AN: Hello everyone, and welcome to a new story! This story will be a retelling of Ash's journey with plenty of minor and major differences. This chapter ended up being far longer than I anticipated, so I hope you all enjoy it, and be sure to leave a review after you finish to let me know what you think!

Chapter 1

Ash Ketchum made his way through the woods behind Oak's ranch in an attempt to find Pokémon. He was a typical 10 year-old, with lots of pent up energy and a desire to go off on a Pokémon journey. Once a child turns ten years of age, they are able to receive a starter Pokémon from their regional professor, and Ash had just celebrated his tenth birthday the day before.

His mother, Delia, was currently filling out the remaining paperwork so that Professor Oak could set up Ash's pokedex. Ash wanted no part in that, and thus he found himself exploring the woods. He wouldn't be receiving his starter for another two weeks, when Professor Oak would be next giving out starter Pokémon, but that didn't mean he couldn't pretend!

As the young boy joyfully ran through the woods, he was alerted to the cry of a nearby Pokémon. He quickly came to a halt before adjusting his path and sneaking towards where he thought the noise had come from. After only thirty seconds or so, he came upon what he recognized as a Pikachu that appeared to be battling a larger dog-like Pokémon that he didn't recognize.

Ducking behind a tree, Ash peeked out to watch the fight. It was at this moment that Ash's breath caught in his throat as he noticed something he hadn't before. Off to the side of the clearing stood a man dressed head to toe in a black uniform. A large red 'R' was printed across his chest, marking him as a member of Team Rocket.

Ash had been warned of Team Rocket, just as every child his age had been. Team Rocket were a major criminal organization that were known to poach wild Pokémon and even steal the Pokémon of other trainers. They had recently become much more active with their schemes, meaning that they were becoming more and more of an issue as time went on.

It didn't take Ash long to realize what was happening as the Pikcahu was hit by what appeared to be a fire attack of some kind and cried out in pain. 'I've got to do something!' he thought through gritted teeth as the crook readied a pokeball.

Now, Ash had been told several times that if he were ever to come across Team Rocket, he was to avoid them if possible and never engage without the help of authorities. Ash, however, wasn't one to listen to reason. Deciding on what was surely an idiotic thing to do, Ash leapt from his hiding place, startling the grunt.

"Hey, leave that Pikachu alone, you bully!" he shouted.

The grunt turned to face the boy, cursing as the Pikachu used the distraction to escape into the underbrush. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded, before blinking. "Oh, it's just some kid. Haven't you learned not to mess with your superiors?"

The man motioned to his Pokémon. "Houndoom, bring me the boy," he commanded, before adding in a rather annoyed tone. "Alive, this time."

Ash's eyes widened as he turned to run, but he didn't even make it back to the treeline before he was tackled from behind from the canine Pokémon. The grunt smirked. "Good, now knock him out. I don't need a struggling hostage." Ash felt an impact to the back of his head, before falling into unconsciousness.

When Ash next awoke, he was greeted to the sight of a light being shined into his face. As his memories returned, he attempted to jump to his feet, only to find that he was strapped rather tightly to a large table. His head shot to the side as a door opened. A man that he didn't recognize walked up to him, wearing a rather sinister grin. He was dressed in a plain white lab coat, although a red 'R' on the top left marked him as another member of Team Rocket.

"Good, you're awake. I'd like to formally welcome you to the Viridian Team Rocket HQ. My name is Doctor Namba. You will be under my care from now on." Despite the words, his voice held a dark undertone that was easy to notice.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Ash asked fearfully as he noticed the scientist filling a syringe.

A dark grin crossed the man's face. "Why, I'm glad you asked! You see, Team Rocket has been working on developing a super-weapon from the DNA of the legendary Pokémon Mew. We have several clones in the works at the moment, although only one of them is looking as if it might survive. Even so, our boss has decided that just one super-weapon isn't good enough. Normally, I'd hop on that right away, but we have used the last of the DNA we retrieved from Mew, and that process is far too complicated to work with on a large scale. That's where you come in." At this, the scientist chuckled. "It just so happens that we received a rather… interesting Pokémon in last month's shipment from our overseas base. We took some DNA from a strand of its fur and modified it. I would say more, but it will be more fun to have you to see the results for yourself. ...If you survive, of course."

