More Supplements for the Heart

by stringdog

No story can tell all that happens on an adventure. Some moments aren't important enough or are too distracting to be included but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be told. This Supplement will tell those stories that didn't make it into 'Winning Takes Heart' but are worth telling. A collection of side battles, minor characters and pearly moments set during the Hearts Series.

13. Understanding Feelings

Here is the thirteenth Supplement for the Heart in 'Winning Takes Heart', released at the right moment in the story. This is the first of two Supplements released at the same time as they occurred simultaneously with different characters so y'all get the fun of two for the price of one. For those curious, both Supplements occur between Parts CXXIV and CXXV. Both of these Supplements fall into the category of OC development hence why they are in the Supplement and this one in particular is the first of at least 2 that address what is going on here, the second one will occur much later in Winning. There are still 3 more Supplements planned after these two that will be released before the end of the upcoming Laverre arc so plenty more to look forward to. That is all the administrative stuff for now though and as there were no questions to answer or guest reviews to respond to after the last Supplement I will end it this note here. That means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the Winning's thirteenth Supplement For the Heart: Understanding Feelings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Understanding Feelings

Dawn headed up to the room that Emily was sharing with her, May, and Serena as that was where she was almost certainly holed up right now. Normally Dawn would have just roomed with Ash at a Pokémon Center but with the expected numbers coming into the town for the fighting tournament it was easier for the girls to join Emily in a room with two sets of bunk beds while the guys shared a smaller room with a single bunk bed. It also would help them bond with the younger girl while they were here.

Of course, right now everyone else was outside training. The tournament was in a few days and for the most part all of them bar Emily who didn't have a fighting type had been training with their Pokémon for it. It was an interesting training regime as they had to focused on actual strength and muscles rather than how their Pokémon used moves as they were banned in the tournament. However, the latter was still important to work on.

That was why Adam had challenged Ash to a three-on-three battle to test three of his fighting types against Ash in a normal battle. As the Hoenn boy had a full team of 6 fighting types on him, and between Ash, Dawn, May, and Serena they had 6 he wanted to face all of them to see how his fighting types stacked up against theirs.

Naturally it made sense to start with Ash's three and then move on to the others as that was the biggest of the battles. It also allowed Dawn to volunteer to go last with her Machamp and he'd be against Adam's Medicham to test his abilities against a psychic type though Dawn was certain that Machamp was really looking forward it see if he could learn a way to get some edge on Malamar in his odd rivalry with Dawn's strange other protector as see too was part psychic type.

However, Emily had not been present when they decided which had surprised Dawn as she was usually by Adam's side. She'd asked before the battle started and he'd said that she was dealing with her newly hatched Pokémon, an Alolan regional form Vulpix they'd met when they'd arrived as it had hatched when Emily got to the Pokémon Center, right now as it was feeding time so was in the room to have some peace and quiet for it.

That worked well for Dawn though as she now had and had the opportunity to go and see her friend and chat about something she'd noticed regarding the girl. As such May was officiating the first battle before Ash took over while Dawn finally talked to Emily.

It didn't take long for Dawn to reach the room and open the door after a knock to alert Emily to her presence though as it was also her room she didn't wait for an answer to enter. Inside was Emily on her bottom bunk, Dawn had the top one, with her snow white Vulpix on her lap and a bottle of special formula in her hand. Vulpix was drinking the mix of special food for recently hatched Pokémon happily as Emily looked up to see Dawn there.

"Oh Dawn, I wasn't expecting you here." The Kanto girl said a look of surprise on her round face at Dawn's arrival. "Aren't you all facing Adam? I wish I could be there for it, but Vulpix needs feeding around this time and it's easier without the sounds of battle."

"In time, he's starting with Ash and then the girls, so I volunteered to go last." Dawn said closing the door and taking a seat on May's bunk opposite her friend. "I figured I'd come and check on you and Vulpix while I waited, I know a thing or two about raising one from an egg."

"You do?" Emily asked sounding confused.

Dawn just smiled and pulled out a Poke Ball that she opened and her own Kantonian Vulpix appeared before he leapt up into his human's lap as he figured it was grooming time and Dawn knew how to get his tails just right. Dawn didn't disappoint him as she idly set to work while she chatted with Emily.

