JICU

Insight to Improvement!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!

"Pokémon" – Spoken Language

'Pokémon' – Thoughts

Pokémon – Flashback

Pokémon – Move Names

{Pokémon} - Pokédex

The Kanto region; a place of beginnings, futures and Pokémon! These fascinating and curious creatures of all shapes and sizes make up most of the world. Whatever in the deepest oceans, the highest skies or among the vast land that nurtures and shelters them. Some Pokémon are docile and only want to make friends and partners while unfortunately other Pokémon wish to remain on their own or cause destruction to either Pokémon or humankind.

Humans also make up most the world and their relationships with Pokémon is what makes their lives wonderful and fulfilling. Most of the time, humans just take care of Pokémon like friends or companions rather than just household pets. What makes this so heart fulfilling is the thrill of discovery that comes with the relationship.

On the other hand, humans also train Pokémon for combat and exploration as there are many competitions and contests where the Pokémon and its trainer can show the world their love and deep connection. That is true wonder and how strong it feels is how other trainers are willing to see and listen to. There are still trainers that see Pokémon no different than stepping stones to fame and glory on the battlefield and they tolerate failure and defeat with abuse and cruelty. That is the sad and ugly fact between humans and Pokémon.

With all that aside, we start our story with a trainer. A trainer who started no different than a mere child, clueless and naïve and willing to cry and whine when things don't got his way. After witnessing how vast the world really is and how beautiful a friendship between human and Pokemon really is. The trainer now looked nothing like that, he wore summer clothes with a poncho over his torso and a backside cape over his belt that had colored balls of red and white attached. He just came from a faraway land where he was close to fighting the top five trainers there when another trainer had proven to be a wall that was impossible to climb over or walk around so that ended his journey there.

"Pika? Pi pi pi~!" The trainer stopped on the dirt road he was walking on, he had a rather dishearten expression on his face. He turned to his oldest and most trustworthy companion ever; a small and yellow furred rodent with red spotted cheeks and a tail in the shape of a thunderbolt.

The trainer soften his eyes and sighed, "Sorry Pikachu. I guess I am taking my loss at the Sinnoh Region a little too hard." He was named Ash Ketchum, a trainer who hailed from Pallet Town of the Kanto Region. "Seriously, after facing Brandon, I thought that I have finally found the way for me to battle but then Tobias brought out two Legendries in a row! That is not fair!" Ash had a long history of losses against fellow trainer that was more than twice the victories he actually made happen. Anyone will feel terrible after such things; Guess Ash couldn't hold it in anymore. "I just…can't feel ready to face everyone else about this. They were just lying around at the ranch, not doing anything at all. What kind of trainer am I?"

Pikachu didn't want any more of this and used ThunderShock on a low level, just to silence Ash and not hurt him. That did the trick all right, Ash was hit by the Electric attack more times than you can count.

"Oww…" Ash moaned as he tried to steady himself from the sudden attack, "Thanks Pikachu. I needed that." Ash will never be angry at Pikachu for being attacked by ThunderShock because the raven haired trainer knew Pikachu better than only use that attack on him for a good reason. "We will be back in Pallet by tomorrow unless we quicken the pace but we are in no hurry, right Pikachu?" The electric mouse nodded and gave his signature cry which is considered even to this day as 'cute'.

Soon, it was getting late as the Sun went down. Ash was walking through a forest until he exited into a clearing. "We'll should stop here for the night or we will have to sleep in the woods." Ash told his very best buddy who nodded and helped its trailer unload. Even today, Ash never understood how Brook was able to store entire tenets into backpacks as the older teen keeps smiling and saying 'trade secret'. "Only this time, we should let everyone out, they have been in their balls too long now." Ash added as he moved his hand at his belt for the colorful Pokéballs that contain captured Pokémon either directly or traded by the original trainer.

Out came Ash's Pokémon after Pikachu in order;

Staraptor; a proud and majestic falcon with black and white feathers around the torso and a red shading on the forehead portion of the head feathers.

Torterria; a massive and intimidating turtle who had stone hedges with a small tree on top of its large shell.

