AshxDawnaddicted

Thank you for the review. I realized this chapter was ended with a major cliffhanger, so I decided to upload this one a bit earlier.

There have been some things that didn't seem to fit. This chapter should answer some question, though not all of them, and it gives some background information. The following chapter will be a darker one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.

Chapter 13: The special Day Part 2

What went wrong?

That was the thought Ash just couldn't get out of his head. Why did she break up with him? Was it his fault? What did he do wrong? He gave her his heart and she just left him! For someone else? No, he didn't think so but it was still outrageous.

"Damn it!" he shouted before punching his pillow several times. "You could have at least told me why!"

Memories of her flooded his mind. He remembered the ice cream date after her second loss in the appeals round, her little show after his defeat at the hands of Paul, her battle against Maylene just so that the gym leader would battle him. In front of his eyes he could still see her dancing in her cheerleader outfit, showing him a new move to give to him, and her stunning beauty when she was posing as a princess. The way she took care of Pachirisu when she was sick, the way she tried to train Mamoswine even though he showed no interest at all, the way she could turn a certain loss into a blazing victory, that all reminded him of himself. They had so much in common. They'd gone through so much together. And now she decided to leave him just like that?

He buried his face in the pillow. tears now streaming down his face. He didn't care. Nobody would see him like that. And even if they did, it wouldn't matter to him at this very moment. Slowly the anger after the shock was replaced by sadness and hunger for the truth.

She said something about being a burden, he remembered. But we have talked about this often enough. She never ... wait. Maybe she wasn't talking about that. Maybe ...oh no. I should have seen it coming.

Everybody knew about Ash's goal of becoming the Kanto champion. However, hardly anyone knew about his second, greater goal. Ash didn't just want to become a champion. He wanted to be the very best, the champion of champions, a true world champion. Dawn was one of few who knew about his plans.

A very specific conversation was on his mind. It was during a brief holiday at Undella Beach shortly before Ash's defeat at the Hoenn league. They met Cynthia, who had a villa there. Together, they managed to convince Dawn to take the next step by challenging the Hoenn Elite Four and, eventually, Wallace himself.

One evening, Ash almost revealed his plans to the Sinnoh champion.

Flashback

They were watching the sunset from the balcony while having supper. Ash was in a very good mood as he had finally managed to convince Dawn to challenge Wallace. They sat there in silence until Cynthia asked an unusual question.

"You always knew what you wanted to be, didn't you, Ash? I wonder, is there someone who inspired you to become a pokémon trainer? Someone you idolize?" He thought about it for a while.

"Well, no one in particular. At least I don't think so. I just love pokémon and every time I saw a powerful trainer, I just said to myself: I want to be just like that," he replied.

"I see. At first, I thought of a very special trainer but I guess I was wrong." If she wanted to get his attention, she was successful.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked.

"He was active when you were still a baby. A trainer from Kanto, who wanted to become the best. Let's call him Red. He was very powerful trainer, using a rather revolutionary battle style at that time. It was no surprise when he became the youngest Kanto champion ever. But that wasn't enough for him. Soon he also defeated the champions of Johto and Hoenn and took their titles," she told him.

"That sounds like an amazing trainer." Ash hoped he would be just as successful.

"If he was so great, why haven't I heard of him before?" Dawn asked.

"That's because his success didn't last," Cynthia explained. "In fact, it's a very sad story. Before he became the Sinnoh champion, the former Kanto champ defeated him, taking back his title. The Johto champ followed soon after. They had heard about his plans and they weren't amused at all. It was a matter of honor. In the following years, he defeated many champs but also lost to just as many. He was never able to keep more than two titles at the same time ever again. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Ash asked, a bit afraid of the answer.

