Pokemon: A Rocket Adventure

Chapter 2: Let's Go!

Lex, the uniquely marked Pikachu, and his new trainer continued to bond over the weekend. Saturday saw the pair venture out to the Vermillion PokeMart and various other shops for supplies that'll benefit them on their upcoming journey. Lex had grown close enough to Sarah by then to allow her to hold and carry him. Later that day after observing other trainers with small pokemon that they allowed to ride on them, the Pikachu then eventually worked up the courage to do the same and found the experience of riding on Sarah's shoulders quite enjoyable.

The following day after their shopping spree saw the two entering the woods. As Sarah's house was at the edge of the suburbs it backed onto the woodland between Vermillion and Saffron City. Here it was a nice and quiet place to get some training done without other people around to distract or frighten Lex. Sarah suspected that Lex only knew the basic beginner attacks and she wanted to see what he could do.

After several minutes of navigating the woods, Sarah with Lex perched on her shoulder emerged into a small clearing in the trees. The clearing was largely flat and grassy with a stream cutting through the middle. There were also a few fallen logs and rocks dotted about as well to give it some variety. Sarah approached the nearest fallen log while she unslung her pink backpack.

"Alright Lex…" Sarah smiled at saying his name. "...we're gonna get some training done today before we set off for Pallet Town tomorrow morning."

The Pikachu slid down her arm and then dropped down to the grassy ground. He tilted his head curiously while his trainer put down her backpack on the log she had headed for. His blue eyes watched as she extracted a sizable foam block from within it first. The foam block was as tall as him and as thick as he was wide and was the type of foam you'd find in a cushion. He had no idea what that was for but before he could dwell on it further his trainer then began to pull out several plastic cups and a bag of brightly coloured ping-pong balls.

"Ok…" she said to herself as she looked around. Her gaze soon settled on a sizable rock towards the middle of the clearing next to the stream. She then took one of the plastic cups and placed it upside down upon the rock.

"Ok Lex, I would like you to use Thundershock to hit this cup. Think you can do that for me?"

"Pika!" He nodded and ran backward a few feet to give himself some range. Sarah herself moved back toward the log to get to a safe distance herself.

"Piiiiiiiikaaaaaa," Lex cried as he threw his arms out while his red cheeks began to glow and spark with power. A second or two later a blue electrical aura formed around him. "Chuuuuuuuuu!" He clenched his red and black forepaws and drew them into his chest as he released his power. A fairly large electric-blue lightning bolt arced out from him and came down on the rock. There was a loud crack as the Thundershock struck the rock and exploded the plastic cup.

Despite her standing several feet away from the target she still felt the power of that electric attack as it made the small hairs on her bare arms stand on end. "That's some power but at least his aim is good." she thought to herself as she walked over to the scorched rock and inspected the damage. The cup lay all around the rock in shredded, melted strips.

"Well done Lex," she praised. She gathered up the ruined strips of the destroyed cup and put them into her backpack then got another cup and put it on the rock again. "Again please Lex."

The Pikachu nodded and proceeded to gather his energy. As he was doing this Sarah pulled out her Rotom Phone and turned on its video recorder. "Rotom, be ready to record,"

"Zzzt Video Recorder Ready zzzt,"

Lex released his energy in another blue lightning bolt that again hit and exploded the plastic cup. Sarah nodded in satisfaction as she recovered the remains then placed down another cup.

"Again please,"

Lex nodded and Sarah told her hovering pokemon possessed mobile phone to start recording. The result was the same with the cup being destroyed. Sarah again cleaned up the mess and noted how the rock had become fairly scorched from his electric attacks.

"Alright Lex, you have fantastic accuracy on a stationary target. Now then, I want you to use Thundershock but I want you to try and hit this ping-pong ball instead," she instructed while she held up an illuminous yellow plastic ball.

Lex nodded as he kept his eyes on the ball. Sarah smiled at his readiness then chucked the ball straight up into the air. She stepped back to her hovering phone while it continued to record as Lex gathered his energy. He kept the ball in his sights as it slowed to a stop in midair before it began to drop. Due to the plastic ball being very light weight the breeze flowing through the clearing caught it and began to blow it in the direction of the wind which made it harder for him to track. When the ball was halfway to the ground the Pikachu released his energy and the arcing energy bolt went wide, missing the ball by a good margin. Sarah nodded to herself as she expected this result and got another ball ready.

"Good effort Lex, we'll need to work on this," she then noticed that he was starting to breathe more heavily. "Hmm, do you think you can do some more?"

Lex nodded and gave her a thumbs up gesture to confirm he could keep going. She smiled at his determination.

