A/N: ok this is the start of the prologue, to understand what happened last chapter, this will give you the answer. The prologue will be a couple of chapters long, but it will skip to right after the events of last chapter after the prologue. Know that the events of last chapter take place after the 7th gym.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

Chapter 2- Journeys Commence

Serena's house:

Grace sighed as she flipped a pancake through her pan. Of course the smell of pancakes resonating through the house was not doing the effect it was and it frustrated Grace. Grace decided she had to use the last resort she commonly used, "Fletchling, could you go wake up Serena for me? Of course she sleeps in more than a teenage boy that stays up till 3:00 am writing fanfics, but it is not healthy for her."

"Fletch fletchling!" Fletching replied and flew up the stairs into Serena's room stealthily through the small crack in the door that lead into a room with a bed and a lot of pink walls. Fletchling then perched itself on top of a bulge in the bed. Fletchling then made his beak glow white and aimed right for the head of this figure, "FletchLING!"

Fletching has used peck on his sleeping beauty to wake her up, though she did not wake up in love, but furious of Fletchling's peck.

"Grrrr… come back here!" the girl screamed in pain as she held her head at the site of the peck. The girl then got up and stared into the eyes of that one menacing robin that just pecked her. She tried to grab fletchling but ended up missing and hitting her head with the side of the bed.

"Fletchling," the bird cried as it flew out the room with a hint of amusement for causing that much trouble with the girl. Of course it was funny for it since Fletchling always had to do it because of this girl's horrible temper. At this point the girl would always decide it was time to get up since the adrenaline that rushes through her from the surprise does not allow her to fall back asleep.

The girl walked up to the window thus opening it. The wind blew perfectly into her long honey blonde hair and dazzling electric blue eyes.

"Morning Rhyhorn!" the girl exclaimed as she greeted her friend in the front yard. "I think something interesting will happen today," She told herself as she pushed her hair back. She knew she was ready to start making a big step in her life… A chance to escape the past.

"Serena! Come down and eat your pancakes! You need to get ready for your day today! It is the start of your journey!" Grace exclaimed from downstairs. At the sound of her mother, the girl turned back to the door and looked through the crack to yell back.

"Coming mom!" the girl now known as Serena yelled back. Of course, this was the first day of her journey and she was ready to get a pokemon from professor Sycamore. She even knew what pokemon she was going to get… Oooh look at her, such a badass! (Like me and Decidueye in Sun and Moon :D)

Serena got dressed in a black top with a pink skirt and on her head she had a nice pink fedora. With that she went downstairs to eat breakfast. She sat down and started to eat her breakfast. Eggs and bacon along with pancakes and syrup. something Serena enjoyed to eat, especially when her mother made it (If you want it in pokemon terminology, Exeggcute and Grumpig)!

"Serena, have you decided what pokemon you are going to get?" Grace asked as she took a sip from her tea and eyeing Serena with amusement. Grace was excited for Serena's journey to start. Grace, being the Rhyhorn racer that she was, started her journey at the same age that Serena did and with that she was able to find her love of racing. She wants the same for Serena and as soon as Serena figured out that her friends were also starting her journeys, Grace encouraged Serena to start hers as well.

"Yea!" Serena replied with an excited tone thinking about the pokemon she was going to choose for her journey around her home region. As much as Serena wanted to simply say the name, she had a bigger desire to keep the pokemon a surprise. This pokemon appealed so much to Serena because of how the species is burning with elegancy and by just how adorable and lovable these creatures are.

"What is it?" Grace asked her daughter with a curious face.

"It's a secret," Serena responded with a wink… The trademark wink Serena always gives to her friends and family at surprises. After she finished breakfast, Serena grabbed her backpack and went out the door: She was ready to take her first step into her journey. "Bye mom!" Serena was excited, she wanted to leave just like anyone would for anything simply. Serena was so fast out the door that her mother gasped in shock as she went to say her goodbyes for now…

Serena was that excited to begin her journey.

"Remember to go for broke!" Grace instructed her daughter before Serena walked out of the door after saying goodbye to Rhyhorn who gave Serena one last playful lick.

"I prefer to say 'Don't give up until it is over'," Serena chuckled remembering the words that a certain influence has had on her since… Well, that is something that Serena will have to reveal herself sadly...

