Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
In the Southeast corner of the mighty Sinnoh region, a small community known as Twinleaf Town was preparing for a new day. Adults got ready for work, children brushed their teeth and tied their shoe laces before heading out for school, it was business as usual. Just another day.
For most people, at least.
For a certain 10 year old boy named Ash Ketchum, it was certainly the most important day of his life up to this point. Today would be the day he would get his first Pokemon, and nothing would stop him!
"Ashy, you can't leave yet! I still need to take a picture!"
"But I need to go now! What if I'm late? I can't miss out on a pokemon!"
Well, nothing except his mom. She had been keeping Ash from leaving for nearly half an hour now, and he was raring to go.
"You won't miss out on a starter, Ash! Now hold still and smile!"
Ash quickly forced out a toothy smile, one which disappeared immediately after the flash went off. He grabbed his backpack and ran for the door, only to once again be halted by his mother, who looked at him disapprovingly, hands on her hips.
"What?!" Ash was pretty sure he was going to lose his mind if his mom held him up any longer, but all the fight went out of him when she pulled him in for a hug.
"Oh Ashy, I'm sorry." Delia said softly, "It's just that today will be the last time I see you for such a long time, please just let me have this."
Ash sighed, hugging his mom back, knowing how hard this was for her. It wasn't exactly easy for him either, to be fair, but at least he would have his future pokemon with him - his mom would be alone.
Eventually, his mother let go, ruffling his hair one last time as she opened the door for him.
"I'm sure your friends are waiting for you now, honey. Tell them I said hi, and make sure to come back so I can meet your starter before you leave!"
Ash smiled at his mom one last time before leaving, making his way to Route 201.
"I will, I promise."
–
As Ash walked down the streets of Twinleaf Town, he began to hear the ever present sound of bickering that accompanied the other two trainers who would be receiving their starters today.
"Dawn, I'm telling you! It would be so much faster if we simply went through Route 201 and meet the professor along the way!"
"And I'm telling you that we shouldn't leave town without Pokemon! Professor Rowan will get here when he gets here, and going places without a pokemon is dangerous Barry!"
Ash smiled to himself as he quickly made his way over to the source of the yelling. By the sign signaling the end of town and the entrance to Route 201, he saw his friends and traveling companions for the near future - Dawn and Barry.
Dawn noticed Ash first, turning away from Barry and greeting him as he closed the distance between them, with Barry scowling at being ignored before realizing who had shown up.
"Ash, you're late!" Barry grouched at him, while Dawn sighed, having been pestered about her 'tardiness' already.
"But the professor hasn't showed up yet, so how can I be late?" Ash questioned.
"He's late too! I've been waiting for over an hour for all of you to show up, and you're only getting here now! This is why I've been saying we should meet go and Professor Rowan on Route 201!" Barry complained, causing Ash and Dawn to look at him strangely.
"Um, Barry." Dawn began slowly, "You do know that the professor told us he would be here around nine, right?"
"Yeah, and it's nearly ten!"
Ash held back a laugh, but when Barry turned to look at him, began to pretend to cough into his hand. Barry had never been too good with time management, but this was something else. Dawn began to speak again, but a gruff voice cut her off.
"It is exactly eight forty five right now, young man. I sincerely hope you aren't as irresponsible with pokemon as you are with your time."
Barry yelped, jumping around to come face to face with Professor Rowan. Or, more accurately, face to chest.
Professor Rowan was the premier scientist of the Sinnoh region, well known for his studies of pokemon, regarding evolution and maturation specifically. He had previously been studying in Kanto under the tutelage of the even more renowned Professor Oak, but had returned to Sinnoh years ago, around the time Ash and his mother had moved to the region.
"P-professor! What a coincidence!" Barry stuttered out, shocked by the man's sudden appearance. "I was just telling Dawn that -"
"You were trying to encourage your friends to cross Route 201, without a pokemon, to reach me quicker. You understand how irresponsible that is, and how absolutely foolish you sound right now, yes?"
Barry looked like he was going to die of shame in front of the professor, and Dawn quickly came in to defend her best friend.
"Professor, can you blame him?" Dawn attempted to reason, "It's the most important day of our lives, getting our starters, I'm sure that Barry wasn't being serious when he was talking about leaving town to find you."
Barry looked as if he was ready to argue for his pride, but his brain kept him in check. It was close though, and he swallowed his pride and nodded his head. Professor Rowan gave all three of them a hard look, before smirking softly and shaking his head.
"Kids these days." He muttered to himself fondly, before straightening up and opening the briefcase he held in his hand. He displayed the contents to the trio of ten year olds - three pokeballs, and three compact, red rectangles, with beeping lights and thin lines all over.
Ash's eyes widened with excitement and awe as he saw the pokeballs, he had been waiting for this moment for years. Beside him Dawn and Barry were in a similar position, equally as nervous as Ash would be at receiving their first pokemon.
Sure, it wouldn't be the Charmander he had always wanted, but that was okay. Ash was sure that whatever pokemon he received would be a hundred times better than any pokemon he had ever seen before.
Because it would be his pokemon.
Quickly, the professor released all three pokemon from inside their pokeballs, with the pokemon materializing on the ground in front of the children.
Ash recognized all three of the small creatures, having studied all of the pokemon native to the Sinnoh region vigorously since he moved to the region.
The first was the water-type, Piplup. He could see that Dawn immediately took a liking to it, if the squeal she made when she looked at the tiny blue penguin was any indication. Piplup chirped happily back at her, before glancing at the other two people facing it.
Second was the grass-type, Turtwig. The small turtle yawned before looking around curiously, before spotting the three soon to be trainers looking down at it. It made a quiet grunt as it looked at the people, before sitting back on its hind legs and continuing to stare.
Finally, the fire-type Chimchar emerged from the last pokeball. The small monkey looked lost as it took in its surroundings, before Professor Rowan began speaking again.
"As I'm sure all three of you know, one of these fine three pokemon will be your starter. I do not believe I have to restate this to you kids, but treat your pokemon with respect, as partners, and they will be your faithful companions for as long as you are together." The professor spoke with eloquence, as he always did, and motioned for Dawn to step forward. "Ladies first, Dawn. You may pick your starter now."
Dawn smiled at the professor, before stepping forward and kneeling down in front of the pokemon to be closer to their level. She looked at all three, before turning towards Piplup and rubbing its head. Piplup leaned into her hand, making a happy squeaking sound, before Dawn picked it up and began whispering to the small creature. Ash didn't really try to hear what she was saying, but Piplup nodded at her, and she stood up, Piplup still in her arms.
Professor Rowan took this as her choice, nodding at her and handing her Piplup's pokeball. Dawn spoke softly to it once more, before recalling Piplup, holding onto its pokeball like nothing else in the world mattered but the small, red and white sphere.
"Now then, who would like to go next?"
Ash and Barry glanced at each other. Ash knew that they had both been waiting for this moment for practically, but it was different for both of them. Barry was born in Sinnoh, and had been raised around these types of pokemon his whole life. Ash was just lucky to even get a pokemon.
