Uwah, sorry for starting yet another story before finishing all the others! This has just been bouncing around my head for some time, and I wanted to share it with you all, since I was granted a break from life for the day! I even smashed chapters 1 and 2 together for you, so I don't have two really short chapters!

So, now we begin the story of our very own Ludwig Beilschmidt, as he begins his Pokemon journey!

Just a little warning, I am trying to reconcile this with "reality", so the fighting will be a little less... nice than what it is in the show. Ludwig will probably seem a little darker at first. I hope you enjoy!

Also, at the beginning of each "section" will be a little memo concerning the main characters and their current party and the levels of their pokemon. I'm trying to keep this as similar to the games as possible without making it like a game, if that makes sense...

Luddy,

What's up, little bruder? Happy birthday! You're already 17, huh? Man, the time sure flies! I can't believe that I haven't seen you or gramps in two years. I tell you, this Police Academy sure is tough! Of course, your awesome bro owned them all!

I hear gramps is finally letting you go off on your own adventure. Lucky! I had to wait until I was 18 before I joined the Police Academy. At least my training is finally complete. You're related to one of the defenders of peace of Kanto!

Man, that sounds so cool!

Anyway, good luck with your journey! Keep safe. When you have the time, stop by Celadon and visit me. Can't wait to see how much you've grown these past 2 years! Make me proud!

Say 'hallo' to gramps for me, 'kay? See you soon!

Your most awesome big bruder,

Gil

Ludwig sighed. Despite the brevity of the note, Gilbert still managed to fill the paper with an overwhelming amount of hubris. And he called Ludwig 'Luddy' again, no matter how many times the younger brother begged him not to.

Still, it was always nice to get a letter from Gilbert, especially since it had been a couple years since they last met. For a birthday letter, it was rather nice, and he intended to make Gilbert just as proud as he told Ludwig to make him.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, making Ludwig look up from the paper. "Ludwig, it's almost time," his grandfather said through the door. "Although I doubt that carefree idiot will even be there for another hour," the man added in an annoyed murmur, unaware that Ludwig could hear him clearly.

"Ja, Großvater. Just one minute," he called back.

He dropped the letter onto his small night-table, next to his immaculately tidy bed. The sheets were pressed and tucked so tightly that it was a wonder that anyone had been underneath them until just a couple hours ago. That was the way Ludwig liked his bed to look, as clean as the rest of his room. In fact, it bothered him greatly when even a single book was misplaced. It was almost an obsession, according to Gilbert, whose room was always a disaster, littered with beer cans and dirty magazines.

Ludwig turned to his mirror to inspect his appearance. He knew that once his journey got going, he wouldn't be able to keep up his tidy image, but it was the least he could do to start out that way. His blond hair was slicked back, his blue eyes sharp and ready. He wore practical clothes—jeans and a long black shirt.

Satisfied, he scooped up his backpack and left the room after one final look into the place that he would not see for a very long time. He went downstairs, where his grandfather was busy at the stove. Ludwig's mouth watered as the smell of wurst filled the air. That was another thing he wouldn't have for a very long time.

His grandfather turned to look at him, his blue eyes strikingly similar to Ludwig's, and just as serious. The old man's long blond hair was tied back, and he wore a ridiculously frilly pink apron (a gift from his long-time friend, Professor Vargas). Ludwig had to force back a chuckle at the sight.

"Be careful, ja?" he said. It wasn't as apparent at first, but Ludwig could detect the slightest furrow of his grandfather's eyebrows in worry.

Ludwig nodded, with a small, reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. You taught me and bruder well," he replied.

That made his grandfather smile a bit. "Ja, you've grown up very strong, just like your father. So has Gilbert, although I believe it has gotten to his head a tad," he said.

Ludwig couldn't suppress a chuckle this time. That was the understatement of the year. He looked up at the clock. It was five minutes until he was supposed to show up at the lab. Ludwig was a punctual man.

"I have to go now. Bye, Großvater. Please take care," Ludwig said.

His grandfather didn't say anything in response, only held out some wurst wrapped in a paper towel. When Ludwig took the food gratefully, he gave the boy a terse nod.

"Take care, my boy."

Ludwig smiled at the man who had taken care of him and Gilbert since they were toddlers. "Danke, I will."

It was with mixed feelings that Ludwig left that house. He looked up at the humble, two-story building as the door shut behind him. Ever since he could remember, he had lived in this house, in the quiet village of Pallet Town. As fond as he was of his home, Ludwig had always felt the pressing need to go out and explore, admiring the strong spirit of his older brother as Gilbert daringly snuck out of the village, wrestling with the petty pokémon just outside the town. Ludwig had lost count of the amount of times Gilbert wound up coming home, scratched and bruised, but grinning wildly. Their grandfather was furious every time Gilbert did so, giving both boys a lecture about the importance of having a pokémon to keep them safe.

That didn't stop Gilbert from sneaking out, however.

