Hello everyone. Salvador again. And now with a newly 'M' rated Revenge of Ashton Ketchum-Oak. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Arkarian23, thank you for your ideas, and I'm surprised you were reading my fiction at a late hour. But I'm flattered. Chosen-One-92, I have been considering your input regarding my fiction; I consider ALL input, and I plan to use as much input I recieve as I can in this story. And Bunny153539, this is the chapter we meet Ash's 3rd Pokémon, which I've had planned for a good fortnight or so. Now, time for a little chapter reading...

Ash's Psychic Serpent Supporter

It had been two years since Ash had lost his mother, at the tender young age of only five years old. But, since then, he found support being given to him from all directions. He was adopted by Professor Oak. He and Gary became the best of friends, and particularly share a brotherly bond. He kept very strong contact with his penfriend, the mysterious MW, and found an amazing friend and teacher in his first Pokémon, Riolu. His life had just been getting better and better. But he never forgot that he still had a score to settle.

Seven year old Ashton Ketchum-Oak was in the training gym, powering through his daily training regime. He was now training his midday self-defence skills with the professor's Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. By now, he had completely mastered every technique they taught him, including a few that were only to be used in life and death situations. But he never stopped his training, he always felt like there was more to learn, and more to train for.

He stood in the wrestling arena, casually dabbing the half a dozen sweat beads he had on his forehead with a bone-dry flannel he had waiting at the side of the ring. He continued to stare down his mentors, who were panting fairly heavily for breath now, having been given a damn good run for their money from their young student. Mockingly, Ash leaned casually against the ropes on his side of the arena, lifting a lackadaisical hand to taunt them towards him with two fingers. The Hitmons smirked at this gesture, pride in their student overflowing within them, as they surged forth towards him, in a last chance bid to overpower him. But it ended as expected. A roundhouse kick from Hitmonlee was ducked, a barrage of jabs from Hitmonchan was parried, and both Pokémon were floored by a single, finishing, blow to the stomachs. The Pokémon doubled over, showing their submission to their pupil. Ash smiled, and bowed courteously, and went to collect his water bottle from his corner.

Once his, rather purple, Pokémon teachers were safely deposited into the infirmary room, where Professor Oak's Chansey would take care of them, Ash headed to the kitchen for some lunch. He rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, and pulled out a few ingredients. Positioning a couple of chairs and stools around the kitchen, Ash began cooking himself some special fried rice and aromatic Psyduck. He made sure to cook some extra, because Gary was sure to smell it and want some later. With his cooking finished, Ash plated up his serving, washed up what he wasn't using for now, and sat at the kitchen table to eat.

He was halfway through his lunch when Professor Oak entered, sieving through a handful of envelopes that had popped through the door. When he noticed Ash sitting at the table eating, he smiled at him, and made his way to the table, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey there, Ash. Made your own lunch again, I see." He smiled. Because Ash had a mouthful of food, and had learned good table manners very well, he nodded his head, before swallowing his mouthful to address his adoptive grandfather properly.

"Yes, Gramps. I hope you don't mind." The professor chuckled kindly, and shook his head, smiling.

"I don't mind at all, Ash. It does my heart good to see that you're being a little more independent. I'm sure you'll make a fine Pokémon trainer in three years' time, my lad." He complimented, making the boy blush as he ruffled his raven hair. The professor went back to sifting through the post, when an all-too-familiar handwriting, addressed to Ash, popped up, making the old man smile. "Well, it looks like you've got another letter from your girlfriend, Ash." The old man smirked.

Ash nearly choked on a mouthful of rice at the g word, making the professor chuckle victoriously. Quickly, Ash regained his composure, and pouted.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's my penfriend." He protested. "Who happens to be a girl." He then admitted, not allowing his pout to falter.

"I was only teasing, Ash." Professor Oak chuckled, sliding the letter across to the boy. "But I must say, I'm glad you found a female companion. Maybe you could meet her one day. How old did she say she was?"

"My age. A week younger."

"Well, I think you two would get on like a Shellder and a Slowpoke." Professor Oak chimed. And with that, he stood from his chair, and excused himself to his office. When the professor was gone, Ash finished his lunch, washed up, and left for his room with his letter from MW.

