Falling Leaf in the wind.

Chapter 1: Ash's shadow.

Ash: 20

Leaf: 19

Now I haven't done a proper furthershipping story since the Evolvers mess, but this will be it, one that I can be proud of. I am also having a break from my other stories so I can get some new inspiration for them, so please enjoy these new stories.

Disclaimer: Pokemon and the games don't belong to me, but this story sure as hell does.

Standing in a garden with leaves of multiple colors raining down around a young woman with long brown hair, wearing an aqua blue sleeveless blouse and knee length socks, a red dress and shoes. She was looked at the grave site of her mom and dad who were supposedly killed in an accident, she found herself alone with, "mom, dad all have in this world is Charmander and my rivalry with Ash," the woman stated with a tear rolling down her face, "if only I were stronger then I wouldn't have lost you both," Leaf professed while holding out her starter pokemon's pokeball, she called out a small orange two legged pokemon with a small fire at the tip of its tail, "I will no longer be standing on the same level I am now, I will go to where Ash is and catch up to his level," Leaf declared with a confident glare.

Leaf walked away from the grave of her parents and looked back, the red, orange, brown and yellow leaves rained down around the head stone, "Leaf, we need to go to Hoenn now!" a female voice echoed from the distance. The brunette looked up to see a young woman with long blue hair, wearing a pink dress and a white sleeveless blouse, "May and Drew are waiting for us to meet up with them," she said with a proud smile.

"Dawn, I know what you want to do, contests, but I am simply not interested in contests, I want to go where Ash is," Leaf replied to her friend's request.

"Come on Leaf, why not try the gym leaders?" Dawn asked her friend joyously. Leaf shook her head and looked back to the entrance of the family cemetery, "I get it, you need to find an answer," Dawn commented with a smile.

"Yes Dawn, I thank you for the offer, but I need to do this," Leaf remarked while Dawn turned around with her hair swaying as she turned around.

"You're in love with Ash aren't you?" Dawn asked cheekily.

Leaf jumped back unsure of how to respond, her normally confident expression was soon changed to embarrassment, her face red and her normally determined blue eyes gained a softer tone, "what gave you that idea?" Leaf asked the bluenette, shocked at the question that Dawn gave her, "Ash and I have been rivals for nearly ten years," Leaf commented with while trying to hide her blush from her friend.

"Rival's yeah right, from what I heard from Gary Oak, the only reason why you got a pokemon in the first place was so you can travel with Ash," Dawn retorted while looking up to the cloudless sky.

"Screw that bastard, I never liked Gary, he always tried to make himself out to be better than Ash or me," Leaf commented while crossing her arms in displeasure. Leaf walked away from the bluenette, it was a cool day and the young woman started to shiver, "you know Dawn compared to all of you, I felt like I was falling behind, like I was nothing compared to you, even Ash," Leaf professed with a saddened tone.

Dawn clenched her fists hoping to find an answer to Leaf's problem, it was then that she lifted her head and tried to say something meaningful but felt like her words would only make it worse, "you want to impress Ash right?" Dawn asked the brunette quietly.

"That isn't the only thing Dawn, I want to prove to everyone that I can stand on my own two feet," Leaf kindly stated while grasping her starter's pokeball.

Leaf walked away from her friend who shared a concerned expression with her starter pokemon, "I would say no need to worry, but now I am worried about my friend," Dawn told herself while thinking about the hardships the brunette had been through, she thought about calling Barry to let him know that she will be longer than expected but changed her mind knowing that Barry wouldn't be patient enough to wait for her to return home, "it would be a mistake for me to call him, Barry is far too impatient," Dawn reminded herself while watching her friend leaving towards the docks of the town

A young man with spiky brown hair walked up to Dawn with a concerned expression on his face, "Dawn, trying to help a friend out I see, even though you know little of her past," he said with a proud smile.

"But Gary, you know me, help my friends out even if I know little about them," Dawn replied with pride.

Gary watched as the brunette walked down the street on her own, not looking back to see Gary watching her, "Dawn, Leaf has had a tough past, in school everyone used to make fun of her because she was the poorest student in the school," Gary explained the past to Dawn who turned her gaze to the woman walking away.

"But she acts to tough and independent," Dawn replied in shock.

Gary shook his head and looked away in shame, "you're right about it being an act, she still hurts to this day, you know her parents died recently and her greatest source of inspiration is off in a far off region, she can't even afford a trip to the Kalos region," Gary stated.

