Hello everyone, since my first chapter wasnt long enough in my opinion , ive decided to get on with the second chapter straight away, also ive updated the first one and corrected a few spelling mistakes that were bugging me.
This second chapter takes place in a similar time frame to the first one just from Ash's perspective and both perspectives will merge slightly later in this chapter.
Enjoy chapter 2!
Chapter 2 : Feelings and Unova
Ash stayed on the back of the boat staring at the still shrinking figure that was Dawn. He didn't know why it hurt this bad to leave her, but it did, his heart felt like it was twisting in knots and he had a strong urge to just jump off to boat, swim back to Sinnoh, and hug Dawn.
He'd never felt this way before, so why now? It hurt when he left Misty, but not this much and not in the same way, and it hurt when he left May and Max but again not in the same way. Why was it different this time? Why couldn't he bear the thought of leaving her? What made Dawn so different?
Dawn.
She seemed to be taking up a lot of thoughts lately, more so than usual, and when he was around her he couldn't help but feel complete, if that makes sense.
He slowly began going over their journey together in his mind to try to figure out his thoughts, all the times they'd spent together, all the things they have been through and seen, all the times she was there cheering for him with her unshakable faith that he'd pull through, all the times she'd cheered him up when everything seemed lost. It brought to mind the time he lost to Paul in his first major six on six battle with him and felt nothing but despair, only to find out Dawn had spent an entire day making a contest show just for him to make him feel better. Certainly no one else had done that for him before, neither had anyone else wore a cheerleading outfit for him.
Was that it? Was it because she did more? Was more?
He quickly shook his head wondering where that last thought came from, and thought about how he himself interacted with the bluenette.
He certainly really hated seeing her feel bad, but he didn't like any of his friends feeling bad. He'd do anything he could to see her happy and well, but again he'd do that for any of his friends or Pokemon. He'd put her well-being and happiness before his own but yet again he'd do that for his friends and Pokemon too. He'd sometimes catch himself staring at her, admiring the colour of her Sapphire eyes, the rich navy colour of her hair and the soft white skin covering her body. Now that was something he hadn't done to anyone else. Was he feeling this way because he liked to look at her? Why did he like to look at her?
He thought back to all the times he watched her in a contest, again something he never did for May since he thought back then that he could just watch her on the screen and still get some quality training time in and it'd still all be fine, but with Dawn he had to be in the stadium rooting for her not half paying attention to her performance while training. Was it because he felt he owed it to her for all the times she gave him such amazing support in the Gym battles? But when he would watch her perform he genuinely wanted to be there for her, not because he felt he owed her anything, he wanted to see her succeed, to reassure her when her doubts where up and to celebrate with her when she won.
He remembered all the high fives they shared throughout their travels, and how they seemed to somehow linger longer and longer, and how began to cherish and look forward to them to feel her hand pressed again his own.
He thought about the incident at Alamos Town and their accent to the music room at the top of the Space Time Towers, when the hot air balloon they where riding up in got a glancing blow from the struggle between Dialga and Palkia, and the side of the basket was ripped away causing Dawn to fall, he'd grabbed her hand and wanted more than anything to pull her back in to safety, but when the balloon rocked from a nearby explosion and their grips gave way, his heart stopped, time seemed to literally stop and he could only look on in horror at her terrified face as it fell to the ground below, without a second thought he'd jumped after her, even though his mind would never allow him to do such a thing normally, his heart made the 150ft drop seem non existant as long as he could reach her. They both luckily landed on a part of the Tower and Dawn returned the favour from earlier as she caught Ash's hand as he lost his footing and nearly fell. As she pulled him up, they didn't let go of each other both her hands clasped around his and a look of utter relief and joy on her face at his well-being, he remembered simply smiling while looking deep into her beautiful sapphire eyes and seeing the swirling emotions within. When they both let go he felt his cheeks heat up and could have sworn he saw her face go red but didn't really have the chance to think on it at the time.
Looking back he realised they shared three more moments like this.
After she had competed in the Grand Festival and come in second place to her friend and rival Zoey, Ash had been more than thrilled with her, second place in her first ever Grand Festival! As they met up with her after the performance the first thing that came to his mind was to give her a hug, it just felt like the right thing to do. She'd been slightly surprised but returned the hug gladly and they had embraced each other oblivious to the looks they where getting. With his face buried in the crook of her neck he couldn't help but smell her hair and getting the smell of her fruity shampoo along with her own natural scent, he couldn't help but think nothing smelt better. They finally separated when Brock cleared his throat and most people where looking with raised eyebrows, Ash and Dawn visibly blushed and quickly went back to the subject of congratulating Dawn for her efforts and Zoey for her win.
