Ahoy there! It's me, Zeo, here with the not so highly anticipated reboot of the Master Quest series! It's basically the same the first four chapters(although I did rewrite some parts of them and sprinkle in some new details you might want to make note of) and in general how this story is going to be. For those of you who are new...
Welcome! If you couldn't tell by my summary, this will be an eventual Imaginationshipping Fic(AshXBianca). Aside from romantic pairings though, this story will feature a lot of villains or storylines not present in the actual Pokemon Anime, so while some of it may seem like filler, please understand that everything here is for a purpose, either for character development or evolutions or to advance some other aspect of the story. But I hope you're ready for a long roller coaster of a story, because this is going to be the one!
But Zeo, you said Friday, it's practically Monday.
Well mysterious voice, if you live in the Chicago area like I do, you may have heard about the Snow Storm Friday. It kept me at my Grandmother's house for nearly three days as their car broke down, I just got home a few minutes ago and those skeletons over there don't have Wi-Fi.
With aaaaaaall that out of the way, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...
Master Quest: Kanto Saga!
Chapter 1:
"May 22nd, A Day Of Change!"
There are many reasons why one could find a day to be special.
That day could be special because of what it represents, such as a Holiday. That day could be special because of a memory, such as an anniversary. A day could even be special for being a change in the daily slog of a routine, such as a day off from work or an impending vacation.
There are many, many reasons why one could find a specific day to be special from the others. But for Ash Ketchum, a young and wild spirited boy from Pallet Town, Kanto, this day, May 22nd, was truly a special day. Because for him, May 22nd was a day of change.
-May 22nd, 10 Years Ago...
"One final push! I can see the head!" The Doctor encouraged, staring intently into Delia Ketchum. This baby would be quite early, not expected for another two months, in fact. He was actually concerned for the child, as there was a high probability...
"You can do it Delia," A man's voice encouraged, grasping Delia's hand and breaking the Doctor's dark train of thought, "Just a little bit more and you'll finally be able to meet our daughter." Delia rolled her eyes before squeezing them shut, also squeezing his hand as tight as she could in the process. This hurt way more than it needed to.
"You...mean...son!" She managed to huff between pushes and heavy breaths, with each word tightening her already insanely strong grip on his hand. He could have sworn he'd heard a crack.
"Nah, she's totally gonna be a girl," He replied, ignoring his probably broken hand, and before Delia could argue any further, she finally mustered the strength for one final push.
"Aaaaah!"
"It's out!" The Doctor exclaimed, cradling the child in his arms and Delia, with a heavy sigh, leaned back on the hospital bed, releasing the man's hand, which he could now no longer feel. He had a newfound fear of her strength now. He could see how she had been so strong back when they were younger. Meanwhile, the Doctor was quietly handling the baby, a concerned frown on his face. Delia and the man both looked at him with confusion, before a look of grim understanding passed both of their faces.
The baby wasn't moving, or making a sound.
He was a stillborn.
Delia's eyes began to water without a single word being said, but the man, without letting his face betray an ounce of what he was feeling, merely gestured to hand the baby to him. The Doctor did so, a look of sadness on his slightly wrinkled face. "My condolences for yo-"
"Not yet, Doc," The man interrupted calmly. "It isn't over yet." He looked down at the lifeless child, a look of pride on his face. "You are a Ketchum, and Ketchums never give up, not until the very end!" His voice was the only sound that filled the room. "So open your eyes, son. Open your eyes and fight!" Everything was silent again for a minute or two, before Delia finally stopped crying to look up at the man and her child. The baby still wasn't moving.
"Fight, son! Fight and live!" He nearly shouted, and Delia tiredly reached over and tugged his jacket.
"Stop," She whispered, "He's gone." The man shook his head.
"No! He's still in there, Delia! He's still in there!" He looked back to the child cradled in his arms, who still hadn't moved. Suddenly, as if answering some unheard call from the heavens, the baby's eyes opened, and they shimmered a brilliant rainbow color. The man's jaw dropped open, and before he could think, the baby was crying loudly and strongly. The Doctor and Delia both audibly gasped.
