Tarnished armour

People often think Red, the solitary champion, and Ash, the kind-of stupid, goofy boy from Pallet Town, are two different people. They aren't. Because in a different world, Ash got to the laboratory on time to pick up his starter. In a different world, a 10-year old Ash grows up to become the unconquerable trainer known to most solely as 'Red'.

Doesn't follow the anime.

Chapter One

Some say reality splits itself with every choice given, creates a different world based on each possible outcome. Let's say that's true, that there are uncountable different worlds were every single possible outcome is shown. We know the one were Ash woke up late, we know it very well.

But what if he wakes up early?

Think about it. You throw a pebble in a pond and the ripples wake up a boy in Pallet Town. But you forget that the ripples continue, growing into roaring waves that spill over the edge of the pond and soak the earth around it. The water feeds the plants, trees grow higher and bear more fruit. The fruit is eaten by the creatures around who in turn get eaten by their predators. Everything changes because of a single pebble. Nothing remains the same. Some changes are big, others are enormous. But the fact remains, everything is different.

I can see you looking at that pebble, don't discard my words. That rock may be little, but once it was a mountain that bowed only to time itself. And the change may be small, the ripples that cascade outwards insignificant in the ocean that surrounds it, but this journey is different than what you know. The ripples grow to waves that swallow countries.

All because of a boy, who wakes up early and shows up on time.

Down the rabbit hole

KA-BANG

I shot up from my bed with a start, black spots hovering above my eyes as a flash of light was followed up by another roar of thunder.

KA-BANGBANG

I groaned and rubbed my eyes, glancing blearily at the alarm clock on my nightstand and seeing that it was only six thirty. six thirty, as in, I could have slept for hours before having to wake up and get to professor Oak's laboratory. I tried to put my pillow over my head and doze off, but the thunder and the sound of rain hitting my window kept me awake.

After a good twenty minutes I gave up and threw my cushion to the ground and stumbled out of bed myself. I didn't change out of my pokéball-patterned pyjamas and merely shuffled out of my room as I squinted my eyes to find the stairs.

BANG-BANG

A bright flash of light suddenly illuminated the staircase and made the family pictures on the wall light up rather creepily as the thunder boomed immediately after. I yawned once I reached the final step and then hobbled over to the couch, let myself fall down on it and turned on the TV. I muted the sound a bit (mom would kill me if I didn't) and then watched the rerun of last night's Elite Four challenger.

That's how mom found me an hour and a half later, wincing when Robert's beedrill fell down to the ground against Bruno's hitmonchan's ice punch. Mimey had made me a plate of breakfast which was wobbling precariously on my knee and was immediately at my mom's side with a plate made for her as well.

"Ash," my mom said as she simply stared at me with raised eyebrows.

I tried not to look too guilty and merely pointed at the window instead, "the thunder woke me up and I really couldn't sleep anymore and I have to get to Oak's anyway in-" I glanced at the clock, "-like, thirty minutes. And then I'm even a bit early."

"Oh Ash," she sighed, putting her plate down on the dining table before walking over to me and ruffled my hair fondly , "I'm going miss you, you know that? You and your crazy antics and-"

Mom sniffled a bit and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm just going to miss you, Ash. You've grown so fast, you're ten already, and now your following in your granddaddy's footsteps, and your daddy's even. I'm just so proud of you, baby, you have to know that."

A few more sniffles escaped past my mom's guard and I awkwardly patted her back and thought of ways to change the subject before she cried on me. "So, err, where is dad? Like, now?"

"Unova, Ash, remember? I swear, you're just as scatter-brained as he is. He called to let us know he obtained a permit to enter the country-"

I happily let mom ramble on about how dad wanted to catch me something for my birthday (which wasn't for another eight months) and how he did this and that and how she would 'whack you over the head with a skillet' if I ever did 'this' and 'that'.

Eventually I ran upstairs to dress and grab my already-packed bag. When I came back downstairs my mom was watching the TV, but I got the impression that she wasn't really seeing anything of what was happening on screen (a commercial on poké-kibble) until she turned around to face me.

"Oh baby," she whispered as she rose from the couch to smother me in another hug, "I want you to have lots of fun, okay? And don't forget to call, you do remember our number, right?"

I obediently rattled off the string of numbers after which mom only hugged me tighter.

"And pokécenter have free phones, so if you lose all your money-"

"Hey! I'm not going to lose, I'm going to be the next pokémon master!" I protested, squirming around in her hold to glare at her.

"I know, I know," mom laughed as she let me escape from her hug, but her eyes were sad as she stared at me. "Just be careful, sweetie, even pokémon masters can get in trouble."

