"Dewgong!" A white sea lion Pokemon cried out, its body surrounded by water as it shot off like a rocket towards it's opponent! The opposing Pokemon barely budged however, the orange bipedal draconic Pokemon hardly looking scratched at all despite how powerful his opponent was!

The trainer of the draconic Pokemon seemed to remain rather calm yet firm as he threw out his arm and shouted out his next command. "Thunder Punch, Charizard!"

Charizard let out a roar as his fist became covered with electricity before aiming an electrically charged punch at Dewgong, the sea lion Pokemon letting out a cry of pain before coming to a collapse, swirls where it's eyes once were as it let out a groan. It's trainer seemed rather calm despite having just lost, in fact a light smile formed across her face as she returned Dewgong to her ball in order to face her opponent.

"Wouldn't expect anything less of our champion," The older woman bowed her head respectfully as the red haired man merely laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well I trained really hard to get here, let me tell you being a World Champion ain't as easy as it looks!"

Their conversation ended up getting cut off by the announcer, informing the people watching at home on the events that had just occurred.

"Red has once again beaten one of his countless challengers, this time being the Elite Four's own Lorelei! Can anyone beat Red?!"

"I will!" A young raven haired teenager hopped up from his bed, wearing nothing but a plain white t-shirt and a pair of boxers. He clenched his fists before letting out a shout as he threw his fists up into the air. "Just you wait, dad! I'll conquer the Indigo League and then I'm coming for you!" He shouted, the battle between Elite Four member Lorelei and his father had really gotten Ash fired up though his fantasy would soon get cut short as the door to his room was suddenly flung open, his mother standing there with quite an angry look as she pointed at the clock. His mother had a rather light skin tone compared to him, along with long brown hair which usually was tied up in a ponytail but currently undone for the night and brown eyes in the same shade as Ash, everything else Ash could only assume was inherited from his father but he'd never met the guy.

"Ash Ketchum, do you realize what time it is?!" She pointed at the clock, looking quite cross and for good reason as it was well past midnight! "In case you've forgotten, you have to graduate in order to enter the Indigo League! And I'm sure you don't want to keep Professor Oak waiting, he's picking you up before taking you to the school he's teaching at!" Ash knew she sounded mad but she was just looking out for him and wanting to help assure his dream would happen! She glanced towards the television and let out a sigh as she silently hoped her husband would appear to see Ash off tomorrow morning

Ash quickly apologized though his mother said nothing, merely picking up the television remote and turning it off before taking the remote out of the room as she flicked off the light, shutting him in complete darkness and quiet as Ash would lay there for a moment before sleep eventually took him. In his dream his mind was quickly changing between the three Kanto starters as he was still trying to decide between the three.

"It has to be Squirtle," He decided at first, tossing a pokeball forward in his dream as a Blastoise shortly stood face to face against Red's Charizard. Blastoise let out a cry as Ash shouted out. "Hydro Pump!"

"Toise!" The large blue turtle Pokemon fired off large blasts of water from his pipes, sending it flying towards and blasting Dragonite! Dragonite would quickly shake it off however before a familiar sight from the earlier battle occurred as it's fist would spark bright yellow before delivering an electrically charged punch and soon Blastoise would be down in defeat! "Alright then, let's try Charmander!"

Ash would attempt to throw another ball only to find himself having fallen from bed, he let out a light groan as he rubbed his sides before standing up. He noticed that it was almost six, meaning that Oak would be preparing to leave soon as to arrive at Vermilion City in time for school to open up. He decided to go on ahead and get dressed, turning off his alarm as he changed his shirt, putting on a black t-shirt before putting a blue jacket above it, then following it up by putting on a pair of jeans and getting on a pair of shoes, topping off his look by placing a hat onto his head. It was a prized possession of his, it had the official symbol of the Indigo League on it and he'd sent in about a thousand postcards in order to win said hat! The first of many victories, he couldn't imagine life without this hat! His father had offered to simply give one off the hats but Ash refused, wanting to win it for himself!