Besides, Barry had gotten here first.
Ash stepped back, allowing Barry to have the choice between Chimchar and Turtwig. He, like Dawn, crouched down to be on their level before quickly glancing between the two. Turtwig stared right back at him curiously, while Chimchar seemed to glance away from his judgemental eyes.
Suddenly, Barry stood up, seemingly satisfied with his evaluation of the two pokemon.
"Professor, I've decided!" He began, talking loud and puffing his chest up. "I choose…" He paused for dramatic effect, "Turtwig!"
Ash and Professor Rowan deadpanned at his volume and attitude, while Dawn merely giggled quietly to herself.
Professor Rowan handed Turtwig's pokeball to Barry, who recalled after giving it a quick grin. Meanwhile, Ash looked towards Chimchar, the last pokemon to be chosen. He knelt down in front of it, and gave it a warm smile, or at least tried his best to.
"Hey there Chimchar." Ash spoke softly. Chimchar looked at him apprehensively, but that didn't deter him. "Looks like we're partners! I want to be a pokemon trainer, and my dream is to become a pokemon master! If you come with me, I'm sure we'll become the greatest team the world has ever seen! Do you want to be friends?"
Chimchar seemed to be roused by Ash's small speech, and nodded happily at him, grinning. The flame on Chimchar's tail grew a little bit, but quickly died down. Ash smiled and stood up, and Professor Rowan handed Ash the pokeball for Chimchar. Ash smiled at Chimchar once again, before quickly returning him as Professor Rowan cleared his throat.
"Now that all of you are acquainted with your pokemon, I have one other important announcement." As he was talking, he picked up one of the red rectangles that was still inside of his briefcase. "This here, is a pokedex. It is used to collect information about pokemon that can help me, and many others, with our research into pokemon. They are very valuable, and very useful. I am entrusting each of you with one, and I hope that you all use them wisely."
Professor Rowan then handed each of them a pokedex, as well as a small pamphlet for how to use and register your information inside of it.
"Now, I believe I have said everything I need to, and you all are ready to go out and begin your journeys." Professor Rowan spoke. "If you ever need anything, please visit my lab in Sandgem. You all know where it is."
He began to walk away, but Ash had one thing to say before he left.
"Professor!" Ash called out, causing the old man to turn around and glance at the boy. "I just wanted to say thank you, for our starters and the pokedex."
Dawn and Barry both quickly gave similar thanks to the professor, who waved them off with a chuckle.
"The best way for you to show your gratitude to me today will be for all of you to reach your potential in the future."
Ash wasn't sure why everything that Professor Rowan said sounded like a proverb, but he nodded his head in agreement anyways.
And with that, the professor turned away again, headed back down Route 201 the way he came, leaving Ash, Dawn, and Barry alone together.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Barry shouted excitedly. "I want to make it to Jubilife City as soon as possible!"
"Some of us still have to say goodbye to our parents." Dawn retorted. "And by some of us, I mean all of us. Was your mother even awake when you left the house this morning?"
Barry sputtered, and attempted to formulate a response, but it was too late. Dawn was already walking away, waving to the two boys.
"I'll see you guys in half an hour?" She offered quickly.
"Works for me." Ash responded, and then glanced at Barry.
The boy had already begun running back to his home, which Ash found funny, but he thought that Barry would be the first one back here anyways.
With that, he started on his trek home, to see his mom one last time before he truly set off on his journey.
–
"Oh Mew, he's so cute!" Delia cooed at Chimchar as she leaned down and scratched his forehead. The little pokemon leaned into her hand, clearly enjoying the attention it was being given.
While his mom was busy fawning over Chimchar, Ash had finally gotten the pokedex Professor Rowan had gifted him working, and pointed it at his starter. The machine lit up for a moment as it scanned Chimchar, before beginning to output information on his new friend.
Chimchar, the Chimp pokemon. It is very agile. Before going to sleep, it extinguishes the flame on its tail to prevent fires. This Chimchar is Male.
This Chimchar knows the moves Ember, Scratch, Leer, and Blaze Kick. Its ability is Blaze, which powers up fire-type moves when the pokemon is weak.
Ash thought that Chimchar seemed pretty strong, and he was happy knowing that he could leave Chimchar out of his pokeball without having to worry about causing a massive forest fire. Chimchar definitely liked the attention his mother was giving, but he knew that Dawn and Barry would be waiting for him if he didn't hurry it up.
"Mom, I've got to go. Dawn, Barry, and I are traveling together and I don't want to hold them up." Ash reasoned. "I'll call when we reach Sandgem Town, but me and Chimchar have to go."
Delia seemed extremely reluctant to let Chimchar out of her grasp, but the small pokemon started squirming in her grasp, so she let go. She let out a sad smile as Chimchar quickly raced over to Ash and jumped on his shoulder, making sure to keep the small fire on his tail far away from his new trainer. Ash laughed at Chimchar's antics, and scratched his forehead like his mother had.
"Well, I'll be off -"
For the second time today, Ash was caught in a bone-crushing hug by his mom, with Chimchar safely leaping off of Ash's shoulder to avoid being squeezed like Ash.
"Ash, please be safe. I know I'm a bit of a worrywart, but look out for yourself."
Ash smiled at his mom and her ways of showing she cared. He hugged her back, before she finally let go, and moved back to open the door for him.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Time for you to go out and show the world what you can do!"
Ash snickered at the corny line, before giving his mom one last hug. He stepped out into the sun, Chimchar by his feet, and began walking towards Route 201 for the second time today.
–
"So I was thinking, Chimchar." Ash began, talking to the small monkey standing on his shoulder, who had gotten tired of walking several minutes ago and scrambled to perch next to Ash's head to continue to view Twinleaf. Out of the corner of his eye, Ash could see that Chimchar had turned to look at him. "Do you want a name?"
Chimchar smiled and nodded his head, before jumping up and down excitedly on Ash's shoulder. Ash found it pretty endearing, until Chimchar fell off, and worry filled his mind. However, Chimchar got right back up and continued to jump around Ash happily as he walked, wiping Ash's concern away.
Now, Ash had to think of a name for Chimchar. He furrowed his brows as he tried to think of a good name for his partner. He tried coming up with a few fire related names, and offered the first name that popped into his head.
"How about Blaze?" Ash asked Chimchar, looking down at him for confirmation.
Chimchar frowned and shook his head, signaling the start of a long list of rejected names. Ash had gone through over a dozen names, mostly fire related. He didn't like Ember, and to be honest Ash didn't either - it sounded kind of weak to him. Infernus, Char, and Wildfire were considered, but were eventually denied. It took a while, but his picky friend eventually accepted at a name.
"Wick?"
Chimchar finally nodded at that one. Ash thought it was fitting, mainly due to the fact that Chimchar would constantly have a fire burning out of him, but still thought the name was a bit weird.
Oh well, Wick it was.
"Hey Ash!"
