Pokemon Alternis: A Journey's Beginning

by damusicmahn

AU. Trainers are not allowed to venture out until they finish their compulsory education and pass a licensing exam. How will this affect our heroes as they begin their journey as teenagers? A modern and realistic take on the story of Pokemon. ON HIATUS.

2. The Starting Line

Chapter 2: The Starting Line

10 years later – September 29th, 2007 – 11:00pm

-The Ketchum Residence-

Delia continued to clean the house when she still heard loud battle noises from Ash's room upstairs. 'I swear that's all he's been doing ever since he passed the exam and got his training license a week ago; it probably was a bad idea to let him go on a pokemon journey rather than attending high school. I need to get him to sleep so I can attempt to wake him up.' Slowly, she dropped her mop and made her way up the stairs. She quickly turned the corner where she opened the first door on the right. "Ashton Marshall Ketchum!" she screamed at a volume to where Will actually woke up 'What the…god damn it Ash…'

Ash had his left foot placed in front of his right with his back arched in a battle formation. He enjoyed watching pokemon battles as they were exciting and intense. He brought his right fist up to his face as he yelled at the TV. "C'mon Gengar! You can do it! Bruno's Nidorino is no match for you! HAHAHA!"

"Ashton Marshall Ketchum!"

He looked to his left to see his angry mom standing at the doorway with her arms crossed and a very stern look on her face. "Heeeey mom…" Ash began weakly, "ummmm…it's a bit loud isn't it."

"Not only is it loud and obnoxious, it's almost midnight and you have to wake up early tomorrow to see Professor Oak! Even Pikachu's tired! Look at him sleep in his basket." She pointed at the yellow mouse dozing happily away.

"Well sorry, mom. I guess I'm just really excited to go on my very own journey and I just wanted to see what battles are like since I'm going to be experiencing them. Haha."

"Well I know you're excited, son, but please go to bed. You have an early day tomorrow. If you can't sleep, turn to Professor Oak's channel and actually learn something useful."

"I think I'll go to bed now." 'Not that I'm not interested in Professor Oak's stuff, I just like battling better.'

"Good night, Ash!" Delia called out as she walked back downstairs. Her footsteps got slower and slower as she made her way into the kitchen. She picked up her cleaning supplies and just stared at them, losing herself in her own thoughts. She let out a sigh. 'Well, it's soon going to just be me and Miranda now. Will and Matt will leaving next week back to the Indigo Plateau and the kids are going out on their journeys. Nora and Ken have jobs in Viridian City. I just hope everyone remains together and safe…what the hell am I thinking, of course they will!' She then resumed her cleaning humming happily away as the mop slides aimlessly across the floor.

-The Greenway Residence-

The scene wasn't that much different from the Ketchum residence, except the amount of lights turned on. The only light emitted from the house could be found in a 2nd story window on the left side near the front. Inside, there was loud music blasting from the towering speakers that lined the wall; in fact, so loud that the residents downstairs finally had enough of it. A woman in her late 30's woke up begrudgingly from her non-existent slumber to put a stop to this cacophonous sound. Luckily, the man next to her is a very deep sleeper. It's much harder for to wake him up than anyone else in the neighborhood. One would almost have to hold tower speakers to his ears before he moves even a little. But his wife decided that she would silence the dreadful sound. She stomped her way up the stairs and opened the first room to the left to reveal a brunette girl packing her black dresses, socks, underwear, and pretty much anything else she might need on her journey.

Leaf looked up from her stash of clothing to find her mother standing in the doorway, not at all pleased. Wondering what this is about, she followed her mother's eyes to her computer where the loud music was coming from. "Hehe. I guess it's too loud, isn't it, hehe," Leaf chuckled with hesitation. Whenever her mother has an unplanned wake up call, she can get very, very irate.

"Lily Johanna Greenway! It is 11:00 at night. I don't know what you are doing with the music this loud, but your father and I are trying to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow and you need some sleep. You are supposed to be waking up early to be at the lab by 8:00am."

"Sorry, mom, I'm just really excited that I get to start my journey tomorrow! I gotta make sure I have everything I need so I'm not stranded out there."

"I know, honey, but couldn't you finish packing when we get back from the lab? We aren't planning to send you off right away. Look at Jiggly…she's already getting her rest."

"I guess so. I guess I'm a little bit tired from all of the packing. Ok, I'll get some rest. What time are you waking me up?"

"Around 7:00. It should be just about day break. I'll see you in the morning, honey."

"Good night, mom!"

Leaf looked out her window to see her neighbor still had his lights on. Their windows are facing opposite of each other, so they can see each other all of the time. Ash looked out his window at the same time, just in time to see Leaf staring in his direction. Leaf took this as an opportunity to mess with him. What she didn't know was Ash holding some feelings for her, although both were quite oblivious and naïve to notice them. She had a stack of paper next to her desk near the window and proceeded to grab one. She took out a sharpie and starting to write something.

