Kayla's Journey
by Alyssa
Part 1
A long time ago, there was a lad of ten who had a dream. His dream was to become the greatest Pokemon trainer... a Pokemon Master. With two friends and a loyal Pikachu at his side, he accomplished his dream, becoming the first Pokemon Master. After becoming the world's best trainer, he returned to his home town of Pallet, accompanied by one of his two friends.
Now, the boy is a man. He eventually married, and later became the father of a beautiful girl. This story begins on the night of this girl's tenth birthday. This is the story of Kayla, the daughter of Ash Ketchum.
-
"But Daaaaaaaad...."
"No buts, Kayla. It's two hours past your bedtime already. Aren't you the least bit tired?"
"No! Meowth, it's too early to go to bed, isn't it?"
"Ummm... actually..." the Meowth said, looking up from his yarn ball, "it *is* kinda late..."
Ash looked expectantly at his daughter, who sighed, outvoted.
"Traitor," she quipped, picking up her Meowth and heading for her room. As she shut the door, Ash could already hear the two bickering in their friendly, half-hearted way.
"'Aren't you the least bit tired?' Not Ash Ketchum's daughter," Misty chuckled, entering the room. "She's just like you at that age - enough energy to light Celadon City."
"Yeah, well, I still got tired," Ash protested.
"True," Misty agreed. "But she's going to start training tomorrow. Weren't *you* excited the night before you got your first Pokemon?"
"Well..." Ash conceded. "Yeah. I'll cut her some slack this time."
"Good." Misty paused, her eyes going distant for a moment. "But you know... she's going to be away from home a long time."
Ash nodded, his mind aready digging up memories of his own journey. So many adventures, so many battles, so much knowledge gained. And now his daughter was going to embark on her own journey.
-
Kayla looked at Meowth. He was curled up at the foot of her bed, fast asleep. She had to smile. Meowths were her favorite type of Pokemon. She'd always been a cat person, scribbling Meowths, Persians, and even the occasional Mewtwo in her textbooks, and probably owning every kind of Meowth merchandise ever made. Convincing her parents to get her an actual Meowth had been tough, because they hadn't had particularly great experiences with Meowths in the past, but Kayla eventually got her Meowth. And he had proved to be just about as good a friend with her as her father's Pikachu was with him.
Meowth let out a purr in his sleep and smiled slightly - probably dreaming of catfood and yarn, Kayla decided with a smirk. She shook her red hair out of her eyes. Sleep was starting to sneak up on her, so she made sure the five alarms she had set (not wanting to be late) were turned on, and then went to sleep.
-
"Kayla!! Meeeowth, do you have *any* idea what time it is?"
"....hnh?"
Kayla woke up and realized that Meowth was wide awake and trying frantically to wake her up.
"You slept through your alarms! Come on, there might still be a Pokemon left!"
Kayla woke up suddenly. "Oh geeze! Does sleeping late run in this family or something??" she demanded of nobody in particular as she leapt out of bed and started searching through her dresser in search of a decent outfit. Most of her clothes had already been packed in preparation for her training career.
"Your alarms went off fifteen minutes ago," Meowth informed her as she hurriedly yanked on some jeans. "Two extra hours makes a real difference."
"Are you going to stop that anytime soon?" Kayla asked, putting on a shirt and yanking on her jacket. Before the cat Pokemon could answer, she left the house, not even letting her parents say a word. Meowth sighed and ran after.
-
"You don't have *anything* for me? Not even a Pikachu?"
"You should have come earlier," Professor Kendall, Pallet's new Pokemon professor, said.
"How can I be a Pokemon trainer with no Pokemon?" Kayla whined.
"Who... says you don't... have a Pokemon?" a familiar voice gasped from the doorway. Kayla turned around to see her Meowth leaning against the doorframe, obviously tired out.
"Meowth!" Kayla exclaimed, picking up the cat.
"You think... I'd stay at home... while you... had all the fun?" Meowth puffed, tired-out from his run. Kayla giggled.
"Well, looks like you already have your starter Pokemon," Professor Kendall smiled. He took the last Pokedex and set of Pokeballs from a table and handed them to Kayla. "If all goes well, Pallet may have a second champion to brag about," he added.
Kayla smirked. "You're looking at the daughter of the greatest Pokemon trainer ever known. Of course Pallet'll have a second champion."
Professor Kendall chuckled. "Do I look doubtful?" he said. "Go on, your parents are probably waiting."
Kayla nodded and left (after putting down Meowth, who had caught his breath). Somehow, she was not surprised to see her parents already standing at the gate, her mother carrying the supplies she would need.
For the first time in her life, the full impact of who her parents were sank in. Her mother, the greatest water Pokemon trainer ever. Her father, Ash Ketchum. Fourth to leave Pallet Town. First to hold the title of "Pokemon Master". And she was his daughter, the one who would have to continue the line of great trainers.
She approached her parents, not saying a word. Misty handed her the backpack.
"This is food rations, about a month's worth of clothes, etc.," Misty said as Kayla put on the backpack.
"Thanks," Kayla said, and she was just about to say goodbye when her father started speaking.
"Kayla, I hope you understand exactly what you're about to do," he said. "It's a long journey ahead of you, and you might not have to deal with anyone like Team Rocket, but it can still be dangerous."
"I know, Dad, and I know the way. I only studied the maps about 20 dozen times, remember?"
Ash smiled a little. "I'm just being a parent. It's our job to worry about our kids. Listen, I want you to be very careful on your journey, but not so careful that you stop having fun, okay?"
Kayla smiled. "Okay."
"Oh, Meowth?" Misty added, looking at the cat Pokemon.
"Yeah?"
"There's two things I don't want you to do. Don't join any crime groups, and don't let Kayla get as full of herself as her father was." She winked.
"Hey! I was ten years old, gimme a break!"
Meowth grinned. "No problem."
After saying their goodbyes, Kayla and Meowth left Pallet Town, setting out to begin their own Pokemon journey.