Mewtwo saunters in. Looks at you & bows: Welcome to the second story in this plotline. Read about how Kim knows Jackie & how they came to be in their present situation. Mewtwo leaves.
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�I was thinking,� Ash began.
�I didn�t know boys did that,� Misty cracked.
Ash shot her a look before saying, �I was thinking that it�s strange that James messed up in the introduction.�
�I know,� Misty added. �It�s like there was just two of them before.�
�There was two of them before,� I said.
�How do you know?� my best friend asked.
�It started two years ago,� I began.
Two Years Ago
�I want to be the trainer!� I shouted.
�Younger people learn quicker,� my sister, Melissa, argued. �I�ll be the trainer!�
�I�m only two years older than you. Face it. We both have an equal shot at being Pokemon trainers.�
�Yeah. But I still say that I�m going to be the trainer.�
The jingle of a key in the lock caught our attention. We ran to the front door & saw our mother walk into the house. She had been at the recreation center to sign one of us up for a Pokemon class so that one of us would be ready to train in a couple of years. We looked expectantly at her for her answer.
Finally, I couldn�t wait any longer. �Come on, mom. Who�s the lucky daughter?�
Smiling, Mom said, �You�re the lucky one, Kim. You�re going to be a Pokemon trainer.�
�Alright!� I cheered. I was going to be a Pokemon trainer! Maybe even a Master! �When do I start?�
�Tomorrow.�
�Cool.� Tomorrow was the day.
I turned to my sister to accept her congratulations, but she scowled at me. �What�s wrong?� I asked.
�The oldest always gets what they want,� she muttered before heading to her room. I turned to my mother helplessly.
�She�ll get over it,� mom said.
�I�m going to bed so I�ll be ready for tomorrow.�
�Alright. Good night sweetheart.�
�Night mom.� I went to my room & went to sleep.
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�Why could only one of you be a Pokemon trainer?� Misty asked.
�Because Mom wanted one of us around so she could pass all her cooking tips on to someone. Anyway, back to the story.�
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I woke up the next morning, all excited. Today I take my Pokemon class! They started at nine & it was a quarter to eight already. I got up, got dressed, & ate my breakfast. I then started brushing up on the Pokemon knowledge I knew in the last 5 years. There wasn�t much. But, the class will help.
At eight-thirty, I left for the recreation center for my class. I found the room & plopped into a seat. A few minutes later, a young boy of eight sat next to me on my left. I glanced at him. Wild, spiky black hair stuck out of a red & white hat (that I recognized as an official Pokemon Expo Hat) that sat atop his head. His eyes were huge & brown. He looked at me & smiled warmly at me. I did the same & decided to make friends.
�Hi. My name�s Kim. Kim Foster.�
�I�m Ash Ketchum.�
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�So the two you meet at the Pokemon class.�
�Yes, we did.�
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At eleven-thirty Ash & I bid good-bye & exchanged phone numbers. I walked home, feeling good. I had made a new friend. True, he was younger than me, but we shared a common interest. We both loved pokemon. Or we wouldn�t have met at the class. Speaking of the class. It was awesome. It was taught by a former Pokemon trainer. He gave us a lecture about a trainer�s journey. They start with their first pokemon from their local pokemon expert (in our case, Prof. Oak) & using that pokemon, we catch new pokemon that will, in turn, help catch other pokemon. He also answered any questions the class had. I noticed that several kids kept glancing my way. Probably because I�m so much older than them. I pretended that I didn�t notice. Besides, there�s no rule saying that once you�re over ten, you can�t be a pokemon trainer. I walked into my house, into the living room�
And saw my mom crying on the couch. A pair of policemen were seated on the recliners across from her. My dad stood in the doorway. The whole scene alarmed me. �Mom, what�s wrong?�
�My little girl�s gone!� she wailed.
�Gone?� I shot a questioning look at my dad, due to the fact that Mom was crying too hard to say anything more.
�She ran away,� Dad stated. He looked pretty upset himself.
�Ran away? Just because I was chosen to be a trainer & she wasn�t?�
�Seems that way.�
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�I never saw my sister again,� I finished up. �Until today.�
Ash whistled. �I never had any clue when we talked on the phone. We talked only about Pokemon.�
�Which brings us to our journey.�
�And our search for Pokemon.�
�And I see one!� I grabbed an empty ball.
