It was now three o'clock in the morning and everyone was out like a rock from the exhausting, yet exhilarating quest to get here or eagerly lying in bed anxiously awaiting to attend class on the big campus. Over at the boys' dorms a certain someone was training in the hallway with his newly acquired Combusken which had only recently evolved from Torchic. This certain someone was Max Maple he was so incredibly excited for tomorrow he just simply had to master the move fire spin so he was pulling an all-nighter to accomplish this ambition of his.

"Okay, Combusken try it one more time you've almost got the hang of it! Remember, what May said it's almost just like flamethrower and she had a Combusken too, so she knows what she's talking about! Ready now try again!" Max commanded as his Combusken attempted the move spewing out a powerful blast of fire which, accidentally, hit a table in the hall which subsequently bursted into flames. The whole area was spreading like wildfire the sweltering heat was growing and Max began to panic.

"H-h-help!" Max cried and Tracey, Max's roommate heard Max scream and immediately awoke to the smell of smoke. Tracey, then too began to panic as he thrust open the door.

"Max! What are you doing!" Tracey screamed as the growing fire started awaken the rest of the students.

"I-I'm sorry, Tracey, really!" Max cried as he was encircled by the flames. Tracey glanced over and saw Max's Combusken engulfed in flames and he immediately knew how this horrid accident occurred. "Max, return your Pokémon!" Tracey hollered as Max obediently followed his orders.

"Wha-what do I do now!" Max cried in fear.

"We need a water type Pokémon!" Tracey cried. Ash began to sniff the pervasive smoke and began having a coughing fit in his sleep which eventually awoke him.

"Ah! Pikachu, Pikachu wake up I think there might be a fire!" Ash screamed shaking Pikachu who was quietly asleep on his lap. "Paul, Paul, wake up, wake up!" Ash screamed frantically. Ash then got up and shook Paul's shoulder to wake him.

"What, what is it that you want, Ketchum." Paul stated angrily.

"Fire!" Ash shouted.

"What!" Paul cried as they all raced to the door and opened it to verify the statement. Ash looked down the hallway and saw Tracey and Max screaming about the fire and Ash climbed over the flames cautiously to get to them.

"Ketchum, are you nuts?" Paul shouted to him and Pikachu who was on Ash's shoulder.

"I'll be fine!" Ash called back.

"Whatever…" Paul grumbled as Ash reached them.

"You guys don't just stand there call the fire department!" Ash yelled not bothering with the greetings of long-time-no-see because they were in a dire mortal crisis at the moment.

"Ash! Wouldn't it be easier just to use a water Pokémon!" Tracey cried as the flames grew higher.

"Ash, Pikachu help me!" Max cried as he choked on the smoke.

"Max! Aren't there any sprinklers in this place!" Ash shouted as just then an older boy came out with his elbow raised over his mouth as he coughed.

"Swampert, I choose you!" The mysterious voice commanded. "Hydro-pump!" he said as all the flames were immediately extinguished leaving everyone sopping wet, which is a whole lot better than being left a pile of ashes.

"Now, Max you should know better." He said as the boy now became visible since the fog of smoke was gone.

"Brock!" Ash shouted out. "Hey, Brock, good to see ya'!" Ash exclaimed.

"Hey, Pokémon Master." Brock said sarcastically and Ash smiled.

"Oh and hey, Tracey, Max great to see you again too!" Ash exclaimed shaking hands with all his old pals.

"Hey, Ash, Brock! Sorry, guys I didn't mean to and thanks for saving me Brock I really owe you one!" Max said.

"Don't mention it, what're friends for!" Brock said.

"Hello, Ash and Brock!" Tracey said when suddenly another kid came running towards the scene.

"Heeeeyyyy! I hear there's a fire here! That's it I'm fining whoever did this and they've got ten seconds to pay up!" He cried dashing down the hall.

"Oh…I wonder who this is…" Ash said grinning knowing all to well it was old rival from Sinnoh, Barry.

"Hey, Barry." Brock said not surprised at all when Barry reached them.

"Oh…Hey it's you two! Ash, Brock I should've known, I'm fining you, you have exactly ten seconds to pay up-ten, nine, eight, seven-" Barry started.

"No,no, Barry it's all out now, calm down!" Brock said reassuringly.

"Oh…well I guess no harm, no foul. So, how's everyone doing!" Barry exclaimed.

"What's with this guy, it's like he's two people?" Tracey whispered to Ash and Ash laughed.

"He's always been like this." Ash replied.

"So, am I supposed to bow to you now, almighty Pokémon Master?" Barry teased.

"That's alright you don't have to do that!" Ash said in response as he laughed a little.

"Alright, everyone it's nearly four AM now I think we ought to go back to bed and talk again tomorrow, er rather later this morning." Brock said.

"Yeah, alright, `night everyone." Ash said as he walked slowly back to his room yawning. "Well, that was exciting, eh, Pikachu?" Ash joked patting the little electric mouse's head.

"Did you put it out?" Paul asked bluntly.

"Yeah, Brock did, you remember Brock right?" Ash said.

"Sort of." Paul grumbled in response.

