Authors Note: This is my first story, ever, so unless you want to read through my growing pains, you can stop right now, with that said, lets clear some things up

One: First and foremost, this will be an adventure/ journey story. I'm more interested in seeing Ash going up against the odds and winning, than I am seeing him fight Team Rocket. This means I will make all the Gym Leaders and adversaries significantly harder than displayed in the game/show. While this story will feature Team Rocket, they will never be at the forefront of my story.

Two: This story will feature a smart and practical Ash Ketchum. He will NOT have psychic/ aura powers. I think that's ridiculous.

Three: The Pokemon featured are personal favorites. They won't all align with what he's caught in the show, but some will be featured. I will try to include fan-favorites, although I can't promise they will all be on his team.

Four: Ash won't be catching Mythical or Legendaries. There's plenty of other stories where he does that

This chapter clocked in around 8k words, which is the most I've ever written. So, any reviews or criticism is much appreciated (even flaming if you're so inclined). I have planned for this story to go through the Indigo League.

Thank you for giving this story a try and enjoy the first chapter.

As the sun rose to greet the haven of Pallet Town with its sunlight and warmth, an elderly man prepared his morning cup of coffee while enjoying the view his large bay windows afforded him. He could see the stirring and rumbling of movement begin as the sunlight began to creep over his domain. Pokemon of different species woke up to greet the day. The lakes slowly sprang to life as the water types began to disturb the surface with their movements. All this only served to bring a smile onto the old man's face.

"This will never get old "he whispered to himself.

As the coffee was slowly drained from its mug, so too did the man begin his preparations for the big day ahead of him. Getting out several pots, pans, and a variety of ingredients the man began to cook quite a large amount of breakfast food. Humming to himself as he cooked, he made sure to make enough food for his three aides, his grandson and the mother of a young man he had come to think of as family. Just as he was finishing everything up, he heard a door open and a bell chime, indicating that someone had entered the building.

"Good Morning Professor Oak." He heard from a sweet soft-spoken voice. As he turned around, a young lady who had brunette hair, wore glasses while sporting a lab coat rounded the corner. She stopped in the doorway to smell the aroma of delicious eggs and bacon, as well as some other delicacy's

"Wow all of this looks absolutely fantastic!" exclaimed the young lady as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Oh, it's no big deal Emma" chuckled the Professor," Especially not with the long hours all of you have put in to make this day go as smoothly as possible. Please go ahead and serve yourself" Oak gestured towards the food. "Plates are in the cabinets and silverware in the drawers. Alexander and Demitri are on their way, running late as usual."

Emma merely smiled and began to load her plate.

"So, do you have any idea who's going to pick which starter Professor?" asked Emma." Afterall it's been years you've sponsored three kids, let alone three kids from the same town."

"Hmm while I'm fairly certain I can guess who's going to pick what, I'm not going to divulge that information just yet, I do have some money on this after all!"

"Professor!" Exclaimed Emma in a scandalous, yet playful tone. "Betting on your own grandson, what would he say if he found out."

Oak flashed her a toothy grin "He'd probably ask for a piece of the action. Afterall, how often in life do you have a run at a sure thing?"

Emma covered her mouth with her hand, trying to keep the snorting to a minimum. When she finally stopped laughing, she wiped a tear from her eye.

"You're incorrigible Professor" she said while sporting a huge grin.

"One does one's best" he responded with a small smile that graced his face. "Though I must give a thanks to you guys for acquiring that fourth Pokemon for us. If you had been unable to, I might have had to take Ash to Viridian in order to get his starter.

"Oh, it was no problem at all Professor." responded Emma "If there's anyone who deserves to be sponsored by you, its that kid. He's worked too hard not to get one of yours, scholarship or not. He passed every subject in the International Trainer Exams (ITE) with flying colors, hell he was even amazing in the survival course, and almost everyone struggles with that. That rich kid from Celadon and his dad shouldn't have had to force your hand in the first place. He doesn't belong with the others" she remarked.

Emma watched as Oak walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself another cup. Once done, he began to sip on it as he sat back down in the wooden chair across from her. He looked back out into the fields, where Pokemon were now beginning meander towards the lab in order to receive their food.

