Chapter 1: The Journey Starts Today
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Ash Ketchum looked out, on top of the hill overlooking Professor Oak's lab. Today was the day. Today was the day he would become a Pokemon Trainer.
It had been something he'd dreamed about ever since he was 1 year old. It was his ultimate goal in life. The spark that had kept the fire burning, even through the grueling years of Pallet Academy, until his Pokemon Trainer Exam scores revealed he had scored high enough, and was eligible to a Starter from Professor Oak, one of the most brilliant people in Kanto history. Famous for the creation of the Pokedex and being the 5th Indigo League Champion, the man was a Legend. But that didn't matter. Ash would become a legend too.
He took a deep breath. Time to take the first step.
He then set down from the hill, slowly, savoring each step to the lab. Eventually, the door became closer and closer into view. He pulled on it, and walked inside the great Professor's lab.
The lobby was spacious, no doubt, and exceedingly neat and tidy. He walked up to the receptionist's desk. The woman there, rather young, maybe about 25, had neat brown hair and glasses over brown eyes.
"Hello?" He asked politely. The receptionist took one glance over at him before replying.
"One of Oak's chosen, Eh?" The voice was smooth and slightly monotonous.
Ash nodded, smiling slightly. That was the phrase referred to anyone who was getting a starter from Professor Oak. The receptionist sighed.
"Head down the left hall, till you reach the end. Last room on the right." Ash nodded, gave his thanks and walked in the direction indicated.
Once he arrived, he took a deep breath, before walking inside.
The room was clean and covered in electronic equipment, and very very white. The wallpaper, the floors, and even the rugs were at least some off white.
It hurt Ash's eyes to look at to be honest.
In the middle was a central table, just as white as everything else. However, there were three holes inside the table.
Sockets.
"Ah Ash, my boy!" A voice sounded to his right. Authoritative, yet filled with warmth.
No doubt the professor. He turned in the direction above and sure enough, Professor Oak himself had graced the room with his presence.
Behind was a boy, about Ash's age, with auburn hair, and shining blue eyes, not dissimilar to the Professor himself.
Ash smirked. Gary Oak. His best friend, grandson of Professor Oak. Also his childhood rival. He would come later though. First, Ash addressed the Professor.
"Hello Professor! How are you?"
"Just fine, just fine. I trust you're here for your Starter?" Ash nodded vigorously. The professor's smile grew even bigger, if that was possible.
"Would you like any help Professor?"
"I'll be just fine Ash. See Gary, can't you be polite like Ash here?" He said, turning to his grandson with a playful smirk.
"C'mon Gramps, I knew you wouldn't have either of us do any work!" Gary replied, with a tinge of exasperation, but mostly amusement.
The Professor simply smiled before walking away.
"Gary quickly turned his attention to the 14 year old boy, smirking.
"Well, well, well…Never thought I'd see the day Ashy boy gets up early." He said smiling. Ash rolled his eyes. Ashy Boy was a spinoff of his mother's nickname for him, Ashy. Though it was used mostly as a nickname for teasing. Ash then gave him a devious grin of his own.
"Please, I wouldn't wanna miss the big day, when I finally beat you to the ground."
"Who? Me? Please, you couldn't beat a Caterpie to the ground."
"It's not like you could either."
"...Fair Point"
Most Pokemon could ready handle and incapacitate a human if they wanted to. Even smaller and more harmless pokemon like Caterpie were dangerous.
At this point the Professor had arrived, carrying a bucket of gadgets. He plopped them on the table, with a loud thud.
Ash and Gary glanced at the technology, hunger filling their eyes. They both looked at the Professor, eyes wide.
"No boys, not yet! We still have to wait for a third person."
Ash and Gary looked inquisitively at the old professor. The professor explained.
"On the request of a colleague of mine, another beginning trainer who was recommended will also be picking a starter from me today. She should be arriving soon…"Just then, the door swung open, and in came a young girl.
She was about their age, with purple hair that reached about halfway down her back. She had dark blue eyes, and was wearing a red vest, with simple jeans.
She was stunning to say the least.
"Ahh, you have arrived! Nice to meet you, Miss Sayuri." The professor started, holding out his hand. The girl took it with a small smile.
"The pleasure is all mine Professor." Her voice was soft and gentle. Ash took a quick look at Gary. The guy was practically drooling.
Ash rolled his eyes. His friend also just happened to be a hopeless romantic, and a lady's man. A sentiment Ash found rather annoying.
The girl's gaze quickly switched from the Professor to the two boys.
"And who might these two be?" The girl asked, eyes sparkling.
The professor replied. "This is my grandson, Gary, and his friend Ash. They will be the other two trainers being given a starter."
The girl smiled, before responding, gliding forward.
"A pleasure to meet you." She said politely to the duo.
"The pleasure is all mine," Gary replied, silky smooth, while taking her hand.
Ash fake gagged in the background. The girl quickly noted and giggled slightly.
Gary whirled on Ash, who quickly cut the charade and assumed a poker face. Gary glared at him before bursting out in laughter. Ash quickly followed his lead, snickering away. The girl looked confusedly between the duo while Professor Oak sighed.
