Chapter Text
As the bright morning sun shone upon Cerise Park, dozens of cheerful Pokemon began to surround Ash and Goh as they presented to them their bowls of Pokemon food. Standing by Ash and Goh’s sides were their partner Pokemon, Pikachu and Raboot. While these two Pokemon may have been complete opposites in personality, Pikachu being the friendly and energetic one and Raboot being a lot more reserved, they both equally loved their respective trainers.
“Morning gang!” Goh shouted with a friendly smile.
“Dig in, everyone!” Ash said as he and Goh placed the bowls down. The second the bowls were on the ground, all the little Pokemon gathered around them, before happily munching down.
“We’ve got plenty of food, so eat as much as you like,” Goh said. As he stood back up, he smiled gratefully at all his joyful Pokemon.
“They sure do love it here at the lab,” Ash commented.
“Pika, Pika!” Pikachu agreed.
“Yeah,” Goh remarked with a nod. “I love seeing their smiling faces every day.”
“Raboot,” Raboot muttered as it gave a calm, agreeing nod.
“I can’t wait to see which Pokemon you catch next!” Ash said.
“Me too!” Goh cheered. “I wonder where I’ll find them…”
Goh pulled his Rotom-possessed phone out of his pocket and glanced down at the screen. As soon as the lock screen popped up, a news article on his feed immediately grabbed his attention.
With a loud gasp, he announced to his friend, “Ash, this is big news!”
“What’s up, Goh?” Ash asked.
Goh enthusiastically showed his phone screen to Ash. “Professor Cedric Juniper just discovered new ruins in the Unova region!”
“Cedric Juniper?” Ash exclaimed upon hearing that familiar name.
“Uh-huh!” Goh confirmed with a grin. “They were discovered near Lentimas Town! They’re called the Black Ruins, and Cedric believes that Zekrom might be there!”
“No way!” Ash cheered while gazing at the photo shown of the ancient structure built with black bricks, as Pikachu swiftly climbed up to his shoulder. “And it looks just like the White Ruins where Cedric and I met Reshiram too!”
“Pika!” Pikachu cried in excitement.
Goh awkwardly chuckled. “Oh yeah, how can I forget…? You’ve met practically every Legendary Pokemon… Hold on! You mean to tell me you’ve met Cedric too?”
“I sure have!” Ash declared.
“Awesome!” Goh shouted. “What’s he like?”
“Oh, he’s awful…” Ash replied in a disgusted tone.
Goh blinked in complete shock. “W-What?”
Ash then smirked and winked at his friend. “-Ly good at faking people out.”
“Huh…?” Goh muttered with a perplexed stare.
Ash chuckled as he scratched his head. “See, when Cedric has something important to say, sometimes he pauses in the middle of his sentence and throws us off,” he explained. “I could never tell if he was doing that on purpose or not…”
“He sure sounds like quite the character…” Goh commented with a mixed smile.
“Raboot…” Raboot murmured, completely unamused.
“It would be awesome to meet him!” Goh remarked. “And to get the chance to meet Zekrom too!”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ash cheered, before raising his fist into the air. “Unova region, here we come!”
“Pikachu!” Pikachu cried enthusiastically as it leaped into the air.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Goh shouted as he raised up his fist along with Ash.
“Ra, Raboot,” Raboot said calmly with its paws still tucked in the pocket-like fur pouch on its stomach.
Upon their arrival in the bustling city of Nimbasa, Ash, Goh and their partner Pokemon marveled at the many colorful buildings and tourist attractions, including a massive Ferris wheel standing near the heart of the city.
“Nimbasa City!” Ash cheered. “It’s been a long time!”
“Pika! Pika!” Pikachu cried gleefully.
“No wonder Nimbasa City’s so well known for its Ferris wheel!” Goh remarked. “It’s enormous! Mind if we check it out?”
“Sure,” Ash replied.
“Alright!” Goh cheered as he began zooming in the Ferris wheel’s direction, with Raboot calmly but promptly following him. “Race ya there!”
“Hey, wait for me!” Ash shouted as he and his Pokemon both ran after Goh and Raboot.
But the Ferris wheel wasn’t all that was waiting for them there. Once Ash and Goh made it to their destination, they spotted a young man with long, light green hair who wore a black and white cap. As he turned around, he noticed Ash, then immediately smiled. “Ash, long time no see,” he said in a soft tone.
“Huh?” Ash responded in surprise as he and the rest of the group stopped running. He then recognized the young man’s face and beamed widely. “Hey, it's N!”
“Pikachu!” the little Pokemon cheered.
“N?” Goh repeated.
“Yeah,” Ash said. “He’s a friend who I traveled with for a while on my way to the White Ruins. N, this is my friend, Goh. He and I have become research fellows at the Cerise Laboratory back in Kanto.”
“N-Nice to meet you…” Goh muttered with a slight blush.
“Likewise,” N replied, before turning his gaze to Raboot. “And I take it this is your Pokemon?”
“Yeah,” Goh confirmed. “This is my partner, Raboot.”
“Raboot,” Goh’s Pokemon muttered with a brief wave.
N knelt down in front of Raboot, then gave it a gentle pet on its head, causing it to blush slightly in surprise. “Nice to meet you, my friend. I can tell you care about your trainer an awful lot.”
“Ra?” Raboot exclaimed as it widened its eyes, blushing even more. It then looked away while covering its pink cheeks with its fluffy ears.
“You can tell just by looking?” Goh asked.
“Oh yeah!” Ash said. “See, N has the power to hear the inner voices of Pokemon!”
Goh’s jaw dropped. He then gazed up at N as his eyes glimmered. “Wow, really? You can actually hear their voices?”
“Well, I may have just convinced myself that I can…” N replied. “But whether or not I can actually hear them doesn’t matter to me. What truly matters is that trainer and Pokemon come together as one.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Goh said with an eager nod.
“So, what brings you here to Nimbasa City, N?” Ash asked.
“Well, you see... I’m looking for a certain group of Team Plasma members who have recently been sighted nearby.”
“Team Plasma?” Ash exclaimed, recognizing that name from when he and N fought them at the White Ruins. “You’re kidding!”
“But I thought they were arrested!” Goh remarked.
“Yes, Ghetsis and his Team Plasma group were arrested,” N confirmed. “But this group is one who turned against Ghetsis years ago back when he first summoned Reshiram, and he revealed to everyone his true intentions. Up until that incident, Ghetsis had tricked many people, including some of his own team members, into thinking Team Plasma’s goal was to liberate people and Pokemon for the greater good. But his true goal was to use all the Pokemon he and his team liberated from their trainers to conquer the world with Reshiram by his side.”
“That Ghetsis sure is awful…” Goh commented, before turning to Ash. “Good thing you were there to stop him.”
Ash modestly scratched his head. “Well, it really wasn’t just me…”
Goh then turned his attention back to N. “But trying to liberate people and Pokemon… There’s no excuse for that either.”
“You’re right,” N agreed. “While there may be lots of cruel people out there in the world, people and Pokemon are meant to live together in harmony. That’s something I’ve learned on my travels. But it’s not something that this Team Plasma group has learned yet…”
Ash and Goh dejectedly lowered their heads.
“Now why don’t we change the subject to something a little lighter?” N suggested. “I’d love to hear what you two have been up to as of late.”
“Sure!” Ash replied.
“Pikachu!” Pikachu cheered.
“Hey, why don’t we talk on the Ferris wheel?” Goh suggested.
“That would be delightful,” N replied with a relaxed, but eager smile.