Yes. A second one. The first got a lot of response. Thank you. Lets see how well this one works! ^_^
And I forgot to put a part about Pikachu in the first one. Oops. Look for it below this fic.
And just in case you didn't realize it through the last fic, I go along with the Star Wars/Pokémon idealistic (oh! Big word!) that Giovanni is Ash's father. I will never accept it DIRECTLY, but I put hints that could indicate it in some of my fics.
Also, for easier understanding, I will use Ash's mom's Japanese name, Hanako, every so often. Just so you know…..
I had a few good suggestions for ideas. I also asked on the board/e-group of ff.net (mailing lists under Authors). Just for clarity in the future, 'What if….?' is not about things that will or could happen, but things that could have happened. When I say 'What if', I mean what if Ash hadn't let a Pokémon go, or if he had decided to go somewhere else.
I had one suggestion, I forget who by (sorry!), and I liked it. So:
What if Ash was an orphan?
So read on, young (or older) reader……
(What? What do you mean we don't have room for credits?! I need credits! What….. Oh. People don't like them? Fine. They go RIGHT AFTER the story…..)
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----====[ Little Orphan Ashy ]====----
"Supper time!" a woman in her thirties called.
A small boy about 5 ran into the dining room, running right past the table. He skidded to a stop, and jumped in his chair. He always seemed to have a bunch of energy; something his mother thought he had gotten from his father. The table was big enough to accommodate 4 or 5 people, but it was only set for 2.
The boy's father had gone missing when he was 3, and his mother never thought about looking for anyone else. Not to say that she hadn't gotten offers. She spent most of her time cleaning and taking care of her son. For money, she had a bountiful and respected garden, which brought in enough cash for them.
The boy sat there, his hair messed up. He had been playing around outside with some friends. He had some good friends, but one boy always picked on him. His name was Harry, or Larry, or something. His mom didn't care. If he came in with a smile on his face, she knew everything was okay.
He waited patiently as she plopped some food on his plate. No matter how bad it looked, the boy always liked his mothers cooking, another talent of hers.
"Now, I want you to eat all that. If you want more, you can have more," she said, knowing all too well that he would have seconds, possibly thirds. "So, what do you want to drink, Ash?" she asked. The spiky haired boy stopped eating long enough to mutter 'Soda' and went back to inhaling his supper. She had just gotten his drink when he had finished his first helping. He uttered a single command, and began inhaling again. She stared at her son in slight amazement, though she had gotten used to it. He must have the fastest metabolism, she thought proudly. He finished eating, and went outside to roughhouse with his friends more.
When Ash's mom was done eating, she went out to tend to her garden. Her next-door neighbor had a Squirtle, and allowed Hanako to borrow it, in turn for some fresh veggies. Ash came out and asked for some help getting something. She gladly went to help him. Right after she had gotten Ash some cookies, she smelled smoke, coming from outside- very near to her garden. She ran outside to find a Growlithe running by, trying to shoot fire to stop a robber. It had missed. One fireball hit the garden. Another hit the house. She noticed the garden, first. Because she was still borrowing the Squirtle, it was able to put out the fire in the garden quickly, but it was too late before either noticed the house burning.
"Mom!" a small voice yelled. Hanako could here that the smoke was filling his lungs. It was about that time that Officer Jenny arrived. She saw the fire, and called in for Firemen at once. She tried using the Squirtle to cool off some flames, but the Squirtle was running out of energy fast. Hanako couldn't stand it anymore.
"I'm going after him!" she yelled, and ran to the house. Officer Jenny tried to grab her, but she missed, and Hanako was in the house before Jenny could blink.
"Mom! MOM!" Ash yelled, coughing in between breathes. He stumbled around, trying to find an exit. He had been in for a few minutes, enough to start filling his lungs with smoke instead of oxygen. He lost hope, and lay down on the floor. Everything went blurry, and then black, just as he felt a jerk.
