Hello and welcome to the second chapter of Dragon Master Jack - The Journey Begins!
What did you all think of the first chapter? Mainly a bit of background into the relationship between my OC and Ash.
Thanks once again to my un-official beta, my younger brother.
Please note: Jack and Ash are 10 and 8 years old respectively, there will be no romance, as of yet, obviously, as they are too young.
Also, this is certainly not a slash fic.
Now then, on with the Disclaimer and the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Game Freak.
I only own my OC's.
If I did own Pokemon, Ash would have been a lot smarter.
Chapter 2: The Dawn of a Dragon Master's Journey!
Monday morning dawned and Jack was awake, bright and early the next morning and was ready by 9am. After having breakfast, getting dressed and brushing his teeth, he left the house.
He had prepared everything he needed the night before, which included; 4 sets of spare clothes, a small tent, a sleeping bag and some food & water for him and his new Pokemon. It was all stored in a light-blue backpack with a sticker of a Dragonite on it.
With a quick, "Goodbye!", "Have fun, honey!" and "Good luck son!", Jack left his house.
After walking down the road, he came to a large, white-walled building known as Professor Oak's Lab. He knocked on the door and an aide immediately opened it.
Upon entering the building, he saw bright lights shining on the ceiling, the light reflecting off of the recently polished, tiled floor. He could hear some machines humming, in a back room somewhere.
He walked forwards and saw Professor Oak, chatting with another 10 year old boy from Pallet Town called Simon. After greeting them both, they got down to business.
"Now, as you both know, today is the day you both get your new Pokemon" said Oak, in his best formal voice. Jack could see the smile on his face.
"Yes Professor" nodded Simon, who was stood next to him, with a nervous smile.
In truth, Jack felt nervous himself, not for being with Professor Oak, he'd seen and spoke to the man many times as the professor was very sociable. Jack had been very interested in reading up on the region he was travelling to, and Professor Oak had been eager to share his knowledge of Johto. Jack had also learnt almost everything he knew about Kanto from his frequent conversations with Professor Oak.
Jack was nervous because of the massive amount trust Professor Oak was putting in him. These research papers he had talked about seemed important, he didn't want to mess anything up for his un-official mentor.
"Now then, I have three Pokemon for you to pick from here Simon" said Oak, winking at Jack. Jack smiled, Oak had said he had a surprise for him.
Jack had told Professor Oak before about wanting to become a Dragon Master, like Lance, in one of their many conversations. Jack couldn't help but wonder what this surprise could be though.
Simon smiled and took a step forward. Oak then spoke.
"On the left, we have the Grass-type starter Pokemon, Bulbasaur."
"In the middle, we have the Water-type starter Pokemon, Squirtle."
"Finally, on the right, we have the Fire-type starter Pokemon, Charmander."
Jack looked worried for a second, as Simon glanced at Charmander's Pokeball for a second time. Then he looked at the middle Pokemon, Squirtle, then back up at the professor.
"I'd like Squirtle, the Water-type Pokemon please Professor Oak" he stated.
Oak hummed at the choice, while Jack internally sighed in relief, he was glad he didn't pick Charmander, as then he wouldn't get him.
Oak picked up Squirtle's Pokeball and gave it to Simon, along with 6 other Pokeballs and a Pokedex.
"Here are 6 Pokeballs and your personal Pokedex. To catch a Pokemon, you must throw a Pokeball at it. But be careful, if it's healthy, it's likely not to be caught, weaken any Pokemon before attempting to capture it" said Oak.
Simon nodded at the advice, Jack did too. He knew it already, but it seemed the polite thing to do.
"That Pokedex is assigned to you and you only Simon, it is your identification as a Pokemon Trainer as well, so be careful not to lose it".
"I won't lose it Professor, thank you for all of your help!" said Simon with a smile. He then turned around and walked out of the Lab.
Oak then turned to Jack.
"Good to see you again Jack and thank you for waiting. Now then, I know you want a Charmander, but I've been saving someone very special for you. I know you will like him".
Interested, Jack followed the Professor into a back room. As they entered he saw filing cabinets lining the walls and a table in the centre of the room. He was shocked to see what appeared to be broken egg shell pieces in the middle of the table.