"Hey there, cutie! "

She held that up to the now open window in Ash's direction, giving him a cute wave in the process. Leaf knew Ash hated being called "cute" or something that would make him less masculine. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the blush rushing towards his face as he seethed in anger. Being the dense person he is, he decided to reply in kind, paper and sharpie hoping it would throw off her game.

"Same to you, 'cutie' =]"

Leaf tilted her head in confusion. 'What is he trying to do? I like being called cute. Hmmmmm…I did manage to get him mad. Maybe I shall continue'

"What are you doing up this late? Spying on me? "

Ash looked at her for a moment. 'What is she trying to do…'

"AM NOT! I was getting ready for bed!"

Leaf was thoroughly enjoying this. Messing with Ash was one of her favorite past times as they both verbally bickered and fought with each other during elementary and middle school. But, they still considered each other best friends. She would normally have to break up verbal and sometimes physical fights between him and Gary, always stepping in between the two and forcefully shoving both to each ends of the playground and hall. She then thought about how Gary and Ash would always try to out-do each other in everything. Gary was always the more intelligent and Ash, the more athletic. That never stopped them from attempting to best each other in anything they do. She, however, exceled at both athletics and intelligence and didn't see the reason of the two always fighting; she was better than them at both. But, it was time for a response.

"Oh, really? You're staring at me right now~ " She even gave a wink as she held it up to her window.

Ash literally had steam puffing out from his ears at this point and his face more red than ripe tomatoes. 'OOOOH I'LL SHOW HER!' He grabbed his sharpie and began furiously writing

"I don't have time for this! I'm going to bed! Good night 'cutie' =]" And with that, he slammed his window shut, turned out the lights and passed out. Leaf did the same, but couldn't help but wonder 'Why do I enjoy messing with him? It's one of those things that can never be explained…'

-7:00am-

Miranda woke up just in time to see the sun break over the horizon. She slowly moved her feet off the bed and proceeded to make her morning coffee. The sweet aroma of Folgers coffee filled the kitchen as she looked out on to the balcony. The sound of the sea lapping up against the beach surrounded the morning sky. She poured herself a cup of coffee and stepped onto the balcony to see the sun rise. The cool morning sea breeze ran through her bed hair and around her bath robes. 'Ahhh such a beautiful morning. A good morning for a new adventure…OH CRAP! Gotta wake up Ken and Leaf!' Rushing back into the house, she put down her coffee and immediately ran up to Leaf's room. She then started to knock on the door.

"Leaf, dear. Time to get up. You gotta get ready and eat breakfast in an hour!" There was no response from inside the room. 'Great, just like her father…can't wake her up unless I get an air horn.'

"Leaaaaf…" She knocked a little louder; still no response from the dozing pre-teen. She finally had it with her. She opened the door to find her daughter's legs halfway off the bed and sprawled out amongst the countless pillows and blankets she had over her. 'Oh how cute…it so attractive' She then proceeded to rip all of the blankets off. An unsightly scene, Leaf had her mouth wide open, snoring happily away. Miranda then cupped her hands over her mouth and then screamed. "LEAF! GET UP NOOOOW!"

Leaf slowly opened her eyes and checked her surroundings. Her blankets have somehow moved onto the floor as well as her pillows. Her alarm clock read 7:15AM and in front of her, Miranda stared down at her with her arms crossed in her bathrobe. "Good morning, sweetie. You rest up okay?"

"Well, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Oh because you're near impossible to wake up just like your father."

"…"

"Now go get ready. We have to be at Professor Oak's in 45 minutes."

"Okay, mom! C'mon Jiggly. Time to wake up" The jigglypuff opened its large eyes and rubbed it in an exasperated manner, much like her master. She quickly changed into her blue tank top, red skirt, blue socks, white shoes, and her beloved sun hat.

'Now to wake up the father…great…' Miranda thought as she went back towards her room downstairs. A familiar scream and yelp was heard moments later.

-The Ketchum Residence-

The sound of a raging alarm clock blasted throughout the room. Amidst his peaceful slumber, Ash was jolted by the sound of the annoying pidgey alarm clock he had set at 7:15. Destroying the clock, he realized what day it is. 'Sweet! Today, I start my journey! I'm so excited!'"Pikachu, wake up!" The yellow mouse sat up from its bed and looked around. He saw his master getting ready, so he walked out from his basket. Ash put on his black shirt, blue jeans, red vest, cap, and sneakers and ran down stairs. Delia and Will were waiting with breakfast downstairs and saw their son rushing down. Like a scripted prompt, Delia coolly asked "Before you sit down and fill that black hole of yours, did you brush your teeth and get ready?"

