Waking Up to an Adventure - Silver Conference

by pigeonsaurus

Book 2 of the Waking Up to an Adventure series. After his loss at the Pokémon League, Ash is thrown into a new adventure. Eager to prove himself after learning all he did in Kanto, Ash travels to Johto with both old and new friends by his side. With new Badges to earn, and brand new Pokémon to catch, nothing can stop Ash from challenging the Silver Conference. Updates Wednesdays!

12. Once in a Blue Moon

Chapter 12

The sky was clear, the breeze was warm, and the sun was shining beautifully above. Just outside of a pretty little area called Cherrygrove City, Ash and Gary found a quiet spot along a humming river to stop and take a break before heading into town. After all, rest was equally as important as travel. While Gary was heating up some of their canned soups in a large pot for them to eat, Ash was taking the time to polish each of his Poké Balls. The water from the river was clear and clean, and his Poké Balls were now the same after a bit of elbow grease.

"As good as new!" Ash commented on his work with a contented smile, and then added it to the pile of others that were already sparkling like gems. One particular ball stuck out amongst the red and white, and he picked it up, saving the best for last. "Professor Oak's GS Ball – gotta take extra good care of this one." Dipping the cloth with the river water and squeezing most of it out, he began to massage the golden top gently. Fingerprints and dust instantly wiped off its polished surface, and just from where he had wiped it, the sun's rays reflected off its cap brilliantly.

"I have to admit, I was pretty surprised when you asked if I wanted you to polish that GS Ball," Gary admitted from the sidelines. "If I didn't know who you were, I'd say you're turning into a responsible Trainer."

"As a future Pokémon Master, I feel that Poké Ball maintenance is quite important!" Ash said matter-of-factually, and though his face wasn't looking at his rival, he stuck his nose in the air and grinned.

"Very far into the future..." Gary murmured with a roll of his eyes. "Okay future Pokémon Master, think you're too important for lunch?"

"No way; I'm starving!" Ash exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running toward the pot where Gary was starting to ladle his soup into a plastic bowl. In his excitement, he realized he had left his Poké Balls behind, and when he turned around to retrieve them, something blue poking its head out of the water caught his attention. "Look!"

The creature in the water wasn't looking at Ash or Gary at all, and though only its head was visible past the water's surface, its beady black eyes were focused on the pile of Poké Balls that Ash had left in the grass. "Quaaaag..."

Seeing the new visitor they had, Ash and Gary both stood up and walked closer to investigate. "What is that?" Ash asked rhetorically, and retrieved Dexter from his jacket's pocket to get an answer. Scanning the new Pokémon, the covers opened automatically and a full picture of the Pokémon appeared on the screen.

"Quagsire, the Water Fish Pokémon. The Quagsire makes its home in clean fresh water lakes. The Quagsire is covered by a slippery layer of skin making this Pokémon especially difficult to handle."

"Wow, sounds really slick!"

"Hard to handle, huh? Sounds like it needs a good Trainer to handle it; and that's my cue," Gary said with a smirk, taking out a Poké Ball and raising it high in the air before throwing it forward. "I choose you Venusaur!" The large Seed Pokémon emerged from its Poké Ball with a throaty cry.

"Saauuur!"

The two Pokémon stared at each other – Venusaur stared with intent while Quagsire only looked with a dopey grin stretched across its face. The Water Fish Pokémon didn't seem like it was all that interested in battling. The chirping of a Butterfree fluttering by grabbed their attention for a quick second, and that was enough for Quagsire. Moving faster than they expected, Quagsire flopped up onto the shore, closed its mouth around the GS Ball, and plopped back into the water with an ungraceful splash. "Sire!"

Ash and Gary both gasped in shock as its head emerged from the water and it quickly swam away from the pair. "Come back! That's the GS Ball!" Ash shouted. Quickly collecting his Poké Balls that were basking in the sunlight, he hurried along the shoreline while Gary recalled his Venusaur and went after both of them. "Hey, wait!" he cried, but his running speed was nothing compared to the swimming speed of the Water-type. Realizing he would never catch Quagsire that way, he took out one of the warm Poké Balls and held it up. "Blastoise, bring back that GS Ball before Quagsire gets away!" He threw the ball over the river and it opened above the water. The light from inside spilled into the water, and as the ball made its way back to Ash's hand, Blastoise's head emerged from underneath the water.

