Far Apart, Forever At Heart
a.n. This is my second attempt at a Pokémon fanfic and my second entry in the annual BMGf Holiday Fanfic Contest. It will be told in five parts. Some slight shippings (Penguin/Contest/Poké). Remember to read, review, and enjoy!
Winter.
To most, the word is synonymous with the cold and the snow; to others, it is a dreary time full of loneliness and sadness. Still others see it as nothing more than a necessary transition into the warmth and vivaciousness of spring. Yet, there are some to which none of this applies. To these individuals, winter is a time for celebration, a time to enjoy the presence of friends and loved ones, near and far. Whether together or apart, they know that the importance of the season and the holidays that it brings is not for gift giving or selfishness, but for family, friends, warmth, remembrance and good cheer.
Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh Region
"Dawn, PLEASE be careful".
"I can handle it. No need to worry Mom".
"Pip piplup".
In a modest house in Twinleaf Town, a young blue-haired girl was teetering dangerously on the top of a stepladder, doing her best to fasten the last of the holiday decorations to the uppermost recesses of the home while her faithful Pokémon Piplup did his best to hold the ladder steady. Johanna stood just outside the kitchen, a look of worry upon her face as she watched her daughter. Sighing quietly, she shook her head, a slight smile on her face. She certainly knew what her spirited daughter was capable of. Whenever she told her not to worry was when she worried the most. But, in spite of her worry-inducing tendencies, she loved her daughter and wouldn't have her any other way. And she was glad that her headstrong young daughter was able to take a break from her Contest training in Hoenn to come home and celebrate the holidays with her. As much as Johanna loved her daughter, she tended to worry a bit less when she was able to keep an eye on her.
A quick knock on the door startled both mother and daughter, with the former quickly recovering before walking to welcome their guest and the latter slightly losing her balance atop her perch. Dawn wobbled unsteadily before managing to catch her balance. With one final stretch, she managed to place the last of the decorations before scrambling back to solid ground. One step from the bottom, she slipped and landed rather unceremoniously on her backside, groaning in pain. A pair of laughs from the door caught her attention.
"Hey Dee Dee, why are you flopping around on the ground? Working on your Magikarp impression?"
Dawn jumped up and angrily turned towards the door at the sound of that voice, the pain suddenly forgotten. "How many times have I told you: DON'T CALL ME DEE DEE!"
A young brown-haired boy was standing there with her mother, amused smiles on both of their faces. At their amused expressions, Dawn let out a small giggle at her own misfortune. Gathering up the small blue Pokémon that she had somehow managed to avoid falling on into her arms, she walked over to greet the new arrival.
"Kenny! Thanks for coming!" As she reached him, Dawn reached out one arm to embrace the boy. Slightly embarrassed, Kenny reciprocated the gesture, being careful not to crush the Pokémon in her arms.
"It's good to see you again too Dee D…I mean Dawn". He smiled somewhat shyly at her as they pulled away, both with red-tinted cheeks. Neither one of them noticed the knowing smile on Johanna's face. She decided to take pity on her daughter and her friend.
"Come on in Kenny and make yourself at home. I'm just finishing up in the kitchen so the food should be ready soon. And Dawn just finished the final touches with the decorations." With that, Johanna walked back towards the kitchen, leaving the two pre-teens alone near the door. There was a long moment of silence as the two just stood there, neither one quite sure of what to do or what to say. Piplup, sensing the awkwardness that seemed to be developing between the two Coordinators hopped out of Dawn's arms and waddled towards another part of the house to leave the two to themselves, a mischievous look in his eyes. Another awkward moment passed before Dawn finally spoke up.
"So…um…how have you been Kenny? How's your training going?" She started to walk towards the light pink sofa in the living room and sat down at one end, hoping that the young man would follow. Kenny, relieved that the awkwardness seemed to have passed, followed her and sat down near her.
"I've…uh…been good. Great. I'm still training for the next Grand Festival. I don't have any ribbons yet though; I'm just working on some new combinations right now. Empoleon is doing great and we've come up with some awesome new stuff that I can't wait to try out."
"That's great, Kenny! It's so great to know that you've been working hard on your training. And I can't wait to see your new combinations some time."
"Thanks. So, how about you? How's your training going?"
Dawn sighed. "It's going well, not as well as I hoped. We've been trying to come up with some unique combinations ourselves, but it's been a bit difficult. I have some good ideas, but I haven't quite worked out all of the bugs yet."
"What is it that you always say? 'No need to worry.' I know you'll get there." Dawn smiled a small smile and another awkward moment passed between the two. "What's it like traveling in Hoenn?"
