AN: So, I've recently felt the urge to become reacquainted with my childhood, something I loved fondly, good old Pokemon. I played through HGSS, but it wasn't enough. I started reading fanfics, and although some were amazing, some were just bad. What annoyed me though was that there were so many possibilities with Pokemon fanfics, yet nobody was trying them out. So I thought, what the hell, I'll give it a shot. I'll try and make a realistic Pokemon fanfic, portraying Ash's journey, if a certain nudge was given to him early on. If he was raised slightly differently by someone other than just his mom. If there was a legitimate impact of not having a dad on him, rather than just the innocent depiction in the series. This fic was intended to be dark and realistic, a little closer to the manga than to the anime, but anyways, this is long enough. Reviews, Constructive Criticism, ideas for Ash's first Pokemon and especially on what you guys expect to see are always welcome. I know for such a realistic portrayal, the first chapter doesn't seem so realistic, but let me know what you think.

Key:

"This is speech"

"These are thoughts"

Ash Ketchum, was a boy born with a bright destiny, he just hadn't realized it yet. He was only six years old, yet it was the coming events that would shape him into the boy that would take the world by storm in the coming years.

He had lived in Pallett Town with his mom for as long as he could remember. His mom, Delia Ketchum, never told him anything about his dad, just saying that he was gone on a journey whenever he asked.

Although Pallett Town was a generally pleasant place to live, it still suffered from the cruelties of society. Despite having been married when she had Ash, people were still wary of associating with the two. Adults would rarely want to go out of their way to help Delia as they thought she was some young love-struck girl who was tricked and became pregnant, and didn't have the heart to terminate the child. Most people ignored her when they crossed paths, only speaking to her when necessary. The stigma of being a single parent had brought her down for as long as she could remember while being in Pallett Town. It was even worse for Ash, as he didn't have the fortitude or maturity to deal with the situation like his mother. Few kids wanted to be his friend, as they would often jeer at him for not having a daddy. This had led to many people often shunning him early on when he tried to become friends with them at the park and other social events.

However, there was one small glimmer of help through the Ketchum's' troubled times. The Oaks, a local family related to the famous Professor Samuel Oak, had decided to give the two the benefit of the doubt and help them out. It had been a joyful day indeed for the two, when they found aid in the forms of Blue, Samuel, and Gary Oak. Blue was the Professor's son, and had gotten married early in life. His wife had unfortunately not survived childbirth, and died shortly after giving birth to Gary Oak.

It had been rather surprising to say the least, as Blue had come to their house one day, with no indication he was going to visit. In fact, he didn't even have a real reason to visit her or help her out, but all he did was ask her what her name was, and then he made a surprised face at the name Ketchum. Delia had wanted to ask him about the pensive look he had on his face, but decided that she didn't want to pry. Shortly after, he'd introduced his dad and his son, and Gary and Ash had become quick friends.

It had been two years since the Ketchums and the Oaks first met. Ash and Gary had become best friends. Initially, Gary was unsure of what to think of the boy that had no friends, but then decided it didn't matter, Ash was an alright kid. What the other kids thought didn't matter.

Right now, they were playing a game of Frisbee out in the meadow near the Pokemon ranch. It was their favorite spot to hang out and play games. It was far enough away from the town that the two kids could just relax and be themselves, while still being close enough that their parents' would still be able to find them if they were needed home. Not to mention, the fact that it was right next to the Pokemon ranch which held all kinds of amazing Pokemon that Ash and Gary loved to spend time watching.

Gary was seven years old right now. He was two months older than Ash, and had long spiky light-brown hair, that was all over the place. He wore a black shirt over blue jeans, while he wore black sneakers underneath those. To top off his look, he had a purple wristband on each hand.

Ash himself was six years old. He had pointy black hair, with the same outfit as Gary, except his wristbands were green. Also, he was a little shorter than Gary.

They were currently playing Frisbee to pass the time, while they reminisced on the events that led to this moment. They decided to sit down and relax in the grass after a little while.

