Recap: After defeating Falkner, Ash spent the rest of the day in the Pokemon Center. The next day, he started towards Azalea Town but took a little detour into the Ruins of Alph. There he and his Pokemon encountered the Unown. He left with two of the Unown. In Azalea Town, he ended up reuniting with his neighbor Gary Oak, although he was unaware of it. Then Ash defeated the Gym Leader in a thrilling match and helped rescue all the Slowpoke in the town. Now he's on his way to Goldenrod City.
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation
Italic words is psychic speech
/ is Ash mental conversation wtih Lugia and/or Charizard
/Italic words/ is Lugia and/or Charizard mental conversation with Ash
(' is Pokemon thoughts
' is human thoughts
Chapter 6: More Chance Encounters
Ash and Bellossom were in the Ilex Forest.
"Farfetch'd, where are you?" a voice suddenly asked.
"Let's go check it out Bellossom. It sounds like someone lost something," Ash said.
"Bell (Right)," Bellossom said. Soon she and Ash came up to a boy about Ash's age.
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"My Farfetch'd ran away. I was trying to get it to cut some wood to make charcoal. But I kept getting the name of the attack wrong and Farfetch'd ran off. Can you please find it for me?" the boy responded.
"Sure. Let's go Bellossom," Ash said.
Bellossom nodded, and they went looking for the runaway Farfetch'd. They soon found it, but it ran off again before they could get near it. After the wild goose chase was over, Farfetch'd had ended up back with its trainer. There was also an older man with the young boy.
"Whew, your Farfetch'd really knows how to get away from someone," Ash said.
"Thank you for leading it here. My son here wants to be a Pokemon Trainer. But Farfetch'd takes it pretty hard when he can't get attacks' names right," the man said.
"Well keep at it. You'll get it," Ash told the boy.
"I will," the boy said.
"I'm sure that you want to continue on your journey. Before you go, here's two pieces of charcoal. It's our way of saying thanks for helping Farfetch'd back here," the man said.
"What do these do?" Ash asked.
"Charcoal increases the strength of fire attacks," the man responded.
"And I have two Pokemon on me that will put good use to it," Ash said before putting the charcoal in his bag. The he and Bellossom continued on.
About half an hour later, they came to a shrine. Bellossom was very attracted to it for some reason. Bayleef had come out of her ball and bowed before the shrine as well.
"Are you saying that there's something here?" Ash asked.
Bellossom and Bayleef nodded. Seconds later, Celebi appeared.
"Waaaaah!" Ash screamed upon Celebi's sudden appearance, falling over backwards as well.
Celebi laughed a little upon seeing the surprised expression on Ash's face. Bayleef helped Ash up with her Vine Whip. Then Lugia came out of his ball to address Celebi.
"Long time no see. How have you been?" Lugia said.
"You know this Pokemon?" Ash asked in awe.
"Yes. This is Celebi. She is a grass/psychic Pokemon. You never know when you'll see a Celebi because Celebi are time-traveling Pokemon," Lugia responded.
"Time travel?" Ash asked.
"Yes. That means that she can travel into the past or future whenever she wishes," Lugia responded.
Bi bi bibi (I've been fine for the most part)," Celebi said.
"It must be cool to travel through time," Ash said.
"Bi bi bi bi. Bi bi bi bi bi (Sometimes it can be very fun. But sometimes it can be pretty dangerous as well)," Celebi said.
"Oh," Ash said.
"I'm sure that why you're here has something to do with Ash here am I correct?" Lugia asked.
"Bi (Yes)," Celebi responded with a nod. "Bi bibi bi bibi bi. Bi bibi bi bibi bi bi (I was about to travel through time when I sensed Ash's presence here. I suddenly felt that my destiny is with him)," she added.
"So you're saying that you want to be one of his Pokemon?" Lugia asked.
"Bi (Yes)," Celebi responded nodding.
"If that's what you want. then so be it," Ash said before throwing an empty Poke Ball at Celebi.
Celebi was caught with ease. Then Ash returned Bellossom, Bayleef and Lugia before continuing on. About fifteen minutes later, he was out of the forest and on Route 34. He went through several trainer battles along the way. Ten minutes later, he had reached Goldenrod City. First, he had his Pokemon rested at the Pokemon Center. Then he headed for the gym.
"You must be new here huh?" a female voice suddenly asked.
Ash looked ahead and saw a middle-aged woman standing in front of him. "Yes I am. Can you tell me where the gym is?" he said.
