Okay everyone, I was browsing the Pokémon area of the sight and I ran across the 'Different Starter' Challenge from MathiasNightlord01 and decided to take it. So I hope I'm able to do as well with Pokémon fics as I do with my Naruto ones.

Though, I should probably mention that I'm going to be using gen 6 Pokédex data and Pokémon from every region.

Anyhow here are the requirements for the challenge.

1.) Ash is smarter and more knowledgeable about the Pokémon World and Pokémon Training before setting out on his Journey.

2.) Ash must be male, no Gender bending or Yaoi themes allowed

3.) Since Ash is smarter in the story, his Pokémon won't disobey his orders like Charizard in cannon

4.) Ash must age and grow in this story

5.) The clothes he wears to Unova are banned (because I don't like his Unova design)

6.) Captures more Pokémon than he does in cannon and rotates them out to train all of them.

7.) Captures a least few Shiny Pokémon (In the type he specializes in)

8.) Captures at least some of the Legendary Pokémon he encounters in the movies and anime series (In the type he specializes in)

9.) Shiny Pokémon are about 5 times stronger than Normal Pokémon of their species

10.) All Pokémon must NOT be limited to 4 four moves but can learn any amount of moves that they are able to learn from their move sets from both the games and anime and retain those moves after learning them. Under no circumstances are the Pokémon's moves to be limited, be it League Rules, Gym Battles, Contests, or Grand Festival Rules, I've seen it done before and it just makes the battles boring and repetitive, they are to have full access to the all the moves they can moves they learn in ALL battles

11.) All moves MUST come from the games, the anime, or the Movies. Moves from the Pokémon TCG (Trading Card Game) are not allowed.

12.) All Pokémon Myths and Legends must be consistent with that of the Anime and Movies.

13.) Ash must have more of his Pokémon fully evolve.

Pairing: AshXCynthia (younger)

Ages: Ash-13, Cynthia-13

Disclaimer: in no way do I own any of the Pokémon franchises.

3/24/14 Edit: Thank you SighDuck for editing the grammar, I meant to get this out earlier than I did but works been crazy.

Chapter 1: Partners Meet.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't have any other Pokémon, Professor?"

Recently turned thirteen year old Ash Ketchum was in distress. There were several reasons for this; first, he had woken up late this morning because he had somehow ended up breaking his alarm clock during the night, and now he arrived at Professor Oak's lab only to find out that all the Pokémon available for new trainers had already been picked. Even the Charmander he had so desperately wanted.

Ever since he was little, Ash had wanted to become a master of Dragon Type Pokémon. Especially after witnessing several battles of the Kanto region's champion, Lance, who was one of if not the best dragon tamer in the world. Ash couldn't really explain it, but Dragon types had always had a special appeal to him. Their grace both on and off the battle field and the power they exuded were only a few of the things that drew him to those types of Pokémon. On top of that, Lance had become his idol since the first time he saw him battle on TV and it was one of Ash's dreams to face the man in an all out, six on six, Dragon against Dragon battle.

It was why he had spent most of his free time in recent years studying up on all the different types of Pokémon, especially Dragons and draconic like Pokémon. He knew the starter Pokémon that was the closest to a dragon type was Charmander and its final evolution of Charizard. But he'd missed his chance, all because he'd slept in that morning, and right now he would settle for any Pokémon, even if it wasn't the one he wanted.

Ash was sure he'd come across a wild Charmander at some point in his journey. Ash felt tears stinging his eyes as he watched the aged form of Professor Oak rub his chin with a contemplative look.

"I'm sorry Ash," the professor started, "but right at this moment I have no other Pokémon available for new trainers." Ash's head dropped in despair. That was it; his dreams were over before they could even have a chance of starting.

"However," he heard Oak speak again and his head snapped up, a small gleam of hope in his eyes.

"While I don't have any that you could use, there's a chance that one of my colleagues from one of the other regions might have a suitable Pokémon for you." Ash's eyes widened in surprise before a bright grin took root on his face.

"Thank you professor! I really appreciate this!" he exclaimed in excitement, nearly jumping up and down in joy. Oak chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. It was refreshing in a way, and it reminded him of himself when he was younger.

