After Ash and Serena make it to the Viridian City Pokemon Center, they drop off Pikachu and the rest of their Pokemon to Nurse Joy so that they can heal after the Fearow attack. Ash and Serena decide to take a seat in one of the benches in the lobby and wait, hoping they can be back on their way to Cerulean City. The two teenagers wait patiently for about an hour until Nurse Joy comes back from the back room, and they stand up.

"Nurse Joy, is our Pokemon alright?" Ash asks.

"Yes, your Pokemon are going to be just fine," Nurse Joy assures. "But Pikachu was hurt pretty bad, and your other Pokemon used up a drastic amount of their energy that they need to rest overnight."

Ash and Serena frown and look at each other concerned.

"I hope one day won't delay us too much with going to Cerulean City," Serena says.

Ash nods, before giving the honey blonde girl a reassuring smirk.

"Don't worry, Serena. We'll be there before you know it," he says. "Worst case scenario, I'll switch one of my Pokemon for Charizard or Staraptor, and they'll fly you over there."

Serena smiles sweetly, touched by Ash's claim.

"Thank you, Ash," she says softly.

Nurse Joy smiles warmly at their moment before she clears her throat to get their attention back.

"Anyway, since your Pokemon will we staying here, I can book you two a room for the night," she says.

"That would be great, Nurse Joy. Thank you," Ash says.

"Yeah, thanks," Serena says.

Nurse Joy nods and walks over to the front desk to come back to hand both trainers' key cards before she goes back to the back room. Ash and Serena put the key cards in their pockets before they turn to each other.

"I guess we should go get some lunch while we're here," Ash suggests.

"Good idea," Serena says before she takes out her tablet and looks through the map. "There's a meatball sandwich restaurant not far from Viridian Gym."

"Great. Let's go," Ash says excitedly.

Thus, the two teenage trainers make their way out of the Pokemon Center and to the meatball sandwich restaurant. After placing their orders, they decide to sit in one of the outside tables of the restaurant to enjoy the views of the city as they eat. After a few minutes, a waitress comes and brings them their food, and Ash quickly starts taking large bites of his meatball sandwich.

"Ash, slow down. You're going to choke eating that much at once," Serena rebukes worriedly.

Ash takes a moment to swallow and says, "Don't worry, Serena. I'll be fine. Besides, this is so good."

Serena sighs disapprovingly and takes a reasonable bit of her sandwich and smiles.

"Wow, this is pretty good," she says.

"See? What did I tell you?" Ash says before taking a large gulp of his drink.

"Well, you should at least chew a few more times before you swallow," Serena says.

Ash hesitates before he mentality decides to comply and chews several times before he swallows his next portion of food. Serena smiles, satisfied, and the two begin to eat quietly until Ash decides to speak.

"Well, this has been quite a way to start our journey, huh?" He says.

"It sure has," Serena says. "It certainly wasn't how I imagined my first time using Poliwag for a battle."

Ash nods and says, "I guess there's bound to be a couple surprises when walking through Viridian Forest."

Serena frowns and thinks about what Ash just said.

"Speaking of which, you said you've encountered the leading Fearow before," she says.

"That's right. Back when it was just a Sparrow," Ash says.

"Right, the Sparrow you said you threw a rock at?" Serena asks, confused. "That doesn't sound like something you would do, Ash."

"Yeah, I know," Ash says while scratching his nose with a nervous grin. "It was a stupid thing I did back on my first day as a trainer, but it was also the day Pikachu, and I became friends."

Serena looks at Ash intrigued and puts down her sandwich.

"You know, you've never told me that story," she says.

Ash looks at her right as he's about to take another bite of his sandwich and puts it down.

"That's right," he says in thought. "I still have a lot of stories to tell you, don't I?"

Serena nods her head.

"Alright then," Ash says as he thinks about where to start for a moment. "It was shortly after my 10th birthday. I overslept on the day I was supposed to get my first Pokemon, and so all the Pokemon were taken except for one that Professor Oak was hesitant to give me. But I didn't care. I was determined to get a Pokemon no matter what. So he gave me Pikachu, who instantly disliked me."

