Ash Ketchum was walking around Pallet Town, it was a small town filled with friendly people and Pokemon. He was getting some things for the house, and some things for his journey, so he got up early and went to the store.
He had bought milk, eggs, vegetable and flower seeds-his mom liked to garden and Ash though maybe she'd like to plant her own vegetables. He bought some tooth paste, floss and some miscellaneous things for his pokemon journey in two days.
He was excited, he had never been far from home before, but he swore to his mother he would call her every chance he got.
How was he paying for all of these items? He'd been working as an aide at the lab of the local professor and had been getting paid for his work around the facility for two years now. His name was Samuel Oak.
Anyway, Ash had been working there from the time he was seven.
He'd begged, pled, and made a scene all because he was concerned about a Pokemon egg that had a crack in it.
The egg in question was a light brown egg with what seemed to be markings in a darker brown to look like a mane of some sort.
The crack ran from the center of the egg up until it reached the top. The crack looked new, but Ash had brought it over just to be safe.
When the Professor asked Ash where he got the egg, the boy said he had been near the edge of town and heard a soft cry.
He had followed the cry until he came to a Miltank, it was so weak that it hardly breathing. He saw the poor creature had been hurt, there were cut marks all over it. The marks were bleeding, a lot. Ash tried to stop the bleed by taking off his tank top and putting it one the Pokemon, but all it did was cover the yellow top with blood.
The Miltank was curled around something, and Ash saw it was an egg. He looked into the Miltank's eyes as it weakly said its name and un-curled itself from the egg. It slowly pushed it towards Ash, softly saying its name before giving Ash a bell of some sort and then it closed its eyes. Never to open them again.
After Ash had cried over the Miltank, saying that no matter what he would take care of its baby, he vowed to find whoever did this. And when he did, he would make them pay.
He had ordered that the deceased mother be buried in Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town, saying he wouldn't get a nights rest until she was properly buried.
Ash had finished his purchases and walked home. He was about to go up the first step of the front porch, but he was attacked by a-really large for its breed-Tauros.
"Tauro!" He said, getting up before he began petting the gargantuan bull.
Tauro was a big Tauros, nearly twice as big as any other Tauros anyone had ever seen. He had a thicker mane as a result, bigger horns, stronger legs, and longer tails. He may be a big bull, but he's as loyal as a Growlithe.
This Tauros was the egg that Ash had been given by its mother on the day of her death. Ash had gotten permission from his mother, who thought it wasn't going to be too big of a deal, and Prof. Oak, who said that Ash was the logical choice to care for the Pokemon that hatched from the egg since he found it.
At first, Tauro was a runt. He was a small, Ash could carry him around like he was one of his pokedolls- yes, he still collects those (their in a chest in his room). Ash even slept with Tauro, not caring that he woke up to getting kicked in the face or stomach from the bull because of his nightmares. He would comfort the baby bull until he fell right back to sleep.
But now, thanks to his large size, Tauro slept outside. Ash had built a house for big enough for Tauro, and for himself because he still liked to sleep with the overgrown plush doll that snores, when he was nine. Ash told his mother she could turn it into either a green or a shed it their absence.
The ten year old had turned the bell into a necklace for Tauro, which the bull wore with pride ever since Ash told him what had become of its mother, and gotten a matching one for himself. No one dared mock him for it, because they had all seen the huge Tauros that wore the matching necklace, and knew if they did then there would be trouble.
"Ash Ketchum! Where were you?!" Delia said, opening the front door, not looking happy. "I was so worried! I looked for you in your room, in Tauro's house, even in the Professor's lab!"
"I left a note. Maybe Mr. Mime must have thrown it away because he thought it was trash." Ash said, shifting the bags in his hands, "He's done it before."
Yes, Mr. Mime had done that before.
Delia nodded, with a sigh, forgiving her son, and ushering him inside. She took some of the bags from him and looked inside.
"You went to the store?"
Ash nodded, a smile playing on his lips. "Yeah. I wasn't expecting you to go buy me things for the rest of my life."
Delia nodded and began helping Ash put everything away. The things that were still left in a bag were going to be put in Ash's backpack.
So far, Ash had a backpack with clothes and other things to care for himself, Tauro, and other Pokemon- brushes, berries, various types of pokechow, Pokeballs Pokemon and human medicine, and a duffel bag filled books on Pokemon breeding tips, vitamin information, what certain pokemon like to eat, the best moves to teach a particular Pokemon, possible breeding combinations, and how to care for any species of Pokemon from its infant stages well into adulthood. Tauro said it would carry the duffel bag, and the backpack, if Ash said it was okay.
