Out Of The Ashes (A Pokémon Fanfiction) ~on Hold

Chapter 1: The Loss

Chapter 1: The Loss

Ash never really thought about dying.

In the blissful, worry-free life of a ten year-old, such dark contemplations were reserved for a time later, when he was older and understood the world in all its jaded glory just a little bit better.

A week before he was due to receive his first Pokemon and begin his personal journey to become the best trainer in history, Ash went to bed at a decent time, spurred by the scolding of his mother, Delia Ketchum. Curled up under the blankets, he found his thoughts turning, as they had been for the past month, to the long path ahead of him. He could hear his heart beating rapidly in anticipation. His skin itched with impatience. He thought he might explode before the fated day would roll around.

His mother kissed him goodnight on the forehead. Ash wrinkled his nose and pretended not to secretly love her tight hug and fond caress of his bangs.

"Remember, sweetheart," she said, pulling on her jacket, "I'm helping Professor Oak with a project tonight, all right? If something happens, you have my number." She kissed him again.

"I'm ten, mom," he groaned self-importantly, "I'm too old for that stuff!" But on the inside he was smiling, his heart buoyed by good feelings. All was right with the world. Her footsteps tapped down the stairs. A level down, Ash heard the front door swing open and shut. Another regular Monday evening.

He fell asleep with dreams of stadiums and cheering voices.

He was woken up abruptly by the town's sirens and flashing lights through his window.

Someone was knocking on the door.

Fuzzy with sleep, and startled by the sudden clamor, Ash stumbled out of bed on legs that weren't yet properly awake and ran down the stairs. The alternating red and blue flashes pierced the darkness of his living room, seeping in through the glass window semicircle in the front door.

Ash threw the door open to a nightmare.

Pallet Town was tiny, and even so, Ash lived in the sector where most of the important businesses and buildings clustered. Professor Oak (a dear family friend) practically lived in his lab, which was visible from the Ketchum front porch. Which was why Ash immediately saw the entire lab engulfed in flame, a bright smear of livid yellow and red snapping and roaring in defiance at the night sky. There was a helicopter droning in the background, its metal underbelly illuminated by the immense bonfire that was slowly spreading among the houses. Black-suited silhouettes dashed back and forth in from of the flames. One swiveled, the shiny leather fabric of his jacket stretching and catching the light. Ash saw a large red 'R' printed across its expanse.

Someone grabbed his shoulders and shook him. Ash ripped his wide eyes from the horrifying scene. His neighbor, Mr. Martin, was holding him and shouting in his face. The volume was just another stimulus thrown at him within the span of seconds. He couldn't compute the questions spoken with the movements of Mr. Martin's lips.

Eventually, the words sank into his head: "It's a Team Rocket raid! Ash, where's your mother? Is Delia home? Ash! Where's your mother?"

Where's your mother?

"She-she was helping Professor Oak tonight," he said blandly, his tongue clumsy. Mr. Martin blanched. Ash watched the blood drain from the man's face. A terrible sense of vertigo began buzzing in his ears.

Suddenly forcefully calm, deceitfully so, Mr. Martin wiped at his shiny forehead and said, "Ash, you need to come inside. The police are working together with the fire department. We need to be where it's safe. I need you to wait inside with me, okay? Okay, Ash?"