Chapter 2: A New Journey Begins
In the far away town of Nuvema, a young adult was getting ready for the big day. She tied up her long brown hair into a ponytail before putting a pink and white cap atop her hair. She then put a sleeveless black jacket atop her white tank top followed by a pair of fairly short shorts before turning her gaze towards a picture of her twin brother. It had been seven years since he disappeared and had been declared legally deceased, their parents had passed a few years after leaving Hilda on her own but fortunately there had been barely enough left in Zach's accounts for her to inherit and survive before it was time to leave on her own journey. The rest of the world thought him dead but Hilda was persistent and refused to believe it, she didn't know how to describe it but something inside her told her he was still out there somewhere and she was determined to find him!
"Hilda, you up yet?!" A bubbly voice excitedly cried out as the front door barged open.
"Arceus, you really should learn to knock Bianca." Cheren's disapproving voice could be heard as she followed him into the home.
"Bianca, Cheren!" Hilda closed the bedroom door behind her as she stepped out while giving her two close friends a warm expression. "You two are ready to head over to Professor Juniper's?"
"Yes!" Bianca excitedly squealed while tightly clenching Cheren's hand. Cheren gave her an annoyed glance while his cheeks lit up. "I can't wait to receive my first Pokémon, I hope neither of you were wanting Tepig! I think it's quite the cutie!"
"I was actually going to wait until the two of you chose, it doesn't really matter to me." Cheren spoke while pushing up his glasses. "I'm more interested in meeting with Professor Oak, I heard that he'll be visiting her lab today."
"Professor Oak?!" Hilda's eyes widened from surprise before tilting her head. "Who's Professor Oak?"
"Some Professor from the boonies." Another young adult made a rude remark as he passed the house causing Bianca and Cheren to shoot him a dirty look.
"That's not very nice, Trip!" Bianca remarked.
"Yeah, you don't want to get canceled before you even leave town." Cheren flashed him a teasing smirk.
Trip merely scoffed and rolled his eyes at them. "Whatever, I'm off to get my starter. You three better hurry or she'll run out."
"He's wrong, Professor Juniper always has enough Pokémon in stock. It's been that way since Z-somebody got Riolu as she was fresh out of official starters." It was a rookie mistake as she'd recently taken over from her dad who'd retired rather early for a career change.
"You can say his name you know, it doesn't bother me. I know he's still out there somewhere." Hilda spoke defensively.
Cheren and Bianca gave each other a look. "Hilda, it's been seven years! You know what he's like, he wouldn't just disappear off the earth like he did unless he died. Becoming a Pokémon Champion was all he wanted in life, he wouldn't have given up unless something happened."
"Skyla hasn't seen him either and they were pretty close." Bianca giggled, recalling the lovestruck look the red headed Latina was casting behind him whenever he gave his sister a video phone call at Pokémon Centers.
"Actually that was pretty one sided, he was pretty talented but not emotionally mature but good point. She was definitely his best friend." Cheren remarked while giving Hilda a look of concern. "Point is we don't want you getting your hopes up, there's a chance that he isn't out there."
"I know he's still out there, I'm not going to give up until they find a body!" Hilda stubbornly stood her ground while looking towards Professor Juniper's lab. "Let's go."
Ash, Brock and Professor Oak stepped out of a rental jeep as it came to a halt in front of Juniper's lab, Oak having driven them from Castelia City. "Well here we are, Nuvema Town." Professor Oak motioned around town before focusing on the lab. It was rather modest compared to Oak's own lab, having just enough room to contain a living space and lab for research along with a decent sized yard for Pokémon to roam around in however much to Ash's disappointment there weren't any Pokémon roaming.
Oak pulled a box from the back of the jeep and gave Ash a light nod. "Alright, let's go. Professor Juniper is waiting inside."
"Alright! I can't wait to see what the starter Pokémon look like!" Ash couldn't help but feel jealous as a boy wearing an orange hoodie walked past him. It had been quite some time since he caught a brand new Pokémon and that feeling he had when he first met Pikachu could never be topped! It was the best day of his life but he'd love to have that sort of feeling again.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu was excited to see the new Pokémon as well. The two stepped forward and made their way to the door before pausing as a shout could be heard from behind.
"Out of the way out of the way, out of the way!" Bianca was barreling downhill at rapid speed and couldn't slow down due to how fast she was going.
