Thanks for the feedback on the previous chapter! First off, a huge thanks to jmoul18 for giving the raw inspiration for this story, writing an awesome story that I can't stop reading again, and giving me awesome tips for this story. Next, I'd like to address an anonymous comment made about where I'd source the frame for this story: it's going to be based on the events for Platinum (because that's the game I played as a kid) and because it really was a perfected version of DP. But if there are some things from DP that I should use, tell me in the reviews! Also, I was able to make some crucial changes to the previous chapter and I have a pretty good idea as to where this story is headed. As usual, any and all suggestions are considered, so PM if you'd like.

Chapter 3: Kindling and Ignition

Lucas was walking to his house, next to a blushing Dawn who was quite enthralled to stay at his place for the day. As they neared is home, Lucas thought it was fair to make a point to his new friend: "I-I know the house is small, but we keep it neat and tidy and it's nice and warm inside when it's cold outside."

"Oh, it's alright. It may be a small house but it looks so cozy and comfortable, especially given the chilly weather here," she giddily replied. Lucas opened the door for her and led her inside, where his mother perceptively noticed the extra set of feet on the floor. She looked up from her work in the kitchen and saw Dawn smiling at the tidy furnishing of the home.

She stopped her work and walked over to Lucas and Dawn, welcoming the latter saying, "Come in, dear. I'm sorry the house is such a mess. Lucas didn't tell me he was coming home so soon after he left." She paused to give a quick glance at Lucas, raising her eyebrows for a moment, and said "Or that he was bringing a girlfriend." Dawn blushed at the suggestion, and Lucas nervously tried to tell his mother to dial down a tad.

"Mooommm," he groaned, embarrassed with redness. "She's just a friend. I literally met her 20 minutes ago!" Johana just giggled.

"I was only joking, Lucas. Now, I didn't get your name, dear. What did you say it was?"

"It's Dawn Avery (I actually can't think of a good last name. Review below if you have suggestions), Mrs…"

"Mrs. Drake" Johana filled in. "Well, you two must be starving. I'll get the food ready in about half an hour, so go on ahead and relax for a bit," Johana said with the homeliest and hospitable smiles.

"Thank you, Mrs. Drake, but we can help you around the kitchen, if you'd like," Dawn courteously replied.

"Oh! So well mannered. I've tried to the person next to you to behave like that for 18 years now, and he still never helps around the house." Both Dawn and Johanna laughed, while Lucas' head was red enough to be confused with the tomatoes on the kitchen counter. "Anyways, it's not much cooking for me to do, so I'm sure you two can go on upstairs and warm up by the fire for a while."

"Alright. Thank you, Mrs. Drake."

"No problem, sweetie." Johana turned to walk back into the kitchen while Lucas and Dawn went up the narrow stairway to the upper floor. The upstairs only had three rooms: a bathroom, a bedroom for Drake, and a bedroom for Johana. They walked in and sat down on Lucas-' bed, which barely held the two of them, encouraging them into close proximity of one another. Dawn's gaze wandered around Lucas' room, admiring the posters of The Dark Knight and Imagine Dragons, the punching bag and gloves neatly placed in a corner, and the various trophies and books that lined shelves. It didn't take her long to know the boy she was sitting next to was a very capable one. It's wasn't like she'd never seen capable boys before. It's just that they would flaunt their success and make a whole scene out of it to get attention; he, however, was quite reserved and respectful, never putting his worth above others. She liked that.

She kept looking around the room quietly until her gaze landed in his, only his didn't break. "You in there, Lucas?" she said, blushing wildly.

Lucas was no dolt, and he thought quickly. "Yeah. It's just snowing outside… and it looks very beautiful." They both knew what he was really talking about. Dawn turned around to look at the little specks of white float gently to the ground, landing without sound and forming powdery mounds of sugar and delight. It was then that she started to feel the room become a little chilly, and she made a request to amend that.

"Lucas, um… do you think it's a little cold in here?" Dawn asked softly.

Lucas nodded. "Here, I'll turn on the fire. It'll get warm really quick, so, if you want, I can keep your coat and scarf on that hanger," he said, pointing to a coat-hanger by the door.

"That'd be nice, thank you," she said, as Lucas got up to take her coat and scarf. He gingerly hung them on the hangar alongside his own scarf and jacket, and then turned to kindle the fireplace. He had a convenient habit of setting up kindling and logs for the next fire right after the previous one ended, so he picked a matchbox from the drawer, struck a match, put it in the kindling, and fanned the flames for a few seconds. Satisfied with the warmth it was exuding, he turned back and sat next to Dawn, who curled up into a ball to retain heat.