Both boys sat thinking, one of the futures to come, while the other thought of the past that had gone by.

"Hey Ash, have you ever thought about what you wanted to do with your life?" asked Gary.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" questioned Ash.

"Well, have you ever thought what you wanted to do when you're older? I mean we're only a few years away from the age of minority. We'll be expected to begin the steps of our journey soon, right?" responded Gary.

The age of minority was the age at which Kanto allowed for children to officially own Pokemon and get their very own Pokedex, if they decided to become a Pokemon trainer. If they didn't want to become a trainer, and decided to pursue some other profession, then this was the age when most trade schools would allow admission into their ranks. This was basically the age at which a child would become a man, almost like the age of majority in some other lands.

It was a sobering thought. Or at least if would be if these two young boys were a little bit older, a little bit more mature, a little more able to understand the gravity of what lay ahead of them. Fortunately, they still held the innocent bravado that accompanied childhood.

"Tch, I know what I'll be doing. I'll be basking in the glory of having become the world's greatest Pokemon Master! Everybody will bow down to me, and praise me and feel guilty for ignoring me. I'll show them, they'll all feel so stupid when they realize the opportunity they missed!" shouted Ash, getting up now and staring far into the distance.

Gary just smirked and said, "The day they let an idiot like you into the Hall of Fame for Kanto, let alone give you the title of Pokemon Master, is the day that I quit being a Pokemon Trainer."

"Oh yeah, well what's your dream then, you wise-guy!" shouted back Ash.

"Me? I don't really know...Dad wants me to become a Trainer and a champion like he once was, while grandpa would like me to become a researcher like him...Right now I guess I just wanna go out there and find what I enjoy, and stick with it," responded Gary.

His response made Ash feel a bit childish with how he was behaving. Here he was trying to feel bad about his lack of a social life, when Gary had it so much worse than him. He had so much pressure from all sides of his family. He had so many expectations to live up to, and even more shadows to stand in.

His dad was Blue, the former champion, a guy who had defeated the Elite Four and become Kanto's Champion. At least, for a short while until he was beaten by another trainer named Red. It was humiliating to think about that his reign as Champion lasted but hours, yet it was an accomplishment none the less.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough, as he had to live up to the expectations as the grandson of the Professor Oak, a man who was a living legend. At one time, he was a good enough trainer to fight the Elite Four and win, and now he was a researcher whose work had helped improve the lives of millions. His creation, the Pokedex have helped thousands of trainers on their journeys as trainers, coordinators, doctors, breeders, anything, you name it. More importantly, even now he was still making contributions to the expansive field of Pokemon.

"Don't worry Gary, I'm sure you'll do fine," said Ash.

"Of course I will, after all, I'm Gary Oak," he said with false arrogance.

Suddenly Ash noticed something over the horizon. Squinting his eyes, he tried to see if he could figure out what it was. Unable to make it out, he tried to pick out any details that could clue him in on what that black stuff in the sky was.

"Wait, black stuff in the sky...What could it be?" he thought.

"Gary, do you see that over there? That thing in the sky over the trees?" he asked, hoping his friend might be able to shed some light on this mystery.

"Hmm, it looks like its smoke, c'mon let's go check it out, it's coming back from Pallett Town!" answered Gary with a sense of urgency.

As the children ran back to town, they both realized with a sinking feeling that the black stuff was smoke. Really, dark smoke that was in the direction of their homes.

"That's near my house..." thought Ash worriedly.

They quickly approached the source of the smoke and had to quickly cover their eyes, as wild surging flames whipped at their faces. Tongues of searing flames raged in front of them, blocking the view, as ash and charcoal flew in the air. It was a veritable firestorm that burned in front of their eyes.

"How was this covered by the trees! This is insane!" thought Ash.

Shocked, the two boys locked eyes with each other and tried to make sense of the situation.

For right in front of their eyes, a fire was burning down the Ketchum residence.

