Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon at all.
Chapter 2: The beginning of a journey
If someone had told Ash that he would one day wake up in his ten year old body with a mindset of a teenager, he would have laughed at that person like every normal person in the world. But here he was, in his pajamas on the day that everything started for him. Well sometimes you should not look a gift horse in the mouth so he decided to go with the flow.
Dressing up in his old clothes brought back a feeling of nostalgia for the now young Ash. His iconic White and Blue jacket with gold trim and Blue jeans gave him a refreshing memory of his first journeys. Looking at his new watch, he could see that it was 6:00 AM in the morning,an hour before the meeting with Prof Oak. After he was completely dressed, he exited his room only to come face to face with his biggest regret in life, Delia Ketchum.
Now it was not a big secret,but Ash really loved his mom, just as any good son ought to. She was the one who gave him unconditional love throughout his life even when he felt that he would amount to nothing in his life. She had watched him struggle to get back into his best but died before she could see him become something. Her death was the biggest blow he took that led to his attempted suicide because he had nothing left in that world. He silently swore in his heart that even if the System can't help him, he would try his best to take care of his mom.
"Mom?" He was trying really hard not to tear up as those familiar almond eyes were once again focused on him. Even the added boost f having his emotions removed was not enough it would seem. Oddly enough, the system remained silent as if deciding to respect his feelings on the matter.
"Oh you are ready honey? I was worried you might have overslept because you went to bed late. But it's good that you are up. You should go meet professor Oak. He will be giving out the starters soon."Delia said.
"Yeah mom. I'll come back after receiving the starter. I have already packed my bag."He said before giving his mom a hug and walking out of his house.
Pallet Town for Ash was a distant memory, having moved out of Town after Prof Oak's death. Yet he could freely say that time never seemed to affect this quaint little town. Even after Forty years, the beautiful Nature and fresh air would remain the same.
"For what it's worth, the system offers it's condolences on the previous death of the host's mother."The system was a machine but even it could sense the feelings the host had for his mother.
"Don't worry about that. She's alive now isn't she. I will take good care of her from now on."His voice was resolute so the system didn't feel the need to respond.
Oak's Lab in Pallet Town was the biggest pokemon Lab in the six regions. The Lab and it's surrounding forest covered over half of the entire land area of Pallet Town. It was a testament to Prof Oak's willpower that he was able to take care of this entire lab by himself. Today was a special day for Prof Oak. After all, there was not many times in Pallet Town that multiple children born here would start their journey together. The aged Professor was close with every single resident of Pallet Town, being it's oldest inhabitant .o
While all of the children were good, he knew that not all would make it as a trainer. Being a pokemon trainer took a lot of perseverance that not many children would have. In fact, Pallet Town was one of the few places that constantly pumped out successful trainers.
As for the four kids that are going to leave today, he was almost sure that only two would make it to the league. His grandson Gary was more of a researcher but he was yet to learn that about himself, in fact he was sure that Gary would learn that as his journey progress. As for the other kid, he had his sight on Ash Ketchum. The Raven haired boy was someone who he felt that was born to train Pokemon. While he was slow in understanding things, his ability to bond with pokemon was something that would help him after he starts to seriously train his pokemon.
While he normally kept one set of starters every year, due to the increased number of new trainers, he decided to get an extra set of regular starters. Out of the four kids leaving, three of them had already received their starters and he could see the figure of the last one now.
"Hello Professor." Given the fact that it was only 8 in the morning, Ash was way earlier for receiving his starter than he had been in his previous life. Also the fact that he overslept on such an important day was something he was ashamed of for a long time. I suppose that's one check in the long list of things he should not screw up in this life.
"Ash my boy. You are right on time. I am glad that you are taking this seriously." Oak said.
"Thank you professor. The others have left haven't they?" He had seen Gary as he left on his journey. Given the fact that Gary was earlier than him despite him being more than two hours earlier than his previous life, showed that Gary had been waiting for him in his first life. That's going on the 'Reasons why Gary is a Tsundere list.' His pseudo brother had been one of the few constants in his past life. He vowed silently to help Gary out in this life as well.
"Don't worry about that my boy. I have an extra set of starters with me. You can choose the one that you want." Oak knew that Ash always wanted a Charmander. I mean who wouldn't? Those guys are monsters once they have been properly trained.
"Well then let's go Professor." Ash was curious now. 'This didn't happen the other time, Is this your doing?'
'Yes host. We have decided that a Pikachu is not suitable as a starter Pokemon. Pikachus no matter how powerful, pales in comparison to what a similar level starter could do. For this reason, the starter pokemon that the host captured in your previous life has been modified to not be averse to evolution.'
'Does this mean that the charmander i am choosing is?'