He'd just lost to Tobias in the Sinnoh League semi-final and was pretty pleased with himself, he'd never reached the semi-finals before and it took someone with legendary Pokemon to knock him out, he also managed to take down his Darkrai and Latios when everyone else, even the finalist couldn't even get past Darkrai. He wondered why this league he'd managed to get further than before, he didn't think he'd trained that much harder than his previous journeys, since he always gives it 100% no matter what. Was he more experienced now? Yes but that alone didn't seem to be the whole picture. Moral support. Dawn. Again his thoughts drifted to her and all the cheering she'd done during his match, sure others had cheered, Barry, Brock and Piplup, but hers seemed to stand out from the rest just like always. She seemed to give it more passion, seemed to believe more. He was hoping she wasnt disappointed with him for not winning. His fears and other thoughts were put on hold as he reached his friends in the hallway behind the stands, Dawn immediately spotted him and came running over, then she jumped on him giving him a hug. "Congratulations on getting the semi-final Ash! If it wasnt for Mr Legendary you would have won the whole thing I know it!" She looked up at him and gave him a smile that wiped away all his fears and doubts and made his heart beat faster, he couldn't even find a response and reluctantly let her go as his friends crowded round to congratulate him.
The last time he'd remember her like that with him was as they where parting ways and the last drawn out high-five they shared, and the longing looks they gave each other as they lost themselves in their eyes, auburn dancing with sapphire.
Ash screwed his face up in confusion, he didn't know what to make of it, he'd had no experience with this before and couldn't relate, all he knew was he didn't want to leave Dawn, something within his chest was yelling at him to go back to her and to hold her close.
Brock was watching his friend with rapt amusement, he could tell from the look on Ash's face that he was deep in thought and very confused. He knew what about. He'd been hard pressed to not point it out during their travels but always kept himself from interfering but he knew, Ash and Dawn had been falling in love with each other from the moment they met, it started out with curious looks and slight signals that neither of them where even aware of, and turned into longing hugs and high fives, ogling from across a table or during a Gym Battle, even sitting close to each other whenever possible. It was cute. It was also frustrating to him since neither of them seemed to realise what they where feeling and he knew they would only realise too late, Dawn might not admit it, but at times she was just as dense as Ash when it came to love. Sure she knew what it was and when it came to watching others she could easily see it, but when it involved her she became just as dense as Ash. Brock sighed and decided to finally give his friend some helpful pointers, since it was starting to really bother him now she was gone.
"Something on your mind, Ash?"
Ash jumped with a start, completely forgetting Brock was even there, he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts. "Uh, yeah I guess. I'm not really sure whats wrong, I just have this aching feeling in my chest".
"So when did this all start?" Brock asked his friend with a smile.
"Uh when we were leaving Sinnoh, especially after we left Dawn, and for some reason I can't stop thinking about her, is there something wrong with me?" Ash turned and looked at his friend for answers.
"There's nothing wrong with you Ash" Brock chuckled "You just might be a little sick".
"Sick? I don't feel sick" Ash answered honestly.
"Not that kind of sick, I think you might be love-sick"
"Love sick? How do you mean?" Ash if anything looked more confused and Brock mentally sighed, although he couldn't blame the younger boy since Ash has never been educated in these matters and had very little experience to go on.
"Let me rephrase, what do you think of Dawn?".
"Uh what? What does Dawn have to do with any of this?".
"Just about everything" Brock sighed and looked at his long time friend, "Just tell me what comes to mind when you think of her".
Ash did as instructed and thought about the bluenette, " She makes me happy, I feel more confident around her, I get lost in her eyes at times and cant help but admire their beauty, her smile could light up a room and when we embrace my heart beats twice as fast". Ash smiled thinking about everything he liked about her, "I feel like I'd do just about anything for her, to make her happy like she makes me, and there is something else, something else I feel about her that I just don't know how to explain".
"The feeling you can't explain is love Ash, you're in love with Dawn, and being away from her hurts, that's why your feeling like you are".
