On the Road: Evening…
The group had been on the road for a few hours since James caught Heracross, and evening was setting in prompting the group to get to work on their task like the previous night. Due to him still learning to cook himself, Ash and Serena were on cooking duty.
James took Jimmy to find fire wood while Danielle and Marina looked after the pokemon. It wasn't long before the whole group could sit down for their meal. Like the prior day, it was an enjoyable affair; however, there was a small issue.
"Hey James, I think you're missing a pokemon." Marina pointed out.
Looking over the pokemon, despite the groups being mixed, it was easy for each trainer to spot their specific team members. James could see Croagunk, Spheal, and Togepi, but he couldn't see his newly caught Heracross. The breeder got up and approached the pokemon.
"Hey, have any of you seen Heracross?" James asked.
Most of the pokemon shook their heads; however, Croagunk and Wimpod, who were more observant than the rest, pointed his attention towards a tree. James looked in that direction and spotted the bug/fighting type hiding behind it, eating some sap.
"Thanks." James stated.
He picked up the bowl of food left for Heracross and walked over. The single horn pokemon was enjoying some tree sap, but his gaze did turn occasionally to the large group of pokemon. Many were ones he'd never seen before, and they all had different personalities. It was intimidating to try and speak with any of them.
"Hey Heracross, what are you doing over here?" James asked.
Heracross hadn't noticed his trainer approaching and suddenly became nervous since he doesn't want to seem ungrateful for the food. It honestly looked good, and he really wouldn't mind eating it. He just couldn't bring himself to eat with the others.
James smiled at the single horn pokemon before taking a seat. "You know, hiding isn't going to make anything better." He nodded. "I get seeing all those pokemon can be intimidating, but they're a great group. We work together and support one another in our own ways."
"Spheal!" Spheal declared happily as he rolled up to the pair.
The clap pokemon had noticed his trainer was taking a bit to help their new friend, so he decided to roll on over to see if he could help.
"See, Spheal here was worried enough to come check on us." James smiled. "Why don't you go join the others with him?"
Heracross still wasn't quite sure, but before he could voice it, Spheal gently rolled into him a few times to draw his attention. The bug/fighting type looked down at him.
"Spheal!" Spheal was all smiles. "Sph. Sph."
Heracross sighed before standing and following the clap pokemon with James bringing up the rear. "Everyone, this is Heracross. He joined my team earlier."
Croagunk merely looked over at the new fighting type before giving him a nod which was a good sign as far as the poison/fighting type was concerned. Togepi happily chirped as he stood and walked over to greet the new pokemon.
With James' pokemon out of the way, some of the friendly ones among the group began introducing themselves. This included Pikachu, Teddiursa, Sylveon, Metapod, and Chikorita. The rest were more stoic, or shyer themselves, yet no less welcoming.
It was a rather surprising outcome that Heracross wasn't expecting, but he ended up sitting amongst the pokemon with James giving him his food. Once the breeder was sure his new pokemon was comfortable, he rejoined the group at their table.
"Hey James, how did it go with Heracross?" Ash asked.
"I think he will be fine." James nodded. "He was just nervous about meeting others, but Spheal is taking good care of him."
After Dinner…
Once everyone finished eating, it was time to get to training; however, no one realized a black feathered pokemon had taken interest in them. At first, it was just from the sheer number of people and pokemon. Then, they started pairing off pokemon to do what looked like training.
The black feathered pokemon liked training, and he wanted to get in on this. Almost everyone seemed to be pairing up rather quickly, so he zeroed in on the first pokemon he could that didn't have a partner. That just happened to be Jimmy's Cyndaquil.
The pokemon flew in to the shock of everyone before he ultimately squared off with Cyndaquil, displaying his willingness to battle with the fire type. Jimmy wasn't expecting this, but he knew it was time to battle.
Jimmy vs Murkrow
"Alright Cyndaquil, since Murkrow is in the air, start off with ember." Jimmy instructed.
Cyndaquil fired off the small ball of fire, but Murkrow avoided the attack before flying in with the intention of landing a peck.
"Move to get under Murkrow and leap into a tackle." Jimmy instructed.
Cyndaquil moved forward and lept as Murkrow attempted to correct course, managing to land a tackle that put the bird on the ground.
"Now, quickly fire ember." Jimmy ordered.
As Murkrow rose back to his feet, Cyndaquil fired off another small sphere of fire and nailed the bird pokemon. This inflicted him with a burn in the process.
"Now's the time Jimmy." Ash called out. "You've weakened Murkrow, so if you want him, try to catch him."