"Ahhhh!" Ash and Pikachu quickly attempted to get out of the way but were soon sent flying directly through the front door along with Bianca as she slammed right into them! "Ouch!" Ash and Pikachu rubbed their behinds while Bianca rubbed her head as they lifted themselves from the floor.
Trip and Snivy stood above the pair, Trip shaking his head with disapproval while Snivy gave Pikachu a mocking smirk. "Sni..."
"Whoa, what's that?!" Ash excitedly asked while whipping out his Pokedex immediately upon spotting Snivy.
"You don't know? What are you from the boonies or something? Everyone in Unova knows what a Snivy is." Trip scoffed while Cheren and Hilda caught up to their friend, helping her to her feet while Ash ignored Trip.
"Snivy the Grass Snake Pokémon, it is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter."
"No way, he got Snivy?" Hilda gave a quick look around the lab before lowering her head as there were no more Snivy present, just a white otter and an orange and black pig Pokémon.
"Wait a second," Cheren counted the two and scratched his head before taking a quick look around the lab while Ash was quick to scan the other two.
"Tepig the Fire Pig Pokémon, it's nimbler than it looks, and it uses its speed to confound its enemies. It rapidly launches fireballs from both nostrils."
"Oshawott the Sea Otter Pokémon, it wields the scalchop on its stomach like a knife, blocking the moves of its enemies before slashing back at them in swift retaliation."
"Wow, that sounds awesome!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while looking towards Oshawott. "You're quite the cute Pokémon too!"
"Osha..." Oshawott blushed at the remark while giving Ash an adoring look.
"Pardon me Professor!" Cheren exclaimed as an attractive brunette in her twenties came into view. Ash was a bit surprised as he was used to most the Professors being middle age or old men but then he remembered Professor Elm and Ivy were quite young.
"Oh my!" Brock didn't seem to learn his lesson from years back as hearts instantly filled his eyes upon seeing Professor Juniper. He dropped to his knee while extending his arm towards Professor Juniper. "I must say you're the most beautiful Professor I've ever seen! My name's Brock and I'd be honored if you were to go out with m-AH!" Brock went purple and collapsed to the floor as Croagunk burst from his ball.
"Croaaaaa!" The frog laughed as it began dragging Brock out of the lab.
"Um, is he okay...?" Hilda asked while giving a look of concern.
"Yeah, he does that pretty much every day. Sometimes twice a day." Ash replied with a light shrug. Brock's body had probably grown immune to Poison by now but that didn't mean Poison Jab didn't hurt.
Professor Juniper looked on with shock before shaking her head as she turned back to Cheren. "Yes, Cheren?"
"I was wondering, there's only two Pokémon left but three of us... what's going on?" Cheren questioned.
"Oh, pardon me!" Oak opened up the box and threw a few Pokeballs into the air, revealing the three starter Pokémon of the Kanto region along with a Pikachu and Eevee. "Cheren, Bianca and Hilda right? I'd like you to meet Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Pikachu and Eevee." Trip looked back but didn't appear the least bit upset about missing out, merely shrugging as he made his way out of the lab.
"Oh my gosh, they're all so cute!" Bianca squealed out. The three Kanto Pokémon uttered out squeals of panic as she pulled them into a tight hug. Eevee let out a squeal of joy while Pikachu appeared to be annoyed but she didn't zap her like Ash's would had Bianca tried with him. "But I'll still have to go with Tepig!" She immediately pulled the orange pig into her grasp.
"I'll take this one." Trip reached for Bulbasaur. "I always wanted to see one in person, is that okay with you?" He cast a look towards Hilda as he did originally say he'd choose after her.
"Yeah, I think... I choose you, Eevee!" Hilda pointed towards the Normal type Pokémon.
"Eevoi!" Eevee excitedly squealed out as she leaped directly into Hilda's arms, snuggling against her face while her tail wrapped around her.
"Excellent choices all around!" Juniper spoke while looking towards Oshawott who appeared to be quite shocked that he wasn't chosen.
"Oshaaaaaa!"
"There there Oshawott, there's always next year." Juniper gave Oshawott an encouraging pat. Though the poor otter remained distraught.
"And you'll have Snivy, Charmander, Squirtle and Pikachu to keep you company!" Oak added on. "You'll have plenty of friends to keep you company."
