Ash burst into the laboratory of Professor Oak, the famous Pokémon professor. Ash looked around and found the professor next to some pokéballs, he looked amused at the young boy's outburst.

"P-Professor! Do you, ah, have any Pokémon? I need one!" Ash panted, out of breath from running.

Oak looked at the boy, clad in a dirty t-shirt and long shorts, before looking at the boy's face, which was red from seemingly running on end.

"Ash, you are still nine , you know you cannot get your trainer's license yet, you still have four more years."

Ash almost pouted at the response. Almost. Instead he looked a bit exasperated.

"Professor," he wheezed, before continuing, "I'm being chased by a few angry Pokémon and having one nearby to protect me would make me feel a lot better."

The Pokémon professor seemed to think for a few moments. He didn't have many Pokémon willing to listen to a nine year-old kid, or any that he would be willing to give a nine year-old kid. Suddenly, he thought of a perfect Pokémon, one he received for research; one that was perfectly docile and trained.

"I think I know just the Pokémon, Ash."

Ash practically collapsed onto a nearby chair in relief, before yelping back into standing position; calling that chair uncomfortable would be an insult to the word.

Not long after, Gary strode into the room. "What's up, Ashy-boy? Couldn't take the heat?"

Ash glared at Gary. "I think you'd be like this too if you were being chased by angry Pokémon." Ash sighed, "I don't even know what made them so angry."

"Fair enough, did ya see any cool ones?"

Ash just looked at Gary with a tired expression, and Gary could almost swear he watched Ash's eyes flash angrily.

"Not in the mood, Gary."

Gary seemed to take a hint and just walked away without another word, knowing when something wasn't funny anymore. By the time he left, Professor Oak walked in holding a pokéball and he released the Pokémon that was inside once he was close to Ash.

What materialized was a feline Pokémon with a blue body and black fur around her head and hind feet. A Pokémon that Ash had never seen before.

"Wow Professor Oak, what kind of Pokémon is this? I've never seen one before."

Oak chuckled, answering the boy with mirth clear in his voice. "This, my boy, is the spark Pokémon, Luxio. One of Professor Rowan's trainers elected to send me her, no doubt by the request of the old coot himself. I'll let her hang around you to keep a distance between you and the Pokémon chasing you." Oak now turned to the Pokémon. "Luxio, I'll need you to look after Ash," Oak gestured to the raven haired boy beside him, "and keep him safe. He seems to have some Pokémon chasing him. Do you think you can handle that?" Luxio cocked her head, before nodding in response to Oak's request.

"Nice to meet you Luxio!" Luxio turned to regard the raven haired boy in front of her, before nodding in acceptance and proceeded to mew quietly in greeting.

Ash grinned and thanked the professor, before turning to leave the laboratory, on his way back to his house for dinner, Luxio padding quietly behind him.

Along the way, they were ambushed by a few Rattata. Luxio immediately hopped in front of Ash, and sent weak bolts of electricity at each of the small mice. The small horde was stunned. Upon noticing some still stood in the way, Luxio roared quite loudly. Needless to say, the Rattata won't be bothering Luxio and her raven-haired companion for a while.

Ash was silent, struck with awe at the foreign electric-type. Luxio noticed and smiled in her own way and mewed for Ash to lead the way to his house. Despite not understanding on a complicated level, Ash knew what Luxio was saying and cheerfully ran back to his house, eager to share this news with his mother. Luxio took the little exercise in stride and kept pace with the small boy.

Delia was startled when the front door burst open, but smiled warmly at her son when she realized he was the culprit. The warm smile changed into a confused one, however, when Luxio padded in quietly behind her son, who looked quite roughed up. She held back her questions though, Ash would tell her soon enough.

"Mom!" The raven-haired boy tackled his mother with a fierce hug. "You would not believe the day I had!"

Delia looked down at her son, an amused expression on her face. "From what I can see you managed to ruin your favorite clothes," Ash sheepishly scratched the back of his head at that. Delia merely smiled back in a knowing manner. "But I guess all that running around made you hungry? A good thing too, I just finished dinner." Before the words had even left her mouth, Ash's stomach made itself known. Ash blushed fiercely and Luxio could be heard in hitched mews, probably laughing.

