Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Chapter 1: Introduction
Pallet Town, Kanto Region...
Ash Ketchum, born and raised in Pallet Town, was a unique trainer who came from Kanto. At the start of ten, the young boy with a Pikachu took his first steps set to become a Pokémon Master. He battled many trainers and saw many different Pokémon. Ash was one of the lucky few trainers who had a chance to battle one of the elite four of his region and gave a lasting impression.
Lance, Master Dragon-type trainer and Pokémon Champion of Kanto, continuously spoke of Ash to the other Pokémon Champions and Elites around the world. He kept raving about a prodigy that he saw once and would one day become a greater Pokémon Master than himself and would bring fame to the land of Kanto. And Lance had a right to brag. Ash's accomplishments spoke for themselves.
Top 16 of Kanto's Indigo Conference
Top 8 of Johto's Silver Conference
Top 8 of Hoenn's Ever Grande Conference
Top 4 of Sinnoh's Lily of the Valley Conference
Campion of Orange League and Kanto's Battle Frontier
In four years, Ash left his mark in each League he passed. People and Pokémon alike who battled against him saw that he had potential. He had a kind heart to everyone, he believed in his Pokémon, and he had the ability to make up strategies on the battlefield. Everyone saw that Ash was destined for greatness and make his mark on Pokémon History.
However...Ash didn't see it like that.
Our hero, Ash Ketchum, is currently back at his house after finishing the League at Sinnoh. He was sad because both Brock and Dawn decided to stay at Sinnoh and have their own adventures. So, he came back to his hometown to connect back to his mother and get a good rest to prepare for his next adventure.
Unlike the other times Ash came back home, this day was a depressing one. For the first time in his life, Ash felt disappointed that he could not win. In all four Conferences that he participated in, he failed to become the champion. Sure...Ash was happy that he was the Champion of two Leagues, but two out of six is a horrible win ratio.
Ash also forgot that most trainers would not gain the title Champion at the age eleven. Let alone getting the title a second time.
But I digress...
So why was Ash now feeling disappointed?
It was because of his latest rival: Paul.
Paul wasn't a new trainer by any standards. He traveled through the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn region and competed in each League.
The issue Ash had with Paul is that despite the way Paul treated his Pokémon horribly, he still managed to get into the Top 8 and his Pokémon were powerful.
Paul's ideology was the complete opposite of Ash's, yet the results illustrated that Paul's horrible treatment of Pokémon produced results. It was only because Ash had a little more experience than Paul that he was able to win against Paul in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
The contrast between Ash and Paul's viewpoints shattered everything Ash believed about Pokémon.
And so, in his room, Ash decided to reflect on all the experiences he gained in four years, alone in his room without his friend Pikachu. To find something, anything that would give the teen insight of what is going wrong? To find a clue of why Paul's madness worked despite the wrongness of it all.
After days of reflecting, he narrowed down the problem to one of two things: Pokémon and trainer.
Now these days, when most trainers think of why they would lose their battle, they would automatically conclude that they were losing Pokémon battles was because of the Pokémon themselves. Their Pokémon wasn't strong enough. Their Pokémon wasn't fast enough. Their Pokémon wasn't powerful enough. Their Pokémon wasn't skilled enough. Their Pokémon wasn't smart enough. Their Pokémon...etc.
But Ash was different from most trainers.
Ash had an ideology of Pokémon being friends rather than tools. To him, it was a give and take relationship. The Pokémon had to trust their trainer. And the trainer had to bring out the full potential of the Pokémon.
And thus, Ash already concluded it wasn't the Pokémon's fault. Which left the trainer.
Therefore, the victory that was so close yet so far was because of him.
He failed to bring out the full potential of his Pokémon.
He was the burden of the family!
As a result, Ash locked himself in his room for days. Grieving about him failing his friends, his Pokémon, because of his shortcomings. His mother, Professor Oak, Pikachu, and the rest of the Pokémon were getting increasingly worried about him each passing day.
And as a result, he missed the scientific expedition that he was supposed to go with Professor Oak and his mother to the Unova region.
A week later…
After days of grieving and the shattering of his perceptions, Ash needed to find something. Something to point him in a new direction. And thus, everyday Ash simply walked around like a zombie around Pallet Town while silently reflecting everything. Even though he told everyone he was fine, everyone was aware that he was not ok at all. Even Gary tried to avoid Ash whenever he visited his Grandpa to give his childhood rival some desperately needed space.
One day of getting back from his walk and giving his mother a nod as a greeting, he went upstairs and closed the door. He sighed as he slid down the door and sat on the ground of his dark room.
What am I missing? Who is right? Am I right and Paul is a mean trainer? Or is Paul really right and I am simply too weak? What is the relationship between Pokémon and trainer?
Pondering about the philosophies of Pokémon, Ash whispered to the world, "I wish someone would help me. Someone...a sign...to help me go in the right direction."
In the Hall of Origin, Arceus, the God of Pokémon, let out a roar to the heavens, as he would give his avatar help. It believed it was time to initiate the Animus Genes within Ash.
And with that roar, he used Judgment. He unleashed his multi-colored aura from its body to a single focal point at Pallet Town. The location also happened to be Ash's room.
So, something powerful collided onto Ash's room like a missile. Ash covered his face as he hoped Team Rocket wasn't attacking him again. Seriously! Don't they have better things to do?
As the dust settled in his room, Ash slowly brought his arms down and gasped as he saw his room was destroyed. There was a huge hole in the roof and his stuff was all destroyed. In the middle of the room, a pair of gloves floating in the middle of the room with blue mist was coming out of said object.
The gloves in question were blue long gloves that went up to the elbow with a round gem on the top and three yellow lines branching out. Ash let out another gasp as he recognized those gloves. They were Sir Aaron's gloves, gloves that he found during his adventures at Hoenn in the Tree of Beginning. The gloves that allowed Ash to use Aura for the first time in his life. And he felt the gloves were calling. Calling him to be used in the world once again.
Ash slowly stood up as he gazed onto the pair of floating objects. Dismissing the rubble of what was once his room, he took a step. As he took each step, he felt his heartbeat getting louder and louder. Each step was harder than the last, but Ash was nothing but determined. When Ash touched the object, he felt something flow into his body rapidly. He saw visions. Pokémon. People. Wars. Bloodshed. Kings. Queens. Soldiers. Aura Guardians. Legendary Pokémon. Arceus. Then everything went black.
All around the world, Pokémon looked at the direction of Kanto as they felt the divine pure aura released at Pallet Town that lit the night sky a baby blue color. It was the birth of the Aura Prince, Arceus' avatar. As Pokémon's hearts were filled with joy, scientist were baffled at this strange phenomenon and it would take decades until scientists would figure out why the phenomenon occurred for the first time in one thousand years.
Scientist as would call this day: The Shot Heard Around the World. It would mark the Golden Age of the Pokémon. Floods of new information about Pokémon appeared. New legendary Pokémon would be spotted around the world. New alternate evolutions of Pokémon would be discovered. It also marked the revolution of new battle tactics that gave birth to a new generation of Pokémon trainers.
The Pokémon simply called the day: The Rebirth of the Prince.
A/N:
I based my story off sojoukou senkuo's Road to Master Fanfiction. So thanks for the great idea mate! There will be a few similarities but for the most part, I will try to go into more in depth while putting my views about Pokémon.
So...
The divergence point is that Ash misses the trip to Unova and instead stays in Kanto.
Ash himself will start becoming more and more OOC as time passes. A lot of his personality stems from being a ten-year-old child. I always wondered what would Ash have been like if he was actually growing up. I would always compare him to Red…
Thanks for reading!
-Wesley