(Flashback)

A young Leaf walked into the school not dressed as well as the other students who were in suits, she was wearing a set of normal cloths, "why do I have to attend?" Leaf asked her mother and father.

"Come on Leaf, at least try your best," Leaf's mother requested her child with a proud smile.

Leaf walked into the school yard waving goodbye for the day, after her parents disappeared she walked towards a group of students who were talking, "oh look the rumours are true," one of the students replied cynically.

"Hi my name is Leaf, pleased to meet you," Leaf politely greeted the students.

"How adorable, the poorest student in the school wants to be friends with normal people," one of the students stated with a cold laugh, this was soon followed by the laughter of the rest of the group, "go home already this school doesn't need someone who has no money," the student stated with a dark grin.

"But I am here to help my family by getting a pokemon and becoming a famous trainer," Leaf replied while holding back tears from the constant laughing as it got louder and more vicious from the group of people, Leaf looked around to find only one of the students not laughing at her, she noticed a sweet smile on his face, 'who is that guy?' Leaf wondered to herself.

It was then that a girl with orange hair walked up to her and grabbed her by the collar, "you see that guy over there?" the girl asked Leaf with an angered expression, she pointed over to him and glared, "he is the most popular guy in the school, he belongs to me," the young girl said with anger before throwing Leaf to the ground.

A few hours later, Leaf was walking towards the exit of the school alone, "you know, what Misty said was out line even for her," a student said with a frown, the girl turned around and started to get a little worried about him, "I might be the most popular student in the school, but I never asked for that status," the student claimed with a sigh.

"M-my name is Leaf," the girl introduced herself to the male student with spiky black hair.

"Nice to meet you Leaf, my name is Ash Ketchum, I want to be the best trainer ever," Ash said with a warm smile, "you know it is best that you don't walk home alone, how about I walk you home," Ash suggested calmly.

"But, you're the most popular student in the school, what if Misty gets really angry?" Leaf questioned Ash with a worried expression.

"Being the most popular has nothing to do with it and with Misty she only acts like she is my girlfriend, no matter how many times I have rejected her," Ash replied to the girl while walking to her side.

The duo walked away from the school and towards Leaf's house, "so Ash, what is your dream?" Leaf asked curiously.

Ash looked up to the clouds and smiled proudly, "my dream, well let's see, to become the number one trainer in the world," Ash replied with a broad grin.

"That's a great dream, but I guess mine is just nothing but a dream," Leaf said with disdain while walking next to Ash.

Weeks later Ash was walking into the school yard, he looked around to see Leaf getting bullied again, Ash rushed over to Leaf's defence, he glared at the people bullying her, "so, you think it's fun to bully people who cannot stand up for themselves, how about trying to bully me instead," Ash growled at his fellow students before a small yellow pokemon with red cheek pouches appeared next to him.

Leaf looked up to Ash standing in front of her, he face covered in dirt, scratches and a small amount of blood, 'Ash, he is sacrificing his popularity for me,' Leaf thought while looking to the ground in shame of her weakness.

"Nothing to worry about, but you need to learn to stand up for yourself, Misty is strong in a group but in reality she isn't that strong," Ash encouraged the girl while pulling out a pokeball, he droppe it in front of the girl and nodded at her, "here is a sign of my friendship to you, a pokemon I asked Professor Oak for so I can give it to you," Ash said with a smirk.

"But, people will still bully me," Leaf submitted.

"What I am about to do would get me expelled, but I really don't care, I can't stand bullies," Ash replied with a chuckle. "Pikachu stop them from bullying Leaf with Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled out his command. The small yellow pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of electricity shocking everyone except for Ash and Leaf.

A teacher saw what had unfolded and walked over to Ash, "for a really popular student, you would do this much to stand up for someone else, don't worry too much I will pretend I didn't it happen," the teacher said with a smile, she walked away knowing that she could also get into trouble for not reporting the incident.

"Crap, and I was doing this so I can get away from this place, I am proud of being a student here, but I am not proud of what this place is becoming," Ash complained while snapping his fingers in displeasure, he turned around to see Leaf crying while not even wanting to touch the pokeball, Ash knelt down and cleared away the tears, "what kind of person would I be if I let my friend get bullied?" Ash questioned the girl while wiping away the tears.

Leaf started to shiver at the feel of Ash clearing away her tears, 'he thinks of me as a friend,' Leaf thought while her face started to heat up, 'no one has ever been this nice to me,' Leaf thought while looking up to look into Ash's brown eyes and that smile, her heart started racing almost ready to explode from her chest.

