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The first time Delia ever heard of Marnie was when she was matched up with her son. Delia's first impression of her was that she was probably a troublemaker and a lot more negative things. She knew that she should be more like her son and not think bad about someone she hasn't met, but at least she raised her son better than how she was raised. When the day of the match happened, Ash was late and was almost disqualified. In her mind, Delia felt like it was due to Marnie in some way. Nevertheless, the battle happens with Ash’s Gengar and Marnie’s Grimmsnarl being called into battle. She saw the battle on the TV and her heart was pounding as the battle raged on. It was a close battle that could had gone either way, but luckily Ash won. Delia thought that was the last time she would ever hear about Marnie.
The next time Delia ever heard of Marnie was from her son. After Ash won his match with Leon, he stayed at home for a bit. He told her what he had learned at Professor Cerise lab and the adventures that he went on for research. Afterwards, he told her the people he met. That’s when he talked about Marnie. He talked about how her fans were the reasons as to why he was late. How Marnie was mad at them for trying to sabotage the match. Then, he talked about how Marnie was a kind person who wanted to show that Spikemuth was a place that provided a challenge. That Spikemuth gym was not weak due to the lack of power spots. Delia knew that she should had been more like her son and not think the worst of anyone especially after the info she was told. With a smile on her face, she continues to listen to Ash’s stories of his adventures. As Marnie was from Galar, Delia thought that she wouldn’t ever meet Marnie.
The first time Delia met Marnie was at her front door. It was another time that Ash was out of the house for a short period of time. His title as World Monarch was something that made him leave the house a lot. His other title as Alola Champion also made him go to Alola a lot more. Despite seeing Ash less, she knew that he would always come back to her. On the day before Ash was to come back, a knock was heard from the door. Delia went to see who it was and right in front of her was Marnie. The awkwardness was sense between them as they stared at each other. It was when Marnie explained that Ash invited her to train that everything clicked for Delia. Marnie was going to be a person that Ash would train with and have a profound friendship with. Marnie further explained that she didn’t want to be rude by being late and now she didn’t want to be rude by intruding. The way Marnie responded made Delia realize that she was a shy but kind girl. With a smile Delia let Marnie in and let her stay the night. Marnie returns the smile with one of her signature smiles. In Delia's mind, she thought that the smile Marnie gave was cute, but it kind of pained her that it looked like a fake smile. When Marnie went to sleep, Delia thought about how she may never see a real smile from Marnie.
The first time Delia saw Marnie give a real smile was the next day. Ash came back in the morning a little after breakfast started. He expected his mother to be the only one home, but smiled when he saw Marnie there. Delia gave Ash his food and went off to water her plants. As Delia was watering her plants, she heard a giggle coming from Marnie. She knew Ash made friends with all different kinds of people, but what surprised her the most was the fast rate they had become such close friends. It was only a few months since they had met for the first time and it was only for a battle. What happened between the time of the end of their battle and now was a complete mystery to her, but it definitely had made a huge impact with both of them. When Delia went back inside the house, she saw the smile on Marnie's face. A smile that didn’t have any fingers on the edge of the mouth. A real smile. However, the one thing that made Delia worry were Marnie's eyes. She saw them on many girls that fell for Ash. Those were the eyes of someone who has a crush. Delia knew that this would not end well for Marnie whether it was Marnie accepting heartbreak or her giving up. After breakfast, Ash and Marnie trained with each other for hours. She would give them food and water as they train. As if fate was more cruel, Delia saw Marnie start to admire Ash much more. That was when Delia thought that Marnie was doomed.
The first time Delia realized that Marnie wasn’t doomed was a year later. From that time onward, Marnie would come alongside Ash to his house. Delia was surprised at first but didn’t complain as she knew that Ash needed someone to keep him in check. Each time Marnie would come by, she grew to know Marnie much more. Ash’s pokemon also grew to like Marnie more to the point that they would follow her command perfectly in many training sessions that both her and Ash had. Even Pikachu would ride on her shoulder when she and Ash came back from a trip. It was when Marnie didn’t come back with him that Delia grew curious. When she asked Ash, he said that Marnie took over her brother's gym. He had a bittersweet smile that told so much of how he felt. He explained that he was training her to take over the gym due to a request from Piers. The two grew close and his eyes showed how conflicted he felt about Marnie not being with him. That is also when she saw Ash as not her baby boy, but as the young man that he has become. Delia smiles at Ash and told him that he will figure it out. Ash would leave a few days later to Galar. Delia knew that Marnie was not doomed to a cruel fate. She knew that both will return and their life will change.
A few months later, Ash came back with Marnie and both had smiles that could light up a room.