"Don't worry if you miss again Lex, practice makes perfect," she smiled as she cocked her arm back. She made sure he was ready before she threw the second ball.

Lex missed again so Sarah decided to focus on helping Lex improve his aim on a moving target. It was necessary since in an actual battle scenario their opponent wouldn't stand still and would attempt to dodge, unless the opponent was afflicted with a status condition that restricted movement.

For the next hour Sarah and Lex continued to practice hitting a moving target. The lightweight balls made it difficult for Lex as the wind would push or pull the ball in different directions which often lead to a big miss. Lex began to get frustrated and worried that Sarah might shout or express disappointment for his failure, but he was surprised that she only seemed to smile and encourage him. If anything, Sarah was disappointed in herself for being cheap in buying a bag of ping-pong balls. She could have spent a little more on some bigger and heavier golf or tennis balls instead. At least those wouldn't be taken by the wind so easily.

Sarah patted her Pikachu gently on the back and gave him some encouragement as they sat down on the log for a break. Despite failing to hit even one ping-pong ball, Sarah told him he was getting better and that he came close on a couple of them. He was grateful for the kind words, something he never got from the Team Galactic people. It was certainly a refreshing change for him.

"Hungry?" Sarah asked the small mouse pokemon.

"Pika." Lex replied in the affirmative with an accompanying tummy growl.

Once the pair were comfortably sat on the log, Sarah pulled out a lunchbox and a portable microwaveable soup bowl cup (Like a bowl but has a handle like a mug). She removed the plastic lid and gave it to Lex. The Pikachu looked down into the bowl and found it to be full of brown pellets that looked very familiar and he frowned. Sarah took half a salad sandwich from her own lunchbox and was about to take a bite when she noticed the displeased look on her Pikachu's face.

"Something wrong Lex?"

He put his bowl of food down and pointed at it and then stuck his tongue out in a gesture to say that he didn't like it. She wondered why he wouldn't like it without trying it but then she remembered what her Pikachu's situation had been and that he likely had been fed the cheapest, blandest pokemon food that TG could get in huge quantities.

"I think I get it, Lex. Trust me though, this isn't the same cheap crap that TG likely fed you," she assured. She then picked up one pellet and held it out to the Pikachu. "This is a highly recommended Pokemon food from the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock. He's also well known for his Pokemon care and pokefood recipes. Please, just try one, but if you don't like it then I'll give you something else."

Lex stared at the pellet for a minute in contemplation before he sighed and took it with both forepaws. He shuddered as it felt the same in his paws as the food TG fed him. He then steeled his nerves and lifted it up to his mouth and nibbled on the end of the pellet. He expected the same powdery texture and blandness but what he got instead was a smooth texture and full rich flavour. His eyes went wide in shock as it was the best pokemon food he'd ever tasted and without further delay he stuffed the rest of the pellet into his mouth and happily chewed it while grabbing more from the bowl.

Sarah chuckled as she watched her Pikachu dig into the pokemon food but internally she sighed with relief. "Phew, it's a good job he likes it, I bought a big bag of the stuff." In the end she had to stop him from eating it all in one go.

After eating and having a bit of a rest the two continued their training. Thankfully with each attempt to hit the small light weight ball, Lex's Thundershock was getting more and more accurate. Eventually one of his Thundershocks grazed the edge of the thrown ping-pong ball. Both Sarah and Lex cheered as the ball was deflected out of the air. In their jubilation of the successful hit, they failed to notice where the blue lightning bolt was going. Unnoticed by the duo the bolt crashed onto a small bush at the edge of the clearing and incinerated it.

At the edge of the clearing a small tan coloured bug pokemon with a large horn on the top of its head was happily eating an Oran Berry. The bug pokemon thought it had hit the jackpot upon finding a bush filled to the brim with berries. After it consumed the berry it had been eating it reared up onto its bladed tail to reach for another big juicy blue coloured berry when suddenly a lightning bolt came down upon it. The bug squeaked in surprise as it was pushed back by the force of the impact and it watched in dismay as the entire bush practically disintegrated until all that was left was a charged stick that resembled a burnt matchstick. The tan bug cried in dismay at the loss of its dinner but soon it heard the happy cheers of a human woman and a Pikachu.

"Well done Lex, you hit it!"

"Pika pikachu!"

The bug's mood flipped and it growled angrily as it thought that they were celebrating that they ruined its meal. With an angry cry it charged out from the woods and into the clearing's tall grass to confront them.

