I was around noon time in the Unova region's Mistralton city. As usual, the city was alive with the sounds airplanes taking off and coming in for landing. As the city was home to the Unova region's main airport, used for international shipping and transport, the sounds planes large and small were the city's main rhythm.
At the city's Pokemon Center, Ash Ketchum and his two companions, Iris and Cilan were beginning to make there way to Icirrus city and Ash's seventh gym battle. As the three of them made their way out the main doors, they heard someone call to them. "Excuse me, please hold on just a minute." They turned to see the center's Nurse Joy running toward them.
"Huh, Nurse Joy is there something wrong" Iris asked.
"I'm... terribly sorry ... to hold you up," Joy said in between breaths.
The three gave her a moment to catch her second wind, after which she immediately turned to Ash. "I'm sorry, but if I remember correctly, you said your was Ash right, Ash Ketchum?"
"Uh... y-yeah, that's me," Ash hesitantly responded.
"Oh good," Joy breathed a sigh of relief, "I was hoping you would still be around, there is a phone call for you back inside" she informed him.
The three of them were puzzled, "Ash, were you expecting a call today," Cilan asked.
"Uh uh" Ash said, trying to think of who it could be. His thoughts were almost immediately interrupted by loud groan.
"AAAAAAWWW," Iris boomed, "we waited all morning for Ash to finally get up, and now this?" It was obvious that the she was tired of waiting. "I WANNA GO, I WANNA GO, I WANNA GO, I WANNA GO..." she whined, stomping around in circles, waving her fists in the air.
The whole scene was a bit embarrassing. Ash, Cilan, and Nurse Joy couldn't help but let out a few awkward laughs. Cilan then grabbed Iris by the wrists, trying to keep her in line. It did little help though, as Iris continued to flail and whine like a small child. "Oh my, its seems this kettle is starting to boil over!" Cilan sighed before turning to Ash, "Go ahead and take your call Ash, we'll wait out here for you"
"Alright" Ash said, he then turned to Pikachu, "Pikachu why don't you stay here, just in case."
"Chuuu" the electric mouse sighed weakly as it bound of it's master shoulder, making it's way toward the still flailing purple haired girl.
Nurse Joy lead Ash back inside the Pokemon Center, to the phone room. "Right over here" she said, gesturing toward one of the video phones. Ash walked over saw that the call-waiting was indeed flashing.
"It's probably Mom calling to check up on me," he though, "or it could be Professor Juniper calling about my Pokemon."
He was wrong on both accounts, however. He pushed the button the screen immediately brought up an image of a young girl he recognized all to well. She had long, blue hair that was looped on each side of her head, held by a pair of yellow, triangle-shaped clips. She wore a white beanie with a pink pokeball on her head, and a black and pink dress with a white undershirt.
Her face lit up at the sight of him, "ASH, IT'S REALLY YOU!" she exclaimed, her large blue eyes almost filling the screen.
"Whoa, Dawn is that really you?" Ash said, his own lighting up at the sight of his old friend.
"You remembered me," Dawn said, backing away from the screen, "I'm so glad."
"Of course Dawn," Ash said reassuringly, "how could I ever forget you," he continued with a friendly smile. He suddenly noticed (now that Dawn's face wasn't taking up the whole screen) the area where she was apparently calling from, which appeared to be a Pokemon center. "That doesn't look like your house," he started, "where are you Dawn?" he asked.
Dawn couldn't help but let out a small giggle, "I'm in Lilycove city right now."
"Lilycove city.." Ash though for a brief second, "ah, that means your in the Hoenn region" he realized.
"That's right, I'm competing in the contest circuit here." she confirmed with I bit of gloat in her tone.
"That's great," Ash said, happy that she had decided to continue her travels, "so how many contests have you been in?" he asked.
Dawn reached into her bag, pulled out her ribbon case, and held it to the screen, "see for yourself" she said. She opened the case, revealing two extremely well decorated ribbons.
"Awesome" Ash exclaimed in a combination of shock and joy, "two ribbons already, your really something else Dawn" he said, congratulating her.
