Gary was waiting for him.
Ash stepped away from the window, unable to shake the grin that spread over his face - they'd agreed to meet at the Lab at dawn, and the sun had just peeked over the horizon and sprawled gold over sleepy Pallet Town.
It was finally morning, morning on the first day of the Trainer's Year - the eleven month stretch for all trainers to get ready to compete. Just last week, the Indigo Conference had finished, with Challenger Yana's battle against Elite Four Lorelei set for later in the month - but now was the Trainer's Year.
Today, Ash Ketchum would be receiving his starter, and then he would be leaving for his own adventure in a very different region than the one he was in now.
He picked up his bag with a grunt, the new material still coarse and not broken in under his hands, and zipped the final pouch closed. It'd been fully packed for a week now, everything cleaned and confirmed, but he'd woken up early enough he had wanted to check just one more time.
Trainer's nerves, he'd heard them called - adrenaline and excitement bubbling up and uncontrollable. He'd practically jittered out of his bed that morning.
Hefting his bag over his shoulders, he wobbled a bit under the weight before making it towards the door - he'd thought his week of running around with it had been training enough. Apparently not.
Ash glanced back at his room - at the posters over the walls, at the red bedsheets haphazardly made up, at the tiny bits and bobs he'd collected over the years. Trainers couldn't manage taking many personal effects on their journey, unless they bought an incredibly expensive traveler's pack from Silph or never really traveled like Ethan. The Ketchum's hadn't had that money, what with how much they'd focused on getting his starter. Even with scrounging since he was three and knew he wanted to be a trainer, the amount they'd raised for his starter's fee hadn't been much.
He felt that prickle in his stomach, the same one he'd had when helping his mom send the money to Professor Oak.
Starters were the most important part of a trainer's journey. They were your best friend, your closest companion, and Professor Oak had accepted the money with a smile and promised to get him a starter, but he hadn't told Ash what.
Most of the time, people received starters from families or breeders, but those in Pallet Town had another resource - they could give money to Professor Oak, and he would find them a starter with his infinitely larger knowledge of places to look. He didn't have set prices, as they varied from year to year, but normally, you would give him the money and he'd tell you what you could afford with it, and then on the start of the Trainer's Year you'd get that pokemon.
He hadn't told Ash what he'd be getting.
But he trusted Professor Oak, had trusted him even before he'd protected Pallet Town during the Campaign, and so he pulled the straps of his bag tighter over his shoulders and shut the door behind him.
Delia perked up as he walked down the stairs, still cleaning the remnants of their breakfast. She hadn't woken up as early as him but Ash couldn't be called quiet on the best of days, and she'd scraped together a warm meal even while blinking exhaustion out of her eyes. "Are you heading out now? It's barely six!"
"Gary said Professor Oak would be ready for us as soon as the sun was up, and I want to go as fast as possible," he offered, slipping off his bag and setting it with a thunk by the front door. "I'll be back after - you need to meet my starter too."
She smiled, though he could see the prickle of tears in the corner of her eyes. "Come back soon, okay? Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye!"
He grinned at her. "I would never."
She laughed, chasing away a bit of the pressing sadness, and stepped back to the counter. "I'll make you both something for the road, then - Professor Oak still didn't tell you what starter you're getting?"
"No." He scratched the back of his neck. "Just regular pokemon food? I don't know whether it'll need anything special."
Delia hummed under her breath, pulling open their pantry to stare at what was available. "Well, that certainly makes both of our jobs harder." She frowned, before glancing out the window. "Didn't you say Gary was expecting you at dawn?"
He blinked, saw the golden sky, and bolted out the front door. His mom's laughter followed him through.
Spring in Kanto was plenty warm and humid, pleasant enough even in the early morning. Ash sidestepped the few berry bushes they had in their front yard and got onto the main road, grin only widening in face of the brightening sky. A few pidgey swooped overhead, chirping to each other - maybe Professor Oak had gotten him a pidgey? They could be incredibly powerful in their final form.
He shook his head - time to focus. Gary was waiting for him. Suddenly very thankful he had decided against trying to haul his bag along, he started jogging up to the hill overlooking Pallet Town.
His town was a unique one; Professor Oak had basically made it himself, though there had been a few people living there before. He saw the wide plains, the ring of surrounding forests, and decided that was the best place to research pokemon - and people followed. While Pallet would never become a city, it was still a thriving little town, and Ash found himself waving to nearly a dozen people as he ran up the main road.
Pallet Town seemed very alive today, though, even this early - he saw more and more decorations, announcing the start of the Trainer's Year, with every passing step. Golden ribbons wove through fenceposts, handwritten signs propped against windows, pokeball candles gleaming by front doors. He inhaled, practically tasting a dozen meals on the wind. Plenty of families ready to send off their very own trainer.
Ash was very, very happy he and Gary had decided to leave this early. He knew it was necessary for his own journey, as he needed Professor Oak's alakazam to teleport him, but he did not envy having to wait in line with the two dozen trainers he knew were coming from this tiny town alone.
He thought of Saffron City, with its tens of thousands of citizens, and winced. He ran faster.
The Lab gleamed on top of the hill, white and grey brick against the emerald green backdrop. It wasn't built to be an intimidating building and Professor Oak's care made it even less so, ivy creeping up walls and overgrown flowerbeds lining the front. Wide fences extended from each side, sprawling into the distance, and the massive Fields were stark beyond it.
Ash had visited this building ever since he was three and had met Gary for the first time, and it felt like home.
Someone was slouched against the outside wall, kicking idly at the ground - Ash felt his face light up in a grin and sped up, winding up the curved path that led to the front door. The figure raised his head, revealing spiked brown hair and dark eyes.
Gary.
"Oi, Ash!" He called, pushing off the wall as Ash rounded the last few feet. He was already wearing his bag, the upgraded version from Silph Co, and he closed whatever screen on his pokegear he'd been reading and slipped it into his pocket. "I thought I told you he was waiting for us at the asscrack of dawn - what sort of leisurely stroll did you take through Pallet?"
"You live two feet away from the Lab," Ash snorted. "It's not exactly like you're traveling far."
"Oh, I'm going to love your excuses for being late when you've fucked off to a different region," Gary said with a grin. "If it's this bad while we're still living in the same town, you're going to be terrible."
Ash turned away from him with a snort and knocked on the Lab's door, the hollow click of fist against wood echoing past it. Hopefully the Professor was awake enough to actually hear it - him and Gary had the same sleeping habits, which could both be summed up with not good.
"If Gramps gives you a caterpie for making him wait, I'm not defending you."
Ash pushed him.
"If that happens, we're going to train together until that butterfree takes down your blastoise in one tackle," he promised. "Although really, with how little you talk about training, it won't even take that."
Gary rolled his eyes. "Not everyone spends every waking second thinking about training, you prick. My starter and I will still kick you into the ground while you're daydreaming about becoming Champion."
Ash couldn't quite fight down a flush, and Gary's muffled chuckle told him it had definitely been seen. It was true, though. Just as Gary's personality was a known thing throughout the hopeful trainer population of Pallet, so was his dream of becoming Champion. Ever since seeing Lance rise to power when he was just three, small enough he was still sitting on his mother's lap while watching the final battle, he'd known it. Then at seven, when Red's Campaign had shaken Kanto to its very core. At eight, when he'd seen Ethan's terrible strength sweeping through the Conference.
It had consumed his life from there. He doubted he could even try to go a different route.
