“So, you see, we need to head out on a journey if we are to find our way home. I hope you understand why we have to leave,” Twilight finished explaining things to Professor Oak.

“So wait. You're telling me that you all saw the mythical Mew and that they told you to go on a journey in exchange for going home?” Professor Oak asked for clarity.

“Isn’t that what Twilight just finished saying?” Spike asked the Professor.

“Well, this sounds very incredible. If it really will help you, of course you all can go on a journey. As for the Pokemon, there are some Pokemon staying at the lab. Maybe you can find some that want to go with you,” Professor Oak offered.

“Sounds like a plan! Snivy, do you want to come with me?” Rainbow Dash asked the grass snake she was holding, who proceeded to nod. “Great! We’re going to be partners!” Rainbow proceeded to hug Snivy. “What about the rest of you?”

In response, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity went outside to look for Growlithe, Poliwag, and Slowpoke. As for Twilight and Fluttershy, they stayed inside.

“Um, excuse me, but I don't know if there are any Pokemon for me. I got along with a lot of them, but none particularly stood out,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah. What should I do for a Pokemon?” Spike asked.

“I was just wondering the same thing, myself,” Twilight said. “I did become friends with a Bulbasaur, but I don’t know if it would be right to take her with me when you have new Trainers coming to get their Starter Pokemon.”

“I know the Bulbasaur you are talking about. I pulled some strings and I was able to get a second Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. So, if they want to go with you guys, you can have them join you,” Professor Oak explained. “But, before you go, can you please help me with a few Pokemon real quick?”

“Why, of course! We’d be glad to help you,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Well, you see, it has to do with these three Pokemon here,” Oak said as he recalled three Pokemon; a blue penguin named Piplup, a green turtle named Turtwig, and a chimp named Chimchar. “You see, one of the residents of Pallet Town used to be from the Sinnoh region, and I decided to surprise them and give them the choice to select a Sinnoh starter. I need you guys to watch over them while I go out and find the Kanto starters for you all. Good luck!”

“So, do you think they like it here?” Rainbow Dash asked, not knowing what to say.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that if they were bothered they would say something,” Fluttershy retorted.

“Hate to break it to ya, Fluttershy, but Pokemon can’t speak like we do,” Rainbow Dash bluntly said.

“Well, actually, I can understand what Pokemon say, just like I can understand animals,” Fluttershy corrected. The Turtwig proceeded to speak. “Oh, Turtwig says that he is hungry. It may be best that we get Pokemon food ready for them.”

“Well then, let’s get them some food,” Twilight said.

And so the group of four fed the three starter Pokemon. At first, there were no problems and the Pokemon looked very happy to get the food. However, eventually, the Chimchar finished his food and then proceeded to steal food from Piplup, much to Piplup’s anger. The two got into a fight and eventually fled the lab.

Just before the group could think about what to do, Professor Oak returned with the three
Kanto starters as well as a woman of eighteen years with blue hair.

“We’re terribly sorry, sir, but the Chimchar and Piplup got into a fight while you were gone and I’m afraid they got out of the lab,” Twilight apologized.

“Well then, looks like we’ll have to go out and search for them then,” Professor Oak responded.

“Sir, if you don’t mind, can I please go with you? This has to do with my possible starter Pokemon after all,” The woman reasoned.

“Well, alright. But we’ll have to move quickly. Otherwise, we may lose them,” Professor Oak agreed to let the girl go with them.

Everyone went out to look for the starters and, after a bit of searching, were able to find both Chimchar and Piplup. Apparently, the woman, whose name was Dawn, had found the Piplup only for it to be captured by the bug-type Ariados. After some fighting, the two escaped the many Ariados and returned to the lab while Ash, who had just arrived at the lab to pick up Pikachu, had found Chimchar and brought him back to the lab. Upon returning, Dawn decided to pick Piplup as her starter while Ash picked up Pikachu under Professor Oak’s suggestion. Predictably, Pikachu didn’t want anything to do with Ash and was zapped by the electric-type.

Meanwhile, The Mane 6 and Spike had gathered together and had their Pokemon ready to go on a journey. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity had convinced their three Pokemon to pair up with them on a journey. As for Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike, they each paired up with Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander respectively.

