It took them a month to get from Lavender Town to the wilds surrounding Pallet Town. Flygirl was slower now that Ash was so much larger, she could have either carried him or Pocket Watch alone with no issues, but not the two of them together. So frequent rests were needed.
Being back in those woods made Ash feel strange. He had become used to the forests at the base of the mountains, to the early morning mists, the sharp bite of the chill in the air, and the constant presence of stone. The current forest didn't even have enough conifers.
There was no sign of Farfetch'd, Ninetales, or their children when the four of them returned to the forest. Ash didn't look too hard and his caretakers simply assumed that they had moved on to new pastures and forests.
Pocket Watch moved slowly and carefully, trying to be as thorough as he could when using his psychic powers to have Ash's paperwork filled out. He had already scouted out several of the League outposts and the League facility down by the sea. There he had seen the constant coming and going of all sorts of League personal, from Pokémon Rangers, to gym trainers, and even regional police officers. At least once Pocket Watch thought he might have seen some ice-type pokémon that might have belonged to Lorelei of the Elite Four.
What should we use for your name this time? Pocket Watch asked Ash, while the four of them were sitting together one night. Keep in mind this is also probably the name that you will use as a pokémon trainer, he said, You might be using it for the rest of your life.
Oh… uhhhhh, Ash hesitated. It was a rather large decision. Can I get a minute to think about it?
We'll need a decision by tonight, Pocket Watch told the boy. Otherwise the paperwork might not be done in time.
Crap. Uh….., Ash looked around. What was the first name you all gave me?
Aaron Summers, Flygirl answered.
Summers was chosen as it was the current season, Poison Lance added.
Why'd you only change the last name? Ash asked. It's always been Aaron something or other now that I think about it…
We desired that Aaron should be your true name from us, Poison Lance explained, as a certain human close to our hearts gave us true names from him. We hoped that Aaron would be a fitting tribute to a relative of his and a fitting gift to you.
Errr…. Uh…. Thanks, Ash said, looking down and blushing. So, I take it this is just about the last name then?
Correct, Pocket Watch answered.
Um…. Well if the first name I got from you guys was Aaron Summers, then since this might be the last time, I get a name from you guys, why not Aaron Autumns? Ash suggested. I can use that until its safe for me to use Ash Ketchum.
Poison Lance and Pocket Watch gave each other a look. Neither of them knew if it would ever be safe to use the name Ash Ketchum again.
Great! Flygirl said, not noticing the other two. Aaron Autumns it is then!
Pocket Watch finished getting things arranged and all too soon Ash's first day of the fifth grade was approaching. His caretakers had made him do a large amount of review work leading up to this day to best prepare him.
Ash wondered what he had been thinking, wanting to go back to school. At least it would be a release from the hellish self-study he was forced to undergo.
Clouds covered the sky on his first day of fifth grade; Ash hoped it wouldn't be an omen for anything. Children milled outside of the large beige building, laughing and running, shouting, or just standing in line. Pocket Watch had told him which line he was in, the line for 5C.
Ash got in line, fidgeting nervously. It had been a very long time since he had been around that many other humans, even longer since he had been around that many humans his own age. He didn't know what to do with himself.
He got tired of standing and started walking around to relieve some of the nervous energy. Of course, since being around people was what was making him nervous, he ended up wandering away from most of the crowd. This meant that when everyone else got in line and the students started going inside, Ash almost missed it and had to run back to get in line, to the snickering of his classmates.
Red faced Ash followed the other children inside. Things didn't improve on the other side of the doors. All of the classes were being given a quick tour of the building and it kept confusing Ash. Twice he accidentally joined the wrong group; the first time he was able to quickly slip back to his class without his teacher noticing, but the second time the other teacher had to return him. This led to more snickering from his classmates.
Eventually they made it to their classroom and were assigned seats by alphabetical order. Ash ended up at the desk closest to the teacher.
"At least this way I can keep an eye on you Mr. Autumns," the teacher remarked and then the class laughed, while Ash stared down at his desk, red faced.
I just had to ask for this, Ash muttered under his breath.
"What was that Mr. Autumns?" The teacher asked. "Something you'd like to say to the class."
"It was-" Ash briefly forgot the word "uh…- it was no thing."
"I think you meant nothing," another boy said from near the opposite corner of the classroom. The boy had auburn hair and black eyes.
Ash winced and his face turned even redder. He was forgetting how to speak human. It had been getting harder for the last couple of years, but he had never forgotten something as basic as nothing.
"Thank you, Mr. Oak," the teacher said. "But in practice nothing is simply the words no and thing combined. There was 'nothing' particularly wrong with what Aaron had to say, other than pronunciation."
The class chuckled and Ash sunk his head into his arms on the desk.