Ash laughed nervously and reversed his way back up the stairs slowly.

"That's what I thought, young man. Go back up and get ready. We will leave in 20 minutes, breakfast or not."

At that point, Ash bolted right back up the stairs to quickly brush his teeth, do his hair, and slap on some deodorant. AS quickly as he went upstairs, he quickly came back downstairs. "Okay mom, breakfast!"

"Here you go, dear. Four chocolate pancakes." And as fast as she set it down, it disappeared into the void that is Ash Ketchum's stomach…or if one can even call it that.

15 minutes later, they left the house and walked to the laboratory on the hill. Its tall tower is fit with a windmill that blows with the sea breeze. The clouds above puff along the surrounding sky giving this laboratory a picturesque view. Its white walls can be seen for miles and a garage at the bottom that held 3 cars: one for Matt (a Lexus LS460…sometimes Nora uses this while Professor Oak uses the RX350), one for Nora (a Lexus RX350), and one for Daisy (a Honda Accord Coupe…although this one seems to be missing at the moment). They then saw another family already waiting up on the hill. Delia was the first to shout. "Hey Miranda! Got everyone up there with yah?"

"Yeah. We're all waiting on you guys!"

"Well blame that to the eternal black holes standing next to me!" She pointed at the two standing next to her. They both had sweat running down their foreheads. They all made their way up the driveway and to the front door where the Greenways are waiting. Leaf, seeing Ash, gave him a cute, friendly wave. Ash, waved back, hoping to avoid another one of those "conversations" they had last night. But, he just had no such luck.

"So how my 'cutie' doing this morning? " Leaf began with a smirk. Ash tried his best not to blow up, but still had steam blowing out of his ears. His face flushed to absolute maximum by that point. Delia took notice of this and started to wonder, 'Is it me or do they like each other…I don't think they know it yet…' She continued to watch the scene unfold. Leaf kept on spewing out flirty remarks and Ash kept on taking the bait to counter with equally flirty remarks, although said out of anger and frustration. Both parents watched and tried to contain their laugher, but they all let it out at once. Just then, Professor Oak walked out of the double oak doors. "Oh good! You all are here. If we can get started now, follow me inside to the living room."

The living room inside the Oak's residence is rather large. The ceiling was a good twenty above and the large bay windows look out to the ranch behind the lab. This magnificent property ran all the way out to the eastern shore and covered over 45 acres of land. It is here Professor Oak does his continuous study of Pokemon in the wild. Inside the hill where the house is perched upon, there is a sprawling lab beneath the ground that opens to the ranch from an underground door at the base of the hill. The families gathered among the couches with Nora bringing out tea and sugar. "Anyone want a cup of tea?" They all grabbed a tea cup and the tea pot helping themselves to the freshly grown tea leaves from the ranch.

"Ahhh refreshing as always, Nora," Miranda stated as she sipped the warm tea, "what flavor is this today?"

"Just your normal jasmine tea, dear, but grown right here on the ranch!"

Professor Oak cleared his throat to gather their attention. ~AHEM~ "Okay, so I need to see the three teens. Where are they?" Leaf, Ash, and Gary rushed towards the professor. They all looked up at him, Ash and Leaf with excitement and Gary with annoyance. 'Great…the last things I need this morning are the two loud mouths, one of which I'm related to...'

"What do you want us to do?" began Ash.

"We need to get you all some starter pokemon, regulated by the Pokemon League of course. Please follow me down to the lab…oh and you adults can wait up here and chat amongst yourself."

-Downstairs-

The professor led them down the long flight of stairs into the lab. When they reached the large steel door, he punched in a string of numbers, put his right hand to the scanner, and then put an eyeball to another scanner. A lady over the intercom then stated Access Granted and the large door slid open. He led the three children to a machine with a table top that held three pokeballs, each labeled squirtle, bulbasaur, and charmander.

"Okay. So you all get to each pick a pokemon for yourselves. Choose wisely because like the pokemon you already own, these guys will help you in any situation life throws at you…well mainly wild pokemon and other trainers. Think of them like your friends. Like how Pikachu and Jiggly are your friends, Ash and Leaf.

"Alright, may I say ladies first?" Leaf walked up to the table and started to think. 'hmmmm…well I don't really want a grass type and I'm afraid to catch my hair on fire…so I'll go with squirtle!' "Squirtle! I choose you!" Leaf yelled and pointed at the pokeball with the squirtle nameplate underneath it. That particular pokeball opened itself revealing a white, plasma-like fluid that manifested itself into a shape of a squirrel with a turtle shell on its back a couple feet away from the ball. The pokemon then spoke "Squirtle!"

"AWWWW IT'S SO CUTEEE!" Leaf beamed as she and Jiggly ran up and hugged the blue turtle.

"Finally something else she calls cute other than me," Ash mumbled under his breath, not going unnoticed by Gary.

