Welcome to the second chapter of my first ever Fan Fiction! For those of you who saw the previous chapter before it was completed, I would like to apologize for having to see that. I am finally learning how to add chapters to my story correctly. I truly hope you can forgive my stupidity.
Secondly, I would like to thank all those who have followed, favored, or reviewed my story. I truly am grateful that anyone is coming over to see what this story might turn into.
But I know you came here for the story, so without anything else to say. I present chapter 2 of 'The Very Best'!
Disclaimer: I do not own, have not, or ever will own Pokémon. All rights go to the respective owners. I recommend watching/playing Pokémon in general.
The Very Best:
Chapter 2:
Within Our First Steps
Opening (If you want to): Departure (From HunterXHunter, cover by Studio Yuraki) Or Pokémon Theme song (by John Siegler and John Loeffler)
Ash had been walking on the path for a solid two and a half hours, his new partner walking by his side the whole way. Ash was slowly starting to become mad after all this time. The sun was already on its way to make the Region hotter, and his hat could only offer so much protection. Squirtle had no problem with the heat as it was a Water-type. It's not as if Ash disliked all this walking; it was the opposite. The problem lay with the lack of actual Pokémon on the dirt road. While it was only Route one of the entire Kanto Region, there should still be at least a few out in the open.
Did the Pokémon accidentally get scared off when Gary came by?
"Do you see anything, Squirt?" Ash questioned his partner as he looked around to see if he could find anything. He saw a tree on his left, a tree in the middle, and a rock wedged between the second tree and the last one on the right.
"Squirtle." It was a disappointing response the Pokémon gave as the slowly growing heat did not affect him. Ash let out a deep sigh.
"Why don't we have a break?" The kid offered his partner, who just nodded in response. Ash knew that the growing heat wouldn't stop anytime soon and that this wouldn't help make a good team. But in all honesty, Ash and his Pokémon were too tired to think about anything like that. Ash and Squirtle voted on going to the tree on the right, the one with the rock!
The newbie trainer went over to the small, decent size tree and placed his backpack next to it. The tree was right next to a large, open field that had some tall patches of grass. Most Pokémon tended to live in large patches of grasses, but Ash couldn't see any movement or hear anything happen within them. Truthfully, Ash tuned out everything as he held Squirtle close to him, the Pokémon glad to be with his Trainer.
The two decided to share a nice moment as they took in the nature around them and saw how truly nice it was. Taking it in beforehand would've made the last two hours more bearable, although Ash just knew that this was going to be more commonplace. He noticed how the clouds looked a bit gray. A storm was probably approaching.
Ash frowned at that as he asked his Pokémon a question. "Squirt," The Pokémon quickly looked up. "What kind of Pokémon do you think we should have on our team?"
Squirtle thought for a long moment as he gave his answer. "Squirtle. Squirt. Squirt."
Ash knew he couldn't understand Pokémon language, but he just needed to think about something that wasn't his Boredom. Ash decided to decode his Pokémon words with his interpretation. "I do think we need a Flying-type for our team, although it might be a bit too early for that. I feel like a Grass-type is what we need; at least that won't suffer from a disadvantage during the first three gyms."
"Squirtle." The Pokémon agreed with that notion, even though the Water-type didn't bring up Flying-types in his answer. Although this made Squirtle think, why would Ash pick him when Bulbasaur was the better choice with his typing? Squirtle was grateful for Ash taking him in, but he didn't want his typing to bring his Trainer down.
Ash suddenly hugged his only Pokémon close to him, something that Squirtle wasn't expecting. "Don't worry, Squirt. I knew what I was doing when I picked you, and I wouldn't have made any other decision if I had been given a chance." Ash told his Pokémon in a way that a father would ensure their children. "You are my Pokémon. Never forget that."
His Trainer's words touched Squirtle, and the Water-type laid himself across Ash, the boy not even trying to stop his Pokémon. "Squirtle." They both shared a smile.
The sound of ruffling plants made the pair end their moment prematurely. They saw movement in the grass as a Pokémon was undoubtedly coming in their direction. Ash prepared himself for any Pokémon that could come out as Squirtle was in the front, ready to help his Trainer. Squirtle had a boost of energy and confidence as he was prepared to fight for Ash, having no plans for losing.
In a single moment, the previously mysterious creature in the grass had come out of its veil of plants. This duo was surprised, although a little underwhelmed, at what came out.
The Pokémon looked identical to the one that Ash's alarm had, except now you could see all its little details. She was merely walking around, looking at the nearby trees and not noticing or caring about the two guests on the route. Ash decided to move past his anticlimactic look as he decided to get back into Trainer mode.
"A Pidgey," Ash observed as he brought out his Pokédex and opened it up, pointing the red device at the Pokémon.
"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokémon." The Pokédex told Ash in a still robotic-like voice. "Dex Number: 016. Pokémon typing: Normal, Flying. A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand. This specific Pidgey is a female and is currently at level 5. The Pokémon has the following moves: Tackle, Sand Attack." Ash nodded after hearing that and placed the device away.