Ash's eyes widened as the man took the cap off of the syringe, and began struggling. "W-wait! Don't…" Before he could say anything more, he felt a prick in his arm, and his vision went black.

Ash groaned as he awoke from his second forced slumber of the day. Blinking his eyes to clear the spots in his vision, he looked around, realizing that he was no longer in the lab. He appeared to be in a cell of some kind. He put a hand to his head in an attempt to ease his headache, only for his eyes to widen in shock. Where his arm should have been was a short grey leg, with a small red paw replacing his hand. Wait, paw?! Stumbling to his feet ⎯ all four of them ⎯ he looked down at himself and almost collapsed in panic.

His body was covered in dark grey fur with a tuft of black fur wrapped around his neck in a similar manner to that of an Eevee, and a bushy tail had sprouted from the base of his spine. The conclusion wasn't exactly hard to jump to. "I'm a P-Pokémon!" Immediately, a paw shot to his mouth at the sound of his voice. All that left his mouth were a series of yips and barks, but somehow he was able to make words out of the sounds easily, as if he had always spoken that way.

Suddenly, Ash felt his headache coming on again, this time with more force. He groaned in pain before the headache suddenly vanished and a voice filled his mind.

"Miracle Eye. ...Can you hear me now, human?"

"W-who's there?!" Ash exclaimed with fear evident in his voice.

"My name is not important at the moment," the voice said. "I saw what that man did to you, and I plan on getting you out of there. I highly suggest closing your eyes for a moment. Teleporting isn't a fun experience at first. Especially for dark types."

Although he was extremely confused, Ash decided to heed the voice's warning. Not even a moment later he felt the world fall out from under him. His eyes snapped open as he hit the grass with a thud. 'Wait, grass?'

Looking around, he realized that he was back in the woods behind Professor Oak's lab. From the large burn marks on the surrounding trees, he was able to piece together that he was back at the spot where he had been kidnapped.

"Good luck, young Zorua. I am sure we will meet again." With that, Ash felt the presence in his mind vanish.

'Zorua? Is that what I am?' Ash thought as he stood on unsteady legs.

"Are you alright?" A voice said from behind him, causing Ash to spin around in surprise. Standing in front of him with a concerned look on his face was the Pikachu that he had saved. "You just appeared out of nowhere."

Ash was momentarily surprised at the sound of the talking Pikachu, before internally slapping himself as he remembered that he was a Pokémon now, so of course he could understand him. Uncertainly, he spoke up as he tried to decide on what to say "Uh, I…" After a moment of contemplation, he decided to just tell the truth. Hopefully this Pikachu could help him get home, assuming he didn't think he was insane. "Do you remember that boy that saved you from that poacher?"

Pikachu frowned. "Of course. I owe that boy my life for saving me from that man… but how would you know about that?"

Ash blushed under his fur, as if it was embarrassing for him to admit. "I, uh, kind of am… was..? that boy." He went on to explain what had happened after he had been taken, speaking of everything from the weird doctor to the transformation to the voice in his head, all the while the Pikachu seemed rather overwhelmed by the rush of information.

After Ash finished his explanation, Pikachu was silent for a moment as he absorbed what he had been told. After a few agonizingly silent moments, he spoke. "Wow… I've got to admit, this is not where I thought my day was heading when I woke up this morning. ...All right, I believe you. There's no way you could have known about that incident if it weren't true. Plus, it would explain why there's a wild Zorua in Kanto of all places. Where are you from? I can at the very least help you get home. We can go from there."
Ash blinked. "We?"

"Of course. I'm not about to leave a human child in a foreign body to fend for himself in the wilderness. You wouldn't last a week before some random trainer caught you," Pikachu said with a slight smile. "Like I said, I do kind of owe you for helping me earlier, so it's no problem."

"Well, in that case, I live in Pallet Town. It should only be a few minutes walk south of here. I want to find Professor Oak and try to let him know what happened. Maybe he will know a way to help." Ash began to make his way back towards the lab, or tried to anyways, as he had to be caught by Pikachu after only a few steps in order to be saved from the embarrassment of falling on his face. "...Maybe a little more than a few minutes." He amended sheepishly. "I still need to get the hang of walking like this."

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes caused both of their heads to shoot to the left.

"Ash?! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!"