"Osha!" Oshawott crossed his arms and turned his back to them.
Juniper frowned in response, she'd have to think of a way to make it up to him later. "Before I forget here's a few Pokeballs." She handed them a couple of Pokeballs along with the familiar red device. "And your Pokedex, it'll scan and give you information on just about every Pokémon out there-" A large explosion caused the building to shake as a long vacuum hose came flying towards the table.
"What the-?!" Cheren exclaimed while Bianca fearfully clung to his arm.
"What's going on?" Hilda asked.
"Oh no, I have a feeling..." Ash groaned as familiar laughter could be heard. The vacuum quickly scooped up Hilda's Pokedex before following up by scooping up Tepig, Snivy, Oshawott, Eevee, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur and the female Pikachu. The vacuum hose then retreated out of the building as Ash and Pikachu hastily gave chase, upon exiting through the large hole in the lab's wall they'd see a familiar feline balloon with three figures standing inside, however Jessie and James were wearing black uniforms instead of the standard white uniform.
"Team Rocket!" Ash and Brock angrily exclaimed.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu angrily cried.
"Who?" Hilda asked while Cheren and Bianca shared similar looks of confusion.
"They're bad people who steal other people's Pokémon." Oak explained. "But what are they doing here? I thought you said they stopped chasing you shortly after you left."
"That's what I thought, what are you three doing here?!"
"That's classified," James swiftly spoke with a sly smirk.
"And you're not the only one whose trained the past few years, we've even got some new toys!" Jessie eagerly exclaimed while the pair pulled out a Pokeball.
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth exclaimed causing the Unovan residents to gasp out.
"Did that Pokémon just talk?!"
"Yeah yeah, I can talk. It's a long story and I don't feel like indulging that information with a bunch of twerps." Meowth waved it off as Jessie and James threw down their Pokeballs.
"Get them, Swoobat!"
"You too, Cofagrigus! Eeeep!" James cried out as the large coffin Pokémon immediately turned around and pulled his trainer in for a hug with it's ghastly arms. "Not me, get them!" James shouted while pointing towards Ash and Pikachu.
"Cofa!"
"Pikachu, hit them with Thunderbolt!" Ash hastily shouted out.
"Pikaaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he sent out a powerful load of electricity towards the two Pokémon who uttered out cries of pain but both Pokémon remained standing.
"Osha!" Oshawott's eyes lit up as he watched on with admiration.
"Attract!" Jessie exclaimed.
Swoobat gave Pikachu an alluring gaze before winking at him.
"Chaaaaa!" Pikachu cried out as large hearts filled his eyes.
"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed while Brock reached into his bag.
"Don't worry Ash, I got a female Pokémon of my own!" Brock hurled a ball forward which burst to reveal the form of Blissey.
"Blissey, bliss bliss!"
"Thunder Punch!" Brock shouted out.
"Bliss!" Electricity enveloped Blissey's fist as she leaped into the air, delivering an electrical blow to Swoobat!
"Swoooo!" Swoobat faintly cried cried out before dropping to the ground below as swirls formed within her eyes. The hearts instantly vanished from Pikachu's eyes as the spell wore off.
"Pika!"
"Alright Pikachu use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Pikachu's tail glowed white as he leaped into the air and twirled around before slamming his tail against Cofagrigus' face.
"Cofa..." The coffin groaned out as swirls formed within his eyes. They may have trained but they were still no match for Ash's Pikachu.
"Oh no, we're not losing that easily! Yanme-" James and Meowth quickly tackled Jessie to the floor.
"Jessie, we can't go around committing crimes with Pokémon that aren't from here. That rival organization could be watching!" James shouted.
"That's right." Meowth nodded. "Let's just give them back the Pokémon and retreat for now, all we need is the Pokedex anyways."
"Um excuse me but why do you need to steal a Pokedex? Don't you all have phones?" Cheren questioned. They got them because they couldn't afford phones yet. There wasn't much opportunity to make money in a small town, the only major place and business of note was Juniper's lab. The adults that lived there all drove to the next city over or worked from home.
"Yeah, so?" James asked while holding up a Rotom Phone. His Nanny and Pop-pop had given one to him in their latest care package. "I don't see what that has to do with it."