"I guess we're going to our Flying-type early, after all." Ash reflected as he looked down at Squirtle, who was already getting pumped for battle. "Squirt, show these Pokémon how strong you are." He instructed his Pokémon with a look of pride for his starter, Squirtle, trying to be unseen in his approach from behind.
The Pidgey was still oblivious as she went for a large leppa berry that had fallen from a tree. Squirrel tried to avoid anything that could make noise as Squirtle perfectly moved out of the way of Pidgey's eyesight. Ash was anxious as he was hiding behind the tree, making sure that she would not see him. Piaget was busy pecking at the fruit with her beak and facing away from the tree.
This was it.
As soon as the bird looked away, Squirtle immediately took action. He charged at the oblivious Pokémon and gave a dead center Tackle to the side. The Pidgey, not having enough time to react, was flown back a few inches away as the leppa berry she tried to eat was knocked out of her mouth.
"Squirtle!" The Pokémon said proudly as he saw his new opponent getting up. The Pidgey was in battle mode after that surprisingly hard Tackle. Piaget then started to move her wings, the starter and trainer fearing that the Flying-type was about to leave this battle.
"Pidgey!" No one could stop the Pokémon as it started to flap her tiny wings rapidly, lifting the sand that was around him. The simple gust of wind turned into something fierce at a rapid speed. The Pidgey had now created a small, brownish tornado that was making grass nearby move around.
Squirtle was getting nervous at the size of the attack, although he sensed that this attack wouldn't do any actual damage to him. "So, this is Sand Attack," Ash had only seen Pokémon moves on his little TV, but seeing them up close was a different experience.
"Gey!" The Flying-type then released the tornado it had made.
"Urtle!" Squirtle's instincts were to escape the range of the attack as an amount of sand was coming straight for him. Ash couldn't blame his starter as the attack was about the size of an adult. Squirtle quickly used the tree to block the attack. Unfortunately, sand got on his body and in his eyes, causing them to tear as they burned up.
Pidgey began to go upward as it flapped her wings, leaving the already dying tornado. She did this to figure out where that Squirtle went. This height was not only for a better viewpoint of the battle but for her to escape if needed.
Pidgey frantically looked around to see if the Squirtle was still nearby. Not seeing the Water-type still hiding behind the tree, Squirtle quickly crawled up and made it to the highest branch, as a crazy idea came to him. Pidgey could find the male Trainer as he was merely spectating the battle, knowing where both sides were to each other.
Pidgey knew that she should be worried by this, but she saw this as a good thing. Pidgey was about to leave the battle and head to the far trees to escape capture. Squirtle and Ash saw this. Squirtle ran as fast as he could down the closest branch to Pidgey and jumped incredibly to land over Pidgey in mid-air. The Flying was too focused on her freedom that she could escape with ease.
Or that was what was supposed to happen. Suppose it had not been for a blue head that gave a brutal hit to the top of her skull. The owner of the bluehead smiled as he saw Pidgey so unbelievably confused. A bump was already growing on her head.
Pidgey was sent straight to the ground with a thud, while Squirtle could land without issue, using his shell to land safely, "Great job, Squirt!" Ash called out to his starter; a fist raised in excitement. "Now, give off one last Tackle!"
"Squirtle! Squirtle!" The starter quickly ran towards Pidgey, who was hardly starting to get up, and was able to give a dead center Tackle on the side Pidgey could only watch as her opponent came, and she was sent back again.
Pidgey was skidding across the dirt, her body starting to ache quite badly. Once the bird stopped moving across the soil, she wasted no time in desperately trying to escape. Except she couldn't now.
That newest Tackle was the attack that ruined her right wing, as the thing was already bruised from the force it endured. In other words, the wing was in too much pain for anything to do with long flying. Even a short flight was stretching it. And yet, Pidgey was still trying her absolute hardest to flee.
Even though she knew it was unavoidable now.
On the other side of the battle, Ash grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and put it in front of him. "All right. I have pledged to make the team strong enough for the Pokémon League," Ash said more to himself as he was getting ready for it, walking up to the weakened Pidgey. "And you are going to help me with that, Pidgey!" the button on the small Pokeball was clicked, and it grew in size.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle was right by Ash's side as he was proud of the first Pokémon he had managed to beat.
Pidgey, who only now was standing weakly on the ground, realized that the Trainer had a Pokeball in his hand. Piaget laid her head down, knowing that escape now was futile. Ash put his cap backward to look awesome. He did this as he moved, remembering how he practiced back then in summer camp. "Pokeball, go!" Ash threw the Pokeball at the Pidgey.
Pidgey couldn't and didn't try to do anything as it saw the ball quickly coming towards her. The Pokeball was able to hit the Pokémon on the head, which resulted in it opening up. All at once, the Pokémon turned into red light that quickly lost its shape as it was getting stuffed into the hollow ball, leaving no amount of light behind. The Pokeball landed on the ground.
"We did it!" Ash cheered for him and his Pokémon. His once previous joy became a realization as he looked better at the Pokeball. It was shaking from left to right, along with having the button become a red color. Ash had forgotten about that part with the shaking in his excitement, and mostly because he kind of hated that part.
First, shake.
Second shake.
Third shake.