"It's quite alright my boy," said the good professor. "Now, why don't you go home and change, while I go and check with my colleagues? I really don't think you plan on starting your journey in your pajamas," he remarked, highly amused.

Ash looked down at his clothes and blushed. He was indeed wearing his pajamas. Throwing a hasty thanks the professor's way, Ash practically threw himself out of the lab, eager to both avoid anymore embarrassment and get back quickly so he could meet his new Pokémon partner.

Oak chuckled quietly to himself as he watched the young teen go before turning and walking into his office. 'Now, let's see about that Pokémon,' he mused as he sat in front of his phone, pressing first several buttons and then the dial.

He waited for several moments before the faces of his colleagues appeared on the video screen before him.

The first was a young man in his mid to late twenties with short brown hair that had a few spikes at the top and glasses over his eyes. The second was a man that looked to be roughly the same age, but his hair was a darker shade of brown and merged with the beard that covered the lower half of his face. Next was a man that looked to be even older than Professor Oak with a somewhat intimidating face. All of his hair was grey, even the thick mustache that rested on his upper lip. The fourth face to appear was that of a young woman in her early twenties with chestnut colored hair and light green eyes; she also had red diamond shaped earrings hanging from her ears. The final face to appear was that of a fairly young man with wavy black hair and a stubble covered chin.

Oak smiled slightly at his colleagues from around the world. These five were the top most experts of Pokémon research in their regions.

They were: Professor Elm from Johto who specialized in the breeding of Pokémon; Professor Birch of Hoenn specializing in various Pokémon habitats; Professor Rowan of Sinnoh who studied Pokémon evolution; Professor Juniper of Unova studying in the origins of Pokémon, and finally; Professor Sycamore from Kalos who specialized in the recently discovered Mega Evolutions of various Pokémon species.

The first to speak was of course Professor Elm, who gave a happy greeting to his former teacher, "Hello Samuel! It's been quite some time since you rang. What is it you need of me?"

"Yes, I am wondering the same thing, what is so important that you needed to call all of us all at once, Oak?" this time it was the gruff voice of Professor Rowan that spoke up before Kanto's professor had the chance to reply.

Oak rolled his eyes at the Sinnoh professor, and responded before the others could interrupt him. "Hello everyone, it is nice to see you all again. However, there is a matter of importance that I must speak to you about and…I need a favor."

Everyone's expressions became serious at the look on Oak's face and they nodded for him to continue. Oak grinned to himself, and explained what he needed.

Several minutes later

"Professor Oak, I'm back!" Ash called as he walked back into the lab, now dressed in his traveling clothes.

Oak grinned as he turned away from the transfer machine with a Pokeball clutched in his hand, courtesy of Professor Rowan. "I see that my boy and I must say; you are quite lucky that I was able to find an available Pokémon for you."

Ash's grin grew when he heard that, his dreams were secure now! He couldn't help it, but his eyes trailed over to the Pokeball in Oak's hand and locked onto it.

Oak saw this and chuckled before he held it out to the boy in front of him. "Go ahead Ash. Open it and say hello to your Pokémon."

Gently, as if he was scared he would break it; Ash took the red and white sphere out of the professor's hand and opened it for the first time. In a bright flash of light, the Pokémon inside appeared before the rookie trainer and Oak.

Ash nearly fell on his back in surprise when he saw what appeared. The Pokémon was a small pudgy creature with a large mouth lined with pointed teeth. It had no neck and its arms were short and stubby and started at the sides of the Pokémon's jaws. It was dark blue in color with a red underbelly that covered it from its abdomen to the underside of its jaws. On either side of its head were two horns that greatly resembled the engines of a jet or a plane, each of which had a light blue strip running around its center. It also had what looked to be a shark's fin coming out of the top of its head.

"Gi, Gible!" the Pokémon exclaimed as it looked at the young trainer before it.

"A…Gible?" Ash muttered as he looked at the small Pokémon.

