Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own pokemon,or anything really associated with it.

A/N: First every story! I don't know yet if I'll include romance for this or not, i'll probably put up some kind of poll.

Warning(s):Genderbent Ash. Some AU elements.(I'll be incorporating things from both anime and games,possibly more so the games, and manga. More so the games I think than anything though.) Smarter!Ash. Possible Eventual Aura! OOCness.

I.

Ashlyn Ketchum was six when she saw her father, though not in person.

She was shorter than most girls her age and tended to stand out because of her raven-black hair and chocolate brown-eyes combo, but that was okay because her eyes were the same as her mother's. They weren't weird, they were pretty.

Sitting beside her on the couch was Delia Ketchum, casting a loving look down on her daughter, who was still clutching her favorite little Umbreon plushie doll; a gift sent from her father.

"The challenger has already bested three of the four Unova Elite Four members, folks. Will they be able to trump the fourth and final one and make it all the way to the champ? Or will their trailblazing end here?" The announcer said, adrenaline pumping with every word. "And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here he is. The Dark Gentleman himself, the one and only-"

Ashlyn let out a small squeal of excitement, gaze glued to the screen.

"Grimsley!"

"Daddy!"

Delia let out a gentle laugh at her daughter's elated yell. She waited patiently until the little girl settled back down before turning her own eyes back towards the TV, where the dark-haired male had just stepped onto the field, his overall ensemble still reminiscent of when they first met those several years back. A fond smile flitted across Delia's face, falling back into her memories once more, as she often did at times like these.

:Flashback:

"Seven. Seven. Seven," Delia chanted, out loud and in her head. She might've been no psychic, but that didn't stop her form somehow trying to will the little silver ball to fall into the black seven's slot on the wheel. She was on a roll, and the young woman hoped beyond hope that her luck would hold out once more.

"Seven! Seven!" She hadn't even noticed when everyone else at the table started chanting. The buzz was just too strong.

What started out as a retreat with her close girlfriends was quickly turning into just the break she needed from all her intense cramming. Studying to become a pokemon aide was a hard enough profession already, but with a professor like the renowned Samuel Oak, well, even Delia felt he could be a real slave-driver at times. Not that she didn't like the guy, both as a mentor and a friend, though his jokes were more often than not a little cheesy, to say the least.

"Aaand it's a seven!" The dealer yelled out. Delia and the other occupants erupted into cheers.

She couldn't stop smiling, squealing in excitement when the number of chips she held got even higher. Her heart was ticking two hundred beats a minute, spurring her to go again, to try and make the pile grow some more. The more rational side of her, however, finally decided to put its foot down, telling her it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Come on, D! Just one more!" One of her friends, Jocelyn, insisted.

"No, no, no," Delia declined, shaking her head a bit. "I think it's best I bow out gracefully right about now, thank you very much." She smiled sheepishly when the dealer appeared to let out a sigh of relief.

Besides, she'd been meaning to check out the hot springs in these parts for a while now.

It was on the way back to her hotel room when a voice distracted her.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Now, Delia was a far cry from any kind of psychology expert or interpreter of voices, but there was just a certain tone this person – definitely male – just used that piqued her interest in a way that she wasn't quite able to put in words.

And, boy, did she know a lot of those.

"We've been here for hours, five if you want to be exact. Do you suppose that lead Alder mentioned was a ruse?"

The second voice sounded a trifle more exasperated than the first, if not a little frazzled, making Delia wonder if they were just reeling from a loss at one of the tables. Then again, depending on the sum of money lost, she could feel an ounce of sympathy.

"Yes, it is plausible," the first voice soothed, and though she couldn't see them, Delia could most certainly imagine the wry smile on the man's face. "Seems they are growing more active just as Alder feared. Judging by the previous locations they were spotted in, however, money seems to be their objective."

"Why do you suppose that would be the case?" The second voice asked, now identified as female, sounding genuinely curious.

"Who knows? Perhaps they're avid shoppers," the male commented, eliciting a soft laugh from the other.

Delia mentally chided herself when a laugh, barely even audible, escaped her lips.

"Huh? Hey, who's there?" The more feminine voice inquired. Delia heard footsteps, barely giving her enough time to blink before a flash of purple invaded her sight. A pair of gloved hands grabbed her and pulled the brunette out into the open. She let out a faint yelp that went unheard, stumbling over her feet and causing her to topple into the other girl, sending them both to the ground.

