A New Beginning

by Rebecca Shapiro

  “Pikachuuu!” Pikachu confirmed.

  But Goh was surprised that Ash described the experience that way. “Became friends?” he asked.

  “Where did you get the impression that you were friends?” Professor Cerise added.

  Ash turned back to Professor Cerise to explain. “When my eyes met Lugia’s, I got this chill!” he said.

  “What do you mean by chill?” Goh asked, doubtful. “It’s just your imagination.”

  “No, you’re wrong about that!” Ash countered. “It’s like … I’m not sure how to say it … It’s like when you get those shocks and shivers straight down your spine!”

  Goh was starting to understand what Ash meant. “Well, there was that time when Lugia let out a huge Hydro Pump to slow down our descent before hitting the water,” he said.

  “That’s it!” Ash cried. He imagined the moment again—swooping down into the canyon in the sea created by Lugia. “Then, just before we hit the water, I heard a voice saying, ‘Here we go!’ ”

  “Heard a voice?!” Goh cried. He hadn’t heard one!

  Professor Cerise was interested. “Ash, that’s amazing!” he said, gripping Ash’s shoulders.

  Ash was a bit taken aback. “Uh, it is?” he said.

  “All right, let me say this,” said Professor Cerise. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you’ve done. It’s because of you two that I’ve learned things about Lugia no one’s ever known!”

  Ash and Goh laughed, honored by the professor’s praise. Then Professor Cerise continued. “And so, I have a request,” he said. “Will you do me the honor of becoming research fellows at my laboratory?”

  “What’s a research fellow?” Ash asked.

  “It’s a special research position, of course!” Goh replied.

  “You’ll get to meet the many kinds of Pokémon in this world,” Professor Cerise explained. “Sharing ideas, communicating, and so much more. You’ll be deepening our understanding of Pokémon—all of us, as a team!” He gestured toward the other researchers at the lab.

  “I’ve been waiting to hear those words,” Goh said, satisfied. “It’s reality! It’s my future, and I can hold it in the palm of my hand!”

  Just as Goh was really feeling inspired, Ash jumped in front of him, knocking him aside.

  “Professor Cerise! I’ll do it!” Ash cried. Goh gave him an annoyed look.

  “Great!” Professor Cerise said. “Then you’ll both agree to my proposal?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll help you out more than Ash will!” Goh boasted.

  “Nah, I’ll be more helpful!” Ash said.

  “No, I will!”

  “No, I will!”

  Ash and Goh kept bickering about who would be the best, while Pikachu scampered in circles around their feet.

  Just then, Ash’s mom came back from her shopping and heard about his plan. “Are you sure you’ll be all right, dear?” she asked him. “It’ll be a huge commute from here to Pallet Town, you know.”

  Ash’s shoulders slumped. He hadn’t thought about the actual details of working in Vermilion City.

  “Not a problem,” Professor Cerise said. Ash perked up. The professor had a solution! He led the whole group to another part of the building and opened a door to show them a sunny dorm room. Yamper scurried ahead of Ash, Pikachu, and Goh as they went in to check it out. There was a small couch and two desks on one side of the room, and bunk beds and a bookcase on the other. It was perfect!

  “We’re going to be live-in researchers!” Goh said.

  “Awesome! Live-in is the best!” Ash added.

  “I call the top bunk!” Goh said as he started to climb up the ladder.

  “Hold it!” Ash tugged on Goh to try to pull him down. “I got top-bunk dibs!” Ash tried to start climbing the bunk bed ladder, too, to beat Goh to the top.

  “You look like you roll in your sleep, so you’re on the bottom!” Goh countered.

  “I do not!” Ash said, still trying to get around Goh on the ladder.

  “The tallest researcher gets the top bunk!” Goh said, confident that meant him.

  “I’m taller than you!” Ash yelled.

  “I am!”

  “No, I am!”

  Ash and Goh kept bickering about the top bunk, while Pikachu and Yamper jumped around and played on the bottom bunk.

  Ash’s mom was watching from the doorway, along with the two professors. “All right, if that’s how it’s gonna be … Mimey?” she said, bending down to her Pokémon pal. “Would you mind looking after Ash for me, please?”

  Mimey was happy to. “Mime, mime, mime, mime!”

