"You did great Larvitar, maybe next time we'll beat him," Richie said as he put his fainted Pokémon back into its Pokeball.
"That was a good battle Ash, let's train together again sometime, but I've got to get going now, see you later!"
Ash watched as Richie walked off down the road, happy with how his Charizard had battled.
"Well then, let's say we get on our way back home!" Delia suggested.
Ash nodded with a sigh, he was exhausted after such a long and exciting day.
The Next Day
Ash, Gary, and Dawn all piled into Dawn's car and zoomed out of the parking lot, free from the confines of Kanto High for the rest of the night. Ash had told Dawn about the mall at Cerulean City, so of course, she dragged Gary along and even brought Ash so that he would have a chance to battle the gym leader.
"Where's May at?" Gary asked as they sped through Viridian City.
"She's "Busy" tonight apparently," Dawn said sarcastically.
"What does that mean?" Gary replied.
"Maybe she just has lots of homework?" Ash suggested.
"Oh please, Ash. You know May, she's probably got all her homework for the entire semester done already." Dawn replied.
"Probably hanging out with that sleazebag Drew again." She said in disgust.
"Wait a minute, I thought those two broke up?" Gary asked in confusion.
"They did, but now it seems they're back together again, and May refuses to talk about it." Dawn said, her mood quickly turning angry.
"I could talk to Drew about it," Gary suggested.
"Well after the championship game at least, wouldn't want any drama going on before the biggest game of the year."
"No! If May wants to be our friend she can tell us about it herself!" Dawn said, before making a sharp right turn and speeding down the road towards her house.
Ash sat silently in the back taking in everything the two were saying. In the end, he did have to take Dawn's side on this situation. May really should have said something to them.
The car stopped abruptly at Dawn's house.
"Why did you drive back here?" Gary asked.
"I'm not going anymore, you two can go if you like!" Dawn said as she got out and slammed her door shut, causing the two boys to jump back in their seats.
"Jeez, I've never seen Dawn act like that before," Ash said.
"Must just be a girl thing?" Gary guessed.
"Must be that time of the month if you get what I'm saying, Ash"
"Uh, Gary…." Ash said as he pointed to the car windows that were still open.
"Oh fuck!" Gary whispered as he stared at the floor of the car.
Ash looked up to see Dawn, who was still standing near the car, spin around, face blood red, walk slowly towards the passenger side where Gary was sitting and say:
"GARY MOTHERFUCKING OAK, I SWEAR…."
Ash hid in the back as Dawn spewed more curse words than Ash had ever heard in this entire life combined at Gary while wrestling with him.
A minute later they found themselves out of the car on the ground with Dawn having Gary in a chokehold, while Ash hid behind a tree about 20 feet away.
Gary escaped Dawn's grasp and made a break for his car, which was several feet away. He hopped in and drove backward although out her driveway, nearly hitting several trees on the way.
Ash sighed, relieved that Gary was able to get away from Dawn's rage, at least, that was until Ash realized Gary had left him behind.
It wasn't until Dawn fell to her knees and started crying that Ash felt safe enough to reveal himself.
"Are… are you okay Dawn?" Ash asked softly as he approached her. Dawn, forgetting that Ash was even there, looked up in surprise, allowing him to see the tears streaming down her face.
Dawn didn't know how to feel about everything that had just happened. Why was she so upset about what May was doing, it wasn't her problems really. Why she snapped so badly at Gary's comment. Usually, she could handle Gary's sense of humor but this time he'd spoken at a bad moment. Now she was mad at not only May and Gary, but herself as well. Ash was the only she didn't hate at the moment.
Ash grabbed Dawn's hand and pulled her to her feet. Ash pulled Dawn close as they hugged, sensing how much she was hurting right now. The comfort of another person was refreshing to Dawn, making her feel better for a moment before bad thoughts returned back to her mind.
