Ash looked at himself in the mirror pleased. His Grandfather's armor provided him decent protection and made him look like quite the badass.
A green waist coat,decorated with silver designs at the edges, and black shorts were the first part of his apparel. Chain mail ran under the waist coat's sleeves providing some protection for the arms. They both provided comfort and warmth during the harsh winters that buffeted Kanto. The articles of clothes were some-what flame retardant and dried quickly after being exposed to water.
Then came the protection. A steel cuirass went over Ash's waist coat. It provided excellent armor and was pretty light despite its appearance. The chest plate's pauldron's, or shoulder pads, were covered in fur for decoration, Professor Oak had analyzed the fur and had found that the fur came from a Absol, a rare pokemon that fore told of natural disasters.
Steel gauntlets tipped with segmented armor for the finger, provided protection and mobility in hazardous situations. The inside was covered in velvet cloth to protect it from the rough steel gauntlet.
A satchel ran over his shoulder and ended at his waist, it was made of leather to intensified its strength and durability
Leather boots covered his feet. They were comfortable and kept his feet warm when it was cold, and cool when it was hot.
And finally his brown belt which holstered his scabbard and, with a slight modification, could hold six poke-balls.
The entire armor set weighed about 45 pounds. Something tiring to carry around with you for most of your journey. But Ash had worn this before. Multiple time in fact and he had grown used to its weight.
His sword was nearby, planted firmly into the ground, hilt up. It was about two feet long. It was short, yet durable. And it was sharp enough to cut down a small tree. When deep in the wilderness, beside your pokemon, your going to have another way to "convince" wild pokemon to leave you alone. Its not like his sword could kill one any way.
Pokemon skin is one of the toughest material in the world. They're tough enough to withstand attacks like the infamous Hyper Beam or the powerful Overheat, so what good would a small steel splinter do? Ash quickly sheathed it and turned his attention towards his starter.
Charmander was currently munching on a fruit seemingly enjoying its flavor. Wild fruit could be found all over the world, each having a remedy for any negative effect on a pokemon. All were edible and each had a unique taste that was commonly used in everyday sweets.
"Charmander! Were heading out bud!" Ash said to his partner. Charmander dropped his fruit before bolting up and waiting for his trainer. He was extremely eager to begin the journey.
Ash then put on the final piece to his outfit. A helmet. It was made with the same material as his cuirass and designs were carved into the front. It was modeled after a Spartan's helmet, with a T shape opening to provide eye sight and breathing space. It was rather light and the inside was covered in fluff to provide comfort for the user.
"Come on Charmander, we got to meet up wit Adam and Julia." Charmander eagerly nodded and started following his partner.
Ash met up with Julia and Adam at the edge of Pallet. Both were dressed in common body armor that could be found at any Poke-Mart. They were cheap but sufficient in protecting the body from most environmental hazards like fire.
Adam was carrying a spear with a curved point. It was about a foot taller then him, but seemed extremely light despite its size. His family was well known for their skill with the spear and it seemed they passed down their heritage.
Shinx was by Adam's side being chased around by a peeved Eevee who's fur was singed at the end. Ash's assumption was correct to say that Adam's sense of humor passed down to his starter.
Julia was currently scolding Adam for letting Shinx play its prank on Eevee. She wore the same body armor as Adam did, but instead of a spear she wielded a small dagger. Julia wasn't the most combat gifted person. She could barely lift Ash's sword! But she was one quick mouse. She could swing a dagger faster than you could blink.
She had gotten so experienced with her parent's profession, chefs. She was a excellent cook mixing healthy and flavor together into a grand slam of food greatness.
Ash's foot steps alerted them of coming presence. To Ash's surprise his armor was rather quiet when walking despite its bulk. It would help him when sneaking up on pokemon.
"Where did you get that?" questioned Adam, eyes a lit with marvel and wonder.
"An old friend gave it to me." Ash said with a chuckle to his friends surprise.
"Well we better get going. Its a long trek to Viridian City." commented Julia. Julia was extremely smart for her age. More so than Gary and Violet combined. But she was very shy, before Ash or Adam had met her she had no friends. It was mere luck that Ash and Adam were able to break down her shyness and give her the friend ship she deserved. She showed them her talent at lunch break when both his and Adam's lunches were lost.
The trio, along with their pokemon, started down the dirt path, but were stopped by an all to familiar voice.
"Where do you think you're going Ashy-boy? We haven't said good-bye yet!" Gary said mockingly.
"Nice get up, where did you find it? Costume City!" continued Gary.
Ash cringed at the insult, he didn't care who Gary was, nobody insulted his family's treasured heirlooms. Chamrander in tow growled at Gary, seeing that his trainer was in distress. Although being with Ash for only a few hours, Charmander had grown very attached to Ash, like a small child looks up her or his big brother.
"Oh, it seems you've kept the over-sized salamander with you. I think its high time to put out both your flames. Squirtle teach Ash some respect for his superiors!" Gary said, commanding his starter onto the field.
Squirtle appeared beating its fist into its palm, seemingly looking forward to a battle.
"Charmander, you ready?" questioned Ash. Charmander grinned and spurt a small flame from his mouth to say yes. Ash grinned at his started and glared at Gary. It was time for the dragon to awaken.
Charmander and Squirtle faced off on a large dirt field, their eyes glazed with determination. Both starter's trainers stood behind them standing motionless as their pokemon prepared for battle.
"Squirtle Bubble Beam!" barked Gary. Squritle released a stream of water bubbles directly towards Charmander. Ash grimaced at the attack. Charmander possessed only one move that could break or defend him from the stream of water.
"Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded. A green sphere of draconic energy was launched towards Squirtle's attack. The pulse of energy and stream of water collided and stalemated. But the endless stream of bubbles over matched the draconic energy and it soon it imploded.
The stream of bubbles stopped as the explosion ceased. Apparently holding that attack for so long tired out Squirtle.
"Dragon Pulse!", another pulse of energy burst from Charmander's mouth and darted towards Squirtle. It crashed into Squirtle, exploded, and kicked up dust everywhere.
The cloud of dust settled down onto the ground to reveal Squirtle beaten and burned. Its skin was blackened with ash and its shell was cracked in a few places.
Gary's face was made of shock seeing his starter beaten by someone he considered inferior to him. He glared at Ash, he wouldn't let this humiliating event go unpunished.
Ash was currently congratulating Charmander over his victory. Dragon Pulse was a difficult move to use, only experienced dragons could use it more than once, but Charmander was just a beginning starter!
But before he could say anything to Charmander a shrill voice cut through the air, stooping Ash in his place.
Ash knew the owner of the voice to well. It belonged to the bane of his existence.
His Mother.
Hey Lord of fire here. finally finished this chapter, sorry it took so long, but school as been a pain but with Spring Break I can start typing more.
Also I need some help coming up with names for Ash's Dragon Team. Tell me in the reviews or PM me.
Have any suggestions for my story tell me in a review or a PM. Thanks for the support!