Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever and my first time writing in years, so please be patient with me. I was inspired to write this by FanaticLAguy06's story, which I highly recommend you read. And yeah, I realize I stole some ideas from him. For example, the starting Trainers from Pallet Town and the Pokémon they receive are exactly the same, so credit goes to FanaticLAguy06 for that. I wanted to change it, but there was really no better way to do it.

So anyway, this is a rewrite of the Pokémon anime. It will contain more mature content than the original (though not likely enough to earn it an M rating) and ASH WILL AGE, and I'm already starting with him being slightly older than in the anime. I've got 4 chapters written so far that only have to be proofread and posted, so I will post at least those, and then if anyone actually reads it I'll keep going.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Pokémon, or any of FanaticLAguy06's ideas.


CHAPTER I

As the stars shone late at night over the town of Pallet, three twelve-year-old kids lay awake in their beds, unable to contain their excitement. One of those kids was a boy by the name of Ash Ketchum. His lifelong dream was to become a Pokémon Master, and the next morning would be his first step toward achieving that dream. It was unfortunate that his father, Red, wouldn't be able to be there to see him off, but that was just how things had to be. Ash glanced at his Poké Ball-shaped alarm clock. It was 3:00 a.m. He knew he would be exhausted in the morning, but his excitement hadn't allowed him to sleep yet. He knew the morning would come sooner if he wasn't awake and waiting all night, so he shut his eyes tightly with a small grin on his face and silently pleaded for some sleep.


Ash awoke rather suddenly, and realizing what day it was, he looked over to where his alarm clock was. Or rather, where it should have been. The alarm clock was mysteriously absent. He looked around in confusion for a moment before noticing the shattered remains of his favorite alarm clock on the floor across the room. He must have broken it in his sleep.

Ash yanked open the curtains to have a look outside. The sun was already high in the sky and people were going about their daily business. It must have been nearly noon.

"Oh no, I'm late!" he muttered to himself in frustration as he sprinted across the house and out the door without a word to his mother. Suddenly, he smashed headfirst into something he didn't quite have time to see.

"Ow!" He recognized his friend Serena's voice. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Ash said as he rose to his feet, clutching his head. "I thought you were waiting at Professor Oak's lab."

"We were," Serena replied. "For two hours, actually. Leaf and I decided to come and see if there was a problem."

Ash now noticed that Leaf, another of his friends, had been watching the whole scene. "At this rate, we'll be lucky if Professor Oak lets us have a Pokémon at all," she told him.

Ash took a moment to look at his two friends. He had so many great memories with each of them. He had met Serena at Professor Oak's summer camp a few years ago. He couldn't quite remember how they had met, but they had been friends ever since. He admired her long honey-colored hair and her fashion sense. Leaf, with her long brown hair and energetic eyes, had been his friend for as long as he could remember. In recent years, he had started to feel something special for her. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but there was no doubt that it was there. Looking down at himself now and realizing that he hadn't changed out of his pajamas, Ash felt his face turn a bit red. Why did he always have to look like an idiot in front of her? At least his hair wasn't noticeably worse than usual, since it was virtually impossible for it to get any messier than it usually was.

"Sorry, guys," he said sheepishly. "I guess I slept in a little."

"Let's not waste any time," Serena said. "We still want to get our first Pokémon, don't we?"

"Right," Ash agreed. "To the Pokémon Lab!"


As the trio arrived at the laboratory, they were all hit with a surge of memories of Professor Oak's summer camp. It had been almost five years now, but the memory was still fresh in their minds like it had only been a few days ago. The Professor had thought it would be a good idea to start up a summer camp on his vast property where he kept traveling Trainers' Pokémon. The only problem was that some of those Pokémon could be dangerous. Although there weren't any serious incidents, the summer camp was shut down after just one year of operation.

Suddenly the double doors burst open in front of them. A spiky-haired boy with a smug expression walked out, tossing a Poké Ball up in the air repeatedly with his right hand.