'Yes it is the same charmander that pokemon trainer Damian had caught in his previous life and that you captured. It has been given some modifications but in essence he is still the same Charmander and he will still obey you as you are going to be his original trainer.'
'I see. I feel like there are a lot of things that you aren't telling me but I'll hold back on those for now.'
"Ash my boy. Aren't you coming?" The voice of Professor Oak brought him out of his mind.
"Yes Professor."
The inside of the lab was the same as in his previous life. The only difference was that instead of three empty pokeballs in the hanger like last time, there were three marked balls in there.
"Ash my boy. These three are the standard Kanto starters. I have already talked about them in an earlier class, so feel free to choose the one that you want.
"In that case, I choose charmander." While he was sad about not having Pikachu, it was nowhere near as sad as people would think. You see, Pikachu had retired from battling after his lose in the Kalos league. The little mouse had been strained for so long as his only experienced pokemon that by the time he Kalos league ended, his electric pouch had been irreparably damaged. He remained in his home with Mom until her death. After Delia's death, Pikachu with his permission had moved into the wild with a gang of similar Pikachus. As such, he had long grown past the separation from his old partner.
"As i expected. Do you want to release him now?" Oak inquired.
"Yes professor. Charmander, I choose you." He threw out the pokeball and the tiny figure of a charmander could be seen. Although he was bigger than what he had been in his previous life, one look into the eyes was all he needed to confirm that this was indeed his Charmander that grew into the Ferocious Charizard he had been.
"Hello there buddy. Would you like to become my partner?" He asked the small lizard receiving a small nod as his answer. From what he could see, he was nowhere as shy as his previous life counterpart. 'This should one of the modifications made by the system.' He mused.
"Now that you have introduced yourself, let me give you the necessary items. This here is the Pokedex. It is a high tech Pokemon encyclopaedia and acts as an identification mechanism with the league. Also now that you are an official trainer, here are a few pokeballs." Oak said before handing him the balls and the dex.
"Thank you professor. Now it's time for me to go." He said, thanking the aged Professor.
"Good luck to you my boy and feel free to contact me in case you have any doubts." Oak said.
"I will. See you professor." He said before going out of the lab and moving towards his house.
'I suppose i need to get my camping supplies and gear. I don't want to rush like last time.' Now that he think about it, his first day outside Pallet was extremely dangerous in his first life. If Pikachu wsn't there, he was sure that he would have ended up dead.
[Ash's POV]
Walking back to my house was rather peaceful this time around. In my first life, I was late and had no idea what to do. Let's just take it nice and slow. The league is still a long time away anyways.
"Mom I'm back." I called as i reached in the lobby of the house.
"I'm coming Ashy." I heard mom yell from what i assume was my room. "I was getting everything ready. Did you get your Pokemon?"
"Yes mom. Charmander, come out and greet my mom". The pokeball opened up and my new buddy came out.
"Charmander." He greeted mom with a bow. This was definitely better than Pikachu who ended up electrocuting us.
"That is a cute pokemon. I'm sure he will become really strong." Mom was squealing at how cute charmander looked.
"Char." He gave a confident bow, happy to receive praise from her.
"Now Ashy, I have your bag here. All your important things like clothes, camping supplies etc.. are in there. Also i have put a few empty pokeballs that belonged to your dad. I'm sure you can use them along the way.
"Thanks mom." I said as I gave her a hug before taking the bag.
"I still can't believe my baby boy is leaving me. But i suppose baby birds have to leave the nest some day. I'm going to miss you my baby." I could hear the sadness in her voice.
"Don't worry mom. I'll be back before the League starts. I will call you whenever i am in a city okay."
"Okay. Now get going. You need to get to Viridian City by night after all."
"Goodbye Mom."
"Goodbye Ashy. Also don't forget to change your underwear everyday."
"MOOOOOM!" I suppose that part of her is never going to change.
Route 1
Route 1 in my previous life was one of the few places that I had neglected. Maybe neglected is not right but my inability to work with Pikachu was one of the major reason why i was unable to capture a pokemon in here. While I am sure that this problem will not repeat again, let' just get the show on the road. "Charmander, I choose you." I called out as my partner came out of his new home.
"Alright bud, I need to Scan you so that i can know how to train you, Okay?" I told him.
"Char." Now that i got his agreement, let's do this. I took Dexter out and Scanned him.
Charmander, The Lizard Pokemon
The flame that burns at the tip of it's tail is an indication of it's emotions. The flame wavers when the Charmander is enjoying itself. If the Pokemon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercly.
This Charmander is a male and has the abilty Blaze.
This Charmander is currently Level 5 and knows the moves Growl, Scratch, Bite and Rock Slide.
"Woah bud, You are a beast." Given the fact that he knew two egg moves, he was sure that the system had messed around with Charmander.
