The Blossoming of a New Friendship!

"Ash honey it's time to get up, Professor Oak's Pokemon Summer Camp starts today!" Ash's mother called out to him but the boy was sound asleep, sleeping right through her shouts and probably would have remained that way had a Dodrio not perched outside his window and let out a loud screech!

"DODRIO!" Ash fell out of his bed upon the loud screech hitting his ears, the young boy let out a groan of annoyance as he slowly opened his eyes and cast off a glare at the three headed bird Pokemon.

"Ash honey, you okay in there?" His mother called out.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine..." Ash groaned out. "I'm not late am I?"

"Not yet you aren't but you'd better hurry or they'll start without you!" Delia called out. "You definitely won't want to miss today as the champion's gonna be there!"

"The champion?!" An excited look quickly came across the kid's name as he quickly scurried to get changed. The young raven haired boy now wore t-shirt that was blue on one half and white on the other with a thing line diagonally separating the two colors. He also wore a pair of jeans with the pant legs rolled up to his knees while his feet were covered with a pair of red running shoes! "Alright time to get going!"

His mother let out a light laugh upon seeing his eagerness as he stepped out into the hall. She smiled for a few moments before letting out a sigh as she was reminded of his father, she couldn't believe it had been a full year now since he'd disappeared. She didn't even know where he went! Gary losing both his parents to a car crash was pretty horrible but at least both the Professor and Gary had some closure on the matter. She didn't even know where Red was and hated making up lies to keep Ash from worrying, he was only a child after all and due to his adventurous attitude she was honestly worried that if he knew his father was truly missing that he'd go out looking for him!

"Mom you okay?" Ash's words caused her to snap out of her thoughts, she gave a quick shake of her head before casting off a smile in his direction.

"It's alright Ash, I was just wondering what to cook tonight since you won't be here. I'm sure you'll enjoy having pizza at the Professor's though!"

"Yay, pizza!" Ash leaped excitedly into the air as Delia let out a light giggle. The two then set out for Professor Oak's laboratory which was on the far side of Pallet Town. Even though Professor Oak was the world's most renowned Professor along with being a former Champion himself, Pallet Town had always been a small yet thriving community. There were a few houses spread about along with a restaurant which just so happened to be ran by Delia herself, a small convenient store where passing trainers could purchase Pokeballs, potions or any other necessary supplies, and a farm that housed the Dodrio that cried out every morning!

Ash and Gary weren't the only kids in town either as there was a girl their age, a young brunette girl named Leaf! Her mother had been walking her out the door before the brunette's brown eyes locked onto her best friend or rather one of her best friends. "Ash, hey!"

"Leaf! You're running late too?!"

"Yeah, I was uh.. sleeping." Leaf nervously rubbed the back of her head as she lightly chuckled.

"So was I!" Ash laughed.

"Green if you want I can take her the rest of the way, I'll make sure she gets there safely."

"Thank you, Delia." Much like how Ash and Gary took after their fathers, Leaf took after her mother as she looked exactly like a miniature version of Green!

"This is so exciting isn't it? I heard that sometimes kids from other regions come visit the Professor's Summer Camp, I hope we get to meet one! I bet they've seen so many Pokemon that we've never seen on the Kanto League broadcasts!" Leaf exclaimed as excitement shined brightly in her eyes.

"Hearing about it isn't the same as seeing it," Ash stated with a light shake of his head. "Though it'd be cool if one of them had a non-Kantonian Pokemon as their pet or buddy!"

As they got closer to the lab they'd see a group of kids surrounding a young boy their age, the kid wore a light pink colored jacket above a red shirt. His hair was a more noticeable color of blue as most folks around the area either had black or brown hair, his short blue hair was a bit curly and his bright blue eyes had a bit of a devious glint to them. Even though Ash hadn't said a word to the kid yet he already had a bad feeling about him.

"And there's the Professor," Delia gave a wave to an older man wearing a lab coat as he stood at the edge of his property waiting for all of his guests to arrive.

