Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It was created by Satoshi Tajiri, and is owned by Nintendo, GameFreaks, and um… Some other people in Japan. American distribution/translation rights belong to 4Kids, Viz, and um… Some other people. I own no part of Pokemon, I am simply a humble fan writing about one of his favorite video games/shows.

Now, with that out of the way… A few people may be familiar with my story, Pokemon Next. I promised to write a sequel to that, but not right now… You see, I did something to the characters that I now somewhat regret. You see, there were more things I wanted to do with my older versions of the characters that I never got to do because of restrictions do to their location. I will one day get back to Pokemon Next, but for now, you will have to make do with this. This story has no relation to my previous story besides how a few of the characters act. This fan fiction will also be much more light hearted than my previous story, staying a bit closer to the spirit of the animated series, but being more perverse in humor and mature in a few areas. Now, let us begin, and I hope you enjoy my little tale…

~~~

And so, our series of events begin…

It was a beautiful Summer day in the Pokemon World… Three children, all ten years old, were beginning their Pokemon Journey today… They all came from the town known as Pallet. It had become quite large in the past 9 years since a young boy left and made a name for himself as Pallet's Greatest Pokemon Trainer Ever. One of the children was a boy with short, rust brown/red-ish hair, freckles, and emerald green eyes. He was wearing a red t-shirt, blue shorts, and red and white tennis shoes. A girl walked next to him. She had long purple hair, yellow eyes, and was wearing a bucket hat, t-shirt, pants, and shoes, all pink. Another boy had shoulder length jet-black hair, a lime green sweatshirt, and black pants. He was a bit taller than the other two, and his hair gave him a look of maturity. Suddenly, they were met by a Spearow. The boy with black hair gasped. "Wow, it's a Pidgey!"

The other boy rolled his eyes as the girl frowned and scolded the black haired boy. "Ken, you idiot! That's a Spearow!"

Ken glared at her. "Shut up, Kelly!" He looked to the other boy. "And don't you roll your eyes, Rob!"

Rob scoffed. "I don't know why my mother insisted on us all traveling together… Oh, I know now… Because you're an idiot and if you didn't have us traveling with you, you would have no idea what you were doing!"

"I'm not an idiot, idiot!" Ken screamed up at the taller boy.

"Whatever…" Rob began. "It's not my fault that you can't tell the difference between different Pokemon… What did you do with that Pokedex that Professor Oak gave you?"

"Um…" Ken scratched his head and blushed nervously. "I… sort of lost it…"

Kelly sighed heavily. "Typical… At this rate, we'll make it to Viridian City within the next year or so…" She said sarcastically. "Let's go back and look for it…"

"Wait!" Ken yelled excitedly. "I want to catch it!" He got out his Pokeball. "Charmander, go!" The Pokeball opened and with a flash of light, the Pokemon appeared. It smiled.

"Char!"

"Charmander, use Scratch!"

The orange, cute fire lizard tilted it's head. "Char?"

Ken sighed. "That's right… It must still be tired from those practice battles we had…"

"All of our Pokemon are tired…" Kelly began. "And it's your fault! Rob and I wanted to rest our Pokemon, but you wanted to get to Viridian as soon as possible!"

Rob gulped. "Um, guys?…"

"What?!" Ken and Kelly screamed.

Rob simply pointed at the growing flock of Spearow. The leader, a Fearow, landed on the ground along with more Spearow. The children were completely surrounded. "We have company…"

"So…" Ken began. "What should we do?"

"Stay completely calm…" Kelly began. "Any sudden movements could disturb them and provoke them to attack…"

Ken was completely silent. "… Help! Somebody help us!!!" Ken suddenly screamed out at the top of his lungs.