Ash was broken out of his thoughts by a familiar sight for him today, Barry and Dawn calling out to him as they stood by the entrance to Route 201. He quickly jogged over to them, Wick hot on his heels.
"Were you guys waiting for long?" Ash asked, a bit embarrassed to be the latest one out of the three of them again.
"Not really, but Barry might disagree. He enjoys acting like he always has to wait on others, but he wasn't even here first!" Dawn laughed at her own little joke, and Ash couldn't help but laugh as well. Barry just groaned and kept tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Barry whined goodnaturedly. "Can we just get a move on? I want to make it to Sandgem as soon as possible."
Sandgem Town was a few days away from Twinleaf, but Ash didn't want to be the one to remind Barry of that.
Dawn sighed at Barry's attitude, but then smiled fondly. She turned to Ash quickly, hoisting her backpack up higher on her shoulders as she did.
"Are you ready to go?" She asked, and Ash nodded in response.
"Finally! Let's get a move on!" Barry nearly shouted.
Ash and Dawn laughed at this, and Barry ignored them, even as all three began to walk together out of town and onto Route 201, Wick right beside Ash.
–
"Hey Ash." Dawn began, grabbing her companion's attention. "I was wondering, why do you have Chimchar walking with us? He looks kinda tired."
Wick growled at that, and gave Dawn a dirty look, but it was more cute than scary to the three of them.
"Well," Ash began, leaning down to scratch Wick's head, the chimchar relaxing at the action. "I thought that he might enjoy it. Plus, it might be good exercise since all of our starters are pretty young. This might be the best training he gets before we stop if we don't find other trainers to battle."
Dawn nodded at his answer. "That makes sense, I had Piplup walking around with me for a little while before we met up, and the poor guy could barely keep up!"
Ash smiled at that mental image, before Barry decided to release Turtwig, apparently agreeing with Ash's reasoning.
However, before they could continue walking, a loud shriek pierced the quiet and peaceful air, and a small, gray blur darted in front of the trio.
The Starly looked angrily at the trainers, and chirped at them with narrowed eyes. Ash tried to step forward, but Barry beat him to it.
"Alright Turtwig, perfect timing!" He called out to his pokemon, eyeing the Starly. "We're gonna catch that Starly, no excuses!"
Turtwig grunted in agreement, getting in between Starly and Barry, clearly prepared to fight. Starly flew up into the air, before beginning to quickly descend towards Turtwig.
"Meet it head on with tackle!" Barry ordered, throwing his arm out dramatically.
As Starly dive bombed Turtwig, talons extended and a white trail behind it, Turtwig launched itself at the tiny bird, throwing both pokemon back several feet. Turtwig got to its feet quickly, while the Starly tumbled around on the ground for a moment, trying to reorient itself. However, another tackle ordered by Barry knocked it down for good. It chirped painfully one last time, then fell silent.
"Good job Turtwig!" Barry praised, happy with the outcome of that battle. Turtwig shook its head, still slightly dazed from the collision with Starly, then happily walked over to Barry and plopped itself down right by his feet.
Barry rubbed its head happily, before pulling off one of the pokeballs on his belt and throwing it at the Starly. The pokeball opened, enveloping the Starly in a scarlet light, before sucking the downed bird into the container.
The pokeball shook.
Once, twice, three times, before going still.
click
"Alright!" Barry whooped, somehow even more excited than he was moments ago. "We did it!"
Dawn clapped politely at the display, and Ash couldn't help but clap along. It was pretty impressive watching Barry win his first ever battle, even if it was rather short. Barry quickly walked over to the downed pokeball and picked it up, clipping it to his belt before waving Ash and Dawn to catch up with him, Turtwig already walking up behind his trainer.
Ash was a little bit irked that he didn't get to battle the Starly, but that was ok.
There would be plenty more opportunities later in the day, he assumed.
–
He was wrong.
As it turned out, there weren't a whole lot of pokemon out and about near Route 201, and any that Ash did see quickly turned around and fled at the sight of the small group of trainers approaching.
There weren't many trainers, either. Out of the handful or so that they had seen, most didn't want to battle. The only two that did were quickly beaten by Barry and Turtwig.
However, now it was getting late and the sun was starting to set, so Dawn, Ash, and Barry were now looking for a place to set up camp for the night. Wick had been recalled hours ago, when he had begun lagging behind, exhaustion finally catching up to him.
"Hey!"
A high pitched voice cut through the peaceful quiet of the evening, startled Ash and put an end to the quiet conversation Barry and Dawn were having with each other.
"Do any of you guys want to battle?"
The person in their way was a young boy, shorter than even Dawn, wearing a standard camping outfit. He looked eager to battle, and Ash was just as excited. He looked at Barry, who was already pulling Turtwig's pokeball off of his belt, before Dawn stopped him and whispered something in his ear. Barry grumbled back something that made Dawn glare at him, before he relented and put the pokeball back in its place.
Ash smiled at Dawn in thanks, and walked over to meet the trainer.
"One on one sound good?" He asked, and the boy nodded back.
Ash quickly released Wick, who looked around confused for a moment before his opponent grabbed one of the two pokeballs from his belt and released his pokemon - a somewhat large Bidoof, that sniffed around curiously.
"We're battling, Wick!" Ash called out to his pokemon, who quickly focused on the Bidoof several feet away, eyes narrowing all the while.
"Tackle!" The other trainer called out. Bidoof grunted in acknowledgement, and began to charge at Wick. However, it was slow.
"Dodge it and use Ember!"
Wick easily sidestepped the slow charge of Bidoof, and quickly spat an ember out into the poor pokemon's backside. It groaned in pain at the fire, but turned around to face Wick again.
"Ember again, and then scratch until it's knocked out."
Wick quickly released an ember into the Bidoof's face, burning it and causing it to squeal and rub its face into the dirt in an attempt to extinguish the flame. However, while it was doing so, Wick walked up and began to scratch at its side with extended claws, causing the Bidoof to finally collapse.
The other trainer sighed, recalling Bidoof before making his way over to Ash, who was busy congratulating Wick on their first win. The trainer reached into his pocket and dug around for a few moments, before pulling out a few bills and handing them over to Ash.
"Uh, what is this for?" Ash asked, staring at the offering slightly apprehensively.
The other trainer sighed, before realizing something. "You guys are new trainers, right?" At Ash's nod, he continued. "Whenever a trainer beats another trainer in a battle, they have to pay the winner out a bit of their money."
"My friend over there," Ash began, looking at Barry, somewhat confused. "Beat a few trainers earlier, why didn't they give him any money?"
"If you have less than a thousand dollars on you, you don't have to pay any money out so you aren't in serious danger. Maybe they didn't want to pay a new trainer money, I don't know. It's kind of on the winner to enforce it."
Ash nodded his understanding, and took the offered money, while thanking the boy. He shrugged it off, and began walking towards where Dawn, Barry, and Ash had come from.
Ash looked at him for a moment before recalling Wick and turning to his friends. Dawn looked ready to drop from exhaustion, and while Barry looked a little better, Ash could tell they were pretty much done traveling for the day.
