The Phenomena

During the first years of Ash's life we lived on Giovanni's estate. Relinquishing my position as Giovanni's full time assistant and dropping to part time instead, my days were divided between working for my husband and bringing up our son. Because of his work, Giovanni didn't have much to do with Ash. And it didn't surprise me in the slightest to realise that he wasn't exactly the 'daddy' type either. So as a little boy, Ash only ever saw his father from a distance, he didn't really know him at all.

Several times a month I would journey with Ash down to Pallet Town to visit my sister. Eventually my parents moved there too so they could be closer to the family, though much to my disappointment, they would always treat Ash like an outsider – my sister especially. Fortunately, Ash never seemed to pick up on this.

Even when he was little, Ash was always a vocal boy. I could only assume he'd inherited the trait from his father's side, as my family was quite reserved. He adored his cousin Gary, though I was sure the boy didn't return the sentiment. They developed a rivalry right from very young that would span across many years to come.

One thing that became obvious very early in life was Ash's passion for the power of Pokémon - just like his father. Ash wouldn't even remember his first Pokémon battle, he was so young. He was barely three and a half and already so proud of the fact that his daddy was a strong Pokémon trainer and a gym leader. Ash was normally already tucked away in bed by the time Giovanni got home from work, but on this particular evening he'd come home early. Naturally, Ash was ecstatic and having just finished watching reruns of the Indigo Championship, he promptly challenged his father to a battle. Giovanni took one look at him and much to my surprise accepted his challenge. Scooping the boy up in his arms, he took him outside into the gardens where there he handed Ash a Pokéball. Much to Ash's excitement, the Pokémon that came out was a Raticate.

At the time, I was watching from the sidelines and I'd immediately jumped upright at the prospect of my son playing with something so dangerous but a warning glimpse from Giovanni was all it took for the Pokémon to stay obedient to his son's orders.

Giovanni chose to use Persian. "Just because you're my son, it doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you," he said.

But Ash was stubborn and determined. Needless to say, the three and a half year old didn't stand a chance. To make things interesting for Ash, Giovanni dragged out the battle as long as he could, though eventually Persian got bored and finished off the boy's Raticate. Not that it mattered anyway, Ash was still excited to be a part of the action.

For a while we were a family. Things were good for us. I had a husband and a son. And while I knew certain things were set to come along as Ash grew, I couldn't blame myself for trying to hold onto this for as long as I could. But eventually the inevitable had to happen and in a single day everything changed…

It was only two months before Ash's fourth birthday and the morning wasn't unlike any other morning in Giovanni's household. Giovanni was already up and showering when I woke. The TV was on and broadcasting the morning news as was his routine, so I always woke up to the headlines.

This particular morning the reporters had all converged on Cinnabar Island in the aftermath of a disaster that involved a Legendary bird of sorts and several Pokémon trainers - one of which occupied the top of the police wanted list. His picture displayed on the TV showing a boy of perhaps eighteen or so with an intense gaze and fiery red hair. At that point I paid the report little regard, uninterested in something that didn't affect me. I knew Giovanni would have been interested in finding this boy… if it wasn't for the fact that he already had other things at the forefront of his mind right then.

Stepping from the bathroom, he shoved his way into his trousers, grumbling something under his breath about running behind schedule so the last thing he needed was for our son to come bursting through the bedroom door at that moment. Bringing with him a toy Zapdos, he was adamant on running around between Giovanni's legs.

"Delia! Control your boy!" Giovanni snapped with the irritation of a Primeape.

I had to smirk and roll my eyes at his rebuke. He always insisted on scolding me and not Ash. I guess for that I had to be thankful - in the sense that Ash never had to be at the receiving end of Giovanni's wrath.

"Ash, honey, come here."

The boy dropped what he was doing and promptly threw himself on the bed. "Mummy! I want a Zapdos!"

"So does your father," I smirked.

It was then that I spotted the packed evening bag on Giovanni chair beside the bed.

"Where are you off to Giovanni?" I asked him.

Slipping his shirt over his shoulders, he briefly glimpsed his watch. "I'm heading north to fetch my daughter. She's finished the first phase of her training."

I found myself taken aback at the mention of his daughter as she was a figure I hadn't thought much of at all. I was suddenly excited at the prospect of finally meeting her.

"So Ash is going to have a big sister," I smiled.

But Giovanni was quick to shoot that thought down in flames. "It won't be like that, Delia. She won't be living here with us. She'll reside at the gym while she completes her education and training."

I had to pull a face, that wasn't much of a life for a ten year old! I stole a glimpse at our son who was busily attempting to shove Persian off the bed. Persian sat quietly with his eyes wide and his ears pressed back to his head. He looked like he was about ready to fury swipe the boy, but for the moment chose to exercise restraint in front of his master.

Ash saw the world through a different set of eyes. His love for Pokémon had no boundaries which oftentimes got him into trouble when he got too close and personal with them. Sometimes though, he seemed to be able to connect with them. And not just on the level of master and trainer… I don't know how to explain it, but it was as if he was able to… see things in them. Even looking at him then, I was convinced that when he came of age he was going to see the world and experience things… amazing things.

There was an untouched tray of breakfast on the breakfast table by the window, so sliding from the bed I grabbed a piece of toast and approached Giovanni where I shoved it in his mouth. He growled in response but obediently started chewing and I went about doing up his tie. Finishing his toast, Giovanni quickly gulped down his coffee as I pushed his jacket onto his shoulders and did up his buttons. Then grabbing his bag, he went to move out the door but stopped when I quickly took hold of his tie and gave him the expectant rise of an eyebrow.

"Delia, I'm already behind schedule," he glowered.

