FicWad

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
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Legend:
"A human or a Pokémon is talking."
'A human or a Pokémon is thinking.'
"A technique/ability."
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Chapter One:
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(Kanto—The Indigo Plateau—Stadium)

At the moment, one would find the stadium full to the brim. People from all over Kanto had amassed here, as they did every year, to watch the final matchup of this year's Pokémon League. To watch two of Kanto's best Pokémon Trainers fight with everything they had to attempt to beat the other and win the Pokémon League.

Who were these Pokémon Trainers?

The first Pokémon Trainer was a teenage male with spiky black hair, red eyes, and pale skin. He wore a red shirt, black jeans with a brown belt, a dark-red jacket, white sneakers with red trim, and a red backpack slung over his shoulder. His name was Isamu Akai.

The second Pokémon Trainer was a beautiful young woman with shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, and creamy white skin. She was wearing a green blouse, a knee-length black skirt, flat black slipper-like shoes, and a green backpack. Her name was Kai Midoriwa.

Both Isamu and Kai were focused on the long, rectangular battlefield in which separated them. A moment would pass before they issued a quick command to their Pokémon battling on the field—a specific attack, a dodge, encouragement, etc.—as they tried to outdo the other. It wasn't working so far as both of them seemed to be evenly matched, but it was only a matter of time before that changed.

"Dodge it, Gengar!" Kai shouted towards her Ghost-Type Pokémon. She heard Isamu say something in response but ignored it as she focused on watching Gengar quickly back off Isamu's Pokémon, a Nidorino, before smiling inwardly when Isamu sent it forward to attack. "Gengar, Hypnosis."

Gengar chuckled to itself as it put its hands together. "Gen gen-gar gen..." Isamu shouted out an order for Nidorino to dodge, but it was a moment too late. "Gengar!" The Ghost-Type Pokémon said as it quickly threw its arms apart to unleash a barrage of small black circles that began to expand as they flew.

Nidorino passed through the first of these rings and inadvertently absorbed the energy that made it up. This caused the Poison-Type Pokémon to slow down a tad bit as the energy took effect and made it drowsy, an effect that was amplified as more of Gengar's rings passed through it. Despite Isamu's encouragement, Nidorino was not able to stay awake under such an onslaught and fell asleep.

"Now, Gengar, use Dream Eater." Kai ordered.

Gengar nodded at this command from its Trainer and got into a crouch, making eye-contact with the sleeping Poison-Type Pokémon. An instant later, Isamu shouted as a shadow-like version of Gengar was released from the Ghost-Type's Pokémon's body and impacted against Nidorino.

There was silence for a couple of moments. Then Nidorino released a groan and fell forward, defeated, as the shadow Gengar returned to its body with the energy it had stolen from Nidorino.

"Sorry Isamu. You're warning just came a little too late." Kai said.

"Isamu's Nidorino is no longer able to battle!" Came the referee's announcement before the brown-haired man raised a green flag. "This round goes to Kai Mirdoriawa of Viridian City!"

XXXXXX

(Pallet Town—The Ketchum's Residence)

Inside a bedroom on the second floor of the Ketchum household was a young black-haired boy with brown eyes and strange zigzag-like markings on his cheeks.

He frowned as the crowd roared from his television set but had to admit that it had been a bad match-up. After all, while there were some moves that he believed Nidorino could have used to inflict more damage, Gengar's natural abilities as a Ghost-Type Pokémon made its eventual win not that surprising.

Still, Ash really wanted Isamu to win. It didn't matter if what he was watching was a recorded episode on the Pokémon Fight Channel or not; no news on who had won the Pokémon League had come out yet. It might have been later than his parents would have liked—what his mom would have liked, really, as his dad was away on work-related business—but he wanted to finish watching this and learn who had won.

'Soon I'll be like them and someone else will be watching me.' Ash thought as he watched Isamu withdraw his unconscious Pokémon before taking out another PokéBall and released a Steelix onto the arena. Within moments of the referee announcing the beginning of the next round, both Kai and Isamu began to issue orders. 'And then, once I defeat the Pokémon League, I'll be one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Master!'

