A New Beginning Page 2

  Once they arrived, Delia and Mimey got out to go shopping, and Professor Oak dropped off Ash at the steps of the research facility.

  “I’ll park the car. You go on ahead,” he said.

  “Right!” Ash said, bounding out of the car with Pikachu.

  As they made their way up the long flight of stairs, a small “brown-yellow-and-white” Pokémon approached them. Ash was immediately interested.

  “Wow! A Pokémon I’ve never seen before!” Ash cried. He crept forward on the stairs, trying to reach the little Pokémon. “You’re such a cutie! What’s your name?” he asked. “Let me pet you just a little!”

  But the Pokémon growled and backed up. “Yamp, yamp!” it said angrily, hopping around to avoid Ash’s grasp.

  Finally, Ash put on a burst of speed and grabbed it, giving it a big hug. “Got ya now … ,” he said. Pikachu was embarrassed about Ash’s behavior—but it knew it couldn’t stop him.

  “Yamp! Yamp!” The Pokémon had had enough. It hit Ash with Spark.

  Ash screamed as he was electrified—he didn’t know this Pokémon was an Electric-type!

  While Ash recovered on the ground, the Puppy Pokémon came over and made friends with Pikachu, licking it on the cheek. They bounded in a circle, playing. Just then, Chloe walked up the stairs, on her way home from school.

  “Hello, Yamper, I’m home—” Chloe gasped, noticing Ash on the ground and tiptoed around him. Her Electric-type Pokémon pal, Yamper, followed close behind.

  Soon Professor Oak found Ash, too. “If you don’t get a move on, you’ll miss the opening ceremony!” he said.

  That got Ash up! He shook off his shock and hurried inside the grand building. The ceremony was taking place in a large stone hall that was already full of other people. Ash strained to see around them to the stage at the end of the hall.

  A man with brown hair and glasses came onto the stage and introduced himself.

  “Thank you for coming. I am Professor Cerise, owner of the Cerise Research Laboratory. Now, let’s move on to the subject of Pokémon.” He snapped his fingers, and a high-tech computer shot up beams of light that formed a digital screen. It projected pictures of Pokémon as he continued to speak.

  “As you’re already aware, our planet plays host to this mysterious life-form. In forests, in the sky, and under the seas, no matter where you go in this world, you will undoubtedly find them,” he said. Ash knew this was true. From Kakuna and Butterfree in the woods, to Pidgeot in the sky, to Horsea and Tentacruel in the water, there were Pokémon everywhere!

  Professor Cerise continued. “And so, as Pokémon and humans live together in our world, they bond with each other in many ways. We at the Cerise Laboratory are dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of Pokémon in every region … investigating, analyzing, digging deep, and expanding our knowledge. Because to know Pokémon is to know the world! And that is the very key to making it a better world for each and every one of us!”

  Ash was riveted. This was a lab with a great mission!

  Upstairs, in the living quarters above the great stone hall, Chloe was reading on the couch. She looked affectionately at Yamper dozing beside her, then sighed and put her book down. As she walked over to look out the window, Yamper woke up and scampered over to her side.

  “Come on, Goh,” Chloe said as she gazed outside, looking for her friend. “You told me you’d be stopping by today, and that’s why I brought your homework here with me.”

  Just then, her phone pinged. It was a text message from Goh, and she read it aloud, annoyed. “ ‘I’m going to be late because I’m about to have a fateful encounter’?!” Chloe huffed in frustration. “Wow … the only time he gets in touch is for nonsense like this!”

  * * *

  Meanwhile, Goh was across town, high up on the roof of a big building on a hill. He was surrounded by books, and he held up his phone as it performed complicated calculations.

  “Just as I predicted!” Goh exclaimed. “These are the exact cloud formations needed for its arrival! This’ll be a breeze!”

  * * *

  At the same time, in the great stone hall at the lab, Professor Cerise’s phone beeped with an alert. He looked at it with a furrowed brow. “Let’s see …” He opened up a new screen on the high-tech computer he was displaying on the stage. “The atmospheric circulation, temperature, humidity, altitude … This may not be the most accurate forecast, but in about twenty minutes, an extremely rare Pokémon might just appear over Vermilion Port.”

