Park

Clemont stood off to the side with Bonnie while Riolu squared off with Froakie. The two pokemon were raring to go yet waiting to strike. Ash grinned, excited to do some more battling. Being a trainer was already living up to everything he ever wanted.

Ash vs Froakie

"Let's do this Riolu!" Ash declared. "Start things off with vacuum wave."

Riolu punched out the wave of fighting energy, which Froakie attempted to jump out of the way of; however, the attack was much too fast and resulted in him being knocked back.

"Follow it up with a quick attack." Ash ordered.

Froakie managed to catch himself, only for Riolu to slam into him with a sudden burst of speed. The water type was able to handle it well enough to land on his feet before going on the attack. One of his fist was cloaked in normal energy as he went for a pound.

"Let's keep it up with feint." Ash commanded.

Riolu surged forward to meet Froakie head on with a fist of his own. At the last second, with deft footwork, the emanation pokemon skid around the pound and delivered a punch to the bubble frog's face. The water type, determined to hold on, skid back inches before using a water gun.

"Riolu, endure!" Ash ordered.

Riolu glowed with normal type energy as he crossed his arms to weather the attack, but Froakie was already on the move. He rushed in to immediately deliver a flurry of pounds all over the fighting type's body, starting to push him back until he engaged to make it a slug fest.

"Wow, those two are going at it." Bonnie stated.

"They are, though I'm not sure what Froakie is thinking." Clemont voiced, drawing his sister's attention. "In most cases, getting into a direct confrontation with a fighting type isn't a sound strategy. While Froakie has pound to lessen the disadvantage, Ash's Riolu is clearly no slouch."

Deep in the battle, Froakie suddenly lept high into the air just as Riolu threw another punch. This was exactly as he wanted since it had the fighting type stumbling forward, the perfect opportunity to rain down his frubbles.

"Whoa, Froakie is using its frubbles!" Bonnie marveled.

They nailed Riolu with great force, and while he managed not to go down completely, the hand he used to prop himself up was still stuck to the ground. Not to mention both his feet and sections of his body were covered. The fighting type was now having difficulties getting unstuck.

"Riolu!" Ash shouted.

Froakie landed before rushing forward and reengaging with a flurry of pounds, only this time Riolu really couldn't protect himself like he had before.

"Riolu, use endure before then hurling vacuum wave with your covered hand at full force!" Ash instructed.

The fighting type listened, his body coated in normal type energy to weather the pounds better and give him the opportunity to concentrate. As Froakie kept up the barrage, Riolu fired off his strongest vacuum wave into the field.

The force of the fighting type energy was enough to kick up a great deal of sand from the field, forcing Froakie back while obscuring Riolu. If one looked close enough, they'd certainly see the silhouette of a pokemon as it stood upright.

"I see!" Clemont exclaimed.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked.

Ash grinned. "Riolu, use your strongest vacuum wave once more!"

Right after the command was given, a strong wave of fighting energy was fired out of the debris. While Froakie attempted to avoid it, the move ended up colliding with his torso. The bubble frog was knocked clear off his feet, only to come crashing down with swirls in his eyes.

Park

"Ash had his Riolu free his arm of Froakie's frubble with the force of vacuum wave while simultaneously kicking up debris and forcing a retreat." Clemont explained to his sister. "With the sheer amount of damage already inflicted, one move was all it took to end this."

As the sand cleared, Riolu was revealed to be conscious. He was panting, covered in frubbles, and stuck to the ground; however, he was still very much conscious, even as he now collapsed to his knees.

"You were great Riolu!" Ash cheered, running to his starter. "For our first battles, you've set the tone for our journey." He took off his backpack to pull out medicine, water, and a towel before looking at the siblings. "Would you two mind bringing Froakie to me?"

"Sure, we'll get right on that!" Bonnie called out helpfully.

The siblings were prompted to rush over to the unconscious water type. As they got him, Ash began by using a potion on Riolu before then wetting the towel. Before he could use it to clean his starter, Riolu took the towel and used it on himself to clean away the frubbles.

As Clemont approached with Bonnie, who held Froakie, he noted the behavior. "Riolu really is an independent one."

"Has been pretty much from the moment he hatched." Ash chuckled good naturedly, as he took Froakie and gave him a potion.

Froakie came too, looking from Ash to Riolu before hopping away from them. He then stopped, looking back at the trainer expectantly.

"Froa." Froakie called out.

"Rio?" Riolu questioned.

"Froakie." Froakie responded before breaking into a run.

