Chapter 2: Luna Novagation

Ash and Pikachu were brought in by Ursula to Luna Nova Academy after they were found unconscious by Akko, Lotte and Sucy. They were in the Nurse's Office as they recovered from their bout with Team Rocket in saving Meloetta from them. Ursula sighed happily as she held a wooden wand at her side. "I guess the triage wasn't necessarily difficult," she smiled. Akko, Lotte and Sucy were by Ursula while Pikachu was with the Headmistress.

"He'll be okay?" realized Lotte, holding Ash's jacket that was in tatters.

"Yes, the injuries he suffered were very minor, almost superficial," Ursula examined. "Just some bruises and fatigue." Akko came forward to see the boy as Sucy wore his cap.

"What do you think?" she wondered. Lotte took one look and shook her head.

"Sucy, no…" she mulled. Akko leaned above Ash's face.

"There is something about him that I want," she wondered while looking down at him. "It's… attracting…" She leaned in to his face, her eyes closed for only a second. The others became concerned to Akko's action.

"Akko, what did I say before?" warned Ursula. When she was a few inches from his face, a groan stopped her. Opening his eyes, Ash saw Akko so close to him.

"Can I help you?" he moaned. Seeing and hearing Ash, Akko flung herself back.

"Sorry!" she yelped. Ursula helped Ash to a seating position.

"You may feel soreness for a while," she advised. "But, you should be alright." Turning, Ash met Ursula with a query look.

"Are you a doctor?" he asked.

"Sadly, I'm not," Ursula corrected. "I'm just here making sure that you don't get sick after what happened in that maelstrom that you came out of." Ash blinked to the name of the storm that was over the land.

"Maelstrom?" he repeated. That's when he clasped his head with a groan. "I never heard of a maelstrom before." Lotte came over and patted Ash on the back.

"Relax," she eased. "The main thing is that you and your cute mouse will be okay."

"Yeah, I guess…" he sighed happily before noticing the girls wearing the witch's hats. A curious thought came over his mind. "By any chance, are any of you related to Lily in Johto?" None of the girls had a clue about the names.

"Lily?" repeated Akko.

"Johto?" repeated Ursula.

"Yeah, you all have the same hats as her," Ash pointed out. Sighing with a grin, Sucy spoke up.

"Hate to break it to you," she started. "But none of us have a clue about a Lily or a Johto." Ash seemed perplexed to the situation.

"Hold on," he shuttered. "Where… Where am I?"

"See, you're in Luna Nova Academy," Akko started. "It's a magical school in England." Ash seemed more confused than clarified.

"Luna Nova?" he repeated. "England?" He shook his head, thinking this was a mistake. "Okay, I'm starting to wonder how I'm not in the Pokémon World. There's no 'England' that I know of." Ursula giggled to the ramble.

"I bet not!" she laughed.

"Then again, we never heard of the Pokémon World," Lotte shrugged. "Does that mouse that was by you relate to it?" Believing she meant Pikachu, Ash looked around for his friend.

"Speaking of, where is he?" he questioned. The briefing made the girls gasp.

"It's a he?" irked Akko. Lotte and Ursula giggled to the realization.

"Your mouse is being watched over by Headmistress Miranda," Ursula informed. Ash became curious before a knock on the door.

"Miss Ursula?" called out Holbrooke. "Is the boy awake?" Realizing the voice, Ursula snickered to the coincidence.

"Speak of the devil," she sighed before turning to the door. "He is!" That's when another voice came in.

"I hope he wasn't badly injured," he wished. Holbrooke and Pikachu entered with Pikachu finding his partner sitting up in bed. "Ash, you're okay!" He ran up to and leaped into Ash's arms.

"Pikachu!" he greeted with a hug. "Thank goodness that you're okay… but what's with the new voice?" Pikachu sighed as he itched his head.

"Miranda performed a spell that allows me to speak like you and her," he explained. "I didn't want it, but she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. The sooner this gets out of me, the better." Lotte hoisted Pikachu and nuzzled cheek-to-cheek.

"It doesn't matter if you sound like us or something else," she cooed. "So, you're named Pikachu, huh?" Akko giggled to the name.

