Fullmetal Heart of Gold

kash30032000

Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.

Chapter One: The Request

"Brother!" called a voice. "Brother, wake up! You have a visitor!"

The boy called "brother" was a small lump in the bundle of blankets that lay on top of the bed. The bundle shifted as the boy began to stretch his waking muscles. His small foot was the first part of his body to leave the blankets followed by another foot and two more arms.

The boy sat up stretching his arms to the ceiling while stretching his feet towards the foot of his bed, his mouth was opened in a huge yawn. The boy slowly opened his golden eyes, his small bedroom coming into view.

This boy's name was Edward Elric. He was a ten-year-old living in New Bark Town with his younger brother Alphonse and his mother Trisha. He rarely saw his father, Hoenheim, because of his father's work. Hoenheim was a Pokemon researcher, who traveled to different regions looking for new species of Pokemon. He was currently in the Kanto region.

"Brother, will you hurry up," called the voice.

Ed looked towards the door with annoyance. He was used to sleeping until lunch time during the summer after spending ten months of waking up at seven o' clock. Glancing at the clock on his side table he saw that it was only eight o' clock. Who would be looking for him so early in the morning?

Ed knew it was only a matter of time before Alphonse came up the stairs with a bucket of water to dump on him. That was the younger boy's tactic of getting him out of bed after his mother was tired of calling his name.

Ed pushed the covers back getting out of bed. He stretched to his sides before walking over to the mirror that was attached to his mahogany colored dresser.

He stared at his appearance. His shoulder length blonde hair was all over the place suffering from a case of very bad pillow head hair. He had crust around his mouth from his nightly drooling and the eye crust in his eyes added to his morning look. He needed to do something about his appearance before he greeted his guest.

Ed crossed over to the closet which was already wide opened. Toys, books, and other clothing spilled from the closet onto the floor making his room look messy; the complete opposite of his brother's. While Ed was sometimes messy, not caring where he placed his belongings, Alphonse took pride in tidying his room.

Ed waded through the mess of toys, books, and clothing to reach the clothing that was hanging in his closet. He looked at his clothing choice before pulling down a pair of blue jeans, a black short sleeve tee shirt, and a red hoodie.

He stumbled a bit as he turned back towards the dresser. He opened the top drawer pulling out a pair of light blue boxers, a pair of white socks, and a black belt.

His items in hand he headed towards his door with the intentions of going to the bathroom for a shower and to brush his teeth. Before he reached the door, it slammed open sending a vibration through the wall. In the door way was a boy an inch taller than him. He had golden hair that was a tad bit darker than Ed's and golden eyes that were glaring at Ed.

Ed gulped looking down at the boy's hand. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was empty.

"Hey, Al," Ed greeted.

"Don't 'hey, Al' me," said Alphonse angrily. "I've been calling you for five minutes. Just what are you doing?"

"I just woke up, geez." Ed shifted all of his clothing in one hand so that he could put his fist on his hip. "Anyway. Who was the visitor? Winry?"

"Not Winry, no. It was Pinako."

"Pinako?" repeated Ed.

Pinako was the Pokemon Professor that lived in New Bark Town. She was known for studying Pokemon evolution and was also the person who gave trainers their beginner Pokemon when they turned ten.

Although Ed was already of age to use a Pokemon, he decided he wanted to wait until his brother, who was a year younger, was old enough to get his Pokemon so that they could travel together.

Ed's best friend, Winry, was a year older than him so she had already gotten her first Pokemon. Like Ed, however, she wanted to wait until the two boys were old enough to get their own Pokemon so that they could travel together. The three kids did almost everything together.

"I wonder what she wants," Ed said to himself.

He startled when Al's face appeared inches from his. There was a look of impatient on the younger boy's face.

"Well she left for her lab," Al informed him. "So you better hurry up and get over there." Ed nodded and Al moved away. His expression softened. "It's impolite to make a woman wait."

"I know, I know," replied Ed.

He ran out of the room heading for the bathroom.

Ed walked into the kitchen fully dressed. Alphonse and a woman with long chestnut hair was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. The woman looked up from the table with a warm smile on her face. She got to her feet as Ed approached the table.

"Look who's finally decided to join us," she said.