Ash was able to avoid further embarrassment for the next couple of hours by not saying anything if he could help it. And when he couldn't avoid saying something, he tried to keep what he was saying short and simple. He still ended up forgetting some words; he forgot that the word for midday meal was 'lunch', that the word for a building or structure that housed books for borrowing was a 'library', and that the book that you could look up the meaning of words in was a 'dictionary'.
The worst part was that Ash knew that if he had written what he was trying to communicate instead of speaking it, there would have been no problem. He could read those words and knew how to spell them, how to write them. His studying had seen to that. It was only when speaking that he was having difficulties.
This did not endear him any further to his classmates, who kept laughing at him. Ash had to keep reminding himself that he had requested this; unlike his classmates who had been forced to come, Ash could have avoided his current predicament.
Eventually recess came and Ash hid in a nearly empty part of the school's playground. He buried his nose in a book about pokémon and hoped that no-one would bother him.
Nobody came to harass him, but a group of his classmates got into a loud argument nearby.
"I'm telling you that only an idiot would use a pachirisu in a real high-level battle," the auburn-haired boy with the last name of Oak said loudly. "It just doesn't have the stats to contribute anything in a battle that tough, not even if it's a multi-pokemon fight."
Ash remembered some pachirisu from his time in Canalave City. He had just read up on them too. There was something he had been speculating about, involving that species of pokémon, hadn't there…
"Why even that dolt Aaron would agree with me," the auburn-haired boy continued loudly, making Ash look up. "Right!"
Ash's first instinct was to quietly agree and then go back to his book, but the Oak boy was starting to irk him, and his dismissal of a species of pokémon that Ash had once known didn't help matters. Plus, Ash had finally remembered what he had been thinking about in regards to Pachirisus.
"No. Defense train a pachirisu- er, uh, I mean train a pachirisu for defense," Ash replied, "especially if it has Volt Absorb or Lightning Rod. Make sure it knows at least one damaging attack, and maybe a support attack like Nuzzle- "
"Oh, please," the Oak boy interrupted, "there's no way- "
"And then, this is the important thing," Ash continued, talking over the interruption, "is that you have to make sure the pachirisu is good enough at being distracting that it qualifies as the move Follow Me."
"Follow Me?" The Oak boy paused, and then pulled out a small book, leafing through it. "Is that a new move?"
"I don't know if it's new or not," Ash replied. "I think it's mainly from Hoenn or Sinnoh. Anyway, it's where the pokémon is so distracting that enemy pokémon instinctively attack it instead of what their trainer tells them to do. Certain pokémon can do this good enough to qualify it as a move."
"I did not know about that move," the Oak boy admitted, flipping through the book. "Ah, here it is. He's right guys. Sorry about that Leaf…."
"You better be Gary," girl with brown eyes and charcoal brown hair sniffed, Leaf evidently. "You basically called me a liar and my cousin an idiot." Gary blushed pink and the girl walked away with clenched fists, the crowd dissipating as she did so.
"Why'd you have to make me look bad man!" Gary complained, turning to Ash. "And where the hell did that come from? You've been acting like a total moron all day and then you pull that out of nowhere."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't have looked so bad if you hadn't been so- uh, um, arro-gaaant?" Ash said, trying to remember the word.
"See, you're acting like a moron again," Gary replied. "And you're reading a book. I figured that you'd be too stu- oh, wait, I see what's going on here."
"Huh?"
"You've got the bookworm disease and you've got it bad," Gary said, slapping his hand to his forehead. "You're used to reading words, not saying them. Ugh!"
"Ummmm…" Ash began.
"Right, right, I had it coming," Gary continued. "I made fun of you, so you made me look bad in front of Lea- I mean the class for revenge- "
"Well, I was madder about what you were saying about pachirisus," Aaron/Ash replied. "But the other stuff didn't do you any favors."
"Huh. Is it because you're interested in pachirisus or pokémon in general?" Gary asked, leaning down to look at the book Ash was reading. "Looks like pokémon in general."
"Yeah. I mean I'm going to be a trainer" Aaron/Ash said to the other boy. "You, uh, sorta need to be interested in pokémon to do that."
"Sure, but that doesn't mean you need to read about them," Gary replied. "Or at least all the time."
"What else is there to do until you can get your trainer's license?" Ash asked.
"Well, there's places you can borrow pokémon for practice battles," Gary told the other boy.
"I sorta did that," Ash replied. "Well- uh, er, I did practice battles at least…."
"Let me guess, you've either got a friend or a relative that's a trainer and they let you borrow their pokémon," Gary sighed.
"Yes!" Ash said. It was close enough to the truth and Ash didn't feel like explaining how he (or Poison Lance rather) borrowed pokémon from themselves for practice.
"It's not a great practice, at least according to gramps, but I don't think there's really anything wrong with it," Gary said. "But all the old timers get mad when you suggest it. What practice battles have you done?"
Recess passed by quickly as Ash and Gary talked about pokémon and practice battles. And the rest of the school day was far more tolerable. Ash was actually smiling when he left and not because the day was over.