"So you're the three wannabe Trainers, huh?" he said to them. "Well, unfortunately for you, I've already got the best Pokémon. It pays to have a granddad in the business." He gave them an arrogant smirk. "The name's Gary Oak. Learn it. You'll be hearing it a lot when I become the world's greatest Pokémon Master." With that, he marched off, looking quite pleased with himself.

Ash and Serena were both ready to explode with rage at Gary's arrogance, but Leaf had to suppress a giggle. She thought this kid was pretty entertaining, if not a bit delusional.

The doors swung open again, less violently this time. Professor Oak stood in the doorway. The three couldn't help but notice that he seemed to look older with each time they saw him. "It's about time you three showed up," he said. "And Ash, what's up with your clothing? You look like you're ready for bed, not for Pokémon training!" he added, noticing Ash was still in his pajamas.

"Oh, trust me, Professor, I'm ready!" Ash replied.

"All right," the Professor said. "In that case, why don't you all come in?"

Though it wasn't their first time seeing it, the laboratory was still a spectacular sight. It was filled with high tech machines everywhere. On a desk in the back lay three Poké Balls. The three kids' hearts began to race when they saw them. This was the moment they'd been waiting their entire lives for.

"I just need to check your records to make sure you're all of age," Professor Oak told them as he sat down at his computer. "After all, we don't want to be giving out Pokémon to kids who aren't mature enough to be able to take care of them and keep them under control."

"Please make it quick, Professor," Ash said impatiently. "I'm dying to get a Pokémon!"

"Ash!" Serena scolded. "Have a little patience. Remember how long Leaf and I had to wait for you this morning?"

Ash gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, right," he said. "Sorry."

"Ah, good," the Professor said, deciding it was best to ignore their comments. "I see you're all twelve years old. You may now select your Pokémon." He gestured with his arm to direct their attention to the three Poké Balls on the table. "Please settle your decisions peacefully."

"Ladies first," Ash said immediately. In truth, he hadn't decided yet which Pokémon he wanted, but he also wanted to act like a gentleman around Leaf.

"Go ahead, Leaf," Serena said.

"Oh, um, thank you," Leaf said, stepping forward to the desk. "I thought about it for a really long time, and I've decided that I'll choose Squirtle."

She pressed the button on the Poké Ball on the far right and it popped open to reveal... Nothing.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Professor said. "My grandson Gary stopped by for a surprise visit earlier today. I let him have one of the Pokémon."

So this Gary was Professor Oak's grandson. They knew that Professor's only son was Blue Oak. So Gary had to be Blue's son. The group was a bit surprised when they realized this. They would have expected a better attitude coming from the son of the region's Pokémon League Champion. Then again, maybe Gary had let his family's fame go to his head.

"Oh, that's all right," Leaf said. "I'll take Bulbasaur, then."

Bulbasaur popped out of its Poké Ball and Leaf picked it up in her arms and began to stroke it. Its expression of unease quickly turned to a smile. "Bulba!" it said contentedly. It looked like the two would get along quite well

"I think Bulbasaur suits you more than Squirtle, anyway," Ash told her. "After all, your name is Leaf, so it's kind of fitting that you'd get a grass Pokémon."

"Oh, shut up," Leaf said playfully.

Professor Oak cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I've got a tight schedule," he said. "Would you mind saving your chatting for afterward?"

"Sorry, Professor," Ash and Leaf said. Then, turning to Serena, Ash said, "You're up next."

"All right," Serena said, stepping up to the desk. "I'll take Charmander!"

The reptilian Pokémon appeared from its Poké Ball and looked at Serena with its big, bright eyes. "Well, aren't you a cute one," Serena said, crouching down to speak to it at eye level.

"Char! Char!" it said, jumping up and down and waving its little arms excitedly. It then launched an Ember attack straight into Serena's face.

"That Charmander is a playful little one," Professor Oak informed her, "and it doesn't seem to know its own strength. Are you sure you can handle it, Serena?"

"Yes, Professor," Serena replied, as she was just recovering from the Ember attack. "It might take some time, but I'm sure Charmander and I will become best friends. Isn't that right, Charmander?"

In response, Charmander blew another Ember attack in her face.