"So, time to set up camp?" Ash asked, already knowing the answer.
Dawn nodded at him, and Barry just sighed, but it was enough of a signal for Ash. The trio quickly moved over to the edge of the road, preparing to set up a place to stay for the night. It didn't take long, since all they really needed to do was set up a fire pit big enough to keep them warm for a while, and put down their sleeping bags.
Wick sat next to him, happily eating the last of his dinner. It was just the standard pokemon food pretty much every store sold, but he seemed happy enough.
Ash had finished his dinner a little earlier, and was now just sitting by the fire, listening to Barry and Dawn talk. Occasionally he would interject, either being asked his opinion on something, or think of something really funny to say on the fly, but for the most part he was content to sit there and occasionally give Wick a head scratch while he fiddled with his pokedex.
For the most part.
The sun had nearly gone down by now, the last streaks of pink and orange slowly fading out of sight in the sky as the blacks and blues of night rose to take their place among the stars.
Barry and Dawn had both released their pokemon earlier when Ash did to feed them, and in Barry's case, properly greet Starly. The little bird had been rather irate, but accepted that it was a part of Barry's team rather quickly for its attitude.
Dimly, Ash began to realize that he was struggling to stay awake, and did not try to fight it. Instead, he wished his companions a good night, and curled up in his sleeping bag, Wick quickly scampering over to lie next to him, the fire from his tail going out as he did so.
Slowly, Ash's vision faded to black, as the first day of his journey came to an end, the only sounds being that of the crackling fire nearby and the laughter of his companions.
–
"Wake up, Ash! We've got to get moving!"
Ash lurched, struggling to get out of his sleeping bag while Wick began moving next to him. His eyes were crusty from sleep, and he couldn't really see what was going on around him.
A few moments later, Ash was out of his sleeping bag, rubbing his eyes while pulling himself off of the ground. He realized that it was practically still dark out, and turned to look at Barry for an explanation for the rude wake up call.
Ash stared at him for a moment, while recalling Wick and rolling up his sleeping bag, before realizing Barry either didn't notice or didn't care, and a more direct approach was necessary.
"Barry," Ash began, trying to keep his temper in check. "What kind of wake up was that?"
"What?" Barry shrugged back. "You're up."
"Ok, but I'm pretty sure it's still night time."
"Nah, you can kind of see the sunrise over there!"
Barry waved his hand towards the east, where a few specks of golden light hovered over the treeline, but it wasn't much.
Ash resisted the urge to say something that would make his mom faint, and settled for just rolling his eyes at Barry while he finished packing up.
A quick glance to the other side of their makeshift camp showed Dawn was in a similar position as Ash, groggily wiping sleep off of her face, and she looked even more annoyed at Barry than Ash was.
"Why are you even waking us up this early?" Ash questioned.
"I want to make it to Sandgem Town today, so we need to leave as soon as possible!" Barry responded, and both Ash and Dawn couldn't hold back their sighs.
Twinleaf and Sandgem weren't exactly close by. Even if they walked from sunrise to sunset, which Barry seemed to want to do, they still probably wouldn't make it to Sandgem Town today. Factoring in stopping for breaks, battling trainers, and, most importantly, how absolutely sore Ash was, and undoubtedly Dawn too, there was zero chance that they made it today.
That didn't mean that Barry would listen to them.
Ash just accepted it and began walking. Maybe Barry would realize how impossible his goal was, and they would get to take it slow for a while before the day ended.
–
As it turned out, they did not get to take it slow for a while.
Ash's legs screamed from every step by the time they had finally stopped for the day, and clearly Dawn wasn't better off. The poor girl had practically collapsed to the ground once they had found a nice enough place to settle down for the night, but Barry didn't seem to notice.
To be fair, it was a very productive day, but that didn't mean Ash agreed with Barry's decision to act as a slave driver to the group. Ash, Dawn, and Barry had all gotten quite a few battles in, especially as the day went on and they got closer and closer to Sandgem. Ash had won all of his, and Barry had too, but Dawn lost a few close matches. She wasn't as invested in those battles as Ash and Barry were, however.
Dawn wanted to be a pokemon coordinator, as her mother had before her. Ash thought the idea was kind of cool, taking moves and 'beautifying' them for raw appeal, and the battling portion kept him seated in front of the television whenever his mom had decided to put one on.
That didn't mean he was ever going to perform in a pokemon contest, however. Even the thought sounded ridiculous to Ash.
Barry, despite having once again battled the majority of the trainers, did not seem tired in the slightest. Ash was always confused by his friend's endless amount of energy, and by this point had come to accept it. At least he had been kind enough to let Ash battle a similar number of trainers that he did, although near the end of the day Ash had refused a few challenges due to Wick's exhaustion. Barry had a much easier time with challenges later in the day, mainly because he could take turns between giving battles to Turtwig and Starly.
Their camp for the night was similar to the one they had yesterday, just a small patch of grass on the side of the dirt road known as Route 201. There was a stream nearby, though, so they didn't have to go far to refill their water bottles. Barry had taken nearly half an hour yesterday getting water for the group, and no one wanted to leave camp after setting up for the night, so it was a nice surprise for the weary trio.
Or rather, the weary duo and Barry.
Tonight, Ash was once again going over the pokedex entry for Chimchar, mainly looking at the moves they could learn. Dawn and Barry had decided that Oreburgh City would be the first place they go to after making it to Jubilife, and if Ash was going to go with them he would need to teach Chimchar a new move or two for the gym.
Oreburgh was a primarily industrial and mining city, and the gym reflected that, being rock-type. Wick was pretty strong, but Ash didn't have any trouble figuring out how a battle between him and an Onix would go.
So here he was, looking at moves. Unfortunately for Ash, chimchar didn't learn many moves before evolution (outside of the use of TM's, but Ash definitely could not even afford one of those), and those that they did learn wouldn't be very useful in a fight against rocks.
So Ash wasn't exactly sure what he would do. Maybe the gym would be easy, it would be his first badge after all. Gyms were known to scale to the level of the trainer usually.
The sun was still barely hanging in the sky by the time Ash had decided to call it quits and try to sleep. The darkness of night had begun to seep into the sky, but not enough to bring the usual chill of dusk with it quite yet. They hadn't even set up a campfire.
Ash was kind of nervous that Barry would wake him up super early again, and combined with the exhaustion he had been feeling for the majority of the day, it wasn't hard for him to fall into the warm embrace of sleep, Wick once again right by his side.
–
It didn't take long for the group to arrive at Sandgem the next day, making it to the town late in the morning. There had been a few trainers on the way, nearly as many as the day before, likely due to the proximity of Sandgem. It wouldn't be known for much at all, beyond simply being a small town on the southeast coast of Sinnoh, but Professor Rowan's laboratory put it on the map. People came from across the region to meet with him, and sometimes even further.
