A/N I don't own pokemon or any of the characters therin please support the offical release.
Outside Galar Mine #2, Galar Region, August 25, 09:15, Year 174 Post Unification (PO.U)
Satoshi Ketchum stood outside the entrance of the Mine before him. A week ago, he had been asked by Professor Oak to come to Galar and check on some rumors of some unusual pokemon. Thus Far, he hadn't seen anything unusual. Some Paldean Pokemon, courtesy of negligent trainers from that region, had abandoned them. "I am starting to think this has been a wild Swanna hunt." If he was being honest, Satoshi wished he was home in Pallet town. Just before he left for this trip, Delia told him she was pregnant.
Satoshi had been overjoyed that a son or daughter was on the way. He couldn't wait to help them grow into a good man or woman. To watch them develop. More importantly, to help them develop, He and Delia had stayed up most of that night, talking about baby names. He had wanted to name the child Ash if it was a boy and Ashley if it was a girl. Delia had suggested Bob or Bobbie. It had been too early to commit to anything, but it had been a fun time.
Satoshi was shaken out of his reminiscing by a cry, followed by a much angrier, louder cry. Walking past a large boulder, he saw a Gardevoir and a Gallade. In front of them was a Ralts, a newly hatched one from the looks of it. What made it unusual was the yellow skin, the dark umber coloration of its head, and its head fin that was a much darker shade of red and a fair bit sharper looking. This differed from the well-known and documented mutation, colloquially known as the shiny phenomenon. This was Something entirely new.
As Satoshi continued to watch, he figured out what was happening. "They appear to be a family group with Gallade as the leader. It appears to be rejecting its offspring because of its mutation." This made Satoshi furious. Maybe it was because he was about to become a dad, but he couldn't imagine ever throwing away his child for anything as stupid as a genetic mutation. Still, all he could do was watch. The Gallade seemed aggressive, and he couldn't get a read on the Gardevoir outside of the expression on its face, seemingly radiating sadness. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if the Pokemon he had with him could take out one, let alone two, of the powerful, fully evolved Pokemon. He watched as the adult pair started to walk away.
The Ralts tried to follow, only for the Gallade to swing one of its arms as it released a wave of psychic energy that knocked the Ralts off its feet and nearly did the same for Satoshi. When he could focus again, Satoshi watched as the pair started walking away. This time the strangely colored Ralts did not try to follow. It only lay there and let out a mournful wail. When Satoshi was sure that the parents had disappeared, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a container filled with poffins. Getting on his hands and knees, he slowly went to the crying Ralts. When it finally took notice of Satoshi, it tried to crawl away, only to pause as it heard his voice.
"It's okay, little one. I promise I won't hurt you," he assured, showing the container of poffins. Satoshi continued, "Look, I have snacks." The young Ralts looked at him momentarily, and Satoshi felt something touch his mind. It was weak but very clumsy. Suddenly, the young Pokemon reached into the container Satoshi had presented to it and started nibbling at one of the poffins. After a few moments of experimental bites, it devoured them one after the other. "Poor thing, it must have been starving."
After it had eaten its fill, Satoshi looked at the tiny Pokemon and said, "look, I don't think you will make it out here alone. Would you like to come with me? You would be asleep for a while, but when my kid is born and old enough to decide if they want to become a trainer, I would love for you to meet them." Once again, Satoshi felt the soft and clumsy feeling of Something touching his mind. Only now, it was accompanied by a more potent but subtle touch. Understanding that the weaker of the two was Ralts and the stronger one was likely one of its parents, Satoshi opened his mind to them and let them see what he wanted to do. Almost as quickly as it appeared, the more powerful of the two touchers disappeared. Satoshi released a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"Ra Ra Ralts Ralts," the tiny Pokemon called out. Its voice was no longer mournful, but not exactly happy either.
Satoshi looked at Ralts for a second before he asked, "is that a yes?"
The Ralts looked at him for a moment before nodding with another call of "Ralts."
Satoshi smiled, "good, just wanted to make sure." pulling out an unused pokeball, Satoshi expanded it and preceded the front against Ralts' forehead. The device worked instantly, and ralts was now safe and comfy in its new home. Having done what he intended, Satoshi started the long walk back toward Motostoke and his hotel room. He would need to contact Professor Oak later that day. If he had looked back, he would have seen a Gardevoir watch him before it teleported away.
Three Days Later
As His Plane back to Kanto prepared to take off, Satoshi sat back and sighed. It had taken almost two days and a bit more money than Satoshi had wanted to spend, but Ralts was now safe and sound in the Pokemon Storage Bank. It would stay safe and secure until he or the Professor retrieved it. Professor Oak would be provided with all of the data about Ralts that the Bank could gather. He had already learned that Ralts was female and that rather than having the Psychic and Fairy typing, typical for the species, it had a Psychic and Steel typing. Who knew what else would be discovered in the years to come? As Satoshi's flight lifted off, the plane gave a worrying rumble, but he ignored it. After all, it wasn't the first time Something like this had happened and likely wouldn't be the last. Shortly after that, when the plane reached its cruising altitude of 26000 feet, Satoshi forgot about it.
Three hours into the six-hour flight, the plane started to rumble again. The pilot tried to tell people it was turbulence, but the rumbling only worsened. After nearly twenty minutes of turbulence, the rumbling became violent as the vibrations were sufficient to cause the overhead compartments to open, causing all of the luggage to fall to the floor.
At 13:00 on August 28, Air Moltres flight 349 Fell into the Ocean. Three hundred lives, one hundred of them Pokemon, would be lost. Search and rescue teams would comb the area for four weeks, but all that would be found were a few surviving pokemon whose pokeballs managed to stay shut after the impact. Investigations would reveal that the cause was mechanical due to neglected maintenance. Air Moltres would spend a fortune paying off the results of the lawsuit brought against them by the families of the deceased, led in part by a furious and very pregnant Delia Ketchum and funded by a guilt-ridden Professor, Samuel Oak.
Oak Pokemon Academy, Pallet Town, Kanto Region, May 10, 15:25, 200 PO.U.
Ash Ketchum sat at his desk. He and the rest of his class of thirty were sitting their final exam. This was what the last 5 years of hard work had been about. All his time spent studying the previous month had been for this. This was all that stood between him and getting his trainer's license and the coveted recommendation from Professor Oak that was necessary to participate in the Pokemon League. With those, he could finally begin his dream of becoming a Pokemon master. It was all that Ash had wanted to be since he had been five years old and had watched Agatha Of the Elite Four battle against the then up-and coming Lance.
Watching the old woman's ghostly trickery against the young man's dragonic force had entranced the young Ash, and he had begged his mom to get him a recording of the match. Delia, for her part, had gone above and beyond to get him the recording and an autograph from Agatha. The thumb drive containing the recording and the picture with the autograph was among his most prized possessions, alongside his limited edition hat.
Ash took a moment to look around the room. Professor Oak's name had a lot of sway, and his recommendation would guarantee a person some success. In addition to the locals like himself, Gary Oak, and Leaf Green, He had classmates who were the family of gym leaders like May Maple and Marnie Granger. Or from wealthy families like Lillie Star and Cynthia Black. Or whose parents were well known in Pokemon-related circuits, like Dawn Berlitz and Serena Gabena's mothers.
Ash was shaken out of his thoughts by one of Professor Oaks' assistants shouting that there were 15 minutes left on the test. Causing Ash to swear to himself." Shit, I still have the essay question to answer! Shit shit shit." With little else to do, Ash turned his eyes to the question.
Based on the in-class discussions of the last year, please explain in your own words the Great Unification and how it has caused the world we live in today.
Once again, Ash swore to himself. "Damn, he's not asking for much, is he?"
Ash thought about the question for a moment. While he was by and large not all that interested in history, the discussions that had been had in class regarding the Great Unification had been fascinating. Some of the tangents the conversation had gone to had been just as fascinating. Placing his hand on the keyboard in front of him, Ash began typing.
The cause for the Great Unification is often considered to be twofold. The first, more commonly accepted reason is the event known as the Ransei War. Four hundred years ago, Pokemon training as we know it did not exist. The various nation-states or regions as we know them today did what they could to hold back what to them were frightening magical creatures.
That all changed when the Ransei discovered the means to contain the Pokemon of their country and to make them obey. This event brought about an end to their own internal wars that had plagued their nation for years. No longer being distracted by internal strife, Ransei under the leadership of their grand Shogun Nobunaga, started looking outward, beginning with the nations of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and the largely unpopulated Hisui (latter known as Sinnoh).
Using Hisui as a base of operation, the Ranseian military struck against the other three nations. For a time, it looked like Nobunaga's forces would win. That changed when Nobunaga pulled back most of his troops in a fit of what could only be described as madness or perhaps arrogance. The common belief is that he thought a small contingent of his army would be sufficient to conquer the three nations as they had access to Pokemon, and the three nations did not. Regardless, this allowed the three nations time to regroup, and in 195 PR.U. Unify as one force. This new Alliance started beating back the invaders, eventually capturing several Ransei Pokemon Tamers and forcing them to reveal the secrets of Pokemon Taming.
Using this knowledge, the Alliance started taming their own Pokemon and soon beat back the Ranseian forces to Hisui. During this time, spies in the Ransei Military discovered that Nobunaga had begun an insane multi-front war. Attacking Galar and its Colony Unova, the small nation of Alola, Kalos, and its colony Paldea. Fiore, Orre, Almia, Oblivia and Ferrum. Like earlier, the Ransei's use of Pokemon allowed them a sizable advantage at first, even while fighting a multifront war.
This started to change in 192 PR.U. when Alliance tamers made their way to these regions. Thanks to inroads made by the spies, they could teach taming methods to the attacked nations. With their own Pokemon, the nations started to fight back against the Ransei, and by 190 PR.U., they had driven the Ransei back to their own country.
Nobody could have known that during their occupation of Kalos, Ransei soldiers discovered the schematics for an ancient super weapon long forgotten, even by the Kalosians.
The first successful test of this weapon was achieved in Orre. While the test was unable to bring out the full power of the weapon, it did devastate the environment of Orre for centuries. A devastation that Orre is only now starting to recover from. The use of the weapon caused the alliance forces (now comprised of all of the known counties save Ransei ) to stop from attacking the Nation
.
