Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.

First Impressions, Part I

About two years before his Pokémon journey, Ash Ketchum wasn't exactly aiming to be a Pokémon Master, yet. In fact, he already had a title as a Master; the "troublemaking Master", shared with his friend, Gary Oak.

On his own, Ash already causes so many headaches to the residents of Pallet Town. When together with Gary...well, there's a reason that, back then, people would start calling them "Glycerin" and "Nitro", respectively, monikers which the boys had actually taken a shine to, probably because they don't know what the actual meaning was. Strangely enough, their guardians (Delia Ketchum and Professor Samuel Oak) never once attempt to reprimand the two. Playing pranks is what these two mainly engage in, but they never do deliberately hurt someone. Until a certain incident, that is...

It all began uneventful enough. One evening as they parted ways Gary promised to show Ash an interesting sight the next morning in the lab. Ash was so excited about what it was that he couldn't sleep the whole night. As soon as the sun's rays shone through his window, Ash rushed out of his room, and jumped halfway down the stairs. No sooner had he landed on solid ground did the front doorbell ring. Ash didn't have to figure out who was the early visitor, he was expected, after all.

"I'll be going, Mom!" he called out to his mother, while grabbing his "gear" off a shoe closet. The gear consists of: a green baseball cap with a blue lining, a red bandanna, and what many not-so-affectionately call his "bag of tricks".

The eight-year-old opened the door to reveal his friend Gary. "Come on, Ash, are you ready for the show of a lifetime?"

"You bet I am. I barely got any sleep for the anticipation!" Gary didn't need be told that, since Ash, energetic as he is, still had signs of bags under his eyes. But before Gary could comment on this, however, did Ash change the subject. As he closed the front door behind him, he followed Gary out of their front yard. "Hey, Gary, I thought you'd have your hands full since you grandpa would be having guests."

"Hah!" was the retort. "Entertaining guests would be too boring for me. You'd be tired of it, too, if you have to do it every time a celebrity of some sort comes out to this backwoods town."

"I remember old man Oak telling me yesterday that his guests would have a kid with them," Ash pondered. "Did the old man want you to play with him while the parents are busy?"

"No way!" Gary replied, looking offended. "The kid Gramps told us about...is a little girl two years our junior. Basically a baby, in my opinion. I'd rather take my chances with older women." He really looked haughty when he said it, too.

Ash stuck his tongue out in disgust regarding his friend's last comment, but Gary didn't seem to notice. 'A baby?' he repeated in his thoughts. 'But he said it himself that she was only two years younger...'

"I told Gramps that I'm going to be super-busy today to babysit a little girl," Gary added.

"And he believed you?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"Hey, give me the benefit of the doubt, will ya? Don't forget, Gramps isn't aware of our reputation around here."

The two boys ran the short distance between their houses. At the corral of his grandfather's laboratory, Gary was extra careful as not to alert anyone inside the house of their presence. He and Ash snuck into the corral, where many of the inhabitant Pokémon are still sleeping due to the time.

But that was not before Ash spotted someone walking out the back door of the Oak Labs to the corral. Gary quickly pulled Ash towards a rock as they hid from the newcomer. "Oh, man," he groaned loudly, "it's the little girl with those people Gramps met with earlier! I don't want her to see us! Let's hide! Quick, over here!"

The two boys evaded the girl, and onto the deeper section of the corral, the woods. However, try as they might, they're no ninjas, as the little girl spotted them just as they ducked behind the trees. The section in question was a special field where three very rare Pokémon species make their home.

Before they can get a closer look, however, a small voice from behind them made the two boys literally jump. "Hi. What are you doing?"

Ash and Gary turned around to see that the girl from earlier has followed them there. The latter of the two boys was quite annoyed by her sudden appearance, but Ash wasn't quite mutual. "Hi. My friend here is about to show me some rare species of Pokémon. Want to come along?" he added, much to Gary's annoyance.

"Su-sure," the girl said nervously.

Obviously, Gary was not pleased at having new company, much less someone he doesn't want to be around with (he thinks that the girl might snitch on him; hey, he's still a kid, remember?) but he decided to just let it slide. He gestured for the two to be quiet as he led the group deeper into the woods.

There both Ash and the girl were astonished as to what they saw there. Seeing the looks on their faces, Gary decided to give a small spiel to add spice. "Now, eyes wide open, hold your breath, and be amazed," he said, in a voice that attempts to mimic the salesmen he saw on TV.

The three species in question nest their respective families in three corners of the field, making a sort of imaginary triangle. The south corner houses two dark-green four-legged dinosaurs with what is like a large palm tree on each of their backs. The northeast corner belongs to turtle-like Pokémon with two white cannon-like devices protruding from their large shells. The last corner, the northwest, is home to a couple of orange dragon-like Pokémon with large wings and a flame on the tip of each tail. All three pairs, and their respective pre-evolution families, are asleep.

