Hall of Origins
"Everybody, we're gathered today to talk about the Chosen One."
Archeus' announcement was with met with chortles, snorts, and amused chuckles. Several of the smaller legendaries were outright laughing.
"The Chosen One? More like the Challenged One."
"Oh, very funny, Regigigas. That's rich coming from someone with an ability called 'Slow Start.'"
"Then again, he was able to come up with that right away despite his disability. That says a lot about the kid."
Archeus moaned as the Hall erupted with more laughter. This was not how the meeting was supposed to go.
"So wait, how'd Mr. Chosen die this time? I'm pretty sure I never saw him in Shamouti."
"Oh, a little earlier than usual? What about you, Mewtwo? Did he make it through the storm?"
The Genetic Pokemon frowned. "Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure if I sent an invitation to him this time."
The Hall quieted at that. If the invitation wasn't sent, then that meant…
"Darkrai, care to explain?"
"Seriously, I do not know why all of you think I'm an expert in such things."
"You're the Pokemon most associated with death."
"But I'm the Pitch-Black Pokemon! If anything I deal with nightmares, not leading souls to the afterlife!"
"Well, you look enough like a Grim Reaper to be one, so get on with it," grumbled Heatran, annoyed. A time relaxing in a lava-mud bath sounded much more enjoyable than this.
Darkrai shot a withering glare at the Lava Dome Pokemon, but then rolled his eye in defeat. "Fine, though I still think you should make Yveltal deal with this. After all, he's the Dark type of the Mortality Duo," complained the wraith-like Pokemon as he reached for his folders. He started glancing at any new information. It wasn't long before his eye shot up in surprise.
"... Well?"
"Hmm? Oh, it turns out one Ash Ketchum didn't even get past a flock of Spearow on the first day. Searchers found remains of his body a month later. His Pikachu was actually found by Team Rocket and became a vital Pokemon in their team, allowing Jessie and James to climb up the ladder until one day, they took out Giovanni, causing a huge power vacuum. The whole world was so in shock of what practically became a civil war in Kanto that a storm snuck up on them and wiped off all life on the planet, marking the beginning of the Age of Clones, with Mewtwo becoming an immortal god-king."
Everyone in the Hall stood stock-still at the news. For several seconds no one dared make a sound. Mewtwo smirked somewhat - though that necessarily wasn't how the plan was supposed to go, he was quite proud of his own power that could actually do that. Once he got those Mega-Stones… The Genetic Pokemon eyes lit up at all the possibilities that could happen.
Unfortunately, everyone else in the room were not so pleased. As one, they all turned to their figurehead, giving enough of a hint for the God Pokemon to figure out what was going to happen next. It was times like these where he wished he had the Ability "Soundproof" rather than "Multitype."
Sure enough, every single legendary, with the exception of Darkrai and Mewtwo, started to shout at Arceus at the top of their lungs. The figurehead was quickly getting a migraine due to all the blended voices. Finally, he snapped.
"That's it! Judgment!" With a spectacular purple flash, every single Pokemon - with the exception of Jirachi, Dialga, Heatran, Registeel, Cobalion, and Genesect - all felt a little nauseous thanks to the poisonous attack. Seeing all the Steel types smirk at their compatriots' discomfort, Arceus added a bit of the Ground-type to his attack. He was rewarded with their flinches of pain.
"Okay, now that I have everyone's attention once more, can we get back at the topic on hand? First, let's go over what we have learned about the Chall~ Chosen One from all of our redos, in as much of an orderly manner as we can muster. That means one at a time." The God Pokemon noticed Regigigas smirking at his slip of the tongue and shot off a small fighting Judgment his way. It was quite convenient that the move could easily change into whatever type he needed.
"Well, the brat's an idiot. Seriously, using an Electric-type on Ground-types numerous times?"
"Then again, he has come up with a number of impressive strategies."
"That's the problem! One minute, he may seem like a genius by taking down a number of us and pseudo-legendaries. The next, his Pikachu is losing to a water bug that quite a few beginning trainers have no trouble with."
"So, he's as inconsistent as they come?"
"Well, there is one aspect that he's completely consistent in - denseness."
"Considering how many girls he's known throughout the redos, you'd think he'd get the hint."
"That Iris girl hit the nail on the head - he is a child."
"What does this even have to do with him being the Chosen One?" The God Pokemon screamed out his frustration.
A small paw was raised. Even though the owner of said paw was one of the smallest in the room, everyone treated it with respect. After all, most were descended from it. "Um, is it just me, or does the Chosen One seem ... young?"
Once again, the room was silent. Looks of dawning comprehension popped up on a number of faces - maybe this was the case.
"So wait, all this time we've used a number of methods to improve the chances of him saving the world, and all we needed to do was wait?"
A few of them began glaring at Arceus. This was his plan, one that had failed way too many times. And was it all just because the human in question was too young?
The God Pokemon gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, you know, best to get it done quickly and all…"
Every single legendary let loose their frustration. This time Arceus allowed them too; he deserved every bit of criticism that came his way. Besides, he was happy that the end was finally in sight - they had found the root of their problems, and now progression was ensured.
