Personae huius fabulae

PkMn Trainer Ashley Leaf (the heroine)

PkMn Trainer Red Leaf (her dorky brother)

PkMn Trainer Gary Oak (the irrepressible hotshot)

Professor Samuel Oak (the Pokémon expert)

Author's Note:

Brief summary: We're all told that Red is the greatest trainer of all time. Well, Leaf was created in his exact image—they even have the same hair, inexplicably. So if Leaf's his alternate universe doppelganger, then she's the greatest trainer as well. This is her story—Red's still around, but he's just a sidekick.

Prologue

Pallet Town

"Wakey wakey," came the sound of an incredibly smug voice, cutting through the pleasant serenity of sleep with irritating effectiveness. Then came the sound of blankets being yanked away, followed by the startling sensation of cold morning air washing over a body that had spent the last twelve hours being comfortably warm.

Ashley Leaf's eyelids snapped open, and her eyes flicked about in surprise before settling on a very well-dressed young man. She shrieked and hugged her legs to herself, more out of embarrassment then for modesty, since her night sweater was fairly long. "GARY! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, hi Ash," came her brother's rather more awkward and typically teenage sounding. Ashley turned her head to regard the other speaker, who was dressed in a loose black t-shirt, blue and white jacket, and jeans. A League Expo cap with a stylized 'L' sat atop a face framed with messy black hair. "We were supposed to be at the laboratory an hour ago…"

"Clearly Ash was trying to get her beauty sleep," taunted the other boy. His auburn hair was stylishly spiked, and he wore a fancy silk sweater and baggy pants. "I think she may need a few more hours."

Ashley growled. "Get out of here!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll wait for you downstairs. Keep your pants on… oh wait, you're not wearing any." He grinned and leered at her bare legs.

Ashley grabbed a pillow from behind her and threw it at Gary, hoping to ruin his precious hair. "Out!"

Gary caught it and laughed. "Whatever. Let's go, dude."

Red stared at her for a few moments. Fittingly, his face was turning quite crimson. Shooting Gary an annoyed look, he avoided his sister's eyes and scurried out of the room as quickly as he could.

When the two boys had left, Ashley jumped out of bed and ran out of her room. She wrestled with her sweater as she ran across the hall, pulling it above her head as her mother announced that Gary had come to visit her.

"Thanks for telling me, mom!" Ashley yelled back as she shut the bathroom door. Bathing was a hasty affair, and her head was filled with thoughts about this momentous day as she toweled off and ran back into her room. She hadn't even bothered to dry her hair.

First, Ashley readied her yellow satchel bag by making sure that she had her IDs and all her relevant paperwork inside. She had just recently turned fourteen, and her mother had finally consented to let her meet with the professor. It had been a long four years, and the only consolation was that the boys had waited for her—they didn't get along often anymore, but they still had their rare showings of mutual solidarity.

She put together an ensemble consisting of a blue tanktop layered over a black athletic top and a bright red skirt, and topped the outfit with her one concession to fashion, a wide-brimmed white hat with a band around the sides crowned by a half Pokéball—both in red. The outfit was a sporty and colorful, and it would do for now. She was in a hurry.

Moments later, she emerged from her room and hopped down the stairs on a single shoe-clad foot while she fiddled with getting a loose blue sock on the other. Her remaining shoe fell out from the crook of her elbow and she fumbled down the stairs in her attempt to grab it. Red and Gary emerged from the living room to find her sprawled on the floor, and the last thing that Ashley could remember was the sound of Gary's mirthful laughter.

[…]

Ashley came to and was immediately confronted with a blinding yellow light. She shrieked, and the hands that were holding her left eye open withdrew with alacrity.

"What's going on? Where am I?" she shouted.

A man in a lab coat and khaki slacks had been holding her shoulders, and looked at her with some concern. Ashley remembered that she was on her way to see him when she fell—this was Professor Oak! Of course—he was tending to her, hence the little flash light.

"Do you remember who you are?" Oak asked gently. "Do you remember if you're a boy or a girl?"