"Because others adapted to his battle style until they knew him inside out. He had become predictable. They adapter faster than he could come up with new strategies because whenever he found one, he had to use it to regain his advantage. And he forgot about the most important part of any battle between equally powerful trainers: luck. As much as it's bugging us, a single miss can decide a whole battle. And with so many battles to fight, he was bound to be unlucky at some point. I heard some people say that I'm the best in the world, but that's bullshit. in my mind, as long as there are trainers who can defeat you, there is no best trainer. And the other champions could very well do that. But I'm digressing, this isn't about me." She took a deep breath. "Those defeats were just the beginning. Red thought harder training would give him the strength to defeat anyone. He failed to realize that bodies have their limits and that his pokémons had reached theirs a long time ago. As a matter of fact, the harder training and the increasing number of battles only managed to weaken them until he didn't have a single title. His friends and family begged him to stop. Begged him to concentrate on just one title but he didn't listen. In the end, even his own pokémon tried to convince him to stop. Once again, he refused. So he lost them. His friends, his family, even most of his pokémon gave up on him."

Dawn gave Ash a worried look.

"Even then he refused to give up. Instead, he went to live at Mt. Silver. There he wanted to train until he was ready to claim what he felt was his. Then the new champion of Johto, who was an admirer of his skills, found him and challenged him. It was his last known defeat. He disappeared entirely. Nobody has seen or heard of him for fifteen years now." Ash had a very bad feeling now. Did she know about his plans?

"That's a very sad story," Dawn said.

"But one you could learn something from. Even if you have the talent to become a legend, don't overreach or it might ruin you. Knowing one's own limits is an invaluable strength." Cynthia gave Ash a strange look. "It's better than having someone show it in the most painful way."

"Why are you telling me this?" He finally asked.

"Because you remind me of him. His strength, his passion, his ambition. You have it all. Oh, and don't misunderstand me, I don't consider him a failure at all. Actually, he was one of the best trainers in the world and he taught the old and rusted champions true fear. He pretty much turned the battles into what they are today by himself." Ash wasn't sure whether it was a compliment. Was she trying to hold him back by convincing him to stop when he could do much more? Or did she think he was not good enough? He would have to verify that story soon. "Sorry, I didn't want to judge you," she said as if she was reading his mind. "You aren't Red and you have to know your own limits."

They spent the rest of the evening in complete silence.

End of flashback

Was she worried that I might become like Red? Was she afraid of being pushed away by me? How foolish. She knows I would never do that. Right? Suddenly he had doubts. How far would I go to achieve my dreams?

She had hurt him a lot. It left a wound that would take a long time to heal. But maybe it wasn't too late yet? Ash hit the pillow again. Why didn't she talk to him about this? They had solved worse problems that way so why not this time? If not for themselves, then for their pokémon. Several of them were more than just friends like Lucario and Espeon, Scizor and Scyther or Pikachu and Buneary.

Dawn had a hard time training Buneary as the unrequited love destroyed her motivation. She convinced Ash to convince Pikachu to give her a chance. In the end, he did. On their first 'date' he realized that she wasn't nearly as bad as he thought as once they were actually spending time together, she acted rather normally. Soon there was a second and then a third date. Slowly, their friendship turned into something more. Delia and Johanna would often point out that their relationship was much more like their trainers' now. A break up would be devastating for them, especially for Buneary.

I have to speak to her! I will convince her to return. And I will certainly not become like Red. He thought about it for a while. But wouldn't that mean giving up on my dreams? Maybe Cynthia was right. Maybe there is no best trainer. If it wasn't for my defeat in Hoenn I probably wouldn't believe it. It doesn't matter. I will try, but I won't forsake anyone if I don't succeed. We will talk and I will decide whether I can forgive you. Even if our relationship may never be the same again.

"I can't believe the bitch did that!" May spoke up after several minutes of silence. They were sitting in the living room. "And to think I called her my best friend."

"I have to agree with her," Iris added. "Breaking up with him on his birthday was a horrible move."

"I thought I knew her. I was wrong," Brock mumbled.

"What's the big deal? Can't Ash just find another girl?" Max asked.

"You obviously know nothing about love," Drew said, rolling his eyes. "Otherwise you wouldn't have said something that stupid."

"Leave him alone. He's just a child," May retorted, which earned her a glare from Max.

"Poor Ashy boy. He loved her with all his heart and now she repaid him by dumping him on his birthday. That was low."Even Gary felt really bad for his former rival.

"There's something wrong," Serena finally pointed out. "There's definitely something wrong."

