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The New Normal - OMAKE - Pokemon: The Animation - Cerulean Arc
🕑 Added 2024-12-11 12:00:09 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – OMAKE – Pokémon : The Animation – Cerulean Arc
Ash and Gary had just arrived at Cerulean City, having just beaten Brock to obtain their first Gym Badge. They had chosen to make their way there immediately, hopefully trying to get ahead of the crowd so they wouldn’t have to suffer through long wait times like they did at Pewter.
By his side was his trusty Pikachu, the starter Pokémon that he had obtained ever so long ago. And it was still a Pikachu, as even though he had done the research and knew that he could have evolved it into a Raichu with a Thunder Stone, it just didn’t sit right with the two of them.
It felt like his partner was always destined to be a Pikachu, and nothing could ever change that.
After arriving in Cerulean, they quickly made their way to the Gym to register for their second Gym fight.
“You sure your Squirtle can handle this, Gary?” He asked his best friend, “Water isn’t very effective against other Water types.”
“Relax, Ashy, I still have Eevee in my back pocket if need be.” Gary responded with a confident smirk, “You just focus on making sure you win. Your Pikachu might be super effective against Water types, but it doesn’t resist Water moves either. Take too much damage and you might have to schedule a rematch. And I won’t be waiting up for you if that happens.”
Ash just snorted, having been used to these kinds of comments from Gary. Gary was always the pessimist when it came to his chances of winning, as if they were not even in their spars. Though deep down he knew Gary cared – he agreed to come along him with him on their journey, after all.
“Pika pika!” His starter clearly agreed with him, as Pikachu puffed up its chest proudly as if to show off its strength.
Still, with the battle against the Cerulean sisters scheduled in, they decided to spend some time checking out the city and taking in the sights. Maybe they could even head on to the outskirts and see if there was a new Pokémon they could catch.
“You want to visit Mt. Moon?” He asked Gary, “I did bring it up when we were coming over here from Pewter, but since we have time why not we make a short trip there? We could even catch something while we’re there.”
“I am not catching a Clefairy – even if we were allowed to.” Gary replied, “Big sis already has one, and I’m not going to be copying her. She would never let me hear the end of it if I did.”
Ash sighed, “Fine, then let’s just explore the nearby Routes. Maybe we’ll find a Pokémon to add to our teams.”
The two of them did have pre-made plans about what Pokémon they wanted in their team, but just like Professor Oak advised, sometimes you just had to make do with the Pokémon you encountered. It was unrealistic to actually plan out a proper team from the beginning, since there was no guarantee you would actually be able to catch those Pokémon.
Actually, Gary could have done that since he was rich, but his friend chose not to do so. Ash was happy that he was willing to do things the ‘right’ way.
So the two of them headed up to Route 24, where they wandered around in the tall grass for a bit to see if they encountered anything interesting. There was a Pidgeotto that seemed pretty strong, but it flew off before he could challenge it.
Oh well, better luck next time.
As the sun began to set, the two of them were making their way back before they suddenly stumbled across a girl sitting down with her face in her hands on the side of the road.
“Hey, sorry for being nosy, but is everything okay?” He moved to ask her, “You looked like you were upset.”
The girl startled at his approach, though quickly calmed down when she realised he meant her no ill will.
“…Hah, yeah, it’s not a big deal.” She sighed out, “It’s just that somebody stole my bike.”
“Stole?” Gary asked, crossing his arms, “You sure you didn’t just misplace it?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed – why did she look so familiar, “Yes, stole, because I had just placed it against the tree as I wanted to do some fishing. Then when I turn around the bike is just GONE! It might have wheels, but bikes don’t just disappear like that.”
“Okay? So? Just buy another one.” Gary replied easily, “Not a big deal.”
Ash immediately spoke up before the girl could get even more mad, “Sorry about Gary. He was…born into money. He doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘not having enough money’.”
The girl snorted, “What? So he’s the son of some really rich businessman or something? What are you, Silver?”
Gary smirked, “Try the grandson of Samuel Oak.” The girl’s eyes widened like saucers, “Nice to meet you too, nameless girl. You don’t have to bow, a simple nod of respect would suffice—"
Ash whacked his friend over the head, “You say something like that again and I’m telling Professor Oak.” Gary immediately winced at that.
Luckily, the girl didn’t seem offended by Gary’s ‘gary-ness’, “…I did hear that the grandson of Professor Oak was starting their journey this year. I thought I might get a glimpse of you when you challenged my sisters, but I didn’t think I’d run into you like this.”
Wait, ‘sisters’? Ash took another look at the girl, and the final puzzle piece finally slotted into his mind about why this girl looked so familiar.