How was your first day of fifth grade, Poison Lance after Pocket Watch picked up the boy and teleported them back to where they were staying in the forest.
It was fun. I made a new friend!
After so many years away from the institution Ash was finding school difficult. Difficult, but manageable. His knowledge on the subject matter they covered was inconsistent; he was often behind the class, but occasionally he was ahead of the rest of them. But, unlike with the self-study he had done previously, he could ask his teacher for help! She could explain how to do the problems, not just tell him to do them again and again until he got it correct like his caretakes had done.
Ash's teacher occasionally tried to talk with him about his previous years of education for some reason, but Ash was able to slip away without saying much. And she kept suggesting parent teacher conferences, leading to Pocket Watch having to wipe that idea from her mind, only for it to occur to her again for some reason. Ash found it confusing.
Still, it was a manageable problem, and a small price to pay to be amongst humans his own age again. He had fun talking about pokémon with Gary and some of the other children, though only Gary matched Ash's knowledge. Of course, it was strange when they talked about other things than pokémon, but most of the time they were happy to explain everything about the show or sport they liked.
Gary himself was strange. Sometimes he seemed normal; other times he made sure to grandstand, boast, and generally act over the top, generally when Leaf was around. This of course, led to some sarcastic comments from her, and then Gary ended up blushing and angry. Ash didn't get why Leaf was so often the trigger for these incidents. Maybe Gary wanted to have a pokémon battle with her as soon as they got their licenses?
And Leaf was behaving oddly as well. Whenever anyone got into an argument with Gary, she took their side against him. This upset Gary, but he seemed to get the most upset when he and Ash argued and Leaf took Ash's side, which was an increasingly common occurrence. Ash found this behavior from both Leaf and Gary confusing as well.
Maybe Leaf also wanted to have a pokémon battle with Gary when she got her license too? And, Ash wondered, she was just using other people as a proxy to poke Gary to provoke him into the battle with her? If so, couldn't they just talk it out like reasonable beings and then have the fight they wanted, possibly involving fire and electricity?
Humans were strange.
Ash made friends with some of the wild pokémon in the area. He often talked with a nidoran who lived near where they were staying, a spearow who occasionally passed through the area, and a caterpie who took a liking to him.
What's like being so tall? Caterpie asked Ash one day. I bet it's really easy to get all the best leaves to eat.
It might be, but I don't eat leaves, Ash answered, tying his shoes. It was early in the morning and almost time to leave for school when Ash had just finished getting ready.
Right, I forgot about that. What do you use the height for then? Caterpie asked.
I don't know. Reach things on shelves? Ash shrugged.
Why are things on shelves?
So, they don't get dirty on the ground, I guess, Ash replied. I don't get it too much myself.
Huh. Humans are strange. Caterpie said. What's the point of being tall if you're only going to use it for weird things?
I'm not actually that tall for a human, Ash pointed out. I'm still growing. Maybe I'll figure it out when I'm older.
I know what I'd do with all that height. I'd hurry up and eat all the leaves off a tree, so I'd have enough energy to evolve into a metapod and then hurry up and turn into a butterfree! Said Caterpie, raising himself up in excitement as he spoke.
In a hurry to evolve?
Maybe? Flying would be so awesome! But I don't want to be a metapod…. But I'd have less predators if I hurried up and became a butterfree…..
Ash briefly froze up at that reminder.
Err, have there been a lot of close calls lately? Ash asked hesitantly.
One fearow last month, but I got away safely, Caterpie said nonchalantly. Nothing since then, so it's been pretty good.
Right….
So, what do you eat if not leaves?
It was in March that things started to change. Many of Ash's classmates had registered for their trainer's license and the school offered extra classes to help qualify and prepare. Pocket Watch had arranged things so that Ash had been registered for a license. Or rather, Pocket Watch had engaged in an espionage campaign that lasted several months, to subvert the Kanto League bureaucracy in order to provide Aaaron Autumns with a valid trainer's license. One that would stand up to all checks, despite providing almost no truths to the bureaucratic process.
Ash and his peers would be taking the licensing exam come the end of April. In mid-March the school offered an extra-curricular field trip to a practice facility where students could have some practical lessons about catching pokémon, caring for pokémon, and battling with pokémon. All of the members of Ash's class who were planning on becoming trainers signed up; a list that included Gary, Ash, and Leaf.
Poison Lance, Flygirl, and Pocket Watch had gone over the basics of catching pokémon, so Ash knew that he probably wouldn't learn too much from that part of the lesson. But, for his whole life, pokémon had been caring for him, instead of the reverse, so he'd need to pay attention to the second portion of the trip. And for the final portion, well, it was always nice to pick up tips about battling.
