Ashlyn Ketchum: The Birth Of A Legend
Capturing one of each Pokemon species in the world is a laudable goal, of course, but Ashlyn Ketchum believed in quality over quantity. Now add a dash of practicality, a touch of common sense, and a hint of maturity, and you have the beginnings of a Pokemon legend. fem!Ash
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"Now, according to this summary of the gyms currently accepting challenges for the Indigo League, the Pewter Gym is the closest, and specializes in rock-type Pokemon," Ash mused, as she walked down Route 1 to Viridian City. Pikachu was curled up in her arms, after they managed to escape her well-meaning but suffocating crowd of neighbors.
"We'll have a type disadvantage, since electric attacks don't have much of an impact on rock types," Ash continued, "And this gym requires at least two Pokemon, so we'll have to catch one along the way. But don't worry, I have a plan!"
"Chu…" Pikachu deadpanned, giving her a doubting look.
Ash pouted. "Ah, even my own Pokemon doubts me…" she whined, "So hurtful, Pikachu…"
"Pika-chu," her Pokemon rolled his eyes.
"I think you'll be able to do some serious damage if you learn Iron Tail before the match," Ash explained, using one hand to scratch Pikachu behind his ear, "And as for the second Pokemon, I think we should aim for a water type to get an advantage against the more experienced trainer. What do you think?"
"Pika-pi," Pikachu assented, before one of his long ears cocked to the side. A second later, he jumped down from Ash's arms, and looked towards the long grass, growling threateningly.
"Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking towards the grass. She saw what had caught her Pokemon's attention as a purple rat Pokemon appeared at the edge of the bush. She raised her Pokedex in front of it.
"A Forest Pokémon, Rattata. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries. It also comes out into open fields to steal food from stupid travelers."
Ash smirked at the last sentence. It seemed that Gary had inherited his sense of mischief from Professor Oak then. She also noted that the Pokemon's attacks had not been listed, probably since she hadn't caught it, and had her Pokeball analyze its traits.
"Do you want to battle Rattata?" Ash asked, smiling in anticipation. In response, the forest Pokemon rushed towards Pikachu with a Tackle.
"Dodge Pikachu!" Ash shouted, a thrum of adrenaline rushing through her. Pikachu easily dodged the attack, as Ash analyzed the battle. The Rattata slid through the empty space, before turning for another tackle.
"Move away from Pikachu," Ash shouted, "Get some space between you- and now, use Thundershock!" Pikachu's red cheeks sparked suddenly, as he built up the attack.
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu shouted, releasing a Thundershock towards the Rattata. It hit it full-on, and caused the wild Pokemon to land on the ground, paralyzed. Ash looked at the scene in satisfaction.
"Chu?" Pikachu asked, questioningly, as it hurried back to its trainer.
"Excellent job, Pikachu," the girl praised, scooping him up and hugging him, "That was a great first battle. But I'm not going to capture him. I want to be more selective about our companions, so I can build the strongest team."
"Chu?" Pikachu repeated, nodding towards another one of the Pokemon staring at them. Ash took out her Pokedex, and pointed it at the Flying type.
"The Flying Pokemon, Spearow. Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokémon and humans."
"Hmm, I don't think I want a Pokemon that can't be a team player," Ash said, shaking her head, "I guess we'll just have to keep looking then! Let's see if we can find a river, and catch ourselves a water type."
They continued walking down Route 1, sticking close to the trees, when the sound of off-key singing reached their ears. Pikachu was the first one to hear it, of course, with his keen senses, and he quickly nudged Ash's arm with his nose to alert her to the sound.
"I wonder if there's another trainer there," Ash commented, following the sound. They went down a sloping road, until Ash could see a girl with short red hair fishing by the side of the river.
"Hello there," Ash called out, breaking into a jog when she saw the other girl. She had bright red hair pulled up into a short crooked ponytail, sea-green eyes framed by long lashes, and wore a yellow shirt and shorts.
"Hello," the girl answered, looking up and offering Ash a smile, "I'm Misty from Cerulean City."
"My name's Ash," she introduced herself, "And this is my friend, Pikachu! Are you fishing for Pokemon?"
Misty nodded. "I'm a water-type trainer, and I wanted to find a new water Pokemon here."
"Really? I'm looking for a water Pokemon too," Ash said, "Pikachu and I are planning to challenge the Pewter City gym, and it would be really useful if we had a water Pokemon with us."
"A water Pokemon is really strong against rock types," Misty agreed, her eyes blazing with passion, "I think water Pokemon are the best type of Pokemon there is."
"Well, I'm not sure about that, but I do agree they're useful. Would you mind if I fished here too?" Ash asked.
"No problem," Misty said, patting the ground next to her, "Your Pikachu is really cute. Do you have any other Pokemon?"
"No, I just started out," Ash answered, sitting down and taking out her fishing lure. She placed a big piece of Pokemon food on the hook, and cast it out to sea. Pikachu curled up on her lap, and proceeded to nap. "Pikachu and I just met a few hours ago."
"You're surprisingly well-prepared for a new Pokemon trainer then," Misty commented, "I received my Pokemon about a year ago. I have a Goldeen and a Staryu right now, but I'm looking for some more."
"I'm looking for a Pokemon that can battle on land and water," Ash informed her, "But I wouldn't mind catching other ones, and training them for future battles. I still have a some time until Pewter City."
They sat there in companionable silence for almost half an hour, before Ash felt a tug on her hook.
"I think I caught something!" Ash cried out, her loud voice waking Pikachu, "Pikachu, get ready, I'm reeling it in!"