"Plus, I want you to travel with me as we compete in the Kanto League," Ash declared before seeing Leaf faint from the idea that Ash had presented her. "I guess she didn't know how to reply," Ash said while getting to his feet.

(Return from flashback)

"Wow, so Ash was Leaf's first friend, I can see why she fell in love with him in the first place," Dawn said with guilt.

"Yeah and in Ash's infinite wisdom still had no clue that Leaf has feelings for him," Gary joked while spotting an assistant running towards him, "that's gramps' assistant," Gary said with a surprised expression.

"Professor Gary, it's Leaf," the assistant said while trying to gather his breath.

"What about her?" Gary asked in reply.

"She snuck onto a plane heading towards the Kalos Region," the lab worker replied while panting.

"What? But there was no way Leaf could afford a flight, so she is stowing away to follow Ash," Gary said while getting ready to run to the airport with Dawn following close behind, "Dawn, we must keep this quiet from Gramps do you understand?" Gary questioned the bluenette with a stern tone.

"I know, I don't think we should worry other people," Dawn agreed with her friend.

Meanwhile Leaf was sitting in the luggage area of the plane, with her arms around her legs, her first pokemon in her hands, "Ash, when next we meet, I will be strong, I will be confident enough to tell you that I love you," Leaf told herself while burying her head between her knees. "Ash, I will become stronger, without anyone's help, to erase all the bad memories and find my happiness," Leaf whispered while bracing herself for the take-off of the plane.

Leaf heard the pilot's announcement on the PA as the plane lifted off the ground, "we are heading the Kalos region ladies and gents, be sure to fasten your seatbelts until we reach our optimum altitude," the pilot declared while the plane continued to climb towards the correct altitude.

"Sorry Dawn and Gary, but I need to do this," Leaf said while clasping onto her pokeball.

(Lumiose City)

Ash was walking through the massive city, with his first pokemon on his shoulders, he looked around to see the people riding the goat like pokemon, "I guess traveling the Kalos region has been really nice, I have seen tons of pokemon I have never imagined, you know buddy it would have been nice for me to bring Leaf here," Ash stated while his partner pokemon tilted his head in shock wondering what his trainer was talking about.

"I know buddy, Leaf was never perfect, but you know she was always a kind and compassionate person, I was dense for a long time, but I had the feeling she is in love with me, but I was too stupid to say anything," Ash explained to his partner pokemon with a sad smile, he scratched the back of his head and remembered the days she was being bullied, he looked a picture of him and Misty being the prom king and queen respectively, "you know buddy this picture is wrong, I can't believe people voted me and Misty, I wanted Leaf to be the prom queen with me," Ash professed while his partner pokemon started to spark at the cheeks.

Ash ripped the picture in half and threw the half with Misty on it in the bin, "sure she is a friend but I never really enjoyed the dance," Ash said with a frown before walking away from the torn half.

Being the most popular left a bad taste in Ash's mouth, he knew that the people he had met thought he was the coolest and Leaf was nothing but a piece of garbage to them, easy to make fun of because of her poor upbringing, with the mean words echoing in his mind, but he also knew that Gary soon turned around and became one of Leaf's closest friends and Dawn and May quickly grew up to help Leaf out as her time in Pokemon Academy continued.

Ash knew that Misty hadn't grown to accept Leaf into their group and made sure that she did everything to make her feel uncomforatable, even not inviting her to her eighteenth birthday three years back, "Misty never liked Leaf, she never made any attempt to become her friend," Ash said with regret.

Not wanting to dwell on the past Ash walked towards the exit of the major city, Ash continued to notice the pokemon walking through the streets, the trainer looked back and thought about the past events that led to this day, "I guess I am still learning about pokemon, there are so many different types out there."

Back in the Kanto Region Gary and Dawn made it to the airport to get the tickets they needed to make it to the Kalos Region, "I can't believe Leaf would go through all this trouble just for Ash," Gary complained while running through the small airport towards the plane he and Dawn needed to board to catch up with Leaf.

Dawn shook her head in shock at what her friend had just complained about, "well Gary, you need to expect that sort of stuff with Leaf, Ash was the first one to stand up for her and to be her friend," Dawn replied with a proud smile, "I cannot expect anything less from Leaf, after all I had to learn that Leaf was a person just like me," Dawn said with shame as she ran up to the entrance to the plane that she needed to get on to fly to the Kalos region.

"I still don't get it, It isn't like Ash to be an influence on someone," Gary stated with a smirk.

