The Crimson Guardian

by Sominum

Ash Ketchum, a boy with a tremendous amount of intellect eventually leaves on a journey with his starter, Charmander by his side. He will travel around the world and along the way will catch many new pokemon, grow strong, unveil secrets long since hidden and forgotten. Rayshipping - Ash x Cynthia. Very Smart/Mature/Aura Guardian Ash. Mix between Anime and Games

1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! This story is for entertainment purposes and in no way am I trying to claim that I own Pokémon.

Pairing: Ash x Cynthia

AUTHOR NOTES!

Hello everyone and welcome to my Pokémon fanfiction story!

The main reason behind me writing this story is because I just love the Ash x Cynthia pairing and would like to show Ash going on a journey where he actually ages, is not extremely stupid and his Pokémon do not reset in skill and strength in the beginning of every region. And his Pokémon will evolve! Well…except for Pikachu.

This story will contain elements from both the anime and the cannon. The main thing being that TM's can be bought from stores as I don't know how else I can make it possible for Pokémon to learn very particular moves that they don't learn through leveling up. Note that there will be no more elements from the game. Just the TM. While there will be items like potions, revives, and what not, they will only be used outside of battle!

Also, Ash will be catching quite a few Pokémon and his Pokémon line up will be different when compared to the anime as I need to be able to show Ash being able to equally rotate through his Pokémon, so they all get some screen time so while there will be quite a lot it will not go beyond 50 Pokémon.

Note he will not be getting a legendary. He will become close friends with all of the other legendary Pokémon and gain their trust, enabling him to call them in times of need, but he will not catch any. Plus, there will be no chosen one cliché which I have seen is done thousands of times as I feel its too overdone. And I want to be able to show Ash grow into a strong trainer over time while not having given so much importance to him because he's fated to save the world.

There will be a deep plot to this story however and it will be slowly revealed which will hopefully keep you all on the edge of your seats.

The only special thing about Ash in this story will be his intellect which will be higher then normal.

NOTE: Ash will be an aura guardian in this story if you can't tell by the title. But he will not be supremely overpowered and I will try my best to explain how aura works. I found a wiki online explaining aura and I will be explaining it based on that information. Ash will slowly grow stronger as time goes on and he will occasionally use these powers to fight evil and what not but he will not be very strong early on. His powers will be very simple and easy to understand and he will eventually, after a while become strong but never extremely powerful or godlike.

While this story will be somewhat light-hearted there will be some dark scenes (not overly so) which I feel are necessary for the story. It won't be anything so bad that it gives you disturbing images nor will it be anything over T so yeah. By the way…

This story is rated T!

Well that's all I had to say. Enjoy the story!

---

A nice cool crisp breeze waved through the air, caressing the body of a six-year old boy named Ashura Satoshi Ketchum, laying peacefully on a comfortable folding bed. Ashura, or as his mom calls him Ash, wore a simple white t-shirt with a red Poké Ball in the middle, knee-length black shorts and simple blue flip-flops. He had a cute face, raven-black hair and the strangest yet alluring and captivating eyes with crimson red irises

Ash let loose a sigh as he gazed at the shining full moon and glittering white stars that lit up the entire night sky, making for a breath-taking scene. His eyes, went through every single detail of the sky, admiring the beauty and his eyes showing maturity and understanding well beyond his years.

Unknown to him, his mother, Delia Satoshi Ketchum, had been watching him from the wooden porch behind him. Delia is an auburn-haired woman with auburn colored eyes, a beautiful face and a slim yet curvaceous figure. She currently had a dark purple night gown on which waved with the cool crisp breeze of the night.

She gave a sad smile as she looked at her baby boy who was lost in the captivating scenery of the night sky. Seeing him like this, showing maturity and such content brought up some bad memories.

The day her husband gave his life so that she and their child that she had been carrying in her womb could live. It was that very same day when she lost her husband did a small accident happen in which she had tripped, causing her six-month pregnant womb to hit a tree root on the ground. She was lucky in that she didn't get a miscarriage as she had managed to break her fall enough with her hands but it still ended up causing damage to Ash's head. But rather then having a negative effect, this had caused a positive effect as it had amplified Ash's ability to process information to super human levels. However, this gift had not come with consequences as he not only had a very reclusive character but his body had been far weaker compared to other children when he was a baby. The doctors had said that his entire body was physically weak and would take years for him to properly recover. This had shown evidence when Ash had learned to walk at the age of three and a half where as normal kids learn around their first birthday.

As time went on, he slowly showed improvement in his physical capabilities and at this point, his body was as physically strong as any normal six-year old kid. This had been astounding to say the least given that it should have taken twice as long it had for him to recover to that state of physical fitness but Delia couldn't have been happier.

Although, it did hurt her heart to not be able to see the innocence in her little boy's eyes like she saw in many of the other kids in their home town of Pallet. In addition, his reclusive nature prevented him from making any friends with her being the only person he felt truly comfortable around to speak his mind. Despite this, she tried her best to help in recover and be open to people but she found that it was much harder then she thought it would be.

It also prevented him from starting school hence why she had taught him herself at home despite it being difficult due to her need to get a job since her bank funds had been running low. But Professor Oak had later discovered that her late husband had a bank load of money stashed away in a secret account in case of an emergency. This had helped her tremendously in raising Ash and with Professor Oak's help as well as reassurance that her past job as a researcher and his assistant was always open for her.

It was during this period of time when she had taught Ash, did she found out that he loved Pokémon. He was extremely comfortable being around them and hence, she let him play with her Pokémon from her days as a coordinator, before she had retired and became a researcher. It warmed her heart when she saw him acting like a child when he was around her Eevee and all of their evolved forms.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard Ash's voice enter her ears. "Mom. Why don't you come down here?"

She saw him patting to the folding bed beside him, laying in front of the porch on the grassy field of their humungous backyard. "Okay." Walking down the stairs of the wooden porch, she made her way to the bed and sat down on it and looked at Ash who had turned his face to look at her.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" asked Ash as he looked at the moon and stars again.

"It sure is." Said Delia as she looked at the sky and then back at Ash. He looked so much like his father it was uncanny. Especially with his unique and alluring crimson red eyes. She knew that despite everything, he would grow up to be a wonderful man. "Shouldn't you be preparing to head to bed Ash?"

"I know. I just wanted to see this." Said Ash with a content sigh. A comfortable silence then enveloped the two for a short while before Ash turned his face to look at his mom. He got up from the bed and sat on its side facing towards her. "Hey mom…can I ask you something?"

Delia gave him a motherly smile that radiated warmth and comfort that only a mother would be capable of giving. "You can ask me anything Ash."

"Can I…Can you teach me more about Pokémon?" Delia raised a confused eyebrow at him so he continued to explain, not giving her a chance to say anything. "Well…on T.V I saw Professor Oak talk about how he's going to be teaching kids from the local school here about Pokémon at his lab tomorrow…and I like playing with Pokémon a lot…so I was wondering since you used to work at his lab…can you teach me about them?"

Delia had wide-eyes for a moment before giving a warming smile but internally frowned. Normal six-year old kids should have been asking for toys to play with but here her son was, asking for her to teach him about Pokémon. While it was saddening to see that the person that was her whole world now couldn't have a normal childhood, she loved him regardless and nothing would ever change that.

So, she got off the bed and knelt down in front of Ash and cupped his cheeks before placing a kiss on his forehead. "Of course, Ash. I'll take you to the lab tomorrow and we can meet Professor Oak. I'll ask him if he can lend some books and I can help teach you. And don't worry, Professor Oak is a very nice and kind man." Delia added at the end since she felt Ash tense up at the prospect of meeting someone. He was not a people's person at all but maybe this could be a step forward in helping him open up a bit more if she could get him to be comfortable around Professor Oak.

As far as teaching him went…well considering how he had managed to learn how to read and write English extremely well in over a month with the aid of some books and her knowledge, she knew he would be able to learn about Pokémon faster then anyone else.

"Now, it's time for you to get some sleep young man. It's getting late and we have a big day tomorrow." Delia said as she got up and Ash followed before she held onto her boy's hand and led him back into their average sized home.

---

The next morning

---

*SQUAK*

*SQUAK*

*SQUAK*

An annoying sound rang throughout Ash's room causing said person to shoot out his hands from under the covers on his bed and smack the top part of the circular shaped alarm, turning it off. Ash got up from his bed, causing the Poké Ball pictured blue cover to slide down him as he stretched his body.

Soon after he looked out the window and saw that the sun was high in the sky, bathing the beautiful green landscape in its warm rays. He sighed with content before turning to look at his clock/alarm and saw that it was 10:30 which was when his mom told him to wake up since the children of the local school will be gone from the Professor's lab by 12:00.

He also saw that on the wooden chair in front of his near empty table, there were a pair of shorts and pants laid out for him so he grabbed them and walked out of his small room, making his way right and entering through the next door, into the bathroom.

Going through his morning rituals of brushing, flossing, mouth washing, waste disposal, shower and then wearing his clothes, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Ash then walked towards the stairs a few feet to his left and walked down them leading him to a small area where the door to their home was in front of him with the living room to the left and the kitchen to the right. He made his way to the kitchen where he smelled a delightful aroma permeating through the air which he instantly recognized as his favourite food of his mom's world-famous omelettes and bacon.

When he walked in, he saw his mom in a dark purple calf length skirt and a blue sleeved blouse with a white apron on top. She just finished cooking the last few strips of bacon and placed them on a large plate which had a ton of them.

