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“WHY DID I HAVE TO OVER-SLEEP TODAY!?!?!?” 15 year-old Ash Ketchum internally screamed as he sprinted towards Professor Oak’s lab in Pallet Town. Today is the day he finally gets his starter Pokemon and becomes a trainer. Unfortunately, as there were 4 trainers starting their journey today, Professor Oak only guaranteed the traditional Kanto region Starter trio to the first three to get to his lab.
”Damn it, why did I have to sleep through my alarm?!”Ash lamented as he took the stairs leading to the lab two at a time. He stopped at the lab door long enough to take a calming breath, and opened it…
.... to find the other new trainers had beaten him there.
“Shit”
“Pay up Oak” a pale boy with platinum blonde hair said calmly, his ice blue eyes showing his amusement.
“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that Dylan made that bet or the fact that you took it.” sighed a girl with brown hair and green eyes, her hand seemingly holding her bucket hat in place as she slowly shook her head at the other boy.
“But Leaf, Ashy-boy is such a goody two-shoes,” Gary Oak said in disbelief as he handed Dylan his winnings.
“That doesn’t mean I would never swear” Ash sweatdropped.
“Whatever, it’s not like any of you losers can beat me when it counts,” Gary boasted, “I’ll be the champ in no time!”
“I doubt that” Ash, Leaf, and Dylan deadpanned simultaneously.
“I beat all of you here” Gary retorted.
“You live with Professor Oak. I don’t think any of us expected to beat you here.” Dylan stated blandly.
“Do you guys have to gang up on me?” Gary whined.
“I don’t know Gary. Did you have to plow that car into the Viridian City Pokemon Mart and single-handedly delay ALL of our journeys by 5 years?” Leaf spat out angrily.
“Ms. Green , I would hope you would remember that the decision to raise the minimum trainer age to 15 was in the works for a long time before Gary’s misadventure with the Corvette” an elderly voice interjected behind them. The new trainers turned to see an elderly man in a lab coat had entered the lobby, a Pikachu and a Pichu on his shoulders. “A misadventure I made sure Gary learned thoroughly from.”
Gary cringed as the Pikachu glared menacingly at him, its cheeks sparking. Ash chuckled as he remembered all the trouble Gary had with that particular Pikachu when Professor Oak had assigned him the task of keeping it from chewing on the lab’s power cables. It was arguably the worst task Gary was given as punishment for the Corvette Incident as Pikachu seemed to take a sadistic glee in humiliating him.
“Also Mr. Reynolds, betting on inane things tends to be a sign of an impending gambling problem. Please don’t let it become one. If you would all follow me, we can get you squared away and off on your journeys.” Professor Oak said as he turned and headed deeper into the lab, the new trainers following on his heels.
“As all of you know, I only sponsor a select few new trainers in all of the Kanto region each year. As the sponsorship comes with a rare Starter Pokemon, 10 Pokeballs, a Pokedex and a 3000 Poke a month stipend, this opportunity would normally only be given to 3 new trainers, but you 4 have proven yourselves exceptional. That being said, there will be work involved. For the first year, I expect monthly reports on your Pokemon’s progress, the training methods you use, and any behavioral patterns you notice. After that your stipend will be reduced to 1500 Poke and I will only expect those reports every 3 months until you either join the League administration in some capacity or you decide to retire from Pokemon training professionally. If I feel your reports are unacceptably inadequate, I will work with you to make them acceptable. However if I see no improvement for a long period, I will revoke your sponsorship.” Professor Oak stated as they made their way into the next room. In the middle of the room was a pedestal with 3 Pokeballs on it, each with an elemental sticker on it. The professor went to the back of the room where a table with handheld devices and a set of Pokeballs stood. The 2 Pokemon on his shoulders jumped down and sat quietly on the table.
“Here are your Pokedexes. They function not only as Pokemon encyclopedias, but also as your Trainer ID and a debit card any bank accounts you may have.Your Trainer IDs and Trainer account information have already been loaded in. I can not stress enough DON’T LOSE THEM. I’ll only replace them once before the cost will come out of your pocket” he said as he handed each trainer a Pokedex. Ash checked to make sure his ID information was correct on the device. When he was younger he might have complained about the Pokedex’s color, but he could now see how the dark green with translucent purple highlights was actually a good combination.
“We have rooms set aside for you to make your introductions to your new partners. You’ll find your spare Pokeballs in them. Gary since you got here first…”
“Because I’m the best.” Gary interjected.
“... because you’re my grandson who lives with me and it would be weird for you not to get here first, you get to choose your Pokemon first” Professor Oak deadpanned.
“Why can’t anyone understand my greatness? I choose Squirtle. I’ll be in the next room introducing myself.” Gary said as he grabbed the Pokeball with the water sticker and left the room. Dylan, after getting the go ahead from the professor, chose the Pokeball with the flame sticker and immediately left to find a free room.
“Well that worked out perfectly.” Leaf said as she grabbed the last Pokeball, “I wanted Bulbasaur.” She left to find a free room to introduce herself to her Bulbasaur.
“It was unfortunate that the breeders didn’t have enough of my usual starters ready in time, but fortunately you were the last one to arrive, Ash.”
“ Professor?” Ash asked nervously.
“Do you remember Kukui?” At Ash’s affirmative nod, the professor continued, ”He recently became the regional professor for his home region of Alola. He remembered you saying you were hoping to get a Rowlet at some point and sent one one to you as a thank you. He said something about helping with his research?”
Ash frowned, “I acted as a sounding board for his ideas but I didn’t think I did enough for him to send me a Pokemon.”
“Well maybe you’ll figure it out eventually. I’ll leave you to introduce yourself to your new partner” Oak said as he handed Ash an enlarged Pokeball and left the room. Feelings of excitement and anxiety welled up in Ash as he realized he was about to take the first step on his journey to be a Pokemon Master. He hit the release button, and an owl like Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. Ash took a knee and looked it in the eye.
“Hello Rowlet. My name is Ash. I’m about to begin my journey to become a Pokemon Master and I would like you to join me. I promise to make you one of the strongest.” Pokemon and trainer stared at each other until the Rowlet trilled excitedly and hopped forward to allow Ash to pet it.
“This will let me find out more about you” Ash said as he pointed the Pokedexes camera at Rowlet, who stared wide-eyed at it.
“Rowlet: The Grass Quill Pokemon : During the day, it builds up energy via photosynthesis. At night, it flies silently through the sky, on the prowl for prey.At a distance, it launches its sharp feathers while flying about. If the enemy gets too close, Rowlet switches tactics and delivers vicious kicks. This Rowlet is female and knows the moves Growl, Tackle, Leafage, and Confuse Ray. Its ability is Overgrow which ups Grass moves in a pinch.”
“Confuse Ray? That will shortcut some of the work we need to do but there will still be hard work. You ready Rowlet?” Ash asked.The Owl-like Pokemon hooted and nodded.
“I just need to grab my Pokeballs and then we can head out” Ash stated as he turned towards the table to find the Pikachu and Pichu standing on the table in front of the Pokeballs. Trainer and Pokemon stared at each other for a minute before the Pikachu turned to the Pichu and nodded its head. Pichu squealed excitedly, hugged the Pikachu, turned to the Pokeballs sitting on the table and promptly captured itself.
“Well that just happened” Ash said dumbfounded. He picked up the Pokeball and released the Pichu, who shook its head vigorously after it was released.
“If you wanted to join me on my journey, all you had to do was ask” Ash told the Pichu amusedly as he pulled out his Pokedex again, it looking at him bashfully “I’ll just have to make you one of the best so you know your faith in me isn’t misplaced. ”
Pichu: The Tiny Mouse Pokemon: The electric sacs in its cheeks are small. If even a little electricity leaks, it becomes shocked. Despite its small size, it can zap even adult humans. However, if it does so, it also surprises itself. This Pichu is female and knows the moves Tail Whip, Thundershock, Play Nice, Charge, Nuzzle, and Electric Terrain. Its ability is Static which may cause paralysis in Pokemon that physically hit it.
“Charge can be explained as an Egg Move, but how do you know Electric Terrain?” asked Ash the Pichu as Professor Oak re-entered the room.
“It was probably Pikachu here. It sounds like something he would sure any child of his knew. I see you have a new team member already.” the professor said.
“I was just getting ready to head out, professor” Ash said as he picked up the rest of his Pokeballs. He turned to his Pokemon.
“Let’s go ladies,” he stated as he crouched down low enough that both Pokemon were able to jump on his shoulders.
“Ash one last thing before you go. Once you’ve won your first badge, call me. I’ll have something for you. And since I didn’t get a chance to before he left, please tell my grandson that I asked him to be careful out there”
“I’ll tell him Professor” Ash said as he headed out of the lab to begin his journey, a Pokemon on each shoulder.
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On the controversy of Technical Machines

As Pokemon training began gaining steam as a legitimate profession, companies began throwing their resources into the research and development of trainer support items. Pokeballs. healthcare items, supplements, and food storage and preservation methods all grew in leaps and bounds over the course of a decade. The only thing that hadn’t improved significantly in that time frame was how Pokemon were taught Moves. Early in that decade, Technical Records were created to give Trainers a visual guide to the basics of Moves, but otherwise they were learned through the hard work of the Trainers and Pokemon alike. So when The Silph Company introduced the first Technical Machine to the market 5 years after the big Trainer tech boom ended, it was met with shock and suspicion. After all, a disk that when used in conjunction with a special machine that can interact with a Pokemon’s stored data in its Pokeball to directly download the knowledge of how to use a Move directly into its brain had to have some sort of major drawbacks. SilphCo however managed to assuage the majority of the populace’s fears by releasing the methodology for the TMs creation, including the fact that the initial plan that set out to create a means of learning any move regardless of whether Pokemopn could learn it naturally or not was dropped due to projected success rate of the device without cause (causing) permanent damage being unacceptably low, and that the had sat on the technology for a full decade to guarantee there would be no long term health issues in the Pokemon they were used on. While the younger generation began to embrace the new technology, many older trainers felt it made training to easy for those who had the money to pay for them and were Pokemon training as a hobby. And as with all new technology, an unscrupulous few took to making black market versions that could do what Tms were initially intended to do,despite the risks, and all to make a quick Poke.

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“Ashy-boy, I challenge you to a batt- WHAT?! HOW DO YOU HAVE 2 POKEMON ALREADY!!!!!” Ash heard the nasally voice of Gary Oak shout out as he left Professor Oak’s lab.

“ I should have known he’d be waiting here to challenge me to a battle.” Ash thought 

“What can I say, the ladies love me.” Ash nonchalantly stated as he scratched under Rowlet’s beak, earning a relaxed trill from the owl-like Pokemon. “Now are we battling or not?”