Ash's face went a deep red at Brock's words and he just stood there stuttering a half-hearted denial " I-I d-d-do not l-l-ove D-Dawn".
"Really? Because the way you described her and the way your face is going redder than a tomato berry says otherwise". Brock laughed slightly at Ash's reaction.
Ash felt his entire body heat up and could find no words would come out of his mouth, he just pulled his cap down over his face and hoped no one else was looking, 'So that's what this feeling is?' He mused to himself 'Is this what love feels like? Am I in love with Dawn?'.
After a couple of minutes Ash recomposed himself and sighed, looking wistfully in the direction of Sinnoh and Brock could only feel sympathy for the young trainer 'He's just got a taste of love and has to leave behind the person he's fallen for'.
"Hey Ash how about we go get something to eat, help take your mind off things and it is nearly lunch time".
Ash's face lightened up at the thought of food and he actually seemed to forget about his troubles somewhat, at least for now "Yeah im starving! Wanna get some food Pikachu?".
"Pika pika!" His companion of 6 years spoke up and ran over from the telescope he'd playing around with to hop up onto his master's shoulder.
"Thought so, let's go!" He then raced off towards to dining area, leaving Brock chuckling slightly while trying to keep up.
"Well at least it hasn't effected his appetite". He mused as he entered the dining area to see Ash already with a plate stacked high with all different variety's of food, which he was now eating like he hadn't eaten for 5 weeks. Brock shook his head, grabbed a plate and prepared to have a relatively 'normal' dinner with his friend.
The Next Day - Viridian Port
After an uneventful boat ride from Sinnoh they finally arrived in Viridian Port early the next day.
"Ah it's so good to finally be back in Kanto" Ash said happily as they walked across the harbour, "Right buddy?"
"Pikapi pikachu!" Pikachu chirped happily as Ash rubbed behind his ears.
Brock was walking next to him and smiled, it was nice to see Ash acting like his old self again but he could tell it was still there, just underneath the surface, Ash was just distracting himself as much as possible to not think about it too much. Brock knew he'd have to deal with it sooner or later and hoped it would all turn out fine, he figured he'd help his friend by keeping his thoughts occupied for now, "So Ash, have you decided where your gonna go next?".
"Err, actually I havent" He replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I honestly forgot about it until you mentioned it just now, ill find a new region we havent been too before and this time we will win the league there and become the champion, right Pikachu?"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu fist pumped the air from his shoulder.
"So Brock, your really going to be become a Pokemon Doctor? After saying you where gonna be a Breeder this entire time its hard for me to think of you as anything else".
"Yeah I know what you mean, but after that incident on the boat it really did open my eyes, and im positive this is really what I want" Brock answered truthfully, and in his head he'd never been more sure about anything, he always knew he wanted to help Pokemon and understand them better. He'd never thought about it until Nurse Joy suggested it but it just fell right into place for him, like this is what he was always meant to do.
The pair continued their walk out of the harbour and into Viridian City, which hadn't changed much over the years, the Gym was the same from the last time they where and other than a few modern renovations it was just as they remembered it. They continued their walk out the city in relatively comfortable silence, just as they had on the many travels they've had together until finally they reached the path which would part their ways for the final time.
"I guess this is it" Ash spoke up as they reached the crossroads they had reached many a time when they came from different regions.
"Yeah..." Brock said, as they both at the signpost that has witnessed many of their previous farewells.
Ash turned to his second old travelling companion and stuck out his hand, which Brock shook. "You can do it, Pokemon Doctor Brock"
"Pokemon Master Ash, you can to", They both had smiles on their faces as they came together in a more manly handshake and said simultaneously "Yes!".
"Pikachu", Pikachu chimed happily at close bond between the best of friends.
With that they finally parted ways for the last time, although they where both sad at the fact they couldn't help but be happy with all the time they spent travelling together and knowing that no matter what, they will always be friends.
About half an hour of walking later Ash finally came into view of his home town, and he stopped to get a good look at it from the top of the hill he was stood on. "There's Pallet Town, let's go Pikachu!".
"Pika!", Pikachu replied happily from his shoulder before jumping down and running with his trainer and friend to their home.
