Apotheosis

Camtenor

A.N- My second attempt at writing a good fic. The pacing is kinda slow but no worries, it speeds up after the first few chapters. Reviews are an authors bread and butter, leave one if you either enjoyed or disliked the story, it helps me improve as an author.

Chapter 1: Legacies borne

Ash Ketchum woke up with a start.

His mother rapped on the door again.

Ash heard her walking down the stairs and heard the sound of the frying pan being put on. He rolled out of bed and tried to remember the dream he was having. Something about a giant green worm and a talking llama.

There was a knock at the door. His mother was calling out to him again. "Wake up, sweetie," she said firmly. "Today's the day."

"What?" said Ash blankly. "Today's the day the Professor's giving out the starters!." Ash yelped. Today was the start of his journey, how could he have forgotten? He got out of his bed and swore when he saw that he had broken his alarm clock in his sleep. He picked his backpack from the floor and placed it on his bed. He had packed it the previous night, in anticipation of today. He pulled out his pendant from under his breeding guidebooks and put it on.

When he was dressed he went down into the kitchen where his mother stood cooking his breakfast. He greeted his mother with a hug.

"Good morning," she said sweetly. "I called the professor and told him that you would be a few minutes late. He's agreed to wait for you but you need to hurry up, dear."

Ash sat down at the table and began to scarf down his meal in lieu of a response. He ate as quickly as he could and got up to put his plate in the sink.

"Oh, go on," said his mother smilingly. "I'll do it. Oaks waiting."

"Bye mum," said Ash hurriedly. "I'll see you later."

He pecked his mum's cheek and ran outside, not waiting to hear her response. He thought he heard her reply, faintly as he neared the Laboratory.

He dAshed in and was greeted by the sight of Gary and two other strangers. "Sorry I'm late" he blurted out, embarrassed.

Professor Oak shrugged nonchalantly. "You're not that late," he said, kindly. "Now let's get on to what you've been waiting for. Your very own starter Pokemon. It will be a loyal and strong companion for you all through your life if you treat it with respect and kindness."

Professor Oak paused to give everyone a stern look. "If you treat your pokemon with anything less than due diligence, I will be displeased. You do not want to see me displeased."

All four trainers present nodded their heads in agreement, although the strangers looked far more intimidated than Gary and Ash due to their familiarity with Oak.

Indeed Gary's look bordered more on insolence than deference. Professor Oak seemed to have picked up on this as well, as his face tightened.

"Very well," said the Professor, pointing at the small podium on which there were three Pokeballs. Water, Fire and Grass. Kanto's three starters, Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur.

The thought that there were only three crossed everybody's mind as it crossed Ash's. They all glanced at one another uneasily.

"Shauna, why don't you go first," said the Professor, to the girl stranger. Shauna stepped up to the podium and reached out to pick out a Pokeball. Her hand hovered indecisively over the one with the water symbol and the leaf Pokeball. She ended up choosing Bulbasaur which made Gary release a sigh of relief. She released it and kneeled in front of it. "Hey," said Shauna, nervously.

Her voice faded into a murmur as Ash zoned out and thought about his yet to be received starter. There was a good chance that the Professor had agreed to his request, even if it meant catching a lot of flack for it.

But that was the Professor in a nut-shell. The man had always been a pseudo-grandfather figure for him all through his life, something which Gary Oak had hated when they were little.

Gary tended to be incredibly possessive over things that he considered to be his, a trait that had repeatedly brought him into conflict with Ash, time after time. He had hated that Ash worked with grandfather in his lab, even if he himself had no interest in such things. He disliked that among all the kids in Pallet, Ash was the only one who didn't kowtow to his every need and most of all he hated that Ash didn't take their rivalry seriously, Ash thought, as he watched Gary interact with his new Squirtle.

"After a great deal of consideration," said Professor Oak, smilingly. "I have decided to grant your request, Ash. Here's your pokemon."