“Fine with me. Even if you somehow got another Pokemon already, I’ll still show you who the better trainer is. We battle with our starters!” Gary said as he pulled out his Pokedex and sent the battle request to Ash, who accepted with his Pokedex and set the rules and prize amount “Standard? What are you afraid to put down some real money, Ashy-Boy?”

“ Not all of us have trust funds to fall back (on) .” Ash thought, a deadpan look on his face.

“Let’s do this, Rowlet!” Ash exclaimed as Rowlet fluttered down from his shoulder and took an aggressive stance.

“Go Squirtle! Use Tackle!” Gary called out as he released his starter. The tiny turtle Pokemon immediately charged at Rowlet.

“Dodge and Growl” Ash countered. She dodged her opponent, the feral noise emanating from the grass quill Pokemon causing the Squirtle to shudder.

“Shake it off and use Water Gun!” Squirtle hesitated for a split second before firing a stream of water from its mouth.

“Counter with Tackle and follow up with Leafage” Rowlet surged forward, narrowly dodging the Water Gun, and slammed into her opponent. She then threw leaves at her opponent, causing further damage.

“No! Squirtle get up and use Tail Whip” 

“Confuse Ray!” 

As Squirtle got up, Rowlet’s eyes glowed red, catching her opponent’s eyes and causing it to begin to look around fearfully and sway slightly.

“Squirtle, snap out of it! Withdraw!” Squirtle shook its head forcefully before running head first into the wall of the lab and knocking itself out. Both trainers stared in shock and Pichu snickered.

“Well that was anticlimactic. Good work Rowlet.” Ash said as Gary returned his starter and their Pokedexes chimed. He glared at Ash.

“You got lucky. It won’t happen again Ashy-boy.” Gary declared as he ran back into the lab, bumping into Leaf as she was leaving it.

“What’s wrong with him?” Leaf asked, as she watched Gary’s retreating back through the closing door of the lab.

“He challenged me to a match and didn’t like it when Rowlet beat his Squirtle.” Ash said as he cleared the money transfer notification from his Pokedex.

“Well considering Gary would want to prove he had the superior starter, how did you get a Rowlet as a starter? And isn’t that the Pichu that was with the professor earlier?” Leaf asked.

“A former intern of the professor just became the regional professor in Alola and gave me the Rowlet for helping him with his research. Though I’m still trying to figure out how I did that. And the little princess here wanted to come with me. So much so that she decided to catch herself in one of my Pokeballs before I could even touch them.” Ash explained.

“That’s so adorable! What moves does she know?” Leaf asked.

 “Why don’t we have a training battle? You can find out that way.” Ash replied. Leaf moved away from Ash, grabbed her Bulbasaur’s Pokeball, and released it. 

“Sounds good to me! Alright Bulba we’re about to battle!” Leaf shouted out. 

“Pichu let’s do this! Start with Electric Terrain.” Ash said as he kneeled to let the tiny mouse down from his shoulder. Pichu put some distance between herself and Ash, then stopped and electrified the field.

“Bulba use Growl. Follow up with Tackle.” Leaf called out. A primal sound leaves the Bulbasaur’s throat as it charges towards it’s opponent.

“Dodge and use Tail Whip” Pichu avoided her charging opponent and shook her tail at it.

“Vine Whip”

“Play Nice” came Ash’s simultaneous call. As Bulba shot 2 vines towards Pichu, she dodged the vines, grabbing them with slightly glowing paws as they came to a stop after striking the ground, and proceeded to shake and twirl them in a playful manner, humming as she did so. 

“ That’s not what I meant to happen but it works. ” Ash thought.

“Nuzzle” Pichu takes the 2 vines she’s holding and rubs them against her sparking cheeks, sending an electric shock down them to Bulba’s body.

“No! Pull your vines back and attack anew” Bulba managed to pull its vines back but before it could renew it’s attack it’s muscles seize up. 

“Charge” Sparks begin flying off Pichu’s body as she begins to generate electricity.

“Bulba use Nature Power!” The Seed Pokemon’s muscles unseize as it begins to exude a pale energy. The energy interacts with Pichu’s Electric Terrain, turning it pale yellow as it formed a crackling ball in front of Bulba.

“Keep charging” Ash called out as Bulba fired the electric-infused Nature Power. Pichu maintained Charge as it was struck by the Thunderbolt that Nature Power became, doubling the electric aura surrounding her.

“Thundershock” Pichu released all the pent up electricity in a massive bolt right at her opponent. Bulba screamed in shocked pain as the attack hit and both Pokemon fainted as it ended. Both trainers returned their Pokemon and headed back into Professor Oak’s lab to use his restoration machine. 

“I didn’t expect to see you 2 back here so quickly. What happened?” Professor Oak asked. The 2 new trainers recounted what happened in their practice battle. 

“Well both Pokemon will be fine. Pichu is just exhausted and Bulbasaur’s injuries are nothing the restoration machine can’t handle. Although his injuries seem to be more consistent with a Thunderbolt than a Thundershock.” The professor said as he monitored the restoration machine’s progress. Ash checked his Pokedex and found a notification.

“It seems that Pichu learned Thunderbolt in that moment.” Ash said as he cleared the notification, Leaf staring at him incredulously. He looked at Pikachu .

“Any other moves you were trying to teach her?” Ash asked. Pikachu’s response was to make his tail begin to shine like metal.

“Iron Tail?” At Pikachu’s nod Ash continued; “Well that certainly shortcuts things if she already knows the basic idea.” 

“Your luck is crazy,” Leaf commented, shaking her head in disbelief. The restoration machine finished running, allowing the 2 new trainers to reclaim their Pokemon. Both immediately released their charges. Pichu gave her head a quick shake as she was released. Ash got down on one knee.

“Don’t like being in your Pokeball?” Pichu shook her head no, “Then I won’t put you in it unless you’re injured, ok?” Pichu cooed affectionately.

I’m heading home now. Meet you at the town border on Route 1 tomorrow morning.” Leaf said as she and her starter left. 

“Yeah see you tomorrow Leaf.” Ash said. The two of them had decided to take a day to get to know their new partners and leave the next morning, traveling together until at least Cerulean City. “We should head home as well.”  

Ash bent down and allowed his Pokemon to hop up on his shoulders again. He said goodbye to the Professor a second time and left for home. As he walked through Pallet Town, allowing Rowlet and Pichu to take in the sites of the small town, Ash’s face began taking on  a thoughtful look.

“Would you 2 (two) like names?” Ash asked his Pokemon. Rowlet trilled happily, while Pichu took a minute before nodding her assent. 

“I thought of this one when I saw your information on my Pokedex. Artemis?” Ash asked Rowlet. The tiny owl took a moment before hooting happily. “Artemis it is. Now we need to find one for Pichu.”

Unfortunately that was easier said than done. By the time Ash and his team had covered the rest of the distance to his home, Pichu had rejected several names. Ash let himself into the house. Pichu hopped off his shoulder and started to explore the house, running into the kitchen first.

“Oh aren’t you a little cutie! Now where did you come from?” a female voice in the kitchen asked. 

“Mom, I’m home!” Ash called out, “Though that may be obvious at this point.” 

“Very obvious.” Delia Ketchum answered back dryly as she entered the front room, Pichu and a Mr. Mime on her heels. “Oh 2 Pokemon already?”

“Artemis here is my starter and a gift from Kukui. The little hyperactive princess at your feet decided she wanted to come with me right after that.” Ash explained, gesturing to each Pokemon in turn, giving Pichu a thoughtful look.

“It does make sense. I have seen this little one watching you around the lab.” Delia stated. Ash’s thoughtful look turned into a smirk.

“Pichu, how about Nora?” Ash asked. Pichu thought for a minute before nodding happily. 

“What a pretty name! Lunch will be ready soon Ash.” his mother said as she moved back into the kitchen.

“Come on you two. Mom’s the best cook. We can start your training after we eat.” Ash told his team. 

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After a lengthy lunch where Ash regaled his mother with the story of his team’s first battles, they headed out behind his house to begin training.

“Alright I saw what the two of you were capable of during the battles earlier so we can skip that part. On the road the first hour and a half after waking up each day we’ll work on refining your moves. The hour before dinner each night we’ll work on learning new moves. Traveling time will mostly be endurance training. Simple enough, right?” Ash explained. Both Pokemon nodded enthusiastically.

“Artemis, I want you to begin working on Razor Leaf. Start by trying to make the leaves you make with Leafage sharp. After that make those sharp leaves fly from you.” Ash instructed. Artemis nodded and flew over to a nearby tree and began training.

“Alright Nora, I know you’re working on Iron Tail, so let’s see what you have so far. Use it against that tree.” Ash said, pointing at another nearby tree. Nora concentrated for a minute, as a silvery sheen enveloped her tail. She then charged the tree and with a battle cry struck it with her silvery tail. A small scratch was in the bark of the tree. 

“You have the basics down. I want you to focus on channelling Steel-type energy into your tail without attacking. It should really shine when you have it right.” Ash told Nora. She nodded and began concentrating, her tail taking on a silver color. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and began looking through his Pokemon’s entries to begin coming up with training plans for each of them.

“Artemis should learn Shadow Sneak and then Synthesis. She’ll need to learn Sucker Punch, Pluck and Feather Dance before she fully evolves and her typing changes. Peck and Nasty Plot will be a good starting point for learning those. After all of those will be Leaf Blade. Nora’s potential move pool isn’t all that great until she evolves into Pikachu, I’ll have her learn Nasty Plot at the same time as Artemis. Until then I’ll have her learn Sweet Kiss and Charm and have her try and learn Thunder Punch, since it will be a good starting point for Mega Punch and Volt Tackle after she evolves.” Ash planned out in his head. A happy trill from Artemis brought him out of his thoughts.

“Maybe Artemis should learn Leaf Blade sooner,” Ash mused as he watched Artemis begin flinging leaves with her wings at the tree she chose to practice on, only a few leaves sticking into the trunk. “I didn’t expect her to get this far in 20 minutes, so she clearly has either an above average affinity for Grass energy manipulation for even a Grass-type, an affinity for sharpening leaves or is extremely intelligent. Shadow Sneak and Synthesis will help determine which it is.”  

Ash turned to check on Nora’s progress. Her tail hadn’t gotten any shinier and if Nora’s sparking cheeks were any indication, she was getting frustrated with the situation. Ash went over to her and took a knee.

“Alright Nora that’s enough for now. Getting frustrated right now is only going to hinder your progress. Iron Tail is going to be a long term goal for now. What I want you to do right now is reduce the Steel-type energy running through your tail.” Ash directed. Nora’s tail started shining less, until it was half of what it was. “That’s good. I want you to remember that level of Steel energy. Tomorrow while we’re travelling, I want you to gather that level of Steel energy in your tail and maintain it as long as possible. Hopefully that will let you get a feel for it. For now I want you to start learning Charm. It’s effect is similar to Play Nice, but it uses Fairy-type energy as opposed to Normal-type energy and it will be twice as effective. I want you to start by raising the power of Play Nice and see if you can feel a different type of energy as you’re doing it.”