Once they were at the small dining table, Delia probed the Donphan in the room. "So I noticed you have a cute little companion with you today, is he going to be staying with us?"

"'She,' mom. And yeah, for a little while at least. I got attacked by some Pokémon today."

Delia immediately fretted over Ash, asking if he was hurt, scared, traumatized, etc. "I'm fine, mom. Thanks to Luxio here." Ash gestured to the lion-esque Pokémon, who was sprawled across the couch, mewing in her sleep.

Delia breathed a sigh of relief, and decided to coddle the electric-type with a lot of love from then on. After all, if a Pokémon (or anyone, really) was willing to protect her baby, they were more than okay in her book.

For the next few weeks, Luxio accompanied Ash everywhere he went, like his own personal shadow. Ash himself was very interested in the big electric-type. She had quite the arsenal of moves at her disposal, which she had gladly shown of to Ash while taking care of a few poké-stalkers.

Although, non-hostile Pokémon approached the duo as well, mainly small electric-types that idolized Luxio. In fact, while they were in the surrounding forest close to Oak's ranch, and Luxio had a parade of electric-types trailing behind her. Ash saw a few Voltorbs, Pichu, Pikachu, Minun, Plusle, and what he'd later find out to be Electrike and Dedenne, among others.

Ash figured it was quite amusing to watch the smaller electric-types trying to imitate Luxio, and she took it all in stride, happy to teach the little 'mons.

Little did Ash know, he imprinted more an Luxio than he thought. Weeks turned into months, which turned into a few years and Luxio was almost inseparable from Ash. At least, until Ash found an egg at his door on his twelfth birthday.

"What's this?" He murmured, picking up the blue and black egg, upon closer inspection, there was a bit of yellow dashed on the egg shell as well.

Realization hit him, and he ran toward Oak's laboratory, or more accurately, the ranch located behind it. When he arrived, Luxio was sitting down near more eggs. Luxio noticed his presence and looked up to mew at him, brushing against his legs, sending up very weak bolts of electricity.

Ash leaned down with a ghost of a smile on his face, patting the top of Luxio's head.

"I guess this means you can't stay by my side anymore, huh?" Luxio nodded, looking a bit sad herself. With tears in his eyes, Ash hugged the Spark Pokémon. "I'll take care of your child like they were my own." Luxio mewed and licked his face, sending more tingles of electricity spreading across his body.

After the little heart to heart with Luxio, Ash tiptoed into the laboratory to get a little advice on how to take care of the egg.

"Professor~" Ash weakly called, not really wanting to disturb anyone. It was six in the morning after all. He assumed the habit of waking up early to avoid any unruly pokémon as he walked around town, and eventually the pokémon Ranch, where he spent most of his time bonding with some pokémon.

"Ash?" The Pokémon Professor called back, just a tad bit louder than Ash's own call. "What are you doing here?"

Ash walked into a separate area in the lab, where Oak was at a large computer desk, papers strewn everywhere except certain spots on the floor.

"Y'know, Professor, you might want to clean up every now and then. It isn't healthy to work in this environment."

Samuel Oak have a tired smile; it wasn't the first time Ash had pointed that out, and it most likely wouldn't be the last. "Yes, yes, I will, Ash. Anyway, what are you doing here so late?"

"Professor, it's morning."

Oak blinked at that, looked at the clock, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Indeed it is, son. Seems I've pulled another all-nighter. No matter, what can I do to - ah, you have an egg in your arms."

"Yes, Professor, I do." Ash smiled warmly down at the egg, and if his eyes were shinier than usual, Oak did not utter a word.

"Well, Ash my boy, seems you have quite the adventure laid in front of you, what did you need me for?"

Ash looked up at the Professor, thinking for a bit. "Uh, I can't remember. I think it was - oh! I wanted to borrow some books on raising eggs, and maybe get some advice?" Ash stared at Oak expectantly.

Oak merely chuckled, clearly amused at the boy's hesitance. "Of course, of course! Here, let's see where I left Elm's notes."

"Good luck." Ash muttered.

"I resent that!"

