A/N: Bit of a different story than I'm used to writing, but I had a sudden desire to write a Pokemon story, so here we are. Welcome to Pokemon Rivals: A Kanto Journey. This story aims to be a reimagining of the OG Pokemon Anime, with some major changes, which I will discuss here:

1. This story will not follow Ash, though he will be a recurring character, as Lucas, our main character, will be having his journey happening concurrently to Ash and Gary's

2. As this series (if you can't tell by the name of the story, there will be a book for every region) goes on, this series will proceed to get darker and more mature. This is because

3. The characters won't be 10 years old forever. A year will pass between regions, meaning they'll be 10 in Kanto, 11 in Johto, 12 in Hoenn and so on.

4. That being said, because they are 10 years old at this point in time, don't expect any shipping. That probably won't happen until either A Sinnoh Journey or A Unova Journey. There might be some crushes now and then, but don't expect any serious relationships until they're at least 14.

Listen to this while reading for the best experience: watch?v=rmhBxOQDWPg

Today was the day!

As 10 year old Lucas Knight leapt out of bed, he knew that this was the day that he'd get his very first Pokemon!

The small blonde boy knew exactly who he wanted, so he immediately got dressed, donning his lucky red baseball cap, kissed his mom goodbye, grabbed the bag of supplies she left him for his journey, and raced through the streets of Pallet Town.

He knew Gary would most likely get first pick, as his family lived closest to the lab, but that just meant that he'd have to pick whatever type that beat Gary's!

At least, that's what he thought he'd do.

He didn't expect Gary to actually wait for him.

"Took you long enough, Red!" Gary rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall of the lab as Lucas approached.

Red. A nickname he's had since he was 4 years old. Why? Because it was Lucas' favorite color. So much so that his clothing included a red sleeveless jacket, his red baseball cap and his red. In fact, the only things that weren't red were his blue jeans and the black t-shirt he was wearing under his jacket.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, we both know that you were just waiting so you could pick a Pokemon that had an advantage over mine." Lucas grinned. He, Gary and Ash had been close friends and rivals ever since they could talk. The trio were often inseparable, running around Pallet Town pretending to be one of the many champions. Sometimes it was Alder, other times one of them would pretend to be Lance or even Mustard before he retired.

"What? That's not... yeah that's totally accurate." Gary admitted with a laugh. "Come on, how can I let you be my rival if I make it easy on you?"

"Uh huh, it's totally not because you want the advantage. Definitely not." Lucas said with a sarcastic eye roll. It didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, after all.

"Do you at least know who you're gonna pick?" The professor's grandson asked his best friend.

"Yep" Lucas said, popping the p with a grin. "I've known for years who I wanted my partner Pokemon to be if I had the chance. Wait..." The blonde haired boy groaned. "Don't tell me Ash overslept again."

"If he did, it's his loss. You snooze, you lose." Gary said, folding his arms, but both boys were worried. Their other friend, Ash Ketchum, was looking forward to this just as much as they were. If Ash overslept and missed his chance to get a Pokemon...

"As much as I know you want to go get him, Luke, we might lose our chance to get a Pokemon too." Gary said, his hand on the blonde boy's shoulder. "Besides, maybe if we explain the situation to Gramps, he might set aside a Pokemon for Ash."

Lucas bit his lip, clearly indecisive before nodding in agreement. "Okay. Let's go see Professor Oak."

Music End

For this part of the story, listen to /watch?v=xQHHFaGdfnc for the best experience

As Lucas and Gary walked into the lab, they walked past a girl carrying her own Pokeball, noticing that there were only two left.

But that means... Lucas realized, looking to Gary, his own shock reflected in the boy's blue eyes.

"Oh it's you two! I was worried you would've been too late!" Professor Oak said with a smile, knowing that his grandson and his best friend had been counting the days to this very moment.

"Gramps... what about Ash? There's only 2 balls here... and Ash overslept." Gary asked quietly.

That gave the professor pause, but inside, he was beaming with pride. He had been worried that once he got his Pokemon, ego would go straight to the boy's head. Instead, he was more concerned with the fairness of his other friend getting a Pokemon too. However, Oak still didn't have anymore starters on hand. What to do... Maybe... No, that one was far too temperamental. Although, maybe someone like Ash was exactly what the little lightning rod needed. "I don't want you two to worry. I will make sure that Ash gets his partner as well. Now, why don't you two decide who's picking what."

The two boys smiled, walking up to their respective Pokeballs.

For Gary, he knew he would take whatever Mon had an advantage over Lucas'. Not because he wanted the easy win, but because he wanted Lucas to push himself to come up with new strategies. The stronger Lucas became, the stronger he became with him. It was simple.

For Lucas, it was obvious. He knew right from the beginning who he wanted his starter to be. Someone with a burning passion that could rival his own. As he picked up the Pokeball, it felt warm to the touch, as though it had been waiting for someone with a blazing heart to choose him. This was his start. His journey to become a Pokemon Master began right here.

Lucas took his stance, tightly gripping the crimson capture device in his hand as he cried out the words he knew even then he would remember fondly until the end of his days.

"Charmander, I choose you!"

So how did I do? As someone who normally is writing MHA fics, this is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I had that itch to try my hand at a new story to make sure I didn't burn myself out on Morphin Master. I'm going to try my best to alternate between this and the MHA fic, but hopefully you guys enjoyed this little tease into the story I have planned.

Full disclosure, I have no long this will take to write.

Also yes, Lucas is canonically Red in this universe