"Hello there Delia, I'll keep a close eye on the boy don't you worry!" Professor Oak assured Delia as he placed a hand upon her shoulder. "He'll be home safe and sound before you know it!"

Delia gave an appreciative look as she bowed her head lightly. "Thank you Professor," He had always been such a good friend of the family even before Red went missing.

"Hello Ash, Leaf so glad to see you made it! Gary's already up there waiting but I'm afraid you'll need to wait until the others get here."

"Don't worry Professor, we understand." Leaf gave a respectful nod. Ash let out an impatient groan before grunting out as Leaf elbowed his stomach and gave him a look.

"And so like I threw this annoying runt into a dumpster for looking at me funny and then you wouldn't believe what happened next, a golden Rattata came running out from beneath!" The blue haired boy boasted. "I then threw a Pokeball and caught it!"

"What a great story Damian!"

"Yeah, the greatest! You rule Damian!"

"Excuse me but you're eight years old just like the rest of us, how on earth did you throw somebody in a dumpster?" A unknown feminine voice spoke out in a questioning tone causing Damian to quickly shoot around, his eye twitching as he turned to glare directly into the culprit's eyes. Her maroon colored hair was long, curly and shoulder length while also covering up the top of her forehead and her bright green eyes started showing signs of anxiety as Damian and his two buds closed in on her. "B-Besides everyone knows that you have to weaken a Pokemon before throwing a Pokeball, you can't catch them by simply throwing Pokeballs like a lunatic!"

"I didn't ask you so why don't you back off girly?"

"Yeah back off before you get hurt, Damian has a black belt!"

"He'll kick your butt!"

Damian punched his fist against the palm of his hand. "Oh I'll make sure you learn some respect girly!"

"Heheh this will be good!" One of Damian's friends smirked to the other who quickly nodded in response as they looked on with eager eyes.

"Hey!" Ash quickly leaped in front of the girl as he stretched out his arms in a defensive stance, preventing Damian from striking at the poor girl. "Didn't your mother tell you not to hit a girl?"

"What's so wrong about that?" Damian asked with a light laughed as he turned to his friends for an answer. They could only shrug as he turned back towards Ash and laughed out. "Yeah I see nothing wrong with that, you see where I come from I'm top dog and I'm gonna take over this summer camp just like I took over Dark City!"

"Yeah you're the best Damian!"

"Yeah well I'm not gonna let you hurt this girl, my parents raised me better than that! Being a Pokemon Master isn't just about having strong Pokemon but being kind to both human and Pokemon alike and helping to protect those that can't defend for themselves, er-no offense!" Ash quickly glanced back at Chloe who was shivering as Damian and his two buddies began closing in on them. However Ash's stance didn't change as he glared right into Damian's eyes and refused to back down!

"The kid's right!"

"The champion!"

"Rex!" The vast majority of the kids gathered started cheering loudly at the arrival of an older man showcasing that most were from the Kanto or Johto region as they'd likely not have heard of him otherwise. The man was in his mid-thirties much like Delia and Green and had a light skin tone. He had long shoulder length black hair and his eyes were a shade of light blue. He wore a green jacket along with a pair of tan cargo pants and a thick pair of brown boots! Atop his head was a red and white cap with a green marking across the front of it.

"You shouldn't bully your fellow trainers, it's wrong. If you want to be a respectable trainer than you should treat others with kindness and compassion!"

"Oooh Rex just talked down to you!" One of Damien's friends laughed before his other friend punched him.

"That's our friend dummy!"

Rex then turned towards Ash and offered the boy a smile as he dropped to his knee to greet him. "Hello Ash, whose your new friend?"

"I-I actually don't know," Ash sweated as he turned to face her. "We sorta just met!"

"You did, eh?" Rex smirked and gave Ash's arm a light bump with his fist. "Well I'm sure you'll have even more friends than your father did when he was your age!" Rex laughed.

"Rai rai!" A Raichu cried out as it stood by his side, his eyes focused upon Damian's body as his cheeks sparked in a threatening manner.

