Don't Touch That 'dile

Once again Ashlyn and her friends have left the comforts of Pallet Town behind them, their sights on a new goal.

Now they're headed to New Bark Town, where Ashlyn can register for the Johto League.

At the moment, the gang was walking through the forest with a mist covering most of the area.

Tesla looked up and sighed, "Raichu Rai Raichu? (Ashlyn, doesn't that branch look familiar?)" She asked, pointing towards a branch.

Ashlyn looked up and noticed it as well, she sighed, "I say we've been going around in circles." She groaned.

"What!" Misty whined, "You gotta be kidding me!"

"The problem is that this fog is so thick that we can't even see the direction we're headed." Brock rubbed his forehead.

Ashlyn perked up at a sound and a presence that she felt, "What was that?" She muttered.

Suddenly Togepi hopped out of Misty's arms and Tesla jumped off Ashlyn's shoulder to follow after him. Then they ran off in a direction.

"Togepi!"

"Tesla!"

The three followed after the two Pokémon and they stopped when they saw a beautiful, glowing Pokémon figure in the middle of the lake.

Ashlyn recognized the Pokémon, 'Suicune.' She thought with awe.

"Wow look at that." Misty awed.

Suddenly the mysterious Pokémon noticed the gang's presence and then ran off.

"What Pokémon was that?" Misty asked.

"Suicune, one of the Three Legendary Beast created by Ho-Oh itself." Ashlyn explained.

Brock noticed that the mist clearing up, "Check it out. The mist is clearing up." He announced.

"You're right Brock." Misty said.

"We should keep going in case the mist comes back." Ashlyn suggested.

The gang walked more and more, until at last they came to a sign.

"This sign says 'New Bark Town." Brock said, "This way to the town where the winds of new beginnings blow."

"So that means we're finally here." Ashlyn stated.

The gang took a good look at New Bark Town.

"What a nice town." Misty complimented.

"Okay let's head to the Pokémon center and then we'll go see Prof. Elm." Ashlyn decided.

"Good idea." Misty agreed.

"Let's get going!" Brock marched in front of them.

"I bet there's a Nurse Joy there." Misty said.

"Definitely." Ashlyn agreed.

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Brock rushed ahead of them when they saw the Pokémon Center. When they came in, they noticed that Nurse Joy wasn't there.

"Oh Nurse Joy!" Brock gushed as he stood at the front desk.

"Chansey! (Welcome!)" A Chansey greeted them.

"Chansey? You're not Nurse Joy." Brock said, disappointed.

Chansey smiled at them and pressed a large orange button on front of the desk, "Chansey." She said.

A video showed Nurse Joy appeared on the screen.

"Welcome all trainers, I'm Nurse Joy." New Bark Town Nurse Joy greeted them.

"Ah, there she is!" Brock blushed.

"I'm over at the Elm's Laboratory right now and I'm sorry not being be able to help you, but I'll be back at the Pokémon Centre no later than two o'clock this afternoon." Nurse Joy continued.

"Two? But..." Ashlyn looked at the clock in the Pokémon Centre, "It's already three-thirty." She said.

"Might as well sit down." Misty sat down on one of the benches.

"Do you think something might have happened at the lab?" Ashlyn pondered.

"We should head over there right now! Nurse Joy could be in terrible danger!" Brock proclaimed, eagerly.

Ashlyn sweat-dropped, "Whatever you say, Brock."

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When they got to the lab, there were police cars and Officer Jenny was checking the lab.

"I wonder what's going on here." Misty pondered.

Ashlyn ran up to Officer Jenny.

"What's going on, Officer Jenny?" Ashlyn asked.

"Some thieves broke into Prof Elm's lab." Officer Jenny said.

"Looks like there's trouble. Don't worry Officer Jenny, just leave this to me!" Brock dashed off.

"Brock!" Ashlyn called out and sighed. Then she turned to Officer Jenny, "Sorry about that, but we do need to see Prof. Elm."

"Well, you can go in if you need to see him." Officer Jenny allowed.

"Thank you." Ashlyn thanked her and then she and Misty headed into the lab.

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The two girls finally caught up with Brock who started flirting with Nurse Joy and Misty grabbed Brock by the ear and dragged him farther away from the Pokémon Nurse. She also noticed Prof. Elm who was sitting near Nurse Joy. Even though Prof. Elm was a researcher, he looked more like a scientist.

