Catching my breath
Letting it go
Turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know
This is my life
I won't be told what's supposed to be right
Catch my breath: Kelly Clarkson
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Delia Ketchum hated mornings.
She didn't like waking up to the singing of the birds outside her windows or looking at the calendar hanging by her door. As the clock chimed off every hour, she debated taking the old Pidgey clock down.
But, she never could.
It had been his favourite as a kid.
That memory alone always made her stop.
Now, it was just a sad reminder, marking the slow passage of time.
The days grinded by, the sun still setting and rising, unaware of the tragedy.
The hole in her heart grew bigger by the day, as one day melded into the next and one month into another.
She found that she didn't want to do anything. Her vegetable garden withered up thanks to her neglect, her lawn slowly becoming riddled by weeds. Her phone rang now and again, but she let it go straight to the answering machine, the newspapers piling up on her doorstep.
Delia Ketchum had lost her spark. She didn't know what to say and she didn't want to hear any apologies or well wishes for her future.
What future? she wanted to tell the townsfolk who said that.
That's what everyone had told her at the small funeral; an empty casket sitting behind her. Everyone in town had come out to the event to say their apologies for her misfortune – what did they have to be sorry for? – saying things would get better in time.
She didn't plan on 'just getting over it'. Ash had been her world and that had been taken away from her.
After the intimate ceremony at Pallet Town's small graveyard – which consisted of herself, Professor Oak and Misty's three older sisters (she was surprised when the three appeared in the yard, never having met them) – she had returned home, depression slowly setting in.
As her garden and lawn started to show her inactivity, Professor Oak appeared on her doorstep, his knocks hard on the wooden frame. After getting no answer, he'd gone around to the side window, finding the spare key under her planter perched on the windowsill.
"Delia," he called, opening the front door. "Are you home?" he asked, after a moments pause.
The sunny kitchen was empty, dishes piled up on the counter. The living room was dim and the curtains were drawn. Raising an eyebrow, he moved slowly through the small foyer, listening. Nodding slightly as he heard the distant sound of a television running, the old Professor sighed, following the sound.
It didn't take him long to find the red haired woman sitting in the basement, the television dimly lighting the room. He shook his head, hearing the television discussing the opening of Indigo Plateau and the arrival of the Sacred Flame in a few days time.
"Honestly Delia," he said, crossing the room, moving between her and the television. "You need to get out of this house, this isn't good for you." Shaking his head, he closed his eyes momentarily before throwing the blinds back.
Delia blinked as sunlight streamed into the room. She shook her head a couple times, running a hand underneath her eyes as she returned her attention to the now muted television. "The Indigo Plateau is starting soon. I suppose that Gary's going to be there?"
Professor Oak nodded, sitting down in one of her chairs, taking the remote off the coffee table for good measure. He had to admit, he was glad he had the red head talking. "Yes, he's all ready to go. I was speaking with him not to long ago; he wanted some of his Pokemon transferred over. He's already at the Pokemon Village, checking out his competition and making sure he's covered all his bases. I think that he's ready though, he's already gotten ten badges," – here, Delia raised an eyebrow. Wasn't there only eight gyms? – "In order to train the past couple months, he decided to challenge the Battle Frontier, hidden gyms within Kanto that only a select group of trainers are invited to challenge. He's planning on completing it afterwards. He has very high hopes, that grandson of mine."
Delia nodded, forcing a smile. She'd noticed in the past that Professor Oak liked to talk about his well-to-do grandson, future Pokemon Master.
"That means that Ash would have been competing too . . ."
Professor Oak paused, cursing himself as he realized where this conversation was heading. "Delia, enough of this," he said with a frown, shaking his head. "The Sacred Flame of Moltres is only a few days away from the Plateau. Some of the people in town are planning to go and cheer on Gary – as a Pallet Town qualifier – and I think that it would be in your best interest to come as well. You need to get out of this house."
Delia nodded slightly. "Perhaps you're right, Samuel. Perhaps you are . . ."
