Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“...uh…what just happened?” Ash blinked twice, taking in the surrounding area with confusion. It looked like he was in a…movie theater? Pikachu, who was awkwardly on the ground right next to him, nodded slowly, ears sharply pointed upward, while his eyes darted around as if searching for any threats. 

“Wasn’t I just…in my bedroom…?” Ash thought aloud as he got to his feet. One moment: in his bed, ready to sleep and get up bright and early to face off against Viola again tomorrow morning, and then the next moment, he blinked and suddenly was on the floor of these stairs (Ow—) of a…movie theater, for whatever reason. He glanced down at his belt, where he knew his Poké Balls were.

“Ash, we should check on the other two…call them out.” Pikachu flicked his tail. “For all we know, this could be a Team Rocket scheme in the making…”

“Right, good call, Pikachu.” Ash nodded and threw the two balls into the air. “Alright, Froakie, Fletchling, come on out!” 

Two small Pokémon materialized beside him and looked around in confusion. It was then that Ash did a double-take and stared at Pikachu in confusion, then shrugged it off. He understood when Pikachu had spoken before. Granted, it was usually shorter phrases that he’d always been able to catch, but this must have just been his aura acting up and being all weird again…probably just a fluke, honestly. 

“Ash?” Froakie spoke, slowly, glancing around rapidly with a concerned expression. “...why are we in a dark green movie theater? What’s going on?” 

The teen stared agape. “Okay,” he said flatly, causing his Pokémon to look at him in even more puzzlement. “Not a fluke, then.” 

Fletchling huffed. “Whaddya mean, ‘not a fluke’?” He turned toward Pikachu and pointed accusingly. “What, did Ash go and trade us behind our backs or something—”

“What?” Froakie’s head snapped toward the flying type with a hiss. “That’s not funny, you—”

“Fletchling…” Pikachu rubbed his forehead. “Ash wouldn’t do that.”

“You’re damn right he wouldn’t do that!” Froakie exclaimed, raising his voice in the flying type’s face.

“Froakie, give Fletchling space, I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

Fletchling, for his part, looked rightfully reprimanded and slumped over. “I mean, yeah, obviously… It was just a joke…” He whined. “Like, c’mon, who the heck calls out their Pokémon with so much enthusiasm and then just stares at us like we’re aliens or something when we ask him a simple question?” 

Ash stared at the trio with a look of utter astonishment.

“Yeah, good point, actually…” Pikachu muttered. Ash almost felt betrayed, but then Pikachu directed his concern straight at Ash. “Ash, is something wrong?”

“Thank you, Pikachu,” Fletchling said proudly and then nudged Froakie playfully, who scoffed and pushed the bird away. 

“Uh…” Ash opened and then shut his mouth. Then the situation fully dawned on him, and the confusion quickly gave way to excitement and sheer joy. “Guys…I can understand you!”

The three Pokémon stared at him blankly. 

“Uhhh…what?” Fletchling said.

“No, seriously! I heard your whole conversation, word for word!” Ash said proudly. Then turned to Fletchling with a concerned frown. “And Fletchling, I would never trade you guys; you mean the world to me.” 

Fletchling and Froakie blushed while Pikachu soaked in their reactions with a proud expression on his face. 

“For crying out loud, it was a joke…” Fletchling muttered. “No need to get all sappy on— wait.” 

Froakie’s eyes widened, and the situation finally caught up with him. “Wait—”

“You can—” Pikachu frowned.

“—actually understand—”

“—what we’re saying?!” 

Ash grinned broadly, confused as all heck. “Yup! Loud and clear!”

A startling flash of light blinded the group before fading away, revealing a bunch of figures that were most definitely not present before. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie all stood in a daze, with Dedenne slumped over warily on Bonnie’s head. Bunnelby was leaning against Clemont’s leg, mirroring Fennekin’s own position by Serena, both Pokémon looking equally as confused as their trainers. 

“Uh…Clemont?” Bonnie said dazedly. “...I think one of your inventions broke reality again.”

Clemont started sobbing. “No! I could’ve sworn I calculated every possible variable—”

Bunnelby patted his trainer’s leg sympathetically. 

“Um…” Serena tentatively made her way toward Ash. “Ash, do you know where we are?”

Ash crossed his arms. “No clue. I just kind of blinked, and then, bam, I showed up here. What’s crazy is what happened after that…I called out Fletchling and Froakie, and they started talking with Pikachu—”

“Arguing, more like,” Pikachu said pointedly. 

“—and I could understand everything that they were saying!”

Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie’s eyes widened simultaneously. 

“No way,” Fennekin said, stunned. She trotted over to Ash and gave him a contemplative look. “Ash, tell Serena that…her hair looks good.”

“Fennekin!” Serena screamed, face turning a scarlet red, and snatched her starter off the floor. 

Clemont and Bonnie stared agape at the fire type. 

“I think she heard you, Fennekin,” Ash said, then grinned wider. “Hey, that’s awesome, you guys can understand too!”

Clemont pushed up his glasses. “That…certainly is fascinating, but—”

“Ash, do you not think Serena’s hair looks good or something?”

“Fletchling!!!” Serena screamed and lunged for the flying type. 

“Huh? That’s not it at all! Serena’s hair looks amazing, I just thought I didn’t need to say it again since Serena already seemed to understand Fennekin…”

Bonnie huffed. “That makes no sense!” 

Fennekin, meanwhile, looked smug in Serena’s arms as her trainer’s face was now a beet-red color. “O-oh, um…thanks, Ash…” 

“No problem!”

“Um, pardon the interruption…” Clemont said airily. “But aside from the apparent broken language barrier, there’s a bigger mystery at present that we should be concerned about. Where…are we?”

“And how did we get here?” Bunnelby added. 

Everyone snapped back to attention and began glancing around the area. For all intents and purposes, it looked like they were in the average theater room, if not a bit more grand than any of them had ever been in. The usual theater seats were exchanged for full-on recliner sofas and loveseats all around the room - all colored black in contrast with the dark green carpeted floor, matching the dark green colored walls. The areas between seats and rows were far wider than the average theater, with enough room for even the largest Pokémon to squeeze through. At the back of the theater were a few sets of double doors, presumably leading into a hallway of some sort. 

“Wherever ‘here’ even is…wait here,” Pikachu muttered, then bounded toward the doors. Everyone watched the mouse curiously as he climbed up on one of the seats near the doors, then leaped onto the wall indentation right beside it. He craned his neck to peer through the doorway, then frowned. “Uh…guys, there’s nothing out here. It’s just a whole lot of…darkness.”

Ash was the first to come after his partner. “Whoa, you’re right! I can’t see anything…” He tried the door. “Can’t open the door either…”

“That’s…alarming.” Clemont said, exchanging a nervous look with Serena. 

“I can try Iron Tail.” Pikachu suggested.

“Yeah…” Ash backed away from the door. “Okay, go for it, bud.”

Pikachu leaped into the air, spun his tail around to build the momentum he needed to swing his tail, then hit the door straight on with a cry…then was flung backward by a sudden energy field that sprouted from the door, sending him flying down the stairway. 

“Pikachu!” Ash exclaimed. 

Everyone rushed over to the fallen mouse with alarm, who unsteadily tried to pick himself up. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m okay, guys. Uh…Thunderbolt, maybe?”

“Yeah, uh, something tells me that might backfire even more.” Fletchling remarked amusedly as Bunnelby helped Pikachu get to his feet. “You good?”

“I told you, I’m fine!” Pikachu stressed. 

While the pokemon fussed over their friend, Clemont turned to Ash and Serena with a serious look on his face. “Pikachu hit that door with quite a lot of force…given how far it threw him back and the color of that energy field…it looks almost like Mirror Coat.”

Bonnie gasped and stoof up from where she was crouched by the pokemon. “Wait, you don’t think Team Rocket would be behind this, right? That Mirror Coat could be Wobbuffet’s!”

“That’s…actually quite plausible.” Clemont said.

“No way.” Ash huffed. “I know those guys, there’s no way they’d ever pull off something this, uh…what’s the word? Big? Complicated?”

“Extravagent.” Pikachu suggested, then elaborated. “They’ve had their fair share of over-complicated schemes, but teleporting everyone to a mysterious theater surrounded by darkness blocked by a Mirror Coat move built into the walls is…probably outside their budget range.”

“Yeahhh…” Ash laughed nervously. “There’s probably something else going on here.”

“Like what?” Fennekin asked incredulously. 

“Well—”

A purple flash of light caught everyone’s attention, causing them to shield their eyes and cry out unexpectedly. When the light died down, everyone glanced around cautiously. Nothing around them seemed to change. 

“Uhh…” Serena started, before getting interrupted by a sharp gasp from Bonnie.

“Guys, guys, look! On the couch over there!” She ran over to one of the loveseats, where a large, manilla envelope was wrapped in a light purple ribbon. Dedenne leaped out of her bag and picked up the envelope triumphantly. “A letter just showed up!”

Fletchling looked almost offended. “Oh…wow, this situation is so weird.” 

“At least it can’t possibly get any weirder…” Froakie muttered. 

Pikachu laughed nervously. “Yeah, uh, in my experience, this is usually when things DO get weirder…”

“Well, that’s fantastic.” Bunnelby sighed. 

“We just got a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a letter~” Bonnie sung as she tore the envelope open, ignoring Clemont’s protests that she should be careful. “—I wonder who it’s from!” She blinked in surprise at the first line of the letter. “Oh, hey, it’s addressed to us!”

“Let me see that…” Clemont grabbed the letter from Bonnie’s hands, causing her to huff at him in annoyance. He adjusted his glasses and began to read. “‘Dear, Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Pokemon, you have all been gathered here tonight to begin watching what I like to call an anime…of your lives…and of your future.’” 

Everyone glanced at each other skeptically. 

“Okay, you were right.” Froakie said, turning to Pikachu slowly. “This just got WAY weirder…”

“‘The theater you have been brought here to is a special one — one in which time moves far slower than that on the outside. By the time you’re finished watching your anime in here, barely any time at all will have passed on the outside. I assure you that there’s nothing else to worry about — you will all have your own rooms to sleep in and there’s obviously bathrooms in each room as well. There’s a large kitchen area and a dining room in the hallway, along with a fully stocked food pantry. Also included is a battlefield and training area, as well as an assortment of other rooms if need be. The hallway door will become open once you have finished reading this letter.’” Clemont trailed off with a wary look on his face. “Okay, is anyone else terrified or is it just me?”

“It’s not just you.” Serena assured him, twirling her hair nervously around her finger. Her strands were starting to dig into her skin a bit, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “I…really don’t like this.”

“Keep reading it, Clemont.” Ash said urgently.

“‘I assure you, I do not intend to cause any harm. I’ll reveal everything in due time. I need your trust. And I know that this group in particular is worthy of that trust. Can you trust me?’”

“I don’t.” Fletchling chirped.

“Yeah, I’m with Fletchling…” Bunnelby said tiredly. 

The other pokemon muttered their own agreement, while Serena and Clemont still looked skeptical. Bonnie and Dedenne still looked slightly confused. Ash and Pikachu, meanwhile, were having a silent conversation with their glances. Eventually, Ash took a deep breath and spoke up. “Guys, I think we should trust this person.”

“What?!” Both humans and pokemon turned toward the Kantonean duo, looking scandalized. 

“Hear us out…” Pikachu raised his paws consolingly. “We’ve been in weird situations like this before, and honestly, if this person was trying to hurt us, they would’ve done so already. That, or something would have actively tried to eat us by this point.” He paused, then added: “Or, uh, kill us.”

“That door threw you pretty damn far.” Froakie huffed. “It doesn’t feel like this person was thinking about your safety.” 

“But that was kind of my fault.” Pikachu argued. “I shouldn’t have hit the door with that much force anyway and it was only a recoil effect – it wasn’t an example of someone actively coming after us.”

“Ash?” Fletchling asked, turning to his trainer.

“What Pikachu said,” Ash said with a shrug. “I think we should go with it. And honestly, it sounds like, I dunno, it sounds like this person is asking for help…”

“What a weird way to ask people for help.” Bonnie said bluntly.

“Do you honestly believe that, though?” Bunnelby asked Pikachu quietly. 

“...not really. Let me be clear, I don’t exactly trust this person myself.” Pikachu admitted. “But Ash seems to be willing to try and I do trust Ash, so…I’m willing to argue on his behalf for it.”

Ash grinned, having overheard that exchange. “Aww, Pikachu—”

The mouse turned red. “I forgot you can understand us fully now—”

“Yeah, that’s going to take some getting used to…” Fennekin said. 

“Clemont, is there more to the letter?” Serena asked, pivoting the conversation back to the more pressing issue. “Maybe if you read a bit more…”

Clemont nodded. “There is. Just a little bit, though. ‘The first few episodes you will watch will cover the last few days leading up to when you were transported here. Then you will watch your future, or what will have happened had you not have been brought here. There is much more to say, but for now, I will keep this letter short. You can start watching tomorrow morning. With love, and good luck heroes, Mafille.’” 

Serena frowned. “Mafille? Doesn’t that mean—?”

“‘My daughter’.” Clemont said slowly. “That’s…certainly an odd name.”

“A Kalosian name?” Ash asked.

“I don’t think that’s an actual Kalosen name, though.” Bonnie huffed. “It’s just what ‘my daughter’ literally means in Kalosen.”

“That’s pretty weird.” Fletchling said bluntly. 

The sound of a door opening turned the group’s attention toward the hallway door that they had just tried to unsuccessfully open moments prior. It swung open by itself, revealing what looked to be a normal hallway in the average hotel, with carpeted dark green floors and lamps aligning the hallway with dark brown wood. 

“Okay,” Fennekin said, her voice a higher pitch than normal. “That’s really freaky.”

The group exchanged looks silently, all unsure about what to do, while Clemont set down the letter. 

“Well?” Ash asked. “Are…are we open to trusting…Mafille?”

Bonnie clasped her hands together. “Let’s vote on it.” She raised her hand. “I do. Kind of. I mostly just want to go to sleep.”

Serena groaned at the reminder that she was still in her pajamas. “Oh, yeah. Same here, actually.”

Clemont sighed. “I guess…might as well see what’s in store for us tomorrow.”

The pokemon all exchanged looks, then slowly raised their respective paw or wing reflecting their vote in agreement. 

“Full disclosure for reassurance,” Pikachu said as he raised his paw. “If this ‘Mafille’ person isn’t who she says she is, then I’m going to start trying to break down doors again.”

“Yeah, I’ll join you with that, don’t worry…” Froakie muttered. 

With that final sentiment…everyone was in agreement. 

It was time to watch the anime of their lives. 

Or, well, first it was time to go to sleep. 

Given what was in store for them…they needed it.

Chapter Text

Pikachu yawned as he stretched out, blinking to wake himself up, before trotting over to where Ash was lying haphazardly over the bed and snoring loudly. 'Oh, yet another morning has arrived.'

Considering how Pikachu couldn't sleep last night due to constant thoughts running through his head of what they could be shown, he was more exhausted than usual. Thus, he didn't even try any other methods of waking Ash up before immediately turning to his Plan B.

He took in a deep breath, and let out a powerful thunderbolt.

***

"AAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Bonnie jumped, glanced towards Ash's room and laughed nervously.

Serena, who was looking through the kitchen cabinets, smiled. "I guess Ash woke up."

"More like Pikachu woke him up, yeah." Clemont confirmed. He paused. "I wonder if that's normal."

Bunnelby exchanged looks with Fennekin and Dedenne, who both merely shrugged.

***

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR!?" Ash snapped, jumping out of the bed and pointing accusingly at an un-amused electric type staring dryly at Ash on the bed.

Fletchling groaned from his spot on one of the cabinets-the room strangely had no windows-and stretched out as well. "Why are you screaming so loudly in the morning...?"

Froakie blinked and stared at Ash, who was going off on a full-blown rant directed towards Pikachu, who just stared at Ash with a look that regarded him like he was stupid. "That's...interesting..."

Fletchling ruffled his feathers."I'm getting out." Without even waiting for a reply, Fletchling flapped out of the room towards the main movie theater room, where the kitchen was nearby-which also happened to be where Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, and the other Pokemon were as well.

Froakie sighed and just watched dazedly at the two partners' shouting match. 'Seriously...this certainly is new...'

***

After a quick breakfast of toast and milk tea, the group headed to the main room to prepare themselves for what they were about to watch.

Considering the amount of seats, the group just sat in the same area to watch together. Ash sat in the middle of the group, with Pikachu by his side. Bonnie sat a seat next to him, Clemont on her left. Serena sat on Ash's right with her Pokemon, while Froakie and Fletchling settled beside Ash as well. Bunnelby and Dedenne sat near Clemont and Bonnie as well.

"Alright," Ash began uneasily as the group settled down. "Should we begin?"

Nods were exchanged as the group turned the screen, which magically turned on.

Dramatic music began to play as a logo with the words, "Pokemon: XY The Series" were shown on screen.

"Pokemon: XY? The Series?" Clemont questioned, then shook his head. "We've barely started and I already have a lot of questions."

Bonnie nodded vigorously in agreement.

The scene changed to a windowsill was shown as soft music began to play. A Fletchling flapped its wings and landed on the windowsill and chirped out its name.

The camera fanned out to show a woman humming to herself as she chopped some green leaves. "Fletchling? Wake up Serena for me, won't you?"

Serena yelped as her cheeks twinged pink. "Um...this already happened..."

"What do you mean, Serena?" Ash asked the girl.

Serena shrugged. "That's my mom."

"That's your mom!?" The group exclaimed, to which Serena just sheepishly smiled.

"Yup. My mom is going to wake me up, or rather..." An unpleasant look crossed her face. "Well, you'll see..."

The camera moved up as the woman continued speaking, a stern look on her face. "Of course, I already tried, once, but as usual, once is never enough." The woman, now revealed to be Serena's mom huffed as she continued tossing the green leaves in a bowl.

"Serena's mom is really pretty." Bonnie giggled before turning to Serena. "What's your mom's name?"

"Grace." Serena smiled. "And she is really pretty." Though her mother had no sense of style, she did look very pretty for someone her age. When Serena was younger, she remembered always comparing herself to her mother a lot-mentioning how one day she was going to look just as beautiful as her mother, or even more so.

Fletchling nodded and flew off, the camera panning out as the small flying type flew up the stairs and into a room.

Fletchling struggled to get through the tiny crack in the door and flopped on the floor, before getting up and flapping towards a figure on the bed.

Ash's Fletchling sighed before ruffling his feathers. "Stupid doors."

"Something you've had experience with?" Froakie questioned incredulously. "You lived in a forest."

Fletchling paused before replying. "Yeah, but its the principal of the matter."

"What principal!?" Froakie questioned again.

Fletchling simply ignored him, causing him to huff with irritation.

It jumped on said figure, and after blinking and nodding its head to the side, it brought its beak back and pecked forward, hard.

The camera panned out once more to show the house as Serena screamed.

The group jumped with surprise as Fennekin tossed Serena a sympathetic look. "That must've really hurt..."

"Yeah, no kidding." Serena slumped in her seat.

"Can't help but think of another certain Pokemon I know who does the exact same thing..." Ash began nonchalantly.

"Who?" Dedenne questioned as Bonnie cocked her head to the side.

Ash shrugged as he rolled his head around dramatically. "Well, not in that way specifically...but I know a certain Pokemon that absolutely loves waking people up through horrible methods like...let's say...shocking people."

There was an awkward silence before Bonnie and a few others burst out laughing.

Pikachu huffed and crossed his arms as he turned away. "You try waking yourself up and then you can complain to me that shocking isn't the way to go. I didn't feel like trying thirty different methods of waking you up this morning!"

"Why didn't you ask Fletchling?" Bunnelby suggested. "You know, to Peck him awake. I mean, it did work with Serena after all."

Serena waved her hands wildly as she protested. "That's not really any better..."

Fletchling hummed in thought as he ignored Serena. "Yeah, I would've done that for you."

Ash gaped at Fletchling. "You wouldn't."

"Maybe. Need I remind you that you caught me while I was flying mid-air!? You don't catch flying types as we are descending to the ground! It's shameless!" Fletchling ranted.

Pikachu blinked. "I don't recall there ever being a rule about something like-"

"Shush, you." Fletchling put up a wing to stop Pikachu from continuing. "You wouldn't know."

"...okay then."

"Uh, can we go back to watching the show? I mean, it's barely been five minutes..." Clemont pointed out meekly.

Ash humphed before turning back to the screen, his Pokemon doing the same, before the others followed.

Serena's mother was shown as she nodded to herself. "Good. Looks like we're all ready."

Serena sighed. 'She didn't even try that hard to wake me up...one time and she sends Fletchling? Come on, Mom...'

"Ooh...I've told you a million times not to wake me up like that!" Serena exclaimed as the camera went back to her and Fletchling.

"That's happened more than once?" Dedenne asked innocently.

"Yup." Serena nodded, faux misery in her eyes. "I hate it."

"Reminds me of a certain someone..." Ash smiled innocently at Pikachu who groaned in annoyance.

"Oh, would you let it go already?"

The Fletchling merely chirped in reply.

Serena growled and lunged at Fletchling, who flew up and dodged Serena's half-hearted attack before landing on the teen girl's head.

"Why would you even try to do that?" Fletchling asked incredulously. "You tried to grab him with your bare hands? What were you even planning on doing?"

Serena gave a sheepish grin. "Um...I have no clue...?"

Fletchling shook his head before muttering under his breath. "Humans!"

Pikachu and Froakie exchanged a look as they both simultaneously tried not to laugh.

"Serena!" Grace's voice called from downstairs as Serena made a face. "Time for morning training!"

"Training?" Ash questioned. "For what?"

Serena pursed her lips. "You'll see. It's not fun."

Ash blinked and turned back to the screen.

"Right! Coming Mom!" Serena replied before groaning and getting to her feet, the Fletchling still on her head. "Not again..."

She got up and walked towards the window before opening it and waving towards the Rhyhorn that was sleeping outside. "Morning, Rhyhorn!" She called to the rhyhorn, who said, "Rhy!" in reply.

"Ooh, Serena, you have a rhyhorn!" Bonnie's eyes sparkled as she turned to Serena excitedly. "That's so amazing!"

Serena smiled at the little girl's excitement as Dedenne jumped up and down next to her, humming to himself.

"A rhyhorn, a rhyhorn...that's so cool..." Dedenne chanted.

Fennekin shook her head in amazement at both Bonnie and the small electric/fairy type.

Serena yawned and stretched out her arms as Fletchling chirped. "Hope today's interesting." She laughed as Fletchling flew out the window, the camera panning out to show the house before turning around and showing the sky.

"The Kalos region." A voice spoke as the camera showed numerous types of Pokemon out in the fields.

"Whoa!" Clemont almost jumped out of his seat. "Where did that voice come from? And who even is that?"

"Maybe..." Bonnie thought to herself for a moment before excitedly stating, "hey, maybe it's our Narrator! Isn't that cool?!"

Clemont blinked, before squinting suspiciously at the screen. "I don't know..."

Bonnie pouted at her older brother's reaction before turning to Bunnelby. "Hey, you agree with me, don't you, Bunnelby?"

Faced with the sheer intensity of the girl's excitement, Bunnelby couldn't find it in him to say no.

"Like the other regions, a beautiful place where people and Pokemon live in harmony, reflecting each-other's thoughts and feelings.

"Sadly, not always." Pikachu frowned as he thought back to some of the horrible things he's seen throughout his life before and after he met Ash.

Froakie glanced over at Pikachu when he made that statement and silently agreed, thinking back to the severe lack of love that he felt from all of his previous trainers. Not a single one of them were willing to treat him with respect and he didn't want to have a trainer like that. He didn't deserve a trainer like that. 

When people smile, Pokemon smile. And when Pokemon cry, you'll find that People cry as well." The camera showed many different types of people and Pokemon all living together before showing the underwater Pokemon and lifting upwards to reveal an airplane as the Narrator continued to speak. "And here, a certain young man is about to arrive. A young man seeking new dreams and adventures."

Ash grinned. "I'm guessing this is when me and Pikachu are introduced."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Alexa will be there too, remember?"

Ash stared at Pikachu before turning back to the screen, not replying.

Pikachu gaped. "For the love of-are you seriously still mad? How long are you going to stay like that? Hey, don't you ignore me!"

The camera showed Ash and Pikachu looking out the window as Pikachu spoke, "Pika, pika!"

"Um, what?" Froakie questioned immediately. "They're able to understand what we're saying in this room, yet the people are given no subtitles to understand what us Pokemon are saying on screen?" Froakie shook his head."That makes no sense."

Fletchling frowned then chirped."Comcast."

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Bunnelby furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion.

Fletchling merely shrugged in reply. 

Ash nodded. "Yeah. We'll be on the ground soon."

"Ash, you and Pikachu must be really excited." Alexa turned her head around to face Ash.

"It's Alexa!" Bonnie cheered excitedly.

"Yup!" Dedenne agreed.

Clemont shook his head. "We're never going to get through this if you keep exclaiming at every little thing." 

Bonnie puffed out her cheeks in a pout before sticking out her tongue to her brother and turning to the screen.

Clemont shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "Siblings..." he muttured.

Pikachu overheard this, and added to himself. "Isn't that the truth?"

"We're starting a brand new adventure! There's nothing more exciting to a Pokemon trainer!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu voiced an approval.

"Argh..." Pikachu started. "This is going to be annoying. Now we're going to have to translate..." A look of confusion briefly passed over his face. "For...ourselves...?"

Froakie shrugged. "Don't ask me. And Fletchling can't give straight answers either."

Suddenly, a small dinging sound came on as the screen showed Ash, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont all standing in different colored panels, as Ash's face showed on the side.  Pikachu jumped from Clemont's back to Ash's shoulder before posing with the rest of the group.

Ash blinked, looking more lost than he usually does. "What was that?"

"A title-card, maybe?" Serena suggested, reminiscing on some of the shows she watched when she was younger. She never really expected to be watching one that had her as a main character, though.

The screen then changed to the tile-card, which was a map and a Pokeball. Ash's voice read the name of the episode out loud. "Kalos, where dreams and adventures begin!"

"Oh, so it is a title card." Pikachu paused before he frowned. "We aren't going to jump into the theme song after this, right?"

"I'm pretty sure theme songs come before the title-card, Pikachu." Bunnelby pointed out.

"Not in Kanto, they don't...at least, not normally..." Pikachu muttered, causing Bunnelby to stare in confusion.

The plane landed and Ash stepped out, the sun shining. A second later, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder. "Pika! Pika pika..."

Ash adjusted his hat before shouting very loudly. "HEY, KALOS REGION! ASH FROM PALLET TOWN IS FINALLY HERE!"

"Pika pika!!!" Pikachu shouted as well.

"What's with all the yelling?!" Fletchling exclaimed incredulously.

"He does that a lot." Pikachu shrugged.

"You're doing it too." Fletchling countered.

Pikachu paused, then said, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"What's with all the yelling?" Alexa asked amusedly as she approached Ash's side.

"That's what I said..." Fletchling said, dejected that his line was stolen.

"Just saying 'hi' to the Kalos region." Ash replied nonchalantly. "And as soon as I walk down these steps, we'll finally be here!"

"Pika!"

"I'm confused," Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows. "Aren't you already in Kalos?"

"Well, yeah. But it was an 'in the moment' thing. You wouldn't get it unless you were in the moment." Ash replied.

"Because that makes sense." Fennekin said dryly.

Ash and Pikachu turned to face above them as two small pink bird like Pokemon flew above them.

"Never seen those Pokemon before-" Ash yelped as his foot slipped on the step before he came tumbling down. Pikachu jumped down Ash's shoulder to the safety of the flat ground as he did so.

"Thanks a lot, Pikachu."

"Er...sorry? Wait, I mean...you're welcome?"

Ash sighed.

Pikachu and Alexa both flinched as a loud THUMP was heard from the bottom of the steps, revealing Ash in a haphazard position as people merely stared at him.

Pikachu and Alexa ran down the stairs, the former shouting, "Pikachu!" Before Alexa continued with, "Are you all right?"

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu called worriedly as he stood over Ash, who slowly sat up.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Ash assured the other two. 

"Wait, so did you or did you not understand Pokemon before this?" Bonnie wondered.

"Well...somewhat...I understood Pikachu more-or-less because we've been together for so long, but mostly I've just had to guess what my Pokemon had to say."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "It took him a long time, though, which is how I've become a master at Charades."

"Fun," Fletchling drawled.

"You're just going to keep making comments like this the entire time, aren't you?" Froakie said exasperatedly.

Fletchling ignored Froakie once more as Bonnie nodded to Ash's response to her question, "that makes sense."

"Alexa, who are those Pokemon?"

"Oh! Those are Spritzee." Alexa replied happily as the two Spritzee played around with each-other in circles.

"Spritzee...awesome!"

Alexa knelt forward and helped Ash up as Pikachu leapt on Ash's shoulder as the camera panned out to reveal the group being spied on through binoculars.

"...oh, hell no."

"A typical twerp entrance." Meowth snidely remarked as the three members of Team Rocket were shown standing on a rooftop a little away from Ash, Pikachu, Alexa, and her Helioptile.

"...seriously?" Ash blinked incredulously. "Even then? How many times are they going to stalk us to the airport?!"

"They've done this more than once?" Clemont questioned, clearly very unsettled by this piece of information.

"That's pretty creepy..." Fennekin agreed.

"And with Pikachu too," James remarked as Wobbuffet popped out of its Poke-ball.

"Then, it's all in place." Jessie smirked as she stood up. "Let's get to work."

"Yeah, at failing." Pikachu said snidely.

"Wobbuffet!"

Team Rocket ran in the other direction as Ash's voice was heard. "First thing I want to do is have a gym battle!"

"Just a minute!" Alexa said as Ash and Pikachu turned around, both looking mildly confused. "So, where do you plan to go for a gym battle?"

"Oh! That's an easy one!" Ash exclaimed. "Your younger sister's a gym leader, right? At her gym!"

"Really?" Clemont asked. "Did you know who Viola was at the time?"

"Uh...I didn't really know much beyond the fact that her sister's a gym leader."

"In hindsight, it probably would've been a good idea to ask her for this information..." Pikachu said.

"Wait," Alexa put up a hand to slow Ash down. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but her gym isn't here in Lumiose City. It's located in Santalune city."

"What!?" Ash exclaimed in dismay.

Ash and Pikachu slumped over before Ash muttered, "What do I do now..."

"Pika, pika..." Pikachu muttered an agreement.

"We really need subtitles." Serena said.

"Yeah, this is kind of annoying. And so far, only Pikachu had been introduced. Just wait until Bunnelby, Froakie, and I come in." Fennekin muttered.

"Hold on," Alexa chuckled. "I'll go and give her a call right away. I'll see you in the lobby!"

"Thanks!" Ash called out as Alexa ran off.

Ash looked around before running off in the other direction, a big smile on his face.

"Pika-pika...?" Pikachu drawled as Ash turned around and began walking backwards.

"I wanna see if there are any other Pokemon around." Ash explained

"Oh..." Bonnie paused before piecing together Ash's response to what Pikachu might've said. "So, Pikachu asked what you were doing?"

Ash nodded. "You got it."

"I mean, you could just ask me what I was saying, since I was the one who, you know, said it...but yeah, sure, ask Ash." Pikachu snarked. 

before stopping as a strange shadow was shown over the duo from Kanto.

The two partners turned around to show a Blaziken on the rooftop looking down on them before leaping off the building and jumping over them.

"Pika..." Pikachu murmured in amazement.

"Whoa...that's pretty cool..." Dedenne marveled.

"Isn't that the same Blaziken that rescued Ash and Pikachu from...uh...falling off Prism Tower?" Serena asked.

"You fell of Prism Tower?!" Fletchling interrupted, alarmed.

"I hate falling off tall places..." Pikachu muttered under his breath as he slumped.

"Then stop doing it!" Ash stressed frantically.

Clemont decided to answer both Serena's and Fletchling's questions as nobody was answering to either one. "It was the same Blaziken, and yes, Fletchling, Ash and Pikachu fell off the Tower." He paused. "Well, if we're being literal here, Pikachu fell off then Ash jumped after him."

"That was probably the scariest thing I've ever seen..." Froakie muttered under his breath.

The second the Blaziken's foot touched the ground, it dashed off, leaving a small cloud of dust where it stepped off.

"Huh..." Ash stared in amazement before turning to Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu...see that?"

"No." Fletchling commented sarcastically. "He was sitting on your shoulder and turned around at the exact same time you did, verbally showing awe-so yeah, he totally did not see that."

"...what's with all the attacks on me today?" Ash questioned.

"It's fun." Pikachu piped in, earning a glare from his trainer. 

"Pika." Pikachu nodded in confirmation.

"Oh...yeah!!!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu did the same.

"Foreigners..." Fletchling muttered, causing Pikachu and the other Pokemon and their trainers to stare incredulously. 

"What is wrong with you?" Pikachu asked.

"...I'm just going to attribute it with the fact that Fletchling might still be bitter about...Ash catching him mid-air...is that right?" Clemont deduced.

Fletchling bobbed his head up and down with approval. "Thank you! At least somebody gets it!"

Helioptile was shown yawning before it turned to see Ash and Pikachu running towards it.

"Helioptile!" Ash called, waving, before Helioptile skirted around Ash before jumping towards the young trainer's arms. "We just saw the coolest thing! Where did Alexa go?"

Helioptile trilled as Ash turned to see Alexa on the phone as she hung up with a grim look.

"Alexa!" Ash called out.

"What's with all the excitement?" Alexa asked as Ash ran up to her with Helioptile in the lead.

"We just got a look at another new Pokemon!" Ash exclaimed. "It was so amazing!"

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in.

"It made this jump and flew right over our heads!" Ash made a broad gesture, as Pikachu squealed in agreement.

"...wow, Ash." Bonnie blinked. "I had no clue you could be such a kid."

Ash winced and rubbed his cheek nervously. "Well, that sounds familiar..." 

"Familiar, how?" Clemont asked.

Ash shrugged, thinking back to a certain purple-haired, dragon master in training. "It's complicated."

"I see," Alexa began, amused. "I guarantee you're going to meet many new types of Pokemon."

"We saw a new type of Pokemon the second we arrived in Kalos." Pikachu chimed in. "Spritzee, remember?"

Ash nodded. "Yup. Then, we saw some other Pokemon, met Bunnelby, met Froakie, then a Garchomp, and..." he trailed off. "Wait a minute. I'm still not talking to you!" He turned away with a huff.

Pikachu blinked before throwing his paws up in frustration. "Oh, come on! How long are you going to be like this?"

"Wait it out," Fletchling suggested.

"I can't wait it out!" Pikachu protested.

"Right...because apparently the first thing you do when you lose your patience is shock people and Pokemon alike..." Fennekin muttered.

Dedenne snickered. "What about me? I'm an electric type too. It's just something that's instinct."

"Thank you!" Pikachu glared at Ash, who ignored him.

"I haven't been with you guys that long, so I'm pretty sure this is an appropriate question, but is this normal for you two?" Froakie questioned.

Pikachu sighed. "Sometimes. He's not usually upset when I shock him though."

"Love how we're all just calmly discussing the issue of whether or not shocking someone is an appropriate method to wake a person up." Bunnelby commented, amused.

"Spoiler alert, it's not!" Ash shouted.

Bonnie giggled as she watched the entire interaction. She turned to Clemont. "Isn't it great how we're able to understand the Pokemon? It's so interesting."

Clemont smiled and nodded. "It is. It's also much easier to bond with them as well. I have a feeling we're all going to enjoy this experience very much, as we begin to connect with one another."

Clemont turned to Bunnelby as he said this, thinking back to the time he first met the small but courageous Pokemon...

"Right?" Ash agreed eagerly. "I'm so glad we came to the Kalos region! I can't wait to win that gym battle against your sister, as well!" Ash finished off with a large grin.

Alexa twitched. "Uh...You see, I managed to get through to that sister of mine...and she let me know she's away from her gym right now..."

Serena laughed to herself before considering, "Wait a minute, you were planning on battling a gym leader with only Pikachu?"

"...I was planning on catching Pokemon on the way to Santalune City." Ash said.

Fletchling huffed and ruffled his feathers again. "Let me guess, if you found any flying types, you were planning on catching them while they were falling mid-air?"

Fennekin frowned. "What exactly is your problem with that? You said it's shameful, but...I don't see how..."

"Because it's taking advantage of our inability to use our wings!" Fletchling chirped angrily.

Froakie blinked. "That's...well, I suppose that makes some sense."

"But still," Dedenne muttered. "You didn't have to be a jerk and steal my food!"

Fletchling froze up and laughed nervously before turning back to the screen. "Well, let's continue, shall we?"

"Wait," Fennekin interrupted. "Fletchling stole Dedenne's food?"

Serena blinked as she added onto the conversation. "I didn't know that. So that's how you met Fletchling, Ash?"

Ash nodded, turning away from the Pokemon's conversation. "Pretty much, yeah. Fletchling stole Dedenne's food and ate it whole right then and there."

"...you're making me sound like a real asshole."

"Well, whatever that means, you definitely are it!" Dedenne sparked angrily.

Ash looked down at Fletchling and smiled. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Pikachu was ten times worse, when we first met."

"...oh, hell no." Pikachu looked scandalized. "He's definitely mad at me, for sure." He then slumped over, his ears falling. "Well, that's just fantastic."

"I've gotta say, I'm a bit worried about all of this if we're only a few minutes into the first episode and already we have people mad at each other." Bunnelby muttered.

"She's away!?" Ash yelped, as Pikachu voiced dismay. "So, when is she going to be back?"

Alexa turned to the side. "Once my sister goes on a trip, she's usually away for quite a while...sorry Ash."

"Aw, man..." Ash sighed.

Alexa turned and bowed to Ash, clapping her hands in front of her as a form of an apology. "I'm really sorry! I know you have to be disappointed after coming all this way..."

Ash gave out a long whine. "No fair...I want to win the league this time and become a Pokemon Master...!"

"Pi, Pikachu!" Pikachu joined in with Ash as the two slumped over.

"What's your excuse for the whining with Ash?" Fletchling asked Pikachu, who still looked slightly depressed.

"Huh? Same one. 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. It's pretty much my motto at this point."

"...I'm concerned about your mental state." Froakie voiced.

Alexa suddenly clapped her hands together. "I know! Why don't you channel that energy into challenging the gym here in Lumiose city?"

Ash's face lit up. "Wait, there's a gym in this city, too?"

Clemont blinked. "You didn't know that? How come you didn't ask Alexa beforehand of all the types of gyms and where they are? Then you would've gotten a head start the moment you arrived to Kalos."

Ash shrugged. "Well, I like doing things in the moment. I'm not usually a planner. I tend to do things without thinking a lot..." 

"Well, sometimes that can be a good thing," Bonnie said. "Like, when you jumped off of Prism Tower to save Pikachu."

"How the heck is that a good thing...?" Fletchling muttered. 

Pikachu touched his paws together awkwardly. "That's...going to be brought up a lot, isn't it?"

"If you keep getting yourself into as much trouble as is hinted at, then I'm pretty sure it is. Plus, it's a reasonable cause for concern as we'll all be travelling with you, and a few of us will be your teammates, so..." Froakie drawled. "It's very concerning, actually."

Pikachu slumped again. "Well, sorry..."

A bunch of Pokeballs fell down the screen as the scene transitioned to Alexa pointing at a map of Lumiose City. "See? It's right here. The Lumiose Gym is located inside of Prism Tower!"

"Pi!"

"Prism Tower, got it!" Ash confirmed before turning to Pikachu. "Guess we'll have our first battle at the Lumiose Gym."

"Pi." Pikachu confirmed.

"I'm afraid this is where we have to part ways," Alexa informed as the camera panned out to reveal the two had been standing outside the airport. "Are you going to be okay, by yourself, I mean?"

"Shouldn't she be worried you're going to get yourself into trouble?" Clemont asked nervously.

"She was, that's why she was asking." Pikachu responded.

"I see..." Clemont adjusted his glasses. "Well, she wasn't exactly wrong to think that, considering the series of events that happened afterward."

"Yup! We'll be just fine!" Ash pumped up a fist as Pikachu did the same. "Pika!"

Alexa closed her eyes, smiling to herself. "That's great. Well, then, once more: Welcome to the Kalos Region! Ash, Pikachu!"

Ash smiled. "You've been a really big help, Alexa. Thanks for everything!"

"No, thank you!" Alexa held out her hand towards Ash. "It's been great fun!"

"Helioptile!" Helioptile cheered.

Ash gave a big smile as he gave out his hand and shook Alexa's in his. "Yeah, it sure has."

The camera showed the two from a distance as they said their final parting words.

"See you later, Alexa!"

"Right, see you." Alexa exchanged the goodbye before Ash turned around and ran the other direction, away from Alexa.

"All right!" Ash cheered as he ran further from Alexa, who had a hand on her hip as she watched Ash run off with a smile.

"So much energy." Alexa admired as she continued watching Ash run off. "Go get 'em, Ash."

Ash pumped up a fist as he cheered. "Yup! Right after we're finished with this whole watching the future business and I finally get to beat Viola!"

"Um..." Serena spoke. "Ash, did you ever consider that maybe the future will show you beating Viola?"

Ash shrugged. "Maybe. But it won't really feel earned unless I'm actually doing it, you know?"

Serena nodded, not really understanding. "I see."

A tunnel was shown as the camera seemed to be running towards the light at the end. The light grew brighter as the camera grew closer before filling the screen and transitioning to Ash's foot jumping of the ground and panning up to him and Pikachu in the air pumping their fists in the air. "Pika!"

The camera showed the two close up, looking extremely happy.

"Aw..." Bonnie cooed with Dedenne. "You two look adorable. Can't you just make up already?"

"I won't unless Pikachu apologizes first." Ash glared at the small mouse, who looked incredulously at Ash.

"Oh, come on! I've done this multiple times!"

"You've never apologized for any of them!" Ash countered, causing Pikachu to do a double-take.

"...okay, good point." Pikachu smiled nervously.

"Well?" Ash demanded.

"...fine. I'm sorry I woke you up by shocking you. Again."

Ash glared at Pikachu, hard, for a solid ten seconds before smiling and placing Pikachu on his shoulder. "Well, you're forgiven!"

Pikachu blinked. "Well, that was easy."

"I wasn't going to stay mad at you forever," Ash teased. "Just wanted to make you squirm a little."

Pikachu turned red in embarrassment. 

Fletchling threw a couple of popcorn kernels above the duo to mimic flowers. "And they all lived happily ever after. Yay." He looked down at the popcorn pieces on the floor. "And...I just wasted my snack. Yay."

"You have problems. I see it now. I can't believe I didn't notice before, but now I do." Froakie stated bluntly before frantically yelling. "Where the heck did you get the popcorn?!"

"Oh, this?" Fletchling shrugged before pulling over a large bowl of popcorn right next to him. "I took it from the counter."

"Oh, right...I popped some earlier." Serena frowned. "We have a popcorn machine, by the way."

"Well, it is a movie theater." Clemont pointed out.

Serena smiled. "That's right! Though, it probably isn't a good idea to eat too much..."

Bonnie crossed her arms and pouted. "Aw...and here I was hoping I could eat Popcorn every day..."

"Me too..." Dedenne whined.

The scene transitioned to Ash running through the streets. "Check it out! Another new Pokemon!" He pointed out a group of Furfrou around an old lady, who laughed kindly at Ash's energy.

"That's a Furfrou." Clemont explained.

"Really? So that's what it's called..."

"Furfrou are super cute...!" Bonnie squealed.

Pikachu slumped and muttered. "You think every Pokemon is cute..."

"Pikachu, this city's gigantic!" Ash exclaimed as the two were shown running through another street, revealing more Pokemon and people walking around.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu agreed.

The camera showed Prism Tower from a distance before turning back to Ash. "Look at all the new Pokemon!" He turned around to see a Female Meowstic before jumping backwards. "Whoa! Never seen that before either!" He pointed out before running out, causing the Meowstic and her trainer to both awkwardly smile.

"Look, Pikachu! Ampharos!" Ash said as an Ampharos and its trainer walked by. "Wow!"

"Pika!"

Ash slowed his walk as he added, "And Medicham. Wow, there are Pokemon we know here too."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu stated.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like we're being shown this to establish the fact that Ash has a certain excitement about Pokemon?" Bunnelby asked dryly.

"It's not just you, I swear." Froakie reassured the bunny-like pokemon.

"Oh, really? Great." Bunnelby said.

The duo finally stopped in the middle of a bridge, looking out to Prism Tower.

"Wow, Pikachu. That's Prism Tower, I'm sure of it! That's where our first gym is!"

"Pika!" Pikachu remarked fondly.

The two ran towards the front of Prism Tower before Ash stopped. "Yes!"

"Pika?"

"This is it, the Lumiose Gym!" Ash said as Pikachu held on to Ash's ear.

Serena blinked. "That doesn't hurt?"

"Barely felt a thing." Ash responded nonchalantly.

"Don't be surprised though...Ash is crazy strong...he's held pokemon that weigh like a hundred pounds before." Pikachu laughed.

Serena blinked. "Really?"

Fennekin snickered and whispered to Froakie, who was the closest one nearby. "Guess she's shocked her dream guy is more than she asked for."

Froakie blinked. "Excuse me, what?"

Fennekin sighed, "nevermind..." before turning away and muttering under her breath. "Boys..."

Froakie shook his head. It wasn't his fault! He barely knew her, so it was pretty awkward to be talking about something like this with someone he barely knew!

"Pika!" Pikachu said, determination shining in his eyes.

The gym symbol in front of Prism Tower was shown as the camera zoomed out to show Ash and Pikachu looking on.

"Our new challenge is just beginning, right Pikachu?"

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out, determined, as the camera moved up to show Prism Tower as the sun shone off of its large glass panels.

"Ooh...shiny." Fletchling marveled.

"Yes, shiny..." Dedenne muttered. "Let me guess, was my food shiny, too?"

"Oh, will you let that go, already, Dedenne?" Fennekin sighed good-naturedly.

"So, let's move!" Ash exclaimed, Pikachu adding on his signature, "Pika!" as Clemont and Bonnie were shown walking near Ash in the background, looking quite depressed and down at the floor.

The two turned towards Ash as the light reflected off of Clemont's glasses making it harder to see his eyes. The camera showed both siblings up close, Clemont frowning-still not showing his eyes-as Bonnie looked towards where Ash ran off with a worried look on her face.

Serena frowned. "What's with the looks, you two?"

Clemont and Bonnie exchanged glanced while Bunnelby watched. Clemont had told the story to him earlier, so he was curious as to how the two would respond.

"Oh..." Clemont began nervously. "We were just having a bad day, that's all."

'Well...' Bunnelby did a double-take. 'Simple is best.'

The gym door entrance was shown, electricity sparking in six tubes-three on one side of the hallway, and three on the other-as Ash and Pikachu ran towards the door. "Boy, oh, boy, I'm so psyched!"

Ash groaned. "Oh, man...here it comes..."

"Yeah, that wasn't fun." Pikachu chimed in.

Ash slowed to a walk as he stared up at the screen. "Anybody here?"

The screen turned on as a computerized voice was heard being omitted from it. "Welcome. To the Lumiose Gym."

"My name's Ash, and I've come all the way from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region!" Ash exclaimed before pumping out a fist, a determined look crossing over both his and his partner's faces. "I wanna have a gym battle, please!"

"Pika!"

"How many badges do you have?" The computerized voice asked simply.

"Badges?" Ash questioned. "This is the very first gym I'm challenging here, so I haven't won any yet." Ash explained with a smile.

"You have none?!" The computer exclaimed, as the screen physically moved, looking frantic.

Serena jumped. "Um...am I seeing things or...did that screen just...move...?"

Clemont blinked. "You're right, it did move."

"Yeah, but why?" Ash asked.

Clemont furrowed his brows together and made a face to himself. 'Well, a robot will be a robot, I guess...'

"Not a single gym badge?" The screen quickly moved back to normal. "In order to challenge the Lumiose Gym, you must have accumulated at least four gym badges."

Two strange pole-like things appeared from both corners of the ceiling, electricity crackling as it pointed towards Ash.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelped in alarm.

Froakie winced sympathetically. "That's got to hurt."

Ash nodded. "It did hurt. A lot."

Pikachu groaned and added. "Yeah...

"Hey, give me a break! Wait a minute!" Ash called out desperately as the electricity charging up grew stronger.

