Pokemon Snap

"Alright Pikachu use Thunder Shock!"

Pikachu's cheeks began sparking before he fired off multiple streaks of electrical bolts at his opponent's Pinsir, the Bug type let out a cry as electricity surged through his veins. Pinsir's eyes rolled up into his head as he fell face forward, hitting the ground with a light thump as he laid in defeat.

"Alright Pikachu, way to go!"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped up and slapped his tail against his trainer's hand as the two high fived!

"No way, how could I lose again?!" Samurai groaned out while lowering his head in defeat.

"Well specializing in a single typing doesn't exactly give you a whole lot of options." Chloe pointed out, she recalled how he wanted to catch Treecko and couldn't help but wonder if the Samurai obsessed boy had mistaken him for a Bug type.

"I suppose you may have a point but I gave my mother my word that I'd enter the Indigo League using only Bug type Pokemon and I shall not break my word, it'll be extremely dishonorable and not the way of the samurai!" Samurai stated before giving Ash a bow as he reached into his pockets to produce some Pokedollars. "And I'm honorable enough to admit my defeat and obey the rules of this world, here you go but know that next I'll be even stronger and I won't be holding back! I Samurai McStabberson swear to return and strike stronger than ever!"

"I look forward to it!" Ash smirked, taking his prize money with one hand while the other clenched with excitement. "But know that Pikachu and I will be stronger as well, it won't be long before we earn ourselves our third badge!"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu lifted his paw into the air as he matched his trainer's expression. The bushes rustled nearby as a faint click could be heard as a shiny metallic object emerged.

"A gun?! Highly dishonorable, I shall strike you down!" Samurai unsheathed his sword and charged heroically towards the bush as Chloe facepalmed.

"Doesn't he know guns are fictional?" She muttered.

"Samurai wait!" Ash shouted after him as he and Brock raced to grab him before he hurt whoever was inside the bush!

"Whoa there, this isn't a gun! Don't stab me bro!" A figure quickly emerged from the bushes, his hands raised up to show he meant no harm along with showcasing the camera that Samurai had mistaken for a gun! The figure was a male somewhere between Ash and Chloe's age and Brock's from the look of things, his height was a similar circumstance as he stood taller than Ash and Chloe but slightly shorter than Brock by a few inches. He had a light skin tone along with a messy head of curly brown hair which no doubt was a result of hiding in bushes and a pair of brown eyes to match. He wore a pocketed vest that was white on the lower half and black on the upper half with a thin blue stripe dividing the two colors, below the vest was a long sleeved red colored shirt while the lower half of his body was covered by a pair of blue cargo shorts. "I'm just a lowly photographer hired to take some pictures of that Pikachu!" He hastily pointed towards Pikachu with his free hand.

Chloe narrowed her eyes as the boy looked familiar but Brock appeared to put it together first.

"You're Todd Snap, the main photographer of the Pokemon Snap magazine!"

"Yep, that's me!" Todd nervously laughed while his gaze remained on Samurai's sword which poked against his chest. "M-Mind telling your friend to stand down?"

"I can see now that there is no threat, my apologies." Samurai bowed his head as he sheathed his sword. "Farewell my friends, until next we meet!" Samurai gave the group a wave before rushing off as quickly as he had arrived.

"That guy's weird... and scary." Todd lowered his arms before giving Brock a nod of acknowledgement. "You're right though, my folks own that magazine and I send them pictures to use upon their request but I also work as a freelancer, traveling the world and taking pictures of all sorts of Pokemon. I'm from the Lental region but I've traveled all this way to try and get photographs of the Legendary Bird Pokemon Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno! It is my dream to photograph every Pokemon in existence!"

"I imagine that goal will take you quite some time to accomplish, a new Pokemon gets discovered by the week it seems." Chloe noted.

"Heh well at least photographing most is more realistic than capturing nearly every single one, I couldn't imagine the cost of caring for each and every single Pokemon." Todd chuckled while Ash nodded lightly in agreement. That was why he wasn't capturing every wild Pokemon they encountered as along with not wanting to be a huge burden to Professor Oak, he wanted time to get to know each and every member of his team. Todd reached into his bag and pulled out a large album showcasing pictures of a vast majority of the Kanto Pokemon, the only notable exceptions being Pikachu along with endangered or extinct species like Lapras and the Fossil Pokemon along with the Legendary Bird Pokemon and Mew. "I don't have a picture of Pikachu yet but that's beside the point, this nice old couple requested that I capture this specific Pikachu as their dying wish!"