Barry had tried to insist on leaving as soon as possible, but Dawn and Ash had overruled him. Dawn had wanted to rest for a day and go to the professor's lab, where her father worked as an assistant, while Ash simply wanted to give his (and Wick's) poor legs a break. He also wanted some time to try and teach Wick fury swipes, and this seemed like a good time.
However, as Ash left the pokemon center the group had checked into for the day, Barry seemed to have come up with a different plan. He quickly grabbed Ash's shoulder, causing the raven haired boy to turn towards him with a questioning gaze.
"We're going to battle."
"What? Right now?" Ash wouldn't turn down the challenge, especially not from Barry, but the boy had definitely caught him off guard.
"Yes." Barry seemed surprisingly calm for what Ash had expected from him, but Ash followed him out of the pokemon center nonetheless. They walked over to the small, dirt battlefield to the side of the building and took their positions on each end of the field.
"One on one?" Ash called out to Barry. It was kind of obvious that those would be the rules, since Ash only had Wick, but he didn't want Barry to think he could use Turtwig and Starly if the other lost to Wick.
Not if, when, Ash told himself. He had to win. Both he and Barry hadn't lost a pokemon battle yet, and even though Dawn jokingly called them both prodigies earlier, they both definitely saw this battle as a test of which trainer was better.
Barry nodded at him with a grin, and released Turtwig. Ash followed suit, releasing Wick. Both pokemon looked slightly confused when they saw their opponents, but got prepared for the fight nonetheless.
"Charge in with Tackle, Turtwig! Get close!"
Turtwig began running at Wick, head lowered. It was closing the distance rather quickly, so Ash didn't have much time to react.
"Ember, and then dodge it!"
Wick quickly spat out a small ember from his mouth, but Turtwig charged straight through it. The pokemon grunted in pain at the super effective attack, but looked no worse for wear from Ash's perspective.
Just as Wick got ready to jump out of the way, Turtwig suddenly sped up, catching him off guard and colliding with Wick.
"Now use Bite and Absorb!" Barry called out, causing Turtwig to latch onto Wick's shoulder, making the chimchar scream.
"Ember and Scratch until it lets go!" Ash began to panic, really not wanting to lose to Barry, but more importantly, concerned with Wick, who was thrashing around in pain, caught in Turtwig's grip. Turtwig's mouth began to glow green, a sign that it had begun using Absorb, sapping Wick's energy and taking it for itself.
Wick howled, and began to scratch furiously at Turtwig, desperately trying to break free. Turtwig finally let go once a few embers had landed, but both pokemon looked equally exhausted.
One last ember from Wick was launched at Turtwig, and it was too tired to dodge. Turtwig collapsed, and was immediately recalled. Ash quickly ran over to Wick and began congratulating him, the little fire-type exhausted but gladly accepting the praise being dumped on him. A moment later and he was recalled as well, Ash wanting to get him to Nurse Joy as soon as possible.
Ash looked over to Barry, who was looking at Turtwig's pokeball with an indecipherable expression, before clipping it to his belt and walking over to Ash, face tight.
"It was a good battle," Ash offered lamely. Barry wasn't exactly a good sport when it came to losing, that much he knew, but Ash hoped he would be at least civil about it.
Barry nodded stiffly, before slouching and sighing. It looked like he was taking his loss a bit better than Ash expected.
"Yeah, it was." He admitted, a sour look on his face. "But this doesn't mean anything! Next time, we'll crush you easily! You just got lucky!"
Barry's cocky attitude had returned, and although it normally would've left Ash with a small frown on his face, it was nice to see that it looked like Barry hadn't taken his first loss too personally.
At least, he thought he hadn't. Barry was hard to get a read on, sometimes. At least for him it was, Dawn knew him like the back of her hand.
Ash sighed quietly to himself at that thought. He was an outsider to Dawn and Barry's friend group, even back in Twinleaf Town, and he still felt like an outsider to their group even now.
It sucked being the new kid.
Oh well, at least Barry hadn't blown up on him, or completely shut him out. Those were both ways Ash had thought Barry could (expected Barry to) react, and he was left pleasantly surprised.
He really didn't want to be put in the position of explaining why Barry suddenly wouldn't talk to him for a few weeks to Dawn.
–
"Hey guys, I'm back!" Dawn greeted.
Ash and Barry were seated in the atrium of the pokemon center, waiting for their pokemon to be given the all clear by Nurse Joy. Barry was writing something on a piece of paper, while Ash had been scrolling through pokedex entries again. The small machine was a treasure trove of information, and Ash was determined to make the most out of it.
Ash returned the greeting with a wave, while Barry made a grunt of acknowledgement, not looking up from whatever he was writing down.
Dawn sighed and walked over to Barry, before swatting the back of his head, glaring at him as he grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, before he muttered out what sounded like an apology.
Ash gave a slight smile at the interaction, before Dawn looked back over to him.
"So," She began, "What were you guys doing while I was gone?"
"Not much, we had a battle." Ash replied. "Now we're just hanging out, waiting on Nurse Joy."
As if waiting for her queue, Nurse Joy emerged from the doors leading to the back of the pokemon center, the tray in her hand holding two pokeballs. Ash and Barry quickly went up and reclaimed their pokemon, with both trainers thanking the nurse for her help.
"So who won?" Dawn asked once her companions returned to lounging about. "Or did you guys tie? That seems like something that would happen."
"No. Ash won." Barry grounded out. It seemed like he wasn't as over it as Ash thought.
"Oh, well, was it at least a good battle?" The question seemed to be directed more at Barry than Ash, and once again he felt like he was interrupting a private moment between his friends.
Barry sighed. It seemed like Dawn always knew what to say to the blond haired boy.
"Yeah, we almost had him. We still lost though." Barry recalled, a frown still present on his face.
"Well isn't it more important that it was close and enjoyable? Would you rather have had the battle you had or one where you won easily?" Dawn questioned. "Besides, it's a single loss that means absolutely nothing. Everyone loses."
Barry looked much better than he had for most of the time after their battle, and looked like he was going to say something, but all the color drained from his face.
"Crap! I forgot I have to go out and buy more food for Turtwig and Starly!" He shouted, rising from his seat and shoving the paper he had been working on into his bag. "I'll see you guys later!"
Barry dashed out of the pokemon center, before Dawn and Ash turned to look at each other.
"I'm pretty sure he rushed his packing, he was complaining about not having a pillow for the last two nights after you fell asleep." Dawn said. "He's probably going to be out for a while grabbing stuff."
"Should we go after him?" Ash asked after a moment. "I feel like there's a pretty good chance he gets lost, or at least off track."
Dawn laughed at that, even though Ash was pretty sure she agreed with him. "I'll go find him, otherwise he might be out all night."
"Good luck!" Ash called out to her as she walked out the doors, going in the same direction Barry had gone.
Ash thumbed Wick's pokeball, watching Dawn leave.
It seemed like he had time to teach Wick fury swipes today after all.
–
As it turned out, teaching Wick fury swipes was a lot easier than it sounded. All the move entailed was scratching at your opponent in rapid succession, at least according to the pokedex.
