Professor Elm's Lab: Late Evening…
Ash came downstairs to get a glass of water before bed only to find Professor Elm sitting at the table. "Oh, hey Professor Elm."
"Ash." Elm seemed conflicted for a moment before making up his mind. "Are you an Aura Guardian?"
"What brought such a question on?" Ash asked as he now took a seat.
"I always knew there was a potential I could miss Larvitar hatching, so I had camera's set up to document it." Elm voiced. "Upon looking back at the footage to see what about your presence triggered it, I saw you approach in a trance like state before observing your aura at work."
"Well, I'm not a guardian until I've trained some Riolu meant for me into a Lucario, and then been trained by them, according to my dad." Ash voiced truthfully. "Right now, my aura is active yet highly dormant. I don't think there's even a tittle for me at this point."
"I see." Elm closed his eyes. "I must say, I didn't expect you to be open about it."
"My dad didn't make it seem like some big secret." Ash shrugged. "I just know explaining it every time would be tedious and people might not believe it given aura in people is considered myth as far as I know."
"That it is, and I am not equipped to tell you anything about it myself." Elm shrugged. "I do hear there's some kingdom over in Kanto that has a legend about an aura user, perhaps they were an Aura Guardian. Beyond that, I know about as much as your average citizen.
I simply wanted to touch base on this, in its entirety, as I'd like the opportunity to study Larvitar, at some point in the future, after he's adjusted to being without you. Rest assured, I'm not about to go publish anything on your aura.
I would simply like to personally understand what effects, if any, this special bond you've made with Larvitar would have on him. I do give you my word as a professor that I wouldn't dream of hurting Larvitar in anyway."
"I know you wouldn't professor." Ash smiled. "I can't give you a definitive answer right now, but I'll talk it over with Larvitar at some point in the future to see what he wants."
"Thank you, Ash." Elm voiced.
Morning…
After a good night's sleep, it was time for a hardy breakfast curtesy of Serena. This time Ash pitched in with James on getting the pokemon fed. As for Professor Elm, he was at his computer clearly invested by some sort of report or article with a stack of pancakes next to him.
Soon enough, all the pokemon and trainers were eating. Larvitar was now perfectly comfortable with the other pokemon after their fun game yesterday. Plus, Ash was friendly with all these pokemon, so that really helped him. All this socialization was great for the rock/ground type.
Once breakfast was eaten, the group decided to help Professor Elm prepare for the new trainers who were meant to show up this morning. James helped prepare the remaining two starters pokemon while Ash and Serena fed the other pokemon at the lab.
Soon enough, the two trainers arrived with Elm's young assistant via car. The first two, despite being different genders, were easily identifiable as family. According to Elm, they were fraternal twins. The girl had long black hair covered by a white hat.
She wore a pink shirt with a stylish white jacket, black shorts, and stylish shoes in the same color. The other was a boy who wore a baseball cap backwards along with a red and white jacket, yellow shorts, and black trainers. A bit of his light blue hair stood out of the front.
The last girl had shoulder length, russet brown hair, and hazel green eyes. She had a cream-colored long-sleeved sweater hanging off her shoulders with a sleeveless dark blue shirt underneath, pleated khaki skirt, khaki knee-high boots, and blue socks.
She also wore a strange necklace that looked like a ring with a diamond and pearl in a weird symbol which sat center underneath her sweater. She was staring awestruck at Ash while shooting confused looks at James.
This clearly wasn't any form of love; Serena could clock that easily. She stared at Ash in a more exaggerated way Zinnia had stared at any of them during the Orange League. Her gaze quickly turned to Serena in a form of bewilderment.
"I thought this was some alternate version of the game world, not the anime one." Danielle thought stunned. "If Ash is here with James from Team Rocket and that girl, where are Brock and Misty? Do they even exist in this universe?"
Danielle had to process this all quickly and come to a decision because this day had gone nothing like she thought it would. That included the fact that Silver had apparently already claimed his pokemon and left without waiting for her to see him off.
