Aspirations

by ProbablySomethingSomewhere

A rookie from Pallet Town, a boy with a dream, and the Champion. Ash Ketchum is, was and will be all these things. With his starter and lofty ambitions in tow, he sets out to conquer the League. But reality is harsh and Ash'll need all the strength he can get. Strive for power and you might just fall from grace. Icarus or Daedalus? Only time will tell.

2. Sinful

.—.—.

Route 1 was one of the routinely used paths that connected some of Kanto's larger settlements. While Route 1 technically began in Viridian City and snaked south, it was more commonly used as a path connecting the Southern Kanto Sea and the northern territories. The only notable destinations along the path were Viridian City, Pallet Town and Hawthorne.

Hawthorne was right next to the sea and as such was a fairly good size settlement, though it was a bit smaller than Pallet Town which resided a day's walk to the north. Hawthorne made the majority of its income by offering ferry services, along with other services one would see in a port town, for tourists and trainers alike. The ferries would most commonly haul people and cargo to and from Cinnabar Island, as well as the rare trip to the northern islands of Hoenn.

Ash had been to Hawthorn once. His instructor from the Trainer Academy, a veteran ACE Sergeant named Hugh Mathers, thought visiting a working town such as Hawthorne would be a good experience for the rookies. Ash had found the town to be pleasant overall. The residents were kind, the sea breeze was refreshing and the sailors were entertaining. Ash thought that the most interesting part of the town, however, was the abundance of working pokemon.

Working pokemon weren't a particularly common sight in Pallet Town. A small, non-combative pokemon that was used for labor and work rather than battling. Hawthorne had trainers that had gone into different areas of work with their pokemon legally allowed to join. Construction took far less time and effort as the machoke and primeape of the workers did a good share of the heavy lifting. The port was far safer with the seadra and golduck of the sailors patrolling the waters.

Ash thought of one particular sailor that his Instructor had introduced them to. Captain Seamus was a man that was intimidating enough on his own. Factor in his monstrous gyarados and temperamental luxray that guarded his vessel and you had a person Ash felt that even the strongest pokemon would shy away from taking on in battle.

Ash likened his trip to Hawthorne to his current situation. When he'd first entered Hawthorne, he felt a sense of wonder. It was a whole new place that he'd never seen or experienced, so it was exciting. As he walked down Route 1, it reminded him of that same feeling. The breeze that ruffled the leaves of the trees around him, while free from the taint of the salt from the sea, was fresh and just as enjoyable. The scenery was green and lush as opposed to rustic, but both beautiful nonetheless.

The entire trip from Pallet Town to Viridian City, with a normal pace, was around three days. Even so, Ash felt that he was traveling fairly slowly. Ash wasn't going slowly out of a sense of laziness and he wasn't unfit, the opposite really, but he felt no real rush. Professor Oak had many stories of Trainers rushing to challenge threats bigger than their capabilities and paying dearly for their arrogance. He had no such desire to join them, so Ash would take in the scenery and move at his own pace.

The sun was touching the edge of the far off hills when he finally stopped. He had left at noon and not stopped once, so he had gained a good amount of ground even if it was less than the average person. Ash removed Pancham's pokeball, which sat neatly in its slot, and released his starter. He had wanted to release the pokemon sooner but he had heard that a flock of spearow had moved in closer to Pallet Town as of late and had not wanted ro risk drawing the wrath of said flock by introducing a foreign pokemon.

As the panda emerged, he looked around with a few quick glances. Ash gave his pokemon a grin. "You should walk with me starting tomorrow." Ash remarked. "For now, we are gonna start on your training." The panda pokemon seemed to accept the answer and gained a gleam in his eye when Ash mentioned training. Well, he at least figured out that this was the same power hungry pokemon he'd first met. He'd started wondering if Oak had switched the pokeballs when he wasn't looking.

"Hold on a moment, before we begin." Ash told Pancham as he brought out his Pokédex. "I'm going to scan you and it will give me information about you and your moves. You won't even notice."

The bipedal bear pokemon seemed indifferent as a small red laser shot out of the camera of the device and then disappeared. Ash knew in that quick second, the device had taken a DNA sample from his starter. It would then analyze it and send a copy of the data to Samuel to view it as well. Truly an amazing feat of science that Ash knew made his life easier. He would need to thank the professor for being the genius he was. The device beeped and Ash viewed the results as he searched for an appropriate clearing that would work for both a training routine and a camp for the night.

Pancham was male. Ash had hoped he'd gotten that correct. Standing at three feet tall and twenty-seven pounds, he was larger than the average pancham but not terribly so.

"Pancham are the known as the panda pokemon." The Pokedex's monotone voice read out as Ash listened carefully and read along with it. "Pancham are fighting-type pokemon native to the Kalos region and are rare elsewhere. There are very few wild pancham remaining and a breeding effort was put together to stop the species extinction, but it has not been showing any great successes. It is expected that the species will become extinct in less than one hundred years if even greater efforts are not taken to prevent it.

"Pancham are natural omnivores, they will feast on a variety of leaves and foliage and consume meat in small amounts. Small bug-types and foliage are the prey of these bipedal pokemon, though they are supreme climbers and often will climb the highest of trees to fill their hunger. If a pancham evolves into its second and only known evolutionary stage, the dual fighting/dark-type pangoro, it will need to consume a vastly increased amount of food.

"Wild Pangoro are a rarity even in Kalos and are seen as beings of immense power. Pangoros that father children often have many broods with multiple mates. Young pancham are drawn to strong figures, so oftentimes they will follow their father with reverence. It is theorized that many pancham that have an egg move are offspring of such strong genetics.

"In regards to their evolution, the amount of natural dark-type energy these pokemon can naturally produce is not enough to induce evolution into a pangoro quickly. Pancham may wait years or even decades for the natural accumulation of energy so they may evolve. However, evolution saps them of all the energy they had gathered and leaves them weak and vulnerable. As such, the wild pangoro population is made up of only the toughest of their species.

"It has been documented that prolonged exposure to outside sources of dark-type, and at rare times ghost-type, energy is needed. The sparse few trainers with pangoro note that the panda pokemon evolve only after another dark-type pokemon has been training alongside it for extended periods of time.

For additional information on the species, please consider the books 'The Dark Beasts: An Indepth Look on Dark-types' by Samsan Newt or "The Black and White Knights' by Heather Reed

"Warning: The evolution of this specimen is of the dark-type. Should it prove too difficult to train, contact your sponsor or the Rangers for further information."

Ash was surprised by the warning the Dex gave, but not entirely. The top four most typically dangerous types (which consisted of the ghost-type, dragon-type, dark-type, and psychic-type) all had that warning. Besides, Pancham's evolution wasn't going to be any time soon. Ash knew he'd need to look more into his starter's evolution, if it needed an outside source than he may need to capture a pokemon with dark-type leanings in the future. For now, he toggled through a screen to find Pancham's available moves.

"This specimen can perform the moves Tackle, Leer, Arm Thrust, Taunt, Slash and Circle Throw. It has an egg move; Seismic Toss. Its ability is Iron Fist."

Ash expanded the list and looked at the given chart. Tackle and Leer were both basic moves, so he knew their function already and skipped over them. He read the chart with interest.

As far as moves went, he was pretty pleased. It wasn't too diverse, something he would work on in the future, but Pancham had some decent moves for being as young and inexperienced as he was. Not to mention his egg move, which could be immensely damaging if used correctly, and if the pokedex was right then it made him offspring of a pangoro. Given the panda's lack of knowledge of his egg move and smaller stature now, the only way to practice that move would be to give him targets such as large rocks and pokemon smaller than he. Seismic Toss wouldn't be a truly viable option in important battles until Pancham was a pangoro. He was larger than an average pancham, but not big enough to suddenly flip a rampaging tauros.

"You have some pretty good moves, Pancham. We'll work on honing them before adding more into the mix." Ash told his starter, who was munching on a few leaves he'd snagged. He already had an idea of what he wanted to teach Pancham in the future, TMs included, but for now they would work on the basics.

Ash looked at Pancham and hummed. What was the best way to start? "Alright, I'm going to just see a general overview of your abilities. Go grab a fallen tree then come back here." Pancham understood and ran off to go find such a wooden object.

Ash watched as he scurried up a tree, just as proficient at climbing as the Dex had said, and ran off in a direction in which he spotted something. In the meantime, Ash grabbed his pack and removed a small notebook and a pen. He began writing any training plans he could think of. The more he wrote, he realised they had lots of training ahead of them.

.—.—.

"Great work." Ash praised Pancham as he broke the log in half. He was really surprised with his starter. He'd ordered the panda pokemon to attempt to use an Arm Thrust attack, and the tree his starter had come back with had splintered easily from the blows. He repeated the command and the already halved trunk had been halved again. While it was already a fallen tree, it was impressive nonetheless. Ash was reminded that though he looked small, the pokemon was easily many times stronger than him.

The attack wasn't perfect and Pancham wasted a lot of energy on movements that were less than necessary to actually complete the move. Nonetheless, Ash grabbed one of the Oran berries from his container - he was thankful his mother had let him pick the ripe ones from her bushes - and handed it to his starter. Pancham eyed it greedily before popping it into his mouth.

"You're impressive for an inexperienced pokemon. Have you practiced your moves before?" Ash asked. He got a nod in response, which Ash expected. He wouldn't think that his starter would have had time to practice his moves in a facility made to breed his species and save them from extinction. Ash hummed.

"Pancham, were you in the wild when you were captured?" Another nod. That explained it. He'd have needed to use his moves if he was born in the wild. He was more surprised that Samuel's scientist buddy had actually captured a pokemon from the wild — let alone one from a critically endangered species — instead of just grabbing one from a facility. Well, he wouldn't complain.

"Alright then. Let's set up camp for the night." Ash decided. The sun was just on the verge of dipping below the horizon and he wanted a fire going before then. It would help warn away any pokemon that thought he may be a target as well as give him some warmth.

Soon enough, he had his small traveling tent set up with an equally as small fire blazing in a hole he had Pancham dig into the ground. It lit up the clearing with bright orange and yellow flames. Pancham had scurried up a tree after having his pokefood with some foraged leaves as a topping. Ash didn't see the appeal of the greens and stuck with his ration bars, bland as they were. It helped that he ate one of the Oran berries with it, which assisted in the flavor but caused Pancham to glare at him.

Ash felt strange sleeping in the forest, no walls to protect him save the thin fabric of his tent. Still, he felt safe enough to go to sleep. Pancham had sensitive ears and would make it known if something was happening. Luckily, Ash got a full night's rest. The distant chirps of pidgey and the far away chittering of rattata were surprisingly soothing.

.—.—.

