Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!

Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga

Chapter Two

Thunder Yellow?

"So the more Mankey gets hurt in battle the stronger that technique gets...that could be good for turning a battle around..." Ashley read her pokedex out loud to herself while walking through Viridian forest, taking the time to familiarize herself with the pokemon she caught as well as the techniques they know. While doing so, she wasn't paying much attention to what was ahead of her and looked up from her pokedex just as she walked into a tree.

"Most pokemon probably would have steered their trainer in the right direction in a situation like this." Bulbasaur thought to itself, still following Ashley outside its pokeball and finding amusement in its trainer's clumsiness. "Then again, I'm hardly most pokemon."

"I should pay more attention to where I'm going I guess..." Ashley said to herself, putting her pokedex away. "SOMEONE could have warned me though..."

"-Could have, but didn't.-" Bulbasaur replied cheekily.

"Huh? Whats that?" Ashley wondered, noticing something in a small clearing past the tree she just hit. "Is that...cheese?" Ashley moved into the clearing to take a closer look at what seemed to be a plate of swiss cheese sitting on the ground.

"-Call me crazy, but I think this setup has 'trap' written all over it.-" Bulbasaur stated, sitting back to watch his trainer once again get into trouble. Sure enough, as Ashley moved closer to the cheese she hit an unseen tripwire that caused a net hidden below her feet to raise up. She was wrapped up in the net and hoisted off the ground.

"HEY! This isn't funny!" Ashley called out to no one, struggling with the net. "Bulbasaur, get me down from here!"

"-Whats the magic word?-" Bulbasaur taunted her, knowing full well Ashley couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Please?" Another girl's voice answered instead. Bulbasaur blinked in surprise and looked back to see who it was.

Standing behind Bulbasaur was a girl who looked old enough to be a trainer yet still noticeably younger than Ashley. Her hair was a shade of blonde that looked more like yellow and was tied back into a long ponytail. Her hands were folded behind her back and she was smiling at Bulbasaur, her green eyes looking down at him.

For an outfit, the girl was wearing a simple yellow tunic over a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. She had a black sash tied around her waist that looked like it could hold pokeballs and a pair of purple boots on her feet. The girl certainly looked more ready for an adventure than Ashley did, even though she didn't appear to have any pokeballs with her.

"-Uh...sure...-" Bulbasaur stammered, not sure whether the girl understood him or if her request was merely a coincidence. Bulbasaur quickly turned around and fired a single well-aimed Bullet Seed that cut through the rope holding Ashley up and sent her plummeting to the ground.

"Oww..." Ashley muttered, rubbing her backside. "Couldn't you let me down slower?" Ashley turned to address Bulbasaur but found herself facing the girl instead, who was holding out a hand to help her up.

"Sorry about that! That was kinda my trap..." The girl said apologetically, still smiling. "I'm trying to catch a Pikachu!"

"Catch a Pikachu? That'll never work!" Ashley said to her, getting back to her feet. "Pikachu are way too smart for that..."

"I know..." The girl replied with a sigh. "I've been trying for over a year now!"

"What? Why?!" Ashley asked in surprise.

"Well when I turned ten and got my trainer's license I decided I wanted my first pokemon to be a Pikachu." The girl explained. "I'm no good at catching pokemon though and I don't even have a pokemon of my own to help me..."

"Well why would you waste so much time trying to catch one like this then?" Ashley asked her. "I mean, couldn't you get someone else to catch one for you?"

"I...never thought of that actually." The girl replied, blushing in embarassment.

"Well today's your lucky day, because I'm going to catch one for you!" Ashley said to her, grinning widely. "Catching a Pikachu will be a piece of cake!"

"-Ashley? Catch a pokemon?-" Bulbasaur snorted, rolling his eyes. "-Thats charitable.-"

"Really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you Ashley!" The girl replied excitedly, wrapping her arms tightly around a surprised Ashley.

"Wait, I didn't even tell you my name..." Ashley stammered in confusion.

"Oh, your Bulbasaur just said your name..." The girl explained, releasing Ashley. "By the way, my name's Rina!"

"You can understand pokemon?!" Ashley and Bulbasaur both shouted in union.

