The bedroom was suddenly overrun with the sounds of a Starly-shaped alarm clock, signaling that the day was to officially begin. A sleepy arm weakly hovered toward it and silenced it before returning to its place under the covers.
"Piplup, piplup!" Piplup chimed, attempting to wake its sleepy trainer.
Dawn stirred slightly, but didn't even get as far as opening her eyes.
"Mmm, just a little longer Piplup..." she mumbled, still very much asleep.
Piplup jumped onto the bed. It had been through this routine countless times over there journey across the region together and it not knew exactly how to remedy this dreary situation. Piplup powered up its beak, causing it to extend slightly, and gave its trainer a round of its Peck attack. The attack seemed to do little at first, but was soon met with startling success.
"NYAHH!" Dawn cried as she shot up to a sitting position. Piplup was thrown of the bed in the process.
"Man, you really know how to give a wake-up call Piplup." she groaned, rubbing her now sore head.
"Hey!" she suddenly exclaimed, perking up instantly,
"I just remembered, we're back home!"
She jumped out of bed and headed straight for the window. She joyfully opened the screens and gazed out at the new morning. It was a sight that she was all too familiar with, having grown up with it, and the sight, sounds, and smells of a new morning that she experienced from that window never got old for her. Despite the amazing times that she had during her travels, made even better when she first realized that she had fallen in love, she was truly glad to be home.
She didn't take too long at the window, as today was to be a very special one. Today was the last day that Ash and Brock were going to be in Sinnoh. Even thought in deeply hurt that they (particularly Ash) weren't going to be around any more, she was determined to not let that sadness bring her down. She wanted to make their last day together a day to remember. She quickly fixed herself up, dawning here usual wardrobe (minus her white beanie), and headed downstairs, Piplup following close behind.
She cheerfully trotted downstairs.
"Good morning!" she bid in a slight sing.
"Oh, good morning Dawn!" her mother's voice chimed from the kitchen
Dawn was a little surprised that her mother's voice was all that answered her call. She had at least expected Brock to be up and moving as well, he usually being up before her or Ash during their travels. She shook her concern off and skipped into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast beckoning her.
"Hey Mom!" she chimed as she took her place at the table.
Johanna broke away from the sink and set out a heavenly breakfast spread.
"I'm sure your dying for a nice, big, homemade breakfast!" she said sweetly.
"You bet!" Dawn boomed as she helped herself.
Johanna returned to the sink, apparently taking care of some dishes from a previous meal. Dawn looked around the kitchen into the living room. The house was strangely quiet. Brock was to have slept on the living room couch, but the area was completely clear, like it hadn't even been touched. She didn't pay it much mind though, Brock was exceptionally tidy. The sight did make her start to think about what the guest room that Ash was staying in looked like at that point. She giggled at the thought.
"So where are Ash and Brock?" she asked rather passively.
Johanna didn't answer, but did stop her washing, her face becoming racked with sorrow.
"Oh, Ash is probably still asleep. I swear he can sleep through anythi..." she was suddenly cut of by her mother
"Dawn..." Johanna began, trying to consider the best way to deliver the potentially heart breaking news.
"Huh, what is it Mom?" Dawn asked, concerned over her mother's sudden change in mood.
"I'm so sorry Dawn," she said softly, bracing herself for her daughter's reaction, "...but Ash and Brock have already left for the Kanto region."
Dawn froze, her eyes widened.
"W-What do mean? They already left?" she asked weakly, barely able to raise her voice beyond a whisper.
"There was a change in the ferry schedule..." Johanna calmly explained, "and they had to leave early this morning."
Dawn barely heard her. She was devastated, unable to believe that Ash would leave her without telling her. She tried desperately to deny it as tears began forming in her eyes.
"No..." she whimpered, "he can't be, he wouldn't..." she told herself, before crying out.
"ASH!" she cried as she jumped up from the table and took of full speed back upstairs to the guest room.
"Uh, Dawn wait!" Johanna called as she dried her hands and took of after her. Piplup, having been left behind, followed Johanna.
Dawn had been running so fast that she nearly skid past the door to the guest room.
"ASH!" she exclaimed as she flung the door open. The sight she came upon nearly caused her to be sick to her stomach.
