Chapter 3 Reunion with Old Friends

After registering Ash for the League, Professor Pinewood returns to the room with three Pokéballs in his hands. He turns to Rodney and Keira.

"So, how about you choose your Pokémon now?" he says, throwing the three Pokéballs. They open to reveal a turtle-like Pokémon with leaves on its brown shell, a yellow kitten with red stripes, and a salamander with purple spots on its back.

"These are the three starters," Professor Pinewood explains. "They are named Herovor, Purrlit, and Salatad. I'll let you decide who will choose first."

Keira's eyes light up. "I don't mind which one I get; I already know I'll love it!"

Rodney grins. "Keira, how about we decide this with a coin flip? Heads or tails?"

Keira turns to Rodney with a smile. "Then I'll choose tails."

Rodney flips the coin, and it lands in his palm. He opens it to reveal heads. Rodney looks at the coin in his hand and chuckles. "Oops. Looks like I won, so I guess I get to choose first." He gazes at Salatad and decides, "I'll choose this one."

Professor Pinewood nods. "Alright, Rodney, meet your new partner, Salatad."

Keira steps forward, smiling at Herovor. "I'll take this little cutie here!"

Professor Pinewood beams at the new trainers. "Well done, both of you! You've chosen excellent Pokémon, and I'm sure they will grow to be strong and magnificent. Now, make sure you take very good care of them."

Rodney nods enthusiastically. "We will, Professor! I promise! I'll train my Pokémon every day and make sure it's always happy!"

Professor Pinewood smiles warmly. "I'm certain you will, Rodney." He then turns to Ash. "Ash, from the letter written by your mother, I believe I should have given these three to you as well."

From a shelf, Professor Pinewood takes out three special Pokéballs. When he releases the Pokémon inside, the same three starters appear. As Ash gets closer, the three Pokémon rush to him and hug him tightly.

Ash's eyes widen in surprise. "You three..."

Tears well up in his eyes, and he hugs them back, causing everyone to look on in confusion. Rodney asks, "What is Ash doing? Aren't they just Starter Pokémon?"

Professor Pinewood shakes his head. "According to Ash's mother, the Pokémon that Ash is hugging are the reincarnated souls of his former Pokémon: Torterra, Infernape, and Oshawott."

Eve's eyes widen. "So... they have already reincarnated as the Pokémon living in this region?"

Professor Pinewood nods. "Yes, they have. But with Arceus' powers, they retain the memories of their journey with Ash."

Ash, breaking the hug from the Pokémon, looks emotional. "I am so happy to have you guys back..." He turns to Professor Pinewood. "Professor, can I take them with me?"

Professor Pinewood smiles warmly. "Of course you can. Here are their Pokéballs."

Ash takes the Pokéballs from the Professor, feeling grateful. Rodney, curious, asks, "So Ash, can you show us your Pokémon?"

Ash nods. "Sure, let's go outside so I can show you my Pokémon."

After heading outside, they find a large open space near the lab. Ash throws several Pokéballs into the air, and a multitude of Pokémon appear. Among them are 17 regular Pokémon, as well as Meloetta, Marshadow, Ho-Oh, Nihilego, Zygarde, Diancie, Genesect, Hoopa, Jirachi, Victini, Manaphy, Shaymin, Zeraora, Mewtwo, Kyurem, Latias, Darkrai, and Magearna.

Flora is astonished. "You have Legendaries as well?"

Ash nods. "Yeah, after the betrayal, some of these Pokémon decided to join me. They want to train with me and help me and my Pokémon grow stronger. Guys, look who it is!" He releases Herovor, Purrlit, and Salatad from their Pokéballs.

As Herovor, Purrlit, and Salatad move towards the others, the Pokémon recognize them and greet them warmly. Gliscor, in particular, is overjoyed to reunite with Torterra and Infernape. After a heartfelt reunion, Ash recalls them all back to their Pokéballs.

Professor Pinewood smiles at the scene. "Now go and enjoy your Pokémon and begin the start of a new, exciting chapter!"

Keira beams. "Thank you so much, Professor! Bye!" She waves as she leaves.

Rodney grins. "You're the best, Professor Pinewood!" He follows Keira.

Professor Pinewood chuckles. "Oh, they are fast!"

Ash, Alice, Eve, and Flora also bid farewell to Professor Pinewood as they exit the lab. Outside, they see Rodney and Keira waiting for them.

Keira waves enthusiastically. "I'm going to head back home and show my mom my cute Pokémon. I'll see you guys around!"

Rodney nods. "Okay, Keira, see ya!" After bidding farewell to Keira, Rodney turns to Ash and the others, his excitement palpable.

"So Ash, are you as excited as I am? I doubt it! I can't wait to get out there on the road and catch every Pokémon I can!"

Ash smiles warmly. "That's great to hear. You remind me of my old self when I first started my journey."

Rodney suddenly remembers something. "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm a trainer now, and trainers battle! How about it? I mean, what better way to start a Pokémon journey than to have a battle with your best friend!"

Alice looks concerned. "Are you sure you want to battle Ash? He is a Champion."

Ash reassures her. "Don't worry, I'll just use the Pokémon that I got from Professor Pinewood. That will be fair enough."

Rodney sends out Salatad to battle, and Ash chooses Purrlit, confident he can win even with the type disadvantage.

"Let's start with Scratch!" Ash commands. Purrlit charges forward and hits Salatad with Scratch.

"Salatad, use Pound!" Rodney calls out.