"Yep! I've been able to understand pokemon as long as I can remember." Rina replied to the two. "I hope to become a pokemon researcher someday and use my ability to further that goal!"

"-Well I suppose thats more noble than a photographer at least.-" Bulbasaur commented, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, so are you a photographer then?" Rina asked Ashley curiously. "I guess that makes sense, you don't really look like a trainer..."

"Hmph! Whats that supposed to mean?" Ashley shot back, glaring at Rina.

"N-nothing!" Rina replied, taking a step back and holding her arms in front of her defensively. "You just don't look like you're dressed for an adventure!"

"You sound just like my mother..." Ashley muttered. "Lets just go find you a Pikachu already..." Ashley said to Rina before stomping off further into the forest.

"She's scary when she's angry..." Rina quietly said to Bulbasaur.

"-Only because you're human.-" Bulbasaur replied before starting off after Ashley.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Rina called out, running to catch up with the two.


"...So, yeah, not much interesting to say about me really." Ashley said, ending her description of herself and her life to Rina as they continued through the forest. "I only left home because everyone else my age did. I'm not interested in challenging the Elite Four though. What about you?"

"Oh...well...umm..." Rina rubbed the back of her head, not sure how to respond. "Well I'm from Pewter City..." She began. "Brock, the gym leader, kinda looks after me there though I live by myself..."

"Huh? So where are your parents then?" Ashley asked. Bulbasaur struck her in the back of the head with his vine for it. "Ow! Bulbasaur!" Ashley growled, rubbing the back of her head and casting a glare at her pokemon.

"-Isn't it obvious?-" Bulbasaur growled back. "-Her parents are...-"

"They're gone..." Rina replied quietly, interrupting Bulbasaur. "My parents were investigators assigned to track down the leader of the Grand Hunters. They were getting close, apparently too close. They were found dead...their pokemon missing, probably enslaved and sold on the black market..."

"Oh..." Ashley said solemnly. "I'm sorry, I had no idea..."

"Its ok..." Rina replied, shaking her head slightly. "My parents wouldn't want me to be sad...not for them anyway..."

"What do you mean 'not for them'?" Ashley asked curiously.

"My parents loved pokemon above everything, and they taught me to love pokemon too..." Rina explained. "Thats why they were going after the Grand Hunters. What they're doing is wrong!"

"I ran into one of them outside Viridian City..." Ashley said quietly. "He tried to take Bulbasaur...he was even planning to kill me and Gary...I'm just lucky Lance showed up when he did or I'd probably be a goner..."

"-Yeah, that would have been a tragedy.-" Bulbasaur commented, grinning to itself.

"Wow! THE Lance?" Rina asked in surprise. "You ARE lucky! He's a member of the Elite 4 and a trainer of dragon pokemon. He was friends with my father and kinda took me in when my parents died, though he hasn't really had time to look after me. Thats why its always been Brock..."

"She really has it rough..." Ashley thought. "How can she be so upbeat like that? The poor girl must have gone insane or something..."

"So why go through so much trouble for a Pikachu?" Ashley asked her, changing the subject. "I mean, if you just went to Pallet Town and got a pokemon from Professor Oak you could be a pretty strong trainer by now. Maybe even ask Brock or Lance for help getting your first pokemon..."

"I want a Pikachu though!" Rina replied, smiling brightly. "I've wanted one ever since I was little. I didn't want to bother Brock though because he's busy enough already, and Lance has been divided between the league and trying to track down members of the Grand Hunters."

"Yeah, he'll probably be especially busy once all those new trainers start getting badges and look to become the new champion..." Ashley added in agreement.

"Yeah, too bad..." Rina sighed. "I was so hoping he'd catch those hunters but they always run from strong trainers like Lance. They only pick on trainers they think they can beat."

"Like a trainer who's just starting out..." Ashley commented bitterly.

"By the way, you and your Bulbasaur don't really get along do you?" Rina asked curiously.

"What makes you think that?" Ashley asked in confusion. "Did he say something about me?"

"-Oh believe me, I've been saying plenty about you.-" Bulbasaur commented dryly. "-I just happen to have someone listening to me now.-"

"Umm...something like that..." Rina said cautiously, not wanting to invoke Ashley's anger again.

