Okay, here we go with a new Pokémon story. This is my attempt to rewrite the Amine series, beginning with the Original Series (The Kanto Arc). It will feature familiar characters (Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary etc.) familiar Pokémon (Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Psyduck, Onix etc.) familiar places and familiar storylines. However there will be additions; new rivals, new captures, new evolutions, new friends and new adventures.

Each chapter will be considered an episode and some (like this first one) will vary only slightly in their plot. Others will be completely new. Also, Ash will have to actually battle the Gym Leader if he wants to get the badge, and there will be a little less Jessie and James constantly interrupting everything.

I hope you enjoy it.

Pokémon Indigo League

Episode 1: Pokémon – I Choose You

Two creatures stood opposite each other, facing off in battle. One was a creature named Nidorino, the other was called Gengar. Standing on all four feet, Nidorino shifted his balance a few times, anticipation his opponent's move. Gengar raised a fist and took a swipe at Nidorino, who dodged the blow before springing forwards, attempting to drive the horn that grew between the long ears on his head into Gengar's chest.

With an agile twist Gengar ducked beneath the attack from Nidorino and turned to keep the opponent in his field of vision.

All around them a crowd of people roared with excited cheers as the two battling Pokémon continued to fight.

Each of the two Pokémon had a trainer, who shouted encouragement and commands to them over the noise of the audience within the stadium.

Gengar's trainer, an aging woman with greying blond hair and wearing a purple dress called out a command to her Pokémon.

"Gengar, use Hypnosis."

In response Gengar, a dark purple ghost type raised his hands up before him and began to wave them about. A pink aura formed around each hand, and this aura became a ring and travelled from Gengar, across the battlefield and hit Nidorino. The eyes of the poison type Pokémon grew heavy and Nidorino slumped over, sound asleep.

"And there it is, folks" shouted the match commentator's voice over the noise of the crowd "Gengar's dreaded Hypnosis attack has put Nidorino to sleep, compromising its ability to battle. How will Bruno respond to this?"

Bruno, Nidorino's trainer was a tall, rugged and muscular man with his hair pulled back in a ponytail. An experienced trainer, he knew what attack Agatha would have her Gengar perform now that Nidorino was asleep. Deciding to not give her the satisfaction, he raised his hand. In it he held a red and white ball. A pokéball. Pokémon belonging to trainers were kept in these. With a shout from Bruno of "Nidorino, return." Nidorino changed from a physical form to a strange red energy that was sucked into the pokéball.

"And Bruno withdraws Nidorino from battle; a wise move against Agatha, who usually follows up Hypnosis with the deadly Dream Eater attack. But what Pokémon will Bruno use now?"

Bruno pocketed Nidorino's pokéball and drew another. He threw it out onto the battlefield and it snapped open. There was a flash of bright white light and Bruno's next Pokémon appeared on the battlefield. At first the new Pokémon looked like nothing more than a series of large grey rocks all in a line. Then one end of the line reared up, and the first rock opened up to reveal a gaping mouth below two eyes and a large horn.

"Oh, it's Onix!" shouted the commentator "How will Agatha and Gengar respond to the presence of the Rock Snake Pokémon?"

Many miles away from the stadium, its roaring crowd and the battling Pokémon, the fight was also being watched on television by a boy of ten.

Excitement coursed through him. Not only because of the battle taking place on the television in his room, but because he knew that very soon, that would be him. Tomorrow morning, he would get his very first Pokémon, as many children did at the age of ten, and then go out into the wide world in order to become a Pokémon trainer.

In his excitement, he snatched up his pokéball-designed alarm clock and held it up "Tomorrow I get my first Pokémon, then look out world, because I'm gonna be a Pokémon master!"

"Ash!"

Unfortunately for him his shouted declaration had drawn the attention of his mother.

Ash winced and turned around towards the door of his bedroom.

His mother, a fairly young woman with her brown hair pulled into a ponytail that was draped over her shoulder, was standing in the doorway looking very cross.

"You should be in bed." she scolded "You have to be up early in the morning."

