I know I'd said we'd focus on an Ash Ketchum capture next episode, but there were a few things I wanted to set up first, so this chapter is mainly focusing on more Ash and Starfire set up, along with a lot more set-up for what's to come in the next chapter! Plus, stick around for the ending, because you're about to be in for a surprise! Special shout out to Midnightson41 for giving me a few ideas for the story, including the surprise at the end! You'll see what I mean soon enough!
After a small dinner, Ash and Starfire were relaxing by the campfire as Pikachu, Clefairy and Caterpie were off elsewheres (Clefairy did say that it was to help Pikachu train Caterpie to be stronger, and judging by the sounds of Pikachu aiming electricity towards a rock to train, it seemed to be going pretty well), Starfire gave a sigh as she looked up at the sky. "It certainly is the lovely evening."
"It is, isn't it?" Ash smiled as he gave a smile.
Starfire smiled towards him as well, before pausing. "Say, Ash, something that gets me curious. You said that trainers usually start with one of three starters… a Bulbasaur, a Charmander or a Squirtle."
"That's right! That's usually how professors hand out starters to start our Pokemon journey… and they either give us a grass, fire or water starter. I was really hoping for either those three, but I overslept and…" Ash bit his lip as he looked down, before looking over his shoulder to watch Pikachu focusing on tackling the rock, before turning towards Caterpie as it gave a nod. "...well, like I said before, it was a rough start, but I don't regret the choice I made."
"Well, do you know who took the other starters? Are you friends with any of the trainers that might have taken your starters?" Starfire asked.
Ash paused as he tapped his fingers. "Well… Gary, you already know, and seeing that he already picked Squirtle, that's definitely the starter he went with. As for Bulbasaur and Charmander… it's hard to say. There were two other people that I did make friends with in my camping days AND at the school I went to. The times I HAVE talked to them though… hmmm…"
Starfire tilted his head. "What?"
"Well… there's Cross. He's another…" Ash frowned as he gave a sigh. "I want to say he's another rival of mine. He's always talking about strength and making sure his Pokemon are strong. A bit cocky like Gary, but… well, worse. He's always talked about wanting Charmander and JUST Charmander. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the first one before me and Gary and that was what he chose."
Starfire frowned as she noted Ash's change of tone. "Cross sounds like a bad person."
"Not bad… just cocky." Ash groaned. "Gary and I usually don't get along, but if there's one thing we both agree on, it's that Cross is a douche."
"Ohhh…" Starfire paused, before tilting her head. "And… Bulbasaur? Who do you think got Bulbasaur?"
The black haired boy adjusted his hat a bit as he paused to think. "Well, I suppose Leaf might have, but that all depended on if her father wanted to go out on this journey…"
"Leaf?" Starfire asked, before the pronouns finally caught up as she frowned. "Wait, "her"?"
"Yeah, Leaf's a nice girl, she's always been pretty nice to me. Always shouts at Gary and Cross for being so cocky, but she never yelled at me. Sure, she berated me a bit, BUT she wasn't all that bad. In fact, she seemed pretty eager to want to go with me on the journey…" Ash gave a sigh. "I didn't see her when I picked up Pikachu, so either she went on ahead or her father DID get her to stay home after all."
"And what is this… Leaf… like?" Starfire asked with a curious frown.
"Well, like I said, she's nice and sweet when she is… but she's also pretty mysterious and… well…" Ash paused briefly as he gave a blush. "...she always says she wanted to go on this journey to learn about herself, but why that is… I couldn't tell you. The point is, I haven't seen Leaf since last week, so either she went on the journey on her own after all, or she's back at home. It would have been nice to travel with her… but I'm glad I ran into you."
"Really?" Starfire asked, the beautiful red-headed girl smiling sweetly as she calmed down.
"You're learning a lot about Pokemon, and I'm trying to tutor you into it… as far as I can tell, THAT'S a good learning experience." Ash smiled. "And I'll be sure to be the very best teacher for you, like no one ever was!"
Starfire looked over at Ash with a small smile towards him as she gave a small head bow. "Well, thank you, Ash. I promise to learn from the best!"