"Ash isn't a prodigy, not like Gary is anyway. He also doesn't have the privilege of all the traveling and firsthand experience that leaf has because of her parents." Oak looked back towards his assistant and she noticed he had a smile that that reached his eyes as he reminisced about the young man whom he had come to think of as his own. "Ash Ketchum is shaping up to have amazing potential. He has had to work extremely hard for every single one of his marks. Late nights here at the lab. Asking me all kinds of questions and poking my brain about different theories on raising and battling Pokemon. Helping with all the chores that come with dealing with hundreds of Pokemon daily. Giving up his weekends to work odd jobs around the lab. Scrimping and saving every dollar, just so he could afford some second-hand equipment from Poke-Bay. If he hadn't scored second in the overall ranking, I doubt I could have persuaded the league to give him the Amateur Trainers Scholarship in the first place. I couldn't just let all the time he invested, all the time he spent here at the lab helping us and studying, go to waste. And if it cost me a couple of favors" Oak shrugged "then so be it."

Emma hummed in agreement "We should be so lucky that the rich kid wanted the easiest Pokemon to train and stopped by to pick up his Bulbasaur yesterday. Plus, we got the other Pokemon in late last night from Sinnoh, so everything should be fine."

Just as she finished speaking, they were both startled by a loud bellow coming from outside, the Pokemon were starting to get hungry. Oak looked at his watch, the small hand pointing at the seven and the big hand pointing at just past the half hour mark

"Sorry we're late! Got a Flat on the way here."

"Yea, so in order to make it up, we'll get started with the morning chores!" Said a rather tall and lanky man.

Oak Smiled "Well Emma, looks like you lucked out on feeding duties today" He got up and started heading towards the area with all the high-tech equipment. "C'mon you can help me make sure all the Pokedex's are calibrated, as well as handle the last of the paperwork."

Several Miles down the road from Professor Oaks Pokemon Ranch, slept the very topic of conversation, unaware of the praise he was currently receiving from one of the most respected men in the world.

Ash Ketchum was lying spread eagle on top of his bed, sleeping like he didn't have a care in the world. And then there was a Delia Ketchum leaning on the doorway, with a mixed expression of happiness and sadness. She looked at his sleeping form and knew that she was going to have to wake him up soon if he wanted to receive his Pokemon. As she looked at him, sleeping as if it was just another regular day, she couldn't help but feel like she was about to lose her only son. Just like she had lost the love of her life, the man who had fathered Ash.

Ash's father had been a Pokemon trainer, a champion in the making, when they had first met all those years ago. She had just been starting out her modeling career when they met in Saffron. She had never been able to describe to Ash, or anyone else for that matter, what she had felt for his father. The years she spent with him had been some of the best of her life. She had married the love of her life. She gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby boy and had settled down in her hometown.

But his father had never stopped pursuing his dreams of joining the Elite Four. Eventually he climbed through the ranks and was noticed by higher ups, enough to be placed onto the infamous Alpha Squad. It was a squad composed of some the best trainers in both Kanto and Johto, trainers whose caliber were just beneath the Elite Four. Once placed there he had worked even harder and assumed more responsibilities. While trying his best not to neglect his wife and growing child. Ash had been 7 years old when his father was finally been made Alpha squad leader. It had been the Ketchum's family best day when they had received that announcement. With the new Bonus, Delia had been able to start her restaurant and begin enrolling Ash into primary school. It was only a few months later that tragedy struck.

Her husband had received an emergency call late in the night. Whatever it had been, Delia hadn't known. He had assured her everything was going to be alright, that he was going to be alright, and then he had left. That had been the last time she had heard from him, the last time she had embraced him, and the last time she would ever feel the warmth of her love sleeping next to her.

She received the bad news several days later. While most of the details had been kept classified, they had told her that her husband, his Pokemon, as well as two others, had perished the night. The only silver lining being that they had saved thousands of lives. She couldn't remember much after that. She had felt like a passenger in her body for the next couple days. She could barely remember breaking the news to Ash. The funeral in her mind was a foggy mess, consisting of a couple dozen League officials and acquaintances telling her how brave and noble he had been, even to the very end.

She had spent months recovering. It helped that the league had covered the expenses of his funeral, along with granting them some money for other expenses. In the end the person that had brought her back from the brink had been her son. Ash had been there alongside her, taking the death of his father better than she had any right to expect from him. He had been such a trooper. Helping with the restaurant, her duties with Professor Oak, even maintaining the house and cooking some easy meals. He had helped her slowly but surely regain her zest for life. It had been several months later that he nearly broke her heart again. She could still remember the way he had sat down next to her on their couch while she watched some old rom-com.

"Mom, I want to be a Pokemon Trainer" he declared while looking directly into her eyes." I want to finish what dad started. I want to make him proud and live up to his legacy"

Looking at the determination in her son's eyes, she saw the fire that burned within them. It was the same passion that had burned inside her husband's eyes. She knew then and there was no changing his mind. In that moment she could clearly see that he was his father's son. She moved to envelop her son in a hug and let the tears flow freely down her face. That day she made herself a promise to herself, that by the time Ash was ready to go into the world at age 16, he would be ready.