Cheren let out a light laugh while pushing up his glasses. "If you download the Pokedex app then your phone can double as a Pokedex."
"...I'm getting too old for this." Jessie groaned.
"Why does technology constantly change." Meowth groaned while James began fiddling with his phone.
"I think... I got it...?" He questioned before hitting the release button, causing the Pokémon to drop from the sky.
Hilda and the others quickly dove forward to catch their Pokémon while Ash caught Hilda's Pokedex as Team Rocket began their subtle retreat, disappearing over the tree line before vanishing from sight.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Hilda pulled Eevee in for a hug.
"Eevoi!" Eevee snuggled against her while uttering out cries of joy.
Ash looked towards where Team Rocket disappeared to, he had a lot of questions as to their appearance here. They didn't appear to be after Pikachu so what exactly were they doing here and why?
"Osha!" Oshawott snapped Ash back to reality as he began pulling on his pant leg. "Osha, Oshawott!"
"Huh? What is it, Oshawott?" Ash asked, turning his gaze down towards the otter.
"Osha, Oshawott!" Oshawott pointed towards Ash's belt as stars filled his eyes.
Ash didn't quite catch on but Brock, Juniper and Oak did.
"Heh, you just arrived and it appears you've already made your first capture." Oak chuckled.
"You mean...? Is that okay, Professor?" Ash asked Juniper who swiftly nodded in response.
"I don't see why not, Oshawott's already bonded to you. Besides there aren't any trainers coming through here anytime soon and I still have Snivy, Squirtle, Charmander and Pikachu if any do happen to show up. He's all yours." Juniper handed Ash the ball.
Ash took the ball and smiled at Oshawott while dropping down to one knee. "What do you say, Oshawott? Would you like to join me and Pikachu on our adventure?"
"Osha!" Oshawott eagerly exclaimed, smacking the button to return into the ball.
"Alright I caught an Oshawott!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while holding up Oshawott's ball.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu posed alongside his trainer.
"Does he do that every time?" Hilda asked while lightly sweating.
"Pretty much." Oak laughed. "And there's plenty more Pokémon out there for you to meet!"
"He's right, there's like ten different species just out of town." Cheren spoke while holding up a Unovan guidebook. "I've studied this thing from cover to cover for years, a few are some that you've probably seen before but there's some that aren't available in the Kanto region. Or at least as far as I know, I've never been."
"Wow, I can't wait to meet them!" Stars filled Ash's eyes as he envisioned fighting alongside Pikachu, Oshawott and several other Unovan Pokémon like Snivy, Tepig and the various birds that flew through the sky.
"Why wait, we're about to head out and have a friendly competition amongst ourselves." Cheren spoke while motioning between himself, Hilda and Bianca. "Whoever catches the most Pokémon wins!"
"Oooh I can't wait, I bet there's so many cute Pokémon for me to catch!" Bianca excitedly exclaimed, appearing to favor 'cute' Pokémon over everything else. Hilda on the other hand looked uncertain, unlike Cheren, Trip and her brother both her and Bianca hadn't really picked a goal in life yet so neither put much thought into what Pokémon they'd catch while on their adventures.
"Sounds like fun, we're in!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"You two have fun, I'll sit back and watch." Brock laughed, having no intention of adding to his roster for the time being.
"See you, Professor! Pikachu and I are off to catch some Unova Pokémon!"
Professor Oak chuckled while waving Ash off as he and the others began leaving the lab. "Good luck, Ash! I look forward to researching whatever you send me!"
"So that's the famous Ash Ketchum the other Professors told me about?" Juniper asked shortly after Ash left. "I must say that I understand why Birch and Rowan gave him plenty of praise." Elm wasn't as outspoken as he hadn't interacted with him as much as the other Professors but the few things he said showed he respected him.
"That's nothing, just wait until you see him fight in the Pokémon League! He's the most skilled trainer to come from Pallet Town! Well..." Oak took a quick peek out the door to check if Ash was out of earshot. "Second most skilled but nobody's seen him in nearly two decades."
"Alright Oshawott, use Tackle!" Ash shouted while pointing towards a Dunsparce. Ash was excited to capture a Unova Pokémon but Dunsparce was the first thing he saw that Oshawott could take on in a fight, Pikachu was far too powerful to unleash against the inexperienced wild Pokémon that lived around here.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott eagerly lunged forward, throwing himself against Dunsparce as he tackled the Pokémon into the dirt.
