Please, people, use your common sense! If I owned either of them, would I be on here?!

Plus, I know people normally don't get this many Key Items in the beginning, but there can't be like 20 chapters revolving around "No way! Syrus got an Old Rod! Now they have to travel halfway across Kanto to get Old Rods for the rest of them! And don't forget; they all need Good and Super Rods, too!" I mean, that's just ridiculous—hello, they have a bad guy to stop!

GXGXGX

"Congrats!" Professor Oak cheered. "You've all caught your first Pokémon! Now, time to get down to business." He reached into his bag and pulled out a variety of items. "First, you've got your Pokédex. Then your Kanto map. And your VS Seekers and Fame Checkers. Plus Bike Vouchers for all of you. Oh, don't forget this TM Case. And then we've got Berry Bags, Coin Cases, Old Rods, and, finally, Itemfinders. This would be why you needed those packs I had you bring. Everything I just mentioned is going to be your most important items."

While the duelists were staring at the gigantic pile of crap (well, it wasn't crap, but they thought it was), Professor Oak separated it into smaller piles of individual items. He picked up the Pokédex pile first. "These are Pokédexes. They will be your most important tool. Hold it up to an unknown Pokémon, and this will tell you what it is. You can check basic stats and information with this, my own invention. Every time you catch a Pokémon, it adds more information to the Pokédex. Normally, I'd ask you to please try to complete it, but you've already got enough on your plate." Professor Oak passed the small red rectangles out to each boy.

"Next, we have your Kanto maps. It will help you move around the region easier, as you will know where you are going. Then, we have your VS Seekers. They allow you to find trainers who wish to battle you—this will assist in making you stronger. Then we have the Fame Checker. Not really essential, but you should still have it. It stores information on famous people from around the world." Professor Oak passed out said items.

"Now, the Bike Vouchers are very important. You can trade them in for bikes in Cerulean City—these bikes help you travel around faster. The TM Case holds TMs and HMs. TMs and HMs are moves that you can teach your Pokémon. While HMs are for practical uses outside of battle, TMs are strictly for battle only, just like normal moves." Professor Oak continued to pass out the items.

"The Berry Bags are for carrying berries. This berries can do many different things, including curing your Pokémon from burns, paralysis, et cetera. The Coin Cases are for holding coins you win from the casino in Cerulean City. If you have enough coins, you can trade them for TMs, Pokémon dolls, and even actual Pokémon. These Old Rods are the lowest-quality fishing gear for catching water Pokémon. Then there's Good Rods at the middle-level-quality, and the Super Rods at the best quality. However, I could only afford nine Old Rods with my budget; sorry. Finally, you have these Itemfinders. They detect items that are sometimes buried in the ground or are otherwise invisible for some reason." Professor Oak finished passing out the items. "You can put them in your bags until you need them. But for now, it's been a long day; you need rest. There's a guest room with a few bunk beds inside. So, go on, get some sleep—you'll have a special visitor tomorrow."

GXGXGX

"Boys!" Professor Oak slammed open the door to the guest room. "Wake up!"

The occupants inside groaned—well, the ones who had woken up. "Where's the fire?" Adrian groaned.

"Your visitor should be here any minute! Plus, it's time for breakfast."

"BREAKFAST!" You can probably guess who just woke up. Jaden leapt out of the bottom bunk of one of the beds. "WOO-HOO!"

"Jaden…" Syrus groaned. "Hold on, you need to help us get up Jesse, Jim, and Aster."

"I got Jesse." Adrian hopped down from the top bunk and kicked Jesse, who was sleeping in the bottom bunk:

"YOW! What in tarnation was that for?!"

"Hey, Jesse, how do we wake up Fossil Boy?" Chazz asked from his bed.

Jesse rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and cleared his throat. "HEY! IS THAT A RARE FOSSIL OVER THERE?!"

"WHAT?!" Jim bolted upright. "Where?!"

Jesse turned to Chazz. "There. He's up."

Everyone else got down from their beds (even Chazz) and gathered around Aster's.

"Um…who wants to wake him?" Syrus asked nervously.

"You kiddin'?" Jesse laughed. "Come on, it can't be that bad. It's not like he'll kill you."

"Then why don't you wake him up?" Chazz glared and "hmph"-ed at Jesse, crossing his arms.

"Alright, I will."

"Um, Jess?" Jaden asked nervously. "Who's your next-of-kin?"

"Uh, my folks, I guess. Why?"

"So we notify them if you…you know…"

"Jay…" Jesse laughed. "I'm not gonna die."

Jaden shrugged. "Your funeral."

