Hey y'all! Here's Chapter 2!

To those who reviewed: Thank you! For the longest time, I thought Shadow Ball was a Dark-type move, so thank you to those who pointed out my mistake!

I have decided to make the pairing Ash x Serena, but Ash will not be visiting the Kalos or Unova regions. Serena will be a travelling Trainer much like Ash is.

I have plans to eventually send Ash gallivanting off to the Orre region, but that will not happen for a while.

Also, for those who commented which Legendary Ash should catch next, stay tuned!

Chapter 2

Ash groaned as he forced open his eyes, only to squeeze them shut as the light from a nearby window burned his sensitive orbs. When his eyes had finally adjusted, he discovered that he was lying in a hospital bed. 'How did I get here?' he thought, before looking down at the two Legendary Pokémon sleeping on either side of his bed. 'Oh. Latias must have brought me here while Latios kept the Spearow busy,' he thought. He tried to move his hand to pet them, but found he couldn't.

Regaining consciousness after a Spearow attack? No problem. Regaining motor function? Another matter entirely.

Finally, he regained enough control to lightly stroke Latias' feathers. This action caused the Eon Dragon to stir slightly, then open her golden eyes. The first thing she laid eyes on was Ash smiling at her. With a happy cry, she floated next to him and nuzzled his cheek affectionately. Latios did the same on Ash's other side, with Latias' cry having woken him up.

There was a flash of light from across the room, and Ash suddenly found himself on the receiving end of an enthusiastic Eevee's tongue. Laughing, Ash scratched Eevee behind the ears, making her purr in happiness before she turned in a circle a few times. She then promptly laid on Ash's chest and refused to budge, much to Ash's annoyance and the Eon Duo's amusement.

Drawn by the noise, Nurse Joy walked through the door to Ash's room and smiled. "Ah, you're awake!" she said happily, taking Ash's vitals. "You gave us quite a scare, young man. I thought for a moment your Pokémon were going to have a heart attack." Ash had the decency to blush and look down, slightly ashamed. Latias noticed this and nuzzled his cheek, making him smile slightly.

After about an hour, Nurse Joy came back with his results. "Well, it appears you'll walk away from this with a few scratches, but nothing life threatening," she said. "Just try not to anger anymore Spearow, okay?" Ash chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Will do! Thanks for the help!" he said. "That's my job," said Nurse Joy with a smile.

Ash returned Latios and Latias to their Poké Balls and left the Pokémon Center. Upon realizing he was in Viridian City, he immediately made his way to the nearby gym.

Thanks to his impeccable sense of direction, however, he managed to get himself lost, ending up in front of the Pokémon Center no less than twelve times. His repeated failures to locate the elusive gym made him extremely grouchy.

Growling angrily, Ash whirled around, away from the Pokémon Center. Immediately, his eyes landed on a stone plaque in front of an ornate building.

Viridian City Pokémon Gym

Leader: Giovanni

A man in pursuit of power!

Ash mentally kicked himself. The one place he wanted to find, and he goes on a wild goose chase to find it, only for it to be right where he started. He began to walk up to the building, when he noticed a sign with large letters on the doors.

CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT

Ash groaned and sat down beneath a nearby tree, letting Eevee out of her Poké Ball to play around. The little fox Pokémon yipped happily and ran around, elated to finally have some playtime.

Ash suddenly had a thought. "Come on out, Pidgey!" he called, tossing the bird's Poké Ball into the air. Pidgey emerged with a chirp and landed in front of Ash, cocking its head to the side. Ash smiled and held out his arm. "Hey there, Pidgey! I know you and I haven't had a lot of time to really connect, but if you're willing, I'll do my best to make you the strongest Pidgeot the world's ever seen!" he said excitedly. "What do you say?"

Pidgey looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing its options. It was true that he was rather unceremoniously captured, but he had also seen how strong trained Pokémon could be. After a few minutes of debating, Pidgey made his decision and flew up to Ash's shoulder, preening his unruly black hair affectionately, making the boy laugh. Eevee, drawn by the noise, scampered over and plopped herself in Ash's lap with a happy yip before lying down and falling asleep. Ash smiled and stroked the Pokémon's back as she began to snore.