"As I said earlier Gary, something that went in one ear and out the other, is that Leaf loves Ash," Dawn commented with a smile as she took her seat to get ready for the flight. Dawn sat down and looked out the window, she wondered what her two friends were doing now, "she wants to be strong for Ash," Dawn said while a small blue penguin like pokemon jumped onto her lap, 'when we get to the Kalos Region, I will need a new attire,' Dawn thought while looking at her normal attire of a pink skirt, boots, black vest and white blouse.

"Hey Dawn, I have a question for you," Gary requested with a cheeky smirk.

Dawn looked up to her friend and shook her head, "I know what you are going to ask Gary, the answer is no," Dawn retorted smugly as she tilted her head up much to the annoyance of Gary.

"I was going to ask if you have feelings for Ash as well," Gary replied with a grin.

"Well didn't most girls at school have a crush on Ash, I knew you were jealous of Ash for Misty having a crush on him," Dawn replied smartly as Gary looked away from the bluenette who was laughing at him.

"What? Me jealous of Ash, hell no, I just wanted to impress Misty, but I was a little annoyed at the fact that Misty always ignored me," Gary replied while looking around for his own seat.

Dawn burst out into laughter while Gary looked around, "well at least May and I moved on," Dawn mentioned, she looked out the window knowing the Barry was going to be upset, 'I guess going on adventures like we all dreamed is becoming a reality, even Leaf is going to follow that dream even if she isn't ready, but I think she will prove us wrong,' Dawn thought while thinking about the times she hung out with Leaf and May, she felt really bad knowing that Misty never joined them, it was during the times she hung out with Leaf that she began to realize that she was a determined girl with goals like everyone else, "you know Piplup, when Ash and Misty were prom king and queen, I get the feeling that Ash didn't want that title because he felt Misty was too obsessive," Dawn stated while her small penguin pokemon looked up with his large black eyes fixed on his trainer.

Gary sat on his seat with a book in hand, "I guess Ash seems to have all the luck with the women, I wonder if one day he could be my wingman," Gary thought out loud while wondering how to ask his friend about the position.

On another plane Leaf was sitting in the luggage compartment now starting to feel hungry, "I remember when Ash use to give me food, when my family was barely managing, he was my first friend, then I started to make more first it was Dawn, May, Gary and then there was more, I was never as popular as them, but I was always happy to know that I was making friends," Leaf told herself while taking her ragged backpack off of her shoulders. The brunette opened her bag up to find only a small amount of clothes and food inside, "wow, I guess I wasn't ready, but I cannot look back now, I need to forge my own road ahead," Leaf reminded herself as she realised that the plane was starting to descend.

"We are about to land near Lumiose City, remain in your seats with your seatbelts on," the pilot requested.

Leaf sat down with her back towards the luggage, she knew that it was almost time for her to search for Ash, but maybe even see the world and become what she had always dreamed of, a powerful trainer that saw the world and experienced everything, "Professor Oak, thank you for getting me into the school, but now it is time for me to grow on my own, Dawn and Gary, no all of my friends even you Misty, you helped me forge my own road," Leaf said with a proud smile as she waited for the doors to open up so she could get out and to see the massive city on her own, "then there is you Ash."

Leaf watched as the cargo bay opened up and waited for the chance to make her escape, Leaf waited for her chance, she spotted an opening and leapt off the plane, she started running towards the luggage area forgetting something in the meantime, "sir it seems as though someone stowed away on the flight," one of the luggage collectors said with a frown holding up Leaf's backpack.

Leaf looked at her backpack and knew that if she collected it she would be in a lot of trouble, "my journey cannot end like this, I need to go forward, Ash would do the same thing," Leaf kept telling herself, running towards a shrubbery keeping out of sight of the guards.

Leaf continued to find the lapses in the guards patrol and ran to areas that weren't as well guarded, it was then that she finally ran towards the airport limits running towards a forest which was bordering a major city. Leaf looked back in relief knowing that her backpack was forever gone along with her favourite photo of her and Ash, "it was the first time we held hands, he was always oblivious to my love for him," Leaf said with laughter.

Leaf continued to walk through the forest with the sounds of the major City guiding her, after clearing the massive tree line, the brunette looked up with dirt covering her face to see a massive city in front of her, a tower that dominated the skylines, I awe at the sight, she walked into the city to find people riding never before seen pokemon, in amazement that the large goat like creatures were allowing people riding them, "so Ash has been seeing this," Leaf said in amazement. The poor girl continued to admire the massive city, the smell of the perfume permeating through the air and the sounds of shopping ringing through every street, "this city is huge, my family never took me to such an amazing place, I guess I missed out on so much," Leaf said with sadness while placing her pokeball on her only bit of clothes that she had left over which was a gift to her from her friends.