"I am not sure if I ever told you about how I got my Vulpix." Dawn said as she worked on Vulpix just the way he liked it while Piplup eagerly awaited his own turn on the bed next to her. "But I got him as an egg from Blaine out on Cinnabar Island towards the end of my journey last year."

"You may have but I don't think I ever got the full story." Emily said clearly interested in Dawn's story. "And it's really cute by the way."

"Thanks." Dawn said with a smile. "As for how I got him, we ended up on a strange riddle quest out on Cinnabar Island after reaching it thanks to some random dude who turned out to be Blaine himself at the packed Pokémon Center there. I was the one who answered the questions from all of Blaine's disguises and in the end we wound up at the Pokémon Lab that is there. As I had succeeded where others hadn't my reward was an egg that would end up hatching after Ash's battle with Blaine into Vulpix right after our friends Lyra and Khoury ran into us."

"If you had him back then, why didn't I see him in the Grand Festival?" Emily asked. "He would look good in a Contest."

"He was too new to use back then." Dawn said simply. "I usually give my Pokémon a chance to watch a Contest first and as I only had one more before the Grand Festival, one that was out in Cremini Town where my Shuppet and Spiritomb were going to debut though Shuppet evolved before it, I didn't think Vulpix was ready. I did debut Togekiss in a Grand Festival, but she was a gift Pokémon from Princess Salvia and had Contest training and experience so she's an exception. Therefore, because I didn't use Vulpix in Kanto, I brought only him and Piplup to Kalos when we came so that we could bond."

"Ah that makes sense." Emily said. "It's cool that you have the Kanto one while I have the Alolan one now, especially as it can add a fairy type upon evolution apparently. Lillie told me all about that as she knew the egg would have one so Vulpix here is perfect for me. That said, I have never heard of an Ice Stone before, but I'll need that should Vulpix ever want to evolve."

"That explains why she was the point on it." Dawn said recalling how Lillie had helped Emily the most after she got the egg. "It is a fitting Pokémon for you, and you get to learn how to use an ice type first. Focus on that before finding the Evolutionary Stone that you need. That will come in time."

"True, I've never had one before, so this is all new to me." Emily said. "And Adam as he's never had one either so he can't help me much on that front. He's helped a lot since it hatched though."

"He has?" Dawn asked glad that they were moving onto the topic that she wanted to talk about but all in good time as she still need to get the conversation to the right point first. "How so? I mean I know that he's really smart with Pokémon, but this seems more like a breeder thing. I only knew how because I'd had an egg before Vulpix. My Typhlosion was given to me as an egg back at a Johto Fair in Sinnoh in a similar fashion to yours and it was where I met Lyra and Khoury in fact. I know how to raise one because of Brock's lessons. This seems out of Adam's usual expertise."

"I thought so too until he explained his Hitmonlee to me." Emily said. "That's how he knows how to raise a hatched Pokémon."

"His Hitmonlee?" Dawn asked confused. "I'm not familiar with that Pokémon."

"It's a Kanto fighting type, but Adam got it as an egg when he was in Unova." Emily said. "It was a gift from Marshal, he's a member of the Unova Elite Four and a fighting specialist that Adam greatly admires and apparently trained with for a few weeks after the Vertress Conference. He impressed Marshal enough to get an egg as a gift from him before Marshal sent Adam to Kanto to go and train at the dojo in Saffron, which he did for a while before I met him."

"Huh, I didn't know that." Dawn said but then again she didn't know Adam's story at all beyond the base origin of the scars on his right hand and arm, so all of this was new to her. "So, he got his Hitmonlee from an egg then?"

"No, he got a Tyrogue." Emily said shaking her head. "A fighting type baby Pokémon that has a triple branched evolution, one of the few Pokémon that has something like that though it's nowhere near Eevee's level. Adam doesn't understand how the evolution actually works, but a Tyrogue can evolve into either a Hitmonlee, a Hitmonchan, or a Hitmontop depending on some undetermined factor. The former is a kicking Pokémon, the second a punching one, and the third a spinning balanced one according to him. The first two are classified as Kanto ones while the last one is a Johto one apparently."

"I take it Adam told you all this." Dawn said as the depth and detail that Emily knew was almost certainly beyond what she'd know on her own given how she didn't have a fighting type.

