Starting in Sinnoh
Twinleaf Town
5 Years Ago
Ash Ketchum looked out from the window of the giant bus he was in. He moved his knees uncomfortably. This bus was meant for luggage so it wasn't exactly a limo. Green hills and looming trees swept past his vision as he looked up. The sun was starting to set. He was from Kanto, but since his father was working here in Sinnoh for a project for Charles Goodman, the president of the Pokémon League community, he and his mother had to move. The duo was currently on their way to Twinleaf Town, their home for the incoming years.
"This place is so different from home." Ash thought. His little brain couldn't comprehend the situation, though he did grasp it a little.
"Ash honey, stop fidgeting, we'll be there soon." his mother said soothingly to her 5 year old child. Her words snapped Ash out of his stupor. Ash's knees stopped shaking at once.
Delia Ketchum was a young woman in her mid twenties. She loved Ash more than anything in the world, so when Ash wanted to visit his father, she immediately complied. It was a great chance to see her husband since he was working in whole other regions, he earned a lot of money, sure, but he rarely came home to visit. Sinnoh seemed to be the gathering point of many of her husband's jobs.
Scene Switch
Red Ketchum, champion of Kanto stood in the entrance to Twinleaf town. His wife and son were coming any minute now and he was very excited. His eyes glazed over and fell on the loving rodent on his shoulder: the small electric rodent nuzzled him and squeaked in delight. Even though Pika had only seen Ash once, he took an immediate liking to him. That was something most humans couldn't account for, Red's Pikachu was famous for its temper and over-protectiveness. Red's identity was kept a secret from everyone except for his wife and child. If too many people knew his family was moving to Twinleaf, they would jump for a chance of capturing Ash or Delia.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sounded loudly from the distance. A giant red bus carrying his family's possessions as well as his family itself appeared over the top of the pine trees. It drew closer and closer. The driver beeped, waking Red up from his daze. Years of hard Pokémon training honed his reflexes; he jumped out of the way as the truck came to a screeching stop. The driver muttered a swear word and let open the door, a little bundle of blue and green came hurdling toward Red. He watched as Ash tackled him and gave him a gigantic hug. Pika giggled on his shoulder and hopped on Ash's hat. Delia grinned slightly at her son's antics and stepped out as well.
Red saw Delia and put down his pouting son. He walked up to his wife. The two stared at each other for a moment and finally; Red incased his wife in a passionate kiss. Ash grimaced and looked up, muttering, "Silly dad. Doesn't he know not to eat Mommy's face?"
Pika nodded, "Pikachu…"
Red heard that and smiled. It was good to be united with his family once more.
Meanwhile, a boy with obsidian eyes and purple hair watched from behind a tree. And as quickly as the shadows, he disappeared.
Scene Change
Once all the furniture and luggage were moved in their new house, Ash went out to explore. Ash bounced over to the town's lake. He was told not to go past Route 201 so he went for the second best thing; the town's lake.
A boy with purple hair was sitting at the water's edge, letting the cool waves drift over his toes. his shoes and socks were laid out beside him.
Ash went over immediately and started talking, "Hi there, I'm Ash Ketchum, I just moved in. Are you from around here?"
The boy with the purple hair looked up and frowned. "My name is Paul. I'm from Veilstone city, it's a day's drive from here, and I just come here to escape the city. My dad dropped me off at Sandgem Town. He told me he would pick me up again later, unless I stay over at someone's house."
Ash nodded, he could understand. "Cities are weird huh; so many people, so many neighbors, but almost no Pokémon."
Paul looked up, "You like Pokemon?"
"Of course, my dad is a great trainer! I'm going to surpass him and become the youngest champion ever!" What Ash didn't mention was that Red Ketchum was already the champion of Kanto, holding his throne for 8 years. He became a champion at the ripe age of 17.
Paul nodded again and gave a smile. "Finally, someone with my dreams."
Ash mentally patted himself on the back. It was the first day and he already had a friend.
"Say, do you want to come over for dinner?" Ash asked politely.
"No thanks Ash but I need to get back to Veilstone. I have a big project do for the Trainer's School due on Monday."
Ash frowned, "But its night, won't you be scared walking to Sandgem? You can stay over if you want."
"Well….all right, I'll stay over for tonight, but tomorrow I have to leave."
"That's fine, my dad can drive you!"
The two newly made friends walked back to Twinleaf Town, Ash skipping and bouncing, and Paul walking normally.