"Oh come on, Mom," responded Ed. "You act it took me hours to get ready."

Trisha gave a small laugh. She walked over to Ed so that she could straighten his hoody. Once she was done fidgeting with his clothes, she smoothed out his hair smashing down the small strand he had sticking up.

"Mom," whined Ed swatting her hand to the side. "I'm ten-years-old. I'm old enough to train Pokemon, I don't need you grooming me."

Ed pushed the strand back up.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "No matter how old you are, you'll always be my little Pikachu."

That comment got a laugh out of Al. Ed sent his younger brother a glare. His lips then formed a sneer.

"Don't laugh," said Ed. "You're her Chikorita."

Al's face turned red. He lowered his head to the bowl of cereal he was eating.

"Ed," said Trisha. Ed looked back up at his mom. "Pinako wanted to see you. She got tired of waiting so she asked that you come to her lab ASAP."

"Can't I have breakfast?"

Ed made a movement for the table, but Trisha placed her hands firmly on his shoulders stopping the movement.

"You could have eaten breakfast if you had woken up at a reasonable time," teased Al.

"Hey, twelve o' clock is a reasonable time."

Trisha walked over to the counter by the sink grabbing a apple out of the fruit basket. She rinsed the apple with cold water before passing it over to Ed.

"It sounded urgent," she said as Ed accepted the red fruit. "You should go see what she wants."

Annoyed, Ed bit into the apple. He knew better than to argue with his mother. He didn't do it because he would get in trouble, he chose not to do it because it was disrespectful. He and Al were always respectful to their parents.

Ed turned out of the kitchen heading for the front door. He figured that he might as well get this meeting with Pinako over so that he could have some breakfast and then go back to sleep.

Ed stepped out into the summer morning. It was early June so the weather wasn't that intense. It was about seventy three degrees. Being in the town that was known for its wind, the weather didn't get too hot.

"Chika!" said a cute voice.

Ed looked towards the white fence that was some feet away from the front door. There he saw a small light green creature. There were green bulbs around its neck that concealed its vines and a large green leaf on the top of its head. It was looking at Ed with large red eyes.

Ed smiled recognizing the creature as a Pokemon called Chikorita. In fact, he personally knew this Chikorita.

"Hey, Chikorita," greeted Ed. He walked over to the leaf Pokemon. He knelt down so that he could pet it on top of the head. "If you're here then-"

"Edward!" a voice called happily.

Ed looked up from petting Chikorita. He saw a young girl with long blonde hair running towards him, waving. She was wearing a short black skirt, a white tee shirt, a black jacket that stopped at her middle, and black boots that only showed the top of her socks. She wore her blonde hair in a ponytail. There was some hair that was as long as her ponytail on either side of her short bangs.

The girl stopped running when she reached the fence. When Ed got to his feet, the girl appeared to be a few inches taller than him.

"Hey, Winry," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Chikorita and I were going to do some fishing," she answered. "Do you and Al want to come?"

"Can't right now, Win. I have to go see Pinako."

"Grandma? But...why?"

"Don't know." Ed put his free hand in his pocket looking further down the road at a large house that was the Pinako's laboratory. "You want to come with me?"

"I don't know," she answered slowly. "I wanted to see if I could catch a Chinchou. They evolve into Lanturn you know." She gave a thoughtful look for a moment. Ed waited impatiently for the answer. Either she was going to go or not. She was wasting valuable sleep time. "Alright," she finally said. "Let's head over to Grandma's lab." She looked down at Chikorita. "That okay with you?"

"Chika!" Chikorita answered happily.

Ed walked passed the female trainer and her Pokemon heading in the direction towards Pinako's lab. He heard footsteps behind him that told him Winry was following behind him. He imagined cute little Chikorita walking along side its trainer.

Ed took a glance behind him at the two. Winry was looking at the scenery to her left not really paying attention to where she was walking. Chikorita was down below bouncing with happiness. Seeing them like this, Ed felt a twinge of jealousy.

He wanted his own Pokemon to go fishing with and talk to. However, he didn't want to get his first Pokemon without Al. He wanted to share his special moment with his brother, the boy who shared all of his special moments with him. The reason Winry didn't leave for her journey was because she didn't want to travel alone.