Becoming a Pokémon Master was Ash's dream. He knew that it would be difficult as Pokémon Masters were Pokémon Trainers that had defeated at least one Pokémon League (which was quite a feat in itself) and had both strategies and a team of Pokémon comparable to a member of the Elite Four.

There were further subclasses—people who specialized in one type of Pokémon, people employed by the Pokémon League, people employed by their country's government, etc.—but Ash just wanted to be a Pokémon Master.

Actually, he wanted to be one of the greatest Pokémon Masters that anybody had ever heard of.
To do that, though, would require a lot of hard work. He would first have to become a Pokémon Trainer, train a team of Pokémon he caught, defeat eight of Kanto's Gym Leaders, and then enter himself in the Pokémon League.

As the final matches of this year's Pokémon League had only ended a couple of weeks ago, he would have eleven months to get train himself and his team for it. If he lost, well, then he would have just have to repeat the process until he did win.

So immersed was Ash in watching Isamu battle against Kai that he almost didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching his room. He panicked, knowing that his mom was coming, and fumbled for the remote to his television and tried to turn it off before his mom heard that it was on. He had just turned it off and was about to turn off his light when the door was thrown open.

"Ash Ketchum!" His mother, Delia Ketchum, was a brown-haired and brown-eyed woman wearing a light-yellow shirt, a pink sweater, a knee-length purple skirt, and back slipper-like shoes. Standing in the now-opened doorway, she glared at him like she had always done when he had done something naughty. "Do you have any idea of what time it is young man?! You should've been in bed hours ago!"

Ash wilted under the look. "I'm sorry mom. I'm just so excited for tomorrow and I couldn't sleep." He glanced at the television, "There was a mini-marathon that's led up to the final battle of the Pokémon League and I watched it..." He looked back at his mom. "I was going to go to bed as soon as it ended."

Delia's expression softened. She could remember the day before she had become a Pokémon Trainer herself—how excited and nervous she was—and how she had stayed up all night because she couldn't force herself to go to sleep. It didn't help her when she had woken up later, but she remembered and could understand that her son was going through a something similar to what she had gone through. So, really, she couldn't be too stern.

"You can find out who own the Pokémon League tomorrow, honey." Delia began to say before she gestured towards her son's alarm clock. "Right now, however, it's way past your bedtime. If you want to wake up early and have time for breakfast, then you need to get to sleep. You do have a big day tomorrow."

"Okay." Ash said.

Delia gave Ash a reassuring smile before she walked over and enveloped him in a hug. Pulling back, she wished her son goodnight and then walked out of the room. She made sure to flick off the light switch before she left the room, though, and then left to go to her own bedroom. Tomorrow was a big day, after all.

XXXXXX

Eight hours after he had gone to sleep, Ash woke up to the somewhat muffled sound of a singing Pidgey. He sat up on his bed and, yawning, rubbed his eyes to get rid of the crud that had somehow appeared there. He then yawned again and got up from his bed, intending to go to the bathroom, before he absently noticed the broken remains of his Voltorb-shaped alarm clock on the floor.

Wait.

Ash turned around and saw, to his growing horror, that his alarm clock was really broken. He stood there for a couple of moments before quickly rushing to his closet, 'How did my alarm clock break?' He thought as he changed out of his pajamas and slipped into daily ware.

This 'daily ware' consisted of a short-sleeved black shirt underneath a blue jacket with white sleeves, blue jeans, white socks, white-red sneakers, and his prized Pokémon League Expo hat that he had won by sending in like a million postcards.

Once he was dressed, Ash then rushed to the foot of his bed where his pre-packed backpack was—thank heaven that his mom had insisted that he have it ready to go—, slung it over his shoulder, and raced out of his room. The stairs were cleared in but a few moments and left him opening, going through, and closing the door after him before he began to run like his life depended on it.

Considering that today was the day that he would finally become a Pokémon Trainer, well, his life kind of did depend on it.

'I hope I'm not that late!' Ash thought.