Ash and Squirtle were next to each other as all of their focus was on that moving Pokeball; they looked at the thing with a complicated direction in their eyes. Sweat began to form on Ash as he was getting anxious over this.
"Come on." Ash accidentally said out loud as he was starting to image e what he could do with Pidgey. The gray clouds from earlier were slowly approaching as the rain was near imminent.
Fourth shake.
Fifth shake.
With that last motion, the Pokeball stood still as the glowing, red light it once had was gone. Trainer and Pokémon lit up at this, giving in to the only conclusion.
The Pidgey had been caught.
Ash could barely hold his excitement as a look of pure happiness covered his face, along with chuckling softly. "YES! We did it!" The duo ran over to the Pokeball. Ash picked it up with both hands and held it with a great sense of pride and honor. "Aha! It happened! We got Pidgey!" Ash told his partner in pure joy, holding out the Pokeball proudly. He then picked up Squirtle in a one-arm hug. "Thanks to you, Squirt, I caught my first ever Pokémon! You are the best!"
"Squirtle!" Was all the Pokémon needed to say as the two were both overjoyed at having a new friend coming along with them? Nobody could stop the two from having this happy moment together, as any nearby Rattatas or Weedles began to flee at seeing how these two were acting. Even the one going to dig through Ash's bag ran away after seeing what happened.
"This is the first step to becoming the Pokémon Champion of Kanto," Ash announced to his partner as they continued to cheer over their new member. Both of them not even noticing the commotion they were causing as Ash looked at his partner with a smile. "So why don't we celebrate this?"
"Squirt!" The Water immediately agreed with the idea.
The two went down to sit by the berry tree as Ash picked up his bag and began to dig something else. Delia wasn't lying when she said she brought the snacks, and Ash took out two chocolate chip cookies with some oatmeal. His favorite!
"Hold on for a second." Ash gave one of the cookies to Squirtle as he stood and looked into the branches of the trees and spotted two Lum berries that were low enough and looked ripe enough. He gave one berry to Squirtle as they held their food. "Cheers?"
"Squirtle." The two cookies clashed lightly against each other as they wasted no time eating.
The cookies were, surprisingly, still moist as the flavor completely took over the duo's mouth. Ash knew that it would taste amazing as his mother was perfect as a cook and was interested in Squirtle's reaction, and the Water-type looked as though his life had changed. Squirtle began to devour the cookie as he didn't try to savor it. The Pokémon had a good time at the lab, although his diet was a bit short on variety. Ash laughed as he popped the berry in his mouth and looked up at the sky. Squirtle gnawing at with such speed.
Ash let nature and his surroundings fuel him as he took in everything. He knew that he had just started as a Pokémon Trainer and that he only had two mons, but he was feeling confident for the rest of the journey. The only thing he had to compare to his expedition were the other three, who he had not seen so far, and the one, his father, had when he was his age. The boy never did meet his dad, but Delia would always say that he was a strong Trainer that died valiantly for them, even having the same dreams that Ash had. Maybe he was also in the same position under the tree as Ash was.
Ash breathed out of his nose as he closed his eyes, taking Pidgey's Pokeball out when his cookie was done.
"Squirt," Ash got the attention of his starter, who looked at him as he was still making his way through the cookie. "Can you believe we already have our first friend?"
"Squirtle." The Pokémon answered as he went over, the cookie still in his mouth, and went to pat the Pokeball. This gave Ash such a cute image of his Pokémon. He honestly couldn't stop himself from grinning.
"I'm glad you like it, buddy," Ash stood up. "And don't worry, we'll catch a lot of new friends throughout this journey." The trainer declared, Pokeball shining in the sunlight. "So, Pidgey, that means you are sticking with us." He told the Pokeball, but whether Pidgey heard it or not was a different matter.
"Squirtle urtle?"
Ash decided to think over his Pokémon request. "Of course, we can bring her out. After all, we have a cookie for her." Ash took another cookie out for the Flying-type, pressing the button and the same white light as before came out. Pidgey was outside, albeit weak from her most recent battle. The injuries were still there as Pidgey tried her best not to look like it went through a losing battle.
"Pidgey." It said pretty weakly, clearly having difficulty standing on her two legs as it looked up at her Trainer.
"Oh no! are you okay, Pidgey?" Ash tenderly picked up his newest Pokémon as Squirtle was right by his side in concern, his food wholly done. Pidgey gave a slow head shake to her Trainer's question, not wanting her new owner to feel bad. "Here. You need to get back inside the Pokeball." Ash told Pidgey as the object, as mentioned earlier, was in front of her.
"Pidgey." It was all that needed to be said as the Pokeball opened up, the Pokémon becoming red and being put back into the Pokeball.
"I guess we're going need a Pokémon Center before we can properly meet our new friend," Ash and Squirtle weren't thrilled about this but knew that they had no potions on hand and no health berries on the tree either. Ash and Squirtle were about ready to leave this area behind, but Squirtle had to ask Ash something.
"Squirtle?" Even though Ash didn't understand him, he just knew what his Pokémon was asking for.
"Sorry, Squirt, but I am not giving you another one just yet." Squirtle wasn't too thrilled as he was getting fussy. "We can have another once we arrive at Viridian City, okay?" Ash wasn't planning on changing the offer as his backpack was already on him, walking away as he waited for Squirtle to follow.