 Nora nodded dejectedly and turned to begin working on Charm. Ash stopped her with his hand on her head.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Getting stronger will take time.” Ash said. Nora looked over at Artemis, a worried look on her face. “Comparing yourself to Artemis right now isn’t fair to yourself. The type of the move she’s learning is one of her primary types. There is also taking her natural ability into account. Everybody learns at different rates. With hard work you’ll get it eventually. I’d rather have my team work hard than try to get by on talent alone. Ok?”

“I need to keep an eye on this” Ash thought as Nora nodded solemnly and began trying to learn Charm. He turned to where Artemis was still learning Razor Leaf and began walking over. “ Making sure Artemis is working just as hard as Nora should help stop this from ruining team cohesion.” 

“It looks like you’ll learn Razor Leaf quickly.” Ash said to Artemis. She trilled happily, flying around Ash’s head. 

“Don’t get too excited. Learning a move isn’t the same as mastering it and I fully expect you to master every move you learn. Alright?” Artemis settled down and nodded, a determined glint in her eye. “Good. What I want you to do while we’re travelling tomorrow is work on Confuse Ray. It will be mastered when you’re able to fire it off with no charging delay. But I want you to fire them into the air. DON’T use it on anything that doesn’t attack you first. Understood?”

Artemis nodded solemnly. Even when used by a master of the move, Confuse Ray can cause severe mental trauma if they weren’t careful. As a result, it was extremely frowned upon to use it outside of formal training and battle situations unless provoked. Ash knew however that they would need to train with Confuse Ray extensively if the idea he had for it had any chance of working so it was potentially worth the risk as long as they were careful about it.

“Keep working on Razor Leaf for now.” Ash told Artemis. She trilled, turned towards the tree she was previously aiming at, and began forming and throwing leaves again.

“ Artemis might finish learning Razor Leaf during tomorrow night’s training session. Ash thought as he watched her for a few minutes. He turned to check on Nora and saw her glowing a pink-tinged white. “ I honestly didn’t expect her to get this far until tomorrow afternoon’s training session. Does she have a talent for Fairy-type moves? I’ll have to move Play Rough forward on the training schedule as a test. I was also planning on her learning Draining Kiss eventually, so this might push it forward as well.”

“Ash, Dinner’s ready!” His mother called from the house. 

“Coming!” Ash called back, “Alright you two we’re done training physically for the day!“

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The next morning after an early breakfast and saying goodbye to his mother, including a promise to call home once a week with the latest model Xtransceiver she had given him the night before, Ash and his Pokemon headed to Route 1 to meet up with Leaf. 

“Ash!” Leaf called out as he walked up with his Pokemon, her Bulbasaur Bulba at her side, “Ready to go?” 

“All set. Artemis, Nora. You can explore around us but don’t wander off too far from us. Artemis, keep an eye out for other trainers. And remember to do what I told you to do while we’re traveling.” Ash told his Pokemon. Artemis gave an affirmative trill and took to the air. Nora nodded, took a moment to gather Steel-type energy to her tail, and began exploring the immediate area. Leaf gave him a wary look as they started down Route 1.

“You sure it’s a good idea to have them training on the go like this?” Leaf asked.

“Yeah. All Nora is doing is channeling a small amount of Steel-type energy through her tail to get a feel for it. I’ll be keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t over do it. Artemis is working on mastering Confuse Ray so flying while doing that should make sure accidents don’t happen.” Ash answered. Leaf nodded, understanding his reasoning. Over the next few hours as the two new trainers traveled to Viridian City, a few wild Pokemon came to challenge them, which their Pokemon won easily. 

“Nothing but Rattatas and Spearows. They’re way too aggressive to be a second Pokemon.” Leaf lamented as Bulba beat another Rattata.

“Are you sure you’re not being too picky about this? I mean it’s not like the perfect Pokemon is just going to fall from the sky.” Ash grouched. 

Suddenly a Pidgey flew in for a landing in front of them, but botched the landing. It  tumbled for a couple of feet before coming to a stop and getting back to its feet. Other than being dazed from the rough landing, the Pidgey seemed physically fine. The 2 trainers could only stare in shock.

“Bulba, Tackle and then Vine Whip!” Leaf called out after coming out of her shock. As Bulba moved to attack, Artemis landed on Ash’s shoulder and gave him an affectionate nip, snapping him out of his shocked state. He gained a thoughtful look as Leaf completed her first capture.

“It’s not like 5 billion Poke will just fall from the sky!” Ash loudly proclaimed. Leaf gave Ash an incredulous look.

“Really, Ash?” Leaf sighed, her face in her palm and her back to Ash. 

“It was worth a shot and it’s not like I wouldn’t have shared it with you,” Ash retorted. A feminine laugh behind them brought them up short. They turned around to see an orange haired girl around their age chuckling. Ash tensed when he saw her.

“Sorry didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I saw your Rowlet flying around and followed it to see if I could catch it. I’m MIsty.” the girl introduced herself.

“I’m Leaf, My friend here is Ash. The Rowlet you saw is his starter, Artemis.” Leaf replied. 

“Really? How did that happen?” Misty asked.

“I helped Professor Kukui with some research.” Ash replied tersely. Nora came out of the tall grass along the route, looking between her trainer and the newcomer with a curious look.

“Is he always this tense?” Misty asked Leaf. 

“No he just lllllikes you.” Leaf teased, drawing out the L.

“That’s not it at all so you wasted the Happy impression,” Ash snorted, holding in a laugh. 

“Happy’s too adorable to ever be wasted.” Leaf pouted. A confused Misty looked between the two.

”We’re just referencing an old anime.” Ash explained. “So what brings you this far down Route 1?” 

“I was looking for water types just off the main route. I even managed to catch a Poliwag and a Staryu before a Magikarp suddenly evolved and tore up the area. I barely got out of there and had to leave my bike and my bag. By the time the Gyarados had calmed down and left the area my bike was completely wrecked.” Misty said. “Luckily my bag survived. I decided to head back to Viridian after that. Do you guys mind if I travel with you?”

“I don’t have a problem with it.” Ash said.

“Sure! Trainers on the road have to help each other.” Leaf stated. ”By the way, considering you were capturing more than one Water-type, you're an aspiring Water-type Master, right?”

“Yeah, I plan on being the greatest one ever!” Misty answered as they started walking toward Viridian City. 

“Then why did you try and capture a Grass/Flying type like Rowlet?” Leaf asked

“It’s very rare for a Master-level Trainer to only have Pokemon of a single type. All the Master title truly means is that a person has learned all that is currently known about raising and battling with a particular type.” Misty replied. “Brock is considered a Rock-type Master but he has a Crobat on his League registered team. And don’t even get me started on the Persian that follows Giovanni around.”

“But what if you had caught Artemis and the 2 of you didn’t get along?” Leaf asked. 

“The League doesn’t advertise it but you can trade any Ppkemon you catch to them, either for different Pokemon, items or cash.” Misty told them  “Most trainers never need to do such trades unless they catch a Pokemon they have trouble controlling or if they can’t find a suitable trade for an incompatible Pokemon quickly enough. There’s also the upside of being able to get Pokemon from other regions.through the League.”

“Wait, you can!?” Leaf exclaimed, as she began looking around her.

“Only if you and the Pokemon are completely incompatible and the Pokemon wants to be trained. Otherwise the League will buy it from you and release it into a wild area where it’s unlikely to be caught again unless it decides later it wants to be caught.” Ash answered, surprising both girls. “I looked into what services the League offered to trainers a couple of years ago.”

“What were you going to catch a Rattata and see what you can trade it for?” Leaf teased. 

“You mean like you were just about to?” Ash countered, causing Leaf to look away in embarrassment and Misty to chuckle. “Actually I was going to catch a Caterpie and see if I could get a male Burmy or a Cutiefly.” 

“Ugh I hate Bugs.” Misty stated, visibly unnerved. “They creep me out.”

“Viridian Forest is going to be fun for you.” Leaf said sarcastically. 

“I already had to go through it once to get here.” Misty said with a grimace. “I can’t wait to get my third badge. Then I can just go through the Wild area between Viridian and Celadon and avoid Viridian Forest altogether. But until then that’s what Repels are for.” 

“I had a feeling you’d say that.” Ash mused with a shake of his head, “I however hope to catch a Bug type when we go through there. So please keep the Repels to yourself.” 

“Fine but you’re keeping the rest of the Bugs away from me.” Misty fired back. 

“So you’re staying with us until we reach Pewter then?” Leaf asked her.

:”There’s safety in numbers/” Misty replied.

“Especially when going through Beedrill territory.” Ash added.

========================================================================                 

After a few hours of traveling, the 3 trainers stopped to set up camp for the night. Afterwards they separated a short distance to allow Leaf and Misty to introduce themselves to their new teammates. Ash in the meantime started training his team. After confirming that Artemis had learned Razor Leaf, Ash had her fly around to start getting a feel for Flying-type energy in preparation for learning Peck and Feather Dance.Then after checking Nora’s progress with gathering Steel-type energy, he discovered that she had already finished learning Charm.

“Both of you are overachievers.” Ash thought out loud, “I suppose we’ll just have to see how far that goes. I want you to channel the Fairy-type energy you just learned how to use for Charm into your paws Nora.”

As Nora followed her trainer’s instruction, Ash called Artemis down from her flight.

“Alright Artemis, change of plans. We’re going to hold off on learning to use Flying-type energy for now. Instead you and Nora are going to have a mock battle so that she can hopefully learn a new move. After that we’ll see if you can learn a new move. (Does that) Sound good?” Ash explained. At Artemis’ affirmative trill, he turned to Nora and saw her paws were beginning to faintly glow pink.

“Alright Nora, I want you to attack Artemis with the Fairy-type energy in your paws. Artemis, all I want you to do is stay low to the ground and dodge Nora’s attacks. Don’t fight back, just dodge.” he instructed. After getting both Pokemon’s acknowledgement, Ash retreated to a safe distance. At his signal, Nora charged at Artemis. For the next 30 minutes Ash watched an increasingly frustrated Nora try and hit an elusive Artemis, the pink glow around her paws slowly gaining strength.

“Mock battling already?” Misty asked. As she walked over, a tiring Artemis began deflecting Nora’s blows with Leafage. “Most trainers usually do move training with new Pokemon for the first few days. Or have them learn moves from older Pokemon like I’m doing.”

“Sometimes the best way to learn a move is in battle.” Ash answered.  At that moment, Nora’s frustration boiled over, causing the pink glow to fully envelop her body as she barreled into Artemis. “Case in point, Nora learned Play Rough in just over half an hour. Alright Nora, Artemis that’s enough!”