XxxxX

Later in the day, Ash arrived back home, with the egg in its proper container. He'd spend the next few months telling stories to the egg, hoping to instill some of Luxio's bravery through his stories (which may have been exaggerated, but no one in the universe cared). Delia took it all in stride. She enjoyed the company of Luxio, but all good things come to an end. As the weeks went on, it was clear that Ash was growing impatient, and Delia visited Professor Oak to see if she could do something.

"Hey Samuel? Can we speak for a moment?"

Oak glanced up from his work, noticing the older Ketchum in the doorway to his laboratory. "Yes, come in. What's the matter, Delia?"

Ash's mother sighed and mentally prepared herself for this question. "Do you think I could get a special pokéball for Ash? As a present, I'd like to provide him with the means of making his starter special."

Oak merely smiled, slightly expecting this (but from the boy in question). He held up a finger, and opened one of his bottom drawers, using a little bit of effort to get the stubborn thing open.

"I figured Ash would come by eventually to ask the very same question, so I had this prepared beforehand."

He found what he was looking for, and presented a slightly worn box to Delia. She took the box carefully, and opened it out of curiosity.

"Oh Mew, Sam. This is perfect!" Delia gasped, gazing into the box cradled in her hands. She turned to leave, hesitating slightly.

Oak smiled warmly, and went back to the endless paperwork. Before he good too engrossed, he spoke one parting message. "Remind Ash that he still has to wait for his trainer's license!"

XxxxX

Delia entered the house, finding Ash watching the Pokémon League reruns on the couch in their living room. And, sure enough, the little mainly-blue-and-black-with-a-dash-of-yellow egg was nestled right next to him in its incubator.

At the sound of the door clicking shut, Ash looked over to his mom. "Hey mom?"

"Yes Ashy?"

Undeterred, Ash continued. "Do you think Pokémon can understand their surroundings while in their eggs?"

Knowing where this was going, Delia smiled, one of those motherly smiles that makes you feel welcome and good inside. "Ash, you can always go over to Oak's and ask."

The raven-haired preteen shook his head. "Professor didn't know, and . . . Professor Elk? He didn't know either, and he studies eggs!" He took a deep breath, and let it all out. "M'sorry. I've just been on edge lately, but I did want to know your opinion."

The mother had since been on the couch next to Ash, and she looked at the egg thoughtfully. "Ash,"
The boy looked up at his mother's gentle tone. "If you really want to know my opinion, a woman who works at a local restaurant, then I'll say this." She looked at the egg, smiled, and directed her gaze back up to her son. "The Pokémon in that egg, the child of Luxio, they understand you. If not by words, than by the pure emotions you've been putting into your stories. The words of greeting you had for them, they noticed you acknowledged their presence. No matter what, this little Pokémon will know what you did for it when they hatch. And when they do, I'll welcome them with open arms, knowing they are keeping my little boy safe."

Ash nodded slightly, struck with the deep philosophy behind the simple words of his mother. He proceeded to promptly hug her, for a long time.

"Oh by the way, Ashy?"

"Hmm?"

"I've got you and your little friend a present, courtesy of one Samuel Oak."

Ash didn't let go for his part. "I wanna keep hugging you."

Delia sighed, all in good humor. "I guess you won't need this special pokéball then, Oak clearly put some thought into it." Ash didn't budge, and Delia decided to go for the icing on the cake. "And I bet Gary would be jealous." Ash stirred slightly, looking up at his mom.

". . . I might be a little interested."

Delia laughed, she knew that making Gary jealous wasn't his real reason for letting her go, but she managed to cheer him up, and that's all that really matters. She pierced him with a stern look, and he look slightly taken aback.

"But after dinner! And make sure you wash your hands!"

Ash nodded, and took off laughing and grinning. Delia looked off with a small smile, knowing she was going to get the most out of the few months they had left together.

XxxxX

It was officially After Dinner, and Ash was rocking on the balls of his feet, barely able to contain his excitement. Delia set a beautiful red oak box on the table, which may have been slightly worn on the edges, but Ash didn't care. After the cue from Delia, he hastily opened the lid, and nearly dropped the lid back down out of shock.

