March 21. Near midnight. Pallet Town.

All he could see was -

Cold black eyes.

Yellow fur.

And then -

A sudden, shocking pain.

Water, so much water. Can't breathe!

Red hair...

And a bike.

He grabbed the handlebars, vaulted onto the seat and started pedaling. Those cold black eyes - they kept staring, unblinking, unrelenting. And then the shadows - they were chasing him - following him -

He suddenly realized, in a moment of intense panic, that he wasn't going to make it.

And then there was the cliff. The bike tore through the air, not losing speed for a moment. He tried to land - he had to land. He couldn't let it end here. No!

The bike hit the ground with a sharp jolt and slipped, skidding out of control. He tumbled into the mud, scraping his skin against the ground. The shadows descended, screeching, yelping.

His mind was racing with fear and adrenaline.

Have to protect -

No. He couldn't.

Can't let them kill -

But he was too scared, there was no way he could do it.

Have to -

But no -

Have to protect him -

He was terrified, but he had to do it.

"COME AND GET ME!"

There was a blinding flash of light. An explosion. Horrible, excruciating pain.

He screamed.

And then - then, suddenly, the shadows were gone.

He tried to focus. It was blurry, fuzzy.

There was light. A rainbow. And a mystery, a strange being, one he didn't know...

And then. Then he saw, again, those cold black eyes. But now - now, suddenly, they weren't so cold and black. No, now they were so full of warmth and light and color and... and...

Love...

Ash was breathing hard and fast when his eyes snapped open and he awoke.

His bedsheets were cold and damp with sweat. He took a long moment to catch his breath, to relax a little, and after a few moments - though his heart was still beating rapidly and his veins were still pumping with adrenaline - he at last tried to recall his dream.

Ash closed his eyes, letting the memories and the details come flooding back to him.

And he could remember -

Cold black eyes, red hair, a bike... the shadows... the pain... "COME AND GET ME!"...

Oh.

Ash let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. It was the first day of his journey - that was what the dream had been about. The day he met Pikachu. The day he met Misty. And the day that Pikachu learned to trust him.

Ash steadied his shaking hands.

It wasn't the first time he'd had such a dream - no, definitely not. There had been several times when he'd woken similarly to this, with only a few fuzzy memories of Misty's red hair and Pikachu's cold, distrusting, unforgiving gaze.

And always that one phrase - the one he'd never forget - the one that Ash felt defined him more than anything else: "COME AND GET ME!"

No, it wasn't the first time he'd had the dream. It was, though, the first time he'd had the dream in quite a long time. Maybe a whole year. And he wasn't complaining; the dream wasn't so much a dream as it was a nightmare. He was fine with not having it again for the rest of his life.

The first day of his journey had been the best day of his life, and he still considered it as such, but it was also the most terrifying up to that point. In fact, Ash was sure that he still had yet to be as scared as he had been then.

And no matter how many times he had that same dream, the terror was always just as real.

Ash closed his eyes again. It was the first time he'd ever found himself in a truly life-threatening situation, and it was the first time he'd willingly thrust himself into harm's way to protect someone else. No, it wasn't the last time in his life he would be faced with that decision, but it was the first, and the most difficult.

And Ash had chosen to protect his Pikachu.

The raven-haired boy shuddered. Most other times in his life that he'd come close to death (or actually died) up to now had been a result of something he couldn't control. That first time was different. It was his decision. And he was scared. He didn't know what was going to happen. He was a little kid getting attacked by a swarm of powerful wild creatures, forced to make a life-or-death decision. But he told himself he had to protect his Pikachu, and he forced himself to follow through with it. It was the first time in his life that Ash considered himself to be genuinely brave.

He learned in that one moment that bravery wasn't about not being scared. It was about being scared and doing it anyway, and it was one of the most terrifying choices to ever be faced with.

Ash let his tense muscles relax. He didn't know what time it was, but it was dark, so it was either really, really late or really, really early. Either way, he was going back to sleep.

But before he could close his eyes...

"Pika...pi," a small voice mumbled from beside him.

