this is both my first Pokemon fanfic as well as my first time writing anything scary so it may not be very good. The M rating is mainly just in case anything gets super violent or anything gets a little… steamy… In later chapters. It probably won't start getting scary until chapter two or chapter three and maybe even not until chapter four it just depends how it unfolds in my head. I hope anyone reading this enjoys it.
I do not own Pokemon (as much as I really would love to)

Chapter one

Ash walked into the pokemon center just ahead of his girlfriend Misty and their good friends Brock and Dawn
"welcome to the pokemon center" a smiling nurse Joy greeted them "is there something I can do for you today?" she asked
"nothing to drastic, just in for a bit of a rest" Ash answers "we've walked a long way to get here" he adds
"well in that case go ahead and have a seat somewhere and take a rest" nurse Joy says "you're all welcome to stay here for the night as well" she adds before walking away. Ash looks out the window and notices for the first time how dark it's gotten
"maybe we should stay here for the night" he says as they all find someplace to sit "it is getting pretty dark out there" he adds pointing outside. Everyone looks outside and nods
"that would be a good idea" Misty speaks up first not noticing she cut off Dawn who frowns
"we can stay here for the night and head out in the early morning" Dawn says "we can make it to Eterna City by noon tomorrow" she adds
"sounds fine with me" Brock says "now if you'll all excuse me I need to go use the bathroom" he adds getting up and walking away. Ash knows that Brock is really just going to flirt with nurse Joy but decides not to make a big deal out of it, he's to tired to care. He slumps down farther into his seat and closes his eyes absent mindedly petting his long term companion and good friend Pikachu.
"I think we should let out our pokemon for a little bit" Dawn speaks up breaking Ash's quietness
"you know what Dawn?" he says sitting up again "that's a great idea" he adds grabbing his pokeballs and throwing them one by one into the air until his pokemon are all in front of him. "you guys are free to roam around here for a bit but no going outside and try not to go to far ok?" he says to the group in front of him paying no attention to any of the pokemon Dawn and Misty are letting out as well. All Ash's pokemon nod before each walking off in their own direction to explore.
After a while Brock gets back and he's carrying a tray of food along with him
"nurse Joy said that since we'll be here for the night, we might as well have something to eat" he says setting down the tray of sandwiches and soup "she's already taken care of feeding our pokemon and is keeping an eye on them for us in case they wander off to far" he adds sitting down.
"good I was getting worried" Misty says "Togapi wandered off with my other pokemon and I was worried no one would be looking out for him"
"nurse Joy says their all fine" Brock says taking a bite of his sandwich. The group settles down to eat in silence until every last sandwich is gone and all the soup has been devoured
"I'm going to go gather my pokemon and then get some sleep" Ash says getting up and grabbing all his pokeballs
"I'll go with you" Misty says also getting up
"we should all do that" Dawn says jumping up "we have a long walk tomorrow" she adds
"you're right Dawn" Brock says getting up as well "we all just need to gather our pokemon and get to sleep." the group walks around the center gathering up their pokemon before all gathering in a large open space in a corner of the center
"I'll go ask nurse Joy if she has any sleeping bags we could use for the night" Dawn says walking away before anyone can answer her
"have either of you noticed something off with Dawn lately?" Brock asks watching her leave
"what do you mean?" Ash asks
"I'm not sure to be honest" Brock answers "she's just seemed a little out of it lately is all" he adds
"I haven't noticed a thing" Misty says "but I can see her on her way back so you'd better just shut up" she adds. A few seconds later Dawn returns holding four sleeping bags
"she said to roll them up and bring them back to her in the morning before we leave" she says dropping them all on the ground then grabbing herself a purple one. They all get settled in their sleeping bags in different areas of the large space, Misty and Ash finding a way to connect their sleeping bags so they can be together, and soon all of them are sound asleep.