"Professor, did an egg hatch recently? What kind of Pokemon was it?" asked Jack, curiously.
Oak nodded, with a mysterious smile and walked over to a pile of hay near the fireplace, at the back of the room. He picked up something from within the pile of hay and turned around, facing Jack.
Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a Charmander lying, fast asleep in Oak's arms. But this wasn't any ordinary Charmander. This Charmander had an amazing charcoal grey coat, instead of the normal orange one.
Jack looked up at Oak in awe, "Is that a shiny Charmander?".
Oak nodded, with a smile. "A woman named Liza gave me this egg a few months ago. She lives in Charific Valley, in the Johto Region. She said it was from her own partner Charizard, called Charla. I was shocked and I knew I had to give it to you. After all, you are running these research papers to Professor Elm in Johto".
"This Charmander is only 5 days old, so treat him carefully, he hasn't even been inside a Pokeball yet".
"I'd like to speak to him before he becomes my Pokemon, is that okay, Professor?" asked Jack. Oak beamed at him with a bright smile.
"Of course Jack, I'm glad to see your going to treat your Pokemon right". Oak placed the Charmander down on the table. The table was made out of metal and so it was cold. This woke the Charmander up, it lifted it's head and looked around. It's eyes, a deep blue, the same shade as Jacks', settled on him.
Jack walked up to the Charmander, who looked at him curiously.
"Hello there Charmander, I want to be a Dragon Type Pokemon Master. Your final evolution is a Charizard, which is a Dragon Potential Pokemon and I'd like to work together with you and for you to join me on my journey. What do you think?" said Jack, as he leaned on the table getting closer to the Charmander.
The, as yet, un-named Charmander looked into Jack's eyes and nodded, standing up.
"That's great!" exclaimed Jack. He then held out his hand to the Charmander. Charmander looked at his hand and shouted "Char!" and jumped at Jack.
Jack quickly wrapped his arms around the happy Charmander, avoiding the flaming tail.
"Thank you Charmander" Jack whispered. "This is my first step on the road to becoming a Dragon Pokemon Master, thank you".
He placed Charmander down and asked if he'd like to be caught now. Charmander nodded his head in acceptance. Oak tapped Jack on the shoulder and handed him 6 Pokeballs.
"One for Charmander" he said. "Thank you" Jack replied, before turning to Charmander. "Ready Charmander?".
"Char, Char, Charmander!" was what he got in reply. Jack smiled then lifted a Pokeball and Charmander lent forward and clicked the button with it's paw.
Immediately, the red and white ball opened and Charmander was sucked in with a "Char!". The ball didn't even shake.
Jack turned to Oak with a smile. "Thank you, Professor Oak, may I gave him a nickname?".
"Sure thing Jack" was the reply he got.
"Come on out, Charmander" Jack said. He was rewarded with a flash a white light and a "Char!".
"I'd like to give you a nickname, is that okay Charmander?". Charmander nodded, with an interested look, wondering what his new master and hopefully friend would name him.
"Hmm… Flare, yeah, I think I'll call you Flare. Is that okay?". The newly dubbed, Flare, shouted, "Char!" and jumped up and down on the table in acceptance of his new name. Oak smiled.
"Well, now that's done. He's your Pokedex Jack" he handed Jack a Pokedex. "Your parents set up a Pokédollar account for you and it's stored on this Pokedex, your account was opened with 5000 Pokédollars and will be topped up every month".
"Thanks Professor, that's great" Jack replied. He scanned his new Charmander, Flare.
Charmander - The Lizard Pokemon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.
Sex: Male
Height: 2'00"
Weight: 18.7 lbs
Ability: Blaze - When Charmander's health is below 1/3rd, Fire-type moves increase by 50%.
List of Current Attacks:
Scratch
Growl
Metal Claw (Egg Move)
List of Future Available Attacks:
Ember
Smokescreen
Fire Punch
Fury Cutter
Thunder Punch
Snore
Swift
Heat Wave
Mud-slap
Jack and Oak were shocked seeing the Egg Move; Metal Claw.
"Shame that won't help me in the Johto Region's first Gym. Brock would have had a heart attack" Jack said, laughing. Oak chuckled.