"Bye Serena, and remember that if someone you don't like asks you out on a date you show them a kick in the balls!" Grace replied with a snicker since she knew that Serena's looks would obviously attract the eyes of many boys, especially the teenagers. It is very common for boys to show up at Serena's house with flowers asking to even get to go on a date with Serena to her surprise… Of course Grace used these boys as punching bags for Serena. One kick in the balls and they will never come back is the philosophy Grace used with her daughter's love life, but of course, Grace knows someone will get through the wall eventually.

Serena grew annoyed at this and grew red in anger and embarrassment. Serena had learned how to do the kicking move and did not have to be reminded every day. "I know mom! Don't worry, I already know who I can allow near me!"

"Calem I am guessing?" Grace retaliated without knowing a crucial fact about an encounter Serena had with a certain boy at a summer camp. Grace always thought Calem was Serena's partner as she thought the boy was charming, but something about that boy was missing, so Grace may have figured the two were just good friends.

"No!" Serena flustered. "I only see him as a friend and Shauna already told me she has 'dibs' on him."

"Then who is it?" Grace asked with a look of "Gotcha I know there is someone that has your attention". Grace just loved to mess with Serena and this confirmed she had her eyes out for someone.

"None if your business!" Serena yelled as she ran out of her mom's sight and into the route after waving her mother good bye. She looked down into her pocket. 'If you even are anywhere near me, I will find you' Serena thought as she looked at a blue handkerchief. Serena would make it to Lumiose in no time at this rate and meet up with her friends.

Serena looked up in the bright and sunny day. She was excited and hopeful for a memorable journey…

And she will have one…

She will.

Lumiose City:

It was a bright and sunny day in Lumiose. Fletchlings chirped, trainers and residents walked up the streets with pokemon living in complete harmony. Just a beautiful day to initialize a journey is what new trainers would think. Despite this fact, one person always dreaded everything thrown at him and is completely shadowed in the endoskeleton of Lumiose City.

A teenaged boy sat in a dark alley of Lumiose city, right next to him was a wild Pikachu. The boy looked in his pocket. There was a case that had the words Ash Ketchum on it. Inside this case was a picture of a lady that had brown hair and auburn eyes that resembled the boy's eyes holding the picture. Inside the case there was also a stone that had a DNA like symbol on it. "I'm sorry I left mom, I could not save you from him and I had to flee," the boy said with a tear rolling down his cheek and a defeated tone. He could still hear the sounds of the screaming that happened in front of him years ago.

It haunted him… no…

It possessed him.

"Pikapi!" The Pikachu next to him cried and embraced his friend. The boy felt Pikachu hug him and instantly relaxed. The bond between the two seemed completely unbreakable.

"Thank you Pikachu, I don't know if I would be alive if it wasn't for you," the boy replied. The boy was right, he had attempted to end his own life a couple times to escape dealing with the hardships, but everytime, Pikachu would stop him. Ash was always grateful of this even if it could agitate him, but Ash always knew that he can't take life for granted, and Pikachu always reminds him of that.

Suddenly, this boy felt his stomach growl… It had been some time since Pikachu and him had something to eat. In a whisper, Ash said, "Pikachu, let's get something to eat."

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he got on the shoulder of the boy. The boy that was known as Ash Ketchum was revealed when he stepped into the light of the early morning in a busy street of Lumiose. A light tan, raven black hair, auburn eyes, and lightning marks on his cheeks. His clothes though were very wrinkled and the only piece of clothing in decent shape was his red cap.

"Come on Pikachu, we need to find something to eat!" Ash exclaimed as he made himself over to the market. The market was filled with people crowding around food stands in order to find some food for the day. There was baskets filled with cuisine that could make someone's mouth water in sight. There was everything from seafood to Kantonean food. Kantonean food was what appealed to Ash the most though as it reminded him of his home region.

When Ash made it to the market, he found a stand giving out bread. 'hmmmm… that seems like a good place, let's try to not attract too much attention'.

Ash started to walk up to the man in charge of the bread stand who wore a brown T-Shirt along with a pair of gray pants and he had brown hair with pale skin, a common sight of people in Kalos. The man noticed Ash and spoke at him confused as to why someone that looks like they had been ran over by a truck would come to his stand, "Hello there young man! How may I help you?"