The next morning, Delia found herself staring back at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her reflection made her wonder what had happened in the past few months. Her red hair – which she usually kept carefully groomed – looked limp as it hung down, brushing against her shoulders. Her face had lost a majority of its colour, her makeup containers sitting unused on the countertop.
Delia shook her head, surprise etched across her face.
She really seemed to have let herself go.
Grumbling to herself about the amount of work she'd have to do, she leaned out into the hallway, glancing at the clock with a frown. Nodding to herself, she glanced fiercely at her reflection; she had an hour before the van to the Plateau left. Smiling determinedly at herself, she pushed her hair back as she closed the bathroom door, wondering idly how she allowed things to get this far.
In the back of her mind, she had an idea.
An hour later, the doorbell rang.
Delia let out a smile as the sound echoed through her empty house, taking in her reflection in the hallway mirror. In the short time frame she'd had, she'd given her hair a quick wash and a blow dry, placing her long hair in her customary ponytail. Delia frowned as she glanced at the small makeup bottles on the counter, trying to debate which bottles she wanted to apply. Upon making a quick decision, she grabbed the nearest bottle – it would work for now. With that she was done, grinning at her reflection, before turning on her heel. Making a beeline for her closet, she threw the doors open in search of an outfit, tossing the clothes on her floor.
Dressed in a yellow shirt and purple skirt, Delia quickly descended the stairs as the doorbell rang once again. Feeling an excitement inside her – something she hadn't felt for ages, it seemed – she grabbed her purse and pink sweater as she past by the coat rack. Nodding to herself as she glanced in the mirror by the door once again, she smiled turning her attention to the door.
"Ready Professor," she said, opening the door.
She had to try and put her best foot forward.
The battles at the Indigo Plateau had been interesting. Gary had dominated his battles in both the Ice and Grass fields, but succumbed to defeat in the Rock Field, one mere fight away from the Semi Finals. The young trainer then had to sit out, watching the competition continue on without him. No doubt in her mind, the brunette disliked the outcome, making his opinion clear more then enough times.
She couldn't help but wonder how Ash would have fared in the competition.
He had talked about the celebrated event since he was seven. He had planned to compete and beat the Elite Four. He wanted to become the next Pokemon Master, just like Lance; the red haired, Dragon Trainer from Blackthorn City in the Johto Region.
"Look at this, mom!" Ash said, grinning from ear to ear, holding out his jacket proudly. "I've got two badges now!"
"Oh, that's great, honey." Delia grinned, leaning in closer to the video screen. "You're doing great. How's Pikachu?"
She caught sight of the small electric rodent on her son's shoulder, its ears perking up at every sound. She still remembered the day the two of them had left a month ago, thunder shocking a majority of the town on their way. The image of Ash tying up Pikachu as he dragged it from the town was on her mind, the thought making her smirk.
"Pikachu's doing great, mom," but, Ash couldn't help but frown. "Although, he didn't want to help me out in Cerulean City's Water Gym –"
"Oh? Why not?" Delia cut in, raising an eyebrow. "You seemed to be getting along when you were in Pewter City –"
"Oh we still are," Ash interrupted, shaking his head. "He just didn't want to battle Misty," – he saw a question forming on his mom's face – "She's the Gym Leader mom, can you believe it? That annoying girl's the leader . . ."
"Annoying? Did I just hear you right?"
Delia grinned, catching sight of Misty and Brock in the distance, the red head glaring in Ash's direction. "I see; she did seem very sure of herself from the beginning so that would explain it. So, where are you kids heading next?"
"We're heading over to Vermillion City to the next Gym. You're looking at the next Pokemon Master!"
Delia grinned, used to hearing Ash's comment. "Have fun honey and good luck. Call me again soon. I want to hear about your journey."
"I will mom. I'll call you again soon."
"Oh and Ash, don't forget to change your –" The line clicked out.
She sighed, sitting back in her chair, glancing at the blank screen. Ash wasn't doing too bad for himself – he'd catch up with Gary in no time.
