A/N: All right.

This is going to take a different tone to what I usually write. Because I have been inspired! Before school got out for the summer, our seventh period class was watching How to Train Your Dragon for the second time (I'm not even close to complaining) and so I got an idea: Why not write a story similar to Hiccup's and Toothless'? So this is what the outcome.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot line. Kudos to Satoshi Tajiri completely.

Dawn stared blankly out the window, balancing on the heels of her hands as she watched both wild and tame dragons flying over the neighborhood in peaceful harmony. There were Dragonite, Charizard, Flygon, Salamance, and even the occasional Altaria as they passed overhead, back and forth from town to their nests beyond her house within the trees. A sigh was all she could seem to do as she slowly slid to the floor, flopping onto her side. A sense of melancholy washed over her as she stared at the wall trim in front of her nose.

For the last few decades, it had become an honored tradition in Dawn's hometown of Twinleaf to track down one of the many dragon-like Pokémon that took refuge in the vast forest that bordered the suburban area that lay outside the city limits. One would engage it in battle, subsequently catch it, and raise it to become a lifelong companion. Whether they would be a battle partner or a contest performer was all up to the pair to decide. Many lived with their dragons as animal companions, treating them as equals.

All children were expected to complete this task by the age of twelve, if not at least fourteen. Aside from adults her mother's age and older who decided to leave the tradition for the younger generations, everybody in Twinleaf had a dragon Pokémon.

Everybody except Dawn.

There was a certain pair she'd had her eye on, but the sheer weight of responsibility she knew it took to raise and care for a Pokémon that could grow as large as a Dragonite or a Charizard had always discouraged the blunette. She just wasn't sure she could handle it, convincing herself that she was barely able to feed and water her mother's Glameow on a regular basis. If she couldn't take care of a mere house cat, how was she going to raise such intimidating creatures?

Ever since she was a child, though, Dawn had dreamed of one day taming one of the flying beasts that used the sky as their second home. Her father had always told her about how they took residence in the woods, mountains, and other terrain that lay within and beyond the line of trees near their house. They had made their nesting areas only recently—barely two decades before she'd been born, her father had said, they'd flown en masse into the forest and swarmed the ocean of Route 219 to their south. No one knew where they had come from or why they had chosen the land and water near Twinleaf and the nearby Sandgem Town, but Dawn knew he'd had some sort of conspiracy theory about it. He had one for everything.

Thinking back, Dawn was still able to remember the days when she'd played with the baby Charmander and Trapinch that had crept away from their mothers like the disobedient children that they all were. Every day after school she'd sneak off to play with them, learning and memorizing the hidden paths through the trees like they were the back of her hand. Only when her mother had sent her father to look for her did she return home, usually begrudgingly saying good-bye to her Pokémon friends.

But that was then, and she was a high schooler now. She was trying to mature and "act her age" like her mother had requested of her so many times, but it was always hard to keep her gaze from straying towards the forest. It was so close and so tempting, but Johanna usually jerked her attention back, tone sharp as she reminded her daughter that it was dangerous to go off by herself into the woods. So she tried to stay away as best she could to appease her mother. Note: tried.

Sometimes, if she was feeling nostalgic, she would stare out her window like she had just been doing. It wasn't so bad if she just watched the occasional Pokémon fly outside their house, right? At times she was still able to spot the Flygon with the nicked antennae and the shiny black Charizard, its light yellow skin gone from evolution. They would fly by her house sometimes, lower than the rest, shooting glances at her window whenever she was sitting by it. She assumed they were wanting her attention, to play together like when they'd been children. Just the sight of her old friends made her heart ache whenever she saw them, but she would usually give them a sad smile and a shake of her head, watching as they flew off in disappointment.

The sound of her mother's voice calling her downstairs brought Dawn back to the present. It was time for dinner and Johanna was expecting her to help like usual. With one last willful glance over her shoulder, she called an answer to her mother and went scurrying down the stairs to her mom and so she could feed their Glameow.

While pulling the Pokémon food from the cupboard beneath the sink, Dawn noticed that the cat was a bit heavier than usual. Pouring the food into a bowl labelled Glammy on the side, she off-offhandedly said, "Hey, Mom, does it look like Glammy's gaining weight to you?"

Johanna looked up from her place at the stove to glance at their cat. Her brow furrowed. "Hm, I think she's been going to see a wild Glameow that I've seen wandering around. We may have kittens soon if she gets any bigger."

