Ash catches a Pokemon

Early in the morning in Vaniville Town Serena had gotten dressed. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a white collar, a red skirt and black leggings. She was going through several hats she had trying to decide which one to wear.

The previous night she asked her mother if she could start her Pokémon journey and after some begging Grace called professor Sycamore. The door opened and Fletchling flew in followed by Grace.

"Serena you have all your things packed?"

"Yes mom, I'm just not sure about which that I should wear. Which do you think I should wear." Serena said holding a pink hat with a ribbon and bow around it in one hand and a salmon hat with a white ball on the top in the other.

"Hmm, I'd go with that one." Grace said pointing to the hat with the white ball on the top.

"Perfect." Serena put on the pink hat with the ribbon around it.

"Why did you ask me if you already knew which one you are going to put on?"

"I didn't, I just needed to know which one you thought was better." Grace sighed. Serena walked out the door wearing a red backpack with Grace close behind her.

"Now remember to stay safe out there. Pokemon centers will allow you to spend the night. Also to watch out for strangers, law enforcement says there have been sightings of the criminal organization Team Rocket."

"I know mom don't worry." Serena started walking up rout 1 towards Lumoise City.

Elsewhere on route 4 Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were resting in the small campsite they made off the side of the road. Route 4 was a mostly wooded area with some rocks and rocks formations.

Bonnie was watching as Ash and Clemont were having a small battle with their Pokémon.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt."

"Bunnelby used Dig." Bunnelby quickly used his ears to burrowed himself under ground as Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt.

"Pikachu use Agility." Pikachu quickly moved around the campsite never staying in one location more than a moment. Once Bunnelby came up Pikachu got out of the way just in time to avoid him.

"Bunnelby use mud shot!"

"Pikachu use quick attack."

"Pika!" Pikachu sprinted forward using his speed to evade the incoming mud shots as Bunnelby hurled them at Pikachu with his ears. Just before Bunnelby reached the ground Pikachu hit him with quick attack knocking him onto his back.

"Nice work Pikachu that was great."

"It's alright Bunnelby you're still doing good." Moments later Red walked back into the campsite with Charmander by his side. When the others saw him, they noticed both him and Charmander had proud expressions on their faces.

"There you are Red. Where have you been all morning?" Ash asked.

"Sorry I didn't tell you, but Charmander and I got up early this morning looking for Pokémon to catch and check out who I've got." Red said as he took out one of his Poke Ball's and threw it forward. A relatively large bird Pokémon came out. The bird looked about 2 feet tall and 35 pounds. It had a sharp black beak with red feathers on its head and back. Gray feathers on its underside. Black and yellow feathers on its wings, black and white tail feathers, and black legs.

"Woah what is that?" Ash said as he took out his pokedex. "Fletchinder the ember bird: From its beak, it expels embers that set the tall grass on fire. Then it pounces on the bewildered prey that pop out of the grass."

"You caught that!" Clemont said.

"That's right, Charmander and I caught him."

"That's so cool Red, you caught your first Pokémon." Clemont said.

Bonnie ran over to Fletchinder and clapped her hands together next to her cheek. "I've always wanted to see a Fletchinder!"

Ash stared at Feltchinder and started to think for a minute about catching his own Pokémon.

"Hey Clemont, do you mind if we end our battle a little early."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah I think Pikachu and I are going to go look for Pokémon to catch." Ash said as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder.

"Ash if you're going to look for pokemon I can come with you." Red said.

"It's okay Red."

"No seriously Ash I'm not trying to boast, I really want to help you."

"Red I know you want to help me, but this is something I want to be able to do on my own." Red then understood what Ash wanted. It wasn't that just that he wanted to catch a Pokémon, he wanted to be able to learn it himself.

"Alright if that's what you want, good luck." Red sat down against the tree and allowed Charmander to rest up beside him while Fletchinder tried to get away from Bonnie kept trying to hug him.

"Hey Ash, if you and Pikachu were going to try and catch a Pokémon you mind if we come with you so that we can try and catch one to".

"Eh, I was kind of hoping it would just be me and Pikachu" Ash said as Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Oh please Ash, Bonnie keeps asking me to catch her a Pokémon and she kept me up till midnight last night trying to discuss what the best choice would be". Both Pikachu and Ash sighed with a sweat drop coming across their faces.

"Okay you can come with us."

"Really, thanks Ash I really appreciate it. Bunnelby come on." Bunnelby came over beside Clemont as Ash turned to Red.

"We'll be back in a few hours."

"Alright be careful out there." Red said.

Ash and Clemont slowly moved through the woods while looking around for pokemon. After 20 minutes of searching through the woods they couldn't find a single wild pokemon.