Squirtle kicked a small stone near as he followed with a frown. "Urtle." The two resumed their travel.
Nothing major ended up happening as they went to Viridian City to heal Pidgey because it was the only other town in this part of the Region. Squirtle was getting desperate for those cookies and made Ash make a compromise for the two. Squirtle would be allowed to rest in Ash's backpack so that he didn't have to walk anymore, with the promise of not eating and of the cookies. The Water-type agreed with this trade as Ash tried to make it comfortable. It was a bit hard to make room with how much stuff was in the backpack, even with it being an adult backpack.
But it was all worth it.
Squirtle had his head and arms sticking out of the backpack as he was allowed to look around and signal Ash if something was wrong. The boy took the extra weight like it was nothing, as he could still run decently enough, often doing short bursts to scare his Pokémon as a joke. Ash would always check back to see that his food was still untouched by his Pokémon, happy that Squirtle could keep up his end of the deal. An idea suddenly came to Ash, A Pokémon with the body of a Backpack! Maybe there was already Pokémon based on a backpack out there that he didn't know about. It wouldn't be the most outrageous thing to think.
As the two kept walking to Viridian City as the gray clouds slowly took over the sky, Squirtle was ready to take a nap in his Trainer's backpack when he instantly perked up as they heard a Pokémon cry.
"Spear." Something called out from the tall grass, catching the pair's attention. They turned to see another bird-like Pokémon, but since it was too far away, they couldn't exactly tell what it was. Squirtle quickly jumped out of the bag at the prospect of something exciting. The blurry colors that they saw at least made them know that it wasn't another Pidgey. Ash took his Pokédex out.
"Is that what I think it is?" His Pokédex quickly answered.
"Spearow, the tiny bird Pokémon. Dex Number: 021. Pokémon typing: Normal, Flying. Its loud cry can be heard over half a mile away. If it's high, keening cry is heard echoing all around; it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger. This specific Spearow is a Male and currently at level 4. This Pokémon has the following moves: Peck, Growl, Leer."
"Just what I thought," Ash whispered as he put his device away, the two getting a better look at the Pokémon when they came closer. The Pokémon had a small stature, a brown body, and pale red wings. His underbelly was a beige color, and he also possessed a dark brown plumage on his head. His rear was black, while the tail feathers were a shade of brown. Pink talons for its feet, like how Pidgey had. He minded his business.
"Squirtle?" The Pokémon asked curiously.
"I would love to catch it, but we already have a Flying-type on our team. Besides, and I don't know if you know this, but these guys will call a horde of them if they start losing a battle." Ash zipped up his backpack fully. The boy had heard stories of people that have dealt with multiple Spearow attacking them and their Pokémon. The bird Pokémon shows no mercy when on the offensive as long scars were expected from those things. "I just don't want us to end up like that."
Taking the safe way out was not something that Squirtle wanted. "Squirtle! Squirt. Squirt." Ash filled in the dots as he took a Poke Ball out that had no Pokémon inside it. Yet.
"Should I take my chance with throwing it, not even weakening it?"
"Squirtle." The Water-type gave a cheeky thumbs up at the idea. Ash was thinking about the pros and cons of the situation and what could happen if it didn't work out. He wanted the time to get chased by a group of Pokémon to come later rather than sooner. Squirtle was trying to guide him to the yes answer, probably wanting a Pokémon he could genuinely interact with. He tried to make Squirtle happy as he had already done much for the kid in just a few hours. After a solid minute of decision-making, Ash decided to go with it.
Taking risks was, after all, just part of being a Pokémon Trainer.
"Alright. Be ready to run away." Ash instructed his Pokémon as he made the Pokeball go up and down. "You got that, Squirt?"
"Squirtle!" The Pokémon found a decently sized boulder to hide behind, and Ash knew to go there when Spearow was inside the ball, the boy looking at the bird with complete focus. Ash let out a controlled breath as he threw it at the Spearow, who didn't know any better and made sure to run off as soon as the ball left his hand. Spearow turned his head to see what the noise was, but the only thing he could see was a Pokeball coming towards him.
The Spearow got hit and sucked into the Pokeball.
Two pairs of eyes saw how the Pokeball fell to the ground, and the whole process of shaking started again. The two had the reaction time to escape if the ball opened up, though they couldn't leave just yet. Another Pokémon could take the ball in the short time they were gone. Weirder things have happened in Kanto and the other three regions.
First, shake.
Second shake.
Third shake.
Fou-
The Pokeball broke open as the two halves of the ball were split apart, flying in two separate directions. Spearow came out in a bad mood as he looked around in the air for the person that tried to capture it. He couldn't see any significant movements near him as he was starting to think whoever it was had left before he broke out wouldn't have been the first time. The Pokémon kept his guard up as he finally found something of interest.
He saw two dots quickly running away from where he was. The Pokémon glared daggers as he opened his beak.
"SPEAROW!" He yelled out as he directed it to a faraway tree. Almost instantly, eight other Spearows came out from the tree. They all had a look of determination on their faces as they quickly made it to where their comrade was. The Spearow who assembled them made them follow the two who tried to capture him. They all screamed out when they were given their goal.