All she had was Charmander, a pokemon that Ash had given her three years to the day, it was something that she held close to her heart, it was the pokemon she looked after no matter how poor she was, but she considered herself lucky that she had friends like Dawn and May. Leaf gulped while looking around to see a professor with spiky blue hair wearing a lab coat, he was holding a brief case ready to give out pokemon to the starting new trainers.

Leaf nervously approached the man with the hopes of getting his assistance, "I hope I don't get found out by the police," Leaf whispered knowing that the airfield guards were out there looking for her.

Leaf followed the man into the lab in hopes of starting her journey with her own pokemon, "excuse me sir, can I please get a pokedex and five pokeballs?" Leaf asked the professor surprising him with her question.

"My name is professor Sycamore, who are you?" the professor asked with a broad grin.

Leaf looked at her pokeball and gulped again, "my name is Leaf, I am from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, I want to compete in the next Kalos League," Leaf introduced herself to the man who was surprised to meet another Kanto native, 'judging by his reaction, Ash must have been here a little while ago,' Leaf assumed before being given the items she required.

"Leaf ha, Ash was telling me about you, he told me that if you wanted to start your journey that I should give you what you needed," the kind man said with a proud smile. Leaf politely took the items and bowed to the professor with a thankful smile. "You have five months before the Kalos League starts, this region is massive," the professor said with a frown but the woman ignored him and ran straight to the exit of the building, 'what is she trying to prove?' the professor questioned curiously.

Leaf ran through the city to excited about the start of her first journey and the road it might take her on, "now I can catch up with you Ash! Wait for me!" Leaf yelled out for everyone to hear, excited that she was going to start fresh on her journey, 'I need to thank Ash, I will thank him by beating him in the Kalos League,' Leaf told herself before looking back towards the lab and them towards the large tower in the middle of the city, "when next I see that tower I will be standing next to Ash, looking at it with the night sky as a backdrop, I will be standing by his side," Leaf said with unyielding faith in her hopes as she walked towards the entrance to the city on her own.

Meanwhile at the airport Gary spotted a familiar backpack at the front counter of the luggage collection area, "hey Dawn look that's Leaf's bag," Gary pointed to the backpack.

Dawn wondered what was going on, she knew that Leaf would never leave her bag that Ash gave her, no matter how tattered it got, she would never leave that gift behind, "Yeah Leaf must have forgotten it, but normally there is no way she would abandon Ash's present to her," Dawn replied with a concerned expression.

The duo walked over to the front counter to claim the bag, "excuse me, one of our friends left that here, can we claim that so we can return it to her?" Gary asked the receptionist.

"Well your friend is in a lot of trouble, you can take it but you need to hand her in," the person replied leaving Gary and Dawn concerned for what their friend has done.

"Sorry about that, she doesn't have a lot of money and she really had her heart set on traveling the world," Gary stated with a frown.

Dawn took the bag and walked towards the exit, she knew that if her friend got caught she might wind up going to jail, she clenched her fists and knew that what she would do would help her friend, "Gary, let's go, we need to help Leaf, I would hate for her journey to end before she gets a chance to prove herself to Ash," Dawn told the trainer behind her.

At the other side of the City Ash was getting ready to leave to face the next lot of challenges, his red jacket and blue jeans seemed like it had received a lot of wear, but his new friends were waiting for him to exit the city, "come on Ash hurry up," called a female with brown hair wearing a pink blouse and denin shorts with pink sandles.

"Yeah Ash, we don't have all day," a man with spiky brown hair, wearing a green shirt with brown jeans and white shoes.

"Alright Brock and Shauna, I was just getting something sorted out for an old friend," Ash said with a smile.

'Leaf, when will he say something to her?' Brock wondered while watching his friend walk pass him, ready to recommence their journey though the Kalos region.

Alright this is the first chapter done and dusted; Ash is half way through the region while Leaf is playing catch up.

Leaf's journey begins with her seemingly in trouble with the law, but will that stop her from catching up with Ash?

Next time chapter 2: Road of Dreams

I will be waiting for the next lot of Information (hoping that it will not be too far off) on the Kalos region so please be patient on the next release. Please review this chapter and tell me what you think, there are school days but it still isn't a High School fic.

Also be on the look-out for Separate Roads an Ash and Serena (X and Y) story.