The Pichu jumped up happily. A thoroughly roughed up Artemis got up at a slower pace.

“Nora, you’re going to start working on Thunder Punch. I want you to do the same thing you just did except this time I want you to channel your Electric energy to your paws. Channel a small amount then release it by punching a tree. Then add more power and repeat.” Ash told her. Nora nodded and ran towards a nearby tree. 

“ So that’s why he had her learn Play Rough that way.” Misty thought.

“Artemis, I want you to try to learn Synthesis before I heal you. Channel your grass-type energy through your body and focus on the thought of healing yourself.” Ash instructed. Artemis nodded her head wearily, then closed her eyes and began to focus her energy.

“This seems a little harsh,” Misty spoke up, “ You don’t honestly expect him to learn Synthesis in a few minutes?” 

“Not really. I just want Artemis to get an idea for the basics,” Ash replied as a soft green glow began to envelop Artermis, “Then again both of my Pokemon have proven themselves to be overachievers, so I won’t discount the possibility of them both learning the moves I just set for them tonight.”

A few minutes passed before the green glow around the Rowlet faded. Ash grabbed some Oran berries from his pack. 

“Did you figure out the basics?” Ash asked Artemis as he held out berries for her with one hand with a Potion in his other one. She nodded and began plucking berries tiredly from his hand. “I want you to make an attempt at Synthesis at the end of our afternoon training sessions until you’ve learned it. I want you to take it easy the rest of today. Just try and figure out how to harness Flying-type energy but don’t do anything too strenuous to do it. Alright?”

Artemis answered with a trill and after giving Ash an affectionate nip flew to a nearby tree and closed her eyes to focus on her task.

“Come on, we should start making camp for the night while our Pokemon are training.”: Misty told Ash.

========================================================================

The next afternoon saw the three teens entering Viridian City limits. After being confronted by the local Officer Jenny about their Pokemon being out of their Pokeballs and warned of possible Pokemon thieves in the area, they made their way to the Pokemon Center. As they entered the red roofed building, they saw a teen wearing a short sleeve button down shirt,suit vest and pants and dress shoes, holding court over a group of preteens as they fawned over a Dratini as their (probable) teacher watched on with a resigned look on his face. 

The trio registered for rooms and handed their Pokemon to the Nurse Joy at the counter for a check-up. While the girls went to call home using the Center’s phones, Ash used his Xtransceiver to do the same with the teen’s continued boasting in the background. After he ended the call, Ash pulled his Pokedex out, scanned the Dratini through the crowd of preteens, and watched the teen contemplatively out of the corner of his eye as he went through the information. Leaf and Misty returned right as they were called by Nurse Joy to retrieve their Pokemon. Ash whispered something to Nora, who nodded and grinned at whatever he said. He proceeded to walk over to the braggart teen.

  “Ash?” Leaf questioned as Misty looked on in confusion.

“Don’t worry. Just going to practice my head deflation technique.” Ash answered Leaf’s unasked question. Ash hurriedly whispered a few instructions to Nora, who nodded along. The teacher narrowed his eyes as Ash approached the group.

“My family was generous in the gifts they gave me for my journey. I’ve already taught my Dratini Agility and Swift using the TMs they gave me” the boy boasted to the students as they stared at the Dragon-type Pokemon in awe.

“Oh you’re just starting out.” Ash called out sarcastically, “The way you were acting I thought you had … more experience.”

“Oh. I suppose a peasant such as yourself is a grizzled young veteran?” the boy sneered.

“Nope! I just got my starter 2 days ago.” Ash cheekily replied “But from personal experience I know that guys who boast as much as you do tend to be mostly bark (a lot of bark?) with very little bite.”

“I’ll have you know I was considered a prodigy from a young age and graduated top of my class from Pokemon Tech. All of my teachers and tutors said I will be the Champion one day.” The boy proclaimed as if his last statement was set in stone.

“Then put your money where your mouth is.” Ash fired back.

“Are you proposing a battle, peasant?” the boy asked arrogantly, “I suppose I can lower myself to face you but I only battle those willing to wager 2500 Poke per Pokemon in the battle.and I doubt someone such as yours-”

“50,000 Poke, 1 on 1 between Nora here and your Dratini.” Ash interrupted him. The shock that followed that proposal lasted a few seconds before the students began whispering excitedly. Big money matches like this usually don’t happen in Viridian until the end of the League season when the trainers come to make their attempts at Giovanni, and even then they are incredibly rare and rarely go over 5000 per Pokemon.

“After all 50,000 should be  a paltry sum for someone like you, and you wouldn’t want to deny letting these students see a future champ in action, would you?” Ash sarcastically explained his reasoning.

“Yeah Blake, we want to see a battle and he’s asking for it!” one of the students exclaimed, the other students quickly chimed in to encourage the Dratini’s trainer.

“Well I shouldn’t disappoint my admirers.” Blake said out loud as he internally sneered, “ This peasant is looking down on me! I’ll destroy his little rat and crush him under foot!”

“If you wouldn’t mind, could you be the referee for our battle?”  Ash asked the teacher.

“I will.” the teacher swiftly replied. “ I see what you’re doing kid and I hope you can back it up. Otherwise you’re just going to come off as arrogant as this kid has been acting.”

========================================================================

“The battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Blake Royce of Saffron City will now commence!” the teacher proclaimed after they moved to the training field outside of the Pokemon Center. Blake had scoffed when the students noticed Ash’s Pokedex as he sent the battle request. and began to whisper excitedly about seeing one of Professor Oak’s sponsored trainers in action. 

“The trainers will now release their Pokemon to the field” the teacher announced.Ash knelt down to allow Nora to hop off his shoulder as Blake re-released his Dratini onto the field. Beside the teacher, the students and Leaf began cheering the two on as Misty looked on worriedly and Artemis, who Ash had released to watch the battle, did so intently.

“Begin!”

“Dragon Breath!” Blake called out. Blue fire shots out of his Pokemon’s mouth.

“Geppo” Ash called out. Nora dodged the fire, sending a wink at her opponent as a faint pink glow covered her.

“That’s not a move!” one of the students called out as the others began laughing.

“Professor Oak must be going senile if one of his chosen trainers doesn’t even know his Pokemon’s moves!” Blake taunted as his Dratini continued to fire Dragon Breath at Nora, who continued dodging while faintly glowing pink.

“ Idiot doesn’t realize he’s already in trouble.” Leaf thought, a feral grin on her face. Nora’s continued dodging began to frustrate both Blake and his Dratini.

“Scale Shot!” Blake called out. Dratini began shooting it’s scales at Nora, who had lost the faint pink glow but managed to just barely dodge the scales. She immediately used Tail Whip the moment Dratini stopped firing Scale Shot. 

“ENOUGH! USE SWIFT!” Blake screamed out. Dratini fired golden stars by swinging its tail. 

“Dodge and charge in,” Ash called out. Nora dodged right and charged at her opponent as the stars passed her. Blake started to laugh until Ash’s next order.

“Play Rough!”

Blake’s panicked order to dodge came too late as the pink light of Fairy-type energy  erupted from Nora as she tackled the Dragon Pokemon. The two Pokemon tussled for a moment before Dratini ended up on top of Nora, worse for wear and preparing to fire Dragon Breath at point blank range. 

“Nuzzle!” Ash called out. The Pichu’s cheeks began to spark as she latched onto the Dratini and delivered a short shock to it, getting her opponent off of herself. ”Jump back and hold position, but be ready to dodge.”

“ Why would he-” Blake thought before seeing what Ash’s plan was.”WHA-? DODGE!!”

His warning came too late as Dratini’s returning Swift plowed into it from behind explosively.When the smoke cleared, Dratini was knocked out.

“Dratini is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum!” the teacher announced. Nora gleefully ran across the field into Ash’s arms as Leaf and Misty cheered.

“Good job, Nora!” Ash praised his Pokemon with a laugh. Just as Artemis landed on his shoulder and gave her own hooted congratulation. his Pokedex let out notification beep. 

“Hold it right there, Blake!” the teacher called out. He had released a Tangrowth, who had wrapped up the clearly retreating trainer. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“To transfer necessary funds?” Blake tried to convince the teacher.

“Idiot!” the teacher harshly rebuked. “You know the league’s rules. If you can’t pay the wager, you pay it off with items from your pack of your opponent’s choice!”

“The system shouldn’t allow you to do it in the first place!” Blake complained.

“The moment you got your Trainer’s license, you legally became an adult,” the teacher replied, “ You should have known better than to make that wager! Now act like an adult and own up to your mistake before I get the police involved! Now then I need to see your Trainer account, Mr. Ketchum.”

“Of course, sir,” Ash said  as he handed over his Pokedex. “I made sure the funds were in my Trainer account before I made the challenge.”

“Everything checks out,” the teacher proclaimed after checking Ash’s Trainer account balance. “The battle results stand!”

At that point the Tangrowth put Blake down but kept a vine on him as he reluctantly began pulling items from his pack. Ash immediately picked up Blake’s TM case after he set it down, much to Blake’s dismay.

“Let’s see what he has.” Ash thought as he browsed through the TM case. “ So Swift and Agility are permanent copies. He also has a permanent copy of Protect, but let’s see what else he has.”  

As Ash looked through the TM case, he became mildly disgusted by the thought of how much money had to be spent to get the TMs Blake had, especially considering how few healing items Blake had pulled from his bag. The TM with a hand written label that Ash found tucked in behind another TM in the same slot just made his blood run cold.

“Sir, I need you to see this.” Ash said coldly as he held the case out to the teacher.

“Tangrowth, Restrain him!” the teacher ordered, “You can explain how you got the Explosion TM  to the police when they get here.”

“Well I guess I’ll have to wait to get the Professor to answer that question.” Ash thought. ========================================================================

It took several hours to sort out the situation with Blake and get his winnings from their battle. Afterwards, Ash went to his room in the Pokemon Center, where he called Professor Oak to run a theory by him.

“Yes, you’re right Ash. We were actually trying to breed Dedenne with the move Volt Tackle when we found her egg among the others. It completely surprised us considering how rare it is for a Pokemon to not be of the mother’s species.” Oak explained. “Your Pichu has truly found it easy to learn Fairy type moves?” 

“Nora learned Charm in about a day and Play Rough in an hour.” Ash answered as he made a mental note to check his Pokedex’s setting after this call. “She also has had trouble learning Iron Tail but that could be attributed to her age as well. That’s why I wasn’t sure.”

“It’s most likely age. Young Pokemon rarely have the power to use a high level move like Iron Tail.” the professor stated. “It was a miracle she lear-” 

A sudden crash from the lobby of the Pokemon Center interrupted the conversation.

“Professor ..” Ash started to ask as he headed for the lobby.

