Here we are, the next chapter of the journey! Let's see how Ash's visit and waiting in the Pokemon center differs from the original anime!

Ash had been sitting in the Pokemon Center for a long while, trying to keep himself occupied, while at the same time, looking over towards the room in concern as he wondered how Nurse Joy, the beautiful pink haired nurse was handling his Pikachu. Sure, the damages weren't as bad thanks to Starfire's Pokemon and the strange attack that drove them away, but he couldn't help but be concerned.

"I hope Starfire's okay out there..." Ash thought to himself as he looked out the darkened windows. It had been... what, an hour or two since they separated, and it was almost nightfall. For Ash, it would be an exciting moment to probably spend the first night out on his Pokemon journey... but due to how things got complicated, he knew things weren't looking up so far... with Viridian City on high alert and all... about Pokemon thieves on the loose...

This was how Ash managed to find the Pokemon Center in this place, because the blue haired officer of the city... Officer Jenny, he recalled... had noticed Ash carrying Pikachu in his arms and first accused him of being a thief. After Ash gave her the proper identification and explained his situation, the woman was more than willing to drive Ash to the Pokemon Center. And as she did so, Ash also told her about another person that came with her with a Clefairy that wasn't in a Poke Ball as well, and was probably exploring other parts of the town. As Officer Jenny told him that she'd keep an eye out, she dropped him off (literally crashing through the doors of the Pokemon Center, alerting Nurse Joy) and went on her way.

Of course, Nurse Joy berated Ash upon noticing the small damages Pikachu had taken, but decided to take it easy on him when he explained that he was a little new at becoming a Pokemon trainer. And so, she took Pikachu off his hands and Ash had been waiting since then.

He casually hummed to himself as he thought back to everything so far, including his first day... and the concerns for his first Pokemon. It hadn't been an easy journey, he admitted, even when a flock of Spearow tried to swoop at him and threaten him... but he had to admire his savior and her Pokemon, even though Starfire herself claimed she's not a Pokemon trainer yet... but to Ash, she felt like a natural...

And thinking back on walking with her and offering to help her with Pokemon, he couldn't help but feel a little... different around her. Yes, his cockiness was still there, his determination to become the greatest Pokemon master in the world still rang out in this head... but meeting Starfire... an actual alien from space... now it made him wonder if she's seen ANY Pokemon in space... though, from her confusion, it would seem her planet was a bit... sheltered? In fact, she had never met a human before then...

And that kiss he received... yes, she told him it was a custom of introduction of her people, but to him... it was the very first kiss he received from another girl... sure, he had kisses from his mother before, but they weren't as hard or passionate as Star's...

Ash shook his head, trying to stop the confusion that was going on in his head. All he could do was try to focus on something else... something that... it was then he spotted a line-up of video phones in the corner. Maybe catching up with his mom would help ease him. After all, he figured it was about time he did that. Let her know what was going on and... maybe he could tell her everything? No, no... the part of meeting an alien from space may be too much, even for his mother.

But he had to talk to her in some way, so he walked over and sat down in front of the videophones, before dialing the number. He waited for a bit as the phone rang and rang until he heard it pick up, though the screen was still dark as he heard his mom's voice.

"Hello, this is the Ketchum residence." His mom's voice sounded.

"Hello, Mom?" Ash said.

All of a sudden, he heard an excited voice before a quick peeling sound was heard (Ash figured she was in the middle of a relaxing treatment) as the monitor turned on, revealing a smiling brown-haired woman wearing a pink bathrobe (just as Ash thought). "Oh, hi, honey! Is everything okay?"

Ash gave a nervous smile as he tapped his fingers. "Everything's all right. Let's just say I've had quite a first day."

"Oh? Where are you right now?" Delia asked in curiosity.

"I'm at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City." Ash explained.

Delia's eyes widened in surprise, before giving a chuckle. "Already at Viridian, huh? You know, it took your father four days to get there when he STARTED his Pokemon training!"

Ash's eyes lit up at the mention of his father, probably the first time his mom had brought him up... in a long time. The only thing Ash ever knew about his father was that 'he wasn't there' and 'was going to be out a long time'. Still, to hear Delia mention that, it gave him a smile. "I guess I did a little better than him, huh?"

