Well, this is what one the poll on my profile. I must say I'm a little shocked this is what most people seemed to want, considering the amount of these out there already, but I live to serve. I'm not sure what will be coming next, but don't expect me to give up on A Hero's Rebirth yet! Still working out whether a revamp is worth it, but I'm excited to start writing again and posting different fic ideas that have been absolutely tormenting me for ages!
Without further ado, I present you...
With Courage I Will Face
Arc I: Viridian
Chapter One: Grumpy Beginnings
"Would ya hurry up, Gary? I've met Slowpoke faster than you!" Leaf taunted over her shoulder. Her long brown hair obscured some of her view, but she could've seen the scowl her friend threw at her if she was blind.
"Jeez, not all of us are solar-powered Leaf." Gary huffed out in response, although he did force himself to sprint faster to better keep pace with the brunette girl.
The two kids sprinted past houses, a few fields and up a long dirt road that led to the building that stored all their dreams: Professor Oak's Laboratory. Professor Oak, despite being Gary's grandfather and knowing them both very well, had refused to let them start their Pokemon journeys before they turned thirteen. Despite this still being two or three years earlier than common practice in many other regions, it drove the group of kids from Pallet Town insane waiting.
So, on the first designated Starter Day after they all turned thirteen, they were allowed to be given a Pokemon of their own from the professor and embark on their Pokemon journeys.
Leaf practically squealed in delight even as she tripped all the way upstairs, running as fast as she could the entire time.
"I'm here, Professor Oak!" Leaf exclaimed as she barreled through the door.
"Me too gramps!" Gary came through next, appearing more winded than Leaf. He panted as he rested against the door for a moment, letting the outside breeze cool him off.
"It's about time." Someone who wasn't Oak replied.
They both looked around, eyes arriving on the second-floor landing to see Ritchie leaning over the railing gazing down on them. Gary and Leaf frowned at the boy, disappointed that he arrived before them and at the absence of their other friend.
"Ritchie," Leaf greeted politely. "You look different."
He was dressed in all travelers gear now, she noticed. He had a green vest with four yellow pockets, matching fingerless gloves, a pair of green track pants with a yellow stripe down the pant legs and green and white hiking shoes. His auburn hair seemed less spikey than normal, hidden under a yellow and green hat now, though his blue eyes still seemed empty.
Ritchie had opted for a total wardrobe change as opposed to herself and Gary, who attempted to make their casual outfits more practical for the journey.
Leaf had put on a thin black undershirt underneath her teal tank-top and gotten knee-high matching socks. She still wore her red skirt, but it was fitted tighter and to allow her to use it to carry her belt of Pokeballs. She wore red and white running shoes now instead of her preferred sandals and started carrying a yellow shoulder bag with her for most of her supplies.
Gary still wore his long-sleeved purple t-shirt with travelers pants, though he had taken to wearing a silver waist bag in addition to his new silver belt and purple sneakers. They weren't the best for traveling, but he insisted they were the only thing he wanted to be stuck wearing for days on end.
"That's because I came prepared." He said, turning away from them passively. "Can we get started already?"
Leaf and Gary ignored the slight barb and ascended the stairs to the second floor of the lab.
"Ah, welcome you two!" Oak's voice greeted them as they reached the top. They both beamed over at him as he walked towards the table with their starters Pokeballs on it. He looked down at them all before looking back up, a mischievous smile starting to grow on his face. "We seem to be missing someone, don't we?"
Ritchie rolled his eyes while Gary and Leaf shared a concerned glance.
Delia Ketchum stood in the kitchen of her modest two-story house. She was doing her dishes at the sink, back turned to the living room. It was barely half past seven in the morning, but it was never too early to start the day. Especially on such an important day like today. She found herself hoping her son was awake and getting ready, but her hopes were quickly dashed when she heard a loud bang and a yell come from upstairs.
She couldn't help but giggle as she heard his rapid footsteps upstairs as he rushed to get ready. Not even a full three minutes later, she heard him thunder down the steps and straight out the door behind her back.
