The Adventure Begins

"And here we are folks the World Championship finals, it is Kanto's newest Champion and rising star Ash Ketchum against the current World Champion Cynthia! For those of you just tuning in, it is down to just Ash's Charizard and Cynthia's Garchomp. Does Ash have what it takes to beat Cynthia and claim the World Championship title?!" The announcer shouted out as Ash and Cynthia stood eye to eye, a smirk across both of their faces as this was the most exciting match that either of them ever had!

It was years since Ash had encountered both Ho-oh and Lugia, both encounters had resulted in him taking his dream more seriously as he hoped to one day have a rematch against Ho-oh and win and that day looked as if it could actually happen soon! Ash was now in his late teenage years and had grown a bit of a stubble around his mouth, his hair was pretty much the same but he now wore a long trench coat that was fitted with his usual color scheme of white and blue with the blue color being on the outer areas of his jacket, along with a pair of jeans and running shoes which looked quite ragged as if suggesting Ash still liked to go off on little adventures here and there. He still wore the iconic hat from when he first left Pallet Town, despite age having a slight effect on it he still wore it everywhere with pride!

Cynthia flashed Ash a light smirk as she reached for the Mega Ring that was on her right arm, Ash smirked right back at her as he reached for his own Mega Ring as the two Pokemon became engulfed in a bright pink glow! Charizard transformed into Mega Charizard X while Garchomp transformed into Mega Garchomp!

The two Mega Pokemon let out a loud roar which was followed by the large crowd letting out a roar of it's own as excitement filled the air as everyone was hyped to see which one would come out on top, it was going to be a close fight no doubt but an exciting one nonetheless!

"Dragon Rush!" Cynthia shouted out.

Garchomp began charging at Charizard as a blue aura surrounded his body.

"Fly up and use Solar Beam!" Charizard let out a roar as he took to the sky, swiftly avoiding the attack as he fired a beam of solar energy from his mouth and blasted Garchomp back!

Garchomp's feet slid across the floor before getting a good grip on the dirt, the Dragon stood back up and gave Charizard a firm look while uttering out a growl. Cynthia flashed Ash a light smirk before stretching out her arm. "Nice one but it'll be hard to dodge this, Draco Meteor!"

Garchomp waved his arms as a vast array of meteors began crashing down from the sky above, pelting Charizard with them as he let out a grunt. Ash clenched his fists as he watched before throwing out his arm upon seeing his partner was alright.

"Dragon Pulse!"

A multicolored beam of dragon shaped energy blasted out from Charizard's mouth and flew across the field, exploding against Garchomp as Cynthia could only smirk before stretching out her hand once more.

"Dig!"

Garchomp let out a roar as it burrowed beneath the ground and disappeared from sight.

"Charizard, keeps your ears open and track his movements! When you hear him coming out, fire Dragon Pulse!"

Charizard gave Ash a nod to show he heard before closing his eyes as he listened for Garchomp's movements beneath the ground. His eyes soon shot open and right as Garchomp burst from the ground he was welcomed by the pulse of dragon shaped energy! Garchomp was blasted down before he could make contact, the Dragon/Ground type letting out a cry before landing with a heavy thud as dust rose up to cover up his body. The crowd waited in silence as they watched on to see if the battle was over. Sure enough the dust blew away to reveal the defeat form of Garchomp's swirls formed in the land shark Pokemon's eyes as he let out a groan of defeat. The crowd cheered loudly though quite a few boo's were audible from Cynthia fans as they weren't happy to see her go down!

Charizard landed down as he and his trainer hugged one another, Pikachu excitedly joining in from his place on his trainer's shoulder as the three friends hugged to celebrate their victory! Cynthia returned Garchomp with a light smile before approaching Ash with an extended hand, offering him a handshake which he accepted as the two champions showed one another their respect and thanked the other for the battle! A loud squeal could be heard as a much older Verity appeared, she had let her hair down and it was now shoulder length while her body had also adjusted to that of a woman her age. Verity wrapped her arms around Ash before pulling him in for a kiss as the crowd continued to cheer for the newly crowned World Champion!