Infernape; a monkey that had padding on its wrists with white shading on its torso and forelegs and mane of pure fire.

Buizel; A weasel with blue fins and orange padding around its neck while its tail is split into two.

Gliscor: a purple-blue vampire bat-like Pokémon that had red with thin black stripes on his arms and inside of his large ears while large pincers on each end of his black wings.

And Gible; A small Pokémon with a large jaw, a red chin and a scrapped fin on his head like a shark.

Now that will add up to seven Pokémon at hand and the big deal about it is that any trainer always start with a limit of six on hand. But Ash was told that his status as a Trainer had been updated to 'Silver' based on his history of victories and high standing in the Pokémon leagues; the limit had been increased to twelve on hand rather than six and he received a huge sum of Pokédollars, the currency, on hand as well to pay for all the food and items that Ash may need. They just didn't say who did but Ash had a good idea on who and planned on thanking him once he got back home.

Ash went over to where they appeared, "Well guys, our journey in Sinnoh is now over and it was a lot of fun. Now let's settle down for the night because I don't want to you to be stuck in your balls any longer." The Pokémon jumped/cried in joy and soon helped Ash into their own ways until it's now completely dark. They went to sleep around Ash's tent where Pikachu curled into a ball near the trainer himself; outside, Torterria was resting in a turtle fashion with Staraptor and Gliscor napping on the tree that grew on the shell along with Gible who made his bed on the stone hedges while Infernape and Buizel slept while standing up, a habit they picked up from their history of being tight on guard as proud fighters.

What either of them didn't realize was that they were being watched ever since they arrived in the clearing and I am not talking about the native Pokémon that dwell in the trees or the ground around the roots. It was a lost Pokémon, outside its own region and is wandering in an alien place all by itself. From the shadows, we can see that it was very small with the shape that closely resembled a dragon-type. As it watched over Ash and his Pokémon, it shown sparkles in its eyes and wondered towards them still in the shadows of the Moon that hid behind the clouds.

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The next day, Ash was already on the move. Maybe because he was excited to get back to his hometown. Pikachu just barely could hold on to Ash's shoulder as the raven haired trainer ran like a mad man on high. Still, there was no reason to ThunderShock him since Pikachu was also excited to return as well.

"Look Pikachu! The light at the end of the tunnel!" Ash pointed out as the woods they were running in was about to part, showing a bright light that soon blurred into a vast grassland with humble houses and an observatory on the side of a hill. This is Pallet Town, Ash is now home again.

At one of the houses, a Pokémon that was cross between a mime and a clown was sweeping the floors while singing to himself. Then it heard someone knock on the door. It walked over to answer and brighten up once the guest was in full view.

"Mime!" It chirped at Ash Ketchum who was also smiling,

"Hello Mr. Mime! Is mom here?" Ash asked and Mr. Mime nodded and pointed down the hall, towards the kitchen. The raven haired trainer whizzed past Mr. Mime who just shook his head and returned to sweeping the floor.

Meanwhile, Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, was also working; singing to herself as she washed the dishes. She didn't notice that a certain trainer and his Pikachu sneaking up on her. Then a pair of arms started to descend, to hug Delia.

"EEEKK!" Delia screamed and turned to see her son and his Pikachu hugging her, "ASH KETCHUM!" The said boy recoiled back, "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT ARRVING HOME WITHOUT CALLING FIRST!?" Delia yelled at the top of her voice to get her point around, and I personally think it did.

"I am sorry mom. We had too much on our mind as it is." Ash answered, not caring it was an excuse or not. Delia saw that there was real guilt and downheartedness in those clouded eyes of her only son so she hugged him in which he hugged her back but this time with tears. They spent that time in the kitchen, together once more.

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After a reunion and lunch with Delia, Ash went to visit another neighbor; the very professor known around the world, Samuel Oak but only known as Professor Oak. He claims to be able to think and study the best in a humble and quiet town like Pallet. That is also where trainers that gain their very first Pokémon from him go to.

