Notes - So here it is, the major motion-fanfic of the century! For those who don't know, famed Pokeshipping artist Miyatoriaka drew a twelve or thirteen page comic (feel free to ask for a link to it if you're interested in viewing) based on the "role reversal" theme. After seeing a few pages, and then obsessively rereading all the pages over and over, I felt inspired to write for the first time in months, to really sit down and dedicate hours to a specific project. When I mentioned casually that I was interested in writing a fanfic version of her comic, Miya was immediately supportive! Since then, we've discussed the project over a few conversations and figured a lot of little details and kinks out and I was able to draft a few chapters while working which I finally had time to start typing up...

Anyway, here's hoping you all enjoy!

OoO

Title - "An Alternate Journey"

Summary - Eleven year old novice trainer Misty starts her Pokemon adventure, best friends Gary and Ash by her side. But will she withstand every test her travels throw at her and become the greatest master trainer of all time? Fic co-crafted with famous fan-artist, Miyatoriaka!

Ages - Misty and Leaf are eleven years old, Ash and Gary are thirteen, and the adults are adult-aged so who cares about 'em? Lol.

Prologue - Eevee

OoOoO

The bristles of her hairbrush carefully loosened the tangle in her long red tresses before straightening its way through the rest of her hair. She removed the scrunchie from between her lips and stretched it, twisting it to and fro until it had tightly wound up the ponytail at the back of her scalp. Finally, the last addition to her attire was the knock-off unofficial League cap she'd bought herself in preparation of this day...

The day she'd finally become a true League-sanctioned trainer.

Misty Waterflower took a step backwards and gazed at her reflection in the mirror in full, releasing a breath she'd previously been unaware she was holding. Everything was perfect.

It was at this blissful moment in time that her eyes veered to the reflection of the clock hanging from the bedroom wall behind her and she felt her heart flip once more into her throat.

"That can't be the time! I'm late!" the redhead shrieked, throwing her backpack over her shoulders and taking off out the door. "Bye Daisy, Lily, Violet! Sorry, no time for breakfast! Gotta go pick up Eevee from the lab! You guys don't have to worry about seeing me off!" she shouted in what felt like one breath as she clambored down the stairs two at a time and stumbled out the front door.

It was a ten minute walk to the lab but she could cut the commute in half if she ran and refrained from getting distracted by any of the common wild Pokemon she saw on the way. After living in Pallet Town a whole two years, such a feat would ordinarily be easy but today of all days...

All she could think of was how she'd have her own stash of Pokeballs and her own opportunity to catch those very same Pokemon within the hour.

By the time she'd made it up the winding path and steep incline to Professor Oak's lab, Misty was wildly out of breath and wishing for the life of her that she had a bike to carry her during those long and trying distances.

"I'm here!" she gasped breathlessly, hands on her knees as she hunched forward and attempted to slow her racing heart before wiping her brow. "Professor Oak? I came to pick up Eevee!"

"You're too late, Misty. Eevee was given to a trainer who actually cared enough to show up on time," a familiar, somber voice told her from somewhere in front of her.

Misty felt her heart gloss over with a sheer film of fear at this news as she raised her head to meet the messenger of such dire news face-to-face.

"Hah! Gotcha!" Gary Oak, grandson to the famed Pokemon professor of the same surname, couldn't conceal his smirk as the redheaded preteen.

"Grr, Gary, you're the worst!" she screeched, hands bunched into fists at her side and fangs bared at the Pallet Town native, after such a fright. His impish nature dissolved into a softer camaraderie as he jacked a thumb over his shoulder and nodded in response.

"C'mon, Misty, gramps is waiting in the back office for you."

The redheaded girl, nerves of steel liquifying into mush with every step she took, followed one of her best friends through the lobby, down the hall, under an archway, past a couple of the professor's assistants who were busy working on their computers or analyzing data or filing results.

Finally, the two of them approached a winding, circular stairway, daunting and solitary, that led up to Professor Oak's private office.

Twenty steps, Misty couldn't help thinking, twenty or so paces until the first step towards her dream of becoming the world's greatest Pokemon Master came to pass.

Nineteen... eighteen... fifteen... twelve... seven...