Ash rolled over on his side to come face to face with a just-waking Pikachu, who was curled up beside him on the bed. "Hey, buddy..." Ash whispered. "Sorry to wake you. I, uh... I kinda had a nightmare."

"Pika, pikapi." The little yellow mouse yawned, stretched, and snuggled closer to Ash, licking his trainer's cheek affectionately. "Chaaa~"

"Thanks, buddy," Ash murmured as his eyelids drooped and he drifted back into unconsciousness. "Love you too..."

March 21. Earlier that night. Cerulean City Gym.

"That is not Suicune," Misty Waterflower said dubiously, squinting at the piece of paper in her hands.

Her older sister, Lily, stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Is too! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

"Is not, Lily. Besides, even if you did really see it, this photograph" - the redhead held up the object in question - "definitely doesn't cut it as proof."

Lily scowled. "So? I don't have to be good with a camera."

"Well, no, but don't go around saying you saw Suicune without something... recognizable as proof."

Lily huffed. "I don't have to listen to you."

There was a small pause.

"You're right," Misty finally conceded. "You don't. But... I definitely think you should."

"Whatever," Lily mumbled, rolling her eyes as she walked away to go pester somebody else. Or maybe call all of her friends, all of her friends' friends, and the local news to tell them about her photograph.

Misty frowned, then sighed.

"Well... this'll play out interestingly for sure."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. "Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring ring ring! Ring ring ring! Phone call! Phone call! Ring ring ring! Ring ring ri - "

Misty snatched the receiver before it could "ring ring ring" any further, cursing under her breath. After at least ten years of trying to change the stupid ringtone - yes, she had gotten annoyed enough with it as early as five years old - and she still couldn't figure out the dang thing!

"Who is it? Ash again?" she grumbled, annoyed, as the image started to come into focus. This'll make the third time today! If he wants to talk to me so bad, why doesn't he just come and visit!

But, oddly enough, there was no vocal response to Misty's question. The redhead's eyes narrowed, her brow creasing in a frown as she peered at the screen, trying to make out anything at all recognizable, but the image was far too blurry. She was suddenly reminded of her sister's photo of the "Suicune" she'd apparently seen and bit back a laugh, now a bit amused at the thought of the picture.

But when the static dissipated enough for Misty to finally make out some sort of an image, the laugh caught in her throat, and she froze.

It wasn't Ash.

After a long, stunned silence, Misty finally spoke, her voice catching as she tried to speak.

"Wh-why - " The words stuck in her throat, and she forced them out. "Why are you calling here?"

She was clearly shocked, and as she spoke her tone slowly took on a strange, cold hardness, and it was lined with an emotion that could only be interpreted as anger.

There was, again, no response, so Misty repeated herself.

"Tell me!" she hissed, the anger in her voice growing more prominent, though she was shaking as if she were about to cry. "Why are you calling? Why now, after this long?"

A deep, masculine voice voice, almost void of emotion in stark contrast to Misty's, responded:

"I... I have called to warn you, daughter. You, and all of your sisters."

The strange-looking man, sharply dressed in a deep brown lapel trench coat and a Panama hat of matching color - which was, at that moment, tipped downward to hide his face - gazed coldly at the region spread out before him.

He could see his destination with ease - it was as clear as day. A cold smile graced his lips, and his fingers brushed against the small, hard object tucked within the shallow folds of his coat.

This, he mused silently to himself, shouldn't be too hard at all.

Now, first of all, to find the child for whom he was searching...

So, how do you like it so far? For all you die-hard PokeShippers out there, by the way, there will be a lot of that throughout this story. ;) So look forward to it. And since ContestShipping and LeafGreenShipping are also OTPs of mine, be ready for that.

(Also, I feel like the best way to start a prologue is almost always with a dream. Which is why I did. XD)

This, by the way, will consist of a plot somewhat reminiscent of the first fanfiction I ever wrote - The Ash Conspiracy: Down in Flames. I didn't do so well on it, but this story is far more thought-out than that one was, and it has plenty more cool stuff in it, along with a better developed plot.

Well anyway, I'm really excited for this whole idea, and I've got some really good plot stuff planned out, so I hope ya stick around!