Here I am, with a new story!
This story is a request by ObeliskX and I finally got some time to spend on it.
And yeah, there is swapping of heart, between Ash and Dawn! There are not many heart swapping pearlshipping stories out there and so I decided to take the request. Moreover the plot is humorous too, I couldn't resist myself.
I stayed up late at night to figure out whether there are any Pokémon which can use heart swap (since there are moves like Baton Pass) and I discovered Manapy and Phione can use it! Makes my work easier!
I don't own Pokémon or any of its character. The basic plot of the story belongs to ObeliskX. Co-author and helping partner, my besttiee!
...
"Hurry up Serena, Bonnie and Clemont! I can smell Mom's food from here!" cried an enthusiastic raven haired boy who was just returning from his journey from Kalos. On his shoulder was a pikachu, who was just as homesick as his trainer was.
As he was waiting on the cliff which overlooked Pallet Town, he couldn't help but have a feeling of déjà vu. It has been almost six years since he had started his journey, met some amazing friends, landed in problems unknowingly and somehow making it out alive. It took him six long years to win a league. It felt really good to be back home, to be back to the place you were born and brought up in.
Serena and Bonnie came and stood beside Ash, taking a look at the small and beautiful town. "Its so small and pretty!" Bonnie chimed as Dedenne chirped in happiness too.
"I know right!" Ash boasted,"This place will always stay on the top of my favourite list." Clemont soon joined them, breathing heavily.
"I know you're excited to meet your Mom and be back home but I am an inventor not an athlete!" Clemont complained between taking breaths. Serena giggled a little and Bonnie couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes,"Grow up big brother, you're always the one who is left behind!"
"Just five more minutes and we will be home," Ash pumped his fists in the air with a happy and cheerful expression on his face. Then looking at Pikachu, he smiled,"Then we will head to Professor Oak's lab, I can't wait to greet everyone!" His enthusiasm spread over the whole group who couldn't help but smile.
When the group reached Ash's house, Clemont and Bonnie smiled and captured every scene in their heart. Being brought up in Lumiose City, they had hardly seen anything so simple yet beautiful. Serena took a glance at Ash, who was taking small breaths. Worried, she asked,"What's concerning you?"
Ash looked at her and gave her a smile,"Mom is going to be so happy. When I lost in the Sinnoh League, she was so heartbroken, now, she will be proud of me."
"Your mother was always proud of you son," Delia, appearing behind Ash said, smiling. Ash turned and the moment he saw his mother, enveloped her in a hug. He was hardly home, and whenever he was, he never missed any chance to spend time with his mother. Delia, being a young mother, had treated Ash like a best friend rather than a son. Their bond was unique and unbelievably strong.
"I missed you so much Mom! And I won! Now I can challenge Elite four of any region! I must train hard! Am so close to achieve my dream," he said in one go. Delia giggled and broke the hug, pecking his cheek. She ran a hand through his hair and cheerfully said,"Breathe Ash, breathe! I know you're excited, but you must enter the house first. Son, I know you have won, we have a TV and Elite Four can wait and so can the battles. Let me see much you have grown Ashy and I see, you have brought some guests."
Ash scratched the back of his forehead and sheepishly replied,"Oh sorry about that! This is Clemont and she is his sister, Bonnie. And Mom this is Serena!" Pikachu, who had climbed down Ash's shoulder as soon as witnessing his mother, let out a chirp,"Pika Pika!"
Delia picked up Pikachu in her arms and rubbed her cheek against it,"You have gotten a lot stronger Pikachu! Mr. Mime will be delighted to see you." Delia gently put Pikachu down and smiled at Ash's friend,"I am Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother."
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Ketchum," Clemont said and bowed down, Bonnie did too after Clemont signalled her to do the same. Serena smiled cheerfully and Delia gave them a warm smile,"Every friend of Ash is my dearest guest. Come inside, lunch is prepared."
Ash had hardly taken a step inside the house when he saw a bouquet lying on the tea table. It was no ordinary bouquet, it was a beautiful Gracidia flowers bouquet, beautifully decorated in a bamboo vase. He recalled his incident with Shaymin. Stifling a laugh and amused grin, he asked his mother,"How come there are gracidia flowers over here? Aren't they native to Sinnoh?"
Delia, who was preparing some fresh pancakes looked up and glanced in his direction. Serena, who was helping Delia looked at him too.