In the morning Ash wakes up to the sunlight shining in his eyes so he sits up to try and avoid it waking up Misty, Pikachu, and Togapi in the process
"sorry guys the sun was shining directly in my eyes and I was trying to avoid it" he says
"It's fine we all need to wake up anyway" Misty says getting up and stretching
"You are very correct now help me wake up Brock" Dawn says startling them "we should have left two hours ago" she adds
"why didn't you wake us then?" Misty asks
"I tried" is all Dawn says before walking away. Ash and Misty get up and roll up the sleeping bags before walking over to Brock. Soon after they start shoving and yelling at him with no results Dawn returns carrying a bucket of ice water
"this should work" she says dumping the water onto Brock's face
"I didn't do it I swear!" Brock says jumping up fully awake
"good you're awake now we can get going" Dawn says already rolling his sleeping bag
"it's time to leave already?" he asks
"It was time to leave three hours ago but you wouldn't wake up" she answers him walking away. Brock looks at Ash and Misty who both shrug and they all follow Dawn out of the center and back onto the road.
"if we take the shortcut around the Eterna forest we should be able to not only make up some time but also avoid having Misty freak out because of the bug pokemon" Dawn says when they're on their way
"does that mean we can stop and eat something really fast?" Brock asks
"you could have done that three hours ago if you had all been awake" Dawn answers not turning around
"what's her big hurry? We'll still get there before dark" Misty asks as they all watch Dawn walking ahead of them as fast as she can
"I have no idea but I'm starving" Ash says
"think she'd notice if we stopped to eat and then just caught up to her later?" Brock asks
"yes because by then she'd be so far ahead of us we'd have no idea where we're going." Misty answers "she's the one with the map, if we loose her we get lost" she explains
"Misty's right, we'll just have to try and keep up for now then eat later" Ash says
"I guess you're right" Brock says before his stomach growls "lets just hope we stop soon" he adds.
After what feels like an eternity Dawn stops and waits up or them
"we're just outside of the forest" she says "with my shortcut we'll be able to get to Eterna city in about thirty minutes so I figured we could stop and have a snack" she adds
"how long have we been walking?" Brock asks collapsing onto the ground
"about five hours" Dawn answers pulling out four sandwiches and laying them on the ground "this will have to keep you until tonight" she says as the other three grab their food "I have a big surprise for you all" she adds before grabbing her sandwich and eating it. After everyone has rested for a bit and eaten their food they all get up and start walking again with Dawn leading the way.
"I wonder what the surprise is" Brock says
"I have no clue but whatever it is, it better be good after making us walk five hours non stop on empty stomachs" Misty says with a frown and Ash nods. Soon they end up entering a city and walking into a pokemon center
"Hello and welcome to the pokemon center" a nurse Joy walks up to greet them "is there anything I…" she suddenly cuts off "Dawn? Is that you?" she asks
"it is me nurse Joy" Dawn says while the others look confused "how are you"
"same as always the question is, how are you?" nurse Joy asks
"I've been well" Dawn says "these are my friends Ash, Brock, and Misty" she says pointing behind her to the still confused trio
"It's nice to meet you all" nurse Joy says "if you need anything let me know, I need to get back to the counter" she adds before walking off. They all walk out of the center and Brock stops Dawn before she can walk any farther
"what was all that about?' he asks "you two acted like you know each other" he adds
"we do" Dawn answers "This is where I grew up" she explains
"oh I get it now, since this is your hometown, you've probably been to that pokecenter a lot" Ash says and Dawn nods
"I used to go there all the time when I was first training my piplup." she says "I hadn't known very much about pokemon back then so I didn't know that with him being a water type he'd be weak to a lot of the grass type pokemon in the forest so I ended up there to heal him a lot" she said before starting to walk again
"so is that the surprise?" Brock asks "just that you grew up here so you know the people?"
"no" Dawn says as they walk into a house and are greeted by a table full of food "this is the surprise" she says already sitting down. "it's fine this is my house, my parents came in and made all this food before they went out to do some research in the area" she says when she notices everyone standing by the door awkwardly "I let them know this morning that we would be arriving today"
"ok well in that case' Brock says sitting down and filling his plate with food. Ash and Misty soon follow him and soon they're all sitting around the table stuffing their empty bellies with all the food they can handle.
"Don't eat to fast or you'll all get sick" a voice from the door says and they all look up to see a tall dark haired woman with blue eyes standing in the doorway looking very amused.
"Hi mom" Dawn says getting up to give her a hug
"hello dear" she answers back
"where's dad?" Dawn asks looking behind her mom out the door
"you know you're father" her mom answers "he wanted to go do more of his research at that place in the forest so he said to tell you hello but he's staying there for the night" she adds
"oh" is all Dawn answers "ok well I'll see him another time then" she adds with a smile before turning around "mom I'd like you to meet Ash, Brock, and Misty" Dawn says pointing to each one as she says their names.
