Author's Note: Hello! Dav here! I've been reading on this site for a long time and have decided to try my hand at writing my own story. This is my first story so please take it easy on me! I'd like to make it clear that this story is non-canon and in another universe, and therefore will have differences to the games and anime, which you will see upon reading. Although, I wrote it keeping the core elements of them in mind. Also note that there won't be any canon captures as well, and Ash is a lot less stupid... That's all I have to say. Enjoy!

Bulbasaur.

A Bulbasaur. A goddamn Bulbasaur.

Ash scowled to himself as he stared at the grass type, its pokéball clenched in his hand.

"Is this really all that's left, professor?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"I'm afraid so, Ash." Professor Oak responded, "I won't lie, I was surprised myself when the other kids showed up earlier to choose their starters." The time agreed upon had been 8AM, yet the other three trainers had shown up earlier to get first pick. By the time Ash had arrived, the other three were gone. He was the only one left out, like they planned it, it seemed.

The Bulbasaur looked down in sadness.

"Now, Ash, I know Bulbasaur doesn't have much of a good rep, especially amongst teenagers such as yourself, but it is still a powerful pokémon in its own right. It might not be as flashy or strong as a fully-evolved Charizard or Blastoise, but it is still powerful in the right hands!"

Ash said nothing.

For as long as he could remember he had dreamed of having a ferocious Charizard, or a steadfast Blastoise by his side. He had wanted so desperately to prove the other trainers wrong, to prove Gary wrong. Ash certainly wasn't stupid, but he struggled a lot with the theoretical aspect of being a trainer.

He had failed the Trainer's Exam twice. The theoretical portion of the test always murdered him, and despite his practical scores being near-perfect, all the other kids never let him forget about his failures.

And so, he studied. And studied. And studied. And he managed to pass the exam on his third and final chance just in time to receive his starter for his journey, like Gary and the others.

And here he stood with what every trainer agreed was the worst starter, the other trainers long gone.

He sighed, then looked down at the small pokémon. It was still staring down at the ground, but slowly began to meet his gaze. He saw sadness in the Bulbasaur's eyes, but also a spark of something different, something special, as if the Bulbasaur had something to prove. It was just like him.

It was then he realized how hypocritical he was being.

He knelt down.

"Hi Bulbasaur, I'm Ash… You're just like me, aren't you?... Everyone thinks you're weak.."

The Bulbasaur nodded.

He held his hand out. "Do you want to join me on my journey? To prove them wrong?"

"Saur!" The Bulbasaur responded, extending a vine out into Ash's hand.

Ash grinned. "It's a deal!" And they shook on it.

Pokéballs... check… Money... check… Clothes….

Ash went back and forth, checking he had all his things. His Bulbasaur followed close behind, curious.

"Do you have everything you need?" His mother's soft tone reverbated into his room.

"Yeah, I'm good!" He said, zipping up his backpack.

He raced down the stairs, his Bulbasaur clumsily doing the same. His mother stood by the door, her hands holding something behind her back. He pulled her into a hug.

"It's a dangerous world out there, Ash." She said. "I always wanted you to pick any profession but this one, because of how dangerous it is." She smiled. "But I see you've inherited my stubbornness."

Ash scratched his cheek. He remembered how she'd first reacted when told her he wanted to be a trainer; she'd been angry. But over time when he refused to relent on his dream, she showed her support.

"I want you to have this," she said, revealing from behind her back a crimson baseball cap, with a white half-circle on the front of it. "You'll need something to keep the sun out of you eyes!"

Ash put it on with a grin, covering his messy raven locks. "I love it, mom."

She smiled in return, then pet Bulbasaur. "Take care of him, okay." She said to the grass type.

Bulbasaur nodded gently. "Saur!"

"Alright, mom. I'm gonna head out now." Ash said, turning quickly, trying to keep her from seeing the tears that had begun flowing down his eyes.

"Be careful! And remember to call me!"

"I'm gonna make you proud mom!" He said as he brushed the tears off his eyes, not unnoticed by his Bulbasaur.

He opened the door and left the home he'd grown up in for sixteen years.

Ash walked down Route 1 slowly, taking in the sights. It was midday, the sun was shining and groups of Rattata were running back and forth in the grass. He wasn't interested in catching one, so he paid them no mind.