Just as he finished up he'd hear a jeep honking as Professor Oak had pulled up, Ash then realized that he'd failed to pack any clothes! He'd be living in the dorms due to Vermilion being so far away from Pallet Town, even though that distance was easily cut short by car his mother had decided it'd be better for him to not spend four hours of the day traveling when he could be studying or training instead! Ash didn't seem to pay much attention nor put that much care into what he was throwing into the bag, merely chucking a few of each clothing item before zipping up his bag and making a rush for the door only to feel a hand suddenly grab his bag, pulling him back as his mother looked down at him with a smile.

"You didn't think you'd leave without saying goodbye, did you?" She asked before wrapping her arms around him, Ash grunted slightly as he attempted to pull away.

"M-Mom, I've gotta go!"

She eventually let go, rubbing an eye as a tear could be shown. "I'm so happy to see you getting to go, you'll get to grow close to achieving your goal. I will miss having you around of course but I expect you to call me every few days so I know everything's okay, and don't forget to change your you-know-what!" Ash's face quickly shot red as he looked away.

"Mom, I'm old enough to do that without being told!"

"Kid's right, Delia. Let him be." Red appeared before shuffling his hand through his son's hair. "Sorry I'm late, good luck with your first day my son. Do your dad proud and live up to the family legacy!" Ash responded by giving his father a quick hug, thankful that he managed to show up on time before pulling away as to get going.

His mother giggled lightly before waving him on. "Good luck at school, I hope you make lots of good friends! I can't wait to hear all about your first day and your first Pokemon!"

"Hope you get Charmander!" Red added on before Delia gave him a light glare as if to say 'let him make up his own mind!'.

Ash would soon be out the door, flashing one last wave at his mother and father before climbing into the back of the jeep belonging to one Professor Oak. The older man sat up front, his lab coat folded up on the front passenger seat as he looked back at Ash and smiled.

"Hello Ash, hope you got plenty of sleep! You've got a big day ahead of you!"

"Ha, he was probably up late watching the League battles again!" Ash heard the familiar teasing tone of his best friend, turning his head and noticing him. He'd actually forgotten that Gary would also be attending the school, so long as they had the same classes he'd have at least one friend to talk to until he'd made more! Gary looked a lot like a younger version of Professor Oak and in fact he did look a lot like Professor Oak did when he was that age, Ash had seen plenty of pictures of a younger Professor when he'd visited Gary on occassion.

Ash merely responded by rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a nervous laugh, confirming Gary's suspicions as Gary laughed.

"You'll need to get plenty of sleep, Ashy boy! After all I don't want you falling asleep on me during our battle later!" The two had agreed to battle shortly after they obtained their first Pokemon and classes had ended for the day. Ash was definitely looking forward to it, he couldn't imagine anyone else he'd rather have his first battle with than Gary. They were more than just best friends after all, they were rivals and shared the same dream of becoming a Pokemon Master!

"Don't worry about me, I got plenty of slee-" Ash drifted off as Professor Oak had started moving, the slow hum of the vehicle and the light rocky movements along with not getting much sleep made it quite easy for Ash to get lulled back to sleep. Only awakening as the jeep hit a bump upon contacting paved road for the first time as they'd entered the outskirts of Vermilion City!

Ash looked out in wonder as he took in the sights, he'd never been to a city before or at least not one this big! The city was lined with skyscrapers, fancy restaurants and fast food joints, marketplaces, and even a shopping mall! Ash also noticed what appeared to be battlefield set outside the Pokemon Center as they passed, no doubt for trainers who meet up to have a battle outside!

They'd soon leave the inner city area however and were near the outskirts as they approached a rather large building that housed two smaller buildings on either side of it, no doubt the male and female dorms, there also appeared to be a large field along with a glass dome encasing what appeared to be a closed off forest area, both surely where they kept any Pokemon that needed to be stored. They'd soon pass a sign that read: 'Welcome to Vermilion Academy!"

The jeep would soon stop in the parking lot, Professor Oak taking the spot designated for him as he looked back at his grandson and Ash.

"You two can head on in, I've already taken the liberty of getting your schedules for you." He handed them both a piece of paper, showing them what classes they'd have and where. Upon glancing at Gary's sheet, Ash noticed that they'd be in all of each other's classes! Ash breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he'd at least have Gary. He hated to admit it but it was a bit scary, Gary was the only kid he knew until that point and he wondered how easy it'd be to even make new friends?