"Right!" Jimmy hadn't even thought about this being his first capture until Ash brought it up. "Here's goes nothing." He certainly wouldn't mind a good flying type, so he grasped one of his pokeballs. "Pokeball, go!"
To the shock of only those from Kanto, Jimmy tossed the pokeball up before kicking it into the Murkrow. It struck true sucking Murkrow in. The pokeball began shaking back and forth as the dark/flying type attempted to break out. Eventually, it came to a stop and dinged.
On the Road
Jimmy smiled before rushing over and picking up the pokeball containing his new team member. When Cyndaquil joined him, the New Bark native showed the pokeball to his partner.
"Look at this buddy, we just caught a new team member." Jimmy informed.
Cyndaquil happily nodded. "Cynda!"
"I've never seen someone kick their pokeball before." James commented on what his friends were thinking.
"That's our mom's signature style." Marina informed. "When she was younger, mom loved to practice throwing pokeballs. One day, she ended up breaking her arms in a pretty bad fall. Rather than let that get her down, she took to kicking them. Even as her arms healed, kicking her pokeballs became a habit, and Jimmy insisted on learning from her."
"Whoa, your mom sounds amazing." Serena commented.
"Yeah, she's pretty great." Marina stated. "Who knows, she might be out wandering Johto as we speak, but that's as far as I'll go." She winked with a giggle. "No point in ruining the surprise of what she does for a living."
As they talked, Jimmy's celebration wound down, and he went about scanning his new pokemon:
Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon. A Dark and Flying type. If a Murkrow is seen at night, it is considered a bad omen, so many people dislike them.
Type: Dark/Flying
Ability: Insomnia
Gender: Male
Current Moves: Astonish, Peck, Gust, Haze
"No matter what other people think, I won't dislike you." Jimmy thought. "After all, you're one of my pokemon now."
"Awesome job catching Murkrow, Jimmy." Ash praised.
"Nice battle." Serena nodded. "You did really well."
"Congratulations." Danielle added.
"I am sure you will make a great team." James stated.
"Thanks guys." Jimmy voiced.
With a new pokemon in hand, the group took note of how late it had gotten and decided it was time to turn in.
Day's Later…
Each day, the group would travel, eat, chat, and train. Today would only be different in that they decided to break up into unconventional pairs to give the new trainers different experiences.
With Ash & Marina
Pikachu was off training Wimpod and Larvitar which left Ash and Marina to coordinate a battle between Teddiursa and Chikorita. It was about as fair a match as could be expected, given their types and experience.
"Alright Teddiursa, come in for the finish with metal claw!" Ash hollered.
Teddiursa ran in with his claws flashing steel type energy.
"It's time for you to dodge, Chikorita!" Marina shouted.
Compared to their first training session with Serena, Chikorita's movements were far more fluid as she managed to avoid the oncoming attack. Teddiursa came to a stop and turned to face Chikorita as both were ready to continue battling; however, Ash signaled the end of the spar.
"Your training with Serena is paying off Marina." Ash complimented as they began walking to their bags with their present pokemon. "Keep it up, and you'll do great in the Pokeathlon."
"Thanks Ash." Marina responded with a smile. "Hey, I was wondering how you come up with some of the strategies you do. I've rarely, if ever, seen someone as creative with their battling."
"Well, most of it is trial and error." Ash responded. "Either I or my pokemon have something they want to attempt, so we practice. Through that we learn if it's something possible, alternative uses, and refine the strategy behind it.
Some of it comes from the fact that no matter how much you prepare for something, battles are never linear. Sometimes, you just got to take that risk. When you do, it all comes down to the trust between you and your pokemon."
With that answer, Marina nodded in understanding. "I think I get it."
By now, they were close to their bags, and the Kanto native noticed something rummaging around in Marina's. "Hey, what's in your bag?"
"No idea." Marina replied.
She slowly approached and noticed she'd left it unzipped. This meant whatever was inside had gotten in due to her carelessness. Chikorita now stood at the ready as she slowly opened it wider to see what was inside. What the pair found surprised them.
It was a fluffy, brown pokemon munching away on some pokemon food in Marina's bag. Sensing that he was being watched, the pokemon turned around and became still as he looked back at the group. Slyly, it used one of its paws to pick up and eat another pellet.
"It's a pokemon." Ash stated.
Marina attempted to grab her pokedex from her pocket only to discover she had left it in her bag, and the pokemon was currently atop it. Despite everyone looking at him, the pokemon was still sneaking pallets of food.