He had recognized it almost immediately from his studies, of course. Gible was one of the more sought after Pokémon from Sinnoh for its final form; Garchomp. Hardly anyone ever found it though, as it was extremely rare in the wild.

He couldn't believe it. He was to have a Gible as his starter! A happy smile stretched across his face at the prospect.

Oak watched all this with a smile as he leaned against the machine beside him. He wasn't the least surprised Ash recognized the Pokémon. The boy had spent a lot of time around the lab over the years, especially since his mother often volunteered to help him take care of all the Pokémon he looked after. And as a result, Oak knew of Ash's fascination with dragon types.

"That's right," he said, drawing the boy's attention. "I was lucky enough to find that Professor Rowan came across Gible here wondering around aimlessly when he was returning to Sandgem Town a month ago. From what he could gather, her trainer abandoned her because she wasn't evolving." He finished with more than a little disappointment in his voice.

Ash nodded to him as he processed the information. Trainers who abandoned their Pokémon just because they weren't strong enough absolutely disgusted him.

To Ash being a trainer meant being a person who would make a weak Pokémon stronger by actually training it. Being a trainer meant a person was to bond with their Pokémon through their training; that way both trainer and Pokémon learned to trust in each other. A Pokémon battle was a fifty-fifty split after all. The Pokémon would have the moves and battle prowess, while the trainer possessed the strategy and the knowhow of when to enact it and when to use the proper attacks. Without trust between trainer and Pokémon, they would be unable to properly work together when the situation called for it, and against someone who had the trust of their own Pokémon plus the proper tactics and mind set, that same lack of trust could very well come at the cost of an important battle.

As he came out of his thoughts, Ash looked down to his new Pokémon to see that it was looking down and had a few tears emerging from the corner of its eyes. Eyes widening at the sight, Ash quickly knelt in front of it and gently placed his hand on its head. Feeling it stiffen under his touch caused Ash to frown slightly but he quickly shook it off as it looked up to him, obvious fear in its eyes.

"Hey there little one," he said smiling gently to the little creature. "I don't know about what you went through before now, but you'll be safe with me and I will never abandon you. That much I promise you," he spoke softly to it.

The Pokémon looked at its new trainer with no small amount of skepticism before its eyes lit up in joy and it jumped on top of Ash's head.

Ash almost fell over again as it landed but managed to steady himself and laughed quietly as Gible settled itself on top of his hat.

Oak watched all this with a bit of awe. 'This boy,' he thought as he watched Ash stand up, grinning up at the little Pokémon, 'to be able to comfort a Pokémon with just a few words. There's something special about you, Ash.' Oak cleared his throat to draw the duo's attention. "I almost forgot, but you're going to need these," he said, reaching into his pocket and drawing out a few items before once again holding his hands out to Ash.

Ash reached over and took five empty and miniaturized Pokeballs and a metallic looking device. Seeing his questioning look, Professor Oak chuckled and explained. "That little device there is a Pokédex; it allows you to record the information of any Pokémon you may run across. Normally I would give you the Kanto Dex, but considering your special situation, I decided to give you a National Dex as it'll serve you the same purposes, but it'll include the information of Pokémon from other regions as well. Who knows, you might be able to find a few Pokémon who aren't native to this area on your journey."

Ash nodded to him as he pocketed the Pokeballs, but instead of doing the same with the Pokédex, he reached up and lifted Gible from his head and set it on the floor before opening the Pokédex and hitting the button that said scan.

There was a brief pause before a small ding rang from the small device and a robotic voice filtered through the speaker.

"Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon. It nests in horizontal holes warmed by geothermal heat. It pounces to catch prey that stray too close. This Gible is female and has the ability Rough Skin. Currently, this Gible knows the attacks; Tackle, Sand Attack, Dragon Rage and Take Down."

Ash whistled in amazement. "That's a good move set," he said and looked down at his starter, who he noticed had a small red hue dusting her cheeks at the praise from her trainer. Ash grinned happily and picked Gible up, holding her to his chest as he turned to the Professor beside him.

"Well, I should get going Professor. Thanks again!" he said, racing out the door as Gible snuggled into his chest.

