Author's Note: Welcome to my third Pokemon story! It's being co-authored by XashXdawnX. Thank you for agreeing to help me write, you are awesome! We hope you enjoy and be sure to R&R!

Disclaimer: The following a non-profit fan-based story. Neither my co-author nor I own Pokemon. All rights are reserved to their own respective owners, which include Nintendo, Game Freak, and Satoshi Tajiri.

"Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!" Ash Ketchum commanded.Sceptile launched a bombardment of grassy seeds at Cynthia's Gastrodon, getting a super-effective hit.

"Gast!" Gastrodon cried painfully.

"Gastrodon, use Surf!" Cynthia shouted.

"Use Leaf Blade to break up the wave! Then use Solarbeam!"

The wave formed and Sceptile jumped high in the air and slashed through the water. He then released a powerful beam of massive light and energy at Gastrodon, blasting it as it engulfed its entire body.

"Gas...Gastrodon..." Gastrodon said fainting.

Cynthia returned her fallen Pokemon.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle! The winner and new champion is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Ash jumped up in joy and pumped a fist in the air.

The images on the TV vanished and the black screen filled the TV. Sighing, I got up and removed the tape. I always enjoyed watching old videos of my parents' greatest Pokemon battles, but mostly my dad's.

My name is Adam Ketchum. I recently turned ten years old, and tomorrow I start my Pokemon journey. My parents are Ash Ketchum, the World's Greatest Pokemon Master and Dawn Ketchum (who was formerly Dawn Berlitz), Sinnoh's Top Coordinator, although she had won the Grand Festival in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn as well.

A knock was made on my door and my mom opened the door.

"Adam, it's time for bed." she said, walking into my room.

"Okay then." I said, even though I wasn't very tired.

I grabbed my pajamas and walked into my bathroom to change and brush my teeth. After I had finished, I walked back out and climbed into my bed.

I laid down and my mom sat at the edge of my bed.

"I'll see you in the morning. I'm making your favorite." she said, stroking my hair back so it stayed out of my face. It was a thing that parents usually do to their little kids. And I know that since I'm ten, I'm still technically a kid, but felt that since I was going out by myself into the world of Pokemon, I was getting too old for these kind of gestures that my mom was using. My dad raised me to be more mature, not a thick-headed dense guy like he was at my age.

But I let my mom stroke my hair anyway. It was one of her ways of showing me that she loved me, and to me, there was nothing wrong with that. Besides, I had heard about parents who don't care about their children, so I was thankful for the mom and dad that I had. Another reason my mom still made these gestures is because I reminded her so much of my dad, and I could tell that they loved each other very much. Heck, I had even heard a rumour that the great Arceus, the creator himself, had given his blessing to my parents. It could also be that she was showing me extra affection since my dad wasn't with us anymore, and she was doing it for him through me. I found that alright, since I knew how much she loved him and missed him.

"Okay. I love you." I replied.

"Love you, too. Good night, sweetie." she said, kissing my forehead.

She walked out of my room, turning the light off, and closing the door. I rolled over and looked at a picture that stood on my dresser.

The picture was of me, my mom, and my dad. It was the last picture that we had ever taken with the three of us together. I fell asleep looking at the picture.

"Adam, time to get up!" my mom yelled up the stairs.

I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock.

"Five more minutes won't hurt." I muttered, closing my eyes.

My door was swung opened and I heard footsteps. Soon sunlight was hitting me in the face.

I groaned and opened my eyes. My mom stood by my window and she had opened the curtains.

"Get up." she said softly, ruffling my hair and leaving my room.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I guess she was right. The last thing I wanted to do was oversleep and not get a Pokemon, like my dad had done. Although he DID end up getting Pikachu, I probably wouldn't get that same lucky break. I got up from my bed and went into my bathroom.

I walked out after twenty minutes dressed in my journey clothes.

I stared at my reflection. I wore a pair of white jeans, a black undershirt with a red jacket over it that had short white sleeves, and black sneakers. I also wore my dad's old hat that he had worn throughout his first Kanto and Johto journeys, and black fingerless gloves. My backpack was white and red.

I had sapphire blue eyes like my mom with zigzag birthmarks under them and black messy hair like my dad's, which was spiked in the same style as his, but not spiked outward as much. I preferred my hair a little shorter than his.

I reached over to my dresser and took the picture of me and my parents off of it and put it in my backpack.

"Adam, breakfast!" my mom called.

I looked at myself one last time and went down to the kitchen to eat. My mom had just placed my plate on the table when I entered. She was wearing a pink t-shirt, blue jeans, and pink flats. She smiled at me and a few tears were in her eyes.