[Linebreak]

Ash wasn't even aware that he had fallen asleep until he was jarred awake by Eevee's tackle. Rubbing his head where it had painfully collided with the tree he was leaning on, he was shocked to notice the sun was already halfway below the horizon. Recalling his Pokémon, he quickly jumped up. He looked up at the sky and saw a large thunderstorm headed his way. 'I really don't want to get caught in that,' he thought, quickly making his way to the Pokémon Center.

He barely made it. Just as he stepped through the door, the skies opened and it began pouring. He breathed a sigh of relief as he started to walk up to the counter to rent a room, but something made him stop and look back.

Outside in the dark, Ash could vaguely make out a silhouette in the rain. Glowing red eyes locked with his as the shadow approached the Center. Finally, it stopped about fifty feet from the door.

Now that it was closer, Ash found that the shadow was actually a large Pokémon. It had yellow fur, a purple mane, and a blue zigzag tail. Its red eyes stared right through him, but there was no sign of malice in the Pokémon's gaze, only…interest. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of lightning. Ash instinctively covered his eyes, but when he opened them, the Pokémon was gone.

'What was that?' he wondered as he made his way to the nearby videophones. Maybe Professor Oak would know. He dialed the Professor's number and waited for the old man to pick up.

Finally, the Professor's face came on the screen. "Ah, Ash! I was wondering when I'd get a call from you! Where are you, my boy?" he asked. "The Pokémon Center in Viridian City," Ash replied.

Oak gave an appreciative smile. "I'm impressed, young man. You're the first Trainer from Pallet Town to reach Viridian City," he praised, making Ash blush slightly. Then he remembered why he called the Professor in the first place.

"Hey, Professor Oak, I saw a Pokémon I've never seen before earlier. It was too dark and rainy to scan it with my Pokédex," he said. Oak looked thoughtful, then turned to his computer and opened his database, which contained information on almost every Pokémon he knew of. "Can you describe it?" he asked.

Oak typed as Ash described the Pokémon he saw. After a few minutes, there was a chime from Oak's computer.

"Pokémon match found. Raikou, the Thunder Pokémon. Legends claim this Pokémon came to Earth riding a bolt of lightning. It can create storms using the clouds in its mane. No further information available concerning this Legendary Pokémon," said the computer. Oak gaped at the screen before turning to an equally surprised Ash.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you described it to a T, I would say you were just seeing things," said the professor. "You should consider yourself lucky. Many Trainers search their whole lives and never see a Legendary Pokémon."

Ash snickered internally. 'Oh, if you only knew,' he thought. But he wouldn't tell him about Latias and Latios. Not yet.

After chatting with the professor for a while, the old man had to get back to work. After he hung up, Ash decided to call his mother. He dialed the number and waited.

"Hello, this is the Ketchum residence…Ash!" said Delia as her face came on the screen. "How are you? Where are you? Are your Pokémon all right?" Ash laughed as his mother asked a million questions.

"In order: Good, the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, and yes, they're fine," he said, releasing Eevee, who immediately clambered up to his shoulder and yipped happily at the screen. Delia giggled at the Pokémon's antics. "Wow, you're already in Viridian City? That's amazing!" she said. "Have you caught any new Pokémon?"

"Only a Pidgey, but he's a tough little guy. He'll be quite the fighter when he evolves," Ash said. "I'm going to head into Viridian Forest tomorrow and see if I can catch some more Pokémon before moving on to Pewter City and challenging Brock." Delia beamed at her son. "All right, but be careful! I don't want to hear from Nurse Joy that you got stung by a Beedrill or something!" she said playfully, giggling at Ash's betrayed expression.

"Mom! Do you really have such little faith in my abilities?" he groaned dramatically, clutching his chest as though he were mortally wounded. Delia rolled her eyes and giggled at her son's antics. "I mean it, Ash. Anyway, it's getting late, and you need to be rested if you're going into the forest. I'll talk to you when you reach Pewter City," she said with a smile, which Ash returned.

"Will do, Mom. Love you!" he said. "Love you too, son," said Delia, before the screen went blank. Ash stretched and yawned as he stood up. A nice rest and a full meal tomorrow would do him a world of good.

He walked up to the counter and rented a room for the night. As he was climbing into bed, there was a bright flash of light, and Ash soon found himself in between two Eon Pokémon, with Eevee curled up on his chest and Pidgey perched on the headboard with his beak under his wing. Ash smiled and slowly drifted off to sleep.

