Boulder Badge

AN: Hello readers, I hoped that you liked my first chapter. It has come to my attention that I forgot to address something in my last chapter, and that is nicknames. Now I have never seen the appeal of nicknames, so I will not give nicknames to most of my Pokémon. If I can think of a really good one, then I will give that Pokémon will get a nickname. Anyways I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and as always, I do not own anything.

The first steps onto route one was less exciting than Ash had expected. To be fair, they were only a couple of steps away from Pallet town, how exciting could it be. Ash focused on the task at hand. "Hey Mantyke, I forgot to ask you if you wanted a nickname?" Ash asked as they walked along the route, well Mantyke floated. Mantyke looked at Ash in confusion. When Ash noticed his Pokémon's confusion, he laughed a little. "I guess it was bit much of me to assume you knew what that was. A nickname is something that I would call you instead of Mantyke. For example, if I were to call you Bubble, that would be a nickname. So, do you want one?"

Mantyke stilled in contemplation before shaking its body horizontally. Ash took this as a no. "Okay now that we settled that, we have to make a small detour." Mantyke floated about before tilting his head. "Well there is a small river near here, and it would be the perfect place to train." Mantyke got excited about the prospect of training, and eagerly tried to pull Ash along. Ash laughed at Mantyke's antics. "Okay, okay let's go." With that Ash ran to the trees to his left. It did not take long for Mantyke to pass him, which only caused Ash to pick up his speed. Mantyke flew circles around him as they raced through the trees toward the river.

When the finally made it, Ash was out of breath. He relaxed against a tree for a few minutes while Mantyke splashed about in the water. When he could breath properly, Ash called Mantyke over. "Okay Mantyke we have to figure out all of your base levels, so that means we have to do some tests, okay?" Mantyke yelled his name in eagerness. "Okay I want you to fly all the way to the last tree before the river turns and come back as fast as possible, okay?" Mantyke got into position. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and found a clock setting, quickly going into timer mode. "Okay Mantyke when I say go. Ready, set, go!" And with that Mantyke was off. It took Mantyke three minutes and thirteen seconds to get back. "Okay Mantyke your base record is three minutes. By the time we leave this place, I want to at least shave a minute of that time." Mantyke nodded his head.

"Okay now let's check out your moves. Use Bubble on that tree over there." Ash pointed his finger at a tree about ten feet away. Mantyke gathered energy in his body before shooting five bubbles out of his mouth. They got about half way to the tree before they started to sway off course, with only one actually hitting the tree. "Hmm" Ash said as he rubbed his chin. "Okay one more time, I want to see if the accuracy of the move has to do with distance or if it is supposed to be a wide spread attack." Mantyke charged up again and released another set of five bubbles, that made it around six feet before they spread out. "Okay well I think it is supposed to be a widespread attack, but the farther the bubbles have to travel, the less concussive power they have. So, this time aim for the rock about two feet in front of you." With another yell Mantyke released another Bubble attack. This time all five bubbles hit the rock, and when they exploded the rock had broken apart. Ash nodded. "Okay well your Bubble has some fire power. Now let's test your endurance, shoot of as many Bubbles as you can before you get exhausted. Make sure to shoot in different directions, so that the bubbles do not blow up in your face."

"Mantyke." And with that Mantyke set off in a simple routine of charging up and then releasing his Bubble. Mantyke was able to shoot of seven rounds of Bubbles before he sunk to the floor in exhaustion. Ash picked up his starter and placed him in the water. With Mantyke's Water Absorb ability, slowly Mantyke managed to gain back his energy. "Okay you got eleven Bubble attacks before you were exhausted. I want you to see if you can improve how many times you can use Bubble before you are exhausted and how many bubbles you make. If you make more bubbles, then I think you might be able to use Bubble Beam. For now, just focus on increasing the number of bubbles, because that will improve how many Bubbles you can use anyway. I think about eight to ten bubbles and let's say twenty Bubbles in a row, we will move onto battle practicality, so how long it takes you to charge a Bubble attack, and can you maintain the attack/ charge up while being distracted." Mantyke only cooed, as the water rejuvenated him.

"Okay Mantyke, why don't you continue to heal, while I make lunch and set up camp. When we are done with lunch, we can test your other moves. Sound good." Ash received a nod from his starter, so he got started on his task. He put his bag against a tree and opened it up. He pulled out the tent and the cooking utensils, as well some vegetables to cook. With everything out he looked for some heavy rocks. He rolled about ten of them into a small circle. He then used a sharp rock to dig out the middle of the circle. Next, he gathered a base, a hollowed-out stick, and set it in the middle. Ash looked around, until he found some dry grass. He gathers a large helping of it along with some sticks to keep the fire going. He put some of the grass on the base, and then lit a match to get the fire started. Since he did not have a fire type Pokémon, and Mantyke did not know any fire type moves, a match would do. A fire quickly caught, and Ash used the sticks and more grass to increase the fire. When the fire was big enough, Ash put a grate over the fire along with a black pot full of water.