"See this boy? I'm a good friend of his father's so if you hurt even a hair on his body I'll ensure that you don't receive your training license!" Rex threatened. "The same goes for this girl-sorry didn't catch your name?"

"Chloe... Chloe Cerise."

"So you're to not touch Ash or Chloe, understand?" Rex crossed his arms as Damian narrowed his eyes and cast off a deadly glare towards Ash.

"This isn't over Ketchum, just wait until we're trainers!"

"Yeah this isn't over!" Damian's friends shouted as they walked away.

Rex stared after them for a moment before reaching up for his cap, removing it from his head before placing it atop Ash's own. "I think you should have this, you've got the makings of a true champion! That hat is a special one of a kind hat so don't lose it, I can't give you another!" Rex laughed.

Ash glanced upwards as he tried to look at the cap before giving Rex an appreciative look. "Thank you, I'll take good care of it!" Rex smiled and gave his shoulder a light pat before standing back up to go meet with the Professor, leaving Ash and Chloe free to interact while Leaf glared after Damian and hoped that he wouldn't come back to try anything.

"You okay?" Ash asked.

"Y-Yeah, though I probably wouldn't be if you hadn't stepped in." Chloe nervously smiled.

"Well I wasn't going to stand by and let you get hurt, that's not the champion way!"

"Yeah Ash is never one to back down from a fight even if it means he gets hurt." Leaf laughed.

"So Chloe do you got any friends?"

"Just one but nobody's seen him since he foolishly ran off trying to catch a wild Ursaring in a Pokeball, idiot probably got himself killed." Chloe muttered with a light glare before sighing out.

"I see well you can hang out with us if you like!" Ash offered as he held out his hand with a friendly expression. Chloe gazed cautiously at his hand and thought for a moment before eventually smiling as she took hold of it.

"I think I'd like that!"

"Oi Rex, what's it like bein a champion out here in the Kanto region?" Ash heard a brunette trainer their age speaking out in some strange foreign accent that he couldn't place. "What's it like having an Elite Four to boss around?"

Rex quickly waved his hands. "Now now I may be stronger than them but I don't go bossing them around! They're free to do whatever they wish or desire but when a challenger wins the Indigo League or Silver Conference they need to be ready to face the challenger! I like to think of them as my friends rather than my underlings or grunts."

"Aw, having a bunch o people to boss around sounded cool!" The girl hung her head.

The bushes behind them started to rustle, catching Ash's attention as it was quite unusual for a Pokemon to be where Rex and Professor Oak had set up for their interview and he'd know as he'd been to Oak's lab plenty of times! He slowly stood up and left Chloe and Leaf's side as he walked off into the bushes. Leaf glanced back and shrugged as she figured he was probably walking off to relieve himself. Chloe however had a look of concern as she noticed him leaving, the girl was quick to stand up and hurry after him as he'd walk through the bushes before coming across a clearing that was definitely not part of Oak's lab. "Hello?" He called out as he hadn't seen the culprit anywhere. He tilted his head while concern flashed through his eyes as he hoped that one of the lab Pokemon hadn't escaped and gotten lost. However his thoughts quickly changed as he turned around to head back and found himself face to face with a small cute pink feline Pokemon!

"Mew!" The feline's blue eyes shined with excitement as she reached out and gently tapped his nose.

"W-Who are you? What are you?!" Ash asked while tilting his head once more as a curious expression crossed his face.

"Mew!" The feline simply replied as she began rapidly flying circles around his body.

"Ash... what is that?" Chloe gasped out as she never could imagine Pokemon could be so cute! "It's beautiful!"

Mew placed her hands against her cheeks as they glowed brightly, indicating the feline was blushing. "Mew!"

"I-I think it's a Mew? At least that's what it is saying... I've never heard of a Mew before though, are you related to the Meowth line?" Mew nodded her head. She was related to all Pokemon so it wasn't a lie!

"Doesn't look like a Meowth to me..." Chloe noted as she watched Mew flew around with an awed expression. "She sure is beautiful though, almost makes me wish we were trainers right now so I could catch her!"