"Mom, are you OK?" I asked sitting down.

"Yes." she said. I could tell that she was going to miss me, especially since I was all that she had left...but I was determined to change that.

She took a seat and started eating.

"So are you ready to travel with Jason?" she asked.

"Yeah. Jason is ready, I'm ready." I said and scooped some more food into my mouth. I have my father's appetite, but better table manners. I try not to stuff myself full all at once.

I finished my food and then grabbed my backpack.

"I'll be back to show you my Pokemon." I said as I stood up from the table.

"Okay." my mom replied, picking up dishes.

I walked out of the house and hurried to the lab where Professor Gary Oak waited. I arrived at the lab in record time and walked in.

"Good to see you, Adam." Gary said from the farthest wall from the door.

"Hey Gary, Jason." I said as I walked up to the two.

Jason was the son of Gary and Leaf. Jason had dark brown hair like Leaf, spiked like Gary's hair, and dark green eyes like Gary. He wore a green shirt, a black jacket over it, and black jeans with sneakers. His backpack was green and black.

"Well Adam, choose your Pokemon." Gary said, motioning to the table in front of him.

I walked up to the table and grabbed the Pokeball with a leaf on it.

"Bulbasaur, the gentle grass Pokemon." Gary said.

"I choose Bulbasaur." I said.

"Good choice." Gary said as he grabbed some Pokeballs and a Pokedex.

He handed me four Pokeballs and the Pokedex.

"Well, good luck. You two have fun and be safe." Gary said.

"We will, dad." Jason replied.

"Thank you." I added.

Gary nodded his head and we turned to leave, but Leaf came running in. She was wearing a green tank top and a white knee-length skirt.

"Adam, who did you choose?" she asked.

For a grown woman, she acted like a little kid most of the time. She was the same age as my dad and Gary. They had grown up in Pallet Town together, but while my dad and Jason's dad chose to go on a journey and become Pokemon Trainers, she decided not to, because she just wanted a Pokemon to be friends with. As her name implies, she has a thing for Grass Pokemon.

So when Gary came back to Pallet Town some years later to take over the job at the lab, he eventually fell in love with Leaf and gave her a beautiful Bellossom - that he had caught himself - as a gift and he asked her to be his girlfriend. And for them, everything fell into place after that.

So I knew that she would really like my choice of Pokemon. "Bulbasaur." I answered.

"Great choice! Well, you two have fun." she said, smiling and hugging us both.

We left the lab and headed to my house.

"So who did you choose, Jason?" I asked as we walked towards my house.

"I'll show you when we get to your house." he said running his hand through his hair.

I just nodded my head. Unlike our fathers, Jason and I were more like friends. Even though we were both chasing the same dream, we agreed to be friends first, rivals second. But we still had minor quarrels every now and then. We arrived at my house and my mom was waiting outside.

"Hey, mom." I greeted.

"Hey, mom." Jason said.

Jason calls my mom, "mom" since he's over here a lot.

"Hi, boys. Who did you choose?" she asked.

I tossed my Pokeball to reveal Bulbasaur. Jason tossed his Pokeball to reveal Charmander.

"Good choices, boys." But then, she suddenly said, "Adam, I would like you to take Pikachu with you on your journey."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"He hasn't battled in a while. He misses it some and he needs to travel again."

"Sure, mom...of course." I said. This was unexpected. My dad's Pikachu? I felt strange, but also honoured and happy. If anybody could help me in my quest to be a Master and also find dad, it would have to be Pikachu!

Pikachu came out of the house and hopped onto my shoulder. Now, I was starting to feel like my dad. My mom handed me a Pokeball that had a faded lightning bolt on it.

"In case anything ever happens." she said.

I nodded and attached it to my belt. I hugged my mom and she hugged Jason, too.

"Good luck and have fun. I'll miss you boys." she said.

We nodded and started down the road that would lead us to Viridian City.

Until I heard a sound behind us. I turned around to see a Charmander running to catch up with us. I immediately recognized him as one of my dad's Charizard's Charmanders. In the years he had lived in the Charizard Valley, Charizard had mated with another Charizard and he was now living at the lab with her and their four Charmanders.

I guessed that this one had wandered into the lab and noticed that I was going on a journey and wanted to come along with me. When I asked him if he wanted to come and he nodded, I took out a pokeball and caught him easily. Now Jason and I both had a Charmander.

This seemed to get the "rival" side of our friendship surging for him and he challenged me by saying, "Adam, let's have a contest that will go on throughout our journey. Let's see who can train the stronger Charmander!"

