Pallet Town
With gym season, across every region, drawing closer, Samuel put the finishing touches on his preparations with Ash while ensuring his assistants did the same for Gary. Additionally, Ash's Riolu was ready to be a starter pokemon. The only other thing he'd had to do was find a region.
Kanto could no longer serve as a proper first for the pair. Fortunately, one of his fellow professors had a surplus of starter pokemon this year. Not only would Gary receive a unique starter, but they'd receive their starter kits there too. The only thing left to do was tell the pair.
Oak's Lab
Oak managed to get both boys to the seating area where he decided to get to the heart of the matter. "Boys, I'm going to cut to the chase. While neither of you have said it, I know the idea of traversing Kanto as your first region has become boring.
In this labs' best to prepare your two, we failed by ruining what your first journey could have been. That is why I've spent the last month working to redeem this lab and managed to find what should be the perfect region. One where Gary can get a unique starter of his own."
While there was a semblance of excitement injected into the pair, both also felt guilty over their more negative feelings. It's not that the pair loathed their home region, far from it. It's just the idea of traversing Kanto after spending nearly three years seeing it felt like a chore.
"You two have nothing to feel guilty over." Seeing this in them, Oak smiled assuredly. "What happened was a mistake I and my assistants made with you two. Naturally, I'm all for this while I've discussed as much with Delia to secure her agreement.
This means the only ones who would be stopping you now would be you two." He walked on up and put a hand on each of their heads. "The region I want to send you two to is Kalos." He smiled. "I know you'll do great and show them Kanto produces the strongest of trainers."
Gary was the first to find his confidence, mixed with his typical arrogance. "Naturally, I'd do well no matter the region."
Ash was then quick to find his own confidence as he nodded. "I won't let your down, professor!"
"I know you won't." Oak ruffled their hair before chuckling good naturedly. "Now, the flight you boys will be taking leaves tomorrow." He produced Riolu's pokeball before giving it to Ash. "Here is your Riolu. Now, head on home to see your mom."
"Right." Ash nodded before leaping to his feet and excitedly taking off.
"With this change in plans, I'll be doing what research I can today." Gary stated with a smirk as he took off for his room.
"It's good to see that spark coming back to their eyes." Oak thought, happy the prospect of traversing a new region had reignited the pair's passion.
Ketchum Residence
"Hey mom." As Ash entered the house, he found Delia waiting for him. "You probably know I've heard what Professor Oak intended, huh?"
"I was made aware of Professor Oak's plan well before the region was decided on." Delia nodded with a small smile. "It gave me plenty of time to prepare your outfit."
She then presented the outfit which consisted of the Indigo League hat he won years ago now, a sea blue jacket, black shirt, blue jeans held up by a brown leather belt designed to hold shrunken pokeballs, new shoes, green gloves, and an emerald, green backpack.
"Whoa, this is great mom!" Ash exclaimed, happily accepting the new attire.
"I've ensured your bag is packed and ready for your journey as well." Delia voiced. "Considering you don't leave until tomorrow, just take the rest of today easy. Also, wash up since I took the liberty of preparing an early lunch."
"Alright, you're the best!" Ash exclaimed happily, heading up to wash his hands.
Air Port: Morning…
Ash and Gary now stood across from Delia and Oak.
"I'll be looking forward to hearing all about the new pokemon each of you catches." Samuel declared happily.
"Gary, please ensure Ash makes it to Kalos safely." Delia stated with a slight bow.
"Guess I can do that." Gary voiced noncommittally.
"Ash, I'll see you soon." Delia smiled at her son. "Take care."
"Right mom." Ash nodded. "You to."
Soon enough, the pair boarded their plane. Oak and Delia then watched as it departed.
"Ash and Gary are now off on their first of what will likely be many journeys to come." Samuel voiced contently.
"You're probably right." Delia agreed.
Kalos Airspace: Day…
"Attention passengers, we are approaching our destination. Please fasten your seatbelts for the final descent into Lumiose City."
The announcement over the intercom was enough to rouse Ash from his sleep, and he looked out the window to see the city in the distance. "Oh man, just imagining all the new pokemon and sights has me pumped!"
"Go ahead and play tourist for a while, Ashy-boy." Gary smirked as his fellow Kanto native looked at him. "It'll give me all the time in the world to get those badges and win the league."
"I didn't realize you fell asleep too, but at least it sounds like you had a nice dream." Ash retorted.
"Talk all you want, but once I have my first pokemon from Professor Sycamore, I'll show you which of us has been dreaming." Gary thought.