"Indeed, oh, and before I forget, here Jack" he said. He reached into his lab coat, and pulled out a ferry ticket. Jack's eyes lit up.
"Thank you Professor" Jack said, accepting the ticket from Professor Oak.
"My pleasure Jack" replied Oak, with a chuckle. He could see that Jack really wanted to go the Johto region.
"Now then, shall we head to my office and pick up those papers?" Oak asked with a smile.
"Lead the way" Jack replied, he then returned Flare, who shouted, "Char!" before being sucked back into the Pokeball, which he placed on his Pokeball belt.
Jack followed Oak out of the back room, through the main lab and into his office. After opening a draw, Oak pulled out a folder, which contained a plastic wallet filled with about 30 papers.
"Here you go Jack" Oak said, passing the papers to him, "This is the latest information on Eevee and their evolutions that Professor Elm asked to see" Oak stated with a smile.
Jack put the folder in his backpack, which was starting to look a little full.
"Looks like I'm not getting much else in there" Jack said. "Indeed" Oak chuckled.
"Well, Professor, if that's everything, I'll be going. I've got to head over to see Ash before the boat leaves at 1".
"Okay then Jack. Good luck on your adventure, I wish you all the best". "Thank you Professor".
Oak followed Jack out of his office and said goodbye to him at the laboratory door.
"Well, this is it, I've got my first Pokemon and I'm starting on my journey. Just one more thing to do now" Jack thought, with a sad smile.
Ash was up early that morning, which was surprising considering this is Ash Ketchum we're talking about. But his best friend was leaving him today, so he had to be up early to see him off.
It was 11:30am when the doorbell rang at the Ketchum residence.
Jack heard a faint, "Come in, its open", from Mrs. Ketchum.
"Making lunch, no doubt" he thought.
As he walked in, the smell of bacon hit him, bringing a smile to his face.
"I wonder if Ash has woken up yet, if he hasn't, he will when he smells that".
Surprisingly, he found Ash at the dinning table. As he walked through the kitchen door, he put a mock-shocked look on his face.
"Ash Ketchum, up before 12am? Someone wake me, I must be dreaming" he said with a chuckle.
Delia laughed and Ash pouted.
"I'm not that bad" Ash replied. "Sure you're not" was Jack's reply.
After they finished lunch. They went and sat in the Living room.
"Come on then, don't leave us waiting any longer, show us your Pokemon" said Delia, with a smile on her face.
Ash nodded vigorously. He wanted to see his friend's new Pokemon.
"Okay" Jack relented with a slight smile, "Come on out, Flare". That was all Ash needed to hear, he knew his friend had gotten his Charmander. His smiling face turned into one of shock as well as Delia's when he saw what came out of the Pokeball.
"Char!" shouted the excited Pokemon. "Meet Flare, my Charmander". The shiny Pokemon looked around, saw Jack and jumped up and down, shouting "Char! Char!". Then he saw Ash and Delia's shocked faces and immediately ran into Jack's arms and tried to hide.
Jack laughed. "Hey now Flare, no need to hide. These are my friends, Ash and his mother, Delia". He could tell his words calmed his new friend. Charmander slowly lifted his head and looked at Ash, then at Delia and then back to Jack. Jack smiled at him.
"Wow, that's amazing, but why is he not orange?" Said Ash. Jack smiled, Ash had a lot to learn.
"There are many mysteries in the world of Pokemon, Ash. Flare's odd colouring is just another mystery. Different coloured Pokemon are often referred to as 'Shiny' Pokemon".
Delia finally snapped out of her stupor, "AWWWW! He's sooo cute! Where did the Professor get him from?" Jack and Ash sweat-dropped. That was so like her to say something like that.
"Flare was given to Professor Oak from Liza, who lives in Charific Valley, that's in Johto. The egg came from Liza's own Charizard, Charla. Professor Oak was saving this little guy for me, since he hatched, 5 days ago" said Jack.
"Well my ferry arrives in an hour, I can't be late as it's a one-time trip, Professor Oak called in a favour" said Jack. Delia smiled sadly, while Ash looked down.
