Reverse- Chapter 1: Bright Red.

A/N: Hey there, guys! How's it going?

It's your man, Alcoholic Pikachu, though you may also know me as Wildfurion- depending on which account you follow. So, I've been writing a few sketches for Pokémon during this one week Med School gave me as 'vacation', and have finally come up with a planned, organized story.

To make things simple, I wanted to make a story that differed from the usual Red/Charmander topic by giving the Pokémon some…life. After trying again and again, I managed to come up with a good plan- so I just pumped all my energy into writing.

Took me about four days to write this first chapter, plus one or two to review it for any mistakes/ flaws. I have the first chapters all planned, so there won't be all that confusion there was in Ascension.

Oh, and I'll also be publishing in this account because…you know, I didn't want to keep it as a ghost and all.

That's it for now, I guess. Hope you enjoy this!

Alcoholic Pikachu

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."- Sun Tzu.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, nor any of the characters used in this fanfic.

Reverse- Chapter 1: Bright Red.

Pallet Town, Kanto.

In his most humble opinion, there was no such feeling in this vast world, that could even compare to that of riding a fine steed.

Tightening his grip on the leather reins till his fingers turned white, Ash 'Red' Ketchum couldn't hold a smirk from forming on his lips as Rose galloped through the suave, grassy hills of Professor Oak's ranch. Even with wind whistling on his ears, the teenager could hear the Ponyta's excited neighs- which combined with Arcanine's barking to form one great cacophony- as the trio guided the small Tauros herd to their new pasture area.

Beads of sweat dripped from his short coal colored hair, in one of his body's many failed attempts to fight off the heat of the Fire type's mane. Despite that, Ketchum could say he felt extremely comfortable on the saddle- almost as if he were born for it, in fact- even as he guided the group of large, and potentially aggressive, bovines. "Come on, girl! Just a little bit more!"

A single tap of his heels, and Rose jumped over the wooden fence with the grace only her species had. At the same time, Arcanine- one of the members of Professor Oak's original team- pushed the massive portress open just in time for the herd to flood in the pasture, with its alpha on the lead. "Can you take it from here, Arcanine?"

The massive fire type barked back in agreement, the sound sending a shiver up Ash's spine. 'I wonder how something this affectionate, can be scary at times…' in the end, he shrugged. 'Maybe it's just how nature works?'

"You did great today, Rose. Thanks!" Ash stated with a grin, as he affectionately petted the equine's muscular neck. The Ponyta happily neighed in agreement, before breaking into a calm trot. "I'll make sure to get you an extra portion of carrots when we get to the lab."

Needless to say, Rose was more than happy to hear that- as her cheerful cry made clear. As obligatory herbivores, wild Ponyta usually fed on grass and, occasionally, berries in the vast grasslands they usually chose as lair. In the Professor's ranch, however, their diet was a bit richer: besides the usual hay and berries, the Ponyta living there ate the occasional snack, such as apples and fresh carrots.

"Don't get used to it, though. This is my last day here!" The boy replied with a teasing grin, gently guiding the Fire type so they were now heading back to the Professor's lab- the largest building in the entire Pallet. "Today's the day I get my starter, after all!"

To say he'd been waiting for this moment would be a huge understatement.

While winning the Pokémon League had not been his dream until very recently- in fact, Ash had always thought he'd become a Pokémon Ranger or Professor- the boy had to admit the prospect was quite the thrill. While his work as one of the Professor's apprentices was far from boring, the Indigo League was in a whole other level of awesome.

Besides, he was practically itching for a chance to battle the current Champion of both Kanto and Johto, the Dragon Master; the fierce, confident Lance Wataru. Ever since he overthrew the previous Champion, Satoshi, Lance has been considered to be the strongest trainer in the whole world, having gained both this, and the Dragon Master titles from his former teacher, Drake.

He was a role model Ash could look up to. 'One day, hopefully, one day…'

"Hey there, Ashy-boy~"

Broken off his Champion fantasies by a soft, feminine voice, Ash Ketchum looks up to meet the dark eyes of his childhood friend, Leaf Green- who's sitting on one of the lower branches of a lone, Rawst berry tree.

Short, slender and having long, straight light brown hair that falls almost to her mid-back, she's a blooming beauty at her young age of fifteen. Her skin is paler than his- mostly because Ash spent several hours working under a scorching sun- and contrasted deeply with her eyes, which reminded him of Onix- not the Pokémon, mind you, but the precious gem.

Leaf's dressed in a short, black dress that hugged her growing figure nicely. Her attire was completed by a pair of white cotton gloves and white running sneakers with bright green shoelaces.

"You know what? You look exactly like a Unovan cowboy in that riding pants and white shirt. Should I get you a hat?~"

"Can't refuse such an offer." Ash replies with a grin of his own, following up with the teasing. "What are you doing up there, anyways? I thought you'd be at the lab by now, you know…to get your starter."

"I was reading." The girl replies with a sigh, before dropping down on Ponyta's saddle with the grace of a Gardevoir. The fact she managed to do this without any help from Ash only made it more surprising. "Besides, it's not like I could choose anyways, you goof! Did you forget who scored first at the tests?"

"That was me, I suppose." Ash comments with a sheepish smile. Though he did get the most points of the Color Trio- aka, Ash, Gary and Leaf- it wasn't like he did so with a large margin. "Sorry to make you wait. Had to move the Tauros herd into a new area for the Summer, so I kind of forgot about it for a moment…"

"Gee. How can I be mad at you when you look at me like this?" Leaf stated with a resigned sigh, before giving his cheek a playful pinch. "I actually waited for you, so you better give me dibs on Bulbasaur!"

"Didn't you just say you weren't mad at me?" Ash inquired with cocked brows, as he tapped his spurs on Rose's sides. Almost immediately, the Ponyta resumed its smooth trotting back to the lab . "Besides, I think I'm getting Bulbasaur. I mean, it is the best starter…"

"Don't you dare, Ashy-boy~"

After a few more minutes of teasing back and forth, the teenage duo finally finishes the long climb up the grassy hill leading to Professor Oak's world-famous laboratory. At this point, most of the Pokémon living in the ranch are already up and running around, including a pack of young Growlithe and the large Nidoran herd, led by a bunch of Nidorino and their female counterparts. Pidgey and Spearow chirp from the trees beyond the wooden fence, eying the humans with curiosity.

"How charming~" Leaf says with a playful wink, as Ash helps her down the Ponyta's saddle. "I guess I'll be going inside. You still have to unsaddle Ponyta after all."

"Sure thing." Is Ash's response, giving the brunette one last glance before turning back to Rose- who eyes him eagerly. "I guess someone's hungry for carrots huh?"

Skip to about ten minutes later, and Ash lets out a sigh as he wipes out the sweat from his forehead. With Rose finally unsaddled and fed, Ash pets the Ponyta's neck a bit, before sending her back to the stable. "Now then, I guess now's the time to choose..."

Unsurprisingly, Gary was already there when he walked in.

Gary "Blue" Oak, or as Leaf liked to call him "the richest prick in Pallet", was Professor Oak's grandson and a self-proclaimed genius; he was also Ash's best friend, though their friendship had recently become more like a rivalry than anything else.

The boy Ash had shared the crib with when he was a baby had now grown to be almost as tall as him, standing at impressive six feet of height. Gary was lean, and had dark brown hair- which he liked to keep in a long, spiky tuft- and bright green eyes that glowed with both great intelligence, and arrogance.

"Hey there, Ashy-boy, you're late! " the youngest Oak greets with the usual cocky grin, which Ash had gotten used to at this point. Unlike Leaf, who deemed Gary completely insufferable, Ash was one of the few people to find his inflated ego quite…amusing. "Was playing with the Tauros that fun? You almost smell like one."

"Well, the herd sure was moody today. Besides…" Charismatic as always, Ash simply laughs the insult off before adding his own tease. "…Tauros do smell better than that cologne you use. What is it again? Gloom?"