"Parce!" The Dunsparce shook it off before retaliating by flailing his body about, slapping it against Oshawott's face!
"Use Tackle once more!"
"Osha!" Oshawott slammed into Dunsparce, pinning him against the dirt.
"S-Sparce..." Dunsparce groaned out upon impact as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Alright, now-" Ash readied up a Pokeball, preparing to catch the Dunsparce.
"Oh come on!" Hilda's voice angrily rang out causing Ash to flicker his attention in that direction.
"Hilda?" He looked back towards Dunsparce only to discover that it had somehow got away from him. It had to still be around nearby but Ash was concerned about Hilda's outcry so he decided to let it be for now. "Hilda, you okay?" Ash asked as he walked around a nearby tree, noticing a smell dent in the bark while a bruise was prevalent upon Hilda's dominant hand as she rubbed it.
"Ow... no, the Pokémon keep getting away from me!" She glared towards a pink deer Pokémon that scampered off into the nearby forest. "How can I catch a Pokémon if they keep getting away?!"
Ash glanced around and noticed that Eevee was peacefully sleeping besides the tree, completely undisturbed by Hilda's outburst. "Uh..." He sweated while looking towards where the deer had run off to. "Hilda, how exactly are you trying to catch them?" He asked, recalling that May and several other rookies along with himself attempted to capture Pokémon by simply throwing Pokeballs at them.
"By throwing the empty balls?" Hilda remarked while motioning towards Pokeballs that lay scattered around the area. "What else?"
"Ah!" Ash and Pikachu faceplanted before quickly recovering. "That's not how you capture a Pokémon, you've got to weaken it first then try capturing it with a Pokeball."
Hilda stared off into space for a few seconds before sweating upon realizing her mistake. "O-Oh!" She went pale from embarrassment. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright, lots of rookie trainers make that mistake... including me." Ash sweated while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Pika..." Pikachu rubbed his as well as he was partially to blame for that.
"If you like, Pikachu and I can watch as you try and capture another Pokémon." Ash offered, figuring Dunsparce had definitely gone off by now.
"Sure, I'd love that!" Hilda flashed him a smile and cast a quick scan of the area before spotting movement in a nearby bush. "Okay Eevee, try Tackle!"
"Eevoi!" Eevee quickly shot awake and charged the nearby bush, fighting sounds could be heard inside before something was sent flying out of it. "Eevoi!" Eevee grunted as she collapsed against the ground, swirls in her eyes as a Snivy stepped out of it.
"Sni! Snivy raised her head while smirking at the fallen Eevee.
"What the-?!" Hilda exclaimed, looking towards Eevee before turning her attention back towards Snivy.
"That has to be somebody's Snivy if it beat Eevee that fast," Ash remarked while taking a quick look around. "But I don't see anyone."
"Snivy, sni!" Snivy boasted while waving it off with a quick wave of her vine whip.
"Huh, if I'm reading this right it sounds as if she left her trainer." Brock hypothesized.
"Huh?! Does that mean Eevee's going to abandon me?!" Hilda frantically gasped while Eevee gave her a funny look.
"Evoi." She shook her head.
"Pokémon typically don't do that without a reason." Ash stated. "You've got nothing to worry about as long as you treat Eevee right." Eevee and Pikachu nodded in response.
"Snivy sni." Snivy boasted while waving her vine. Her old trainer actually treated her quite well, she just abandoned him cause she was tired of losing.
"Pika?! Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu frantically pointed towards Snivy.
"Hm, her coat does look like she was well fed and looked after." Brock remarked. "Usually, Pokémon get abandoned by heartless trainers that blame them for losing. Maybe Snivy left her trainer cause he kept losing."
"Sni!" Snivy pointed towards Brock while nodding her head before pointing towards Ash while flashing him a smirk. "Snivy!"
"Heh, are you challenging me to a battle?" Ash asked while looking towards Oshawott.
Snivy nodded but shook her head as Ash looked towards Oshawott, pointing her vine towards Pikachu instead. "Sni!"
"I think she wants to battle Pikachu." Brock chuckled.
Ash withdrew his Pokedex and frowned upon seeing Snivy's level. It was going to be very hard for Pikachu to hold back that amount of power, that's why he had chosen to use the opportunity to train Oshawott while catching Pokémon.
