*Authors Note* I do not own Pokémon. This story will borrow elements from the games, the show, and other media. Pokémon will know more than four moves. Other aspects of the games will be changed as well. Please comment and give feedback!
Meetings
Edwin and Professor Oak walked back out into the corral. Immediately Edwin found himself completely overwhelmed by the number of Pokémon within sight. Once again he immediately locked onto the fire types. A flash of grey and red above him made him look quickly up just in time to see a Talonflame practicing its Flare Blitz attack. It was a huge Pokémon and Edwin could feel the heat off of even at this distance.
"Wow, Talonflame! That was an awesome Flare Blitz attack!"
"Pika pika!"
The voice came from a raven haired young man jogging around the side of Oak's lab. He had messy hair, a cap with a pokéball symbol on the front, a jacket and matching trousers and shoes. On his shoulders was a Pikachu. He would have recognized him anyway; this was Ash Ketchum.
"Ash my boy, it's good to see you today!" Professor Oak greeted Ketchum like a beloved son or grandson. "I have a new trainer that I would like to introduce you to. This is Edwin Baker. He has an interesting story to tell you."
"A story? Hi, Edwin! It's a pleasure to meet you! What's going on?" Ash asked enthusiastically.
"Edwin, tell Ash the story you told me. About the Pokemon battle you saw on Cinnabar island," Oak instructed.
And so Edwin told Ash the story of that epic battle between a Charizard and Blaine's Magmar that he had witnessed. Edwin had barely gotten into the story, however, when a knowing smile spread across Ash's face. As Edwin finished the story Ash said, "That's a great story Edwin, but I think I can do you one better. That battle between a Charizard and Blaine's Magmar? I lived it." With that Ash unhooked a Pokeball from his belt and tossed it in the air yelling, "come on out buddy!"
From the Pokeball came a roar, a flash of orange scales and flame, and the largest Charizard Edwin had ever seen in his life. As the Charizard spread its wings it launched a powerful flamethrower into the air that made Edwin flinch back away the heat was so intense. Then it turned the flame on Ash… who promptly fell over.
He got back up almost immediately with a smile on his face. It was clear that this was something of a ritual between the two, a sign of the connection between the two. It made Edwin smile.
"Pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu jumped up on the Charizard's shoulder, having leapt off of Ash before the flames hit. Humans tended to be more resilient to Pokemon attacks than other Pokemon. That blast might have seriously harmed Pikachu.
"*Cough* Recognize him, Edwin?" Ash coughed as he approached and fist bumped with the Charizard.
Edwin looked closely at the Charizard, then back at Ash. "Is this… are you… Were you and Charizard the ones fighting Blaine that day?!" Edwin exclaimed.
"We were. Charizard barely listened to me back then. You see, I saved him from an abusive trainer as a Charmander and after he evolved into a Charmeleon and then a Charizard he stopped obeying me. He only listened to me in that fight because he was fired up to be fighting Magmar. Fire Pokemon are very proud. They have more raw power and ferocity than most other Pokemon types. And when they sense a similar or greater level of power to their own they are overcome with an almost irresistible need to fight them. To test their strength," Ash explained.
"I know! Ever since that day I've known that I want to be a Fire Type Pokemon Master. I came here today to choose a Charmander as my starter. All because I saw that battle," Edwin exclaimed. He turned to Charizard and said, "Professor Oak told me that he doesn't have a Charmander that he can give me right now. Charizard, you have inspired me. Please tell me if you know of anywhere that I can catch a Charmander. This is my dream!"
Charizard gazed at him unblinkingly for several seconds. It seemed like he was measuring Edwin's passion, his own fire. Then he turned to Ash and growled softly, an ascent? Ash looked at his powerful Fire-type and asked, "Are you sure buddy?" Charizard snorted a small fireball at him and growled again. "I see, sure! Edwin, would you like to have a Pokemon battle?"
"But Ash, I don't have a Pokemon yet. And besides, I'm sure all of yours are much too powerful for a new trainer like me to stand a chance against!"
"That why you'll be commanding Charizard. Against Pikachu. I'll have the type advantage so that'll compensate for the difference in power levels. Although there's hardly one at all between these two," Ash explained.
"What?! Charizard, you'd let me command you in battle?" Edwin asked, mouth agape.
Charizard nodded and grumbled.
"I'll referee the match, but if I know what you're thinking Ash it won't be a full length match. I have a practice battle field over this way. Please, follow me," Oak offered.
The five of them walked around to the far side of the corral to a Pokemon battle field. Ash walked to one side and Edwin to the other, Pikachu and Charizard stood on the field in front of each of them. "This will be an unofficial match between Edwin of Obsidian Port and Ash of Pallet Town. Each trainer will use the Pokemon in front of them. There will be no time limit. BEGIN!" Oak announced.
"Charizard, Pikachu is strongest at a distance! Start with a flamethrower as you fly in and then grab him and fly into the air!" Edwin called out. Charizard obeyed at once and blasted forward as a gout of flame erupted from his mouth.
"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash cried out. Pikachu was able to dodge the flame but not the grab. Charizard roared in success as he had the small yellow Pokemon in his claws as he flew high into the sky. "Pikachu, use Nuzzle!" High above their heads, Edwin could see a small spark as Pikachu rubbed its electricity filled cheek against Charizard's claw. Charizard roared aloud and dropped pikachu, not so much because of the damage but because of the paralysis.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail as you land to cushion your fall!" Ash called out. As Pikachu neared the ground his tail became metallic and rigid. He swung it at the ground and a cloud of dust erupted. The tiny pokemon somersaulted away and landed on his feet, completely unharmed. "Now use Double Team!"