Just as the Mane 7, Ash, and Dawn were about to leave, the other three new Trainers had arrived in order to get their starter Pokemon. The first to arrive was a woman named Leaf, who went with Bulbasaur. The second to arrive was a man named Damian, who went with Charmander. While Leaf appeared to be strange, she didn’t seem to be too bad towards Bulbasaur. However, Damian appeared to only pick Charmander because he considered him to be the strongest.

After a while, the final of the new Trainers arrived, going with Squirtle seeing as how it was the only starter left. “Make way, everyone! The best Trainer in all of Kanto coming through!” The Trainer, whose name was Gary Oak, announced to the crowd outside of the lab.

“Hey! Isn’t it a bit much to assume you’re the best? How do you know it may not be me or someone else?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Well, aren’t you a card? You see, with a legacy like my grandfather’s it only makes sense that I’m going to be the best, if not now then soon enough,” Gary responded mockingly.

Rainbow Dash just sat there growling until Gary noticed Ash. “Oh, if it isn’t Ashey boy. Long time no see. So, I’m guessing that you’re going on a Pokemon journey,” Gary guessed.

“Well, yeah.. I have a starter Pokemon and everything. Of course I’m gonna go on a journey,” Ash said, not getting at what Gary was saying.

“Well, I was just thinking you were gonna give up and returning home to your mommy considering that you can barely manage to take care of yourself,” Gary mocked.

“Grr, Gary!” Ash yelled angrily.

“Well, I’ve wasted enough time here with my admiring fans. Everyone, I’m gonna leave for my journey now! When I get back, I’m gonna be a master!” Gary yelled out as he got into a car of admiring cheerleaders and drove off with Squirtle.

“I can’t believe that Gary! I can take care of myself and my Pokemon! It may not be easy to deal with Pikachu, but I’ll find a way,” Ash muttered to himself.

“So, I take it that you and that boy are not on the best of terms?” Applejack asked.

“No. We’re not. We’ve been rivals for the longest time. I’ve tried to be nice to him, but he still has an ego larger than the sun,” Ash answered as he shook his head.

“So, what do you plan to do as a trainer?” Dawn asked Ash.

“I plan on becoming a Pokemon Master. I plan on starting by collecting eight gym badges and entering the Indigo Plateau Conference in order to prove myself as a great trainer,” Ash answered.

“Sounds cool! I, meanwhile, plan on becoming a Pokemon Coordinator and entering the Grande Festival,” Dawn explained.

“Oh, I heard about that! You show off the beauty and strength of your Pokemon and win a ribbon for doing so. Five ribbons and you’re in!” Rarity revealed.

“That’s right, Rarity. However, there are two different types of rounds,” Twilight began only for Dawn to interrupt.

“Yeah! There is the appeal round where you show off your Pokemon and what makes them great while the following rounds are battles where you face off against an opposing Pokemon and make the show your own,” Dawn finished. “So, anyway, what are you all planning to do on your journeys?”

“Well…,” Twilight began only for Pinkie Pie to interrupt.

“We’re going to go out and help save the world! In the meantime, Rainbow Dash wants to aim for the Indigo Plateau as well while Rarity wants to try Contests and Twilight wants to also take part in the Indigo Plateau!” Pinkie Pie answered. “I’ll just have fun with my Pokemon and cheer on my friends.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. For now, I just want to find as many Pokemon friends as I can,” Fluttershy answered.

“I never really thought about what I’d do, to be honest,” Applejack bluntly said.

“Well, that sounds cool! I wish you luck on your journeys!” Dawn said just as she was walking away. However, she stopped suddenly and asked, “Hey, maybe we can go on our journeys together? It would be fun to go on a journey with other people rather than go it alone.”

“You know what? That sounds like a good idea! Besides, the more the merrier! What do you all think?” Twilight asked Spike and the Mane 5, who all nodded in agreement.

“What about me? Can I come too?” Ash asked everyone.
“Of course you can come!” Rainbow Dash agreed.
“Is everybody ready?” Applejack asked to be sure.

“I think so! We’ve got food, Pokeballs, tents, a map, and other important things from when I last checked,” Spike answered, having helped Twilight pack their bags earlier that day.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road!” Pinkie Pie yelled out.

