EDIT: Special thanks to Lay Down Hunter for pointing out some details that needed fixing.

This is in no way my first dabbling in fanfiction, but this is my first serious attempt at a story. If this story is like another one, it is completely coincidental. I formulated this in my brain while I lay awake one long night.

Before you start reading, here are some basic details about this story that may invite you to read more or turn you off.

1) Most obviously, Ash's starter will not be a Pikachu. He will also have different pokemon.

2) There will be five regions, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova.

3) Ash is going to go through the regions, but his traveling companions will change. Sometimes, he will be alone.

4) Lots of things will be different from the canon as is expected in an alternate universe. People will die. Nobody is safe.

5) Ash will be much smarter than his old self.

6) Elements from the game, the anime, and even the manga will be included (plot points, characters, events, etc).

7) Yes, there will be (maybe multiple) shippings involving Ash, but you'll have to wait a while. I plan on little ten year old Ash having crushes, but only getting into a serious relationship much later. And even if there is a serious relationship, it could always end, be it death or any other thing that ends relationships.

That will be all for now. There is another author's note at the end of this chapter. Also, starting next chapter, I will be posting the ages of the characters to avoid confusion.

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

The Wanderer

Prologue

"Listen up, son," a dark haired trainer said, stroking a small child's spiky hair, "daddy's going to go away for a while."

"How long are you going to be gone?" his son questioned, hugging his father's broad chest tightly with his small hands.

The older man stared into the distance, watching as the setting sun threw the sky into a beautiful explosion of color. "To be honest, Ash, I don't know."

His son blinked, eyes fiery red just like his father. However, the similarities didn't end there. Both son and father had black, untamable hair. Both had a distinct love for pokemon. Both were going to miss each other dearly when the father left.

Ash's father stood up, his joints cracking from the movement. In a blink, a stream of red light flowed from an enlarged pokeball that he had been toying with for sometime to reveal a monster of a pokemon; a large, red draconian terror that Ash was all to familiar with.

"Charizard," the child breathed, watching the powerful pokemon's muscles ripple as it beat its wings, unleashing a ground shaking roar that nearly burst Ash's eardrums. The pokemon had an incredibly large ego, only bowing down to its master and absolutely no one else. Ash learned this fact the hard way.

A small growl of affection came from the pokemon as the man hopped on top of it, years of experience telling him that there was no need for a saddle of some sort. With a slight pat on the side of Charizard's head, the beast unleashed a large, golden plume of flame that stretched far into the now dark sky, a grandiose show of sheer power and control.

"When you are older," the man began, finding the words hard to say through a constricting throat, "when you have your own pokemon team…"

He kicked the sides of the Charizard with his heels, sending it flying into the air effortlessly, and turned it around, so that he could look at his son for one last time in a long while.

"Find me at the top of the world."

– Ω –

Ash awoke suddenly, feeling the warm streams of sunlight pouring over him. His pulse was thundering in his head, and sweat coated his palms.

This was a reoccurring nightmare of the day his father left the family. At the time, Ash was too young and merely thought that his dad was going on a business trip or a tour around the island battling trainers, but apparently his motives were a lot darker.

Two days after Ash's seventh birthday, his father, the Champion from Pallet Town, disappeared without a trace, taking only six pokemon with him. But those six pokemon were, arguably, the most powerful pokemon in the entire region of Kanto. After all, they did beat Lance in a six-on-six battle.

Ash knew the story all too well, how his Epseon, Snorlax, Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise fought to the bitter end against the dragon trainer's viscous pokemon only to be defeated when a Dragonair accidentally evolved into a Dragonite, bringing Lance's grand total of the dragon pokemon up to three. With only one pokemon left, his father sent in his famed Pikachu and it singlehandedly took down a pair of Dragonite to deliver the match to its friend and master.

Ever since then, Ash wanted a Pikachu as his starter. He wanted to be just like his father, the man known to the world as Red.

It was surprising, to a lot of people, that the lauded trainer would settle down in such a small, sleepy town and have a son, no less. But whenever one laid their eyes on Ash, there was no doubt that the boy was the legendary Red's son. He was the spitting image of his father.