"Disliked you? Pikachu?" Serena asks, surprised.

"Yeah, Pikachu was a little hostile towards me," Ash says, chuckling. "The first thing he did was electrocute me. After I got my Pokedex and Pokeballs, I had to tie him up with a rope and drag him across the road. Then I found a wild Pidgey and tried to make Pikachu fight it so that I could catch it, but instead, he just climbed up a tree and ignored me. I got so frustrated that I tried to catch the Pidgey myself by throwing a rock at it."

Serena stares at Ash confounded.

"You really threw a rock at a Pokemon?" she confounded.

"Yeah, one big thing to keep in mind about my first journey through the Kanto region is that there were a lot of things I didn't understand about Pokemon or being a trainer," Ash says, scratching his nose. "Hence, why your suggestion to show how much I've learned through this journey is a great idea."

Serena blushes lightly and smiles while Ash continues.

"Anyway, when I threw the stone, it hit a Spearow instead, and boy did it get angry," he says. "It started to attack Pikachu, and I tried to make it stop. Pikachu hit it with a Thunder shock, which made it angrier and called out a whole flock of Spearow to attack us. We ran for our lives, but the Spearow kept on attacking Pikachu, hurting it badly, so I had to carry it. We jumped into a river and got swept away. Thankfully, before we drowned, we got hooked into a fishing rod, which turned out to be Misty's. She pulled us out, but then the Spearow kept following us. I took Misty's bike without asking, desperate to get to a Pokemon Center, but the Spearow attacked again, and I crashed the bike. When it looked like all hope was lost, I told Pikachu to get into his Pokeball, where he would be safe. Then I stepped in front of Pikachu, determined to protect it from the Spearow with my body. But instead, Pikachu decided to protect both of us and jumped between the Spearow and me and letting out one big Thunder shock. It knocked both of us unconscious, but when we came to all the Spearow were gone, and we weren't too far away from Viridian City. Ever since that day, we've been best friends."

Serena smiles warmly after hearing the end of the story.

"Amazing. You've been determined to protect Pikachu and everyone else you care about since your first day as a trainer. You really are an amazing person, Ash," she says.

Suddenly, she freezes in place, realizing she said her last sentence out loud. Ash stares at her for a moment before he chuckles.

"I don't know about all that," he says. "But I have experienced some amazing things."

"There he is being humble again," Serena thinks before she asks, "So that Sparrow was the leader of that flock of Fearow?"

"Yup," Ash confirms. "Pikachu and I reencountered it with Brock and Misty sometime after I competed in the Kanto League. By then, it had evolved to a Fearow while its flock were still Spearow. We found the flock harassing a flock of Pidgey, and my Pidgeotto tried to fight them off. Eventually, it got so determined to protect the Pidgey that it evolved into a Pidgeot and lead the Pidgey to drive Fearow back. After that, I released Pidgeot so that it can protect the wild Pidgey with the promise to come back for it."

"Which I will make sure that you keep this time, Mr. Ketchum," Serena says with a warning tone.

"Don't worry, Serena. I promised both of you that I will do that and I'm going to keep it. I swear," Ash says, waving his hands in defense. "I won't let you or Pidgeot down."

Serena keeps her warning look fixed on Ash, but at the same time, she feels flattered by the sincerity in his words. She looks away before Ash can see her cheeks start to turn pink again, and the two continue to eat in silence. After a few more minutes, they finish their meals, and Ash pats his belly, satisfied.

"Man, that was good," he says with a sigh.

"It really was," Serena agrees. "So tasty and warm."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ash says. "You are the best at finding restaurants, Serena."

Serena giggles with her mouth closed and smiles warmly at the compliment. Suddenly, as they sit comfortably, an old woman with blonde hair and wearing a light-purple and white dress walks by the restaurant with a cane and spots Ash.

"Why, hello, Ash. Fancy seeing you here," she says with a grin.

Ask turns to the woman and smiles, saying, "Hey, Agatha. It's been a while."