"How did Red find Fletchinder? Are there even any wild pokemon here?" Clemont said.

"You need to keep your head up Clemont. Keep a positive attitude" Ash said as he kept looking. Pikachu was happy Ash had managed to keep an upbeat attitude. The two had only known each other for a few days, but every day they grew more fond of each-other. After another 15 minutes Ash finally saw what looked like a small bird high up on a tree branch.

"Hey look!" Pikachu, Clemont, and Bunnelby all turned towards the bird who was scratching the inside of his wing with his beak. The bird looked like a smaller version of Fletching with a more round head, but the same color of feathers.

"What is that?" Ash said as he opened his pokedex and read the entry. "Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. Although Fletchling's chirp is quite beautiful to hear, it is relentlessly tough with those who enter its territory."

"So it's a Fletchling, huh it looks a lot like Fletchinder."

"That's because Fletchling evolves into Fletchlinder." Clemont said.

"Well we're going to catch that Fletchling aren't we Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped down from Ash's shoulder and sparked electricity from his cheeks. When the Fletchling heard them he looked down at the two trainers and their Pokemon. Not a moment later the Fletchling quickly flew away.

"Oh no come back!" Ash shouted. The Fletchling was nearly out of sight when the two trainers and their pokemon started to pursue him. Pikachu's speed allowed him to keep up with the fletchling with Ash close behind him.

Clemont , however, was struggling to keep up and Bunnelby kept pace with his trainer. Ash soon noticed that if he and Pikachu kept pursuing the Fletchling they would loose Clemont. Ash grit his teeth but knew he couldn't just leave Clemont and Bunnelby to fend for themselves.

"Pikachu we can't just leave them" Ash said. Pikachu didn't want to give up on the Fletchling as much as Ash but he knew his trainer was right. Pikachu stopped chasing Fletchling and want back onto Ash's shoulder.

"I'm sorry we couldn't catch Fletchling Pikachu."

"Pika." Pikachu said nudging his head against Ash's neck. He wanted to tell Ash that it wasn't his fault and that he was doing the right thing. A few minutes later Bunnelby and Clemont caught up with them.

Clemont tried desperately to catch his breath, "Thanks for waiting up, I don't know how much longer I could have kept running."

"I couldn't just leave you back there Clemont, it wouldn't be right." Ash said.

"Wait a minute if you stopped so I could catch up does that mean that Fletchling got away?"

"Yes." Clemont started to feel bad.

"I'm sorry Ash."

"It's okay Clemont. We can look for another one". The two trainers and the Pokémon continued to search through the forest but couldn't find any Fletchling. Occasionally they would pass a wild pokemon like Combee or Flabebe, but they weren't interested in catching them.

"This is so weird. The pokedex says this place is suppose to be abundant in Feltchlings but so far we've only seen that one." Ash said.

"This is strange, I wonder what's. Hey look!" Clemont screamed as he pointed towards a tree branch. Sitting on the branch was the same Fletchling from earlier.

"There you are, this time I'm going to catch you." Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and began to battle stance.

"Pikachu use Thunder Shock." Pikachu unleashed an electric attack towards the Fletchling. When Fletchling saw the incoming thunder shock he quickly flew forward avoiding it. Once it was clear Fletchling angled his wings and flew directly at Pikachu tried to pick up speed.

"Look out Ash he's trying to use peck!" Clemont said.

"We're okay, Pikachu dodge and use Thunder Shock." Pikachu jumped clean over Fletchling just before he reached him and used Thunder Shock. The Fletchling used Agility to avoid the thunder shock and flew back towards Pikachu using Razor Wind.

"Pikachu use agility then thunderbolt!" Ash said. Pikachu quickly moved from place to place avoiding the razor wind. Once he was clear he unleashed thunderbolt and scored a direct hit on Fletchling.

"Yes and that attack is super effective against flying types." Ash said as he took out a Poke Ball. He turned his had around and threw the Poke Ball "Poke Ball go!" He shouted. The Poke Ball hit Fletchling and the small bird went inside.

When the Poke Ball hit the ground it started flashing red and shaking around as Fletchling tried to get out.

"Come on stay in." Ash said to himself as he watched the Poke Ball carefully. After another minute the shaking stopped and the top of the Poke Ball let out a few sparkles.

"Yes I did, I caught a Pokemon!" Ash said very excited.

"Pika!" Pikachu said also very excited. Ash walked over and picked up the Poke Ball.

"Congratulations Ash you caught a Pokémon." Clemont said.

"We did it Pikachu, now we have another Pokémon." Ash let his new Fletchling out of his Poke Ball. When Fletchling came out of his Poke Ball he looked around and saw his new trainer.