"Hiya, I'm Marina, that is my brother Jimmy, and she's Danielle." The girl jumped up, clearly excited and not at all bothered by the myriad of expressions her friend was making as she attempted to process this. "Jimmy and I are here to start our pokemon journey."
"Hey." Jimmy shook their hands only to stop at Ash. "You're Red Ketchum's son, right?"
"Yeah, I am…wait." Ash took a second look at them before focusing on Jimmy. "You look a lot like Ethan which means you two are his children." He chuckled. "Can't believe I didn't see it."
"Eh, I get it." Jimmy shrugged. "I was blessed with mom's hair color and eyes. More importantly, I was hoping we'd one day travel to the same region. Besides winning the Silver Conference, I wanted to hopefully meet and battle the potential son or daughter of Red. When dad confirmed you were indeed out there, it only made the dream more of a reality."
"Just to be clear, that was my brother's dream." Marina interjected. "Don't get me wrong, it's great to meet you, but I wasn't exactly aiming for the same thing."
"Well, it's great to meet you both." Ash stated. "By the way, just to make it official, name's Ash Ketchum. This here is my girlfriend Serena, and that's my best friend James."
"Hello." Serena greeted.
"Nice to meet you." James added.
"Jimmy, Marina." Professor Elm spoke up. "Sorry to interrupt, but you are here to pick your starters. The normal call of order is those who turn up first can pick first. The third trainer already got his yesterday, so you will need to decide who will pick from the remaining two."
Professor Elm released the remaining pokemon. "Well, I already know what pokemon Jimmy wants, but I'll still take my pick first." She winked at her brother. "You don't mind, right bro?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Go ahead."
Marina walked up before crouching in front of the right pokemon which was the grass type who spun around rather enthusiastically.
"Hee-hee, you got a lot of energy which is perfect." Marina chuckled. "I need a pokemon like you for Pokeathlons, and I'm certain we could go pro. What do you say, want to be a part of my team?"
"Chika!" The pokemon exclaimed happily.
"Chikorita, a very good choice Marina." Professor Elm spoke up as the girl stood, and he gave over the items. "Here is her pokeball along with five empty pokeballs to start you off and your pokedex. It might be a good idea to learn more about your partner now."
Marina smiled as he clipped Chikorita's pokeball to her belt before dropping the other five into her bag. Once they were away, she opened the pokedex to scan her starter:
Chikorita, the Leaf Pokémon. Chikorita releases a sweet relaxing fragrance from the leaf on its head.
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow
Gender: Female
Current Moves: Growl, Tackle, Razor Leaf
"Wow, you already know razor leaf." Marina praised as she put her pokedex away. "We will make a great team, I know it."
Chikorita liked the praise.
"Very good." Professor Elm smiled before turning towards the guy. "Now Jimmy, would you like to come meet your starter?"
"Of course, professor." Jimmy replied with a smile.
He walked up to the remaining pokemon which was a fire type that certainly looked tough.
"I am sure you will work hard with Cyndaquil to achieve your dreams." Professor Elm spoke as he handed the items he was holding to the guy. "Here is his pokeball along with five empty ones to start you off and your pokedex. It might be a good idea to learn about your partner."
Nodding in agreement, Jimmy attached all six pokeballs to his belt. Once they were secure, he kneeled before the fire type before scanning him:
Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Normally mild and even-tempered, Cyndaquil will shoot a scorching flame out of its back when upset.
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze
Gender: Male
Current Moves: Leer, Tackle, Ember
"Not bad…" Jimmy mused.
He turned the pokedex off and placed it in his pocket before turning towards the fire mouse pokemon who was looking at Jimmy expectantly.
The ten-year-old smiled. "We'll work great together, Cyndaquil."
"Cyndaquil…" The fire mouse pokemon tilted his head in confusion.
"Cyndaquil sure is cute." Serena noted causing the fire type to blush.
"I am sure you will both work well together." Professor Elm noted.
"There's no other option now." Danielle stepped forward. "Professor, I would like to go on my journey as well."
This declaration shocked Jimmy, Marina, and especially Elm.
"Well, that is rather sudden." The professor admitted. "What could have brought this on?"
