Pokemon

Traveler by The Straight Elf

Synopsis:

Ash Ketchum has been determined to become the best since he was a toddler. He has his eyes set on a charmander, but a twist of fate led him to the humble Nidoran, Note: Mix between anime and the games.

Genre - Adventure

Rated: T

Words: 1318k+

Status:In-Progress

Spoilers:

Chapter 1: The Rookie

Today, he reflected, was the most important day of his life. He had been eagerly waiting for this ever since he had been old enough to understand when he would get a pokemon of his very own. Ash had been weighing the pros and cons of the Kanto starters for months now, and he had decided that he wanted a charmander. Ever since he had seen a trainer win a tournament with a charizard on the television he had wanted one. The fire pokemon was strong even when it was young, and only got stronger as it aged and evolved.

He had made sure to bed early last night so he wouldn't be late to Professor Oak's lab. His alarm clock had been set an hour earlier than it needed to and he had made sure his mom knew to wake him up at the time his alarm was supposed to go off. There was no way that he would be late.

It turned out that his plan worked great. Ash was ready to go to the lab whenever his mom was done worrying over him. She was fussing over him and making him promise to stay safe, although she wished him luck just as much. He just let her worry since she might not see him for a long time. Instead of listening, he just envisioned himself becoming Champion with his future charizard at his side.

"Oh!" His mother suddenly exclaimed, looking past his shoulder at the clock. "You need to get going if you want to get to the lab in time! Make sure you come back here and say goodbye before you leave! I'll have your backpack ready."

Ash smiled at her and nodded, the excitement killing any words he might have said. He walked off in the direction of Oak's lab, and he smiled and waved to some of the people that wished him good luck on his journey. Pallet was such a small town that everybody knew that he and a few other kids would be starting today.

In no time at all he was at the large white building. Its windows looked shiny in the sunlight, and he saw that three other kids were standing in front of the doors. Ash walked up nervously, but before he could greet them a familiar, irritating voice broke out from them.

"Oh look!" Gary said arrogantly. "It's the loser. I'm surprised you even showed up – we all know that I'm going to beat you."

Ash gritted his teeth but said nothing. The other two kids – a rather short boy named Jonathan and a pretty girl named Amelia – looked uncomfortable with Gary's teasing but were too meek to protest against him.. They just looked down and kept their eyes away from Gary.

Finally, Ash snapped. "Shut up Gary! I'll beat you when we get our pokemon!"

"Yeah right." Gary smirked. "A loser like you doesn't have any chance against me! But let's do it. I'll show you what it means to be a real trainer."

Ash tightly nodded, glaring at Gary. He reigned in his temper, not wanting to start a fight the day he got his first pokemon. He would just have to beat him in their battle.

The next few minutes passed in silence. Gary dismissed them all, smiling cockily while he leaned against the lab's wall. Ash stood quietly for a moment before walking over to Jonathan and Amelia. They quietly began to chatter about what pokemon they wanted and how they would start off.

Jonathan and Amelia would be travelling together, and they invited Ash to go with them. Ash quickly accepted. He didn't want to be on his own yet and going with Gary wasn't likely to happen – not that either of them would want to travel together to begin with.

Finally, the glass doors neatly slid open. The soon-to-be trainers rushed in eagerly, wanting to be the first to get their pokemon. Gary pushed past the rest of them and Ash was forced to the back. As they entered the cold lab, a short woman in a pristine white lab coat greeted them.

"Hello!" She said warmly. "You must be the new trainers I was told about. Follow me and I'll take you to Professor Oak."

Gary chatted with her as she led them to the professor, but Ash was too nervous to listen. He and the other two kids shared anxious glances as they moved into a small room to the right of the main lab.

Inside was a small table that had three pokeballs on it. Professor Oak stood next to it and smiled reassuringly at them, and greeted them all by name. The familiarity loosened the tension they were feeling, although Gary didn't need it. He had an overabundance of confidence as it was.

Now that he didn't feel like he had a lump in his throat, Ash noticed a small problem.

"Professor Oak?" He asked quietly. Oak looked at him curiously, and despite knowing the man for years Ash found himself regretting speaking up. "There are only three pokeballs."

Oak looked confused for a moment before he realized the problem.

"Oh! I must have made a mistake." Oak said, cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Ash and the other two trainers looked at each other anxiously, not sure if they would get their starters today.

"Don't worry." Oak said as he saw the look they shared. "You'll all get a pokemon. One of you will just have to wait a few minutes for me to procure one."

They shared a sigh of relief. Oak smiled and continued.

"Now, who is willing to wait on their pokemon? I don't want the others to have to wait."

Everyone shared a moment of silence. Gary wasn't paying attention since he was sure to get one of the three pokemon no matter what. The other three trainers just looked at each other, silently hoping that one of the others would volunteer.

After a few moments passed and it became evident that no one was going to say anything, Ash spoke up. He felt a lump of disappointment in his throat as he realized he would have to wait but decided it didn't matter. As long as he got a starter it was fine.

"I'll wait." He said sadly. Oak looked impressed with him and smiled.