"If you're really cold feel free to pull up the comforter."

Dawn pulled up the tucked comforter and melted in its reassuring warmth. Lucas just smiled and sat on the bed again. "You and your mom are very nice. Thank you for letting me stay here for the day," Dawn said, melting further into the blanket.

"It's nothing. We're always happy to help someone." Dawn nodded. There was a slight pause as both didn't know what to say next.

"So…do you have any dreams or aspirations, Lucas?"

"I do. I've always wanted to be a lawyer. I felt that the profession was my calling. The field is intense and fierce but intellectual, and that's just what I wanted. But my father passed away a few years, ago. We don't know why. We just got a call a few days later from the Vice President of the company that he had passed away while he was working with some scientists on something; apparently, the details were confidential, and even his own family couldn't know them," he said, a touch of indignation in his voice.

"I-I'm sorry about your father…" Dawn kindly said, her warm smile heating Lucas faster than the fire.

"Thank you, it's alright now. But after he passed away, my mother was diagnosed with cancer two years later. It was in stage two." Dawn's eyes widened with sympathy. This boy was so kind and calm all the time, no one would have suspected that he had so many tragedies in his life, probably would because normal people wouldn't able to maintain their sanity as he did. She wanted to hug him, and tell him it was alright and that things would turn out for the better because he deserved it… but she held herself. "I needed to find a way to pay her medical bills because she wasn't able to work at the Pokemon Center in Sandgem anymore. If I became a lawyer, it would be at least 7 or 8 years before any real paycheck came in." He paused, tears building in his eyes. "At that point, I'd have no mom to pay medical bills for. So I decided to become a Pokemon trainer. It apparently runs in my blood, because my father was an Elite 4 member before he became a businessman."

"Your father was part of the Elite 4? What was his name?"

"James Drake."

"I…I don't ever recall seeing the name in textbooks."

"Yeah, he left after just 8 months. People tried to kill him once he became an Elite 4 member, so he left battling and Pokémon forever." Lucas paused to look at Dawn before he continued. "I'm going to finish what he couldn't. I have to. I have to become Champion." Dawn saw the pain run across Lucas' face, all the emotional suffering, the pent-up rage, the unfairness in his life. He didn't deserve this. He was too kind and too proper to have his life littered with tragedy after tragedy. She couldn't hold back her urge, so she got up out of the comforter and gave him a hug, her face right next to his. Lucas was nearly startled by her movement, and his face went flush. He hugged her back, gently but warmly.

"You know, Lucas, you shouldn't have to go through this alone," she pulled back from the hug and looked into his eyes deeply. "I can't feel your pain. I'll never be able to. But I do know what it is like. Both of my parents were killed when I was sixteen. They used to help protect Pokémon from Team Rocket by keeping them in special shelters before Team Rocket could capture them. They also got the League to pass legislation that protected animals hunted by Team Rocket. Team Rocket nearly shut down because of them." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "They didn't like that," she said, her sniffles becoming sobs. "So they…" she couldn't finish her sentence as her sobs prevented her from opening her throat. Lucas gently held her hand in his, her soft hand held in his firm and reassuring grip. He didn't have to say anything, because Dawn slowly stopped crying, her sobs fading and her voice becoming more pronounced, and smiled.

"Well, I guess we have each other to lean on, huh?" she said, putting her other hand over the one that held hers.

"We do," he said, gratefulness and care in his voice. Their heads leaned closer, ever so slowly but perceptibly. They leaned further and further until their foreheads touched, their eyes locked in the other's sight. Dawn gave a small chuckle, at which Lucas himself smiled. Lucas wanted to stay that way. He didn't want to leave her, but he reluctantly pulled back anyway, not letting go of his smile. "Well, we know what I'm up to now. What about you? Professor Rowan himself said you have a lot of potential, so what do you want to be?"

"I-I don't know. I've always wanted to do Pokémon contests… well… because they looked so fun. I guess I've always wanted to share the magic and beauty of Pokémon with people. But I don't know if I'll be good at it." Lucas thought this was absurd.

"If she couldn't do contests, then every girl aspiring to be in contests might as bloody well quit," he thought to himself.

"Well… you could do it. I mean, you're definitely beautiful enough to do contests. I'd be surprised if you couldn't make it to the top."

"Y-you really th-think so?"

"I wouldn't say that if I didn't."

"Well," she began, resolve filling her voice, "I want to become to Top Coordinator of Sinnoh!"

