Luneth and Ginko finally reached Viridian City. Earlier she was stopped by Officer Jenny when she asked if Ginko belonged to her. After showing her Pokédex, which was also her ID card, Officer Jenny apologized and told her that there were some Pokémon thieves in the area. So she accidentally assumed that Luneth was one. But Luneth forgave her and let her be on her way to the Pokémon Center.

Luneth was impressed by the size of the Pokémon Center. When she entered, she spotted Nurse Joy and went over to her.
“Excuse me, Nurse Joy.” Luneth said.
“Yes, can I help you?” Nurse Joy asked.
“Could you do a checkup for my Pokémon?” Luneth asked.
“Of course. That’s what I’m here for.” Nurse Joy smiled.
“Could you do ours too?” A male voice asked next to her.
Luneth turned to the voice and saw two familiar faces.
“Alain? Mairin? What are you two doing here?” Luneth questioned.
“We’re going to explore the Kanto Region. I’ve always wanted to come here and hope to find more Pokemon who are capable of Mega Evolution.” Alain answered.
“I’m sure you will.” Luneth smiled.
“This is going to be great!” Mairin beamed.
"Chespin! (Yeah!)" A Pokémon said on Mairin's shoulder.
The Pokémon is a bipedal, mammalian Pokémon. It is primarily light brown with darker arms and three triangular markings around its face. It has oval, brown eyes; a triangular, red nose; and rodent-like incisors. Its arms have three fingers, while its feet have two long claws. Covering its back is a tough, green shell, which extends from its head to halfway down its tail. The tip of its tapered tail is orange. There is a small, off-center hole in the shell on the back of its head and, around the face, the shell has four leaf-like spikes. On the back of its head is another spike split into three parts.
Luneth took out her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon:
[Chespin, the Spiny Nut Pokémon. The quills on its head are usually soft. When it flexes them, the points become so hard and sharp that they can pierce rock.]
"How did you get a Chespin, Mairin?" Luneth asked.
"Dad gave him to me. His name is Chespie." Mairin smiled.
"Chespin! (Hi!)" Chespie smiled in greeting.
“Here are your trays.” Nurse Joy interrupted, holding three Pokéball trays on two carts which were being pushed by two Chansey’s.
“Wow, a Chansey.” Mairin smiled.
Luneth scanned Chansey:
[Chansey, the Egg Pokémon, and the evolved form of Happiny. Chansey is a kind Pokémon who shares its egg with those who are sick or injured.]
Luneth, Alain and Mairin each grabbed one tray and placed their Pokéballs and Pokémon on them. Then the Chansey’s took them away to get checked up.
“By the way, can we check in for a room?” Luneth requested.
“Of course,” Nurse Joy handed Luneth a key which had the No.5 on it. "Here you go, Room 5 is just down the hall. Have a good day now."
“Thank you once more, Nurse Joy.” Luneth thanked Nurse Joy.
“Well, we need to get some supplies, do you want to come with us, Luneth?” Alain asked.
“Sure.” Luneth replied.

After getting their supplies, the trio went over to the video phones. Luneth dialed her house’s number. Two rings later, Delia appeared on the screen.
“[Luneth! You’re finally in Viridian City!]” Delia cheered.
Luneth nodded, “Yup. Oh, guess who I ran into.”
Alain and Mairin appeared next to her.
Delia smiled, “[Alain, Mairin! So good to see you two again!]”
“Hi Miss Ketchum.” Alain and Mairin greeted Luneth’s mom.
“[By the way, has your brother arrived yet, Luneth?]” Delia asked with worry.
“No, I haven’t seen him yet.” Luneth replied.
“[Well I hope he’s okay.]” Delia prayed.
“I’m sure he’s fine, Miss Ketchum.” Mairin assured her.
“[Luneth, could you just stay at the center until Ash comes?]” Delia requested.
“I will. I’ll make sure that he calls you when he gets here.” Luneth promised.
“[Alright, bye sweetie. You too, Alain, Mairin.]” Delia waved a little before the screen went black.