It had been a long and hard eight years since that moment. Though they had managed to pay off the house with the money the league had given them, raising a growing teenager who wanted to become a Pokemon trainer, along with maintaining her restaurant, was another matter. The costs of classes (which were just absurd in her mind) and survival courses (she was not going to lose her baby boy just because he couldn't build a fire) really added up. Thank Arceus Ash had been such a low maintenance child. Even when he did need something, he would usually find a way to acquire the funds himself. Even if it was just helping at the restaurant or at the Ranch when the Professor had a job that even his aides were reluctant to do, Ash had managed to persevere. And it had shown results. Ash might not have been a prodigy Like Gary Oak, (Seriously how is that even fair?) but he had still managed to trail him throughout most of their teenage years. And when had gotten the results of the ITE's, they had been ecstatic. While Ash could have easily received a starter from the nearby Pokemon gym in Viridian City, he had decided that the easy way wasn't good enough for him, and he had applied to be sponsored by Professor Samuel Oak.

While this should have been easy, especially since Oak had known Ash since birth, it had actually been incredibly difficult. The fact of the matter was that raising some of the rarest Pokemon in the entire world was extremely expensive (100,000 Poke-Credits is no small amount), so much so that it was rare for Oak to even consider more than one sponsorship every training season. On top of that, his standards were extremely strict. Requiring that the kids he sponsored send detailed reports of any and all Pokemon that the trainers owned, training methods, eating habits, as well as being a morally upstanding citizen in the eyes of the Pokemon League and the Law. That being said, Ash's academic record and all the help he had given to Oak's Lab over the years spoke for itself. The scholarship that Oak had managed to help him get made the whole deal that much sweeter.

There had never been a question if Gary would be sponsored, Afterall he had been number 1 in their class regionally, as well as having his expenses paid partly by his parents and partly by Oak. Leaf hadn't been to dissimilar to Gary. She had even beat Ash in some classes, though was brought down partially due to the practical portions, and her parents were financially well off. It seemed like this season, the kids from the boonies were going to take the region by storm.

"Well I guess I've been reminiscing long enough" Delia whispered to herself. She went back downstairs, grabbed a bucket, and filled it with cold water. "Might as well have one last bit of fun at his expense, especially since he's leaving today"

SPLASH!

"UUUGGHHHH WHAT THE HELL!" Ash Ketchum had never moved so faster off his bed than he had at that moment. "Mom…Why did you just dump a bucket of cold water on my face" Ash could only wait and watch as his mother held onto her stomach and laughed at his pain. She finally slowing down enough to answer as she wiped some tears away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry honey, but it's almost 8'o'clock, and you have to start getting ready if you want to get your Pokemon today. Remember Professor Oak expects you there at 9 AM sharp." She responded, unable to hide the amusement in her voice.

Ash looked at the watch on his left wrist and sighed.

"Well I guess I can just come back and grab my stuff after I get my starter. Imma just take a quick shower and head over there. Mind giving me a ride in about 20 minutes mom?"

Delia smiled as she closed the door. "You know I don't honey. I'll see you back here after you get your starter. I have a few things to tend to at the restaurant"

Ash Ketchum had never felt so anxious as he did in that moment. Staring at the concrete steps that led up to the farm house, he couldn't help but feel as if the weight of the world settled onto his shoulders. Everything he had worked for was finally paying off. At long last, he was going to be a Pokemon trainer. Battling Gym leaders and trainers alike for the next 18 months in order to qualify for the Indigo conference, and by extension, the ability to challenge the Elite Four. He took a deep breath and blew it all out. Now wasn't the time to get sentimental, now it was time to go get his Pokemon. And with that he took the first step up those stairs.

Opening the front doors, he looked around spotted that the others who were waiting on him.

"ASH!"

Was what he heard before he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled away and quickly checked her out. The girl in front of him was wearing a white sun hat, a white shirt and red beach wrap cover up skirt with a white floral pattern. Her honey and sage colored eyes danced with mischief as the sunlight shone its rays among them through the glass ceiling. Beautiful was a word too tame to describe the young lady he held in his arms. And he would rather face the wrath of Zapdos than ever tell her that.

"Hey Leaf" Ash responded with a smile. "Ready to get this party started?"

"We've just been waiting on you Ashy-Boy" Gary huffed as he crossed his arms.

"Yea Yea don't get your panties in a twist Gary" Ash retorted "I'm here now aren't I?"