Had that been the end of it, the Ransei Nation would still exist. However, according to records that survived, what happened by 189 PR.U. Nobunaga was quite insane. On July 9 of that year (according to the current calendar) he forced his soldiers to use the weapon again. Only this time, it was to strike everywhere but Ransei. What happened next is up for debate. Some say that the weapon simply overloaded. Some say the weapon was poorly built due to the Ranseian military not understanding what they were building. Some say it was a last act of vengeance by the unknown Pokemon being used to power it. Regardless of why the weapon backfired, the nation of Ransei ceased to exist instantly. An estimated fifteen million Ranseian men, women, children, and Pokemon died as Ransei became little more than a large crater. Even after over three hundred years and more than a few attempts by the various Governments, Ransei continues to show no signs of recovery. Today there are an estimated three thousand people of Ranseian descent. They are the descendants of the tamers taken as prisoners of war by the early Alliance. They have attempted to resettle the nation, but all failed.
After the war had ended, the Nations returned to their own homes, and while there was peace for a time, they eventually started war with each other. Some of these wars included Paldea and Unova fighting for their independence from Kalos and Galar. During this time period, the use of Pokemon was highly exploitative and several breeds of Pokemon were driven nearly to extinction. The Pollution caused by the rapid technological development of the nations led to the birth of some new pokemon, such as Grimer and Muk, Koffing and Weezing, and Trubbish and Garbodor. Had things continued as they were, it doesn't take a genius to think that the present would be dark if things had continued in that vein.
This brings us to the second cause of the Great Unification. The man only known as Lucas. According to reports, he appeared as a young man in 10 PR.U. Some legends say that he fell from the sky, but the truth is unknown even to this day. He was met by an expedition group who would later become the first long-term residents of the largely unpopulated region. At this point in history, Pokemon were largely viewed with suspicion by many and feared by the common man. Lucas is known to have helped the future Sinnohian people understand Pokemon and view them as friends and partners. As time wore on, he helped catalog the first pokedex. Through that and lessons, he taught about conservatism, preventing more than a few Pokemon from going extinct. He is also credited with pushing forward the development of the Pokeball as it is currently known. After a few years, his message spread to Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. In January of 0 PR.U, the four nations joined, starting the Great Unification.
Over the next century, other nations joined. At first, it was the smaller nations of Almia, Orre, Obliva, Fiore, and Ferum. By 25, PO.U/ Kalos and Galar had joined. Lucas would die in 50 PR.U, so he wouldn't see Unova join in 100 PO.U. Still, by the time he passed, he had taught people and Pokemon about the joys of competition and created the first Pokemon Leagues. Until the Unovians joined the global community, each nation or region had their own leagues and rules, as they were called at that point. This stayed in place until 115 PO.U. The Alolans would join in 125 PO.U, and they, too, would join the Global League. Many Native Alolans hold to their traditions, usually doing so on the Orange Islands that are located nearby. The Paldeans were the last to join in 175 P.O.U. Still, their inclusion has completed the promise the Alliance made so long ago. The Unification has led to low costs for goods. Relatively cheap and easy transport and a level of equality amongst mankind that our ancestors could not imagine
"There we go," Ash thought as he looked at what he had written. It was awkward in places and a bit more flowery at the end than he would have liked, but he felt it would get the point across. After a moment, he pressed the submit button, not a moment too soon, as the assistant informed them that time was up. As the sounds of others clicking on the submit button, some groaning, filled the air, Ash wondered how he had done. His thoughts were interrupted by the door to the classroom, and in walked a grey-haired man, well into his autumn years, dressed in his trademark Khakis and a button-up shirt with a lab coat over it.
As the older man made his way to the front, Ash couldn't help but smile. Professor Oak had always been very good to his family. He had funded the lawsuit against the airline responsible for his father's death. He helped his grieving mom take care of all the arrangements while she was pregnant with him. After that, he helped Ash's mom manage the money so that there was always a money stream coming in, and she could focus on raising her son instead of having to work. In fact, right up until they had started at Professor Oaks' school, Professor Oaks' grandson Gary had always been one of his best friends. But Something had changed five years ago, and after so long, Ash had given up on trying to figure out what it was.
When the Professor made it to the front of the classroom, he cleared his throat and said. "Good afternoon, children. I see you have finished your final exams, and I wanted to say Something to you before I released you for the day.
When you started here, you all had such bright, fresh young minds five years ago, eager to learn about the wondrous creatures we call Pokemon. Your reason for being here might have varied, but you all acquitted yourselves well during your time here. As my Assistants and I go over your exams during the next couple of days, I genuinely hope and pray that you all pass and that I can recommend you all. When you go out into the world to begin your Pokemon journey, whatever it may be, you continue to acquit yourselves well. Now, for what is almost the last time, class Dismissed."
Ash waved goodbye to the older man as the class exited the room. He couldn't help but think about what had been said, particularly the bit about the recommendation. While gaining a trainer's license was an easy enough task, most pokemon-related fields, Like Breeders, Doctors, and Pro battlers, were gatekept by the need for a recommendation. Almost anybody of any actual standing with the global League could do it. As he had heard, the head of Macro Cosmos had sponsored a young person recently, and the current world champion had sponsored two trainers from his hometown. By getting his recommendation, Professor Oak was sponsoring all of them. Professor Oaks' school was far from the only one of its kind. Still, the Professor's reputation and goodwill meant that he could give his recommendation to large groups of students every year.
Putting those thoughts aside for the moment, Ash decided to head home. Dinner wouldn't be for a few hours. He could catch a few streamed Pokemon battles on the net.
Two days later, 16:00, Bidoof Bistro
In a private room in the relatively small establishment, six teenage girls sat around a long table. At the head of the table sat Cynthia Black. To her left sat Lillie Star, May Maple, and Leaf Green. On her left were Dawn Berlitz and Serena Gabena, and Marnie Granger sat at the foot of the table. As five of the girls visited, with each other talking about what they had done in the last two days, Marnie just sat there enjoying the goings on. Cynthia meanwhile thought about what she was about to say. While she hadn't had much in the way of friends over the last five years, these five were the closest. If she could help it, she didn't want to break the group up now. But she knew that at least one part of what she would talk about was controversial.
Saying a quick prayer to whoever was listening, she grabbed her glass and struck it with her fork three times. "Ladies, Thank you for joining me back here again." All of the girls smiled a little at how extra their friend could be at times' "Last time we met here, I told you that my parents had offered that if I did well on the final exam, they would foot the bill for my pokemon journey." All of the girls remembered. Leaf and Marnie, in particular, had thought it had been slightly braggy. "What I didn't say back then, since I didn't want to get your hopes up, was that my parents have agreed to fund all of our journeys."
There was a resounding cheer amongst the girls for a good minute before Marnie, the pragmatist of the group, asked, "So, is there a catch to all of this ?"
Cynthia winced. Trust Marnie to get to the heart of the matter. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts before she responded. "Yes, Marnie, there are two conditions to their support. First, their support will be slightly reduced due to the number of us on this trip. That means that while they will provide us with Top of the line camping gear for when we need it, they will not be paying for the luxury hotels they would have offered me if I was going by myself. That said, they will pay for our group's private rooms at the Pokemon centers."
The girls all groaned a little, but only for a moment. While they would miss the idea of taking their Pokemon journey in absolute luxury, Top of the line camping gear and not having to stay in the communal rooms of the pokemon centers was undoubtedly a plus that was not to be sneezed at."
May spoke up this time, "What is the second condition?"
Cynthia winced again. This was going to be where the possible issues would come up. "The second condition is that they would … like a male trainer to accompany us on our trip" There were annoyed, almost angry murmurs that echoed through most of the group. Leaf was the first to voice her displeasure.
"What do they think that we can't take care of ourselves!" The words were echoed by Dawn and May.
Cynthia looked unflappable as always when she responded, "Not at all. In fact, I have kept them appraised of your accomplishments and my own. Leaf, they loved watching your test battle against Gary and how you beat the Sunflora he was using with the Totodile you were provided with despite the type disadvantage.
Dawn and May, they saw that video of contest maneuvers you were trying to teach Oak's Geodudes. They were impressed that you could teach rough-and-tumble Pokemon like them to be elegant.
Serena, I didn't have any video to show them. Still, they loved hearing about the routines you were working on for the contests you want to participate in.
Marnie, They were impressed by your goal of helping bring your Brothers Gym back to prominence in Galar, and when the time comes, they will throw their support behind you.
Lillie, They know you are still seeking what you want to do. They talked to your mom and knew that you want to forge your own path regardless of what you do. That impressed them, and they want to help you do that."
With their egos stroked for the moment, the girls quieted down, allowing Cynthia to continue. "All of that is why they are giving us a choice instead of hinging their support on taking a chaperone along with us." This made the girls think. Having an adult chaperone around would feel restricting. None of them thought of going wild and crazy, but they still didn't want anybody around that might report to their parents. They wanted the freedom of the open road they had been dreaming about since they started school.
Lillie, often the quietest member of the group, spoke up. "uh-um, if we are going to choose one of our classmates, who do we pick?"
That made the girls think. In the five years they had been at Oak's school, most of the boys in their class hadn't made much of an impression on them. Sure, they had on occasion worked on group projects with them, but when the girls tried to attach names to faces, they were coming up short.
After a minute of Thought, Leaf was the first to speak up. "How about Verde Blanco?" Instantly all six girls thought about the dark-skinned, dark-haired boy from Orre and what they knew about him. Cynthia was the first to speak up.
"I don't think that would work. I seem to recall Verde saying that after graduation, he plans to go into Pokemon Medicine before returning to Orre."
The room Lapsed into silence before Lillie Spoke up. "How about Ryuji?"
This time it was Marnie who spoke up. "I don't know. He seems nice enough, but he is so damn over-reactionary and confrontational. Do you remember when he nearly got expelled for decking Gary last year?
The rest of the girls took a moment to think about it. After this long, none of them could remember the exact insult, but given how Gary tended to act, none of them thought that the punch was unjustified. But Shigeru Oak had raised holy hell with his father, and the Professor had been forced to suspend Ryuji for a month. And afterward, they had ensured they were never anywhere near each other.
Dawn spoke up next, "How about Kabuto Mushi?" The girls thought about the young man from Johto for a moment before Serena responded.
"Wait, isn't he the one who is REALLY into bug types?" The girls collectively shuddered as they thought about the guy who had gotten into long drawn out arguments with the other bug enthusiast in the class about things like power bug types like Heracross and Pinser were superior to the speed-focused bugs like Scyther and Scizor.
After a moment, Cynthia spoke up and said, "Okay, I know the likely response, but what about Gary Oak?
Silence filled the room before most of the gals burst out in laughter, before Marnie managed to utter through the noise, "Hell no. Do you really want to be seen in the same light as his little groupies?"
That silenced the laughter of the group. It was a well-known rumor that Gary had asked some local girls to travel with him as his cheerleading section. The rumors had reached a point where they had all heard some local girls talking about it.