Ash and Paul reached his new house's door. Ash knocked loudly.
Delia Ketchum opened the door and saw her son and a stranger standing on the porch.
"Can Paul stay over tonight pleasssse?" Ash immediately peppered his mom with the question.
Delia nodded and seemed not surprised. It was good for his son to make friends.
She smiled at stranger and asked, "Hi there, I'm Mrs. Ketchum."
The kid nodded briefly and said, "Good evening ma'am. My name is Paul. Thank you for letting me stay over"
Delia was very surprised, "Well you sure are a polite one. Kids around Ash's age are usually full of energy. Your parents did well with you"
Paul shrugged.
Delia smiled mentally. A nice educated kid; maybe he'll teach Ash some manners.
She ushered the two in and led them to a dinner table. It was round and very large. Paul looked around and saw a lot of paintings. Many of them were of a man with a flat-bill hat with a Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Red! Come down here and introduce yourself, we have a guest!"
A man walked down a staircase spiraling up to the second floor. A yellow mouse rode on top of the man's head. He smiled at Paul and made some introductions.
"Hi there, I'm Mr. Ketchum but you can call me Red."
"Hello sir. I'm Paul. Thank you for letting me stay over."
Red was surprised his son made friends on a first day; and a very polite one at that. He waved his hand and dismissed it. The Pikachu on his head cocked his head at the stranger dubbed "Paul". He had seen this boy at the lake many times.
Pika sniffed at him and let out a content growl as Paul hesitantly scratched Pika's head.
Red grinned, "Well Pika seems to like you."
Delia had disappeared when Red came down and now she was calling for attention.
"Dinner's ready!"
The two made their way to the dinner table and saw Ash already wolfing down the food. Red let out a chuckle while Paul seemed amused. Ash just kept eating.
Later that night
Ash's Room
"So Paul, what do you think of my family?"
Paul looked up from one of Ash's Pokémon books and grinned slightly, "They're awesome.'
Ash nodded, "That's good to hear. Is today the only time you'll be here?"
Paul shook his head, "Of course not. We're friends aren't we? You can come visit me every week at Veilstone and I'll visit you at Twinleaf! Plus, I will see you at Sandgem town when we get our new Pokemon."
Ash smirked, his devious little mind working, "I guess that's when we find out who's the better trainer."
Paul put the book neatly back on the shelf and rolled over in his sleeping bag. "We all know who that's going to be."
Twinleaf Town
5 Years later
Ash Ketchum's big day was here. He was finally 10 years old. He could now register as a Pokémon Trainer. He and his best friend, Paul, had waited for this day. In the last 5 years, Ash had matured a lot. He wasn't as serious as Paul, but with Paul's help, he became a very smart young man.
Ash slammed his alarm clock onto his drawer and rolled out of bed quickly. He had woken up 15 minutes late. It wasn't late enough for anyone to notice, except for Paul. The two friends promised to arrive 30 minutes earlier so they could chat. He pulled out a bathrobe and jumped in the shower. Ash was a big eater but even he knew breakfast could wait. After a 5 minute shower, Ash jumped down the stairs. Red and Delia were already lounging on the table, eating breakfast. Ash stooped over and grabbed his backpack he spent so long packing yesterday night.
"Sorry, mom, dad, got to go! Love you!" Ash yelled as he sprinted toward Sandgem. "Paul's probably there already, I wonder what Pokémon he's going to pick. Oh wait; knowing him, he'd probably pick Turtwig. It doesn't matter; I've always wanted a Chimchar."
Back inside the house, Red looked at the blazing trail his son had made. "Well, that was even faster than the first time I got a starter."
Delia growled and warned him to be quiet. Today was a serious day for Ash, no time for jokes. The two finished their breakfast and got in the car. By the time they reached, Sandgem, a huge crowd had gathered to see the new trainers off. Delia and Red parked the car and joined them.
Scene Change
Inside the Lab
When Ash made it to Sandgem town's laboratory, he saw three people already there. They stood side by side in front of a circular table with 3 Poke balls. Paul he was familiar with and gave a wave. But the other was a girl with blue hair and a really short skirt. He had seen her around town, she was always gossiping with other girls. The room was white, with a door in the back of the room leading to the Pokémon conservatory every Pokémon professor kept.
Paul waved back and called, "What took you so long Ash-boy?"