Ash quickly cut up the vegetables, along with some Oran berries that he happened to find in a bush. Making sure to make not of the location of the berry bush for future use. When all of the ingredients were in, he focused on putting his tent. It was just a simple one-person tent, so it only took ten minutes to set up. With that done his camp was set. He had to shoo away some Taillow and Pikipek that got too interested in his soup. Ash stirred the pot several times before tasting it. The Oran berries gave the soup a pleasant sweet taste. Ash took out two bowls, one for him and one for his partner. "Mantyke time to eat." Ash said while pouring soup into the bowls.

Mantyke jumped out of the water, where he was apparently playing with a group of Corsala and settled next a bowl that Ash set out for him. He ate the food with gusto, as sweet food was his favorite flavor. Before Ash could even get halfway done, Mantyke was begging for more. "Okay, okay. Here." Ash said as he poured Mantyke another bowl. Mantyke finished a third bowl by the time Ash finished his first. When Mantyke said he did not want anymore, Ash poured the soup into a Tupperware container.

"Okay Mantyke now that we are all refreshed let's test your tackle attack on that rock." Mantyke rushed into the rock with his body and was a little hurt from recoil. "Um okay, try not to use your whole body, just use your wings. Use the momentum from your flight to do the damage for you. If you use just your wings, then you can get away without too much recoil, in addition it will strengthen your wings for when you start to learn Wing Attack."

"Mantyke!" And with a renewed vigor tackled the rock with just his wing. The wing looked slightly bruised, but nothing a little water couldn't fix.

"Okay make sure that you alternate which wing that you tackle with so that both grow big and strong. Now every night I want you to continue to tackle the rocks until you are exhausted, then you can recover in the river before coming to bed." With a nod from Mantyke, Ash continued. "Okay I am not sure how to train Supersonic, so we will just save those for when you battle. Now Mirror Coat is a counter attack, specifically for special attack moves. I want to see if you can access that psychic energy. If you can, I want you to use Bubble before running in front of it and using Mirror Coat to get a feel for it.

Mantyke nodded and stilled as he looked for the psychic energy. All of a sudden Mantyke glowed pink. Mantyke opened his eyes in a cheer. The psychic energy was a little spotty in places, but he was fully enveloped in it. "Okay Mantyke go ahead like I said." Mantyke charged up a Bubble and released it. He swam around it before charging up Mirror Coat. He was fully enveloped, when Bubble hit. A few seconds went by as the attack dissipated, then with a sharp yell Mantyke released the energy that completely obliterated a few boulders. When the dust cleared Ash saw that Mantyke was hurt from the Bubble attack. The spotty parts of energy must not have protected Mantyke completely, which resulted in more damage being done.

"Okay Mantyke that was a great first try. As before we want to make sure that you are completely protected from the initial attack. So, focus on making sure your completely covered and then timing. In a battle you might not have a moment to just charge up, so the faster that you can complete the move the better. Why don't you take a bath to rejuvenate and then it is back to practicing Bubble?

"Mantyke!"

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A week had passed and Ash and Mantyke were still in their camp training. "Mantyke Bubble attack." Without a second passing ten bubbles burst from Mantyke's mouth. "Now Mirror Coat." Mantyke burst in front of his own attack covered in the energy. The Bubbles hit the energy field and burst in a mild explosion. Before the smoke could clear, a wave of energy crashed into a huge rock, which left a deep crater. Ash clapped his hands as the smoke cleared to reveal a little worse for wear Mantyke.

"That was awesome buddy. You have really improved this past week, and I think it is finally time that we moved on." Mantyke tackled his trainer in excitement. "Okay then let me just pack everything up. You go heal in the river." Twenty minutes later and the two were on their way. It was not even five minutes into their journey, when a squawk came from their right, and Ash had to duck in order to avoid a Spearow that tried to claw his face. "Well I guess it is time for your first ever battle. Fly after it and give it a tackle." With that Mantyke took after the Spearow, who was swinging around. The Spearow managed to dodge the first two tackles, but the third one knocked it to the ground. "Bubble before it can get back up." A blast of bubbles hit the Spearow and careened it into a nearby tree. It was clearly knocked out. Mantyke came back to Ash and received several belly rubs. "Good job boy on your first ever successful battle." Ash looked to the downed Spearow, who was already showing signs of recovering, "lets get out of here before it wakes up and calls friends.

For the next forty minutes Ash and Mantyke traveled along the route while also battling anything that happened to come across their path, mostly just regional birds and a couple Zigzagoon and Sentret. However, they were just about to exit a large patch of grass when an Ekans ran across their path. For some reason this Ekans, made Ash hesitate. It looked stronger than everything else on the route.