'Dear Ashton,

I've got some awesome news… I CAUGHT A GOLDEEN TODAY! I'm so happy right now. I've always wanted a Goldeen of my own. So now I have my Staryu and my newly caught Goldeen. How are you and Riolu? It looked really cute in the picture you sent me. I can't believe that he's the same age as you. I really hope I get to see him when you pass through Cerulean City on your journey. I'm assuming you want to challenge the Indigo Plateau when you turn ten. I'm sure it'll be me you face at the Cerulean Gym, and not my lazy, show-off sisters. They hardly ever battle, unless they're left with no other option. Also, I'm curious as to what Pokémon you think you may choose as your starter. Personally, I how you don't choose Bulbasaur, because I'll never stand a chance against you in battle if you do. But, it's your choice, so I'll just have to accept whatever Pokémon you choose to begin your journey with. Anyway… I gotta go. Hope to get another letter from you soon.

MW.'

Ash smiled at the letter. He was really enjoying talking to MW, whoever she is. She was like a sister to him, who seemed to care a lot about him. Much like a little mother figure. Ash sat on his bed, thinking of the conversations he'd had with MW so far. Together, they discussed their hometowns, their favourite Pokémon types and species, their favourite battling strategies, and their future dreams and ambitions. Ash had, very politely, omitted the fact that he aimed to slaughter any Team Rocket members he may encounter on his Pokémon journey, and instead excused his lifelong dream to be to become the greatest Pokémon Master there ever was. MW, on the other hand, said that her life's dream was to become the greatest water Pokémon Master there ever was. Ash couldn't help but smile at this dream. MW always sounded so passionate about water Pokémon in her letters to him.

'Dear MW,

Well done on catching that Goldeen. I can't wait to see it, and possibly battle against it when I pass your way. I hope I can battle you with Riolu, but Gramps says he doesn't think he can let me start my Pokémon journey with him, as he's not native to the Kanto region, and it'd put me at an unfair advantage. But, he's told me that I may be allowed to take Riolu with me if I defeat the first three or four gyms of the region. But, I promise you I'll come straight back to Cerulean when I get Riolu on my team to battle you with him. As for my starter Pokémon, I really don't know which one I want to get. Bulbasaur would be a study choice, as it can take a few hard blows before becoming weak, but it does have the disadvantage on speed. Charmander might be and OK option, despite the type disadvantage I hear it has against the first two gyms in the Kanto region, but it does have a very high attack stat. And Squirtle would be a good defensive Pokémon to use, but it's not as strong as Bulbasaur and Charmander when it comes to attack stats. I've got to go now. Gramps, Gary and I are going to the beach now for a picnic. Hope to get a letter back soon.

Ashton.'

Ash, Professor Oak, Gary and Riolu set up the picnic supplies on a nice little patch of sand. Not too close to the tide, but not so dry that they'd end up with true sandwiches. The boys were told by the professor to go on a scavenger hunt for him. They always enjoyed their scavenger hunts, the professor made them look for all sorts of weird and wonderful objects. And he always had a prize for them all at the end. Always chocolate. They all went out onto the sands of the beach with buckets in hand, and a list of objects to retrieve.

"A beach stone with a hole right through it." Gary read from his slip of paper. Knowing the best place to find a stone that had had a hole worn through it, he dashed to the edge of the tide, and started inspecting every pebble – literally leaving no stone unturned.

'A piece of seaweed that resembles a Pokémon.' Riolu found on his list. He looked up from the paper to find a rock pool not too far before him. He dashed towards it, and started pawing gently through the strands of slimy weeds in the water, looking for a Pokémon-shaped plant.

Ash, meanwhile, had set off in hot pursuit of a starpiece. Starpieces were fairly common on the beach but, all the same, hard to find. So, he reasoned, it'd make sense to get the harder things out the way first, then pick up the abundant things at the end. So he pulled his bucket out of his favourite bucket and started to dig through the sand to look for a starpiece. He hadn't removed more than a half dozen spadesful of sand, however, when something jumped out the ground at him.

'BOO!' Shouted a young, girly voice. The force of the leaping object bumping into Ash caused him to lose balance, and land on his backside in the sand. When he shook off the daze from the impact, his eyes widened in horror at what was before him. The offending figure giggled proudly at the surprise she gave him. 'I surprised you.' She stated. She started to jump about on the sand, victoriously, smiling to herself, chanting; 'I surprised you, I surprised you! I surprised you, I surprised you!' Ash found it a strain, but he eventually found his voice again…

"SNAAAAAAAKE!"

The screech alerted the Oaks and Riolu from their respective positions. Riolu's eyes were wild with worry at the voice, while the professor and Gary shared an air of fear and concern over what was happening. Once the trio had assessed the situation at hand, they all dashed off towards the sound's origin.

