Story prompt from Reishin Amara.
Summary: A smarter and more serious Ash leaves Pallet Town on his journey to become a pokemon master, when he meets a strange girl wondering about the forest during a storm. How will this improved Ash Ketchum, and his new companion, change not only his journey, but the pokemon world?
Side Notes: I've decided to add some of my own twists to this idea: Ash will not be getting Pikachu in this story. I know you guys like the electric ball of fluff as much as I do, but I can't write stories with Ash having Pikachu as his partner because I haven't tried, so many people have done it, and Pikachu works well with the original Ash. So, Ash will be getting a new partner.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Nintendo has the rights- although it was Satoshi Tajiri who first created Pokemon- to the anime, manga, trading cards and video games, and I do not!
(Two years prior to the start of the story)
Eight year old Ash Ketchum was running away from Gary and his pack of bullies. Ash wasn't scared, far from it actually, and he wasn't stupid enough to fight the pack, his grades were better than his whole class put together and it wasn't his fault, so he did the one thing that would save his butt for the day: run. He was far ahead of gang, doing this on a daily basis made him faster than a lot of the kids his age, and he could see home was just in sight.
But something seemed to be pulling him away from the house and towards the woods. He followed that feeling, the one that told his body to do what his heart wouldn't. He stopped long enough to quickly shuffle his backpack off of his shoulders before throwing it over the fence, having it land right next to the porch, and then took off again, just as the pack threw their backpacks off to run after him faster.
As Ash ran farther and farther ahead, he came into more wooded areas of the dirt road of Pallet. He had to jump and move around stumps and large rocks more and more as he went farther into the wood. It became more difficult to see where he was going, but that wasn't going to stop him from following that feeling. He came to a small stream, deep enough so that he would have a wade his way across, when he no longer heard the pack.
The feeling was overwhelming now, so Ash must be getting close to what was causing it. He began wading across the water, only to slip on a rock and fall under, hitting his head on a large log as he popped up to try to breath from being forced under the water so quickly. The hit on his head happened so fast, he had no idea it happened until he was starting to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw, before his world became a dark place, was an odd looking shape that dove into the water to save him.
Around Ash was nothing but an odd, distorted space. There were stars around him, but everything was quiet. What made this place look distorted was the two pillars he realized he was standing between. Standing before him, with their backs to him, were two huge pokemon, one was a mixture of pink and white, while the other was a mixture of blue and gray-blue, behind them both were portals.
In front of them was a man, with blue hair and an odd sense of dress, talking about something, to a pokemon trainer with a red hat and a scarf, those being the only features that stood out for Ash.
"... that you unleash your power for me... Dialga, the mythical Pokémon, and the master of time! And the other. Palkia, the mythical Pokémon, and the master of space and dimensions!"
Then, Ash saw a black swirling portal forming on- what he assumed- was the floor. He saw glowing red eyes, and shrieked when large back wings with red tips on them flew from the portal. A really scary cry was heard from the pokemon, making Ash scream in terror.
"Ash." A familiar voice resonated in his ears and brain. "Ash, sweetie."
He knew that voice. It was familiar, it was warm, safe. The scene around him vanished, leaving him in darkness.
"Ash, sweetheart, wake up. It's mommy."
Ash slowly, and painfully, opened his eyes. Everything was bright at first, making Ash close his eyes before opening them again. He squinted against the bright light, trying to focus on his surroundings, and push past the pain in his skull.
"What happened?" He asked as his mothers face moved into view, blocking out the evil bright light.
Delia gently brushed the hair on Ash's head, breathing in shakily, before saying, "I almost lost you."
Ash blinked in confusion, "what do you mean?"
Delia started to shake, and her eyes began to water, before she threw her arms around Ash, "you.. You wouldn't wake up." She started sobbing and she held him tight.
Ash blinked twice, once in confusion and once while processing what his mother had said. "What?"
Delia pulled away, wiping her tears with one hand. She sniffed, before exhaling, trying to gain her bearings to tell Ash what happened. "You've been out for two days, honey."
"I have?" Ash was confused. Evidently he had missed two days of his life and hadn't even realized it. He looked down at his hands, one was on his lap and the other was off to the side, he was in his room, thank goodness. "That dream... It was so strange.."
"What was that, dear?" Delia looked at her son, concerned.
Ash looked at his mother, a smile on his face, "nothing, mom."
Delia sighed, before smiling, "are you hungry?"
As if on cue, Ash's stomach growled. He looked at her with a smile, "yes."
Delia smiled, "alright, stay here. I'll bring you up some cereal, okay?"
Ash nodded, "M'kay."
Delia got off of the chair next to Ash's bed, taking the hand that was on his lap in hers. She squeezed it and kissed it, before letting it go. She walked to the door, casting one more look at Ash before she walked out of the room.
Ash breathed a sigh. He was confused, worried, and a little scared. His confusion was due to not knowing what he had witnessed. He was worried because he was asleep for two days, and he was scared because he didn't want to miss or forget anymore days. He had a lot to catch up on.