The bushes soon rustled nearby causing Mew to suddenly pause as she cast a glance towards the shrubbery before quickly flying off in a bright pink blur of light! "Mew!" She cried out as she said her goodbyes!

"Wait Mew come back!" Ash stretched out his hand as he called out to her.

"Ash, Chloe you two okay?" Rex spoke out as his eyes shifted between the two.

"Yeah you should have seen it though, we saw a Pokemon called Mew!" Ash excitedly exclaimed while Rex tensed up, his eye started twitching at the name as he stared off into the distance. "Rex you alright?!"

Rex quickly shook his head before putting on a smile. "That's great but I'm sure you kids were just imagining things, no human's laid eyes on Mew for thousands of years! Let's get you back to the others shall we?"

"You saw Mew?!" Leaf shouted out with a jealous expression, Gary similarly appeared to be jealous as he crossed his arms and gave the two a light glare.

"Yeah! You know what she is?!"

"Of course we know, we're bookworms!" Leaf rolled her eyes. Chloe was quite intelligent too but she wasn't as well versed on Pokemon as they were.

"Yeah Ashy boy, you should study more!" Gary smirked.

"Well what do you guys know about her?" Chloe asked with an unusually curious stare. She never had much of an interest in Pokemon at first, her father only sent her here as her parents wanted some time to themselves for a bit and to see if an outside mind would help change her mind as she thought her family was trying to push her father's profession onto her.

"She is a very ancient Pokemon, said to be the first actually!" Gary stated.

"Though some argue that it was Arceus that came first, it's a common argument that's never really had a way of proving whose right or wrong so the argument never ends." Leaf explained

"She is also said to have the DNA of all Pokemon inside of her!" Gary explained with a smirk.

"Whoa she sounds like an awesome Pokemon!" Ash excitedly exclaimed. "It'd be cool if we saw her again!"

"Probably very unlikely though, I wouldn't get your hopes up." Chloe sighed out. "After all you heard what Rex said, nobody's seen it for a thousand years before us. We should consider ourselves lucky we even saw her for a brief minute!"

Ash frowned as he realized Chloe had a point, Mew was probably long gone by now and with how fast she moved she could probably be halfway across the globe!

"Ash and Chloe, you win the scavenger hunt!" Professor Oak raised his arm into the air as the other students let out a loud celebratory cheer.

"Aw man, we lost! Kenny I ought to fine you for making us not even place!" An energetic blonde kid shouted at his friend.

"Hmph, I could have won if I wanted to." Damian crossed his arms.

"Yeah, Damian rules!"

"Didn't you sabotage that blonde kid?" Another trainer with a foreign accent asked while giving Damian an unamused expression. "I could clearly see you throwing stuff out his basket and throwing in rocks."

"You're one to talk, your partner was so scared of a tamed Gastly that she went screaming off! She shouldn't even be here if she's afraid of Pokemon!" The boy's eye twitched as Damian insulted his friend, he quickly dived forward and punched him across the face. The Galarian girl let out an eager shout as she rushed forward before throwing a punch of her own, knocking Damian's lights out as the blue haired boy collapsed.

"Damian!" His friends gasped out in terror.

"Ya just got your butt kicked by a girl, ya prick!" The girl laughed while the Hoenn native went off to comfort his friend as Damian's words appeared to strike a nerve.

Ash snickered at the sight of Damian getting beaten up, he hoped that it would humble Damian and make him a better person but oh how wrong he was!

Pokemon Summer Camp had ended and while the other students, who Ash likely wouldn't even remember next time he saw them, had left he and Chloe remained in contact. Delia drove him out to Vermillion City at least once a week so that the two could interact with each other, sometimes it was two or three weeks though if there was a schedule conflict. Eventually things were only made easier as Chloe's family moved to Pallet Town, her father Cerise had been studying to become a Pokemon Professor just like Professor Oak for the past few years but now he needed to get in some experience as a Professor's assistant resulting in them moving to Pallet so that he could work under his good friend Professor Oak! Leaf enjoyed having another girl in town but despite positive interactions with both Gary and Leaf, Chloe seemed to be more comfortable and open around Ash!

