Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Heya! Welcome to my newest project. The name of this story evidently comes from 'The Butterfly Effect' in what is known as Chaos Theory. The concept is shown in this admittedly twisted story, wherein different choices and changes made by different characters will result in many events happening in a different manner than they did in canon.

As you have likely read from the summary, this work follows an amalgamation of the anime's plot, as well as the game's plot, with a dash of referencing the Pokémon TCG, although that isn't an important factor in the story. Like many other stories, I will be having obvious manipulations from the legendary and mythical pokémon.

*The title was a creative choice. Lack of capitalization is a creative choice when seen throughout this story and in its title, and being a fanwork, this is not professional.

"the butterfree effect -
a phenomenon in which a minute
localized change in a complex system
can have large effects elsewhere"

src. "Gettin' the Bugs Out",
Bugsy, Leader of Azalea Gym, Johto

"the world around us burned
and filled our lungs with smoke
what angry spirits had
we managed to invoke"

src. "Mystical Flames" from "The Burning of the Brass Tower",
Hawes, Head Historian of the Pokémon League,

Chapter One

It was a beautiful afternoon to watch the world burn. Swathes of bright oranges and reds filled the injured child's vision as the flames crept closer to his figure, eagerly devouring the flammable materials in its way. The heat grew and spiraled and the inferno swirled up from the ground, catching onto the walls of the building. The boy tossed a glance behind him.

The back door of the store was completely collapsed, and his legs were crushed under fallen bricks and glass, with his lower back pinned to the tiles of the store. Distantly, he was aware of the pain, but at the moment his priority was the unstoppable flames. But even if the lower half of his body was capable of lifting him to his feet, he didn't believe that he had the capability of summoning the mental strength to move.

His eyes flickered over to the collapsed figures in the front of the store. Through the fire and smoke, he could make out pools of drying blood and the still figures of his family. For a split second, Ash Ketchum thought about giving up.

And to think that it was supposed to be a happy day, ending in laughter and joy and family instead of smoke and burns and death. To put it plainly, it was someone's birthday - Professor Samuel Oak's birthday, to be exact. Ash and his family had come to the Poké Mart to pick up some last minute party supplies for the surprise celebration that they had been planning for a few weeks. Well, a celebration should they have been able to separate the man from the influx of research notes sent over by the quirky Professor Sycamore of the Kalos region. Professor Oak had taken one glance at the notes before tugging them closer and devouring the text with the eyes of a starving man.

Ash peered around the Poké Mart once more. There were no living people in sight and the entrance to the store was filled with flames along with the majority of the store. Ash didn't have much time before the blaze would consume him as well, and his pinned position made him a sitting ducklett for the inferno. Well, the least Ash could do was try to escape, right?

With halfhearted determination, Ash pushed up with his arms, before collapsing as the pain suddenly registered, shooting up the nerves of his back as well as pain in his shoulder. A hoarse scream left his throat. All right then - no moving - that much was understood.

"Help! Help, is anyone here? I'm trapped! Help!" Ash cried out, before dissolving into coughs, the smoke irritating his throat and lungs. But despite that, Ash continued to call out, although each plea for help was steadily diminishing in volume and resolve. Everything hurt - he just wanted to curl up in his bed, asleep in a world where his family was still alive.

"Help-" He croaked, "-please help, anyone, please."

"Everyone freeze! Put your hands up now!" Alarm bells seemed to go off in Ash's head as his mother stiffened in front of him. Ash peeked around his mother to see two uniformed men, both armed, with a giant arbok and an absolutely massive houndoom looming behind them. His mother and Daisy backed away from the cash register, the products that they had been holding clattering to the floor, keeping Ash and Gary protected behind them respectively.

The cashier fumbled with the cash register, eyes wide with panic, only to jerk back when the leading man fired a bullet in his direction, the bullet shattering the button a few centimeters from his fingertips.

Wake up.