"It's a miracle!" The Doctor exclaimed, eyes wide. That baby had been dead, no pulse, no hope, lifeless and cold. And yet this man had seemingly through words alone revived him, as if he was some sort of God. Just who was this?
"I knew you were in there, son," The man smiled down at him, before handing the baby to Delia, who immediately brought the crying child close to her chest and sobbed.
"My baby, my baby boy," She repeated in a whisper, nuzzling her face on his tear stained one.
"Hey, Delia," The man drew her attention, his voice noticeably softer, "How about we name him before you squish him to death, yeah?" Delia giggled.
"Well you're the miracle worker, aren't you? You can pick a name, I'm just thankful to have him," The man smiled and nodded, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, if we go by the names we've already discussed, then even if it was for a girl at first, I like the sound of Ash."
"Perfect!" Delia beamed, "He was born without a pulse, like a dead phoenix, but from the ashes of a dead phoenix comes the next one, reborn, just like him!" The man sweat dropped. He hadn't put that much thought into it, but Delia had always been poetic and romantic and stuff.
"Uh, sure, that! Totally!" He agreed, and Delia, knowing he had no clue what she was going on about, giggled again before looking down at the little bundle in her arms. He has red-brown eyes, like a warm flame, just like her. Ash wasn't crying now, he was just staring up in innocent curiosity at his mother.
"Welcome to the world, Ash," She hugged him closer, and quietly whispered, "Welcome home."
-May 22nd, 5 Years Ago...
"This tie is itching me!" A young Ash, now five years old, complained, tugging at the forest green bow tie tied around his neck. He was dressed to go to his favorite restaurant, BulbaGarden, for Pizza and Cake. He had gotten to pick out the place for the first time, and even was dressed for the occasion, although he didn't quite enjoy wearing a stuffy, green suit and tie.
"Now now Ash, you were the one who said you wanted to look handsome on your Birthday, and I think you look pretty handsome myself!" Ash looked down at himself with the most uncertainty a five year old boy could muster. He wasn't so sure how handsome he looked in what felt like a rug.
"Really?" Delia nodded in approval.
"Mhm! You look very nice, right you two?" She turned to the other two children present in the house, a young boy named Cheren and a girl named Bianca. They both appeared to be the same age as Ash, and were also dressed in fancy clothes.
"You look like a grown up," Cheren replied flatly, adjusting his rather large glasses. He had black hair, light blue eyes, and pale skin, and was dressed in a suit like Ash, but his was a charcoal gray rather than Ash's blue. Ash's head drooped. He didn't wanna look grown up, even if he did like it when people said he looked like his daddy.
"I think you look pretty cool!" Bianca said cheerfully, causing Ash to perk back up. Bianca had bright blonde hair and apple green eyes. She was dressed in a pure white dress, and had long white socks extending to her knees, completed by green dancing shoes. Ash sighed in relief. Bianca always had something nice to say, even when Cheren didn't, and true to his stoic character, he usually didn't. She reminded him of his mom in that way, always kind and supporting him.
"Let's get going, we don't want to be late now do we?" Delia questioned the group with a smile, adjusting Ash's tie, which had become crooked from Ash's fidgeting, before turning towards the door.
"No!" All three kids replied, following her out single file, Ash's excited face leading the charge.
May 22nd, 2 years Ago...
"Happy Birthday, kiddo!" Ash's father said happily, ruffling the boy's already untidy hair and chuckling like the old man he was becoming. Ash laughed along too, not at all minding his dad messing with his hair. He did it almost all the time after all, especially when he was proud of Ash. And making his parents proud always made Ash happy.
"Thanks dad," He answered as his father pulled his hand off his head. He really did resemble Ash, from his hair to his attitude to his choice of clothes. The two were nearly identical.
"You know," Ash's father smirked, "It's almost time for you to go on your Pokemon Journey like me and your Mom did. Another two years and you'll be travelling the world!" Ash grinned excitedly at the news, although he already knew it. he'd been counting down the years since he was five, since that day in the woods when he'd met those Pokemon, since he'd decided to be like his Mom and Dad and become a Pokemon Trainer when he grew up.
"Yeah! And once I'm a Trainer dad, I wanna have a battle with you!" Delia had to cover her mouth to hide the giggle as she watched the man's face light up with genuine shock, before transitioning to pure happiness.