Wordlessly, Delia took a few moments to gather herself, her face a vivid red looking down and seeing just who she toppled onto. Darker brown eyes met her own lighter ones, blinking in confusion for a moment. Short purple hair surrounded the face, and round glasses framed her eyes.

"You're-…?" They started to speak, cut off when the two girls noticed a hand extended out in front of them. Delia followed it, her face turning as bright as a tomato when she saw piercing, blue eyes – sharp, inquisitive and calm – looking down at her.

"I-I'm...Delia Ketchum," she introduced herself shakily. Hesitantly, she took the offered hand, with the purple-haired girl taking the other.

"A lovely name for such a lovely face." The man flashed her a supermodel smile, and Delia felt her throat close on her due to a sudden onslaught of hormone-induced emotions, trying to calm the erratic beating of her own heart in her chest. It eased a bit when his alluring gaze turned to the other young woman, still smiling, "Are you alright, Shauntal?"

The girl, now properly identified as Shauntal, responded with a sheepish grin of her own, "Yeah, uh, sorry about that, Miss Delia. Thought you were somebody else."

Delia risked another glance upwards, immediately letting her eyes drop back down after meeting the male's own sharp, blue ones again – they were oddly reminiscent of a Bisharp's blades – making her fidget for a moment. "I-I'm terribly sorry for intruding, I was just...on my way to my room. Ah..." When no immediate response was given, the young brunette thought perhaps she was in the clear.

Or rather, she would have been... if it weren't for the familiar arm that swung around her shoulders, followed by the slurring of her name.

"Delia, there you are!" Jocelyn was yelling right in her ear, causing her to wince some. "We were looking for you. Hey, so get this. Alice said-oh." A sinking feeling began to grow in her gut, hearing the sudden shift in her friend's tone. She nervously looked at Jocelyn and inwardly groaned when at seeing the way she was looking at the dark-haired stranger.

Poor guy better start running.

"And just who are you?" Jocelyn inquired, inching closer and looking like a lovesick puppy.

He graced her friend with a light smile. A pang of envy shot through Delia's chest at the thought of him being interested in her.

"A friend," he said simply as he gestured towards the brunette, a glimmer of mirth in his eyes. "Of Delia's, that is." Said woman barely resisted the urge to gasp when Jocelyn's eyes swerved to her, a tad accusing, but mostly intrigued. Oh, dear God, no.

"Really now?" Jocelyn asked, a coy smile slipping across her face. "Interesting. She never mentioned someone like you before, Mr…?" She trailed off, turning back towards the pair. By now, the girl of the duo had sauntered off somewhere, seeming content to let things play out however they may. Still, Delia swore she saw her scribbling down what she was fairly certain were notes on the encounter.

Maybe she was an author. Her sense of subtlety left something to be desired though, Delia thought.

"Grimsley." The smooth, velvet-like voice pulled her back into reality, just in time to witness the blue-eyed male take Jocelyn's hand into his own and plant a soft kiss on it, similar to how she imagined a prince would in those fairy-tales she had grown up loving. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." A natural charmer, this one was, especially if the squeal of delight Jocelyn let out was any kind of indication.

:Flashback End:

"Look, mommy! Daddy did it; he won!" Ashlyn cried out, jumping for joy while confetti rained down over the triumphant Grimsley.

"If somebody wins a battle, then, without doubt, someone else has lost the battle. That's the way of battle. A real warrior doesn't dash off in pursuit of the next victory, nor throw a fit when experiencing a loss. A real warrior ponders the next battle." Were the words of comfort provided to the hunched-over trainer, mourning their loss. Grimsley's expression cold and sharp, perhaps a tad curious. Leaving the room with a flourish of his yellow scarf.

It was after Delia turned off the TV that little Ashlyn's eyes, so full of innocence and hope, lifted towards her, her small face beaming.

"Will daddy come home now?" she asked. The mother felt the comforting warmth that memories provided leave her in an instant, her own smile dimming some. "Will he?"

Delia continued smiling, for it was all she could do in that moment. That and curse herself as she watched little Ashlyn's hopeful expression slowly disappear.

It was heartbreaking, seeing Ashlyn turn away. Her hold on her Umbreon doll tightened, biting her lip, and Delia just knew the poor thing was trying hard not to cry. "He won't... will he?" Ashlyn asked, sounding heartbroken. "Daddy… daddy still isn't coming home. B-but why?"