"But I'm too excited to sleep." Ash protested.

His mother marched over to his desk on which the remote control for the television sat "Fine. But at least watch something educational."

With the press of a button, the battle disappeared from the screen, to be replaced by an older man in his sixties, dressed in a white lab coat giving some kind of lecture.

"What the end of this then go to bed."

With that, his mother left the room.

Ash turned his attention back to the television. The man giving the lecture was renowned Pokémon researcher Professor Oak, the man who would be giving Ash his first Pokémon the next morning.

"These three," Professor Oak said, pointing to three large pictures on the wall behind him "are the three Pokémon that beginning trainers may choose between to start their journey with. They are the fire type, Charmander" he pointed to an orange lizard-like Pokémon that was standing on two feet and had a flame on the tip of its tail "the water type Squirtle" he gestured to a blue turtle with an orange and yellow shell "and the grass type Bulbasaur." he gestured to a blue frog-like Pokémon with a large green bulb on its back.

"Either one of these Pokémon would make an ideal starting companion for any beginning trainer…" the lecture continued.

Later that night Ash was sound asleep, dreaming about getting his first Pokémon, and thinking about which of the three would be best for him to start with.

He thought about Charmander, and what it would be like to send the fire type Pokémon out into battle.

Then he thought about Squirtle.

And then thought about Bulbasaur.

He imagined sending one out into battle against a wild Pokémon. It was one familiar to him; a bird Pokémon called Pidgey, which were very common. In turn he imagined each of the starter Pokémon battling Pidgey, then he decided to capture it.

In his sleep he was reaching for an empty pokéball. In reality, he was reaching for his pokéball-shaped alarm clock.

He threw the pokéball at Pidgey, and the alarm clock sailed across the room to smash apart against the wall.

The noise barely registered in Ash's mind. He merely mumbled "Either would be perfect…" in his sleep and rolled over onto his side…

Bright, warm sunlight came in through the window of the bedroom. Ash rolled over onto his back and the light woke him up. Sleepily he blinked his eyes a couple of times to bring the world into focus before sitting up.

"What time is it?" he wondered aloud.

Then he saw the smashed alarm clock.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed, throwing the bed covers back and jumping out of bed. Still in his pyjamas, he raced downstairs and saw by the clock on the wall in the kitchen that he was late, not only in getting up, but also for going to Professor Oak's laboratory in order to get his first Pokémon.

Without even thinking of putting on any shoes, Ash ran out of the house, past his mother who was weeding the garden and raced off down the street, ignoring the startled looks of the few other residents of Pallet Town he happened to pass.

There was only one thought on his mind:

'Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle… any one would be perfect, just please save one of them for me…'

Outside of Professor Oak's lab, quite a crowd had gathered. People from all over Pallet Town had gathered to wish the beginning trainers luck for their journey.

One of those trainers had already headed off, but the other two were just now coming out of the lab.

One, a boy who had spikey brown hair and who wore a purple, long-sleeved top turned to the other, a boy in a green outfit and a blue and yellow cap on his head, and asked "So Ritchie, fancy a battle before we head out?"

Ritchie grinned "You got it, Gary."

"A battle, eh?" asked Professor Oak from behind them "Sounds like a good idea. I'll referee."

Ash arrived at the lab and pushed his way through the crowd. He came to a stop once he was at the front and saw what they were all watching.

Gary and Ritchie were standing opposite each other, each one clutching a pokéball. Both threw them.

"Go, Squirtle!"

"Go, Charmander!"

Ash frowned. So his cousin Ritchie Ketchum had chosen the fire type Charmander, and his long-time rival Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson, had chosen Squirtle.

That left Bulbasaur for Ash.

The two young trainers began their first battle.

There were a long series of blows exchanged; Tackle attacks from Gary's Squirtle and Scratch attacks from Ritchie's Charmander. Both Pokémon were so young that neither actually knew any other attacks it seemed; no fire from Charmander, and no water from Squirtle.

In the end, with one final, well placed Scratch attack, Charmander defeated Squirtle, giving Ritchie the first win.

