Okay everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I had trouble in my classes this semester, so I decided to responsibly hold back on writing for a while.
Enjoy the story and please feel free to leave reviews and suggestions if you want. I already know where I'm heading with this story, but I'm open to ideas.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokémon franchise.
As Ash walked into the Viridian, he instantly noticed the sheer amount of books the library had. Books completely covered the walls of the library, and the library itself was massive, so each wall had several shelves as long as the length of a small house. The library also had bookcases evenly spaced through the library, though they were only half the height of the library itself. It was obvious that the library had a lot of information. While curiously browsing the shelves, Ash found books on all different kinds of topics, ranging from "Why 'Shiny' Pokémon exist" to "How to cook different foods for different needs." He was impressed and a little excited by all the different books. Ash reached the desk in the front of the library, and he examined the woman working behind it.
The woman looked interesting. She had dark blue hair that reached her waist, and round-framed glasses that hid her eyes. Her outfit consisted of a thin black dress that revealed a small amount of cleavage and hugged her hourglass figure. All in all, she looked very attractive, and Ash blushed a little when he caught himself checking her out. The woman was casually, yet carefully, moving large amount of books from the desk to a floating tray next to her. Once loaded, the tray vanished, and Ash suspected the work of a psychic or ghost Pokémon.
When the tray disappeared, the woman finally noticed Ash at her desk.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She frantically apologized, "I didn't notice you there."
Ash brushed off her apology with a light smile. "It's okay. I'm still a little confused at what to do here. A Nurse Joy at the Pokémon recommended I come here and show you these two books." Ash placed the two books on the desk. "I have already read 'Hatching and Raising Pokémon', but not "Basic Training for Pokémon. I'm Ash Ketchum by the way."
The woman gave an enigmatic smile. "Why hello Ash, my name is Laura Blanca. I and all of my sisters that work at the Libraries go by Librarian Blanca. We usually only see researchers come to the library, but we have special options for trainers." Now Laura intrigued Ash with the new information, and he found himself wondering why Mira thought that the Library would help him.
"Follow me, please." Laura requested, and Ash did. Laura led Ash to a back corner of the library, where a staircase that led to what he presumed was the basement. He was proven incorrect when she opened the door and showed a passage. Ash continued to follow her through the passage, and at the end, they climbed another staircase. Laura opened the door and invited Ash inside. Once Ash walked in, he quickly examined his surroundings. Like Nurse Joy, Librarian Blanca appeared to be a family profession with siblings that looked very similar. Not as much as Nurse Joys do, since Librarians can actually be distinguished from one another. To his left, Ash saw three Bookkeeper's in the room with a few Pokémon. They appeared to be studying an Electabuzz and taking down some notes, while the Pokémon was eating some cooked food. Laura dragged Ash to the group.
"Hey girls, I brought a new trainer!" The three Bookkeepers stopped studying the Electabuzz in favor of studying Ash. Ash nervously waved at them. They waved back, and approached Laura and Ash.
"Is he a new trainer?" One of them asked. This woman had her hair set in a bun.
"Yes," Laura answered. "Mira called and informed me that he hasn't obtained six Pokémon, nor did he obtain any badges." The other Bookkeepers looked excited at this news. Ash wasn't too surprised when he heard that Mira called Laura.
Ash quickly interrupted them. "What does that have to do with me being here?" He questioned. He didn't think that they would want any inexperienced trainer to do anything for them, and he assumed that they wanted something. People rarely get so excited when they help strangers.
"It depends. Are you satisfied with the lab where you would deposit your extra Pokémon?" A different Bookkeeper asked. This woman had eyes with different colors. Heterochromia, Ash realized. He almost forgot to answer the question.
"No," Ash answered. He didn't want Oak anywhere near his Pokémon.
"Perfect! Can we see your Pokédex then?" The same Bookkeeper asked.
Ash handed the Bookkeeper his Pokédex. All four Bookkeepers began to examine the Pokédex. The more they examined it, the more frustration Ash could read on their faces.