Ash packed up his camp quickly after waking. He kicked dirt onto the cold ashes in the pit and started out on the road once again. Pancham walked with him. As they walked Ash talked to his starter about anything he could think of. His home, his youth, his likes, his dislikes and even about the League. Sometimes he'd return the pokemon for short stints because while he may not find the pokemon of Route 1 particularly menacing, he refused to have a tired starter and no other active pokemon while traveling. Anyone knew that such a foolish move could cost someone their life. It only takes one annoyed pokemon attacking a defenceless trainer to kill them.

After hours of walking, they stopped for lunch and held another training session. After almost an hour Ash was pleased when a caterpie had wandered into the clearing. A perfect first opponent. "Alright. Pancham, bring that caterpie farther into the open then use Taunt on it." The panda rumbled and made his way to the bug-type. It was clear he found it less than an appropriate opponent.

The green bug seemed to realise that it was no longer considered a noncombatant and tried to climb up the nearest tree. It had barely ascended a foot when Pancham grabbed it and tossed it away from the wood. It made a distinctive squeak when it landed.

Wasting no time, Pancham readied himself and used Taunt. The caterpie convulsed as the dark-type energy hit it before straightening and sending a String Shot at its attacker.

"Dodge. " Ash commanded. It was unnecessary as his starter had already sidestepped the move. "Circle Throw."

Pancham did so, easily avoiding another String Shot in the process. The caterpie was sent flying into the tree. Pancham had acted quick enough that it barely registered what had happened. The bug-type moved sluggishly as it sent one final attack at its opponent.

"Dodge, hit it with a Slash and try Seismic Toss!" Ash ordered. He had yet to try the egg move out on an actual combatant and a caterpie was a perfect ground zero for it.

The panda sped to the bug and hit its side with a Slash. The caterpie made a sound of pain. Pancham grabbed it and, with all the strength he could muster, lept into the air with it. Gravity pulled them down to the ground after they reached the peak of the leap. Pancham positioned himself in a way that he would land with his body on top of his green enemy.

When they finally did land a loud squelch was heard. Ash flinched and approached the pokemon. He noticed quickly that pancham was entirely fine, but his opponent less so. Ash waited for the bug-type to rustle, but sighed when it didn't. "It's dead." He supposed he would need to add restraint training to the list. Had that been a trainer's pokemon he would be in a difficult situation. Death was, unfortunately, too common an occurrence in battles. It was avoided as much as possible and rarely happened but it still could under unfortunate circumstances.

For a fighting-type, there was no worse sin than running away from combat. It was a reason many fighting-types were killed in battles, they refused to get recalled and paid for their pride. Ash would train that out of Pancham.

"Alright, let's eat lunch then get back on the Route." Ash told his starter. He slung his bag off his shoulder and removed a ration bar for himself, and the pokefood for his starter. Pancham had already run off and gathered a bunch of fresh leaves for himself. "Here." Ash handed him his lunch. Pancham snatched the bowl with a flash of his paws. "Sheesh, should call you Gluttony."

Pancham paid him no mind and instead dug into his meal greedily. Ash bit into his own as he watched the glutton munch away. He had an idea. Gluttony was considered a deadly sin, one of seven, and another one was…

"Hey, do you know what greed means?" The panda pokemon spared him a moment of his time to give him a look. Ash felt he was being judged.

"Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. It's sort of an extreme yearning or desire for something. Wealth, influence, food or even power." Ash saw his starter perk up. "Maybe that's what I'll call you."

Ash heard his partner make a rumbling noise of approval. "Good. Hello then, Greed." Pancham, or rather Greed, turned back to his meal only to find that he had already devoured it all. He growled in annoyance.

Ash watched his starter stand and look back into the clearing where the pokemon had just fought the caterpie. The panda was looking at the corpse of the bug with hunger clear in his gaze.

"If you're still hungry, no use in wasting." Ash said as he gestured to the dead caterpillar. The Dex had said the pandas prefered bug-types. Greed looked at him in slight surprise but needed no more encouragement as he tucked into his new meal.

Ash sighed at the mess his starter was making as he turned back to the ration bar.

.--.--.

They walked for the rest of the day, with two different breaks for training. For the first few sessions the focus was going to be on perfecting the known moves of the panda pokemon. When Ash was confident that Greed could reliably use them, he would start teaching him the move Crunch. It should be simple given he used Taunt easily enough. After he taught his starter Crunch then perhaps Low Sweep or Karate Chop.

The moves a pancham was able to learn naturally were limited. Most of the moves Greed would use in the future, he would learn via TMs or after his evolution. The elemental punches were something Ash was looking forward to teaching him. With the Iron Fist ability, they should be even better weapons in their arsenal.

They stopped their final training session when the sun was going to dip below the horizon and set up their camp. They'd pack up and leave in the early hours of the morning, leaving no trace they were there in the first place. Ash had seen a few other trainers in passing, though none had really been wanting a battle. So it wasn't until the third day in the midafternoon when he had his first proper battle.

"Hey, you up for a quick battle?" Asked the trainer, a girl with tanned skin. Her blond hair was tucked into her green beanie and a meowth walked beside her.

Ash grinned at the prospect of his first battle. "Sure, one on one?"

"Works for me." She agreed as they walked towards the battlefields. Most routes had a large clearing every half mile or so on both sides to have friendly bouts and for Trainers to camp. Ash hadn't really used them at all, preferring to camp and train under the cover of trees. "Standard bet?"

"Naturally." Ash agreed. A usual bet for a battle was 200 dollars per pokemon. Though the exact amount of money had to be agreed upon beforehand as per League regulations. "Ladies first." He offered as they took their positions.

She snorted in a decidedly unladylike manner as she motioned for her meowth to be her battler. Ash smiled. He'd have the type advantage. He released Greed in the field and was already thinking of strategies. His starter got the gist of why he'd been released and got in a battle ready stance.

"Alright buddy, this is our first battle. Let's win." Ash told his starter lamely. Certainly not the best pep talk in the world. He got a loud snicker in response.

Ash saw his opponent trying to identify what pokemon he'd just released. He'd take the first move if she wasn't going to. "Alright, start with Arm Thrust!" Greed did as ordered and charged at the normal-type across from him.

"Dodge and use Scratch! Follow it up with Bite!" The girl ordered quickly and the cat executed it just as quickly.

"Avoid it then use Taunt, when you get the chance another Arm Thrust!" Ash commanded as Greed evaded the feline's attack. The panda moved quicker than his bulk should seemingly allow and was hit just barely by the Scratch, but not enough to do any damage beyond cutting a couple hairs short. When the volley of attacks lulled, Greed wasted no time.

Taunt was a move that used dark-type energy to provoke an aggressive reaction from the opponent. While it made the target attack, their reasoning was twisted and their reactions slowed slightly. Greed had only used it on the caterpie previously but he used it well. The feline launched itself at him, despite her Trainer's order otherwise, to attempt another Scratch.

When Greed easily sidestepped it, he used Arm Thrust which knocked the meowth off balance after hitting three times. "Circle Throw!" Ash hastily said.

The cat flew through the air as Greed did as ordered before impacting a tree. Ash watched as the other Trainer almost recalled the seemingly defeated pokemon, before it stood back up and growled.

"Push a little more, Meowth! Constant stream of Fury Swipes!" The girl yelled at the feline.

Ash watched as Greed went on the defensive as the normal-type got closer with its swipes. Ash didn't see a way to have Greed win without getting hit, his opponent was simply too fast. "Greed, ignore the claws. Get in close and aim for the legs, use Arm Thrust. Then Seismic Toss!"

The other Trainer gave her pokemon its next order too late as Ash's battler did as ordered. Greed moved as his opponent missed again and went for the meowth's legs. He growled in anger and pain as she raked her claws on his left shoulder, but his Arm Thrust made contact. The cat's leg gave out from the sudden attack.

As the cat-like pokemon fell down to her knee in shock and pain, Greed went to follow through with his next attack. Before the panda pokemon could commit to the move fully, aiming for the normal-type's head, the other Trainer returned the meowth to its ball.

"Good job, Greed! We'll celebrate in a little bit!" Ash assured as he returned the panda pokemon. The intermission between his victory and his celebration didn't seem to stop the prideful look on his face.

"Congrats." The girl said. "What pokemon was that? It certainly isn't from around here."

"He's not. He's a fighting-type pokemon from Kalos. He's my starter and that was our first battle." Ash told her with pride.

"Damn, you must train him pretty well if that's your first battle. I only just got licensed a few weeks ago, but Meowth is pretty tough. Not my starter, but tough. Here you go, by the way." Ash took the money from the girl with a nod.

"Could you tell me how far Viridian City is?" Ash asked with a smile, still proud of his win.

"A day or so, but the Ranger Lodge is only about an hour up. You could make it before sunset." She told him as she pulled out a small notepad and marked down the date of the battle and the outcome.

Ranger Lodges were wooden lodges built by the League along the routes. Route 1 had one south of Pallet Town and one south of Viridian City. It helped trainers and lost tourists find their way to the proper trails, as well as give them a place to sleep.

"I'm Amber Hawkings from Viridian. You?"

"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." He answered while entering the same information she was writing down into his Pokédex. Trainers were required to log all their battles for cash with the League. Luckily he could do it easily with his Dex. Most had to write it down and submit it when they returned to civilization.

Ash thanked her and went on his way. He didn't increase his pace, preferring the slower walking speed, and when the sun set he had barely made it to the Lodge. He checked in with the Ranger at the front desk when he arrived, but opted to sleep in his tent instead of a bunk. He found a small opening in the trees and decided to camp there.

Ash released his starter, who was still as proud of his win as he was when he was returned to his pokeball, and sprayed one of the basic healing potions onto Greed's shoulder.

"Great work today. That was our first win, but not our last. As a reward, here." Ash handed the panda two of the three remaining Oran berries. Greed snatched and ate them with a happy rumble, living up to his name. Ash patted the pokemon's head as he ate his own food, another ration bar. He had a few left along with four days worth of pokefood. Greed had feasted on plenty of plants and foliage as they traveled to make up for the smaller amount of pokefood he was eating.

Ash yawned as he swallowed the last bite of his ration bar. He gave Greed one last pat on the head before going to set his tent up. He did so quickly and happily went into it to fall asleep. He heard the panda scurry up into a nearby tree before he let a dreamless slumber overtake him.

.—.—.

Ash was still an hour or so away from Viridian three days later. The day previous he had focused on training and not traveled at all. The Pallet Town teen was pretty proud of his pokemon's progress, he figured that by the time they got to Viridian he could start working on Crunch. Ash had also decided that his pancham could use some weight training, so he had him carrying his pack for the last couple days. It certainly gave his shoulders a break. It didn't bother his starter too much, fighting-types were unimaginably strong after all, so he had taken to packing rocks into the side pockets. Greed may have noticed the difference in weight but never seemed to pay it any mind.

Before Ash had left the camp that morning, he'd looked for a stream and filled his canteen. He made sure to only drink from it after the filter tablets he'd purchased from the Pallet General Store had time to work. He'd filled it a couple times already while traveling, but he'd rather not die of dehydration so he topped it off as much as possible.