"Please leave immediately." The computer said, not hesitating before sending out huge amount of electricity out of the poles towards both Ash and Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted with alarm as Ash screamed and moved in multiple weird positions before the electricity stopped and both trainer and Pokemon froze in odd positions, looking quite frazzled.

Dedenne shuddered. "That must have hurt a lot, if you were affected by it too, Pikachu..."

Pikachu frowned. "It felt weird that I actually felt that, honestly. It was almost as strong as..." Pikachu thought for a moment, thinking of a good comparison.

He did not choose a good comparison.

"Oh! It almost felt like getting struck by the legendary pokemon, Zekrom!"

The stares he was getting, on a scale from "who?" to "what the hell did you just say", were at level "excuse me, should we take you to a mental hospital to get you checked out for life?".

"I'm sorry..." Clemont laughed nervously. "Zekrom, as in the legendary Pokemon from Unova?"

Ash frowned. "I almost forgot about that...yeah, we actually met Zekrom, on our first day in Unova."

"...Pikachu just compared the electricity from the Lumiose Gym to Zekrom...how can you do that unless you were..." Dedenne's eyes widened. "No. Way."

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head as he laughed nervously. "Yeah...so, here's the thing...some things happened on out first day in Unova and...I got struck by one of his lightning bolts..."

Fletchling's beak dropped. "You can't be serious."

"Dead serious." Pikachu made a face before muttering under his breath, "it was incredibly painful..."

"Serena?" Fennekin turned towards her stunned trainer.

"Yeah, Fennekin?" Serena asked warily.

"Let's never go to the Lumiose Gym. Or Unova. Ever."

"Agreed."

The floor fell out from under Ash before he and Pikachu screamed and fell through the trapdoor, sliding down the long slide. Prism Tower was shown on the outside, vaguely showing Ash's path down the tower as the duo from Kanto continued screaming throughout the entire way, before the finally popped out of another trap door hidden inside the gym symbol on the front of the Prism Tower.

"Oh, so that's when you two fell off the tower!" Fletchling exclaimed before a look of confusion crossed his face. "But wait, Serena wasn't there. And Blaziken didn't show up. And Froakie isn't there. And Pikachu wasn't the one who-"

"Oh, for the love of-are you thick? This isn't the incident we're talking about!" Froakie smacked Fletchling upside the head, who merely shrugged it off before ruffling his feathers.

"Well, excuse me if I want to play Detective!"

"Well, I certainly hope not, since you'd be terrible at it!" Froakie threw his paws up.

"Okay, guys, cool it." Bunnelby interrupted. "We're never going to get anywhere with you arguing all the time."

The two did a 180 degree spin in the air for a moment before staying comically still as Pikachu frantically held on to the bottom of Ash's shirt.

Serena furrowed her eyebrow. "Um...physics?"

"Magic!" Bonnie countered with a giggle.

"Ash." Pikachu explained simply.

Clemont turned around, a frantic look crossing over his face as he saw the situation. "Oh," He started, alarmed, causing Bonnie to look over and look alarmed as well. "No, no, no!"

Bonnie screamed before dancing in place and running after her brother, who ran towards the area where Ash and Pikachu was falling.

The two siblings ran hurriedly. "I'm going to try to catch that boy!" Clemont volunteered.

Bonnie ran ahead of Clemont. "I'll catch the Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu were shown once more as they were hurdling towards the ground. "Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

Clemont was shown with a determined look on his face as he adjusted his glasses. "All right, let's go!" He threw his backpack, which landed under Ash and Pikachu and out came a large cushion-like material .

Ash landed on it, shocked, as it began to deflate before he sank deep into it.

Bonnie ran into the screen, her hands outstretched towards the sky. "I've got you, Pikachu!"

Bonnie exclaimed happily as she caught Pikachu in her arms and fell backwards into the pillow-whatever-it-is-thingy, hugging Pikachu tightly.

"Pi, pi..." Pikachu commented awkwardly as the duo fell over.

"...oh, so that's what happened." Froakie hummed thoughtfully to himself before turning to Pikachu. "I'm guessing you don't like being touched a lot, huh?"

Pikachu huffed. "No, I really don't."

"Are you all right?" Clemont ran over, asking Ash, as Bonnie hugged Pikachu with a satisfied look on her face.

"Is it just me, or did Bonnie just catch Pikachu so she could hug him?" Fletchling questioned.

Bonnie grinned innocently.

"No, it's not just you." Froakie shook his head amusedly. "Though, you have to admit, her excitement is kind of cute."

"True," Pikachu began calmly. "But that is absolutely no excuse to smother someone."

"Yeah, good point." Clemont shot a stern look towards Bonnie who simply laughed nervously.

Ash put a hand on the back of his head before nervously responding. "Yeah, I'm okay." Clemont outstretched his hand, which Ash took, Clemont helping him get on his feet. "Thanks to you."

Pikachu squirmed in Bonnie's arm, as Bonnie jumped up, shojo-esque sparkles in her eyes as she looked at her big brother. "Take a look at this, Clemont! A Pikachu!" Ash smiled as Pikachu looked lost.

"Oh, I think I can guess what's going to happen already." Fennekin began laughing.

Pikachu then looked towards Bonnie nervously as she turned to look at him before she exclaimed louder than before. "And, what a cutie!" Pikachu hugged Pikachu tightly, who clearly did not like this action as he struggled frantically against Bonnie's grip, before helplessly gasping and electricity sparking on his cheeks.

"Eh...sorry Pikachu."

"Don't worry about it, Bonnie..."

"Pikachu!!!" Pikachu let loose the electricity, shocking Bonnie, Clemont, and Ash, all at once, causing all three to scream.

The large amount of electricity was shown from a distance, lighting up the entire area.

"My Arceus!" Fletchling gaped. "Just how much volts did you use on a little girl?!"

"...uh." Pikachu said dumbly.

"This coming from the guy that stole my food!" Dedenne accused.

Serena frowned. "We're going back to this? Also, anyone else see Froakie in the corner of the screen?"

Ash frowned and squinted his eyes, before they widened with realization. "You're right! Froakie is there!"

Bonnie blinked then turned to Froakie. "Did you follow us?"

Froakie turned red. "...you looked like an interesting group." He paused before adding. "It was a good decision."

"Can we go back to my question?" Fletchling asked, but was ignored. He huffed,"rude."

Froakie's vague figure was shown as he jumped from one building to the next, looking over at the scene. His obscured face was shown, a small amount of sweat on the side of his face.

"You look nervous," Bunnelby noted. "Why?"

Froakie shrugged. "Large amounts of electricity originating from one area? That's bound to make any water-type uncomfortable."

"Sorry?" Pikachu said awkwardly.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It's instinct for you, right? I'll survive." Froakie paused. "I mean, I literally survived an electro ball times two, so..."

If Froakie noticed how quickly Pikachu had flinched at that, he chose not to mention it. 

The scene turned back to Bonnie, Clemont, and Ash as Pikachu jumped out of Bonnie's arms, who promptly fell backwards, a dizzy look on her face.

"Bonnie, no!" Clemont shouted worriedly as Ash yelped and Pikachu looked nervous before gasping slightly. Clemont ran over. "Are you okay?"

Before Clemont fully reached his little sister, she recovered completely and sat up, laughing, as Pikachu yelped and jumped on Ash's shoulder, looking a little skeptical.

Serena laughed. "I think you scared Pikachu, Bonnie."

"Yeah, I think you did." Ash said skeptically before shooting a teasing look towards Pikachu, who turned away, his ears flipping around his face as he did so.

Bonnie stopped laughing and stood up, looking slightly serious. "Of course." She stated.

"Pika, pika?" Pikachu questioned unhappily.

"I'm really sorry about my sister." Clemont sweated nervously as he bowed his head slightly towards Ash and Pikachu.

Ash held up his hands to keep the peace. "Hey, don't worry about it!"

Ash turned towards Bonnie as Clemont turned his attention towards her as well, a frustrated look on his face. "Bonnie, you apologize too!"

Ash then frowned frowned slightly as Pikachu did the same, his ears drooping.

"...that's kind of adorable." Serena said.

"Pikachu are known for being cute." Fletchling said matter-of-factually. "I've met some pikachu in the forest before. Their young are pretty adorable. But they're kind of hard to get along with, though..."

"How so?" Froakie questioned while Pikachu turned red from all the curious stares he was on the receiving end of.

Fletchling shrugged. "They were kind of self-entitled..."

"Sounds like how someone I know used to be..." Ash teased Pikachu, who replied by whacking his trainer on the head with his tail. 

"Well, you can't exactly judge someone because of their sub-species, now can you?" Fennekin pointed out as she flicked her tail.

"I didn't say that." Fletchling rolled her eyes. "Otherwise I wouldn't be getting along so well with Pikachu here. Since when do species matter?"

Pikachu frowned. "In Kanto, they do...and you might not see it, but...I've been around the world. Species do matter in pokemon social groups, more often than you think."

Serena frowned, "that's...really sad. But it kind of reminds me of how people are too..."

"Yeah..." Ash said. "I actually remember back in Unova, this guy made fun of me a lot because of where I was born and he wouldn't really stop until a friend of mine told him to knock it off."

"That's terrible!" Serena gasped.

"What a bully!" Bonnie fumed. "You got him back by beating him in a pokemon battle, right, Ash?"

Clemont frowned, "how distasteful. To judge someone just by their place of origin..."

"Er, I wasn't really that bothered by it..." Ash waved their concerns off, ignoring the look that Pikachu was giving him. "But I did end up defeating him."

Pikachu frowned and didn't make a comment. He knew that Ash wasn't really too upset about the prejudice he was subjected to in Unova, but he also knew that it did bother the teen to some extent. 

He also knew that pokemon were far worse and it was far more common among them. Which was precisely the reason why he didn't enjoy a lot of Unova. It was far too tedious to get through as a pokemon and watching Ash be put down all the time certainly didn't help. Especially when it was because of him announcing his hometown every time he met someone.

Which was something that only lasted for about a week until Ash stopped doing it. 

"I just wanted to give Pikachu a hug 'cause it's so cute!" Bonnie protested as she puffed out her cheeks.

Clemont looked taken aback as Ash just smiled and Pikachu frowned.

"But did Pikachu like it?" Clemont began to explain calmly as Pikachu looked over and Ash smiled fondly.

"Pika..." Pikachu muttered, looking at Bonnie.

"Translation: absolutely not." Fletchling said, amused.

"Yeah, I already got that..." Bonnie slumped.

Fletchling blinked. "No, I was translating. That is literally what Pikachu said: absolutely not."

"...that's not what I-" Pikachu shook his head. "Nevermind..."

Bonnie's frustration seemed to dissipate before she looked sad and turned towards Pikachu. "All right," She confessed. "I'm really sorry, Pikachu."

Ash leaned in towards Bonnie, a smile on his face, Pikachu looking the same. "Everything's okay now." Ash turned to Pikachu as he explained. "Pikachu was just a little surprised." Which caused Pikachu to look over, mouth slightly agape.

"Pika, pika..." Pikachu confessed awkwardly.

Ash turned to Bonnie. "But I still haven't thanked you, yet. I really appreciate that you saved Pikachu!"

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu cheered, causing Bonnie's face to light up.

Bonnie put her hands behind her back as she blushed. "You're very welcome!"

Bonnie grinned. "You're welcome!"

Serena laughed. "But Bonnie, you already said that!"

"I know." Bonnie said cheerfully, kicking her legs back in forth. "But I want to say it again!"

Serena gave a confused smile.

Ash then stood up and turned serious as Pikachu frowned again. "But seriously...what a weird gym...What's up with that?"

Bonnie turned around before the camera moved up, showing Prism Tower from the bottom up. "You got kicked out, right?" Clemont asked.

"Now that I think about it..." Ash drawled. "How did you know that I got kicked out?"

A brief look of panic flashed over Clemont's face before settling on confusion. "Because...I saw you and Pikachu get thrown out of the gym...?"

"...oh, yeah..."

Serena hummed suspiciously to herself before looking down at Fennekin, who sat on her lap. "You know, I'm beginning to think that Clemont might be hiding something..."

"Really? And what would that be?" Fennekin asked.

Serena shrugged as she stroked Fennekin's tail. "I don't know...it's just this weird feeling I have."

"Right, and after coming all this way..." Ash said glumly. "Some gym leader," Ash added bitterly.

"Yeah, he's something, all right." Clemont said, seemingly out of place.

Bonnie bounced over to Ash. "The gym leader of the Lumiose Gym is a super, duper, really strong person!" Bonnie explained, as Clemont looked on awkwardly. "They asked you how many badges you have, right?

"Is there a reason why they asked that?" Serena asked.

Clemont nodded. "Apparently...in order to challenge the Lumiose Gym, you must have four badges or more. Any less, and you'll be ejected out of the place..."

"Well," Bonnie began innocently. "More like electrocuted, then thrown out."

"Fun." Fletchling said simply.

"That's right!" Ash gasped. "But when I told them I didn't have any, I got zapped. Really badly!"

Bonnie and Clemont both gasped. "You don't have any badges?" Bonnie asked.

"What's with the surprise?" Bunnelby asked. "What if he had just started his journey and that was the first gym he was challenging?"

Clemont and Bonnie looked at each other before Bonnie gave a huge cheeky grin. "I have no idea!"

Clemont smacked his face.

"You see, I just arrived in the Kalos region." Ash explained. "This is the first gym I've been to."

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "Pardon me, but where are you from?"

The camera moved up to show Ash adjusting his hat. "I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto, and my name's Ash!" Ash looked up as Pikachu squealed happily. "This is Pikachu, and my buddy and I are on a journey together," Here, Ash looked over to Pikachu before continuing. "...So I can become a Pokemon Master!"

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed as he lifted up an arm and cheered.

"Oh!" Serena snapped her fingers. "So, that was the introduction!"

"Yes." Fletchling began dryly. "Ten minutes into the episode, and we finally have a name for our young protagonist and his trigger-happy partner. Fan-flipping-tastic."

Pikachu shot Fletchling a look. "I am not trigger-happy."

Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and the other pokemon all exchanged looks before Froakie laughed sheepishly.

"I mean..." Froakie said. "You kinda...you kind of are, Pikachu..."

Pikachu's cheeks sparked before he turned away with a huff.

Fletchling blinked before he turned to stare at Dedenne incredulously. "Did you just see that? He was sparking, right? Did this not just prove my point?"

Dedenne shrugged. "It did. But look on the bright side-he didn't actually shock anyone!"

"Wonderful." Serena said sarcastically, her voice a few pitches higher than its normal volume.

Nobody but Ash noticed that Pikachu was trying to stop giggling to himself, causing the young Kantonean to roll his eyes. 

"Who's that Pokemon?!" A symphony of voices shouted as a Pokeball-style transition theme came up and showed a Pokemon silhouette next to a question mark while happy music played in the background.

Clemont blinked. "Um...excuse me, what is this?"

"I think it's a trivia." Ash said before his eyes sparkled with excitement. "That's so awesome! I'm guessing this is going to be a regular thing?"

Bonnie gasped excitedly. "Oh, really? So, every episode we get to guess a Pokemon?"

Clemont smiled. "You're going to have a lot of fun with this one, aren't you, Bonnie?"

Bonnie smiled and nodded her head rapidly before turning to the screen. "Let's see..." She squinted her eyes as she looked closely at the silhouette. She blinked again then clapped her hands together. "I got it! It's Spritzee!"

"Only one way to find out." Serena smiled.

The screen turned black before quickly turning back to the previous image of the silhouette. "It's...Spritzee!!!" The voices answered as the Spritzee was shown.

"YAY!" Bonnie and Dedenne both cheered as the two of them fell backwards into a bunch of pillows.

Fletchling tossed a look towards Dedenne. "Why are you cheering? You didn't even solve it." Fletchling glanced around. "And...while we're at it...where did those pillows come from?"

"Piloswine." Serena responded smoothly.

Fletchling's eyes widened. "Clever."

"And now, it's time to introduce ourselves!" Clemont's voice was heard as the camera a park and a large battlefield, where Ash was speaking to Clemont and Bonnie under a tree.

Serena frowned. "You had time to go to the park all the way from Prism Tower and you didn't introduce yourself until now?"

Clemont, Ash and Bonnie all looked at each other before Ash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well..."

Pikachu frowned. "That is a very good question. What were we even talking about on the way to the park, again?"

"Well, we weren't really talking about anything. It was a quiet walk." Bonnie said.

"Seriously? I was wondering why you guys looked so serious." Froakie said.

"Oh, yeah." Pikachu said. "I had almost forgotten that you were following us..."

"My name's Clemont and this is my little sister, Bonnie."

"Nice to meet you!" Bonnie cheered.

"Nice to meet you, Clemont." Ash turned down to Bonnie. "Bonnie."

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu cheered on the top of Ash's head.

"You and your Pikachu look like such good friends!" Bonnie observed, the camera panning out to reveal Froakie watching from the tree above. "If you weren't, Pikachu wouldn't be sitting on your shoulder like that!"

There was an awkward silence before Serena raised her hand awkwardly. "Uh...Bonnie? Pikachu's on Ash's head."

Fletchling let out a low whistle. "Somebody didn't pay attention to the 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes' song in Preschool."

Bonnie turned red and puffed out her cheeks in a mock pout. "It was just a mistake!"

Clemont waved his hands up in defense. "Calm down, Bonnie. Nobody's attacking you for it." He paused, then frowned. "Well, except maybe Fletchling."

"Fletchling's attacking everyone..." Bunnelby muttered to himself.

Fletchling ruffled his feathers irritably.

Froakie was shown watching as Ash answered.  "Well, we've known each other for a long time."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"How long?" Fennekin asked.

Ash hummed to himself then smiled at Pikachu. "Pikachu was actually my starter Pokemon, so I got him when I was ten."

Pikachu smiled mischievously. "That was certainly a day to remember. We met Team Rocket later that night, too."

"Eh..." Ash began sheepishly before turning back to Fennekin. "Well, yeah. So, we've known each other for about four years." [1]

"Cool." Froakie said. Then he did a double-take. "Wait, Team Rocket's been following you around for four years?!"

Pikachu crossed his arms. "Pretty much, yeah. And like I said, Ash and I met them shortly after we did."

"...wow. You guys are the perfect enemies for each other..." Fennekin shook her head incredulously.

Ash groaned then slapped a palm to his forehead. "Yeah, don't remind me. We've had some pretty crazy moments with Team Rocket in the past..."

Pikachu hummed. "Let's just pray they don't end up in this movie theater to watch the future with us, because that would get heated pretty quickly. Though, I'm betting you guys would probably get some interesting stories out of it."

Fletchling blinked then leaned in to Froakie. "Does it sound bad that I now kinda want to see Team Rocket end up here, just so I could hear these stories?"

"...it does. It really does." Froakie cast a stern look towards Fletchling who simply chirped mischievously in response.

Ash laughed and looked up towards Pikachu, who was on his head and smiled happily. "Actually, Pikachu was the first Pokemon I ever got."

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped from Ash's head to his shoulder.

"And that's the reason why we came here on our journey looking  for gym battles!" Ash was shown holding his hand broadly as Pikachu sat on his shoulder.

"Pika!" Pikachu said before jumping on Ash's head once more before Ash turned to Bonnie and Clemont.

Fletchling shook his head back and forth rapidly. "Stop jumping! What's with all the moving around? Can't you stay in one place?"

"...well..." Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly but gave no reply.

Fletchling gave a sigh of frustration before turning back to the screen, quickly popping a popcorn piece in his mouth as he did so.

"So, are you and Bonnie on a journey too?" Ash asked Clemont.

"Journey..." A nervous look passed over both his and Bonnie's faces. "Well, you see..."

"That's something we'll be doing sometime in the future!" Clemont rubbed the back of his head nervously as Bonnie ran forward.

Serena narrowed her eyes at the strange behavior. "There it is again..." She told Fennekin, who cocked her head to the side. "That strange behavior..."

Fennekin nodded. "I think I agree with you. Keep a look out for any more of that, and maybe we can figure it out ourselves."

Serena nodded, then her face broke into a smile. "Hey, this is great! We're like detectives!" She giggled.

Fennekin mewled happily in reply.

"A family adventure sounds great!" Ash agreed. "After all, I don't have any brothers or sisters..."

"But you've got your special friend Pikachu instead!" Bonnie countered as she looked up with sparkly eyes.

"Bonnie's a bit too young to have any Pokemon yet," Clemont explained. "So, she's really impressed when she meets someone who does." He turned to Ash.

"I know just what it's like." Ash comforted. "I could hardly wait to grow up and become a Pokemon trainer!"

"Then how come you arrived late to the lab?"  Pikachu asked.

Ash put up his index finger to protest, then put it down as he thought about it. "Uh..."

Fletchling shook his head. "Unbelievable. This is our trainer. The guy that arrived late on his first day as a Pokemon trainer."

Ash slumped, dejected. "That's...not fair..."

"You totally understand how I feel!" Bonnie said.

"So, what kind of Pokemon do you have, Clemont?" Ash asked.

"Okay, here's a Pokemon that I recently caught." Clemont said as he took out a Pokeball to show Ash and Pikachu, who exclaimed in amazement.

"Recently?" Fennekin questioned.

Bunnelby nodded. "It's a long story. Maybe we'll tell you later."

"Then, let's battle!" Ash pumped his fist for what felt like the fourth time that episode as Pikachu stared determined.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's head onto the battlefield.

"Battle?"

"Yeah! If I can't have a gym battle," Ash ran after Pikachu. "I'd like to have my first battle in the Kalos region with you! Whaddya say, Clemont?" Ash asked, showing his gloved fist. "Let's do it!"

"Well, technically, you're close to having the real thing..." Bonnie muttered under her breath.

Bunnelby glanced at Bonnie nervously but chose not to comment. He wondered if the truth was going to come out through what was going to be shown to them.

Bonnie gasped gleefully before turning to Clemont. "It'll be a great test of strength!"

"Okay," Clemont agreed. "You're on!"

The same "Pokeballs-fall-down-the-screen" transition from before appeared once more to show Ash and Clemont taking their places on each side of the battlefield.

"Oh, that's the transition from earlier." Bonnie giggled. "I like it. It's fun."

"Yeah, it is." Serena agreed. The transition was a little cute, in her opinion.

"All right, Bunnelby! Come on out and let's have a battle!" Clemont called out as he threw the Pokeball. And Bunnelby popped out.

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby called out as he jumped up.

Pikachu laughed. "Well, this should be fun."

Bunnelby smiled and glanced towards Pikachu. "That was actually a real tough battle. I never said it before, but you're pretty strong."

Pikachu gushed. "Thanks."

"I'm excited to see this battle. Pikachu versus Bunnelby, huh...it sounds exciting!" Serena said.

Froakie nodded. "It was an interesting battle to watch. Though, it didn't last very long..."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why? What happened?"

Froakie cast a glance towards the other witnesses of the incident. "Just watch, you'll see."

"Awesome!" Ash called out. "I've never seen that Pokemon before!"

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu added.

Clemont adjusted his glasses before asking. "Just out of curiosity, but how many different types Pokemon are there in Kanto?"

Ash blinked before he hummed, thinking deeply. "Um..."

Pikachu sighed and answered for him. "About one-hundred and fifty-one."

The other Pokemon turned to look towards Pikachu incredulously.

"Seriously?" Fletchling gaped.

"Pretty much, yeah." Ash said.

Bonnie whistled before turning to Clemont. "What about Kalos? I'm pretty sure we have way more than that, right?"

Clemont nodded. "Yeah. Kalos has around 447 different types of Pokemon." [2]

Ash's jaw dropped. "Whoa..."

Pikachu blinked, stunned. "Well, I mean...we shouldn't really be that surprised..."

"Pikachu, let's give it our all!" Ash declared valiantly.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed happily as he ran up front and tensed up in battle position, as his cheeks sparked with electricity.

Clemont's determined face was shown as Bonnie began cheering from the sidelines. "Lots of luck to both Teams!" The screen zoomed in on her face before showing the Pokemon battle symbol and battle music began. "Yay!" Bonnie cheered as the camera panned out and sparkled and colorful lights strewn in pretty patterns led up to the the battle screen, which was cut in half. Ash was at the top with Pikachu sporting a determined look next to him, as the VS symbol was in the center, and Clemont was on the bottom left, with Bunnelby at his side.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Bonnie and Dedenne cheered out of nowhere.

"That was SO cool! Right, Dedenne?" Bonnie squealed.

Dedenne jumped up and down excitedly in reply. "Right? The effects were so cool...I'm more excited for this battle then before, now!"

Fletchling shook his head. "This just goes to show that the only reason all this media gains so much attention is through special affects...so much effects are used, that there's pretty much no more talent left in the world..."

Froakie gave Fletchling another look. "You're very cynical."

"I'm just being real here."

"Now, Bunnelby: this will be our very first battle! Just relax, and you'll do great!" Clemont assured Bunnelby, who nodded.

"By!" Bunnelby confirmed.

"Okay! First move! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed before launching off the ground, causing dust to cloud up in the area where he had previously been.

"Might as well break the ground while we're at it." Fletchling snarked.

"You're ruining this." Dedenne said, his voice a few octaves higher than it normally was.

In the air, Pikachu build up electricity. "Pi...ka...CHU!!!" A powerful thunderbolt was then released toward Bunnelby.

"Now, Bunnelby, use your ears to stir up the sand!" Clemont ordered.

Bunnelby was shown pulling his ears together and slamming it to the ground. The screen panned out to show the sand pulling up and wrapping around Pikachu's thunderbolt, before causing it to dissipate entirely with a huge blast, that took up the entire screen.

"Explosions, explosions, and more explosions-is the entire battle going to be like this?" Fletchling commented.

Fennekin furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm confused, have you never battled before?"

Fletchling ruffled his feathers. "Well, yeah. But its the principal of the-"

"Don't use terms without knowing their meaning first." Froakie interrupted dryly.

Fletchling merely shrugged. [3]

When the dust cleared, it showed Bunnelby and Pikachu back on their opposite sides, perfectly standing. The screen split into three panels, Bunnelby in the middle, Pikachu in the left, and Ash on the right, both opposing trainer and Pokemon looking shocked.

"Split screens." Pikachu said dryly. "Split screens. They actually used-"

"What's so bad about split-screens?" Clemont questioned.

Ash answered for Pikachu. "Well...they're kind of over-used..."

Bonnie puffed out her cheeks. "No way they aren't! They're super amazing! And it shows multiple people's reactions at the same time-emphasizing drama!"

At Ash, Serena, and the Pokemon's confused looks, Clemont elaborated. "Bonnie is something of a...media fanatic."

"Huh." Serena said. "Well, I'm assuming you like dressing-up?"

Bonnie nodded frantically. "I love it! Then I can pretend I'm an actress!"

Serena laughed at Bonnie's excitement. "Well, later on I can make you an outfit so you can be whoever you want. I'm actually quite good at these things."

"Really?!" Bonnie asked.

Serena nodded. "Yup! Just leave it to me!"

"Pi?" Pikachu questioned.

The screen moved up towards Clemont as he explained. "Yes, it's true Bunnelby is a normal-type Pokemon, but it's more than prepared to deal with any electric-type moves!"

"Plus, I consider it training for when I become a Diggersby." Bunnelby added.

"Really?" Ash blinked. "Why?"

"A Diggersby is part ground-type." Clemont explained. "So, I think what Bunnelby means is that he's already prepared to deal with electric-type moves for when he's able to use ground-type moves."

"Wonderful." Pikachu sulked. "Type-advantages suck."

"Well, type-advantages mean nothing to Pikachu," Ash ignored his partner's remark. "I mean, Pikachu's electrocuted ground-types before." He paused at the stunned looks he received before adding to himself. "Now that I think about it, that's kind of not-normal..."

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Type-advantages still suck. And besides, most of the times I face ground-types I end up having to improvise. And then there's the Pokemon who attempt to strangle me while sticking their tail into the ground to prevent me from defending myself."

Froakie looked over at Pikachu curiously. "Why does it sound like you're speaking from experience?"

Ash coughed nervously as he recalled the battle Pikachu was referring to. "Long story."

"Bunnelby's really strong!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu tensed.

"Pika..."

"So, now it's our turn!" Clemont exclaimed. "Bunnelby, Dig!"

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby called out as he launched into the sky, pulled his ears together, and like a drill, drilled into the ground.

"Ah, see...the ground..." Pikachu sulked.

Bunnelby looked over at Pikachu curiously but chose not to comment.

"Take off, Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Pika!" Pikachu acknowledged before being shown running rapidly throughout the field.

"Don't let them know where you are!" Ash cautioned.

"Pika! Pi, pi, pi, pi, pi..." Pikachu panted as it continued sprinting back and forth.

Clemont was shown on the top left of the screen, smirking, while Pikachu was shown continuing running. "Trying to confuse us with speed, eh? Well, it won't work!"

"'Eh'?" Fletchling mocked. "Did he seriously say, 'eh'?"

Clemont shrank in on himself, embarrassed.

Dedenne, still caught up on his beef with Fletchling, stood up for Clemont. "There's nothing wrong with that! And why are you so intent on making fun of everyone?"

"...is this my fault?" Ash wondered. "For catching you mid-air, I mean."

Fletchling chirped. "That's for me to know, and for you to figure out."

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" Froakie asked.

"Now, go!" Clemont suddenly called out as his glasses shone.

Pikachu was shown running before he stopped from Bunnelby jumping out of the ground at the last second and throwing Pikachu into the air. "Bunn!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out.

Into the air, Bunnelby slapped Pikachu to the ground, hard. "Bunnelby!"

"Chu!" Pikachu grunted as he was thrown to the ground, where he landed twice. "Pi, pi..." He skid to a stop, causing dust to build up once more.

"You okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pi..." Pikachu struggled to get up before finally straightening up and sparking. "Pika, pika!"

"Yeah, okay. That's the spirit!" Ash smiled before throwing out his hand. "All right, Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pikachu...!" Pikachu threw his head up before kneeling close to the ground, glowing, before and leaped off the ground, dust gathering. "Pika!"

"How is all that dust not getting into anyone's eyes?" Serena asked worriedly.

"My hat." Ash shrugged.

"Glasses." Clemont smirked as he adjusted said object.

"I'm on the sidelines so I don't have anything to worry about." Bonnie shrugged.

Serena turned towards the two Pokemon battling it out on the screen. "What about you two? How do you keep all that dust out of your eyes in a fight?"

Bunnelby and Pikachu looked at each other before the latter responded first. "Well, I'm just used to battling at this point. I mostly use my ears for when my sight's unavailable, but most of the time, your opponent is going to be unable to do anything in those dust clouds either."

Bunnelby pointed at Pikachu, looking a little lost."Er, what he said, I guess..."

"Interesting..." Froakie muttered to himself, filing that information away for future reference. He's had trouble battling on occasion due to dust getting his eyes. He was skilled, but he didn't have much real-battle experience to go by, something that Pikachu was able to provide. Maybe he could ask for some tips, later...

Pikachu jumped back and forth as the camera showed Bunnelby being zoomed in on before Pikachu slammed into Bunnelby, causing said normal-type to fly backwards.

The camera showed the same attack, but at two different angles, one from below, and another from above before showing Bunnelby being thrown backwards.

Bunnelby slumped in annoyance. "I get it already...no need to put so much emphasis on the hit..."

Bonnie giggled at Bunnelby's misfortune. "It's okay, Bunnelby. You fought great!"

Thankfully, Bunnelby managed to right himself by using one of his ears to leap of the ground as it was falling. "Bunnelby!"

Clemont didn't waste any time by ordering Bunnelby immediately. "Double Slap, let's go."

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in alarm as Bunnelby landed in front of him, both his ears glowing.

"By!" Bunnelby called out before slapping Pikachu twice with both ears, causing Pikachu to slide backwards.

Ash was shown clenching his fist as sweat dripped down the side of his face. "Look at Bunnelby's ears. They're just like hands!"

"Yeah, that's kind of why it's called Double Slap..." Fletchling pointed out.

"...well it's the principal of the matter." Ash replied smoothly, throwing Fletchling's words in his face, causing the small flying-type to gape at him.

Pikachu fell over laughing at the reaction.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Clemont asked as Bunnelby slapped Pikachu once more, causing him to go hurdling towards the other side of the field.

"That was three slaps." Fennekin pointed out.

Clemont put up a finger to protest, then brought it down again. "Eh..."

Clemont adjusted his glasses, which reflected off the sun, concealing his eyes. "Bunnelby's ears can do lots of great things!"

Bunnelby turned around and called out in agreement. "Bunnel!"

"Pika!" Pikachu was shown hurdling through the air, before coming to a stop mid-air, then dropping to the ground.

"You're still fine, aren't you buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu affirmed.

"Now, use Iron Tail!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted before launching of the ground, causing a swirl of dust to whirl up where Pikachu had originally been.

"Three!" Dedenne cheered.

"Three what?" Bunnelby questioned.

"The dust cloud showed up for the third time." Dedenne replied.

"Are you sure?" Fennekin asked, frowning. "I feel like it showed up more then that."

"That's not the only thing." Serena noted. "Some parts look like re-used footage. It feels kind of repetitive."

"I agree!" Fennekin chimed in, smiling at her trainer.

"Pika..." Pikachu began, being shown in the air before twisting around 180 degrees, and causing its tail to glow.

The screen turned to both Bonnie and Clemont, who looked on with shock. "Look at that, Pikachu knows a steel-type move!"

"That's impossible." Fletchling narrowed his eyes. "Pikachu can't learn that move...at least, not from what I heard..."

"You heard wrong." Pikachu commented, amused.

"How did Pikachu learn that move, Ash?" Serena asked.

"Ah, well..." Ash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Let's say it involved a lot of practice, training, gym battles, and a heat-of-the-moment twist."

"Pretty much, yeah!" Pikachu cheered.

"Use your ears and catch it!" Clemont ordered, panicked.

"Pika!" Pikachu brought down his tail as hard as he could towards Bunnelby, who was shown, ready for the attack.

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby caught Pikachu's tail at the last second in his ears.

"Pika!" Pikachu grunted with alarm, as the force from the Iron Tail being blocked caused smoke and dust to whirl around the two for a brief couple of seconds before settling down again.

"Pi, Pika..." Pikachu gasped with alarm as the screen parted to show both his and Ash's reactions.

Clemont groaned. "I can't believe I fell for that."

"It was pretty smart, though." Bunnelby said. "You've got to admit to that."

Clemont smiled. "Yeah, that was pretty clever. Nice job, Ash."

Ash pumped his fist as he grinned. "Well, I have lots of experience battling by this point, so..."

"The dramatic smoke and dust appeared again, though." Dedenne pointed out.

Froakie blinked. "You're right. I don't remember there being this much smoke, though."

"Really?" Bunnelby frowned. "I remember there being more."

"Maybe it looked different because you were the one battling?" Serena suggested. "It might be that you were so caught up in battling, everything seemed more exciting then it actually was?"

Clemont nodded. "That does seem like the most likely possibility."

"He's right," Pikachu chimed in. "It's the adrenaline rush you get while battling. You get used to it, though, after a while."

Froakie also took note of this tidbit as well.

"It worked, like it should!" Clemont smirked.

Ash responded with a smirk of his own. "Yeah, it's a good thing you caught it...but too bad now you can't use your ears."

Pikachu was shown with his tail still stuck in Bunnelby's ears before he adjusted his position slightly causing Bunnelby to look on with confusion.

"Bunnel?" Bunnelby inquired before looking alarmed. The screen split into three panels, showing both Bonnie and Clemont's shocked expressions as well.

"Terminator: Return of the Split Panels." Bonnie raised her arms dramatically.

Clemont simply rolled his eyes at her little sister's antics.

Ash pumped his fist. "Yeah, you're strong all right, but you can't move anymore!" Ash crossed his arms and threw them out, similar in fashion to how a Bisharp would perform an X-Sizzor.

"What are you, a Pokemon?" Fletchling asked, exasperated. "What was that? X-Sizzor? Are you a bisharp?"

Ash laughed nervously.

"It's official." Fennekin flicked her tail. "Ash is a Pokemon. Serena, are you sure you want to date a bisharp? They're so gruff, it's annoying."

Serena turned red, almost regretting telling Fennekin everything at the inn she and her starter stopped at when they first set out on their journey.

"Pika!" Pikachu acknowledged happily as the screen darkened to show a ball of electricity being gathered where Pikachu's tail was being held by Bunnelby. "Pika, pika, pika..." The ball grew bigger before it finally exploded at the last second, filling the screen with light. "Pikachu!!!"

The camera angle changed to show the battle field from above, where a huge cloud of smoke, dust, and electricity filled the entire field, causing wind to blow everywhere.

Fletchling flapped his wings frantically as he flew into the air, rushing about. "What the heck?! That's an amazing amount of smoke and electricity...Froakie, you seriously jumped into something like that?"

Pikachu flinched slightly at that comment.

Froakie blinked and frowned. "I find it strange how you act like you've never battled before. You should know that this is normal!"

Fletchling shrugged. "Well, I guess that's true..."

"Bunnel!" Bunnelby cried out as he was thrown backwards before finally stopping, sweat dripping down the side of its face.

"Bunnelby..." Bonnie began, stunned. "Oh, wow." Her entire demeanor brightened up. "Ash and Pikachu are really amazing!"

Clemont was shown smiling as well. 'By battling him, I understand him even better.' Next to Clemont, a picture of Ash and Pikachu smiling side by side was shown.

"Pi!" Pikachu said as he landed to the ground.

"Use Quick Attack! Again!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu launched himself off the ground.

"Head's up, Bunnelby." Clemont warned.

"Bunnel!" Bunnelby acknowledged, looking tense.

"Pika!" Pikachu charged.

The screen turned to a cube-like object being thrown from the sky before transforming into a glowing net.

Ash sighed exasperatedly and put his face in his hands. "Well, we all knew this wasn't going to last."

Serena frowned. "Who are these guys?"

"Oh, right!" Ash said. "I forgot you didn't meet them yet...how come you didn't ask earlier?"

Serena shrugged. "It slipped my mind."

"Well, they'll introduce themselves in a moment, so don't worry..."

Pikachu's eyes were shown up close, filled with alarm before he skidded to a stop. "Pi! Pika!" A mere seconds before the net hit, Pikachu bounced backwards in a back-flip, causing the net to crackle in place for a few more seconds.

The screen split in four jagged areas, showing Clemont, Bonnie, Ash, and Bunnelby all looking on with shock.

"The split-panel returns." Fletchling ruffled his feathers dryly. "And why are they all different colors?"

"To make it look more appealing?" Clemont suggested weakly.

Fletchling huffed. "Well, that's weird."

The screen changed to where Pikachu stood, stunned, as the glowing net began to dissipate entirely. Ash ran over to Pikachu; Bonnie, Clemont, and Bunnelby following. Ash turned to face somebody not on the screen.

"All right, why would you do such a thing?" Ash demanded.

"That was dangerous!" Clemont snapped.

"Who are you?" Bonnie asked as well.

"Here we go..." Pikachu muttered miserably.

"Prepare for trouble, our middle name" Jessie was shown with a colorful background behind her, the letter "R" shown to her left.

Bonnie blinked before puffing out her cheeks angrily. "How come the bad guys get this super cool entrance? And to some dumb theme song!"

"Now, now, Bonnie..." Clemont chastised.

Froakie frowned. "It is pretty colorful...that seems almost like its putting them on a pedestal."

Pikachu swished his tail back and forth. "Well, at least they didn't show up in a robot."

At the odd looks Pikachu received, he elaborated...by not elaborating. "It's a long story."

James was then shown, facing the opposite direction, holding a blue rose, only he had a blue background. "And make it double, it's a high stakes game!"

"No matter how much they rhyme..." Pikachu began sarcastically. "...they will always end up wasting everybody's time!"

Dedenne fell over, cackling with laughter before Bonnie joined in as well.

"To protect the world from devastation!

To unite all people within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love!

"I wasn't aware Truth and Love were evils." Fletchling said dryly. He paused before adding, "that needed to be denounced."

"According to Team Rocket," Pikachu said, "they do."

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

And James!

Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!

Meowth, that's right!

Wobbuffet!"

The screen showed Team Rocket staring down at the group of heroes on the battlefield.

"Team Rocket!" Ash growled. "You would follow us here."

"I really shouldn't be surprised at this point..." Ash said glumly. "It's pretty much tradition for them to attack us every time we arrive somewhere new by this point..."

"For sure..." Pikachu agreed.

Bonnie turned to Ash with surprise. "Wait, you know these guys?"

"I've never seen a talking Meowth before!" Clemont exclaimed, in awe. "That's incredible!"

Ash put a hand on Clemont's shoulder to prevent him from moving any further. "Wait, those are a group of really bad guys who are always trying to take Pikachu!"

"I never asked, but why?" Clemont adjusted his glasses. "I mean, I know Pikachu's pretty strong, but to them, Pikachu should be no different compared to other pikachu."

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Again...it's a long story..." He paused, before actually considering the question, and frowned. "Actually, I have no clue, either..." He turned to his starter. "Now that I think about it, we never asked, did we?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Nope. I'm guessing it has something to do with the destroyed Poke-Center-"

"A Poke-Center got destroyed?" Clemont yelped, alarmed.

Ash waved it off. "It was fine. Everyone was fine. Even Team Rocket was fine." He paused. "The building was not."

Fletchling's eye gleamed mischievously. "Looks like travelling with you guys is going to be fun."

Froakie sighed.

"Excuse me, twerp, but you're selling us short." James declared.

Jessie continued. "Catching Pikachu is just one of our numerous, yet glorious goals."

Team Rocket was shown standing on top of the staircase, as James lifted his hands to explain. "The rest of them include the confiscation of all the strong and rare Pokemon in Kalos. Forming a formidable Pokemon army is inevitable."

Serena frowned and stared uncertainly at the screen. "...I don't like this..."

Clemont frowned. "Ash, who ARE these guys anyway?"

"...I told you, already."

"Yeah, but this is kind of unsettling for just a regular band of thieves..." Clemont said. "Unless they're delirious..."

Pikachu glanced at his trainer then sighed. "I'll explain. Team Rocket is actually a major criminal organization in Kanto, run by a Kantonean Gym Leader, by the name of Giovanni." Pikachu sent another glance at Ash, who was nodding along with Pikachu's words. "We've met the boss personally before, as well as some other members of Team Rocket. The ones you guys know are just the ones that we happen to know the most."

This time it was Froakie's turn to frown. "Is that so...?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. We bump into them a lot, actually..."

"But catching Pikachu is job one!" Jessie declared as she pointed at Pikachu, who exclaimed in alarm.

"Pika!"

Pikachu slumped, misery looming. 

"There's no better way for us to begin our Kalos kingdom!" James put his hands on his hips.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet said randomly.

"And I'll take the one with the ears," Meowth added simply, pointing towards Bunnelby.

"By?" Bunnelby questioned, looking slightly discontent.

"...would he have been able to defeat me anyway? How skilled is Meowth?"

"You'd have probably been fine." Pikachu admitted. "But you never know what Meowth might pull."

Pikachu jumped in front of Bunnelby and spread his hands apart. "Pika, pika!"

"Like that's going to happen." Ash glared.

The group was shown standing in different stances, looking determined. Clemont adjusted his glasses, which glinted in the light. "I will not sit idly by and let you steal other people's Pokemon!"

"That's right!" Bonnie added. "Who do you think you are, anyway?"

"Didn't they just say they were Team Rocket?" Serena asked.

Bonnie simply pouted. 

"Team Rocket, that's who!" The entire group said in unison as the camera panned out to show the group looking up at Team Rocket.

"All right, Pikachu!" Ash began. "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pi," Pikachu charged up a powerful Thunderbolt before releasing it. "Pikachu!!!"

"Wobbuffet, time to shine!" Jessie sang as she pointed, which led to Wobbuffet jumping off of the ground and leaping into the air, activating his mirror coat, a mere second before Pikachu's Thunderbolt hit.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet grunted as he pushed back the Thunderbolt, two times stronger than before.

"Hey, that's Mirror Coat!" Clemont pointed out as he and Ash looked on, alarmed.

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned, panicked, as the camera showed the Thunderbolt moving closer towards him...and hitting him entirely.

Everyone in the room flinched slightly. 

"Ouch..." Fletchling ruffled his feathers. "I'm just curious though, did you not know Wobbuffet could use mirror coat before this?"

"Uh." Was all Ash said. 

Serena smiled at Ash's nervous behavior before looking down with a downcast look and randomly musing. 'Too bad he couldn't remember me...'

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out before falling to the ground, looking injured.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out, running towards Pikachu as he fell down to the ground.

Ash rolled to the ground, catching Pikachu, who grunted. "Pi..."

Fletchling whistled. "As much as I'd rather not witness my teammate get clobbered by some half-wit, that roll deserves a ten out of ten from the Russian judges."

Bonnie grinned. "So, Fletchling..." She began in a sing-song voice. "It looks to me like somebody is a Tsundere..."

"Really? I would say he's a weirdo..."

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Ash asked. 

Froakie tossed a look at Ash. "Not the teammate bit, I mean. That's more surprising, if anything. But, come on...Russian judges?"

"I am not a Tsundere..." Fletchling protested weakly, then paused. "Whatever that means...wait, what the heck is a Tsundere???"

Bonnie grinned, but didn't answer.

"Hey, buddy, are you okay?" Ash asked, smiling, as Pikachu opened his eyes and squealed happily in reply.

"Aw..." Serena cooed, causing Pikachu to blush and Fennekin to laugh at his reaction. 

"Poor Pikachu..." Bonnie said worriedly as the camera moved back towards Team Rocket, where Wobbuffet was seen landing on the steps.

"Excellent, I give you an eleven." Jessie said.

"Still doesn't hold a candle to that roll Ash pulled." Fletchling quipped. 

Since Fletchling was directing his verbal attacks towards Team Rocket, Froakie decided to keep his own thoughts on the bird's comments to himself. 

"Wobbuff!" Wobbuffet put a hand up in a mock salute.

"We'd better retreat!" Clemont put his hands out to explain. "Using Mirror Coat reflects special attacks with double the power! We can't withstand that kind of strength..."

"What if they just follow you?" Serena asked. "I mean, if they were following Ash around for four years, I don't think they'll just give up that easily."

"It's not our fault Team Rocket are a bunch of annoying bad guys!" Bonnie protested. 

Serena put her hands up. "Wait, that's not what I'm saying...I'm just saying I think that you should have had a Plan B or something..."

"We've always stood up to them before..." Ash began as he stood up. "...and we always will!"

"As long as Pikachu is okay..." Ash continued as Pikachu smiled from Ash's shoulder. "As long as Pikachu doesn't give up..." Ash turned around fully, while Pikachu jumped off from Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground with a soft thump. "...I'll be right here, battling to the end!"

Pikachu ran forward in agreement. "Pikachu!"

Froakie was seen watching from the tree nearby, his face still obscured by his frubbles.

"You were still there?" Pikachu asked in dismay. "You could've helped sooner! There are other ways to help then to jump in front of potentially lethal attacks!" 

Froakie frowned. "I didn't know what was the right moment." He replied simply before looking back at the screen, noticing, but not commenting, Pikachu's disgruntled look.

Clemont and Bonnie turned to each other and smiled, nodding to one another.

"All you'll end up with are re-runs." Jessie sneered.

"I'm confused," Bonnie said. "If they've never caught Pikachu before, then wouldn't the 're-runs' just be them losing again?"

"Yeah, that's a pretty good point..." Ash admitted. "Wonder why she said that..."

"Maybe she was talking specifically about Wobbuffet," Serena deduced. "You know, like how the attacks would just bounce off of him..."

"I see. That would make the most sense..." Clemont said.  

"Now, Pikachu! Electro Ball!"

"Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika, pi!" Pikachu called out before launching the Electro Ball.

"We'll help you out, too!" Clemont joined in. "Bunnelby, use Mud Shot!"

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby called out as he formed six respective mud balls and threw them with all his strength.

"You're on, Wobbuffet!" Jessie ordered.

"Wobbuff!" Wobbuffet said, then jumped up once more, completely dodging the Mud Shot from Bunnelby while activating its Mirror Coat.

"It dodged them all!" Clemont observed frantically.

"No? Really?" Fletchling mocked. 

Froakie shot Fletchling an irritated look. "Please keep your remarks directed towards the bad guys."

"Sorry..."

The Electro Ball came hurdling towards Wobbuffet before he jumped in front of it, and pushed it back in a surge of electricity. "Wobbuff!!!

The screen split into three triangular shaped panels. Ash in the middle, Clemont on the left, and Bonnie on the right, all three panicking. "Uh oh!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as the electric wave hurdled closer, showing Pikachu's eyes up close.