"You're getting better Lex," Sarah praised as she began to pick up the numerous ping-pong balls scattered all over the clearing. "Let's do a few more before…" She was cut off when she and her Pikachu heard a high pitched cry coming towards them. "The heck?"

Lex's long ears twitched as he could sense something was approaching quickly. Sarah stood tall as she could hear the grass rustling and then pointed to somewhere close to where her Pikachu was but before she could utter a warning, something small and brownish in colour jumped at the Pikachu. Lex's ears twitched again and at the last second he quickly jumped back as a tan bug pokemon landed where he had been standing.

"Oh crap, that's a Weedle," Sarah nervously observed and then looked around. "Where there's Weedle, there is Kakuna and Beedrill…" She scanned the edges of the clearing in worry but to her relief she couldn't see any of this pokemon's evolved forms nearby.

The Weedle screeched angrily as it charged at the yellow mouse pokemon again, prompting him to jump away again to avoid it.

"What's gotten this Weedle so mad?" Sarah asked out loud.

The bug pokemon began chittering and squeaking while gesturing to the smoking twig that had once been a berry bush. Lex relayed what the Weedle had said since all pokemon can understand each other no matter the voice or sounds they made. Sarah looked to where her pokemon had indicated and sighed upon seeing the smoking remains.

"Oh, sorry Weedle, we didn't mean to burn your dinner,"

"Chu pika pikachu." Lex agreed while waving his paws disarmingly.

The Weedle wasn't having any of it though and charged again at the yellow electric mouse. Lex squeaked and he jumped away to evade the mad bug again.

"Hmm, looks like the Weedle is dead set on fighting you Lex… Wait, this is perfect!"

"Pika?!"

"Yeah, we can treat this as an actual pokemon battle and it can give you an idea of what to expect on our journey," She explained with an excited smile. She then rushed over to her backpack and dug around until she pulled out an assortment of berries. Two Oran, a Pecha and a Cheri Berry. "Hey Weedle, if you battle my Pikachu, I'll give you these berries as thanks,"

The moment the Weedle saw the offered berries its blind aggression towards the Pikachu vanished and it gleefully accepted the offer. The Weedle crouched into a battle stance and the Pikachu nervously did the same.

"Alright Lex, this will be good practice for you," she called out to him excitedly before she looked over to the bug pokemon. "Weedle, you can have the first move…" The brown bug shrieked as it immediately charged at Lex in a Tackle attack. "Ok Lex, watch its movements, try to dodge if you can, watch out for its horn and then use Tail Whip!"

Lex stood his ground as he watched the poison bug pokemon quickly approach him. He remembered the battle videos he and Sarah watched the day before and how pokemon tried to dodge the various moves they threw at each other. The Weedle jumped with its horned head aimed for his chest when it got close. The Pikachu swiftly jumped to the side and avoided the Tackle but the moment the bug landed it used its tail like a springboard to spring itself backwards. Lex squeaked in surprise as he was taken off guard and quickly tried to dodge by turning his body and leaning back. He wasn't fast enough however and the side of the Weedle's head bumped against his chest. It didn't hurt as it was a glancing blow rather than a direct hit but it was enough to knock the unbalanced Pikachu onto his rear.

"Huh, clever little thing." Sarah quietly praised the bug pokemon.

Lex rubbed his chest as he stood back up and faced the Weedle as it landed and turned back around. It screeched and charged again in another Tackle attack. This time Lex was ready for it and as it pounced at him he quickly jumped out the way while spinning in midair and slapped the broadside of the large end of his lightning bolt shaped tail against its face. The Weedle landed and looked a bit rattled. Despite Tail Whip not being an offensive move, the slap of a tail from the opponent seems to be enough to disorientate the one hit by it to make it lower its guard.

"Nicely done Lex!" Sarah praised.

The Pikachu smiled at hearing the praise from his trainer and it helped to build up his confidence a bit. The Weedle shook its head and refocused itself as it turned to face its opponent and raised itself up and lowered its head down, pointing its horn at him.

"Uh oh, watch out. It's about to use Poison Sting!" Sarah warned. "Quick, dodge it and use Tackle while its defence is down,"

Lex cried out his acknowledgement of the command and as the tip of the Weedle's horn glowed purple he jumped to one side in an attempt to dodge. Unfortunately for him, he misjudged the attack and when he landed the bug turned to face him and let loose a stream of tiny poison barbs. Lex cried out in pain as he was hit squarely in the chest by numerous little poisinous barbs. Shortly afterwards the stream of barbs stopped and he whimpered from the pain but then he began to feel sick and a purple hue fell over his face.