Thoughts of baby Glameow kittens running around the house filled Dawn with excitement. Maybe she'd be more motivated to take care of Glammy if she needed to care for her babies as well! "Oh, wow, Mom! Do you think we can keep them when she has them?"

Her mother frowned again. "Well . . ." Her mistake was looking at her daughter, becoming trapped by Dawn's puppy dog look, her big blue eyes filling with tears and her lower lip jutting out slightly. Johanna sighed. "All right, I guess we can keep them."

Dawn jumped for joy.

"But," the woman continued. Dawn froze, watching her mother expectingly. "You have to take care of them, and I do mean all of them. Understand?"

Dawn saluted her mother as if she were a superior officer. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

Johanna smiled at her cheeky daughter. "Yes, yes. Now go on, I think Barry was looking for you."

"Ooh! Thanks for reminding me, Mom!" With a promise of a swift return, she was out the door before her mother could object, running across her yard to her childhood friend's house next door. She set to knocking in an even rhythm, almost leaning against the door as she used her knuckles to make the knock resound inside the house so its occupants couldn't exactly ignore her. "Barry," she called. "Ba-a-a-a-arry!"

The sudden click of the deadbolt being unlocked caught her off-guard, grabbing her attention long enough that she didn't notice the door opening. Without the solidness of the door to support her she almost stumbled forward, but with a surprising amount of grace she managed to catch herself on the door frame before she plowed into her friend. He gave a slight shout when she used her momentum to swing over the threshold with the frame for support, a wide grin on her face as she looked at his disgruntled face. "Hey, Barry!"

Sighing, he pulled her the rest of the way into his house, shutting the door firmly behind her. "You break our door I'm charging you a fine."

She snorted. "You and your fines." Stretching her arms above her head, she twirled away from the entrance hall on the balls of her feet. Barry sighed as he led the way through the living room. "Anyway, Mom said you were looking for me?"

Following him into the kitchen, they passed his mother Ryanne where she was washing dishing in the sink. The two exchanged pleasantries as the teenagers sat at the table to talk. "Yeah," Barry started, averting his eyes from Dawn to idly watch his mother. "I heard you went into the woods last night."

Feeling as if she'd been caught in a lie, she grew tongue tied with embarrassment and sudden awkwardness. "Y-yup. That I did."

Admittedly, Dawn broke the promise she'd made to her mother about staying away from the forest. Quite frequently, in fact. Sometimes she wandered the old paths she would take as a child, worn into the ground by years of treading them. Usually they were innocent treks through the trees, as far away from the nest grounds that she could be, but sometimes she would actually look for that Charizard she had played with so long ago, or the Flygon that was so elusive once you were within the trees.

I guess I'm just not ready to fully grow up yet.

Barry rubbed his forehead. "Dawn, you know that forest isn't safe after dark. There's all kinds of wild Pokémon wandering about once the sun goes down."

Shifting in her seat, she bit at the inside of her cheek and muttered petulantly, "Well, I guess I just want to find out if my Charizard's made a nest or not."

"Dawn, it would only be your Charizard if you caught it." Leaning back in his seat he sighed. "I mean, you're almost seventeen, Dawn, and you only have one Pokémon. What's taking you so long?"

His doubt in her hurt, and she flinched unconsciously at his tone. She flexed her fingers across the tabletop in an attempt to stall for time, glancing in Mrs. Jun's direction. She offered the girl a sympathetic smile, but knew she couldn't wholly refute her son's words. "Well," she started, mumbling, "I guess . . ." She took a deep breath as he watched her, awaiting an answer.

She tried again. "I guess, growing up, I just thought I wasn't really cut out for it, taking care of more than one Pokémon of my own." Kittens and her Piplup were different, she tried to convince herself. The only animal she'd really need to take care of in that situation would be the mother, Glammy, because she was the one who actually fed them. Piplup was pretty independent on his own. "But," she continued, "I think if I catch that Charizard, not only will I not have to deal with how some people look at me anymore, but I'll be able to call it my Charizard without feeling like I'm lying to myself. You know?"

She wasn't wrong, and he knew it. Most days were fine, but now and then she'd catch The Look people would slide her way, the snickers under their breath as they laughed at her. She wasn't sure if they thought they were being sneaky, or if they were making their voices just loud enough for her to hear. When she hit fourteen and hadn't even tried to catch anything new, didn't even want to make an attempt, they got meaner. Her classmates in middle school used to tease her relentlessly, and it had made her resent going to school. But once she'd graduated and entered high school it had toned down enough to the point of being tolerable. But she felt the eyes still followed her sometimes.

