This is my first story on fanfiction and I hope you all enjoy it. I love Pearlshipping and I hope I can make more stories for this couple.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Please leave any reviews that could help me for the next chapter! :D
Ash: Hmm, we have an amateur on our hands I see.
Me: Hey! *pout*
Dawn: *slaps Ash* Shush, don't make her anymore nervous than she already is.
Me: Mhmm...or I might find a nice tombstone with your name on it. *punches fist into other hand*
Ash: *sweat drops* Meep. o.O
Chapter 1- I Miss You
Yes this is it! Ash thought, grinning at the trainer he was close to defeating. His red and white cap was backwards on his shaggy dark hair, his gloved hands clenched in determination. This is what he was born to do.
He looked at the sidelines, expecting to see his favorite blue haired friend in a pink cheerleader outfit, waving her pompoms and encouraging him on. He expected to see her Pokemon dancing around her feet, their cries clashing together...instead he saw his friend Iris and Cilan clapping on the sidelines, screaming his and Pikachu's names.
That's when Ash faltered.
His determination came crashing down and the world around him rocked, then blackened. Instead he saw his best friend's large sapphire eyes in his vision, so vivid he thought she was actually in front of him. He saw her raising her hand for a high five, beaming and saying, "Great job, Ash!" He was just lifting his hand to meet hers when he heard his opponent cry, "Serperior, leaf storm!"
Ash snapped back into reality, but it was too late: Pikachu let out a scream of, "PIKAAA!" and flung backwards against the ground, blown back by a ferocious storm of leaves; and then suddenly his eyes were unfocused.
"Pikachu's unable to battle, so Serperior wins; the victory goes to Trip!" Cilan announced sadly from the sidelines.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelped, rushing forward to cradle the yellow mouse. It looked up at him mournfully, and Ash could tell he was upset from losing.
Trip approached Ash, calling his Serperior back to it's Poke ball. His cocky smirk normally made Ash want to punch him, but right now Ash was too disoriented from his loss and his vision of Dawn.
The blond boy laughed. "And I thought you couldn't get any worse," He said snidely to his dark haired rival, who glared up at him.
Ash wasn't sure what to say, or whether he even cared. All he knew was that he had to call Dawn, see her, hug her, high five her...
He needed her.
But I can't tell anyone that, He thought to himself. If anyone knew...especially her...oh gosh, what do I do?
Ash got to his feet and turned to face his friends, ignoring Trip.
He found light brown eyes close to his and he jumped. "Ash Ketchum, what the heck was that?" Iris scolded, bristling at his confused expression. "Don't give me that look; you know exactly why I'm mad!"
"Sorry, I missed that memo," he growled in response, anger replacing his confusion. Almost.
The purple haired bud dragon master ground her teeth and spat, "You let him defeat you!"
The ebony haired boy narrowed his brown eyes. "I didn't," He mumbled, still feeling crushed and immobilized.
She didn't buy it. "Oh yeah? What happened to all that training? We all knew -even Trip- that you would've defeated him today if you hadn't just...I dunno, lost it."
Ash blinked; he hadn't thought he could defeat Trip, even with all his determination. But what Iris was saying was slowly making an impact on his mind...
"It's true, Ash," His green haired friend agreed, patting Ash's shoulder. "We all saw it in your eyes; you were pumped with a spicy determination."
"What happened Ash?" Iris asked softly, her anger slowly ebbing away. I can't stay mad at Ash for long, She thought solemnly.
Ash didn't meet their eyes, carefully examining his shoelaces. "I'm not sure," He lied quietly.
Iris opened her mouth to yell at him, anger getting the best of her again, but Cilan put a hand on her shoulder to silence her. "Ash, you can tell us."
Suddenly, fury shot through Ash. Why did they keep bugging him? It wasn't their business, wasn't his fault he felt so empty. "Nothing! Would you just leave me alone?!" He turned around and ran before his friends could reply, ran hard in the direction of the Pokemon Center the trio were staying at. He had to blink hasty tears of sadness from his vision, tears of frustration, tears of anger, tears of...
Tears of loss.
Why did I leave her? Ash wondered as Nurse Joy whisked Pikachu away on a stretcher. Pikachu wasn't badly hurt, but medical attention would be best for him right now.
Ash sighed and sat down in the waiting room, sifting through his bag for...