And it all still seemed so unreal.

"Ah, Misty, you showed up after all? Just in time! I thought I might have to give Eevee to one of your peers!" the elderly man guffawed somewhat affectionately, replacing the book he'd been apparently skimming before his guests arrived and stepping forward to take in the sight of her.

Misty had just opened her mouth to call his bluff but Gary did so first from beside her.

"Nice try, gramps, but I already cracked that joke on the way here!"

"Ah, well, best we move on straight to the main event! Ash, are you willing to join us?" Professor Oak asked, craning his neck in the direction of his office desk.

A boy with wild black hair, chestnut eyes, and - presently - a deeply furrowed brow and gritted teeth swiveled around in the chair he was sitting in, pouncing to his feet and storming up to the slightly younger girl in a huff.

"Oh, Ash, you made it after all, huh?" Misty blinked and pointed, the corner of her mouth twisting awkwardly up at him at the sight of his stubborn temper.

"Made it?! Misty, I've been waiting here for you this whole time! Geez, you dummy, who in their right mind would be late to something so important, huh?" he yelled, turning his nose up at her after. "And after I came all this way from Cerulean City and had to endure sharing a room with him," he finished lamely, jerking his head in Gary's direction.

"Ah, Ash... Doesn't it remind you of when we were younger, before the league separated us and we were forced to take up the mantles of Cerulean and Viridian Gym leaders? We were so close then, sharing dreams and scars alike! Who would have guessed Ashy-boy would grow up to be so cold and distant as the years passed...?" the auburn-haired teenager fawned with a fake sigh of over-dramatic resignation, leaning against his childhood best friend (and, to a point, rival).

"And who woulda guessed you'd grow up to be such a weirdo?" Ash deadpanned in response, stepping away just enough so Gary lost his balance and nearly fell over. "Seriously, Misty, why couldn't I have just stayed at your place anyway?"

"Well, it's a bit cramped with the four of us there already," the redhead noted absently in reference to her three older siblings, "Plus my sisters were telling me that it's - um, how'd they word it? - it's unbecoming of a young lady to share a room with a young man." And, after completing her recitation, she stood straight and stiff, one hand clasped to the back of her head. "Whatever they mean by that! Haha!"

So swift was her emotional transition that she missed everyone's reactions, from the professor's soft chuckle at her innocence to Ash's scandalized (not to mention oddly flushed) facial expression to Gary's blank stare twisting itself into a grotesque smirk at the raven-haired boy's obvious discomfort at the implication.

"But now that I'm going to start my Pokemon journey, I can make those decisions for myself! And I - well..." Misty faltered, gaze averting momentarily to a smudge she happened to notice on the linoleum tiles below her, then stretched to her full height again and stood determinedly to face the bulk of her audience, "... I have something I wanna ask you both when we're done here... But, for now, can I finally see Eevee, professor?"

"Absolutely, young lady, follow me over here."

The group of four collectively ventured towards a large cylindrical podium erected beyond the bookshelves lining the walls of Professor Oak's office. Upon the podium were four spherical indentations, symmetrically lined buttons in front of each one as if they were respective partners.

The professor pressed one of the buttons and the round window adjacent to it split open to form a small cavity. Within moments, a single Pokeball was lifted up and out of it. All four spectators stared it down as if the moment was too fragile to disrupt.

"This has been a long time comin', huh?" Gary whispered, somewhat in awe despite having more experience than either of his two companions with such events.

"Almost a whole year..." Ash gulped back his growing excitement, betraying a quick grin, "You have a lot of catching up to do, Myst. You think you got what it takes?"

Misty gave a faint nod but made no other attempts at movement.

"Go ahead, Miss Waterflower, you can pick it up," the professor coaxed.

The redhead finally found the self-awareness and moxi to reach one hand out to grasp the Pokeball, removing it from the pedestal and staring fondly at it for the following few seconds.

Her first Pokemon. Hers. And she was Eevee's trainer. It was finally happening.

"... I choose you, Eevee! C'mon out!" she affirmed triumphantly, tossing the Pokeball into the air.