After a while, the room quieted down a bit. The figurehead spoke up. "First off, I must apologize at the lack of logic on my part - I am a Pokemon, after all, and all Pokemon are adults by the age of ten. I must have convinced myself that humans were the same way." He ignored all the snorts at hearing that. "Be that as it may, we must figure out the best path which our champion should take. Now, are there any suggestions?"
From there the meeting went on smoothly. By the time it was finished, everyone agreed that the new Ash Ketchum would be a perfect champion.
But Archeus had felt as if something was forgotten, only to shrug it off. They had a teenager tasked with saving the world - what possibly could go wrong?
Pallet Town
"Ash, wake up! Today's your big day!"
"Maguajenvi," moaned the boy.
"What was that?" Silence ensued. "Ash Ketchum, you wake up this minute, or I will call Professor Oak and tell him to wait for another month!"
"But Mom, it's only~" whined Ash, glancing at the clock next to his bed, only to discover that an early hour could not be his excuse for wishing to stay in bed. "11? Damn, must have slept in."
"What was that, Ash?" A dangerous aura started leaking through his door.
"Uh… nothing Mom! Coming right out!" With that, Ash scrambled around, grabbing some shorts, and raced out of his room to find his mother, gripping a spatula as if it was some sort of sword. Plastering a fake smile on his face, the boy greeted his mother in as cheery of a voice as he could muster. "Good morning, Mom!"
The mother glared at him, silently scolding her son about the false airs she was more than aware of. However, that gave way to her motherly nature, and the boy soon found his mother hugging him as tightly as possible. "Oh Ash! My baby boy! Why do you have to leave today?"
"Leave?" The boy took a few seconds to think before it came to him. "Oh, yeah, today I get a Pokemon and leave on my journey," said the boy in a completely unexcited voice.
"Now, Ash, you promised your father that when you are eighteen you would start your journey and become a Pokemon master."
"Hmm," hummed the soon-to-be trainer as he sat down at the table, finding an excellent breakfast of all his favorite foods. Obviously, his mother went all out for him on this special day - she loved doing things like this for her only son. She was truly a wonderful woman - beautiful, smart, charming with slight airheadedness that was still cute despite her age. Then again, it wasn't as if she was incredibly old - she was still just 35 and pretty enough to receive compliments from men much younger than herself. Frankly, Ash wished she would take one of the offers a man gave and go out; his mother deserved someone. And not the pathetic excuse of a man like a certain father of his.
Ash, while putting a bit of syrup on his waffles, tried to remember his father. It wasn't like he didn't know what his father looked like, what with dozens of pictures spread throughout his home. But all those were taken nearly fifteen years ago. The oldest Ash in the pictures was when he was five, having a fishing trip. He hadn't understood that that would be the last trip he would ever have with his father - the man left for a journey soon after that and hadn't been heard from since.
Ash understood that something might have happened to his father along the way that had prohibited him from sending any news to his family - perhaps he was abducted or an accident had claimed his life. Still, the fact that he left a young mother with a child for his own selfish journey was something Ash could never forgive. Ash would never admit it, but the only reason why he was even going on this stupid journey was to find his dad. If he found him alive, then that man better pray to Arceus that he would stay that way after Ash was through with him.
The boy's train of thought was broken by his mother. "Ash, if you don't hurry up and eat, you'll be late for the Selection."
Ash simply shrugged. "The Professor knows four are coming to get a Pokemon. I don't mind getting the last one. Besides, the three that are up are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. I'm not sure which one I'd prefer - it would be nice if they were fast."
His mother smiled; though her son acted like he didn't care, she knew that he had put a lot of thought into this. "Charizard is pretty fast, isn't he?"
"True. If I were to select first, he'd be my pick. Still, I probably would have preferred a starter from Hoenn."
"Well, I'm sorry we don't live on that warm continent," mock pouted the parent, only to chuckle. Truth be told, she wouldn't mind living there…
"Don't worry, Mom. Once I become a champion, I'll have enough money to move you there. Then you can start the little Pokemon day spa you've always wanted. Pallet is too small to do that anyways."
"I don't know about that, Ash. The town might grow bigger. We are home to a world famous professor, after all."
Ash simply snorted. "His lab's been here for the past twenty years, Mom, and we still know every single person in town."
"Personally, I think the professor likes it that way. All the quiet."
Ash couldn't help but nod at this. After all, the small town offered a lot of space for all the interesting Pokemon Professor Oak researched. He then glanced at the clock on the oven. 11:35. He must have lost track of time eating and talking with his mother. He got up, went to take a shower, and came out wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt.
His mother smiled. "Don't you look handsome."
"Well, I should be. I'm the son of one of the most beautiful women in all of Kanto."
That brought a smile to the mother's face. She then glanced at the clock again. "Ash, I think you're already late. Hurry up and go."
"Fine. I'll be back soon."
"Be sure to bring back your new Pokemon!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Ash walked out, not urgent at all. The professor had promised a Pokemon, after all. That wouldn't change whether he was ten minutes late or not.
As he neared the lab, he noticed a large gathering of people cheering. That was odd, considering how small the town was. Actually, there might have been more people there than the city. Ash frowned. There was only one entrance into the lab, and it was going to be a pain to get through all of the people. Perhaps he should come by later…
At that moment, an amazingly annoying voice somehow overwhelmed the entire crowd. "Well, you must be Ash."