"Sorry gotta go, I'm late, love you, bye!" He exclaimed as one sentence as he rushed through the door. It slammed shut behind him and all she could do was roll her eyes.
Boys will be boys.
"Why can't we start without him?" Ritchie grumbled. "Anyone that can be late on a day like today doesn't deserve to become a Pokemon Trainer."
"It's only been, like, five minutes." Leaf grumbled in response.
"Patience is a virtue, Ritchie, and starting with only three of you today is not the structure even I planned for. I would've waited for you had you been late as well." Oak said. "Besides, I trust he won't be much longer."
As if Oak had willed it, the door downstairs flung open and slammed into the wall behind it with enough force to startle all four of them. Loud footsteps echoed on the metal stairs as someone raced to the top in an impressive time, their pace not breaking until he reached the top of the stairs and falling in line with the other starting trainers.
The boy had spikey hair too, but much spikier than Ritchie's, longer and pitch black. He had a white jacket on with light blue on the shoulders, sleeves, and pockets. The popped collar and bottom trim of the jacket were accented with red and a single yellow stripe. Black gloved hands leaned over on knees covered by grey track pants as he gasped for air, staring down at his blue and white shoes with yellow laces.
"Glad you could make it, Ash!" Professor Oak greeted with a laugh.
The boy straightened up immediately, as if he hadn't just been gasping for breath.
"Me too, professor!" Ash replied, adjusting his hat that had miraculously stayed in place during his mad dash to the lab. It was mostly red, with a white block on the front and two green markings on it that formed an almost Pokeball-like shape on the front.
"I like the new look, Ash." Leaf complimented, looking him over.
"Yeah, but it would've looked better here six minutes ago." Gary snickered as he locked his hands behind his head.
"Thanks!" Ash said to Leaf, before chuckling sheepishly. "Better late than never, I guess?"
"That's exactly right Ash," Oak started up again. "But sooner is even better than later so if you don't mind us getting started?"
The attention of all four teens was now entirely on the renowned professor, who smiled at their stares. They were the most passionate group he had seen in decades.
"Now then," Oak started. "As you all know you're here to receive your first Pokemon, often called a starter Pokemon, and begin your journey as Pokemon Trainers." He paused. "Now that your all here, there's something I would like to ask you." He pretended he didn't hear Ash muttering an apology as he continued. "Despite there only being three official region starter Pokemon given out every year, I've nevertheless decided to let all four of you begin your Pokemon journey today. Are any of you curious as to why?"
"I was wondering about that for a long time, mom told me not to dwell on it." Leaf said. Oak nodded.
"Well, it took a long time, but I've finally reached a solution I feel everyone will be comfortable and happy with." Oak began. "Three of you will be receiving the traditional starters of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. There is, however, another Pokemon I would be willing to let one of you start with. It has some issues, likely due to bad past experiences with trainers, but I sense it is just as full of potential as any of the traditional starters." Oak disclosed. "This Pokemon will remain anonymous to remove any bias from your choice. Knowing all of this," He paused and eyed all for future trainers. "Will any of you knowingly choose this Pokemon?"
Ritchie Zapp. Jodi (Leaf) Green. Gary Oak. Ash Ketchum.
It was quite an odd selection of trainers, a dynamic like none he'd ever seen before. These kids were different than those that came before them, somehow in all the right and wrong ways. He knew they all had good intentions, despite any problems they had, but beyond that they burned brighter than any group before them. He expected a lot from them, whether they knew it or not, and even though it was phrased as a question, he knew how this would go down. He had interacted with all the kids dozens of times, both as a member of the community and as a guiding hand on their steps towards being a Pokemon Trainer.
That was why he knew exactly who would receive each starter Pokemon even months before this day, and likely before certain individuals knew themselves. Especially this one.
"I will." Oak's eyes, followed by three other pairs, snapped to who had spoken. Ash Ketchum. "I'd really like the unknown starter, professor."
"Are you sure? This will probably prove to be much more challenging than working with any of the other three starters. They're all handpicked species because of their easy temperaments and a slew of other factors that make them easier to care for in the hands of newer trainers." Oak warned him, but he knew the boys mind was made up.