“Luneth Ketchum, please report to the front counter to receive your Pokémon!" Nurse Joy's voice appeared from the speakers of the center. "Alain and Mairin Sycamore, please report to the front counter to receive your Pokémon, also!"
The three trainers went over to the front counter and saw the two carts that had Ginko, Chespie and Pokéballs on them.
“Eeve! (Luneth!)” Ginko smiled when she spotted her trainer.
“Chesp! (Mairin)” Chespie smiled as well.
“Thank you, Nurse Joy.” The trio thanked the Pokémon Nurse.
“You’re welcome.” Nurse Joy smiled.

Once they gathered their Pokémon, the three decided to have lunch together and talked about what had happened before they met up.
“Wow, you’re lucky that you got to see Ho-oh.” Alain looked at the pictures on Luneth’s Pokédex.
“Yeah, I never thought that I would see Ho-oh on the first day of my journey.” Luneth admitted as Alain gave her Pokédex back.
“Hey Luneth!” A familiar voice called out to Luneth.
A very familiar and annoying voice. Reluctantly, Luneth looked over her shoulder and saw Prof. Oak’s grandson, Gary Oak, walking over to her.
“You missed me this morning. I never got to show you my awesome starter.” Gary bragged.
“I didn’t want to see you. I was in a hurry to get to Viridian City.” Luneth stated.
Gary sweat-dropped, “Oh…well, maybe now you can join me on my journey.” He grinned.
“Sorry, but we’re joining her on her journey.” Alain spoke up.
Gary blinked and turned to the voice and saw Alain sitting next to Luneth.
“Alain?! What are you doing here?!” Gary shouted, surprised.
“Like I said before, Luneth invited Mairin and I to join her on her journey.” Alain replied, calmly.
“WHAT?!” Gary exclaimed.
Luneth was surprised at what Alain had said. She didn’t think that Alain and Mairin would want to travel with her. Thinking about it now, she thought that it would be a great idea to travel with Alain and Mairin.
“Gary, you’re gaining unwanted attention.” Luneth pointed out.
Everyone was staring at Gary Oak.
“Nothing to see here, everyone. Go back to eating.” Gary said, sheepishly. Then he turned to Luneth, “So you’re not joining me?”
“That’s right, Alain and Mairin are joining me.” Luneth confirmed.
“I see.” Gary said and walked away.
The three blinked at Gary who walked back to his table where his cheerleaders were.
“Wow, he took that rejection okay.” Luneth commented, surprised.
“Yeah.” Alain agreed.

Nighttime had come and Ash still hadn’t appeared. Luneth feared that something bad might have happened to Ash.
“I’m sure that he’s fine, Luneth.” Alain assured her.
“Eevui. (I think so too.)” Ginko added.
“I hope so.” Luneth said.
“How about you and I wait in the lobby for him?” Alain suggested.
“You don’t mind?” Luneth asked.
“Not at all.” Alain assured her.
So the three trainers, Ginko and Chespie went back to the lobby. The three sat down on the bench. Luneth let out a sigh.
“He’s probably on his way here.” Alain assured her.
“Maybe.” Luneth said.

Time seemed to be going by slowly as they waited. Ginko yawned tiredly as she laid down on Luneth’s lap. Mairin was leaning against Luneth with Chespie in her arms who were both asleep. Luneth leaned her head against Alain’s shoulder, slowly starting to fall asleep. Alain blushed at Luneth’s closeness. When Alain first met Luneth Ketchum, he started to have a crush on her. There was something about her that fascinated him with no end.
At that moment, Luneth and Alain heard the engine of a motorcycle getting closer to the Pokémon center. The three didn’t think much of it… until a motorcycle burst into the lobby and stopped at the desk! The three trainers and two Pokémon blinked in surprise to see Officer Jenny. Then they quickly got up and went over to her.
“We have a driveway, you know.” Nurse Joy said casually.
“I know that. But it’s a Pokémon emergency!” Officer Jenny said to Nurse Joy.
"Please, help it!" Ash pleaded while holding up his Pikachu to show Nurse Joy.
"It looks like a Pikachu. We’ll do what we can." Nurse Joy nodded, before using the computer to report an injury. "I need a stretcher for a small electric Pokémon, Stat!" A Chansey appeared with the stretcher, and Nurse Joy gently took the Pikachu out of Ash's arms so she could place him on the stretcher.