"Yeah, we started saying you should go on a journey two years ago when you were of age." Marina added. "In the end, you were adamant against it."
"Let's just say the universe isn't how I thought it was, and I'd like to learn about it." Danielle declared. "I mean more than I could staying in New Bark Town. Perhaps I might even find the answers I seek out there to my personal questions."
"What are you going to do without a starter?" Jimmy asked. "Professor Elm said he only had three prepared."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Danielle produced a pokeball. "While I haven't traveled, the day Professor Elm found me was the day I acquired two pokemon. I choose you, Riolu."
The emanation pokemon appeared and looked around in wonder before moving to investigate the new people. He was clearly the curious sort.
"Whoa, so that's a Riolu." Ash commented as he only ever saw his dad's Lucario.
"If this is what you want, I have had a starter kit prepared for you." Elm walked over to the nearby desk and retrieved the items which were passed to her. "I always said you could go on a journey any time you wished.
Here is five empty pokeballs to start you off and a pokedex. Despite already knowing what your starter can do, it is a tradition to scan them. While you do that, I shall retrieve your Budew as well."
Danielle happily accepted the items before scanning her unconventional starter:
Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu has the power to see and understand emotions like happiness and anger in aura waves.
Type: Fighting
Ability: Prankster
Gender: Male
Current Moves: Endure, Feint, Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Counter
Despite having two pokemon for four years now, and legally being able to call them hers/train them for two, Danielle hasn't had the incentive to train them. With the appearance of Ash, Serena, and James, things had changed.
At this point, Jimmy figured what must have changed Danielle's mind on this had to be Ash given his achievements. The guy obviously had his own dreams, but that didn't mean he was going to deny what Ash had already done.
"So, you competed in both the Indigo and Orange League?" Jimmy asked Ash with amazement.
"I first won the Orange League and became their champion before then going onto finish Top 8 in the Indigo League." Ash explained to the amazement of Jimmy, Marina, and Danielle. "Serena here also earned the title of Duchess at the Kanto battle chateau."
This caused Serena to blush, as Marina focused on her while Jimmy and Danielle were still amazed by Ash. This is likely because they are more likely to follow the two trainers in their goals.
Marina wants to succeed in a secondary trainer institution being Pokeathlons. Jimmy and Danielle both wanted to compete in the Silver Conference with the former aiming to win while the latter was now thinking she merely wanted to see how far she could get.
"Well, this is certainly a lively bunch." James thought. "I wonder if this is how it was on Serena and Ash's first day?"
The second that thought came to James, he realized it was probably far more hectic than this given what he did know about the whole Pallet crew.
"Okay, I got your Budew right here." Professor Elm declared as he returned with a second pokeball. "Here you go, Danielle."
"Thank you, Professor Elm." Danielle nodded with a smile. "For everything."
"I just wish I could have done more to help you with your problem." Elm responded. "Given you're a smart girl, perhaps the answers you're looking for are out there."
"What exactly is he talking about?" Ash asked.
"Sorry, this is a secret between Danielle and I." Elm responded. "One only she is at liberty to discuss. I hope you can understand that."
The trio shared a look and shrugged. If it was something personal to Danielle, then who were they to intrude?
"Well, we should probably be taking out leave." Serena voiced.
"Yeah, Ash's next gym battle and Serena's first Pokeathlon are in Cherrygrove City." James agreed.
"Hold on a moment, it would be awesome if you could give Cyndaquil and I some battle tips Ash." Jimmy spoke up. "You've already been a league competitor twice, so any tips you have would be awesome."
"I could actually use some tips myself." Danielle admitted. "I mean, I've studied some things, but this was kind of just a spur of the moment decision on my part."
"The same here, Serena." Marina added. "I just heard we're both competing in Pokeathlons, so I'm sure there's a thing or two you could show me."
"Sure, I am up for it." Ash answered with his typical toothy grin. "We need to do our daily training anyway."
"Sounds like a plan." Serena added.
"Feel free to use the back garden, children." Professor Elm replied. "It'll give me time to ensure Danielle's bag is packed."
With a quick thank you to the professor, the group made their way outside.