Ludwig sighed and turned away from the house. No use in reminiscing now, before he even started his journey. It would only depress him and make him doubt himself. So he stood erect, his chin thrust forward, and made his way to Professor Vargas's lab.

"Hallo, I'm here, Professor Vargas," Ludwig greeted as he opened the door.

He was immediately hit by a wave of sound that made him take a step back. All types of pokémon cries assaulted his ears, mixed with human shouts. What the hell was going on in there?

"Hurry! Come in and close the door before they all get out!" one of Professor Vargas's female assistants cried.

Ludwig shuffled into the chaotic lab, just in time to stop a pidgey from making its escape. He held the bird away from him as it began to wiggle around in his grasp, pecking at every inch of available skin. Taking quick, purposeful strides, he pushed the tiny pokémon into one of the many empty, open cages in the lab.

It appeared that somehow, the pokémon kept in the lab had escaped their cages, and were now running amok in the research facility. The various assistants dashed about frantically, some with nets, trying to capture all the pokémon. Papers were scattered over the floor and books were knocked from their shelves and trampled by the escapees.

Ludwig joined the efforts to recapture the pokémon, and gradually they were all returned to their proper cages. Then he helped return the research notes to their respective places, although he couldn't do much about the damaged pieces.

An older man, Professor Vargas, sighed in relief. "Ah man, I thought all our research would be destroyed for sure. Grazie, Luddy~!" he said, laughing carelessly.

Ludwig groaned. Yes, Professor Vargas was a great man, famous for his research on pokémon, but he was a bit of an idiot. And he called him 'Luddy', like Gilbert did.

"Ja, ja, no problem, but how did all the pokémon break out of their cages anyway?" he asked, looking around the now-clean building.

The question made Professor Vargas laugh nervously. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, failing in his half-hearted attempt at smoothing down the various kinks. "Well, I accidentally fell asleep while studying the anatomy of rattata, and I suppose I kinda hit the 'Open all Cages' button," he admitted.

Ludwig gave the man a blank stare. Weren't people supposed to get wiser with age? Professor Vargas single-handedly destroyed that stereotype. "Why do you have a button like that?" he asked.

The professor shrugged. "Just in case I ever decide to free all the pokémon at once. I don't want to have to go to every individual cage and open them one-by-one," he said.

The reason was so irresponsible, so idiotic, and so unlikely that Ludwig was momentarily struck speechless. He couldn't believe a world-renowned scientist would make such a stupid device that he'd probably never use.

Professor Vargas took advantage of Ludwig's inability to speak. He gave another nervous laugh and changed the subject. "So, you're here for a pokémon, right?"

Ludwig gratefully went along with the switch. He nodded, setting his jaw in steely determination. "Ja."

The two went into the back room, where the professor kept the pokémon that were ready to be given to new trainers from Pallet Town. Professor Vargas quickly explained each of the pokémon while he led Ludwig to a container holding three red-and-white capsules.

"Right now, I have three pokémon. You may choose any one of them. This one…" He pulled out the spherical capsule with a leaf marking. "…is called a bulbasaur. He is a grass type. You won't have any trouble raising him. And this one…" Putting the ball back, he pulled out one with a flame-shaped marking. "…is a charmander. She is a fire type. I'd be careful if you choose this one. She's got quite a temper, which will only get worse as she grows and evolves, but I think you should be able to handle her." He placed the ball back and pulled out the final one, with a blue teardrop marking. "This one is a squirtle, a water type. It's difficult to pin down his personality. One minute, he's mischievous and making all kinds of trouble, and the next he's taking care of the other pokémon." The professor shrugged, putting the ball back with the others.

"Anyway, go ahead and choose the one you want. I'm not worried about you raising whichever to their full potential, if you're your father's kid."

Ludwig flushed a bit, proud to be called his father's son, even if he had never known the man. He looked over the capsules with a critical eye. This was the first decision of his pokémon journey, and he refused to make it a bad one.

Finally, he chose the charmander. He picked up the ball. It felt warm, as if the creature inside was actually radiating heat strong enough to affect the capsule. His breath caught in awe. So this capsule—this tiny, insignificant capsule—contained a creature capable of melting rock with its fiery breath.

"Excellent choice! Just like your brother. He chose a fire type as well, a growlithe, just like most of those on the Police Force have," Professor Vargas said.

He handed Ludwig a handful of minimized, empty capsules, and a red device that Ludwig recognized as a pokémon encyclopedia—a pokédex. Ludwig took them gratefully.

"Good luck on your journey. Oh, and if you see my grandson, make sure to tell them to come visit their old man!" Professor Vargas said.

Ludwig blinked in surprise and confusion. "Grandson? I didn't know you had a grandson," he said. He hadn't even known that the professor had a child at all, although with the man's womanizing ways, it made a lot of sense.

Professor Vargas smiled dazedly. "Oh yes, two of them! They are just so adorable, but they live so far away~! I wish they would come visit me sometimes~!" he gushed.

It was probably time for Ludwig to make his leave, with the way the professor was beginning to look. He had experienced doting parents before, and it was always annoying to listen to them go on and on about how cute their kid was, even if the kid in question was unpleasant and not as special as their parents thought they were.