XXXXXX

(Later)

When a red-faced and sweating Ash finally got within viewing distance of Professor Oak's laboratory, he wasn't that surprised to see the crowd surrounding the gates. He was surprised, however, to see how big it was and noticed that the crowd included a band and a line of cheerleaders.

The reason for the unusual sight could be seen exiting from the Professor Oak's laboratory and walking down with a triumphant expression. It was a spiky, brown-haired boy with brown eyes wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt, dark-purple pants, black-white sneakers, and a customized PokéBall attached to a cord around his neck.

"Gary, Gary, Gary!" The cheerleaders began to chant at the same time as Gary Oak began to walk down the stairs and the band began to play. Their waving red-and-white pompoms flashed through the air as they continued their routine. "He's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"

By the time that Gary had finished walking down the stairs, Ash had managed to push himself through the crowd. This allowed them to meet near the gates to Professor Oak's laboratory whereupon Gary started to smirk. "Well, well, well... If it isn't little Ashy-boy, come to get his first Pokémon."

Ash stiffened at the nickname. Gary knew that he hated being called that and would often call him that when he wanted to get him to lash out (which was often considering that he and Gary hated each other) and in trouble. Still, while Ash did feel the urge to snap at Gary, he really needed to get to Professor Oak so that he could see if he could still get his Starter Pokémon. And, well, he was also kind of curious as to which of the three Starter Pokémon that Gary had chosen.

"Which Pokémon did you choose, Gary?" Ash asked.

Still smirking, Gary removed a PokéBall from his pocket and then began to spin it around on top of his pointer finger. As it spun, the Pokémon-catching device started to enlarge until it was its normal-size at which time Gary caught it. "If you had been here earlier you would know that I chose the last Pokémon, Ashy-boy." He sneered. "By the time that Grandpa gets another Pokémon for you to finally become a Pokémon Trainer, I'll have become a Pokémon Master!"

Ash walked forward, his eyes wide in shock, as Gary walked towards the crowd that had gathered for him. He heard the brown-haired boy say something, the crowd cheering, but wasn't really paying attention.

His mind was more focused on what Gary had said to him; had Gary really taken the last Pokémon? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the Professor walking down the stairs.

"Could I help you with something Ash?" Professor Oak asked.

Ash was startled at the "sudden" appearance of the Pokémon Professor. He calmed down his beating heart before he smiled, sheepishly, at Professor Oak.

Professor Oak was a relatively old man with whitish-gray hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a short-sleeved red shirt, a white lab-coat, brown pants with a belt, and black shoes.
"Yes, Professor, I'm here to get my first Pokémon." Ash nodded before he continued. "So I can become a Pokémon Trainer."

Professor Oak nodded, accepting the information, before he motioned for Ash to follow him. The Professor then led him up the staircase before they entered the Professor's laboratory.
The Oak Pokémon Research Laboratory was a Pokémon lab that was directed by Gary's grandfather, Professor Oak. Its main functions were to research Pokémon, study their characteristics, and observe a Pokémon's behavior within natural environments that the Pokémon Professor had painstakingly recreated in the compound's "backyard".

Perched on top of a hill stood the main building that was the laboratory itself. It was a light-yellow building with a red roof that stood three stories tall. Connected to the building was a white wind turbine with yellow blades which served as the main source of power for the facility.

Entering the facility, Ash caught glimpses of the facility's lobby/living room, two rooms full of various machines and a couple of Professor Oak's aides, the PokéBall Storage Room, and the Pokémon Professor's personal library.

Going up the stairs, he entered what Professor Oak called the "heart of the laboratory"—an entire floor that was filled with a number of different machines that were used for Pokémon testing and/or examination.

In the middle of the room stood a layered, four-legged metal table with three spherical indentations spaced evenly around its surface. It was in those indentations that three PokéBalls stood marked with the traditional symbol that represented the type of the Pokémon within. For Squirtle, it was a blue sphere with a black teardrop within it. For Charmander, it was a red sphere with a black fire in it. And for Bulbasaur, it was a green sphere with a black leaf inside of it.

'See.' Ash thought to himself, feeling relieved. 'They're all still there. Gary must've just been messing with me.'

