P.S. All credit to respective owners.
P.P.S. Trade evolutions are Bullshit and will not be implemented.
-YARN
Noah adjusted the empty six ultra balls on his left hip, feeling an oddly giddy sense of excitement he hadn't felt since he first held his charmander's and gible's poke balls in his hands. Normally, most trainers were only allowed to carry six filled poke balls at any given time, but Gym Leaders actually were given a workaround for that considering the way the league worked. It would be incredibly unfair for newbie trainers to have to fight a leader's personal team from the get go.
The first gym always was considered easy.
Work hard, hit it with a decent number of pokemon, and use a simple type advantage here and there?
One can win with no sweat.
A vast majority forgot that Brock was a Gym Leader for a while and he had to have something up his sleeve if he was actually going to maintain that position. A relatively weak team of a single Geodude and Onix were not that. Each Gym Leader wasn't just picked from a random group to fit the gym's image, they were talented trainers with potential just like Noah was. Just like Noah they got to hold onto the actual teams each trainer raised from boyhood and thanks to his Gym Leader account access with Oak facilitating his Kanto update…?
Noah could see them.
The personal teams of each gym leader.
Brock's actual team?
Not a team you could overcome with a plucky attitude and a small stint of training.
No one would be able to get by Brock if he busted out his Rhyperior, Steelix, Swampert, Kabutops, Tyranitar, and Golem against pokemon who had the training of about a month and three partners at the absolute most when they arrived. They were the pinnacle of his prowess as a trainer, a team that stood shoulder to shoulder with the best that the region had to offer.
They were the equivalent of Noah's own team.
But Noah wasn't satisfied with that.
His team wasn't.
They wanted to be strong enough to CRUSH even personal teams, they wanted to be strong enough that no one could best them whatsoever.
Was it realistic?
Probably not, there was always a bigger fish.
Did that matter?
Hell. No.
Either way, he wanted to clear this circuit the way he was supposed to if he started his journey properly. He wouldn't use his personal team in the gym fights, but that didn't mean he would leave them behind, the universe would have to freeze Groudon, Moltres, and Entei over several times before he even considered leaving a single member of his family in the corral. The original dragons would continue to grow stronger while the new 'babies' of their family found their feet before growing into their own. But Noah and his dragons would stand behind them forever, needed or not because that was what it meant once you joined their family.
Noah cocked his head at the four ten-year-olds that were standing in front of the lab entrance looking excited. They were all prospective trainers that were going to be getting their starters today and it was probably disappointing that Oak wasn't the one to greet them in as they arrived. Noah wasn't actually close to any off these kids but he was aware of them, he saw Gary Oak relatively often as he was always in the lab, trying to pester his grandfather into give a pokemon early. Ash Ketchum was often in the corral, playing with the pokemon who he had grown up with, they were all naturally fond of the kid and Noah could see why. He wasn't quite as familiar with James Landon and Leaf Surt, but new they were the kids in the neighborhood.
"Who are you?" Gary demanded, arms crossed, "Where is Gramps?"
"Prepping your starters." Noah answered, smirking slightly, "I hope you don't mind a former Gym Leader like me playing babysitter."
The looks on their faces were even better than he expected.
"You're a Gym Leader?" Ash gaped, satisfyingly stunned, "Which Gym? You don't look like the gym leaders from Kanto, are you new?"
Noah laughed lightly, "I was the gym leader of Umbal City, I recently left my Gym to go back to being a trainer, see the sights of the other regions so to speak."
Gary Oak narrowed his eyes, "So you ran away?"
Noah had heard worse, so a cocky ten-year-old brat didn't faze him, but he felt Girac's poke ball wiggle as the Dragon didn't appreciate the slight against his trainer.
"Well… when it turned out that the league needed to send teams of rangers to ship off half the city council that I arrested, I decided that they should have a new Gym Leader to help remove all traces of the old corruption. I left the Gym to my best Gym Trainer and I have the utmost respect and trust in his capabilities after I left."