"It's about three blocks up the road," the woman said. "But before you face Whitney, why don't you check out the Radio Tower. It's a couple of blocks up the road. You can get a radio card if you have Pokegear. That way, you can listen to music while you travel," she added.
"Great! Thanks," Ash said before heading towards the Radio Tower. Upon arriving and entering, he saw an elderly man wearing a lab coat talking to a man that looked like some kind of director. 'I wonder who the man in the lab coat is,' he thought.
"So how are things going in Pallet Town?" the director asked.
"Things are going just fine. I've been pretty busy lately. I almost wasn't able to make it here today," the man said.
Then the director noticed Ash. "Ah, we have a young visitor," he said.
The man in the lab coat turned around and saw the trainer. 'This must be the Ash that Gary told me about. Gary was right. This boy does look a lot like our still missing neighbor,' he thought. He then went over to Ash. "Hello, you must be Ash," the man said.
Ash was taken back. "How do you know me?" he asked.
"My grandson Gary told me about his meeting with you," the man responded. "My name is Professor Oak," he added.
"Well then nice to meet you Professor," Ash said, holding out his hand.
Professor Oak held out his hand as well, and they shook in greeting.
"So what brings you here?" the director asked.
"I was hoping to maybe get a radio card for my Pokegear," Ash responded.
"That's no problem. Just go to the receptionist right over there. She'll help you out," the director said.
Ash went over to the receptionist. Several minutes later, he had received the radio card. Then the receptionist showed him how to put the card in the Pokegear.
"Now you can listen to all the stations here in Johto whenever you want," the receptionist said.
"Great," Ash said before leaving the Radio Tower. Then he decided to head to the mall to do some shopping. He had acquired quite a bit of money from all the trainer battles he won. An hour later, he had come out of the mall weith several pairs of pajamas, a couple more outfits to wear and some Pokemon supplies. Then he headed for the gym. He arrived about five minutes later. Upon entering, he couldn't help but notice that there were mostly women in the gym.
One of the women saw him. "Hello. You must be here to challenge the Gym Leader," she said.
"Yes I am," Ash said.
"Well Whitney's not here right now. She'll be back in an hour. You can wait in the lounge if you want," the woman said.
"Okay," Ash said before being led to the lounge.
"One of us will come and get you when Whitney returns," the woman said.
"All right," Ash said before letting out Bellossom, Croconaw, Bayleef and Quilava.
The woman went starry-eyed upon seeing Bellossom. "Oh, what a cute little Pokemon you have there. It looks very healthy and very strong too," she said, heading over towards Bellossom. She gently scratched Bellossom's head, Bellossom leaning into the scratch while blushing at being called cute.
"Thank you," Ash said.
Then the woman gave the other Pokemon a scratch before heading back out into the gym. Then Bellossom began to dance again. This time, Ash joined her while his other Pokemon watched. Watching Bellossom and Ash dance was really a sight to behold. They moved in perfect harmony. That was because Bellossom had taught Ash to dance like her while they were on the island. With continued practice, Ash had become just as good as Bellossom.
"Croconaw croc (The way they dance is awesome)," Croconaw said.
"Bay/Lava (Yeah)," Bayleef and Quilava said.
Ash and Bellossom were so into their routine that they lost all track of time. When one of the women had come to tell Ash that Whitney was ready for him, she ended up just watching Ash and Bellossom dance. Whitney had then come into the room and ended up sitting down and watching the dance herself.
An hour later, Ash and Bellossom decided to call it quits for now, even though they really could've gone on longer. Then clapping reached their ears. They looked around to see every oen of the women in the room with them. They also noticed a light-skinned woman with red hair in the room as well, figuring that she must be Whitney.
"That was extraordinary. I've seen people dance with Pokemon before, but you and your Bellossom were in total sync. Every move was flawless," Whitney said.
"Well Bellossom helped me out a lot," Ash said as Bellossom nodded.
"So are you ready to battle?" Whitney asked.
"I sure am," Ash responded, returning Bellossom, Bayleef, Quilava and Croconaw.
Whitney then led him to the battlefield. She got on one side and Ash got on the other. "By the way, what's your name?" she asked.
"My name is Ash," Ash responded.
"Well Ash, we will use two Pokemon each in this battle," Whitney said.
"Okay," Ash said.
"I choose Clefairy!" Whitney said, releasing the said Pokemon.
"I choose Quilava!" Ash said, releasing the said Pokemon.
"Clefairy, use Attract!" Whitney said.
/She's going to be in for a big surprise. Attract is only good on Pokemon that are of the opposite gender of the Pokemon using it/ Lugia said.
