Pokémon Rewritten Memories: Kanto

Disclaimer:

Pokemon belongs to The Pokémon company, Nintendo, Game freak. Only original characters belong to me.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

------------------

"I don't like those clouds." Misty watched as the tumultuous grey landscape was getting closer to them.

"The guide says there's a PokéCenter just 40 minutes away from here." Brock replied.

"Pika." Sparks were gathering around its body.

"Yeah, how about you don't." Ash flicked the pokémon's head. "You can't take lightnings like a Zekrom."

"What's a Zekrom?" His friends asked.

"A spoiler." The boy smirked.

Before they could inquire further the boy shouted rather enthusiastically.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Excited the boy ran off.

"Wait up, Ash!" Brock shouted.

The boy quickly reached the boulder he saw from the distance. There was currently a small lizard like pokémon sitting on it's top.

"Char?" It growled weakly.

"It's a Charmander." Giddiness overtook Ash. "My humble start at an army of dragons."

"What is a rare pokemon like that doing in the middle of nowhere?" Brock asked.

"It says right here that it was abandoned by its trainer." The boy held a book looking like a script of some kind.

"Where did you get that?" Misty tried to grab it.

"Nope." He quickly hid it in his hat.

Not amused by this she grabbed the cap, only to find nothing inside.

"I must be still dreaming." She handed back the hat to its owner.

"Returning back to the plot." Ash grinned. "I hereby announce you as my pokémon."

Charmander watched the antics with a weary expression.

"Let's see." Ash though for a second. "I'll let you handle this." He released Bulbasaur.

"Bulba?" It was puzzeled why it was released so quickly after lunch.

"Pika pi." It pointed towards the fire pokémon.

"Saur?"

"Pi." It nodded.

"It was abandoned by its trainer. I hope you can talk some sense into it." Ash said.

"Judging by the flame on its tail it must be weakened." Brock said with his arms crossed.

"The weather isn't doing it any favors as well." The redhead remarked as it started to drizzle. Small droplets made the flame even less pronounced.

"What did he say Pikachu?" Ash crouched next to his partner.

"Pika pi, pika."

"He won't budge no matter what?"

"Saur." The grass pokémon sighed.

"A shame that loyalty wasn't reciprocated." The boy mused. "It seems I have no choice."

"What do you mean, Ash?" Misty watched as the boy took out a pokéball."

"Go Butterfree."

"Free." It complained.

"I know, you don't like when it makes your scales cluster." Ash apologized. "Just use Sleep Powder on that Charmander."

"Char?!" The pokémon tried to stand up and fight."

"Free." It shot waves of blue dust towards the pokémon.

"Char...man...der..." After trying to resist the drowsiness it eventually fell asleep.

After recalling the bug pokémon Ash placed the Charmander in his arms.

"Wouldn't it be better to catch it?"

"Sometimes you have to play the long game, Brock." He winked. "And I don't want to break its trust."

"Let's hurry, the rain is becoming worse." Misty took out her small Goldeen umbrella and placed it above the Charmander.

"You're so forward today, Misty." He got closer to the redhead.

"Only because of Charmander." She rolled her eyes.

"Pika pi." It shrugged its shoulders.

"Bulba." It nodded in agreement.

As time went by more clouds changed their color from white to dark grey. The droplets cascading from the sky became much heavier. Puddles formed and were slowly trying to devour the ground pavement of the road. In the encapsulating darkness a beacon of hope shined brightly against the tyranny of nature. Its light gave travelers much needed warmth.

"There it is." Brock sighed in relief.

The trio was running.

"Just a little bit closer." Misty gritted her teeth from the cold air.

Ash covered the fire pokémon with his jacket. In midst of their journey Charmander woke up and tried to run away. With no choice left the boy bundled the overreacting pokémon and filled its mouth with a leftover sandwich so it wouldn't try to bite him.

"And we're here." Ash huffed under the small roof of the building.

"I'm going to need some hot coco." Misty squeezed some of the water from her hair.

"Let's hope there're still some rooms left." Brock opened the door.

The reception hall was filled with pokémon trainers. The trio sighed in relief as the sign next to Nurse Joy said there were still a couple of vacant rooms.

"Hello Nurse Joy." Ash greeted. "We'd like two rooms."

"I'm sorry but with the ongoing weather we need to save as much rooms as possible." She sadly declined.