"Blastoise!" it groaned, and its eyes locked on the Quagsire ahead of it with intent before upping its speed to try and catch up to the Water and Ground Pokémon. While Quagsire was indeed faster than Ash's running speed, it was nothing compared to the swimming speed of the Pallet Town boy's fully evolved starter, and in a matter of moments, the Shellfish Pokémon had caught up to Quagsire. Leaping forward, Ash's Pokémon wrapped its arms around the wild Pokémon to keep it in place.

"Nice work, Blastoise! Now just don't let it slip away!" The pun wasn't obviously intended, but Ash soon realized that it was a poor choice of words when Quagsire looked back, seeing that it had been snatched up, easily slipped out of Blastoise's arms and leapt back into the water. "Blastoise!" Ash yelled with his eyebrows raising to the brim of his hat as Blastoise seemed to stumble and fall below the surface of the water. Meanwhile, up ahead, Quagsire nonchalantly continued its ascent upstream along the river. "Blastoise! Blastoise, are you okay?" Blastoise emerged from the water, and its brow lowered over its eyes in annoyance. Now it was irritated, and kicked its limbs under the water hard to close the distance between it and Quagsire. "Blastoise!"

"Blas, blast, blast!" Ash's Pokémon muttered as it pushed ahead. It finally caught up to Quagsire, and the wild Pokémon glanced over its shoulder just in time to see Blastoise leap out of the water at it. "Blastoise!"

"Quag," the Pokémon uttered, and as Blastoise sailed at it, Quagsire raised its tail out of the water and struck Blastoise across the face with the appendage. The powerful Slam attack threw off Blastoise's descent and the large Pokémon fell backwards into the water. "Sire."

Now that it had made the first move, Ash felt confident enough to attack it, and pointed a finger in the air. "Quick, Blastoise! Hit it with your Hydro Pump!" Blastoise emerged from under the water and its cannons popped out of the top of its shell.

"Blastoise!" his Pokémon uttered before releasing a powerful stream of water from both cannons at Quagsire. The attack hit the Water Fish Pokémon squarely in the back, and pushed it forward. The Pokémon unconsciously opened its mouth in shock, and when it did, the GS Ball flew out of it and high into the air. Ash's eyes followed it as it flew back onto the bank and clattered on the ground.

"Got it!" Ash grinned.

But now that Quagsire had lost its treasure, it turned around and opened its mouth wide. "Quaaaaaaagggg!" it cried, and sent out a Water Gun at Blastoise. Blastoise countered with a BubbleBeam, and the two attacks collided in midair. They seemed to be evenly matched as well.

"Don't give up!" the dark-haired Trainer encouraged his Pokémon just as Gary finally joined them. Taking in a few minutes to take in the scene, Gary's eyebrows came together, and he raised a Poké Ball in the air.

"Keep it busy, Ash, and I'll capture it in my Poké Ball!" Gary told him, but before he could throw the ball forward, a whistle cut through the commotion. The pair turned around to see the town's local Officer Jenny straddling her motorcycle and her brown eyes locked directly at them; but they didn't look happy.

"What's wrong, Officer?" Ash questioned, but she cut him off.

"Can it, buster. You're both under arrest for violating Quagsire preservation restrictions!" Both Pallet Town Trainers gasped, and their eyes widened as Officer Jenny produced a pair of handcuffs.

o 0 o

The police station in Cherrygrove City was much larger than the one in Palm Hills, but Ash and Gary would have admired it more if they weren't escorted in with handcuffs around their wrists and arms uncomfortably behind their backs. The Officer Jenny of this town was stern, but seemed to be listening to their side of the story without bias, and when she offered them their one phone call to give their word credibility, they immediately called up the one person that could help them out: Professor Oak.