"Oh no, he's been poisoned,"

Lex shook his head trying to shake off the ill feeling as he gazed at the bug. Seeing the Weedle standing there looking smug he jumped forward and began to run on all fours at it in his attempt to Tackle it. Unfortunately the poison effect slowed him down and the Weedle easily avoided him. As the Pikachu flew passed, missing the bug by inches, he felt something grab his right hind paw. He squeaked as then that something suddenly went taut and pulled his leg out from under him, causing him to fall flat on his stomach and get a face full of grass.

"Wait, is that…?"

Lex grunted and moaned as the sick feeling got a little worse. He groaned as he pushed himself up but as he weakly turned to face the Weedle he squeaked in surprise as white silky threads suddenly ensnared him and bound his arms to his sides. He found himself unable to move and fell flat on his belly again.

"Oh no, that was String Shot. Lex you gotta break free!" Sarah shouted in worry.

The Weedle squeaked and chittered in victory as it stared at the struggling Pikachu's bound form. Seeing that the Pikachu still had some fight in him despite the poison it began to charge again for another Tackle attack. Lex, despite his swimming vision and nausea, saw the Weedle coming in fast. He couldn't think of any way for himself to escape the String Shot and the only thing he could think to do was to charge his power for a Thundershock. Just as the charging bug pokemon was about to make contact, Lex let out a scream and blue electricity erupted from his body. The powerful electricity tore the silky strands binding him apart and too close to evade, the Weedle was struck by one of the wild arcs of lightning. It screamed in pain as it was electrocuted and flung away. The moment the Thundershock died down, Sarah ran over to her hurt pokemon.

"Lex, Lex, are you ok?!" She knelt down and scooped up the ill Pikachu. He was thankfully still conscious but he wasn't in a good way. "Ok, this battle is over!" She declared as she hurried back to the log and her backpack. She sat down with Lex in her lap and she took the Pecha Berry she had offered to the Weedle. "Eat this, it'll make you feel better." She ordered him worriedly.

The Weedle meanwhile spasmed for a moment on the floor until the electricity faded. It groaned as it picked itself up and winced in pain. That Thundershock hurt more than it expected. It then saw the human woman scoop up her Pikachu and began to treat him for his poison. The bug inwardly smiled smugly to itself for beating this weird looking Pikachu but that smugness soon faded as it noticed how worried the girl was. Thankfully the Pikachu ate the berry she gave him and not long after he swallowed, the purple hue on his face faded and he seemed to regain some of his strength.

"Oh thank Arceus," Sarah sighed in relief and hugged the now cured but tired Pikachu.

"Pika," He sighed tiredly.

"Don't worry Lex, you did well for your first battle," she praised him which did help to make him feel a little better. While petting her Pikachu she looked to see the Weedle as it was standing there watching them and she could see that it was hurt a little too. She smiled softly to it as she gathered the berries she offered it while replacing the Pecha Berry she fed to Lex with another one from her bag. "Here you go Weedle, as promised. Thank you for your time." She said softly while she held the offered berries. The Weedle used its String Shot to snag the berries and pull them over to itself and after giving the human a few squeaks in thanks it hurriedly scurried away with its prize.

Sarah and Lex watched the bug scurry off until it was out of sight. Sarah smiled as she petted her Pikachu's head softly and then offered him an Oran Berry which he gladly accepted and ate. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt himself get a little more of his energy back thanks to the berry's revitalising properties.

"You may have lost this battle Lex but don't worry. You won't be able to win them all so take your losses as good experiences," she then hugged him which made him squeak. "I'm just glad you're ok."

While Lex sat on the log recovering, Sarah began to pack everything up. When she picked up the foam block, Lex pointed at it and spoke. Sarah looked to the block she had in her hand then at his confused face and understood what he was asking.

"Oh this! When we get home I'll explain what it's for,"

After everything was packed up, she picked up Lex and held him in her arms as she made her way back home. Once home she set her Pikachu down on the grass in her back garden and then pulled out the foam block again.

"Ok Lex, we'll resume our training session here. At least here we shouldn't have to worry about upsetting any wild pokemon,"

Lex nodded and watched as she took a knee and then pulled the foam block over and held it against her shin.

"Use Tackle and aim for this foam block," she commanded.

"Pi pikachu?" he asked in worry while pointing at the foam block against her shin.

She looked down at the block with uncertainty for a moment before she shook her head. "I'm sure it's enough to cushion the blow,"

"Pika…" His ears drooped in worry as he didn't want to unintentionally hurt his new trainer.

Sarah had to reassure him a couple more times before he reluctantly agreed and moved a short distance away. Sarah smiled encouragingly to her Pikachu as she held the foam block tightly.

