On a sunny day on a grassy field, a boy with black spiky hair, olive skin, and brown eyes was walking on a dirt trail with a yellow rodent Pokémon with a lightning-shaped tail on his shoulder. He wore a white T-shirt with a red stripe in the middle under a blue vest with yellow zippers, darker blue shorts, and black and red sneakers. He was also wearing a red cap with a white visor, a black round rectangular C with a green circle in the middle, and a green backpack on his back.
Eventually, he arrived at a slope and looked at the landscape below. Dozens of white houses with red rooves were scattered throughout the field, with some farms nearby. The boy immediately realized where he was and smiled in joy.
"I'm back, Pallet Town!" "Pikachu~!" He shouted, and the rodent on his shoulder even waved its hand to the village. Excited, he sprinted to a compact wooden house with a fence around it.
"I'm home, Mom!" he said, opening the front door. A woman with brown hair and eyes was doing the dishes, wearing a pink cardigan, a yellow shirt, and a cyan skirt.
"Oh! Welcome back, sweetie!" She reacted as soon as she saw the boy, hugging him. "How are you?"
"I'm doing great! I decided to stop by Pallet Town for a minute."
"I see... Well, what a coincidence, Ash. Do you know what special day is today?"
"Special day? Hmm..." Ash wondered, rubbing his chin. "Pika~?" His rodent also did the same thing.
"It's your adventure's first anniversary!"
"Oh, right! So it has been a year since we first met, Pikachu?" "Pika, Pika!"
"Do you remember when you met with Pikachu and started your adventure?"
"My... Oh."
Just then, the woman took out a birthday cake from nowhere with two candles shaped like "1" on it.
"Happy birthday, Ash!" She congratulated, and a creature resembling a pink clown popped a confetti popper.
"Really? I'm eleven years old now?"
"Yeah, Ash! Blow the candles!" Ash blew the "1" shaped candles on the cake and the clown creature clapped.
Some minutes later, Ash was sitting at a table with his mom, the former talking about the adventures he had while he was away.
"...And so, I want to be friends with every Pokémon in this world! I have no regrets about every choice I've made and never will, but... There's one thing I'm irritated about."
"What is it, Ash?"
"You see, I've ventured to eight regions until now. It feels like I've faced the entire world, but it also feels like something still awaits me somewhere."
"So you want to find what that is, right?"
"Right." Ash's orange phone with a face on it started to ring. "You've got a call from Professor Oak."
"Huh?" "Pika?" He wondered, taking the call. Just as the phone levitated in front of Ash, an old professor, wearing a magenta shirt and light brown trousers under a lab coat showed up on the screen.
"Hello, Ash. Oh, are you home?"
"Yeah, Professor! What made you call me?"
"Nothing special. I just wanted to say happy birthday to you, Ash!"
"Thanks!"
"How's your journey going?"
"Going great. Though, I feel like I missed something..."
"Such as?"
"Uh, I don't know if I can explain this. But it feels like... A part of this world I've not known before?"
"Hmm... Ash, you've traveled to eight regions as of now, but that's only part of the world. There are dozens of regions on this planet, and when you feel like you've been everywhere, you will find new places to venture into someday. That's what makes this world so fascinating!"
"So does that mean... There's a region I've not known about?"
"Well, I have countless places to show you, but I can pick this one region if I were to introduce you to only one of them. Would you like to go there?"
"Of course, Professor Oak! That's exactly what I was looking for!" "Pika pi!" Ash exclaimed, standing up from the table. "So, what region is it?"
"Well then, please come to my laboratory and I'll tell you the details."
"Got it!" "Pika!" He hung up and ran out of the house.
"Well, he's passionate as always... I gotta make him new outfits then, huh?" His mom said, standing up from the table too.
Some minutes later, Ash arrived at a two-stage yellow house with a round red roof on the left and a triangular one on the right. There was also a white wind turbine behind it.
"Hello, Professor!" "Pikachu!" He said, entering the lab. The old professor was drinking some tea in the lobby at a coffee table.