Needless to say, Leaf dissolved into near hysterical laughter at that line. She just loved when Gary's teasing blew right back to his face. "That was a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y great, Ashy!"

"Good morning, Ash, Leaf!" Professor Oak greets with a friendly smile, as he walks into the room- a silver tray of cookies and tea in his hands. Despite the dark bags underneath his emerald eyes, the elderly researcher looks as energetic as ever- if not a bit stressed. "You two are right on time! You can help yourselves to this little snack, while I get your starters."

"Well, the old man sure looks as energetic as ever." Ash comments, watching the Professor disappear in the corridors as fast as a Scyther. Taking one of the cookies from the trail, he almost hums in delight at the taste of chocolate. "Those cookies are good! Did Daisy make them?"

"I wonder how you two can eat so much of Daisy's food and stay fit…" Leaf comments, graciously sipping from her tea like the classy lady she was while both Ash and Gary start digging in the meal like a pair of Snorlax. "Meanwhile, I have to go on diets every single week to keep this graceful figure, *sigh* boys…"

"So…" Gary starts, once they're finished devouring the food- wiping a few scrubs off his face. "Which starter do you plan to get, Ketchup? If you say Ponyta, I'll smack this tray on your head…"

"Which starter huh? That's a difficult question…" Ash replies with a chuckle. "No need for the tray, though, it's not Ponyta."

"Which one then?" Leaf inquires, curious. "I hope it's not Bulbasaur. I called dibs on him!"

"Oh please, shut up!" Gary rebuked in a casual tone, making the girl glare at him like an Arbok. "There's no such thing as dibs! Red hit the jackpot and scored first in the tests, so he gets to choose whatever the fuck he wants."

As the two start with the usual bickering, Ash ponders which starter would suit him best. 'Probably Bulbasaur…or I guess Charmander…"

"Gary, Leaf, stop fighting you two~"

At the young age of 33, Ash Ketchum's mother- Delia Ketchum- was a very kind, beautiful woman . She was somewhat short, though gracious and slim, and liked to keep her long, light brown hair tied in a ponytail- which, along with the white lab coat, made her look very professional. Her eyes were the same color as Ash's, golden brown; while hers while like bronze, however, Ash's were like virtual ponds of molten gold.

As a trainee Pokémon Professor under the tutelage of Samuel Oak, Delia had her research centered around the mysterious and often highly sapient Psychic type Pokémon- clearly not influenced by her choice as a starter, Alakazam. Diligent and very smart, she'd graduated from Goldenrod University with honors, despite having little Ash to take care of, before finally moving back to her hometown at Pallet in order to work with the Professor.

"Aunt Delia?!" / "Ms. Ketchum?!"

"Hey mom!" Ash greets with a warm smile, not nearly as astonished as his two friends, before going for a hug. In contrast with his sweatiness, his mother smelled of sweet perfume. "I thought you were in Greenfield with Uncle Spencer! What happened?"

"Ashy you silly, I actually was in Greenfield five minutes ago~" his mother replies with a giggle, planting an affectionate kiss on his forehead. "Professor Oak texted me, saying you were about to get your first Pokémon! I just couldn't miss this moment, so I had Kazzy teleport me here~"

"Oh, I see…" Ash then turns to the decade-old Alakazam, who still deigned himself far too evolved to acknowledge his presence. Some habits never changed, he supposed. "Thank you, Kazzy. I owe you one!"

"Delia! I'm glad you answered my call!" This time, it is Professor Oak who walks into the room. A smile forms in the old man's lips, as he gives his pupil a crushing hug. "How was Spencer? What about little Molly? Does she like the plush toy I sent her? Is-"

"Hey, gramps!" As the old Professor starts blabbering question after question about the Hales, Gary rudely cuts him off. "You can talk to Ms. Ketchum later! We've been waiting all morning to get our starters!"

"As much as it displeases me, I must agree with Gary on this." Added Leaf with a tired sigh. "We're already late because of Ashy-boy, and my legs hurt."

"Oh, for Pete's sake… so pushy, as always. Very well…"Professor Oak lets out a long sigh, before pulling out three Pokéballs from his lab coat's pocket. "As you three probably know, inside those Pokéballs are three rare Pokémon- Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. Each of those will require near infinite dedication from both of you, in order to reach their highest potentials…"

"Yeah, I know all this already." Gary replies with a scoff, earning a sigh from his grandfather. "C'mon gramps, you know we're ready! Let us choose!"

"Very well…let me introduce you to your starters then? Ash, you're up!"

In a bright flash of white light, a trio of small creatures materializes in front of them.

At Ash's right stood Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. If Ash needed to describe Bulbasaur in few words, he'd say it was a short, bulky blue-green Pokémon with crimson eyes and a short, blunt snout with a wide mouth. On its back, there's a green plant bulb- according to the books, it grew from a seed planted there at birth- which provides the Pokémon with energy through photosynthesis. It also contains a bunch of nutrients, which were needed when the time for its evolution came.

'This Bulbasaur is tough.' While Bulbasaur were considered loyal and well-behaved Pokémon by most breeders, this one in particular seemed to have a strong temper- if its proud, challenging posture was anything to go by. Not only that, but it was slightly bulkier than the average for the species. "What moves does he know, old man?"

"Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Venoshock and Leaf Storm." Samuel replied with a grin- one that only grew wider with the awed look on the children's faces. "He's a strong little one, Bulbasaur."

"I can see that…" a brief glance at Leaf shows how entranced she seems by the small Grass type. She's almost drooling. "With this Bulbasaur by my side, there's no way I can't win the Pokémon League…" As he says that, he can almost feel Leaf's eyes burning through his back- since they were kids, the brunette had dreamt of having a Venusaur as a partner. Her grandfather owned a flower shop in Celadon, where she fell madly in love with the line after meeting his old Ivysaur. "I need to think if further, though…"

He could swear he heard her sighing in relief, before Ash landed his eyes on Squirtle- who had quite a…unique thing about him.

Like most of its kind, Squirtle- the Tiny Turtle Pokémon- was small and stood on its two hind legs, which, like the hands, had three digits each. Its eyes were large and purplish and its lips were slightly hooked like an avian's beak. That's where the similarities end, however.

'Is this…is this for real? A shiny Squirtle?!' Unlike most Squirtle, who were light blue in color, this one had a slightly dark, almost purple skin- not only that, however, but its shell was green as emerald, with a yellow underside. Unlike Bulbasaur, who looked serious and brave, Squirtle had the posture of a really cool Pokémon. It looked confident, but had a playful smile on its lips that promised lots of fun. "Squirtle huh? You sure are the coolest. What moves does this one know, Professor?"

"Tackle, Bubble, Water Gun, Bite and Withdraw."

"A good, balanced Pokémon then?" Ash comments with a grin, petting Squirtle on the head for a bit before going for his personal favorite. "Now then, time to see Charmander!"

With large azure eyes and a body covered by orange and cream scales, the Lizard Pokémon, Charmander, was- undoubtedly- an impressive Pokémon to see, one worth of all the appreciation the species was given by trainers and breeders alike. At the end of its slender tail, a small flame burned; if Ash remembered it rightly, it would continue to burn until the day Charmander died. Its slightly longer neck and small, slender build indicated it was a female, which in itself was quite rare among the species.

"A female Charmander huh?" Ash comments with a grin, hoping the Pokémon would like his praising- only to find himself completely dumbfounded as Charmander shied away from him, not even looking at him in the eye. "Hey, Charmander, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Oh, this one…I'll have to say, this Charmander is kind of complicated." The Professor stated with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose- one of the many signs of his stress. "You see, unlike Bulbasaur or Squirtle, the Charmander I distribute every year comes not from the breeding grounds here at the ranch, but from the Charicific Valley Natural Reserve, in Johto. Unfortunately…"

"What happened?" Both Leaf and Gary inquire, speaking up for the first time ever since the starters were released.