"Oh, hey," said Winry suddenly. Ed quickly turned his attention to the front before she noticed him staring. "Grandma got some new starter Pokemon at the lab yesterday. She couldn't get any Chikorita, but she does have two Totodile and a Cyndaquil. They're all so cute!"

"That's great, Winry," commented Ed. "But I told you, I'm not getting my Pokemon until Al's ten. I want to do this with him."

"I know."

New Bark Town wasn't as big as some of the cities in Johto. The town was mainly made up of residential houses and some stores. There weren't any Pokemon Centers to treat injured Pokemon so the best place to go was Pinako's laboratory which was only minutes from Ed's house. It was a shorter distance from Winry's house, who lived next door to the lab.

It took them ten minutes to reach the laboratory. The building was the largest out of the town being three stories tall.

Pinako's laboratory was built towards the back of the town so that it had a spaces back yard for all of the Pokemon that other trainers brought her to watch over. The front yard wasn't as big, but there was enough room where trainers could have Pokemon battles.

The building itself was white with a red roof. There was a case of stairs that led to the wooden front door. A few inches from the door's frame was a bell with a string attached for signaling arrival.

Ed climbed the stairs to get to the front door. He grabbed the string that was hanging from the bell giving it a jiggle making the bell ring. He stepped back away from the door waiting to be greeted.

"Why are you ringing the bell?" asked Winry.

It was a habit for Ed to ring other people's bells so that he could at least let them know someone had arrived at their house. It was better than barging in and having someone's Houndoom take a chump out of his leg. Not that it has happened to him.

Ed moved to open the door when it swung open hitting him in the face. He stumbled onto the ground clutching his nose and mouth with his hand. A man wearing a white lab coat peered out of the door.

"Oh, it's Edward," he said. "And little Winry too." He began walking away further into the lab. "Come on in guys," he called over his shoulder. "Professor Pinako's waiting for you."

Ed and Winry entered the building. They were led through a long corridor which eventually opened up to a spacious round room. There were eight bookshelves lined a quarter way into the room with a gap between the fourth and fifth shelf. Beyond the bookshelf was the area where Pinako spent most of her time conducting her research.

In the back of the room was a device that healed Pokemon while they were in their Pokeballs, a computer, and a table that held a few Pokeballs and a massive amount of papers. On the right side of the wall was a door that led to another hall which led to a staircase that led to the upper levels. On the left side of the wall was a door that led to the backyard area.

The man led them to the back of the room where Pinako was in the midst of writing on some documents.

"Professor," called the man. "Edward and Winry are here."

"Thank you, Seth," replied Pinako.

Seth gave Pinako a bow before leaving the two young children with her. Pinako didn't look up from her papers. Since she was busy with her work, Ed took the time to finish his lonely apple.

He was half way done with his apple when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking down he saw Chikorita staring at his apple with wide eyes. He knew that look.

Ed threw the remainder of his apple down at Chikorita. It rolled across the floor coming to a stop in front of the Pokemon. Chikorita took a bite out of the fruit and chewed it happily. It was very cute!

"It's about time you got here, Pipsqueak," Pinako finally said when she finished with the papers.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE CAN RIDE A CATERPIE LIKE A PONYTA!?" yelled Ed.

One of Ed's pet peeves was people calling him short. He wasn't short, he just wasn't a towering giant. It wasn't like the old Professor could talk anyway. He was taller than she was.

Ed watched as Pinako grabbed her pipe off the table along with a book of matches. She placed the pipe in her mouth before lighting it. She inhaled the smoke, removed the pipe, and exhaled letting the smoke escape her mouth.

Pipe in hand, she walked over to the two children.

"Calm down," she said. "I have a request for you." Ed raised an eyebrow intrigued. "I got a call from my friend Shou Tucker, who lives just passed Cherrygrove City. He wanted me to take a look at a Pokemon he discovered, but I have loads of work to do here at the lab."

"So you want me to watch over the lab?" asked Ed with excitement.

"Not quite. I want to send you to Mr. Tucker's house so that you can go pick up the Pokemon."

