Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

Chapter 1: Anything but Ordinary

The Pokédex, The Pokémon Storage System and the various Pokéballs are just some of the technological breakthroughs to appear in the last few years. Everyone knows the creators. The Pokédex was created by the world-famous Professor Oak. The Pokémon Storage system, created by the equally famous Bill and the various pokéballs available to trainers today were of course created by Kurt. Or so they would have you believe. In reality, these and many other recent inventions were designed and created by only one person. This is that person's story.

Ashley was small for her age, at 13 she stood at just 4'11". She was found as a baby, by a ninetails. Said pokémon was the evolved form of the vulpix given to a certain, Auburn-haired woman, when she started out on her pokémon journey. Seemingly abandoned by her parents, the tiny child was surprisingly full of life, blissfully unaware of her current life-threatening situation. As a woman who was unable to carry a child of her own, Delia Ketchum was at first appalled that someone would just leave a small baby in the middle of Viridian Forest, left for dead. Then came the realisation that this may just be the answer to all her prayers. A child she could call her own. She did a fine job raising the little one into the strong-willed teenager she now is but it quickly became apparent that she was… different, to other kids.

A four-year-old girl could be seen sat at a desk in her room. Just outside her window the sounds of children playing could be heard. This however, was of little interest to her. You see she just finished tunnelling her way through the security of the International Pokémon Researchers Association (IPRA)'s secure server and was downloading all of the accumulated knowledge on the beings known as Pokémon. She needed some more bed-time reading anyway. She had always been interested in all things pokémon and it always seemed the feeling was mutual. Ashley was a pokémon magnet, when she wasn't breaking half a dozen Pokémon League laws and stealing confidential research, she could often be found at the lab of this region's leading pokémon researcher, Professor Oak.

It was with a contented sigh, not befitting such a young girl, that Ashley slumped back in her chair. The download was complete and she terminated the connection before anyone was any the wiser. Her self-appreciation however was interrupted when she heard the call of her beloved mother.

"Ashley Sweetie, it's time to head to the lab."

"Okay Mommy, I'm coming," she chimed out in reply as she hopped from her desk chair. Yes hopped, as a four-year-old, she couldn't quite reach the floor. The young girl made her way downstairs excitedly, anxious to get to the professor's lab and see the progress he had made on his latest work.

Ten minutes later found the mother daughter duo entering the lab. Delia announced their presence and neither were surprised to hear the crashing and clattering of metal dishes hitting the floor. Clearly the world-renowned professor had yet again fallen asleep at his workstation. It was a few moments later that he stumbled into the lab's main reception area.

"Quilava," he said groggily. Ashley replied without missing a beat.

"Quilava, the second evolutionary form of the Cyndaquil line. It evolves into a Typhlosion with enough battle experience. It keeps its foes at bay with the intensity of its flames and gusts of superheated air. This pokémon applies its outstanding nimbleness to dodge attacks even while scorching the foes with flames. Before battle, it turns its back on its opponent to demonstrate how ferociously its fire blazes. It is fully covered by non-flammable fur and can withstand any kind of fire attack."

"Goodra," Oak said, continuing the apparent test.

"Goodra, the final evolutionary form of the Goomy line. This very friendly Dragon-type pokémon will hug its beloved Trainer, leaving that Trainer covered in sticky slime. It attacks with retractable horns and throws a punch that's the equivalent of the force of a hundred pro boxers. An amazingly friendly pokémon, but if left to itself, loneliness overcomes it, and it oozes gooey tears," she replied, once again without a hint of hesitation.

"Last one, Baltoy."

"Baltoy moves while spinning around on its one foot. Primitive wall paintings depicting this pokémon living among people were discovered in some ancient ruins. As soon as it spots others of its kind, Baltoy congregate and then begins crying noisily in unison. This pokémon sleeps while cleverly balancing itself on its one foot." Delia just stood there, smiling along with their little game.

"Perfect score, yet again. How many is that now?" the professor asked.

"Hi Grandpa Oaky, you've tested me on 563 different species of pokémon so far and you haven't caught me out once," Ashley replied, beaming with pride.

