A New Kind of Journey: Kanto (Inconsistent Updates)

Chapter 4: New Arrivals

Ash turned around. "Hey Professor Oak, Gary," he said. Gary gave him a bro-hug and Professor Oak shook his hand. "Good to see you're back, Ashy-boy," Gary said, then noticed Serena. "Who's this?" Ash put his arm around her protectively, remembering Gary's reputation. "This is Serena," he said. "My girlfriend." Serena blushed at hearing this, and gave him a little hug to confirm his statement. Gary clapped his hand on Ash's shoulder and laughed, saying, "And it's doubly good to see you've finally broken out of your dense shell and gotten yourself a girlfriend." He turned to Serena and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Gary."

Serena nodded, knowing Ash felt a little threatened by Gary's presence, and said, "Hello." Some people assumed that Gary was slow, but his mind was as sharp as a razor and his eyes were as keen as a falcon's. He'd seen Ash's protective movements and Serena's subsequent nervousness and correctly guessed the reasons behind them. He looked back at Ash and grinned, saying, "Don't worry, Ash. I won't make a move on anyone else's girl cause I've already got one of my own." Ash relaxed, although Serena was glad that he kept his arm around her. "Who's the lucky girl?" she asked. Gary smirked, but just said, "She'll be here soon. I talked to her about Ash and she wanted to be here to welcome him." Serena felt a stab of jealousy, but Ash gave her shoulders a little squeeze. The message was clear, Don't worry, no one can take me from you.

Professor Oak coughed lightly to get their attention and said, "So Ash, do you have any new Pokemon you'd like to show us?" Ash nodded and threw five Pokeballs into the air. "Come on out, everybody!" he shouted. Out came five Pokemon that none of them (excluding Ash) had ever seen before.

Corviknight

Sirfetch'd

Rillabloom

Drednaw

Dragapult

Gary and the Professor's eyes widened. "Is that a Farfetch'd?" Gary asked of no one in particular. Why is its blade so long?" Professor Oak was looking Corviknight up and down, muttering to himself, "How could this Pokemon even get off the ground? How does it compensate for its weight when flying?" Corviknight stared at Professor Oak, hearing his words and knowing they were about him somehow but not understanding any of them. Sirfetch'd puffed its chest out proudly as Gary examined it. Drednaw struck up a conversation with Oshawott, and Dragapult and Hawlucha had started an argument out of nowhere. Before the argument could get ugly, Ivysaur used Sleep Powder on them. Rillabloom was a little shy as he'd never been around this many Pokemon before, but was quickly made welcome by Ash's other Grass Type Pokemon. After Professor Oak and Gary had finished examining them, Sirfetch'd and Corviknight talked to Talonflame and Noivern.

As all this was going on, Ash began introducing Serena to his Pokemon and told her the story of how he'd caught thirty Tauros, which she found very funny. She was petting Torkoal when she heard a girl's voice shout, "Hey, Gary! I made it!" She turned to see a young woman with blue eyes and back-length orange hair running towards them. Gary waved in response. When the girl made it to them, she ran up to Gary and gave him a kiss. "Where is he?" she asked, and Gary pointed in Ash's direction. She ran over to him and gave him a hug. "It's so good to see you again, Ash!" she said. Serena was confused. See him again? Ash returned the hug and said "It's good to see you too, Misty." Misty released him, then noticed Serena. "Hi!" she said. "Who are you?" Serena stood up and replied, "I'm Serena, Ash's girlfriend." Misty's eyes widened. "No way," she said, turning to Ash. "You got a girlfriend!?" Ash threw up his hands in exasperation. "Why is this so surprising to everyone?" he asked. Gary slapped him on the back and said, "Exactly." They all laughed.

After they'd all gotten reacquainted, Misty brought Serena a little ways away from the others for some girl talk, and Ash talked to Gary and Professor Oak about Galar and its Pokemon. As he was describing how he'd caught Corviknight, Ash saw a flash of movement just inside his field of vision. He turned to see what caused it, but it was gone. He felt a strange stirring in his stomach, as though he'd just found a long-lost friend. Could it be, he thought, then shook his head, dismissing the notion. Meanwhile, in the trees, a humanoid figure disappeared into the shadows. I found him, it thought to itself.

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I'd like to apologize. My household is in the middle of moving, and everyone had to help as much as possible. Add in the fact that I'm flying back to Washington tomorrow, and I had a lot of trouble keeping up with my writing. As a result, I ended up finishing this chapter a little late. That aside, thank you all very much for your support. I can't believe how many reads this book has gotten and I'm more grateful than can be put into words. Remember to vote if you like my story and follow me to be notified of any updates. Doumo arigato.

Sayonara.