"Professor Oak! We're back!" Ash yelled as soon as he opened the door only to hear a loud crash loud coming from down the hall. Ash hurried to see what was wrong and he found a huge pile of books like old notebooks or textbooks. 'Must have fallen when I yelled.' Ash thought to himself as he began to place the books back into separate piles until someone emerged from the mess.

"Made it! *Phew*" A young man sighed to himself as he slumped on the pile of books he emerged out of until he notice the guest,

"Ash!"

"Tracey!"

The two young trainers obliviously knew each other and for good reason because Tracey Sketchit first meet Ash when the latter and another fellow trainer where travelling the Orange Islands. Tracey acted like something of a replacement for yet another Trainer who wanted to stay behind and help the regional Professor.

After the adventures at the Orange Islands were over, Tracey wanted to stay with Professor Oak who was revealed to be Tracey's idol when it came to drawing and stretching. After a first impression that went well not matter who looked at it, the professor hired Tracey to help him around the house since his age is finally slowing him down.

"Hello Ash and welcome back." Speak of the devil, the professor arrived out of the blue. "You two are looking good, I bet you have been taking care of yourselves." The two boys, trainer and Pokémon alike, nodded so hard, they could have shaken their heads off their shoulders.

"Thanks Professor, we are really glad to be back and takes for what you did to us." Ash said and Pikachu nodded that left the Professor smiling and Tracey confused. "Well now we have to say hello to the others. Bye!"

"Professor?" Tracey said, "What did Ash meant?" Professor Oak just keep smiling,

"He meant something that I should have done a long time ago, since he beat the Orange Island League and my grandson while even bringing down three Legendries."

XXXXX

"Hey! Everyone!" Ash yelled as he exited the observatory and into a vast field out back. For a while after he yelled, there was a silence until the earth started shaking but Ash wasn't worried; it wasn't earthquake but a horde of a Pokémon! "Whoa! Whoa!"Ash tried to stop the stampede but they were just too excited to even stand still and soon, Ash was about to be run over when a pair of vines dragged him out of the way. "Thanks Bayleef!"

"Bay~!" The yellow-green dinosaur like Pokémon chirped before trying to push herself into Ash, effectively running him over after all but fortunately it was not to be as, "Bay~? Bayleef~!" Bayleef looked around for her beloved trainer before finding him, being lifted above the ground by a ghostly imp like Pokémon.

"Thanks Gengar. Bayleef can be a little affectionate sometimes." Ash said sheepishly while the Shadow Pokémon just laugh and lowered its trainer next to Bayleef who went and rubbed against Ash but much more gentle for her size. Soon, the other Pokémon realized what they tried to do to their trainer and they just gathered around him. They also were wondering where the Tauros went except for one, the very single one that Ash actually uses for his battles; there was even a strange one that won't stop hugging their trainer which was strange too.

"Now I bet you are wondering a lot of things." Ash started and he got various cries as his answer, "But before I can explain, I need to have everyone listening." Ash said straight to point and was patient enough to allow his Pokémon to get friendly with each other.

"Now time for explanations." Ash said and his Pokémon waited in anticipation for what their trainer was about to say. "I am going to train you a lot more seriously for now on." Silence reigned over the field as soon as those words, "I have been catching Pokémon left and right just to prove that I can be a good trainer unlike what Gary always says about me. He even promised me that once I actually defeated him, we will be rival trainers and he breaks that promise by quitting as a trainer!" The Pokémon still said nothing, seeing nothing but truth in those words. "Now I realized that my way of Pokémon is no longer just showing off in front of jerks and rivals but traveling, having adventures and being the best we all can be. I have been lying to myself the whole time." Silence once again was in the air as Ash tried to catch his breath. "The first step was to make sure my Tauros don't spend all their time just racing around the ranch all day."

Flashback Begins:

"Luckily there is a Pokémon Swap Meet in Kanto like they did in Johto, right Pikachu?" Ash asked as he was carrying five of his twenty-nine Tauros to be traded. The little yellow rodent nodded as both it and is trainer thought back to the very same place and event which also was when Team Rocket first gained its new trademark; Wobbuffet.