It was a building on the outskirts of Viridian City, about a half hour bus ride from their school. It was a set of buildings next to a forest preserve, connected by raised walkways. Inside there were trainers, people young and old, nurses, and researchers. There was some group introductory speech where they went over their mission, something about researching pokémon, spreading knowledge, helping the next generation come to love pokémon, but Ash, and most of the other children, didn't pay it much attention. They just wanted to get to the pokémon.
First the staff went over the basics of how to use a pokéball. Then they went over the basics of finding wild pokémon and when it was acceptable to catch them. Generally speaking, it was safest to capture wild pokémon who challenged a trainer, rather than ones that attempted to attack a trainer without warning. Pokémon who challenged a human were generally willing to be trained, while ones who simply attacked would likely be sick or guarding something like newly hatched young. Generally, they would let up once a trainer withdrew.
It was also considered very bad form to capture pokémon who ran away from a trainer. Unless it was to capture as part of a research program that would later release the pokémon, or if it was to get a wounded pokémon medical care and then offer it the option of release, a trainer should never try to catch a fleeing pokémon. It was considered both unethical and impractical, the pokémon would resist attempts to train it.
Pokemon who attacked a trainer without provocation and pursued the trainer were considered dangerous. The staff told the class that if they found themselves in that situation, they either needed to subdue the pokémon or escape from the situation. After they escaped, they should report the pokémon to the authorities, so that the dangerous pokémon could be terminated.
Ash remembered Flygirl talking to him about the subject once. She mentioned that wild pokémon had learned not to attack humans because humans tended to retaliate in force.
Ya either need to be desperate or plain crazy to attack a human, she had said. It means everyone's gonna have to start watching out for huntin' parties.
Next, they had the class run through a few exercises, where they threw mock pokéballs at targets. After that they moved onto lessons about caring for pokémon. The staff instructed the class on what sorts of pokémon might need grooming, what pokémon might eat what food, and how to feed shy or difficult pokémon.
Why do I have to pretend that I don't want food? One ekans involved in the demonstrations complained. What sort of pokémon refuses free food?
Hah! You had to play the reluctant pokémon again! Mocked a spearow happily chowing down on a pile of food. Ah, this is the life. Just sitting around, getting groomed, getting free food, and doing a little light battling….
I'm going to get you for this later, the ekans replied, before finally being allowed to accept food from the instructor.
Ash got some strange looks for giggling at the pokémon's antics.
After that they were allowed to feed and groom some of the pokémon. Ash got to feed and groom an elekid.
A little higher, a little higher, the small yellow and black plug like pokémon told him as Ash brushed its fur.
Sure. This good? Ash said with a smirk as he complied.
Yes… that's the spot, the elekid's eyes closed in satisfaction for a moment and then they snapped back open. Did you just speak properly?
"Maybe," Ash replied with a grin.
Finally, the moment many of the children had been waiting for: the practice battles. The instructors organized a small tournament where the children would battle against each other. They would be given a random pokémon and a piece of paper with the pokémon's abilities for each match.
Ash won his first two matches, once with a Jigglypuff against a pidgey, and once with a sandshrew against a growlithe, in an interesting turn of events. And then his third match came, and it was against Gary Oak.
"It's you versus me!" Gary shouted from across the field, grinning. "No mercy Aaron! I'm going to beat you!"
"Never!" Aaron (Ash) shouted back, also grinning. "Let's go!"
They were given their pokéballs and went to their ends of the field, where they could get in plexiglas booths to keep them safe while the battle happened. White light blazed on each end and their pokémon appeared.
Ash had a ratatta. Gary had a snorlax.
"Stop!" The instructor shouted to both children before they could begin. "Sorry, Snorry just evolved and it looks like we forgot to take him out of the rotation. This is an inappropriate matchup, so we'll have to replace your pokémon Mr. Oak."
Ah…. Snorry said, head and shoulders slumping. I wanted to fight Rattata again.
Maybe once they move me up into the next rank, the rattata replied. Then we can finally break our tie….
"Wait," Ash shouted before the staff could withdraw the snorlax. "They look like they want to fight. We should let them do this."
"Are you trying to come up with an excuse for your inevitable loss?" Gary shouted back. "Going to blame it on the unfair matchup?"
"You're fine with this?" The instructor asked Ash. "You know this means you're probably going to lose."
"I'm fine with it if they are," Ash replied. "Just ask them if they want to battle each other."
"Rattata, Snorry, do you two want to do this?" The instructor asked.
Yes! I want to break our tie! The snorlax said, nodding so the human would understand.
Of course! Can't let Snorry get a big head just because he evolved! Rattata replied. She also nodded, I'm going to have to keep him humble.
"Alright then," the instructor said.
By this time the other children, including Leaf, noticed that something was going on with Gary and Aaron's battle and had gathered around, standing at the sidelines, behind the stadium walls and nets.