"Recently, the Valley was attacked by Pokémon Hunters- seeking to steal the new batch of eggs and sell them for a high price at the Black Market." Delia replies, having returned from inside the lab with a large, metallic case in hands. "Though the Charizard in the valley resisted and managed to repel the poachers, more than half of the eggs were lost in the fray…"

"This female was the only Charmander available for distribution. She's the weakest of the batch, and you know what happens to them in the wild…" No further words were needed. Charmander crawled even further away from him, clearly ashamed of her own weakness. Her tail flame burned weakly, and she kept her head low- unable to meet his eye. "I'm very, very sorry, Ash- I know how much you wanted a Charmander, I know I should have trie-"

"It's fine, Professor." Ketchum says in an unnaturally thoughtful tone, cutting the Professor's apologies off. "It's fine." He reinforced, before turning back to Gary and Leaf- who both look at him with eyes full of expectation. "I need to think for a bit…"

"No problem." Gary replies with a small grin. "Just don't make us wait forever, Ashy-boy."

"Sure thing…"

At first, he considered Bulbasaur. As the strongest of the trio, Bulbasaur surely had the potential to become an almost unbeatable powerhouse by the time of his final evolution into Venusaur. Not only that, but it was quite possibly the strongest Grass type in all of Indigo. 'There's Leaf, though…' Ash was sure Leaf would be mad at him if he snatched Bulbasaur from her. He wasn't sure if getting a strong Pokémon was worth the risk of losing a decade-long friendship. 'Besides, even if we remained friends, it would ruin my chances…'

'No.' the teen decides with a faint blush on his cheeks. 'I'm not choosing Bulbasaur.'

Squirtle, on the other hand, not only looked awesome, but seemed to be quite the cool and funny Pokémon. It would make for the finest companion one could get in a journey, besides having the potential to become one beast of a Blastoise. However, Ash was sure Gary would be a real pain if he didn't get Squirtle. The younger Oak really wanted a Blastoise, not in part due to his attrition with the Professor- whose starter had been Charizard. Besides, the attraction between the two seemed to be mutual.

'No…I really can't do this to Gary.' And even though he acted like a total prick most of the time, Ash was sure the feeling was reciprocal. 'Bulbasaur, no. Squirtle, no. Then, this leaves me with…'

In the end, Ash's eyes turned to Charmander, whom he measured as by far the weakest of the three. "Old man, what moves can Charmander use?"

"Standard moveset for the species: Scratch, Ember and Smokescreen." The Professor said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Ash."

"Don't be, old man. It's not your fault." Ketchum replied with a small smile of his own, before turning to his childhood friends. "Alright, guess I've already made my choice!"

"So…what is it? Is it Squirtle? I bet 200 bucks it's Squirtle!" Gary comments with a grin. "If it's not, then you're stupid."

"Nah, it's obvious Red will choose Bulbasaur. With that moveset, he can storm the Gyms like a piece of cake…"

"I'm afraid none of you are right, in fact, my choice is…"

An utterly shocked Charmander can merely stare back at him, as he gently picks her up to look right into her teary eyes. Even Professor Oak was shocked by the boy's choice; he thought he'd choose Bulbasaur, for Mew's sake! "I like this one." The boy says with his usual smile, turning his gaze to the astonished Gary and smiling Leaf. He looks back at Charmander. "Charmander… if only you give me a chance I swear I'll make you happy. Not only that, but I'll forge you into the finest dragon in the entire Indigo! I know you're probably afraid but…will you be my starter?"

For a tense few seconds, Charmander simply looked at him with a torrent of chaotic emotions expressed in her widened eyes: from surprise, to fear, to happiness. And then, the tears finally started rolling, and the tiny lizard all but leapt at him in a grateful hug.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." The boy comments with a smile, petting the Fire type's back a bit. "Shhh, shhh, it's alright now. Everything's alright."

There were several reasons for him to choose Charmander as his starter Pokémon: for one, he was quite used to the line, after years being the only of Professor Oak's aides courageous enough to take food to Charizard's den, high up in Mt. Hideaway. Not only that, but his role model as a trainer, Lance, had one beast of a Charizard in his team- so Ash was somewhat biased towards the lizards too.

Besides, this one seemed so sad and lonely- he couldn't help but take pity on the little creature. 'Leaf's right: I guess I am one big goof.' Ash mused with a smile, as he felt moisture building up on the spot Charmander's face touched his shirt. Now that he was touching her, Ash noticed how surprisingly smooth her scales felt, almost like silk, against the skin of his palm. He knew, however, they would be turned into an extremely tough armor once she evolved. "All good now?"

As if to say 'Yes!', Charmander gave him a happy cry, before giving the tip of his nose a lick. "I guess you choose me too huh? Thank you, Charmander."

"Now that was unexpected, even for you, Ash." Leaf comments with a relieved sigh, walking to his side as Gary steps up for his turn to choose. "You really had me for a second. I thought you'd pick Bulbasaur…" her eyes then drift to Charmander, who makes herself comfortable in his arms. Needless to say, her body felt very hot against his- but he was used to worse. "Then again, I guess you made the right choice. You two really belong with each other."

"Thanks." Ash replies with a snicker, watching as Gary cheerfully introduced himself to his obvious choice: Squirtle. "Gary picked Squirtle, so it seems like you did get Bulbasaur in the end huh?"

"Thanks to you, Ashy~" Leaf replies with a playful wink. "Looks like it's time for me to get my starter. How does Gary say? Hmmm…oh, smell ya later~"

"I always knew you'd pick Charmander." He hears his mother's soothing voice comment, as she approaches them with a proud smile. "My sweet, sweet boy, mama's so proud of you~" Even as Ash's cheeks flush to a scarlet tone, Delia Ketchum wraps her arms around her son to pull him into a loving hug. From her spot in Ash's arms, Charmander eyes the woman with curiosity. "I know you'll be a wonderful trainer…"

"Hey, mom…this is kind of embarrassing..."

"Oh, look at that! Ashy-boy's red as a tomato!" Not missing a chance to tease him, Gary comments with a sly grin.

"And aren't you just beautiful?~" Charmander lets out a delighted cry, as Ash's mother scratches her right under the chin. . "Who's the cutest Charmander in the world?" the Pokémon pokes her head against Delia's hand, giving it a few licks- preening with affection. "That's right! It's you, it's you~"

And obviously, the innocent Fire type was completely unaware of the jealous glare sent her way by a certain Alakazam.

Once the trio had finally gotten used to their new partners, Professor Oak speaks up. "Ahem... children, now that you have your starters, I believe you should also have this…"

He then hands them three small, rectangular devices from Delia's case: a red one for Ash, blue for Gary and a white & green one for Leaf. "Those are very advanced devices I've recently invented, they're called Pokédexes." The elderly Oak explains with a proud grin. He clearly was happy with himself. "Think of them as hi-tech , digital encyclopedias- I decided to give them to you because you three show great potential! Each Pokédex contains data from a huge research bank, thus providing the user with knowledge about every single known Pokémon in this world."

Both Ash and Leaf stare at him in barely contained excitement, while Gary merely snickers- the boy had probably heard that thousands of times already.

"Well, now that you all have Pokémon and the Dexes, I believe it's time for you to start your own journeys as trainers." Professor Oak then gives them each a couple Pokéballs before continuing. "Ash, Gary, Leaf I've taken the liberty to register the three of you for the Indigo Circuit. You're now, officially, trainers!"

While the Professor continued with his ranting about the Gym Circuit, among other things related to the League, Ash studied his new Pokédex with interest. He'd always had a thing for technology, so it was obvious the device fascinated him. 'Let's see…there!' with a touch from his fingers, the card-shaped device separated in two ends- revealing a bluish holographic center. "Sweet."

"Welcome, Ash Ketchum! My name is Dexter, and I am your Pokédex. How can I be of help?"

"Looks like you already learned how to use it."Professor Oak commented with a playful grin. "Well, I believe that's all I had to say for now. The three of you are free to go now, just make sure to check up with me every now and then. Also, after you reach the limit of six, every Pokémon you capture will be sent here to the lab- call me if you need to switch any of them."