"Well he better not be saying anything about my..." Ashley was cut off as a large net dropped onto the group followed by the thud of four pieces of wood hitting the ground, tied to the net and acting as weights.

"What the?! Rina is this another one of your traps?!" Ashley demanded, yelling at the younger girl.

"N-no! I didn't set up any traps here!" Rina replied timidly. "Besides, I always use cheese for bait!"

"Then who's trap is it?!" Ashley demanded again. She got her answer as two young boys and a girl, all looking just barely old enough to be a trainer, came out through the bushes brandishing nets and yelling in excitement. They all looked dismayed when they saw Ashley, Rina, and Bulbasaur.

"You're not bug pokemon..." One of the boys commented.

"WELL WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CLUE?!" Ashley shouted angrily.

"Wow...she's really scary when she's mad..." Rina commented quietly.

"S-sorry..." Another boy replied timidly. The three of them quickly removed the pieces of wood holding the net down and pulled the net off the group.

"Whats with people in this forest using traps to catch pokemon anyway!?" Ashley demanded of the three kids once they got the net off her.

"We don't know how to catch pokemon..." The girl among the three replied. Ashley slapped her palm against her forehead.

"Doesn't ANYONE around here know how to catch pokemon?!" Ashley asked no one in particular. Only Rina took notice of Bulbasaur raising his vine. "Hmph, I'm just going to have to teach you all then..."

With that, Ashley stomped off through the trees. The group of bugcatchers shrugged and followed behind her, and Rina and Bulbasaur took up the rear.

"-I suppose this will be the part where I do all the work, then you throw the little ball and get all the credit.-" Bulbasaur grumbled to itself.

"That pokemon will do!" Ashley suddenly declared, the group stopping in their tracks and looking ahead to see the pokemon Ashley was pointing to. Lying against a nearby tree was a yellow cocoon-like pokemon known as Kakuna.

"Umm...wouldn't that be pretty easy to catch though?" Rina asked her. "Its just a Kakuna..."

"I'm sure it can still fight back!" Ashley replied quickly. "Bulbasaur, lets go!" Bulbasaur slowly walked past the group, stopping to stand in front of Ashley.

"-Lets get this over with.-" Bulbasaur growled as it got into position to battle Kakuna. "-A pokemon like Kakuna will just be a waste of my time...-"

"Alright, Bulbasaur! Vine Whip!" Ashley called out the attack, and Bulbasaur responded by extending two vines from the base of its bulb. The vines shot out, both lashing against Kakuna's body. In response to the attack, Kakuna started to glow.

"Ashley, look out!" Rina called out to her. "Its evolving into a Beedrill!"

"That'll just make things more interesting then!" Ashley replied, a smirk forming on her lips. "Bulbasaur, get read with a Leech Seed and hit it when it hatches!"

Ashley and Bulbasaur watched with anticipation as the Kakuna began to hatch, and the three bug catchers looked on in amazement. A split formed down the middle of the Kakuna's body, and two cone-shaped stingers emerged. Soon, a fully developed Beedrill pulled itself free of the Kakuna and shed its cacoon shell.

Bulbasaur, having prepared for this, launched a seed from its bulb and hit the Beedrill in the adomen. The seed sprouted tiny vines and latched onto the newly hatched bug pokemon.

"Oh shoot! I should have taken a picture!" Ashley said in dismay, snapping her fingers. "Getting a picture of a Beedrill as it hatched would have been great!"

"-HEY! How about focusing more on the battle!-" Bulbasaur shouted to Ashley as the Beedrill flew towards it. Beedrill aimed its main stinger at Bulbasaur as it moved in to attack. Bulbasaur tried to use its vines to move up out of the way of the attack, but Beedrill was too quick and went up with it to strike Bulbasaur in the underbelly with its stinger.

"-YEOWCH!-" Bulbasaur cried out in pain, the force of the impact knocking it back towards the tree the Kakuna was resting against before. Bulbasaur quickly got back on its feet and glared at Beedrill. The effects of the bug's attack on Bulbasaur were felt only briefly, the energy drained from Beedrill by Leech Seed quickly restored Bulbasaur to full strength from the minor attack.