"Gramps told me that they are some of the most powerful species of Pokémon," Gary told Ash. "Luck would have it that their pre-evolutions are those selected by the League as the Pokémon trainers can start out with. And that one," he added, pointing to the larger of the two, the male, dragon, "is the very Pokémon Gramps started out with when he was still a trainer. He also told me that that one is the most difficult to raise of all of them."

"Huh, if that's the case, that's surely not the Pokémon I want to use when I start my Pokémon journey," Ash thought out loud. "What about you, Gary? What Pokémon do you want to use out of all three of them?"

"Easy. I'll be picking the most powerful, which is that one, of course," Gary said, pointing to the large turtle. Then, a grin appearing in his face, he added, "What do you say to a dare, Ash? Are you brave enough to close in on that Charizard? Close enough, at least, to touch its tail and tell us how hot they really are?"

"Hu-huh." It took a while for Ash to realize what Gary meant, because of the fascination he had at seeing the Pokémon. "Wait, what? What?" Ash stuttered. "You want me to-"

Gary slapped his friend in the back. "Hey, don't worry. Charizard are only threatened by enemies they think are worthy enough to fight. Gramps' Charizard wouldn't hurt you even if you come close! I just want to see if you're even brave enough to take that risk!"

"Please don't do this, it might be dangerous," the girl said. "Please don't go through with it." She gripped the back of Ash's shirt as if she was trying to hold him back.

"You're just here to watch, remember? So not another word from you," Gary said in reprimand.

In contrast, Ash was a lot more friendly. Without turning to the girl, he told her, "If I don't do this, I'll never hear the end of it from Gary. I'll be careful, I promise." He subconsciously reached out to pat the girl on the head.

Gary was getting a little impatient, and, believing that convincing their guest would probably take forever, so he took matters into his own hands. He grabbed the girl's hands so she could let go of Ash, and then he pushed him out of their hiding place. He slowly and silently approached the northwest corner of the area, where Professor Oak's Charizard rests. The three Pokémon are, fortunately for Ash, sound asleep. But still, the boy feels uneasy about the dare Gary set on him. As Ash closed in, the lone offspring of the Charizard woke up, and it immediately caught Ash's attention.

For a few seconds, the two could only stare each other in the eyes, blinking alternatively. Gary slapped his forehead. 'What is he doing, just standing there? If he doesn't hurry, Gramps' Charizard might wake up as well!' Sure enough, the Charmander waking up has alerted the presence of an intruder to its parents. 'Oh, no, that could be trouble,' Gary thought, wincing.

With only parental instincts going through their heads, the Charizard advanced slowly on Ash, thinking the latter would take away their offspring. Ash chose to run back to his hiding spot. Along the way, a small set of smoke bombs from his bag of tricks were accidentally dropped from his poket. The black pellets exploded upon hitting the ground, covering the whole area in smoke.

Thanks to that distraction, Ash was able to get to safety. But things turn from bad to worse. Alarmed by the presence of such "attack", both Charizard were enraged. Flamethrowers ensue, and soon the forested area is now in flames.

Luckily, the commotion was heard from the lab, and several people rushed to the scene before the fire could spread further. Heading this operation is none other than Professor Oak himself.

"Blastoise, quick, use Hydro Pump on the fire!" Oak commanded his turtle Pokémon. The Pokémon stood up, and aimed its water cannons at the burning trees. A powerful spray of water hosed down the fire, killing it immediately. The corral was saved.

But the professor easily saw his other Pokémon, the Charizard, is still in a rage. He pulled out a Pokeball from his belt, and called from it a yellow-brown Pokémon. "Raichu, we have no choice; use Thunder Wave to subdue Charizard."

Raichu emitted electric sparks from its body, and released them onto the two Charizard. The latter Pokémon were paralyzed by the attack, and Oak was able to approach them safely. "What happened, old friend? What made you attack for no reason?"

As if to answer his question, two shapes emerged from the blackened trees. They are Gary and Ash, and the latter is carrying the little girl on his back. All three are blackened by the fire, coughing and wheezing, but otherwise fine. The girl has Ash's lucky bandana wrapped around her forehead as a tourniquet. The professor, his guests and lab assistants flanking him, quickly ran over to them. "Gary! Ash! What are you two doing here? And does this have anything to do with whatever 'super-busy' business you are supposed to be doing, Gary?"

To Ash, the way Professor Oak said that sentence means that they're in hot water already. Gary, meanwhile, didn't seem to catch on like Ash did, and...

"Sorry, Gramps, but I swear," Gary said roughly between coughs, managed to say, "we didn't do anything, I promise!"