"Good morning mom!" greeted Ash as he made his way through the marble floored kitchen and sat on the chair around the mahogany wooden dining table a few meters away from the kitchen counter, near the glass doors that led to the porch and backyard.

"Good morning Ash!" Delia greeted back as she untied her apron, hanging it on a nearby hanger before bringing the plates of omelettes and bacon, along with some toasted bread and glasses filled with orange juice.

Ash looked at the food, drooling as the delightful aroma tingled his nose before he looked beside him, noticing Eevee, Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Umbreon, Espeon, Glaceon, Leafeon and Sylveon eating Pokémon food from their respective bowls, devouring it as if it was heaven's gift to earth. Not really surprising given how his mom's cooking in terms of both Pokémon food and normal human food, surpassed world class chefs and breeders.

Delia then brought two empty plates and set one in front of Ash before placing one beside him and took her seat on a chair right next to his. "So, are you excited for today?"

Ash nodded as he filled his plate and started chowing down on his food. "I can't wait mom!"

"No eating while your mouth is full!" Delia scolded although the playfulness and joyful tone that was used, negated any effect of the words as Ash continued to chow down like no tomorrow, showing very little table manners.

The woman sighed happily at her son's bad eating habits, remembering some good times with his father. It was clear where his table manners…or lack thereof came from. Regardless, she began to eat herself and decided to keep the conversation going. "So, are you excited to meet many new Pokémon?"

Ash nodded his head enthusiastically, one of the rare times he truly acted like a child. "Pokémon are awesome!"

Delia giggled and reached out to ruffle his hair receiving no protest from Ash who was far too focused on devouring his breakfast like a blackhole, taking blissful delight on how they flooded his mouth with numerous delicious flavours.

"Any new Pokémon in particular you want to meet?"

"Nope. Any and all Pokémon are awesome!" exclaimed Ash.

Delia smiled at her son before the two went back to eating, engaging in conversations often about how the day will go and what Ash wanted to learn.

---

Delia just closed the door to her house behind her, before taking Ash's hand who had been standing right beside her, and started walking on the stone pathway that led to the fence gates of her home. She opened them before both mother and son walked through and made their way down the road towards Professor Oak's laboratory that sat atop a grassy hill.

The lab was not that large but still very big with its semi-circular shaped red roof, with numerous shining windows on its yellow walls, and a large windmill behind the building. Ash looked around with a bright smile with his mouth slightly agape as he gazed around at the Pidgeys flying over head, Bellsprouts walking on the grassy field and the amazing and beautiful scenery of mother nature with the clear blue sky and grassy field with trees in the distance.

Delia who was also taking in the scenery and the wonderful smile on her son's face was internally hoping Ash would not be too uncomfortable around Professor Oak. He has had a few glimpses of the man when he had stopped by their home to check up on them. Plus, it was good that their home was close to the lab, a bit away from the cluster of houses so they did not meet any people as they walked by.

Soon enough they had begun to climb the stairs that led up the hill towards the lab and eventually had made it. Ash was internally nervous about meeting Professor Oak despite having seen him in their home on several occasions and he seemed like a very kind man. He hoped he was willing to teach him about Pokémon as he really wanted to learn more about these amazing creatures.

He was broken out of his thoughts when the…ironically oak wooden door opened courtesy of Delia having rung the bell twice. Standing in front of them was a grey-haired man with black eyes and a few wrinkles on his face. He wore brown pants, a knee-length white lab-coat and a red shirt underneath.

"Oh, hello Delia!" Professor Oak greeted with a smile, having been expected them seeing as how she had called him early this morning.

"Hi Professor Oak. Thank you for this." She replied with a small nod.

"No thanks necessary Delia. You are like my daughter and I'm more then happy to help you." Oak said before he turned his attention to Ash who shied away bit due to being in someone else's presence. "Hello Ash my-boy. Do you remember me?" Said Oak with a smile as he extended his hand for a handshake.

Ash nodded his head a bit and extended his own hand, before engaging in a handshake with the old man mainly because the Oak had smiled in such a friendly way and he had met him in the past despite their interaction never having gone beyond a few words. "Hi."

Oak hid his surprise well upon seeing Ash shake his hand and respond to his greeting. He then motioned them to come in which they promptly did and Oak closed the door behind them. Oak then started walking a bit in front of them and spoke. "So, Ash, do you want to go to the Corral to meet lots of new Pokémon?"

He nodded with enthusiasm as his excitement overcame his nervousness of being around Professor Oak although he stayed close to his mom, when he saw a couple scientists in the rooms they passed by.

"So, you want to learn about Pokémon Ash?" Asked Professor Oak, since Delia had briefly mentioned something about that before.

"Yes." Ash replied as the trio reached a rather large living room with a sofa set consisting of one, two and three seat sofas with a large mahogany square-shaped table in the middle along with some average decorations of stands with flowers or pictures on them and a shelf with books at the side.

Oak slid opened the glass doors at the end of the room, allowing Delia and Ash to pass through and enter the vast Corral of his laboratory. The Corral was huge and since this was Ash's first time seeing it, he was astounded by all the various Pokémon he saw running in all sorts of different environments.

There was a lake in the distance with water type Pokémon swimming about. The sky was filled with flying types soaring through the air while many other types must have been in the distant forest and mountain while the clearing was filled with many different types.

"Wow." Ash muttered in shock and awe.

"It sure is." Muttered Oak before he pointed towards a large light-orange colored draconian Pokémon. It had two long antennas coming from his head with a small horn protruding from in between those antennas. The Pokémon had a striated under-belly that went to the tip of its thick long tail, along with triple clawed, thick arms and legs, and small wings. "Why don't you go play with my Dragonite over there. Don't worry, he's very nice and friendly."

Ash didn't even hear the last part of Oak's statement as he ran towards the Dragonite and immediately began interacting with it before he started petting his head when the Dragon Pokémon allowed him to do so.

Delia did not protest at all since she had known that Dragonite for a long time and he was a fairly old Pokémon who had the biggest heart she had ever seen. It was also heart-warming to see her normally serious son acting like a child at a toy store around Pokémon, especially ones he has never seen before.

"That boy really loves Pokémon doesn't he. Just like his father…" Oak said before his widened in realization of what came out of his mouth and he looked over to Delia who had a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry Delia, I…"

"No, its ok. Your right though. He's so much like Richard." She said as she remembered her husband. A rugged handsome man with unkempt, shoulder-length black hair, a thin triple claw mark scar across his face and his beautiful crimson red eyes, flashed in her mind.

A silence enveloped the group, uncomfortable for the Professor, while Delia just kept gazing at the laughing Ash as memories of her late husband flashed through her head.

It was a short while later did Delia break the silence, much to the Professor's relief. "You know, he asked me last night if I could teach him about Pokémon after he saw you on T.V. But I can only teach him so much so I was wondering if you would be willing to teach him. He's not that comfortable around people so I can't exactly put Ash in a school. I know it's a lot to ask but…"

"I would be happy to teach Ash." Oak interrupted. "I can tell he is a smart kid and maybe being around lots of Pokémon and me will help him open up more."

"Thank you, Professor." Said Delia with a thankful smile.

"My pleasure. Why don't you start working at the lab again since if Ash will be learning here, having you around will make it easier for him. Plus, you won't have to worry about him everyday." Oak suggested.

"I…I think I will Professor."

The two then continued to gaze having fun with the Dragonite with his rare happy and child like smile on face.

---

Later that day, Ash was sitting on the two-seat sofa beside his mom with Professor Oak sitting in front of them on the three-seat sofa. They had just finished explaining that Ash would now be learning directly under Professor Oak and that Delia would now be working here again.

Ash could not have been happier to not only get his desire to learn about Pokémon but his mom would be working here as well. He also gave a very mature "Thank you." To Professor Oak with a bow of his head somewhat surprising the Kanto Professor.

After their conversation ended, a childlike voice with an obnoxious undertone was heard by the three. "Hey Gramps, can I see that awesome Machamp of yours again?"

The three turned their heads towards the hall leading to the living room and saw a boy, the same age as Ash, walk into the room. He had brown hair, black eyes and wore a blue shirt and black knee-length shorts. Setting his backpack next to the sofa Oak was sitting on, the boy looked at the two people in the room who he did not recognize.

"Who are they gramps?" asked the boy.

"Gary my-boy. I would like you to meet Delia and her son Ash. Delia, Ash this is my grandson Gary." Oak introduced.

"Hello Gary." Delia greeted while Ash simply stayed quiet, briefly glancing at Gary before turning his attention towards the glass doors that led to the Corral, his nervousness of being around others kicking in again.

"Hi." Gary greeted back a bit miffed at Ash ignoring him.

Delia nudged Ash a bit to greet him but he did not listen making her sigh but she was still glad he was somewhat comfortable around the professor.

"Ash, will be studying here from now on, under me so I'm sure you and him will become great friends." Oak said receiving a surprised look from Gary.

"What! He will be studying under you?!" exclaimed Gary in surprise with jealousy being evident in his tone. "I want to study under you too!"

"Gary you're already going to school and I can teach you when you come to the lab. Ash here is not comfortable around others which is why I am teaching him privately. Whenever your done school you can come over here and I will teach you and Ash together ." Explained the Professor to which Gary nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"Hey do you want to go meet some Pokémon?" asked Gary as he stepped towards Ash.

Ash turned his head towards Gary a bit surprised and intrigued by his words since he was getting anxious to get back out to the Corral and meet more Pokémon. "Ok." He cautiously replied after a short moment.