"Ok Lex, use Tackle."

Lex took a moment to work up the courage to use a move against his own trainer and then jumped forward onto his forepaws as he broke into a sprint. He aimed for the centre of the block as he ran across the garden. Sarah inwardly gulped as part of her was telling her how this was a stupid idea and she braced herself. Within a short few seconds the small mouse pokemon crashed into the block, akin to a shoulder barge, with enough force that Sarah let go of the foam and fell onto her backside.

"Ow," she whined as her shin hurt. "Feels like I bashed my shin against something hard," she moaned to herself while she rubbed her throbbing shin with her hand.

"Pika pi?" Lex whimpered in worry.

Sarah smiled and gently petted her Pikachu on the head. Letting him know she was ok and not mad at him. "Don't worry about it Lex. It's my fault. I should've known that foam wouldn't have been enough," she stood and winced in slight pain. "For something so small, you certainly pack quite the punch,"

The Pikachu sighed in relief that his trainer wasn't mad at him for hurting her and that she wasn't hurt that much at all either.

"I think we should call it a day now then," she announced and picked up the foam block. "We have a big day tomorrow."

Lex nodded. He was exhausted as he was still a bit knackered from his ordeal with the Weedle and the poisoning.

So for the rest of the day, Sarah packed her light pink backpack with everything she would need for their journey while Lex watched and rested. They also watched more pokemon battle videos on Poketube. Sarah watched the trainers to better understand them while Lex watched the pokemon. He knew he had a long way to go to be anywhere near as good as the pokemon he saw in the battles. He was determined to make his new trainer proud after all the kindness she has shown him since he was given to her.

XXXXX

Bright and early on the day the pair was to start their journey, they were awoken again by the horrifically loud sound of a rapid electric guitar.

"Shit!" Sarah yelled as she jumped out of bed in a hurry and ran across her bedroom to her desk where her Rotom Phone lay on its charging pad and shut off the noise. "Ugh, what time is it?" She tiredly grumbled.

"Zzzt, time is six AM, wake up alarm: Not Falling by Mudvayne, sounded as requested. Zzzt," the pokemon possessed phone replied.

Sarah facepalmed and sighed. "Ugh, I really should change that…"

"Pikachu!" Lex cried as when his trainer suddenly jumped out of bed, he found himself trapped under her duvet as it fell over him and he couldn't find his way out.

"Oh, sorry Lex," Sarah said as she pulled the duvet back off of him.

Now that the pair were wide awake they began to get themselves prepared for the day. Sarah dressed herself in a pair of short denim shorts, a white sleeveless t-shirt with a yellow Pikachu head design on the front, a pair of black boots and a pair of white thigh high socks. She pulled her blonde hair back into a short ponytail with a pair of bangs that framed the sides of her face at the front. She smiled and nodded to herself once she put on her thin black framed glasses and proceeded to get everything else ready.

After a quick breakfast it was time to go. Sarah grabbed a white baseball cap with a pink pokeball design on the side from a coat hook as they headed out the door. She threaded her ponytail through the gap at the back of the cap as she put it on. Both her mother and father, woken by their daughter's metal music alarm, saw her and her Pikachu off by the front door.

"Good luck out there honey," Her dad said with a proud smile.

"Yes, and have fun while you're at it," Her mother added while giving her daughter a goodbye hug.

Her father then looked at Lex sitting on his trainer's shoulder. "Look after her ok,"

"Pikachu!" Lex replied in determination.

"Don't worry. I'm only a phone call away." Sarah said as she held up her Rotom Phone.

With one last goodbye hug and a wave the pair left home and headed into town. They arrived at one of the Vermillion Pidgeot Taxi landing pads around half past seven which was the opening time for the air taxi firm and booked a taxi. Lex felt a little intimidated by the massive light brown bird pokemon that was sitting atop the passenger car. The passenger car itself looked like a fully enclosed ferris wheel car with a grab handle/perch at the top.

A man dressed in a flight suit complete with bomber jacket and a flight cap with goggles approached Sarah as she neared the taxi.

"Good morning Miss. Where might I take you this fine morning?" He greeted her with enthusiasm.

Sarah smiled at his bright attitude. "Good morning. I'd like to go to Pallet Town please, but could we make a quick stop at Celadon City's Department Store first please?"

"Hmm, how long would be a 'quick stop'?"

"Oh, hmm, about five, ten minutes tops. I have an order to pick up,"

The pilot hummed to himself in thought for a moment before he nodded with a smile. "Alright then, hop aboard,"

"Thank you so much!"