Ash's eyes snapped open as he looked over towards Starfire's innocent smile, before blushing. "Well, I'm still only a starting trainer after all…"
"But you do have the more experience at being the trainer than I could… I mean, I only landed here after… two days? If not for Clefairy and running into you, I'd still be alone, wandering…" She looked down. "Probably scaring people who do not understand me…"
Ash raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Now how can ANYBODY be scared of you? You saved my life, after all. And Pikachu's! That's honestly the nicest thing that's happened to us!"
That word 'nice' came ringing back as she looked back over at Clefairy, who was using her arms to pound the rock as light as she could, before nodding towards Caterpie, the small bug looking determined as it launched itself forward and slammed its head against a rock. She flashed back to what Clefairy had said the first day she landed in this planet…
"Haven't you ever protected any of your family or friends in your world? I think that's considered nice."
Starfire paused slightly before turning back to Ash, and smiled. "It is very nice, wasn't it?"
She then pulled Ash in a hug, surprising him as she put his head so close to her breasts, making him blush. "Thank you, Ash."
"Y-you're welcome, S-star…" Ash stammered as she let him go, the boy still blushing furiously over the close contact. The boy looked up as he noted the moon hovering over. "It's getting a little late. We should probably turn in for the night, and continue onwards tomorrow."
"That is a good idea." Starfire yawned. "I am starting to feel the droops myself."
Ash nodded as he picked up his bag and started to head off to change somewhere as he said, "Stay with Pikachu for a while, will you? I just need to get changed…"
Starfire nodded as she watched Ash leave. She paused slightly as she noted the three Pokemon getting a little exhausted.
"Phew… all that training REALLY exhausted a poor bug out…" Caterpie said as it gave a small, cute trilling yawn.
"Yeah, I think that's good enough training for one night…" Clefairy nodded before turning to Starfire with a smile. "Hey, bud! Going to sleep?"
"As soon as Ash is done changing…" Starfire communicated as she looked back up at the clouds.
As Pikachu decided to wander off to the side to relax on the tree stump next to him, Clefairy paused as she looked over towards Starfire, as she gave a nod. "Hey, Star, I couldn't help but wonder if you still want to give a link to your family or home planet… let them know you're okay."
"It would be so much nice to let them know… but how do I give communications to them. I do not even have any space technology, and the ones I wanted to use yesterday got blown up in the explosion." Starfire asked, before her eyes widened. "Oh goodness, I did not even think about asking the officer about using her phone! Ugh, I am the scatterbrained…"
"Don't sweat it, Star! You know, my move, Metronome, doesn't just take from Pokemon moves… it can also act as a transmitter radio!" Clefairy smirked.
Starfire and Pikachu looked up in curiosity, with Caterpie giving a curious trill. "You can do that?"
"Hold it a minute. Pokemon moves, I get, but there's no way you can use Metronome to imitate a transmitter! And even then, how would that work?" Pikachu asked in astonishment.
"It's quite simple, really. You see-" Clefairy started to say…
At that time, Ash had just finished changing into his green and blue pajamas as he looked up at the night sky, seeing the stars twinkle. Ash took a deep breath as he sat down for a bit, admiring the sky. He had a good feeling that things were going to look up…
But then, he noticed something in the distance… like some sort of shooting star that was spiraling from the sky… at least, that's what it looked like from a distance. Still, Ash's eyes lit up as he closed his eyes, silently making a wish to himself… he could have wished for a lot of things… like meeting his dad for the first time in his life… becoming the world's greatest Pokemon master… the like… but for some reason, in his mind, he wished for not just himself, but for Starfire to have the best journey of her life.
He opened his eyes and noted the shooting star no longer present. He assumed it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, before shrugging as he turned around to meet up with Star and the Pokemon.
"-and by using the soundwaves of Chatter, that's how I can managed to imitate a radio transmitter!" Clefairy smiled.
"Can you demonstrate for us?" Pikachu said in awe as he and Caterpie looked curious, with Starfire feeling invested.
"Please do! I want to at least commute to my people, if only to send them a message!" Starfire begged.
"Okay, stand back…" Clefairy nodded as she backed herself up and wiggled her arms… all of a sudden, Clefairy stood motionless as its eyes started to glow an unusual white, with a radio sound coming out.