  Soon, Ash, Goh, and Professor Cerise were saying good-bye to Professor Oak and Delia as they prepared to drive back to Pallet Town.

  “See you later, Mom!” Ash said.

  “Oh, before I forget—I want you to eat everything on your plate, even your vegetables!” she replied. “And don’t forget to brush your teeth! And also—”

  “I know … ,” Ash said, embarrassed.

  “And, Goh?” Delia continued. “Please be a friend to Ash.”

  “You can count on me,” Goh told her.

  “Mom, can you please stop?!” Ash cried. His mom was treating him like such a little kid!

  Professor Oak said good-bye, too. “I’ll be back soon!”

  “You’re always welcome, Professor Oak,” Professor Cerise said. The group staying at the lab waved as Professor Oak started the car and drove off.

  “Dad? Ready?” Chloe called to him from up toward the laboratory.

  “Oh, sorry! Sorry, can you wait just a bit longer?” he replied. “There’s just one final thing I almost forgot about.”

  What could it be? Ash and Goh were curious.

  Back inside the lab, Professor Cerise revealed three Pokémon: Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle!

  “Whoa!” Ash was thrilled to see these familiar first partner Pokémon! But Goh was more uncertain.

  Professor Cerise explained why the Pokémon were there. “Goh’s making his Trainer debut, but I haven’t given him a partner Pokémon yet. So, who will it be?” he asked Goh.

  “Let’s see,” Goh said thoughtfully. “I think I’m gonna choose … Mew!”

  “Huh?” Ash was confused—that wasn’t one of the choices! And it was quite an unusual pick for a first partner.

  “I’ve already decided that my very first Pokémon will be Mew!” Goh declared. Ever since he’d seen the amazing, powerful, unique Mew in the forest when he was young, Goh had been dreaming about it. He knew Mew would be the perfect Pokémon partner to show what kind of Trainer he was.

  “Wait, you mean the Mythical Pokémon Mew?!” Professor Cerise said in shock.

  Goh turned to face Ash, Professor Cerise, and Chloe. He was sure. “It’s my future, and I can hold it in the palm of my hand!” he said.

  “You’re kind of strange, aren’t you?!” Ash said in response—meaning it as a compliment!

  Goh noticed Ash was sitting on the floor with Charmander in his lap, Squirtle on his back, and Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Yamper close by. “Not as strange as you, Ash!” Goh said.

  “Hey, then I win!” Ash responded, with a cheer.

  Goh realized he didn’t want to be outdone. “Hold on—I take that back. I’m stranger!”

  “No way, I’m way stranger!” Ash replied.

  As they kept bickering, Chloe rolled her eyes. “Not that any of this matters …”

  Professor Cerise chuckled and said, “I’m looking forward to this, and to learning more about Mew!”

  Ash and Goh agreed. They couldn’t wait to get started as research fellows!

  The next morning in the dorm, Goh’s phone alarm clock beeped and beeped. Neither he nor Ash wanted to get up. Goh finally turned the alarm off and said groggily, “Hey, Ash. It’s morning already.”

  “Got it,” Ash replied, still half asleep himself. Was he about to oversleep again?

  Neither of them moved. Mimey came into thei
r room and cheerily mimed vacuuming the floor—then saw the boys were still asleep, and turned his mime vacuum onto them! It sucked both of their blankets off, making Ash and Pikachu tumble onto the floor from the bottom bunk.

  “Mime, mime, mime!” Mimey said, satisfied.

  That was one way to get out of bed!

  Once Ash and Goh saw what was for breakfast in the lab cafeteria, though, they were happy to be awake. It was an amazing spread!

  “Is that all-you-can-eat?” Ash asked, eyeing the many different options.

  “What else, Ash?” Goh replied. “Don’t forget our special status here—we’re this lab’s only official research fellows!”

  Ash noticed another section of the breakfast spread. “Pokémon food, too!”

  “Pika pikaaa!”

  Soon, Ash, Pikachu, Goh, and Mimey were sitting down at a table, digging in (or mime-digging-in!) to their food.

