Chapter 2, yup. As always, I appreciate reviews/feedback/comments! Thanks everyone!
By the next morning, Ivy had prepared herself and said her goodbyes to her dad and the Pokémon that lived at home. She would've loved to have stayed longer, but the Abuna League and Grand Festivals were only in a few months, so she had to get moving if she wanted to make it to them both. So, she said goodbye to her father once again, and with Pikachu on her shoulder and her new Pokémon egg in her arms, she set off.
Her first stop: Professor Yew's laboratory, to pick up Pokémon for her journey.
Though she had captured many Pokémon during her journey, she knew she could only pick four Pokémon up from Professor Yew, since she already had Pikachu and the egg from her father. She already knew which four she'd pick - the Pokémon she had the strongest bonds with. She had strong bonds with all her Pokémon, so saying which bonds were stronger wasn't easy, but at the end of the day, she just knew. And she knew the four she'd be taking with her. They were strong, powerful, pure hearted, and truly some of her best friends.
Ivy came upon Professor Yew's laboratory, which was on the outskirts of town, closer to her house than the rest of town. It was a great old building, with sprawling gardens surrounding the whole property, in which a myriad of Pokémon ran about, playing, eating, sleeping and doing whatever else it is that Pokémon like to do. Ivy smiled at the sight of all the happy Pokémon, as she approached the front door, on which she knocked.
After a minute or so of waiting around, Professor Yew came to the door, just as frazzled as Ivy remembered her being. She hadn't changed - tanned skin, cotton candy colored hair in a bun with chopsticks, though curls still fell in her face, with her green blouse, pink tie, pink skirt, lab coat and work boots, with her bright eyes behind green-rimmed glasses.
"Ivy Ketchum!" the Professor exclaimed, with a smile. Momentarily, she looked as though she'd forgotten the appointment they'd set up, but then she added, "Yes, I was expecting you! And you brought Pikachu, too! Come on in!"
"Thank you, Professor," Ivy replied with a grin.
"Pika!" piped up Pikachu.
They followed Professor Yew inside. The laboratory was full of research equipment and other important scientific equipment, however, it was a disastrous mess. No one but Professor Yew could find a thing in the disaster zone she called a laboratory. Because of this, Ivy stuck close to Professor Yew, until they arrived in the room where the Professor stored and transported Pokéballs. As soon as they entered the room, Ivy recognized her Pokéballs, because she'd painted them all to match the Pokémon that she kept inside.
"Alright," sighed Professor Yew, as she approached the table where she'd put Ivy's Pokéballs. She picked up the four they'd discussed, and said, "These are the four you'd like for now, right?"
"Yes," Ivy said, as Professor Yew put the Pokéballs into her backpack, since her hands were full carrying the egg. "Thank you, Professor."
"No problem," Professor Yew grinned. Then, her face flashed, meaning that she'd suddenly remembered something. This was confirmed when she pulled two PokéDexes and two badge cases from her pocket, one red, and one blue, each, and said to Ivy, "Oh, yes, and these red PokéDex and badge case are for you, Ivy."
"Thanks," Ivy grinned, accepting it. "What about the other ones?"
"Oh, yeah," Professor Yew piped up, handing Ivy a ribbon case for her Contest ribbons. "I forgot."
"No, no, Professor," Ivy laughed as she took the ribbon case. "I meant the blue badge case and PokéDex."
"Ah!" the Professor replied with realization. She handed those to Ivy, and explained, "I need you to deliver these to a boy named Ash from the Kanto region. He's at the Pokémon Center here in town. If you ask Nurse Joy, I'm sure you can find him."
"I'm on it, Professor," Ivy assured her with a nod, as the Professor began to show her out.
"Thank you!" the Professor called, waving to Ivy as she exited the laboratory. "Good luck in Abuna!"
"Thanks, Professor!" Ivy replied, as she and Pikachu waved their goodbyes. "I'll call you when I can!"
"Great, I can't wait!" Professor Yew grinned.
Ivy and Pikachu were off once again, heading back to the downtown portion of Star City. She was greeted by many familiar faces of townspeople that she knew, who she said hello to on her way to the Pokémon Center. It felt so good to be home. She could feel that the people she'd known her whole life were proud of her, and that felt good. It felt good to make those in her hometown proud.
Finally, she made it to the Pokémon Center. She'd been going there far before she started her Pokémon journey, when she took her father's Pokémon to the Center after their Gym Battles. She known the Nurse Joy at this Pokémon Center since she was just a little girl.
Walking inside was like a breath of fresh air. She'd missed this place, and she was more than glad to be back.
"Ivy Ketchum, is that you?" asked Nurse Joy from behind the reception desk. As always, her face was bright with a smile, just like the Chansey at her side.
"Good to see you, Nurse Joy," Ivy grinned in response. She pulled out the blue PokéDex and badge, and said, "Professor Yew sent me over here to give these to a Trainer named Ash from Kanto. She said you could help me find him, and that he'd be here."
"Oh, yes, she called earlier and said you'd be coming," Nurse Joy nodded. "Chansey here can lead you to Ash out in the cafeteria, won't you, Chansey?"
"Chansey!" smiled the Pokémon, as it walked around the desk.
Taking one of Ivy's hands, Chansey began to lead her and down the hall of the Pokémon Center. They arrived in the cafeteria, which was bubbling with Pokémon and their Trainers. Both Ivy's eyes and Pikachu's darted around, wondering where the Trainer Ash was. Finally, Chansey pointed to a boy who was sitting back-to. Ivy thanked the Pokémon, and approached the boy who looked to be her age.
"Excuse me, but are you Ash?" Ivy inquired, as she approached him.
As he heard her speaking to him, he turned around, moving his chair a bit as he did so, revealing a Pikachu of his own sitting on his lap. The boy called Ash and Ivy stared at each other, as did their Pikachus. The two humans were dressed similarly, outfitted in all red, white, blue and gray, in clothing that was more practical than stylish. They both wore red and white baseball caps, though Ivy's was turned backwards. They both wore sneakers. They had eerily similar features - brown eyes, disheveled black hair and skin that was tanned from spending so much time outside. And they both had Pikachus, even if they were distinguished by the tuft of spiky fur atop Ivy's Pikachu's head.
After quite some time of staring at each other and their uncanny similarities, the two Pikachus leapt to the ground to further greet and examine each other, as Ash cleared his throat and finally said, "Um, yeah. I'm Ash."
"Well," Ivy swallowed, feeling uneasy because of the sight of her practical male clone. "I'm Ivy, and Professor Yew sent me over to give you these."
Awkwardly, Ivy thrust the blue PokéDex and badge case at the boy, and he accepted them in an equally awkward fashion. He accepted them from her, and she picked up her Pikachu from the floor, while keeping her egg in her other arm, and then he leapt back up on her shoulder, and began to walk away, hesitantly so.
"Um, hey, Ivy," Ash piped up again. "...Thanks."
"No problem," Ivy replied, still feeling uneasy. "See you around, I guess."