Pikachu and Caterpie stood in awe as Starfire leaned over and curiously touched Clefairy's arms, looking like she was adjusting a radio, before smiling. "You do sound like the radio!"
She then pulled Clefairy's arm towards her ear as she gave a call. "Hello? Calling anybody from Tamaran? This is Princess Koriand'r! I am trying to communicate a message through my friend's… uh, special power. It is a little complicated to explain, but… anyway, I just want to let you all know… Mother? Father? Galfore? Blackfire? I do not know if you can hear me, but I just want to let you know that… I am, in fact, the okay. I have escaped from the Gordonians a while ago… after they had kept me imprisoned when they conquered us and captured me to sell for slavery… but I wasn't going to let them have the satisfaction, so I escaped, with a new friend in tow. This friend, in turn, helped me escaped to a world where the Gordonians wouldn't find me… like an alternate version of the planet I was originally going to, but… different."
As Starfire kept talking through Clefairy, Ash had just walked back in, before stopping short as he noted the strange display going on. The boy kept silent as Starfire continued, "According to what my friends have told me, this is a world filled with Pokemon, strange animal-like creatures you can tame as the pets… no different than the animals back home, actually. But there are also other creatures called humans that coincide with Pokemon, and their mission is to help each other, whether it be through friendship or battle. And while I do want to get back home right away… there is something about this journey that I want to take that… well, I already have two Pokemon… my best friend, Clefairy, and a cute little bug named Caterpie. There are a lot more, but it would take too long to list. I'm still trying to find new discoveries myself…"
Starfire paused before giving a smile. "Oh, I'm also being accompanied by a sweet, young man in this world, who I managed to save his life from a flock of angry birds. Well, young boy, but he's growing into a man. It was thanks to him that I learned about this phenomenon of Pokemon, and I am currently journeying with him to help learn more. And this boy… he's sort of cocky, but looking at him closely, he certainly has a sweet side." She blushed a bit as she giggled. "I actually wouldn't mind introducing you to Ash… that's the boy… to you sometime. He's certainly a very unique person, that's for sure…"
Ash blinked, before smiling at the beautiful girl before her as Starfire paused. "But, uh… I wanted to tell you all something." She looked down. "It may sound like me coming out as weak, but… this is actually me being nice… a word that, until recently, I learned that can also be a strength. Anyway… I really miss all of you and… well, the thought of never seeing you all again… breaks my heart."
Ash paused sympathetically as he looked around, seeing Pikachu and Caterpie looking down and sympathetic towards the girl talking to the pink creature like a phone. Starfire paused. "If you all can… try to get in touch with me… or better yet… come by. And… well… I'll introduce you to my new best friends. You'll be sure to love them, I promise."
Starfire's eyes started to well up with tears as she put Clefairy down, as the pink fairy Pokemon managed to twitch a bit, getting herself back to normal as she noted Starfire's sad look. She looked down as tears started to well up in her eyes… before feeling a hand placing itself on her shoulder.
Starfire looked up to see a smiling Ash, looking down at her with a small grin. "That was very beautiful, Star. And don't worry. I'm sure they probably got your message…"
Starfire could only look up in silence, before smiling at the young man, her heart beating pretty fast. No other words were exchanged for a few minutes, but nothing was needed to be said. Ash knew what Starfire was doing… although he didn't quite understand how a Clefairy can act as some sort of transmitter, since he missed the entire conversation of that moment, but none of that mattered. He knew that Starfire sent a message to her people, and although he didn't get the entirety of the conversation, he heard enough.
Ash had already settled down in his sleeping bag as he looked over towards Pikachu, Clefairy and Caterpie as he gave a smile towards the three. "Well, it was an interesting day, and… even though I didn't catch any Pokemon today… I'm sure I'll have better luck tomorrow!"
"You certainly will." Pikachu said as he gave a yawn.
"Ash? I am ready to sleep now."
Ash looked up and his eyes widened in shock as she had slipped herself down to just her panties… he was blushing furiously as he noted her mostly topless appearance. "Uh… Star, why aren't you wearing a top?"
"Should I need one?" Starfire asked.