But, he never did call again; the news about the SS Anne blaring from the headlines two weeks later.
The three spent the next two weeks at the Plateau and local Pokemon Village, watching the remaining battles, a trainer from Saffron City being crowned the winner. The Grand Ceremony at the end celebrated all the trainers that participated before closing their doors for another year.
"It's too bad about Ashy-boy," Gary said on the van back to Pallet, hands behind his head, glancing over his sunglasses. "I was actually looking forward to –"
"Gary!" Professor Oak cut in, glaring over his shoulder.
"Er . . . right . . ." the headstrong teen said, glancing over at Delia. "Sorry . . . I wasn't thinking about . . . that."
Delia smiled at the brunette, briefly looking at him. "Ash certainly would have enjoyed that, he'd been thinking about it since," she shook her head. "You did really well out there, Gary. I'm sorry that you didn't make it further."
Gary shrugged, waving the comment aside. "One match won't break my ideas; it's just one of many."
Delia nodded at his words, used to Gary thinking so highly of himself. "Where will head off to next, Gary?" she asked, leaning back in her seat, eyes closed. "Are you going to challenge the rest of the Battle Frontier?"
"I think I want to get stronger first," Gary said at length. "So far, the Frontier Brains have a variety of Pokemon, ones that aren't even registering in my Pokedex. I tell you, those ones are real fun to battle against. I think that I might do some research on Pokemon before I head out; I want to see as many Pokemon as possible."
"Your parents will be proud, Gary," Professor Oak said, turning to glance at him. "They've always wished that you would follow in my footsteps."
"No way," Gary commented immediately, rolling his eyes. "I'm not interested in sitting in some lab, looking at computer screens for the rest of my life. I mean really . . . how exciting."
Professor Oak sighed, shooting his grandson a look. "Really Gary, we're just looking out for –"
"And I know what I'm doing," Gary interrupted, waving his grandfather off, before placing his hands behind his head again. "You're almost as bad as my parents."
"Kids," Professor Oak mumbled under his breath.
"I'm only researching where I should head next – that's all," Gary mumbled, leaning back in his seat. "I know what I'm doing."
Delia let out a laugh, shaking her head at the banter between grandfather and grandson. Leaning back into her chair, eyes closed, she slowly allowed her mind to wander.
Seventeen year old Delia Ketchum sighed, glancing out the bus window, vaguely watching the scenery pass by. She frowned as she watched the trees rush by, the bus nearing Viridean City, Pallet Town a mere twenty minutes walk south from there. Pushing her long hair back, she closed her eyes momentarily, a frown marring her features.
How she wished she could just disappear into the forest and not return.
Her mother was going to kill her.
She hadn't wanted to return to Pallet Town like this, she had imagined something a bit more glamorous.
After studying at Professor Oak's lab for three years as an Aid alongside a couple other trainers, she decided one day she was going to travel the world.
She was fifteen and wanted to set the world on fire.
She wanted to find out how Shellder clamping onto Slowpoke's tail created a Slowbro before moving on to discover the mystery of Slowking.
The legend of Dialga and Palkia of Sinnoh seemed intriguing as well.
But, she never made it any further then Mauville City in the Hoenn Region before her plans changed.
Taking a break from her research in the museum, she'd decided to leave the bustling city, the popular beach catching her eye the past couple days. Naturally, being the headstrong teenager she was, she had to wear the two piece bathing suit her mother hated, flirting with the guys at the beach's snack shop.
After that, she'd spent the next few days in the local museum, sorting out the information she had found, trying to decide her next move. She'd heard from the worker at the entrance that there was a massive library in Canalave City in the Sinnoh Region. She'd heard enough about the library, to know that a majority of the mystery of the legendaries had been uncovered in the Research Facility in Celestic Town.
Nodding to herself, her curiosity getting the better of her, she decided she was heading for Sinnoh. The mystery behind Slowbro and Slowking could wait. If she managed to uncover – or at least help – in uncovering the mystery of the Legendaries it could be her ticket to being written in the history books.