She looked at him with blank astonishment. What sort of question was that? As far as she knew, not even amnesiacs were that confused.

"Please, tell me." Oak insisted.

Ashley could hear Gary muttering about how he couldn't blame his grandfather for the confusion. She buried her face in her hands in annoyance. "I'm a girl, professor. Can we ge—"

"What's your name, dear?" Oak asked, also in that irritatingly kind voice.

"I'm Ash," she said. "We were supposed to get our Pokémon today."

"Yes, yes," Oak waved his hand in dismissal. He grabbed Gary by the arm and pulled him over to stand in front of Ashley, who was still lying on some table. The boy was trying to get a good look up her skirt while Oak clapped him on the shoulders. "This is my grandson. Do you remember his name?"

"Yes! I remember Gary. May we get on with it?" Ashley swung her legs off the table and vaulted to the floor, regretting only that she hadn't "accidentally" kicked Gary in the process. Still, she would put up with his antics a thousand times over as long as it meant that she'd get a Pokémon of her own. She'd dreamed of this day, and not even he could sour her mood.

Oak did look rather pensive though. "Well… I had set out three Pokémon just for you, but I could hardly refuse the other children when they requested to have their starters. I can't play favorites. Had you three came earlier this morning, as the other trainers did…"

"Gramps! Are you saying you gave away my Pokémon?" Gary demanded insolently. For once, though, Ashley was forced to agree with him. She'd waited so long, and now her hopes were to be dashed because she overslept? Oak had promised her this! It simply wasn't fair!

Overcome by her frustration, Ashley walked away as Oak tried to calm him down. As much as she wanted to yell herself, she knew that it wouldn't do any good. For now, she just wanted to be alone. As she made her way past bookcases and shelves stuffed with dusty tomes and instruments of all kinds, she heard the sound of rapid footsteps as Red jogged up alongside her.

"It's pretty crummy, isn't it?" Red said casually, with his hands firmly inside his jean pockets. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley could see him searching her face for clues as to what she thought.

She forced herself to look forward. "Yeah," she offered, hoping that he'd take the hint that she wasn't in the mood for conversation—especially not conversation rehashing what had just transpired.

"Yeah, and it looks like the professor does have one of his own spare Pokémon for Gary," Red continued on rather obliviously.

"Good for him," Ashley muttered through her clenched jaws. "Listen, could you just give me some space?"

"Yeah sure…" he said, sounding rather deflated. The sound of his footsteps alongside her abruptly ceased.

Ashley knew she was being harsh, but she didn't have time to coddle him right now. She stormed out of the laboratory and slammed the door shut, just out of annoyance. The sound seemed to have shocked the few townspeople who were milling about.

Pallet Town was a sleepy little hamlet nestled at the tip of a peninsula, and was surrounded by forest on two sides and featured a calm lagoon to the south. Aside from the bulk of Professor Oak's laboratory, the town featured a few small houses and very few modern amenities. That wasn't to say that it was necessarily backwards: it was a place of leisure and relaxation, and Ashley had never wanted for anything. True, her family was not as wealthy as the Oaks—but the professor was something of an international celebrity. This fact often went to Gary's head.

The quiet suited her at the moment. Ashley headed straight for the lagoon, and sat on the grass, contemplating the water. She gazed upon her reflection, which floated on the water with a serenity that she did not really have. Annoyed, she grabbed a fistful of grass and dirt, and tossed it into that pristine blue reservoir. She wanted to act out—she knew it was terribly immature of her and would solve nothing, but it felt good.

She took off her shoes and socks and put her feet in the water. She wriggled her toes and gave a sigh of satisfaction as the coolness of the water brought a soothing sensation up her whole body. Then she leaned backwards until she was resting against the grass, and beheld the sky. Ashley resting like that for several minutes, just pondering the clouds, when she heard a strangled coo from somewhere nearby.