"Ash?" The said trainer looked over to the source of the familiar voice to see a familiar sight,

"Benny!" Ash yelled at his old friend he met at the very Pokémon Swap Meet in Johto. "I never knew that you went to Kanto." Ash brought up to start a conversation,

"And I never thought to see in this region too, I thought you sighed up for the Johto Championship." Benny said,

"I did and I lost against a trainer from Hoenn who used his Hoenn Starter Pokémon fully evolved to win." Ash answered while wondering how Benny couldn't have known about the entire Championship; even his mom knew about it, including when Ash defeated Gary. "It was broadcasted all over the region, all the way to Kanto. How did you miss that?"

"Sorry Ash." Benny looked like he was caught sleeping under a rock, "I was training my Lickitung and I guess that I forgot to check it out." Ash was still skeptic and a little hurt that one of his friends was too busy to check out his performance. "Either way, do you have Pokémon you want trade here?"

"Yeah, twenty-nine Tauros in total." Ash said and Benny widened his eyes.

"Well since I already traded Pokémon, I can show you around. They have Pokémon of all the different types here. You should be able to find some good ones here." Benny offered and Ash agreed, the boy with the Lickitung guided the Raven-Haired Trainer with the Pikachu though the entire Swap Meet. Ash had so much success with his Tauros, he had to keep a line waiting while he had the Professor send the rest of them via a video phone and Pokéball transporter; it seemed that Ash's victory with his single Tauros back in Johto had made the Pokémon itself popular but for any other trainer, it proved to find any wild Tauros outside the Safari Zone.

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Meanwhile, at Mount Silver in Johto, a Pokémon Ranger, someone who dedicated their lives to protecting Pokémon, was walking down one of the safari zones until he noticed something from the corner of his eyes. When he turned for a better view, he saw something that made him widened his eyes.

Back at the Swap Meet, Ash finally had traded the last of the extra Tauros for some new Pokémon including one he said that he will present to a 'friend'. He was now relaxing in the quiet lobby of the Pokémon Center with his Pikachu. Then he heard the door open and saw a Pokémon Ranger, he recognized from his adventures in Hoenn and Sinnoh. It seemed the ranger had backpack on and was approaching him.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?" The ranger asked and the said boy nodded. "I have someone who wants to meet you. He had followed me out of the Johto Safari Zone and the boss told me to bring him to you."

"All the way from Johto?" Ash asked and the ranger confirmed that, "Well sorry you had to go a long way but may I see it?" Ash asked and before the ranger could answer, it came out of the pack as, "Larvitar!?"

"Lar~! Larvitar~!" The small Pokémon with the rocky texture and color had chirped before racing toward Ash whom was hugged by it tightly.

"Seems that he couldn't wait any longer. I must return to Johto. Take care of this little one please." The ranger said and Ash nodded,

"Sure! I have taken care of him before and I will do it again." Ash proclaimed which caused Larivtar to yell in happiness and hug Ash all over again. The ranger left Ash with Larvitar who was completely comfortable with its new trainer for real (the range missed the Rock and Ground Type let itself be captured by one of Ash's spare Pokéballs, it was quite the sight!)

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Later, at Ash's home,

"Hello? Sabrina?" Ash used the video phone at the house with the number that the Kanto Psychic Gym Leader have given him after he helped her laugh again. After a few minutes of static, the picture of a young woman appeared and she looked happy to see Ash.

"Ash! You are back in Kanto! How as Sinnoh!?" The woman was obliviously who Ash wanted to see but her own smile faltered once she saw the look on Ash's face.

"It was as great as the other regions until Tobias." Ash answered and Sabrina sported a confused look on her face and before she could ask again, "He used Legendries as his Pokémon team." Now there is no more questions for Sabrina because she knew very well that Legendary Pokémon are tough in the wild and if trained, they are the closest to being invincible.

"If that is so, you must have beaten at least one of them. You are that good of a trainer, Ash." Sabrina said with the last sentence as a favor overdue and it worked as Ash smiled a bit.