/Great! That means that Quilava won't be affected because Clefairy is also female/
/That's right/ Lugia said.
Quilava was indeed not affected. "Quilava quil (What was that supposed to do)?" she asked.
"I guess it was supposed to make you fall in love with Clefairy or something," Ash responded, seeing the grossed out expression on Quilava's face afterwards.
"Quilava (I don't think so)!" Quilava said.
"So your Quilava is female. I guess we won't have an easy battle this time Clefairy. That's okay though. Use Metronome!" Whitney said.
Clefairy waved her pointer fingers from side to side.
/Be on your guard Ash. The attack that follows a Metronome is totally random/ Charizard said.
Several minutes later, Clefairy's Metronome had resulted in a Hydro Pump attack.
Get out of there with Agility!" Ash said.
Quilava quickly dashed out of the Hydro Pump's way.
"Now use Flame Wheel!" Ash said.
Quilava charged for Clefairy.
"Use Minimize!" Whitney said.
Clefairy made herself very small. Quilava ended up going harmlessly over her. Quilava stopped in her tracks, confused as to what happened.
"Use Swift!" Ash said.
Quilava fired off dozens of stars towards Clefairy. Even though Clefairy was still under the effect of Minimize, she suffered a direct hit to the Swift attack. Soon, the Minimize wore off. Clefairy was her normal size again.
"Use Metronome again!" Whitney said.
Clefairy waved her fingers from side to side again. Ash and Quilava watched anxiously, ready for whatever the attack would be. But they didn't have much to worry about. Clefairy started jumping up and down. Needless to say, Ash and Quilava were confused.
"Am I missing something?" Ash asked in confusion.
"Qui (Huh)?" Quilava asked in just as much confusion.
"Oh no! Clefairy's performing Splash. That was worse thing that could've happened," Whitney said worriedly.
Ash knew an opportunity when he heard one. "Use Flamethrower Quilava!" he said.
Quilava fired the attack at the very vulnerable Clefairy. Clefairy suffered a direct hit and went down for the count. The woman refereeing the match looked at Clefairy. It was clear that Clefairy would not be getting back up.
"Clefairy is unable to battle. Quilava wins," the referee said.
"Quilava (Oh yeah)!" Quilava said, doing a back flip.
"Nice job Quilava," Ash said.
Whitney returned her fallen Pokemon. "You did your best," she said before looking at Ash. "You're a pretty impressive trainer Ash," she added.
"Thanks," Ash said.
"Now get ready to face my strongest Pokemon. I choose Miltank!" she said, releasing the Pokemon.
Ash was impressed upon seeing Miltank. He could see that it indeed looked pretty strong. "Quilava, use Flamethrower!" he said.
"Miltank, use Rollout!" Whitney countered.
Miltank curled in on herself and rolled towards Quilava. The Flamethrower struck Miltank, but had no effect because Miltank was rolling.
"Quick, use Agility!" Ash said.
Quilava dashed out of Miltank's path. But Miltank simply turned and came back at Quilava. Caught completely off guard, Quilava suffered a direct hit. She was sent flying backwards. But Miltank wasn't done just yet. She had come at Quilava another time for good measure. Quilava was down for the count.
"Quilava is out. Miltank is the winner," the referee said.
Ash returned Quilava. "You did great Quilava," he said. "Now I choose Sandslash!" he added, releasing the said Pokemon.
"Slash (Ready)," Sandslash said.
"Don't waste your or Miltank's time with using Attrack because Sandslash is also female," Ash said.
"Thanks for the advice. So Miltank, use Rollout then!" Whitney said.
Miltank was soon rolling for Sandslash.
"Stop that Miltank with Earthquake!" Ash said.
Sandslash jumped up and came down hard, causing a tremor. The tremor was strong enough to stop Miltank in her tracks.
"Now conjure up a sandstorm!" Ash said.
Sandslash did just that. Miltank struggled to say upright. She also couldn't see Sandslash anymore.
"Use Rollout to get out of the sandstorm!" Whitney said.
"Use Earthquake to stop her!" Ash countered.
Sandslash created another tremor, knocking Miltank off her feet. Several seconds later, she felt something surface underneath her and was knocked backwards as Sandslash now stood there.
"You have Miltank on the ropes now Sandslash. Use Slash!" Ash said.
"Sand (Right)," Sandslash said, giving Miltank a devastating blow.
Miltank was knocked back more. But she was able to stagger back up. But she looked just about done it. But Whitney had an answer for that.
"Miltank use Milk Drink!" Whitney said.