Ash's eyes widened. "That sounds like my Mom! She must have come looking for me!"

Right on cue, Delia made her way into the clearing, gaping at the sight of the burn marks on most of the trees. She was followed seconds later by Professor Oak, who was similarly dumbstruck. "Dear heavens! What in the world happened here?!"

Ash stumbled his way over to the pair, with Pikachu following after only a moment's hesitation. "Mom, it's me! Down here!" When Delia looked down at the noise, where Ash expected to see recognition in her eyes, he only saw confusion.

"Professor Oak, what kind of Pokémon is this?" She asked, causing Ash's heart to fall. 'Oh, right, she can't understand me now…'

"It appears to be a Zorua," Professor Oak explained, also looking rather confused. "But what in the world is a Zorua doing all the way in Kanto? Zorua are native to the Unova Region, and that's pretty much as far from here as you can get."

Ash's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to tell them who he was, and his eyes widened as the answer came to him. 'Of course, it's so obvious!'

Giving a small bark to keep the pair's attention on him, he leaned down and used a paw to write in the dirt.

"Professor, what's it..." She trailed off as she recognized the words in the dirt, and her eyes went wide as she read the message.

'HI MOM

...I CAN EXPLAIN'

Delia's eyes shot from the message to the Zorua who had written it, then back to the message, before her eyes rolled back and she passed out. Luckily, Professor Oak managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"...Ash? Is that you?" The professor asked in an alarmed voice. Seeing the Zorua nod rapidly in response, he gasped in shock. "What in the world happened to you?!"

Ash rapidly scratched out another message:

'LONG STORY

I'LL TELL YOU AT THE LAB

I MIGHT NEED HELP GETTING THERE

I CAN'T WALK VERY WELL LIKE THIS'

When Professor Oak reached his lab, he would have made for a rather odd sight to any passersby. He carried Delia's unconscious form in his arms, while a Zorua rode on one of his shoulders and a Pikachu rode on the other. The older man quickly made his way inside and locked the door behind him. He lowered Delia gently onto the sofa, and the pair of Pokémon he had brought back with him hopped down next to her, with the Zorua that was apparently Ash stumbling on the landing.

Ash gave an annoyed huff. "What I wouldn't give to be able to walk on two legs again…"

As if by magic, as soon as he thought of his human appearance, Ash was forced to blink rapidly as the world grew smaller around him. Or was he getting bigger? As the change came to a halt, he noticed Professor Oak looked at him with a flabbergasted expression on his face. He looked down at himself and gasped. "I'm me again!"

"What..? Oh, of course!" Professor Oak pulled a Pokedex from one of his pockets and pointed it at Ash.

'Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. Zorua hides its true form by changing its shape into people and Pokémon to help protect it from danger.'

Ash blinked. "So I look like a human again because of an illusion? This form doesn't feel fake to me. ...And what's a Zorua? Is that the Pokémon I was turned into?"

Professor Oak sat down rather heavily in a chair, looking twenty years older. "Well, I don't know what happened to you, but you were most definitely a Zorua a few seconds ago. Let's wait on your mother to wake up and you can explain exactly what happened in as much detail as possible."

It was only another five minutes or so before Delia started to stir. Sitting up rather woozily, she looked between Ash and Professor Oak. "Ugh, you would not believe the dream I just had, Samuel."

Professor Oak shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Uh, I hate to break it to you, Delia, but that wasn't a dream."

Delia's gaze shifted to Ash in quite a bit of shock, before shifting to an odd mix of concern and anger. "Ash Ketchum, you had better have a good reason for all of this!" Ash gulped and took a deep breath as Pikachu jumped up into his lap for moral support.

Once again, Ash went on to explain what had occurred, although this time he started from the moment he entered the woods. As he told his tale, Delia and Oak's expressions shifted from concerned when he spoke of the Team Rocket grunt on the ranch to terrified when he spoke of how he was kidnapped after helping the Pikachu. He told them everything the scientist had told him, ranging from the fact that they were cloning a super-weapon from the DNA of Mew to the fact that it had been let slip that the base he was taken to was supposedly in Viridian City. At this, both of his listeners looked extremely alarmed.

Luckily, they didn't stop him, so he quickly wrapped up his story, speaking of how he awoke in the body of a Zorua and how a strange voice had helped him escape by teleporting him to safety. After he finished, he took a deep breath and waited silently for his mother and the professor's reactions.