"Great! Let's go!" said Gary as he ran towards the glass doors and opened them before heading into the Corral with Ash following more slowly after he received a nod from Delia,

"It seems like they will be great friends." Said Oak receiving a nod from Delia.

They then began to engage in a conversation about how they planned on teaching Ash and Professor Oak grew more intrigued when he learned how easily Ash was able to learn to read and write English to such a great extent. The future will be interesting.

---

3 years later

---

Within the span of three years, so many things had happened that had left Delia, Professor Oak and everyone else in the lab in shock.

After Ash had begun learning under Professor Oak and Delia began working in the lab, they first decided to teach him the basics of Pokémon such as their typing and small details about them. They had been surprised when Ash had literally devoured through the two books they had selected within three days along with several other books on more advanced details of Pokémon such as the various physiologies and environments different types like to live in.

It was because of this, Professor Oak decided to do a small test on Ash consisting of briefly showing Ash images for a couple of seconds and then asking him various questions on key details in the picture that you would have to look at carefully to notice. It was from this test that Professor Oak determined that Ash had photographic memory. Delia had not been that surprised but she was proud of her gifted son.

After this discovery and learning how Ash was able to process information much faster although he had long since suspected this, Professor Oak had decided to teach Ash more advanced things about Pokémon by not only using books, but also the research he had done and papers he had written.

Delia meanwhile, continued homeschooling him and taught him math, sciences, history and pretty much anything else he wanted to learn which was almost everything. Within a year, she found that she had nothing left to teach him since he had learned everything that she knew and hence he had begun to study by himself using the advanced books math, physics, human and Pokémon biology, chemistry, history, geography, etc. he found in the lab.

Even while he was stuffing his brain with information, Ash still found the time to spend with his mom in which they grew closer and she taught him how to cook, play the guitar and told him stories of how she had traveled to all sorts of regions on her journey as a Pokémon coordinator.

While not studying or spending time with his mom, Ash spend every waking moment in the Corral, learning and playing with the Pokémon, sometimes even heading into the forest but never venturing too far. He learned so much about them and made a lot of friends with the Pokémon that lived their along with slowly gaining the ability to understand what some of the Pokémon were saying some of the time.

He had also gotten comfortable being around Professor Oak and the various scientists in the building and had formed a small temporary bond of friendship with Gary. However, that had quickly collapsed when Gary saw how far and fast Ash was going and how easily he was able to learn and how smart he was. It didn't help that Professor Oak and every scientist in the building always seemed astounded by Ash which ended up causing Gary to be jealous. As time went on Gary's jealousy continued to grow and had only gotten worse with the past three years, despite Oak or Gary's parents never once having neglected him.

Ash had noticed Gary's jealousy and how he stopped being friendly to him but didn't do anything about it mainly because he did not know how. He had read books about human psychology but due to the fact that he did not have any friends before Gary and he was still not a people's person, he didn't know how to become friends with him again. Gary would never talk to him after the first few months of their friendship and after that they had just drifted apart with Ash becoming more and more engrossed in not only learning about Pokémon but also just learning in general.

Ash had discovered a passion and liking for learning something new and it only grew with time. It was after the first year and a half did he also discover another hobby he liked doing which was exercising mainly because he had been getting easily exhausted when he played with Pokémon but as he played more and more, it became less and less. And after learning about the human body he wanted to grow stronger and increase his stamina so he could play with them more. So, he did some jogging and stretches everyday since he learned that exercising too heavily early on may stunt his growth.

So, with exercising incorporated into his daily schedule, Ash continued to grow as he became smarter, grew more in tune with Pokémon, become closer with his mom and learn different things from her, along with increasing his stamina.

Before they knew it, three years had passed and Ash was now nine-years old. Professor Oak, Delia and the scientists had found themselves completely shocked at how much Ash had learned. He now rivaled Professor Oak in terms of knowledge of Pokémon and outclassed everyone else in terms of general knowledge.

It was around this point in time did Oak realize that Ash fit almost every requirement of being a Pokémon Professor, with the only thing being left was for him to publish a research paper on something with hard evidence backing it up or make some new discovery for him to be considered a Professor and being the youngest one in the world at that. It was obvious Ash was very special but also saddening for him and Delia to see him not being able to enjoy a normal childhood.

Regardless, Professor Oak made Ash a junior Pokémon Researcher and his apprentice until he completed the final step and became a Professor. Of course, this decision was made after talking to Delia and Ash who both agreed with him and Delia had been so proud of Ash.

However, Gary became more distant with Oak after this decision and he changed a lot as he always felt the need to flaunt whatever he did in an effort to make himself look superior to others. It did not go unnoticed by anyone and Professor Oak and his parents tried to talk to him but he ignored their words. Despite this, they kept trying on occasion although it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Currently, it was around 8:00 a.m. in the morning and Ash was doing his daily run around the perimeter of Pallet town, ignoring Oak's Corral. He was nearly done the ten-mile jog which had taken him around an hour to complete which was very impressive for his age and his body had improved a lot physically.

He was currently nearing the fence of Oak's corral as he jogged up the small grassy hill before eventually reaching it. Ash then laid down on the ground with his arms and legs spread out as he breathed in heavily, taking in the sweet oxygen as his exhaustion slowly left him. After about ten minutes, he got up dusting his black t-shirt and black sweat pants.

Ash then walked over to the door in the tall fence and brought out a small key from his pocket and opened the lock on the door and walked into the Corral before closing it behind him. It would still be around an hour before his mom would finish making breakfast to sate his enormous appetite and hence he would use this time playing around with the Pokémon friends he made in the past three years as he was already done his other exercises which he did before his jog.

As he walked through the grassy clearing, he saw some Pokémon sleeping on the ground while some were awake however, what caught his attention were a small group of Pokémon that were gathered around twenty meters away from the lake.

He walked over to the group of Bellsprout, Rattata, Raticate, Pichu, Pidgey, Pidgeotto and a single Bulbasaur, all of whom were watching a fight going on between two Pokémon a few meters in front of them. He instantly recognized one of the Pokémon which was a four-armed, bulky humanoid looking Pokémon which was Professor Oak's Machamp battling against a normal humanoid looking Pokémon which was Machamp's pre-evolved form, Machoke.

Ash had never seen that particular Machoke in the clearing leading him to believe that it must be a trainer's Pokémon that was just sent here. Once he reached the group of Pokémon who had long since sensed his presence and greeted their human friend when he stood beside him.

"Hey guys. What's going on here?" asked Ash although he had a very good idea as to why Machoke and Machamp were fighting.

The Bulbasaur looked at Ash and spoke, ("Machoke challenged Machamp to a fight, trying to prove he's stronger and better.")

Ash who had gotten even better at understand Poké speech, nodded his head. It was well known fighting type Pokémon loved to fight and always wanted to prove themselves as being strong. Not only that but they had a sense of honor in terms of plain combat with no moves involved to see who was the better fighter.

The crimson-eyed boy watched the fighting types fight with their fists and legs although it was extremely clear that Machamp was the superior fighter not only because of being the evolved form of the Machoke but also because of decades of combat experience. The Machoke did not stand a chance for a second as the moment the fight had started he had been on the defense trying to dodge Machamp's lightning fast punches and kicks yet failing completely.

Eventually, Machamp landed one final punch on Machamp's head, sending the fighting type to the ground, unconscious with some light bruises on its body. Machamp then stood to his full height and went over to a nearby Sitrus berry tree, to pick some of its fruit before bringing it to the Machoke and setting it beside him. They would help in recovering Machoke's strength and healing his injuries when he woke up.

Machamp then turned towards the Pokémon group and noticed Ash and quickly waved his hand and walked towards him. ("Good morning Ash.")

"Good morning Machamp." Ash replied back in English, knowing most if not all Pokémon are capable of understanding human speech. How else would they know what attacks to do when trainers commanded them?

("How was your morning run?") asked Machamp in a series of a few grunts and saying parts of its name repetitively.

"Very good." Said Ash as he noticed Machamp was not even the slightest bit tired from that fight. He noticed that the Machoke behind its evolved form had just regained consciousness and had begun eating the berries while looking at Machamp with respect.

This is what got Ash thinking as watching the two Pokémon fighting in hand-to-hand combat made him want to try it out too. Learning how to fight would be useful physical training and may come in handy should he ever need to defend himself in the future. So, he decided to ask Machamp to see if he would train him given how experienced the Pokémon is.

"Machamp, can you teach me how to fight like you do?" asked Ash surprising the fighting type and the nearby Pokémon with his request.

("Strange…never expected you to ask such a thing. Why do you want to learn how to fight?") asked Machamp out of curiosity.

"I want to learn how to defend myself. That and it just interests me." Said Ash.

While the first part was understandable to Machamp, the second reason was what interested Machamp the most. The fact that Ash just wanted to learn how to fight because it just interested him greatly appealed to him.

For fighting types, hand-to-hand combat was not a hobby but a way of life for them. Any and all fighting types absolutely loved it and it was why Machamp nodded almost enthusiastically to Ash's request, excited at the prospect of teaching a human how to fight.

("Ok. But you will have to pour your entire heart in learning. You know that fighting is a way of life for all fighting types so you will need to give it your all.") explained Machamp to which Ash simply nodded but had a fire in his eyes that made Machamp shudder with anticipation. This was going to be fun for both of them but he would make sure Ash did not get hurt. He did not need Ash's angry mother on his back. He had seen how terrifying woman, especially mothers are for both humans and Pokémon and he did not want to be on the receiving end of their wrath.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, Machamp gazed into Ash's crimson red eyes and spoke in an authoritative tone, ("Stand tall with your feet shoulder with apart and slightly bent. For now, I am going to train you on how to perform powerful and fast punches with proper form before moving onto kicking. I will show you first.")