Ash walked in silence for the rest of the trip to Viridian. Pidgey trilled in the distance as they walked. Greed was walking alongside him, keeping pace just as easily as normal. Ash itched his neck and looked around. He had a bad feeling, like he was being watched. He tried to ignore it, but it didn't recede until he saw a large noctowl he had not noticed fly off into the denser part of the trees.

Ash had been to Viridian City before, but it seemed different than the times previous. The first thing he noted was the Ranger Outpost at the entrance to the city. Each time Ash has come to Viridian, Karma had teleported them there and back. His mother had never taken him to the outskirts of the city, and as such he hadn't seen the towering outposts that were manned by the Pokemon Rangers up close. He had to notify the outpost of his arrival in the city, as the law required of all active trainers, so he did that before anything else.

"Give me your name, place of origin and Trainer ID." The Ranger at the desk said before Ash could even speak.

"Trainer Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, Trainer ID PTR15O674." Ash supplied quickly. The grizzled man was not one to waste time with.

"Number of pokemon on hand and their types."

"One, a fighting-type.." Ash wanted to sigh as he was questioned some more, but didn't. After another three rounds of questions, each one more intrusive as the last, he was allowed to enter the city.

"Alright, make sure to notify the Rangers when you leave as well. Need to know where to look for you if you go missing."

"Cheerful." Ash remarked to himself as he walked off. He returned Greed to his ball and shouldered his backpack.

The second thing he noted was once he had actually entered the city. The chatter and other general noise of the people walking down the road and just how loud it was bothered him. In the forests with only a few trainers around for miles, it was very quiet. Ash had gotten used to the serene silence and it was a bit of a shock to hear all the noise again.

Viridian City was a decent size, not as large as a city like Celedon but not as small as Pallet Town. A happy in between. Ash wanted to release his starter and let him see the city as well. He might not enjoy the sight as much as him, but the pokemon was sure to revel in the awe of people's reactions from seeing such a foreign pokemon. He certainly enjoyed it enough on the Route.

It was saddening that he'd be unable to release any of his pokemon in city limits without at least a single badge to his name. Some pokemon such as onix and steelix couldn't be released at all given that their size could cause severe damage even unintentionally.

Ash finally saw the large red and white building he was walking towards. The Pokemon Center was close to the center of the city, the Viridian City Gym less than half a mile down the road.

He didn't even consider challenging the Viridian Gym for a badge. Gym Leader Giovanni was one of, if not the, strongest Leaders in Indigo. Not to mention that he was the Gate of Kanto the same way Clair of Blackthorn City was the Gate of Johto. Both of them were terrifying in battle and trainers had to achieve seven badges at the minimum to challenge them.

"Hello, I need to have my pokemon checked over. He got hit by a meowth's Fury Swipes which I applied a potion to. He didn't get any other noticeable injuries, but we've been on the road for a week now." Ash said as he finally reached the front desk.

Nurse Joy nodded in understanding from behind the desk. "Of course. Name?"

"Trainer Ash Ketchum, and I'll need a room as well." Ash handed her Greed's pokeball and thanked her as she handed him a silver key. Pokemon Centers were impressive. Technology had come a long way since their founding. Nurse Joy could heal any injury short of decapitation, though it may leave some scars.

Pokemon Centers were large buildings with an interior that wasn't quite fancy, but still nice nonetheless. The Centers included rooms for trainers, a fitness center, a library, a cafeteria, a small trainer store and spacious outdoor fields meant for battling and training.

When he asked where the phones were, she pointed him towards the western wall of the building and told him Pancham would be ready in an hour or so. Ash entered one of the rooms with a phone and a League PC.

League PCs were a trainer's friend. Whether it was to access your bank account or store a pokemon in long term storage. If you already had a full team of pokemon and caught another, you'd need to use a League PC to store one of yours or the new pokemon. It also allowed access to the Trainer Guild (which was more of a Thieves' Guild given their price gouging) which allowed the Trainer to sell a pokemon if they wished. They usually paid fairly low, though, and most trainers looking to sell had to sell independently to get a fair price.

However, Ash wasn't here to use the PC. He most likely wouldn't find much use in them as many of the needs for the machine was covered by his Pokedex.

He typed and clacked a few keys before a ringing sound rang out in the small soundproof room. After a few minutes, his mother popped up on the screen of the videophone. "Hello, Delia Ketchum speaking."

"Hey, mom. I made it to Viridian City." Ash said with a smile. Delia's eyes lit up when she realized who was on the opposite end of the line.

"Ashy, It's so good to hear from you! You're not hurt, are you? What took you so long getting there? It's been nearly a week!" Ash winced at his mother's worried tone. He should have let her know he'd be taking his time.

"Yeah, I decided to take my time on the way. Lots of training." Ash told her. "I'll probably take my time with most of the traveling. Better to have my pokemon stronger than they need to be, then weaker than they should be."

Delia nodded with a small smile, before continuing her barrage of questions. "That makes sense. Did you catch any pokemon? Is Pancham getting stronger?"

"No, not yet. Most of the pokemon between here and Pallet Town aren't really all that strong, and none catch my eye. A pidgey maybe, but pidgeot are so common even if they are reliable. Bug-types, especially their early stages, are generally weak. Maybe a heracross or scyther, but those aren't found around here..." Ash trailed off and flushed as he realized his mother was grinning at him as he derailed the conversation.

"So, Pancham?" She nudged, a tittering laugh following.

"He's doing good, I call him Greed now. Nurse Joy is taking a look at him, but that's just because I worked him hard the last few days. He's already mastering his moves. He has an egg move as well, Seismic Toss!"

"Seismic Toss? That'll be hard for him to use at his size." His mother remarked with a stare that twinkled with laughter. Most likely thinking of Greed trying to use the move on an opponent much larger than he.

"Yeah, I have him practicing with it when we can. He's tested it out in a couple smaller pokemon and it worked out. Until he evolves, it won't truly be a viable option on larger pokemon. His other moves are Taunt, Circle Throw, Arm Thrust and Slash."

His mother hummed. "Not bad, but not a lot of variety. I think he could learn Crunch fairly easily since he already knows Taunt, that should be the first move you teach him.

"That was my plan. Crunch and then Low Sweep or Karate Chop. From there I'll teach him tougher moves, like Night Slash. " Ash agreed with a frown, before suddenly perking up. "Oh! We won our first battle!"

Ash talked for another hour with his mother, telling her of anything he could think of. His battle, plans for future TMs and any pokemon he thought might fill out his team.

"The problem with the pokemon on most routes is that they're not all that strong. The strongest are taken when they're young, because of that they rarely have a chance to spread their genes around. If I really want a strong pokemon, I'll need to go off route." Ash explained further about his lack of another pokemon.

"Ash, going off route is extremely dangerous. In some cases its deadly. It isn't recommended for anyone, let alone a rookie Trainer." His mother said with a frown. "I don't doubt that there are strong pokemon off the routes, but the best Trainers can train initially weak pokemon into strong opponents." Ash conceded to the knowledge of her words.

Routes were defined as central paths that connected the cities, towns and villages of a region and led travelers to the various settlements of the region. They averaged a quarter mile wide, even going as big as a mile in some areas, and were under constant surveillance by the Pokemon Rangers. Routes were tame and relatively safe. The wilderness outside of the routes was the opposite. Wild, feral and dangerous. The Rangers rarely ventured into the dangerous lands, electing to watch over the far more populated cities and routes. Trainers were made aware that should they set forth into 'No Man's Land', they were alone. Most Ranger outposts were undermanned as it was, they simply couldn't waste the personnel to look for every missing trainer.

Before he could properly change the subject, the intercom came on. "Trainer Ketchum, your pokemon is ready. Please come to the front desk. I say again, Trainer Ketchum to the front desk."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later mom. I have to go get Greed then call Professor Oak." He said as he rose from his seat. With a smile and a farewell from his mother, Ash left to grab his starter. Only after she rangled a promise from him to call her tomorrow though.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash said as he took his starter's pokeball from the woman.

"Of course. One thing, before you're off. I noticed that your pancham has been consuming a foliage heavy diet." Ash nodded in agreement. Pancham had eaten a lot of greens on the route. "Nothing wrong with that, he should stay plenty hydrated from the leaves, but I would recommend adding a little more meat and a little less greens in his diet. It's natural for omnivores such as him to feast on small bug-types like caterpie or combee, so don't feel bad about letting him loose every once in a while. Giving him a little more pokefood should help as well." Nurse Joy instructed.

"Thank you, I'll definitely be doing that. I already have a fishing rod and a license, so I should be able to reel him up some meat on the route. And he did have a caterpie a few days ago." Ash told her.

"That's good, just don't do all the hunting for him. He should be able to train and battle immediately." Ash nodded as he bid her farewell and went to call the Professor.

"Ash!" Samuel Oak greeted him in surprise when his face showed up on the screen. "Good to hear from you. Has Pancham been doing well?"

Ash simply released his starter in response. Had it been anywhere other than a private room, he'd have caught a couple of eyes. "Oh! He seems stronger already. In only a week too!" Greed soaked the praise up with a huff, which Ash thought to be exaggerated.

"I knew you two would be good for each other! In other news, what took you so long to arrive in Viridian? Leaf is going to be arriving in Viridian pretty soon. She actually contacted her parents, as well as myself, with her pokedex and told them she expects to arrive early tomorrow." Ash winced as the older man jabbed him for both his lack of communication and slow travel speed.

"Just wanted to take my time with training. Don't wanna have an under trained pokemon, after all." Ash explained like he had with his mother.

Like he had with his mother, he talked with Oak for a good hour about various topics. He'd learnt from the man that two rookie Trainers traveling together had been killed along with their starters (an oddish and a poliwag) on Route 14 by an aggressive ursaring before the rangers could capture it. He also received the information that the yearly migration of flying-types from northern Johto was coming up.

"Professor, do you know if there are any paths from here in Viridian to Celadon City?" Ash asked a question he had had on his mind for a while.

"Celadon? Why would you want to travel there?" The older man asked in surprise. "I thought you would go to Pewter to challenge the gym there."

"I don't want to take the normal route for average trainers. I could go to Pewter City first, but that's everyone's first stop. No change. I wanna follow my own path, not that of my predecessors." Ash told the former Champion. He had thought about it for the last week and liked the idea of changing up the normal circuit. It might let the higher skilled teams of the Pewter and Cerulean Gyms get a work out at least.

Oak smiled widely. "A good thought." He then fell into silence for a few seconds. " I would recommend the diglett tunnel - it would put you out closer to Vermillion but I'm sure you could get to Celadon from there - but it collapsed just a couple months ago." Ash sighed in disappointment but let the man continue. "You should talk to the Rangers stationed in Viridian, they would know the area better than I." Ash nodded, but didn't feel particularly optimistic.

