Hey there, everyone, and welcome to my newest story: Travels Of An Autistic Trainer! I've been inspired by several things including the FanFic The Road To Becoming a Pokémon Master and autism itself.

I found myself wanting to do it for some time after reading up on episodes. I gotta admit that, much as the first season episodes were fun to watch, they could be a pain. Not that I'm bashing the anime or anything since I hate bashing, but I'd like to see some different things. Like the character reactions, filler episodes, and which Pokémon the characters get. And like I said before, it's kinda inspired by The Road To Becoming A Pokémon Master, but it'll be different.

So anyway, here's the disclaimer, summary, and the story.

Disclaimer: Remember, I don't own Pokémon. Satoshi Tajiri is the owner of Pokémon (Fun Fact: Satoshi Tajiri is autistic).

Summary: Ash is diagnosed with autism, but that's not stopping him from making a Pokémon journey of his own. On his travels, he will have friends who help him, gym leaders with differing views on autism, and (of course) Pokémon. Can he prove that autistic people can be capable of being trainers?

Publishing Date: March 30, 2015

Enjoy!

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Prologue

"Come on, Nidorino! Beat that Gengar!"

Ash Ketchum had been watching his favorite program: the Pokémon League that was held anually in the Kanto region. He was a pretty excitable ten-year-old boy with raven-black hair, lightning-like marks on his cheeks, brown eyes, and (currently) lime-green nightclothes. Currently, he had much of the Pokémon merchandise out in his time, from action figures to clothing, to a gaming system and even bed-sheets.

What the strangest thing about him was that he was diagnosed with autism, on the Asperger's side. His mother Delia had found out when he was taken to a doctor in Viridian City when she noticed that he wasn't playing well with the other kids. Unfortunately, this caused a big rift between Ash and Gary Oak, who had been friends ever since they were little. He was sociable whenever he wanted to be, but he still wouldn't look others in the eyes, he often played alone, and he had interests differing from others.

The bedroom door suddenly opened, and his mother stepped in. She was a kindly woman with brown hair, brown eyes, a pink shirt, and a violet skirt. And she was currently looking a little miffed and worried at the same time.

"Ash, it's past your bedtime," Delia scolded. "You don't want to be late for tomorrow, do you?"

"Sorry, Mom," Ash said, not looking her in the eyes.

Delia's face softened as she watched him head over to his bed. "It's okay," she told him. "I guess I'm just afraid."

Ash blinked. "Afraid? Of what?"

"Not of something, sweetie. Afraid for you." Delia sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You'll be going off on your own for the first time on your Pokémon journey, and you might not get much help along the way. What'll happen if you get hurt or lost? Or what if someone bullies you?"

"I can try," Ash replied optimistically. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be okay."

Delia sighed and gently ruffled his spiky black hair. "Doesn't stop a mom from worrying, though. But I really DO hope you do great out there." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Make sure you get some sleep, Ash. Be sure to be up at around six tomorrow morning."

Thus, Ash got under the covers and said, "Okay. Love ya, Mom."

"Love you too, Ash," Delia replied with a small smile. "And good-night."

With that, she got up from the bed, turned the light off, and walked out of her son's room.

Once she was out of the room, she decided to make a call to an old friend. Professor Oak, who lived not too far away, had been supportive of Ash ever since her husband disappeared, and he was an inspiration to starting trainers in Kanto. Deciding to save her own movie night for tomorrow night, she walked over to the vision-phone in the kitchen and dialed his number.

"Professor Oak?" she called right away.

The face of an old man slowly appeared on the vision-phone. He had been a well-known Pokémon expert and an old family friend. Delia was happy to see him, for she needed some advice for Ash.

"Hello, Delia!" Professor Oak greeted her jovially. "How's Ash been today?"

Delia smiled a bit. "Ash has been doing good. He helped me out with dinner today, and I got him some books he really liked."

Professor Oak smiled. "Good, good," he said with a nod. "And I hope he's ready to choose his first Pokémon tomorrow. Has he told you which one he'll choose?"

"No, but he's excited about it," Delia replied. "Which one would you recommend?"

"Well..." Professor Oak took up a PokéBall and looked down at it. "I have one in mind besides Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. A starter would be good for Ash, but since Ash is autistic, he could use a special Pokémon to help him out."

Delia blinked once and asked, "Really? Do Pokémon really do that?"

Professor Oak put down the ball and said, "Yes. Professor Birch from Hoenn had told me of a young sickly trainer who's had a Ralts helping him out. I looked up some bits of autism and saw that Pokémon can help those with disabilities. So this morning, I caught one." With a chuckle, he said, "I hope Ash likes this one."

"I hope so too," Delia told him. "Can I tell Ash tomorrow?"

"If you'd like," Professor Oak said. "And I better go. Looks like the lasagna's ready to come out of the oven. I'll see you and Ash tomorrow."

Delia giggled. "Thanks for the advice, Professor Oak. Good-night."

"Good-night."

At this, she hung up.

To be continued...

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There we go, folks! I hope you like it so far. And I hope I got the autistic traits good in this Fic. If not, let me know, and I'll fix it. I think it can be hard writing a story about autism.

On this journey, there'll also be people who will help him and people who'll give him a hard time. I've already decided on one person who'll support him and one person who'll be an obstacle (besides Gary). Maybe a gym leader might help or harm him, and I'd like to see his take on things. Plus, Ash will also get a little sensitive towards yelling, which is something I am in real life, but I will NOT make him a Marty Stu.

See ya next time! And Happy early Easter!