A young woman, 19 years old, sat in a cushioned chair, a red and blue blanket cradled carefully in her arms. Tear stains were on her face, but not in sadness, no; in joy, excitement, happiness. If one were to get close, they would find, swaddled comfortably in the warm cloth, a newborn child, a baby boy. He giggled happily, staring up at the face of his mother, causing her to shed a new set of tears and laugh softly.

The woman was beautiful, with smooth reddish-brown hair set in a low ponytail. She wore a pale-yellow shirt underneath a cropped pink sweater buttoned at the top. A long light-purple skirt draped down to her ankles, and pink ballet-flats rested on the floor, white socks stuffed in them, near her bare feet that were subconsciously moving around occasionally.

As the mother continued to smile warmly in the direction of her son, a whisper of her name and the slight movement broke her out of her musings of what to name him.

"Yes Professor?" She called back, just a little louder than a whisper.

"Delia," the man started, "what are you going to name him?" He motioned to the newborn in the young woman's arms.

"…" There was a long pause, then she opened her mouth slightly, hesitated, and closed it again.

"Well?" The Professor urged on. He knew already what the answer was going to be, but he wanted to hear it for himself.

"I was thinking… Red. Red Satoshi Ketchum. I like the name – it has a nice ring to it, but…" She trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.

The Professor sighed. "It reminds you of him, doesn't it?" The young woman could only nod sadly.

"I… don't have any good ideas except for that one. What am I going to do Samuel?"

The Professor acted as though he was thinking, though he had had one name in his mind from the very start. Deciding he could say it inconspicuously at this moment, having already been a few seconds of peaceful quiet, he blurted out, "Ash."

"…what?" That was the first word that came to the now-startled woman's mind after the tranquil silence. She couldn't come up with a smarter response in that one second as she'd answered quickly out of surprise.

"I said Ash." Samuel repeated, this time with more emphasis, "Name him Ash. Ash Red-Satoshi Ketchum."

"…" Silence for another minute, as Delia Ketchum, as was her name, mulled it over. 'Ash… Ash Ketchum – I like it,' she decided thoughtfully. "Yeah," she agreed softly but in a voice of finality. "Yeah, that's a good name for a good child."

What the two adults didn't know, was that the very newborn the woman held in her arms would be responsible for the fate of the world.


Timeskip: 8 years


A young 8-year-old boy ran through the woods, laughing happily. He had short, but messy, raven hair which got in his face at times, slightly tanned skin, and bright brown eyes full of life. The birthmarks on his face, two small lightning-shaped scars, were just below his eyes. As he ran, chasing the playful Pokémon of the forest, he felt someone watching him. Glancing in the direction that his instincts told him, he froze temporarily when he saw a flash of light green move towards a bush, heard a few tiny wing beats, and then nothing more. Eyeing the same bush with suspicion for a few more minutes than necessary, he hesitantly shrugged it off, still glancing over his shoulder toward it occasionally. He had a feeling that what he saw was real, and not just a figment of his imagination. He had no idea what it was though, and that annoying truth only worked to steel his resolve about finding out.

With that in mind, he turned on his heel again and started to inch closer to the bush.


A small, green, fairy-like creature let out a relieved sigh. That human – 'No, the Chosen One' she had to remind herself, came very close to almost discovering her. She recognized him well as Ash Ketchum, but she didn't want to mess with time before the planned events actually happened, or else she might change something and later face the wrath of her father Arceus. Celebi sighed again. Life was so difficult sometimes.

Suddenly, she heard it. A sound very faint, but there nonetheless. Footsteps; someone was approaching her hiding spot. Quickly but imperceptibly she snuck a glance at who was nearing, only to quietly gasp in surprise. The very child her thoughts were centered around, Ash Ketchum, was heading toward the bush she was inside of. With a final sigh of both annoyance and exasperation, the Time Travel Pokémon fled the scene in a dim, almost unnoticeable, flash of colorless light.