"This Pokédex is trash." Laura finally said. "It's completely out of date in every possible function. What was Professor Oak thinking? Sending a new trainer off with outdated information can get him killed. This information has been outdated for more than a decade."
This threw Ash for a loop. Is Oak really so shallow as to endanger him by using his profession?
"Then it's settled, we will take over his role as your lab. All extra Pokémon will be sent to us instead of Oak. However, in order to take care of any expensive Pokémon, you would have to do some work for us," Laura offered.
Ash can figure what she meant by expensive, as a horde of large Pokémon would ruin any facility.
"So will I get a new Pokédex?"
"Without a doubt. It would be irresponsible of us to let you go without good information."
"Awesome, but I would like to know what this work entails," Ash countered. He couldn't go completely out of his way to do the work. Ash needed the majority of his time to train his Pokémon. With only two Pokémon and an egg, He needs all the time he has to catch up to at least Gary's level.
"Simple. Whenever you send your Pokémon to us, we will study and record its habits, personality, diet and other information we can gleam from it. That's the tradeoff for keeping any Pokémon at our lab, but in order to keep any expensive Pokémon, we may ask you to research a certain Pokémon in its natural habitat. Unlike Professor Oak, we don't have a large enough natural reserve to completely simulate a natural environment for all the Pokémon, and we don't let any trainer's Pokémon mingle with another trainer's without explicit permission. This is to prevent any potential problems." One of the Bookkeepers explained.
Ash mentally frowned. Researching a Pokémon in its natural habitat is definitely time-consuming. "I thought you had to be a researcher to contribute any information."
Laura smiled at Ash's response. "I see why Mira sent you to us. You definitely have a head on your shoulders. Seeing as how we are done here, let's move back to the lobby. I will answer your question on the way there.
As they moved to the lobby, Laura started to inform Ash of the reason why Mira told Ash to bring his books. Apparently, researchers do not usually go to a school to learn. Just like trainers, researchers learn while on a journey. All researchers study a certain number of relevant books, and it's at the Library's sole discretion to award that researcher the rank of a Professor. Generally, twenty extra books are required to be read along with ten specific books that all aspiring researchers have to read. After reading a book, a test is given to determine how much information the reader actually retained, and after all thirty books are read, a Librarian is specially picked to design a test based on the thirty books that are read, with emphasis on the twenty books that the student picked. All students are allowed to contribute to any researcher's work.
Basically, since Ash had read the book on egg care, he can now help with the Librarians' research.
But Laura wasn't quite finished, "If you decide to become a Professor, the ten specific books you need to read will cover the care of different types of Pokémon and their eggs. The other twenty books are more about determining your first field of research."
"So I can basically become a Professor and a successful trainer? I'm not so sure I can manage to read the twenty extra books on top of all training I have to do."
"But that's where it gets really good," Laura grinned, "the twenty books you pick can help the Pokémon you are training. For instance, there are two books that can essentially show how to cook a meal that can really boost your Meowth's strength when both are applied together. One of the books details how certain nutrients affect certain Pokémon and which food has those nutrients. While the other book contains a list of food that certain Pokémon can eat and where it can be found. The books cite each other, and when applied, meals can be designed to be both nutritious and delicious. Basically, we won't stop you from training your Pokémon."
"That sounds too good to be true," Ash bluntly stated. It wouldn't do to be caught unaware of any schemes.
"Well we get research material, so it's all good."
Ash decided to go along with their plan. This deal seemed very beneficial, with very little drawbacks. He had no reason to refuse their offer.
"Well, I have no real reasons to say no…"
"Great! Let me just grab a new Pokédex for you."
Laura left and quickly brought back his new Pokédex. Afterwards, she directed Ash to the books on raising new Pokémon, as per his request. Ash soon left the library, happy with what transpired.
With nothing left to do in Viridian, Ash left for Pewter city with Yzma by his side, with Ezra choosing to remain in her Pokéball. The gym in Pewter city was the closest gym besides the Viridian gym and perhaps the easiest. However, Ash had heard rumors at the Pokémon center that Brock, the current gym leader, had begun to cruelly demolish new trainers. Ash would need all the preparation needed in order to win the battle.
