A roll of thunder roared in the distance. Ash, pedaling as fast as he could, ignored the muddy condition of the bike's tires, solely focused on getting his partner to safety. He should have seemingly paid more attention, as the tire's traction caused him to lose control over the steering. As he flailed about trying to retain his balance, another crack of thunder shocked him enough to lose balance as he was sent flying along with his partner pokémon. Reaching out to the Mouse pokémon, he caught it in his arms, holding it to his chest as he sprung from a somersault into a mad dash. A third flash of lightning impaired his vision, causing him to squint his eyes as he could only see white. Once his sight cleared, the flapping of wings and squawking of a bird pokémon flock alerted him to the danger he was in.
"Pikachu," he whispered gently, placing a pokéball on the ground. Setting the injured electric type next to it, he softly told it that despite its disdain for the capture device, if he wanted to be safer, he should get inside. "I won't force you, but I'll do my best as a trainer to get us out of this."
Facing the flock of enraged Spearow, the boy scowled. "Spearow!" he cried, "Do you know who I am? I'm Ash, from the town of Pallet! I'm destined to be the world's number one pokémon
Master! I can't be defeated by the likes of you." Spreading his arms out wide, Ash stood directly in front of his downed pokémon. "I'll be the one to defeat you all!" The boy seemed to adopt the countenance of a figure hundreds of times his size as he roared, "COME AND GET ME!"
Taking on the foolish boy's challenge, the flock of birds dove at Ash with squawks of their name. Right as Ash braced himself for impending doom, he felt something on his shoulder, watching in shock as his Pikachu leaped off of him and in between he and the Spearow.
A deep cry of "Pi…ka…" was heard before a lightning bolt struck the electric type. A surge of power coursed through it as it let out a cry of "CHUUU!" releasing a Thunderbolt that was expelled in a large explosion of lightning, engulfing both he and the flock of birds and knocking the whole group unconscious.
When Ash came to, he blinked his eyes open to see the tired, smiling face of his partner, licking his face affectionately.
"Pikachu… you… saved me," he said weakly. His only response was a happy squeak from his pokémon. This seemingly revitalized him as he sprung up to his feet, hugging Pikachu close to his chest with a small smile. "I'm glad you're safe, buddy." The tender nickname caused Pikachu to nuzzle into its trainer's chest as it hid its smile.
Loosening his tight hold, the trainer allowed himself to look up to the sky, now clear of storm clouds, looking as bright as it had when he first left home. Something caught the two's attention, however, as a large avian figure made its presence known. It shone with a golden glow as it majestically soared overhead, flapping its rainbow-colored wings as the same natural phenomenon trailed its tail feathers.
Stunned into silence, Ash fiddled around for his pokédex to get information on the creature, only for Dexter to disappoint him.
"There is no data. There are still pokémon yet to be identified." Instead of being discouraged, however, the boy mentally proclaimed with new vigor that he would explore the region of Kanto with the goal of discovery in mind; new friends, new challenges, and new pokémon, some never-before-seen.
Looking to his starter, which had now found itself a spot on his shoulder, he declared, "We've got a long journey ahead of us, huh, Pikachu?" It responded with a nod and a grin that Ash returned.
During this endearing moment, the sight of something rainbow-colored floating down in front of him caught his eye. Reaching out, the boy grabbed it, opening his gloved hand to reveal a feather. It glistened in the sunlight and with wide eyes Ash looked up to see where the large bird pokémon had gone, only to see clear skies and an awesome rainbow in the pokémon's place.
Ash's hair fluttered in the wind as the rainbow wing rested in his palm. Stuffing it in his pocket, he decided it would be a keepsake for his first day as a trainer. With renewed vigor, fueled by this chance encounter, Ash ran towards his next stop–Viridian City. The boy and his pokémon's injuries faded, but the two were none the wiser.
Once the pair had run off, an exhausted and drenched redhead wearing a pink raincoat walked up to what looked like a pile of ash.
"My… bike…" she muttered dejectedly before a scowl replaced her expression.