“I’m calling the police! Don’t do anything rash!” Professor Oak warned urgently.

“I won’t,” Ash promised as he hung up.

========================================================================

“Meowth, that’s right!” the Scratch Cat Pokemon proclaimed at the end of Team Rocket’s introduction. 2 members of the infamous gang had crashed through the roof of the Pokemon Center looking to steal the injured Pokemon in the Center’s care. Leaf and Misty were in the lobby retrieving their teams after having them checked over by Nurse Joy before turning in for the night.

“Now turn over all the Pokemon here before we get serious!” the red-haired Rocket said as she and her blue haired partner released an Ekans and a Koffing.”We will attack you if we hav-”

“Did that Meowth just talk?!” Misty exclaimed.

“ I don’t thi-” the blue-haired Rocket started.

“Oh god! Ash was right!?” Leaf whined, “He’s going to be insufferable if he finds out!”

“You should really worry about yourse-” the female Rocket started through her gritted teeth.

“So which one of you trained him to talk?” Leaf asked.

“THAT’S IT!! NOT ONLY ARE NOT TAKING US SERIOUSLY, NOW YOU’RE GOING TO INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE ON TOP OF DAT!. LISTEN YOU DAMN TWERP! I TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO TALK LIKE A HUMAN. I AIN’T EVER HAD NO TRAINER AND I AIN’T EVER GONNA NEE-” the Meowth’s tirade was interrupted by a Swift attack raining down from above on him followed closely by a Luxury Ball beaming him in the head and sucking him in. Everybody in the lobby stared in shock as the Luxury Ball shook a few times before chiming a successful capture. Before the Rockets could react, Artemis swooped in, grabbed the Ball, flew up to the upper balcony of the lobby, and dropped it into Ash’s hand.

“ I have to apologize to the professor for this later.” Ash thought as the Rockets shocked looks turned into angry glares at him.

*************************************************************************************************************

Chapter Text

IT IS ALIVE!!!! I know it’s been (checks notes) a little over a year but I’m not dead and neither is this story. The next chapter is fairly straightforward plot wise so hopefully I’ll get it out quicker. 

DISCLAIMER: This starting excerpt can be seen as political. It wasn’t meant to be. But it is what it is. It was also minorly cathartic.

========================================================================

The Old Internet and the Collapse of Society

As the pandemic entered its 3rd year, global morale was low and the majority of world leaders were desperate for a solution as vaccines proved less effective than predicted. However, the American President felt that preserving human culture and history in case of human extinction should be prioritized. He ordered the nation’s top computer specialists to completely lockdown the Internet in utter secrecy, threatening the families of those who protested the action. A threat they had to take seriously considering what happened to his Vice President. And all while spreading misinformation and downplaying the pandemic. So it came as a complete shock to the entire world when instead of seeing whatever websites they were looking for, they got a message informing them the entire Internet had been encrypted on the order of the President of the United States. By the time the rest of the world could mobilize their militaries to bring the mad man to heel, all government structure in the U.S. had collapsed, its capital sacked by its own citizens, no one alive had any knowledge of how to unlock the Internet and the virus that shutdown the world had mutated into something far deadlier. Even though humanity had to focus their efforts on combating the deadly new variant, there were those who decided to maintain the Internet servers. Even as society collapsed, the virus became a plague that wiped out 80% of life on Earth over the course of 200 years, new creatures with fantastic powers emerged, and time distortions caused pockets of land to experience thousands of years in the span of a few, their families did everything they could to maintain those servers and the information they held. All in the hope that one day someone would find a way to decrypt it and give humanity some of its lost culture back. 

========================================================================

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!!!” the Rockets screamed at Ash.

“I don’t see why not,” Ash said as he made his way slowly to the first floor of the lobby. Artemis stayed perched on the balcony railing.

“WHY NOT?! HE’S-” the blue haired Rocket started to yell.

“Let me stop you there!” Ash cut off his rant before he started, “You have to realize that there’s no way you’re winning this argument.”

“LISTEN HERE TWERP!” the red-haired Rocket roared.

“YOU LISTEN! Do you really think that the police will take your side?! You’re part of one of the most infamous criminal organizations on the planet! You attacked a Pokemon Center in order to steal the injured Pokemon! Everybody here heard that Meowth say he didn't have a Trainer! And furthermore NORA NOW!!” Ash shouted back.

Before the Rockets could register that last shout, a wave of electricity slammed into the Rockets and their Pokemon from behind, followed shortly by a Swift fired by Artemis hitting the Pokemon from the front. The Koffing and the Rockets were knocked out while the Ekans was still up but clearly worse for wear. After seeing it’s Trainer down, the Snake Pokemon turned to Ash, a purple glow forming in its mouth. Nora’s Electrically charged paw put an end to that plan, sending the Ekans flying across the room. It slammed against the wall with a surprising amount of force, knocking the snake out. Nora (who had seemingly launched herself at the Ekans) hit the ground hard and struggled to get up.

“Nora!” Ash shouted with concern, rushing over to help her, “Don’t push yourself if you’re hurt. Take it easy. She’ll be fine, won’t she, Nurse Joy?”

"She’ll be fine after some time in the recovery machine and a day of rest.” the nurse                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        answered, “Though I have no idea how she’s suffering from severe muscle strain. That battle shouldn’t have been intense enough to have caused that.”

“Nora, did you try to do That?” Ash asked with a pointed look. Nora’s guilty look was punctuated with a wince. “I warned you that you could hurt yourself before you had the necessary control for it.”

“VIRIDIAN POLICE!!” Came the call from the entrance as half a dozen police officers with Pokeballs in hand and ready to release their Pokemon led by an Officer Jenny and an Arcanine stormed the lobby. "NOBODY MOVE!!!!”

========================================================================

“ What am I about to walk into?” Professor Oak thought as he and his Alakazam walked into the Viridian Pokemon Center after being called in to, as Officer Jenny put it, reign in his lab trainers. He could see the officer threatening to arrest Ash as he clutched a Luxury Ball defensively, Leaf and, surprisingly, a worried Misty Mizuhana standing behind him. Taking a calming breath, the Pokemon professor interrupted the Jenny’s tirade. 

“And what has my lab trainer done to warrant such an action?” he asked with an edge to his voice. 

“He refuses to turn over one of the Pokemon Team Rocket used in the attack to us. Maybe you can get him to do the right thing!” Officer Jenny explained angrily.

“And why…” the professor’s question to Ash was interrupted by said trainer releasing the Pokemon in question from the Luxury Ball he was holding.

“STOP DOIN’ THAT the Meowth screamed as it lunged for Ash. The Professor’s Alakazam raised one of its spoons and caught the irate Pokemon before it could attack the trainer. “LET ME AT ‘IM!!!!” 

“ So that’s why you called Friend Oak, ” The deep baritone mental voice of the Professor’s Alakazam as Oak stared in shock, “ I never thought I’d see a Pokemon able to speak the human tongue out loud, let alone a Meowth of all things. ”

“As shocking as that is, it doesn’t change the fact that it was running around actively aiding Team Rocket!” Officer Jenny irately rebutted.

“You’re right about that, but this does change how we should handle it.” Oak said with authority as he came out of his stupor, "This represents an unprecedented opportunity for the scientific community to learn more about Pokemon from a non-Psychic type Pokemon’s perspective. This Meowth can advance research by decades and as such needs to be protected.”

“Should you be saying this in front of said Meowth?” Misty asked.

“ It’s fine. ” Oak’s Alakazam mentally projected, as he seemingly used one spoon to hold Meowth in place and the other to spin the wayward Pokemon in every direction imaginable, said Pokemon screaming for help, “ I have blocked his ability to hear. ” 

“Things like this are why I started calling you Darth.” Ash stated as he watched Meowth spin.

“ Well, if he hadn’t tried to attack you this wouldn’t be necessary. Also, I didn’t mess with his mind, just used air voids around his ears. And for the last time my name is Earl. ” the Alakazam with an exasperated sigh at the end.

“You’re really not helping your case with any of that,” Ash rebutted completely deadpan, “Though I suppose the threat of a repeat performance will stop him from trying to attack Professor Oak while he’s under his care.”

“WHO SAID YOU’RE KEEPING IT?!?!?!”  Officer Jenny yelled at Ash.

“NOBODY DID!” Ash screamed back, "This Meowth and whoever has him are going to be targets whenever Team Rocket finds out about his capture and they won’t be sending low-level grunts. A rookie Trainer would have no chance in this scenario. That’s why it’s better for him to be taken to the Professor’s Lab.in Pallet Town, where he’ll have the protection of 3 Ace squads and a former Champion.”

“Protect him? You make it sound like the Rockets are just as likely to kill the Meowth as recapture it.” the Jenny snorted derisively.

“We have no idea what this Meowth knows about Team Rocket’s operations, and if their uniforms are any indication, the 2 that were captured tonight aren’t normal Rocket grunts.” Ash argued. “We have to assume he knows things that the Rockets don’t want known. To do otherwise would be both short-sighted and a wasted opportunity.”

“I see. Depending on what he knows we could potentially do a lot of damage to the organization.” Oak postulated.

“IF it knows anything and IF it’s willing to tell us” Jenny emphasized, “and it doesn’t seem to be willing to tell us the time of day, let alone anything that can be used against Team Rocket.”

“I’m not naive enough to believe he would give up that kind of information to those he considers his captors.” Ash deadpanned. “We need to gain his trust first and sending him to the League’s Rehabilitation Program won’t do that.” 

“ Chuckles is right. This one is aware of both the low success rate of the program and what happens to those who fail to be rehabilitated. ” Earl the Alakazam projected as he lightly bounced the Meowth on his head repeatedly, “ And it’s the numbers from the most recent assessment of the program he knows, so if nothing else we’ve already uncovered a leak in the League because of him. ”

“It doesn’t matter what information you can get from it, the regulations are clear,” Officer Jenny began to rant only for the professor to interrupt her.

“Enough! This is an opportunity that the scientific community has been waiting for for decades and I won’t let it slip by because of bureaucratic nonsense.” Oak said with an exhausted sigh, “I’m taking the Meowth to my lab for now and I’ll talk to the League president and Champion Lance about this in the morning. So let’s call it a night.”

Any objections the officer had to that proclamation died on her lips at the Kanto Regional Professor’s pointed glare. 

“Be good for the professor.” Ash told the Meowth as he returned him to his Luxury Ball and handed it to Oak. The Professor and his Alakazam headed out of the Pokemon Center.

“ Friend Oak asked me to remind you that you could have ended that argument easily on your own. ” the Alakazam projected to Ash’s mind without looking his way on his way out.

“ Remind him revealing that would have put a target on my back. ” Ash answered back silently.