"You bet son! We'll have the awesomest battle ever!" He gave the boy a thumbs up, while Delia sweat dropped.
"I don't think 'awesomest' is a word," She deadpanned, and the man scratched the back of his head.
"You sure? it sounded really nice in my head," He muttered, and Delia just sighed. He could be a genius in battle, she knew that, but when it came to day to day things he was pretty...well, slow. But that was okay, as long as he caught on eventually. And he did. He even had his moments of, dare she say, genius.
"Word or not, Dad's right, we're gonna have the awesomest battle ever!" Ash agreed, and Delia pinched the bridge of her nose as the two laughed together again.
What was he doing to their son?
-May 22nd, Present Day...
"Happy Birthday Ash!" Everyone cheered, smiling brightly. Everybody was currently seated at the wooden table in the Ketchum Household's Dining Room. Ash Ketchum himself sat in a chair with a handmade birthday sash draped over him. He was dressed in his usual attire of a blue and white short sleeved jacket, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers. His usual red and white hat was placed on the side of the chair, and he was staring down at a large chocolate cake, with ten lit candles on it.
"Hurry up and make a wish!" Bianca urged, "I heard that Birthday Wishes always come true, y'know!" Bianca had also changed in appearance over the years. She now sported a white shirt under a tangerine orange tank top, and a white skirt that extended down to her ankles. On her head rested a green beret with a white stripe running alone the rim.
"That's just superstition. Why do you always believe that kind of nonsense, Bianca?" Cheren questioned. He now wore a white shirt under an open blue jacket that had a wide collar in the back, and dark jeans. He still wore his glasses, and still had that same stoic attitude he'd had when they were young.
"It's only stupersishon if you don't believe it!" She shot back, sticking out her tongue at the raven haired boy. Everyone sweat dropped at her horrible mispronunciation of the word. She was never good with words.
"It's superstition, and no, it's still just some dumb myth," He sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Jeez Bianca, you're way too gullible." Bianca just stuck her tongue out again,seemingly not having anything to argue with, and everyone laughed at the duo's interactions. They were nearly polar opposites, after all. The grounded, methodical, logical Cheren, and the air headed, spontaneous, careless Bianca.
"Real or not, it's worth a shot, right?" Ash questioned, and Cheren sighed again.
"I guess," He replied, crossing his arms again.
"I for one can't wait to taste the cake," Professor Oak, who was also in attendance for Ash's birthday, interjected, and everyone laughed.
"Right, right, I'm on it," He muttered, closing his eyes as if thinking about his wish, but really it was a no brainer. For almost his whole life there had been only one thing he ever wanted, one thing he ever wished for.
I wish me and my friends could all get Pokemon and go on an adventure!
Ash blew out the candles, and everyone clapped. As Delia started to cut the cake, everyone started chatting again.
"So what'd you wish for?" Cheren questioned, and right as Ash opened his mouth to answer, Bianca urgently pressed a finger to his lips.
"Don't you know how Birthday wishes work!?" She cried incredulously, "If you say it out loud it won't come true!" Cheren pinched the bridge of his nose.
"That's even more stupid. Why would-you know what? Never mind," He decided to drop the subject, ultimately accepting that Bianca would probably never see his side of things. Besides, he supposed the idea of a birthday wish was kind of interesting. He still thought it was superstition, which it was, but the thought itself was nice.
"Here you go Ash!" Delia said as she placed a plate in front of him, "You get first slice." Delia passed out cake to everyone else as well, including herself, and the group ate.
"Time for presents!" Bianca announced cheerfully, and Ash cheered right alongside her. After all, the best thing about your birthday was usually what gifts you got.
"We could've already gotten to the presents if some people didn't eat three pieces of cake each," Cheren said sharply, adjusting his glasses. Ash and Bianca both sweat dropped. Guilty as charged.
"Whatever! I'm just excited to see what I got, so let's get to it!" Ash reached for the first present he saw, which was Bianca's. It was a small package wrapped in green wrapping paper that was covered in Bulbasaur head stickers. Ash didn't even have to read the tag to know it was Bianca's, as Bulbasaur was her favorite Pokemon. Ash opened the gift and it was revealed to be a pair of dark green fingereless gloves.