Nearly a minute had passed before Dawn began to quiet down before another wave of emotions hit her. Not even thinking about what she was doing she separated herself from Ash. She then grabbed him by his collar, pulled him back towards her and kissed him. Dawn didn't care who it was she was kissing, she just needed something to comfort her. As their lips met Ash's eyes bulged, trying to take in what was happening. The kiss only lasted about 2 seconds. Dawn looked up and seeing the shock on Ash's face made her realize what she'd done. She turned around, bawling her eyes out, and sprinted back inside her house.
Ash stood speechless, his mind was blank. He tried to comprehend what had just happened but he was still in shock. After a minute of thinking things through he went on knocked on the front door.
"Dawn…" Ash said, trying several more times but getting no reply.
Ash eventually walked all the way back to Pallet Town, giving him time to sort out everything that happened. Even after he reached home he was still confused, not even his Pokémon could take his mind off of the day's events. Why had Dawn kissed him?
Dawn continued to sob for the rest of the evening. What had she done? She'd pushed May away, snapped at Gary and nearly beat him to a pulp, and then went off and kissed Ash. She really messed things up and didn't know if she'd ever be able to fix them.
Tuesday
The school was quiet, May and Ash didn't say a word to each other. Gary talked to Ash a little, only to ask about Dawn, as she was nowhere to be found that day. Ash made no mention of what happened after Gary left, figuring it might ruin their relationship. Everyone seemed to be divided. Gary was particularly stressed, as he was already nervous about the school's soccer championship game on Thursday, now he was dealing with Dawn's issues as well.
Ash, despite being very nervous, decided to go to Dawn's house to see if she was alright, and to get some answers.
Knock, knock, knock.
Dawn walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. She sighed when she saw Ash, but decided to open the door anyway, figuring that she may as well get things sorted out as quickly as possible.
"Hey, Ash…" She said softly,
"Come on in," Dawn said as she led him into the other room, before sitting on the couch.
"So…" Ash trailed off, not exactly sure how to bring things up.
"I'm sorry Ash," Dawn said, refusing to make eye contact.
"Sorry for what?"
"Everything. I was wrong about everything. I'm sorry about yesterday. I was mad because of May, and Gary just tipped me over the edge, tell him I'm sorry will you?" Dawn explained.
"You know, if you want things to be right with Gary you should talk to him yourself really," Ash suggested.
"Your right, I'll talk to May as well, I just hate seeing a friend make such a bad decision." She said.
"Dawn, can I ask you something?" Ash said.
"Fire away."
"Why-why did you- uh-you know- kiss me yesterday?" Asked Ash, saying the last part quickly as things were getting awkward.
"Oh… That was my emotions taking over."
"Your emotions?" Ash asked, both confused and worried by what she meant.
"I was such a mess and I couldn't think straight, and you were the only one who understood me, you helped and comforted me, so thank you for that," Dawn said.
"Uh ok," Ash said, not really sure what to think as Dawn's answer wasn't very clear.
"It's not like I have feelings for you or anything like that if that's what you're wondering, I still like Gary." She said as Ash sighed in relief.
"Doesn't mean I didn't like it." She said, making Ash jump.
"Sorry, that was awkward. I'm mean it was, um... You're not a half bad kisser, no um. Fuck, I mean, I don't have feelings for you, I already made that clear, but the kiss was nice at the time. Can we just forget that that or this never happened and move on?" Dawn asked, trying not to make herself look any stupider.
"I'm certainly ok with that," Ash said.
"Well, at least things are alright between us now, no matter how awkward I made it." She said with a smile. Ash chuckled in return.
"So what do we wanna do about May?" Ash asked.
"Let's wait till tomorrow, we can talk to her after school. If we at least be nice about it she might actually tell us something."
"Good idea, I should probably get home soon, I still have to get my Pokémon ready for a gym battle soon," Ash said as he realized that they'd been talking for quite some time.
After saying goodbye Ash set off for Pallet town. Both Dawn and Ash were happy at how their meeting had gone, things were mostly back to normal now. Ash's good mood helped out his training, as he worked extra hard with his Pokémon that night. Ash also no longer needed to worry about working; he had decided that work interfered too much with his training, so he gave up his job to pursue battling.
