Chapter 1: I choose you!
Welcome back to the newest chapter! At the end of the chapter I will answer any questions or reviews which I may have received at the time of this chapter being written out and checked out by myself. Also as a note, the descriptions given to introduce Pokémon will be borrowed from Bulbapedia and will almost always be obvious when I use quotes from there more or less word for word, however I do hope that doesn't take away from the remainder of the story. Also it's pretty much the same for the character's outfit descriptions from the same website. But most notably there was a big change from the anime made in this chapter, you'll notice it fairly quickly as soon as it happens. However it isn't a permanent fixture, just a design choice.
A soft morning breeze runs through Pallet Town, both perfectly representing what the town is typically like, a nice peaceful town and yet creating a polar opposite to the events which will unfold today.
In the research lab, there are police over the place looking for evidence to who broke in last night. There was several questions being asked and yet nothing much was coming from it.
The obvious choice would have been Damien, however Gary identified the thief as a female. Which outside of Serena, Lillie, Grace and Delia only really left Gary's sister Daisy Oak. However it was fairly easy to rule all five out based on how Daisy had been at home with her grandfather, and the others were at the Ketchum household. Plus even disregarding that, Lillie wouldn't have stolen the Pokémon due to her phobia of them.
It left the Pokémon professor with only two official starters plus a technical option; the 'Tiny Mouse Pokémon'.
Elsewhere however sleep comes rather deep and rather difficult to break free from. Or at least according to one Ash Ketchum that is.
"Come on Ash! Wake up" shouts Serena at her close friend, and his response? Just an incoherent muttering. Both of the blonde females deadpanned at that.
"It's the 'most important' day of his life and he thinks sleeping in is beneficial?" Lillie says in disbelief at the hilarity of the situation and how dumb it seemed.
"Well if he doesn't hurry it along, we might need to leave to get my Pokémon without him" Serena suggests almost smirking as Ash's eyes rip open and he jolts up alarming both of the females as he jumps out of bed… in his boxers and a vest.
They immediately cover their eyes and let out small screams which he doesn't seem to notice. He grabs his clothing and rushes to the bathroom, getting ready in record time.
He has a darkened cyan top on. Which over that is a blue jacket that has a gold trim with a white collar and sleeves. He also has light grey jeans along with black and white sneakers with red dots on the side as if to represent some form of Pokeball. Then has his brown belt. He was just putting on some green finger-less gloves with some light green on the proverbial tips. Plus his official Pokémon League standard contest won hat. Then Delia handed him his green backpack.
Serena's outfit consists of a greyish-black tank-top with a white collar, a red skirt, a dark pink hat with a black bow and hatband, black stockings, and black shoes, with a pink backpack to carry her goods. She also has a small backpack in order to carry more supplies if necessary on her back.
Lillie's outfit consists of a big white wide-brim hat, a white and light blue dress, white stockings with blue frills at the top, and blue shoes. She also carries her handbag which she was carrying her companion Nebby inside.
Before the three of them left to go to the Pokémon Lab, Ash's mother had plenty of life advice to give her young son "Don't forget to change your underwear every day mister" much to his embarrassment and now reddened cheeks.
He quickly rushed himself and his friends off after that while they both giggled at his misfortune. On the way to the lab at first they were just able to joke around and discuss about Serena and Ash's starter plus what their plans will be for when they leave.
they stop as they realise there's a decently sized crowd of people outside of the Pokémon lab, the trio go around the crowd as to be fair there was an expectation that there'd be a crowd of onlookers. They went to the fenced off entrance where a guard was standing, alongside two police officers.
This confuses the three of them as they approach them. Ash then asks "Has something happened here?"
One of the officers, instead of answering, asks "Are you three the trainers which Mr. Oak were supposed to see today? About your starter Pokémon"
Serena smiles and says "Yes, we are officer, my name is Serena, this is" she points to Ash "Ash, and this is" then points to Lillie "and this is Lillie".
The officers communicate with one another and the guard and make sure that those three names were correct for the soon to be trainers. Once they did, one of them escorted them up to the lab.
While on the way up there, Serena questions "May I ask why are there police here Sir?
