Journeys: A Beginning

A Gigantamax Surprise

Summary: Ash and Goh are asked to visit Wedgehurst to visit one of Professor Cerise's newest assistants, however, encounter something shocking on the way!

~ Chapter 5 | A Gigantamax Surprise ~

The morning had arrived quickly, with the golden rays of the sun barely peeking through the blinds that covered the windows. All was quiet in the bedroom shared by Ash, Goh, and their two partners, Pikachu and Bulbasaur. Though, it would only be a matter of time until they had to get up, as the day ahead would prove to be very busy, exciting, and filled with chaos as usual.

The first to awake was Bulbasaur, who, not exactly conscious of the fact that Ash and Pikachu loved sleep and that Goh desperately needed it as his sleep schedule was frequently impeded by his obsession with the attainment of knowledge, decided he would take it upon himself to wake them up. So, one by one, he woke up by slapping them around with his vines. In the end, this all resulted in one thing: Pikachu accidentally fired off a Thunderbolt which shocked everyone, including Bulbasaur.

"Ugh...Pikachu, what's the big idea?" Ash asked groggily, scratching the back of his head and wondering if he had accidentally nudged Pikachu in his sleep. "It's our first day, let's not try to already ruin the bedspread."

Pikachu, unimpressed, pointed to Bulbasaur. "Pi-ka."

Bulbasaur, realizing the chaos he caused, looked left and right to try and find a way to escape, before he was grabbed by Goh. He was now unsure if he was about to receive punishment for what he did, only to unexpectedly be on the receiving end of praise from his trainer.

"Thanks so much for waking us up, Bulbasaur, it was already getting way too late, we can't let the day get away from us!" Goh proclaimed.

Ash rubbed his eyes. "Well next time can you tell him to be a bit more subtle with it, or it's going to be a Thunderbolt a day until he stops."

Not wanting to annoy Pikachu anymore after seeing what he was capable of, Bulbasaur silently agreed to do so, while Goh just nodded. Now that they were up, they each got ready for the day and got dressed, meeting downstairs to eat breakfast and make plans for the day. Luckily, plans had already been set for them that day, exciting ones that involved visiting Wedgehurst, the main hub of Pokémon research in the region, in order to meet one of Professor Cerise's newly hired assistants who had acquired something worthy of research.

"Sleep well?" Ren asked, spinning around on his swivel chair to take a break from his work.

Ash and Goh looked at each other and mutually nodded. "For the most part!"

Chrysa stood up, refilling her bottle of water in the kitchen. She turned toward the hallway behind them and whistled. In accordance, after a few moments of silence, two Pokémon made their way over to the main room, one snuggling up to Chrysa's leg, and the other, donning a pink cap, floating around Ren's head.

"A Psyduck, and a Magnemite too!" Ash cheered, recognizing the familiar Pokémon native to his homeland. "Are they your guys' Pokémon?"

Ren nodded. "This is my Magnemite, Francois!"

"And this is Psyduck!" Chrysa picked up her partner, hugging her close.

Pikachu and Bulbasaur hopped over and greeted them both, acquainting themselves with more new friends. This was interrupted with the arrival of Yamper, who just wanted to play with Pikachu, and to a lesser extent, Francois. Psyduck and Bulbasaur were completely left out and while Psyduck was a bit confused by it, Bulbasaur didn't exactly like it, leading him and Yamper to scuffle.