Cynthia had the good grace to offer a self-deprecating smile as she said, "Okay, okay, that was a dumb suggestion. Does anybody have any other ideas?"
Silence filled the room for a moment before Serena shyly said, "W-what about Ash Ketchum?"
The girls all smiled a bit. Serena's crush on Ash was an open secret. The only ones who didn't seem to know were Ash himself and Gary, who had hit on Serena several times since they had all started puberty. They had to be fair to Ash, though Serena hadn't gone out of her way to confess to the lad.
May was the first to respond, "Mhm, he has a little bit of a temper, but that's mostly where Gary is concerned. Has he ever been particularly perverted?"
Dawn responded, "Not really, I mean, I've caught him checking me out a few times, but I haven't seen him undress me or any of you with his eyes. Does anybody know if he has any other deal-killing character traits?"
Chyniha spoke up. "Well, I've noticed he tends to get arrogant when on a winning streak in battle practice. It's not as bad as with guys like Gary or Ryuji, but it is still there." She didn't feel the need to say that she had been the one to knock him off of his high Rapidash more than once.
Lillie spoke up next. "He can be a bit hard-headed but not as much as Ryuji is, and most of that seems to be regarding Gary." Lille was silent for a second before she continued. "I don't know if this helps, but I have never heard him participate in any of the guys talking about women. Not even when they talked about Gym leaders like Nessa or Elesa."
May spoke up next. "That's unusual. I wonder why?
With a wry smile, Marnie replied, "Well, we know he was raised by his mom, so she probably made sure he was fed a healthy dose of respect women juice. Or at least made sure he had enough sense to keep his thoughts to himself."
The girls were silent for a moment before Cynthia spoke up. "Okay, so there are no real negatives. What about positives?"
Serena was the first to give her opinion. "We-well, he is one of the best Battlers in class, and he has always been willing to help others, so that might be a plus for your parents." She smiled as if remembering something. Once again, the girls smiled. While what she said was true, they all knew that in any vote that might happen, Serena would vote for Ash to be invited.
Cynthia nodded her head as she replied. "That's true. He tends to rank in the top five and has always been willing to help the other kids in class." It was left unsaid that it was when everyone was using the Professor's trained Pokemon and that Cynthia had been first in class for the last two years. "Anything else?"
The room fell silent as the girls once again fell into thought. Most of the positives that could be said for Ash had already been covered during the discussion about his negative qualities. After a few seconds, Marnie offered her opinion. "This may seem generic, but he has always been helpful and friendly in class. He also stayed out of a lot of the class politics and antics."
The girls all nodded at that statement. Ash had always been more focused on Pokemon and the things related to them. The only time any of them could remember that not being the case was concerning Gary and the classmates who kissed the boy's ass due to his family name.
Cynthia spoke up, "Okay, has anybody else to add to the discussion?" After a moment of silence and shaking of heads, she continued. "Okay then. Ash is the likely candidate, so let's take a vote. If we vote yes, I will talk to my parents and provided they say yes, we will speak with Ash when we receive the exam results next week.
At the sea of nods, Cynthia continued. "All in favor of Asking Ash Ketchum to travel with us, say yes."
Oak Pokemon Academy, Pallet Town, Kanto Region, May 17, 09:00, 200 PO.U.
The excitement in the room was palatable. Everybody present was chomping at the bit to find out how they had done. To find out if they would receive Oak's coveted recommendation. Ash sat there, nearly vibrating with anticipation. The outcome of the test would decide if he would be able to start his Pokemon journey or if he would be forced to find another way to get a recommendation.
Regardless, Ash had faith that he had passed. But he decided to hedge his bets and prayed to whoever was listening. Looking around, he noticed that Cynthia Black was looking his way. When she saw that he had noticed, she looked away quickly. Ash mentally scratched his head. For the last couple of days, they had done the same thing every time he saw Cynthia or another member of her friend group. Truthfully he had seen Serena do that around him for years, but the others were new.
Ash's other thoughts were interrupted when Professor Oak walked into the classroom, flanked by two of his assistants. When the group had made it to the podium. Oak raised his hand to quiet the room with a smile. "Welcome back, everyone. Before my assistants hand out your results, I just want to say to all of you… CONGRATULATIONS! All of you passed!"
All around the room, cheers erupted. High fives were slapped, and hugs were given, and Ash was sure he heard someone shout, "BOOYAH MOTHERFUCKER!" Ash, for his part, did a happy dance.
After a few minutes, the Professor raised his hand again to call for order. After a few moments, the room quieted down. Once the room was silent, Oak spoke again. "Once again, congratulations to all of you. I am proud to be able to give you my recommendation. I have faith that all of you will be equal to what you have earned."
The door to the classroom opened again, revealing two more assistants. Each was carrying a large cardboard box. They were followed by two more assistants, each carrying a pair of tall stools. After a moment, the stools were set down, and the boxes laid upon them. When the boxes were opened, it was revealed to be Pokedexs. And not just any Pokedexes but Silphco Series 20s.A loud cheer filled the room. Even the most technologically inept of them knew that Silphco Pokedexes, in general, and the Series 20s in particular, were Top of the line.
Professor Oak gave them a couple minutes to be excited before he called for silence. "The good folks at Silphco have decided as a bit of a P.R. move to provide a number of their Pokedexes to graduates of several Academies. And I convinced them to make this school one of them." He pulled one of the devices out of the box and showed it to the class. In addition to the standard pokedex functions, There is the 12-megapixel camera. It has access to the global cellular network and can function as a digital wallet. New to these models is a G.P.S. function to help prevent trainers from getting lost while on the road. Finally, for those planning to take the gym challenges, your pokedex will be a registration method at any official pokemon league location.".
Oak momentarily looked thoughtful before adding, "for those worried about possibly breaking your Pokedexs, fear not. Like most models of pokedex, these are strong enough to survive almost anything you could do to them… obviously, I would request you not try to break them."
A chuckle passed through the room before the Professor continued, "One last thing while the casing for your Pokedexs comes in standard red most shops carry a line of casing in several colors and designs available for purchase. Come forward when I call your name, and I will hand you your Pokedex. After that, you are all free to go, and I will see you in two days for graduation and next week for the pokemon selection."
Another cheer rang through the room before things settled down. Soon each of the teenagers was walking to the front of the classroom as their name was called. When Oak said Ash Ketchum, the boy nearly fumbled over himself to get to the front of the room. When he was standing in front of Oak, the Professor put the device in one hand while shaking his hand with the other before he said softly. "Congratulations, my boy. I know that your father would be proud of you."
Ash struggled to fight back the tears that threatened to fall down his face before he responded with a happy smile. "Thank you, Professor Oak, that means a lot to me." He quickly moved to the side so the next student could be called. Five minutes later, all the students had been called, and a cheer went through the room as they started to file out.
A few minutes later, Ash was looking through his new device. He had already downloaded a few league news apps and an app that tracked what Pokemon notable trainers used. When Cynthia Black, flanked by Lille Star and Leaf Green, walked up to him. "Ketchum," she said with a smile on her face but with a cautious tone. "There is something we would like to talk to you about if you have a few minutes."
This caused Ash to raise an eyebrow. While he had never been on bad terms with Cynthia or any member of her friend group outside of some school projects, he had never spent too much time with them. Not even Serena Garbena, who he had known for a little bit before they had started school. Regardless, he nodded and followed the trio as they found a spot with a bit more privacy.
A few minutes later
Ash stood stunned. Anybody looking at the scene would be forgiven for thinking he had been hit with a stun powder attack or a thunder wave. Cynthia had just finished detailing her offer, and he was speechless. A chance to have all of his financial needs for his Pokemon journey taken care of was huge. Sure, his mom still had a large part of the settlement from his dad's death, but that was far from infinite; all he needed to do was travel with a group of his female classmates. On its face, it was an obvious yes. All that had been offered and the bonus of being around girls who a not insignificant part of him would admit he had had some pleasant thoughts over the last couple of years. Still, there was a part of him that had his doubts. Maybe it was presumptive, but he worried they might use him as a pack Mudbray or some sort of Drillbur.
After a few more seconds, Ash answered Cynthia, "could I think about it a little before I answer?
The three girls looked surprised as if they hadn't considered that response. However, Cynthia quickly recovered and responded, "Of course. However, I would ask that you please let one of us know by graduation day so we can make other arrangements."
Ash nodded at the three girls before he turned and walked away. He had some serious thinking to do.
Several hours later, at the Ketchum Residence
Ash sat at the dining room table, deep in thought. All his musings regarding the offer that had been made. "What do I do?"
Delia Ketchum could only watch as her son sat unusually silent. She had just finished preparing the evening's dessert. Some jelly donuts. Ash had always loved the little black and white treats, and the night's dinner would be another 20 minutes, so she decided to see what was eating her son.
Wiping her hands on her long skirtDelia sat next to Ash, smiled, and said, "A coin for your thoughts, Ash?"
Ash looked up at his mom. He hadn't realized that he had zoned out like that. Still, his mom's interruption of his thoughts did give him an idea "I'm not having any luck trying to figure this out on my own, maybe Mom will know what to do."
Gathering his thoughts for a moment before responding. "Somebody made me an offer today, Mom, and I'm not sure what to do about it.
Delia froze for a moment as her mom's senses all flared. "Who and what kind of offer?." She said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes and a tone of forced sweetness. If some pervert was letching on her son... Well, she wouldn't say what she would do, not even in her own head, but Pallet town was a coastal town, and the sea hid all sins.
Ash, still caught up in his own thoughts, didn't notice his mom's change in tone but responded, "Cynthia Black and her friends asked me to travel with them" When his mom raised an eyebrow but motioned for him to continue, Ash spoke in detail about what had been offered and what he had thought about since the offer had been made.
When he had finished, Delia sat there for a minute, trying to figure out how to respond to what she had just been told. After collecting her thoughts, Delia responded. "That's quite a situation you have there, dear. The Black family is quite wealthy, and from what you have told me of Cynthia, I'm sure the offer is real, but I understand you don't want to end up as some sort of servant. So how about this: If you decide to accept, you tell them that if you feel something like that is happening, you will leave, and they will have to deal with the consequences." As Ash smiled at the idea, Delia continued.
"As far as accepting the offer, I can only say two things. First, meeting your basic financial and residential needs is a serious bonus. I can help you a bit, but the Blacks can help you far more in that respect than I can.
The second thing is that traveling with people can be fun if it's the right group. Your father traveled with a group when he began his Pokemon journey; from what he told me, it was one of the highlights of his life. "As she spoke of her lost husband, Delia started to sound wistful.
