Pikatwig: Well… I'm done with my first semester in four year college. Lots of writing, lots of comprehension, and that kind of stuff. ...and we're coming up on the anniversary of the day that my dreams of being an animator were sunk like the Titanic.

KKD: Yeah…

Hinata: Seriously, that's so unfair that you only got informed of that the day the grades were due.

KKD: Man, that really has to stink. But on the plus side, you at least got through your first semester at a four year. For now, just be glad you got through as far as you did, and you can think of where you want to go the further down you go. There's still time to rethink paths if you need to.

Pikatwig: True. Just sometimes can't help but think about it a little, but it is what it is. Anyway… time for something new. I don't think we've made many AU Pokémon stories before, so here's one.

KKD: What'll be the big difference?

Pikatwig: Our main character is trans.

KKD: Oh… ok. Which way are they transitioning again? ...just remind me?

Pikatwig: Female to male.

KKD: ...oh… right.

Pikatwig: Now, being honest here, neither of us know what the struggles of being a trans person is like since… well… neither of us our trans. However, this is an idea that we've had on the backburner for a while and I wanted to see what we could do with it.

Hinata: Why Gen 1, though?

Pikatwig: Because I want to pick something simple and reimagining stuff in Kanto is easy.

KKD: So, this is sorta like practice for the future if we try for another region.

Pikatwig: Something like that. Anyway, I guess we can start it up.

Disclaimers: Neither Pikatwig nor KKD own the rights to anything in this story except for the original concepts within. The rest belong to their respective owners including Nintendo, GameFreak, the Pokémon Company, etc.

A trainer walked up to the middle of a stadium and stood tall and proud, ready to battle the champion. As he took out a Pokéball with his first choice for the battle, he saw the monitor displaying a picture… and it made him pale.

"Um… that's the wrong picture…" the trainer stated taking notice, but then the entire crowd turned and began to cheer a name that just made him pale worse, "No… that's not my name… it's Red! I'm not that person up there!"

Red slowly backed away from the arena, his panting starting to change, sounding more feminine, as he looked to see something else was wrong. He had smaller hands, his clothes looked larger, and then he looked at his reflection in a mirror and paled upon seeing he… was a she. His brown eyes widened in shock at the brown hair that contrasted his mostly namesake attire.

"No! That's not me! That's not me!"

Red gave a fearful gasp as he jolted awake. His breathing was erratic and all over the place, before he slowly calmed down and firmly grasped his hands.

"...not that nightmare again…" Red muttered. He took a moment to get up and just sit down in the upstairs bathroom, just trying to recenter himself, checking his body and feeling that he was like himself. He looked at a nearby mirror and could see his mostly green eyes and brown hair that, while long, was still himself. He messed with a lock of his lengthy hair and shrugged, "This is always such a mess…"

He just remained still for a moment, then simply headed down the stairs and towards the kitchen. It was still evening, but Red simply didn't care as he raided the fridge to get something to eat.

"Red?" a woman's voice called out to him.

"Sorry, mom…" Red apologized.

"You still having that nightmare about what you used to be?" Red's mother asked as she walked into the kitchen. Red simply nodded before opening up a yogurt container to snack on. Red's mother simply observed him, part of her still not believing her child decided to be like this, yet knowing she had to be supportive, "Look, honey. You know that you're male. Nobody outside of Pallet knows about the past. Just don't worry about it."

Red simply nodded his head, sighing a little bit before he got up and started eating a bit. His mother soon sat next to him and smiled.

"I know what you're thinking, but you wanted this dream more than anything. You should feel free to pursue it. If it means I'm going to have a son instead of a daughter… I want you to be proud with the man that you are," Red's mom told him in a calm tone.

"...thanks mom," Red smiled.

"Now go on out there. The Professor is going to be waiting for you with your new partner, after all," she smiled, kissing Red.

"...it's like… three in the morning…" Red reminded.

"Oops. Sorry. Your father was more anxious than you were. Get whatever sleep you need, then get up at 7 so you can get your partner Pokémon. Ok?"

Red nodded a bit. The two couldn't help but laugh a little bit before Red finished up the late night snack and headed upstairs to go back to bed.