Ash shook away his feelings of unease, taking his time getting dressed. He took a long shower, the last in a long time, he knew, and put on black cargo pants with a red and white outdoors shirt. Then he slipped on his fingerless gloves and put on his Pokemon League hat, which took millions of sent postcards to get, but even that troublesome affair couldn't wipe off the smile on Ash's. Today was the day that he received his starter from Professor Oak. He had been waiting for this day ever since his father filled his mind with the heroic tales of Pokemon, and finally, after turning ten two days ago, his dreams of becoming the very best, a Pokemon Master, would finally be realized.

He strolled downstairs, noticing that his mother was either out or not awake yet. The soon to be trainer took a quick glance at the clock in the microwave, 12:32, and was about to prepare a meal when something clicked in his mind.

Professor Oak was giving out the Pokemon at 11:00.

An odd, strangled sort of scream tore its way out of Ash's mouth. The Professor's lab was two miles away.

Before his mother could ask him to shut his mouth in order to prevent flies from flying in, Ash had taken off faster than she had ever seen him and ran all the way, in record time, to the lab.

The area around the lab was completely deserted by the time Ash had gotten there. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, Ash didn't know. Sweat trickled down his face like a lazy waterfall, and the boy all but kicked open the door to the building.

"Professor Oak!" Ash yelled, dashing forward towards the researcher.

Said man turned around in shock, eyeing the sweaty kid with a warm smile. "Hello, Ash. What can I do for you today?" But in the back of his mind, the man felt nothing but worry as he predicted the next few words that would come out of the little boy's mouth.

A grin splitting his face, Ash responded with, "I want to become a Pokemon Trainer!"

Oak nodded grimly and led the young boy to a large computer, where he had Ash input some data for his trainer's license. Then, in an attempt to stall as much as possible, the professor gave him a Pokedex, going into great detail about how the device work and such.

"Yeah, yeah," Ash dismissed with a wave of his hand, "you know, it's not like I haven't been doing fieldwork for you during the past three years. Let's get to the good part!"

Normally the boy was a lot calmer and logical, Oak noticed. The man could only hope that the child could handle disappointment well. If only he didn't ask for a –

"Professor, can I have a Pikachu as my starter?" the boy asked, his tone barely suppressing the excitement in his veins.

Damn it. "Ah, yes, I would love to give you a Pikachu – "

Ash cheered loudly, pumping his fist into the air, and started galloping around the otherwise silent building. "I knew it! Thanks so much, Oak – erh, I mean Professor Oak! Is it the wild Pikachu that I helped catch for you last week?"

"Uh…" the professor was thinking of how to deliver this in a subtle, sympathetic – "no."

Oh no, Oak thought glumly, observing Ash's demeanor quickly fall, that didn't come out right. He could see panic and surprise written all over the young boy's face.

"No?" Ash asked, his voice a lot quieter than before.

Staying silent for a moment, Professor Oak pondered how to deliver the news to the little boy. "I gave away that Pikachu an hour ago."

"What."

Oak could see the fire in the boy's eyes. He really was his father's son. "But…" he quickly turned around and spotted something on the table, "you can have this!"

He handed Ash the pokeball, which the latter stared at with unbelieving eyes. It was an empty pokeball. Not even a Charmander, a Squirtle, or even a freaking Bulbasaur.

There was a hollow feeling inside him. Then –

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry Ash," the professor apologized, scared by the child's sudden outburst.

Anger swirled through his veins. Ash's grip on the pokeball was so harsh that his knuckles were turning white. It wasn't even a special pokeball. It was the most basic one, the famous (yet cheap) red and white pokeball.

"There has to be another pokemon around here," Ash stated, managing to keep his boiling anger under a lid. It was impressive for the young kid to keep his temper in check, but it was extremely volatile and explosive. Oak knew that fact all too well. He had observed it within Ash's father as well.

"Well, there's a Charizard and a Blastoise out back for study, but – "

"Please, let me have one," Ash all but begged, a desperate look filling his crimson eyes.