Not turning to speak to the young girl, he responds by saying "There was a break in last night and we are still investigating, something of great value was stolen. We are taking no chances in risking another robbery"
"Like what? What was stolen?" Ash asks concerned and oblivious to what could be so important that someone would break in and steal from a Pokémon lab.
Fairly quickly Lillie answers bluntly although unintentionally "The Pokémon"
At that the officer stops and turns around which causes the children to stop. He eyes the blonde female carefully as he asks "What makes you say that Lillie?"
She becomes extremely uncomfortable as his gaze is fixated on her now. Serena notices this pretty quickly in her place "Sorry officer, she's rather shy and can sometimes say things rather straightforwardly. But I know she didn't break in last night, she was with me and Ash, alongside Miss Ketchum last night. Plus she's rather scared of Pokémon, so she wouldn't even contemplate such a heinous act" she stood in front of Lillie as she told the officer this with a stern look upon her face.
He mulls her words over in his head and nods his head then continues walking to the lab. The rest of the walk there is in silence, however Serena takes Lillie's hand in her own and the shy girl squeezes her hand in appreciation.
When the four of them arrive, Professor Oak and Gary Oak approach them with solemn looks on their faces. The professor tells the officer that he will be fine with them now. The officer eyes Lillie still suspiciously but turns to leave.
Gary notices this and says to the officer, "She didn't do it, leave her alone" he's stern and authoritative tone. The officer doesn't acknowledge him as he leaves the lab, his blue periwinkle hair waving behind him as he leaves them closing the door behind them.
Ash asks them "So what happened then last night?"
Sighing Professor Oak says "Someone broke in and was caught by Gary. Before he could have done anything, a girl broke past him after grabbing one of the starters" his eyes downcast as he tells them the news.
"So what does that mean for the others then?" Lillie asks as it becomes pretty obvious that there are three soon-to-be trainers but only two starter Pokémon.
There is a silence as all five of them know that only two of them can properly start their journeys today. Well that's what three of them believe anyway.
"I'll wait for another time to start my journey, give Gary and Serena their starters" Ash tells them with a saddened look on his face.
"Actually that may not be necessary, Ash. Let me sort them two out first and I will present an option for you" Professor says hesitating on his decision.
They go over to where the Pokeball machine is. Professor Oak now unlocks the glass panels and then enters a password which brings up two Pokeballs. Picking them up he brings out both of them.
The first one is a small Pokémon that resembles a light-blue turtle. It has large, purplish or reddish eyes and a slightly hooked upper lip. Each of its hands and feet have three pointed digits. The end of its long tail curls inward. Its body is encased by a tough shell that forms and hardens after birth. This shell is brown on the top, pale yellow on the bottom, and has a thick white ridge between the two halves. The water type Pokémon Squirtle.
The other is a small, quadrupedal Pokémon that has blue-green skin with darker patches. It has red eyes with white pupils, pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head, and a short, blunt snout with a wide mouth. A pair of small, pointed teeth are visible in the upper jaw when its mouth is open. Each of its thick legs ends with three sharp claws. On their back is a green plant bulb, which is grown from a seed planted there at birth. The bulb also conceals two slender, tentacle-like vines and provides it with energy through photosynthesis as well as from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within. The grass and poison type Pokémon Bulbasaur.
"Are you okay with Bulbasaur, Serena?" Gary calmly asks the honey-blonde female as he keeps an eye on her reaction and the two starter Pokémon.
She considers what he is offering, she takes Bulbasaur and clearly he want's Squirtle. She approaches the grass type and asks if they would be okay joining her. The grass Pokémon eyes her cautiously and looks towards the professor, he nods his head and the Bulbasaur approaches her, sniffing her outstretched hand. Then takes a tentative lick.
"Seems like he likes you Serena" Ash says with a smile.
"She, Ash, that one is a female, the Squirtle is a male" Professor Oak corrects the young boy as he watches his own grandson walk over to the water type.
"You ready to become my partner? To beat everyone and get famous?" Gary asks, kneeling down, to the shell Pokémon with a rather determined look plastered on his face.
The water type nodded in affirmation and Gary stood back up and looks to his grandfather.
