The Prologue
The world of Pokémon vast, adventurous and full of mystery. While to this date between Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and among other regions have classified over eight-hundred discovered species of Pokémon, maybe it's safe to say that not all of them have been unearthed.
Maybe some of these creatures are hiding in plain sight, some of them yet to reach their final evolution. Perhaps some require odd and yet fascinating methods to morph to their next stage.
However it should be noted that even the most… obscure individuals in the world can make all the difference. Should they be a hero? A villain? To save the world or to unintentionally cause its own demise.
Our stories begin in Pallet Town. A set of very talented and some bright soon-to-be trainers have grown up there.
Gary Oak, the prodigal grandson of arguably the most famous and respected Pokémon Professors in the world. He has a flair to overthink things, and while that may usually not be too useful, he has trained his whole life, ten years, to get to where he is now. He does however have a fairly hot-headed rival but also a few good friends, even if he doesn't like to always admit that.
Serena Yvonne, a beautiful young girl with a knack for fashion and seeing the beauty of differing Pokémon, even if that sometimes causes some ignorance. She would rather take say a Horsea over a Tentacool any day. She's a loving, caring person but sometimes she can be too close-minded.
Lillie, a shy but rather affectionate girl who despite her fears of Pokémon, wants to travel the world and discover what's out there. She was abandoned by her Mother some years ago and has been raised by Serena's family since. The two girls are more or less sisters.
Damien, a fiery temper and an anger to boot. Full of arrogance and a total disregard for his Pokémon's wellbeing and safety. He will just take the strongest and expect results without fail.
Then there's Ash Ketchum. He's a clumsy one at times, often failing to do any preparation or consideration. As long as it gets him closer to his next battle or Pokémon, everything else is second nature at times. But his heart is almost always in the right place. Well and his stomach is usually the deciding factor in plenty of events.
But of course the world renowned Pokémon professor… Professor Oak. His life goal? To complete the National Dex, which could take years to complete, as such in his older age, it's no longer feasible to suggest he could pull that off. So instead he takes young willing children under his wing as Pokémon Trainers in order to go out and capture as many as possible and to find as many as possible. While it could take forever for one person to find all of them, sending out five children could help to discover those mysterious hidden.
"You know Ash, you may want to slow down on that food" the young Serena suggests as she glances over at her friend, which causes Lillie to look over as well.
Wouldn't you know it, he's gulfing food down as if he is the only one at the table.
Ash looks over confused as he says "What'cha mean? I'm just trying to have a strong appetite for when we start our journeys tomorrow" while still having food in his mouth.
Before he can continue, Delia, Ash's mum interjects and tells him "Ash! I told you not to speak with your mouth full mister, it's rude"
Ash turns to respond to her and finds that she's not even looking at him which confuses him even further. He gulps his food down as he whispers "How did she even know?"
Delia responds "I raised you, of course I know what you're like dear" which she herself smiled at as Serena, Lillie and Grace, Serena's mum, laughed at that.
"She's got you there Ash, besides you'll be all worn out by your bedtime if you're still eating" Serena tells him as she shakes her head at the raven-haired boy.
Lillie seems off in her own little world as Ash and Serena continue to speak about his food habits.
'Do I want to go tomorrow? Of course I'm still scared of Pokemon, but I want to go with Ash and Serena. They're my best friends and I can't just stay behind without them can I?' Lillie thinks to herself as she continues to look at the table, not haven taken any more food in the past several minutes.
Serena notices and asks Lillie "Are you okay Lil? Are you still nervous?"
As she asks this Ash finally seems to notice her state as well. He adds on "Yeah, remember you don't have to come tomorrow if it'll be too much for you" his expression had softened considerably as he looks at his friend.
At their concern the light-haired girl jolts her head up and stammers out "I'm fine! Nothing to worry about guys, I'm all good and…" but even as she says it she hits the point where she can't continue.
Serena gives her a sideways hug as Ash looks on in worry as he recalled the events of Lillie arriving, three years ago.
(Flashback, Past Tense, Ash's POV)
"Ah it's finally time to rest for bed!" I told Serena as we had laid next to each other on my bed. A sleepover, one of many we had together as we grew up. We'd basically known each other since we were about the age of five, Professor Oak's summer camp. That was something else, but that's a story for another time I guess.
"That's all you do Ash. Pokémon, eat and sleep" Serena said as she had giggled at her own joke. Ha ha.
I had rolled my eyes as I retorted "Well at least it's not 'Eat, Pokémon, sleep' otherwise I'd need to rethink my dream if that's what I do with Pokémon!"
Serena had rolled her eyes at that one. Yep fairly a terrible joke. Dark humour was never my strong point.
"Gross, Ash. Your jokes are almost as bad as your knowledge on Pokémon" Serena had told me which I got to admit, yeah she was right.
Actually sometime after that I had made it a priority to learn more about the different types and their strengths and weaknesses. I had spent the remaining years learning which Pokémon types could be used to further my journey as I would become a trainer.
I then responded "Yeah well" but was cut off by an alarming scream of sorts. We had both jumped out of bed that had to be Mum!
We both ran downstairs in our pyjamas and saw Mum at an open front door. We rushed over and saw something… someone standing there shaking and distant seeming.
Serena went over to her and had taken her over to the dining table. The girl didn't seem to want to answer any of our questions.
Delia had contacted the other parents of Pallet town in order to see if she would be able to find out who she was and no one had known what she was on about. This girl essentially just turned up on our doorstep and didn't seem to remember anything or wish to talk.