Twinleaf Town - Sinnoh Region, Earlier that day
Dawn awoke reluctantly from the best dream she'd had in a while and sighed when reality hit her, Ash was gone. She buried her face into her pillow willing time to go back to the start of their journey so she could spend the next two years travelling around with him again but as much as she wished the clock refused to go backwards, frustrated she grabbed her clock from her desk next to her bed and hurled it across the room as if it was the source of her pain. The loud clank noise it made as it collided with the wall woke Piplup from his slumber at the end of her bed.
He looked up at his trainer with a groggy but annoyed expression, "Pip Piplup! Pip Pip Luuup!" He chirped as he expressed his annoyance.
"Sorry Piplup... im just really not in a good mood right now", Dawn sighed and picked up her started and brought him close in a hug.
"I wish we would have just gone with them, I don't even care about the fashion job anymore, against the heartache it just isn't worth it, what am I going to do?" She asked him sighing deeply.
"Pipluuuuup" He sighed with her, wishing he too could be in Kanto with his buddy Pikachu, he'd even settle for Gible and his Draco Meteors at this point.
"Dawn, breakfast is ready!" Her mom called from downstairs.
"Ok, mom ill be down in a second!" Her reply sounded as drained and disheartened as she felt, as she forced herself out of bed, not even caring about her bed head and walked downstairs to the kitchen and the smell of food.
Johanna was sitting at the table, with all the breakfast foods arrayed in front of her, as Dawn dragged herself through the door. She was worried for her daughter, Dawn had made no effort at all to sort out her appearance and she looked like she'd given up on everything as she slumped into a chair and slowly picked out some foods.
"Sweetie, please try to cheer up, I know you feel terrible right now but you'll see him again".
Dawn flinched at the mention of Ash, but continued to keep piling up her favourite foods, as depressed as she was, she couldn't resist a good helping of Oran Berry Pancakes.
Her mother sighed and tried to get her mind off of her worries "So are you looking forward to your Pokemon Fashion Designing job?".
But that was the wrong thing to say, Dawn eyes darkened as thoughts came into her mind 'I couldn't go with Ash because of that job, that's the reason im still here and not in Kanto, with him, the guy ive fallen in love with, experiencing some wonderful new adventure. It's all that stupid jobs fault!', She turned to her mother and snapped out " I don't care about that job! It's made me miserable and separated me from the only person ive ever fallen in love with!".
Johanna started at her daughter's reaction but held out the signed contract that arrived in the mail which Dawn signed yesterday "But sweetie you signed the con-".
She was cut off as Dawn, in her rage, tore the contract from her mothers grip and tore it to pieces, venting her anger, sorrow and frustration on the cause of it. "Screw the contract!" She yelled as she threw the torn pieces to the floor.
After that emotional outburst Dawn looked at the torn pieces of the contract littering the floor and fell back on her chair, tears falling down her face as all the pain and grief from yesterday came flooding back. Her mother quickly came to her side and brought her into a hug.
After some soothing Dawn calmed down and they ate their breakfast in relative silence. After around ten minutes it was becoming a little uncomfortable and Johanna decided to speak up. "So honey, what are you going to do now, since your new... job... is no longer an option". She knew she had to tread carefully but she couldn't allow her daughter to dwell on it for too long either, that would only make it worse.
Dawn sat there, still eating her pancakes, and thought about it. What was she going to do? She could always try contests in a different region, but somehow that didn't excite her in the slightest. It wouldn't be same without Ash. All she knew she wanted was him, to be with him. And then it suddenly clicked and it made her choice very clear. " I think im going to travel with Ash again". Even as she said it a smile appeared on her face, the first her mother had seen since she got home.
Johanna noticed it and smiled back, she knew it would probably come to this, and seeing Dawn's reaction, how her face lit up, it was obvious the choice was made. 'She has it bad for him', she couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that thought. She knew for a long time her daughter had felt something for Ash, even though she only got a confession of love out of her last night, the way she acted around him and wouldn't stop talking about him whenever they conversed on the phone made it pretty clear.
"Whatever makes you happiest dear, that's all that really counts".
"Alright its settled, im going to Kanto to see Ash!" For the first time in two days Dawn was actually motivated about something and felt energised, she quickly finished up her breakfast, thanked her mom, and ran upstairs to her room. She carefully sorted out her bed head, put on her usual outfit and packed her traveling bag with her usuals. Piplup was quite surprised by Dawn's sudden change in mood but didn't question it, he hadn't heard the conversation between her and her mother so he didn't realise that he'd be on his way to see all his friends soon.