As Sarah and Lex entered the cab, the pilot climbed a ladder and then seated himself in the flight harness on the back of the huge bird pokemon. Once the cab was locked and all preflight checks were done the large Pidgeot let out a cry and beat its powerful wings. Sarah fastened her seat belt and hugged Lex to her stomach as they lifted up into the air quickly and began to fly over the city towards the woods.

"This is amazing!" Sarah gasped in excitement as she looked out the windows to see the aerial view of her home city passing quickly below.

"Pikaaaaa!" Lex nodded in agreement and wonder as he had never seen the world from the air. It was certainly a breathtaking sight seeing the morning sunrise over the nearby ocean and the numerous bird pokemon as well.

It didn't take long for the Pidgeot Taxi to arrive in Celadon City. The city was slightly bigger than Vermillion and had plenty of tall buildings towards its northern edge, including the world famous department store. Shortly after entering Celadon airspace the taxi landed on a designated taxi landing pad just outside the store.

"Thank you. I'll be right back." Sarah exclaimed as she rushed into the store with Lex clinging to her shoulder for dear life.

The Celadon Department Store is a multi-levelled shopping complex selling a wide variety of items through numerous stores from pokemon food, battle items, pokeballs, and much more. You could probably find anything pokemon related you might need in this complex.

Sarah hurried through the sliding automatic glass front doors and up to the large ground floor reception desk. One of the receptionists blinked in surprise at the trainer that just entered and then checked the clock. The store had only just opened for the day.

"Um, good morning miss, how may I help you?" She greeted Sarah.

"Good morning. I'm here to pickup an order, and I don't mean to be a bother, but I'm in a bit of a hurry,"

"Oh, of course. May I see your order reference number please,"

Sarah nodded as she pulled out her phone and flipped through to her emails until she found the one in regards to her order. She double checked the email to be sure it was correct then presented it to the receptionist. The woman behind the counter inputted the details into her computer. She then nodded to herself and turned to the back where multiple secure lockers were and opened one to retrieve its contents.

"Here you go ma'am, thank you for shopping with us," she smiled as she handed over a grey plastic bagged parcel.

Sarah took the package gratefully. "Thank you very much." She thanked and then quickly left. She made it back to the taxi within the time she had specified and they were back in the air headed for Pallet Town moments later.

Lex was curious about the package and intently watched from his perch on Sarah's shoulder as she opened it. She pulled out a folded up black sleeveless jacket and inside the folded up jacket was a small cardboard box. The small box had a lightning bolt symbol on it. She smiled as she opened the one end of the box to check inside and was satisfied with what she saw. Lex, sadly from his position, was unable to see into the box as Sarah opened it and pouted when she then put it into her bag. His disappointment in not seeing what was inside the small box evaporated when his trainer unfolded her new jacket. There was a small red R to represent Team Rocket on the right breast pocket and on the back was a much larger R. Unlike the R on the front, the one on the back was surrounded by a hooked triangular hexagon like the one on her Pikachu's back except the outer part was coloured grey and the inner was white with the red R in the middle.

"Chu pika pika pikachu!" He exclaimed while gesturing to the new TR logo and then his back.

"Yep, your back markings inspired that," Sarah smiled as she held up the jacket. "Though my backpack will hide it for the most part…" she grumbled to herself afterwards.

Lex jumped down onto the seat next to his trainer as she slipped the jacket on. She smiled as it fit perfectly. She then took out her phone and took a selfie. "My pokemon trainer outfit is now complete." She declared happily.

In the next hour the taxi flew over Cycling Road and the sea between Celadon and Viridian City. They saw more flying pokemon from flocks of native Spearow and Fearow, Pidgey and its evolutions up to non-native species like the Starly line and Fletchling line.

Sarah began to get Butterfrees in her stomach as they turned southward when they passed Viridian City and the rolling hills and open green fields of Pallet Town came into view.

"We're almost there Lex." Sarah announced with a hint of nervousness.

Soon the taxi entered the small town and made its way towards the biggest building in town. Sat uptop a hill, a rather large house could be seen next to a large wind turbine that backed onto several large fenced enclosures filled with all kinds of pokemon. There was no designated landing spot for a Pidgeot Taxi in Pallet Town so the pilot directed his pokemon to land the cab on the path at the foot of the hill.

Sarah exited the cab and put her backpack on while Lex climbed up her arm to sit on her shoulder. The cab pilot soon hopped down from his Pidgeot and joined the young woman on the ground.

"Welcome to Pallet Town miss," the pilot announced. "Are you beginning a pokemon journey today?" He asked when he recognised the building atop the hill.

