Ash and the Beanstalk - Chapter 1

Narrator: A long time ago, there was a place called Happy Valley. Now, it was called Happy Valley, because everyone who lived there was happy. It was one of nature's garden spots, nestled among green rolling hills... With a babbling brook flowing through the valley... Winding roads lined with high trees... Lush fields and prosperous farms dotting the landscape... And high up on a hill overlooking the valley, shining like a jewel, stood a majestic castle. And in the castle, there lived a young Princess named Serena.

High upon the hill overlooking this shining valley, like a magnificent crown jewel, stood the most majestic castle the eyes could ever feast upon. And inside this castle, lived the fair young Princess Serena.

On this very day, Serena sat upon the castle gardens with her two best friends in the world: Her Eevee and a Braxien.

Narrator: Princess Serena was the apple of her mother's eye, and her most precious treasure ever since the girl's father, the king, died.

She sat upon the grass, wiggling her toes across the blades with her shoes secured in her hands watching the birds sail over the blue sky.

Narrator: Though she was beautiful without question, Serena never allowed this to go through her head. She was known far and wide as a very kind and most polite young lady. A free-spirited child who enjoyed walking barefoot outside the castle, whenever she could. A quirk of which her mother learned to accept over time.

As she sat in the gardens, lost in her own thoughts, three chipmunks snuck up from behind Serena. They proceeded to tickle both of Serena’s exposed feet, which got her into a giggling fit. As she fell to the ground, her eyes caught sight of her adorable assailants: Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, three sisters and three of Serena’s best friends in the kingdom. They all gathered together, including her Eevee and Braixen, sharing a good laugh just as they’ve done many times before.

*DING! DONG!*

The chimes of the tower bells drew Serena’s attention, drawing her back to reality.

Serena: Oh my goodness! It's time... (stands up)

Narrator: You see, what made Princess Serena most popular among her subjects was not so much her beauty or the way she presented herself as far as the regalest of robes. Out of all the citizens of this land, she was blessed with the most beautiful singing voice any soul has ever heard.

As she returned to her castle, ascending to her room at the highest point of one of the tallest towers, she stood over the balcony, her face gleaming under the sunlight, and she bellowed out her love and pride to her home and the people who flourished upon it.

Serena: (singing) My... What a happy day
What a sunny sky
Kinda makes you sigh
In a happy way

As she sang her anthem to the kingdom, a passing Fletching momentarily sat upon Serena’s finger. She gazed lovingly toward the little Tiny Robin Pokémon before it took off again to join its mate waiting for her.

Serena: (singing) What a very merry day
All the world is gay
When your cares are light
And your heart takes flight
And you're swept away

The air is sweet with clover
The clouds are turning over
Oh yes, they're turning over
Just to show their silver lining

Outside the castle, upon one of the many green fields, the Ponytas played around. They pranced along the meadows, eating the grass, and watching their children galloping across the hills.

Serena: (singing; voiceover) My, what a happy day
Never knew such bliss
Never read of this
In a book or play

Not too far away, a herd of Mareep were also playing in the fields with little to no care in the world.

Serena: (singing; voiceover) What a lovely day
What a great big gorgeous,
sumptuous, thumping, bumbtuous,
hum-galumptious, simply scrumptious

My, what a happy day

Over another field, a Miltank eyed a rather handsome Tauros. And the feelings from this particular Tauros in question was nothing short of mutual.

Tauros: (singing) Mmmmy, what a happy day

In one of the many cornfields, a flock of Murkrow sang upon the shoulders of a scarecrow.

Murkrow: (singing) Never knew such bliss
Never read of this
In a book or play

What a lovely day
What a great big gorgeous,
sumptuous, thumping, bumbtuous,
hum-galumptious, simply scrumptious

Oh my, oh my, what a happy day

With the sound of laughter and cheering echoing across the fields, the drums of her ears, the princess Serena breathed in a sigh of relief as she smiled toward her subjects in the distance.

Narrator: Yes, there was something about Princess Serena's voice that cast a magic spell of joy and prosperity over the land. But one day, a mysterious figure crept into the valley... And then something dreadful happened!