"This specific Pikachu?" Chloe raised her eyebrow as she found that rather suspicious, Ash however didn't think anything of it.

"Well then go right ahead, Pikachu pose for him!"

"Pika!" Pikachu flexed his arms and flashed Todd a smirk causing sweat to run down Todd's face.

"Er-I like taking natural pictures, if a Pokemon knows I'm photographing them it's not the same! I'd like to get a picture of Pikachu acting in his natural state." Todd hastily explained.

"Well then I imagine that'll take a bit of time," Brock couldn't help but laugh. "Why don't you travel with us for a bit? You'll be sure to get a perfect picture if you stick with us for a few days."

"Brock you can't just-" Chloe started.

"Good idea, we'd be happy to have you with us!" Ash quickly exclaimed as Pikachu's tail excitedly flicked back and forth. Chloe couldn't help but scowl, even though it was just temporary she felt awkward being the only girl in a group of four.

"Thank you so much, it'll only be for a few days I promise!" Todd bowed his head in appreciation.

"It's been a few days, what is taking him so lo-What the heck?!" Jessie frustratingly hissed out as she saw Todd taking pictures of Pikachu as he battled it out with a Swimmer's Poliwhirl.

Meowth quickly pulled out their Rotom Phone and began investigating before going pale as he stumbled across Todd's website. "Um, you two aren't going to like this." He hit a button and Todd's voice could be heard as a video clip played.

"Hello there, my name is Todd Snap and I can capture any Pokemon on film in a snap!" He exclaimed as he snapped a picture of a group of Butterfree flying through the sky above.

The Rocket trio all gave nervous looks at each other before hanging their heads as they groaned out.

"So much for doing this the easy way, guess we'll have to do things the hard way." James groaned.

Todd viewed the pictures he'd taken of Pikachu with an unsatisfactory expression. "None of these are right, in every single one a glare from Pikachu's Electric attacks have covered part of his body!"

"No need to fret, Todd. I'm sure you'll get that perfect picture soon!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu and I won't give up until we've helped you accomplish your goal!"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu raised his fist as Todd offered the two an appreciative gaze before sighing out.

"Thanks guys, I... wait what's that?" Todd focused his camera on a rock in the approaching distance, something small and orange laid atop of it. Ash narrowed his eyes and raced on ahead before coming to a sudden stop as he realized what it was.

"Charmander...?" He spoke causing the orange lizard to raise his head towards him before looking off in the opposite direction. No doubt that it was the Charmander belonging to Damian as there were visible bruise marks across his body. It appeared that Damian had finally given up on the poor Fire lizard.

"Char..." Charmander sadly cried as he cast a longing gaze towards where Damian had likely gone, they could see the roof of a Pokemon Center about a mile or two away which was where they had intended on resting up for the night before continuing their way to Saffron City.

"Charmander... Damian left you?" Ash questioned with a look of concern.

"Char..." Charmander hastily shook his head as he gazed longingly down the dirt road.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shot Ash a look though unfortunately Ash couldn't fully understand his friend.

Ash enlarged a Pokeball and tossed it at Charmander only for the lizard to give it a whack with his tail, sending it right back to Ash's hand as the lizard shook his head.

"Char!"

"Maybe Damian didn't release him?" Chloe questioned though she gave the Pokemon a look of concern.

"Well Charmander clearly doesn't want to go with us," Brock stated as he gave the lizard a concerned look. "And we can't well force him to come with us, why don't we go on ahead and check back tomorrow? If Damian didn't come back then we'll report it to the authorities and they can safely relocate him."

"I hate to say it but Brock's right, if we don't hurry we'll still be traveling in the dark." Chloe stated with a light shiver, she wasn't a fan of traveling in the dark as she couldn't explain it but she felt as if somebody was watching them. It wasn't every night but it still made her uncomfortable.

Ash frowned as he gave Charmander one last look before eventually turning to face the others with a light nod. "You're right, let's go!" The four continued down the path as Charmander stared after them.

