=Episode 1: The Trip Begins=

	Ash lay in a field.  He knew this was a dream, but didn't really care.  
He saw the three choices of Pokemon that he could have.  Charmander, 
Bulbasaur and Squirtle.  He knew their abilities quite well.  But which 
should he choose?  Charmander had the fire that he felt inside, but 
raising a Squirtle could be challenging. But Bulbasaur was the choice 
for beginners.  Which one?
	Ash awoke to his alarm clock and shot upright.  He spun around and 
grinned.  3 AM.  Who else was going to go to Professor Oak lab this 
early?  Ash mentally patted himself on the back as he tossed on his 
clothes and ran to the laboratory.  Just in time to see three kids 
sleeping outside of the gate.  He chuckled to himself as he pulled out a 
tube of superglue and proceeded to superglue the pants of all three kids 
to the gate surrounding Proffessor Oak house.
	Then, as he was about to enter, he noticed one of the kids was his 
nemesis, Greg.  He thought to himself, [Time for the Flaming Bag (tm)!]
	After assuring that his nemesis was going to get a nasty surprise when 
he woke up, Ash Catch'em ran into the laboratory and found the Professor 
staring at a computer monitor.
	"Professor?" Ash asked.
	"One moment, Mary Ann... oh, Ash." The Professor said, turning around 
to see Ash standing in the doorway, waiting.
	The Professor turned back to the computer for a second, hastily 
minimizing various programs and files before grabbing six pokeballs and 
a compu-deck that had a pink post-it that said "Ash" on it.
	"It's good to see you, but should you really be up this late, Ash?" the 
Professor asked.
	"It's 3 in the morning, Professor, I woke up early to come here." Ash 
told him.
	"OH!  So it is.  In any case, here are your pokeballs and poke-a-deck.  
Now, why don't you go choose your pokemon." the Professor said.
	Ash eagerly entered the area where there were four pokeballs in a 
circle.  He blinked.
	"Why are there four pokeballs?" Ash asked.
	"Well, most of the time, there are only three students who pass the 
course at a high enough level to be given the honor of choosing a 
pokemon to start with.  However, this year, there were four.  Most of 
the time, I just catch Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle, representing 
Fire, Earth and Water respectively.  This year, I caught an extra 
pokemon, one that represents Air fairly well.  It's a Pokemon known as 
Pikachu." Professor Oak rambled.
	"Pikachu?" Ash asked, the name catching him more than the other names 
had.
	"Yes." Professor Oak answered.
	Ash looked at the pokeballs and thought of what the Pikachu might look 
like.  Air was a very powerful element, since with a powerful enough 
gale wind, you could repel the attacks of the other beginner pokemon.  
Ash opened the deck and had it tell him about the Pikachu.  A cute 
yellow mouse-like pokemon appeared on screen as the deck began telling 
him about it.
	"The Pikachu are pokemon with the power of electricity.  They are 
capable of generating enormous blasts of electricity.  Most enjoy 
generic poke-a-treats, but some desire the taste of things that are 
electrical.  Because of this, Pikachu are often found chewing on 
electric wires." the deck told him.
	Not exactly what he had expected, but he knew that electricity could be 
just as useful.  He opened the pokeball and the Pikachu appeared.
	"Now, Ash, I should warn you that this female Pikachu is extremely 
powerful.  Try not to offend it." Professor Oak said.
	"Oh, don't worry, Professor Oak." Ash answered, pulling a poke-a-treat 
out of his pocket and offering it to the Pikachu.
	"Pikachu!" Pikachu said, smiling as it accepted the treat and ate it 
quickly.
	"Hi, Pikachu, my name is Ash.  Would you like to be friends?" Ash 
asked, squating somewhat to get eye-to-eye with the pokemon.
	"Pikachu!" Pikachu answered.
	Ash smiled.
	"Great.  So, you wanna ride in the pokeball or no?" Ash asked.
	"Piiii..." Pikachu replied, stepping away from her old pokeball home.
	"Okay, I won't make you go in one unless you want to." Ash answered.
	Pikachu smiled and leapt up onto his shoulder.
	"Thanks Professor." Ash answered, leaving out the back just in time to 
avoid meeting his now very angry competitors.
	He went around the house and found that his mother was waiting with 
numerous neighbors and friends.
	"Mom?" Ash asked.
	"Hi there, Ash.  I brought you some stuff to take with you on your 
journey." Ash'a mom, Lucrecia, answered.
	"Thanks." Ash said, accepting the backpack of traveling gear.
	"I also rounded up all your friends and our neighbors.  We all wanted 
to wish you well on your trip." Lucrecia said, motioning to the crowd 
behind her.
	"ASH!  ASH!  HE'S THE MAN, IF HE CAN'T DO IT, NO ONE CAN!" the teenage 
cheerleaders in the crowd cheered.  He knew one from back when his mom 
went out of town and needed a babysitter.  Ash blushed and waved to 
everyone.
	"We're all so proud of you.  So, is this your pokemon?" Lucrecia said, 
patting Pikachu on the head.
	"Yep, this is Pikachu." Ash said.
	"What a pretty pokemon." Lucrecia said, smiling.
	Pikachu accepted the comment and smiled widely.
	"Well, thanks everyone, I'll be going now." Ash said, waving as he 
began his journey with Pikachu standing proudly on his shoulder, using 
his head as a balancer as she waved to the crowd.