However we found out a few days later quite a few things. So she would eventually disclose that her name was Lillie. Then that she had a strange Pokémon, we would eventually find out that it was called 'Cosmog' from Alola. Only a few people in Kanto were aware that we had such a rare and mysterious Pokémon.
Although Lillie did always have a strange fear of Pokémon aside from Cosmog.
(End of Flashback, Present Day, No POV)
'Or should I say 'Nebby', of course short for 'nebular' because it's called Cosmog, or cosmic/ cosmos, and the like' Ash thought to himself as he brought his attention back to his closest friends.
Looking at the shorter girl sympathetically and lovingly, Serena says "Hey, we'll all be fine tomorrow Lillie, me and Ash get our first Pokémon and you get your second…" however is interrupted by the mysterious girl.
With a downcast look, Lillie says "But what if I don't want to go and have Pokémon battles? I'm afraid of them as it is and I couldn't imagine having to order one as its trainer. That's scary and too much" she told them as she contemplated what would be in her best interests.
"So what if you don't get a new Pokémon and just travel with Ash and Serena, dear?" Delia questions from the doorway as the trio look towards the brunette.
Lillie considers it for a short while as Ash responds "But if Lillie comes with us what will happen with Nebby? They can't…" and is cut off.
"He" Serena tells him with a smirk.
"Okay what will happen to him if Lillie comes with us?" Ash rephrases as he rolls his eyes at the honey-blonde female.
"Well I would wager that she can take him with yous if that's what your little girl friend wants" Grace pipes in from behind Delia.
"I suppose that could work, if Mr. Oak is okay with me taking such an important piece of his research on undiscovered Pokémon" Lillie says more as a question than as a statement.
Moments later a voice responds with "Of course you can! You brought that little one here to us when you first arrived at our small town four years ago Lillie" it was Professor Oak as he comes in to the room looking towards the three children and trailing behind is his grandson, Ash's rival, the rich kid and the human Pokémon Encyclopaedia. Gary Oak.
"It was three years ago Samuel" Delia corrects him as she offers a plate of food for both the professor and his grandson.
Oak graciously accepts it as Gary thanks her taking small amounts of the food offered.
If it wasn't for the conversation happening, Ash would probably be hot-headed and trying to fuel his rivalry with Gary.
Serena says 'Hello, Gary, you excited for tomorrow?"
"I'm looking forward to starting my adventure to become the strongest Pokémon trainer ever and to complete my Pokedex. So sure you could say that Serr" Gary responds smugly as he doesn't bother to glance at her.
Before Ash could retort, Lillie responds to the Professor "Well thank you for that Mr. Oak. I just don't feel particularly comfortable currently with Pokémon battles and all that. But if I go with Ash and Serena at least I know I won't be all alone while I try and discover who I really am" she has a small smile on her face as she comes to terms with her decision.
An arrogant voice calls out "Is that so? Rather sad and pathetic if you ask me. I think you're too much of a coward to get close to a Pokémon" the voice easily revealed who it was. Damien.
Before any of the adults or even Ash could respond, well Ash jumps to his feet… Gary cuts him off, "Damien, listen here you punk, who do you think you are talking to her like that" he says this calmly as he remains seated as Damien turns his attention to the Oak.
"Oh look who's talking, the rich smug kid! The one who thinks money is everything. I don't need to listen to someone who's own Mum…" Damien responds harshly but gets cut off this time by Serena.
"Just leave right now Damien, I don't even understand why you need to come here and try and bully us. You have your Charmander, Abra and Rattata, so why haven't you just left already!" she says angrily as she stands up a look of fury upon her face.
"Babe, look I could care less about the rest of these losers, but you? Oh girl you're pretty fine and deserve to be with someone who's cooler and more… well me" Damien says as he takes a step towards the girl and immediately Ash lunges over the table in some attempt to hit him for the disparaging remarks.
However Gary stops him from getting too near to Damien, simply telling him "Don't, it's not worth it" and then the young Oak turns to the playboy and sternly tells him "Get out before I deal with you myself"
The room is silent after Gary's threat as he doesn't break eye contact. Perhaps thinking better of it, Damien backs down, saying "Whatever Oak, I'm outta here and starting early" and with that he leaves slamming the front gate of the Ketchum household shut.
Gary lets go of Ash after that.
The raven-haired boy glared at him and demanded to know "Why did you stop me?"
Without bothering to glance at him Gary responds "Look Ash, he's not worth working yourself up over". Then he glances over to Serena and Lillie asking them "Are yous okay?"
They both nodded in confirmation and with that Gary left the address heading home.
After that the night had been pretty much ruined. Professor Oak left to head home while Ash, Lillie and Serena settled down for the night.
However on the other side of the town other things had happened. Gary had decided to go to the Pokémon lab to grab his Poketch, which he had left there. But as he was just about to leave he catches someone else in the lab.
A young girl, face covered over by the Pokeball machine. Narrowing his eyes he shouts to her "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
This makes her jump as she doesn't respond. Just backs up and then jumps over a table and barges past him and escapes the lab. Gary tries to stop her but is unsuccessful. Fuming, he rings his grandfather up to tell him the serious news.
And that's chapter one, hope yous enjoyed this prologue and set up for the Pokémon anime remake. Even if I am changing plenty of the story in order to suit how it will all go. Expect plenty of changes from the original.