"You said your old gloves didn't fit you anymore, so I got you some more!" She explained with a grin, and Ash immediately put them on, giving her a thumbs up.
"They feel awesome! Thanks Bianca!" He thanked, and the girl just offered her fist. Ash, understanding what she wanted, gave her a fist bump, something the two did really often. Without skipping a beat Ash reached for the next gift, which was also in a smaller package, and was from Cheren this time. Ash opened it, and it was...a compass of all things.
"A...compass?" Ash muttered, blinking. He didn't want to sound disappointed, but a compass? Who gives someone a compass on their birthday?
"You always got lost whenever we played in the forest, and since we're ten now, I figured you could use it since we're all gonna start our journeys sooner or later. Especially with your inability to tell what direction you're going." Ash sweat dropped. he wasn't sure if Cheren was joking or not, but that was both thoughtful and insulting at the same time.
"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west!" Ash huffed, as if that proved he knew his directions. Cheren smirked.
"What about North and South?" He fired back, and Ash opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't answer him. He didn't have any clue how to tell those directions.
"Thanks Cheren," He grumbled, finally giving in. he hated when Cheren was right, which was almost all the time, unfortunately for him. Ignoring the chuckling from the usually stoic boy, Ash picked up the last gift, which was a rather large box in comparison to the other two. The tag read that it was from Professor Oak and Delia, although he didn't really need a tag to tell him that much. Delia smiled knowingly as Ash opened the box, and within a split second Ash was jumping up and down. Cheren and Bianca, both curious, looked into the box as well, and they realized exactly what got Ash so excited.
Inside the box were three shiny red Pokeballs, and even though Ash wasn't the smartest, he knew exactly what that meant.
It meant that he could become a Pokemon Trainer.
It meant that he could travel the region.
it meant that he could be just like his dad.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Ash cheered, running over to his mother and nearly crushing her in a hug. He could hardly contain his happiness, and for good reason. he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life, after all.
"It is your tenth birthday," She explained, fully embracing him, "A Pokemon was the least I could do for such a big day." Professor Oak smiled as well, somewhat thankful he wasn't on the receiving end of that hug. He was far too old to be getting crushed in hugs.
"She asked me about it a few months ago," He explained, "Of course I thought you were ready, so we hooked you up, as the kids say." He finished with a wink and finger gun, and everyone sweat dropped. Professor Oak was beyond out of touch with the newest sayings, though he always tried to keep up. "But, as you probably noticed, there are three Pokemon in that box. I think you know who the other two are for." Cheren and Bianca both grinned, which was especially out of character for the former, who rarely even cracked more than a sly smirk.
"Thanks Professor!" They said in sync, and the Professor simply waved them off.
"No problem kids!" Ash, who had finally calmed down, stared into the box with a thoughtful expression.
"So what Pokemon are inside?" He questioned, and Professor Oak simply gestured to Cheren.
"Leave it to Ash to not figure it out," Cheren joked, causing Ash to frown.
"Just spit it out!" He demanded, a blush of embarrassment of his face. Cheren smirked again, which only irked Ash further, before answering.
"The three standardized starter Pokemon for the Kanto Region are Bulbasaur, a Grass Type-" Bianca's squealing cut him off.
"The cutest Pokemon ever!" She beamed, starry eyed. Everyone sweat dropped.
"Yeah...whatever," Cheren muttered, rolling his eyes, "Anyway, the next is Squirtle, a Water Type, and last is Charmander, a Fire Type," He finished, and Professor Oak clapped his hands in approval.
"That's exactly right. Great work, Cheren," He complimented, before continuing, "Yes, those are the three Pokemon in that box, and each of you will receive one." Ash stared back down at the box. Bianca wanted Bulbasaur, so he wasn't taking that...so it was either Charmander or Squirtle. And if he had to choose between them...He smiled to himself. He'd always known what Pokemon he'd want from among the three Kanto Region starters.