The professor sighed sadly. "I would, Ash, but you're just too inexperienced to handle the pokemon."

Ash recoiled as if he was bit by a Fearow, disbelief replacing the desperate look. Through gritted teeth, Ash all but snarled out his last words. "Is that what this is all about? After all the funds my dad gave for your research, after all of the fieldwork that I've done for you… this, this pokeball, is the best thing you've got for me?"

"I'm sorry, Ash."

Oak stared at the kid with sadness and pity in his eyes, pity that Ash loathed. "I'll tell you what, Oak," he continued, his voice steely with a maturity beyond his years, "I'm going to go out into the wilderness. I'm going to catch myself a pokemon or die trying, and then I swear on Arceus above that I am going to follow my father's footsteps and return to Pallet Town a champion, and then you can say your lies and apologies!"

Without another word, Ash walked out of the building despite of the professor's protests. He ignored the stares of people walking by, whispers and gossip about the son of the legend, and Ash grew sick of it all – sick of the lies, sick of the pity, sick of humans in general.

With a beep, his Pokegear notified him of his mother calling him. Suddenly, his anger subdued a little bit and remained dormant. He had to say goodbye before embarking on his journey.

"Hi mom."

"Ash!" Even through his phone, Ash could tell the worry in her tone. "Professor Oak told me everything that happened. Please, come home. You'll get hurt out there without pokemon to protect you."

"Mom, I'll be fine," he tried to persuade her.

"No you won't be! There are so many things out there that can hurt you and you don't have the experience to handle them! There are vast migrations of new pokemon from other regions and I don't – " At this comment, anger flared in his heart.

"I love you, mom."

"Ash, no – " click.

Immediately, the Pokegear rang again. Annoyance, bubbling like a spring in his stomach, caused him to decline the call. Soon after that, another call followed, and Ash, his judgment tainted by his anger and fury, blocked his mother's number.

A Pokemon Master didn't need babying, after all.

His decision was firm. The only people he truly knew or cared about in his life left him, betrayed him, or revealed themselves to be a major asshole, like Gary. Ash couldn't even believe that he had been friends with that kid. His own mother and Professor Oak did nothing but try and stop him from achieving his dream. The girl named May that he liked decided to leave town when he was nine.

Nothing was going to stop him from becoming a Pokemon Master.

– Ω –

Ash had been trekking through the wilderness for some time now, wandering aimlessly along Route 1 on the road to Viridian City.

Along the way, Ash spotted the usual pokemon in the area, like the Pidgey and the Rattata, but a few new faces greeted him as well. He found himself documenting all the new pokemon that he came across with his Pokedex, a habit he picked up while studying under Professor Oak.

Oak. The name left a bitter feeling in his tongue.

Most of the pokemon just watched him saunter by, not really bothering to acknowledge him in some way. The pokemon on Route 1 were peaceful and used to the presence of humans, so Ash didn't find himself being viciously attacked by a flock of Fearow.

After walking by a pokemon from the Hoenn region, a Poochyena, according to his Pokedex, Ash found himself lost. The grassy flatlands of Route 1 suddenly became hilly terrain, and Ash was traversing a flat valley in between the hills. He checked his Pokegear's map only to find that there wasn't a signal.

The gravity of the situation struck him, and Ash forced himself to remain calm. He turned around and spotted a scar running through the hills back to some flat ground, which he assumed was the way he came. Without panicking, Ash observed pokemon above him on the fifty-foot cliffs surrounding him as he continued back towards Route 1.

His father gave him a lot of advice on pokemon ever since Ash was a little boy. Ash had hung onto every word his old man said, ranging from type advantages to pokemon abilities to his father's theory on training pokemon and even to wilderness survival skills.

This must be a shortcut to some other route, Ash mused, taking note of the canyon that he was walking in. The walls were pretty far from each other, around twenty feet or so, and the ground was littered with rocks and dry bushes.

Without really paying attention, Ash accidentally stepped on a boulder. Although, the problem was that it really wasn't a boulder.