Ash got to the bushes and stopped when his instincts told him that somehow the thing wasn't there anymore. He shrugged and thought to himself, 'I'll search just in case. Maybe this time, my instincts could be wrong. Who knows?' He really doubted it, for there was proof that his instincts were sharp and haven't ever been wrong once. Why would it change this time around? Ash himself didn't question it, knowing that he was special. Of course, Delia always told him that he was, but this wasn't just the motherly love of a caring parent, no; he knew right when he was born, that he was meant to do something great. What it was, he couldn't fathom, but it was something big nevertheless.

Switching his thoughts, he began to contemplate what his Pokémon journey would be like. Not even trying to understand what he was meant to do, knowing that a massive headache will have his name, he just decided to choose what he wanted to become and work on that for the meantime, much like other trainers do. Some choose to be Breeders, others Coordinators, and then there are the Masters. Now, the Masters are a bit different, since they can be a plain Pokémon Master, or they can specialize in a specific type. There are eighteen types, but Dark types didn't inhabit the Kanto region.

This led to him wondering which starter to choose. All in all, he'd be pretty content just to get a Pokémon, it didn't matter which – Ash knew that he'd be great friends with whoever his future partner turned out to be. He didn't need to pick, and honestly felt slight annoyance at the whole complexity of the situation, and the way trainers choose the "best" Pokémon. 'All Pokémon have their strengths and weaknesses, and no Pokémon can be the strongest.' He thought, 'Why can't anyone get that through their heads?'

The Grass-type Kanto Starter, Bulbasaur; the Water-type Starter, Squirtle; or the Fire-type Charmander. He, in truth, wanted all of them, partly for his own gain and selfishness, but more so his selflessness. He had seen many a trainer go and abuse their Pokémon – usually with the best cases being abandonment and the worst… well, the very thought of what he'd seen trainers do made him shudder. Of course, Ash could tell whether or not a person would take care of a Pokémon, no matter what it is, and the number of people he'd judged as so more than made up for those who didn't. 'That's good. I don't think I would've survived in a world where I couldn't trust anyone else.' Ash thought to himself.

For those who took the time to really get to know Ash Ketchum, that was more or less true. The boy had a good heart – some say that it was even purer than Pokémon – and a kind soul. One hardly ever saw him get truly angry, and when that happened it would either be for witnessing a Pokémon being treated horribly by who was supposed to be their trainer; when someone throws an insult at Pokémon in general, be it them being weak or stupid or something of the sort; or if someone makes specific comments about how strong his Pokémon will be when he becomes a trainer, as well as questioning his bond with all Pokémon. True, he did get mad when Gary Oak, the local Pokémon Professor's grandson, got big-headed – as per usual – and made some snide remark about how he would be the best, or briefly talk about Ash's failures, but he never even came close to what could happen in dire circumstances where a Pokémon's life was on the line caused by their trainer's neglect and abuse.

Ash broke out of his musings when he realized that close to an hour had passed without finding anything. Sighing in defeat, he walked over to the nearest tree he could find and leaned against it. Folding his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner, he listened to the Pidgey chirp a tune high in the treetops, and cracked a slight smile. He let his mind wander through his memories, frowning in confusion when he recalled the being that had prompted him to search in the first place. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as he used his foot to kick off against the tree bark and broke into a jog, mentally berating himself. His mom would definitely be nervous that Ash hadn't come back yet, and he didn't want to make her worry unnecessarily.


"Honey, I'm so glad that you're alright! Thank goodness something bad didn't happen." A 27-year-old gorgeous woman said, smiling.

Ash chuckled at his mom's comment. She could be so overprotective at times. "Yeah mom, I'm fine." He replied earnestly, earning a light laugh from his mother.

"Oh sweetie, I know you are, but that still doesn't stop me from worrying. After all, how good a mother would I be if I wasn't concerned about my child's health?" She said back teasingly, but meaning every word. Ash just nodded, thinking about his mom's words and realizing just how much truth they held.


After the two ate dinner together and washed the dishes, Ash and Delia sat on their green couch, playing card games. They were in the middle of Go Magikarp when Delia checked the time on her watch. She gasped.