Dawn noticed that Piplup was giving her curious glances and remembered that he didn't know the change of plans, so she decided to fill him in. "Hey Piplup, what do you say we go pay Ash and Pikachu a visit in the Kanto Region?", She asked him with a big smile on her face.
Piplup wasnt sure he'd heard her correctly, but when she didn't seem to be joking he suddenly jumped up and gave out a happy "Piplup!".
"I knew you'd feel the same!"
Dawn had everything packed and headed downstairs to say goodbye to her mother, she felt kind of bad leaving so soon and wondered if this was how Ash felt at the start of each of his journey's. "K mom im ready to go!" She chirped out as she reached the living room where Johanna was sat in one of the lounge chairs.
"Shouldnt you call and ask first before you go rushing over dear?"
Dawn gave her mother a cheeky wink "Nah, im going to surprise him!".
Johanna shook her head and walked over to her daughter giving her a big hug "I can't believe your leaving already but I know this is what you want and im happy for you, and here you'll need this". She handed Dawn an envelope with contained money for the ferry tickets.
"Thanks mom, ill make sure I call you and let you know whats happening".
"Dont worry sweetie, just make sure you look after yourself. Now go or you'll miss your ferry, and I wouldn't wait too long, knowing Ash he'll be on a new adventure as soon as he can". She said as she looked at her daughter and smiled.
Dawn giggled but nodded, and headed towards to door "You ready to go Piplip?"
"Pip Piplup" He chirped merrily from her arms, he also hadn't felt this energised since they all separated and was really looking forward to seeing everyone again.
"Alright, bye mom! Thanks for everything!" Dawn shouted as she walked out the door and then happily made her way to the harbour, feeling for the first time in two days that everything would turn out ok.
Johanna watched her daughter leave to go find the guy she loves and start another adventure with him, in a place neither of them will probably be familiar with. She sighed happily as she thought 'She's really growing up'.
Pallet Town - Kanto Region, Present Time
For the first time in two years, Ash Ketchum was back in his home town. He was pleased to see that it was pretty much still the same from the last time he was here, as he took in the sights and scents of his childhood and the start of his very first journey. "Well buddy we're back!" He said as they walked down the familiar route which would lead him to his home.
"Pikachu pi pika pikapi pikachu" Pikachu spoke up softly from his shoulder, also thrilled to be back home, and cherishing the familiar sight of pallet town.
They walked for about five minutes until the sight of the Ketchum family home came into view. Ash smiled and broke into a full on run to his house, as he got near he could see the same lovingly cared for flower beds that his mother always attended too, and the familiar sight of sweeping the front pathway.
"Mime !" Ash heard as he came up to to the gate that lead to their family home. was always happy to see him when he came home from a journey.
"Hey Mimey, is mom home?"
"Mime!" He nodded his head and went back to sweeping.
Ash opened the front door and ran inside, a giddy grin on his face "Mom, im home!".
"Pika pika!" Pikachu added.
Delia came running through from the kitchen and embraced her son in a hug, and nearly crushed the life out of him. Ash was used to this treatment when he came home but it didn't make it any easier to breathe. "Mom... cant...breathe.." He managed to choke out.
Delia loosened her grip and looked down happily at her son, taking in how much he'd grown in the two years he was away, sure she saw him on the video phones but it was never the same as seeing him in person. "Oh Ash, im so happy your home, ill make your favourite dinner to celebrate!".
"Thanks mom, its great to see you too!" Ash said happily as he took off his shoes, he then handed his mother his badge case so she could frame them and put them up with the others, and ran up to his room. He was not surprised to see that nothing had changed, his mom always keeping it just as he left it.
He went over to look at all his framed awards, trophy's and badges from his journey and smiled. "Well buddy that's another adventure over, and this time we made it to the semi-finals!" he smiled fondly as Pikachu gave him a little fist bump in reply.
"Next time we're gonna win for sure! Then we can challenge the Champion's League and beat the Champion, then we'll be Pokemon Masters!".
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed wholeheartedly.
"Why don't we head over to Professor Oaks ranch and say hi to all our friends, and introduce them all to everyone we found in Sinnoh?".
"Pikachu pika pi!" Pikachu nodded happily.
"Thought you'd agree, let's go!"
With that Ash quick ran back downstairs and slipped his shoes back on. "Mom, im just going to Professor Oaks ranch to check on my Pokemon, ill be back before dinner!"