"Oh, so you're here, Ash!" Professor Oak said, and Ash waited for him excitedly while running in place. "...What brings you here?" Ash immediately crashed into the floor in sudden embarrassment.
"Professor, you told me you'll introduce me to a region!" "Pika, Pipika!" They complained, gradually standing up.
"Oh, oh, right. Pardon me, Ash!" He apologized, taking out a remote controller that made a presentation screen descend from the ceiling and turn all the lights off. Ash sat on the couch next to the table to watch the presentation.
"Have you heard about the term 'Another World Inside The World'?"
"No? Sounds interesting."
"I know, right? It's a term used to describe the region I'll talk about."
"Oh, I see. So what's its name?"
Moving to the next slide, Professor Oak revealed the name of the region. "Terra region!"
"Terra region?"
"It's called like that because of its variety of landscapes and cultures visible in a single region! Let me show you some examples." The screen then went through some slides, showing a picture of a rainforest with trees many dozen meters tall, and a futuristic city with densely packed high-tech skyscrapers so tall and big that the ground and the summit could not be seen in the slide.
"Woah, what? You're telling me those places exist in this world? There's no reason I would not visit such a place!" "Pi, Pika pika!"
"Sure, here's the ticket!" The professor took out a cruise ticket and handed it to Ash. It read out:
> TICKET TO TERRA REGION
>
> PASSENGER NAME: ASH KETCHUM
>
> ORIGIN SEAPORT: VERMILLION HARBOR DESTINATION SEAPORT: MAREY HARBOR
>
> SHIP: TERRA CRUISE CABIN: A-41
Some days later, Ash was in a harbor in a city, with his mom to see him out. He was wearing a blue vest on a white hoodie with a red stripe, long navy trousers, and the sneakers he wore before as well as the green backpack on his back. His hat, this time, was mostly red with a white front panel, and a green tilted "L" logo drawn on it. It was the first hat he used to wear on his first journey around Kanto and Johto region, remodeled to symbolize the second saga of his adventure.
His backpack was full, but he only had Pikachu as his Pokémon as of now. His journey was just like the previous ones on the outside, but this time, he was not a rookie challenger but someone who had reached the summit once.
"Are you excited, Ash?" His mom asked.
"Yeah, of course! My heart is always single-minded when I go to a new region!"
Just then, the cruise to Terra region arrived, and Ash ran out to get on the cruise.
"Thanks for this outfit, goodbye mom!" Ash said, waving his hands. "Pika Pika!"
"Have fun, Ash!" His mom also waved back at him as he entered the cruise. As the ship started to sail, Ash stood on the deck and looked at the open sea.
"Here we come, Terra region!" "Piika-Pika!" They exclaimed, preparing for the adventure they were about to make.
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Meanwhile, on the sea close to the city, a man, a woman, and an upright Pokémon that resembled a cat were riding a hot-air balloon that looked like the latter. They were resting in the wicker basket, their face filled with boredom. The man and the woman were wearing a white uniform with a red "R" drawn on it.
"No one's preparing for trouble, in this boredom we have..." The woman started, sitting in the basket.
"Should we have to make it double, when there's no one to fight?" The man added.
"Let's stop. We're getting tired of it..." The cat Pokémon interrupted, looking out into the sea with a telescope. "Huh?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"What's wrong?" The woman asked, standing up.
"That boy standing on the deck of that cruise... Is he the twerp?"
"Who?" She took out her telescope and observed the cruise the cat was looking at. She noticed Ash standing on the deck, shouting at the open ocean. "Wait, he is!"
"For real?" The man participated, also spying on the boy. "Yup, he is."
"Alright, comrades. Our mission is to capture his Pikachu as always. Let's g-" All of a sudden, a red and white penguin-like Pokémon with its tail working like a sack tapped her shoulder.
"Huh? Delibird?" The penguin's sack seemed full of various items which it took them out to the wicker basket. They were a metal stick with a button on one side, a laptop, a Pokéball, and a round hologram projector.
As they wondered what those items do, the projector levitated midair and started projecting a hologram of a midlife man with very short hair, wearing a black suit.