	Soon, they reached a small clearing.  Ash sat down and opened the deck, 
checking out various sections of it.  He found out a few things by 
looking through it.  Like the fact that it worked as an ID to signify 
that he was indeed an official Pokemon Master and it would record what 
level of mastery he was currently at.  It would also record any and all 
rare pokemon that he saw or managed to capture.  Not to mention it had 
all sorts of information on pokemon.  And it could collect any 
information that he found out about pokemon as well, just in case he 
learned something not talked about in the deck.
	Then he heard a strange noise.  He stood up and walked over to see a 
small bird-like pokemon.  He turned off the voice on the pokedeck before 
it could tell him what he already knew.  The pokemon before him was a 
Pidgey.  It was classified as a beginner level pokemon.  Perfect for 
beginners to test their pokemons against, as the deck probably would 
have explained.
	Ash whispered a plan to Pikachu.  Pikachu looked at him, then at the 
Pidgey, then back to Ash.  She thought about the idea and with a sigh, 
let loose a Thundershock to zap the Pidgey.  Ash threw a pokeball which 
hit the startled Pidgey and sealed it away.  The Pidgey fought for a 
while against the containment, but eventually relented.  Ash opened the 
pokeball and the Pidgey appeared again.  Ash watched as the Pidgey and 
Pikachu had an unusual conversation.  Pidgey seemed a bit angry, but not 
very after Pikachu managed to say something to it.  Soon, it seemed to 
calm down and was even seemed friendly.
	And so, with Pidgey and Pikachu perched on his shoulders, Ash continued 
towards the nearest town, Veridian City.