With a huff, Gary recalled Squirtle to its Pokémon and commented "Doesn't matter. Just as soon as Squirtle learns some water type attacks, your Charmander won't stand a chance."

As the crowd moved to congratulate Ritchie and offer commiserations to Gary, Ash suddenly found himself before Professor Oak.

"So, you must be Ash." said the Professor with a smile.

"Professor Oak," Ash exclaimed "Sorry I'm late. Please tell me you have a Pokémon for me."

Inside the lab Ash found himself standing before a round, table-like machine. With a whirr, three small circular holes opened up in the top and three pokéballs rose up, one through each hole. One had an image of a blue water drop on it, another has a green leaf and the last had a red flame.

"Okay," said Ash "I thought long and hard about it last night, but as Ritchie already chose Charmander, and Gary chose Squirtle, I guess that leaved Bulbasaur for me."

With that he picked up the pokéball with the leaf on it and pressed the round, white button on the front. The pokéball snapped open, but nothing came out of it.

"The early bird gets the worm." commented Professor Oak "Or in this case the Pokémon."

"But how?" asked Ash.

"There was another trainer starting today." replied Professor Oak "And she arrived early in order to make sure she got the Pokémon she wanted."

Ash hung his head "Oh… right."

He looked up "But then, what am I meant to do about getting a first Pokémon?"

Professor Oak rubbed his chin thoughtfully "Well… I do have another Pokémon, but…"

"Oh, please Professor Oak, I'll take it." said Ash eagerly.

"Well, I don't know. This Pokémon is a little too wild to give to someone without any experience…"

"But Professor, I have to have a Pokémon." Ash protested.

"Oh… alright" Professor Oak relented "But be careful with it. It's far from tame."

With that he pushed a red button on the side of the machine and a fourth hole opened up, this on situated in the middle. A pokéball rose up from within; this one marked with a yellow lightning bolt.

Ash took the pokéball and opened it up. In a flash of white light, the Pokémon contained within appeared. It was a yellow, mouse-like Pokémon with black-tipped pointed ears, a flat tail shaped like a lightning bolt and bright red pouches on its cheeks.

"Pika?" it said questioningly, tilting its head to the side.

"It's called a Pikachu." explained Oak.

"It's so cute." said Ash excitedly "It's the best of the lot."

With that he grabbed up Pikachu and hugged it tightly.

Pikachu did not take kindly to this and unleashed a powerful bolt of electrical energy, zapping Ash.

"Pikachu is an electric type Pokémon and is capable of unleashing electrical discharges of many thousands of volts." explained Professor Oak "Shocking, isn't it."

"Y-y-yep." replied Ash, electricity still crackling through his hair.

Professor Oak reached into his pocket and took out a miniature computer-like device, and five pokéballs.

"This is the Pokédex. Use it to research the Pokémon you encounter. And here are five spare pokéballs. Use them to capture more Pokémon."

"Th-th-thanks." replied Ash, reaching for the items.

Just then Pikachu unleashed another electrical attack, this time electrocuting Professor Oak as well as Ash.

Outside of Professor Oak's lab, Ash was met by the same crowd that had watched the battle between Ritchie and Gary. The only difference was that now Ash's mother had joined them.

"Ash, you left so quickly, you forgot to take your things with you." she said, handing Ash a backpack, a pile of freshly laundered clothes, a pair of black and white running shoes and a red and white baseball cap.

"Uh, thanks mom." said Ash.

"I've packed you plenty of clean underwear." she told him, embarrassing him in front of everyone "Be sure to wear a clean pair every day. Huh?"

She had just caught sight of Pikachu.

"Ash is that your Pokémon?" she asked.

Ash turned and picked up Pikachu "Yeah, this is my new buddy Pikachu."

"Isn't that kind of an unusual Pokémon to start out with?" she asked with concern in her voice.

Pikachu did not take kindly to having the word "unusual" associated with itself, and so zapped everyone present.

As they all fell to the ground, twitching, Ash heard the sound of someone laughing. He turned and saw Gary standing not too far away.

