A/N: Hey all, this is my first attempt at a longer Pokémon story, so I would greatly appreciate any feedback (good, bad, and anything in between!).

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon nor any of its characters.

Chapter 1: First Steps

"Crap! Why didn't I bring an umbrella!" Twelve-year-old Ash Ketchum thought as he ran frantically through the forest, clutching his backpack over his head against the pouring rain. He had been so caught up in his excitement exploring that he hadn't been paying attention to the darkening sky.

All of a sudden, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky followed by the ominous rumble of thunder.

"I'm not gonna make it home in time. Best find some shelter and wait it out." Ash slowed to a steady jog and scanned his surroundings, looking for somewhere to wait out the coming storm. His eyes lit up as he spotted a hollow at the bottom of a massive oak tree. Perfect.

He made his way over to the tree hollow and quickly ducked inside. The inside smelled musty and dank but at least it was dry and provided ample shelter from the rain. Placing his backpack down, he sat on the thankfully dry ground and gazed out into the rain.

Despite putting a damper on his playtime, the storm did nothing to bring down his previous excitement. It was only his third time venturing out into these small woods, just on the outskirts of Professor Oak's ranch. His mother had finally caved in to his incessant pleas to explore and it was only after giving her every assurance that he wouldn't wander too far in did Ash finally get the opportunity to dash off into the trees.

Playing in the woods was fun but it was the Pokémon he encountered that was really the icing on the cake. The wild Pokémon that inhabited these woods were fairly low-leveled and friendly. They had a symbiotic relationship with both each other and Professor Oak's lab and Ash loved every minute of his time spent out here. He had studied quite a bit about Pokémon and learned a lot from watching Professor Oak in his lab throughout his childhood. His mother had once been a student of the esteemed Professor and so the two of them were great friends. Ash had known the Professor's grandson Gary since they were still in diapers and the two of them had always loved to play together with Pokémon.

Ash frowned slightly as he thought about Gary. They had been pretty good friends up until they turned ten. Sure, they had always had a competitive edge with each other, but it had always been good-natured. That is, until they both found out they wanted to become the world's greatest Pokémon Master. Gary had turned arrogant as they grew older and mocked Ash whenever they happened to meet. Of course, It didn't help his ego much that Gary was the grandson of a world-renowned Professor and he had always seemed to be one step ahead of Ash in whatever it was they did.

One day, they'll settle matters once and for all. Ash gave a sigh as he thought about how long he still had to wait. It would be another three years before he was allowed his first Pokémon and begin his journey. It used to be that any aspiring Pokémon trainer could obtain his or her license the day they turned ten years old, but the age limit had been raised to fifteen five years ago, when the world witnessed the crowning of the Indigo League's newest champion: Lance.

The arrival of the Dragon Master had breathed new life into the entire region it seemed. The Champion was young, full of energy, and definitely had a flair for the dramatic. But there was no doubt how much he inspired everyone who saw him. Gyms had had their standards raised and the League had strengthened their measures against criminal organizations. The new Champion had brought much needed order and stability back into the Kanto region after years of stagnation, corruption, and laxness. And that didn't even cover his abilities as a trainer. All aspiring trainers, it seemed, had Lance as a role model and Ash was no exception, watching his battles on television with excitement and fervor.

One day, Ash had promised himself, it would be him on that battlefield.

A small rustle in the undergrowth outside hollow snapped Ash out of his musings. After a brief moment of silence, a small figure poked its head around the hollow opening and peeked inside warily. It resembled a small, blue plant bulb and it had green leaves sprouting from its head.

"An oddish." Its small eyes fell upon Ash huddled inside and it drew back, wary of the unknown human.

Ash slowly sat up onto his knees and reached a hand out towards it.

"Hey there," he said with a smile, "do you want to wait out the rain with me?" The oddish stared at his hand and then redirected its watchful gaze at Ash, warm and welcoming.

"No need to be scared. I know!" Ash reached for his backpack and pulled out some of the food his mother had packed him for lunch.