========================================================================

The next morning Ash, Leaf and Misty left Viridian City, heading towards Pewter City. The closer they got to Viridian Forest, the more agitated Misty became.

“Do bugs really scare you that much?” Leaf asked.

“Regular bugs don’t bother me. It’s Bug types that freak me out.” Misty stated as she looked around her warily with a grimace on her face, “Anyone would be freaked out if they were covered by a few dozen of them.”

“Ok now I’m freaking out,” Leaf said with a shudder, “Sorry for bringing it up.”

“Yeah let’s change the subject.” Ash suggested with a nervous chuckle.

“It has been bothering me how you have the cash to cover that outrageous bet from yesterday.” Misty wondered out loud, looking at Ash.

“It’s simple really. I got it for services rendered to the Pokemon League’s Historical Reclamation Initiative.” Ash explained.

“He figured out the password to the Old Internet,” Leaf stated flatly immediately after Ash finished. 

“Really!? I’d heard it had finally been cracked, but by someone our age.” Misty said incredulously.

“Yeah, it surprised me too. Ash was kind of an idiot and scatter-brained when he was younger.” Leaf told Misty, "But he disappeared for like a month and when he came back he was a lot more focused and actually was doing his homework. I was suspicious, so I barged into his house one day to find him on a brand new laptop watching some anime I’d never heard of. I got distracted by it but when I noticed the date it was posted on was weird he admitted what he’d somehow done.”

“How did you do it though, Ash?” Misty asked.

“Honestly I was screwing around on some political candidate’s website from the Pre-Plague Era and decided to try and log in to it with the dumbest thing I could think of: The candidate’s name and 12345 as the password.” Ash answered with a hard sigh, "I didn’t think it would give me access to the Old Internet.”

“Should you be telling us the password?” Misty asked worriedly.

“It’s fine. The League put its own login page on top of that login page.” Ash told them, “Of course they gave me access as part of my reward for figuring it out.”

“Access you use to watch excessive amounts of anime.” Leaf teased him.

“So you don’t want this?” Ash asked, holding up a thumb drive.

“Let’s not be hasty.” Leaf said as she snatched it out of his hand eagerly.

“Is Pre-Plague Era anime that good?” Misty asked.

“I’ll show you one later tonight. Since we’ll have to spend at least one night in Viridian Forest, it might help you relax.” Ash told her. “For now we should stop while we’re on the outskirts and have lunch before we head into it.” 

========================================================================

As the three trekked through Viridian Forest, they were challenged by the many Bug Catchers that trained there. Each managed to beat their opponents with little difficulty. During that time Artemis was able to learn Peck and (surprisingly enough) Dual Wingbeat and Nora’s grasp of Steel-type energy advanced at a steady pace. After setting up camp for the night, the trio separated a short distance to train their Pokemon.

“Alright Nora I want you to continue working on Thunder Punch for now.” Ash told the Pichu, then turned to his other Pokemon and asked, “Were you trying to learn Gust from Leaf’s Pidgey?”

Her indignant trill prompted a deep sigh from her Trainer.

“Alright I’ll talk to Leaf about him later. For now, since you have plenty of attacking moves, I want you to start learning Feather Dance. You’ll need to channel Flying-type energy through your feathers while focusing your thoughts on lowering your opponent’s ability to attack. I don’t want you to start flinging your feathers yet though. Just focus on the mindset for now.” Ash told Artemis. With an affirmative trill, she started her training. 

“ I’ll teach them both Protect with the TM once we reach Pewter. Artemis should be good for the Gym after some fine tuning of her moves. Nora is close to learning Thunder Punch after which we’ll shift our full focus onto Iron Tail. Without it Brock will be a lot harder to beat. ” Ash thought.

“Do you think you’re ready to make an attempt, Artemis?” Ash asked his Rowlet after half an hour. At her nod, he called his Pichu over. “It’s time for a sparring session. Nora, I want you to only use Thunder Punch. Artemis, try to project the Flying-type energy through your feathers to create projectiles instead of actually flinging your feathers when you use Feather Dance. Dodge as much as you can.”

“ It looks like Nora should have Thunder Punch down soon, ” Ash thought as he watched the two spar, “ And Artemis seems to have a grasp on Feather Dance so she should have it learned in the next few d-. ”

His thoughts and the spar were interrupted by a warbled cry as a Weedle made its way into the clearing they were training in, making aggressive motions towards Artemis. 

“It looks like you have a challenger Artemis,” Ash called out as Artemis took position in front of him and Nora retreated to Ash’s shoulder. “Let’s see what this little one can do. Continue what you were doing in the spar but focus more on dodging.”

The Weedle opened the battle with a barrage of String Shots, which Artemis avoided by taking to the air. It continued its assault undeterred until it finally managed to hit Artemis’ talon. Instead of releasing the shot and letting it drag Artemis down, the Weedle shot the other end at a nearby tree, sticking it there before resuming its String Shot barrage.

“ Interesting. It's trying to wrangle it's much more agile opponent by tethering her in place with String Shot. Let’s see how it handles having it’s strategy derailed.” Ash thought before calling out to Artemis, “Use Peck to break the string then continue with our strategy.”

Though it hesitated for a split second after Artemis followed Ash’s command, the Weedle re-doubled its effort, a determined gleam in its eye. It missed a few more shots before connecting with Artemis’ side. After once again adhering the other end to a tree, the Weedle switched tactics and began firing Poison Sting needles from its mouth at Artemis.

“ It adapted its strategy, but it was in a sort of rigid way. Let’s force it to be defensive. ” Ash thought.

“Free yourself with Peck then put it on the defensive with Leafage!” Ash ordered. After cutting herself loose, Artemis charged in, dodging several Poison Stings as she readied leaves to strike her opponent with. The Weedle held its ground until the last second when it suddenly surged forward and bit Artemis with its glowing neon green mouth.

“ Bug Bite? And that counterattack was timed well. This can get dangerous if I let it go on any longer. ” Ash thought as he issued another order, “Dual Wingbeat!”

Artemis swatted her opponent with alternating wing strikes. The Hairy Bug Pokemon was sent tumbling back, only stopping after hitting a tree at the edge of the clearing. It slowly raised itself up, glaring defiantly at Artemis as it struggled to right itself. Ash waved Artemis back and walked forward, a Pokeball in his hand.

“Do you want to come with us? I think you would make a great addition to our team.”  Ash said with a smile, holding out the enlarged Pokeball. Artemis and Nora voiced their approval. “So what do you say?”

The Weedle stared at the Pokeball, seemingly lost in memory. It shook itself out of its daze after a moment and slowly crawled towards the tree it was thrown against earlier. Artemis looked disappointed at her recent opponent’s retreating form while Nora looked indignant and seemed ready to finish what Artemis started before Ash started scratching under her chin.

“Give her a minute. I think she’s just getting something.” Ash reassured them. After a few moments, the Weedle came out dragging a rock half its size. “If you’re coming with us I can carry that. And when you evolve, we can get an item holder made so you can carry it yourself. Okay?”

Weedle nodded solemnly and head butted the Pokeball after Ash held it out for it, a subsequent ding signaling the capture. Ash released the Bug-type before picking up the rock it dragged out and putting it into his bag. He then pulled out his Pokedex and scanned his new teammate.

“Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon,” the Pokedex stated. “ Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell, capable of distinguishing its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes just by sniffing with its big red proboscis. It eats its weight in leaves every day and fends off attackers with the needle on its head . This Weedle is female and has the ability Shield Dust. It knows the moves Poison Sting, String Shot and Bug Bite.”

“That’s about what I expected to hear from the Pokedex after seeing you fight. For now we’ll work on accuracy, and refining the moves you have, focusing on building power in your horn with Poison Sting.” Ash laid out, “After you evolve into Kakuna will switch the focus to accuracy. Once you evolve into Beedrill we’ll be able to work on learning new moves. Sound good to you?”

Ash’s newest teammate nodded her head dejectedly 

“None of that. It’s just a limit you’ll eventually surpass. It’s just a matter of time and will. Now then, would you like a name?” Ash asked. Weedle gave an enthusiastic nod. “Then I’ll have to think of one while we train.”

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“She’s not going to hurt you.” Ash told a freaking out Misty after introducing the newly christened Aris to his traveling companions, “I honestly didn’t think you’d freak out this much.”

“KEEP IT AWAY!!!” Misty yelled as she hid behind an exasperated Leaf.

“I’d think this reaction was over the top if I didn’t know about the real trauma behind it.” Leaf sighed. 

“ I really need to find out who put her in that traumatic situation in the first place. ” Ash thought heatedly, “ There’s no way she’s this traumatized unless someone she trusted put her there in the first place.”

“That’s something we’ll have to work on.” Ash said aloud with a sigh, “I’ll have to put you in your Pokeball after we eat, Aris.”

“So what type of anime did you decide to start her with anyway?” Leaf asked Ash in a clear attempt to get Misty’s mind off her fear.

“I think a sports anime would be best.” Ash said after taking a moment to reassure his newest teammate she hadn’t done anything wrong. “Maybe involving bikes.”

“Why not the swimming one?” Leaf asked as Ash got a device connected to a light bulb out of his backpack. “And what’s with the light bulb?”

“This is a training device to help Nora control her electricity,” Ash explained, gesturing towards the device he pulled out, “And you know I won’t recommend anything I haven’t watched through myself as a first anime. Besides that one is more of a thirst trap than anything else and I feel like she needs something to laugh at more right now.”

“I just wish objectifying women had been something that had disappeared in the Plague Era.” Misty commented disgustedly. Ash and Leaf shared a look.

“ I guess I’ll have to download it and show her when we get to Pewter, ” Ash thought with a mental sigh, “ Maybe her reaction when she finds out will be funny. ”

“Let’s make dinner and then we can watch what I have in mind the rest of the night,” Ash said. 

“Yeah I need all the relaxation I can get right now.” Misty stated. “If being in a Bug infested forest wasn’t enough, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we run into a shady Pokemon breeder or something as soon as we get to Pewter considering everything that’s happened since I met you.”

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“This is going to be a thing isn’t it?” Misty asked in monotone a few days later as they watched the local Officer Jenny load someone into the back of her squad car. The man in question had tried to sell them a shiny Magikarp for 5000 Poke as soon as they walked into the city limits. Ash realized, once he got a closer look at it, that it was just painted to look shiny with its shine coming from the Everstone fragments embedded in its scales. 

“They look like cut gems and the scarring around them looks too precise,” Ash had explained after he had taken the seller down in a brutal fashion. A call to the police saw the man being carted off to the station after his license to sell was revealed to be phony and Ash getting lectured by the local Officer Jenny about vigilantism being wrong. Though he did get a sympathetic look when he explained what his training was when the officer wondered aloud what it was.

“What’s going to happen to the Magikarp?” Ash asked. 