"Of course there's something wrong. Thanks, Captain Obvious." Drew rolled his eyes again.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Serena slammed her fists on the table.

"Oh, then what did you mean? Please tell me, wise master." She looked like she was going to kill him now.

"Stop being such an idiot, Drew," May scolded him. "You're always like that when you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk," he retorted but it was clear that he was quite intoxicated. He may not have passed out like Barry and Bianca but his behavior left no doubts. He was sometimes unusually aggressive when he was drunk.

"What do you mean, Serena?" Brock asked.

"This was so unlike Dawn. Maybe she was forced to do this?" They looked at her like she was crazy. "Alright, I'll tell you why. I asked Dawn about her birthday present for Ash yesterday. She told me how she had to visit many shops until she found a present she considered worthy. It was really sweet. Why would she try so hard if she wanted to break up with him soon? Nobody changes their mind so quickly. But that's not everything. I got to listen to their more ... private activities in the night. It sound like they were unhappy. Not at all."

"We're talking about the same Ash, right?" Misty asked. "He still seems so dense and innocent."

"And I thought he would remain a child forever. How about some details?" Iris added.

"You should ask them. I won't discuss that here. My point still stands, though." Serena folded her arms, waiting for an answer.

"We can't ignore that. This whole affair has a foul taste." Cilan scratched his chin. "Wait a second. Dawn's pokémon are in this house, right?"

"Yes, I brought them here since she wasn't there," Brock replied.

"And didn't Dawn hold a pokéball out there?" He raised a finger. "That means, either the pokéball was empty or it wasn't hers. But where did she get one?"

"You must admit, it still sounds like bullshit." Drew remained skeptical.

"I don't remember asking you about your opinion," Serena retorted. She was starting to wonder why she ever admired him.

"I don't need a permission to tell you my opinion. As I see it ..." He received a slap on the back of his head by Catelyn.

"Just listen to yourself. Ash is having the worst day of his life and you're bickering like little children." Everyone looked down in shame. Her words just had that effect. "Serena does have a point, though."

"Let's have a look at the facts." Serena still tried to convince them. Cat left the room and went upstairs in the meantime. "Firstly, they showed no signs of being unhappy. Of course, you can't know that since you've only arrived recently but I can assure you that Dawn loves him just as much. Secondly, I have been with her yesterday, helping her at making the final preparations for this party. She wouldn't have worked so hard if she was going to break up with him the very next day. She was so worried that things might go wrong. Same with the present. And thirdly, there's the issue with the pokéballs. If ..."

"All six of them are upstairs." They turned to Catelyn, who was standing at the door again. "Drew, can you explain this?"

"I don't know?" He shook his head. "Maybe ... she could have ..."

"Thought so," Serena remarked with a smirk. "So I was right all along."

"Besides, where did Dawn go?" Cilan asked. "This is her home. Her family's house is in the town. So why did she run into the woods?"

"Maybe Zoey ..." Before May could finish her sentence, the door bell rang.

"Ash probably doesn't want to answer that right now. I'll go." Gary was followed by the others. They hoped it was Zoey along with Dawn.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be Kenny and Leona.

"Uh, sorry about being late. We arrived here in the morning but they have just left the house. Then we got a room in Viridian City to get some sleep before the party but overslept in the end and ... well, here we are. Sorry again," Kenny explained.

"I don't really care and I doubt Ash will. He's in a really bad mood right now," Gary replied.

"Why? What's the matter?" Leona asked. "Why are you looking so grim?"

"Dawn broke up with Ash," Drew answered nonchalantly.

"What?" Kenny didn't really know how to react. On the one hand, this might be his chance to start anew with Dawn. On the other hand, he also felt bad for Ash.

"How is that possible? They looked so happy in the morning," Leona mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Cilan was intrigued now.

"As Kenny said, we arrived in the morning. We saw them leaving the house and teleporting to some place. She didn't look unhappy at all," she explained.

"That's interesting. Ash complained on several occasions about not having seen her all day," Cilan pointed out.

"Well, I can assure that we saw both of them," Kenny told him.

