The next morning Ashley woke up very excited because today was the day she would get her first Pokémon. As she got dressed into a pair of black short shorts and a pink tank top her mother shouted for her to come downstairs for breakfast.
"Ashley you need to hurry up and eat or we will be late" Delia said and she was washing dishes.
"Okay mom" Ashley said as she finished. "Let's go I'm done!" she said as she ran to get her pack.
"Meet you at the car" her mom said as she walked out the front door.
Ashley ran and got her pack and made sure she had everything she needed. She checked off medicine, extra pokeballs, clothes, and made sure she had food for both the pokemon she would catch and herself. Seeing that she had everything she ran out of the house after locking it and into the car for the two hour drive to Littleroot Town.
Time seemed to fly by as she and her mom talked about what she would expect to see and do on her journey. Ashley said she was going to challenge the gyms so that she could participate in the Ever Grande Conference. She still wasn't sure if she was going to compete in contests or not, she would see what happens.
When they reached Professor Birch's lab Ashley was bouncing with excitement. She was going to receive her first Pokémon! She was then suddenly grabbed from behind and spun around.
"AHHH!" she screamed as she thought she was being attacked by an unknown assailant.
"Ha-ha you should see your face right now!" laughed her uncle Steven.
"You jerk! You almost killed me before I could even get my first Pokémon!" screamed Ashley at her uncle as she punched him in the chest.
Rubbing his now sore chest he said, "You think I would miss you getting your first pokemon? I'm hurt you don't have any faith in me."
"Considering you had to defend your title last night I thought you would be taking a break for a while. I know how hard it is for you to keep my title warm for me" she mocked him.
"I see. I'm just a placeholder on your path to greatness. Will you at least let this old man go gracefully or will I be thrown out on my ear when you are done with me?" he pouted.
Before Ashley could respond, her mother grabbed her and her uncle and dragged them into the lab so Ashley could get her Pokémon. Professor Birch looked at the embarrassed faces of uncle and niece and started to chuckle. "Getting into trouble before you start now, how appropriate considering your family. Why I remember your uncle coming here for his Pokémon and realized he had forgotten to bring his supplies to start his journey with him. It was a good thing your grandfather remembered to grab them for him."
"Damn you Birch! She didn't need to know that. Now I have lost all my street cred with my niece" wailed an upset champion.
Birch continued without pausing for the now crying man to stop, "So have you made your choice for a starter? Do I need to go over them with you?"
"I have thought about this and come to decision that I am going to go with Torchic." Replied Ashley.
"Ahh it's a good thing that I had two of them then. I had a girl come by earlier come and get a Torchic too. Her name was May Maple, seemed a little bit leery about being around Pokémon considering her father is the Pettleburg Gym Leader." He said as he handed Ashley the pokeball that contained her first Pokémon.
"Come on out!" shouted Ashley as she released her new friend. The orange and yellow chick came out in a burst of energy. It looked around and spotted the girl with its pokeball and looked at her confusedly. "Hi there, I'm your new trainer and I'm going to make you the best you can be and one day we will be champion of the whole world!" she told the small bird.
"Um, I don't think they have a champion of the world yet" said her uncle who had stopped crying.
"Me and Torchic will be the first then now won't we?" she said looking at her new Pokémon who nodded its head in acceptance of its new trainer's goal.
"Sounds like a wonderful goal. Now here is your pokedex which will give you information on any Pokémon you see and will give you the abilities and moves of ant Pokémon you catch. Here are some pokeballs to catch wild Pokémon with." He said as he handed her the items. "Now I have already taken the liberty to sign you up for the Pokémon League, and I think you know how to qualify considering your uncle is the current champion."
"I do and thank you so much. I will get all eight badges and win the Pokémon League!"
"I know you will do your best and I expect great things from you." replied the professor. "I'll leave you to say goodbye to your family. Have a safe trip" he said as he left the room.
"Thank you professor. I'll be the best, believe it!" she shouted as he left.
Her mother grabbed her in a hug as she held back tears as her baby was leaving the nest for the first time. "You take good care of your Pokémon and call me often to let me know how you are doing."
"I promise mom." she said as she returned the hug. She was sad she was leaving her mom, but excited to start her life as a trainer.
Her uncle joined the hug and when they were done he said, "Now I know that your Grandpa wanted to be here today to see you leave on your journey, but he got held up in a meeting with Silph Co in Kanto. He sends his love and wanted me to give you some gifts. He got you a Pokenav so you would never get lost and have no excuse not to call your family. He also got you five of all pokeballs that we produce at Devon Corp except the master ball. You only have one of those so use it wisely." He hands over the balls and navigator. "Now my gift to you" he said as he reached into the pockets of his pants and pulled out a pokeball. "In here is a Pokémon that I received from one of my Pokémon as an egg. She agreed with me that you would make a wonderful trainer for her baby." He handed Ashley the pokeball as she trembled with excitement.
"Go pokeball!" she yelled out excited to see the new and powerful Pokémon considering it was an offspring from one of her uncle's Pokémon.
"Aron" shouted a little silver armored Pokémon. Looking at his new trainer he could see that his new trainer adored him if the stars in her eyes were anything to go by.
"Oh he is so cute!" she squealed. She grunted when she tried to pick him up and couldn't. "You are a heavy fellow aren't you?" she asked her new friend.
"Ar ar on" was his reply to her question.
"Now I know you would love to pick up Aron and snuggle him, you have to realize he is a steel/rock type, meaning he is going to be heavy as hell" replied her uncle. "Now why don't you scan your Pokémon and see what moves they know and their abilities."
"Okay" replied Ashley as she scanned Aron first.
Her pokedex stated "Aron has a body of steel. With one all-out charge it can demolish even a heavy dump truck. The destroyed dump truck can then be turned into a handy meal for the Pokémon. This Aron is male and has the ability rock head and knows the moves: iron head, tackle, bulldoze, and sand attack."
She then scanned her Torchic and it stated, "Torchic, it has a flame sac in its belly that perpetually burns. It feels warm when hugged. This Torchic is female and knows the moves: scratch, peck, growl, and flame burst."
"Oh they are strong, we are going to be the best I know it!" she cheered and here Pokémon joined her in celebration. "Okay guys I am going to return you to your balls for now but I will bring you out soon to train alright?" she said and returned her Pokémon. She gave her uncle a big hug and thanked him for the new friend he gave her.
The family walked outside and hugged again knowing this was the last time they would all be together for a long time. They said their goodbyes to each other and wished each other well and before her mother and uncle left, her uncle said to her, "When your Aron fully evolves, I have something for him that I picked up in the Kalos region when I was gathering stones. You'll be in for a big surprise" he then got in the car with her mother and left before she could ask him what he meant.
Ashley squared her shoulders, adjusted her pack and started walking towards Route 101. Her destiny was calling her onwards.