"Right, right, well there is always next time…" the professor replied with a slight smirk on his face. Looking to wipe it off, she timed her retort perfectly.

"Oh really Professor… and which of the possible 800 plus pokémon, assuming the mythical and legendary ones truly exist, do you plan to catch me out with next? Because I might as well remind you that I have studied and memorised all the known information to be found on them." That certainly achieved her goal, the smirk that previously occupied the professor's face had transformed into a mareepish smile, his hand raised to scratch at the back of his head.

"Now, now you two, I think it's about time I put the tea on and made the professor some real breakfast, not the tofu I'm certain he has been stuffing himself with," Delia suggested, effectively diffusing the light hearted back and forth. She then proceeded to the small kitchen found in the living quarters of the facility. Ashley and Professor Oak just shared a quick chuckle, enjoying the apparently regular banter, before heading off to the living room. After taking a seat across from each other on two separate couches, the professor addressed the young girl.

"So Ashley, how are you finding training school?"

"Haven't you heard Grandpa? I've completed the entire syllabus and am currently working towards my professor qualification. Of course, I can't actually take the exams for another few years but that doesn't mean I can't work on my original thesis." To say the professor was stunned would be an understatement, he sometimes forgot just how talented the young girl he thought of as granddaughter really was. To think in just a few short years, she will undoubtedly hold the same title he currently enjoys.

"W-wow… that's incredible Ashley! If you would forgive an old man for prying, on what do you intend to write your paper?" he enquired.

"uh-uh-uh, that would be telling, I will give you a clue. Think Master Ball." Ashley finished with a teasing smile. This of course sent the professor's mind reeling. He knew what she was suggesting but he had always known it to be impossible. The mere notion of a pokéball that was capable of catching any and all pokémon without fail was an exciting yet frightening prospect. The thought that possibly the most intelligent person he had ever met, albeit a 4-year-old, thought that this was a viable subject for her research, was in a word, terrifying. When he eventually came to his senses he felt it necessary to pose a question.

"Do you think that wise Ashley? If something such as that was actually possible, it could change the world as we know it." His trepidation on the subject was apparent. Ashley adopted a serious expression, not meant for a girl of her age.

"It may not be a wise decision but it is something that has plagued my thoughts for a while now and I plan to explore the possibility until it can either be proved possible or hopefully impossible. I cannot promise that this will not have profound effects on the world around us but should I find an answer that may endanger pokémon, I will do all that is in power to destroy all evidence of it." Her face taking on an unnatural level of serious towards the end. If there is one thing that trumps her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, it was her unconditional love for all pokémon kind.

The professor released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. If there is one thing he knew about the girl before him, it was that she had the potential for limitless power. Of course, Professor Oak was a scientist and was a firm believer in the old saying 'Knowledge is Power' so when he thinks limitless power, he's not far from the truth. He did not doubt that, if pushed, she would use all the knowledge at her disposal to protect those she holds dear.

"You actually did it…" Professor Oak all but whispered. "You actually proved it possible! A Master Ball is actually possible?!" he continued, getting louder as he went. Ashley was currently standing before her beloved grandfather figure, she had just presented him with the final draft of her paper.

"Yes, Grandpa it's possible…but, it is also impossible. As I go on to explain in my paper some of the components necessary to construct the Master Ball would have to be made from Astatine. A super rare, naturally occurring, semi metal element. This element however, is so unstable that even if you could procure enough of it to build a single Master Ball, it would be impossible to successfully stabilise it. Even more so, if you could somehow stabilise it, it would be incredibly delicate, not remotely suitable for use in a pokéball," the soon to be Professor Ketchum explained.

"So it's impossible? Like, really impossible?" He questioned, for some reason not willing to just take her eloquent explanation at face value.