Morning arrived and Red was slowly getting out of his pajamas. He looked over at his reflection, then quickly put a cover over the mirror to block out the reflection. He calmly breathed for a bit, then checked his closet, seeing most of the clothes were good, if a bit small.

"You almost ready?" his mom asked.

"Just need to get my clothes ready."

"I already picked something out for you," his mom informed.

Red walked out and saw a package that was covered in red and yellow wrapping, and so curiously decided to open it. The outfit in it was mostly red colored and had a both a yellow backpack and a red baseball cap.

"I love it…" Red smiled.

Red sighed as he tried to fit his long head of hair underneath the sole hat that he had. The hair, however, was stubbornly refusing to cooperate with him before it poofed back out of the back end.

"I could've bought you a bigger hat, you know," his mom chimed in.

"I'm fine…" he sighed.

His mom just watched as Red struggled to get the hat on in spite of his hair getting in the way.

"...I could give you a haircut…" she chimed in.

"You know how fast it grows back! It's pointless!" Red retorted

"I thought I'd offer, but-"

"Oh, forget it," he sighed, letting his hair down and then just putting the cap on top, "I'll work with this!"

"You're more likely to figure something else out if you go clothes shopping while you travel," Red's mom guessed.

Red himself just exhaled and went over to his bag. He then noticed something different about it and saw a small patch that had the trans pride flag sewn into it. He looked towards his mother, who was smiling.

"Just so you know you always have my support, Red. No matter your gender, never be afraid of who you are."

A few tears formed in Red's eyes before he hugged his mom with a smile. The two then parted ways as the young boy walked off to finish his prep.

Now with his bag on his back, Red headed off towards Professor Oak's lab.

"Good luck out there, Red!" one neighbor called out as he ran past them.

"You got this, Red!" another chimed in.

Red smiled, happy to know some of his neighbors were still supportive. He ran along the path with a smile, soon skidding to a stop by the front of the path to Oak's lab.

"Here we are. Oak's Lab," he smiled.

"Yo, Red!" a familiar voice called out, making him turn to see a male with wildly brown spikey hair, blue eyes, a blue top, gray shorts, brown shoes, and had a silver bag, "You made it here before me?! You were pretty fast considering I had a ride here."

"Hey Blue…" Red smiled.

"Guess you were anxious to get your first partner, weren't ya?" Blue guessed, "Well, this is it. We're rivals now! Let's make sure we act like it!"

"...thanks."

"...what?"

"For just… accepting me," Red told him. He turned towards his now rival with a smile, "It's just… I'm glad you were at least willing to not be the guy to be such a jerk and throw my old life at me."

"I won't aim for low hanging fruit," Blue shrugged. With that, Blue opened up the gate to lead into the lab area and they headed towards the door.

Red looked around at all the Pokémon that were roaming around the outside lab. He looked amazed at some of them and took note of the tech, and soon entered alongside Blue to notice three Pokéballs right next to an older gentleman.

"Yo, Gramps! We're here!" Blue called out

"Oh, Blue. Red! I see you've both made it to get your first partner," the older man greeted with a smile.

"Good day, Professor Oak," Red smiled.

"How are you doing, Red? Feeling confident?" the professor asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Red grinned.

With a smile, Professor Oak guided the two towards the tables with three Pokéballs. Red look excited and approached the table.

"Go on. Pick your first partner," Professor Oak encouraged.

Red gave a look towards Blue, who simply motioned for him to pick first. Red simply nodded his head and looked over the starters. He then reached out and picked up the Pokéball by a leaf symbol. He then flung the ball into the air and a Bulbasaur came out in a flash. Red caught it as it fell back down.

"So you've chosen Bulbasaur?"

"Yeah. With everything in my life, I've blossomed into a new person, and I thought that I would pick a Pokémon that will also blossom like a beautiful flower," Red explained, the little dinosaur smiling as it cuddled up against him.

"Excellent choice, Red," Oak smiled, "Blue, which will you pick from the remaining options?"

"Honestly, I was about to pick Squirtle, but if I'm going to be a rival to Red, I'm going to treat he-I mean him as my equal and give him a challenge," Blue replied, taking one ball and tossing out Charmander. The lizard gave off a happy grin as it landed in Blue's arms, "Well, glad to have you on my team, Charmander."