Inside the red oak box, sat a blue and black cherish ball, blue on the top, black on the bottom, with the center button even colored yellow. It sat perfectly polished on the cushion in the box. Ash gently picked it up, and ran his fingers lightly over the cool metal.

"Mom...I...It's beautiful." Ash murmured.

Delia smiled; Samuel had good taste, and knew just what Ash would like. It certainly was a special pokéball for a special occasion.

"Thank you." Ash spoke up, sincere with his words. He set the pokéball gently into the box, and hugged his mother for the second time that evening.

Delia wasn't complaining.

XxxxX

A few days later, the egg started to crack.

In the middle of the night.

With the whole house asleep, no one was there to greet the little Shinx that popped out of the egg, so it started to wander. It hopped off the shelf the egg was placed on, and started to pace around the room. The Shinx was growing bored in the small room, and tried to open the door, with no luck.

Ash, who was sleeping soundly, started to stir at the little Shinx's growls of frustration. He sat up, drawing the attention of the little kit, and tried to blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he yawned and stretched. The Shinx started creeping towards the boy, proceeded to hop on the bed, and crawl into Ash's lap. Ash, who still had no idea what was going on, scratched the Shinx behind the ears, eventually lulling both parties back into a deep sleep.

It never did occur to the boy that the kitten in his lap was smaller than what he was used to. At least, until the next morning.

Ash awoke from his sleep to a paw poking his mouth, nearly choking when it succeeded in entering said mouth.

Ash sat up startled, and looked around his room for the culprit. Ash kept looking around the room, expecting Gary to jump out from thin air any second, only to finally notice the weight in his lap.

Shinx's needs were simple, as long as he had food, adventure, and a loving caretaker, he was set. This mindset is one that would lead to a lot of trouble, but he had guts. So, as any cat in their right mind would do, he hopped on his soon-to-be trainer's head, and promptly fell asleep.

Ash, startled by the little kit's actions, fell back onto the bed, somehow managing to not wake the kit from its impromptu nap. Though, as one who likes adventure and challenge, Ash grinned, and took the little Shinx's behavior in stride, and one thought raced through his head throughout the morning: "This is gonna be so much fun!"

XxxxX

Later in the day, Ash and the kit - who was asleep in the boy's arms - were heading over to Professor Oak's ranch. Ash started to wonder about how having Shinx as a starter would work. Would the small kitten even agree? Ash wanted to give the kit a choice, but he also wanted to be a Pokémon Master.

On the way, the little Shinx woke up, and Ash thought it was the cutest thing when it yawned.

"Hey buddy, you ready to meet my mentor?"

The Shinx mewed, not quite understanding the question, tilting his head.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Ash laughed.

Soon enough, Ash strode up to the ranch with the little bundle in his arms, he shifted the Shinx to knock on the door.

Oak opened the door, about to say something to Ash, and stopped when he saw the little kit in the boy's arms.

Ash grinned - so hard he practically split his face in two - and said, "The egg hatched, Professor!"

Oak smiled warmly, and even laughed when the Shinx poked his head up to look at the professor. The Shinx nodded as if Oak passed his test, and proceeded to leap out of Ash's arms and onto Oak's face.

"Gah! Ash! Help!"

Ash, however, was rolling on the floor laughing. When he composed himself and Oak pried the Shinx off his face, setting the troublemaker in his arms, Ash replied to Oak.

"He did the same thing to mom this morning."

"That must have been a sight," Oak murmured. He gestured to the door. "Let's bring this conversation inside, shall we?"

"Sure!"

XxxxX

Oak gave Ash tips to raise the mischievous kit. Ash duly noted them down, never missing a word and asking to clarify some things. Apparently the diet needs to be milk and tiny doses of electricity. After about four weeks, Shinx needs to be fed red meats, and even later start to assimilate pokéfood into the diet.

It was all quite a lot, and Ash got overwhelmed at some points, but Ash got it all down.

XxxxX

About four months later the Shinx has grown quite a lot, reaching Ash's knees (which he tried to use as a scratching post - Ash did not approve).

At this point, Shinx could also understand human speech, mostly. So, Ash decided to ask if Shinx wanted a name.

"How about it, buddy? Do you want a nickname?"

Shinx thought for a bit, then decided it would be okay, and nodded.