But I merely shrugged. "As the Boss, it's your prerogative to keep people waiting." Pressing myself into his chest, I gently rested my lips on his for moment until he pulled away with a smirk.

"I thought you didn't like the idea of expressing this sort of affection in front of the boy."

I gave him the playful bite of the lip, running my fingers up and down his tie. "It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

And he snorted in reply, "If that's the case, then it's a man's prerogative to change his woman."

Grabbing me by the back of the head, he pressed a cheeky kiss into my lips before making his departure with his Persian in tow…

"One, two, four, six, two." Ash tromped his way up the gym stairs in front of me, stumbling on shoelaces that had come undone again.

"Careful, Ash." I managed to catch him before he tumbled backward down the stairs. The boy pulled himself to his feet and hurried to the top where there he jumped up and down on the spot in order to reach the light switch as was his routine.

The lights to the gym's admin area came on and I threw several folders labelled 'Aisha' onto my desk. Aisha was the name of Giovanni's daughter, and as of today, she was going on the books as Team Rocket's newest asset.

Dumping his backpack on the floor, Ash went about digging for his toys as I made a point of going through Aisha's folder. The girl was only a day away from turning ten, and she was already set to undergo a training regime so rigid it made my head spin. Most of her information such as the identity of her mother and where she'd been these past ten years had been highlighted black - meant for Giovanni's knowledge only. But from what I could see, she'd spent her entire life thus far on an island and under the instruction of a dragon master of sorts. Someone most trusted obviously, for Giovanni to be leaving his most prized possession under her care.

"Delia!" My head shot up at the sound of my name.

"Ariana, what are you doing at the gym?" I was surprised to see the Jr. Executive outside of Headquarters.

"Preparing for the arrival for Giovanni's daughter, that's what." The red head looked visibly flustered as she stopped at my desk and heaved a loud sigh. "We've finished preparing her accommodation. It's just that the starter Pokémon she is being assigned hasn't hatched yet. Giovanni expects a full examination before he gives it to her. It has to be…" She made talking marks with her fingers. "Perfect. The stupid thing won't get out of its egg!"

I glimpsed the calendar on my desk. "Its still a week until the trainer season starts. It'll be ready."

The woman forged a smile. "I wish I had your optimism." She dropped a folder on my desk that matched the one I was already going through. "Aisha's training regime. It needs to be filed in Giovanni's office."

I nodded. "I'll do that now."

"Thanks Delia." Ariana made her exit back down the stairs and I moved toward Giovanni's office.

With the shades down and the lights off, the office was dark and strangely cool when I entered it. As I headed for the filling cabinet on the wall, it didn't take me long to realize that a window was slightly ajar, causing the blinds to blow about in the light breeze of the morning.

"Strange," I hummed, going to close the window when I heard a muffled cough from behind me.

I immediately spun on my heels, my eyes falling on a disheveled figure that slept on Giovanni's couch.

"Legendaries!" I cursed out loud, dropping Aisha's files all over the floor.

The sound of the folder hitting the ground snapped the teenager from his doze and he sat up slowly, clutching what looked to be a headache in his temples. With fire red hair and bloodshot eyes, he looked as though he'd just spent the entire weekend on a drinking binge.

I recognized him instantly.

"You… you're that teenager from the T.V! You're wanted by the police. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The kid merely heaved a moan at my insistent questioning; pulling himself forward on the couch, his fingers curled around large tufts of red hair as he rocked back and forth.

I went for the security buzzer on Giovanni's desk but the teen stopped me.

"Please!" He said, his brilliant eyes full of desperation. "I… I need your help. I've become something… terrible."

I frowned, my finger hovering over the button. "What's your name?"

The kid swallowed, licking dry and cracked lips. "Lance," he said quietly. "Though even now I'm not so sure."

I let my hand drop. Heaving a sigh, I shook my head slowly at the teenager. "If you really feel this way, then you need to be going to the police, not the Viridian gym leader."

"No. You don't understand. I heard he is capable of… fixing these things."

My frown turned to a scowl. Who was this kid? "I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about, Lance."

Silence… more hair grabbing… more rocking. He was visibly in a great deal of pain but yet there wasn't a scratch on him!

Intrigued by the commotion, Ash soon popped his head through the door. "Hello?" he gave a quizzical glance in Lance's direction and I immediately straightened.

"Ash, Honey, this isn't a good time."

But ignoring me, he made straight for the teenager and flopped his little body over his knees. "What's wrong?" Ash's face gazed directly up into Lance's eyes.

Taken aback by the boy, the teenager pulled back into the couch.

"Ash!" I hurried from my post at Giovanni's desk to grab my son but the boy was adamant on fighting me as he squealed and fought against my attempts to drive him from the room.

"Wait wait wait!" Struggling free from my grasp he bounded back over to the teenager. "I can help you!"

He clambered onto the couch just next to Lance and before the teenager could react Ash placed a hand on each cheek and grabbed him by the face. Then… something happened that would, even to this day, haunt me.

The aurora… the very spectacle I saw on the day of Ash's birth suddenly appeared from beneath his skin that now seemed to glow with warmth and energy. This energy changed in colour from the reds to a deeper green which he then managed to release in a wave over the teenager just as Mewtwo had done to me that day over three years ago.

I stood there transfixed…I couldn't breathe… I couldn't move…

Lance was stuck in a trance-like state, his eyes watching nothing but the eyes of the boy… my boy. His body seemed to absorb this strange energy, and as though Ash was breathing breath into his lungs, he inhaled, his dark, bloodshot gaze becoming clear.

Then, as if to withdraw that same energy back into himself, Ash pulled away from the teenager, his smile wide upon his face. "Life is wonderful."

These were the last words Lance heard before his body flopped into the couch. His eyes rolling into the back of his head, he passed out…