"Oh! They are for you, a friend of yours left them here," she smiled cheerfully. Ash tilted his head sideways,"A friend?"
"Yeah, she is now in Professor Oak's lab. She was freaking out about meeting Professor Oak, whom she calls The Poetry Guy," Delia replied while lowering the heat of the oven.
"She has blue hair?" Ash asked, grinning ear to ear. He knew she was. And he could hardly control his enthusiasm to see her again after such a long time.
"Yes! Pretty blue eyes too," Delia looked at Ash, explaining. All his suspicion were now confirmed. He exclaimed loudly,"I can't believe she is here!" He quickly grabbed his hat which he had placed on the table. Quickly putting it on his messy hair, he ran toward the exit door.
Serena and Delia looked at him in amazement. Bonnie was smirking a little, seeing Ash so psyched up to meet a girl. Clemont was cleaning the water he had spilled hearing Ash's sudden outburst.
"Where are you going Ash?" Serena asked confused, thinking he had gone crazy.
Ash bolted toward the door and grabbed the handle. He quickly opened the door but before running out, he yelled,"To fetch her! I will be back soon!" Serena opened her mouth to say something but he was already gone, the door closing behind him.
"This is impossible!" Clemont said with mouth wide open,"Ash never misses food!" Delia chuckled to herself, then said,"Don't worry, he really misses his friends and I guess is really excited to meet his old friends. As far as I know my son, for him friends and battles comes before food. I am sure he is going to end up calling every person he has once travelled with to inform them about his victory!"
...
Ash ran with all his might. If Dawn was over here, then there were chances of May and Iris visiting him too. May be Cilan and Brock were with them, waiting to congratulate him. With all these thoughts running through his mind, he couldn't help but have a goofy grin on his face.
He soon saw the red roof of the lab and green grassy field along it. He ran faster. He quickly dashed towards the door. He put a hand on the door while trying to catch his breath. Once he thought he was fine, he twisted the door knob. Entering inside, he called,"Professor Oak? Tracey?"
Silence.
He decided to go inside. He checked the room where Professor and Tracey occasionally used to sit and discuss. He found it empty. Shrugging it off, he decided to check outdoors.
He saw a black haired man feeding some rapidash while occasionally stroking its mane. He spotted a white haired man in lab coat, carefully examining his bayleef. Bayleef, on seeing her master, chirped and ran toward Ash, almost knocking Professor Oak.
Professor Oak turned around to see Ash on the ground, with Bayleef licking his face. He scratched his chin and said, amazed,"She sure likes you Ash. Such an exceptional bond between trainer and Pokémon." Ash freed himself from Bayleef and sat on the ground. Bayleef quickly ran, and Ash assumed she wanted to inform all his other Pokémon that he was back.
Ash stood up and dusted the dirt off his clothes. He readjusted his hat and extended his hand to give professor Oak a handshake,"Nice to see you Professor Oak!"
Professor Oak shook hands and warmly said,"Same to you Ash. And congratulations on winning the Kalos league. The bond with your Greninja is incredible." Ash sweat dropped,"You said the same thing about my Bayleef." Professor nodded,"Point well taken."
"Have you seen any blue haired girl around here?" Ash asked hopefully.
Professor Oak gave him a smile,"You must be talking about Dawn, Johanna's daughter." Ash nodded. Oak pointed toward the southernmost area of the ranch and said,"She is there, with your Sinnoh group of Pokémon. She really wanted to meet them." Ash thanked him and went there. He knew that she would be there, to meet his and her old friends. He picked up pace when he found silhouette of Torterra in his sights. "Almost there!"
He found Dawn playing with Gliscor and her Piplup arguing about something with Quilava. A small smile playing on his lips, he quickly went behind her and tapped her left shoulder. He ducked out of her eye sight before she turned.
"I swear someone tapped me," she said mostly to herself while the Pokémon where giving the duo a amazed look. Ash signalled them to keep quiet.
He tapped her other shoulder and moved away again. Dawn turned around and groaned in frustration,"If you're trying to mess with me, I swear..." She stopped her rant on seeing Ash smiling like an idiot as he did a victory pose with his fingers in V-shape,"Got my revenge!"