First I should head to Viridian, then Pewter. If I'm quick I might be able to catch up with the others.

Bulbasaur trudged behind him steadily. He knelt down, pet it, and then took out his pokédex. "Okay, Bulbasaur. So it looks like you know four moves: Vine Whip, Tackle, Sleep Powder, and Poison Powder. With enough training we'll be able to teach you better moves and widen your move pool!"

Bulbasaur yipped in agreement.

In general, most wild pokémon could use four moves, but as they are trained they can learn to remember more than four, with average trainers able to teach their pokémon six moves and elites able to teach them eight or more. This was one of the many reasons trained pokémon had such an edge over wild pokémon.

Sweat dripped from his brow as they continued to walk; they'd been at it for hours. He bitterly imagined Gary easily driving down the exact path in his convertible.

He brushed aside the thought and decided to stop under the shade of a large tree.

"Okay, Bulbasaur. Why don't we take a break here and get some training done?"

Bulbasaur nodded enthusiastically and moved toward him.

"Alright, first let me see your Vine Whip." He bent over and picked up a rock and chucked it into the air.

Almost immediately, twin vines shot out of the plant seed on its back, destroying the rock.

Ash grinned and picked up two rocks this time. He chucked both into the air, relatively close to each other. Bulbasaur grunted in concentration. Twin vines shot out again, each one striking a single rock, obliterating them completely.

"Alright, lets see how you handle this!"

He picked up two rocks again, but this time he threw them in different directions. The first vine made its mark, but the second vine was completely off-target. The frustration on Bulbasaur's face was clear to see.

"Don't worry Bulbasaur, this is why we're training," Ash reassured him.

Bulbasaur nodded, determined.

Time quickly passed as Ash and Bulbasaur worked on each of its moves, with Ash helping him improve them and developing strategies he could use with them. Before either of them knew it, it was evening.

Throughout the training session Ash had an odd feeling of paranoia, he felt as if someone, or something was watching him, and he had felt this way for several hours.

He shrugged it off and sat down, watching his partner who was practicing using its Poison Powder in conjunction with its mobility. It would run in a straight line, use Poison Powder, then dodge to the side. It was a simple drill Ash taught him, but an effective one.

He called Bulbasaur over. "That's enough for now, Bulbasaur! Let's take a break!"

Bulbasaur ran back and sat down next to its trainer, breathing heavily. Ash poured water into a bowl and held it underneath Bulbasaur. It drank it greedily. Then, once it was finished, it laid on its side, leaning against its trainer.

Ash let out a sigh of happiness, absent-mindedly petting his starter.

Bulbasaur began twitching, as if it was sensing something nearby.

Suddenly, the bushes behind them began rustling and a gray, humanoid figure bolted toward Ash. Bulbasaur quickly reacted, using Vine Whip on the strange pokémon.

It ducked under, narrowly avoiding the deadly vines and continued running. Not into Ash, but past him.

Bulbasaur made to run after it.

"Stop!" Ash said, much to the confusion of his partner.

"It's running away. There's no point in trying to harm it. I don't think it was trying to harm us either."

Bulbasaur grunted, protesting.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," he said, "But what I am worried about was what that pokémon was doing in that bush. Was it spying on us? Why? How long was it there for?"

Bulbasaur shook his head, as if to say he was just as lost as his trainer.

"What was that pokémon, anyway?"

Machop. The Superpower Pokémon. Machop is a master of multiple martial arts. It possesses immense strength, enough to decimate massive boulders with a single punch.

Well, that's interesting...

A few days passed. Ash and Bulbasaur repeated the same training process each day, as they neared Viridian City. They got to test their mettle in actual battles a few times, battling wild Rattatas and Pidgeys that decided to attack them. Ash decided not to capture any of them, as they were of no interest to him. Ash was glad, though, that Bulbasaur was able to see the results of his training; it further motivated him.

There had been no sign of the elusive Machop they had encountered, but Ash had a feeling that that wasn't the last they'd be seeing of it.

Ash and his partner walked side by side down the dirt path, in a comfortable silence. They could see the large buildings of the city protruding over the trees. For a young man who grew up in a town as small as Pallet, seeing a city as massive and bustling as Viridian amazed him.