Celestic Town here I come, she thought idly, a plan in mind.
Two weeks later, the ship docking in the quaint town of Sandgem Town, she felt a sharp pain, but shrugged it off. It was just from her lack of funds, she told herself. She was hungry, her stomach protesting the long journey before her.
With the time difference and darkness setting in, Delia ended up staying in the local Pokemon Center, planning to start her journey out the next morning. She didn't admit it out loud, but she was glad to finally sleep in a bed that didn't rock with every wave.
Boats just weren't her thing.
The next morning, she set out early – after buying herself a map from the Poke Mart next door – arriving in Jubilife City by noon. Knowing she was pushing her luck, but with her Mime Jr.'s Pokeball safely attached to her necklace, she managed to make her way to Floaroma Town by nightfall.
In her rented room at the Pokemon Center, she frowned as she felt the pain in her stomach flare up again. She ran a hand over her stomach, wondering what was wrong. She had ate well, her Mimey battling anything in their path. Eventually, she shook her head; maybe it was just a stitch in her side? She had run the last portion of Route 204 as the sun started to set.
Setting off the next morning – getting lost in Eterna Forest in the process – she didn't arrive in the bustling city until after sunset, her Mimey's health almost completely drained. Thinking about her Pokemon, she dropped him off at the Pokemon Center, hardly able to push away the pain she'd been feeling lately.
There was no way a stitch in her side could last that long . . .
Leaving Mime Jr. with the Center, Delia crossed the city, sighing to herself as the automatic doors of the hospital whirled open to allow her entrance. She frowned at the thought of staying in Etena when she was this close to her destination.
But, she knew the last thing she needed was something to go wrong on her journey.
Better safe then sorry, her mother always told her.
A week later, much to her dismay, she was released from the hospital, the doctor and nurse urging her to return home to Kanto. But, being the headstrong teenager she was, she ignored their advice, her plan in the forefront of her mind.
She could do this; it was only a day's walk away anyway.
Before she knew it, her portable computer weighing down her messengers' bag, her suitcase – jammed full with her observation binders – wheeling along behind her, did she arrive in Celestic Town.
After meeting with the Elder, and head scientist, Caroline and her granddaughter Cynthia at the old ruins on the outskirts of town, she'd found her niche. Upon hearing why the red head had arrived in Sinnoh to hopefully find and hearing her being an Aid to the renowned Professor Oak, Caroline had agreed to take her on.
Temporarily, Caroline had stressed to her.
Given a room in Caroline's house (you're not wasting money on a hotel somewhere, she had said) Delia made fast friends with Cynthia. The blonde quickly seeing through her façade, though she rarely brought it up. Delia shrugged when it was first brought up, she was a horrible liar anyway.
"Can I ask you something?" Cynthia said one night, sitting on the edge of Delia's bed. "How does it feel . . . you have to be nervous, right? Way more then I am . . ."
Delia grinned, leaning back against the headboard. "I was nervous at first, but I was mad more then anything. I was stupid, irresponsible and," she shook her head. "Everything my mother didn't want for me. Lately, I've been kind of excited though. But, enough about me, I want you to do well in your matches tomorrow. I'm rooting for you – you know I'll be watching from here!"
The sixteen year old had completed her Pokemon Journey three years previous, over a hundred Pokemon to her name as she ended up in the top three in the Sinnoh League. She had spent the past three years helping out her grandmother with her field work as she trained her Pokemon rigorously all for this upcoming moment. Tomorrow morning, she and Caroline were heading to Sunyshore City to take a boat to the Pokemon League, where Cynthia was to battle to Elite Four. If she could defeat all four trainers, she would be named the Champion, joining their ranks.
These days she was rarely seen without her Gabite, spending a majority of her time training, discussing her strategies or watching endless battles of television. Delia knew Cynthia would be fine, no doubt emerging as the Champion.
"You better be, Lia! Oh, I wish you could be there in person, but I'll tell you what! When I do this – that means the victory was for my best friend, understand?"
Delia nodded, the two breaking into giggles.