"It'll be okay." Nurse Joy smiled softly, before turning to her Chansey’s. "Rush this Pokémon to the critical care unit."
"Chansey! (On it!)" The two Chanseys acknowledged while taking Pikachu to the critical care unit and Nurse Joy put on her gloves while saying, "We’ll begin the treatment right away."
"Uh..." Ash hesitated.
"Who are you?" Nurse Joy asked Ash.
"This young man here is Ash. He’s the Pokémon's trainer." Officer Jenny answered Nurse Joy's question with a smile on her face.
"If there’s anything I can do, please just tell me." Ash told Nurse Joy desperately.
"You can be more responsible." Nurse Joy replied sternly, which shocked Ash. "If you want to become a Pokémon trainer, young man, you don’t let your Pokémon battle till it’s in this condition." Nurse Joy scolded.
“Ash, what happened?” Luneth asked.
“Prof. Oak gave me a Pikachu as my starter because I woke up late. But we were attacked by a flock of Spearow’s.” Ash explained.
"What’s past is past. Now, we have to heal your Pikachu." Nurse Joy replied firmly.
"What can I do?" Ash asked.
"Just leave everything to me." Nurse Joy smiled with confidence in her voice.
"Please." Ash sighed sadly, and Luneth comforted her brother by putting her hand on his shoulder and looking at him sympathetically.
“It’s in your hands. I know you’ll give the Pokémon excellent care.” Officer Jenny said while giving a salute to the nurse.
“You’ve got it here just in time.” Nurse Joy told Officer Jenny.
“That’s my job. Oh my goodness, I left my motorcycle parked at the front desk.” Officer Jenny said with a bit of an embarrassed tone in her voice.
“Next time use the driveway.” Nurse Joy told the blue haired officer with a bit of a teasing tone in her voice. Officer Jenny then ran back to the front desk to get her motorcycle. Nurse Joy then turned to Ash and told him, “Ash, you have to go to the waiting room.”

As the group waited for news on Pikachu, Ash told Luneth, Alain and Mairin the full story of what happened when he woke up late and went to get his starter Pokémon.
“Oh Ash, what were you thinking?” Luneth asked, rubbing her temples.
“I thought I would be able to catch a Pokémon without Pikachu’s help, but I was wrong.” Ash replied, sadly.
“Just don’t…do anything like that again, okay?” Luneth requested.
Ash nodded, “I promise.”
“Good.” Luneth said, “By the way, you should call mom to let her know that you got here.”
“I will.” Ash stood up and went over to the phones.
"Ash looks sad." Mairin commented.
"I think he feels guilty for what happened to Pikachu." Luneth guessed as she watched Ash talk with their mom.
"You might be right, Luneth." Alain agreed.
Ash had finished his call and walked over to Luneth, Alain and Mairin.
"Well she's glad that I'm okay." Ash said.
"That's good." Luneth said.
Then Ash looked up at the four paneled stone like portrayals of four Pokémon on the wall.
"Ash, what is it?" Alain asked, seeing his stare.
"That bird, in the right corner, looks similar to the one I saw earlier." Ash replied.
“Ash, that’s Articuno.” Luneth corrected.
"What bird did you see earlier?" Alain asked.
"It was glowing in a gold color and flew towards a rainbow." Ash replied.
“I believe the one you saw must be Ho-oh.” Luneth concluded.
“Ho-oh?” Ash blinked in confusion.
Before they could contemplate things any further, the computer behind the front desk began to ring and since her mom didn't seem to be coming by any time soon, Luneth decided to take it, voice only.
"Hello, this is Luneth Ketchum at the Viridian City Pokémon Center, how may I help you?" Luneth asked politely.
"[Oh, Luneth! Over here!]" Ash, Luneth, Alain, and Mairin turned around to see the four panels to see the lower right one slide down to reveal a screen. Professor Oak's back to them but looking at a monitor with Luneth's face on it. "[Don't you recognize me?]"
