What's up everybody, King of Swag is back with another chapter of your favorite story! And it didn't take more than a month to update this time! Hooray! Only because things didn't keep piling up in my face. Regardless, I'm here anyway to entertain my fellow Pokéfans/Fiction Lovers. Although this won't have much action or depth, but maybe that's better for certain people who like character interaction more. We'll see. If people left reviews for me to indulge on. ;)

Anyway, what happened last time?

1.) The group went to the Water Ballet!

2.) Oak informs Nick about Pokédex Upgrades, Mega Evolution, and New Types!

3.) Nicholas thinks about his team's training!

4.) He reminds Charmeleon about their growing friendship!

5.) Nicholas bumps into Ash in a restaurant!

Good? Good! Now, let's get to the story!

READ!

"How's it going?" - Human/Pokémon English Speech

'This is looking really bad!' - Human/Pokémon English Thought

"Time to bring the pain!" - Pokémon/Translation Speech

'I'm not giving up!' - Pokémon Thought

Bold - Pokémon Abilities/Status Effects

Italic - Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, just my OC!

(PS - Don't be afraid to tell me of any grammar errors involving spelling or font styles for certain speech. Thank you for your support!)

Chapter 31: Enter Ash Ketchum!

"You've got to be kidding me." Nicholas said with a bit of jealousy. The ten-year-old trainer sitting across from him looked smug. "He gave you a Pikachu?" Ash continued to snicker as he brushed a finger under his nose, relishing having something over his best friend. "That's the secret Professor Oak wouldn't tell me!?"

As soon as they all picked a table to eat together, Nicholas and Ash had wasted no time before they started talking to each other. With them all seated around a circular table, the two boys chatted away while the rest of the group enjoyed their food. And from what Alex and Cody could tell, their reunion was a lot more lively and happy compared to the time Nicholas bumped into Gary. Friends as they were, it was obvious Nicholas had more of a connection with Ash more than he did with Gary.

"Like two kids reuniting after years apart." The red haired female, Misty, said to herself as she ate her fries. Sitting to the right of her, Brock chuckled to himself as he bit into his burger.

Alex hummed in thought and looked at Cody with an arched brow. "Didn't we say the same thing with Gary?" The green-eyed tracker merely shrugged his shoulders as he merrily sipped away at his smoothie.

Either the two haven't heard the remark or they simply didn't care, because Nicholas and Ash were talking nonstop about their own experiences so far.

Which also involved telling Nicholas that the Pikachu sitting in Ash's lap, drinking ketchup with a happy face, was the 10 year old's Starter Pokémon. That tidbit of information left the dark-skinned teen stunned enough to pull out his Pokédex.

Species: Pikachu

Type: Electric

Sex: Male

Catalog: #025

Pre-Evolution: Pichu

Next Evolution: Raichu

Primary Ability:

Hidden Ability: N/A

Moveset: N/A

Info - Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Pichu. Records state that Pikachu are naturally friendly towards both humans and other Pokémon, but are easily startled if they feel threatened. It is also common that during thunderstorms, any Pikachu that raise their tails in the air will have it struck by lightning. And instead of harming them, the electricity is stored in the red pouches on their cheeks, which is also used to help re-energize other Pikachu or electric types if exhausted.

"Yup!" Ash boasted as he rubbed his hand atop Pikachu's head, watching as the yellow mouse flicked his ears in slight annoyance. "You would always tease me about how much bad luck I have as a kid, but I'd consider waking up late as the best thing to ever happen to me." It was obvious that he was enjoying the fact that he had a special start on his journey while Nicholas, Gary and the other unknown trainer had picked the usual Starters. "Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Chu..." The mouse-like Pokémon said dryly and rolled his eyes before going back to his ketchup.

"Jeez, what am I gonna do with you?" Nicholas sighed with a smile as he put away his Pokédex. "Of all the things to happen, I find out that you actually woke up late and actually miss out on getting a regular Starter Pokémon, only to catch a lucky break because Oak still had this little guy for his research." Nicholas didn't have to reach very far towards Pikachu as his hand moved towards the mouse's chin. Pulling the ketchup bottle away from his mouth, Pikachu let out a pleased squeal as Nicholas scratched under his chin. "But from what you told me, your good luck turned to trash as soon as you left Pallet Town."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." The rookie trainer said sheepishly.