The electric mouse Pokemon leapt from her lap, as Ash got up and started to tug on her lure. There was some resistance on the other end, but Ash took a deep breath, and with a strong pull, the girl dragged the Pokemon out of the water. With a loud splashing sound, a red fish with a golden crown and yellow whiskers jumped out.
"Quickly, Pikachu, use Static!" Ash yelled, scrambling to take out her Pokeball as Pikachu released a jolt of electricity towards the fish.
The girl steadied her hand, and once the electrical current hit the wild Pokemon, she aimed her Pokeball and tossed it. It hit against the Pokeball, and absorbed it with a red light. She nearly lost her balance when she had to reach over and grab it before it fell into the river, but it thrummed in her hand, and with one flash, two flash, three… it stilled.
"Yes!" Ash briefly shouted, before she did lose her balance, and tumbled into the river. "Aagh!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried in alarm. Misty got up too, concerned about where her new friend had fallen, before Ash's head parted the surface. The current wasn't too strong, so the slender dark-haired trainer was able to easily climb back onto the bank.
Despite being thoroughly wet, and shivering slightly, Ash had a wide grin on her face.
"I think I just caught a Magikarp!" she waved her Pokeball in the air. "Magikarp, come on out!"
A red light flashed out of the open Pokeball, and the newly caught Magikarp appeared in the river. Ash raised her Pokedex.
"Magikarp, the Fish Pokémon. Because all Magikarp seem to do is splash around, some consider them weak, but they're actually a hardy Pokémon that can survive in water no matter how dirty it is. This Magikarp can use Swift Swim, Splash, and Flail."
"Okay, so not the most battle-ready of Pokemon," Ash conceded, causing her new Magikarp to wilt, "Aah, no, don't be sad! I'm really glad that I caught you! I always wanted a Magikarp!"
"You did?" Misty asked, widening her eyes. People generally avoided Magikarp, since they weren't very useful in battle. But Ash nodded eagerly, as she bent down to pet her new Pokemon's head.
"Yep, because Magikarp's can evolve into Gyarados," Ash explained happily, not noticing how Misty paled. "With a lot of training, my new Magikarp can become one of my strongest fighters."
"A Gy-Gyarados," Misty stuttered, taking a step back. The other girl looked confused by her reaction.
"Are you scared of them?" Ash asked, tilting her head cutely to the side, "I guess they can be a little scary…"
"It's just that a Gyarados tried to eat me once, when I was younger," Misty mumbled, before shoring up her courage, "But I'm a water-type trainer, so I have to get rid of this fear! By the time, your Magikarp evolves, I'll be more than ready to face one."
Ash blinked, and then a sly smile crossed her face. "Hey, you implied that you would be there when my Magikarp evolves. Are you asking if you could travel with me?"
Misty blushed. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that," she said sheepishly, laughing, "But I think I would like to travel with you. I don't have anywhere specific that I'd like to go, and you seem to be interesting enough."
"Great! Then we'll travel together," Ash gave her a thumbs up, "Now- ah- ah- achoo!"
"You're standing there, still wet," Misty scolded, "You're going to catch a cold. Do you have fresh clothes to change into?"
"Achoo! Y-yes," Ash replied, nervously, as Misty made a sudden switch from happy to anxious in less than a second. 'So bipolar,' she thought.
"Then we should set up camp here," Misty decided, "It's getting late, and we won't get much additional traveling done anyway. Have you had lunch yet?"
"My mom prepared one for me," Ash answered, riffling through her bag, "And- yes!- she packed some hot chocolate. I have a two-person tent. How about I set it up, and change into some dry clothes, while you make a fire? Pikachu can help you gather wood."
"Pika," the electric mouse cheerfully agreed, as Ash recalled Magikarp back into his Pokeball.
In short order, a yellow tent was set up by the side of the forest, while a small fire was cheerfully humming along. Ash had changed into a copy of her previous outfit, minus her father's hat, which dried along with her other clothes on the clothesline. She and Misty were sitting around the fire, eating a combination late lunch and early dinner, and sharing the hot chocolate Delia made.
They were also having an amicable conversation that was enjoyed by both girls. Ash, because her only previous female friend was Serena, and Misty, because the only other girls she regularly interacted with were her older sisters, who were closer to each other than to her. Pikachu and Staryu were eating their Pokefood on land, while Misty shared some special fish-based Pokefood for Goldeen and Magikarp.
"And you really had three older sisters?" Ash repeated, envious, "I had Gary, but only when he wasn't going through one of his cootie phases."
"I wish I was an only child though," Misty said, "My older sisters can be very patronizing and self-absorbed. That's one of the reasons why I left the gym, and the others were to see the world, and capture great water Pokemon."
"Why didn't you introduce yourself as one of the Cerulean gym leaders earlier though?" Ash asked.
Misty shrugged. "I didn't want anyone to link me with my sisters while I travelled. We're quite different really. They're very pretty and feminine, though I will admit that they take their Pokemon training seriously."
"How is that different from you?" Ash wanted to know. "You're very pretty too." Pikachu, who was listening to the conversation from beside her, squeaked his agreement.
The red-haired girl looked surprised, and then faintly embarrassed. "Thanks Ash…"
The dark-haired girl just waved it off, not understanding why she would be embarrassed by that. It was the truth, wasn't it?
"Forget about that, and tell me more about the Dewgong!" Ash said eagerly, to which Misty laughed and began recounting a story. And the rest of the night passed in this manner.
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