Squirtle looked behind him as they ran, becoming still at what he saw was following them. The Spearows all had a look that showed off how provoked they were, as there seemed to be nothing that could slow them down, let alone stop them. Squirtle suddenly heard footsteps come towards him; his Trainer picked him up quickly and held him close as they continued running.
"Don't stop and stare, Squirtle," Ash warned his Pokémon, slightly angry, as he knew this situation didn't allow any breaks. Ash didn't have to turn around to know that the Pokémon were getting too dangerously close to them, just based on Squirtle's face. "These Spearows won't stop for you."
"Squirtle." The Pokémon meekly nodded his head.
The duo ran away as fast as they could, not even caring to look at the three armadillo Pokémon sticking their heads out of the grass. They had white bellies. Their back was not only yellow but also resembled that of bricked pavement or walls. It had a short tail, short legs, and a minimal head. The Pokémon saw the two running from the flock of Spearows and knew that the best course of action was to hide until that problem disappeared. Not like they had another plan.
Another Pokémon they ran past was something that looked monkey-like. It was noticeably small with mostly tan fur, a round body, long limbs, and a tail. It also had pointed ears and triangular eyes with red irises. The most striking feature of it was the pig-shaped nose on its face. There were four of these monkeys hanging on branches, two on each one, and they got to see what was going on personally.
"Mankey! Mankey!" The Fighting-types laughed out loud when they saw they were gone, as it was just too funny not to.
"Don't worry, Squirt. I'll find a way out of this!" Ash promised to his Pokémon as he carried his Pokémon close to him. A lone Spearow got ahead of the rest and swopped down, hitting ash squarely on the back of his head. "OW!" Ash stuttered, running for a second as the pain in the back of his head grew.
"SQUIRTLE!"
"I'm fine!" The boy assured his Pokémon quickly; the Water-type was scared for his Trainer. Ash had more Spearows attacking him as they caught up to him, swooping down to attack him all over. One even managed to hit Squirtle's arm and cause the Pokémon to yelp, which Ash was annoyed at. The boy used up a lot of energy as he ran at a much faster pace than before.
Ash ran and ran as fast as he could from the group of birds that were still stalking him, though looking back, he had made a reasonable distance between them. Ash looked closely ahead and immediately began to slow down. He stopped himself as he saw what was forward, and it wasn't more land to run on.
Ahead of the ten-year-old was a long drop off a cliff with a waterfall near them. The view was rather great; however, there was no time to focus on that. Ash tried to weigh his possible options as Squirtle was nervous for them, seeing how the Spearows still kept coming and coming fast they were. Ash couldn't see any other way down and come to one conclusion. He could tell it was only a 20-foot drop down and knew he could survive.
He just had to land correctly and hope the water wasn't only a foot deep.
"Here," Ash told the Squirtle in his arms as he took his cap off and gave it to Squirtle, something the Pokémon wasn't expecting. "Hold this."
Squirtle took it without a word and braced himself, along with the hat, for what was coming. Ash breathed in to help calm himself as he took the leap of faith. Ash was given a chance in the air to think about what he had just done as the water was hurryingly coming towards them. They both screamed as they held each other, the boy sticking his feet to ensure it would help with the landing. His arms were a bit occupied, literally.
They stuck the landing in the water and screamed the whole way through.
Immediately, the water current was strong and forced them forward without much effort. Ash tries to swim out through the side to escape. The sides had rocks that Ash was forced to navigate as Squirtle tried to hold onto his Trainer and the hat he was given. The grip on each other gradually drifted apart as Squirtle, still holding Ash's hat, was tragically separated.
Squirtle quickly tried to swim back to his Trainer as the hat was still close to him, the Water-type doing well against the river's current. Ash tried not to let out any oxygen as he was fearful for his friend. Squirtle made his way through the stone as he got closer to his Trainer. The hat was still with him when he saw a Pokémon come by. A Pokémon with a fish-like body.
His body was made up of/covered in red scales. His fins were yellow and white as they had his mouth open. Long yellow whisker next to his wide eyes. The Pokémon stupidly ran into Squirtle and caused him to go back, the Magikarp not even caring about what he just did as he swam off. Squirtle was pushed back and hit his head hard on the rock. So hard that everything went black for the worn-out Pokémon.
This caused Ash to finally gasp out, even though his body instantly regretted this with the water in his mouth.
Ash couldn't stop himself as he reached for his Pokémon with both of his arms, also deciding to grab his quickly before it drifted away. No blood or crack formed on Squirtle's head, but the injury could still have been internal. Squirtle still had a pulse, and his eyes were straining slightly. The damage would likely turn out to be unconsciousness, which Ash was both glad and angry at. He held his and Pokémon close as he swam away from the horrible rocks. He reached an empty part of the water as he still tried to keep his breath in, pinching his nose and blowing air out to help him.
After sorting himself, and his knocked-out starter out, he saw an incline of earth going upwards that seemed to indicate that they had reached the shoreline. As much as he needed it right now, he didn't go up for air just yet. The Spearows could effortlessly be circling above the lake, waiting for him to make one mistake. Ash kept swimming, not knowing how long or where they would end up going. But frankly, he didn't care.