"Oh, well he was that other friend of mine that traveled with me and Dawn, do you remember her?" Ash asked as he stretched.

"Yes, yes I remember Dawn, okay! I don't see why this is such a big deal to you, Ketchum! They're all pathetic anyway." Paul yelled.

"Yeesh, calm down I was just curious…" Ash replied.

"Well, stop, stop being curious!" Paul yelled.

"Gosh, I bring up Dawn and Brock and you act like I brought up Cyrus or Giovanni." Ash replied.

"Whatever…I'm going to bed don't bother me again." Paul grumbled.

"Goodnight to you too then…" Ash said awkwardly as he crawled back into bed to try and rest some for the day ahead of him. Over at the girls' dorm things weren't running so smoothly either. Iris was blaring music so loud it could make your eardrums burst.

"Iris, it is three AM can you please turn that down at least!" Misty yelled wedging two pillows up against her ears trying to muffle the sound of the obnoxiously audible music.

"Why should I, you can't even take a little music, you're such a kid!" Iris exclaimed.

"…I'm the kid…Yet you're the one jamming out to some trashy radio station at THREE IN THE MORNING!" Misty screamed.

"Misty, take it down a notch people are trying to sleep there is no need for such loud voices you're such a kid!" Iris scolded.

"I HAVE TO TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH!" Misty screamed hopping out of bed, ready to fight. "Turn that atrocious sound off!"

"No way you're not the boss of me!" Iris replied stubbornly just then the two argumentative girls heard a knock, rather a thumping on the door and Misty answered it. It was Dawn and May with, tired, agitated looks on their faces.

"Can you two save your fiesta music till tomorrow because some of us are trying to siesta!" Dawn shouted.

"Sorry, I keep telling her to turn it off but, she won't listen to me!" Misty replied.

"Oh, Hi, Misty, it's me May!" May exclaimed giving Misty a friendly hug.

"Hey, May, how've you been lately?" Misty asked rhetorically.

"ANYWAY, can you,… I'm sorry what's your name?" Dawn asked.

"Iris, Iris Gemanii." Iris replied in a braggadocios tone.

"Well, Iris, can you please, turn that off so we can sleep?" Dawn asked demandingly.

"Please, Iris, I'm really tired I can't sleep hearing that." May asked more politely.

"It's driving Piplup crazy!" Dawn exclaimed and Piplup nodded while still plugging its ears.

"Fine..." Iris capitulated to their pleadings reluctantly.

"THANK YOU!" Misty exclaimed.

"That's all I ask!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Thanks, Iris, and bye Misty, goodnight guys!" May said and they tiptoed back to their own rooms and settled in to rest up for the impeditive day around the bend. The next morning finally arrived and everyone was psyched to say the least. They all were rushing to slip on their uniforms, eat breakfast, back their book-bags and get there at seven sharp as Ms. Percington had specifically instructed. It was a quarter-of-seven and everyone was congregated at the main lobby entrance of the exquisite school building.

"Oh, hey, Ash!" Dawn said as she spotted him amongst the crowd.

"Morning, Dawn!" Ash exclaimed as May ran up behind them.

"Ash!" May exclaimed.

"May! I knew you must've been here 'cause I ran into your brother last night…" Ash stated.

"Oh, you say it like it's a bad thing?" May said.

"No, no, I was happy to see him…just not the position he was in." Ash replied.

"Why? What happened?" May asked concernedly.

"There was a fire and Max was sort of responsible. I don't want to be labeled a tattletale so if anyone asks you didn't hear it from me!" Ash informed.

"Max! I knew if I let him out of my sight for one second he'd cause some kind of problem, he always does!" May shouted.

"Is everyone alright?" Dawn asked.

"Everybody's fine it was just scary. Oh, yeah and I came across Brock, Tracey and Barry too last night and you'll never guess who my roommate is…" Ash stated.

"Who?" Asked May.

"Paul!" Ash exclaimed and Dawn's eyes widened. "I know you don't know him, May, but Dawn does."

"I don't care, why would I care!" Dawn exclaimed. "Paul is a selfish, good-for-nothing, womanizing, jerk!" Dawn screamed.

"…Dawn, calm down, I don't like him either but…" Ash said.

"He never hit you!" Dawn exclaimed in fury but quickly resented opening her big mouth.

"What!" Ash said. "He hit you? Dawn, why didn't you tell me this I would have taught him a lesson he'd never forget!" Ash yelled furiously.

"Oh, me and my big mouth…" Dawn said glumly.

"Dawn, what did Paul do?" Ash demanded.

"Who is this Paul and what did he do to you?" May asked.

"…Paul is my ex-boyfriend, okay?" Dawn confessed.

"You dated Paul?" Ash said, shocked. "But, you always hated him?"

"Hey, I hated Drew but I love him like crazy now!" May exclaimed happily blushing.

"You and Drew are going out now? Well, that doesn't come to me as a surprise!" Ash said with a smile when suddenly Brock walked up behind them.

"Hello, May, Dawn!" Brock said cheerfully.

"Brock!" May exclaimed as she gave him a huge smile.

"Hey, May, good to see ya!" Brock said.