Everyone turned towards Ash, who gave a sigh and stepped forward. Luckily the crowd had opened a path, where Ash found the owner of the loud voice. There stood his old friend and self-proclaimed rival, Gary Oak.
"Hello, Gary," greeted the soon-to-be trainer in a very bored and tired voice.
"That's Mr. Gary to you. Show some respect."
"Hmm? Then please excuse my lack of respect, Gary the Great," replied Ash, his voice dripping with sarcasm, to the amusement of a number of people in the crowd. Fortunately, Gary had never been one to pick up on sarcasm.
"Gary the Great? That sounds amazing." This was met with a few more chuckles. "Well, Ash, you snooze you lose, and you're way behind right from the start. I've got my Pokemon and you don't!"
"... Congratulations?"
"That's right, loser, and it's right inside this Pokeball," grinned the narcissist, though Ash was quite impressed with how he spun the red and white sphere so easily on his finger.
Just then Ash heard some girls cheering and blinked. Cheerleaders? How much did his "rival" need to feed his ego? Unfortunately, the "rival" in question was lapping it up.
"Thank you fans, thank you all, for this great honor. I promise you that I will become a Pokemon master and make the town of Pallet known all throughout the world!" Gary's speech was met with cheers again. Ash just rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me, Gary the Great, but what Pokemon did you get?"
"None of your business. If you'd shown up on time, then you would have seen that I got the best Pokemon from Professor Oak. It's good to have a grandfather in the Pokemon business, isn't it?" With that, and a few more words of self-worship, Gary left the clearing. Ash couldn't help but roll his eyes one last time.
At that moment, a new voice spoke up. "So, you decided to show up after all?"
"Hello, Professor. I'm here to pick up my Pokemon."
"Your Pokemon?"
"Uh, yeah. You know, the one I'm supposed to train? You sent me a letter telling me there's one available."
Suddenly, the Professor frowned. He had forgotten about that. "Well, you see, the Pokemon were already taken by trainers who weren't late."
"... Huh?"
"Well, you know, the early bird gets the worm or, in this case, the Pokemon," explained the professor nervously.
"That's funny. You would think that, with four new trainers, you'd set aside four Pokemon for them to choose. I wonder what my mother would say…" Ash trailed off at that.
"Your mother?"
"Yes, I'm sure you've met her once or twice in the past. Delia Ketchum."
"Ah… yes… Delia." This was bad news. Delia had been a student of Professor Oak. In fact, he would say she was his favorite if she didn't have one major flaw: the woman had the most amazing temper that erupted whenever the professor messed up or forgot about something. Professor Oak shivered at the memories that had spawned a number of nightmares over the years. He glanced at the boy, fearing at what the boy's mother would do if he didn't give him a starter. "Well, there is still one left, but I…" Wait, what was he saying? Still one left? Which one?
Ah, there was that.
Professor Oak led Ash into the lab and pulled out a Pokeball with a lightning bolt over the top. Ash raised an eyebrow at seeing it. An electric Pokemon? This was new.
With a press on the button the ball opened up, revealing a small yellow mouse-like creature.
"It's name is Pikachu." The Pokemon gave a little glare at the professor who spoke. Little sparks soon converged as an electric bolt darted through the air, shocking Professor Oak. "It's normally shy, but can sometimes have an electrifying personality," groaned the charred old man.
Ash grimaced at the poor pun. "I see what you mean."
"Shocking, isn't it?"
The professor was starting to give the new trainer a headache. "Is there any reason why he decided to shock you, Professor?"
"Well, while most captured Pokemon are placed inside Pokeballs, there are some that do not like that. It seems like this Pikachu is one of those."
"And yet you forced him into one," muttered the teenager before glancing down. "So, you have, as the Professor said, 'an electrifying personality,' and you don't like common Pokemon rules. Seems like you're quite the naughty Pikachu, huh?" Pikachu perked up at this. It seemed rude to say, and yet the trainer acted like it was perfectly okay. "Say, Professor, do you have any spicy berries? Say, perhaps a Tamato?"
"Er, yes, Ash. Just a minute." With that, Professor Oak left the room.
"It's a risk, since those berries usually make the Pokemon angry with its trainer, but given your nature…"
Soon the old man returned, having found the berry Ash had asked for and giving it to the new trainer. Without a second thought, the trainer gave Pikachu the fruit. "Wait, that's only going to make it… angrier?" The professor stood flabbergasted as the Pikachu quickly ate the berry, much to its delight. "Um, Ash, can you explain…"
"Hmm. It's about the Pokemon's nature, Professor. I think my mother wrote a paper for you once about it. She wants to make a spa in the future that specializes in stuff like this to make a Pokemon happy." The trainer then stooped down to his brand-new partner's level. "But I should probably refrain from giving you those ones. I want to build a good relationship. Maybe ketchup would be good… Say, Pikachu, you want to go with me? You don't need to go inside the ball."
Pikachu looked up at the interesting young trainer who had given him food. For someone so young, the boy had figured out something that the professor hadn't, and extremely quickly at that. He was obviously clever, though he did seem to have a somewhat lazy attitude. And then there was something else… Whatever it was, it promised to be adventurous. Perhaps going with the boy would be a good idea.