Gary placed his arm on Ash's shoulder with a confident smile. "Alright, Pokemon studies with Professor Cerise is up first! How about we get going?!"

Ash merely nodded with a light smile before following Gary up the steps towards the school, though Ash soon halted for a brief moment as he saw an explosion take place on a battlefield on the school grounds. No doubt some fellow students were already practicing, Gary had noticed as well and turned to Ash before looking at his watch.

"We've got plenty of time if you want to watch." He offered.

Ash quickly made his way towards the field for a quicker look, noticing what was obviously an Electabuzz. The Electric type letting out a cry before rushing forward, pulling back it's fist as it prepared an electrical punch at it's target! Though the opponent surprised Ash has he'd never seen one before, it was a blue jackal-like Pokemon and moving quite fast. Easily maneuvering away from the attack before summoning an aura charged bone club and slamming it against the back of the Electric type's head! "Bzzzz!" The Electabuzz fell forward with a thud, swirls in it's eyes as the trainer's face shot bright red and seemed to be holding back some frustration before eventually returning Electabuzz and quickly storming off, not even bothering to show good sportmanship. Ash frowned at that though he wondered what Pokemon that was exactly, his answer would soon be heard as the other trainer thanked the Pokemon.

"Good job, Lucario!"

"Caaar!" Lucario smiled at his trainer's praise before the two headed on into the school in the same direction the other trainer had went. Ash couldn't help but frown from disappointment, apparently he'd caught the end of the fight. Though his disappointment quickly vanished as he realized he'd get to have his own battle soon, maybe he could even battle one of those trainers if he asked!

Gary soon waved at him, getting his attention as they made their way through the school. Passing by various teachers, students, and even Pokemon before finally arriving at their destination.

"Well this is the place," Gary looked down at the sheet to confirm before opening the door and stepping on inside. Ash noticed there had to be around thirty students in the room, including him and Gary. Though what stood up to him was that the Electabuzz trainer was sitting in the back, his feet propped up on his desk as he still looked rather upset about his loss. The male had a short spiky blonde hair and appeared to be wearing sunglasses indoors for some reason, he also had on a black biker jacket and had black biker boots as well. He definitely had a 'tough guy' look to him.

While scanning for an empty desk, Ash noticed the Lucario trainer was also there. The male had a light skin tone along with short messy brown hair, much like Ash it appeared he wasn't fussed about his appearance though he didn't wear a hat to hide it. He also had chocolate brown eyes and was currently wearing a blue and black hoodie, seemingly fashioned after his partner Pokemon along with a blue scarf around his neck. Lucario stood by his side, arms crossed and looking almost like a bodyguard. Ash wondered why Lucario wasn't in his ball though decided to explore that question later, best not to pry especially as the trainer seemed to be having a conversation with his neighbor, a rather rich looking and dare he say it, snobby looking girl with long brown hair and an outfit that looked quite upper class and out of place compared to what everyone else was wearing. Ash had to admit the girl was rather attractive! She was currently giving the Lucario trainer rather odd looks, ones similar to how his mom and dad looked at each other with but he appeared to be ignoring her advances.

Gary then nudged him, bringing his attention to the middle of the room where two seats sat open. On one side was a girl with long maroon colored hair tied up in a long braided ponytail had her nose buried in a book, already appearing to be studying despite class not even starting while the seat next to Gary's? Another girl with a lighter shade of brown hair sat, she had on a black t-shirt and wore a red skirt.

As they sat down Ash heard a rather obnoxious voice start talking. "Yeah, I'm too cool for this school. If it wasn't required by law then I wouldn't even be here." Ash turned and noticed a male with short curly blue hair and a pink shirt chatting it up with a group of friends including the Electabuzz trainer.

"You're the best Damian!"

"Truly the best!" Ash noticed two trainers praising the kid when apparently he didn't even own any Pokemon at all based on his belt being empty unlike most of the others within the room. He guessed they were all just friends from wherever they hailed from?

