"So. Which one is the real princess?"

After posing as Princess Salvia's substitute for the day Dawn thought it would be a great idea to test and prank Brock at the same time. Dawn could never understand how her travelling companion can always make a distinction between all the Joy's and Jenny's they meet during their journey.

Heavens know she tried. But no matter what town or city they were in each of them looked no different than the last. Since they were such good friends and have travelled quite a bit she wanted to know if he can do the same to her and the princess.

Seeing the breeder struggle to identify her. He started to sweat a bit and pulled the collar of his shirt nervously. Maybe she asked a bit much from him. It's not like he has a thing for her like he does for other girls.

A love struck Brock wasn't something she wanted to deal with anyway so maybe it's for the best he didn't recognize her. But she couldn't help but feel a bit hurt about not being recognized since they were good friends. Wanting to put the breeder out of his misery Dawn wanted to give it away but someone else spoke up before she could reveal her identity.

"I don't get why your so confused. Dawn is the one on the right."

The Coordinator sstared at the one who answered with an open jaw. Unlike her expectations it wasn't Brock who answered it correctly. It was her other companion Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.

Night fell over the Sinnoh region and the groups tents were all set up. Sitting around a campfire eating their meal in peace Ash and Brock made small talk like they always did. Dawn usually butted in with a question or story of her own but Ash found Dawn awfully quiet after leaving the palace. She managed to make an understanding with her new Togekiss but she still seemed a bit troubled.

"Something wrong Dawn?"

"No need to worry! I'm fine." She tried to keep her curiosity about how exactly the raven haired boy managed to separate her from the princess for herself. But no matter how much she told herself it didn't matter, each time she said it her interest only grew.

"If you say so." Ash continued with finishing his plate till Dawn spoke up again. It wasn't fair that she kept her thoughts in check. Especially since they concerned him.

"How did you know it was me?" Finally Dawn spilled the beans. Ash having learned from his mother not to talk with his mouth full swallowed the contents in his mouth before telling her.

"Your hair makes under your yellow hairclip is a bit longer than the princess."

"You saw a difference in that?" Brock surprised at his friends observation. Ash and Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see a difference in all the Nurse Joy's and Officer Jenny's we meet. And I've been travelling with you for a long time." Ash sharing Dawn's earlier thoughts and the reason for the prank in the first place. Even Ash was unable to do it.

"How dare you!" Brock standing up and now towering above the two young trainers scolding them.

"Each one of them is different as night and day! The Jenny from Veilstone City uses a different brand of nail polish to the Jenny in Hearthome City."

Continuing Brock listed off every single different thing about the Jenny's and the Joy's. Eventually Croagunk had enough and used his Poison Jab left the breeder in a mess laying out on the ground in pain.

"If you say so." Ash took another bite of his plate. He'd given up and just went with his claim that they all looked the same. With all the dinner plates now empty there was still the matter of cleaning then.

"I'll do the dishes today." Dawn offered. Normally the dishes weren't exactly her favorite thing to do but she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Sitting on her knees nearby a small river she started to clean up all the plates they used. Again like before her mind turned to the boy who recognized her.

To say he was special is an understatement. Not many get to meet in the situation they did, fighting a giant robot just to get his Pikachu back from a bunch of baddies.

Ash has his flaws. But who doesn't have one or two of them? Not like she can claim she's perfect after the screw ups she made in the beginning of her journey. To confident of her skills at the beginning it was nothing more but bragging on her part while she couldn't back it up. But with the help of Ash and Brock she always managed to pull herself up back up again.

"Need help?" Turning around she saw the subject of her thoughts standing over her. Offering his assistance in cleaning up she patted a spot next to her and went on his knees.

"Leave it to him to show up whenever you need it." They did the dishes quietly going their own way with Dawn cleaning them and Ash drying them.

"What other traits are different from the princess?" Dawn can't help but to be curious. Brock failed where Ash succeeded. But how? Sure her behavior wasn't princess worthy but it's not like he knew about it.

"Your eyes have a different shade of blue." He grabbed a plate from her hand and cleaned it. Stacking it on the others Ash wanted to grab the next one that the Coordinator cleaned. Seeing her hand motionless he looked at her face. He could only describe her expression as stunned.

"They do?" Having trouble speaking she struggled to get them out.