"Greetings." He said, surprising the trio. "You three have been assigned on a mission."
"Giovanni sir!" They gasped, standing in attention. "Give us the orders."
The hologram showed a landmass, which was not what the trio had known before. "This region is Terra region. It's a land known for its variety of landscapes and cultures, and we Team Rocket discovered there's a massive energy stored in this landmass that we can utilize. I'll be sending you three there, and your mission is to collect energy from the region through the device I provided you."
"Yes, sir!"
"Soon, when we're ready, we'll do a meeting to see the progress of our team. I expect good performance from you." The man said before the hologram faded.
"Well, if that's so... Guess we'll have to do that mission first." The man in a uniform sighed.
"At least we finally have something to do. Now, here we go, to Terra region!" The woman shouted out to the open ocean, pointing to it.
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On another sunny day, there was a town with colorful houses aligned on the streets, and a pearl-white harbor pointing at the open ocean. It was still morning, so not so many people were out on the streets, and the ones who were out were either on their way to work or about to start something special. That's right, the day was not like any day else.
And in a contemporary, gray two-floor house in the silent streets, a boy slept peacefully in his room on the second floor. He had pale skin and chin-level evenly cut cyan hair and wore blue pajamas. He was resting easy alone, undisturbed until his orange cell phone started to levitate and shout: "It's 7:00 AM! You set an alarm for it! Wake up!"
The boy gradually got up, rubbing his eyes.
"Why did I set up that, again...?"
Wondering, he looked out the window to see the streets. Children similar age to him were walking on the streets already, with a Pokémon next to them.
"Wait, wait! It's that day!" The boy immediately ran to the living room, where a present box was placed on the coffee table. The boy excitedly opened it, and there was a red and white ball with a QR code drawn on the back and a letter. The boy took out the latter first and read it.
Dear Halley.
This letter is to inform you that you've reached the age of 10 to have the role of the Pokémon Trainer.
Through the QR code behind the Pokéball, you're able to download the Pokédex application exclusive to Pokémon Trainers.
As a Pokémon Trainer, you can challenge Gyms and the Terra League, participate in Pokémon Contests, contribute to the Pokédex, et cetera.
The League analyzed your personality from the interview with your guardian and selected the most suitable Pokémon for you to start your journey with.
The association does not force any Trainer to a path and encourages every Trainer in the region to achieve their goal.
We wish you the best of luck, and we expect you to realize your goal in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Terra League
Halley took out the Pokéball from the box this time and tossed it onto the ground to open it. When the ball opened a plasma-like substance poured out that took the shape of a blue armless bipedal creature with five leaves growing out of its head.
"Di?" The creature cried out.
"Hmm... What was this Pokémon, again? Rotom Phone, scan this!" Halley held the ball in his hand and showed the QR code to the phone. The phone automatically scanned it and started downloading the app, and it reminded the owner when the installment was complete.
"Terra Pokédex has been downloaded. Enjoy the fun."
"Alright... Can you scan this Oddish then, Rotom?"
The phone levitated right in front of the creature and started to scan it. The next moment, the picture of the Pokémon showed up on the screen.
"Oddish: Weed Pokémon, Grass/Poison Type. A Pokémon that buries its body in the ground and hides from predators during the day. It is often seen wandering in the night."
"I see... Hmm..." Halley crouched and started at the Weed Pokémon.
"Odi?"
"Hmm~?"
"..."
"Hmmmm~??"
"..."
"Ow, that's it. My eye hurts." Halley fell, closing his eyes.
"Pfft..."
"Ah, sorry. Seems you're a master at staring contests, huh? So, you're my Pokémon?" Halley asked, getting up again. "Nice to meet you, Oddish!" He said, petting his Pokémon.
Some minutes later, Halley changed to his regular outfit, which was a white long-sleeved shirt, a blue tie under a beige school vest, with a lime green zip-up hoodie on it, black sweatpants with a white stripe on both sides, and white sports sneakers. There was also a cuboid-shaped yellow backpack on his back. The first place they went together to was the back hill of the town, busy with countless trainers testing out their new Pokémons against those of the wild.