"Boys? Shall we get started?" Instantly the two boys shut up and let their elder speak.
"Now, all 3 of you are gathered here today for an important occasion; the obtaining of your trainer license and your Starter pokemon." The professor paused and looked around briefly for dramatic effect. And also to see if the young teens were listening to him.
Suitably satisfied by their enraptured faces, he continued.
"Now, before I can hand these things out, I must say an important note." Ash tilted his head in confusion while the girl's eyebrows shot up. Gary seemed unsurprised. Perhaps the professor had leaked what had happened to Gary, Ash thought.
"One of the starters, the Charmander to be accurate, was unfortunately unable to be shipped in time. As a result, I supplied my own starter, from my own personal stores I might add, to replace Charmander in the process. This pokemon has been evaluated by me to be a worthy starter for one of you, so there is no need to worry.
The two boys frowned, while the girl's eyes gleamed. Ash noted this quickly with interest. It seemed that she was almost…glad? Ash's eyes lit up in realization.
Turning to her, he asked:
"Did you want Bulbasaur to be your starter?"
She looked shocked but nodded.
"Yes, that was my choice."
"And now that there's no Charmander…" Ash's started.
"Bulbasaur will be unopposed in battle!" The girl finished. She giggled slightly, and Ash smiled. Gary gave a look of mock jealousy before turning back to the Professor.
The professor watched the exchange, amused before continuing.
"Anyway, before we start though, I have something for each of you," and with that the professor pulled out a box, with three gadgets each.
All three of the young teens eye's shot up. Gary and Ash in particular, for they knew very well what the items were.
"Pokedexes?!" The duo exclaimed in shock.
The professor nodded, smirking.
"All three of you are perfectly intelligent and capable teens, so I trust that you will use these properly."
They all dove into the box, and after a brief scuffle, Ash got a red colored dex, Gary blue and the girl green.
"Just one question, Gramps…" Gary started to ask.
"Yes?" The professor replied inquisitively
"No offense, but who the hell is that girl?"
The Professor's eyes lit up, and he smiled. The girl started to speak, but she was interrupted by the Professor.
"Ah! I completely forgot to introduce her. Boys, this is Assunta Sayuri of Celadon. She is the niece of Erika Sayuri. Erika asked if I would be willing to sponsor her, and upon seeing her aptitude test, and comments from teachers, I accepted."
The boy's eyes bugged out. Erika Sayuri?! She was the gym leader of Celadon City, and a reputable businesswoman, who had been successfully running a perfume and cosmetics business for 10 years now, which had made Celadon a very wealthy city.
Ash was the first to recover his wits.
"Wow…Nice to meet you Assunta!" He said exuberantly.
"The pleasure is all mine." She replied in kind
Gary quickly replied with his own greeting, albeit more along the lines of 'You're rich, you're pretty. Date me?'
"Anyway, now that introductions are over, I suppose I should go slightly more in depth over these devices. These Pokedexes not only contain a comprehensive guide of all Pokemon, but also serve as a GPS, phone, news service, and store your trainer ID and all your records. They are priceless. I know you'll treat them well, but as a warning, please do not break them. They are waterproof and hardy, to a certain extent."
All three nodded, but Ash's gaze was somewhat distant. He was too busy focusing on the starters. Three pokeballs had been placed on the table while the Professor had been speaking, and he had no doubts they contained his new starter.
"And now, the moment all three of you have been waiting for, the choosing of the starters!" The professor exclaimed, with a grand flourish at the end
"The starter choices will be determined by Trainer license test scores."
Ash tensed up. He had done well enough to pass, as evidenced by the fact he was in the lab. But he never told anyone his score, and neither did Gary. It was forbidden to discuss test scores, until revealed at Starter choosing. As a result, he didn't know if Gary had done better or worse than him.
And he had no clue whatsoever about Assunta's scores. For all either of them knew, she could have beaten both of them.
The professor continued.
"The person who scored the highest will choose first. And the highest scorer between the three of you was…"He briefly fumbled with some papers before reading the contents.
"Ash Ketchum, with an overall score of 98%."
Ash practically jumped. He had scored the highest?! He was in awe, to say the least. He was never the brightest student. It always took some time to process things. Gary was normally better at such things. Gary clapped his back, as Ash processed the information. Assunta also clapped politely.
"Nice job Ashy-Boy!" Gary remarked, somewhat mockingly, but mostly in support of his friend.
Ash walked up to the three Pokeballs on the table. Which to choose, which to choose?!
Squirtle he had forgoed a long time ago. Gary had his heart set on the Squirtle, and he knew he couldn't deny his best friend of that.
Also, Gary had some serious temper tantrums when things didn't go his way. At this point it was a serious issue.
And he also knew that Assunta really wanted Bulbasaur. Ash was a generous and nice kid. He wouldn't take what she wanted.
Also he secretly suspected that the reason she wanted to be sponsored by Oak was that she wanted a Bulbasaur. Badly.
So, in theory that would've left him Charmander. But there was no Charmander. Instead, there was the third unknown starter. And that would be the one he chose.
"I've made my choice." He proclaimed. And with that, he picked up the Pokeball in the middle, and released its contents.