Propping herself up with her elbows, Ashley looked around until she noticed something sticking out of the water, between her legs. Her heart thudded and she almost jumped out of the water, before realizing that it was just a cute little Pokémon. It was light blue and it had little fin-like things on both sides of its head. Its bubbly eyes looked at her with what she imagined was a curious expression, but it looked a little pained.

How wild. Ashley had never been able to intuit a Pokémon's emotions before—though she realized that she'd never truly been close enough to one to try. Then she noticed a red-stained glass shard on the side of the creature's neck, embedded deep in its skin. The blood looked like it had scabbed over, but Ashley imagined that it couldn't be comfortable.

"Oh, you poor dear," she murmured. She reached for the sharp, intending to pull it out, but the creature squealed in panic and dove back under the water. "No, come back!" she called out to it, in the same tone of a mother calling to a frightened child.

The head reappeared in the water several feet away, and the creature—now clearly serpent-like—regarded her warily. Ashley had gone swimming in the lagoon many times, and she knew it wasn't terribly deep—but mother had always warned her not to go too far, because there was a precipitous drop in the landbank less than one hundred feet from the shore. She'd have to be careful not to scare the creature too far off.

Ashley slowly stood up, and stepped gingerly into the water. Sensing the creature's obvious discomfort, she moved very slowly. So far, it was working, and the creature didn't seem to be fleeing. It looked as curious as she was.

As she edged closer, she started saying soothing things, as one might speak to a baby, in hopes of calming it down.

"There now, I'm not going to hurt you," she told the Pokémon in her softest voice, one tinged with enchantment. She was in love with the wonderful creature, after having just seen it. She embraced its neck, and it seemed to calm down considerably at her touch, as if it understood what she was feeling. Its skin turned out to be composed of minute little scales, but the Pokémon wasn't hard or slimy at all—in fact, it felt soft.

She felt at peace resting against the Pokémon. She would have enjoyed this tranquil moment forever, but she could feel the tension in the creature's body. It was clearly hurting. Still staying close, she let go of the Pokémon and examined the little shard. It didn't seem embedded too deeply.

She grabbed at it, and the creature gave what sounded remarkably close to a scream. She yanked harder, knowing that it hurt but that the Pokémon would be better off without it. As she struggled with it, she looked towards the shore and wondered if anyone was around to help, but they all seemed clustered around the tall grass at the northern end of the town. She shook her head, and then pulled at the shard with all her might—drawing blood from her hands, but managing to pull it out. The Pokémon gave a massive tremor, and then fainted outright from the pain.

Ashley reacted instinctively and caught the creature's head in her lap. She didn't know if it breathed water, but she couldn't find any gills—she even checked behind its ear-fin-things. Confident that she wasn't accidentally suffocating it, Ashley reached underneath and lifted the creature, easily hefting it despite the fact that it was huge and seemed twice as long as she was tall. She felt like some sort of heroic knight, carrying the serpent in her arms as she exited the water.

Eventually someone noticed her coming out of the lagoon, and the townspeople started to raise a commotion. Professor Oak, who was fussing over Red, ran towards the water and yelled at Ashley, "My girl, do you know what you have there?"

She rushed over to Oak, feeling exhausted despite the very slight weight of the Pokémon. "It's hurt. Please, take me to your lab," she managed to say in between breaths.

"Let me take it, Ashley," Oak instructed. "I'll have my assistants watch over it."

But she refused to relinquish her new friend. "No, I'll go. Please come with me, professor."

Oak looked at her, then at Red, and then back at her. He put his right hand on her shoulder and said, "Very well. We'll take it to the lab and see what we can do."

"Her," Ashley said.

"What?"

"Her."

"Oh," Oak said, apparently deciding not to ask. "Do you know what Pokémon that is?" There was no mistaking the sound of excitement in the professor's voice.

Ashley shook her head, then waited while the professor opened the door of the lab for her.

"It—excuse me, she," Oak corrected himself when Ashley cleared her throat in objection, "is a dratini. They're very rare dragon Pokémon, and until very recently they were considered mythical. Most trainers will go their entire lives without seeing one."