"Now that those two have received their starter Pokémon, allow me to introduce you reluctantly to another Pokémon. However I must warn you that he can be a little over the top due to it's past" Professor Oak tells Ash as he presses another button which revealed a concealed Pokeball, with a lightning bolt over the release mechanism.
He presents the Pokeball to the raven-haired boy, and excitedly Ash calls the Pokémon out of its ball.
Pichu is a small, ground-dwelling rodent Pokémon with pale yellow fur. Its ear-tips, collar, and tail are black and angular. Pichu's pink cheek pouches can store small amounts of electricity, and its tiny nose looks like a dot. It stood on its hind legs as it looked around then saw that Ash held a Pokeball and put two and two together, glaring at him.
Ash approaches the little electric type and Pichu becomes defensive dropping to all fours almost like a feline instead of a mouse.
Lillie and Serena look on in concern for his safety as he tries to pick the 'over the top' Pokémon up. Only to be immediately shocked for his troubles. In the process, Pichu jumps out of his grasp as Ash laid on the ground. Both girls rush over to him but Lillie carefully avoided going near the Pokémon.
They checked on him as Professor Oak comments "Shocking, isn't it?" everyone else ignored him except for Ash.
He just laughs and says "Is that all you got Pichu?"
This takes the others aback and causes Pichu to narrow his eyes at his new trainer. But just because this person has his Pokeball, it doesn't mean that he had to obey this child. No, he had trusted his previous owner and he was abandoned a short time ago. Pichu couldn't trust anyone, Ash would need to earn it.
After Ash got up and then tried to return his new Pokémon to its Pokeball, the pichu nimbly dodged the beam. Three times. Rather tired, Ash gives up and remembers what his mum had mentioned a few days prior. Rubber gloves. He took off his bag and put them between his jeans and his belt.
"Okay you four, now that we have handled the starter Pokémon, I have a few more gifts to present yous" Oak tells them as he walks over to his desk then grabs a red rectangular object and presents it saying "As you all would know, this is a Pokémon Encyclopaedia, or Pokedex. You can use it to get data on known Pokémon, transfer your own Pokémon and as an official I.D. for your travels to show that you are trainers. Or at least are representing my lab and I"
He hands each of them a Pokedex, including Lillie. Then hands them each a decently sized bag of Pokeballs each for their journeys, at least to get them started. The bags were then placed into each of the trainer's bags.
The professor looks to Lillie asking "Do you at least want a few? Or at least one for 'Nebby'?" as he holds his hand out holding five empty Pokeballs.
At hearing its own name, Lillie's bag shakes slightly as the zipper slides along, clearly Nebby's psychic powers.
At that the professor instead presented a Pokeball to Cosmog as an offering. The cosmic entity curiously pokes the ball and is quickly absorbed. No resistance.
This surprises the all-white outfitted girl as she considers the older man's offer. She accepts them tentatively as she makes it clear "I don't think I will be that useful in capturing Pokémon. I don't want to make them battle"
Serena responds by saying "You won't need to Lillie, it's more of an option in the event that you do find a Pokémon that you do like, you can befriend them and just travel with them, no battles necessary" she smiles at her friend as she finishes.
That seems to make Lillie feel better and she agrees with the female. After that Gary leaves the three of them a few minutes before they leave. What are they doing in the meantime? Pichu.
Having a fun idea, Ash decides to use his new Pokedex to look at information on Pichu. Dexter says robotically "Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, and an electric type Pokémon. Pichu charges itself with electricity more easily on days with thunderclouds or when the air is very dry. You can hear the crackling of static electricity coming off this Pokémon. When Pichu plays with others, it may short out electricity with another Pichu, creating a shower of sparks. In that event, this Pokémon will begin crying, startled by the flash of sparks"
Then they also do so with Serena's Bulbasaur. Dexter comes alive again saying "Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon and a grass and poison type Pokémon. A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokémon. Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger"
They then leave the lab making their way down to the gate. However the blue-haired officer is no longer there. Ash is carrying his little mouse while the electric glares at him.
Delia and Grace greet them at the bottom of the small incline down from the Pokémon lab.