"Oh my! Ash, honey, it's 10:30. You should probably go to bed."

Ash frowned. "But I want to stay up a little bit longer." He responded. However, his plea fell on deaf ears when his mother turned to him with an expression that told him she didn't want any complaints. With a loud and deliberately drawn out sigh, Ash trudged up the stairs to his room. Opening the door, he walked in before closing it behind him and changing into his pyjamas.

Despite his past protestings, Ash was tired – there was no denying it. Thus, it was a relief for him to know that he was being sent to his bed. Turning off the light to his room, he pulled down the covers of his neatly made bed and practically collapsed onto the comfy mattress. Grabbing the sheet, blanket, and comforter, Ash yanked them up and over his body, until only his head could be seen. Rolling over onto one side, he laid his head on the fluffy pillow and allowed the state of sleep to overcome his body. A few minutes later, Delia poked her head into the room and smiled at the sight of her son curled up, deeply immersed in his dreams. As she left and shut the door once more, a bright smile made its way onto the resting boy's face, no doubt from something in his dreams.


"Let's turn the heat up! Charizard, you're up!"

The stadium was roaring with applause.

"Bring it! Dragonite, get out there!"

The trainer's eyes met and locked. Neither dared break the staring contest. The two great opposing dragons were doing the same.

"And the two competitors are staring each other down! Oh, what's this? The two Pokémon are as well! Like trainer, like Pokémon, as they say!" The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers as he talked clearly into the microphone. Only then, did the opponents break their competitive stare.

One trainer was a tall, thin man with bright scarlet-red spiked hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. He wore a medieval-looking navy-blue tunic with red-orange trim, a brown belt around his waist, and large black boots with two orange rings around the top of each. The cuffs of his long sleeves are black, with an orange zigzagging trim separating it from the navy-blue of the sleeves. He sported a long, flowing cape around his neck that was black on the outside and a crimson-red on the inside.

His opponent looked to be 10 years old. An official Pokémon League Expo hat covered his head, thus covering his untamed raven hair simultaneously. He had on a blue jacket with gold trim as well as a white collar and white short sleeves, which was worn open over a dark-blue tee-shirt. He was also wearing sky-blue jeans with pale-blue cuffs, black and white sneakers with a small red circle on each side of them, a brown Pokéball belt, and green fingerless gloves with light-green borders.

"The official Champion Battle between Ash Ketchum and Champion Lance shall begin! This fight is for the right to take the title of Champion of Kanto! Begin!"


Dragonite and Charizard were both exhausted. The announcer kept going on about the amazing strategies both trainers were displaying. Ash didn't pay him any mind, however. This battle was too important to get distracted by something and lose focus. Apparently Lance had thought the same, as both had their eyes on the battlefield.

'Time to finish this,' Ash thought. He grinned. This was one move that normal Charizard couldn't learn – it was simply impossible – but his Charizard had learned it, and it was definitely going to surprise Lance, if nothing else.


"Charizard, use Draco Meteor!"

Ash sat up in his bed. "Whoops… Oh well. Mom didn't wake up so I'm probably fine."

After that remark, Ash laid his head back down onto the pillow, and he drifted off to a blissful sleep once more.


A/N: This is my first story and I'm sorry if it's short. I'm not asking anyone to be kind. If anything, please, be harsh. If it's worth pointing out something that's good, tell me. But if you find any mistakes, don't virtually yell at me or I'll consider that as a flame and you will be ignored, but politely point it out and I'll try and fix what I can.

Again, flamers will be ignored and so if you want to rant, do it somewhere else. It's a waste of time here. Also, I'm asking for advice, but all in all, it's your own choice if you want to review or not. Something to point out, I typed this on a whim, just as I do most other stories, and I usually don't go back and edit, but fix and change things as I go along. So I'm not expecting this chapter to be perfect.

Also, on my profile there is a poll for who Ash should be paired with. Just so you know, I'm not doing a harem, nor am I writing any lemons.