His goal in life - Champion - was already far set in stone.
Ash opened his mouth to defend himself when the Lab's front door swung open, a wave of cooler air flowing out. Professor Oak stood in the doorway, still halfway through a yawn, hair spiking up awkwardly and labcoat beyond ruffled.
His eyes were as bright as Ash had ever known. "Gary, Ash! Ripe and early, I see."
"Would've been earlier except for this lump," Gary mumbled. Ash elbowed him.
Professor Oak chuckled but stepped to the side, letting them enter. He'd at least tried to pick up the Lab, which was saying a lot, though Ash could see numerous pieces of paper tucked behind boxes in an attempt to hide them. The floors were a sterile white, at least.
The front room, normally used for storage and impromptu meals, was always properly spiffed up for the Trainer's Year. A massive circular table in the middle, any experiments or meal trays shoved into cabinets, and every starter gathered and properly labeled the night before. Ash and Gary had helped last year, which had been a three day process he'd rather forget.
"Alright!" Professor Oak clapped his hands together, which seemed to help wake him up even a fraction more. "I'm going to assume you've already done your paperwork, Ash?"
He nodded, hiding a wince. Twenty-three pages of legal jargon he had forced himself to read through in its entirety rather than just do the signatures on the last sheet - even more than Gary had done, because of his region switch - and boring enough he had welcomed the general poison vaccines after finishing.
"And if Gary ever teases you about being late, know that he sent his out on the last possible day," Professor Oak hummed, smiling as Gary squawked.
His rival carefully ignored the grin Ash sent his direction.
"But before we do any of the fun stuff, let me have your pokegears - I'll install the proper League features, which are the ability to save your team, scan wild pokemon, and carry your Trainer ID. All data collected is saved within your Trainer Card, an online subscription that can be accessed at Pokemon Centers. This is subsidized by your trainer's fee, though if you don't have a pokegear you will have to contact the League for an alternative."
Even the normally boisterous man couldn't make the memorized speed sound exciting. Ash pulled out his pokegear, quickly typing in his password with a few familiar motions, and handed it over. An older model, and with a crack running over its red protective case, but he was still very thankful he had it. Years of his life had passed with him bent over the dusty screen, researching all he could out of it.
Professor Oak pulled a tab out of his pocket and accepted the device from Ash, slipping it into the port on its side. The screen lit up, a loading bar scrawled over its surface. He repeated the process with Gary's slimmer one, setting them both on the table.
"And while we let those get ready, let me grab your starting pokeballs - shouldn't take more than a second." He tapped both screens to see their loading process before disappearing through a side door, humming something under his breath.
Ash stared at his pokegear, then lifted his head to stare at the cabinet on the far wall. Behind it, he knew, was a line of pokeballs. In one of them, was his starter, whoever it would be. Then he would be on his true journey, the one he'd fantasized about since before he really knew what pokemon were.
"You ready?" He asked.
"I- yes. You?"
Ash glanced at his hands, at his trainer's belt. Him and Gary joked with each other as easily as breathing but there wasn't that now; they stood on the edge of their own adventures, the rest of their lives. It was time for them both to begin.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am."
Professor Oak reappeared, ten pokeballs balanced awkwardly in his hands. He slid a few across the table and Gary plucked them up, attaching them to his belt with practiced ease - of course he'd practiced.
Ash slid one into the second slot on his belt, feeling the mechanic take hold. He shifted and the pokeball moved with him, surprisingly secure for how little was touching the belt - he pulled at it, and it came off like it hadn't been attached at all. But when he put it back on, it stuck like they'd been welded together. He popped the others on. Neat.
"Gary first, then."
His rival immediately perked up, the same childish glee sparking through his eyes. "Lay him on me, Gramps."
Professor Oak snorted but dutifully went to the cabinet, pulling it open. There were a row of pokeballs inside, maybe a dozen and a half, and he grabbed the first one and peeled off the tiny sticker that said Gary Oak.
He turned back to face his grandson, whose face had lost any traces of the normal cockiness he normally had and was filled with only excitement and determination. This was who Ash had become friends with - the Gary Oak that was going to do things. He took the offered pokeball, staring at it reverently.
"I made sure he was well rested for today, and he was very excited to finally leave here," Professor Oak said, a smile over his face. Gary barely seemed to notice him, aiming the pokeball at the center of the table and clicking the release.
Scarlet mist coalesced into a small, yellow form, floating a few inches above the table. It tilted its head to the side, narrow eyes scanning the room.
An abra.
Ash blinked once - he'd never heard his rival talk about anything but a squirtle - but Gary moved forward, a wide grin over his face. Abra drifted higher to be on eye level with him, a pale blue energy leaking from its fur. "Hey there, Abra. It's time to start our journey - you ready to get out of here?"
The psychic type hummed, a low, vibrating sound, and shifted up and down in a nod. Gary's grin widened and he extended a hand, Abra letting him smooth over a bit of fur on the top of its head. "Then let's do this. I'll recall you right now - we're going to have a battle soon."
Abra nodded its agreement again, disappearing into a plume of smoke at the push of a button. Gary's grin seemed to be trying to crack his face in half as he attached the pokeball to his waist, clicking into the first slot.
"An abra?" Ash asked.
Gary shrugged, though there was a hint of something in his eyes. "Yeah. I know I was dead set on squirtle, but I grew up eventually." He chuckled at a joke Ash didn't get. "You've got your schtick about Champion, hitting both sides of Indigo, all that good stuff - but I'm still looking for a route that fits me. I'm not going to just jump at any position of power like Ethan. The second I met Abra I knew we were right for each other. He's strong with a hell of a lot of determination, and he's wicked smart."
Ash nodded.
He'd known his goal was unique, though many hopefuls started out with it, but Gary had told him he had his head stuck in the clouds enough to understand it wasn't the same for everyone. Gary was big on fighting, on winning, but he'd also been Professor Oak' pseudo-assistant since he was old enough to read and hadn't complained about anything but the cleaning. Clever as a whip, really. He'd excel at anything he wanted to do. "I can see it."
Gary snorted, but there was another flash of pride in his eyes. "Yeah, of course you can see it. I'm Gary Oak."
Professor Oak chuckled, but innocently turned away when Gary glared at him.
"But no more of this sappy stuff - Gramps, just give Ash his starter so we can battle."
Ash perked up, hand ghosting over the empty first slot in his belt. The Professor laughed, waving away Gary and hiding a yawn at the same time. "Yes, yes, of course. Although Gary, I'm going to ask you to step outside while it happens."
Gary balked. "The hell? He didn't have to leave for mine!"
"And you've already met Abra and have been working with him for a week," Professor Oak chided. "Ash hasn't met his starter before, and I don't want it getting confused by two new faces. You of all people should know about how important the first meeting is."
Gary snorted but waved a hand - he most definitely did know. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ash, hurry it up, will you? Me an' Abra will be ready to kick your ass."
"Use the second battleground!" Professor Oak called as Gary exited the room, snagging his pokegear on the way out, and swept the door closed behind him. He shook his head, a wry smile over his face. "No patience for anything."
Ash grinned, but his mind was far elsewhere - this was it. Time to meet his starter.
"I do have a few questions for you, though," Professor Oak started with, fixing Ash with a surprisingly serious expression. He felt a sudden curl of nervousness. "Gary mentioned it today, but I'd like to know whether you're sticking with it. Your dream to become Champion."
He steeled his shoulders.