There was a flash of red light, a silhouette forming before shaping into an animal-like form, which reared back on its hind legs and then back onto all fours, shaking itself off.

"Ee... vee?" the normal fox-looking Pokemon uttered in confusion. Then she took in the four people watching her, rounding on her trainer last of all, after which her face lit up in joy. "Eevee eev!" she exclaimed, leaping into Misty's arms without a thought of caution against it.

"Hi, Eevee! Ooh, it's good to see you again!" the redhead told her new Pokemon, tightening their embrace just enough to notice and rubbing her cheek against the normal-type's fluffy coat. "Today's the day! Are you as excited as I am?"

Eevee responded in kind to her trainer's jubilation and the two shared a few more minutes of tender affection and conversation before they were redirected to the task at hand.

"So this is your Pokedex," Professor Oak told her, and she offered him her gratitude in response to receiving it, Eevee, Ash, and Gary at her side. "It houses any data available for any Pokemon you point it at if you press this button here." And he pointed it out to her for good measure.

"It also features some other basic functions,"Gary chimed in. "Like a general map of the Kanto region and a form of ID in case you need it. It's pretty helpful."

"Yeah, sounds like it..." Misty nodded in response. "Is there anything else I need to know before I head out?"

"Well, I don't know if you've read up on it yourself and I've formed a habit of telling new trainers because it sometimes comes as a bit of a shock. Whenever you catch a Pokemon, it's registered to you through your trainer identification number, which your Pokedex also monitors. There is, however, a maximum of six Pokemon able to be carried at a time - one of the League's rules of conduct - so any number of Pokemon you catch beyond that will be transferred automatically to your home region's registered housing facility. In this case, that would be my lab here in Pallet Town. You'll be able to switch out members of your team at any PokeCenter if you need to," Professor Oak informed her. "I would also suggest you stop by the vending machine on your way out. You can buy basic supplies such as Pokeballs and potions if you've got the funds available. It's a great safety precaution that many new trainers take advantage of."

"Good to know, thanks! Well," the redhead paused, turning to face her two friends, "like I said before, would it be okay to talk to you both now? I'll... be leaving after this, ya know?"

"Ah, yeah, let's head out to the ranch house," Gary told her, jacking his thumb over his shoulder, beyond and downstairs of which was a sliding door that would lead them to their destination.

"Mm'kay, C'mon, Eevee, Ash!" she replied, smiling down at her Pokemon partner and grabbing the teenage boy by the hand, dragging him behind her.

It was less than five minutes to the human habitable house that Professor Oak lived in (and Gary and Ash often frequented ever since they'd moved away from Pallet Town to become gym leaders). In the back door and through the den they went, the two boys diving onto the couch to play the attentive audience awaiting Misty's inquiry for them.

The redhead shuffled back and forth one heel to the other. At some point she flopped down into the armchair adjacent to her friends, allowing Eevee to hop up into her lap, and she couldn't help herself from hiding her face behind her Pokemon's downy coat.

"So... are you gonna say something? We're losing daylight, ya know? Which is kinda important for someone who's already a year or so behind everyone else," Ash reminded her in a huff.

"Ah, um... Well, I mean, you said it, Ash. I've waited so long - even longer than most other kids - for this day to come. And it's thanks to you guys a lot because of how much you've helped me. Without Gary, I wouldn't have been able to get Eevee," she bashfully commented, "... and without Ash–"

At the sound of his name, the raven-haired gym trainer perked up in attention....

"–I'd never have met Gary."

... Only to immediately look put out again though Misty didn't seem to notice.

"You both helped me learn how to be a good trainer and you helped my family move from Cerulean to Pallet Town so I could prepare for my licensing exam. You guys have been there for me so much that waiting all that extra time for Eevee to be ready to travel with me doesn't worry me! Because of you, I feel like I can handle anything.

"So, um, I know this comes kinda at the very last second and I know you both have gyms to run but..." One last deep cleansing breath for courage and an affectionate lick of reassurance from the Eevee in her arms and Misty was finally able to spit her request out.

"... But do you think you would be able to join me out there on the road?"

The room was quiet after such a considerable question. Eevee leapt down from Misty's arms and sat up on all fours at her side while Ash and Gary stared them down before turning to glance at each other, then back at her once more.