Ash stood up and replied, "Thanks, mom!" shaking her out of her thoughts.
Delia replied with a smile, "You are very welcome, dear." her smile turned a little devilish as she continued. "If you decide to travel with all those girls, don't have too much fun. I don't want to be a Grandmother before you hit 20."
It took Ash a moment to parse that sentence before he shouted, "MOM." in shock and embarrassment. He ran from the room, her laughter nipping at his heels.
Later as he lay in his room thinking about what his mom had said, Ash decided. Thinking aloud, he said softly, "I'll do it." He would try to find Cynthia or one of her friends tomorrow and let them know of his decision. But for now, time to see if any matches were streaming.
Six Days Later, 23:00
Ash could barely contain his excitement. Tomorrow was the pokemon selection. It was where he would gain the partner that he would hopefully carry with him during his entire journey. But who to pick and what would be available when it was his turn. There were 27 pokemon available, and he knew that at least Lillie Star and Cynthia black were given Pokemon by their families. He thought he had heard about another classmate with that same deal but couldn't remember who. His middle-of-the-pack class ranking meant he was 14th in line for selection, and what would be available to him would depend on how strategic the other 13 were in their choices.
Instead, he tried to avoid thinking about any particular pokemon and focused on types. Water types like Squirtle tended to be defensive in nature. If you could tank a blow, you could return fire while your opponent's defenses were down.
Fire types, on the other hand, tended to be powerful attackers. An example of the old saying, the best defense was a good offense. If you could strike before your foe could raise their defense, you could obtain a distinct advantage.
Grass types tended to be more balanced than the other two choices. Which gave them a versatility the others lacked and whose personalities generally made them easier to raise than the other two, who usually came with their own brands of stubbornness.
Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. Froakie. Totodile, Tepig, and Sprigatito were all Pokemon who went against the tendencies of their types. He knew what he wanted, but he would have to wait to see what was available when he had his turn.
With his musings done, Ash's thoughts turned to a few days ago. He had contacted Cynthia the day after he had decided to accept her offer, and plans had been made to meet with her and the other girl's parents on graduation day. The meetings had been weird. Marine brother had been pretty laid back, and most of the fathers had, with a mostly joking tone, told him to mind his manners with their girls.
Lilie's mother Lusamine Star had been intense one minute and goofy the next. She teased him about traveling with so many girls like his mother had one minute. She threatened to end him if he hurt her little girl. The next Ash wasn't sure what The Raft was, but the context in which it had been mentioned terrified him. Lillie had said she had a brother but that he had been unable to come to the graduation. Which made him wonder if this brother had inherited his mother's crazy nature that seemed to have skipped over Lillie.
Cynthia's parents, Claude and Gabrielle Black, had been the creepiest, considering that he had just met Lusamine Star. That was saying Something. On the surface, they had seemed relatively normal, Almost as laid back as Marine Granger's brother. But sometimes, there appeared to be a bit of steel in their voices, particularly Cynthia's mom.
"I'm so happy you accepted Cynthia's offer!" Gabrielle Black said with a bit of cheer. "It will be so reassuring to know that she will be protected from external threats by a nice young man like yourself."
Ash thought about what the woman had said for a moment before he replied, "Cynthea is a strong trainer." admitting if only to himself that she was better than he was.
Gabrielle, still with a good bit of cheer in her voice, replied. "Oh, we know, but she is an heiress to the Black family, and plenty of people would love to get their hands on her. Truthfully we would have preferred she had agreed to have an older guard travel with her. Still, we understand that young ladies like her and her friends want a bit of freedom from the watchful eyes of their parents. The same way most young men do."
Ash could only nod in agreement. He was happy to be able to start traveling and living his own life."
Gabrielle continued now with just a bit of edge in her voice, "That being said, we will be checking in on you all from time to time, and we would be very put out if we were to discover that Cynthia or any of the other girls were to fall into some sort of 'trouble.'
Ash gulped. It wasn't teasing like his mom or overtly threatening like Lillie's mom, but Ash understood the message. And responded in the only way he could. "Y=yes, Ma'am"
Claude responded with a short chuckle and a clap on Ash's shoulder. "Good man. Now, why don't we discuss some of the equipment we will be sending along with you all."
Ash had been impressed by what the group had been given. The camping gear was the latest model with miniaturization capability making carrying the usually bulky equipment a breeze. They were also provided with luggage with the same technology. Last but not least, they would all be given a small monthly allowance for necessities. It wasn't much, but 20,000 Pyen would help with Pokeballs. First aid equipment and, if necessary, lodging.
Looking at his pokeball alarm clock for a moment, he saw that it was now 23:15. He needed to go to sleep but couldn't help but take one last look over his room. Most of his clothes were already packed away, as were a few personal items he didn't want to be without including a picture of his dad. A quick look into his backpack showed that everything was packed away. All that was left was the clothes he had prepared for tomorrow. In addition to his favorite hat was a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, his short-sleeved jacket, a pair of green fingerless gloves, and a new pair of tennis shoes. He had other outfits, of course, but this was what he would start his journey wearing.
The pokemon selection was at 08:00, so he set his alarm for 06:00. That would give him more than enough time to get ready and over to the Professor's place with time to spare. As he finished, he yawned. Climbing into bed, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He never noticed that he had forgotten to confirm the alarm. An oversight that would profoundly affect his life in the long and short term.
08:45 Ketchum residence
Ash jolted away as he felt himself being shaken. As his ability to comprehend what was happening around him returned, he heard his mother cry out, "Ash! What are you doing here? You were supposed to be at the Professor's nearly an hour ago!"
Suddenly fully alert, Ash looked at his clock and saw the time. "Crap crap crap!" In a panic, Ash jumped out of bed and slipped into his shoes. Not bothering to grab a top, he ran out of the house wearing only his pajama bottoms running like a Zubat out of hell with a pack of Houndooms behind it.
Five minutes later, he made it to the Professor's lab. Standing at the gate, he saw Cynthia and the other girls waiting with irritated looks on their faces. Leaf noticed him and mimicked, pointing at a watch, and mouthed silently, "what the hell happened?"
Standing a few feet away from the group was Gary. When he noticed Ash. he gave a smirk of smug superiority. Ash would have loved to have wiped the look off his face, but he was already running late and didn't want to add assaulting the Professor's grandson to the list of sins committed today.
Pushing open the doors to the lab, Ash was greeted by the kindly but disappointed look on Professor Oak's face. "Nice of you to join us, Ash." He said with little of his customary cheer
Ash histone full of contriteness, replied, "I'm sorry, Professor, I thought I set my alarm, but so-"
The Professor Interrupted, "Something happened, and your alarm didn't go off. I understand, my boy. Sometimes accidents happen ." His voice took on a sad tone as he continued.
"Unfortunately, sometimes accidents have consequences. Our count of students who would be receiving Pokemon from other sources was off, and all of the ones we had on hand have been given away."
Ash felt his heart break his dreams of having one of the coveted starter pokemon by his side as he became a Pokemon master died before his journey could even start. A part of him wanted to cry, but he resisted the urge.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by the Professor's words. "Now, that doesn't mean you can't start your journey. That just means that you will have to catch your first Pokemon on the." Suddenly he stopped mid-sentence, and he had a look on his face like he remembered Something long forgotten. After a moment, he started speaking again." My boy, I may have misspoken. There may be a pokemon for you. It is a bit unusual, though."
Ash, feeling his hopes start to rise, was quick to respond. "Professor, I don't care what it is. I'll be happy to take whatever you can give me."
The Professor gave Ash a look before he smiled. "I'll hold you to that, Ash. Now come with me." before he started walking away, causing Ash to follow along. After a short walk down a hallway, they came to a room filled with machinery. In the center of the room was a mechanical platform with four circular hatches. The Professor pressed a button on the platform, and the hatch in the middle of the three other hatches opened up, revealing a pokeball with a lightning bolt symbol. As Ash looked at it, wondering what was inside, it opened by itself. In a flash of light, Ash found himself looking at a small yellow rodent. "Pikachu?" he said questionably.
"Yes, Pikachu," answered Oak. "It is relatively uncommon in these parts but not particularly rare. This particular Pikachu is a new capture, and its ownership hasn't been registered yet, so if you want it, it's yours."
During all of this, Pikachu stood and listened as the two humans talked about it like it wasn't there. Slowly getting more agitated. Ash, not taking note of this, shouted happily, "Of course, I'll take him. He's perfect.! As Ash grabbed it and began to hug it. The only sign he had that Something bad was about to happen was the sound of electricity sparking and the word fragment "Pika" before he was lit up like a Christmas tree.
After a few moments, it stopped, and Oak started speaking. "Normally Pikachu are fairly docile pokemon but this one has a very electric personality."
Ash, still smoldering, replied sardonically, "No kidding."
The Professor, not missing a beat, said, "I'm sure you two will get along famously. Now, why don't we head outside and introduce your new Pokemon to your friends?
Ash suddenly excitedly shouted, "Hell Yeah," accidentally squeezing Pikachu a bit too hard as he did. Ash suddenly found himself lit up for the second time in just a few minutes.
Outside
With an arrogant grin, Gary chucked, "You girls sure picked a real winner, didn't you? If you wanna change your mind, you can still come with me and the girls in the car though some of you might need to sit on my lap."
The grin on his face dropped, and a yelp of pain was uttered as an older feminine voice admonished him, "Gary Blue Oak! Don't be crass!" When the assembled group looked to see who had spoken and slapped, they saw the annoyed face of Gary's 20-year-old sister Daisy. Dressed in a simple green blouse and long blue denim skirt, she looked every bit the big sister she was. Her long brown hair shook as she spoke, "I know that Dad let you get away with a long, but I know I taught you better than to talk to girls like that!"
Gary, looking unrepentant, replied with a groan, "Daisy? I was just kidding. And what are you doing here?"
Daisy didn't look impressed as she put one open hand out and replied, "I am here to see my stupid brother off. Two. I am making omelets tonight, so I had to go pick up some ketchup." she held up her other hand to show the bag from the local grocer "and three I am absolutely sure you were kidding."
Each time she had listed something, he had dropped a finger. When she had listed the third, you could have cut the sarcasm in her voice with a Solar Blade. "Now, apologize to the girls for being a pig."
The muttered "Sorry" that came from his mouth fooled absolutely nobody.
Anything anybody would say was interrupted by the gates opening and Ash and Professor Oak Stepping out. Ash and the girls noticed what the other was wearing for the first time that morning.