"In no way possibly," Ash responded coldly while putting his head down to shadow his eyes. "I came here for some bread…"

The man grabbed a loaf of bread and showed it to Ash. The man then turned to Ash and stated, "This will cost you ten Kaleuros."

Ash sighed and looked over at his partner. Of course they would need to pay, it is the economy that needs it, the only problem was that the raven haired teenager did not have any Kaleuros with him… So like always, Ash used his last only resort to even survive. Ash nodded at Pikachu and looked at the vendor with a smirk.

"Pika...CHUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed a thunderbolt and distracted the man enough time for Ash to grab a loaf of bread.

"Gotta go, bye!" Ash exclaimed as he left running and leaving the man covered in soot from the lightning attack.

Pokemon battle music can start here:

"Thief! GET THAT TEENAGER!" The man yelled watching as Ash started to get out of sight.

Officer Jenny was nearby reading a book on her motorcycle when these words entered her ears. Jenny then turned to the voice and noticed it was a man that had just had his bread taken away. Jenny then took one look at the direction in which the thief ran off to. One look at the thief and Jenny sighed, "Here we go again…" Jenny then turned on her lights and siren and started chasing Ash.

A group of three boys and two girls were in the way of the sidewalk. One boy with black hair grabbed Ash by the collar as he ran past the group. The boy obviously saw what Ash did and knew he had to put some sort of stop to Ash. "Hey! It is not right to steal!" The teenager looked Ash's age and he had black jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of sunglasses on his jet black hair. His skin was pale and he had brown eyes as well. Ash noticed he needed to get out of the situation as fast as possible so he came up with his usual plan for when he got caught:

Ash just turned broke free from him by ordering Pikachu to shock the teenager. "It may be wrong, but I need it to survive!" Ash retaliated and darted out of the group's way.

Ash then looked back and noticed officer Jenny on his sixth. Ash obviously knew he could shake her, he had done it before and he wouldn't give up. Ash ran into the same alley as before and noticed it was a dead end.

"I have you cornered, hands up now!" Jenny called out for probably the first time that day, which had gone on for years. Jenny was very tired of having the same result happen to her though:

Ash smirked and pumped his fist, "Pikachu, use electro ball!"

"pika pika pika pika pika pika CHUPI!" Pikachu cried as he charged and shot an orb of yellow electricity that streaked through the air at high velocity. That electric sphere hit officer Jenny immobilizing her for Ash to make the escape.

"See you later!" Ash yelled as he climbed the walls. The walls were close enough so that ash could jump to and from each other making it to the roof. Doing this for years made Ash an expert. With Pikachu on his side, he was hard to catch.

From bellow, officer Jenny sighed. she knew all about Ash's condition. How he was alone except for the Pikachu without any way of feeding himself other than stealing. She felt pity for the boy, but it was obvious that she had to chase him down. Sadly, whenever she tried to get to him, Ash would escape, he was that good.

Meanwhile at the rooftops, "Here you go Pikachu." Ash had split the bread in half so that they could both share equally. Ash did not know if bread was a good idea to feed to a Pikachu, but as long as Pikachu did not get sick on him, he was fine. Both finished their bread and were thankful that they could eat even if it meant breaking the law. Pikachu always cuddled with Ash, they both were happy to be with each other. This friendship was what kept Ash alive after all.

"Fro…."

Ash heard a new voice enter his ears and looked confused.

"Pika?" Pikachu's ears twitched as he heard the voice as well. It sounded very aquatic and weak as well. Ash got up from where he was to see if he can locate the source with Pikachu following him.

Suddenly, Ash noticed a blue frog-like pokemon lying in the edge of the rooftops , "Look Pikachu."

"Pika?" Pikachu asked as he got nearer to inspect the pokemon.

Ash got closer and noticed it was a Froakie. "Fro," Froakie groaned. Ash noticed Froakie was really hurt. Froakie had cuts and bruises all over his body and there was blood spilling from one of the wounds that crossed Froakie's stomach.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted in urgency.

"Let's get it to the professor's lab!" Ash cried. Ash did know where the lab was, and how Froakie was a starter. Ash was anxious to show himself for the first time to the professor, but he had to, he had no choice if he wanted to save Froakie. Ash had Pikachu on his shoulder and Froakie in his arms as he ran into Lumiose city. He cared for all pokemon as friends, it did not matter that he stole to survive at this point. When in these situations Ash has one priority, saving a life in danger.