Froakie was shown jumping out of the tree, his face still covered in frubbles, and took the hit of the electricity for Pikachu. "Froakie!"

Pikachu flinched for a third time, causing Ash to look over and frown at his starter. What was wrong with him...?

The electricity caused an explosion in the air as Froakie fell down from the air, holding Pikachu. "Froak." Froakie grunted.

Ash ran towards Pikachu and Froakie. "Are you okay, Pikachu?"

Froakie bent down on one knee, weakly. "Kie..."

Electricity sparked over Froakie's body as Pikachu jumped out of Froakie's arms and turned to look at him in shock and worry. "Froakie..." Froakie groaned weakly.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu said to Ash, who gasped and looked to Froakie.

"What's that?" Jessie asked.

"A pokemon?" James suggested as Wobbuffet landed behind them.

"What did he think Froakie was? A hat?" Fletchling snarked.

"Thankfully, his comments are towards Team Rocket this time..." Fennekin muttered under her breath.

Froakie was shown struggling to get up before turning around with his eyes in slits.  "Kie...Froak..."

"It's a Froakie!" Bonnie exclaimed as she, Clemont, and Bunnelby all ran over to Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie.

"What's with all the stating the obvious today?" Fletchling questioned.

Dedenne glared at Fletchling. "We need to tie your beak shut."

"Don't start," Pikachu warned. "We've already had you two fighting enough times already."

"Froakie?" Ash questioned.

"It's a water-type Pokemon new trainers can get in Kalos, so that Electro Ball must have done lots of damage!" Clemont explained, urgency in his tone, as Froakie grimaced, electricity sparking over its body.

"Are you okay, Froakie?" Ash asked, concern in his tone. "So, where is it's trainer, anyway?"

Froakie looked down at the ground before muttering under his breath bitterly. "Not there, that's for sure."

Ash, who heard this comment, felt his heart clench. How could anybody be so cold as to leave their pokemon alone? To make them feel unwanted? He couldn't understand, considering how amazing Froakie was. Kind, determined, strong, loyal...

How could anyone not want a Pokemon like that?

The other members of the group gasped slightly and looked around before Froakie, who began hopping forwards, caught their attention once more. 

"Where's Froakie going?" Bonnie questioned.

"Forward?" Fletchling suggested sarcastically.

Serena laughed nervously. "Fletchling, I think we should cut out the comment for now, okay..?"

"Never!" Fletchling chirped in reply, causing Serena to slump and sigh.

"Froakie, Fro!" Froakie shouted at Team Rocket. 

"What's with the yapping?" Jessie asked, unimpressed.

Ash stood up before declaring, "I think that Froakie wants to help us." 

Froakie's eyes opened as he growled. "Fro!"

"Uh...Froakie's saying bad guys rub it the wrong way!" Meowth exclaimed. 

Fennekin frowned. "I don't think bad guys are supposed to rub you in a good way. I mean, they're literally bad guys."

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "I'm still caught about the fact that Meowth knew how to speak in the first place."

"Pokemon can speak," Bunnelby countered, "Just not in the same language as humans."

Clemont nodded, accepting that answer. "That makes sense."

"You can't take them on if you've been hurt," Ash began, running towards Froakie. "Stop!"

"Kie," Froakie was shown with his frubbles puffing up as he ignored Ash. "Fro!" He shouted, before launching himself off the ground. 

Ash grunted. "Froakie!"

Froakie grabbed his frubbles and turned around mid-air before throwing the frubbles at Team Rocket. 

Both Bonnie and Clemont gasped. "Wow, Froakie just used its Frubbles!" Bonnie said.

"And...more stating the obvious..." Fletchling fluttered around mid-air before perching onto one of the movie theater seats, where his popcorn had been placed. "I'm going to eat. Kick their butts, Froakie. You too, Pikachu."

Everyone blinked at Fletchling's strange behavior. Or rather, what behavior had just been established as normal behavior for the bird.

Ash furrowed his eyebrow. "I catch some weird Pokemon..."

Pikachu couldn't help but suddenly be reminded of a certain glasses-wearing, water-type pokemon he knew back from Kanto, and nodded in agreement. 

Jessie smirked. "Big whoop, we'll just send that right back at you!" 

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet acknowledged before launching itself off the ground this time, smoke and dust appearing from where it originally was. Wobbuffet activated its mirror coat, only to be startled by the Frubbles sticking themselves onto him and launching him backwards.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet cried as he crash-landed to where Team Rocket stood. 

"What's this?" Jessie grunted as she tried to take off the Frubbles on her chest, which were all over the Team Rocket trio.

"I can't get this stuff off!" Meowth whined.

"How come it didn't bounce back?" Ash questioned.

Froakie smiled. "Because it's sticky."

"Figured that out on my own." Clemont said proudly.

"Of course," Clemont exclaimed, causing Ash to turn to him. "Froakie's gummy Frubbles isn't a move, so Wobbuffet's mirror coat was completely ineffective!"

"Awesome, Froakie, way to go!" Ash congratulated Froakie as he ran forward, Pikachu running forward as well.

"Fro?" Froakie turned his head slightly towards Ash in confusion. 

"Pikachu and I can take it from here." Ash assured Froakie as Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity. 

Clemont ran forward. "We'll lend a hand too."

"Bun...by!" Bunnelby said as he jumped forward, a serious look on his face.

"You guys better not forget about me!" Bonnie puffed up her cheeks.

"Oh, right." Serena clasped her hands together. "You have Dedenne right?" She then frowned. "Where was he this entire time?"

Bonnie blinked. "Oh, we didn't meet Dedenne yet."

"So, if you had no Pokemon...what were you planning on doing, Bonnie?" Fennekin asked curiously.

"Uh..."

Clemont sighed and shook his head, smiling fondly. "Sisters."

Clemont's glasses flashed as he ordered Bunnelby, "Now, Bunnelby, use Dig!"

"Bunnel...by!" Bunnelby was shown using the dig attack, drilling into the ground with his ears once more.

Team Rocket became frantic as the ground shook. "Oi vey!" Meowth yelped as the ground beneath the Rocket Team collapsed. 

"What?" Fletchling chirped. "What does that even-"

"Fletchling." Pikachu shot the bird a look, shutting down his commentary almost immediately. 

"Yeah, way to go!" Bonnie cheered.

"Job well done, Bunnelby." Clemont approved.

Team Rocket was shown being launched into the air from above, Meowth with fake tears in his eyes and Bunnelby jumping after them. 

Serena frowned. "Was he crying just now?"

Ash shook his head and sighed. "Probably not. I know Meowth. He doesn't exactly cry that easily."

"What exactly have you seen from Meowth?" Pikachu muttered bitterly under his breath as he recalled all the times he's gotten into trouble when Ash wasn't around.

Funnily enough, he hadn't told Ash about any of those incidents, despite how often it occurred. 

"Let's wrap this up!" Ash said. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt, go!"

"Froakie!" Froakie jumped up with Pikachu, as the camera panned out to show the two charging their respective attacks-Thunderbolt and Water Pulse. 

Team Rocket screamed as the attacks closed in on them before exploding, causing them to be thrown one by one far into the distance to never be seen again. 

"We're blasting off again!"

"Wobbuffet!" 

There was a twinkle in the sky with a "shiny" sound effect before the screen turned back to Clemont, Ash, and Bonnie. 

"That was kinda cool." Serena admitted. "The sparkling affect, I mean."

"Wow!" Bonnie began. "Awesome power!"

Pikachu ran up to Ash and jumped up to him, as Bunnelby did the same with Clemont. 

"Thanks, everybody." Ash said.

"Bunnelby, you were just great." Clemont said as he pet Bunnelby's head. 

"Fro..." Froakie's voice caught everyone's attention as Froakie suddenly fell over. "Kie..."

"Froakie!" Ash exclaimed, before running towards Froakie and picking him up. "Something's wrong..."

Froakie twitched his eyes and groaned. "Froakie..."

The group stared down worriedly at Froakie as Clemont spoke. "Froakie needs help right away!"

"Pika!"

"Is there a Pokemon Center?" Ash asked.

"Well, from here..." Clemont looked around. "I'm trying to think..."

Bonnie interrupted. "I think it would be a whole lot quicker if we brought Froakie to the Professor's lab instead!"

"The Professor?" Ash asked. 

"Yeah," Clemont confirmed. "Professor Sycamore's Research Lab. There's no doubt that he'll know how to help Froakie."

Serena blinked with realization. 'I see, so that's how Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie met Professor Sycamore. But, what happened that led to that Garchomp going crazy...' She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. 'I'm kind of nervous to see what exactly happened. Seeing it through the news was scary by itself...'

Clemont pulled out Bunnelby's Pokeball and pointed it at the eared Pokemon. "Alright, Bunnelby, return!"

"By!" Bunnelby said as it was recalled back into the ball before Clemont smiled at the ball and said, 

"Thanks a lot, you really helped out."

The Pokeball moved in acknowledgement, causing Clemont to smirk fondly.

"Come on, Ash," Bonnie caught the others' attention again as she ran the opposite direction from which they were previously facing. "This way!"

Ash turned around and ran after Bonnie, still holding the injured Froakie in his arms. "I'm coming, Bonnie!"

The group was shown running to the stairs, though Clemont quickly ran to the side where he, Ash and Bonnie had put their bags, and picked them up. 

Ash frowned. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot that we left our bags. Did we ever thank you for grabbing them, Clemont?"

"Eh..." Clemont shrugged. "I think there were more important matters at hand to deal with, honestly."

Bonnie giggled.

"Just hang in there, Froakie." Ash smiled reassuringly to the unconscious Pokemon. "You're going to be feeling all better really soon!"

The group was shown running again as the Narrator began speaking. "A new region, new Pokemon, new friends, and this is only the beginning of Ash and Pikachu's exciting new adventures, as the journey continues!" The screen showed shots of Clemont running, carrying all the bags, Froakie slowly opening his eyes, Pikachu and Ash staring down worriedly at Froakie, before ending on the group running in a frozen shot, looking almost like the image was photo-shopped. 

"...that's so amazing." Bonnie said in awe, starry-eyed.

"Yeah..." Dedenne agreed, looking starry-eyed as well.

The screen turned black. 

The group stared awkwardly at one another in silence before Clemont cleared his throat and spoke up. "So...I'm assuming that's the first episode? I mean, there was a concluding narration, so..."

There was a couple more seconds of awkwardness before Fletchling let out a long and frustrated sigh. "We're going to be stuck in this room forever."

Chapter Text

The golden flash of light suddenly caught everyone's attention. 

Ash blinked as a slip of paper floated down from mid-air and landed in his hands. He stared at it before Bonnie spoke, "Is that from Sky?"

"Probably." Serena responded. "Ash, go on and read it!"

"Okay. Let's see..." Ash looked over the letter and began reading. "'So you've watched the first episode. Congrats! Now, let me just say that things might begin to get confusing.'"

"Uh oh..." Bonnie said dazedly. 

Ash glanced at Bonnie before continuing. "'First off, I misjudged who would be involved in the seeing of your future. There are many more people and Pokemon who will be involved, so inviting just you four and your Pokemon from the beginning might have been a mistake.'" Ash paused. "Pokemon, too? You think she means Pokemon we'll catch in the future?"

Clemont frowned and adjusted his glasses. "Most likely. Though, I'm still intrigued as to why we need to watch our future in the first place. And as to who this 'Sky' is in the first place..." Clemont paused before continuing. "There's actually a lot of questions we don't have answered...keep reading, Ash."

Ash nodded and continued reading. "'I'll try to figure out how to work this out so people don't get confused, but just be warned that people(and Pokemon) might join the group at random, so you might have to explain everything that happened so far to them, so they don't get confused either.'" Ash furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes. "Um...I'm confused..."

Pikachu frowned. "I second that. So, in summary, this place is completely unpredictable and we might have things happen at the most random times? And people and Pokemon might also randomly appear?" The small mouse shook his head. "This is insane. Exactly how many episodes are we going to watch, anyway?"

"I don't think we'll know. Unless, you know, Sky gives us an answer." Fennekin said.

Ash frowned and continued reading. "Man, this letter is long...Okay, let's see...'On another note, I have added subtitles to what the Pokemon are saying so everyone aside from the Pokemon can understand what is being said as well.' Oh, that's great! Now we can understand you guys!" Ash turned to the Pokemon, eyes sparkling. 

Fennekin flicked her bushy tail. "This Sky is very disorganized. So, people or pokemon might just randomly drop in at any time? Who do you think might be the first lucky guests? Team Rocket?"

"Arceus, I hope not..."  Fletchling muttered under his breath, and his two teammates muttered in agreement. 

"'So, ignoring all the crazy info-dumping I just gave you...on with Episode Two! -Sky'" Ash folded up the letter and put it in his pocket. "Well, I guess we start now."

The group exchanged looked before Fletchling sighed and turned to the screen, prompting everyone else to follow. "Here we go again..."

"AH!" Serena screamed as she was shown in her Racing Jumpsuit on top of a Rhyhorn.

Everyone in the room jumped as Serena groaned and put her head in her hands. 'This is too embarrassing...'

"...why is the episode starting on what Serena is doing? Why can't it continue from that cliffhanger?" Fletchling chirped.

Froakie shot the bird a look. "Are you serious about this? Our lives aren't an anime, you know."

Ash frowned as he contemplated that for a second. "Really? It kind of feels like an anime now..."

"Please don't let there be a dumb opening..." Pikachu put his face in his paws. 

Ash simply shook his head. 

"Close your mouth!" Grace, Serena's Mom yelled out from behind a fence. The camera panned out to show Serena and Grace near a bridge, where Serena was trying(and failing) to control her Rhyhorn. "You don't want to bite your tongue! Serena, remember! You've got to think like a Rhyhorn!"

Fletchling stared incredulously at the screen. "That's terrible advice!"

Clemont frowned. "What are you even doing, Serena?"

Serena sighed and began to explain as she absentmindedly stroked Fennekin's tail. "See, my mother is a professional Rhyhorn racer, and she wants me to follow in her footsteps. We do this all the time. Hence, the 'morning training'."

Serena was shown flailing wildly before Rhyhorn tossed her forwards and she yelled before face-planting across the ground and skidding towards her mom, who set her elbows on the gate and sighed. "Or...not..." Grace muttered.

Serena growled before screaming. "Mom! I HATE this!"

"I would too." Fletchling chirped. 

Froakie face-palmed. Fletchling was going to be the death of him. And probably everyone else. 

Music began playing as Ash, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont were all shown overlooking a hill. 

"Oh, come on!" Pikachu cried out with frustration before slumping forward and whining. "We have to listen to some dumb opening? Let me guess how long this'll be...what, two minutes and thirty seconds? Ash?"

Ash glanced at his started before putting a hand on his chin. "Hm...let me think...how about one minute and forty seconds?"

"Actually, that isn't so bad-"

"What are you two talking about?" Bonnie interrupted, confused. 

"See, in Kanto, the opening songs played for Anime are usually...pretty long..." Ash explained sheepishly. 

Serena frowned. "Really? English or Kantonese?"

"Kantonese." Both Trainer and Pokemon from said region chorused. 

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "Strange. Does Kanto not follow the main language used throughout the world? Even in Kalos, you hear people mostly speak English, instead of traditional Kalosen."

Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Wait, people speak English everywhere?"

"Mostly everywhere," Clemont corrected. "The language originated from Unova, but eventually spread to the other regions as well. The language is named 'English' after a King from ancient times in Unova, who-"

"Can we please just watch the opening already?" Dedenne interrupted impatiently. "We can save the over-complicated history lesson for later."

Clemont's face turned a faint pink color as he shut his mouth and turned to the screen.

"I wanna be the very best," 

Ash and Pikachu were shown, the former splitting a sandwich and tossing it to the latter, who happily jumped up and grabbed it. 

"Why did I throw the sandwich?" Ash asked.

"Maybe you thought it would taste better that way." Pikachu suggested.

"Oh, yeah. Good point." Ash agreed.

Froakie blinked repeatedly at the duo before very slowly turning his head back to the screen. He was getting the feeling that both his teammates and trainer were both insane and idiotic; respectively. 

"Like no one ever was,"

Serena was shown deciding between two hats before selecting her usual hat and tossing the other aside, Fennekin wagging her tail happily, looking up at her trainer. 

"It's kind of catchy." Fennekin hummed as she wagged her bushy tail to match the beat of the song. "Right, Serena?"

Serena nodded in agreement, bouncing her lap as well. "It has that kind of beat that gets stuck in your head."

"To catch them, is my real test,"

Clemont and Bonnie were shown, the former seen working on an invention while Bonnie chased a Chespin around her big brother, with Dedenne following. 

Clemont frowned and adjusted his glasses. "Is that a Chespin?"

"I think so." Serena responded. "Hey, maybe this means you get a Chespin in the future, Clemont!"

Bonnie gasped excitedly. "That's so cool! Hey, Clemont, I can't wait until you get a Chespin, can you?!"

"Hold on, Bonnie..." Clemont began weakly. "We don't even know if I'm getting a Chespin for sure or not...maybe we just befriend it-"

"You're going to get a Chespin!" Bonnie declared firmly before turning back to the screen, Dedenne mimicking her movements. 

She jumped on Chespin, Dedenne doing the same before Clemont looked up in surprise as the device in his hand suddenly exploded, smoke filling the screen before transitioning. 

Bonnie sighed as Clemont slumped over in disappointment. The rest of the group simply laughed. Brothers, honestly...

"To train them is my cause..."

Jessie, James, and Meowth were all shown looking through binoculars before Meowth leaned forward and began flailing wildly, about to fall off the balloon. Jessie and James lowered their binoculars before frantically jumping out and grabbing Meowth as he fell out of the balloon. Wobbuffet was seen going out of his Pokeball before saluting, causing Jessie and James to fall out of the balloon with Meowth. 

"...are they okay?" Bunnelby asked nervously. 

"They'll survive." Pikachu waved a paw absentmindedly. "They've survived worse, after all." 

Fletchling popped another piece of popcorn in his mouth. "I am still eagerly awaiting when said trio will arrive. This'll be absolutely exciting."

"To you, maybe." Froakie muttered under his breath. 

"What was that?" Fletchling cocked his head to the side innocently. 

"Nothing." Froakie responded automatically. 

"Pokemon!" 

Ash was shown throwing his arm out, Pikachu standing in a battle stance in front of him.

"Gotta catch 'em all!"

Pikachu was shown running across the screen in a Quick Attack.

"That was kind of a cool shot." Clemont admitted. 

"It's you and me..."

The same Chespin as earlier was shown firing a Pin Missile towards the screen before fading out, replaced with Clemont yelling out something, replaced with Bunnelby firing a Mud Shot.

Ash blinked before groaning. "Yup. This is an Anime opening for sure. Now we just need to throw in some Kantonese and some more dramatic shots and we're golden."

"You forgot the love-interest factor." Pikachu added.

"The what-interest factor?"

"Nothing, never-mind." Pikachu gave an exasperated smile as Fletchling snickered from behind him.

"Pokemon! I know it's my destiny!"

Bonnie was shown once Bunnelby faded out on the other side of the screen, jumping up before fading out and being replaced with Dedenne performing a Thunder-shock. 

"Hey, I'm in it too!" Bonnie squealed. 

"And me!" Dedenne added excitedly. 

Bonnie laughed. "Of course, you're in it too Dedenne! After all, you're my Pokemon!"

"Well, technically-" Clemont was about to say, before Ash put up a hand. 

"Just let her have this one, Clemont." Ash spoke, causing Clemont to look contemplative before nodding the affirmative. 

"Pokemon!"

Serena was shown saying something with a serious look on her face before Fennekin was shown firing an Ember attack.

"Yeah, you're my best friend..."

Ash was shown filling the whole screen before fading out and being replaced with Froakie shooting a water pulse, replaced with Fletchling flying out then turning around and performing a steel wing. He then vanished before Pikachu was shown jumping backwards and shooting an Electro Ball towards the camera, blinding it momentarily before switching scenes once more.

"Look, it's us." Fletchling stated simply. "How wonderful."

Froakie twitched, but decided not to intervene on the Tiny Robin Pokemon's comments this once.

"In a world we must defend..."

A mixture of purple and white light was shown in a flame-like style before revealing the Mega Evolution symbol. The scene then switched to Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, running forwards in front of a shop with Bonnie, Serena, and Clemont following him. 

"That was nice." Serena commented, Fennekin nodding in agreement. 

"Pokemon! Gotta catch 'em all..."

Multiple scenes were shown as the previous "Pokemon: The Series: XY" Logo was slowly forming on-screen. Said scenes were the same scenes shown in the previous episode's beginning narration. 

"Gotta catch 'em all... Gotta catch 'em all...all...all..."

"Pokemon!"

The title card from the previous episode was shown, Ash shown on the side once more before switching to the episode title-Ash narrating again. "Lumiose City Pursuit!"

"I'm guessing this is when the whole incident with Garchomp happens..." Clemont said nervously.

"So, does this mean I get to witness Ash and Pikachu falling off one of the tallest buildings in the world?" Fletchling asked, receiving a wary nod in reply, before continuing. "Cool."

Pikachu inched away from Fletchling subconsciously as Ash simply laughed nervously. 

Froakie brought a paw up and smacked Fletchling. Hard. 

The Tiny Robin slumped over on the seat, looking dazed. "You sit there and think about what you just said, Fletchling." Froakie ordered sternly. The Bubble Frog Pokemon paused for a second before grabbing Fletchling's popcorn bowl and sliding it over towards Pikachu. "You hold onto this. It's Fletchling's punishment."

Pikachu blinked before grabbing the bowl and handing it over to Ash, who shrugged and popped one in his mouth before handing one to Pikachu. 

Everyone averted their gaze towards the screen and simultaneously tried not to laugh. 

"Excitement filled the air as Ash and Pikachu arrived in the Kalos region," The narrator began, again the scenes being shown were that of the previous episode. "But as soon as they arrived...Team Rocket were after our heroes again! However, a brave Pokemon named Froakie saved the day, but Froakie took a lot of damage while battling. We join Ash, as he races to Professor Sycamore's research lab, with an injured Froakie in his arms!"

"...huh?" Bonnie blinked. "What? I-huh...wai-hold...what???"

"Do we really need the Narrator to tell us what happened?" Serena asked. "I mean, we did just watch it, right?"

"Maybe it's just for this episode." Ash suggested before popping another popcorn piece in his mouth. "Hey, this is really good. You guys want some?"

Fletchling made a whining sound from his slumped position on the movie theater seat before Bonnie jumped up excitedly, Dedenne following suit. "We want some! We want some!"

Ash handed the bowl of popcorn over to Bonnie who sat back down happily, tossing some kernels in her mouth. "Yummy!" 

Dedenne jumped in the bowl and ate a kernel as well. "Wow, this is delicious. Especially since we stole it from Fletchling. Wait, that makes it even better!"

Another whining sound was heard from the small flying-type, causing Ash to furrow his brow worriedly. "Hey, Froakie...how hard did you hit Fletchling? I don't want him to get seriously hurt or anything..."

"He'll survive." Froakie stated bluntly before turning back to the screen stubbornly, indicating that the conversation was over. 

Bonnie was shown running with Ash following, the former calling out to the teen behind her. "This way! Hurry up!"

"Okay." Ash confirmed before looking down at Froakie, Pikachu doing the same worriedly. "Froakie, you've got to hang in there!"

"O-okay..." Froakie responded weakly. 

"...that feels different." Serena remarked.

"Yeah," Clemont agreed. "Though, technically we're hearing the voices of our pokemon for the first time..."

"What, no you're not." Bunnelby protested. "Did you not hear us when the language barrier was first broken when we got here?"

Clemont nodded slowly. "Well, yes...but I think it wasn't until now when we began properly taking in the information. Your voice is pretty nasal, for example, which I hadn't noticed before." 

Bunnelby flicked an ear. It was interesting to hear how he sounded, as you never really knew, especially from a human's perspective. 

"Well, we all sound different." Fennekin flicked her tail. "Froakie over there sounds like he's underwater most of the time."

"Because...I'm a water type?" Froakie questioned, unsure.

"Yeah," Fennekin nodded. "And that Tiny Robin over there sounds like the most annoying pokemon in the world."

"What? No I'm not." Fletchling protested, having fully recovered by this time. "You sound like a stuck up princess." He then turned to Dedenne, ignoring Fennekin's glare. "You sound like a little brat," Fletchling insulted, causing the electric-type to blanch. "And you," Fletchling pointed his beak towards Pikachu before bluntly stating. "Sound like a girl."

There was an awkward silence. 

Ash coughed nervously, the edges of his mouth twitching upwards as he tried to diffuse the situation, "Hey, Fletchling, maybe you should take that back-"

Ash was cut off by a strange sound. A very familiar sound. The sound of sparking. 

Everybody slowly turned towards Pikachu, who's cheeks were-yup-sparking with electricity, before he growled and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt, shocking everyone in the vicinity. 

"Did you have to say that?!" Serena screamed as she was shocked along with the others. 

"Well, forgive me if I didn't expect an attempted murder to happen right after!" Fletchling screamed back.

"You're an idiot!" Froakie screamed as well before freezing and looking down at his body. "Hey, wait a minute, how come I'm not getting shocked?"

"Don't look a Gift Horsea in the mouth!" Fennekin shrieked before relaxing and slumping over in her seat. "Well, that was electrifying." She panted dryly. 

The group groaned, their muscles hurting from the shock, and their brains hurting from the pun. 

"What a fun exercise..." Bonnie said dazedly. 

Ash sighed exasperatedly as he sent a reprimanding look towards his Starter, who simply huffed and looked away. 'Pikachu, honestly...'

Bonnie and Ash suddenly turned around to show Clemont struggling to catch up. "Clemont! Go faster or we'll leave you behind!"

Clemont was shown carrying all the bags, looking exhausted. "I'm running as fast as I can..." He replied sluggishly. "You two, don't wait for me...just get going...I'll catch up later..."

"You got it, Clemont." Ash nodded in confirmation, continuing his run. 

"I can't believe how slow my brother is..." Bonnie muttered before running after Ash. 

A street in Lumiose was shown before putting emphasis on a tree, which rattled, groaning sounds coming from it. 

Team Rocket was shown, worse for wear, slumped over a branch before James spoke up. "Unforgivable!"

"How did they..." Clemont began before sighing. "You know what, never mind. I was going to ask how they landed at the exact place we happened to be heading."

"Yeah," Ash said sheepishly. "I don't know the answer to that." He paused before adding. "Actually, I don't think anyone knows."

"And embarrassing..." Meowth added. 

"Ash! This way!" Bonnie's voice was heard, causing the Rocket trio to perk up. 

"Right!" Ash replied, causing said trio to gasp. 

Bonnie and Ash were shown, Bonnie pointing upwards with a happy look on her face. "That's it! The Sycamore Pokemon lab!" 

"It's the twerp!" Meowth exclaimed from the tree. 

"Sycamore Pokemon Lab?" Jessie inquired, deviously.

"Is she deaf?" Dedenne asked innocently. 

Bonnie hummed. "I don't think so. She seemed like she could hear fine when we first met her."

"It must be for studying Pokemon." James responded. 

"I'll wager all the strong and rare Pokemon in there would make you fall over!" Meowth grinned evilly, Jessie and James sharing the same look. 

Wobbuffet was shown suddenly popping out of his Pokeball, "Yes, sir!" The group was then shown looking frantic as the branch cracked under the sudden addition in weight, causing them to fall down, a loud 'thump!' being heard. 

"Does he always say that?" Froakie asked, not expecting an answer. After all, the only person-or rather, pokemon-that knew the answer was currently not in a talking to mood.

Surprisingly, said pokemon actually did respond, and seemed to have completely forgotten the event that transpired a mere minute ago. "He does, actually. Always has. Always will...I think."

Froakie blinked and nodded slowly, not wanting to set Pikachu off like Fletchling did.

The doors of the Professor's lab were shown-from the inside-being opened up by Bonnie who ran inside before being followed by Ash. 

"Hello?" Ash called out. "Professor Sycamore! Are you here?"

A yawn was heard, causing the group to turn their heads towards the sound of the voice. "Coming, coming..." Professor Sycamore rubbed the back of his head tiredly before his expression changed into one of alarm. 

"Are you the Professor?" Ash asked seriously, as the camera zoomed in on Froakie with a "ding" sound being heard. 

"Froakie, no!" the Professor exclaimed with alarm as he ran forward. 

"You know this Froakie, Professor?" Ash asked in surprise.

"I sure do." The Professor replied before turning. "Sophie! Come quick!" He then grabbed Froakie out of Ash's hands and spoke to him. "We've been so worried about you. Your trainer has been in recent contact with us..."

Froakie was shown staring solemnly for a second before closing his eyes shut. 

Froakie looked down slightly. How many times had he heard that sentence? The sentence that would let him know that, no, these trainers really didn't try with their pokemon, nor did they care. 

If a friend were to run off angrily, would you simply disband your friendship with them? To Froakie, the answer was no, which was why he disliked each and every one of his previous trainers. Because to them, they couldn't treat pokemon like real friends. They never would, either. As such, their answer to that question would be yes, which was why he couldn't stay with them. 

As Froakie had clear conflicting "ideals" with his "trainers", he simply cut off his ties with them. Every single time. 

Because not one of them was worth giving his friendship and loyalty, as they didn't give him as much.

Sophie was then shown running towards the Professor, who gave the Bubble Frog Pokemon to her. "Froakie needs help." Sycamore explained.

"Right." Sophie nodded in the affirmative before being shown running back the way she came. 

"Hope he'll be okay..." Pikachu muttered.

'Pikachu does kind of sound like a girl...' Serena mused, intelligently keeping said thought in her head.

"Thanks, Professor...We've been worried about Froakie too...so, is Froakie's trainer on their way here right now?" Ash asked.

"Sadly, no, he isn't. He had recently contacted us to let us know that he wanted to give Froakie up." Sycamore replied.

Ash gasped slightly. 

"Are you serious?!" Pikachu asked.

Serena let out an embarrassed squeak, again trying to keep that same thought from popping out of her mouth and starting another mess. 

The group was shown standing in silence for a couple seconds before they turned towards the door, which opened up with a creaking sound, revealing Clemont walking through, gasping and panting. 

He continued panting as he walked over to the group and collapsed in front of them, the weight of all three bags dragging him down. 

"You're so slow!" Bonnie accused immediately as she crossed her arms.

"How's Froakie?" Clemont asked, ignoring Bonnie. 

Fletchling snickered. "Snubbed." 

Bonnie pouted. 

Froakie was then shown breathing uneasily in some kind of machine, injuries all over his body. The camera panned out to show the machine omitting an orange light, Sophie operating it from the back of the examination room. A third tube-similar to the other two tube omitting the orange light-retracted from the ceiling, flashing an orange light on Froakie as well.

"Hey, Clemont?" Bonnie asked. "What are those lights?"

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "Well, I'm assuming they have some kind of special healing properties. The light is probably providing nutrients for Froakie..." He faltered, a look of pure confusion flashing across his face. "Wait, but Froakie isn't a grass-type, this healing method wouldn't work."

"So, the lab people don't know what they're doing?" Dedenne asked with wide eyes. 

Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu were all shown looking on through the examination room window worriedly. "Poor Froakie..." Ash muttered. 

Sycamore walked over and loudly declared. "There's nothing to worry about. Sophie is the absolute best at what she does."

Ash and Pikachu were shown, with the former smiling before saying, "Great."

"I'm Professor Sycamore," Sycamore introduced. "I'm a Pokemon Researcher working here in Kalos."

"Obviously," Fletchling commented, inciting irritated looks from the other pokemon. "If you were working anywhere else I would be surprised."

Without warning, Froakie reached up and slammed Fletchling to the ground, causing the bird to look dazed again. "I'm not sure how you're still able to talk after getting electrocuted, but whatever," The Bubble Frog pokemon muttered to himself. "Where did that popcorn from earlier go?"

"I have it." Serena said as she held up the bowl. "It's almost finished though, Dedenne and Bonnie ate most of it."

Everyone ignored the whining sound that came from Fletchling. 

"Nice to meet you. My name's Ash," He then turned to Pikachu. "And this is my partner, Pikachu."

"Hello." Pikachu smiled as he raised a paw in greeting. 

"My name's Bonnie," Bonnie said. "And this is my brother, Clemont."

"It's an honor to meet you, Professor!" Clemont said politely. 

The group were shown from above, sitting on couches, four cups of tea set on the table as Ash began explaining. "See, Pikachu and I got here today from Pallet Town in Kanto."

"From Kanto?" Sycamore leaned forward slightly. 

"Is he deaf?" Dedenne asked the same question from earlier to Bonnie once more.

The girl giggled in reply. "No, Dedenne. The Professor is not deaf."

"Oh, okay." Dedenne said simply. "Just checking."

"Right," Ash nodded in confirmation. "I'm travelling on a journey so I can become a Pokemon Master!"

"What he said." Pikachu added simply.

"You're trying to become a Pokemon Master, too?" Bunnelby asked teasingly.

"...no?" Pikachu questioned. "That's not what I-"

"I'm just messing with you." Bunnelby chuckled jokingly, causing Pikachu to blink and join in the laughter as well.

"Then welcome. I apologize for not thanking you yet for saving Froakie, but it is much appreciated." Sycamore said.

"The truth is, Professor, Froakie was the one who saved us!" Ash said happily before frowning. "So, what's the deal with Froakie's trainer? What happened that made him want to 'give Froakie up'?"

Froakie frowned. Simple. All his previous trainer wanted was for Froakie to listen to him and do nothing else but obey. And when Froakie didn't he grew frustrated with him, even resorting to yelling. 

He and all those other trainers might as well have just tied him with a rope and dragged him down the street simply to get him to obey.

Sycamore was shown frowning as he explained. "You see, one of my numerous responsibilities is to give trainers their very first Pokemon. Froakie, is a Pokemon meant for new trainers."

The screen then changed to a black and white showing of silhouettes. One of a trainer, Froakie firing a Bubble Beam, and what looked like an Azurill running away from the Bubble Beam. "But this particular Froakie is a bit different, refusing to listen to its trainer during battle." Another shot showed Froakie with his back to the camera, standing alone. "There have even been times when Froakie ran away, simply because it didn't like its trainer." The next shot showed Froakie looking over his shoulder at silhouettes of four different trainers in the background, walking away from him. "And several trainers came back to my lab, just so they could return Froakie."

Everyone gasped. "You mean more than one trainer?" Ash asked.

"That's really sad..." Pikachu muttered sympathetically. 

"Yeah." Froakie said to himself, voice barely raised above a whisper. "It really is."

It wasn't meant for others to hear, but Pikachu had heard it, and frowned accordingly.

"I'm sure Froakie acts that way for a reason..." Sycamore said with a smile. 

"So, Froakie's had a hard life." Bonnie said sadly.

"I've actually heard a few rumors about a trainer's Starter Pokemon acting like that, but it seemed absurd, so I never believed them." Clemont explained. 

Ash frowned. "You mean a Trainer's Starter Pokemon not listening to them?" 

Clemont nodded. "Most Starter Pokemon are brought up and raised to be a Starter Pokemon, and to be friendly, too. So, it's rare to hear cases of Starters disobeying their trainers."

Pikachu coughed into his paw twice. "Oh, really? I had no idea."

"Froakie..." A voice suddenly surprised the group causing them to look over, showing a Garchomp looking at Froakie through the glass worriedly. "Come on Froakie, please be okay..."

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "It's a garchomp!"

"Of course he is, Ash! Way to state the obvious!" Pikachu said cheerfully. 

Ash stared. 

He continued staring.

He couldn't stop staring. 

He was still-

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Pikachu had finally had it and exclaimed loudly. 

Ash said nothing and turned back to the screen. "Ah, nothing." He replied despondently. 

"Garchomp lives here at the lab," Sycamore explained as he stood up. "It has a good heart."

"Poor Froakie..." Garchomp muttered to himself as he looked through the glass.

"Garchomp," Sycamore spoke, catching the pokemon's attention. "How are you feeling?" Sycamore asked while petting said Pokemon. 

"Good." Garchomp replied, cooing slightly. 

Froakie's eyes opened slightly as he asked, "Garchomp?"

"Did you talk to Garchomp often, Froakie?" Bunnelby asked. 

Froakie nodded, smiling. "Yeah, actually. Garchomp...well, he was pretty much the only pokemon I talked to at the lab..."

The other members of the group shot the Kaloseon Starter sympathetic looks.

Garchomp turned to Froakie. "Is he going to be okay?" He asked, more to himself, then to Froakie or Sycamore. 

Sycamore stepped forward and put a hand on Garchomp's shoulder. "Froakie will be fine, don't worry." He assured before turning to the group. "You can thank these people."

Garchomp turned around, making a stomping sound as he did so. Ash stepped forward. "Nice to meet you, Garchomp." 

"Nice to meet you, too!" Pikachu added. 

"You really care a lot about Froakie, don't you?" Ash asked before reaching up to pet Garchomp. "Froakie's going to be okay, I promise."

"Thank you." Garchomp said as Pikachu patted him on the head as well. [1]

"You're friendly," Fletchling muttered. "How are you so friendly, yet completely fly off the hammer when someone insults you in the slightest?"

Pikachu sent Fletchling a stern glare. "I don't take things like that from anyone, Fletchling." [2]

Fletchling chirped nervously.

Bonnie ran up to Sycamore before excitedly asking. "May I pet Garchomp too, please?"

"Of course," Sycamore allowed. "Garchomp would love that."

"Yay!" Bonnie cheered as the Professor reached down to pick her up so she could pet Garchomp.

"Aw, you're so cute. Good Pokemon." Bonnie said as Garchomp cuddled with her slightly, making a happy noise. "Hey, you like me!"

"That's Garchomp all right." Froakie smiled. 

"Professor?" Clemont spoke up.

"Hm?" Sycamore turned his head toward the blond.

"I've heard a lot about your research on pokemon evolution. Is it true that's what you work on?"

"Yeah," Sycamore nodded. "There are many other Pokemon that live here at the lab, aside from Garchomp."

"Whoa! I wanna see them! I wanna see them! I wanna see them right now!" Bonnie began shaking excitedly. 

Sycamore laughed. "I think we can arrange that. Cosette, watch Garchomp for me, would you?"

"Of course," Cosette, the pink-haired assistant nodded. "No problem."

Sycamore began walking the other direction, Bonnie and Clemont following before the latter paused and turned around. "What about you, Ash? Aren't you coming?"

Ash turned around from where he was looking through the glass, watching Froakie before replying, "I'll catch up with you in a bit, Clemont."

"Oh, okay." Clemont smiled and accepted before turning around. 

"The way he said that, though..." Fletchling said wearily.

Froakie held up a paw in warning. "Would you like to continue?"

"...I'm good, thanks. Can I have my popcorn back?"

"No." Froakie replied bluntly, causing Fletchling to slump over and pout like a child. 

Ash opened the door to the examination room and walked toward the table Froakie was lying on. "Hey, Froakie? I just want to thank you for saving me back there."

Froakie turned to Ash wearily.

"You were great." Pikachu agreed, smiling. 

Pikachu sighed and smiled at Froakie. "You really were great, I meant that, but..." He paused before a look of frustration passed over his face. "You were also completely idiotic for taking that electric attack!"

Froakie was taken aback for a moment before he frowned thoughtfully. 

"Pikachu and I both think you're awesome!" Ash said. 

"Huh?" Froakie said weakly. "Oh...well...thanks..." He muttered before closing his eyes again. 

"I don't get it." Ash smiled to himself. "I would want a Pokemon like you, look what you did! You cared enough to save Pikachu! You're the best!"

"Right?" Pikachu agreed. 

A Combee was shown flying in the lab greenhouse, as the camera moved downwards to show Sycamore, Clemont, and Bonnie-who was running in circles-watching the pokemon in the lab. 

Ash and Pikachu were shown walking in the greenhouse from a distance before Pikachu exclaimed, "Amazing!" 

Ash began running towards the group, Pikachu tailing behind. "Wow, amazing." Ash commented as he looked around. 

"So, how's Froakie doing, Ash?" Clemont asked, concerned. 

Ash pumped up a fist. "Much better! Froakie's real strong!" [3] 

Bunnelby blinked. "I think he meant he wanted an actual doctor answer. Not some kind of vague and hopeful thought."

Ash blinked. "Then, wouldn't he just ask a doctor? Why would he ask me? I'm not certified."

Fennekin let out a whistle. "Well, well, well, looks like the Bisharp here can actually think, eh Serena?" Fennekin tossed a playful grin at her trainer, whose face turned completely red from embarrassment. 

"Fennekin..." Serena squeaked out, her head making a sound similar to that of a tea kettle. Was her pokemon just going to find any way she could to reference her crush on Ash? He was just stating the obvious that time, for crying out loud!

"Ash, I've never even seen some of these Pokemon!" Bonnie exclaimed happily. "There's almost way too many to count!"

"Wow, there's even a Helioptile!" Ash observed. 

"That's great!" Pikachu waved his paws before running towards Bonnie, who was surrounded by an Azumarill, a Marill, and a Zigzagoon. "Hi there!" He waved. 

"Friendly..." Fletchling let out a strained grunt. "He's acting nice again."

"I'm always nice." Pikachu replied. He wasn't bragging. He was simply stating a fact.

Or, rather, somewhat of a fact.

"So, Professor, what kind of evolution are you researching?" Ash asked.

"Well," Sycamore began, the screen showing Garchomp being scanned with some kind of green light, Cosette shown working on some computers nearby. "If I told you that some pokemon may have an additional evolutionary stage, would you believe me?"

Serena gasped as her eyes widened. "No way!"

"Oh, right." Clemont realized. "Serena, you didn't hear about Mega Evolution, did you?"

Serena shook her head incredulously. "No, I had no clue."

Ash's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"So, you're saying that a pokemon like Garchomp can still evolve?" Clemont emphasized incredulously. 

"Possibly." Sycamore replied. "That's what I'm researching."

"Whoa." Ash remarked.

"Unbelievable..." Clemont said. 

"There have been several reports of pokemon evolving in a way that we researchers refer to as Mega Evolution." Sycamore continued explaining. 

"Mega Evolution?" Ash asked, taken aback. 

Dedenne cocked his head again. "Is Ash deaf?"

Bonnie giggled. "Of course not, silly! Why do you keep asking that?"

Dedenne simply smiled innocently. "I dunno."

"Many of the specific details behind this evolution are still a mystery." Sycamore said. "But we believe that a strong bond between a Pokemon and Trainer as well as a special stone play a crucial role in evolving."

"Way to be vague, dude" Fletchling muttered. "I mean, seriously. 'A special stone'...and no specifics? I sense a government cover-up..."

Pikachu glanced at Fletchling but said nothing, though he was inwardly praying that the flying-type wasn't a conspiracy-theorist. He got enough of that when Squirtle was around. 

He couldn't help but wonder how both Squirtle and Fletchling would react if he told them he had gotten kidnapped by aliens before and was used to power up a makeshift UFO. Hm...

"Strong bond, huh?" Ash said to himself.

"Incredible..." Pikachu added.

"What's more, a pokemon is able to return to its previous form after going through this special evolution." Sycamore added.

Ash gasped. "It can turn back? Really?"

The screen panned out to show the group being watched by Team Rocket from on top of the building from a distance. 

"Mega Evolution." Meowth commented. "Strong stuff."

"Question: how did they get on the roof?" Bunnelby asked.

"Nobody knows." Ash scratched his cheek nervously.

"How did they hear the entire conversation all the way up there?" Fennekin added an inquiry of her own.

"I have no idea..." Ash replied sheepishly. "Honestly, I don't know or understand half the things Team Rocket does..."

"Further evolution," James pumped up a fist. "After evolving!"

"The way is clear," Jessie added. "Every pokemon is ours! Catching time is near~" Jessie sang as the trio grinned. 

"Atten-tion!" Wobbuffet cried as he released himself from his Pokeball, causing the trio to blink and motion the Pokemon to hush as they all covered his mouth.

"...what." Froakie said.

"Do you have a headache?" Pikachu asked.

"Yes?" Froakie sounded unsure.

"Then, congratulations. You now have a full understanding of Team Rocket."

Team Rocket was then shown in scientist disguises, slamming the lab door open, a singing sound being heard in the background. 

"Pikachu?" Ash questioned calmly. "How did we keep falling for Team Rocket's dumb disguises for four years?"

"Good question. I have no clue." Pikachu replied.

"Well, that was helpful." Fennekin muttered. 

"Oh, fellow researchers~" Jessie sang, eyes closed, though her teasing expression was clear even with a mask covering her face. 

"We've come to research Mega Evolution~" James added.

Sophie was shown walking in the lobby. "You have?"

The TRio giggled to themselves deviously. 

Froakie was shown, still lying on the examination table, his eyes opening a crack as he groaned. The screen he was looking at showed a camera looking into the lobby, where Sophie and the TRio was shown. 

Froakie slowly got up as the glass mysteriously lowered itself on its own. "Huh...?" He questioned.

"Oh look!" Fletchling exclaimed dramatically as he ruffled his feathers. "Froakie's magically all better now! Now we can start some real plot!"

Everyone rolled their eyes when Fletchling added, "Now, can I please have back my popcorn?"

Serena stared at the empty bowl in front of her that was previously filled to the top with popcorn. She nervously hid it under a nearby pillow and hoped Fletchling wouldn't take notice.

"We've come to be of scientific service!" Meowth said as he was shown wiggling side to side. 

"Well, that wasn't creepy or anything." Fennekin said to herself as she flicked her tail. 

"I wasn't told anything about this..." Sophie remarked as Cosette and Garchomp were shown walking in. 

"I'll check with the Professor..." Cosette volunteered, uncertainty creeping into her voice. 

Team Rocket turned to each other and began whispering among themselves, what was being said unheard to the camera. 

Garchomp, apparently not appreciating the whispering, roared at them before he paused.

"Wait!" Froakie was heard as he leaped towards the TRio with an angry expression on his face. "I know these guys!" He accused.

"What?" Garchomp asked, surprised. 

"That's the Froakie that blasted us off!" Meowth pointed. 

"I-" Froakie began then shook his head. "How did we-I mean...he said this out loud for crying out loud! How did we fall for this?!"

Pikachu let out a nervous laugh. "I can't tell you that..."

"Then that's the one who should feel our research wrath first." James said sternly as he grabbed a cube from his coat pocket and raised it up into the air, the light reflecting on the cube. "So, let's get ready to research!"

Jessie began pushing Sophie away from Garchomp. "Now, please step aside. This procedure is not for the faint of heart."

"Voila!" James cried as he threw the cube dramatically. 

"Kalosen." Bunnelby muttered. "These guys are from Kanto, right?"

Ash looked contemplative before replying, "Actually, I'm pretty sure Jessie's from Sinnoh. I mean, I think..."

"Meowth's from Hollywood. That's in...I think, the American Province in the...Unova Region? Is that right?" Pikachu asked.

Ash nodded. He then paused. "How did we start our journey through Unova without knowing about it? Especially since we've technically been there before."

"Well, technically, the American Province of Unova is not really part of Unovan territory..." Clemont explained.

"Huh?" Ash blinked, confused.

"Nevermind..." Clemont sighed, exasperated. "But yeah. The American Province isn't actually near Unova. It's just a misconception due to the similarities in culture. I'm pretty sure that Province is actually somewhere near Kanto. It would explain why Meowth was from there at least, considering how Meowth are rare in Unova."

"Wow, Clemont." Serena smiled. "You're really smart!"

Clemont blushed. "Thanks, Serena!"

"Back to my question," Bunnelby spoke up again. "So, Jessie's from Sinnoh, Meowth is from the American Province, and James is..."

"James is from Kanto for sure." Ash said firmly. "We've been to his house."

Everyone stared. 

"...you've been to one of your stalker's house?" Fletchling asked Pikachu, who was unsure of how to reply. 

"...it was weirder than you think," Pikachu simply decided to be completely honest. "It was kind of like a soap opera, only with torture devices, fiances, parents pretending to be dead, and with us being the ones who got the short end of the stick instead of Team Rocket."

Fennekin flicked her tail. "You know, I think I actually want to hear about how that went down in more detail."

Pikachu waved a paw. "Later. Let's finish watching this first. I'll tell you all the story, though, I promise."

Froakie grunted as he spread his arms out wide, ready to defend-

-Before Garchomp rushed in at last second, causing the cube to form an energy like color around his neck, electrocuting him; his eyes glowing. 