�Where?�
�You�ll see it,� I pointed to an Ekans slithering through the grass.
�You sure it�s not Jessie�s Ekans?�
Positive. Pikachu?�
�Pika.� I watched my friend scamper ahead of me & wait for my rders.
�Pikachu! Thundershock!� I called.
�Pika�CHU!� shouted the yellow pokemon, hurling a charge at the wild Ekans. The snake fell unconscious & I snagged it in the ball, which resisted, then gave up. My second captured Pokemon!
�Alright!� I snatched up the ball & placed it on my belt with Pidgeotto.
�Way to go,� Ash commented. �You & Pikachu make a great team.�
"I�m sure that you & Charmander will be great together.�
Misty shuddered. �Why did you capture that�that reptile!�
�Because it�s a pokemon.�
�I don�t care. I don�t like snakes.�
�I don�t like snakes, either, but this one is different. I can train it.�
�And she can have it battle with Team Rocket�s pokemon. Especially with Jessie�s Ekans.�
�Just so long as she keeps it away from me.�
Ash & I looked at each other. Then, Ash grabbed a Poke ball & threw it. �Caterpie, come on out!� The ball opened near Misty & Caterpie appeared at her feet. There was the briefest of pauses before Misty gave the shrillest scream I had ever heard.
�Get that slimy thing away from me!� the redheaded girl said. I was shocked. She was afraid of a harmless bug like Caterpie? Amazing.
Caterpie looked at Misty, questioningly.
Misty screamed again (not as shrill this time) & backed away against a tree. �Get away! Don�t come any closer!� She got up & hid behind the tree.
Ash approached his bug Pokemon. He knelt down & held an arm out. �Climb onto my shoulder, Caterpie.�
The bug looked at it�s trainer, then to the girl behind the tree. Caterpie took off past Ash, past Pikachu, past me, & went right to Misty where it proceeded to rub against one of Misty�s legs.
Misty fell to her knees, screaming for Ash to get his Pokemon back into it�s poke ball. �Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things!�
Ash approached her. �Aside from you, what are the other most disgusting things?�
She shot him a look. �Very funny. I hat carrots, peppers,� she hit Caterpie with a mallet. �and bugs,� she finished.
�Yeah?� Ash said. �Well I like carrots and peppers and bugs.�
�So do I,� I replied.
�You do?� Ash asked.
�Yep.�
�Misty, you should apologize to Caterpie. Pokemon have feelings, too.�
�I know that. I just don�t like bugs.�
�We know that, Misty.�
�Let her be for now, Ash. We should get some sleep.�
�Alright.�
The three of us built a fire, ate a little of the food portions we had, then rolled out our bags & crawled into them.
�Goodnight Kim. Goodnight Caterpie,� Ash called sleepily.
�Night Ash. Night Pikachu,� I answered.
�Pikachu,� my Pokemon said. I closed my eyes & fell asleep.
I was awakened the next morning by a scream. I jumped in my bag & sat up, looking around wildly. Beside me, Ash & Pikachu did the same.
�What is this bug doing sleeping next to me?� It was Misty. Getting out of my bag, I looked over at her & saw Caterpie lying next to her. It was such a sweet scene.
�I think it likes you Misty,� I told her.
�Well, I don�t like it,� Misty screamed at Caterpie. Caterpie�s eyes shone with unshed tears as it crawled to it�s poke ball & let itself inside. Ash scolded Misty for hurting Caterpie�s feelings. Misty argued with Ash about bug pokemon and whether they had feelings or not.
Shrugging, I went back to my bag, rolled it up, & attached it on top of my pack. Ash stopped arguing & put his bag away, too. With the fire already out, we could continue our journey out of the forest. On the way, Ash captured a Pidgeotto of his own.
As we approached a clearing, I looked at it, feeling happy. It was green & open. The perfect spot for finding pokemon & even Pokemon battles. �I just know Melissa would agree.�
My smile faded at the thought of my sister. She had run away & become part of Team Rocket. Maybe she should have asked my mom to let her be a trainer too. To make an exception. It didn�t seem fair for only one of us to be the first Pokemon trainer of our family. I shook my head mentally. What�s past is past. No point in dwelling on it.