Outside
The group were soon out in the back garden where they went into different sections. James went off to release his team and practice some new breeding techniques. Ash took Jimmy and Danielle over to a wide-open space before they released all their pokemon. Serena took Marina to do the same on the opposite side of the garden.
"Okay, the first thing you have to do is discover what sort of battle style suits your pokemon." Ash informed.
"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.
"Take Pikachu and Larvitar." Even though Ash had just gotten Larvitar, he had the experience to understand where things would go to make his point. "Pikachu is more agile and speedy while the preferred style for Larvitar would be to power through."
"I think I get it." Danielle stated, with Jimmy nodding.
"You should also try to prepare for what your pokemon evolve into." Ash continued. "Even if you're lucky in that your pokemon can still battle as they used to, preparing to battle how they should upon evolving simply gives you options to work with."
"Do you have an example?" Danielle asked.
"Back in Kanto, I had a Bulbasaur who loved to be mobile." Ash explained. "Then, he evolved twice garnering a lot of weight. Fortunately, he had the ability to chlorophyll and learned sunny day giving us an avenue that meant there didn't need to be change.
Just because it wasn't needed doesn't mean we shouldn't have done it. To ignore the advantages of his evolution was to ignore potential avenues to grow stronger. Especially since there are times were utilizing sunny day, even with the speed it could provide, would be detrimental.
"Like with fire types." Danielle realized.
She had adapted quickly to the changing circumstances, likely a byproduct of the fact that she didn't originate in this world to begin with, but Danielle was stunned. This version of Ash was far more knowledgeable than he had been in canon.
"Wow." Jimmy gasped in understanding.
As both fledgling trainers turned to their respective pokemon, they were just as shocked by the tale. While neither were put off from becoming a trainer, they sure were surprised by the sorts of challenges which can come up.
"Well, from what I've seen of my dad's Typhlosion, they tend to have power battles and while not being the fastest, they still prefer to move rather than take a hit." Jimmy explained.
"From what I understand, Lucario can go into various, different battle styles being close, long range, or both." Danielle was pulling on her memories of watching the anime. "When it comes to Bedew, they eventually evolve into Roserade which is a rather graceful pokemon."
"Typhlosion sounds closest to my Venusaur, the way Lucario is described could match up well with Charizard, and the closest I got to Roserade is Feraligatr." Ash mused to himself.
Obviously, these aren't one to one comparison since every pokemon, even those with similar styles, were different beings.
"The key is to work towards the goal." Ash stated. "The earlier you manage that, the easier time your pokemon will have should they choose to evolve. Right now, it's about deciding how best to work down that path. Sometimes it might be working towards a new move.
For now, let's get their initial styles set. If Cyndaquil is more of a power user, he would need accuracy to make his attacks land." Ash signaled Pikachu to his side. "To start with, he can pair up with Pikachu. Pikachu will be moving around and Cyndaquil has to hit him with ember."
"I don't know." Jimmy stated. "If Pikachu was your starter, he must be well trained and super-fast. I mean, couldn't Pikachu just take Cyndaquil out with one attack if he wanted to?"
"Don't worry about that, Jimmy." Ash reassured. "Pikachu has trained with pretty much every pokemon I've caught, including my newest members. He will start of easy for Cyndaquil but still make it hard enough to where he must work for it."
Jimmy agreed once he got the reassurance and so did Cyndaquil.
"As for you Danielle, your Riolu should start with the basics." Ash began. "I'll assume he knows how to punch and kick, so a spar is what he needs. Budew needs to work on dodging before she can get fancy with it.
For Riolu, I'll set him to work with Wimpod as he's quickly proven to be one of my most focused. With Budew, she can work on dodging Teddiursa's various claws." Ash got to work setting up the latter two pairs. "Now, let's get to work with Cyndaquil."
Both prepared with Pikachu starting the full battle field length away. The fire type launched a fire ball out of his mouth towards Pikachu. The electric type jumped out of the way and landed in the same spot. Cyndaquil wasn't happy as Pikachu showed minimum effort in his dodging.