"Hey there Fletchling, my name is Ash I'm your new trainer. This is Pikachu he was my first Pokémon." Fletchling tilted his head a little and flew up and landed on Ash's shoulder. Fletchling let out a small chirp.

"You know Ash it's still kind of curious where the other Fletchling are?"

"You're right, it is strange that there aren't any other Fletchling around".

"Do you think your new Fletchling knows what's going on" Clemont said.

"Maybe your right, hey Fletchling do you know where the other Fletchling are?" Ash said. As soon as Ash said that Fletchling jumped in shock as if he had remembered something important. Fletchling quickly started chirping very loudly and waved his wings around.

Pikachu could understand what Fletchling was saying and when he heard everything he said.

"Pika!" Pikachu said almost jumping.

"Pika, pika pika!" Pikachu said sounding very concerned.

"Alright that doesn't sound good. I think Pikachu and Fletchling are trying to say something has happened to the other Fletchling." Ash said.

"You could be right Ash, but what could be happening to the other Fletchling?"

"Maybe Fletchling can show us. Fletchling lead us to whatever is causing the other Fletchling to disappear." Fletchling nodded and quickly took off into the air with the others following him.

Ash and the others quickly followed Fletchling as he led them through the forest. After 10 minutes they reached a more open area with only a few trees. There was also a ledge with a pond around a secluded area below it. Fletchling landed on Ash's shoulder and pointed up to the tree branches above them. Ash,Clemont, Pikachu, and Bunnelby saw a number of empty nests in the trees above and realize they must've been Fletchling nests.

"So this is where the Fletchling nest, then that means there's something around here that's causing them to disappear." Not a moment later three Fletchling and a Fletchinder fly towards a pair of nests.

When Fletchling saw this she quickly cried out to the other Fletchling and the Fletchinder trying to warn them. However, he was too late the four Pokémon landed on the branchs and a moment later out of nowhere a massive net was shot out and entangled the four Pokémon.

"Oh no!"

"Pika!"

When the net hit the ground two men came out from behind a bush and picked up the net. "Ha that's another four." One of the men said. The two men were wearing black uniforms with large red ours on the chest.

"Wait a minute, those uniforms." Clemont said.

"Fire and flying types, only in Kalos. These things are gonna sell for a lot of money in Kanto." the other man said as they revealed a larger net with dozens of of Fletchling and Fletchinder in it.

"Team rocket has been taking the Fletchling!" Clemont said.

"Hey stop what you're doing!" Ash screamed at the two men. The team rocket members returned when they heard Ash screamed and saw him with Clemont and their Pokémon.

"What are these kids doing here?"

"Does it matter, look you little twerps like you run along before we change our minds."

"We're not leaving until you left those Fletchling go!" Clemont said.

"Pika!"

"Bue!" Bunnelby shouted.

"Alright you had your chance, now you have to suffer." One of the rocket members said as he took out two Poke Balls while the other man took out a single Poke Ball. A Golbat, Sneasel, and Inkay came out.

"What are those?" Ash said as he took out his Pokedex. "Inkay: Opponents who stare at the flashing of the light-emitting spots on its body become dazed and lose their will to fight: Golbat:GOLBAT bites down on prey with its four fangs and drinks the victim's blood. It becomes active on inky dark moonless nights, flying around to attack people and Pokémon. Sneasel :SNEASEL scales trees by punching its hooked claws into the bark. This Pokémon seeks out unguarded nests and steals eggs for food while the parents are away."

"Sneasel use Ice Shard."

"Golbat use Wing Attack, Inkay use Psybeam!" The three rocket Pokémon launched their attacks.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt, Fletchling counter with Quick Attack." Ash said.

"Bunnelby use Dig." Bunnelby quickly burrowed himself under ground avoiding the incoming Psybeam as Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt. Sneasel moved out of the way and hit Pikachu with Ice Shard. Fletchling tried to use Quick Attack but was hit by Golbat's Wing Attack.

"Nice work Golbat follow up with Air Cutter, Inkay use night slash."

"Sneasel use Slash!"

"Pikachu use Thunder Wave, Fletchling use Peck." When Bunnelby came up from Dig but was hit with Night Slash as soon as he emerged from the ground. Pikachu tried to paralyze Sneasel with Thunder Wave but Sneasel sprinted forward and slashed Pikachu. Fletchling tried to peck Golbat but was overpowered by Golbat.

"This isn't good Ash, they're beating us/" Clemont said.

Ash thought for a moment before he called out his next attack. He realized his problem was that he was just calling out attacks and hoping they'd land without thinking how it would turn out. When he battled Garchomp he had done much better because his mind was much more focused on what he was doing.