There.
He pulled out his badge case and opened it, examining his trainer ID card signed up for all five Pokemon leagues and his eight Unova badges. He frowned. Why do I feel like these are worthless? He thought to himself, fingering his Trio Badge given to him by his green haired companion.
I always thought this was my life's ambition, and I always felt good about achieving my goals. I thought I was happy, but...
Ash plucked the bottom hatch open under his badges and looked at the photo carefully stashed beneath.
It was of him and Dawn after defeating the Champ Twins so long ago. Brock had snapped the photo of them when they'd shared one of their high fives together. Ash smiled weakly at his wild grin and Dawn's beautiful smile set in place as always...her sapphire eyes full of euphoria and happiness...
He missed her big blue eyes, missed her confident smile, her sweet laugh, her long, dark blue silky hair...
He missed the blunette more than words could say.
"Oh Dawn," Ash whispered, running a finger down the side of her face.
"Ash?"
He looked up glumly and found Cilan and Iris standing before him, both looking worry. They sat on either side of him.
"What's wrong?" Iris asked softly, her little dragon type Pokemon, Axew, popping his head out to look at Ash.
Ash opened his mouth, trying to find words, but they got lost in his throat. Slowly, he pointed to the picture of him and Dawn. Both the connoisseur and bud dragon master peaked over his shoulder.
"Dawn?" Cilan breathed. He stared at Ash, his green eyes twinkling. "You miss her?"
Ash peered from under his hat and his cheeks were flushed. "Yes," He managed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I miss her."
Dawn smirked. No need to worry! She thought in excitement, watching Quilava pull off the excellent routine they'd practiced.
With a huge grin, the blue haired coordinator was about to call out the final move when suddenly a thought crossed her mind: He's not there for me.
She glanced up at the stands, scanned the crowd. No ebony haired boy sat cheering her name, no boy waiting to high five her after the appeal round. She lost the thread of the carefully plotted routine and stared in shock at Quilava. She wasn't sure why but suddenly she felt her confidence being sucked away.
Quilava looked expectantly at her, spinning and flipping through it's fiery hoop, waiting for her command. But her voice seemed to have vanished and the world didn't seem to matter.
Dawn visioned herself hugging Ash before he left for Kanto, holding back tears that were threatening to burst from her. She remembered how watery his brown eyes seemed, the way his arms seemed to tremble. She had felt the tears leak out of her eyes as the ferry carried away her best friend... She remembered waving to him until the boat had vanished into the horizon, remembered how weak and empty she felt. She remembered when she got home she locked herself in her room and cried for hours and hours. She remembered all those times they'd shared their high fives, shared the laughs, had great times, great adventures, saving each other...the tag battles...
Ash, She thought, her fists trembling. She saw a large blast of fire before her eyes and her bubble shattered as she realized what was happening; she saw Quilava land in a shaky flip, having broken it's fiery wheel. The moves looked pretty and made Quilava look powerful, but it hadn't been perfect like the original.
She had messed up. The crowd and judges still applauded, though the judges didn't look too impressed. Dawn hastily curtsied and scampered off the stage, Quilava at her heels.
The moment Dawn got in the little room for the coordinators to hang out in to wait for their performance, she collapsed onto a cushioned seat and hid her face in her hands.
Even when I can't see him he still manages to slip in my thoughts and distract me, She thought somberly, twirling her fingers through her hair and lacy light pink dress. Why do I feel this way?
"Dawn!"
Dawn lifted her head and saw her brunette friend approaching her, accompanied by two people...
"Hi May...Zoe, Kenny," She murmured glumly, barely managing a weak smile. She looked down at her high heels, not wanting to meet their eyes.
"Dee Dee, what's wrong? You did great!" Kenny said confidently, ruffling her hair. Dawn nodded numbly, too upset to even care he called her 'Dee Dee' or that he'd messed up her carefully done hair.
May's cerulean blue eyes were full of concern as she examined her blue haired friend's condition. I wonder...what's wrong with her? She looks like she needs someone, She thought.
Zoe gave Dawn a stern look, her dark eyes searching Dawn as well. "You could've done better, like you did yesterday. What happened to you?"
Dawn looked up, a forced smile on her face. "Oh, I guess I wanted to try something else," She lied.
Her three friends frowned; they knew she was lying.