"NO! This can't be happening! Mom! Mom! MOM!" shouted Ash as he frantically called for his mom hoping beyond hope that his beloved mother wasn't anywhere in the house.

His frantic shouts were useless, as he couldn't even pierce the loud roar of the flames.

Gary realized the gravity of the situation and quickly grabbed Ash pulling him away from the house before he got any crazy ideas.

"ASH! C'mon, we need to get help! Let's go find my grandpa!" shouted Gary.

Ash merely stared at the flames, his mouth open in shock, while his mind quickly raced to the worst possible conclusion.

"It's no use, he's not going to be any help, I gotta do it myself," thought the youngest Oak to himself.

He left Ash and ran back to his grandfather's home, which was right next to the Pokemon ranch.

His grandfather lived separate from his parents because of his duties as a professor and Pokémon researcher. It wasn't unusual for him to be up at the oddest hours of the night because of the Pokemon, whether it is a new discovery he's researching, or merely them needing food or medicine. He also had to stay near the Pokemon at all times to make sure nobody tries to steal them.

While his parents were sad that Professor Oak had to live alone by himself in a different house, they weren't able to cope with his job and other requirements, and knew this was the best possible solution for him.

After reaching the doors, he rang the doorbell a multitude of times. A few moments later, his grandpa's smiling face greeted him.

"Oh good morning Gary, what brings you here?" asked the Professor.

"Ash's house is on fire Grandpa! Come quick!" yelled Gary.

"What! I'll be right there, let me get my Pokemon!" said Oak.

His face rapidly growing grim, Professor Oak quickly ran inside to grab his poke balls.

"Hmm, Arcanine should be able to get us there in an instant, and then Blastoise would be perfect for putting out the fire. Alakazam would be helpful in searching the area for survivors. These three should be enough," he thought quickly analyzing the situation.

He ran outside before releasing Arcanine.

As he threw his poke ball on the ground, a giant dog with orange fur, black tiger stripes, and a cream colored mane appeared. It was large enough to carry three people on its back with ease. Its strong muscles, and sharp claws and teeth showed that it was also battle ready.

It barked out a happy, "Arc, Arc."

"Arcanine, I need you to take me and Gary over there to where the smoke is as fast as possible," said Oak seriously.

"Arca, Arc", it barked back to convey it understood.

Arcanine bowed its head low, to allow Gary and his grandpa easy access to its back. They quickly got on, and then gave Arcanine the ok to start running. Dashing with a mix of Agility and Extreme Speed, Arcanine covered the distance in mere seconds.

"That's good Arcanine, thank you," said Oak before he returned Arcanine to his poke ball in a beam of red light.

His eyes widened at seeing the extent of the destruction from the wanton flames. Very little of the wood was left to even support the house, pretty soon it would all collapse inwards. He quickly brought out Blastoise from its poke ball.

A giant blue turtle-like creature appeared with a yellow-cream underbelly. It had a massive brown shell on its back, with an outer white lining, while two giant cannon-esque protrusions pointed from its shell outwards.

It looked around confused at the scene of the fire, before understanding lit its eyes.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Blast to put out the fire, then when most of it is gone, I want you to use water gun to get the remaining small flames!" ordered Oak.

Blastoise prepared itself by charging its cannons, pointing them forward at the fire scene. Its forehead was starting to perspire from the intense flames that were hitting it directly for the several seconds it took to charge up the most powerful water attack in existence. Once it was ready, it fired an extremely powerful blast that pierced the firestorm, impacting on the house, putting out a large number of flames instantly. It repeated this action several times, until most of the fire was put out. Then, it started shooting out a steady stream of water from its mouth with less intensity than before, and aimed it at the remaining flames.

Soon, the fire was put out entirely, and only ash and charcoal remained as reminders of the recent flames. Sadly, the entire house was a reminder, as almost none of the framework of the house remained. Most of the wood had collapsed inwards due to the support structure weakening from the fire. You could see inside, straight to the upstairs bedroom wall, as a huge gaping hole showing what remained of Ash's bedroom, which wasn't much aside from a few walls. The kitchen and 1st floor of the house was completely charred, not a single inch of the outside walls remained untouched. All in all, it was a very dismaying sight to all who saw it.