"It all started with Pikachu hating your guts or didn't even acknowledge you as his trainer," Nicholas reminded with an understanding nod. He had the same problem when he met Charmander. "Then you tried to catch a Pidgey using your shirt and failed horribly. After that, you got robbed by a Rattata." As Nicholas continued to list off the things that already happened, Ash felt his cheeks flush a light red from embarrassment. Pikachu was laughing at this point. "Then you pissed off a Spearow after thinking it was the same Pidgey that humiliated you. But as soon as Pikachu tried to defend himself, you both got swarmed by a flock of angry Spearow."

"Uh... hehe... Not my proudest moment." Ash said and Pikachu started to look embarrassed too.

"Don't forget," Misty interjected as she pointed a french-fry at her friend. She narrowed her eyes. "You still owe me after stealing my bike and destroying it."

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" Ash shot back with an annoyed glare. "We were about to die if Pikachu hadn't used up all his energy to beat all the Spearow!" Then, with crossed arms, Ash huffed and rolled his eyes. "Can't blame me if your bike got in the blast radius."

Soon enough, the two engaged in a heated argument about the rights and wrongs of justifying survival with stealing. And although Misty did have a reason to be angry, Ash did have the upper-hand for having a more reasonable excuse. But Nicholas didn't dare say that out loud. He didn't need a quick-tempered redhead on him too and if he did, he already had Charmeleon to take Misty's place.

But Alex had enough of the arguing as she snapped her fingers in the air. "Okay, okay break it up you lovebirds." The telepathic teen interrupted with a sharp tone. When the two heard that, Ash and Misty's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Brock choked on his soda as he tried to hide his laughter. "You both have a reason to be angry at each other, so there's no need to be at each other's throats for something that already happened."

Alex pointed a finger towards Misty, who crossed her eyes to look at the finger. "Ash needed your bike to save his Pikachu's life. Unless you want to sound selfish for an object over a living creature, I suggest you stop."

"And you," Ash gulped when he saw Alex's eyes land on him. "Can't go around stealing people's stuff just because you're in a rush. I understand a flock of Spearow were attacking you, but you're actually lucky Misty didn't charge you for theft and put you in juvie."

"So," The table watched as Alex picked up her food, sat back in her chair and roughly bit into her cheeseburger. She finished with a muffled, "Case closed!"

"You heard the girl." Brock said in amusement. "As fun as it is to watch you two go at it, it starts to get old after a while."

"You know what really gets old?" Ash replied with a frown and crossing his arms. "Having Team Rocket on our butts 24/7."

As if he spoke the magic words, Ash saw the smile on Nicholas' face turn into a scowl. Not only him, but Alex and Cody looked a bit disgruntled at the mention of Team Rocket's name. Nicholas leaned over the table with narrowed eyes. "Did you just say Team Rocket? As in, gang members with large red R's for a logo?" When he got nods from Ash, Misty and Brock, Nicholas let out a long groan as he dropped his face into his hands. "Of course you'd get involved with Team Rocket too."

"It's not like we just flat out picked a fight with them!" Ash defended himself with raised hands. "Ever since I reached Viridian City, they keep showing up to try and take Pikachu away from me!"

"'They'?" Alex repeated.

Brock was the one who answered first. "It's always been the same group of people. A guy with blue hair called James, a woman with long red hair called Jessie, and believe it or not, a talking Meowth. After I joined up with Ash and Misty, we'd always run into them somehow." Nicholas merely shook his head when Brock included 'a talking Meowth'. Why wasn't he surprised. He'd already encountered a talking Charmander and Ghastly. "To be honest, as a Gym Leader, I've been hearing rumors of Team Rocket going around causing trouble and people make it seem like they're hardcore criminals that'll stop at nothing to get what they want."

"Oh no, the rumors are true." Cody informed bluntly. "With all the traveling I've done, I've witnessed Team Rocket trying to steal Pokémon and even resort to hospitalizing Trainers. Not only that, but me and the others here just recently crashed some project they were working on in Mt. Moon a couple days back." The tracker pointed a thumb towards Nicholas and Alex, who nodded to prove that it was true. "Luckily I was there to help rescue Alex and Nick's Charmander or else things would've gotten a bit... dark. So let's just say it took an entire swarm of Zubats and blowing up machines to get out in one piece."

"Are they really that bad?" Misty asked nervously.

Another round of nods.

"Not only do we have to deal with Team Rocket, but some prick named Jack Daniels is becoming more and more of a problem now that he's working with them." Nicholas scowled when he thought of the poacher. From the understanding look on Brock's face, Nicholas could guess that the Gym Leader knew exactly who he was talking about. "I faced off with him and his stupid Graveler twice already and he's been a pain in my butt when he keeps getting away."