The girl barely gave thought to the professor's words, since the dratini's well-being was all that she could bring herself to think about. She brought the dragon to an examination table in the lab, and then insisted on staying alongside the table as the scientists did their work. Somebody graciously offered her a towel to dry herself off with, as well as a cup of warm milk. She sipped from her drink, and then craned her head in to watch what the scientists were doing.

She wasn't at all sure what they were doing, but she did see them put some sort of ointment on the wound, and the dragon was restrained and hooked up to something that looked rather like a breathing harness.

Eventually, they quit work and retired for the night. Oak offered to call Ashley if anything happened, but she insisted on staying with the Pokémon for the night. So she placed a chair next to the table and watched the dragon's slow breathing all night. Eventually she grew tired and fell asleep with her head resting in her arms, and her arms lying on the dragon's flank.

[…]

The next morning, Ashley was awakened by the dratini's mild thrashing. She blearily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and regarded the Pokémon with a sort of tired stupor. Her back was aching and she wasn't exactly possessed of all her wits so soon after waking up, but she could have sworn the dragon was looking at her. It—no, she—was awake, that much was certain.

Ashley realized that the poor thing must have been dreadfully frightened by all the restraints, and the muzzle-like breathing apparatus it was hooked up to. She favored the dratini with a smile, and noticed that it actually calmed at her approach. It still seemed agitated—but did it recognize her from before? She hoped so.

When Ashley finished removing the restraints, the dratini began to wriggle itself off the table. A technician grabbed the phone and called the professor, while a few others looked as if they were going to tie her Pokémon back up—Ashley gestured for them to stay where they were.

"Be careful, you're going to fall off the table!" she told the dragon in a rather concerned voice. The dragon just looked up at her and cooed, and then continued what it was doing.

Then she realized what was going on. It was shedding! She walked around the table to the other side, and lo! The wound had vanished, and she could see the damaged scales being sloughed off somewhere around the serpent's midsection.

By the time Oak arrived, the dragon had finished shedding and was on the floor, nuzzling against Ashley's leg. He looked at the two of them for some time, then went over to a computer console and pressed a button. After grabbing something that Ashley couldn't see from her vantage point, he turned back to her and handed her a small spherical object—a Pokéball!

"I think it's time I gave you this," he said, with a note of pride in his voice.

Ashley took the ball, and looked at it bemusedly. "I don't understand, I thought you said that all the Pokémon were already taken?"

Oak inclined his head and gestured at the dratini with his chin. "I think you've earned the right to train that dratini. Your dedication to her wellbeing was very admirable. But know this: dragon Pokémon are notoriously difficult to raise, and they test the limits of even the best trainers. Your journey as a trainer will be that much harder—knowing this, will you still train her?"

Ashley hesitated for just the barest of moments. She hadn't even started, and the professor was already speaking of grave difficulties—but she already knew her answer. "I met this Pokémon for a reason. It'll be a challenge we'll take together, and it wouldn't be worth doing if it were easy."

Oak smiled. "Just so. I think… yes, let me call the others." He patted her shoulder, and then went off to use the phone.

Ashley looked at her first Pokéball, and then at the dratini. "Well, Dratini—you don't mind if I call you that, do you? Of course you don't. So I thought I'd ask you first, if you'd like to join me as a Pokémon trainer? Or a coordinator? I haven't really decided yet. I mean, being a breeder sounds interesting too. Or I could be a collector, I have a head start with a rare one like you. Oh, but I don't mean that you're just some prize, no, we'll be the best of friends."

Dratini just looked at her placidly.

Ashley smiled sheepishly. "No, I wasn't really expecting you to respond to me. It just helps to talk these things out, you know?"

Ashley tapped the Pokéball against the dragon's side, and the ball opened up and drew the Pokémon inside with a flash of yellow light. She beheld the ball with pride, and then pulled out a marker from the side pocket of her bag and marked a stylized 'L' above the Pokéball's center button. She placed the Pokéball in the left compartment, which would be located at the rear of the messenger bag when it was hanging alongside her left hip. The marker returned to the small pocket on the opposite side of the bag, while the larger central compartment contained her most important supplies.