"Sure." Looking down at Charmander to see if she was comfortable, Ash follows his friends outside. "So…what do we do now? I've already got my things packed, so it's not like I'm in a hurry."

"Duuh. We all have Pokémon now, stupid." Gary scoffs, before holding Squirtle's Pokéball up in a dramatic pose. "Hey Green, want to battle? I bet Squirtle and I can beat that Bulbasaur of yours, tough one or not."

"Now that's unexpected…" the brunette replies with a deadpan, while Bulbasaur gives Gary an upwards nod as if to say: 'Bring it down, loser!'. "I thought you'd go for Ash here, what a bother."

"That was the plan, but Ashy-boy had to ruin it by choosing damn Charmander. I'd be wasting my time battling a weakling like that!"

"Are you sure? You're wasting an opportunity to defeat me while you still can." Ash replies with a mocking chuckle. "Tell you what, I'll actually do it. What do you say, Charmander?"

"Char!"

"Hell yeah! This is going to be one hell of an ass kicking- let's do this, Red!"

Ash simply grinned, before putting Charmander down in front of him- Gary did the same on his end, releasing Squirtle onto the grass I between them.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"

"Dodge, Charmander." With an amazing- almost unexpected- reaction time, Charmander ducks to the side and crouches just in time to avoid the spiral of water Squirtle spat from its mouth. "Blind it with Smokescreen!"

"Quickly, Squirtle, Withdraw!" As the Water type desperately cuts its move short to hide into its shell, Charmander's tail flame flickers wildly as she opens her mouth wide and releases a thick, black cloud of some- saturated with soot and dirt. "Don't let it hide, use Bubble!"

"Take cover, then use Ember!" Squirtle's bubbles become useless, as it can't even see Charmander under the cover of smoke and ashes. To make things worse, the Embers that did not hit Squirtle set the grass around him on fire. "Keep up the pressure, girl!"

"Don't fucking let it Squirtle, put that fire down with Water Gun!"

'Gotcha!' As he expected, Gary had fallen right into his trap. Ketchum wasn't stupid, he knew Charmander couldn't possibly hope to take on either Bulbasaur or Squirtle- at least not yet; her lack of available moves and, most importantly, her lack of self-confidence would not allow her to do so. "Charmander, I want you to trust me in this…"

"Char!" his starter replied eagerly. Hearing her response, Squirtle almost immediately aimed his Water Gun in that direction, though the fire and smoke impended him from landing a hit. "Use Smokescreen, make it even denser. Then, use the best Ember you can get on the grass around him!"

"Shit! Move out of there, Squirtle!" Finally getting what Ash was up to, Gary desperately tried to alert his starter- but it was to no avail. Even when compared to Bulbasaur, Squirtle was slow- against Charmander, a female one nonetheless, it was almost a sitting duck. "Shit! Keep using Water Gun! Don't let it come close!"

Even Leaf stepped back when the dark cloud expanded more and more, with the only thing visible being the occasional flash of orange of Charmander's ember attacks. The wild Pokémon in the ranch watched the battle with curiosity; even they wouldn't expect a Charmander to be having the advantage against a Water type.

A loud, surprised yelp makes itself heard as Charmander- more out of instinct than anything- tackles Squirtle down and furiously scratches it to its face. As the smoke slowly starts to dissipate, Ash can see the two figures struggling in close brawl.

"Water Gun to its face, Squirtle!"

"Scratch!" Dehydrated and exhausted after standing for so long amidst the flames, the young shiny Squirtle only manages to spit a few drops of Water that barely faze Charmander. Noticing this, the Fire type continues with her attack, ending it with a slap from her front paws that knocks Squirtle on its back- it doesn't get up. "Atta girl! I knew you could do it!"

"Damn, to think I'd actually lose." Blue spits on the ground in front of him with a scoff, before recalling his fainted Squirtle. Charmander, on the other hand, pretty much jumps into Ash's arms for a hug- staining the boy's shirt with soot. Not that he minded. "Well, I've got to patch my buddy up now. Smell ya later, Ashy-boy!"

With this one last remark, Gary 'Blue' Oak turned on his heels and left.

"That was an interesting twist of events~"

Shortly after his first official Pokémon battle, Ash- accompanied by the ever-curious leaf- walks the dusty trail towards his small house, up the street from Professor Oak's ranch and almost in the outskirts of town.

"It sure was! And all thanks to this little one here!" Ketchum replies with a grin, lowering his arm so he can pet Charmander's head. Walking by his side on short legs, the Fire-type gives him a pleased cry. "I knew you had it in you, Charmander! Together, you and I shall conquer the world!"

"Energetic aren't you?" Leaf teases with cocked brows. "At least you gave that prick what he deserves."

"Come on, Leaf, Gary's not that bad…"

"You're right. He's worse than a prick, he's a complete assh-."

"Language, young lady." He playfully states in a tone similar to Professor Oak's- as the duo walks past the poison ivy that acted as some sort of fence around the Ketchum residence. "Anyways, we're home!"

The very instant he opens the door, Ash is greeted with a playful bite to his head as the small, grey missile that is Gible jumps over him- earning a startled squeak from Charmander, and a giggle from Leaf, who was quite familiar with the tiny Dragon. "Hey there, Gible! I see you're up and running as always!"

"Gi, Gible!" is the Pokémon's cheerful response, before it jumps off him to greet Leaf. "Gible!"

Small, bipedal and of a stout build, Gible is a rare Dragon/Ground type hybrid from distant Sinnoh. Known as the 'Land Shark Pokémon', the neckless Gible has a very big mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, short arms that start at the outer edges of its jaws, and has an armor of rough, grayish blue scales that protects its body. Gible's head is topped by a notched fin, sided by two "horns" that look more like jet engines than anything else.

According to his mom, Gible had been a gift from his father before he left their lives for good- as she always became uncomfortable and, sometimes, teary whenever he mentioned his father, Ash never really asked further. Either way, when his egg finally hatched about five years before, the young Ketchum took to the clumsy Dragon almost immediately.

"Hello, Gible~" Leaf greets with a warm smile, before releasing her chosen partner- Bulbasaur- on the floor by her feet. "This is my new partner, Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur, meet Pallet's little troublemaker, Gible."

As the two Pokémon start playing with each other, Ash climbs up the stairs to the bathroom in the second floor of the house. After a quick, steaming shower, Ash heads to his room to grab a change of clothes, switching into his usual attire: a light, red and white cotton jacket over a black polo shirt, jeans and white running shoes. The icing on the cake, however, is his favorite red, Pokéball cap.

"Well, I guess it's time for a formal introduction."Ketchum starts with a grin, gently placing the little Charmander on the nightstand before taking a seat on his bed. Wary of the flames on her tail, the Fire type kept it raised high in order to avoid burning something. "As you already know, my name is Ash, Ash Ketchum- though people like calling me Red. I was an aide in Professor Oak's lab until very recently, but now- I'm about to go on a journey to take on the Pokémon League…"

Charmander simply looks up at him in awe, to which he replies by petting her on the head. "So cute…anyways, I don't like the idea of calling you Charmander. It sounds way too impersonal, at least to me so…do you want a nickname?"

"Char~" the adorable Fire type replies with a nod.

Truth to be told, Ash had already been brewing some ideas for a nickname from the moment he picked her as his starter. As an avid reader of classics from both Kanto and Johto, it was obvious Ash would pick a proper, traditional name instead of the usual ridiculous nicknames most people gave to their Pokémon. 'Let's see…'

"What about Akahana?" A once popular name for young ladies of Ecruteak's Enju era, Akahana means 'Brilliant Red Flower'. A suiting name, considering the reddish orange tone of Charmander's scales. Unfortunately for him, however, Charmander seems to dislike the name. "You don't like it? Well then, what about…"

In the end, they settled for Akane ( Kanji:茜- 'Bright Red'), which meant 'Bright Red' in the classical Kantonese language. "Akane…Akane, yes, it suits you well."

