"So this is Gramp's idea of a pitty pokemon, eh?" Ash heard as he walked back down the stairs that led to Oak's lab with his new partner Eevee at his side.
Gary stood there rather cockily with a smirk drawn on his face. By his side was his new partner Squirtle.
"You wanted a battle?" Ash responded, not willing to let Gary get under his skin.
"I did, but considering you, I'll take however close to a battle as you can give me." Gary responded still smirking irritatingly.
Ash simply nodded, and trailed behind Gary as they went towards a small open space near the corral.
Ash then turned to Eevee, "Eevee, I totally forgot to even check your moves. I'm going to check your moves on the pokedex okay?"
Eevee simply yipped back at him, and he took that as a yes. Ash pointed his pokedex towards Eevee and scanned it.
Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. Its genetic code is unstable, so it could evolve in a variety of ways. This Eevee is a Female.
This Eevee knows: Helping Hand, Tackle, Sand Attack, and Growl. This Pokemon also has the ability Adaptability which increases the power of moves that are normally geared towards this pokemon. It also has the Hidden Ability Anticipation which will make the pokemon shudder if the opponent knows a super effective move.
Ash's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow a hidden ability too? You're full of surprises aren't you girl?"
Eevee yipped in agreement.
Once Ash and Gary arrived at the clearing, each of them stood opposite of each other with enough space for their pokemon to battle between them and both sides' pokemon faced each other in front of their respective trainers.
"Alright Squirtle let's show them what a real trainer looks like, Tackle!" Gary commanded, beginning the battle.
Squirtle ran towards Eevee attempting to jump at her.
"Growl then dodge Eevee!" Ash yelled at Eevee.
Eevee growled at Squirtle making him wince a bit, then dodged right before Squirtle could make contact.
"Tackle it back now!" Ash told Eevee.
Eevee quickly tackled Squirtle before it could turn around making the small pokemon crash into the ground.
"Tackle again Squirtle!" Gary once again commanded.
"Eevee use Sand Attack!" Ash responded quickly.
As Squirtle once again raced towards Eevee, she quickly whipped her tail sending dirt and sand into Squirtle's eyes. Eevee then, predicting Ash's next command, tackled Squirtle.
"Use Tackle now!" Ash commanded, barely beaten by Eevee.
When Eevee withdrew from Squirtle it was clear that the battle was won, and Ash grinned and began congratulating Eevee.
Eevee yipped happily at Ash and rubbed her head against his leg while he patted her.
Gary mumbled something incoherent, then silently shook his head while he recalled his unconscious squirtle and headed off towards the lab.
Ash however paid little attention to Gary and told Eevee, "Before we head out we need to talk to my mother."
Ash walked to his house with Eevee following closely behind. He opened the door and walked inside.
"Mom, I'm about to head out!" He shouted into the house.
His mom appeared as she walked down the stairs.
"So the Professor gave you an Eevee? Oh, she's absolutely adorable!" His mother squealed as she picked up Eevee.
"He did, and she's already proved herself to be quite a capable battler." He told her proudly.
Eevee yipped happily at him as Ash's mother placed her back on the floor.
"I'm sure she has, she'll be a perfect partner for you." His mother smiled.
His mother looked at him and asked, "Do you have everything? Food for you? Food for your pokemon? A few potions? A sleeping bag?"
"Yep, I have it all. I'm all set." Ash responded, adjusting his backpack with a light sleeping bag attached in order to show his mother.
"Good..." His mother hesitated then stepped forward and put her hands on his shoulders, "I know you're ready for this. It's hard to see you go, but you couldn't make me prouder. You haven't even started your journey and you've already accomplished so much to get the Professor's sponsorship. I love you. Just remember to keep in contact, and remember that not everyone is on your side." She then proceeded to hug her son.
"I will mom, and I'll be careful. I love you too." Ash promised, and hugged her back.
Ash gave her one last smile, and left out the door with Eevee following. He walked through Pallet Town, his home town, without hurry. He knew this day would come, and he was eager. He also knew he may not see Pallet for quite some time. He didn't rush.
Ash and Eevee had been walking for quite a while into Route 1, when suddenly a rattata ambushed them out of a bush, hissing at them.
"Alright Eevee might as well warm up for training with this battle, use Growl then Tackle!" Ash commanded Eevee.
Eevee growled at the rattata making it cower slightly, but before she could use Tackle the rattata dashed towards her with a Quick Attack pushing her back slightly.
Eevee then rushed the rattata with Tackle which ended the battle quickly.
"Well that was a good battle. The rattata actually showed exactly what I'd like to train you first, Quick Attack. How about you get started on training by sprinting back and forth between the trees over there while I gather some firewood?" Ash suggested.
Eevee yipped and bounded over to the trees and began dashing back and forth quickly.
Ash wasn't expecting the move to be hard for her to learn, and should come rather naturally, especially with the quickness she held already.