They entered the large city filled with people, pokémon, and vehicles and headed straight for the Pokémon Center.

Multiple Pokémon Centers were established in each major city for the purpose of healing pokémon and providing lodging and rations for trainers. Services were mostly free for trainers, but most Pokémon Centers charge extra for a stay longer than one night. Fortunately, Ash was only going to stay one night.

"Hello! Welcome to the Pokémon Center. What can I do for you?" Nurse Joy smiled at him.

Ash handed her his pokédex. "I was wondering if you could take a look at my, Bulbasaur? He doesn't have any severe injuries but we've been travelling for a few days and he must be tired. Also, I'd like to request a room for the night."

"Okay. First, here is your room key," she said, handing him a plastic card and returning his pokédex, "Now, can you return him to his pokéball and give it to me?"

Bulbasaur returned to its pokéball in a beam of red. Ash handed the pokéball to her.

"Excellent! This should only take a little bit since he is in relatively good condition. Please wait a moment." She handed the pokéball to her Chansey, who took it to the backroom.

Ash sat down on a chair nearby and fiddled with his pokédex.

After a few minutes, a tall purple-haired boy walked into the center, an injured pokémon in his arm. It was a Kirlia. The burn marks on its arms and scrapes across its body stood out to Ash.

"What happened to your Kirlia?" Nurse Joy asked him, concerned.

"We were out training. She couldn't keep up with my pokémon." he responded.

"What kind of training were you doing that would leave her so injured!?" she exclaimed.

"We have been doing combat training for weeks now. And so far this Kirlia has been completely useless."

"Now sir," she said. "I don't think that's a very nice way to talk about your own pokémon."

"I don't care what you think. This Kirlia is useless, and almost untrainable. If it wasn't such a rare pokémon, I would've gotten rid of it by now." He spoke with such coldheartedness that it shocked them.

Kirlia looked down in shame.

"Now… young man." Nurse Joy spoke in an angry tone. "You don't seem to be a very nice trainer. Am I going to have to report you to the league?"

The trainer snorted.

"Why don't we ask Kirlia what it thinks?" he said, scornfully.

The nurse gently laid a hand on Kirlia's head.

"Kirlia, are you happy with this young man as your trainer?" Nurse Joy asked in a concerned tone.

The Kirlia hesitated for a moment, then nodded its head resignedly.

"May I ask why? He seems to treat you very poorly."

"It's because it wants to be strong and I'm going to give it what it wants, no matter how many times I have to bring it back here." The arrogant trainer interjected rudely.

Kirlia nodded again.

Nurse Joy was stunned into silence.

"Well, there you have it. Clearly, this Kirlia wants to stay with me. There's nothing you can do" he smirked, returning his pokémon and placing it on the counter. "I'll be back for it later."

The boy began walking away, brushing slightly past Ash. They locked eyes. Cold, calculating black met warm, compassionate brown.

"Sir! I need your name for when you come back!" Nurse Joy shouted.

"It's Paul." He said, as he walked out the door.

The Pokémarts in Viridian City were massive, filled with anything a trainer could imagine—from TMs to healing supplies to pokéballs. Ash and his freshly-healed Bulbasaur explored the Pokémart across from the Pokémon Center with fascination. They walked through the TM section noting the extremely high number of them. Over the past couple of decades, scientists and engineers have been able to turn virtually every pokémon move into a Technical Machine, with a few rare and powerful moves as exceptions.

Ash looked enviously at the powerful moves on the shelves, but he knew that at the moment there was no way he could afford to pay for them. Another thing he did not have was pokémon he could teach them to, other than Bulbasaur, of course.

I need to catch some more pokémon soon. My goal should be to build a team of maybe 10-15 pokémon. I remember Gary is probably going to catch way more than that, but I don't want to replace quality for quantity. I need a decent pool of pokémon I can rotate between.

Ash was interrupted from his thoughts by a slap on his shoulder. He looked up to see a short boy with red hair. The pokéballs strapped to his belt indicated he was a trainer.

"So," he said, "What are you doin' 'round here with that weakass Bulbasaur?" He smirked arrogantly.

"We're just here looking for supplies. We're not trying to start any trouble." Ash said, slightly annoyed. He tried to walk past him, but the other boy stood in his path.