'What the…Leaf calls Ash cute?! Since when?! Is she messing with him or something?'

"Alright who wants to go next?" Professor Oak said, recapturing both Ash's and Gary's attention. Ash stared at Gary for a moment "Paper, scissors, rock?"

"You're on!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"Rock!" Ash threw out paper and Gary threw out scissors.

"Heh, guess I win."

"ARRRRGH! I will beat you one day, Gary Oak!"

"Well Gary," Professor Oak began, "choose your pokemon."

'Hmmmmm…fire does do well against grass and bug types and almost every type except water and rock. I guess I'll go with charmander.' "Charmander! I Choose you!" Suddenly, the pokeball with its nameplate underneath opened and manifested itself into an orange, salamander-type pokemon, complete with a flaming tail. And it, too, spoke "Char. Char. Charmander!"

Ash saw only one pokeball left. Pikachu stood right beside him and reassured him that it'll be good friends with it. He nodded in silence as reassurance then called out to the third and final pokeball. "Bulbasaur! I choose you!" As those words left his mouth, the pokeball conjured up a peculiar pokemon with a bulb on its back. The bulb gave off a sweet scent. Pikachu ran up to it and greeted it. "Hey! Welcome to the family, Bulbasaur! I assure you that you will be an integral part of this team and be the best friend ever!"

Bulbasaur stared at the yellow mouse. He tilted his head towards one side and then slowly walked to him. Gradually, he formed a smile on his face and came to realize he was welcomed.

"Haha! Welcome to the team, Bulbasaur!"

"Okay! Let's go back upstairs so we can meet with your parents."

-Back in the living room-

The six adults sat anxiously as they waited for the children to arrive back into the room. Soon, a group of group figures turned the corner with their new pokeballs in their hands lead by the professor. They all gathered around the professor and took note of the three red devices he pulled out of his pocket.

"Before you all go on your journeys, I have a task I want you all to complete for me. As you see I am getting too old to be travelling and I need to continue my research," Professor Oak began as he holds three pocketbook-like devices in his hand, "This is the prototype Pokedex. It contains information about the known pokemon of this world and will record data on new ones that you will come across. The information will be sent back to me and will enable me to start research on the new pokemon and soon we will have a full database on all pokemon in the world." The rest of the room was silent.

"So why did you pick us to do this?" Gary inquired, "I'm sure there are other trainers who want to do this as well."

"Ah…see, I believe that you all will succeed in the pokemon world further than any other trainers, so that is why I have selected you three for this task."

'First, the two loud mouths are here, and now I have high expectations? Will the day get any worse?'

"Cool!" Ash beamed excitedly (with Gary covering his ears), "we won't let you down Professor Oak! Right, Gary?" Gary could only muster a grunt.

"Geez, Gary. Why so cold about this? You afraid you're gonna lose to me?"

'Oh hell no…' Leaf thought as she swore Gary's eyes flashed red. This was a common occurrence between the two, apparently.

"Ashy-boy, I bet I could beat you in a battle right now! I'll put your money where your mouth is!" Gary yelled sternly pointing his finger straight in Ash's face, losing all coolness in the process. Ash decided to return fire.

"You're on, Gary Oak! I'll show you who's on top around here!" Ash yelled at a louder volume, pointing his index finger at Gary. The adults looked on, sweat drops forming on all of them.

"Has it always been like this between Gary and Ash?" Nora whispered to Delia.

"I mean not that I know of. If anything, Ash has been really quiet about it."

"Don't you think we should do something?"

"I'd let them sort it out themselves; it's what teens do nowadays, right?"

Professor Oak decided it was time to step in to ease the tension. He placed firm grips on both of their shoulders. "Alright, you two, I know you're eager to test your pokemon but do take this outside to keep damages to the lab at a minimum." The three teens and Professor Oak went outside onto the ranch. The two mothers of the bickering teens looked over to their husbands expected to have the same reaction, only to find them having the complete opposite.

"Heh," Will smirked, "brings back good memories, doesn't it?"

"Oh come off it," Matt countered, "you know it could have been me up there instead of you."

"But look where we're at now. It's only a matter of time those two will learn to work with each other, right?"

"Yup! Just two best buds at the highest authority in the League…and for the record, I still think I'm better than you."

"And you can keep thinking that. Now quickly, I don't want to miss the inaugural battle."

Will and Matt made their way through the large glass doors and into the open area where Ash and Gary stood on each end. The scene was like a Mexican Standoff in those western movies, with each right hand on their pokeball waiting for the other person to draw first. Just like the dust blowing across the town, the grass waved in the wind where silence gave way to wind howls. Ash's eyes narrowed and pulled out his pokeball, no longer containing his excitement. "Bulbasaur! I Choose you!"