Entering Lumiose City:

"Look who decided to show up," a brunette girl with a tanned skin and a hot pink dress with black bow ties said as she looked at Serena with a smile.

"Sorry for the wait Shauna," Serena replied with embarrassment as she caught up to the girl she calls Shauna.

"Serena, you look as beautiful as ever!" two boys yelled. One with black hair that was really big and had a T-Shirt with a Vanillite on it while the other had orange hair and purple eyes. They both had pale skin, but the size difference was huge and the smaller one of the two had a camera around his neck.

"Hey Trevor," Serena replied to the one with orange hair. "And Tierno, you look like you never stop the beat." Serena giggled at the large boy with black hair.

"Well it is good to see the gang's all here," said a boy with a black jacket, he had blue jeans and a pair of sunglasses on his jet black hair. He also had pale skin and brown eyes which were charming enough to attract anyone, and one girl from the group had that sort of attraction towards him.

"Calem, we should go to the research lab now," Shauna said trying to make a move on him since she had been smitten by him ever since they met.

"Sure!" Calem replied and started walking ahead of everyone with a slight smile.

"Hey! Wait for us!" everyone else yelled and tried to catch up.

"Thief! GET THAT TEENAGER!" a voice broke the peace in the city. The gang then noticed a boy with a Pikachu running away from a man and officer Jenny behind him on a motorcycle.

Calem acted fast and grabbed the boy that looked about his age by the collar. "Hey! It is not right to steal!"

The boy just simply said, "Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Calem received a strong thunderbolt that left him on the ground with electricity crackling through him. "It may be wrong, but I need it to survive!" the gang heard the boy shout as he departed with officer Jenny behind him.

"Ugh what is wrong with him?!" Calem yelled in frustration still dazed from the thunderbolt.

"Calem are you ok?" Shauna asked him with a worried tone in her voice.

"Yea, just shocked, I guess," Calem responded and giggled as he got up and scratched his head.

"Wow, look at him go!" Tierno said as he pointed into the alley just in time for everyone to witness the mysterious boy leap from wall to wall to escape officer Jenny.

"That must have taken a lot of skill, that dude is pretty badass, shame he had to steal though," Trevor commented with a shrug of his shoulders.

Serena looked in disbelief, she could have sworn it was him. 'I have to find him' she thought to herself as she looked at the boy disappear on top of the roof tops.

"Come on guys! Here is the lab!" Shauna exclaimed as she lead the group into a mansion near the event that just took place. The mansion was fenced off and had a very nice look to it as it did not look completely like a research lab.

"It looks amazing!" Tierno remarked as the group entered. In the lobby there were some stairs and nice blue walls. The mansion was vast and it seemed like it was also a place to display books about research other than just a research lab.

"Professor Sycamore! Are you here?!" Calem shouted while knocking on some wood to create some noise in the laboratory.

"Coming!" a new voice was heard from a man in a lab coat that had blue hair and a tall body. He also had pale skin with light blue eyes. "Hello and welcome to my lab, I can see that you came to become new trainers! How about we get you guys some pokemon and a pokedex! Sophie if you please!"

A woman by the name of Sophie, who also had a lab coat, but had black hair and a pair of glasses over her eyes, went over to the gang and handed everyone a pokedex updated to know every pokemon from Kanto to Kalos… Excluding Alola.

"Thank you!" everyone responded with a smile as they looked the the new devices that they held in their hands in awe… They all were excited to become trainers.

"Now you get to choose a partner pokemon!" Professor Sycamore commented as five pokemon came from the hallway.

These pokemon included a Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Chespin and Fennekin. Sycamore had a puzzled look, 'Where is Froakie?' Sycamore wondered as he put a hand in his chin. Sycamore shook it off and walked to the pokemon that were sitting on the floor starting with the small green dinosaur with a bulb on his back, "This is Bulbasaur!" He then moved to the small fire lizard with a fire in his tail, "This is Charmander." After than he pointed to the blue turtle with a red shell, "That is squirtle," and then Sycamore got near the spiky green pokemon that had a red nose and introduced it, "This is Chespin." Finally, he moved to one of fire fox like pokemon. This one was a little freaked out as Sycamore got close. Sycamore then got the fire fox to relax and called it out, "This one is kind off shy, but she is Fennekin."