With that thought in mind, Ash started to move towards the table to pick out his first Pokémon. Professor Oak made to move but stopped himself, conflicted. Ash knew nothing of the Pokémon Professor's actions, focused as he was, so made it to the table and reached for Squirtle's PokéBall without a hint of something being wrong.

Instead of releasing the Water-Type Pokémon Squirtle, as Ash had been expecting it to do, the PokéBall had simply opened. So, it was empty. Ash frowned a bit before he remembered the PokéBall that Gary had showed him and guessed that Gary had taken it. So, with that in mind, of course Squirtle's PokéBall would be empty. It was strange, as the PokéBall was still here, but... So Ash reached for Bulbasaur's PokéBall and tried to release the Pokémon inside of it.

He got the same results: open PokéBall, no Pokémon.

Now beginning to feel slightly panicked, Ash reached for Charmander's PokéBall and prayed that it still had the Pokémon inside of it. He then tried to release the Pokémon inside of it and waited. Despair welled up within him when it turned out that, just like the others, the PokéBall was empty.

Ash turned towards the Pokémon Professor with a slightly hurt look on his face, "If you had given out all of the Pokémon already then why didn't you just tell me?" A guilty look crossed Professor Oak's face, but Ash didn't notice it as he had turned to the table again. "And why are those PokéBalls still there?

"I'm really sorry, Ash. I didn't mean to do that," Professor Oak said apologetically. "I was going to put those PokéBalls away, but when you came in and looked so excited... I couldn't find it in myself to tell you." He sighed, "The PokéBalls are still there because those are the three PokéBalls that I use to hold the Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle that I acquire for new Pokémon Trainers. Once the new Pokémon Trainer had chosen his or her Starter Pokémon, I transfer them to one of the Pokémon Trainer's six PokéBalls."

"Oh." Ash said.

So, Gary had been right; there were no more Pokémon left for him to take as his Starter Pokémon. Professor Oak would probably get him one of the three Starter Pokémon as soon as he could, but that could take weeks or months. And Ash had been really looking towards being able to start on his Pokémon Journey today.

"Please, Professor." Ash began as he took a step forward with a pleading expression. "There... there has to be another Pokémon that I could use! I mean, if I don't start my Pokémon Journey now..." Another realization swept through him and he lowered his head. "I'll never catch up with Gary and the others."

Professor Oak bit his lip cautiously and looked away. He knew of the rivalry between Ash and his grandson; how could he not? The two children had spent a lot of time marveling at the Pokémon under his care and he had seen the rivalry form and many of the "battles" between the two. It was pretty obvious that Gary could turn to taunting and mocking Ash for being unable to start his Pokémon Journey on time and causing the rift between them to grow even deeper.

In addition, the Pokémon Professor knew about Ash's fierce love of Pokémon. If Ash was given a Pokémon today, the boy would do his best to make sure it was treated right. And it wasn't as if he hadn't been taught to raise and train Pokémon, as some new Pokémon Trainers from the more densely populated cities were.

"Well, I do have one more Pokémon left..." Professor Oak said.

At those words, Ash felt a revival of his earlier hope and anticipation. Professor Oak still had a Pokémon he could give to him. "I'll take it, Professor." Ash said quickly, before the Pokémon Professor could change his mind.

"Are you sure, Ash?" Professor Oak asked. "I mean, this Pokémon isn't normally given out to new Pokémon Trainers. If you take it, you mind find yourself challenged more than you would if you would wait for another Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur."

"I'm sure, Professor." Ash said.

Having expected this answer, Professor Oak nodded before he quickly walked out of the main room to his laboratory. He went to his PokéBall Storage Room and picked one of the shelf near the door, a shelf which contained some of his Pokémon and a few he was studying, and then left. He made his way back into the main room and found Ash standing there with a nervous yet excited expression on his young face.