After a few seconds the Pokemon nodded, much to the boy and the professor's delight. Ash was excited about his first Pokemon, while Oak was ecstatic his lab would no longer be plagued by the mouse again. It had eaten through some wires that had been connected to a computer he had been using, deleting quite a bit of data the forgetful professor hadn't saved. However, Pikachu wanted its new trainer to know a few things before they left.
"Hmm," hummed the trainer as he watched the electric mouse impressively pantomime his feelings. "So, let me get this straight. You want to go with me, but that doesn't mean you trust me outright?" The mouse nodded its head in confirmation.
"How on Earth did you figure that out, Ash? I mean, I've never been any good at charades, but that~" The professor cut off, unable to say anything else.
"Well, sir, I can't really explain it. It's more like I feel his desire and lack of trust more than anything."
"Huh." Completely bewildered but eager to get back to whatever he had been studying earlier, the professor quickly gave the beginning trainer some Pokeballs and a Pokedex, explaining what each was, and watched as the trainer left the lab, followed by his new Pikachu. Like the little rodent, Oak was also intrigued by the boy - intrigued enough to continue keeping tabs on him. After all, this boy was destined to meet at least two legendary Pokemon… but that was best left for another day. Today, however, something else had come up: a certain paper that a certain boy's mother had written years ago. The professor felt that it could lead to a breakthrough in understanding a Pokemon's feelings. If only he had actually read his student's papers and not given them a grade based on the number of words they had, he might have sent that paper in for publishing years ago.
"Well, Pikachu, how's your day been?"
The electric mouse lifted up his head and smiled, earning a chuckle from his new trainer. Ash bent down with a napkin in hand and wiped a little bit of red sauce off of the critter. "You know, you eat too much of that and you'll find it hard to get a mate."
Pikachu gave a slightly puzzled look and pointed at an empty bag that had been full with various goodies only twenty minutes prior. It then gave a slight smirk to Ash, as if telling him to worry about the same. The boy laughed out loud. "I give, you have a point."
It hadn't been very eventful after saying goodbye to his mother. She had surprised him with a cheering crowd of his own, only to embarrass him with a ton of stuff that wasn't necessary in public. Ash smirked when he recalled introducing Pikachu, only to have to stop the rodent from shocking his Mom after she had one of her airheaded moments. The rubber gloves his mother had given him were very convenient.
After that, they had walked along to Viridian, since that was the closest city. Unfortunately, a storm picked up, forcing the young trainer to find some shelter under a tree and wait until it abided. Ash figured he might as well get to know about his partner a little bit and pulled out Dexter the Pokedex, or so it had named itself. Thanks to Dexter, the new trainer learned that his Pikachu was the ideal starting partner for him. The rodent was exceptionally fast, exactly what his trainer wanted. Other information the computer gave included Pikachu being male and having "Static" as an ability. Knowing that there was always a chance a Pokemon could get paralyzed whenever they touched the electric mouse could make Pikachu a fairly good physical fighter, despite its lack of an attack stat. Add paralysis that electric attacks often naturally gave … for an imaginative mind like Ash, the possibilities were numerous. If only he could get his hands on a Light Ball… but the chances of that were slim. Wild Pikachu rarely ever held them, and they were never available on the open market. Still, maybe a trip up to Viridian Forest wouldn't be a bad idea.
Ash was surprised to find Volt Tackle and Thunderpunch could eventually be taught, knowing that those were usually egg moves for the Pikachu line. Volt Tackle would mean that it's mother probably held a Light Ball. As for the father…
"Wait, Pikachu, was your dad an Ampharos?" Pikachu was surprised that his owner had figured that out. Ash quickly looked up the Mareep line, trying to recall exactly where the Wool Pokemon could be found and match that with known Pikachu breeding grounds. Oddly enough, only one point seemed to match. "Hoenn Safari Zone?" The trainer looked at his starter and asked: "How in Arceus' name did you get here from Hoenn?" Based on the Pokemon's troubled look, the trainer gave up on the question.
It was just about this time, when the two were starting to get comfortable, that a scream broke through the rain. Startled, the trainer and his partner decided to investigate, cautiously moving toward where the sound had come from. They found themselves at a small pond, right outside of the village. And despite it being such a small pond, a gigantic Pokemon was angrily shooting blasts of water at someone.
"A Gyarados? I know their offspring can live just about anywhere, but seriously?" The young trainer muttered as he and his Pikachu moved closer, caution being thrown to the wind since the giant sea serpent was obviously focused on something else. As they drew close, they saw something shoot out what looked like glittering bullets, hitting Gyarados full in the face. Judging by the Atrocious Pokemon's reaction, the dragon-like creature had previously used Rage and was getting angrier with each attack.
Suddenly, light began to form in Gyarados' mouth. "Oh no, Hyper Beam!" Ash looked and found a cute redhead accurately reading the attack. "Quick, Staryu, dodge!" But it was too late. The Atrocious Pokemon's attack shot forward at an impressive speed, completely enveloping the smaller opponent. "Oh no, Staryu!" But that only caught the giant snake's attention, as it turned toward the human.