"Jeez. When you put it like that, it makes me glad that the Team Rocket we deal with are pushovers." Ash concluded with a cringe, unconsciously holding Pikachu closer to him. The yellow mouse squealed quietly. "They're kind of tricky to deal with, but we never had too much of a problem beating them."

"Just... promise me that you will be more careful in the future, Ash." Nicholas pleaded before he looked at Brock and Misty. "Not just him, but you two as well. Team Rocket is way more dangerous than those clowns you run into. I'd hate to hear that something bad happened to you guys." As a Gym Leader, Brock has more than enough battle experience needed to fight off Team Rocket. He wouldn't let things go their way without a proper fight. And Misty felt the same.

"Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the concern." Ash sighed.

"You know I worry about my friends." Nicholas reminded with a joking smile. It was his way of lightening up the mood. "And I worry about you the most."

Ash rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I'm a kid."

"You're 10 years old." Nicholas deadpanned. "And between me, you and Gary, you like to rush into things and get into trouble the most."

"That's not true!"

"Oh really?" Things were getting better in terms of mood. Now that the talk about Team Rocket was forgotten, for now, Nicholas could enjoy the rest of his talk with Ash. The dark-skinned teen grinned as he leaned on the table with an elbow. "You would always run your mouth about becoming a Pokémon Master without even knowing the basics about Pokémon, Battling, and what it means to be a Trainer. I bet you're still having trouble, too."

When Ash opened his mouth to respond, he stopped and closed it with an embarrassed blush. Nicholas started snickering. "O-Okay, maybe I am struggling a little."

Nicholas reached over to pat Ash on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid to ask for help, dude."

"Yeah, you have 2 Gym Leaders traveling with you." Alex informed, sending a knowing grin towards the only other female at their table.

Misty coughed while she drank her juice. "H-How'd you-"

"I do my research." Was Alex's answer before she grinned and sipped at her own drink.

Nicholas rolled his eyes. "That said, you have plenty of help, Ash. If not them, you can always call me or Oak."

Ash blinked before his mouth opened to an 'o'. "That reminds me. Professor Oak asked us to make an errand for some guy named Bill. Something about upgrades for the PC System. We've been told that he lives somewhere in the mountains, north-east of here."

"Let me guess, you were just about to head out today?" Nicholas inquired.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. And if you're leaving Cerulean too, why not come with us?"

"Sorry, but we already made a schedule." Nicholas said with a sheepish chuckle. The 10-year-old frowned in disappointment. "I'm sure Professor Oak already told you, but since we can't exactly go to Saffron right now and I don't want to wait for detours to clear up, my group planned to travel around Saffron down Route 12 to reach Vermillion City." With the snap of his fingers and the click of his tongue, Nicholas made two finger-guns towards Ash. "I guess in some ways, I'm like you Ash in terms of patience."

"Seriously, what's your problem with treating me like a kid?" Ash sighed in annoyance.

"It's my way to make sure you grow up." Nicholas explained nonchalantly, rolling his hand in the air as if it weren't much of surprise. "But if you want to prove me wrong..." Nicholas' eyes traveled downward to look at Pikachu before looking back up at Ash. It didn't take long for Ash to have a grin similar to Nicholas'. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you guys are planning to battle each other, please wait until we're done eating." Cody interjected. His green eyes lingered over Nicholas' portion of the table where a double-stacked cheeseburger, onion rings and orange soda occupied a smaller tray. The tracker pointed a finger towards his friend. "Especially you, Nick. You barely touched your food and I'm the one who spent the most money on it." He finished and sipped away at the last of his drink. "So eat."

Nicholas let out an over-dramatic groan before grabbing a tiny handful of onion rings. "Okay, mom. Sheesh." He then proceeded to shove the rings into his mouth like a child.

Open Field (10 Minutes Later)...

"So, who are you betting on?" Alex joked as she took a seat on the bench.

"I may not know Nicholas very well, but he sounds like he knows what he's doing." Misty snorted in amusement before blowing a couple strands of hair out of her eyes. "Meanwhile, Ash barely knows how to read a map and compare Pokémon Types."

"He can't be that bad, can he?" Cody inquired, taking his spot on a log next to Brock.

The redhead deadpanned. "He battled a Pidgeotto with a Caterpie."

"And he tried to battle my Onix with Pikachu." Brock added in with a matter-of-fact voice.

"… I stand corrected." Cody mumbled.

Alex coughed into her hand. "But he got this far, didn't he? That's gotta count for something."

"Yeah, but let's just say he's been getting real lucky these past few days." Misty answered quickly.