"You're on!" I said, shaking his hand and accepting his challenge.

As we walked onward, my mind wandered to what happened one month ago.

"Where are you going?" I asked my dad who was in the living room tying his shoe.

"I'm going to train my Pokemon." he replied standing.

My mom walked into the living room.

"Where are you going to train?" she asked placing her hands on her hips.

"Somewhere far away from Pallet Town. In one of the forests." My dad always preferred to train his Pokemon out in the wild far from any towns so nobody would notice, and so that his Pokemon would feel more comfortable about using their attacks out in the open without fear of anyone nearby getting hurt. Nobody knows exactly where he goes, though. He says it's a different place every time.

"What time will you be back?"

"I'll be home before supper. I promise." Oh, dad. If there's one thing he never misses, it's a meal.

My mom just nodded her head. My dad kissed her goodbye and ruffled my hair.

"Pikachu!" he called.

Pikachu came into the living room and hopped onto his shoulder. He checked his Pokeball belt and then left the house.

A few hours had passed.

I sat in the living room watching my mom and dad in a contest called the Wallace Cup. I smelled supper and I was getting hungry.

"Supper ready?" I asked.

"Yes it is." my mom answered, walking into the living room.

She sat down on the couch and looked at what I was watching.

"Where's dad, then?" I asked, looking at her.

"I'm not sure..." she said, looking out the window.

I continued to watch the show. Soon my stomach was growling and I ate some of the food while on the couch watching. Dad still wasn't home and the Wallace Cup was close to ending.

"Where is he?" I asked, getting up and removing the tape.

I looked at the shows that were on and found nothing interesting. My mom walked into the kitchen and started cleaning the dirty dishes.

I flipped to the news and stared at the screen. My plate dropped to the floor. My mom heard something crash against the floor and ran out of the kitchen and looked at the TV.

"Massive destruction has occurred in a forest. We don't know what happened. All we know is we found a hat and an injured Pikachu at the scene. If any-" the reporter started, but my mom turned the TV off.

"Get your shoes on." she said, with tears visible in her eyes.

I quickly got my shoes on and we hurried out of the house. We went to the police and they took us to the scene.

I stepped out of the car and blinked a lot of times.

The scene was horrible and sickening. I felt my stomach flip and my dinner wanted to come back up.

Burning trees scattered the area forming a square. I heard the cries of many Pokemon from deeper in the forest. I saw spots of blood scattered all around the ground.

I walked around the area and felt very sick. Ashes were everywhere. I saw the faint traces of some footsteps and there were many different types of footprints. It looks like there had been dozens of people and their Pokemon involved in the attack.

I turned around and saw Pikachu laying on the ground, injured severely. My dad's hat was on the ground with ashes from the destruction covering it slightly.

I walked over towards where Pikachu lay.

"If Pikachu is here...then dad was here." I said, walking a little way away from Pikachu.

I looked down at my feet and I got sick at what I saw, and I ran from that spot. I had stood in a puddle of blood and I feared that it was my dad's.

My mom kneeled down and picked up Pikachu and my dad's hat.

"Come on, Adam." she said softly.

I followed behind her and we hurried to a Pokemon Center to get Pikachu checked.

I frowned slightly at the memory. Officially, the police listed him as missing, not dead. They found no trace of remains of my dad, only minor amounts of the blood at the scene were discovered to be his. There was not enough evidence to confirm he was dead but still, even after a month of searching, they still had no leads on his whereabouts. So whoever or whatever attacked him wanted him alive. But still, I knew my dad wouldn't go down without a fight, so what could be so powerful that it could defeat my dad? Yes, he was outnumbered, but still...

"I know now that my journey is just beginning. Not only am I trying to become a Pokemon Master and be the very best, like dad. I am trying to find dad and bring him home...no matter what! I will fulfill both. I can do it! After all, I have Pikachu and Bulbasaur and I'm going to get many more. Together, we will find dad and become champion! I also have Jason who can help. I will find dad and bring him home alive and safe. So don't worry, mom. We'll be a complete family again very soon! And we'll all be happy like we were before." I thought.

"Well, Viridian City isn't far. After Viridian City is Pewter City and we can challenge the gym leader." Jason said with a cocky grin.

"Yeah!" I cried, enthused. "Look out, Kanto! Here we come! Time for the next generation of Pokemon Trainers to step up to the plate and go for it!"

Author's Note: We hope you enjoyed chapter one. Adam is on his way to find his father and compete in gyms to win badges, enter the Pokemon League, and someday become a Pokemon Master!

Will his dream come true? Will he find Ash? Is Ash even alive? Find out next time on Pokemon NG!