"Charmander! Go!" The seed and lizard pokemon stared each other down, waiting for orders. Ash decided to go first.

"Bulbasaur! Tackle!" and the seed pokemon leaped forward towards the lizard. Bulbasaur thought he could take down the charmander in one blow, but was sadly mistaken when Gary issued this command, "Charmander, dodge it and counter with scratch." The lizard side-stepped the seed and scratched the side of its body. Charmander cheered for itself until it heard Ash's voice, "Bulbasaur, tackle at close range!"

Charmander did not have time to dodge the point blank tackle issued by Bulbasaur, even rendering it down and unable to continue. It gave a weak cry and then lowered its head, signaling it was done. Gary was floored on how powerful Ash's bulbasaur was. He conceded the battle and returned Charmander to its pokeball. "Good job, Charmander. You deserve a rest."

At the same time, Ash and Pikachu (who was perched on his shoulders the entire time) went up and celebrated Bulbasaur's victory. "YAY! Bulbasaur is the best! We will be unstoppable!" Ash beamed as he returned Bulbasaur into its pokeball. Leaf, Jigglypuff, and Squirtle all had sweat drops formed. 'Here we go…'

"Don't get too cocky, Ashy-boy," Gary yelled from across the field, "I'll be the top trainer in Kanto! Just you watch me!"

"Not if I get there first! You'll see who's the best trainer around here!" Ash yelled back.

"BOYS!" Leaf screamed at the top of her lungs, Squirtle and Jigglypuff covering their ears, "I have a proposition. Whoever becomes the Champion of Kanto gets ¥10,000 from the other two, including me." Everyone on the field, including the adults, was silenced. Gary and Ash looked at each other, then at Leaf, then back at each other, then back at Leaf, then at the adults (who also stared back), then back at Leaf.

"Leaf. You are one money-crazy chick, you know that?" Ash began as he looked at Pikachu.

"I know. I love anything when it comes to money, hehehe," Leaf said mysteriously, as if she was the one who will be taking the title of Champion and gaining ¥20,000 in the process. She held out her hand as to signal the contract. Ash and Gary looked at each other one more time and extended their hands as well.

"To becoming the Champion of Kanto," all three of them said as they shook each other's hands. Leaf then walked back into the building and the others followed. Miranda had to be the first one to ask.

"Leaf, dear, who won the battle?"

"Oh Ash won, and I also made a ¥10,000 bet for Champion of Kanto. If one of us wins, the other two has to give him/her ¥10,000 each. If nobody wins, no one gets money. Simple as that"

Miranda looked at her daughter, and let out a sigh while she shook her head in exasperation. "How did I know you'd pull a fast one on them…"

"Because you know me so well, Mommy," Leaf smiled and winked as she walked out the front door, "C'mon Mommy and Daddy. I've gotta finish packing for my journey!" Ken and Miranda followed their daughter back to their house.

The rest of the group followed suit as they separated and went back to their own houses (well Gary's family just stayed where they are). The sun was at high noon and they would need to start out in the afternoon if they wanted to make any progress.

-The Greenway Residence-

Leaf bounded past the kitchen, up the stairs, and into her room where she quickly attempted to stuff nearly all of her belongings into the small yellow shoulder bag she planned on carrying. Soon, her bag looked more bloated than a wailord after finding a school of krill the size of Hoenn. She quickly hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen where she found her mother and father at the dinner table. It would so seem that she had packed incorrectly based on the looks her mother was giving her.

"Leaf, honey," Miranda began as she eyed her overflowing bag, "are you sure you packed everything?" Leaf looked at her mother incredulously.

"Why yes, mommy. I believe I packed everything I need." Miranda gave her a hard stare.

"That's the point, Leaf. You packed your entire room in that bag of yours. Do you think you will be able to carry all of that on your journey?" Leaf did feel it was a bit heavy and weighing her down quite a bit. But, she was not about to lose this argument.

"Mom, I need at least 5 days' worth of clothes if I want to survive out there! It would be impossible for me to wear the same thing more than twice in a week without washing it! I also need to look pretty!" Again, Miranda gave her a hard stare.

"Leaf, the whole point of a journey is to survive on the basic necessities. If you want to survive in the wild and live with the pokemon, you must be able to live like one. Now go upstairs and repack your bag so it won't weigh you down like it is now." Leaf conceded the battle and ran back upstairs to dump the contents of her bag. In this bag were about 5 sets of clothing (not including the one she was wearing), 2 dresses (one being her favorite little black dress), 2 sets of white gloves, a massive amount of assorted hygiene products, several shoes, her iPhone and all of its accessories, and several pokeballs she had purchased earlier (not to mention her pokedex).