"Aw Cynthia lost!" A cry of disappointment could be heard while a boy only a few years younger than Ash sat upright as he watched the broadcast from the comfort of his bed. His physical appearance wasn't that much different from Verity's, both had white skin tones along with brown hair and brown eyes although his eyes were more of a chocolate brown coloring than her lighter brown. His hairstyle was short and slightly messy, and he had a semi-muscular build which could be seen quite easily as he didn't sleep with a shirt on.

"Bzzz!" His Rotom Phone started buzzing as it reminded him to go to sleep, tomorrow was the big day after all and he couldn't afford to be short on sleep! It was the day that he and his two closest friends since childhood would be receiving their first Pokemon and starting their respective adventures! He was quick to turn the television off with the remote before laying down and closing his eyes as he let sleep take him.

"Infernape use Close Combat!" Infernape let out a cry as he raced towards Garchomp and immediately began beating it with his fists in a repetitive manner. Garchomp took the hit and let out a roar before the familiar blue aura appeared around him as he tackled Infernape, knocking him out cold!

The boy gritted his teeth before trying out a different starter. "Torterra use Earthquake!"

"Torterra!" Torterra burst out and slammed into the ground causing the battlefield to shake heavily, sending both the boy and the audience toppling about however Cynthia and Garchomp remained perfectly fine as they flashed him a smirk.

"Flamethrower!" Garchomp released a steady stream of flame from his mouth causing Torterra to drop down in defeat as his eyes turned to swirls.

"Alright then Empoleon I choose you!"

"Empo!" Empoleon revealed itself and posed in a somewhat prideful manner.

"Hydro Pump!" Empoleon opened his mouth and fired a powerful stream of water at Garchomp, pushing the land shark back but much like the other two it didn't have much of a result.

"Dragon Rush!" The blue aura surrounded Garchomp once more as he charged Empoleon, sending the penguin flying through the air before landing in a defeated heap before it's trainer as he lowered his head.

"Why is it so hard for me to make a choice?!" He shouted out as he pulled at his hair in frustration. Tomorrow was the big day and even here in his dream he couldn't make up his mind and pick the partner that he'd be with for the rest of his journey and who'd help him win the title of regional Champion!

Across the street a girl his own age was brushing her hair while lightly humming as she looked herself in the mirror. She had a light skin tone much like her friend however her eyes were a dark blue coloring which matched her long dark blue hair. "And perfect!" The girl seemed satisfied at her work as she flicked her head back and forth before getting up to check on her traveling outfit to make sure it was in order before getting dressed the following morning. A black tank top sat on a hangar inside of her closet while hanging up next to it was a short pink skirt. Beneath it was a pair of large pink boots along with a pair of black socks. The closest was also full of a vast array of outfits she planned on wearing in her contests though she wasn't sure how she'd carry all that along with an outfit she was saving for her friend in particular in her bag and still be able to walk!

She soon leaped up as her own Rotom Phone began buzzing, the girl was quick to turn off her light before hopping into bed as she let sleep take hold of her.

Unlike her friend she seemed to have made her decision rather easily as an Empoleon could be seen facing off against an Umbreon in a contest battle with the opposing trainer looking quite similar to her and for good reason!

"Unbelievable, the Grand Coordinator Johanna is neck and neck with her daughter in the finals! Will Dawn be able to overcome her mother at the last minute or will Johanna prevail as the world's top Coordinator once more?!"

"Empoleon use Hydro Pump then freeze it with Ice Beam!" Empoleon blasted a powerful stream of water before freezing it in a beam of ice as the attack went flying towards Umbreon before bursting in a beautiful crash of ice as the air sparkled around the contest field! The rest of Johanna's points drained out as the scoreboard updated to showcase Dawn as the winner!

"I won?! I won, I won!" Dawn shouted in disbelief before cheerfully leaping in excitement upon her victory. Her two friends showed up onstage to congratulate her, the first being Barry. A boy their age with a similar tone of skin but with short blonde hair and orange eyes, he currently wore a yellow and orange striped jacket with a green scarf around his neck along with a pair of gray cargo pants and a pair of running shoes.