Ash gathered a good amount of twigs and brush and returned to where they had decided to set up camp. Ash prepared the fire, which wasn't too hard as Professor Oak had taught him how to start a fire long ago, it only took time. When he finished, he began preparing pokemon food for Eevee which was some simple kibble. He then grabbed himself one of the granola bars that he brought. When he finally looked back towards Eevee he smiled as he saw she already had the move mostly down. While she would require more conditioning in order to be able to keep it up and make it faster, it was more than ready for battle.
Eevee quickly ran over to Ash once she smelled the food. She seemed slightly spent after the training, proving to Ash that much more training would be necessary in the future. She did however seem recovered by the time she finished eating.
While Ash was eating he briefly thought about giving Eevee a personalized name, but thought it would be better to wait until she evolved into a specific form. After both of them finished their food, he packed up Eevee's bowl and rolled out his sleeping bag, then laid himself down in it. Eevee quickly curled up next to him and fell asleep.
Ash wasn't worried about sleeping where they were as the fire should keep any pokemon in the immediate area away, and Eevee's more sensitive hearing should alert them if anything got too close.
The next morning Ash prepared them both food and then they spent another hour or so conditioning Eevee.
Ash then packed up and they began their journey together once again. About another hour of walking passed when they encountered another trainer. It was a girl that looked about his age with blonde hair. When they agreed to a battle, she released a pidgey that was about average in size. Ash was initially worried as the bird would have total aerial superiority over Eevee. His worries were however proved to be unnecessary as the pidgey was taken down rather quickly with a well aimed Sand Attack causing the pidgey to crash to the grown mid Quick Attack. Eevee then ended the battle with a Quick Attack of her own.
Ash left the battle, wallet slightly heavier after the girl paid him a portion of her own money received from battles.
After another two hours of walking, Ash figured they should be getting near Viridian City, and was proven right as the outer walls of the city appeared in the distance. Once Ash was near the entrance to the city, he was stopped by a police officer.
"Alright kid, where'd you get the Eevee?" The woman asked slightly menacingly.
"Eevee is my starter, I just left from Pallet Town yesterday." Ash responded quickly.
"Pallet Town huh? You must be one of Professor Oak's. Give me your pokedex then and let's see just where you got the eevee." She commanded.
Ash handed her his pokedex and after a moment of clicking and tapping she sighed, "Okay kid, looks like you were telling the truth. Sorry I had to stop you, we've had a few reports of pokemon thieves and an eevee isn't exactly common."
"That's alright ma'am I understand completely." Ash said.
He did understand too. After the events with so many criminals and organizations, the region had recovered mostly, but that didn't stop the current league from attempting to put a stop to anything starting up again.
Ash headed into the city and his first stop was the Viridian City Pokemon Center. As he headed inside he was surprised to see Leaf sitting down eating inside. He thought about it and realized he probably shouldn't have been surprised as Viridian City was the obvious choice after Pallet, though he didn't see any of the others. Ash took Eevee to the counter for a checkup.
"Hi Nurse Joy, would you mind giving Eevee a quick check up. There shouldn't be anything wrong except maybe some fatigue from traveling." Ash requested politely.
Joy responded promptly, "Of course! I'll make sure nothing's wrong and she should be right back to you soon here."
Ash thanked her then went to the cafeteria and bought a sandwich. He then walked over to Leaf who looked at him and gave a small smile.
"I'm not sure why I'm surprised to see you here, I suppose it's actually more surprising that I haven't seen Anthony or Gary yet." He began.
"Actually they've actually already been here. They got here early this morning and left pretty quickly towards Viridian Forest. Anthony left almost right away eager to train. Gary got here a bit later and left soon after too." She responded. "I stayed to give Bulbasaur a bit of rest because we trained for a bit at the public arenas here."
"Ah, that makes sense then. I may have to go and train for a little bit with Eevee before it's too late too then." He replied when he heard about the public arenas.
Leaf's eyes lit up a bit at the mention of Eevee, "I thought I saw an eevee with you when you entered the pokemon center. Quite a cute pokemon the Professor decided to give you."
Ash laughed a bit, "So I've been told by both you and my mother."
They both chuckled then ate in silence for a moment.
"So are you going to head to Pewter City for your first gym battle?" Leaf began again.
"I've put some thought into it, and considering that it is a Rock-Type gym, I think I'll have to get back to it as I don't think there's much Eevee would be able to do, and I don't see a new pokemon being ready for the gym by the time we get there. I do plan on spending some time in the city before heading to Mount Moon however." Ash said thoughtfully.
"That makes sense, though I don't find myself in the same situation as I have Bulbasaur on my side." She replied smiling towards the pokeball on her belt.
"Mr Ketchum! Your pokemon is ready!" Ash heard, sounded through the speakers.
Ash stood up from the booth and walked to the pokecenter counter. He then thanked Nurse Joy and walked back to Leaf.
"I think I'll go train at those public arenas you were talking about for a bit." He told her.
"Okay, maybe if you don't plan on leaving right away we can head through Viridian Forest together? I've heard it can be a rather long walk and can be dangerous at times." She asked somewhat shyly.