"Sorry I'm late!" A male that appeared to be at least a year or two older than Ash stepped in. "My dad ran into some traffic problem-" The male then sweated lightly as he noticed the teacher hadn't even arrived yet. He had a darker skin tone compared to the rest of the students and was noticeably taller as well, he began making his way down the aisle before the girl on Ash's left let out a loud scream as a Spinarak appeared on her desk, she quickly shot up and raced to the back of the room and taking a desk there while Damian's friends and him were laughing.

The newcomer however merely bent over calmly before picking it up and feeling it before tossing it towards them. "Some friendly advice but you shouldn't bring toys to class,"

"Can it teacher's pet." Damian laughed, Ash couldn't help but growl at that. The other male however merely shrugged before sitting down.

The teacher would finally arrive, double checking his notes and making sure he had everything accounted for. He looked awfully familiar, having a maroon hair style similar to that of Professor Oak only he appeared to be younger, more in his 30's rather than 50's. "Alright class, I'm sorry for being late but I ran into a bit of trouble on the way here. Now when I call your name please step forward and receive your Rotom Phone so we can get you all set up!" He then called up the maroon girl Ash noticed the Lucario trainer talking to. As the girl picked up the device it would declare.

"Chloe Cerise," The girl's face turned bright red as it was revealed she was the teacher's daughter, Damian and his friends started bawling out from laughter before Lucario snarled as him and his trainer gave them all a look. Though they didn't seem to care and just kept on laughing it up. "Age 16, hometown Vermilion City! Registered Pokemon: Yamper!"

"Yamper...?" Ash questioned before the newcomer pushed a book onto his desk, flipped to a page showcasing a brown and yellow corgi Pokemon that read:

'This Pokemon is very popular as a herding dog in the Galar region. As it runs, it generates electricity from the base of its tail!'

"Brock?" The newcomer then stood up, flashing Ash a smile before going to retrieve his own Rotom Phone.

"Brock Takeshi, age 17! Hometown, Pewter City! Registered Pokemon: Onix, Geodude!"

Ash eagerly awaited his turn as Gary was called up and his heart quickly sank as he watched Cerise released the three Kanto starters, with Gary picking up Squirtle. The water turtle Pokemon let out an excited cry as it reached out and hugged Gary while the two made their way to their seat.

Then the girl next to Gary was called upon.

"Leaf Green, age 16! Hometown, Celadon City! Registering Bulbasaur!" The device declared as she had chosen Bulbasaur. Ash realized he only had one option now, surely the Professor had accounted for the number of students without Pokemon right?

'Wait did he say Leaf? Why does that name sound familiar?' Ash thought to himself as he watched Leaf return to her desk. Leaf caught him looking at her and gave a friendly smile before waving at him, he couldn't help but blush from embarrassment due to her seeming to know who he was. He waved back awkwardly before Cerise spoke up and got his attention

"Giselle, age 16! Hometown, Viridian City! Registered Pokemon: Cubone!" Another device rang out as the girl who attempted flirting with the Lucario trainer stepped up.

"Goh... Goh... has anyone seen Goh?" Cerise looked around the room only for Chloe to shake her head.

"I warned you if you let him have a starter early that he'd bail, he's got an unhealthy obsession with finding Mew!" Chloe shook her head with disgust.

Cerise frowned. "He's breaking the law by doing this but I'll just write him off as absent for now, best to give him the benefit of the doubt." Ever since an incident over a hundred years ago trainers were no longer allowed to own a Pokemon at the age of ten, it being deemed improper and risky as kids were often put into harm's way or attempted foolish stunts with Pokemon. Ever since trainers would enlist at their regional academy at the age of sixteen and graduate after a three year course, or early if one happened to gather up eight badges on their free time or passed one of the League's official tests. Which Ash hoped to do as he didn't want to sit around a boring classroom for three years!

The Electabuzz trainer was called up next as the Pokedex cried out. "Flash Matis, age 16! Hometown, Vermilion City! Registered Pokemon: Electabuzz"

Followed shortly by the Lucario trainer. "Zach, age 16! Hometown, Hau'oli City! Registered Pokemon: Lucario and Rockruff."