Just as long as he and his Pokémon were safe.
On the rocky shore of a lake, the same one the duo jumped into, a girl was currently fishing with the rod in her hands. The girl had short, red hair tied into a side ponytail by a blue rubber band. She had green eyes and fair skin. She currently had on a yellow tank top that exposed her midriff, red suspenders, denim shorts that stopped at her thighs, and red sneakers that had yellow lining with white laces. She was currently waiting patiently for anything to bite on her red fishing rod.
The girl let out a slightly strained sigh. Nothing had been happening for the past three hours that she was there. It couldn't be that her lure was terrible, it was made by hers truly after all, but the magic it once had seemed relatively dry today. The only notable things to happen were how she saw a Surskit skate through the water like it was ice and that weird Red kid that she met. The boy didn't bother her or seem interested in her when she waved at him, giving Misty the impression that the kid was most likely a loner. At least the Pikachu he had was cute.
"Maybe I should call it quits for today." She didn't enjoy cutting her time short, but it seemed like this lake was dried up.
Abruptly, air bubbles surrounded the hook the pole was attached to, and the girl gave out a small gasp. No longer were there any more bubbles, but rather something under the water was dragging the hook wildly across the water. The girl had a firm grip on the rod, but the strength of the supposed Water type forced her to get up on two legs.
"Hey, I got a bite!" The girl said in excitement as she swiftly reeled in her catch, the line moving around frantically. "You're a big one now, aren't you?" She gave one hard pull and caused her to catch to come out onto the surface. Instead of being a cool Water-type Pokémon, or any Pokémon for that matter, the sight she saw was something that made her frown almost instantly
It was Squirtle and Ash, both of whom were drenched as Ash tried to take in the air he had missed for the past two minutes.
"Nah, it's just a kid." The girl complained out loud when she saw what she brought out of the water, Ash only now registering that someone else was with them. The girl looked to be about the same age that he was, but she didn't look familiar. Her eyes scanned the boy thoroughly, letting out a gasp when she saw what was in his arms. "Oh! A Pokémon!" She threw away her fishing rod and jumped next to the duo, Ash getting rid of the water in his mouth. "Oh, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay." Ash managed to tell her in a slightly raspy voice. The water took a toll on his mouth; his lungs felt like they were burning.
"Not you!" She yelled out in irritation as she kneeled to the Pokémon, seeing how it was a Squirtle. At least this kid has some good taste in Pokémon. "Look at what has happened to the Squirtle! Is it breathing?" She asked in an almost caring tone, worry in her eyes.
Ash looked down on his Squirtle, who was breathing, albeit quite unevenly. "Yeah. He is."
"Well, why are you sitting there?! It needs a doctor right away! There's a Pokémon Center up in Viridian City. You've got to get moving now!" She demanded from him rather angrily at the rookie trainer. Ash stood up as he already knew what to do, his hurt Squirtle still in his hands.
"Could you tell me which way?" Ash asked rather hopefully.
"That way." She pointed to the path behind her as she didn't take her eyes off the pair.
"Thank you!" Ash was about to run straight in the direction the girl instructed him to go but decided to ask the girl one last question. "Hey, what's your name?" He didn't see or heard any Spearows so far, and he wanted to be grateful to the girl that begrudgingly helped out.
"Misty." The girl, now revealed to be Misty, said rather impatiently. The boy nodded at this.
Out of nowhere, there was a sound of both screeching and wings flapping from a distance. The two humans turned to see what was causing the noise, and what was up ahead scared Ash. It was the eight Spearows from earlier, still on the chase as they found their prey. They may be just blurred now, but they planned to make up lost time quickly.
"Oh. That makes sense." Misty said simply as she saw what problem the boy was in. Misty knew she should worry, but it was hard to feel seeing the same situation happen multiple times.
"Need to get out of here!" Ash tried to warn misty as he ran over to a nearby bike. The bike was primarily orange except for its black wheels and blue front/back. It also had a light green colored basket at the front of it. Misty saw the boy looking at the bike and decided to call him out for it.
"If you touch that bike," She pointed a threatening finger at him. "Then I'll personally help those Spearows out."
Ash had a forlorn look as he turned to Misty, constantly glancing at where the Spearows were. "Please. Can you help him?" Pure care was poured into the request as Misty was taken aback by it. "Take them to the Pokémon Center up in Viridian. I can meet you back there."
Misty did want to help out the boy, or rather the boy's Water-type Pokémon, but decided to answer with her question. "What about you? How are you going to deal with these Spearows?"
"I have other Pokémon. I will be okay." Ash lied. The boy wasn't sure that he would make it out alive after all this but kept looking at the positives of the situation.
"Spearow!" The rest of the Spearows all collectively yelled out as their leader guided them to the monster who harmed them. Ash knew his time was too short.
"Please!" Ash practically begged as he took out Pidgey's Pokeball as well. "Do it for them."