"You shouldn't do this," Leaf said, going up to Gary, who hadn't gotten in his booth yet. "It's unfair! And the rattata so small! It might get hurt."
"Nah!" Gary replied. "They do this too often to hurt each other seriously and if Aaron wants to give me an easy win then that his prerogative. And if that rattata is stupid enough to want to fight a snorlax, then it deserves what's about to happen to it!"
"Gary!" Leaf protested.
"Ha, watch, it won't even take me ten seconds to win this!" Gary bragged, looking ahead at Ash. Leaf growled, clenched her fists, and then stamped away to the sidelines. She turned around.
"Go Aaron!" She shouted. "Teach that bully a lesson!" Upon hearing that, Gary's face went through several different positions, before settling on a severe glare directed at Ash.
The children on the sidelines began to shout, moving to different ends of the field, shouting their support for either Gary or Ash.
"Maybe you two should take a minute to think things through," the instructor suggested. "Tell me if you still want to continue."
"Fine!" Gary said. "I'm going to win even if I have to use a different pokémon."
Ash nodded, already thinking of a strategy. He knelt by Rattata. There was a burst of memory as Ash recalled Tail in the Grass, and then shook his head. This rattata was bigger and a different shade of purple.
Quick question, Ash whispered. Are the moves on the paper all you know? Do you know any that haven't been recorded? Rattata jumped and then looked at Ash.
Did you just speak properly? The purple pokémon asked.
Yes, but later. Here's a better question. Do you know Sucker Punch, Quick Attack, Hyper Fang, and Double Team?
Yes, Rattata answered.
Okay, I can work with that, Ash said, glancing at his watch. Thirty seconds left. So, here's the deal. As soon as the fight begins just open up with Sucker Punch and then Double Team. Then I'll start giving you commands.
Sure, Rattata shrugged. Honestly, I don't know if I can take him now that he's evolved but I've got to try. And maybe I stand a chance if I'm working with a strange human who can speak properly.
"Time's up!" The instructor shouted. "Aaron, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes," the boy said, standing up and nodding. "Let's go!"
The children cheered.
"Alright," the instructor said. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
The battle was joined.
"Snorry, Ice Punch!" Gary shouted, but Rattata was already moving. She knew how to move too quickly for an opponent to react to and how to target the vulnerability that appeared when a pokémon was preparing an attack well enough for it to qualify as a move, the move Sucker Punch.
She slammed into the large pokémon's elbow, bending it the wrong way just enough to hurt, and then bounced off that into Snorry's exposed armpits, biting at the spot where the armor of fat was thinnest.
Snorry shouted in pain, but Rattata was already jumping away, and then there were two Rattatas as she used Double Team.
"Body Slam them both!" Gary ordered.
"Quick Attack around him!" Ash shouted at the same time. With a grace and power that belied his size and slothful appearance the snorlax took to the air and came down like an asteroid after pre-historic species. But Rattata, both her and the illusion, used Quick Attack to dash around the incoming meteor.
Using Quick Attack to dodge was risky. Usually pokémon could only easily slow down by ramming into another pokémon, and thus if they used it without a target, or missed, they could end up out of position. Not only that, it was also a tiring move. If used to often it could exhaust an unprepared pokémon.
But Ash knew that he and Rattata would have to take some risks if they wanted to win. He just hoped she was up to the task.
Rattata skidded to a halt on the left side of the field, nearly losing her balance. Her illusion on the right side had no such difficulties given that it didn't actually have to deal with kinetic energy.
"The real one's on the left!" Gary shouted. "Fire Punch this time!"
Hmm, that was a potential flaw with Double Team and Ash's evasive stratagem. But Ash thought he might be able to figure out a trick with that as well….
"Another Double Team!" Ash shouted and a third Rattata was on the field. "And dodge!"
The three purple pokémon, real and unreal scattered, before the snorlax's fiery fist. The new illusion didn't quite move fast enough and was snuffed out, vanishing beneath the big pokémon's paw, a ring of fire radiating out from the ground at the point of impact.
"Quick Attack him and then dodge back with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.
"Enough with the stupid Quick Attacks already!" Gary shouted, clenching his fists in frustration as the two remaining Rattatas slammed into the snorlax at the same point and then bounced away. Ash grinned when he saw that Rattata had switched place with her illusion several times, hiding which one of the purple pokémon was the real one.
"Snorry, Ice Punch and Fire Punch at the same time! Catch it between your fists so it can't dodge!" Gary shouted.
Snorry rushed forward, surprisingly fast, one hand sheathed in ice, the other in flame, spread out to catch both Rattatas. Ash glanced upwards at the beams and lights overhead, trying to do some quick mental calculations.
"Quick Attack to the ceiling!" Ash ordered.
Good call! Rattata replied, before she and her duplicate launched themselves upward, barely avoiding the elemental fists. Steam erupted where the two fists met and the Snorlax shouted in pain.