"We'll take one room then." Misty replied.

"Okay, please give some identification." Ash handed her his Pokédex. "Thank you, here's your key."

"Oh before I go, did you hear anything about a trainer that left a Charmander?" I'd like to speak to him." Ash smiled innocently.

The woman scrutinized the boy with her gaze. "As much as I wouldn't want to reveal that information, he's sitting over there." She pointed towards the couches next to the window.

Charmander became animated once again, however Ash curbed its enthusiasm by pinching its tail.

"Stay still for a while, okay?" He said to the fire pokémon. "Thank you, Nurse Joy. I'd like ask you on a coffee date, but I'm still 10."

The woman giggled. "My, what a gentleman."

"Hmph, playboy." Misty's face soured.

"I'm...so...jealous." Brock was biting his handkerchief in frustration.

Ash walked towards the couch that was opposite to the one where his target was. There were 5 trainers laughing and snickering.

"Say, Damian." Charmander moved slightly to better see his previous trainer. "What happened to that Charmander of yours?"

A sixteen year old smug looking teen huffed in disgust. "I've got rid of that disappointment. That stupid pokémon is probably still sitting on that rock I've left him."

"Hmph. So stupid." The crowd jeered with him.

"I couldn't let that waste embarrass me any longer." The teen sniffed. "I have no need for weakling."

"Is that so." The group turned their heads towards the voice.

"And what do you want shrimp?" Damian leered, trying to scare the kid.

"Little old me?" Ash smiled. "Well I suppose I wanted to bring back your so called weak pokémon." He showed the shocked and hurt Charmander."

"Since when did I allow you to pick up my trash." Damian stood up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The teen freezed as it felt something sharp on his back. "My Fearow has a short temper and a surprising lust for meat."

The trainers took a step back in fear. The coldness and viciousness in the pokémon's eyes was making them feel uneasy.

"And another thing." Smack! Ash hit Damian in the face. "I won't be threatened by juvenile criminals like yourself."

"You." The teen gritted his teeth in anger. Clearly embarrassed by the younger boy's audacity.

"I'd stop if I were you." Ash took out his Pokédex. "I've recorded your whole spiel. And with one push of a button I can make you forget about being a pokémon trainer in this country." Coldness flashed in Ash's eyes.

"What do you want?" Damian said trembling.

"Nothing much." Ash gave a cute smile. "In two days you can win your freedom by fighting me and Charmander in a pokémon battle."

"That's it?" The older teen regained his smug smile. "I thought you'd come with something more challenging. It's a deal."

"Great." Ash stood up. "And don't try to escape. Fearow loves the thrill of pursuing its prey." The bird pokémon looked frightening with its cruel smile.

After making his intentions clear Ash walked up to his friends that were chatting with Joy.

"What did you do?" Misty saw the fire pokémon not feeling too happy.

"I've given this poor pokémon a chance for revenge." He patted the fire lizard's head. "But for now I'd like you to heal it, Nurse Joy."

"Of course." She took the small bundle and placed it on a cart."It should be good as new tomorrow morning."

"Chansey, Chansey." The bubbly pokémon pushed the cart with Charmander.

"Let's take a rest ourselves." Misty felt uncomfortable with the wet clothes sticking to her skin.

"You go first then." Ash offered. "We'll get some hot food from the cafeteria. Is curry good?"

"I'd like a stek today." She replied.

"Stek it is." Ash walked away with Brock in tow.

---------

The next morning the weather was still going strong with the rain. The forecast said it'd clear up at noon. Before breakfast Ash received a crestfallen Charmander back from Nurse Joy.

"It didn't want to eat at all." She complained. "But I was able to make it drink its vitamins." The pokémon shivered. Feeling her staring at its back.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it from here." Ash thanked her.

His friends saved him a spot at the cafeteria. Pikachu was trying to get his paws on the ketchup. Unfortunately for it Bulbasaur got his instructions from Ash to ween the electric mouse from the sauce.

"Pika." It glared at its trainer.

"I love you too buddy." He sat down with Charmander on his lap. "How're you doing, Oddish."

"Dish." It replied without any energy. It was feeling tired because of the lack of sunlight.

"Joy gave me a supplement made for grass pokémon." Brock was stirring something in a bowl. "It'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks, Brock." Misty was running her hand through her pokémon's leaves. "It'll be alright Oddish."

