Sorry for the wait. Here's chapter 2!
A Birthday Like No Other
Chapter 2: With Dusk comes Dawn
Silence crept within the Ketchum household. Everyone was sleeping with the exception of a blue haired girl. Dawn was lying on a bed in the guest room of the house, unable to sleep as she was replaying memories of the day's events within her head. The first one that came to her was earlier that day when she finally reached Ash's hometown.
The first tint of orange started to infect the blue sky as Dawn was standing on a hill to see Pallet Town in its wholeness while the sun set under the horizon. It was a small town yet a peaceful town. She liked it; it reminded her of her own hometown, Twinleaf Town. Holding her first Pokémon, Piplup, in her arms, a sense of happiness and excitement started to burst inside of Dawn knowing that her best friend, Ash, is within this area.
Although she felt this, at the same time she was a bit concerned. Some time had passed since the last time they met and Ash, at times, could be unpredictable. He could have changed as well as their friendship.
Has he forgotten about me? She thought. Could Ash have made brand new friends... friends closer to him than me?
Despite these concerns, she decided to listen to her own catchphrase.
No need to worry, right?
Dawn looked down at her blue partner and asked, "Are you ready to see Ash and Pikachu?" He replied with his own name in a cheery tone. Pikachu was like an older brother to Piplup; they were as close as their trainers were during their Sinnoh journey. Piplup picked up from Pikachu his desire of staying out of his Pokéball and also high-fived him just like Ash and Dawn have done before. Of course, Piplup was excited, but like Dawn, Piplup was nervous as well.
Things sped up in a blur as Dawn walked around Pallet Town searching for Ash's home. Realizing, then and there, she has no clue how to get there all by herself.
Damn it Ash! You remembered to invite me but you forget to tell me where you lived? I know! I can ask around where the poetry man's lab is; if anyone knows where Ash lives, he does!
As Dawn headed towards the lab, thanks to a man who gave her directions, Piplup suddenly broke out of her grasp and ran away from her. She quickly turned towards Piplup's direction, wondering what happened. She realized that he was running toward a yellow Pokémon, recognizing it as none other than Ash's Pikachu! The two of them greeted each other with a high five and shortly after, a hug.
"Pikachu!" She exclaimed as she ran towards him. Pikachu ran towards her with a smile on his face followed by jumping towards her, resulting in a hug. "It's so good to see you," she said. "Hey can you take me to where Ash is now?" The yellow Pokémon leaped off of her and made arm motions to follow him. "Pika pika." He said. Then, he started to head towards a direction, followed by Dawn and Piplup.
In front of Ash's front yard stood Dawn, Piplup, and Pikachu. Now Dawn was really nervous, as she was so close to seeing Ash again. Each time she stepped closer to the front door, she felt more and more nervous which only made it harder to keep walking until finally she was at the door and she knocked on it. As time flew by, Dawn realized that you can only be nervous about something for so long. She first tapped her foot which then led to calling his name. She can actually see through a window. She was tempted to throw a rock in when, finally, the door opened. With her patience all used up, Dawn starts off, "Finally Ash! I have been here for half an hour. And I know this is your house bec-" Before Dawn could finish her sentence, Ash interrupted with a hug.
"I'm so glad that you're here," He said.
Initially, Dawn was surprised that Ash would actually hug someone but then that surprised expression was soon replaced with a genuine smile as she hugged him back. Each second seemed like a minute and each "minute" made Dawn notice that a feeling started to arose from her. To her, it seemed weird and uncomfortable hugging him yet at the same time she felt warmth and joy inside of her.
I never thought hugging Ash would feel so nice. Did Ash really miss me that much?
"It's good to see you too Ash," she said. The four of them went inside of the house where they separated into two groups. Ash and Dawn were left to talk while Pikachu and Piplup were presumably doing the same thing.
"I just realized I never told you where my house was," said Ash. "I'm sorry."
Dawn smiled at him. "No need to worry," she said. "I was able to find Pikachu who led me to your house." She noticed that no one else is in the house. "Hey, where is everyone? Where's your mom?"
"Well my mom is at Professor Oak's lab."
"And why is she there?" Ash then told Dawn about his day to the part where he dozed off.
"And the next thing I know, I woke up and you were knocking on the door." Ash explained.
Coming out of her shock, Dawn said, "Wow Ash. I'm sorry that no one else is coming over. If I was in your position, I would be pretty bummed out too." She pointed at his hat. "Although I don't think I would have fallen asleep with my hat on."
Ash quickly took off his hat and placed it on a table. "Whoops! It must have slipped my mind when I tried to call you and Misty."
Dawn giggled. "It's a shame it's only the two of us. I was hoping to see Brock, May, Gary, and Professor Oak again and meet your other friends too!"
"Hey, you can still see my mother and Tracey." said Ash. "We can always visit them tomorrow."
"So what have you been up-" Dawn started. A loud growl was suddenly made, both of them recognizing that noise came from Ash's stomach.
"We interrupt this conversation with Ash's super stomach asking for supper." Dawn joked. Both of them laughed as they headed towards the kitchen.
Ash looked into the fridge to look for some leftovers to heat up while Dawn brought out some poffins to feed Pikachu and Piplup. While they were eating, their conversation was picked up again. Dawn started off with, "Your mom made this right? If so, she is an awesome cook!"
"If you think its good then you should try some of her fresh food." said Ash. "She can cook just as well as Brock."
"If that's the case, then I guess that explains your appetite." Ash laughed to this.
"So Dawn, how was the ferry from Sinnoh to here?" asked Ash.
"It was good, nothing too exciting. It's nice to have some peaceful time for once." With this, Ash replied, "I know what you mean. It's been so long since the last time I've seen Team Rocket."
"What! They actually take breaks? You think they finally gave up?"
"I doubt it. They'll probably try and take Pikachu tomorrow. They did crash my birthday party last year." Ash and Dawn placed their empty plates into the sink and moved to the living room couch.
"So Ash, have there been any cool new places you traveled since our journey together?" Ash shook his head. "No. I decided to take a little break from travelling." he replied.
Dawn gasped. "What! The Ash I know would never take a break from traveling and adventuring!"
"Well it's nice to take a little break then and there." Ash responded. "It gives me time to think back on my adventures."
He yawned and looked at a clock. "Hey it's getting late." he said. "Why don't I show you the guestroom?" Dawn nodded and turned to their partners. "Hey Piplup. We should get some sleep; it's getting late." The four of them headed upstairs as they went to a room with an empty bed. Ash went into the closet and pulled out some blankets and laid them on to the bed.
"Good night Dawn. Good night Piplup." Ash said.
Dawn sat down on the bed. "Good night Ash. Good night Pikachu." The Pokémon spoke to each other presumably saying their own good nights.
"Pika pikapi" said Pikachu.
"Lup" Piplup said. They high-fived each other and Piplup hopped on to the bed as Pikachu jumped on to Ash's shoulder.
Before Ash left the room, he turned around. "I'm glad that you of all people could be here tomorrow." Dawn smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Smiling, Ash closed the door.
That memory faded as Dawn thought about how she met Ash. She thought about how courageous he was to climb Team Rocket's robot and how caring he was to risk his life for Pikachu. With this, her eyes finally closed and she went to sleep.