"You don't know a thing about timing, do ya?" Ash asked her with a wave of his hand. "Ten minutes until you're out the door and on the road and now you wanna say somethin' about us going with ya?" he appeared to admonish her, even as he leaned over the side of his seat to grab a hold of what Misty recognized a few moments later as his usual backpack that he used while traveling back and forth between Cerulean City and Pallet Town.

"You're just lucky I already planned for this and had my things packed," he went on with a smirk before adding as an afterthought, "and that my mom is a decent enough trainer to cover the Cerulean Gym in my place."

"You'll come?" Misty replied breathlessly. "You mean it?"

"Of course! You only got this far 'cause of me anyway, right? Isn't that what you just said?"

Despite him appearing to stroke his own ego, Misty was overcome with relief at his willingness to join her as she started her adventure as a Pokemon trainer. In fact, both of them were so wrapped up in their moment that they completely forgot about the third human member of their group who had yet to utter a single word in response to the redhead's request.

Gary made a point to clear his throat and get their attention, though once he had it, he chose to leave his two friends dangling a little longer. Served them right for forgetting about him like that!

"Well, unlike this loser," he began, nodding at Ash, who scowled in response, "I don't share my responsibilities as a gym leader with my mom."

"Oh, right..." Misty replied, looking decidedly discouraged.

That was what she got for waiting until the last second to ask her best friends such a huge favor. She should have known better. Well, in fact, she did know better but she just hadn't been able to pluck up the nerve to bring up the matter before today. Asking someone - let alone two people - to shirk their duties and put their lives basically on hold for an indefinite amount of time was no simple task after all.

"... I'll need an hour or so to pack."

Misty's head was alight and buzzing madly in response to this comment.

"Wait, so you can...?"

"I may not share the gym with my mom but I do share it with a few other trainers who work under me. They can nominate someone between the three of them to cover my place while I'm gone. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just expect the two of you to somehow be able to survive on your own? You can't cook, you've never been anywhere except Cerulean and Pallet, you're too gullible! You somehow completely fell for my joke that Eevee had been given to another new trainer even though the whole point of you waiting until today to start your journey was because you were waiting for Eevee to hatch and be old and experienced enough to start battling! And Ash isn't much better than you are, Misty. Trust me on this; you both need me. If I let you go alone you'll both probably starve - or kill each other."

She wasn't sure if she was more affronted or appeased by Gary's final answer at first. She supposed it was best just to take the good and run with it...

"Yes! Do you hear that, Eevee?! All of us will get to travel together! Yay!" Misty cheered, her Pokemon starter almost immediately joining her, and Ash and Gary too in a much more contained fashion.

Yeah, the redhead thought, it was best to look on the bright side of things.

Besides, she could always get revenge on Gary later for his jokes.

OoO

The group of three humans and one Pokemon eventually finished the packing and communications needing to be done and ventured beyond the famed Oak properties. It was as they approached the front gate and the junction in one of Pallet Town's many dirt paths that Ash nudged Misty, who'd been busy smiling and conversing with Eevee, the Pokemon trotting along beside her. He drew her attention to the group of three older girls waiting for them to approach.

"Wha-? Daisy, Lily, Violet, what are you doing here? I told you that you didn't have to come see me off!" the redhead yelped, face flushed a little at the sight of her two middle siblings holding up a banner that read 'Go, Misty, go!' in colorful, fluid font and her oldest sibling in front alternating between clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

"Oh, c'mon now, little sis, like we would just let you run off without a proper goodbye on such an important day! Like, besides, you didn't eat anything before you went and you were in such a hurry that you forgot a few things!" Daisy replied.

Lily accepted Violet's half of the banner and began rolling it up, holding it under one arm when she was finished, and Violet bent down to pick something up off the ground.

"Here you are, Misty! This backpack has, like, a couple extra outfits for you to wear, some shampoo and body wash, an emergency potion, a couple snacks - you did skip breakfast after all, and a pre-filtered canteen so you can, like, have fresh, clean water anywhere," the young woman with long, dark hair explained to her with a wink. "Can't let our little sister run around smelling like a Grimer, even if she is just the runt of the family!"