Heading downstairs with the newly christened Akane nested in his arms, Ash walks into the sight of his mother eagerly chatting with Leaf. A spicy, tantalizing smell Ash recognizes as frying Magikarp fills in his nostrils the very moment he steps into the kitchen.

"Oh, hey there, Ashy!" his mother greets from her spot by the stove, where she's finishing lunch with the help of Mr. Mime. "Leaf here was telling me about your battle with Gary. Congrats~"

"Well, at least Squirtle learned not to play with Akane!"

"Akane?" Leaf inquires from her spot at the table, Bulbasaur obediently sitting on her lap.

"That's Charmander's new nickname." Ash replies with a snicker, helping himself to some juice before claiming one of the seats to himself. "Where's Kazzy? I thought he'd be here for lunch."

"He's in the attic, meditating." Delia states with a smile that could warm up the entire country, as plates float from the wood shelves to the table- courtesy of the housekeeper, Mr. Mime. Her eyes then land on Bulbasaur, who stares back with his usual plain, serious expression. "What about you, Bulbasaur? Would you like some Berries?"

"Bul."

"So cute~" As if by magic, a small bowl filled to the brim with all sorts of berries popped out of thin air in front of the tiny Grass type. Bulbasaur studied it for a few seconds, before finally taking a nibble. "There , there, eat all you want~"

Watching the scene with amusement, Ash helps himself to a large plate of juicy, breaded Magikarp fillet, combined with bananas- fried in bottle butter and speckled with brown sugar and cinnamon- spicy Kalosian fries and a glass of iced black tea mixed with some lemon juice. Much like everything about her, Delia Ketchum's cooking was simply divine. "Tea or juice, Leaf?"

"Tea, please." The girl replies with a sly grin as Ash serves her a glass. "My, my, Red Ketchum, I guess I'll be having my meals here from now on…"

"Feel free to come any time, Leaf." Delia rebuked while picking Akane up and setting her in her lap. "What cute little Pokémon you two got, I'm starting to get jealous~"

"They won't be so little for long, though." Leaf stated, amused. Delia Ketchum really had her way around Pokémon. "Once Bulbasaur starts getting some sunlight, he'll start growing real quick."

"I, on the other hand, will be carrying Akane around for some time..." Ash commented with a glance at his starter, who looked up at his mother with her big, puppy eyes. It wasn't a secret that the Charmander line had a slower evolutionary process than both Bulbasaur's and Squirtle's. "Not that I'm complaining, though. I actually like that quite a bit!"

"Char~"

"We can see that."Both Delia and Leaf replied with giggles, making Ash blush slightly. "That's so cute~"

"You two really like messing with me, don't you?"

"We do~"

"Good grief…" Ash replies with a sigh.

And so, they spend the rest of lunchtime in casual chatter- mostly about his mother's research and travels to Johto and the Orange Islands, though the conversation eventually shifted to their traveling plans. Eventually, Leaf takes her leave and- after helping Mr. Mime do the dishes and brushing his teeth- Ash heads back up to grab his backpack.

It took him the better part of an hour, but- as the midday sun started its slow descent into the horizon- Champ in the Making Ash Ketchum finally drops the last of his traveling clothes into the small, black bag- making sure to select the right storage compartment before the piece of clothing was dissolved into billions of particles. Technology really was awesome. "Clothes- checked."

Not that he really needed to do so in the first place. After all, he did spend the entirety of the previous week packing up for his long-awaited journey. Clothes, water bottles, fresh, imperishable supplies, cooking items a sleeping bag and medicine- everything was ready, now there was only one thing left…

Akane's white Premier Ball slipped smoothly into his belt's Pokéball compartment. Said Charmander eyed it with curiosity from her spot at his studying desk; under what little sunlight that snuck its way through the jalousies of his room, the object glinted like pure silver. "Well, shall we go now?"

"Char!" the timid Fire type cries happily, before jumping to her already favorite spot in Ash's arms. "Char, Char, Charmander!"

After giving his mother- and the Pokémon- his farewells and promising to call her on every stop he made, Ash grabbed his old, red Pokégear from the living room's shelf and walked out.

With the last winds of Winter long gone, the climate in southern Kanto has returned to its usual bland temperatures and refreshing, humid sea breezes. Verdant, luxurious grass had quickly grown over the formerly frozen earth- adding even more color to Pallet's idyllic landscape; practically ripped off the pages of a classic poem.

Whistling one his favorite compositions, Ash calmly walks down- with Akane in his arms, of course- the plain, dusty trail leading north to Route 1; both his Pokéballs and Pokégear hitting against his hip on every step. Few minutes later, and they were passing by the deceivingly simple Oak residence.

"Seems like Gary's on his way to Viridian already." Red comments, noticing the absence of his friend's fancy, red convertible at the garage. Gary Oak was rich- not in part due to the Professor's successful career- and he didn't mind showing it off one bit. "However…"

Not even bothering to knock on the door, Ash walks in on Gary's older sister- Daisy- who seemed to be packing up her things.

Until very recently, Ash Ketchum had rarely shown any interest on the opposite sex- in aspects beyond friendship that is. Thus, he couldn't help but blush slightly as he meet the playful, greenish eyes of Daisy Oak. If he needed a word to describe her, it'd be gorgeous- with her long, silky brown hair and heart-shaped face. Not only that, but even in casual home clothes, the eldest Oak sibling managed to look like a fashion model: being dressed in a red turtleneck and jeans.

Needless to say, Ash had a difficult time not blushing.

"Hey there, Ashy! I thought you'd have hit the road already!" Daisy greets with a flashy smile, as she hands over a pair of folded pants to her Chansey, Seych. "Gary told me you chose Charmander. I gotta say she does look cute in your arms~"

"Heh, thanks Daisy." Ketchum replies with a grin of his own. "I actually came here to see you. It will probably be a while before I'm back to town, with the Kanto Circuit and all."

"Actually, I'm not very different." the older girl replies cheerfully, showing him a shiny, golden airway ticket. "After Gary told me he was becoming a trainer, I decided to get back in the road too. I mean…it is kind of lonely here, even with gramps…"

"The old man does take his job way too seriously." Ash commented with a mild chuckle, kneeling down to help the humming Chansey. Seych greets him with a cheerful cry, before resuming her own work. "Where are you going this time? Johto? Hoenn?"

"Sinnoh~" Daisy says with a small giggle. "I've been pondering about it for a while…I think it's time for me to go back to the world of Pokémon Contests."

"Don't talk like an old lady." Ash teases, earning a playful pinch to his cheek. "You're not even twenty; it's been what…two years since you came back to town?"

"Who are you calling old, you little twerp?" the brunette replies in fake anger. "I don't know- seeing you and Gary going out on your own journeys inspired me to do the same! Besides, I do miss Fantina, and I wonder how Courtney's doing…"

"Your friends?"

"Yes- oh! By the way, where's Gible?! I thought you'd take him now that…you know, you're going on your own journey and everything."

"I don't think that's…viable."

Even with all his experience working with Pokémon at the ranch, Ash wasn't very sure about his ability to not only rein in, but actually train a Dragon type like Gible.

Unlike the usually calm, docile and intelligent Dratini line, Dragon types such as Gible and Bagon- besides being nearly as rare as Dratini- had a tendency to cause trouble wherever they passed, mostly due to their behavior. Though he had no doubt Gible would never harm him- he was one of his oldest friends after all- the clumsy and oblivious little Dragon was extremely difficult to control. As a hatchling, he'd gnaw on the wires of Professor Oak's lab, much to the elder's dismay; he'd often chew on the furniture of their house, and had the habit of playfully biting people's heads.

'Not only people, that is.' The most recent time Gible caused him trouble involved a certain Charizard, whose tail Gible had bitten- hard. Needless to say, the Professor's starter nearly broke every single tooth in the Dragon's mouth, which forced Ash to feed it with pasty baby food for almost six weeks before those finally grew back. 'Not only that, but I ended up feeling bad for a month…'

No, for both his and Gible's sakes, he wouldn't be taking the tiny Dragon type with him. At least, not until he felt like he was experienced enough to actually control him.