"Yours match exactly with your hair color while the princess are a bit darker." Dawn was going crazy. The gears in her head started to turn. What did all of this mean?

"And your jawline is a bit more rounder than hers." Only making it worse. As a defense mechanism Dawn tried to get out of it.

"Are you saying my face is chubby?"

"No! Not all!" His mother taught him that calling a girl chubby is one of the worst insults you can give one. Using his next statement would cover for him he hoped the Coordinator will let it slide.

"The rim of your skirt is a bit higher on her than on you." Thinking he got himself out of it he didn't expected that Dawn splashed his face with the water.

"What was that for?"

"You just called someone who's identical to me fat?"

"But she's not identical. I'm trying to tell you that!"

"How come you have such an attention to detail?" Their bickering stopped and his voice changed to a calm and deep tone.

"After my last battle with Paul." Dawn knew the last time he battled Paul Ash lost. Badly.

"Paul doesn't let any detail slip. I've been trying to get a hang of that as well. So next time we face off we'll win, right buddy?" His faithful partner for so long gave off a cheerful chu agreeing with him.

Remembering the special show she put on for him and his Pokémon just to cheer them up. Seemed his loss didn't bother him that much in the end. Still it hurt a bit that the only reason he recognized was a part of his training and nothing more.

"Oh. What was I thinking? Off course it has something to do with his battles."

"Oh?" Dawn sounded incredibly disappointed with his reasoning.

"I thought maybe…"

"Maybe what?"

"It's just you managed to know who was the princess and who I was. That's what's been bothering me." Finally being honest with him. Ash didn't get it why it bothered her that much.

She always took pride in her looks. Even for the minor occasions Dawn wanted to look presentable. Call it vain but it's just something that belonged to her. If you look good you feel good.

Her Pokémon were always presentable and so should she. Was there really that much difference between the elegance of a princess and the way she looked? Even when said princess is a copy?

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't recognize you? You're one in a million."

Feeling herself heating up Dawn looked the other way. Her heart skipped a beat over his comment and careful not to look into the river in fear of Ash maybe seeing a blush on her face.

"Do you have any idea how much you sound like Brock now!?" After all that she started to question if Ash really is dense or just so suave with his comments he makes it seem like flirting and playing with her. Did he really had an attraction to her or was she just imagining it? And how come she started these thoughts about him in the first place?

"You okay?" Dawn was unusually quiet. Was it something he said?

"I'm fine. No need to worry!" Using her catchphrase to stop him from questioning her any further.

"If you say so." Nearing the end of the pile of dishes they finished up their chore in silence. Ash stacked the last plate on top of the pile and Dawn thanked him for the help.

It was getting late and Pikachu started to yawn. Getting up from his knees he brought the stack of clean plates to their table and put them down. Ash yawning now too needed to get his sleep as well. Going over to the tent he shared with Brock he wanted to go inside.

"Goodnight Dawn."

"Wait." Dawn called out to Ash. She had one more question to bother him with before he could go to sleep. Still holding the tent flap he allowed Pikachu to go inside to find a comfy spot while he waited for the Coordinators final question.

"Why didn't you say we looked different the moment we switched in the palace?"

"The princess was incredibly nervous about her Contest. I didn't want to give her anymore nerves just because she's a bit different looking to you. She deserved to enjoy it."

Asking if they were done she finally allowed him to catch his sleep. Going inside his tent Dawn was all alone outside now. This sure was such a weird night.

"Maybe Lyra did have a point."

The Johto trainer Lyra teased Dawn when they were trapped in the Valley Windworks that out of everyone Ash will make the best husband. Clearly it was just a bit of joking in a bad situation but now that she knew that Ash had been able to separate her from the princess her young mind can't help but be curious if he had a thing for her like Brock had for all the Jenny's and Joy's but being a whole lot more subtle about it.

If she had a romantic interest in him to begin with of course. Which she clearly kept telling herself she didn't.

Ever have those idea's you want to put in your stories but can't seeing it isn't the time or place for them?

Just a few little one shots to keep the Pearl juices flowing while I'm working on that other Pearl story. Something in between the wait. Don't expect constant updates on this one. If I come with something I'll put it on paper but priority still goes out to GS ball unlocked and the Mega Problems sequel.

Oh well. Time will tell how I get with those in time.

See you around.