Backing up quietly, Ludwig snuck out before Professor Vargas realized he was talking to thin air.

Ludwig's Party:

Charmander, Lvl. 5

Ludwig had barely taken a single step out of the town, his pack slung over one shoulder, when a dark blur suddenly rushed at him. He gave a shout of surprise, jumping back and swinging his foot hard at his assailant. It connected, and the thing flew away from him, hitting the neatly placed fence that blocked the pokémon-infested path from the town's farming fields (not that it was very effective).

The tiny creature, a rattata, cried out in pain as it hit the barrier, dropping hard to the ground. Ludwig stared at it, mildly surprised, but mostly annoyed.

"Do you things have anything better to do than attack random people?" he grumbled to himself, reaching for the pokéball attached to his waist.

He needn't have bothered. As soon as the purple rat-type pokémon collected its wits, it turned tail and dashed off under a gap in the fence, streaking across the fields of corn and wheat.

Now Ludwig didn't know what to do. On the one hand, the thing was gone now, out of his hair. It wasn't his problem now. But, on the other hand, it had gone into the farm fields, the ones that provided the town with three quarters of its sustenance. He really should go after it.

Sighing, he unhooked the capsule from his belt loop and pressed the release button. Unlike other trainers, he didn't understand the point of some battle cry declaring that you are about to send out a pokémon. It just didn't make sense. So he let charmander out of her ball silently, without a loud shout that would probably scare the annoying little creature away.

The orange lizard shook herself when she set foot onto the dirt road. She looked at him—his knees, really—then looked up into his eyes with a questioning look that somehow conveyed a lofty attitude.

"We're going into those fields after a rattata. Don't burn the crops," he instructed, keeping his expression hard.

Smoke furled out of the charmander's nose as she huffed out. Without even a noise of confirmation, she turned and squeezed under the gap, wiggling her larger body through the hole with some difficulty.

When the fiery end of her tail disappeared to the other side, Ludwig hopped over the fence.

His pokémon was already halfway across the field, crouched low in pursuit of her target. Ludwig smiled slightly, satisfied that the charmander obeyed at least his first command of their partnership. He lightly padded after her, careful to keep his steps light as he stole across the field.

"Char!" his charmander suddenly cried. Then, like a hunter's dog, she took off toward the fence.

Ludwig picked up his pace. He didn't bother trying to stay quiet now. Obviously his pokémon had already found the offending rattata and was now making chase.

They ran about the fields like that for some time, until he finally caught up to the charmander, where she stood over a cowering rattata like a guard over his prisoner. It was backed up into the corner, periodically scratching at the wood as if trying to dig a hole to freedom.

Ludwig nodded, happy with his charmander's work. "Good work, girl," he said. The charmander only huffed in response, as if informing him that rounding up rattata was beneath her.

He ignored her proud attitude, inspecting the trembling pokémon instead. "What should we do with this annoying little thing? Just drop it over the fence like it is?" he asked, looking down at her.

She obviously didn't like the plan. She fixed him, her amber eyes narrowed in contempt. He sighed.

"Ja, I suppose you're right. It'll just get into the fields again in no time. Hmm…" He paused to think. Then his lips spread out in a slow smile. "Then you'll just have to knock it senseless, so when it regains consciousness, it'll think twice about coming into the fields."

Somehow, the charmander seemed to smile. In any case, her eyes lit up in approval. She turned to the helpless creature; claws extended, and lunged forward before it had time to attempt an escape.

She made quick work of the rattata, stepping away once it fainted. Ludwig stepped forward and picked it up by the scruff of its neck. The head lolled about as he dropped it over the edge of the fence. It fell to the other side with a thud.

"Good work, let's continue on then," Ludwig said, returned the charmander to her pokéball.

He spun on his heel, marching back through the fields. Just as he was about to hop back over the fence, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He turned to see a pidgey among the tomato plants. Strangely, it picked the tomatoes carefully, pulling at the stems instead of devouring it right off the plant like most birds did. Even more strangely, it put the tomatoes into a basket. A basket for crying out loud.

"Hey! Get away from those!" he shouted, beginning to run at the pidgey.

It looked up at him with a frightened glance. Before he had a chance to release his charmander, the creature hopped onto the basket handle. With surprising speed and strength for a tiny bird, it took to the air with the tomatoes. All too quickly, the thing was gone, too far away for him to do anything about it.

Ludwig stared at the retreating dot in the sky for a long while, his hand still resting on his charmander's pokéball. That was the strangest thing he had ever seen in his life, even stranger that Gilbert.

Something told him that his adventure would be anything but boring.

Well, there it is! Like I said in every one of my stories before, don't expect regular updates. I'm still crazily busy with school and such, but fortunately after this week, things should be slowing down.

Also, to those of you who followed my story "Love is Never Forgotten" to the end, I'm working on a little epilogue that will hopefully tie up some loose ends.

Anyway, ciao~!