Barry sighed. "Dawn, you know nobody's been able to even get close to that Charizard, even before it was fully evolved. It's too fast and evasive, and it only comes out of the trees during the evenings when other dragons are around. You know which ones I mean."

Yeah. I do.

"I know you had a special bond with it growing up, but how do you know it would even want to leave the forest at all? How would you battle it when all you have is the same Piplup you received from Professor Rowan when we were kids?"

Every time this was brought up, Dawn sank deeper into herself even more, secluding her heart from her best friend. She knew he was just trying to look out for her well being, but the way he was going about it kind of hurt. There were a lot of things in her short life that she hadn't been able to accomplish yet, and she knew that catching either of the dragons was probably unlikely. But she had an ace up her sleeve that most everybody who had tried before her didn't: a personal connection with both of them.

With new determination, she pushed her chair back and stood, looking down at Barry defiantly. "I'm going to catch one of them. Just you wait." Then she spun on her heel and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Ugh, I know I said that, Dawn grumbled internally as she stepped carefully over a bush filled with burrs, but I am sooo lost!

It was a belated realization, but maybe going against Barry hadn't been her smartest idea, nor was it turning out to be a very safe one. It was almost dark and she'd forgotten a flashlight. Her phone was almost dead, too. I could really use some help right about now!

Even though she knew it was futile, Dawn still wished someone would come and find her. The silence of the forest was evidence of that, creatures of the night slowly coming out of their burrows to stare at her from the shadows. Clicking her teeth to keep the edge off, she was swinging her leg over a fallen tree, moss soft beneath her fingers, when there was a frighteningly loud cracking sound from the canopy above. It startled her, sending her shrieking back over the tree and scrambling along the undergrowth in an attempt to get away from the noise and ruckus as whatever it was came crashing down behind her. There was loud yelling, the sound of what she assumed was a Pokémon attack, and an anguished cry; all of them seemed to mix as one as Dawn covered her ears to block it out. What was going on?

For long, strenuous moments Dawn crouched in the dirt beneath some low-hanging leaves. They rested against her back as she tried to pretend that she was deaf, pressing the heels of her hands to her ears so hard she was starting to hear bells ringing. A heavy thump shook the ground behind her, sending a shiver of fear up her spine. Then all was silent.

Heart thumping and breath catching in her throat, Dawn uncovered her ears. The shear weight of the silence assaulted her ears, adrenaline buzzing through her and she began to make her way out from whatever bush she was hiding in. She had just reached forward to push aside some of the foliage when a voice froze her hand. It was gruff and low, layered thick with condescension as they growled, "Know your place. Stay low."

Nearly deaf from fear, Dawn shivered where she stood as they mumbled on before eventually walking away through the undergrowth.

The minutes passed silently as Dawn remained crouched in her hiding place. When she readjusted her feet so blood could return to her toes, she grabbed the trunk of the bush's body for support. She didn't realize she'd grabbed it too hard, shaking it and rustling the leaves around her. Apparently she'd also accidentally dislodged whatever was growing on the bush, because she could hear the sound of something . . . falling? She wasn't able to discern what the exact source was, because as she was looking above her, something thunked her right in the forehead. Gritting her teeth to silence her scream of pain, she kicked a bright yellow almond-shaped fruit away from her.

So I'm under a Charti tree. That explained why the bush stood so tall, its untrimmed branches hanging so low they covered Dawn completely from view. Waiting just a few more moments to ensure it was safe, she slowly crawled out from beneath the overgrown tree. Everything around her was still, the only movement leaves swirling in the wind, but the forest floor was covered in destruction. Branches from both high and low on trees had been torn from their trunks and were strewn across the ground; berries had fallen from their trees, their insides stomped all over the dirt and grass; a tree had even fallen nearby, and something lay on the other side of it. Wait, was that a . . .?

Scrambling back into the safety of her hiding space, a tremor running through her. It had only been a glance, but she'd seen something big and black beyond the felled tree, obscured by a bush, that was silent and still. Heart beating in her throat, Dawn crawled back out into the open, but more slowly this time. It was difficult, but she managed to screw up her courage and slowly make her way toward the black . . . thing.