"Sorry about that, Nurse Joy. But could you tell us what happened here?" Ashlyn asked.

"It's all my fault." Prof. Elm admitted.

"What's all your fault?" Ashlyn asked, already knowing what it was.

"I was doing some research and didn't realize what was happening in my lab, until Nurse Joy came up." Prof. Elm stated.

"Has something happened here, Nurse Joy?" Misty asked.

"Yes something has happened," Nurse Joy replied, "a Pokémon was stolen from here."

"What! A stolen Pokémon?" The group gasped.

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Everyone outside at a stage near the lab.

Officer Jenny explained everything. "The Pokémon that the thieves took was a starter Pokémon, which was supposed to be given to a new trainer tomorrow." she said.

"I do hope that Totodile is okay." Nurse Joy prayed.

"Totodile is one of Johto's starter Pokémon right?" Ashlyn asked.

Ashlyn had read about about Johto's starter Pokémon before along with all of the other region's starter Pokémon.

"That's correct. You see I'm suppose to give this Totodile and this Cyndaquil to two new Pokémon trainers tomorrow." Professor Elm explained and in his arm is the Johto Region Fire Starter.

The gang noticed the Pokémon in Professor Elm's arms.

"Cute~ Its a Cyndaquil." Ashlyn smiled.

"Cynda Cynda Cynda!" The Pokémon back was blazing in flames all the sudden.

Professor Elm held the Pokémon away from himself, "Don't be alarm this is normal behavior." He stated.

"Raichu." Tesla smiled.

"Togi Togi." Togepi smiled.

"Maybe I should explain things more fully." He reaches into his coat pocket and pulled out two photos, "New Bark Trainers get to choose one of three. A Chikorita, a new trainer just picked this one the other day. A Grass-type."

He showed the gang picture of Chikorita who was a light green animal with a big leaf on its head.

"Or they can pick a Cyndaquil, which is a Fire-type."

"Cyndaquil!" The Pokémon said, happily.

Then he showed a picture of a Totodile who was a blue crocodile, "Or they can have a Totodile, which is a Water-type."

"A Water type! I pick that one!" Misty smiled.

"Reminds me of the starter Pokémon Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle that Prof Oak gives to new trainers in Pallet Town." Ashlyn said, "But I got Tesla and Rockruff as my starters."

"Rai." Tesla smiled.

Professor Elm was delighted to hear that the gang knew Professor Oak and went on talking of how he was the top student and how great Professor Oak is.

Nurse Joy took Cyndaquil from Professor Elm's arms.

Brock listened to Professor Elm's and nodding.

Ashlyn and Misty were all looking at Cyndaquil in Nurse Joy arms, who was laughing when Ashlyn tickled it.

"Cute~!" Misty squealed.

"I know that sometime Professor Elm may sound like a hot head but he's very sweet and he has raised wonderful Pokémon." Nurse Joy said.

Professor Elm continues to talk and explained what he researches on.

"Sometime I wish that Professor Elm would be like Professor Oak and do the research area of human relationship too." Nurse Joy stated with a sad expression.

"I see." Ashlyn understood.

"The only thing to think about now is to find those Pokémon thieves and bring Totodile back." Misty said.

"I agree, but how should we find them?" Ashlyn questioned.

Just then one of Officer Jenny's men came up with a stone in his arms, "We didn't find any fingerprints but we found some footprints on the ground that doesn't belong to any of us here and I made a plaster cast of the footprints from the backyard of the lab." He showed her the footprints.

Officer Jenny examines the footprints and she released the puppy Pokémon.

"Growlithe!" The puppy Pokémon barked and immediately went to sniff the footprints, it immediately got the scent and run towards the town.

"Growlithe has picked up the scent of the thieves, time for go after them." Officer Jenny said and ran after her Pokémon.

"We should go too." Ashlyn decided.

The gang followed Officer Jenny too.

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They followed Growlithe who lead them to Team Rocket who seem to be fighting each other while a Totodile was chomping on Jessie's hair.

"It's Team Rocket!" Misty exclaimed.

"It's the twerps!" Team Rocket exclaimed, surprised to see them again.

"I should have known that you three would do something like this." Ashlyn said.

"You three are under arrest for stealing a Pokémon from Prof. Elm's lab!" Officer Jenny announced, holding out a pair of handcuffs. "Return that Totodile back!"