"Well let me put in words you'll understand," she said teasingly, the dig didn't go unnoticed by the professor as he was left pouting, the cheek of these 10 year olds. "The possibility of someone finding the required quantity of Astatine, 1 in 116 million. The odds of someone devising a successful way of keeping that quantity stable in a laboratory environment, 1 in 3.5 billion. Finally, the odds of the stabilised element surviving the everyday life of a pokéball, undamaged, for an hour, 1 in 1 trillion. That gives us the odds of a single Master Ball surviving 1 hour to be, 1 in 4.06 times 10 to the power of 29… the math is all there in my paper." The professor was left utterly speechless and some would say rightfully so. Those odds certainly seemed unsurmountable. "Please Grandpa, close your mouth, you won't win the heart of Professor Juniper, gaping like a Magikarp." Seriously, these 10 year olds.

Professor Oak went from gaping like, well, a Magikarp to spluttering and stammering like a fool. "I-I have…N-n-no idea what you are t-talking about young lady!" A tomato blush now covering his entire head. It was with muttered words about 'respecting one's elders' and 'being too young to know about such things' that the grandfather in all but blood signed off on the paper. The signature of the Professor Oak on the document all but guaranteeing her status of professor.

It was then that Delia chose to make an entrance, accompanied by her faithful ninetails. The only person ninetails was perhaps more faithful to was Ashley, they always had a seeming unexplainable bond, understanding each other on a whole new level. Delia of course was anything but jealous of their closeness, it warmed her heart to see them share a special bond.

Delia was now 30 years old, not that you would believe it to see her, she didn't look a day over 25. Coincidently, 25 was the age that she stopped having to work at a local restaurant and was instead living a life of relative luxury. How you ask? Let's just say that the vast amount of revenue, generated from the sales of certain inventions, kept her bank balance well topped up. Disproving the possibility of the ultimate pokéball was something that required a certain amount of… experimentation. Those experiments, completed with the aid of the Greatball and Ultraball inventor Kurt, became the more specialised pokéballs used to capture certain species. The Heavy Ball for the heavier species such as Snorlax, The Dive Ball for water dwelling species and the Luxury Ball to name but a few. The Luxury Ball was arguably Ashley's favourite. Being a pokéball that pokémon enjoy a lot more due to its more luxurious pocket dimension and the ability to see the outside world, encouraged the inhabitant to become friendlier much quicker than normal. Being a minor and not wanting the publicity, these inventions were accredited to the now 'Master Pokéball Builder' Kurt, this didn't stop the majority of the money gained from sales, being sent to the mother of the rightful owner.

"Look Mom, look! I'm going to be a professor!" Ashely all but screamed at her mother, waving the newly signed paper under her nose.

"That's great baby, you know I never doubted you for a second," Delia said as she brought her only child into a loving embrace. Ninetails, wanting in on the affection wrapped a number of her tails around the pair. Oak just smiled at the small yet very happy family. "Now you go and upload your paper on the IPRA server and I'll book the four of us a table at the restaurant, to celebrate."

"The four of us?" Ashley asked.

"Yes sweetie. You, me, the professor and Gary," Delia said offhandedly, not taken any notice of the suddenly glum mood of her daughter. Let's just say Ashley and Gary didn't get on, what with Ashley taking up the majority of Professor Oaks time and her being vastly more intelligent than the elder Oak himself, Gary was insanely jealous and often took it out on poor Ashley. Being the strong-willed person that she is though, Gary was often the one that ended up worse for wear.

"Mom, I know he's Oaky's grandson but do you really have to invite him? Now Daisy I'm fine with," Ashley responded dejectedly. Oak stood in an awkward silence, he knew she had a good reason for not liking his grandson. His arrogance and self-righteousness knew no bounds, the professor had tried to steer him in the right direction but he couldn't seem to get through to him.

"Oh, right I forgot about Daisy, I'll book it for 5," said Delia, completely ignoring Ashley's dislike of the annoying boy. Her daughter could do nothing but groan, never had she argued with her mother and she didn't plan to start here. At least Daisy's presence might dissuade Gary from being a complete ass to her. Daisy being the older of the two Oak siblings meant that she could deal out justice where others can't. Ashley smirked to herself at the thought.

The dinner actually ended up as a double celebration, Ashely was finally getting her professorship and Daisy, being 13, was heading out on her pokémon journey the following day. Gary of course played up a couple of times and relentlessly teased the young girl but Daisy was quick to put a stop to the idiot when she got the chance. She would often send a playful wink in Ashley's direction.

