"Red, get up! You're going to be late!" The yelling ripped the girl from her sleep, startling her so badly that she jolted up immediately, a motion that made her slightly dizzy and gave her a little bit of a headache.
"Uhhg…" She held her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. She gingerly rubbed her temples, coxing the headache to leave her in peace, all the while working to get her equilibrium back. Late? Late for what? The circumstances of her awakening had left her dazed and confused. She turned her head, slowly, to see her calendar hanging on the wall. The month of March starred back at her, filled with X's on all the days leading up to one circled big and bold in red. Today's day. Friday the 25th. The big day.
"OH MY ARCEUS! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME, MOM? ALL THE POKéMON ARE GOING TO BE GONE! WHAT THE YVELTAL!" The young lady threw the covers off of her in an exaggerated motion and leapt up from the bed. She heard a crash behind her and turned to watch as the comforter she had to haphazardly thrown across the room collided with her freshly hung Master's degree from Kalos University. The now broken glass made her name look strange and misshapen. "Ashley Rosewood" better known as Ash or Red. Red due to the bright, apple red color of her hair and deep maroon color of her eyes. Ash because, well, it was the first part of her name. Ash had been away at Kalos University earning her Master's degree in Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry at the early age of 21. Ashley had always been a very smart girl, and along with her dedicated work ethic, she had flown through school, knocking two years off her schooling track. It's amazing what you can get done when you take full summer semesters every year.
Ash had grown up on a small berry farm in the Gemma region in Quartz Town. She had spent much of her childhood creating strange concoctions out of the various berries and getting people and Pokémon to use them. At first she just did it because she liked making pretty colors. Her family and their Pokémon were not always happy when little Red would show up with some vibrant purple paste, begging them to eat it. But as she got older, she began to craft the juices, potions, emulsions, and salves with purpose. By the time she was old enough to have her own lemonade stand like her friends, she was running a sidewalk apothecary instead. These were not just homemade potions. They did amazing things beyond that. Increasing inherent power for the length of a battle, helping to create shinier fur for contests, acne removal on her teenage friends, stress relievers for humans and Pokémon alike, or even pain relievers. Soon, there were people coming from all over the region, having heard about the Rosewood Berry Farm and Pharmacy. The farm had never been so successful, and Ash had never ben so popular. Ash was then given a full ride scholarship to college for the Kalos University Chemistry program based on a recruiter finding out that she had been the one creating the formulas for the farm. Having already been a straight A student passionate about her learning, she was ready to pack up and ship out to college. She left her parents her recipes and left.
Working hard, Ash was able to get her undergraduate work done in only two years. The university, impressed with her skills, extended the offer to allow her scholarship to rollover into a Master's degree program, in any science program she wanted. Jumping at the opportunity, Ash did not even hesitate, choosing Chemistry again with a double focus in Medicinal and Natural Products. Her graduate thesis that she had just finished was a study on the health and wellbeing of Pokémon caught in commercial pokéballs and those caught in balls made from natural products, like apricorns. Her experiments had shown that Pokémon in the commercial and chemically made products actually were becoming slightly sicker and sometimes even depressed in the regular balls while the effects of the natural chemicals and oils from the apricorn balls tended to make the Pokémon healthier than they were previously before capture. Ash had started this research her senior year of her undergraduate program after meeting Old Man Kurt in Johto on a Summer Research Class in Cinnawood City with the Pharmacy on the island. They had stayed in Olivine City as the island itself had no place for visitors to stay for too long. During that Summer, they visited Goldenrod City multiple times, and on one occasion, she had run into Kurt selling his special Pokéballs in the underground marketplace. Based on her interest in all things natural, they had started talking, and made plans to meet whenever Ash visited Goldenrod. He eventually even taught her the technique to make the balls herself, which she traded for some of her berry remedy recipes. Interested in the natural pokéballs, Ash new that she wanted to study about the difference between the products in stores and the ones made from these berry-like fruits. It had taken her four years of research to get accurate results, making her Master's a three year process. Her advisor for the research, Dr. Leeland Kurtz, was working hard to send this revolutionary research out to as many media outlets, both scholarly and otherwise, as possible.
However, due to this focused approach to her academics, she had had very little time to raise Pokémon of her own. They had had other trainers catch new pokémon in different types of balls and had brought them in for regular (noninvasive) observation on a weekly basis to track results. Watching his student finish up her degree, he had taken her aside one day.
"Red, you love the world of academia, I get it. I know you want to help people and Pokémon, too. However, you cannot know what people need if you never experience what they are doing."
"What do you mean, Dr. Kurtz?" Ash was incredibly confused.
"Red, you need to get out there with the Pokémon and the trainers and find out what their needs are. You also need a break from school. You haven't NOT been in a classroom or lab for five years! You are going to burn out if you don't stop." The concern in his voice was clear.
"Soooo, what do you suggest?" Ash said, slight worry in her voice. Burning out was the worst thing that could happen. She was working too hard to lose motivation and drive now. But she had seen it happen to her classmates on a frequent basis, seeing them drop out of their graduate programs completely.
"Take a break before getting that Doctorate. You are already three years ahead of your age group. You started elementary school a year early and you got through your bachelors in two years! Take some time just for you. I would say at least a year, maybe two. Try going on your own Pokémon journey. Y'know, the one you missed out on when you were ten because school and berries were more important? Earn some badges, enter some contests, learn breeding techniques-whatever! Just go travel with your own Pokémon and make some new friends. Pick any region and just go." While Ash had no desire to slow down her track to her doctoral work, she was sure she could turn this travel into the basis for some sort of dissertation. Beyond that, she HAD always wanted Pokémon of her own. She loved playing with her friends Pokémon and had almost religiously attended the Kalos University's home Pokémon college league matches. She had come close to going on the fan party buses to distance events, however she had always chosen to study instead. Seeing the trainers battling and connecting with their Pokémon was amazing. Now, she could take the time to raise Pokémon herself. So, Ash found herself back home, in the Gemma Region, 21 years old and starting her first Pokémon journey like her peers had done ten years ago. And now she was late.