Ashley loafed around the laboratory waiting for the others to arrive, and spent much of the time poking and prodding the various instruments, much to the consternation of the professor's assistants. It seemed that none of their work involved actual Pokémon, since they were pouring over numerical tables on the computer and forever scrawling little notes on pieces of paper. It seemed that being a Pokémon researcher as a lot less interesting than it sounded, and Ashley mentally noted to scratch it off her list of possible professions.

Red arrived first, and hovered by the professor. Ashley gave him a little wave, but he just pretended not to notice. Was he ignoring her? Just yesterday he had been talking her ear off, and today he was so quiet. Boys made little sense, Ashley decided.

Still, she walked over to them in hopes of overhearing what they were discussing. It seems that Red was pestering Oak for a Pokémon. She had forgotten that he was the only one of them who didn't have one by now.

"I'm sorry, Red, but there's nothing I can do for you. It will take at least two weeks to order the next batch of League starters, and I can only place them in bulk—all the young trainers in Pallet have already received their allotment this season," the professor explained.

Red simply looked crestfallen. "But can't I catch one?"

"Not without a Pokémon of your own, I'm afraid. Otherwise I would catch one for you." Then Oak paused, as if mulling over an idea. "Perhaps it would be best if you were to accompany the others for a time? I'm sure they'll help you catch a Pokémon."

Red didn't look very pleased.

Then Gary strolled in, affecting a casual air but acting like he owned the place—which he might, in some years. The thought scared her. Now, while Ashley and Red still wore the clothes they had donned the previous day, Gary had assembled an entirely new ensemble. He wore a black collared shirt, open at the neck and short of sleeve, and some purple jeans. His hair was spiked and gelled, of course, and he wore what appeared to be a fanny pack.

Ashley had to cover a giggle at how self-absorbed he looked. She would have to make sure to tease him about it later.

"Alright, gramps, what's up? I'm ready to head off on my journey already."

"Now wait just a moment," Oak chided, "I have a job for you. Ashley has caught a rather rare Pokémon, and it occurs to me that I could use your help in my research."

Gary's eyes twitched when his grandfather praised her, but he said nothing.

"I've long dreamed of creating a complete encyclopedia of all Pokémon," Oak went on, "but I'm too old and my days as a trainer are long behind me. That's where you children come in—it may take many years, but I can't think of anyone with more potential. Let me show you my new device, the Pokédex."

He handed the three children a small red PDA, as well as some Pokéballs. After explaining the device's function, he told them to keep in touch with him on their journey. They were about to leave, but Gary took hold of her arm.

"Wait a moment, hot stuff. I want to see this fabulous Pokémon of yours."

Ashley pulled her arm away from Gary's grasp, and pulled some Pokéballs out of her bag. She found the one with the 'L' and lightly tossed it to the floor. Dratini emerged with a flash of yellow light, and gently cooed.

Gary pressed some buttons on his Pokédex, which promptly read out a brief summary of the species in a flat electronic voice. Then he scowled.

"Big deal. So you found a worm. Let's see what this dragon of yours can do!" Then he tossed his own Pokéball, and a little blue turtle emerged. It announced its own name, as if terribly proud of that fact. What a silly creature.

"So pushy!" Oak remarked. "Ashley, remember that you have to give commands to your Pokémon, or it won't know what to do. Your Pokémon hasn't been domesticated yet, so it may not know how to respond to your orders."

Great, Ashley thought sourly. Still, 'Tini was a bit larger than that squirtle. There was little to worry about.

She consulted her Pokédex for some attacks a baby dratini would be likely to know, and was disappointed to learn that it only knew of two attacks. This wasn't going to be an easy battle after all. Ashley put her balled fists on her hips and steeled herself for her first Pokémon battle.

"Alright, squirtle, charge at that overgrown snake and give it a tackle!" Gary commanded. He seemed very enthused.