“After Nurse Joy checks it over at the Pokemon Center to make sure there aren’t any more charges to add to this guy’s sheet, it will probably be put up for adoption.” Jenny told him, “The Everstone fragments embedded in its scales will make finding somebody willing to do so difficult so they may just end up releasing it into the wild after making sure it can take care of itself.”

“Just send me the necessary paperwork. I’ll take him.” Ash said, "Even if I didn’t have the money to get the fragments removed, I would just make him the strongest Magikarp alive.”

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Next Time: Bug Fight, Train to Fight, Gym Fight 

Chapter Text

STILL ALIVE!!!!

“The next chapter is fairly straightforward” I said  “Hopefully I’ll get it out quicker.” I added. You’ll excuse me if I take those words, burn them over a fire, and eat the resulting ashes. This chapter fought with me so much, especially the last part of the Brock battle. I eventually figured out that since I knew what was going on I couldn’t do Brock’s reaction fairly and had to run my beta through the scenario blindly to get through it. Shout out to them for being a good sport about it.

Reviews:

Anonymous reviewer on FF: Ash x Leaf pairing? It’s an interesting thought but to be honest I hadn’t really thought about who I would pair Ash with or if I would pair him with anyone as of yet. That is food for thought though. 

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Team Limits I

When a Pokemon Trainer begins their career they are allowed to carry a maximum of 3 Pokemon. Upon earning their first Badge, that limit increases to 6 Pokemon, the number that early on was considered the minimum number of companions one would need to traverse from settlement to settlement during the time when Pokemon first emerged. Back when Pokemon League Challenge was established, many Trainers started it with their local Gyms and as such Gym Leaders treated a first Badge challenge at the same level of a second Badge challenge to ensure those Trainers were ready for life outside the settlements. But as Routes were established and Pokemon proved themselves willing to work with humans and only attacking those who provoked them, first year Trainers became more willing to travel further from home for their first Gym challenge. Many Gym Leaders began making their first Badge challenges easier as protecting oneself in the wild became less of an issue. Thus the first Badge limit increase became less about protection and more a rite of passage for first year Trainers. 

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“Vice Grip into Bind” Ash’s armor-clad opponent called out to his Pinsir, the Bug-type charging at Aris. 

“Dodge with String Shot and use Poison Sting!” Ash ordered. The Weedle shot a string at a tree then used it to pull herself out of her charging opponent’s path. She followed up by firing poisonous barbs from her mouth at the Pinsir.

“Harden” their opponent countered. A white sheen passed over his Pokemon, partially deflecting the attack. 

“Quick Attack!” Pinsir glowed white as it charged straight at Aris. Ash’s Pokemon used String Shot to pull itself out of the way before turning and peppering her opponent with another Poison Sting, a purple light enveloping the Pinsir briefly.

“Quick Attack into Seismic Toss!” Pinsir’s trainer called out in a panic, realizing the battle had a hard time limit now. 

“You’re doing great! Keep it up!” Ash called out to Aris as she continued to dodge her opponent with String Shot and then pelt it with Poison Sting. This pattern continued for another minute before Aris used her latest dodge to get directly behind her opponent. She then used another String Shot directly on her opponent before pulling herself to it and using Bug Bite on its back. The Pinsir dropped to the ground with a groan.

“Pinsir is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum!” Misty, who was the referee for the battle, called out. Aris began shooting String Shot into the air and was enveloped in a bright light as it fell back onto her. When the glow subsided, a Kakuna sat where the Weedle once was. 

“Good Work, Aris!” Ash exclaimed as he pulled out his Pokedex.

“Kakuna: The Cocoon Pokemon: Kakuna is able to move only slightly. However, on the inside, it is extremely busy as it prepares for its coming evolution. This is evident from how hot the shell becomes to the touch. While awaiting evolution, it hides from predators under leaves and in nooks of branches. When endangered, it may stick out its stinger and poison its enemy.”

“Congratulations on your Pokemon’s evolution.” their recent opponent said as Ash cleared the notifications for Aris’ new move and changed ability.

“It was only possible because you and your Pokemon were able to push her to her limits. Thank you for that.” Ash replied. 

“At least you are not arrogant about your victory like the last Pallet Town trainer I battled with.” the samurai clad boy said as he shook Ash’s hand.

“Gary has an overinflated ego unfortunately.” Leaf explained ruefully, “I’m convinced the only thing that will deflate it permanently at this point is beating him at the Indigo Conference Tournament.”

“Or several close battles that push him and his team to their limits.” Ash added, “Hopefully every battle he has at the tournament is like that.”

“It sounds as if this worthy endeavor will require all the help you can get. My Pokemon and I will be ready when the time comes. I will see you at the tournament a few days from now. Farewell.” the armored trainer said as he left the training field. 

“That’s the third trainer you two have pointed at this Gary guy.” Misty dead-panned. 

“It’s necessary. We can’t be there to keep his ego in check all the time.” Ash answered her unasked question.

“You say ‘we’ like you’re not the only one who can consistently beat him.” Leaf stated flatly.

“The more he battles the stronger he and his team will be, and the more effective it will be when somebody beats him.” Ash said, ignoring what Leaf said, “At least that’s what I hope will happen. Besides, if it does come down to me beating him, I want it to be challenging.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if this Gary guy was a weaker trainer?” Misty asked.

“He needs to feel like he and his team did everything they could to beat me and still lost. Crushing him will either destroy his confidence entirely or make him a bigger asshole then he already is.” Ash explained. “And that would be the only result that could happen if Gary stayed weak. I’ll be pushing my team as hard as I can to win and it would be an insult to both my rival and my team if I had them hold back against him.”

Ash’s Pokemon loudly voiced their agreement with that sentiment. Nora’s sparking cheek and glare at Misty showed how insulting she thought the mere suggestion of holding back was. 

“Alright I get it! No need to shock me.” Misty said with a drop of sweat falling down her face.

“Calm down, Nora. We’re not going to do that.” Ash placated his Pichu as he returned Artemis and Aris to their Pokeballs, “Come on. Aris needs a check-up after her evolution and I’m sure Misty’s Pokemon are done with their post Gym battle check-up by now.”

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That evening Ash and his team were finishing their training for their Gym battle. Nora was using Iron Tail to knock leaves loose from trees for Artemis and Aris to use as target practice.

“ Artemis was able to learn Synthesis and Feather Dance since we got to Pewter last week. I only expected her to get Synthesis down in that time so she really exceeded my expectations. She’s also been paying attention to the visualization training I’ve been putting Aris through so she might have an idea. I’ll need to ask her about it after our Gym battle. Nora was able to learn Iron Tail and she was able to fine tune her control of electricity enough that she may be able to pull that off. It’s still iffy though so hopefully we won’t have to roll that die.” Ash thought.

“Alright everyone, we’re done for today. Tomorrow will be a rest day before our first Gym battle the day after. Artemis, you’ll be starting the battle. Nora will be the second. Aris, since you just evolved and the leader uses Rock types, you’re at a complete disadvantage here. You won’t be in this Gym battle but barring an injury you should be fully evolved and ready for the next one.” he said to his team.

“Tomorrow the only training I want you to do is visualization training. Aris, continue the visualization you’ve been doing. It should help you learn a couple of moves quickly once you evolve.” Ash ordered his Bug type, then turned to his Starter.

“Artemis, You look like you have an idea you want to try. Visualize it and we’ll see about making it a reality after our Gym battle.” he told her before turning to his Pichu. 

“Nora, since you’ve successfully used that, I want you to focus on the feeling you got then. Visualize everything you did to achieve that feeling. That should help you achieve it more consistently.” Ash explained to her.

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“I mean seriously what the hell is your luck!?!?!?!” Misty ranted as the three of them entered the Pewter City Gym for Ash’s Gym battle. “The odds of finding a native fossil in Pewter Quarry are one in a million. But you somehow found a non-native one!” 

“Not to mention a Thunder Stone and a Dawn Stone. And that’s just the stuff you kept.” Leaf flatly added.

“Hey you guys benefited-” Ash started before he was interrupted.

“Everything okay?” the Gym receptionist asked them

“We’re good” Ash told her as Misty grumbled in the background about the odds of finding a Water Stone in a rock quarry. “My name is Ash Ketchum. I’m here for my Gym Battle.”

“Okay” the receptionist said as she checked the schedule, keeping a wary eye on the trio, “You’re checked in Challenger Ketchum. If you head into the arena, Gym Leader Jikami will be with you shortly.”

Ash went ahead while Leaf and Misty bought tickets to watch the battle. He took note of the boulder-filled terrain of the arena’s battlefield (Despite half of it being darkened) as he made his way to the challenger’s position. Nora climbed down from her usual perch on Ash’s shoulder to stand by his side.

“Welcome challenger!” a voice called out from the darkened side. The lights came on to reveal the Gym Leader Brock standing in the Leader’s box with his arms crossed.

“We’ve seen how your friends fared. Now you’ll face the rock hard determination of me and my Rock-type Pokemon.” Brock spoke with authority.

“This will be a 2-on-2 match for the Boulder Badge.” the referee declared, “Gym Leader Jikami may not switch Pokemon. The challenger may only switch Pokemon after the Gym Leader loses his first Pokemon. Gym Leader Jikami, release your first Pokemon!”

“Go Rockruff!” Brock called out, the tan form of the Puppy Pokemon appearing in front of a surprised Ash with a yip.

“Well this calls for an audible.” Ash muttered before addressing his Pichu, “You’re up first.”

 Nora took a moment to shake her surprise before jumping onto the field, her cheeks sparking in anticipation. 

“First Match! Rockruff vs. Pichu!” The ref called out, “Begin!”

“Double Team” 

“Electric Terrain”

Rockruff spawned multiple copies of itself as sparks began dancing throughout the field. Ash watched the Rockruff copies weave around each other as they charged towards Nora.

“Tackle”

“Play Rough on the left one! Make it count!” Ash ordered. Before the Gym Leader or his Pokemon could react to that order, Nora glowed pink and slammed into the left most Rockruff. The copies faded as the two battling Pokemon hit the ground, a dust cloud kicked up as they struggled for a moment before Rockruff was able to throw off the sparking Pichu.

“Did he use Electric Terrain to tell the difference?” Brock muttered to himself before calling out, “Rock Throw!”

“Deflect it with Thundershock!” Ash countered as Rockruff picked up a large stone with its jaws and chucked it at Nora by spinning its body. A blast of electricity from Nora managed to shift the rock’s course enough that she barely had to move to dodge it fully.

“Get in close” Ash called out. Nora started charging toward her opponent with a loud battle cry.

“Trap it with Rock Tomb!” ordered Brock. Rockruff glowed dark brown as rock began popping up in Nora’s path. While the attack managed to slow Nora it didn’t stop her.

“Iron Tail!” 