"That's right! The Quagsire!" Professor Oak voice echoed through the speakers, and on the video monitor, he dragged his palm across his face. "This is embarrassing. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid it completely slipped my mind. Of course – I should have mentioned it to them." He rubbed the back of his head while Officer Jenny sat at the seat with a smile of understanding curling her lipstick-covered lips. Meanwhile, Ash and Gary had bowling balls in their stomachs as they prayed silently that the older Oak could let them off the hook. "Officer, both of them are new to the area, and neither of them know the Quagsire restrictions I assure you."

"I understand," Officer Jenny finally said, and right away, it was like a weight was lifted from their shoulders. "If that's the case, I'll drop the charges, Professor Oak." She swiveled the squeaky chair and looked back at the pair behind her. "We always have to be on guard. Quagsire are very special Pokémon to the people here in Cherrygrove City."

"You see, the Quagsire in Cherrygrove City only live in the cleanest waters," Professor Oak elaborated for the pair further. "So the townspeople can judge how pure the local water sources are based on where they find them."

"That's why we have these strict Quagsire preservation laws here. No Quagsire capturing or battling allowed. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" Ash and Gary replied right away.

"You've been warned!" Professor Oak told them sternly. "Make sure you don't cause any more trouble for Officer Jenny."

"We didn't mean to make any trouble, Professor Oak," Ash told him with a hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Now that we know about the laws, we'll make sure not to harm the Quagsire, Grandpa," Gary promised. This seemed to be enough for him, and the gray-haired professor nodded.

"And by the way, boys, you haven't forgotten my little errand, have you?"

"Don't worry, Professor! The GS Ball's in good hands!"

"Yeah, as long as Ash doesn't leave it lying around like he did when we got into this mess..." The utterance from his rival made the dark-haired boy chuckle nervously as a blush threatened to creep up his neck.

"Good. Take care. Watch out for each other." They both nodded, and the screen flashed to black as the call connection was severed. When Officer Jenny hung up the line, Ash looked down at the GS Ball that was being held in Gary's hand, as the auburn-haired Trainer never put it away amongst all the commotion.

"I still don't understand; why would that Quagsire want to try and take the GS Ball?"

"Because it's round." The answer that Officer Jenny gave earned a look of confusion from them both.

"'Cause it's round?"

"Right! I know it sounds strange, but it's true," she said. "Around this time every year, the Quagsire start to appear all around Cherrygrove City. Nobody knows why, but they swim downstream from their homes at Blue Moon Falls, looking for anything that's round. Then they take whatever they found and swim back up stream. The next morning, all the round things they took come floating down the river and back to their owners."

"That's weird..." Ash commented, earning a chuckle from Officer Jenny.

"Actually, people here are happy when their things get taken," she corrected. "Because when they drift back, they bring pure water and good luck."

"Interesting. They become good luck charms..." Gary said thoughtfully.

"Especially if the last thing to float back is yours! Cause that one's supposed to be the luckiest of all!" Officer Jenny's eyes then focused on something, and her smile widened as she looked past Ash and Gary. "Oh, look!" They both turned around to see a Quagsire peering in through the outside looking in through a window, and its hands were tapping against the window excitedly.

"Quaaaagggg," it moaned, barely audible through the glass.

"It's a Quagsire," Gary said.

"I think it's the same one," Ash observed, watching as it continually tapped against the window. But its beady eyes were not locked on them, but on Gary's hands.

"You think it's still after the GS Ball?" the older boy asked, peering down at the object in his hand. Ash pulled in a gasp, and when Gary raised his hand, the Water Fish Pokémon began to tap more excitedly, leaving a slimy residue on the window.

"Quagsire!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Ash yelled, stepping in front of Gary and blocking the GS Ball from the Quagsire's view. "Don't even think about it, Quagsire! You're not getting your flippers on this GS Ball!" Whether it was Ash's words, or the way he stepped in front of the GS Ball and blocked it from view, the Quagsire's grin faded only slightly, and it gave one final utterance of its name before slowly lowering itself out of view underneath the window.

"Boy, it sure is determined," Gary said, finally putting away the ball in his backpack. "Well, we best continue on our way, Ash."