"Interesting choices," Professor Oak nodded.

Red looked at his partner and gently petted its head, "So… how about I call you Blossom? You okay with that?"

"Bulba!" the Bulbasaur smiled, happy with the nickname.

"Now then, I have a small favor to ask of you two. I know that you two know that the world is filled with so many different kinds of Pokémon, and while I do have an employee working on a biology report, I'd like to have some more support in learning about them. Take these with you and catalogue all you find."

"So you finally finished building the Pokédex, eh, Gramps?" Blue remarked.

Red looked at his Pokédex for a moment, seeing it was roughly similar in shape to a small phone that was red and light blue. He then held it up to Bulbasaur and it produced a small scan before a data profile popped up.

-Bulbasaur, the Bulb Pokémon. A Grass/Poison-type. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. Typically, Bulbasaurs can be found soaking up sunlight in forests and grassy fields.-

"Wow, that's really cool…" Red gawked.

Blue then proceeded to scan his Charmander as it was playfully chasing its tail.

-Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. A Fire-type. The flame at the tip of its tail makes a sound as it burns. You can only hear it in quiet places. Even the newborns have flaming tails. Unfamiliar with fire, babies are said to accidentally burn themselves. Charmanders are fairly frequently found in the Kanto region, but have dwindling populations owing to over popularity in other parts of the world.-

"Wow. Didn't expect that," Blue noted before he saw the Charmander looked ready for a battle, "You wanna fight, huh?"

Red and Blossom, meanwhile, were just smiling at each-other and were about to walk out.

"Hey, Red!" Blue called out, getting Red's attention, "If we're gonna be rivals, what say we have our first battle here and now?"

"Right now? I don't know if Blossom and I are-" Red began to say, only for the Charmander to rush in and strike at Blossom, knocking it out of Red's arms, "Hey!"

"Okay, I didn't tell Charmander to do that!" Blue quickly exclaimed. Red gave him an accusing glare, but Blue held his arms up in his defense, "Seriously! I would've only given it a command when you said you were ready! Gramps, back me up here!"

"Yeah… that Charmander has always been battle ready. It's playful, but it loves to fight…" Professor Oak exhaled, "I suppose if you're going to fight, then you can start now."

Blossom quickly ran towards Red's side as Blue's Charmander ran towards it.

"Blossom, use Tackle!" Red commanded.

The Bulbasaur nodded and rushed in, hitting the Charmander in the side with its head. The Charmander simply smirked in response as it looked ready.

"Charmander, wait for me to tell you something," Blue told it, which made the Chamander exhale a little, but nod. Blue then gave a quick scan of it with his Pokédex and saw it knew Scratch, Growl, and Bite. He then looked over at Red and Blossom, who gave a nod, "Okay! Charmander, use Bite!"

Charmander opened its mouth and chomped down on Blossom's bulb, making it scream at first. It managed to calm down and then looked over to Red with a trusting look.

"Try and get it off!" Red yelled.

Blossom then tried to shake Charmander off of it, but the lizard simply bit down harder. Blossom looked over to an open window and jumped outside of it, with Charmander still bitting onto it. Red and Blue quickly followed after their Pokémon and saw that Blossom managed to get Charmander off of it.

"Are you okay, Blossom?!" Red quickly asked.

"Saur!" Blossom nodded. Blossom then gave a motion to indicate it had an idea.

"Alright… if you have an idea, go for it!"

Blossom gave a nod before it leaped into the air and then began to burrow into the ground.

"Um… that's Dig…" Red realized.

"Can Bulbasaur even learn that?!" Blue shouted.

Red skimmed through his Pokédex as Charmander looked around for the grass/poison type, only to get bodied in the stomach by Blossom emerging from the ground. Charmander then tried to bite Blossom again, only for Blossom to get out of the way.

"Yes! You got it, Blossom! Don't give up!" Red cheered.

"Scratch it, Charmander!" Blue retorted.

Charmander dashed towards Blossom, but Blossom was able to evade the claw swipes. Then the Bulbasaur tackled Charmander into the ground, which ended up knocking it out. Blossom cheered as it ran over to Red and jumped into his arms as they laughed.

"Great work, Blossom! You did it!" Red smiled, Blue calling Charmander back to his Pokéball.