Ed was confused at this request. He figured that it would be a better idea to send Winry who not only had her own Pokemon, but had more practice with Pokemon than he did.

He had never left New Bark Town. He was wondering why she would ask him to leave the town alone. He didn't have a Pokemon and he had already told her about his refusal to take one when she first offered him a beginner's Pokemon.

Pinako smoked on her pipe a bit before turning her head and releasing some smoke. She looked back at Ed.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "I was thinking about giving you a Pokemon to make the trip a little more bearable."

"No," Ed said flatly. "I'm not accepting a Pokemon until Al turns ten. Why not send Winry?"

Winry looked at Ed in shock.

"Are you crazy?" she asked. "I'm not going all the way to Cherrygrove City by myself. You need to stop being so stubborn and choose a Pokemon. You don't have to leave for your training yet."

"No," Ed said stubbornly. "I want to do this with Al. We've been together our whole life. We're not separating now."

"How about this," said Pinako. "I'll give Al his Pokemon early so you can start your journey if you take a Pokemon now and go to Cherrygrove City."

Ed pondered over this. He could start on his Pokemon journey upon his return if he travel to see this Shou Tucker. He liked the idea of Al starting his journey early so that Ed could start his even though he was late. The only real problem was that he didn't want to go alone. He also couldn't go without his mother's permission.

"I'll need to talk things over with my family," he finally said. "If my mom says yes, I'll need someone to come with me. It can't be Al since you're giving him his Pokemon after the fact."

"I'll go with you," said Winry. "I happen to know the way."

"Huh? How do you know the way if you've never been outside of New Bark Town either?"

"I read maps. Got the whole map of Johto up here," she said touching her temple.

"Fine, fine, you can come. I'll head over to my house to ask permission."

"Give us a call when you have your answer," said Pinako.

Ed waved at Winry and Pinako before heading back towards the front door. Things were moving too fast for him. He didn't think he'd be able to start his journey until after Al's tenth birthday.

He was already six months behind the other trainers who had left New Bark Town when they turned ten. He imagined they had seven badges by now and about fifty different Pokemon.

Once Ed reached the fence he broke out into a run heading towards his house. He doubted that his mom would have a problem letting him travel to Cherrygrove City. She was excited when Ed became old enough to travel with Pokemon. She didn't push him to leave the town because she respected his wish of traveling with his younger brother.

Running home only took six minutes compared to the ten minute walk. Ed stopped on the front porch to catch his breath. He then let himself into the house where he found Trisha in the living room vacuuming. Al was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Mom," he called. He crossed the living room to stand in front of her. Trisha turned off the vacuum to listen to her son. "Pinako asked me to go to meet a friend of hers just past Cherrygrove City. She offered to give me a Pokemon to accompany me and she said she'd give Al one too upon my return. Can I go?"

Trisha stared at her son. Ed was starting to have second doubts about his mother's decision. Cherrygrove City wasn't exactly around the corner. It was hours away and who knew how long it would take to meet Mr. Tucker.

"Let's not forget that I'm old enough to start my training," said Ed. He was ready to launch into a list of reason of why she should let him go.

Trisha smiled. She beamed at her son before smoothing his hair so that his antenna was flatten against the rest of his hair.

"Of course you can go," she said. "My little man is growing up. I'm so proud of you."

Ed moved Trisha's head away. He ran his hand through his hair so that the long strand could stand up again.

"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" asked Al. "Let's not forget you don't know squat about Pokemon."

"I know enough," Ed said angrily. "Besides, I won't be by myself. Winry's going with me."

Ed's face turned a bright red color when he realized what he had said. The smug look on Al's face didn't make matters any better. There were rumors spreading around town that Ed and Winry were a couple.

It wasn't that he didn't like Winry. He just thought of her more as a sister than a girlfriend. At least that was what he kept telling himself.

"That's enough boys," said Trisha. "Ed, you're going to need to pack some supplies for your trip. I also want you to take your father's old Pokegear with you so that we can stay in contact."

"Mom, I'm only a town away," commented Ed.

"A phone call a day keeps the pedophiles away," she replied. "Now go upstairs and get ready."

Ed headed for the stairs. As he was ascending them, he heard the vacuum. Trisha had gone back to her daily cleaning.