You're fine, you can do this. Her eyes screwed shut of their own will, though. Fear made her hesitate, but she steeled her determination, gritting her teeth and moving closer toward the thing. She used her feet to feel out a path to the log, making sure she didn't trip over anything. It was a slow trek, and she was pretty sure she was carving out a zigzag in the dirt with the toe of her boot, but eventually her foot knocked into the log. She couldn't exactly run away since she was so close to confronting this, so she took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. They widened in horror when she saw what it was.

"Topaz . . .?"

Beyond the fallen tree lay the black Charizard she'd known almost her entire life. It lay in the dirt, its heavy breathing disturbing the scattered leaves that surrounded it on the forest floor. From the way it was sprawled on the ground it was more than likely unconscious from pain. There were signs that it was heavily injured, and she just knew that it was going to have scars all over—more so than it already had. At the moment though, she didn't care.

Almost tripping over the tree, she raced to the Pokémon she'd nicknamed as a child—even though she'd been too young and inexperienced to even attempt to catch it—and dropped down in the dirt next to it. She ran a hand down the hurt animal's neck, her fingers finding a great tear in the animal's wing. "Topaz . . ." she murmured sadly, wiping away tears of worry for her friend. "Oh, you poor thing."

It might have been just her imagination, but she swore she saw the Charizard's muzzle twitch. Could it hear her? Slowly it stirred, opening one red eye to stare almost blankly into her blue ones. She suddenly worried that it wouldn't recognize her—even though it flew past her house every now and then—but the wounded Pokémon moved its head closer to her, raising its chin and resting it on her lap. Once it was settled it closed its tired eyes again. Seemed even that small use of energy was exhausting with its current condition, especially after what it just went through.

Something flared inside Dawn then. Someone had deliberately gone out of their way to beat such a beautiful creature down into the ground, and all for what? The glory, the ability to brag about it to his friends? That day she swore to herself that she'd find out who did this, who hurt her friend so. The only problem was that she had no leads. The voice she'd heard earlier was one she didn't know, but he'd sounded kind of young, maybe no older than herself. Maybe she'd be able to find them around town . . .

Her thoughts were banished for the moment when she saw how low the fire on the tip of Topaz's tail was, flickering so dimly that it frightened her. She'd learned one year in an old Pokémon health class that most basic Fire type Pokémon's lives depended on the heat or height of their flames, the Charizard relying on the latter. If its tail fire went out, poof, so did her friend's life. Dawn fretted over Topaz for a moment, but she immediately sat back when she saw the Charizard flick its tail slightly, the little fire swelling to about twice its size. It was still small, but it would have to do.

Having restored Dawn's hope for its recovery, the sounds of light snoring rumbled from the large animal as it fell into a fitful sleep. Fitful because it twitched slightly every few minutes, its hind leg kicking every so often. For a while the blunette tried to let it sleep, but her legs were slowly starting to go numb from the weight of the dragon's head. With as much care as she could, she slowly lifted Topaz's head off her lap so she could scoot away. Laying it gently on the ground, she stood with as much dignity as she could, but since she'd been sitting there for so long her legs had fallen asleep, sending her stumbling across the forest floor until she could regain her balance on tingling feet.

"I'll be right back, Topaz," she muttered as she attempted to walk as quietly as she could through the dry leaves and sticks scattered in her way. It was tough going, but she soon found herself back where she had started next to her injured friend.

You've gotta be kidding me, she internally sighed. This is going to take forever. Feeling defeated, she dropped back down next to Topaz. It didn't stir as she checked her Pokétch for a signal, but it showed no bars where she was sitting, and she knew if it didn't have a signal her dying phone wouldn't either. Without either of them she couldn't call anybody for help even if she tried. Lifting her arm in the air like they did in the movies didn't show any change.

When a new thought ran through her head, she didn't like the idea at first. She clicked her teeth in contemplation, glancing at her injured friend as it slumbered. With its injury it was going to need some medical help, and it was only going to get infected if it stayed around all the dirt and debris that surrounded it. So, taking a deep breath, she reached forward and brushed a hand over one of Topaz's horns in attempt to wake it. "Topaz," she murmured. "Topaz, you need to get up. This place isn't safe for you."