The Champion of Indigo was one of the most important roles on the planet. The joint region of Indigo was massive, one of the largest in the world, and while the Champion wasn't the only person in charge, they were the figurehead. You couldn't think Indigo without also picturing Champion Lance, his famed dragonite behind him, the sheer power he wielded.
The position wasn't for the faint of heart, and that wasn't even including the journey it'd take to get there. Get eight badges from Indigo's gyms, challenge the Indigo Conference, win, then beat every single member of the Elite Four and Lance himself.
But Ash knew he had it. He would.
"I'm sure," he said, voice steady. "I know it's not going to be easy - but I'm going to be Champion, and that won't ever be easy. I can do it."
"And how much of your wish to be strong is because of Ethan?"
Ah.
Ethan.
Ash had been… four, maybe five, when the other boy had moved to Pallet Town from Johto, three years older than him. Him and Gary had already been friends at that point and held the peak over pokemon enthusiasm - so when someone new had shown up, already having a pokemon despite being too young, there were really only two ways for everything to go.
Gary's personality had always been bad, but he'd been a newborn rattata compared to when Ethan placed Top 2 in his first Conference, right after the chaos of the Campaign. The entire region of Indigo suddenly knew him and his name, and his return to Pallet Town had come with trumpet fare.
To say Ash and Ethan hadn't gotten along was putting it politely.
Ash opened his mouth, paused, then closed it. "A bit," he admitted. "I can't deny that. But that's not everything. He's- a part of it, but my dream has always been to become Champion, whether that means I get to beat him or not. I'm more than that."
Something cleared in the man's eyes, a thread of nervousness Ash hadn't even noticed slipping away. He smiled, a gentle note in his voice. "I understand, Ash. And you were talking about becoming Champion long before he moved here, as well.
He cleared his throat, jerking Ash away from his memories. "And your plan, too - has that changed?"
Ash shook his head. It was a simpler plan, though one just as strong as his drive.
He wouldn't be starting his journey in Kanto.
Half of the decision was his own, while the other - well. The Campaign had been only three years ago and Kanto was still recovering from Red's wave of retribution. His mother had been all but two steps away from chaining him to the house to make sure he didn't get in danger, and it'd only been his rapid suggestion that had swayed her in the slightest.
Indigo was a joint region for a reason - Johto was just as important as Kanto.
He'd been able to find reasonings for himself after: if he was going to become Champion, he needed to know both sides of the region, and there was something supremely satisfying about ending his journey in Kanto, rather than starting it there - but in truth, he knew he was going there in order to help soothe his mother's worries.
A journey not in his homeland was better than no journey at all.
"I'm starting in Johto, then traveling to grow stronger, then finishing in Kanto," he said, after realizing Professor Oak was waiting. He frowned. "Can I - uh - still borrow Alakazam to teleport to New Bark Town, or should I walk-"
Professor Oak laughed. "Of course she can teleport you, Ash, we agreed on that before you even paid me your starter's fee. But thank you. Now, I feel, is the time to get to what I'm sure you're excited for."
Ash stood up as tall as he could, feeling a grin stretch over his face. He'd thought about what he wanted his starter to be, fantasized about every pokemon under the sun, but now, it hardly mattered to him any more.
A starter.
"Yours took me the longest amount of time," Professor Oak admitted, walking to the back of the room and opening the cabinet. Red and white spheres gleamed and he carefully picked up the second one, peeling off the sticker over the top. Ash stared at it without blinking as the Professor walked back over, though he didn't offer it quite yet. "I know you weren't able to give me much for your starter's fee, and I do apologize for not telling you what pokemon you'd be receiving - but what you told me today cinches it. I had to find a pokemon that would be just as ready to win as you."
Ash took the offered pokeball, feeling heat race through his arm at the touch, and simply stared at it for a moment. He was idly aware of Professor Oak clearing the table, setting his pokegear on the counter behind, but it felt like he had tunnel vision. After a moment, he aimed it at the table and clicked the release.
The light died and something stood there instead, a little under two feet tall and on all fours. It had dark blue fur and a cream underbelly, though its coat seemed thin, and pale red spots were speckled over its back. It cocked its head to the side and reared onto its back paws, snout twitching.
Its grey eyes landed on him, and it caught fire.
Ash barely bit back a yelp as flames spilled over its back, emerging from the red spots, connecting to form a crackling cape of pure fire - it hissed and spat against the air, dry heat pouring out, bright enough sparks formed in Ash's eyes.
A cyndaquil.
He felt his mouth drop open and the fire type seemed pleased, staying reared on its back paws and turning to face him fully. It twisted its head to scan the room, though it stayed facing him, and its eyes narrowed when it saw Professor Oak. Its back didn't flare up any further though, and it settled for a hiss before turning back to Ash.
"A cyndaquil?" He asked, barely resisting the urge to hold his hands out to feel the force of the flames. The fire type didn't seem aggressive but it hardly looked pleased either, back still burning merrily.
Professor Oak nodded. "He's from a Johto breeder, was originally going to stay there but the second he came out of his egg they knew he wouldn't be the right fit. Happens with such large scale breeding programs - timidness is a variable trait, but incredibly useful for breeders. He's decidedly not. Quite a fierce one, there."
Cyndaquil hissed again, pleased. He scratched at the air, tiny claws unsheathing from his paws, but did let his flames reduce to mere embers. His eyes were still fixed on Ash.
"I know your starter's fee wasn't… enough for him, but you've done a lot for me, Ash, some of it I doubt you even know. I love Gary but his personality is not endearing, and he has no other true friends but you. Both as rivals and friends you've kept him grounded, and that's something I can't thank you enough for." He smiled a bit sadly, watching the fire type begrudgingly fall to all fours.
Ash nodded.
He knew Gary was abrasive - had felt that himself - but if Ash hadn't also desperately wanted a friend, he could see how both of their journeys would have gone. Isolated, without a rival to drive each other forward, without the strength they gave each other. "Thank you."
Cyndaquil watched him cautiously as Ash took a step closer, the table putting his head at Ash's chest. He still had a coat of flames going but they were restrained now, barely a few inches over his back. Ash could feel dry heat filtering through the air, just enough to be uncomfortable, though not as bad as when he'd first flared up.
"Hello," he offered, the fire type tilting his head to the side. "My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm starting my journey today."
Cyndaquil perked up at the word journey, grey eyes bright.
"I'm going to be traveling around Indigo, challenging gyms and winning battles, and then I'm going to fight the Champion and win. I'll become the strongest trainer in Indigo." He swallowed, Cyndaquil rearing slightly higher to stare at him. "To do that, I need a starter."
The fire type hissed, flaring back up.
"Not a starter," he corrected hastily. "An equal - working together to fight, to gather a team - friends."
Cyndaquil nodded at that, listening intently. His claws were sheathed, though his fire was still going, and he was meeting Ash's eyes without a stroke of hesitation. Breeding out the trait of timidness indeed.
Ash stared back at him, letting his own determination fill his voice. "I would like you to join me. I can promise you that I will try just as hard as you to make you the strong typhlosion this world has ever seen, the strongest pokemon ever. It won't be easy. But I'm willing to try, if you are."
The fire type looked at him.
His eyes were curious but dark, flames still flickering over his back - but he just kept staring. Ash fought the urge to fidget. This could be his starter- friend, and he wasn't going to just-
Cyndaquil barked and turned away.
He flared up a few inches, letting flames run down his back - but he didn't run away, either. The dismissal was still clear.