"Ok sweetie!" He heard from the kitchen.
With that he was out the door and on his way. It took him five minutes of running to reach to ranch, and he quickly knocked on the door. A familiar face he hadn't seen in a while opened it and looked at him happily.
"Hey Ash! Didnt know you where back! You here to see your Pokemon?"
"Hey Tracey, its great to see you again, and yeah I am, im gonna introduce them to all the new additions we found in Sinnoh!". Ash replied as they walked through the all too familiar lab.
"Where's the Professor?". Ash asked as they made it to the ranch at the back where the Pokemon were kept, he could see no sign of his childhood mentor.
"Ah, he's currently sorting out tickets for his vacation, he's heading off their tomorrow and will be gone for about a week, which means ill be looking after everything while he's gone". Tracey sighed slightly at how hard that would be. It wasnt an easy task running the lab and the ranch.
"Wow, somehow its hard for me to picture the Professor taking a break, even though I did see him on vacation once, it was shortly after I started my journey with Brock and Misty, we ran into him on a beach. It amazed me then and it still amazes me now". Ash shook his head at the memory.
They walked out into the ranch and Ash caught sight of all his Pokemon, easily noticing Snorlax resting under some low hanging tree's and his massive heard of Tauros grazing nearby. Totodile was dancing in the nearby pond, next to a very subdued Kingler. Sceptile and Bayleef where relaxing in the shade near Snorlax and Bulbasaur was trying his hardest to pry off Heracross from trying to latch onto his bulb. Swellow, Gliscor (Who had already been transferred back) and Noctowl were perched on a branch overlooking the others, while Muk,Torkoal and Quilava where sunbathing out in the open. Corphish and Donphan where having a mini sparing match while Glalie was watching slightly amused.
Ash grinned as he saw nearly all his old partners and ran over to them. "Hey guys!" He yelled as he got closer.
All but Snorlax who refused to wake up, stopped what they where doing and looked up to see their trainer running towards them, and suddenly it was a stampede. Ash suddenly stopped running and held out his hands trying to calm down his excited Pokemon, Pikachu could see where this was going and quickly jumped off Ash's shoulder and waited at the side for the inevitable. "Guys, calm down your gonna run int-". He was cut off as he was tackled to the floor and everyone was crowding round him chirping out happily or licking his face.
Tracey who was watching it all from the side, chuckled and shook his head, he'd seen all this before. It happened every time Ash came back from his travels. "Hey Ash, you alright down there?" he asked laughing.
Ash too was laughing, "Hey guys its great to see you all too". After a few more moments they all backed off and he was able to stand back up.
"I've brought some new friends, come on out everyone and say hi!", he grabbed the five Pokeballs from his belt and launched them into the air, where they snapped open and a white light spilled out from each and materialized into the forms of Staraptor, Gible , Torterra , Infernape and Buizel.
Everyone gathered around the new arrivals and greeted them warmly before they all split off into their own little groups again, the new additions included, easily fitting in with Ash's previous Pokemon.
Pikachu hopped back up onto Ash's shoulder as he made his way back over to Tracey on the lab now that he was reaquainted with all his old Pokemon. "So Ash". Tracey spoke up as he neared, "Going to leaving your Sinnoh team here when you travel to a new region?".
"Yup, like ive done for Hoenn and Sinnoh, ill catch and train a squad of whole new Pokemon when I choose where to go, not only is it awesome to make new friends and see new types of Pokemon but it also helps me get better as a trainer".
Tracey was curious about that last statement and asked "How so?".
"Well you see, if I used my already powerful and well-trained Pokemon which are league ready, I wouldn't even have to try when it comes to Gyms and my Pokemon would already be way stronger than the Gym leaders, by raising and training a whole new team right from scratch, it makes it harder and therefore challenges me to think up new strategies and keep on my toes. Plus training a new team and going through the region with them helps bring us together and form a tight bond and when we come home we have a bunch of awesome new friends".
Even after all these years Tracey was still amazed by Ash. Very few people would make it harder for themselves purposefully, simply to make them and their Pokemon stronger. He certainly was one of a kind, and we was happy to see that the Ash they all know and love hasn't changed a bit.
Gible had been close by during the entire conversation, he was curious what his trainer and his friend where talking about and when he heard that he would most likely be left behind when Ash set off for a new region he began to panic. He ran up to to Ash and pulled on his blue travelling trousers. "Gible Gib!".