"Um, Professor?" Ash questioned with a worried look on his face. "There don't seem to be any Pokémon left."

"Oh, no!" the Professor exclaimed. "How could I have forgotten? I hadn't expected Gary to come by today, so I hadn't prepared enough Pokémon! Every time, I used to prepare a spare Pokémon, just in case, but I never used them, so this time I assumed I wouldn't need one. Uh, hold on, Ash, I'll find you something." The Professor rushed out of the room.

The group waited for a moment, until Leaf broke the silence. "Well, is this exciting or what?"

"Definitely," Serena replied. "Although it has been a bit crazy."

"Yeah, sorry," Ash said, knowing he was at least partially to blame.

Suddenly they heard the Professor's voice from the other room. "Ah! Here it is!"

Professor Oak returned with a Poké Ball in his hands. "Now, Ash, I must warn you, this Pokémon was found half dead in Viridian Forest, and no one really knows what happened to it. We nursed it back to health, but it's never been very trusting of humans." He handed the ball to Ash. "But it's the best I've got."

"It doesn't matter," Ash said. "I'll take it, no matter what." He pressed the button on the Poké Ball. "Come on out!"

The Pokémon that appeared from the Poké Ball was rodent-like and yellow with red circles on its cheeks. "Pikachu," it said.

"That's Pikachu," Professor Oak told him, "an electric-type Pokémon."

"Great to meet you, buddy!" Ash said with a smile. "Are you ready to explore the world?"

Pikachu shrank back in fear. Who was this human? What did he want?

"It's okay, Pikachu," Ash said reassuringly. "I won't hurt you." He picked up the Pokémon in his arms.

Pikachu began to panic. It had been taken hostage! It had to find a way to escape!

"Pikachuuuu!" it cried, unleashing a Thundershock on Ash. The sudden jolt of electricity forced him to drop Pikachu, and it ran straight for the door, pulled it open, and ran outside.

"What... Hey!" Ash shouted, and chased after the Pokémon. "Pikachu! Come back!"

"Ash, wait!" Leaf called after him. She and Serena had no choice but to follow him. They returned their new Pokémon to their Poké Balls and ran after him.

Outside, there was no sign of Pikachu. Ash was crushed. How could he become a Pokémon Master if he couldn't even keep a Pokémon for a whole minute?

"Excuse me, sir," he called out to a man who was passing by. "Did you happen to see a Pikachu come by here just a moment ago?"

The man shook his head. "Sorry," he said. "I haven't seen it."

As Serena and Leaf caught up to him, Ash heard a familiar voice. "Well, what do we have here?" Gary Oak said, stepping out from behind a signpost to where they could see him. "You've already lost your Pokémon? That was so fast, it must be some kind of world record!"

Ash gritted his teeth. "I'll show you!" he said. "You just wait!"

Suddenly they all heard a cry. "Pikaaa!" It sounded like Pikachu. It was in trouble.

"Let's go," Ash said. "Come on!"

"You should help too, Gary," Leaf suggested.

"I don't have time to be helping you," Gary replied. "I've got to become a Pokémon Master. I'll be heading to Viridian City."

The group decided to forget about Gary and ran to find Pikachu. Behind the lab, they found it being chased by a wild Rattata. Pikachu looked very afraid.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled. He dove in front of the Rattata and grabbed onto it. The Pokémon bit down on his hand with its large front teeth. Ash winced in pain but he forced himself to tolerate it. He picked up the Rattata and threw it into the trees. It didn't come back.

Ash bent down and extended his arm toward Pikachu. "You're not hurt, that's good," he said. "I think we should head back to the lab now, okay, Pikachu?"

Pikachu hesitated. It was normally nervous around people, especially after... No, it couldn't think about that. The memories were too painful. But this human had just saved it. Maybe it would be all right to trust this one.

"Pika," it said with a small smile before stepping forward into Ash's arms. He picked up the Pokémon and stood up.

"Well," he said. "Back to the lab?"

"Yeah," Serena and Leaf replied.