Ash followed the Pokémon's instructions as the other Pokémon watched them closely, looking very interested in seeing how their human friend would fare in learning from the veteran fighting type fighter.

Machamp then stood in his fighting stance similar to Ash's while his arms stood close by his side while their muscles were bulging, with a few veins popping out here and there. He then launched a single punch with his bottom right arm and it was a very fast punch but he held back so Ash could see his hand move. If he were to punch at full speed and power, his hand would practically be invisible.

("Now you try.")

Ash saw Machamp's arm and hand movement and his mind memorized every single detail of the movement in his head. He then took a deep breath and used his memory of the form and punched in front of him following the exact same movement as Machamp's arm had a few seconds ago. As expected for someone who had never fought before, his speed and power behind the punch was pathetic to say the least but Machamp had expected as much. But what caught his attention was that Ash had absolutely perfect form in his punch and followed the exact same thing he did. This caused the Pokémon to grin as it seems that Ash had lots of potential and he planned on bringing it out.

Ash felt a cold shiver go through his spine. 'Why do I get the feeling I just made a big mistake?' He was broken out of those thoughts when Machamp ordered him to do the punch with his other arm after he demonstrated it for him. Ash was then ordered to repeatedly punch the space in front of him, rotating between his right and left arm consecutively non-stop.

Behind Machamp, Machoke had been listening to the conversation and had also joined in on the training, wanting to get stronger like the seasoned fighter.

---

It was now 9:15 a.m. and Ash had just opened the door to his home, and walked in. "I'm home mom!" He shouted out while closing the door and taking his shoes off.

Delia walked into the hall he was in as he slipped into his slippers and had her arms crossed. "Your 15 minutes late young man and why are you so…wet?" asked Delia as she saw Ash's clothes sticking to him and his body was covered in sweat, making him seem like he had just taken a dip in a lake.

Ash sighed, knowing his mom was very punctual when it came to time and always expected him to be home by 9: 00a.m for breakfast. "Well…after my run, I got a little side-tracked with the Pokémon at the Corral. Can I take a shower first, I'll explain everything at breakfast." Said Ash while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his right hand and had a goofy smile on his face.

The mock seriousness of Delia's face fell as she gave him a warm smile and seeing him like this brought up some memories of her husband again as he always acted like that when she scolded him. "Ok, go take a shower."

Ash nodded his head and walked past her, making her clench her nose at the heavy smell of sweat and dirt that came from him. "And clean really well. You stink!"

Ash looked back at her as he walked up the stairs and blew a raspberry at her before continuing. Delia smiled at Ash's retreating back, seeing this child like side of his was a rare treat for her and was something she was getting to see more of with increasing frequency. She was right in that spending time around Professor Oak, the people of the lab and the Pokémon in the Corral had helped him open up a lot. He was still very wary around strangers but was still able to say a few words to them but at least it helped him be open and himself more around the people he knew.

She still wished he would have friends his age but the only one he had was Gary a little less then three years ago and that had ended rather soon and abruptly. Shaking her head from those thoughts, she headed back into the kitchen and prepared the dining table with a couple of dishes and placed the plates of omelettes and bacon on it before getting some glasses of orange juice. She then sat down and waited for Ash to be finished with his shower and passed the time by watching her Pokémon eat their food from their bowls.

A few minutes later, she saw Ash walk into the room, wearing a loose and comfortable red t-shirt and white shorts while his short, spiky raven-hair was still a bit wet. He sat down on the chair behind his plate which was in front of her across the table.

The two then began eating and Ash decided it was time to explain what had happened today. "Mom..." he saw that she placed her gaze on him. "After, I finished jogging today, I saw Machamp having a fight with a Machoke. Don't worry it was a normal friendly spar but after it was over, I asked Machamp to see if he could train me in hand-to-hand combat and he agreed to it. I was late because he was teaching me how to punch."

Delia hummed in response which confused Ash since he expected her to be angry at him for doing something reckless. "That's good."

"It is?"

"Yes. I was planning on putting you in Karate class to help you learn how to defend yourself but this is even better. It's a good skill to have. I was in fact a brown belt in karate before I had left for my journey." Explained Delia.

"Wow…" said Ash in awe. He knew earning a brown belt in karate was quite the achievement as it was only two levels below being a black belt.

"Do you plan on going on a journey Ash?" asked Delia as it had been on her mind for quite a while now. "I can see how much you love Pokémon so it would make sense if you wanted to go on a journey."

"I don't know…I haven't really thought about it much." Explained Ash although the idea of meeting all kinds of new Pokémon was very appealing.

"Its okay. You still have five years to decide but just know that whatever you decide to do, I'm going to support you."

"Thanks mom." Ash responded with a happy smile.

"You know I'm really glad the League changed the rules of only allowing kids to become trainers after they turn fourteen rather then ten and the need to get legal permission from the league in some way. I read so many cases in the newspaper of kids being killed due to reckless actions or having no knowledge on Pokémon." Explained Delia with a small frown at the end of it. The rules had been changed before she became a trainer but she remembered reading one rather disturbing report of a kid angering a group of Spearow by throwing a rock at a single one thus angering an entire flock and being pecked to death.

"I agree." Said Ash with a nod, breaking Delia out of her thoughts before the two continued to eat their breakfast. Once they were done, Ash decided to ask something that had been on his mind, "Hey mom, when you were a trainer, did you try and evolve your Pokémon right away or did you train them first as much as you can and perhaps delay their evolution before evolving them?"

"Why do you ask?" asked Delia, genuinely surprised by the question.

"Well, I have been working on a paper about something that caught my eye but I first need to find supporting evidence. I already found some of what I am looking for thanks to all the Pokémon in the Corral but I would like to gather information from trainers as well." Explained Ash to which Delia nodded.

"Well, my Eevee and their evolutions had been the Pokémon I had from the very beginning thanks to my mom and dad running a day-care center for Pokémon. When I went on my journey with them, I each gave them an Everstone to prevent them from evolving since I wanted to train them a lot first. After around a year or more is when I gave them the option of which form they wanted to evolve to." Explained Delia.

"Did you notice how they may have been much stronger after their evolution? Like much, much more then you expected?" asked Ash getting to the point he wanted to know.

"Now that you mention it, yes. After they evolved, I began winning almost every single battle and practically never lost a single contest battle ever." Said Delia as she remembered her days as a trainer and coordinator.

"I see…" said Ash as he became deep engrossed in his thoughts.

"What is it?" asked Delia, now becoming very curious to see where her genius of a son was heading with this.

"You know how Pokémon become stronger when they evolve right, due to their body changing and becoming physically better and getting more power in general?" asked Ash to which Delia nodded. "Well I noticed that there were sometimes two Pokémon of the exact same species, specifically, I had seen a pair of Arcanine, where one was much stronger then the other and while this is possible depending on the trainer or genetics, I had talked to both of them and learned completely different things. One of the Arcanine said that he had been evolved from a Growlithe without any form of proper training by a trainer while the other Arcanine said that his trainer had trained him extensively in all aspects before using a Fire Stone to evolve him."

"So, your saying that during evolution, a Pokémon will carry over all its physical characteristics and other powers it has in its next evolution?" concluded Delia.

"Yes. It has always been assumed that if you train a Pokémon right and let it gain enough battle experience than it will evolve and grow and eventually evolve but no one by far ever bothered to research into the fact that Pokémon's pre-evolved form plays a key role in the strength, potential and health of a Pokémon even after it evolves."

"How does it affect their health?"

"If a Pokémon is heavily injured and say is in a life and death situation or under enough stress that it wills its own evolution to occur, it can sometimes disable a Pokémon for life. An example would be the Primeape that had been transferred to Professor Oak a year ago. Do you remember it?" Delia nodded. "Well I had noticed that there had been a slight limp in his left step but was barely noticeable so no one else had noticed it. When I asked the Primeape about it, he said that his left thigh bone had been broken when he was in a fierce battle with another trainers Pokémon before he had been captured. He had forced himself to evolve to fight more but because he evolved when he had a serious injury, that injury now had become permanent and it was something he could never recover from. There is a lot of biological facts that would explain this but it will be too long and tedious to explain."

Delia had been astounded by this piece of information. "I see…do you have any more evidence to support your theory?" she asked. If this theory was proven then it would affect trainers and Pokémon in general around the world as people would finally listen and not try to get their Pokémon to evolve to their final stage as soon as possible. Not only that but the medical field would be able to advance with this piece of information.

"Not that much at the moment. While I have enough to give my theory some merit, I still need some more time and evidence before I can completely prove it and for it to be accepted not only by the scientific community but the rest of the world." Explained Ash.

"Well, I'm here to help so don't be afraid to ask." Delia replied with a smile.

"I know but I want to do this on my own. I would like it if you could teach me more of your amazing cooking." Asked Ash with a grin to which Delia happily nodded and began ranting about a new recipe she had been working on consisting of a homemade lasagna pizza combination.

---

5 years later

---

After his conversation with Delia, Ash had spent quite a lot of his time researching his theory and after a year had passed, he had collected all the data he needed that would support and prove his theory on how a Pokémon's evolution is directly affected by its pre-evolved form's physical strengths and weaknesses, overall power and its health condition at the time. He had written up a full detailed report on it and submitted it to Professor Oak who had read over it.