"Yes, professor. I wouldn't know which to choose from the other three anyway, and that seems unfair because everyone else has made up their minds." Ash agreed resolutely. Oak placed a hand on Ash's shoulder, proudly, but didn't elaborate any further before he simply turned away and walked behind the large steel table.
"Well," he said, smiling brightly again. "Let's get right to it!" He gestured down at the table, with three shiny Pokeballs on it. Each one had a sticker, indicating the starter element inside. A green leaf, a red flame and a raindrop respectively sat above the main button on each 'Ball.
"Leaf, you may choose first." Oak decided.
"I've thought about this for as long as I can remember, so I just know that Bulbasaur is the one for me." She said, skipping forward and plucking the Pokeball with the small leaf on it. "I can't believe I'm really a trainer now. Bulbasaur, come on out!" She pressed the release button.
Bulbasaur materialized on the floor in a flash of white light. The little guy had red eyes and white claws but otherwise was varying shades of green. The darkest parts were the bulb on its back, matching the speckled spots across its body. Leaf squatted down to be face-to-face with her new partner.
"Hi Bulbasaur! My name's Leaf! I'm gonna be your trainer from now on, okay?" Leaf asked nicely. Bulbasaur cocked its head, as if trying to understand, before it smiled and launched into Leaf's arms. She grunted as she caught it, cradling it in her arms as if it were a baby. "That's what I hoped you'd say! We're gonna get along fine." She giggled, nuzzling Bulbasaur's head with her own.
"I'm next." Ritchie moved forward without a second thought. Ash and Gary shared a glance, but neither moved forward to stop him.
He grabbed the Pokeball with the flame sticker, popping it open immediately. Charmander appeared in another burst of light, scales as orange as the sun outside with a cream underbelly and green eyes. It coughed up a few embers as it looked around, landing on Ritchie's boots before tilting up to see his face.
"Charmander, I'm Ritchie, your trainer. We're gonna become the strongest team there is, you got that?" Ritchie told the little lizard. Charmander seemed to accept the fact easily, crossing its arms and swooshing its tail proudly.
They walked back to stand in line as Oak looked expectantly at Gary.
"Ya snooze, ya lose Ash!" Gary taunted good naturedly, moving to grab the last remaining Pokeball. Gary had made up his mind the quickest out of all of them, so it was nice to see the relief he felt once he was holding his Squirtle's Pokeball in his hands.
He gently threw the Pokeball into the air, catching it as he bent down to eye level with the materialized Pokemon. Squirtle shook its head, as if it had just been woken up. It was the same size as Charmander and Bulbasaur, but with blue skin and a hard brown shell on its back, complete with a pale-yellow underbelly. The Squirtle leaned forward, tail out and nose down as if it was investigating Gary's out stretched hand.
Squirtle eyed the hand a bit, before curiously grasping it in both of his little hands and shaking it. Gary smiled.
"My name's Gary, Squirtle. You're my first Pokemon and I'm your first trainer, so I'm sure we'll be great friends and learn a lot together!" He said happily. Squirtle nodded in determination and Gary opened his arms for the Squirtle to leap into his chest.
"Oh yeah, we'll be like peanut butter and jelly in no time!" Gary commented, supporting Squirtle with one arm.
With everyone else officially trainers, Oak turned to Ash.
"Are you ready to meet your Pokemon, Ash?" Oak asked him.
"Absolutely!" He responded without hesitation.
Professor Oak reached into his pocket and pulled out another Pokeball. He glanced down at it one more time, as if confirming something to himself, before he handed it over to Ash, who gingerly accepted it with both hands. On the front, right above the center button, was a small lightning bolt sticker much like on the others. Professor Oak must've known for a while this would be someone's makeshift starter.
It was an old Pokeball, Ash noticed. Not as new as the other three that contained the traditional starters. It came with its fair share of wear and tear already. It had scratches all over it, small and thin, with some of the deeper ones on top starting to peel away at the red paint to reveal the metallic white underneath. On the back-left Ash noticed what looked like a scorch mark, making an area darker in color than the rest of the ball.