He entered the small bedroom grabbing the back pack from his computer chair as he went passed. He dumped the contents of his bag on the floor replacing the items with the essentials he would need for the trip.

He was just zipping his bag when Trisha and Alphonse entered his room. Trisha had in her hand a ziplock bag that contained two sandwiches, two bags of potato chips, two bags of carrot sticks, two apple juices, and two cookies. This was Ed's lunch and dinner.

In her other hand was an object that looked like a large flip phone. It was blue with white Pokeball designs on the sides. There were scratches on the cover from being used so much. This was the Pokegear that belonged to Hoenheim.

The Pokegear was able to complete different task such as making phone calls. There were other applications to purchase such as the popular radio app.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Trisha.

"Yep," answered Ed. "I just have to call Winry to let her know."

"Then you'll need this."

Trisha held out the Pokegear. Ed got to his feet to exchange his back pack for the Pokegear. He dialed Pinako's laboratory number while Trisha added his food to his supplies.

Edward held the Pokegear to his ear listening as the laboratory's phone rang. After three rings someone picked up.

"Professor Pinako's laboratory," said Seth.

"Hi, it's Edward," said Ed. "Is Winry there?"

"She's out back feeding the Pokemon. Please hold."

Classical music began to play as he was placed on hold.

"So, Brother," said Al. "Have you thought about which Pokemon you're going to choose as your partner."

"Not really," answered Ed. "I just know it won't be a Chikorita. Pinako couldn't get one. What about you?"

"I haven't thought about it either. I just want a Pokemon to be my friend and help me in my goal to become a Pokemon breeder."

The music to the phone was cut short as Winry answered with a hello.

"Hey, Win," greeted Ed. "I'll be at the lab in ten minutes."

"That's great. I've already got some supplies packed."

"Great. See you at the lab. Bye."

Ed closed the Pokegear disconnecting the phone conversation. Trisha held out the pack to Ed. He took it placing it on his back.

"I want you to be very careful," said Trisha. "I want you to call me when you get to Cherrygrove City, when you get to Mr. Tucker's house, when you get back to Cherrygrove City, and when you return to Pinako's lab."

"Geez, Mom," said Ed. "I'll only be gone for a day."

"You can never be too careful."

Trisha raised her hand towards Ed's head in an attempt to flatten his strand of hair. Ed took an evasive step back.

"I gotta go," he said. He turned to Al extending a fist. "I'll see you tomorrow, Al."

"Sure," replied Al.

Al extended his fist gently bumping into his brother's fist. Ed placed the Pokegear in the side pocket of his bag, gave his brother and mom a last wave, and left out of the room.

He thundered down the stairs and out of the front door. He began running the distance back towards the laboratory.

This was going to be his first night away from his brother. He had spent a night at Winry's place loads of time, but Al was usually with him. His stomach turned with a mixture of excitement and sadness.

It wasn't like he wasn't going to come back to New Bark Town. He had to remind himself that he would only be away for one night. Plus he'll have the company of Winry, Chikorita, and his new Pokemon.

Ed reached the door in eight minutes. He didn't bother knocking this time. He allowed himself inside where he found Pinako and Winry waiting for him.

Winry was carrying a pink back pack with her pink Pokegear in the side pocket. Chikorita was nowhere to be seen. It was probably resting in its Pokeball.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Ed," said Pinako. "Do you have everything?"

"Yep," answered Ed coming to a stop beside Winry.

"Then all that's left is for you to choose your Pokemon." Pinako moved over to a machine that held three red and white balls. "These Pokeballs contain three beginner Pokemon. I couldn't get my hands on a Chikorita so there are two Totodile to choose from, both with different personalities."

Pinako grabbed two of the Pokeballs from the machine. She threw both Pokeballs. The Pokeballs made a popping noise as they opened. A white light materialized from them as they slowly formed into the Pokemon inside.

Once the light disappeared, Ed was able to see the Pokemon that were inside of the Pokeball. They were both small blue alligators that stood on two feet. They had red eyes like Chikorita and a large mouth with sharp teeth. There was a beige color on the two Pokemon's chest. Purple plates were on its back going all the way down to its tail.