Needless to say, the Kanto Professor had been shocked for the umpteenth time as he had read Ash's report and had wasted no time in not only getting it published and sent out to the entire Pokémon scientific community but also officially made Ash a Pokémon Professor after a conversation with the league and once all of the legal steps were completed. Ash had decided that he will not focus on any particular research as he liked to keep his options open.

The entire scientific community, hell the entire world had been stunned to learn that a ten-year-old boy managed to earn the title of Pokémon Professor and make such a ground-breaking discovery. The media was basically drooling and trying their best to get their hands on him but a stern warning from Professor Oak and Ash was all the League needed to keep the Media at bay.

After that fiasco had been over, Ash had returned to absorbing any non-Pokémon related knowledge he had left while continuing all his other activities and advancing further into his hand-to-hand combat training from Machamp. He had advanced leaps and bound in this training and had slowly started to increase the intensity of his workout routine more and more. Delia and Professor Oak both had been worried for him so they kept a close eye on him during his training.

As time went on, his love for Pokémon grew and he had thought a lot about his mom's words about going on a journey and soon enough he had agreed whole heartedly and decided that he would go travel around the world when he turned fourteen.

While being saddened that her son would soon leave her for a journey, she had expected it and couldn't have been prouder of him. So as the years went by, she taught him all sorts of survival skills she picked up on during her travels and from Richard, along with some other small pieces of advice.

Ash had listened to all of his mother's words and instantly memorized everything she told and taught him. Not only that but during the past five years, he published even more papers and became even more well known as not only the youngest Professor but quite possibly the smartest of them all.

Ash had discovered a direct correlation between the energy a Pokémon releases when hatching from an egg and Pokémon evolution, publishing a paper on it with hard evidence. In addition to this, Ash had started up a debate that most likely, Eevee is the most closely related to the supposed ancestor of all Pokémon, Mew. The main reason behind why Ash suggested this theory was because, Eevee had numerous evolutions, the most of any Pokémon in fact, and each one can be suited to survive in different environments. Plus, according to legend, Mew is capable of learning any Pokémon move in existence so Ash believed this diversity in evolution and ability to learn moves must be related suggesting that Eevee could be one of the oldest living Pokémon, second to Mew.

Furthermore, Ash had also managed to learn quite a bit of computer programming through some fiddling and had managed to understand how Poké Balls worked. The spheres transform the matter that makes up the Pokémon into energy and stores the data inside. The data would then separate the consciousness of the Pokémon and allow it to live in an artificial environment which was one of the reasons, why some Pokémon were able to come out of their Poké Ball at their will. It was quite the remarkable feat of technology, that was for sure.

Regardless, by the time he was thirteen, Ash had nothing left to learn and he was looking forward to his journey quite a bit despite not having a clear goal in mind other then just learning as much as he can about Pokémon. So, he spent the last year just preparing for the journey ahead by learning everything he could from his mom and getting tips from her and Professor Oak. Not only that, but he had long since been saving up quite a bit of the regular money he got from the league after he became a Pokémon Professor, along with all of the money he had made through his discoveries. Needless to say, Ash had been quite a rich man and his income had greatly helped his mom in running their home and improving it a lot. He had used his saved-up money for numerous supplies for his journey such as full-restores, various potions, full heals, various protein and vitamin jars, and got a custom-made order of Apricorn Poké Balls from Kurt, a Poké Ball crafts man and Professor Oak's old friend. Kurt used the unique properties of Apricorns, which were a type of fruit similar to berries but still very different, to make different types of Poké Balls with unique properties.

Once Ash had bought all the supplies, he had made sure he had a good amount saved in his bank that he would need to spend while on the road. While he knew that trainers got money transferred to their bank account from other trainers whenever they won battles, it was still good to have that stash of cash.

After that had been done, Delia had surprised Ash when she had bought him a state of the art sleeping bag, tent and various other things that came with numerous features, along with sewing custom-made clothes of her own design for Ash keeping his preferences in mind.

With everything having been set, Ash had found himself unable to sleep the night before his adventure officially began. He was a bit nervous of leaving his home and meeting new people but he had greatly improved from the years when he could barely function around strangers. Now he can easily hold a conversation but he typically just avoided people as much as he could. But, the reason he could not sleep was because of the sheer excitement coursing through him of meeting numerous Pokémon on the journey ahead. He knew of all the known Pokémon in the world but reading about them and meeting them in person were two completely different experiences.

So, as the fourteen-year-old boy laid on his bed, he closed his eyes taking deep breaths and calmed himself down before he slowly started drifting into a nice dreamless sleep, knowing he needed to get enough rest if he was to get a starter Pokémon in the morning tomorrow.

---

Ash woke up bright and early at 6:00a.m. in his nice queen-sized bed. He took off the covers and did a nice big stretch before he got off the bed and walked out of his small room, towards the washroom to brush his teeth. Once he had been done that, he got into some sweat pants and a t-shirt as usual before he walked out of the house and ran to the outskirts of the town before starting to jog which would have been a sprint for normal people, around the perimeter.

As Ash ran across the grass and felt the cool crisp breeze of the early morning brushing against his skin and chased away any residual sleepiness from recently waking up. As he kept running, his excitement kept growing as he would be getting a starter Pokémon today and would go on a journey throughout the Kanto region before heading out to explore all of the other regions out there. He already had a starter picked out in his mind and it was a Pokémon that had appealed to him greatly especially after he met it around a week ago when the Pokémon came to the lab.

With his blood pumping through his body and his mind frenzied with excitement at the journey ahead, Ash ran in a much faster pace and managed to complete the ten-mile run in less then thirty minutes before he ran back to the backyard of his home where he had numerous boulders of various sizes laid out. Using them as weights he did lots of exercises such as pull-ups, all variations of push-ups, burpees, squats and a whole slew of exercises. He trained like a man getting ready for war but to him it was just natural since he loved the way his muscles ached and begged for rest, how his body got tired with the intense workout that would make other's think Ash was insane, and how his hot blood pumped through his entire body, boiling from the intensity of the workout.

When he had been done his workout, it was 9:00 a.m. and he needed to reach the lab in an hour and by this point his mom must have been done breakfast so he took off his shirt which had been sticking to his body due to his chest revealing his extremely ripped athletic body. For a boy who had a weak body since his birth, his body was now extremely strong, durable and sculpted to perfection and had an impressive height of 5 feet, 8 inches. He was not overly large but he had enough bulging muscles and with his low 5% body fat, they looked even more defined and big showing the extreme power they must have packed and making his body look very ripped.

Ash then walked over to the back porch where a towel lay hanging there which he took to wipe the sweat from his body and walked in through the back door and found his mom waiting at the dining table.

"Good morning mom!"

"Good morning Ash." Said Delia who had been impressed by before by her son's body and the intense training he put through it. She knew he would have ladies fawning over him left and right with his handsome face, captivating crimson red-eyes and the perfectly sculpted body. She would have so much fun teasing him in the future when he gets himself a girlfriend.

As Ash walked out of the dining room and kitchen and headed towards the bathroom, he felt a cold shiver travel through his spine not knowing why he felt a vague sensation that a lot of embarrassment awaited him in the future. He shook those thoughts out of his head as he quickly took a shower before wearing the outfit his mom had prepared for him for the journey ahead. The outfit consisted of white t-shirt with a fire design on it, a nice and comfy dark-blue jacket on top of it which was a combination between a sweater and a vest-jacket, loose yet comfy black jeans that were made of a special type of material that allowed them to stretch more easily but still hold their jean like look.

Once he walked down stairs and sat down at the dining table, he began filling his plate with food.

"It looks really good on you." Said Delia with a small smile that Ash returned.

"Of course, it would look good. You made it after all mom."

Delia giggled at the response. Her son was always honest and unknowingly always gave flattery comments to those close to him. She began eating her breakfast alongside him as she started talking, "I packed all your things so make sure to come by here to pick them up when you get your starter. Have you decided what starter you are going to get?"

"Yep. It was hard since Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander all look like great Pokémon but I decided a while ago on who my first Pokémon will be."

"That's good. Remember everything I taught you ok." Ash nodded and the two went back to finishing their breakfast. Delia had a very good idea as to who Ash will be choosing as his starter Pokémon due to his interaction with one of the starter Pokémon that had come in just a week ago due to a certain incident the Pokémon had with its trainer.

Once they were done eating, Ash stood up and took his and his mom's dishes before washing them in the sink while Delia went to check up on Ash's back-pack, making sure she had everything packed. Soon enough, Ash was done with the dishes and so walked into the hallway that led to the living room, kitchen and their main entrance door. He saw his mom looking through the new back-pack she bought and making sure everything was in there.

"Mom, I'm heading to Professor Oak's lab for my starter. I'll be back soon!" said Ash.

"Ok honey!" Delia called out to which Ash nodded and exited the house.

The crimson-eyed teenager then begun to run down the road towards Professor Oak's lab, not having the patience to walk there, plus it was 9:30 a.m. so might as well hurry and have the chance to get the Pokémon he wanted before the other two trainers that were coming today to get their starter Pokémon.

He eventually made it up the stairs of the hill that Oak's lab stood on top of and brought out a small key which he used to unlock the front door to the lab and walk in. He was making his way into the main research room of the lab before he noticed a bunch of chatter coming from the living room of the lab.