"Yeah he gets passionate about fighting types and I like to listen to his passion." Emily said with a slight blush on her rosy cheeks further adding to Dawn's suspicions. "His Tyrogue hatched before he left Unova, but it evolved in the dojo into a Hitmonlee. It was new for Adam as he was used to Makuhita and Poliwrath who are punching based fighting types while Scrafty is more headbutts than kicking, but he adapted. Apparently it evolved in a sparing match with some woman called Sabi that Adam admired while there as she has a really strong Gallade and trains regularly with it in the dojo. He could never beat her."

"Sabi you say?" Dawn asked her eyes wide at that, that was a name she hadn't expected to hear from Emily in relation to Adam. "Are you sure?"

"That's what he said." Emily said with a shrug. "Can't say I liked that he mentioned and fawned over her and both her Gallade and martial arts skills for some reason but yeah she was one of the mentors he had in that dojo along with a dude called Anthony who came by from time to time. He also fawned over Master Terri but she was his sensei so no worries there."

"Ok I think I understand a bit." Dawn said with a grin at Emily's words. "And if Sabi is who I think she is, she's in her mid to late 20s and, well, let's just say that she has a fear of intimacy that stems from past problems with something else so there's no way she'd ever see Adam as more than a sparring partner and student though the latter would be strange as she's not a fighting specialist."

"Huh, you know her?" Emily asked surprised and Dawn noticed that she seemed to breath a sigh of relief. "She wouldn't be interested in him then?"

"Sabi? Not at all." Dawn said shaking her head but not revealing who Sabi actually was as Dawn knew that it was the woman's nickname that she used when trying to avoid being recognized and if she was in a dojo, something Dawn would have to ask her about whenever she saw her again, then it was due to her own recovery though Dawn knew she could mention Sabi's struggles as she was honest about them. "Sabi is a, in her own words, a recovering addict Ash knows from his first adventure and who he once helped get clean so to speak. She's worked really hard to stay so and avoids addictive things, so you have nothing to fear with her. Plus, I am pretty sure I know who she has a crush on and it's not Adam."

"Oh, that is good to hear." Emily said breathing out deeply as she put the bottle away and Vulpix fell asleep on her lap clearly full from its meal. "About the Adam stuff, not her struggles, I hope she's doing well on that front though it is something I don't understand."

"Neither do I but I've heard her story and I know she's been through hell to get to her current point." Dawn said recalling that discussion she and Ash had had in Saffron City with her. "But she is doing great as far as I know. She's been sober, or her version of it, for at least 7 years now, probably 8 at this point."

"Ah that is good to hear." Emily said. "I'm glad I have more context about here as he was raving about her a fair bit but not as much as with Korrina, that was annoying when we were in Shalour for some reason but I'm glad to hear that this Sabi person isn't a threat."

"What do you mean by threat?" Dawn asked with a grin. "That is an odd choice of words there."

"Huh, oh nothing, really." Emily said quickly, a little too quickly. "Just a slip if the tongue, I promise."

"Ok." Dawn said slowly, she was almost there but first she needed to be absolutely certain. "So, about Korrina, why were you annoyed? Surely Adam geeking out with a potential mentor is a good thing as it would make him stronger in the long run. I know you're looking forward to meeting Valarie for similar reasons."

"That isn't what annoyed me." Emily said not making eye contact and blushing as she spoke. "I can't describe it but, well, seeing Adam and Korrina really geeking out over fighting types from the moment they met and being really close as they did it just didn't feel right to me. It gave me this odd, tight, buzzing feeling in my chest watching them get so close so quickly and over something I can't really share with him. Then they were doing it all during their first battle and the strange feeling I had got worse."

"Really?" Dawn asked knowing that it had to be true at this point, there was no other explanation for feeling like that to Dawn. "Did that feeling make you do anything, I don't know, out of character so to speak?"

"Maybe." Emily said still not looking at her and sounding embarrassed by something. "I, um, may have remembered what you once told me when we first met in Cerulean City and, um, did that."

"I see." Dawn said knowing exactly what Emily was saying. "Is the Shalour Gym still standing?"