  Ash was in the middle of recounting his battle against Lugia the day before when they all heard Yamper yapping. Professor Cerise and Chloe had come downstairs. They all said good morning and chatted for a few minutes while Ash and Goh ate. Chloe fed Yamper and left for school, and then Professor Cerise turned to go to the lab. “See you later,” he said to Ash and Goh.

  But the boys didn’t want to miss out on anything related to Pokémon research!

  “I’ll go with you!” Goh said, getting up from the table.

  “Me too!” Ash added, cramming a last, giant bite of food in his mouth.

  * * *

  Professor Cerise, Ash, and Goh had just arrived at the main lab when a researcher with blond hair and glasses ran in behind them, panting. He was late to work!

  “I’m so sorry!” he said, breathing heavily. “My bus got caught in a huge traffic jam!”

  Professor Cerise realized Ash and Goh didn’t know the other researchers yet. “I guess I haven’t had the chance to formally introduce you all, have I?” he said.

  The man who’d gotten in late said, “Hey there, I’m Ren.”

  “And I have one more assistant,” Professor Cerise said. “Her name is—”

  “Chrysa,” Chrysa said. She was sitting in front of a computer at a cubicle nearby. “It looks like the cause of that traffic jam is already in the news.” She pulled up the images on the main computer projection in the center of the lab, and Professor Cerise, Ash, and Goh walked up to it for a closer look.

  “Ivysaur!” Ash cried when he saw the screen. There were three pictures, showing a big group of the Grass- and Poison-type Pokémon moving together and blocking traffic in different parts of the city.

  “You mean there’s been an outbreak of Ivysaur?” Goh asked.

  Professor Cerise didn’t have a clear answer. “Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur … They’re often first partners to Kanto Trainers, but they still hold a lot of mystery,” he said.

  “Let’s go check it out!” Ash suggested.

  Goh agreed. “This will be a great first job as Cerise Laboratory research fellows!” he said.

  “You’re right!” Ash added. “Ready to rock, Pikachu?”

  Pikachu was ready. “Pika-chuuu!”

  Professor Cerise thought that was a great idea, too. But before they left, he wanted to make sure they had the “most-up-to-date” equipment to do their research. “Ash, do you happen to have your own smartphone?” he asked. Ash did not, so Professor Cerise pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Then here you go,” he said.

  “Thank you so much!” Ash replied.

  “Goh, please take yours out, too,” Professor Cerise said. Then he pulled out two Poké Balls. He held them up, and with a blast of blue light, a Rotom came out of each!

  “Rotom! Wow!” Ash and Goh said together.

  “Now take your smartphones and hold them up high,” Professor Cerise told them. They both did, and to their surprise, the Rotom disappeared in a bright flash—into their phones!

  As they watched, the red phones each sprouted a zigzag antenna, and two bright Rotom eyes and a smile appeared on the back of each.

  “Awesome!” Ash and Goh both yelled.

  “As you might expect, it’s called a Rotom Phone,” Professor Cerise explained. “It also serves as a Pokédex.”

  “Thanks so much!” Ash said. He was very excited for this new technology—he knew it would come in handy on his next adventure. But there was no time to waste!

  He and Goh cheered, “All right, then, let’s go!”

  This is weird,” Goh said. “I know it should be right around here somewhere …” He was looking at his Rotom Phone as he, Ash, and Pikachu walked down a street in Vermilion City, trying to find the Ivysaur traffic jam Ren had told them about.

  Then they heard a police whistle blowing in the distance—that must mean the traffic jam was nearby! Goh and Ash ran around the corner and found Officer Jenny in the middle of the road, directing traffic.

  “Officer Jenny!” Ash called to her.

  “Is there a problem, Officer?” Goh asked.

  “Right before your eyes,” she replied, and then stepped aside to let a line of Ivysaur cross the road.

  Ash and Goh were amazed to see so many of the Seed Pokémon together in person. Goh held up his Rotom Phone, which scanned one of the Ivysaur, identified it, and recited info about it. “A Grass- and Poison-type. The stronger the sunlight it absorbs, the stronger this Pokémon becomes and the larger its flower bud grows.”

  “So where are all these Ivysaur off to?” Goh wondered aloud. He and Ash watched the line of Pokémon head down the street, but before they could follow, Officer Jenny had some more information for them.