He launched another ember, but this one was a multitude of tiny, fire embers. Pikachu simply strolled away at a speed that would be challenging for Cyndaquil. Eventually, a layer of sweat appeared on Cyndaquil's forehead, so Pikachu lept over hitting the fire type with his tail.
"Why did Pikachu hit Cyndaquil with his tail?" Jimmy asked.
"To show that he can't leave himself open." Ash explained. "Cyndaquil will need to learn when the time to stop an attack and dodge is."
"Ah." Jimmy nodded before turning to his starter. "You hear that Cyndaquil? You need to work on watching your opponent to make sure you can still avoid the incoming attacks."
"Alright, those two can keep going working together." Ash turned to Danielle. "You're two pokemon are currently being handled. That leaves me with Larvitar whose about to have his first real training session."
"Maybe I should have put two and two together when Elm first brought that egg into the lab." Danielle was staring at Larvitar. "With no mention of Ash, I had been certain it was just a difference with some game version of this world. I do wonder if Larvitar remembers me."
Danielle wasn't certain if the rock/ground type did, and the fact that he noticed her staring only to run after Ash wasn't a good sign. Over at the other side of the field, Serena got Rhyhorn doing his strength training while Caterpie was working on her technique.
"Alright, seeing your pokemon working hard makes me want to get started with Chikorita." Marina declared excitedly.
"While basic conditioning is a necessity for a Pokeathlete's pokemon, perhaps you should work on the battle portion of the Pokeathlon first." Serena stated.
"How come?" Marina asked.
"By watching your pokemon battle, you'll understand better what their strengths are." Serena voiced. "From what I understand, you can sign up any old pokemon for a specific category, but simply doing that in practice is doomed to failure." She turned to Sylveon. "Do you mind sparring with Chikorita?"
"Syl." Sylveon barked happily before turning to the grass type.
Chikorita took a battle stance before Sylveon unleashed, slowly, a barrage of pink swift. Despite them being empowered by her ability, it was clear the fairy type was holding back to ensure she didn't one shot the grass type. Chikorita managed to move through the attack.
In fact, it was in a rather similar way as Sylveon liked to move which made the fairy type smile. She then formed a Shadow Ball, again holding back quite a bit on the power, and fired on the leaf pokemon. Seeing the incoming attack, Chikorita fired off leaves.
They managed to further slow the oncoming attack giving the leaf pokemon time to dodge. She then charged in intending to land a tackle. Sylveon displayed her own grace, which was far more refined, and effortlessly avoided the tackle.
"Okay guys, that's enough for now." Serena called the sparring match to an end. "So Marina, did you see what your pokemon might be best at?"
"I sure did!" Marina exclaimed in excitement.
"Calm down." Serena chuckled lightly at the young girl's excitement. "Why don't you talk through your training with Chikorita?"
"That's a great idea" Marina replied before rushing over to sit with her starter. "Thank you, Serena."
Serena smiled as she watched the new trainer go over her plan with her Chikorita. Soon her attention was taken off Marina and turned toward the familiar white glow of evolution. This drew Marina's attention as well. Right there, Caterpie grew a pink shell.
"Metapod!" Metapod declared happily.
Metapod knew from her parents that this was one huge step towards her goal of surpassing father. Serena was just as happy for her pokemon while Marina was amazed.
"Oh, that was evolution!" The Johto native marveled.
"Yeah, it was." Serena walked over with her pokedex out. "My Caterpie just evolved."
Serena couldn't help but remember roughly one year prior to when her first Caterpie evolved. Just as with that time, she scanned her newly evolved pokemon:
Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. Metapod's vulnerable body is surrounded by its hard shell, which protects it while it waits to evolve.
Type: Bug
Ability: Shield Dust
Sex: Female
Current Moves: String Shot, Tackle, Harden, Bug Bite, Electroweb
"This is great Metapod." Serena picked up her newly evolved pokemon. "It's only a matter of time before you overcome your father."
"Metapod!" Metapod cheered.
Seeing this only made Marina smile.
Later…
Eventually, Jimmy, Marina, and Danielle met up to have a quick chat leaving their respective pokemon to continue training.
"So, what's Serena like?" Danielle asked rather interested.