"I'll bet you're hungry." He ripped off a piece of a sandwich and held it out in his palm towards the small Pokémon. "Here you go. I promise I won't hurt you."

The oddish slowly made his way forward and, after a moment, took a small bite of the sandwich and then leapt back, as if fearful of a sudden retaliation. But what it saw was caring eyes and a warm smile of a young boy. The oddish came forward slowly again and took another bite.

"Oddish!"

Ash smiled as the oddish began devouring the sandwich. "Good isn't it? There's plenty more where that came from if you want it." The oddish's eyes lit up at the prospect of more food before it backed away again. Ash looked at it confusedly as the oddish suddenly turned and ran out into the rain.

"Oddish! Oddish!" The oddish jumped up and down in the direction of the undergrowth. It seemed to be calling someone. The thought had barely crossed Ash's mind before the bushes rustled once more before two more Oddish slipped out into the open, followed by what Ash recognized as a Bellsprout, a couple Sunkern, and some Hoppip. The first oddish gestured in Ash's direction and Ash felt the wary looks of the new arrivals before Oddish ran back inside towards Ash.

"Oddish?" It had a small questioning look in its eyes and Ash caught on to what it was trying to say.

"You want your friends to come too?" The oddish jumped up and down once more before Ash gave a bright smile, "Of course! The more the merrier!"

He looked back at the new arrivals and waved them over. "Come on in. There's plenty of room!"

"Oddish!" The oddish joyfully jumped into Ash's lap and snuggled its head into the warmth of Ash's jacket. That seemed to be the deal-breaker as all its friends ran in as well.

"So…. any of you guys hungry?" Ash just laughed as all the Pokémon looked at him in excitement. Perhaps the rain wasn't a bad thing after all.

The years slowly passed. Ash continued his ventures into the woods and was now on good terms with all the local Pokémon, who began to see Ash as one of their own. His closest friends, though, were the Pokémon who Ash had met that fateful day in the rain. Their time spent in that small tree hollow had bonded them together and ever since then, Ash always met them there to begin the day's adventures.

One day, about a year before he was set out to begin his journey, Ash arrived at the tree hollow to find his friends huddled around something. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a blue-green egg. His friends didn't seem to know where it came from or how it had found its way in the tree hollow. As the days passed, they scoured the forest for any sign of its parents or an owner but found nothing. But as it were, the following days were spent in anticipation and excitement for what the egg would hatch to be. His friends took turns watching over it and Ash spent all his spare time researching the proper ways to care for a Pokémon egg.

He had briefly entertained the thought of taking the egg to Professor Oak, who was sure to know how to care for it, before tossing the idea away. He couldn't bear to take it away from his friends, who seemed to have grown very protective of it from, what they considered, outsiders. Besides, the egg was found in the wild and it surely deserved to be cared for in the wild, by the wild.

And so, the days passed on, until one afternoon, as Ash sat with his friends in their tree hollow polishing the egg, it began to glow, filled with bright white light.

"Guys, come look!" Ash shouted excitedly. The egg had been shaking and glowing regularly the past week, a clear sign that it was ready to hatch. But this time was different. The egg wasn't glowing intermittently but more solidly than ever. His friends crowded around it, the oddish jumping up and down with anticipation and excitement.

The egg shook and with a burst of white light so strong that Ash had to raise his hands to shield his eyes, a small figure appeared. The Pokémon resembled a small dinosaur. Its skin had a bluish-green tint to it and on its back was a green plant-like bulb.

"A Bulbasaur," Ash breathed out.

The Bulbasaur slowly opened its dark-red eyes and looked at Ash who smiled warmly and said in the gentlest tone possible, "Hey there little guy. My name is Ash." The small dinosaur cocked its head to one side and then seemed to take in its surroundings. Its mouth quivered just a bit before it began to cry. "Saur!"

"Oh no, Bulbasaur, please don't cry!" Ash stuttered out, frantically trying to calm it down, his friends running around likewise. He had never dealt much with babies before, be they human or Pokémon and he didn't have the slightest clue what to do.