"Mime, mime!" Mimey piped in as he came over to hug me, slinging his arms around my waist before toddling off again and disappearing into the garden.

I merely grinned at my mom and then grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulders, "well, right. I'm going then, bye!"

I fled the house then (thankfully it had stopped raining and all I had to do was evade the puddles), before things got awkward, not looking back until I was already on the street. I turned around then and saw my mom standing on the perch, waving. I waved back shortly before turning around again and keeping my eyes on Oak's laboratory, a solitary white mass on a green hill ahead of me.

"Ah, hello!" it was professor Oak himself who greeted me enthusiastically when I entered the lab, waving at me with a wide smile. "You're the second here, Gary came in first. We only have to wait for-" he glanced at a list in his hand, "Jennifer and Richard."

"Okay, cool," I mumbled as I slid in one of the seats surrounding the desk Gary was leaning against.

"Heeeey," Gary drawled as he turned his gaze on me with mock surprise, "Ashie-boy is on time? I didn't think you had it in you."

"Gary," professor Oak cut in sharply as he glanced at his grandson from over a book he'd picked up, "I've warned you already, I'm not doing it again."

"Sorry gramps," Gary deflated.

I merely fought not to grin and shot Gary a victorious look once the professor's eyes were back on his book. Beat that, ass.

Ten minutes later Jennifer came in, beaming at no one in particular as she sat down on the chair next to me. We talked a bit, me rambling about the squirtle I wanted while she babbled about 'her' bulbasaur. Neither of us really listened to the other, though, but that didn't matter.

"I see it's time," the professor suddenly said, shutting Jennifer and I both up, "but Richard isn't here yet. I do have the fourth pokémon for whoever got in last, but do you all want to wait or-"

"No! Get on with it, gramps, please."

"Oh, can we start? Please, professor, I want to get to Viridian before sundown," Jennifer chimed in after a beat.

"Can we start? Can we? That means I don't have to wait and can start battling and-"

"Yes," professor Oak said dryly as he lifted one hand to silence us, "I see. You all want to start already, I can understand that. Well then, for the sake of fairness let's start with whoever got here first. I trust you all know the traditional three choices? And fear not, I have a little something stored away for Richard too."

I really didn't worry about Richard's pokémon, not really. His fault for not getting here on time (and besides, the professor had something for him too), as long as I got my squirtle then everything would be all right and by the evening I'd be on my way to total epicness. The squirtle could easily beat any of the first gym's pokémon into the dust because it was a water type and I'd only have to catch some super-awesome grass pokémon for the second gym. Afterwards, I'd just catch all kinds of pokémon and train them until they were super-strong.

I so had this.

"-so all you have to do is finalise your registration at the Viridian pokémon center. You can't do it in here because restoration to our own center has yet to begin because of some trouble, so I recommend you go to Viridian straight away."

The professor took a moment to look at all of our faces, and I desperately tried to look as if I had totally listened to his speech. Judging by his look however, at seeing my face, I guessed I didn't try hard enough.

"Ah, well," professor Oak coughed awkwardly, "let's start with Gary, then."

"Well then, I'll pick the best one there is. Gramps, I want that squirtle you have."

My world shattered, my finely crafted plans turned to dust. My sun stopped shining, my stars dulled and my very heart stopped beating.

Gary. How dare he?

"Gary!" I jumped to my feet, fist raised in the air, "you! Y-you, you-"

I paused, thinking of a way to convey my sheer, utter hate at that moment.

" .. ass," I finished lamely, sitting back in my chair as Oak's stern gaze met mine, promising problems had I continued.

But the professor was on my side, handing Gary the pokéball with pursed lips and a stern gaze. Gary met it with his own, almost daring his grandfather to say something.

"Very well then," the professor started again after a tense minute where I glared daggers at Gary, "Ash, you pick one then."

Bulbasaur was good to, I supposed. It could beat the first and the second gym easily. But I wasn't a pokémon-stealer like Gary. I was way better than that idiot, I wouldn't do that to Jennifer.

And besides, I bet that a fire type like charmander totally learns some water (or grass) moves that would take care of the rock gym. Right?

"I pick charmander, professor!" I said, hoping I didn't sound devastated that Gary had just stolen my squirtle from right under my nose. I didn't want the professor to think that charmander was technically my third choice.

"Hmm-mm," Oak hummed as he handed me the pokéball.

Jennifer immediately lunged for bulbasaur's pokéball, which was still resting on the table, screeching 'I pick bulbasaur!' at the top of her lungs.