When they arrived at the scene from which the terrified scream came, they found Ash running round in frantic circles, screaming incoherent gibberish as a rather perplexed serpentine Pokémon watched on from her hole in the sand, wondering what on Earth was happening. The serpent, by the way, had a circle like gem in the middle of its forehead, and it's eyes were deep ruby red, rather than the usual pale purple of its species. It had large wing like flaps that looked resemblant to ears, and had a white nose and underbelly. The rest of the Pokémon's scales, rather than being the regular light blue of its family, were matt black.

Gary charged forth, and clamped his arms around Ash's waist, and shunted him into the sand, pinning him down as he screamed and squealed in protest. Riolu and Professor Oak were quick to assist Gary, with the professor embracing Ash in a reassuring hug, while Riolu held the boy's head, pouring a soothing aura energy into Ash's mind to try and calm him down. Soon, Ash was lax, and everyone could get sense out of him. He was startled by the serpentine Pokémon that had burst out from the sand at him, and it terrified him. Gary and Professor Oak calmed Ash's nerves around the Pokémon, explaining that she was a Dratini, and was a dragon type, unlike Ekans and Arbok.

'I'm sorry I scared you.' Cooed the snake Pokémon, apologetically. 'I was just playing a game.'

"Incredible." Professor Oak mused, crouching down to the serpent's level, inspecting it closely. "This Dratini to not only be unusually coloured… but unusually skilled as well." Everyone else looked at the professor curiously.

'What's the old man on about?' Dratini quizzed.

"Well – ignoring the old man comment – I mean that you seem to have telepathic abilities." The professor clarified to the youngsters. "That's completely unheard of to science everywhere. Apart from, obviously, right now." Dratini smiled, rather enjoying the attention.

'Why thank you.' She said. 'My Meema always said I was special.'

"Meema? What's a Meema?" Ash asked, cocking his head curiously.

'Meema is a word that Pokémon use to refer to their parents.' Riolu responded. 'It refers to both the male and female parents. Where humans have a different word for each parent, the Pokémon word is universal.'

"Oh, I see." Ash turned to Dratini. "So… why are you a different colour from a regular Dratini. Are you a shiny?" He inquired.

'I don't think so.' Dratini responded. 'I think a shiny Dratini is pink in colour. I've never seen a Dratini the same colour as myself before.'

"It must be some kind of irregular genetic development." The professor mused. "I've never seen any Pokémon who was an alternative colour to a regular individual, and wasn't a shiny Pokémon."

"Hey Ash." Gary piped up, taking a position next his best friend. "How about you take Dratini as one of your Pokémon? Maybe by having a snake-like Pokémon with you, she may be able to help you get over this fear of snakes you have." He offered. Ash physically tensed at the proposal, fear twisting and contorting his face. He started to tremble and shake, clutching his arms around himself. Tears started to form in his eyes, and his shoulders began to shiver.

"I-I don't th-think I-I can, G-Gary." He trembled. "I-I'm just t-too scared." Dratini's ears dropped at his statement, and her yes quivered with disappointment. She purred unhappily.

'I understand.' She trembled. 'I'm sorry for scaring you, Ash. I really am.' She slithered out of her sand hole and crawled across the beach towards the sea. Ash, Gary, Riolu and the professor watched as she sadly made her way to the water.

"Dratini! Wait!" The young dragon stopped as she reached the tide's edge. She turned her head to find Ash was rushing down the sandy landscape towards her. As he drew nearer to her, the look of apology in his eyes became more and more apparent. He reached the dragon Pokémon, and stopped just millimetres away from her face. He looked into her sorrowful eyes, with a soft look of guilt. "I'm sorry for saying that, Dratini. But… I'm really, really, really scared of any Pokémon with a snake-like body. If I do decide to become your trainer, it'll take me a long time to get over my fear. But if I don't become your trainer, I may take longer to get over my fear. Either way, it's going to take me a long, long time to get used to snake Pokémon, including you." Ash apologised, tears starting to sneak their way down his cheeks. Dratini nodded, sadly, gazing at the tidal waters that were slowly lapping around underneath Ash and herself.

'I understand, Ash.' She looked back up into his eyes, with a small hopeful sparkle. 'But will you at least consider it? Please?' She begged. Ash didn't know what to do. If he said no, he'd just upset the poor dragon even further. And if he said yes, he'd have to work his hardest to get used to her being a snake. Suddenly, an amazing thought crossed his mind.