Vaniville Town, Yavonne Residence
While Ash and Gary were soon to land in Lumiose City, Serena was fast asleep within her bedroom. Soon enough, a Fletching managed to squeeze into the room before landing on her sleeping form.
The pokemon looked down at the girl before giving her a hard peck on the top of her head. The shrill scream which followed could be heard by Grace, busy in the kitchen whipping up a small breakfast for her daughter.
"I told her I'd send Fletchling up there if she didn't get up to practice racing with Rhyhorn." Grace noted. "I guess sometimes she just never learns."
Serena, now laid out on the floor, managed to get into a sitting position before glaring at Fletching. "I've told you a million times not to wake me like that."
Fletching merely tilted his head. "Fletch."
Serena lunged for the flying/normal type, but he flew up to avoid her. This resulted in the girl landing across her table before said pokemon landed atop her head, to her annoyance.
"What's all the commotion?" Grace called up. "Stop trying to strangle Fletchling and get ready for morning training. I even made you breakfast."
"Right!" Serena called out before sighing. "Uh, not again." She then stood and threw open her window to wave at the family's other pokemon. "Morning Rhyhorn!"
Said ground/rock type acknowledged her. "Rhy!"
Lumiose Airport
Ash stepped out of the plane and down the steps that protruded from the aircraft before taking a deep breath. "Ah, that's the smell of victory!"
"Only you would confuse the smell of jet fuel with victory." Gary snarked, coming out behind him.
"It's natural you'd think that's what I smelt." Ash returned.
"Whatever." Gary stuck his hands in his pockets. "We're here now and not expected at Sycamore's lab for at minimum one hour." He proceeded to walk off. "Go find something to entertain you but don't be late since we're having a battle after I get my pokemon."
"Man, that Gary." Ash shook his head before starting to walk off in the opposite direction, putting his rival from his mind for the time being. "Well, I'm not about to let him bring me down. There's bound to be cool things to do and lots of new pokemon to see as well."
Ash suddenly stopped as the shadow of something atop the nearby hanger caught his attention. He turned to see it was some tall red, black, and white feathered pokemon. At that same instance, Riolu let himself out and just managed to see the pokemon before it quickly lept over them. They both turned, only to see dust as whatever pokemon landed had suddenly sped off.
"Whoa, no wonder you came out Riolu." Ash smiled. "Whatever pokemon that is, it was amazing!"
Riolu merely nodded. "Rio."
"Come on!" Ash ran off excitedly, prompting his starter to run with him. "With a sight like that being our first, Kalos must hold plenty more!"
Lumiose City
Ash and Riolu soon left the airport behind and entered the city proper, running through what looked like a residential district. They passed all kinds of new pokemon: Medicham, Furfrou, Meowstic, and Skitty were just some of the pokemon that caught Ash's eye.
"Wow, this place is looking to be even more of a city than Saffron!" Ash declared, slowing down a bit just to take everything in. "Man, I don't think I've seen a pokemon from back home yet."
It's not that Ash hated pokemon native to Kanto, but he couldn't deny the breath of fresh air which came with all these new pokemon he could learn about. Eventually, he stopped on a bridge as a large tower in the distance caught his eye.
"Riolu, check this out." Ash voiced, seeing his starter leap up to the railing and stare at the tower as well. "I can just make out the symbol on that tower, and it's a gym facility."
"Rio!" Riolu exclaimed, having learned about gyms and his trainer's intention to take them on.
"We don't have enough pokemon for even a single badge challenge, yet there's nothing saying we can't check it out." Ash smiled at his starter. "What do you say, want to see what these Kalos gyms are like?"
Riolu nodded. "Lu!"
They went right for Prism Tower, ending up outside it.
"Check this out." Ash smiled as they stared at the building. "Once we get a pokedex and register with the nearest center, we can start taking on gyms like this one."
Riolu nodded. "Rio."
A brother and sister pair, Clemont and Bonnie, happened to be walking nearby when they noticed the pair. Clemont was a short and skinny boy with fair skin, blue eyes behind glasses, and medium-length bright yellow hair. He wore a yellow-collared blue jumpsuit.
Bonnie was a younger, slender girl with shiny golden-blonde hair tied in a side ponytail with an orange band and sky-blue eyes. She wore a brown short-sleeved top, knee-length black compression shorts covered by a puffy white mini skirt resembling a cloud, and pink shoes.
"What are we waiting for?" Ash asked, taking off inside with Riolu.