	About an hour and a half later, Pidgey chirped and motioned towards a 
girl, who was sitting near a river.  Ash, curious, walked over to her.  
She had reddish hair tied back into a ponytail, wore a yellow shirt and 
blue shorts/overalls.
	"Hey, whatcha doin'?" Ash asked.
	"I'm fishing for Water Pokemon." the girl answered.
	"Hmmm, I guess I'll have to do that soon too." Ash answered.
	The girl looked at him as though he were insane.  Then she noticed the 
two pokemon perched on his shoulders.
	"Oh, you have a Pikachu and a Pidgey.  How cute..." the girl said, 
smiling as she stood up from her fishing rod and walked over to him.
	She patted both on the head for a while before actually talking to Ash 
again.
	"I'm Ash, a new Pokemon Trainer." Ash said, introducing himself.
	"I'm Misty and I'm a Pokemon Trainer too.  Why don't you sit down with 
me and we can talk." she suggested.
	Ash smiled and followed her back to her fishing rod.
	"Looks like you have a bite." Ash commented.
	Misty grabbed the rod and began pulling on it.  Ash, concerned, grabbed 
onto the rod as well.  Pikachu and Pidgey also grabbed on.
	"Pretty.....strong...." Ash managed to comment between grunts.
	"No....kidding....." Misty answered.
	"I've......got......an......idea.....is the......line.....metal?" Ash 
asked.
	"How....else......would.....I.....catch....Water.....Pokemon?" Misty 
asked.
	"Pikachu!  THUNDER SHOCK!" Ash said.
	Pikachu leapt aside and released a lightning bolt at the line.  The 
shock blasted the creature on the other end since it was the only one 
grounded.  Ash and Misty weren't even near any metal thanks to the fact 
that the reel was ceramic.  They managed to drag the now very stunned 
pokemon to the shore and saw what it was.  A Magikarp.  A large one too.  
Normally, they were only about 22 lbs.  It looked ready to evolve into 
it's next stage, Gyarados.
	The ball hit, then absorbed the pokemon.  Misty smiled as she picked up 
the pokeball.  She turned to Ash, who was wiping his brow.  The Magikarp 
was far more powerful than the simple fish he thought she had caught.
	"Thanks a lot for your help, Ash.  We might've been pulled in if you 
hadn't thought to have your Pikachu zap it." Misty said, kissing Ash on 
the cheek.
	Ash blushed and rubbed the back of his head.  Pikachu and Pidgey looked 
at each other and did what could only be described as shrugging.

	"So, where are you headed?" Misty asked.
	"Veridian City.  After that, I don't really know.  I wanna at least 
meet the staff at the Pokemon Center.  Never know when I might have to 
visit a PC, so might as well be on the best terms with them." Ash 
answered.
	"Smart move." Misty answered.
	"So, you just specialize in Water Pokemon?" Ash asked.
	"Yeah.  In fact, all my Pokemon are water-based." Misty answered.
	"Well, you should at least get a few fire or air-based ones.  Not every 
challenge is going to be be favorable towards your Pokemon.  Especially 
if your opponent has the same Pokemon that you do and is more 
experienced with them." Ash answered, recalling what his father had told 
him.
	His father worked regularly at various Tournaments and had seen all 
sorts of Pokemon fights.  It was the heart of the Pokemon and the wits 
of the Master could turn a battle against the odds, but if your opponent 
had greater wits or their Pokemon a greater heart to fight, it was best 
to have a few Pokemon that were different, just in case they can beat 
your favorite Pokemon.
	"Hmmmm, maybe.  But it's not like I'm going to be taking any random 
challenges, you know." Misty responded.
	"Wild Pokemon can attack at anytime and not all of them can just be 
avoided." Ash answered.
	Misty frowned slightly, but had to admit that Ash had a point.
	"You're right.  Even my best Pokemon can't always win on land." Misty 
replied, looking at the road in front of them.
	"By the way, thanks for walking with me, even though you could've 
ridden ahead with your bike." Ash said, motioning to the bike that 
Pidgey and Pikachu were riding on.
	"Ahehehehehehehe... well, it just wouldn't have been good manners to 
just take off..." Misty said, blushing while finding the road in front 
of her incredibly interesting.
	Ash just wondered what was going on.

==============================================

        C&C and MSTs are always welcome.  Flames are not.
	This is the beginning to a series.  What started this was a discussion 
about Ash and his career.
	Ash seemed to have chosen to be a Pokemon Trainer rather abruptly.  We 
figure he just had a minor fascination of pokemon when he started out.  
Not to mention that he didn't seem to know all that much about pokemon, 
local or otherwise.  We decided that our Ash would a bit more decisive 
about being a Pokemon Trainer, not to mention that he would _at least_ 
know about local pokemon.

	In the next episode of Pokemon HAHAHAHAHA!:
	Ash and Misty meet Team Rocket!  Team Rocket looks to have an 
advantage, but a pokemon trainer is there to help them in the fight.  
All this and more in the next episode, The Deal!

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