Ash wondered what a Rockruff was exactly before Damian's name was called. That put an end to it real quick as Damian walked forward, he narrowed his eyes at the Charmander before scoffing. Charmander looked upset and a bit timid at Damian's action as the boy didn't seem to show any gratitude or kindness towards him like Gary and Leaf had displayed with Squirtle and Bulbasaur.

"You'll do... for now." He muttered, staring Charmander down as the lizard let out a light.

"Char..."

"Damian Daisuke, age 16! Hometown, Vermilion City! Registering Charmander!"

Ash's heart began skipping, there didn't seem to be any other Pokemon... was he going to be left out?!

"Misty Waterlily-" The doors suddenly barged open as a girl with short red hair came stomping in, a Psyduck cradled in her arms as she let out an annoyed growl. "Psyduck got onto the wrong bus!"

"Psy!" The duck Pokemon cried out before Misty quickly snatched up her Pokedex.

"Misty Waterlily, hometown Cerulean City! Registered Pokemon: Psyduck and Poliwag!"

"You're lucky, Misty. Usually you'd get detention for being tardy but luckily for you it's the first day and I'm rather forgiving about stuff like that." Cerise smile, dismissing it with a wave. Soon everyone else had their Pokedex given out and now it was Ash's turn!

Professor Cerise soon got out a different ball, this one looked different from the rest as it had a heart shaped sticker attached to it.

"Ash, Professor Oak informed me that you've got what it takes to be a good trainer. I'd like to see how you do with something different than normal," The Professor held up the ball, Damien and his goons snickering as they took note of the heart shaped sticker. Ash flashed them a light glare before Cerise opened the ball, revealing an Eevee! The Eevee looked up, sniffing the air before focusing his attention on Ash.

"Evoi?"

Ash smiled and reached out to pet Eevee only for the Normal type's body to glow bright white as she tackled him, causing him to fall up against Cerise and knock the two of them over like bowling pins before she scurried over to the window which somebody had left open, the Pokemon disappearing in a flash as it darted towards the nearby forest!

"Eevee, wait!" Ash had gotten up, quickly pushing the window further out before jumping after Eevee! He heard Cerise call out for him but he ignored it, he couldn't risk letting something happen to Eevee. Rather Eevee liked it or not, they were partners! And Eevee was also his responsibility now, with the pokeball in hand Ash looked around to see if he could find her but he couldn't locate the Normal type anywhere. Ash frowned and looked down but Eevee was too small to leave any visible footprints. Ash kept on looking and just when he was about to give up and head back to the others?

"Evoi!"

Ash heard a terrified cry and made a bolt for it, seeing Eevee shaking and shivering as a flock of Spearow had her surrounded and they looked quite furious. Ash wondered what Eevee could have done before noticing berry juice on her lips, Eevee must have eaten their berries without realizing or knowing it!

"Stay away from her!" Ash shouted, not thinking for a moment as he picked up a pebble and chucked it right at the Spearow, nailing one of them on the head! Evidentially he threw it harder than he thought as a large bump appeared on his head before tears showed up in his eyes. "SPEAROW!" He cried out, causing even more Spearow to burst from the trees! Ash quickly panicked, bolting for Eevee and scooping her up before making a mad dash for it! He wasn't even paying attention nor caring where he went, he just wanted to get away from the Spearow flock!

Eevee bit down on his hand though seemed to calm a bit as she sensed that Ash was helping her. She looked up at Ash, wondering why exactly a human would help her like this? "Evoi?"

"Eevoi!" Eevee suddenly pointed upwards as the Spearow had gained distance now that they'd left the forest, Ash looked around for any sort of protection before gritting his teeth as he stood in front of Eevee, arms stretched out as he attempted to shield her. "I won't let you harm Eevee!"

"Evoi?" Eevee's eyes started to wet for a moment as she saw Ash remained true to those words as the Spearow started pecking him like crazy and drawing a bit of blood, Eevee soon let out a cry, her body began sparking with electricity while her fur raised up from the static flowing through her body, she took aim before firing off a bolt of electricity, the bolt began to expand as she summoned up all the strength he had which wasn't much due to his lack of experience but thanks to the adrenaline and her eagerness to protect Ash? The electrical beam expanded into a massive electrical sphere that was big and powerful enough to send all of the Spearow falling from the sky!