"What should I do?" Marina asked, panicking a little.
"Why not catch him?" Ash suggested.
"I don't think Chikorita can battle in my bag, and I don't want it to be destroyed." Marina reasoned.
"Some pokemon are weak already and/or are willing to simply let you catch them." Ash shrugged. "Just try a pokeball."
Marina did recall that's how James got Heracross, so she quickly pulled out a pokeball before tapping it against the brown pokemon. They were sucked inside, and the pokeball dinged instantly signifying a successful capture.
"D-did I just catch my first pokemon?" Marina asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, congratulations." Ash replied with a smile.
"I just caught my first pokemon!" Marina declared.
She celebrated, overjoyed to have caught a new friend. Only once she calmed down did the girl remember she had a pokedex to scan them:
Sentret, the Scout Pokémon. Sentret can see great distances by rising on its tail. When it spots an enemy or any kind of danger, it emits a loud, shrill cry as a warning.
Type: Normal
Ability: Keen Eye
Gender: Male
Current Moves: Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes
With James & Danielle
James took a different approach with Danielle's Riolu and Budew in having them work through the basics right alongside Togepi. Essentially, it was all about the fundamentals of speed, power, and accuracy. While they did that, he had Croagunk and Spheal train with Heracross.
They were to show the single horn pokemon how they typically train. Beyond that, the breeder hoped pairing the shyer bug/fighting type with two pokemon would hopefully work to make him braver like he wished to be. This left the trainers time to talk as they kept an eye out.
"…Spheal wanted to join me, so I caught him." James finished.
To better understand the changes this world had from what Danielle knew, she asked James about the trio's prior captures. She simply framed it as learning the ways a trainer could capture/battle wild pokemon. It may have been a lie to begin with, but she had learned a lot.
Both in just how different things really were and in how many ways trainers could acquire pokemon. Honestly, the differences weren't all that shocking beyond the fact they existed. Back when she assumed this was some altered version of the game, she accepted it.
Don't get her wrong, she still had a desire to return to her prior world, but she had to admit spending time in a world which mirrored the game she played would have been boring. Sure, she could have forced her way into that story, but that would cause unnecessary complications.
After all, that story turned out perfectly fine. Learning the world was different than she knew gave her a sense of reason for being here. Like the world wanted her to play some part in the story that would unfold. In essence, applying that to an altered anime version wasn't hard.
This mindset lent itself well to not really caring how different things were. Maybe most fans would have tried to set up Heracross as Ash's capture, but Danielle was comforted by the change as it solidified her prior thoughts. Gave her hope that she had a part in this.
"Wow, you three really achieved a lot over your first year together." Danielle admitted truthfully.
"There's still a lot more left to do." James smiled contently. "Despite the hardships that came our way, I'm glad things worked out as they did, and I'll always be thankful those two helped me."
Danielle was glad things had worked out for James, and it sounded like the same could be said for Jessie and Meowth. Even if she were against all this change, which she wasn't, Danielle felt that would have melted away upon hearing the Rocket trio were doing better.
With Serena & Jimmy
Serena was content to give Sylveon a break day, and she had been spending it basking in the sun. This left each trainer with two pokemon who were paired off to train. Given Metapod had great aim, she was set to give Murkrow evasion practice by firing off string shots.
Rhyhorn was paired off with Cyndaquil to help the Johto starter's power output. It was perfect given the spikes pokemon's fire resistance and the fact he was further along in his training than the fire starter.
"Hey Serena, you saw all of Ash's gym battles, right?" Jimmy asked.
"Of course." Serena smiled. "Why?"
"Well, got any pointers?" Jimmy asked. "You must have noticed something from the sidelines."
"Every gym leader you meet is different." Serena began. "Different personalities, type specialty, and pokemon. Despite those differences, the one thing that's the same is they've earned their position by mastering their type.
Even if you have the type advantage, you can bet they'll have strategies to counter it, so never rely solely on it. Additionally, Ash learned early on about coverage moves, moves outside your pokemon's own type.
As the journey progresses, there'll be plenty of time to teach a whole slew of those very moves to your pokemon, but in the beginning you should hone in on what moves are needed to help you overcome the first gym."
"I see." Jimmy nodded in understanding. "Ash has begun broaching moves like those."
"They were invaluable to him during that first journey." Serena voiced.
From there, the pair continued to observe their pokemon while stepping in when necessary to give pointers. It was mostly to Jimmy's pokemon, but that was to be expected given they were still relatively new to training.
That's not to say Serena's own pokemon were exempt from critique as there were times the Kanto native stepped in to direct them accordingly. Ultimately, it was proving a fruitful endeavor that saw Jimmy's pokemon improving.
Morning…
Every morning, when the group were near an available body of water, it was the task of one or two of them to fill the canteens while the rest took down camp. Serena volunteered to go, and since she had Rhyhorn to help carry all six, she went with him alone.
While the Kanto native went about filling the canteens, a small, blue pokemon with a spiral design on her stomach took an interest in them. She hasn't seen many humans, and that pink pokemon was something else.
"Hm." Serena noticed the pokemon making her back away a bit. "Oh, hello there." The Pallet native spoke with a gentle kindness that caused the pokemon to slowly approach. "Aw, you're a cute little pokemon."
She seemed nice, so the water type figured maybe this trainer would want to play with her. She swam around the water excitedly before stopping to look at the girl expectantly.
"Do you want to play?" Serena guessed.
The pokemon in question nodded. The Kanto native wasn't sure it was a good idea since the others might grow worried if she doesn't return soon. Then again, this pokemon seemed sweet. Deciding a quick game couldn't hurt, Serena grabbed her bag.
She had thought that rubber ball they used with Larvitar had been in there only to realize James ended up packing it within his. She proceeded to look for something, her rummaging causing a spare pokeball to fall out. It rolled into the water before floating on the surface.
The water type swam up to and batted the small sphere before smiling as it moved across the water. This resulted in the pokemon batting it further only to chase after the pokeball. While Serena knew pokeballs aren't toys, the pokemon playing fetch with itself was cute.
She returned to Serena while moving the pokeball as close to the edge as possible before gesturing for her to throw it. Not seeing any harm in it, Serena threw the device. The wild pokemon chased after it before jumping into the air to catch it.
She did so in a way that the button pressed against the pokemon, resulting in her being sucked inside. The pokeball splashed into the water before surfacing and gently drifting back towards shore. It wiggled a couple of times before dinging, the pokemon clearly put up a little resistance.
Serena looked from the pokeball to Rhyhorn in disbelief. "Did I just catch that pokemon?"
Rhyhorn nodded. "Rhy."
Despite having a rough idea of who this pokemon was, Serena still scanned her capture:
Poliwag, the Tadpole Pokémon. It has no arms, but its tail makes it a strong swimmer.
Type: Water
Ability: Swift Swim
Gender: Female
Current Moves: Mist, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Pound, Mud Shot
It was an unexpected capture, but one Serena was happy to have all the same. She clipped the pokeball to her belt before moving to sort out the canteen situation. Once everything was set, Serena made her way back to the group with Rhyhorn.
The trio's on hand pokemon-
Ash's Pokemon
1. Pikachu
2. Wimpod
3. Teddiursa
4. Larvitar
Serena's Pokemon
1. Sylveon
2. Rhyhorn *Pink
3. Metapod *Pink
4. Poliwag
James' Pokemon
1. Croagunk
2. Togepi
3. Spheal
4. Heracross
Nightshadegirl: Yeah, Casey didn't really do anything, that I remember, after the bug catching contest, so I felt no need to include her. As for catching pokemon, it's kind of a necessity since they'll need multiple pokemon to tackle their trainer institutions.
Vital Info: Ash would not have realized Jimmy was Ethan's son, despite looking like him just with light blue hair and different eyes, had the guy not got Ash thinking along the lines of how he is Red's son. This is more or less paying back to the canon with how no matter how bad the disguise, Ash never caught onto Team Rocket. James, on the other hand, did see this since they met Ethan prior, but he didn't really get to talk much at the introduction to these trainers.
When it comes to Silver, even if he looked more like Giovani and Ariana than he already does, Ash wouldn't have seen it. Of course, James was too low on the Rocket rungs to know Giovani has a son, and the similarities aren't as clear cut as they are with Jimmy and Ethan. What you have to understand is that Silver takes things one large step beyond what Cross did.
While Cross doesn't view his pokemon as friends, he still recognizes them as living beings. Silver, by contrast, views pokemon as nothing but tools. A means to an end he must 'rely' on to achieve what he views his father never claimed despite him proclaiming it. If he takes one, small step further, you start to dip into the wrong kind of trainer.
That said, Ash has clearly learned a lot from coming to the understanding he has with Cross, so he's not going to be the canon early Ash about this. As for the job, Silver offered to do it for free, so Woodruff's superiors were willing to overlook inexperience. In the end, he did get the job done...despite being the one who caused there to be a job at all.