who I wanted to talk to! Even though it's only been a day it seems like forever since I've seen you!"
Stifling a laugh, Ash responded, "You're right, it has been a while since I've seen the back of your head Professor."
"What are you talking about…oh, I hate this damn camera system!" he complained as he fiddled with a few buttons.
"There we go!" Professor Oak exclaimed after finally hitting the correct button.
"So what's up Professor?" Ash asked as he tilted his head to the side. A slight look of mirth flashed across the Professor's face before responding, "Well I was calling in to see how well you were doing, and I have to say, you look like you're really on top of things right now," he said without the worry that had plagued his mother.
"Those local Spearow are such a pain in the ass! You can't even train without upsetting an entire flock of them! I had Pikachu take care of them, but he ended up hitting Seadra in the crossfire, so we ended up here," he recounted while gesturing to the Pokemon Center behind him.
"Yes, I've had a few problems with those Spearow myself. You're mom called me a minute ago sobbing about how her baby was all broken. I call it a character builder if I do say so myself," the professor joked about Ash's condition.
"Yeah yeah yeah, when I come home I'll sick Pikachu on you and we'll see how you feel about it then…" he grumbled at his mentor.
Temporarily breaking off their exchange of light-hearted threats, the professor asked, "How are your pokemon by the way? Did they look good while you were training earlier today?"
A look of pure excitement immediately consumed the majority of Ash's face. "Did they look good? They looked great! I don't think Pikachu's ready for some of the advanced moves I have in mind for him yet, so I'm working on his speed and agility. Seadra on the other hand, giving me her was the best thing you've ever done for me! Did you know she can almost do a Dragon Pulse? She shouldn't be able to do that for a long time!"
Professor Oak replied with a knowing glance, "Yes, I knew there was something special about that Seadra. Plus, I knew you two would go great together ever since you kicked her in that lake almost a year ago. That Dragon Pulse is extremely impressive if you can get her to master it soon though…"
"I know!" Ash cheered at the thought of Seadra blowing other pokemon away with a powerful Dragon Pulse. "I have one last thing to talk to you about though," Ash said taking a serious tone.
Seeing how serious Ash was acting, the professor mirrored his demeanor. "Alright then, go ahead."
Pointing to the bird pokemon in the top right corner of the plaque, Ash said, "I believe that Pikachu and I saw that pokemon there, Ho-Oh, this morning shortly after leaving Pallet."
"Ash you can't be serious. That's a rather bold claim to be making. You know just as well as I do how long people have been dedicating their entire lives just to see Ho-Oh," Oak said unbelievingly.
Pulling his Pokedex out of his pocket, Ash answered, "Trust me, I know just as well as you do that I should've never seen that pokemon. But take a look at this…" he said he hooked his Pokedex up to the computer, uploading a picture onto the screen.
The entire contents of the professor's cup found its way on floor once he had received the picture on his own screen. He took a moment to scrutinize the picture very closely, before looking up at Ash with one of the most serious looks he had ever given him. "Ash, you have to delete this picture immediately."
"But why professor? How many people can say that they've taken a legitimate picture of Ho-Oh?" Ash asked in complete shock.
"That's the thing Ash; nobody has ever taken a picture of Ho-Oh before… Do you know what lengths some people will go to if they believed you had a connection with Ho-Oh? Now I want you to delete that picture off of your Pokedex immediately. I will print the picture out, and lock it up in a safe, but it's too dangerous for you to carry around in your Pokedex," the professor concluded with a solemn look.
"Alright, I understand. There, it's deleted," Ash said defiantly as he pointed out the small screen on his pokedex which now said 'photo deleted!'.
"Don't take it personal Ash. I'm thrilled that you got to see an extremely rare sight like Ho-Oh at such a young age. I just can't in my right mind let you carry that picture around knowing what some people would do if they…" Oak was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a doorbell.