The Girls couldn't help but notice Ash's bare chest. While he wasn't muscle-bound by any measure of the imagination, he had good definition. Serena's face was beet read, but all of the other girls Daisy included had a hint of pink in their cheeks.
Ash took in how the girls looked and what they were wearing. Serena had cut her long Honey blonde hair into a cute neck-length bob. On top of that was a small red hat with a pair of sunglasses on top of them. A light, black tank top was joined high at the waist with a red skirt that fell to the mid-thigh. Ash couldn't help but note that on each side were pieces of cloth attached to the waist, holding two large pockets. Beneath that was a pair of black single-leg thigh-high stockings that flowed into a pair of black sneakers. Next to her was a small black backpack.
Standing next to her on the right was Leaf, wearing a white hat with a red stripe that became a half pokeball symbol on the front covering the top of her mid-back-length brown hair. She was wearing a light blue tank top over a black undershirt. She wore a short red skirt that fell to her mid-thigh and a black wristband on each wrist. On her feet were a pair of light blue shin-length baggy socks that flowed into a pair of white sneakers with a red stripe on the top. She had a small yellow bag at her feet.
To the left of Serena stood May. She wore a red and white kerchief over her brown-haired shoulder-length Lopunny-eared haircut. She wore a short-sleeved red shirt with a navy blue circle around the neck over a white miniskirt. Beneath that was a pair of dark blue bike shorts. Around her waist was a mid-sized pack held by a built-in belt. She wore black ankle socks covered by red shoes with circular white and yellow stripes. Her outfit was completed by a set of white gloves with black fingers.
Near her stood Cynthia. Her neck-length blonde hair had a black bangle on each side. She was wearing a choker around her neck. She wore a black sleeveless top, a black uniform collar, and a white stripe attached with a tear-shaped tear-shaped jewel. Her top flowed into a thigh-length miniskirt with a slightly lighter black shade. On her hands were a pair of short white gloves with the black symbol of a pokeball on the back. Her legs were covered by a set of single-leg thigh-high black stockings. Those flowed into her black shoes with a white circular line. Next to her was a small black backpack that Ash assumed was hers.
Next to her was Dawn. She wore a white beanie with a pink pokeball print over her long blue hair. On each side of her head were gold hair clips. Around her neck was a long thin red scarf that rested on a black v-neck tank top with a serrated bottom with a white undershirt beneath it. This covered the top of a very short pink miniskirt that made Ash want to raise an eyebrow, but far be it from him to question another person's dress sense. Her mid-knee-length black socks were covered by pink boots with white bottoms. On her right wrist was a pink bracelet with two baubles. Near her feet was a large round pack.
Near her stood Marnie. Her hair was in the twin-tailed style he had known her to wear as long as he had known her. Today she had red ribbons holding her hair up. She wore a black leather jacket with silver buttons and ornaments over a pink minidress that fell to the mid-thighs. Around her neck was a black leather choker with a spiked round silver ornament. Ash couldn't help but notice that he had painted her nails black today. As he couldn't see her socks, Ash assumed she was wearing ankle socks covered by her low-top black boots with silver ornaments and pink soles. Next to her was a crimson backpack with the city logo she was from. Spikemuth, as Ash recalled.
Finally, Ash looked at Lillie. She wore a white wide-brim hat over her long blonde hair, the front of which was tied into tails on each side of her head. She wore a relatively simple white sleeveless minidress that fell to mid-thigh. A translucent light material fell to her lower thigh at the hem. Once again, Ash had to fight the urge to raise an eyebrow at what one of the girls was wearing. But like before, he concluded that somebody else's dress sense wasn't his place to comment on. She wore a pair of knee-length lacy white socks that flowed into a simple pair of white low-top shoes. Next to her was a small white and blue backpack. Ash couldn't help but think that she looked like the thematic opposite of Cynthia regarding outfit coloring.
As he looked at the group, he couldn't help but blush. The moment was broken when May grinned and said with a coy voice. "Not a bad look Ash. Are you planning to make the whole journey topless? If so, it might make this trip far more interesting."
Silence filled the air as everybody present tried to parse what she had said. The silence was broken when Marnie fell to the ground laughing "hahaha hahaha, HAHAHAHAHA!"
Dawn, Serena, and Leaf all sported triplet blushes as it suddenly dawned on them. What had been said.
Cynthia stood still for a moment before she awkwardly chuckled.
Lillie and Daisy's reactions were the loudest as they shouted, "MAY MAPLE!"
Ash just blushed deeper than before.
Gary, still a bit cowed by his sister, just chuckled.
The awkwardness of the moment was broken by a feminine shout, "ASH, ASH!" the assembled group looked to see Delia Ketchum come into view. Running with a black garbage bag and a green backpack in one hand. When she reached the gates, the woman bent over slightly and took several breaths. "Honey," She said between deep breaths, "You forgot your clothes and supplies."
Ash had the grace to look embarrassed as he said, "Thanks, mom. I'm sorry you had to run all this way.
Delia, still breathing hard, said It's okay, Honey. I wanted to be here to see you off on your journey." That brought a smile to the girl's faces. Most of their families had been forced to leave after graduation due to obligations, and Leaf's Mom had been called away at the last moment due to work. Nobody noticed Gary frown for a moment before schooling his features.
Pikachu, who had gone largely ignored for the last couple of minutes, chose to make itself known as its cheeks started to spark, and it uttered an annoyed "Pika."
Delia looked down at the small Rodent and cooed, "Oh, sweetie is that your Pokemon? It's adorable!
Ash briefly looked at Pikachu before looking at his mom "yeah, he's mine. Professor Oak just gave him to me."
Gary couldn't help himself as he said, "A Pikachu? And from the looks of it, a particularly unpleasant one at that. Have fun with that.
Sam Oak frowned at his grandson as Daisy dope-slapped the boy again indignantly, saying, "Gary! Stop being such a jerk." Dropping to her knees and getting close to Pikachu, who had started sparking even more, she said, "I'm sorry my little brother is such a jerk, Pikachu. I'm sure you will be a good strong pokemon." Pulling a ketchup bottle out of her grocery bag, she opened it. She said, "My grandpa says that Pikachu like you like things that are high in electrolytes like sodium. Is that right?" opening up the bottle, she poured a little of it onto her open palm before offering it to Pikachu.
The small Rodent stood still momentarily before slowly reaching the young woman's hand. It took several sniffs of the red substance before taking a cursory lick. It gave a very excited "Pika!" before it started lapping up the rest causing Daisy to giggle as the tongue tickled her skin.
When Pikachu licked up every bit of the ketchup on Daisy's hand, it let out a happy cry. Daisy smiled at the Rodent before she said, "If you are a good boy for a little bit, I will let you have the whole bottle. How does that sound?
The thought of having all that delicious red substance all to himself made Pikachu stand stock still before with a rapid series of nods. It said, "Pikachu, Pikachu, Pika!"
With a chuckle, Daisy handed the bottle to Pikachu, who cried happily. As she stood up, she saw almost all the faces in the crowd look at her with amazement or pride, except for Gary, who just looked annoyed by the whole thing.
Ash was the first to speak, "Daisy, that was amazing, thank you."
Daisy smiled at the praise before she replied, "your welcome, Ash. While I never became a pokemon trainer, I remember a lot of the things grandpa taught me growing up." grinning a bit, she said, "Now you should probably go get dressed unless you really do plan to make your journey shirtless."
Ash, suddenly remembering his state of dress, grabbed his backpack and the garbage bag from his mother before running back into the Professor's lab. The laughter of the assembled group nipped at his heels.
Five minutes later, he returned fully dressed, carrying his backpack in one arm. As he made his way to the, he saw a cherry red convertible with five girls seated inside. He recognized all of them as local girls. Three of them were the same age as he, Gary, and the girls. The other two were a few years older. He had heard Garry was trying to convince some girls to travel with him as his cheerleaders; apparently, that had been true. If he had to guess, the other two were there to act as chaperones.
As he got close, Gary noticed him and said, "well, Ashy boy, it's time for me to go and for you to get used to seeing something you will be seeing your whole career… MY BACK!" Sensing what was about to happen, Gary deftly dodged his sister's third dope slap and leapt into the convertible. As the car started moving, he yelled, "Smell ya later!"
Ash struggled to rein in his temper as Gary's car faded from view. As pissed off as he was, he knew it wouldn't do to say what he wanted in front of the Professor, his mother, and Daisy. Taking a few calming breaths, he turned to the group and said, "While Gary is a jerk, he does have a point we should get going soon." The seven girls all nodded. "But," Ash said with anticipation in his voice, "I really want to know what pokemon you picked!"
The seven girls grinned indulgently, and the adults chuckled at the boy's antics. Marnie was the first to step forward, grabbing a pokeball from her pocket and expanding it. With a light toss in the air and an utterance of "Come say hello, Morpeko!." In a flash of light, the group was graced with the presence of the electric hamster. Seeing another electric pokemon stopped licking at its ketchup bottle, Pikachu stared at the other Pokemon. The two eyed each other momentarily before a flurry of Pikas and Pekos filled the air. After a few moments, Pikachu offered his bottle to the other electric Pokemon. Nobody present could stop a smile from forming on their faces at the cute moment.
Marnie looked at the group and said My brother caught him for me a few years ago and has been helping me get it ready for battles.
Ash nodded. He had forgotten the classroom discussions where they had all discussed what Pokemon they wanted and how Marnie had mentioned that he would be using Morpeko. If he remembered correctly, two other girls would be using Pokemon not provided by the Professor.
In response to his thoughts, Cynthia grabbed a pokeball and tossed it forward as she said, "Gible, come out!" When the flash of light disappeared, everybody looked at a diminutive light blue dragon-type pokemon. Essentially just a head with some arms and legs attached, it stuck a strange profile.
"It looks strange, but it evolves into an extremely powerful pokemon," Ash thought as he looked at the creature and remembered what it could evolve into. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear what Cynthia had to say. I found her when she was an egg and cared for her until it hatched. My family has been helping me raise her until I could graduate and take her as my starter. Ash nodded. Cynthia had her work cut out for her. Dragon types were infamously slow growers in the wild. Sometimes taking decades to reach their fully evolved forms. Dragon types that belonged to trainers could do it in a fraction of the time, but their growth rate was still much slower than most other types. Mentally he wished the girl luck. Gible stood beside its trainer, dancing around a bit.
Lillie was next, a little shy at all the attention focused on her. From her bag, she pulled out a pokeball. It looked different from the standard pokeball, and Ash recognized the almost entirely white ball as a Premier Ball. He wondered why she used one of those instead of a regular pokeball. Still, he cast those thoughts aside as she said, "Say hi to everyone, Snowy!.