"Sorry, chump, but that's not how we do things around here. You're a trainer. I'm a trainer. And we just locked eyes. That means we battle." He grinned predatorily.

Ash could tell from the look in his eyes that this guy expected little from him and probably just wanted easy money. After all, trainers always put money on the line during challenges, be it a gym battle or a battle between strangers. Usually, the higher the level of the battlers, the higher the money gained, which was why the career was so lucrative.

He returned Bulbasaur, who he could tell was getting agitated.

Although Ash knew he was being targeted, he felt a sense of determination, and he knew Bulbasaur was feeling it too. He knew he should have left immediately, but he badly wanted to win and to punish this guy for underestimating him.

And so, he stood his ground.

The other trainer smiled, recognizing this. "How many badges do you have?" he asked.

"Zero," Ash replied, to which the redhead grinned. "I just started my journey a few days ago. How about you?"

"About a month," he said. "I got two badges so far. I came here to challenge the gym leader, but he refuses to even respond to any trainer with less than seven badges."

Ash noted that information for later use. "What's your name?"

"Trent," he said. "You?"

"Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town."

"Oh, a country boy, eh?" He smirked.

"Let's just battle," Ash responded. "Do you know of any battlefields nearby we can use?"

The arrogant boy nodded and led him out of the store to a small battlefield made for trainers nearby.

"It looks like you only have one pokémon, so it will be a one on one! Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you. We'll do the standard trainer bet of 200 pokédollars, agreed?!" Trent shouted from the other side of the field.

"Let's do this!" Ash shouted back.

Trent chuckled to himself. "This shouldn't be too hard at all, so I'll go with you!" He threw a pokéball onto the field and a large grey rhinoceros appeared. "Rhyhorn, come out for battle." The Rhyhorn roared and stomped down on the ground.

Ash gulped at the large size of the pokémon. Although he knew Bulbasaur had the type advantage, he knew that this battle would be difficult. Ash took a breath and found his center.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Bulbasaur appeared in a flash of light. "Saur! Bulbasaur!" It yelled.

Wanting to make the first move, Ash quickly made a command. "Bulbasaur run forwards and use Razor Leaf!" Dozens of razor sharp leaves flew at the opposing Rhyhorn.

Trent smirked. "Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack." He said calmly. The large rhinoceros charged at Bulbasaur dodging what leaves it could, and tanking what it couldn't. It slammed into Bulbasaur with a thud, sending it flying back. Bulbasaur grunted in pain. "Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled. Rhyhorn was naturally strong; he knew Bulbasaur couldn't take many hits like that.

"Amateur mistake. Making the first move is good, but only when you can effectively use it to propel your lead." Trent laughed.

Ash forced himself to calm down and think rationally. He took a breath, then turned his cap backwards. He didn't know why he did this, but it gave him confidence. A strategy popped into his mind.

Bulbasaur quickly got back up and stared defiantly at the Rhyhorn. The trainers stood staring at each other, Trent waiting for Ash to make a move, but surprised when he refused to do so. Instead, Ash stood with a calm expression on his face, as if he was waiting for him to make the first move instead.

"Alright, Rhyhorn use Horn Attack again!" The Rhyhorn charged again straight at Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur stand your ground" Bulbasaur waited a moment. "Double Vine Whip, now!" Twin vines shot out of Bulbasaur's back and toward the charging Rhinoceros. It dodged the first one, by juking to the right, but was hit dead-on by the second vine, which had been aimed in a completely different direction than the first vine, predicting the dodge. It hit the ground grimacing in pain from the super-effective attack

"What!?" Trent yelled out in surprise. "Now Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled. " While it's down! Use Razor Leaf!" Rhyhorn grunted in pain as it was bombarded by multiple super-effective leaves.

"Rhyhorn get up!" Trent yelled. "Horn attack!" Rhyhorn charged at Bulbasaur, who rolled to the side and took only a glancing blow.

"Use Vine Whip!" Ash exclaimed.

Trunt yelled out. "Dodge!"

The Rhyhorn narrowly avoided both vines, but could not avoid the Tackle attack launch by the Bulbasaur immediately after. It grunted out in pain again.