Professor Oak decided this was as a good time as any to intervene, especially since these sessions of trading insults always resulted in going nowhere. With that, he coughed a bit into his fist to get their attention. The 3 teens looked somewhat embarrassed for getting off track though they finally gave him their full attention.

That was better, he could finally address them.

"Now that I have your attention, I would like to make a quick announcement. As you all might know, I no longer have a Bulbasaur in my possession, but I do think I have found a suitable though slightly unconventional replacement for his place as a starter." This seemed to peak their interest. Especially Leaf's', since she had been the most interested in using Bulbasaur as a starter. Samuel Oak smiled. He loved subverting people's expectations.

"I had to call in a few favors and promise a few IOU's, but I think whoever gets him will really appreciate him."

Oak nodded towards his aides, letting them know it was time to release the Pokemon. As the bright light that always accompanied a released Pokemon subsided, the three trainers could do nothing but admire the fine specimen in front one them

The first was a two-foot-tall reptilian looking animal. His scales were a light turquoise color that contrasted with the hard-yellow underbelly and shell that resided on its back. Ash knew that this Pokemon was one of the strongest water types in all of Kanto and Johto, though they were rarely seen, due to as how difficult it was to control the third evolution, Blastoise. While they weren't as aggressive as their fiery counterpart, they still refused to follow the orders of weak trainers. Most trainers just couldn't fully appreciate or use Blastoise to its fullest extent, seeing as how most people were just too lazy to put in the time to fully cultivate the power of the Pokemon, Because of this, Squirtle's and its evolutionary line were often avoided, most trainers leaning towards some more agreeable water types, such as the Goldeen or Staryu line

Secondly was the infamous Charmander. This two-foot-tall orange scaled lizard was one of the most famous/ rarest Pokemon in the world. Professor Oak only handed one out every two years, and the only other place to acquire them being the breeders in the Charicific Valley. Any fully evolved Charizard the lived in the wild was closely monitored, lest it go on a destructive rampage. There had also been reports of wild Charizard killing trainers who were too weak when looking for one in the wild. They had a reputation of being extremely hostile towards weaker trainers and being immensely difficult to train and control.

The last Pokemon was so rare that Ash had only ever seen its pictures. It was a bipedal canine looking Pokemon. It stood a bit taller on its two dark fur covered legs with a partially black torso Most of its body seemed to be compromised of blue fur except for its collar which looked to be yellow, and its eyes. The eyes had black fur around them that looked reminiscent of a mask, and the black extended all the way to its long floppy ears.

"Riolu" whispered Ash

That's Correct!" Oak said with a huge grin. He walked over to the Pokemon and started petting him. "While this may be a bit unfair to the rest of the trainers in Kanto, I'm not sponsoring them, I'm sponsoring you guys" He stood up and faced them. "Since I was forced to give Bulbasaur away, I wanted to give you guys the chance to have something just as good, since good grass types are hard to find. So" Oak clapped his hand together," Shall we begin? Gary You'll be going first since you did score the highest. Trying to be fair and all."

Ash looked as Gary headed towards the Pokemon, having no doubt which one Gary would pick. He had raved about it for months, designing strategies and tactics, saying how this was a Pokemon he could really build a team around. He watched as Gary bent down to pick up the Squirtle. He gave the Pokemon a smile and addressed him.

"You're coming with me. I have a plan for us to reach the top of the world, and we're going to do it together."

The Squirtle seemed to understand and gave him a smile and a nod.

"That's what I like to hear. C'mon we should get going, it's a long trip to Viridian City and I want to reach it by nightfall." He picked up Squirtle's pokeball and shot a red beam from it. Ash and Leaf watched as Gary placed the ball in a special holder on his belt, grabbed the red handheld and pokeballs that his grandfather held out, and began walking out of the lab.

"Thanks for everything gramps! I promise you'll get my report at the end of the month." He shouted over his shoulder. Right before he walked out the door, he stopped next to Ash and gave him a rather serious look. "And I better see you standing next to me at the Indigo Conference" He gave a small nod to Leaf and walked out.

"Ash if you wouldn't mind being next?"

"No, of course not Professor."

Ash stepped up to the podium and gave a quick glance at the Riolu. He knew how much potential this Pokemon held, even more so when it evolved into a Lucario. Every brain cell inside his mind was screaming at him to get the Riolu. It was the most logical course of action after all. They were extremely loyal companions and were some of the strongest dual types you could catch. Hell, even the Pokemon Champion from Sinnoh, Cynthia (at least he thinks that's her name), actively had one on her main team. But Ash had a plan, and he wasn't about to deviate from it now.