"Alright, what should we do here..." Halley looked around, walking up the hiking path with Oddish. When he was midway through a bridge on a rill leading to the town to the sea, he discovered a white insect Pokémon with small, green wings climbing a tree. It was not climbing up the trunk quickly, but rather groping it to see whether it was climbing in the right direction.
"Hey, let's be quiet," Halley whispered to Oddish, lowering his body. "Could that Pokémon be blind? Rotom Phone, tell me more about that Pokémon, but quietly!"
"Nincada: Trainee Pokémon, Bug/Ground Type. It lives in the dark underground, sensing its surroundings using antennae instead of its eyes because they're blind." The phone whispered.
"Blind? Then..." The rookie trainer looked at his Oddish. "Let's ambush it while it doesn't sense us. Oddish, use Acid!"
Oddish jumped out and inhaled, filling its mouth with air and then vomiting out a stream of purple poison at the blind insect. The acid stream hit the insect successfully and made it fall onto the ground, only leaving Oddish to finish it off.
"Nice job, now let's use it aga-"
"Di, di...?" Oddish looked at the fallen Nincada and stuttered in shock.
"Huh?" The blind insect Pokémon's body was suddenly covered in blue light as it got back up again. "Wait, what-"
The Pokémon covered in light began to change its shape drastically, splitting into two. When the light faded, there were two bug Pokémons in place, one light brown with a gray abdomen and a white crescent-shaped halo, and the other mostly black with its head and abdomen gold and its eyes red. It seemed like the Pokémon was no longer blind anymore.
"Rotom... We need information right now!" Halley stepped back in fear.
"Shedinja: Shed Pokémon, Bug/Ghost Type. A peculiar Pokémon that doesn't seem to move at all. Its shell is so hard that only very effective attacks can destroy it."
"Very effective...? Would Acid count, then?"
"I'm afraid not ."
"Oh."
"And the other guy? Ninjask: Shinobi Pokémon, Bug/Flying Type. A Pokémon that is considered to be one of the fastest in the world. It mainly feeds on tree saps." Rotom Phone scanned the latter this time.
"One of the fastest?!"
"The best choice right now would be to run, right?" The phone added.
"Yeah. Let's run-" Just as Halley and Oddish turned around to flee, the Shinobi Pokémon rammed at them, making them roll down the hill. "A-"
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in the meantime, the cruise Ash was on ventured through the ocean for days. Team Rocket Trio flew their hot balloon to the Terra Region for days, and they were almost starving to death.
"Are we... there yet?" The woman asked one morning, with her upper body out of the basket.
"I would eat anything to live now. This sucks..." The man added.
"And.. That cruise. It's still with us after all those days." The cat Pokémon pointed at the cruise Ash was on, heading to the destination. "Are they also heading to the Terra region?"
"We should think so at this point. Should we stow away on there?"
"Yeah, let's do it now!" The woman agreed, about to jump off the balloon.
In the meantime, Ash and Pikachu walked out to the deck and looked at the sea. He was also bored with how long this took, so he yawned while standing on the front deck.
"Man, this is just too boring..." "Pi..." But luckily, a land mass became visible in the distance as they yawned, changing their mood immediately. "Wait, never mind, Pikachu! We're here!"
"Well, thank god... Seems like we're almost there." The cat Pokémon sighed in relief. The woman almost jumped out of the basket, but the man and the cat caught her in time and saved her.
"Woah, woah, woah! That was close..." The woman said right after getting saved by her comrades.
The cruise moored to the harbor next to a town with colorful houses, and our hero looked upon it with a smile.
"This cruise has arrived in Marey Town, Terra region. Make sure to take your belongings with you, and enjoy your vacation." The captain said to the passengers, about to set their feet on the world inside the world. Ash and Pikachu got out of the ship with their eyes closed, and when they were out enough to feel the breeze of the foreign seas, they opened their eyes and shouted out.
"We're finally here! The Terra region!" "Pi-Pikachu~!"