While the group were getting comfortable in their seats, Nicholas and Ash took their positions on the field. Both Trainers had a look of total confidence. Especially Nicholas, but that didn't mean Ash wasn't getting just as fired up as he was. In fact, the 10-year-old was practically bouncing in his shoes at the thought of battling his best friend.

But Ash didn't let his excitement get the best of him. It would never sit well with him if he lost his very first match against Nicholas because he couldn't keep a cool head.

"I'm looking forward to this, Ash." Nicholas said with a grin.

"The feeling's mutual." Ash responded as he crackled his knuckles, getting himself pumped. "And you said this would be a One-on-One match, right? In that case, I'll be using Pikachu!" Watching the yellow mouse marched forward, Nicholas wasn't surprised that his friend would start off with his strongest partner. But he couldn't blame him. They were only limited to one Pokémon and it was smart of him to start the battle with his best player.

Too bad he couldn't do the same.

As much as he wanted to use Starters like he did with Gary, he wanted this match to be, to a certain degree, fair. Because both of them saw this battle in a different, yet similar light. Both wanted to battle each other because it was a show of rivalship, a bond between two friends. If Nicholas had to guess, Ash wanted to battle because it was simply fun or because he wanted to prove himself. But Nicholas saw this as a way to check his progress and help Ash improve in areas he lacked in.

So it wouldn't be fair if he had used Charmeleon to battle.

She wouldn't hold back now that she had evolved and that's not what Nicholas wanted.

He reached for his belt.

Which is why he picked a partner with more of a strategic style.

"Come on out!" Nicholas tossed a Pokéball into the air, releasing his first captured partner. Ash blinked in confusion when he saw an Ekans burst forth from the capsule. While Fang shook off the weird tingling feeling of being released, Nicholas spoke out to him. "Hey Fang, this is going to be a friendly match with an old friend of mine. So let's give 'em a show!" Hearing the excitement in his Trainer's voice, Fang let out an agreeing hiss before he focused on his electric opponent.

And Ash wasn't the only one confused.

"He's using Fang?" Alex muttered with a puzzled face. "Why not Charmeleon?"

"Let me put it this way," Cody cleared his throat. "Spearow's probably either too agile for Pikachu or Nick wanted to level the playing field. Rhyhorn is a Ground Type, so that wouldn't be much of a fair first battle. Gyarados would probably make it even if you consider Pikachu's type advantage, but she's too big and strong. And Charmeleon? I'd predict this match would only last 3 minutes if Nicholas really wanted to win."

"Charmeleon? Nick's gotten stronger, I see." Brock chuckled. The Rock Type Gym Leader quickly thought back to his match with Nicholas. It was definitely one of his favorite.

"Yup." Alex responded with a thumbs up. Then the telepath noticed how fidgety Misty looked. "What's up with you?"

Misty squirmed in her seat and hugged her arms. "You said he had a G-Gyarados..."

"... Are you seriously scared of-"

"Who wouldn't be!?" The redhead retorted sharply. "I may like Water Types, but Gyarados are just so... violent and angry that it's hard to even go near one!"

"That doesn't sound like the Gyarados we know." Alex tapped her chin when she remembered how polite the hydra Pokémon was during last night's training session. "She's quite nice. Gentle even." The black haired girl giggled when Misty's response was a silent shake of her head. The same type of reaction a stubborn child would have when they absolutely refuse to try something they didn't like.

The dark skinned teenager had taken a moment to check over something in his Pokédex. His eyes scanned over the information involving Fang and soon enough, he had something to go on. "Anyway," Nicholas said after thinking of a solid strategy. "You ready, Ash?"

"More than you know!"

From his seat, Cody raised his hand into the air and spoke in a loud voice. "If you two are ready..."

Fang let out a low hiss as he coiled his body and readied himself to lunge.

Pikachu narrowed his eyes as sparks popped from his cheeks. "Pika Pi..."

"Let the match begin!"

Good? Bad? Or eh? I did say that this chapter wouldn't really involve anything action-wise, only because I like to use the power of cliffhangers to keep you guys interested. Even if it's not too much of an important cliffhanger. Still, I bet some of you are wondering how I'm going to integrate both Gary and Ash into the plot. So let's just say that there will be some degree of canon to the story, except I'll make a few changes depending on the situation or how I write things out. You'll see them a couple of times in the future, just not too much. Remember, this is an OC story. ;)

But who will win in the next chapter!?

Find out soon, 'cuz I'll catch you guys next time on If I Was I Pokémon!

REVIEW PLEASE!