'The host is absolutely correct. In fact your Charmander has all Ivs and EVs maxed out already.'
'IV? EV? What is that?' This was the first time I had heard of that term.
' IV or Individual Values are hidden values instrumental in determining a Pokemon's stats. It varies from 0 to 31 with 31 being the max value. Usually the a pokemon can have maxed out IV in any three stats, but in the host's case, all pokemon the host captures will automatically have maxed out IV and EV in all stats. Also the Master has decided to remove the Nature Differences so All of the Host's pokemon will have the theoretically maximum stats in all field. Now i understand that the host is feeling confused, so just think of it as that the Host's Pokemon are all going to be extremely powerful.' The System explained but all of it went over my head as it said. Well whatever, as long as my pokemon are strong, What right do i have to complain.
'Now that the host is informed, it is time for your first quest. Please try to finish it as soon as possible.'
'Quest?' Now i am interested. I have played some old RPG when i was a child so I know what a quest is. Usually they give out rewards after completing quests so, let me try them.
'Quest 1, The wings of future
The trainer has left the comfort of his home, taking his first step into the world. To commemorate this day, we wish that the trainer can catch his first pokemon.
Details: Capture a wild Pidgey from Route 1.
Rewards: 3 Pokeballs'
'Hmmm, not that bad for a first quest.' I mused. After all, the first quests were always the easiest.
"Come on Charmander, let's train for a while." Unlike the first time, i had covered a lot of ground and was basically at the end part of Route 1. It was only a mile from Viridian, so i had the whole afternoon to train Charmander so that we could build up some levels.
We bag to wander in the grass aimlessly until a Wild Rattata suddenly jumped at us.
"Alright Charmander, Time for our first battle.
Get close to him and use Scratch." I ordered Charmander who was patiently waiting for my order. The moment i gave the command, he got in close to the small mouse with his claws glowing a white colour and swiped at it. At the first look, I knew Charmander was not using Full power and i was visibly confused as to why. But my confusion was soon turned to awe as the Rattata fainted from that hit. Apparently Charmander held back so as not to seriously injure the little mouse. After all, as a wild pokemon, any serious injury would mean it's life would end and i didn't want that. Charmander made sure that the Rattata was okay before returning to me. During this battle, A stray thought hit me, If charmander can oneshot his opponents with basically no training, then what could he do as a fully grown Charizard?While i do not know the answer, i am going to find out in the future.
The rest of the day was basiclally the same with Charmander levelling up to Level 12. He learned Ember at Level 7 which was great cause that would be extremely important in the Viridian Forest. Before i left Route 1, which was littered with the unconscious body of multiple Rattatas and Pidgeys, I decided to capture one to finish the quest. Before I could finish my contemplation on which to capture, the bushes nearby rustled and a slightly bigger than average pidgey came out of it. Before I could ask Charmander to attack, my eyes met it's.
It was a surreal moment, a trainer and a wild pokemon staring eye to eye. There was no battle calls, no leering, nothing... But in that brief moment, I saw something in her eyes, of a life where she was caught as a Pidgeotto, how she became the strongest PIdgeot in the lands but most of all, I saw how lonely she had became waiting for a trainer that never came back for her. At that moment I knew that she was mine, always had been and always will be. With a silent oath in my heart to make sure that she got all the love she deserved, I threw the pokeball.
... The pokeball swayed three times, before giving out a ding tht signified her capture at my hand. I took the ball out and called her out of it, with Charmander watching my every move with a strange Fascintion as if he had wished to see it.
"I am sorry." My first words to her were laced with the shame that I felt about forgetting one of my greatest friends.
"Kijok." She just walked upto me and put her tiny wings around me. I could tell that it was her waay of comforting me.
"I promise you that i will take good care of you from now on." This was all I could say before i took Dexter out to scan her.
Pidgey, The Tiny Bird Pokemon
Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.
This Pidgey is female and has the ability Keen Eye.
This Pidgey is Level 10 and knows the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust and Steel Wing.
"Alright, let's just get to Viridian City before the storm arrives and we will start training tomorrow kay? As for you bud, we will continue where we left off today." I said as i was in a hurry to enter the city before nightfall.
"Char" "Jok". They seem to agree with me.
*Ding*
Quest completed: The Wings Of Future
Reward has been granted and has been put into the host's bag
The system wishes the host well for his future exploits.
*Ding*
Achievement Unlocked: First Capture
Details: Make first capture outside of the starter pokemon.
Reward: Increse in Capture success Rate by 10% [Permanant]
'That went well.' I thought as I walked towards the Pokemon Centre. I was excited for the future for I did not know what it may hold. But whatever as it may be, I will face it with my team like I always did.
Okay that's it. I am taking this opportunity to thank everyone who read my story. I am not much of a writer, so keep your expectations as low as possible.Thank you.