It is quite understandable that Ash was rather surprised when his mother's first reaction was to stand up, walk over, and hug him tightly. He felt her body shake as she sobbed into his shoulder, and hesitantly hugged her back. "Mom?"

Delia pulled gently out of the embrace and looked her son in the eye, tear stains visible on her cheeks. "My poor baby... Why would someone do something like this?"

Professor Oak frowned. "I'm glad you are safe, Ash, but I'm extremely concerned about the fact that there is a Team Rocket base in Viridian. That is far too close to us for comfort. You have no idea where in the city it is?"

Ash shook his head. "Sadly, not a clue. I was knocked unconscious on the trip there and was teleported out. I'm not even sure what the building looks like on the outside."

"Well, I doubt this is something you want to hear, but once Team Rocket realizes you're gone, they are sure to come looking for you," Professor Oak said gravely. "Pallet Town will no doubt be one of the first places they will search, seeing as you were kidnapped on my ranch. They aren't a group known for giving up."

"What do we do?" Ash asked. Obviously, he didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"I think it would be best if you left town for a while and tried to stay off of Team Rocket's radar. Now, I don't normally do this, but due to the circumstances and since I have already finished setting up your Pokedex, I think it would be best if you left on your journey tomorrow instead of in the planned two weeks. From the looks of things, you already have a starter in the form of that Pikachu, so it won't be much of an issue."

Ash's eyes widened in shock, before a silly grin crossed his face. "You really mean it, professor?" He asked with clear excitement, before suddenly frowning as a thought struck him. "But, I'm a Pokémon now, even if I still look human. Am I even still allowed to be a trainer?"

Professor Oak let out a slight chuckle. "Ironic, isn't it? A Pokémon training other Pokémon. But yes, it is completely legal, although rather uncommon. A similar situation arose over in Johto about twelve or so years ago, in which a wild Alakazam wanted to become a trainer. It was probably one of the oddest court cases I've ever heard of, but it was decided that there was nothing that said it couldn't be done. I think I heard that the Alakazam managed to collect five badges before settling down somewhere."

Delia coughed to catch their attention. "That's all well and good, and I do agree with you, Samuel, but if he's out on a journey, he's sure to run into Team Rocket again. What if they recognize him?"

Professor Oak smiled reassuringly. "Team Rocket gave us the answer to that themselves. Zorua can disguise themselves as pretty much any Pokémon they have had contact with. This means that, should Ash run into anything or anyone suspicious, he can just disguise himself as a random Pokémon and flee unnoticed."

"Uh, about that. I have literally no idea how to do illusions," Ash said with a frown. "I'm not even sure how I turned into a human again. It kind of just happened out of nowhere."

Oak shrugged off his concern. "That's to be expected. I'm sure you will be able to work it out with practice. There is still a few hours until the sun goes down. I suggest you go and practice behind the lab. Try to disguise yourself as Pikachu. It will be necessary if you plan on getting through Viridian without being noticed by Team Rocket."

Ash nodded. "That makes sense. It would also probably be a good idea to figure out how to properly walk on four legs while I'm at it." He glanced down at the Pikachu in his lap, who had been paying close attention to the conversation at hand. "What do you say? You up for it?"

Pikachu nodded. "May as well. It wouldn't be a good idea to leave before you can get the hang of your basic abilities."

About ten minutes later, Ash found himself in the field directly behind Professor Oak's lab. The professor himself was standing several yards away with a notebook in hand. He had said something about wanting to record Ash's progress to go over later, as he obviously didn't have a Zorua on hand to study at the moment. Ash didn't see anything wrong with it, so he just decided to let the older man do his thing. Ash's mother was standing at his side, more for her own peace of mind than anything.

"So,uh, do you have any idea how any of this works?" Ash asked. "I don't even know how to shift back to being a Zorua."

Pikachu frowned. "Don't look at me. I've never been outside of Kanto, so I haven't exactly had a chance to meet any Zorua. Do you remember doing anything specific that might have triggered your change back to your human form? That is always a good place to start."

Ash was lost in thought for a few moments. "Well, I remember being annoyed that I couldn't walk properly on four legs, but it can't be that easy, right?"

