If I owned the Pokemon anime, Pokeshipping would be canon.

After a hectic first day as a Pokemon Trainer and a good night's rest at the Pokemon Center, Misty and I were ready to continue on our Pokemon journey. As I pushed Misty in her wheelchair into the main lobby, being reminded of Team Rocket's attack last night.

"Misty," Nurse Joy said, "I have received some packages for you, addressed from Professor Oak and Delia Ketchum." She handed Misty a brown box from behind her desk.

"What's inside of it?" she asked as she opened up the box. Inside of it was a yellow shirt, surely from my mother. She did promise to bring over one of her old shirts for Misty to wear and hide her mermaid form (at least the top half.) "How do I look?" Misty asked as she put it on, struggling a bit as she wasn't used to human clothes.

"You look good," I said, "It's a bit loose, but it works well."

"Thanks," Misty said before seeing something else in the box: a red Pokedex similar to my own. The mermaid was impressed by it.

"Now that you are an official Pokemon trainer," Nurse Joy said, "I think you should have this." She pulled out a Pokeball, "It was a wild Pokemon that I was going to release back into the wild, but as you were so close to it, I guess you can have it."

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Misty said, "I'll be sure to take good care of Goldeen from now on."

"And I think that this might help you out as well," Nurse Joy said as she pulled out a blanket, "To hide your tail from the world. After all, with Team Rocket attacking the Pokemon Center last night, you don't know who wants to take advantage of the fact you are a real mermaid."

"Makes sense," Misty said as we covered her tail.

"If you decide to return to the sea, have Ash return the wheelchair and blanket to any Pokemon center here in Kanto," Nurse Joy said.

"I will," I said. We bid Nurse Joy goodbye before heading into Viridian Forest. It wasn't long before we ran into a Pokemon.

"What is that?" Misty asked, pointing to the Pokemon in front of us. It was a green worm-like Pokemon named Caterpie.

"That's a Caterpie," I said.

"It looks kinda creepy," Misty admitted.

"Haven't you seen one before?" I asked. Misty pointed to her blanket before I realized it. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Caterpie aren't common in the sea." I then pulled out one of my Pokeballs, "Still, I think Caterpie will be an easy addition to my team."

I spun my hat backwards before throwing the Pokeball at Caterpie. Caterpie went into the Pokeball before it started to shake wildly. Once. Twice. Thrice. And then it stopped. There was a "click" noise when the ball stopped shaking. I went up to my first capture, smiling.

"Alright! I caught myself a Caterpie!" I said before letting out my new Pokemon. I knelt down to his level, "Hi there, Caterpie. My name is Ash Ketchum, and I am your new trainer. I hope we can be good friends."

Caterpie gave a happy cry before climbing up my arm and nuzzling me.

"Do you think there are any water-type Pokemon in this forest, Ash?" Misty asked me.

"I am afraid not," I said, "But if we find any body of water here, I will make sure to stop so you can find a Pokemon for yourself, and have a swim as well."

We spent the rest of the day traveling through the woods, with nothing really happening before we decided to set up camp for the night. I let Misty use my sleeping bag while I slept on her blanket for the night. Pikachu and Caterpie got to know each other more before we decided to head to sleep. The following morning, we were awoken by the cries of Pokemon who were also starting up their day.

"Morning," Misty said as she looked at the stump where Pikachu and Caterpie were. They were already awake and staring at the mermaid.

"Caterpie," Caterpie said cutely.

"Morning, Caterpie," Misty said, reaching her hand out to pet the Caterpie, even if she felt a little bit uncomfortable.

Caterpie cried happily as it loved being pet by Misty as I woke up.

"Morning," I told my friend, "I see that you have become friends with Caterpie…"

"I guess I did," Misty said. All of a sudden, we heard a loud cawing noise. "What was that?!"

"GEOTTO!" It was the same noise, and soon we saw a wild Pidgeotto!

"I think I am going to try and battle it," I said before looking at Caterpie. "Are you ready for your first battle, Caterpie?"

"Caterpie!" Caterpie said.

"Are you sure?" Misty asked, "Caterpie is a weak Pokemon, and that Pidgeotto looks rather strong."

"I am sure it will be okay," I reassured before telling Caterpie to use String Shot.

Caterpie shot a silky string from his mouth, which tangled up Pidgeotto and resulted in it getting stuck in a tree.

"Okay then," I said before returning Caterpie and looking at Pikachu, "Pikachu, use Thundershock!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as he delivered an electrical attack at bird Pokemon, weakening him further.

"Alright," I said, "Pokeball, GO!" I threw a Pokeball at Pidgeotto, who got absorbed into the ball. The ball started to shake as Misty and I waited to see if I could successfully capture it. However, after the third shake, Pidgeotto broke free of the Pokeball and flew away.

"Aren't you upset about not being able to capture that Pokemon?" Misty asked me.

"No," I said, "After all, I already failed to capture several Pokemon, and some Pokemon just don't want to be captured…"

"I see," Misty said before we continued through the forest. We walked for a while when we heard some rustling leaves.

"What was that?" Misty asked me when we heard some laughs.