Charmander watched the heartwarming scene with prickling in his heart. Why couldn't it have a trainer like that. Suddenly it felt a hand gently rubbing its back.

"Char?" It questioned the black haired boy.

"Believe me." He smiled. "There are many trainers out there who would've climbed mountains just for a chance to have a pokémon like you. Me included." Ash grabbed the nearby tray with food. "Eat up, we've got some training to do."

Unwilling at first it finally succumbed to its grumbling stomach.

After the meal Ash and the crew waited for the rain to stop. Fortunately for them it fizzled out faster then it was expected. Coming outside Ash released all of his pokémon.

"Please gather around here everyone. I'd like to introduce to you our new training buddy."

"Scree?"

"No, Zubat. But soon."

"Char!" The fire pokémon shook its head in disagreement.

"You're already one of us. You just don't know it yet." Ash chuckled. "Anyway, we've got training to do."

"Char?"

"Since we don't have much time we'll need get you up to speed with one thing." The pokémon didn't like the smile it saw on his face.

"Char, char?" It tried to negotiate.

"Bulbasaur, teach our new friend how to dance."

"Bulba!" A vine shot close to the lizard's feet.

"Cha Ar." It jumped in fright.

"Half an hour of dodging starts now." Ash walked to his other pokémon as the cries of Charmander could be heard behind him.

"Ok. For now I'd like you to do a couple of rounds. Try to beat your records today." He said to his flying pokémon.

With a squawk the Fearow started ramping up its speed, Pidgeotto was trying to keep with the larger bird's pace. Zubat and Butterfree on the other hand flew into the forest. Their task was to raise their agility while avoiding obstacles.

"How should I train Oddish, Ash?" Misty was hugging the now energetic grass pokémon. Brock's mixture truly did wonders for it.

"From what I understand, grass pokémon need to have gathered enough sunlight energy to evolve." Ash replied. "Maybe for now do some drills like Charmander over there. A speedy grass type is a dangerous one."

"And Bellossom is a rather agile pokémon. Thanks Ash." Misty took Oddish to a more quiet corner.

"No problem, Mist."

After the warm up it came time for the main event, training firepower (pun intended).

"Let's see what we're working with. Use Flamethrower on that target." Ash pointed at the stick he drived in to the ground.

Charmander took a breath. "Char!" A small jet of red flame quickly fizzled out. Not even reaching the halfway point.

"I told you to use Flamethrower not ember." The pokémon blushed in embarrassment. Wanting to hide in a ditch somewhere.

"It seems he even failed to teach you this move." Ash sighed. "Come here."

Charmander walked closer with its head down. It didn't want to hear any more mockery.

"We can't figure what's the problem if you're going to mope around. Don't you want to show him what he's lost?"

"Char?" It raised its head only to see Ash smiling.

"Come on." He encouraged. "Show me how you're doing the move.

Charmander blinked and then nodded obediently. It opened its mouth and small specks of ember started gathering. With an exhale he tried to release the attack. However it failed just like before.

"Hmmm, maybe you're not hitting the right temperature." He placed his hand on Charmander's belly. "Do it one more time but don't release until I tell you."

Charmander once again opened its mouth. Embers flickered while it continued gathering energy.

"Concentrate where I'm touching you." Ash said. "I need you to raise the temperature more."

Sweat was pouring from the pokémon head as he tired doing just that.

"Release!"

"Char!" A bigger stream of flames shot out of its mouth. It barely singed the target.

Ash watched as the flame on Charmander's tail glowed brighter for a second before returning back to its normal state.

"So thats how it is." Ash felt embarrassed forgetting how the tail was crucial for this line of pokémon.

"Charmander?"

"It's nothing. I've just forgot that I can also be wrong sometimes."

"Did I hear that right?" Misty was blinking in shock.

"How our prodigy has fallen." Brock smiled. "Welcome to the world of us mere mortals."

"I'm 10." Ash mocked them by showing off his badges. "And I've found the problem by myself."

"And the evil Ash is back." Misty sighed. "Just when he became..."

"I became what Mist?" The boy was smirking before her, their noses almost touching.

"Hmph." She quickly turned around and left with a giggling Oddish in her hands.

"Anyway," Brock smiled, "Its time for lunch."

"We'll be there in a second." Ash checked the time on his Pokédex. "So much to do."