  “A rare Pokémon?” Ash was thrilled to hear that!

  Professor Cerise showed Professor Oak his phone, and Professor Oak agreed that it seemed likely.

  Ash shot his hand up to interrupt. “Professors?! I’ll go and check it out, ’kay?”

  “Pi, pikachu!” Pikachu called from Ash’s shoulder as they dashed out the door.

  Everyone else in the crowd started murmuring excitedly, making guesses about what the rare Pokémon could be.

  Ash ran through the city, happy that every street he passed was empty. He wanted to beat everyone to the rare Pokémon!

  “Okay, I’m the first one!” he cheered. He was feeling great about himself. He was sure that he’d get to battle the rare Pokémon before anyone else.

  Suddenly, Pikachu squealed in alarm. “Pika! Pi, pikaaa!”

  But it was too late—Ash slammed right into a Snorlax asleep in the middle of the street!

  He and Pikachu bounced backward, spitting out Snorlax fur. Gross!

  “Snorlax?! Give me a break! Move over!” Ash pleaded. It was completely blocking the way forward. Now how would they get to the rare Pokémon?

  * * *

  While Ash was figuring out how to get past the Sleeping Pokémon, Goh was still on top of the building, ready to be the first to see the rare Pokémon. According to his calculations, it would be appearing in just a moment!

  “Here it comes,” he said. “Five … four … three … two … one … Go!”

  But nothing happened.

  “That’s weird … ,” Goh said.

  Suddenly, he heard a Pokémon nearby—but it was just a Psyduck passing by behind him. “Psyyyyy … ,” it said, holding its head in its hands.

  Goh was frustrated. “What’s with you?!” he demanded.

  Then a big flash of lightning called Goh’s attention back to the sky. An enormous black thundercloud was swirling in the distance! But the cloud was not right above Goh, as he’d thought it would be. It was over a totally different part of the city, by the port.

  He had to get over there. But would he make it in time?

  * * *

  The people who happened to already be over by the port were riveted by the huge, swirling cloud and flashing lightning. A smaller ball of clouds appeared within it, and soon beams of light started to shoot out from its center. The ball burst open, revealing … Lugia!

  The Legendary Pokémon flapped its huge white wings and let out a cry.

  Three Pokémon Trainers nearby were immediately ready to battle Lugia. They each threw down a Poké Ball, and then commanded their Pokémon:

  “Wartortle! Use Ice Beam!”

  “Jolteon, Thunder!”

  “Gengar, use Night Shade!”

  Each Pokémon threw their best moves at Lugia, but the attacks didn’t seem to affect it. Instead, Lugia blasted them back with Gust—a wind so powerful, it blew all three Pokémon straight back into their Trainers’ arms!

  Lugia swooped over to a different area along the water’s edge, where a different group of five Trainers was eager to battle it.

  “Let’s all do this together!” said a man with glasses.

  “Yeah, a raid battle!” agreed another Trainer.

  They all tossed their Poké Balls and called out moves to their Pokémon. Sableye, Sudowoodo, and Bisharp charged forward and made their attacks. Garchomp and Corviknight even flew up to the huge Legendary Pokémon. But Lugia easily swiped them back with its wings, knocking all five Pokémon out of the way
at once with a powerful Aeroblast.

  A moment later, Ash finally made it to the port—and found himself face-to-face with Lugia! Yes!

  “There you are!” he called. “Lugia, let’s have a battle!”

  “Piiika pi!” Pikachu was ready.

  Lugia nodded its assent, and the battle began.

  “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, now!” Ash said.

  “Piii … kaa … chuuuuu!” Pikachu gathered up its energy and hit Lugia with a Thunderbolt. But again, the attack didn’t seem to bother Lugia, who shot a huge Aeroblast back, making Pikachu tumble backward through the air. Ash slid forward and caught Pikachu just before it hit the ground. They were outmatched.

  Lugia started to fly away.

  “Hey, wait!” Ash called. He ran after it up the mountain road as fast as he could.

  Goh was running toward Lugia, too—from the other direction.