"Hmmm, okay. I've been thinking for a bit now - just in case - and I have a few options. Whaddya say?"

Shinx mewed vigorously in response. Ash beamed at him, patting his fur.

"First one: Sparky?" Shinx shook his head.

"Yeah, it's not so good. Flash?" Shinx thought, and shook his head to that as well.

"That one's a cliché too, huh? This next one has a deeper meaning, Sirian?"Shinx thought really hard about this one, but ultimately he shook his head.

"Ok buddy, best for last, I guess. This also has meaning behind it, Raiden?"Shinx didn't have to think and nodded while mewing. Ash smiled. "Raiden it is, Rai for short."

Shinx, or rather, Raiden posed while Ash pet him some more, both content with life.

XxxxX

Another few months later was the day Ash had been waiting for since he could remember. It was the day he and the other kids of Pallet Town could receive their trainers license. Raiden, already up to Ash's waist, hopped in excitement with Ash. This was the day they had both been waiting for!

Ash was up at six in the morning, an hour earlier than most days, and got prepared. He put on his favorite hat, a red and white hat with a green stylized L on the front, which he won in a giveaway. With his league expo hat on, he headed out the door, only to be stopped by Delia.

"Ashy, did you eat breakfast?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet tone. Ash and Raiden looked at each other and ran into the kitchen.

After their impromptu breakfast, Ash and Raiden headed out the door again, and made their way to Oak's ranch.

When they entered through the doors, they found that they were the last ones to arrive. Leaf looked impatient and Gary looked amused.

"Cutting it close, huh Ashy-boy?"

Ash grinned, "Gary, I saw you walk in three minutes ago."

Ash was at the top of the hill when he saw Gary walk from his house attachment to the lab door.

Leaf crossed her arms and looked at both of the boys. "You both are cutting it close, can we proceed now?"

Oak cleared his throat from the back of the small room. "Yes, yes, follow me."

He led them to another area in the back that had a table with three pokéballs on it.

"Now, I assume that both of you," he gestured to Leaf and Gary, "have already chosen your starter?"

Gary looked at Ash and smirked, walking up to the table with Leaf. Ash watched from the back, touching the cherish ball at his belt (he had returned Raiden beforehand so the room wasn't crowded, the Shinx was getting unusually large).

Both Leaf and Gary put their pokéballs on their respective belts. Oak nodded in approval and set the last ball aside.

"This one will be going to a kid in a small town off Viridian City." He looked back at the fledgling trainers. "I'll be back in just a moment."

As he left, Ash turned to Leaf and Gary. "What Pokémon did you guys pick?"

Leaf beat Gary to the punch. "I picked Bulbasaur, and I'm going to give him a nickname, if he wants one."

"What'll it be?"

"In the end it's his choice, but either Saur or Venus."

"Nice, what about you, Gary?" They both turned to look at Gary, who felt a little left out of their conversation.

"I'm probably not going to nickname any of my pokémon, unless I have more than one of the same species." He shrugged, but his eyes then gained a fire. "Me and Squirtle will catch all the Pokémon!" All the kids laughed at his bold declaration, and by the time they were done, Oak was back with some pokédexes.

"Alright kids, what I have hear will guide you on your journey. No doubt you saw them on school, this is a pokédex." He held up a red one, its shine captivating the trio. "You can scan your Pokémon with this camera, and once you link it to your fingerprint or identify yourself, it's yours for life. It will also act as your trainers license and ID. Choose wisely."

They were all the same model, but it came in four different colors: black, red, green, and blue. Gary swiped the black one first, Leaf took the blue one, and Ash grabbed the red one.

Oak smiled at all of them. "Excellent, this pokédex is the start of your trainer career. With it, you take your first step into becoming a Pokémon trainer. You may leave and start your journey, good luck!"

The three of them filed out of the lab and into the yard, still a little dumbstruck at the fact they were now Pokémon trainers.

Immediately Gary turned to Ash and declared they should have a battle.

Ash grinned, "You're on!"

End Prologue.

Hope you readers liked the story. This is something I'll just do for fun, so updates will be sporadic. Please review to comment on my story, characters, or even my hair! ;)