The shiny Charizard groaned as it opened its tired eyes. They looked glazed and exhausted as it blinked at her, lifting its head a few inches from the ground as it began trying to get to its feet. Before it could even fully stand, its knees gave way, and it went crashing back onto its side in the brush. It growled, deep and low, in frustration, mostly aimed at its own self-weakness. But the way it was taking it out on itself was making Dawn worry even more.

"Topaz, come on," she tried. "Maybe you should just stay here after all, forget I said anything." Dawn attempted to prevent the Charizard from climbing to its feet again, but the Pokémon gently pushed her aside as it finally managed to get one foot beneath it, but lost its balance almost instantly, sending it stumbling forward into a tree. It tried to take a step forward, but fell back two when it became off-balance. "Topaz!"

Topaz growled at Dawn as it leaned its head against the trunk of the tree, its claws digging into the bark. As suddenly as it had touched the tree it lurched away from it, staggering through the forest away from Dawn. Even though it was hurt, Topaz was making pretty good time away from her. Soon she couldn't even see the shiny Pokémon between the darkening trees. She tried calling for it, but the sounds of wild Hoothoot and Zubat were starting to give her the chills. Trying to run through the darkness wasn't a very good idea, but it was the only one she had at the moment. So she set off through the trees in the direction she hoped was home.

She worried about Topaz the entire way as she marched over branches and berry bushes, half eaten Oran and Pecha berries scattered at her feet. It seemed that a few Stunky or even that wild Glameow were wandering around here. It took a while, but the lights from the homes and street lights on her block were finally becoming visible in the distance, and she rushed under low branches and through bushes in hopes of getting there faster. Boy, was it not her night.

As she was hopping over a small shrug, something shot in front of her from the left. Dawn was unable to adjust her landing, so she crashed into whatever it was and went stumbling to the ground. She landed flat on her knees, dirt digging into her forearms as she cursed under her breath. Brushing off any debris on her clothes as she sat up, the taste of blood filled her mouth. Running her tongue over her bitten lip, she winced. "Ow! What the hell was that?"

Even though she somehow felt more sore than she'd ever thought she could be, she couldn't help but feel agitated at whomever or whatever she'd run into. Ready to spit poison, she raised her eyes and saw that it was a boy. Purple hair, tan, maybe her age. Probably could have been kind of handsome if a scowl didn't mar his face as he peered at her through his bangs. It was barely inaudible, but Dawn was sure that he was mumbling something to himself as he also got to his feet, turning his back to her. Seemingly an afterthought, he glanced over his shoulder to ask her, "Are you all right?"

Dawn blinked at his back. "Um. Yes. Yes, I'm fine."

He grunted in return. It looked like he was ready to walk off, but he hesitated. Something seemed to be on his mind as he towered over Dawn. Just as quickly as he had been about to turn away, he spun on his heel, leaning over and grabbing Dawn by the forearm. His grip was strong, and Dawn was fearful about what might happen, but he surprised her when he easily tugged her to her feet. She stumbled slightly, falling towards him, but before she could even begin the embarrassment of a blushed apology, he'd set her on her feet and turned away again. She watched as started to walk away, without even a good-bye thrown over the shoulder. No, all he said, blunt as could be, was, "Town's that way," with a hand pointed in the direction of lights that seemed to flicker in the dark like an army of Illumise and Volbeat.

Only glancing at the lights for a moment, with a thank you on her lips she turned back to the stranger, but he was already gone. Blinking in astonishment, she swallowed as her heart thumped in her chest. She looked around the (somewhat) empty forest. The calls of wild Hoothoot were beginning to unnerve her, so she picked up her feet and started rushing toward the lights ahead of her. She hoped that Topaz was all right, and in the back of her mind she wondered about who that boy was. Even further back, she wondered if he the boy who had just moved into the house down the street from her. The For Sale sign had recently been removed, and his appearance on this side of the forest couldn't be a coincidence.

With my luck, she thought as she narrowly avoided getting hit in the face with the branch of an Oran tree, I wouldn't doubt it if he'd moved in on the other side of town. Goody.

The blaring of her alarm was the only thing that managed to awake Dawn in the morning. Rolling over, she attempted to swat at it with her hand, but all she managed to do was smack her palm on the edge of her nightstand. The ringing was starting to get annoying, enough to where she lifted her head from her soft pillow to glare at the Loudred-shaped contraption. I am so asking for a new alarm clock. With a final swing, she managed to knock the infernal device off her nightstand and to the floor. The thing was silenced for now, hopefully.