So, he walked into the living room and was immediately greeted with the sight of Professor Oak sitting on the single seat leather sofa, while two figures sat on the three-seat sofa. The first figure was a white-haired man with a thick white mustache, wearing a brown trench coat with a blue dress-shirt and tie underneath along with black dress pants. Ash instantly recognized this man as Professor Rowan, the regional Pokémon Professor of Sinnoh, specializing in Pokémon evolution. He had talked to the man before through the video chat phones after he had released his initial research paper.

The second figure was someone he did not recognize. It was a light golden-haired woman; whose hair went down to her knees most likely and a bang covered her left eye which was steel grey in color, Ash could tell since he saw her uncovered right eye. She wore black pants, a black blouse, and black running shoes with black tear drop shaped hair pins being on the sides of her head, two on each. Ash noticed she was most likely the same age as him but carried an aura of maturity around her and had a physical beauty that outclassed any female woman he has ever seen. It seemed supernatural honestly.

The people in the room had instantly noticed Ash and Professor Oak had gotten up to introduce him to the other two who also had gotten up from their seats.

"Ash, its good you're here. Let me introduce you to our guests. As I'm sure you know, this is Professor Rowan, the regional Pokémon professor of the Sinnoh region. He's here to help me on a research project" Said Oak as he gestured towards the man.

Ash stepped forward and shook the man's hand. "Hello."

"Hello Professor Ketchum. Its good to finally meet you in person." Said the man with a smile, his usual scowl leaving his face.

"Likewise."

"And this is Cynthia Shirona. She is a first-year trainer from the Sinnoh region. She recently made top 4 in the Sinnoh league conference"

Ash shook her hand as well, mentally noting how soft and delicate it felt but could feel the strength in it. He also realized what her name meant and voice it, "Goddess of the moon that loves to grow stronger. Beautiful name." He said while internally was very impressed with her accomplishment. Making top 4 in a league conference as a first-year trainer was very hard to do considering that around a thousand trainers compete every single year in each of the various regional conferences. Making it that far requires incredible skill and trust between the trainer and their Pokémon.

"Thank you. I have heard a lot about you." Greeted Cynthia while blushing, not having known the meaning of her name and surprised at the unexpected compliment. She had heard quite a bit about him given how famous his reputation got of the youngest Pokémon Professor in history. However, she was surprised by his greetings and the fact that she was not used to such simplicity or actual compliments with no other intentions behind him.

She had been a fashion model since the age of ten because of her supernatural beauty before quitting and starting her journey as a trainer when she turned fourteen. She had gotten fans asking for her autograph more often then she would like and it irritated her to no end but she had gotten used to it. This simple greeting and nice easy atmosphere was a nice change for her. Plus, it helped that the teenager in front of her was very handsome and his crimson red eyes were quite captivating.

"Hope they were all nice things." Ash replied back, shaking Cynthia from her thoughts.

Cynthia's lips twitched upward at the quirky response. "Oh, they were."

"So, Ash ready to receive your starter Pokémon?" asked Oak.

Ash eagerly nodded his head and this statement caught Cynthia's interest. "You're starting on your journey today?"

Ash nodded again while Professor Oak began to explain. "Ash wants to see and meet all kinds of various Pokémon around the world and has wanted to go on a journey for a while now. Being in the lab and Corral can only teach him so much."

"Do you have any goal?" asked Cynthia.

Ash shook his head. "I'm hoping my journey will provide me with that."

"I'm sure it will Professor Ketchum. So, who do you plan on choosing as your starter?" asked Professor Rowan.

"You'll see." Said Ash as Oak led them through a hall way before they arrived inside a room with lots of high tech looking machines, a large screen on the left wall, and a cylindrical shaped device in the center of the room that held three Poké Balls.

Professor Oak stepped up to the device in the room. "The Poké Ball to the left, contains Bulbasaur the Seed Pokémon and is a grass-poison type. The middle Poké Ball contains Charmander the Lizard Pokémon and is a fire type. The Poké Ball contains Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon and is a water type. So, who will be your first Pokémon Ash?" Oak asked, despite having a good idea to the answer.

Ash smiled and stepped up to the device and immediately took the middle Poké Ball. "Charmander is my choice. I already know him and we became good friends in the week he has been here."

"A nice choice. Charmander's final evolution Charizard is a very fearsome Pokémon." Commented Professor Rowan.

"That doesn't really matter to me. Any Pokémon can be strong and fearsome if trained and raised the right way. I chose Charmander because he became my friend and asked me a few days ago if he could go on a journey with me." Explained Ash.

Cynthia had a neutral look on her face although she was very interested when Ash mentioned of how any Pokémon can become very strong. She wanted to be the most powerful trainer in the world and since Ash was a Pokémon Professor and would now be going on a journey, maybe she could travel with him and learn from him.

"That's a nice way of thinking. If only many trainers thought like you did." Said Professor Rowan, really happy at the raven-haired teen's response.

"Hopefully they will one day. Come on out Charmander!" said Ash before releasing the Pokémon within the red and white sphere.

From the Poké Ball, came an reptilian Pokémon with an orange body, cream colored chest and soles, four fingered hands and three clawed toes along with a fire burning at the tip of its slender tail. The fire type immediately landed on Ash's and immediately launched itself at his friend, embracing him which Ash returned.

"Its good to see you Charmander."

("It's great to see you too!") exclaimed Charmander in happiness.

"I'm going to be leaving for my journey today. As I promised, you'll be coming along as my starter." Said Ash with a warm smile.

("Yay!") Charmander exclaimed in happiness.

"So, do you want a nickname Charmander?" asked Ash to which the fire type happily nodded. Ash thought a bit, going through various possible nicknames, trying to pick one that suited the fire type. "How about Ignis?" Charmander liked the sound of the name and nodded his head. "Ignis it is."

Ash then scratched the newly dubbed, Ignis behind his head which Ash knew the fire type loved resulting in lots of cooing from the Lizard Pokémon.

"How did you and Charmander…Ignis meet?" asked Cynthia in a curious tone because from what she observed, Ash and the fire type seemed to have met before.

Ignis finally realized that they weren't alone in the room and turned to looked at the two people he did not know with wary eyes but recognized Professor Oak. "Ignis' pervious trainer abandoned him and sent him back to Professor Oak about a week ago. I met him then." Said Ash in a deep growling tone while Ignis seemed sad at the mention of his previous trainer. "Come now Ignis, none of that. I'm your friend now so forget your last trainer. You're a powerful and special Pokémon and if you want, I will try my best to train you into the best and strongest Charizard in the world." Said Ash trying to cheer his starter up which worked.

Ignis' eyes sparkled at the mention of being the strongest Charizard in the world. He nodded his head; all his previous sadness being gone.

Meanwhile, the two professors and Cynthia watched the scene with a smile while internally growling at the trainer who abandoned the fire type. Those types of trainers did not deserve to even have Pokémon.

"Well now that that's done, here is your Pokédex and five Poké Balls for you Ash." Said Professor Oak shaking everyone out of their thoughts. The man brought out a black Pokédex with white outlines, along with five normal Poké Balls from his lab-coat pocket. "Because you are a Pokémon Professor, you will be receiving some privileges compared to other trainers. For one, your Pokédex is a national Pokédex so it will recognize any Pokémon that has been discovered so far but I doubt you need it considering you know about all of them. However, the feature of scanning your Pokémon to find out what moves they know will come in handy and the Pokédex serves as your identification and trainers' license."

"The second benefit you get is that, your carrying capacity is doubled so now you can have twelve Pokémon on you rather then the typical six but be careful since taking care of that many Pokémon at once can be difficult and you would need to carry a lot of Pokémon food on you to feed them." Explained Oak to which Ash nodded his head. "It's a good thing you came early today. There is still ten minutes left until Gary and the other trainer, Ethan is supposed to arrive for their starter."

"I'm going to head to the Corral to say goodbye to all the Pokémon before I head back home. Thanks for everything Professor." Said Ash as he gave the man a brief hug surprising Oak greatly since this was the first time he received one from the boy.

"It was nothing my-boy. Now let's go to the Corral." Ash nodded and placed Ignis on his shoulder.

Cynthia and Professor Rowan smiled at how close the two seemed and followed the two as they headed towards the Corral. After, passing through the glass doors in the living room, they eventually entered the Corral and were in awe of how amazing it looked.

They were brought out of their thoughts when they saw Ash stepping forward and placing both of his hands on his mouth and taking a deep breath. He then let out a very unique whistle that rapidly fluctuated between high and low notes and was quite pleasant to hear. What they saw next surprised them greatly as a huge stampede of Pokémon were running towards them from all directions of the Corral. Hell, they even saw a Gyarados slithering on land, coming towards them.

Cynthia instinctively reached for her Poké Ball but Professor Oak's voice stopped her. "Its alright Cynthia."

Cynthia and the somewhat tense Professor Rowan calmed down and watched as the stampeded of all sorts of Pokémon, the majority being one's from Kanto raced towards them and eventually stopped a few meters away from the group.

"Hey everyone!" The Pokémon all roared, shouted, and screeched various greetings. "I'm going to be heading out on my journey today so I probably won't see you all for a while." The Pokémon looked sad at the fact but listened as Ash continued to speak. "I will visit you all when I get back to Pallet Town so please cheer up everyone."

The Pokémon visibly cheered up but were still sad that their human friend was leaving. He was then swarmed by hugs from all of them which he returned, being careful not to hurt the nervous Ignis on his shoulder while Professor Oak talked to Professor Rowan and Cynthia.

"He has been close to all of the Pokémon in my Coral ever since he was little. He didn't like being around people much but was always so comfortable around Pokémon. Almost every single Pokémon in the Corral is his friend and I think Ash even developed the ability to understand what they are saying." Explained Oak when he had seen the shocked expressions of Rowan and Cynthia.