[The Next Morning]

Ash awoke early, mostly thanks to a hungry Eevee pawing at his head. He got up, showered, and got dressed before heading to the cafeteria, where he ate breakfast and fed Eevee and Pidgey.

"Well if it isn't Ashy-boy!"

Ash mentally groaned and turned to see Gary Oak standing behind him. "Hi, Gary," he said evenly. Gary smirked, before noticing Eevee and Pidgey looking at him curiously. "Are these your Pokémon?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "They don't look like much."

Instantly, the temperature dropped a few degrees. Pidgey squawked in outrage and Eevee pressed her ears flat against her head, growling angrily. Latios and Latias' Poké Balls were vibrating slightly on Ash's belt. Ash himself sat motionless, then slowly turned his head and looked at Gary over his shoulder. "What did you just say?" he said softly.

"You heard me! I called your Pokémon weak!" said Gary with a smug smile. Ash stood up and pulled Eevee's Poké Ball off his belt. "Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Gare-bear?" he said. Gary twitched at his hated nickname. "What did you call me?" he said indignantly, pulling out his own Poké Ball.

Luckily, Nurse Joy decided to step in. "Hold it! No Pokémon battles in the Center! There's a battlefield out back," she said, stepping between the two preteens, who glared at each other before stalking out back, followed by a sighing Nurse Joy.

"All right, Ashy-boy, let's go! Three on three, no substitutions!" he said, pulling out a Poké Ball. Ash grew slightly nervous. 'I hope Eevee and Pidgey can handle this. I want to keep Latios and Latias a secret for as long as possible,' he thought.

"I accept! Let's do this!" he cried. "Eevee, go!" The little fox Pokémon yipped and jumped off his shoulder.

"An Eevee, huh? Then I choose Mankey!" A round, white-furred Pokémon with strong arms appeared on the field with a loud screech.

'He's going for a type advantage, since Eevee's a Normal-type,' Ash thought. "Eevee, use Tackle!" Eevee yipped in response and charged at Mankey. Gary, however, wasn't having any of it. "Dodge, then use Karate Chop!"

Mankey nimbly flipped over Eevee and landed behind her, bringing its paw up above its head. "Eevee! Go underground!" cried Ash frantically. Without wasting a second, Eevee dug a tunnel and dove into it, barely avoiding the Karate Chop. "Now, come up and use Shadow Ball!"

The ground behind Mankey cracked and Eevee burst out, launching the ball of dark energy. It collided with a loud bang, and Mankey went flying, smashing into a tree and sliding down the trunk, knocked out.

Gary recalled Mankey and smirked. "Okay, I'll admit I underestimated you, Ashy-boy. But how about…this!" he cried as he tossed another Poké Ball.

With a burst of light, a pink pokemon with large ears and a horn on its head appeared. 'A male Nidoran,' thought Ash. 'Gonna want to avoid that horn.' Eevee looked back at him, waiting for a command. "Eevee, use Shadow Ball!"

Eevee yipped and shot the attack at Nidoran, who quickly dodged by using Dig. 'Crap,' thought Ash. "Eevee, get out of there!" he cried. Eevee wasted no time, jumping backwards just as the ground underneath her gave way, revealing Nidoran.

"Nidoran, use Poison Sting!" cried Gary. Nidoran's horn glowed purple as it charged toward Eevee, who nimbly dodged. Ash, meanwhile, was trying to come up with a strategy. "Eevee, use Sand Attack!" he cried. Eevee yipped and swept her tail along the ground, throwing dirt into Nidoran's face. The Poison Pin Pokémon grunted and pawed at its eyes, desperately trying to remove the offending substance.

"Now, Eevee! Finish it with Shadow Ball!" cried Ash victoriously. "Counter with Poison Sting!" yelled Gary in return.

Both attacks met in the middle, with the Shadow Ball pushing the Poison Sting back until the attack detonated. However, one of the needles from the Poison Sting hit Eevee, who yelped before slumping to the ground, looking sick.

"Eevee, return!" Ash quickly grabbed his second Poké Ball. "Go, Pidgey!" The bird Pokémon appeared with a flash of light and hovered above the ground.