He turned towards the fire type, crouched down, and looked into his eyes, and felt as if time had stopped. In that moment it felt as if it was just the two of them in that room, looking into each other's souls. Ash felt as if grasped the Charmander's wants, his needs, his purpose, his goals. He understood that this Charmander wanted to be a powerful and indomitable Charizard, and he would do whatever it took to get him there. It ignited something in Ash, a feeling so primal that there he couldn't describe it. Together, Ash thought, we can challenge the world.

"Looks like you've made your decision."

Ash snapped out of it and looked at the Professor, "Yea, I have". He started petting the Charmander's head, the scales of the Pokemon feeling a bit rough under his hands, but nothing he couldn't get used to.

"Imma put you inside your pokeball for a bit, ok bud? I'll let you out when we get back to my house"

"Char!" A red beam enveloped Charmander as he was returned to the comfort of the ball that was his home.

"Well I guess that means you get to take Riolu with you Leaf" said the Professor

"YES!" shrieked the girl. She quickly went up to the Riolu and gave him a bear hug. "O I'm so lucky the other two already had their minds made up about who they wanted. Me and you are going to be best friends, OK?"

Riolu yipped, his excitement quite noticeable as his tail began to wag rapidly from side to side.

"Well I guess that means I can get going." She reached for the Pokedex and looked back towards Ash, throwing him a two-finger salute and a wink. "And I'll see you on the road. It's supposed to rain tonight, so I'm going to catch a ride with Gary up to Viridian. Not all of us like ruffing it as much as you." With that said, she walked out the door.

And if Ash let his eyes wander towards her rear as she walked away, well no harm no foul right?

"Ahhh to be young again"

Ash jumped a bit back, heat rushing to his cheeks.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha" Oaks laugh filled the room. "I can't wait to tell your mother"

"Please don't" mumbled Ash, feeling as if his whole body couldn't get any hotter. "She already gives me a hard time since I told her I thought Leaf was pretty."

Oak gave Ash a hardy pat on the back, "Don't worry my boy, a little teasing won't kill you. But you really should get going. Here, take this" He handed Ash a 3x5 red rectangular box, his very own Pokedex. "Now I'm sure I don't have to remind you that to take extremely good care of this device. It holds the National Pokemon Registry and acts as your League Identifier, plus it does a few other things."

Ash took the device and pokeballs that Oak was holding out to him. "Thanks Professor. I should get going to, I want to reach Viridian in at least three days."

"Wow Ash, pushing yourself from the get-go huh? Most trainers who leave from here take at least five days, if they're not driving that is."

"Well I would like to catch a few Pokemon before I get to Pewter City, as well as train them to the point that I can beat Brock the first time around."

Oak nodded in an agreeable manner "That's a good plan, just be careful out on the road, I've received some reports of an unknown bird Pokemon being overly aggressive towards travelers and Pokemon alike in between here and Viridian. There's been an abnormal amount of low level Pokemon carcasses found in the area. I wouldn't want you to endanger yourself so early in your journey."

"Sure, thing Professor, I promise not to get into too much trouble." Ash walked over to the professor and gave him a quick hug," Thank you… for everything."

Oak sighed, he knew the boy rarely showed any kind of physical affection to anyone outside his immediate friend group. So, he returned the embrace. "It's been a pleasure Ash and please do be careful, I don't know if your mother could lose another."

Ash pulled away and smiled "Of course. I'll make sure to keep in contact." And with that he walked out the door and headed towards his home.

As he adjusted the straps to his rucksack, making sure he had several important items within reach, he heard the front door open.

"ASH" bellowed his mother "ARE YOU HERE?"

"IN MY ROOM MOM"

"Oh, I see you got Charmander after all" noticing the Pokemon in question hanging out in the bedroom. "I thought the Riolu might have been tempting enough to change your mind."

Ash smiled as he gave a quick pat to his Charmander. "No, he's the Pokemon I've been dreaming about having since I started dedicating myself to this. There's no way I was going to let him slip through my fingers."

"Do you have everything you need?" asked Delia." Compass, map, ropes, potions, food, extra underwear?"

"Yea mom"

She held out something for Ash to take.

"Where did you get this?" asked Ash, as he took the olive-green military style jacket and slipped it on.

"Its your dad's old jacket, it was a gift he bought himself when he finally became an Ace trainer"- she hesitated - "he would want you to have it."

Ash stopped moving for a second, letting the implications of receiving the jacket sink in. His mother hardly ever talked about his father, preferring to focus on the present. For her to give this to him, it must have really meant a lot to her.

"Thanks mom, I promise to take good care of it."

Delia gave him a bittersweet smile and embraced him "I know you will, just remember to call me every time you get to a new city, I don't want to go months without hearing from you, ok?"