"Mantyke be careful and take to the skies, and pepper it with Bubble." Mantyke raised in the air a safe distance away before shooting Bubble after Bubble. However, this Ekans was smart, as it managed to weave through all of the attacks. "You have to get in close. Speed through a bunch of Tackles, but don't get caught." Mantyke managed to get two quick Tackles off before Ekans retaliated by biting Mantyke's wing. Mantyke screeched. "Supersonic Mantyke!" Mantyke released a loud scream, which confused the Ekans for a second, before it used Wrap to keep a hold of the Mantyke. Mantyke squealed as it was squeezed. Ekans reared it head back to take another Bite, but there was a purple energy surrounding the fangs, Poison Fang. Ash couldn't let Mantyke bet hit with that poisonous attack. "MANTYKE Bubble point blank!" Mantyke managed to turn enough to attack, but instead of a small burst of bubbles a long stream of bubbles burst into Ekans face, which caused it to loosen its hold on Mantyke as it was blown away. The Ekans shook its head as it got ready to attack again. "Bubble Beam, end it Mantyke!" With the last attack Ekans fainted.

"Mantyke that was awesome. Not only did you defeat a powerful foe, you learned a new attack." Ash praised.

"Mantyke, Mantyke." Mantyke said a little tired.

"Let's get out of the way of the Ekans, before I give you some water to replenish your strength." Mantyke nodded and settled in Ash's arms. When they were thirty feet away from the Ekans, Ash pulled out some water and poured it over the Bite marks. Slowly they stitched themselves together, and Mantyke was healthy enough to fly on his own. They only walked for a twenty more minutes before deciding to settle for the night a long the river, so that Mantyke could recover from his day of strenuous battling.

When they woke up in the morning, Ash took a quick bath in the river, which quickly turned into a game of splash with Mantyke. When Ash was clean enough by his standards, he got out and redressed. "Okay Mantyke lets head out." Like yesterday Mantyke battled all Pokémon that they came across, but its new favorite strategy, was a Supersonic and Bubble Beam combination. Supersonic made it so that Mantyke, if ever, received very little damage, and Bubble Beam was generally strong enough to knock out Pokémon in one hit. If it didn't then the confusion would, if it hit. Plus, Bubble Beam had a chance of slowing down Pokémon if they did not get knocked out. After thirty minutes of traveling they ran into another trainer.

"Hey, our eyes met, so we must battle." Said a girl around his age. Ash rolled his eyes at the common saying. Just because their eyes met didn't mean that he must battle. What if he was on his to the Pokémon center when they locked eyes. It would be stupid to fight a battle with Pokémon that were clearly exhausted.

"Okay, how many Pokémon do you have?"

"Three!" She said confidently. Ash nodded.

"I have one, but how about my one vs your three. Loser gives five hundred Pokédollars to the winner." The girl smiled at the steal of a deal.

"You got yourself a deal. Get ready to lose." She took out a Pokéball and threw it. "Go Dedenne! Win this match for me."

"Go Mantyke. Be careful." With both of our Pokémon out the match officially started.

"Dedenne use Charm." It gazed charmingly at Mantyke that lowed his attack.

"Counter it with Supersonic." Mantyke quickly unleashed a loud noise that confused Dedenne. "Now fly high and use Bubble Beam." Mantyke soared into the sky.

"Don't let that hit you Dedenne. Dodge it!" But it was too confused to dodge and ended up shocking itself, which only enhanced the damage done by the Bubble Beam.

"One more time and follow up with Tackle if Dedenne dodges." A stream of bubbles blasted at the spot that Dedenne used to sit, it managed to listen to its trainer and dodge, however Mantyke hit it with a tackle before it could land on the ground. Dedenne rolled on the ground unconscious. Despite Mantyke's Attack stat being reduced, the Bubble Beam managed to lower its health enough to knock it out.

"Humph. Return Dedenne, you did good." She pulled out her second Pokémon. "Go Grubbin!"

"Mantyke Tackle Grubbin until it faints." Mantyke managed to get two tackles in before the other trainer could retaliate.

"Grubbin use String Shot to trap it!"

"Dodge it and continue on." Mantyke twirled out of the way and continued on to tackle the bug Pokémon, but his wing took on a bluish tint. When Mantyke hit Grubbin, it instantly fainted. "To me Mantyke!" Mantyke returned to Ash's side. "Good first try of Wing Attack, although it could use some refinement." Ash said while scratching Mantyke's antennae.

The female trainer had returned her fainted Pokémon and threw out her last Pokémon. "Blitzle you can do it. Shockwave!" Ash looked concerned as that move never misses. "Quick Mirror Coat followed by Bubble Beam!

Mantyke managed to get his Magic Coat up in time before he was hit. When he launched the attack at Blitzle along with a successful Bubble Beam, Mantyke lowered to the ground. Not out of the fight, but definitely hurt. Thankfully Ash did not have to worry about that because Blitzle was down for the count. "I lost." The female trainer said while returning her Pokémon. "Here" she said as she handed over the money before running away.

Ash pockets the money before resting with Mantyke for a bit and to eat a small breakfast. After Mantyke was fully rested they set about their day. As they traveled Mantyke practiced activating the flying type power for his Wing Attack, and working on Confuse Ray, which was the ghost equivalent of supersonic. Mantyke was able to perfect Wing Attack by the time they settled for the night. However, he had not made much progress with Confuse Ray. He had managed to defeat thirteen wild Pokémon as well as two more trainers with two Pokémon each without too much trouble. Ash even won a thousand Pokédollars for his trouble. They were now just a day away from Viridian, so Mantyke was excited about seeing the city. "Goodnight Mantyke." Ash said while snuggling up to his partner.