A few hours later and the young pre-teen could be found in her room with Daisy, both chatting away about pokémon. Being the granddaughter of the famous Professor Oak meant that she was perfectly comfortable with incredibly smart people, she was the only real friend Ashley had in Pallet Town. Needless to say, the young girl wasn't thrilled about her only friend leaving in the morning.

"I'm going to miss you so much Daisy…" she mumbled out. Daisy just put on a calm smile and replied.

"I'll miss you too, you crazy little Brainiac but I have to leave this little town at some point. And anyway, you'll be going on your own journey in 3 short years," she said in an attempt to cheer up her friend. It worked slightly. "Now let's talk starters, I think I need your help, I just can't seem to pick."

Ashley thought for a moment before replying. "Well, it ultimately comes down to what you are planning to do on your journey." Seeing she had to explain her thought process, she continued. "If you're looking to challenge the Gyms and then compete at the Indigo Plateau, then I would suggest Bulbasaur. Not only is he a well-balanced battler in his pre-evolved form but he also has the type advantage in the first two gyms you are likely to encounter. You may run into trouble when you get to the Saffron Gym but I would recommend you leave that one until a bit later. By which time you should have other pokémon to cover your starter's weaknesses." Daisy simply nodded knowing she wasn't yet finished. "Squirtle isn't a bad choice at all, he is another well balanced battler, although he leans more towards defence than say, Charmander. You'll have a different problem with Charmander than with Bulbasaur, the first Gym you are likely to challenge would be the Pewter City Gym. Like the city itself the Gym is known for its love of all things rock. Of course, you'll be facing their beginners team and Charmander can learn Metal claw so you aren't completely without hope. Although a victory there would likely lead to facing the Cerulean City Gym, a water type Gym. Not only will your Charmander struggle greatly there but there are also very few pokémon with a type advantage that you could pick up on the way. He will have an easier time against the Celadon City Gym and the Fuchsia City Gym. That being said, type advantages aren't everything and a well-trained Fire type will still beat a poorly trained Water type."

"And if I don't want to challenge the Gyms?" Daisy asked.

"Then you have hundreds of options available to you but most people focus on contests when they don't like the idea of Gyms. You may have to travel to different regions for some good competition as Kanto isn't quite up to standard yet but that could be fun as well. I would probably say Bulbasaur again is the strongest starter for contests, he learns the various powder moves at an early stage and these can be combined with other grass type moves to create something really spectacular." She stopped here to let Daisy digest all that she had said. "Also, Bulbasaur are the more chilled out species and would likely bring a fire breathing Charizard like yourself down to earth." She finished with a smirk.

Daisy wasn't slow by any means but it took a little longer than she was proud of to stop nodding along with the explanation and realise she had just been called a fire breathing dragon. "HEY! What do you mean Charizard!?" By this point Ashley was rolling around the floor in a fit of giggles. Daisy seeing her friend's defences were down, pounced on her and proceeded to tickle her into submission and hopefully receive an apology. It was during this rough and tumble that Daisy's hips had worked her way between the legs of the friend, who she currently had pinned beneath her.

Their eyes met and got locked in an intense stair as they breathed heavily due to the tickle fight that occurred moments before. It was a few too many seconds later that Daisy worked up the courage to say something. "Ashley… Have you ever kissed anyone?" she said lowly.

"No, why would I have kissed anyone? I'm only 10," she replied.

"Yes, but you are much more mature than that, aren't you curious?" Daisy finished with a sly smile.

"What is there to be curious about, we know everything there is to know about kissing. One kiss requires the coordination of 146 muscles total, including 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscle-" She was cut off as Daisy slammed their lips together, obviously believing in a more practical application. Ashley's eyes shot wide open as she realised what was happening, then she realised she didn't dislike what was happening and began to close them. The kissed lasted only a few seconds before Daisy pulled away, leaving Ashley with half lidded eyes. Daisy then removed herself from the compromising position and made to leave.

"Wait!" Ashley shouted. "Where are you going?"