He stayed in that position for a few minutes. Not knowing when the next time he would see his mom would be, he relished the contact.

He pulled away and wiped some of tears off his face. "I really do have to get going now mom. I love you. C'mon Charmander, let's get going."

"Bye Ash" said Delia in somber tone, as she waved her son off.

As soon as he passed the gate that separated Pallet Town and Route 1, he released Charmander.

"I'm gonna have you walk with me for as long as you can, ok? It'll help build up your leg muscles and build up your endurance."

"Char!"

And with that, they continued down the trail.

Standing on top of the cliff that overlooked Pallet Town, the quaint village was the perfect image of serenity. "This is as good as place as any I suppose" He pointed the Pokedex towards the reptile, saw a soft blue light scan the Pokemon, and heard a velvety baritone voice bring the item to life.

"Charmander- The Lizard Pokémon-From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out. This Charmander is a male, is 2 ft tall and weighs approximately 20 lbs. Its ability is Blaze, which increases the power of its fire type moves when low on health. The moves this Charmander currently knows are Ember, Scratch, Bite, Smokescreen, Dragon Pulse, and Dragon Rush."

Ash's eyes bulged "Holy Shit, you know Dragon Rush? And Dragon Pulse? Those breeders at Charicific Valley must really be stepping up their game." He watched the pokemon puff out his chest and look extremely proud of himself. "O yea? Well let's see how good you perform all of these moves." He pointed at a sturdy looking boulder. "Do every move one by one on that rock."

Ash stood by patiently as Charmander did as asked. He noticed that as he was gearing up to execute dragon rush, a blue energy field of what he assumed to be draconic energy encapsulated Charmander. He barely did any damage to the boulder, it looked painfully pitiful. As if he only knew the rudimentary steps of the move. Well it looks like we have quite a bit to work on. He made some internal notes to work on strengthening Charmander's attacks before trying to expand his movepool.

"Not bad, not bad at all. You have the pieces for a great foundation, we just have to work on building on that. OK bud?" The lizard glanced at the boulder, noticing that the only move that had even dented it was dragon rush, and put his head down. "Don't be sad Charmander, we're both just starting out, and you're bound to get stronger. This I Promise you." Ash knelt in front of the Pokemon. "Hey, do you want a nickname?"

"Char?"

"It would be a name I would give you to make you unique, you know?" To stand out among other Pokemon." The lizard gave him a toothy smile and shook his head up and down.

Hmmm what would be a good name? It needs to sound fierce and dangerous. He had never been a fan of generic or silly names that other trainers seemed so fond of. A couple of names passed through his head, though there was only one that really stood out to him. A name of a monster from mythology that challenged the gods and brought them to their knees. A damn near unstoppable force.

"How about Typhaon?" asked Ash.

"Char?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side in a questioning manner.

Ash smiled as he stood up and looked towards the Mountains in the horizon, in the direction in where he knew the Pokémon League laid beyond.

"We're going to challenge the utmost powerful trainers in the world. People that have beaten the odds and achieved a status that most people can only ever dream of. Trainers that are revered and damn near worshipped throughout this country. They stand at the top of our world Charmander." He looked back down at Charmander and give him a smile that promised many things, but most importantly, it promised the world. "We're going to show the world that even gods can bleed"

Charmander had never heard a human speak like this. Sure, he had an innate desire to be strong, just like others of his kind. But this, this was different. The passion behind the words of this trainer, talking about facing the best this world had to offer, and winning. Of course, he knew it would be hard, but that only elevated the excitement the Pokemon felt. His trainer was worthy of following. And follow him he would, through hell if need be.

"CHAR!" He released a torrent of fire into the air, indicating his enthusiasm towards the name.

"Great" Ash gave him a small smile, "We'll start training tomorrow, lets just get as far as we can today." He turned around and proceeded down the trail towards Viridian City, the newly styled Typhaon, trailing next to him.

Day and night passed without any issues, the pair only stopping to eat and sleep. The rain had come as promised and Ash took deliberate care when setting up a tarp above his tent to make sure Typhaon could sleep outside with him without any issues.

Breakfast was a simple affair and Ash made sure to feed the lizard plenty. Training merely consisted of Typhaon practicing accuracy and doing some speed drills. The power would come as he grew, but power would be useless if he couldn't hit anything.

It wasn't till around midday that Ash felt started to feel weird about the area. He noticed the dwindling amount of wildlife as he continued the trail. I wonder if this is because of that wild bird Professor Oak was talking about? Looking around into the treetops, he saw the entrails hanging off a Rattata that dangled off a tree ten feet into the woods. Upon closer inspection he saw a Sentret that suffered the same fate several feet away. He reached for the pokeball on his belt and released Typhaon.