Luneth gave an amused smile. "Well, I suppose I am rather familiar with your back." She commented kindly. Alain and Mairin chuckled at that.
Prof. Oak turned around and spotted Luneth, "[Oops, wrong camera.]" He flustered over the keyboard and typed something which fixed the screen, "[There.]" He cleared his throat. "[I spoke with your mother earlier today, and she told me you made it back to Viridian City and met up with Alain and Mairin. Is that correct?]"
"I wouldn't be talking to you if I wasn't here." Luneth's brow arched at the Professor as Ginko and Chespie tilted their heads.
"[You wouldn't be talking to me- Oh! I see! Anyways, I had no doubts that you wouldn't make it to Viridian city soon. I even defended you when Gary said you wouldn't make it with even one new Pokémon! I bet him a million dollars that you would!]" Prof. Oak proclaimed.
"Well then, Gary better pay up because you won the bet. I caught a Buizel, shiny Feebas and a Mankey." Luneth smirked.
"[Ha ah! Yes, Gary owes me a million Pokédollars!]" Prof. Oak cheered which made Luneth, Alain and Mairin smile. Then he stopped, "[Wait, did you say you caught a Buizel and a shiny Feebas?]"
"Yeah, I did." Luneth confirmed.
"[Fascinating.]" Prof. Oak commented.
"Lucky is more like it." Alain added.
Ash nodded, "Yeah."
"[What did you catch, Ash?]" Prof. Oak asked.
"Nothing." Ash replied.
"By the way, I saw Ho-oh, Professor." Luneth said.
"Me too, Professor." Ash added.
"[That's impossible! You two couldn't have seen that Pokémon! Trainers have searched their whole lives looking for it and never found it.]" Prof. Oak stated.
Luneth nodded, "I also have proof, Professor." She took out the feather.
"[In-Incredible!]" Prof. Oak exclaimed with shock, "[Luneth, Ash, do you two know exactly how lucky you are?!]"
"No." Ash admitted bluntly.
"Maybe. I never imagined that I would see Ho-oh on the first day of my journey." Luneth responded, looking at the feather.
"Prof. Oak, who is Ho-oh?" Ash asked, confused.
"[Ho-oh is known as a legendary Johto Pokémon who's known as the Guardian of the Skies. If you two have seen it, then that must mean that your journey has already been blessed, since those who have seen it, have said to have good luck and for you to see it on the first day of your journey must mean you're in for quite an adventure.]" Prof. Oak stated, smiling.
"I'm looking forward to it." Luneth smiled as she stared at the feather before putting it away, "Ho-oh was truly beautiful, Professor."
"[I bet it was.]" Prof. Oak smiled. The doorbell rang on Oak's side of the phone. "[Ah, there's my pizza!]" He turned away. "[Coming!]" He left the screen only to reappear a second later. "[It was very nice talking to you, Luneth.]" Off screen Luneth, Alain, Mairin and Ash sweat-dropped at what they heard next. "[Anchovy, spinach, and pineapple pizza!]" Luneth and Mairin made gagging sounds as the screen went blank.
"...Well, that was interesting." Luneth commented.
"Who would put those kinds of things on a pizza?" Mairin asked.
"Apparently the Professor would." Alain replied.
"NOW I GOT YOU!" Ash flinched at the high voice. Everyone turned around and saw a red-haired girl with angry eyes holding a burnt-up bike. Luneth recognized her as Misty.
'Oh dear, this isn't gonna be good.' Luneth thought.
"I knew I could find you after you stole my bike!" Misty shouted.
"H-hey, what happened to your bike?" Ash asked, feeling quite scared of her.
"What happened?! You're what happened! This is what happens when you try to go save your Pokémon!" She exclaimed in anger. "Now I know why you are in a-" She was about to walk towards them, but she fell down due to how heavy her bike was. Ash towards her to help her up.
"Here, let me help." Ash offered, raising his hand towards her but she slapped it away.
"I don't need your help! I just want you to repay my bike!" Misty yelled.
"Yeah, I didn't have a choice, I tried to save Pikachu from those Spearow's and all you care about is some stupid bike!" Ash yelled angrily at Misty.