A girly scream escaped from Ash's mouth when a Geodude emerged from its hiding spot, cracking its rock fingers menacingly. There was moss growing on its face and an evil smirk emerged, as if the pokemon was wondering what type of torture it could put Ash through before killing him.

"Easy does it," Ash gently murmured, remembering how to handle wild pokemon. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

Ash slowly inched its way around the pokemon, watching for any sudden movements. He knew that if he started sprinting away, the pokemon would no doubt get spooked and attack him. The plan was working out well, that is, until Ash bumped into another rock.

You have got to be kidding me, the boy thought as he watched a Graveler emerge from the ground. Startled, Ash wondered if every single rock was a pokemon, and, based on his luck, Ash wouldn't be surprised if they were. The dual type pokemon grabbed Ash with two of its four hands and punched him in the gut with the other, smiling the entire time as if it was imagining how Ash would taste.

More and more rock pokemon emerged from the ground, all apparently awakened from their slumber. He was greeted with even more malicious smiles as the Geodudes and Gravelers cracked their joints. It was only then that Ash realized that there were human bones smashed underneath from where the pokemon emerged.

Not even a day into his journey, and Ash was already going to die. Wonderful.

Before death, some people felt fear, the cold, icy sensation coupled with a nauseating epiphany that their life was over. But Ash felt skeptical. There was no way that his journey was going to end right now. I am going to find a way out of this, he promised to himself through the pain.

CAAAAAAW! There was the massive cry of a predator high above.

He stared upwards, to where there were pokemon watching him before. But all he could see was a massive bird creature soaring to the heavens, its rainbow feathers leaving behind a trail of glittering gold as it disappeared from sight.

Ash gulped. The boy knew a legendary when he saw one. If he died, at least he saw a legendary pokemon. As the remaining Geodudes advanced upon him, Ash shut his eyes, awaiting the imminent pain, when suddenly –

"Baaaaaaagon!"

He stared upwards, startled once again, but this time for a whole other reason. A golden pokemon had flung itself off of the fifty-foot cliff, sailing downwards head first to a distinct suicide. Strangely, the Geodudes panicked, scurrying off into Arceus-knows-where. The few brave ones had their gazes fixed upon the strange pokemon, who was flapping its arms as if it could fly, still screaming as it plunged headfirst towards a Geodude.

The second the pokemon collided with the Geodude, the rock type all but crumbled, leaving nothing but a swirling trail of dust that was blown away by the winds channeled into the canyon. The small pokemon emerged from the dust, victorious, slighty dazed as well, but somehow, miraculously still alive.

The Geodude's friends gazed at the intruder before charging it, but they stood no chance. The pokemon's head was harder than steel and pummeled the Geodude to dust as if this was naught but a training session. Instantly, he felt the Graveler behind him release its grip as the dual type pokemon focused in on Ash's savior.

However, the little pokemon had just finished devastating a Geodude with a powerful headbutt attack of some sort and wasn't paying attention to the Graveler. It fired a powerful stream of rocks at the little pokemon and was rewarded with a direct hit and a squeal of surprise and pain.

Instantly, before his mind could think, Ash's body moved to intercept the Graveler before it could to any more damage to the other pokemon. He tackled the unsuspecting rock type to the ground only to be compensated for his troubles with a rock hard fist to the face, sending the young boy sprawling backwards. Ash staggered to his feet, already feeling woozy from the blow to the head. Luckily, the Graveler hadn't been able to put all of its power into the blow; otherwise, Ash would not be standing up right now. With the groveler's attention on him, the rock pokemon failed to realize the incoming attack before it was too late, getting blind sighted by an iron dome of pain.

The Graveler whirled on the smaller pokemon and slammed his feet into the ground, forcing some rocks to fly up. With a swipe of its hand, the large group of rocks flew out the tiny pokemon, cutting its small abdomen into crisscrosses of red, blood pooling from the pokemon's wounds.