The squirtle began to run towards her dratini, and Ashley waited until it had leapt for its tackle before she issued her order. "Now, 'Tini, stun it with your thunder wave!"

Dratini took the blow and squealed in pain, but then it wrapped itself around the turtle and began squeezing it. The turtle yelped in pain, and tried to free itself, but couldn't. It either ignored or hadn't heard her orders, but its survival instincts worked just fine. Satisfied either way, Ashley pumped a first in the air.

"Don't celebrate just yet," Gary warned, "squirtle—bite to get free!"

But nothing happened.

The squirtle just looked at its trainer in blank confusion, and Gary shared the expression. Then he slapped his face.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know that attack," he moaned. "Look, it's just like this!" Gary began to mime a biting expression.

Ashley laughed. "I can tell you're going to become a great master, Gary. Maybe your squirtle would respond better if you gave it a cute nickname—like Shelly? Or maybe Sheldon?"

Oak chuckled, but Red didn't react at all. He looked a bit forlorn, probably because he wasn't participating in the battle. He had better be rooting for her rather than Gary, Ashley thought.

Gary growled. "Taunt all you like. I'll still win this." He balled his hands into fists and began to stomp the floor in frustration.

Eventually, the squirtle's efforts paid off and it slipped out of Dratini's grasp. The dragon attempted to ensnare its opponent again, but the turtle began to dodge and continued to tackle the dragon with impunity. Dratini eventually began to cringe every time the squirtle approached, and gave up making attacks entirely, and Ashley sensed that the battle was over. She didn't want her Pokémon getting injured.

"Okay Gary, that's enough. You win," she said quietly.

"What was that?" Gary raised a hand to his ear, "I didn't quite hear you, speak up."

"Don't push it," Ashley warned. She was not in the mood for his attitude right now. She'd tolerated it for years, but there was something intensely personal about losing a match like this. It felt as if it mattered.

They both recalled their Pokémon, and Gary turned to Red and crowed. "Am I great or what?"

Then he came alongside Ashley and told her that he was sure she'd do better next time, in the most infuriatingly condescending tone possible.

"Gary…" she started, with anger creeping into her voice.

"Don't sweat it, babe," interrupted. He doubtless enjoyed how enraged she looked, because he added, "smell ya later."

She squeezed her hands tightly enough that her nails opened up some of the scabs that had formed on account of the glass shard from the other night. She was not happy—no, she was not happy at all. That was putting it lightly, but her mind was too awash with different emotions and feelings to put it all together.

Only one thought was clear: Gary Oak was a bastard. Never before had she an unkind thought for anyone in her life and she generally refrained from bad language, but the sentiment still came clear to her mind. Gary was a bastard, and that's all there was to it.

She flinched when Oak put a hand on her shoulder and soothed her, telling her that Gary's squirtle had been the offspring of his championship winning blastoise, and it was predisposed to win. Ashley didn't want people making excuses for her, and she was not yet detached enough to appreciate what Oak was trying to do, so she jerked her shoulder and walked away from Oak.

Red was even more oblivious. "Do you want a hug?" he asked in an irritatingly earnest voice.

"Do you want my foot up your butt?" she replied sharply. Upon seeing the effect of her words, she felt a little pang of shame. There was no use in being a sore loser, and snapping at those who were comforting her would do little to erase the sting of defeat. She hated Gary for doing this to her—it wasn't enough to defeat her, but did he have to turn her into a bitter loser too?

Some part of her knew that it wasn't fair to blame him for her own flaws, but she couldn't yet admit that she was just making excuses. Her pride wouldn't allow her to. She wished she could be a better person than this, but it would simply hurt too much to admit it.

"Come on," she told Red, gesturing for him to follow her out of the lab. She hoped that he was going to say something about her attitude earlier, but he didn't say anything. She owed Red an apology, and she hoped he wouldn't resent him for it. She just wasn't ready to swallow her pride yet—though legally an adult in Kanto, she still felt like a child.