Oak turned and looked at Gary and Ash who were both silent and wondering what this meant.

"They need to get away from this and calm down. Staying here will only cause Ash more distress. Gary's company will probably be good for Ash," he quickly thought.

"Let's get both of you boys home for now while me and Alakazam will figure it out from here," he told them kindly.

Ash didn't offer any resistance and merely gazed out with a hollow look in his eye, while Gary tried to mutter some reassurances to him.

Once he was sure they were going to be alright, he brought out Alakazam from his poke ball.

Out came a creature with a human-esque body structure. It had two feet each with three claws, while its hands had three fingers holding onto silver spoons. The spoons presumably helped it focus its psychic powers. Its large forehead belied the great intelligence and power contained in its large brain. A long moustache flowed around it.

"Alakazam, I need you to use your psychic abilities to help me locate any people in this rubble. If you find anything, I want you to try to remove the rubble as delicately as possible so we can try to maybe save whoever is inside," commanded the Professor.

"Ala-kaZam!" shouted the intelligent psychic Pokémon, as its eyes glowed a bright blue from using its considerable mental capabilities towards the intended task.

Quickly, it located a dying mental signal and locked on to it, using its psychic powers to unravel the rubble like a puzzle, ensuring that its target wasn't further harmed by any of its actions. As it extricated the body, the red hair of Delia Ketchum slowly became visible.

Oak quickly helped his Alakazam settle the woman on the grass, as he learned forward to inspect her wounds.

She was brutally burned across her body, with many third and second degree burns visible from her torn clothes. She seemed lifeless, and on the verge of dying.

Her eye opened suddenly, as she seemed to muster up strength to look around her.

"Wha-where am I? Professor? Is that you?" she said to him, gasping it out in labored breaths.

"It's ok, save your energy Delia, I'll get you to the Ranch and we'll get you patched up alright? Just, just don't close your eyes ok? Stay with me, no matter what you feel ok?" said the Professor, trying to save her life, despite the hopelessness that clouded the situation.

"It's ok Professor...I know I don't have long to live...I just want you to do me one last favor, promise me that you'll do it..." she gasped out to him, smiling grimly.

Sighing deeply to himself, he accepted the truth of the situation. He asked her what her request was, wanting to at the least be able to honor her last wish.

"As you know...my husband has been missing for the past years. Ever since he left on league business, nobody has seen him. He probably doesn't even know that he has a son. Without me, Ash has nobody to take care of him in Pallett Town," she said.

"Nonsense, I can take care of him don't worry, it's no problem! Ash is like family anyways!" said Oak, trying to calm the worries of the dying woman before him.

"No Professor, I couldn't possibly impose on you like that. You already have so many duties and responsibilities as not only a Professor, a Researcher, but also a representative of the Pokemon League. Not to mention you are also the local Pokemon expert and have to constantly ensure you take care of all the Pokemon of the trainers who leave town every year. I could never burden you with a child on top of all your other responsibilities," she quickly reprimanded.

He could only look at her glumly, wondering what to do. Everything she said was true. It was nearly impossible for him to get enough free time to play with his grandson Gary, let alone enough to take care of a child.

"However, there's something I have to tell you. In Viridian City...there's a man who I would trust my life with. He's the only person I could entrust Ash with in this situation, aside from you of course. We haven't spoken in a few years...we had a bit of a falling out on some issues when Ash was born, but he is a good man none-the-less, and someone who I trust implicitly. Please Professor, find him and make sure Ash goes with him...That is all I ask of you," she told him, while her heart ached at the thought of past pains and how she would never get the chance to right them on her own.

"I'll do it Delia, just tell me, who is this man, and what is his name? Why do you trust him so much even though you haven't talked to him in years?" questioned Oak, slightly befuddled.

"Who is he? Well...he's my brother...Giovanni," said Delia.