Sarah smiled and nodded. "That's right," she said as she fished her purse out of her bag. She then paid the pilot her taxi fare.

"Thank you for using our Pidgeot Taxi Service," he accepted the money then proceeded to climb back up to his bird pokemon. "Good luck on your journey, Miss."

Sarah smiled and waved as the taxi took off and began to fly away. Once the taxi was out of sight she then turned face the path that would take her up the hill and to the iconic building. With a gulp of nervousness she began up the path.

"Here we go." She said to herself as she knocked loudly on the front door.

Several long seconds later there was a click and the door opened to reveal a young man in a lab coat. The black haired man smiled warmly as he saw the woman upon opening the door.

"Oh, good morning Miss. Welcome to Professor Oak's Labortory. My name's Tracy, how can I be of assistance?" He greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning Tracy, my name's Sarah Townsend. I'm here to pick up my Trainer's License,"

"Ah yes. We've been expecting you. Please, come in," Tracy said as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Thank you," Sarah said with a nervous smile as she walked inside.

"Pikachu," Lex said in wonder as he took in the homely interior of the lab. It was certainly a lot more inviting than what he had expected.

Sarah chuckled softly. "Oh yes. This is my partner Lex,"

Tracy gasped upon seeing the exotic looking Pikachu. "What an amazing Pikachu! I need to get a sketch of this!" He exclaimed before he sped off out of sight, only to return just as quickly and began furiously scribbling into a sketch pad. "Wow, I've never seen a Pikachu like this before. The hair, the blue eyes and those cool markings…"

"Pikachu," Lex whimpered as his ears drooped and dropped down to sit on Sarah's bag and hide behind her.

"Sorry, he's not used to such attention,"

Tracy opened his mouth to say something but at that moment a door in front of them opened. The door revealed more of a laboratory environment behind it and a middle aged man. The man had short beige coloured hair, thick brown eyebrows, brown eyes and lightly tanned skin. He wore a lab coat with a red buttoned up shirt beneath, a pair light brown trousers and darker brown shoes.

"Tracy, please calm down," the man said softly as he approached the group with a jovial smile.

"Professor! My apologies," Tracy said as he put his very detailed sketch down. Sarah was quite surprised he did so much so quickly.

"It's quite alright my boy. You just need to curb that enthusiasm a little," Professor Oak patted his young assistant on the shoulder. He then fixed his attention on the young woman. "And you must be Sarah," he then held out his hand for a handshake.

Sarah smiled and shook the professor's hand. "Yes I am and it is a pleasure to finally meet you Professor,"

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm happy to see that you are able to start your journey after all these years,"

"Thank you Professor. Yeah, I'm super grateful to my boss for giving me this opportunity,"

Professor Oak's eyes landed on the all too familiar red R on her jacket and his joyful demeanour dimmed a little.

"Tracy, can you please fetch me young Sarah's licence and Pokedex please,"

"Of course Professor," Tracy then hurried off to complete his task.

Once Tracy was gone, Professor Oak looked seriously at Sarah. "That R, I suppose you work for Team Rocket?"

Sarah nodded just as seriously. "I do Professor. I understand in the past Team Rocket caused a lot of trouble for you and others, but I believe in the new direction we're going, helping and protecting people and pokemon alike. I wouldn't be working for them otherwise," she declared with conviction.

He stared at Sarah for a few long moments. His eyes searched for any deception but all he saw was a strong willed woman who believed in the cause TR now stood for. He nodded and then smiled as he held out his arm to direct her to the living room. He gestured for her to take a seat on one of the two sofas in the living room and he sat down on the one facing her.

"So, how is your mother doing?" The professor asked conversationally to change the subject off of Team Rocket.

Sarah smiled. "Oh she's doing much better now. It was a bit touch and go when she was ill but she's since recovered…" Her smile dropped a bit as she continued. "...but the illness has left her with some problems. Thankfully though, she hasn't been robbed of her independence even if some things now require her to have a little help,"

Oak smiled at that. He remembered the phone conversation he had with her father fifteen years ago, explaining why she cancelled her first journey before it began. He was glad to know everything turned out ok in the end. "That's good to know," He then noticed the Pikachu that had Tracy all excited poke his head out from behind his trainer. "My, your Pikachu is certainly unique. Do you mind if I have a look at him?"

Sarah gently plucked Lex off her shoulder and gently set him down on the coffee table between them. "Don't worry Lex. Professor Oak is the kindest man you'll ever meet,"

"Pi pikachu?" He asked nervously.

