A.N. Don't own Pokemon and 99.99999999999999% sure I never will. lol

The storm began to get worse, but Ash didn't mind this; he had one objective in mind, and that was to help this little Dratini. He was dying to have a new friend since he wasn't that popular in school, and the fact that his first Pokémon would be a dragon would be all the better! Most of Ash's classmates received some of the standard "run-of-the-mill" starters like Nidoran, Pidgey, Rattata, or Spearow; it isn't to say that they were bad, per se, but Dratini had a large range of attacks in its first stage, easily beating them all.

Ash rang the bell of the Professor's lab and was greeted by an assistant. "You know where to find them," he told Ash, and just like that, he ran towards the pool where the teal serpent-like Dragon Pokémon resided. When she saw the boy approaching, she wagged her tail, causing it to splash a bit of water, and she squealed with delight. (A.N.; I haven't kept up with the anime in a real long time, so I don't know if Dratinis say their name or make another noise. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

"Ni, ni!" she squealed and she flung her body at Ash, causing him to fall down laughing. Despite the snake-like dragon being about six feet, she was incredibly light, being only seven pounds.

"Dratini! It's so good to see you again!" said Ash as he rubbed the Pokemon's head; it was touching damp sand, but there were no apparent scales on her teal body. She poked him with her "nose" (or mouth) and licked his face, causing him to giggle all the while she wagged her tail.

Professor Oak looked at the sight and started to laugh, astonished at the lil dragon's actions. Ash stood up, and Dratini explored his two legs, swirling around them, almost making the boy trip. She coiled around his waist gently like a belt and rested her head on his shoulders, making both the Professor and the young boy to smile.

"Ash, I must say, that you are incredibly lucky to obtain a Pokemon like this so early in your journey," said Professor Oak as he turned around to his desk and picked up a red device and a Pokeball.

"This is your Pokedex, a highly technologically-advanced encyclopedia that will record data of the Pokemon that you will encounter on your journey. And here is a Pokeball for Dratini." He pressed the button and sent out a red laser that struck Dratini and sucked her into the ball. Oak was about to hand Ash the ball, but the ball wiggled furiously and Dratini popped out! She gave Professor Oak a dissatisfied look and smack him in the face with her tail. The impact smacked his cheek and left a red mark and she let out a low groan and got back on Ash's shoulders.

"That Pokemon, albeit very light, packs a strong punch," said Professor Oak as he rubbed his sore cheek. Dratini made a small "giggle" noise, indicating that she was amused with her antics. "Appears that she doesn't want to go back in her ball; a rare trait since most Pokemon are real compliant and do not struggle, but this one seems to be a bit rebellious. You are to be become master, right?" The boy confirmed this by shaking his head. Dratini licked his cheek. "As you discover more Pokemon, you will observe that they all have different personalities, even those of the same species! As you become stronger, you will start to see that they will teach you the essence of being a trainer, and you will teach them the importance of being a Pokemon and that there exists a bond that cannot be broken."

Ash took a moment to let those words sink in; was it really true that an inseparable bond would form between him and this small dragon? He still wondered if it was just a fluke that the dragon took a liking to him, but...

"And here is another gift for you, Ash," said Professor Oak as he handed Ash five red and white orbs. "Five Pokeballs; a trainer can hold up to six at most at one time; any other Pokemon you catch will be stored via P.C. I had a dream of once becoming an expert field researcher of Pokemon, which I have partially fulfilled. Some say that there are over 600 types of Pokemon, but the numbers are real shaky. Your goal of becoming a master will be perilous, and it is up to you to assemble a well-balanced team that you can trust to have your back in the toughest of situations. Your first objective is to collect the 8 gym badges of Kanto; the first one is in Pewter Ciity."

"What Pokemon does the leader use there?" asked Ash.

"Ah, now I don't want to tell you too much; you will need to find that out on your own. I wish you the best of luck, you two!" Ash started to head for the door and closed it behind him. He got his umbrella and held it over him and Dratini and started the walk down the slope towards his house. Within a few minutes, he arrived home and his mother saw him. She was in the middle of stirring the pot roast when she saw the Pokemon on his shoulders.