"Oh, he was always a little... dense when I knew him." Delia giggled, before sighing with a sad tone. "But that was all the way back then... anyway, I figured you'd have at least another day or so."

"Gee, thanks for that." Ash frowned as he looked over at his mother.

"Oh, don't get discouraged, Ash. You're doing just great! It's just so hard to believe that you're growing up right before my eyes... spreading your wings and soaring like a Spearow."

Ash yelped a bit as he gave a nervous chuckle. "Actually, it's funny you mention Spearow in particular."

"Oh?" Delia cocked her head in curiosity.

"Well... I sort of had a run-in with one... a bit of a bad run-in. A flock was called down because of my cockiness." Ash sighed.

"WHAT?!" Delia's mouth dropped, before giving a sigh. "Ash Ketchum, how do you end up in these situations... oh, were you hurt? What about your Pikachu, is HE okay?" Delia asked in concern.

"We... survived. It's a long story, but I was saved from the attacking flock by..." Ash paused as he tapped his fingers, wondering how he was going to bring up Starfire... before taking a deep breath. "I... met a girl."

"H-huh?" Delia blinked twice. "A girl?"

"She was... a curious girl, I guess you can say. She used her Pokemon to get me out of trouble and... well, we got to talking and... well, I figured it would be best that I didn't travel alone. Sure, Pikachu is my buddy, but if I'm going to get any further, I'll need some guidance, and this girl I met... she... well... that is to say..." Ash stammered as he started to blush.

Delia watched Ash stammer through his words before giving a small smile, realizing what was going on with Ash. After all, it was the same thing SHE experienced when she first met... she shook her head, trying to shake the memories. "Well, I WOULD love to meet this girl who saved you, Ash."

"Well, she's not present at this time. She's out in Viridian, getting items." Ash explained. "I promise, next time I call, I'll introduce you to her."

"You better." Delia giggled, before giving a slight pause. "And Ash? Don't discourage yourself anymore, okay? Especially not when you have a human partner to help you out. After all, as long as you're doing your best, you'll be just fine. Okay?"

"Sure..."

"Now, are you changing your underwear every day?" Delia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ash groaned as he held his head. Mothers, always concerned over the little things. "Yes, Mom, I am."

"Great! Well, I have to get going then, son. Good night. I love you!" Delia smiled.

"Me too, Mom. Good bye." Ash said as he hung up the phone.

At the same time Ash hung up, Delia covered her mouth in shock as she gave a small 'eee'-ing sound. She was hoping for Ash to find a decent girl for himself, but she didn't think it would be happening this fast! Of course, she had yet to meet this mysterious girl in Ash's life, but all the same, she was hopeful. All she could hope for was that Ash's first girlfriend would be a more happier ending... she then gave a sigh as she looked over at the picture of her and a young Ash holding a Charmander plushie hanging on the wall before picking it up.

Delia paused slightly as she examined the photo, before a sad smile adorned her face. "Oh, my pride and joy... you're going to be just fine..."

As Ash hung up the phone, he couldn't help but give a sigh. Mothers, he thought to himself. Still, at least he got the fact that he had met someone who had helped him off his chest. Sure, Ash was still feeling a little prideful, but part of him felt more appreciative towards Starfire and her Clefairy partner. Part of him wanted to explain the whole story to his mom, but, as he already thought of before, it would be impossible to think.

He decided to get up and go back to the desk when he noticed a strange mural on the side of the wall. He walked over to it and stared at the mural in awe. Said mural had depictions of three strange birds, and in the lower right corner, a dog like creature. Ash recognized the lower right corner Pokemon to be an Arcanine, though why it was mixed in with these strange birds, he didn't know. Maybe because some people depicted Arcanine as a 'Legendary' Pokemon? Although, Ash sort of wished that they would label Arcanine as the Loyal Pokemon, considering Arcanine isn't REALLY that rare of a Pokemon...

Then again, how many trainers did he see have an Arcanine on their side anyway? Some of his favorite trainers had Arcanines on their teams, and Ash was a HUGE fan of said trainers. Still, his focus wasn't on the Arcanine, but the three birds depicted on the wall. Three of them... Ash couldn't help but briefly wonder about the mysterious Pokemon that flew over the rainbow he and Starfire saw earlier. Could it be one of the legendary birds?