It was an old and beat up Pokeball, but in that moment Ash felt like he was holding the world in his hands.
He quietly pressed the center button to activate the release mechanism and his Pokemon also appeared in a flash of white light. The light died down to reveal the small yellow body of the creature. It was yellow everywhere, from its small feet to its stubby forearms to its pointy ears, though its ears were tipped in black fur. It shook off as it crouched onto all fours, revealing the two horizontal brown stripes on its back and at the bottom of its lightning-bolt shaped yellow tail. It looked around; its bright red cheeks sparked with yellow electricity.
"Oh wow!" Ash cried, crouching down next to it.
"Its name is- "Oak started, looking wearily at the two.
"Pikachu! It's a Pikachu!" Ash finished for him. "It's the best of them all, I've always wanted one!"
Ash reached out to scoop Pikachu into a hug before Oak could interrupt. The result was as expected, and Pikachu released a disturbing amount of electricity out to shock Ash upon physical contact. Ash dropped the rest of the way to the ground before releasing Pikachu, the little guy landing safely on the floor as he glared at Ash.
Gary and Leaf gasped at the turn of events while Ritchie chuckled at Ash's misfortune. Oak sighed, having been afraid of this outcome from the start.
"I was afraid this might happen. This wasn't the best idea, that Pikachu's been a handful since the start. Come on Ash, I'll see what other Pokemon we might be able to start you with- "Oak started but was interrupted by Ash holding a hand up and signaling for him to wait a moment.
Ash turned from him to Pikachu, who was licking its paws.
"You know what," Ash started, standing up to look over Pikachu. Pikachu looked up and reflexively flinched as Ash's arms moved, expecting to be punished.
"You're really strong for such a young Pokemon! That was some ThunderShock!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu opened its eyes to see that the boy had moved his arms to slam a fist into his open palm. Ash crouched down again, looking at Pikachu's eyes. Pikachu looked away but couldn't find the will to bolt.
"Sorry if I scared you, I just get so excited when thinking about Pokemon! I can be kinda rash, y'know?" Ash told it. "Can I start over?"
The human didn't seem quite as bad as he did a moment ago. Despite itself, Pikachu nodded.
"My names Ash Ketchum, and I really want us to be good friends, Pikachu. One day I'm gonna be the best there ever was, so I'd really like to work with a strong Pokemon like you." Ash introduced himself. He watched Pikachu step closer, carefully, and could tell he wasn't totally convinced yet. "I like you a lot, but I know you don't like me very much. If you still don't like me after a couple days, we can go from there. Just give me a chance, okay?" He stuck out his hand, palm facing downwards.
Pikachu wore a shocked expression that matched that of everyone else in the room. This human, to his credit, had set himself apart from the rest already. But he was still a human, so Pikachu wasn't ready to have any kind of real faith in him.
"I'm afraid it's no use. I should've known better than to attempt this. Ash, I do believe I may have something else for you." Oak attempted to return Pikachu to its ball, but the Mouse Pokemon leapt out of the way of the red beam and behind the nearest obstacle, Ash's leg.
Oak pointed the ball at again, but Ash stopped him.
"Stop it, professor! I don't want another Pokemon, I said I would take Pikachu and I meant it!" Ash said defiantly. "And if he doesn't want to go back into that ball then he doesn't have to!"
Everyone in the room wore matching shocked expressions yet again, including Pikachu. Ash held his hand out expectantly, silently requesting Pikachu's Pokeball. Oak hesitated but nodded and gave the ball back to Ash. Pikachu seemed to glower at the device in Ash's hand as the human bend down again.
"So, Whaddaya say? We don't need this, do we?" Ash said, shrinking the 'ball in front of Pikachu and tucking it in his pocket. He stuck his hand back out, palm downward as he smiled at Pikachu.
Everyone stared in anticipation, but Pikachu turned his head. Everyone in the room deflated, except Ash who still offered a smile. But before he could retract his hand, Pikachu laid his tail on top of it, but refused to meet the humans eyes. Despite the rocky start, Ash felt like he was on cloud nine.
