I know, I know, it's not an update for "A Journey Anew", and while that story is FAR from over, I have found myself with complete writers block when it comes to that story. So, in order to hopefully get rid of this mental wall, I thought I could work on a different story, one I've been planning for a LONG time.

Anyways, I do not own Pokémon.

Pallet town, a peaceful community, a town known for two specific families, the Oaks and the Ketchum's; Professor Oak, known for his studies; while Delia Ketchum is known for her completely organic Pokémon food. In recent years, the two families have been at odds, more specifically, Mr. and Mrs. Oak have been at odds with Delia, not only for their Pokémon food not being as popular, but Mr. Oak also hated the fact that Delia's husband, Rick Ketchum, was a much more famous trainer. About three years ago, Rick decided to join the Pokémon Rangers and help make the world safer for his family, but leaving him little time to see his son, Ash. Speaking of the young Ketchum, this is where our story begins, on his fifth birthday.

"Mom! I'm going to go play with the Pokémon at Professor Oaks!" The five year old yelled. He always enjoyed seeing the different Pokémon at the Professors ranch.

"Alright sweetie, but did you finish your chores? Also, wasn't Daisy supposed to take you?" Delia asked, she did have an orchard to maintain, and Ash was a big help, but she couldn't help but worry and wanted Ash to stay at the ranch as long as she could keep him. She was known around the town as being overprotective of her son, and while she trusted the Professor, who was a good friend to their family, she didn't trust his family, with the exception of Daisy.

"Yes Mom, Daisy promised to take me to the ranch today, but since she's responsible for the west fields I'm going on ahead." Ash responded.

"Ash, you know I don't like you going out without a person or Pokémon. Take Machamp with you." Delia responded. "Will you watch Ash Machamp?" she asked.

"Champ." The four armed Pokémon responded, nodding to signify that he will. He was used to his trainer leaving her child in his care; after all, even with the numerous Pokémon helping where they can, she was almost always busy. Machamp was Ash's official babysitter, as he could protect Ash from most Pokémon and people.

"Alright mom. Let's get going Machamp." Ash said, pulling the larger being out the door.

Fifteen minutes later Ash and Machamp arrived at the door to the lab, and Ash, being a child, quickly grew impatient and began rapidly knocking on the door. An elderly, lab coat wearing man answered the door. This was professor Oak, the world's number one authority on the study of Pokémon. "Ah, Ash I thought you were coming by. Unfortunately at the moment I'm having a bit of a problem in the lab right now, so why don't you and Machamp go around back. I've already let the Pokémon out. Just be careful, some newly hatched Pokémon are back there and their mothers are a bit protective, though I assume you already know what that's like." The professor chuckled, knowing how Delia protected Ash.

"Ok Professor, I'll be careful." And with that the young boy ran off to go play, Machamp running after him.

"Alright, now to try and catch that Pikachu, before it destroys anything else." The old man stated, only to hear an explosion come from his lab. "Oh no, not again."

For three hours, making it to about noon, Ash played with a variety of Pokémon out back. At first he greeted some of the older Pokémon more familiar with his presence, specifically those belonging to the professor, and the rest of the time he spent playing games like hide and seek and tag with some of the baby Pokémon, mainly Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander, which the professor always had a set at the lab, but he was joined by a few Rattata, Pidgey, Nidoran, and Eevee. The parent Pokémon, and Machamp, were watching diligently, but relaxed once they saw how harmless the human boy was. Ash was currently sitting in the shade of a big tree with the young Pokémon, tired from running around. He was just enjoying the presence of the Pokémon cuddled up to him; that is until he heard the professor's voice. "Wait! Stop!" Ash looked towards the lab, seeing a small yellow Pokémon jumping out the window only a few feet away.

"A Pikachu?" Ash stated. The Pikachu looked towards him.

"Pika?" It said, tilting its head.

The two watched each other for a few minutes. It took a moment for the surprise to leave Ash's young face. He got excited seeing a Pikachu, one of his favorite Pokémon. "Hey there! Do you want to play?" The boy called.

"Pi?" it said, tilting its head. The electric mouse Pokémon was confused by this human. While all others wanted to catch him, this boy seemed harmless and trustworthy.

The boy got up from his spot, taking great care not to disturb the sleeping baby Pokémon around him. "Come on, let's play." He said, reaching his arm out for Pikachu to sniff.