"If I may ask, why did you decide on Celadon? I'm sure you could have rented a boat to Cinnabar with your savings, even if they would take a big hit."

"I felt that with the Celadon Gym using grass-types that it would be a good challenge. Neither me or Erika would have any major advantage. She does use a lot of dual grass-types, but since she has to use her League mandated team I should be able to pull a win. She's not really considered all that tough to begin with."

"That is good reasoning, but you have to have a minimum of two pokemon before challenging your first Gym." Oak critiqued his plan.

"I know. I was hoping that by venturing off the route a bit, I'd find a sufficiently strong pokemon." Ash said, waiting for the man to reprimand him.

"You might." Ash was jolted at the pokemon expert's agreement . As if reading the boy's mind, Oak smiled. "I'm not against you venturing off the beaten path, Ash, I did quite a bit of that myself. I just ask that you turn back should it prove too difficult. There is no shame in acknowledging when you're out of your depth. Many Trainers die a year in preventable situations, if they had simply let go of their pride they would be alive. Don't be like them. " The Regional Professor finished darkly.

"I won't. Can't up and die when you sponsored me. Gary would throttle my ghost." Ash joked to ease the awkwardness in the conversation.

"He just might." Gary's grandfather agreed. "He's doing well, by the way. He stayed in Viridian for a day and then left for Viridian Forest. He is probably about a third of the way through by now."

"Has he captured any other pokemon?" Ash questioned.

"He has captured three as of now. I will not tell you what they are, but he seems pleased with his team. He's also had plenty of battles." Oak informed him with a fond smile.

"That's good. I feel like I'm behind. I've only had one battle." Ash rubbed his nape.

"You did start later than most Trainers, so it's understandable. Route 1 is only crawling with Trainer during the early season." Oak said breezily.

Ash nodded. Most trainers started their career in early summer, a couple months before the Indigo Conference. It gave time for the pokemon offspring born in spring to grow, both for blossoming trainers to capture and to give time for them to leave their parents - the League didn't want a defensive mother on the prowl when rookie Trainers were around - but Ash was a little different. He, Leaf and Gary all started their journeys at the middle of summer with autumn on the horizon. The Indigo Conference had passed a month before they had set out for their journeys.

The Pallet Academy had a large curriculum. It only made sense for it to last longer than other schools. It was one of the turnoffs that caused other trainers to look elsewhere. With the time it takes to graduate, test for the TLE and wait for licenses to arrive, the Trainers from Pallet Academy started their careers later than other trainers would have. And that wasn't mentioning the high price of tuition that the Academy cost. Ash thanked the legendaries that he had gotten a scholarship from Professor Oak's lab.

"How is Ethan doing?" Ash inquired after a moment of silence.

"I haven't talked to him at length, but he seems determined. His mother has already precured a starter for him - which I have checked over - should he succeed. From what little he told me, I believe he planned on going to Hawthorne and finding a ferry to take him to the port in Cinnabar. His uncle planned on fronting the money for him."

"Cinnibar?" Ash repeated. "I thought he planned on starting in Johto and doing the circuit there?"

"That was his original plan, but due to some…unforeseen circumstances he feels he wouldn't be sufficiently prepared given his delayed departure." Suddenly, a loud crash sounded in the background of the Professor's video feed and Ash saw something get knocked down from a shelf by a yellow blur. "I need to go now. Be sure to keep in contact and pick up multiple potions and poison cures, for you and your pokemon both, before leaving. Bye now!"

"Talk to you later, Professor." Ash bid the man goodbye as he ended the call. He turned to Greed, who had been listening to the conversation attentively. "So, wanna go see if anybody wants to battle?"

Ash heard his starter rumble with excitement.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ash smirked as he returned the pokemon to his ball. He wouldn't be in the state of suspension for long though, cities were hotspots for Trainers to battle.

Ash was right, and before he'd returned to the Pokemon Center he had battled six different Trainers. Greed was able to best five of his opponents, but was brought down from his winning streak by a boy with a natu. Ash didn't feel too bad about the defeat as the other trainer had two badges. Prior to his defeat, Greed faced off and won against two rattata, a weedle, a bellsprout, and a zigzagoon. Not the most intimidating lineup, but a victory is a victory.

After Ash gave his starter a potion, Greed had sulked over his loss for an hour or so before shrugging it off and focusing on his five consecutive victories. Ash gave the panda the last Oran berry in his bag as a reward with the promise to pick up more.

When Ash finally returned to the massive care facility, he was ready to drop into his bed and sleep. He walked past Nurse Joy uttering both a greeting and a goodbye, and entered his room.

It was spacious and had a perch for flying-types and a large tank for water-types. Ash released an exhausted Greed as he stripped down to a pair of shorts for bed. He didn't have the luxury of comfort on the routes as he had to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, so he took full advantage of the safety of a city.

Ash layed in bed as Greed took one of the extra pillows from a chair in the corner. He drug it to the top of a tall wooden wardrobe, before tucking in for sleep. Ash found the pokemon's need to be up high while sleeping fascinating, but not enough to keep his eyes from dragging closed.

.—.—.

Ash exited the steaming shower with a smile on his face. The dirt and mud caked on his skin had felt amazing being washed off. He was certain he wouldn't be taking soap for granted for a very long time. He had gone to sleep early yesterday due to his exhausted state. He got up later than he had wanted, but it was still only eight in the morning so he wasn't worried about it.

Soon enough, Ash was exiting the Pokemon Center with Greed recalled into his pokeball. Ash clicked the red and white sphere into the appropriate slot on his bandelior as he walked towards his destination.

The Viridian PokeMart was big, larger than even the Pokémon Center. The store was two stories high with supplies for every occasion a Trainer may find themselves in. Ash focused mainly on the essentials such as ration bars and the many basic and advanced potions, poison cures and revives they offered. A couple hundred dollars later and he had a stocked backpack.

He stocked up on pokefood as well. He still had some left from the trek from Pallet Town, but the journey ahead was even longer. Ash debated on how much to buy.

He ended up with two month's worth of specifically omnivore food. It would hopefully last longer with how much Greed enjoyed munching on the foliage of the route, but even strictly eating the food would be able to last him through the whole of Viridian Forest. He was optimistic that they wouldn't need the whole supply, but he prepared just in case.

"Hey, kid." A taller man with stubble on his chin grabbed Ash's attention as he finished packing away the pokefood. "I assume you're a Trainer?"

Ash agreed with a nod, not commenting on the fact that had he not been a Trainer he wouldn't need to be in a PokeMart. "Yeah. You need help or something?"

"No, not really. Just seeing if you were interested in purchasing any Technical Machines!" Ash raised a brow.

TMs were generally found in larger and more populated cities. The Celadon Department Store was the largest store in Kanto and as such had the largest array of TMs available. It was one of the reasons Celadon City has such a high Ranger presence.

"I didn't think there were any TM vendors in Viridian." Ash said curiously.

"My employers at Silph. Co thought it would be wise to begin operations in smaller cities. We don't have near the collection as the more established vendors, but we have some." The man said happily. "Any specific moves you might like? What types are your pokemon?"

"A fighting-type." Ash answered the question as he looked at the disks I'm under the glass. Some of them he knew Greed could use in the future. "Though I'm not really worried about buying TMs right now. He's pretty green and needs to still fill out his naturally learned move pool first."

"Of course! Buying one now simply means you can teach it to him when you need to. They don't expire, so you could wait until you feel he's ready before applying it to him." The salesman told him, his smile never faltering. "Most fighting-types are physical battlers and can't do too well at a distance or even learn many ranged moves. I suggest investing in one or two of the elemental punches."

Ash glanced at the mentioned TMs. He had planned on teaching the elemental punches -Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunder Punch - to his starter regardless. He supposed he could get one or two now and teach Greed when he felt the panda was ready. The question was which to choose.

"How much are they?" Ash asked as he rolled the pros and cons of each move.

"All three are three thousand each." The older man answered.

Ash winced at the price. It wouldn't make him go broke, but it was still a lot of cash. "Alright, I'll take all three."

The salesman was excited to complete the transaction. After finalizing everything, Ash walked away from the stand. His account drained sufficiently and three new TMs stored away safely.

"Wait! You'll need a way to apply that to your pokemon, it only makes sense to buy the official Silph. Co Transferer!" The salesman grinned.

Ash figured that might happen, the man was obviously trying to get him to spend as much cash as possible. He simply took his Pokédex and flashed it at the man. He walked off without looking at the face of the man, knowing it would look similar to that of a magikarp.

.—.—.

Ash popped the small spherical fruit into his mouth and chewed with relish. "What'd you call this again?"

The woman running the stall smiled politely. "It's a Chesto berry. These here," she gestured to a tray of larger pink fruit, "I just got shipped in from northern Hoenn. They call them Drash berries."

Ash tasted the Drash berries and found them far tangier than the previous selection. He wouldn't complain though. After days of only consuming bland ration bars, anything was delicious.

"I'll take two dozen Oran berries, and a dozen Drash and Chesto berries each." Ash requested. She was more than happy to provide him with the treats, accepting his payment with a smile and a wave.

Ash found the market lively. People were, for the most part, welcoming and friendly. The stalls displayed around the market were dedicated to various foods and treats. He recognized some of the consumables as native to Kanto, but a majority hailed from other regions. One man shouted about a pastry dish from Kalos, another about a tropical drink from Alola.

Ash popped an Oran berry in his mouth to overpower the tanginess of the Drash berry he had eaten. He wondered how Greed would like them. The fighting-type wasn't too picky, so he'd probably consume them as he had anything Ash gave him.

.—.—.

James was having a rough week.

Normally, he was one of his group's best assets. One of their top administrators if he were to be honest. His pokemon were monsters in their own right and his squad was nearing Petrel's in terms of efficiency.

He'd admit that Petrel and his team were more suited to surprise attacks and covert operations, but they were still some of Team Rocket's best members. To be reaching, and possibly surpassing, them was an achievement. James knew he should be happy. Proud, maybe. His last operation had been a success in the eyes of the higher ups.

That was it. 'In the eyes of the higher-ups'. He didn't see it as a victory, how could he? His goal had been achieved, sure, but the price? He didn't know if it was worth it. His team was down two members and triple that in pokemon. His own pokemon were strong, they had to be if he was to retain his Admin position, but not enough to make up for the loss of two squad members.

James wasn't weak. In terms of the other Admins he was in the middle, maybe slightly higher. Not as strong as Proton or Ariana. Not as weak as Oakley or Butch.

James sighed audibly. He shouldn't be sitting down and feeling sorry for himself. Especially not in the openness that is the Viridian Marketplace. He needed to give his report to Archer.

James shivered involuntarily at the thought of his superior. Archer was one of the first members of Team Rocket. He was, in no uncertain terms, the strongest among them. The man's pokemon matched him, horrifying and monstrous. From his krookodile to his scolipede, each of his pokemon easily reached Gym Leader Level. Except his strongest. His ace pokemon easily reach Elite-level. James had only seen Archer's Tyranitar in action three times. Each time more destructive than the last.