Sarah smiled reassuringly as she sat back. "I'm sure and I'll be right here,"

The red and black marked Pikachu gulped down his nerves and turned to face the older man. Despite the assurances from his trainer, he still felt very nervous. The fact Professor Oak bore a slight resemblance to the Team Galactic scientists didn't help. He squeaked and closed his eyes as the middle aged man began to gently examine the Pikachu.

"He seems particularly nervous of me," Oak noted as the Pikachu tensed when he began to gently touch the pokemon.

Sarah sighed, there was no point in hiding her Pikachu's origin and so she explained how he was rescued from a research facility that had conducted experiments on pokemon.

The Professor frowned deeply at the troubling news. Her story was also validated when he brushed aside the fur on Lex's arms and saw scars from injections. "I see. I'm glad to see he'll be in good hands from now on,"

"I've got them Professor!" Tracy suddenly announced as he entered the room.

Lex was nervous enough already with the Professor examining him and the sudden unexpected voice frightened him. On reflex he clenched his eyes closed and let out a cry as blue sparks jumped from his red cheeks.

"Uh oh!" All three humans said in unison before they all got shocked by Lex's Thundershock. It lasted for a couple of seconds and when it was over, all three people fell over into twitching heaps.

"That was electrifying," Professor Oak groaned as he recovered quickly.

"I'll say," Tracy agreed shortly after.

Lex jumped off the table and into his trainer's lap. The young woman recovered last but shook it off to hold her scared Pikachu softly. The professor saw the fear on the Pikachu's face and put on his best smile to show he wasn't upset.

"No need to worry now, Pikachu. It wouldn't be a normal day here if I wasn't getting hit by a pokemon attack,"

Tracy nodded as he sat down beside the professor. "His name is Lex by the way Professor…" he said before looking over at Sarah and Lex. "...and he's right. Since we look after a huge assortment of other trainers pokemon, it wouldn't be normal if we don't get hit with something at least once a day,"

The sincerity in both mens voices put both Sarah and Lex at ease. Lex especially felt relieved and again his old world view had been shattered and now he believed what Sarah told him earlier, that most people are not like those in TG.

"Pika," he sighed in relief.

Tracy then handed Oak the items that he had requested. The professor thanked the young man who then took his leave. Professor Oak gave Sarah and Lex a little more time to relax before he addressed them again.

"Well then Miss Townsend, here is your Pokedex,…" He held out a small pink device that looked like a flip phone out to her. "...your Trainer License card,..." in the same hand was a small plastic card with her details and photo on it. "...and a few spare pokeballs to get you started," In his other hand he held five minimised standard pokeballs.

"Thank you Professor," Sarah gratefully accepted the othered items.

"You're very welcome… Oh! I even took the liberty in updating your Pokedex with the Nationaldex, considering the increasing number of non-Kantonian pokemon that have migrated here over the years,"

"Oh, thank you so much!"

The professor waved it off with a warm smile. "Think nothing of it."

Sarah flipped her pokedex open and pointed its camera at Lex. The small device flashed with an image of a regular Pikachu on its screen as it began to speak in a more electronic sounding voice than her Rotom Phone.

"Pikachu. The electric mouse pokemon. Form, unknown. When enough Pikachu gather, their combined electrical energy is known to cause thunderstorms."

The professor smiled as she tested out the device then proceeded to give Sarah and Lex a tour of the lab and the enclosures at the back. Lex was more in awe than Sarah since the lab looked more welcoming and inviting than what he was used to. By the end of the tour, Sarah was happy to know any pokemon she caught after her registered sixth team member would be transported here and be well looked after and Lex had warmed up to Professor Oak and Tracy by the end.

By the early afternoon, Sarah with Lex riding on her shoulder exited Professor Oak's Lab with the professor close behind.

"Thank you again Professor," Sarah smiled as she shook his hand again.

"It's been my pleasure Miss Townsend, have a fun and safe journey,"

"I will, thank you,"

"And take good care of that Pikachu!" He called after her as she began down the path.

She turned and waved back to him. "Oh you can count on that. Goodbye Professor!"

He smiled and waved as she turned back around and walked away. His smile turned nostalgic as he remembered a few years ago seeing off another young trainer with a Pikachu.

Sarah smiled with nervous excitement as she and her Pikachu approached the beginning of Route 1. She stopped at the threshold and held her arm out in front of her. Lex got the hint and walked along her arm and sat on her forearm to face her.

"This is it Lex, our journey officially starts now. Are you ready?"

"Pika!" He replied with a determined nod.

Sarah smiled. "Alright then…" she crossed the threshold between Pallet Town and Route 1. "Let's Go!"