Garchomp roared in pain as Froakie looked on with white eyes, looking horrified. "Garchomp!?"

"Ah!" Sophie exclaimed with alarm. "Oh no! Garchomp!"

"Not our intended target, but whatever." Jessie said nonchalantly. "They did mentioned that Garchomp might be able to Mega Evolve." 

"Let's just go with it!" Meowth cried. "It's a Garchomp grab!"

James brought out a strange device and pressed random buttons. "Garchomp, we insist that you come along with us!"

"What the hell is pressing random buttons going to do?" Fletchling asked. 

"I thought we weren't supposed to question anything when it came to Team Rocket." Dedenne pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Fletchling chirped. "I forgot."

Garchomp roared with pain as the blue electricity on the color increased in power. 

Serena flinched as she held Fennekin tighter in her arms. It was worse than she had originally thought. She knew that something had to have happened to the Garchomp, she just didn't know exactly what was it that had caused such a kind pokemon to go on such a rampage.

Froakie growled as he jumped forward in an attempt to get the color off Garchomp. He was unfortunately blasted backwards by another burst of blue energy, causing Garchomp to roar in pain once more. 

Garchomp continued screamed as his voice echoed outside the lab to the greenhouse, surprising the group outside, causing them to run inside. 

"Hey, that's Garchomp!" Ash exclaimed. 

Garchomp screamed before firing a Hyper Beam in a random direction. The attack cut through the lab. A few seconds after, multiple explosions were caused at once, the sound similar to that of a machine gun. 

Ash jumped, Pikachu yelping at his side. 

"Is something wrong, Ash?" Clemont frowned, worried. 

Ash smiled reassuringly to Clemont. "Nah, it's nothing, don't worry about it." The sound of the explosions had briefly brought him back to a certain incident back at a Port in Kanto, where a certain crazy woman had a machine gun...

He rubbed Pikachu's head, causing the mouse pokemon to relax slightly. That incident was a little more than terrifying for the both of them. 

He probably shouldn't have told Serena that Kanto was peaceful. Well, he supposed Pallet Town was peaceful...but everywhere else was just danger, danger, danger.

Garchomp then crashed into the library shelves, causing them to fall over in his rampaging state. He then crashed into a light, which somehow caused his eyes to glow red as he stepped towards the TRio, who took a step back.

"Hold on," Jessie complained. "This isn't how we planned it." 

"Come on Garchomp, get with the program!" Meowth said with frustration. 

"Most peculiar..." James said as he brought out the strange device from earlier and began clicking randomly again. 

"Seriously." Fletchling said dryly. "What in the name of Arceus is pressing random buttons on a blank purple screen going to do?"

"Well, it was obviously doing something, wasn't it?" Froakie snapped harshly, causing the Robin to be taken aback before bowing his head slightly, muttering to himself. 

Froakie almost felt bad. He hadn't meant to snap, as annoying as the flying-type was. He was just re-living stressful memories all over again at seeing Garchomp in pain. 

Garchomp cried out in pain before gasping and panting.

"Garchomp!" Ash cried as he and the others arrived on the scene. "What's going on?"

"Professor!" Sophie called out. "Those three did this!" She accused.

Sycamore gasped. "What? Alright, who are you?"

Jessie's eye was shown up close before it showed her in a dramatic stance. "Prepare for trouble, alright, we're us."

James was shown in the same way as he said his lines. "And make it double, no must no fuss!" On that last bit he grabbed the edge of his cloak and tore it off dramatically, filling the screen. 

The TRio plus Wobbuffet was shown posing as Ash clenched his fist, Bonnie puffing her cheeks angrily, and Pikachu narrowing his eyes. "Oh no, Team Rocket!"

"You are such annoying bad people!" Bonnie cried out. 

"Truer words have never been spoken." Fennekin smirked. 

"Team Rocket?" Sycamore questioned.

"They're bad guys who try to steal everybody's pokemon!" Ash shouted in reply. 

"Try?" Jessie mocked, a teasing look on her face. "We succeed."

Serena looked doubtful. "Have they ever, really?"

Ash shook his head in reply. "Not as far as I've known them."

"And today, Garchomp will fill that need!" James added, clapping hands with Jessie. 

"And there's nothing like doing an evil deed!" Meowth added, pumping a paw. 

"It can't be. A talking meowth." Sycamore said, his voice devoid of emotion. [4]

"The wisdom gushes out of my mouth!" Meowth gushed as he grinned. 

"Ugh." Pikachu glared at the Scratch Cat as his cheeks sparked. He really didn't like Meowth. As complicated as his relationship with said pokemon was. 

Garchomp charged up a Hyper Beam, clearly fed up with the group's banter and launched it at Team Rocket, who was shown blasting off into the distance. "Hey, no fair!" They all cried simultaneously. 

"Ag-reed!" Wobbuffet added. 

"Why does-" Serena began to say before her Starter interrupted her.

"No questions about Team Rocket, remember, Serena?" Fennekin flashed her a fox-like grin, true to her species name. 

Garchomp growled in pain as Ash tried to reach out to him. "What's wrong, Garchomp?"

Garchomp growled then launched another Hyper Beam at the group, causing Ash to cry, "Look out!". The group scattered frantically as the hyper beam was launched over their heads, causing rubble fly everywhere. 

Pikachu was shown landing on his fours as Ash fell to the ground. "What was that for?!"

"Wait a minute! Look on Garchomp's neck!" Clemont said, pointing to the Pokemon in question, who was crying out in pain once more.

"It's some sort of collar..." Sycamore gasped. 

"It's from those mysterious people!" Sophie frowned, causing Sycamore to gasp. "Garchomp jumped in to save Froakie from getting hit, that's why he's acting this way!"

Garchomp suddenly launched himself off the ground, causing the roof to burst once more and lead him to crash into another building on the other side of the road. People began screaming as they tried to avoid the chaos. 

Serena put a hand to her mouth in shock. She knew things were about to get much much worse. She tried to calm herself down with the thought that everything ended up fine in the end, because it did-but it was still scary to be watching such events so closely. 

Ash ran forward, looking out of the hole Garchomp made in the roof. "Garchomp!"

"Oh no!" Pikachu cried out. 

Ash gritted his teeth. "Garchomp must be in a lot of pain..."

Bonnie clenched Clemont's pants as tears filled her eyes. Clemont clasped her hand as he held the other around her back, supporting her. "W-what's going to happen to Garchomp?" 

Ash stared at the roof for another second before turning to Pikachu. "Let's go after him!"

"Right!"

"Please be careful!" Sycamore cried out before turning to Sophie. "Sophie, can you check to see if the other pokemon are okay?"

"Oh, Clemont." Bonnie said. "I wish we could help poor Garchomp out..."

"Then let's go too." Clemont declared turning to his sister, determination sparking in her eyes as well as she nodded. 

"Would be real nice to have some popcorn right about now..." Fletchling muttered as he stretched his wings and flew up to one of the beams on the ceiling and searched from above, one eye absentmindedly watching the screen. 

Froakie leaped in front of Ash and Pikachu, who were running towards the door and stopped them. "Wait."

"Froakie, what?" Ash demanded, sounding slightly forceful. 

Hearing himself talk, Ash looked sheepish. He turned to Froakie apologetically. "Sorry if I sounded a bit rude back there, Froakie..."

Froakie smiled. "It's okay, Ash. And no, you didn't really sound rude to me. I think we were all distracted by Garchomp, if anything."

"I'm coming too!" Froakie declared. 

"Great, you want to come?" Ash exclaimed. 

"Thank you!" Pikachu said, relieved.

"Yes!" Froakie replied as he jumped the other direction, ushering Ash and Pikachu to follow him. 

"Who's that Pokemon?" Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie's voice was heard asking, showing a silhouette of Froakie this time. [5]

"Now, we're saying it?" Bonnie questioned, slightly confused. "And isn't that Froakie?"

"It's Froakie!!!" The group replied a few seconds later. 

"Yes." Fletchling chirped from above in reply. 

Garchomp was shown flying in the sky, which turned a slight golden color an indication of how much time had passed. He then fired another Hyper Beam at a building, causing the glass to explode, as well as more destruction. He continued on his rampage before police sirens were heard, Officer Jenny and another officer sitting in the car. 

Officer Jenny spoke through a walkie talkie. "Attention citizens, there is a Garchomp currently on a rampage. "Please evacuate the area immediately." 

The police car was then shown stuck in traffic, dramatic music playing as two news helicopters flew above. 

"This feels like a movie," Fennekin remarked. "Only it's real life."

"Because that comment's original." Fletchling flew down from the beams onto Serena's shoulder, who turned the Robin with a look of confusion on her face. "My popcorn, if you please."

Fennekin snickered. "Just give it to him, Serena."

Serena laughed nervously before grabbing the empty bowl from behind the pillow and showing it to Fletchling, who gaped. "Sorry, Fletchling..." Serena began sheepishly, feeling a bit bad. "It's empty now..."

Fletchling slumped and muttered dejectedly under his breath before flying over to the comfort of his trainer's shoulder, saying something about 'popcorn thieves' on his way there. 

Ash laughed and petted the Robin's wings comfortingly, who leaned into the touch. His pokemon, honestly...

The helicopter door was opened as the news reported stuck her head out and began speaking, the cameraman recording while gritting his teeth. "At present, Garchomp is flying towards Prism Tower!"

Garchomp latched onto the edge of the tower before slipping and landing on the nearby ledge. He then fired another hyper beam, this time aimed at the news helicopter, causing the reporter to cry out in frustration. "Garchomp is now unleashing random Hyper Beams! It was just aimed straight at our helicopter."

The hyper beam was then shown from a distance causing further destruction on more buildings everywhere. "Garchomp seems to be extremely agitated!" 

The screen panned out to reveal the scene being watched by Grace through a T.V screen as she sipped her tea. She hummed to herself before turning. "Have a look at this, something unbelievable is happening." Grace said as Serena was shown rummaging through the fridge. 

"Oh yeah?" Serena challenged. "Well, something unbelievable happened to my face, okay?" She walked forwards with attitude, two bandages shown clearly on her face. 

"Someone's got attitude." Fletchling muttered, though his heart didn't seem in it this time. 

Everyone shot the bird a look. Serena made a mental note to herself to try and find time later to pop some more popcorn-for everyone this time. She really did feel bad for Fletchling, as frustrating as the bird's antics had been.

Grace yelped, taken aback before she quietly sipped her tea, looking despondent. 

Serena blinked as she stared at the screen. "What kind of movie is this?" 

"It's real!" Grace insisted. "And live, from Lumiose City! Something awful is going on..." She said the last part quietly as the two turned back to the screen.

Garchomp was shown firing another hyper beam, a crowd watching the scene from below the Tower. 

"You'd think people would run away from the rampaging pokemon that could put them in danger at any time." Bunnelby pointed out. 

Froakie shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"Garchomp!" Ash cried as he ran forward, Pikachu and Froakie behind him. 

"No way!" Pikachu exclaimed as he stood on his hind legs. 

Clemont and Bonnie ran up to Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie. "There you are, Ash!" Bonnie said.

Garchomp was shown grunting in pain once more. "I gotta try and get close to it!" Ash said.

Clemont gasped. "But that's dangerous!"

"No way." Ash insisted. "Garchomp is the one who's in danger." He pumped his fist again. "I've got to try and help him somehow!"

Froakie looked up thoughtfully, "Huh...?"

Ash smiled at the Kaloseon Starter. He was really glad to have met such a brave and loyal pokemon. And he felt honored to be chosen by Froakie as his trainer. It was an honor that he would try his best to uphold.  

"Hm..." Clemont hummed to himself. "I know! If getting close to Garchomp is what you need to do, I think I just came up with a way!"

"You did?" Ash exclaimed.

The group was then shown behind the tower, Clemont working on the side panel to said Tower. "There's an emergency stairwell through that door," Clemont explained as he put his hand on the weirdly shaped keyhole, similar to that of an Aipom Arm. "Good thing I brought my backpack." He chuckled. [6]

Serena frowned. She didn't know why that sentence bothered her. She just couldn't put her finger on it...

Clemont smirked. "The future is now, thanks to science! Alright, Clemontic Gear on!" Clemont pressed a yellow button on his backpack. "Aipom arm, go!"

"Wow, check that out!" Ash exclaimed, leaning forward, as the Aipom Arm went to work. 

"Now we can get in!" Clemont said proudly. 

Ash and Pikachu gasped, both having sparkles in their eyes. "Wow, science is so amazing!" Ash exclaimed. 

"It really is!" Pikachu agreed happily. 

"Do you know how it works?" Ash asked Pikachu, who shook his head.

"No. Do you?"

"...no."

"You've go that right!" Bonnie said proudly. "It's my brother's invention after all!"

"i must admit," Clemont said sheepishly. "I'm kind of good at these things."

The door was shown being opened from the inside, as Ash, Pikachu and Froakie walked inside. "Thanks, Clemont."

"Sure thing." Clemont said, a sound of a charged up hyper beam being heard from above before shooting down at them, causing Clemont to grab Bonnie and throw the two of them onto the floor from the resulting explosion.

Ash was shown flipping over, Pikachu and Froakie not too far behind, away from the explosion as he turned around with a gasp, smoke filling the air. "Clemont, Bonnie, you okay?"

"Yeah," Clemont replied. "But don't worry about us. You just get going!"

"Okay, I'm on it." Ash replied before running off.

Sycamore was shown running through the crowd towards Officer Jenny. "Officer Jenny!"

"Professor Sycamore!" Jenny exclaimed. 

"I'm so sorry about the trouble," Sycamore apologized. "So where's Garchomp?"

Almost immediately, the Professor got an answer to his question as a guy from the crowd pointed up and said loudly, "Hey, up there!"

"How convenient." Fletchling said simply. "A random person is there to answer all our questions. What answer do you have for us next, oh wise oracle?"

Bonnie giggled as she tried to joke with Fletchling. "I'm pretty sure that's called 'plot convenience'." 

"...what?" Fletchling and the other pokemon stared at Bonnie, looking a little lost.

"Nothing, never-mind." Bonnie pouted slightly as she slouched. 

Jenny and Sycamore gasped as they looked up, the man continuing as Ash was shown from behind. "It's some kid!"

"What! It's Ash!" Sycamore exclaimed, causing Jenny to gasp. 

Ash walked towards Garchomp cautiously, Pikachu and Froakie behind him. "Okay, Garchomp..."

Garchomp turned at the mention of his name and shot out another Hyper Beam, Ash dodging in time, but nearly missing Pikachu and Froakie. 

"Is Hyper Beam all he knows?" Dedenne questioned. 

"Don't know." Ash replied. "I was just focused on trying on helping Garchomp out."

"Frankly, I was glad he didn't use any other move. Imagine if he pulled a Draco Meteor or something..." Pikachu shuddered. 

The others shuddered as well, imagining the further chaos that would've resulted from that. 

The resulting explosion was shown from Clemont and Bonnie's view, who were on the other side of the tower, backing away nervously. 

"Oh, I wonder if Ash is alright." Bonnie said worriedly.

Ash grunted. "Please Garchomp, you've got to calm down!"

Garchomp simply roared in response. 

"Garchomp!" Froakie pleaded. 

"Please, listen to us!" Pikachu added, determined. 

The news helicopter from before was shown once more, the reporter adding her commentary. "There's a boy up on Prism Tower." The camera zoomed in on Ash, though his hat was covering his face. "Could he be trying to talk to Garchomp?"

"I wonder if that kid's Garchomp's trainer." Grace said, the scene showing her and Serena watching through the T.V. 

Serena simply stared in wonder and didn't reply.

"Didn't mention it before, but nice bandages." Fletchling chirped as he fluffed up his feathers. 

"Gee, thanks." Serena replied sarcastically. 

Ash was shown cautiously stepping forward as Garchomp flew up once more. "Garchomp, come back!"

"It's dangerous!" Pikachu added. 

Ash frowned then turned around to see a ladder leading up the tower. He was then shown climbing up on it, Pikachu and Froakie on his shoulders. 

"There they are!" Bonnie exclaimed happily. "I can't believe how brave Ash is when it comes to helping out pokemon!"

Clemont gasped as he entered Flashback Mode, showing Ash doing a roll to save and injured Pikachu-

"Seriously, that roll." Fletchling chirped. "Absolute perfection."

Ash just rolled his eyes fondly. Unsurprisingly, the Robin had grown on Ash completely. He just didn't realize yet that the same applied for Fletchling as well. 

-then running determined with an injured Froakie. "I need to get up there." Clemont said as he ran forward and tried to lift some of the rocks.

"Wait, I'm going with you!" Bonnie said, determined. 

Clemont lifted a big rock with his Aipom Arm, causing there to be a sizable hole for him to walk through. "Now..." He said as he walked through the hole, Bonnie shown struggling to get up before Clemont reached back and clasped her hand. "Take my hand, Bonnie."

"Thank you!" Bonnie said as she, with the help of Clemont, got through the hole. 

Ash was shown finally climbing onto the ledge, Pikachu and Froakie jumping off of his shoulders as Ash pushed himself up, the sun being shown setting behind them. 

Garchomp fired another hyper beam into the air before Ash stood up. The camera panned up, showing Pikachu and Froakie's determined expressions followed by Ash's determined expression and stance. "I'm here to help, Garchomp." 

"...that's a really nice shot." Fennekin said in surprise. 

Serena's eyes widened as her heart blossomed. This was the boy and person she admired so much. This was why she had a crush on him. There was just something about him that felt different from other people, and she could just feel it, even when she first met him.

It was his passion and determination, and a whole bunch of other emotions she couldn't describe. Ash was an unbelievable character, that was for sure. 

The scene changed to show the tower being shown through the T.V screen. "Unbelievable!" That boy climbed to the top of Prism Tower!" 

Serena clenched her heart nervously, as she stared at the screen worriedly.

Garchomp was shown firing a hyper beam at Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie, causing the trio to jump aside-the sky showing the time being around nighttime. 

"Did the sun set that fast?" Froakie asked in surprise. "I wasn't really paying that much attention."

Pikachu frowned. "I'm as surprised as you are. I guess we were up there longer than we thought..."

Pikachu, Ash, and Froakie were shown landing to the side with scratches and dirt covering them from Garchomp's attack in that order before Pikachu stepped forward. "Oh, come on!" Pikachu growled with frustration as his cheeks sparked.

"You need to stop being so reckless, Pikachu." Ash sighed. 

Pikachu looked sheepish as he smiled. "Sorry? In my defense, I was tired."

"You're pretty reckless too, Ash." Serena scolded lightly. 

Pikachu pointed at Serena with a paw. "See? It's not just me."

"No, Pikachu!" Ash reprimanded almost immediately. 

"What-" Pikachu gasped, turning back to Ash. 

"Wait." Ash said sternly. "I don't want you to attack Garchomp." [8]

"Then what do we do?!" Pikachu cried out in dismay. 

Clemont was shown gasping and panting as he pulled himself up on the ledge as well, though one ledge below the one Ash and the Pokemon were on. "Pull yourself together, Clemont." Bonnie said. "Clemont?"

"...my legs..." Clemont groaned before looking up. "Huh? Where's Ash?"

"Up there! At the top of the tower!" Bonnie added as the camera panned up to show the height of the tower. 

Garchomp fired another Hyper Beam at the group, causing them to fly backwards. "Garchomp, can you hear me?" Ash asked. "I know it hurts. You're in a lot of pain."

"Right." Pikachu said sympathetically.

"Please listen..." Froakie added desperately. 

"We just want to help you," Ash said as Garchomp began stepping backwards. "Please. Let me get that collar off of you so we can go back down."

Garchomp growled. "Please," Ash continued, hands held up to show he meant no harm. "What do you say?"

Garchomp screamed with pain as he began stepping backwards, close to the ledge. 

Everyone in the room flinched, despite already knowing the outcome of the incident. Still, it was pretty scary to be re-watching after such a short time had passed. 

"Wait, Garchomp, look out!" Ash shouted, eyes wide. 

Froakie acted immediately, jumping up and throwing Frubbles at Garchomp's feet, causing him to stay in position. 

"We've got to destroy that collar," Ash turned to Pikachu, who nodded. 

"Right behind you!" Pikachu said, as he literally ran right behind Ash towards Garchomp. 

"Literally." Fletchling chirped. He paused before adding with a slight frown, "So, is this when you fall off Prism Tower?"

Pikachu nodded wearily. "Yeah...hey, you were joking when you said you thought it was cool, right?"

"Nope." Fletchling stated bluntly before actually considering the question at his teammate's distraught look. "Well, actually, I don't really know. I guess it depends on what happens."

"Great." Froakie sighed. 

Ash jumped on top of Garchomp and began wrestling with him, trying to get him to calm down. "Garchomp! Hang on and I'll get this thing off of you! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

"Got it!" Pikachu cried as he ran forward before jumping in the air in a 360 degree turn. "Iron...Tail!" Pikachu cried out as he sliced the collar cleanly in half. 

"You say your attacks?" Clemont adjusted his glasses, taking note of this tidbit. 

"Most pokemon do, yes." Bunnelby provided. 

"Huh..." The blond inventor looked thoughtful. He began thinking on keeping notes of everything he learned from the pokemon while they were able to understand one another. This would be useful information to further advance people's knowledge of pokemon.

Garchomp was shown collapsing to his knees and Pikachu and Froakie were shown watching with dismayed looks on their faces. 

"Are you okay?" Ash asked as Garchomp panted. 

Ash groaned as he combed a hand through his raven colored hair. "Yup. Here it comes..."

Froakie and Pikachu were shown happily rushing forward. "Garchomp! You're okay!" Froakie cried out happily.

"Thank goodness..." Pikachu sighed as he ran with Froakie. 

"That must have hurt," Ash said sympathetically to Garchomp, who continued gasping in pain. "Don't worry, help is on the way."

Pikachu was shown jumping forward before gasping as the ground beneath him suddenly crumbled. "Wha-" He cried with alarm.

Everyone flinched before Fletchling began chirping wildly. "What the damn hell!? There's no way that collapsed under your weight! Please tell me you guys fired a lawsuit, please!"

"Fletchling, calm down." Pikachu soothed. "And I don't know what the laws are on a fourteen year old and pikachu not even from Kalos firing a lawsuit against the owner of Prism Tower...whoever that is." Pikachu paused before adding. "Wait, what's a lawsuit, again?"

Fletchling ignored Pikachu's question and simply mumbled to himself in annoyance. "Well, I would've done it..."

Ash turned, his expression turning into one of shock. "Pikachu!" 

Pikachu screamed as he fell off the tower, the rubble falling down with him. 

Ash was then shown taking a running start, then leaping off the tower, Froakie and Garchomp staring at him with shock. 

Clemont and Bonnie were shown gasping. Then Sycamore and Jenny. Followed by Serena. 

Ash and Pikachu both grimaced slightly as Ash nervously grinned and stated. "Those reactions look pretty accurate..."

Ash and Pikachu were shown plummeting down the tower to their doom at an alarming rate. "Pikachu!" Ash cried, before snatching Pikachu in his arms and cradling him close to him. [9]

"Ash!" Pikachu cried out, voice strained.

A sudden fireball flashed across the screen and caught Ash and Pikachu before they fell, surprising everyone watching. 

"What's that?" Sycamore exclaimed.

"The reason we're still here." Pikachu said, his voice slightly strained. 

Fletchling and Froakie both exchanged looks before both patted their teammate on the back comfortingly. 

Ash gasped as he and Pikachu looked up to see Mega Blaziken as their rescuer. "It's you!" Ash exclaimed, as a flashback of Blaziken jumping over the Kantoneon was shown form the previous episode. "That pokemon!"

Mega Blaziken gently set Ash and Pikachu down on the ground. "Thanks a lot." Ash said, relieved. 

"Be more careful next time." Mega Blaziken said gruffly before jumping into the air, causing a bunch of wind to blast everywhere from his previous position. 

"No, 'You're welcome'? Nothing polite? He did know that only Pikachu would understand what he said, right?" Fletchling stressed. 

"I really hope this episode is almost over..." Froakie muttered. 

Both Ash and Pikachu gasped as Mega Blaziken did this.

Bonnie sighed with relief. "Ah...what a relief..."

Clemont did the same, only his sigh was much more dramatic. 

"Hey, they're okay!" Froakie exclaimed happily as he turned to Garchomp. "They're okay, Garchomp!"

"Thank goodness." Garchomp replied, causing the two pokemon to exchange a smile.

"Seriously...I've never been more scared before..." Froakie admitted. 

"I would be too, in your shoes." Bunnelby said sympathetically. 

"I don't have shoes." Froakie replied despondently. "Why is that even a saying for pokemon too? None of us wear shoes."

"Good question." Fennekin flicked her tail. "Maybe Clemont knows."

Clemont adjusted his glasses, looking uncertain. "Sorry...I don't..."

"Well, that sucks." Froakie said. 

"Hey, Ash! Pikachu!" Sycamore called up to the duo-who were still staring at where Mega Blaziken had left them-as he ran towards them. "Thank goodness the two of you didn't get hurt."

"We're both doing great," Ash assured the Professor. "And Garchomp's all back to normal too!"

"Thank you, Ash. Officer Jenny is on her way to get them now." Sycamore said.

"Professor, about that Pokemon..." The screen panned up to show Mega Blaziken dropping down onto a building, where another figure stood with him, wearing what looked like a Blaziken costume. The duo was shown with their capes blowing to the side, the large moon behind them.

"Great job, Blaziken." The man said, his voice incredibly gruff, almost as if he were disguising it. The pokemon in question was surrounded by a light before his appearance changed, seemingly being in a Mega Evolution state previously. 

"Of course." The pokemon replied before the duo leaped off the building in opposite directions. 

"Why'd they go in opposite directions?" Bunnelby asked. "Are they not together?" 

Clemont frowned. "You're right, Bunnelby. That is strange." He took note of this tidbit as well, and filed it away for future reference. 

Ash gasped. 

"That was Blaziken's Mega Evolution." Sycamore explained as Ash turned around, though Pikachu was still turned around, staring. "That's Mega Blaziken!"

"Mega Blaziken?" Ash questioned.

"Another research topic for me." Sycamore laughed.

Ash turned around and ran forward, cupping his mouth before speaking loudly. "Hey, Mega Blaziken! Thanks for everything!"

"Thank you very much!!!" Pikachu shouted, his voice carrying, as Prism Tower was shown from above.

"That's something people say in Kanto, right? Not 'Thank you', I mean, but specifically, 'thank you very much'?" Clemont asked the electric-type. 

Pikachu nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. It's a habit, since that's how everyone speaks there, pokemon included...."

"Ah...what a relief." Serena sighed as she sat down, a smile on her face. The dramatic music in the background had changed as well before being switched out with a quiet and more tranquil like music. Serena was shown watching the T.V, which showed Ash and Pikachu on the screen, looking relieved and happy as well. 

"Hm?" Serena gasped slightly. "That boy...no, it couldn't be..."

"Dun, dun, dan!" Fletchling ruffled up his feathers dramatically. "Now we'll never find out how Serena recognized Ash!"

"You recognized me, Serena?" Ash asked the honey-blonde, who nodded timidly.

"Yeah," she twirled a piece of her hair in her finger. "That's actually sort of why I wanted to find you..." She trailed off and blushed, then turned the other way. That made it sound wrong! Why did she have to go and mess things up with a simple question?

The scene changed to show the Sycamore Laboratory shown from above, two large gaping holes in the roof, one above the double doors, and a bunch of rubble in front of said doors. The group-Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie-were shown standing in front of the gates with the Professor.

"Hope you all got some sleep," Sycamore said before side-eyeing the lab. "Even though it's a mess in there."

"When I got there, everything was perfectly fine." Serena suddenly realized, glad she could make a transition to a different subject.

"Really?" Bonnie asked. "Huh. That's weird...maybe they had fast builders." The girl suggested.

"Probably." Dedenne agreed. 

"Yeah!" Ash said. "I slept like a log!"

"Best sleep I've had in a long time!" Bonnie smiled.

"Thank you for everything." Clemont said politely. 

"I guess your real journey begins now, doesn't it, Ash?" Sycamore asked the Kantoneon.

"Yup!"

"Oh...and by the way, have you gotten a Kalos Region Pokedex yet?" Sycamore asked.

"No." Ash said matter-of-factually.

Sycamore handed Ash a red device. "Then please take this with you on your journey."

"Thanks a lot, Professor." Ash smiled before looking to Pikachu with a smile. "Are you ready to go, Buddy?" Ash asked.

"You bet your Ponyta, I am!" Pikachu cheered.

"Kantoneon saying? I've never heard of a Ponyta before..." Fennekin asked.

Pikachu nodded. "Yeah. They're native to Kanto, so..." He rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed. "I might say things like that a lot, sorry."

"Foreigners..." Fletchling muttered teasingly, causing the other pokemon to jump. 

"Fletchling..." Froakie warned, his paw raised, causing the Robin to shut his beak almost immediately. 

"Good luck with your research, Professor! Bye!" Ash said as he turned around, about to run off, before he yelped with surprise; due to the frubbles that suddenly attached themselves on his face, Pikachu ducking under his head last second. 

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped dramatically, though he sounded as if he was laughing. "I am not your shield!"

"You make an excellent shield." Pikachu said simply, yelping as Ash tossed a pillow at him, which the mouse dodged easily. 

Everyone gasped to see Froakie standing awkwardly in front of Ash before pushing his Pokeball forward. "Here." Froakie said simply.

"Hey, I think it wants to go with you." Sycamore smiled. 

"I can't believe it." Clemont said. "Froakie chose you!"

"It really likes Ash, that's so sweet!" Bonnie grinned.

Ash picked up Froakie's Pokeball and held it up. "You think so, huh..." He muttered before asking. "So, Froakie, you wanna come with us?"

Froakie just stood there staring awkwardly for a couple seconds before running forward and pushing the Pokeball capture button and cheerfully yelling, "Heck yeah!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden yell. 

"Well," Fennekin said. "You're certainly enthusiastic."

"Thanks?" Froakie said sheepishly. "I really liked Ash, so I guess...I kind of got excited?"

"There's nothing wrong with it." Pikachu assured the Kalos-native. "It was just a bit of a surprise."

Ash smiled as the Pokeball shook briefly before a dinging sound was heard, registering the capture. "It's awesome you're coming with us, Froakie." He told the Pokeball, which nodded in response, signalling that Froakie agreed.

Ash turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, Froakie's our first friend in Kalos!"

"Yes!" Pikachu said happily.

"Alright!" Ash cheered as a colorful background was shown behind him as he moved dramatically before holding the Pokeball up in the air. "I just caught...a Froakie!"

"No, you didn't." Fletchling stated bluntly. "Froakie caught himself."

"...same thing." Ash said weakly. 

"Gotta catch 'em all!" Pikachu cheered. 

"...what?" Bunnelby frowned. "Isn't that the catchphrase from the opening?"

"I...yeah, I don't know why I say that...I think I actually heard it on some pokemon slogan somewhere in Kanto, and then I just began saying it anytime Ash would catch another pokemon or win a gym badge." Pikachu explained. 

"Then it just stuck with you?" Fennekin asked, to which the electric-type nodded. 

"It kind of just became tradition at some point..." 

"Our hero has his first Pokemon from the Kalos Region, Froakie! Now, what other friends and adventures await Ash? Find out, as the journey continues!" The Narrator concluded as the dramatic music in the background ended its final note. 

"Breakfast." Serena sang as she set down a bowl of Pokemon food. "Eat it all up." Serena told the Rhyhorn in front of her while wearing her pink jumpsuit.

"Thanks." Rhyhorn said before he began eating. 

Serena laughed to herself as she pet the Rhyhorn's horn. "Wow, Rhyhorn, I have this feeling, something interesting is about to happen, you know?"

A kid Ash was shown from behind turning around and smiling happily as whimsical music played in the background, the scene shown clouded, implying it was a flashback.

Ash frowned. He knew that he remember Serena from Professor Oak's camp, he just didn't fully understand why it was so important to her. He could've sworn that she was the girl who had gotten lost on the forest that one day, right?

'It must be that boy.' Serene thought to herself, a look of determination on her face. "Right," Serena spoke up, causing Rhyhorn to look up from his food. "Let's go."

At that note, a sudden wind passed through, causing Serena's hair to flow wildly as peaceful music continued playing. 

"...go where?" Fletchling chirped quietly, but was quickly hushed by Fennekin. 

The screen turned black. 

That's when a sudden flash of light accompanied by a groaning sound caught everyone's attention.

Ash's eyes widened at the familiar figure on the floor. 

"Viola?!" 

Chapter Text

Everyone stared at the blonde gym leader on the floor in front of them, though nobody made a move to help her until she spoke, "What happened...?"

Clemont and Ash snapped out of their stupor and helped Viola up, who was still looking around in confusion. "Ash? Clemont? What are you two doing here? And...where are we anyway?"

Clemont was about to answer her question when another flash of light blinded everyone for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Everyone stared at the not one, but two, new arrivals. One, a man with dark skin and hair in a shape similar to that of a rock formation, seemed to know Viola, who recognized the man immediately. 

"Grant?!" Viola gasped with surprise. 

Grant looked immediately on guard as he looked around. "Viola? What are you doing here? And, where is 'here', anyway?"

"Before we answer your questions, we should probably have you take out your pokemon. And don't worry about space, because this place is pretty big." Fletchling chirped, causing Viola and Grant to stare incredulously at the Robin before reluctantly complying, as neither knew what was going on, and at that point, listening to those who seemed like they did was the best choice. 

A sudden yell caught everyone's attention. Fennekin sighed exasperatedly. "Sky just loves to pile down stuff on us at the beginning of each episode doesn't she? And so far we've only watched two..."

"W-wha-what's going on?" A frantic Chespin was on the floor shouting at the top of his lungs, causing many pokemon to look at him with annoyance. The only ones that weren't were Viola and Grant's pokemon-Onix, Tyrunt, Vivillon, and Surskit-who were listening intently as Viola and Grant explained that they should wait quietly for a proper explanation as to why they were suddenly in some random movie theater. "W-who are you crazy people?!" 

Fennekin rolled her eyes. "We're getting to that. Now will you please calm down and listen to us explain why you're here?"

The Chespin reluctantly nodded before flopping down on the floor, wearily staring at the other pokemon, particularly Grant's rock-types, despite them looking as befuddled as he was. 

"Okay, Ash," Viola turned to the raven-haired teen. "Explain what's going on."

Ash took a deep breath and tried his best to explain the whole situation after Viola properly introduced Grant, and the Chespin explained that he was actually a Starter at Professor Sycamore's lab. Ash then explained how they first arrived, what they were doing, the room situation, the thing with the annoying flashes of light, Sky, and the events of the past two episodes summarized. 

Throughout the entire explanation, Viola, Grant, their pokemon, and surprisingly enough, the Chespin, stayed quiet, only nodding occasionally to confirm that they understood what was going on. 

Viola massaged her forehead when the explanation finished. "I guess that explains how we understood the Fletchling earlier," She motioned towards Ash's Fletchling, who ruffled his feathers proudly, before continuing. "But I don't like this. Kids, are you sure this is safe? How would Sky get so much knowledge and information on you anyway? That isn't the least bit concerning?"

The group was taken aback for a moment as Serena frowned in contemplation. "No, I guess we didn't...but I'm sure their must be a reason for it..."

"And besides," Clemont spoke up. "I actually already tried finding an exit earlier this morning, as soon as we woke up, and no matter how hard I looked...I couldn't find any. There aren't even any windows."

Grant narrowed his eyes. "And the whole issue with time being frozen is a bit iffy, as well..." Grant put a hand on his chin in concentration before gasping and asking Clemont, "Say, earlier you mentioned 'this morning'...are there clocks around here?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, there's actually a clock in every room..." She looked around. "Well, except in the theater room for some reason..."

The two gym leaders exchanged serious glances. This entire situation screamed suspicious, but what were they to do about it? And breaking open the walls were out of the question as they had no clue whether or not the structural integrity of the building would take it. 

Viola spoke. "The last thing I remember was just getting ready to go to my apartment. Alexa was going to come stay, so I was ready to prepare a dinner...and next thing you know I ended up here."

It was here when Grant's Onix caught everyone's attention with his gravelly voice. "I guess this proves that Sky really did manage to freeze time outside this theater, I mean. Though, the question remains: how did she do this?"

Chespin shook his head frantically. "I'm so confused...can we just get to watching these episodes or whatever? The sooner we finish, the sooner we get out of here. And the sooner I can eat."

"If you want food, there's some food in the kitchen." Serena offered. 

Grant nodded in agreement. "Alright, then." He then sighed. "There's nothing we can do. Maybe watching these episodes will help give us some semblance of an answer. Should we get started?"

"Wait!" Serena said as she quickly dashed into the kitchen before coming out with a tower of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a plate in one hand, and at least six glasses of milk on a tray in the other hand. "TA DA! I whipped up some sandwiches in case anyone wanted any. I know you mentioned you were hungry, Chespin, and that you were just about to start dinner, Viola, so I made these!"

Grant blinked, eyes wide as Serena set down the trays. "Wow, that's certainly impressive."

"I thought I was just going to have toast, but this is way better!" Chespin cheered as he snatched a sandwich and gobbled it up eagerly. "Thank you so much, nice girl!"

Serena laughed happily. "No problem, Chespin."

Fletchling watched the whole interaction with wide and terrified eyes, which slowly turned to Serena, the happy group, and the piles of delicious looking sandwiches that were somehow made in less than ten seconds, then back again. 

His two teammates noticed his strange-or rather, "normal"-behavior and asked what was wrong. "Why are you staring at Serena like that, Fletchling?" Froakie asked suspiciously. 

"...you don't see it, do you?" Fletchling said in a mixture of awe and sheer terror. "Who she really is. Or rather, what, Serena truly, truly, is..." He chuckled darkly to himself, causing Froakie and Pikachu to back away slightly. "Oh...I'll expose your secrets, yet, you conniving little trickster. You can count on it!"

At this point, Froakie and Pikachu had found safe sanctuary with their somewhat sane trainer, who was-significantly-more sane than their teammate. 

After everyone finally settled down-a few nervous glances were sent towards Fletchling's direction at the flying-types occasional bout of evil laughter, though Froakie nervously told everyone not to worry about it-they quieted down and directed their attention towards the screen, which, right on cue, turned on. 

Rhyhorn was shown letting out a loud yawn before looking up, showing the Yvonne Residence. 

Fletchling let out an exasperated sigh. "And we're back to Serena. Again." 

Serena shot the flying-type a funny look before continuing to munch on her sandwich. 

Serena gasped happily as she twirled in front of a mirror, wearing a purple hat before frowning and tossing the hat on the bed, where about four other hats lay. She hummed and looked between two hats set on a table, her current hat, and a burgundy cap. 

Viola exchanged a worried look with Grant. Right off the bat they were being shown something personal. How did Sky get this footage? And was she really trust-worthy?

"Yeah, come in..." Serena replied despondently to the sudden knock at the door. The door opened to show Grace standing standing there, the Fletchling fluttering in the room and landing on Serena's head. 

"No!" Fletchling cried out, horrified, causing a few people to toss him look. "You must flee, my fellow brethren! Flee!"

Ash tossed his pokemon a worried look. "Fletchling, are you okay?"

"We need to get him checked out." Froakie pleaded, causing Pikachu to send his teammate a reprimanding look.

"Froakie, don't say that." Pikachu scolded, though Froakie disagreed.

"No, I'm serious...next thing you know he's going to be talking about witches..." 

"No, I am not okay!" Fletchling replied to Ash's question, causing the trainer to be taken aback. Fletchling then lowered his voice to a hiss and pointed his beak towards Serena, who looked incredulous, "Serena's a witch!"

Grant furrowed his eyebrows. "A...witch...?" He tossed a look at his fellow Gym Leader a confused look, which she returned. This bird was clearly less than sane.

Froakie, on the other hand, shot his fellow pokemon an 'I told you so' look. He then proceeded to say that message out loud. "I told you so."

"Are you going out?" Grace asked. 

"Hey, mom," Serena asked, holding up the two hats. "Which one should I wear?"

"Serena..." Bonnie scolded, holding back giggles. "You didn't answer your mom's question!"

Serena shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "I guess I was still a little mad at her." She excused lamely. 

It wasn't like it was completely her fault, after all. She's made it clear that she doesn't want to do Rhyhorn racing, and while she didn't directly tell her mom about her feelings, she was sure that she gave enough hints.

But, as usual, her mom didn't take those hints. 

Grace hummed before pointing at the burgundy hat. "I'd go with that."

Serena hummed in surprise before turning to the other hat, "Kay, this one!"

"If you already knew, why did you ask?" Grace asked exasperatedly. 

"Whichever one you didn't pick is the cuter one, that's why." Serena replied smartly. 

Fletchling began muttering under his breath and shooting death glares at Serena. "Oh, look...she's got an attitude to boot..."

Viola's Vivillon fluttered over to the seat where Fletchling was perched and asked, "Why do you keep muttering to yourself and staring at that girl?" She frowned and shot the Tiny Robin a suspicious look. "...do you have a thing for her?"

Fletchling choked then glared. "Oh...the next time we battle..." He chuckled darkly. "You're going down for sure...count on it!" He then fluffed his feathers and flew over to another seat after his proud declaration, leaving a befuddled Vivillon behind. 

Fletchling's declaration reminded Ash about something, causing him to turn towards Grant and Viola with excited looks. "Hey, wait a minute! Do you think we can have our gym battles in here? I mean, when we take a lunch break." Ash begged the Santalune Gym Leader, who looked perplexed. 

Viola looked at Surskit and Vivillon, who both shrugged. They were completely fine with this. 

Viola turned back to Ash with a smile. "No problem, Ash. Just after our lunch break, okay? Um...when is that, exactly?"

A golden flash of light blinded everyone, causing consecutive groans. A small letter floated down from the ceiling and into Viola's hands, which she took; albeit reluctantly.

"Let's see...'Considering only two episodes have been watched so far...you have about two hours until noon.'" Viola furrowed her eyebrows. "You kids woke up quite late, huh..." She shook her head and continued. "'So, you would be able to take a lunch break at around Episode number 9 or so...'" Viola's eyes widened, as did the others.

"Nine episodes!?" Clemont exclaimed. "That sure is a lot..."

"No kidding..." Grant's Tyrunt spoke, having a high-pitched gravelly voice. "And that's only until a lunch break..."

"'There's also a battlefield in one of the rooms, on the far end of the hallway where the bedroom are, so you can have your battles in there. The walls are enforced, so don't worry too much about causing damage.'" Viola hummed to herself. "Well, I guess that's okay." She then glanced at Grant. This did confirm the fact that they wouldn't be able to use pokemon attacks to get out of here. "'-Sky'" Viola finished, then pursed her lips before folding the letter and setting it down on a table.

Chespin sighed dramatically and whined. "I can't believe we have to wait so long for a lunch break..."

"...but you're already eating..." Bunnelby pointed out weakly. 

"Nice hat, Serena!" Fletchling(not Ash's) chirped. 

"No, it's not!" Fletchling cried out. "She's a witch!"

Fennekin glared. "Don't call Serena a witch!"

"I can call her whatever I like!" Fletchling huffed, causing the fox to growl.

Serena simply laughed nervously and tried to avert her eyes away from Fletchling.

"I see..." Grace said. "So, where are you heading anyway?"

"Lumiose City!" Serena replied excitedly. "To see Professor Sycamore and get my Starter Pokemon!"

"Yay, Starter Pokemon!" Fletchling cheered on top of Serena's hat. 

Grant laughed. "That's certainly an interesting thing to say."

"The, 'yay, starter pokemon!' thing?" Onix questioned his trainer. 

Grant nodded, smiling as he spoke to his Onix. As suspicious as this situation was, it did feel nice to fully and completely understand his pokemon. "The excitement is quite nice, though."

The opening song played.

The new arrivals simply stared throughout the entire thing, confusion aligning their features.

"Now that I think about it, we were way to accepting of the whole 'anime opening' thing..." Bunnelby observed.

"But it was so cool!" Dedenne pouted.

"I would agree with that, Dedenne." Clemont said. "But logically, we were a bit too accepting of that..."

The title card was shown, Ash narrating, "A Battle of Aerial Mobility!"

Ash's pokemon all turned to one another. 

"...is this when...?" Froakie questioned, and the other two gave different replies.

"Maybe, let's just wait and see." Pikachu advised. 

Fletchling ruffled his feathers. "'A Battle of Aerial Mobility'..." He muttered. "Not a bad title, considering..."

"In Lumiose City, Ash has just befriended Froakie," A scene of Prism Tower was shown followed by Bonnie running through the streets with Pikachu chasing after her, Ash and Clemont lagging way behind. "His first Kalos Region pokemon, at Professor Sycamore's research lab." 

"So, who's the guy talking?" Chespin asked lazily, having eaten about five sandwiches so far.

Bonnie shrugged. "We don't really know. We think he's our Narrator."

'Narrator?' Vivillon mouthed to Surskit, who shrugged. 

"Come on, hurry it up you two!" Bonnie called out excitedly, Pikachu right next to her. "Ash, you can register for the Kalos League over this way!"

"Come on, come on, come on!" Pikachu jumped up and down excitedly. 

"Do you have a personality disorder?" Fletchling asked his teammate, annoyed. "I'm still mad that you completely fried almost everyone in this room earlier, yet can act so...energetic." At Pikachu's blank expression, he added. "And happy. And positive. And...yeah, you get the point."

Pikachu smiled innocently. "No, I really don't. Sorry."

Fletchling fell down, causing Froakie to slap his face with his paw. Froakie wasn't sure if he did that because of what Fletchling did, or because of what Pikachu said. 

He decided it was a bit of both.

Ash laughed amusedly. "Yeah, we got it, you two."

Fletchling pointed at the screen with a wing exasperatedly. "See! Even Ash gets it!"

"I'm just used to it." Ash grinned sheepishly. "Well, I had to get used to it at some point..."

Pikachu glared at Ash, causing Fletchling to freak out once more, indicating that Pikachu was making his point for him. 

"There's no need to rush," Clemont reasoned. "The Pokemon Center isn't going anywhere."

"Thanks a lot, Clemont. It's nice of you to bring me here." Ash said politely. 

"Please, think nothing of it," Clemont replied. "I confess, I'm a little in awe of you."

A befuddled look passed over Ash's face. "In awe?" 

"You were willing to do anything you could to help Pikachu and that Garchomp back there." Clemont explained, a flashback of the events prior being shown: Ash jumping on Garchomp to get him to stay still, and Ash jumping off Prism Tower to save Pikachu. "Just watching you gave me courage."

Grant blinked, eyes wide. "Wow, that is certainly very impressive. Hearing of that is one thing, but actually seeing you do it..."

"We saw the entire thing just before you came." Fennekin stated.

"That's too bad. I certainly would've liked to see more of this." Grant praised, causing Ash to smile.

"Thanks." He said.

"Oh, come on." Ash laughed, embarrassed. "It wasn't that big of a deal, really."

"It really was!" Clemont argued. "I can totally understand why Froakie chose you." Clemont continued as Pikachu and Bonnie were shown giggling and running in circles in the background. 

Fletchling was beginning to think that Serena wasn't the only witch around here... He then shook away his thoughts frantically. 'No, Fletchling! Bad! Your teammate is good-if not strange. Serena-or whatever she calls herself-IS bad!'

After re-affirming his beliefs that Serena is a witch, and that Pikachu is an odd exception, he turned back to the screen, with an oddly satisfied look on his face. 

Ash looked contemplative, then took out Froakie's Pokeball. Clemont turned to Prism Tower as Ash continued looking deep in thought, Bonnie and Pikachu playing in the background, and thought to himself, 'I'll just have to do better,'

"Better?" Viola questioned her fellow gym leader, who looked panicked.

"Uh...!"

Bonnie cut in and saved her brother. "Oh, it's nothing! Don't worry about it, Viola!"

Serena narrowed her eyes, her partner doing the same. There was the suspicious behavior again...

Ash shot a confused look at Clemont, who shook his head apologetically and ran forward. "Sorry, just talking to myself."

"More like you were thinking." Bonnie pointed out.

"Same thing." Clemont said. 

The group entered the Poke-center, which was  incredibly large, Bonnie running forward first, with Pikachu behind her. 

"Good morning!" Nurse Joy greeted. 

"Good morning to you, Nurse Joy." Ash replied. 

"At this Pokemon Center, helping pokemon in need is our number one goal." Pikachu was shown smiling, his ears twitching briefly before exclaiming happily at Nurse Joy's next words. "We're here for both trainers and pokemon alike."