"Aster…?" Jesse shook Aster's shoulder. "Aster, time for breakfast…"

Next thing Jesse knew, there was a pain in his jaw and everything went black.

Aster blinked himself awake. "Hey, what happened?"

Jim glanced at Jesse, who seemed to be asleep on the floor. "You just knocked out Jesse here when he tried to wake ya, mate."

Aster looked over the bed and, sure enough, there was Jesse, out cold. "Really?"

"Yup. Socked him in jaw. Made a big 'crack' sound." Jim blinked. "Hope you didn't break his jaw or anything."

Jaden's eyes widened. "Jesse! Wake up, Jesse!" He knelt down next to the unconscious boy and shook him vigorously. "WAKE UP!"

Jesse groaned. "What happened? And…why's my jaw hurt?"

"Well, he's talking—unfortunately. That's means it's not broken right?" Chazz asked indifferently.

"That's right." Axel nodded. "Congratulations, Jesse; Aster didn't break your jaw."

"Boys!" everyone heard Professor Oak call. "That visitor, the one I told you about? He's here!"

GXGXGX

"So they've dealt with Team Light before?" Ash questioned. He was currently sitting in Professor Oak's kitchen, eating some bacon and eggs.

"Not exactly…" Professor Oak admitted. "Not with Pokémon, and they don't know anyone here. But they do know how to deal with them—they even know how to get Misty, Gary, and probably Norman back."

"Norman back?" Ash choked on his bacon. "He's what started this whole mess in the first place!"

"Not quite," Professor Oak corrected. "He's being possessed…by an evil alien from outer space."

Ash burst out laughing. "That was pretty funny, but we really shouldn't joke about them like that…it's not exactly a laughing matter…"

"I wasn't joking." Professor Oak looked grim.

"You're serious…" Ash gasped, as if it were a great revelation.

"We're here, Professor Oak!" Jaden called as he ran into the room, the others trailing sleepily behind him. "Where's breakfa—EGGS! AND BACON!"

Professor Oak, much to Jaden's chagrin, had other ideas; he scooped the platters of bacon and eggs from the table. "After you meet Ash."

"Who?"

Jim grinned. "Ash, huh? That's a pretty cool nickname. So what's your real name?"

Ash scowled. "That is my real name."

Jim sweatdropped. "Oh. Heh, heh. Sorry."

"And what's your name?" Ash hoped that it was something even more ridiculous—too bad for Ash that it wasn't Aster who had asked that.

"Jim Cook."

"…" That's almost as common as John Smith…

"Anyway!" Professor Oak interrupted pointedly. "Ash, I told them all the basics about Pokémon, and I was hoping you could use their help defeating Team Light."

Ash snorted. "Their help? Do they even have any Pokémon yet?"

Professor Oak glared. "Ash. I'm just as much involved as you are in this, probably even more so, so everything I try, I am very serious about."

Ash gazed out the window, his eyes narrowed. Aster scowled at him and his hands balled into fists. Why is he acting like he's so much better than us?

Professor Oak sighed. "Ash…they know how to save them…they know how to save Misty."

Ash's expression softened and he looked at his lap.

"Teach them everything you know and help them as much as you can. Please." Professor Oak was almost begging. Almost.

Ash sighed. "Alright, alright." He smiled, albeit somewhat forced, and stood up.

"I'll just leave you kids alone now," Professor Oak stated as he left the kitchen.

"Well…I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm fourteen, grew up here in Pallet Town, and am a Pokémon master." Ash smirked. "Any questions?"

"What's a Pokémon master?" Jaden asked. "Is it like a King of Games?"

"Uh…not really." Not that I have any idea what that is, Ash thought. Nevertheless, he continued smugly: "That means I totally completed my Pokédex and have defeated every one of the Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Elite Four, et cetera, in every region."

"Is that mastery recent, or did you achieve it years ago?" Aster asked thoughtfully. Maybe I can cut this kid's ego down a few notches.

"If you count 'in the past year' as recent, than yeah, it's pretty recent."

"I thought the Prof said that you began your Pokémon journey when you were ten."

"Yes…" Ash replied warily.

"So…it took you four years to master Pokémon?" Aster smirked. "That seems pretty unrealistic."

"Aster," Atticus, who just happened to be standing next to him, hissed warningly.

"That I did it in that little time?" Ash blinked. "Well, I am—"

Aster snorted. "I didn't say it was impressive. Four years is an awfully long time, dude."

Ash scowled deeply. "I'd like to see you try."

"Maybe I will."