Ash glanced up at Professor Oak - every show he'd watched about trainers had always had them and their starters proclaim to challenge the world together within about twenty seconds - and found the man looking almost nervous. Apparently the fire type was a little more belligerent than he'd expected.
He steeled himself. He was going to be Champion.
"I don't think you're giving up on me," he said, deliberately not saying I really hope you're not giving up on me. "But I haven't proved I'm the right one yet."
Cyndaquil glared at him for a moment before nodding his head begrudgingly. Ash could guess what he wanted, even from the first minute of meeting him - the desire for strength burned in his eyes - but Ash hadn't proven himself yet. There were hundreds of trainers starting today in just Kanto.
He needed a way to show Cyndaquil what they could do. Rambling on about battle strategies probably wouldn't win him any favours, and neither would theorizing about how to beat a tyranitar, as he had for years - he could guess that Cyndaquil would want something direct. He hadn't directed a battle beyond the free trainer games he and Gary had been addicted to, but he was still confident he could try. There just needed to be someone to fight-
Gary.
"My rival is waiting outside." Cyndaquil perked at that, stubby little claws sliding out of his paws. "He's got an abra handpicked by the Professor of Kanto and he's been studying pokemon battles since he was born. Neither of you have an advantage against each other, and Gary has been working with Abra for a week now. They know each other, and they won't be anything like you faced back at the breeding center."
Cyndaquil was staring at him now, grey eyes bright and back flickering with scarlet tongues. "Let's face them, Cyndaquil, and I'll show you what we can do."
There was a single, tense moment, the fire type staring at him once more, before he nodded.
Ash grinned, shaking off the worst of the nervousness - he couldn't afford that, right now. "Okay." He turned to Professor Oak, who was still glancing between him and Cyndaquil a bit warily, and tried gesturing.
Thankfully, the Professor got it, and handed him his pokegear after removing the port. There were three new functions listed on the home screen, the entire display changed - this was the true pokedex-turned-phone, not the basic model most everyone had. He frowned, finger hovering over the screen, before all his research clicked into place and he pressed the first one.
A black screen unfolded and he could feel the scanner activate, the tiny camera emerging from the back for a better image. "I'm going to scan you, okay? It tells me how strong you are."
Cyndaquil puffed up, rearing back to his back paws as the scanner locked onto his chest. There was a low beep as it finished, words appearing on the screen.
Cyndaquil, the fire mouse pokemon. The fire that spouts from its back burns hottest when it is angry. It uses this to intimidate foes. If it grows too tired, it loses the ability to summon flames.
This cyndaquil is male with the ability blaze, which redirects oxygen supply to its fire when in difficult situations. It knows the moves ember, quick attack, and smokescreen.
The fire type hissed, pleased, as Ash whistled. A mostly basic moveset, but one with plenty of potential. Blaze sounded incredibly powerful, though dangerous, and already his mind raced with strategies.
Abra weren't considered battling pokemon - normally, they couldn't even battle with their wild moveset. Ash had little doubt that Professor Oak had given Gary an abra with at least a few battling moves, so he couldn't predict what he'd be facing. All he knew was that abra were typically very weak, but they could teleport and float, which made them hard to hit.
Cyndaquil, in their first stage, were uncontrolled fire types - they didn't have the fireproof fur their later evolutions had, they didn't have the sheer temperature-raising presence, and their movepool was unvaried. But they were fast, punished physical fighters, and had strong fire. He could do this.
Ember, quick attack, and smokescreen.
"Psychics are incredibly varied - in something as early stage as an abra, probably nothing beyond a basic confusion, which is most likely going to be limited to push and pull," Ash mumbled, eyes narrowed. Professor Oak stepped back with the ease of seven years of dealing with Ash's rambles. "But they're also incredibly weak to distractions, so even if their eyes aren't the best, they'll be thrown off by anything bright - fire. Its natural fear of danger will probably have it teleport before an ember can get close so we'll have to get it off guard, then knock it to the ground, and physical for a finisher - post blank psychic power can probably redirect any fire attacks in a pinch, and then-" he broke off.
Cyndaquil was staring at him.
The fire type immediately glanced away once he saw Ash had noticed him, but there'd been the real gleam of interest in his eyes, honestly listening to his rambles. "Sorry," he offered, but Cyndaquil just hissed at the apology.
"The battle?" Professor Oak prompted lightly, and Ash blinked.
He straightened his shoulders, feeling himself grin despite his nerves - his first battle. Cyndaquil hissed and jumped off the table, claws scratching on the edge of the tiles, and stayed on all fours as he padded towards the door. He jerked it open, warm spring air immediately floating through.
Cyndaquil flared up seemingly unconsciously as soon as the sunlight hit him, a pleased purr escaping him as his cape warmed. Ash stepped to the side so the fire type could exit first, scanning the Fields quickly.
The second battlefield was right behind the Lab, barely more than a stretch of dirt Professor Oak's Alakazam maintained so the pokemon he studied had a way to get out aggression without tearing up the Fields. The first battlefield was a massive crater, constantly protected and deep enough to stop true destruction, but that was overkill for two nidoran with a rivalry - so the second battlefield was made.
For two starters, it would be plenty.
Ash glanced down at Cyndaquil, who had stopped only a few feet out the door. The fire type reared back and made an odd, churring sound he guessed was a question, mainly off of his expression. "The battlefield's this way," he offered.
Cyndaquil dropped back to all fours and headed there, still sniffing curiously at everything. There was a gate to the Fields about a hundred feet away from the Lab but both of them ignored it, Cyndaquil easily able to wriggle underneath the fence and years with Gary let Ash leap over. The fence was more of a reminder than an actual barrier - it wasn't like there was any barrier that could keep Professor Oak's titanic nidoking out - and all pokemon in the Fields were instructed to stay inside it.
Ash thanked his lucky stars once more that Professor Oak had extended the same offer he'd given Gary to him - once he had six pokemon, any more would come to the Fields, instead of staying in stasis. He wasn't sure he could have made himself catch more than six if he knew they'd be crammed away as streams of consciousness.
The sun was coming up now, a gleaming tip edged over Route 1, and Cyndaquil bloomed in the heat. Ash snuffed out a stray ember that landed on the grass. Looping around towards the back of the Lab took almost no time, what with the spring in his step and Cyndaquil's determination.
Gary was waiting for them.
Cyndaquil hissed at him, flaring up with another wave of dry heat, though he stayed on all fours. Gary whistled, rocking back on his feet as the fire type approached.
"Looks like Gramps approves of your little journey to Johto," he said, rubbing his thumb over his own pokeball. "It looks like it's going to try and fight me instead."
"He," Ash corrected absentmindedly. "And only once he's done obliterating Abra."
Cyndaquil hissed.
Years of faux practicing had them both turn and walk to their sides of the field, fresh dirt beneath his soles. Cyndaquil followed him, sniffing curiously at the air - there were probably a million new smells here, with all the pokemon Professor Oak researched - but his grey eyes burned.
He stopped on his side and Cyndaquil padded onto the field, embers crackling over his back. Ash didn't try kneeling - doubted the prideful pokemon would take that as anything but an insult, really - but he let the fire type come to him.
"I know you haven't chosen me yet, but listen to me while we're battling, okay? I can see the entire field, and I know how Gary works. We have to work together if we want to win this."
Cyndaquil narrowed his eyes but nodded - everything in his posture screamed of his desire to win. Afterwards, they could figure out where to go.