"Hey! Don't call me that!" the redheaded novice replied, but she snatched the bag from her older sister's hands anyway, refusing to utter more than a whisper of gratitude for the gift.

"Ooh, is this your Eevee? We only met her once but she's grown up to be such a cutie since then!" Lily exclaimed, flipping one of her wavy tresses over her shoulder with her free hand. "Listen, I think I've got, like, the best idea! Why don't we take Eevee under our wing? I mean, she'd be a perfect fit for our sensational image, don't you think? And you boys can totally see to it that Misty catches some Rattata or something as her first Pokemon instead! That would fit her image better anyway!"

She leaned down to scratch Eevee under the chin and around where her scalp met her ears, the Pokemon eagerly leaning in, not understanding what the human had been bartering about before.

"Uh-uh! Eevee's mine, you guys! Don't even think you can steal her away!"

Misty leapt between her sister and her precious Pokemon, expression grim yet firmly obstinate. She began to buckle when everyone, including Ash and Gary, broke down into a fit of laughter at her expense.

"But, like, in all seriousness..." Daisy began, and Violet popped up beside her, hands momentarily concealing something before she revealed a confetti party popper and tugged it to an explosive opening.

Misty stared speechlessly at this predicament, unable to even take the time to shake the glittery dots out of her hair, hands still up in a fighting stance... only for Daisy to take her shock as the perfect opportunity to pull her into her embrace.

"You'll be great, little sis. You've wanted this for a real long time and you've got friends to back you up when you need it. We know you'll do good out there," the blond-haired girl whispered into her youngest sibling's hair.

Misty felt the faintest burn at the corners of her eyes as a tear or two began to well up at such considerate words but she blinked them away. She didn't want to think about how much she'd actually miss her older sisters. That was part of the reason she'd avoided a goodbye altogether earlier that morning.

Lily and Violet both joined in the hug as well, smothering Misty with an overwhelming (and somewhat overheated) calming familiarity.

No matter their flighty, vain, teasing tendencies, her sisters had all still agreed to pack up and move to Pallet Town just so she could remain close to Eevee before she hatched and after she started learning how to manage basic fighting skills, putting their primary plans to start a fashion and modeling troupe on hold so that she could study to pass her trainer's exam. All shallow qualms aside, her sisters must have loved her to go that far...

"Uuh, I hate to interrupt but... it's already after one o'clock. If we're gonna start making headway, we really need to get going soon..." Ash reminded them tentatively in the background.

"Okay, I guess this is it then," Misty gulped back a sigh as she was released from the mashing of family limbs and emotions. "I'll call when we make it to Viridian City. Thanks, you three, for all the supplies and... And, um, just thanks, okay?"

"Good luck, Misty!" all three young women crooned in farewell, waving her, Ash, Gary, and Eevee off as the group of trainers began advancing on the road that would lead them beyond the outskirts of Pallet Town.

Their cheers and hollers of farewell faded into the sky as Misty trekked onward, leading the way towards an unknown but surely great future.

One step off the beaten path and into the grass and the whole world opened up before her wide, doe-like eyes, all her reservations evaporating into unfettered excitement.

Journey start!

OoOoO

Notes - As you may have noticed, Gary is taking over Brock's role from the anime, and Ash and Misty's personalities have been mixed and switched around here and there. You'll see more examples of that by next chapter. As a whole, this story blends together aspects and plot points of both the anime and game, and just a smidgen from the Adventures manga (since I don't know enough to reference more than that). Hopefully this combination will create an overall unique enough read to keep people interested for the whole thing.

This story will be at least thirteen chapters (since there are thirteen pages to Miya's comic), but the chapters will be mostly episodic. I'm also possibly planning a bonus chapter or two that are entirely flashbacks dating to before Misty started her journey (including her basis for wanting to be a Pokemon Master, her introductions to Ash, Gary, etc, and so on) but I may just squish some of these things into separate chapters as I see fit. Still trying to figure it all out to be honest.

Anyway, reviews and likes and reblogs and etc (depending on what site you view this on) are appreciated. I'll update with the next chapter by the end of January.