"Then we should tell him about this. I feel this is really important," Misty said, receiving a nod from everyone.

Together they went to Ash's room only to find him about to leave it.

I knew he wouldn't stay there too long, Brock thought, smirking. Still a man of action.

"What are you doing here? I don't want company right now," Ash growled.

"This is important," Misty insisted. "Kenny told us he saw you leaving the house with Dawn in the morning. What time was it?"

"About 7am," he replied.

"That's impossible," Ash exclaimed. "I wasn't awake until much later."

"See? There's something wrong here," Serena told him. "Many small things but they add up. How come Dawn had a pokéball when all of her pokémon and pokéballs were here all the time? If Kenny saw a fake Ash this morning, maybe this Dawn was also fake?"

"If that's true where's the real Dawn?" Iris asked.

"Maybe we should call Zoey and ask what she's found out?" May suggested. Just when she was about to call, her phone rang. "Now that's convenient. It's Zoey."

Dawn was moving fast, very fast. Due to the darkness, the speed, and another thing Zoey was worried about she called out Luxray and Weavile.

"Luxray, Weavile, come on out! And be very quiet." The pokémon were slightly confused. "Weavile, use dark field and maintain it. Then jump on Luxray's back."

Weavile crossed its hands, creating a field, which was impossible to see in the darkness and prevented teleportation in a large area. It was a move they created to counter very fast teleporting pokémon like Alakazam and Ash's gallade. Now she was afraid that Dawn might escape by teleporting. The coordinator also got on the electric type's back.

"Please follow Dawn. As quietly as possible," she whispered.

Luxray was lucky that Dawn left a lot of marks as her scent was completely different this time. However, they had to be fast since the rain was starting to wash them away already. Finally, it found her leaning against a tree, which blocked most of the rain. She was staring at her left arm, probably at her poketch to be exact , and a tall, slender figure was nearby, probably a gardevoir. Before Dawn used the thing, she turned to the figure.

"Can you try it again?" she asked.

Zoey couldn't see that it tried to do, she could only hear a disappointed response.

"Gar ..." it mumbled. So she was right.

"Strange. Well, I'll call Seth now." Just as Zoey guessed, it was a pokétch. She decided to wait until the end of the call. "Hey, they fell for it. So what about your mission?"

Only Luxray was able to see Dawn rolling her eyes at the answer.

"Sorry," she replied. After a while, she spoke up again. "No need for that." Now she actually sounded frightened. "Well, just keep it up. Without her, Ash will fall easily." She ended the call and now it was Zoey's time to act. Someone was faster, though.

"Arcanine, use extremespeed!" A large pokémon came from nowhere and tackled Gardevoir to the ground. A man followed it, pointing a gun at Dawn. It was Dan from the international police but Zoey didn't know that. "It's over, whoever you are. I don't know how you're creating these illusion but we'll find out soon."

Illusions? That would explain a lot, the redhead thought. It was probably better to just watch them for now. After all, she had no idea who this man was.

"What ... who ..." Dawn was in panic for a few seconds before regaining her composure. "Who are you?"

"You don't ask questions around here. Now, who are you? I know you're not Dawn." If Zoey eyesight had been as good as Luxray's, she would have seen Dawn having a very uncharacteristic glare on her face.

"You ... you think you're stronger? Gardevoir, use Arcanine as a shield!" She touched her pearl bracelet with her other hand and her pokémon started to glow all of sudden. With a psychic move, it moved the fire type in front of Dawn so he had to shoot his own pokémon first. He pointed the gun at Gardevoir, whose skirt was wider and most of the green parts of its body were white now. Before he could fire a shot, the barrel was deformed, making it unusable.

"Damn it! Attack!" A coragunk and a noctowl emerged from the shadows but were stopped almost immediately.

"Well, well, well. Just look how the tides have turned. Let's get rid of those useless pokémon first." Gardevoir smashed Arcanine against a tree and followed up with a psyshock on Croagunk and a thunderbolt on Noctowl. The attacks were more than enough to defeat them so Dawn turned to the man."Now we have a lot to discuss. Let's see how much pain you can take before your spirit breaks." She slowly walked towards him, laughing all the time and that was the moment Zoey knew she had to act.