"We'll try the strategy I suggested, so focus on being bright." The fire type flared up another inch, fiery enough it sent sparks through his eyes. He grinned despite the pain.
"You done with the pep talk?" Gary called, tossing his pokeball up and down. "Me an' Abra could just set out now!"
There was no hesitation in the fire type as he stepped out on the field, his back alit with wreaths of flame. Ash grinned wider and straightened his shoulders, letting the distractions of the world filter away - this was it.
Abra appeared on the field, floating a few inches above the ground. It tilted its head to the side, a thrum of psychic energy flashing between its eyes.
Cyndaquil dug his front claws into the soil and snarled.
"Ember!"
His back immediately flared higher as Cyndaquil drew in breath - though it immediately dimmed once he actually fired the attack, something to look into - and a barrage of flames washed toward Abra. It teleported out with a crack, embers scorching the dirt where it had been. Cyndaquil snarled at the failed attack and reared, glancing back and forth.
Gary grinned. "Pick it up!"
Cyndaquil spun as Abra appeared behind him, its spindly arms extended. The fire type thrashed but blue surrounded him, pinning his limbs to his side, nose curled to his chest. Abra hissed, power thrumming through its narrowed eyes. Cyndaquil rose higher into the air.
Abra was young enough it had to use its eyes to see its opponents - "Smokescreen!"
The fire type didn't listen - he kept thrashing, hissing furiously, trying to scratch at the confusion hauling him into the air. Ash gritted his teeth. "Cyndaquil, you've got to trust me!"
A heartbeat.
Then Cyndaquil's flames extinguished and black smoke poured out, dripping like a living thing onto the battlefield. Abra flinched back and its arms wavered - more power leapt to its eyes but stayed there, not having the mental strength to reach out and find its opponent. It blasted the smoke with a curl of power but was only able to stir it, Cyndaquil disappearing fully beneath the black.
There was a thud as Abra lost its psychic hold.
Ash bit back a cheer even as Gary groaned, scanning the field. Black smoke still poured out, thick enough Abra was drifting backward to avoid getting caught. His mind raced - Abra probably couldn't use confusion much more, and its eyes were adjusted to the dark of the smoke. Since Cyndaquil was a fire type, he was probably used to the smell of smoke and could differentiate beyond it - "Find it with your nose, but keep using smokescreen."
"Get ready to teleport," Gary warned, stepping closer. Abra hummed and drifted further away from the smoke, eyes narrowed and focused.
The smoke shifted across the battlefield, paler than it had been at the start. Something shifted closer to Abra, tendrils of smoke twisting, and Ash hoped he was right. "Flare!"
Fire burst from the black, bright enough Ash saw sparks - no attacks came but Abra stiffened like it'd been hit with hyper beam, eyes snapping shut and ears thrashing. Gary cursed and shouted for it to get up but Cyndaquil emerged from the fire, hissing.
"Ember!"
Cyndaquil's back blazed as he inhaled, spitting nearly a dozen fireballs - his aim meant only two hit but Abra fell regardless, too off-balanced to keep levitating.
Ash grinned. "Quick attack."
The fire type charged forward, head lowered, and slammed into only dirt.
Gary sighed, reattaching his pokeball back to his waist, Abra safely tucked away. Ash blinked but his friend just shook his head. "No point in knocking him out right before I set out."
Cyndaquil hissed, clawing at where Abra had been. But his back was alight in tongues of red and gold and he reared up, churring. Ash barely held back a whoop.
"Even I'm blinking spots out of my eyes," Gary complained idly, sidestepping the smoking dirt to reach Ash. Cyndaquil glared at him but did perk up at the compliment, flames rising higher. "We'll have to work on him sensing pokemon with his mind."
"You should," Ash agreed, "and get him used to closing his eyes. Won't make a difference to us, though."
Us.
He turned back to the battlefield, to where Cyndaquil was reared. The fire type met his eyes without hesitation, fire spilling off his back and crackling against the ground. Right now, he was unrefined, uncontrolled, but he had the potential.
And he was determined.
Ash barely heard Gary's question and walked away from him, heading for the field. Cyndaquil watched him come, head tilted, but his cape was gently flickering and his eyes were bright.
"That was a pretty fun battle, huh?" He offered.
Cyndaquil nodded without an ounce of hesitation.
Ash threw caution to the wind and sat down, crossing his legs in front of him. It was both to be on eye level and also to get Cyndaquil to understand he wasn't looking down on him - like kneeling would do - but that they were equals. The fire type tilted his head to the side.
"I'm going to be Champion," he said. "That means I'm going to have to battle my way across the Indigo region, and even others to train, and then I have to beat Champion Lance with his team of dragons. Those are battles that you can't even imagine, now. But we could fight them."
He turned to the fire type, who stared back. "I can't promise we'll succeed all the time. I know we'll lose some, that we'll fail, that we'll be beaten."
"But I can promise we'll try."
Cyndaquil took a step forward, close enough Ash could have bumped him with his elbow. He let his back flare up, dry heat racing through the field, and nodded.
Ash couldn't help the massive grin that split his face and he reached his hand out, palm down. Cyndaquil narrowed his eyes but didn't move, and Ash carefully stroked the top of his head - his fur was incredibly warm, but soft. The fire type leaned into his touch, closing his eyes.
"We'll become Champions," he promised. Cyndaquil snarled his agreement.
Footsteps approached and Ash glanced up to see Gary approaching, his friend's eyebrows cocked. "Well, you could have told me how much rested on that battle," he snorted. "Nice one."
Ash pulled himself back up his feet, the knot of tension undoing from his chest. He hadn't let himself consider Cyndaquil not choosing him, as there would have been no chance he could have focused on the battle, but it had been in the back of his mind.
Now he had a friend.
"We just needed to make sure we were right for each other." Cyndaquil hissed, finally extinguishing his back. He couldn't do it completely, a few wisps of fire flickering off his red spots, but it was progress.
Gary waved a hand. "Yeah, that's the sappy shit." He glanced down at Cyndaquil, whose eyes narrowed. "And you. Keep an eye on Ash, alright? He'd wander off a cliff if you let him."
Cyndaquil cocked his head to the side but hissed, a plume of smoke escaping his nose. The fire type looked a bit curious.
Ash really wished he would stop bringing that story up.
"Back to Gramps, then." Gary stretched his arms behind his head, a distant crack echoing from his spine, and almost unconsciously brushed his hand over Abra's pokeball. Ash moved to follow him. "I need to get healed and you need to teleport out before he gets too swamped down to remember lending you Alakazam."
Ash nodded, glancing back at Cyndaquil - though he lacked anything resembling long limbs he was padding after them at a decent clip. But now that the promise of battle wasn't hanging over his head, he was curiously examining their environment, eyeing the trampled grass that spoke of other pokemon and sniffing the air.
If he had been planned to be a breeder, he probably hadn't seen the outside world much. Ash had never really left Pallet Town, let alone Kanto - they would both be out of their depth in Johto.
He hopped the fence as Cyndaquil popped out from underneath - Gary snorted and just stepped over it. The morning was still beyond early, even though the sun had fully escaped the trees of Route 1, and no trainers had started the line outside the Lab's door.
There were, however, two very familiar figures.
Delia set his bag on the ground and waved, her wide smile blinding - a paper bag was in her other hand. Professor Oak was squinting blearily at the sun, though smiling, and there was a noticeable expression of relief on his face when he saw Cyndaquil at Ash's side.
