Littleroot Town is known as the town that cannot be stained by any color. Although small, it is as famous in the Hoenn region as Pallet Town is in Kanto, thanks to Professor Birch's Pokémon Lab.
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At the Port of Littleroot Town
A few Wingull flew through the air.
After several days of sailing, Ash finally disembarked at the port of Littleroot Town.
"We're finally here, Hoenn! The air here is so fresh!" Ash said to Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pika Pikachu~" Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Perfect! My goal is to win the Ever Grande Conference!" Ash felt a rush of excitement.
"Let's go, Pikachu! We'll visit Professor Birch first!" "Pika~"
Following the signposts, Ash took a forest path and soon arrived at Professor Birch's lab.
"Hello! I'm Ash from Pallet Town! Is anyone here?" "Pika Pi~" Ash knocked on the door. *Creak~* The person who opened the door wasn't Professor Birch but his assistant.
"Oh! Welcome to Hoenn, Ash. Professor Birch told me you were coming! I'm so sorry, but he just went out to the mountains to do some field research! Why don't you wait here for him to get back?" the assistant said.
"No, that's okay! I'll go find him. I'd love to see the Pokémon of Hoenn anyway!" Ash said before running off toward the mountains.
"Young people today are so impatient," the assistant muttered, shaking his head.
Ash and Pikachu explored the mountain trail.
"Any of them will do, just get the Pokémon out!" A voice suddenly called out.
"That must be Professor Birch's voice! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash said, running toward the sound.
"Ah?! Okay, come on out!" a girl's voice answered.
"Now what? What do I do next?"
"Quick, use a move!"
"What move?"
"Please, just shout 'Water Gun'!"
"Water Gun."
Mudkip sprayed a stream of water, which hit the girl's face.
Ash arrived just in time to see this scene. The girl was, as expected, May.
Ash, Pikachu, and Professor Birch all watched speechless. (´_`|||)
"Ah?! What's going on?!" May cried out.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on those Poochyena!" Ash said to Pikachu, seeing Professor Birch stuck up in a tree, cornered by three Poochyena.
"Pikaaa~chuuu~" Pikachu's attack scared off the Poochyena, sending them running.
"Phew! That was a close one!" Professor Birch let out a sigh of relief. He was truly exhausted!
"Huh?! And you are?" Professor Birch asked, climbing down from the tree.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu!" "Pikachu~"
"Oh! So you're Ash! Thank you so much! I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly! Let's go, back to the lab. And May, you've been a great help. Look at you, you've gotten as beautiful as your mother!"
"No, I didn't really do anything," May said.
"You must be here to choose your starter Pokémon! Have you decided on one yet?"
"Ah?! Um... no, not yet!" May said, looking down and nervously tapping her fingers together. (´_` )
The three walked back toward the lab together.
"Hi! I'm May from Petalburg City!" May said, walking up to Ash.
"Oh! Hi!" "Wahahahaha!" Just then, a loud noise rang out, a mechanical arm shot out, and a giant, battery-shaped robot appeared before them!
"Who are you?!" Professor Birch and May asked simultaneously.
"Since you asked so kindly..."
"We'll tell you with great mercy!"
"It's you guys, Team Rocket, again! You're everywhere! Come on out, Pidgeot! Use Brave Bird! Pikachu, use Iron Tail to break the arm, then use Volt Tackle!"
"Pika~" Pikachu broke the mechanical arm with its Iron Tail, then charged forward with Volt Tackle!
*Boom!* The robot exploded and, unfortunately, also blew up May's bicycle, completing the second bike destruction of Ash's journey.
"Hey, wait! Twerp, you have no honor! We hadn't finished our motto yet!" "That's right! Meowth hadn't said a word yet!" "Wobbuffet... (´・ω・｀)" "We're blasting off again!"
Professor Birch and May hadn't even had time to react before the battle was over.
"Aah! My bicycle! T_T" May cried out.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'll pay for it." "Pika Pi~" Ash quickly apologized, returning Pidgeot to its Poké Ball.
"It's okay, you didn't mean to. But... who are Team Rocket? And did that Meowth just talk?!" May's sadness subsided, and she asked, full of curiosity.
Professor Birch also came over, equally curious. He knew Team Rocket was a dark organization from Kanto, but a talking Meowth was truly an oddity!
"Team Rocket are bad guys who steal other people's Pokémon! As for why Meowth can talk, I think it taught itself!" Ash replied.
"That's so mean! How could they steal other people's Pokémon?"
"Alright, May! It's time to choose your starter Pokémon!" Professor Birch said after the discussion about Meowth.
He led them into the lab.
"Okay, May, go ahead and choose your starter Pokémon!" Professor Birch said, holding out three Poké Balls.
"Okay!"
"Alright! The first one is for beginners—Treecko!"
A green lizard with big, yellow eyes appeared.
But when Treecko looked at May, she shivered and backed away. "It's glaring at me!"
*Is it possible it was just looking at you?* Ash thought to himself.
"Then the second one—Mudkip!"
"But, Mudkip wasn't listening to me earlier!" May quickly said, backing away again.
*Clearly, your commands were the problem,* Ash thought. (￢_￢)
"Then, here's the last one—Torchic!"
It was the starter form of the Blaziken that had defeated the original Charizard!
The Torchic, with three feathers on its head, seemed to like May very much. It ran to her feet and rubbed against her leg.
"Aww, it's so cute! Okay! I've made up my mind, Torchic!" May said happily, scooping up the Pokémon.
"Chaamo~ Chaamo~" (=^▽^=)
"Here," Professor Birch said, handing her a Pokédex and six empty Poké Balls. "Do your best. You can become a great Pokémon Trainer, even better than your father!"
"We'll cheer each other on!" Ash said.
May, with a hesitant expression, said, "Okay!"
"I say that, but I don't really want to be a Trainer," May muttered quietly.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Ah! Nothing, haha, I'll do my best!"
Just as Ash was about to get up and say his goodbyes, Professor Birch spoke up. "Both of you will need to register at a Pokémon Center to participate in the Hoenn League! The closest Pokémon Center is in Oldale Town. If you leave now, you should get there by evening!"
"Got it, thanks, Professor!" Ash said.
"Sigh... I'm a bit nervous about walking there by myself. I wish I still had my bike," May said with a sigh.
Hearing this, Ash's mouth twitched. He quickly said, "How about we travel together? We can look out for each other!"
"Hooray!" May jumped up happily!
"Pika Pi~" Pikachu scratched the back of its head awkwardly.
Ash knew it wasn't Pikachu's fault; it was fate. He really liked the main female character from the Advanced Generation series, and traveling with such a cute girl would be a lot more fun, wouldn't it?
"Great! You two can look out for each other. Do your best! Have a good trip! Be careful on your way!"
"We will! Thanks, Professor Birch! Let's go!"
The two waved goodbye and turned to leave!
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To be continued...