�We�re almost out. We�ll soon be in Pewter City,� Ash exclaimed.
�Not if we can help it,� said a new voice that came from the bushes in front of us. Slowly Team Rocket appeared & began to speak.
�To protect the world from devastation.�
�To unite all peoples within our nation.�
�To denounce the evils of truth & love.�
�To extend our reach to the stars above.�
�Jessie.�
�James.�
�Jackie. Team Rocket!�
�Blast off at the speed of light!�
�Surrender now-�
�or prepare to fight!�
�Meowth! That�s right!�
�Not you again!� Ash exclaimed.
�What are you doing here?� I asked.
�Hand over your Pikachu!� Jessie demanded.
�Why do you want Pikachu? There�s nothing special about it.�
�That�s where you�re wrong,� Meowth said. �Your Pikachu�s Thundershock was quite powerful. I really got a charge out of it. It�s power level exceeded it�s evolutionary level.�
Meowth�s announcement stunned me. My Pikachu was special? It was just the type of Pokemon they were after. �You�re not getting Pikachu!�
�Come on. Give up that Pokemon. You�ll find another on elsewhere,� Jackie said.
�I�ll never give Pikachu up. Never!�
�Then, we�ll take it from you,� James said. He threw a poke ball. �Koffing, go!�
�Ekans, go,� Jessie chimed in.
The two pokemon appeared & looked ready for battle. Ash & I looked at each other & nodded.
�Pidgeotto, go!�
�Charmander, I choose you!�
Our pokemon appeared & faced off the other two.�
�Koffing, smokescreen!�
�Pidgeotto, whirlwind attack.�
�Charmander, flamethrower!�
Pidgeotto flapped it�s wings at the enemies, sending the smoke back at them. Charmander exhaled fire at them. It mixed with the smoke & exploded. When the smoke cleared, two smoked pokemon appeared.
�Koffing, return!�
�Ekans, return!�
Jackie stepped forward & threw a ball. �Persian, go!� The ball opened & her Pokemon appeared.
�Persian, attack!�
The Persian pounced toward Pidgeotto! I couldn�t let it get my Pokemon! Holding out it�s ball, I cried, �Pidgeotto, return!� The flying Pokemon was beamed back to my ball. Now, it was up to Charmander.
�Charmander, fire spin attack!�
Charmander fired off it�s fire spin, sending it toward Persian. It singed it�s fur, causing it to cry out in pain.
�Persian, return!� Persian did so & Team Rocket glared at us.
�You can�t stop us!� James said.
�Think again,� I retorted. �Pikachu, thunderbolt attack!�
�Pik�A�Chu!� Pikachu�s thunderbolt struck Team Rocket sending them high into the air.
�Looks like Team Rocket�s blasting off again!� the villains called as they disappeared from view.
�All right! We won our first pokemon battle!� Ash cheered.
�Yes, but I think we haven�t seen the last of Team Rocket.�
Suddenly, one of the balls on Ash�s belt opened & Caterpie appeared. Then, it continued to spray it�s string shot all over itself. �Hey, Kim! Look at Caterpie!�
�I see! It�s evolving,� I gasped. �And you didn�t even have it battle.�
�Yeah. Looks like I have a rare pokemon, too.� Ash brought out his Pokedex once Caterpie�s evolution was complete.
�Metapod is the evolved form of Caterpie. This is the fastest evolution of any pokemon of this variety,� Dexter explained. Ash closed it.
�Well, Misty. You can�t be scare anymore. It�s not a bug anymore,� Ash said holding Metapod close to her. Misty shrieked.
�Keep it away. It�s creepy-looking.�
�It�s not going to hurt you. See?�
�I don�t care. I don�t want it anywhere near me.�
I sighed to myself. �Oh well. Misty may not like bugs, but they like her. I�m certainly learning a lot about my friends. My new one & my old one.�
�And,� I thought. �We�ve got a long way to go in our journey. Hopefully, Misty & Ash will learn to be good friends.�
�You�re a real scaredy-cat, Misty.�
�And you�re such a boy!�
�Or maybe not.�
Next time: The Battle for the Boulder Badge.