“Ash? Are you sure that there isn’t a train or something we can take to the next town?” Rarity asked.

“Last I checked, no. We have to go on foot,” Ash answered as he was pulling Pikachu by a rope while wearing rubber gloves since he refused to walk with him and his friends.

“Hey, don’t worry, Rarity. At least this way we get to meet new Pokemon,” Fluttershy consoled.

“Yeah, I guess. At least when we head to sleep later I’ll be able to nod off in my tent rather than on the cold ground,” Rarity was relieved.

“Personally, I hope to reach the next town before night falls,” Dawn said.

“Well, we don’t know if we will get there on time or not. In my experience, nature is a lot more interesting than you give it credit for,” Applejack put in her two cents.

“I agree with Applejack. I just wish Pikachu would move with us willingly,” Ash said. “Maybe I should give Pikachu the chance to get used to me and not feel forced to come with me.” As Ash said this, he removed his rubber gloves and untied Pikachu. “So, feel any better Pikachu?” Pikachu merely looked away from Ash. “Aw, come on! We just want to be your friend. Why can’t you just be nicer to us?”

“You know, if Pikachu isn’t really working with you, you can always just return him to his Pokeball,” Dawn suggested.

“I’m afraid Pikachu doesn’t like being in his Pokeball. I’ve come to accept it as some Pokemon are just like that,” Ash responded.

“Should we take a break for lunch or…,” Twilight suggested.

“I guess we can break for lunch. What do you all think?” Spike asked the others. After a moment of consideration, everyone took a break in order to eat and take a break from walking.

While everyone was eating, they took some time to talk about where they were going to go next.

“So, where is the closest gym located at, anyway? The Kanto region is so big that I don’t know where to start,” Rainbow Dash asked, half-joking.

“From what I’ve heard from Professor Oak, the nearest gym that is active is in Pewter City, which is past Viridian City and the Viridian Forest. There is supposed to be a gym in Viridian City, but it’s closed,” Ash answered for Rainbow Dash.

“Sounds cool! Maybe we’ll catch some more Pokemon on the way there. I love Snivy and all, but I really want to find some more fighting buddies to train with,” Rainbow Dash said as Snivy gave a nod in agreement.

“Just don’t train too much. Wouldn’t want you gettin’ hurt because you got too overeager,” Applejack reminded.

“Aw man! I should have made a good luck cake for all of us before we left Professor Oak’s lab!” Pinkie Pie was disappointed.

“To be fair, that’s likely for the best seeing as how your bags don’t have room for cake in them,” Dawn commented.

“What about the next Pokemon Contest? Where do you think it is going to be at?” Rarity asked Twilight and Dawn.

“Well, the nearest Contest is going to be in Cerulean City in a few weeks,” Twilight answered.

“I’m already looking forward to it! Soon, I’m going to begin my journey to being a Top Coordinator! Oh, and you too Rarity!” Dawn cheered.

“So, where do you think the Pokemon are at? I haven’t seen very many of them since we first started down this road,” Fluttershy asked, confused and disappointed by the lack of Pokemon.

“Well, we may or may not see any depending on the path we take,” Ash pointed out. “Still, I wish we ran into at least one Pokemon.”

Before Ash could say anything more, a purple and tan monkey with a hand on her tail swung from a tree and swiped one of the rice balls the group had out and ate it.

“What? An Aipom! Here? Now?” Ash was shocked as he got up to see the monkey swing again, this time grabbing his hat.

“An Aipom, huh? I wonder what the Pokedex has to say about you,” Twilight said as she got our her Pokedex and scanned the Long Tail Pokemon.

“Aipom. The Long Tail Pokemon. Aipom are known for living in the trees and can use their tails, which are incredibly strong, in order to climb and hang from branches.”

“Hey! Get back here with my hat, Aipom!” Ash yelled as he ran after the monkey-like Pokemon. After some running and entering a clearing, the Long Tail Pokemon stopped and threw that hat down at Ash while poking fun at him.

“Well, we’ll see how gets the last laugh! Pikachu, you game?” Ash asked only to realize that Pikachu didn’t follow him nor would he have listened even if he did. “Oops. I’ll just leave you here. Thanks for my hat back.”