Professor Oak smiled, "Let me give you a few things before I show you the Pokémon I was talking about, Ash." He pulled out and then set down a rectangular, red device on the table. "The first item I would like to give you is the PokéDex—a device that most Pokémon Trainers use to identify Pokémon out in the wild." The Pokémon Professor then laid out six PokéBalls in a small, square case. "These are standard PokéBalls which will help you catch Pokémon that you come across while on your journey. Upon the capture of your sixth Pokémon, you can send either it or another one of your Pokémon to me as Pokémon Trainers are only allowed six Pokémon on them at a time."

While that ruling may have seemed a bit unfair, it had been made because six Pokémon was the maximum amount of Pokémon a Pokémon Trainer could have on them without being forced to stay in one place. Even with that restriction, the Pokémon Trainer would be taxed to carry the necessary supplies for both themselves and their Pokémon (which could take up a lot of room unless packed correctly). And that was without even mentioning what else a Trainer might bring with them.

Ash nodded. "I understand Professor."

"Okay then, Ash." Professor Oak said before he stepped away from the table, reached into his lab coat, and pulled out a PokéBall marked with the Normal-Type symbol. He enlarged it in his hand and then, pressing the silver button on the device, watched on as the PokéBall released a beam of white energy towards the floor. This energy quickly condensed in on itself and slowly began to take shape even as the light began to die down.

When the light had died out completely, the two humans found themselves looking at a small four-legged creature with brown fur, a bushy tail with a cream-colored tip, and a large, furry, and cream-colored collar. Two honey-colored eyes stared up at Ash from its face before its long brown ears twitched. "Ee-vee?"

"This Pokémon is known as Eevee, the "Evolution Pokémon", due to the fact that their behavior can be affected by their surroundings. It is due to that that Eevee has the ability to evolve into one of eight different forms: Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, or Sylveon." Professor Oak said, drawing both Ash and Eevee's attention to him as he continued to talk. "They are fairly energetic, loyal, and are known to be very affectionate to their Pokémon Trainers. They are, however, a species that is not usually recommended to be given as to new Pokémon Trainers as a Starter."

"Why is that?" Ash asked.

"The reason is that an Eevee is usually too difficult for a new Pokémon Trainer to handle. An Eevee needs to be groomed well, display child-like antics, and have an abundant energy and need to play. You may not think those are so bad, Ash, but when on the road such behavior can be tiresome and very difficult for new Pokémon Trainers to handle." Professor Oak answered patiently.

"I think I can handle that." Ash replied.

Eevee would be harder to take care of than the three usual Starter Pokémon that Professor Oak gave out, but Ash believed that he could handle it. He had grown up around Pokémon and knew how to treat them and what most needed. That didn't mean that it wouldn't be hard for him to raise and train an Eevee, if what Professor Oak said was true, but it was manageable.

"Very well then, Ash." Professor Oak said.

Taking this as a sign that he could proceed, Ash took a step toward the Eevee before he got onto his knees. The Eevee looked at him confusedly, sniffed, and then slowly approached. Her black nose tickled his outstretched hand as she sniffed that too and then began to lick his exposed fingertips.

Ash held back the urge to giggle and instead smiled. "Hello, Eevee." He said happily. "My name is Ash Ketchum."

"Eevee Ve ve Ee-V-Ee." Eevee chattered.

XXXXXX

Soon after Ash and Eevee had first met and Professor Oak had finished telling him about a few more things, the gray-haired man added the last of Ash's information to his PokéDex. The PokéDex needed this information as it would also act as his identification along with all of its other functions. Once that was done, the Pokémon Professor told Ash that he would have $1000 to help start him off on his Pokémon Journey—he would have to be wise in how he used it.

Professor Oak also decided to accompany Ash out of his laboratory. After all, he did have business to attend to outside of his home/laboratory and Ash was leaving as well; was there reason not to accompany the boy?

When they got outside, Ash was surprised to see that a small crowd had gathered down at the bottom of the hill. At first, he believed that the people there were some of Gary's well-wishers. He then saw his mom standing at the forefront and heard them start cheering, start playing instruments, or hold up signs either congratulating him or wishing him well on his Pokémon Journey.

"I'm so proud of you!" Delia said the moment that they came within earshot, beaming, before she drew him into one of her world famous hugs. "I can't believe that you're finally going to off to start your own Pokémon Journey. It's so exciting!"