"It certainly has," Agatha says. "I know it's late, but congratulations on winning the Battle Frontier."

"Thanks," Ash says.

Agatha notices Serena and smiles, asking, "And who might you be, young lady?"

"I'm Serena," Serena answers with a friendly smile. "How do you two know each other?"

"Oh, I was there when Scott invited this young man to face Kanto's Battle Frontier after he battled me in my gym," Agatha explains.

"Oh, so you're still looking for a replacement after all this time?" Ash asks.

"Looking for a replacement?" Serena asks, confused.

"Yes, you see, I'm one of the Elite Four in Kanto, and for the last couple of years, I've been filling in as the Viridian City gym leader after the last one was destroyed and the previous leader disappeared without a word," Agatha explains.

"Wow. I wonder why that happened," Serena says.

"Actually, I can answer that," Ash says, scratching his nose.

"You can?" Serena and Agatha ask simultaneously.

"Yeah, it actually has to do with how I won my Earth Badge," Ash admits. "I don't know how or why, but somehow Team Rocket was in charge of the gym when I came in."

"What? You mean Jessie, James, and Meowth?" Serena asks, shocked.

"That's strange. You've never told me Team Rocket had control of the gym when you went there," Agatha says with a serious look on her face.

"Well...it never came up," Ash admits, scratching his nose again.

"But how did that happen?" Serena asks.

"Yes, I'd very much like to know that myself," Agatha says. "There's a lot I don't know about the previous owner of the gym, so if Team Rocket has a connection to it, I'd like to know how."

Ash hesitates for a moment until he thinks about where to begin.

"Well, you see, I went there with Pikachu, Brock, and Misty, but Gary stopped me from coming there because he had ten badges while I only had seven, so he claimed he had the right to go there first," he begins.

"Wait, how can he have ten badges when there are only eight gyms?" Serena asks.

"Don't know. I didn't ask," Ash says. "Anyway, I was distraught that Gary seemed to always be several steps ahead of me, and I crouched down in a corner. Misty's Togepi came to try to comfort me, but I thought it was Pikachu when it did, and so when I saw Togepi instead of Pikachu, I got so startled that I unwittingly launched it into the air."

"Oh, dear, poor Togepi," Agatha comments.

"Yeah, poor me too," Ash chuckles. "Misty was enraged, and we searched desperately to find Togepi. After a while, we heard Togepi's voice coming from inside the gym. When we opened the doors, we found Togepi along with Gary and his cheerleaders lying unconscious on the ground. When Gary came to, he said there was a mysterious Pokémon that was not only powerful but evil too. Suddenly, Team Rocket appeared and stated that they were in charge of the gym and the Earth Badge."

"But how could they own the gym?"Serena asks.

"That's what we asked, but all Jessie, James, and Meowth said was Team Rocket's plans are far too complex for us to understand," Ash answers. "Anyway, they challenged me to a battle for the Earth Badge, and I accepted, determined to get my final badge no matter what. What I didn't know was they rigged the platforms so that I would get shocked with electricity every time my Pokemon got hurt in battle."

Serena winces uncomfortably at the mention of Ash getting hurt.

"Thankfully, my Pokemon and I managed to beat all of the Pokemon Team Rocket borrowed from the original gym leader and then Togepi messed with some remote control that Meowth had which caused them to blast off, leaving the Earth Badge behind for me to grab. The explosion also caused the whole building to collapse, so we ran out to safety, including the gym leader's Pokemon, who ran away, and that was that."

Agatha and Serena stare at Ash, surprised with his story.

"Wow," Serena says softly. "I never thought Team Rocket would do something so crazy, even compared to the ridiculous plots they pulled on us in Kalos."

"Neither have I," Agatha says with a serious face. "It sounds to me that Team Rocket might have had some sort of connection to the old gym leader. The mention of some mysterious Pokemon that your friend, Gary encountered tells me that there might be something just as fishy about the former owner as Team Rocket controlling that gym."

"But is that really something to worry about?" Serena asks. "I mean, this was a long time ago. Wasn't it, Ash?"

"Yeah, that was over three years ago," Ash confirms.