"A cute name for you to go with the cute body," she added. Pikachu shyly giggled.

"Okay, but for a little while," he awed. Holbrooke approached Ash as he stood from the bed.

"Ash Ketchum, I'm Headmistress Miranda Holbrooke," she introduced herself. "I head operations here in Luna Nova Academy." They shook young and strong to wrinkly hands.

"How do you know my name?" he asked before a thought registered in his head. "Wait, Pikachu must have told you after you applied that spell." Miranda chuckled at Ash's guess.

"Kindness to your Pokémon apparently the currency to them," she compared. "Of course, the one who healed you is Miss Ursula Callistis, a teacher here." Ash turned to Ursula who nodded to confirm Miranda's information. Akko came forward.

"I'm Atsuko Kagari," she identified herself. "But everyone calls me Akko. Those are two of my besties: Sucy Manbavaran and Lotte Jansson."

"We were worried with the damages caused after you fell from that maelstrom," Lotte briefed. Ash shook his head once more.

"I have no idea about that word," he admitted. "I'm right now thinking if my friends are okay…" Ursula palmed Ash's back for comfort.

"We saw more lights go in the distance, far away from campus grounds," she witnessed.

"But the Academy's rules forbid those within the Academy to leave the grounds without permission," Miranda added. To Ash and Pikachu, they were stuck on the campus grounds.

"I guess Pikachu and I can't leave, huh?" believed Ash.

"Except, you're not a student, let alone learning witchcraft," Miranda corrected. Ash nodded before the word came up once more.

"Witchcraft!?" he gasped.

"That's right!" cheered Akko. "Luna Nova Academy is a school for young witches like we are!" Sucy snickered to Ash and Pikachu's reactions.

"Let me guess and say that you heard about witches being evil from all of the bedtime stories," she pondered. Ash gulped, knowing that the women could easily injure him if he said something wrong.

"There are some here that are mischievous," Miranda noted. "But not evil, though I do question Sucy a good amount of time." Miranda had an idea.

"Why don't I show Ash around and see what Luna Nova Academy has in store?" she requested. The other girls were a bit concerned.

"Not to criticize, Headmistress," Ursula spoke up. Miranda caught onto Ursula's concern.

"I may be 150 years young, but I can still beat whippersnappers like you around," she warned. "Come along, Ash, Pikachu." Ash and Pikachu followed Miranda out of the Nurse's Office as Ursula cupped her chin.

"Ketchum…" she repeated Ash's name. Akko heard Ursula's calling, curious.

"Ursula?" she called. Ursula snapped to Akko and waived her off. However, her mind focused to Ash's name.

'The name sounds so familiar…' she thought. 'Maybe it's a coincidence.' Out in the halls, Miranda guided Ash and Pikachu, who stood on Ash's shoulder. Ash explained what had occurred before they arrived near the Academy.

"So, this band of criminals named Team Rocket took a Pokémon named Meloetta and used the Forces of Nature in a bid to cause destruction by their boss," Miranda simplified.

"Right, and I don't know if Tornadus, Thundurus and Landurus came with me and Pikachu, let alone everyone," Ash confirmed. Miranda seemed a little disturbed by the information. Her eyes closed in thought.

"From what Miss Callists and Miss Finnelan informed me, there were four beams of light that headed in separate directions with yours crossing into the campus grounds," she added. "Your friends could be in one, your enemies could be in another." They came to a room full of books and bookshelves that was a few times the size of classrooms. "This is our main library. We carry 15,000 books on these shelves that date back to the early 19th Century. That's over 200 years of fine literature." Ash and Pikachu awed the amount of books available.

"I could almost imagine taking that long to read all of it," Pikachu hushed.

"Now, Pikachu…" started Miranda. "Not everything written down is useful. There are some red herrings that may spell disaster." Pikachu gulped to the word.

"Don't let it get to you, Pikachu," Ash assured. "Besides, seeing those hats reminds me of Mismagius since we've seen that more recently than Lily." Pikachu blinked to the name.

"Which Lily?" he questioned.