"Well, you're supp-" Ash stammered a bit as he tried to look away. "That is, didn't you get any other sets of clothes and pajamas that-"
It was then Ash stopped as he realized that Starfire and him had slept in their own clothes last night because of everything that went on that night, so… "Oh… you… only picked out a few sets of clothes, but didn't get pajamas… did you?"
"Oh, I had no idea…" Starfire said in curiosity. "Should I go and-"
"No, it's okay… we're too deep into the Viridian Forest now. We can always stop in the next town and pick up some new clothes for you… in the meantime, let's just try and get some sleep…" Ash said as he turned his head away, blushing furiously.
After a moment, he paused as he thought of something. He had a feeling Starfire was still standing in confusion. "You… don't have a sleeping bag, do you?"
"Is that what you are currently sleeping in?" Starfire asked in curiosity.
Ash shut his eyes a bit, before sighing. "Okay, I don't know how much room I have, but…" He unzipped the bag a bit as he scooted over. "Come here and lay with me."
"Oh, joy!" Starfire smiled as she walked over and scooted herself over to Ash's bag, as Starfire zipped it up, causing her to move closer to Ash. "This is certainly quite the interesting play…"
"Yes… quite." Ash sighed as he gave a yawn, trying his best to ignore the two things that were close to his back. "Anyway, this'll only be for a couple of nights. Once we get to Pewter, the first thing we're doing after going to a Pokemon Center, is getting you your own sleeping bag!"
"I understand… sorry if I am causing you the trouble…" Starfire said.
"It's fine… we're still learning…" Ash sighed as he gave a yawn. "Just try and get some sleep for now. Good night, Star."
"Good night, Ash. Good night, Clefairy and Caterpie. Good night Pikachu." Starfire said as she put her hands on Ash's side, pulling him closer as if to spoon him. Ash yelped a bit as he uttered a good night to the Pokemon, before trying his best to sleep as well… although as the sleep overtook him, he actually found being spooned by Starfire… pretty nice.
Pikachu, Clefairy and Caterpie looked at the sleeping kids in awe, with Pikachu giving a slight snicker. "Of all the things I've seen, I've never seen something as interesting as a flustered Ash!"
"Tell me about it!" Clefairy chuckled. "Now I'm glad I forgot to mention pajamas to her!"
"You did that on purpose?" Pikachu asked in surprise.
"Something tells me these two are going to be so right for each other! I can feel it, you know?" Clefairy said as she gave a yawn.
"I still don't quite understand what's going on, but it appears Miss Starfire is… making your friend… happy, Pikachu?" Caterpie asked.
"In a way… we're all still on a learning curve, after all…" Pikachu explained.
"I suppose you're right…" Caterpie sighed as he looked up. "You know, I'm sort of glad I was caught… if it meant evolving into a very beautiful Butterfree…"
"Always wanted to be a flier, huh?" Clefairy asked in curiosity.
Caterpie gave a nod. "When I heard about Caterpie evolving into Butterfree and flying through the sky, I always wanted to have that dream achieved. All of my other Caterpie brethren evolved into Butterfree already, and most of them have already flew out of Viridian Forest. Me?" Caterpie sighed. "I was the last Caterpie out… and I haven't really trained myself to the point where I COULD evolve into Butterfree…"
"Hey, don't sweat it, mac!" Clefairy smirked. "I was never a big fan of evolving myself, but I can support people who desire that dream! You're lucky Pikachu and I are around to help you out! And Starfire already thinks you're adorable!"
"Maybe so… but what if she just wants to keep me as a Caterpie?" Caterpie asked as he looked down. "She already treats me like a baby already…"
"Again, she's new." Pikachu explained. "Sure, she and my trainer are sharing the same brain cell right now, but give it some time. Once you evolve, you'll be the best Butterfree in the sky!"
"You really think so?" Caterpie asked as he looked at the two.
"Stick with us, kid! You're going to soar high in NO time!" Clefairy laughed as she gave a yawn. "Well, we can't just stay up all night. Let's get our strength up and go to bed, shall we?"