"That's the spirit! Say, why don't we let out our Pokémon and let them play around the room for a little while?"

"Yeah! That's a great idea! Go, Hazel!" she said as she released a brown monkey with the cutest bit of overbite on to the floor. The little monkey bounced around before leaping into Dawn's arms. Dawn rubbed its head and nuzzled it, earning a relaxed coo from the Chimchar.

"Wow, she's really good with Pokémon," thought Lucas. "Alright, Caesar, come on out!" The little Piplup popped out in the middle of grooming its feathers. It suddenly stopped to see where it was it landed and then waddled over to Lucas. Of course, the penguin Pokémon could barely move with its head the size of its body, so it simply fell on its face, causing Lucas and Dawn to laugh. Caesar bopped himself back up, however, and began to puff out its chest proudly, once again trying to reach Lucas. This time it did, and Lucas picked it up and ruffled its head-feathers. "Awesome buddy! You gave it your best shot. Besides, penguins swim!" he reassured the penguin, bopping its little nose with his finger.

"PIIIIPLUP! PIPLUP!" it chirped as it jumped out of Lucas' hands and into his lap below, where it snuggled and fidgeted into the gap between his crossed legs and closed its eyes.

"Aww… it's such a charming little thing!" Dawn squealed with delight at the sight of the cozy and comfortable penguin Pokemon.

"Okay Caesar, I know you're sleepy but my leg's going to fall asleep too!" Lucas laughed as he cradled the Pokémon into his left arm, while he stood up to grab a pillow from the closet on his right. He then placed Piplup at the foot of the bed and closer to the fire on top of the plushy pillow he had lain for it. The Pokemon flapped its wings a little in its sleep and cooed in delight as it drifted away into a dreamy land of bliss. Lucas slowly ran his fingers through its thick down coat before sitting back down on his spot in the bed. Dawn put Chimchar on the same pillow, only it was it was a little closer to fire than Piplup. Chimchar stretched its little arms and let out of soft yawn before curling up into a ball and falling asleep.

As Lucas sat back down, Dawn noticed something: there were no playthings or games whatsoever in the room. It seemed devoid of anything amusing or indicative of fun, which piqued her curiosity about Lucas. "Hey Lucas, what do you like to do for fun?"

"Well," he chuckled, "when I was still in school that punching bag was the most fun I could ever get. You have no idea how fun it is to focus all of your stress and rage into a single point and fling it onto a squishy target." Dawn looked a bit shocked; Lucas was appearing to be more of a psychopath than she would have liked. "But," he continued, "now that school's out, I play a lot of video games, like CoD and Super Smash Bros."

"Wait, you have Smash Bros?"

"Yeah, why?" Lucas asked, loving where this was going.

"Well, I have that game, too. I love it. What version do you have?"

"Wii version."

"Perfect. Do you want to play?"

"Sure, mom said she'll get lunch ready in about fifteen so I think we have enough to play a few rounds."

"Awesome!" Dawn exclaimed, and Lucas went to go pick up the disc and turn on the Wii. The old machine hummed to life and a blue light highlighted the disc entry point as he inserted a disc the size of his hand with many favorite Nintendo characters into the cartridge. The screen on his TV turned on, and Lucas hit start on the disc channel, sucking the two teenagers into an addictive world of brawling and fun. "I think I'll be…" Dawn said, moving her cursor along many rows of playable characters, "Kirby."

"No… come on, Dawn! You're better than that!"

"Let's just say I want to see how good you are."

"Alright, you're on!"

"Then I'll choose Link! How long should the game be?"

"Let's play three games of four minutes."

"Deal… wait a minute? Do you want a nunchuck?"

"Yeah, that'd be great!"

"Alright, let me get you one." Lucas got up to open a drawer in front of him and get out a nunchuck. He brought it to Dawn and sat down on the bed again.

"Don't you want to use the nunchuck?" Dawn asked, not seeing anyone play without one before.

"Nah, I play side controls. It's faster and better."

"It's not about good controls: it's about a good player."

"Well, I have both right here."

"Time to find out." Dawn hit the start button and chose the Battlefield stage. Both began mashing buttons furiously, but one of them seemed to be having an edge from the start. No matter how fast she dodged, how far she flew, Lucas was almost always able to pin her and land successive combos before throwing bombs and up-attacking her into oblivion. The game was over, and Lucas had 10 kills while she had just one, and that was because she had gotten several items. "OK, round two," Dawn said, wanting to redeem herself. Lucas quietly but affirmatively nodded. He was in fight-mode, and he would not say a word till victory was entirely certain and behind him. It few moments, it was. Lucas had locked on so fiercely that the score gaps between them only widened. Dawn hung her head, embarrassed by her continuous defeat and worried that Lucas would see her as haughty and prideful, even though the opposite was true. "Y-you're really good, Lucas."