"Maybe, but the fact that we don't know who that person was is unsettling to me," Agatha says. "In any case, it sounds like you had a very untraditional way to earn your Earth Badge, Ash."

"Well, I guess that sums up a lot of my badge earning when I first became a trainer, actually," Ash admits, scratch his nose.

"What do you mean?" Serena asks.

"You see, some of my Kanto badges weren't earned by winning in a Pokemon battle," Ash admits. "I lost both of my battles against Brock at the Pewter City Gym, but he gave me the badge anyway since I refused to order the final blow against his Onix. Misty's sisters handled the Cerulean City gym and gave me the badge for that gym just for saving their Pokemon against Team Rocket. The same thing happened with facing Erica to get my Rainbow Badge. And I was only deemed the winner of my battle against Sabrina because the Hunter I brought with me made her and her Kadabra laugh."

Both Agatha and Serena blink before Serena frowns sadly in disappointment, and Agatha scratches her chin disapprovingly.

"Seems like you have gained more than half of your badges in Kanto through non-official means," Agatha says.

"Yeah, and it doesn't sound like the way Ash wins his badges," Serena says. "Believe me, Agatha, every badge he got when we went on our journey through Kalos has been earned through the hard work and strategies he uses with his Pokemon."

"Yeah, it's like I told you, Serena, I was a different trainer when I started," Ash admits.

"But it still isn't right," Agatha says. "I think you should have earned your badges the right way as opposed to how you gained ."

Ash winces and frowns, hurt by Agatha's words. Serena keeps her sad face, feeling sympathetic for the disheartened Ash. She takes a moment to think until she snaps her fingers.

"I know. Why don't you have rematches with those gyms," she suggests.

"Rematches?" Ash asks.

"Yes. You said yourself that the point of you going on this journey with me as to prove how you've become much stronger since then. Why don't you also show that by challenging all the gyms that you faced in Kanto without entirely earning their badges. That way, you'll feel like you've earned the right to retry the Kanto league."

"Now that's a fine idea," Agatha says approvingly. "If your as strong as Serena says you are, you should take care of whatever unfinished business you have with the gyms you haven't completely won against, including mine."

Ash thinks about it for a moment before he smiles and looks at Serena.

"That is a great idea, Serena," he says. "In fact, I can get started by facing Brock and Misty in their respective gyms while we head to your first contest since Pewter City is on the way, and Cerulean City is our first major destination."

"That's true," Serena says approvingly. "And hopefully, you'll be ready to face Agatha once we are on our way to Indigo Plateau."

"Perfect," Ash says, holding his fist in the air. "You're coming up with some great ideas, Serena."

Serena blushes at his compliment while Agatha nods approvingly. Ash stands up and turns to the old woman with a determined look.

"Agatha, you better watch out because next time I'm here in Viridian City, I'm going to challenge you to a battle again, and I'm going to win," he warns.

Agatha nods again and says, "I'm looking forward to it, Ash. But understand that I won't go easy on you."

"Hey, that's fine by me," Ash says. "The stronger the opponent, the bigger the challenge. Right, Serena?"

"Right," Serena says, smiling.

Agatha smiles warmly at the children's enthusiasm. Suddenly she feels a slight vibration in her pocket and sighs.

"Ah, that's my tablet informing me that I have an errand to head to right about now," she says. "I guess I'll see you two later. Good luck to both of you on your battles and contests."

"Thanks, Agatha," Ash says before waving goodbye. "See you later."

"Goodbye, Agatha," Serena bids warmly.

The old woman waves back as she walks away. When she is far enough, she looks back to see the two teenagers getting up to head back to the Pokemon Center. She finds herself chuckling lightly as she continues to walk with her cane.

"My, what an interesting pair," she says to herself. "I certainly hope for the best for that poor girl."

As she walks, however, her smile turns into a frown, and she begins to scratch her chin in thought as she walks.

"But who was the original owner of the gym?" She asks herself. "And what was this Pokemon he had that was so terrible and how was he connected with Team Rocket? Above all, what could they possibly be up to?"