"Did you really have to leave?" Ash wondered, seeming to be upset at the fact Noah chose to leave what could be seen as a huge achievement for any trainer, "You seem like you didn't do anything wrong…"
Noah shrugged, "Being a Gym Leader comes with a large amount of responsibility, both to the people in the city and to the position you occupy. Sometimes, even if you love what you have, you have to look at the bigger picture and what people will see. Before I left, people said that I was the one who created the issues to be a big hero and have the people love me. I knew that if I stayed I would only add to the problem, my trainers and friends trusted me, and that was good enough. We had a farewell party and I headed for Kanto."
The four trainers in front of him all looked conflicted, probably not having to consider what all went into running a gym. Noah didn't blame them for that either, they were two years younger than him when he started his journey and even then he learned what came with running a gym as he was doing it. One didn't just flip a switch in their head and they became mature adults with all the knowledge and world experience needed to be wise. It was probably a good thing they had their whole lives ahead of them to learn that, they would have much less to lose than he did after all.
Deciding to shift the atmosphere to something a little more lighthearted, Noah pulled out one his poke balls, "Do you want to see one of my family members?"
The excited cheers were all the agreement needed.
In a burst of light and a slight burst of metal shards materializing, Girac was now next to him, gleaming red eyes calmly assessing the four in front of him. Noah admired his brother, he always seemed to forget just how impressive his pokemon were, mainly because they were family and he loved them to death.
"Whoa…" John marveled at the dragon.
"What pokemon is that?" Gary mumbled, head tilted.
Most average species of Aggron peaked at seven feet, but thanks to the dragon typing and the sheer power and optimization he and Girac fought for, he stood at an easy and monstrous eight and a half, a dense tower of muscle and steel that few could claim to beat and even fewer could make a half-way decent attempt. Noah ran a hand across his brother's helm and the pokemon leaned into the gentle caress, eyes closed in pleased contentment.
They had been together for long the world would be wrong if his family wasn't standing by his side to face every challenge together.
"This is Girac, a region unique Aggron. He was my third pokemon. I can't imagine a pokemon I'd rather have in family, he's as strong enough to reduce a mountain to dust and brave enough to tackle a legendary to keep me safe." Noah said with a soft smile, "I love him like a brother."
"He's huge…" Ash mumbled, "He's really strong?"
Noah chuckled and returned his brother back to his ball, "I did say he could crumble a mountain and I am not exaggerating, he did just that to save me when I got into a tight spot once. It was a bad day for the people who were attacking me when Girac got mad, it only got worse once the rest of my team got mad too."
The four prodded him for stories and they talked until Oak finally made an appearance.
Even having gone through this himself, it was always interesting to see new trainers get their starters and observe how their bond would develop. Six pokeballs sat on a counter, containing the partner that each trainer would have at their side from here on in.
"Before you can get your pokeballs, I do need to give you a Pokedex." Oak said, passing out four pristine red pokedexes to the prospective trainers, "These will help you gather information on pokemon you capture and others you come across. Fill these with as much data as you want as they have practically unlimited storage."
The trainers nodded and quickly tucked the devices away for later use.
"Now," Oak said with a encouraging grin, "You may pick your starters!"
Gary Oak went first and picked up a poke ball with a water droplet engraved on the front.
Some trainers liked to add little stylistic choices to their poke balls, some even releasing their pokemon in unique ways. Noah himself wasn't immune and had his poke balls marked and even modified to release his team with something that he related to them. Girac had shards of metal materialize for a couple of seconds to herald his arrival, Astarot had a plume of dust befitting his ground-typing, Surya a burst of flame as he was fire-type, Deadery a puff of black smoke that resembled the ghost energy he wielded, Drakon a swirl of green dragonfire that was the same color as Dragon Claw, and Grunu had a scatter of shattered tiles for his fighting-type. It was a bit of childish whim, but he had the money and he felt his pokemon deserved to have a bit of impact when they took the stage.
Either way, that wasn't the point as Gary threw out his poke ball and a Squirtle formed looking at the young Oak with a clear air of curiosity. Gary gave the water pokemon a smirk and knelt down to the pokemon's eye level. A pleased glint in his eyes as the squirtle met his gaze and gave a cocky smirk.
"Hi there." Gary said, grinning and holding out a hand, "My name is Gary Oak and I plan on being the Pokémon League Champion. It goes without saying that I am going to need the best of the best if I want to win, and I think you got exactly what I what it takes to stand at the top with me. How would like to join the best trainer to come from this town and take the entire Kanto region by storm?"