Immediately a swarm of Pikachu filled the field as Ash shouted another order,"Now charge up a Thunder attack!, give them everything you've got!"
A Thunder attack?! That's Pikachu's most powerful Electric-type move! I have to stop it! Edwin thought as all the Pikachu began glowing with power. It would take a few second for the attack to come off… "Charizard! I want you to fire off a Dragon Rage attack immediately followed by a Flamethrower attack. Use your flamethrower to propell the first attack into the ground amongs the Pikachu!" Edwin yelled.
Charizard let loose a mighty roar and began the combination attack. First he fired a glowing yellow/orange orb straight down toward the ground, then as Edwin instructed fired a Flamethrower behind it. The flames hit the orb and pushed it downward even faster, and with tremendous force. "Now follow the attack down, land right behind it and use Earthquake!" Edwin told the fire dragon.
"Pikachu! Fire your Thunder at the place the attacks hit AS they land!" Ash called out.
The Dragon/Fire attack hit the ground with a tremendous blast. Ash looked at it straight on but Edwin turned his face away and shielded his eyes. Energy blasted out from the point of impact right as each of the Pikachu copies burst with Electric energy. Then Charizard hit the ground and the ground began to rumble. Flame and Draconic energies slammed into electric mostly canceling each other out. Here and there flames, pulses of Dragon Rage, and bolts of electricity made it through striking their intended target. But at the same time the ground rumbled and destroyed the copies of Pikachu. The true Pokemon was knocked flat just as the flaming Dragon Rage struck. At the same instant three or four bolts of Thunder.
When the dust settled both Pokemon stood before their commanding trainers, panting heavily. "I'm calling this match a draw!" Professor Oak called out from the sidelines.
"But both Pokemon can still battle, why did you end the match?" Edwin asked ash Ash approached him, Pikachu once more on his shoulder. Charizard stood behind him, looking at Edwin with a look of sincerity.
"He ended the match because we had learned what we needed to know. Right, Charizard?" Ash asked turning to Charizard. Charizard grumbled happily and gave Edwin a thumbs up. "Edwin, my Charizard here has a mate in Johto named Charla. They've recently had an egg together and I've been waiting for a trainer that Charizard approves of to take it as his own. It looks like Charizard has chosen you!" Ash pulled off the backpack he'd been carrying and from it pulled an orange egg.
"Ash… I don't know what to say! Charizard… thank you! I won't disappoint you!" Edwin babbled.
"Of course this isn't a traditional starter, and despite the fact that Ash has been carrying it around for some time it isn't ready to hatch yet. You'll need a proper starter. You could choose the Squirtle I have on hand," Professor Oak offered.
"But… I want to master Fire Pokemon. Squirtle is a water type. It can't even learn any Fire Type attacks…" Edwin stammered.
"But Edwin, Fire type Pokemon have a great deal of weaknesses… And how are you planning to attain your mastery of Fire-types. What is your plan, step by step?" Professor Oak asked.
"I was planning on taking the league challenge. You know? Collect the badges, participate in the Indigo league, and then challenge the Elite Four. From then I was planning to travel to the other regions and collect Fire Type Pokemon. In the end I figured I would work toward either becoming a Gym Leader or maybe even a member of an Elite Four," Edwin explained.
By this time Ash had returned Charizard and the three of them and Pikachu had made their way back into Oak's lab. Ash said, "What would you do against the likes of Brock, the Rock Type Gym Leader in Pewter City? Or Misty, who only trains Water Types at the Cerulean Gym? Fire-types have their weaknesses. Can you name them, Edwin?"
Edwin had no answer to the questions about gyms. He figured he would simply train hard and win despite the disadvantages. "Water type Pokemon are weak to Water, Rock, and Ground types. They're strong against Ice, Bug, Grass, and Steel type Pokemon though. I've studied Charizard thoroughly. They can learn Focus Blast, a Fighting Type attack, which would be strong against rock type attacks. Some can also learn Solarbeam, which would be effective against all three weaknesses"
"Good answers. You know a lot of academic knowledge about Fire Types. But I'd like to challenge you to use a wide variety of types. Each Pokemon interacts differently to each other Pokemon and Pokemon type. Getting to know and training a Squirtle would be a good contrast to a Charmander. The two species have long been natural rivals," Oak suggested.
Edwin considered this advice. He had no particular distaste for other Pokemon types, he had just been focused so long on his passion for Fire Types that he had never considered training others. He recognized now that this would be a serious blind spot in his training. "OK, Professor! I'd love to train Squirtle!"
"Good answer Edwin!" Ash said happily!
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily.
"Pikachu agrees!" Ash translated.
"Here is Squirtles pokeball. And here are five other pokeballs to get you started. Here, too, is a Pokedex. With it you can research everything that is currently known about all Pokemon that are known. You can use it to plan strategies and training techniques," Professor Oak said, offering Edwin the items.
Edwin slipped the spare pokeballs into his pocket and his new Pokedex into his other. He held Squirtles pokeball up to eye level and then threw it out in front of him, "Squirtle, bring the fire!" His Squirtle materialized in front of him.
"Squirtle squirt!" his Squirtle said happily, gazing up at his new trainer.
"Squirtle, you and I are going to be great friends!" Edwin said.
Edwin's Pokémon:
Squirtle: Gender (Unknown), Ability (Unknown), Attacks (Unknown)
Chamander(Egg): Gender (Unknown), Ability (Unknown), Attacks (Unknown)