When the light had faded, there stood an Alolan Vulpix. Ash tried to remember what they had learned in class about the Alolan regional variant. "It's an ice type, right?" Asked Ash wanting to be sure of his assumptions.
Lillie nodded. "After I started to get over my fear of Pokemon, my brother caught her for me when I went back home to visit." the group nodded in response. When they first met Lillie, the girl had been terrified of Pokemon. It had taken a lot of work with Professor Oak and his aides to get her to the point where she didn't freeze up at the sight of a Pokemon. Even now, she froze when faced with something scary looking and unfamiliar. Ash knelt, rubbed his hand against the Pokemon's cheek, and felt its coolness as Vulpix nuzzled against his skin. After a moment, it made its way back to its master.
With a wide grin, Leaf bounced her pokeball on her hand for a few moments before grabbing it out of the air and tossing it up with an excited cry, "Go Bulbasaur! In a flash and a cry of "Saur," the half-plant, half reptile pokemon appeared.
Ash looked at the Pokemon with a critical eye. Based on what he remembered from class, this particular Bulbasaur was quite healthy." Of course, it's healthy!" Ash thought, "The professor isn't going to give trainers sick pokemon."
Ash looked at Leaf and asked, "So did you give it a nickname? It was a reasonable question. Many trainers nicknamed their Pokemon to differentiate their Pokemon from others of the same species. Only some people did it. The paperwork to register nicknames was a bit of a pain in the ass.
Leaf looked at Ash momentarily before she replied, "Nah, at least not right now. After Bulbasaur and I have gotten some time to get to know each other.
Ash nodded at her response. It was a valid point of view. "What made you pick Bulbasaur?" He asked curiously.
Leaf had a sly grin across her face as she responded with a grin, "I like tentacles."
The silence that followed was deafening as everybody present tried to make sense of that statement. This time, Lillie was the first to get what was being said as she turned beat red and shouted, "LEAF GREEN!"
The blonde girl's reaction caused Marnie and Leaf to fall to the ground in laughter telling everybody else that she had been kidding about the tentacles. The adults let out a breath that they had not realized they had been holding.
When the two girls recovered from their laughing fit, Lillie glared at the brunette, "Can you please not joke about stuff like that?"
Still, a little giggly, Leaf said, "I promise to try." Lillie could only sigh. She knew it was likely the best she would get from the other girl.
"But seriously," Leaf continued, "I picked Bulbasaur because, at least here in Kanto, it is theoretically strong against three of the gyms, resistant to a fourth gym, and equal to a fifth gym.
Ash was about to nod his agreement with her assessment when Cynthia spoke up, "Just remember that type matchups aren't everything. Some gym leaders may have Pokemon who know attacks that your Bulbasaur is weak against, And that's not even factoring in dual-type Pokemon. Leaf and Ash nodded at the other girl's words while Professor Oak looked impressed. While all this was happening, Leaf's Bulbasaur found a nice bit of ground to rest upon and absorb some sunlight.
Serena stepped forward, expanded the pokeball she had in her hand, and tossed it into the air as she said, "Showtime, Fennekin!" When the light faded, the group looked at another vulpine pokemon. Almost immediately, Snowy took notice of the newcomer and scampered over to the orange and red Pokemon. The two sniffed at each other for a moment before they started to chase each other around, to everyone's amusement.
Deciding to answer a question she knew was coming, Serena explained, "I chose Fennekin because when she evolves, she will have a great deal of control over her flames. Since I plan to participate in a Pokemon contest that will prove useful for the showcase round." She left it unsaid that the more significant reason she had picked her was that she looked cute.
Dawn was next. With a cry of "Piplup, take the stage!" she tossed her pokeball into the air. When the light faded, a small blue aquatic avian pokemon stood proudly. "PIPLUP" it cried.
Ash couldn't help but smile at the pompous act that the tiny Pokemon was putting on. It wasn't unlike some of the guys who had been in class preening and trying to show how great they were. He would only admit it to himself but had been guilty of that a bit over the years
.Deciding to answer why she had picked the Pokemon she had, Dawn started speaking. "I chose Piplup because I have always dreamed of having a cute water pokemon to conquer the contest circuit with" She decided not to mention that she had wanted to pick Popplio. Still, it had already been selected by the time it was her turn to pick a pokemon.
Ash smiled. "He looks like a good strong bird. I'm sure you do great offering the bluenette a thumbs up. Piplup moved to stand by its trainer.
Finally, May stepped forward, With a cry of "Go Torchic" In a flash of light, the small red and orange avian Pokemon appeared with a shout. After looking around at its surroundings for a few moments, it started running around the area before it began to chase Piplup, much to its obvious consternation. While watching, the goings on May spoke up about her choice.
"I chose Torchi because I wanted a Pokemon from my home region. Mudkip had already been chosen by the time I made my pick and…" May blushed a bit in embarrassment at what she was about to say, "and Treecko just creeps me out. Torchic was just so adorable that I chose her.
Ash nodded. There were worse reasons for picking a pokemon. It wouldn't be what he would have based his choice on, but he could still respect it. "Are you going to use her in the contest?" Ash asked, curious as to how her choice affected her goals.
May looked at her Torchi and then at Ash before she responded. "I'm not sure yet." Rubbing her chin with one of her hands, she continued, "It depends on how She develops by the time we get to the first contest location in Saffron City. It is about eight weeks until then, so I have time to figure that out.
Ash nodded. He hoped they would be as far as Vermillion city by that point or at least Cerulean city. Saffron was just North of Vermillion and just south of Cerulean. It would depend on their pace and how much time they spent in each area. The Kanto leg of the tournament circuit had ended recently, so they had the better part of a year to travel the country, get the badges, and prepare for the Indigo tournament.
Professor Oak interrupted his thoughts by coughing into his mouth and saying, "Shouldn't you kids be going. It's still morning, but Viridian City is quite a walk from here." The eight teenagers looked abashed as they pulled out their Pokeballs. In a chorus of "Return," the area outside the gate now contained eight teenagers, three adults, and one Pokemon.
Pikachu looked defiantly back at his trainer. Ash looked at his Pokemon and said, "Come on, Pikachu, it's time to go, Return." Pikachu moved to the right to avoid the red beam. It continued to dodge Ash's three other attempts before the boy dropped his head in shame. Looking at Professor Oak, Ash asked in an almost pleading tone, "Why won't Pikachu go into his ball?"
Samuel Oak looked at the boy and said, "Well, Ash, Some Pokemon are fiercely independent and remain so even after being captured. You could, of course, force the issue, but that might cause your relationship as a trainer and Pokemon to develop along a bad path. On the other hand, you could let it stay out of its pokeball and let it run around. The downside is that there may occasionally be confusion where people think Pikachu is a wild pokemon and attempt to catch him."
Ash thought about what the Professor had said for a moment. He had seen trainers in the streaming videos come onto the battlefield with at least one of their Pokemon out. Usually, it was the Pokemon widely considered to be their ace. Leon, the current world champ, was known for letting his Charizard out and about unless circumstances required otherwise. Lance was known to do the same with his Dragonites. Ash knelt down to a petulant-looking Pikachu with that thought in his head.
"Look, Pikachu," He said softly," I know you're not particularly happy about the situation. I'm sorry about that. But can you at least give us a try?"
Pikachu looked up at the young trainer and stared at him in the eyes as if looking into the boy's soul. Pikachu seemed to look deep inside him for what felt like hours before it let out a halfhearted "Pika" with a nod.
Ash looked happy as he replied, "Thanks Pikachu, I won't let you down!" The electric Rodent's half-hearted "chu" told everyone present that it wasn't holding its breath. Nevertheless, it climbed up Ash's arms and sat on his shoulders.
Leaf smiled at the scene momentarily before she said with a grin, "This has all been very nice, but we should really make a tree and me." It was with a chorus of groans that the eight teenagers left Pallet Town
Kanto Route 1
Nearly an hour later, The group was walking in comfortable silence, watching as the local wildlife passed by them, whether it be the flocks of Pidgey and Taillow flying above or the hordes of Rattata and Bidoof running across the field. Occasionally when they looked at the river nearby, they would see a Goldeen or a Seeking jump with a splash. Cynthia's eyes widened as she saw what she was sure was a Feebas. "Hey guys," she barked out. "Does anybody want to try to capture some Pokemon?"
The group stopped as they considered the blonde girl's words. Leaf was the first to respond verbally, "That sounds like a good idea. We can strengthen our teams and let our Pokemon get their first taste of real battle.
May had opened her pokedex and was looking at what Pokemon were generally found in the area. There isn't anything that I want in this area. Dawn, who was looking over her shoulder, nodded in agreement.
Serena looked unsure for a moment. Like May and Dawn, there wasn't anything she particularly wanted. After a second, she decided to give it a pass this time.
Lilly thought about it for a second. While she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life, she knew it would likely involve Pokemon, and having more than one would help. Nodding her head resolutely, she said, "I'm in."
Marnie thought about it. She had a theme she wanted for her team, and of all the Pokemon in this forest, only one fit what she was looking for, and it was rare. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. So she said, "Sure, why not.
Ash considered his options. While nothing in the forest really appealed to him. More Pokemon meant more options in battle. This meant that even if he never got Pikachu to obey him properly, he wouldn't be without a pokemon to battle with. He had often thought about having a flying type. They were good in a fight and almost always had the high ground against anything that wasn't a flying type. With a grin, he said, "let's do it."
Cynthia, glad to have convinced her friends to stop, smiled. Before she said, "Okay, so how about we take 45 minutes to hunt around. At that point, we will turn back and head on our way. How does that sound? Seeing only nods of yes, Cynthia pulled out her pack off her back. She fished around it till she pulled out a miniature fishing rod that instantly resized to a full-sized one. With a wave, she headed towards the river. May and Dawn moved to the side of the road to wait them out. While Ash, Marnie, Leaf, and Lillie each walked in separate directions.
Lillie
Lillie walked towards a treeline. As she looked around, she saw several Pokemon around her. Mankeys were hanging in the trees above her, looking at her wearily. A Weedle and a Caterpie stared at each other on the ground before the tree. In the sky above her, a Pidgey flew around looking for its next meal if her guess was correct.
She was debating with herself about which Pokemon she wanted to try catching when she saw a flash of blue. white and red. When her eyes refocused, the two bug pokemon had scurried off, and the Taillow was munching on something. Pulling out her Pokedex, she pointed it at the feasting Pokemon.
"Taillow: The tiny Swallow Pokemon, a normal and flying type, Tallows have fierce personalities, never backing down, even from much stronger opponents."