"Weavile, take care of that gardevoir. Luxray, make sure Dawn doesn't escape and teach her the true meaning of fear," she whispered. Both pokémon nodded. "Alright! NOW!"

Weavile was so fast, it grabbed Gardevoir's throat with its claws before it could react. Meanwhile, Luxray jumped on the unsuspecting coordinator, pinning her down and showing her the scariest face it could muster. Zoey tried to stop the man but he was already gone along with his pokémon.

"Damn, that guy is fast," she muttered. Without Luxray following him in the darkness was pointless so she decided to find out the truth about this Dawn instead. Apparently, she was still under shock and Zoey wasn't going to give her time to recover. She grabbed Dawn's shirt but it felt like a coat. "What the ...? Alright, listen to me, you little piece of shit. You have three seconds to answer my question before Luxray will rip your heart out. Who are you? You aren't Dawn. She doesn't have a gardevoir," she yelled.

"W-what? I'm not ... I mean I am ..." Luxray raised its right paw, exposing its claws. "No! Don't do it! I'm not Dawn! My name is Victoria!"

Victoria? Dan was, in fact, not gone but simply hiding in a bush nearby, something he was very good at. He didn't dare to have a look, though, since Luxray would spot him immediately so he had to listen for now. That name sounds familiar.

To her relief, Luxray lowered its paw again. She was safe for now.

"How?" This time, the pretender replied quicker by simply showing her.

In an instant, her body changed into something slightly taller but also a bit thinner. The hair was brown now and her face was covered by a white mask, which had a large, round, red gem on it, with only her green eyes being visible. She was wearing an adorned, grey uniform. The poketch was slightly different although it seemed to serve the same purpose.

"A wise choice." Zoey was glad her bluff was successful. She took her own cell phone and called May since hers was the first number she could think of and she knew that May was still at Ash's home. "You better don't move a muscle."

She really wanted to tell Ash the mixed news but May spoke up faster.

"Zoey! We have reason to believe that the Dawn you're chasing isn't the real one. I hope you haven't lost her." If it wasn't for the grim circumstances, Zoey would have laughed.

"I haven't. In fact, she is right here. And she has already confessed that her real name is Victoria." There was a moment of silence. Then she heard Ash's voice.

"And where is Dawn? That's more important than everything else right now," he shouted desperately.

"I'll ask her." The way she said it made Victoria flinch. "Where is Dawn?"

"I won't ..." Luxray's powerful roar made her change her mind quickly. "Viridian Forest! Viridian Forest! Just get that thing off me!"

"Viridian Forest," Zoey quickly replied.

"Alright, we're on our way. You take care of that fake Dawn," Brock answered as Ash ran off the moment he heard about the place.

That voice ... she must be it. Dan almost gasped when he realized who she was. Yes, Victoria, that failed coordinator. She disappeared after that embarrassing loss at the grand festival. I never thought she would do something like this, let alone have such a strong pokémon. Was it just a sick joke or is she involved in something more sinister?

Victoria recovered from the shock now but had to think of something quickly. If she got caught during this mission, she was as good as dead. Fortunately for her, she still had her mask. Suddenly, several Fearow charged right at Zoey. Her pokémon, noticing that she was in danger, abandoned their positions to defeat the attackers, who simply disappeared upon getting hit. Gardevoir reacted quickly, hitting Weavile with a focus blast from behind. The pain broke its concentration, allowing the psychic type to teleport again. More fearow appeared out of nowhere and distracted them long enough for Gardevoir to teleport itself along with its master to safety. The flying types instantly vanished.

"Damn it!" Zoey shouted. "I hope Ash finds her in time."

Currently he was trying to find every single flying type in the Oak ranch and those who could walk very fast, both his and Dawn's. Gallade was also there to teleport them straight into the heart of the forest. The rain has weakened a bit but would still be a problem during the search.

While he was doing that, Lucario was telling him what he knew about the recent events. Apparently, Dawn had left the house early in the morning voluntarily with someone, whose aura he knew so he hadn't considered that person a threat. So whoever was responsible, they'd met that person at least once before.