The professor could only chuckle again as he watched the excited trainer and Pokémon run out to begin their adventure.

xXx

Sometime later we find our young protagonist walking down Route One, his new Pokémon sleeping quietly on his head as the sun slowly sank in the sky.

When the raven-haired trainer reached the top of a particularly steep hill, he stopped and ran a hand across his forehead to rid himself of the accumulated sweat, carefully as to not disturb his sleeping partner. 'Man, for early spring, it sure is hot. I'm kinda envious of Gible right now; at least she can stand the heat,' he thought before eyeing a shady patch of grass beneath a tree and deciding to make camp for the approaching night.

Removing his backpack, Ash set it down next to him before plopping himself down under the shade. Reaching up, he carefully lifted Gible from his head and moved her to his lap instead before reaching into his backpack and drawing out a bottle of water.

He sighed when he felt it was warm, but he popped the lid off anyway and took a long drink. Sighing contently as he felt the water wet his parched throat, Ash placed his hand on Gible's side and gently shook her awake.

The small Dragon/Ground type blinked her eyes blearily as she stirred and looked up to her trainer, wondering why she had been woken from her peaceful sleep. Her question was promptly answered when Ash held the half empty water bottle out to her.

Gible got the message without any words passing between them and eagerly took the bottle and downed the rest of the water in one massive gulp. Ash chuckled at the sight and simply leaned back on the tree as he stared out at the field before them, where several Pidgey were pecking the ground in search for a meal in the late evening light.

Gible turned in her trainer's lap to watch the small flock in wonder. The Pokémon in Kanto were strange to the small Dragon and they fascinated her. To her they were strange and exotic compared to what she was used to back in Sinnoh. Even though Pidgey were pretty common in Sinnoh as well, Gible had always assumed that they were exclusive to Sinnoh.

Her life had been altered beyond comprehension since she was captured.

Her eyes darkened as she remembered the day that her first trainer had caught her, but before any memories could make their way through Gible's mind, she heard her new, and hopefully permanent trainer, speak.

"You know," Ash said and Gible quickly turned her attention to him. "I've wanted to be a Dragon Master ever since I could remember. I can't really explain why, but something about them has always drawn me to them; their beauty, grace, intellect and power are only a few of the things that I find so alluring about them. For years now, I've idolized Lance and the other dragon masters of the world, but Lance has always been my role model. All I've ever wanted to do was follow in his footsteps and raise dragon types. I do plan on catching other types of Pokémon to balance out my teams, but dragons always have and always will be my passion."

Gible stared at her trainer in amazement as he turned his head to her with a smile. "I'll need your help with that Gible," he said, much to her surprise. "I won't pretend to know what you went through with your other trainer. But I know this much, if we stick together then we will achieve all our goals, all of our dreams! It'll take a lot of hard work, but we will rise to be the strongest team and take on and win the leagues of every region!" Ash exclaimed with a passionate fire in his eyes.

Gible stared at her trainer in awe as he told her all this, and felt herself inclined to believe in his words. It was as if Ash didn't just think that they would be the strongest, he knew they would be the strongest.

For the first time since her abandonment, Gible felt something rise in her heart, something warm and comforting.

A feeling of hope.

Gible smiled brightly and nodded excitedly. "Gi! Gi! Gible!" she exclaimed and jumped onto Ash's head.

Ash laughed happily as both he and Gible watched as the sun set in the distance. Little did they know though, they were being watched by an invisible presence. This presence had watched all this with a proud smile and it nodded as it made to leave.

'You have started along your path to strength, Chosen One. With your kind and passionate heart and your ability to crack even the coldest of hearts I have no doubt that you will rise to be the greatest of them all. For it is your destiny.'

Cut!

Okay so there's the first chapter of A Different Journey. I hope I did a good job and that you all like that Ash has Gible for his starter, I have a few ideas as to what others he will be getting, like most of his originals, minus Pikachu of course, but he will have many more that will take precedence of those he had in cannon.

However, I'm going to need your help to decide what other Pokémon Ash will have, like I said I've got a few ideas, but nothing is for sure yet. So either P.M. me your ideas or leave them in a review.

Please review.