"Amazing." Cynthia whispered in awe.

"He sure is." Said Oak with fondness.

"You should travel through Kanto with him Cynthia. You can learn a lot from him just like he can learn a lot from you." Said Rowan.

"I think I will, but I need to ask him first."

It was a short while later did Ash finish saying his final goodbyes to all his Pokémon friends did he turn towards the two professors and one trainer but he heard a shocking sound coming from beside the Lab.

"Did you guys hear that?" asked Ash to which the Pokémon behind him nodded but the Professors and trainer remained confused.

"Hear what Ash?" asked Oak but Ash remained silent as he slowly walked to the side of the lab.

The people remained confused but followed him while the Pokémon did as well although they were much calmer since they could sense the Pokémon.

When Ash turned the corner of the lab, he saw a yellow mouse like Pokémon which he instantly recognized as a Pikachu, who was chewing on the thick wires that went from the wind mill to the lab. When Ash analyzed the Pikachu, he saw that the mouse was somewhat thin showing that it had most likely has not eaten in quite a while and was trying to sate its hunger by absorbing electricity from the wires.

Ash turned to the Pokémon behind him and whispered to a Bulbasaur, "Can you get some Sitrus and Oran berries?"

The grass-poison type nodded and immediately ran off to do as his friend had said while Ash started slowly walking over to the electric type and the Professors and trainer watched carefully.

Pikachu had sensed all the Pokémon and humans and looked at them with wary eyes. He had gotten without food for so long that he barely had the strength to move. He was barely able to cut through the thick wires to absorb some electricity which only sated his hunger for a short while before it came back with full force.

Ash stood only a few feet away and bent down to seem less threatening to the mouse Pokémon while Ignis leaped off his shoulder and landed on the ground. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you."

("My friend is a very nice human.") said Ignis causing the Pikachu to relax slightly but its not like it had much strength to do anything.

Soon enough Bulbasaur came back with his vines carrying a large amount of Oran and Sitrus berries which he laid out in front of Ash, close to the Pikachu.

"Go ahead Pikachu. I can tell you have not eaten in while." Encouraged Ash in a gentle tone.

Pikachu looked warily at the food but seeing something to eat right in front of him made him go forward and lightly nibble on one of the Oran berries. When he saw the human and Pokémon with kind and gentle smiles on their faces, the electric type's caution lowered and thus began devouring the berries at a fast pace, loving the rich taste that exploded in his mouth and the feeling of his belly finally being filled.

After a short while, Pikachu was done eating finally happy that its hunger had been sated. Ash stepped forward extending his hand in a gentle and non-threatening manner. Pikachu still looked wary but did not back away and was slightly stiff when Ash's hand made contact with his fur but quickly succumbed to the amazing petting he received. The electric type almost melted when Ash scratched behind his ears and became pudding in his hand, not protesting at all when Ash picked him up and carried him in his arm while continuing the petting.

The crimson-eyed teen then walked back to the group of Pokémon and people and smiled at them. "It seems this Pikachu hadn't eaten in a long time and was starving. He was trying to sate his hunger by absorbing the electricity generated from the windmill." Explained Ash.

"I see…that's why I had been experiencing power outages around my lab lately." Muttered Professor Oak in realization. "Let me do a thorough check of him, see if he's ok."

Ash nodded as he was about to hand Pikachu over to his fellow Professor when he felt Pikachu grab his clothing and shake his head.

"I guess the Pikachu has taken a liking to you Professor Ketchum." Said Rowan with a small smile.

"It sure seems that way." Said Cynthia watching the cute scene and finding it interesting at how gentle Ash seemed around Pokémon.

"I see. So, Pikachu, do you want to come along with my on my journey? I'm leaving right now." Said Ash to which the electric type nodded wanting to go along with the nice human.

"Ok then." Ash then brought out one of the Poké Balls that Oak gave him and tapped Pikachu lightly on the head and watched the electric type be absorbed inside the sphere in a flash of scarlet energy. The electric type put up no struggle causing the Poké Ball to instantly click, signifying his capture. Once that had happened Pikachu instantly appeared back outside in a flash of white energy and shook his head.

Ash smiled amusingly. "I'm guessing you don't like being inside Poké Balls huh?" Pikachu shook his head. "Ok, you can ride on my shoulder like Ignis." Said fire type who was beside him, jumped onto his shoulder and Pikachu followed on his other shoulder. "Which reminds me, do you want a nickname Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded, liking the idea of having a nickname.

Ash thought for a short while, going through numerous names in his head before suggesting one that he thought was a good one. "How about Raijin?" The electric type nodded his head, liking the name. "Raijin it is."

"Caught your first Pokémon already huh Ash?" Oak asked in amusement.

Ash nodded his head with a small smile.

Cynthia then stepped up, find this a good time as any to ask what was on her mind, "Um, Professor Ketchum...I wanted ask you if I could travel with you on your journey through Kanto."

Ash looked at her and gazed into her steel silver eyes and found only sincerity. He did not want a traveling companion since he did not like being around people but since he would meet many different people on this journey, it would be good to have a traveling partner. Plus, Cynthia did have a year's worth of traveling experience so it would be good to have her around. After a few moments of contemplation, he nodded, "Ok. But if we are going to travel together then please just call me Ash."

"Ok. Call me Cynthia." Said the blonde-haired beauty with a nod receiving a nod from Ash.

Before they could continue their conversation, a scientist with black hair and lack eyes in the traditional white lab coat came up to them. "Professor Oak, your grandson and the trainer Ethan are here to get their starter Pokémon."

"Tell them I'm coming." The scientist nodded and went back into the lab before Oak turned to the group. "Let's head back inside."

Everyone nodded while the Pokémon said one last goodbye to Ash before they dispersed back into the Corral. Professor Oak and Rowan, along with Cynthia and Ash with his Pokémon in his shoulders, walked back into the living room and made their way to the same high tech room where the starter Pokémon were.

When they walked in they saw Gary in a purple shirt, dark blue pants and brown shoes and beside him was a boy with blonde hair and green eyes, wearing a dark blue hoodie, white knee-length trousers and black shoes.

"Well, well if it isn't the loser." Mocked Gary when he saw Ash come into the room but went wide eyed when he saw the two Pokémon on his shoulders. "You got your Pokémon already! Gramps why did you already give him his starter before us and he got two starters!"

"Gary, behave." Oak scolded. "I gave Ash his starter Charmander because had had formed a bond with it already from a week ago and the fire type wanted to go on a journey with Ash and as far as Pikachu goes, Ash just caught the little fellow when he was trying to chew through the wires that connected the lab with the windmill."

The blonde-haired boy nodded at the explanation not in the least bit irritated that Ash got his starter first but it was a whole other story for Gary who was once again seething in jealousy. "Whatever, its not like the puny little pipsqueak would ever hold a candle to the starter I'm going to get." Mocked Gary making Ignis angry but Ash petted him to calm him down.

"Ignore him." Muttered Ash before turning to Professor Oak. "I'm going home now Professor. I'll make sure to keep in touch."

"Ok. Bye Ash." Said Oak waving to the boy and Rowan gave his own farewell.

Cynthia followed Ash and Gary just then noticed the blonde goddess walking past him with Ash, but did not recognize the girl.

Professor Oak then began to introduce the Pokémon available to the two trainers and gave them regular Pokédex and five Poké Balls once they made their choice.

---

Ash along with his Pokémon and Cynthia just walked out of the lab after the blonde had gotten her huge back-pack with her traveling gear and changed into a pair of running shoes while keeping her black blouse and black pants on.

She saw him conversing with his two Pokémon looking like he understood every single word of what they were saying which sparked her interest. "Can you talk to any Pokémon Ash?"

Ash's conversation with his two new Pokémon halted as he turned to face Cynthia as they walked down the road after they had made their way down the hill. "Yes. I can understand what most Pokémon are saying although it helps if I spend more time around them."

Cynthia nodded before another question rose in her head. "Since you don't have a clear destination in mind, can we head to the eight official gyms since I want to participate in the Indigo League Conference."

"Ok." Said Ash before silence enveloped them and they reached Ash's home.

Delia who had been waiting on the front porch of their house was glad to see her son back so soon but was surprised to find him with two Pokémon on his shoulder and even more surprised when she saw a very beautiful blonde-haired woman in black clothing walking beside him.

"Hey mom!" greeted Ash before giving her a hug while the two Pokémon jumped off of his shoulders and Cynthia found it adorable especially since he did not seem the least bit embarrassed about showing his mom affection like many other kids his age would be around someone else.

"Hi Ash." Delia greeted back as she returned his hug before breaking off. "You know Ash I thought you went to the lab to get starter Pokémon but I didn't think you would come back with a girlfriend too."

"Mom!" Ash shouted in embarrassment as his cheeks turned crimson and Cynthia was no better as her cheeks also turned scarlet red.

Delia giggled at the reactions of the two. "Oh relax, I'm just teasing you. It's a mother's job to embarrass her kid after all." She then turned to look at the blonde. "My name is Delia. I'm Ash's mother. Please to meet you."

Cynthia shook Delia's hand and introduced herself. "My name is Cynthia. I'm pleased to meet you Mrs. Ketchum. I will be Ash's traveling partner throughout his journey through Kanto."

"Oh wow, such a manners and maturity, you definitely found a gem Ashy." Teased Delia getting another embarrassed shout from Ash.