"Alright, way to go Dawn!" Barry cheered, leaping up for joy at his friend's victory. Dawn smiled and thanked him before turning to her other friend, he currently wore a black hoodie along with a pair of blue jeans and some running shoes. He gave her a nervous wave at first which caused Dawn to lightly giggle.

"Congratulations Dawn," He bowed lightly.

"Thank you Zach," Dawn bowed lightly in return with a light giggle.

"Zach wake up!" Zach jolted wide awake as Barry could be heard barreling through the front door before rushing up the stairs like a madman, soon crashing right through his bedroom door and not even stopping to breathe.

"R-Red G-Gyarados at Lake Verity, w-we need to g-go now! I-It'll be a great addition to our teams and by ours I mean mine! D-Don't dawdle or else I'll have to fine you!" Barry pointed directly at Zach as he began climbing out of bed.

"We don't even have Pokemon yet, how do you expect we catch a freaking Gyarados?!" Zach exclaimed, hoping to reason with Barry. Gyarados aside the wildlife around here wasn't messing around, he knew that from experience. It was wise to have a Pokemon to defend you just in case!

"Pokemon? Hah, I won't need a starter once I catch that Gyarados and I aim to do so with this baby!" Barry held a Dive Ball in the palm of his hand, tossing it up and down as he flashed his best friend a smirk. "You coming or not?"

"Well I don't suppose I have a choice do I?" Zach sighed out, knowing that Barry would continually pester him until he said yes. "I'll get Dawn-"

"No time! Get dressed!" Barry tapped his foot impatiently as he watched his friend quickly put on his hoodie and once he was done, Barry grabbed his hand and dragged him right out of town! The two soon rushed down the path leading from Twinleaf Town towards Lake Verity, Barry's eyes flickered about as he continually tapped his foot upon arriving at the lake. Despite what he heard on the television broadcast, not a single Gyarados was in sight let alone a red one!

"This blows!" Barry kicked a pebble into the lake before turning around. "Let's go."

"I told you that we were probably wasting our time, you shouldn't believe everything you hear on the television." Zach advised his friend.

"Bidoof!" A Bidoof suddenly lunged out of the water with a mark on it's head from where Barry had struck it with a pebble, latching onto Barry's head before biting into it as the blonde frantically began racing about while flailing his arms about.

"Get off me this instant or I'll fine you!"

"Barry hold still, I can get it!" Zach tried grabbing at Bidoof's tail each time Barry raced by him only to prove too slow as Barry was too energetic and fast!

"Bidoof!" Another Bidoof suddenly sprang up and latched itself onto Zach's arm causing him to let out a shout before quickly making an attempt to shake it off but the Bidoof refused to budge! A blue blur suddenly shot from the bushes and proceeded to deliver a powerful slap to the Bidoof that sent it flying! Bidoof let out a cry as it was sent blasting back into the lake.

"Rio!"

"Hey, it's you..." Zach blinked, recalling his prior meeting with the jackal Pokemon.

"Little help?!" Barry shouted.

"Go help Barry please!" Riolu gave a light nod before leaping up and delivering a force palm that sent Bidoof flying right off Barry's face before landing on the ground, the Pokemon making a quick retreat into the lake as Barry looked towards Riolu.

"Hey isn't that the Riolu you saved a few months ago?"

"I-I think so." Zach tilted his head, something inside of him said it was and from the way Riolu looked at him he was pretty sure it was the same one.

Zach had been playing his Nintendo Switch out back one afternoon when he heard the cry of a Pokemon in distress. It sounded like it was in great pain so he went to investigate it, silently creeping through the forest behind his house just in case there was danger afoot. He noticed an individual wearing a purple and black jacket walking off with a Skorupi along his side but where they'd once stood was a Riolu whose face was bright purple as he'd been poisoned and left there! Zach looked back towards the trainer before letting out a frustrated growl as he raced to Riolu and picked him up.

"Verity will know what to do," He breathed out, thankful that his cousin was back in town for the day. He barged down the door to the house causing his parents to shoot up with alarmed looks before Verity shot right up upon noticing the poisoned jackal.