'…Okay so I over packed a bit,' Leaf thought, 'which of these will I really need to survive?' She looked down at the pile and started to separate the contents. She figured she didn't need the extra sets of clothing, so she only took the black dress, the pokeballs, some makeup, the necessary hygiene, couple pairs of underwear, her PokeGear 5S (and charger), socks, another pair of black shoes, and water bottle. Surprisingly, the bag didn't look bloated this time and only looked half-filled. She made her way back downstairs to her mom, who then gave her the look of approval.

"See, Leaf," Miranda started, "Doesn't that feel lighter to carry instead of that mass of stuff you had in there earlier."

"Mooooom! Yes it feels lighter! Can you stop patronizing me? It's really making me feel dumber and dumber by the minute."

"Fine, dear, but know that your father and I are always looking out for you, okay?"

Ken, being the reserved individual he is, gave a silent nod of approval with a soft smile while gripping his wife's hand for assurance. "Be safe, Leaf. Don't forget to call us every now and then. We didn't get that PokeGear for you for nothing, did we?"

"Oh Daddy, you worry too much. Don't worry; I'm planning on asking Ash to join me on my journey." Ken went bug-eyed to that idea. Thoughts were going through his head as to how this might turn out.

"Leaf. I'm not saying it's going to happen or what not, but your mother and I don't want to become grandparents before we're 50." Leaf did not take kindly to that, amidst a growing blush.

"What are you talking about?! Ash is my best friend! No way he would do something like that!" Ken let out a small chuckle before adjusting his glasses.

"Hey! I'm just making sure, okay! Now go on and get started with your journey."

"Be safe, dear!" Miranda quietly said as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Oh, c'mon! It's not like its goodbye forever!"

Leaf gave her parents a long, goodbye hug before bursting out the front door and over to her neighbor's house.

-The Ketchum Residence-

Ash placed the things he needed on his bed with Bulbasaur and Pikachu curiously looking on. He figured he didn't need much, so all he took with him were an extra set of clothes (unsurprisingly the same outfit), some sock, some boxers, several pokeballs, his PokeGear 4S, his pokedex, and some hygiene stuff. He then thought of something, 'wait…I'll need to carry food, too. Can't go on a journey without food.'

"Pika?" Pikachu inquired, confused what was going on. Bulbasaur gave the exact same stare he was giving earlier, confusion.

"What do you mean you don't get it, Pikachu? You need food to survive while out there!"

Just then there was the ring of the doorbell. Shuffling was heard downstairs immediately afterwards. "Coming!" the voice of Delia echoed through the house. Ash suddenly let out a soft yawn. He figured he could use a short nap before heading out on the most important journey of his life.

Leaf waited patiently on the porch. She was tapping her right foot out of nervousness and she began to produce sweat, not sure whether from nervousness or the Kanto early fall heat. 'Okay, I'm just asking Ash to join him on his journey as best friends. Right, just best friends.' She frowned a bit at the thought. A second later, the front door opened to reveal Delia in her apron armed with a broom and dust pan.

"Oh hello, Leaf," Delia greeted in her usual cheery greeting voice, "what brings you over to my lovely home before your adventure?" Leaf hesitated a bit before she gave her response.

'Gosh, I don't know if it's improper for a girl to ask a guy on a journey like this…but…argh it doesn't matter.' "Umm…Mrs. Ketchum. Can I speak to Ash for a bit?"

"Go ahead, dear; he's up in his room packing god knows what in that yellow backpack of his." It was then she noticed that Leaf had on a yellow shoulder bag. Delia gave it further thought. 'It's like they coordinated this. They're even dressed in the same color scheme.' Delia resumed her sweeping while her husband sat at the dinner table looking over several files.

"Hi, Mr. Ketchum!" Leaf yelled as she ran upstairs toward Ash's room.

"Hello to you, too Leaf!" Will waved as he went back to his files. He stopped for a second as his observatory senses start to engage. '…are they wearing the same colors?' Will took a glance at his wife, who stared back at him giving an 'I don't know what's up but as strange as it is, it happened' shrug. Taking another sip of his tea, he buried himself with work.

Leaf finally made it up the stairs to turn the corner and burst open the door of the first room on the right. "HEY ASH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The poor boy woke up startled from the short nap he was taking.

"AHHH! Leaf! What the hell are you doing in my room?!"

"Oh…sorry. Didn't know you were sleeping." Leaf sheepishly replied with her hands now behind her back in embarrassment.

"It wouldn't have killed you to knock?"

"But I wanted to surprise you. You were so cute napping like that, though ~wink~" Ash did a double take on that remark.

"What the hell, you saw me sleeping?! And I'm not cute!...I'm manly," he added quietly at the end.

"Whatever you say, Ash," Leaf waved.

"So what brings you to the castle of Ketchum?"