Delia says to Ash, "So what Pokémon is this, Ash?" as she looks to the mouse with curiosity. Of course she is aware that trainers would usually be given the chance to choose between the grass type Pokémon; Bulbasaur, the fire type Pokémon; Charmander and the water Pokémon; Squirtle.
Glancing down at his first Pokémon, Ash says "This is Pichu, something happened at the lab last night and I was given the opportunity to instead have this one, an electric type"
Seeing the sparks at the small Pokémon's cheeks, Delia comments "Honey, doesn't it seem a bit agitated? Maybe you should return him to his Pokeball?" as she suggests this, the Pokémon shoots her a glare as if to tell her that would be a bad idea.
"He doesn't like going inside his Pokeball. Did absolutely everything to dodge the beam to return it" Ash says as he feels slightly frustrated, however he wasn't going to let a minor setback ruin the start of his Pokémon adventure.
"Which starter did you choose Serena?" Grace asks as she looks upon her daughter, for perhaps the last time in a while she may see her in person.
With a smile, Serena answers "I got myself a Bulbasaur, she seems much better behaved than Pichu over there" and as she says that she looks over to the raven-haired boy who seems to be both excited and stressed out as well. Of course Ash would've preferred a better start to his adventure.
After they finish their goodbyes Ash, Serena and Lillie leave Pallet Town.
Some short while later, they encounter a wild bird. It is a small, plump-bodied avian. It is primarily brown with a cream-colored face, underside, and under feathers. On top of its head is a short crest of three tufts. The centre crest feathers are brown and the other outer two tufts are cream-colored. Just under its crest are its narrow eyes which have white sclera and pupil along with its black irises. Angular black marking extend from behind its eyes and continue down its cheeks. It has a short unremarkable beak and two feet each with two front toes and one back toe.
Ash swipes out his Pokedex and scans it. Dexter comes to life saying "Pidgey the Tiny Bird Pokémon, and is a normal and flying type Pokémon. It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back. It may also kick up sand to protect itself"
Placing Pichu on the ground, Ash tells the electric type "Use thunder shock Pichu"
The electric type doesn't bother to do so.
Lillie whispers to Serena "So how is he going to be able to continue this journey if his only Pokémon won't even obey him?"
Serena laughs slightly as she gently responds "I'm not quite sure, but it is kinda funny. So long as he doesn't spend forever doing this"
Ash mutters to himself as he has an idea which could work or not, he takes out an empty Pokeball. He turns his hat around so it's back facing and tosses a Pokeball towards the Pidgey… only for another Pokémon to fly in the way.
Another small avian Pokémon, it had rough, brown plumage on its head and three brown tail feathers. It has narrow, dark brown eyes with white pupils and a short, hooked beak that is light pink. The feathers covering its wings are pinkish-red with lighter tips, and it had a beige underside with two thin, horizontal stripes. Its light pink feet both have two toes at the front and one on the back of them.
The ball connects and encapsulates the Pokémon almost immediately after it connected with the bird Pokémon. The ball hits the floor and it rocks several times and after about three wobbles, it dinged signifying a successful capture.
"Wait was that supposed to happen?" Lillie questions in amazement and shock with widened eyes.
She isn't the only shocked one. As Ash goes to pick the Pokeball up, a cloud of smoke engulfs the Pokeball and the children. Then as it started to clear up, the Pokeball was gone. It was taken!
"Where'd my Pokémon go?" Ash yelled looking around stunned. However they didn't have much time to do much about it, as a flock of that same species of Pokémon approach squawking at the trio.
Lillie takes her Pokedex and scans the Pokémon. Dexter says to them "Spearow the Tiny Bird Pokémon, a normal and flying type Pokémon. Its short wing make it inept at flying. It moves about hurriedly and pecks at bug type Pokémon in the tall grass. Its reckless nature leads it to stand up to others-even large Pokémon- if it has to protect its territory"
Thinking quickly, Serena tells them "We need to go guys, now!"
They start to try and leave but Pichu stands its ground sending weak arcs of electricity towards the bird Pokémon but that does nothing to them. If anything it only seemed to agitate them even further.