The five members of the group had shining eyes as they looked at the starters and their eyes went open in awe. It was time to choose one.

Calem went first (What a gentleman), he got near Chespin, "Hey Chespin, want to be my partner?"

"Ches!" Chespin cried as he embraced Calem.

"I'm next!" Shauna exclaimed. She got next to Bulbasaur. "Hey, want to be friends?"

"Saur!" Bulbasaur responded acting the same way as Chespin towards its new trainer.

"Charmander, I really like you, want to be my partner?" Trevor asked as he approached Charmander.

"Char!" it cried and snuggled with Trevor.

"Squirtle, you look like you can dance want to come along with me?" Tierno asked.

"Squirt!" Squirtle replied and hopped on Tierno.

Fennekin was the last Pokemon left, she was a bit bummed no one had chosen her first. No one could blame her, being chosen last gave her an impression of not being wanted by anyone else. That was soon about to change with a certain revelation of a certain honey blond girl.

Serena looked at Fennekin and got near her. The fox recoiled a little, but then looked at Serena in awe as Serena passed her hand through Fennekin's orange fur, "Fennekin, you are so cute, that is why I was going to choose you anyways, so do you want to be my friend?"

Fennekin was surprised as someone actually was going to choose her. She smiled and hopped on Serena, "Fenn!" she cried as she licked Serena with happiness.

"You are so sweet Fennekin, we will be best friends!" Serena replied with a smile at embracing her newly found partner.

"Well it looks like everyone has a partner!" Sycamore replied and everyone nodded. Sycamore gave everyone their respective pokeballs and asked a question, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Earn badges and win the Kalos league!" Calem responded while pumping his fist which was modeled by the two other boys.

"Same here!" Tierno replied while putting on a dance pose. "My dancing rhythm will destroy anything in my way!"

"Me three!" Trevor responded. "My researching in Pokemon will make it fun for me to train and battle!"

"I am going to go into coordinating or performing, what about you Serena?" Shauna explained with a genuine smile.

"I-I don't know yet," she replied unsure of herself. Then Serena shifted her focus to Fennekin. "But I want to find a dream with Fennekin!"

At that moment the front door opened with a large bang, "I have an injured Froakie can someone help!" a boy asked making everyone turn their heads in the direction of the boy that had a Pikachu on his side. The group noticed he had a slight tan and raven hair. He also had auburn blue eyes and some wrinkled up clothes. The group instantly recognized the teenager in pure shock.

"Froakie NO!" Sycamore yelled as he came to Froakie. "Sophie we need to help Froakie right now!"

"On it!" Sophie replied as the boy we know as Ash stayed there helplessly as Sophie took the water frog to the ER.

"Thank you, we could not have saved it without you," Sycamore said turning to Ash.

"N-no p-problem," Ash responded with shyness and shame. Here he was being praised for something in front of the five people that witnessed him steal. He looked at everyone except when Ash noticed Serena he flinched as a flashback entered his mind: 'Is she the same girl that I? Serena? It can't be'. Ash did not like the fact that someone that had known him before his downfall so he decided that he should not attract attention. Pikachu got up on Ash's shoulder and both Ash and Pikachu felt guilt when they saw Calem and noticed he was furious.

"You! YOU and that Pikachu shocked me! Why would you do that?" Calem exclaimed making everyone, but Serena and Sycamore look at Ash with an angry stare. Serena was debating if it was him while Sycamore was confused at what Calem meant.

"Umm, uh, hey can Pikachu and I meet some other pokemon you have here in the lab?" Ash asked desperately trying to change the subject. Ash had actually been curious as to what pokemon Professor Sycamore would have in the lab, of course, he never actually got the courage to say it, but this was different… He needed a way to get out of the awkward situation with Calem and the others.

"Sure, why don't we all go over there and meet some pokemon!" Sycamore told everyone to which they agreed.

A/N: this worked perfectly and you can guess where this is going. If you are thinking of the Garchomp outburst, you are wrong. Something 5 times more dangerous will happen, and things are going to escalate next chapter on that.

Hope you enjoyed, please remember to R&R and I will see you next time!