"Pikachu, you think you can handle this for me?"
"Pika!" Pikachu gave a swift nod in response while flicking his tail as a battle-ready expression formed.
"Alright Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu quickly zigzagged across the field before throwing himself at Snivy.
"Sni!" Snivy grunted and shook herself off before flashing Pikachu a sly smirk as she gave off a seductive wink. "Sni!"
"Chaaaaaaa!" Hearts immediately filled Pikachu's eyes as a lovestruck expression formed.
"Oh no, not again!" Ash groaned out. "Come on Pikachu, fight it and use Volt Tackle!"
"Chaaaaaa!" Pikachu was too lovestruck to attack.
Snivy uttered out a light cackle as she slapped Pikachu upside the head a few times with her vines. Ash let out a groan of annoyance, he really needed to catch more female Pokémon as apart from Meganium they were all male.
"Come on Pikachu, snap out of it and use Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted out, hoping that his cry would break through Snivy's spell. Pikachu's ear twitched as his eyes returned to normal for a brief while, he then flashed Pikachu a smirk as he began racing forward.
"Pika pika pika!" Golden electricity formed around Pikachu's body as he charged across the field. "Pika!" He cried out as his body slammed against Snivy.
"S-Snivy!" Snivy cried out as a large explosion formed upon impact, creating a large crater where she and Pikachu once stood with her unconscious form laying at its center.
Hilda's jaw dropped while Ash nervously sweated. "Looks like we might have overdone it." He and Brock raced down into the crater to check on Snivy, Brock checked over her injuries before handing a Revive and Super Potion over to Ash. "She'll be okay, just give her these. Good luck!" Brock waved while making his way out of the crater.
Ash bent over and dropped the Revive into Snivy's mouth causing her eyes to flutter as she stirred awake. "Sni..?"
"Hey there Snivy, we're sorry about overdoing it." Ash sweated while holding out the Super Potion for her.
Snivy took a look at the crater before looking towards Pikachu as a smirk formed on her face. "Sni." She quickly produced a vine and smacked it against Ash's belt, a bright beam of light surrounded her body as she was absorbed into the ball. A chime soon rang out to signal the capture complete.
"What...? What just happened?" Hilda asked as her jaw dropped once more.
"I think that perhaps Snivy saw the power that Pikachu had within and thought Ash was her ticket to becoming strong just like him." Brock chuckled. "Well she certainly won't be disappointed!"
Ash looked down at the ball that now contained Snivy and smiled. "Welcome to the team Snivy, we'll all grow stronger together!"
Hilda smiled at the sight before drawing her attention towards the nearby forest upon hearing movement. "Huh?" She noticed a large green stag-like Pokémon with a feminine appearance staring directly at her. Their eyes met for a few seconds as Hilda reached for her Pokedex. "What are you...?" The Pokémon quickly turned and ran off as Brock, Ash and Pikachu's attention began to draw her way completely vanishing as they turned in her direction.
"Eevoi!" Eevee flung herself against a pigeon Pokémon as Ash withdrew his Pokedex.
"Pidove the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon, it's forgetful and not very bright, but many trainers love it anyway for its friendliness and sincerity."
Pidove countered by whipping up a storm of gust, sending it flying towards Eevee. Eevee grunted out as dirt began messing up her fur but she shook off the feeling of disgust and retaliated with Tackle upon her trainer's command!
"Evoi!"
"Pido-" Pidove groaned out as she collapsed onto her side, swirls formed within her eyes as she laid in defeat.
Hilda grabbed hold of an empty ball and threw it towards the fallen pigeon. "Go Pokeball!" The ball opened up midflight and absorbed the bird in a beam of light. The ball then fell as it began to shake before chiming off to signal the capture complete.
"Alright I got... a Pidove!" Hilda cried out, holding up the ball as she copied Ash's pose.
Ash sweated while Brock couldn't help but laugh.
"Fet, Farfetch'd." Ash heard a familiar sound and turned around to see a Farfetch'd marching across the route, holding its leek above its head as it did so. Ash stared at the bird for a moment before thrusting out his arm.
"Water Gun!" He shouted out.
"Osha!" Oshawott fired a stream of water from his mouth, snapping Farfetch'd out of his trance.