"The one in Johto with the Murkrow, when I was turned into a Pikachu like you," Ash reminded.

"Oh, that one!" realized Pikachu. "Now I remember." Miranda dug a hand-held device out of her jacket pocket.

"I did abscond this from your person while you were being treated," she confessed. "It took me awhile but I did get it to work and it helped me understand Pikachu." Handed the device, Ash had an idea of Miranda's wish.

"You want me to show Mismagius on my PokéDex," he guessed.

"Would you, for an old witch like me?" teased Miranda. Ash worked on his device that had a sliding screen above another, before finding a purple phantom-like creature with a purple cloak that had pink ends, a set of red jewels like a necklace and yellow eyes under what looked like a witch's hat with more tuffs. Information emerged on the lower screen.

MISMAGIUS – GHOST – HT: 2'11" – WT: 9.7 LBS. - ABILITY: LEVITATE.

"MISMAGIUS, THE MAGICAL POKÉMON, AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF MISDREAVUS," it computed. "THE CRIES OF A MISMAGIUS SOUNDS LIKE INCANTATIONS AND HAVE A CHANCE TO BE IMBUED WITH HAPPINESS." Shown, Miranda giggled to the sight of one.

"A Pokémon that's like a witch alright," she believed. They came outside where more of the students had gathered with Anne offering instructions. "Ah… Seems like we arrived to see some training going on." The students aimed wands up at a collection of transparent targets. "Students use the training grounds to practice their reaction speed, control, accuracy and power on several occasions." To Ash, the familiarity was apparent.

"There are places back home that do the same thing for the Pokémon," he remembered.

"So, these should be common knowledge on your end," Miranda assumed. The blond from before saw Ash and Pikachu, losing concentration to her practice.

'It's him again!' she gulped with her cheeks blushing. Anne spotted Miranda's companions, not happy with the boy remaining by the Academy.

"Headmistress Holbrooke, could you explain why he's still here after recovering?" she scorned. Ash and Pikachu seemed taken aback by Anne's hostile approach.

"Miss Finnelan, please refrain from outbursts to our guests," Miranda's scorned.

"Absolutely not!" snapped Anne. "The last time boys came close to our students, they were planning to violate-"

"ENOUGH!" snapped Miranda back. Anne irked herself and settled down.

"It would be easier if he found his way back out of the Academy's grounds," she murmured.

"That is easier said than done, unless you know a spell that could return him and his Pikachu home," Miranda challenged. The redhead from the classroom came to Ash and Pikachu, eager to see them.

"Hey!" she called. "I see that you and that critter are doing just fine!" Pikachu scoffed to the redhead's notice.

"We're tougher than we look," he urged. Ash shuttered a laugh.

"Don't get used to this voice," he advised. "Pikachu was gifted this by the Headmistress." The redhead awed Pikachu before plucking him from Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu, huh?" she giggled. "That sounds familiar, but this is real and not on a hand-held, let alone in pixels." Ash and Pikachu blinked in confusion.

"Pixels?" repeated Pikachu.

"Like a video game," Ash answered.

"Yeah, you got it!" the redhead smiled. "Amanda O'Neill." She presented a fist to Ash and Pikachu, the trainer smiling at the gesture and bumping fists.

"Ash Ketchum," Ash identified. Anne gasped, cringing to the name.

'Ketchum!?' she minded. 'Great, as if his appearance wasn't enough, now I have a name that is ringing in my ear, but why!?' Miranda also pondered to the name.

'Even after Pikachu told me his name,' she pondered. 'I have no idea why it has rung my mind.' Ash watched as fireballs curved to hit crooked targets.

"I see that you're working on controlling your spells to hit targets that aren't facing you," he studied.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard without focus," Amanda briefed. "Besides, they also move so timing is crucial." Watching, someone shot a fireball at a target and curved it, but another fireball struck the target and pushed it away before the first fireball started coming at the blond and Ash saw it. He raced after her.

"Look out!" he shouted. The blond heard the warning and looked up, finding the wayward fireball closing in. Ash tackled her to the ground where the fireball passed where she stood. Ash and the blond started getting back up, looking at the fireball's path. The other students, Miranda, Anne and Pikachu stood in shock as Amanda came to the two.

