The Prologue

The world of Pokémon vast, adventurous and full of mysteries. There have been many main regions explored over the world, some of them being Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea. Other areas include: The Orange Archipelago; Decolore Islands; The Castaway Islands and The Galar Isles. Not even mentioning other obscure regions like the Eleris, Gartic or Orre Regions.

There has been over eight-hundred between Kanto to Galar on their own without even considering the other regions. There are people all over the world who spend their lives surrounded by Pokemon. Some as professors, trainers, breeders and for emergency services. In fact, each of the professors typically have their own professions in particular.

However it should be noted that even the most… obscure individuals in the world can make all the difference. Should they be the hero? Maybe they have a rough life and become the villain? Sometimes these decisions are predetermined.

Our journey into the world of Pokémon begins in Pallet Town. It is known across the world for being the location of Professor Oak's Pokémon Lab and where many trainers in Kanto start their journeys. In fact, soon a group of talented children will begin their careers as they try to find themselves.

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.

Damian, 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.

There was once, a young brunette girl who disappeared after her parent's mysterious death around four years ago. Her name was one many had forgotten now. Her parent's Green and Larry, died under a house fire but the girl was never found. She was friends with Ash and Serena when they were young and even attended the same summer camp. Though no one likes to talk about her due to the tragedy.

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.

The Professor is also well known for holding annual summer camps located within safer areas of the ranch and lab of Pallet Town. It was responsible for bringing many of the pieces together. Due to one of the camps, Ash even got to meet several people whom he would likely never meet again, though one of them is still there to this day.

"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.

Serena is wearing a lavender sweater and dark-pink shorts as she, along with Lillie would be staying the night at Ash's house to go to the lab together the next day. In the same light, Lillie is wearing a short, white nightgown with a light-blue lower-half and frills at the top-half.

Unsurprisingly, the boy was gulfing down food as if his life depended on it. Not to mention, when he would eat, he often forgets that there are other people wanting to eat as well.

Ash is wearing green and yellow pajamas as to remain comfortable, even if Delia felt he should have worn clothes while they had guests over.

Ash looks over at her confused, as he responds "What's that mean? I'm just trying to handle my appetite for when we start our journeys tomorrow" all while still having food in his mouth.

Though before he, or anyone else, can say any more, they are interrupted by Delia, Ash's mum. Sticking her head around the corner, Delia tells him "Ash! I told you to not speak with your mouth full mister, it's rude"

Ash turns to respond to her but she's now off again which confuses him. He then swallows his food, loudly, and then whispers "How did she even know I had food in my mouth?"

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 mother, laughed in unison.

"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 it's short for nebular due to the patterns on him' Serena thinks to herself as she brings her attention back to the others.

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 by the honey-blonde female.

"He, Nebby is a boy" Serena tells him with a smirk as she picks up a thin slice of pizza, just one of the many choices at the table.

"Okay, what will happen to 'him' if Lillie comes with us?" Ash rephrases with slight emphasis on 'him' as he rolled his eyes at her.

"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 four years ago Samuel" Delia corrects him as she offers a plate of food for the professor and for his grandson.

The professor graciously accepts it as Gary thanks her as he takes the offered food. If it wasn't for the conversation happening, Ash would probably be messing around with his childhood rival.

"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. Maybe that's why you got dumped here in Pallet Town" the voice easily revealed who it was. Damian.

Serena then, glaring at the person, tells him sternly, "Lillie is no coward, she's a strong person and you don't get to talk to her like that" as she places her hand on Ash's arm to try and calm him down.

Damian then retorts arrogantly with a sneer "Ah right, coming from the girl whose dad abandoned her and her mum to… become a… Battle Frontier Brain was it? Just a failed parent is all I'm hearing. I used to think you may have been 'cool' but then you surround yourself with these" pointing towards her friends "losers and then my opinion of you dropped"

Before any of the adults could respond, Ash jumps to his feet… Gary cuts him off, "Damian, listen here, who do you think you are talking to her like that" he says this calmly as he remains seated as Damian turns his attention to the Oak.

"And then there's you Oak, you're famous for who your grandad is and your dad's failed reign as champion. In fact, he's not even here to see you off is he?" Damian says as he glares at Gary with venom dripping from each of his words.

Though, before Gary was able to retort, Serena cuts him off as she says "Just leave right now Damian, I don't even understand why you felt the need to come here and try to bully us. You have your Charmander, Abra and Rattata, so why haven't you left already?" as she stands now, crossing her arms in defiance at the boy.

As Damian is about to continue ripping into people, a cough from behind him interrupts. Turning around, Damian is now face to face with a grown man who bears a strong resemblance to Gary. He has a short-sleeved dark-grey polo shirt with the collar flipped up and purple cargo pants with black shoes.

The man then tells Damian "I think it would be best to just leave now Damian, this is a last party, and you're not welcome here right now"

Recognising the man, Damian thinks better than to continue on. He then walks out of the house without another word as he puts his hands in his jacket pockets.

Gary, with a smile, then asks "So you finally made it then dad?" as the adults spill into the room now after hearing the commotion. In all, it likely only lasted less than two minutes and they didn't hear all of it at first.

His dad then comments with a chuckle "I wasn't about to just miss the start of my son's journey, now was I?"

The Pokémon professor then grabbed his son for a hug as he says "Good to see you Blue, how have you been?"

As the adults talk, Gary goes to join them.

A bit calmer Serena asks softly to Lillie "How are you feeling?" as she looks to her friend with concern. Serena and Ash have always been rather protective of Lillie due to her shy and nervous personality.