"Why are you surprised?" Tyrunt asked curiously. "Do you not know that Nurse Joy is here to help pokemon?"

"Of course I do," Pikachu argued. "It's just..." 

"Just what?" Surskit asked.

Pikachu struggled to find the right words then sighed exasperatedly. "It's nothing, never mind."

"I was hoping you could help me register for the Kalos League." Ash explained as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. 

"I sure can!" Nurse Joy said, then leaned forward. "If you please, touch this panel with your Pokedex." 

"Okay," Ash replied, then did as instructed. 

"That's it?" Chespin questioned. "Seems a bit too easy, if you ask me..."

"Actually, yeah." Ash muttered. "When I entered the league in Kanto there was this whole registration process..."

"Remember when you took that test?" Pikachu randomly brought up.

Ash shushed his pokemon. "Shh...We don't talk about that..."

The mouse stared at the teen for a couple more seconds before giving up and looking back at the screen. 

Ash, meanwhile, was desperately trying to shove thoughts of a "jigglypuff shown from above" out of his head. 

The panel was shown with Ash's name, his pokemon(which were currently listed as Pikachu and Froakie), his hometown, and his current number of badges, which was listed at zero. [1] 

"...how did the Pokedex get all that information? I mean, it's literally just to let you know about pokemon, right?" Fennekin asked.

"Not really." Ash explained. "I remember the Pokedex that I got in Kanto doubled as my ID too. So, maybe that's a thing in Kalos too."

"That seems really complicated." Serena said.

Ash nodded in agreement. "You're telling me..."

An automatized voice spoke from the screen. "Ash from Pallet Town, is now registered to enter the Kalos League. Number of badges currently in possession: zero. We wish you the best of luck."

"You're all set now, Ash." Clemont said.

 "Awesome," Ash stated. "And I'm gonna win. My next step in becoming a Pokemon Master!"

"And every registered trainer is eligible to receive a Kalos Region badge case. Here." She gestured to a Wigglytuff, walking over with Ash's badge case. 

"In Kanto, I just clipped it to my jacket." Ash shared.

"Fashionable." Viola complimented. "Did you do that for other regions, too?"

"Sometimes." Ash nodded in reply. 

"Here it is, Nurse Joy!" Wigglytuff said as she walked over. 

"A Wigglytuff!" Ash exclaimed. 

"Obviously~" Pikachu cheered innocently. 

This time, everyone stared at the electric-type, causing Pikachu to blink in confusion.

Fletchling pointed at Pikachu with one of his talons. "See? Did I not tell you?"

Pikachu simply laughed innocently while rubbing the back of his head.

Strange how both trainer and starter did the same thing, though for different reasons...

"Why, yes." Nurse Joy spoke. "Here in the Kalos region, my Pokemon Center Assistant is Wigglytuff!"

"That's great." Ash spoke, with a lack of enthusiasm in his voice. 

Serena laughed. "You don't sound very excited, Ash."

"I don't?"

"No." Fennekin confirmed. "You sound like you're half-asleep."

"Good, that means he's awake." Pikachu cheered, causing Ash to narrow his eyes at him with slight irritation.

"Thanks, Wigglytuff." He thanked the pokemon as Wigglytuff handed him the case. 

"You're welcome!" Wigglytuff replied politely. 

"You're all registered now." Nurse Joy bowed her head in a polite manner. "Good luck, make sure to train hard and just do your best!" 

Ash nodded. "Right." He then smirked as he looked over to Pikachu. "Count on it!"

"You bet!" Pikachu cheered. 

A canal was shown before transitioning to a familiar looking cube being placed on a table by a familiar looking paw. The scene panned up to reveal Team Rocket-in disguise. The cube showed a hologram of Giovanni before Meowth spoke with a determined look on his face.

"Good news, Boss. We've arrived in the Kalos region on time and according to schedule!" Meowth said deviously. 

Grant and Viola immediately shot looks of alarm towards each other.

"So, this is Team Rocket?" Viola asked Ash, who nodded. Ash had explained the entire ordeal with Team Rocket in his explanation earlier, so she and Grant already knew who they were, though they couldn't exactly connect name with face until now. 

"Yeah, that's them." Ash confirmed. "And their boss, Giovanni." At the Team Rocket Boss's name, Ash made a sour face. "I've met him on a few occasions."

"If you hadn't, I'd find it weird that he wants Pikachu so badly." Fletchling pointed out.

Said pokemon and trainer exchanged a look. They weren't exactly sure if they should share the information of the events that transpired in Unova. The first time they had met the Rocket boss, however, was a given: that incident remained tightly under wraps, no matter what. 

"Our goal is to catch as many rare and powerful pokemon as possible." James added, seriously.

Jessie smirked. "And we're totally committed to that goal."  A flipper was shown from underneath the table snatching James' croissant as Jessie continued, "You can count on us."

"...is that James's Inkay?" Clemont adjusted his glasses curiously.

"Probably." Dedenne muttered. "It was really frustrating when they tried to attack us..."

Pikachu laughed. "Tell me about it."

A Persian was shown purring as a jeweled hand rubbed his head. "Good," Giovanni replied. "I'm certain the pokemon you catch will be an important addition to our work." 

The screen panned out to reveal the Gym Leader in a swivel chair with his secretary, Matori, standing right at his side, the TRio's faces on a large screen behind them. "Get to it." Giovanni ordered.

"Sir!" Jessie, James, and Meowth replied in unison before the screen closed. 

The group leaned in close to one another, grinning and chuckling evilly before cheering and dancing around wildly with no restraint, catching the attention of many bystanders. 

"Yes!" James cheered. 

"The Boss is counting on us!" Jessie added happily.

"Count on us! Yippee!!!" James continued.

"We're the first step in Team Rocket's takeover of Kalos, because nobody does take-overs like we do!" Meowth said aloud. 

Viola stared at the entire scene and shook her head. 'I think I understand why Ash thinks these guys aren't really much of a threat...if they were elite members of a criminal organization, then they would most likely be more discreet.'

It was then when James noticed the missing croissant. "Huh? My croissant..."

An Inkay was shown underneath the table happily munching on a croissant. 

"Ha!" Dedenne laughed, Bonnie giggling as well. 

Clemont shook his head exasperatedly at the duo, though with a certain fondness as well. He really was glad that Bonnie and Dedenne got along so well.

The scene then transitioned into a Rotom doing a jump-scare through a screen, causing Ash and Pikachu to scream and jump back in surprise. This caused the pokemon to cackle with hilarity at the duo's response. 

This caused the group to react almost the same way.

"Whoa." Grant chuckled. 

"Hey, Rotom." Ash grinned.

"Hi!" Pikachu said.

Rotom leaned in close to the screen. "Hey, you two!" He then moved aside, revealing Professor Samuel Oak.

Viola blinked with recognition. "Is that Professor Oak? I recognize him from my sister's interview!"

Grant snapped his fingers. "Oh, yes. I watched that interview as well! He's a professor from Kanto!" Grant turned to Ash with a smile. "I remember certain pokemon on the segment being mentioned as 'another trainer's' pokemon. Were any yours, by chance?"

Ash smiled. "Yeah. You probably saw my Bulbasaur." The trainer grinned. "He's kind of the Professor's secondary assistant."

"Ash has a Bulbasaur?" Froakie asked.

Pikachu nodded. "Yup! He's a really good friend!"

"Huh." Froakie said, contemplative. He wanted to learn more about Ash's other pokemon. After all, they were...his teammates too, weren't they? He made a mental note to ask either his trainer or Pikachu about it, later. 

Fletchling fluttered to perch on Ash's head. "Do you have any flying types, by chance?"

Ash nodded. "Tons. There's Unfezant, Staraptor, Swellow, Noctowl, and Pidgeot." 

As Pikachu's teammates contemplated excitedly about Ash's numerous pokemon, the same as what the other members of the group were doing, Pikachu realized something.

And judging by the slowly-dawning and horrified look on Ash's face, he realized it too.

Both trainer and pokemon slowly turned to each other.

"Ash." Pikachu said calmly-eerily calmly.

"Yeah, Pikachu?" Ash asked wearily, though he was sweating. 

"I noticed another flying type on that list."

"Uh huh." Ash said sheepishly, and at that point everyone else began staring. 

"What is he-" Froakie began, but was cut off-alarmed-by frantic screaming.

"PIDGEOT!" Pikachu screamed. "Ash, I can't believe we forgot!"

"I know!" Ash groaned putting his face in his hands. He then began crying. "I'm a horrible trainer..."

"Forget you! I'm a horrible teammate!" Pikachu whined. "Pidgeot's going to hate me!"

"What do you mean 'forget you'?!" Ash argued, causing Ash's Kalos pokemon and just about everybody else to look back and forth between the two like they were watching a fast-paced tennis match. "I'm the one that promised to come back for her!"

"Well, I'm the one who forgot to tell you she was in Johto!"

"But I promised to come back for her after the Orange-" Ash froze. "Wait, what did you say?"

Pikachu blinked, then replied slowly. "Pidgeot's in Johto with her flock."

The silence that settled caused someone to awkwardly cough. Evidence suggests it was either Fletchling or the new arrival of Chespin. 

Ash took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before speaking, though it was difficult to keep his voice steady. "You mean to tell me, that you knew all this time...that Pidgeot was in Johto...and you never even once thought to tell me?!" 

Pikachu's ears flattened against his head as he looked crestfallen. "Well..."

"How did you even know about this?!" Ash demanded.

Serena, meanwhile, let out a quiet, awkward, laugh. "This feels like we're watching some kind of drama..."

"Right?" Fennekin whispered in reply.

Froakie and Fletchling simply stared at one another, absolutely flabbergasted. What was happening?

Pikachu looked down as he struggled to answer the question. "Um...in Johto...I met her when she was with her flock...Bulbasaur and Squirtle were there too..."

Ash's gaze hardened before he turned back to the screen, looking a little more than ticked off. "Let's talk about this later. The screen's been frozen for a long time."

Everyone exchanged looked of varying degrees of confusion, and turned back to the screen. Froakie adjusted his mental note from earlier and decided that now was not the best time to ask either Ash or Pikachu about his teammates.

"Hello, Ash!" Samuel greeted. "How are things so far?"

Ash put up a fist. "Great! We arrived safely in the Kalos region. We're gonna start our journey soon!"

"Good." Samuel replied. "Have fun on the road!"

"Thanks." Ash replied, then took out a shrunken Pokeball. "I already got my first Kalos pokemon."

"Wonderful!" Samuel exclaimed. 

Ash enlarged Froakie's Pokeball and called him out. "Check him out!" He told the Professor, as Froakie appeared. 

"Ah!" Samuel exclaimed. "What have we here?" The screen panned up to show Froakie standing there awkwardly. "A Froakie! A Kalos Water Type Pokemon!" 

"...yeah?" Froakie said confusedly.

"You look a bit uncomfortable." Viola laughed slightly.

"I was as weirded out as I am now." Froakie replied, glancing at Ash and Pikachu, one looking unusually irritated, and one looking unusually upset. This was very weird.

"You're right!" Ash said loudly, causing Pikachu's right ear to twitch. "You know everything!"

"Arceus, Ash." Fletchling laughed, trying to get Ash to speak. "You were a bit loud."

Ash thankfully let out an easy smile, causing the room to relax a little. "Sorry."

Fletchling tossed a head towards Pikachu. "Don't apologize to me, I'm not the one with sensitive ears."

Ash hesitated then sighed. "Sorry, Pikachu."

"It's fine." The pokemon muttered in reply, still looking sheepish.

Ash paused before adding, "Look, I'm not mad at you, I'm just..." Ash struggled to find the right words. "Frustrated? It didn't really dawn on me til now that it would be hard for you to tell me anyway..."

"...no, you're right." Pikachu admitted, and the others turned their gazes elsewhere, to give the two as much privacy as they could-technically speaking. "I could've found a way to tell you beforehand...you're not mad, really?"

Ash shook his head. "No, buddy. I'm not mad."

Pikachu smiled, which Ash returned, and the two partners officially made up. 

"I'll tell you about what happened with Pidgeot during lunch." Pikachu promised. "But yeah."

Ash nodded, and the duo went back to normal with no problems whatsoever. 

Froakie meanwhile, was having trouble processing what just happened. He turned to Fletchling with amazement, who was ruffling his feathers proudly. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about~"

"Y-you..." Froakie gave up and sent a teasing smile at the flying type. "You really are a Tsundere..."

Fletchling gawked at him.

Rotom then moved in front of the camera, blocking Professor Oak from view, chuckling deviously once more. 

"Hey, Rotom!" Samuel protested. "I can't see! Move!" He then grabbed the electric-type in his hands, moving him out of the camera, though he was unfortunately shocked as a result. Rotom simply cackled the entire time. 

This then caused an explosion to fill up the screen, leaving Samuel looking disoriented. 

Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie all sweat-dropped and chuckled awkwardly, looking sheepish as they did so. 

The trio then all looked at each-other, looking more sheepish than before, though Ash and Pikachu grinned, embarrassed. 

"I would be as embarrassed as Ash and Pikachu, if that happened to me, too." Bonnie giggled.

Serena smiled. "Well, who would've expected a famous Pokemon Professor to be electrocuted so easily?"

"Yeah," Clemont agreed. "You think he would know not to touch electric types so carelessly..."

Ash was then shown running outside the Pokemon Center, Froakie and Pikachu on his shoulders, calling out to Clemont and Bonnie, who stood near a fountain. "Guys! Thanks for waiting!" 

"Hi, Ash." Clemont greeted. "Didn't you tell us you were going to challenge the Santalune City Gym first?"

"Yeah." Ash replied. "I'm pretty sure the Gym Leader should be back by now."

"I think the best way to get to Santalune City is by travelling Route 4 all the way there." Clemont suggested. 

"Then Route 4 it is!" Ash declared before turning to Pikachu. "Aren't you psyched, Pikachu?" 

"Of course!" Pikachu said.

Ash then turned to Froakie. "And Froakie, you're going to be great!" 

"Thank you." Froakie gushed. 

"Why'd you say that when I wasn't even going to be used in the gym battle?" Froakie pointed out.

"Uh..." Ash chuckled awkwardly. "I...I don't really know. I think it was because you battled with me to help capture Fletchling, so..."

Froakie nodded. "That seems fair."

 "So, why don't we hit the road?" Clemont suggested. 

"Let's go!" Bonnie declared before walking off, Clemont following her, causing Ash to gasp slightly. 

"The sooner we leave, the sooner we're there." Clemont explained. 

"You don't have to show me around anymore." Ash said.

"Silly, Ash." Bonnie giggled. "We're all really, really, really good friends now, right? So we're going with you!"

"No joke?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well, having some more company does sound nice..." Pikachu said silently. 

Ash grinned, reminiscing on his past travelling companions. "Yeah. It's always fun travelling with friends."

"Oh, we're serious." Clemont stated. "Remember what you did back there? You showed me what it's like to have real courage. I know I can get stronger! We both can get stronger travelling with you." 

"You're right, Clemont!" Bonnie said.

Clemont rubbed the back of his head nervously. "So...is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay!" Ash exclaimed, along with Pikachu and Froakie. "Travelling with friends is way more fun than being alone! Alright, it's a deal!" Ash held his hand out. "We'll have a great time!"

"Yeah." Clemont agreed. "We sure will!" 

Clemont held his hand out and clasped it in Ash's, causing Bonnie to exclaim. "Hey! No fair, I can't reach!"

"They're not that high." Onix pointed out dubiously. 

Clemotn and Ash knelt down in response. Froakie and Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulders and put their hands in with the group. Ash's on the bottom, Clemont's on Ash's, Bonnie's on Clemont's, Froakie's on Ash's, and Pikachu's on Bonnie's. "Let's go and meet lots and lots of new pokemon together!" Bonnie declared proudly. 

"Right!" Ash agreed, showing Bonnie and Froakie smiling. "Good friends," Ash turned to Pikachu. "Together." He finished, Clemont shown smiling as well. 

"Kalos, here we come!" Ash finished his declaration, causing the group to throw their hands-our paws, in the case of Froakie and Pikachu-in the air, cheering all the way.

Serena smiled, kind of wishing that she was a part of that declaration as well. "That's a nice cheer."

Fletchling ruffled his feathers. "Yeah, we need to do one with every-" He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at Serena once more. "Quiet, sorceress!"

Serena blinked, then looked down to her pokemon, who simply looked exasperated. "...am I supposed to know what that means?"

"Probably not." Chespin piped up. He was weirdly still eating Serena's sandwiches, though it did explain why he wasn't speaking much.

Then again, neither was Viola or Grant's pokemon either. Perhaps it was simply because they were older.

The scene transitioned to the Yvonne resident, showing Serena walking out the front door. "Rhyhorn! Gotta go," She said as she pet the Rhyhorn and hugged him. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, Serena!" Rhyhorn said happily. 

"So, do you know which pokemon you want?" Grace asked.

Serena nodded. 

"Which one?" Grace asked.

"It's a secret!" Serena chuckled as she stood up, the wind causing her hair to fly in a "whimsical" way. "I'm off," She declared, waving a hand. "Later!" 

"...that's it?" Vivillon questioned. "There isn't much heart in that goodbye, you know. You have to be bold! Put more oomph into it! Your mom cares about you, after all."

Serena sighed with annoyance. "I know she does, and I love her too, but she's just so..." Serena made a frustrated noise to complete her sentiments. 

Vivillon shook her head and stretched her wings for a moment, before settling down again. "Teenagers..." The pokemon muttered, leaving Serena to wonder if she had heard the phrase from Viola or if teenagers were an actual thing for pokemon.

"Bye, take care!" Grace called out. 

"Bye!" Rhyhorn roared slightly.

"Don't forget to practice your Rhyhorn racing!" Grace called out as a final thought. 

"I won't, bye!" Serena waved back. 

It was getting increasingly more difficult for Serena to ignore Fletchling's hard stares.

"She'll forget." Rhyhorn chuckled.

Grace simply sighed in reply to the pokemon. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Viola smiled as she held up her hands to the screen in a picture position. "The relationship between human and pokemon is quite clear with this interaction...what an amazing shot!"

Grant looked at the blonde, and couldn't help but agree. Grace's response seemed very in-tune with what Rhyhorn said, which suggested years of friendship. 

A forest was shown, before Dedenne was shown running up a tree and onto the branches before coming up to a berry on a twig. "Come on...off with you..." Dedenne grunted as he tried to pull the berry off the twig. 

"So, this is when I'm introduced." Dedenne stated, then turned to Fletchling with an accusatory look. "And this is when you-"

"Steal your food." Fletchling waved a wing apologetically. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry, okay?"

The group was revealed to be walking right under the tree at that moment, Froakie, Pikachu, and Bonnie running ahead of Ash and Clemont. The two pokemon suddenly stopped in confusion. 

"Hey, what's up, you two?" Ash asked.

Dedenne continued groaning as he tugged harder on the berry. 

"What is-" Froakie started. 

"-that noise..." Pikachu finished, equally confused.

"How are your senses so sharp?" Dedenne pouted. "I was up on one of the trees for crying out loud!"

Pikachu and Froakie looked at each other before the former sheepishly replied. "I'm just good at these things, I guess..."

"Same." Froakie agreed.

"Really?" Fletchling asked. "I thought it was because you've gotten used to Team Rocket throwing nets at you in the middle of nowhere."

"...there's that too."

"Get...off...already...ah!" Dedenne exclaimed as the berry was thrown out of the tree. 

"Oh no!" Dedenne exclaimed as the berry dropped straight on Pikachu's forehead, causing him to gasp slightly. 

Everyone gasped as the berry bounced off Pikachu's head and fell to the floor, while Pikachu simply questioned, "What...?"

Pikachu ran towards the berry and leaned in close to examine it, but yelped when a sudden single streak of electricity hit the berry and caused it to hit Bonnie squarely on the face, making her shout.

"Hold." Fletchling said simply before demanding. "I'm yelled at for taking Dedenne's food, but when Dedenne does it AND hits a little girl in the face with a berry, it's okay?"

Dedenne stuck his tongue out immaturely at the flying type who just stared helplessly at the other humans in the room. "Unbelievable."

"What was that?" Ash questioned.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Clemont asked, rushing forward. 

"Whoa, that was a shock..." Bonnie said.

"Oh, the puns." Chespin shouted dramatically, causing a few people to look at him.

"That becomes Clemont's pokemon in the future?" Bonnie said doubtfully.

Bunnelby's ears perked at this and a dull look passed over his face. From what he's seen of the spiny nut pokemon, he was incredibly hyper-and an eater-which is something that simply didn't mix with his personality.

"What was that, just now?" Clemont questioned. 

Dedenne scurried down a tree branch, causing Froakie and Pikachu to gasp and turn towards his former position. 

"I barely made noise!" Dedenne protested.

"Maybe...anime logic?" Serena suggested. 

Everyone stared. 

Viola laughed. "Serena, I don't think you can apply that to real life!" She teased.

"Though, you must admit, it is an interesting take on this." Grant praised.

Serena beamed, though her face was a little flushed from her embarrassment as suggesting something so childish. 

Fletchling made a noise and ruffled his feathers. "Witch..." He muttered, causing Froakie to slap his face with his paw. 

Bonnie ran forward and picked up the berry. "Maybe it wanted this?" 

Dedenne began running towards Bonnie and Clemont before Pikachu jumped in, "Hey!" 

"Never seen that pokemon!" Ash said excitedly.

"That's mine!" Dedenne declared stubbornly. 

Bonnie let out a loud squeal. "It's so cute!" A red arrow pointed to the berry, which was stuck in her hand-in between her fingers. 

Dedenne cautiously stepped forward. "My berry..." He gasped in surprise when Pikachu stepped in front of him, protectively. "Back off!" He shouted angrily. 

Pikachu's cheeks sparked with warning. "Who are you?! And what do you want?" He demanded authoritatively. 

"Dedenne." Fletchling replied dryly. "And he wants his berry."

Vivillon shook her head at the immature flying type. And she thought Surskit could be embarrassing. 

The duo's cheeks both began sparking simultaneously as they exchanged electrical messages-which unfortunately did not come with subtitles. 

"No subtitles?" Ash questioned, then slumped. "Well, that sucks."

Grant raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Are they...communicating?"

Clemont nodded. "Yeah. They're both electric types, so..." He then turned to the two in question. "How often do you communicate with other electric types that way?"

Dedenne shrugged. "Meh. There really aren't much electric types in the forest, so I rarely use it."

"I actually use it a lot. It especially comes in handy when an electric type is on a rampage and we need to stop them...normal communicating doesn't exactly work." Pikachu explained. 

Clemont took note of this tidbit as well...and the next detail that Ash added.

"Oh, like when you did that thing with Zapdos?" 

For some strange reason, it was unanimously decided to just accept anything Ash said at that point, because it was clear that Ash was just a strange individual.

And the two gym leaders and their pokemon had obviously gotten the memo as well.

"It sure doesn't look like it's afraid of us." Bonnie observed.

"I mean, all I really wanted was the berry, so..." Dedenne admitted.

Bonnie smiled. "That's okay! It's how we met, after all!"

"They're both electric-types, so they can communicate with electricity." Clemont explained. 

"Oh, really?" Ash asked then took out his Pokedex, pointing it at Dedenne. 

'Dedenne, the Antenna Pokemon. Dedenne communicates long-distance with other Dedenne by sending radio waves through its antenna-like whiskers.' The Pokedex provided. 

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "So, that's a Dedenne!"

"Was this fact not already established?" Onix questioned logically.

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I want it so bad!" Bonnie squealed then tugged on her brother's arm. "Hey, you'll keep it for me, won't you? Please?" She pleaded. 

"Keep it?" Ash questioned, as Pikachu and Dedenne were shown still having their electrical conversation, Froakie still standing awkwardly off to the side.

"Yeah," Bonnie replied. "He'll keep it for me until I'm old enough to become a trainer." She turned back to Clemont, pleading once more. "Pretty, pretty, please! I promise I'll take care of it!"

Clemont scratched his cheek as he looked deep in thought. "Let me see..."

"Aw, do it." Ash suggested. "I can help you catch it, if you want."

"You will? Thanks a lot, Ash!" Bonnie said happily, while Clemont looked a little relieved.

"Alright, then. Let's catch Dedenne!" Clemont declared.

"Well, something must have happened that made you not catch him. I remember you asking me to dig holes, and that didn't happen here." Bunnelby observed.

Clemont nodded in confirmation. "Right. This is when Fletchling stole Dedenne's food, actually..."

Fletchling huffed with irritation. "Oh, sure. Not going to mention Dedenne's whole track record, are we, now?"

Bonnie then gasped and looked at the berry in her hand before running forward. "Huh? Oh, yeah!"

"Hey, Dedenne?" Bonnie asked softly before holding out her hand. "You wanted this, right?"

Dedenne tentatively stepped towards the berry. 

"He must have thought Pikachu was going to take it." Ash observed smartly.

"That is the most logical assumption." Grant agreed.

Bonnie looked giddy as Dedenne stepped forward. "That's right, here, take it!"

Pikachu exclaimed as realization struck, "Oh!"

Dedenne sniffed the berry and reached out to touch it-

A Fletchling suddenly swooped in from the sky and snatched the berry out of Bonnie's palm, causing another split-panel, showing the shock of Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu, and Froakie. 

Fletchling-Ash's-fluttered towards a tree branch with the berry and landed, looking proud of himself. 

Everyone stared at the flying type in question, who looked embarrassed. "Look, I've already apologized a million times already...what more do you want from me?"

"A hand-written letter?"  Fennekin suggested, then put up a paw in defense when Fletchling glared at her. "Calm yourself, Fletchling. Please."

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Ash demanded of Fletchling. "I've never seen that pokemon either." Ash added. 

"It's a Fletchling." Clemont observed. 

Bonnie pushed Ash aside and yelled at Fletchling. "No fair! That berry belongs to Dedenne!"

Fletchling simply tossed the berry into the air and swallowed it whole. "Down the hatch!" He declared before mocking the group. "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah...how're you going to get the berry now, little girl~" Fletchling sang. 

"..."

"...wow." Chespin said dumbly. "You're kind of a jerk, huh?"

Fletchling slumped and began grumbling to himself. "Oh, shut up...and how come I'm the only one being made fun of..." He whined.

Ash smiled and picked up the slumped over bird and sat him in his lap, then began petting the Robin's wings. "It's alright, Fletchling." He soothed.

Fletchling leaned into the touch slightly and relaxed a little. Ash was very easy to get attached to. 

The group gasped, scandalized. "Fletchling ate the berry!" Clemont stated.

"Again." Onix said. "Why is it that you people keep pointing out the obvious? I do not understand." 

Grant smiled at his pokemon. "I guess it's just something we humans like to do."

"Humans are strange." Tyrunt said. "No offense, Grant."

"None taken." Grant replied honestly. 

Ash took out his Pokedex. 'Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokemon. Although Fletchling's chirp is quite beautiful, it is relentlessly tough with those who enter its territory.'

"Oh, look, the kid's got a Pokedex. What do you know..." Fletchling observed lazily. 

Froakie stared. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but...how the HECK do you know what the Pokedex is when you lived in a forest?!" The Bubble Frog stressed.

Fletchling looked up from where he was sitting on Ash's lap, then replied simply. "Oh, I just do."

Froakie made strangled noises.

Pikachu turned to Dedenne and yelped in surprise, taken aback. The camera showed Dedenne with tears in his eyes, close to crying. 

"He's crying..." Froakie warned the group, who turned around in shock. 

"Oh, boy." Chespin muttered sympathetically. "I feel for you, I really do, Dedenne..." He then grabbed the last sandwich Serena made and began munching on  it. "Imagine if someone took this from me...I would be devastated..."

Bunnelby tried not to cry at the prospect that this guy might be his teammate.

"Dedenne? What's the matter?" Bonnie asked frantically.

"My food!" Dedenne shouted before running off in tears.  

"Dedenne, wait!" Bonnie begged, tears pricking in the corner of her eyes. 

"No, no, no! My food..." Dedenne wailed as he ran into the bushes.

"I don't think it's going to come back..." Clemont said in dismay.

Bonnie began whimpering as she held back tears, causing Froakie to look at her in surprise. 

Fletchling winced slightly. "Uh...sorry, Bonnie..."

Bonnie smiled. "That's okay, Fletchling! That's all in the past, now!" 

Fletchling beamed.

Froakie couldn't help but wonder if Pikachu really was the one who had problems with consistency. Both his teammates were equally capricious, in his opinion.

"Bonnie...?" He muttered before narrowing his eyes and jumping in the air, throwing his frubbles as Fletchling, who swiftly dodged every single shot.

"It dodged all of them!" Clemont pointed out.

Onix sighed. "As we have seen, yes."

Poor Clemont looked embarrassed.

"Get down here!" Froakie demanded angrily.

"Look at that..." Ash said, partially in awe. "Fletchling's fast..." He then adjusted his hat, determined. "All right...I'm going to catch that Fletchling!"

"That was fast." Viola laughed. "I'm not surprised, coming from you, Ash." 

"Well, I've always been quick on my feet." Ash admitted.

Fletchling landed on the branch before narrowing his eyes dangerously. "Just try it!"

"Okay, did you want to get caught or not?" Vivillon asked.

"Well, yeah." Fletchling admitted, causing a select few to look confused. "But I wasn't going to go down without a fight."

"Wait a minute!" Ash exclaimed. "You wanted me to catch you?!"

Grant raised an eyebrow at this piece of information. "Odd. Why is that?"

Vivillon was the one to explain. "See, wild pokemon that live so close to paths where trainers pass by regularly are usually those who want to get caught. Especially since the paths are so hard to miss, it's pretty clear that most of the time, pokemon that are seen in those areas are there intentionally." 

"Really?" Froakie asked, surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Me neither." Fennekin said. "Though, that's probably because we were both born in the lab..."

"I guess that's just one more thing to add to the list of things we're learning about pokemon." Clemont smiled. "Who'd of thought we'd learn so much in such little time?"

"Well, it's because we're mostly just telling you this stuff." Bunnelby pointed out.

"Well, yeah." Surskit said. "To us it's natural knowledge. But to the humans...there isn't really much they can learn from hearing us say our names all the time."

Pikachu looked contemplative. "Huh. That reminds me of something."

"What?" Fletchling asked. 

"One of the first things Ash ever asked me," Pikachu replied, causing the aforementioned trainer to look curiously at his Starter. What had he asked? "He couldn't understand me, so he asked me if all I could say was my name..."

Serena giggled. "You didn't know that, Ash?"

Ash looked embarrassed. "Of course I did! I just..." He looked awkward. "Honestly, I think I was still asleep at the time..."

"Who's that pokemon?" Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie asked, showing a silhouette of Fletchling. 

"What the-" Vivillon yelped. "That's strange."

"Tell me about it." Viola muttered. How did Sky do this?

"It's...Fletchling!" The group said. 

"...I find this repetitiveness of stating the obvious quite annoying." Onix declared. 

"Thank you!" Fletchling chirped. "You should've been here for the first episode! I swear, I was driven nuts!"

"Fletchling's a flying-type." Clemont reminded. "Pikachu has an advantage as an electric-type."

Bonnie continued whimpering before swallowing and pushing down her tears once more, which Froakie took notice of and growled in response. 

"Kay, Pikachu, let's go!" Ash declared.

"Alright!" Pikachu responded before turning in surprise at Froakie jumping in front of him, putting a paw up to stop the Kanto duo.

"Wait! He's mine!" Froakie said, narrowing his eyes. He then jumped up, causing Ash to audibly gasp.

"Wait, what?!" Pikachu asked in alarm. 

"A little bit of warning would've been nice, Froakie." Pikachu smiled sheepishly, causing the frog to look awkward again.

"...sorry about that. I guess I wasn't really thinking..." 

Froakie threw his frubbles, inciting Fletchling to dodge once more. 

"Come on, Froakie." Ash urged. "We don't even have a plan! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt."

"One fried-to-a-crisp flying-type, coming right up!" Pikachu replied cheerfully before running forward and charging up a Thunderbolt. "Thun...der..." 

"What." Fletchling stated dumbly before slowly turning to Pikachu. "You...I...wh-"

Ash began his staring match towards Pikachu again, who began sweating nervously. He had no clue that Pikachu could be so sadistic before. Though, that was probably due to the whole excited facade he always had on. [5]

He was cut off by Froakie, who threw a paw up once more. "Stop!" 

Pikachu stopped, though he looked in shock as Froakie leaped into the air once more.

"Water..." Froakie charged up a Water Pulse. 

"Double Team!" Fletchling called out, causing multiple copies of him to appear. 

"-Pulse!" Froakie finished as he threw the ball of pressurized water, which his one of the doubles, resulting in an explosion that took out the other doubles as well, leaving Fletchling as the only one left, who then charged up a Peck.

"Take this!" Fletchling said as he rammed his glowing beak into Froakie. "Peck!"

Froakie screamed as he was slammed into a tree, and collapsed to the ground. 

"That really hurt." Froakie muttered, causing Fletchling to smirk. 

"It was meant to." He chirped in reply, causing the frog to groan. He swore, Fletchling had it out for him, didn't he?

"Froakie!" Ash cried and dismay as he and the group ran towards the fallen Bubble Frog Pokemon. Ash jumped and caught Froakie in his arms, landing in a kneeling position. "Froakie, are you okay?" Ash asked, concerned. "Take it easy and let Pikachu handle this, okay?" Ash soothed.

"It'll be alright." Pikachu assured Froakie.

"Bonnie." Froakie said simply as his eyes snapped open, causing the girl to gasp in confusion.

He then began struggling to get out of Ash's arms, who looked on with confusion, Pikachu watching the scene with confusion as well. 

"Froakie, wait!" Ash called as said pokemon jumped out of his arms.

"Hey, you!" Froakie shouted to Fletchling before jumping up, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.

"Dude, at least give them some kind of warning." Chespin pointed out lazily. 

Froakie blushed. "Uh..."

"It's okay, Froakie." Ash assured him. "We already got that sorted out, so don't worry about it!"

"Thanks, Ash." Froakie smiled up at his trainer, who smiled back.

"Hold on," Clemont said. "Didn't Professor Sycamore say that Froakie had a habit of ignoring his trainer during battle?"

"Ya know, I think I'm starting to understand..." Ash mumbled, causing Clemont to turn towards him with confusion. "Stories about Froakie leaving his trainers...I get it!"

Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu all made an audible noise of confusion as Pikachu asked, "You get what, Ash?"

The scene transitioned to Team Rocket's Meowth balloon, before James was shown groaning. "My kingdom for a little bit of breakfast...my poor croissant..."

"...why are we changing the scene there?" Surskit questioned. "Way to leave it on a cliffhanger."

"Yeah, that is kind of weird." Bonnie agreed. "Though, I wonder if we're going to be shown how Team Rocket caught Inkay."

"Ten Poke-dollars it was through some kind of food." Fletchling volunteered. 

"What would you do with the Poke-dollars?" Serena asked.

Fletchling glared and didn't reply, Fennekin rolling her eyes at the bird's behavior on her trainer's lap. 

"It may be a bit early for lunch, but let's bend the rules." Meowth smirked as he took out a lunch basket.

"Wow," James gasped. "I second that."

A sudden gust of wind blew the balloon to the side, causing the lunch basket to slip out of Meowth's hands, causing a sandwich to fall out.

"Come back, sandwich!" James cried. "I haven't eaten you, yet!" 

A sudden flash flew by and snatched the sandwich, too fast to properly see. James then blinked in confusion before turning to Jessie and Meowth. "...Did you see what I just saw?"

"Something with a touch of white..." Jessie replied with uncertainty.

"A pokemon, I'll bet." Meowth deduced.

"Obviously, Sherlock!" Wobbuffet saluted. 

"...don't question?" Somebody asked.

"Don't question." Another "body" confirmed. 

The same Inkay from before floated up from behind Team Rocket, causing all three to turn around in confusion before the TRio got sprayed by ink from Inkay.

Wobbuffet popped up and saluted again, a tear in his eye. "That hurt a bunch!"

Fletchling flew around in a circle before charging in with a Peck. "Take...this!" He cried as he nailed Froakie straight in the chest, causing the water-type to be thrown backwards.

"Now, we're...transitioning again?" Pikachu questioned. "Ash, this is the worst transitioning style I've ever seen."

"We've seen worse." Ash reminded Pikachu, causing the mouse to mutter in agreement. 

Froakie was about to jump up again before Ash came in and grabbed him. "Stop, Froakie! Just chill out! You're only going to end up hurting yourself!" He scolded.

Froakie ignored Ash and continued shouting. "You! Get down here and fight me you coward!"

"Your pokemon have quite the fiery spirit, Ash." Grant praised. "It's certainly admirable. Though, I think they must first get past the wall of 'looking before they leap' before continuing with their climb."

"...were we supposed to understand that?" Chespin whispered to Bunnelby, who sighed exasperatedly. 

"He wasn't talking to us, Chespin, so I don't think so." The pokemon replied tiredly.

"So..." Froakie turned to Pikachu. "Is he saying we're reckless?"

"I think so." Pikachu nodded slowly, then flushed a little. "Well, I suppose that is a little true for me."

"So, you admit it!" Ash grinned triumphantly, causing the electric type to groan. 

"I know how you feel, Froakie." Ash said sympathetically. "But you've got to listen to me!" This caused the pokemon to stop yelling and turn to his trainer with surprise.

"Ash!" Clemont cried out, causing Ash and Froakie to look up and see Fletchling charging at them with a Razor Wind, causing multiple explosions and the group to scatter.

Ash slammed into a tree, bruising his arms as he held Froakie. Pikachu ran forward. "Everybody okay?" Ash smiled. "Pikachu?" Ash turned to Froakie, who was staring at Ash and his injury in wonder.

"Froakie?" Ash asked.

Froakie frowned, a look of guilt crossing over his face.

Froakie winced slightly. He really did feel bad when he saw that Ash's first priority was to protect him, even with how he had been acting. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, but again, it was just so strange to see his trainer care for him so openly, that he...

Well, he just wasn't ready to be on the receiving end of that. Froakie chose Ash to be his trainer because he admired his spirit, his passion, his determination, and most importantly, the love he displays for his pokemon. His interactions with Pikachu, and now Fletchling, despite the bird's misgivings towards many people in the room. 

Ash's interactions with him, too, proved that he was different from other trainers. 

That was why Ash was the trainer he chose. The trainer he wanted to be with more than anything. 

He smiled as he thought of his two teammates. It was nice to actually interact with pokemon he could call his "teammates" as well. That word wasn't exactly something Froakie would use lightly, but he would gladly use it towards Ash's pokemon, including Pikachu and Fletchling. [6]

"Clemont and Bonnie, are you guys okay too?" Ash called out to the siblings.

"Yeah, Ash." Clemont replied. "We're all right."

"Thank goodness." Pikachu smiled.

Funnily enough, both Fletchling and Serena were thinking the exact same thing at that very moment: that Pikachu had one-hundred percent sounded like a girl. 

"Froakie?" Ash said, causing the pokemon to look up. "I understand. You wanted to get even with Fletchling for making Bonnie upset."

Froakie sighed, then admitted. "You're right..." He then jumped out of Ash's arms and turned to Bonnie, who ran towards him. 

"Why did you not admit to this before?" Onix asked in his gravelly voice.

"Well..." Froakie began, hesitating, then admitted. "I really wasn't thinking straight. I guess what Grant said is..." He struggled. "...kind of true..."

Fletchling snickered, though he instantly quieted when Pikachu sent him a reprimanding glare.  

"Is that true?" Bonnie gasped. "Thank you Froakie!" The girl cheered, before reaching out and snuggling with Froakie, causing the frog to blush with embarrassment.

"N-no problem, Bonnie..." Froakie replied dazedly as he was still being snuggled by Bonnie.

"Ah, so you're the type to get embarrassed from compliments, huh?" Fennekin teased, flicking her tail.

"Why have I been the subject of the most recent comments?" Froakie wondered aloud.

Clemont shrugged, then replied. "Well, it's because this episode seems to be about how you and Fletchling dished it out, so..."

"I see." Froakie said doubtfully. 

Fletchling fluttered above the group in circles. "I'm waiting~"

"Awfully nice of you," Dedenne snarked. "You know, considering."

Bonnie sighed and pet her little friend. "Dedenne, come on, don't you think Fletchling has had enough?"

Fletchling perked up and stared at Dedenne, who reluctantly sighed. "Fine..." He turned to Fletchling begrudgingly. "I forgive you for stealing my food." He paused, then added at Bonnie's questioning gaze. "And I'm sorry for holding a grudge about it."

"Eh, don't worry about it." Fletchling waved the small pokemon off. "I guess it kind of was my fault for being such a jerk, anyway."

"You admitted it!" Chespin shouted loudly, causing everyone to sweat-drop.

Fletchling glared. "Shut up, it's a one-time thing."

"But you can't get Fletchling back without a plan." Ash pointed out. "Okay, Fletchling can fly, so first things first, we need to find a way to lure it in!"

Clemont began chuckling, a smug smirk plastered on his face. "Well, you just leave it to me." He then adjusted his glasses, which glistened in the sunlight. "You see, the future is now, thanks to science!"

Clemont groaned and shoved his face in his hands, though Ash patted his back sympathetically.

"Clemontic Gear, On!" Clemont cried, as an invention that looked similar to a saxophone appeared. "Presenting my flying-type pokemon attract-er machine!"

Ash's eyes glistened as he looked on in wonder. 

"The name could use a little work..." Bonnie sweat-dropped, Pikachu looking on in amazement as well, as Froakie simply stared awkwardly.

"I would say that the most realistic reaction is Froakie's." Surskit nominated. "Bonnie's way too used to this, and Pikachu and Ash aren't from around here. Kanto doesn't have much technology, from what I've heard."

"Oh, yeah." Viola said thoughtfully. "Alexa told me about what it was like in Kanto. She said it was really peaceful there..."

Ash pursed his lips and tried not to say anything. 

"You see," Clemont began explaining, his eyes still glistening in the sunlight. "Bird pokemon have a homing instinct. By using sound-waves of a certain frequency, this little invention of mine can attract or repel bird pokemon by affecting their internal compass."

Fletchling landed on a nearby branch, ruffling his feathers, and cocked his head to the side. "...what are these guys doing now...?"

"Science, apparently." Fennekin replied.

"Watch this." Clemont said, as he began turned the dial on the saxophone-like machine. "Power On!"

Sound-waves then began spreading throughout the area, making a  ping noise. 

Fletchling looked curiously at the sound waves before cocking his head to the side. "...are they trying to attack me with sound...?" He then snickered to himself. "Idiots."

Everyone shot the bird a look. 

"What?" Fletchling asked, offended. "That's what it looked like to me!"

"It's starting to work." Clemont said.

"So cool," Ash exclaimed. "Science is amazing!"

Red eyes began appearing in the forest behind the group, causing them to look alarmed. 

Fletchling let out a bored yawn as he continued watching the group.

"Huh, so you really did want to get caught." Vivillon observed. "That's twice now you've waited for them to sort out their own thing."

"You know, that's probably one of the reasons why Ash managed to catch Fletchling..." Bonnie laughed sheepishly.

"I don't understand..." Clemont said.

Pikachu blinked with alarm. "Wait a minute..."

"...do you hear that?" Froakie asked.

"Yes." Both frog and mouse chorused in response to their own question. 

"It makes no sense!" Clemont deduced, continuing to turn the machine, the amount of red eyes increasing. 

"Hey, Clemont..." Ash held out a hand nervously.

"Something's staring at us!" Bonnie cried out with alarm.

At that moment, a group of beedrill flew out of the trees and began buzzing angrily, surrounding the group.

"Beedrill!" Ash cried out in alarm. 

Onix sighed. This was one of the reasons he preferred watching American dramas with Viola whenever she came over to visit Grant's gym. Grant had different tastes, but one movie that he watched with his trainer ruined any chance of watching anything else from that genre forever with how repetitive everything and everyone was. 

"This isn't good!" Pikachu added.

"Obviously." Fletchling chirped.

"I'm really getting tired of this..." Vivillon sighed. 

"They were attracted by it?" Clemont questioned.

"Turn off the machine!" Bonnie demanded as the Beedrill charged.

The group screamed as the ran away. "Ah! They're coming after us!" Ash screamed. "Let's go!"

"I must've picked too low of a frequency!" Clemont deduced. "A higher frequency would've worked a whole lot better for bird pokemon!"

He then increased the frequency. "Let's try this!"

"Stop it, Clemont!" Ash ordered. "You're making the beedrill even angrier than before!"

"I'm sure I can affect the flying-type pokemon if I crank it up to full blast!" Clemont insisted, the machine beginning to turn red and swell up. 

It then exploded. 

The beedrill flew away from the explosion, which left a dark smoke everywhere, and showed the entire group on the floor looking incredibly frazzled-Clemont, Bonnie, and Ash having new hair-dos as well.

Fletchling tried to hold back snickers, courtesy of the dark glare from Pikachu.

Pikachu could be very convincing when it came to giving glares. Though, the fact that his cheeks were sparking was helpful too...

Ash was the first to sit up. 

"Looks like you blew it again." Bonnie joked dully. 

Ash smiled as he looked behind him and saw the beedrill flying off. "The beedrill are flying away! We're fine now!" He then turned to the group. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Bonnie replied. 

"But, why." Clemont pouted to himself.

"Clemont, that was great!" Ash exclaimed, causing the blond to look at him. "You attracted all those beedrill!"

"Wait, they wanted that to happen?" Tyrunt questioned. 

"I think Ash was trying to cheer Clemont up," Grant explained softly, petting the rock type on the head, causing him to growl softly in enjoyment. 

Clemont seemed taken aback for a moment before brightening up and saying, "Yeah...I guess I did!"

A sudden bout of laughter attracted the group's attention to Fletchling, who was flying in circles above them. 

"You guys look so stupid!" He laughed tauntingly. "Nice hair, you humans!"

Surprisingly enough, nobody said anything about Fletchling's comment. Perhaps it was because at this point they had gotten used to it. 

"Hey, it's laughing at us." Bonnie said.

"Well? Are you gonna catch me or what, raven-hair? I've been politely waiting for you knuckleheads the whole time!" Fletchling demanded.

'Raven-hair.' Ash mouthed to himself, then turned to Pikachu, mouthing the same thing, who simply shrugged.

There was no way anyone would know what was going on inside Fletchling's brain.

Ash stared at the bird for a moment before smirking. "I just got an idea!"

The Team Rocket balloon was shown again, with mysterious music played in the background, before Inkay was shown again. 

"Again with the transitions..." Pikachu sighed. 

"That's a new pokemon to me..." Meowth admitted.

James took out the Team Rocket Pokedex and looked contemplative at Inkay's information. "Huh...Inkay..." He read aloud.

"Huh?" Jessie questioned.

James turned to her. "No, not 'huh'. That's its name."

"My trainer's a cruiser!" Wobbuffet stated a matter-of-factually. [2]

Viola and Grant exchanged wide-eyes and Viola choked, while Grant looked awkward. 

"Well..." Grant cleared his throat. "Kids, I suppose you don't know what any of that means?"

After all of the members of the group younger than sixteen shook their heads 'no', Grant turned to the pokemon. "What about any of you?"

Grant and Viola exchanged looks, and were not surprised, when the only ones that knew what that meant were their pokemon, Fletchling, and Bunnelby. 

Fletchling was just a given, and Bunnelby was a bit mature.

After that was cleared up, a golden flash of light caught everyone's attention, and a note floated down from the ceiling into Grant's hands. Grant opened it up and scanned the letters contents, before handing it to Viola, who looked sheepish.

He laughed nervously and folded up the letter. "Nevermind, kids. False alarm...that's not what the Wobbuffet meant at all..."

Fletchling-who knew why the two adults were in such a panic-hid behind a seat and began rolling on the floor with controlled bits of snickers. 

"Whatever its name is, let's make it ours!" Meowth declared.

Jessie clasped her hands together. "Inkay, okay!"

"Then we'll just have to battle it!" James pumped up a fist.

Jessie patted Wobbuffet's back. "Take it away, Wobbuffet!"

Wobbuffet jumped up in front of Inkay, who immediately sprayed the psychic-type. 

"Well, that was humiliating!" Wobbuffet said plainly.

"Now, that's what I call quick!" Meowth said.

"Alright smarty-pants..." James began as he took out two sandwiches from the lunch basket and held them out dramatically. "Feast your eyes on these!"

Inkay trilled happily and snatched the two sandwiches and looked between them. "Oh, thank you! They look so delicious..."

"I knew it!" Fletchling chirped.