James stood up despite his internal objections. Almost immediately he was shoved by a passerby and he stumbled back into his seat. He glared at the person who'd touched him but the crowd had already concealed them.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?" A voice disrupted James' inner thoughts. He looked at the person who thought bothering some random, poor sap was worth their time.

The kid was younger than him by probably a decade and some change. Dark hair, brown eyes and a concerned look on his face. His boots looked new and his clothes relatively unmarked. Only a single pokeball sat in his bandelier. An obvious rookie.

"I'm fine. No need to check in on an old man like me." James said dismissively, trying not to be overly rude.

"Old? You look young enough to me." The kid said with a smile on his face. "You look...thirty?"

"Twenty-eight, twerp." James corrected with a huff as he wondered why he was still talking to the brat. He supposed he just needed an excuse to keep him from having to go face Archer.

"See, not all that old. The person I used to work for wouldn't tell me his actual age, but he has to be in his mid fifties. Maybe rounding sixty. His grandson called him an old man once. Man, he really thought he was gonna have to eat nothing but pokefood for dinner. But that was nothing compared to when he tried to ride a rhyhorn from the corral. Gary was always getting into some kind of trouble." The kid said with humor evident in his tone as he sat down uninvited.

"I can imagine. Kid sounds like a little shit. Reminds me of a meowth I used to know."

"Meowth is probably too accurate. Obsessed with flashy clothes and trinkets, tends to throw a hissy fit when woken up early." The kid turned his gaze towards James and held out his hand. "I'm Ash."

James chuckled. It surprised him. He hadn't had an honest laugh in too long. He looked at the outstretched hand for a moment before shaking it. "Call me Jay."

"Good to meet you. So, what do you do Jay?" The twer-Ash asked curiously.

"Well, today I was actually planning to sit in peaceful silence before some kid bothered me." James jabbed in a voice that said he wasn't really all that upset. Ash rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "However, I generally work as a freelancer. Run off some spearow here, capture a few pidgey there. Pays well enough." James lied easily.

"Cool, I'm a trainer too. Do you have any badges? I mean, you have to have at least one to work as a freelancer, but what Gyms?" Ash asked.

"Got the Boulder badge, Cascade badge, and the Rainbow badge."

"And what pokemon do you have? If you don't mind me asking." Ash again inquired.

"I do mind, actually." James disliked all the intrusive questions the kid was throwing at him.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just started my trainer career about a week ago. I'm just excited." Ash apologized with a smile.

"Sure, twerp. For future reference, you might wanna keep your team members and their training to yourself. Never know who's out to get you on the Routes."

"Thanks for the advice. I need to head off now, gotta finish preparing for my trek through the forest. It was good meeting you, Jay." Ash waved as he blended into the crowded market. James hummed as he, too, stood up.

The kid was interesting. Polite, yet not uptight. Funny, yet not exaggerative. James never liked kids all that much, but he supposed this twerp wasn't too bad. He did some quick calculations. If the kid did the standard circuit then he'd be at Mt. Moon when Operation Providence took place. He almost hoped he got caught up in Pewter. If not then James would have another trainer's blood on his hands, though that was nothing new.

.—.—.

Ash thought back to the man named Jay. A strange man to be sure, but he had seemed nice enough. If a little blunt. He cursed himself for not asking him about his Rainbow badge. Maybe he had some tips about the Celadon Gym. Too late now, Ash has left the market behind as he headed for the Ranger Outpost. He figured he would take Oak's advice and see if the Rangers knew of a path to Celadon from Viridian.

He quickly decided within minutes that the Rangers weren't a lot of help.

"Listen, kid, I understand wanting a little more adventure but the routes are meant to be stayed on. If you venture off the route, there is no guarantee we can spare the personnel to look for you if something happens. My advice? Stick to Viridian Forest and follow the standard circuit like everyone else." The older Ranger said condescendingly.

"And I understand. All I'm looking for is an alternative path to Celadon City. Surely there is at least one person here who knows the area well enough to at least point me in the right direction." Ash insisted. He understood the older man's concern, but he was really getting annoyed. He was so close to just calling the Professor and having him talk to them.

"Arceus, you really don't quit. Listen, unless you have four badges or more it is encouraged heavily to stick to the routes. I can't, in good conscience, tell you to go off route."

Ash sighed. "Surely there is something. A path or tunnel that puts me out close to Celadon. I know the Diglett tunnel collapsed a few months ago, but that can't be the only tunnel around. My sponsor thinks going off route isn't too far outside my range, so help me out here." Ash pressed.

"Sponsor? And who might that be? Just because some other Ranger—" The older man started but stopped when Ash slid his Pokedex towards him. The screen clearly displaying the fact that Samuel Oak was his sponsor. "Oh."

The other Rangers stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the man oddly, clearly surprised by his reaction. "You alright, Sergeant?" A Ranger asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah." The Sergeant said after a moment of examining the screen. "Alright, so your sponsor is clearly a smarter man than I. However I still can't endorse your course of action, Ketchum." If at all possible, the other Rangers seemed more shocked at the man's change in tone.

"Sergeant, who's his sponsor?" Another Ranger asked the question on all their minds.

The Sergeant looked to Ash as if to gain permission. Ash gave it with a nod. "It's Samuel Oak. The Former Champion Samuel Oak."

Ash was glad that there were only the Rangers in the office of the Outpost at the moment. He wasn't sure how a bunch of random Trainers would have reacted. The Rangers had a variety of reactions. A couple of them actually did a double take.

"The Oak, huh? That's certainly a surprise." A man voiced from behind Ash. The rookie whipped around in shock. The man was large, he looked twice Ash's height and far broader. His dark hair accentuated his eyes, making them almost gleam in the light. When had this guy entered the Outpost? Ash couldn't tell. "Ah, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Sir!" The Rangers shouted in shock and they all stood. Each one of them, even the older Sergeant, gave a proper salute to the man.

"At ease." The man waved them off. "Now, what is it I heard about your sponsor and going off route?"

"Sir, Trainer Ketchum was-" The Corporal began before being cut off.

"I was not addressing you, Sergeant. In fact, you may all return to your duties." The man glared at the Rangers before they began to do as instructed. It was clear the man had some sort of superiority over them. Perhaps he was the leader of the Rangers in this section of the city. "Ketchum, was it? Take a walk with me."

.—.—.

The man introduced himself as Van. "So, Ketchum. You said you wanted to find a direct route to Celedon?"

Ash had barely sat down when the question was thrown at him. Van had led him to a small diner in the center of the city. He could see the Pokemon Center just down the street. From the looks of the diner, it was a small family owned place. The booth they sat had a few menus on the table that Van flipped through for less than a second before closing.

"Yes, sir. I had hoped the Rangers would be of some help but I suppose not." Ash sighed in disappointment.

"I understand. You may be in luck. I happen to know this area rather well." Van said. "The old mining tunnel would suit your purposes."

Ash perked up. "A mining tunnel? Where would it take me?"

Van smiled. "It would let you out near Celedon. There would be a couple hours' walk until you met up with Route 16, then a day's walk on the Route to Celedon."

Ash thought it sounded like exactly what he had been looking for. "How do I get to the tunnel?"

"Go into Viridian Forest prepared for a week and a half long trek. There will be an orange sign after the first Ranger Lodge, it leads you to a watering hole. Go straight past the watering hole and take a right at the rock formation shaped like a face."

Ash nodded intently. "Anything I should worry about?"

"Nothing major. But it is an older tunnel, ground-types may have destabilized it. It also turns off at several points. Make sure you don't mess with any supports and always take the passage on the right. The miners installed light when they worked the tunnel, but the League replaced them with the same lights as Mt. Moon. Follow the lights and don't battle any pokemon needlessly." Van warned.

"Excuse me, are you ready to order?" The waitress asked with a smile as she approached the table. "Our house specials include- Oh! I hadn't realized it was you! I'm sorry, Giovanni."

Ash blinked. Hadn't his name been Van? Oh, Gio-van-ni. Funny.

Ash stopped and pondered. Giovanni. Viridian City. It clicked. "Wait. Giovanni? The Gym Leader of Viridian City and the Gate of Kanto? The Earthshaker? That Giovanni?"

The waitress looked at him with wide eyes. She seemed shocked he hadn't realized just who he was talking to. Giovanni chuckled in a low tone. "Yes, I suppose that would be me."

"Wow." Ash slumped in his seat and turned to the waitress. "Sorry, I'll just have water."

"The usual, Dorthy." Giovanni said with a wide smile that made the woman blush.

"O-of course, I'll have it right out." Dorthy stumbled out as she went to fetch what they ordered.

"When had you planned on leaving Viridian?" Giovanni asked suddenly.

Ash registered the question slower than he should have. He thought it was understandable given he was still shocked to be talking to the Giovanni. "Oh, uh, most likely tomorrow or the day after. I wanted to get my starter as much battle experience as possible. I also planned on training him quite a lot."

Giovanni hummed as he considered the answer. "Your starter, it was from Oak." Giovanni stated in a tone that any outsider would mistake it for a question. Ash nodded anyway, wondering how the man knew that piece of information. "Oak has a habit of giving special trainers rather...interesting choices for starters."

Ash wasn't sure how to respond to that. Fortunately, Dorthy returned with their orders. The rookie was sure she had moved them up the priority list due to Giovanni's presence. Ash sipped his water as Giovanni added cream to his coffee. The coffee accompanied a plate of fried wings with mild sauce. From the look of the meat, he guessed pidgey.

"Where was I? Ah, right. Ash, would you happen to have any relation to Delia Ketchum?" Giovanni asked with a sip from his coffee.

"Yes, she's my mother. Why do you ask, sir?" Ash answered, a little surprised at the question.

"No real reason. Delilah is a good woman, she's an old friend. We met nearly seventeen years ago, I believe." Ash hadn't known that but it wasn't too farfetched. His mother would have been a few years older than he was now.

"Tell me, Ash, why is it you want to go to Celadon?" Giovanni prodded with a raised brow. After Ash gave him the same reasoning he had given Oak, the Gym Leader hummed. "You have clearly thought about this. Alright, I approve."

Ash smiled widely. Praise coming from the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto was well appreciated. "Thank you, sir. May I ask you a question?"

"I suppose that would be fair."

"I heard some rumours about the pokemon handed out from your Gym this year. Mainly, that there were some Hoenn pokemon in the mix." Ash prompted the older man. "If you don't mind, could you tell me what they were?"

Giovanni was silent for a second as he ate one of his pidgey wings. "There were indeed a few of Hoenn natives in the mix. A grass-type called a shroomish, a normal-type called slakoth and a ground-type called trapinch. I personally oversaw their distribution." Giovanni recalled the pokemon names without trouble. "Though, I was rather disappointed with the crop of trainers this year."