"Pathetic." said Gary "You can't even control your first Pokémon, Ashy-boy. What hope do you have of ever becoming a Pokémon master?"

"I got just as much chance as you." retorted Ash "I saw you lose to Ritchie, even with a type advantage on your side."

Gary waved him off "Not important. Like I said, once Squirtle learns a water type attack, Ritchie's Charmander won't be able to touch it. You, on the other hand, will be such a poor trainer that even your Pokémon knows it. Why else would it zap you?"

"Then prove it with a battle." Ash shouted, springing to his feet.

Gary laughed again "As if I'd waste my time battling a trainer whose Pokémon won't even listen to him. Later."

And with that he walked off, leaving a fuming Ash behind.

Things between Ash and Pikachu only got worse. Pikachu flat out refused to return to his pokéball, or do anything else that Ash asked of it. In the end Ash had to resort to extreme measures; a pair of pink rubber gloves on his hand, and a rope tied around Pikachu's middle so that he could drag the Pokémon behind him.

A halfway up a tree-covered hill, a short way out of Pallet Town, Ash turned to Pikachu and tried to persuade it to be his friend. Pikachu had no interest in such a thing, and Ash taking off the rope and gloves only resulted in him being on the receiving end of another electric shock. By the time he had recovered, Pikachu had climbed a tree and now sat on a branch.

"Fine," said Ash "I'll just have to become a Pokémon master without you! I'll catch another Pokémon and leave you behind!"

He turned away from Pikachu and scanned the surrounding area for any sign of another Pokémon.

There was a fluttering of wings, and the flying type Pokémon Pidgey flew down onto the pathway ahead and began scratching around for food.

Ash drew his Pokédex and scanned the brown-coloured Pidgey for data:

"Pidgey is a Flying Pokémon. Among all the Flying Pokémon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. A perfect target for the beginning Pokémon Trainer to test his Pokémon's skills."

"It's perfect." Ash said to himself, stowing the Pokédex away. He drew an empty pokéball and threw it.

Pidgey saw it coming and batted the pokéball away with its wing.

Ash's Pokédex beeped and said:

"In order to capture a Pokémon, a trainer must weaken it first."

Up in the tree, Pikachu began to laugh at Ash.

Annoyed Ash turned and shouted "This would be a lot easier if you helped!"

Pikachu just continued to laugh.

With a frown on his face, Ash turned away from Pikachu. He took off his bag, his hat and his jacket then, holding his jacket, he crouched low and crept towards Pidgey.

When he was near enough, he sprang through the air and landed, his jacket covering Pidgey completely.

"Ha-ha! Gotcha!" Ash cheered, only for the Pokédex to beep again and say:

"Trainers should watch out for Pidgey's Gust attack. It also knows Sand Attack."

"That doesn't sound." Ash noted, moments before a powerful wind built up beneath him and Pidgey's Gust attack blew both him and him jacket away.

He landed on his back with a thud and sat up with a groan. He opened his eyes just in time to see Pidgey flying towards him. Pidgey tilted to the side, the end of one wing dragging along the ground. Pidgey swept away to the left, and a spray of sand from the wing flew into Ash's face.

Wiping his eyes and spitting sand from his mouth, Ash stood up and looked around. Pidgey was gone.

A rustle behind him drew Ash's attention and he turned to see a purple rat-like Pokémon rummaging through his bag.

"Hey!" Ash shouted, running over "Get outta there!"

The Pokémon turned and scampered off as Ash's Pokédex gave another beep and spoke again:

"Rattata, a Pokémon that usually lives in forests, hedgerows and city streets. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries. It also comes out into open fields to steal food from stupid travellers."

"Hey!" Ash yelled, indignantly as Pikachu began to laugh even harder.

Ash scowled at Pikachu and walked a short way from the tree.

In the distance he spotted the outline of a bird.

"There you are." Ash said.

He reached down and picked up a rock "Maybe this'll do it."

And with that he threw the rock, which scored a direct hit, smacking the Pokémon on the back of the head.