He reached over and gently looped his arms around the tiny, crying baby, cradling it in his arms.

"There, there," he said as he rocked it gently. "Everything will be alright." Gradually, the wails subsided as Ash continued to soothe and calm down the newborn. "I'll bet you're hungry." Still cradling Bulbasaur, Ash reached over with one arm towards his backpack and got out a bottle of milk especially made for Pokémon. He had been carrying a bottle with him to the forest every day since the egg had begun shaking, just in case it hatched. If there was one thing he knew about newborns, it was that they were probably hungry. After all, he felt that he would be too.

He brought the feeding bottle up towards the Bulbasaur and gently prodded it to drink. "There you go, I promise you'll like it." Slowly, the Bulbasaur began to drink. Ash beamed at the sight and looked up at his friends, who were watching them with both joy and excitement.

"Well guys, it seems we have a new member of our family."

"Crap! Of all the days to oversleep, why did it have to be today?" Ash sprinted down the stairs and with a yell that told his mother he was leaving, ran down the road from his house towards Professor Oak's lab.

The day that he had anticipated ever since he was a little kid had come at last. Today, he would finally receive his trainer license and, most importantly, his first Pokémon. And of course, today, of all days, he had overslept. He was supposed to show up at the lab at nine in the morning and it was already fifteen minutes past. Ash silently cursed himself as he ran. He hadn't even changed or even brushed his teeth before leaving. He had stayed up late into the night watching highlights of the Indigo Conference that had just finished. The winner of that year's Conference had been a boy a few years older than Ash named Sidney Black. There had been a few close calls for him, but in the end, his powerful Charizard had crushed his opponents. Ash had been too excited to fall asleep easily, thinking about both the battle and what the next day would bring. He knew which starter Pokémon he would choose.

Ever since he had first watched Lance battle with his Dragonites and his Charizard, he had, in the back of his mind, wanted a Charmander of his own. It was a thought mirrored by many aspiring trainers. Charizard were fantastically powerful Pokémon that, as just witnessed by Sidney's, were near unstoppable when trained well. Charmander was the most frequently picked starter in Kanto, followed closely by Squirtle, which were naturally used as a counter to the Fire-type.

Of course, all those thoughts would be for nothing if he was late. As he neared the steps that led up to the Pokémon lab, he saw a crowd of people gathered around two boys and a girl, all of them his age. He recognized Gary as one of the boys, who twirled a Pokéball on his finger as he smirked, relishing the attention the townspeople paid him and a small turtle-like Pokémon at his feet. So, it seemed his rival had picked Squirtle as his starter.

He turned his attention to the other boy and girl, Jon and Leaf, who Ash was friends with. A Charmander stood by Jon's feet and Ash saw a small blue-green dinosaur cradled in Leaf's arms. Ash felt happy for his friends that they had gotten their first Pokémon, even Gary, but he couldn't help the pang of disappointment and anxiety that shot through him. Would there still be a Pokémon for him?

A very unwelcome voice broke through his thoughts as he heard his rival call out.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ash the loser. Oversleep did you eh Ashy-boy," Gary jeered mockingly and laughed, "I heard from Gramps he gave all the available Pokémon out so I guess that means you don't get one."

Ash felt his temper rising and he clenched his fists in anger. Just ignore him. You've waited too long to be disappointed today. And to think I felt happy for him.

The crowd parted as Ash made his way through towards the entrance to the lab, ignoring the stares that he received.

Jon and Leaf both waved at him as he neared.

"Hey Ash," Jon called out, "You're a little late to the party aren't you?"

Ash just sighed but smiled ruefully. Jon's teasing was good-natured, unlike Gary's, and he and Ash had always gotten along.

"Hey guys. Congratulations on your first Pokémon. You too Leaf."

Leaf smiled at him, a bit sympathetically. "Go on Ash. I'm sure Professor Oak will have something for you. We'll wait for you to come back out."