She began to blush at his compliment as she closed the case and stowed it back in her bag. "It's not that big a deal" she said, "so what about you?" she then questioned.
Ash then brought his badge case out of his pocket and held it up. With merely a toothy grin, he opened it up, revealing the trio, basic, beetle, bolt, quake, and jet badges.
"WOW" Dawn boomed, her face once again filling the screen as she leaned in for a better look, "6 badges!"
"Yeah, and it wasn't easy," he said, returning the case to his pocket, "the gym leaders here in Unova are really strong, but that just makes each win all the more satisfying" he gloated confidently.
Dawn merely starred at him, "He's still so confident," she thought. It was one of the things that she liked most about him; no matter how tough the challenge was or how many defeats he when through, he never let them keep him down. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ash trying to get her attention.
"Uh Dawn, are you okay? Your face is getting all red" he asked, concerned that she may be coming down with something.
That remark brought her crashing right back down to earth. She panicked for a quick second before bringing her hands to her face, trying to hide her blush. "Oh uh yeah, I-I'm fine Ash, no need to worry hahaha," she let out an awkward laugh. "Its just..." she began, her voice softening as her bright smile began to shrink, "I really wish that I had some of your confidence Ash."
Ash was puzzled by this sudden change in her behavior, "What do you mean Dawn?" he asked.
Dawn's smile had completely vanished at this point, she looked like she would break down into tears at any second. "The truth is.." she began again, "I've actually been in six contests so far." She looked down to at her feet, afraid to see how Ash might react to this.
He was silent for a moment, "...Six contests huh, wow," he said softly, "the coordinators in Hoenn must be really good."
She nodded, "They're amazing, I've had to push myself to the very limit each contest and even that hasn't been enough sometimes..." she said, still not wanting to look at her friend, "Sometimes I've had to try so hard, I can't even have fun anymore, and even than it still isn't enough."
"But Dawn," Ash began, "I've seen you get out of tight spots in contests before and still have blast doing it..." he said, trying to cheer her up.
"... That's because I always had you cheering me on..." she softly replied.
"Huh?" he said, taken back a bit by the unexpected reply.
She slowly brought her head up to face him, her deep sapphire eyes glimmering from the tears she was trying desperately to hold back. "You were always by my side, cheering for me no matter how bad I did and cheering me up whenever I lost. I'm always the underdog here, I don't have anyone on my side: the crowd, the other coordinators, everyone is against me." She could no longer contain her sorrow as the tears began to form in her eyes, "Every time I get through a contest, I always find myself thinking; would Ash be proud of how I did?" She looked him straight in the eye now, a light blush kissing her cheeks, "I wished you could be with me, to show me that you still had faith in me, to tell me how great I'd done even though I didn't win." Even though she was crying, she couldn't help but smile as she told him this.
For a moment, Ash was at a loss for words. He never would have guessed that she thought of him so much, this was a first for him. "Dawn..." he began "... I'm still rooting for you..." he said with a warm smile, "...I may not be with you right now, but I'll always be cheering for you no matter where the two of us are!"
Dawn was shocked, she was convinced that he would have been disappointed in her, and yet here he was, thousands of miles away, still making her feel like she could do anything. And yet, as much as she want to jump and squeal with excitement, she still felt like she had to say more.
"Ash.." she began softly.
"Yeah?"
"...I miss you..." she said with a sweet smile, her face still glimmering from her tears. She gently placed her fingers on the screen, hopping somehow it would bring her closer to him, "...a lot" she added, her cheeks remaining a rosy tint.
Ash was now also blushing lightly, he had never been in a situation like this before. He had, however, found himself thinking of her a fair number of times through his travels in Unova, especially while going through the metropolis that was Castelia city. "I miss you too Dawn," he calmly replied, mirroring her gesture, "but don't worry, we'll see each other again soon."
"Your just saying that" she said, sounding slightly hurt as she pull her hand away from the screen.
Ash was surprised at her remark, but unfortunately she wasn't entirely wrong. He couldn't break off his journey now to go see her, and he wasn't about to make her drop everything and come to Unova. He thought for a moment, not breaking the gaze or gesture the two of them were sharing, and suddenly came up with a solution.