"Of course, it is." Emily said defensively. "You've been there, you know that it's large inside and would be hard to do any real damage to it. Plus, Korrina doesn't have a Pokémon like Gyarados for me to throw into a ceiling."

"Not my finest moment, I'll admit that." Dawn said with a chuckle at her lone successful gym battle. "And I've seen worse. Ash has destroyed a roof in Veilstone City, put a Drapion through a wall while also destroying the gym floor in Fuchsia City, and thrown a Magmortar through a reinforced floor and into a net over lava on Cinnabar Island so I wasn't too bad when I faced Misty."

"Wait what?" Emily asked her eyes wide. "So, Ash's battles often end up like what we saw in Geosenge."

"Give or take." Dawn said with a shrug. "Depends on the field and the Pokémon mainly but if he Mega Evolves his Charizard there will be destruction as that also happened in the last Pokémon Center we were in when he blasted Kiawe's Turtonator through a stone wall and several feet of earth with Mega Charizard. I do know the Shalour Gym well though, not even Ash could do too much damage to it I think. Anyway, what exactly did you do when you were there?"

"Well, um, it's best to show you." Emily said clearly embarrassed by what had happened as she reached into her bag next to her, not disturbing her Vulpix who was still sleeping on her lap and pulled out her ribbon case before opening it and showing Dawn. "I got this for what I did."

Dawn's eyebrows rose at the sight in the case though more because it was there than anything else. Underneath the Odyssey Village Ribbon in the center of the case was a gym badge that Dawn recognized as the Rumble Badge that was giving to winners at the Shalour Gym. She wasn't surprised that Emily had fought Korrina, she understood why better than anyone else might, she was more surprised at the victory. Even with her advantage in type in general, Dawn knew that Emily wasn't a pure battler like Korrina, so it was a surprise she'd won.

"You beat her." Dawn said as Emily put the case away. "Just like I did with Misty when I met her for the first time back in Cerulean City."

"Yup, it was a bit of a surprise and a tough battle, but I managed it." Emily said. "Where do you keep that badge by the way? You had it in your ribbon case before, but you wouldn't have that on you anymore so where is it now?"

"Here so that it is always near my heart as it means so much to me given who I got it from and what that incident symbolizes in my relationship with Ash." Dawn said putting down her brush having finished grooming Vulpix and reaching up to the locket on around her neck and opening it to show Emily the bright blue Cascade Badge she always kept in there before closing it. "Ash gave me this locket in Saffron City actually, and it was perfect for the badge. I am sure one day it will happen with Adam for you."

"I don't know because unlike you and Misty, I don't know why I battled Korrina." Emily said showing Dawn that she was still in denial. "I just knew I had to battle her to shut her up and show that I could do what Adam could if that makes sense. I did, somehow I won, and then Adam was able to use my win to inspire him into winning his rematch."

"How did you win?" Dawn asked curiously as Vulpix hopped off her lap so that Piplup could take his turn being groomed. "I know that you have the edge with fairy types over fighting types, but I also know that Lucario is a part steel type so that removes its weakness to fairy types making your moves average at best and Lucario is Korrina's best Pokémon."

"True but it's weak to fire." Emily said. "I easily handled Korrina's Mienshao and Machoke with my Whimsicott and Klefki respectively but then she used Lucario and Mega Evolved it right away to counter my fairy types. Mega Lucario took out those two like it was nothing. It was only using the same combo I used again Mallow with Clefable that I was able to win. I put Mega Lucario to sleep, torched it with Flamethrower and woke it up with Wake-Up Slap to really weaken it with two super effective attacks. After that all I needed was another Flamethrower to win."

"Ah that makes sense and explains your proficiency with that neat little combo you have there." Dawn said. "Impressive."

"Thanks, it was unplanned and unexpected but satisfying to beat Korrina." Emily said with a small smile. "She loved the battle as well though I am still not a big fan of hers. After that Adam won using Hitmonlee, Medicham, and Poliwrath in his rematch."

"Medicham would have been key there with its psychic type though Lucario's steel type does make it weak to fighting type attacks." Dawn said. "I am facing Medicham later with Machamp so I will see how good it is in person."

"It should be very good; it was Adam's third Pokémon so second capture." Emily said. "He got her in Hoenn shortly after he caught his Poliwag, and she evolved before going to Unova. They have a good, strong, bond and she's the only Pokémon he has that can Mega Evolve so he's looking for the necessary stones for that."