Ash nodded in agreement and looked back at Officer Jenny. "Thank you so much for understanding. We promise, it won't happen again." The blue-haired woman returned Ash's nod and gave him a smile.

"Of course. Enjoy your stay in Cherrygrove City."

Finally leaving the police station both as free men, the pair of Trainers continued their journey to get to the northern side of Cherrygrove City to continue their journey to Violet. The river that they had stopped at just on the outside of town seemed to wind its way through the city like a snake, and they followed alongside it for some time. As they approached a bridge they needed to cross, Ash's stomach rumbled. "Ugh, I'm starving..." he complained.

"Me, too," Gary agreed. "Too bad our lunch got interrupted by that Quagsire." Their feet clicked against the planks that made up the bridge that stretched across the length of the river when Gary looked up ahead and saw a light blue familiar Pokémon. "Hey, speaking of which..."

"It's that Quagsire!" Ash exclaimed, but Gary shook his head.

"No, that's a different one," the Pokémon Trainer said. "It has smaller fins." It was on the other side of the bridge, and it was attempting to pull off the knob sitting on the top of the post where the bridge began. It must have been working at it for a while, because as soon as they were halfway across, it managed to pull it up from the post and, with the marble orb secured in its hands, it gave a graceful dive into the water and began to move upstream.

"It sure is weird that the Quagsire only take things that are round, isn't it?" Ash pondered aloud as they stopped and watched the other Quagsire swim and shrink with distance.

"Yeah..." Gary muttered, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

"Quag." The new voice that spoke up made their eyes look over between them. Standing there with its flippers crossed and eyes closed similar to how Gary had nodded, a Quagsire stood as if it had been a part of their group the whole time. Seeing the Quagsire, Ash flinched back and screamed.

"Ah! Not you, again!" But it didn't pay any attention to Ash and raised its hands toward Gary.

"Quagsire, Quag!"

"We already told you you can't have the GS Ball!" Ash scolded the Water Pokémon with his fists planted firmly on his hips. The Quagsire ignored him, and without warning, leapt up on Gary, enveloping the boy's face. Gary's arms flailed about and he stumbled back and forth as he tried to regain his balance.

"H-hey!" Gary groaned, his voice muffled from the Quagsire's stomach as the Water Fish Pokémon attempted to reach into his duffel bag. "Get off me, will 'ya! Ash, do something!"

Ash groaned and stared with his mouth wide open, as he was unsure of what to do, and without thinking he pulled out a Poké Ball and it opened in his palm. The light that was contained inside spilled out and came together to form his Chikorita. "Chika!" the Leaf Pokémon chirped as it appeared, but it looked up at Ash and noticed that its Trainer wasn't paying attention to it at all. Instead, he was focused on trying to get Quagsire off Gary, though his fingers were simply dragging helplessly off its slimy body.

Chikorita looked up starry-eyed at Ash, and when it saw that he wasn't focusing his attention on it, its brow lowered and jealousy sparkled in its vision before it leapt between Ash and Gary, spinning its leaf wildly like a helicopter. Ash and Gary were knocked backwards – Ash being knocked onto his backside, and with it, the Quagsire fell onto the bridge as well. With Ash now distracted from the Quagsire, the Grass-type Pokémon jumped into his arms and snuggled up to him.

"No, come back here!" Ash heard Gary yell, and he looked over to see Quagsire jumping over the railing of the bridge, and something sparkling was in its mouth. Ash jumped to his feet and tried to get a grip on the Water Fish Pokémon, but its skin was too slippery and the Water and Ground Pokémon splashed down into the water and began to swim up the stream in the direction of the other Quagsire.

"Oh, no! We've got to catch it!" Ash shouted, and spun on his heel and attempted to run forward, but an unexpected weight threw him off balance and he stumbled forward and landed on his stomach. From the way he could feel the weight nuzzling his pantleg, he knew it was Chikorita.

"Stop lying around, Ash! We need to get that GS Ball!" Gary called, already running down the side of the bridge to chase after the Quagsire along the riverside.