Ash smiled gratefully at the brown-haired girl and thanked her but Gary's voice once again filled his ears.

"Yeah right, you losers can wait together all you want. I've got a journey to start. Smell ya later dweebs!" And with that, Gary returned his Squirtle to its ball and sprinted down the road.

Ash glared at the retreating back of his rival before calming himself down. If there was anyone who knew how to get him all riled up, it was Gary. But it wouldn't do to dwell on it now. He had more important things to do. He turned back to Jon and Leaf.

"Gary's right though. You guys don't have to wait for me. You should get going. I'm sure we'll bump into each other somewhere along the way."

Leaf protested, but after much arguing the two grudgingly agreed and, with their farewells, they left as well. By now, the townspeople had mostly dispersed as Ash finally turned and walked up the steps into Professor Oak's lab.

The Professor looked up from his desk as Ash came into the lab room.

"Why good morning Ash. I was beginning to think you wouldn't be coming." He took in Ash's bedraggled clothes and rumpled hair and couldn't suppress a tiny grin. "Late night?"

Ash smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry Professor, I overslept this morning." His smile then disappeared as he asked in a hopeful voice, "Do you still happen to have a Pokémon for me?"

The Professor stared at him for a long time with a thoughtful gleam in his eyes, so long that Ash began to squirm uncomfortably.

"Well Ash. I have quite the dilemma here. Now, I know you wanted a Charmander, but the thing is I'm afraid I don't have any more. They've all been given away." The Professor paused and looked at him.

Ash felt a slight twinge of disappointment at the news, before he buried it and said with a determined tone, "That's alright Professor. It's my fault that I overslept. I don't have to have a Charmander."

The Professor's eyes gleamed again as he took in Ash's words, though his tone remained unchanged. "So it is. But I do have two options for you Ash. The first option is that you can wait a couple weeks for the League to give me a new batch of starter Pokémon and you can get a Charmander then. As for the other option, I have two more Pokémon that I have right now that you can choose from, but as I said before, neither of them is a Charmander."

Ash considered the options laid out before him. On one hand, he would still be able to get a Charmander. All he had to do was delay his journey by a few weeks. He had waited all these years, surely a few more weeks wouldn't hurt? Yet, on the other hand, with the end of the recent Indigo tournament, the new Conference season was starting. In fact, it had already started. He couldn't afford to fall behind everyone else by doing nothing for a few weeks. Especially Gary. And it was with that last thought that decided the deal.

"I'll choose from the two Pokémon right now Professor," Ash said in a determined tone, "I can't afford to fall behind the others. I'll be more than happy to work with whatever Pokémon you can give me."

Professor Oak gave him an assessing gaze for several long moments before a genuine smile broke the elderly man's features.

"I'm proud of you Ash. That was a very mature decision to make. You still have a lot of growing up and developing to do, but I know you'll go far as a Pokémon trainer."

Ash could only nod and look at his feet sheepishly. Professor Oak had always been someone Ash had looked up to as a child and that fact never changed as he had grown older. He had been almost like a surrogate father to him and he felt bolstered and touched by the Professor's words.

"And so, as such, I have a surprise for you. A surprise I think you'll like very much."

Ash's head snapped up and he felt his anticipation growing again as he latched on to the Professor's words eagerly.

"So, the first Pokémon I have is a Pikachu that I found just a couple days ago actually. I found him chewing on the power cables of the lab." The Professor held up a Pokéball with a small lightning carved on the front.

A Pikachu. Ash could definitely see himself working with the electric mouse. It was a powerful Pokémon and its electric capabilities as well as its speed would make it a great part of any trainer's team.

"A Pikachu would be great Professor. But what about the second Pokémon?"

The Professor's smile grew wider as he revealed a second Pokéball. "That's my surprise. I got this Pokémon just this morning In fact, it specifically asked to be caught for you."

Ash's eyes widened in surprise. It wanted to be caught for him? He looked at the Professor in confusion.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" He threw the Pokéball in the air and it opened with a flash to reveal a small blue-green dinosaur. Ash barely registered what the Pokémon was before it gave a cry of joy and leapt into his arms.