The next day started at six in the morning, when Mantyke grumbled about food. Ash quickly got a fire going and reheated some of the soup that they had for dinner the other day. While the food heated up, Ash took a quick bath, and was done in time to serve the food. After a quick breakfast, Ash packed up his stuff. "Okay Mantyke this is the last stretch of Route one. I want to have Confuse Ray at least functional before getting to Viridian. Also, I want you to try to learn Headbutt. This will require you to get up close and personal with your opponents, which is not like your usual hit and run tactics." Mantyke nodded and slowly swam around Ash as they walked. As always, they battled every Pokémon they came across. The more battling that Mantyke had the sharper his instincts and reaction time became. Plus, on route one there are not many Pokémon that can give Mantyke too much trouble, except for maybe an Electric type or Rock type. It was around twelve in the afternoon, when Mantyke was starting to get the basics on a proper Headbutt, one that hurt the opponent more than himself. And he had an okay grasp on Confuse Ray, but his accuracy was higher with Supersonic.

Ash stopped for a quick lunch of berry medley. Over their journey of Route one they had found a plethora of berry bushes, and Ash collected as man as possible without angering the wild Pokémon. When Mantyke had his fill, they got a move on. They did not encounter many Pokémon as they went. Ash suspected that it was because they were getting closer to Viridian. Although they ran into two more trainers. One was just an average trainer with a Beedrill and a Buneary, Mantyke swept through the team easily. But the next trainer, Ash didn't even think of battling. The trainer was an Elite trainer, who was doing some last-minute training before challenging Giovanni for their last gym battle. He was Rock specialist with an intimidating Onix, that he was hoping to evolve soon despite the fact that it would change his Onix Rock type into a Steel type. Although they did not battle, he gave Ash the advice of taking the League at his own pace. Most beginner trainers follow a set pattern when it comes to completing the circuit, starting with Brock, the easiest gym, and ending with Giovanni, the hardest. But that did not need to be the case. Ash could challenge any of the gyms in any order he wanted.

Ash took that to heart and started to think of where he might want to go. Ash knew he wanted to do Brock first, mostly for the tradition's sake, but also because he was already on the way there. After that he could circle back and try to challenge Blaine because Mantyke could just get him across the ocean. Or he could skip over Misty's gym and go to Lt. Surge, this way Ash would get the two most difficult gyms, for Mantyke out of the way first. If he did that, he would have to take the Diglett tunnel. Hmm, that sounded promising, and then maybe to Koga, then Sabrina, swing back to Erika, follow up with Misty, then to Blaine by sea, and finally Giovanni. That sounded nice. He told his plan to Mantyke, who agreed wholeheartedly. Mantyke was not going to back down just because the next two gyms would have a type advantage over him.

With that the pair walked the last part of their journey, and within ten minutes Viridian City was in site. Mantyke was so excited that it rushed to the gate, which caused Ash to run after his excitable Pokémon. However, before Mantyke could cross the city limits, he was stopped by two women in blue. "Halt." Ash heard as he caught up. "Is this your Pokémon, young man?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind proving it?" One of the women asked. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and handed it over. He waited while the officer checked over his information. "Ash Ketchum. Ten years old. Trainer ID 00742168. Starter Mantyke. Okay everything checks out. Sorry about the inconvenience. There was a pair of Pokémon thieves, working for a group called Team Rocket, here about a week ago. They managed to enter the city and make it as far as the Pokémon Center. Thankfully Nurse Joy's Chansey was able to hold them off until authorities could detain them. However, they escaped, before they could be brought to jail." She said as she handed his Pokédex back to him.

"Oh then, that is fine. Should I take any special precautions then?"

"In the city you should be fine, they most likely moved on to Mt. Moon or back to Route One, hence our station here. Have a good day."

"You too." As they parted way. Mantyke waved at the two officers before joining his trainers' side. "Okay Mantyke first let's go to the Pokémon center. You can heal up, while I take care of some things. When that is done, we can go shopping. After that we can settle for the night before leaving in the morning."

"Mantyke." And with that they were off to the Pokémon Center. Thankfully it was close and not to badly damage, although it was obvious that a fight happened there. The doors slid apart, as the pair entered the building.

"Good evening and welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon Center. How may I be of service?" A woman with pink hair and a nurse's outfit asked.

"Hi Nurse Joy." Ash said as he crossed the distance to the front desk. "I was wondering if you can heal Mantyke up."

"Certainly, although he does not really look hurt." She said observing Mantyke as it floated about the center.

"Yeah well it could never hurt." Ash said.

Nurse Joy nodded. "Chansey can you guide Mantyke to the back and do a checkup." Chansey nodded. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"Yes, can you register me for the Indigo league, and if it is not too much trouble can I use your PC system to make a few calls? Can I also get a room for the night?"