"You go ahead. I'll catch up..." Ash murmured with a sigh.

o 0 o

The sun was starting to set beyond the mountains, and their lungs and legs were burning as they followed after the Quagsire. Neither they nor it were giving up, and they weren't even sure that the Quagsire knew that they were following it. Their shouts to it were falling on deaf ears as it wouldn't even acknowledge them, and they decided to focus their energy on running on the riverside opposite the stream.

But even with the flow of the current against it, Quagsire was too much of a fast swimmer, and it wasn't long before they lost sight of the Water Fish Pokémon. Eventually, they came across a sturdy rope bridge reaching from one side of the river to the other. Ash rushed onto it and stopped in the middle, and peered out to the water's surface. It was official: they no longer could see the Quagsire. Both it and the GS Ball were gone. "There's no sign of that Quagsire anywhere," Ash said with a frown.

"We know it's still in this river," Gary stated matter-of-factually, and then added a small, "I hope..." afterwards. "Officer Jenny did say that the round objects the Quagsire take usually come floating down the river, but I don't think we should wait – that ball is too valuable to Grandpa."

"You're right; there's also the chance it doesn't float down the river, either," Ash agreed. A quiet passed over them as they both attempted to brainstorm ideas on what to do, but then their answer came to them from below.

Movement caught their eyes, and they looked down to see a quartet of Quagsire swimming steady up the creek. Because they weren't trying to get away from anyone, they were swimming at a slow and steady pace, and each of them held a round object of some kind. Instantly, both boys lit up when they saw this. "Quagsire!" Ash exclaimed.

"I bet they'll take us to the other ones – and the one with the GS Ball," Gary deduced.

"C'mon, let's go!" Crossing the remainder of the bridge and making sure to keep as quiet as they could, they followed after the four Quagsire from the riverbed's left side. And this time, they made sure not to lose the Quagsire. Following them until the sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains, the grass had started to grow exceptionally tall the further they progressed. It was clear that it wasn't often this ground wasn't explored much by humans. Soon, the greenery reached well past Ash and Gary's heads, and they were forced to shift through it using their hands. Not only that, but the chill from the water was starting to settle into the air, giving Ash goosebumps from the sudden temperature difference.

The silence of the river's song was what really grabbed their attention. At that point, the grass had become so high that they just had to tread carefully to make sure they didn't stumble into the water. But when they couldn't hear anything, they both pushed through the grass and peeked out. They had reached a small spring, and in the middle was a collection of at least thirty Quagsire. They were all holding round objects of some kind, and were playing or admiring their objects either on the water itself or on the bank. "Look at all of 'em..." Gary breathed in amazement as his eyes took in the scene.

"'Ya think this is where all the Quagsire live?" Ash asked.

"If I remember right, Officer Jenny said they made their home at a place called Blue Moon Falls," his traveling companion reminded him. "This can't be it – there must be waterfalls of some kind around for it to have gotten its name."

"You're right; I don't see any either." Ash looked around to see if there were any waterfalls in sight that they couldn't see, but his gaze suddenly froze upon a lone Quagsire sitting on a rock formation and gasped. "There's that Quagsire!" Like the others, it was admiring the round object that it had stolen – the GS Ball. His eyebrows clashed together in the middle of his face and he stood and pulled out a Poké Ball.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gary hissed.

"I'm gonna capture it! I've got to get that GS Ball back."

"Is this cold making your brain numb? Officer Jenny told us we can't battle or capture the Quagsire," his rival reminded him, and Ash instantly deflated.

"Oh yeah; that's right..."

"Let's just keep our eyes on it so we know where it goes."

"Yeah... sure..." Ash murmured, frowning as he lowered himself back down into the grass. He watched at the Quagsire held the gold and silver ball up to the stars above, and its tail wagged in happiness as it admired the way it sparkled.

Over the course of an hour, nothing changed. The Quagsire played amongst themselves, and continued to admire their objects. Ash wasn't used to not moving around like this, and fidgeted the whole time out of boredom. But suddenly, the Quagsire soon began to face away from them and all turn to look up at the sky from the spring's water. Ash and Gary's brows furrowed as they exchanged a confused look, and crawled closer to try and get a better view. Pressing their stomachs as close to the cold rocks as they could, they watched as the horde of Water and Ground Pokémon held their objects in their flippers and stared at the sky without a single word. The silence was heavy, and when Gary spoke up, even though it was a whisper, it felt like a scream.