"Well, I was wondering if…uh…" Ash became a bit curious to where this was going. 'Okay, this is going in one of two directions. Knowing Leaf, she's a girly-girl. When they trail off like that, it could mean that she's confessing something, or she wants something. Wait, she's blushing; I'm going to put bets on the confessions. Well either way, I'm going to get strong-armed into doing something I don't want to do, although if it was the former, with the option being 'I came to confess my feelings for you', I wouldn't mind.'

"…go on…" Ash slowly said, wanting to hear this next part.

"..well, ummm…" Leaf's blush began to grow a darker shade of red

"…"

"…ummmmm…"

"…okay, just ask me what you want to ask; I won't judge." This boosted Leaf's confidence a bit.

"Well since you put it that way. I was wondering if we could go on this journey…together…" Ash was bug-eyed and speechless. 'Wait, she wants us to journey together. Like 'together' or together as friends?'

"…as best friends…"

'Aaaaaand there goes that thought. Well I guess it would be better friendzoned than travelling alone.' "Of course, Leaf, I would be very happy to go on this journey with my best friend."

'…yeah, best friend…' Leaf thought with a sigh.

"Well, I'm all packed up and ready to go! Let's go downstairs. Return, Bulbasaur!" Ash said as the seed pokemon went back into its home. Leaf followed Ash and Pikachu downstairs where Delia and Will were waiting. They all stood in the living room and prepared to say their goodbyes when Delia remembered something.

"Ash, dear, what will you do for food?" Ash already thought of this, but could not think of anything.

"Well,"Ash began, "there's always Pokemon Centers that have hotels, right?" Delia facepalmed herself. She gave him a sack full of food, filled with everything from assorted nuts, to chips, and water bottles.

"These are for the road. Don't eat all of them within the first hour you walk out of town. I know you'll do it."

"Moooom…my stomach isn't that big, sheesh." Leaf let out a slight chuckle at the thought.

"And by the way, did you pack a lot of underwear, because I will be expecting you to change it every day." Ash looked at his mom in alarm, remembering Leaf was right next to him. He took a look at her and noticed she was not freaking out or dying of laughter, but just letting out a small chuckle. 'Well I suppose she's going to give me shit for this later on…' He looked at his father, who was about to keel over any moment from attempting to hold the laughter in.

"…snrk…snrk snrk…AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Will collapsed to the floor and started to roll around, all while letting loose a barrage of laughter. This continued on for a good five minutes before he regained composure. The three waited patiently as he picked himself off the floor. He then noticed the two were not carrying any sleeping bags.

"So…you two are going to sleep on the grass at night?" Ash and Leaf looked at each other for a moment before realizing they indeed do not have sleeping bags…or even thought about sleeping arrangements. Sheepishly, Leaf glanced back at Will who was waiting for an answer.

"Ummmmm…" Leaf started shakily, "yeah I didn't give much thought into it, hehe…"

"Neither did I," Ash added in, "I guess we were so excited for our journey that it slipped our minds…"

"Well you two, I seems I have a couple of spare sleeping bags I can lend you . Just make sure not to get them too dirty (if you know what I mean)" Will said, adding a wink for effect. Delia caught on to the innuendo and slapped him on the back of the head.

"And I will NOT become a grandmother before I'm 50!" Delia raised her voice, "You two better not try anything funny, understand?" Ash looked at his mother like a confused Growlithe while Leaf facepalmed herself. Awkward silence followed this outburst. Leaf just could not believe her ears.

"Why does everyone think that the two of us are going to be engaged?! We're just best friends who want to travel together!" Leaf exclaimed while frantically waving her hands in the air. Ash kept silent the whole time and when Leaf said that, his heart randomly dropped, like he had just been rejected but did not know why or from what. Will went to the garage to grab a couple of red and green sleeping bags for the two teens and came back with them in hand. Unsurprisingly, Ash grabbed the red sleeping bag while Leaf grabbed the green sleeping bag. The looked at their backpacks (well in Leaf's case, a shoulder bag), back at the sleeping bags, then at Will, then back at their backpacks, then back at Will, then at the sleeping bags. Will noticed the confusion and spoke up.

"Don't worry," Will suddenly starts, startling the two teens, "these sleeping bags are special. They were given to me as a present from the League. If you look on the bag, there is a button. Push it." They both pushed the button and it miraculously shrank to a quarter of its original size. Needless to say, they were easily able to stuff the bags into their backpack without any trouble.

"I also have tents you both can use. Do you need two, or just one to share? ~wink~" Delia, again, was not pleased.

"WILL YOU QUIT THAT?!" Delia yelled while again giving Will a hard slap to the head. Leaf thought for a moment.

"Well, I guess I'm fine with sharing a tent if that means not having to carry even more things," Leaf said, to the surprise of Delia. She thought a minute about the previous interactions of the two and decided it was okay, although the perversion in her husband's mind did not sit well.

"Fine, you two can share a tent. Just as long we know you two are safe. I trust you two will look out for each other?"