Jaden could practically see the lightning bolts shooting out from both Aster and Ash's eyes. "Um…so, Ash, do you have any advice for us beginners? I mean, we could really use your help and all…"

Ash just ignored Jaden. "Haven't your parents ever taught you respect?"

Aster's eyes widened and Jaden, Syrus, Chazz, and Atticus gasped. Aster emitted a low, angry growl.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?!" Ash exclaimed, feigning surprise. "Was it the 'parents' or the 'respect'? I think the first one's more likely." Ash smirked as Aster visibly tensed up.

"Sh-Shut up…" There was a dangerous look in Aster's blue eyes. Ash merely smirked in response, knowing he had the upper hand in this battle.

"Y-you think you're just so great, don't you? That no one will ever beat you." Aster lowered his head so that his bangs covered his eyes. "Well, let this serve as a lesson to you." Aster's head shot up and he smiled in a sinister way. Before anyone could stop him, he leapt at Ash, punching him in the face.

What he didn't notice was the small yellow mouse-Pokémon on the table beside them: "Pika…CHU!" Apparently, it was an electric type, too, and very protective of Ash.

Aster, his left hand still in the aftermath position from a punch, froze, having had a taste of Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack. He was completely covered in brown and gray, having just been totally fried. "Ow." Then he collapsed.

"ASTER!" The entire group yelled, rushing to his side.

Aster coughed. "I'm fine…surprisingly." He shook his head and glared up at Ash. "What the hell was that for?!"

Ash shrugged. "I didn't do it."

"It's your Pokémon!"

"They have brains of their own, you know! Let that serve as a lesson to you."

At that moment, Professor Oak chose to stride back into the room. "So, how's everything go—what happened here?!"

Ash and Aster both pointed at one another. "It was his fault!"

GXGXGX

"Ash, I'm rather disappointed in you."

Ash hung his head as Professor Oak reprimanded him in a room separate from the duelists. "I know; I'm sorry."

"Ash, this is tough on me, too," Professor Oak stated sadly. "I know you aren't normally this…this…"

"Arrogant?" Ash guessed.

"No, you normally are this arrogant…" Ash scowled "…but you aren't normally so…rude, unkind, and callous about it."

Ash sighed. "I know. It's just…I'm upset about Misty and May. And Gary, too."

"Ash, Gary's my grandson, I know what you're feeling. But you can't go around insulting other people."

"Hey, he started it—" Ash protested.

"And you ended it. Two wrongs don't make a right, Ash."

Ash frowned; Oak was right and he knew it. "Yeah, I know. Sorry."

Professor Oak, surprisingly, laughed. "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to the boy Pikachu electrocuted."

Ash pouted. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to."

"Fine. Come on, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!"

GXGXGX

"Hey, everyone." Chazz smirked. "You might wanna stay away from Aster. That's the second time in ten minutes that he's punched someone in the face."

"Be careful, Chazz." Aster frowned. "If I'm as dangerous as you say, you can consider yourself my next victim."

"Hey." The group gathered around Aster, whom they had placed back in his bed (with some difficulty: "OW! Don't touch me; that hurts!"), turned to see Ash standing in the doorway. "How is he?"

"Just fine, no thanks to you," Aster spit (yes, just like Team Rocket in the anime, Aster had miraculously recovered within a few minutes).

"Heh, heh," Ash laughed nervously, putting his hand behind his head. "Um, sorry about that. It's just…I'm really upset right now and…I can't really control my temper very well at the moment. As for Pikachu…" Ash glanced at his Pokémon, which was perched on his shoulder "…he's really protective of me. Don't tell me that if someone punched you in the face, one of these guys wouldn't make him pay."

"Actually, making people pay is kinda Aster's thing," Jaden pointed out. Aster glared at him. "What? It is."

"Besides…" Aster turned back to Ash. "My friends don't shoot electricity."

Ash grinned. "Touché. You know, I think I might like you. You kinda remind me of…well, me."

Aster rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks."

"No, I'm serious. Maybe…" Ash glanced at his feet. "…maybe, if we hadn't gotten off on the wrong foot, we could have been, you know…friends."

"You know…" Jim gazed at Ash thoughtfully. "You are sorta alike…not as alike as Jay and Jess, granted, but still…"

"Alright, fine!" Aster sighed and looked Ash straight in the eyes. "Truce?"

"Truce." Ash strode over to the bed to shake Aster's hand.

"Ouch!"

"Uh, sorry."

GXGXGX

Alright, chapter eight DONE! Now, credit goes completely to Serpent's Ballet for the whole Aster-punching-Ash-therefore-Pikachu-shocked-him scene. Next chapter, they finally face some Team Light guys when Ash helps them practice in a field full of wild Pokémon.