"Yes, all I would need is your Trainer ID, and you will be all set. The PC system can be found over by the far wall in the lounge area. Rooms are free as long as you are a trainer, but they have a 24-hour service, so if you would like to stay for longer than a day, you must return and reregister for the room." She says as Ash hands over his Pokédex, and she imputes the information. "Here, you go. I will announce when Mantyke is to be released, if you can leave his Pokéball here, that would be great." Ash nods and hands over the only Pokéball on his belt.

When he deposited the Pokéball onto a tray, he headed in the direction of the PC system. Sitting in one of the chairs provided Ash booted the machine up and typed in his mother's number. He grabbed the phone attached to the machine. It rang a couple of times, but finally clicked and he heard his mother's voice. "Hello?"'

"Hi Mom!"

"Oh, Ash how are you. Its been an entire week. Are you finally at Viridian?"

"Yeah I know. Mantyke and I took some time to train up a bit, before we decided to get a move on."

"Oh, tell me all about it?" And so, Ash regaled her about all the details of his journey, from the first step, to training by the river, to the first battle with a wild Pokémon, the Ekans that refused to be taken lightly, his first trainer battle, the advice that he received from the Elite trainer. "And now I'm here. I plan to pick somethings up at the Poke Shop, and then settle for the night. At first light we, will head for Viridian Forest. Then onto Pewter City for my Boulder Badge."

"Well it sounds like you already had quite the time adventuring, and it will only get better."

"Yeah, but how have you been? What have you been doing?"

"Oh, you know everything and nothing at all. I have been helping Professor Oak, more now that I have time. I have even started taking some of the corral Pokémon home. Sometimes the Pokémon need more attention than they can get at the corral, especially if they are expecting."

"Oh, do you have any Pokémon there at the moment?"

"Why yes, I have an expecting Persian that go together with a Ditto. She is only a couple of weeks along, so it is easier to see to her needs. I also have a baby Staryu, that a trainer did not have the time to take care of."

"Wow, it seems like you have had your hands full-"

"Ash Ketchum, your Pokémon are ready." Nurse Joy announced over the intercom.

"Oh, it looks like Mantyke is ready, so I got to go get him. Bye Mom, I love you."

"Oh well bye honey. Have fun and I love you too." With that Ash ended the call and walked back to the front desk, where nurse joy was waiting for him.

"Here you are." Chansey brought out a tray with Mantyke's Pokéball. Ash grabs the ball and pushes the button in the middle. Immediately Mantyke is their releasing a cry of joy.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy. I am going to explore the city a bit before returning for the night." Nurse Joy nodded.

"Before you leave here is your room key. Your check out time is 12pm tomorrow. Enjoy your time exploring." She said before turning back to attend to something else.

"Okay, c'mon Mantyke." Viridian city is a city with immense serenity. It is as if the city was made to be one big vacation trip. There are plenty of things to keep entertained from shops to arcades to movies to Pokémon activities. Mantyke and Ash decide to head to a small water park where a bunch of children were playing with their water Pokémon. There many different Pokémon such as Buizel, Psyduck, Marill, Surkit, and many more. While Mantyke had fun splashing with his water brethren. Ash took the time to talk to some of the trainers in the area. He asked them for tips on how to train a water type Pokémon. He was grateful for the advice, and made sure to memorize anything that seemed important, such as keeping Mantyke hydrated because it used up water to use its different attacks. After two hours of play, where Ash managed to drag several trainers on a free for all water tag, Ash and Mantyke departed to the shops.

As Ash scoured the wares, Mantyke was flying in intricate patterns, occasionally looking into what Ash was doing and adding his opinion. Ash saw several things that peeked his interests, but he hadn't the funds to buy them, or he wanted to hold onto what money he had for something else. He did manage to snag a great deal on Pokéballs. He bought a dozen different Pokéballs for the price of six. It set him back all the earnings he manages to win from his battles, but thought it was a worthwhile investment. Especially since some Pokéballs were designed to benefit certain types of Pokémon.

Ash saw a fair few TM's but none that really fit with Mantyke's style of fighting or ones that he could use. Sure, Ash could blow his savings on a TM like Aqua Jet, and it would be a powerful move in Mantyke's arsenal, but what about his other Pokémon. There was no guarantee that any of his other Pokémon could use the move, therefore making the TM ultimately useless. If he was going to spend money on TM's, then it would be for moves that most Pokémon could learn like Iron Tail.

After maybe 15 minutes of looking, Ash found two TM's that he was debating on getting. He only had enough money for one but which to get. One was Ice Beam and the other was Earthquake. Each cost a pretty penny, but they were both so useful and versatile. Ice Beam was extremely powerful and can be used by many different Pokémon. Earthquake on the other hand generally packs more of a punch, however with it being a ground type attack, it won't affect any flying type Pokémon or Pokémon with moves that allow them to levitate. Plus, versatility is more Mantyke's style than brute force. And if he ever needs it, he can come back and buy it after winning more battles. With his mind made up he purchased Ice Beam and inserted it into his TM case.