Ouch! That steam is painful! Snorry said. But you know what! This is turning out to be a really good fight!
I know, right! Rattata said excitedly from the stadium ceiling. I'm glad we got to do this!
"Arrgh. No Hyper Beam to get it down!" Gary growled. "But Aaron, are you just going to hide all day? Might as well forge-"
"Quick Attack into Hyper Fang!" Ash interrupted. Rattata and her duplicate blurred out of sight again, only to reappear on Snorry's shoulder, shining fangs sinking into the snorlax. Since this was a battle for sport, rather than one with death on the line, Rattata focused the extra power into her front fangs, but made sure to purposefully blunt the teeth, rather than sharpen them.
Snorry flinched backwards, falling onto his back. Rattata bounced off and then looked back at Aaron for further instructions.
"Rattata, get back here for three seconds!" Ash shouted, while the snorlax picked itself up. Rattata obeyed, running back with her double in tow as fast as she could.
Here's what you're going to do, Ash whispered as fast as he could through the plexiglass. Quick Attack dodge again, but this time do your best to keep your balance and have the double trip.
Got it, Rattata replied, before running out onto the field again.
"Body Slam again!" Gary shouted. "Just hit one of them this time!"
"Double Team and Quick Attack dodge!" Ash shouted. Another duplicate joined the field and then blurred out of sight with her sisters. But Snorry was able to guess where one of the Rattatas would go and slammed down on one. A ring of dust rose from the point of impact, but then the other two rattatas came to a stop.
This time the one on the right nearly lost her balance, while the one on the left kept it. Both the copy and the real one were breathing heavily, having used so many Quick Attacks, so close together.
"It's the one on the right this time! Ice Punch!" Gary shouted. Once again Snorry's fist was covered in ice and he rushed the rattata on the right.
"Hyper Fang!" Ash shouted.
Ice shattered on the ground as Snorry's fist passed through the illusion. Once again shining fangs sank into fat, but this time Snorry was off balance from the punch and his head was slammed into the ground, throwing up another ring of dust.
Rattata bounced off the snorlax, who in turn bounced back from the ground. But, before Rattata could land, Snorry tipped backwards, arms flailing, and accidently swatted Rattata out of the air. She flew like a shuttlecock from a badminton racket, folded up around the point of impact, and slammed into the stadium wall. She didn't get up.
Ash looked back at Snorry, lying on his back. He wasn't getting up either.
"Both pokémon are unconscious! We have a tie!" The instructor said. "I did not see this coming. Good battle Gary and Aaron!"
Their classmates erupted in a cacophony of exuberant cheers and disappointed moans at the result.
"Serves you right you jerk!" Leaf shouted at Gary.
"You couldn't even beat a rattata with a snorlax!" Another classmate shouted. And more children started yelling insults and congratulations to the pair of battlers. But Gary didn't seem to hear them. He had started looking down after Leaf's shout, right fist clenched in front of him, arm shaking. He looked back up at Aaron, eyes lidded in a glare and held out the fist at him.
"From now on we're not friends!" Gary Oak shouted. "We're rivals now!"
Ash hadn't been sure how Gary's declaration of rivalry would change things. But it turned out that it simply meant that Gary always had an argument or a competition when the two of them hung out together. It was actually a lot of fun! At least Ash had fun whether he won or lost. Gary seemed to get angry whenever he lost, especially if Leaf was around.
April arrived and the trainer's exam approached. Ash and his classmates who also hoped to become trainers studied furiously for the exam all month. Then the exam came, and it was nowhere as hard as they feared. When the results were announced three days later it turned out that they had all passed.
Next the children had to get their photos taken and were issued the physical licenses, though they wouldn't valid for a few more months. After that the children had to register with a local league facility to receive their starter pokémon; most of Ash's classmates choose the Viridian gym, but Gary pulled Ash aside.
"Since you're my rival you should get your starter pokémon from the best!" Gary declared. "You should get your starter from my gramps!"
"Who's that?" Ash asked.
"You don't- "Gary blinked a few times and then shook his head. "Never mind. He's Professor Oak. He's a former League Champion."
"Oh!" Ash exclaimed. "He's your grandpa? That's cool! Does he still have his team?"
"No, he released most of them," Gary answered. "He has a couple, but most of the pokémon he has are for research. But his lab is a place where you can get a starter pokémon. I'm going to get mine there, so you better do so as well! That way you can't complain when I beat you!"
"Okay," Ash answered casually, causing Gary's left eye to briefly twitch. "What sorts of pokémon does he give out as starters?"
"All sorts," Gary replied. "Including some really weird choices, but it seems to work out. Look, just come to Pallet Town on Thursday after school and talk to him. I'll tell him that you're heading over to get registered and why."
"Sure!"
When Thursday came a very nervous Pocket Watch teleported Ash to Pallet Town and then went and hid in a hole, behind dozens of psychic camouflages. Flygirl circled overhead, also nervous at the prospect of Ash meeting the pokémon professor.