With a mighty shout, Ash charged the Graveler again, only to be picked up and thrown into the cliff wall painfully. The Graveler was preoccupied before, so the throw wasn't as agonizing – it still hurt a damn lot, though – as it should have been. The rock pokemon slammed his feet into the ground once again, devastatingly sharp rocks flying into the air, and was about to swipe them at Ash when –

A large, draconian roar thundered through the canyon. A magnificent beam of dragon energy slammed into the Graveler, sending the pokemon flying. The dual type hit the ground hard enough to leave an imprint, and one look told Ash that it had fainted. He stood up from where he had ungracefully slumped against the ground, focusing his gaze on the small pokemon that saved him.

The pokemon was a bipedal creature with gold and black skin. It had a hard, black dome and a black underbelly as well, which was covered in cuts and bruises. While obviously strong, the pokemon took some damage against the much more experienced and powerful Graveler, and with the massive free-fall headbutt, Ash could safely say that the pokemon needed medical attention. But then again, so did Ash. Judging by how stiff his chest felt after the Graveler's attack, it was safe to say the he had a bruised rib, maybe even broken.

Should I save myself or risk it and save the pokemon as well? Ash thought, staring at the creature. It returned the gaze and blinked at him thoughtfully, as if evaluating him. After noting the large bruises and cuts already on the pokemon's body, Ash's decision was instantaneous.

"Come on, little guy," Ash muttered, earning a pair of narrowed eyes from the pokemon. "Uh, I meant girl. Sorry. I'm going to get you to a Pokemon Center."

He scooped the little thing up into his arms, feeling the cold, reptilian skin gently prick his hands. The small pokemon's eyes grew wide and pointed at something behind Ash. Turning around, Ash gave a yelp and cursed some words ten year old boys shouldn't know.

There was a miniature army of Geodudes and Gravelers staring right at them, blocking the exit to Route 1. So really, there was only one other option left.

Ash ran. He ran wherever there weren't living rocks trying to kill him, occasionally following the direction of the stubby little arms from the pokemon curled up in his chest, pointing towards the exit to the valley. All the while, painful rock attacks kept smashing into his back, tearing up his clothes and skin as he shielded the smaller pokemon in his chest.

The space between the cliffs grew narrower and narrower, and Ash could've sworn that he saw the lights of Viridian City. That propelled him to run faster, the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he finally escaped the valley and was back onto Route 1. Ash was about to celebrate when he suddenly hit a person on a bike and sent it flying into the river. Ha, lucky him, the owner was a girl and somehow ended on top of him.

Ash had a glance of furious green eyes before he was succumbed to darkness.

– Ω –

Wisps of ice cream, pokemon, and memories drifted by until Ash suddenly bolted upright, ripping something out of his arm painfully and hopped out of the bed, eyes wide with fear at the unfamiliar surroundings…

… that is, until he realized he was in a hospital ward. And that there was a furious, orange haired girl screaming insults rapid fire after him. Talk about a massive headache.

"Alright, I get it!" Ash snapped, startling the angry girl into silence. "I'm sorry for wrecking your bike. Now where is that pokemon that I came with?"

Flabbergasted, the girl opened her mouth and closed it, somewhat resembling a fish. "You're sorry… you're sorry? IS THAT WHAT YOU SAY TO THE PERSON WHO SAVED YOUR LIFE!?"

This time it was Ash's turn to be stunned to silence. That temper was legendary. The girl scratched the back of her neck and gave him a sheepish smile. "Your pokemon healed before you did. You guys are lucky that we were so close to Viridian."

Ash grabbed his backpack and sprinted out of the room with the girl hot on his heels. "Hey! The doctor said that you aren't allowed to get up for another day!"

Forget that, Ash thought, determined. I'm finding that pokemon. "What's your name again?"

"Misty!" the girl shouted. Ash responded with a nod.

"Your pokemon is really loyal, by the way," the girl muttered, easily keeping up with the running boy. "It's waiting for you outside."

"It's not my pokemon," Ash informed, slightly panting from the sudden surge of exercise. "It's a wild pokemon, not from Kanto, though."

