The Path of the Guardian
A “General” category By Mr. Highwind

     I noticed the last chapter I zoomed through time too much, so I’ll try to 
stop that habit (I’m just a bit anxious with these stories). Last time, Sparks 
and his friends were on a boat voyage to Kanto to meet their pokemon. They now 
have reached land...

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     Chapter 5: Two New Friends
     
     
     The boat pulled into the harbor of a small town. Now the people here don’t 
really see many cruise liners come into their harbor, so there was a big 
commotion going on. Everyone on the ship departed looking for professor Oak. Of 
course, like the crowd at the museum, there was too much for Sparks and his 
friends to wait that long for. So they decided to stay at the Inn for the night, 
then get their pokemon tomorrow morning.
     
     “Thanks for letting us stay here, sir,” said Sparks. “Why no problem. Say, 
what is this big crowd doing in Pallet Town anyway?” asked the innkeeper. “Oh, 
not much,” said Josh. “Just a couple of new trainers eager for their pokemon. 
“Not much, eh? This is really big then. You guys should hurry before they’re all 
gone,” he replied. “Nah,” said Lorenzo. “We learned that patience gets the 
better deal.” “Alright guys, let’s explore the town before sunset,” said Sparks. 
So the three went outside to see the new island.
     
     It was pretty awesome! Green hills, lots of land, and clear blue skies. 
They liked how there was so much green, since in Texas, a lot of stuff is 
crumbling and dry. The houses were so much more spaced out too. They could tell 
that they’ll have a lot of fun traveling on these islands. They passed by the 
lab to see what it was like. Of course there was a crowd like the museum, but 
there was the Press, cameras, and lots of cars. Pokemon training must’ve been a 
REALLY big sport. A couple of the trainers they saw on the cruise walked off 
with their new pokemon. Pidgeys, Rattatas, Eevees, and some Charmanders, 
Squirtles, and Bulbasaurs.
     
     “Wow! This is gonna be great,” said Josh. “You can bet on it,” said a voice 
from behind. “Hmm? Who’s there?” said Sparks. The three turned around to see a 
brown-haired kid with spikes on the front, blue pants and long-sleeved shirt 
with a necklace behind them. “Hey there, I’m Gary Oak. That’s right, I’m the 
grandson of the famous professor Oak,” said Gary. “We don’t care,” said Lorenzo. 
Gary frowned at Lorenzo. “You should show me some respect, for I’ll be a better 
trainer than any of you three.” “And of course, we don’t care again,” finished 
Sparks. 
     
     “We need pokemon for some help with some pokemon that hate us, not for our 
amusement.” “Oh really?” exclaimed Gary. “Well then, after their assistance is 
not needed anymore, what’ll ya do for the rest of your lives?” That struck a 
chord in the three. They never really thought ahead. “Well then, you do want 
some more action,” snickered Gary. “Smell you folks later.” And with that, he 
walked back to his grandfather’s lab.
     
     “What a punk,” said Josh. “But he’s right,” said Sparks. “What will we do 
after Shadow Lugia is taken down? We’ve seen so much already.” “Maybe..,” 
started Lorenzo. “We don’t go straight for Shadow Lugia. Let’s give it a year, 
ya know. To get a little famous ourselves through some tournaments.” “Ya know,” 
said Josh. “That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard you say in my life, and it’s 
kinda sad.” “Shut up!” “Cool it you two, it’s getting late. Let’s head back to 
the Inn.” “Wait,” asked Lorenzo. “Is it a good plan?” Sparks sighed, and said, 
“Yeah, it is. Can we go now?”

As they walked back home, Sparks noticed that his hair was a bit long on him as 
he stared at his reflection through the barbershop window. He told his friends 
to go on ahead to the Inn, and that he needed a haircut. He walked in to find 
that there Mr. Mimes in place of people that should’ve cut hair. “Hey there,” 
said the only human behind the counter. “You need a trim? Don’t worry. Just sit 
down, I’ve trained the Mimes to read your mind in order to know what style you 
want.

Sparks nodded and took a seat in one of the chairs. One Mr. Mime walked up and 
studied him carefully. All of a sudden, there was a flying flurry of scissors, 
brushes and razors. Sparks flinched and closed his eyes. After five seconds the 
Mime was done. Sparks opened his eyes to find that he got the exact haircut he 
needed. “Cool!” “That’ll be 14.95.” Sparks paid the barber, tipped the Mr. Mime 
and headed for the Inn.
     
     That night, Sparks was restless, seeing as though his big adventure would 
start tomorrow. He stayed up all night watching a tournament, just to see what 
he was up against. The final match featured a fight with a Gengar against an 
Onix. The Onix was big, but Gengar pulled the good punches and won. This 
motivated Sparks into thinking he has a chance against Shadow Lugia. “Speaking 
of which,” Sparks thought to himself. “He hasn’t really attacked again. And his 
feather on my dream catcher is dull. He’s nowhere near me. Hope it stays that 
way for a while.” After that he went to sleep, waiting for the strange dream to 
come.

     The next morning, he woke up early, which is a first for Sparks. So he took 
his time getting ready for the day, and when he was, he found his friends almost 
done and they all took off to Professor Oak’s lab.
     
     When they reached there, there was still a couple of news people waiting 
for any more trainers to claim their pokemon. As they walked into the lab, they 
ignored the many microphones and cameras pointed in their faces and went to meet 
Oak. They found Gary there already waiting for his first pokemon. When Gary saw 
the three, he sneered and said, “Well, you all decided to show up. Well wait in 
line! I’m up first for my pokemon.” Professor Oak turned around to see the three 
and smiled at the new trainers. He was a little old, with gray, spiked hair. He 
wore a lab coat and was well-built and thin.