"Shit, that girl's in trouble." The new trainer glanced down at his partner, who surprisingly enough had sparks coming from his cheeks. Ash had read somewhere that this was a sign Pikachu often made when it was eager for battle. It looked like Professor Oak's earlier judgment of an "electrifying personality" was even more accurate than he let on. "Look Pikachu, you know you can't beat that thing in a head-on battle. Even if it's water and flying, your strongest attack is Thundershock. It's not strong enough to take on a Gyarados." The mouse frowned, knowing it was true. "However," continued his trainer, making the Pikachu look up, "if we use hit-and-run tactics, we may be able to wear it out and confuse it. What do you say?" The electric mouse looked up at Ash, seeing his confidence. With a small nod, the rodent got ready for battle.
Meanwhile, the Gyarados the two were plotting to attack was slowly growing closer to the girl. It looked down at her, it's stomach growling. It was King of this Pond now, and for its meal it planned on tasting human flesh for the first time. The girl sat there, cowering. She had tried to run earlier, but a stray attack had hit her leg and she couldn't walk on it. She cried with closed eyes, knowing her time was short, as the great fish bent low, ready to gulp her down…
When suddenly the sea serpent shrieked in pain.
The girl opened her eyes, wondering if her Pokemon had tried to fight off the monster with the last of its reserves. But no, the Staryu was still down, no light shining from its gem. Then what could have hurt the Gyarados?
A second later came her answer. A bolt of electricity coming from the opposite side of the pond hit the Atrocious Pokemon, using the Water/Flying typing to its advantage. The monster again roared with pain and anger, turning to where the bolt had originated. It shot a jet of water in the general direction, eager to eliminate the new threat.
Nothing happened for the next few seconds. Then another bolt shot at the Gyarados… coming from a completely different direction! The sea serpent roared again in fury, shooting a jet of water, only to get hit again from somewhere else.
The pattern continued for a few minutes. The girl figured that whatever Pokemon was taking on the Atrocious Pokemon was either weak, because there was no way a Water/Flying type could ever take on some many bolts if they were even at an average level, or purposely holding back. She wondered if the attacker was trained, since it was using both the rain and actual tactics in beating the serpent. Wild Pokemon would never even consider that, fighting more on instinct than with an actual plan, with Gyarados being the perfect example. Obviously ticked off and fed up with the small shocks of electricity, the beast started charging up a Hyper Beam, intent on destroying everything around it. The beam of white light shot forward, smashing into one side of the pond and hitting every inch of the shore as the monster cast it in a wide arch.
There was no way something could have escaped that barrage. The only spot that hadn't been hit was where the girl sat. She watched as the giant serpent huffed, exhausted from using two Hyper Beams in the space of five minutes. Just as it looked as if the Atrocious Pokemon had won the battle, the redhead heard a rustling behind her. A yellow flash darted past her, aiming right at the sea monster. She could barely keep up with it when lightning flashed, blinding her. The yellow blur somehow attracted lightning from the storm to its position, making the beast roar in pain as thousands of watts coursed through its body. As the lightning died, the yellow blur jumped back onto land, right in front of the girl, who was still trying to rub out the spots from her eyes.
Gyarados roared one last time in indignation, but the blast had done its job: the beast was blinded by the light, and sparks flowing around its body revealed that the Atrocious Pokemon had been paralyzed. A young male trainer rushed up to the shore, a Pokeball in hand, ready to toss at the sea monster. Eager to avoid capture and left with no other alternative, the beast dived into the pond to lick its wounds.
Ash watched as the ripples started to disperse, disappointed that the creature had escaped. Still, he was a trainer, and his Pokemon had just achieved a great victory. The teenager hurried to where Pikachu stood, panting for extra breath. Whipping out a berry allowed the electric mouse to recover a bit of energy, but exhaustion had set in, and the rodent curled up into a ball to rest. Ash was still shocked at how much power the little guy showcased. He checked Dexter to see why lightning had been attracted to his starter, sure that his Pikachu's ability was Static, and not Lightning Rod. It seemed that luck had been with him, as sometimes Pikachu act as natural lightning rods even with its usual ability. Supposedly when a number of the electric mice gathered, small storms could develop. The boy started wondering why on Earth the professor thought Pikachu would be a decent enough starter considering how dangerous it was. That didn't stop him from being extremely grateful at Oak's foolishness.
Just as he was finishing up with Pikachu, the young man heard a soft moan. Lifting his head, he caught sight of the girl he had saved. His original opinion of the girl was spot on: the redhead was cute. From just a glance he could tell this girl was pure tomboy - short denim shorts, tennis shoes, a yellow tank-top, and a ponytail to the side. Everything screamed that this girl traveled and liked a little adventure. The red suspenders were a weird touch, but still oddly fit with her.
As for the girl herself, Ash had to admit she had a very nice body. The chest seemed perfect for her: average sized breasts with a decent amount of cleavage, thanks to the tank-top. Her curves were slight, yet still feminine enough, leading to a set of hips that, again, were emphasized by her attire. But the coup de grace was her legs - long, smooth. Ash felt he had never before seen such perfect legs, which was kind of weird, because that was usually something he didn't really care about.
Unfortunately, his train of thought was broken when the girl opened her mouth. She groaned, looking in all directions, and found a young man in front of her, introducing himself.. "Hey, my name's Ash. I heard you scream and ran here as fast as I could."
"What happened?"