Ash tilted his head slightly. "In what way?"

"They lacked fire. There were only three that caught my eye. I gave the shroomish and slakoth to a couple of trainers that showed some promise.

Ash noticed he neglected to mention the last pokemon. "And the trapinch?"

"And the trapinch...well, let's say it is in proper hands." Giovanni said. Giovanni considered him a moment. "Ash, indulge me. How many pokemon do you have on your roster at the moment?"

"Only my starter, he's a pancham." Ash answered honestly. Jay's words from the market rang in his ears before he dismissed them. This was Giovanni! He was the Viridian City Gym Leader, he could trust him.

"Just the one? I know you originally started in Pallet Town, but surely there is pokemon between here and there. Why not capture a pidgey? Pidgeots are good flying-types. Or a rattata? An excellently trained raticate can be a force to be reckoned with in the early stages of a trainer's career."

Ash wasn't sure how to answer that question. He contemplated for a few moments before finally answering. "Fearow, raticate, or even pidgeot. They're all common and everyone can get them. In terms of power, none of those except pidgeot make it far. I could capture them, but once I got strong enough they would simply become obsolete. The real pinnacle of trainers, the Elites and Champions, don't have those pokemon on their main teams for a reason."

Ash met Giovanni's eyes with determination. Giovanni seemed surprised, pleasantly so. "Tomorrow, come to my Gym around midmorning. I may just have a proposition for you." Without another word, the man stood up. He laid some bills on the table to pay for his meal, gave Dorthy a smile and left the diner. Ash finished the last gulp of his water as he, too, got up from the booth.

He left the diner just as quickly as Giovanni had, but the large man was nowhere in sight as Ash walked down the street. How a man as infamous as the Gym Leader had slipped away as quickly and unnoticed as he had was a mystery to Ash. Nevertheless, Ash headed towards his next destination with a pep in his step.

.—.—.

The pokemon opposite his starter squawked aggressively. The spearow was on the larger side and twice as quick as any wild ones Ash had seen. The trainer across the battlefield called out commands quickly and took the offensive as the lull in battle ended. "To the air, Bombing Run!"

Ash didn't need to give a command as Greed already made to evade the diving bird. The pancham was able to avoid it for the most part as Ash thought of a strategy. He had challenged the flying-type's trainer specifically because he felt his starter needed experience of opponents that didn't fight on land. "Taunt, then Arm Thrust and Slash."

The pancham flicked his ears to acknowledge his trainer's words. When the Spearow came down in another dive, the panda finally did something other than evade. The dark-type energy of Taunt made the bird clearly off balance. Seizing his chance, Greed slammed the Arm Thrust attack into the bird, followed by Slash not long after. The bird took the blows and managed to get out of the fighting-type's reach. The spearow flapped above in the air as it's trainer seemed to examine Greed once again. Until the spearow came down, Ash knew his starter couldn't do anything. Fighting-types were simply not ranged fighters and had few moves to help fix the problems. Luckily, spearow were far more physical fighters than pidgey. Ash waited for his opponent's next move.

"Another pass, use Quick Wing. Agility so it can't see your movements." The spearow responded accordingly. It tapped into the psychic move and almost immediately seemed to become twice as fast as it was previously. Ash even had a hard time keeping his eye on it.

"It's gonna try and hit you from the back." Ash said quietly, he knew his starter's sensitive ears would hear him. "Let it think it has you by surprise then grab it and don't let it take back off. Slash and Seismic Toss." Ash ordered.

The spearow did a couple fake dives as it circled closer. Soon enough, it dove at Greed's back with a nasty looking shine of steel-type energy coating its wings. Greed flipped around as the bird impacted him. The spearow seemed proud for a moment that the attack landed before it registered the arms that wrapped around it. Taking the flying-type in what seemed like a hug, the larger black and white pokemon let it have it. A multitude of Slash attacks rained upon the Kalos pokemon's restrained enemy. After the bird seemed just about down for the count, Greed leaped into the air. Ash was surprised at how high he could leap carrying the additional weight.

After a few moments gravity pulled the pair of battlers down to the earth. The spearow squawked loudly as it impacted the ground with the pancham on top of its frame. Ash grinned as his only pokemon stood relatively unscathed from the impact, which left a small dent in the earth. The spearow, quite understandably, did not get up. It's trainer recalled it with some whispered curses of annoyance.

"Great job! That was a good experience. Really showed a weakness against pokemon that can make some range." Ash congratulated his pal with a smile. That battle had been their twentieth of the day. Currently, the pair stood at fifteen wins and two losses. The only notable pokemon had been a fighting-type called a makuhita that Greed had taken an interest in and a dual ice/flying-type called a delibird Ash had been interested in. Ice-types were rare in Kanto after all.

Ash saw Greed flex his, probably exhausted, muscles to anyone watching his victory as the defeated trainer approached. "Good match." The trainer said with a not-at-all pleased expression. "That pokemon you got is a little monster in the making. Spearow is pretty close to evolving to a fearow and not many rookie pokemon can take his attack head on."

"Yeah, it did seem pretty big for a spearow. I was expecting it to pull a Drill Peck when it dove." Ash said politely. Ash didn't quite like him. Maybe it was the attitude. Maybe it was the flashy clothing. Who knows.

"Not got that mastered yet, stupid bird can't get it right. I'm Damian Dansk from Cerulean." The trainer, Damian, provided as he begrudgingly handed over Ash's winnings. The other trainer had insisted on a bet of a thousand dollars and it seemed to physically pain him to hand over that much money.

Ash nodded as he took the money and entered the data into his Pokedex. "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"Pallet, eh?" Damian said with an expression Ash didn't like. "You happen to meet Samuel Oak out there in the boonies?"

"I've run into him." Ash admitted as he looked for a way out of the conversation.

"Cool, would you-" Damian began before being cut off by a perfectly timed yell from a familiar face.

"Ketchum!" Leaf yelled with a grin as she marched over. "Just what are you still doing here in Viridian?"

"Leaf, what took you so long?" Ash teased. "I've been training here so long I thought I might look like a drampa when you got here."

"Oh yeah? How about a battle then?" She instigated as her hand fetched her pokeball from her belt.

Ash shook his head. "Nah, sorry. Greed just got out of a battle and I need to get him healed up." At Leaf's slightly disappointed reaction he added, "Tomorrow though, you'd better be ready!"

"You are going down, Ashy-boy!" He groaned as she prodded him with the near decade old nickname that Gary had stuck him with. In all honesty, he preferred Red over 'Ashy-boy'. He wouldn't dare tell Gary that though.

Leaf's intervention had apparently been enough for Damian to get the hint and scoot off. The taller boy grumbled as he stalked away, his blue hair flipping as he walked. Leaf glared at the retreating figure. "Seemed like you could use an out from that guy."

"You weren't wrong, thanks for that. Damian's his name and he's the guy I just battled." Ash said as the pair left the battlefield. Ash needed to have Nurse Joy look over his starter.

"I saw it. Nice job." Leaf complimented. "Kinda surprised you used that starter of yours for it. You called it Greed, right?"

"Yeah, and he's my only pokemon right now."

"Seriously? All those pokemon and you didn't catch a single one? Your aim must suck." Ash rolled his eyes at Leaf. "I caught a pidgeotto I call Glide. She's beautiful. You have got to see her crest feathers!"

Ash smiled as Leaf gushed about her bird. She had always loved flying-types. "See much on the route?"

"Besides Glide? A couple weedle and caterpie but not much else. You?"

Ash nodded. "Pretty much the same as me. I could have caught a pidgey or spearow but they all looked pretty young or weak. I did hear about a pond not too far outside Viridian but it doesn't seem to house anything special."

"I think you're just picky." Leaf jabbed.

"I guess I am." Ash accepted. He had the right to be picky about the additions to his team. Call him elitist but he didn't want to throw out pokeballs randomly and hope something hits. The conversation came to a halt as they entered the Pokemon Center. Ash handed over Greed's ball as Nurse Joy promised to call him when the panda was all healed up. Leaf also checked her pokemon in and got a room to stay in. "So," he turned to Leaf with a grin. "I think it's about time for dinner. Cafeteria?"

"Sure." Leaf agreed easily. "I'm pretty tired of ration bars." Ash understood that. Ration bars were fine and all, but they're bland. He liked a little more flavor with his food.

Dinner was a quick affair. Leaf told him of her time on the route, her team and any other information that came to mind. Ash paid it back in kind, telling her of his week-long trek to Viridian and future plans.

"Celadon?" Leaf repeated in surprise. "How do you plan on getting there?"

"I met someone who knows the area. He let me in on a secret path." Ash said vaguely. Giovanni hadn't said he was forbidden from revealing the tunnel or his identity, but it felt like something he should at least refrain from blurting out in public.

"Wow, vague much? Whatever." Leaf shrugged off his ambiguity. "I'm gonna do the normal route for a bit. To Pewter then through Mt Moon to Cerulean."

Ash nodded. "Then where, Vermillion?

"Arceus no!" Leaf exclaimed passionately. "Surge is a monster. Even Sabrina tones down the difficulty for newbies, but that guy wrecks with his electric-types. The only reason a rookie can win is because he has to use his League mandated team. If he used his main team jolteon or damn ace raichu? Instant bloodbath."

"Alrighty, not Vermillion then." Ash said after her proclamation. "So, Celedon, Saffron or Fuschia?" He asked.

"Most likely Celadon. After I get three badges I think I'll take a break from Gyms and see Kanto. I wanted to visit Lavender Town at some point." Leaf cleared her throat. "What about your plan?"

Ash considered his response for a second. "Well, Celadon first. Then probably Fuschia, once I win there I'll go to Vermillion or Saffron. That could change though, not sure."

"Good luck to you then. Erika isn't too intimidating and Janine is still pretty inexperienced - rumor is those two might get replaced actually - but Sabrina and Surge are tough." Leaf said as the intercom came on and called for the pair of Pallet Town trainers. She downed the last swig of her juice. "I'm tired so I'm going up to my room after I get my team."

Ash yawned at the mention of sleep. "Me too, gonna call my mom though. Do you have any plans tomorrow?"

"Nothing concrete," she admitted. "I need to stock up on supplies and whatnot. Other than that there isn't much. Wanted to get some battles in with both Glide and Champ."

"I recommend stopping at the Viridian Market. Some good stuff there." Ash recommended as the two of them approached the desk where Nurse Joy was sitting.

"Here for a pickup?" Nurse Joy asked with a smile.

"Yeah, pokemon registered to Ash Ketchum and Lavern Vallan."

"Right!" Nurse Joy said happily as she set the trays with their pokeballs in front of them. "They all look healthy and should be able to train immediately. However," she shot Ash a small glare. "I have seen you here too many times today. You need to let your pancham rest a little."

Ash flushed as Leaf didn't bother to refrain from outright laughing at him. "Yes, ma'am." He took his pokeball back with a few muttered words of appreciation before leaving for his room. Leaf teased him slightly before they agreed to meet up for breakfast and split up.