He was suddenly very happy again that Cyndaquil had chosen him.
"The famed first battle," the Professor teased, ignoring Gary's snort. "Good start to your rivalry?"
"I let Ash have the first one," Gary said, flapping his hand. Cyndaquil hissed. "Didn't want him to be too demoralized when I crush him into the dirt later, you know."
Dry heat lapped against the back of his legs. Ash carefully stepped to the side to avoid a stray ember from Cyndaquil's back, though the fire type hardly seemed to notice.
Delia visibly lit up, setting down the other bag as well- "Oh! A cyndaquil!"
Cyndaquil turned to face her, chest puffed and back crackling from the awe in her voice. Golden fire lit up his dark blue fur, bright against the morning sun, and she crouched to get a better look at him. He accepted that, surprisingly.
Huh.
"Oh, Ash - here's your pokeball," Professor Oak said with a grin, tossing it over - Ash barely managed to snag it out of the air. "Do try and remember it - this is the sort of thing that would be unpleasant to forget."
Ash felt himself flush, clipping Cyndaquil's pokeball to the first slot on his belt. Of course he'd forgotten it.
"You're going to be a menace as a trainer," Gary snorted. "Forgetting everything, being late, training over sleep - the League'll probably put a tail on you just to make sure you don't wander into a salamence's nest."
Ash pointedly turned away from him.
Delia picked up his bag with both hands and offered it to him, the straps straining under its weight. He slid it on with a grunt, balance thrown off, but recovered quickly enough. Cyndaquil sniffed curiously at the fabric, rearing up to get closer.
His trainer bag. He might have stuffed it too full - his shoulders were agreeing - but it was another mark of his journey.
"I made you something for your first day," she said, holding out the paper bag. He took it instantly - the second he turned down his mom's cooking was the day the sun went out - and opened his bag, slipping it into the emptiest pouch. "Mew only knows you'll be struggling with trainer meals enough."
"Thank you," he offered. She just smiled back at him.
Cyndaquil reared up higher and breathed a thin tongue of flame in the air, another chance of showing off. She giggled, eyes crinkling. "Yes, you're very impressive, aren't you? The Conference doesn't hold a candle to you."
The fire type churred.
"Oi, Ash."
Gary scratched the back of his neck, some of the cockiness he seemed to bleed gone from his eyes. "Good luck in Johto, alright? I want a decent rival, so don't you dare go flop up at the fourth gym."
Ash snorted. "Never. We're fighting you at the Conference."
"Of course you are. I want pictures from the Ruins, and Ecruteak too - Kanto is so dead on interesting history you'll be the only source of learning I'll be doing for months. Send me updates on your shitty team, and-" he grimaced "-if you see the asshole, make sure to give that dick's tyranitar a good kick in the teeth. There's no chance he's going to beat us now that we're going."
Ethan was a stickler point for both of them. Gary had had it easier, being Professor Oak's grandson, but he was far from a friend. Ash nodded.
Gary grunted, but held a fist out. Ash tapped it back with his own, grinning. "See you at the Conference."
"Of fucking course you're going to see me there." Gary shot him one final smirk before turning back to the Lab, where multitudes of healing machines for Abra would be. He waved over his shoulder before heading inside, the door swinging closed behind him.
Professor Oak sighed. "If he meets Ethan now, I'm going to be concerned."
Ash was inclined to agree.
"Alakazam is ready to go when you are," he said, glancing back to the Lab. "I know Rian was also planning on coming in early, so I'd suggest leaving now rather than later. New Bark Town will be just as busy."
He steeled his shoulders.
"Thank you, Professor. For everything."
The man smiled at him, eyes crinkled and hair a mess but warm. He'd helped Ash from the second he became friends with Gary, guiding him on his obsession with being a trainer into something helpful rather than just mania, and then he'd found Cyndaquil - there wasn't much he could do beyond thanking him.
"Of course."
Delia took a hesitant step forward and now she wasn't trying to hold back the tears, streaming down her cheeks and over her blinding smile. Happy tears, but sad the same - he'd spent ten years of his life with her and now he was off on his own. "Good luck, Ashy - make sure to call me! I want to hear everything!"
Her ramblings were almost worse than his, if that was possible. "And please take care of your knees - you know if you sprain them then there's the chance of permanent damage if you keep walking, and it's always better safe than sorry. And food! Trainer meals are high protein but some berries on top will keep your taste buds intact as well as some more vitamins; don't ignore Cyndaquil's diet either. Sharp things to keep his fangs polished are good and just regular sticks aren't good enough and- oh, I did it again." She frowned, tucking an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "And we were just starting to chase you from the habit."
He laughed and made the last few steps, drawing her into a hug. She made a solid effort at cracking his ribs and he tried to match her, all ten years expressed through the moment. Something wet splashed onto his shoulder.
"Go become Champion, Ash," she whispered. "I believe in you."
xXx
Teleportation felt like nothing. He blinked in the courtyard of Professor Oak's Lab, Cyndaquil by his side and Alakazam crossing her spoons, and opened his eyes in Johto.
Immediately, he could feel a difference - colder, definitely. The sunlight was still warm, the sky bright, but Johto had always had the Dragongspeak Range lovingly blow blizzards over its land. Drier, too, though that was probably because Ash was used to living in a town less than a few miles from the sea. It was most likely his imagination but he felt like the air was just different, crisp.
His surroundings were cluttered with houses, from their position in some sort of center square - smaller houses than Pallet, but much brighter, and lacking even the small touches of metal Pallet had. Wood stained cheery colours lined the streets, the roofs oddly arched above, and flowerbeds that looked like they wouldn't be out of place in Celadon pressed against the cobbled streets like they wanted to grow more.
Cyndaquil reared, sniffing the air curiously - his homeland, though not one he had ever seen beyond the walls of a breeder's room. His grey eyes were bright.
Ash let the grin settle full force over his face. A new region - though technically still Indigo, it was still new, and he had the entire Trainer's Year to carve his mark on it. New pokemon, new gyms, new adventures - Mew, this was what he had been waiting for.
Samuel bids me wish you good luck, Alakazam said, her dry tone echoing through his head. If you wish to return to Kanto, he will make me teleport you again.
Ash snorted. "Thanks, Alakazam. It wasn't too long of a trip?"
She - the cornerstone of Professor Oak's team since the man was thirteen - stared at him. Without another word, she raised her spoons and disappeared without even a flash of light, perfectly silent beyond the hiss of air rushing back to fill her space.
Cyndaquil hissed at where she had been.
Ash gave himself another moment of looking at all the new before focusing, mentally dragging up the map he had forced himself to memorize. "Route 29 should be just across town, and then Cherrygrove is after that. Route 29 isn't too long, so a few days at most."
Cyndaquil churred at him, a few embers crackling randomly on his back. Ash grinned back - traveling was something he'd been dreaming about for so long, and now it was here. "What do you think - stay here overnight, or spend the first night on the road?"
There wasn't hesitation in the fire type's eyes as he churred for the second one.
"Definitely."
Ash gave one last glance around the town - Johto, now, he'd have to get used to that - before hiking up the straps of his packs. "Okay then. Let's head out."
Cyndaquil dropped back to all fours and hissed, starting to pad down the main road. Ash grinned and headed after him, watching the town around him. Almost no metal at all, beyond a few plates he could see on fences and the gleam of appliances through windows. The colours were so much brighter though, every house seemingly determined to stand out - and that was even without the pokemon.
