Hello, and welcome to my first Pokémon story ever! Now, I know that retelling Ash's adventure is sort of cliché on this site, but I had an idea and I couldn't help but write about it. Like it says in the summary, this is going to be a mix of the games and anime, with a twist! Also, I'm not gonna have Ash be this overpowered prodigous trainer. However, he will be slightly more prepared than the Ash from the anime. I don't really happen to have a stopping point in mind for this story, so I'll just keep going until they stop making Pokemon games (unlikely) or people just lose intrest in this story. With all that out of the way, read on!
The wonderful world of Pokémon. A place that is inhabited by incredible creatures. Pokémon can be found everywhere. From the sky, to the forests, to the depths of the sea. People live alongside Pokémon in harmony. They help each other out when needed, and are companions to one another. Some people deepen their bond with their Pokémon through battle, and these people are called Pokémon trainers.
When a child reaches the age of ten, they have the opportunity to set out on a journey with a Pokémon, and attempt the gym challenge. If a trainer can collect the eight gym badges of a region within one year, they can challenge the elite four, a quartet of incredibly powerful trainers. If one manages to beat all of the elite four in a row, they have the opportunity to challenge the champion, the strongest trainer in the region. Many children dream of becoming the champion of their region, and some even dream of becoming the Pokémon master, the strongest trainer in the world.
One such child is the nine, soon to be ten year old Ash Ketchum of Pallet town in the region of Kanto.
Ash has had a deep love for Pokémon ever since he was little. He always dreamt of becoming a trainer at age ten, and with that day only a week away, he couldn't be more exited.
Ash had always been a diligent learner in school, even though the only subjects that really interested him were the ones on Pokémon.
He had taken it upon himself to memorize type matchups, as well as every known Pokémon's types. He still had trouble with the more advanced stuff, such as abilities and items, but he figured that once he became a trainer, he would figure it out.
Despite his diligent work ethic, he was still impulsive and reckless, a normal thing for a kid his age.
Ash was currently on his way to the woods on the outskirts of town, hoping to see a Pokémon he never had before. Ash had brought his notebook, which he used to record wild Pokémon's behavior. He was doing this as a favor to the town's Pokémon professor, Samuel Oak.
Professor Oak was a world renown scientist who had made numerous contributions to the Pokémon scientific community, and Pallet was proud to be home to such a man. Not only that, but Professor Oak was once an incredibly powerful trainer, and had even been Kanto's champion for a short while, before he resigned to become a researcher. Because of this, every aspiring Pokémon trainer in Pallet admired him.
Professor Oak also had a grandson named Gary. Ash and Gary had been lifelong rivals. They competed in everything from sports to smarts to prove that they were the best.
It was a friendly rivalry at first, but over the years Gary grew more confident in himself, and that confidence eventually soured into arrogance.
Gary believed that since he was the grandson of Professor Oak, he was destined for greatness, and that everyone else was beneath him. This caused Ash to get into arguments with him, and they usually ended up in fights. as a result, Ash and Gary drifted apart.
Now, just because Gary had a bad attitude, didn't mean he was a bad person. In fact, he was far from it. He, just like Ash, loved Pokémon very much, and would constantly go out of his way to help not only Pokémon, but other people as well. Of course, he always gloated about what a great hero he was afterwards, but that was just unavoidable with him.
Ash smiled as he watched a couple of young Rattata wrestle each other playfully. It may have been a favor for professor Oak, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the field research himself.
Suddenly, he saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around, trying to spot whatever it was. The pink blur appeared again, zipping from tree to tree, deeper in the woods.
"Wow! Is that a Pokémon? Hey, wait up!" Ash called, chasing after it.
Ash ran through the woods, trying to keep up with the pink thing. "Man, this thing's fast, that's for sure." He panted, starting to run out of breath.
The Pink blur zipped behind a tree once more, but this time, it didn't come out. Ash went and examined behind the tree, but he couldn't spot the pink creature anywhere.
"Aw man, I lost it!" He sulked.
He went to return to the wood's edge, but all of a sudden, he heard humming. Looking towards the sound, the young boy found a girl dressed in an outfit that looked suspiciously like a witches costume.
"Let's see, I've got poison powder, stun spore, ember... yup! that's all of it!" She smiled, tucking the book she was reading under her arm and standing up.
Ash decided to walk out into the clearing and greet the strange girl.
"Hey there!" He said, startling her.
"Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there. Say, what's a boy like you doing so deep in the woods?" Ash smiled, scratching the back of his head.
"I could ask you the same thing. I'm out doing field research for professor Oak. My name's Ash Ketchum, who are you?" The girl smiled.
"Oh, how rude of me. My name's Lily, and I'm an aspiring Pokewitch." Ash looked confused.
"A Pokewitch? Like a magic, hocus-pocus witch?" Lily just giggled.