"I'm not ready to take Gible with me yet." Ash replied in an unexpectedly serious tone. "I need some more experience as a trainer first, so I can deal with him better now, and when he evolves."

"I see…" Daisy gave him an odd look for a few seconds, before finally returning to the usual cheerfulness. "Well, I think I've held you for too long already. It's almost fourteen, and you still have a long way to Viridian."

"Alright! Well, goodbye Daisy! I'll make sure to text you every now and then!"

"Goodbye Ashy, oh, and before I forget…" What Daisy does next makes even the carefree Ash blush more than a tomato. Leaning forwards before he can even react, the eldest Oak gives him a light peck to the forehead before pulling back. "That's for good luck! Now, go, go, your Pokémon journey awaits~"

'Those women will be the end of me.' Ash muses with a sigh. 'I wonder if this is what Gary feels whenever he's with one of his girlfriends.'

In the end, he decided to shrug it out. For now, he had far more important matters to worry about.

Route 1, Kanto.

Probably the calmest road in all of Kanto, Route 1 could be described as a large, primitive trail of dust- completely surrounded by trees and tall grass.

After taking just a few dozen steps out into the wild, Ash comes to a sudden halt- realizing he'd forgotten something really important. "Hey girl." He starts, looking down at his Charmander, who was looking around in awe from her spot by his feet- he didn't want her to get lazy, so he planned to make her walk for a bit. "I actually forgot to scan you with the Dex, would you mind if I did it now?"

Akane gives him an eager nod, and in a swift movement, Ash pulls the Pokédex off his pocket and activates it.

[Pokédex]

Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon.

Type: Fire.

Height: 0.48 m/ Weight: 6.2 kg.

Instantly recognizable by the flame that burns on the tip of its tail from birth, Charmander is a rare Fire type Pokémon native to the region of Kanto- where it's considered one of the three Official Starters by the League. Its ideal habitat are hot, mountainous areas.

Even the newborns have flaming tails. Unfamiliar with fire, baby Charmander are said to accidentally burn themselves. Said flame serves as an indicator of its emotions; the flame wavers when Charmander is happy, and blazes when it is enraged. If a Charmander is healthy, its flame burns even underwater and, when it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail.

In the wild Charmander exhibits pack behavior, calling others of its species if it finds food. Those packs are usually formed by members of the same batch, though the weaker ones are usually excluded.

Female Charmander are incredibly rare- barely making up 10% of the complete population- thus explaining the species' slow breeding rate. They are usually smaller and faster than the males, and can be easily identified by an experienced breeder- due to their long necks and slender builds.

This Charmander is a female, and knows the following moves: Scratch; Smokescreen and Ember.

This Charmander's Ability is Blaze, which significantly boosts the power of Fire type moves in a pinch.

This Charmander has the Hidden Ability, Solar Power, which nearly doubles this Pokémon's power under harsh sunlight- yet with a great energy cost.

'Blaze huh?' This could even things a bit, should an opponent prove itself too much for Akane's normal strength. Turning to his partner, he gives her a warm smile- before scratching her neck affectionately. "You're a box full of surprises huh, girl?"

It was a few hours into their walking, that Ash and his Charmander finally met another trainer.

Unlike Ash, who was in his mid teens, little Ronny was an aspiring Pokémon trainer and an elementary school student in Pallet Town. Though Akane wasn't overwhelmingly strong like Leaf's Bulbasaur, she still managed to do short work of Ronny's Rattata. As Ronny wasn't officially a trainer, the battle wasn't registered in Ash's Trainer Card, but he still received his bet. After patching Rattata up with a potion, Ketchum left the boy to his own devices.

"Hmm?" Hearing the sounds of battle up ahead, Ash finds himself surprised when he stumbles upon Leaf- who had just finished battling a lone, angry-looking Spearow.

"Pokéball, go!"

Even with the bird nearly knocked out by Bulbasaur's ruthless beating, the device actually twitched for a few seconds in the ground, before finally clicking. The capture was successful. "Yesss! You did great, Bulbasaur!"

"Oh, seems like someone just got her first capture." He commented with a grin, making Leaf quickly turn on her heels- alert- before her eyes widen in recognition.

"Ash! What took you so long? I actually thought you were planning to stay the night!"

"Had to say my goodbyes to Daisy, took a bit longer than expected." Ketchum replies with a sheepish grin. "Anyways, good catch! Fearow do make for good battlers if well-trained."

"I know right? This little one here was particularly fierce~" Green then pulls out her own Pokédex to scan her new partner- turns out Spearow was a female, and it had a good amount of moves- including the highly coveted 'Mirror Move'. "I can work with that."

"I can only imagine."

For a long moment, there was an awkward silence between the two- as neither knew what to say. Then, as if she'd just had a good idea- Leaf smiles, before saying. "Tell you what, are you up for battle? Bulbasaur here's been itching for a good fight the whole day. And after what you did to Gary, I'm pretty sure you can give him that."

"What do you say, Akane?" Ash inquires, turning to his partner- who seems quite nervous at the perspective. "It's up to you? Do you want to battle Bulbasaur?"

All eyes turned to the timid Charmander, who looked like she was about to try hide behind Ash. Most unnerving of all was the look Bulbasaur gave it, not only expectant, but really pressuring too. Noticing he was just making her even more hesitant by staring, Ash knelt by his partner's side before petting her head affectionately. "Akane…"

After five years helping the old Professor at the lab, Ash was all but inexperienced with Pokémon and their feelings. Even for him, however, Akane was a different, complicated case. Though there was great determination in her- as she'd shown in their battle against Gary and Squirtle- the little Charmander was still very insecure about herself. 'I need to be more careful next time…Ash Ketchum, you idiot, of course she'd be afraid.'

Afraid of Bulbasaur, who she knew was much stronger than her. Afraid of losing, in humiliation as merciless vines whip her to unconsciousness. Afraid of disappointing him, like she'd disappointed people and Pokémon alike with her weakness.

"I'm sorry, Leaf, but I really can't accept." Ketchum stated in one of his rare moments of worry and, most importantly, disappointment- not with his Pokémon- but with himself. "I thought Akane was…okay with this, especially after we defeated Gary…"

Said Charmander raises her head to meet his eye at the mention of her name. Instead of a frown, she sees a warm, gentle smile on Ash's face. "I'm not mad at you, girl. It's okay…"

After that small moment between the two, Ash decided to accompany Leaf on the walk to Viridian- not only because courtesy demanded it, but also because chatting with Green was better than wandering through Route 1 all by himself.

Their first day of traveling is mostly uneventful, except for a few battles with other Rookie trainers that is. Most of those were kids, though, so Ash couldn't help but feel slightly bothered.

"Isn't this kind of…illegal?" he inquires, after beating yet another youngster- this time with a Pidgey- and receiving his bet in form of a small bundle of bills. "I mean, most of the trainers here are under the age to get a license…"

While the minimal age required for one to obtain a Trainer License had once been that of ten years, a series of events in the previous decade forced the Pokémon League- not only in Indigo, but in all the other regions- to impose a new set of rules: now, only individuals over the age of fifteen were allowed to register as Trainers, with the few exceptions including Gym trainers, trainee Officers and Rangers.

Even though this new rule might seem authoritarian at first, the League was right to be cautious: with the steady rise of the Rocket Criminal Syndicate as a major force in Kanto's underworld, criminality skyrocketed all across the region- with the main victims being young, inexperienced trainers raging from ages ten to thirteen; not only that, but the brutal carnage that were the 1st and 2nd Shadow Incidents in distant Orre sent waves across the entire world.

Being a Pokémon trainer had never been safe, even in the best of times. With criminal organizations such as Team Rocket, in Kanto, and Aqua and Magma, in Hoenn, on the rise then, it became outright dangerous for little kids to be wandering around the wild. 'That, and there are people like the Cerulean Ripper, who targeted rookies like Leaf and I…'

The fact that said criminal has never been caught sent a cold shiver up Ash's spine.