"I choose...Charmander!" He decided confidently, picking up the Pokeball and gulping, his confidence fading just as quickly as it came. He was about to meet his first Pokemon, his partner for the rest of his journey. It was a very important moment. Pressing the release button, Ash watched tensely as a stream of glowing white light flowed out of the Pokeball and onto the floor, slowly forming the shape of a Pokemon. Finally the light died down, and everyone was greeted by the sight of an orange lizard-like Pokemon with a cream colored belly. Charmander looked at it's surroundings. It was surrounded by humans, it noted. Did they want to play with it?
"Char!" Charmander greeted, smiling at everyone, and Ash sighed in relief. he wasn't sure what to expect from his starter, but it looked like it would be a very nice Pokemon after all. Ash smiled back at the fire lizard.
"My name's Ash Ketchum, and I wanna be a Pokemon Master. Wanna come along for the ride?" Charmander was a pretty simple Pokemon. It liked to battle, it liked to play with humans, and it liked to eat. If it could do all those things and then some, then it was definitely in!
"Mander!" Charmander answered, and Ash grinned. He now had his first Pokemon, meaning he was one step close achieving his dream. As Ash and Charmander got to know each other, Bianca wasted no time in picking her own starter, snatching Bulbasaur from the box before anyone could say anything.
"Bulbasaur, come on out!" Bianca called as she pressed release and in a similar manner to Ash's, a white light slowly took form and faded away, this time revealing a small, quadruped dinosaur looking Pokemon with light green skin peppered with dark green spots, and a large, garlic shaped seed on it's back. Bulbasaur rubbed it's eyes as if it was tired, lazily looking around. Was it morning already?
"Hi Bulbasaur!" Bianca greeted suddenly, nearly scaring the poor grass type to death, "My name's Bianca, and I wanna travel the world, and I want you to be my starter because I think you're the cutest Pokemon ever, and I've always liked Grass Types because they help make air and I like air because I breathe air, well, we all breathe air, but anyways," She took a moment to breathe the air she kept rambling on about, "You wanna be partners?" Everyone stared dumbly at Bianca. None of them were quite sure what she'd just said for the most part.
Bulbasaur on the other hand didn't really care about any of that, it just wanted to sleep. Shrugging, the Grass Type leaped onto the top of her head, causing her to nearly lose her balance, before laying out on top of her hat and going back to sleep. Everyone face-faulted. Was it that tired? Bianca just giggled.
"D'aaaw, that's even cuter! Don't we look cute Ash?" She turned to Ash, striking a pose and making a peace sign. Ash blinked a few times, before giving her a thumbs up.
"Sure you do!" He answered, not knowing or particularly caring what she was going on about as he was too busy playing with Charmander. Cheren just shook his head at his friends. They could really be a handful sometimes.
"Well, I suppose I wanted Squirtle anyway," He muttered, picking up the last Pokeball and pressing the release button. The stream of light shot out and out come a light blue, bipedal turtle like Pokemon, with a curled tail and a brown, hexagon shaped shell on it's back. Squirtle crossed it's arms as it observed the humans around it. Everyone sweat dropped. It looked like a Pokemon version of Cheren.
"Hello," Cheren greeted calmly, kneeling down so he was eye level with the Pokemon, "My name is Cheren, Cheren Hawthorne, and my goal is to become the world's strongest Trainer. Will you help me to achieve that?" Squirtle stared Cheren in the eyes. This human seemed to be smart, and they shared similar goals. Cheren wanted to be the strongest Trainer, and Squirtle wanted to be the strongest Pokemon. It saw no problem with him.
"Squirt," Squirtle nodded, and Cheren smiled a genuine smile, something he rarely did.
"Thank you, really do appreciate it," He thanked gratefully, and Squirtle smiled back. Those two were like brothers already.
"I'm glad you all get along with your new Pokemon," Professor Oak interrupted, "But that's not all I have to give you three." Professor Oak gestured for Ash to look inside the box again, and Ash proceeded to pull out three red, book sized devices. "Those are your Pokedexes. I'm sure Cheren can explain what they do." Cheren stood back up, adjusting his glasses as he usually did when he was about to speak, even when they didn't need fixing.
"Pokedexes are devices designed to record information on the specific Pokemon you catch, such as your Specific Pokemon's height, weight, and the like, while also providing general information about the Pokemon's species. They also double as your Trainer I.D, allowing you to enter official Pokemon League Sanctioned events and prove your identity if questioned." he recited word for word the definition from the Textbooks they'd gotten back in school. Ash and Bianca stared in disbelief.