~~~

Meanwhile, in another part of the route, a young man was leaning on the ground looking at some flowers. "I wonder if you can eat these…" He heard Ken's scream and looked over to where it came from. The man had long black hair in a ponytail and bangs that completely covered his eyes. He brushed attempted to brush them to the side. "I've really got to get these darn things cut…" He stood up. He was wearing a dark blue demin jacket that had a 'Pokemon League Champion' logo right below both shoulder areas. It also had a larger logo on the back. Below that were the words 'ASH' in big yellow capital letters on the back. Under that he wore a black t-shirt with a red stripe running straight across it. He wore jeans of the same shade as his jacket and blue and white sneakers. To finish of the oufit, he was wearing an old red, white, and green 'Official Pokemon League' cap. He looked to a small yellow mouse Pokemon. "Pikachu!" He said in a maturing, but slightly scratchy voice. The mouse stood at attention. Ash smiled. The tiny little 'z' marks on his face long gone, a sign of his transition from child to adult. "Let's go…"

~~~

The three children squeezed together, attempting to stay as far away from the birds as possible. Ken hugged both of his traveling partners. "Even though I was a jerk and did all those stupid things, I just wanna say sorry, guys! I really consider you friends!"

Kelly whimpered. "I'm sorry too!"

Rob outright cried. "And I'm really sorry for being such a strict guy!!"

Suddenly, from the sky, a Pidgeot flew down and used several high speed sky attacks on the group of Spearow. They all flew off and it flew after the now retreating Fearow.

Ken smiled and looked up at the sky. "Wow, we got saved by a Magikarp!" The other children face faulted.

Ash and Pikachu then jumped out from a bush, scaring the children. "AAAAHHHHH!!!"

Ash, embarrassed, scratched the back of his head. "Heh heh… Sorry about that, kids… Are you alright?…"

Rob smiled. "Yeah! All of a sudden, a Pidgeot came from the sky and kicked those Spearows's butts!"

Ash smiled to himself. 'Pidgeot… Reliable as always…' He looked to the kids. "Well, glad to see that you are alright…"

Ken gulped. "Hey, mister… What do you think those Spearow would have done if the Pidgeot hadn't of saved us?…"

Ash smiled mischievously and decided to have to have some fun. "Well, first they would have plucked your eyes out and feed them to their babies… Then, they would have slowly eaten the rest of you to survive, and use your bones to make more nests, and--"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Ken screamed, as he fainted. The others sweat dropped.

Kelly sighed. "Don't mind him… He's our friend and all, but he's sort of embarrassing…"

Ash laughed. "Well, actually… That reminds me of when I traveled with this one guy and this girl… Then the guy was replaced with another guy… Then later, when I was more experienced, I traveled with a younger girl and the original guy… And her little brother… I'm not confusing you, am I?…"

Kelly and Rob blinked, confused. "No, not at all!"

Ash smiled again. "That's good… Well, got to get going! C'mon, Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

Ash and Pikachu walked down the road, and just as Ken was waking up, he saw the big yellow 'ASH' on the back of the jacket. "Hey!" he yelled out. "You're Ash Ketchum, Pallet's greatest trainer!"

Ash turned around and smirked. "Well you got me… The one and the same! Well, I have to get going now!" He looked back ahead and began to run, Pikachu following.

~~~

About a half an hour later, Ash arrived in Pallet. He looked at the town that he grew up in and grinned. "Look out, Pallet… Ash Ketchum has returned!"

~~~

A Series of Events… Episode 1: The Return of Ash Ketchum!

~~~

"Mom?" Ash asked, walking in the strangely open door. He looked around the seemingly empty house. He yelled upstairs. What he heard was silence. Suddenly, he heard a thud. He walked into the kitchen. What he saw almost made him vomit.

Brock was standing over Ash's mother, who was covered red. Brock was holding a knife stained in the red substance. Ash ran over and jumped on the slightly taller man's back attempting to strangle him. "Brock!! You bastard! How could you kill my mother with… a butter knife?…" Ash jumped down. "Um…"

Brock rubbed his neck. "Ash, good to see you and all, but…" He began. "… could you PLEASE explain to me why you tried to strangle me…"

"Oh, um… I thought you killed my mother…"

Brock looked to the ketchup covered knife and Ash's ketchup covered mother. "Ack! No way! You see, it's actually quite bizarre… You see, I just got here and was about to make a sandwich, but I dropped some meat on the ground… Your mother slipped on it, hit her head on the cabinets, and knocked over this here ketchup bottle…" Brock pointed to the notorious meat, and the spilled ketchup bottle. Pikachu was currently licking up the ketchup. "Anyway, in shock, I dropped the knife and it fell in the ketchup. I picked it up and was wondering what to do about all this when you came in…"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that is quite… bizarre…"

"Yeah… Now how about we get your other cleaned up and put her to bed?"

"Are you sure? What if she has a concussion or something? Shouldn't we call the hospital?"

"Naw, I'm sure she will be fine…"

~~~

And so, after taking care of that problem, Brock and Ash both sat down on the couch and discussed the past 4 years over tea. Brock took a sip of his tea. "So, Ash! How's it going? Haven't seen you since you finally won the Indigo League!" He then chuckled. "I see you finally grew into that jacket they gave you…"

Ash laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it… I couldn't believe they didn't have my size… Anyway, things have been pretty cool… I've caught a lot of cool new Pokemon… Anyway, how did you know it was me with all of this hair in my eyes?…"

Brock rubbed his chin and smirked. "Well for one thing, it was obvious… How many Pokemon Champions have Delia as your mother, and wear that cheesy cap?…"

"Hey, it's not cheesy!" Ash yelled in defense.

"Heh, heh… Just kidding… Sooo…" Brock began, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "How're things with you and Misty? Gone all the way home with her yet?…"

Ash's face completely turned red. "Brock! How could you say something like that! I haven't even spoken with her in 4 years, the same with all my friends for some strange reason…"

"Wow, Ash… I never thought of you as an Anti-Social person…"

"… Shut up! I just got… pre-occupied, that's all…"

Brock gave Ash a look. "Uh huh… Right, so that's what they call it when you don't even let your friends know that you're even alive…"

"Hey, give me a break! I had Team Rocket on my tail even more so these last four years… They thought it would be easier because I was alone…" Ash smirked. "Not so…"

"How long have those 3 been chasing you?…" Brock asked.

"About all 9 years of my journey… Almost from the very beginning…"

"And they're just about ready to make it an even 10 this year, too…"

"Hey, you remembered my birthday?…" Ash raised an eyebrow.

Brock smiled. "Of course I did"

"Wow… Ten years of traveling… Also, ten years since I met you and Misty…" Ash began to daze off, thinking about Misty. Her firey red hair, her eyes that matched the sea that she loved so much, and those shorts… Oh good god, those shorts… Ash began to drool.

Brock, knowing good and well who Ash was really thinking about, joked around a bit. "Thinking about me, Ash?…"

Ash quickly snapped out of his dazed and looked to Brock angrily. "No! I was thinking about Mist--" Ash quickly stopped himself.

Brock smiled. "Ash, there's no hiding it… If you're thinking about Misty that badly, give her a call!"

Ash blushed. "But… What if she hates me now? I haven't spoken to her in ages…"

Brock put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Just trust me, man…"

"Alright, if you're sure…" Ash got up and walked over to the Vid-Phone. He took off his hat and called the number for the Cerulean Gym. "Alright, Ashy-boy…" He said to himself. "This is it…"