Misty took in the boy in front of her as he wanted to help his own Pokémon, something she could respect. The kid didn't seem like the kind of person to go to for Pokémon knowledge, but his heart and head seemed to be in the right place. She knew that even her self-centered sisters would still help her in this scenario, and she wasn't that heartless to go down to their level.
Misty let out a huff as she offered her hand up. "Give them here."
Pure relief went through Ash as he complied and gave Pidgey's Pokeball to Misty, who could quickly pick up all her fishing stuff with ease as if it were second nature. Ash looked down at Squirtle as he took the Water-types personal Pokeball out. "It's only going to be for a short while," Ash promised him. "Be nice to Misty until I come back to get you. Okay, Squirt?"
"Quartle." The Pokémon managed to speak out. Ash tried to smile for his Pokémon as Squirtle returned to his Pokeball. Misty was already on her bike when Ash gave the second Pokeball to her. Misty made a small area for the balls to fit, so they accidentally didn't get lost during the ride. Ash nodded, a signal for her to scram off.
"Find this path with the thin trees if you want to make it to Viridian," Misty reminded him as she put her feet on the pedals. "And you better make it out of this. You have a good heart."
Ash smiled at what Misty told him and nodded. With her words out, Misty rode off with Ash's Pokémon. Ash felt a chilling sadness inside after doing this, only being allowed to see them off briefly. The Spearows cried out again, and Ash had to take a different path, hoping that Spearow wouldn't target Misty or his Pokémon. The boy knew it would cost him, but he was willing to go through with it if no one else was harmed by his stupid/impulsive decisions again.
He turned around to see that the nine Spearows were still following him, and all were accounted for. That was the first part of the plan he made in only three seconds, and the second part was just to run away. Ash had no idea how long he would need to run for but knew it would be for a while, along with making sure he was always in front while keeping track of his stamina.
Rain began slowly pouring out of the sky onto the hard ground as the two parties did not even remotely let this slow them down. A Pokémon was definitely in that storm and controlling the weather change, a Pokémon that the Spearows knew they couldn't win against. If the Pokémon up there did not intervene, then the Flying-types would be happy. Or they will be once this kid is on the ground.
The sound of thunder and the appearance of lightning took over the sky.
Ash kept running and running as his legs were acting on their own at this point. Black clouds were all that was left in the sky, and decent raining falling on everything. Ash kept on going, not even caring about the terrible storm above him that he knew would only worsen. The Spearows also weren't happy with the rain as they never enjoyed hunting like this, but they made an exception for this Trainer. They were still scared of the Pokémon superior to them that was residing in the clouds, though.
Ash's legs, and body in general, were so exhausted. The kid had been running for a few miles, with him going slower to conserve energy only when he knew the Spearows were far enough. He didn't know how long he and the Spearows had been playing this game of chase, though Ash guessed that it was probably going on for 30 whole minutes now. Ash wished he could sit down and rest, but he couldn't since the Pokémon weren't willing to do the same for him.
Ash turned around to see that the Spearows were approximately 12 feet away as they were growing noticeably more tired and slower as the chase prolonged. Ash's foot accidentally collided with a thick tree root on the road as the Trainer tripped on it. Ash didn't react fast enough to pick himself up and harshly collided with the ground.
Ash tried to get back up as his clothes were only slightly dirty. Thankfully no mud had formed yet where he fell. The Spearows kept on coming until they were above Ash and waited impatiently for what the kid was going to do next. Ash struggled to get up as his legs were starting to fail him. He would be lucky if he could stand up now as the pain was written on his face. One thought went through his head.
"Is this how it ends?"
Was his dream crushed just because he tried to catch a Pokémon he didn't need? That all the hours and effort he put into making sure he was an excellent Trainer were just a waste of his time? That he would fail on the first step of his journey, not even getting the chance to see his dreams through? Was Gary right about him in the end? That he shouldn't have bothered with this journey in the first place and just stayed in Pallet Town, never being able to see new things or make new friends?
Ash's despondent thoughts ended as he took a moment to hear himself. He knew this wasn't what his mother, Red, Green, Oak, or anyone from Pallet Town would want out of him. This isn't what he wanted out of himself! He would not allow this mistake to define his entire journey and discredit everything else that happened. If Squirtle were still by his side right now, he wouldn't accept defeat so easily. He would want them to go down with a fight! Ash, using his newfound energy, as he moved himself up slowly. The Spearows were about to attack until they saw the boy move up from the ground.
"No more running." He told the Spearows that were behind him as he compelled his body to stand up and scowl at the flock that had been behind him for so long. The Pokémon laughed at this notion.
"Spearow! Spear, Spear!" The Pokémons patience worked out as they saw their prey finally confront them. They both enjoyed and hated when their enemy fought back against them. Ash adjusted his hat, his expression having a flare to it.
"Spearow's! Do you know who I am?" Yelled out to the group of birds, who were flying in place to see what their enemy had to say. At least they were willing to honor this of their longest-lasting prey. "I'm Ash from the town of Pallet, the boy that is going to be the next Pokémon Champion! That means I can't be defeated by the likes of you!"
"Spearow." The response was meant to be a threat, but Ash wasn't even fazed by it.