"Ok, ok I'm done now." Delia said after a short round of giggling. "Now here is your bag Ash. I packed everything for you and put a small gift in their that will help you out on your journey. It's a small box that uses the Poké Ball's technology to store large quantities of various food so you can carry a large amount of food for you and your Pokémon without it weighing you down. It will be useful for you when you don't access to a city or town to re-stock on supplies."

Ash's eyes widened as he knew such a device existed but was fairly expensive and really hard to get. "Thanks a lot mom. You're the best!" Ash said while giving her another hug before bending down to pick up his bag but before he could Delia, handed him a hand-made dark-gray colored leather jacket with a few red outlines making it have a very cool design.

"This is the last part of your outfit I made for you. You forgot to wear it on your way out. It's waterproof and made of very durable silk and high-quality leather. I hope you like it."

"I love it mom!" said Ash as he put it on and zipped the chain up. With his outfit now complete he looked quite impressive.

Cynthia got a blush on her face seeing the handsome boy's attractiveness sky rocket in the outfit and Delia noticed this reaction but did not comment on it, merely smiling. Internally though, she was planning to do a lot of teasing in the future.

Ash now picked up his back-pack which had a rolled up sleeping bag on top of it. "Now make sure to be careful, call regularly whenever you're in a town, wash your clothes, feed your cute little Pokémon, change your underwear, exercise daily, watch out for your head and most of all, have fun on your journey."

Ash had listened to every single word and nodded his head. "I will do everything you said mom. I love you!" Ash then embraced his mother and Cynthia smiled at the scene yet this smile was one of sadness but it disappeared quickly as it came.

"I love you too. I can't believe my baby boy is all grown up." Said Delia as she lightly sobbed on Ash's shoulder.

Ash patted his mom on her back and calmed her down before wiping her tears away. "None of that mom. Send me away on my journey with a smile not tears."

Delia wiped the remainder of her tears away and smiled at Ash after she regained her composure. "Your right. Now you take care and make sure to look after Cynthia here too."

"I will mom." Said Ash as Ignis and Raijin who had watched the scene with smiles on their faces hopped onto their trainer's shoulder

"Bye Ash. Bye Cynthia." Delia said as the two trainers began walking on the road that headed straight out of Pallet Town but they both heard one last statement from Delia.

"I hope both your dreams come true."

The two eventually found themselves on the edge of Pallet Town and Ash gave it one last look before he turned around and began walking alongside Cynthia.

However, after they took a few steps, they heard an engine roar behind them causing them to turn around. They saw Gary in a red open-roof car with quite a few girls in the car as well. The brown-haired boy got out of the car and walked over to Ash.

"Hey loser, let's have a battle, or are you too scared I'm going to wipe the floor with you." Mocked Gary as he took out a Poké Ball.

Ash sighed before looking at Cynthia. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not." Cynthia replied with a smile so Ash took off his back pack and stood about twenty feet away from Oak's grandson.

"You know, a hot girl like you should be with a talented trainer like me. Why don't you ditch that loser and come with me." Suggested Gary with a leer as he was highly attracted to the blonde goddess. Her beauty far out-classed any of his paid cheer-leaders.

"No thanks. I'm going to travel with Ash." Said Cynthia with a smile but she was beginning to get very irritated by the brown-haired kid.

"What's so special about him?!" Gary shouted as his jealousy of Ash kept growing. First Ash outclassed him and became a researcher, becoming world famous and now he was getting such a hot blonde girl to travel with him as well! "Maybe after I wipe the floor with this loser, you'll see that your better off with traveling with a talented trainer."

"Gary, are you going to battle or rant all day?" Ash sighed. He just didn't know how Gary turned out this way when he never ever said or did a single offensive thing to him. Ash suspected it was jealousy a long time ago but if that was the case how could he ever repair the brief friendship they shared?

"Anxious to get your ass handed to you loser? Well let me oblige, Squirtle time to battle!" shouted Gary as he launched his starter's Poké Ball into the air. In a flash of white energy, appeared a light blue turtle, with a shell that was brown on the top and pale yellow at the bottom. The water type stood on its two short legs and had his head held high showing his pride.

Ash surprisingly motioned Ignis for the battle while Pikachu jumped to the ground making Cynthia raise her eyebrows and her interest was now peaked at Ash's choice.

"Hah! Guess your title of Pokémon Professor is just for show! Don't you even know that a fire type is weak against a water type? Well whatever, its not like you can win regardless of what Pokémon you have!" shouted Gary.

Ash had been ignoring his former friend's banter as he had quickly brought out his black Pokédex and scanned Ignis and saw the list of moves he could use and was quite surprised at the list.

[Charmander knows the following moves: Dragon Dance, Ember, Scratch, Growl, Dragon Rush (currently unavailable)]

Ash smiled at the move set and looked towards Gary who was seething at being ignored and thus decided to attack first.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon's cheeks bloated a bit before it launched a small jet stream of water towards the fire type.

Ignis got temporarily frightened at the attack but Ash's voice quickly reached his ears. "Remain calm Ignis. Duck and roll to your left and use Dragon Dance."

Ignis heard his trainer's words and followed them and duck down, causing the jet of water to fly over him and rolled to the left. The Pokémon was then surrounded by a shin crimson and black aura, increasing his speed and physical attack power.

"Now use Scratch." Ordered Ash.

"Use Water Gun again!" shouted Gary angry that Squirtle's first attack missed

Before Squirtle could carry out his trainer's command, Ignis had already raced up to the water type and brought down his clawed arm across Squirtle's face, damaging him and sending him rolling backwards due to the increased power from Dragon Dance.

"Ember." Ash simple stated.

Ignis launched a small stream of red hot flames towards the downed Squirtle and while the water type's body was resistant to the attack, he was still dealt some damage.

"Get up Squirtle and use Tackle attack!" shouted Gary to which the water type shakily got up on his legs and raced towards the fire type.

Ash remained calm and when the water type was a few meters away from his Pokémon he gave his command. "Spin to your right and finish it with a Scratch attack."

Although it was a weird command, Ignis had placed a good amount of his trust in Ash and followed the order. Thanks to his increased speed, he managed to turn his body to the side at the last second, causing Squirtle's attack to miss. Ignis then used the momentum of his spin to bring down his left hand's claws on the back of Squirtle's head, dealing a lot of damage and instantly knocking the Pokémon out.

Both Gary and Ash realized this and he smiled and called Ignis over while Gary recalled his Pokémon, seething at the defeat.

"Good job, Ignis. I'm proud of you."

The fire type puffed out his chest in happiness at the compliment and his bond and trust for Ash increased to great lengths thanks to this one battle. Ignis did not have a good history with his previous trainer who physically abused him for not evolving in a few days and not being able to beat a huge Blastoise and hence sent him back to Professor Oak, saying he was completely worthless. While he had formed a close bond with Ash in the week he had been there, he had still been a bit cautious around the boy which slowly lessened and with this battle it faded completely.

"You got lucky this time loser, but I will beat you the next time we see each other. I'm going to be the strongest Pokémon trainer in the entire world, just you watch!" shouted Gary to which he hopped back into the car with the cheer leaders who were sad that Gary lost but Ash could clearly see they were faking their emotions.

The brown-haired kid drove off not noticing that Ash had not heard a single thing Gary had said as he was lost in his own thoughts.

Ash enjoyed this battle a lot. While he had never been fan of the idea of Pokémon hurting each other like that, he had learned from the Pokémon that fighting had been something they had done since the birth of Pokémon. It was something that came natural to them and hence Ash slowly accepted the idea. Now that he experienced the thrill of battling, he wanted more of it.

The crimson-eyed teen was broken out of his thoughts when Cynthia's melodious voice fell upon his ears. "That was an excellent battle Ash."

"Thank you." Said Ash. "Ignis deserves the credit."

"No offense to Ignis, but Ash it was your skilled commands that enabled a fire type like him to beat a water type like Squirtle." Had it been anyone else in your position, I doubt they would have the skill or intelligence to react fast enough and give clear cut commands and would probably have panicked under the pressure.

While Ignis was a bit deflated at the words, agreed whole heartedly at the fact that it was Ash's commands that caused him to win that battle.

"How did you learn to battle like that if this is your first day as a trainer?" asked Cynthia, very curious now.

Ash shrugged, "Just from watching Pokémon league battles, and the Pokémon in the Corral often engaged in mock battles with each other."

Cynthia was quite surprised that he was this good from just watching. It showed that he had great potential to become a very strong trainer. "You know, you should consider trying to compete in the Pokémon league by going for the gym badges. Your very skilled in battling and this will only help you get better."

Ash paused and thought about her words. He did in fact love battling just as much he loved physically fighting and pushing his body to the limits. Going for the Pokémon league might just well be the goal from him. Not only that but he would get to meet lots of Pokémon along the way as well with all the different trainers he would battle. "I'll think about it."

Cynthia nodded, satisfied Ash was taking her words into consideration.

Ash then picked up his back-pack and Ignis took his place on his free shoulder and the two Pokémon began conversing with each other, talking about the battle.

The two trainers then started walking towards their first destination which was Viridian City.

---

And Done!

That is the first chapter of my Pokémon story.

Regarding the nicknames of Ash's Pokémon, I did this so I could provide some uniqueness to his Pokémon and in the case of where his Pokémon battle another of the same species, it will be easier for me to distinguish between the two.

Ignis means fire in latin

Raijin is the Thunder god in the Shinto religion

Please review the story and let me know your thoughts about it.

Have a nice day!