"Well, well…. I certainly wasn't expecting that." Trent tried to keep his cool, despite how quickly the tides of the battle had turned against him. A bead of sweat rolled down his head. Who the hell is this kid?

"You're not bad for some kid from a shithole town." He derided, trying to egg Ash on.

Ash, however, was unaffected, the same focused expression on his face. "Bulbasaur charge and use Vine Whip!"

Trent stifled a laugh. Charging at a Rhyhorn? He's just making the same mistake again... I was wrong… this kid's just some nobody. "Rhyhorn take care of business. Dodge the vines and go for a Stomp attack!"

The Rhyhorn easily avoided the vines, knowing to be wary of them, and continued toward Bulbasaur.

However, this was what Ash wanted. "Now, Bulbasaur! Poison Powder roll!" Purple powder came out of its seed in a mist in front of it as it rolled away to the side. Rhyhorn unable to slow its charge fast enough ran straight into the mist and immediately fell down and began to cough and wheeze.

Trent gasped in shock, his Rhyhorn rolled on the ground fuming in agony.

"Your Rhyhorn is poisoned now. He's already worn out and with this status effect I'd easily be able to take it down with Vine Whip and Razor Leaf. You should give up, so it won't have to go through any more pain." Ash said calmly.

Trent grit his teeth in anger. "Shut up! Rhyhorn use Horn Attack!" Rhyhorn grunted in pain, but followed its master's order. It slowly charged toward Bulbasaur, its pain and fatigue obvious.

Ash sighed. "I'm sorry, Rhyhorn. Bulbasaur, end it." Bulbasaur charged at the injured Rhyhorn, slamming a Vine Whip on top of its head, blindsiding it. It then released a cyclone of sharp leaves at the Rhyhorn, slamming into it and knocking it down. It grunted in pain, and fell into unconsciousness.

Trent returned his pokémon with a scowl. He'd underestimated the kid severely.

He made mistakes at the beginning… but learned from them immediately throughout the battle. It's like he's some fucking battle prodigy.

"Well, I believe you owe me those 200 pokédollars." Ash grinned, petting his excited, but exhausted Bulbasaur.

Trent grew a grin of his own. "Who said anything about paying anyone anything?"

Ash responded, confused. "But you said—"

"Who cares what I said, you think anyone can see us from here?" Trent interrupted, smirking.

They had started battling before it was really dark, but now they were right in the middle of the night. There'd be no passersby to witness anything.

Ash cursed his stupidity.

I knew it was a trap from the start! Yet still I walked into it like an idiot!

"I underestimated you, so I used my weakest pokémon against you. But I still have more pokémon, while all you have left is an injured Bulbasaur." Trent laughed, throwing out two pokéballs. A large, blue, crocodile appeared as well as a large brown, bipedal bear. Both roared menacingly.

Bulbasaur stood in front of Ash, shakily. It roared back at the Croconaw and Ursaring. Ash cursed his own stupidity again. There was no way he could win this battle. Defeat and utter hopelessness shone in his eyes.

Noticing this, Trent chuckled. "Give me all your money, everything. And return Bulbasaur and hand him to me. I think I'll get a good price for a Bulbasaur this strong." He smirked maliciously.

"No way in hell!" Ash yelled. "You'd have to kill me first!"

"If you say so." Trent smirked again. "Kill him. But leave the Bulbasaur alive." He motioned to his pokémon and they nodded.

Croconaw and Ursaring approached slowly. Bulbasaur's vines lash out violently against them, but they just shrugged off the attacks of the fatigued pokémon. They were just about to reach it when a voice spoke out from the shadows.

"How Pathetic." It said. "Preying on a weak, newbie trainer."

"Who said that?! Where are you?" Trent shouted.

"Here." The owner of the voice appeared from the shadows. It was Paul.

"I don't care who you are, but if you don't get the hell out of my way you'll regret it!" Trent yelled, furious. His pokémon approached Paul threateningly.

The purple-haired trainer laughed, genuinely amused. "I seriously don't recommend continuing your current course of action." He tapped on the button of a pokéball on his belt and a massive pokémon appeared by his side. "Rhyperior!" It screeched, loud enough to make Ash's ears hurt.

It pounded its rocky chest with its arm.