"Fine! Go, Pikachu!" cried Gary after recalling his fainted Nidoran. With a flash of light, a chubby yellow mouse appeared on the field with a bored expression.

"Pidgey, use Sand Attack!" cried Ash. Pidgey chirped and swept a wing across the ground, tossing a wad of dirt at Pikachu, who nimbly dodged.

"All right Pikachu, counter with Thundershock!" cried Gary triumphantly. Pikachu just looked at him before curling up on the ground and falling asleep.

"What?! No! Pikachu, I said use Thundershock, not take a nap!" shouted Gary. Pikachu just let out a large yawn before settling back down.

"Well, I guess that means I win, if Pikachu refuses to battle," said Ash. Gary just grit his teeth and recalled Pikachu, before stomping away in anger. Ash just sighed. Gary would never change.

He quickly recalled Pidgey and ran back into the Pokémon Center, where Eevee was promptly healed. Thanking Nurse Joy, Ash returned to his room, packed, and set out towards Pewter City, and his first Pokémon Gym battle.

(Linebreak)

Ash strolled casually through Viridian Forest, carefully watching for any wild Pokémon. So far, all he had seen were Pidgey. He was considering going deeper into the forest to find some other Pokémon when he heard a blood-curdling scream.

Whirling around, his eyes widened as he saw a girl around his age, backing against a tree in fear of the swarm of Beedrill in front of her. Thinking quickly, he threw out a Poké Ball. "Pidgey, use Gust!"

The bird Pokémon appeared in a flash of light and began flapping its wings, kicking up a whirlwind that blew all but one of the Beedrill away. The girl quickly scrambled to her feet and dove behind a tree as the Bee Pokémon dive-bombed Pidgey, who dodged easily.

"Get in close with Quick Attack, then use Peck!" cried Ash. Pidgey flew up high before diving, its beak covered in white light, which left streams behind it. The wild Beedrill didn't stand a chance against the super-effective attack and was slammed into a tree, before sliding down into an unconscious heap on the ground.

Ash then turned his attention to the girl.

"You okay?" he asked as he helped her up. The girl, who was still in shock, merely nodded as she tried to calm down.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks," she said as she slowly got her breathing under control. "I must have walked into their hive." Ash gestured toward the path he had been following. "This path leads to Pewter City. If you want, you can walk with me," he offered.

The girl smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I'm Serena," she said with a smile. Ash returned the gesture. "I'm Ash, and you've already met Pidgey," he said, gesturing to the bird Pokémon, who trilled happily.

Serena smiled and followed Ash back to the path. Along the way, they chatted about various things. Ash found that Serena actually was born in Kanto, but her family moved to the Kalos region when her father was offered a job as Professor Sycamore's assistant. She had come back to Kanto to explore and see the world. She even had her own starter Pokémon, a healthy-looking Bulbasaur.

After some time, they stopped and had lunch in a nearby clearing. Ash let Eevee and Pidgey out to relax and explore as he munched on a sandwich. He snickered when Eevee snuck up behind Pidgey and pounced, eliciting a startled squawk from the bird. Seeking revenge, Pidgey gave Eevee's head a solid whack with its wing. Eevee responded with a Sand Attack, before the two Pokémon disappeared in the cloud of dust that was kicked up from their scuffle.

Ash sighed while Serena giggled at the amusing sight.

"Alright, you two. We need to get going to Pewter City," said Ash, breaking up the scuffle. "That badge isn't gonna win itself."

"Oh, are you taking the Pokémon League challenge?" asked Serena in surprise. Ash nodded, grinning. "I'm gonna become a Pokémon Master!" he boasted.

"Well, you're gonna have to get eight badges first," said Serena. "And from what I've heard, the Pewter City Gym Leader's no pushover."

Ash deflated a little. "Really? What type of Pokémon do they use?" he asked.

Serena smirked. "Really? You're the future Pokémon Master, you should be prepared for anything," she teased.

Ash furrowed his brow. "So, you don't know then."

Serena's face became red with embarrassment. "O-Of course I know! And just for that, I'm not gonna tell you!" she snapped, turning away from Ash with her nose in the air. Ash looked down at Eevee and Pidgey and shrugged. Girls were weird.

And that's a wrap! Thanks to all of you who reviewed!

Next Chapter: Pewter City, Training, and Ash vs. Brock!

See y'all next chapter!