There was a reason that it was one of the easiest moves to teach, apparently. Wick had pretty much mastered it in around fifteen minutes, so he just had Wick practice his moves until it got dark.
He learned that just because Wick knew how to use a move, it didn't mean he could use it. Blaze kick was a very strong move, but Wick was barely able to run with his short legs, much less kick. They were strong, but not very long.
Ash just hoped it was something that changed when he evolved, though that likely wouldn't be for a while.
Now, though, he was trying to call his mom. He had promised to call her once he reached Sandgem Town, but for some reason she wasn't picking up.
Just before he gave up and walked away, the screen on the video phone lit up, his mother smiling on the other end.
"Hi, Ash!" She cheerily greeted him. "Sorry about the wait, I was already on the line with someone and it didn't tell me you were calling."
"Who were you talking to?" Ash asked, confused. He didn't know many people his mom would call, she much preferred talking in person, and he couldn't think of anyone outside of Twinleaf Town she talked to.
"No one important. Besides, I want to hear about you now! How are you? How is traveling with Barry and Dawn? How is Wick? Have you caught any pokemon yet?"
Ash hid a frown at his question being waved off, but he didn't care that much. His mom was her own person, he was just curious.
"Well," He began slowly, trying to remember every question she just asked. "I'm good, I really like traveling. It's great. Traveling with Barry and Dawn is nice, they're cool. Wick is doing fine, we just finished training for the day. I haven't caught any pokemon yet."
Ash was pretty sure he answered all of her questions, but it was getting late, and his need for sleep was catching up to him.
"That's wonderful!" His mother chirped. "I'm glad you're having a good time, I know how important this is for you, my little pokemon master!"
"Mooooom." Ash groaned, embarrassed. "There are people that can hear you, you know."
He was the only one in the room, actually, but that's besides the point.
"How else is the world going to find out how amazing you are?" His mother gazed at him lovingly. "I'm so proud of you, Ashy."
"I know, mom." Ash replied.
Suddenly, an alarm went off in the background, causing Delia to turn towards it.
"Sorry honey," She apologized. "It looks like we're going to have to cut this call short, it looks like dinner is done!"
"Okay mom, bye." Ash said. "I love you,"
"I love you too sweetie! Call me if you need anything, or when you make it to Jubilife!" She responded happily, before ending the call.
The screen went dark, and Ash was alone. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, leaving the room to get ready for bed. It had gotten dark a while ago, and he hadn't seen Barry or Dawn come back yet.
He wasn't too worried, though. Sandgem was a small town, and very peaceful. Especially since Professor Rowan had settled down here, many years ago. He may be far past his prime, but he had seen some of the man's team. They were still pretty strong.
As Ash finally got ready for bed, he released Wick for the night. He quickly put out the fire on his tail, not wanting to destroy the room they were staying in at the pokemon center. He jumped up on the side of the bed and curled up for the night.
Ash was quick to follow, eager to sleep in a real bed again, even though it had only been a few days. As soon as Ash pulled the blankets over himself, he was out.
–
Ash enjoyed being able to wake himself up for once. It was still somewhat early, and he had already finished packing, so he didn't think he'd be holding the group up when they wanted to leave.
As he walked into the lobby of the pokemon center, he saw that Barry was already there. He quickly walked over to greet his friend.
"Hey." Ash began. "What time do you want to leave? I'm finished packing."
Barry sighed. "We're waiting for Dawn to wake up."
"Really?" Ash asked, surprised. "You didn't have any problem waking us up at the crack of dawn the past few days, what changed?"
Barry winced, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, about that." He started, clearly embarrassed. "I may have been out a bit too late last night buying stuff with Dawn."
"Really? I thought you only needed pokemon food."
"Yeah, but I kind of forgot a few things. When we left Twinleaf, I may have been in a bit of a hurry. I had always planned on getting some things here, but I kind of underestimated how much."
"Oh." Ash wasn't really surprised at that. Barry was always in a hurry. "How much stuff did you forget to pack?"
Barry looked down and mumbled something, but Ash couldn't make it out.
"Care to repeat that?" Ash asked.
"Everything."
"What does that mean?"
"Well," Barry started, "Aside from my sleeping bag and the pokemon food I had, the only thing I brought was my canteen."
That was really funny to Ash, but also kind of gross. "Does this mean that you've only had one pair of clothes this whole time?"
Barry nodded, and Ash cringed. At least he was wearing a different outfit now.
"Anyways…" Ash said, trying to move on from that bit of information. "What does this have to do with not waking up Dawn?"
"Because of how late we were out, she said she'd kill me if I woke her up early. She might've been serious too, if the look she gave me meant anything."
At that moment Ash was glad that he wasn't with the duo last night. It wasn't that he was averse to spending time with them, but he had seen Dawn mad before. It took a lot to get her there, but once she was, it was a scary sight.
"You can quit worrying, I'm not going to do anything."
Ash and Barry turned towards the voice, seeing Dawn walking over to them, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She looked pretty tired, but waved off Ash and Barry's concern.
And so, albeit slightly reluctantly on Ash and Barry's part, the trio set out for Jubilife City.
–
Route 202 wasn't very different from Route 201, Ash mused to himself as he and his friends traveled. There were the same trees, the same dirt road, the same grass. If it wasn't for the sign marking the route back in Sandgem Town, Ash would have assumed that they had stepped right back onto Route 201.
There was one difference, however.
There were a lot more trainers on Route 202 compared to Route 201. While there had only been a handful of people they saw each day on the way to Sandgem, they had already encountered over a dozen so far today, and they had only been traveling for a few hours.
It was likely due to their proximity to Jubilife. It was an absolutely massive city, not only one of the largest in Sinnoh, but in the National League as well. Despite not having a gym for trainers to challenge, it was a gathering place for hundreds of trainers, as well as home to some of the region's largest companies. Ash wouldn't call Twinleaf Town isolated necessarily, but it was certainly pretty far out there, far away from the hustle and bustle of most of the region.
Once again, Ash, Barry and to a lesser extent, Dawn, proved their mettle as trainers. Despite the large increase in quantity, it seemed as though there wasn't a large increase in skill in the opponents that they had faced so far. Ash and Barry continued to win the vast majority of, with only Barry losing to a powerful Luxio that was simply too much for Turtwig to handle. Dawn didn't battle as much, but she and Piplup were a powerful duo nonetheless.
They were also traveling at a vastly reduced speed now, partially due to Dawn's insistence. Barry seemed much less willing to push her today, and was much more comfortable with taking it slower now that he had all the essentials on him.
Ash was fine with moving slower too, as it meant that he had more time to battle, as well as simply enjoy the experience of traveling. It felt like a chore before, marching across Route 201. It was still enjoyable, albeit to a much lesser extent.
It also got the three of them talking to each other a lot more. Ash learned about how Barry's father was an exceptional trainer, and his goal was to become a strong enough trainer that he could beat his father in a battle. He had already known about how Dawn wanted to be a pokemon coordinator, but he didn't know that her mom had won several grand festivals before retiring, which was certainly no small feat.