"Our lunch!" Jessie squealed.

"I thought you were starving!" Meowth accused.

"Inkay took the bait." James said seriously as he took out a Pokeball and enlarged it. "Watch this!" He cried as he threw the ball.

"Huh?" Inkay blinked as the ball hit him and pulled him in. 

The ball fell to the bottom of the balloon basket and shook a few times before stopping, making a dinging noise that lat the group know Inkay had been officially caught. 

"I caught an Inkay!" James exclaimed as the other exclaimed at the same time:

"Oy vey!"

"No way!" 

"Well, that certainly was strange..." Surskit muttered. 

The scene changed back to the group with Fletchling, who fluttered down on a rock and ruffled his feathers before staring at the group watching him from below, contemplative music playing in the background.

"Well?" Fletchling inquired. "You ready?"

"This is it!" Ash declared. "The prefect place to battle! Time to settle the score!"

"What?!" Pikachu and Froakie gasped, the former looking excited with the latter looking plain confused.

"You knew what that meant?" Fennekin asked.

"Of course. I've been with Ash for years now, after all..." 

"Settle the score?" Bonnie questioned.

Clemont smiled with realization. "He means he's going to catch Fletchling!" 

Ash knelt down in front of Froakie, who had a serious and determined look on his face. "Yup!" He confirmed Clemont's thoughts. "And we're going to do it together! I'm your trainer, right?" He pumped up a fist. "That means it's you and me!"

"Right." Froakie nodded, determined.

"Great." Ash said as he stood up and gestured around him. "This whole area will be the battlefield. It's filled with high and low jumping spaces, and with your awesome jumping skills, you'll rock!"

"He's going down!" Froakie declared, determined.

"Yeah, keep gloating." Fletchling sighed exasperatedly. "I still can't believe you caught me mid-air..."

"Again with this Fletchling?" Fennekin flicked her tail. 

"Yeah, Fletchling, don't you think you should just let it go?" Serena added.

The Tiny Robin glared at Serena...again. 

Serena sighed and just decided to give up trying to understand why Fletchling thought she was a witch. All she did was make sandwiches!

"I have no idea what any of that meant..." Bonnie muttered to herself.

"I am confused." Onix said formally. "What was there not to understand?" 

Bonnie blushed with embarrassment. "Um..."

"Go Froakie!" Ash ordered. "Jump above Fletchling! Ready?" He held out a hand, and instantly, Froakie began jumping up on top of the rocks.

Fletchling flew up at the last second when Froakie landed on the rock he was perched on. "Whoa!" He yelped.

"Yes!" Ash cheered. "Now, jump higher!"

"Ash is taking advantage of all the different ledge heights..." Clemont observed in amazement as the "battlefield" was shown from above. "And combined with those amazing jumping skills, Froakie will have even more mobility!"

"Oh!" Vivillon exclaimed. "So that's why it's called 'A Battle of Aerial Mobility'!" 

"That does make sense." Clemont agreed. 

Fletchling flew away from Froakie, who was gaining on him at a rapid pace. "Oh, come on..." Fletchling muttered exasperatedly. He then flew sharply upward, prompting Froakie to jump up after him.

"Now!" Ash jumped at his chance. "Use Water Pulse!"

Froakie jumped off the cliff edge and threw a ball of pressurized water at the flying-type, who skillfully dodged it. 

"Make it hard to fly!" Ash shouted.

Froakie bounced off the ground for momentum and charged up at Fletchling, beginning to throw his frubbles in a rapid recession. "Take...this! And this! And this! And this!"

"Missed me~" Fletchling sang, though he looked as if he were barely dodging the frubbles. He then circled around and gasped when he saw a shadow of Froakie hiding behind a rock. "Over there!" He cried, and charged with a Peck. "Go...Peck!"

Fletchling groaned in humiliation. He couldn't believe he fell for that. 

Fletchling was shown flying into a Froakie-like sculpture made from frubbles, which completely covered Fletchling, causing him to frantically try and throw the substance off of him. "Get off, get off, get off, get off!" He cried with frustration.

"That sucks." Bunnelby said sympathetically.

"I know." Fletchling fluffed up his feathers and replied dryly. 

"It's a decoy!" Clemont observed.

"Great, Froakie!" Ash praised. "Now, Bubble, go!"

Fletchling turned around in alarm at Froakie, who stood above him in a menacing pose, the sun behind him causing glare. 

"Buh..." Froakie inhaled deeply. "...bull!"

"That was kind of a cool scene." Fennekin praised. "How come Ash, Froakie, and Pikachu are the only ones to have gotten cool shots so far?"

"Good question." Fletchling said, causing the fox to raise her eyebrow. He was agreeing with her? "How come I haven't gotten a cool shot?"

Fennekin sighed. Of course, that was what the flying type had been thinking. 

Fletchling tried to dodge some of the bubbles, though he got hit by one, causing him to cry out and begin plummeting towards the ground.

"Alright, go Pokeball!" Ash cried as he threw the Pokeball in a dramatic manner.

The ball was shown hitting Fletchling mid-air, and pulling the bird in before falling to the ground and shaking, the group all smiling eagerly.

...then the Fletchling escaped, causing them all to gasp.

"Ha ha!" Fletchling taunted boldly. 

"It didn't work!" Bonnie exclaimed with dismay.

"You were so close!" Clemont said.

"Tell me about it." Ash said, though he was glad he managed to catch Fletchling in the end. That bird really was one-of-a-kind.

Fletchling's wings began to glow white, and he then cried out, "Razor Wind!"

"It's attacking!" Ash pointed out. 

Onix didn't even want to try anymore. These constant repetitions were just making him sick. 

"Jump up!" He ordered to Froakie, who was narrowly dodging the razor winds. "Jump up and get above it again!" 

Froakie jumped from rock to rock before becoming level with Fletchling. The camera circled around the duo, both looking determined as dramatic music played.

"Water Pulse!" Ash yelled.

"Water..." Froakie cried out. "Pulse!"

"I'm...so..." Fletchling muttered to himself as the attack began getting closer and closer. When the attack hit, causing an explosion where Fletchling was, he cried out and finished his laments. "SCREWED!"

"Ow..." He groaned as he fell to the ground once more, eyes shut.

"You're making comments even when defeated?" Vivillon shook her head. "You're relentless, I'll give you that."

Fletchling huffed. "It's just something I do."

Ash adjusted his hat. "This time for sure!" He declared boldly before turning his hat around, throwing the Pokeball. "Go, Pokeball!"

The Pokeball was shown hitting Fletchling a little bit before he fell to the ground, before landing on the ground itself. The group watched eagerly as the ball shook, then finally stilled and made a dinging sound: Fletchling had been captured.

"Yeah!" Ash cheered as he ran towards the Pokeball and picked it up, causing the group to exclaim happily. Ash looked at Fletchling's ball and grinned before turning around in the same dramatic pose from when he "caught" Froakie. "I caught...a Fletchling!" 

"Gotta Catch 'Em All!" Pikachu and Froakie cheered as well. 

"You too?" Fennekin questioned, a fox-like grin on her face, though, that only made sense. 

Froakie shrugged. "I guess that's now our thing?" 

Pikachu nodded. "Yup. The rest of the team back in Kanto does it too."

Then Froakie collapsed on the ground, slumped over with exhaustion. 

Ash ran over and checked on his Pokemon. "You okay, Froakie? I caught Fletchling because of you!"

"Thanks..." Froakie declared tiredly.

"Nice job, Froakie!" Pikachu praised.

"Wasn't that amazing?" Bonnie asked her brother. 

"Sure was." Clemont agreed. "Froakie's jumping kept getting better and better! Same with your team work!" 

Ash picked Froakie up in his arms, who still looked tired. "Yeah, I'm starting to understand a lot about Froakie. Thanks!"

Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder. "It was an awesome battle." 

"Thanks." Froakie held out a paw behind him, which Pikachu high-pawed. [3]

Grant smiled and exchanged a look with Viola. This kid, Ash, certainly had a lot of potential, and so did his pokemon. Their teamwork and bond were amazing, as well as their individual skills and powers. 

"Come on out, Fletchling!" Ash threw the Pokeball into the air, releasing Fletchling from it.

"So, you're my new trainer, huh?" Fletchling declared smugly. "Cool. I like you."

"...that's what you said?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Fletchling replied offhandedly.

"Of course not!" Ash exclaimed. "I like you too, Fletchling!"

Fletchling looked taken aback before a small, genuine smile formed on his face.

"From now on, we're going to be good friends." Ash said, holding his arms out as Fletchling fluttered to the ground. "All of us."

"And Fletchling," Bonnie held out a finger to scold the bird. "Tell me if you get hungry, next time. Because stealing other pokemon's food is bad!"

Fletchling did look like he felt bad and chirped apologetically. "Uh...sorry."

"It's okay." Bonnie smiled. "You're forgiven!"

"You are forgiven." Dedenne added, causing Fletchling to look at him incredulously. 

"Um...okay..." Fletchling said awkwardly, though he looked appreciative. 

Clemont knelt down, holding three Oran berries. "How about an Oran berry to celebrate our new friendship?" He suggested. "You too, Pikachu and Froakie!"

Pikachu grabbed a berry. "Thank you!"

Froakie grabbed the other two and handed one to Fletchling, who ate it hungrily, Froakie eating the other berry as well. "It's delicious!" All three cried out happily. [4]

Ash smiled. Wow, did he love his pokemon. Every single one of them was special in their own way, and he loved each and every one of them for it. 

And when they worked together....well, that just made everything even better. 

"Great! Alright, let's all head to the Santalune City Gym!" Ash declared happily as well.

"And so, Ash has another new friend: Fletchling!" The Narrator said. "Now, as Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie set their sights on Santalune City, our heroes' journey truly begins!" He declared, as the group set off, Dedenne being shown watching them from the shadows.

"You were following us, Dedenne?" Bonnie asked.

Dedenne nodded sheepishly. "Well, I mean...I knew you guys would have food, so...I thought I would follow you?"

"Why is everyone following everyone these days? I mean, first we've got the Ash and Pikachu's stalkers, then we've got Froakie, and now we've got Dedenne." Fletchling paused, before muttering under his breath. "Then there's the witch."

"Hello?" Serena called out as she opened the door to the Sycamore Laboratory, which was shown almost entirely cleaned from the previous incident that had taken place, only two neat piles of rubble left. "Is Professor Sycamore around?"

Fletchling began chirping unintelligible words and flying around the room rapidly, causing everyone to stare. 

"I..." Serena put a hand to her forehead. "Okay, what did I do to make Fletchling dislike me so much? He was completely fine with me before..."

"Serena, this is Fletchling." Fennekin stated bluntly as she flicked her tail. "Since when does anything he does make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense!" Fletchling puffed out his chest. "Serena's a witch!" [7]

Ash simply shook his head in disbelief. 

"That's me." Professor Sycamore said. "I'm up here."

"Hello! I'm Serena!" The teen introduced herself.

"I'll bet you're here to become a Pokemon Trainer." Sycamore concluded.

"Yup! Also, Professor..." Serena began. "I saw this trainer on the news...the report was all about how he had saved a Garchomp?"

"Oh, you're talking about Ash!" Sycamore recognized.

Serena's eyes lit up. 'Ash! I knew it!'

Everyone shot Serena a look of confusion, which she simply smiled at them and laughed nervously.

Ash, meanwhile, was wondering how Serena knew him. He tried to think back to when he might have met her...

'Now that I think about it...' He recalled the flashback they were shown in the first episode. 'There was a forest in the background, and those clothes I was wearing...'

Weren't those clothes the ones he wore to Professor Oak's summer camp? The only reason he remembered this small detail was because his mother had made that outfit herself, and he tended to remember the clothes his mother made, as much as people liked to think that he didn't. 

He looked at Serena, who was whispering something to Fennekin, who strangely had a grin on her face. Did Serena go to that camp too?

Maybe he should ask. 

Later.

"I'm afraid that he already left. He said that he was going to challenge the Santalune Gym." Sycamore explained.

"Santalune Gym..." Serena muttered, then smirked. "Professor? May I choose a Pokemon?"

"Of course!" Sycamore replied. "And do you have any idea which pokemon you'd like?"

"Yup!" Serena confirmed.

"Alright," Sycamore turned to another door, causing Serena to turn as well. "Everybody out!"

Sophie was shown walking over with a Chespin, a Froakie, and the one and only, Fennekin.

"Hey, it's you!" Chespin grinned.

Fennekin sighed. "Obviously." She muttered under her breath. 

"These are the Kalos Pokemon new trainers may choose from." Sycamore explained. "Fennekin, Chespin, and Froakie. Which pokemon will you choose as your partner?"

The screen froze on those three pokemon, smiling. The picture again looking like an aesthetic photo.

The screen turned black. 

"Who cares what that witch is going to choose?!" Fletchling screamed. "She's a witch!"

Fennekin scowled, smoke coming out of her ears. "You call Serena a witch one more time..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Clemont waved his hands around wildly. "Let's all just calm down..."

Froakie and Pikachu exchanged a look and decided to try and calm down their clearly insane teammate. 

"Okay, Fletchling, why do you think Serena is a witch?" Froakie asked, tiredly.

"She's not just any witch!" Fletchling hissed. "She's the one and only...the worst type of them all!!!"

"Fletchling." Pikachu frowned, reprimanding the bird with his tone. He noticed Serena looking taken aback, almost as if she had no clue what to make of this. The poor girl was getting insulted for no reason.

"You don't see it?" Fletchling hissed.

"See what?" Bonnie asked.

"She's a Mary Sue!" 

There was an awkward silence.

"A what?" Serena hesitated. She was almost afraid she didn't want to know. 

Ash rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, and laughed nervously. "Uh...yeah...Serena, don't worry...that's...that's a thing for like fictional characters or something..."

"...so we just ignore him?" Surskit asked, dumbfounded.

"Basically, yeah." Clemont replied sheepishly, adjusting his glasses. 

Fletchling stared. "What...hey, no! Don't ignore me!"

Everyone did.

"Oh...come on!" Fletchling insisted. "Guys!"

"Stop ignoring me!"

"I said stop!"

Chapter Text

While Fletchling continued sulking in the corner about everyone ignoring his claims on Serena being a witch-aka, Mary Sue-Fennekin began looking around the room cautiously, with narrowed eyes.

"What's wrong, Fennekin?" Serena asked, already recovered from being accused of fanfiction witchcraft. 

"Haven't you sensed a pattern?" Fennekin hissed nervously. "First it was all of us, then it was the letters, then Viola, Grant, Chespin, Vivillon, Onix, Tyrunt, and Surskit..."

Bunnelby's eyes widened as he realized what Fennekin was saying. 

Viola, however, did not. "What are you talking about? What's going to happen?"

Not one, not two, not three, but six golden flashes of light caught everyone's attention. 

"...you can't be serious..." Froakie groaned.

"Ugh...what is happening...?" One of the figures spoke, causing everyone to freeze, the Pokemon tensing up and preparing for battle. Ash subconsciously wrapped his arms protectively around Pikachu, who had been sitting in his lap, said pokemon's cheeks sparking. 

"Where are we...huh...hey! It's da twerps!" Meowth from Team Rocket screamed, pointing at the group. He then pointed at Pikachu in Ash's arms. "And Pikachu!"

Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and Inkay all exchanged looks and stared awkwardly at the group in front of them. 

"So..." Fletchling decided to speak up. "Are you guys going to do anything?"

They decided to do something.

Jessie cleared her throat. "Prepare for trouble, shake in fear!"

"And make it double, we are here!" James continued, causing everyone's eyes to bulge. 

"To let us know what we are doing here!"

"I don't know, but you twerps better make that clear!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket is absolutely confused at the speed of light." Jessie said, causing Fletchling to snicker.

"Give us answers now, or prepare to fight!" 

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Ready for duty!" Wobbuffet cried. 

"Me too!" Inkay added.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm doing this too!" A Pumpkaboo shouted behind Jessie. 

The staring contest continued for a stretch of thirty seconds until Jessie took out a Pokeball, threw it at Pumpkaboo, sucking the pokemon inside, causing Jessie to gain her first Kalos pokemon for rushed plot purposes and for everyone to continue staring. 

"That was easy." Jessie smirked, picking up the Pokeball. "What pokemon was that?"

"You're asking that now?" Clemont frowned.

"Forget that," Viola said as she stood in front of the younger members of the group protectively. "You guys are criminals!"

Jessie smirked. "Only the best, Ms. Bob-cut."

The half-hearted insult had Viola taken aback for a moment, causing Grant to speak up. "You three are criminals from Kanto, isn't that right? Well, I believe we'll have to hold a temporary truce for now, since we can't escape this theater, and you were brought here for the same reason as we were, most likely."

"...which is?" James inquired.

"Can we just give them the first letter Sky sent us? Because I'm sick and tired of us having to explain this over and over so many times." Fennekin flicked her tail in annoyance.

The non-pokemon members of Team Rocket stared at the fox. "...did the Twerp Pokemon just talk?" Jessie gasped.

Meowth blinked. "Well, this is new..."

Serena grunted in annoyance. "This is taking too long. Can we just hand them all the letters? Who has them?"

Ash hesitated, then handed the first letter to James. "I do. Read this, and you'll understand what's going on."

"Not entirely." Vivillon corrected. "I'm beginning to think we should start making an introductory pamphlet explaining everything that's happened so far and everything we know in detail for anytime Sky drops in new arrivals..."

Grant nodded. "That's a good idea. Clemont?"

"I can do that," Clemont adjusted his glasses as he reached in his backpack and took out a small computer. "But I'll need to borrow all the letters Sky's sent so far...and I think this will take a bit of time, so I'll most likely try finishing it during break."

"Yeah, great idea." Ash said. "So, the pamphlet will explain everything so we don't have to!"

"Well, we still have to explain some of it." Froakie pointed out. "I mean, think about it. Are we going to update the pamphlet every time we finish a new episode? That'll take too long."

Meanwhile, Team Rocket had finally finished reading the letters and were now huddled together thinking the whole situation thoroughly. Oh, and Pumpkaboo was out of her Pokeball as well, getting acquainted with her new trainer, which she was surprisingly very chill about.

"So? What do we do?" Jessie asked.

James frowned. "This whole situation seems fishy, to say the least. How can we know for sure we can trust this 'Sky' person?"

Meowth nodded. "Yeah...not to mention, we'll be stuck in the same building as the Twerps, and we can't even do anything!"

"Don't forget those two gym leaders." Jessie hissed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it seems our best course of action is to play nice with the Twerps...for now."

Meowth smirked. "I hear ya. We'll call a temporary truce for now, but as soon as we gain our freedom..." Evil smirked passed over the entire group's faces. "We snatch up Pikachu and the other pokemon for ourselves!"

Pumpkaboo giggled with her new trainer. "I like you guys. Well, except the whole bad guy part, but that's kind of cool in a...weird way."

Jessie and James stared with the former dazedly saying, "That's going to take some getting used to..."

"So?" Ash said, crossing his arms, startling the TRio and pokemon. "Are you going to behave?"

Jessie grinned while James saluted and replied. "On our best behavior, honest!"

Meowth couldn't help but flash an evil smirk at a certain little mouse he knew, which was apparently a bad move, because said mouse replied with an evil glare that would put even Arceus to shame. 

"So..." Chespin drawled. "Now, we've got...how many people and pokemon here?"

"Ash, Clemont, Serena, Bonnie, Viola, Grant, Jessie, James, Pikachu, Froakie, Fletchling, Dedenne, me, you, Fennekin, Surskit, Vivillon, Tyrunt, Onix, Wobbuffet, Inkay, Meowth, and Pumpkaboo." Bunnelby replied dryly, perfectly estimating all twenty-three of the room's occupants. [1]

Fletchling whistled. "Whoa. Hey, imagine what would happen if even more came into the room!"

Froakie groaned then quickly changed the subject, desperately trying to push that thought out of his mind. "So, are we going to start or what?"

A bunch of group members were about to speak, when the screen conveniently turned on. 

Fennekin, a Chespin, and a Froakie were all shown smiling as Serena looked over them with a smile of her own plastered on her face. 

"Before you make your decision," Sycamore spoke up. "This is your Pokedex." He pulled out said item and handed it to Serena. "Here."

"Wow." Serena mused as she examined the object. "Professor, thank you." She then pressed a button, causing it to turn on and her to yelp in alarm. "It's on!"

"Obviously." Fletchling commented dryly, causing Froakie to raise his paw and smack the bird upside on the head. "Ow..."

The bubble frog rolled his eyes. "What did I say about making comments?"

"Nothing!" Fletchling whined. "You just keep hitting me! Ow!" The Robin whined again as Froakie pulled yet another Pound on the flying type. 

"Stay quiet throughout this episode and I'll try and convince Sere-somebody to pop you popcorn later." Froakie scolded, causing Fletchling to perk up at the mention of popcorn.

The flying type ruffled his feathers and gave Froakie a mock salute. "On my best behavior! Honest!" Froakie nodded in approval as the bird settled down in a comfortable position. He wondered how long Fletchling would last...

Pikachu, meanwhile, shook his head at his teammates antics, a smile plastered on his face. Wow, did he love his teammates. They were all so weird in their own unique way.

"If you point your Pokedex towards a pokemon," Sycamore explained. "It'll search for it automatically. Why don't you try it out?"

"Okay." Serena agreed and began scanning the three pokemon. 

"Fennekin, the Fox pokemon. Fennekin expels hot air that can reach nearly four-hundred degrees. It likes to snack on twigs."

"Really?" Chespin questioned, eyes wide. "Do they taste good?"

Fennekin tossed the grass type a weary look before replying. "Yeah, they do. But I don't think you'll like them..."

Chespin ignored Fennekin's warning and turned to Bunnelby excitedly. "Hey, can you help me find twigs later on? Then we can try them together and see if they really are good!"

Bunnelby sighed and gave Chespin a dull look. "Chespin, where are we even going to find twigs here? We're in a movie theater."

"We can ask Sky!" Chespin grinned. "Hey, maybe she'll give me food too!"

A golden flash of light-thankfully not bright enough to be noticed by all the occupants in the room and blind them-and a small letter later and Chespin slumped over in disappointment, the letter Sky had sent him dropping on the floor.

Bunnelby raised an eyebrow and picked up the letter, reading it aloud. "'Absolutely not. -Sky.' Well, that's that. And I'm pretty sure that also means there's no twigs here."

At Chespin's continuous mutterings, Bunnelby sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. He really hoped that the assumption that Chespin would later become Clemont's pokemon was incorrect...he just wouldn't survive... 

"Chespin, the Spiny Nut pokemon. Chespin can flex the soft spikes on its head, making them so stiff and sharp, they can even pierce through stone."

"Froakie, the Bubble Frog pokemon. From its chest and back, Froakie created bubbles called Frubbles, which act as a cushion that softens an opponent's attack."

"Oh, great, it's him." Froakie muttered under his breath, recognizing the other froakie as one of those who had attacked and humiliated him on a daily basis. "Thank goodness, Serena didn't choose that jacka-"

"Language." Pikachu scolded softly, causing Froakie to look up in surprise, though he quickly sobered. He had to remember exactly how good Pikachu's hearing was. "And it's okay."

Froakie wasn't sure what exactly Pikachu meant by that. The mouse felt like just as much of an enigma as Fletchling did. Now that he thought about it, so did Ash...

"Wow!" Serena exclaimed as she stood up. "This'll come in handy!"

"Like it?" Sycamore inquired, prompting the girl to look at him.

"Yes!"

"Well then," Sycamore continued, the screen showing a split-panel of the three Kalos Starters. "Go ahead and pick your partner!"

"Uh..." Serena said thoughtfully. "They're all so cute, but I already made up my mind. You see, I knew who I wanted before I even left my house!"  She walked forward and knelt down towards Fennekin, who gasped slightly.  "Fennekin?" Serena smiled softly, as tranquil music played in the background. "I choose you! I'm Serena!" 

Fennekin's eyes were shown to be shining with a mixture of emotions before she happily cheered. "Hi!"

The opening song played.

The new arrivals stared.

"What da heck is dis?" Meowth asked incredulously.

Jessie, on the other hand, had a different reaction as she turned towards Wobbuffet with an irate look on her face. "Really? You come out of your Pokeball in an opening song, too?!"

Wobbuffet shrugged then saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Everyone stared. 

"...is this why you never translate what Wobbuffet says, Meowth...?" James asked sheepishly.

Meowth nodded solemnly. "He gets werse whenever Pikachu's involved."

Said pokemon turned towards the Team Rocket group with a glare. "Yeah, whenever you leave me stuck in one of those stupid cages where I have to listen to this guy talk because you guys won't listen to him!"

Inkay stared. "So...we're allowed to talk to you when you get caught? I have a lot of issues I want to sort out with-"

"What? No!" 

"Really, because otherwise you would've shocked Wobbuffet-" Inkay protested, but was cut off by Pikachu once more.

"He has Mirror Coat!"

"Yeah, but from what we've seen from the guy, he isn't exactly the brightest...I wouldn't be surprised if you could shock this guy a hundred times in a row before he remembered his own move." Fletchling chirped.

Wobbuffet simply saluted, not saying a word. 

Fennekin let out a sigh, ignoring Wobbuffet. "Froakie, he's making comments again..."

"I know..." Froakie replied dryly. He did not feel like hitting Fletchling every single time he made a comment. That robin would just continue to make comments regardless of his interference. Or maybe it was because he didn't hit hard enough...hm...

Froakie briefly pondered the thought of bestowing his keeping-Fletchling-in-line duties to Pikachu, before discarding it. The mouse would most likely lecture him about not sticking to his responsibilities...plus, he didn't really feel like getting shocked himself.

Ash read the title card: "A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship!"

"...seriously?" Pikachu questioned.

"Hey, maybe this is about when I joined the group!" Dedenne said excitedly, causing Bonnie to squeal happily.

"Yay! We get to see how we met Dedenne!" Bonnie cheered, causing the elder members of the group to look at the scene with amused looks.

"We already know how we met Dedenne..." Bunnelby pointed out weakly. "Am I the only one here who thinks this is a little weird...?"

"Clemont and Bonnie have joined Ash, as he begins his journey to compete in the Kalos League." The narrator showed the group eating on the road. "Now, our heroes are happily on their way to the Santalune City gym." Dedenne was shown scurrying up a nearby log and looking over the group. Dedenne continuing staring as his antenna whiskers twitched.

"Bonnie..." Pikachu sighed as the girl in question began rubbing Pikachu's face with a pink handkerchief, causing the mouse to squeal. "Hey, wait, what are you doing! Hey, stop! I'm ticklish!" 

"I'm surprised she wasn't shocked." Meowth stated dryly, before flinching under Pikachu's glare. 

"There!" Bonnie said. "You're all done. Nice and clean!"

Pikachu jumped out of Bonnie's lap and shook his head vigorously then turned to Bonnie. "Thank you!"

"That's great!" Ash praised. "Thank you."

"Oh, you don't have to thank me." Bonnie said modestly as she stroked Pikachu's back. "I love doing this kind of stuff because I love pokemon!"

"Someone's getting attention." Surskit teased, causing Pikachu to blush. 

"It felt nice!" The mouse protested. 

"Wait, is that why I got called out...oh, that's great, thanks Pikachu!" Fletchling chirped, a mischievous look on his face. 

Froakie simply sighed before turning to Onix, who looked equally as tired. "So, how's life?" 

Onix raised an eyebrow and simply scooted towards Grant. Leaning in towards his trainer, he whispered to the best of his ability, "I am almost certain that this place is causing them to lose their sanity..."

Grant simply smiled, petting Onix and causing the rock snake pokemon to purr slightly. "Then that is simply just another wall that we must climb." He then frowned, thinking back to the mysterious girl dubbed as 'Sky'. "But that is not the only wall we must climb..."

Bonnie continued stroking Pikachu until she accidentally stroked his tail, inciting a happy squeal from him. 

Froakie brought a paw up and smacked Fletchling on the head. "Hey...ow! What the hell? I didn't even do anything, yet!"

Froakie shot the robin a stern look. "You were planning on saying something. I could tell."

"Really?" Pumpkaboo asked curiously, shocking the two with how she floated behind them silently. 

"...yeah..." Froakie replied awkwardly. He turned towards Fletchling. "I think I can just tell at this point..."

Fletchling huffed and ruffled his feathers. "I was just about to say that Pikachu sounded one-hundred percent like a-"

Froakie jumped on him, causing him to be unable to complete his sentence. 

Bonnie ran up to Ash with Pikachu in her arms. "Hey Ash! Does Pikachu like having its tail petted like that?"

"Yeah, a whole lot." Ash replied. 

"Just be careful with his tail though..." Ash warned. "It's really sensitive..."

Pikachu huffed. "You would know, wouldn't you, Ash?"

His trainer didn't reply. 

Bonnie squealed as she jumped backwards gleefully. "You're so cute!" She cheered as she twirled around and then looked at Pikachu. "And that's just what I'm going to do!" She declared before petting Pikachu's tail.

"Looks like fun, let me try!" Clemont declared before walking over and petting Pikachu's tail as well, inciting another squeal from him. 

Serena hummed as she watched the scene. 'I wonder if all pokemon like having their tails petted like that...does Fennekin...?' She threw the thought back in forth in her head before lightly stroking her Starter's tail.

Fennekin's eyes widened slightly as a smile made its way onto her face. She cooed as she relaxed into her trainer's lap. "That feels nice...I see why Pikachu likes it so much..."

Serena's eyes twinkled. "If you want, I can brush your tail later on, during our lunch break, I mean."

"Oh, yes please!" Fennekin said excitedly. 

"Hey, Ash?" Bonnie asked. "Can you let Fletchling out? I wanna take care of it!"

"Okay." Ash agreed. "Fletchling, come on out!" He said before calling out the bird, who appeared in a flash of light.

"What is it?" Fletchling demanded rudely. "I was kind of taking a nap."

As surprising as it was, nobody said anything. That didn't stop Froakie from preparing a Pound, however. 

"Hey, Fletchling!" Bonnie cheered as she sat next to the tiny robin. "Do you mind if I clean your wings?"

"Wait, you called me out for this?" Fletchling asked then cheered as he spread out his wing for Bonnie. "Nevermind! Bring on the relaxation!"

"You're good at that, too!" Ash praised Bonnie once more as he opened his backpack. 

Bonnie began giggling and squealing happily to herself. 

Clemont knelt down to his sister and spoke to her. "Taking care of pokemon makes you really happy, doesn't it?" 

"Yup!" Bonnie replied as Ash began taking out a can of pokemon food from his backpack, Dedenne was shown running up a log towards Ash.  His antenna was shown twitching as he watched the group.

"Interesting." Grant muttered quietly, towards Tyrunt. "So, Dedenne was following this group the whole time..."

His partner nodded in agreement. "I think that Dedenne followed them because he knew they had food, which is most likely."

"Here." Bonnie said as she handed the pokemon food out. 

"Thank you, Bonnie." Pikachu drawled as he took the pellet from Bonnie's hand. Fletchling was shown with one stuck in his beak as he chewed it. Pikachu himself took a bite as well.

"Well?" Bonnie asked as Pikachu and Fletchling finished their food. "Is it yummy?"

"It's delicious!" Pikachu replied as Dedenne began dashing towards them.  Bonnie took out another pellet and was about to hand it to Pikachu when Dedenne snatched it at the last second and ran forward.  The entire group gasped as they watched Dedenne run towards the nearby log(which was actually a fallen tree upon closer inspection). [2]

Fletchling stared at the screen with a miserable look in his eyes. It wasn't fair. How come Dedenne didn't get reprimanded any time he stole food?

Dedenne stopped on the very edge of the branch and began nibbling happily on the poke food. 

Clemont adjusted his glasses in wonder. "Do you think that's the same Dedenne from earlier?"

"Yeah! The one who ran away!" Bonnie said.

"It must have been following us the entire time..." Ash said in wonder.

"How did we not notice...?" Pikachu pondered.

"Good question." Dedenne huffed. "Considering how you heard me on top of a tree branch even though I didn't make any noise."

"You moved." Froakie pointed out, causing the electric type to glare at him. Froakie put his paws up defensively. "It's really hard to be able to move without making any noise. The only ones who would even come close to complete silence would be ninja or something."

Fletchling huffed. "Ninja don't even exist."

"For once, I agree with him." Fennekin frowned. "I mean, really?"

"Uh, actually..." Ash raised a finger sheepishly, causing the others to groan.

Pikachu shook his head, defending Ash. "No, no...ninja exist, as far as I'm concerned. Though, they mostly have origins from the Kanto region, just like samurai do."

"...samurai are real?" Tyrunt asked incredulously. "That's news to me."

Jessie twitched. "Not to me. But on the subject of a ninja, the last time we saw one..." She shuddered and exchanged miserable looks with James and Meowth. "...I still have nightmares..."

Meowth shuddered as well and added, "Yeah, those voltorb were really scary..." He shot a glare at Ash and Pikachu, who were desperately trying not to laugh at the Rockets' misfortune. "I bet ya enjoyed dat, didn't ya, twerp?"

Ash sobered instantly and shot a glare at the TRio. "You interrupted my gym battle! What was I supposed to do?" He made a sour face. "And it wasn't the first time either..."

"We were trying to catch Pikachu!" James protested. 

"Did it ever occur to you to just-oh, I don't know...not try and kidnap me?" Pikachu interjected, annoyed.

"That would be appreciated." Ash spoke up, glaring at the Rocket members. 

"We did do that!" Jessie snapped, glaring at the Kantoneon duo. "In fact, don't you have us to thank for destroying that Thunder-stone?"

"What?!" Ash said incredulously. "How does that even count-"

"No, no, they're right." Pikachu piped up, waving Ash off. "Surprisingly...but anything that relates to evolution stones being destroyed is okay with me."

"What about stealing?" Meowth asked slyly, receiving a dry look from Pikachu in return. He frowned in irritation. "So, dat's a 'no' then..."

Ash huffed, crossing his arms.

Meanwhile, everyone else who wasn't from Kanto just looked back and forth with confusion. They thought that Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket were supposed to be enemies, but this was just plain weird...

First, Ash and Pikachu apparently went to James's house, knew each of the rocket's place of birth, and now, apparently, Team Rocket dropping into Ash's gym matches trying to kidnap Pikachu was considered such a regular thing that they argued about it. 

"Come on, Clemont!" Bonnie whined. "Catch it, please!"

"Alright..." Clemont replied hesitantly as he reached back for a Pokeball, which Dedenne noticed, causing him to run the other direction.

"Bye bye." Dedenne smiled simply as he scurried away.

"Come back!" Bonnie cried out, running forward.

The group ran after Dedenne, then stopped in front of the log. Ash turned to Fletchling and ordered, "Fletchling, follow it!"

"Uh...yeah, sure." Fletchling replied in the affirmative as he flew into the air.

Meowth raised an eyebrow. "What's up with da bird?"

"He has problems." Fennekin supplied from Serena's lap. 

Ash frowned, feeling bad for his pokemon, who had thankfully remained quiet. "Hey, guys, stop making fun of Fletchling. I mean, he stopped making comments, right?"

"That's true." Dedenne added happily. "I mean, I forgave him for stealing my food, after all!"

Bonnie giggled, "That's right, Dedenne. You did!" She smiled at "her" pokemon. "I'm really proud of you for that, you know."

Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket were still having a silent conversation with their glares. Viola, Grant, and their pokemon were the only ones who noticed and were appropriately weirded out.

The group was shown running on the path, with Bonnie calling out, "Dedenne! Wait up!"

Fletchling landed on a branch and glanced back and forth briefly. "Let's see..."

The camera panned down to show the group panting as they came to stop. "Did you lose it, Fletchling?" Ash called out.

"Yeah, I did. Arceus knows where that tiny thing went off to..." Fletchling chirped in reply.

"I'm not tiny! You're tiny!" Dedenne stuck his tongue out immaturely at Fletchling, who ruffled his feathers and didn't reply.

He really was trying his best to get that popcorn Froakie promised.

"Dedenne?" Bonnie called as she scanned her surroundings. "Where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She yelped as she tripped on a small hole in the ground and fell backwards, smacking her head on the dirt floor. 

"Bonnie!" Clemont, Ash, and Pikachu cried out worriedly. 

Bonnie slumped over with a sigh, then opened her blue eyes with audible surprise, showing an upside down Dedenne from her perspective. 

"Hi, there." Dedenne said.

Bonnie flipped over after a couple seconds. "There you are!" She jumped forward, trying to catch Dedenne, who immediately retreated back into the hole he was in. "Hey!" Bonnie protested.

Dedenne then appeared in another hole, causing Bonnie to jump forward again, only for Dedenne to retreat back inside. "Wait!" 

"So, now we're playing whack-a-mon?" Serena joked. 

"What's with you and puns? That's the second pun you've made this day." Froakie asked. 

Serena pursed her lips innocently. "Oh, really...? What was the first?"

"Piloswine." Pikachu replied dryly.

Meowth looked at them funnily. "Do I want to know da context for that joke...?"

Pikachu relayed the look. "It was about where all these pillows came from."

"What pillows?"

Pikachu gestured around him, and magically, a bunch of pillows surrounded him, causing the others to gape. "These pillows."

Clemont, seeing the problem that Bonnie was having, threw a Pokeball. "Bunnelby! Get Dedenne out of that hole!

Bunnelby appeared in a flash. "Gotcha, Clemont." 

"You too, Pikachu!" Ash ordered. 

"Alright...this should be fun..." Pikachu replied before running forward with Bunnelby. 

"In what way?" Surskit questioned. "You're playing whack-a-mon."

Dedenne looked horrified. "You were going to whack me!?" He then turned towards Pikachu with confusion. "Wait, is that why you tackled me?"

"Uh...no..." Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 

Bunnelby struggled a bit getting into a nearby hole, while Pikachu effortlessly dived into one further back, two holes away from the one Dedenne had gone in. 

"Huh?" Bunnelby popped out of a hole in confusion. The camera panned out to show Pikachu also poking his head out from a faraway hole, Bonnie looking inside another hole, Clemont and Ash "looking" from above, and Dedenne poking out of another hole about two or three feet away from the hole Bonnie was looking into.

Everyone gasped at Dedenne before the screen changed into another shot of them looking into the holes, this time in different positions.

"Over here?" Ash asked.

"Not here!" Pikachu replied.

"No, over there!" Clemont said, staring off into the distance. [3]

Everyone stared at Clemont, who slunk into his seat with embarrassment.

"Uh, Clemont..." Bonnie began, dazedly. "Why are you looking the other direction?"

"Well..." Clemont pressed his fingers together nervously. "...I was checking to see if Dedenne ran off in that direction?"

"Then how come you couldn't have Fletchling look from above?" Vivillon suggested.

"Because they're weirdos." Chespin spoke, finally snapping out of his depression from being unable to eat Fennekin's twigs.  

"You're the weirdo here..." Bunnelby muttered under his breath. 

"Aha!" Clemont exclaimed as he was shown holding...Pikachu. Bonnie, Clemont, and Bunnelby were all shown watching with expressions of false pre-celebration.

"Let go of me!" Pikachu cried, reacting on impulse and Thunderbolt-ing the crap out of Clemont.  Dedenne popped out of a hole, watching the scene, and began snickering to himself. 

Everyone laughed at Clemont's misfortune, causing both the young inventor and pokemon in question to look embarrassed.

Ash wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead and smirked. "Man, that Dedenne's pretty tough." 

Clemont was shown with smoke coming out of his mouth in the background, looking mostly dead, while Pikachu was shown comforting him and apologizing. 

The laughter continued.

"Oh, the humiliation..." Clemont whined to himself. Why couldn't he do anything right? Just like his inventions, Clembot...

Bonnie began making a low and long whining sound as Pikachu took his attention off Clemont and changed back into a battle stance, staring forward. "Ooh, I want it now!"

Pikachu then ran forward as Bonnie put her fists down from her childish tantrum. He was shown jumping into a hole and dashing through the small walls of the underground tunnel.

"Alright, let's see..." Pikachu muttered to himself as he ran through the tunnel rapidly, turning right, then turning left before running into Dedenne, who was running forward.  Pikachu skidded to a stop and stared at Dedenne, determined. "I found you!" 

"That's kind of...creepy..." Surskit said. "You know, in a certain way..."

"I don't think it was creepy." Ash defended.

Surskit shrugged him off. "Of course, you don't. You're a whole different can of beans I don't want to open."

Dedenne was shown staring, before turning his head with a disinterested look. "Why should I care?"

"What." Pikachu said simply, before growling and then lunging at Dedenne, causing the two of them to tumble to the ground and skid, leaving a trail of dust behind them.

"Ah!" The two screamed in surprise when the ground beneath them collapsed, causing them to tumble down a narrow tunnel in a ball.

Ash sent a triumphant look at his starter pokemon. "So, who's the real hothead here?"

Pikachu growled and shocked Ash, causing him to scream before turning around on Pikachu and snapping, "Hey, I was just saying it as it was! Don't get mad just because I'm speaking the truth!"

"Well, you're saying it wrong! And that isn't accurate at all!"

"Looks pretty accurate from here..." Bonnie said dazedly, causing Pikachu to shoot a betrayed glance at her.  

The screen panned out to show a cliff, and the two screaming pokemon falling out of one of the holes and descending to the ground before landing with a painful "thump".

"Ugh..." Pikachu and Dedenne groaned-the former sprawled over the ground, while the latter was curled onto his belly. The duo got up at about the same time and examined their surroundings.

"Where..." Pikachu began. "Where are we?" He looked up at the cliff, and noticing the hole at the very top, he turned to Dedenne with a dull look. "We fell down."

Onix felt miserable inside. Why, why, why did people and pokemon alike feel the eager need to speak the obvious? Could they not suppress this urge? Did it cause them pain if they did not do it?

Dedenne turned to Pikachu with tears in his eyes then angrily sent sparks to his cheeks. "This is your fault!" He shouted before running off.

"Wait!" Pikachu called out, before running after the smaller pokemon. "I said, wait a second!" He cried out a second time, sending sparks to Dedenne's antenna whiskers.

This time, Dedenne did stop, and turned around. "Hold on...what did you say...?" 

"Yeah..." Jessie looked skeptical. "What did he say?"

"We're not getting subtitles." Viola provided, then added. "Unfortunately..."

And then proceeded the electrical conversation which will never be translated. Thankfully though, the scene changed to show the two pokemon being looked on from binoculars, belonging to none other than Team Rocket. 

"There's Pikachu~" Jessie sang.

"True, with a bonus pokemon too." James rhymed.

"Yeah, I've never seen that pokemon before, though..." Meowth turned to James, who took out his Rocket-Dex.

"Oh!" James exclaimed. "It's a Dedenne. An Electric Type."

"Never seen one before." Meowth said.

"You've never seen an electric type before?" Surskit asked slyly. "Weren't you chasing one around?"

"'Aren't'." Ash corrected, annoyed. "They're still after us..."

James huffed and crossed his arms. "We aren't after you, Twerp, we're after Pikachu!"

Pikachu twitched as Ash snapped back angrily, "Then why did you have to kidnap me before my league match?!"

Everyone's jaws dropped as Team Rocket, Ash, and Pikachu began falling into another shouting match. Unknowing, they all had the same simultaneous thought of: 'Just what the hell kind of weird relationship is this?!'

"They're having a back and forth buzz fest." Jessie observed, sounding slightly annoyed. 

"Since they're both electric types, I guess they're able to communicate with one another using their electrical abilities." James explained, as Jessie's binoculars were shown zooming in on the duo of electric pokemon, who were still having their back-and-forth-never-will-be-translated conversation. 

"Meowth, translate!" Jessie demanded, as Dedenne was shown raising his hands in what appeared to be frustration before droppi ng them again. [4]

"Subtitles would be really helpful right now." Tyrunt sighed wistfully. 

There were slight murmurs of agreement as Dedenne huffed and angrily began jumping up and down like a hyperactive child. "Hey, if we want you to know what we were saying, we'll let you know what we were saying! Got that?!"

Bonnie held up her hands in defense and smiled innocently. "Don't worry, Dedenne, we won't pressure you or anything...we're just saying it would be kind of nice if there were subtitles..."

"No can do." Meowth replied offhandedly. "Who do you think I am to be able to speak electricity?"

Jessie lowered her binoculars and smirked. "Aren't we lucky? The twerp's nowhere to be seen."

James narrowed his eyes evilly. "Perfect. His loss is our gain." 

"Of course it is." Sarcasm.

Team Rocket continued glaring at the teen that had spoken.

Bonnie was shown with her head enlarged in a comical manner as she peered down one of the holes, looking for Dedenne. She then poked her head back out with a disappointed moan. "I think they're gone."

Clemont stood up. "Maybe Dedenne got away..."

"So...we're not looking for him anymore?" Bunnelby asked, popping out of a nearby hole.

"Maybe..." Ash mumbled in reply to Clemont. "Pikachu hasn't come back either..."

"You don't seem all that concerned." Fennekin noticed. "Funny, that."

Serena looked at her starter with confusion. "How's that funny?"

"You'd think that if he jumps off towers to save Pikachu, then he'd be a lot more concerned about a potential kidnapping..."

Pikachu's ears went flat against his head as he slumped. "Okay, is everyone going to take a jab at me for getting kidnapped now?"

"Probably." Chespin replied lazily. 

"It happens way too many times, so yes." Ash grumbled as well, not once breaking off his hard stare at Team Rocket. 

"Huh." Clemont said before kneeling and turning to Bunnelby. "Bunnelby, do you think you could go back down there and look for Pikachu, please?"

"No problem, Clemont." Bunnelby replied, then jumped back down into the hole. 

Ash glanced at Clemont before turning back to where he was staring off into the distance earlier. "Pikachu..." He muttered worriedly. [5]

"That's better." Fennekin snarked, causing Serena to sigh in exasperation. She then did a double-take on her response and Fennekin's comment. Was it just her, or was she starting to treat Fennekin the way Ash did Pikachu?

Ah. Maybe it was just a starter pokemon thing.

The scene faded out to show Pikachu and Dedenne walking down a path, the former scanning his surrounding, while the latter was shown lagging behind, holding his tail to his stomach. 

Dedenne's stomach then growled loudly, causing Pikachu to turn his head back in surprise. He jumped towards Dedenne. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah..." Dedenne slumped, muttering his reply.

Viola raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "You're still hungry? Didn't you eat some of that poke-food earlier?"

Before Dedenne could respond, Inkay interrupted. "Can we just continue watching this? We hold full on conversations every two seconds and it's starting to get annoying."

The group exchanged looked before realizing Inkay was right, and turned their heads back to the screen. 

"I see..." Pikachu replied, then looked around, before gasping when he saw two pears in the tree above.

"Thun-der...BOLT!" Pikachu shouted as he released his electrical attack and nailed one of pears at the stem, cutting it off the tree branch without causing any damage to the tree or the pear itself. 

The pear fell to the ground, Pikachu watching proudly as Dedenne looked on with amazement. "Alright!" Pikachu cheered as he ran forward, Dedenne's eyes shining as he watched. 

"Amazing..." Dedenne whispered, in awe.

"Here." Pikachu said, handing the pear to Dedenne. He closed his eyes and cheerfully asked, "You were hungry, right? So, eat up!"

Dedenne hesitantly took the pear, still in awe before looking away as he muttered. "Thank you...I guess..." He then turned around, eyes sparkling as he began nibbling on a pear. "This looks amazing~"

Pikachu was shown smiling softly before a cube was shown being thrown from the sky, and expanding to create what appeared to be an electrified net. 

"What the-" Pikachu cried out in alarm before grabbing Dedenne and tackling him out of the way, the pear being launched in the opposite direction as Dedenne held his hands out for said fruit desperately. "Look out!"

"...I don't think I ever asked this, but buddy..." Ash turned to Pikachu slowly. "What the heck happens to those reflexes every other time Team Rocket snatches you?"

"Yeah, Pikachu." James snickered. "What happened to-ow!" He looked up at Jessie, who had smacked him upside the head with irritation on her face. "What was that for?!" He complained.

Jessie huffed and simply sat down into her seat, a proud look on her face as if she had won a Nobel prize. 

Pikachu had not replied to the question.

Pikachu was shown skidding on his back before flipping backwards and skidding on his feet, protecting Dedenne from the impact, setting him down, and then angrily charging forward. "Alright, what the heck was that, you psychos?!"

"You're a psycho..." Fletchling muttered before getting hit by a Pound from Froakie. He growled at the frog, who sent a reprimanding look towards him. "What the heck? You know I would never say that out loud to him!"

Froakie narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything.