Miltank drank her own milk, which ended up almost completely revitalizing her. But neither Whitney nor Miltank took the sandstorm into account. Because it still raged, it still affected Miltank.
"Well Sandslash, it's time to end this match. Use Sand Tomb!" Ash said.
Sandslash concentrated on the still raging sandstorm. The remaining sand compacted in the air. Then Sandslash dumped all the sand on top of Miltank. The air around Miltank became thick and heavy. Miltank passed out from lack of oxygen. Then Sandslash let up on her attack.
"Miltank is unable to battle. Sandslash wins. Victory goes to Ash," the referee said.
"You rock Sandslash!" Ash said.
"Slash (Thanks)," Sandslash said.
Whitney recalled her fainted Miltank. "You did great Miltank," she said. Then she looked at Ash. "That was an awesome battle. You're a great trainer," she said.
"Thanks Whitney," Ash said.
Then Whitney walked over to Ash. She then held out her hand, revealing a badge. "As proof of your win against me, the Plain Badge is yours," she said.
"Thanks," Ash said, taking the badge.
"Because you have a lot of female Pokemon, this TM could really help you in battles. Any Pokemon you give it to will learn Attract. I'll tell you this. Most of the matches I've had with trainers ended quickly because their Pokemon succumbed to my Pokemon's Attract," Whitney said, holding out the TM.
Ash took the TM from Whitney.
"While on your way to Ecruteak, maybe you can find the strange Pokemon that everyone has been talking about," Whitney said.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"There have been quite a few people who said that they came across a Pokemon that resembled a weird-looking tree between between Routes 35 and 37. What's even weirder is that the Pokemon hates water," Whitney said.
"I'll check it out," Ash said, returning Sandslash. Then he left. He made a pit stop by the Pokemon Center before heading towards Route 35. He had several trainer battles along the way and was soon on Route 37.
/All trees should like water. Something doesn't add up/ Charizard said.
/Actually, it does/ Lugia said.
/What do you mean?/
/The Pokemon that people are referring to is a Sudowoodo/ Lugia responded.
/Sudowoodo?/
/Yes. It is actually a rock Pokemon even though it looks like a strange tree/ Lugia responded.
/So that would make Sudowoodo a rock tree Pokemon/
/I guess you could put it that way/ Charizard said.
/Well maybe it's.../
/Maybe it's what?/ Lugia asked.
/I just saw it/
/Where?/ Charizard asked.
/Just up ahead, it's in between two trees/ He then walked over as quietly as he could.
Sudowoodo happened to turn around. It saw Ash and attacked with Rock Throw. Ash hit the dirt, the Rock Throw attack sailing over his head.
"If it's a fight you want, then a fight you'll get. Let's do this Croconaw!" Ash said, releasing Croconaw.
"Croconaw (You've got it)," Croconaw said.
"Croconaw, use Water Gun!" Ash said.
Croconaw fired a stream of water from his mouth. Sudowoodo panicked upon seeing the water and quickly ran out of the way.
"Now use Bubble," Ash said.
Croconaw fired off a barrage of bubbles. Sudowoodo couldn't completely evade this attack and suffered a semi-direct hit. It was semi-direct because half of the attack made impact with Sudowoodo. Then Sudowoodo came at Croconaw with a Low Kick. Croconaw quickly jumped to avoid the low blow.
"Nice reflexes Croconaw. Now use Scary Face!" Ash said.
Croconaw looked ready to take a bite out of Sudowoodo. Sudowoodo froze in fear at the look that Croconaw gave it. As if knowing what Ash's next words would be, Croconaw fired a Water Gun at the terrified Sudowoodo. Sudowoodo cried in pain as it suffered a direct hit. It soon fainted.
"Now I'm going to catch it. Poke Ball go!" Ash said, throwing an empty ball.
Sudowoodo was caught easily.
/Nice one Ash/ Lugia said.
/Thanks Lugia/ Then he returned Croconaw and continued on towards Ecruteak City. He listened to some band music on his Pokegear as he continued on his way.
Well here's the end of another chapter. Congrats to all those who guessed that Ash would meet up with Professor Oak. Ash has had several chance encounters so far. But a truly amazing encounter is yet to come. Preview for Chapter 7: A Legendary Encounter: Upon reaching the Ecruteack City Gym, Ash finds the door locked. Upon investigating the Burned Tower he has another unwanted run-in with Alex, which results in another battle. But after the battle, Ash literally drops in on the most extraordinary encounter of his life so far.
I won't be able to update at all next week because I will be on vacation in Las Vegas from tomorrow through July 6th. I actually have this story almost completed so I'll try to complete it while I'm there.