"Good. Just let the others get their pokemon and I'll see if I have any others ready." Oak turned away from him and addressed the others. "The pokeball to the left is bulbasaur, a grass type. The pokeball in the middle is charmander, a fire type. The pokeball to the right is squirtle, a water type. Each of them have their strengths and weaknesses, but a skilled trainer can use any of them very well."

Ash watched enviously as Gary pushed in front of the others and grabbed the squirtle's pokeball. Gary released the small blue turtle and sized it up. Apparently he found it to his liking because he smiled at it.

Jonathan chose the charmander and let it out of its ball as well. He looked at the orange lizard in awe, and laughed when the charmander curled up in a ball and tried to sleep. The other boy tried to pet it and the charmander lazily looked up at him.

Amelia picked the bulbasaur. The grass type looked pretty calm and began to investigate its surroundings. After Amelia started talking and petting it the Professor cleared his throat.

"Now that you have your pokemon, could you please return them? I have an important announcement."

Gary grumbled as he returned his squirtle and cockily stared at his grandfather. Amelia and Jonathan didn't say anything and just looked at the old professor. Ash followed their example.

"Now that I have your attention, I'm going to give you each a project to work on during your travels. You see, recently I invented a machine called the pokedex. It collects a detailed amount of information on pokemon, but I need someone else to search the world for me. I'm too old to gather them myself, so I'm entrusting each of you a pokedex to collect the information for me."

With that said he opened up a small bag on a table in the corner and withdrew four small red computers. He handed one to each of them, and Ash looked at curiously before wondering why he had four pokedexes ready but only three pokemon.

"Err, Professor Oak?" He asked. The old man looked at him after he had given Gary a pokedex. "Why did you have four pokedexes but only three pokemon?"

"I have lots of Pokedexes in that bag." Oak explained. He turned back to the new trainers. "Once you activate the pokedex and put your information in it will serve as your identity. Now, the pokedex gives you information on any pokemon you come across. For example, it will give you what type it is, what it likes to eat, what species it is, and will tell you what moves it knows."

Ash's eyes widened as he heard just how much the pokedex could do. Professor Oak continued to list its features, which revealed that it had information like the pokemon's habitat, gender, and a detailed description on the species. When he scanned something with it the pokedex it would give a basic summary of the pokemon, but to learn more about it he had to actually open it up and read.

"Now that you know what it can do, I suggest you all go outside and get ready for your journey. Make sure to activate the pokedex at your earliest opportunity. Ash, please stay in here."

Ash grudgingly nodded and waved Jonathan and Amelia goodbye. Oak said something to his grandson before Gary ran out of the lab. The professor left the area to get Ash's new pokemon. He hoped that Oak could find him a charmander.

"We'll wait for you, don't worry!" Jonathan said with a smile. "Just come meet us at the gate when you're ready. Amelia still has to get her bag anyways."

He grinned and thanked them. When they left he searched around the small room for a chair. After he found one he sat down and impatiently waited for Professor Oak, although he made sure to activate the pokedex while he was waiting. It was a simple process that began once he turned it on and all he had to do was put his name and other information into it.

Activating the pokedex only took a few minutes off of his wait. He tried to count down the time and keep himself from fidgeting too much, and by the time he'd counted to twenty minutes Ash thought he would go crazy.

Professor Oak finally came back holding a plain pokeball. Ash jumped out of his seat in excitement and anxiously waited for Oak to give him his new partner. When Oak held his hand out Ash practically snatched the small orb out of his hand and stared at it in awe.

He pressed the release button and eagerly watched as red energy shot out of the ball and coalesced into a small, pink creature. Ash was momentarily disappointed at not getting a charmander, but that was soon forgotten.

He'd finally gotten a pokemon! Ash crouched down next to the pink creature – a male nidoran, he remembered – and carefully examined him. The nidoran looked at him curiously and twitched its ears. The new trainer grinned, but didn't pet him. He remembered that they were supposed to have poisonous barbs on them.

Ash stood up and aimed the pokedex at Nidoran. The small creature looked up at him and its right ear twitched again. The pokedex scanned it and gave Ash the summary on Nidoran.

Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokemon. It stiffens its ears to sense danger. The larger its horns, the more powerful its secreted venom.

This nidoran knows the moves: Peck, focus energy, confusion, and leer. Its ability is poison point, which poisons pokemon that use physical moves against it.

"How big are its horns compared to other nidoran?" He asked the professor. Oak looked closely at it for a moment before answering.

"Quite large." He admitted. "This is an impressive specimen of its breed. It will do quite well no matter what you use it for. I must admit that it has quite the advantage in knowing confusion. One of its parents must have been a psychic type."

Ash grinned at that and looked at Nidoran. "Do you want to be friends?"

The Nidoran just looked at him and twitched its ears before nervously looking around. Ash remembered that they were supposed to be one of the more nervous breeds of pokemon and kneeled down. Maybe if he looked smaller it would be more comfortable.

He held his hand out and the pink creature cautiously stepped forward. Nidoran sniffed his hand and didn't try to attack him and calmed down a bit. After Nidoran seemed to be calmed down Ash returned him to his pokeball and thanked Oak.