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Two hours after walking from Viridian and entering Viridian Forest, Ash and Meowth stopped to make a camp, and Ash released Eevee from her Pokéball.
"Alright then, this will be our first day actually training." Ash stated seriously. Ezra nodded with what Ash assumed to be a determined expression. Yzma suddenly became excited, and she stood and started running and dancing around the clearing they found. Ash chuckled at his Meowth's enthusiasm.
"Okay, I want you both to work on your speed. Not only will you be able to maneuver around your opponent's attacks, but it will also help in our bounty hunting. I'm certain that many Pokémon will try to run away from us, so I want you to become fast enough to chase them down and stop them long enough for others to catch up. I think it will be great if we also worked on your stamina. I don't want you to exhaust yourself from just chasing them."
Ash walked to the center of the clearing, near a large rock. Reaching into his bag, Ash placed his Pokédex on the rock and used on of its many features to set a timer. "You will run around the clearing for as long as you can, and whenever you hear the timer, sprint as fast as you can. I set the timer to alternately ring between every three minutes for your normal pace, and every minute for your sprints."
Ash pointed the trail that they will run along. It was a large circle around the rock. "Now start," Ash commanded. He started the timer as Yzma started a leisurely pace around the field. Ezra started at a much faster pace than Yzma, but Ash slowed her down so she wouldn't exhaust herself as fast.
While they trained, Ash quickly scanned the field for two small logs. He intended to use them both in power, with Ezra tackling one of them while Yzma scratching at the other. Afterwards, Ash decided that he wanted to keep up with his Pokémon. If a hunt runs away and his Pokémon chased after it, Ash would need to keep up with them as much as possible. Most Pokémon can easily outrun a human, but Ash would need to catch up as soon as possible if their target decided to run with his Pokémon on its heels.
After stretching a bit, Ash lined up with his Pokémon and started training with them.
Every hour, Ash and his Pokémon will relax on the grass for half an hour. Then they would continue running again. This cycle continued for most of the day, and Ash stopped the speed training when the sun began to set. After taking a few minutes to rest, Ash called his Pokémon over.
"Now, next we will train your power. All the speed in the world wouldn't help if we can't do any damage. "Ash showed his two Pokémon the two logs. " Ezra, I want you to tackle your log as hard as you can, and Yzma, I want you to make the deepest scratches you can in your log. We will stop training when you can't go on any longer." Ash set up the two logs to be used.
Ezra ran at her log with all the speed her sore body can give, and a loud smack tore through the clearing as her body collided with the log. With how much energy his Eevee put into the charge, Ash expected Ezra's log to be knocked back a fair bit, though he figured it was heavier than it looked. Ash set the log back up again.
Ash turned to see Yzma leaving light lines on her log, and log was heavy enough to not fall over. Ash turned back to Ezra to see the log had fallen over again. It was apparent that the tackle's blunt force will knock over the log as opposed to Yzma's quick scratch attacks, so Ash focused a bit more on Ezra to raise her log whenever she knocked it down.
They continued this exercise until night settled, and both of Ash's Pokémon were sore all over their bodies. Ash cooked food for them with the equipment in his bag, making sure it tasted as good as possible. His Pokémon deserved it for all the effort they put in today. After feeding them, Ash left the food cooking in order to get his own exercise in. He did as many, sit-ups, push-ups, and stretches as he could, and then ate the remaining food that he had cooked.
Ash slid into a sleeping bag and his Pokémon joined him. Together, they fell asleep under the night sky.
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At daybreak, Ash repeated the routine him and his Pokémon started yesterday, and after eating, Ash packed his camping equipment and decided to continue his journey. The same routine repeated for the next two days, until Ash saw a marked improvement both his Pokémon. With this realization, Ash increased the workout regime. Instead of just running around in circles, He added a few obstacles in the path. A log was laid in the path for them to jump over, and two large objects would be placed for him and his Pokémon to dodge around with a quick dash. Ash hoped to increase their dodging ability with these changes. It was rather convenient that the additions would also require more effort, so it further enhanced the stamina and the speed aspects of the training. Ash found that sprinting through the obstacles was much tougher than imagined.