Misty flinched at his raised voice and became sad at what he said, "Oh...I'm sorry." She apologized to Ash. "Is Pikachu gonna be alright?" She asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Ash admitted sadly looking at the door where Pikachu was.
Just then, we heard a beeping sound as we turned to see Nurse Joy and her Chansey coming out of the door with Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Ash called out running to Pikachu. The trio and Misty followed him to see them. But there was no response from Pikachu. He was sleeping peacefully covered in bandages with something in his head, probably used to recharge its electric power.
"Pikachu is resting peacefully, you sure came at the perfect time." Nurse Joy said in a calm tone.
"Hmm-mm, the Pokémon Center will heal any injured Pokémon and never let their patients down." Luneth added.
"That's right, Pikachu will wake up tomorrow morning. You should go in there, Ash." Nurse Joy advised.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy. Oh yeah..." Ash then turned to Misty with a sad look. "Listen, I'm sorry about your bike. I promise that I'll repay you back." He promised.
"Hey! I fell for that last time!" Misty exclaimed angrily causing Ash to flinch from her unexpected rage, "W-well, anyway, you should probably go take care of Pikachu, we can settle this argument later." She decided.
Ash and Luneth laughed nervously.
Suddenly the alarms in the center started to go off and the speakers started to give off the voice of Officer Jenny.
"Attention please, our radars have detected an aircraft above Viridian City belonging to a notorious group of Pokémon thieves. If you're in possession of a Pokémon, please exercise extreme caution."
"Pokémon thieves?" Ash asked aloud.
"Here in Viridian City?" Misty added.
Alain frowned at hearing the announcement. "That can't be good."
As if that was a cue, two Pokéballs fell through the glass opening above the Pokémon center and opened to reveal an Ekans and a Koffing. Luneth quickly took out her Pokédex.
[Ekans. The Poisonous Snake Pokémon. Ekans sneaks through grass without making a sound and strikes unsuspecting prey from behind.]
[Koffing. The Poison Gas Pokémon. Koffing hovers in the air, thanks to the poisonous gasses it contains, which have a foul odor and can explode.]
"What the-who are you guys?!" Mairin demanded.
"Don't be scared, little girl." A feminine voice spoke.
"More like annoyed." Mairin muttered; her right eyebrow twitched.
"Why don't we introduce ourselves." A male voice said this time.
"Prepare for trouble," The woman said.
"Make it double," The man said.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all people within our nation,"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"
"To extend our reach to the stars above,"
"Jessie,"
"James,"
"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now and prepare to fight,"
"Meowth that's right!" The Meowth said as it stood on two legs.
"A talking Meowth." Luneth scanned Meowth.
[Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle, but it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping.]
"Are you guys complete morons?" Luneth questioned as Ginko growled at Team Rocket.
"How rude!" James exclaimed.
"Whatever! Just hand over your Pokémon and we'll be out of your way." Jessie demanded.
"Dats right!" Meowth added.
"You can't take these Pokémon!" Nurse Joy protested, "They're still weak and injured!"
"Ah who cares?" James shrugged, "Team Rocket will make better use of them. Now hand them over."
"No way! Ginko, I choose you!" Luneth called out as her shiny Eevee got in front of her.
"Chespie, I choose you!" Mairin called out as her Chespin got in front of her.
"Metagross, let's go!" Alain let out his Pokémon.
"Metagross!" The Pokémon said as it appeared.
The Pokémon is a massive, robotic Pokémon with a turquoise, disc-shaped body, and four legs. The main body appears to serve as both head and body, and this Pokémon's overall construction gives it the appearance of a mechanized arachnid. It uses its heavy body to pin down its prey before consuming them with its large mouth. A large, metallic cross is situated in the center of its face. On either side of the cross, a red eye peers out from a space in its metallic armor. Its four legs are joined to the main body by ball-and-socket joints. While the upper portion of the legs is relatively thin, they are considerably thicker below the knee. Each leg has three short claws on the end and a flat, blunt protrusion extending over the knee.
Luneth took out her Pokédex again and scanned the Pokémon:
[Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon. With its four brains, it has an intelligence rivaling a supercomputer.]
"What a cool Pokémon." Ash commented.