Prism Tower
The inside was metal with some tubes sparking with electricity at the sides. The pair ended up approaching a metal door.
"Hello?" Ash called out. "Is anyone here?"
A screen turned on above the door, followed by a voiced.
"Welcome to the Lumiose Gym."
"My name is Ash, and I've come all the way from Pallet Town in the Kanto region." Ash stated. "I was hoping I could come in to have a look around."
"How many badges do you have?"
"Uh, none since this is the first gym we're even visiting in Kalos." Ash answered.
"You have none, not a single badge!? To enter or even challenge the Lumiose Gym, you must have acquired at minimum four badges."
Two metal rods suddenly came down, sparking with electricity.
"Rio!" Riolu yelled, standing protectively in front of Ash.
"Whoa, wait just a second!" Ash called out.
Their words and actions meant nothing as the pair were shocked before being dropped screaming down a chute.
Lumiose City
The chute saw Ash and Riolu ejected out the gym symbol on the front of the building, with Clemont spotting them. "Oh no!" Bonnie noticed as her brother rushed in, prompting her to follow suit. "I'm going to try and catch that boy."
"I'll get his pokemon!" Bonnie called out.
"Alright!" Clemont pushed his glasses up and threw his backpack. "Let's go!"
The backpack inflated to catch Ash while Bonnie managed to catch Riolu, though she did fall into her brother's backpack as a result.
"Are you alright?" Clemont asked, holding out a hand to the Kanto native.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Ash accepted the hand, letting himself be helped. "Thanks to you."
Bonnie stood up with Riolu in her arms, all smiles. "Take a look at this cute…"
Riolu got out of her grasp before leaping away. "Rio!"
On a nearby balcony, a Froakie landed on the wall above to observe while Bonnie frowned. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, Riolu just isn't one for typical affection." Ash assured.
Said fighting type crossed his arms and turned his head.
"Even if he were, Bonnie here shouldn't be hugging other people's pokemon like that." Clemont scolded slightly.
"I just wanted to give Riolu a hug because he's cute!" Bonnie retorted before puffing out her cheeks.
"Even so, Riolu clearly didn't like it." Clemont voiced.
That got Bonnie to calm down. "Ah, I'm sorry Riolu."
"Riolu, couldn't you have been a little nicer just this once?" Ash asked his starter, drawing his attention. "I mean, she was the one who caught you."
Riolu sighed at that and ease up himself before nodding to the girl. "Lu."
"That was him thanking you, and I thank you as well." Ash smiled. "It means a lot you'd save Riolu like that."
Bonnie smiled. "You're very welcome you two."
"Man, what a weird gym." Ash looked at the building. "I didn't think they'd be such a stickler for badge requirements. Even the Viridian Gym back home, which requires seven badges to challenge it, simply turns you away."
"Well, that gym leader is something else." Clemont sighed.
"The leader of the Lumiose Gym is this super-duper strong person, so they asked you how many badges you have, right?" Bonnie asked eagerly.
"Yeah, though telling them I didn't have any saw Riolu and I getting zapped bad." Ash stated.
That stunned the pair.
"You don't have any badges!?" Bonnie asked.
"See, I just arrived in the region." Ash stated. "While I'm no stranger to gyms, I haven't really challenged one yet."
"Pardon me, but where are you from?" Clemont asked.
"I'm from Kanto, Pallet Town to be exact, and my name is Ash Ketchum." Ash answered. "This here is my starter pokemon, Riolu. Together, we're here to take on Kalos as our first region."
"Well, my name is Clemont while this is my little sister Bonnie." Clemont introduced.
"Nice to meet you." Bonnie voiced.
"Nice to meet you two as well." Ash returned happily.
"You and Riolu seem to have a good bond if he just became your starter." Bonnie noted.
"Well, we actually met about a month ago." Ash smiled. "I was there the second he hatched from the egg, and while there was a bit of a snag, we've started to become pretty good friends. Anyways, are you two on a journey as well?"
"Well, you see…" Clemont started nervously.
"We actually plan to sometime in the future." Bonnie stepped in.
"Ah, a family adventure sounds great." Ash smiled. "I don't have any brothers or sisters myself."
"You do have your special friend Riolu though." Bonnie marveled.
Said fighting type turn his head. "Rio."
"Bonnie is too young to have her own pokemon, so she's impressed whenever we meet someone who does." Clemont explained.
"Pokemon are pretty great, though I've been rather fortunate with my exposure to them." Ash voiced. "Not long after I turned 7, Professor Oak saw fit to take me on as a student, and I've been surrounded by pokemon ever since."
