I don't own Pokemon. This is the sequel to Ashley Ketchem.

Ashley Ketchem II: Viridian Skys Start of a Journey

Ashley stepped out of the Pokemon lab with her Eevee named Sprite clutched into her arms. A smile was on her face as she closed her eyes to take in the sounds of birds chirping as well as the soft breeze that blew across her face. Taking a deep breath she felt like life was going to change for the better for her.

It wasn't that long ago that she was helping her grandmother take care of the shrine that was starting to become run down. It wasn't that long ago that she happened to not know anyone but her grandmother, but because her grandmother had gotten sick she had found herself meeting the Oak family. She had also had the chance to speak with her mother over the phone.

She now had her Pokedex, though the use of said object was not something she understood. She also had Pokeballs and she and Gary were heading out to Viridian as their first stop on their journey. She was dressed not in her miko clothing but instead in clothing that Daisy had helped her buy with money that her mother had provided.

Gary bumped into her from behind and she found herself startling. Blinking a couple of times she found herself turning her head to watch him walk forward and then wave for her to follow. The two stopped outside of the gate just in time to see someone come running up. Frowning, Gary shook his head at the boy. "You're late Ash."

"What..." The boy blinked a couple of times.

Ashley looked around. "Wait... how come there are a lot of people gathered here?"

"It has always been the tradition to see the new trainers off." One of the ladies smiled at her.

"It is nice to meet you."

Gary flinched as she said this before turning his head to look at Ash. "Seriously... you're late. I was expecting you to come earlier. You really did forget our promise, didn't you?"

"What promise?"

The boy with brown hair let out a sigh before walking away. "If you can't remember, you can't remember."

The girl quickly bowed to the boy and the others before taking off after Gary. She heard one of the older ladies speak up. "What a sweet child. Whose is she those."

"I'm not quite sure."

"I heard she's our shrine maiden."

"Our shrine... that old run down thing."

"I guess perhaps we've been forgetting and neglecting that place. Perhaps we should think about fixing it up."

Ashley then couldn't hear the towns people anymore. She followed after Gary. "What promise did Ash break to you?"

"Your brother?"

"My brother..." Ashley stopped short. "Mother did mention the fact I have a brother, but I hadn't thought much about it."

"Ash told me he would travel with me but he can't even remember that part. We were supposed to meet up at the lab at the exact time you showed up and pick out our Pokemon. Since Ash wanted Bulbasaur I was going to leave it for him but in the long run he has turned into an absolute brat who can't remember things like that."

"So... you're sad that the two of you aren't going to travel with each other."

"Well... yes. I was thinking as I told you of traveling with my sister's friends and my sister Daisy due to the fact I had a cold but I told her last night I would rather travel with you, particularly since there is a lot you don't know and it would be good to give you a helping hand as you need it. Plus... traveling with her friends isn't the same as traveling with my own."

"You think of me as a friend."

Gary stopped short. "No... we haven't had a chance to become friends. I guess that's the other reason why I decided to go with you. We'll have the chance to get to know each other and become friends."

"So you're rather excited about this whole thing?" Ashley's hands went behind her back. "I know I'm excited."

"As we head to Veridian we should try and catch some Pokemon."

"Explain that concept to me."

"Well... you can't just have the one Pokemon. You need to catch others. That is what the Pokeballs are for. However, you can't just toss the Pokeball at them. You have to wear down the Pokemon using attacks."

"But doesn't that hurt them? I mean... the word attack means to bring harm."

"There are moves that put Pokemon asleep and there are moves that cause other status effects that can help catch without actually harming a Pokemon. Unfortunately we do not have that option? Anymore questions?"

"I nicknamed Sprite. Did you give a nickname to yours?"

Gary paused. "No... I would like to get to know him a bit before I actually name him. I want the name to fit."

"When I got Sprite I knew what to name her as soon as I saw her."

They arrived at the edge of town. A sign happened to say that the route would take them from Pallet Town to Viridian City. At the side of the road were various trees. Nothing could be seen and they started walking down the road. Silence followed them and when they couldn't see any of the houses when Gary stopped. "We should start looking for Pokemon to add to our collection."

"What kind of Pokemon would we find here? Will they be cute like Sprite?"

Gary frowned. "I'm more interested in cool Pokemon, but I guess there isn't much difference beyond the fact boys and girls would have different ways of describing them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I wouldn't want cute Pokemon. I mean... I do want to end up catching every one I can and while Pokemon like Clefairy are cute I would actually use them as they're really good Pokemon. I guess my point here is that there is more to Pokemon then simply their looks.

A voice popped into the back of her head telling her that her friend was near by. "He's right you know. If we went by looks people wouldn't think that I was a power house but I actually am."

"I honestly don't follow you, but then I don't care whether a Pokemon is a Power House or not. I care about the bonds I make with them. That's what I'm excited about and Sprite... it's going to be fun playing with her."

It was then that she paused, hearing a rustling sound. Turning to Gary she whispered to him. "I hear something. No... I sense something."