"Well, you found Pikachu," the Professor said, "and you even gained its trust. That's quite impressive, Ash."

"Thank you, Professor," Ash replied.

"It seems this first... adventure has been a test of sorts. I can see now that you've all proven yourselves to be worthy Trainers, and I don't doubt that you'll be successful in the future," Professor Oak continued. "So I've decided to give you each a Pokédex. And here are some Poké Balls as well."

"Thanks so much, Professor!" they all said as they accepted the items.

"And you're all set to be Pokémon Trainers!" he told them.

After thanking him again, the three new trainers stepped outside, with Ash still holding Pikachu in his arms. Ash's mom, Delia, was waiting for them outside.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you all!" she said. "You're growing up so fast! But, Ash..." she added in a more worried tone. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"I'll miss you too, Mom," Ash said. "But don't worry. I'll keep in touch whenever I can."

"And that's your Pokémon?" his mom asked. "It's really cute! But aren't Pokémon usually kept in their Poké Balls?"

"Oh, yeah," Ash said. He had forgotten about that. He picked up Pikachu's Poké Ball and held it up. "Pikachu, get in the ball."

Pikachu got a terrified expression on its face and shook its head.

Ash was confused for a moment. Then, his face returned to its usual confident smile. "You know what?" he said. "If Pikachu doesn't want to go in its Poké Ball, it doesn't have to. It can just stay outside."

"Hey, guys," Serena said, "why don't we all go to my house? Assuming you two weren't planning on leaving today."

"That would be great!" Ash replied. "I think it would be a bit too late to leave today anyway. What do you think, Leaf?"

"Of course! I'm coming!" she responded.


"Thanks for letting us come over on such short notice," Ash said to Grace, Serena's mother.

"Oh, it's not a problem at all," she replied. "Just try not to destroy the place."

"Don't worry about it," Ash reassured her. He ran over to join the others.

"Why don't we all go together?" Serena was suggesting. "It'll be more pleasant and less lonely that way."

"I was hoping that would be how it would work out," Leaf said. "I didn't want to go alone."

"I guess that settles it," Ash said. "We'll all go together tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan!" Leaf agreed. "Just don't leave us waiting for hours again."

At this, Ash frowned disapprovingly while Serena and Leaf laughed loudly.


The next morning, the three new trainers met at Serena's house. Pikachu, who was perched on Ash's shoulder, was now getting quite used to being with Ash and his friends.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash noticed a figure watching them. He squinted to get a better look.

"Gary!?" he exclaimed as the figure approached. "I thought you went to Viridian City!"

"I tried," Gary explained, "but the road was closed for construction. Also, I wanted to have a Pokémon battle with you. Just so you know what you're up against."

This would be a good opportunity to teach Gary a lesson, Ash thought.

"Okay, you're on!" Ash said. "Let me see what you've got!"

"Um, Ash –" Serena started to say as she noticed Pikachu's expression.

"I'm busy, Serena," Ash interrupted. "Pikachu, go!"

Pikachu stayed on Ash's shoulder. "Pika," it said nervously.

"Come on, Pikachu," Ash said. "Don't just sit there."

"Ash!" Serena said, louder this time. "Pikachu is scared to battle. Don't force it if it's not ready."

Ash looked at Serena, then at Pikachu. He sighed. "You're right," he said. "I'm sorry, Gary, but our battle will have to wait until another time. Pikachu, I'm sorry. I rushed into the battle without considering how you felt about it."

"Pika pika" the electric mouse said. It seemed to forgive Ash.

"Heh. You've got a Pokémon that can't even battle. What a loser," Gary said.

"Next time we meet, we'll battle, Gary," Ash said. "Pikachu and I will show you just how far we've come as a team."

"Whatever," Gary replied, turning away.

"Don't mind him, Ash," Leaf said. "He's just trying to get on your nerves."

"I know," Ash replied. "And it's working."


Well, that concludes the first chapter. Please let me know what you think! I'll update with Chapter 2, uh, at some point. I'm not going to make any promises about when, because I'm terribly disorganized, but I expect I'll be able to have in up within the next couple of days.