"Char..."

Ash, Brock and Chloe went to take a seat at the Pokemon Center's café after healing up their Pokemon and were in the process of enjoying their meal when they heard Damian and his two friends taking the booth across from them.

"That weakling Charmander couldn't even defeat a single one of that Karate Master's Pokemon, weakling didn't understand just how expendable he was now that I've got myself a new Fire type!" Damian remarked as he spun a Pokeball atop his finger. "This here Magmar is twice the Pokemon he is!"

"Right you are, Damian!"

"You're the best, Damian!"

Ash glanced towards the booth with an annoyed expression as he couldn't help but listen in as he was curious about Charmander's fate.

"So upon losing for the umpteenth time, I decided to release him and the clingy lizard started following me! I had to promise that I'd go back for him just to get away from him, thing is he won't realize I'm coming back until it's too late!" Damian howled with laughter as his two buddies chuckled.

Ash gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. Anger quickly rose within him as he began standing up, Chloe shot him a concerned look and quickly raced up to grab his arm as thunder could be heard outside. Brock raised his eyebrow at that as rain wasn't in the weather report else they would have called somebody to get Charmander before leaving him for the night. Todd glanced out the window before raising an eyebrow as he thought he could make out a large bird silhouette off in the distance though it was hard to see with the approaching darkness!

Ash reached out and grabbed Damian by his shirt collar causing the blue haired boy to let out an alarmed yelp as Ash pinned him up against the wall. "Go back for him... he'll die if the rain kills his tail flame!"

"Boys please!" Nurse Joy quickly spoke up.

"I'll handle this for ya, ma'am. Don't ya worry!" Another voice could be heard as a hooded figure angrily slammed down their cup of coffee and began approaching the arguing boys.

"Heh, what you gonna hit me Ketchum?" Damian formed a mocking smirk as he sneered out. "You know you can't do that, it'll be assault and I can report you to the Pokemon League for that. I'll have your head and you'll never be a Pokemon Master, not that you even stand a chance against me!"

"Yeah so hands off!"

"Yeah, you're surrounded!"

"Maybe but you'll get reported for abuse and lose your license too once they see what you did to Charmander." Ash growled out.

"Besides Charmander is weak and you know what they say about survival of the fittest!" Damian smirked.

"Ash don't-" Chloe grabbed at him arm only to flinch as a loud smack could be heard!

Damian went cross eyed before hitting the ground, his two friends had their lights punched out seconds after as they fell to the floor. The hooded figure lowered their hand and turned their gaze towards Ash.

"Uh-Thanks for that sir," Ash nervously laughed as whoever that was had saved him for doing a similar action.

"No problem Ketchum, us rivals have ta stick together!"

"Wait you know me?" Ash tilted his head, the voice did sound familiar but he couldn't place it. The figure began lowering their hood to reveal the face of Gloria!

"Gloria?!" Ash and Chloe exclaimed as they were shocked to see their Galarian Summer Camp friend.

"W-What are you doing here?! I thought you were in Galar...?" Ash questioned.

"That I am, but I've come ta unlock the secrets of Mega Evolution!" Gloria exclaimed with a pumped fist. "Ya see Mega Evolution is impossible to obtain back in my region and if I want ta be the World Champion then I need every tool available in order ta be the very best there is!" Gloria shot Damian a glare. "And as for this-" Ash flinched as Gloria said some rather choice swear words. "Well I don't think that I have ta worry about him reporting me, he'd never live it down hearing that a girl kicked his butt!" Gloria flexed her arm with a cocky smirk before glancing towards the door. "Well aren't ya gonna get goin? That Charmander of his is gonna die out there!"

"Oh right!" Ash gave an alarmed look as he shot out the door. "Was nice seeing you again, Gloria!"

"Likewise Ketchum, I look forward ta kicking your butt before I leave!" Gloria shouted after him as she watched Brock, Chloe and Todd race out after him. Gloria gave Chloe a brief look as she went past while wondering if the girl still had a crush on Ash.

"That Gloria girl sure was something!" Todd commented as they raced through the rain.

"You interested in her?" Brock questioned while Croagunk gave his trainer a look, no matter how serious things got Brock's mind always seemed to fly towards romance much like Ash's went towards food and Pokemon battles!

