The Eternal Lost Lurker wrote:

Well, I have good news and bad news.

The good news: I am starting to write again.

Yay!!

The bad news: I'm not currently working on any of my existing
projects, mainly because it's ben so long since I've written anything
at all that I'm feeling a bit rusty.

Noooo.  You mean no Onna Red side or your Sailor Moon/Ranma xover? 
Nuts.  ;)

Also, I had a couple ideas I felt like I just had to play with...and
doing so will hopefully get me back up to speed.

That does work 

That having been said...

This is a preview of something new. This is extremely rough, as this
is my first serious attempt to work in this series. I can't help but
feel like the first part of this needs to be expanded, that the
beginning of the major plot comes up too quickly, but I can't figure
out how to do that without making this thing drag, and I really don't
want to set up several less-than-cheerful scenes to lead into the
plot. Besides, it has an air of mystery, the way I have things set up
now, I think. I dunno. I'm open to suggestions.

I'll try.

More to come soon, barring any serious rewrites or realtime maladies.

Don't say that.  Murphy's Law is always listening.

Disclaimers and such:

Pokemon, all names, characters, situations, etc. are property
Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak.

Continuity:
This fanfic breaks directly into the anime continuity, right after
the first appearance of Butch and Cassidy. It takes off in a totally
different direction from where the anime is likely going (at the time
of this writing, that is as far as the English dub has been aired).
Therefore, consider this as an alternate Pokemon timeline.

Comments are welcome. I like compliments; I also like having it
pointed out to me where I could have done something a bit better.
Being flamed, however, I don't care for much, and offenders will be
politely told to suck my ass. Same goes for anyone insisting I use
the Japanese names for all characters and Pokemon; I have no
particular reason or desire to do so. I *like* the English names,
thank you very much.

Oh then you don't want this Flame-o pocket hand warmer from Knights of
Xentar?

Okay? Okay.

The Eternal Lost Lurker presents:

POKeMON: Journeys

Episode 1: Pikachu's Shocking Desire

I smell a lemon between Ash and Pikachu.

"Pika! Pi pikapika pikachu!"

Pikachu paused to heave a sigh and catch its breath, then chased
after its wayward trainer. There were times when Pikachu thought
maybe being inside a Pokeball wouldn't be so bad.

You might want to add his memories of being in a Pokeball at Professor
Oak's
<snip>

Jessie and James had not given up by a longshot. In their
determination to regain favor in Team Rocket by capturing Pikachu,
they had found a pile of dozing Gravellers on the crest of a
particularly tall hill, and had somehow startled the entire bunch,
sending them rolling down, a living Pokemon rockslide.

Yep.  They still have stupid ideas.

The group had heard the approaching rumble, and had broken camp as
quickly as they could, running for the road. The rolling rock Pokemon
had gained speed, and it was all they could do to keep ahead of the
pack. Pikachu had tripped on a Geodude, but its predicament had not
been noticed in the confusion.

This I doubt.  Ash seems almost caring to a fault for all of his
Pokemon.  Maybe one of the Gravelers caused a small rock to hit Ash in
the head, dazing him and causing his ears to ring.

<snip>

"Let's just hope it doesn't lead right into a city," Brock commented.

The three glanced at one another. They promptly took off running
again.

Oboy 
<snip>

Bulbasaur's bulb glowed brilliantly as it charged up its most
powerful attack.
"BulbabulbabulbabulbabulbabulbabulbabulbabulbaSAAAAAAUUUUURRRRR!!" A
blinding beam of focused sunlight erupted from the Pokemon, slamming
into the center of the Gravellers. Bellows of pain and confusion
filled the air as the boulder Pokemon were scattered by the force of
the attack. The top of the hill they had been ascending was sheared
completely off, creating a flat, craggy mesa.

It's the kamehameha :)

Misty, Brock, and Pikachu stared.

"Well, I guess it worked," Brock said.

Understatement of the year goes to Brock.

"Piiikaaa," Pikachu offered.

"Good work, Bulbasaur!" Ash said, holding the empty Pokeball.

"Bulba, bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur said, before returning to the Pokeball
in a flash of red light.

"Well guys, let's get going!" Ash said, his voice full of cheer.

What? Ash isn't even going to attempt to catch a Graveller for himself?