"I guess it is…and isn't at the same time. The new rules are kind of complicated…" Leaf replies sheepishly, spraying a bit of Potion on a bruiser caused by a particularly tough Mankey. During the short time they'd spent together, Ash took note on how resilient Leaf's starter was- it made sense Akane was kind of scared to fight him. "I mean, while kids can't have a Trainer Card, it doesn't necessarily forbid them from having Pokémon. They just can't register for the Gym circuits, or fight official, League sponsored battles."

"I see…" that sounded complicated and tedious, at least in Ash's eyes. Knowing Leaf, though, he could probably guess she'd just read the whole code of law, if only for the sake of cautiousness. Girls could be more paranoid than Nidoking at times. "If that's the case, then so be it."

After winning a few more battles- making a good deal of money in the process- both Ash and Leaf eventually decide to set up camp in a small, hidden clearing Bulbasaur had found; just a few steps off the road.

"That's actually quite convenient." Ash comments with a snicker, watching as the bulky Grass type used his powerful vines to cut a few twigs off the pine trees around them, until they had a small bundle. With the help of Akane, Ash then dug a small hole with a gardening shovel, before turning to his starter. "Could you do the honors?"

"Char~"

Skip to a few minutes later, and a small bonfire sends shadows all across the clearing. Ash's nose twitches in recognition of the smell of pine, remembering his mother's habits of boiling the needles to make bathroom fragrance. "I guess I won't be needing this anymore." The teen says, looking at his white Zippo lighter before his gaze drifts to Charmander's tail. "I have my own little torch now~"

"Char!"

"Just kidding." With a playful grin, he lets his starter climb in between his crossed legs before he starts petting her belly. "Are you done there yet, Leaf?"

"Almost!" he hears his companion's voice say from inside the tent. A moment later, the girl steps out of the structure with a satisfied smirk. "I told you I could do it, Ashy-boy!"

"Yeah, with Bulbasaur's help, even Gible can set up a tent."

"Oh, shut up- will you?" Green rebukes with a huff, before taking a seat on the fresh grass by his side. "Anyways, can you boil some water? I'm starting to get really hungry after all that walking, and there's some really tasty chicken noodles in my bag…"

"You and your feeding habits…" Ash sighs. "Didn't you just say you were on a diet earlier today?"

"I was on a diet, Reddy." Green replies with a wink. "There's no such luxuries when you're on a journey~"

"Heh, you're just being lazy." Reaching for his bag, Ash quickly scans through the 'Food&Drinks' compartment section until he finds what he's looking for. "Let's see…Night Meal, 1." In a flash of bright red light, thousands of particles form into a small, paper package- a few other clicks, and a large box filled with cooking items also materializes. "This bag cost me a note, had to save a whole year worth of salary to buy this…well, at least it's worth it! Tonight's dish is…Fried Rice!"

"Wow- really?" Leaf cocks her brows, before inquiring. "And people say I'm the cautious one."

"It's not like I did it alone." In fact, it had all been Kazzy's idea- after he told his mother about his plans to go out on a journey instead of going to Celadon University or something like that. While the Alakazam was far from friendly towards him, he could be helpful at times. "Kazzy gave me the idea, while Mr. Mime helped me divide the ingredients in meal-sized packages."

Thanks to the Psychic duo, Ash now had a decent supply of fresh, healthy ingredients- which he could use to cook a whole plethora of meals for both himself, and his Pokémon.

"Now, I only need to…"

Mere twenty minutes later, and a the exotic smell several ingredients, frying in virgin olive oil, fills in the clearing- making both human and Pokémon stomachs growl. While fried rice was an easy, one-pan Kantonese meal, it still made for fool-proof dinner. "Dinner's served, guys!"

Accepting a bowl of the steaming food from Ash's hands, Leaf grins before- as usual- teasing. "My, my, what would I be without you, Reddy-boy?"

And, Ash, ever in the mood for some teasing, replies.

"A Snorlax."

Needless to say, Leaf refused to speak to him for the rest of the night.

Viridian City

The next day in the road started pretty much the same way; Ash and Leaf battled some other trainers, winning every single match while making a good thousand Pokédollars in bets each. Wild Pokémon, mostly Pidgey and Rattata, avoided them most of the time; a small herd of Mankey, led by a Primeape, did try to scare them off, though left them be after Ash bribed them with some snacks.

A part of him wanted to try and catch that Primeape, though his rational side quickly convinced him otherwise. Primeape were extremely aggressive and short-tempered; this Fighting-type needed a strong hand in charge, else risking it to go out on a rampage. 'Besides, I'm not sure Akane could handle that one; not yet…'

And then, after a few more hours of walking, they finally reach the city known as The Eternally Green Paradise: Viridian, jewel of eastern Kanto.

Though it was relatively small if compared to Kanto and Johto's larger urban centers such as Saffron and Goldenrod, Viridian City definitely lived up to its slogan. As the literal gateway to Indigo Plateau, Viridian had a historical air only surpassed by Ecruteak in Johto; the houses there were mostly built in a classical, Kantonese style, surrounded by lush pine trees and bushes.

"Documents, please." Officer Jenny politely requests, as soon as Ash and Leaf walk through Viridian's southern gates. Her eyes flicker in recognition when they see Ash, though he says nothing as they hand her their Dexes. "Let's see…Ash Ketchum and Leaf Green, both from Pallet Town. How long do you play to stay in Viridian?"

"One or two days, I guess." Leaf replies. "We're on our way to Pewter, where we plan to challenge the Gym Leader there."

'Well, there is a Gym Leader here too…' Not that he actually planned to challenge this one in particular. Even daring as he was, Ash Ketchum wasn't enough of an idiot to think he could even scratch any of Giovanni's Pokémon. 'Besides, I need four Badges before I can even enter his Gym.'

Not only that, but his mother always felt a bit uncomfortable whenever the Gym Leader was mentioned. Then again, Giovanni was described as a grim, reclusive man- scarier than even the Psychic Sabrina.

"You know, there was another kid from Pallet yesterday- Gary Oak. Do you know him?"

"Of course, he's a friend." Ash rebuked, though it actually made Leaf scoff. Gary Oak, a friend of hers? Not in a thousand years. "Anyways, can we pass now? After almost two days on the road, both me and Akane here have been itching for a steaming bath and a good, warm bed!"

"Char, Charmander~"

"Besides, I'm pretty sure Dexter needs to recharge."

"You're actually quite right, Mr. Ketchum." The red Pokédex replies, from its spot in the Officer's hands.

"Ketchum…Ketchum? Oh, I remember you now! You're Professor Oak's aide, aren't you? The one who rides a Rapidash?"

"In flesh and bone." Ash stated with a snicker. "Though it's been a long time since Rapidash was sent to the Rangers. I usually work with Ponyta now!"

"It's nice to see you again! Oh…I'm sorry, I think I've taken too much of your time already. You two are clean to go, Ash, Leaf!"

As the two walked through Viridian's crowded streets, Ash- with his Charmander in his arms- found himself instantly enraptured by the city's freshness and beauty. Akane herself attracted quite a few looks, and more than once the teen heard the words 'cute' and 'beautiful' being whispered as they passed. "We're attracting quite a lot of attention huh?"

"If by we, you mean Akane, then yes."

It didn't take them much longer to get to Viridian's absolutely enormous Pokémon Center- and a wave of ice cold air instantly hits the trainers as the air conditioner is turned on max capacity. To their left, there's a large cafeteria, where trainers could buy food for both themselves and their teams; to their right, was a comfortable waiting room- with couches, puffs and even a pair of TVs.

"Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" A beautiful, fair-skinned young woman greets with a smile that could warm up even the coldest of hearts. Her hair is of a bright pink color, and is kept tied in round rings to each side of her head. This, combined with her white nurse uniform identifies her as Nurse Joy, one of the kind, cloned nurses responsible for healing Pokémon and- to some extent- their trainers. "I am Nurse Joy! Would you like me to heal your Pokémon?"