Perches lined the streets, massive ones that looked like they could hold a dragonite and be ready for more. In another square was a fountain, the main spout barely more than a burble, but the edge of the lip was incredibly low. A passing meowth lapped at the surface, ears perked and relaxed.
He knew that Kanto and Johto weren't too different, at the core of it, but it was still fascinating to see the differences. Why hadn't Gary come here? History and lore were more of his thing.
A voice broke out behind them. "Hey, wait up!"
Ash blinked and turned - someone was running up to them from around a corner. Cyndaquil slammed his paws against the ground and let fire choke his form, snarling.
"Woah there!" The guy said, stopping a few feet away with his hands held up in surrender. He had an easy smile on his face, hair and eyes a matching shade of bright grey, though he only looked a few years older than Ash himself. "Sorry about the shouting - just wanted to make sure I caught you before you left. You're Ash Ketchum, right? From Kanto?"
Cyndaquil stopped his challenge more out of confusion than actually giving up and reared, a puff of smoke escaping his nose.
"I- yeah?"
The man grinned. "Good!" There was a pause, when he seemed to figure out Ash had questions. "Ah sorry, I'm Luc - Professor Elm's current mentee. He likes to check on all trainers starting off in Johto but was pretty swamped this morning, so I decided to catch you before you left. Professor Oak's Alakazam sent word to us she was bringing you over. Is that cyndaquil your starter?"
He had an accent of sorts, pretty minor, but something harsh that seemed like it was trying to join all of his words together. Ash nodded, not quite knowing what words to say there.
He might have been imagining it, but some sort of tension left Luc's shoulders.
"Excellent! Then just let me-"
Ash nearly groaned as someone else rounded the corner. He'd really thought by waking up this early he could have avoided everything and just headed out on his journey.
This time, the person heading towards them was recognizable - lab coat, lanky, massive glasses; the Professor of Johto, Elm. He practically loped his way up the street, a wide grin on his face visible even from the distance, skidding to a stop right by Luc's side.
Luc grinned a bit sheepishly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Well, he looked like he was too busy to greet everyone…"
"Nonsense!" Professor Elm waved a hand, although his gaze was fixed solely on Cyndaquil. The fire type hissed, back reigniting with a crack, and unsheathed his claw "Now, I-"
"Cyndaquil's his starter, Prof," Luc interrupted, still with that easy grin. "And Ash is set to go on his journey."
Now he wasn't imagining things. Professor Elm definitely relaxed a bit when Luc said that, and the smile on his face grew more true. "Of course! Now, for all trainers in Johto, we give them the Lab's emergency number if something happens, but since you came from Kanto, you didn't get the automatic add to your device. Now, where's my pokegear, I've got the number saved on there somewhere-"
"You leave it at your lab for the Starting Day so people don't call you while you're handing out starters," Luc chimed in, smile widening. "And then promptly forget about that decision every year as well, as you told me yesterday."
Professor Elm grumbled goodnaturedly. "And you make me wonder why I ever decided to mentor you."
Luc snorted.
"Apologies for the delay, Ash, but I'll have to let Luc catch you up to speed! New Bark is full of trainers, and it seems all of them are early risers!" The Professor flashed him a thumbs up - which was remarkably weird considered he looked over thirty - before turning to run back the way he had come. His lanky form kicked in again and he was sprinting, lab coat fluttering behind him in the wind.
Luc sighed but stretched out his hand, looking a bit wryly in Professor Elm's direction. "I'll put that number in, if you want."
Ash pulled off his pokegear and typed in the password, fumbling for a few seconds with the new interface before finding his contacts sheet and pulling it up. Luc accept the device and started typing, hardly glancing at the screen.
"Is he really this bad?"
Luc blinked, glancing back at him - "Normally, no, actually. But everyone here has been on edge the past few days, and him most of all." His grin was twisted into a grimace, and it looked wrong on his normally cheerful face. "A pokemon was stolen from his Lab a week ago, a planned starter, and it was done so smoothly none of us can understand why they didn't take any of the actually rare pokemon. No alarms were triggered, nothing broken - Elm only noticed two days later, when he went for a final check up and found its pokeball missing. Shook him up pretty bad, and he's been trying to find that pokemon to no avail." Luc pushed a grin back on his face, handing the pokegear back; a new contact shining cheerfully below Gary's. "But they've got every force in the surrounding towns keeping an eye out for it, so I doubt it'll stay missing for long."
Ash glanced down at Cyndaquil, whose eyes were narrowed. The fire type's back had died down to mere wisps of smoke. "I hope they do."
Luc laughed. "They'd better. I can't keep trying to juggle all of his duties while he calls up every Officer Jenny in the region." He glanced at the sky, where the sun had finally emerged from the distant back of the bristling forest. "I'll have to head off, but I'm here as Professor Elm's mentee for the year - feel free to pop on back and chat about Johto, if you want. I've been researching the scales off this region and I've still only scratched the surface."
Ash blinked - that was his accent. It'd taken him far too long to place it, considering Cynthia had made waves as the new Champion less than a decade ago. "Sinnoh, right?"
"That's me," he agreed. "Three years there, then I jumped over here for now. My very own Champ has me studying up on the ruins, since there are some rumors they're connected - pretty fun, if you don't mind hacking up your lungs from the dust."
Gary would love that, Ash thought idly. He'd forced himself to study history as a way to separate himself from his grandfather, and ended up actually liking it along the way. Cyndaquil tilted his head to the side, a trickle of smoke escaping from his back.
"Time to make sure he doesn't pass out a poliwag as a wooper, but good luck, both of you," Luc offered, covering his yawn with the back of his hand. Under his grey eyes were narrow little splotches of purple - if he was mentoring under as absentminded a Professor as Elm, he probably had to spend every moment vigilant. Ash nodded, attaching his pokegear back to his waist.
"See you around," he said with another easy grin, before turning and trotting back towards where Professor Elm had gone.
Ash glanced at Cyndaquil, who stared right back. A starter thief - it didn't make sense that someone would go through all the effort of breaking into a regional Professor's Lab, only to steal one of the weakest pokemon there. At least that helped explain why both Luc and Elm had come out of the woodworks to check on him, though the thought that Professor Oak had thought ahead enough to make sure he got their number was comforting.
There was time to focus on that though, and it wasn't now.
"Let's go," he said, and Cyndaquil churred his agreement.
xXx
Route 29 yawned before him.
New Bark Town ended quickly and impressively, the fine-trimmed flowerbeds cut off as massive rushes and trees filled their place. A single fence ran the length of the final house, impeccably white and well-kept, but beyond that was, well.
Johto.
It even looked different, the trees with honeygold bark instead of dark brown and the leaves brighter. Wildflowers - vastly different from the… Kalosian? roses the town had had - dotted the path, tall grass sprouting between, and a massive stretch of blue sky echoed overhead.
Ash pulled the straps of his bag closer over his shoulders, the weight having gotten almost familiar - though frustratingly heavy - even in the simple walk through the town. Cyndaquil reared up, sniffing at the forest. His grey eyes were nothing but determined.
The teleportation to New Bark had been a… baby step, if that was how he wanted to put it, but this was how it all began. Him and Cyndaquil, stepping out into Johto for the first time for both of them, the first page in becoming Champions.
"Here's to our start," he offered.
Cyndaquil hissed.