Charmander are a naturally peaceful species, only aggressive when need makes it. They love to play, and are attracted to any source of heat. That's why a lone Charmander, walking back to its herd, took a detour to a smoldering house. It stared at it for a while, then ran inside, enjoying the heat like no human ever could. It ran around inside the smoldering building, until it heard a cough. It followed the noise, and found a small boy, sprawled on the floor, eyes closed.
Charmander are also an exceptionally smart species. More alert than the tired Abra, and better senses than a keen Rattata, they can become imaginative and attentive when time called. This was one of those times. The Charmander pushed the boy as far as it could toward a door. When it got tired doing it that way, it used Slam to push it outside. It sat there staring at it, before the house caught its attention again. Another voice arose over the flames, this one feminine. The Charmander wondered why he bothered as it ran back toward the house.
It never made it inside. The fire had spread quickly and without remorse on that dry day. The Charmander had not taken 5 steps when the whole house collapsed. At the same time, the Fire Department arrived, and went to work putting out the flames. As soon as the flames were low enough, they went through the wreckage, looking for Hanako. Officer Jenny was with Ash.
The Charmander started to walk away. It knew the results. It had saved the boy, but had failed to save the mom. He knew it as soon as the house collapsed. He had heard no more sounds, and knew that no human could survive that. He would go to his herd. He would tell his story, and would be praised for his helping the boy, and pitied for not being able to save the mother.
"Wait, Charmander…," Ash whispered. Charmander was surprised that he had recovered so quickly, as was Officer Jenny, showing on both faces. Charmander walked back, and touched Ash. He was hot, but not in the way that a human burns. More as a natural hot that was released from his body- much like a Charmander. He was even more surprised at this. Jenny stared at it, wondering what it was thinking.
"Char char?" it asked, testing something.
"I don't know," Ash said. This surprised Charmander even more, and it recoiled and started tripping. Ash grabbed its arm to steady it. Jenny was equally surprised, both that he was able to understand the Flame Pokémon, and that he was showing such maturity.
"Char! Charmander char man man der char der!" the Charmander said, starting to expel incomprehensible words as fast as it could. Ash was nodding, the firemen continued their search, and Officer Jenny sat down fully to try to recover from this, or to wake herself up.
"Officer Jenny?" Ash asked, turning his head to look at her. She could see the severe burns, but they were healing- and quite quickly. The Charmander touched an open wound on Ash's cheek. Ash winced, but the wound sealed itself, again surprising Jenny. But the Charmander was not surprised. He had heard of such people, true fire trainers, but only if taught young. Charmander decided that this was one of them, and that since he was now parent-less, he would take care of the boy. It started expelling words again, some mixing with its fire breath.
Ash stood up, despite his burns and aches. Jenny fainted, too many surprises at one time. He looked down at Jenny with a frown. He took the Charmander's hand, and walked away toward a little-visited part of the forest.
By the time Jenny woke up, the fire was out. She instantly asked where the boy was. No one knew. She found whatever she could in the house's ruins that could be the boys, letting a team of Growlithe smell each. She sent them out to try to find the boy, hoping that the problem would also be the solution.
Prof. Oak was clearly disturbed at what Jenny told him. He had come back from the shock of the death of Hanako, and now Ash missing. He had also known about those types of trainers, the Gym Leader Blaine being one of them. He put all his knowledge into trying to search for the boy, checking every know Charmander nest and putting up posters. He got a few calls, but when he went to check them out, the nests were empty, with no sign as to where the pack had went.
They never did find the boy.
Ash had found his calling. The Charmander and the leader of the group, a near-evolving Charmeleon, helped him bring out his full potential as a Fire Trainer, and as a partial Fire Pokémon himself.
Every so often, a weird genetic mistake creates a human with small Pokémon abilities, namely the ones of the Pokémon closest to it at birth. It involves the mixing of gametes, and a somehow odd creation of zygotes. When Ash was born, there was a weird thunderstorm. Hanako and her husband had to go inside a PokeCenter, not able to make it to the hospital. A group of Growlithe had also taken shelter. They were curious Puppies, and watched as Hanako gave birth. Every being, be it Pokémon or human, has a genetic aura around it. When Ash was born, his body was momentarily magnetized to that aura. When a part of one of the Growlithe's was absorbed into him, he took on part of the fire element, waiting to be released. At the fire, when the flames had surrounded his body, it was released. That was the only reason he was still alive.