Lillie frowned. The pokedex entry sounded like a tough little bird. "Okay, Lillie, how do I do this? I don't think Snowy can take it in a head-on fight. What was it that Gladion said that it knows again… oh yeah, Powdered Snow and Ice Beam. Maybe if I can immobilize it, I can capture it."
With the basics of a plan in her head, Lille quietly let Snowy out of her pokeball. "Okay, snowy, I need you to be quiet and listen to me. I want to capture that Taillow, and I need your help." The tiny vulpine Pokemon nodded.
"Okay, when its back is turned, I want you to fire your ice beam at it." While her worst subjects during school were battle-related subjects, she understood ambush tactics and their place in Pokemon capturing. Taillow might not be happy with her when it thawed out, but she would make it up to it.
At that moment, the Taillow looked away from Lillie and Snowy, and the girl, seeing her chance, whispered, "Snowy Now!" In an instant, the beam covered the distance between the two Pokemon, striking the avian dead center, causing it to impact against a nearby tree. When Snowys attack stopped, Lille saw that the Taillow was frozen against the tree except for its head.
As Lille approached, she pulled an empty pokeball from her bag and expanded it. With a bit of contriteness in her voice, she said, "I'm sorry that I had to capture you this way, but I promise I will make it up to you later." she lightly tossed the ball at the mostly frozen bird. When the ball impacted, the Taillow disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving behind a now hollow slab of ice. As the ball hit the ground, it shook once, twice, and three times as the Pokemon tried to escape from the ball. After another few seconds, the shaking stopped, and the telltale tone of the ball indicated the capture had been successful.
Lille bent over and took the ball in her hands. "I did it. I caught a pokemon!" Lille danced around for a moment with only Snowy to bear witness before she calmed herself, smiled, and started to make her way back to where they were supposed to meet.
Marnie
As Marnie made her way into a clearing, she looked around. Around her were the Pokemon you would expect to find in a forest like the one she was in. Marnie saw a lot of Kantoian Rattata, all manner of bug types, and a number of the more common flying types. But she was looking for something else. According to her Pokedex, the Pokemon she was looking for was rarely seen in this part of the country. It was far more common around urban cities like Saffron and Celedon. For 15 minutes, she looked around fruitlessly. She was about to give up and see if anything else caught her eye when she heard it, the telltale "dimp dimp dimp impi!"
Looking around towards where she had heard the sound coming from, her eyes widened when she saw what she was looking for. Unable to believe her eyes, she pulled out her Pokedex and pointed it at her target.
"Impidimp: The Mischievous Pokemon, A dark and fairy type, these Pokemon absorb negative feelings regarding them through their large noses. This provides them with health and strength."
"Bloody hell," Marnie whispered in surprise. She had hoped to be able to and Impidimp on her journey. She knew they occasionally appeared here, but she had never thought she would find one this quickly. "Honestly, if I was reading about something like this in a book, I would think it was plot convenience."
Nevertheless, she pulled out Morpeko's pokeball and an empty one. The Impidimp in front of her appeared to be by itself, so if she could strike first, the odds were in her favor. Releasing Morpeko from its ball and looking down at her partner, she said, "In a moment, I want you to use Thunder Wave. And while it is immobilized, use Thundershock Morpeko looked at her for a moment before it bounced and gave a "Peko" of confirmation.
Marnie watched for a few minutes as the Impidimp walked about the clearing as if looking for something. When its back was finally turned away, Marnie whispered, "Now!"
In an instant, a nearly invisible wave of electricity emanated from Morpeko's body. Before Impidimp knew what was happening, it was struck. It tried to move to hit back but was held in place by the paralyzing attack's effect. Before it could try again, Impidimp looked at Morpeko, its body cracking with electricity. With a mighty "MORPEKO!" Impidimp was floored. When it tried to get up, it found itself unable to move.
Marnie grinned. So far, this was going better than she had hoped. Expanding her empty ball, she took aim and tossed the pokeball at the struggling Pokemon. In a red flash, the Pokemon was trapped within the ball. For several seconds the ball shuddered as it worked to capture the struggling creature. After a few tense seconds, the ball's chime told her it had been successful.
Marnie bounced on her feet, trying to contain her excitement. Trying to keep her characteristic cool demeanor…She failed. With a loud cry of "WOOOOOO," she raised her hands above her head and clapped. Morpeko could only smile at its trainer's antics. After Marnie had calmed down, she looked at her partner and said, "Thanks Morpeko." Lifting it up onto her shoulders, she let it take a seat before returning to the meeting spot.
Leaf
Leaf confidently walked into a nearby treeline. She knew exactly what she wanted and knew precisely where what she wanted was. Nearly four years ago, during a class trip, she had gotten separated and walked into a Pokemon nest. After she had rejoined the group, she had made sure to mark where the nest was on the map and had kept track of it ever since. As she got close, she started to hear buzzing. A few moments later, she found what she was looking for, the Combee hive.
Leaf looked around. The Vespiquen leader wasn't around. That was good. Trying to capture a hive member with it here would have been suicide. Stopping momentarily to catch her breath and think through her plan, she tried to remember her Bulbasaur's available moves. "Hmm, Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, Tackle, and…and oh yeah, sleep powder!" Now with the beginnings of a plan in her mind, she started looking for a female Combee. She wanted a Vespiquen eventually, and only the females evolved. She had learned over the years that while there were no physical differences between male and female Combee, there were distinct differences in how they carried themselves. At the end of the day, Male Combee were drones, so they always moved with almost robotic precision. Female Combee, Who would evolve into hive leaders, had higher consciousness, which showed in how they moved.
So Leaf watched. For nearly thirty minutes, she watched as drone after drone after drone moved around, ignoring her. When she saw it, she was about to give up and see if she could find something else. The way it moved and the way the males made way for it as it passed them. "Finally!" she screamed inside her head.
Leaf watched as the female moved away from the males and made its way to a tree near where she stood. Leaf quickly called out Bulbasaur and pointed to their target. Before she quickly whispered to her partner. "Okay, Bulbasaur, get ready in a few moments. I want you to use sleep powder on that Combee and then use your vines to pull it out of sight of the others."
Bulbasaur momentarily looked at its trainer and the Combee before giving a "Saur" of agreement. The pair watched Combee. When it got close to them and out of the line of sight5 of the Combee drones, Leaf whispered, "Now!"
The female Combee was hit with a cloud of purple dust, and before it knew what was happening, it was fast asleep. Moments later, a pair of vines lifted it and pulled it further out of sight. Grabbing a pokeball out of her bag. After expanding it, she lightly tossed the ball at the sleeping Pokemon. In an instant, it was trapped, and it was only one shake of the ball before the duo heard the sound of capture confirmation.
With a happy dance and an excited whisper, Leaf picked up the ball and said, "I caught a Combee! Believe It!
Bulbasaur looked at its trainer with an exasperated expression on its face and uttered a "saur."
Leaf calmed down and smiled at her Pokemon before saying, "We should probably run. They are sure to notice this one missing sooner or later. Recalling Bulbasaru into its ball, Leaf ran back toward the meeting spot.
Cynthia
Cynthia made her way to the river. Feebas were relatively rare, but from what she had read, they travel in schools, and where you found one, there would be several others. Releasing Gible from its ball, she said, "Gible, I am going to try capturing a Feebas, and I need your help."
Gible looked at its partner for a second before it moved its body in a way that Cynthia took as a nod and a cry of "Gible."
Cynthia smiled and said, "When I pull it out of the water, I want you to pin it down and keep it from returning to the water. Once again, Gible gave its acknowledgment of what she had said. Reaching into her bag, Cynthia pulled out a Metapod-shaped lure and attached it to her line. With a small prayer to whoever was listening, she cast her line into the water and sat on a nearby rock.
Twenty minutes later, she had met no success. She had snagged 5 Magikarp, 2 Goldeen, and a Psyduck and had either thrown back or forced them to retreat with the help of her Gible, but she had yet to find the Feebas she was looking for. She looked at Gible and mused, "Maybe we should try a new spot. They might have moved further downstre-'' Suddenly, she felt a sharp tug on her line. Grabbing it more firmly, she started to reel it in. For five minutes, she fought, and finally, with a mighty tug, she pulled out her catch. Hanging from her line was a Feebas.
With a herculean swing, Cynthia tossed the Feebas as far onto the shore as humanly possible. Gible moved to pin it down but was soon thrown off by the flailing Pokemon. In a flash, Gible was back on its feet and moved to pin it down. Cynthia quickly moved to help her partner. After a short while, Cynthia felt the Feebas slow down, and she got up and ran for her bag. Grabbing a Pokeball, she shouted, "Gible, get back!" As soon as her partner was out of the way, she tossed the ball. The pair watched the ball vibrate nearly half a dozen times before the capture confirmation toned.
Cynthia let out a loud "BOOYAH" before her sense of decorum caught up with her. Gible could only watch its human with amusement. Humans could be so weird.
When Cynthia picked up the ball, she felt a spark go off in her head. "What the heck was that? "She wondered internally. She hadn't felt anything like that since she had been a young girl taking care of Gible's egg. At the time, she had told her parents, and they had taken her to be checked out, but nothing had been found, and after a while, she wondered if she had imagined the whole thing. But she was much older now. What she had just felt wasn't something she imagined, even if it did feel weaker than the last time. She filed it away as something to deal with when she had time.
Calming down, Cynthia looked down at her partner and said, "Thank you, Gible. I couldn't have done this without you." Gible only smiled, or at least Cynthia thought it did. Cynthia looked at her pokedex to check the time and said, "We need to get back soon." She returned her rod to its travel size and cleaned the lure before putting them back in her bag. After she had finished her task, she turned to Gible and said, "Thanks again for all your help, no return." As she recalled Gible back to its pokeball. After taking a few moments to collect her thoughts, she returned to the others. She idly wondered how Ash was doing, particularly with that Pikachu of his.
Ash
The Last forty minutes had absolutely sucked. Every time Ash found an interesting pokemon to capture, it ran away before he could get too close. When it didn't, Pikachu was proving to be uncooperative. At one point, he tried to capture a Pidgey by using one of his shirts. That had ended with him being tossed into a tree due to its gust attack. Pikachu just laughed at him. Now he only had five minutes to go before he had to head back, and he didn't want to return empty-handed.
Looking around, Ash saw a familiar silhouette. It was another Pidgey! Ash turned to Pikachu, perched on a tree, watching and laughing. "Pikachu, if I get you a bunch of ketchup, will you help me capture that Pidgey?" InternallyAsh asked himself, "Is it always going to be this way, having to bribe my own pokemon to help me?"