He heard a dinging of the doors as Ash snapped out of his trance as he turned around... his mouth dropping as he saw Starfire and Clefairy coming in. However, Starfire had been dressed differently.

"Sorry I'm late, it took me a while to find the right clothing." Starfire said as she put her hands behind her back, shuffling her feet. She was wearing a purple strap blouse like sleeveless shirt, with metal wrist bands and a metal necklace. She also had a purple skirt with a metal belt on, and purple heels, showing off her beautiful legs. "What do you think?"

Ash, for that moment, couldn't respond as he examined the beautiful woman before her. For a brief moment, his mind went straight for Starfire and her beauty, before snapping back to reality. "You look pretty good, Starfire."

"She better!" Clefairy sassily smirked as she crossed her arms. "She wanted to do a crop top, but I told her it was a little too revealing. We eventually settled on the skirt, but it was a tough battle!"

Starfire rolled her eyes a bit before smiling towards Ash. "Thanks, Ash."

"You didn't have any trouble with thieves on the way here, did you?" Ash asked in concern. "Because I heard the town was on high alert. One of the officers even stopped me because he thought I had stolen Pikachu. I had to show him my ID to clear everything up."

"No, no thieves... an old man that was blocking the road, maybe, but no thieves..." Starfire said, before pausing. "Ummm... ID?"

Ash snapped his fingers. "RIGHT! You came from space, so you probably wouldn't have ID... this is going to be a problem..."

"He's right. If you're going to blend in this world, you're going to need proper identification!" Clefairy pointed out.

Starfire paused as she scratched her head. "Well... can't you call this professor that set you up? Maybe he'd be able to help me out?"

"Hmmm... well, I don't know if he'd accept late entries, but maybe if you explain about Clefairy being your starter and wanting to go with it?" Ash asked sheepishly.

"Is that possible?" Starfire asked.

Ash tried to think about it, but before he could say anything, he heard the computer phone ringing up as Starfire yelped, holding her hand out as if defending herself. Ash noted Starfire's tense body as he shook his head. "Calm down. You probably don't have video phones on the planet you're from, it's just somebody calling the center."

"Oh?" Starfire blinked as she put her arms down, still a little nervous. "Video... phones? I deeply apologize, your planet is still as confusing to me...?"

Ash looked over to the video phone in curiosity as he walked over, wondering whether or not he should answer it. Eventually, he pushed a button on the phone, putting it to 'Voice Only'. "Hello?"

"Over here!" The voice called as Ash turned to see the Arcanine tablet from the mural was lowering down to reveal the back of an old man's head talking to a monitor looking over at Ash. The back of the old man was shown to be wearing a white lab coat. He was also cooking up some ramen noodles on a beaker and burner. "Ash, this is Professor Oak, can you see me?"

"Well... I can see that you're cooking ramen, Professor Oak." Ash pointed out, causing Oak to jump as he turned his head, looking embarrassed.

"Whoops! Uh, wrong camera!" Oak said as he pushed a button to put him face front as he gave a smile. "There we are! Do you see me now?"

"Yes, I see you clearly, face to face." Ash confirmed.

"Ah, good, good! I just spoke with your mother, and she tells me that you've made it to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. Is that correct?" Oak asked.

"Well, I wouldn't be talking to you if I wasn't here." Ash pointed out.

Oak paused as he chuckled. "Oh, right, yeah. I suppose you have a point. Anyway, you've done quite well so far. The other new Pokemon trainers made it there with no problem, and honestly, I'm surprised to see you made it here so soon. I admit, when you left, I had my doubts you could handle your Pikachu, but when my grandson, Gary, said that you wouldn't have a single new Pokemon by the time you got to Viridian City, I bet him a million dollars that he'd be wrong."

Ash winced a bit as he looked down in guilty, before chuckling nervously. "Well... money isn't everything, right, Professor?"

Professor Oak groaned as he held his head in frustration. "Why do I even bother?"

"Well... I had a good reason, though. I was about to catch a few Pokemon, but... I had a bit of trouble, and... well, I met somebody that wants to enter in the Pokemon journey a bit late." Ash said as he smiled nervously.