(One year before the start)
Gary, and his friends, were playing on the jungle gym after school, when he caught sight of Ash. He was angry. Ash woke up from a two day 'coma' a year ago, and told on him and his friends, so now their parents had to walk them home each day, as a punishment for what had happened, and they weren't allowed to talk to Ash at all.
And, to make matters worse, his grandfather wouldn't let him play with any pokemon at his lab when he came over to visit him. He was even talking about not letting Gary get a pokemon at all, and that was unacceptable. He was going to show everyone that he was the best, and that Ash had no right to take anything away from him. They would see, and they'd be sorry.
Ash was walking home, when he felt that feeling again. The same one that brought him into the forest, except, this time, it was in a deserted alley. Ash had heard stories, stories of pokemon, and even people, who live in alleys.
"Hello?" Ash called. If it was a person, he'd have to run fast. But, if it was a pokemon, he'd try to calm it down before interacting with it.
"Drow..." Came a weak voice from the alley.
" 'Drow'?" Ash repeated, confused for a second. He then remembered his pokemon flashcards, they were given to students in grade schools across Kanto due to a regional law. He flipped through them, looking for a pokemon that could make that noise. He came across a yellow pokemon with a small trunk and brown waist and feet. It was a, "Drowzee." Ash looked from the card to the alley, seeing nothing in the dark space between buildings.
Ash took off his backpack, kneeling beside it to retrieve a flashlight and some berries his mother gave to him for a snack. He put his cards, and berries, in his jacket pocket before zipping up his backpack and putting it on his back. He turned the flashlight on and pointed it in the direction of the alley. There was a dumpster, some wood crates and a cardboard box. Ash walked into the alley, looking around.
Something moved in the dumpster, making a weak knocking sound. Ash pushed one of the crates up to the dumpster, before climbing up it to see what was in the dumpster. He saw a small yellow pokemon, that had a little trunk, with a brown waist and feet, it was sitting between two halves of a broken egg shell.
It looked up at him, curiosity in it's tear filled eyes. "Drowzee?"
"Hi, little fella." Ash should talk, he was a few inches shorter than other kids in his class. He looked around, not seeing or hearing any other pokemon in the alley. He turned back to the Drowzee, "so, you're all alone, aren't you?"
The stomach of the pokemon growled, telling Ash it was hungry. The boy took out the small bag of berries, blueberries and blackberries, before opening it up and giving one to the baby. It looked confused, wondering what it was supposed to do with the berry, before crying of hunger again. Ash reached for the side of his backpack, where his thermos with berry juice was.
He unscrewed the top of the thermos, the reveal that it was like a bottle. He had juice boxes earlier in the day, so he saved his juice for when he was walking home after school. He gave the thermos to the baby, and smiled as it began to drink. The baby handed it back, and Ash put it in the side for drinks, before reaching out for him.
Ash, who had seen and done the same thing many times before, picked up the baby. It was lighter than the average Drowzee baby, so Ash became worried. The baby snuggled into him, falling asleep, as Ash slowly got down from the crate and began his walk home, ignoring the strange looks from people around him as he walked through town to get to his house.
(Start of the journey)
Ash woke up, beating his alarm by a half an hour. He yawned, while stretching, before jumping off of the bunk bed in his room. He looked at the bottom bunk, to see Drowzee was waking up too.
"Couldn't you have waited for five minutes?" The psychic pokemon asked.
Ash shook his head, "nope." He walked to his dresser and pulled out some clothes, before turning to the pokemon, "I'm going to go take a quick shower, can you see if everything we need is in the bag?"
Drowzee, mostly awake now, nodded, "yeah.. Sure."
Ash nodded, "thanks pal." He then departed for the bathroom.
Drowzee was looking in the bag, seeing Ash's spare clothes-pants, shirts, underwear (his mother was insistent that he pack extra), Running Shoes, hat, rubber gloves, clothes line, flashcards, sleeping bag, flashlight- with extra waterproof batteries- and bag of hot cocoa were in the main part of the backpack. He then looked in the pokeball pouch, medicine pouch, key items pouch, berry pouch, TM/HM pouch, battle pouch and mail pouch.
Most-key, battle, HM/TM, and mail- were empty. There were some pokeballs of different types, five of every type of statues healing berry- because Ash though it important that they carry only those to start out with-, five of different types of medicine (potion, antidote, burn heal, ice heal, paralyze heal, full heal-only to be used in emergencies) were in the bag.
"Hey, Ash?" Drowzee called, via telepathy.
"What?" Ash wondered, just stepping out of the shower.
"Why do you still keep your flash cards?"
Ash was drying his hair, so he didn't catch the question. "What?"
"Why, in the name of Mew, do you still have these flash cards!?" Drowzee yelled, before realizing his mistake.