It has been said that wild Pokémon have differing opinions on 'captured' or 'enslaved' Pokémon. Some suggest that they attack because they are jealous, curious or want to prove themselves as better. Other times they are protective as they have no desire to be taken away.
The flock of Spearow start to use a combination of razor wind, whirlwind, uproar and echoed voice towards Pichu. It caused a fair amount of damage but only somewhat as the gang of birds aren't being focused at the same spot.
Ash rushes forwards and blocks Pichu from the brunt of the moves. Some of the moves impacted his back and backpack. This action surprises the tiny mouse as he didn't see this happening. A human actually seeming to care about him? And willing to put themselves in harm's way to protect their Pokémon?
When there seemed to be a small window of opportunity, Ash grabs Pichu and rushes towards and past the girls as they all take off running. They knew they had to get away and try to get to Viridian City even if it was still a long ways off. They keep running through the woods as they avoided hitting any of the trees, branches or bushes.
Not only was that part of the problem, Pichu starts to spark involuntarily, and it begins to rain severely. They rushed through the thickening tree line now drenched and they hear a rumbling from above.
Stopping, Serena says to the others "Maybe it would be best for us to wait it out here now. The Spearow probably won't find us here"
"I don't know if that's a good idea though" Lillie chimes in feeling the stress of the situation taking over. "We won't be able to stay out here especially while Pichu needs to get some help"
Looking down at his first Pokémon, Ash responds "You're right Lillie, we need to keep going. However I have an idea"
Shortly after, Ash runs out from under the tree line catching the attention of the Spearow. They start pursuing him as he holds a blanket in his arms, protecting it from the gaggle of bird Pokémon. He keeps running knowing that Pichu's safety rests in his hands. To an extent.
He escapes the tree line turning his head to see if his plan was working. Indeed it is, they're right on his tail. Turning quickly he realises that he's on a cliff edge overlooking a river.
'Here goes nothing' Ash thinks to himself as he takes a few steps back and then runs into a jump off the ledge into the river and goes under. By now there's a rumbling above in the sky.
As the young boy swims through the rapids he catches brief glimpses of several water type Pokémon: Magikarp, Horsea, Staryu, Goldeen, and a blue… egg?
Ash strains to be able to get a better look at this 'egg' but then comes close to another blue Pokémon comes into view. A blue serpentine Pokémon with an extended body covered in slightly overlapping scales. While mostly blue, it has a yellow underbelly and has a row of yellow spots down each side. Its mouth is rather large and very much open, with four teeth currently in view while having yellow lips and two blue whiskers, one on each side.
The raven-haired boy hasn't much time to do much more looking as the Pokémon of rage forcefully swims past and sends the boy further along until he is caught by a… hook? He feels himself get dragged out of the water and lands in front of a young teenage female with orange hair in a small side ponytail.
She's wearing a yellow crop top and jean shorts held up with red suspenders. Most of her midriff is revealed here. She has on red, yellow and white sneakers with it, and also carried a red drawstring backpack with it. Then she's also holding a Poke Rod with a Pokeball attached as a sort of lure.
The female is in shock as Ash clutches the blankets still and tries his best to catch his breath. "Are you okay?" she asks wide eyed and mouth agape.
"I need to get to Viridian City, what way is it?" Ash responds hurriedly and rather frantically. He knows he doesn't have too much time for the plan to work out.
"It's that way" she says as she points in the direction of a… marked pathway. And a bicycle!
Ash grabs the bicycle, telling the stranger that he needs to borrow the mode of transport.
Before she can respond, she hears then sees the gang of flying types approaching. She tells him "I'll let this go, but I'll come too" then she looks at what he is holding and questions "What's in the blankets?" then gets on the bicycle getting Ash to climb on as well behind her.
"My plan, I needed to form a distraction" Ash tells her with a smirk as they ride off and holds on to this girl appropriately as they ride off in the rain with the Spearow still pursuing them.
As they continue to ride, a bolt of lightning zaps into a tree up ahead, one that seems to have been weakened prior anyway and fell due to a combination of the wind, rot and the bolt. It crashes in front of the duo and causes them to crash since they couldn't react in time. Ash and the female are sent flying off the bike landing fairly hard on the ground. They look to the bike. Absolutely trashed and ruined.