"Riolu!" Riolu exclaimed to his trainer before taking off, prompting Ash to follow

"What's going on!?" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Froakie wants me to go somewhere!" Ash looked back. "If you two want to come, feel free!"

"Come on, Clemont!" Bonnie called out, running after them with a smile. "I want to see what's going on!"

"Oh, do we have to run?" Clemont questioned, though running as best he could after them.

Vaniville Town

Serena was now clad in a pink riding jumpsuit and her long golden hair was tied back so as not to get into her face while she was riding. Speaking of riding, the family Rhyhorn was doing its best to buck and jump to get Serena off his back. This naturally made her scream.

"Close your mouth." Grace advised. "You don't want to bite your tongue. Remember, you must show your power. You must be strong in your conviction."

"Easy for you to say!" Serena exclaimed.

"I've competed in Rhyhorn races around the world, and you can do it to." Grace returned. "Just stay with it. Be one with the Rhyhorn!"

Not even a moment later, Rhyhorn managed to buck off Serena and send her face forward into the dirt.

Grace gave a slight sigh. "Or not…"

Serena looked up. "Mom, I hate this!"

Lumiose City

Riolu was keeping up with Froakie while Ash and Bonnie followed closely behind, and Clemont trailed behind them.

Upon the pokemon turning past a certain gate, Bonnie knew where they were going. "Hey. Froakie was leading us to the Sycamore Pokemon Lab!'

"Sycamore Pokemon Lab…" Ash's eyes went wide as he picked up the pace. "Oh crud, I lost track of time!" Bonnie looked his way, a bit confused. "I was supposed to be here sooner than this, but I got caught up in everything that happened!"

He ran on past the gate and inside after the pokemon. Bonnie was close behind while Clemont was still down the sidewalk, panting as he tried to keep up.

Sycamore Pokemon Lab

Gary sighed as he leaned against the wall with the regional professor, Sycamore, standing nearby. Professor Sycamore was a middle-aged man, with black, curly hair, bluish eyes, and some facial hair. He wore a blue shirt, lab coat, black trousers, and brown trainers.

"He certainly reminds me of those times I'd see Samuel in league battles." Sycamore smiled at Gary's impatience. "It has only been fifteen minutes over the time we were to meet."

"Fifteen minutes to long if you ask me." Gary retorted.

At that moment, Froakie rushed on past the pair.

"Do you typically have wild pokemon running into your lab like that?" Gary inquired.

"No, that's actually one of the starters I tend to hand out to new trainers." Sycamore voiced. "Though, the Froakie I'll potentially offer you is not that one. Thing is, while he always returns to the lab, he's usually not that energetic about it."

"Rio?" Riolu asked, looking around for Froakie.

"Hm, now that's not a pokemon I have in the lab." Sycamore noted.

"It can only mean one thing…" Gary began, stepping away from the wall.

As if on cue, Ash rushed into the lab yet wasn't looking around like Riolu. That ultimately resulted in him running into Gary, who maintained his footing while Ash fell on his butt.

Right behind him was Bonnie, who managed to come to a stop. "Ah, are you okay Ash?"

"He'd be better if he watched where he was going." Rather than Ash answering, Gary spoke up as he held out a hand to his downed rival. "Of course, Ashy-boy here wouldn't be in such a hurry if he weren't running late."

Ash glared at the offered hand, though still ended up taking it and letting himself be helped up. "I wasn't running just because I was late."

"Let me guess, you and Riolu were chasing after that Froakie." Gary voiced matter-of-factly, as he let go now that Ash was up.

"If you must know, Froakie ended up leading me here." Ash retorted.

Before Gary could continue, about to guess his rival hadn't even known he was running late, Sycamore interjected with a bit of surprise. "Are you saying Froakie willing led you here?"

Riolu nodded at that. "Rio!"

"Yeah." Ash smiled. "We had a great battle at a park not that far from here, and after I ended up treating him, Froakie wanted to lead me here." He nodded to his starter. "My Riolu here just ended up being the first to follow him is all."

Sycamore looked on with some amazement before Clemont finally entered the building, panting and collapsing to all fours.

"You're so slow!" Bonnie chided her brother.

Clemont looked up at everyone. "Where's Froakie?"

As if on que, a frubble impacted with the back of Ash's head, seeing him stumble forward slightly. Everyone then turned to the water starter, sitting there with a pokeball near him.

He ended up nudging the pokeball to Ash. "Froa."

"Well, how about that?" Sycamore smiled. "Looks like Froakie wants to go with you Ash."