“Dig!” Brock called out urgently. Nora jumped in the air, her tail glowing silver as Rockruff’s paws glowed a light brown as it began pawing at the ground. Before it could Dig itself out of the way, Rockruff seized up as sparks came off of its body, allowing Nora to front flip and hit her opponent head on with her glowing tail. Rockruff hit the ground with a hard thud.

“Rockruff is unable to battle! Gym Leader, release your second Pokemon! Challenger, you may switch out your Pokemon!” the ref’s call rang out. Brock’s look of confusion gave way to one of clarity.

“Make it count indeed.” he chuckled as Ash called Nora back. “That Nuzzle trick won’t work again! Now let’s see how you handle this! Onix Go!”

“Artemis, You’re up!!” Ash brought out his Starter as the Gym Leader sent in his signature Pokemon. Everyone in the Gym arena could only stare in awe as the Rock Snake Pokemon emerged, not just because of its size but also its dark mustard yellow coloring.

“A benefit of being a Breeder as well as a Gym Leader.” Brock told them, “Terra just became Gym ready this week.”

“Second Match! Rowlet vs. Onix!” the ref announced, “Begin!”

“Confuse Ray!” Ash ordered immediately. 

“Rock Polish, then dodge” Brock countered. The Onix seemingly shed sand from her body, sparkling for a brief second as she moved out of direct line of sight of Artemis’ glowing red eyes.

“Rock Throw!” 

“Dodge and use Feather Dance!”

“Dodge the feathers!”

Ethereal feathers began shooting from Artemis as she gracefully dodged the rocks thrown by her opponent. Despite the rock snake’s best efforts, half of the feathers dispersed against her hide.

“Razor Leaf”

“Dodge then Tackle!”

Leaves flew from Artemis but her opponent’s Rock Polish-boosted speed allowed her to dodge to the right then charge in quickly. Ash’s Starter managed to dodge the Tackle, if only barely.

“Rock Polish then Bind!” Brock ordered while Artemis tried to re-group. The Shiny Onix quickly shed more sand and wound itself around Artemis, holding the Rowlet in her tail and all before Ash could shout out a warning.

“Smack Down then finish it with Dragon Breath” Terra tossed Artemis into the air and batted the Rowlett away with her head, before spewing a blue-orange flame from her mouth.

“Artemis!” Ash yelled in fear. She flung leaves to the side before being engulfed by the flames. The faintly glowing leaves curved around the flames seemingly intent on hitting the Shiny Onix but she managed to mostly dodge the attack, only getting grazed. Artemis however laid in a blackened heap.

“Rowlet is unable to battle! Challenger, release your final Pokemon!” the referee called. Ash returned his starter to her Pokeball.

“You did great Artemis.” Ash whispered as he held her Pokeball to his forehead, “I saw what you were trying to do and we’ll work on it after we win this.”

“Let’s do this Nora!” Ash told his Pichu before sending her back onto the field, “We’ll have to go all out and we may only get one shot.”

“Final Match! Pichu vs. Onix!” The ref called. “Begin!”

“Rock Polish!” the Gym Leader immediately called out. 

“ Dammit! A third one is gonna make this almost impossible! ” Ash thought as more rock dust fell off the Rock Snake Pokemon. 

“High Voltage!” Ash ordered. Static began gathering into Nora from the atmosphere.

“ Charge? Why the weird order? ” Brock thought as he called for a Rock Tomb. Rocks spring up around Nora as her opponent flings one to seal her in. Nora was able to dodge with a surprising amount of speed. “ She’s faster than I thought! ”

  “Box it in with Dragon Breath!” Brock ordered. Onix fired off blue-orange jets of flame, trying to corral Nora into a corner.

“Get in close” Ash called out, much to Brock’s surprise. Nora charged in, dodging the Dragon Breaths that her opponent was firing out.

“Bind!”

“Dodge and jump on her back”

Nora managed to jump out of her opponent’s Bind before she could lock the move in, landing on the Shiny’s coiled back right by her head.

 “Iron Tail!” Ash called excitedly.

“Head Smash!” Brock ordered confidently.

Terra the Onix roared, her head developing a brown glow before she brought it down onto Nora. The Pichu met it with the silvery glow extending from her tail, swinging it up to uppercut her opponent. The two Attacks clashed for a brief moment before the Onix’s head was blown back, Nora’s momentum flipping her fully but she managed to land on her feet on her opponent’s coiled body. 

“Jump up and hit it with Iron Tail again!”

Nora leapt up, touching down briefly on her opponent’s snout(?) before jumping over her head with a front flip and striking the Onix in the back of her head with her glowing tail. She landed behind Terra with a roll, the Shiny groaning as it collapsed and unwound, her eyes rolled back as she fell.

“Onix is unable to battle! Challenger Ash Ketchum wins the match 2-1!” the referee calls, ending the match. 

“You did it, Nora!” Ash exclaimed. The Pichu ran towards her trainer, cheering happily, before suddenly stopping as she began to glow brightly. The glow lasted a full minute before it dissipated, revealing the newly evolved Pikachu. Nora cheered loudly as she ran forward and jumped into her Trainer’s arms.

“You did great, Nora!” Ash told her as she rubbed her cheek against his, “Now stay on my shoulder until we get you checked out by Nurse Joy.”

 “Congratulations on your victory and your evolution little one!” Brock said as he had walked over and scritching under Nora’s chin as he said the last part, “As a result, your team carry limit has been increased to 6 Pokemon and you get a one time use TM for Rock Tomb. Take this badge as a symbol of your victory here today!”

Ash took the badge reverently. He held it up and thought, “ The first major step of my journey is complete! ”

“Now that the formalities are out of the way,” Brock’s voice brought Ash out of his thoughts, “What exactly is High Voltage?” 

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High Voltage is a (for now) Charge variant. Instead of the user drawing in electricity and adding it to their own electric power for devastating ranged attacks, they channel it through their body enhancing their physical abilities. In game terms, High Voltage would raise Attack and Speed by 1 stage. As seen in Viridian, if the user’s control of their electricity isn’t up to par it can damage them. Now to help mitigate any expectations for when the next chapter will be released, I (and I hope you) will be keeping the following image in mind (FF: just copy and paste it then remove the spaces) https://imgflip.com/i/87mnhz

Next Time: Young Lion, A Fool, Mt. Moon - Start

Chapter Text

So it has been awhile. Let me start by saying I’m not abandoning this story. The last year and change has been rough on me mentally. I was actually doing really well writing-wise immediately after posting the last chapter.In fact the lore section part of the preview I have for you today was done within a couple of days of posting Ch.4, which was both fast for me and also the first time I’ve gotten the lore section for a chapter done before I got the rest of the chapter written. And the small section after that was done within a day of that. Things slowed down after that but I still felt that would be done by June, which is an insane writing pace for me.
Then the first week of March happened. As a wrestling fan, I went into the week knowing that the Icon Sting’s last match was that first Sunday. I knew as a Theorist that MatPat’s final theory videos would be that week. If it had just been those 2 things I would have been fine. The announcement of Rooster Teeth’s shutdown was a gut punch to me. RT had been a staple of my daily YouTube viewing for 14 ½ years, the last 9 of which has seen me struggle to find and hold down a job. RT’s content helped keep me on an even keel at times so the prospect of losing it felt like the rug was being ripped out from under me (I know it’s not the healthiest mindset to have, but it is what it is). Then we found out Akira Toriyama had passed, putting the shit cherry on top of the shit cake that was that week for me as a fan. So then I had to watch as RT slowly shut down while simultaneously working as a poll worker for early Primary voting in my state (and being confronted by the absolutely atrocious state of US Politics on a daily basis) ended with me getting so stressed out that I got sick 5 times over the course of a 3 month period. (One of which resulted in me not having a voice for the better part of a week) Thankfully things calmed down for the most part after that, but I was still stressed out and depressed, with the added worry of potentially having a compromised immune system. Since this only takes us to June, I’ll cut things off here before I go into a full on rant. Needless to say this last year has sucked for me. I’ve been in a near constant state of burnout for months at this point and I honestly debated putting this story up for adoption..

So what brought me back: With Burnie Burns buying back the RT name and some of the IP, I finally found it in me to watch Red Vs. Blue: Restoration. And I know this is going to be a hot take but I liked it. It felt like a “Crack Treated Seriously” fanfic. And I honestly feel that was the point. They weren’t trying to give the series a satisfying ending, they were trying to send a message (Ironically enough it was essentially RT’s dying message) Something that I feel a lot of RVB’s fan base either forgets or chooses to ignore is that it was fan fiction. It was 4 guys in Texas who thought that there needed to be more stories told in the Halo Universe and decided to write one. They put themselves out there creatively and it brought them so much success (sometimes despite themselves). Now I’m not looking for their level of success but I do hope I can bring my readers some joy from my work. So hopefully you enjoy this (un-beta'd) preview and I hopefully will bring you the full chapter soon. 

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Tournaments

While random roadside battles can help pad a Trainer’s bank account, tournaments are where Trainers can really make their fortune. Winning even the most minor sanctioned tournament would net a Trainer ten times the entry fee for it. Rare and expensive Pokeballs, Healing Items, Evolutionary Items, even Pokemon or Pokemon Eggs are all available as prizes should someone make it far enough in a tournament, making them a great way to both get money and save money. Finishing tournaments consistently high enough standings wise can earn sponsorship deals and the Regional Tournaments are where the Regional and International Pokemon Leagues tend to scout out talent for their Elite and ACE corps. Though some will wait until they get into one of the invitation only tournaments like the G1 Climax, the best of the best (or at least those that think they are) enter the Pokemon World Coronation Series, thirsting to prove that they are The Monarch, THE best Pokemon Trainer in the world.

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“Welcome to the Finals of the Young Lions’ Cup Tournament! We’ve seen a lot of talented newcomer’s the last few days but we’re now down to the final 2 rookie Trainers!” the emcee announced over the Pewter Arena’s loudspeakers as the 2 Trainers mentioned stepped into the Trainer Boxes on either end of the arena’s battlefield.

“In the blue box, his determination has been as rock hard as his family’s legacy would suggest, Pewter City’s own Forrest Jikami! In the red box, one of Professor Oak’s Lab Trainers, from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum!” the emcee introduced the 2 finalists, the crowd’s cheers favoring the hometown favorite over Ash. “The rules for this match are the same as they’ve been throughout the tournament: A 1-on-1 battle between the Trainers’ Starters. Unlike the previous matches there will be no time limit. There must be a winner!”

“We’ll give it everything we got!” Forrest proclaimed, sending out his Rhyhorn. “You won’t beat us!”

“I wouldn’t have any other way!” Ash replied, sending out Artemis.

“Rhyhorn vs. Rowlet!” the referee called out from his position on the sideline, “ Begin!”

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I will replace this preview with the full chapter when its done.