"It seems like you idiotically angered one of the most dangerous Pokemon in the world, and then even more idiotically took it on by yourself." Oh, the girl was cute, but Ash was attracted to brains as much as looks, so he felt he didn't need to put on the charm at the moment.
It was as if a switch went off in the girl's head. What was once a lost, confused face instantly morphed into one of pure anger. "What are you saying 'idiotically' for? I wasn't stupid!"
"I explained why already."
"For your information," huffed the girl, "the Gyarados was originally a Magikarp that I was going to capture. It was all going smoothly when all of the sudden the blasted fish started to glow, and suddenly I had an evolved Gyarados to take on."
"Okay, so you were originally fighting the weakest Pokemon on the planet. I understand that now, but tell me: Why didn't you run away after it evolved into that monster?"
This time the girl got bright red and mumbled out something along the lines of getting hit by Gyarados' tail. "So then Staryu had to battle for me to keep it at bay, but since my leg hurt I couldn't get away. Staryu tried hard, but in the end it was still fighting against Gyarados. It had no chance. I thought it was all over, but then that little guy," she said, pointing at Pikachu, "saved me."
"Hmmm? Pikachu took on a Gyarados? You've got to be wrong - there's no way something as small as this mouse could take on that monster. I might have seen him give the final blow, but to take it down by himself?" Ash shook his head in fake disbelief, hoping his starter would catch his drift. Luckily, the naughty little guy saw his master was pulling a joke on the girl and decided to play along. Dexter was right - these little guys were incredibly smart.
The girl frowned. "How long have you trained him?"
"Trained him? Well, today I helped him learn Quick Attack, but that was only a few hours after he became my starter."
"Starter?" The girl blinked, unsure she heard correctly. "You're telling me that the Pokemon you just got took down a Gyarados hours after it became a starter?"
"No, that's what you're saying. I'm saying that it's somewhat unbelievable for a starter to take down a Gyarados by itself." It took quite a bit of effort to refrain from adding "even if it did."
The redhead again blinked. She had to admit that it was quite improbable, even if she swore it was true. But then again, she only saw the Pikachu when he had darted forward to take the Atrocious Pokemon on head-on. Perhaps there were others there that had helped out? She started looking around, hoping to catch something with her eyes.
Meanwhile, Ash's eyes were focusing more and more on the girl's legs. He had to shake himself out of it a few times, but no matter how hard he tried to fight it, his eyes would end up glued to her thighs. He sighed inwardly. By his own admission, Ash was a pervert. Not the type to actually peep on girls - frankly, Pallet had only two girls any other guy would ever consider peeping on, and since one of them was his own mother… he loved his mom, but that was just wrong. Instead, Ash delighted in the accidental perv situation: a girl's skirt that flutters to far up, or a bit too much cleavage. It just so happened that he had been friends with the only other attractive girl in town, who ignorantly offered him quite a few of the favored accidents. She had since moved out with her mom, but luckily they had kept in some contact. Ash actually had some plans to meet up with her sometime soon.
But that was in the past. Now, a very attractive girl with extremely attractive legs was sitting across from him. He tried to focus on her face; it was quite the cute face, after all, with a small nose and large, aquamarine eyes. Ash could easily get lost in those eyes. There was no need to have his eyes wander down and see the slender legs of what was probably a swimmer. Flawless skin, smoothly… shit, he was staring at them again.
And unfortunately, the girl had decided at this time to give up on searching for anymore of her rescuers. She turned to the young man roughly her age … to find him lewdly staring at her. She cried out while quickly rolling up into a ball: "Hey, where are you staring?" In her anxiousness to fend off the pervert, she grabbed a hold of something.
"Uh…." Ash was mentally punching his face. He was an idiot! He should have at least come up with something. Wait, didn't she say she was injured in the fight with Gyarados? "I was … wondering… how hurt you were! Yes, see, if you're terribly hurt, then I would have to help you get to Viridian, and that would be annoying, for both you and me, and so…" The boy kept talking, mentally kicking himself over his horrible habit of rambling whenever he felt guilty. It made him a horrible liar.
"Hmm? And where was I injured?"
"On your incredibly sexy legs," exclaimed the teenager before he could stop himself. Within seconds, he had to duck as the girl threw whatever was in her hand at his face, repeatedly yelling out "pervert" as loud as she could. The boy continued to showcase a remarkable talent at dodging as she threw whatever she could get her hands on at him. "Wait! That came out wrong," he yelled out, trying to calm the fiery redhead down.
"Oh, so you don't think my legs are, in your words, 'sexy'?"
"Well, you've already found out I can't lie, so there's no point in answering that." The boy again ducked down as the girl began using her fishing pole as a saber, trying to cut off his head.
Suddenly, a loud PING! interrupted their quarrel. Ash turned to find a blue Pokeball in the surf. Picking it up, he asked what it was, just as the girl was readying her final swing. The redhead cut off her attack, shouting out something about her Dive Ball. She snatched the ball out of his hand and tossed it to the side, the previous fighting all but forgotten in her eager attempt to find out what she caught. Perhaps the Gyarados had come back and then got hit by the ball unexpectedly?
However, what formed from the Pokeball wasn't a Gyarados. It wasn't even a fish.
It was a Slowpoke.
"Ehhhhh?"