"They aren't moving an inch..." he observed. "It seems like they're waiting for something to happen."

"In the sky..." Ash murmured, his eyes following their gaze, but he couldn't see what they were staring at.

Just then, they all began to chant over and over again, bobbing their heads as they did. "Quagsire. Quagsire. Quagsire. Quagsire." It reminded Ash of how the Pikachu sang to the moon back in his journey in the Kanto region, but unlike that time, the Quagsire were chanting instead of singing. Both the memory and the scene in front of them brought a smile to Ash's face, but this only lasted for a short while, as a strange blue glow appeared further up the stream. That seemed to be their cue, and like a gun at the start of a race, they all began to swim out of the spring and further up the stream.

"Where are they going?" Gary questioned.

"I don't know, but they're all going there together," Ash responded.

"It looks like they're heading upstream." They watched the Quagsire swim in two single-file lines up the river. In all the commotion, they had lost the Quagsire with the GS Ball, but they didn't seem to matter.

"C'mon! We've got to find out where!" Gary agreed with a nod that was almost automatic, and they hurried on the riverside alongside it. The stream fell into a canyon with rocks on either side, so Ash and Gary hurried to keep up alongside it, doing their best to keep their eye on the Quagsire below while also battling the rocky terrain that seemed to rise higher and higher with each footstep. When the land stopped elevating, the foliage and trees grew thicker, providing them perfect coverage for when they finally reached the top and were able to peek out to where the Quagsire were pouring into. They were all sitting in another spring, but this time, they had their eyes looking up. Up ahead was a large waterfall pouring water down from the platform above.

"Look; there they are."

"Yeah, but..." Gary began, and then took in a deep intake of air. Ash heard this and looked up past the waterfall. Above was a full moon hanging in the air amongst the dark indigo of the night sky, but the moon was glowing from the sun's rays reflecting off it, but it was glowing a brilliant sapphire blue. "This must be Blue Moon Falls!"

"Yeah, but why'd they bring the GS Ball?"

"Let's watch and maybe we'll find out..."

They didn't have to wait long. The leader of the pack swam forward and threw its round object – a baseball – into the air and took in a breath before breathing it out in the form of a Water Gun attack. The ball was sent flying into the air from the Water Gun, and as it flew out at the moon, the water droplets flying off it reflected the moon's light, giving an imagery of sparkles flying off it. The baseball soared almost to the top of the waterfall, but just fell short and hit it. As soon as it did, it was swept up by the current almost immediately.

The rest of the Quagsire joined in soon after. One by one, they all threw their round objects into the air and shot them with their Water Guns. The objects flew into the air and, same as before, let off water droplets that sparkled and shimmered. "I'm watching, but I still don't get it," Ash stated.

"Maybe... it's a competition to see who can get theirs closest to the moon..." Gary hypothesized, rubbing a finger to his chin. "It's quite interesting, either way. This must be some sort of a ceremony!" The Quagsire continued to send their objects high into the sky. Balls and decorations of all colors and sizes flew through the air, splashing into the water and creating a mist of dazzling sapphire all throughout the spring area. It was truly a captivating sight that Ash couldn't help but stare at with his mouth wide open.

"There's the GS Ball!" Ash pointed out. The last Quagsire left to shoot their object in the air held the GS Ball delicately in its hands, and as balls and other round objects floated passed it, it took in a deep breath and tossed it into the air before releasing its Water Gun. The ball soared high into the air, and like the others, it left behind a trail of droplets behind it, resembling a comet shooting through the night sky. But this one flew high above the waterfall, and both of them took in a sharp intake of breath when it grew smaller and smaller from distance. "Hey, Gary! The GS Ball went higher than all the rest!"

Ash wasn't the only one celebrating. The Quagsire that had launched the GS Ball into the sky turned around, and waved its flippers excitedly in the air. "Quaaaaaagggg!" it crooned, and the others followed its lead and did the same back to it. Ash and Gary were so enthralled by the ceremony that they almost didn't hear the GS Ball plop into the water and make its way downstream.

