Ash's Return: A Pokémon Story

Chapter Five: The Pokémon World Championship

Ash and Pikachu were on edge for the rest of the day, their eyes darting to examine every passing figure's face in the city in case Team Rocket decided on another surprise attack. He knew they would be somewhere in Viridian, no doubt hoping to disrupt or cash in on the competition somehow. The sun had long set and they quickly found a room to spend the night. Ash slept badly, jolting awake at every noise and imagining he could hear Team Rocket's stupid rhyme in the darkness.

He awoke the next morning feeling unrefreshed, but he resolved to put the criminals out of his mind; they had never been that bright anyway. He cheered up when he remembered that he and his two oldest friends would be reunited again that day, and together they would go through his final preparations for the upcoming event, the qualifiers for which would begin in a week.

Brock and Misty would be travelling together to the city by train, so Ash would meet them at the station. As he stepped out of the previous night's accommodation, it occurred to him that he had barely taken in his surroundings the evening before; he had been so preoccupied with the recent ambush. He looked around him and whistled softly, then spoke to Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder.

"I'd forgotten how amazing this place is."

"Pika!" Pikachu chimed in agreement. The city was one of the most picturesque he had ever been to. Elaborately-carved statues lined the roofs of buildings, patterned glass windows gleamed in the sunlight and flowers and tall trees bordered the roads. It was a wonderful blend of modern and classic and in the centre, towering over everything else, was the flawlessly-designed Pokémon stadium. Although he had already seen it when he had come to register for the competition, it still overwhelmed him.

Ash blinked and realised he had been staring at the building wide-eyed for a whole minute. He looked up at Pikachu, who seemed similarly dazzled. With slow steps he made his way to the train station, taking care to notice every detail this time.

Ash reached the station and took a seat at the entrance; he had twenty minutes before the train from Cerulean arrived, so he used this time to browse through his Pokédex. So many types, so many abilities, and who knew what he and his Pokémon would soon have to face?

He was roused from his reminiscing by the sound of an approaching train and the wind that accompanied it. Jumping up, he approached the exit of the platform and bounced on his feet in anticipation, while Pikachu ran around him, sniffing at the legs of passing passengers. Then Brock and Misty's faces appeared. They were deep in conversation and did not immediately notice Ash. When they did, their reactions were startlingly different. Brock beamed and held out his arms wide to bring Ash into a hug. Misty kept a fairly blank expression and simply nodded curtly to Ash while giving him a rough pat on the arm. Not knowing how best to respond to this, Ash decided to copy her and patted her arm in return.

"Thank you for coming, guys. The trio together again," he said. Brock beamed even wider; Misty managed a small smile, but it looked like it hurt her face to do so. She evidently decided that was enough of the niceties, as she quickly said:

"Yes, yes; shall we get started then?"

Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu made their way to a small valley on the border of the forest. It was a varied landscape, with a mixture of large boulders, flat grassland and patches of deep water scattered about, so Ash's Pokémon would be able to accustom themselves to all types of terrain in preparation for the competition. As they walked there, Ash told Brock and Misty about his encounter with Team Rocket. They were both shocked.

"They're still going?" asked Brock. "I thought they'd shut down years ago!"

"They have been quiet for a while," said Misty. "I've heard nothing about them in Cerulean. But I did hear that Giovanni, Viridian's Gym Leader, recently died, and there were always rumours that he was involved with Team Rocket. Maybe the incidents are related?"