Again, the Pikachu was confused by this boy, but went to sniff the kid's hand. But, before he could reach the kids hand, the glass door flew open, and the old man trying to catch him came out. "There you are! I got you now!" he exclaimed.

Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, a warning to anyone wanting to get close. He was about to fire a thunderbolt at the man in white until the boy spoke up. "Professor?"

The old man seemed to notice the boy. "Oh Ash, be careful! That Pikachu is about to attack!" he yelled.

The boy looked at Pikachu. "I think he's just afraid. Isn't that right Pikachu?"

The yellow Pokémon could only nod, as he felt he needed to defend himself around the old human, but not the younger one. "Cha."

"I never thought that Pikachu wanted to destroy my lab, I just wanted to get it away from all the machines I need to work. I never intended to scare it." The old man said.

"That's alright Professor, I understand what you do is important. Now what do you say Pikachu? Want to play?" the boy asked, once again reaching out to the Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, sniffing the boy's hand. Then, surprising the two humans, Pikachu jumped up the boys arm, ending up on his shoulder.

"Wah!" The boy exclaimed in shock.

Pikachu looked at the boy, failing to realize he scared him. Off to the side, the old man, Professor, the boy called him, was laughing. "It seems you made a friend Ash. I'm actually surprised how quickly you managed to befriend Pikachu." He exclaimed. Ash? That's the boy's name?

Ash didn't take long to get comfortable with the rodent on his shoulder. "I'm glad Professor. I want to be friends with all Pokémon, and Pikachu is just the beginning." He said. "How about you Pikachu? Do you want to be my friend?" The small mouse nodded his head, happy that he met Ash.

"Well Ash, how about you and Pikachu play for a bit. I need to begin repairing the lab. You can stay a little longer, but you need to head home soon." Professor Oak said, beginning to head inside.

"Alright Professor." He called.

Pikachu then joined the boy playing, having fun for the next few hours, up until the Professor called from the lab. "Alright Ash, it's time for you to head home."

"Aww. Are you sure Professor? I want to play with Pikachu some more." The boy wined.

"I know, but you need to go home. Pikachu can stay with me, and you can see him next time you come by." The Professor said.

Pikachu, understanding that the Professor was trying to separate him from the boy he's bonded to, began to spark. The boy looked nervously at the electricity escaping the electric sacs on Pikachu's face. "I don't think Pikachu likes that idea. Is there anyway Pikachu can stay with me?"

The Professor thought for a moment, having also noticed how Pikachu had reacted. "This Pikachu has already formed a deep bond to Ash, I don't really want to separate them either." He thought, but then had an idea. "You could keep Pikachu with you if he was your Pokémon." He said.

"Really Professor? I thought I couldn't get a Pokémon until I was ten." The boy said.

The Professor chuckled. "While that's true, there are a few exceptions that can be made. I was thinking that I could make you my assistant, making you a Pokémon trainee."

"Pokemon Trainee?" Ash asked confused.

"It essentially means you are a Pokémon trainer in training. It allows you to keep Pokémon for yourself, but you are not allowed to officially start your journey until the proper age of ten. You will learn about the many aspects of raising and training Pokémon from me, as well as help me in the lab and in the Ranch. Now I would need to talk to Delia about this arrangement, but if you agree I can allow you to have Pikachu as your starter."

"Then let's go talk to my mom right now!" Ash said, running towards his home with Pikachu on his shoulder. Machamp, who had quietly been observing Ash the whole day, and Professor Oak quickly followed.

Delia Ketchum was sitting in her dining room, going over some paperwork for her ranch. Daisy was in the kitchen preparing some tea before going to help Delia with the paperwork. "So how does it look?" Daisy asked.

Delia smiled. "It's excellent. We're making enough for Ash and I to live comfortably for a decade or so, and enough to save for when Ash goes on his journey." Delia said. Ever since Ash could talk, he has wanted to be a Pokémon trainer.

Daisy frowned. "I think that goes without question. I was asking about the cost, have profits suffered from my parents recent slander attempt?" She seethed. Her parents were always trying to bring the Ketchum's down; including the recent rumor they spread about how Delia treats her Pokémon. Thank Arceus Officer Jenny knew it was just a lie, and the mandatory investigation went smoothly, barely slowing Delia's business down.