Jack put Charmander on the floor and turned to Ash, as Delia walked out of the room. "Listen Ash, yes I'll be gone for a while, but I'll call when I can and I won't be gone forever, but please understand, this is my time to begin my dream, to be a Dragon Master" said Jack, his voice thick with emotion.
Ash looked up and smiled sadly, "I know, I just feel like your going to be gone forever, two years is a long time".
"Ash, I was planning on coming back after 1 year for a few weeks and then going back to Johto. After competing in the Johto league, I'll come back and travel Kanto with you. How does that sound?" asked Jack, with a smile.
Ash looked up, delighted. He'd always hoped to travel with Jack, but to hear him confirm it, he was delighted.
"That would be great! I'm definitely going to become a Pokemon Master with you to help me!" Ash stated with a wide grin.
"Don't let Gary push you around, okay? You're going to be a good trainer, when it's your time, don't forget that" Jack reminded Ash. Ash nodded.
Delia back into the room and pulled them both into a hug, before giving Jack a piece of paper. "Here's the house phone number" Delia said, with a smile.
Jack turned towards the door. "Remember to call often and I hope you've packed enough clean you-know-whats!" Delia said, as Jack was leaving the house. Ash looked up, embarrassed, but with a grin. He found it funny when his mum embarrassed someone else.
Jack blushed slightly, before grinning. "Yes, I will and I have! I'll speak to you once I'm in Johto!", and with that, he was off. Ash was hugging Delia with tears in his eyes as the door to the Ketchum residence closed.
Jack walked down to the south of Pallet, towards the tree he and Ash had claimed. He sat down, pulled off his backpack and called out Flare. Flare jumped out with a "Char!" and looked around, before sitting down, next to Jack.
It was 12:45. The ferry was due in 15 minutes. In the distance he heard a horn, he looked up and sure enough, there was a small looking, white ferry in the distance. Jack looked at Flare.
"Well, here we go Flare, take a good long look at Pallet Town, we won't be back here for a whole year" he said, smiling sadly as he looked around. "Char, Char, Char", Flare spoke, trying to cheer Jack up. The horn sounded again. 12:50.
"Are you ready to begin our adventure Flare?" he asked his Charmander. "Char! Charmander!" was the reply he got. "Me too buddy, me too".
As the ferry docked in the Pallet bay, a ramp was lowered. A horn bleared, then a voice sounded across the ferry. "We will be docking in Pallet Town for 15 minutes".
Jack looked at Flare. "Ready to go?" he asked. Flare nodded. Jack pulled out Flare's Pokeball and recalled him.
Jack looked up to see an old man waving at him from the top of the ramp. Jack got up, picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
As he got near the top of the ramp, he heard, "All right there lad, are you Jack Starburn?". Jack nodded. "That would be me, sir. Who are you?".
The old man chuckled, then held out his hand, "Right, should'a introduced m'self sooner, names James Arch, Captain James Arch". Jack nodded, shaking the captain's hand.
"Nice to meet you sir". The old captain chuckled again, "Follow me then". He walked off the ramp and onto the ferry, Jack followed.
The ferry seemed very normal, wooden deck, white walls and hull. Jack had a few questions for the captain.
"How many passengers do you have on board?" he asked.
"We have a couple of researchers on board from Cinnabar, heading to Johto as well as some people heading back to Johto from their holidays. Including you, me and my 8 crew mates, we have 22 people on-board" Captain James said, after thinking about it for a couple of seconds.
"I see" Jack replied, looking round, he could see a couple sitting on a bench near the front of the ferry.
"How long until we reach New Bark Town?" he asked. The old captain chuckled again.
"Not long lad, no storms are forecast, so with any luck, we'll be there for dinner".
The old captain turned towards the cabin, before looking over his shoulder and saying, "About 6 hours sailing ahead of us, lad".
A/N:
Flamewing98: Thank you for leaving a review and I'm sure this chapter has answered your comment :)
Please be sure to leave a review, preferably with constructive criticism and not flames.
B/N:
If you have any ideas for Original Characters that you would like to see in the story, either battling with or against Jack Starburn, please leave a review with the character's name and Pokemon team. I'm not saying that we can include them all, but all contributions are appreciated. Please be sure to only include Pokemon from the Johto region in your Pokemon teams.
Thanks for reading,
Dragon Master Jack.