As if to put a cap on the crappy day he had been having, Pikachu gave him a negative "chu."
Ash's temper finally broke. "You know what, fine! I'll capture that Pidgey on my own, and then I'll ship you right back to Professor Oak!" Ash looked at the ground and found several decent-sized rocks. It wouldn't be pretty, but they might work in a pinch to weaken the Pidgey enough for him to capture. Grabbing two of the stones and taking careful aim, he threw the rock at Pidgey's head.
Ash's aim was spot on, and he let out a cheer. His cheer was short-lived as the "Pidgey" stepped out of the shadow and showed itself as a Spearow. It had an angry welt on its head, and it looked pissed. With a loud cry of "SPEAROW!'' It took flight and charged at him. Ash dodged to the right to avoid the Pokemon's razor-sharp beak and talons and dodged again to avoid a second attack. Above him, Ash could hear Pikachu giggling. This brought it to Spearow's attention. The Spearow instantly changed direction and flew talons open at the electric Rodent. Pikachu dodged by dropping from the branch he had been sitting on, leaving him hanging on for dear life.
The Spearow, seeing its target, was helpless, turned back around, and charged at its prey again. With no other options, Pikachu released a thundershock as it dropped into Ash's arms when He moved below him. The Spearow fell to the ground in a smoking heap. Ash was about to pull out a pokeball to capture it when suddenly, it hopped to its feet and let out an ear-splitting "SPEAROW!"
The pair stood there momentarily, trying to figure out what that was all about, when they heard a second Sperow cry in the distance, Followed by a third and fourth. Soon there were dozens of cries, So many that Ash couldn't tell them apart anymore.
Ash looked at Pikachu in his arms and said cautiously, "We should run." Pikachu looked at its trainer and replied with a "Pika" that Ash took to mean yeah. As Ash grabbed his bag, he looked back and saw a large flock of angry Spearow flying towards him and Pikachu. Not wasting any more time, Ash turned around and ran like hell.
Back at the gathering spot, the girls waited for the last of their group to arrive. May, tired of waiting, looked at her Pokedex to check the time and whined, "When is he going to get back? I wanna get to Viridian sometime in the near future.
Serena was about to respond when Ash burst out of the tree line and ran past them. As he got close, he said very quickly,
"LargeangryflockofSpearowRUN!" Before they could process what he said, he had already run off.
With concern in her voice, Lillie asked, "Did he say a large angry flock of Spearow?"
Leaf was about to respond to Lillie's concern with a joke when they all heard the cry of a legion of Spearow. Followed by the Pokemon coming into view. Marnie took this all in and said, with no small amount of fear in her voice. "I'm going to say YES!" before she grabbed her bag and started running in the same direction Ash had gone. After a moment, the other girls followed suit and started running for their lives.
After a minute, they managed to catch up to Ash, who had stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. Seeing his companions running at him and hearing the cry of the Spearow flock, Ash resumed running. When they caught up, Cynthia, through a gasp of breath, asked, "What the hell happened?"
Ash, his breath ragged from the extended effort, managed to respond, "tried to capture a Pidgey, pissed off a Spearow instead. Cynthia nodded. She had more questions, but now wasn't the time.
Cynthia quickly asked, "What do we do?"
Ash, tired from all his running, took a moment to try to come up with something. After a moment, he said, "I'm pretty sure they are after Pikachu and me. I think there is a dense clump of trees near here. When we get there. You girls should jump in, and I will try to lead them away and try to get away. We will meet back up in Viridian!
Cynthia wanted to protest to come up with another plan, but she couldn't come up with any other strategy. She quickly relayed it to the other girls, Serena looked like she wanted to argue, but despite her objections, when they reached the clump of trees, she jumped in with the rest.
Now it was just him, and Pikachu Ash picked up the pace. Despite that, the Spearow caught up with them, and soon the pair was scratched up. Bleeding from his cheeks and arms as the Spearow tried to get at Pikachu. Ash tried to find a way out. A look to his left revealed a fast-moving stream. "Maybe I could lose them by jumping in and letting the current carry me."
Not having any other idea, whispered to Pikachu, "Hold your breath Pikachu; we are going for a swim. He waited for the Rodent to comply for a second before he took his breath and jumped into the stream. In an instant, he felt himself being pulled by the current. As he opened his eyes to see where he was going, he saw all sorts of water pokemon. "Was that a Gyrados?" He thought as he saw a huge blue body pass him heading upstream. He didn't have much time to ponder that as he was rapidly running out of breath. If he didn't surface soon, it wouldn't matter if he got away from the Spearow if he drowned.
Carlos Fetch was taking a day off from work. His job at the Viridian Savings and Loan was soul-crushing sometimes. It was owned by the gym leader Giovanni. Sometimes, it felt like the man ran the place more like a mafia boss than a legitimate businessman. Still, the benefits were pretty good, and he had been able to use his PTO and take a nice bike ride out here to do some fishing. A few of his catches had been Pokemon, but he had caught a few fish. If he had his way, he would take them home to cook them up tonight. His quiet afternoon was interrupted when he felt a tug on his line. "Shit, it feels like I pulled a whopper!" He yelled as he pulled on the line. With a mighty tug, he pulled up, and out popped… a teenage boy?
As the boy he noticed was carrying a Pikachu coughed up some water, Carlos shouted, "Kid, What Happened?"
The boy coughed several more times before he said between coughs, "Spearow flock … chasing us… tried to escape in water."
Carlos looked over at the boy and his Pikachu. They had scratches all over their bodies; it looked like they had fought with a lawn mower and had lost. After a moment, he said, "Well, it looks like you succeeded. Congratulations, I guess.
Despite himself, Ash couldn't help but smile. It looked like things were looking u-. The air was suddenly filled with countless Spearow cries. It wasn't over yet.
Carlos looked at the boy, who now looked like he was about to panic, and then at the absolutely massive flock of Spearow. After a second, he made a decision. "Kid, take my bike and get out of here." The boy looked like he wanted to argue, so Carlos shouted at the top of his lungs. "Kid, GO, get the hell out of here!" Ash put Pikachu in the bike basket without needing to be told thrice.
As he started to head off, he said over his shoulder, "Thanks, mister. I'll return the bike to you someday!"
Pedaling as fast as he could down the road, Ash couldn't help but notice how much the weather had turned since he had started running. He didn't have the time to think about that as he entered a clearing. Looking down at the basket, he tried to comfort Pikachu. "Just hang on, Pikachu. We're almost there. Soon the rain started to fall, and to his dismay, Ash heard the Spearow cries. Before he knew it, some of the Pokemon caught up to him and started nipping at him, causing him to reflexively close his eyes. He didn't see the ground give way and badly leapt the ledge.
When Ash landed, the front tire was askew, and He and Pikachu fell hard. As he lay on the ground groaning in pain, lightning started to flash, and thunder began to roar. Ash opened his eyes and saw Pikachu lying there, even more injured from the fall than before. Crawling over to the wounded Pokemon, he tried to comfort it with his touch and only got a small "chu" in response.
Filled with sadness, Ash said, "Pikachu… this can't happen… I'm sorry I wasn't a good trainer to you." As lightning flashed again, Ash heard the sound of flapping wings, something he was sick to death of hearing. Grabbing Pikachu's pokeball from his belt, he expanded it and put it next to Pikachu. When Pikachu responded with a faint "chu" of surprise, Ash begged.
"Pikachu, please I know you don't like your ball, but if you are inside it, maybe I can save you. Please listen to me, and after that… after that" Ash didn't know what to say next, so he said, "Please just trust me!" As Ash fought his way to his feet, he thought he heard Pikachu say something, but at this point, he couldn't be sure
Spreading his arms wide and raising his voice as much as possible short of shouting, Ash declared to the horde of Pokemon, "Spearow, I am Ash Ketchum, and I am going to be a Pokemon Master. But before that, I am going to defeat and capture every last one of you!" Ash prayed that Pikachu had entered his pokeball. As another bolt of lightning struck close. "Come and get me!"
It would be a long while before Ash could piece together what happened next, as several things happened simultaneously. Ash felt Pikachu leap on his shoulder before jumping into the air, the Spearow drew close, and a bolt of lightning fell from the sky. From what he could piece together, the bolt of lightning struck Pikachu as it used its Thunderbolt attack, supercharging the attack. Before the force of the blast wave knocked him out, Ash heard Pikachu roar, "PIKACHU!"
When Ash came to, he could see the sun shining. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the Spearows were gone, so he didn't care if it had been twenty-five years. Looking around, he saw Pikachu lying nearby, smiling weakly, and gave another weak "chu."
As Ash tried to get up, he heard flapping. Fearing Spearows were still around, Ash looked skyward and saw a massive flying pokemon covered in a golden aura. "What's that Pokemon?" He asked the open air
Ash slowly made his way to his feet before he scooped the injured Pokemon into his arms. When he brought Pikachu up to his chest, he felt a spark go off in his head that almost made him stumble. Ash looked down at the Pikachu in his arms. He would have thought it was responsible for what had just happened if not for its injuries, and the shock he had gotten from it earlier that day felt completely different. He cast those thoughts aside as he had more important things to worry about, like getting Pikachu medical attention.
Ash looked around after a moment, and he found the bike he had tried to escape with. It was a little bit charred, and the chain was completely busted. But the wheels seemed to be okay. Lifting it upright with one hand, he put Pikachu in the basket and started pushing the bike along the path. As they moved, he kept telling Pikachu, "we're almost there. It will be okay" As they made it to the top of a hill, Ash saw Viridian City just a little bit more, and they would be there.
As a journey comes to an end, a new one begins. One full of fun, adventure, and romance. A journey of staggering heights and devastating lows. A journey of discovery and a journey to discover what it means to be a Pokemon Master. Join us as "Pokemon: The Story Of Us" truly begins next time.
Professor Oak's Lab
After the storm ended, Samuel Oak started checking around his lab to ensure the more delicate instruments were still okay. So far, everything had turned out fine. The last thing to check was the Pokemon transport device. When he entered the room, he noticed a Pokeball on the receiving port. Curious about who had sent him something, Samuel turned on the device and looked through the transport records.
A few clicks revealed it had come from the Pokemon Storage Bank. "That sounds familiar." A few more clicks revealed that the Pokemon inside was a Ralts… a Galarian Ralts. Suddenly Samuel was bombarded by memories of a long-forgotten promise.
Feeling more than a little embarrassed by his faux pas, Samuel uttered, "Oh dear, I fear I have made a bit of a mistake… I'll have to remember to call the boy when he makes it to Viridian City."
~Fin