Ash hid behind his mother again when one of the uniformed men spoke again. He exchanged tense, nervous glances with Gary. The auburn-haired boy sent him a confused look in response, but both stayed silent. Ash reached out and tugged on one of his mother's hands, fear filling him. Her hand closed around his, shaking slightly, but she didn't move from her spot.

"Didn't I tell you to put your hands up?" The leading man roared, and the occupants of the store all flinched at the sound. Terror lanced through Ash's mind as his mother let go of his hand, raising hers above her head shakily. Who were these men? Why were they here?

You have to wake up.

"Please, they're just children." Ash's mother pleaded, keeping her son hidden behind her figure, Daisy doing the same with Gary.

"Bullshit. Out of the way or I'm shooting you both." The man sneered at the family, while the second man threatened the cashier, the Arbok next to him spitting venom. Reluctantly, Daisy Oak and Delia Ketchum moved aside, revealing the boys that they had been trying to protect. The man gave a cruel grin and strolled closer to the family, and when he was less than a meter away, leveled the gun at Gary.

You need to wake up.

"No!" Delia shrieked and lunged at the man, meanwhile shoving Gary and Ash both back into one of the aisles of the store.

"Delia!" Daisy cried out similarly as her mother figure was shot. Gary and Ash were both frozen in horror, watching as Delia continued to block the gunman's way, blood soaking through the fabric of her clothes.

"Run! Take them and run!" A conflicted look passed over the teenage girl's features for a split second, before resolve settled in. Herding her younger companions in front of her, the three aimed for the back door of the Poké Mart. Quarter of the way there and -

You must wake up.

- Daisy screeched in pain, her steps faltering. Ash's momentum carried him forwards, but Gary stopped at his sister's side, trying to pull her along. Daisy glanced back, catching sight of Delia's motionless body and the man steadily gaining ground. She shoved her brother forwards.

"Run!"

Clearly conflicted, Gary took a few paces forwards, but faltered.

"Ash! Take Gary and run!"

And so the two children ran, tears blinding their vision as they heard Daisy scream again, shouting at the man before falling silent. They were almost at the door when they caught sight of the houndoom running down the aisle next to them. The two put on a burst of speed - if they could reach the door first -

Another gunshot, Gary stumbled - a swirl of fire and they hit the floor, skidding across the tiles.

This is no place for sleeping. You must wake up. The world awaits you.

An hour ago, Samuel Oak sat in his laboratory, completely fascinated by the latest information sent to him from his colleague, as well as flattered by the many birthday wishes sent his way from some of the colleague that he corresponded to more frequently.

Distantly, his mind wandered to the topic of the little family that had been built around him. He had taken notice of how secretive Delia and Daisy had been attempting to be recently, although his grandson had already let the skitty out of the bag awhile ago. Samuel had overheard Gary chattering excitedly to Ash about surprising him and just the memory brought a warm feeling to the professor's chest.

Honestly, Samuel adored his little family. Delia had been a past student, running around his lab when he was just a locally known professor, and to him she was more like a daughter than anything else. Daisy looked up to Delia with a sort of reverence, listening to her every word and following in her footsteps in studying pokémon and just treating the world with kindness. Then there was Gary and Ash, two rascals who were following in their parents' footsteps, following Samuel around his lab and wreaking havoc as little kids do.

Naturally, Samuel had also noticed the birth of the ongoing rivalry between Gary and Ash - they were just like their fathers as children. Daisy more often than not found herself playing mediator to the two boys, her sunny personality and innate kindness managing to diffuse most fights before they got too far. Delia, on the other hand, with a stern look, would prevent the boys' fights before they could occur.

Samuel chuckled and stood from his seat, letting the swivel chair rotate freely as he stretched. Ten minutes had already passed and he had gotten no work done - it felt like he'd been reading the same sentence for hours. Attempting to refocus would be pointless - Augustine had provided fascinating information, but compared to reminiscing about his family, it could put up no fight. The professor had only managed to get take a few steps before the lab doors burst open. Expecting Gary or Ash at the doorway, Samuel readied a warm welcome, only to have the words fall away when he saw the local police officer in his doorway.