Togepi was confused, and didn't know what to think. Its friend was
sad, and it wasn't entirely sure why. All it knew was that it had
something to do with the human that was, by the egg Pokemon's
reckoning, Pikachu's mother--or something like that--didn't
understand the electric mouse. But that didn't make any sense, did
it? It knew that its own mother had no trouble understanding what it
wanted. Or...did she?

Err. This could be interesting for Togepi and Misty 

At that particular moment, if either of the two Pokemon had been
paying much attention to their surroundings, they would have heard
muttering from a nearby clump of bushes.

"Those two screw-ups...who needs 'em? It's time I took matters inta
my own paws." Said paws rubbed together in anticipation. "I'll show
'em all who's the top cat around here."

******

Pikachu watched with amusement as Togepi continued to play, rolling
back and forth and babbling to itself.

Suddenly, it felt a sharp, shooting pain in its tail. Its
surroundings shifted, and it felt leaves and twigs scratching it. It
struggled to right itself...and came face-to-face with a pair of
large, slitted eyes. And an unmistakable gold charm.

"PIKA!" Pikachu cried out, unleashing its Thundershock and frying the
deranged cat. It tried to scamper away...and fell to its rump. It
glanced around frantically, and discovered that Meowth, whose
soot-covered fur stood on end from the electric attack, still had a
death-grip on its tail. Pikachu's eyes widened.

Meowth grinned, well, cattily. "Nope, no way. You're not gettin' away
this time, Pikachu. No more schemin', no more lame plans, no more
Jessie and James. It's you, me, and my claws, and I'm takin' you back
ta the Boss."

Call me a bit clueless here, but does the Team Rocket leader really want
Pikachu or is that just Jesse and James's idea? 

Pikachu thought frantically, fighting off the distraction of pain.
Meowth had dug his claws right into the rodent's tail. It could try
another Thundershock, but it wasn't sure it could escape even if it
knocked Meowth out. Not without doing permanent damage to its tail,
at any rate.

Ouch >_<

Despite its panic, Pikachu's mind latched onto something that should
have been, at the moment, inconsequential. It was, nevertheless,
something the electric Pokemon had always wondered, and at the
moment, it needed to stall for time... "Pi pika, pika pikapi
pikachu?"

Meowth blinked. "What's that got ta do with anything?"

"Pika pika, pipi pikachu pi."

"Well, since you asked," Meowth said, closing his eyes. "Let's just
say, it's a secret of the Team Rocket Pokemon Research Division."

"Pika pika, pi pika, pika pika pi?"

"Oh, sure, any Pokemon could do it," Meowth replied. "Not without
payin' a price for it, of course."

"Pika?"

"What's it to ya? It's not like you're gonna need ta worry about it."

"Pika."

Meowth blinked, rubbing his chin with his free paw. "Then again,
maybe you're right." He paused, eyes narrowing. "But why should I
tell you, and what's in it for me?"

Pikachu thought for a moment. A slow smile spread across its face.
"Pika, pika pikachu pi pikapika pi."

Meowth's eyes widened. "No way," he said. "You're kiddin' me."

"Pikachu."

"You really know--?" Meowth's brow furrowed in contemplation. "You
better not be jerkin' me around," he warned.

Meowth is starting to sound like a biker here.

"Pika, pikachu pikapika." Pikachu gave its best solemn look.

"Hmmm..." Meowth scratched his chin. Finally, he withdrew his claws.
"Okay. I'll letcha go, and tell you where ta find what you're lookin'
for." His eyes narrowed. "But if I find out you're lyin' about..." He
trailed off.

Pikachu rubbed its wounded tail, and nodded. "Pika pi."

Several minutes later, Pikachu gingerly made its way out of the
bushes, and back towards camp. It had things to do, and its work was
cut out for it.

I believe it.

As Pikachu headed back to its friends, Meowth slipped out of the
bushes, a greedy, giddy grin on his face. "The Boss ain't gonna be
happy I let Pikachu get away," he mused to himself, "but I bet he'll
be a lot happier if I bring in a *really* rare Pokemon..."

Hmmmm.  Zapados or maybe an Electrabuzz.
Those are the rare electric pokemon I can think of.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
What kind of Pokemon are you?
How do you do the things you do?
Share with me your secrets deep inside...
What kind of Pokemon are you?
Are you loyal through and through?
And do you have a heart that's true?
What kind of Pokemon are you?

Cute using part of that song as your .sig