"See, we'll be just fine professor!" Ash said confidently. He turned to look up at the professor but didn't move from his crouched position as Oak began to talk once more.
"Very well then, Arceus knows nothing short of the end of the world can change your mind when it's made up." Oak said. Ash had the decency to blush.
"As you all know, becoming trainers is nothing to take lightly. And becoming sponsored is not a necessity, it's a privilege that comes with requirements. You all need to provide me frequent updates about your travels and be constantly observing and recording data about Pokemon and environments, as well as be on call to fulfill any field missions I assign to you. Are we clear?" Oak said.
"Yes, Professor Oak!" All four chorused at once.
They all knew this already, having been studying to become sponsored since they could read.
"Excellent! Now then, let me get you your supplies." Oak turned and walked back to another table and picked up four boxes, depositing them onto the table that once held the starters Pokeballs. He carefully opened them all, one by one, and let them all peak inside.
Each box had a Pokedex inside along with ten shrunken Pokeballs, a handful of potions and a different color disc in a glass case. They all looked up at the professor eagerly, who laughed.
"That's right, because you've all done so well in your studies and proved yourselves so dedicated, I'm starting you all off with one individual, reusable TM compatible with your starters." He laughed at their shocked faces but spoke louder when they all jumped to grab at the boxes. "Please, allow me."
"Ritchie, this is a TM for Fire Fang, compatible with Charmander." Oak slid him the box. Ash watched as Ritchie plucked the items out, noting the green color of his Pokedex as opposed to his own red one.
"Leaf, this is a TM for Magical Leaf, compatible with Bulbasaur." Oak repeated his motion while Leaf quickly grabbed at her starting kit. Her Pokedex matched her hat, white with red accents.
"Gary, this is a TM for Brine, compatible with Squirtle." Oak barely had time to finish his sentence before Gary was peering over inside his box, scooping it all up with his other arm and trying to shove them into his pockets as he flashed a smile. Gary's Pokedex was black with silver accents and a purple lens.
"Ash," He hesitated a bit. "I was going to give you the TM for Volt Switch, as everyone else got attacks that were naturally compatible with their starter Pokemon's type. But with Pikachu's reluctance to get into its Pokeball, I'm not sure that's the best idea."
Pikachu looked up at Ash, slightly terrified. This was it; he was going to get crammed back into that death trap, he should've run while he-
"That's okay, thanks anyways professor. We'll manage without it, right Pikachu?" Ash replied. He was slightly put out, but he smiled down at Pikachu, who could only stare back in wonder.
"Nonsense, I won't be playing favorites in this house." Oak said. He ignored Gary's disgruntled 'I'm literally your grandson' and turned away, digging through another drawer. "I had one in here somewhere… ah ha! We'll simply start you out with this instead." He handed over another disc to Ash, taking back the yellow one inside the box.
This one was a deep maroon color, darker red than Ritchie's. A fighting type attack?
"That, Ash, is a TM for Brick Break. It's compatible with Pikachu, though it'll be harder for it to get a grasp on due to not being fighting type and being inexperienced still. I wouldn't use it too soon, but it should serve you well if you want to challenge Pewter Gym straight away."
Ash grinned like a mad man, pocketing all his starting kit the best he could until he got back home to pack properly.
"I know this hasn't been the most conventional starting day," Oak lamented, "But nothing with you four has ever been straightforward, so why start now? I assume you all have your plans set for the day, so I won't keep you any longer. Thank you all for your help these past few years, and I wish you all the best of luck on your Pokemon journeys!"
"Thanks Professor Oak!" They all practically screamed back at him as they gathered themselves ready to leave the room.
Ritchie was the first down the steps, then Leaf until it was just Ash and Gary.
"Ash, I'm gonna talk with gramps for a little bit but I'll meet you and Leaf at the gate before we set off, okay?" Gary said. Ash nodded.
"Alright Gary, I'll see you there. Just gotta head back home first and grab my bag and say bye to mom." He replied. He turned to Pikachu. "Follow me, we're stopping by my house first before he head out."