"You remember that?" Ash asked incredulously.
"Of course I do," He scoffed, as if it were something offensive, "Basic things like that are things every Trainer should know." Ash and Bianca's heads both drooped in guilt. Neither of them could've answered that the way Cheren had, and all three of them knew it.
"Cheren makes a good point," Professor Oak agreed, "That is something I taught you three in school and it is a very important thing to know, especially now that you're actually leaving on your journeys." Ash looked back up, seemingly recovered from a few seconds ago.
"Don't worry Professor, we can handle anything a journey throws at us! Right Bianca?" He turned to the blonde, who also perked up.
"Right!" She agreed, and the two grinned, fist bumping again. Cheren sweat dropped.
"I don't think that was the point he was making," He deadpanned, but the duo were too busy being...well...Ash and Bianca, to hear him.
"Anyway, there's still a few more things in there Ash." Ash curiously took a third look into the box, removing some of the wrapping paper and finding fifteen Pokeballs inside.
"Those are your Pokeballs. Since you can only carry a maximum of six Pokemon with you at once, i put in five for each of you, but you can buy more at any local Pokemon Center's Pokemart," He explained, and the trio proceeded to divide them up. After that was finished, Ash started heading for the door.
"I'm gonna go catch some Pokemon!" He declared, but was stopped dead in his tracks when his Mother pulled him back by the collar.
"Not so fast Ash, it's still your Birthday Party, remember? Besides, I need time to pack your bag before you go and travel around Kanto," She reminded him, and Ash scratched the back of his head.
"Heh heh...right. Sorry Mom," He apologized sheepishly as she released him. Delia just sighed.
"I swear, you're just as impatient as your father," She muttered, and Ash just chuckled. He always found it funny when his mom compared him to his Dad.
"Well, since we'll be here a little while, what do you guys wanna do?" Ash questioned, and everyone stopped to think for a moment. Finally, Bianca broke the silence.
"Well, since we all just became Pokemon Trainers," She began, "How about a battle?" Ash and Cheren both smiled at that. If there was one thing the two had in common, it was their passion for battles.
"Sounds fun!" Ash agreed, "I'm in!"
"Agreed," Cheren added.
"I can referee," Professor Oak offered. Delia sweat dropped. Even the Professor was excited to be a part of this.
"You can battle in the backyard," She pointed to the door, "Just please don't ruin the flowers!" Ash nodded, flashing his Mother a thumbs up and a grin.
"We won't! Thanks a bunch Mom!" He gave her another quick hug before the kids, followed by Professor Oak, all exited the house. Delia sighed again, putting her hands on her hips.
"Those kids are a rowdy bunch," She said to herself, before making her way upstairs to Ash's room.
"Are you both ready?" Professor Oak questioned, standing in the middle of the backyard with both his arms raised. To his left, Ash stood with a confident smirk on his face, Charmander nearly mirroring him, wagging it's tail in excitement. The duo exuded excitement and passion. To his right, the always composed Cheren stood, arms crossed and a smirk of his own, Squirtle doing the exact same. Compared to Ash, the two were calm, but just as confident. Neither of them looked like they planned to lose this battle.
Bianca stood off to the side, watching the battle while Bulbasaur was still laying on her head, half watching the battle and half trying to go back to sleep. She didn't know who to root for, but that wasn't stopping her. She wanted to cheer, and she was going to!
"Go Ash, you can do it!" She shouted, before jogging over to the other side. "Go Cheren go!"
Professor Oak just smiled. He didn't know why, but he just had a gut feeling that these three would do great things in the world. he wasn't sure how, he wasn't sure what, but he just knew they would all grow into truly wonderful people.
"Well then, let the battle..."
The stage was set, the combatants were ready, and the crowd, albeit only one person, was loud.
"...Begin!"
And that was chapter 1! Hope you enjoyed this Chapter, because I had fun writing it! Especially the conversations between Cheren and Bianca, those are just fun. Next two chapters will also be up today, but after this they'll start being weekly.
'Till then,
Peace!