Ash grinned, "Yeah. I can't believe it either, Mom!" He stepped away as his mom released him before pulling out and showing off his PokéDex, "Professor Oak gave this to me along with some PokéBalls after he gave me Eevee; I'm a Pokémon Trainer now."

"An Eevee?" Delia asked.

From what Delia was aware of, Professor Oak only gave out three different species of Pokémon to new Pokémon Trainers. While that may have changed since the last time she had heard of new Pokémon Trainers getting their Starter Pokémon, she didn't think it had. So why had Ash gotten an Eevee as opposed to getting either a Squirtle, a Charmander, or a Bulbasaur?

"I was a little late..." Ash admitted sheepishly.

That cleared things up a little. By the time that Ash had gotten to Professor Oak's laboratory, the three Starter Pokémon that the Pokémon Professor usually gave out had probably already handed out to the three other children. Knowing Ash, he had probably begged the Pokémon Professor if there were any Pokémon left. It was a little peculiar that Professor Oak would give a new Pokémon Trainer an Eevee—a somewhat rare and difficult Pokémon for new Pokémon Trainers to raise—but she knew that Ash would be able to handle it.

Delia was about to ask Ash to release Eevee from its PokéBall so that she could see it when she noticed it standing behind Ash's legs. The little Normal-Type Pokémon was positively adorable and even more so when it began to rub its head against Ash's legs, earning a laugh.

"Yes." Professor Oak said with a kind look, "Eevee seems to have taking quite a liking to Ash already."

Ash turned to the Pokémon Professor and smiled, "Thanks for giving her to me, Professor Oak. I'll make sure to take good care of her."

"I'm sure you will, Ash." Professor Oak agreed readily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few errands that I need to run." He started to walk away until, seemingly remembering something, he stopped and turned around. "Oh! One more thing: Don't forget to have fun on your Pokémon Journey, Ash!"

That said, the Pokémon Professor left and Ash's crowd of well-wishers came forward. They patted him on the back, told him how proud they were of him, admired Eevee and told him how lucky he was to have a Pokémon like her, gave him some last-minute tips they thought would help him on his Pokémon Journey, and generally just wished him well.

After thanking everyone for coming, the crowd slowly began to disperse. Ash and Eevee hung back until everyone but his mom had left. There was an unusually awkward silence hanging in the air between them, but that was natural. Both had realized that this might be the last time they would see each other for some time.

"Don't forget to call home every once and a while, okay?" Delia spoke up softly, breaking the silence.

"Of course I'll call, mom!" Ash answered readily. "I may not be able to call home unless I'm at a Pokémon Center, but I'll call you as much as I'm able to." He cracked a smile, "I'll have to tell you all about what Pokémon I catch on my Journey and the people me and Eevee beat, right?"

Laughing, Delia reached forward and enveloped him in another hug. "Don't forget to change your you-know-what's everyday too, sweetie." She whispered into his ear conspiratorially which made him stiffen and saw him start to blush. "Promise me you'll change them."

"I will." Ash promised.

Ash felt his mom nod into his shoulder before slowly, reluctantly, she released him and stepped away. They stood there for a couple of moments before Ash picked up his backpack—fuller now with the few well-meaning gifts that his neighbors had given him—and called Eevee back to him. The Normal-Type Pokémon stood up from where she had been dozing just as Ash slung his backpack on and pranced to his side, well-rested and ready to go.

"Good luck, Ash." Delia said.

Taking that as the goodbye that it was, Ash gave his mom one last smile before he began walking. With Eevee following after him, the duo set course out of Pallet Town so that they could begin their very own Pokémon Journey.
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Ash Ketchum's Pokémon Team:
Eevee (Female):
Attacks: Tail Whip (Normal), Tackle (Normal), and Helping-Hand (Normal).
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A/N: Author’s Note: Well, that’s the end of the first chapter of Pokémon: Eevee Chronicles (revised edition) here on ficwad! I hope you guys liked it and will tell me what you thought of it in your reviews/comments.