"What? Arceus no, I've got a girlfriend back home! Her name's Rita!"

The shadows rose behind them as the figure from Mt. Moon briefly showed themselves, watching the group as they raced through the darkness to rescue Charmander. Charmander was still desperately waiting on the roof though he did have some sense as he had found a rather large leaf to cover his tail with. Though the leaf was quickly giving out as water filled it!

Ash raced forward and pulled off his jacket, covering the fire lizard with it before pulling him up against his chest. "Charmander I'm so sorry but Damian's not coming back for you!"

"Char...?" Charmander raised his head as he gazed towards Ash with a questioning look.

"It was all a trick to get you to not follow him, he replaced you with that Magmar he captured and has absolutely no shred of guilt about it. He was going to leave you out here to die! But don't worry, we'll get you someplace safe! Damian will never hurt you again!"

"Char..." Charmander looked up with an sly smile before his eyes suddenly went wide as he pointed behind them. "C-Char!"

"What is it, Charmander? Nothing's behind us-Holy-"

Splash! A large wave of water came splashing down on them all, sending all flying down the nearby hill and towards a rushing river as the shadowy figured rubbed his hands together with a smirk, his glowing red eyes gleamed with sinister intent as he returned his Blastoise to his Pokeball.

"Good riddance."

Thankfully all four of the humans could swim though Eevee flailed her paws about before leaping onto Chloe's head as the four and their Pokemon were sent downstream, the river rushed them right past the Pokemon Center. The water continued moving rapidly on account of the storm and as they got further downstream Ash's heart started to race as he heard the sound of rushing water as in the distance the ground just disappeared!

"W-Waterfall!" Chloe quickly exclaimed as she tried swimming to shore but it was impossible on account of the current.

Ash had a difficult time moving as he held Charmander above his head to prevent the Fire type's tail from dying out. Brock hastily pulled a rope from his bag and began twirling it before tossing it up at a strong tree branch, pulling himself to shore as Todd and Chloe quickly reached out to grab onto his other arm and leg. Chloe held out her arm for Ash to grab onto.

"Ash, grab my hand!" Chloe cried out.

Ash reached out, their fingers grazed against each other before the current grew stronger. Ash let out a yelp as him, Pikachu and Charmander all went flying past! Chloe's eyes shot wide open as she screamed in terror. "Ash!"

"Ash!" Brock quickly threw out the rope upon pulling the others to the shore but wasn't fast enough as Ash went flying over the side!

"Nooo!" Chloe screamed as she could heard Ash and Pikachu crying as they fell before going silent. "Ash..." Chloe dropped to her knees as tears began flowing to her eyes.

Todd hung his head while Brock punched at the tree trunk with a frustrated look before perking up as he could heard the sound of wings flapping.

"Drago!" A Dragonite flew up over the waterfall and landed before them showcasing the caped Dragon specialist Elite Four member known as Lance!

"I believe you lost this?" Lance questioned as he motioned towards Ash and Pikachu. Chloe quickly raced forward, tears still flowing in her eyes as she threw her arms around him.

"Ash!"

Ash shook lightly as he was still in shock, his arms soon wrapped around Chloe as a faint smile crossed his face. "Hey Chloe..."

"You kids sure are lucky that it was my training day," Lance commented. Though he was wearing his familiar cape, they could see that he wasn't wearing much else apart from a pair of swimming trunks. His and Dragonite's bodies were soaking wet as well. "Every other day Dragonite and I train by letting a waterfall pour down on our bodies, we were about to leave before we saw your friend falling and quickly moved to the rescue! I must say I'm rather relieved, Red wouldn't have liked it if his son was found dead at the bottom of a waterfall."

"Y-You know my father...?" Ash weakly looked towards Lance before shaking away his shock as a desperate look crossed his face. "Do you know where he is now?!"

"Kid don't you know? Nobody's seen your father in over ten years." Lance raised his eyebrow as he'd have thought Ash had known that. "You're better off asking one of the other Elite Four as I was off in Johto visiting my cousin when he disappeared." Though he was a bit harsh it was clear he was being honest as his eyes showed a look of genuine concern.

"Would you kids like a lift to the nearest Pokemon Center? It doesn't feel right leaving you out here like this, my Dragonite can carry all of you." Lance whipped out another ball to reveal a second Dragonite!