Ashlyn blanked out on Team Rocket's motto as she turned to Totodile who was still chomping on Jessie's hair. Ashlyn had to get that Pokémon away from them. Unknown to her, her eyes glowed blue and Totodile's shape was outlined blue. Then it was lifted over to Ashlyn who caught Totodile in her arms.

Everyone blinked when they noticed that Totodile was safely in Ashlyn's arms. Totodile blinked when it realized that it was no longer attached to Jessie's hair. Ashlyn gently petted its head who was still confused and then it started to like her touch.

"You're okay now, Totodile." Ashlyn smiled.

"Give us that Pokémon now!" Meowth demanded.

The big jaw Pokémon looked at Team Rocket and it jumped out of Ashlyn's arms and launched a Water Gun attack towards the thieves that captured it and sent them flying into the air.

"What do we tell the boss now?" Meowth whimpered.

"You can make the call this time, Meowth and you can give him the same message we always have to give him!" Jessie snapped.

"TEAM ROCKET MESSED THINGS UP AGAIN!!" Team Rocket shouted in the distance.

"Wow, that was some Water Gun attack." Misty said, impressed.

"Totodile!" The big jaw Pokémon jumped up and down, happily.

"Well done Totodile." Ashlyn said as she picked up Totodile.

Totodile smiled, "Totodile!"

Officer Jenny sighed, "Well no arrest." She said.

Brock appeared in front of her, "You can take me into custody." He blushed in a daze.

Officer Jenny blinked in confusion, "Uh..."

Misty grabbed Brock by his backpack and pulled him away, "Come on lover boy. What you need is solitary confinement!"

Ashlyn handed Totodile to Officer Jenny, "Glad we could help, Officer."

Officer Jenny smiled as she held Totodile in her arms, "Thanks to you, a new Pokémon trainer is going to be very happy."

"You're welcome." Ashlyn smiled back.

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When they arrived back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy and Professor Elm were very happy to see Totodile back and unharmed. The gang had called Prof. Oak and told them that they made it to New Bark Town and introduced him to Prof. Elm. The two professors began talking and the group decided to leave them be.

"Thank you all." Nurse Joy said, "How about I get you registered and approved for the Johto League, Ashlyn."

Ashlyn nodded, "Great."

Nurse Joy took Ashlyn's Rotom Phone and entered into the slot in the computer, she typed something on the type.

"Ashlyn Ketchum of Pallet Town." The male computer voice said, analyzing her Rotom Phone information, 'OK' "Welcome to the Johto League."

Ashlyn's phone ejected out of the computer, Nurse Joy it and handed it back to Ashlyn, "Congratulations Ashlyn. You are now fully qualified and approved to become an official participant in the Johto League." She said.

Ashlyn took back her phone, "Thank you Nurse Joy." She said.

Nurse Joy took out a guide book, "You'll need a copy of the Johto League Guide Book. So make sure you don't lose it." She held it out to Ashlyn.

"Okay." Ashlyn said and was about to take it.

But then Brock snatched it from Nurse Joy's hand and held it close to him.

"I'll hold it close to my heart, which is just where I hold you!" He blushed.

"How many badges does Ashlyn have to win in this league?" Misty asked.

"Once she earns eight badges, she'll be able to compete in the Johto League championship and I say the best place to start in Violet Gym in Violet City." Nurse Joy explained.

"Then that's where we're headed." Ashlyn decided.

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At the end of the day, the sun has set and it was time for the gang to leave.

Professor Elm, Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy with Totodile all waved them goodbye.

"Good luck in the Johto League!" Officer Jenny said.

"Remember you can stop in a Pokémon Center if you run into any trouble!" Nurse Joy said.

"And thanks again for rescuing Totodile!" Professor Elm said, as he held Totodile in his arms.

"Totodile!" It waved.

The gang waved back and headed back on the road.

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As Ashlyn and her friends head to Violet City to continue their Pokémon journey, they're happy to help out a Pokémon who's going to be a Trainer's first Pokémon back from Team Rocket. And as new winds of new beginnings at their back, they look forward to the Johto League.

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Pokémon on hand: Raichu (Tesla)(F), Type: Null (Talos)(Genderless), Lugia (Poseidon)(M)

*Marshadow is hiding in Ashlyn's shadow