"Well, you made the game fun to play, so I guess that matters more," he replied. "Fuck, now it sounds like it was fun because she was easy to beat," he thought. As each began to overthink the significance of their otherwise trivial behaviors, Lucas' mother interrupted them.

"Hey, you two, lunch is ready!"

"Let's go grab some food. I'm starving," Lucas said, as he led Dawn out of his room and downstairs where some salsa, tortillas, lettuce, black beans, guacamole, grilled vegetables, and sour cream were all placed out in separate containers across a table.

Dawn gasped with joy, "Are we having burritos?! I love burritos!"

"Me too," Lucas concurred.

"Well, that's wonderful. How about the two of you tuck in and eat right now. I've actually got some shopping to do, and I want to get that out of the way before I eat," Johana said.

"Mom, you have to eat. You can't just skip lunch," Lucas said, worry in his voice.

"Nobody said I'm going to skip lunch; I'm just going to eat a bit later."

Lucas sighed in defeat, "Fine… but promise you'll be home soon."

Johana smiled, "I promise. Goodbye, honey. Goodbye, Dawn." She waved as she stepped out of the front door and towards the car parked outside. Lucas and Dawn didn't wait to voraciously down as many tortilla-wrapped dishes of goodness as they could, their appetites almost competing with each other. A few burritos and "mmmmmmm"s later, they cleaned their plates and dishes and decided to go back upstairs.

Lucas opened the door and allowed her inside his room again. This time, Dawn ran straight to the windowsill and looked out into the wintry wonderland outside.

"Hey Dawn, you're from Kanto, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I guess you haven't been around much snow then?"

"No… it looks so fun, so powdery and delightful."

"Well, you'll get used to it. It snows a lot in Sinnoh. You'll get used to it. In fact, how about we mess around in the snow tomorrow. Nothing's better than a powder snow and a cup of water."

Dawn looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Snowball fights."

"Wait, really? Wow! I've always wanted to be in a snowball fight!"

"That's perfect, then. We can play with our Pokémon, too. After all, Chimchar is resistant to ice and Piplup loves the cold."

"That sounds great, but what about 'winter-wear'?"

"No problem, you can borrow my mom's."

"You're awfully kind Lucas, thanks." And so they playfully exchanged conversations that brought their once separate lives ever closer together, until Dawn began to feel very sleepy. Lucas quickly picked up on her tiredness and offered her his bed, which she almost immediately accepted. Lucas put some more wood in the fire to keep her warm, and then ever so slightly opened the window to prevent the air from getting stuffy. He then began stuffing his bag with items, utensils, portable tents, and spare gear he would most likely need. With the Rydel company now selling its patented "shrink" technology to other companies, products like tents and cooking utensils could be shrunk into little cube packages and easily carried for storage before being opened up and ready to use again. An hour later, he stuffed his bag full of the exact things he needed, neatly organized and perfectly coded for their uses. He'd taken Professor Rowan's advice well, and now he was finally ready for his journey. He decided to use the time left that to look at a map of Hoenn and plot his journey across Sinnoh. Eight gyms, one Pokémon League: his pencil drew through all of them in a neat line that formed a path for him to follow. He began to envision himself at the Pokemon League, the most powerful trainers in Sinnoh, and, of course, the Champion: Cynthia. He and Caesar would go a long way together, and that way would begin tomorrow. After a while, Lucas too began to feel drowsy. He got up to go to bed, but saw Dawn there, and halted right where he was. She was very pretty when she was awake and talking, but it didn't go away when she fell asleep. She looked so inviting, warm, and happy that Lucas really had to rationalize not sliding in and cuddling with her. As he turned his head to sit back in his chair, Dawn smiled.

About an hour later, Johana woke them both up and asked them to come downstairs and have dinner. After some delicious burgers, both Dawn and Lucas decided it would be best to catch some sleep before starting their respective journeys. But before they both retired to sleep, Johana pulled Lucas aside and whispered something to him.

"Moooommmm! I'll find a way. I'll-I'll, whatever. I'll take care of it, OK?" Lucas replied, his face once again as red as a tomato as he walked back upstairs with Dawn right behind him.

Dawn noticed Lucas' flustered expression and decided to press a little further. "Uh, Lucas? What was going on downstairs?"