This caused Professor Oak to look in surprise. "Oh?!" He immediately became interested. "Well, I wouldn't normally accept late entries, mainly because I already gave away the starters, but... who, may I ask, wants to come in late?"

"Uh, that would be me."

It was at that moment Professor Oak finally noticed the curious red-haired girl with unusually green coated eyes joining Ash as he looked over in curiosity. "OH! I didn't notice Ash had company. Greetings, and welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Oak. People affectionately refer to me as the Pokemon professor!"

"So you are the professor of the Pokemon?" Starfire asked in curiosity as she tilted her head.

Oak blinked twice at the woman's strange broken language, before snapping his fingers. "Ah, so you're a bit of a foreigner here, huh? What region are you from? Unova? Paldea? Perhaps the Kalos region?"

All this did was confuse Starfire a bit as Ash coughed. "This is Starfire. She... uh, helped save me from a mob of wild Pokemon with a Clefairy, and... she came here to join in, but she doesn't have the proper identification or a Pokedex or... well, not much of anything, actually. I was wondering if you could help her?"

Oak paused briefly as he gave a smile. "Well... I wouldn't do this normally, BUT... if you're so interested in travelling the Pokemon world, young lady, I'm more than willing to make an exception. So... you have a Clefairy as your starter?"

"Yes sir." Starfire nodded as she picked up Clefairy, who looked a little annoyed, but still smiled as she waved to the professor onscreen.

Oak paused as he gave a smile. "Hmmm... well, you do have the Pokemon... I'll be willing to register you as a Pokemon trainer AND your little Clefairy friend as your starter. Now, while I don't have the basics, I'll see if I can transfer you to one of the video phones and get your picture taken, so you'll have both your trainer card AND a Pokedex already to go. I take it you'll be travelling with Ash?"

"That seems to be the initial plan, yes, Professor." Starfire nodded.

"Good, good. That poor boy is going to need the assistance he's going to get." Oak said with a small smirk on his face.

Ash glared at Professor Oak. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Professor Oak chuckled to himself as he said, "Oh, nothing you need to worry about, Ash. Now... uh... Starfire, is it? Let me just start by asking... are you a boy? Or are you a girl?"

Starfire just blinked twice before looking over at Ash, dumbfounded. Ash gave a sigh as he gave a shrug. "He always asks that first whenever he comes across new trainers. Just... just humor him."

"Uh... girl?" Starfire asked.

"Girl, right, right, of course, of course..." Professor Oak said to himself as he typed in the registration. "Just going to enter your name and... if you can just go over to one of the video phones and get your picture taken..."

Starfire nodded as she walked over to one of the video phones, just as Starfire sat down and the screen came on as a camera attachment flashed at her. Professor Oak nodded as he gave a nod. "Now, I assume that Clefairy is your starter Pokemon? No need to go over any hurdles and such? Because it'll take a long time to get another Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle."

"Clefairy is perfect with me..." Starfire smiled as she patted Clefairy on the head. "I can't imagine going places without her.

"You said it, sistah!" Clefairy grinned as she slapped Starfire's back.

"And... there we are!" Professor Oak said as a transporter next to the video phone materialized some documents and a few Poke Balls. "You should be all registered now. Here's your trainer card, your Pokedex AND some Poke Balls to get you started. Now, do you already have your Clefairy in a Poke Ball?"

"Uh... no, she prefers to be outside." Starfire asked as Clefairy smirked, holding out her finger and wiggling it.

"Ah, so like Ash's Pikachu, then..." Professor Oak said. "All right then. All registered and accounted for. Welcome to the journey, Starfire! I look forward to your progress!"

Starfire paused before giving a smile. "I will not let you down, Mr. Oak."

Professor Oak blinked twice, before chuckling. "Professor Oak, please. Mr. Oak happens to be my father. Heh heh..."

"Oh. Forgive me, I had not the slightest idea." Starfire bowed her head. "No disrespect."

Professor Oak paused as he gave a nod before turning to Ash. "Ash, I hope you and that friend of yours will be able to catch more Pokemon... maybe if you put your heads together, you'd make QUITE the formidable team."

"I... already have a good idea." Ash said... before pausing. "Anyway, Professor, I was wondering if you can help me with something. When Starfire and I were heading to Viridian, we saw a strange Pokemon... sort of something like that."