Waking up was one thing. Getting out of bed was another. She managed to kick her legs over the side of the bed to the floor, but she didn't want to stand just yet. If it wasn't for the memory of Topaz that flashed through her mind at that moment—or that she was going to be late for school—she probably would have never gotten up as fast as she did. With the speed of a Ninjask, she was to her closet and dressed in the blink of an eye. And before her mother could even call her for breakfast, she was at the toaster just as a couple of Poptarts popped up. She called good-bye to her mother and grabbed her bag from the couch. She was so glad she'd managed to finish her homework when she'd come home the night before.

Unable to think about anything else on the way to school, Dawn kept glancing over her shoulder the entire way at the trees behind her as the distance between them grew further and further with each step. The way Topaz had been limping made Dawn fret about its well-being the more she thought about it. Its injured wing made her worry so much that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She'd veered off the sidewalk somehow, treading on the grass until she walked face first into a tree, not even realizing it until the bark was marking her face. Stumbling back, she held her tender nose between careful fingers, tears in her eyes. The sound of giggling surrounded her as girl both older and younger than her passed by on their way to school, whispers floating on the wind to her ears.

One giggled, "Did you see that? What a clutz."

"Yeah, she goes to my school. Everybody says she's like that, and she's still walking around with her starter."

"Seriously? Even my sister in middle school has more than just a starter!"

"Right? Who can't catch even a Horsea or a Swablu, they're so easy it's almost child's play."

Dawn's face burned in embarrassment at the truth behind that last statement. She hated that she was the only girl, nay, person over twelve, who didn't seem to have caught a dragon in their area. At times she felt ashamed of herself for it, but now she just felt irritation at the hurtful observation of the other kids every time they saw her. The only time she was ever safe was when she was home or when she was at her friends' houses on either side of town. It was only then that she felt like she wasn't under constant persecution by her peers.

But this morning she decided she'd try to ignore the other kids as they walked past her with pity and amusement in their eyes. Her face might have been bright red, she didn't know, but what she did know was that she was tired of all the stares and whispers that seemed to follow her wherever she went. She was going to make a change, whether everybody believed in her or not.

As she sat in her desk during one of her morning periods, learning about Pokémon and their abilities, Dawn was letting her mind wander. It seemed to float everywhere today, yet it strayed toward the thought of Topaz and where the shiny Charizard might have wandered off to. After school today, she decided. She was going to find that Charizard whether it wanted to be found or not. But it seemed that today still wasn't a good one for her, because the teacher decided to call on her, her dazed face evidence of her having not paid attention.

"Miss Hikari?"

The blunette jumped when she heard her last name, startled out of her daydreaming to the point where she hadn't heard a word the teacher had said. "Y-yes, Ms. Soledad?"

The teacher, Ms. Soledad, peered at Dawn over the heads of the other students, some of who had taken the liberty to turn their heads to stare at Dawn, just making the entire situation worse. "Can you please answer the question I just asked?"

Well, she was in a pickle now. Between the daydreaming and not paying attention, Dawn couldn't even really remember what subject she was in. With a quick glance to the clock that hung above the chalkboard she saw it was before ten, so it was either Pokémon history or math class. Now if only she could remember which one it was.

She cast a glance about the room, finding May's face in the small crowd. The brunette was holding up four fingers and mouthing "Four" to Dawn, so she took this as a sign that it was math. Feeling proud of herself, she said with as much courage as she could muster, "Four, Ms. Soledad."

Ms. Soledad and the rest of the class stared at the girl. Everyone's eyes were on her, except for May, who had taken the chance to bury her face in her arms, muffling her obvious laughter. At least Dawn thought it was laughter. May's shoulders were shaking, and there were some stifled hysterics coming from the girl, even from across the room. Then everybody else began to laugh, startling Dawn.

Dawn's face burned even brighter when she realized that she had been completely wrong, whatever the question had been. She felt a slight resentment toward her friend, but it was her own fault for not paying attention, so she couldn't really hate the brunette for trying to get some fun out of the day, even though this just made hers feel worse.

Once everybody calmed down, Ms. Soledad coughed to cover the remnants of her laughter as she tried to maintain order once more. With one more glance in Dawn's direction, she corrected the girl. "I'm sorry, Dawn. But I don't believe the amount of legendaries cataloged is four. Can anybody else answer my question?"