Backing away from the rails of the balcony, the princess closed and locked the windows before her. Slowly, she turned around and saw the familiar faces of her animal friends anxiously waiting for her, smiling toward her. Gleaming with a bright warm smile, the princess made her approach to greet her friends. Then all of a sudden, she noticed that their faces slowly started to shift from happiness to horror… she felt a shadow start to creep over her. The princess’s face started to drop, for by the time she realized what was about to happen…

Outside her chamber doors, the guards heard a crash of glass followed by a set of screams. They quickly burst their way through the doors, their glaives held at the ready. But by the time they got inside… a terrible sight met their eyes. It was empty, the whole room was empty. Shards of glass scattered upon the floor; the balcony window was torn from its hinges. They were all gone… Eevee, Braixen, the Chipettes… and even Princess Serena. All that remained of her were a pair of shoes upon the floor… and nothing else.

Narrator: And just like that, Princess Serena, and her four friends were gone.

It didn’t take long for the guards to send word to Queen Grace, the ruler of Happy Valley herself. It wasn’t enough of hearing that Princess Serena and four of her friends having vanished without a trace. But the moment she had her daughter’s shoes in her very grasp, heartbroken over seeing all that remained of her daughter, she could no longer contain herself.

Grace: (grasping her daughter's shoes) My daughter... (sniffles)

Narrator: No longer was the valley happy, for without their Princess, all was misery.

And ever since that day, the land that was once called Happy Valley… was no more. For without their Princess, the magic of her melody, and their Queen so despondent… the Valley had since drifted into misery. And as time went by, days drifted into weeks, weeks eventually became months, and months… well moving forward, everyone stopped counting by then.

By this point, the Valley itself was near empty. The land once lush and green, now withered and dry. The riverbanks that once held water so clear, and so clean, had now dried up, crackling along the earth, and now nothing more than mere holes. A drought had since been cast over the Valley, rain had not struck the area for such a long time. Without a means to grow the crops to sell or feed for themselves, most of the inhabitants had chosen to leave the Valley save for a select few.

Narrator: Days pass, weeks pass...

In a single cottage upon a hill, where a Miltank stood outside eating what little vegetation remains, it was there of which resided the few remaining occupants: A young boy, his three chipmunk friends, his three Pokemon – Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja – and the boy’s mother, with her Mr. Mime of course.

Narrator: And here they are, a young boy, his three chipmunk friends, his three Pokémon - Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja - and the boy's mother with her Mr. Mime, each struggling everyday. Still alive, still breathing, sharing a pitiful crust between them.

The boy, Ash by name, sat at the table, with his Pokémon and the Chipmunks – Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. His mother, Delia, was preparing supper suitable for everyone, while her Mr. Mime, whom she affectionately called Mimey, swept the floor and whatever help he could. As Delia brought the food for everyone, they each ate as much as their stomachs could, particularly the three chipmunks.

Narrator: (about Alvin) Just look at that miserable creature. Struggling to maintain life; a bag of bones and fur. Truly a picture of despair... But Alvin doesn't whimper. Alvin doesn't give up.

Alvin: (snaps) STOP IT! I can't stand it anymore! I can’t! I’m sick of struggling for survival! And I’m especially sick of this stupid… stupid… SLOP!!!

The little chipmunk started grabbing everything he could get his grubby paws upon. Trying desperately to eat everything, plate and all.

Theodore: Alvin! Take it easy!

Simon: Easy, Alvin! Pull yourself together!

Alvin’s brothers each grabbed him by the side, forcing him to spit out all the junk he tried to eat. Ash towered over them, watching as Alvin panted for breath as though he was utterly exhausted.

Ash: Look, Alvin, I know we don’t have much food right now, but you've gotta get ahold of yourself.

Delia: Ash is right. So, let's be thankful that we have what we have for the moment.

Alvin: (pants) You’re right… you’re right… I'll be all right. Yeah, I’ll be all right… just fine… (pants)

It was then Alvin caught sight of something gleaming by a shred of light: An axe, mainly use for wood chopping, hanging over the wall.

Narrator: He says he's all right, but I wonder. He's suffered too much.

Alvin slowly turned toward the others, who were too busy eating their fill. As he quietly snuck away, he failed to take heed of their conversation.

Narrator: What diabolical thought is being hatched in the fevered brain of this poor, misguided chipmunk?

While Pikachu enjoyed his fill, his eyes happened to stumble upon Alvin’s vacant seat. It didn’t take the little guy long to realize he was gone.

Pikachu: (notices) Pika! (to Ash, waves his arms) Pikapi! Pikachu!