However, her daughter was but a child, and try as she might, sobs still made their way out.

"Is *hic* h-he mad *hic* at us? A-at me?" Delia pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, running soothing fingers through the little girl's hair.

"Oh no, sweetie. Of course, he's not," she soothed, forcing as much sincerity into her words as she could. "He loves us – loves you – more than anything."

When she pulled away, tears were no longer falling from little Ashlyn's eyes. She was still sniffling, but she buried the lower half of her face against the back of her Umbreon plushie rather than her mother's sweater. Delia made a mental note to wash the snot out of the doll before sending the little girl off to bed later that night.

~/~

"Mommy?"

Delia paused standing in her daughter's bedroom doorway. Ashlyn's favorite pokeball nightlight was turned on, and she was clinging to a freshly cleaned Umbreon plushie, with her little head poking out from beneath the warm, comfy blanket. Delia smiled at the sight.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"When I become a pokemon trainer, will daddy be able to come home and visit us more then?" she asked innocently.

The mother chose her words very carefully, despite her daughter being so young.

"Ashlyn, your father is very busy, what with work and... making sure the two of us are safe and happy." Delia's smile became a bit more strained at this point, looking a tiny bit crestfallen. "Daddy's trying very hard in order to make sure... to make sure..." She let the words roll off her tongue, unsure of how to finish what she started saying.

Thankfully, she realized she didn't have to, hearing Ashlyn's soft snores from under the covers.

"Goodnight, my sweet, little baby girl," Delia whispered, closing the door behind her as she left.

~/~

Ashlyn was going on eight when she heard from her father again, in the form of yet another gift sent through the mail. But she wasn't quite as naive, and she had stopped carrying around her dolls for quite a while already.

"Thank you very much," Delia said with a courteous nod to the mailman.

Ashlyn watched the small exchange, eyeing the package being held in her mother's arm with just the smallest fraction of contempt. Okay, maybe more than just a little. "Is that... from dad?" she inquired, mostly due to the fact that her birthday was yesterday, and no offense to her mother, but what else would he be sending something for?

"Yes," Delia said, offering a tight-lipped smile, noting the lack of usual excitement in her daughter's eyes – cold like her father's – wondering where that bright, happy child had gone to. Still, she pushed it aside, holding out the box with tender hands.

'He didn't wrap it this year.' Was Ashlyn's only thought, taking it carefully and giving it the slightest of shakes. She heard nothing. She didn't already break whatever was inside, did she? Frowning, the eight-year-old started tearing open the plain brown packaging, blinking in surprise when she pulled back the lid.

"It's an... egg."

Ashlyn reached down and lifted the strangely marked oval-shaped object, staring at the odd markings going around the sides. She glanced down seeing a plain white envelope in the box as well, plucking it off from where it had been stuffed underneath the egg. It was addressed to her and had a capital 'G' written in elegant script on the back. Ripping it open, her eyes quickly scanned over the words written inside.

To my dear little girl,

I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to wish you the best in person.

Your mother told me how you want to be a pokemon master when you grow up.

It was true, she decided back when she was six a few days prior to watching her dad in one of his own battles. At the time, some of the pokemon looked a bit more on the scarier side, she told her mom, like her dad's Bisharp, or one of the challenging trainer's Haunter. Still, it looked like so much fun! Plus, there were some pokemon she thought were pretty cute and strong looking, like Marshal's Makuhita.

Here's proof I believe in you.

I love you, always have and always will.

Her eyes started to sting a little at the last sentence, a small flicker of doubt still present, but glad he at least tried to let her know somehow. She took the egg, barely managing to wrap her little arms around it, and carried it with her into the kitchen where her mother had disappeared to in order to start on dinner. In one hand she still held the open envelope, failing to notice when something came slipping out.

"Ashlyn, honey, what have you got there?" Delia asked, putting her hands on her knees and kneeling down in front of her child.

"Dad sent it to me. It's an egg," she proclaimed, puffing out her chest a bit in a show of pride. "Dad wants me to take care of it."

Delia gave a nervous laugh, her eyes showing a small hint of worry in them. "Sweetie, um, do you… know what kind of egg that is?" Not that she needed to ask; she already knew the answer.

"No."