"I don't know," I said, "But whatever they are, I won't let them hurt you…"

Just then, some figures jumped out of the bushes. We recognized them right away. They were the Team Rocket members from yesterday! They said their stupid motto from the day prior, and when they were finished, I growled at them.

"What do you want from us?!" I asked Team Rocket.

"Two things, actually," Jessie said before pointing her finger towards us, more specifically towards Pikachu and Misty!

"Your Pikachu shocked us at the Pokemon Center," James said, "It must be a very special Pikachu, perfect for our boss."

"Dat's right!" Meowth said.

"And that strange Pokemon right there will be another good gift for the boss," Jessie said, "After all, I don't know what kind of Pokemon has the tail of a fish and the body of a person!"

"I am NOT a Pokemon," Misty said.

"Yeah," I said, "And you are NOT getting her! Or Pikachu!"

"We'll see about that," Jessie said, "Ekans, attack!"

"You too, Koffing!" James said. Both Team Rocket members sent out their Pokemon.

The two of them were double teaming me. Battling with two of your Pokemon at the same time wasn't illegal, but it wasn't as common here in the Kanto region as it was in regions like Hoenn. "We can handle them, Pikachu."

"Wait," Misty said, pulling a Pokeball from beneath her blanket, "I want to help you out!"

"You CAN'T," I pointed out, "Goldeen is unable to battle on dry land, remember?"

"Just let her try!" Misty said before releasing the fish Pokemon out of her Pokeball.

Goldeen came out of her Pokeball, and simply flopped around, much to the amusement of Team Rocket.

"You think that pathetic little guppy can do anything different from last time?" Meowth asked.

"No," I said, "But I am sure that Pikachu can do something!"

Pikachu ran towards Team Rocket's Pokemon, ready to give them a Quick Attack.

"Koffing, use Sludge!" James told his Pokemon.

Koffing unleashed black goo from one of his pores. Pikachu couldn't avoid the attack in time, and the attack ended up hitting him in the eyes.

"Pikachu!" I said as I ran up to my starter, "Are you okay?"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, rubbing his eyes. It was clear that he couldn't see anything thanks to Koffing's attack. I gave Pikachu to Misty, "Make sure Pikachu is safe,"

"But what are we going to do now?" Misty asked me. "We only have one Pokemon left."

I looked at Caterpie's Pokeball, "I know, but I have faith in him…" I then sent out the bug-type to battle against Team Rocket.

"Caterpie!" Caterpie said when he faced off against Koffing and Ekans.

"Caterpie, I am counting on you to beat Team Rocket for me," I said, "Just give it your best shot…"

"What is that?" Jessie asked.

"A bug," James said, "A measly little bug!" He and his partners proceeded to laugh, not taking my choice in Pokemon seriously.

"Let's get da bug spray!" Meowth said.

Koffing and Ekans charged towards Caterpie. "Use String Shot, now!" I said as Caterpie trapped Koffing inside of a cocoon of silk. When Ekans went in to attack, Caterpie did the same to the snake Pokemon. Caterpie then tackled Koffing into Ekans, knocking the Pokemon out.

"Beat by a Caterpie?!" James asked as he and Jessie returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

"That really bugs me!" Jessie said.

"Now watch a REAL Pokemon in action," Meowth said. He charged at Caterpie, only for him to be mummified by Caterpie's Silk Shot as well. Meowth fell down, unable to move.

"Looks like it is time for Team Rocket to blast off…" James said.

"We did it, Caterpie!" I said, "We have won our first Pokemon battle fair and square! You really did your best, and we won because of you, Caterpie! I am proud of you."

Caterpie let out a cry as I looked at Misty. "You're Caterpie is a lot stronger than it looks," she told me.

"Pika!" Pikachu said in agreement with the mermaid.

"I guess you feel different about Caterpie now," I said.

"Yeah," Misty said, "It still looks kinda creepy, but if it was able to help us get rid of Team Rocket, I think he is a welcome member of our team."

I smiled when she said that, "Yeah," I said.

Just then, Caterpie faced towards the sky and launched its string shot into the air. Caterpie was soon surrounded by a barrier, and when the barrier faded, Caterpie was no longer there.

"What's that?" Misty asked as she pulled out her Pokedex.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon," the Pokedex said, "This Pokemon is vulnerable to attack while its shell is soft, exposing its weak and tender body."

"Woah," Misty said.

"Yeah," I said, "It may be a little weak now, but when it evolves, it will be a much better Pokemon."

"I bet so," Misty said, "Anyways, let's get out of this forest."

"Okay then," I said, "But not before I show you what other Pokemon call this place home!" I got behind her wheelchair and pushed it through the forest as we made our way through the forest. The future looks bright for us now. The forest might be deeper and darker than we know, and while it may mean more danger is around the corner, that also means new challenges we are ready to face off against together.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 4! I decided that Ash will not get Pidgeotto in this story, as he was honestly the worst one of Ash's original Kanto Pokemon. That, and I plan on expanding Butterfree's role in the story drastically, and I thought would make Pidgeotto even more pointless. So yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you for the next one (which will hopefully come out sooner than the previous one.)