"Oh yeah!" Misty suddenly yelled, and Ash flinched from her passionate outburst. "I remember seeing stuff about that on TV. There are mass pokemon migrations throughout the world. Pokemon from as far as Sinnoh have been spotted here."

"Cool, my mom told me about that," Ash revealed, a slight tone of contempt seeping into his voice at the mention of his mom.

He burst out of the Pokemon Center with the girl still on his heels and immediately spotted the gold and black pokemon sitting underneath a tree. Immediately, it gave a squeal of delight – "Bagon!" – and crashed into Ash, sending the two sprawling on impact. With the wind knocked out of him, Ash got back up and trembling legs, noticing the pokemon wrapping its stubby little arms around his leg, eyes peering up at him with obvious intelligence.

Ash heard the girl take a deep breath. "Wow, I've never seen anything like it."

Pulling out his Pokedex, Ash responded with, "Neither have I, but we'll find out soon enough."

He scanned the pokemon, and a ding from the device told the two that it had identified the pokemon.

"Bagon, the Dragon Pokemon, is a native of Hoenn and a Dragon type pokemon," the electronic device read. Ash was already trembling in excitement. It was a real dragon pokemon.

"Bagon has a dream of one day soaring in the sky. In doomed efforts to fly, this Pokémon hurls itself off cliffs. As a result of its dives, its head has grown tough and as hard as tempered steel. Although it is small, this Pokémon is very powerful because its body is a bundle of muscles. It launches headbutts with its ironlike skull." With a click, the device signaled that its speech was over.

"Wait, this Bagon looks nothing like the one in the Pokedex," Misty observed, looking back and forth. "That one is blue, yet this one is – "

"It's a shiny Bagon from the Hoenn region… in Kanto!" Ash breathed, marveling at his good luck. "I've heard of them before. These pokemon are rarer than rare! And to think that it's shiny, too. Someone pinch me, please."

"Obliged," Misty grinned, pinching his arm with her long nails. Ash yelped in surprise, glaring at the girl before redirecting his attention back to the affectionate shiny Bagon.

Gently prying the pokemon's arms off of him, Ash knelt down and pulled out a pokeball. The Bagon stared at the object before returning its gaze to Ash, pointing at the ball inquisitively.

"This is a pokeball," Ash told the pokemon, not sure if it could understand human speech but not really caring either. "It holds pokemon like you. If you'd like, because I really, really want you to, you can join my team of pokemon and we can be friends forever as we rise to become the very best. You'll be known as the greatest dragon pokemon ever, I promise you that. Better than even Lance's dragons. I'll dedicate everything into making sure that you become a legend amongst your kind… so all you have to do is tap this little white circle.

"There will be hardship and rough roads ahead. I can't promise you a pain free life. But I have a feeling that you don't really care because you, without needing any good reason to, saved me when I was about to die. It'd be an honor to – "

Ash was cut off of his long speech when the Bagon clicked the little white circle and was immediately sucked into the pokeball by a red light. It dinged instantly, showing a willing capture, and Ash pumped his fist in excitement, letting loose a cry of victory.

Quickly, Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned the ball, checking Bagon's move set. He was incredibly surprised and impressed: Crunch, Dragon Breath, Ember, and Zen Headbutt. A grin nearly split his face in half.

"Well, that was an impressive speech back there," Misty said sarcastically, breaking the silence.

Ash ignored her stab at him. "This is my first pokemon…" He clutched the ball tightly to his chest before shrinking it and clipping it to his belt.

"A Bagon as a starter?" Misty sounded skeptical. "I doubt you have the experience for that. Do you even know what it evolves into?"

"Yeah, a Salamence," Ash retorted, anger suddenly flooding his mind. "And I am perfectly able to handle it, thank you very much."

Annoyed by his snappy retort, Misty fired back. "Who do you think you are? The Champion of Kanto?"

Ash laughed at the irony of it all. No, but I am his son. "I'm Ash Ketchum. Who are you?"

"Misty Waterflower," she introduced, including a mocking bow, "ex-leader of the Cerulean Gym. Ketchum, the name sounds familiar."