Ash would wait to teach it to Mantyke because Ice Beam required a certain level of finesse that Mantyke just didn't have at this point. "Okay Mantyke, I think it is time to retire to the Pokémon center."

"Mantyke!" Mantyke swam around his trainer and led the way to the Pokémon center. Nurse Joy wasn't at the counter when he got there, but Ash just walked up the stairs to his room. When he found room 321, Ash was exhausted. The room was a fairly big room with accommodations for all type of Pokémon. Pokémon rooms were installed with the latest to technology to work for everyone's needs. There was a large tank that Mantyke could sleep in, which relieved Ash. The few times Mantyke slept outside of water his skin was dangerously dry. Mantyke flew into the water with joy. Ash put his bag away and fell unceremoniously onto the bed. The bed then started to lower into an air regulated glass room. Ash fell quickly into sleep watching his Pokémon swim around into the center's communal tank.

When Ash awoke, his bed was back to normal, and Mantyke was floating over him. "Hi Mantyke." Mantyke snuggled up to his trainer. Ash wrapped his arms around his friend. He rubbed Mantyke's smooth skin. "Okay Mantyke I think it is time to get on with our adventure." Ash walked over to his bag and grabbed a spare set of clothes. He de clothed and set the clothes in the shoot for them to be washed and then went to take a shower. It took him 30 minutes just to clean his body of all the excess grime that a river just can't get off. Granted he probably should have taken a shower yesterday before sleeping in a clean bed, but he was tired gosh dang it. Ten more minutes later he was as pristine as one can get. He dressed quickly and collected all his belongings.

With Mantyke in tow Ash went to the front desk, where Chancy was waiting with his now clean clothes on a tray. There were a couple more people in the center than before, so Ash waited for the line to dwindle before returning his key and making his way out. Viridian city was one of the major cities in Kanto, so it took 45 minutes to get to the entrance of the Viridian forest. The entrance was daunting with sky scraper sized trees giving of an eerie vibe.

Mantyke for the first time looked off put by the feeling in the air. Ash patted Mantyke, "Its going to be okay Mantyke. I'm here." With that Ash walked into the ominous forest. With bated breath the pair marched on. The forest was full of stimuli. The leaves blew in the wind, there was a buzz of wings, the sound of Pokémon scuttling across the floor. Ash closed his eyes and counted to ten. When he opened them again, the beauty of the forest came to life. The leaves didn't just blow they danced. The buzzing of wings was the several bug Pokémon mingling in the canopy. The scuttling of the Pokémon on the forest floor was a pair of Bidoof play fighting in the view of their parents. An uneasy pressure was released from Ash's shoulder. With confidence restored the trekked on enjoying the scenery. The Pokémon of the forest were rather curious, but very few wanted to battle.

Mantyke took every opportunity to train. Since the Pokémon of the forest were week in the sense that they did not have many attacks, Mantyke decided to dive into his physical attacks. Instead of using hit and run tactics with distractions causing his foes to leave openings, Mantyke took a hold no prisoners approach. It allowed him to use Tackle, Wing Attack, and Headbutt to near perfect proficiency. Ash would not say that he mastered the moves, because he has never had to use them in stress situations.

Anyway, it has been about two hours of travel, when Ash and Mantyke walked in on a swarm of Yanmas. They seemed to be doing an intricate dance, like they were trying to ward something off. Ash and Mantyke were entranced immediately and did not notice that the dance was over until most of the Yanma left. However, on Yanma lingered in front of Ash. The Yanma was quite a beauty with a sleek red exoskeleton and big bright eyes. "Hi Yanma, I am Ash, and this is my partner Mantyke." The Yanma fluttered and quickly zoomed around the two trying to capture every detail. When the Yanma was satisfied it tapped Mantyke and took off. Mantyke seemed to understand and flew after it. They chased each other around the clearing.

It was a split second, but that was all it took. A sharp whistle resounded throughout the clearing before there was a deep gash in Yanma's side. "Yanma!" It shrieked as it fell from the sky. Both Mantyke and Ash were frozen as a Scyther came out of the trees to capture his prey. "MANTYKE! Protect Yanma!" Ash ran and caught the badly injured bug type. The slash was very deep and didn't look like normal damage. This cut was made to kill. "I'm sorry Yanma, but this is only way to keep you alive." Ash pulled out a Heal Ball, hoping that the restorative properties would help heal some of the damage made. Ashe tapped the ball against Yanma's head, and the injured Pokémon was pulled into the ball. The ball shook three times before confirming the capture.

Ash pocketed the Pokéball before looking to see how Mantyke was fairing. It wasn't looking good. The Scyther seemed to be enraged that their dinner had gotten away and had stopped playing around. Scyther was gone in a blink of an eye and swiped at Mantyke, it was only pure luck that allowed his partner to dodge.