"Ow!" Ash yelled, feeling the pain in his head- which had been very sensitive to psychic communication, and often getting visions since two years ago-, and having hit his heel on the bathroom counter putting on his underwear. "Would it kill you not to scream so loud?"
"Sorry..." Drowzee said, pulling the flash cards from the bag. "But, in all seriousness, what's with the flash cards?"
Ash put on his shirt before brushing his hair, "I don't know. I guess I'm just used to carrying them."
"So, the cards stay?" Drowzee asked.
"I'd prefer it if they did." Ash responded, brushing his teeth.
Drowzee nodded, "okay."
After Ash had finished getting ready, having everything on except for his hat and shoes, he walked downstairs, with Drowzee following. They found Ash's mom, Delia, in the kitchen. She was making pancakes.
"Morning mom."
Delia smiled after she turned to look at them entering the kitchen, "hi boys."
Ash slipped on his shoes, waiting for his mother to sit down at the table. After she sat down, they began to make idle chit chat as they ate. Ash talk with her about where he'd be going, what he hoped would the weather would be like in certain areas.
"I'll catch some pokemon for you too, mom." Ash said, "I'll make sure that their cute but can protect you."
Delia smiled, "thanks sweetie."
Ash picked his hat out of his backpack, blinking in surprise when his mother put something in the place it sat. He looked at her in confusion.
"A pair of parkas." Delia said, "just so you down get rained on, even when you're not expecting it."
Ash nodded, hugging her. The three of them walked out of the house together, in comfortable silence. They got to the lab, to see Oak waiting for them. The guy looked angry.
"What's wrong, professor?" Ash asked, walking up to the man.
"It's Gary. He came in, demanding a pokemon, and when I didn't give one to him, he snatched one from my research desk, a pokedex, and five pokeballs off of the counter, before running out of the lab."
"What kind of pokemon was it?" Ash wondered, feeling pity for whatever pokemon Gary had snatched.
"It was an Eevee that I was researching." Oak said, sighing. "I didn't mean for him to get a pokemon after what happened to you, but he did, and I'm afraid to send the police on him. I don't know what to do."
Ash looked at Drowzee, not seeing his mother's worried look, before turning back to Oak. "There's nothing we can do. That Eevee is probably already starting to bond with Gary, so there's no point in taking it away from him."
Oak nodded, still feeling guilty he let Gary take a pokemon. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a pokedex a Premier Ball. "You know what a Pokedex is, and does, a Premier Ball is a pokeball with a different color scheme."
"So it's just as effective, but the only difference is that you can tell the difference between that pokeball and others if you catch a pokemon in it."
Oak nodded, "yes."
Ash took the items, putting the pokeball in the Ball Pouch of his backpack and his pokedex in his pocket. He nodded his thanks, before patting Oak's shoulder. "People can learn from their pokemon, just like Pokemon learn from their people, so one day Gary will change."
Oak smiled, "I know that, Ash. Good luck."
Ash smiled in return, taking his hand off of Oak's shoulder. He hugged his mother, smiling when she clutched him tightly. They let go, before Ash turned to dirt road that led out of Pallet. "Well, we'd better get going. That faster we get going, the farther we'll go before nightfall."
Drowzee nodded, "yeah. I want to get as far as we can before we have to stop."
"There's one thing I want to do first." Ash took out a regular pokeball, facing Drowzee, "are you ready?"
Drowzee nodded, "do it." Ash held the ball out and Drowzee tapped it, putting its hand over Ash's, before getting pulled into the ball as it opened and he became red energy. He was sucked into the ball, without struggle, and it ball dinged, signifying his capture.
Ash smiled, before tossing the ball into the air, "c'mon Drowzee!"
The ball popped open, and the red energy that was Drowzee emerged. He smiled at Ash, nodding, "alright, that's done. Can we go now?"
Ash laughed, before he turned to Oak and his mother, "we'd better go."
Delia and Oak, along with a small gathering of Pallet's citizens, waved them off. They turned back to them, waving their goodbyes. They walked along the road, following the sun high sky, wondering what it was the future would hold.
PREVIEW!
"Where did this rain come from?" Drowzee asked, taking the parka Ash offered him.
"I don't know." Ash said, watching the Spearow flock fly off in search of cover and feeling really glad he didn't antagonise them, he saw a large, old, tree that had been hollowed out. "There!" They ducked into the tree, just as thunder boomed overhead.
Minutes went by, and the only sound they heard was the thunder booming overhead. Then, Ash got that all too familiar feeling. He dashed out of cover of the tree, calling out to Drowzee to "stay there", following that feeling like so many times before. He ran to a clearing, a peaceful and perfect place when it was sunny and clear sky skyed, but it was the exact opposite now.
He had found a girl, about half his age, who was trying to balance on the mud. He ran over to her, and caught her before she collapsed. She was cold, tired and pale. "H.. Help me." She said, her voice was weak.
Ash took off his parka and put it on her before running back to the hollowed tree where Drowzee was waiting.