Although Ash didn't want to admit it, her persona was impressive. Misty didn't look that old. At most, she was eleven. And yet, even at her young age, she managed to snag the position of Gym Leader. "Try Red Ketchum."

"Red?" Misty sounded scandalized. "How can you be the son of Red?"

Ash grit his teeth, a fire dangerously swirling in his eyes. "Wow, if you were any more blunt you'd be a – "

Misty interrupted his awesome comeback by grabbing the shorter boy by the front of his shirt. "I saved you from bleeding out in the freaking ground and hauled your nearly-dead-butt all the way to Viridian just to find out that you're a total jerk! And to think that I was going to ask you to be my traveling partner…"

The fire was quenched. Ash's voice was soft. "Traveling partner…?"

"Yeah," she huffed, turning away, "traveling partner. I must've been delusional to think that you would've made a good traveling partner."

Ash was at a loss of words. "Actually… I'd love to be your traveling partner."

Misty stared at him blankly, a blush coming over her face. Ash didn't notice it. "W-What?"

"You heard me," Ash stated, firmer in his words this time. "You seem like a nice person, even under all that snappiness, and that temper of yours… well, it almost rivals mine. It'd be better and safer if we traveled together. What do you say?"

Ash was surprised at his own boldness, but studying Misty's reaction, Ash agreed in his own choice. She was a Gym Leader. She knew her stuff. She was also pretty, in a tomboyish way, plus, it would get lonely on the road. More and more, Ash found himself hoping that she'd say yes. Heat flushed his cheeks red. Maybe it was the fact that he had been standing outside even though he should be resting in a hospital bed and the trauma was getting to him. Yeah, that was it.

Silence.

…

…

…

"… no."

"What."

"You h-heard me," Misty repeated, her voice shaky. "No."

"I'll pay back your bike," the boy said, desperate, "and I'm sorry for all those things I said earlier or whatever I did to tick you off."

The girl with green eyes took a deep, shuddering breath, biting her pink lips. "I think someone like you would slow me down."

Someone like you… someone like you…

The words repeated themselves in his head, taunting him. He wasn't good enough. Where Ash expected anger came only sadness, and a huge, gaping hole of rejection in forming in his chest. The icy cold of realization numbed his limbs as it ultimately dawned on him that he simply wasn't good enough.

That's why his mother and Oak wanted to stop him from his journey. That's why this random girl he'd just met would reject his offer. He simply wasn't good enough. He was only a meager shadow of what his father had been.

Tears were about to well up in his eyes when something clicked in place.

Where disappointment was, determination's fiery presence burned instead. He'd show them. He'd show everyone that he was good enough, that they'd regret ever saying those words to him. His dream of becoming the very best was not lost; no, it was only strengthened.

Without looking once at the girl, Ash took off, once again running away from everything. The only difference between this and Pallet Town was that he had Bagon by his side, resting up in a pokeball. Convinced that this was the only way to go, Ash took off into the wilderness, not hearing the cries from Misty asking for his Pokegear number.

Suddenly, his medicine or something wore off, and pain struck him like a freight train. Ash stumbled forwards, grabbing onto a tree to hold himself up. He felt like he had to vomit, and his head was bursting with fever. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to run into the wilderness, after all, the doctor had said that he shouldn't be up until tomorrow.

Going back is not an option, Ash decided, his vision blurring. His gut instinct told him, besides throwing up, to continue forwards. He'd have to toughen it out, and although Ash wasn't exactly in the best shape of his life, nor was he the pinnacle of human strength, the boy trudged onwards, never looking back.

It was this that sent events sprawling out of control. It was the actions of a few people that set fire to Ash's heart. He would rise above them all and eventually grow to overshadow even his father, becoming the very first Pokemon Master the world has ever seen.

But for now, a lonely little boy wandered the forest with nothing but a Bagon by his side.

Hello again ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this prologue. The next chapter will be a time skip and introduce new characters into the story.

If you liked it, follow it. If you loved it, favorite it. Please drop a review and let me know what you like, what you dislike, and what you'd like to see in the future.

Have a nice day.