Ash pointed upwards towards the mural to show the stone bird surrounded in blue as Professor Oak looked up, confused. "Uh, Ash, I don't know what you're pointing at."

"Oh! Uh, sorry! Yeah, it was a large bird like Pokemon, flew over a rainbow... red and white... I couldn't make out its face but it looked fierce. Do you think maybe it's one of those legendary birds?" Ash asked.

Professor Oak blinked as he thought about it. "You know, I've heard a lot about the legendary birds of Kanto... very rare specimens as well... Articuno, the bird of ice... Zapdos, the bird of electricity... and Moltres, the legendary bird of fire. But... none of these descriptions match the bird you described."

"Well, my Pokedex couldn't get a good reading on it either, but I did see it." Ash explained.

"Hm... it could be possible you saw a migrating legendary bird from another region." Professor Oak explained. "But I'm afraid I don't know anything further than that. I'll bring this up with one of the other professors of the regions and see if they know anything."

"Well, all right. I just thought maybe you'd like to know." Ash said.

"Actually, Professor, there is another question I am curious about." Starfire asked. "Are there any Pokemon that... come from space?"

Professor Oak blinked as he looked over at Starfire. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've heard rumors that Clefairy came from space, and I was a little curious." Starfire asked. "Is it possible that there are a few of the Pokemon in space?"

"Ahhh... well, that's a very good question, young lady. Well, it's been unproven whether or not Clefairy and Clefable came from space, but they are known as the Fairy Pokemon linked to the moon." Professor Oak explained. "Of course, it is possible there are other Pokemon in space, but that's something I'd have to talk to with my colleagues."

All of a sudden, Oak heard something burning as he turned his head and yelped. "YIPE! My ramen! It's overcooking! Uh, love to answer all your questions, but I have to go! I look forward to the next call! Oh, and Ash? Starfire? Don't be afraid to look around every nook and cranny, and be sure to get a good team of Pokemon if possible! Okay, bye!"

With that, Professor Oak ran off and hung up as Ash blinked. "Uh, sure. Good-bye, professor."

Ash sighed as he looked down a bit. Starfire noted Ash's face as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry, Ash. I'm sure we will be perfectly okay..."

"I certainly hope so..." Ash sighed as he looked out the window. "I just hope Pikachu gets healed soon... so we can all begin our journey together!"

Starfire looked over towards him as she gave a small smile. "You are going to be perfectly fine. Even our first days will be... bad. But with every bad day comes a better one."

Ash paused as he looked over towards Starfire and smiled. "Thank you, Starfire."

"Anytime." Starfire whispered as she leaned her head towards Ash.

Clefairy, watching the two, couldn't help but give a small snicker before looking back towards the room. She had a feeling that good days were going to be ahead...

Meanwhile, a bit far away from the Pokemon center, a building that resembled an ordinary gym was the headquarters of Team Rocket, as Giovanni was helping a strange looking Pokemon getting the finishing touches put on his armor.

"You say this armor protects my body... and yet, it suppresses my powers." The strange Pokemon said as it lifted its head up towards a smirking Giovanni.

"Oh, your powers aren't being suppressed... they're being focused. Learn to use them to accomplish your purpose." Giovanni explained.

"And... what is that?" The strange Pokemon asked in curiosity.

"Be patient, my friend. Your purpose will become clear soon. In the meantime, you'll need to rest up." Giovanni said before turning his back. "For I have a reasonable job for you that will require your power..."

The Pokemon stared at Giovanni, before giving a sigh. "I will relent..."

Giovanni chuckled to himself before walking out of the laboratory, giving a slight chuckle to himself before walking down the hallways. As he continued walking, he couldn't help but stop as he noticed one particular room. He looked over and raised an eyebrow as he bit his lip and shut his eyes. He hated that he had to walk past this room, as it only brought... THOSE memories to the forefront... but he had to shove it aside. There was no reason for the leader of Team Rocket to be shown as vulnerable... as he continued to walk though, he couldn't help but wonder just WHAT the former resident that had complete control of that certain room was up to...

And that is the third chapter done! Next time, the first meeting of Jessie, James and Meowth, AKA, always the best part of the Pokemon anime! But how big will their roles be THIS dimension? And how will Starfire affect the plot? Until next time.