"Hey Gible whats up?" Ash asked curiously at his dragon-ground type that was desperately trying to get his attention.
Gible started waving his arms up and down trying his best to convey his meaning. "Gible Gib Gible!".
"You know Ash, id wager that Gible wants to go with you". Tracey said watching the amusing behaviour of the small dragon.
"Really Gible you wanna come with us when we go on our next adventure?".
Gible enthusiastically nodded his head up and down, "Gible!".
"Well thats fine with me! Of course you can come Gible!"
At this news Gible was practically bouncing with joy and did the only thing he could in such a moment of excitement, chomp down on Ash's head.
Ash, Tracey and Pikachu all laughed. Ash finally managed to dislodge Gible from his head and they all walked back inside the lab. Ash handed all his Pokeballs, except Gible's and Pikachu's, to Tracey and said his farewells then returned Gible to his Pokeball before heading back home for his dinner.
By the time he walked through the front door he could smell the amazing meal his mother had prepared and raced through into the kitchen. Before him arrayed on the table was all his favourites stacked high and smelling like heaven.
"Your just in time, dig in honey!" Delia smiled happily as Ash began to stack his plate with as much food as possible before sitting down and starting to demolish it at a frenzied pace. As they ate Ash relayed to his mom about all his travels through Sinnoh and all amazing things he'd seen and done, getting scolded for being reckless a few times when he retold parts of where his life was in danger. Eventually the topic turned to his newest travelling companion and Delia noticed the dreamy look on his face as he was describing her.
"Well it's a shame I never got to meet Dawn in person, she sounds like an amazing girl" Delia added as her son finished his dreamy explanation of her. She realised her son was head over heels for this girl and decided to have a bit of fun. "I would have loved to of met my future daughter in law".
"Yeah she's grea...WHAT?!" Ash's face went a deep shade of red as he looked at his mother with an equally shocked and embarrassed face.
"Well it's obvious from the way you where describing her that you two are in love and I would have loved to of met the girl your going to marry". Delia giggled when her son couldn't even form words to reply, all that came out was a few garbled sounds.
"P-please mom can we talk a-about something else!" His voice had gone higher than normal and his eyes where pleading to change the topic.
"Oh alright sweetie, but you know its nothing to be embarrassed about". She giggled again when he just pulled his cap over his eyes to hide his face.
"Actually I have a bit of a surprise for you".
Ash lifted his cap and looked at her curiously "Really?".
She nodded "Yep, Professor Oak is treating us to a vacation for a week to Unova, its a region far away from here, and I know you'll love it because the Professor tells me there's Pokemon there you can't find anywhere else!".
Ash's face lit up, and he suddenly became really exited, "That sounds awesome mom! I cant wait to see all the cool new Pokemon! When do we leave?".
Delia smiled at her sons excitement, nothing quite got him going like seeing new Pokemon. "We leave tomorrow morning so go pack your things!".
"Great, let's go Pikachu!".
"Pikapi!" Pikachu ran over and jumped up onto his shoulder as they ran out of the room to go pack their stuff for their trip to Unova.
Ash was really excited now, and was packing all his traveling gear, since he didn't really unpack from his journey to Sinnoh there wasnt much to do other than change his clothes, he noticed a new set of clothes waiting for him on his bed which his mom had obviously left for him when he went to the ranch and set them ready for the morning, then packed clean versions of the new outfit which his mother had also left folded up on his bed into his backpack. 'Pokemon you can't find anywhere else' He thought happily about his mothers words, not much could make him more psyched for this trip, only if Dawn was there too. Dawn. He quickly shook his head to clear it, he didnt want to feel sad again tonite, and focused on Unova and all the new Pokemon he'd meet and be able to catch.
Later that night when he'd finally fallen asleep he was dreaming about all the new adventures he'd be able to have while on vacation in Unova, but as always as of late, his dreams eventually drifted to Dawn, and he smiled as he dreamt about the two of them on a new journey in Unova.
Next Chapter : Travels to New Lands.
I did my best to make up for the shorter start chapter, hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it, it's starting to come together a bit more now and Dawn and Ash will reunite in a few Chapters.
I will have Chapter 3 out tomorrow, seeing as its 2:18 am here currently as ive just finished writing this.
Until next time, Peace Out.