Everyone apparently had a problem with not answering questions apparently. 

Team Rocket's shadows were shown from atop the cliff as their theme music began to play, along with the motto and the whole colorful background thingy.

"Prepare for trouble, my prized Pikachu,

"That's disturbing." Clemont laughed with a tone of hysteria in his voice. 

And make it double, with Dedenne, too!

To protect the world from devastation

To unite all people, within our nation!

To denounce the evils of truth and love

To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie!

And James!

Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

You pokemon better surrender now, or prepare to fight!

Meowth, that's right!

Ready for duty!"

"Now, Pikachu," Jessie began in a sweet tone. "Be a polite pokemon and let us catch you~"

"Dedenne, please, you too." James added. 

"...at least they themselves were being polite?" Serena suggested weakly.

Bunnelby sighed. "You know, we are going to eventually have to stop making comments, right?"

"And stating the obvious. Please." Onix added desperately. "I get enough of that from the shows that Grant watches."

Grant tossed his pokemon a funny look while Tyrunt simply shrugged in an odd manner, as well as he could with small arms and a large head. 

Pikachu and Dedenne tensed, before Pikachu turned to Dedenne and whispered, "Come on, let's make a run for it!"

"Right!" Dedenne cried as he and Pikachu bolted.

"Stop!" Jessie called out as she and Team Rocket ran after them.

Pikachu and Dedenne were shown running as Team Rocket ran closely behind. "Take that!" Meowth cried out as he shot a net at Pikachu, who glanced at it then swiftly dodged.

"And that!" Meowth cried, throwing another net, the same result happening. "And this!" Having enough, Pikachu skidded around before launching himself up.

"Ya know, I think in some other universe, this would actually be kind of entertaining." Chespin drawled lazily. 

"What, like in a cartoon or something?" Viola asked. 

"Well, life isn't a cartoon..." Serena pointed out, before blushing as she remembered her "anime logic" comment from earlier. Why did she have to go and say such stupid stuff?

"Alright, you asked for it! Thunderbolt!" He cried, before launching a Thunderbolt at Team Rocket.

Jessie spread her arms wide. "Go, Wobbuffet!" 

"Yes, sir!" Wobbuffet cried as he leaped in front of Jessie, activating Mirror Coat, deflecting Pikachu's Thunderbolt back at said pokemon and Dedenne.

"Ah!" Pikachu cried out in alarm as he noticed the move near him and Dedenne, the duo running away. The move hit right behind them, resulting in a large explosion that launched the two pokemon forward, causing them to scream.

"Have you learned NOTHING?!" Fletchling screamed before quickly quieting when Froakie raised his paw. This was starting to get incredibly repetitive. And annoying.

Jessie twitched in mild annoyance. "That tiny robin is starting to aggravate me..."

"Congratulations," Fennekin replied dryly, flicking her tail. "You have now officially become one of us."

The two were shown from above running out of the smoke caused by the explosion, with Team Rocket trailing behind them. "Don't you ever get tired?!" Jessie shouted with irritation. "Take a break, already!"

"Absolutely not, you idiots!" Pikachu cried back angrily as the camera panned upwards to the sky.

"..." Nobody had any clue as to how to reply or respond to that. Ash simply twitched and tried not to look at his partner.

"Someone get me out of here already..." Bunnelby muttered under his breath as Chespin began snickering to himself while invading Bunnelby's personal space. "I mean, seriously, Sky couldn't have just left me out of this?"

Alas, he sadly did not get an answer.

"Chill, already!" Meowth shouted in response.

"We should put that on a T-shirt." Surskit suggested randomly, causing everyone to stare at him. "What? Just image, 'Chill Already' by Team Rocket. You'd make millions."

Vivillon sighed exasperatedly. "Surskit, explain why you're suggesting that to a group of petty thieves?"

James gawked. "We are not petty!"

"Yeah!" Meowth agreed. "I'll have ya know we're da best in da business!"

Jessie grinned. "The best in the crime business, that is."

"That's right~" Wobbuffet cried randomly.

Surskit shrugged, ignoring Team Rocket. "I like T-shirts. Viola should wear them more often."

Viola shot a funny look at her pokemon. "You want me to wear more T-shirts? Why?"

"I just like them, that's why."

Viola blinked, suddenly wondering if she didn't know as much about her pokemon than she originally thought. "Ah."

The scene transitioned to show dirt being thrown out of a hole, as Bunnelby's pants were heard. Said pokemon popped his head out of the hole a moment later, shaking his head. "No sign of Pikachu."

"I guess you didn't find Pikachu, huh..." Bonnie said solemnly, as Clemont stood up, Ash shown in the background with Fletchling on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid Pikachu might've gotten lost wandering through all those tunnels." Clemont deduced.

"And probably kidnapped..." Ash muttered under his breath miserably. Seriously, what was wrong with his starter? And everyone thought Ash was the trouble magnet. 

Well, he did die a few times...the first time being from a chandelier of all things...

Ash paused. Maybe he needed to look over his life if what he complained about was his starter getting kidnapped too often and how many times he's died before.  

"Clemont!" Bonnie protested. "We have to find Pikachu!"

Ash turned to Fletchling, on his shoulder. "Fletchling, look for Pikachu from the air." He ordered. 

"Gotcha." Fletchling replied and flew to the air, the group looking on as he flew higher into the sky.

"Hey, Fletchling's being nice!" Bonnie cheered. 

"Rejoice, everyone. For this moment is not to last...he shall go back to his evil ways soon enough!" Chespin screamed dramatically. 

Everyone stared.

"We have issues." Serena declared bluntly. 

Clemont nodded, agreeing warily. "We do..."

Mysterious music began to play as the scene transitioned again, to show Pikachu and Dedenne still being chased by Team Rocket, only this time they were near a rockier area. 

Pikachu and Dedenne were climbing up large rocks with the TRio(plus Wobbuffet) trailing behind.

"Give it up!" Jessie seethed. 

"Hey!" James called.

"Stop!" Meowth cried out desperately.

Jessie growled with frustration as she launched herself onto a rock and aggressively threw  another cube-net(from this point on, they will be called cube-insert-whatever-comes-out-of-it-here).

"Whoa, chill." Chespin drawled lazily. "Throw it gently next time."

Jessie huffed and crossed her arms. "Do you think that gentle is going to catch Pikachu?"

"No," Pikachu replied. "But that's why he's suggesting it."

James twitched. "Fair enough."

The net was shown expanding before startling Dedenne and causing him to fall backwards. Pikachu looked up in alarm before running towards Dedenne, who was screaming as he was descending towards the TRio(plus Wobbuffet). "Oh, no!"

Dedenne was shown with tears in his eyes as he fell towards Team Rocket, before he was caught last second, his tail springing up and down in a bouncing like way. The camera panned up to show Dedenne's tail in Pikachu's mouth, who was desperately trying to hold onto Dedenne.  Dedenne continued whimpering as Pikachu struggled with trying to bring the small pokemon up. 

Jessie jumped up, trying to catch Dedenne. "Gotcha! Almost! Once more-"

At last second, Pikachu pulled Dedenne out of Jessie's reach and safely away from the edge of the cliff. He let go of Dedenne's tail in his mouth and gasped. "Oh..."

Ash shot a questioning look towards Pikachu. "Didn't you say you pulled up a luxray in the same position once? How come you're having so much trouble with Dedenne?"

"...good question." Bonnie mused, staring at Pikachu expectantly. "How come you had so much trouble with Dedenne?"

Pikachu laughed nervously and touched his paws together. "Well...I-I don't really...um..."

"He's capricious." Fletchling deadpanned.

"Sounds right." Clemont said. Pikachu shot an annoyed look at the inventor.

He stood up on his hind legs and smiled at Dedenne, who sighed with relief. "Thank you..."

"Come on!" Pikachu cheered. "We'll lose them if we hurry!"

Dedenne looked on, his eyes shining with amazement and wonder once more. "Awesome..." He giddily closed his eyes for a second before giving a determined reply and running after the electric mouse. "Right behind you!"

"Aw, Dedenne admires Pikachu!" Bonnie squealed, her eyes sparkling.

Dedenne looked slightly embarrassed. "Well..."

Ash, meanwhile, mused to himself. 'Now that I think about it...Pikachu was like a role model for a lot of the younger pokemon we've traveled with...' He then snickered. 'And the babysitter.'

"What are you laughing about?" Pikachu asked warily. 

Ash smiled. "Oh, nothing."

"Oh no..." Jessie groaned irritably. "If this keeps up, they'll get away!"

"We can't let that happen!" James declared, pulling out a Pokeball. "Okay, Inkay~" He aggressively threw the Pokeball. "Hey, hey!" 

James slunk into his seat with embarrassment as everyone stared. "How humiliating..." He muttered.

Jessie snickered at her partner's misfortune. "Hey, hey, James." She said mockingly. 

"Hey, hey!" Wobbuffet joined in, saluting dramatically. 

Jessie and James stared. 

"I'm beginning to regret my choice of catching Wobbuffet..." Jessie muttered. 

Inkay materialized out of the Pokeball in a flash. "Hi, James! Need something?"

"Inkay, tackle!" James ordered.

"Alright! Tackle!" Inkay cried as he struck Dedenne, who shouted in pain and was thrown a bunch of feet away from his former position.

Pikachu bounded after Dedenne and picked him up, screaming, "Are you okay?!"

Onix let out a sigh. "Clearly not."

Grant couldn't help but laugh at his pokemon's antics. Who knew that Onix was like this? There are just some things you'll never know unless you can really understand your pokemon. 

Inkay floated after the two, causing Pikachu to look back in alarm. "Alright, Inkay, Psybeam!" James ordered. 

"Psy...beam!" Inkay cried out, shooting a beam of psychic energy at Pikachu and Dedenne, who looked fearful as the beam approached.  The beam struck hard, causing an explosion, as well as the cliff to fall apart and fall into the river below, a screaming Pikachu and Dedenne accompanying it.

Everyone flinched.

Serena tightened her grip around Fennekin. She knew that Pikachu and Dedenne were okay, but she couldn't help but feel her heart clench at the sight of those two poor pokemon looking helpless. Why was so much dangerous thinks happening? And they were only on Episode 4, for crying out loud!

A large splash of water was shown from a distance-the area where Pikachu, Dedenne and the boulders all fell in, before panning back to Team Rocket, who had just ran back down the cliff.

"I give up." Jessie said. "Where's Pikachu, now?"

"Great!" Ash said cheerfully. "Do you think you could give up on Pikachu forever this time?"

Serena blinked. It was rare to hear Ash be for giving up rather than against it...she assumed that it was simply Team Rocket's fault and their weird relationship with Ash and Pikachu.

Or were all Kantoneons like this? 

Meowth made a questioning noise before panicking. "Downstream!"

Pikachu was shown holding on tightly to Dedenne as the duo began being pulled downstream, the older pokemon desperately trying to keep Dedenne safe.

"They're getting away!" Jessie pointed out in alarm.

Onix made a noise. It sounded as if he were being strangled. Or to be more accurate, it sounded as if he were strangling a waillord or something.

James smirked as he pulled out a cube-raft. "But I've got just the thing!" He threw the cube into the water, where it expanded into a raft. "Our Rubber Rocket Raft!"

"That's some lifesaver!" Jessie pumped up her fists.

"Like me~" James declared smugly. 

"What a pre-dic-a-ment~" Wobbuffet sang.

"Hooray~" Wobbuffet sang, gaining some weird looks. What was wrong with him?

The scene transitioned again to show Team Rocket al tightly bunched up together in the raft, James looking particularly cheery in the roomy front. Meowth and Jessie both looking miserable as Wobbuffet was simply saluting with Inkay on his head with a dumb look on his face. "Keep yourself nice and dry, Pikachu! You'll be captured soon!"

"...no thank you." Fletchling said for Pikachu. "Also, how the hell is he supposed to stay dry in a stream?! For Arceus's sake..."

Vivillon blinked. "Arceus? As in the Alpha Pokemon from Sinnoh?"

Fletchling raised an eyebrow and ruffled his feathers. "Uh, duh?! Who else would I be talking about?!"

"...you're an odd one, Fletchling." Vivillon declared warily.

Fletchling glared at her valiantly. "Well, we'll see if you'll think the same thing when I beat you in our battle later!"

Surskit snickered at her teammate's misfortune. 

"I can hardly breathe!" Jessie complained.

"So, it's a teeny bit small...deal with it." James replied bluntly. 

"Concentrate on finding Pikachu!" Meowth demanded.

The TRio leaned forward and began looking back and forth. "Uh..."

"You lost Pikachu, already?" Clemont asked incredulously. 

Team Rocket did not respond. Miraculously. 

That being said, why did everyone keep refusing to answer questions?

Jessie gasped as she saw Pikachu hanging onto a branch on a tree to her right. "Over there!"

"I see." Wobbuffet said solemnly as the group went right past Pikachu. 

"Wait!" Jessie cried in alarm. "Stop this bathtub! We floated right past!"

"Bathtub...?" Viola muttered, staring blankly at the screen. What was wrong with these people?

This time it was James and Meowth with the miserable expressions as the latter replied dryly. "Strong current, ay Captain?"

"Aye aye, matey." James replied with the same amount of dryness in his voice. 

Inkay suddenly began panicking. "Guys! Guys! Guys!"

Team Rocket looked ahead, with confusion, before showing shock at a rock dead center in front of them.

The group screamed as their raft launched into the air before air was let out of a small hole, causing them to fly everywhere wildly into the sky with a 'ding'.

The group burst into laughter at Team Rocket's misfortune. Aforementioned group grumbling angrily to themselves about letting the two electric pokemon getting away. 

"I know this already happened, so why do we have to see our failure a second time?!" James whined. 

Jessie scowled and crossed her arms. "Tell me about it. As if we don't have enough of that from the twerps."

Pikachu was heard gasping as the screen showed him holding a weak Dedenne and walking out of the river. The electric type was shown wincing-both him and Dedenne were thoroughly wet-before turning to Dedenne and softly asking, "Are you okay?"  He then gasped with surprise as Dedenne collapsed in front of him. "Dedenne! What's wrong? Did you get hurt? Come on, tell me!"

Fletchling was shown flying in the air before looking down in surprise. "Isn't that...yo, Pikachu! Up here! Heyyy...."

Pikachu looked up from Dedenne in slight surprise at Fletchling. "Fletchling! I'm down here! Hurry and get Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie! "He glanced at Dedenne. "Dedenne needs help..."

"Pikachu!" Ash called as the scene transitioned to show him, Clemont, and Bonnie running towards the two electric types.

"Ash!" Pikachu called back, running towards the group, who was led by Fletchling.

"I was so worried about you, buddy." Ash said in relief. 

"There's no time for that!" Pikachu said in dismay as he pointed towards Dedenne. "We need to hurry and save Dedenne!"

"There's no time for him saying he was worried about you?" Chespin questioned before jokingly stating, "Rude."

Pikachu simply flushed with embarrassment. 

Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were all shown gasping at Dedenne's slumped figure, Bonnie showing the most worry and shock. "Dedenne!" She screamed.

"Who's that pokemon?" Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie asked, showing a silhouette of a dedenne. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Onix muttered bitterly. "It's obviously not a dedenne."

"It's...Dedenne!" The group replied...to themselves.

It was quite surprising that Onix hadn't smashed the wall and caved in the ceiling already. 

"Dedenne..." Bonnie said worriedly as said pokemon was shown on the ground, twitching. "Dedenne! Now what are we going to do..." She turned to Clemont. "I'm scared."

"What about the pokemon center?" Ash asked said blond. 

"I think we should treat Dedenne right here." Clemont replied, leaning forward. "Let's give it some electricity."

"Electricity?" Bonnie questioned.

"How do we do that?" Ash asked.

Pikachu raised a paw, then lowered it again in confusion. "Wait...why couldn't I just give Dedenne electricity?"

Everyone who wasn't present stared at the mouse.

"Wait, you mean you didn't do that?" Viola questioned.

Clemont paused before chuckling hysterically. "Uh...well..." He rubbed his cheek, thoroughly embarrassed now. "I didn't think about that?"

Ash looked contemplative. "Yeah, why didn't we think of that?" He turned to Pikachu. "Why didn't you think of that?"

"...uh..." Pikachu thought long and hard...before being unable to come up with an answer. He smiled sheepishly. "I have no idea...?"

Ash shook his head exasperatedly. 

"Just leave it to me..." Clemont chuckled mischievously. "Remember, the future is now, thanks to science! Clemontic Gear On!" Clemont's invention was shown. "I thought we would encounter a situation precisely like this one! Presenting...my electricity generator!" [6]

Everyone stared blankly as they proceeded to say nothing for the next five minutes. 

Or two. Time is relative, after all.

Ash and Pikachu gasped with excitement while Bonnie slumped and gave a dry look. "Another boring name..."

"Now, observe." Clemont said, taking a pink clipboard off his machine and turning around, putting the clipboard under his arm. "If you put a clipboard under your arm, and rub it like this..." He retracted the board from his arm and held it over Bonnie's head, causing her hair strands to fly upwards, and her to gasp in excitement. "The resulting friction causes the buildup of electrons and creates static electricity. See?"

The invention was shown again, Clemont inserting the clipboard between two glass balls. "This brilliant machine uses that exact same principal," He set Dedenne down in front of a metal ball-attached to the machine. "Which allows it to create a large amount of electricity."

A lever was shown, Clemont putting his hand on it, before pulling it back, his glasses shadowed during the entire thing. "And power...on!"

The glass balls were shown pressing against the pink clipboard, as said clipboard was being pulled back and forth by mechanical arms; causing static to build up INSIDE the glass balls.

"Whoa..." Pikachu muttered in amazement. 

"You see the electricity?" Clemont asked mysteriously, his eyes still shadowed by his fogged up glasses.

"Awesome, Clemont! Science is so amazing!"

"You sure this is going to work?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"Sure I'm sure, just watch." Clemont said, still sounding mysterious.

Grant furrowed his eyebrows, looking wary. "I feel like I can already tell where this is headed..."

"Yeah." Viola muttered. "Me too..."

Dedenne was shown against the metal ball, which began to charge up with electricity, charging said pokemon up, and causing the group to gasp with pleasant surprise.

Dedenne winced slightly before stirring, opening his eyes with a smile. "Wow, that was a good nap!" He looked around in confusion, the smile never leaving his face. "Um...where am I?"

"Are you dumb?" Chespin deadpanned, causing Dedenne to spark angrily and shock the poor grass type. Chespin yowled before he stopped sparking, looking dazed. "Ugh..."

Bunnelby gave Chespin an unimpressed look. "Aren't you supposed to be a grass type?"

"Yeah?" Chespin said. "What does that have to do with anything?

Bunnelby sighed.

Meanwhile, Bonnie lightly scolded Dedenne for running off of her lap to go shock Chespin with a Thundershock. 

Ash and Bonnie smiled before the former turned to Clemont-who still had his glasses fogged. "Great! I think you can turn it off now."

Clemont simply held up the broken lever, his glasses still fogged. "One problem." He said simply, before his tone changed to panic. "I can't!"

Ash, Pikachu, and Bonnie all turned to Clemont with surprise before screaming. 

The electricity meter on the machine was shown turning a dangerous red, as Bonnie screamed over the machine's noise. "Dedenne! Hurry up and get away!"

"You've got to stop that thing!" Ash panicked, backing away. Dedenne, meanwhile, calmly crawled away from the machine.

"I wish I knew how..." Clemont groaned as he tentatively stepped forward with the lever in front of him, almost as if he were using it to protect himself.

"What were you going to do with the lever?" Tyrunt asked curiously.

"...good question." Clemont said, causing everyone else to slump over and sigh.

The machine then began to jerk wildly, before steam came out of it...and it exploded, sending a dark smoke cloud to fill the area, and for Clemont to look panicked-his glasses still freaking fogged up goddamn-before a group of Pidgey were shown flying away from the trees in panic.

Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were all shown looking dazed from the explosion, their hair all puffed up. Ash groaned. Pikachu, meanwhile, held Ash's hat over his head to protect himself...damn, Pikachu. 

Ash narrowed his eyes, slightly irritated. "Thanks, Pikachu." He said-sarcastically.

"No problem, Ash!" Pikachu replied-cheerfully. 

"Why are you guys so weird?" Fletchling muttered, before frantically looking around. He sighed gratefully when he realized that Froakie hadn't heard him. Yay, he didn't get hit this time!

"Whoops..." Clemont said sheepishly. "I guess it's back to the drawing board..." 

Pikachu lifted Ash's hat off his head and laughed nervously. 

"Really, thanks a lot."

"Really, I already said: no problem."

"...I don't like you."

"Sure you don't."

"Yeah..." Bonnie replied. "Look at my hair..."

Dedenne ran up to the group right at that very moment, getting their attention. "Hey. I want to thank you guys...you know, for saving me back there...so thanks!"

Ash was shown smirking as he put his hat back on his hair-clean, thankfully-and adjusted it. "Alright! Dedenne's sure feeling a lot better!" 

The group was shown sitting in a circle in the grass, their clothes and hair completely clean. 

"...when did you guys clean yourselves?" Serena asked curiously.

"Oh, I had wipes in my backpack." Ash volunteered. "See, my friend, Brock, told me to bring wipes with me in case something like that ever happened."

"...what kind of life did you live for your friend to deduce that something like that would happen?" Fennekin asked incredulously. 

Ash shrugged. "That's Kanto for you."

"That's what counts." Clemont said cockily as Dedenne ran in circle around him and Bonnie. "All's well that end's well."

Bonnie smirked at that too before crouching near Dedenne with a big smile. "Dedenne~ I'm glad you're feeling all better now..."

Dedenne turned around. "You bet I am!"

Clemont blinked as said pokemon turned to him and asked, "Hey, thanks for the electricity...don't know if you could tell I did earlier..."

"I think its saying, thanks for the electricity." Ash explained, amused. 

"That is...that's what I said, yeah." Dedenne said.

"Obviously." Chespin said dryly, causing everyone to stare. 

Fennekin rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, don't tell me you're the new Fletchling..."

"Hey!" Fletchling protested. "Nobody can beat me!"

Ash grinned, trying not to laugh. He honestly didn't care what the others thought of Fletchling. He thought Fletchling was fine just the way he was. 

Clemont blushed as he held a hand behind his head, looking flattered. "Oh, come on...you don't have to thank me."

Bonnie suddenly gasped before leaping forward eagerly. "Clemont, Clemont! Catch it, catch it!"

"Hey, that's right...I  totally  forgot about doing that." Oddly enough, Clemont had stretched the 'totally', for some inexplicable reason. 

Bonnie pouted, sending an accusing look at her older brother. "Hey, how come you sound like you were being sarcastic?" She stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms. "Meanie..."

Clemont sighed. 'Little sisters...honestly...'

That being said, he really did care about her. He briefly recalled a time when he used to brag about Bonnie to her teacher when he was younger...

His smile turned to a frown when he was reminded of a certain shinx he knew at the time..

"Hold it right there!" Jessie demanded, a shadow shown over our "heroes".

"What..." Ash began to himself.

The Team Rocket balloon was shown in the air. "Now, prepare for trouble, the 'it' means you."

"Yoo hoo~" Meowth called as he leaped onto the edge of the balloon basket.

"Meanwhile...we'll just take Pikachu." James smirked, his arms crossed.

"Giving him to the boss is the least we could do." Jessie finished. 

"By the way, if you're thinking of running, you've got another thing coming!" James rhymed.

"Rhyming." Viola frowned. "I just realized this, but how come you're always rhyming?"

Jessie smirked. "Got a problem with it, Ms. Bob Cut?"

Just like it did earlier, the odd nickname caught Viola off guard and silenced her instantly. 

"Wait a minute..." Ash grumbled in annoyance. "This whole thing was your fault the whole time!"

"Why are you guys always being so mean to pokemon?!" Bonnie demanded.

"Well, aren't you a noisy one?" James mocked before throwing a Pokeball. "Inkay, come on!"

Inkay popped out with a determined look on his face. "Alright, here we go..."

Ash clenched a fist, growling angrily. Dedenne ran forward. "I'm going to fight them." He declared, causing the group to look at him with surprise.

"Dedenne..." Clemont muttered. "You wanna battle, don't you? So you can get back at them for what they did!"

Dedenne smirked. "Right on!"

"Great! Now, use tackle!"

Dedenne began charging at Inkay. "Alright, here we go! You've better be prepared, because I'm going to take you down!"

"Inkay, use Foul Play!" James called out as Inkay snatched Dedenne and twisted him around, before throwing him towards the ground. "Now, Inkay...Psybeam, go!"

"Psy...beam!" Inkay cried out, causing Ash to grit his teeth and Bonnie to yell. 

"Look out!" 

Dedenne leaped backward and began running back and forth to avoid the beams.

"Dedenne! Tackle, one more time!" Clemont ordered.

"Tackle!" Dedenne shouted as he attacked Inkay, causing him to cry out in pain.

"I just realized," Serena began. "But do you really need to say 'Tackle'? I mean...it isn't very hard to do, right...technically Pikachu tackled you earlier."

"Yeah, but that wasn't Tackle, that was a tackle." Dedenne replied.

Serena looked confused. "What's the difference?"

"One's a tackle, while the other is a Tackle." Dedenne replied cryptically, causing Serena to grow frustrated.

"Yeah, I got that already." She said, annoyed. "But I mean, what's the difference between the move Tackle, and simply tackling someone?"

Dedenne blinked. "The fact that one is a move while the other isn't."

Serena groaned. "Can someone give me a straight answer, please?"

"I can." Pumpkaboo spoke suddenly, causing Serena and a few others to scream in surprise when she floated out of nowhere. 

"W-will you please stop doing that already!?" Froakie exclaimed frantically. 

Pumpkaboo rocked from side to side in what appeared to be a shrug. "Well, that depends...nah." Froakie groaned in annoyance. "Well, anyway, Tackle-the move-is basically normal tackling...but concentrated with energy. It honestly varies for each pokemon, but that's the best explanation I can give you. Frankly, any pokemon can learn the move Tackle."

Serena nodded, understanding. "That makes sense, thank you."

Clemont took notes.

Dedenne leaped to the ground and turned around, smirking at Inkay, who was looking woozy.

"You're doing great!" Clemont said. "Now, use Nuzzle!"

Dedenne leaped into the air and rubbed his cheeks, charging them up with electricity before rubbing them against Inkay, hearts in the background, with the opposing pokemon screaming and looking dizzy.

"Wow~" Bonnie said happily. "That move is so cute, I like Dedenne even more!"

"And better yet, Nuzzle makes the opponent paralyzed!" Clemont said as Inkay was shown exactly that-paralyzed.

"Cute but deadly." Fletchling chirped dryly. "Hooray."

Froakie raised an eyebrow towards him. "Do you want that popcorn or not?"

Fletchling shut up. 

"No way!" Bonnie gasped in wonder and awe. 

"Yeah, way to go, Dedenne!" Ash cheered.

"Ah!" James panicked. "Inkay..."

Pikachu leaped forward. Dedenne turned to him and sent him an-untranslated-electrical message, causing Pikachu's ears to perk up and his face brighten. "Hey, great idea!"

The two electric types jumped forward, carrying out their "plan". 

"Thun...der..." Pikachu began.

"Thun...der..." Dedenne started as well.

The two pokemon touched cheeks, and let out a burst of electricity, calling out their respective moves. 

"Bolt!"

"Shock!"

The two attacks morphed together in one giant "bolt" of electricity heading towards Inkay, who looked panicked. "Uh...oh..."

"...you're great idea was to simply combine moves? That are more or less the same?" Surskit spoke with incredulity in his voice.

Pikachu shot a glare at Surskit. "Dedenne's still young, so to him it was a good idea; so quit it!" He hissed, causing Surskit to be taken aback.

"Okay, geez..." Surskit muttered. 

Inkay screamed as he was launched in the air towards Team Rocket out of a large explosion. Somehow, he landed INSIDE the balloon, causing there to be a hole...and causing it to explode as well.

"We're blasting off again!"

"I'm sorry..." Inkay sobbed.

James reached out and hugged his pokemon, who hugged him back. "Oh, Inkay! It's alright! It isn't your fault those horrible twerps defeated you so easily and without any trouble!"

"You're not making me feel any better!" Inkay shouted as he sobbed into James's arms.

Jessie rubbed her forehead. 'I need new teammates...'

Pikachu and Dedenne ran towards Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. "Pikachu, Dedenne, awesome job!" Ash praised.

"Dedenne, you're the best!" Bonnie cheered. 

Clemont bent down to the small pokemon. "Thank you both very much!"

"You're welcome!" Dedenne cheered. He then ran around Clemont before running through his legs and going towards Pikachu and sending him yet another electrical message.

"You mean it?" Pikachu asked in surprise, relaying another message.

"Okay, is that really necessary at this point?" Tyrunt asked.

"Nope." Dedenne replied innocently. "But it's fun."

Bonnie giggled. "It does look kinda fun."

"You bet!" Dedenne responded.

Pikachu then turned to Ash. "Hey, Dedenne wants to come with us!"

Ash smiled. "Wait, Dedenne wants to come with us?" He asked in surprise. 

"That's...exactly what he said." Grant said, surprised. "You could understand pokemon? Now that I think about it, you seemed to more or less understand Dedenne earlier."

Ash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, not exactly...see, with Pikachu it's just that we've been together for a long time, but with other pokemon...I dunno, I guess I've just gotten better at telling what they're saying."

Ash decided to omit the fact that at one point he had actually considered this sudden ability of having a somewhat understanding of pokemon was at the fault of his aura. At least, that's what he thought. It felt like the most likely explanation, anyway. 

"Really?" Bonnie gasped before throwing her arms up into the air. "Woo hoo!  We'll have so much fun!" She shouted excitedly at Dedenne, who's eyes sparkled in amazement and wonder as well, tiny flowers in the air around him.

"Pretty please!?" Bonnie pulled Clemont's arm, barely able to contain her excitement. 

Clemont considered for a moment before smiling. "Yeah! "He then threw a Pokeball. "Go, Pokeball!"

"Whoa." Dedenne yelped slightly as the ball hit him on the head and sucked him in, the ball shaking a few times before dinging, registering the capture.

"I did it!" Clemont exclaimed, before picking up the Pokeball, a colorful background showing up behind him. "Yes! Alright! I caught Dedenne and I'll be keeping it for Bonnie!"

"This is so cool, thank you!" Bonnie cheered, leaping into the air as well.

"...meh." Froakie said. "Doesn't seem to roll of the tongue as much as 'Gotta Catch 'Em All' does."

"So, can we all use Pikachu's catchphrase?!" Bonnie asked excitedly.

"No." Pikachu replied bluntly, causing Bonnie to pout. "That catchphrase is off-limits to anyone who isn't one of Ash's pokemon."

Ash blinked. "Wait, what about me?"

"You have your whole, 'I just got the this badge!' and the 'I just caught this pokemon' thing, so you don't need to use it." Pikachu replied. 

"Hey, can you let Dedenne come out? I want to take care of it!" Bonnie said.

"Sure," Clemont replied, sending Dedenne out of his new Pokeball, said pokemon materializing in the air with a flash.

"Thank you." Dedenne thanked Clemont before running towards Bonnie and jumping into her arms. 

"Dedenne, yay!" Bonnie cheered. "Hi there, I'm Bonnie!" She introduced herself-finally. "And that's my brother, Clemont."  Pikachu waved at Dedenne as Bonnie introduced him and his trainer as well. "That's Pikachu and Ash!"

"Nice to meet you." Ash said politely.

"I'm Dedenne!" Dedenne said, smiling.

"Here," Bonnie said as he sat on the ground, a pink napkin suddenly in her hand. "Let me get you cleaned up." She began stroking Dedenne's fur with the napkin and cleaning it. "You get yourself all dirty from the battle."

Dedenne squealed happily as Bonnie stroked too far and stroked his thin tail, causing her to blink before gasping happily. "Hey look! Dedenne likes it when I pet its tail, too!"

"Wow, I never would have guessed." Clemont said, amused, making it unclear as to whether or not he was being sarcastic. 

Bonnie glared.

Clemont simply held up his hands awkwardly, unsure of how to defend himself. He hadn't realized that he came off as sarcastic before. Maybe he should watch his tone more often...especially around Bonnie, at least. 

(Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other before Ash smiled and lowered his shoulder slightly for Pikachu to jump off of. Pikachu obliged.) [7]

"Hey, do you think you can pet my tail too?" Pikachu asked happily. 

"You both like the same thing!" Bonnie observed as she stroked Pikachu's tail, enticing another squeal from him. She continued doing it with the two pokemon, causing them both to exclaim happily. "You're just like twins!" She nuzzled with them both.

"...no. No. No, they are not twins." Fletchling said, annoyed. "Why are people always making statements without knowing what they mean?!"

Froakie shot a look at Fletchling. "Oh? What happened to your whole, 'principal of the matter' thing?"

"...I gave up on that ages ago." Fletchling admitted.

"Well, they're both electric types, remember?" Clemont said.

"You're going to have fun with Dedenne, aren't you, Bonnie?" Ash asked, bending down slightly.

"Yeah! Dedenne is so cute!" She squealed. "Nuzzle, nuzzle, nuzzle..." She said as she nuzzled Dedenne, causing him to blink...and misunderstand.

"Nuzzle!" Dedenne cried, electrocuting Bonnie and causing her to scream. Clemont held out a hand in worry as Ash touched the front of his hat, grinning awkwardly. 

"Nuzzle's one of Dedenne's moves...I guess you forgot." Clemont said.

Bonnie let out a dazed groan as she stopped getting shocked, and smoke emitted from her head. "Yup...and now I can feel what it's like to be paralyzed..."

"Hey, look on the bright side!" Ash spoke up. "If your first pokemon shocks you really hard on your first meeting, then you'll have a great friendship!"

"Really!?" Bonnie gasped excitedly as Pikachu stared at Ash funnily.

Ash nodded. "Yup!"

Fletchling considered this to himself before asking, "Wait, so the first thing Pikachu did when you first met was to shock you?"

"...in my defense, he hugged me for no reason." Pikachu stated weakly.

"...you were cute!" Ash protested, looked embarrassed for a second before adding. "Well, not anymore..."

Pikachu replied with a strong Thunderbolt.

Dedenne suddenly let out a yawn as soft music began playing the background, and fell soundly asleep pretty freaking fast. Even Bonnie gasped at this.

"Dedenne fell asleep..." She whispered.

"Of course," Clemont said as if it were obvious. "You see, Dedenne tend to sleep a lot. That's just one of the things they do to conserve energy."

"Awesome." Ash said in awe. "An energy saver!"

Bonnie gasped as she looked down at Dedenne with pleasant surprise. "Okay," She set Dedenne into her yellow bag. "You can take a nap in here..." She began squealing loudly as Dedenne continued sleeping in her bag.

"So? Let's get going." Ash said, whispering as well.

"Right. Let's hit the road." Clemont added in a whisper.

"Yeah!" Bonnie shouted, causing Ash, Clemont, and Pikachu to yelp in surprise and immediately shush Bonnie in panic. Bonnie panicked and began shushing as well. This caused the group to fall into a phase of quiet laughter.

The scene transitioned to show the group walking along the road, before the screen froze, showing the group walking with Bonnie ahead of them, smiles on all their faces, though Bonnie held the biggest smile of all. "And so," The Narrator began. "After escaping Team Rocket's evil clutches, Pikachu and Dedenne are safe. And Dedenne is back to perfect health! Following Clemont's successful catch, our heroes now have a new friend in Dedenne, as the Kalos Region journey continues!" Bonnie was shown smiling and looking down at Dedenne, who was still sleeping, before stirring slightly and turning in her bag, smiling to himself.

The screen turned black.

"Hooray!" Fletchling threw his arms up. "We're finally done." He turned to Froakie. "Now, can I please have my pop-"

...and turned back on, showing a forest near sundown, Serena walking through, holding Fennekin in her arms.

"-oh, you've got to be kidding me." Fletchling huffed, before ruffling his feathers and settling into the armchair of Ash's seat.

Ash tossed a funny look at Fletchling and simply shook his head, amused. 

"Oh..." She groaned worriedly. "This is terrible. The sun's setting and we're still in the middle of the woods!"

"Yeah...I don't feel up to sleeping here either..." Fennekin replied.

"Wait," Serena turned to Fennekin in worry. "Does this mean that we're sleeping out in the open tonight?!" She looked around before sweatdropping nervously at a group of scolipede nearby. "Uh...roughing it really isn't my style..."

Ash frowned. "Well, what did you expect?"

"Um..." Serena was unsure of how to reply. What did she expect from going on a pokemon journey? It wasn't even like she was going on this journey to become a trainer. She simply wanted to meet up with Ash. 

And it wasn't like she was going to just tell him that, either. 

She looked around as the forest leaves started bristling. "If we could find a Pokemon Center, then we would be able to stay there for the night. But I don't know if we'll get to one in time..."

She scanned the forest before lighting up as she saw a shadow behind a tree. "Someone's over there! Excuse me! Can you please tell is if there's a pokemon center nearby?"

The figures turned around to reveal that it was a vespiquen! Serena screamed as she fell backwards, the pokemon startled as well.

"Why you..." The vespiquen shrieked, furious. "You'll pay for that, stupid girl!" She called on an attack, throwing energy balls at the defenseless Serena.

Serena flinched, bracing herself, though she gasped when Fennekin jumped out of her arms. "Hey!" Fennekin charged up an Ember attack. "Don't call her stupid, you big bully!"

Serena's heart warmed as she petted Fennekin's tail, who purred softly. She was really glad she chose Fennekin as her starter. 

The Ember collided with the other attack, causing a small explosion, and for the vespiquen to back out angrily, before flying into the forest, screeching as she went. "You'll pay for this! I swear I will have my revenge one day! Count on it!!!"

"...should I be worried about that?" Serena asked, close to panicking.

"Nah," Ash replied, causing her to relax slightly. "They always say that kind of thing."

Serena looked at him in confusion. "Who's 'they'?"

Ash didn't reply and instead continued, "Plus, anyone who declares revenge probably isn't going to get it...trust me, I know."

Clemont sighed, thinking of Ash's zapdos-related comment earlier. "I'm not surprised you do." 

Serena stared in awe at the scene as Fennekin walked over with Serena's hat in her mouth. Serena turned around and brightened, taking the hat from Fennekin. "Ah! Thank you, Fennekin! You saved me!"

"Of course I did. You're my new trainer, after all...Serena! " Fennekin smiled cheerfully.

"Is everything alright?" The voice of Nurse Joy called out, causing Serena to look over and see said Nurse Joy run over on the path with her wigglytuff in tow, both looking extremely worried. "I heard screaming, so me and wigglytuff came running right over!"

"Ah..." Serena said with relief, fixing her hat. "Nurse Joy! Everything's alright now, so no need to worry!" She then gasped slightly. "Hey, do you know where there's a pokemon center?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "Yup. There's one up ahead. If you keep heading down this path, you're sure to find it."

Serena smiled gratefully, looking towards Fennekin. "Alright, thank you very much!" 

She then turned around and jumped forward, Fennekin following behind her. "Come on, Fennekin! Let's race to see who gets to the Pokemon Center first!"

"You're on!" Fennekin smiled playfully.

The screen turned black. 

Fletchling sighed gratefully. "Finally...now, can I please have some popcorn?"

"Wait until lunch." Froakie replied bluntly, causing Fletchling to gawk. 

"W-what?! But I stayed quiet for most of the episode!" 

"Well, too bad." Froakie replied calmly. "You're just going to have to wait until lunch."

"But that's in like...five more episodes!" 

"Too bad."

"But-"

"No."

"Aw..."

Chapter Text

Episode 5: In Which We're Treading on Thin Ice

~A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!~

***

The screen turned on to show a Poke Center in the morning before showing Serena and Fennekin eating at a table, sitting across from each other.  Serena sipped her tea and put it down before sighing. "So nice...no early Rhyhorn Race practice for me and no Fletchling waking me up!"

She sighed wistfully. "Such a relaxing way to start the day..." She reached her arms upwards and stretched. Fennekin took notice of this and smiled, starting to stretch in the same way before accidentally tumbling backwards, causing Serena to giggle.

Fletchling grumbled. Froakie raised his paw, preparing a Pound, before lowering it again. Fletchling had showed restraint in the previous episode, so he would let him go this time.

Next time, however...

"Fennekin, did you get enough?"

Fennekin smiled and held a paw up in reply before righting herself. "Yeah, I got plenty! The food here's pretty great!"

Serena grinned. "I did too." She stood up and grabbed her hat and backpack, slinging the latter over her shoulder before going to the door and shouting inside with Fennekin, "Thank you!" Serena then turned around and ran off the porch with Fennekin jumping onto her shoulder. "Let's go!"

Serena held her hat as she stopped right in front of the center, staring straight ahead. "Santalune City is straight ahead! Just a bit further and I'll finally see him!"

"That's good for you, Serena!" Fennekin agreed cheerfully as the camera panned out to show Santalune City from the distance before transitioning to the streets of Santalune, where Ash is shown running.

"...did you seriously start your pokemon journey because of the Twerp?" Jessie asked, a hint of distaste in her voice.

Serena's eyes widened as she weakly tried to defend herself. "T-that is not the...only reason!"

Jessie huffed and muttered under her breath, "how pathetic..."

Serena's muscles tensed as she tried to restrain herself from yelling. Fennekin took note of this and leaned in to her trainer, rubbing her head against the latter's arm. "Serena, it's fine. Just ignore her."

Serena nodded weakly and turned back to the screen. Jessie didn't have any clue what she was talking about. Sure, she wanted to see Ash. Sure, she wanted to thank him for what he had done for her way back when. But was it the reason why she wanted to go on a journey? No.

And for reasons she couldn't quite figure out, Jessie's comment had frustrated her more than she would've liked.

"Our heroes have arrived in Santalune City, and soon, Ash will be challenging his first gym in the Kalos region!" Ash continues to run before close-up is shown on his face.

Onix let out a soft sigh. "And we are continuing with the stating of the obvious..."

Surskit shot a funny look at the rock snake. "I know it can get annoying but do you seriously have to complain every single time it happens?"

"Yes," Onix said. "If you've seen the sort of things my trainer watches, you'd be this way too."

Surskit snickered, "I guess so. Viola talks about it sometimes. It's the reason why she stocks up on movies anytime she visits Grant."

"They make a cute couple, don't you think?" Vivillon suddenly asked.

"Definitely," Tyrunt said, briefly glancing at his trainer before continuing. "He speaks of her a lot whenever a trainer comes with a bug type pokemon. How much the pokemon each trainer brings reminds him of her bug type photos..."

"Now that I think about it, doesn't she send him some extra photos too?" Surskit asked her teammate. "Before she even sends them to Bug Types Weekly, I mean."

Vivillon nodded. "She does. And she puts love into every single photo she takes but..." she smiled, "the ones she sends to Grant have an extra bit of love in there as well. It's not like the ones she sends to Alexa, either."

The four pokemon exchanged chuckles. "It is a real shame we have not really interacted with each other until now. Well, we have met, but...you know what I mean." Tyrunt said.

"What're you four discussing over there?" Viola asked suspiciously. "You're chatting up a storm..."

"Oh, nothing." Surskit replied, shooting an innocent look at her trainer.

"Yeah!" He cheered. "Santalune Gym, you better look out! Cause I'm going to get my first Gym Badge from you!" Bonnie was shown smiling as she ran behind Ash, panting slightly.

"Come on guys!" Clemont gasped as he struggled to keep up. "Can't you slow down a little-AH!" He yelped as he tripped and hit the ground, causing Bonnie and Ash to turn around.

"Hey, Clemont, hurry up!" Ash shouted.

"What, you're not even going to ask if he's okay?" Bunnelby muttered.

"Is he always like this?" Chespin asked.

Bunnelby tried to hold back his annoyance at Chespin's mere presence before replying, "I'm not really sure. I was caught a little while before Clemont met Ash."

"So...you're useless, then." Chespin said.

'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts...' Bunnelby twitched, narrowly avoiding his ears from glowing.

Clemont looked up wearily. "One thing...and I think it's kind of important-do you even know where the Santalune Gym is?"

Ash grinned and pumped up a fist. "No clue! Course I don't!"

"Huh?" The siblings blinked.

"Is he stupid...?" Dedenne muttered childishly.

"Dedenne, watch your language." Bonnie scolded, her face puffed up like a beach ball. "You don't want to have a dirty mouth, otherwise I'll have to clean it!"

"With what?" Dedenne asked innocently.

"Soup!" Bonnie replied.

"...er, Bonnie, don't you mean soap?" Serena asked. "You said soup."

There was a pause. "I'll have to wash Dedenne's mouth with...a traditional dish from the Mexican Province of Unova?" [2]

"No, I meant-" Serena stared, then groaned. "Why are there so many provinces of Unova? Let me guess, this one is nowhere near Unova either?"

Clemont scratched his cheek awkwardly, "well..."

"No, don't even answer that..."

Ash jumped onto the fountain and pointed dramatically. "I figure stuff out best when I run!" The fountain suddenly turned on, spouting water in many different directions behind Ash. "Keep moving ahead, and you can't go wrong!"

Ash turned to Pikachu. "That's the way we roll!"

"I just got used to idiocy at this point, to be honest." Pikachu smiled cutely.

Ash twitched. "Are you calling me an idiot? Because you're really not any better."

"Sure, Ash." Pikachu replied.

"No, seriously. Why do you keep calling me an idiot?" Ash asked. "You know I can't even understand you, right?"

Pikachu huffed and crossed his tiny arms. "Well...it's true isn't it? You keep acting like an idiot all the time..."

"And?" Ash demanded. "You act like one too. What does that even-"

"Is this going to be a regular thing with you two?" Fletchling asked in annoyance, interrupting Ash's thought process.

"No." Both trainer and pokemon replied before sticking their tongues out at each other childishly.

Froakie exchanged a look with Fletchling before sighing. He honestly didn't even know why the robin had even bothered.

The two smiled at each other before a camera shutter sound was heard, and the two were shown through the lenses of a camera, causing them both to turn in surprised at their stalker.

"Ooh, that's such a cute photo!" Bonnie exclaimed, completely oblivious to the argument that had just occurred. "Viola, do you still have it with you? I wanna see!"

Viola shook her head. "Sorry, Bonnie. All of my photos are in my room back at my apartment. Unless Sky is somehow willing to bring them, I don't think I can show you them..."

Bonnie deflated instantly while the others tried not to laugh.

Viola was shown lowering her hands, which was holding the camera. "Thanks for the great pic!" She walked towards them. "You seem like a great team!"

Ash grumbled something under his breath. Pikachu's ear twitched, but he ignored him.

Froakie was beginning to have a headache.

"Thanks." Ash smiled.

Viola chuckled. "By the way, if you're going to the Santalune Gym..." she pointed, "make a right at that corner."

"Viola, why didn't you just tell us you were the gym leader?" Clemont asked.

Viola winked at him. "The element of mystery, of course! All the better to take a shot of your surprised faces once you find out I'm the gym leader."

"...but you didn't take a photo..." Bonnie said warily.

"Really?" Ash asked excitedly. "Thanks for the information-" he turned to Bonnie and Clemont. "I told you we couldn't go wrong."

Ash jumped off the fountain and started running towards the direction Viola pointed. "Let's go!"

Clemont cried out in dismay. "Ash! Not so fast!"

"Wait for us!" Bonnie cried as well, as she started sprinting towards Ash, Clemont tumbling closely behind. He then paused, turning to Viola, "T-thanks for the help," before running off again.

Viola stared for a moment before chuckling again.

The opening song played.

Ash read the title-card. "A Blustery Santalune Gym Battle!"

"S'pretty accurate," Fletchling quipped.

Pikachu blushed. "I can't believe I lost by slipping on ice. That's never happened before..."

Ash shot his starter a funny look. "What about what happened with-"

"We don't talk about that," Pikachu said bluntly.

Ash shrugged while Fletchling looked on with curiosity.

The Santalune Gym was shown, with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie standing on the outside.

"Wow, we made it!" Ash said.

"Now, if I remember correctly, the Santalune Gym Leader specializes in Bug Type pokemon." Clemont explained.

"I can't wait to go inside." Bonnie turned to the two older boys eagerly, Dedenne sitting on her head. "It's gonna be fun!"

"Hello?" Ash called out as he and the others stepped forward. "I wanna challenge you to a battle!"

Abruptly, the sliding doors in front of him automatically opened, and a helioptile jumped out. "Ash!" she called out.

