Evolution of the Pokedex

As soon as he made it back home, Ash told his mom about his new journey. Delia chuckled as Ash finished his story.

"That's my Ash, always finding adventure wherever we go."

"Well mom, a Pokemon Master's journey is never over. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Chu."

"Well, you know that we'll always be cheering you on. Isn't that right, Mimey?"

"Mime, Mime."

"Thanks, guys. Come on, Pikachu. Let's go see Professor Kukui."

"Pika!"

"Good luck, Ash! I love you!"

"Thanks, mom! Love you too!"

After grabbing a quick snack, Ash headed out the door. He and Drake saw Lillie running down the road, screaming.

"What's the problem?"

"Get away, get away, get away!"

"Lillie, what's wrong?"

"It's horrible! Make it go away!"

"Huh?"

Ash turned to see a small avian Pokemon, trying to peck at Lillie from behind.

"A new Pokemon?"

Pointing his Pokedex at the new Pokemon, Ash searched for information.

**"Pikipek, the Woodpecker Pokemon. This Pokemon feeds on berries, whose leftover seeds become the ammunition for the attacks it fires from it's mouth."**

"Woah, I've got to catch that! Pikachu, Thunder Shock, now!"

"PikaCHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Bolts of electricity hit Pikipek, turning it's attention towards Ash.

"Iron Tail Pikachu, now!"

Once the Pikipek was close enough, Pikachu jumped out of the way of it's Peck attack before retaliating by hitting it with it's glowing tail, slamming it into the ground, eyes replaced with swirls.

"Alright, now to capture it. Poke Ball, go!"

The Poke Ball hit Pikipek on the beak, bouncing back before opening up and absorbing it. The ball shook twice before clicking, confirming the capture.

"Alright, I just caught a Pikipek!"

"Pika Pi!"

After pocketing his new capture, Ash turned around to console Lillie.'

"Are you alright, Lillie?"

Panting heavily, Lillie looked up to see Ash's outstretched hand, composing herself as Ash pulled her up.

"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry, it's just that Nebby got out of the bag and disturbed Pikipek's lunch and...oh my, NEBBY!"

"Pew!"

Both turned around to see Nebby bouncing towards them.

"You! You know you shouldn't do things like that! What if someone saw you? Now get in the bag!"

Nebby screeched loudly, making Lillie pout, but it complied. Satisfied, Lillie turned back to Ash.

"I'll bet that you are on your way to the lab, right? Come on, I'll go with you. He said he had a new assignment for me."

"Sounds great."

They reached the lab in a few minutes. From an open window, they could hear Professor Kukui's booming voice.

"Oh yeah, Rockruff! Let's go! Give it everything you've got! My body is ready. Woo!"

"Uuhhhhhh?"

"Pika?"

"Is that a common occurrence?"

While Ash, Drake and Pikachu were confused by this outburst, Lillie just shook her head.

"Oh dear, not again. We just replaced that roof."

She turned back to Ash and Drake.

"Don't worry, he's just doing his usual study of Pokemon moves. Sounds like he's finishing up."

They stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell.

"Professor, it's Ash, Drake and Lillie!"

"Huh? Oh right! Hang on just a second!"

Lots of scuffling and rearranging could be heard for several minutes before Kukui finally answered the door, an adorable little Rockruff at his feet wagging it's tail.

"Ah Ash, Drake, Lillie, come in. I've got something you all will enjoy."

Ash, Drake and Lillie stepped into the building. The first thing that Ash noticed was how casual it looked. As opposed to Professor Oak's lab, which was full of strange machines and what not, this place was very low tech, with a telephone and teleporter to the side. To the left of the room was a tank for water Pokemon, and some stairs heading downstairs.

"Welcome to my home, Ash! What do you think?"

"It's, um, well...it's."

"Smaller than you're used to?"

"Uh, yeah. That?"

Kukui laughed at that.

"Ah, don't worry about offending me. See, the way I figure it is that the best way to conduct research is to do it in the wild, so I figured what's the point of filling it with technology I'll never know how to use anyway?"

"Hey, that makes a lot of sense."

"Come on, the surprise is waiting downstairs."

Following the Professor, Ash, Drake and Lillie walked down the stairs into a more traditional laboratory. A medium sized computer sat on the far wall, as well as a TV and recording equipment.

"Alright, you guys sit tight. This will just take a second. Oh, and Ash, I'll need your Pokedex."

"Uh, sure."

Ash, Drake and Lillie took a seat on the nearby couch, while Kukui walked over to his computer and began inputting numbers and codes. A few minutes passed before he was finished.

"Alright, now we just need to wait for it...wait for it...now!"

A bright burst of light filled the room, momentarily blinding the three. When it died down, a small Rotom was shown buzzing around.

"Tom, Rotom, Tom."

"A Rotom?"

Kukui nodded before turning to the small ball of electricity, a tweaked version of Ash's Pokedex in his hand.

"Alright, Rotom, do your stuff!"

"Tom, Rotom."

Without warning, the electric Pokemon flew into a port on the Dex, causing the lights to flicker as it merged with the machine.

For a second, nothing happened. But then, to Ash's surprise, the Pokedex grew a pair of eyes and arms, flying around joyously before landing in Ash's arms.