Delia also frowned. "It hasn't suffered at all, my husband's Pokémon as well as my own love to work in the ranch, and the wide diversity we have means that anything we need, electricity, manual labor, security and even purification, are already here. Then there are the fees that come with the ranch, your pay, repairs, errands, and what goes towards the house, and we're still coming on the top. I'm just glad everything is going so smoothly, especially with you and Ash." She said.

They then heard yelling outside. "Speak of him and he shall appear." Daisy joked.

"Mom! Mom! Professor Oak said I could become a trainee!" he yelled, running into the house.

He was shortly followed by Machamp, and a very tired Professor Oak. "Ash my boy, please refrain from running off, I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Champ." Machamp said, agreeing with the old man.

"What's this about a Pokémon trainee Professor?" Delia asked.

"Does it have anything to do with that Pikachu on Ash's shoulder?" Daisy added.

Oak became nervous. He cleared his throat and spoke. "Well… yes. I needed to speak with you Delia before anything became official. You see, I was having a problem this morning with a Pikachu that had gotten in the lab. After several hours attempting to catch it, it escaped through a window and met Ash. The two seemed to form a bond and I didn't want to separate them." He explained.

"Ok, so what would a trainee entail exactly?" Delia asked.

"Ash would be allowed to catch Pokémon, as long as he helps me in the lab. I will be teaching him about the many aspects of raising and training Pokémon, and I can also take him with me to meet other professors and Pokémon from other regions. Don't worry though; he will not be able to leave on a journey until the proper age of ten." Oak continued.

Delia thought for a moment. "I believe this is a wonderful opportunity!" She exclaimed, happy and proud of her son.

"Wait a moment, are you also offering this to Gary?" Daisy asked. Even though her relationship with her immediately family was strained, she still cared about them.

"I would, but he has taken after my son and daughter in law a lot. I may offer him a similar opportunity, but his attitude would have to change." Oak regretfully said. Daisy understood though, as her little brother was kind of snobbish and arrogant. Oak then turned to Delia again. "Since you agree, I will register Pikachu as Ash's starter." He turned to Ash. "Of course, if you want Pikachu to be your Pokémon, you will have to catch it in a pokeball." He said, taking a spare pokeball out of his pocket, and handed it to Ash.

Ash and Pikachu looked at the ball in his hand. "What do you say Pikachu, do you want to be my partner?" he said, turning to the yellow mouse, holding up the pokeball. Pikachu stared at the ball for a moment, quiet, before using his paw to tap the button on the red and white sphere. It shook, once, twice, three times, 'click'. Ash picked up the pokeball. Striking a pose he exclaimed. "Alright! I caught a Pikachu!"

He then let Pikachu out of the ball. The electric Pokémon shook his head before swatting the ball away. "I guess he doesn't like being in the pokeball." Delia said.

"That's okay Pikachu, you don't have to go in the ball if you don't want to." Ash said. Pikachu seemed happy about that and tackled Ash, rubbing his cheek on the boy's face.

"Alright Ash, seeing as you're officially a trainee, come to the lab at nine in the morning, and we'll begin your lessons." Oak said.

"Okay Professor! I'll be there." Ash said, eager to get started.

With his new friend in tow, Ash went upstairs, leaving the two adults, and one teenager, to talk. Little did anyone know that this was the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

Yeah, not a very long chapter, I know. I also realize I have not mentioned Zoey nor Georgia, but I do not plan to add either of them until Ash's journey actually starts (which probably won't be for a while), I personally loved Zoey and Georgia more than any other female companion of Ash's (barring the Alola girls, I can't help it) and I feel these two are actually underrepresented in fanfiction. Sure there are a few here or there, but I don't really see any where the two are featured together. So, I plan for Georgia to be introduced in Unova, while Zoey is Ash's main traveling companion when he actually begins. As for Lana, I plan to have her introduced before Ash's journey starts, but she will ultimately be irrelevant until Alola comes back around. I am also not entirely sure if this story rating will go up to M, if it ever does, it will be WAY later in the story, like maybe Kalos or Alola.

I am also going to say what I said about "A Journey Anew". I cannot update regularly, so I have no idea when I will be able to upload new chapters. I am also open to any suggestions you have about how I can improve my writing.