"It's been different. I mean, I love traveling around, seeing new places and meeting new people. But at the same time, I feel a little homesick sometimes. It's gotten better the longer I've been out there, but it's strange being alone in a new place. I love being there but I am glad that I got this opportunity to come home and visit Mom for the holidays."
Kenny nodded, noting the wistfulness in her voice. She seemed almost sad somehow. He knew he had to cheer her up "Meet anyone interesting there?" He watched as his question seemed to revive her and a sparkle came to her eyes.
"Oh yeah. When I first got to Littleroot Town, I was headed to Professor Birch's laboratory, you know because he helps out new trainers and I thought he might have some tips. When I finally found it, he wasn't there and his assistant told me that he likes to study Pokémon in their natural environment and that I might find him just outside of town. Piplup and I headed out of town to see if we could find him and we were about to give up any hope of locating him when we heard someone yell for help. We raced towards the cry and we saw some guy up a tree with a pack of Mightyena growling at him. I called out Buneary and had her use Ice Beam while Piplup used Whirlpool. We managed to scare the Mightyena away and the guy fell out of the tree. He thanked us for saving him and introduced himself as Professor Birch."
Kenny was chuckling in amusement. "Really?"
Dawn nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. We walked back to his lab and he gave me a map of Hoenn and some helpful tips on where I should go next." She laughed in remembrance. "And you'll never guess who else I met."
"Who?"
"I met May's family. You remember May, don't you? She competed in the Wallace Cup?" Kenny nodded. "Well anyways, I remember her being from Hoenn from some city called Petalburg. I arrived there about two weeks after my arrival and started looking her up. I went to the Petalburg Gym and I saw a battle going on between what looked like some kid with glasses and a tall man. It didn't look like it was an official battle or anything and they really seemed to be into it. The kid had a Vigoroth and the man had a Slaking. I watched the battle for awhile before they noticed me watching them. They asked if I was there for a battle and I told them no and asked if they knew May. They got these confused looks on their faces before asking who I was. I told them who I was and that I was a friend of both hers and Ash's and that I competed against May in the Wallace Cup. That's when they introduced themselves as Norman, May's father and Max, May's younger brother. They took me back to the family quarters and introduced me to May's mom Caroline and invited me to eat with them. We exchanged stories about Contests and what brought me to Hoenn. I asked about May and they said that the last they heard, she was doing quite well in Johto. I wish I could have stay longer, but I had to get going. It was great that I got to see them, though."
"It sounds like you're meeting some interesting people and having a good time, Dawn. I wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks Kenny. And thanks for coming over today; it really means a lot to me. Since I've been traveling in Hoenn, I haven't really had the time to keep in touch with anyone from back home. Besides Mom, of course."
They both smiled at one another, the awkwardness no longer between them.
"Piplup, piplup pip."
The two Coordinators looked down to see the Penguin Pokémon trying to get their attention. She bent down to pick him up. "What's up Piplup?" Pointing a flipper to a space just above their heads, the two humans looked up and immediately blushed. There, hanging above their heads, held tight in the grip of the tail of her mom's Glameow, was a sprig of mistletoe. The Catty Pokémon was standing behind them, its two front paws on the back of the sofa and its tail stretched over its head, a sly smirk on its face. Dawn looked back to the little blue Pokémon in her lap and rolled her eyes at the smug look on his face. The two embarrassed pre-teens looked at each other, cheeks red, unsure of what to do next. Piplup watched them interestedly. When neither one made a move to do anything, the little Water-type took matters into his own flippers.
"Pip pip piplup lup Piplup."
"What's that Piplup? You say this is part of the holiday tradition and that it's very important to follow traditions?"
"Lup." He crossed his flippers across his small chest.
Kenny watched the exchange with interest, a bit of a smile creeping up on his face. Dawn turned to look at him. "Well Kenny, what do you think? It doesn't look like Piplup's going to budge on this one. And I don't think Glameow's going anywhere any time soon either." She glanced back over and saw her mom's Glameow still staring slyly at the two of them.
Kenny shrugged. "We can't go breaking tradition now, can we? Especially not this close to Christmas." With those words the two youths drew closer and closer together, awkwardly, clumsily, but anticipating what would happen next. Their lips met for a few moments before they broke away, the blush even more evident on their cheeks. They stared at each other briefly before breaking into smiles. They didn't have much time to do anything else as Johanna called from the kitchen.
"Dawn, Kenny, can the two of you come help me in here? The rest of the guests should be here soon." Both pre-teens giggled at one another before getting up off of the couch and heading towards the kitchen, hand-in-hand.
"I guess you missed something while you were decorating."
"What makes you think I forgot?"