  “The future’s in the palm of my hand!” he said, pumping himself up as he got closer and closer.

  Goh and Ash were each determined to get to Lugia in any way possible. At the same moment, they both launched themselves off different parts of the city’s steepest mountain road—and onto Lugia!

  Goh landed on its tail, and Ash landed on its leg. Both were hanging on to the Legendary Pokémon with all their strength, trying to make their way up to its back as it soared through the air.

  They noticed each other at the same time. “What are you doing here?!” they both screamed. Neither of them had been expecting to encounter someone else doing the same crazy thing!

  Lugia spun around in a corkscrew, and both boys yelled in panic as they tried not to fall off.

  Finally, Ash made it up to the Legendary Pokémon’s back, and helped pull Goh up, too. They both sat there catching their breath for a moment, and Lugia looked back with a friendly expression.

  “Whoa, Lugia … ,” Ash said. It was starting to sink in that they were truly up on top of the Diving Pokémon!

  Goh came to the same realization. “Awesome! I’m riding on top of Lugia right now!” he said, amazed. He observed the way the Legendary Pokémon flew, and held up his phone to start recording his experience. “So that’s how its back fins move … wow!”

  He rubbed his hand on Lugia’s shimmery back. “It’s a lot rougher than I thought,” he said, still recording.

  “Check it out!” Ash called. He was hugging one of Lugia’s back fins and bobbing up and down along with it. “It feels so warm!”

  Just then, Lugia let out a deafening roar. Ash and Goh covered their ears and crouched down. The Pokémon shot up, up, up in the air! Lugia’s passengers screamed and held on for dear life until it finally leveled out, high in the sky. They were coasting right by a group of Pokémon that were flying.

  “Fearow!” Ash said with a happy laugh. He held out his hand to try to touch one, while Goh recorded with his phone.

  “For them to be just as high as Lugia, they must have amazing flying power!” Goh said, impressed. It was so cool to see in person how these Pokémon interacted.

  Lugia flew at the head of a big V of Fearow. Ash and Goh relaxed and admired the view … until Lugia started diving straight down toward the water!

  “Aaaaahhhh!” Ash and Goh screamed, bracing for impact.

  “Pika, pikaaaa!” Pikachu was terrified, too!

  Right before they smashed into the water, Lugia used Hydro Pump. That sent a big blast of air into the water, making it splash aside and creating a deep cavern. A beautiful rainbow arched overhead. Ash and Goh were in awe. It felt like they were diving down next to a waterfall as Lugia swooped into the cavern it had created.

  Just in time, Ash noticed Lugia was about to break through the water wall and take them all underwater. He, Pikachu, and Goh held their breath as they clung to Lugia’s back. After a moment, they were underwater, and they all opened their eyes to take in the amazing Pokémon around them. They passed so many—Shellder, Cloyster, Krabby … Tentacruel, Magikarp, Starmie … a group of Dewgong, and many more!

  Goh started filming. He even said, “Whoa!” aloud before he remembered he was underwater when several Horsea and a Seadra drifted close to him!

  The playful Horsea flitted over to Ash and Pikachu. “Seaaa seaaa!”

  Soon, though, Ash, Pikachu, and Goh started to run out of air. Luckily, Lugia was already headed toward the surface. It burst back into the air in a swirl of water.

  As Lugia’s massive wings took its passengers higher in the sky, they breathed in deep and sighed with relief.

  “That was close … ,” Goh gasped.

  “You know what?” Ash said. “It was awesome to meet so many Pokémon!”

  Goh was surprised at Ash’s reaction, and then he laughed. “You’re pretty funny, you know!” he said.

  “Yeah? You think so?” Ash replied.

  “Yup! I’ve decided: You’re going to be my friend,” Goh said. “I’m Goh, from Vermilion City.”

  “I’m Ash, from Pallet Town,” Ash replied. “This is my partner, Pikachu.”

  “Pika-chuuu!” Pikachu introduced itself as well, jumping onto Ash’s shoulder.

  Ash and Goh shook hands. “Nice to meet you!” they both said.

  Goh reached out to touch Pikachu and got a little electric jolt.