"Yes!" Ash cheered, only for the Pokémon to turn around and face him, a dangerous glint in its eye.

"That's not Pidgey…" Ash muttered.

He was right; although a bird Pokémon as well, this one clearly was not a Pidgey. It looked wilder, and had a larger beak that looked like it could do some damage.

Again the Pokédex beeped and spoke:

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans."

With a cry the Spearow took to the air and flew towards Ash. He turned and ducked, but still felt the painful jab of Spearow's beak on the top of his head.

Pikachu continued to laugh, but now Spearow noticed it too.

Ash got up to see Spearow pecking at Pikachu, who was crying out.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Ash shouted, but Spearow paid no attention.

Pikachu lost his footing and slipped from the branch, only managing to grab hold of it just in time to prevent him falling to the ground.

Spearow flew in a loop and the shot towards Pikachu, who let out a sudden, powerful electrical strike that zapped Spearow hard.

The flying type Pokémon tumbled out of the sky and landed in long grass.

"That was great Pikachu!" Ash shouted "That'll teach him to pick on us."

Suddenly Spearow got up and let out a terrible cry.

It was answered by many more.

Then a flock, consisting of around forty Spearow came swarming out of a tree, heading straight for Ash and Pikachu."

"Uh-oh." Ash muttered before turning quickly.

He gathered up his jacket, hat and bag and made a run for it.

Pikachu sprang down from the tree and joined Ash.

The Spearow began to swoop down at them, pecking at the two as they fled.

The first Spearow remained in the grass, panting heavily as it watched the rest of its flock chase Ash and Pikachu away.

Then Spearow's attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. It turned and saw another Pokémon trainer standing there. Before Spearow could think of putting up any kind of fight, it was hit with a pokéball and it vanished inside, captured.

Covered in scratch marks, Ash shouted "Pikachu, use your Thundershock to drive them off!"

Pikachu didn't need asking twice.

With a cry of "Pi-kachuuuu!" The little electric mouse Pokémon unleashed a powerful blast of electricity that shocked not only Ash but the front line of Spearow.

But there were more Spearow to take their place. One swooped down and grabbed Pikachu's lightning tail in its beak and lifted him up into the air as others pecked at the electric type.

Pikachu unleashed another Thundershock attack that saw off those Spearow and made them retreat, but more were coming, and the one holding Pikachu dropped him from a height. Pikachu crashed down hard onto the pathway and immediately a Spearow was upon him, jabbing him violently with its beak.

Ash knocked the Spearow away with his arm, then picked the now weak Pikachu up and continued running.

The Spearow drove him from the road and into the water of a river. Ash waded his way forwards until the current became too much and he and Pikachu were swept away.

They both surfaced just in time to see that they were approaching a waterfall. Unable to fight the current, Ash and Pikachu braced themselves for the worst.

They went over the waterfall.

The water below stung Ash's face when he hit it, but he ignored the pain in order to grab Pikachu. As the current pulled the two of them along, they saw a lot of fish Pokémon, and one that looked terrifyingly like a gigantic blue sea serpent.

A short was downstream from the waterfall, a girl with her red hair pulled back in a short ponytail sat on a rock, fishing. Next to her sat an orange bicycle.

Feeling a sudden pull on her fishing line, she exclaimed "Hey, I got a bite!" and with a might heave on the rod she pulled her catch out of the water.

It wasn't a water Pokémon, but Ash; the hook of the line had snagged his jacket.

She hurried forwards "Are you alright?" she asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ash replied, only to get a slap on his cheek.

"Not you." snapped the girl "Your Pokémon."

"Oh," said Ash, looking down at Pikachu, still cradled in his arms "Pikachu… please be okay."

"You've got to get it help." said the girl. She turned and pointed down the pathway "If you go that way you'll get to Viridian City. There's a Pokémon Centre there. They'll help Pikachu."

"Right." Ash muttered, getting unsteadily to his feet.

Suddenly there was a loud chorus of cries behind them, and Ash and Misty both turned towards the waterfall. There were the flock of Spearow, just as angry as before.