"I will not let my journey end at some discount Pidgey's! Not now, not ever!" Ash's insult only fueled their rage more and more, as no one had still attacked yet. Surprising, given the nature of the Pokémon. "If you are as dangerous as they say you are, then fight me! COME ON! FIGHT ME!"
Immediately, all nine Spearows hissed at him and went in for the attack on the trainer as lighting crackled behind them. Ash neither ran away nor showed any alarm; he had his arms ready to fight back. He stood there with a solid stance as he knew what he was getting into, showing no fear. How can he reach the top if he lets fear get the better of him and if he lets his thoughts betray him in such a way?
He wasn't sure what would happen to him, nor did he care. He wasn't sure if he may be alive after all this, nor did he care. He wasn't even sure if anyone would find him out here when everything was said in done, nor did he care about that either. He was going to stand his ground to the Pokémon that made his last hour a pure hell. No matter what happened to him, he refused to back down and run away like this again. He was Ash Ketchum, the boy who would be the future Kanto Region Champion! If he falls today, he will do it with his head held high!
"GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!"
Out of nowhere, a giant lightning strike came between Ash and the group of Spearows. This attack launched Ash back, and the only thing he saw was just a flash of white. He was knocked back seven feet away, landing on the ground with his back. Ash didn't lose consciousness immediately as he could still register the blurry sky his eyes could see. He knew that his body was about to shut down on him, having to watch as everything faded into the darkness.
Ash's vision only showed nothing now.
Ash slowly opened his eyes, immediately regretting it when his body was in a lot of pain. He breathed in a lot of oxygen as his vision gradually became more explicit.
It had now become late afternoon if the color of the sky from the still primarily cloudy sky was any indication, and the Pokémon Trainer could very slowly stand up. The boy was wondering where he was when the last few memories came—accidentally getting Spearow to chase him, giving his Pokémon to that Misty girl, the chase that drained him, and that lightning bolt that came down. Ash looked around to see that the Spearows that were once attacking him were now only burned pieces of flesh. The lighting killed off everything that was there.
All except Ash.
Ash tried to stand up as his legs felt like horrible jelly. He was glad that he didn't die after that, but this pain was still not something he wanted to go through. It felt like thin needles were covering his body, making one wrong move, a horrible mistake. Ash looked around and saw that no other Pokémon was nearby that wanted to attack him. In what felt like years, Ash finally felt safe after everything that had just happened. And this was only route one!
"At least I made it out of this one," Ash thought optimistically, seeing the poor birds that didn't know any better on the dirt. Ash remembered what Misty told him about going to Viridian City as soon as possible, trying to look past his injuries. Ash popped his sore back as he gritted his teeth, knowing that was only one of many problems with his body. Only one place left to go now.
A loud screech from the sky forced him to look up, and what they saw was a Pokémon that was flying through. Ash knew about the many birds in Pokémon, although this one was completely different. Something he had never seen in a book, TV, or lesson before.
It appeared to be an avian Pokémon with predominantly yellow plumage. Black rings encircle its eyes, and it has a long, thin, light orange beak. Its wings and tail were a mass of spiky feathers, with black feathers covering the back of its wings and inner tail feathers. A large crest of spiked feathers surrounds its head. Its thighs were a khaki color, and it had anisodactyl feet ending in talons. There also seemed to be lightning following it from behind.
"What is that?" Ash asked himself in pure amazement. Ash remembered his Pokédex existed and quickly took the thing out.
"There is no data." The Pokédex sadly explained to the trainer. "The current Pokémon is either not registered in the dex or a Pokémon yet to be discovered." Ash looked to see that the Pokémon was about to hide back inside the clouds. But not before screeching one last time, even looking down at the boy without Ash realizing it.
Ash marveled at what he had just witnessed. There was no way that he had found a Pokémon yet to be discovered on his first try. It was most definitely the former option in reality, but Ash just decided to stick with the second idea instead. That is how he would present it to Oak when he called him. Even though the boy was still interested in that Pokémon he witnessed, he knew there were other things to worry about.
Things concerning his Pokémon.
The boy had nothing but to press and continue his way to Viridian City. Ash tried to go back the way he came so that he could find the path that Misty was talking about. Even though his body still hurt from the previous events, he tried to move past it as he went for a light jog. He needed to make sure his Pokémon were well.
"Don't worry, you two," Ash thought as though his Pokémon could somehow hear his thoughts right now, "You are going to make it; I promise you that." The Trainer was continuing down the rocky path that he came from, knowing that he was able to keep his promise for Squirtle as he smiled in joy.
And silently hoping that Misty could keep up her end of the deal.
END OF CHAPTER 2
I know this Chapter was nowhere near as long as the previous one, but I am still happy with how it turned out. One of my main goals for this story is to try to make it as different from canon as possible, and I think I did a somewhat decent job on that aspect. Remember to give me your opinion or thoughts with a review, and I will see you next chapter!
Edit 12/25/22: Guess who updated the chapter on Christmas? That's right, definitely not me. Anyway, I got to start working on the next chapter to make it sense as I am updating them one at a time. Probably not the best idea, but at least the paragraph above me holds some truth.
THANKS FOR READING!
-God of Sun
Ash's Team: Squirtle (M), Pidgey (F)