With that, they entered the forest of Route 29.
xXx
Ash yawned wide enough he felt like he was going to snap his jaw in half, rubbing at the corners of his eyes. Cyndaquil snorted.
"You're just as tired as me," he said, swallowing another yawn. "Don't pretend like you're not."
The fire type hissed at him, turning away, but he'd been stumbling for the past hour and only faint wisps of smoke actually escaped his back. Ash hadn't battled anyone on their first day traveling, no matter how much it pulled at him, and even then Cyndaquil had hardly managed to make it the final stretch. Both of their endurances needed to be trained.
"We'll just rest today, instead of training," he decided, though he could practically hear Gary's mocking laugh in his head. Ash gave another glance around the clearing they'd found: it wasn't large, only a few dozen feet off Route 29, but it would be plenty for the two of them. His bag thudded heavily against the ground as he slung it off, shoulders aching freely once the weight was gone. "Do you have enough to light a fire?"
Cyndaquil narrowed his eyes and sucked in a breath, his back flaring up a few weak inches. It died almost immediately, and the fire type looked even more tired after, but sheer determination would probably keep him going.
Typhlosion were immensely powerful pokemon, but their base form had many problems with their own fire - unlike the charmander line, which had a constant flame, a cyndaquil's fire was directly correlated to how much energy they had. Alongside oxygen, as the spots on their back were directly connected to their lungs, but energy was the spark they needed.
Ash was going to have to train him on endurance first, just to make sure he could stay in with battles - it wouldn't be easy, given as it wasn't nearly as simple as training new moves. But they both needed Cyndaquil to be able to fight with his fire.
The tightness in his legs came back full force as he padded around the clearing, picking up sticks for a fire. Cyndaquil watched him, seemingly trying to understand what he was doing, before understanding and heading to the middle of the clearing. He narrowed his eyes, unsheathing his claws, and started trying to dig a firepit in the middle. More than a surprise the proposed breeder knew what it was, but he imagined Cyndaquil had also been instructed by Professor Oak about being a starter.
"Thanks," he offered. Cyndaquil made his odd chirping sound.
With a grunt, he dumped the sticks into the hole, Cyndaquil skittering backward in time. The fire type perked up at the sight of dry wood and wriggled into the mix of it, diving through the branches like they were water and ending up at the center. His grey eyes closed and then dry heat raced out, smoke trickling upward, and-
The branches caught.
Cyndaquil immediately jumped out of the pile, shaking off a few embers before they could burn him. Ash grinned - he couldn't wait for quilava's fireproof fur - and sat by the fire, stretching out his hands. The flames took a few moments to spread throughout but then it was crackling merrily, bright against the rising dark.
Unable to fight back another yawn, Ash used the movement to lean back and snag his bag, pulling it closer. Even that motion sent lines of pain up his legs that ten hours of traveling had done, and he winced as he opened it up.
Cyndaquil perked up as Ash pulled out the paper bag, sliding closer. Being near a fire seemed to help his exhaustion, his movements less stiff, and his back popped with an errant ember as Ash offered him a poffin. Melted berries wrapped in a thin layer of bread - surprisingly easy to make, and incredibly delicious.
"It's better warm," he said, handing it over. Cyndaquil paused halfway through the motion of biting down, seemingly weighing his options, before hissing and rearing back. Stretching out his forearms, he exhaled a puff of pure heat, the fire surging with life as the aftershock hit it. He immediately tore in with a pleased hiss.
Ash smiled, peeling the wrapping off his own sandwich and digging it. He couldn't even place what kind of sandwich it was beyond delicious - he was mostly done before he even realized. "We can't get used to this," he said halfheartedly. "It'll be trainer meals and pokefood tomorrow, you know."
Cyndaquil tore into his poffin with more enthusiasm.
He polished off the last bite and sighed, folding up the wrapping and sliding it into a random pouch. There'd be time to clean it up tomorrow, but tonight, when he was still trying to stretch lumps out of his legs and his eyelids were heavier than they'd ever been, wasn't the time.
The fire type hissed as he stared at his empty paws, and Ash couldn't help a smile. "I can buy you some more in Cherrygrove."
Cyndaquil perked back up, cocking his head to the side. "Cherrygrove?" His eyes burned with fire.
Ash shrugged. "No gym there, unfortunately. But they've got a shoreline I think we could train you up again - krabby and tentacool are good water types for you to fight now." He leaned back against his bag, staring up at the sky. The stars were much brighter in Johto, without all the pollution Kanto was unfortunately known for - they gleamed like a million suns in the sky, hazy shades of purple and blue stretching between them. He hardly needed the moon.
"Our first gym is in Violet - Falkner, who trains flying types. It depends on whether we catch another teammate, but we're probably fighting his pidgeotto or hoothoot." He frowned. "I don't know whether we'll find anyone else, though."
Cyndaquil churred at him.
"It's- I don't want just any pokemon, I guess. You and I - we're fighters. I know you and I are going to get to Champion, or we'll just keep fighting, and I want the others on our team to be like that. Determined." He smiled at the stars. "We need that spark."
The fire type nodded, back flaring into a few wreaths of flames. He hissed at the sky, breathing a plume of smoke.
Ash blinked. He'd been caught up in his thoughts of journeys and Ethan and Champion, and hadn't even finished the first day preparations he'd been thinking of for so many years. "Cyndaquil?"
He glanced over, falling back to all fours.
"Would you like a nickname?"
Cyndaquil blinked, a bit of smoke escaping his nose. The fire type thought it over, cocking his head to the side, and eventually churred. Ash grinned, thinking through the list he had made when he was younger - he hadn't expected a fire type as his first friend, but every aspiring trainer dreamed of one.
"Blaze?"
Cyndaquil snorted, and Ash flushed. "Right, that's your ability - Flare? Scorch? Ignite?"
He shook his head for all of them. Ash frowned, running through a few more - Torch, Char, Arson - but none of them fit for the fire type. Cyndaquil was looking less and less pleased by the idea with every passing second, half turning back to the fire.
Ash stopped, and really looked at his friend.
He was full of determination, willing to give up on a journey for another year if Ash wasn't the trainer he wanted, and though he and Ash weren't close yet, he could see their potential together. The battle with Gary had shown him his strength, as well as his ingenuity. Cyndaquil would be a powerhouse.
And he would be, if Ash had anything to say about. He'd made a promise, both to the fire type and to himself. They were going to become Champions.
"Raze."
Cyndaquil glanced at him.
"It means to burn to the ground." Ash paused, watching the campfire flicker through their clearing. He imagined himself, older, next to a blistering typhlosion. He imagined Ethan, behind him. He imagined an immeasurably powerful team.
He imagined the Champion's Throne.
"Together, we're going to destroy the Conference."
Raze's eyes gleamed.
xXx
Welcome to Ignition!
This isn't Uprising, and I do apologize, but I'm hoping I can take this story just as far, and hopefully further! This story is a bit more shifted to be fun for me, and hopefully starting in a different region can help it all feel unique.
A few notes - power scaling. Traveler, to me, is more canon than actual canon, but I unfortunately don't have 10+ years to write this, aha. So do expect the power curve to be sharper, just so I can finish it in time. Pokemon aren't quite region-locked, both for Ash and all other trainers. All moves are fair game. Planning on a fair amount of worldbuilding and such, so prepared for elements not around a standard adventure fic.
I'll be writing as I go, but I'll try to keep updates to once a month!
So here's to the start of Ignition, and I hope you enjoy it!