"Rex is it true that the League officials are changing the rules? That you must become sixteen now instead of ten years old to receive your license?"

"Indeed, I bring you some painfully terrible news. Rookie trainer, Trace was found murdered outside Vermilion Forest and we have reason to suspect Team Rocket's involvement. Similarly in the Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, and Galar region, four young boys were lost... Brendan, Hilbert, Calem and Victor were their names. The Pokemon League committee as agreed that due to the rise of villainous gangs and the increased rate of loss, that we must raise the limit to a more comfortable age of sixteen to ensure that trainers are more mature and have a full state of mind. We hope to narrow down the losses or eradicate them completely, if you're just turning ten this year then I must offer my sincere condolences. It must really suck waiting another six years!"

"That it does, son of a b-" Gary angrily shouted as he threw the television remote across the room.

"Language!" Leaf covered his mouth with a light scowl.

Ash clenched his fists as he glared directly at the television, anger quickly rose within him as his birthday was the literal next day! Why couldn't this wait just another day or two?!

Chloe placed her hand atop Ash's, offering him a friendly smile that helped soothe his rage. Ash offered a light smile in return as he sighed out.

"No no no, I just turned ten years old today! Ya can't do this!" The Galarian girl cried out, her fingers dug deep into the walls of the laboratory as Officer Jenny had to pry her off the walls. "This is complete and utter Tauros!"

A boy with a tanned skin tone and short purple hair stood in front of Professor Rowarn's lab, his arms crossed as his eyes narrowed.

"Pathetic thinking they can delay me becoming the World Champion."

"Look on the bright side," Chloe offered Ash a light smile. "At least you can study up on Pokemon and prepare!"

"I already planned out a team, a schedule and everything, it's all ruined now!" Leaf moaned out as she crumbled a piece of paper before tossing it into the bin.

"Yeah I guess you're right," Ash sighed out. "It's just the wait that bothers me, most trainers have waited their whole lives for this and now when we're finally approaching the age of ten they decide to up and change them?!"

"The world's changing Ash, I'm not a fan of it either but they're doing the right thing." Gary sighed.

Years passed by and Ash utilized the time to read up a bit more on the Pokemon that existed within the region, picking up on a few notes and though he attempted to plan out a team like Leaf had done he just found it too complicated. There were so many cool Pokemon to catch that he had such a hard time choosing any in particular, his mind did often drift towards Raichu though as he always thought it was a cool Pokemon! Picking out a starter was even more complicated as one moment he chose Squirtle, the next Bulbasaur, then Charmander!

Certain things had started changing around Pallet Town over the years, Gary often flirted rather successfully with women passing through town which greatly upset Leaf for some reason Ash didn't understand. And Delia even found herself a Pokemon of her own as a Mr. Mime walked right through the front door one day and just made itself at home! Ash was annoyed at first due to the attention she was giving the mime as he thought she was replacing him but over time he realized that Mimey, the name Delia had given him, wasn't such a bad egg after all as he helped out around the house and often did the chores that Ash himself forgot to do. Plus he'd keep Delia company when Ash left on his adventure!

While the other three were getting more and more excited as the big day approached, Chloe found herself growing more nervous as she still wasn't sure on what she wanted to do in life. She wanted a Pokemon of her own and to travel sure but it was so hard picking a profession, battling just didn't interest her the way it did the others and specializing in a single type didn't catch her fancy either.

Eventually the big day would come and Ash would find himself and Chloe outside the Professor's lab. Gary stepped out the door with a smirk as he twirled a Pokeball atop his finger. "You're late like usual, Ashy boy!" He playfully teased.

"What Pokemon did you choose?!" Ash asked only for Gary to wag his finger.