"Diana, are you good?" she asked the blond.

"Did you see that?" one student gasped. "That boy came out of nowhere!"

"Not as nowhere as that fireball spell!" another student corrected.

"But he saved Miss Finnelan's favorite student!" one more awed. Ash stood up and offered Diana a hand.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. Diana shook her head after being helped onto her boots.

"You need not apologize," she sighed. "In fact, I should thank you for the response." A smile came from Diana caused a firestorm of awes and admiration.

"Diana's smiling to the boy!" the second student shrieked.

"He did save her life!" the first student reminded. Diana rested a hand on Ash's shirt.

"I saw you carted to the infirmary in dire straits," she recalled. "Seeing you standing without as much as a limp implies that you are well." Ash smiled to the compliment.

"Just knowing that you're okay is good enough for me," he replied.

"Perhaps to you, but it means more to prove my worth here," Diana replied. Amanda came between the two with Pikachu on her shoulder.

"Okay, you two!" she stopped as she shoved them apart. "Let's break it up!" She faced Diana first. "Diana, you don't need to go into a diatribe about it. Ash made sure you didn't get hurt and that's all." Diana bowed her head, embarrassed to the interaction.

"I do apologize," she muttered. Amanda sighed to Diana's grievance.

"Let it go, girl!" she tried to ease. Now, she turned to Ash with a smile. "I'll be honest and say that I didn't think you could beat that fireball, Ash. I don't know where the heck you pulled the speed force from, but all I gotta say is… Thanks." She presented the knuckle again and Ash accepted the bump.

"Alright, Ash!" voiced Anne. "That's enough horseplay for visit to Luna Nova Academy." Amanda was quick with her wand aiming it at Anne.

"Hold up, Anne!" she barged herself in. "He's not like those boys during the one party Akko nearly got dated in. I'm sure Ash will be fine, as well as Thunder Mouse on here." Pikachu gawked to the name given.

"Is that suppose to be a nickname for me?" he questioned. Amanda snickered to the guess.

"What, you wanted something a little cliché?" she teased. Anne huffed, not appreciating the backtalk.

"It's witches like you that wear out you welcomes," she murmured.

"But, it's witches like you who want too much from our youths," Miranda sighed. Pikachu leaped from Amanda's shoulder to see Miranda.

"I think this spell's gone on long enough," he nagged. "I don't want to be the next Meowth if Team Rocket's here with us." Anne crossed her arms with nodding.

"So, it's that spell," she realized. "I'll take care of that, not that I want you anyway." She chanted a few words before shooting a beam, striking Pikachu. After a few seconds, Pikachu didn't feel different.

("Let's see now-") he started before he noticed his voice back to normal. ("Hey, it worked!") Humored, Amanda picked Pikachu back up.

"That's more like it," she chuckled. A little while later, Luna Nova Academy's body gathered to enjoy dinner in a main hall. Ash and Pikachu noticed flags by each of the students. Akko's flag had just a red dot on a white flag. Amanda's flag had red and white stripes on most of the flag while the upper left corner had many stars on blue. Diana's flag had a red cross on a white flag. Ursula saw the befuddled looks Ash and Pikachu had.

"You must be wondering what the flags are," she believed.

"Well… yeah…" shrugged Ash.

"The flags that our students have are the countries they're from," Ursula detailed. "Akko is from Japan and Amanda is from America. Diana is from here in England." She pointed Ash and Pikachu to a larger flag, matching Diana's.

("That's what's going on,") Pikachu awed as Lotte came over to them and placed a flag of a thick blue cross on white, off center.

"How do you like our school, Ash?" she asked.

"It's a lot to know," Ash giggled. "Ursula's talking about flags. Where are you from?"

"Finland," Lotte snapped a reply. "I actually got some Salmiakki for you and Pikachu to try." She held out pieces of black candy which Ash snagged.

"Salmiakki?" repeated Ash. They tossed the candies in their mouth before tasting the saltiness and aweing it. "Licorice!"

"Yep, Salmiakki is Finnish Salt Licorice," Lotte clarified. "Anyway, I heard you saved Diana from an errant magic that came at her."