With a low voice, Lillie responds "I think so, I was nervous enough about tomorrow as it was… that was more unnecessary stress too" as she keeps her gaze aimed at her lap as she holds her hands on her pajamas.

Still irritated and not thinking clearly, Ash clenches his fists and says "That guy just angers me, why doesn't he just go away forever"

Serena, sitting between her two closest friends, kicks Ash in the leg as to try and 'discretely' get him to shut up and take the hint.

An 'oof' from the raven-haired boy was the response given by her action. Lillie heard this but figured she already knew what had happened. Though even had he not made that sound, Lillie figured that Serena would do something like that anyway.

Lillie thinks to herself 'Serena always has done what she needed to keep me safe and protected. Even if it meant trying to quiet Ash down by less than conventional means. It's almost enough to make me giggle'

Ash looks towards Serena with confusion as his eyebrows furrowed. Though before he says anything, he sees the look on her face.

Serena has a look that would imply she would like him to stop talking. Serena then thinks to herself 'He can be so dense at times. Why would he think that this is what Lillie would want to hear after what just happened?'

Upon seeing her expression, Ash thinks to himself 'Oh! Right, maybe it would be a good idea to not go on about that stuff right now'. He then says aloud, sympathetically "How are you feeling Lillie?" … as he seemingly didn't hear Serena ask the same question.

As her left eyebrow twitches, Serena then tells him "I just asked her that Ash" as she then rolls her eyes.

Sheepishly, Ash then responds "Oh, did you? I must not have heard you then Serena" as he rubs the back of his neck.

Before Serena can respond with the obvious, Lillie starts giggling at them both. Therefore, as they both turn to their friend, Serena asks "What's so funny Lillie?"

As she calms herself down, Lillie tells them "Well, you tried to 'subtly' tell him to be quiet, failed, then he didn't even hear you" as she holds a small smile on her face.

Blinking in surprise Serena, taken aback by her friend's forwardness, starts laughing with Lillie.

Soon after that, Gary came back into the room and saw the three of them more or less asleep on the furniture in the living room. Ash was snoring on the arm chair on his own, with a blanket over him. Likely done by one of the girls. Whereas Serena and Lillie were on the settee together with a thick, Vulpix, blanket mostly covering Lillie.

Gary thinks to himself 'Serena must have put the blanket over them before settling down properly herself. Always caring'

Shortly thereafter, the adults came in too and saw them. Delia said goodbye to her guests, knowing that she would see them all again the next morning.

Gary said his own farewells as he had forgotten something of value at the Pokémon research lab. His Poke Gear. The professor gave his grandson his keys to get into the lab. Of course, Gary could have waited until the next morning, though it was his 'recent' birthday gift. That and it was more convenient to get it tonight.

As Gary entered the lab he quickly spotted his device on a nearby table and grabbed it. Looking at the percentage, it shows 37% battery remaining. Gary comments "Guess I'll need to charge that up when I get back to the house"

As he turns to leave, he suddenly hears a sound from the 'Research Area' of the lab. Cautiously, Gary approaches the room trying to be as quiet as possible. In the darkness, as he takes the corner, he sees a silhouette near the Pokeball Machine. The young Oak, realises what they're likely doing and makes his move.

Gary calls out to the suspected thief "Who are you? And what do you think you're doing?" as he moves to try and block their escape.

As the person turns their head towards him, he notices two details of them. That they were female, with shoulder-length hair and that they were holding one of the Pokeballs. As his eyes grow wide, Gary narrows his eyes and demands "Put that back now, it's not yours to take. It will belong to a trainer tomorrow and you have no right to take it"

The female looks towards Gary as she grips the Pokeball tighter. She thinks to herself 'Gary, I haven't seen him properly in a very long time. Oh well, this isn't the time for a reunion, I need to escape'

Moving towards her, carefully, Gary comments "You don't need to do this, just put that back and leave" he knows that this is a delicate situation and needs to play this as safely as possible.

The female then finally answers him "I am taking this Pokémon because it should belong to me. But that right was taken from me. Now I will take this as mine" as she prepares to make a break for it.

"Your 'right', you say? And how is that then?" Gary asks as he prepares to tackle the female in order to prevent the Pokémon from being stolen.

Letting out a toneless laugh, she asks "Oh? Don't you remember me Gary Oak? I suppose after what happened, most of the people in this town like to pretend I don't exist" as she feels a mix of sadness and anger as she tells him this.

Caught off guard, Gary says "You know me? Not by my family but you seem to know who I am, how so?"

With him now distracted, the female throws an empty Pokeball at Gary as to make it seem like she was giving him back the Pokemon. He catches it as she then runs past him. He realises too late that it was an empty Pokeball. Though by this time, she's already out of the door.

He runs after her to try and stop her but sees that she's by the woods now. He decides that it's too dangerous to follow her and knows that he must give up.

Though one thought comes to Gary 'that voice, it both sounded familiar and yet 'distorted' as if by technology or even a Pokémon's powers'

And that's all for this 'Prologue Chapter', it has several changes from the original chapter that I made before and that's the point. I want to build this story with hints, foreshadowing and fun moments. Watching 'Attack on Titan' has taught me that foreshadowing can improve a story drastically. So I will be trying it out myself.

As with the original story, I have NO clue on who may or may not get together in the story. It will be also noted that I may change the order of the regions around a little bit. Like with Lillie around, I may have our characters visit Alola sooner rather than later. Or I may even split our heroes up to allow them to develop on their own while not overshadowing newer characters. However these are only ideas in my head right now.