Grandfather and -son stared each other in the eyes without blinking. Ash doubts that he's going to believe them on whatever story they'll cook up, but he did look sympathetic. A hand on both boys' shoulders, he turned to his assistants. "Ethan, please call Mrs. Ketchum and tell her to come here to the lab. Doris, go to the lab and see if you can find the first aid kit. We have to see to it if these three kids are hurt."

Both assistants ran back to the lab to do the errands entrusted to them. Meanwhile, One of Professor Oak's guests, a man in his mid-20s, approached Ash, or more likely, the girl riding his back. "What did you do to her? Is she-"

"Now, don't worry," Oak consoled his friend. "It looks to me as if Ash must have saved her from the fire. Instead of being angry, you should be thanking him."

"You're right," the man said. Turning back to Ash, he said, "I'm sorry, then. If what Professor Oak said is true, then instead I must thank you, for saving my daughter." The older man relieved Ash of the girl, gently carrying her in his arms.

"Wait, Dad," the girl whispered. She took the red bandana off her head, and started to hand it back to Ash, but he declined.

Ash grinned broadly, and, in Gary's opinion, stupidly. "Keep it. It's my good luck charm, and I think you could use it."

The girl clutched the bandanna in her hands, and softly whispered, "Thank you."

"Heh, the next day I wanted to see that Charmander again, but Professor Oak told me that he was already given away to a trainer. I was quite disappointed when I found out. He said that I could see some other Charmander in the lab, but, oh, I don't know, I just took a shine to that particular one." Ash's thoughts trailed off for a moment only to find out that his listeners are getting impatient about something, the girl Dawn in particular.

"But what about the girl?" Dawn asked excitedly, wanting to learn more.

"What about her?" Ash asked, not only repeating Dawn's question but the tone she said it as well. "I don't know what happened to her after that. If it makes you sleep better, I was still feeling a little guilty about what happened, and asked about her the same day that I asked about the Charmander. But, unfortunately, her family left without a word." Ash shook his head ruefully. "I never did get to get my good luck charm back, too."

"Somehow, I don't believe you, Ash. I think that you wanted to see her for more than just getting your good luck charm back!" Dawn crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow. "And another thing, I think that you have already met the girl again!"

Looking offended, Ash put up his hands in defense. But he chose not to answer Dawn's question. "Okay, Gary and I never spoke to each other again since that incident. We also stopped being headaches to the town; I even hid my bag of tricks in a spot so secret that I don't even remember where it was now. We still felt guilty, and worse, we blamed each other for what happened; Gary blames me for bringing the girl and endangering her, while I blame him for setting me up for that dare in the first place. And that's when our friendship became fractured, and we became rivals for the first time. That's the end, I promise!"

Dawn still doesn't believe her friend. "Just when things are getting to the good part," she muttered. "I don't think that story of yours has ended, Ash, I swear."

This time it was Ash's turn to get annoyed. "I only told that story because you wanted to know how Gary and I started our rivalry in the first place," Ash pointed out. "I never said it would have to do with anything else, did I?"

Luckily for Ash Brock was there to break up the conversation short. "Come on, you two, it's getting late. We'd better get to sleep if we ever want to reach Pastoria City in the morning."

While Dawn walked to her orange tent, annoyed, Ash stole a slight glance at his oldest friend. "Thanks," he whispered to Brock. "I owe you one."

"Don't mention it. I don't believe in coincidences myself, but, I think I already know which girl you're talking about, Ash. And, judging by the way you talk to Dawn about the matter, you seem to have realized it, too." Raising an eyebrow plus a smirk, he added, "Red bandanna, huh?"

"Yeah. Was it that obvious?" Ash started scratching his left cheek in embarrassment.

Brock's smirk went even wider, and he shook his head, amused at the whole thing. "Man, Ash, all I can say is, I wish I was luckier in that department than you are." He was fighting back genuine tears when he said that. Leaning closer, in order to make sure that Dawn would be out of earshot, he asked, "How come you didn't tell her when you had the chance?"

To Brock's mild amusement, Ash's expression turned from bad to worse. "You don't know how much I regret that now."

"Which begs the question, when did you figure May to be that same little girl from your childhood? It seems to me like you have had it figured out for a while now."

Ash laughed, and it was not the jovial kind, either. "Funny thing, actually. I only managed to put two and two together when I saw her with her new bandanna. The one she was wearing when we met up back in Lake Valor. Ironic, ain't it?"

"No kidding," Brock agreed, shaking his head once more.

Patting his friend on both shoulders in a sympathetic manner, Brock had a consolation for Ash by saying, "You'll get another chance. You're bound to see her when our journey here in Sinnoh is over, right? Good night, 'Nitro'," Brock added, smirking.

"Night to you, too," Ash retorted. "I never did get the meaning of that word, yet somehow hearing it makes me feel like a comic book super villain or something."

"Now that's just absurd. Go on ahead and get some shut-eye, I'll put out the fire."