While she called on someone else, Dawn took the time to feel the humiliation of the moment, putting her head down on her desk. The feeling of the cold, fake wooden surface felt nice against her burning cheek. She knew this would just get her called on again, but she didn't really care this time. She'd just say she didn't know the answer, save herself the trouble of being laughed at again. All she wished was that the day was over. But she still had five more hours to go until she could just rush home and lay on her bed to watch the dragon-like Pokémon fly outside her window.

She was so glad when the bell finally rang less than an hour later. Kids filed out into the hallway, but May stayed behind while Dawn gathered her stuff. The blunette had a few choice words she wanted to say to her friend, but she decided to bite her tongue and keep them to herself, which really helped in the long run when she was irritated, especially with May's little antics.

While she was sticking her notebook into her book bag, something out in the hallway caught Dawn's eye. Like a flash of lightning, she darted to the doorway of the classroom, looking everywhere at once just to see it one more time: the color purple, the hair of the boy she had seen in the woods last night. But the only purple she saw was some girl's shirt as she passed by, glancing at Dawn briefly while she walked away.

Dawn sighed and went back to her desk to retrieve her bag and followed May silently into the hall. She could see on the other girl's face that she had some questions for her, but she kept quiet about them. They suffered through their next class under Harley's watchful eye and merciless teachings. Luckily the hour flew by and it was finally lunch time. May had held her tongue during their entire contest class, but she was itching to interrogate Dawn, holding out until they got to the cafeteria.

At their table, Dawn had barely started pulling out her lunch before May went at it. "What was that about in the classroom? You looked like you'd seen a ghost out in the hallway."

The blunette winced at her friend's choice of words. It brought back old memories of dark nights, a young Dawn screaming awake from a nightmare brought on by her fear of losing her mother. They haunted her less now, but just the thought of them still sent a chill down her spine. Before she could answer, the clacking of plastic food trays hitting the table distracted both of them. Misty plopped into a chair next to Dawn, Leaf on the other side of the table by May.

"So, girls, what's goin' on in this neck of the woods?"

Leaf stretched her arm out across the table to snatch a carrot from Misty's tray, a sly grin on her face as her red-headed friend glared at her. "Yeah, we miss anything important?"

May shook her head as took a bite of the sandwich that she'd packed that morning. She hated cafeteria food, sharing the same contempt for it that Dawn did. They both preferred to bring food from home instead of having to wonder what was in the meat surprise that was served every Wednesday. Yeah, like they needed to get sick on the weekend. "Not much. Only about Dawn's weird behavior after the end of class."

Three pairs of eyes trained on Dawn, looking for answers. She began to attempt to come up with an excuse, floundering for some sort of retort, but she turned as chicken as the sandwich she held between her hands. Feeling as though this would help her, she chewed on the bite she had just taken, looking down at the table. She even managed to protect her little bowl of raspberries from Leaf's greedy hand, unlike Misty's unfortunate carrots. "I thought I saw somebody I recognized."

"Well, duh." Misty took her fork and poked at the casserole that sat on her tray. "It's kind of hard not to see at least one person you know in a hallway filled with people. But either way," she continued, choosing to push her tray toward Leaf, who she knew would eat anything, "who'd you think you saw?"

Dawn set her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand. "I don't know his name."

"It was a boy?"

A nod was given. May grinned. Now this was a topic she was good at. "Would it happen to be a boy you'd never seen before until recently?"

She stared at Dawn while she thought.

Another nod.

"Ah," May said wisely. "Then it must be the new boy, Paul. He just moved in with his brother down the street from you, right?"

Now that she mentioned it, Dawn had seen a man going in and out of the house that had just been sold down the street. He'd been carrying boxes inside the night before as she'd rushed out of Barry's. She hadn't been able to say hello or get a very good look at him, but from she did see, his hair was similar to the boy's, but darker. Could he really be the brother of the boy that she'd literally run into the night before?

Anything's possible, she thought while she said, "You said his name was Paul? How do you know his name all ready if he just moved here?" She took another bite of her sandwich.

May laughed as she pulled out a bottle of soda from her backpack. "Have you even really gotten a good look at him yet?" A flush across Dawn's face was her answer. "Well, there you go. The kid's good-looking, and most of the girls around here know it. I just heard it through the grapevine." She took a sip of the soda, coughing when the carbonated drink decided it wanted to try taking a trip down the wrong pipe.

Leaf set to whacking May on the back, only making the girl feel worse. "You gonna live, May?"