He walked to the edge of town, down by the coast, and came to a gentle and green hill, forested on one side, with a dirt path leading up to a half-cylinder building with a rectangular protrusion, with a windmill behind it. He went up the path and rang the doorbell.
A minute or so later the door opened and an old man with grey brown hair, a face with chiseled features, and wearing a white lab coat opened the door.
"Aaron Autumns?" He asked, to which Ash nodded. "Gary told me that you'd be coming. Head on in, would you?"
They went inside and Oak led the boy to his lobby.
"Tea?" The professor offered.
"I'll try some," Ash replied. He knew that humans were supposed to like tea, but he had never had any before.
"Just a few minutes," the professor said, before departing. A few minutes later he came back with two steaming cups of tea.
"So, uh, is there any, uh…. Um, paperwork! Paperwork I need to fill out?" Ash asked.
"There's some, but first I thought we should have a chat," Oak said, handing Ash one of the cups. "I like to do that with everyone who's going to get their first pokémon from me."
"Okay," Ash replied, before taking a sip of the tea. It was bitter in a way that made Ash frown, but it was warm and soothing, and Ash found that he didn't hate it.
"So, Aaron, tell me a little about yourself," Oak said, sitting down and taking a sip from his own cup.
"Uh… like what?" Ash asked, not sure to begin.
"Well let's start with the obvious. Why do you want to be a pokémon trainer?"
"I like pokémon," Ash answered, shrugging. "I'm good with them too. And it's fun helping them fight. I want to travel and being a trainer is a good way to do that."
"Oh? Helping them fight?"
"Well, a lot of them really like to fight," Ash said. "If they don't have to worry about eating or being eaten, pokémon usually want to have a play fight. Being a trainer is basically giving them play fights and helping them get better at it."
"That is true of many pokémon," Oak admitted. "Those aren't bad reasons to want to become a trainer. But what would you do with your trained pokémon when you're older?"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, tilting his head in puzzlement.
"Well, pokémon trainers generally use their teams to make a living when they're older," Professor Oak explained. "Maybe leasing out their pokémon to construction companies to help with heavy lifting, or helping ferry goods, or maybe helping farmers, or mining, or hundreds of other things that different types of pokémon can help with."
"Others join the League as a League trainer," Oak continued, "and either join a gym, or some task force like the Rangers. We've got a squad of the Kanto League Ocean Defense force stationed here in Pallet Town for example."
"So, Aaron, my question is, do you know what you would do with your pokémon when you're older?" Oak asked again.
"I'd have to see what my pokémon want to do," Ash answered with a shrug. Oak smiled at that answer.
"That's a good answer. Next question. Do you know how you would deal with a disobedient pokémon?"
"Uh…." Ash hesitated for a moment, trying to remember what disobedient meant, before answering, "I'd talk to it. Try to understand why it doesn't want to listen. Try to prove myself to it."
"And if it still doesn't listen?" Oak asked.
"Well then I'd see if it wants to be released or go with someone else," Ash said, shrugging again and drinking some more tea. He didn't know why Oak was asking the question; in Ash's experience if a pokémon had a problem with you they'd just tell you. Of course, if Ash had stopped to think about it, he would have realized that his experience was nowhere close to universal.
"Okay. One more question. And please be as honest as you can with this one. What would you do if you came across someone in danger, say they were under by a rampaging pokemon?" Oak asked.
"Hide. Plan. Distract." Ash answered instantly. "Hide so they don't know I'm there. Figure how many there are and where they are. Come up with a plan to uh, lure them away from the person being attacked, and how to best to get away."
Oak froze for a moment.
"That's a bit- Are either of your parents in the League or a member of the police?" Oak asked.
"Sort of," Ash answered.
"Interesting." Oak said, taking another sip of tea. "That would certainly explain some things. I'd like to meet them one day."
"They're sort of scared of you," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't really get it myself since they used to be in the League and didn't do anything bad- "
"Maybe they saw my team in action back when I was the Champion," Oak said with a smirk. "Most of my team is gone, but I've still got a couple of them left." The smirk vanished from his face and he sighed. "Not that it's enough." He stared down into his teacup.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked.
"No. I'm an old man." Oak answered, sighing again. "Don't worry about, just thinking on my failures. I guess it's about time to have you fill out the paperwork. I'll be giving the starting pokémon out starting at nine o'clock in the morning on July 16th, so make sure to be there on time Aaron."
Summer approaching, bringing with it the end of school and the eventual start of Ash's journey. His teacher had to try extra hard to keep her class under control as all the would-be trainers were distracted by thoughts of their upcoming journeys, and if she let them, would do nothing but talk about it all day.