The Dopey Pokemon just stared off in space, completely oblivious of his new trainer. Ash actually wondered if it had realized it had been captured or not.
"So… a Slowpoke?" In response, the weird pink Pokemon turned to the teenager, as if just registering that he wasn't the only creature around. The redhead stared at it in shock. "Do you like it?"
To his question, the redhead rolled up in a ball and began to cry again. No, no, she did not like it. He glanced at Pikachu again, who was trying not to laugh too much. He failed miserably. The Dopey Pokemon then made its way to Pikachu, who started saying something while pointing at the girl. Somehow, Slowpoke understood it and walked up to its new trainer, just standing beside her. Ash supposed it was trying to look dignified and comforting for its new master, but it was impossible for the weird otter-like creature to look anything more than stupid. "Well, it at least likes you," he offered, not helping whatsoever. Instead, the redhead's tears and sobs only intensified.
After a good ten-minute cry mourning the loss of the 1000 Pokedollar ball, the girl settled down enough to call her pathetic excuse of a Water Pokemon back. Ash barely could contain his laughter, knowing if he let out a single chuckle, she would attack him again. Hey, maybe this time she'll use a Master Ball on a Magikarp or a Psyduck! The thought instantly made his stomach hurt as he fought more than ever his laughter back.
Unfortunately, the small peace and quiet was broken by a loud shriek from the girl. "My bike!" There, in the smoldering ashes of the shoreline, laid a blackened bicycle with melted gears.
"For the last time, I wasn't the one who barbecued your bike!"
"Yeah, but you got the Gyarados to do it!"
"And whose fault was it to get that monster angry in the first place? Not to mention who almost became dinner for the stupid beast?"
"Th~ That's beside the point!"
"Is this how people treat their rescuers these days? Oh, how I fear for this new generation."
"Quiet, you! Besides, I'm probably older than you anyway!"
"Hmmm, if that's the case, then shouldn't you be an example?"
"Wh~ Bu~"
"Well, at least I have the fortune of feeling up these sexy legs of yours."
"Shut up, you filthy pervert!" And to emphasize her point, the redhead took hold of Ash's ears and pulled with all her might.
Unfortunately, tugging on her rescuer's ears wasn't the brightest idea, especially since that rescuer was giving the girl a piggy-back ride. The boy quickly lost balance and, due to the unbalanced weight, fell backward. The two landed on the ground, the fall much softer for the boy than for the girl.
"Huh? Wow, why does it feel like two small airbags saved me from my fall?"
A groan of pain leaked out from under him. The boy lifted himself up and turned to find the girl still woozy from falling with someone else on top of her. Pikachu was on the side cracking up, extremely grateful to have gotten such an interesting trainer.
"Enjoying yourself, Pikachu?"
The electric mouse just nodded while wiping tears out of its eyes. It couldn't remember the last time it had laughed so much.
Ash looked down at the girl again. For some reason, her chest area in which he conveniently fell into seemed smaller than what he was seeing. Yes, it was incredibly soft - he wouldn't mind falling there again - but smaller. He really wanted to figure out why that was, but if he tried to find out now… No, that girl would definitely report him to the police as soon as they got into town. Maybe if he got her into a bikini? Well, in the end, the redhead was still plenty cute, so it really didn't matter.
Ash then frowned. All this time, he had been calling her "the girl" or "redhead" in his mind. He hadn't really ever heard her name. He knew his mother would not approve of that at all.
Finally, the girl shook her head awake. Ash quickly came beside her, helping her into a sitting position. "Hey, that was quite the nasty fall on your head. Let me ask you some questions, just to make sure you don't have any brain damage." The girl nodded, still holding her head a bit. "Okay, first, what is your name?"
"Uh, Misty."
"Okay, very good. So Misty, how old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"And what type of Pokemon do you prefer?"
"Water."
"Okay, you've done well. Now for your last question: what are your three sizes?"
Her response was a swift jab into his solar plexus with her elbow. The boy groaned out something along the lines of "good answer" before keeling back. The electric mouse was again visibly amused at the scene.
"Ugh. Seriously, do you have to keep making perverted jokes? First you mention my legs, then you want to find out my sizes."
"Okay, okay, sorry about the jokes. I guess I just can't help it when I see a cute girl," chuckled Ash, remembering how many times he might have teased his childhood friend along the same lines. It was actually quite funny how the two were polar opposites: whereas his childhood friend would just blush and act embarrassed, Misty here would become violent. The boy began wondering if this girl was an extreme tsundere. According to some of the older men in town, his mother had been that. Finding the girl had gone bright red with his last statement almost confirmed it to him.
But there was something about her that seemed vaguely familiar. He was sure he had heard her name and/or seen her face before. He was fairly sure she wasn't from around the area. So maybe from some magazine or a television show? She had said she liked Water Pokemon… Suddenly, the lightbulb in his head turned on.
"Misty? Wait, you're the youngest of the Sensational Sisters?!"
The girl in question looked up in alarm. Great, she had been found out. Now the idiot would start raving about how beautiful her sisters were like some sort of fanboy. Or maybe even worse, get to know her only to use her to get to her older sisters. That had happened once or twice already. But his next question threw her off completely.
"Why is the Cerulean gym leader all the way over here in Viridian?"
"... "
"Hello, Earth to Misty? I asked you a question."