"Pokémon attacks and abilities are surprisingly easy to understand once you get the hang of it," Pikachu said with a shrug. "While it can be challenging to learn new moves, once you've used a move once or twice, you can usually just do it just by wanting to. It's a mental thing, apparently."

Ash frowned, but decided to heed his impromptu mentor's advice. Closing his eyes, he thought back to the way his body felt while he was a Zorua. After only a moment, Ash felt himself rapidly shrinking. There was a poof as his illusion dispelled, and Ash opened his eyes to find himself back in his Zorua form.

"Huh… That was surprisingly easy," he said, briefly noticing that he had shifted back to pokéspeech.

Pikachu nodded in approval. "Yep, hopefully you will get the hang of your attacks just as easily. I'll give you thirty minutes to get used to shifting and then we'll have a practice battle so I can see where you stand."

Ash gulped. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Relax, I'll go easy on you. The best way to practice using attacks is to battle." Pikachu said reassuringly, before adding. "I suggest you get started, by the way. The clock's ticking!"

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Ash managed to get the hang of shifting between his human and Zorua forms, although he had yet to attempt shifting into any other Pokémon. Since that didn't take up even half of his time, he began working out how to walk as a Zorua. He wouldn't stand a chance in his spar with Pikachu if he couldn't even... well, stand.

Off to the side, Professor Oak was rapidly scribbling down notes in his notebook while Delia swooned over Ash's Zorua form. "He's so adorable!"

Professor Oak looked up from his notes to shoot her an odd glance. "You are taking this whole thing surprisingly well, all things considered."
"Ash is taking this well, and he's the one it happened to. As his mother, I need to be strong for him," Delia explained, before smiling sadly. "Ash has always been a strong boy. Much stronger than I ever was at his age. I don't know if I would have been able to handle going through what he has. I don't know how he does it, Samuel. No matter what is thrown at him, Ash always manages to look on the bright side of things. I'm positive that Ash will end up using his new form to help himself grow as a trainer."

"I'm sure he will, Delia," Professor Oak agreed with a smile.

As they continued to watch, Ash took another attempt at walking and immediately face-planted into the dirt, causing Delia to giggle to herself. "I wish I had my camera on me. I'm missing out on so many perfect photo opportunities!"

Professor Oak chuckled at the woman's antics before blinking suddenly as something caught his eye. "Huh, I wasn't expecting this…"

Ash and Pikachu stood opposite each other as they prepared for their practice match. "You ready?" Pikachu checked.

Ash took a deep breath to help calm his nerves. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright. I'll give you the first move." Pikachu said with a nod. "Try to hit me with a Scratch."

Ash nodded and charged, which means he stumbled towards Pikachu in a slow jog. As he neared his target, Ash recalled Pikachu's advice for using attacks. Raising one of his front paws, he willed himself to use the basic normal type attack. To his surprise, his nails instantly grew in size and glowed with energy. He swung at Pikachu, who didn't bother to dodge.

Pikachu skidded back a few steps from the blow, but seemed relatively unharmed overall. "Not bad. You need to work on your power, and your stance was a little off, but it was a good first attempt. Now let's see if you can avoid one of my attacks." Grinning slightly, Pikachu jumped into the air and released a Thundershock.

Unprepared for the sudden attack, Ash was unable to get out of the way in time and winced as electricity coursed through his body. As the attack subsided, he couldn't help but be surprised by how little the attack hurt. Seeing his confusion, Pikachu explained. "I held back on the power. It probably also helps that Pokémon are generally far more resilient than humans."

Suddenly curious, Ash's face took on a thoughtful expression. "I wonder…" He closed his eyes, focusing on the form he wanted. After only a couple of seconds, he felt his body change once more.

Opening his eyes, he glanced down at himself and grinned. He was a perfect representation of a Pikachu! Once again, he couldn't help but notice how realistic the illusion felt. He took a couple of hesitant steps, but found it to be much easier than as a Zorua. Realizing this, he grinned. "Now let's try a Thundershock!"

Pikachu blinked. "Uh, Ash? I may not be a master when it comes to Zorua knowledge, but that's not…" He trailed off, gaping as Ash's cheeks sparked and he let out a small jolt of electricity. It was far too weak to be considered an actual attack, but it was the concept that mattered. "What in the…"

Ash grinned excitedly, completely oblivious to Pikachu's awe. "I did it! Did you see that?"