"How about we have a Pokémon battle to decide?" He proposed. "You and Riolu battle, and if Riolu and I win, I train you. And if you win, you go free. Sound fair?"

'You promise you won't lose to me on purpose?'

"When it comes to battles, I fight to win." The boy smirked. Hearing this, Dratini beamed, and started bouncing excitedly.

'Let's do it!'

The two young Pokémon stared each other down. Dratini eyed her opponent up and down for size, while Riolu calmly stretched a little, limbering for combat. Ash swivelled his official Pokémon League hat, which was now a little snugger on his head, round, so it was back to front, and prepared for battle. His little fingers now clutched a small pokéball Professor Oak had given him to use it he managed to win against Dratini.

"You can take the first move, Dratini." He offered, gentlemanly. The young dragon smiled, mischievously.

'You'll regret that, Ashy.' She taunted. She leaped into the air, and fired a tornado from her mouth towards Riolu. 'Twister!' She yelled, as the funnel of air soared closer to the fox. Ash squinted at the tornado, and made mental notes on the wind speed and diameter of the twister. Once he had his estimates, Ash relaxed, and Riolu mimicked, in perfect sync with Ash's body. As the dragon's attack was inches from Riolu's head, the Emanation Pokémon and his trainer opened their eyes, and raised their right hand, blocking the attack like a simple string shot. Stunned by the ease of the block, Dratini changed tactics, and started hurtling towards Riolu, surrounding herself in a stream of water as she plummeted for him. Again, Ash calmly watched her speed and angle of trajectory, making some quick estimations in his head. Calculations done, he clasped his hands loosely together, an action Riolu synchronised with again. The difference being… Riolu was forming an aura sphere while Ash was discreetly imagining. As Dratini's Aqua Jet attack came a foot from Riolu, the synchronised duo sidestepped, and released the aura sphere into the back of the dragon's head. Dratini gasped in surprise at the attack, and lost control of her Aqua Jet trajectory, sending herself careering into the sand, knocked out.

Ash saw his chance, and threw the pokéball. The sphere collided with Dratini's smooth scales, and rebounded slightly, opening wide to swallow the fainted target in a red beam of light. The capsule fell to the sand, bouncing upon landing, and rocked side to side half a dozen times before settling, certainly ensnaring Dratini within. Even though the captured creature was a snake, Ash couldn't help but grin as he picked up Dratini's ball, and lift it high above his head victoriously.

"Yes! I caught my first Pokémon; Dratini!" He cried, striking a victory pose, with Riolu copying him at his side. Gary giggled as he applauded Ash's efforts.

"Well done, Ashy-boy." He congratulated him, patting his adopted brother on the back. "For a scaredy Meowth, when it comes to snakes, you handled Dratini rather well.'

"Thanks, Gary." Ash smiled, looking at the pokéball in his hand. 'Now, maybe I can get a little support from Dratini with confronting my fear of snake Pokémon.'

The group returned to their picnic, inviting Dratini – after she'd recovered a little – to join them. After a lovely picnic, the group packed up and decided to go back home. It'd been a long day. And Ash was going to need rest for tomorrow; having to get used to his new psychic serpent supporter.

Chapter over. Next chapter will be the final preparations, and then we'll be following Ash around as he starts his Pokémon quest. Now, a few questions for anyone who wishes to review;

1. How should Ash and Pikachu start their relationship? Ash will be 9, so he has a year to befriend the mouse, but should he succeed or not right now?

2. What Pokémon, if any, should I have Ash catch in his first week of his journey?

3. Can anyone give me any unusual, or new, pairings involving Misty and/or Gary?

4. Ash's Riolu has blue eyes, instead of the normal red, and his new Dratini is black, instead of blue. Do you think I should give him a normal Pikachu or give Pikachu some special feature as well? If the latter, what kind of special feature?

And, I already have a pairing lined up for Ash, but I won't be able to put it together until late Johto/early Hoenn travels (yes, I'm going to be writing that far, I guarantee it). I won't give away too many details, but I will say this; I've only ever seen ONE straight romance fiction with this pairing before, and I haven't seen any official shipping name for it. So, I'm giving it my own name. I'm calling it; BurningFlowerShipping. Can anyone guess which character, from the shipping title, I'm going to pair Ash with?

If you've coped with reading this author note up to this line, thank you for your dedication. And I look forward to updating this story in a week's time.