~~~

Meanwhile, Misty's phone ringing woke her up. Her head arose from a bunch of paperwork. Her sisters, still famous performers/gym leaders, were on their 6th 'World Tour' of the year, once again leaving Misty in charge of the Gym. Her hair now stretched all the way down her back, and she was slowly becoming as beautiful as her older sisters. She had graduated from 'runt' to 'second banana'. She was currently some gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt, along with some old, hole-filled tennis shoes. Her hair was quite a mess, and there was a visible line of drool rolling down her mouth. Her half open eyes made her look stoned, and there was a Post-It note stuck to her right cheek. She was a complete mess, the result of an all-nighter of paying some last-minute bills. She answered the phone. "Hello?…"

~~~

Ash smiled. 'She always looked cute in the morning…' "Hello, Misty…"

~~~

Misty, not recognizing Ash with hair covering his eyes, thought he was some weird stalker. "Eeeeeek!!! Don't call me anymore, sicko!" Misty screamed, glaring and ready to hang up.

~~~

"Misty, wait!" Ash yelled, slamming on his hat, and brushing the hair away from his face. "It's me! Ash!"

Brock looked over the couch to the Vid-Phone and saw the mess that was Misty. He slumped back into the couch. "Ew, Misty got lazy…"

~~~

Misty blinked. "Ash?…" Misty's glare softened into a smile. She then realized that she looked like crap. She squeaked. "Um, wait a minute!" Misty ran off, out of the camera's view.

~~~

Ash blinked. "Um… Okay…"

~~~

15 minutes later, Misty came back dressed in a baby blue turtle neck and a matching skirt and sandals. She quickly turned off the camera. Another 20 minutes passed.

~~~

"Ugh, mom's gonna kill me when she sees the phone bill…" Ash groaned.

"Stop complaining…" Brock muttered. "It's a good sign…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see the state she was in? She's cleaning up for you… That means she at least considers you a guy…"

"Oh…" Ash said, a bit confused. "That's good, right?…"

Brock sighed. "Yes…"

"Oh, okay…" As soon as Ash looked back the phone, Misty's camera finally came back on.

~~~

Misty smiled at Ash. "Sorry for the wait…" The office behind her had been cleaned up quite a bit, and the bills were all mailed off. To finish off the outfit, Misty was wearing a matching hair band.

~~~

Ash smiled back. "It was worth the wait… You look absolutely stunning…"

~~~

Misty blushed. "Ash, do you really mean that?…"

~~~

"Of course I do, Mist…" Ash thought for a moment. "Hey, how about I come over to the Cerulean Gym, okay?"

~~~

"Um, I wouldn't want to burden you with the trip…"

~~~

"It's no trouble at all… I'll just find Pidgeot and fly on over there…"

~~~

"Well, if you say so… See you soon?"

~~~

"Yep… Bye, Mist…"

~~~

"Bye…" Misty then hung up the phone. She sunk into her chair and asked herself. "Where the hell did Ash learn to be such a charmer?…"

~~~

Brock smiled at Ash, jumped up from the couch and gave his younger friend a noogie. "Way to go, Ash! But… What about your mother?…"

Ash smacked his head. "That's right!… Now what?"

Brock smiled. "Don't worry… I'll watch your mother while you're gone"

"Thanks, Brock… I owe you one… Seeya later!" Ash then ran out of the house, Pikachu quickly following. Once outside, Ash scratched his head. "Now… Where is Pidgeot?…"

And the events roll on…

~~~

The first chapter of my story ends here… If you have any time, please give me feedback! I can be contacted at TeenMiles@aol.com, and occasionally teenmiles@hotmail.com. Until I write again, goodbye!