Zoe spoke up first. "You're a bad liar, Dawn," She said sharply, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes, her dark red hair looking like it would burst into flames. "Tell us what's wrong."
"Yeah, Dee Dee, or I'm gonna have to start making you laugh by telling embarrassing stories of nursery school," Kenny giggled.
Dawn's head shot up. "You wouldn't," She hissed, but she knew he would. She looked at her friends and sighed; she couldn't keep this up without telling them.
"Alright." Dawn took a deep breath and managed to breathe, "I really miss Ash."
Kenny's eyes widened, but May and Zoe looked unsurprised. "I knew it," They both said in unison.
Dawn was startled. Was it that obvious? She thought and she blushed. I thought I kept it hidden but...I guess I was wrong.
"I always knew you and Ash would have a hard time being apart," May said sweetly, putting a hand on Dawn's shoulder, her eyes twinkling. "You two get along better than me or Misty did with him...I always saw the look in your guys' eyes when you talked to each other, encouraged each other, and cheered one another on, plus the high fives- I just knew you were his favorite out of all of us. I noticed he never gave me or Misty high fives before- they were special and only for you."
Dawn didn't speak, but a warm feeling was growing inside her, filling the emptiness in her heart with hope. What May just said made her feel better; it made her feel confident, it made her feel sure it was true...
She needed Ash.
But what if he doesn't miss me? She thought with a frown. He's probably too busy fulfilling his Pokemon Master dreams to worry about missing me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, here's the results for the first round!" Marian's voice called from the TV up above their heads and they all looked up. The announcer smirked and gestured at the screen. Faces of the coordinators moving on starting appearing...1, 2, 3, 4...
Dawn sucked in a breath. This was it, she had to make it...
5, 6, 7, and then-
The final face appeared, and it wasn't Dawn.
Her eyes widened. No, not again. Horror filled her as hope had just a minute ago. She knew she hadn't pulled off her full routine, but she had hoped the judges liked her unplanned and changed one.
Sighing, Dawn got to her feet. She looked at her three friends and whispered, "Can we go back to the hotel?"
Sitting in her room that night, Dawn was in front of her mirror in her pajamas and brushing her long midnight blue hair. She stared miserably at her reflection, trying decide if her decision was right.
I think she'll understand, Dawn thought to herself, pulling her laptop from her bag and flipping it open. She searched and finally, she pulled up the right contact and hit the call button.
Johanna, just finishing cleaning the dishes, heard her computer beeping in the dining room. She frowned, wondering who could be calling at this late hour. She set down her wash cloth and crossed the room to the computer and answered the call.
"Yes?"
"Hi Mom! Still awake?"
Johanna blinked sleepily and tried for a tired smile. "Hi honey, why the late night call?"
"Sorry mom, I just wanted to tell you-" Dawn hesitated, starting to doubt her decision. "-I'm coming home tomorrow."
Her mother looked surprised. But why..? "How come?" She asked.
"Uh, what, I can't visit my mother?"
Johanna looked at her suspiciously. "Dawn, you lost again didn't you?" She peered at her, concerned for her daughter.
Dawn sighed and nodded. "I just...need a break."
Johanna decided not to press her until she got home. "Alright honey. I'm tired so I'll see you in the morning?"
"Yes, mom."
Dawn shut off her laptop and flopped on her bed, wondering what Ash was doing and if he missed her at all...
Oh Ash, I miss you...I wish you knew how I felt...
The next morning, Ash opened his eyes and found bright sunshine shining across his bed. He blinked when he saw Cilan and Iris packing and dressed. Must of slept in, He thought, starting to rub the sleep from his eyes when he realized he was still holding the photo of him and Dawn.
Ash struggled out of his bedsheets and approached his friends, a goal from the night before set on his mind. "Hey guys, I'm going to call someone real quick, can you make sure we have everything?"
Iris raised her eyebrows. "We're practically almost done with that, but fine." She watched him sprint through the door and down the stairs, thinking, He must be excited for one reason, and I bet I can guess that reason...
The purple haired girl giggled audibly. He's so goofy, so hopelessly in love and he doesn't even know it.
That's it for Chapter 1!
Ash: *shakes head* Short chapter if you ask me.
Iris: *groans* You're never satisfied.
Me, Dawn, and Cilan: *nods wisely*
May: *huge grin* REVIEW PLEASE!