"We gotta go find this bird. It doesn't belong here, and its disrupting the natural balance." With that said, the pair trekked deeper into the woods. Although he only knew the very basics of tracking, the trail the bird had left in its wake was easy to follow. Typhaon found their prey in a small clearing after walking a about mile in, and it looked like it was about to make a meal out of a Pidgey.

"Typhaon! Use smokescreen to hide that Pidgey!" A thick dark cloud of smoke hid the injured animal from the finishing attack of the bird. Ash heard a loud squawk. The bird in question looked mad that they had deprived it of its meal. Ash watched as the smaller bird quickly flew away, and now they were the center of attention. Bring it.

Typhaon took a couple of steps forward and growled at the bird, issuing a challenge, and the bird accepted. It nosedived towards his target, but Ash and Typhaon were ready.

"Jump over it and use Ember" The bird flew through the spot were Typhaon had just been and took a hit from the fire. Apparently, the attack startled the bird enough to cause it to crash into the dirt. "Quick, use Bite, don't let it get back into the air." Typhaon ran towards the bird, but it managed to get back into the air before he could reach it. Shit.

The bird was starting to gain speed again. Ash heard another squawk before it disappeared. He caught glimpses of it as it raced towards Typhaon. Has to be quick attack, but how in the hell is it this fast? And are its wings glowing?

"Dodge it!" The bird flew faster than Typhaon could react, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying.

"You Ok?" As he watched Typhaon struggled to stand up. He knew Pokemon were a lot tougher than they looked, but still, that combo had looked painful.

"Char!". There was no way he was about to lose to some overgrown fowl, now that would be embarrassing.

Ash noticed the bird start turning around preparing to use the same tactics. Maybe if I obscure its vision?

"Pump out as much smokescreen as you can and charge up an Ember. As soon as you see it, blast him." He anxiously awaited as the bird started his combo again, watching as Typhaon released enough smoke to conceal him. The bird must have been confident he could hit the lizard, because he flew right into the cloud, face first into a blast of fire. Ash observed as it crashed into the ground once more.

You're not getting away from me this time. He threw a pokeball towards the downed Pokemon. C'mon C'mon! The white center of the ball signaled a successful capture.

"YES!" he thundered and gave a quick fist pump.

"Let's get you fixed up, ok bud?" Ash addressed his Pokemon as he walked over and picked up the ball. "We can introduce ourselves to this guy afterword's. Here"- he pulled out a potion from his bag- "this might sting a little, but it should heal any minor injuries you received"

Typhaon winced a bit as Ash steadily applied the potion, but felt the soothing medicinal properties begin to cover and heal him. A few minutes later he felt as good as new. He smacked his tail against the ground and gave his trainer a toothy grin.

"Char"

Ash smiled and touched his forehead to Typhaons forehead. "We might have been a little sloppy bud, but that just means we loads of room to improve, Let's not worry about being perfect, we can leave that for Gary, lets just focus on getting better, ok bud?"

"Char!"

Ash grinned as he stood up. "Let's go ahead and meet the new guy." He threw the ball that held their new partner. "No point in putting it off."

Ash kept his arms crossed while he studied the Pokemon, letting it stumble and readjust to its surroundings. The avian was covered in black and white markings, with a prominent black "M" pattern across its chest. He noticed that the face was predominantly white except for greyish looking spot on its forehead. It had a long orange beak that oddly enough ended with a black tip. What Ash found the most amusing was the way the long feathers on the back of its head curved forward. It gave him a weak screech in protest, knowing that it was currently too spent to keep fighting.

Staravia- The Starling Pokemon- It has a savage nature. It will courageously challenge foes that are much larger. Abnormality detected, this Staravia exceeds the normal parameters for size. Standing 4 ft tall, weighing 50 lbs. with a wingspan of 10 ft. Its ability is Intimidate, hidden ability is Reckless, in were the Pokemon disregards its own health to deal additional damage to the enemy. The moves this Staravia currently knows are Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Double Team, Gust, And Tailwind.

I remember reading about Kings Nature, but the odds of finding one were supposed to be astronomically rare, how in the hell did I find one as my second Pokemon?

"Hmm, a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one"

The bird screeched at him, almost as if it was annoyed, Typhaon tensed up next to him, ready to defend his trainer. This won't do he thought, he needed to get along with Staravia, not keep fighting with him. Ash got down on one knee to address the impudent bird.