     
     “Ah, you must be Sparks, Josh, and Lorenzo. Lawrence told me you all were 
coming.” “Gramps, c’mon! I want my pokemon!” “Just calm down, Gary. You’ll get 
one soon.” Professor Oak went toward a pokeball and handed it to Gary. Gary 
opened it up to find an Eevee. “Wow! This one has got three evolutions I can 
choose from. Thanks, gramps!” said Gary. “You’re welcome,” said Oak. Gary walked 
on ahead, deliberately pushing Josh and Lorenzo aside, his Eevee tagging along. 
“Out of the way!”
     
     The Press moved onto Gary asking him questions. He told them that he will 
be the best. He hopped onto a car with cheerleaders screaming his name. “Man, 
what a jerk!” said Lorenzo. “Hey,” asked Josh. “How come we don’t get a car?” 
“We don’t need one,” said Sparks. “Well,” started the reporter. “After these 
three, this will all be the trainers from Pallet town. That’s all from-.” 
“Waaaiiit!!” said a voice. Everyone turned to the street to find a boy in his 
pajamas run up to the lab. He was 13, had black, messy hair, and a red cap on. 
     
     “Wait, professor,” he said. “I made it.” “Ash, you’re in your night 
clothes,” said Oak. “Sorry I overslept, but I made it now.” “And just who are 
you?” asked a reporter. “I’m Ash Ketchum, the pokemon trainer from Pallet town. 
And it’s my dream to become a master like Johnson.”
     
     Ash turned to professor Oak to find Sparks, Lorenzo, and Josh staring at 
him. “Hey, who are you guys?” he asked. “We’re new like you,” said Josh. 
“Anyways, you’ll need to wait, Lorenzo and I are up.” The two of them made their 
way to the counter where three pokeballs were waiting. Meanwhile, Sparks 
introduced himself to Ash.
     
     “Hey, I’m Sparks. We’re from America, like Johnson was.” “Cool! You’re 
Americans? What’s it like there?” “Well, it’s huge, and spread out like these 
islands. But there’s a lot of crime, and that’s a big issue.” “Doesn’t sound 
like a lot of fun.” “Actually, it’s ok. You just need to live in the right place 
to enjoy it all.” “I guess that’s alright. Well, what brings you here to Kanto?” 
“For some reason, me and my friends’ hometown was attacked by pokemon. We’re 
here to collect our own pokemon to counter attack against the evil ones. And 
we’re starting to think about staying longer here, since there’s not much for us 
to do now.” “Cool. Hey, you’re friends are done.”
     
     Josh came back with a Squirtle, Lorenzo with a Charmander. “Go on ahead, 
Ash, I’ll wait,” said Sparks. Ash walked up to the counter. “Well, I guess I’ll 
take the last one, Bulbasaur.” Ash reached for the pokeball and opened it, only 
to find that it was empty. “Whaa!?” “Oh yeah, I forgot,” said Oak. “That one was 
taken this morning by an early trainer.” “Oh, all the pokemon are gone!” “Wait, 
what!?” asked Sparks. Lorenzo and Josh laughed at the two dumbfounded trainers.

     “Wow! Sucks to be you guys!” laughed Josh. “Just hang on,” said Oak. “I 
think there’s still another pokemon around here, you two. Sparks turned to Ash 
and said, “Rock paper scissors for it?” “No way, I’m getting it!” Oak turned 
around with two pokeballs in his hand. “You two are lucky,” he said. “I just 
caught these two yesterday. Here you go.” Ash and Sparks received their 
pokeballs. They both opened them to find Pikachus. “Wow! A Pikachu,” said Ash. 
He picked his up and hugged it. It wasn’t reluctant and shocked him badly. “Of 
course, seeing as though it’s wild, it’ll take some time to get used to you,” 
exclaimed Professor Oak.
     
     Sparks gulped as he looked down at his Pikachu. His Pikachu looked up in 
confusion. “Pika?” “Uh, hi?” “Pika-pika.” The Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and 
studied him closely. “Actually,” started Professor Oak. “This one is a bit of a 
mystery. I studied its genealogy and, I found out it’s a direct descendant from 
the Pikachu that traveled with Johnson Highwind.” The Pikachu sniffed Sparks and 
smiled. “Pika!” “Well then, I guess we’re ok with each other, am I right?” 
“Pikachu.”
     
     Ash looked at his and asked, “Can we be friends hopefully?” His Pikachu 
shrugged and gave him a small shock. “Ow! This could take a while.”
     
     All four walked out with their new pokemon. Lorenzo and Josh beamed their 
pokemon into their balls. “Sparks, you gonna pack yours away?” asked Lorenzo. 
“Ya know, I think it’ll get stronger staying outside its pokeball.” “Suit 
yourself, he’s gonna be a hassle traveling around with. “Like you were in the 
truck?” “Shut up!” “Mine won’t let me put him in his pokeball,” whined Ash. 
Every time he tried packing Pikachu away, he got shocked. Later, Ash’s mom came 
to say goodbyes, which was a little embarrassing for Ash. And they all took off.
     
     “C’mon guys, I’ll race ya to the next town!” shouted Lorenzo. Both he and 
Josh took off. “Wait!” said Sparks. “Ash isn’t really in the condition to-.” But 
they were far ahead, not listening to him. Sparks turned around to find Ash with 
rubber gloves and tugging on Pikachu with a rope. After three minutes of 
struggling, the four of them, reached a fork in the beginning of a forest.
     
     “Well, Ash, Pikachu. I guess we’re splitting from here.” “*Grunt* Alrighty 
then, rrr, see ya Sparks.” Then Sparks and his pikachu went to the right fork 
and carried on to the next town.
     
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     End of Chapter 5
     
     Here comes the hard, real world.
     
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