The room was completely tidy. There were no bags, no cloths on the floor, nothing. The bed had been made very neatly, as if it hadn't been used at all. That was proof enough that her mother was telling the truth;
Ash was gone.
"He's gone..." Dawn said weakly, frozen in the doorway where she stood.
"Dawn..." her mother's soft voice came from behind her.
"He's..." Dawn tried to speak again, but she was instantly overcome with sadness as she fell to her knees, crying.
Johanna had never seen her daughter so upset before. She knelt down beside Dawn and hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. Dawn accepted her mother's embraced, but couldn't bring herself to stop crying. How could she? She had planned to make her final day with Ash truly special, a day the two of them would always remember fondly. But, for her, it went even deeper than that. She had decided that today would be the day that she would tell him how she really felt, hoping that he would at least acknowledge her feelings. But none of that mattered now, he was gone, and there was no telling when (or even if) they would ever see each other again. Dawn's heartbreaking meltdown lasted nearly 15 minutes before she could at least speak again. She was still crying but it had slowly begun to subside, Johanna continuing to hold her.
"He didn't even... say goodbye." Dawn whimpered in between sobs.
Johanna said nothing, wanting her to let everything out. Dawn was about to speak again but was cut off by Piplup, desperately trying to get their attention.
"Pippiplup piplup piplup!" the small penguin Pokemon chirped frantically.
"Huh, was it is Piplup?" Johanna asked.
"Pip pip lup piplup!" Piplup again chirped, pointing one of its wings toward the head of the bed.
Dawn and Johanna looked to where it was pointing. There was something resting on the pillow that neither of them had noticed beforehand. Dawn quickly got to her feet and swiftly made her way toward the bed, Johanna following.
Dawn sat down on the bed, taking the object in her hands.
"This is..." she whispered, recognizing the item immediately.
She held Ash's hat tightly. This was all that she had to remind her of him, but for her, it wasn't nearly enough. She held it against her chest, tears still streaming down her face, dropping onto it.
"Huh, Dawn..." Johanna said suddenly, pointing to her daughter's lap.
Dawn looked down. Something had fallen out of Ash's hat onto her lap. Dawn picked it up, examining it through her tears. It appeared to be a folded sheet of paper.
"Is it a note?" Johanna asked, taking a seat next to Dawn.
Dawn timidly unfolded the paper, immediately recognizing Ash's rather sub-par handwriting.
"Its from Ash..." Dawn said quietly, rather shock that Ash would go through the trouble.
The note read:
Dawn,
Sorry Brock and I couldn't stick around longer, but the boat ended up leaving way early. I didn't wake you up because I thought you deserved to sleep in, now that your finally home! Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for being such an awesome friend Dawn. You didn't just support me in ways that no one else have, but you also saved Pikachu from Team Rocket before we even met. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for that, and I just hope I did a good enough job supporting you too. Traveling with you was tons of fun, and I can't wait to do it again sometime. Your so much more than just good friend to me Dawn, I'm not sure how to explain it, but when I figure it out, I'll let you know! I'll never forget you Dawn, and hope you won't forget me, but just in case, I wanted you to have my hat, just to remind you that I'm always rooting for you and that I'll always be your friend. We'll see each other again soon Dawn, I promise.
-Ash
P.S. Tell Piplup and Buneary that Pikachu says bye and thanks!
"Ash..." Dawn sighed dreamily at the heart warming letter.
She now felt like such an idiot, thinking that he would leave her without a word. As her tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy, she held the note close. To her, it was more than just a goodbye or thank you letter written by a friend. To her, it was proof that Ash had come to think of her both very fondly and very strongly.
"You see Dawn," Johanna said warmly, "he still cares about you."
"Yeah, but I..." Dawn began.
Even though she felt much better, content in the thought that Ash was still thinking of her, she had another problem to contend with. She wasn't sure what to do next. She had hoped that spending the day with him would give her a clue, but that was out of the question now.
"...I don't know what to do now Mom." Dawn said weakly.
Johanna put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"You need to figure that out for yourself, I can't give you the answer." she said firmly.
"But... without Ash, I don't think..." Dawn was ready to break down again before mother stopped her.
"Think about it Dawn," Johanna said, "if he were here right now, what do you think he would say?"