Ash sprinted down the stairs after that. There was a delay, but he heard little footsteps follow him; he was honestly surprised Pikachu bothered to follow so closely, but he was pleased. They sprinted the whole way until Ash came to a halt in front of a small, two-story house with a red roof and a white picket fence outside. The mailbox was haphazardly painted many colors, as if someone sneezed paint onto it. The only thing that stood out was the address; 6. There were only eleven permanent residencies in Pallet Town, so the numbers didn't go very high.
"You might not want to be on the floor when we get in there," Ash warned. "You'll be pretty… exposed. Let me hold you for a bit, just until we get settled inside." Ash opened his arms. Pikachu sat still for way longer than he needed to, but Ash held firm and didn't move to grab him before Pikachu nodded.
"Pi?" Pikachu squeaked, and Ash laughed.
"I guess you want to know why, isn't that right? You'll see."
Ash opened the door easily with one hand, forcing it the rest of the way with his shoulder and letting out a simple, 'We're back!' into the house.
More wild footsteps thundered down the stairs, a high-pitched voice cried out in excitement. Down the stairs ran a girl, no older than eight years old. She had Delia's mahogany colored hair, but Ash's deep brown eyes. She smiled widely at Ash and squealed in glee, charging him with arms wide open but Ash lifted Pikachu out of her reach, hoping to Arceus the mouse wouldn't electrocute them both.
"Easy, Elaine!" Ash couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. "Pikachu, this is my sister Elaine. Elaine, meet Pikachu! He's my new friend, but he's not the cuddly type so be careful." He lowered Pikachu back to chest-level and he felt Pikachu's arms clench against his hands.
He hoped it was just from stress and not preparing to shock his sister. He was pleasantly surprised when Pikachu relaxed again but pulled away from Elaine's reaching hands and further into Ash.
"Hiya Pikachu!" Elaine said, before looking up at Ash. "I didn't think a Pikachu was a choice?"
"Normally he isn't, but I got really lucky." Ash said, looking around. "Where's mom?"
"Coming sweetie!" Delia's voice echoed through the house. She practically vibrated with excitement as she came towards the two. "I was packing your bag, I figured you wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to do it." She smiled at him and handed over a square blue backpack with black straps and white buttons.
Ash smiled happily, hugging his mom but avoiding squashing Pikachu between them, though it probably was still too closed in for his liking, so he kept it quick.
"Pikachu, that's my mom. Mom, this is Pikachu! My starter!" Ash said, gesturing. Pikachu shyly waved, unsure of what to do but unwilling to burn his bridges with this strange human just yet.
"OOOh, aren't you just the cutest thing?" Delia all but squealed. She noticed Pikachu jolt back so refrained from trying to pet him but held her own head in her hands. "You got very lucky Ash, its much cuter than the other three!"
Pikachu let out an awkward 'Chaa' in response as Ash moved them over to the counter. He set Pikachu and his backpack down to look inside.
"I packed you all the basics, as much as you can get from a town so far from any real stores. Your tent and camping supplies, and a few pairs of underwear and spare t-shirts." Ash blushed, but Delia paid him no mind. "I packed you a toothbrush and a bar of soap, but you'll mostly have to make do at Pokemon Center's. Same with the first aid kit, but I managed to sneak a small one onto the side." She winked at him. "And a few sandwiches for the road, they should be good for a day or two, but any longer than that and you'll have to wait to reheat them in Viridian City."
"Thanks mom, you're the best!" Ash said, taking it all in. He started taking the stuff Oak gave him as well out of his jacket pockets. "And look, Oak gave us all stuff too!" He showed off his Pokedex and Pokeballs first, before sliding out the TM. "He even gave us all moves!"
He packed the potions into the front pouch on his bag and slid the TM into one of the square side pockets where it fit rather nicely.
"That was very nice of him, make sure you thank him when you talk to him again." Delia reminded. She watched as he lifted the bag onto his shoulders and beamed at her over the countertop. "We won't keep you any longer Ash, much as we would like to."