The older brunette heaved a sigh. Her eyes fell down, lightly pressing a hand to her head in a very subtle facepalm, which was when she saw something sparkling on the kitchen floor. She picked it up carefully, seeing what felt like some kind of hard mineral stone on the end of a silver chain.

"Oh what a pretty stone," she said – about to inquire as to whether it was little Ashlyn's gift as well – looking up to see her daughter had started walking again. "Ashlyn, where did you-"

"My egg needs to be washed," Ashlyn piped up, hopping onto a nearby miniature set of stairs she often used in the kitchen when reaching for things high up. She positioned the egg directly underneath the kitchen faucet, already reaching for the handle.

"Ashlyn, wait! Don't–"

~/~

"I just don't know if sending a pokemon egg of all things is such a good idea. She's only eight," Delia huffed pointedly, looking towards the screen of her call. Her hair was dripping wet, and she seemed to be sporting a rather impressive frown while seated in the office of her former's professor's house. Forced to stay a night or two when the broken faucet popped off, and water was sent gushing out, flooding the house.

"Hm, perhaps you have a point. Did she not like it?" The person on the other end inquired curiously, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't think she fully understands what it is. She hasn't gotten that far in her lessons after all," Delia stated, looking more stressed out than usual. "Look, I'm glad that you're still trying to stay in touch with us, but I… I just don't think this is working out."

There was silence on the other end.

"It's not just what happened today – I already told you I needed to have that faucet fixed! - or even the distance," Delia said, and there was a subtle crack in her voice. Her eyes were starting to burn, and she felt the tears come out into the open now. "You keep saying that though!" she said, perhaps a little too loudly, as some of the pokemon in their pens were starting to stare, along with little Ashlyn who was peeking out from the stairs, wearing the necklace she got and holding her egg tightly.

"…I miss you." Her mother confessed, so quietly Ashlyn almost didn't hear it. "A-and I'm worried that-but-!"

Ashlyn decided she didn't want to hear her mother's heartbroken voice anymore, turning around and racing down the stairs before the call ended.

She felt angry at her father, not understanding why he was making her mother so sad all the time in recent years. She also didn't understand why there was such a lack of his presence in her life. She didn't understand a single thing about him!

More than anything, she just didn't understand why he couldn't come home and be with them.

Mom kept saying he cared for them. That he would come and be with them if he could.

Always if he could, but never why he couldn't.

"Daddy… why won't you come home?" she asked, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer. It didn't lessen the pain that was swelling in her heart, however. In fact, it only made her feel worse. She looked at the egg she'd been clutching protectively, and the stone her father had sent, recalling reading a certain part of the letter that mentioned an old friend gave it to him, something about her being a museum curator or such.

It didn't seem all that special like her mom made it sound, it was round with a simple design. She didn't really understand any of it; only that instead of winding up in a museum, the stone was now hers.

Much like the egg she held onto; proof her father cared. Or so a part of her liked to believe.

"My Ashlyn, what have you got there?"

Little Ashlyn lifted her eyes up from the object, blinking at the beaming face of none other than Professor Samuel Oak. He had a weathered face, but kind eyes. He was regarding her egg with a strangely fascinated gleam in his old eyes.

"Why, it's a pokemon egg. Well, I'll be! And a rare one from the looks of the design," he stated, matter–of–fact, earning a confused stare from the little girl.

"A... pokemon egg?" Ashlyn repeated, brow creasing. "So this egg is... a pokemon?"

"Well, yes and no." Oak laughed a little, walking a short distance to where he kept a bookshelf chocked full of thick looking books. He reached for one, carefully sliding it off the shelf and flipping through the pages while walking back over. He crouched down to eye level with her. Showing her a simple, small diagram. "You see, Ashlyn, a pokemon is growing inside that egg, and when it gets to a certain point then the egg will hatch and you'll have yourself a real, breathing, fully active pokemon!"

Ashlyn looked at it with slowly widening eyes, "So then, daddy sent me a-a pokemon!?" She couldn't believe it. "B-but, why? I thought you needed to be a pokemon trainer to…?"

"Well, not necessarily. People do keep some as pets, after all. Friends for when they are lonely," Oak said, smiling gently.

"A...friend?"

"Yes. Perhaps your father felt you needed a friend to keep you and your mother company," the old man suggested, having overheard the child's dilemma and wanting to offer some comforting words to her. Both she and her mother were such kind people, who only wanted their little family to be whole again.