"Thanks Sabrina." The said woman was glad to make Ash smile like he did to her during his very first Pokémon journey. "Back to point, will you like to trade Haunter for one of my new Pokémon I received?" Sabrina was confused all over again.

"Sure but why? I am sure that you are happy with Haunter as the way he is. And what is this about 'received Pokémon'? Don't you mean 'caught Pokémon'?" Sabrina asked and Ash chuckled in amusement.

"No I really mean it because I traded away all but one of my thirty Tauros." Ash explained and Sabrina gasp in realization and nodded. "Here is what one of them." Ash pulled out a Pokéball which opened to reveal a small Pokémon with a white torso and green hair and legs that was shaped into a young dancer that had two red horns vertically placed on each side of its head.

"Kir~! Kirlia~!" It chirped happily and Sabrina couldn't help but squeal at its cuteness.

"This is Kirlia, a Psychic Type and a female one at that. I just got that from Nurse Joy." Ash explained.

"Why did you need to know if it was female Ash? Does it make any difference?" Sabrina asked why it was such a big deal.

"Because Kirlia have a branched evolution centering on the gender. If male, Kirlia was evolve into Gallade, a Physic and Fighting Type, by only means of a Dawn Stone. If it is female, Kirlia will evolve into Gardevoir, a Physic Type still. See it now?" Ash explained and Sabrina nodded after taking a mental note before speaking this,

"Wow Ash, I never see you like this before. What caused this?" Sabrina tried to act cheerful and teasing but she soon regretted as Ash's mood dropped again. "Okay, okay. I take that back, I am sorry. But you really sound like a good trainer Ash. You really are growing up." Sabrina tried to fix this error and Ash perked up again as a result.

"Thanks again Sabrina but after reflecting on my past adventures, I feel like I have been treating my journeys too carelessly. I decided to take things more seriously." Sabrina say the determination in Ash's eyes that shone as a bright as the sun and sparkle like the stars in the night sky. "Back on track, I will like to train Haunter for real and besides…" Ash started to tease Sabrina a little, "Since you trained him, I am sure he will be ready to evolve as he loves to gets stronger." The master of Psychic Pokémon blushed at the hidden praise in that sentence.

"Thanks Ash." Sabrina said and she was interrupted by a very friendly and very familiar Pokémon; a ghost-like being with disconnected hands and a huge mouth with eyes. "Now you mention it Ash, Haunter had be wanting to evolve but he rejects other trainers to trade with him. I think he wants to be your Pokémon again." Sabrina laughed at Haunter trying to get a good look at Ash. He was sucked into his Pokéball, "Now let's trade."

Ash nodded and returned Kirlia back into her ball as well. Then he placed the Pokéball in a machine next to the video phone. The machine shot silver white energy that covered the ball and it vanished. The next thing Ash knew was that the machine unleashed the same energy and a ball appeared.

Ash took the Pokéball and opened it to reveal Haunter who waved before turning all white and shining so bright, it was painful for Ash to look upon. When the light died down, in the place of the light and laughing Haunter was a more serious looking ghost that was full body and looked like an imp with its malicious smirk.

"Gen~?" The ghost Pokémon looked around itself and began to laugh at how stronger he has become. "Gen-gen Gen-Gengar~!" It whizzed all around the room to explore what its new and improved ghostly body can do but no before realizing that its trainer, for real this time, was staring at it.

"Gengar…" Ash muttered before smiling, "You look strong already." Gengar laughed and descend to his trainer's level. Right now, he was about as tall as Ash was. "I can't wait to see you in battle again."

Flashback Ends!

XXXXX

"Well that is about it." Ash finished and turned to a large group of individual and unique Pokémon from various regions that were awaiting to be acknowledged by their new trainer. When they saw that very thing, they rushed to finally meet their trainer's Pokémon. The list was too long to describe but they were of many types; Normal, Fire, Grass, Water, Psychic, some Rock and Ground, and even a Ghost type too. The chatter was a little too much but Ash was patient as he could just see his new Pokémon getting along rather well for being recently traded; friendships are always beautiful, especially when they can prove to be long lasting.