"Golbat use Poison Fang, Inkay use Psybeam!"

"Sneasel use Poison Jab."

"Pikachu use Agility to dodge then use Thunderbolt, Fletchling use Agility into Quick Attack."

"Bunnelby use Mud Shot."

Pikachu used Agility to increase his evasiveness and avoided Sneasel's Poison Jab. Once he was clear he blasted the Sneasel with thunderbolt. Fletchling also increased his evasiveness and avoided Golbat's jaws, then smacked him on the side with Quick Attack. Meanwhile Bunnelby jumped over Inkay's Psybeam and hit him repeatedly with shots of mud.

"Yes nice work Pikachu, Fletchling." Ash said happy there is new tactic was working.

"Golbat use Air Slash, Inkay use Psybeam!"

"Sneasel use Low Sweep."

"Pikachu wait until he gets close and then use quick attack to knock him down and use thunderbolt. Fletchling let Golbat go past you then hit him with tackle."

"Bunnelby use Dig."

Pikachu dove off toward directly over Sneasel's leg and knocked Sneasel onto his back with quick attack. Once Sneasel was on the ground pikachu used thunderbolt and knocked the Sneasel out.

Fletchling allowed Golbat to get close but then dropped down at flew forward causing Golbat to go past him. Once Golbat was past him Fletchling tackled Golbat in the back and forced him into the ground, knocking him out.

Bunnelby burrowed himself under ground avoiding the Psybeam and came up hitting Inkay's underside knocking him out.

"Great job Pikachu, Fletchling we won!" Ash said.

"Bunnelby outstanding!" Clemont said.

"Pika!"

"Bue!" Fletchling chirped happily as the Team Rocket members returned to their Pokémon.

"Beaten by a bunch of kids. This is humiliating."

"Shut up and grab the net we're not leaving without them." The two men grabbed the net and tried to get away.

"No you don't, Fletchling stop them!" Fletchling flew forward and sliced the net clean open. Moments later all of the Fletchling and Fletchinder flew out and around the two team rocket members.

"Uh Bill?" "Tun!" The two men sprinted away as fast as they could while the Fletchling began pecking them. The other Fletchling and Fletchinder flew around Ash and Clemont and chirped happily trying to thank them.

"Well I'd say we had a successful trip. I caught a Fletchling, we won a battle against Team Rocket, and saved dozens of Fletchling." Ash said as Pikachu climbed up onto Ash's shoulder and Fletchling landed on his other shoulder.

Ash was proud of himself not just that he caught Fletchling, but that he was able to defeat a team rocket member in a battle. Pikachu was just as happy with his trainer and their battle. Ash had a shaky start but saw his mistakes and learn from them and thus was able to win.

Clemont and Bunnelby were just as proud of each other when Clemont realized he didn't catch a pokemon for Bonnie.

"Oh no I didn't get Bonnie a Pokemon!" Clemont said. Moments later Ash saw a small Pokemon in the grass. The Pokemon looked like a pink cat with a large heart shaped tail that had white tips on the end.

"What is that?" Ash said as he opened his pokedex. "Skitty the small cat pokemon: It can 't stop itself from chasing moving things, and it runs in a circle, chasing its own tail".

"A Skitty?" Ash said.

"A Skitty, perfect!" Clemont said as he quickly threw a Poke Ball. The Poke Ball hit the Skitty and the Pokémon went inside. The Poke Ball shook around for a minute but eventually stopped and sparkled.

"Yes I caught a Pokémon for Bonnie!"

Back at the campsite Red Ford Pokémon food into two bowls for his Charmander and Fletchinder before going back to the noddles he was making for lunch.

"Red is lunch going to be ready soon, I'm hungry."

"Soon Bonnie, soon." Moments later he saw Ash and Clemont walked back into the campsite.

"There you guys are, you've been gone for a long time how did it go?"

"I've got a new partner." Ash said showing Fletchling on his shoulder.

"Nice you caught a Fletchling, looks like we both have two Pokémon now."

"Oh Bonnie I have a surprise for you." Clemont said as he handed her a Poke Ball.

"It's a Pokemon! Thank you big brother." Bonnie said as she let Skitty out.

"Aw it's so cute!" Bonnie said as she wrapped her arms around Skitty.

"You wouldn't believe what happened to us when we were looking for Pokémon to catch." Ash said. He and Clemont explained everything that happened leaving Red both dumbstruck and impressed.

"I can't believe you guys beat two members of Team Rocket. I'm proud of you guys, but it's scary to think Team Rocket is this close to us even now."

"You're right Red, but we should focus on the positives. I caught my first Pokémon, and won my first battle."

"Well lunch is almost ready, I hope you like noodles Clemont."