XashXdawnX - Sorry for the late update, but here is the newest chapter. Enjoy!
PokemonFreak90 - We haven't updated in over a month? Well, better late than never, right?
One night, Ash was sitting on the couch, watching one of Dawn's past contests. In this contest, she was in her late teenage years, so she had been on her journey for a while at that point. This was the first time that Ash had seen Dawn perform in a contest. He had known that she was a Top Coordinator, but he wasn't expecting her to be THIS good!
Dawn had also mentioned that in this particular contest, she was going for her final ribbon so that she could enter the Grand Festival, which would later turn out to be the first Grand Festival that she would win, having previously lost, coming so close to winning other Grand Festivals.
As Ash watched the television, he could tell that Dawn was really enjoying what she was doing. He glanced down at Julia, who was curled up beside him on the couch, also watching the contest.
It's great to be able to spend time with dad like this. I wasn't able to do this with my first dad... she thought.
The video eventually ended and Ash got up to turn the TV off.
"Thank you for spending time with me." Julia said, taking the video and putting it back with the others. They had watched a few videos that night.
"You're welcome, Julia. I really enjoyed it. I had never seen her perform before. Your mom knew what she was doing. She was very graceful in her performances and so were her Pokemon, something really important for contests."
"You know, this is the first time that I can remember ever spending any real time with my dad." said Julia.
Ash looked at her and walked back to the couch and sat down, looking confused. Surely she and her first dad had done something while he was still in her life?
"You didn't do anything with Kenny?"
"Mom says that when I was a baby, my dad would do stuff with me, but I was too young to remember that part of my life. When I was three, things with my parents started to go wrong. They began to distance themselves from each other and argue...a lot. Which grew worse as the years went on.
"I...I grew up hearing them fight and wished that we could just be a happy family like my friends' families were. I was scared when I heard them yelling. But one thing I do remember is that my dad was never mean to me. Mostly, he just ignored me. That's why I don't have any real memories of doing anything with him.
"When I was six, they had the worst fight that I've ever heard them have. There were a lot of bad things said and a few broken things that night. My dad left us for a few days after that fight and when he came back, he had divorce papers. I never saw him again after that.
"I was glad that he was gone because there would be no more fighting, but I was sad because my mom and I were all alone now. We both were sad and unhappy and it never changed. After my dad left, things got bad again. The kids at school began to bully me because I didn't have a dad anymore."
Ash remembered Dawn telling him about that.
"He never said goodbye to me. He left when I was already asleep and I woke up the next morning and he was gone. I never got a goodbye from him." Julia said sadly and looked at the ground.
Julia closed her eyes tightly, but a few tears fell as she remembered the painful memories of the past.
Ash had heard only a little of this from Dawn and now he had heard it from a child who was only six at the time and learned what she had seen and went through. He felt himself frown, especially at the last thing that Julia had said. Her dad didn't care enough about her to even say goodbye to her.
Ash reached over and pulled Julia to him, hugging her as she cried. He rubbed her back and ran his hand through her hair as she cried. He always did that to Dawn when she was upset. He couldn't believe that that was what they had gone through.
I'm glad that they're both happy now. I'm glad that I was able to help them by healing their hearts and giving them the love that they hadn't had for a long time. Ash thought to himself
Julia sniffed and took a shuddering breath. She wiped at her eyes and looked at her dad.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I hope that you know that I love you very much and if you ever want to do anything, just ask me, okay?" Ash said, kissing his daughter's forehead.
Julia wiped at her eyes again. "Yes, I know how much you love me and mommy. I finally have the happy family that I've always dreamed of and I'm so happy to have you as my daddy." Julia said, smiling and hugging him.
"I'm happy to have him, too." A voice said. Looking behind them, they saw Dawn, who had been listening to their conversation.
Dawn walked over to the couch and leaned over, giving Ash a loving kiss.
"I came to tell you that it's getting late, sweetie. Time to get ready for bed." Dawn said.
Julia nodded her head and headed upstairs.
"That's the first time that I've heard about your past from Julia's point of view. It sounded even worse than I thought, even from what you told me." Ash said to his wife.
Dawn sat down next to Ash and said, "In some ways, it was even harder for Julia to deal with everything than it was for me. You really are a great dad to her. She deserves someone like you, a dad that loves her and cares for her."
They sat there in silence for a minute before Dawn asked, "Where's Alex?"
"He's in his room. He doesn't come out much anymore since he got grounded and he can't play with his friends. On top of all that, he won't be playing in the next hockey game. He's taking it pretty hard. And he's still confused as to why he got into so much trouble since he did what he felt was right and still got into trouble..."
"We've given Alex a few days to think about what happened. Why don't we go and talk to him before he goes to sleep?" Dawn suggested.
The two of them walked into Julia's room, kissed her, and said goodnight before they headed to Alex's room.
As they entered, they saw that Alex was already in his pajamas, reading a book. He looked up at his parents sadly.
"We need to talk to you about what you did at the game and how you act when you're angry." Ash said.
Alex nodded his head and marked his page, closing the book.
"I care about my friends very much and I don't like seeing them get hurt. I want to be able to stand up for them and help them when they need it, just like you did and still do, dad." Alex explained.
"You taught me to always do what was right and to help those who needed help. On your Pokemon journey, you always stood up for your friends and Pokemon when they were in trouble. It was mainly Team Rocket, but you still protected them by fighting against Team Rocket to protect them. Why am I getting into trouble when you did the same thing?"