As Ash left, Aipom jumped up and down excitedly on the tree branch she was on before going after him.

By the time Ash got back, everyone else had finished eating and were ready to continue their trek to Viridian City.

“So, how did it go?” Pinkie Pie asked Ash when he returned.

“Well, I got into a clearing before realizing that Pikachu wasn’t with me or that I had any means of fighting the Pokemon so I just let her go,” Ash answered.

“Oh. Well, hopefully our next encounter with a Pokemon goes better,” Rainbow Dash said. “In fact, I think I see one right now.” Rainbow said as she saw a shadow enveloped bird Pokemon nearby. “Alright! Snivy, use Vine Whip on that bird!”

Snivy complied with Rainbow’s command, whipping the Pokemon. However, instead of going down, the bird, which was called a Spearow, emerged from the grass furious with Snivy and Rainbow. It didn’t help that Ash’s Pikachu began to laugh at the pair’s misfortune, which made Spearow even more angry. In fact, Spearow landed a super-effective Peck attack on Snivy, which hurt her quite a bit. Pikachu combatted the Spearow when it tried to Peck him with his Thundershock. At this, Spearow fell to the ground and then ran off.

“See? We’re able to take on anything that gets in our way!” Rainbow boasted.

“Really? From where I’m standing it looks like Pikachu did all the hard work,” Dawn pointed out.

Rainbow was quick to fall over comically. “Well, we’ll catch the next Pokemon that we come across.”

“Maybe not the next Pokemon we come across,” Dawn nervously said.

“Really? Why not? I think we can capture any Pokemon that’s willing to come with us,” Fluttershy asked.

“B-Because of that!” Dawn pointed at a huge swarm of Spearow and a Fearow that was called by the Spearow from earlier.

“Pikachu, use Thundershock!” Ash cried out as Pikachu, sensing the danger, complied and shocked the Spearow swarm. However, there was too many Spearow for the Thundershock to stop the swarm in its entirety. The others, aside from Twilight and her Bulbasaur and Rainbow and her Snivy, sent out their starter Pokemon and tried to fight off the Spearow swarm. The group did a decent job at fighting them off, lowering the swarm from what seemed like hundreds down to only a couple dozen. However, by this point, all the Pokemon were exhausted. Rather than take their risk with the swarm, the group ran away so that they could save themselves and their Pokemon from harm.

The swarm, however, wasn’t done with the group and decided to fly after the group, attacking all the while. The group and their Pokemon proceeded to dodge the pecks as best as they could, and while they did a good job for the most part, they still got hurt, especially Ash’s Pikachu who Ash needed to pick up and run with. Eventually, the group reached a cliff where there was a raging river in the area beneath them.

“Oh no! What should we do?! We’re cornered!” Dawn cried out, worried.

“Well, there may be one way out of this. We’ll need to jump into the water and hope it takes us to safety,” Ash suggested.

“No offense, Ash, but that sounds like a risky idea,” Applejack said.

“I agree. Whos to say we won’t get injured or lose our supplies when we jump into the raging river,” Rarity agreed.

“Besides, we’re not wearing our swimwear and I’d rather not get my hair or clothes wet,” Dawn pointed out.

“I’d say that we take the risk that Ash is suggesting. After all, do we want to be pecked to death by these Spearow and the Fearow?” Rainbow Dash agreed with Ash’s plan.

After a moment of thinking, the group reluctantly agreed with Ash’s plan and decided to jump into the water, just barely avoiding the swarm.

Meanwhile, an eighteen year old red-head named Misty wearing a blue swimsuit was under the water later on down the river. She was searching for Water-type Pokemon that she could add to her party. You see, Misty’s dream is to one day be the greatest Water-type Trainer and Gym Leader in the world. To meet that goal, Misty is in need of capturing as many different Water-types as she could.

Finding no luck in finding any unique Water-types, Misty got out of the water next to her bag and bike and was ready to change back into her normal clothes. However, before she could do so, she saw a bunch of people and Pokemon trying their best to stay above the water, some doing better than others. Seeing Pikachu having fallen unconscious, Misty jumped back into the water and brought out the Mouse Pokemon.

“Oh my! Are you okay, Pikachu?” Misty asked the poor Pokemon in concern.