Ash growled mentally, "Well PAULA, I overslept a tiny bit and smashed my alarm clock."
They both glared playfully at each other.
"Now now children, don't fight." a deep voice came behind a computer.
Professor Rowan stood up. He surveyed the children in front of him. They purple hair kid, "Paul" as they called him, looked serious and ready to rock and roll. The blue haired girl looked nervous and kept shooting looks at either of the boys. And the black haired boy, the one that bore an uncanny appearance to Red Ketchum, looked in between. He had heard of a Ketchum in Twinleaf, but he wasn't sure. Now, he knew. Rowan cleared his throat, "Today is a very special day for the three of you. You will start your journey as a Pokémon trainer today. You will meet new friends, have good adventures, and learn more about yourself then you have ever known."
Ash grinned after hearing the words. On the other side of the girl, Paul smirked.
"You there, Ketchum, use the first pick."
Ash snapped out of his stupor and went up to the Poke balls. He didn't know why Professor Rowan let him pick first but he was glad he did. Ash immediately reached out to the Poke ball with the Chimchar inside. It was obvious because a little ember sticker was stuck to the top half of the Poke ball. Rowan looked on approvingly. He had seen the kid for 5 years. Each time he had talked about Chimchar in one of his speeches, the boy's eyes had lit up. So he wants to beat his father, it was wel know that Red's starter was a Bulbasaur.
Ash grabbed the Poke ball and relished the feeling of its touch. He clicked the center and a bright light filled the room.
"CHIMCHAR!" the fire monkey cried out as it appeared on the table.
Paul sighed in relief; at least Ash didn't pick Turtwig. That was the Pokémon he wanted.
Ash knelt down to Chimchar's eye level.
"Hi there little guy, I'm Ash Ketchum. Will you allow me to be your trainer?"
Chimchar blinked once, and then jumped happily into Ash's arms. He had finally found a trainer who would take care of him. One look at Ash and he knew they were meant for each other.
Ash grinned, "Okay Chimchar, I'm going to put you back into your Poke ball for now, but when we're done here, I'll let you out immediately. "
Chimchar nodded. Ash put him on the table and returned him to his Poke ball.
"Bravo!" the professor said, watching the interaction. "Now we have Dawn. Use the second pick."
Dawn had watched Ash's display of affection toward his Pokémon curiously. She only hoped she got a good Pokémon. All her life she had been fascinated by water, she knew who she would pick.
Dawn walked up to the podium while Ash stepped back. He whispered to Paul, "I got the best one in the group."
Paul smirked, "We'll see. Type advantages aren't everything you know."
"So I was right, Paul did want a Turtwig."Ash thought.
Helooked back toward Dawn, she reached her hand out hesitantly toward Piplup's Poke ball. Ash was sure if someone said 'boo' in her ear right now, she would faint. Ash watched as Dawn released Piplup. The two quickly bonded. Piplup was a very proud Pokemon.
Finally, it was Paul's turn. He walked forward hurriedly and let out Turtwig in one movement. Professor Rowan watched, "So he wanted a Turtwig anyway, good thing I didn't disappoint."
When all three trainers were good with their Pokémon, he cleared his throat. "When you are ready, come up and take your PokeDex and Poke balls. I assume you know what a PokeDex is and I assume you also know what a Poke ball is and how to catch Pokémon. When you are ready, come up and get 'em."
Dawn rushed forward in excitement, her nervous behavior gone. She grabbed the things and quickly thanked the professor. Than just like that, she was out the door.
Ash and Paul turned to each other.
"So Ash, want to travel together? I'm sure you need my help since your big head will get you into trouble." Paul dropped causally.
Ash knew better to come back with an insult in Rowan's presence so he smiled, "But of course old friend of mine. Lead the way."
Paul almost cried out with joy when he accepted. He and Ash had become close friends in 5 years. He was distant and cold to other people but to Ash he was always nice and forgiving. Even though they had many differences including how to train Pokémon, how fast one should eat and how to win. They were the best of friends. The Professor waited patiently and mentally praised the young ones. they started things out the right way.
The duo walked forward to the table and grabbed their things. They thanked Professor Rowan and went out into the daylight of a new adventure, side by side.
Hey guys, Orion here. Tell me in the review section if you liked it, hated it, or whatever. But please, please, please, if you liked it, review. It is 20 seconds of your life. Just a simple "Update" would do. Anyway, until next time people.
-Orion-