"Professor! We need you to go to Viridian City. Team Rocket has been sighted and the civilians are going into a panic." The local Officer Jenny's words were rushed and she exited as swiftly as she had entered. Samuel stiffened for a split second before he burst into action, grabbing a few poké balls before exiting the lab.

By the time he had gotten outside, Officer Jenny had already mounted her Pidgeot and without any prompting, Samuel summoned his gyarados. The officer's eyebrows raised as she stared at the massive pokémon with muted awe, before her expression remained stoic. Samuel ignored her reaction, swiftly explaining to the dual typed pokémon what he required. Within thirty minutes of flying at breakneck speeds, the two humans and their partners reached Viridian City.

Pallet Town had always looked small from a flying-type's point of view, and Viridian City, neighbor to the professor's hometown, was a wide expanse of silvers and grays, as opposed to the more colorful tiled roofs of the homes in Pallet Town. However, as they got closer to the city, it became increasingly obvious that there were multiple fires, the smoke plumes contrasting against the reds and oranges of the sky. The black smoke made a stark silhouette against the setting sun.

Large red and orange flames exposed themselves to Samuel's eyes as his Gyarados brought him closer to the ground and as he landed, he bore witness to terrified civilians. It didn't take long for the professor to dismount from his pokémon as he stared in horror at his surroundings.

"What happened?" Samuel asked a civilian, who was staring, shell-shocked, at a burning Poké Mart. The woman gave him a passing glance, her eyes blank as she took in the sight of the newcomer.

"There were at least ten men - they spread out and went into the different stores. Ten minutes ago, they regrouped somewhere around here with large bags. The police tried to stop them - they were fighting." The woman gestured to the fainted and dead pokémon on the street. "The men fled after defeating the police." Samuel glanced around.

A few trainers and pokémon owners were settled around the burning buildings, trying in vain to put out the flames. A young trainer ordered his battered pokémon to continue aiming water guns and bubbles at the flames, evidently frustrated as his poliwrath and poliwhirl failed to win against the fire.

"There were some other people in the shops - but aside from a few people," the woman's voice choked up, "nobody other than the men left the stores." Then she turned to him, ignoring the police scuttling around them, trying to get the woman to get out of the potential danger zone. "Sir, please help them." Those words stuck with the aging professor as the woman was finally ushered away.

Samuel took a second to recollect his thoughts, a feeling of unease stuck in his chest, and turned to his pokémon. With a flick of his wrist, he released a another pokémon to help fight the inferno. The shellfish pokémon appeared, alert as Samuel instructed it.

"Blastoise, I need you to get rid of the big fires. Hydro pump will be too strong and might damage the buildings and infrastructure even more, so stick to bubblebeam. Help out the poliwhirl and poliwrath over there." The pokémon nodded and set off on his task, the fires receding as the more powerful water move soaked the floor.

"Gyarados, rain dance is our best bet at stopping small fires more quickly." The professor glanced at the sky. The sun was setting but the sky was clear - the move may not work, but it was their best bet. Next to the professor, the Officer Jenny of Viridian City shook her head.

"We've tried that already, Professor." Her voice was grave as she watched the dual-typed pokémon attempt to call for rain. True to her word, clouds failed to form overhead. Samuel gritted his teeth in frustration, watching as his pokémon turned to him for further instruction.

"Gyarados, help out with the big fires then. We need to put out the fires at the stores to see if there's anyone that can be saved." The professor turned back to the officer. "Where's the gym leader?" His voice was strained - the main task of a gym leader was to protect the towns that their gyms were situated in.

"He was called in by the League. We believe that Team Rocket chose specifically to strike Viridian City when Giovanni was not present. The trainers from his gym are here, however their specialization does not allow for them to put the fires out easily." With her words, Samuel could indeed recognize some of the trainers' outfits as those that deemed them employees at the Viridian City Gym. "We have also called in for reinforcements and aid from Cerulean City, but by the time they arrive, it may be too late."

"Do you know how many civillians are still in the stores?" Samuel's question was met with a short silence from the officer, before a fellow officer answered.