"Poor thing..." She pulled some Antidote from her bag and began spraying him where the poison sat, Riolu let out a light cough before looking towards Zach with a look of appreciation as a smile crossed his face.

"Rio..." He appeared to be thanking him.

"No need to thank me, I'd have rescued any Pokemon that cried for help! It's the right thing to do, I wasn't about to just let you die!"

Riolu kept his gaze locked onto him throughout the recovery phase which didn't go unnoticed by Verity as she lightly hummed and watched.

"You've been around this whole time? I thought for sure that somebody would have captured you or that you'd move on by now!" Zach exclaimed as Riolu shook his head before pointing at himself and then pointing at Zach.

"Riooo!"

"Huh? I'm sorry but I don't speak Pokemon." Riolu frowned for a moment before snapping his fingers in frustration. "We should probably get back, Dawn's probably worried for us."

"You more like it," Barry stated with a smirk.

"Huh?" Zach blinked in confusion, wondering what he meant by that but Barry didn't answer as they began walking back to Twinleaf Town. Riolu stared after them for a moment before eventually scampering after them. Once they all left a red scale was visible within the lake water for a brief second before disappearing beneath the water surface!

"There you are, I was worried sick!" Dawn exclaimed as she raced forward to hug Zach before giving Barry an accusing look. "What was the scheme this time?"

"I-We were looking for a red Gyarados!" Barry admitted with a nervous laugh.

"Seriously?! You don't even own Pokemon, if you'd gotten him killed I'd-" Dawn shot red as she realized her choice of wording, shooting Zach a quick look to see if he'd picked up on it but thankfully for her he was off in his own world thinking about which starter Pokemon he'd choose.

"I knew you liked him!" Barry laughed in a hushed tone before Dawn gave him a light whack with her hat to silence him. She soon grabbed hold of their arms before forming a bright smile across her face.

"Come on, we've kept Professor Rowan waiting long enough!"

Sandgem Town was a rather small town but compared to Twinleaf Town it was practically a city as it had triple the population along with it's very own Pokemon Center, Pokemart and the laboratory of the region's own Professor Rowan!

It was a rather modest looking laboratory that doubled as the Professor's home, being a single older man he didn't find much reason for having to leave his lab for long periods of time. Preferring to stay longer and perform more research! There was also a small field fenced in around the lab for trainers to store their excess Pokemon if they happened to capture more than six during their adventure, the field was significantly quiet though as not a whole lot of Pokemon were walking about. Most trainers didn't catch more than six in their journey after all, not even the ones who actually earned all eight badges and made it into the Pokemon League or the Grand Festival in the case of Coordinators such as Dawn!

The three stepped inside where an older man could be seen examining a Starly, Staravia and a Staraptor with his assistants. The man looked up upon hearing footsteps and clapped his hands while giving them all a warm look.

"Barry, Dawn, Zach what perfect timing!" He reached for the Pokeballs containing the three Sinnoh starters before releasing them as Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup appeared.

"Meet Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup!" Rowan introduced as the three let out a cry of their names. "Please make your decision!"

Zach stared at the three Pokemon with an indecisive look across his face, Dawn and Barry didn't seem to share that mood however as they reached for Piplup and Chimchar before glancing at their best friend to see if he was okay with their decisions as they didn't want him to feel like they were dumping Turtwig on him, not that Turtwig was bad but if he had his heart set on something they didn't want to upset him.

"I-I..." Zach shook as he couldn't make up a decision, Turtwig's eyes began to water up as he thought that Zach hated him.

"Turtwig..."

"I don't mean no offense Turtwig, it's just that... I'm not sure which of you are meant to be my Pokemon! I've thought about it for so long but I just can't come to a decision!" The door to the lab opened up as soft paw steps could be heard approaching. "I-I think you're an awesome Pokemon Turtwig, I'm sure you'll find a great trainer! I just-I just..." He looked down at he felt something pulling on his pant leg, Riolu let out a cry as it stared up at him.

"Rio!"

Professor Rowan let out a chuckle. "Well I'll be, it appears as if your starter has found you!"

"I-Is that true Riolu?" Zach asked as he got down to his knees, Riolu nodded in response before holding up his paw.