That Scyther must be highly skilled to achieve that level of speed. "Mantyke we can't win with brute strength just keep dodging and use Supersonic, when you do." Mantyke continued the game of cat and mouse, but it wasn't doing much. Every now and then the Scyther would get confused and run into a tree or slash itself, but it wasn't enough damage. It was only due to Mantyke's slither body, that he was able to stay away from Scyther's blades. With a screech of frustration after cutting itself for the umpteenth time, Scyther pulled its blades in close and they started to glow a pale blue. Ash gasped as he recognized Air Slash, that move was a wide area effect move, there was no way Mantyke would dodge.

Just as Scyther released cutting waves of air, Ash shouted out, "Mantyke Mirror Coat now!" The currents slammed into Mantyke causing a minor explosion. Ash only hopped that Mantyke was fast enough. Then a wave cut through the smoke at twice the speed of the Air Slash and cut into Scyther's abdomen. Scyther was knocked into a tree but not out of the fight. It appeared to be on its last leg having taken twice the damage it did to Mantyke. "Mantyke Bubble Beam until its out!" Mantyke flew out of the smoke looking about an inch away from fainting. He released beam after beam of bubbles as he circled Scyther. With nowhere to escape, Scyther was left to take the full brunt of the damage of hundreds of exploding bubbles. It seemed too much for this over skilled Scyther as it promptly fainted.

Ash chucked a Pokéball in its direction as he ran to catch Mantyke out of the sky as his partner fainted from both damage and exhaustion. Ash quickly returned Mantyke and attached the ball to his belt, where Yanma's was resting. Ash turned to see that Scyther had also been caught. Ash didn't want to catch the overly aggressive Pokémon, but it was the only way that he saw that wouldn't have the Scyther coming for him, when he woke up in a couple of minutes. Ash swiped the ball and broke into a run. He had to be careful, he had no Pokémon to defend himself. He cursed himself for not buying any potions or medicine before entering the forest. But in his defense no one could have seen the Scyther coming. Air Slash is not a move Scyther can learn until much later in its life after much practice. The only way a wild one could know that move would to be if it was trained. And seeing as how the Scyther was currently resting in his Pokéball, it was safe to assume that whoever trained it had released him. Which is also odd because Scyther's are hot commodities especially a well-trained one, so what possessed a trainer to release the Pokémon. He had to hope that he didn't run into any more Pokémon looking for a fight.

After two hours of straight sprinting Ash finally broke the tree line into Viridian City. Ash collapsed onto the hard ground. He is pretty sure he left a lung about an hour back and the other one wasn't far behind. He had managed to avoid most of the Pokémon on his way back but had run into a flock of Starly that did not appreciate the young boy running into his territory. Thankfully a couple of Combee came to his rescue. Just as Ash started fall unconscious a group of concerned citizens found him.

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The next thing Ash saw was white walls. His mind raced to try to figure out what happened and where he was. He slowly rose in the soft bed he was residing in. Spotting the Pokémon Center logo on the wall brought some comfort to him. Now he just needed to know the status of his Pokémon. Just then the door opened, and Nurse Joy stepped in with Chansey. "Ahh Ash Ketchum nice to see you away." She said as she assisted him in sitting up.

"Hi Nurse Joy, umm, do you mind telling me what happened?" He asked, as Nurse Joy started to check over his vitals.

"Sure, you came in six days ago when you passed out from exhaustion on the streets of Viridian. Your body was running on pure adrenaline by the time you made it to the city. Your respiratory system had overworked itself, and your body shut itself to try to heal the damage. Thankfully you were able to make a complete recovery. However just because you recovered does not mean that you should ever do that again." Nurse Joy scolded while tightening a strap and taking Ash's blood pressure.

"And my Pokémon Ma'am?"

"Hmm, well your Pokémon were all in different states of injury on your arrival. Your Scyther was back in top shape after just a day's rest. Your Mantyke was just overly exhausted and not really injured, so he slept for three days, but was swimming happily with the other Pokémon in the communal tank. However, your Yanma required extensive surgery. Thankfully we were able to reverse the damage done to her mostly in due to her Pokéball helping to slowly heal her injuries while she was in it. She just awoke yesterday. We were just waiting for you to wake up to get the story behind the injuries." Nurse Joy finished as she wrote down all her findings on a chart. "Well Mr. Ketchum you have a clean bill of health. If you will follow me to my office, you can get your Pokémon back, and then we can record what happened. Sound good." Ash nodded. Nurse Joy handed the chart to Chansey as she escorted Ash to her office.

When they got there, Nurse Joy imputed a code into a panel and out popped his Pokémon. "Mr. Ketchum here are your Pokémon. Now if you don't mind what happened in the forest." Ash accepted his Pokémon but didn't release any of them. He then told Nurse Joy all the details of his encounter.

As he finished his explanation, he asked "um Nurse Joy, do you know how this could have happened?"

Nurse Joy's face took on a solemn look. "I do actually." She grabbed a tablet from one of the many Chansey. She tapped it several time. "You see whenever a Pokémon comes into any of the Pokémon center's it is registered with a number, that our system can pick up even if the Pokémon now resides under a different trainer. When your Scyther was put in the system it pinged in our system as once belonging to an aspiring bug specialist, Jacob Onobe." She handed the pad over and Ash saw the picture of a boy that was probably three years older than him. "He was here about three years, waiting to take on Giovanni. He entered the forest to do some last-minute training, but no one knew that a fugitive group called Team Rocket had taken residence in the forest. He reported it as so on his Pokédex, but by the time official had gotten to his last known location. All we found was his body. Everyone assumed that his Pokémon were taken by Team Rocket, but he must have released them before his death." Nurse Joy explained. As she took back the pad.