Dawn froze. Ash was one of the her main inspirations. Through him, she was able to come up with many of her appeal combinations, battle tactics, and even, at times, dress designs. She sat quietly for a minute, thinking of how he would help her realize her next step. She soon came to a conclusion.
"He would want me to keep training to be the best coordinator I can be." she said sweetly.
"That's my girl!" Johanna said, giving her daughter a congratulatory kiss on the forehead, "and its up to you of how you'll go about that."
She got up from the bed and made her way out of the room. She then stopped in the doorway to look back at Dawn. Dawn remained sitting, her eyes locked on the note and hat, smiling sweetly to herself as a deep blush kissed her cheeks. Johanna recognized the look all too well, having gone through it herself in her youth.
"You really like him, don't you Dawn." she softly commented.
Dawn said nothing and simply nodded, her blush slightly deepening. In truth, however, Johanna could see that her daughter's compassion for the boy went much deeper. It was obvious that Dawn loved Ash very much. Johanna didn't mind this, she thought Ash was a strong and very kind person, and she was happy that her daughter had fallen for someone as good as him. She turned away and made her way back downstairs, leaving Dawn to her thoughts and memories.
It has been nearly two weeks since Ash's departure, and Dawn was at last ready to continue her travels. She had been training with her Pokemon nonstop, even reaching out to her rivals for assistance. After much practice around her home town, she was finally ready. She had decided to travel to the Hoenn region to take part in the contest circuit there.
"You think we have everything Piplup?" Dawn asked her Pokemon.
"Piplup pip!" Piplup said, popping its head out of Dawn's travel bag.
"Good, almost ready!" Dawn chimed.
She stepped in front of her full-length mirror for a final check on her appearance. She had kept her white tank-top and black blouse, but switched out her pink miniskirt for a pair of tattered, blue daisy-duke style shorts. Her pink go-go boots had been swapped for a pair of black ones with pink laces. Her hair was now done up in a ponytail, sticking out from the mouth of a red and black baseball cap with a blue half-Pokeball design on the front, the same hat that Ash had left her. She let out a small giggle, content with her appearance.
"Well, don't you look cute!" Johanna said, appearing in the doorway.
Dawn turned to her.
"Since the Hoenn contests don't require you to dress up, though it was at least time for a change in wardrobe!" Dawn said proudly.
"Well, I'm sure if Ash saw you now he'd be drooling speechless!" her mother teased.
Dawn became stiff, her face lighting up bright red.
"W-What do you mean?" she demanded.
"Oh nothing Dawn." Johanna said with a chuckle as turned away from Dawn's room.
Dawn quickly shook her comment off. Deep down, she really did want to show off her new look to Ash, but it would have to wait. She grabbed her bag soon followed her mother downstairs, motioning for Piplup to follow. Her mother waited for her at the front door, eager to see her off.
"You're sure you have everything?" Johanna asked as Dawn made her way outside.
"Yup! Piplup and I went over everything almost 5 times!" Dawn announced.
Johanna looked over her daughter and her Pokemon.
"I'm so proud of you Dawn," she said warmly, "you've shown that you have everything it takes to be a great Pokemon coordinator."
"Mom, your embarrassing me." Dawn whined.
"Sorry, now be sure to call once you arrive in Hoenn, okay?" she said with a chuckle.
"Alright, bye Mom." Dawn quickly agreed as she made her exit.
Johanna watched as her daughter made her way down the road. She couldn't help but worry for her, even though she had indeed proven that she could look out for herself.
"Be careful Dawn!" she finally called before Dawn got too far.
"No need to worry Mom, I'll be fine!" Dawn cheerfully called back.
It was whenever she said those 4 words that she worried about her the most. But she knew that Dawn already knew that and allowed her to continue without further interruption.
Dawn confidently made her way to where the ferry was waiting. As she walked, a sudden gust of wind took her by surprise and nearly blew her hat off. She quickly brought her hand up and stopped the cap from leaving her. As she grasped the hat, however, something came over her. Her heart began to quicken and her face began to warm. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the note that Ash had left her. She had decided to bring it along, in case found herself down. She stood still, letting the warm, comforting feeling make its way through her whole body for nearly a full minute, before continuing on her way.
"Wait for me Ash," she though, "I'll become the best coordinator ever, and then, you'll be all mine!"
The End