Trent gulped. His two pokémon trembled in fear beside him. Rhyperior were incredibly powerful pokémon, only the best of trainers could control. And as it looked menacingly at him, he realized the tables had turned on him.

Rhyperior took a step forward.

"Look, I'm sorry! Call your pokémon off and I'll get out of your hair."

"Okay, but first I think you owe the noob here some money for his win." Paul said smirking.

"Whatever!" he said angrily, throwing a pile of cash onto the ground. He then returned his pokémon and sprinted away, disappearing into the darkness.

Ash picked up the money and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He looked up at Paul. "Thank you, for saving me there."

Paul grunted.

Figuring that that was his way of saying "You're welcome." Ash continued. "How come you didn't capture him though. Couldn't you have brought him to the authorities? Clearly he's a poacher of some sort?"

"From the situation you were in," Paul explained, "there was no hard evidence against him; it would have just been a He Said/She Said situation. That is, unless I had let you kill him, of course. But you wouldn't want that now, would you?"

"Fair point" Ash conceded. "We should head back to the Pokémon Center."

Paul nodded and they made their way back. "I'm Ash by the way." Paul grunted in response. "And I know your name is Paul. I saw you in the Pokémon Center earlier, with the Kirlia."

"I disagree with the way you treat and train your pokémon. I think it's stupid and wrong." Ash continued.

Paul looked at him with a mix of confusion and surprisal. "Is this usually how you treat the people who save your life?"

"Don't get me wrong, I truly am grateful to you. But I really disagree with the way you treat your pokémon. I saw you in the Pokémon Center. You seem to only care about rare, powerful pokémon, but I think that any pokémon can be strong if it worked hard enough, no matter how weak it is at the start."

Paul snorted. "You really are a fool. Weak pokémon are a waste of time, they have no potential. Rare pokémon are the ones with the potential to be the best. Look at every Elite and Champion level trainer; all their pokémon are rare, and were naturally powerful from the start!"

"That's not true at all! I know rare pokémon are powerful, but that just means they have a head start; any pokémon can grow in strength. And just because a pokémon is weak doesn't mean it's useless and should be discarded! And another thing! You treat your pokémon with such coldness. Pokémon should be treated with kindness and compassion, not coldness and disrespect!" Ash's eyes blazed with passion.

Paul's eyes were the same. "Kindness and compassion will get you nowhere. Trust me kid I learned it the hard way. It's ruthlessness that will let you make it far. If this is the way you think you should give up now!" He shouted coldly.

They both looked at each other angrily. They did not only clash verbally, but ideologically, philosophically.

They locked eyes for a moment, then both looked away, embarrassed, realizing how heated they both had gotten. "Look kid, I'm an Ace level trainer. I've been doing this for over a year and a half now, while you've been a trainer for only a few days. Come talk to me when you have actual experience."

They reached the Pokémon center and entered. "Fine!" Ash responded. "Give me a year then. We'll battle at the Indigo Conference, and I'll defeat you and show you how wrong you are!"

Paul wanted to laugh at the boy, but couldn't. The challenge would've been ridiculous if anyone else had said it; there was no way a person could grow that much in a year. But deep down he knew that Ash was special; he'd seen the end of his battle with Trent. He knew he had to take Ash seriously, and he did.

"I'll see you on the battlefield, then." Paul responded, locking eyes with Ash. They nodded to each other and Paul left to his room.

Ash approached a tired-looking Nurse Joy. "Can you help heal my Bulbasaur? He was injured in a… battle." The nurse nodded and took his pokéball.

Ash sat in the same seat he had sat in before and thought about everything that just happened.

Mom was right. It really is dangerous out there, I would've lost my life if not for Paul… I need to catch more pokémon. I need a team that can help protect me and each other. And about mom… I should probably call her.

"Nurse Joy, call me when you're finished please."

Ash went down the hall to the video phones to call his mother. Despite it being late he knew she would want to hear from him. He decided to leave out the part where he almost died when talking to her though…

1 pokédollar=1 dollar USD in case anyone was wondering…

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I was inspired to write this story by other great works on this website, such as "Challenger" by darkfire1220 and "Legend" by The BlackStaff and NightMarE. I'm sure most of you have already heard of them because they're really popular, but if you haven't, I highly recommend checking them out. Other than that, please R&R and I'll see you next time!