  “Pika!” Pikachu said playfully, and they all laughed.

  Lugia had been flying quickly, and it suddenly dove downward again. This time, it leveled out just above a meadow where two Rapidash were galloping, their flaming manes flickering behind them.

  Lugia’s passengers were just waving good-bye to the Rapidash when Lugia took a sharp turn upward. Ash, Goh, and Pikachu all tumbled off its back!

  They hurtled downward … but a Vileplume in the meadow broke their fall. One by one, they bounced off it into the grass. When they looked up, there was Lugia hovering above them. It flapped its giant wings in farewell, causing a huge gust of wind that swirled with petals from the flowers in the meadow. The friends braced themselves in the wind, and then waved good-bye as the Legendary Pokémon flew away.

  “See you!” Goh said.

  “Thanks a lot! Take care!” Ash called.

  “Pika, piiikaaa!”

  That had been an incredible encounter! They sat quietly in the meadow, reflecting on their amazing experience with Lugia.

  “And there it goes … ,” Goh said with a happy sigh. Some Butterfree fluttered past in the gentle breeze.

  “Pokémon are the coolest, huh?” Ash replied, flopping backward onto the grass.

  “Yeah. Lugia really brought that feeling home for me—the feeling that there’s a lot of world out there!” Goh said, inspired. “You know what? You can go wherever you want, if you’ve got the desire. And you can meet any Pokémon you want, too!”

  Ash sat up energetically. “Yeah, you sure can! No doubt about it!”

  “Pika, pikaaa!” Pikachu agreed.

  They all laughed. What an afternoon it had been!

  Goh stood up. “Come on, Ash,” he said. “I think it’s time we got back.”

  Ash leaped up, too, worried. “But that’s the problem—which way is back?!” They were in the middle of a field, far from town. Lugia hadn’t exactly given them precise directions back to the city when it dropped them off!

  “Piiika, piiika…” Pikachu was exasperated.

  After a long, long walk, the friends figured out their way and made it back to Vermilion City. They dragged themselves up the steps to Cerise Laboratory and collapsed in front of the door just as the sun was setting.

  “Finally … we’re home … ,” Ash croaked. They were exhausted.

  Yamper came bounding out of the building, yapping away. Pikachu went over to greet it, happy to see its friend again, and Yamper nuzzled Pikachu’s cheek.

  Chloe came out to see who it was.

  “Come on, you’re late!” she said to Goh.

  “You’re not gonna believe what happened—it’s the story of our fateful encounter!” Goh said excitedly, looking
up at Chloe. “You’ll never guess! I met Lugia!”

  Chloe was not impressed. “Is that so?” she said with a sigh. “This is more important.” She handed him a stack of paper. “Here, your homework printouts.”

  “Right … Not that I asked for them in the first place,” Goh muttered.

  “Huh?!” Chloe was annoyed. She’d put effort into getting Goh’s homework for him, and he didn’t even seem to care about it!

  Goh quickly changed the subject. “That reminds me, where’s Professor Cerise?”

  “Oh, Dad’s inside with Professor Oak,” Chloe said.

  “What? You mean Professor Oak’s here as well?!” Goh exclaimed. He hadn’t been at the lab when Ash and the professor had arrived, but he remembered Professor Oak from Pokémon Camp when he was much younger. Goh sprinted inside to say hello.

  Ash looked up at Chloe. She was Professor Cerise’s daughter? That was interesting!

  But before they could talk about it … “Yamp, yamp, yamp!” Yamper startled Ash by yapping right by his face. That Puppy Pokémon was full of energy!

  Inside the lab, Professor Cerise uploaded the photos and videos from Goh’s phone onto his big computer display. He was excited about what Goh had captured!

  “I’ve never seen such close-ups before,” he said. “Lugia’s back fins while in flight, and clear as day!”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet!” Goh bragged.

  The video continued, and Professor Cerise was even more impressed. “Wait … Is this underwater?! This is incredible!” he said.

  Goh chuckled with pride.

  Professor Oak turned to Ash. “How was your experience, Ash?” he asked.

  Ash was happy to answer. “You know, for a little while, we actually became friends with Lugia!” he said.