That delay only worsened as the tiny bird Pokémon catches up to them. Glaring at them Ash reveals that the blanket only has wood in it. No Pichu!
(Flash back, Ash's POV, past tense)
"Look guys, I will distract them while you two get Pichu to Viridian City to help him" I told them sternly as I handed Serena the gloves and then the electric mouse.
With a concerned look on her face, Serena responds "But why don't we all just get there through the woods together?"
I responded "Won't do, they will just pursue us as we try to escape them"
Lillie then asked "How will you be able to convince them that you have Pichu then?" she had raised her left eyebrow at me.
"That's an easy solution!" I told them and set the plan into motion.
(Present tense, No POV)
'Now all I hope is that they got Pichu to a Pokémon Centre' he thinks to himself as he stares down the feral Pokémon, both determined and scared.
Misty on the other hand reaches for a Pokeball however as the Spearow swoop in, an electric shock comes blitzing from behind a tree nearby. Then as the duo look over, Pichu comes running over and is clearly still injured.
Ash tells him that he needs to go get help with Lillie and Serena. Speaking of which they come running out too.
Determined, Pichu charges up a surge of its unstable electricity and just as it goes for thunder bolt a bolt of lightning engulfs the electric mouse and super charges the electric attack shocking all of the Spearow.
After which Ash hugs his starter… his friend tightly and then it happens. Pichu starts to glow and change shape, growing in size and presentation. As the glow dies down a new Pokémon stands before them.
A short, chubby rodent with yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on its back. It has a small mouth, long pointed ears with black tips and brown eyes. Each cheek has a red circle or pouch which is used to store electricity. It has short forearms with five fingers on each paw and its feet each have three toes. At the base of its lightning bolt-shaped tail is a patch of brown fur.
Ash takes out his Pokedex and scans his newly evolved Pokémon. Dexter tells him "Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon and an electric type Pokémon. Whenever Pikachu comes across something new, it blasts it with a jolt of electricity. If you come across a blackened berry, it's evidence that this Pokémon mistook the intensity of its charge. This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up"
Suddenly the skies part to clear as a large bird Pokémon flies past.
Lillie pulls her Pokedex out to scan it. But Dexter gives no information. An 'unidentified Pokémon'.
"Just imagine there are plenty of Pokémon out there for us to discover and learn about. Maybe we will see that rainbow Pokémon one day again" Serena tells them as she realises that the orange-haired girl is still there.
She extends her hand to the tomboy dressed female and says "Hello my name is Serena"
The girl looks at her and accepts the handshake as she responds with "My name is Misty"
And there it is, the end of the chapter. So let's address some points that I feel like should be answered:
Pokémon will NOT have a four move moveset, because truthfully I find that tedious and unrealistic. In the games it makes sense, in a cartoon/ anime or a story like this, that doesn't make sense. It's like this, imagine in MMA, you could only use the exact same four moves and if you want a new one, you can't use one of those previous moves anymore. Yep, that's dumb
There won't be too many shiny Pokémon, because the whole point of those Pokémon is that they are supposed to be really rare and special. Not saying there won't be any shiny Pokémon because obviously as we know, Ash gets a shiny or alternative coloring Pokémon in the anime.
Ash can't and won't have every Pokémon evolution line possible, yes he will have more Pokémon (same with everyone else BTW) but certain Pokémon have been decided on who will belong to who. For example a certain fire type Pokémon is already assigned to a particular trainer whom has that Pokémon technically in the anime but also another character will have that same Evolution line.
Now while as we see in this episode, people got their starter Pokémon, and obviously let's address the elephant in the room, yes Serena got Bulbasaur but her anime starter is Fennekin. Believe me, Fennekin will make an appearance but for now I don't want to push the limitations yet because of course this is still Kanto. She will get her Pokémon and hopefully you will like it.
It should be noted that while some of the main character's personalities will somewhat differ from the anime, they will still be portrayed accurately. Of course I want to try and mix up Lillie's anime and game characters and I think I can competently do so. We have already seen her shyness and of course, there's the question of how she ended up in Pallet Town. That will make sense soon. But no spoilers on that yet hehe.