The Next Day
Today was the first day of November. Ash was reminded of this by the gust of cold wind that hit his face as he walked out the door. By now Pikachu had nearly recovered from its injury, now being able to walk and run around. Nurse Joy had still recommended that they take it easy for another week or two, before getting back to battling. This made Ash even more excited for his next gym battle, although that would have to wait for a little while longer.
Another day of school passed. By now Ash's fame from the beginning of the school year had died down, with mostly everyone focusing on the soccer teams upcoming game. Ash hadn't seen Gary this nervous before, and the game was still a day away. After school Ash and Dawn drove over to May's house, finally trying to talk to her about Drew.
"Ready?" Ash asked, as Dawn nodded and proceeded to knock on the door. It was not May, but Max who answered the door, who once again began spewing an onslaught of Pokémon related questions his way.
"Uh, we're here to see May," Ash said, making Max sigh in disappointment.
"But maybe afterward we can talk about Pokémon," Ash said, causing Max to get excited again as he ran off to find his sister.
Moments later May came walking down the stairs and greeted the two of them.
After the usual hellos and whats ups of the conversations, Dawn got straight to business.
"May we know about you and Drew." She said. Just from her tone of voice Ash already knew things could go bad, as he could tell that she was wasn't happy.
"Um, know what about me and Drew?" May asked. Ash couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was just acting dumb about it. Dawn certainly thought the later as she said:
"We saw you and Drew at the restaurant that night, we know why you've been avoiding us, cause you two are dating again am I right?" Dawn said, with an "I told you so" sort of smirk.
"No Dawn, we aren't dating?" May replied, causing Dawn to look back in shock.
"But-But we saw you with him, what else could you have been doing?" She asked, confused.
"Look, let me explain. First of all, I'm not sure how you guys saw me and Drew in the first place but that's beside the point. Yes, we were on a date, Drew came over one night and was begging for forgiveness, saying that he still loved me and that he made a mistake earlier. So I gave him a second chance. We went on a few dates, and I tried to hide it from you guys cause I knew you didn't like him. But no need to worry, I don't like him either, and I told him that too, he and I are officially done." May stopped, allowing them to process this information.
"Oh…" Dawn said quietly.
"So that means you aren't that stupid after all!" She said in excitement as she jumped up and hugged May.
"I guess not," May said with a sigh. Just then Torchic came running in from the other room.
"Torr!" It squealed as it recognized Ash and ran over to him.
"Long time no see Torchic!" Ash said as Torchic rubbed itself against Ash's leg.
"Hey Ash, wanna have a battle?" May asked, catching Ash off guard.
"A battle?" May had never expressed an interest in battling before, so this peaked Ash's interest.
"Yup, I want to see how much Torchic and I have grown together!" May said with a look of determination.
"It's a deal then!" Ash said.
They all went out to the backyard, which was pretty small, but still large enough for battle.
"Aipom come on out," Ash said as the purple monkey appeared on the grass.
"Ready Torchic! Don't go easy on me Ash!" May said.
"Alright, but you asked for it!" Ash said with a laugh.
"Torchic use tackle!"
"Jump and use swift!" Ash said. With that Aipom leaped above Torchic and sent it flying back with swift.
"Use ember Torchic!"
"Dodge Aipom. Wow a new move May, that's awesome!" Ash said, able to tell that May and Torchic were really growing well together.
"Use Fury Swipes, then use your tail!" Aipom attacked Torchic in rapid succession, before sending it flying after hitting Torchic with its tail.
"Well, that's that!" Ash said as May tended to Torchic.
"Thanks, Ash!" May said.
"No problem lets battle again sometime!"