"That would make her very good." Dawn said. "I am looking forward to facing her but that's beside the point right now. I think I know why you acted like that with Korrina."

"You do?" Emily asked confused. "Why? Even I don't know why I acted like that."

"Because you were jealous of a female you saw as a rival to Adam because of how close they were despite the fact that Korrina is probably too old for Adam as she's about 18 or 19 I'd say." Dawn said with a smile. "I've suspected you of it for a while now but after this it is as clear as day. You have romantic feelings for Adam."

"What no, no of course a I don't." Emily said waving her hands in front of her face and going bright red as Dawn watched her go into denial mode. "I don't even know what love is, I'm only 13."

"I never said it was love, you are probably too young for that, but you are at the right age to develop your first crush, one that may deepen into love in time." Dawn said. "I was 14 when that happened to me, in relation to Ash that is, but it wasn't until I was 15 did I realize how deep it was. Now I'm 17 and I can admit that I'm in love with him and glad to be the one who got him over all my rivals, but I won't go into those girls, that is a long list of, for the most part, peaceful encounters."

"Other than that, Gyarados." Emily pointed out. "I've heard of that battle; it was anything but peaceful."

"No, my first rival and I decided to solve our differences in an all-out battle that got destructive fast." Dawn admitted while Piplup squawked his agreement from her lap. "Misty and I really didn't hit it off well and were in a petty war for a while, but we've finally worked through our differences and now I consider her a good friend. Don't get off the topic though. I know that you like Adam."

"As a friend sure, he's my best friend." Emily said. "He's amazing, driven, and relentless in his goal to become a fighting type master. He's my inspiration to always do better myself and his tactics are great, most of the time. He's really helped me get so much better and now I know I can really challenge as a favorite on the circuit. Even Brianna won't stop me if we meet again. Thanks to Adam I've come up with a strategy for her as well should I face her in an upcoming Contest."

"See, you do like him." Dawn said with a grin. "That is very similar to how me, Misty, May, Serena, and others have fallen for Ash over the years. The difference is that it is Adam for you."

"But it can't be that." Emily said shaking her head and still trying to deny it, but Dawn could see that she was cracking. "And besides, even if it was, he'd never notice me that way."

"I'm sure he does on some level but he's also a guy who seems like he could give Ash a run for it in the density department." Dawn said before realizing what she'd said. "Ok maybe not, Ash is in a league of his own in that area, but you get my point."

"I still don't think you're right." Emily said. "I can't like him like that, not Adam. I've never had a crush before, this can't be it."

"Alright fine, let me give you a hypothetical." Dawn said with a sigh. "Supposed you learned that a hot girl, one who is a fighting type user let's say so that we can add to it, has approached Adam and is naked for some reason, or at least he's seen her naked by accident, and she doesn't care. Then she continues to flirt with him in front of you and you know what has happened to cause that flirting. How would you feel?"

"Not good." Emily admitted almost right away though Dawn had seen her thinking on as she spoke. "I…"

Emily paused and Dawn watched her lower her head, close her eyes, and grip her fist over her heart as she thought about what Dawn had said. Dawn had hated using such an example, but she needed to push Emily past her denial, and this was what it would likely take to achieve that. The Kanto girl was clearly struggling with understanding her feelings but in the end she just nodded and sighed. As she was doing this Dawn finished up with Piplup and returned Vulpix to his Poke Ball.

"I wouldn't like it at all, it makes my heart hurt and then when I think of Adam it picks up and buzzes uncontrollably." Emily said with a sigh. "I, I know that I may be inexperienced with this but, but you are right. What I feel for him can't be just platonic if it makes me feel this way, it has to be more. The more I think on it the more I want to be like you and Ash but with Adam."

"Good that is the first step." Dawn said with a smile. "And sometimes it takes help to take that step. My friend Lyra was who got me to open my eyes to my crush on Ash though she didn't realize it at the time and had actually been trying to set me up with Khoury instead before she changed her mind, long story for another time though. Next up is figuring out what you want to do about it."