"...Yeah, but from the little I know, Zorua's Illusion ability does not work that way. You should still only be able to use moves a Zorua can, even in other forms. I think we need to have another discussion with that Professor tree guy."

Ash blinked. "Really? Huh… Well, let's go then. The sun's starting to set anyways. I could go for a good meal and some rest right about now."

Over with Delia, Professor Oak was having a minor freak out as he scribbled down notes at a rather impressive rate.

"What's going on, Samuel?" Delia asked, lost on why the professor seemed so frantic all of a sudden.

"I might not know much about Zorua, but that is not how a Zorua's illusions work!" Professor Oak explained in a slightly excited tone, most likely giddy over finding something new to study.

It was at this point that the pair noticed Ash and Pikachu approaching. Ash shifted back to his human form with no issues and laughed, having overheard the professor's exclamation. "You just quoted Pikachu nearly word for word. We hoped you would know what's up with that."

Professor Oak frowned as he racked his brain for a solution. After a couple of minutes of silence, he snapped his fingers.

"Did you think of something, Professor?" Ash asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I do have a hypothesis," Professor Oak said. "First I want to ask you a question to make sure what I'm thinking of might be possible. When you disguise as a human, you said your human illusion felt real, correct?"

Ash nodded with a confused expression on his face, not sure where the professor was going with this. "Right, and when I disguised as Pikachu, it felt the same way."

Professor Oak rubbed his chin. "In that case, I believe I have a possibility for you, but I will need to get a blood sample from all three of your forms to confirm it. It may be possible that Team Rocket modified the vaccine you were injected with. I hypothesize that your illusions aren't even illusions at all, at least not in the normal sense. I believe they may be more closely tied to the move Transform, although seeing as you struggled to use one of Pikachu's techniques, it seems to be a little different."

Ash winced at the prospect of getting blood drawn, but he couldn't help but feel curious about the matter himself. Begrudgingly, he followed his mother and Professor Oak back to the lab, listening to the man ramble theories to himself under his breath.

Two hours later, Ash found himself packing his bags for the following morning. It was getting late, but seeing as he already had Pikachu, there weren't any deadlines that he had to meet the next morning. Plus, he hadn't been expecting to be going on his journey for another two weeks. He could be excused for not being entirely prepared for his travels.

Professor Oak had taken a small sample of blood from each of his forms, promising to have results by the time Ash stopped by the next morning. Afterwards, he had been kind enough to treat Ash, Delia, and even Pikachu to a late dinner, which all three had greatly appreciated. After checking for the third time that everything was in order, he laid down on his bed to catch a few hours of shuteye before he hit the road.

Ash arrived at Oak's laboratory at around 9 a.m, and even he couldn't help but be shocked by how early he had willingly gotten out of bed. Stepping up to the door, Ash prepared to knock, but was surprised when Professor Oak opened the door before he even got the chance. The older man smiled. "Ash! Come in, come in! I've been expecting you! I have the results of last night's test, and I get the feeling you are eager to hear them."

Professor Oak quickly led Ash into the main room of the lab, where he unlocked a drawer and pulled out a small box. Opening it, he handed Ash a small red object. "Alright Ash, this is your Pokedex. Remember to use it often. It also functions as your ID and can be used to purchase items from any Pokemart using your winning as a trainer." He paused for a moment as he reached into the drawer again, this time procuring six pokeballs. "Normally, I give new trainers five pokeballs, but I remembered that your Pikachu is still technically a wild Pokémon, so I brought an extra for him."

Ash gratefully took the Pokeballs, before glancing at Pikachu. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Pikachu. I'm not going to force you."

"Oh please, if I didn't want to come with you then I would have left last night after training," Pikachu said. "Now just throw that ball and get this over with. Those things give me the heebie-jeebies."

Ash grinned as he gently tossed the Pokeball at the electric rodent. Pikachu was pulled into the capsule with a red flash of light. The ball hit the ground, bounced, and rolled to a stop, where it immediately clicked shut as three stars appeared over it, signifying a capture.

Grinning ear to ear, Ash picked up the ball containing his new partner and immediately opened it. Pikachu appeared on the floor in front of him, looking dizzy. "Please never make me go back into that thing. I feel like I'm going to hurl..."