"We understand that you want to protect your friends and help them, but fighting and violence isn't the answer. You need to think before you act and not let your anger get the best of you." Dawn said.
"And Alex, you're right. I did the same thing when fighting Team Rocket, except that I never physically fought myself, I used my Pokemon. I would always take my friends' place if they were in trouble, though." Ash added.
"I just want to be a good friend..." Alex muttered and his eyes became teary. "Am I a bad person, dad?"
Ash was surprised at what Alex had just asked. "Why do you think that, Alex?"
"I've been in two fights now, I've been taken out of the school's next hockey game, grounded, and I've hurt people twice because of my anger. I just want to protect my friends without getting in trouble."
"To control your anger, just take a deep breath and count to ten." Dawn said.
Counting to ten had been something that Miss Vickers had told Alex to do after he had gotten into his first fight.
"And Alex, you are not a bad person, just think before you do anything next time, okay?"
"Okay..."
"Now, I think that it's time for you to go to sleep." said Dawn.
Alex nodded and his parents hugged him and said goodnight before turning the light off and closing the door.
A few days later, the Ketchum family was eating dinner together.
"I've been hired to go to Hearthome City and take pictures of the Pokemon contest that's going to be held there this weekend." Dawn announced as they ate.
Dawn couldn't be happier. She loved her job and it was even better when she was at a contest while doing her job. Two things that she loved doing, both at the same time.
"Would you like to come with me, Julia? You don't have any homework or anything this weekend, right? I thought that it would be nice for you to see a contest for yourself, since you want to be a coordinator someday."
"I've finished all of my homework already. And duh, I would love to come and watch! Could Grace come, too? Grace wants to be a coordinator also and we would both love to see a contest in person. Grace used to live in Hearthome City, too."
"I don't mind, she's welcome to come, as long as her parents say that it's okay."
"I'll call her after supper and see if she can go." Julia replied.
"Do you two want to come?" Dawn asked Ash and Alex.
"I have hockey practice this weekend." Alex said.
"I'll stay here with him." Ash added.
Dawn, Grace, and Julia sat in the Hearthome City contest hall, waiting for the contest to begin.
Grace and Julia were very excited to get to experience this. Grace had been overjoyed when Julia had called and asked if she would like to come with her and her mom.
After a few minutes, the contest began. Dawn took pictures of the host and the judges, along with a picture of the ribbon that they showed.
"Just think, one day that will be us there on that stage!" Grace cried happily.
Julia nodded her head, smiling and said, "I can't wait!"
The contest then began and the first coordinator came out onto the stage.
"Oh, wow! That was amazing!" Julia cried as the first appeal finished.
The coordinator was named Sabrina and she was using a Pikachu. Pikachu had launched Thunder into the air and used Attract to form a heart. After a few moments, the Thunder struck the heart and made it burst and sparkles and sparks fell.
Dawn had taken a picture when Pikachu launched the Thunder into the sky and one when the Thunder struck the heart.
"Wow!" Grace cried as a Piplup used Ice Beam to freeze Bubble Beam and then used Drill Peck to make the bubbles burst.
Dawn had captured the bubbles being frozen.
Dawn also took a picture of a Turtwig using Razor Leaf and then using Vine Whip to make the leaves fly further.
After a while, it was time for the battle rounds. Dawn captured multiple of pictures of the battles.
"...And the winner is Sabrina!"
Dawn took a picture of the final points in the final round. She also took a picture of Sabrina accepting the ribbon and congratulating her Pokemon.
"Want to see the pictures?" Dawn asked as people started leaving.
The two girls nodded their heads.
"These pictures are really good, mom. Like they always are." Julia said.
"I can get some copies made for you and Grace so that you can take some home to keep."
"Really? Thank you so much!" Grace said, smiling widely.
I'll be able to remember this day forever and get some more ideas for my designs. Grace happily thought to herself.
Before the three left they decided to walk around Hearthome City and see some sights that they hadn't seen the last time they were there. Grace showed them a few of the places that she remembered going to when she lived there. She showed them where she used to live, which was a medium-sized two story house that was white and blue.
They also stopped at an ice cream shop where Grace used to go all of the time. Grace had strawberry, Dawn had mint chocolate, and Julia had chocolate chip.
They then got into Dawn's car and drove through Hearthome City and passed a lot of clothing stores downtown. Hearthome City was known as the fashion capital of Sinnoh and it was easy to see why.
"My mom used to work at a gown store like these ones. It was at the mall, remember?" Grace said.
"How could I forget? You girls were with me when I went there." Dawn said, remembering that the last time they were together in Hearthome City, they were finding a gown for her to wear at Salvia's coronation ball.
"I hope that my outfits are shown and sold in these stores someday, once my days of being a coordinator are over." Grace said.
"There's no need to worry. With what I've seen of your sketches, they are fantastic. Whether you be a coordinator or a dress designer, you'll do great." Julia said, smiling at her friend.
"Thanks, Julia."
After seeing a few more sights, the three headed home.
Julia experiences a happy moment with her dad, something that she wasn't able to do before, Alex gets some helpful advice from his parents, and Julia and Grace experience the thrill of seeing a contest live and in person for the first time.
In the next chapter, Dawn will receive a message from Salvia, who has some big news for the Ketchums! What do you think it is?
Please R&R