"I have to get up early tomorrow remember, to pick up my Bulbasaur, that was just something to remember me by." She then threw a wink Ashley's way before leaving the room and heading downstairs. If Ashley was listening, she would have heard a call of 'Goodnight Delia' before the opening and closing of the front door. She didn't hear this though, being too lost in her thoughts.

'So, do I like girls or was it just Daisy…? This is definitely going to require some research,' she thought, as her fingers finally fell from her lips.

The next morning Ashley awoke to a strange sensation, she could feel herself walking up the hill to the lab and could almost see it against the blank canvas that was her ceiling. Shaking the feeling away she decided to get up and washed, Daisy was leaving today she had only 3 years before she would be as well. Time to get to work.

3 years went quicker than ever. Although upset that she couldn't further research her sexuality, Ashley did accomplish a fair few other things with her time. She was awarded her status of Professor shortly after her paper was submitted and she had since worked on a number of collaboration projects, with some of the other scientists.

One scientist in particular was Bill, he was in the process of designing a pokémon transport system used to transfer pokémon between the various pokémon centres and the trainer's sponsoring professor or guardian of choice. When he started his research and development for the project 5 years ago, he estimated it would likely take 10 years to complete. He was proved wrong however, when Ashely joined his team and once again proved that her genius knew no bounds. The system was successfully completed and implemented, in all the pokémon centres, across all the known regions, 2 years ago.

During her time on this project she was working on a small device that would act as an encyclopaedia for new trainers to learn about each species of pokémon. Being as busy as she was with Bill's project, she left the idea with Professor Oak, who then gathered all the known information for each species and entered it into a database. This database would later be uploaded to the device. Ashley meanwhile was working on the invention itself in her free time. She completed the prototype last year and it all worked perfectly. This lead to some changes that each sponsoring professor would have to abide by when the next few trainers started this year. A trainer was now required to take an exam, that if passed, would earn them a regional starter pokémon and a Pokédex, from the professor in their home region. It was a trainer aptitude test that could only be taken once. Being the developer of such a device meant that she didn't have to take the exam, not that there would be much point in taking the exam that she herself designed.

All that, lead her to this day, the first day of her own pokémon journey and it was at the foot of the hill leading to the lab, that we find our young heroine. Standing at only 4'11" she didn't cut the most imposing figure but the early stages of puberty have been extremely kind. With a bra size of 28DD, she wasn't huge but still had plenty to work with. Her waist looked noticeably thinner than her chest and her hips, giving her the early stages to a perfect hourglass figure. Her raven hair fell to just above her bum and her deep purple eyes stood out from the crowd. All in all, she was a 'hottie'.

She wore a set of short and snug, denim dungarees over a white tank top with a pair of white high-top trainers. She may be a professor but she was a pretty, young girl first. It was with excitement and slight anxiousness that she made her way up the stairs to the lab. She wasn't anxious about her journey but about returning home as quickly as possible. Her favourite pokémon Ninetails, had and egg a week ago and Ashley was helping care for the egg and also aiding the recovery of the soon to be mother.

Bursting through the front door of the lab she shouted out to the professor. "Oaky, you in here?" It was then that she noticed the furniture was upturned and stuff was sprawled all over the floor. Either there had been a break in or one of the wilder pokémon had gotten loose in the lab area. Hearing a crash and then a dull thud she, against her better judgement, ran towards the noise to see just want caused it. It was there that she came across a most amusing sight. Laid on the floor face down was a slightly roughed up professor, the perpetrator was perched on the back of his head looking up at Ashley with its head cocked to one side as if curious.

"Vee!" it shouted as it leapt from the back of the professor's head into the waiting arms of her new trainer. It was an eevee, and it was sent over by Bill a few days ago. His eevee had laid an egg but he didn't have the time to correctly raise the small pokémon, it was then that he remembered a certain raven haired young girl was about to start her journey. Hearing that Bill had such a rare pokémon for this region and he was willing for her to train it, she naturally jumped at the chance.