"Oh that, that I know as well." Emily said surprising Dawn by how quick she was with it. "I know that Adam is chasing after his dream with his whole heart, it would be wrong to let my feelings for him get in the way of that and distract him. As such, I am going to lock them away for the time being. I'll acknowledge that I have them to you and you alone Dawn, but I won't act on them, not until we've both accomplished our dreams and our a little older as I am still too young I feel. I will use him as inspiration as I too chase my own dream of being a Top Coordinator and really helping my family out. Then I can send them to Alola, I think they'd like that as it looks like a great place for a holiday."

"That isn't what I was expecting but I will support your decision." Dawn said taken aback by Emily's choice but in reality it was the right one if for nothing else because they were both 13 so a few years before they should really consider it in Dawn's book. "For now, at least. Just remember one thing, don't let time run out before you at the very least tell him how you feel. You may be the only one right now, but you never know when others might show up. Always keep that in mind."

"I will." Emily said with a nod. "And thank you for your support."

"Anytime." Dawn said as suddenly a roar of flame burst past the window from outside followed by a crash of something hitting the ground hard.

"What was that?" Emily asked looking up in surprise.

"If I had to guess, May is facing Adam now." Dawn said putting away her grooming items and picking up Piplup as she got up. "Blaziken is the only fire and fighting type here so it's probably facing Poliwrath as that was the plan I believe. I should get going and get ready. Serena will be next and then it will be my turn."

"Oh ok, I'll be down in a minute to watch at least your match with Adam." Emily said as Dawn headed to the door. "I need a moment to really understand this alone if that's ok and I need to do a final check on Vulpix before returning it to its Poke Ball."

"Of course, take all the time you need and you're always free to talk to us girls." Dawn said. "We all know what you're going through to some extent so we can all help out."

"I will, thank you Dawn, for everything." Emily said with a smile.

Dawn just nodded before she left with Piplup and closed the door behind her to give Emily her moment alone. She knew from first-hand experience that it was sometimes necessary to have such a moment to yourself to deal with your feelings. Dawn was just glad that Emily had finally understood what was in front of her and could now properly deal with it. Dawn would be there for her should she need it. Now though, she had to get ready to see how Machamp stacked up in a proper battle as she continued her training for the upcoming fighting tournament.

As y'all likely guessed, the egg was an Alolan Vulpix, and it was always going to be Emily's given Alolan Ninetales adding a fairy type upon evolving. It was actually the reason why I initially was not going to give Dawn a normal Vulpix at all as at the time I hadn't made a regional variants exception to my Pokémon diversity policy. However, after Vulpix became the most recommended Pokémon for any character, along with a riddle quest request for the Cinnabar Island arc, I realized that it would actually be interesting if Dawn got a normal Vulpix egg and then Emily got the Alolan one as a way to further their friendship in some senses. It also helps that regional variants are different enough to make an exception for it, so I added it and the gender difference exception (that is what allowed Serena to get a Meowstic) to the list. If you're curious for the full list of exceptions, check out Parts XXII (the initial 6) and LXIII (the additional 3) but regardless keep suggestions coming as they can be useful for other characters. Most of the suggestions I couldn't do for Ash and Dawn ended up with Mollie back in Dreams to flesh out her roster for the Grand Festival. There is also now an effective 10th exception and that is trade evolution Pokémon, two characters can have Pokémon of the same evolutionary line so long as the evolution of one is only possible by trade such as Dawn having a Machamp to Kenny's Machoke and Brianna's Trevenant to May's Phantump. Anyway, other than that the only other thing to mention is that this is the closest I will ever get to her inspiration in terms of writing Emily as this is not a crossover story. As I've mentioned, Emily is based off Ochaco Uraraka from My Hero Academia in terms of appearance and personality but that is as far as the comparisons go as anymore would be a crossover in my opinion, so I only use her personality. Her falling for Adam is based off Ochaco's fall for Izuku in MHA and a lot of what Emily is addressing here is similar to Ochaco's own actions when she realizes her feelings in MHA. There will of course be differences in time, stay tuned for those as they will come in Supplements as that is where the OCs get their primary development so as to not distract from the canon characters. Alright, that is all I have for y'all so I will end this long post Supplement note here. As always please continue favorite and follow both me and this story to keep abreast with new releases and keep the reviews coming. Until next time.

Stringdog