Ash took the ball from him with a sense of awe.

A green pokemon formed out of the light. Her horn was stubby, with two black lines running out from below its eyes. She looked around in confusion before its eyes settled. "Larv" she squealed, running up to Ash.

Ash hugged the pokemon and gave him a good scratch under the chin. "Larvitar" she sighed. Ash looked around to see the other two trainers, Shauna and Ritchie, back away as far they possibly could, without actually leaving the lab.

"That's a Larvitar," said Ritchie, in a strangled tone. "What the hell is that doing here?"

Dark Types have always had a reputation for being incredibly tough to train and for being incredibly violent even at times with their own trainer. There are only 3 dark type elite trainers. Its difficulty was on par with dragons when it came to raising them. Tyranitar was a pseudo-legendary, one of two with a dark-typing. There were only a handful of trainers with one, and coming across it in the wild was in most cases, a death sentence.

"Yeah," said Gary, slowly. "What is it doing here?"

He looked Oak in the eye. "Why does Ashy-Boy get a Pseudo while the rest of us don't?"

Oak sighed. "While it isn't any of your business," he stated firmly, "Ash helped raise it from an egg and convinced the mother that she should let it be his starter."

Oak noticed that Gary was about to come up with a rebuttal. "No," he said, succinctly. "It is done. He has filled out all the paperwork and completed the necessary tests. If Tyranitar feels that Ash would be the best trainer for her daughter then I'm nobody to say no. There will be no more discussion about it.

Gary looked mutinous, but he chose to remain silent.

"Now, here are your Pokedexes," said the Professor, handing out the devices.

Ash turned the Dex over in his hand admiring its sleek features. A push of a button made the screen expand outwards by unfolding from somewhere. It probably worked on whatever made Pokeballs contain giant creatures, thought Ash.

Gary and the others thanked the professor and exited the lab.

Ash waited for the professor to finish registering their pokemon in the system.

Oak turned around and seemed surprised to see Ash still there. "My boy," said Oak, genially. "What can I do for you?"

Ash's face twitched.

"You told me that you weren't able to do it. That I was going to start with a Nidoran and that I could catch her after my 8th badge, old man."

Oak laughed. "I did but, you should have known that I was only trolling you."

Ash deadpanned at the old man who seemed genuinely proud of himself. He stepped up and gave him a hug.

"Goodbye, old man," said Ash, with a grin. "I'll call you once I reach Viridian."

Oak ruffled Ash's hair. "Don't forget to call your mother as well"

Ash blanched and nodded his head rapidly

Ash's mother cooed over Larvitar and told her how cute she was, something which she greatly enjoyed.

Ash ran up to his room and took out an old red cap from his cupboard and gently put it on. It fit perfectly. It used to be his fathers, one of the many spares he had lying around the house. Now it was all that he had left of him.

His throat tightened as he remembered his dad taking him flying around Pallet Town on Charizard.

Delia had shouted at both of them for nearly an hour after they had landed.

It was the last time he had seen Red alive. The next would be at his funeral a month later.

Not all of his Pokemon had decided to stay on Pallet after his death. Some had chosen to return to the wild instead of remaining where everything reminded them of him.

Ash's mother was waiting downstairs with Larvitar maintaining a healthy distance from her.

Delia's face was red. She looked embarrassed about something, which now that he thought about it, probably involved touching Larvitar or trying to pick her up.

Ash maintained a tactful silence as he returned Larvitar to her ball.

Delia pulled him into a hug, teary-eyed. "I can't believe my baby's all grown up."

She took in his face and noticed the cap. "Sweetheart," said Delia, softly. "You'll be a wonderful trainer," Delia murmured. "Promise you'll call when you reach Viridian." She wiped her eyes and laughed. "You better get going before I cry, Ashy"

Ash gave his mother one last hug and embarked on his journey, intent on being the greatest trainer the world had ever seen.