He now could master any Fire Pokémon. He, reluctantly, stole five PokeBalls from the store in Viridian. He used them to house his Pokémon when he was ready to train. The Charmander, which he named Seraph, a name h had heard someone used, which, incidentally, meant 'angel', the one that had saved him and became his life long friend, stood beside him. Ash refused to put it in its ball unless necessary. He also had another Charmander, Seraph's mate. He also had a Rattata, a Magmar that had gotten lost, and a Goldeen he had found at the shore. He also had a pet Cyndaquil, a baby, but he wasn't able to house it in a Ball, leaving it with 'his' pack to train it some.
When he first walked into Pallet, nobody recognized him. He had lived and stayed with the Charmander pack, now mostly Charmeleon with Charmander babies and a Charizard leader, for almost 10 years. In that time, his senses and alertness had taken a drastic leveling up. He had learned both Pokémon and human language, advancing in science. He 'borrowed' books from a nearby school to teach himself.
He was ready.
It was a nice day with a slight breeze. And about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Prof. Oak stood at his burner, not working on an experiment, but making Tofu. He wasn't a good cook, and had hired someone to do it for him, but today was her day off. He was quite surprised when his front door banged open, making him drop the Tofu he was holding. He jumped up quickly, expecting an attack or something of urgency. He turned around to see a teenage boy. He thought he had seen him somewhere, but wasn't sure.
He was about 15, dressed in a yellow and red shirt, with jeans, and a red and gold cap turned around backwards, and a green backpack. Next to him stood a Charmander, a bit bigger than usual. He had black hair, flat against his head, but spiky at the end. Despite the cold outside, which was still blowing through the open door, he didn't seem to have a jacket or coat with him. He had a solemn, yet inviting look on his face, like he was excited, but couldn't show it. It was when he spoke that Prof. Oak clicked on who it was. More on the name than the voice.
"My name is Ash Ketchum. I am a fire trainer, and I am here to sign up for the league," he said with a stern, low voice, but the look on his face showed that he was ecstatic about what was to come. Prof. Oak smiled, and went to his PC.
That's it. And, as I promised, the Pikachu part of 'What if….? #1'………….
----====[ Bulbasaur, I choose you! – The Yellow Rat ]====----
A lone Pokéball sat in Prof. Oak's lab, in the pod with the other starters, though it had rarely seen light. It had a yellow lightning bolt on it, symbolizing the electric element. A small, yellow mouse slept in the PokeBall, wondering what the outside world was like. It slept almost non-stop, the PokeBall taking care of it's nutritional needs. As it slept, it muttered small 'Pika' noises. It was condemned to stay in that PokeBall until Prof. Oak thought that nobody would want it, and let it free.
So. I like how this one came out. What do think of it? Ideas, questions, flames? Send them to:
E-mail: cosmoswd@trxinc.com
E-Site: http://fananime.cjb.net
This has been a Neo Network production
What do you think of some additions to ff.net? Say, maybe, a bulletin board? Not a huge one, just a place for Authors to hang out and converse about things that they can't post here. Previews, ideas, cooperative stories, and the such. Not that may forums, just ones for categories and popular sub-categories.
Maybe a rating system for the stories. If the reader has the time and strength to click a few buttons, he or she can rate the story on a numerical basis. And the author would have the option of allowing readers to do this. Then, the author won't get hurt if his/her story gets a bad score.
Think one or both are good ideas? Then e-mail me about it, with 'FF.net ideas' as the subject. Over the next 2 months, I will collect e-mail address (not for my personal use, I assure you!) and then send the list in to FF.net requesting one or either. And if you are an Author, include this in your fic so that the word gets spread. ^_^