"Froakie really choose Ash." Clemont voiced, amazed.

Bonnie smiled. "Aw, that's so sweet."

"Just what did Ashy-boy get up to?" Gary contemplated.

Ash crouched and picked up the pokeball before looking back at Sycamore. "You wouldn't object to me taking Froakie?"

"While you already have a starter, I see no harm in letting you have Froakie." Sycamore nodded. "That said, this Froakie is different. He has refused to listen to his trainer during battle, and there are times he's run away because he hasn't liked his trainer. Several have even returned him."

That stunned all those who were gathered.

"More than one trainer has returned this Froakie…" Gary voiced.

"Perhaps he was just waiting for a trainer like you, Ash." Sycamore smiled slightly.

"Still, Froakie has had a hard life." Bonnie voiced.

"I've heard rumors of starter pokemon being like that, but I never really believed them until now." Clemont added.

Ash smiled at Froakie. "Do you really want to come with us?"

"Froakie." Froakie declared before happily hitting the center of his pokeball and letting himself be sucked in.

"Heh, check that out Riolu." Ash smiled as he looked at his starter. "We just got our first Kalos pokemon."

Riolu nodded approvingly. "Rio."

"Riolu and Froakie, huh…" Gary smirked, since what those two evolved into cinched his choice of starter. "With Ashy-boy getting his starter, how about the guy who actually needs a pokemon getting one?"

"Of course." Sycamore nodded. "While Gary is the only one in need of a starter, I also have your respective starter kits ready." He looked at the siblings before smiling. "Of course, I have a hunch you're not here for a starter, but you two can certainly stick around."

"That'd be great." Clemont voiced.

"Yeah." Bonnie agreed. "I'd love to see more starters."

"Alright then." Sycamore stepped back while pulling out three pokeballs. "Everybody out!" He threw the three Kalos starters out. "Of course, you already know Froakie. New trainers may decide between one of them, Fenniken, and Chespin. Which will be your partner?"

"With what two pokemon Ashy-boy has, as well as what they may evolve into, there's really only one option." Gary smirked as he stepped up to the grass type and looked down on him. "Yo pal, what's say you and I take Kalos by storm?"

Ash and Clemont sweat dropped at Gary's attitude while the grass starter took a considerable amount of time to look over his new trainer.

Eventually, the little guy moved over to him with a nod. "Ches!"

"Alright, return you two." Sycamore smiled as he returned the remaining starters before handing Chespin's pokeball to Gary. "He's yours." The professor then took two pokedexs and ten pokeballs out of his lab coat before dividing them between the two boys.

"Additionally, I have five pokeballs for each of you along with a pokedex. Said pokedex will allow you to research, record, and store information on any pokemon you find. Additionally, it has information on all pokemon. Why don't both of you try them on the pokemon you have?"

Gary scanned his Chespin's pokeball:

Chespin, the Spiny Nut Pokémon. Chespin can flex the soft spikes on its head, making them so stiff and sharp, they can even pierce through stone.

Type: Grass

Ability: Overgrow

Sex: Male

Current Moves: Growl, Tackle, Vine Whip

"Sounds to me like this pokemon is right up my alley." Gary voiced.

"My turn!" Ash declared, turning to Riolu first. "Let's see what this has to say about you."

He scanned his starter:

Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu can understand how people and Pokémon feel by observing a kind of wave called aura.

Type: Fighting

Ability: Inner Focus

Sex: Male

Current Moves: Vacuum Wave, Endure, Quick Attack, Feint

"Next is Froakie." Ash declared, scanning his newly acquired pokemon:

Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. From its chest and back, Froakie creates bubbles called frubbles, which act as a cushion and soften the blow of an opponent's attack.

Type: Water

Ability: Torrent

Sex: Male

Current Moves: Growl, Pound, Water Gun

"It's official." Sycamore declared. "You are now able to set off on your journey with your partners into the world of pokemon." He smiled. "Of course, you don't have to leave right away. In fact, I welcome all of you to stick around if you'd like to know more about my research."

"There's only one thing I want before setting off." Gary pointed Chespin's pokeball at his rival. "As I told Ashy-boy upon leaving the plane, we got our pokemon, so it's time to have an actual battle."

Ash grinned as he looked at the professor. "Professor Sycamore, do you have an area where the two of us can battle?"

Sycamore smiled. "We can head on into my atrium where I house the pokemon my trainers catch." He started walking. "Right this way."

Gary followed him, with Ash following suit along with Clemont and Bonnie.