"Zzzt, Alola Ash, I am your new Pokedex. Pleased to meet you."

"AAAH!"

"Pika!"

Ash dropped the possessed device, practically jumping off the couch in fright. Fortunately, it also possessed the ability to float, gently hovering in midair with an annoyed expression.

"Zzzzt - hey, easy on the goods."

"Uh, sorry. I'm not used to seeing a Pokemon that talks besides Team Rocket's Meowth."

Professor Kukui walked over, sporting a cheesy grin.

"Pretty cool, huh? By connecting himself to the Pokedex, Rotom here can connect with humans and Pokemon!"

"Thatzzz correct. I represent the latest evolution of understanding between humans and Pokemon."

"Of course, this is new technology here, so I haven't quite worked out all of the kinks yet. That's where you come in, Ash."

"Me?"

"I want you to take it on your Alola journey, test it's limits. This Rotom could revolutionize Pokemon-human relations as we know it, but I need to know what all it can do first. Besides, it'll help you get used to the region."

"Zzzt, correct. Not only can I update any and all information about Pokemon, but I can also keep track of and map our location in Alola. With me you'll never get lost."

"Really? Awesome!"

"So, what do you say, Ash?"

"Professor, I accept! Welcome to the team, Rotom!"

"Hey, I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

"Pika!"

"Why thank you, Pikachu."

"Oh, and Lillie? There's something I want to discuss with you."

"Huh? Oh, alright professor."

After thanking Kukui for the gift, Ash, Drake and Pikachu set off for their journey.

"So Rotom, anything interesting we should check out before going to our first trial."

"Oh, tons! Let's see, in Hau'oli City itself there's the Battle Buffet, the Shopping Mall, Marina and a shop that sells wonderful Malassadas! And if you need a refresher on the basics of Pokemon training, there's also the Trainer's School on Route 1!"

"Wow, those all sound amazing!"

"Pika Pika!"

"Hold it right there, twerp!"

"Oh, not this again..."

Sure enough, Team Rocket was blocking the way.

"Don't worry, we're in a bit of a rush so we'll make this quick."

"Forget it! You're never getting Pikachu."

To Ash's surprise, the crooks laughed at him.

"Don't worry, we're not after him. We want your fancy new Pokedex."

"What?"

"Rumor has it old man Kukui has been working on some kind of fancy-schmancy Pokedex, and it looks like you've got it. So fork it over or we'll take it by force!"

"Never! I'll-"

"Zzzt, Ash! Down here."

"Huh?"

Rotom motioned for Ash to come closer, which he did. Quietly, he whispered a plan in Ash's ear. Ash smiled before standing up.

"You know what? You can have him."

"Huh?"

Team Rocket was caught off guard as Ash walked over and handed the Rotomdex to James.

"I mean, I'm just a kid. I'll probably a priceless piece of machinery. But you guys will be able to take good care of it, I'm sure."

James smirked at this.

"Looks like someone has finally come to his senses. Thank you for making this east, twerp!"

He then turned his attention to Rotom.

"Alright, time to test this puppy. Rotom, search for Gengar!"

Rotom was silent for a moment, before finding the information inquired and began to read.

"Zzzt, Gengar, the Shadow Pokemon. It is said to emerge from darkness to steal the lives of those who become lost in mountains."

This unnerved the trio.

"Hide in...shadows?"

"Steal lives?"

James was the first to recompose himself.

"Oh, get a grip! So, we won't catch a Gengar. Let's see, how about Drifloon?"

"Zzzt, Drifloon, the Balloon Pokemon. Stories go that it grabs the hands of small children and drags them away to the afterlife. It dislikes heavy children."

Now the trio was starting to shake.

"Um, alright, a bit unnerving, but no matter. Yamask?"

"Zzzt, Yamask, the Spirit Pokemon. Each of them carries a mask that used to be it's face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry."

That was the final straw for Team Rocket. In almost lightning speed, they shoved the device back into Ash's arms.

"Here, keep it! Good luck sleeping with those nightmarish entries."

Before anything else could be said, the three took off running, leaving Ash and Rotom smirking.

"Uh, Ash?"

Ash turned around to see a quivering Lillie coming up the road, holding the egg from the night before in her arms.

"Hey Lillie, what's up?"

"Um, those things Rotom said. They're...they're not true, are they?"

Ash and Rotom chuckled at this.

"Zzzt, not even a little! I just thought it might be fun to scare those three and to teach them a lesson about taking things that aren't theirs."

Lillie sighed in relief.

"That's good. Anyway Ash, I wanted to ask you something. You see, Professor Kukui has entrusted the Pokemon egg to me to look after, but I'm afraid to travel by myself and since you were going on your island challenge, well I-"

"You want to come with me?"

"Um, yes. If that's alright."

Ash smiled warmly.

"Of course it is. The more the merrier, right Pikachu?"

"Pika Pika!"

Lillie blushed lightly.

"Oh, thank you Ash! I hope by visiting the resting places of the guardians, I can figure out more about Nebby."

"Pew!"

Lillie's bag rustled, as if Nebby was voicing it's agreement.

"Come on, adventure awaits!"

With their new traveling companion in tow, the group set off on their journey, ready to face any challenges that come their way.