"Hey, mom." Ash greeted after she picked up his call. The background was unfamiliar to him. A grey wall with nothing hanging up. A sharp contrast to their home that held a picture frame or decoration of some kind on every available blank space.

"Hi, Ashy! Have a good day?" Delia asked.

"Yeah, I'm a little tired though." Ash admitted. "Nothing compared to Greed though, we had almost two dozen battles this afternoon."

"Don't push yourself too hard, honey." His mother said worriedly.

Ash smiled. "I'm not, I promise. Greed and I are just preparing for future Gyms."

"That's great!" His mother beamed. "Oh, Ash! I almost forgot! I got a call from someone today!"

Ash blinked as he tried to think as to why that would be significant. "Someone like…"

"An old friend of mine. You ran into him today." She hinted.

His eyes lit up. "Giovanni!"

"Yep! He said you reminded him of himself when he was young." Delia laughed. "I think I'm more grateful you aren't more like him, Gio always was a troublemaker."

Ash found it surreal that his mother was familiar with Giovanni the Earthshaker. He found it even more surreal that she had neglected to mention that fact in the last fifteen years.

"It's perfect!" His mother said suddenly. "Do you remember when I told you about the family tradition when you were younger?"

"Uh…" Ash trailed off. "The thing about taking a slice from the middle of the pie?"

She laughed. "No, though I'm sure your grandfather would have said that too. The tradition is actually from your father's side." A dark look flashed across her face before she continued. "A family with a child that becomes a trainer gifts them a pokemon. Usually it's their starter but…we can bend the rules a little."

Ash blinked. If he ignored the mention of his father - because when was the last time she had ever mentioned him? - and thought about it, she might have mentioned such a thing when he was ten or so. "Oh, yeah. Didn't you say…he got his starter from his father?"

"He did." His mother told him. "And given where I am, it's only fitting to give you a pokemon from here."

"And where is that?" Ash asked.

"It's a surprise!" She said. "I was going to have it sent to the Pokemon Center but I just sent it directly to Giovanni. It should arrive tomorrow morning and he said he'd pass it on to you after giving it a once over."

"Alright, mom. And if it's inconvenient then don't worry about it, I can always catch a pokemon." Ash said.

"No, Ashy. If sending you a pokemon will help keep you on the routes then I'm doing it. Or at least another pokemon to help protect you."

So that's what this was about. Ash smiled at his mother as he bid her goodbye. He would have loved to talk to her longer, but he was exhausted and it seemed she was too.

Ash released Greed as he dressed (or rather undressed) and crashed into bed, sleep overtaking him immediately. The fighting-type seemed just as exhausted as his trainer. The pokemon climbed on top of the room's wardrobe, content to sleep in the same spot as the previous night. No sooner had the panda layed down he joined his trainer in sleep.

.—.—.

Ash woke up feeling surprisingly rested. A quick check of the time on his pokedex read a little past eight. It wasn't too late but the time still had him mournfully leaving the bed and quickly changing into his day clothes. Greed watched him step out of the bathroom with an expectant stare. "Morning, bud. Ready for the day?" Greed made a noise that conveyed his trainer was a fool for expecting otherwise. "I thought so. I'm going to go have breakfast with Leaf, do you want me to return you or do you wanna stay here?"

The fighting-type made a disgruntled noise as the two options before gesturing to the room. Ash picked up the meaning and slipped his hat on as left his starter in the room with his own breakfast and a warning not to ruin anything lest he have to pay for it. He may have more in savings than most trainers but he still needed every dollar he could get. Trainers could make good money but they spent just as much taking care of themselves and their pokemon.

Ash arrived at the cafeteria before Leaf and chose a table closer to the exit. His morning meal consisted of a glass of juice, cereal and a small bowl of fruit. It was a cheap meal that he thought tasted pretty good for the price. He had eaten nearly half of his cereal when Leaf finally made her appearance.

"Morning." Ash greeted with a small wave. "Finally emerged from hibernation?"

"Hush, Ketchum. I haven't slept in a proper bed for days." She responded as she sat down. She pulled out a ration bar and began munching down.

"Suddenly acquire a taste for those things?" Ash gestured to her choice in food as she bit into her second ration bar.

"The cash I spent last night on dinner was all I could afford to let go. I have enough to afford supplies for my trip to Pewter but not much else. Glide has a broken talon so I'll need to buy some calcium supplements for her, Champ should be fine with the normal pokefood and greens along the way." Leaf explained as she stole a sip of his juice and not-so-subtly glanced at his own food. "It's kinda why I wanted to battle as many trainers as possible, I only battled two trainers on Route 1."

Ash rolled his eyes and pushed his barely touched fruit bowl to the girl. "Here, take my pity."

"Thanks, I will." She responded, brushing off his jab.

"How did you blow all your money anyway? You've been a proper trainer for less than a week?" Ash asked jokingly as he watched his friend inhale the offered fruit.

"My parents would only pay the breeder for Champ if I paid a third myself and we can't all work for the Professor like you." She snapped with more venom than Ash had heard from her in a while.

Ash raised his hands up appeasingly at her tone. "Sorry, just curious."

Leaf sighed. "Whatever, it's fine."

Ash turned back to his cereal in hopes of ignoring the awkward silence in the air. He had known she hated talks about finances for years but had thought that would have faded. Leaf's family was never wealthy and when they were younger Gary had poked at that fact constantly until his grandfather had told him off. It was a sore spot of hers. Which…fair enough. They all had something that the rest had all wordlessly agreed to never bring up. For Gary it was his sister. For Leaf it was money. For Ethan it was the scar on his cheek. And for Ash it was his father.

"So," he asked after a few bites. "Did you wanna battle after lunch? I have a thing I have to do this morning." Leaf nodded her agreement without a word. Ash left the cafeteria quickly after that and went to retrieve Greed. It was a little past ten and Giovanni was expecting him soon.

The street outside the Center was busier than Ash had expected. He saw a girl with a small pidgey resting on her shoulder talking to an older girl with a familiar looking face. Ash took a moment to try and remember just who it was. He knew he recognized her but couldn't place her in his mind. The Viridian Gym came into sight just as the name came to him. It was Amber, the trainer with the meowth Greed had fought on Route 1.

He decided Amber was not important at the moment as he finally came upon the Gym. The building matched its owner perfectly, large and imposing. He couldn't hope to name the material it was made of - some sort of mix between metal and concrete - but it seemed sturdy enough to weather the massive attacks Giovanni's caliber of pokemon would produce.

Ash felt excited as he went to enter the building. A sign on the door stated Giovanni's official Gym Hours (noon through four in the afternoon) that Ash read but felt no real need to be interested in. The room he entered was large though not overly so. It was a waiting room that held little else but chairs and a desk with a receptionist. To the left of the desk was a set of double doors Ash expected to lead to the battlefield of the Gym.

The receptionist looked up from her computer and sighed. Her brown hair was tied up into a ponytail and gave her a look that made her seem a year or two older than he thought her to be. He hadn't even gotten a word out when she started talking. "The official Gym hours are posted on the door. Please come back at the proper time." She semi-rebuked as she returned to her papers.

Ash was slightly stunned at her rudeness. "Actually, I'm here to speak to Giovanni."

The receptionist, Jenna as told by a small plaque on her desk, almost seemed to scoff. "Listen, if you want to battle, though I doubt you could, or speak to Giovanni then come back at normal hours. Noon through six, Mondays through Thursdays. Now shoo, Giovanni has a meeting this morning and asked to not be bothered."

Ash locked eyes with the brunette and frowned. He was about to tell her off when the massive double doors flung open. The large, imposing Gym Leader of Viridian City gave the two of them an appraising look without saying a word.

"I'm sorry, sir! I was just telling this kid that you didn't want to be bothered. He was just about to-"

"Jenna, I think you should take the rest of the day off."

"-leave. I'm sorry, what? Sir, I only just got here!" Jenna protested after Giovanni interrupted her.

The man ignored her protest and motioned for Ash to follow. "Please forgive her disrespect. Come along. I do believe we have a meeting to keep." He turned to Jenna. "We will discuss the matter of your resignation letter later."

Ash would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the gobsmacked look on the women's face as he followed the Gym Leader through the doors. "It's alright. She was a little rude but she doesn't need to lose her job."

Giovanni ignored his appeal for the receptionist's further employment. "I assume you are wondering why I asked you here this morning?"

Ash nodded as he took the hint and dropped the topic of Jenna's future within the Gym. Well, she was probably on thin ice for some other incident for Giovanni to simply get rid of her like that. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, please release your starter."

Ash did so with a little hesitation. The pancham materialized from the pokeball with a look around and tensed up seeing the battlefield he had been released on. "No, this isn't a battle!" Greed fell out of his stance after confirming there was no opponent to fight.

"Interesting." Giovanni said as he looked at the smaller creature. Ash watched his starter carefully as Giovanni inspected him, less the bipedal assumed the worst and attacked the man. "I have not run into any of his species personally, but he seems to be larger than the average pancham. Well fed, certainly, and he listened quickly. Good."

Ash wasn't sure his pokemon quite understood exactly what the Gym Leader was getting at but he clearly understood enough to recognize the praise as he puffed his chest up. Maybe he should've named him Pride.

Giovanni straightened his back after he finished his appraisal. "For only having him a week, it's seems he has been well taken care of. I am impressed. I have a few questions I must ask you."

"Go ahead." Ash said quickly.

"You said you planned on battling Erika in Celadon, yet you have only one pokemon. What is your plan on that matter?"

"My mother said she had sent a pokemon to you." Ash said, puzzled.

"Yet you didn't know this until last night. What was your plan before then?"

"Given the tunnel would take me to Route 16, with the migration of flying-types from Johto I think I should be able to capture a pokemon I deem sufficient. A murkrow or skarmory would be good additions."

"Skarmory rarely migrate this far east let alone all the way to Route 16, they go to southern Johto or the farther, uninhabited islands off the mainland. Murkrow is a good choice, but they are evasive ones and rare enough at that. " Giovanni critiqued.

"Yes, but murkrow might be drawn into my pancham given his darker leanings. If nothing else, I would head past Celadon to Route 7. Last I heard there were a bunch of growlithe that got driven from the city out there." Ash rebutted. Honestly he would rather not catch a growlithe over other pokemon (the stories of the rare houndour in the same area came to mind) but if pressed for options he may have to let his standards slip. Not that growlithe were especially weak, but it gave him the feeling of copying Oak's Champion team. It was a ridiculous notion but he would still rather catch other pokemon.

"A good backup plan, but you make it sound as if it was a last resort. If you do not want a growlithe on your team long term then do not catch it just to beat a single opponent."

Ash got the feeling Giovanni liked picking apart his plans, even if the man was making valid points. "Did you have other questions?"

