A New Kind of Journey: Kanto (Inconsistent Updates)

Chapter 5: Preparations

Delia looked up as Ash and Serena walked into the house. "How did it go?" she asked. Ash replied, "It went great! Serena got to meet my Pokémon, and Gary and Misty showed up too!" "I had a great time!" Serena interjected. "Even if I did see Ash almost get trampled by a herd of Tauros." Delia laughed, knowing the story, then turned back to Ash. "So Ash, I was tidying up your room and noticed that your clothes seem a little small for you," she said. Ash shrugged. He had grown a lot in Galar, and he'd already had to buy new clothes as he outgrew the ones he'd already had, and he was aware that his clothes didn't fit him as well as they used to. Delia continued, "So are you going to go get some new ones?" Ash nodded, and Delia turned to Serena. "And I have a feeling you'll want to go with him?" Serena blushed, but nodded.

After breakfast, Ash and Serena left for Viridian City. Along the way, they talked some more about their individual journeys. They were almost there when Ash stopped. He felt excited, but had no idea why. The strange sensation he'd felt at the Pokémon Lab had returned. Along with the excitement, he felt something else. A strange sense of longing. Then it was gone. Serena turned to him. "Are you okay?" she asked. Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts and responded, "Yep, never better." He put on a fake smile, but Serena smiled in return, and they continued. Ash kept thinking about what might have caused the sensation, and although she pretended not to, Serena knew something was wrong.

When they got to the city, they found Viridian Mall and made their way to a clothing store Serena recommended. Ash looked around for a while before deciding on light blue jeans, a black shirt, a blue vest, and brown fingerless gloves. "How do I look?" he asked Pikachu. "Pika!" came the affirmative response. Serena grabbed a few things and asked Ash to stand guard while she changed. When she came out, Ash's mind went blank. She was dressed in a white sports tee, purple shorts, black and yellow hi-tops, thigh-length black stockings, and gloves like Ash's, but light grey instead of brown. The look suited her very well, and the combined effect robbed Ash of the ability to think coherently. Serena looked a little confused. "Is it that bad?" she asked. Ash shook his head. "No, you look amazing," he said, causing Serena to blush. She'd gotten more or less used to this, but when Ash said something like that, it still made her cheeks redden.

They paid for the clothes and stopped at the food court for a late lunch before heading back to Pallet town. On the way back, Ash got a call from Gary. "Yeah?" he asked, putting the phone to his ear. "Hey Ash," Gary began. "Your Kalos Pokémon are getting riled up." Ash stopped. "Riled up how?" he inquired. "I'm not sure," Gary answered. "They're running around, calling out. They seem to be searching for something." Ash thought about this, then said, "I'll be right there," and hung up. "Something's wrong," he said, and started running. "Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted, taking off after him. "Wait!" Serena yelled running after them. "What's wrong?"

They were almost to Pallet Town when a huge mechanical arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed Pikachu. "Pika!" he yelled in alarm. Ash stopped so fast his feet skidded on the ground. Serena stopped too. A massive balloon rose out of the surrounding forest. Attached to it was the mechanical arm, still holding Pikachu. "What the-" Ash began, but was interrupted by four all-too-familiar voices.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To renounce 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!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

"Wobuffet!"

They all embraced. "Oh, it feels so good to say that again!" James said. "TEAM ROCKET!" Ash and Serena yelled. "Give back Pikachu!" Ash demanded. "Or what?" Jessie asked. "You don't have any other Pokemon." Ash instinctively reached for his pokeballs, but Jessie was right. He'd left all his other Pokemon at the Lab. The balloon started to drift away. "PIKACHU!" Ash shouted desperately. He looked at Serena, but she didn't have any Pokemon either, having left hers at the house to help Delia. Ash stared back at the escaping balloon, choking back a sob. It would take a miracle to save Pikachu now.

And there was their miracle.

Suddenly, a pair of glowing blue disks shot out of the trees. One of them cut through the arm holding Pikachu, and one of them shot straight into the balloon. "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket yelled, rocketing away into the distance. "PIKACHU!" Ash yelled. Pikachu was free, but he was at least three stories in the air. Ash ran towards him as he fell, but a blue silhouette shot from the trees and caught him, moving almost faster than Ash's eyes could register. He stopped in his tracks. Could it be? he thought. The silhouette approached him, and he saw what it was. Once again, he felt like he would cry. The figure set down Pikachu and looked at Ash. For his part, Ash felt like he would cry and smile and shout for joy at the same time. Facing him was a bipedal blue frog Pokemon. "Hello, old friend," he said. "Greninja," they responded.

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Guess who's back! Greninja FTW! Shout-out to Ryan_Amourshipper for the chapter art and for his help in inspiring Ash and Serena's amazing new looks. Thx again for reading my story, guys!