Ash yelped as he and Pikachu were glomped by the enthusiastic helioptile-or rather, Ash was, since Pikachu had jumped off to safety as soon as Helioptile made contact with Ash.

Ash and Pikachu began making faces at each other, causing Froakie to sigh in resignation while everyone else looked on awkwardly.

Fennekin huffed through her snout. "You both are so childish."

The duo momentarily stopped their "making faces" contest-which Pikachu was winning at, mind you-to shoot a grin at the fire type before resuming in their "activity".

"Yo, those two need help..." Chespin said lazily. Bunnelby gave the grass type a side-eye. He swore, if Clemont actually caught this dude while in the theater, he was going to somehow call Sky and reverse time to make sure he was never born.

Of course, he doubted this would be possible, even considering how Sky supposedly stopped time in the real world. Unless Sky was secretly a psychic. In which case, it wouldn't have been too far'fetched.

Bunnelby pondered that for a moment. 'Huh. Maybe Sky is a psychic...I should ask Clemont what he thinks about this...'

"Hey, Ash, its me!" Helioptile said cheerfully.

Ash blinked in recognition. "Hey, it's Helioptile!"

"Clearly," Onix snarked.

Tyrunt patted his friend's rock body sympathetically.

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Well-" Helioptile was about to reply, before she was cut off.

"Welcome, Ash! Pikachu!" Alexa's voice was heard as Helioptile skirted off of Ash and ran towards Alexa before settling on her shoulder. "It's nice to see you two again!"

"Why is everybody interrupting each other?" Clemont asked warily.

"Why do you keep interrupting the show?" James muttered with a tone of misery in his voice. "We'll never get through the episode at the rate we're going..."

Ash's surprised look turned into a friendly one. "Hey, Alexa. I didn't know you were here."

"Yup. I finished my reporting and thought you might be here soon, so I waited." She turned to Clemont and Bonnie before asking curiously. "So, who are your new friends?"

"I met these two in Lumiose City." Ash explained. "This is Clemont and Bonnie."

"Nice to meet you," Bonnie greeted. "I'm Bonnie and this is Dedenne!"

"Hello!" Dedenne waved from his perch on Bonnie's head.

Bonnie turned to Clemont, "this is my big brother..."

Clemont bowed politely and introduced himself, "My name is Clemont. Nice to meet you." He then walked up to Ash, "so, you already knew the gym leader here?"

"No, no," Ash corrected. "Alexa's a Pokemon Reporter."

"Now that I think about it..." Viola said thoughtfully. "How did you meet Alexa again, Ash?"

"We met while we were traveling in Unova," Ash explained. The others looked on in interest. Ash had mentioned Unova before, but the situation described with Zekrom was just too unbelievable. "Her helioptile bumped into us, we battled with it for a while, until Alexa showed up on her gogoat and said it was hers."

"Don't forget the tournament." Pikachu reminded him. "Alexa came to interview contestants from a tournament that was being held in the area. I'm pretty sure even Team Rocket entered." The mouse tossed a look of disdain towards the trio, who flinched instinctively.

Meowth in particular tried his best to avoid the mouse's glare, which lasted a couple seconds longer toward him than toward his other teammates. It wasn't hard to guess why. He presumed Unova was a sore spot for Pikachu, considering all that happened in the region, his own betrayal notwithstanding.

He watched Pikachu for a moment longer before breaking his gaze when he noticed Ash's water type eyeing him with suspicion. Best not to get Pikachu's teammates defensive over him...he didn't want a repeat of Ash's butterfree...

Meowth shuddered and laughed aloud. The others tossed him weird looks, but ignored him.

Froakie, meanwhile, was in fact very much suspicious of the scratch cat pokemon.

Surely, this will lead to all good things.

"That's right," Alexa confirmed, "my little sister, Viola, runs this gym."

"Viola?" Bonnie asked.

"No, she said violin." Onix said.

Fletchling gave the rock snake a flabbergasted look. "Uh...pretty sure she said Viola, bucko."

"No, I meant-" Onix started, then stopped himself with a sigh. He sagged his head. "Nevermind. I give up."

"Give up?" Ash's ears perked. "Well, that's not good at all. Onix, you must never give up! No matter what the odds! You must...uh, persevere!"

Pikachu smiled at Ash, impressed. "Wow, I didn't know you were able to use such big words, Ash."

Ash nodded sagely. "You and me both, bud."

"That's not how..." Clemont raised a finger to protest, then put it down again, looking as lost as Chespin would at a supermarket. "...that works..."

Serena had to bite the urge to burst out laughing.

"That would be me." A voice spoke, causing the group to gasp and turn around, showing a silhouette standing in the sunlight. The camera panned upwards to show Viola fully, standing there with her hands on her hips. She smirked, "thanks for earlier."

Ash blinked, stunned. "You're Alexa's little sister?"

"No way..." Pikachu voiced.

"I really don't get why this fact is so shocking to you," Fennekin remarked, flicking her tail.

Pikachu blushed. "Well, I...er..." he trailed off. "...I actually have no defense for this."

Ash snickered, which quickly devolved into awkward chuckles as Fennekin tossed him a smirk. "You're not the only one who looked awfully confused, Ashy-boy."

"Fennekin!" Serena yelped, her cheeks turning scarlet.

Froakie slapped his face with his palm. "Ashy-boy? Seriously? Are you two or something?"

Fennekin kept her smirk level. "Hey, just saying it how I see it."

"Sorry, and you guys are saying I'm bad?" Fletchling glared. "Miss Twig Eating Princess over here would beg to differ!"

"What did you just call me?! You birdbrain!"

"BIRDBRAIN???"

As the two began to bicker, Ash hummed to himself.

"Is something the matter, Ash?" Clemont asked.

"...nah," Ash said, before looking off to the side. "Just...Fennekin made me remember something. Or, someone, I guess. I wonder how he's doing..."

"A friend from Kanto?"

"...you could say that," Ash grinned sheepishly.

Clemont frowned at the response before turning back at the screen. That was...awfully awkward, coming from Ash. Granted, he hadn't known Ash for very long, but...still. He just couldn't put his finger on it, but something about that response just...bothered him.

Ash noticed Clemont's expression and turned away. He didn't really have the energy to explain his relationship with Gary. Still, he did find it rather amusing that Fennekin had just thought of the same nickname out of seemingly nowhere.

"Oh, so you've met her already." Alexa observed as Viola walked towards the group, camera in her hands.

"What? Nooooooo..." Onix said dryly. "...of course not!"

Surskit and Vivillon tossed each other funny looks before turning back to the screen. Best not to question, when it came to the rock snake pokemon.

"He let me take a picture," Viola explained, before turning to Ash. "My sister told me about you. Sorry for being absent for a while."

"Don't be." Ash assured her. "I was looking forward to your return."

Viola smiled, "alright then, everybody please come inside."

A Poke-ball style transition showed up before the scene changed to show the hall of pictures inside Viola's gym.

"...what in the high heavens of Pokelantis was THAT?" James asked incredulously.

"What, the gym?" Viola frowned.

"Yes, of cour-no, I meant the weird shtick with the Pokeballs!"

Bonnie shrugged. "We don't know. We think it's just Sky's way of making this more exciting for us."

"Still wondering who the hell she is..." Jessie muttered under her breath. "What gives this random girl the right to kidnap us and stuff us in some enclosed space without our consent?!"

"What gives you the right to kidnap me and stuff me in an enclosed space without my consent?" Pikachu retorted sourly.

"We're bad guys!" James protested. "It's our job to assume we have consent when it comes to kidnapping pokemon!"

Pikachu facepalmed. "Of course..."

"Wow..." Ash marveled. "Did you take all of these photos, Viola?"

"Yeah," Viola replied proudly as she looked around, "what's displayed here is actually only a fraction of my work."

"My little sister is an excellent Bug Pokemon photographer," Alexa praised as she and Viola exchanged a look, "...and she sometimes helps me with my new coverage, too."

Clemont and Bonnie were shown gazing in awe at the pictures as well. Clemont leaned forward, adjusting his glasses at one of the pictures, "what great pictures...they're overflowing with love for the subject..."

"You're right!" Bonnie cheered. "I can really feel that you love Bug Pokemon!" She then turned around with sparkles in her eyes with a giddy look on her face, "it's decided! I'll keep Viola!"

"You'll...keep her?"

"Yup!" Bonnie replied cheerfully. Clemont groaned and shoved his face in his hands. "I'm trying to find a wife for my big brother!"

Everybody stared at the girl.

Jessie snorted, then began holding back snickers. "W-wait...what...?"

Bonnie scowled. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on asking you."

"Well, good!" Jessie glared. "I don't want to get asked. For your information, I have better things to do than to get asked to marry someone who's probably like four years younger than I am."

Serena blinked. "Four? Clemont, how old are you?"

"Fifteen..." Clemont said warily.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Five years. Fine, whatever. Same diff- Why are you staring at me like that?!"

Grant let out a mock sigh and muttered under his breath to Viola. "Ah, so she's a millennial..."

Viola facepalmed.

She ran towards Viola, who stood there, stunned, and knelt down on the ground, outstretching her arm in a dramatic position. Flowers in the form of a romantic-like aesthetic were shown in the background. "Please have my brother, S'il vous plaît!"

"Ooh! Please listen to her!" Dedenne added.

Viola blinked, a dumbstruck happy look plastered on her face as a "gong" sound played in the background.

Alexa stared as Ash and Pikachu looked on the background with dumbstruck looks on their faces. "S'il vous plaît...?" Alexa repeated, looking lost.

"What's that mean?" Pikachu asked curiously.

"If you please," Viola replied. "It's Kalosen."

Ash groaned. "I knew I should've learned some of the language before we came here..."

"This is what happens when you rush everywhere all the time," Pikachu remarked, with a flick of his ear. "If you actually slowed down before immediately heading off to Kalos like you always do-"

"Pikachu, seriously, will you quit it?" Ash said, mild irritation lacing his voice.

"...sorry..."

"Oh, dear Arceus..." Froakie muttered under his breath as everyone stared in confusion at the bickering duo. "Everything is falling apart..."

Clemont frantically jumped towards Bonnie, "Bonnie! I told you to stop doing that already!"

Bonnie turned to Clemont with a pout, "but you're helpless on your own!" She eased into an innocent smile, "I'd be at ease if you at least had a bride~!"

Viola's cheeks turned red slightly as she repeated, "bride?"

Clemont's whole face turned red as he backed up slightly, flustered. "Uh...oh, this is so embarressing..." he groaned as his glasses fogged up, covering up his eyes. He shouted, "launching Aipom Arms!"

An Aipom Arm launched out of his backpack towards Bonnie, snatching her by the back of her shirt, causing her to yelp, and dragging her backwards. "Your supposed "kindness" is a big annoyance for me!" Clemont nagged as he pulled Bonnie towards the door.

She laughed happily and shouted out to Viola, "hey, Viola, please think about it!"

Ash, Pikachu, Viola, and Alexa were all shown staring at the scene with stupefied looks on their faces before Alexa spoke up awkwardly, "that's a rather unique little girl..."

"That was a rather unique little situation..." Viola chuckled.

"I'm really sorry about that, Viola." Clemont groaned as he adjusted his glasses. "She's a little bit rambunctious sometimes..."

"Oh, no worries!" Viola assured him. "I was like that myself as a little girl. I'm sure I drove Alexa insane all the time...no matter what, she always remained patient with me, though." She smiled warmly at the young inventor. "I'm sure you're a great big brother, too."

"He is!" Bonnie huffed proudly.

Clemont smiled. "Aww, thanks Bonni-"

"Which is exactly why I need to find you a good wife to take care of you!"

"...and there it is..." Clemont groaned.

After the door was heard being shut in the background, Viola turned to Ash with a smile, "all right, Ash. Shall we get started?"

Ash snapped his head towards Viola excitedly, "Yeah!"

"I'm ready!" Pikachu cheered.

The scene changed to show Serena daintily walking down the steps, giggling happily to herself. "He'll probably be shocked to see me again, right out of the blue."

A young, smiling Ash was shown with his hands outstretched on the screen before going back to Serena's face, who was smiling and blushing to herself with her eyes closed. "I can't wait to see his face when he sees me~! I'm so excited..."

Ash frowned. He caught a brief glimpse of the background in that shot, which was a forest...not only that, but he had a hunch it was a forest back home. But Serena was from Kalos. And he looked awfully young in that shot...

Serena had asked him if he recognized her earlier, didn't she? It had taken him a moment, sure but he did faintly remember a girl wearing a straw hat who hailed from another region to come to Professor Oak's summer camp all those years ago...

'Oh, shit!' Ash's eyes widened. 'That's right!'

The camera panned up to the sky before panning down again and transitioning into Viola's gym, showing the battlefield from above. The referee began speaking as Ash and Viola were shown in their respective positions, Pikachu standing in front of Ash with a determined look on his face, "the gym match between Challenger Ash and Gym Leader Viola will now begin." Alexa, Bonnie, Clemont, Helioptile, and Dedenne were all shown watching from the sidelines in excitement, "two pokemon will be used each. If either party's pokemon are all declared unable to battle, the battle is declared over. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute his pokemon." Ash was shown smirking at this.

"Such a newbie battle rule..." Pikachu muttered. "And we lost."

"Viola was pretty tough for the first gym leader." Ash said softly. "I know you're insecure about how that battle went-"

"You and I both know that wasn't my best, Ash." Pikachu replied sourly. "If I'd just gone all out-"

"If you'd gone all out, Fletchling wouldn't have gotten a chance to grow and let's be real here, you wouldn't have gotten humbled." Ash pointed out, albeit not unkindly. He lightly bopped his starter on the head. "You and I both ALSO know that your defense has never really been the greatest."

"Yeah, but my endurance has." Pikachu scowled, his ear pinned back.

Ash rolled his eyes. "You haven't had a challenging battle in ages, cut yourself some slack."

"You're being awfully understanding about this. Usually, you'd be a little more strict."

"Gotta set an example for the new team members." Ash winked. "Besides, I could've done way better in that battle myself. I wasn't exactly helpful and it's my job to be able to look out for the things that you aren't able to. You know I'm only 'strict' for a reason. There's no reason for me to be that in this battle."

"...I guess we both did badly."

Ash snickered. "Yeah, buddy. We both did badly. But, you know, I bet you'll bounce back to normal by the second gym battle." He gently stroked Pikachu's head. "Now, quit being mopey. It's not a good look for you."

Pikachu stuck his tongue out at his trainer, who snorted. [3]

Viola smirked as well, "I'll aim for victory, just like I aim for the perfect moment to take a picture!" She throttled her arm forward, holding her Poke-ball before throwing it, "let's go, Surskit!"

"Not the puns..." Fletchling muttered.

Onix grunted in agreement.

Surskit materialized on the battlefield, ready in a battle stance, "alright, I'm ready!"

Ash frowned, "Surskit, huh?" he took out his Poke-dex and pointed it at Surskit.

"Surskit, the Pond Skater pokemon. It appears as if it's skating on water. It draws prey from a sweet scent from the tip of its head."

"...I just realized, but do Pokemon...hunt each other?" Serena asked warily.

All the pokemon in the room exchanged looks.

"Not near human settlements, they don't." Vivillon explained, being one of the few adult pokemon in the room. "But deeper into forests or mountain ranges, yes. It largely just depends on the area a pokemon lives in. Our diets are actually really adaptable as an overall species."

"Carnivorous pokemon are rare to see in these times, though." Surskit chimed in. "Omnivores are much more common and even then, omnivorous pokemon tend to prefer berries or fruits. Berries are just universal food, I guess."

Clemont adjusted his glasses, intrigued by this information. "Oh, so, you're technically an omnivore?"

"Technically, yes." Surskit replied, then sighed at the uncomfortable glances the other pokemon gave him. "If you're wondering, yes, I've eaten other pokemon before. Living in the wild is tough. I didn't know anything before I was caught by Viola."

"I don't know if it's that bad..." Bunnelby muttered under his breath. "I lived in the wild and yeah, sure, it was a little rough, but I wouldn't say me or any of the pokemon I had to take care of would ever resort to eating another pokemon..."

Fletchling frowned. "Aren't you an herbivore, though?"

"...fair enough."

"I don't think it's fair of you to say that the wild wasn't that bad." Pikachu spoke up. His ears were notably pinned back and he held a tense posture. His trainer frowned and held a hand on him to offer comfort, though it went unnoticed. "Sure, maybe it was easier for you, but if you're an omnivore and you've eaten a pokemon before, high chance is you live in an area with either a lot of prey. And unless you're an apex predator - which IS rare, in this day and age - there'll also always be a predator around too. Living in an area with that kind of environment ISN'T easy in the slightest."

Froakie frowned. "You sound like you speak from experience."

Ash hummed, butting in. "I think...if I remember right, the whole diet thing or whatever also differs depending on what region a pokemon is in. I remember a friend of mine once told me about how there's apparently a national chart or something that lists the regions in order of least to most...uh...predatory? Is that the word?"

"That'd be correct." James remarked, turning everyone's attention to the Rocket member. He shuffled through his pockets for a moment. "Where did I put it...aha!" He pulled out a small notebook and flipped through it. "I think I wrote it down somewhere...alright, got it. So, the National Chart of Predation lists the regions as follows: Galar, Paldea, Kalos, Unova, Alola, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto." [4]

Meowth winced. "Oy vey. As a Kantoneon pokemon, I'd feel offended if it weren't so...accurate."

"Have YOU eaten pokemon before?" Grant asked with a frown.

"Noipe. Grew up in the city. Was a street rat and definitely starved a couple times, sure, but it's a little hard to get grub in the big cities. Bright side is that I never had ta worry about anyone tryin' to eat ME." He paused, then cringed. "Actually, wait, that's not true. I had ta deal with that ALL the time. Even fought with some other pokemon over the scraps I could find..."

"Freaky..." Chespin shuddered at the conversation topic. He then turned to Pikachu, who looked more uncomfortable than anyone else. "What about you, Pikachu?"

Pikachu's ears twitched and he averted his gaze. He frowned, staring intently at the ground. His silence was enough of an answer for the others to take the hint and switch gears in the discussion.

Surskit cast a sympathetic glance at the mouse and spoke up. "I feel like I should clarify that none of us should be shaming another pokemon for the choices they've had to make in the wild. Especially when it comes to something outside of their control." He gave a grateful look to his trainer and Vivillon. "I don't know what I would have done with myself if I didn't have the support of people and pokemon who'd give me a chance after my choices in my old home."

Viola gave a bittersweet smile to her pokemon, placing a gentle hand on Surskit for comfort. "I had no idea you've had to deal with this, Surskit. I'm glad I was able to give you a sense of safety, though."

Vivillon smiled in reassurance as well. "Always here for ya, Surskit. Even if you do drive me crazy sometimes." She giggled at the end.

"Same here." Jessie huffed haughtily, directing her comment toward Meowth, who gave her a grateful look.

"We're here for you too, old chum." James grinned with a wink.

"Me too!" Wobbuffet added with a salute. "I can't relate to your situation personally, but I'm always here to talk if you need to."

"Aww, thanks, guys." Meowth sniffed. "I love you crazy lugs..."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to get so mushy about it." Jessie crossed her arms and looked away, though she had a faint smile on her face.

"Ah..." Froakie muttered and glanced over to his electric typed teammate. "I do hope we didn't make you uncomfortable earlier."

Pikachu smiled ruefully. "No, not at all. I'm just...not used to these kinds of discussions, that's all."

Fletchling, deciding to dial back his sarcasm for this discussion, raised an eyebrow. "Really? Even if it's common in Kanto?"

"That's exactly WHY it's not talked about." Ash pointed out. "It's considered normal there. Me and Pikachu have been to other regions before and places like Hoenn or Sinnoh were pretty big shocks to us, at first." He paused. "Though, nothing could have prepared us for the culture shock that was Unova..."

"That...is really dark." Fletchling said, his voice higher pitched than normal. "Like, really dark. I'm sorry you've had to go through this kinda stuff-"

"Don't worry about it, Fletchling." Pikachu laughed, though there was a bit of pain behind it. "If we're talking overall, Kantoneon pokemon all haven't had the same...prey/predator type experiences. It just SEEMS common because of how the culture is."

"I see..." Froakie said, uncertainly.

Surskit looked over at Pikachu from where he sat and narrowed his eyes. He made a mental note to check up on the electric type later during lunch. Even if the mouse seemed experienced, he was still awfully young. Surskit had time to accept the decisions he's made in his past, whereas Pikachu, from what he could tell, didn't even want to think about it.

'That's not healthy...'  [5]

"Uh, hey, so, as cool as this whole conversation was..." Bonnie spoke up nervously. "...the episode has been paused for this entire time. Shouldn't we get back to, you know, watching it?"

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Oh, yeah." Serena blinked. "Almost forgot about that."

"On the bright side, a battle is about to start, so I don't think we'll provide much commentary there!" Inkay said cheerfully.

Ash warily looked around the room, feeling his trainer side speak up, and grinned. "I don't know about that..."

Ash put his Poke-dex back in his pocket and gave a determined look, "my first gym match in the Kalos region...I'll start with you, Pikachu!"

Pikachu gave out a shout of determination, as his cheeks sparked, "alright!"

"Ash chose Pikachu!" Bonnie observed excitedly.

"..." Onix let out a low groan and sank into the ground. "...I give up."

"Against a bug/water type like Surskit, an electric type like Pikachu has the advantage so far!" Clemont explained.

Pikachu facepalmed. "Wonderful. Just wonderful."

"You didn't do THAT bad." Surskit laughed.

"Yeah, yeah." Pikachu grumbled.

The referee raised her hand upwards before bringing it down dramatically, "now, begin!"

Dramatic battle music began to play as the "VS" screen from the first episode was shown, this time with Ash, Viola, Pikachu, Surskit, and two other Poke-balls.

"Pikachu, kick it off with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu glowed white as he tensed before launching off the ground and zig-zagging across the field, leaving a trail of after images behind him as he did so. "Let's go!"

"Protect!" Surskit shouted as he pointed the tip of his head forward, emitting a rainbow-like glow in front of her. The Protect shield stopped Pikachu right in his tracks before throwing him back in the air.

Pikachu let out a cry before Ash let out a command, "Iron Tail!"

Not missing a beat, Pikachu barely stepped on the ground and launched himself to the side once more, leaving a large cloud of dust behind him. Pikachu ran around the side of the battlefield, going around towards Surskit.

"Dodge!" Viola shouted just as Pikachu skidded around Surskit and launched himself into the air again, readying an Iron Tail. He swung his tail around as it glowed white before bringing it down...on the ground. A large cloud of dust and a few pieces of the ground erupted from the area that Pikachu had slammed his tail into.

Pikachu was shown in a slightly knelt down position before looking around him in confusion-watching Surskit, who was currently whisking his way around Pikachu in circles.

"Stop its movements with Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu jumped into the air and charged up an Electro Ball before launching it at Surskit.

"Surskit, Ice Beam!" Viola ordered, a smirk on her face.

Surskit launched an Ice Beam which met Pikachu's Electro Ball with a large explosion.

Bonnie and Clemont gasped dramatically. Clemont turned to Alexa in surprise when the latter spoke grimly, "my little sister is tough."

She then smirked, "he won't win that easily."

"Yeahhhh, I could tell." Ash rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I already was off my game before I entered the gym, I just didn't actually acknowledge it until later..."

"Off your game?" Grant asked curiously. 

Ash sighed. "Yeah. I just wasn't as focused as I usually am. I normally pay attention to my Pokemon but..." he winced here. "This time I didn't really do a great job of that. I wasn't in control of the battle in the slightest."

"That's right," Viola nodded. 

"That's surprisingly thoughtful of you, Ash." Clemont smiled. Then he blushed and amended his words. "Uh...not like I'm saying that you don't normally think, I just meant that this time was a bit more profound than the stuff you normally say-no, wait, that's not what I, ugh, ah, gah!"

Pikachu giggled. "Someone's fumbling. And I think he gets it. Ash can be an idiot-"

Ash cleared his throat in annoyance.

"Erm...he can be a little short-sighted, sometimes..." Pikachu laughed nervously. "But he really is a skilled trainer. Alexa's seen us battle before." 

Viola looked up contemplatively at the ceiling. "That must be why..."

"Hm?" Vivillon and Surskit looked over at her in confusion. 

The photographer shook her head. "Ah, no, nothing, never mind." 'That must have been why Alexa was so quick to defend Ash and Pikachu earlier today. She said our next battle would turn out differently...' She clenched her fist and a smirk made its way onto her face. 'Just HOW differently? Ash, I think you just got me pumped up for our re-match.' 

Viola's smirk mirrored her sister's. "Time to start the battle for real! Use Ice Beam on the field!"

Game-like music started playing as Surskit fired up another Ice Beam, reflecting it upwards to the ice bulbs hanging from the ceiling, causing blasts to fire everywhere.

Pikachu yelped in surprise as one nearly hit him and he stumbled backwards. He started running before he was cut off by another Ice Beam. He continued stumbling before getting back on his feet and gasping once more as the ice started surrounding him.

Ash let out a gasp as the field was shown from above, completely encased in ice.

Bonnie sharply gasped, "the field is frozen!!!"

"Stay relaxed, stay relaxed, stay relaxed..." Pikachu muttered as he struggled to stay standing on the ice. "Stay rela-" he let out a shout as he stumbled and fell backwards.

"Get up, Pikachu!" Ash said. Pikachu unsteadily picked himself up, sliding slightly on the ice.

Team Rocket exchanged snorts, then sank into their seats when they felt the glare of an irritated electric mouse on them. Yup. Now definitely did not seem like the time to have gripes over Pikachu's terrible performances despite his overwhelming reserves of power. 

Later, however...

"The ice studio is complete." Viola declared. "Slide, Surskit!"

Surskit was shown sliding towards Pikachu, the camera angle following him as he did so, the latter narrowly missing Surskit as he slid by.

Ash leaned forward, "pull yourself together! Iron Tail!"

Pikachu nodded in confirmation as his tail glowed, "Iron...Tail!" He struck Surskit right across the face as the latter charged at Pikachu, throwing Surskit backwards.

"Y'know, I could've electrified the field." Pikachu grumbled under his breath, to a level in which only Ash could hear him, albeit his two newer teammates were eavesdropping due to their close proximity. 

"Couldn't." Ash replied instantaneously. He frowned. "I...don't think ice is conductive..."

"We could've tried." Pikachu groaned.

"It's not," Fletchling said. He ruffled his feathers and perched on Ash's shoulder. "I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't understand why you two are so hung up over this. Isn't it only natural for you to make mistakes if you're just starting out?"

The duo blinked.

"Uh..." they intoned, causing Froakie and Fletchling to exchange a wary look...

"Surskit, keep going and use Ice Beam!"

Surskit quickly recovered before charging up another Ice Beam at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash cried out as the latter was shown slipping backwards before recovering himself.

Pikachu flipped backwards as he charged up a Thunderbolt, meeting Surskit's Ice Beam head on. The two attacks collided and directed towards the ground, causing Pikachu to be flown backwards. "Pikachu!" Ash cried.

"Now!" Viola cried. "Keep the target in focus and use Signal Beam!"

Surskit was shown spinning in the air before charging up a Signal Beam at Pikachu. The camera zoomed in on Pikachu's eye before panning out to show the field covered in yet another explosion.

A split panel: "Pikachu!" Ash cried, Bonnie and Clemont shown in shock.

Pikachu was thrown backwards as he slid on the ice, groaning as he did so.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" The referee declared. "Surskit wins!"

Ash dashed towards Pikachu and grabbed the latter in his arms, being as gentle as he could. "Pikachu! Are you alright?" His panicked voice waned to a more relaxed tone, "hang in there."

Pikachu opened his eyes slightly before letting out a quiet laugh, "sorry, Ash..."

Ash's face softened, "it's okay. You did your best. Thank you."

"It's been raised properly," Viola praised. "But it still has a long way to go before it can beat my Surskit." Ash was shown in the background setting Pikachu aside on the bottom stairs before going back to his spot in the Trainer's corner. [1]

"Hey, wait, wouldn't it make sense for Ash to put Pikachu in his Pokeball?" Chespin asked.

"No." Ash replied instantly. "I'm not going to disrespect Pikachu's boundaries like that."

"You don't like your Pokeball?" Tyrunt asked Pikachu curiously. 

Pikachu squirmed and gave a nervous grin. "Not really, no..."

"How come?" Serena asked.

"Uh..." Pikachu started, then looked up at his trainer for help. Luckily, Ash was ready with the assist. 

"He just doesn't like them." Ash defended firmly. "I don't think he's the only Pokemon who's like that."

"I actually don't know any Pokemon like that." Clemont commented without thinking. "Pokeballs are designed to be comforting...at least, I'm pretty SURE they're comforting."

"They're not." Pikachu grumbled. "Not to me."

Fletchling tossed the mouse a strange look. "Uhhh, seriously, du-OW!" He slumped over then looked over angrily at Froakie, whose paw was glowing. "What the hell?!"

"You're being annoying again," Froakie sighed. "To think, you were doing so well this episode..."

"You don't have to hit me!" 

"It's..." Froakie turned away slightly, as if holding back a snicker. "...SUPER effective."

Everyone stared at the frog. 

"I'm gonna be honest," Bonnie said dazedly. "That was actually better than Serena's Piloswine joke." 

Serena put her face in her hands and groaned. "We're really just gonna bring that up now, are we?" 

"Better than the previous topic..." Pikachu whispered. 

Ash smiled ruefully and stroked his starter's fur. He didn't blame Pikachu for getting so worked up while watching this episode. Uncomfortable reminders and uncomfortable conversations. Albeit, thinking about it, this IS just the first gym battle. Unless Kalos happened to be a slow region, he had suspicions that more stressful things lay in wait for the dynamic duo. Ash never really minded though. As long as he had his friends by his side, he felt on top of the world. His partner was a bit different, though.

"You're getting worked up again." Ash pointed out, causing Pikachu's ear to twitch slightly. 

The mouse took a deep breath. "Right, sorry...you're right, uh..." He slumped. "I need a sandwich. I'm hungry. Ash, I wish I could blame my appetite on you, but I think I just had this issue before I met you."

Ash snickered. "Honestly, buddy, same."

"Don't 'buddy, same', me..."

"Honestly, I think all my pokemon are like that." Ash snickered. "I'm betting on Fletchling and Froakie being the exact same way."

The duo in question looked over at hearing their names. 

"Eh?" Froakie said. 

"Are you talkin' crap?" Fletchling squinted and narrowed his eyes. 

Ash and Pikachu exchanged looks before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, definitely!" Pikachu chortled.

"...yeah, they're talkin' crap." Fletchling muttered. 

"I'll win, you'll see." Ash declared as he pulled out a Poke ball. "...with my newest pokemon! I'm counting on you, Fletchling!"

Fletchling materialized into the air letting out a bird cry, "ready, set, and prepared to beat!"

"Wow, Fletchling will be great! It can attack from above so the frozen ground won't do a thing!" Bonnie exclaimed.

The camera slowly panned over to the entrance of the gym battle as Clemont spoke. The gym doors slowly opened and Serena tentatively stepped inside. "A flying type like Fletchling has an advantage over Surskit too!"

"Uhn..." Serena made a noise and awkwardly looked around, then gasped when she saw Ash. The camera panned over to said trainer, who had a ridiculously big grin on his face. Serena burst into an open-mouthed smile. 'There he is! It's Ash!'

"Uh...Twerp." Jessie snickered. "What's with the look?" 

Ash groaned as the others tried to hold back their laughter.

Serena awkwardly looked to the side and twirled her hair. 'I look pretty weird in that shot too...'

Serena giddily ran up to the battlefield. Clemont and Alexa looked over, the former wearing a questioning look. "Can I help you?" Alexa asked.

"Oh!" Serena said. "I was kind of wondering if it would be okay if I could just watch them battle?" [6]

"Of course you can! Welcome!" Alexa replied.

"You can join us over here." Clemont said politely.

"Yeah, it's getting really awesome!" Bonnie cheerily said.

"That's so nice of you, thanks!"

"Okay, Fletchling!" The screen switched to Ash's determined face as he swung his hand in front of him. "Peck, let's go!"

"Andddd to the skies I gooo!" Fletchling flew up in a spiral, then shot down toward Surskit with his beak glowing. "PECK!"

"Kids." Onix sighed. "Always with the theatrics these days..."

Surskit shot him a funny look. "You always manage to find some way to complain, don't you?" 

"I blame Grant's movie night habits." Tyrunt supplied helpfully. 

At last second, Surskit managed to dodge, though Fletchling quickly caught his second wind and flew upwards.

"Now, use Ice Beam!" Viola called out.

"Iceeeee Beam!" Surskit yelled, shooting a beam of ice at the flying type.

"Dodge it!" Ash ordered. Fletchling complied, gracefully moving out of the way of each shot.

"Surskit, Sticky Web, go!"

"Fletchling, Double Team!"

Up in the ceiling of the gym, multiple Fletchling appeared, all echoing the cry of "Double Team".

Surskit, however, remained unphased and just made multiple shots of Sticky Web, albeit Fletchling was still able to get through them all.

"It dodged everything!" Clemont grinned.

Onix let out a loud groan and slumped forward, causing everyone to jump a food in the air.

"What the-OKAY WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY?!" Fletchling flailed wildly.

Fennekin put a paw on her forehead. "This...is getting annoying. Really fast."

"All right!" Bonnie cheered, then began pumping her fists in the air one by one. "Attack, attack, attack, attack!!!"

"Now, Fletchling! Use Razor Wind!"

"Razor...Wind!" Glowing slashes of energy were sent toward a shocked Surskit, who paled at the sight.

"Uh...oh." Surskit managed to squeak out before the mini-explosion hit. Viola let out a shocked gasp on one half of a split screen before the camera panned back to an unconscious Surskit.

"Surskit is unable to battle, Fletchling wins!"

"Alright!" Ash cheered.

"Hahahaha! Take that, tiny ice bug! Once again, FLETCHLING WILL FOREVER REIGN SUPREME!!!" Fletchling flew in circles in celebration.

While everyone else tossed the bird an odd look, Wobbuffet, for some reason lost to everyone else, just burst into hysterics on the floor. 

"Okay, it's official." Meowth scowled and crossed his arms. "Everyone here has lost their twoipy MINDS."

On the sidelines, the group cheered "All right!" in unison. Bonnie and Serena clapped their hands together excitedly.

"Did you see how totally awesome Ash battles?" Bonnie asked Serena excitedly.

"Mhm! I sure did!"

"Now both sides have one pokemon left. Ash just might win this!" Clemont said.

Viola returned her Surskit to his Pokeball and spoke softly to it. "Surskit, you did great out there. You deserve a good rest."

"Time to beat your other Pokemon." Ash smirked and pumped up his fist. "And get my hands on my first Kalos gym badge!"

"It's not going to be that easy!" Viola cut in with a frown. She held out Vivillon's Pokeball. "My gym leader pride's on the line. Let's do this, Vivillon!" [7]

"Someone's getting pumped." Grant teased, causing the bug type trainer to blush. 

"Ah, well...y'know..."

"I...am...readyyyy~!" Vivillon sang as she slowly lifted herself up to the skies.

"H-huh?" Ash blinked in confusion.

The screen cut to the 'Who's that Pokemon' segment, showing Vivillon's shadow. After a moment, it revealed...Vivillon.

Mysterious music played in the background as Ash asked, "who's THAT pokemon?"

A pokedex was held up to Vivillon. "Vivillon. The scale pokemon. Vivillon are skillfully able to find a source of water. It has been said that you'll find a spring if you follow a vivillon."

Bonnie blinked repeatedly. "Wow, I uh...guess I learned about Vivillon twice in a row." 

"Does...the information about springs really help in this battle?" Tyrunt asked. 

"Nope," Ash shrugged. "But the stuff that's said aloud isn't all that you look at. There's usually stuff at the side to pay attention to." He laughed nervously. "I may or may not ignore what it says sometimes to just look at a quick move and such. It depends on what I'm looking for." 

'Ash...' Everyone thought in dry amusement.

"Alright, Fletchling, Peck!" Ash wasted no time and called out to his flying type.

"Time for Take 2...Peck!" Fletchling called out and repeated the same maneuver he did as earlier.

"See, flying type moves are super effective against Vivillon." Clemont said with conviction in his voice.

Fletchling charged at Vivillon, but before he could hit his target...Viola called out, "Vivillon, use Psychic!"

Vivillon's eyes glowed and she sang out. "Psychic~!"

"AHH!" Fletchling yelled in pain as he was held in the painful clutches of the powerful psychic type move.

"Ah...! Not Psychic..." Ash gritted his teeth.

"Since I made an ice battlefield, I want you to experience what it's ALLL about!" Viola grinned.

Vivillon tossed Fletchling around with Psychic before slamming him into the ground, causing a large burst of icy clouds to release from the ground.

"Explosions again." Fennekin flicked her tail. "Battles are quite messy, aren't they?"

Serena giggled. "Seems so. It might not be our thing."

"Fletchling!" Ash called out in shock.

"AH!" Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie all exclaimed, while Alexa held a grim look on her face.

"Fletchling, you okay? Can you still fly?"

The camera panned over to Fletchling slowly rising from the icy particles that slowly faded away. "Y-yeah. I'm still in this!"

"Oh, woe is me." Fletchling sighed dramatically. He then glared at Vivillon. "I'm taking you down next time."

Vivillon smirked. "I look forward to it." 

"Alright!"

"Use Gust!" Viola called out and her pokemon complied, sending Fletchling crying out as he was swept away by the strong winds and into a Sticky Web net on the ceiling from earlier.

A three way diagonal split screen popped up. "Fletchling!" Ash called out in dismay in one corner.

"Ah!" Bonnie cried in the other.

"It's stuck in that Sticky Web!" Clemont observed.

Serena showed up in the bottom corner, turning the split screen into four. "Oh no!"

"Break free! You can do it, Fletchling!" Ash called out as the camera panned up to the struggling robin.

"Aghhh...!" Fletchling cried. "It's not working!"

"A picture perfect opportunity~!" Viola smirked as she held her hands up in a rectangular pose, as if she were holding a camera. "Vivillon, Solar Beam!!!"

Vivillon's wings glowed a golden color as energy drew into her from her surroundings. "Solar..." Her voice rose a few octaves as she called out her finishing move. "BEAM!!!"

The camera zoomed in on Fletchling's horrified face as the attack hit its target and caused a large and bright explosion. "AHHH!" Fletchling cried.

Ash grunted from the explosion and covered his face. "Oh no...Fletchling!"

"Ah..." Fletchling groaned as he plummeted to the ground. He bounced twice on the floor, then went still.

"Fletchling!!!" Ash cried.

Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena gasped in worry.

"Fletchling is unable to battle, Vivillon wins, which means the victor is Viola, the gym leader!" The referee called.

"Well, that was...fun to watch again, I guess?" Clemont said, confused. "I know some of us weren't there to see this battle, but it feels really weird watching past events."

"Actually..." Serena frowned. "Aren't we catching up to the present pretty fast?" She tightened her grip around the pillow she had on her lap for her starter to sit on comfortably. "We're going to actually see what the future holds for us pretty soon."

Silence reigned for a while after that. 

Viola smiled to herself in self-satisfaction and returned Vivillon to her Pokeball. "Thanks a lot, Vivillon."

"Oh no, Fletchling!" Ash ran over to his pokemon in worry. [8]

He gently picked his pokemon up from the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Fletchling spoke weakly.

"Ash!" Bonnie cried as she and Clemont approached, with an unconscious Pikachu in the latter's hands. [9]

"We need to get them both to the Pokemon center," Clemont said and handed the electric type over to Ash. "I'm afraid that battle put them through a lot..."

Ash looked down at his injured pokemon in dismay. He gritted his teeth then looked over at Viola. "I know I lost. But...I'll come back here stronger!" He looked at her in determination. "When I do...I hope you'll grant me a rematch."

"I'll be looking forward to it. Come back anytime." Viola replied kindly.

"Hmm..." Ash nodded in acknowledgement, then walked off. "Let's go."

Clemont, Bonnie, and Ash ran up the stairs as fast as they could. Serena awkwardly stepped toward them with Alexa. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a couple awkward sounds came out as Ash and the other two ran straight past her.

Serena looked down in sadness and made a small whining sound. Then she let out a soft, contemplative noise as she noticed Ash's backpack set up against the side of a tree. "Is that...?"

The scene transitioned to show the outside of a Pokemon center, with whimsical music playing in the background. "Nurse Joy, please take care of my Pokemon." Ash said in a voice-over.

The inside of the center was shown as a Wigglytuff carried a cart through the automatic doors of the center. She was muttering stuff under her breath. "Alright, so just came from a gym battle...should check for any scratches, maybe use Heal Bell..."

"Don't worry, Ash." Nurse Joy smiled at the teen. "They'll be all better in no time."

"...y'know, I don't think we should worry." Ash suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention. 

"Huh?" 

"That was...unrelated."

"No, yeah, I know." Ash waved the issue off. "The future thing Serena mentioned. I don't think we need to worry about it too much. Sure, it's a little scary to think about, but...it's not like it's set in STONE. Whatever's going to happen, we still have the power to change it or maybe it'll happen in a different way. Besides, we have our pokemon with us." Ash smiled down at his team. "I like to call it Pokemon Power, but Pikachu thinks its stupid." 

"Just this once, let's say it's not stupid." Pikachu grinned. 

"...I don't think it's stupid." Clemont said. "I agree." He looked down at Chespin and Bunnelby. "I know bonding with Bunnelby has given me strength before and...Chespin, while I don't know you that well, if I catch you in the future, I'm sure that we form a similar bond as well."

Chespin faltered, taken aback for a second. For once, he didn't have a dumb comment to say off the top of his head. "Oh, uh...yeah, thanks...inventor guy, uh...Clemont?"

"Clemont." Bonnie grinned in reply. "I agree with that too." 

"Have to agree with the Twerp, here." James smirked. 

"Juuuust this once," Jessie said, a light red dusting her cheeks as James' grin grew bigger. 

Ash simply let out a soft sigh.

The picture Viola took of Ash and Pikachu from earlier showed up on screen. "So, that's the picture you took of those two when they were on their way here?" Alexa asked.

The scene showed the two of them sitting on the couch in Viola's gym hallway of photography. "Mhmmm...isn't it a great shot, Alexa?"

"An excellent shot! You can really pick up the bond those two have with each other!"

"Oh, yeah!" Helioptile trilled in agreement.

"You're right..." Viola muttered. "Although, their battling wasn't all that powerful..."

"Don't underestimate them~" Alexa said in a sing-song voice as she turned away with a smirk. "I wouldn't be surprised if things are QUITE different the next time you battle him." Viola looked up at her older sister in surprise as the reporter continued speaking. "That's just the kind of trainer Ash is.

Alexa turned around and walked away. "...by the way, I'm going to go out for a little while. See ya."

"Bye, Viola!" Helioptile called out.

"Buuut...where are you going?" Viola questioned as the door closed.

"To help...THE ENEMY! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!" Bonnie cackled as she raised her fists to the sky. 

"To bring the downfall of our opponents!" Dedenne cried as well, also doing the same action as the young girl.

Clemont facepalmed. "Oh...boy..."

The camera panned over the Poke Center to the battlefield behind it. Clemont and Bonnie were sitting at some tables in the shade. Bonnie held out a food pellet to Dedenne, who took it gratefully. "Here, Dedenne! I hope you like it!" She laughed giddily as the pokemon ate it up hungrily. "Ohhhh, you're soooo cute, Dedenne!"

"It must have been really hungry." Clemont said, then frowned at a sudden shuffling noise in the background. He looked over to see Ash sitting on a bench in the distance, looking despondent as melancholy music played in the background.

"Yeah." Fletchling said dryly. "Battling does that to you."

"He...didn't battle." Fennekin said slowly. She closed her eyes. "Are you just never going to let your grudge go? You're the one who stole Dedenne's food!"

Surskit coughed awkwardly. "Imagine if that had been brought up in our earlier conversation about hunger and survival..." He muttered under his breath, so only Vivillon and Viola were able to hear him. 

"Not...sure if that would've been a good idea." Viola grinned nervously and invited the bug to sit more comfortably on her lap. 

'Viola totally crushed me in that battle...man, she's tough for a first gym leader...but I definitely could have done better...' A flashback showed Surskit skating around Pikachu, causing the mouse to stumble around, before he hit the mouse with a Signal Beam. Another flashback showed Fletchling getting hit by Vivillon's Solar Beam. 'What was I even doing?' Ash in the present clenched his fists.

Serena walked over, holding Ash's backpack, looking nervous.

'Pikachu and Fletchling weren't able to show their true strengths at all. If I had just done better...Fletchling would have definitely grown from this battle. But I don't know if he took anything from this...' He frowned deeper. 'I should've talked with Pikachu beforehand, too...I know he doesn't do well with new regional battles...augh! If I keep thinking like this...I can't win, no matter how many times I try...this is just Unova all over again, isn't it...?'  [10]

Ash's smile instantly morphed into a frown. He could feel, rather than see, everyone's questioning looks toward him. Deciding not to pay them any mind, however, he just continued watching. 

It didn't really do him any good to sit around moping about this kind of thing anyway, right? He took things at his own pace and did things in his own way. Ways to help him get stronger. To help his Pokemon get stronger. 

Unova sucked, yeah. But he also met a lot of amazing people and pokemon alike! That was always what had mattered to him more than anything else, but it still felt like a sore spot to think about professional-wise. 

"Uh..." Serena spoke up, breaking Ash out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the smiling girl holding his bag. "Excuse me...I think this is yours."

Ash blinked. "...oh! Guess I must've left it at the gym...hey, thanks!"

Clemont and Bonnie ran up to the two.

"Wow, you're that girl from before!" Bonnie said.

"Before?" Ash questioned.

"She was standing with us during your gym battle." Clemont explained.

"My name's Bonnie!" Bonnie introduced herself to Serena. "And this is my big brother, Clemont!"

"Nice to meet you," Clemont said politely.

"And say hello to Dedenne~!" Bonnie giggled as she gestured to the pokemon atop her head.

Serena giggled in turn. "Nice to meet you!"

"You...didn't introduce yourselves earlier?" Onix muttered from the floor.

Grant laughed. "Now, come on, Onix. Be fair. They were focusing on the battle at the time and...aerial battles are hard to keep up with. They were pretty much laser focused on it."

"So...kids, basically." Tyrunt snickered. 

"Well, what do you know..." Ash said. He turned to Serena with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, I was so busy battling, I didn't see you there!"

"Oh, that's...okay."

"My name is Ash!"

"Yeah," Serena nodded. "I know. Serena's my name." She leaned forward slightly. "Do you remember-?"

"Yup." Ash grinned. "But I don't think I was ready at the time, if the universe was any indication." 

Serena groaned. "Thanks, Ash..."

The teen laughed. "Don't stress about it, Serena. Sorry again for not remembering you at first. I can be a bit forgetful sometimes." 

"Ahhh...no worries, Ash." Serena said, nervously fidgeting with her hands underneath Fennekin's pillow. 

She was interrupted by the sound of the Pokemon center bell going off, signalling someone's pokemon was ready to get picked up.

The scene switched to Nurse Joy gesturing to Pikachu and Fletchling on the table in front of her with her hands. "Thank you for waiting, your pokemon are all healed up and feeling fine!"

Ash laughed joyfully as Pikachu and Fletchling jumped toward him.

"Hey, Ash." Pikachu winked. "Hope you didn't miss me too much."

"Nahh, he definitely missed me more." Fletchling chirped as he floated down to settle on Ash's other shoulder. "Especially with how absolutely AWESOME I am."

"Oh, you're definitely awesome, alright." Ash laughed and stroked the robin's wings, who beamed proudly. 

"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash said.

"It's my pleasure," she replied.

Ash turned to Serena. "Fletchling and Pikachu...this is Serena! She was with Clemont and Bonnie watching us battle!"

"Ooh, another human has joined the party to suffer!" Pikachu perked up. "Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you too! Glad there's another person to bask in my glor-" Fletchling did a double-take and glanced at Pikachu with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, what-?"

"..."

Pikachu blushed and his his face in his hands.

Ash facepalmed. 'Well, at least Pikachu's back to normal.'

"Hi, you two!" Serena smiled. "It's nice to meet you."  She then blinked in surprise as she looked behind Ash. "Hey, I just realized...Nurse Joy, how did you get past Route 4 without passing me?"

Ash grinned. "This is just a hunch, but I don't think that's the Nurse Joy you met on Route 4."

"JUST a hunch?" Pikachu snickered.