"Alright..." he began, his confidence returning to him, "... how about once I'm finished with the Unova league, I'll come see you back in Sinnoh?"
"Hmm... I'd like that" she said sheepishly, still not able to raise her voice despite how much she wanted to.
"Then its a promise... and Dawn..." Ash began, "Don't push yourself too hard out there, just do your best and have fun doin' it" he said with another toothy grin.
Once again, she felt like a massive weight had just been lifted off her shoulders; it was the same way she would always feel whenever he would help her recover from a hard defeat. She finally wiped that tears from her eyes, feeling more confident and energized than she had since she first arrived in the Hoenn region. She took one last moment look at him and his big, goofy grin that she loved so much.
"No need to worry Ash" she spout her catchphrase with a radiance like her journey had just began anew.
"Alright, good luck Dawn" Ash said. And after that, the screen went black.
Ash remained where he was, still processing what had just happened. He had never realized how much he obviously meant to Dawn, or how much he hated seeing her that upset. The whole situation left him not quite knowing how to feel. At first, he felt a bit choked up himself, afraid that he to might break into tears. However, after seeing the brightness and eagerness that he liked about Dawn return to her, he couldn't help but feel happy. As Dawn's face appeared once again in his mind, felt his face heat up slightly and his heart beat begin to quicken. "Whoa, what's up with me all a sudden?" he though to himself, "well, all I know is that now I gotta win the Unova league and win it fast", he continued, bringing up a confident fist.
Ash made his way outside that Pokemon center, he saw Cilan and Iris (apparently having finally calmed down) sitting patiently on a bench, waiting for him.
"Pika" Pikachu beamed as it rushed toward him, jumping to his shoulder.
"Hey Pikachu, everyone alright out here?" he asked.
"Piiiikachu" Pikachu nodded with a thumbs up.
"Everything okay Ash?" Cilan asked getting off the bench.
"Of course" Ash replied with a grin.
"Good, that's means we can finally get moving, right?" Iris ask with a hint of remaining pout in her voice.
"Geez Iris..." Ash began, "If you wanted to leave so bad why are you still here?" he teased, suddenly taking off down the street.
"HEY, WAIT FOR US!" she yelled as she took off after him.
"Whats wrong, I though you wanted get out of here?" he called back.
"I was doing the mature think and waiting for you ASH!"
"Oh my..." Cilan sighed, still not fully recovery from dealing with Iris earlier, "Wait for me guys!" he said weakly as he began to follow.
Meanwhile, back in Lilycove city, Dawn was also still at the phone. She had gone from feeling like she could take on the world, to breaking down once again, crying softly to herself. It was a happy cry, however, as Ash's words still rung in her mind, "I'll always be cheering for you no matter where the two of us are!". She was so sure that he would have forgotten about her, considering the amount of amazing people and trainers he met during his journeys, she was convinced that she would be overshadowed. But that wasn't the case at all, even after all the time they had been apart, after meeting new friends and facing more incredible trainers, he still cared about her.
"Pipipilup" her partner pokemon Piplup chirped in concern. She was snapped out her thoughts as she turned to face the small penguin pokemon. "Pip" Piplup chirped again, tilting its head.
She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm okay Piplup", she said cheerfully, her cheeks still a faint shade of pink.
She took Piplup in her arms and held it for a few seconds. "Lets blow their minds at the next contest" she said with a determination in her voice that she hadn't been able to muster for so long.
"Piplup" Piplup happily cried as it jumped from her arms and eagerly made it's way to the doors.
"Hey, Piplup wait for me!" Dawn called. But before she could even take her first step, she turned back to the video phone, somehow thinking that Ash might come back. She sighed contently, knowing she was only fooling herself. As his encouraging words returned to her, brought two fingers to lips, then gently pressed them to the screen, "Thank you." she thought.
She finally made her way outside the Pokemon center, Piplup in her arms. She was ready for a fresh start on her journey, knowing that she wasn't alone. She took a deep breath, inhaling the air of a new day, and let it go.
"Let's get going Piplup" she boomed as the two of them made their way down to the docks where they would be ferried to her next contest. And this time, she would win!