"These are the water type Pokemon, Totodile," said Pinako.

They looked almost identical. The only difference Ed could tell between the two Pokemon was the facial expression. The Totodile on the right had a big smile on its face while the Totodile on the left had a very serious expression.

"Toto Toto Dile!" said the Totodile on the right as it bounced joyfully from foot to foot.

"So cute," said Winry.

She placed her hands on her thighs as she bent over to get a closer look. Pinako grabbed the remaining Pokeball. She threw it like she had done the other two releasing the Pokemon.

This Pokemon was rather small. It was about a foot smaller than Totodile standing at only a foot and eight inches. It was blue and white with the blue being on the top of the Pokemon and the white being underneath. It had small eyes, a pointy muzzle, and four circles on its back. Its hindlegs were larger than its front legs.

"This is Cyndaquil," Pinako introduced. "It's a fire type."

Ed smiled down at the fire Pokemon. It was as cute as the other two, but there was something about this Pokemon that pulled him towards it.

He bent forward to get a closer look. Cyndaquil was suddenly alert and then suddenly gone. Ed blinked in shock staring at the floor where Cyndaquil once stood.

"That little guy is fast," said Winry.

"Yes," replied Pinako. "It has a hasty nature."

Ed looked behind him in time to see Cyndaquil zip around the bookshelves on the left side.

He jogged over to the bookshelves to peer behind them. There wasn't a sign of the blue and white Pokemon. He scratched his head sure that Cyndaquil had come this way.

He looked to the bookshelves on the right. Cyndaquil wasn't there either. Did the fire type Pokemon run into the hallway?

Ed was about to give up on finding Cyndaquil when he heard a pitter-patter of feet overhead. He looked up to see Cyndaquil quickly running the length of the bookshelf on the left side.

Cyndaquil stopped near the edge of the shelf right above Ed when he noticed the short blond looking at it.

"Quil," Cyndaquil greeted.

"You're really fast," said Ed.

Cyndaquil's face flushed with embarrassment. It covered its eyes with its small hands taking some steps back. Unfortunately, Cyndaquil could no longer see where it was going so it was slowly heading towards the edge of the shelf.

Ed sprung into action as Cyndaquil foot made contact with the air. Cyndaquil gave a cry of surprised, spun around, and fell off the shelf. Ed made it in time to catch the Pokemon before it hit the ground.

"Quil. Cyndaquil," said Cyndaquil, thanking Ed.

"You're a little klutz," teased Ed. Cyndaquil blushed again hiding its face. Ed laughed. "I want this one."

"That's a very good choice," said Pinako. She held out Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "You can keep Cyndaquil in this."

Ed accepted the Pokeball. He pushed the button in the middle of the ball shrinking it so that it was able to fit into the available side pocket of his back pack.

"You want to travel with me, Cyndaquil?" Ed asked the Pokemon.

"Cyndaquil," Cyndaquil answered happily.

"Then let's go!"

"Shou Tucker's house is a little north of Cherrygrove City," said Pinako. "To get to the city-"

"I know the way, Grandma," interrupted Winry. She placed her hands on Ed's shoulders and began pushing him towards the door. She turned to look back at Pinako when they reached the door. "We'll be back tomorrow afternoon," she said with a wave.

Ed walked out of the door with out the guidance of Winry. The wind ruffled his hair as he looked down the road that led out of the city. He heard the door of the laboratory close behind him.

"You know," said Winry softly. "I'm a little worried. This is the first time we've left home."

Ed turned to look at Winry.

"We'll be fine," he reassured her. "We have our Pokemon with us and we'll only be gone a day." Cyndaquil squirmed out of Ed's arms so that he was able to crawl up his body and come to a rest on the boy's right shoulder. Ed petted Cyndaquil's head before continuing. "You don't have to worry about Pina-"

"I was more worried about you."

"Me?"

"You know you won't last two hours without Al," she teased. "You'll probably come running back to town before we reach Cherrygrove City."

"No way," replied Ed. He allowed Winry to walk passed him before following. "I was born to travel."

Winry slowed down so that Ed could catch up with her. Together, they walked down the road feeling both excited and a little nervous.

So what do you think? Yes? No? Feel free to drop me a comment.