The two Pokémon exchange blows, using Scratch and Pound on each other. Ash reflects as he watches the battle. "So, even though they have been reincarnated into new Pokémon, their levels are reset... meaning all the training I did in the past has to be done again. But I don't mind; training is what makes Pokémon wonderful creatures."

After a while, Purrlit learns Ember and uses it to defeat Salatad. Rodney recalls Salatad and smiles. "Well, we're just starting, but I enjoyed it. But you really are strong, Ash. You sure know what you're doing!"

Ash nods. "Although I have to train them all over again, I promise I'll show you why I'm the Champion in the future."

Rodney offers to heal Ash's Purrlit, much to Ash's delight. Rodney then says, "I think I'm gonna head home and show my family my awesome Pokémon, so I'll catch up with you later!"

After Rodney leaves, Professor Pinewood comes out of the lab, looking for them. Flora notices him first. "Professor? What are you doing here?"

Professor Pinewood looks relieved. "Thank goodness you haven't left yet! I was hoping to run into one of you. I have a favor to ask."

Ash steps forward. "What is it?"

"You see, I forgot to give you an important item that will help you along your journey," Professor Pinewood explains. "But not only did I forget to give it to you, I also forgot to pick it up from the Poké Mart in Mossy Town. I'm very sorry, but can you possibly go to Mossy Town to pick up the parcel for me?"

Ash nods. "Sure, I can help you out."

Professor Pinewood's face brightens. "You will? Thank you very much! I'll call the mart and let them know you're coming. When you've received the package, be sure to bring it back to me at the lab."

After the Professor returns to the lab, Ash turns to the three sisters. "So, what about you guys?"

Alice speaks up timidly. "Ash, can I travel with you on this journey? I know we just met, but I want to see more of this region with you."

Eve and Flora smirk at their sister. Ash notices a blush on Alice's face and feels his own cheeks heating up as well. It feels like something missing in his heart is about to be found.

"Sure, but what about your gym? Do you have a substitute?" Ash asks.

Alice nods. "I called Mr. Chiu, and he agreed to be my substitute until we get back."

Ash nods. "Then sure, we can travel together. I don't think you'll be like those backstabbers who betrayed me."

Alice thanks him by hugging him, much to Ash's surprise. Realizing what she's done, Alice blushes even more.

Alice thinks to herself, Did I just do that?

Flora whispers to Eve, "We should ship them together."

Eve smiles and nods. "I agree."

After bidding farewell to Eve and Flora, Ash and Alice start walking towards Mossy Town. They don't encounter any new Pokémon along the way, and they reach the Pokémon Center without any issues.

Ash notices some people sitting on sofas and chairs in a designated area. He is curious as he sees many trainers talking there. "Hey, Alice. What is that place?" Ash asks.

Alice explains, "Oh, this is called the Quest Floor. You see, our region is very friendly. Sometimes people rest here to ask others for help. These could be different kinds of things, like handing over something, searching for someone, or finding a special Pokémon. There are even a few people who may want to trade Pokémon, which isn't really a quest, but it's the best place to find trainers. And, if you have a PokéGear, this would be very helpful! It has a Quest Log in it, which automatically writes down the quests you start. You even get an overview of all the quests you've completed!"

Ash nods, understanding. "Right now it looks empty, so let's get the package and head back to the lab as soon as possible."

They head to the mart, where they find the staff apologizing to other customers. "Hello, I'm sorry, but we are totally sold out," the staff member says.

Ash steps forward. "We're here to pick up a package for Professor Pinewood."

The staff member's face brightens. "Oh, you must be Ash and Alice. The Professor told me you were coming to pick up this package for him. Here you go!" They hand the package to Ash and Alice. "Make sure you're careful with it!"

Alice nods. "We will, thank you."

After their errand, Ash and Alice return to the lab in Soltree Town. Professor Pinewood is glad to see the package and thanks them.

"Ah, good! Everything is here," Professor Pinewood says as he takes out a device. "This device here is a Pokédex. I have one for you, Rodney, and Keira."

Ash accepts the Pokédex gratefully. "Thank you. I'll really need it considering this region is filled with Pokémon I've never seen before."

Professor Pinewood smiles. "No problem. It's quite handy to have. Anyway, could you please give one to Rodney and one to Keira when you see them?"

Alice nods. "Sure, we can do that for you."

"Excellent. If you need anything, you know where I am," Professor Pinewood says.

After leaving the lab, they decide to find Rodney and give him the Pokédex. They head to Rodney's house, where Alice introduces Ash to Rodney's parents. They then head upstairs to find Rodney packing up his stuff.

Rodney notices Ash and Alice entering the room. "Ash, Alice, are you about to leave too?"

Ash nods and hands Rodney a device. "Well, we were asked by the Professor to give you this. It's a Pokédex."

Rodney takes the Pokédex with a smile. "That's cool! Anything is better than nothing after all. So, I was thinking, since we're friends, how about some healthy competition? Let's be rivals! Let's see who can be the best and strongest. It'll be great! I think we should take on the gyms and collect badges, and once we have eight badges, we can enter the Pokémon League and take on other trainers to see who comes out on top!"

Ash grins. "Sure, it'll be fun."

Alice adds, "In that case, the first gym is in Serpentine City, so we'll have to go through Mossy Forest to get to it. But hey, I bet there are heaps of Pokémon in there to see and catch!"

Rodney's eyes light up with excitement. "I'm gonna go there now! I'll race you there!"

With that, they all leave the house and bid farewell to each other, as their journey is about to start.

Here is the third Chapter, and Alice is going to travel with Ash. There are going to be more travel companions, but Alice will be the major one. I hope you like this chapter and the next one is going to be capturing new Pokemon.