Ash grinned and threw his arms around his mom's waist. She giggled and hugged him back, Elaine jumping in and hugging her arms around them both.
"You call here as often as you can, okay? I want to know your safe, and happy. And all about how much fun your having." Delia said. She felt Ash nod into her chest.
"I'll miss you Ashy." Elaine mumbled.
"I'll miss you too El." Ash said, putting a hand on her head. "I'll call you a lot, kay? And show you all my super cool Pokemon every time I'm home."
Elaine nodded before she felt herself being pulled back from Ash's legs by Delia.
"You better!" She said, holding onto Delia's hand.
"Pikachu, you ready?" Ash asked. Pikachu stopped sniffing around on the counter and turned.
He was reluctant to be enthusiastic about this, but he was still curious about the human. Better with him than crammed in his Pokeball at the old man's lab, he supposed. So, he leapt down and stood by Ash's feet. Ash smiled and gave one last look to Delia and Elaine.
"I'll call you guys soon, I promise! Thanks again mom." Ash gave them a thumbs up. "Let's go, Pikachu!" He said as he turned and started to run. Pikachu only hesitated for a second before he followed Ash out his door and down a dirt road to a small picket fence where two of the other humans from the lab were standing.
"Gary, Leaf!" Ash cried out approaching them. "Thought I'd miss you."
"If you were any slower, Ash, you'd have missed the whole day." Gary teased. Ash could only glare.
"So, do either of you know what order you plan to go in?" Leaf asked them. "For the big eight?"
All the Pallet kids had decided to compete in the Indigo Conference held in Kanto, which requires the collection of eight badges from gyms scattered throughout the region. There were many league sanctioned gyms, some big and some small, some more successful in defending their badges from challenging trainers. Those that gave away the least badges were dubbed Kanto's big eight and the hardest gyms in the region to earn badges from. Any trainer that earned all eight of their qualifying badges from the eight big gyms got to skip the preliminary rounds of the Indigo League, passing the first round of 512 people to the top 256.
Gyms across the Kanto region, including the big eight, can be challenged in any order provided the trainer has the means to reach the gym. Except of course for Kanto's notorious eighth gym leader, Giovanni of the Viridian Gym. He required all his challengers to have seven other badges before attempting to challenge him and most of the time he declined challengers anyway unless they were running the big eight.
"I'm heading straight down to Cinnabar Island. Nothing over there's gonna be able to stop me n' Squirtle." Gary said happily.
"I was thinking the same for me and Bulbasaur, we should hit Pewter and Cerulean first. With Bulbasaur's strong type advantage it'd be the easiest place to start." Leaf agreed nodding along.
"I still don't know yet, I'm gonna work on getting to know Pikachu better first before I try throwing him into any gym battles." Ash glanced down at the yellow Pokemon who was playing in the dirt with his tail. He glanced up at Ash, shock in his eyes, until he noticed Ash looking down at him and turned away.
"You got your work cut out for ya alright, Ashy-boy." Gary said. "But I wish you luck. I'll see you two on the road, ya hear?" He gave them both fist bumps.
"Ditto," Leaf said. "I should head out soon too. Be careful guys, it feels like a storm is coming." Leaf warned them.
They took off their own separate ways from there. Gary went south, taking the wooden canoe from Pallet's shores to head to Cinnabar Island and Leaf trekked out onto Route 1.
Ash looked down to Pikachu, who looked back up at him.
"So, is there anything you want to do, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Pi." Pikachu turned away from him and chose to stare at a tree instead. He glanced back to Ash, but upon seeing Ash still looking at him he closed his eyes instead.
Ash let out a hollow laugh. Off to an interesting start.
AUTHORS NOTE:
I can't believe this idea is finally seeing the light of day. I've put SO much thought into aspects of this story that are literal years away, to see chapter one be online feels almost scary. I hope you guys enjoyed it, I'm trying to do something different while staying familiar to the series. As usual, feel free to hit me with any questions you have and I'll do my best to address them next time. (Next time hopefully being in a week or so... Hopefully.)
Not much lore or backstory I can give you guys for this one yet, but I'll see you next time! TTYL~