"Oh right...Bulbasaur, Bullet Seed! Aim for its face!" Bulbasaur fired two green seeds, striking Beedrill with one of the seeds in the face and the other hitting hit a bit lower. The blow to the face seemed as though it stunned Beedrill briefly.

"Now, Tackle it!" Bulbasaur quickly dashed forward, jumping towards Beedrill and hitting it in the chest. Bulbasaur brought Beedrill to the ground and tried to hold it there by staying on top of it, but Beedrill began swiping at him with its foreleg-stingers in a Fury Attack and knocked Bulbasaur off of it.

"That Fury Attack won't do much to Bulbasaur..." Ashley thought, smiling to herself. "And Leech Seed keeps draining Beedrill's strength, so we just have to keep this up..."

Beedrill charged towards Bulbasaur again, stinger positioned to hit Bulbasaur with a Poison Sting attack. Ashley already had a pretty good idea of what to do though.

"Bulbasaur, quick! Jump and use Vine Whip!" Bulbausar jumped up over Beedrill, wrapping its vines around it as the bug pokemon flew under Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur then used its vines to throw Beedrill straight forward. Beedrill found itself unable to stop and crashed into the tree it had been leaning against as a Kakuna. Bulbasaur immediately fixed its gaze on Beedrill when it landed. Beedrill was in a daze when it pulled back from the tree, and obviously getting weak.

"Now's my chance..." Ashley grabbed one of the pokeballs given to her by Professor Oak and threw it at Beedrill. The pokeball hit Beedrill and pulled it inside, then fell to the ground under the tree. The pokeball shook for several tense moments before making an audible click, locking Beedrill inside. Ashley quickly rushed over to pick up the pokeball.

"And thats how you catch a pokemon!" Ashley declared, holding up the pokeball for everyone to see. "Weaken it with your own pokemon, then catch it with a pokeball." The group gathered stared blankly for a moment before the bug catchers came to their own conclusions.

"Lets go find a defenseless Metapod and catch that!" One of them shouted. The other two agreed, and the three of them ran off in search of a Metapod to catch.

"But you still need to...weaken it..." Ashley stared in silence for a moment before giving an exasperated sigh.

"-I still don't hear any recognition for that.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.

"That was a really great battle, Ashley! You too, Bulbasaur!" Rina said, applauding the two. "You're good at battling!"

"-Correction, I'm good.-" Bulbasaur replied, holding its head high. "-I did all the actual work afterall.-"

"But it was Ashley who told you what to do and when." Rina said to him, smiling and folding her hands behind her back.

"I feel like I'm completely out of the loop here..." Ashley said, looking between the two. "Anyway...lets go find that Pikachu now!"

"Right!" Rina agreed excitedly. Ashley, Rina, and Bulbasaur once again started off on their trek through the forest in search of a wild Pikachu.


"Ugh! I'm beginning to wonder if there's even any Pikachu's around here!" Ashley growled in frustration.

"-The Pallet Town trainers couldn't have caught them all could they?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud. "-Tch. Figures. All after an easy electric type...-"

"Its hopeless...I'm never going to get a Pikachu now..." Rina sniffed sadly, but tried to put a smile on her face as she addressed Ashley. "Thanks for your help, even if we couldn't find one..."

"HEY! We're not quitting just yet!" Ashley shouted back, startling Rina. "We're not leaving this forest until we've either found a Pikachu or we've proven without a doubt that there aren't any, now keep looking!"

"Y-y-yes mam!" Rina stammered in response.

"-Sheesh...if only you had this much dedication for catching your own pokemon...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-You know, without even giving it much thought, I can name at least three species you've skipped catching now...-"

The three of them started walking again, their eyes scanning the forest around them for any signs of a Pikachu. Eventually, Bulbasaur came to a stop as it caught sight of a yellow flash of movement out of the corner of its eyes.

"-I think I spotted one...-" Bulbasaur whispered before taking off into the bushes.

"Bulbasaur! You get back here right now!" Ashley called out after it. Bulbasaur did come back out from the bushes, only now it was dragging a Pikachu behind it in its vines.

"-Hey, look what I found.-" Bulbasaur brought the Pikachu over its head, plopping it down on the ground in front of it and holding it down with its vines. The wild Pikachu continually squirmed to try to break free.