"Yeah, alright." Stifling a yawn, he said to everyone, "Let's all hit the hay, everyone!" This was followed by a collective groan from every single Pokémon that was crowded around Ash, all except for Turtwig, who was already half-asleep by then. Yes, instead of going to sleep themselves, they let themselves listen to the bedtime story that Ash told Brock and Dawn, plus the little discussion Ash and Brock had afterwards. And just like Dawn they want to hear the rest of the story. Of course it's not the origin of Ash and Gary's rivalry; the other one. Ash got exasperated once more. "Oh, come on, you guys, we have to be fresh if we are ever to reach Pastoria, right?"

Disappointed, the Pokémon trudged to the large blanket where they would be sleeping. Ash followed them, laying down his own sleeping bag right next to the Pokémon before crawling inside, close to a sleeping Chimchar and Pikachu.

Ash wanted to talk a bit more before catching some forty winks, but Brock's snoring could actually be heard from his own sleeping bag, so instead Ash had to ponder a few things by himself. Hands cupped behind his head, Ash looked up at the night sky, and thought, 'While on the subject of childhood encounters, I wonder...whatever did happen to that Charmander anyway?'

Suddenly, in a river valley somewhere in Johto, it looked like an eruption just happened; the night sky made it hard to are a few things to point out, though: one, there's no volcanic activity in that area, two, the eruption looked like lava from a distance at first, but closer inspection would reveal it's actually just simple fire, and three, instead of a rumble preceding it, it was actually a powerful sneeze.

No need to point out that this is the Charicific Valley, eh? Of course, a lot of members of the Charmander family would reside there, but there have been a tad bit too many coincidences lately, so it has to be a very specific Char we're talking about...

Olivine City's Pokémon Center is teeming with activity, even at this time of night. This is due to the fact that there's a Pokémon Contest that will be held there the next day. One of the said event's participants is May. Her timing was actually impeccable, since she has just arrived in town, fresh off a boat ride from Sinnoh.

May may have actually have run the distance from the harbor to the Pokémon Center, since she was breathing hard by the time she made it to the counter. This was not lost on the resident Nurse Joy. "And just in time to be the last registrant for the day," she said when May finally managed to straighten herself up to look at her. "You really shouldn't hurry, though, you can still register tomorrow. After all, we have to accommodate for Coordinators who came from the Sinnoh region by boat. You're one of them, right?"

"But how did you-?" May stared at Nurse Joy, then shook her head. "Never mind. Registering tomorrow as well as resting early is tempting, but I'd rather do it now. And while I'm here I might as well give my Pokémon a quick check-up. Thanks in advance, Nurse Joy."

After handing her Pokédex and Pokéballs to Nurse Joy, May heard a voice from behind her, one that she isn't overly fond of. "Looks like Sinnoh just isn't cut out for you, May, darling. So much for trying to go over your losing streak."

"It's nice to see you, too, Harley, darling," May replied, keeping her back while making it look like she was ignoring him. She said the last word in a manner that is sickeningly sweet, since she would know it's sure to annoy the guy. And it looks like it's working.

"Maybe you should have stayed there, among your circle of friends," Harley retorted, trying to mask the annoyance in his voice. "Maybe it's the fact that you miss them that made you lose several Contests in a row. Although, like I already said, it didn't seem to help you anyway."

May clenched her fists, but she took a couple of deep breaths, trying to keep her temper in check. 'Don't let him get to you, May,' she told herself, 'she's just psyching you up for tomorrow. It's one of the oldest tactics in his book.'

Once Nurse Joy completed May's registration, the girl booked a single room in the Pokémon Center. Still ignoring Harley, May had her eyes closed as she headed upstairs to the second floor. When finally alone in her rented room, she exhaled aloud, as a way of diverting her anger. (hopefully, the room was soundproof.) After all that is said and done, she let herself fall face-first on the bed, and stayed there, only letting her face up a minute later because she ran out of air. Then she rolled over on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Yes, I went to another region to participate in the Wallace Cup, only to lose," May said to herself, "but at least I made some new friends while doing it. And, for that matter..." She sat up, and reached for her fanny pack, which she just threw to the side of the bed. She rummaged in it for a couple of seconds before she found what she was looking for: the red bandanna that she used to wear before she left for Johto. "But the other reason I went to Sinnoh," she heaved a huge sigh, holding the cloth close to her chest, before adding, "and I still didn't get around to telling him. I wonder...will I actually ever get that chance at all?

"That's it. If...no, when we meet again, I promise to myself, I will tell him when that time comes. As for the time being, Harley is wrong. I don't need my friends around me. They're always going to be with me, especially him, with this good luck charm of his." She smiled a little when she remembered that goofy-looking grin from her childhood, amused at herself because, of all things, that seems to be the memory that stuck with her the most.