"Well aren't you far from home. Last time I checked, you belonged in Sinnoh. How did you end up so far south?" The bird huffed, as if it should have been obvious. Ash snapped his fingers "The Septrional Migratio to the Sevii Islands, you must have gotten separated from your flock on the way back to the north." It chirped in agreement.

Ash knew how to sway the Pokemon. He needed to appeal to its aggressive and competitive nature.

"I know that you must have felt like king of the hill here, gorging yourself every day, with no natural predators around. That doesn't mean you're strong though" It gave him a curious look. "You fought nothing but weaklings. Pokemon so weak I never even considered capturing them. I could release you, and you'll live out the rest of your miserable life doing this every day. And you'll die, never knowing how strong you could have been. Or"- he pointed a thumb at Typhaon- "You can come with us and fight the best this world has to offer. There will be times where it'll be tough, where we'll both be so beaten down that we'll want to quit. But I won't let us" He stood up "In order to grow and get stronger in this life, we have to be willing to suffer. So, are you up for it?"

Staravia thought over the humans' proposal. He had been so bored since he had gotten split up from the flock after the storm. There had been no thrill in hunting these puny Pokemon. And the other two bird species had barely put up a fight. Even the bigger ones had been cautious to confront him. They were pathetic. What this human offered was excitement, and a challenge. The ability to dominate the sky's and make them his domain. How could he say no? Besides, the overgrown reptile owed him a rematch. He nodded yes.

"Great" he beamed. "Now let's get you fixed up." He pulled out another potion and started applying some to Staravia's wings.

"Now I need to give you a nickname"

Staravia let out a chirp

"Its to make you unique, to have you stand out amongst everyone else instead of me just calling out a generic name." This wouldn't be too hard, he liked the idea of using names from mythology. And he had the perfect one for Staravia (he hoped so anyways).

"How about Horus? It loosely translates to the 'The One Far Above." He inspected Staravia, making sure he didn't miss any injuries. "In olden times, he was worshipped as the sky god and a protector."

Horus gave him a small trill, which Ash took as acceptance.

"Great! So, do you want to get back inside your pokeball? Or would you prefer to stay outside?" The newly dubbed Horus started flapping his wings and flew into the sky. "Well I guess that's answer."

"C'mon bud let's get going."

It took them a bit to get back the trail, having to check his map and compass to make sure they were going the right way. Along the way, Ash made sure to keep an eye on Horus. While he was about 75% sure he wouldn't run away, he wanted to make sure he wasn't going around killing anymore Pokemon all willy-nilly. He watched as Horus flew high up in the air, flying around lazily in circles, wondering how expensive it would be to buy a saddle in Saffron city.

Speaking of money, He needed to find some trainers to fight. While he had worked after classes and on weekends, he had only left with 1500 credits in the bank. It was enough to buy some food and a couple potions, but if he planned to catch some more Pokemon, it wouldn't be near enough.

With the rising popularity of beauty contests and Pokemon races, the league had instituted an incentive program to make sure that battling stayed viable among its competition. It was a simplistic system. When two trainers battled, the losing trainer would transfer 250 credits to the winner, with Gym leaders having to give winning challengers 10,000 credits. As well as offering free medical services at Pokemon Centers only to trainers. This allowed newer trainers to find some stability while traveling and finding their place in the world.

Ash felt a little annoyance as the rest of the afternoon dragged on, the only travelers being suppliers and vendors coming to and from Viridian City.

"Might as well call it a night and find a place to camp." He cried out to Horus, informing the bird that they were stopping for the night

Yelling is incredibly inconvenient when he's in the sky. I wonder if there's a way to train him to respond to whistles?

Ash found a frequently used campsite off the main path and started setting up camp. That night, he studied his Pokedex and some of the notes he written over the years. If he was going to challenge the Elite Four in 18 months, then he needed to make an outline for his current Pokemon and start planning for when he caught more. He had already decided to be pragmatic and only catch Pokemon that caught his eye due to their strengths, abilities, and future potential.

Most sympathetic and average trainers would argue that the competitive viability of Pokemon was subjective, those guys were idiots. Objectively, there were Pokemon that stood above the rest. For example, you would never use a Ratticate just because you caught it first, over something like a Garchomp. It was stupid and idealistic to think they were all on a level playing field. And if he wanted challenge those who stood at the pinnacle of their world, then he needed to have unstoppable forces of nature on his side.

Deciding that they would get serious after Viridian, Ash put his things away and got ready for bed. Spotting Horus perched a tree branch nearby, and seeing Typhaon curled up next to him, he slipped closed his sleeping bag and went to bed. Hopefully they would encounter trainers on the last leg to the city, he was itching to get a taste of battle.