"It, uh, wasn't much. You see, we only have two rooms. And mom's bed only fits one person…" Lucas said, stretching his sentence and hoping that Dawn would catch on and suggest something. But Dawn was having way too much fun, so she kept dead silent but put on a smile and a raised eyebrow. "We also don't have any air mattresses or anything. S-so if y-you like…" he said, once again hoping that Dawn would catch on before he had to explicitly finish the sentence. But Dawn was resolute and wanted Lucas to say what she thought he would. Lucas was really nervous now, his confident aura now running to hide behind the pillows. "…y-you can sleep on m-my bed," he finished. "And I can sleep on the floor. It's carpet so I should be comfortable and all," he quickly added, successfully dissipating the tension within him and calming his nerves. But Dawn had other ideas.

"No, Lucas. Please don't sleep on the floor. That'll be painful. I'm sure there's something we can do…"

"GODAMMIT!" Lucas thought, "just when I thought I got away."

"Uh… it's okay, really. I've done it before and it's not all that bad."

Dawn wanted to throw that option out of the windows: "I'm not letting you sleep on the floor," she giggled, surprised by how well Lucas was dodging.

"I-I mean… if it's okay with you… I could sleep next to you on my bed," Lucas replied, his tone rising to indicate doubt in his suggestion. But Dawn had no such doubt.

"Yes. That's perfectly fine with me," she quickly and almost excitedly replied, happy that she'd gotten him to say what she wanted him to say. "But how about I get changed first."

"S-sure," Lucas began, still surprised by what she'd just coaxed him through, "it's the room to the left." Dawn got up off her spot on the bed and walked over to her duffel bag where she fished out some clothes before walking out of his room and toward the bathroom.

Lucas sat on his bed, running his hand through his soft, black hair. He picked up his Pokeball and looked into its deep, red top. "Hey Caesar, do you think she likes me?" The Pokeball gave a little shake. Lucas just chuckled and picked out his pajamas from the closet. Dawn came back a minute later, wearing a soft cotton pajama shirt with a pearl background and galaxies and stars all over it and a matching pair of pants. "No way!" Lucas began, instantly grabbing Dawn's attention, "I have those same pajamas, but they're in a diamond blue color."

"Really? Let me see 'em," Dawn said. Lucas held out the pajamas he was holding to reveal that his previous statement was the truth. "Haha, that's so cool. Well, I'll get cozy in bed and whatnot, because I'm super-tired. Why don't you go get changed too?" Lucas went to the restroom to change and was out in thirty seconds, old clothes in the laundry pile and all. By the time he came back, however, Dawn was already in the sheets, looking intently and warmly at him. Lucas lit the fire once more for the night, closed the window, and shut the door before setting an alarm and sliding into the covers and turning off the lights from the bedside switch.

For a few silent moments, he and Dawn just turned on their sides and looked at each other's faces: not a word was said, but communication still ensued. Lucas broke the silence: "Well, I guess we both have our big journeys tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess it's going to be awesome. Just think of all the new people and Pokémon we'll meet."

"Well, I think I've already met the best person ever before I even began my adventure," Lucas thought, but he wanted to say something more.

Lucas could feel his nerves kicking in as he tried to speak, but he held himself, allowing his focus to collect and his thoughts to coalesce into something useful. Just like he did before a fight, he took a deep breath and focused on his target: Dawn. "Dawn?"

"Mmhmm?" Dawn replied, not knowing what to expect from him unlike a few minutes ago.

"Well, since you and I are both starting our journeys tomorrow and we both have similar goals and dreams, what do you say we go on our journeys…together?" Lucas felt an uneasy silence building. "I mean, we get along fine and I think we can really help each other—"

"Yes. A million times yes."

Ok, so that was a VERY long chapter, and I know what you're thinking: "I just read pages of this horsesheet, resulting in now my eyes being irreversibly damaged, and I want to know if this author is liable. The answer is no, but, you can help by reviewing and telling me what I can fix. This was an experimental chapter because I have no clue about how to do shippings (I'm a 17-year-old who's more shy and awkward than Lucas; I have no source material other than other fiction stories). If there's a direction you want to see this go, please tell me and I'll be happy to take your advice! I promise that by the next chapter I'll be back on track with the game storyline, but as I said before, I was just testing something in this chapter that will need proper development for the rest of the story. Thanks to all the people who PMed and commented! Also, anonymous reviews are nice and I thank them for the feedback, but I request you kind reviewers use an account so I can thank you or respond. Cheerio everyone!