It honestly made Ash a little jealous. Having people so close to look up to, to be inspired by. He loved his mom dearly, but she wasn't the type of person Ash could look up to as a challenge to surpass. He didn't even know who his father was either - the closest he ever had to a role model like Barry and Dawn did was Professor Oak.
And now, like the rest of his former life, the man was thousands of miles away, in Kanto.
Ash tried not to let that get to him, though. He tried to look at it positively, and that usually worked whenever he was feeling too down about it. He didn't have any expectations, for one, coming from a nowhere family in a nowhere town.
He would forge his own legacy.
–
Ash sighed as he laid back, with Wick next to him, having just finished eating their dinner.
The trio stopped a little earlier than they had been today. Dawn wanted time to begin training Piplup for contests, and Barry had wanted to train with Turtwig and Starly a bit.
Ash was fine with it, of course. Wick was completely drained from all the battles, but he was definitely stronger from it. His ember, which had started as simply a few tiny licks of fire that he was able to launch, had turned into a moderately large fireball that hurt anything that was unfortunate enough to get in its way. It had only been three days as well, which was very impressive.
Right now Ash was simply relaxing at the campsite that they had chosen for the night. It was nice, despite not being nearly as comfortable as the bed he had slept in the night previously. There was a small pond, which unfortunately didn't have any pokemon, and plenty of soft grass, which grew tall on the edge of the clearing.
Ash idly scratched Wick's head, the small fire-type gladly leaning into the contact. He loved the attention, and it distracted Ash from his current thoughts.
Ash couldn't see his friends. He had a pretty good idea of where Dawn had gone, and occasionally saw a geyser of water off to his right, but he had no clue where Barry was.
Ash was confident he'd be fine, though. Turtwig and Starly were tough, and there weren't very many strong/aggressive pokemon in this part of Sinnoh. Southeast Sinnoh was where most pokemon came to breed and raise their children - beyond Jubilife City, large settlements were rare, and Sandgem Town was the only place that came close to that description.
Ash still wanted to try and catch a pokemon soon. Wick was awesome, but no one ever became a master with just one pokemon.
…
Ash sighed for the millionth time, completely and utterly bored.
Maybe reading through the pokedex some more would keep him entertained. If nothing else, it would be good reading material and valuable information for the future.
–
Despite Barry not rudely waking them up at dawn, all three trainers were up pretty early, ready to hit the road after a quick breakfast.
As Ash was finishing rolling up his sleeping bag, however, something changed their plans.
The grass on the edge of their clearing began to rustle, and out came a pokemon. It was small, running at them on two tiny, yellow nubs for feet. It had a green, well, Ash wouldn't call it a body, rather a protective 'shell' surrounding its yellow face. Finally, it had a small bud that was connected to the rest of its body on the top of its head.
Ash recognized the pokemon as a Budew. And, if the squeal from Dawn was anything to go off of, it had alerted his friends of its presence.
"It's so cute!" Dawn exclaimed, causing Budew to give her its best glare, which looked more like an adorable pout to the trainers. It only made Dawn coo at the small pokemon even harder.
"I'm going to catch it!" She proudly announced. Barry just nodded, seemingly uncaring to the angry little Budew.
Ash was a bit more disappointed, however. He had heard that budew were usually passive, if not downright friendly, and this one looked feisty. It didn't seem too dangerous, however, or else it probably would have simply snuck up on them and poisoned them all with stun spore before they could react.
But Dawn had called dibs, so…
She quickly released Piplup, who was slightly confused at being released so quickly after being recalled earlier, but quickly focused on Budew at Dawn's call.
The Budew quickly charged Piplup, yelling (squeaking) a fierce cry, before Dawn began to act.
"Bubble!" She called, with Piplup quickly heeding her order, launching dozens of bubbles from his beak straight into Budew's path.
Budew slowed momentarily, wincing a bit, before continuing its charge. As it got within a few feet of Piplup, it began to glow green, sending a few tendrils of green energy towards Piplup. It was too slow to dodge, and was caught in the absorb attack, which began to drain its energy.
"Piplup!" Dawn called out in worry, fearing for her pokemon. "Try to break out of it, and then use peck!"
Struggling against the absorb, Piplup was able to break the hold it had on him. He jumped at Budew beak first, before being caught in a psychic hold.
"What?" Dawn asked to no one, completely caught off guard.
Ash was impressed with the Budew, as it slammed Piplup on the ground, before once again wrapping it in an absorb, but this time it opened the bud on its head and launched dozens of yellow particles from it. The three trainers quickly took a step back from the stun spore attack, but Piplup was unfortunate enough to be stuck and was quickly enveloped in the paralysis-inducing attack.
Or, he would have, if he wasn't recalled a moment before he would have been exposed to them.
Dawn gripped Piplup's pokeball tightly to her chest, whispering apologies to her poor pokemon before clipping his ball back to her belt, glaring at the Budew with all the hate she could muster.
Budew growled menacingly (adorably) at the group, clearly intending for another fight.
"I call dibs!" Ash quickly announced, to the dismay of the suddenly interested Barry, while Dawn continued to glare at the tiny pokemon.
He quickly released Wick, who stared at the Budew with a slight amount of boredom, but was ready to fight nonetheless.
"Be careful." Ash said. "It's strong. It took out Dawn's Piplup easily."
Dawn scoffed at that, but didn't say anything.
Wick suddenly straightened up, now much more interested in the battle. Ash and Wick had fought plenty of budew over the past few days - many of the trainers they faced had one. However, this one was much more powerful than any previously seen by Ash, as Wick had defeated most of them with a single attack.
Ash had a feeling this fight would be different.
"Ember!" Ash called out to Wick. It only took a moment for the ember to form, but Budew wasn't willing to let the attack just hit it.
It opened its bulb once more, but this time, a small amount of water came out, coating Budew. The ember still hurt when it hit, that much was clear, but the effect was somewhat diminished by whatever move Budew had just used.
It tumbled over, slightly singed, before standing back up. Its eyes began to glow pink again, a telltale sign that it was going to attempt to use whatever psychic technique it had used on Piplup once again, but Wick was too fast.
He closed the distance between the two quickly, before beginning to slash at Budew with fury swipes. The pain easily broke Budew's concentration, the tiny pokemon recoiling in pain.
"Alright, that's enough." Ash ordered, to which Wick immediately ended his assault on the poor pokemon. He took one of the empty pokeballs hanging on his belt and primed it, causing Dawn to glare at him.
"You're actually going to try and catch that thing?" She hissed, still angry at the Budew for what it had done to Piplup. "It's evil!"
"Of course I am!" Ash responded. "It's pretty strong, and it challenged us."
Dawn groaned, but remained quiet. It was clear exactly what she thought of the Budew.
Ash finally tossed the pokeball at the downed Budew, and it was quickly absorbed into the ball in a beam of scarlet light.