"Yeah, it's a long night…" Pikachu yawned as he gave a bit of a stretch. "Good night, you two…"
"Good night." The other two Pokemon said as Pikachu and Clefairy started to snuggle into the tree stump. Caterpie was the only one still up as it looked in the sky in awe, still dreaming of being the beautiful Butterfree he so longed to be…
Unknown to the sleeping group, as the cinders of the fire had burnt out AND the small Caterpie finally snuggled close to Ash and Starfire's sleeping bag to sleep, two figures peered their heads out and examined the two sleeping trainers.
"I don't get WHY we have to spy on two random trainers…" A blue haired man wearing a black uniform complained.
"Giovanni DID say they were very key to what he has in mind…" A familiar purple haired man said as he examined them, before bending down towards Ash in curiosity. "Although, I can SEE why Giovanni would be SLIGHTLY interested in this one…"
"Well, should we do the plan now?" The blue haired man grinned as he pulled out a Poke Ball.
"No, not yet!" The purple haired man frowned as he glared at his comrade. "If what Giovanni says about the girl is true, we'd risk exposing the operation! Plus, we're already risking enough just walking in, Proton!"
Both men yelped as they heard the slight breathing of the Clefairy as they turned… only to turn back around as if to get a good sleeping position. The blue haired man, Proton, nodded before motioning them to return back from a distance.
Once they managed to get a good distance away from the sleeping group, Proton turned to Petrel with a curious look. "Right, Petrel, so what have we seen so far?"
"Well, the girl is naive but curious, and we already filmed a lot of footage of her… and sent a good chunk of it to Giovanni, at his request." Petrel frowned. "I don't know WHY he would WANT "this" specific footage, but I don't pry into the boss's life. Besides, our mission isn't to capture the kids. It's to test them…"
"Test them? They're just kids." Proton raised an eyebrow.
"Well, once we send out our big test…" Petrel said as he pulled out a yellow and black ball, giving a smirk. "We'll be sure to see what these kids are capable of… though I doubt it's necessary, since their Pokemon seem pretty weak…"
"So… wait until morning, then?" Proton asked.
Petrel nodded before turning his head. "Come on, let's get ourselves further away before something ELSE happens!"
With that, the two Rocket executives got up and went a little further away, before Petrel stopped and looked at the Poke Ball in curiosity. "Still surprised that Giovanni would want us to test Project Cinderblock, though…"
Unknown to anybody else, further into Viridian Forest, a small bee-like Pokemon was looking out from its surrounding hive in tree surrounded by many other bee-like Pokemon. She gave a small sigh as she looked around. Sure, she didn't mind collecting honey, and helping her fellow Weedle in evolving, but she wanted a bit more out of her life… the young Beedrill could only buzz silently as she looked over at her hive. She didn't like it, but the queen Beedrill said it was the Beedrill's civic duty to make sure not only are the Kakuna well guarded, BUT to make sure nobody got in harms way, lest they were met with a Twineedle.
However, this Beedrill wanted to do a lot more fighting than just the people in the hive. In fact… she was rather BORED of said hive, and wanted nothing to do with it. The Beedrill simply buzzed for a bit before looking around at its home. Sure, it would miss its home, but… at this point, all it really was doing was the same thing every day… and what type of life was that? She knew about Pokemon getting captured by trainers, and Weedles that were captured by trainers passing by, but nobody had ever attempted to catch Beedrills because not only were they fast, but they were very dangerous…
The small Beedrill frowned, not wanting to have this life. She laughed with a cocky expression on her face before separating itself from the honey and flying away from the hive nest, passing by the other sleeping Beedrill. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she wanted a brand new life… a life that involved fighting alongside somebody… and not as a honey gatherer…
"Look out, world…" The Beedrill said as it flew away. "Here comes Bumblebee!"
Believe it or not, yes, the Teen Titans and a few other Teen Titans-related characters ARE going to be in the story, but more in Pokemon form! You just meant the first of these characters... and yeah, Bumblebee as Beedrill could be more straightforward, but I'll talk about her more ONCE she becomes integrated into the full story! Aside from that, next time, for real, Ash gets HIS first Pokemon, and they come across a big threat... and in case the last bit wasn't clear... we're about to have our Pokemon version of Cinderblock coming in! Until next time.