"She's awesome." Marina voiced excitedly "She helped me understand where Chikorita's strengths lie in Pokeathlons. How about Ash?"
"He's cool." Jimmy voided. "I can see how he won the Orange League."
"He's been helping both of us train." Danielle added. "It's been eye opening."
"Well, are you two thinking what I'm thinking?" Marina asked.
"You want to travel with and learn some more stuff from them?" Danielle questioned.
"Yeah, we'd have some more friends and even learn about being better trainers!" Marina exclaimed. "What do you say?"
"I'd certainly like that as well as their expertise on how to live outside of civilization." Danielle voiced. "Not to mention getting to travel with Ash, even for just a bit, would be a dream come true, and I'm rather interested in learning more about his present traveling companions."
"Can we really just travel with them on our first journey?" Jimmy questioned. "I mean, wouldn't it kind of take away part of the challenge?"
"We wouldn't travel with them throughout our whole journey, just the first part." Marina reasoned. "Maybe until the second gym at most. I mean, just imagine what they could teach us."
"I'm sold." Danielle declared."
"I guess." Jimmy sighed in defeat. "But we can't just invite ourselves, can we?"
"Of course, we would ask first Jimmy." Marina deadpanned. "Just imagine how much fun we're going to have."
"Fine." Jimmy relented.
It's not that he doesn't want to travel with anyone. It's just that he is a very private person so making such a request to relative strangers isn't something he is thrilled about. Although, since Marina has already made up her mind, it isn't like he has much choice in the matter.
Edge of New Bark, Later…
The three New Bark natives went back to their respective training session until they were over. At that point, James gave every pokemon checkups to ensure they weren't injured while Serena made a quick lunch. Now the group of: Ash, Serena, James, Pikachu, Jimmy, Marina, and Danielle were all standing on the edge of New Bark Town ready to set off.
"Well guys, it's been great meeting you." Ash told his new friends. "I am sure we will meet further down the road, especially since we're rivals now."
Serena and James waved to the new trainers and said similar things. As they were about to walk away, they noticed Marina and Danielle nudge Jimmy's sides, causing the boy to stumble and blush in embarrassment.
"Err, hey Ash. I was wondering..." Jimmy began. "Since we're heading the same way and starting at the same time, why don't we travel together for a bit?" He did not like being put on the spot like this. "We've learned loads from you and Serena, so learning more would be great."
"It's fine with me." Ash smiled before turning towards his friends. "What about you guys?"
"It will be fun to have you guys around." Serena declared happily.
"I'll be sure to take good care of all your pokemon." James added.
Happy with the turn of event, the three new trainers smiled and thanked the group. Soon, the whole group set off towards their next location in the Johto region.
The multiverse as a concept means every conceivable world is connected to the various pokemon worlds. Considering I'm slowly building a multiversal story in the background of this series, I could not in good conscience leave out an important world connected to the pokemon world. That would be our world. Considering the sheer impact pokemon has had on our world, an OC from there sounds about right.
As for the rest of the chapter, Silver already took Totodile, so that left the fraternal twins with Cyndaquil and Chikorita. After some training and Serena's new Caterpie evolving, it's time to depart. The three new trainers will be tagging along until Falkner's gym, but I have placed a gym of my own design in Cherrygrove which will be ran by a game character. Between even New Bark and Cherrygrove, there is a fair bit of content to go over.
Nightshadegirl: Unfortunately, not.
Vital Info: Eh, I basically went with the canon Kanto starter format for these three captures. Essentially, it's like how Ash caught Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur back in canon Kanto. In my story, it likely felt longer back then, and was also Bulbasuar, Charmander, and Dratini, because I threw in a Team Rocket centered plot into the last captures. Don't worry, the next chapters are going to home in on Serena and James getting their own captures.
The trio's on hand pokemon-
Ash's Pokemon
1. Pikachu
2. Wimpod
3. Teddiursa
4. Larvitar
Serena's Pokemon
1. Sylveon
2. Rhyhorn *Pink
3. Metapod *Pink
James' Pokemon
1. Croagunk
2. Togepi
3. Spheal