“Ah! Then you must be Misty! One of the Waterflower sisters!” He realised.
“Yep, that’s me.” She nodded, “Today was one of my rest days, so I just spent it fishing to relax. Even though my sisters still handle most of the work running the Gym, things still can get quite hectic for me.”
She then took a look at the sky, which was slowly turning dark, “Actually, on that note, my sisters’ probably expect me back soon, so why don’t we can head back together? We can chat while we’re walking.”
They took her up on that offer, and their conversation mostly focused on Misty’s day-to-day activities with running the Gym. Neither of them had ever really spoken to a Gym Leader before, so this was all really interesting to hear.
Eventually, the three of them had arrived back at the Cerulean Gym, and their conversation began to be wrapped up as it was time to go.
“…Anyways, I do appreciate the company.” Misty said to them, “I’m still kinda bummed that my bike got stolen, but talking to you guys kinda made up for it. I’ll be rooting for you two when you make your challenge against my sisters! You better not lose!”
“We won’t!” Ash declared confidently, “You’ll see what we’re made of soon!”
“Yeah! We’re going to repeat what Whitney did!” Gary nodded, “We’re going to get all of the Gym Badges on our first try!”
Misty smiled, “That’d be pretty cool. Dunno if you two blockheads can actually manage it, but I’ll keep an eye out for the two of you just in case.”
“Oh? And who do we have here?” The three of them were startled as someone suddenly spoke up from behind them, and they turned around to see a man just exiting the Gym through the backdoor, “Misty, are these your friends? Wait a minute…”
“John?!” Gary called out in shock, “What are you doing here?!”
“Oh I just had something to speak to the Gym Leaders about.” He waved them off, “It wasn’t really anything important.”
Then he smiled at them, “But hey, I see some familiar faces. Gary, it’s been some time. I heard from your sister that you’ve beaten Brock on your first try. Good job!”
Gary blushed, “…It was nothing, but thanks.”
John patted Gary’s head before turning his attention to Ash, “And this must be Ash. Do you still remember me?”
“I do.” Ash nodded, “I haven’t forgotten the advice you gave me all that time ago. And neither does Pikachu.”
“Pika!” Pikachu also nodded.
“Wait, you know these two, John?” Misty interrupted, looking confused, “Since when?”
John hummed, “Well I knew Gary because I spend a lot of time with his sister and Professor Oak, so naturally we’d be acquainted. And I met Ash after the Cinnabar eruption. I ended up speaking with his mom, and coincidentally spoke with Ash when he ran up to pester me for advice.”
Now he was blushing too. Oh man, why was this so embarrassing?
Seeing their expressions, John just chuckled, “No need to be embarrassed. If anything, I’m honoured that you took my advice to heart. Makes me glad to know that I made a difference.”
“But anyways, I do have to run off to another meeting.” John said, “Sorry to cut this conversation short. Maybe we can speak again soon.” And without another word, John released his Mantine and flew off.
Ash stared blankly at John’s retreating figure, realising that this was one of the trainers that he had to beat. John was a member of the Elite Four, widely known to be the strongest member of the four and possibly even with Champion Lance in terms of strength. But no matter how strong John was, Ash knew that he would have to defeat him one day if he wanted to achieve his dream.
And his dream was to be the very best, like no one ever was.
A.N. This was an idea that refused to go away, so I had to write it down. It’s definitely very different from the usual Omakes/Interlude that I write, so what did you think? I wanted to show off what the Pokémon anime could possibly look like in the world of The New Normal, and what changes it would make to the character dynamics as a result. This chapter would probably be one of the earlier episodes in the series, as a sort of introduction chapter to all the characters that we’ll be seeing. Obviously, John’s there too, if only for a bit.
Of course, all of this should be considered non-canon, and was written purely for fun. But if you enjoy it, let me know and I might write more of these! Maybe I could even do a ‘public reaction’ to these episodes? Hope you enjoyed!
Comments
Simplexity
Sorry Ash, your insistence on never evolving your pokemon and lack of held items like Evolite/Light Ball/Z-Crystals means that your dream is doomed to failure. Nothing your pokemon can bring will allow you to even get past the Grand Conference much less fight a member of the Elite Four
Zabios Latrei
I can say I enjoyed it - I like seeing the ripples and how they affected things more long-term, with the anime
TyrantGod
I liked it. No offense to fans but I thought Ash would get a different starter like a Eevee. Would have a more bigger change due to the ripple effect.
TorrhenWintry
Should definitely have more makes like this. It'd be nice to see the changes John made affecting more "current events" from the animation