Ashlyn studied the egg a little more closely, as if trying to see inside to what kind of pokemon it would end up being.

"Do you know what kind of pokemon it is then?" Ashlyn asked.

"Usually the pattern signifies the kind of pokemon that will hatch, but I've never quite seen a pattern like this one before, so I'm afraid I couldn't say for sure," Oak responded evenly. "Though I can give you an idea as to what kinds of pokemon are more prone to hatching from eggs." He stood as her eyes lit up.

Putting the first book back, he then pulled out another with more pictures and flipped it open. "Let's see now... ah, here's one!" he exclaimed, stopping on a picture of a round little pink creature with brown triangular ears. "This is what's known as a Cleffa." Ashlyn wasn't too thrilled with the color scheme of the pokemon. Still, she tried her best to stay focused and listen to the wise old professor's words while he turned the page to the next one.

"And this is called Elekid." He pointed to a small little yellow and black pokemon with long rectangular – were those supposed to be ears? Ashlyn thought unsure. It also had knobby little feet that were just as round looking as its body. Ashlyn turned the next page herself.

While doing so her eyes flitted down, taking a quick glance to make sure her egg was okay.

It was then when she saw it.

She let out a yelp, backpedaling up the stairs so fast she very nearly dropped her precious cargo. Professor Oak was staring at her, absolutely flabbergasted, the elder man looking up when Ashlyn numbly registered the rushing of feet from behind her – her mom – and familiar arms wrapping around her form in a comforting embrace, asking if everything was okay. Ashlyn didn't answer, but professor Oak did.

No one else seemed to see it. No one else saw what she swore to Arceus she saw; her shadow moved.

Where there should've been nothing but her dark silhouette, there had been eyes; a pair of orange eyes with yellow pupils.

Ashlyn thought it must have been a pokemon of some kind, but... later that night when she asked the professor, he said no such pokemon existed to his knowledge. A part of her thought perhaps she was just imagining it if someone as smart as professor Oak didn't even know.

~/~

Only, he did know something.

"Professor, what are you doing up at this hour?" Delia Ketchum had asked, seeing the lights on in the professor's lab upstairs. It was going on 3 a.m. when she came up, her eyes catching sight of his computer screen. "Huh? Ma-rsh-a-d-ow? Professor, what are you looking at?" She asked, not seeing pictures so much as large chunks of text. The few pictures of the article were small and barely viewable.

"Oh, did I wake you? I'm sorry. Ah yes, a friend asked me to look into this for them," Professor Oak supplied, following her line of sight. "Apparently, it's a name given to a pokemon that's rarely ever been seen by humans. It's called something along the lines of the 'Gloomdweller'," He finished with a lighthearted laugh.

"My, it looks so... odd," Delia said, tilting her head a bit, trying to get a better look at the pictures.

"Yes, well, believe it or not, these pictures are some of the better ones given," Oak stated, clicking away a bit more, causing several other tabs to pop up. "You can't draw an image from something you haven't yet seen with your own eyes and expect it to come out the perfect piece of artwork."

Delia conceded to that.

"On a more interesting note, I'm curious to know just where Grimsley got such an unusual egg," the professor said, spinning around in his chair to look Delia in the eye.

"He said it was a gift. He said some boy gave it to him during his time in Castelia City."

The two adults shared an uneasy glance after that, the old professor not wanting to trouble his former student too much by drudging up anything pertaining too much to Grimsley right now. He knew the other man's heart was in the right place, and that given the rather strenuous circumstances, was trying his best to ensure Delia and Ashlyn remained happy.

Still, he was only human himself, and, as the saying went, no man was an island.

"He said he misses us, but I-" Delia cut herself off, shaking her head with a hand covering her mouth. "I'm worried, professor; he's keeping something from me. I just know it," Tears shone in her eyes. "Oh, if anything were to happen to him-!"

"Delia, please, stop worrying yourself. Grimsley is a grown man and a highly capable trainer; he can take care of himself."

Nodding, the brunette regained a bit of her composure, knowing she needed to be strong for her daughter if nothing else.

Neither felt the shifting of shadow down below, in the room where Ashlyn was now fast asleep. A pair of orange eyes with yellow slits were watching her, looking from her to the egg, then back at the girl before disappearing again.

Melting back into the girl's shadow without making a sound.

Review please. Share your thoughts.

Question: What pokemon do you think Ashlyn's egg is?