"You were a student of The Professor Oak!?" Clemont asked, stunned.
"Yeah, it was a great opportunity." Ash smiled fondly before shaking his head. "Anyways, what pokemon do you got Clemont?"
"All I have on me is a pokemon I just recently caught." Clemont informed.
"Cool, can I see it?" Ash asked. "After I do, we should battle."
Riolu shadow boxed the air, excited in his own way at such a prospect.
"Battle for real?" Clemont questioned.
"Yeah, I think having my first real battle with you would be great!" Ash exclaimed. "What do you say?"
"You should do it." Bonnie voiced. "It'll be a test of strength."
"Alright, you're on." Clemont started walking. "There's a battlefield at the nearby park we can use."
Park
Ash and Clemont took to the field, Bonnie stood off to the side, and Riolu was already out. Additionally, the Froakie who'd been watching them managed to get into a nearby tree to continue doing as such.
"Alright Bunnelby, come on out!" Clemont declared, throwing the normal type out.
"Let's give it our all, Riolu." Ash declared.
Riolu nodded. "Lu!"
"Lots of luck to both teams!" Bonnie called out.
Ash vs Clemont
"This will be our first battle together, Bunnelby." Clemont voiced. "Just relax, and I know you'll do great."
"Riolu, use vacuum wave!" Ash ordered.
Riolu punched out the wave of fighting energy, nailing Bunnelby with the super effective strike and sending him flying. The digging pokemon was able to catch the ground with his ears and bounce off them to leap to his feet.
"Bunnelby, dig." Clemont commanded, seeing his normal type tunneling into the ground. "While Bunnelby is a normal type, he's going to take a bit more than that before fainting."
"Riolu, stay mobile and don't let them know where you are." Ash instructed.
"He's quick on his feet, though that's not nearly enough." Clemont smiled. "Now, go!"
Bunnelby came up from the ground, slamming into the fighting type and taking them into the air.
"Riolu, use feint!" Ash commanded.
As Bunnelby attempted to hit the fighting type with his ears, Riolu grabbed him by the shoulders and managed to shift around the norma type. He then landed a strong kick which sent the digging pokemon crashing into the ground while he landed safely.
"Now, follow it up with a quick attack." Ash ordered.
As Bunnelby was just recovering, Riolu sped into the normal type and knocked him back. The digging pokemon caught himself with his ears and managed to flip to his feet to stand before Clemont.
"Double slap, let's go!" Clemont commanded.
Bunnelby was panting, but he rushed in before proceeding to lay a barrage of ear slaps on the emanation pokemon.
"Bunnelby's ears are just like hands." Ash voiced.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Clemont pushed his glasses up. "Fact is, his ears can do lots of great things."
"Riolu, endure now!" Ash called out, resulting in his starter glowing with normal energy, which saw him better able to take the ears. "Now, vacuum wave to finish this."
Riolu pushed his right arm forward, letting off a super effective wave of energy which saw Bunnelby flying back before crashing down to the ground unconscious.
Park
"You're a strong one Clemont but fighting type pokemon tend to be on the stubborn side." Ash smiled. "My Riolu is no different in that regard."
"Wow, Ash and Riolu were amazing!" Bonnie cheered.
"By battling him, I understand Ash better." Clemont thought, smiling. "I'll admit, you and that Riolu are…"
He was interrupted, as well as he and Bonnie being prevented from approaching, by the Froakie who had been observing suddenly leaping down across from Riolu. "Froak."
"Clemont, is this another of your pokemon?" Ash asked.
"No, but I can tell you it's a Froakie." Clemont voiced. "They're one of the starter pokemon Professor Sycamore typically hands out, though there are wild ones out there as well."
"Hey, I think this Froakie wants something." Bonnie noted.
"Froakie!" Froakie exclaimed, staring down Ash and Riolu.
The fighting type understood, firming up for another battle. "Rio!"
"I think I get it." Ash grinned. "Froakie must have been watching the battle and decided he wanted to get in on the action."
Froakie nodded. "Kie!"
"Well, what do you say Riolu?" Ash asked. "Want another battle?"
Riolu shadow boxed the air again. "Rio!"
"Then, let's go for it!" Ash declared.
Ash and Riolu's first real battle together ended in their victory, prompting a watching Froakie to want a battle them as well. With Ash and Riolu more than willing to give one, the battle shall commence…
While I have ideas on how to change Ash's Kalos team, beyond the fact Riolu is his starter, I wasn't about to ignore Froakie.