Ash could barely hold in his excitement at finally having a pokemon. Who needed a charmander? He had Nidoran, which evolved into pretty powerful pokemon.

As he walked out of the lab he noticed that Gary was waiting outside with a cocky smile on his face. Ash gritted his teeth as he saw Gary and withdrew his pokeball.

"What took you so long, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked as he released his squirtle. The turtle tried to mimic its owners pose, but fell over doing it. Ash had to hold back a laugh as the turtle got back up, but the squirtle still noticed.

"C'mon." Gary said, annoyed at Ash's laughter. "I bet squirtle can beat your pokemon easy."

Ash grinned and released Nidoran. The small pokemon scratched its large ear when it came out and looked at Ash.

"Hey, Nidoran. Can you beat that squirtle for me?" Ash said. Nidoran looked over at Gary's squirtle and growled, extending its large poisonous barbs. Squirtle shrunk back a little, clearly intimidated by the dripping beads of poison.

"Ha!" Gary said, clearly not as impressed as squirtle. "That's the pokemon Gramps gave you? It's not even a real starter. Go get him, squirtle. Use tackle!"

His face colored in anger, but he wouldn't let Gary talk like that to Nidoran. Nidoran growled loudly and his barbs began to drip more poison. The small creature squared itself as squirtle charged at him.

Ash thought fast, going over Nidoran's capabilities. He knew that Nidoran wouldn't be very durable, so he couldn't just let squirtle tackle Nidoran. The squirtle nearly tripped several times as it ran towards Nidoran, but Ash didn't laugh at it. He needed to focus.

"Dodge and peck!" He cried. Nidoran jumped out of the way at the last second and let the turtle run into the lab's wall. His pokemon lunged at the dazed turtle and rammed its vulnerable underbelly with his horn.

Squirtle cried out in pain, but at the insistence of its trainer it pulled itself up and continued fighting. The turtle tried another tackle, this time hitting Nidoran in the back before he or Ash could react. Even as Nidoran was knocked back a foot, squirtle began to fall over. Nidoran's barbs had injected the tired squirtle full of venom when it tackled Nidoran, and the turtle was unable to fight.

Ash cheered Nidoran on for a moment before taking a risk. He didn't pull his pokemon back into his ball, instead motioning for Nidoran to follow him. The pink creature cheerfully followed Ash as the new trainer went home.

Gary didn't give them any trouble. He was too shocked that he had lost to bother them. They left Gary with his unconscious squirtle and walked back to Ash's home in euphoria over their win. Ash grinned and jumped almost the entire way home.

His mom was watching TV when they entered the small house. When Ash and Nidoran walked in, she jumped up and squealed in excitement when she saw the small pokemon.

"Oh, Ash! It's so cute!" She cried before scooping Nidoran up. Ash tried to call out a warning before she pricked herself on one of the poisonous barbs. His mom just looked at him admonishingly. She was carrying Nidoran strangely, but Ash realized that it was a position that would keep Nidoran from accidently pricking her.

"Don't you remember?" She asked as she carried the happy Nidoran around with her to get Ash's backpack. "I studied under Professor Oak for a few years. He taught me a lot about pokemon."

Ash blushed in embarrassment as he remembered that. His mom set Nidoran down before going to get his backpack. Nidoran walked next to his feet and sat down. He seemed to be listening for something, although Ash thought the little creature was just paranoid.

After a few minutes his mom brought out his blue backpack and handed it to him. Ash unzipped and looked inside to make sure it had everything he would need.

Food for him and his pokemon? Check.

A map? Check.

Rope and potions? Check.

A few more things were in the bottom and side pockets, but he didn't look at those yet. He had all the necessities and anything else he could buy at Viridian City. Now all that was left was to say goodbye to his mom.

Ash turned to her, but before he could say anything she had wrapped him in a crushing hug. He sputtered and thought his ribs were going to crack, and when his mom finally let go he gasped for air.

"Stay safe." She said. Ash thought that he could see tears in her eyes, but she pushed him out of the door before he could check.

The new trainer waved her goodbye and when he was finally out of sight of the house he ran to the gate that separated Pallet Town from Route 1. Ash saw the others waiting on him and both of them looked at Nidoran in curiosity.

"Is that a Nidoran!" Amelia asked excitedly. "That's so cool. I didn't even know the Professor had one."

Nidoran looked uncomfortable under the attention and sat down on the soft dirt. He scratched his ear as an attempt to ignore the attention Amelia was giving him.

"So what moves does he know?" Jonathan asked. "Charmander knows growl, scratch, and ember. I'm going to try and teach him smokescreen later."

Ash told his new traveling partners Nidoran's move set, and both were surprised when they heard that the poison type knew confusion.

"Wow, you're really lucky." Jonathan said. "But I think we need to get going. My mom got to Viridian City in three days and I want to beat her record."

Ash and Amelia grinned and nodded their assent. They wanted to get their journey underway just as much as Jonathan did. With that they set off down the worn dirt road of Route 1, eager to venture out into the world.

A/N:

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