Through another small coughing fit, May managed to choke out, "Yeah, Leaf. I'll be okay in a few minutes. It just really burns when a soda tries to go down your windpipe." With the back of her hand she wiped her mouth, one last cough managing to make its way up.

Order settled once more, the girls began talk of things other than boys. Dawn said that she was finally going to try and catch one of the young Pokémon out in the woods that afternoon after school. If she was lucky, maybe she'd run into her dragon friends. Each of her friends stared at her in turn, amazement shining on all three of their faces. Then they all seemed to jump at her, hugging her and congratulating her on finally managing to gather enough courage to try and capture a Pokémon on her own. They caused such a racket in the cafeteria that all eyes were on them, and May even took the liberty to announce what Dawn had just told the three.

Dawn was so mortified, she tried pulling May down from the chair she was standing on, but the girl refused to step down. May cupped her hands around her mouth as a makeshift megaphone and shouted to the entire room, teachers, students, and cafeteria workers included, "Hey everybody! Dawn's going to finally catch one of the Pokémon in the forest today!"

There was a stunned silence, one where Dawn took the opportunity to feel so very embarrassed at her friend's behavior. Then a roar soared around the room as everybody cheered for the girl, glad she was taking a step farther in life they'd done years ago. The late bloomer of the school was finally going to be one of them after what had felt like a long four years. Applause seemed to be the loudest at the four's table.

When May finally decided to sit down, Dawn grabbed her by the shoulders of her shirt and shook her with all the might the small girl had. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she just about yelled, shaking May each word for emphasis. She knew her friend was only thinking the best for her, but this was going a little overboard.

"I'm helping you get some self esteem," May said as she unhooked Dawn's fingers from her shirt, a swift shake of the head as she tried to clear her thoughts from spinning around inside her cranium. "No need to try and decapitate me, you know."

"Well, I just couldn't help it." Dawn's forehead smacked the table top. She couldn't believe what had just happened. "I just hope there won't be an audience when I head out into the woods today."

Misty, May, and Leaf shared a silent glance across the lunch table. They hoped the same thing for their friend. They knew that she had performance anxiety, and it was even worse when a crowd surrounded her. The girl couldn't even sing around them, she was always so nervous. But she was slowly coming out of her shell. Years of work had helped with it.

"You want us to pray for you?" The three of them stared at Leaf. "What? My cousin got me to go to her church last Sunday. It was kinda interesting." They just continued to stare.

She sighed, exasperated. "You wanna try it or not? It might make you feel better, if even only a little."

Dawn was hesitant, but after a few moments of thought she nodded, clasping hands with Misty beside her and May across from her. With all their hands together, they bowed their heads and Leaf began to pray. "Dear Arceus," she began, "please help Dawn today as she heads out into the forest in trying to catch a Pokémon of her own. Just please, please, let it be something cute, like a Charmander, or even a Swablu." This earned the brunette a glare from across the table. She ignored her friend and continued. "Also, let her remember to bring enough Poké Balls with her. Only she would forget to bring them."

"Okay, that's it!" Dawn dove across the table and attacked her friend.

Leaf exploded in a fit of giggles as she managed to twist away and fly from the floor to the door in under ten seconds. But this didn't deter Dawn. She gave chase, yelling, "Leaf, I'm gonna kill you!"

While Leaf and Dawn played Meowth and Rattata with each other, the cafeteria had grown silent as everybody watched the short, small fiasco happen at the four's lunch table. May and Misty just sat there and stared after their two friends. Then they looked at each other, both sighing at the idiocy and childishness they seemed to share. It baffled them both.

"You wanna just get the hell out of here?"

May picked up her lunch box and trash and followed Misty to the nearest trash can. "Amen, sister."

With their bags slung over their shoulders, the two of them walked out of the cafeteria with all eyes on them, their heads held high and their walk sure as they managed to get out of the cafeteria before bursting into giggles as soon as they were out of the other students' sights. Now all they had to do was find Dawn and Leaf. Good luck with that.

A/N (3/14/16): Apparently 12 pages translated to a lot to me in high school lol Granted, most of my stories are now maybe only 5 or 6 because I don't want to make the chapters too terribly long. Either way, hope you readers enjoyed this (new) chapter for Ability to Tame.

Also, I have an ongoing poll on my profile in regards to this story, go check it out if you've made it this far!

Ciao for now.