The ball rolled around slightly, Budew using whatever strength it had remaining to attempt to break free.
It was not enough however, and thequiet click of the pokeball signaled Budew's capture.
"Yes!" Ash cheered, ecstatic at his first successful pokemon capture. "Great job, Wick!"
Wick puffed his chest out in pride, clearly happy with himself as Ash went to pick up the pokeball that had landed softly on the ground.
He picked it up, and clipped it to his belt, before turning towards Dawn and Barry.
"I'll talk to Budew later." He offered. "We can head out now, if you guys are ready."
His friends nodded, and so the trio set out once again.
–
Once the trio had stopped for lunch, Ash decided it was as good a time as any to finally greet his new pokemon.
"I'll be right back." He told Dawn, who nodded at him as he walked away.
He released Wick first, pausing to give him a light scratch on the head as he explained the situation.
"We're gonna talk to the Budew we just caught." He said. "Be nice."
Wick nodded happily, and so Ash unclipped Budew's pokeball from his belt and released Budew.
Budew looked to still be slightly tired from fighting earlier, and simply looked up at Ash curiously. However, it didn't look hurt anymore - it had a few scrapes, but nothing a bit of rest wouldn't fix.
"Hey there, little guy." Ash said, trying not to seem too threatening. "I caught you earlier, after we battled. You know what that means right?"
Budew nodded, although it made a small frown. Ash hoped it didn't hold a grudge, he didn't want to deal with Budew not listening to him. It wasn't exactly like he could force it to battle if it didn't want to, but it seemed pretty strong, and most pokemon naturally wanted to grow stronger.
Survival of the fittest and all, you know.
"Well," Ash began, kneeling down to be closer to Budew's level. "When we battled earlier, I could tell you were pretty strong. However, me and Wick here are way stronger."
Budew seemed to glow at the little bit of praise Ash had given it, only to wilt at what had come next.
"It's okay though, Wick is really tough." Ash tried to console quickly, but he couldn't tell if it worked or not. "Wick got so strong from training with me, and I think we could use a pokemon like you. Do you want to be friends with us?"
It took a moment, but Budew soon nodded happily, its entire body shaking with the movement.
Ash giggled at it for a moment, before pulling out his pokedex.
"Is it ok if I scan you with this? It'll tell me more about you."
At another full body nod, Ash scanned Budew with his pokedex. It glowed lightly, before speaking as it had when he first scanned Wick, its monotone voice droning information.
Budew, the bud pokemon. It lives alongside clear ponds. It scatters pollen that induces harsh sneezing and runny noses. This Budew is Female.
This Budew knows the moves Absorb, Growth, Water Sport, Stun Spore, and Extrasensory. Its ability is Poison Point, which occasionally poisons enemies on contact.
Ash was surprised and somewhat worried. Extrasensory explained what move it was that Budew was using before, but Ash didn't know that Budew could learn that move. Most pokemon have at least some sort of psychic powers, but being able to use them in combat was a much rarer occurrence.
The part that Ash was worried about was Budew's ability, Poison Point. Wick had plenty of time to be poisoned by contact while he was using fury swipes on her, but he didn't seem to be affected by anything as of right now. He'd just have to keep a close eye on Wick for a while - he had antidotes, so there wasn't anything too urgent.
He looked back over to Budew and Wick, who seemed to be talking to each other. He smiled as he saw them getting along - it looked like Budew didn't hold a grudge after all.
"Hey Budew." He called, getting his new friend's attention. She made a squeaking sound at him, turning away from Wick in the process.
"Do you want a name? Wick has one." He gestured to the Chimchar, who puffed up with the spotlight, causing Ash to smile. "It's okay if you don't, though."
Budew blinked and paused for a moment, before smiling at Ash and giving him another full body nod.
Ash smiled back at her before thinking. He had thought of a nickname he liked while walking earlier, and he hoped Budew liked it too.
"How about Thorn?" Budew evolved into Roserade, and roses had thorns, so…
On Budew's (now Thorn's) nod of confirmation, Ash grinned.
"Great! Welcome to the team, Thorn. We're going to eat lunch now, are you hungry?" Ash asked, somewhat curious. He knew of a few grass-types that didn't eat, and instead simply took energy from the sun through a form of photosynthesis unique to grass-types, but didn't know if the Budew line was included in that group.
However, Thorn chirped happily at him with an eagerness that made him think they weren't.
Only one way to find out.
–
It turned out that Thorn definitely did eat pokemon food, just like Wick and the rest of the group's pokemon, but she certainly did not eat as much as them. She had eaten only around half of the food Ash had initially put down (he always gave Wick extra if he really wanted it), before refusing to touch the rest of it. Wick made sure it didn't go to waste.
After lunch, Ash had begun battling a few trainers with Thorn while traveling, and he wasn't disappointed, not that he thought he would be. She was a natural, and listened to every command Ash had given, which was great. Between Wick and Thorn, he continued his undefeated streak, much to Barry's chagrin.
Ash wasn't rubbing it in or anything, but Ash noticed that every time Ash won a particularly close fight, or whenever Barry lost, he could feel the blond's eyes on him.
It was just another reason he had been, albeit somewhat hesitantly, began making preparations for what would happen once they reached Jubilife.
It would be for the best, Ash told himself.
That didn't mean that he believed it.
–
It took a few days, but the skyscrapers of Jubilife City had eventually appeared to the trio, miles above the treeline. It certainly encouraged Barry, who had suddenly gained the eagerness he had before they had left Twinleaf Town. Dawn was quick to slow him down though, and Ash was simply along for the ride.
The number of trainers grew massively, too, even more than when they had first left Sandgem. Barry had even begun to decline a few battles, and both of Ash's traveling companions seemed somewhat irked after Ash had accepted what must have been his hundredth battle of the day.
It wasn't like he could decline a battle once they locked eyes with him!
He did eventually stop going out of his way to challenge other trainers, sensing their mild irritation, though. He didn't want to be the one holding them up.
He was guilty enough as is.
Ash tried to push those thoughts away - in a day or two they would reach Jubilife City, and then his journey would truly begin. Twinleaf and Sandgem were small towns - miniscule blips on the map of Sinnoh, though Sandgem was hardly ever ignored for obvious reasons - but Jubilife was the real deal. Some of the strongest trainers in the region might be there!
Despite his nerves at the thought, Ash grinned.
He couldn't wait to see what the rest of Sinnoh had to offer.
—
A/N:
I'd like to dedicate this work to Traveler, and more specifically The Straight Elf who has written one of, if not the greatest pokemon stories to date. Without Traveler, I likely never would have attempted to write my own story.
This is a mix of the anime and games, though I will be taking some creative liberties with things, such as pokemon locations - I wouldn't imagine them to be as rigid here compared to the games.
The world will also be darker. People/pokemon will die, although very rarely and not until way later in the story.
I hope people enjoyed it, and if you did, leave a review! If you didn't, you can leave a review too. I won't claim to be a great writer, and any feedback is appreciated.
Thank you!