Ash shrugged indifferently. "You don't have to stay in the ball if you don't want to. It would be nice to have the company on the road anyways."

Professor Oak mentally groaned, silently jealous over Ash's newfound ability to understand Pokémon. He could save so much trouble with his studies if he could just ask his questions directly, after all. After a moment, he cleared his throat to get Ash's attention. "I do have one more thing that I highly recommend you do, although I won't force you. I received the results of last night's test, and it appears that my hypothesis might have been correct. When in any individual form, your DNA seems to completely rearrange itself to match the body you are using. In short, it would appear that your illusions are not even illusions in the first place. You are actually transforming into each Pokémon in every way. That is why you were able to release a small jolt of electricity when you were disguised as a Pikachu. There were a couple of odd things, though. For one, your human form has an equal mix of Zorua and Human DNA, which is usually how a Zorua's ability works, according to my friend Professor Juniper. However, both of your Pokémon forms have 100% DNA ratios for the species you were using. You also seem to have the Illusion ability no matter what form you are in, but it somehow seemed to stack with the Static ability you picked up as a Pikachu. What that means is that if you are to take a large enough hit, your form will burst and you will be forced back into your Zorua form," Professor Oak took a deep breath. "Because of these discoveries, I would recommend having me catch you in a pokeball and give the ball to your mother for safe keeping. As you know, the pokedex is able to recognize you as a Zorua in your human form, so it would be possible for someone to accidentally discover your identity. We don't want to take any chances, and if I give the ball joint ownership between you and your mother, it won't restrict your team to five and will still allow for you to travel safely."

Ash blinked rapidly as he tried to absorb the rush of information that was just dumped upon him. After a moment of thought, he replied. "Do it. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all."
Professor Oak nodded, pulling out a simple red and white pokeball. "Alright, the capture should only take a moment. Just try to stay still." Ash nodded and closed his eyes. He felt the ball come into contact with his arm, and his vision went black as he was pulled into the sphere.

True to Oak's word, after only what felt to be around thirty seconds, he felt himself reappear in the lab. He put a hand to his head, groaning slightly. "I see why you don't like those things, Pikachu. That was weird."

Professor Oak smiled. "Ok, now that that has been taken care of, I have one last thing to give you before you head out. Consider it a gift." reaching into one of the pockets on his lab coat, he pulled out a small disc with a dark purple tint to it.

Ash's eyes widened. "Isn't that a TM?"

Professor Oak grinned. "Yes, it is. This one contains the move Shadow Ball. I figured it might come in handy if you are forced to battle for any reason. Who knows, maybe you'll even enjoy it?" He handed the disc over to Ash, and it immediately took effect the moment it came into contact with his hand.

Ash blinked rapidly as the information rushed into his head. "Huh, that was not what I was expecting." Shifting into his Zorua form, he rapidly formed a Shadow Ball just to be sure that it had worked, before letting the attack dissipate. He obviously didn't want to damage Oak's laboratory.

Professor Oak nodded in satisfaction. "Good, it seems to have worked properly. TMs cn be used as many times as you wish, so I suggest hanging on to it so you can teach Shadow Ball to any other Pokémon you catch that can learn the technique."

Ash grinned excitedly as he transformed back into his human form. "Thanks, Professor! Is there anything else? I would like to get a decent start towards Viridian before the sun goes down tonight."

"Yes, I believe that is everything," Professor Oak said with a nod. "Although, speaking of Viridian, once you reach Viridian, I highly suggest remaining disguised in your Pikachu form whenever you are in public within the city limits. We don't want any Team Rocket members to recognize you. Send me a call as soon as you reach Pewter City. I would have you call in Viridian, but I think it would be best for you to get through there as quickly as possible."
"Alright, Thank you for everything, Professor. I'll call you as soon as I reach Pewter! I'll make all of Pallet proud!" Ash said with an excited grin.

Professor Oak smiled fondly. "I know you will, Ash. Now I think you should get going. Adventure awaits, after all!"

AN: Whew! Just over 6,300 words later, and chapter one is a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review if you have the time to do so! I appreciate each and every review, and love reading your thoughts and opinions on my stories! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as it helps me to improve as an author. That's all for today, so I'll see you all next time!