Dawn glared at him for a second and then giggled. She raised her hand high in air, and without wasting a moment, he connected his palm with hers, giving her a high five. Since he had gotten a lot taller, he had to bend his hand a little to give a perfect high-touch like old days. Dawn couldn't help but smile like an idiot. He still remembered how she tricked him when she met him in Unova.
Dawn smiled and then congratulated him on his latest victory, Ash proudly and confidently stated,"I will take the whole world by surprise. Elite four, here I come!"
Dawn shook her head amusingly, then a sudden thought crossed her mind. Glancing at Ash, she asked,"Where is Pikachu?''
She witnessed his facial expression changing from surprised to shock within a matter of seconds. Before she could even understand, he screamed,"I FORGOT PIKACHU AT HOME!"
...
"And this is how we arrived here so fast,"Dawn managed to say between her giggles. Bonnie was looking at the girl with shining eyes. She clasped her hands together and kneeled on one knee in front of Dawn. She extended one hand and in a sing song voice said,"You're a keeper! I want you to take care of my big brother."
Dawn was laughing awkwardly while Serena had a surprised look on her face, Ash burst out laughing. Delia, thinking it was a kid's thing, decided to stay out of it.
Clemont held Bonnie and pulled her away from Dawn. Embarrassed and red in the face, he scolded Bonnie,"How many times have I told you to stop doing it?" He then turned to Dawn and bowed his head in shame,"I apologize for my sister's conduct. I am so sorry." Dawn sweetly smiled and said that it was fine. Bonnie pouted cutely and complained,"She is so pretty and look at her hair style, I really want her to hair-dress me."
Serena gave Bonnie a unreadable expression. But since she was a kid, Serena shrugged it off. Dawn took a look at Clemont and smiled. The lemon haired boy was not that bad, she found him interesting, cute even. Bonnie's proposal rang inside her head and she felt warmth going up in her cheeks.
"Professor Oak and Tracey found a hidden Lake, which they call Pallok Lake over here, we can go there for picnic," Delia suggested. Dawn was glad someone was speaking. For a moment she forgot she was in company.
"But Mrs. Ketchum, it is already midday," Serena pointed out, although she wanted to go to the mysterious lake.
"You kids head there, I will come as soon as I can with the food," Mrs Ketchum said. The group nodded. Delia sadly added,"Moreover, knowing Ash, he will soon leave on a quest."
Ash placed a hand in her shoulder and smiled,"I promise I will stay longer this time."
...
Ash and the gang were now in Pallok Lake, a lake which connected Hoenn Ocean with Pallet town. The soft gushing sound of water against the pebble as well as the breeze seemed to play a tune on its own. The sun was directly overhead, but the cool sea breeze minimized its intensity.
Pikachu and Piplup were the first one to run to the sandy beach, followed by Dedenne and Bonnie, who were extremely happy. Clemont helped Dawn to spread the blanket as Serena put up the beach umbrella. Then the four of them yanked the loose shirt they were wearing to reveal their swimsuits.
Ash and Clemont were wearing blue and brown half pants respectively while Serena had chosen a pink one piece. Dawn settled for a greenish two piece and tied up her hair in two ponytails.
"Dedenne!" Bonnie cheered,"Lets make a sandcastle!"
"Yup! Lets do that!" Serena smiled and went to Bonnie. Dawn giggled as Ash tried to make a sandcastle only to be washed away by the waves.
Serena was helping Clemont and Bonnie build a sand castle where as the Pokémon were busy playing tag. Seeing a blue light coming from behind a big rock, Ash decided to follow it. Dawn, seeing Ash leave to a lonely place, decided to tag along.
"We should have brought a Pokémon with us," Dawn said, as soon as they were near the rock. Ash signalled her to stay quiet. He poked his head and saw a small blue Pokémon, playing with some other Pokémon of same species. His eyes widened.
After a few seconds, when Ash was still not moving, Dawn peeked and caught a glimpse of the Pokémon. Unable to control her excitement, she squealed in delight,"That is Manaphy and Phione along with Luvdiscs!"
The startled Pokémon gave a loud cry and a blue mysterious light emitting from his body enveloped Ash and Dawn. Their eyes widened for a second and then it closed, their body swayed to and fro and they collapsed on the ground, unconscious, Dawn on top of Ash's back.
..
It is quite evident from the summary that Ash and Dawn are going to exchange hearts, unknowingly. And with Serena in the picture, things are bound to get awkward. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
~ darkestlightofhope