"Ash! Is that your Pokemon?" she asked in a shocked tone; he honestly didn't know why she was making a big deal out of it since he had already told her he was getting a Dratini, but the fact that the snake-like Pokemon was wrapped around him like a long scarf must've been quite a shock to her.

"Yeah, this is Dratini. Say hello to her," said Ash. Dratini was a little hesitant at first as his mom approached her and hid behind Ash. "Don't worry, she's just my mom; she's not going to do anything to hurt you." Dratini eased up a little bit as Delia reached out her hand, but Dratini's attention was focused on the wooden spoon in her other hand. She got off Ash and landed gracefully on the floor and sniffed the spoon. She stuck out her "nose" and smelled it and seemed quite interested.

"This is beef, it's quite good. Taste it," suggested Delia as she showed Dratini the food. She took a small bite and wagged her tail in delight and clearly wanted more.

"Looks like we have to fix another plate for dinner tonight," chuckled Ash as he petted the dragon's head, causing her to wag her tail again as she got back on his shoulder.

"Not that I mind or anything, but why is Dratini not in her ball?" asked his mom as she started getting some glass plates out of the cupboard.

"Well, Professor Oak tried putting her in it, but as soon as that happened, she popped out!" explained Ash. "Says that it's very rare for Pokemon to do that."

"Well, I don't mind her staying out of the ball, but you need to make sure she stays out of messes and let her out occasionally to take care of business," said his mom as she put the meat and gravy over a mound of rice. She gave it to Ash and she fixed a bowl for Dratini, whose stomach started to growl. Once the food was placed on the ground, she instantaneously started to ingest the sustenance.

"Look at her eat! She must not have been fed well when Oak was taking care of her," said Ash as he started eating himself.

"Well, I'm not surprised; when I was a trainer about 20 years ago, I tasted Pokemon food," said his mom with a small laugh.

"How was it?"

"Relatively dry and bland, but they say that human's taste buds are different from Pokemon's, so it's hard to tell," Delia laughed as she took up the plates and bowl and put them in the empty dishwasher.

"Well, you should get ready for your big day tomorrow, honey, since you wanna be a Pokemon master," said his mom. "I packed some pairs of socks and underwear, and pleasebe sure to change your pair each day." Ash's face turned beet red in embarrassment. "Where is Dratini going to sleep tonight? In her ball?"

"I don't know yet; I guess I'll have to wait when it's time for sleep," he responded as he got out of his chair. He held his hand out and Dratini climbed up it and "sat" across his shoulders.

"Please go give her a bath in case she decides not to sleep in the ball; I changed your sheets and we don't know when she last got bathed," said his mom as he walked up the stairs with his little dragon still clinging on.

"Will do, mom!" shouted Ash from the balcony. He entered the bathroom and instructed the little dragon to get in the tub. She happily did so and he turned on some tepid water. He could tell that she liked how the water touched her skin. He got some soap and lathered it on her skin, cleaning any grime that was on her. He cleaned her ears gently to not hurt her and turned on the shower head and washed all the soap off. She smelled really good and it was Ash's turn to wash up.

"Here, let me show you where you'll be staying," said Ash as they both entered his room. She looked all around and starting sniffing the floor several times. She sniffed the nightstand and the dresser and explored the area.

Ash left out of the room and went to shower. When he got out he saw Dratini coiled up on the foot of his bed. He patted her head and heard her tail thump on the bed and pulled the covers back and got in. "Sweet dreams," he said to her as he turned of the light. Ash was asleep for about five minutes tops when he heard a female voice call his name.

"Ash...Ash..."

The voice sounded nothing like his mother's and he turned on the light to see that she was indeed not in the room, rather, downstairs watching TV. He shrugged and went back to his room.

"Ash..." the voice said again. He looked down at Dratini and wondered if...

A.N. I put up a poll. Feel free to look at it. lol Thanks to all those who have sent reviews and favs!

Important!

Short update: Oh yes, and a few have asked who Ash will travel with or who his Pokemon will be. If you have any requests of whom he captures or who travels with him, please send me a PM or put your ones you like best in a review and I will put them on a poll and the five most popular will go in the story.

This request/poll will start as of now 6:44 pm Central US time zone; 0:45 Greenwich time zone. And end at 11:59 pm Cent. US on Wednesday 9/25.

Thank you!