As soon as all of them were gathered in one place, he climbed on Charizard's back.

So it wasn't because of that story about Red. Ash was almost a bit relieved. We have to talk about it. But first, I have to get her back.

"We have to be quick. Dawn is somewhere in Viridan Forest." It was now that Ash realized that he should have asked for more details. "Her safety is of uttermost importance so don't hesitate. Her fate lies in your hands. Please do your best. Now get close to Gallade so that he can take us near our destination."

With a bright flash, that illuminated the darkness of the forest for a moment, they appeared between several large trees. Gallade joined Ash on Charizard's back as he wanted to take her to safety as soon as possible.

"Go!" They spread out to cover a large area. "Don't worry, Dawn. I will save you. And then I'll make your kidnapper pay."

Vicoria was leaning against another tree, catching her breath. This tree didn't block the rain very well, something she didn't really care about. The important part was that she was safe now.

"That Weavile must have prevented teleportation," she whispered. Gardevoir was very smart to have attacked the dark type. She stood up and hugged the nearby pokémon tightly. "Thank you. You saved us."

"I couldn't have done it without your illusions distracting them," it replied telepathically.

"Let's just say we're both awesome," Victoria said, laughing. The laughter stopped when she remembered how she almost got caught. "That fucking bitch. But who was that guy? Because of that stupid darkness I couldn't see his face."

For a simple robber he had too many different pokémon and why would he look for someone in the middle of the woods at night? No, his presence was no coincidence but why was he there? Who was he working for? She kept thinking about the different possibilities until her phone vibrated. It was probably Seth who wanted to tell her about his success.

"Yes?" she said, activating it.

"You better have a good explanation..." It wasn't Seth's voice. It was the voice of her boss. "Seth isn't answering my calls."

"He ... he complained about my call disrupting his work. Maybe he blocked further calls," she guessed.

"And now he blocks my calls instead? Genius!" her boss yelled. "Anyway, abort the mission immediately!"

"But he said he was nearly done." She knew saying that was a mistake the moment the words left her mouth.

"Nearly done? Really? Let me tell you something. He wants to break her mind." he replied calmly.

"W-What? He didn't say anything about that. How did you know?" The boss just laughed. Was she seriously thinking that he wasn't observing their every move?

"Sometimes you really make me doubt your mental capabilities." He could almost feel her frustration. "Anyway, if you can't reach him via phone, go to him and tell him to stop."

"Bu he never told me his exact location. Only the place where I should take her to. My Zoroark's illusions would guide her to him," Victoria explained desperately. "But he only told him, not me."

"Very well. It's not essential for me. But maybe for your lives. If this happens, there might be ... dire consequences." He hung up, leaving a terrified minion.

She didn't know how he knew about Seth's plan or why he didn't approve. Actually, she didn't care. The only thing that mattered now was that failure would mean death for her.

At the same time, Dan was reporting the recent events to his boss in his own office. His natu had brought him there. Max was walking around the table while he was talking.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Victoria was impersonating Dawn this time for some reason with illusions. I still don't know how she did it but the glasses showed me the truth," he said.

"First Ash, now Dawn. I wonder what she's trying to do. Anything else?" Max asked.

"Yes, she called someone whose name was Seth. You know him, right?" The boss stopped for a moment.

"Seth ... there's a mercenary with that name. Also called 'the Voice'. Dangerous man. So she's not working alone and there's probably a larger group behind this or they wouldn't have been able to pay for Seth's services." The more he thought about it the more worrying the situation became. "Is there more you can tell me about this Victoria?"

"Nothing really important," Dan replied, shrugging. "She simply disappeared two or three years ago. Not a big loss for contest fans. The pokémon she mainly used were Kirlia and Zorua."

"I see. My scouts haven't found Dawn so far but return to the forest anyway. If she gets out of there in one piece, see if you can plant a tracking device on something she always carries around. This won't be the last attack." The subordinate saluted before Natu took him back.

Catching Seth would be a huge success but Max didn't expect it. That guy was harder to catch than a legendary pokémon.