"Actually, Akane here just needs a checkup." Ash replies, while tapping his Pokédex at the counter's scanner. After a few seconds, a picture of his Trainer Card appears on the screen, depicting his profile picture, origin, ID Code, team and badges. "She's had some battles, nothing too intense though."

"I see." Joy then turns to Leaf, who'd already done the same with her own Dex. "What about you, miss…"

"Leaf. I'm the same as him- Bulbasaur just needs a checkup. My Spearow needs some healing though, she's had some hard battles recently."

"Understood!" After handing them their Pokéballs and paying the hotel fee- which turned out to be 200 Pokédollars each after they agree to share a room- the Pallet rookies then parted ways: as it was still early in the afternoon, Leaf wanted to go out and explore the city for a bit, while Ash decided to rest while Akane was being treated. 'Let's see…'

Browsing through the channels of the TV, he eventually settled for some new trends from Kalos- Pokévision, or something like that- and actually watched for a few minutes as a redhead named Aria dressed up a small, yellow Fox Pokémon. When the next video started, however, Ash was already mid-dive into his own thoughts.

'I need to figure out a way to counter Brock…' Ash silently mused, supporting his head on his chin as memories from their very first battle together flashed through his mind like a movie. 'I'll probably not be so lucky next time.'

Tactics- this was essential for a Pokémon trainer, should he/she aim for the top positions in a League Conference. Tactics was what gave him his victory against Gary; Ash's natural ability to quickly grasp the situation allowing him to work both the field, and Squirtle's well-known weaknesses to his and Akane's advantage.

However, as a wise general had once said: "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

Ash Ketchum needed to start planning his moves and actions outside the field of battle: How to deal with Akane's insecurities? Which moves he needed to teach her? What Pokémon to catch? Which Gym Leaders would he challenge next?

'So many things to think of…' he sighed. Gary had, undoubtedly, already planned his entire journey from beginning to end- including the order in which he'd take on Gyms, and the Pokémon he'd catch. In this aspects, they were probably polar opposites. "I'm tactics, he's strategy. What is Leaf, though?"

Maybe a mix of both- he had yet to see the girl have an actual, challenging battle. 'If only Akane was less insecure…'

Shrugging those thoughts out with a sigh, Ash walks up to the cafeteria to grab a lemonade, before searching through the contacts at his Pokégear's agenda until he found the one he was looking for.

"Ketchum Residence, Delia Ketchum speaking. How can I help?"

"Hello, mom." Ash greets with a snicker at the surprised yelp that makes itself head on the other side of the line. It takes about a minute or so before his mother's face appears on the video phone, and she looks like she'd just gotten out of bath. "My bad. I thought you were free now, since it's Saturday! Anyways, I called you to say-"

"Ashy!" Before he can say anything, his mother cheerfully cuts him short with a barrage of questions after questions. "How are you? Are you at Viridian already? Did you catch any Pokémon? Where's Akane? Did you walk there alone? Or maybe you met Leaf? I was so worried about you!"

"I can see that." He rebukes with a mild chuckle. "As I was saying, I called you to tell I've already made it to Viridian. I'm traveling with Leaf, for now at least, don't know what her future plans are…"

"You made it to Viridian in less than two days?! That's impressive, Ash! It used to take me four days to get there before Kazzy perfected his Teleport~"

"Isn't it still terrible?" he teases back, knowing the Alakazam would probably hear it as well. Whenever he required Kazzy to teleport him somewhere, the process usually ended with him losing all sense of direction for a few seconds. "Just kidding. Anyways, tell the old man Akane's doing fine. She has some…issues with confidence, but we have yet to lose a battle!"

"I'll make sure to tell him that! You're his protégé after all- I'm sure he'll be proud of you!"

"Well, that's it for now- I guess. Anyways…" His eyes then drifted to the counter, where Nurse Joy's working partner- a Chansey- had just come back holding a Premier Ball. "…seems like Nurse Joy just finished her checkup. I think I'm going to the market now, look for some ingredients and all."

"Aright then! See you later, Ash, and don't forget to change your underwe-"

"Good try, mom. Good try." Putting his Pokégear back on his belt, making a mental note to look for a wristlet later, the boy walks up to the waiting Chansey- who greets him with a cheerful cry before handing him his partner's Pokéball. "Thank you, Chansey!"

"Chansii~"

Once he's out at the street, he releases Akane who - after a quick look at her surroundings- immediately jumps up to claim the spot in his arms. "You know what…I think you're becoming spoiled!"

"Char~"

"Don't 'char' me, Akane."

Their first destination is, of course, Viridian's Open Air market, which according to Dexter, only operated in weekends. As they walk by the many colorful stands, Ash notices the glances sent to his partner- especially by the younger kids. 'Then again, it's not every day you see a Charmander being carried around in her trainer's arms.'

"You like sweet flavors right?" At Akane's agreeing nod, he walked to a particular stand- this one displaying berries typically found in the region. Helping his partner up so she could hold onto his neck, Ketchum then picked the ones that looked tastier. "Let's see…Mago, Pecha, a bit of Oran for texture, and Cheri and Pinap for the spiciness. That's what Fire types like, after all!"

After walking by a few more stands- buying some ingredients he lacked, such as herbs and saffron, as well as a brand new cutlass for fish- Ash finds himself halting by the showcase of a particularly fancy boutique. Noticing Akane's eyes were locked on a bright pink, polka dot ribbon- one that didn't look all that special, but still caught the Charmander's eye anyway.

'I know I'm probably going to regret this but…' Bringing forth Dexter, he looked into his bank account- after spending almost the entirety of his recent winnings at the fair and Pokémon Center, Ash had little more than ₽11,000 available for expenditure, with further 75k his mother gave him for emergencies. He made up his mind. "Say, girl. Do you want that ribbon?"

A mere moment later, and Ash finds himself back on the street; an overjoyed Akane in his arms as she showed off her new present. 'A thousand Pokédollars. On a ribbon…'

Though both he and his mother had made a good amount of money working for the Professor- with the family restaurant, Pallet House, providing substantial extra income- Ash couldn't really say they were rich. 'I really hope this doesn't become a habit…'

"Welcome back, trainer! I see you two enjoyed walking through the city~"

"Sure we did, Nurse Joy." After accepting the room's keys from the nurse, Ash heads up to his and Leaf's shared room- where the brunette already waits with a book at hands. "Hey! How was your day?"

"Good." Green rebukes with a tired sigh, setting the book- titled 'Caring for your Bulbasaur', by Erika Mori. Said Grass type laid sprawled on a pillow by the side of Leaf's bed, completely drained. "I met this orange-haired girl while looking for a Poliwag at Route 22. Turns out her Starmie was stronger than both Bulbasaur and Spearow here." She then nodded to the spot where the tiny, winged devil slept- perched up on the nightstand by her bed. "My, my, and here I thought I'd be able to keep a perfect record for a bit longer…"

"Wish I could see that." Ash then puts Akane down by his bed, before asking. "Anyways, I'm using the shower now. Do you mind?"

"Not one bit, Ashy~" Leaf purrs in response, before burying her nose back in the small tome.

Once he's taken a cold, refreshing shower, Ash 'Red' Ketchum lets himself collapse on the soft bed. "What are you waiting for?" He inquires, seeing the puzzled look Akane was giving him from her spot at the floor. "Nurse Joy told me the blanket's fireproof. You can sleep with me, if you want."

"Char!"

'I can get used to that.' The teen muses, once he notices the Charmander had curled up by his side. Though it didn't burn the bed sheets, Akane's tail did serve as a small, natural heater in the fresh air of the night.

It doesn't take long for him to fall asleep like that, with dreams of a Pokémon Journey populating his mind.

Chapter End.

A/N: So, did you guys like this chapter? Make sure to give me some feedback- positive or negative- at the reviews!

I guess that's all I have to say for now, just finished writing this during a long airplane trip, so I'm pretty tired. Thanks for reading until here!

Alcoholic Pikachu