"Oh, there's my pizza!" he exclaimed in surprise as he stood up from his chair. "I'll talk to you soon Ash, give me a call when you hit Pewter or something. Bye!" the professor yelled as he walked towards his door. "Mmmm, anchovies, spinach, and pineapple pizza!" Ash heard before the video screen cut out.
"Eww, what is it with old people and weird kinds of pizza?" Ash shuttered as he began his trek towards the waiting room. Before he was even halfway there, he heard from a doorway behind the main desk, "Oh Ash… I'm ready for you…" Ash turned to see Nurse Joy inviting him into the patient room with a wink.
(The Front Door of the Pokemon Center)
"I'm…finally…gonna get…that kid now!" Misty gasped in exhaustion from hauling her bike the entire way to the Pokemon Center.
"Where is he?" she asked to herself as she let herself into the Pokemon Center to find it completely empty. The only noise she could hear was a faint noise coming from a room behind the main desk. Deciding to investigate, Misty set her bike down at the front door, and crept next to the door in question so she could better he the noises inside.
She heard a loud moan coming from…that kid she met earlier? "Hold on Ash, let me put it here instead." Misty heard the voice of Nurse Joy. "Oh Nurse Joy! That feels so much better!" she heard Ash exclaim in ecstasy. "Don't worry Ash, I told you I would make you feel better didn't I?" followed Nurse Joy in a sultry voice.
An intense blush overtook Misty's face as she finally realized what was going on. Unable to take the embarrassment of listening to it anymore, Misty quickly made the decision to break it up. "Just what the hell is going on in here?" she yelled as kicked the door open and stormed inside.
Misty stood there in embarrassment with a large sweatdrop as she saw a startled Nurse Joy in the middle of adjusting a few bandages on Ash's chest. "Young lady! What do you think you're doing? Can't you see I'm in the middle of helping a patient? If you need me, please wait until I'm done!" Nurse Joy exclaimed in anger at being startled like that.
"But…I heard…you were…" Misty stuttered incoherently as she tried to process what was going on. "Get out and go wait in the waiting room! It's why we have one!" Nurse Joy yelled as she led Misty out, closing the door behind her as she went back in the room.
"The nerve of some people…" Nurse Joy shook her head as she made her way back over to Ash. "Now Ash, let's finish making you feel better…" she sighed as Ash could only sit there with a glorious look on his face.
"Thanks Nurse Joy! I feel good as new!" Ash beamed, his face almost cracking in-half from the smile that currently inhabited his face. "Oh, anytime Ash, anytime…" Nurse Joy cooed out of view from the patient room.
Ash, now all bandaged and fixed up, walked out towards the middle of the Pokemon Center, his misfortunes from earlier in the day now completely justified. As he looked out of the window at the night time sky, he remarked that this day would forever go down in his personal history books as one of his worst, and best days ever.
"Now I've got you!" he heard an all too familiar voice from behind him. "Oh shit," he sighed before he felt some heavy metal object come in contact with the back of his head, followed by complete darkness. Yes, this day was definitely still considered as one of his worst…
A/N: Done! Ash pisses off some Spearow, meets Misty, and has a surprise encounter with Nurse Joy!
There are two things that I'm positive will be asked a few times in the upcoming reviews that I will address right now. First is how Ash did not recognize Misty despite studying all of the gym leaders with Professor Oak…
There is a reason for that, and it's actually quite simple. That reason will be revealed around the time that we hit Cerulean City.
The second thing is obviously the scene with Nurse Joy.
You can use your own imagination with that. I'll leave it up to you whether or not you believe that something actually happened and if so, what it was. I actually have a pretty good idea for a hilarious scene in the future involving Brock and a flashback to this moment.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to leave me a review or a message. As I stated in the intro, I love reading your reviews! And I'm incredibly happy with the number of reviews I've been receiving! So please keep them coming!
I'll see you guys with my next update: Viridian Forest and Pewter
DBF Out