Of course, the would-be trainers had three hours of extra class each day. It was a possibility that for some of the children, it was the last year they would be in school. Their teachers took their last opportunity to cram their student's heads with classes on accounting, health, sex-ed, how to deal with taxes, general lessons on bureaucracy, and the basics of wilderness survival. Not even the extra classes could dampen the spirts of the soon to be pokemon trainers, though they made a good attempt.
At the same time Poison Lance, Pocket Watch, and Flygirl all began reviewing/grilling Ash on everything he would need to know for the journey.
Why don't we just go with him, for a little way at least? Flygirl suggested one day while going over how to deal with inclement weather. Just to make sure he's safe.
We can't do that, Pocket Watch replied. Unless Ash wants us to. Do you Ash? We could follow you until-
No, Ash answered. If I'm going to be a real pokémon trainer and get stronger, then I've got to do this on my own.
Well said my boy, Poison Lance interjected. Though it may not hurt for us to be nearby-
No!
Pocket Watch began to stockpile supplies that Ash might need. A small tent, winter clothes, a large hiking backpack, a new blue short sleeved jacket, a blue winter jacket, a couple of hats for different weather conditions, some basic utensils for cooking in the wilderness, maps, reference books on pokémon, and other such things. He didn't steal any money and Ash never asked him to.
Flygirl began to alternate between hovering over Ash's shoulder and going on long flights to scout the area around them. She bothered Pocket Watch to steal books about weather for Ash, so that the boy wouldn't be taken surprise by what the sky might bring. She also began to bring Ash extra food for dinner, all sorts of fish, berries, and acorns.
You never let me eat this much usually, Ash said to her one night after a dinner of cooked fish.
I've got to make sure that- that- that you're big enough to leave the nest, she replied, tearing up. Are you sure ya want to become a trainer now? Why not wait a year?
Everyone else is starting this year!
Well if everyone else didn't jump off a cliff when a predator was coming would you?
No, I wouldn't! I can't fly! Ash protested.
Poison Lance, for his part, was quieter. Ash occasionally caught the weedle staring at him, an odd expression on the bug-type's face. Poison Lance made it a point to go on some walks with Ash through the woods, the human boy now large enough to carry the elderly pokémon.
The time for farewells is fast approaching, the weedle said on one such walk. I must confess that even though I knew said day would eventually arrive I cannot comprehend how swiftly it did so.
Well… Ash rubbed the back of his head. Swiftly? It felt like it had taken an eternity to reach the current time and that wasn't even the day in question! I guess?
Ah, youth, Poison Lance sighed. How it is wasted on the young, who do not know that they should savor each minute, hour, and day.
Hey!
Oh, are you still paying attention? I thought this conversation might have been taking too long and your mind had wandered.
Yes, yes, we can't all be walking fossils like you, Ash replied, eliciting a chuckle from the weedle.
But in all seriousness the day is coming too fast for my liking, Poison Lance went on. It seems like just yesterday you were a helpless thing demanding berry mash.
Well, it's a good food-
And now here you are, almost a trainer, Poison Lance continued. I will miss you Ash.
We've still got more than a month left, Ash replied. And it's not like I'm going away forever. I'll still come back and visit.
I hope that you do.
Time passed and the fifth grade ended. Ash managed pass with Cs and Bs, while Gary and Leaf were tied at the top of the class.
"Hah! This one goes to me! Take that Aaron!" Gary declared on the second to last day of school, after they had gotten their results back.
"Good job!" Ash replied happily, making Gary's left eye twitch. "Oh, and good job Leaf!"
"Thanks Aaron," the girl replied with a smile, before turning to Gary. "Aren't you going to try and claim that you beat me as well? Or don't you want to admit that I'd have the best grades if the teacher hadn't thrown out the first long division test for being too hard!"
Gary and Leaf argued while Ash wondered why Gary didn't declare her his rival.
Everyone said their goodbyes the next day, the class had a party, and then school was over. Ash went back to the forest, the others went back to their homes, and everybody with a trainer's license began to obsess over their upcoming journey.
June and the first half of July came and passed both far too slowly and far too quickly for Ash and his caretakers. Each day dragged on, but weeks passed quickly in a maddening paradox. They all prepared as best they could, going over their preparations again and again, looking for anything that could be done better.
And then the day arrived.
AN: I'd like to apologize for stealing the bit about pachirisus from Se Jung Park, the 2014 Pokemon World Champion.
This chapter goes a bit into what exactly constitutes a 'move' in the pokemon world. Hyper Beam and Fire Spin are easy to quantify, but what about Sucker-Punch and Follow Me? How exactly are they moves? What makes them more special than just being distracting or punching someone real hard when they don't expect it?
I'll try to answer the question to a great extent within the story, but for now I'm going with the idea that if a pokemon is really good at being distracting or hitting someone hard when they don't expect it, then it counts as a move.
I'd like to thank BlackCatSpecialist92G10 for beta reading.
Don't forget to review.
:AN