Ash: What’s wrong now, Pikachu?

Suddenly, Simon and Theodore’s eyes widened upon the discovery.

Theodore: (gasps) Ash! Alvin's gone!

Simon: (points) And so’s the axe!

Ash: (frantically) Where'd they go?

It was then Greninja dragged Delia, forcing her to look out the nearby window as he pointed rapidly.

Greninja: (points) Nin-ninja!

Delia: (gasps) Oh no!

Outside, Alvin struggled to drag the axe behind him. His eyes gleamed mischievously as he snuck up upon the Miltank. The Miltank itself turned towards the snickering chipmunk, eyeing him with suspicion.

Alvin: Nice, Miltanky-wanky. (chuckles madly) Nice ol' cowsy-wowsy...

Inside the cottage, Ash and the boys caught sight of what Alvin planned to do and they were not happy.

Ash: Alvin!

And just like that, Alvin screamed and swung the axe around like the mad little chipmunk he became. The ferocity of a creature so small scared the poor old Miltank so much, it raced toward what was left of a nearby dead tree.

Ash: Alvin! Stop!

Jumping through the open window, Ash ran toward his friend and pulled the axe out of his paws. Casting the tool aside, Ash grabbed for Alvin and tried to pry the half-crazed chipmunk by his legs. The chipmunk meanwhile chomped on the Miltank’s tail, gnawing at the limb and trying hard to pry it off. Seeing what was going on, Charizard sprang into action, pulling the two away from the Miltank, and pinned Alvin upon the Earth with a single foot. The chipmunk struggled to free himself, but Charizard’s grip was far too strong. With his little friend pinned down, Ash fell back along the ground and sighed with relief.

Ash: (sighs) Thanks, Charizard. That’s the third meltdown this week!

Charizard growled in agreement, as Delia raced outside with the others following closely behind. As they gathered around the pinned chipmunk, Greninja gently helped the Miltank down from the tree.

Delia: Alvin, what is the matter with you?! What did I just say about being thankful that we had what we have?

Simon: Of course, you would go and do something like this. Killing our only Miltank. Have you no shame?

Theodore: She's our friend, Alvin!

Alvin: But fellas... (pants with his tongue hanging) I just gotta eat! (pants) I'm so... Hungry...

Eventually, Alvin was so exhausted from struggling out of Charizard’s grip he completely collapsed from exhaustion. The boys shook their head at this pitiful sight.

Ash: Poor Alvin...

Pikachu: (nods) Pika...

Greninja: (nods) Ninja...

Narrator: Poor Alvin indeed. Of course, the family had no choice. For the rest of the day, the best they could do was restrain him to the bedroom they shared until he was finally calm by the next day.

The rest of the family sat together in the family room wondering what they were going to do.

Narrator: Delia couldn’t stop herself from thinking of the precarious situation they were in right now. Try as they might, they could not ignore the fact that this predicament has left them with little to no food for themselves. It was right then and there she determined the only thing they could do.

Delia: (sighs) Ash, I'm afraid we have no choice. We have to... Sell our Miltank.

Ash: Sell our Miltank? But Mom...

Delia: I know, dear. But we need the money to buy food, and we just don’t have enough to feed ourselves.

Theodore: (worriedly) Do we have to do it?

Delia: I’m sorry, Theodore. But our poor Miltank is so old, she just can’t produce milk anymore.

Simon: And besides, look at Alvin, Theo. Not even he deserves to be in the state that he's in, does he?

As much as Theodore hated to admit it, he knew Delia and Simon were right.

Theodore: (sighs) I understand.

Ash: I’ll be the one to take her, Mom.

Without a moment to waste, Greninja approached Ash with a pair of reins to pull Miltank along.

Ash: (smiles sadly) Thanks, Greninja.

Delia: Do your best to get a good price for her, honey. We need to have enough food to last at least a week.

Ash: I will, Mom. C'mon, Pikachu.

Pikachu: (nods) Pika.

That settled, Ash and Pikachu proceeded to hook the reins along the Miltank and made their way toward the town. Delia and the others looked on from the open doorway, watching her son and Pokemon friends walking down the hill and toward the road leading to the nearby settlement. When their forms faded from sight, Delia led the chipmunks and Ash’s other Pokemon inside the house to prepare for their return.

Little did they know… this one little errand would lead into one of the biggest adventures of them all…