Pokemon: The Journey

The day began like any other.

Basking in the warm light of the rising sun in the morning...

The lingering coolness of the mist blowing softly in the face...

The condensation on the glass panels and the outer walls glistening...

The chirps and songs of the various flying types waking up from their sleep...

The young flying types spreading their wings and flying over the treetops...

Young Doduo and Dodrio are running on the fields...

The different calls of Pokémon, both old and young...

The clearing skies...

The beams of light, lighting up the grasslands, forests, and ponds...

Professor Oak, the former champion of the Indigo League, and currently a Pokémon Researcher, drank his cup of coffee after waking up from his sleep. He had stayed up late last night finishing research, again.

He was enjoying the start of his day and thinking about the four who would go on their adventure after the next two weeks. He had high hopes for them. Every Professor has to for his sponsors. He had even sent for the starter Pokémon for them. Still, he felt as if he was forgetting something important.

'Eh, it cannot be important if I am not remembering it.'

Finishing his coffee, he started to settle down to make his breakfast.

He started to enter the kitchen while thinking about what kind of surprise he would discover.

DING-DONG-DING-DONG!

'Huh? Who visited me now?'

Opening his door, he saw a sight he was not expecting.

There was Ash, standing on his doorstep, with a carefree expression and smile.

He was not expecting the words that Ash spoke.

"Good morning, Professor. I will need your help in preparing for my journey. Can you teach me how to take care of Pokémon and first-aid for both Pokémon and humans while you are at it?"

Professor Oak just thought that this was not the surprise he was expecting, and whether the coffee was strong enough, as he must be dreaming and not have woken up properly.

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Professor Oak discovered he was not dreaming.

That was the only thing that made it more bizarre.

Ash Ketchum. Asking help for something, academically as well.

Ash had barely passed his trainer qualification exam. From Pallet Town, everybody had expected Gary and someone else to pass. Nobody had expected for Ash to pass, at all. To tell it was an upset and unexpected for many, it would be an understatement.

Hell, even his mother did not expect him to pass. She was though pleasantly surprised.

Getting out of his thoughts, he asked Ash the question that has been bugging him since he had allowed him entrance.

"Why do you want to learn those things? Weren't you taught enough in the school?"

With a serious expression that he had never seen on his face, Ash said, "Professor, I may have learnt those in the school, but I have been thinking about it. I may only know about those, but I do not know how to do it by hand. You know that I have not been very studious as well. I will not be able to even properly treat either my Pokémon or me in the case we are sick or are injured. It may be possible we will be away from a Pokémon Centre as well. I might even encounter an injured person and might not know how to save their life. I might end up raising the Pokémon I have befriended the wrong way which might be dangerous for them. W-what am I supposed to do then?"

Ash had said the last words weakly.

Professor Oak was pleasantly surprised that Ash had realized it. 'Why would he start thinking about things in such a way? It does not matter much. It's good that he realized it on his own.'

"You do know that you will be leaving in the next two weeks. You will not be able to learn much in that time."

"You mean you won't teach me?"

"I never said that. It will take a lot out of you if you want to even learn about them. You will not be able to learn a lot about Pokémon care, but that's where I come in. I can help you build the foundation for your training, but every trainer has their own style of battle. Two weeks is a lot less time than what is required for you, but I shall do what I can to help you."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. As you know that I do not have any assistants, so you will be helping me as my assistant, okay? Say, does your mother know that you are here taking my help?"

"Yeah. I told her that I will be at your place, and I might be late, but I will try to return by evening. I will learn about cooking by mom."

"Hoo. You got that covered too? You are actually taking it seriously. Good to know. So, what are you waiting for? We are going to start your lesson on Pokémon first aid."

Professor led Ash to a room and thought, 'Well, he will not be able to learn properly, but I am going to get a free hand around here. If he is able to, he will gain from it no matter how little he is able to. I am just humoring him for now.'

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(AN: Is my writing style, okay? We do have one more chapter left before we start the series for real.)