"Wha-," Ash looked at the Bulbasaur in his arms in disbelief before a big grin broke across his face. "Dino!" He raised his friend in his hands and spun around in joy. Gone was the tiny Bulbasaur that he had hatched and raised in the forest a year ago, which he had affectionately named Dino. The Bulbasaur in his arms had doubled in size since then.

"You asked to be my Pokémon?" Ash asked the Bulbasaur. "Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Dino responded and snuggled into Ash's chest contentedly.

"Well, I couldn't have asked for a better partner." He felt like dancing with joy until a sudden thought hit him. "But what about the others Dino?"

It was Professor Oak who answered him. "Well Ash, you see, Bulbasaur here has been wanting to be your Pokémon for a while now. And all its other friends knew about it and they wanted to surprise you. In fact, they're waiting out back for the news."

"Really? That's awesome! Can I go see them?" The Professor nodded and Ash all but sprinted out back into the fields that dotted Oak's ranch, with Dino in tow.

He shouted in greeting as he saw his friends and they all tackled him in joy. It had been a week since he had last visited the woods as he had been preparing for his journey. After they all had gotten off of him, Ash showed them Dino's Pokéball.

"Thanks so much for coming to see me off guys. Dino and I are gonna make you proud." The group of Grass-types cheered at his words as they continued to fuss over Dino. The Bulbasaur had always been the baby of the group (for good reason of course). As Dino had grown and taken its first steps, they had all become one big family. Maybe it was the incredible bond that had held them together over the years. But whatever it was, Ash was grateful that he had his friends with him on this day.

At long last however, Professor Oak called Ash and told him that his mother was waiting for him. With one last goodbye to his friends and a promise that they will visit soon, Ash and Dino made their way back to the laboratory, where he saw his mother and Professor Oak talking.

"Ash! You left in such a hurry you forget your backpack. And your clothes it would seem," Delia Ketchum admonished him, though her lips twitched in amusement.

Ash rubbed the back of his hair as his mother fussed over him, "Sorry about that Mom." He turned and picked up Dino who was beside him. "I want you to meet Dino. He was the Bulbasaur that hatched from that egg I told you about last year." His mother's eyes lit up as her gaze fell upon Ash's new partner.

"Oh! Aren't you just the cutest thing!"

"Saur!" Dino cried out in response and leapt into Delia's arms, almost purring and he contentedly settled himself as Delia patted its head.

"So Ash, I take it you accept Bulbasaur as your partner then?" Professor Oak asked in amusement as Delia continued to smother Dino with praise.

Ash grinned, "You bet! Thanks so much for this Professor. Dino and I won't let you down."

Professor Oak waved his thanks away as he responded, "Think nothing of it Ash. I have to say the bond you two share is incredible. I'll be very interested in how you two develop. But enough of that now. I have something else for you." He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a small red device, which he gave to Ash.

"This is a Pokédex. It's something that I invented that stores information on all of the known Pokémon we've discovered so far. I think you'll find this handy to have on your journey. It also acts as your Trainer's license and identification so make sure you don't lose it."

Ash accepted the Pokédex and thanked the Professor again gratefully.

"Ash, you'll have to change out of your pajamas before you head out," his mother told him firmly as Dino leapt down from her arms back to Ash's side. Ash nodded and together, the four of them walked out to the entrance of the lab.

They said their goodbyes to the Professor, Ash thanking him profusely.

"No need for thanks Ash. Feel free to call me anytime you need help and keep me updated if anything happens would you?"

"No problem! Thanks again for everything Professor Oak." They were just about to walk off back to their house when the Professor's voice called out to them.

"Ash! One last piece of advice. Just remember, the great don't become great by being satisfied with the status quo."

Ash looked back at the Professor confusedly. What did that mean? He glanced at his mother in question, but she only smirked at him in response. "I'm afraid you'll have to figure that out on your own Ash. Now come on, you got a journey to begin."