"So, I am going to yet another region but this one has Pokémon that can't be found in any other region. This time, I am going to take it seriously by bringing some Pokémon with me." Ash said and now, the audience is starting to get antsy, "Pokémon who still need training, still need to evolve and still wish to participate in Pokémon battles." Some of Ash's Pokémon looked at each other, agreeing silently.

"The first one is actually going to be you Torterria." Ash started out and the Continent Pokémon was shocked, "Don't take me wrong, you are strong and tough alright. A real powerhouse all the way since we first met, when you were a Turtwig and that is why I am bringing you along." Ash explained and the massive Grass and Ground-Type settled down a little, "Back then when your battle style center don your small but quick and agile body that was barely even hit. But now you are one of the heaviest Pokémon in the world, that style is just impossible now. You must understand that you will have to modify your preferred way of fighting to fight your weight and size. Our fight with Paul shown have proven that." The giant turtle Pokémon looked sad and slowly nodded as it remembered that once it became a Torterria, its battling style couldn't work for it at all.

"Next will be Totodile." Ash continued and the little blue crocodile-like Pokémon started to jump around in excitement. It decided that it wanted to evolve so that it can become stronger so that his trainer can fully count on it in battle. "Nice to see you get excited about this, Totodile."

"Also I will take along Gible." Now Ash was getting predictable and his Pokémon knew that, despite it all they were understandable as Gible was a very recent catch and even if Ash trained overtime, Gible still won't have the time to even evolve. A Pokémon journey all over again with definitely do the trick.

"And finally, Larvitar is coming with me too." Ash spoke to finish off and finally introduce the clinging young Pokémon to the others. "He really wants to come along after finally getting permission from his mother to go on his own adventures with me. Larvitar may even fully evolve after training enough times." Ash gently pried off Larvitar and urged the little one to join the others which it did after a little while due to shyness. Larvitar was amazed on how the crowd of Pokémon reminded him of their trainer in terms of personality; they do say that we can rub ourselves onto others.

"With Pikachu, that will make five but what my new Pokémon probably didn't tell is that I have got a sixth Pokémon bring along." They sure didn't and they wanted to find out. "But before I reveal it, I want to let you know that the only way to get to this new region is by a plane and the only plane that leaves in the direction, so I am told, doesn't leave for an entire week." That set off something as cheers through Pokémon cries had rocketed in the air.

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And so, a week had passed.

"Attention Passengers." A voice roared on the announcer speakers that were spread in the plane. "We will be landing in the Unova Region pretty soon. Please look out your windows so you can see the port where we are going to dock in."

Among the passengers, there was Ash, with his mother and Professor Oak who saw the vast land outside. Oak had been summoned to Unova by the regional professor so that they can share their info on Pokémon with each other. The professor just brought Ash along because he knew that the raven-haired trainer loved adventure; Delia is here because she didn't trust her son going to somewhere that had no Pokémon that she recognized, talk about overprotective.

"Aren't you excited Ash?" The professor asked the said trainer,

"You bet Professor Oak. I and Pikachu are always excited about traveling in new regions." Ash answered and his yellow rodent best friend nodded with the famous, 'Pika'. "But we and the others have been training to do things differently and more seriously than before so we can't forget in our excitement."

Oak and Delia laughed on how Ash tried to be stoic and energetic at the same time but understood it just fine. After all, It is a proud trainer growing up which is something beautiful on its own.

End of Chapter 1

*Hey Everyone! This is MircThomas19 with the first new story of 2015! I must say that I have gotten quite the crowd ever since I first joined last March. I now that it has been forever since I updated my first Pokémon fanfic but it is still hard to balance between stories and everyday life.

Let me know what you think about this Fanfic. I am too disappointed on how they portrayed Ash during the Unova Adventures after all that glory he build up in the years and he is still ten years old according to them. They say that they wanted to keep the series available to little kids who don't care for what we serious grown-ups do and vice versa. Still, this is how I would've liked the Unova Adventures to be since this is a Fanfic and it is mine Fanfic.

Hoped you enjoyed the snow because I sure did! Have a nice day!*