"Spearow!" All of them hit the dirt, knocked out cold for a moment as Ash and Eevee looked quite worn out as well. Both breathing heavily as they fell to the floor, Ash looked at Eevee who stared back at him. Eevee may not have been happy with him at first but now it seemed like she did as she'd found a respect for her trainer, reaching over to lick his cheek before a bright colorful light filled the sky!

Ash looked on up and noticed a strange colorful bird he'd never seen before flying through the sky! He reached out for his Rotom Phone, which he'd accidentally picked up on his hurry to get back Eevee. Wanting to know what that strange Pokemon was?

"Unknown data." Was all it had to say, leaving Ash and Eevee looking puzzled. Ash looked at the Pokedex, wondering if it broke during their escape but he noticed the Spearow were registered as 'Seen' upon him activating the device so that definitely wasn't the case.

"We can ask the Professor later," Ash pocketed a rather colorful feather as it fell from the bird, deciding that it'd be best to ask in person. Though he soon sweat dropped as he realized they didn't know the way back.

"Ruff!" Ash noticed a brown puppy poking out from some nearby bushes before letting out another bark as she turned and headed back in the direction she'd come from, Ash thought it was trying to show them the way and got up to follow but it seemed exhaustion had finally hit him as he blacked out, waking up in the infirmary a few hours later with Cerise and Brock looking over him.

"He'll be okay, I sprayed those cuts soon as we found him so they won't have any risk of infection." Brock stated.

"I hope so, I can't have a student die on me... I don't think I could take the pressure, especially informing his father!"

"I'm okay you know," Ash spoke up, causing Brock to smile as he held out Eevee to the boy.

"I took good care of her, you don't need to worry about it!"

Cerise nodded as he shared Brock's sentiment. "I had a good feeling you and Eevee would get along but I certainly wasn't expecting this!"

Eevee was already nuzzling against Ash in a way that one would think him and Eevee had been together for a lot longer! It probably wouldn't be too long before it'd evolved into an Espeon or Umbreon at that rate!

"Oh!" Ash's eyes suddenly widened as he fished in his jacket for the feather, withdrawing it as Cerise's eyes widened.

"W-Where did you get that?"

"It was on this big bird that flew through the sky, you should have seen it! It was so majestic and had a rainbow following him and everything!"

"Ash... that was Ho-oh! Nobody's seen Ho-oh in literally thousands of years!"

Professor Oak had said he was something special and he wasn't kidding! But if Ho-oh...? Nah, that prophecy was just a myth.. wasn't it?

Kalos

A man in a black jacket looked rather cross as yet another expedition yielded nothing! The man's cold green eyes scanned the excavated area before shaking his head. His orange hair blowing lightly in the wind as he let out a sigh. "Forget it, the egg isn't here. We'll move onto the next site." He spoke rather coldly and calmly as his men nodded, though they wouldn't a black shadowy blob appear for a brief moment. A Fletchling landed nearby, not noticing the blob either until it was too late! Fletchling had turned to solid stone as the blob had disappeared!

Hello! Yeah, it may look like it's a Kanto fic but you'll see other regions, sort of like how the SM anime hinted that we could see more than just Kanto but failed to do so.

You'll see more of other regions and perhaps more classmates too later on? I don't want to just dump people from Hoenn, Sinnoh, Johto, etc as I'd like to show off the world and slowly introduce new friends/potential love interests for Ash rather than quickly dumping them all out. Ash obviously won't be limited to just Pikachu, he'll get captures... I mean I practically set one up here! Gary may be Ash's friend but not every character is immediately going to like Ash.

And yeah, Cerise. Oak is a teacher, but I wanted the school to feel like a school you know? Ash will learn from Oak, Cerise, and a Professor Snape-esque OC. And see other students!

And yes, I hate Goh if you're wondering. :)

As for death? It won't happen much if at all, the prologue was just an exception.