"Dawn, hey, it's Brock?" Ash said seeing Dawn acting very despondent staring downwards.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, hi Brock." Dawn said.

"Hey, Dawn, you okay?" Brock replied.

"Yeah, I'm cool." Dawn fibbed.

"And what about you Piplup, Pikachu?" Brock said patting the two Pokémon's heads. "I guess all of you guys showed up because of that law, right?"

"You guessed right." Ash replied.

"I've been here awhile studying to become a Pokémon doctor you always needed a degree for that." Brock explained. "So I was really surprised to see everyone."

"I'm sure glad everyone's here I missed you all so much!" May exclaimed.

"Brock, you'll never guess who's dating now?" Ash stated.

"Oh, who?" Brock asked curiously.

"May and Drew! Say, May is Drew here?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, he should be around somewhere he promised to see me after school today I haven't seen him in a while." May replied.

"Why am I not surprised." Brock said smiling. "Oh, Ash is Misty here I'm dying to see her again." Brock asked.

"Oh, yeah I ran into her and Dawn on m plane ride here I don't know where she ran off to. Any idea where Tracey and Max are?" Ash responded.

"Nah, I have no idea." Brock replied. "Well, I'll catch up with you guys later I'm gonna go see if I can catch up with Misty, see you!" Brock said.

"Later, Brock!" Ash called out.

"I'll come!" May called out following Brock but, Ash stayed still curious and perturbed about Dawn and Paul's previous relationship.

"Dawn? Please, tell me what happened?" Ash asked worriedly.

"Ash, it wasn't during our travels okay?" Dawn replied.

"So? I still care." Ash stated, putting his hand on her arm comfortingly.

"Ash, please, I don't want to talk about it. I appreciate your concern but…" Dawn said blushing a little as Piplup began frantically talking about what Paul did but, of course only Pikachu could understand.

"It's times like these when I wish Team Rocket was still around." Ash muttered reflecting on how Meowth would always translate for them.

"I-I have to go." Dawn said as she moved Ash's hand off her arm and slowly walked away as Piplup followed.

"Dawn…" Ash muttered as Misty dashed over to him after seeing the whole conversation.

"Hey, Ash, sleep okay?" Misty said greeting him.

"Oh, hey, Misty, yeah I slept fine…aside from Max causing a fire and what not." Ash replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, I heard." Misty giggled. "So…What's wrong with Dawn?" Misty asked enviously after seeing Ash put his hand on her arm so tenderly.

"I don't know...she won't tell me, I'm worried about her." Ash replied. "Oh, Misty, May and Brock were looking for you."

"Brock's here!" Misty exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, so's Tracey!" Ash said with a smile.

"Aw, I have to find them! Darn, we only have two minutes." Misty said.

"Why don't we all get together after school tonight?" Ash suggested.

"That's a great idea, Ash! We can all catch up, I'll find a restaurant and we'll invite anyone we come across!" Misty stated.

"Great! We can't wait can we Pikachu!" Ash said with a smile.

"Okay, then it's settled!" Misty exclaimed. Meanwhile, Dawn was in the girl's bathroom crying, trying to fix her running mascara down her face.

"I hate that jerk, Piplup!" Dawn said in a tirade to Piplup as she used the disposable towel to wipe her face clean.

"Hey, Dawn, no need to worry, right?" said a red-head stepping out of a stall.

"Zoey?" Dawn exclaimed.

"Right, good to know you didn't forget me! Here let me help you get cleaned up we better hurry, Ms. Percington's going to be giving her big speech any second now!" Zoey said helping Dawn out as Piplup hopped into her arms. "Hey, Piplup!" Zoey said. Dawn was glad to know that she had friends who truly cared, Zoey, Brock, Ash, who even though they hadn't seen one another in years it feels like yesterday and that when they said they'd always be there they meant it. Of course in Ash's case she was hoping for more than just good friends but, she wasn't the only one crushing on him.

"So, who's this jerk?" Zoey asked curiously as she handed Dawn her mascara to reapply.

"My ex-boyfriend, Paul…he-he use to hit me…and now he's here and Ash keeps asking me to tell me what happened between us but I just…" Dawn began.

"You feel uncomfortable telling a guy this, I get it. Oh, and good to know Mr. Pokémon Master's here, I'll have to stop by and say hi." Said Zoey as she pet Piplup.

"Exactly, and don't get me wrong I trust Ash, it's just…I don't want to get him involved with this mess…it'd be awkward to have my best friend tangled up in all this." Dawn replied.

"I know, come on we're gonna get in trouble, no need to worry, forget about it!" Zoey said handing Dawn her backpack.

"Thanks, Zoey, you're the best." Dawn said with a warm, grateful smile as they both stepped outside to see Ms. Percington on a pedestal in front of a podium testing her microphone preparing to start the school year to remember.

Hey everyone so what did you think of this chapter? I hope you liked it I know it was a bit lengthy but the story's hardly even begun and I'm up to chapter five(the first one doesn't count). So please review tell me if you like the chapters short or long(but they sort of have to be long 'cuz otherwise this story will be like a hundred chapters) Okay so thanks for reading please stay tuned expect an update by tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest! Please review thank you all! :D