"Nice work, Red. You earned this win. Just know I won't go easy on you. You're my rival, and rivals challenge each other to prove who's the best!" Blue smirked, "For now, I'm gonna get my Charmander in line. Smell ya later, Red!"

With that, Blue took his leave from the lab. Red couldn't help but react a little to the last thing Blue said.

"That doesn't exactly sound like a line I want to hear that much," Red sighed before turning to his Bulbasaur. He gently petted it, the grass type smiling, "You did amazing, Blossom. You're more than welcome to join my team."

"So, Red. You know where to go from here?" Professor Oak asked.

"Honestly? I'm going for the Indigo League. I want to prove that even someone with my background can make it.

"It's a long way for you to go, but if you want to take on the league, that's fine," Oak shrugged before giving Red a small ID card and case, "Here's your Trainer ID card to get into the gyms and an official case to store your badges. I suggest heading to Viridian City for your first badge."

"Ok…" Red nodded as he placed Blossom on his shoulder, "Ready?"

"Saur!"

Thus, Red and Blossom walked out of the lab. Red simply smiled as he looked at the trainer card, reading "Red Hitoshi". He proceeded to tuck the card into his pockets and walked along the path.

Red and Blossom marched onto Route 1 and got a good glimpse of the area. Blossom was a little nervous, but Red comforted his partner.

"We got a long road ahead of us," Red informed as he let Blossom come off of his shoulder. He then proceeded to take off his bag and pull out some snacks for the Pokémon, "Here. Should be good for now."

Blossom smiled and nibbled on the food. The small Pokémon then noticed the symbol sewn onto Red's bag and curiously looked it over.

"Hmm?" Red blinked before he saw what Blossom was looking at, "Oh. Um… okay. Uh… how do I explain this to you? This is a sign of me having changed. Um… for people, we're biologically either male or female. And… I was born female, then changed to male. I… don't know how stuff like that would work for Pokémon, let alone if it's actually possible, but for humans, it is."

Blossom gave a nod, as if understanding before nuzzling into Red's chest. Blossom then motioned to the pinkish area of the flag, surprising Red, considering he noticed something.

"Oh. You're a girl?" Red realized, earning a nod, leaving him to laugh a little, "I guess humans and Pokémon are more alike than I thought."

With that, Blossom climbed back up onto Red's shoulder. Red then put his bag back on and the duo continued forward…

To be continued...

Pikatwig: May be a little on the short side, but I think it'll be alright for a first chapter.

KKD: It is a simple start, but considering what we have as our main topic, I guess it's best to start simple.

Pikatwig: We will be approaching this story as carefully as we possibly can. I do want to eventually get a consultant who is transgender, if only so that we can make this as inoffensive as we possibly can. Sylver's the only person we really know who is trans, but she's made it clear that she's basically retired from fanfic writing.

KKD: I kinda felt similar for a while, but it is going to be a while before I hang up my fanfic pen. But yea, we wanted to try something different, so hopefully we're doing this right.

Pikatwig: If anybody reading this is trans and willing to offer a helping hand, please let us know. For now, though, this is chapter 1. And something that had crossed my mind while making a handful of ideas for this story is that I doubt that Blue would be rude enough to go and insult Red based on his former gender. While he may have his near slip of tongue moments, he respects Red enough to not go for that low hanging fruit.

KKD: Let's not spoil too much, though I also wanted to work on a story with this concept, but going the other way for Trans, though starting here seems fair. Regardless, I liked the start and am willing to see where this goes.

Pikatwig: I've thought of several ideas and will make one thing clear for you guys. This is a journey through Kanto unlike any you've seen before. The Gym order will be wildly different, the villains will be different, and many things are going to be changed. What sort of changes? You'll have to wait and see.

KKD: I'm personally curious about this one myself, so I'll be along for the ride and making my own notes for the future.

Pikatwig: For now, I have to say, my favorite part was just the little bonding moments between Red and Blossom. Just cute stuff. I also really liked how the explanation for why Red chose Blossom was worded.

KKD: Agreed. Easy fav.

Pikatwig: Alright, I think we're done with chapter 1. See you next time.

KKD: Yeah.

Pikatwig; Just Live More.

KKD: Jaa ne.