"With everything that happened, I didn't really get to question it, but who is that guy Ash?" Clemont asked.

"He's Gary Oak." Ash replied.

That caught Clemont's attention. "Professor Oak's grandson?"

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "While I learned under his grandfather, Gary learned under Professor Oak's assistants and from books. We've fought with each other even before learning under the same roof. After that point, the two of us became true rivals."

"So cool!" Bonnie marveled. "It's a genuine battle of rivals!"

Atrium

The atrium was full of all sorts of pokemon, with just a few being: Weedle, Combee, Azurill, Marill, Psyduck, and Helioptile. Bonnie immediately began happily playing with the pokemon.

"Whoa, this is something else." Ash noted.

It was different from the ranch back at Professor Oak's lab, yet similar byond finally seeing some pokemon common to the Kanto Region.

"You can do all the merrymaking you want after we've battled." Gary once again held out his Chespin's pokeball as he now stood a good distance from Ash. "Seeing as I only got the one pokemon, we'll go one on one."

"Of course." Ash smiled.

"Rio!" Riolu called out.

"Yeah." Ash nodded, knowing Riolu had been waiting for this. "I choose you, Riolu!"

Riolu moved to stand before Ash, ready to battle.

"I choose you, Chespin!" Gary called, sending out his starter.

"Looks like that's my cue." Sycamore stepped up as the ref. "This is a one-on-one pokemon battle, Riolu vs Chespin, with no time limit. You may begin the battle…now!"

Ash vs Gary

"Let's kick this off with a vacuum wave." Ash ordered.

"Chespin, prepare to hold steady before then striking with tackle." Gary instructed.

Chespin firmed his stance in the time it took Riolu to punch out the wave of fighting energy, resulting in him skidding back a few inches before pushing forward to slam into Riolu with as much force as possible. The fighting type managed to catch the ground and flip to his feet.

"We'll keep up the pressure with a quick attack." Ash commanded.

"Once again, hold steady before using vine whip." Gary ordered.

Chespin managed to firm his stance before Riolu came speeding right into his torso, landing a strong hit which had the grass type skidding back again. In return, Chespin then produced vines which he slammed into the opposing fighting type.

"Now, use your vines to restrict Riolu." Gary commanded.

"Riolu, use endure and plant your feet firmly before then spinning as fast as you can in one direction." Ash instructed.

As Chespin's vines snaked around the fighting type, he planted his feet while radiating normal energy. These two things combined saw Chespin unable to pull the emanation pokemon. In fact, the fighting type spinning rapidly actually saw him being pulled in.

"Chespin, get out of there!" Gary shouted.

"Riolu stop now and use quick attack at full power!" Ash shouted back.

With Chespin being reeled in, Riolu suddenly came to a stop before running full force into the spiny nut pokemon. The force of essentially being pulled into a speeding pokemon was enough to force the grass type to let go as he was flung into the trunk of a tree hard.

"Chespin?" Gary asked.

The spiny nut pokemon slid down the trunk before hitting the ground, unconscious.

Atrium

"This match is over." Sycamore declared. "Riolu is the winner."

"Whoa, Ash was able to even overcome Gary." Bonie voiced, impressed.

"It's likely those two have experience with the starters of Kanto." Clemont reasoned. "Given the starter trios of all the largest regions follow the fire, water, and grass triangle, despite differences biologically, Ash was still able to counter with a type they aren't as familiar with."

"You really are on a roll today Riolu!" Ash cheered.

"You gave it your best, but Ash is no pushover." Gary finally admitted as he returned his starter before proceeding to walk on, only to stop next to his rival. "Word of advice, you've proven you're ahead now Ash…"

Ash smiled at his rival. "I'd say so…"

"Say it all you like, but it won't stay that way." Gary walked on. "I promise you that."

He then walked through the atrium doors, intending now to take his leave for the nearest town with a gym. Not to mention having the intention of starting to catch pokemon to boot. He'd certainly be on the lookout for at least one other pokemon to counter Riolu or Froakie.

"Can't leave everything to Chespin alone in beating those two." Gary thought.

Gary was going to take Fenniken until Ash ended up getting Froakie. As Riolu and Froakie will eventually end up a Fighting/Steel type and a Water/Dark type, respectively, Chespins eventually Grass/Fighting typings is as perfect a counter to them both as you could get.

Bmv1993 (ch.1): Ash will work with a Charmander in another region.

Note: I will soon begin the process of moving, so likely expect the rapid pace these four chapters have come out in to slow considerably until such time as I am settled in.