("Well, that's Ash for you!") scoffed Pikachu. Lotte became confused to Pikachu not speaking like before.

"What happened to your voice?" she asked.

"This is what Pikachu normally sounds like," Ash reasoned. Lotte became upset at Pikachu's speech taken as Akko and Sucy came to the table.

"But I liked Pikachu speaking like us!" whined Akko.

"I hear you," Ash acknowledged. "But it's not natural to him or any of my Pokémon." This made the girls nearby to learn he had more than just Pikachu, intrigued to see..

"Wait, you have more on you?" wondered Sucy. Standing up, Ash had five red/white balls on hand.

"Here comes the lineup!" he called as he threw the balls to the sky. They opened and out came Unfezant, a little white sea otter with blue fur around the torso and a scalchop over, an orange chubby pig-like creature with yellow bands around the wrists and on the chest looking like a wrestler, a large red crocodile with black stripes on the back and tail and wearing sunglasses, and a yellow mantis-like insectoid with hooking grass-like hands and green around the arms, legs and a leafy hood. The otter became awed at the sight of the girls around it as it leaped for Lotte. Sucy snagged the otter by the scruff.

"Now, this is one is certainly feisty!" she taunted as the otter became easily frightened. Amanda came to the crocodile with intrigue.

"Not a lot times do I see a crocodile looking cool in sunglasses," she awed. "Ash, introduce us to them!" Ash nodded, ready in explain who was who.

"Amanda, you're standing by Krookodile," he named. "Sucy, you're holding Oshawott." Unfezant flew to the short girl with navy blue hair held by a pink ribbon. Her flag had three stripes: black on top, orangish-red in the middle and yellow on the bottom. The blue-haired was hesitant to meet Unfezant.

"That's Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger," Amanda pointed out. "She's from Germany." Ash and Pikachu gulped at the name.

("That's a mouthful!") squeaked Pikachu.

"Well, that's Unfezant," Ash named. "She's my eye-in-the-sky." The girls gasped to Unfezant's gender.

"Your eye-in-the-sky's a girl?" awed Lotte.

"Wait until we get on our broomsticks to show you how we become eyes-in-the-sky," Amanda urged. "And who are the others? Start with the pig." Ash turned to the pig-like creature.

"That's Pignite," Ash named. "He was abandoned by his original trainer before I took him in. The other one is Leavanny and he's pretty good with clothing." Leavanny bowed to the girls. Miranda came in to see the new creatures.

"Oh, dear…" she awed. "Some of them are breathtaking to look at." Ash introduced the Pokémon to the Headmistress where she held Oshawott. "Anyway, it has come to my attention that Ash would need a place to stay. Tomorrow, he'll be here to work with us at Luna Nova Academy." The girls cheered to volunteer a place for Ash to stay with repeated "ME!" shouts.

"This is one where an adult can watch over him," Ursula voiced. Ash nodded, accepting Ursula's offer. The other girls groaned to the denial.

"Hey, we'll all see you tomorrow," Ash promised. After they said their farewells, Ursula escorted Ash and Pikachu up a tower. They entered to view a room with a couch, desk, bookshelf, a globe… but most importantly was a large circular window that the moon began to rise. "Whoa… and this is your home?"

"It is," Ursula confirmed. "It's been my home since I enrolled." A white crow flew to Ursula who held her arm out. The crow had a yellow four-point star on the chest. "Evening, Alcor. Are you hungry?" Alcor cawed before seeing Ash and Pikachu. "Oh, they're going to be here until we get them home." Alcor cawed before flying to Ash's shoulder.

"Alcor, huh?" repeated Ash.

"Think of it like you and Pikachu," Ursula compared. "Alcor is my familiar. He has been there since I started witchcraft." Ash giggled as Alcor gave Pikachu a lift.

"He's friendly, alright," Ash chuckled. Ursula had an idea.

"So, tell me a story about you and Pikachu coming together," she wished.

"Sure," Ash agreed as they settled for the night. To Ash, his time at Luna Nova Academy has begun.

TO BE CONTINUED...