But, with the birth of her little boy – Ashton, she'd named him – six months later, she knew she was quickly overstaying her welcome in the small house. With Ashton crying loudly almost every night and her friendship with the blonde Champion slowly deteriorating, she decided to leave and return home to Kanto.
She could just imagine her mother's response and the look on her face.
Shifting Ashton's carrier from one hand to another and gripping her suitcase tightly, she sighed, glancing down the hill to the quaint, sleeping town. She took a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder at the forest separating Pallet from Viridean. Shaking her head – she had to go home – she slowly started down the path, glancing at the sleeping five month old.
There was little doubt in her mind that her reappearance, with a baby no less, would cause a ruckus. The well loved Delia Ketchum, Pokemon Aide to Professor Oak, setting out to blaze her own trail, only to return three years later with a baby?
Just like her predictions as she approached the town, the reaction of the townspeople were just as she imagined. Her mother was unimpressed as she opened the front door to find her daughter, her belongings in the suitcase wheeling along behind her and a baby carrier in her free hand. Grudgingly, her mother had allowed her into the house just until she got on her feet again – as her mother continuously reminded her. Her mother managed to get Delia her old job as Oak's Aid, the teen slowly trying to get her life back on track.
"Delia?" Professor Oak said, interrupting the red head's thoughts.
"Hmm?" she mumbled, shaking her head as she glanced up.
"Come on, we've arrived in Pallet, this is our stop," Professor Oak said, at the same time Gary moved forward, opening the van's door. "I doubt you want to end up heading back to Viridean. You know what the fields are like."
He knew that after she heard about Ash's death aboard the St. Anne, she had returned Mimey to its' Pokeball, the red and white ball now collecting dust on her dresser.
Delia nodded, blinking as the sun shined in through the open door. "Yeah . . . let's go," she said, shaking the old memories from her mind.
Climbing out of the van, it struck her that she hadn't been to Sinnoh in ten years. She thought about the binders boxed up in the back of her closet, maybe she should drag them out, for old times' sake. She wondered idly if Caroline and Cynthia would recognize her now, she wasn't the spunky sixteen year old anymore. Cynthia had been named Ash's Godmother, but after she left Celestic Town, they rarely spoke. She knew that Cynthia had achieved her goal of being the Champion of the Elite Four – and had kept her title as well – having seen the blonde on television numerous times, usually with the likes of Lance, Prima and the others.
One day, she had wanted to take Ash to Sinnoh, he had only been five months old the last time he'd been there. The thought stuck in her mind as she, Professor Oak and Gary started down the worn path into town.
Ash would never see Sinnoh; he would never see his birth place. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about the things her son would never see.
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Character Profiles
Name: Delia Ketchum
Age: 27 years old
Birthday: June 18th
Hometown: Pallet Town, Kanto
This chapter is very Delia centric. I was always intrigued by Delia's character in the show, the brief times that we see her. Her and Ash have such a close relationship (more so in the original seasons) and I can only imagine what would happen to her if she lost Ash.
The series never mentions anything about Ash's dad, so I tried to tie everything together through the flashbacks. I decided to make Delia an Aide to Professor Oak as when I was watching the third movie "Spell of the Unknown" that there is a picture of Professor Oak, Spencer Hale and herself in Pallet Town. So, I decided that since Delia looked younger in those photos; that she must have been training to do something in that field before she had Ash. For that reason, she is interested in the Legends of the Continents, the Slowpoke evolution chain, etc. etc. and I decided to send her to Sinnoh, which in my opinion, seems to be the continent with the most Legendaries written into it's storyline, excluding the movies.
I made Delia's personality the opposite of what she is in the show, opting to show her more carefree side. Since, Ash appears to have no one other then his mother, I decided to create a rift between Delia and her mother, meaning that Ash would have little contact with his grandparents. I left the confusion of Ash's father the way it is, as Delia is not quiet sure who it would have been, having separated herself from the way she acted as a somewhat, rebellious teenager.
Okay, not much of a profile, but I digress.