"Pleased to meet you all" Dawns mom says "I'd love to chat more but I'm really very tired and should go get some rest." she adds "I've arranged for you all to each have a room in the new hotel they built out of Team Galactic's old layer" she adds before walking up the stairs
"you're mom is really nice" Brock says to Dawn when she sits down again
"yeah she is." Dawn answers "wish you guys could have met my dad as well but he won't be home until sometime tomorrow probably after we've left"
"well since the only reason we would move on so quickly is because of me, I don't mind staying an extra day tomorrow and then just leaving the day after that" Ash says making everyone look at him
"are you sure Ash?" Misty asks studying him carefully
"yeah I'm sure, Dawn deserves a chance to see her dad after going through all this trouble to have her parents make us all this food and if it was me, I'd want to wait for my mom to get back if I was in this situation" he answers with a smile
"thank you Ash but you really don't have to, I'll be fine" Dawn says
"I saw the look on your face when you found out he wasn't going to be here tonight, we're staying" Ash answers "I need a day to just train without always being on the road anyway and this gives me that chance" he adds. Everyone just nods and gets back to finishing their food before they get up and start getting ready to leave
"I'm going to go say goodbye to my mom and let her know the plan" Dawn says while the others get ready
"ok we'll see you when you get back down" Misty says
"I think we're going to wait outside while you do that" Brock says giving the others a pointed look until they nod
"yeah I need to get some fresh air" Ash adds in
"ok I'll meet you guys outside then" Dawn says walking up the stairs. Brock leads the other two outside and to the end of the yard where they sit down
"that was real nice of you to do Ash" Brock says breaking the silence
"well I know that if it was me, I would secretly hope for you guys to do the same thing" Ash says shrugging
"I do wonder where he is though" Misty says "her mom said something about him doing research but if they spent all day doing research wouldn't they have done his together as well?" she adds talking mainly to herself
"maybe he sent her home because she was tired" Brock says "she did look pretty worn out when she came home" he adds "maybe he noticed that and told her that he would finish up while she went home for a chance to get some rest and see Dawn" he finishes and Misty nods
"maybe" she says
"if you're so curious about it why not just ask him tomorrow?" Ash asks her
"maybe I will" she says "I'd like to know what they're researching anyway" she adds
"ok that's the end of that guys I hear Dawn coming back" Brock says and they all sit in silence once again.
Once Dawn get's outside they all make their way over to the hotel and check in to their rooms and make arrangements to stay an extra night thanks to Dawn's mom giving her daughter the ok. They make their way up the long hallway until each one of them reaches their room
"well goodnight guys" Dawn says opening her door "I'll see you all in the morning" she adds walking into her room and shutting the door behind her
"I'm going to go get some rest to guys" Brock says opening his door "goodnight you two" he adds with a wave
"night Brock" Ash says before Brock closes his door "you should get some sleep to" he says turning to Misty who is still standing with him in the hallway"
"are you going to make me sleep in there all by myself?" Misty asks with a small pout
"only for tonight" Ash says pulling her in for a hug "I'm probably not going to sleep any time soon and want to make sure I'm not bothering you at all" he adds "tomorrow night I'll come join you, I promise" he finishes kissing her forehead
"fine I guess I can handle one night by myself" Misty says "but you have to promise me that you'll try to get sleep to" she adds looking up at him
"of course" he says giving her a quick kiss and opening her door for her "now go get some sleep" he adds gently pushing her toward the room. Misty sighs and gives in
"ok, ok I'm going" she says walking into the room "night" she says
"see you in the morning" Ash says before the door closes. He sighs and walks over to his room to open the door and notices Pikachu watching him curiously
"I have to much to think about and I didn't want to worry her to much" he says down to his pokemon
"Pika" Pikachu answers him bouncing into the hotel room ahead of Ash once the door is open
"then again she's probably going to worry to much about me anyway" Ash mumbles to himself walking in and closing his door.

So that's chapter one. I hope it was ok and wasn't full of to many mistakes. I re-read this about five times to make sure but I may have missed some anyway. If you choose to review, please don't be mean about it. Just let me know if there's something I need to work on, if I made any mistakes please let me know, and if you have any possible ideas on anything you think would be cool to see happen let me know and I'll take them into consideration. Thanks for reading and I'll have chapter two up as soon as I can