Squirtle openly made a sound akin to cackling as it leapt at the Oak to clasp his hand and vigorously shake it.
John went up next and he resolutely took the poke ball that had a small flame etched into the ball. With a flash of light, a small orange lizard materialized and stared curiously at John who beamed at the pokemon. Noah couldn't help the pang of nostalgia at seeing the two, remembering the first time he met his charmander and the happiness he felt when the pokemon accepted his partnership. John quickly introduced himself and the fire lizard hopped excitedly before John recalled him with a grin.
After that Leaf looked uncertainly at Ash who seemed a bit sad but shook off his attitude and nodded at Leaf.
She smiled and walked up to the poke ball with a leaf emblem and released the pokemon inside.
As expected, a bulbasaur materialized on the lab floor. Leaf pitched her sales and the grass-type accepted before Leaf recalled it with a beaming grin.
Ash walked up and grabbed a pokeball with the fire emblem and threw it out only for the ball to open and release nothing as it clattered to the ground.
Oak blinked and frowned, "Why is that empty?"
Ash looked at the professor in shock, "Isn't there supposed to be a charmander in there?"
Oak slowly nodded and gestured to the other two pokeballs, "Of course but it's empty…"
Ash shook off his disappointment and picked up the other two poke balls on the desk only to find both of them empty without a starter for him to have.
Ash looked at the balls in confusion, "Um… Professor?"
Oak picked up the poke balls, confused as well, "What? I should've gotten enough starters for six trainers, what is going on?"
Apparently — after Oak angrily calling the league and transfer company — that they had accidentally put the other three starters in the empty poke ball section. That meant Oak only got half the requested starters and left Ash without a pokemon to start with. Ash mouth dropped open when he realized that he would have to wait for two weeks before the batch could be sent over to him. Feeling the stares of everyone in the room on him, the young trainer-to-be pulled the brim on his cap low to try to hide his devastated expression.
Gary Oak burst out laughing, "Sucks to be you, Ashy-boy! Guess the league knew even you didn't deserve a pokemon because you wouldn't even make it to the first gym!"
His laughter died as he felt a pair of eyes leveled at his back, a glare that came with a considerable amount of rage and disgust.
"Care to say that again?" Noah inquired coldly, "Ash showed considerable maturity in allowing Leaf to go before he did so she could get a starter. Personally, I find people who are bullying others to be the weakest sort of person. What would've happened had you gone last? Maybe you should show some maturity yourself, aren't you Champion Samuel Oak's grandson?"
Gary gaped at Noah before he scowled scowled, "Hmph. Whatever. Thanks for the pokemon gramps, see you when I am champion."
He stalked out and Professor Oak sighed in disappointment, "Ash… Noah… I am sorry about him… He's…"
"No one worth respecting if he doesn't curb that attitude." Noah cut the professor off, moving quickly to rub Ash's back to comfort him, "I can condone being cocky, but to insult someone who's so obviously hurt in not acceptable behavior."
Leaf and John both traded uneasy looks before apologizing and rushing out of the lab, not wanting to be caught up in that conversation.
Ash looked at Professor Oak in despair, "What do I do? If I have no starter… I'll be seriously behind if I have to wait two weeks to get started…"
Oak thought about it and nodded to himself, "Well… if you want Ash, I could give you another pokemon as a starter if you are okay with not getting a usual starter."
Ash perked up at that, even if he didn't get a charmander, that didn't mean he couldn't start with a different pokemon. So long as he had one, he would be able to go and finally get through the league.
"Really?" He asked excitedly.
Noah smiled at seeing Ash's smile comeback, "You cheered up easy."
Ash turned to him, a rueful smile on his face, "Every pokemon has value, it's up to a trainer to help it find out hat works best. I am disappointed I couldn't get a charmander, but that doesn't mean I'll turn down another pokemon! I depends on the trainer to do his best by his pokemon, whatever they may be!"
Noah smiled widened, "That's exactly right Ash, if nothing else that attitude proves you'll be an amazing trainer."
Oak went to a desk and pulled out two pristine poke balls, one with an purple eye etched into the ball and another with a lightning bolt etched into it. Oak tossed Ash the poke ball and Ash took a deep breath before throwing both out, he was intending on taking one, but he wanted to see both.