"... No! You cannot meet my sisters!"
Ash lifted his eyebrows a bit. Did the girl have some sort of inferiority complex when it came to her sisters? He wasn't sure why. She seemed just as attractive as they were, and from what he had seen from their interviews, she had a much better personality.
"Um, Misty, I asked about you, and not your sisters."
"Hah, that won't fool me! I know you just want to get close to me so that you'll meet my sisters!"
"Actually, I have no interest in girls who have to read off a board about their 'true feelings,'" shrugged the teenaged boy. "I mean, sure, they're hot. And airheadedness in small amounts can have its charm, but your sisters have nothing but air in their heads, which is frankly a turn-off." Besides, a girl who clearly inherited the same physical genes and had a much broader personality than a valley girl was currently sitting next to him.
The girl just stared at him for a few minutes, her face gradually lightening up. Finally a small, sad smile formed. "I'm sorry about that. It's just…"
"You've had some bad experiences?" Ash guessed.
Misty nodded. "I finally got tired of being the youngest sister and a tool to get to know my idol sisters. So I left."
"Yeah, I heard on the news a few weeks ago that you ran. No one really knew why."
The redhead gave a small chuckle. "So, I guess you want to battle me sometime for a badge?"
Ash gave a confused look. "Badge? Who said anything about a badge?"
"Well, I am a certified gym leader, and you are a trainer…"
"Oh, I'm not going for the gyms right now."
This time it was Misty who looked confused. "You're not?"
"No, well, I might sometime later, but I'm just a beginning trainer. I'm not ready to take on gyms."
This impressed the young Water trainer quite a bit. Most young trainers were impulsive. She had beaten quite a few trainers because they were a little too eager to get the required number of badges. "So, if you're not going around getting badges, what are you planning to do?"
"Woo all the cute gym leaders, forming a battle harem that will be strong enough to take over the world. Congratulations, Misty! You are my first capture!"
"... WHAT?!"
"Hey look! What's that?"
"Ash, don't give me that shit! What's this about a battle harem?"
"No, seriously Misty, what is that?" He pointed behind her toward the sky, where the sun was gradually setting.
Misty turned to at least amuse him for a second, only for eyes to widen. There, flying over a rainbow, was the most gorgeous bird the Water specialist had ever seen.
"Is that a Ho-Oh?"
"Well, since it's flying to Johto, it could be."
Ash felt some of his childhood imagination take root again. His dreams of becoming a master, catching every single Pokemon and training them up to reach their potential - all of these flooded over him as he watched the golden bird fly west. Well, he may not feel like actually catching every single Pokemon anymore, but still, he wanted adventure. He smirked at himself, wondering if he had always been like this.
Misty noticed the excitement flashing in her rescuer's eyes. "You going to follow it?"
"Hell yeah. I was planning on heading to Johto anyway, but seeing that bird…"
The redhead gave the slightest of nods and turned back, watching Ho-Oh as it flew over the horizon. She wasn't sure why, but a weird… something felt like it was pulling her west, urging her to follow the Rainbow Pokemon as well. With a sigh, she glanced back at the young man beside her. "Well, I hope you don't mind if I tag along then."
Ash whirled around. "What?"
She raised an eyebrow at his surprise. "You do know that there are three legendary beasts over there that are related to Ho-Oh, right? One of their types is water. Seeing as you saw what amounts to being a god on your first day, I figured you might have some weird destiny with legendaries."
Hearing this, Ash just snorted. "Sure, an average guy like me, having a 'destiny' like some fantasy hero. What's next, being called 'The Chosen One'?"
Hello there, everyone! Welcome to the newest Pokemon anime redo on the site. And unlike all the other redos on this site, I'm mixing it up hardcore. Badges? We don't need no stinking badges! Why would we need that when Ash seems to get himself into trouble through sheer dumb luck (or misfortune, depending on your view)? Besides, this is a story about an older Ash, and frankly, people change over time. When I was ten, I was convinced I was going to be the next great college basketball coach. By the age of eighteen, I figured law enforcement would prove more... available. You know, one year older makes someone one year wiser, or something like that.
So, while Ash may still have some dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master, there are other things he's more interested.
Namely girls.
Attractive gym leader girls.
Attractive gym leader girls that can be seduced into becoming the ultimate Pokemon battle harem, following their harem lead to fame and glory!
... Or maybe he just enjoys messing with attractive gym leader girls.
Anyways, there will still be battles, because this is the Pokemon world. Ash will still like a good fight. But it'll be different Pokemon, since he's not following his previous "timelines." We've already seen some changes with previous teams, seeing as Misty never caught the dumbest looking Pokemon in canon. Don't worry, though - she'll still catch herself a Psyduck. And just imagine how much fun a Slowpoke and a Psyduck could have with each other.
So, if you would be so kind as to click that follow button on top with the cute little heart, or simply leave a well-meaning review, that would be, as Tony the Tiger says, grrrrrrreat! And if you'd like, feel free to give suggestions to Ash's second Pokemon, though there are two caveats: 1) it must be Fighting Type; and 2) no Riolu or Lucario. Talk about a Pokemon way overused. Ash will not be an Aura Guardian in this fic - after all, he saved the world multiple times without Aura, and this time, he's not ten years old.