"You seriously never heard of the Ponymon League? I'll explain it to you," Misty said. "To enter the Ponymon League competition, you'll need eight badges, the first is at Pewter City, a Rock Type gym. The gym battles are usually 2 on 2 or 3 on 3. In official matches, you'll sometimes need to battle with two Ponymon out, but mostly it would usually be one."

Ash smiled and had a competitive feeling swelling up inside him. "I get it now!" he said joyfully.

"I'm glad you understand. Now all you need is two Ponymon." A Caterpie crawled up to them. "Ash look!"

Ash turned to the Caterpie. "I never seen that before." He turned on his Ponydex. "Analyze!" The Ponydex beeped on and shown the info of Caterpie.

"010 - Caterpie is a Bug Type Ponymon. Its short feet are tipped with suction pads which enable it to climb trees at tireless speeds. First one met - Level 6."

Ash got out a Ponyball. "This one should be easy to catch. Ponyball, Go!" He threw his Ponyball at the Caterpie. It bounced off it and opened up turning the Caterpie into red light. The Ponyball closed and hit the ground. It wobbled for a short time, but clicked shut. Ash picked the Ponyball up. "Alright, I caught my first Ponymon!"

Misty smiled. "I think we should split up to cover more ground in this forest. If I catch another Ponymon, I'll bring it to you Ash."

"Thanks Misty," Ash replied before walking into the Viridian Forest.

"Good luck on finding one!" Misty called before walking in another direction.

An hour passed. Ash saw many different Bug Type Ponymon like Metapod, Weedle, and Kakuna along with the common Pidgey every once in a while. Misty didn't find a lot of strong Ponymon or rare sites because the area she was in was overpopulated with Pikachus. Ash soon flew up a tree to get a better look. He saw a Pidgeotto fly down to the ground. He went over to it and his Ponydex gave him info on it.

"017 - Pidgeotto is a Normal and Flying Type Ponymon and is the evolved form of Pidgey. It is very protective of its area and will fiercely peck any intruder. First one met - Level 18."

"This one is a bit harder to catch normally, I better use my Ponymon to battle this," Ash said to himself.

The Ponydex then gave him a helpful tip. "Remember, Flying Types are weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock Types, but are strong against Bug, Grass, Ground, and Ghost Types."

"Then I choose you, Pikachu!" He threw Pikachu's Ponyball and Pikachu came out in a flash of white light that solidified.

"Pikachu!" it cried. Pidgeotto suddenly used Quick Attack on Pikachu which hit.

"That Pidgeotto is fast, but let's see how fast it can really be. Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged up and sent out a lightning bolt at Pidgeotto, weakening and paralyzing it. "I've got you now Pidgeotto!" Ash threw a Ponyball at Pidgeotto. The Ponyball caught it with no problem. It hit the ground and didn't wobble. It clicked, showing that Pidgeotto was caught. Ash cheered at catching his second wild Ponymon.

Pikachu also cheered because it has a new friend. "Pika-Pika, Pikachu!"

"Now all we have to do is try them out in a battle Pikachu," Ash said to his starter.

"Pika!" replied his Pikachu.

"Like that's gonna happen," said a familiar voice.

"We still have a score to settle!" said another.

"I know those two!" Ash said instantly recognizing Jessie and James.

"To protect Equus from devastation. To unite all-- blah, blah, blah, skip the motto."

"What do you two want this time?" Ash said as his Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"We thought back from when you previously defeated us," Jessie said to Ash, "and now we want your Pikachu."

"Forget about it! You can easily find one in this forest!"

"Your Pikachu is stronger than you think," James started explaining. "It was able to defeat Koffing due to its special ability. The static ability allows your Pikachu to paralyze the opponent by it using a Physical Move."

Jessie glared at James. "Stop that, you're making him feel more confident about himself."

"Sorry..." James replied gloomily.

"Ponymon Battle Time! Ekans, go!" Jessie threw her Ponyball.

"Koffing, you two!" James threw his as well. Both opened up and Koffing and Ekans appeared.

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash threw Pidgeotto's Ponyball. It opened with Pidgeotto feeling much better after battling Pikachu. "I've got a good strategy to beat you two!"

"We have one too," Jessie replied. "Ekans, wrap Pikachu up!" Ekans started heading for Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack now!" Pikachu slipped through Ekans and tackled it from the middle of the body. "Nice job Pikachu!"

"We're not through yet, Koffing Smokescreen!" Koffing started emitting smoke at Pikachu and Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, Gust!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings real fast causing the smoke to reverse back at Team Rocket and blow Koffing back to James. "Pikachu, Thundershock!" Pikachu charged up and sent a strong lightning bolt at Team Rocket. Koffing lit up again.

BOOM!

Team Rocket was sent flying out of the Viridian Forest. "How could this happen? Our plan was soaring!" Jessie said.

"Yeah, but we're the ones that are soaring!" James replied. "Do you wanna say it or should I?"

"Let's say it together."

"Oh fine!"

"Looks like, Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they said in unison before disappearing.

Twinkle!

Misty came running to Ash. "Is everything alright Ash?" she asked worried.

Ash nodded. "Everything is fine Misty, why do you ask?"

"I just saw an explosion in the distance and wanted to know if you were hurt." Misty suddenly noticed Ash's Pidgeotto. "Hey, what's with the bird?"

"It's the new Ponymon I caught after you left. Isn't it amazing?"

Misty smiled at him. "Now you're able to compete in gym battles and start collecting the gym badges!"

Ash tried to hold his excitement. "ALRIGHT!" he yelled out in joy.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu called out in a cute way as Pidgeotto gave out a strong battle cry.

"Shall we go to Pewter City for our first gym battle?" Ash asked.

"It's a good place to start," Misty replied. Ash gave out another joy-filled smile and walked ahead.

Up ahead at the exit to the Viridian Forest, Team Rocket plans another sinister plot to steal Pikachu. "Alright," said Jessie. "Our next trick should be to try and dig a hole deep enough so that pegasus would fall in and will have to give us his Ponymon. Of course we need to cover it up as well. Besides, if they're heading to Pewter City they have to go this way."

"I'm way ahead of you Jessie," James replied. "I made a hole and covered it up, but I can't remember where I placed the trap." The two Cohorts walked around until they both felt like they were sinking. "Oh, now I remember! I placed it right below us!" He smiled innocently.

Jessie gave an angry glare at him. "RIGHT BELOW US!?" she yelled. "YOU DO REALIZE THAT WE DON'T HAVE WINGS!"

"We always have our Ponymon to get us out." Jessie and James then fell into their own trap.

"Looks like Team Rocket's Falling Down again!" they said as they fell.

Author's Note

Sorry about the long wait. I finally got time to finish a few tweaks before showing this chapter. If you spot any plot holes, I'll be glad to fix/explain them.

References: Pokémon Chronicles