"Absolutely," Ash said confidently. "It would be nice to have some company on the way."
They gave each other a brief smile, and Ash headed off towards the battlefields to get some conditioning in for Eevee.
When Ash and Eevee returned to the pokecenter, Leaf was no longer in sight. Ash figured she had just gone to bed and simply figured he'd do the same. Ash went to Nurse Joy and asked for a room, and retrieved the key to a small room.
Ash quickly fell asleep, however he was woken up in the middle of the night by Eevee nudging him awake.
"Wha-? What is it Eevee?" Ash said, still tired.
Eevee pointed her nose towards Ash's backpack which he had set down next to the small bedside stand with a lamp. His bag was shaking slightly.
"The egg!" Ash thought excitedly. Professor Oak must not have been kidding when he said it would hatch rather soon.
Ash opened his backpack and took out the egg from inside the incubator and set it on the floor. He then turned on the lights and stared at it along with Eevee as it shook and began to crack.
After a few minutes of anxiously waiting, the egg had splintered enough for a slender figure to begin sliding out of the egg. Once its full four foot body slithered out of the egg, Ash was able to identify what it was.
It was an ekans. Ash knew this for sure, however what was odd to him was its coloring. Ekans as far as he knew were to be purple with a band of yellow around them. This ekans however was a green color, which reflected the light especially with the fluid from the egg still covering it, with a gold band around it. Ash quickly put two and two together however and identified it as a shiny ekans. The shiny gene was extremely rare and seemed to be a genetic phenomenon when it comes to pokemon.
"Wow, a shiny ekans!" Ash whispered excitedly to Eevee who yipped quietly at their new friend.
"I bet even Professor Oak will be surprised when he learns about this, even if he did predict an ekans I bet he wasn't expecting it to be shiny!" Ash said excitedly.
The ekans turned towards Ash and hissed quietly at him. Ash was slightly concerned, however newborn ekans weren't yet poisonous so he was willing to take an, as of now, toothless bite in order to befriend it.
"Hello Ekans, my name is Ash and my friend here is Eevee," Ash told the ekans. "I have been taking care of you while you have been in that egg for a couple days now. I'm just going to scan you alright?"
The ekans gave little reaction as it gave a slight nod and then continued flicking its tongue and looking around.
Ash aimed his pokedex at Ekans and allowed it to scan him.
Ekans, the snake pokemon. It always hides in grass. When first born, it has no poison, so its bite is painful, but harmless. The older it gets, the longer it grows. This ekans is a male.
This Ekans knows: Wrap, Leer, and the egg move, Slam. Ekans additionally has the egg move Iron Tail which is not yet available. Ekans has the ability Shed Skin.
Ash was very surprised by what the pokedex had told him. Slam would be a rather powerful neutral move to have access to, and Iron Tail meant that Oak's Dragonite had been trained with Tm's which did not surprise Ash as he knew Professor Oak was extraordinarily strong back in his prime. Ash also knew that breeding pokemon of different species that were within the same egg group could lead to very interesting changes in the product pokemon's biology. Considering one of the Ekan's parents were a dragonite and the other likely an arbok of sufficient strength, this ekan's had great potential. He could already see that Ekans was rather large for a newborn. Ash was very excited to see what potential he could help Ekans unlock.
"Wow Ekans, you're quite impressive aren't you?" Ash said.
Ekans hissed at him, seeming quite proud as he bobbed his head up and down.
"Well Ekans, me and Eevee would love a friend on our journey, and we both would be honored if you joined us. I also promise to help you become as strong as you can if you are interested?" Ash asked with Eevee wagging her tail excitedly beside him.
Ekans stared at him for a moment, before nodding his head and slithering closer to Ash and curling up in front of him.
"That's great! We're so glad to have you!" Ash whisper-yelled.
Ash got up and got a towel out of the bathroom, Ekan's eyes following him the whole way.
"I'm just going to dry you off from your little escape out of your egg okay?" Ash tried to explain to Ekans.
Ekans seemed to understand rather easily and bobbed his head once again.
Ash didn't speak until he had dried the ekans off and threw the towel in the hamper. He was sure the pokemon center staff would understand, they did care for pokemon after all.
"Ekans, I'm going to catch you in a pokeball. I will release you right afterwards, and it will be totally painless. Just try not to resist okay?"
Ekans simply waited for Ash to touch him on the nose with the pokeball, after which the pokeball didn't blink or shake indicating there was no struggle. Ash then released ekans, who slithered up, and laid himself along Ash's shoulders.
Ash laughed, then yawned afterwards, "Alright, as exciting as this whole thing was, I'm still tired, and I'm sure both of you are too. So it's off to bed for us."
Eevee yipped and hopped onto the bed, then waited for Ash to slowly crawl into bed. Ash then took Ekans off his shoulders and laid him down next to himself. Eevee and Ekans both curled up next to Ash, and together they all fell asleep.