  “Oh, while you’re here—I’m not sure if this is connected to the Ivysaur, but look,” she said. She turned her tablet toward them, which showed a picture of two people and two Pokémon that Ash knew well …

  “Team Rocket?!” Ash asked, surprised. Were his longtime rivals in Vermilion City? Jessie and James and their Pokémon Meowth and Wobbuffet were almost never up to any good!

  Goh had not encountered Team Rocket before. “I read about them on the net,” he said. “It said they run around stealing other people’s Pokémon … But a talking Meowth has got to be a joke, right?”

  Ash chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that would be my first thought as well … ,” he said. He and Pikachu were all too familiar with the talking Meowth!

  Officer Jenny continued. “There’ve been sightings in the immediate area, so we’re keeping an eye out,” she said. “Please be careful out there.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Ash and Goh assured her.

  Just then, Pikachu heard something that it wanted to investigate. “Pika?” It jumped down from Ash’s shoulder and scurried off in the opposite direction from the line of Ivysaur.

  Ash and Goh hurried after Pikachu and found themselves in an alleyway. It had a dead end at a brick wall—and there was a lone Ivysaur who kept leaping forward and bashing its head against the wall, over and over again. It looked painful!

  “What’s going on?” Ash asked.

  “It looks to me like it’s determined to go forward, but it can’t,” Goh observed.

  Ash wanted to step in. “Let’s go give it a hand!” he said.

  “No, stop it!” Goh said, grabbing Ash’s arm to prevent him from rushing over to the Ivysaur.

  “No? Why can’t we?” Ash asked.

  “We’re here to investigate the reason the Ivysaur have suddenly appeared, right?” Goh said. “If you go butting in like that, we’re never gonna find out why.”

  Ash was confused—he and Goh clearly had different ideas about how to interact with Pokémon. “What’s the harm in helping it out a little?” he said.

  “You can’t go around trying to fix anything and everything!” Goh replied. “You’ll just end up keeping a Pokémon from learning how to help itself!”

  “What exactly do you mean by that?” Ash asked.

  “If someone’s always saving it, it won’t learn to live on its own!” Goh expl
ained.

  Ash disagreed. “That doesn’t make sense!” he argued. “If something needs help, then I’m gonna help!”

  “When a human tries to help a Pokémon in trouble because they feel sorry for it, then that’s their emotions talking!” Goh exclaimed. He thought that humans should remain neutral and let Pokémon figure out their problems by themselves.

  Ash wasn’t convinced. “You call it what you like, but I’m helping it out! Now!” He yanked his arm out of Goh’s grip.

  Ash approached the Ivysaur slowly. “It’s fine!” he said in a friendly voice. “See, I’ll help you climb up, okay?”

  “Piii-ka …” Pikachu wasn’t sure it was a good idea.

  Ash leaned down to pick up the Ivysaur, saying, “Here goes …” But the Ivysaur was not interested in his help. It gave him an angry look, and then used Tackle on him. It slammed into Ash, throwing him backward onto the street.

  “What did you do that for?!” Ash yelled from the ground.

  “Told you,” said Goh. The Ivysaur wanted to figure its problem out on its own.

  Ash was annoyed. “Just leave me alone, would you?” he said to Goh.

  “Oh, that’s how it is,” Goh said, hurt that Ash wouldn’t admit he’d been wrong. “And here I thought you were a friend when we rode Lugia. I guess I was way off the mark about that, wasn’t I?”

  “Look, I don’t need you as a friend,” Ash said.

  “So you’re just like everyone else, then, aren’t you?” Goh said quietly, disappointed.

  Ash stood up. “What did you say?”

  “You’ve done enough,” Goh said, taking his Rotom Phone out of his pocket. “I’ll investigate this on my own.”

  “Oh, you will, will you?” Ash replied, annoyed. “Be my guest.”

  “Don’t mind if I do!” Goh said.

  “Piiiikaaa.” Pikachu did not like seeing Ash and Goh fight.

  Suddenly, Ivysaur did something that made them stop arguing and watch. It had realized that slamming into the wall wasn’t getting it anywhere. So it used Vine Whip. Its two vines shot upward and wrapped around a light post sticking up above the brick wall from the other side. The vines held tight, and the Ivysaur used them to climb up to the top of the wall!