"And ruin the surprise, no Ashy boy you'll have to wait and see! Smell ya later!" Gary rushed down the hill and leaped into his red convertible, the backseat was full of cheerleaders who cheered loudly as Gary started the car and drove away.

"Gary Gary he's our man if he can't do it nobody can!"

"Gooo Gary!"

Leaf clenched her fists as she glared after the car, her gaze focused on the girls in particular as the Pokeball in her grasp started to lightly crack.

"Uh Leaf, I think you might want to loosen your grip!" Chloe sweated.

"Hm?" Leaf looked down and gasped out. "Sorry it's just those damn cheerleaders!" Leaf growled out. She flashed Ash and Chloe a worrisome look. "Good luck by the way, you'll need it."

"Why do you say that?" Ash asked, he began walking towards the lab doors before they quickly slammed open and smacked him up against the wall! Chloe let out an alarmed gasp as she quickly rushed forward to check on her friend while a familiar laughter could be heard.

"I can't believe that those idiots let me get Charmander, don't they know that he's the best starter Pokemon?"

"The best!"

"He suits you Damian!"

"That Damian..." Ash groaned out as Chloe helped him up. Damian turned his head and laughed.

"Oh I knew you were there the whole time! Totally hit you on purpose!"

"Yeah he did!"

"It was hilarious!" His friends laughed.

"If you did that was really mean, he could have gotten seriously hurt!" Chloe shouted out.

"Well hello there girly, I see that you've grown!" Damian smirked and slowly made his approach. His movements made Ash growl out, apart from feeling uneasy there was something else inside of him that was upset at the sight.

"Yes I have and I see that you're still the same as ever, I bet something else is too!" Chloe huffed as she turned her back to him. Damian's eye began to twitch as his friends covered their mouths to hide their laughter.

"T-That is absolutely not true, I-Oh forget it, you're not worth my time! The babe's will come running once I become champion! Let's roll out!"

"Yes Damian!"

"Right away Damian!"

"What a jerk!" Ash growled out.

"Leave him, he's not worth it." Chloe grabbed at Ash's hand as she led the two into Professor Oak's lab where he and Chloe's father were waiting.

"Ash, Chloe so glad that you could make it!" Cerise offered a warm smile while Oak bit his lip with a nervous expression.

"Ash, Chloe... you didn't have your hearts set on Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur did you? I-I'm sorry to say but our last shipment never came through so those three were the last we'll have for awhile. Don't fret though, we've still got Pokemon that you can choose from!" Professor Oak quickly added on as he reached into his pocket and removed two Pokeballs. One had a lightning bolt sticker and the other had a pink heart sticker, Oak then pressed the buttons to release the Pokemon as a Pikachu and Eevee burst out. Pikachu's nose twitched as he looked around the lab curiously while Eevee turned her attention directly to Chloe, letting out a cute cry with a gentle flick of her tail!

"How adorable, they're both so cute!" Chloe gushed.

Ash frowned for a brief moment as despite not being able to make up his mind he still found it a tad bit disappointing, he'd always wanted a Raichu though and Pikachu were pretty cool as well! And nothing said he couldn't catch a Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur of his own later, it wasn't impossible just very hard to find starters in the wild!

Ash allowed Chloe to take Eevee as he slowly reached out and extended an offering hand to Pikachu.

"Pikachu I choose you!"

Yeah so this is something I wanted to do. I've become a bit of a fan of the pairing and it's not exactly common. Especially as far as art and fics go!

"But why 16?" Because I don't feel comfortable writing a ten year old? Especially when romance is a feature?

"Why change Ash's hat origin? Whose Rex?!" Again story reason, he's an entire new creation who was made to fulfill this role. Rather than potentially butchering Lance to fill the role. I love Lance

The only current original character of mine who'll appear in the Kanto/Johto story arcs is Surge's son. One did cameo at the Summer Camp(he punched Damian) but he won't appear in the arc nor will Paul, Gloria or anyone else that you saw there. Just wanted some cameos from favorites of mine!

And before you ask, no Trace is not Tracey! He's that Gary lookalike from Let's GO