------

The next day two groups could be seen at the small battlefield next to the PokéCenter. One of them was Damian with his entourage. They were snickering at Ash and his friends.

"Are you ready to lose, brat?" He taunted.

"I hope you've got your passport ready." Ash calmly jeered.

"To make this match fair I'll be the judge." Nurse Joy came in her umpire uniform. "Will the challengers take place?"

"I'm ready." Damien sneered and took out a pokéball.

"Charmander is ready." The pokémon nodded.

"Then the match can start." Joy used her whistle.

"I choose you, Mankey." The pokémon growled maniacally.

"Char." It was trembling.

"Still afraid of good little Mankey? Trash." Damian sneered.

"Charmander." The pokémon turned its head to Ash. "Burn everything to the ground." Ash put his thumb down.

Charmander felt a sense of happiness as the boy watched him without faltering and believing it could win. With the new found resolution its eyes started to shine.

"Char!" The flame on its tail grew three times bigger.

"And what good is that going to do?" Damian said. "Mankey use Low Kick."

"Man Key!" It was closing the gap between the pokémon very fast.

"Use Flamethrower now!"

Charmander roared in fury and let out a blast of its flames. The jet was strong enough to char the ground below it.

Mankey too ensured of its victory couldn't change its position in time and got swallowed by the flames.

As Charmander lost its momentum the flames fizzled out, revealing a very baked Mankey.

"Mankey is unable to battle, Charmander is the winner."

"Char?" The fire pokémon couldn't believe it had done it. It looked back at Ash an saw the boy looking at it with pride.

"You've won, Charmander." He patted the pokémon's head. "You've finally believed in yourself."

"Charmander, Char!" It jumped happily.

"Good job you two!" Misty shouted from the sidelines.

As they were celebrating Damian walked closer.

"It seems I've misjudged you." He ignored his fainted pokémon and stopped next to Charmander.

"Since you wanted to join me then come on." He pulled out a pokéball. "I've still got your pokéball." He threw the device.

"Char." It bounced the device back with its tail.

"What are you..oof." The teen was tossed by an unseen force.

"Thank you Butterfree."

"Free." It's eyes returned to its natural red color.

"That was assault." One of the lackeys cried.

"That was 'get away from my friend or you'll get hurt'." Ash ignored their cries of indignation. "Anyway I've sent your details to Jenny and Professor Oak."

"You!?" Damian rushed towards Ash as he turned his back.

Before the teen could reach the boy he felt heat coming his way. "What's this!?"

Charmander's eyes flashed in anger. It's flame almost doubled in size in comparison to before.

"Char, Man, Der!" A ball of flames seperated into 5 long tendrils and hit Damian square on.

After the flames were put out by Joy's pokémon, Dewgong, a singed wailing teen was revealed. "It's a good thing I've called for Jenny beforehand." Sounds of nearing sirens could be heard.

In the aftermath Damian was apprehended by the police. Hopefully he wouldn't be owning any pokémon soon if ever.

After taking Ash's testimony he could finally meet up with his friends at the front of the PokéCenter.

"That was a doozy." Brock sighed.

"A shame those lackeys got scot-free." Misty groaned.

"Char." The fire pokémon agreed.

"So what are your plans, Charmander?" Ash asked. "You're free to do so as you wish now."

"Char?"

"Well yeah, with Damian locked away you can now explore the world as you want." Ash patted its head.

"Pika Pi." Pikachu nodded.

Charmander started tearing up.

"What's the matter, is something wrong?" The boy was helplessly waving his hands as he didn't know what happened.

"Charmander, Char."

"What do you mean I don't want you?"

"Char."

"I was about to ask."

"Charmander."

"Don't give me that tone or I'll beat you up."

"Der." It showed its tongue."

"That's it." Ash grabbed the fire pokémon. "It's punishment time."

"Cha, Ar, Ar." The pokémon struggled as the boy started tickling it.

"Mander." A tired out lizard fell down on the ground.

When it regained some strength it raised its head and saw the boy with a pokéball in his hand.

"If you want to come with us then we'll greet you with opened hands." Ash said with a smile.

"Char!" It pushed the button of the device with its head.

The pokémon turned into light and got sucked into the ball.

"Congratulations, Ash." Brock and Misty cheered.

"Pika, pika." Pikachu cheered on as well.

Having placed the pokéball on his belt, Ash took his backpack from Brock.

"Let's continue our journey." He said with a bright smile.