In a flash of light an Abra appeared in the lab, it's head cocked at the young trainer as it floated in the air. The other was a Pikachu that blinked the stars from it's eyes before they set on Ash with obvious malice. Noah's hand immediately gripped Astaroth's poke ball and Oak tried to cry out a warning but it was too late as a arc of electricity erupted from the small mouse and hit Ash, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the floor as he dropped the poke balls. The Pikachu chittered angrily and advanced on Ash, ignoring the fact that Ash hadn't made any aggressive moves. Its cheeks sparked again as it charged another attack but suddenly there was a loud thud and the mouse found itself in front of a very dangerous Garchomp staring down at it in disgust. In a flash, Abra was suddenly next to the Pikachu's ball and tapped on the button to recall it, ending the threat as the poke ball sucked the surprised Pikachu back in.
Everyone blinked as the Abra teleported to the table and placed the ball on the desk before flashing back to the groaning ten-year-old, concerned over the pain he could feel radiating off the young boy.
Noah considered the small psychic-type as he recalled Astarot. Abra was not a bad pokemon at all, the evolved forms of Kadabra were very versatile and powerful even before the evolution in the famed Alakazam went from 50 to 100. There was a bit of a problem in that the only move that Abra could use was teleport and while that opened up a huge range of mobility, that meant the psychic couldn't deal any damage to a potential foe. If it's personality was anything to go by, then it's quick reaction speeds would make it a nightmare for anything that wasn't prepared.
Ash sat up and looked at the Abra with a pained but thankful smile, "Thank you."
The Abra dipped its head in acknowledgment.
Ash cleared his throat and held out his hand to the psychic, "Hello Abra, my name is Ash Ketchum and I am going to be starting my pokemon Journey today. I was hoping you could be the first member of my team to help me on the path to be a Pokémon Master."
The Abra seemed to consider this and floated closer to Ash before gently reaching out and tracing the palm of Ash's hand with its finger. The pokemon nodded and Ash's expression lit up in joy at the confirmation as he quickly pulled out his pokedex and scanned the pokemon.
"Abra, the psychic pokemon. Using its ability to read minds, it will identify impending danger and TELEPORT to safety. This Abra is male and knows the moves: Teleport." The pokedex rattled off in a mechanical voice.
Ash lips pursed at the lack of moves and one could feel the Abra's slight embarrassment, but the trainer didn't do anything aside from grin at the Psychic and smile, "Don't worry about anything Abra, I know we can make this work!"
The Abra seemed startled despite its eyes still being closed but readily returned to the poke ball which Ash cheerfully clipped to his belt.
Noah walked up and clapped Ash on the shoulder, "Congratulations on gaining the first member of your family Ash! You've got a strong and loyal friend in that pokemon, I can tell you that much."
Before he could say more though, Oak called out Ash, "Ash, a moment please."
Ash paused, "Yes?"
Oak pulled out a pink disk out of the desk that he had taken the poke balls out of and held out his hand, "I feel as though I owe you an apology Ash. Both for the lack of proper starters and for the attack you had to endure from the Pikachu, I should've known better for the latter but I was hoping that the Pikachu's aggression was a simple byproduct of it recent evolution. So in order to make up for that, let me give your pokemon a move that will help it protect you and itself."
Ash's eyes lit up, "Really Professor? Thank you so much!"
"Think nothing of it my boy." Oak chuckled, "Just one moment while I take Abra's poke ball."
He took out a TM case from his desk and place Abra's shrunken ball into a slot in the case before placing the pink disk in another slot. The professor clicked a button on the TM case and there was a whining noise that cut off with a small ding. He took the poke ball out and handed it to Ash alongside the TM case.
Ash looked down, "The case and move too?"
Oak nodded with a soft smile, "I have plenty of cases and that one was just gathering dust in my lab anyway. Usually, The first Gym Leader gives one for free once one is given a TM, so you don't need to worry about any price or payback. Take care Ash, you should begin your journey now."
Ash quickly packed the gifts up and jogged out of the Lab with a sincere, "Thank you!"
Noah nodded at Oak and left the Lab as well.