"Yes, Mom," Ash replied, now more exasperated and itching to hit the road. Leaf just silently nodded with a smile. Will's PokeGear suddenly rang and the caller revealed itself to be Matt.

"Oh you want us to meet you guys at the center of town? Okay then! We're on our way!" Will excitedly said as he hung up the phone, "well we're taking you both to downtown to meet up with Matt since he is insisting on having Gary join you guys."

"Cool," Ash responded, with no emotion whatsoever.

"Awesome!" Leaf exclaimed, "it'll be the best adventure yet! Not only my best friend gets to go, but my cousin, too!"

-Central Square, Downtown Pallet Town (around 2:00 pm)-

Soon, the two teens were carrying their bags and piled in the car to head to the town center. They drove past the small shops and restaurants to Central Square where a bronze statue of the legendary bird trio rose out of the dancing fountain that surrounds it. The traffic circle that encompasses the square had virtually no traffic today, which was odd considering the main road out of town, Main Street, was usually the busiest this time of week. The seven adults (along with pretty much half the town) gathered with their teenage children to wish them farewell and good luck on their journeys as Pokemon Trainers. It was this very moment that Ash, Leaf, and Gary had been waiting for. They had chosen to forgo high school in order to take the Trainer's exam to obtain their license. It all boiled down to this very moment where they stood face to face with their parents, about to give their final goodbyes for a while.

Will and Delia looked at their son straight in the eye with a soft, reassuring smile. Will took his right hand and placed a firm grip on Ash's shoulders. "You know, son, I remember when I was 15 and ready for my journey. I'd never thought I'd be looking through my father's eyes in this moment. It's truly a sight to behold. I made a promise to him to be the best trainer I could be, and I never let him down, even Charizard agrees with me that I still have a lot to learn about the world of Pokemon (one could hear a faint grunt of approval coming from Will's belt). Just promise me that you will do your best not only as a trainer, but as a person." Ash nodded with a confident smile.

"I won't let you down, Dad." As Will released his grip, Delia went up to hug her son with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Ash, I wish you wouldn't leave home, but I understand that you've grown up and want to leave the nest. I don't think I could've asked for a better son and now he's going to leave. Please don't forget your mother and father."

"Don't worry, Mom, I won't forget you or Dad on my journey. I'll come home to visit every once in a while," Ash said as he returned the hug.

Matt, Nora, and Professor Oak casually looked at Gary in the eye and he responded with a curt nod (which still lacked emotion). Matt went up to his son and gave him a soft, reassuring smile. "My boy, there are a lot of challenges out there waiting to be answered. Use them to your advantage. I remember my days as a trainer. Even now, there's still a lot for me to learn. If there is one true advice I could give you, it's to think with a clear head and never give up." Gary replied with a nod. Nora also walked up and grabbed her husband's hand.

"Oh Gary," Nora began, "my baby's all grown up and heading out. It just wasn't long ago he was a toddler running around with that Charmander on the beach with everyone and now he's as tall as you, Matt." Matt let out a small chuckle. "Just make sure to be safe, okay? Oh and don't forget to call us every now and then!" Gary, again, responded with a nod.

Ken and Miranda were already hugging Leaf way past death choke level with Miranda in tears. "Oh Lily!" Miranda cried, "My Lily is leaving us. She won't leave us forever, right?" Leaf made a face signaling she was having trouble breathing.

"Mom, Dad, little trouble breathing here!" Leaf choked out. The parents released their death grip on their daughter with her mother still in tears. "It's okay, Mom, I won't ever leave you guys forever. I'll visit some times." Leaf reassured her mother. Her father, while normally reserved, just couldn't contain his happiness for his daughter.

"Lily, I wish you well on your journey. You'll do a lot of growing up, so use every opportunity you have to your advantage. You'll always be evolving as a person, so make it the best adventure you have," Ken said softy to Leaf as he brought her in for a final hug.

With all of the farewells said and the teens on Main Street, everyone (including the crowd) slammed each other with goodbyes and farewells and good lucks, with Delia dropping this bomb, "DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR, ASH!" Ash could only stare away in embarrassment with flushed cheeks and Leaf cowering with laughter. The teens continued their way down Main Street until they got to the end of the road where they found a sign that said "Route 1 – Viridian City". Ash took a minute to stare at the sign.

"Well guys," Ash started, "looks like our journey starts here. Ready?"

"HELLS YEAH!" Leaf shouted excitedly.

"Just as long as you two don't annoy me like you always do, we'll be fine," Gary added in. The three headed due north on the dirt path that headed to Viridian City, their pokemon in tow (Ash with his Pikachu, Leaf and her Jigglypuff, and Gary with…nothing). What adventures that await them remain a mystery and waits to be discovered. Their lives will never be the same…ever…