"Oh, not quite like that. The term exaggerates itself. I brew potions, all with effects that relate to Pokémon in some way. I'm currently working on one that allows Pokémon to learn moves that they normally can't." Ash looked at Lily in amazement.
"Really?! That's awesome! What other potions do you have?" The Pokewitch giggled.
"Oh, I have lots!" She exclaimed, Placing down the briefcase she was carrying and opening it up. Inside there were tons of glass containers of different colored liquids and gases.
"This one is a potion that can change a Pokémon's type, and this one can change a Pokémon's ability." She said, pointing to two of the containers.
Lily was happy she had found Ash here. She always enjoyed showing others her Potions.
"Hey, what's this one do?" Ash asked, holding up a glass container that was filled with a yellow gas. Lily froze up upon seeing it.
"Ash, be very careful with that. That's a potion that I botched. I have no idea what it will do, all I know is that the effects are irreversible."
Ash looked at the container with trepidation.
"Yeah, ok." He said sheepishly.
As he went to put it back, the pink blur from before raced past him, startling the boy, and making him lose his grip on the vial. Time seemed to slow as the potion fell towards the ground, Ash and Lily looking on in horror. The vial smashed into pieces, releasing the gassy contents which quickly enveloped Ash.
"Oh no!" Lily yelled, stepping back to stay clear of the fumes. Ash Was coughing hard, the gas making it hard to breath. Eventually, the fumes cleared, and the boy opened his eyes.
"Hey Lily, when did you get so big?"
"A-Ash, is that you?"
"Of course it's me, Why wouldn't it be?"
Lily wordlessly pulled out a Mirror, and put it up to Ash. The boy examined the mirror. There was a little yellow creature staring back. Ash easily knew what Pokémon this was, the jagged tail and long, thin ears gave it away. He would have believed that he was simply looking at a picture of a Pikachu if it weren't for one little detail. The Pikachu was wearing his special cap.
"WH-WHAT?!" He yelled. Looking down at his hands, or rather, paws, he realized that it wasn't some sort of optical illusion.
"I'm, I'm a Pokémon!? Is that what the potion did?" Ash was getting a little exited. He would get to experience first hand what it was like to be a Pokémon. That was until he remembered what Lily said. All I know is that the effects are irreversible. And just like that, Ash's world came crumbling down.
"I... I'm a Pikachu... with no way to turn back." How would he get his trainer license now? Who had ever heard of a Pokémon becoming a trainer?Tears started trickling down his cheeks.
"I was one week away from becoming an official trainer." Worse yet, what would the town think, what would professor Oak think, what would his MOTHER think? That her only child had become a Pokémon? Would she even recognize him? Ash was bawling at this point.
"O-oh Arceus… what am I gonna do?!"
Lily felt her heart break into pieces. She had just inadvertently ruined a child's life.
"Oh, Ash, I'm so, SO sorry... I, I'll try to find a way to fix it." Ash forced himself to stop crying.
"N-no, it's not your fault. I'm the one who was so careless with the potion. And besides, you said it yourself, the effects are irreversible. I... I'll be fine." Lily had a thought.
"Wait, you said you know professor Oak, right? He has a lot of influence on the Pokémon league. I'm sure he could pull some strings for you! There's still a chance for you to become a trainer! Imagine it, The first Pokémon to be a Pokémon trainer! Besides, I can still understand you, so you can still speak human. That alone should be a big help in convincing the league."
Ash sniffled. Lily had a point. Professor Oak was greatly respected by the league. If he wanted something to happen, it was likely that it would. He looked at his paws, reminding him of what he now was, before he looked up at Lily with determination.
"Yeah, you're right! I can still be a trainer! sure, some people might find it weird, but what do you think the world would say if a Pikachu became champion? The first Pokémon to become a trainer, ever! I'll go talk to professor Oak as soon as I go see my mom! Man, this'll be hard to explain. I hope she won't be too angry."
"I could come with you, if you want." Ash shook his head.
"If you did, my mom would probably blame you for everything and most likely have you arrested." Lily just gave Ash a reassuring smile.
"I'm willing to take the blame if it means everything's explained. Oh, and the police can't arrest people for freak accidents." She winked. Ash laughed.
"Wow, you just met me, and you're already willing to help me like this? You're a real nice person Lily." The Pokewitch giggled.
"Oh, stop it. Besides, this is kind of my fault to begin with, this is the least I can do to repay you. Do you want to ride back to town on my shoulder?" Ash smiled.
"Nah, I think I'll get used to moving in this body. Moving on four legs is gonna be hard to adjust to" He said. The two laughed, before they started to walk out of the woods side by side.
Mew poked her head out of the hollow tree she had been hiding in. She giggled, watching the two for a moment longer, before flying further into the woods.
Edited 3/12/20