“I don’t know about Pikachu, but I think the rest of us are doing okay,” Ash responded to the red-haired woman.

“I don’t know what happened to you all earlier, but I can’t believe what bad shape your Pokemon appear to be in!” Misty scolded.

“We’re sorry. We’re new trainers that got into trouble with some Spearow and a Fearow miss…” Fluttershy began to apologize.

“Misty. Misty Waterflower. I have to say though that you could do a better job at being trainers if you got into trouble so easily,” Misty bluntly said.

“Hey! That was very rude of you to say!” Dawn yelled back.

“Yeah! We were just trying to find our way to Viridian City when we ran into trouble! You can’t fault us for being new!” Rainbow yelled as well.

“I’m sorry about that. You see, I can be a bit easily angered. I wasn’t trying to be mean,” Misty apologized.

“Hey, do you want me to make you a baked treat in order to commemorate our meeting?” Pinkie Pie offered.

“I guess maybe later?” Misty awkwardly accepted.

“So, Misty, can you tell us how to get to Viridian City so that we can get out of your hair?” Twilight asked.

“Sure. Just head down this path and you’ll be there within an hour,” Misty answered.

“Oh, thank goodness! I’ll be able to rejoin civilization before nightfall,” Dawn sighed in relief.

“And we’ll be able to change into a warm pair of pajamas,” Rarity agrees with Dawn.

Suddenly, the group heard the cries of the Spearow and Fearow as they had finally found and caught up with them.

“Oh no! This is bad! We need to get away from them. Excuse me, Misty, but can I borrow your bike?” Ash asked the red-head. However, before she could give a response, Ash put Pikachu in the basket, got onto the bike, and rushed off to try and avoid the bird Pokemon.

“Hey! Get back here with my bike!” Misty demanded as she put on her normal clothes over her swimsuit and ran after Ash.

“Well, looks like Ash got himself into some trouble. We should catch up to make sure that Misty doesn’t hurt him,” Dawn decided as the others agreed and the group ran after them.

”Just hang on now, Pikachu, we're almost there,” Ash said as he raced down the path in the rain to try to get Pikachu to safety and escape the swarm. However, eventually the swarm caught up to them and the bike was knocked over, sending them both to the ground.

“Pikachu! Pikachu... this can't happen,” Ash was worried as he placed Pikachu’s Pokeball next to him. “Pikachu, get inside. I know you're afraid of going in there, but if you're inside, maybe I can save you. Please, Pikachu, please listen to me and go inside. After that, then -- After that, just trust me!” Ash got up and walked towards the Spearow and Fearow, planning to defend Pikachu, even if it meant sacrificing himself. “Spearows, do you know who I am? I'm Ash, from the Town of Pallet. I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokémon Master. I can't be defeated by the likes of you. I'm going to capture and defeat you all! Do you hear me?” Ash yelled to the Pokemon. “Pikachu, go inside the Pokéball, it's the only way! Come and get me!” Suddenly, Pikachu got up and ran toward Ash and jumped off his shoulder. Pikachu mustered as much power as he could in order to create a powerful Thundershock. The attack managed to hit the Pokemon, causing them all to flee, except for the Fearow. However, a quick Focus Punch from the Aipom from earlier was enough to send the Fearow packing as well.

Aipom approached Pikachu and Ash, who were both lying on the ground exhausted. “Well, we beat 'em.” As a way of showing that Pikachu is no longer against Ash, he proceeded to lick Ash’s face gently. “Oh, and I guess that Aipom also helped us out. Say, do you want to come with us, Aipom?” At this, Aipom nodded as Ash got out a Pokeball and threw it at Aipom, with the purple monkey being sealed in moments later. “Alright! We’ve got an Aipom!” Ash cheered as Pikachu and Ash made a “V” shape with their hands. Before they could celebrate having a new Pokemon much more, the duo noticed a mysterious rainbow and golden colored Pokemon flying through the sky. “What's that? Is that a… Ho-Oh?” Ash wondered as the Pokemon disappeared, leaving Ash to pick up Pikachu and race off to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City once more.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long to post another chapter. I'm starting to get back into Pokemon, though, so I should be trying to post more chapters soon. Enjoy the chapter, though. If you have any suggestions please let me know.