Ash clutched his hands together. "I'm glad that I was able to find his Scyther, but I'm not ready to take on a Pokémon of his caliber yet."

"That is understandable. You now have two choices, you can release him to the Pokémon League, and they will find a suitable home for him, or you can use the GTS. The GTS is the Global Trading System. At every Pokémon Center we have a system that trainers can use to either request or give Pokémon away. I can go into more detail if you want to choose this option. Which do you prefer?"

Ash thought over his options. "Scyther's previous trainer wanted to make Scyther strong, he deserves a trainer that will help make him strong. I will use the GTS."

"Okay now the way the GTS system works is a trainer can request any Pokémon they want; however, they must offer up another Pokémon of equal value. So, you won't ever see someone trading a Deino for a Pidgey. Eggs are also an acceptable offer. Now if someone has what the other trader wants and agrees to the trade, then he will put the Pokéball containing the Pokémon, or incubator containing the egg, in the machine and it will instantly transport them to their respective Pokémon center. The trainers will then be notified that the trade is a success and they can pick up their new Pokémon/ egg at the nearest Pokémon center. I will set up the system while you say your goodbyes with that Nurse Joy walked out of her office to the lobby.

Deciding to get it over with, he released all three Pokémon. Immediately he was tackled by Yanma and Mantyke. "Oh my gosh guy's stop it. I know I missed you too." It took several minutes to convince them that he wasn't going anywhere. All while this was happening Scyther stood in the corner. "Okay Yanma I am assuming that you want to join my team." The bug Pokémon flew around in an excited yes. "Okay then welcome to the team Yanma. Now onto other business." Ash looked to Scyther, who was watching him. "I know about your other trainer." Scyther stilled for a moment. "He wanted to make you strong right? To battle with you for many years to come?" Scyther slowly nodded. "I thought so. Unfortunately, I am not strong enough to help you with that dream. You deserve someone that will help take you to new heights, and unfortunately, I would probably hinder you rather than help you. So, if you want, I can give you to someone who can be two you who your first trainer was to you. Is that acceptable?"

Scyther took several minutes to think about it. "Scyther." It said with a nod.

"Okay then." Ash looked to everyone one his team before nodding and leading them to Nurse Joy. "Okay Mantyke, Yanma it is time to say goodbye to Scyther." Understanding what was happening they each took their turns saying goodbye, with no hurt feeling between them. When they finished Ash touched Scyther's shoulder. "I know you will become great in the future. And for what its worth it was great to have you for how little I did." Scyther said his name with a determined look. Ash grabbed his Pokéball. "Return Scyther." Scyther was absorbed by red light.

Ash turned to Nurse Joy. "I'm ready." Nurse Joy quickly showed him the logistics on how to operate the system. Ash created a profile before he typed Scyther in the search engine. He narrowed it down to people requesting a Scyther. He took the time to look at both the Pokémon being offered up and the trainer's profile to make sure Scyther got a good home. He finally found a match with a female trainer named Pamona Riles, who was like Jacob Onobe a bug specialist. She was offering up a Larvesta egg that she got from her Volcarona. With a nod Ash confirmed that he wanted to trade with Pamona and placed the Scyther Pokéball on the transport pad. It took a few minutes for the transfer to occur, but on the transport, pad was an egg incubator.

"The transfer was complete. Congratulations on getting a Larvesta Egg." Ash grabbed the egg. He opened the incubator and pulled out the egg. The egg was warm to the touch and seemed to get a bit warmer when in Ash's hands. "Hello little one. I am your new father." Ash whispered as he hugged it close. After a minute of just bonding to the egg he turned to Nurse Joy. "Do you know the time?"

"It is seven PM." Ash nodded.

"Okay well then can I have a room for tonight and food sent to that room."

"I thought that you might say that. Here is your room key, and food should be waiting in your room along with the rest of your belongings. Enjoy your night Mr. Ketchum." She said as she walked away.

Ash looked to his Pokémon, "Meet your new baby brother or sister." He said as he held the egg out to them, Ash decided then and there all his Pokémon will become his children. Yanma his first daughter and Mantyke his first son. His children were excited at the prospect of a new sibling but showed restraint because of how delicate eggs are. Ash gathered the incubator and placed Larvesta back into it, while ushering Yanma and Mantyke back to the room.

When he got there, he found a feast that everyone enjoyed. When they had their fill Mantyke went to his tank and Yanma took shelter on top of his pillow. Ash laid on the bed and held the incubator close as the bed lowered. Despite only waking up today, it had been an emotional day. His journey has just started but it has already been crazy. He fell asleep soon after.

AN: New Chapter guys and gals I hope y'all like it.