"Oh WOW! Its a Pikachu! You've really found a..." Rina paused for a moment then glared at Bulbasaur. "BULBASAUR! Stop being so mean to it!" She cried out, flailing her arms.

"-Hey, I have to restrain it somehow.-" Bulbasaur replied with a shrug. "-Anyway, if you're planning on catching this thing hurry up before it actually decides to use its tiny brain and...-"

Before Bulbasaur could finish, a second Pikachu dropped down from the trees and smashed Bulbasaur on the head with its seemingly metallic tail. Its tail returned to normal as it did a backflip off Bulbasaur and landed on the ground further down the path. The attack dazed Bulbasaur, loosening his grip on the first Pikachu and allowing it to run off into the bushes to escape.

"-Good...night...mommy...-" Bulbasaur grunted in a daze before falling forward on its face, knocked out by the Pikachu's attack.

"That was an Iron Tail attack!" Ashley shouted in surprise, quickly turning to face the wild Pikachu. "It knocked Bulbasaur out in one attack too...just whats your problem anyway?!" Ashley angrily demanded.

"-My problem?-" The wild Pikachu replied sourly with a determined expression on its face. "-You humans have hunted my kind nearly to extinction. We used to live peacefully in this forest until you came along and started shoving them all in those pokeballs. That won't happen anymore, I won't let another Pikachu be caught!-"

"Umm...I think we might have hit a stumbling block..." Rina said nervously as she backed away from the angry Pikachu. Ashley, not knowing what it said, wasn't at all intimidated.

"No way! This one isn't running, so we'll just catch it!" Ashley held up Bulbasaur's pokeball to recall it, since Bulbasaur was clearly knocked out by the attack. She held up another pokeball, smirking to herself as she released the pokemon from inside it. "Alright, Mankey! This ones your's! Go!" The pokeball split open as Ashley pressed the button on it, releasing Mankey to confront the wild Pikachu.

"-Go ahead and bring out your pokemon against me, I'll crush them!-" The wild Pikachu cried out, sparks emitting from the red electric sacs on its cheeks before firing out a bolt of electricity. Mankey cried out, its eyes bulging as the bolt struck it and electricity flowed through it. Its charred body then fell to the ground in an unconcious

"EEK! Mankey!" Ashley cried out in surprise as Mankey fell in one attack. "Can a wild Pikachu really be that strong?" Ashley wondered as she recalled Mankey. "I don't think I even stand a chance, but I don't want to give up..." Ashley looked back, seeing the shocked expression on Rina's face.

"Then again, maybe she wouldn't mind if I let this one slide. She looks scared..."

"-I'll be keeping a close eye on you two...-" The wild Pikachu warned them, running off into the forest again.

"How could a wild Pikachu be that strong?!" Ashley yelled in frustration once Pikachu was out of sight.

"It said it'd be keeping an eye on us..." Rina said to her in a disheatened tone. "I don't think its going to let us catch a Pikachu..."

"Maybe I can't get you a Pikachu today...but someday..." Ashley turned to Rina, a grim look of determination on her face. "Even if I have to train my pokemon to be able to fight that wild Pikachu..."

"But...why?" Rina asked her in surprise. "Why would you go through so much trouble for me? We just met!"

"All those trainers coming through here lately were probably from Pallet Town..." Ashley replied, clenching a fist. "I don't think its right that you waited around for a year just for all those newbie trainers to ruin your chances of getting the one pokemon you've had your heart set on for so long. It makes me feel even worse to know that many of them were probably friends of mine..."

"Ashley..." Rina had to fight back tears, she was moved by Ashley's speech. "I didn't do anything to deserve this kindness from you...is this what its like to have a friend?" Rina thought quietly for a moment, she smiled brightly as she quickly got up and grabbed Ashley's hand.

"Come on! We have to hurry to Pewter! I want to show you my place and introduce you to Brock!" Before Ashley even had a chance to respond, Rina was dragging her through the forest towards Pewter City.

"H-hey! Slow down a bit! Pewter City isn't going anywhere!" Ashley said to her, trying to hold her back. It was no use though, Rina's sudden burst of energy was too much for Ashley and she was helplessly pulled along by the eccentric girl.