"Fetch!" Farfetch'd groaned out, swiftly retaliating by slapping Oshawott repeatedly with his leek.
"Osha!" Oshawott cried out while rubbing his head as a large bump formed.
"Tackle!" Ash swiftly called out.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott cried out as he tackled Farfetch'd to the floor, the bird retaliated by giving him a good pecking! "Osha, osha!" Oshawott cried while shielding his eyes.
"Water Gun, quick! Fire it into his beak!"
"Osha!" Oshawott uncovered his eyes and took aim, waiting for Farfetch'd to open his beak again before firing Water Gun directly into it! Farfetch'd eyes widened and began to bulge as his belly filled up with water. The bird let out a light cough before collapsing onto his side as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Fetch'd..."
"Alright, way to go Oshawott!" Ash praised while hurling a Pokeball towards the fallen bird.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott beamed and blushed from the praise and watched as the ball flew across the field, smacking Farfetch'd before it absorbed him in a beam of red light. The ball shook twice before chiming out.
"Alright, we just caught a Farfetch'd!" Ash cried out.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as the two posed once more. The bushes nearby rustled as a feminine figure stealthily watched.
"Axew..." The Dragon muttered atop her shoulder. The figure let out a giggle and gave Axew a light pat.
"I don't think we're ready to face that kid yet," She muttered, despite being at least two years younger than Ash. "Come on, let's find somebody else to battle. I'm sure we'll see him again at some point."
"Axew ew ew."
"Alright so how many Pokémon did you all catch?" Bianca enthusiastically asked while holding a cute fluffy chinchilla in her arms. "I caught this cutie just a few minutes before we met up!"
"Minccino!" It cried out.
"Wow!" Ash quickly withdrew his Pokedex as he hadn't seen the species before.
"Minccino the Chinchilla Pokémon, these Pokémon like things neat and tidy. They are always sweeping and dusting their habitat, using their tails as brooms."
"I caught a Snivy and Farfetch'd!" Ash's remark caused Cheren to raise a brow, he expected Ash to catch a few but he'd never have guessed that Ash would catch something that was native to his own home region.
"I caught Pidove." Cheren smirked while raising his glasses with a finger.
"Looks like I've got you all beat." He withdrew his Pokedex to showcase images of a green piranha Pokemon with red stripes, a Pidove, a meerkat Pokémon and a puppy. "I caught four!" Ash had to admit he was jealous but if he caught that many all at once it would be hard to properly train them along with catching additional Pokémon.
"You may have beat me there but I bet I can take you on in a Pokémon battle!" Ash challenged Cheren only for him to raise a finger while shaking his head.
"Much as I'd love to, our Pokémon haven't had time to rest up. I think it'd be best and more fun to battle at a later point." Cheren waved his hand while pulling his bag over his shoulder. "And with that I bid you farewell, Bianca you coming?"
"Of course!" Bianca's eyes lit up, her voice full of eager enthusiasm as she raced up to him. Hilda watched the pair leave, feeling left out even though they had asked before but she shot them down. She didn't want to be a third wheel to their adventure but she also didn't want to be alone.
Ash noticed her look and glanced towards Brock who gave a silent nod of approval.
"Hey Hilda," Hilda turned to face Ash who faced her with a smile while extending his hand to her. "How would you like to join Brock and I on our adventure?"
Hilda stared at Ash's hand for a moment before smiling as she took it, giving it a firm shake as their eyes met. "I'd love to!"
"Pika!"
"Evoi!" The two Pokémon hugged.
"So where's the nearest Gym anyways?" Ash questioned Hilda as the three began heading down the route.
"About two weeks, we've got to pass through Accumula Town first then after we pass through Route 2 we'll be at Striaton City." Hilda stated. "Maybe three if we're distracted."
"So two weeks!" Ash enthusiastically clenched his fists while looking towards the horizon. "Alright, I can't wait to get my first Gym badge!"
Originally I intended Ash and Iris to meet but I changed my mind. They'll meet at a later point. In the original story, Ash was sticking strictly to Gen V and under but opinions change and I wanted to find a way to get one of my favorite members onto his team since I have no intention on having Ash head to Galar. I have the outline for Blizzard done and I'll work on the sequel's outline once Legends is out since I'd like to adapt it somehow and include the new Megas if they add any, fingers crossed Flygon gets one this time!
Next up, N.