"The residents around said that they saw a few people, not numbering more than three enter the smaller shops, but there were four people - two women and two children - who entered the Poké Mart. The residents also claimed to hear gunshots, and confirmed that neither the cashier nor the customers exited the store." The words seemed to take an eternity to process, but when they did, Samuel recoiled on the spot. He ignored the officers' bewildered glances and took off towards the Poké Mart.

"Blastoise! Come with me!" The shellfish pokémon followed the professor to the door of the Poké Mart, and with a glance, spat out a stream of water that doused the flames that had been obscuring the entrance. Samuel burst into the store, glancing around desperately, his subconscious rearing in surprise by the fact that the inside of the store wasn't burning. There were a few flames, yes, but none of that mattered when Samuel saw the familiar figure of Delia Ketchum, still, lying in a pool of blood.

His breath stuttered to a halt when, further away, was the body of his granddaughter. He rushed over to her, and the cause of death was immediately obvious by the bullet wounds on her chest.

Part of Samuel was still desperately hoping though, praying to the legendaries, but the world seemed to slip out from under his feet as they numbly carried him to the next body. His knees hit the floor as a trembling hand reached out to pat down Gary's unruly hair, or at least, what was left of it. The side of the boy's face was scorched, skin mangled and bloody. The cause of death seemed to be a bite to the side that the young boy had suffered from a large pokémon.

But there was still an inkling of hope beyond the fields of grief. His eyes scanned the surroundings, the knocked over aisles, the crumbled bricks and broken glass, before he saw it. By the back of the store was a tall figure. More shock circulated through his mind as he recognized the figure - a pokémon, in reality, which had been the cause for the lack of flames within the store. The pokémon glared at Samuel fiercely as the middle-aged man approached. It let out a cry and took a defensive step backwards. And that brought to the professor the realization that the elegant pokémon was protecting something - and when the pokémon moved, hope surged through the man.

That head of hair - Ash! Ash was there. The pokémon let out another fierce cry as the professor drew closer, but appraised him critically when Samuel stopped, less than a meter away. Seeming to recognize the professor's intent to do no harm, the pokémon moved aside warily, and Samuel's eyes fell on the figure that the pokémon had been protecting.

There, on the floor, was the last surviving member of his family, pinned by concrete and glass. The boy's name left Samuel's lips as he rushed forwards, ignoring the pokémon's warning growl and subsequent bite. His left hand was trapped in the teeth of the pokémon, but none of that mattered to Samuel, whose right hand reached out and swept Ash's hair out of his eyes. Samuel tried to move closer, but the pokémon's grip on his hand prevented the movement.

"This is my grandson." Samuel's voice was soft, and while they didn't seem to do the trick, the pokémon seemed to be able to read the man's body language, and reluctantly released the professor's hand. Immediately, the man set out to release his grandson from the stone prison he was locked in. He heaved bricks off of his pseudo-grandson, but after a few pieces, he was already exhausted, and lifting more bricks proved to be an immense struggle.

The pokémon, which had turned to shooting lower powered water pulses where fire was popping up, gave Samuel a disdainful look and in a quick movement, smacked the brick out of the professor's hands, to an unoccupied corner and subsequently extinguishing a small fire.

Iron tail. The professor recognized the move as the pokémon took over the job of moving the rubble away swiftly and efficiently, freeing Ash in a matter of minutes. Samuel cradled the unconscious boy in his arms delicately as the elegant pokémon turned to the professor.

"Thank you so much. If there's anything I can do-" Samuel's words were cut off as the pokémon stepped closer, dipping its head to press its nose against the top of Ash's head. Then it stepped back, giving Samuel another stare, before giving a regal nod and vanishing before the professor could speak.

It's expression, though - Samuel could recognize the message the rare pokémon had been conveying.

Take care of him. Keep him safe.

Word Count: 3,245
Date Published: WED 8 AUG 2018
Date Edited: WED 2 JAN 2019

*A scene from this chapter has been moved into the next chapter.