Rina did eventually stop, but not because Ashley asked her to. Wandering onto the path in front of them was a pokemon that resembled a Pikachu, only slightly smaller. Its body especially was smaller in comparison to its head. It had a black ring around its neck and its small tail was black at the tip as well. The pokemon looked as though it had been crying. Noticing the two trainers, it immediately turned to face them.

"-My...my mommy...-" The small pokemon whimpered. "-I can't find my mommy...-"

"I bet another trainer caught her..." Rina whispered so the pokemon wouldn't hear her. She slowly approached it and kneeled in front of it. "How long has your mommy been gone for?" She asked it.

"-I...I don't know...-" It replied, then began waving its arms frantically. "-Mommy always comes home when its dark out and brings me food b-but last night...she didn't!-"

"Thats an odd looking Pikachu..." Ashley thought, taking out a pokedex to check it out.

"Pichu, the tiny mouse pokemon." The pokedex read out. "It is not yet skilled at storing electricity. It may send out a jolt if amused or startled."

Rina carefully took the wild Pichu in her arms, holding it against her gently and rubbing its back. "Its ok...I'm sure your mother is fine..." Rina said to her soothingly. "Poor thing...you probably haven't eaten in a while now, I bet you're hungry huh?" Rina held up Pichu to look it in the eye and the pokemon slowly nodded.

"I have some pokemon food you could try..." Rina set Pichu down on the ground then reached into her pocket, taking out a few pellets of pokemon food then placing them on the ground. Pichu sniffed at them curiously, then popped one in its mouth and quickly ate it.

"-Mmm! Kinda yummy!-" Pichu happily gobbled down the remaining few pellets.

"You know...your mommy was probably caught by another trainer..." Rina said to Pichu. She looked at Rina curiously, not quite understanding. "If you want to come with me though I'd gladly take care of you. Who knows? We may even meet her someday!"

"-Ok!-" Pichu hardly gave it even a moment's thought before leaping up into Rina's arms. Rina giggled happily, hugging Pichu tightly against her. Pichu's cheeks sparked briefly as it was barely able to contain its excitement.

"You two look so cute together..." Ashley commented after having been watching the two quietly. She took her camera from her backpack then held it up to take a picture of the two. "Say cheese, you two!" Rina and Pichu looked into the camera, both of them smiling brightly.

"Cheese!" Rina and Pichu said in unison. Ashley quickly snapped the picture then waited for it to print out. It was a perfect shot.

"Hmm...we need a nickname for you!" Rina suddenly declared to Pichu. "How about...Pippi?"

"-Pippi?-" Pichu thought it over and smiled happily. "-Ok! I'm Pippi then!-"

"Ok! Pippi it is!" Rina agreed. "Hey, Ashley! Lets get going already! I have two new friends to introduce to Brock now!" Rina placed her new Pichu, Pippi, on her shoulder then ran off towards Pewter.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ashley called out, chasing after them. Once Rina and Ashley were out of sight, a Pikachu dropped down out of the trees.

"-I'll let this one slide.-" Pikachu said to itself. "-That Pichu needed someone to take care of it anyway...-" Pikachu shrugged, then walked down the path in the opposite direction.


Author's Notes: Rina is loosely based off Yellow from the manga, mostly in her appearance. She's a lot more childish at times than Yellow though, and doesn't fall asleep (I think that was because of Yellow's special abilities), among other differences. Rina's ability to understand pokemon speech was something to make her stand out a bit, and was based on her ability to read their minds in the manga. I actually read the manga after planning some of this out, but knew what she was like from reading bios on Serebii. The name Rina means 'joy' in Hebrew apparently, which was why I chose that name.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the main reason Rina got a Pichu instead of a Pikachu is because originally I intended for Ashley to catch a Pikachu (not the one that overpowered her pokemon, Ashley's Pikachu was going to be a troublemaker/prankster). Rina's Pichu would only evolve to a Pikachu, but Ashley's would evolve into a Raichu. I decided I needed to start cutting down on how many pokemon I had characters catch (as well as Pikachu appearances in general), though, and decided the second Pikachu was unnecessary. The unevolved Pichu stuck, however, and the main reason for that will likely be seen in chapter 4/5.