The eevee nuzzled its new trainer with great affection, before jumping up and perching on her shoulder. "Sleeping on the job professor?" Ashley teased. All she got in response is a groan as the older man pulled himself to his feet and gave her a heated glare. The teenager just smiled in return and turned to leave shouting about getting home as quickly as possible, she did manage to grab Eevee's luxury ball on the way out.

"Wait! Aren't you going to help me clear up?! It was your little terror that made all this mess!" The professor tried in vain to call after her. Alas she was gone.

Making the quick journey home with Eevee now walking alongside her, Ashley talked to her about all her plans. "First, I'll challenge the Gyms and then head to the Indigo League, Then I'll travel to Hoenn maybe and compete in the Ever Grand Conference, possibly do a contest or two whilst I'm there. Like everything I do, I'll aim to be the best I can be. Are you with me Eevee?" she said turning to look down at the small pokémon.

"Vee Vee!" Eevee responded by cheering her name a few times and then leaping back up to her spot on Ashley's shoulder.

"I'm really happy you want to help Eevee! Now let's go check on Ninetails." the teen said as she sped off down the road. Reaching her house, she swung open the door and called out. "Mom, I'm home and Eevee's with me."

"In here baby, I'm with Ninetails," she heard her mom respond. Entering the den, the room where Ninetails sleeps when she gets fed up of Ashley kicking her in the night, she saw her mom brushing out all of the pokémon's nine tails. Ninetails' body was wrapped around the egg, keeping it warm. As she spotted Ashley coming through the door to the den, all her tails started thrashing uncontrollably in her excitement. This in turn pushed Delia from the stool she was sitting on and she landed on her rear. "Thanks Ninetails, I see how it is…" Delia pouted. To Ninetails' credit, she did have an apologetic look when she turned towards her trainer.

"Ni-nine!" she said in greeting to her favourite teenager.

"Hello to you too Ninetails, how are you feeling today?" Ashley replied

"Nine!" she said whilst nodding her head profusely. Obviously feeling pretty good.

"Good I'm glad to see you're feeling better, I'm going to miss you all so much," she started and Ninetails seemed to look a subdued by this reminder. "I won't be around for your egg to hatch and I'm sorry about that but I have left detailed instruction for mom. That way she can do the health checks when I'm not here," she finished, kneeling to pet Ninetails under her chin.

"Nine ni-Nine," the pokémon exclaimed whilst shaking her head. Ashley looked confused at first but then looked to her mom, who had a serene smile on her face. It was then that she felt a weight be shifted into her lap and she looked down to see the egg, wrapped in two of the fox pokémon's tails. It suddenly dawned on her.

"Wait! Ninetails you can't be serious, this is your baby!" Ashley was quick to point out, not believing what Ninetails was willing to do. The fox merely nodded her head and pushed the egg firmly into the teens grasp. Ashley then began to tear up as she realised what her friend was really giving her. "T-thank you Ninetails, you don't know what this means to me." Turning to her starter pokémon she said "Look Eevee, we already have another new friend." Eevee, who had so far remained quiet, hopped down from her trainer's shoulder to the ground and nuzzled the egg. She then looked Ninetails right in the eye with a confident and determined smile. The message was clear, Eevee would do all she could to protect the baby pokémon. Ninetails yipped happily in thanks.

Leaving the egg in the warm embrace of its mother, Ashley explained that she was going to get an incubator she had in storage. She herself had raised a couple of eggs for the professor. Coming back with the incubator, she set it to the fire pokémon setting and placed the egg inside. She then placed a Luxury Ball on the lid of the incubator. She carefully placed the incubator into her pack, and looked to the two mothers, before launching herself whole bodily at Delia.

"I love you mom, and I love you Ninetails! I'll be back before the Indigo League starts okay?" she explained.

"We love you too sweetie," Delia started with Ninetails nodding along "be safe out there and show the world what Ashley Ketchum is made of." She pulled out of the loving embrace and looked her daughter in the eye. "You'll do great things baby, I just know it."

"Thanks mom," Ashley replied before removing her arms from around her mother and turning to leave. She made it to the door before turning and with great confidence she said, "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, believe it." Before making her way out, Eevee now trailing behind her.