Duffel bag, yes. Backpack, no. Ash said it was only fair that he carried his share, and Tauro would have to agree.
The videophone rang, ad Delia answered it.
"Hi Sam, what's wrong?" Delia asked, as Ash walked in behind her after giving Tauro an apple.
Sam looked pale. "I need Ash and Tauro here quickly."
"What do you need Professor?" Ash asked
"One of the herds got loose!"
Ash looked concerned, but he was actually quite panicked at this news." "Which one?"
"The Tauros herd. It's tearing up the habitats and scaring the Pokemon!" Oak practically yelled
"On our way!" Ash said, grabbing some rope that was next to the door, before rushing outside. He jumped off the railing on the front porch onto Tauro's back. "To the lab Tauro! The Tauros herd is lose again!"
Tauro took off at a breakneck pace, his footsteps were as light as a feather but everyone moved out of the way. The two arrived at the lab.
And just in time too, the herd was charging their way. Ash and Tauro weren't panicked, they'd dealt with this many times before.
"Tauro, spin and use tail whip." Ash said calmly as he jumped off of Tauro and into a tree.
Tauro's tails glowed white as he spun around, smacking every single Tauros that got near him. He knocked down about twenty of them before the others got the message: thou shalt not leave thy lab without thy trainer or professor.
The gargantuan bull bellowed, and the others ran back to their territory. Ash had tied a rope around each of the Taros' necks with the help of the aids in the lab and lead them back to their territory in a cattle-drive manner from atop Tauro's back.
When the Tauros were back in their habitat, with Tauro making sure they stood where they were, Ash fixed the fence and ordered Tauro to get out of the enclosure. The aids thought Tauro was going to run through the fence, but the bull leapt over it.
Ash, after fixing all of the broken habitats with Tauro, looked at the aids shocked faces with an innocent look on his face. "I taught him how to jump the fence, I thought would be a useful skill."
Oak ran out of the lab, a smile on his face. "Ash, your Tauros wrangling skills are top notch!"
Ash nodded "thanks, I've had a lot of practice. Oh, and the Tauros leader had a bad tooth ache, but I fixed it."
"Was the toothache why it was stampeding?" Oak asked
Ash nodded "yeah. Tauros have very sensitive teeth, everything from oats, to grass, to Pokechow can hurt them if you don't watch how much they eat or brush their teeth afterwards."
One of the new aids, a man with blue hair, stepped forwards. "It was my fault. I forgot to clean its teeth after it ate its dinner last night."
Ash nodded "just remember, brush a Tauros' teeth after every meal and floss them as well. Then it's likely there won't be another stampede."
The aide looked surprised "how do you know all of this?"
Ash looked to his left, Tauro was rolling around on the grass, his bell ringing all the while. Ash rang his as well, and Tauro got up and walked beside Ash before plopping down beside him. He bellowed, which sounded whinny, and Ash started to massage his horns.
"He's how I learned. All of the aids, and professor, know that I've had Tauro from the time he was a egg."
The new aide looked stunned. He said the first thing on his mind. "But, but- He's massive!"
Ash nodded "his father must have been as well, or maybe it's a defect. I don't know."
"How did you get it into your possession?"
"I got him the day his mother, a Miltank, passed away. She was curled around him, protecting him, despite all of her injuries." Ash felt Tauro's head on his chest as he told the tale, the boy stopped briefly and stroked the Pokemon from behind its ear down to the tip of its chin. This exchange went on for a few moments before Ash continued "I tried to stop the bleeding using my shirt, but it was no use. So, using the last of her strength she gave me her egg, the egg that was Tauro at the time, and a bell. The bell she gave me is the one around Tauro's neck. The bell I wear is to remind me of what happened that day and the promise I made to take care of Tauro and the vow I gave to find whoever did that unspeakable horror and to make them pay."
Ash finished and hugged Tauro's neck, because the bull had started to cry. No one, not even Professor Oak, had seen a Tauros cry. Ash was the only one unfazed by it, as he had seen his friend cry many times before.
"I made that vow to your mother, to you, that I will take care of you. I've kept it and will continue to keep it, long after you have a herd all your own, I'll be there to protect them and you. You have my word." A few tears fell from the eyes of Ash and the other humans.
After a while, someone was at the gate. "Hey! Gramps!" It was Gary. The only person in Pallet Town to undermine the bond between Ash and Tauro. In two days, that would prove to be his downfall.