"Uh-oh. They're coming again." said Ash and he ran for the girl's bicycle. He put Pikachu into the basket on the front.

"Hey, what are you doing?" demanded the girl.

"I need to outrun those Spearow." said Ash "And get Pikachu to the Pokémon centre."

He began pedalling.

"But that's my bike." the girl protested as he headed off down the path.

"I'll give it back someday!" Ash shouted back to her over his shoulder.

She watched him go with a scowl on her face. Then the flock of Spearow flew over above her, in pursuit of Ash.

Black clouds gathered in the sky overhead as Ash pedalled as hard and as fast as he could.

"Hang on Pikachu." he muttered under his breath "Just hang on."

Rain began to fall heavily and the dirt road quickly became mud.

The leading Spearow caught up with them and one struck Ash on the back of his head.

He quickly lost balance and he, Pikachu and the bicycle crashed to the wet and muddy ground.

Battered and bruised, Ash raised his head and looked towards Pikachu. Several Spearow were once again attacking the electric type. Ash pushed himself to his feet and ran forwards, swiping with his arms to deter the Spearow.

One of them knocked him to the ground.

Ash rolled onto his back and looked up. The Spearow were circling above.

Ash reached onto his pocket and took out a pokéball. It had a little yellow lightning bolt on it.

He set it down in front of Pikachu.

"I know you don't like it in there, Pikachu, but you need to get inside the pokéball. You'll be safe in there."

And with that Ash got to his feet and turned around to face the swarming flying types.

"Spearow" he shouted, holding his arms out wide and staring up at them "If you want Pikachu you're gonna have to go through me first."

The flock cried out aggressively in response.

"Come and get me!" Ash shouted,

And with that the flock began to dive, each Pokémon swooping with great speed towards Ash.

Ash remained standing, staring them down defiantly.

And then suddenly Pikachu was leaping over his shoulder and through the air towards the Spearow.

In that same moment lightning struck.

"PI-KA-CHUUUU!"

There was a zap of lightning, a bright flash of light, and then everything faded.

The storm clouds had disappeared, and sunlight filtered down upon the land.

The bicycle lay forgotten, a charred and blackened ruin.

Nearby lay a trainer and his Pokémon.

Ash opened his eyes, and heard the calm in the air around them.

He looked to his Pokémon and saw that Pikachu, too, was awake.

Ash smiled and said "We did it, buddy. We showed those Spearow."

"Pika." Pikachu agreed in a weak voice and a soft nod.

Then, from far above, there came a cry. Ash turned to look up and saw a huge and magnificent bird Pokémon, far larger than any of the Spearow, glowing brightly as it flew towards a rainbow in the distance.

"I wonder was that is." Ash wondered aloud.

On the ground next to him, Ash's Pokédex beeped and said:

"There is no data. There still are Pokémon yet to be identified."

With Pikachu in his arms, Ash made his way up a hill. When he got to the top, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. There before him was the place he had been looking for: Viridian City.

Pikachu lifted his head and licked Ash's chin affectionately.

Ash smiled and then made his way down the slope towards the city…

A/N: So what do you think? Yes, I made Ritchie the trainer who started with Charmander, and he will be a series-long rival of Ash, at least until the end of the Indigo league. Gary will appear far more often too, and will battle Ash repeatedly. The trainer of the Bulbasaur will feature as well, but as more of a friendly rival than the other two. Current plans are that we'll meet her in episode three, where the first major deviation in the plot will occur.

For those of you wondering, Misty slapping Ash was not an addition by me. It was in the original Japanese version of this episode, but was cut in the English dub in order to remove cartoon violence (although everyone getting electrocuted repeatedly was fine.) If you watch the episode, you can still see Ash holding the side of his face as though he had been hit.

I gave Ritchie and Gary their battle outside of Oak's lab to mirror the in-game one. Then I remembered that that one is just an unimaginative exchange of Tackles and Scratches until someone faints. Roll on the Flamethrowers, Hydro Pumps and Hyper Beams!