"So, what are we gonna do first?" Ash wondered, looking at the town map sign located right outside the harbor. "Should we just look around here first, or..." He noticed a stone island in the south, with Asian architecture on it. "Challenge the Gym right now? Hey, Pikachu! Do you have enough energy?"
"Pika!"
Some minutes later, Ash and Pikachu arrived at the southern end of the town, where a small artificial stone island was connected to the town by a red wooden bridge with a torii placed on both ends. On the island was a large Asian architecture covering most of the land surrounded by light brown walls with navy shingles, with a large wooden gate in the front with a logo shaped like a tilted Pokéball attached to a triangle.
"And we're here!"
Ash crossed the bridge and opened the wooden gate, revealing a long corridor with a large lobby. The lobby was a circular large room with an atrium and five corridors jutting out in five directions. In the center was a C-shaped counter with an opening leading to the steel elevator door on the center pillar of the gym.
"Welcome to Marey Gym. Are you here to challenge the Gym Leader or to sign up for a course in the gym?" The man on the counter politely asked.
"Challenge the Gym Leader." "Pika, Pika!" Pikachu nodded in addition to its partner's response.
"Understood. And your name is...?"
"Ash Ketchum!"
The man froze in place and hastily called someone using his Rotom Phone the next second.
"Hello?" The callee answered some seconds later.
"Excuse me, Leader. Do I have to sign a champion for the course?"
"What? Pffft... Of course not. Why are you asking me that?"
"Apparently, a champion plans to challenge the Gym."
"Woah, for real? Who is it?"
"Ash Ketchum."
"...Stay right here, I'm coming for you." The called party immediately hung up right after that. Some seconds later, the lobby was quaking, as if something massive was approaching them from afar. From a corridor, a tall muscular man was sprinting toward the lobby in excitement and a hurry. He had black, short hair, wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt with a khaki vest and dark gray sweatpants.
"MONARCH!!"
"WHAT THE-" "PIK-"
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At the same time in the Pokémon Center in the town, Halley was sitting in the waiting room alone. He let out a long sigh to relax.
He lost. Even though he could not predict that Nincada would evolve at that exact moment, he still lost before he could even do something. Halley slowly raised his head to the ceiling.
"It will take some time for me to get better. Wait, perhaps this path isn't for me...? No, what am I talking about? It's just a battle, Halley."
Halley sighed again and made up his mind. "If I'm weak, all I have to do is get stronger, right?"
"Alright, Mr. Halley! Your Pokémons have been recovered!" The Nurse on the center counter said, holding a metal tray with a Pokéball on it.
Halley looked down on his Pokéball while walking out of the center. "Oddish... Sorry about that. Since we lost a match today, let's hope we can win ten times in the future!"
To lose is frustrating. Sometimes, defeat makes you want to give up. But it was too early to do so. Halley didn't know what he wanted to do, and that was why it would not look strange to choose any path he could imagine. That's why he had to give his all to everything he's given... Until a path is carved.
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In the meantime, on the back hill was the Team Rocket Trio. They had just landed their balloon on it, and the woman held a metal stick their boss had given them. "I just have to press the switch, right?"
"Hmm... I think so. Go on." The man said.
Determined, the woman pressed the switch with her thumb, and it started to make a disturbing noise. Scared, she quickly hopped next to the man and hugged him hard as both sides of the stick transformed. On one side, a small turquoise-green cube emerged and grew, stopping when it was as big as a grown-up man's fist. On the other side, six insect-like legs came out and made the stick stand on the ground with it. The stick now transformed into something that looked like a bacteriophage.
"...Did it work?" The woman said, letting go of the man.
"Yeah, I guess?"
The bacteriophage walked around like a spider for some seconds, then stopped. A sharp spike jutted out among the legs, and the bacteriophage pushed it into the ground. As the cube on the top of it started to faintly glow, the trees near the bacteriophage started to wilt; It was draining the energy from the hill.
"It worked, Jessie, James! Now, all we have to do is protect this until it absorbs all the energy here!" The cat Pokémon said.
To Be Continued