"Of course, we'd greatly appreciate that." Brock bowed in appreciation as Ash gazed off with a concerned look. If his father just disappeared without a trace then why didn't his mother tell him about it? Was she trying to protect him in the fear that he'd go off looking for him? Ash had to admit at the age of ten, he'd likely have done so but now he just wanted answers, especially after that weird dream he had the day before he and Pikachu set off on their adventure together. He dreamt of somebody pushing his father and his Espeon off into the darkness, was it possible that it hadn't been a dream but a glimpse at what occurred? Whatever the case Ash wasn't going to rest until he found out what happened rather he was alive or not! The answers to Red's disappearance had to be somewhere within the Kanto region.

"There you go, Charmander's back in perfect shape and health." Nurse Joy bowed before giving a look of concern. "Though I would like to know why he has all those bruise marks though..."

"That's easy, Damian hit and kicked Charmander frequently." Ash spoke causing Lance to shoot him a look as he was getting his Pokemon checked out as well.

"What?! Whose Damian?!" Lance snarled out.

"There ya are, Ketchum! You'll pay for having your girlfriend do your dirty work for ya!" Damian whipped out a ball and threw it forward, black eyes were present on him and his three friends as it was obvious Gloria hit them quite hard! "Magmar roast him!"

"Charizard, Wing Attack!" Lance whipped out a ball causing Damian to scream in terror as he didn't know Lance was in the room. However before Charizard could attack, Charmander leaped forward and blasted Damian, his goons and Magmar with a powerful Flamethrower!

"CHAR!"

The four coughed out before their soot covered bodies hit the floor, swirls present in their eyes as Lance gazed at Damian and his goons in disgust before pulling them up. "Alright, you three are under arrest! I'm not just an Elite Four member but also a member of the International Police!"

Ash couldn't help but smirk lightly as Damian finally got what was coming to him, watching as Lance handcuffed the three and led them out of the Pokemon Center before turning his gaze downwards as he felt Charmander pulling at his pants leg.

"Char char!"

"What is it Charmander?"

"Char Charmander!" Charmander pointed towards his belt causing excitement to fill Ash's face.

"Y-You want to come with us...?"

"Char!" Charmander nodded his head, a large smile crossed his lips.

"Alright then, welcome to the group, Charmander!" Ash threw a Pokeball into the air and Charmander leaped right up to meet the ball, giving the button a tap with his finger as he allowed himself to be sucked in. The ball began shaking as it reached the ground, moving back and forth for a moment before chiming out to mark the capture as complete!

"Charmander the Lizard Pokemon, the flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is happy and blazes when it is enraged!"

The Rotom Phone chimed in as Charmander was officially registered. The Pokeball disappeared in a flash of white light and Ash quickly made his way to the PC to retrieve him before hesitating as he realized how late it was, Professor Oak was most likely asleep by now. Charmander could wait until tomorrow but he was quite eager to greet Charmander and begin training together, anticipating the future adventures that the two would have together while Brock and Chloe felt a sense of relief knowing that Charmander got a happy ending with somebody who'd truly care about him!

And the first appearance of an Elite Four member, only fitting it was my favorite to appear first!

Gloria is a rival of Ash's although she isn't going to be in Kanto for long, she'll have a more active role in a future expansion. One in which Ash didn't necessarily have rivals, bit of an obvious hint but as Johto's mostly going to be plot/battle focused than world building I don't think she'd get a fair showing there.

Legends is starting to give me ideas for the eventual Sinnoh expansion although I'm not sure the plot will be worth the "You hate Ash! How dare you do that!" reviews I might receive. I'm not sure how it'll happen(Might be Unown related) but right now my thought is that Ash and Pikachu, and only them get sent back to the Legends timeline and work at saving the world back then while in the present day, Ash's companions have gone to Sinnoh to investigate what happened to him and start seeking a way to retrieve him. Sinnoh involves a lot of back stepping so Ash would still be facing Sinnoh characters once it's resolved. The plot won't be set in stone for quite some time as I'm still putting finishing details on the Johto and Orange plotlines, and have to do Hoenn too. I'm very much looking forward to Legends though, can't wait for the release!