After consulting his book on how to train new Pokémon, Ash learned that cat Pokémon like Yzma regrow denser, stronger claws every time they chip and break, and that broken claws don't cause too much pain to the Pokémon. No one knows why this happens, but researchers have noted an increase in density between different Meowth's that had started with similar claws. With this knowledge, he decided to find logs that rotted a little less than the previous logs for Yzma to use for her strength training. The logs were tougher, and whenever she broke a claw, Ash stopped her training for the day. Thankfully it only takes a day for her to regrow her claws.
For Ezra, he had to find and haul larger logs for her to tackle. This often took quite a bit of time, but seeing her tackle larger and larger logs put a smile on her trainer's face.
For Ash himself, he saw no visible difference in the last few days. This was expected, since humans didn't grow stronger like Pokémon did. Pokémon can grow stronger in a matter of days, but humans take weeks to see any visible difference in their performance. He did feel lighter though.
At nights, He would stay up a little later than his Pokémon. Ash would always imagine the face of his mother in the clouds above. Though the grief of her death faded a little, Ash still felt as if a piece of his soul was torn away. He felt tired, and only the thought of living for himself, his Pokémon, and his mother kept him going. He knew his mother would want the best for him, and he resolved to make something of himself. For the sake of his mother's memory, Ash resolved to be the best he could.
After eight days of training in Viridian Forest, Ash decided to test his Pokémon against the local wild Pokémon. He passed all of the nearby weak bug Pokémon and found a Pidgey. The Pidgey was eating some berries it found, but it soon noticed Ash and took an offensive stance.
"Yzma, you're up!" Ash threw Yzma's Pokéball out and Yzma appeared in a similar stance. She looked ready to hunt again.
"Yzma, use scratch," Yzma went to do as commanded, but the Pidgey quickly took to the air. It was now at a safe distance from Yzma, and it soon started flapping its wings very hard. Ash realized what it was doing.
"Back away from it, it's going to use gust. Dodge like how we practiced"
Yzma quickly ran around the bursts of wind, but that was all she could do from the ground. The Pidgey constantly remained too far above her. She wouldn't be able to reach it. Ash looked around for a way to bring down the bird. He only spotted the trees around the forest and some vines. He turned back to Yzma to see her constantly dodging the attacks, but she was tiring, while the Pidgey was also tiring, but the Pidgey was certainly not tiring as fast as Yzma was.
Ash frantically looked around for an advantage, but he was only seeing more trees.
…maybe that could work.
"Quickly! Jump off the trees to get higher!"
Yzma ran at the nearest tree and ran up the trunk. She rapidly kicked off of the tree and leapt towards the Pidgey. The Pidgey steered away from the Meowth. The bird Pokémon flapped even harder to get more altitude, and Meowth sailed under the Pidgey and slid along the hard ground. Undeterred by the results, Meowth quickly ran up a different tree.
She repeated this for a while, getting closer and closer to landing a blow on the bird, until finally she clipped its wing. The Pidgey fell from the sky and tumbled. Yzma landed and quickly swiped at her opponent's head, and the Pidgey was defeated. It no longer had the energy to fly from all of the gusts it was using. Satisfied with the win, Ash checked Yzma for any injuries. When he found none, they both walked to the camp to celebrate another win.
The next three days were spent battling against some of the stronger Pokémon in Viridian Forest. Yzma and Ezra both grew in strength from all the battles. Yzma could now leave light scratches on rocks, and Ezra could push down small boulder. They were both much faster than they were before. Ash knew that he needed to train his Pokémon some more before challenging the rock gym leader.
Ten days after leaving Viridian, Ash finally reached Pewter city.
Now here it is. The third chapter of my story is done. I do hope you enjoyed it. Have a nice day. Reviews on how to make my writing better are always appreciated.