"Oh, it looks like the twerps have some rare Pokémon indeed." Jessie commented.
"I haven't seen those kinds of Pokémon before. They must be from another region." James pointed at Metagross and Chespie.
"Those Pokémon will be more useful in Team Rocket." Jessie smirked.
Then Luneth glanced over her shoulder to Nurse Joy, "Nurse Joy, please go and inform Officer Jenny as we hold them off. Ash, Misty, protect Pikachu."
Nurse Joy reluctantly nodded and then she, Ash and Misty pushed the stretcher and ran in the back.
“Let’s deal with them.” Luneth declared.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Alain agreed.
"It's a fight huh?" Jessie smirked, "Very well go, Ekans, use Bite."
"You too, Koffing, use Poison Gas." James said.
"Ginko, Flamethrower on Ekans!" Luneth ordered.
"Metagross, use Psychic to stop the Poison Gas." Alain ordered.
Metagross's eyes glowed a blue outline and the Poison Gas was outlined in blue as well.
"Send it back."
"Metagross!" It sent the gas attack back to Koffing.
"Koffing?!" Koffing blinked inside the gas.
Ginko launched her fire type attack at the Poisonous Snake Pokémon who was soon sent flying back to Jessie's feet.
"Ekkkannnssssss..." It hissed weakly.
"Ah! Ekans!" Jessie screeched in disbelief.
"Koffing, Gas attack now!" James said.
"Spin and use Metal Claw." Alain countered.
"Metaggrosss!" Metagross spun and spun very fast till the gas blew back towards Team Rocket.
Team Rocket all accidentally inhaled the Gas attack and made them cough non-stop.
"You'll pay for that, you little brats!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Bring it on, you old hag!" Mairin taunted.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" The woman screeched.
Luneth and Mairin smirked.
"Face my Fury Swipes!" Meowth yelled out his attack as he charged towards Ginko with his claws extended.
"Ginko, Quick Attack!" Luneth ordered.
Ginko slammed into Meowth which sent him back into the smoke.
"Ginko, use Thunder Shock!" Luneth ordered.
"Chespie, Pin Missile!" Mairin called out.
"Metagross, Hyper Beam!" Alain added.
Ginko, Chespie and Metagross launched their attacks at Team Rocket and sent them flying through the roof.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF!" Team Rocket shouted as they disappeared into the night sky.
DING!
Luneth, Alain, Mairin and their Pokémon flinched at the destruction. They looked sheepishly at Nurse Joy as Officer Jenny came running in along with Misty and Ash who was carrying Pikachu in his arms who looked a lot better.
"Is everyone alright?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Don't worry. We're all okay, Officer Jenny." Luneth replied.
"I'm glad. But would you mind telling me what happened here?" Officer Jenny requested.
The group had told her about Team Rocket breaking in and trying to take all of the Pokémon from the center and the two people were called Jessie and James.
"Sorry about damaging the roof, Nurse Joy." Luneth apologized.
The woman only smiled warmly at her. "Oh, that's no problem at all, Luneth. I'm sure that the city can cover the damage. What's more important is that you and your friends just saved the Pokémon center! Who knows what Team Rocket would have done if you all hadn't stopped them?"
“It was awesome, sis!” Ash smiled.
“Totally awesome you two!” Misty cheered.
The group blushed at the praise. Then Luneth and Alain looked at each other and smiled.
"Aw, thanks, we were only trying to help. No way would we let those crooks get their hands on these Pokémon, mom." Luneth stated.
"Well, I should recommend that you three and your Pokémon get some rest." Officer Jenny suggested, pointing to the hole in the ceiling that showed the night sky.
"We'll take you up on that suggestion." Alain agreed.

Pokémon Caught:

Luneth: Shiny Eevee (Ginko)(F), Buizel (Itachi)(M), Shiny Feebas (Moana)(F), Mankey (Bruce)(M)

Alain: Charizard (M), Metagross (Genderless), Tyranitar (M), Unfezant (M), Chestnaught (M), Steelix (M)

Mairin: Chespin (Chespie)(M), Flabébé (Bébé)(F), Gogoat (Grazer)(F)