"Okay, with that part out of the way I'll send some papers to the nurse Joy in Viridian City. If you'll just tell me what you plan on naming your pokémon-"

"We can name them?" I asked incredulously.

"Ash, your mother has a Mr Mime named Mimey, I know for a fact that all of your father's pokémon are named too, so you know you can name them," the professor enunciated slowly as he stared at me with a rather scary look.

"I know that!" I immediately shot to my own defence, "but I always had this feeling that starters came with their own names. You know, that someone at whatever place they came from already named them."

"They don't," the professor explained patiently, "but you can always go around calling him by his species' name, if that's what you want. Some trainers do that."

"Uhu," Jennifer said as she let her bulbasaur out of its pokéball, "but I don't. I'm naming you Flower." She said to the bulbasaur in a ridiculously childish voice that didn't sound right on her.

Oak looked a bit peevish at that, "the bulbasaur is a male, Jennifer, a boy."

"So?" the blonde cut back with a frown, "I know my ma would've named me Jamie if I were a boy. I know two girls named Jamie too, so I can name my bulbasaur Flower even though he's a boy."

"Very well," Oak repeated as he scribbled something on the list, "Gary?"

"I'm naming him Oceanus, gramps," Gary said smugly, though he kept his squirtle in its pokéball.

"Right, right," more scribbling on the paper and the professor didn't look up as he addressed me, "Ash?"

Quick! Think, think! Something cool, something that is awesome and scary and worthy of a pokémon that will be with me forever and fight (and win) battles for me. Ember, Blaze, Explosion, Heat. No, that wouldn't do, my fire type was special and a common name would make him dull. Something strong, but not bragging. A king, or a-

Ah, there it was. The perfect name.

"I'm naming him Duke," I said with another fist pump to the air as I grinned.

"Right," the professor mumbled as he wrote that down too, "and yes, before you ask, he is a boy."

I merely kept grinning and let my charman-, Duke, out of his pokéball.

"Hey there buddy," I said as I hunched down to sit face-to-face, "I'm Ash and I'm your new trainer and we are going to have so much fun together." I extended my hand towards Duke and beamed at the charmander.

The tiny red reptilian pokémon standing in front of me made a show of curiously looking me up and down, sniffing at my pants and shoes. Then his blue eyes gazed at my outstretched hand curiously, sniffing that as well, before biting down on it.

I liked to think my yell of pain was manly and cool.

It wasn't, Jennifer gleefully informed me in embarrassing detail once one of the professor's aide's had bandaged my hands.

But the professor merely smiled, handed us each a pokédex and then all but shoed us out of his lab so he could get some actual work done. Gary immediately disappeared, but Jennifer and I stayed and talked for a while before she had to go and grab something she had forgotten from home.

I waved her goodbye only to stop dead in my tracks when I saw a rather dishevelled Richard walking towards the lab at a brisk pace.

"Ash!" he hollered once he spotted me, "did you wait for me?"

"No," I yelled back, guilt slowly seeping into me once the giddy (and selfish) feelings I had in the lab had dissolved, "but the professor held a pokémon back for you!"

"Cool!" Richard called back as he gave me a thumbs up and a grin, which I took as my cue to leave. I waved at him as well before I continued walking towards the end of Pallet Town.

I glanced up at the skies, with the sun peaking blearily from behind a blanket of dark grey clouds, and I smiled. I glanced at the pokéball I stuck in one of my pants' pockets and thought for a moment before deciding to let Duke out.

"Don't wander away," I warned the charmander while keeping my hands as far from his snout as possible, "you'll get lost or attacked or hurt and I really don't want that."

Duke regarded me quietly for a moment before deciding to walk a few paces behind me, seemingly content with our arrangement.

And I just grinned again.

This would be great.

A/N

In my opinion Ash is a naïve, foolish boy that is kind of dumb, but has his heart in the right place. So he is kind of stupid, and naive and all that. Even here. I probably portrayed him a bit OOC, if so, my apologies. And yes, most pokémon will have nicknames here. I don't like calling out "go pikachu, use '_' " because pikachu is the name of the species. I don't go around calling my dog "dog" or by his breed's name, so no, I'm using nicknames.

Fun facts.

1. According to canon, Ash does have a father and a grandfather that were/are both trainers.

And I'm taking liberties with them (mostly, Ash's dad) and Mimey. Jennifer is the obligatory 'back-talking' 10-year old and Richard the obligatory 'happy-go lucky' guy. Don't expect to see them that much after this, I just needed two OC's.