"Wah! It's getting away!" Ash exclaimed, snapping back into reality as the ball emptied out of the spring and into the river. Now the chase was on. Not only did they have to carefully traverse their way down the rocky terrain that was now a downward slope, but they weren't able to go down the canyon in order to get the GS Ball. All they could do was keep going as fast as they could to try and keep up with it.

"Hurry!" Ash urged, his breath puffing out in front of him. "We've just gotta get that GS Ball back!"

"So far that ball's been nothing but bad luck!" Gary puffed as he jumped skillfully over a rock.

"Come baaaaaack, GS Baaaallll! Come baaaaaaaccckkkk!"

o 0 o

They had run all night. And after running on no sleep at all, they were positively exhausted. Lungs and legs burning at once, and their eyelids feeling like they were made of sandpaper, the buildings of Cherrygrove was a welcomed sight.

As Officer Jenny had described, all of the townsfolk were out on the banks of the field, and each of them were holding a ball of some sort. Their pants were rolled up to their knees, and they stared at the GS Ball as it floated past them. The murmuring could barely be heard over the boys' panting, but one thing was clear: they didn't know who the GS Ball belonged to, or even what it was.

"It's ours! It's ours...!" Ash called, barely able to raise his voice from how exhausted he was. "Please... don't let it... float... away..."

Officer Jenny's eyes fell upon them and, recognizing the pair, she smiled and lowered her gloved hand into the water just in time for the GS Ball to float into it. She scooped it up and met Ash and Gary halfway as they both collapsed on the grass on their hands and knees. Handing the ball forward, she smiled down at Gary. "Well, it looks like you're the lucky one, boys."

"Yeah, the GS Ball came back," Ash agreed, flopping onto his back.

"Not just that; you're going to have the best luck of any of us this year!" Both Gary and Ash's head pulled up to look at the blue-haired officer. "Your Poké Ball was the last thing to float back down the river! That means of all the round objects this year, yours was the luckiest! That ball is going to be your good-luck charm, guys." Both boys stared in wonder at the GS Ball that was dripping the remains of the stream onto the grass between Gary's fingers.

"The... GS Ball's lucky?" Ash parroted in disbelief, and then the townsfolk began to clap and applaud for them, and only giving them the warmest of faces. Men, women, and children were all smiling and clapping for them. Gary and Ash broke their eye contact with the citizens of Cherrygrove and looked at each other. Then, they exchanged a smile, and Gary raised the GS Ball in the air, and they all began to clap louder as the sun reflected off the gold and silver metal.

---

Ash:

Party:

Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Tackle

Charmeleon (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash

Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Horn Attack, Tackle

Chikorita (Poké Ball)

Moves: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip

At Professor Oak's Lab:

Tauros (Safari Ball) x2 (m)

Moves: Fissure, Horn Attack, Take Down

Kingler (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Water Gun, Bubble, Crabhammer, Hyper Beam

Muk (Poké Ball)

Moves: Poison Gas, Sludge Bomb

Primeape (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss

Pidgeotto (Poké Ball) (f)

Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Double-Edge

Stantler (Poké Ball)

Moves: Hypnosis

Kanto Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Thunder Badge

Marsh Badge

Rainbow Badge

Soul Badge

Volcano Badge

Earth Badge

Diamond Badge

Indigo League Rank: Top 4

Johto Badges:

Gary:

Party:

Venusaur (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Mega Drain

Arcanine (Poké Ball)

Moves: Take Down, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Flamethrower

Nidoqueen (Poké Ball) (f)

Moves: Rock Smash, Hyper Beam, Mega Punch, Double Kick

Nidoking (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Horn Attack, Earthquake, Tackle

Pinsir (Poké Ball)

Moves: Fury Attack, ViceGrip

Hoothoot (Poké Ball)

Moves: Foresight, Peck

At Professor Oak's Lab:

200+ Pokémon

Kanto Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Rainbow Badge

Seven unknown Badges

Indigo League Rank: Winner

Johto Badges: