Chapter 2: The start of the journey

Once Alice arrives at Soltree Town, she decides to meet her only friend from school, Rodney. Alice has been a target of bullying, and Rodney was the one who often saved her from the bullies. However, he wasn't always around when she got bullied, and the situation worsened. Valerie, concerned for Alice's well-being, decided to withdraw her from school and arrange for tutors to ensure she received a basic education. Now that Alice has become a Pokémon trainer, Valerie sends her to the Rikoto Region to apply for the Gym Leader test, where Alice eventually becomes the Ice Type Gym Leader.

Rodney, having managed to graduate from school, is invited by Alice to come to the Rikoto Region, and he agrees. He is currently preparing for his journey to challenge the Rikoto League Championship.

Alice walks into Rodney's room. "Rodney, there you are."

"Hey, Alice," Rodney replies, still watching his computer. Suddenly, he exclaims, "It came! My message came! They've processed my application, and I was accepted!"

Alice smiles. "That's great, you can finally start your journey."

"Yeah," Rodney says, excitement in his voice. "And since you're a Gym Leader now, it means I'm going to battle you eventually! But first, I'm going to the lab to get my starter Pokémon. I'm so excited..."

"That's great," Alice responds. "I'm also on my way to the lab since my sisters are going to arrive soon. Why don't we go together?"

"That would be great. Let's go!" The way to the Professor's Lab is not long, and they arrive quickly. As they reach the lab, they notice a pink-haired girl standing at the doorway.

"So, this is Professor Pinewood's Laboratory..." she murmurs to herself, then notices Rodney and Alice approaching. "Oh, hello! Are you two here to get your Pokémon too?"

Alice shakes her head with a smile. "Well, only he is. I'm just accompanying him."

Rodney nods. "She's right. I just got accepted, so I want to get my starter Pokémon as soon as I can!"

The girl nods in understanding. "Oh, I was accepted a while ago. I live in Mossy Town, so I had to walk all the way from there. I just got here myself." She takes a step forward, an idea forming. "Hey, you know what? We should all go in together!"

Rodney hesitates for a moment before agreeing. "Um... sure, why not? By the way, I'm Rodney, and this is Alice. She's the Subhail Gym Leader."

"Wow, a Gym Leader? That's so cool," the girl exclaims. "I'm Keira! Nice to meet you both. Now let's go get our Pokémon!"

Keira grabs Rodney's hand and rushes into the lab, causing him to blush from the unexpected contact.

Alice chuckles as she chases after them. "Hey, wait for me!"

Once they enter the lab, they see Professor Pinewood talking to two girls. One of the girls notices Alice and greets her warmly. "Alice! There you are."

Alice, shocked to see them already there, exclaims, "Sister Eve? Sister Flora?"

Eve smiles and steps forward. "So, how's our little sister doing? Are you doing a fine job here?" Eve hugs Alice and ruffles her hair, much to Alice's embarrassment as Rodney watches.

Alice breaks the hug quickly. "Please stop, Eve... This is not fun, and people are watching."

Professor Pinewood smiles warmly. "It's good to see you again, Alice." He then turns to Rodney and Keira. "Ah, and who do we have here? I take it you two are the new trainers. Have you come to collect your starter Pokémon?"

Rodney nods eagerly. "Yes, sir! My name is Rodney, and this is Keira. We all just got our messages to come to the lab to get our Pokémon."

Professor Pinewood claps his hands together. "Well then! Excellent! Welcome to my Pokémon Lab. As you know, I'm the Professor here, Professor Pinewood. I study the environments where Pokémon like to live and how they grow, survive, and evolve in those conditions."

Rodney's eyes widen with excitement. "Wow, I bet you've seen so many Pokémon!"

Professor Pinewood chuckles. "I have indeed, young one! I've traveled all over this region and visited many others. The world is full of amazing Pokémon—so many I've lost count!"

Rodney turns to Alice, awe evident in his voice. "Wow... Alice, this is incredible!"

Alice nods. "What the Professor said is right."

Professor Pinewood laughs heartily. "I can see you're quite the energetic one! Anyway, over here on this table are three Pokéballs, and they each contain a special Pokémon. These three Pokémon are the starter Pokémon of the Rikoto Region. Every new trainer that starts their journey with us can choose from these three."

Keira's eyes light up. "Oh wow! I bet they're all super cute!" Rodney adds, "And powerful!"

Professor Pinewood nods. "Raise your Pokémon right, and they will be both!"

Meanwhile, Alice turns to Eve and Flora, who are chatting nearby.

"So, how are you, Eve? Did you manage to get the status of a Professor yet?" Alice asks.

Eve frowns and nods. "Well, I am a regional Professor, but not in a good way. As you can see, I am now the current Professor of the Kanto Region because Professor Oak was murdered."

Alice gasps. "You mean... Professor Oak is dead?"

Flora nods solemnly. "We were shocked by the news. Due to Eve's performance, she managed to become the successor of the Kanto Lab, giving out the Kanto starters just like what Professor Pinewood is doing now."

Alice shakes her head in disbelief. "Who would have done this? Professor Oak was such a nice person..."

Eve sighs. "We don't know what's going on. The cameras were destroyed, and we also found broken Pokéballs with dead Pokémon inside, all of which belonged to Ash Ketchum."

Rodney, Keira, and Professor Pinewood overhear the conversation. Rodney, unable to contain his curiosity, interrupts the Professor and turns to the girls. "Ash Ketchum? Do you mean the Alola Champion who was declared missing ever since he got back to Kanto?"

Flora nods. "Yeah, his house is also gone, but we can't find his or his mother Delia's bodies."

Eve sighs heavily. "Right now, the police are still investigating, but there is little to no evidence."

Professor Pinewood's expression grows somber. "I hope the police can find the criminals. Professor Oak was my mentor, and it's heartbreaking to learn about his death."

Keira turns to the Professor, curious. "So, Professor, have you met them before?"

Professor Pinewood nods. "Delia was my travel companion in the region. She is the champion and also the queen of the Rikoto Region. The other name for this region is the Sevestar Kingdom."

Alice's eyes widen in surprise. "A Queen? Do you mean... like the one in fairy tales?"

Professor Pinewood smiles. "Indeed. But she moved away from the Kingdom after her husband's death. You see, her husband, Red, was a great trainer and a romantic person who always wanted to make Delia happy."

Eve looks thoughtful. "I don't know why, but somehow that story feels familiar, don't you think, Flora?"

Flora nods in agreement. Suddenly, they hear the sound of a ship's horn. Professor Pinewood furrows his brow. "That is quite strange. We haven't had any new visitors to the island..."

They decide to go outside and see the same ship that Ash was riding. Eve marvels at the sight. "Wow... that is a nice ship."

Professor Pinewood's eyes widen as he recognizes a symbol on the ship. "That symbol... it belongs to the Ketchums..."

They watch as a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder descends from the ship. He turns back to the ship and waves at the staff members.

"Thank you for everything. Please return to the castle and tell Mom that I am fine," the boy says.

The ship then leaves out of sight, and the boy turns to his partner. "Pikachu, we are going to conquer the league this time," he says with determination.

Pikachu nods enthusiastically, and they make their way to the lab. The girls can't help but notice how handsome the boy is, and they start to blush a little.

Rodney, still in awe, mutters, "Wow... he looks so..."

"Princely..." Flora finishes.

Once they return to the lab, Ash Ketchum is already there, waiting. Ash sees the oldest man and turns to him. "Excuse me, are you Professor Pinewood?" Ash asks.

"I am. And you are...?" the Professor responds.

"I am Ash Ketchum, and this is my partner Pikachu," Ash introduces himself, and Pikachu greets the Professor with a cheerful "Pika!"

Eve gasps in surprise. "Wait, he's Ash Ketchum? When did he change his face... and to a handsome one..."

Flora whispers back, "No clue..."

Ash notices the people behind the Professor and bows to them as well. "I'm sorry I didn't notice you earlier. I am Ash Ketchum, the heir to the Sevestar Kingdom."

Rodney, still impressed, says, "Cool... I am Rodney, and this is Keira. And they are Alice, Eve, and Flora."

Ash bows again. "It's nice to meet you all." The girls blush at Ash's polite and charming demeanor, but Eve quickly composes herself, knowing she has some business to attend to.

Eve steps forward. "So... Ash, can I ask you a question? I recently became a Professor in the Kanto Region after Professor Oak's demise. If possible, could you tell me everything regarding what happened to him? The Pokémon League Association needs a report about it."

Ash freezes for a moment, taken aback by the news that the new Professor of the Kanto Region is standing right in front of him. He sighs. "Sure, I'll tell you everything from my perspective."

They all sit down at the table as Ash begins his tale. He recounts the betrayal he experienced and how he was nearly killed.

Keira gasps. "How could they do this to you? Just because you won the Alola League, and they wanted your Pokémon? And when your Pokémon refused to listen to them, they just killed them?"

Ash nods somberly. "Yeah, aside from my Alola companions and the ones who were training... I have no Pokémon left. My mom suggested I challenge the league here to help me recover from the pain of betrayal." He turns to the Professor. "By the way, Professor, my mom wanted me to give this to you."

Ash hands a letter to Professor Pinewood. After reading it, the Professor's expression becomes serious as he turns around to process the information. "I see... With your mother's orders, I will take care of your Pokémon and ensure you can participate in the league. I'll help you register for it."

After seeing Professor Pinewood leave the room, Eve turns to Ash. "Thank you for telling me everything, Ash. I will report this to the league, and Brock and Misty will lose their titles and licenses for their actions."

Ash quickly interjects, "But please don't make them lose their status as Pokémon trainers." The others are surprised by his plea. "I want to defeat them in battle first."

Eve frowns. "But if you do so, who knows what they might do again..."

Ash gives her a pleading look. "Please..."

Eve sighs in defeat. "Okay. But I am still going to inform the Champions and the Professors about this."

As the conversation wraps up, Ash notices Alice, who suddenly hides behind Flora. Ash doesn't know why, but he finds her shyness kind of cute. Rodney notices Ash's curiosity. "Oh, this is Alice. She has lower self-esteem because of bullying in school. But now she's also the Gym Leader of Subhail City."

Ash smiles kindly. "A Gym Leader? That's quite impressive." Alice blushes at Ash's compliment. "Thanks..."

Ash turns to Rodney. "But what about the bullying in school?"

Eve steps in to explain. "Like Rodney said, Alice suffered bullying from her classmates. We're all from the Kalos Region, and the school we attended had a lot of bullies who kept picking on her. Eventually, our mother had to use her earnings from modeling and fashion to give Alice tutoring so she could get a license to become a trainer."

Ash nods, understanding. He turns to Alice. "I don't know why those bullies targeted you, but being a Gym Leader proves that you're strong. Believe in yourself, and you can overcome anything."

Alice feels warm at Ash's words and smiles a little. "Thank you, Ash. Your words mean a lot to me."

Ash nods, feeling a strange sense of comfort with Alice compared to the other girls he's met. His thoughts are interrupted as Professor Pinewood returns.

And I'll end this chapter right here. Ash has met the others and what is going to happen to them? Please find out in the next chapter.