"Yes, the tunnel loops quite often and is a good bit longer than you may have thought. It takes roughly two weeks to get through if you don't face any major complications. You have prepared for a long trek, correct?"

"Yes, I have enough rations for about two months. Water may be an issue though." Ash admitted his lack of ideas for the drinking problem.

"There are water stations every half day or so, the miners installed them." Giovanni informed him. "They are self sufficient and are running off of an underground reservoir."

"Oh, good. That was my only real issue."

"Good, and I suppose you already know that emerging from the dark into the light too fast can damage your vision?"

"Yes and I had planned on easing myself into the sun or coming out during the night."

Giovanni asked a couple more probing questions that Ash answered as best as possible before he was satisfied. The point of all the questions was lost on him. He understood wanting to guarantee his safety, but the questions on his future pokemon and Gym battle didn't fit the bill.

"One last question, if I may." At Ash's consent the man continued. "I need a favor and you seemed suitable for it."

That gave the Pallet Town teen pause. The Gym Leader of Viridian City needed help from him? "I can help as best I can. What is the favor?"

"I have an acquaintance in Celedon that is in need of an item in my possession. Would you be able to deliver such a thing?"

Ash nodded. "Sure. Is it anything important?"

"Yes, though it's not time sensitive," Giovanni told him.

"I'd be happy to help, what is it exactly?"

In response, the taller pokemon trainer pulled a device from his pocket. A small, black hard drive the size of his thumb with an orange stripe across it that he tossed to Ash. "When you reach Celadon, give it to Ana at the Game Corner."

"You can count on me." Ash promised.

"I wouldn't trust you with it if I wasn't sure of that." Giovanni responded. Without any preamble, he removed a pokeball from behind his back. He pressed the release and a small pokemon appeared in a flash of red light. Ash's first thought had been that it was a rather small pokemon, it stood barely a foot and a half if it was even that tall. It was brown and had a beige, mask-like pattern covering its large black eyes, and it had two beige feet and the top of its head had a stem-like protrusion. The only glaring difference he noticed that deviated from the pictures he had seen of the pokemon on his pokedex was the short, cream colored scar above its eyes.

Ash blinked at the small grass-type in surprise. The Gym Leader then tossed the pokeball at Ash who caught it on instinct. Ash was confused for a moment before his eyes widened. "This is from my mother?"

"It is. Seedot are not from Kanto but I suppose your starter has already prepared you for foreign pokemon. It's a rowdy one but I think you will be able to get him to his peak soon enough."

Greed ignored the two humans talking as he approached the much smaller pokemon. He was curious. The panda growled out a greeting which the acorn-like pokemon returned hesitantly. He asked who it was, to which it gave a half-hearted response of Seedot. Greed huffed. Perhaps he was rude because he was weak enough to be captured?

The grass-type looked at the fighter with surprise and asked him what he was. He chittered out that he was Greed, of course, the best of his species. His trainer trained him to be the strongest there was.

He was lucky to be joining their trainer if he wanted to be as strong as him, Greed conveyed. Greed growled out, saying his trainer would surely take the grass-type with them.

Seedot squeaked out that he was sure Greed was strong, but his trainer was only human. How could he be strong? They should split from the black and white pokemon's trainer.

The fighting-type disagreed, his trainer was strong and honorable. Smart and crafty. He would never abandon him.

Seedot was not convinced and called the fighting-type's power into question, maybe he had been brainwashed and could not fight it? Perhaps a weak human made weak pokemon?

Greed growled, was he challenging him? A battler such as himself could not let another creature get away with insulting his strength. The nut conveyed that they needed a battle, should Greed win then the seedot shall accompany him and acknowledge him and his trainer as a superior. Greed agreed. He went to convey the developments with his trainer.

Ash wasn't sure quite how it had happened. One moment he was conversing with Giovanni and the next Greed was insisting on a battle with Seedot. A sentiment the Hoenn pokemon seemed to return. Rather quickly the pokemon took to the battlefield. Ash was going to join them in the trainer box but Greed motioned otherwise. The teen nodded in understanding. This was Greed's battle. Whatever had happened between the two pokemon had made the fight about proving the fighting-type's strength.

Greed glared across the field at his opponent. The little pokemon was able to back out, he offered. His opponent refused. The panda respected the determination of the grass-type, he offered the first move despite his still boiling anger over the pokemon's gaul to call his abilities into question.

Ash was prepared for the grass-type to attack with an Absorb, Tackle or maybe a Leech Seed. What he was not expecting was for the little acorn to use Harden combined with what he thought was Growth and started gathering energy for a fucking Solar Beam.

Greed had not fought many grass-types, a few but not many. Of all of his grass-type opponents, none had gathered energy and attempted what Nut was doing. The fighter wasn't sure of the move but he knew he should start moving. He ran at his enemy, zigzagging on his approach. When he was close to the small pokemon it let the energy release in the form of a beam. The move was definitely powerful, but it was easy to see it was under-practiced. It took nearly twenty seconds for the beam to be primed before it was finally released. The attack went in the fighting-type's general direction but went wide and sailed way past him.

The Kalosian pokemon didn't bother looking at where the attack ended up and focused on his enemy's position. He arrived at his target with a Slash ready to strike. He struck the acorn pokemon hard and the grass-type was pushed back a small distance. Greed bombarded him with Arm Thrusts and Slashes.

Seedot squealed at the damage it was receiving. It didn't seem able to power up for another beam with Greed constantly attacking him, breaking his focus. Greed glared at it as it refused to go unconscious, he halted his bombardment of attacks as he attacked with Circle Throw. The brown pokemon was sent flying into the nearest wall only to be stopped by a barrier. Regardless of it not being the wall, the seedot came to a halt violently and fell to the ground. Greed growled loudly in victory as he assumed the battle was won.

Ash grinned as his starter won the battle. Seedot was noticeably exhausted from the Solar Beam and hadn't had much left in him afterward. The trainer hopped onto the field to congratulate his starter as well as make sure Seedot wasn't too injured. He landed the small drop easily and jogged over to the battlers. "Nice job, Greed!"

Greed bared his teeth pridefully at his trainer's praise, but growled as Seedot suddenly got up from the ground. Ash paled as he realised the battle wasn't over and he had trespassed onto an active field. "Shit!" He gasped out.

Seedot either didn't notice, or didn't care, Ash was in the range of attack as it shot off a Leech Seed with the last of its energy. The pokemon's aim was far better than with Solar Beam, but still not great. A majority of the seeds hit the pancham as he was unprepared for it. The rest however went past the battler and towards Ash.

The teen dove out of the way and got away from the seeds speeding at him like bullets. Mostly. Two seeds struck into him. One barely skidded his left leg with a graze and hit harmlessly in the dirt. The other embedded deeply into his left forearm. Ash yelped in pain as he did his best to examine the wound quickly. The effect of Leech Seed was to sap an opponent's strength from them quickly, it needed to be embedded into the skin to take root and grow using the nutrient in the recipient's blood as fuel to grow rapidly, leaving the pokemon or person drained. Pokemon could recover from the move well enough, but a story of a trainer getting hit with a projectile from Leech Seed went through his mind. Within less than a day of it taking root, she was dead. After it had fully rooted he would have to amputate the arm. If it spread to his shoulder, then it would move through his body quickly and he would be screwed. Ash wouldn't allow that to happen.

He quickly slipped his black traveling pack off his back and removed his multitool from its designated pocket. He folded it into a pair of pliers, a nifty feature that he hadn't thought he'd use like this, and breathed. He quickly yet steadily jammed it in the hole in his arm, searching for the seed. His eyes watered from the pain and he clenched his teeth hard enough he thought they would break. He pinched his pliers onto something and, hoping it wasn't something else like a bone, yanked the seed out. His pliers were gorey and his arm was leaking his blood onto the ground.

Ash let his multitool drop to the ground with the seed. He glanced at the pokemon that had hit him with the seed and saw Greed holding it down as it looked on with something akin to horrified respect. He stood and approached the grass-type as he held his arm. Greed tightened his hold on the smaller pokemon as his trainer approached.

Seedot closed its eyes when he got close. Ash felt a pain in his heart at the sight of the pokemon clearly awaiting some sort of punishment. Though he wasn't a hundred percent sure a little bit of that pain wasn't from the bloodloss. "It's alright, Greed." The fighting-type loosened his grip, if only slightly. Ash looked down on the Hoenn pokemon and rested his, not wounded arm's, hand on the head of it and stroked it gently. "Are you alright? Greed can pack a punch."

Seedot seemed surprised at the gentle contact rather than the punishment he had been awaiting. Ash clenched his fist, then immediately relaxed it as he winced in pain. Seedot squeaked at his expression. "Oh, I'll be fine. Greed, let go."

The pancham did reluctantly and immediately ran to his trainer's side. He glared at the bleeding wound on Ash's arm with anger. The teen rubbed his head with a smile. "Like I said, I'm fine. I just had to dig the seed out before it took root. It will leave a scar and I may need to get it stitched up but I'll live."

Greed nodded before turning to the grass-type watching the scene with wide eyes. He had won, the fighting-type insisted, so he must admit his human's superiority as well as his. The nut bowed and conveyed that the panda pokemon was indeed stronger and his human just as strong and honorable as he had said. Perhaps he could still join Greed's trainer and travel with them?

Ash wasn't sure what the two pokemon were conversing about, but Seedot bowed and Greed rumbled before turning to his trainer. "Does it want to join us?" A rumble of reluctant agreement later and Ash was welcoming the grass-type to the team. He went to retrieve his bag and bloody pliers from the dirt as the two followed him.

A loud, deep laugh erupted in the Gym. Giovanni was watching the scene with interest as he walked over. "I was about to page my emergency medical team before you went digging. I figure you have the problem taken care of now but I insist you cover it here and then I will walk you to get it taken care of."

Ash nodded as he kneeled down and duh into his pack. He retrieved the medkit quickly and took out the proper items. He wiped the area, cleaned it and applied anti-infection cream to the area. He covered the wound with a giant gauze patch meant for knees before wrapping it with medical tape.

"I believe that will be sufficient for the walk. I would recommend getting it stitched but I am no professional in the medical field. Now come along. I did say I would walk you." Ash nodded and returned all his items, including the bloodied multitool, to their proper place. He went to pick up the bag and gasped as pain shot through his arm. His bag was heavy even with both arms, now he was down to one and couldn't lift it. Without a word Giovanna walked over and picked it up and carried it for him. "Return your pokemon and follow after me."

Ash nodded and returned his pokemon with a grin. He clicked Greed's pokeball to it's normal spot on his bandelier and below it he clicked Seedot's pokeball as well.

.—.—.

Thoughts? Review if you enjoyed or otherwise wanna complain to me about something.

Potentially a small spoiler, but Giovanni is not Ash's father. I wouldn't wanna be too predictable, now would I? Also, no. Ash's entire team won't be given to him. I promise he'll actually catch his next 'mon.