"Rio!"

Rowan held out an empty Pokeball to Zach who took hold of it before gently tapping it against Riolu's head, the jackal disappeared in a beam of red light before the ball began shaking rapidly within his hands, chiming soon afterwards to announce the capture!

"As for Turtwig, don't feel bad! A trainer's coming soon and I'm sure Turtwig will be a great fit for him!" Rowan assured Zach as he had flashed Turtwig a guilty expression.

"Well that's good to hear, hope you enjoy your trainer Turtwig!"

"Turtwig!" The Grass type responded with a happy cry before Rowan began hanging the three trainers some Pokeballs.

"And if you hand me your Rotom Phones, I can download the Pokedex app for you." Professor Rowan spoke before the three held out their Rotom Phones. Barry's had an orange casing while Zach's had a blue casing and Dawn's a pink casing! Professor Rowan walked into the back before shortly returning as he handed them back their phones. "Alright and now it should officially register your Pokemon whenever you catch more or some evolve, allowing you to utilize them in the Pokemon League challenge or in Contests!" Rowan then bowed his head. "I wish you three luck in your adventures, it'll be strange not having you around. Though I do admit I can't wait for the peace and quiet..." He muttered, looking to Barry in particular as he began to sweat.

The three said their goodbyes to the Professor as they made their way to the exit with their Pokemon following right behind them, as soon as they reached the door Barry turned around and gave his friends a wave. "Well until next time we meet, see ya! I'm off to get my first badge!" Barry took off running in the southern direction as Zach and Dawn sweated lightly.

"You think we should tell him that the first gym is north of us?" Zach asked.

"Oh I'm sure that he'll figure it out soon enough." Dawn waved it off with a light giggle before nervously rubbing her arm. "Look Zach, w-we don't have to split up. I know you and Barry are going separate ways as your training styles will be as different as your life styles but you and I, we have different goals. And I think that it'd be more fun to travel together rather than individually!"

"I'm thinking the same thing Dawn!"

"You are?!" Dawn's face shot red for a moment as her cheeks blushed heavily before calming as she realized that wasn't what he meant.

"Yeah, I think traveling around with a friend would be awesome! My cousin Verity traveled with a group of companions through the Kanto and Johto regions and had a blast, I'd love getting to travel and explore Sinnoh with you!" Dawn flashed him a warm smile at his words before placing his hand into her own.

"I'm glad to hear that, now let's go! We've got to catch ourselves a Pokemon or two before my first Contest and your first gym battle! Riolu and Piplup won't be enough to win alone!" Riolu nodded in response while Piplup crossed his arms with an annoyed look.

"Pip, Piplup!" He shouted, leaping up while flailing his arms about as he protested her claim.

"That's a fair point," Zach agreed with her as Piplup shot him an equally annoyed look. "Together we should be able to locate some Pokemon rather easily!"

"Ooh I hope I can find a Buneary!" Dawn squealed out. "I've always wanted one!"

"Really? Well then Riolu and I won't rest until we find you one, right buddy?!"

"Rio!" Riolu raised his fist as he cried out in agreement with his trainer. Dawn couldn't help but smile at his eagerness to please her as the two began taking the northern exit out of town and towards the location of route 202 where their adventure would truly begin!

This is just something that I wanted to try out as a few people have requested a story where my OC is the main character rather than a supporting one. And while my battles have vastly improved since I started writing years ago, my contests still need some work so this will be great practice to strengthen my future work with Pokemon Contests so a pro isn't performing noob tactics.

So yeah, Ash is currently the World Champion but he may make a few appearances. And I chose Verity as his love interest since it's not a common pairing, I'm sure I'll get 'You should have paired him with Cynthia' reviews though. I honestly considered it but it'd really just come out of nowhere as Movie Ash and her never met.

I don't like begging for reviews as it sounds petty but I'd really appreciate some reviews on the Contest chapters so I can tell how good I'm doing, I'm a bit of an pessimist so if people are silent I might think it's bad hehehe...

Ages for future reference~

Ash: 19

Verity: 19

Zach: 16

Dawn: 16

Barry: 16