The Sinnoh region, located northeast of the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn regions, is comprised of the Sinnoh mainland, the Battle Zone island, and many other smaller islands.
Sinnoh is not far from Kanto. After a half-day ferry ride from Vermilion City, Ash arrived in the Sinnoh region. He and Pikachu disembarked, followed by a purple monkey scratching its head—the mischievous Aipom.
"You scamp, I knew you were secretly following me!" Ash said, bending down and pointing at the playful Aipom.
"Aipom~"
Aipom seemed completely unbothered by Ash's questioning and wore a happy grin. It quickly scurried to Ash's other shoulder, used its hand-like tail to snatch his hat, and put it on its own head.
"Whatever. You're a naughty one. I have your Poké Ball, so let's just go visit Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town first."
Ash had already remembered that this mischievous Aipom would follow him, so he had asked Tracey for Aipom's Poké Ball back at dinner.
"Pika~"
Just as he was getting ready to head to Professor Rowan's lab with Pikachu and Aipom, a huge mechanical arm suddenly swooped down in front of them, aiming for the Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
Realizing the mechanical arm was trying to grab Pikachu, Ash reacted quickly. Pikachu's jagged tail turned to steel and sent the arm flying.
"Of course, you three are here, too. This is a headache!"
Seeing the familiar Team Rocket hot air balloon in the sky, he was both surprised and annoyed by the sudden appearance of his old foes—the weird combination of a man, a woman, and a Meowth.
"Wobbuffet~"
Oh, and there was also the odd but powerful Wobbuffet.
"That's weird, our surprise attack didn't work this time?" James, standing in the balloon, wondered as he looked at the useless mechanical arm.
"That twerp must have pulled some trick!" Jessie yelled irrationally.
"..."
Ash's face turned into a frown as he watched Jessie and James bickering. They had been stealthily following him ever since he got on the ferry in Vermilion City. He wasn't the dense original Ash; with their pathetic disguises and tracking skills, there was no way he couldn't see them.
"Pikachu, go! Show them the power of your Thunderbolt!" He waved his hand, pointing at the balloon above.
A golden current shot towards the trio, but they didn't panic. Jessie calmly pushed Wobbuffet in front of them.
"Wobbuffet~"
Seeing the golden current flying towards it, Wobbuffet's body shimmered with a rainbow glow. It effortlessly took Pikachu's Thunderbolt and bounced it back with Mirror Coat.
"Pikachu, now! Catch the rebounded Thunderbolt and use that energy to form an Electro Ball, then fire it at their balloon!"
"Pika~"
Pikachu nodded, leaped into the air, caught the rebounded Thunderbolt, and, under its control, formed a golden Electro Ball much larger than its usual size.
"What's that, Meowth!"
Seeing this, the Team Rocket trio, led by Meowth, were taken aback.
"Pika Pika~"
Under Pikachu's control, the even more powerful Electro Ball blasted a hole in their Meowth balloon. The Team Rocket trio, accompanied by their familiar "Looks like we're blasting off again!" and "Wobbuffet!", disappeared into the sky like a shooting star.
"Those three are really persistent! They even followed me all the way to Sinnoh!"
"Pika Pika~"
"Aipom~"
Ash and his two Pokémon shook their heads. In a way, the Team Rocket trio were quite formidable. But he didn't dwell on it and continued walking towards Professor Rowan's lab with Pikachu and Aipom. The port where he disembarked wasn't far from Sandgem Town, so it was a short walk. He could just ask a local for directions.
Professor Rowan was as famous in this region as Professor Oak was in Kanto, known as a renowned Pokémon scholar and the one who gave out the starter Pokémon. It was likely that every resident of Sandgem Town knew who he was. After getting directions from a passerby, he immediately set off.
...
"Ariados~"
In a small forest, a large, colorful spider bared its fangs and shot poisonous spikes at Aipom. Around it lay the bodies of other spiders, its defeated brethren. These were the Ariados of this forest.
"Aipom, be careful! Dodge their Poison Sting and use Swift!"
"Aipom~"
Aipom cleverly used its tail to support itself, dodging the poison spikes. Then, with a flick of its tail, a dozen golden stars shot towards the Ariados. The attack was very effective. Ash quickly told Aipom to follow up with a Focus Punch to knock the Ariados to the ground.
"Aipom~"
After defeating its opponent, Aipom climbed onto Ash's shoulder to show off, skillfully snatching his hat.
"Nice job!"
He couldn't help but give a wry smile at the mischievous Aipom, but he praised its performance. Several Ariados had appeared while they were passing through the small forest, and Aipom had taken care of all of them. So, he didn't mind Aipom's playful antics.
"Looks like Lake Verity is just ahead. Let's go take a look!" Ash said to the two Pokémon on his shoulders.
"Pika~"
"Aipom~"
Pikachu and Aipom both agreed.
There were three famous lakes in the Sinnoh region, and he remembered that one was near Professor Rowan's lab, seemingly the home of the "Being of Emotion," Azelf.
With a bit of curiosity, Ash walked to the edge of the blue lake. "This place really is different. It's foggy even in the middle of the day!" Ash said to himself, not noticing anything out of the ordinary at first.
"Pika~"
"Aipom~"
Pikachu and Aipom also agreed.
Just then, the fog on the lake grew thicker, and a small figure appeared on the surface of the water.
"It's Azelf!"
Ash gasped. He hadn't expected to meet one of the three Sinnoh Lake guardians so soon. It was a pleasant surprise.
"Piplup~"
"Hello!"
At that moment, a girl holding a Piplup walked over and greeted him politely. He quickly turned around.
She wore a white hat with a Poké Ball logo on top, had shoulder-length blue hair, blue eyes, and a signature pink miniskirt. She looked at Ash, Pikachu, and Aipom with intense curiosity.
"Hello!"
He was momentarily stunned by the sight of the familiar girl before he snapped out of it and returned her greeting. He knew this lively and adorable girl, Dawn, very well.
"Azelf, is that the name of that Pokémon?" Dawn asked curiously.
She had just managed to find her Piplup, who had escaped from the lab, and then escaped from a swarm of Ariados, only to encounter this mysterious Pokémon in the lake. She had overheard Ash's exclamation and walked over to ask if that was the name of the mysterious Pokémon. His gaze was a bit strange, though, as he kept staring at her as if he knew her. If his eyes weren't so pure, she might have mistaken this dark-haired boy for a pervert.
The new journey is in full swing, with Ash having an interesting first day in the Sinnoh region.