The Next Day
"Well, this is it folks! The Kanto Dragons who ended the regular season with a record of 15-2, will face the Vermillion City Voltorb's who have a regular season record of 14-3, just one game behind the Dragons. Thanks to that, the Dragons have home-field advantage here at Kanto High for the regional championship! The announcer said as the stands were beyond packed. The two best teams in the Kanto region were about to go head to head for the title. Gary ran back and forth on the sideline, too pumped up to be sitting around.
Since Gary was the team captain, he pulled the other guys into a huddle.
"This is it guys, everything we worked for is on the line tonight! Let's make it all worth it!" With a collective cheer, they broke out of the huddle and took to the field. The Kanto High crowd went wild, shortly followed by loud cheers from the other side of the field, as many Vermillion City fans had traveled here for the game.
"Here we go folks, let's get this match started!" The announcer said.
Being team captain, Gary ran out to center field to meet the Voltorb's team captain and the refs for the coin toss.
"Welcome to the championship game boys, best of luck to you both!" The referee said before continuing.
"Now for the coin flip, here is heads, and here is tails." He said as he showed them each side of the coin.
"Since Vermillion City is the visiting team they get to call it, they then can choose to kick off first, or to defend a specific goal. What is your call?" He asked. The Vermillion City captain stepped forward and chose tails.
"It is tails, do you want the ball first or to defend a goal?"
"We'll defend the east goal." He said.
"Alright then, Dragons will kick off first."
After lining up the referee blew his whistle signaling the beginning of the game. The dragons had the wind going they're way for the first half; obviously a strategy for the Voltorb's to have it during the 2nd half.
Brock Harrison passed the ball to Drew to start things off, who then passed it over to Gary.
Feeling the rush of adrenaline through his body, Gary dribbled past one defender and sent the ball flying. It curved off to the left side of the goal. Luckily Brock had gone charging down the field and made a diving header, bouncing it right into the back of the net. The crowd went absolutely crazy.
"Wow, A goal by the Dragons in the opening seconds, I don't know if we've ever seen a goal like that before!" The announcer said. The Voltorb's didn't look fazed at all, however, as they lined back up for the kickoff.
The Voltorb's were fast, like really fast. Just 10 Minutes into the game, the Dragons were starting to get gassed. They hadn't allowed any goals, but it was shot after shot on goal for the Voltorb's as the Dragons couldn't quite keep up with them.
20th Minute
A Vermillion City forward took the ball at midfield and wove around every defender in his way, not even Gary could keep up with him. With a smirk of confidence, it was just him and the goalie. He faked a kick to the left before quickly switching back to the other side of his foot, throwing the goalie off. The ball rolled effortlessly into the goal. 1-1 Tie game.
40th Minute
The Dragons were dragging along slowly, the speed and endurance of the Voltorb's were too much for them to handle, as the onslaught of offense attacks continued, the Vermillion City forwards had a field day taking shots on goal, sinking another before the end of the half.
The whistle finally blew signifying the end of the first half, the Voltorb's leading 2-1. Everyone from Dragons collapsed after making their way to the sideline. They were dead tired, feeling like they'd played through two entire games already. To make matters worse they would now be playing into the wind in the 2nd half.
Ash, May, and Dawn sat nervously in the stands, along with the rest of the Kanto High crowd.
"Boy Vermillion City sure does live up to the hype, they're good," Dawn said as they waited for the next half to begin.
"Ya, I'm not sure how they're going to be able to keep up with them." Said Ash.
Start of 2nd half
"Let's get things started once again folks! The Voltorb's lead the Dragons 2-1, with 45 min of action left to decide a winner, so let's get this show on the road!" The announcer said as the teams retook the field.
The whistle blew and the Voltorb's started things right where they left off, speeding up and down the field, moving even faster now with the wind at their backs. Gary, usually playing mostly on offense, had taken a defensive role to start this half. With the focus on defense, they were able to handle the Voltorb's offense better, without wasting as much energy.
The sunset during which the game was begun had now fully disappeared as night fell. The wind chilled everyone as the temperature dropped heavily. To those on the field, it was like a refreshing breath of air, cooling the sweat that dripped from their bodies.
Gary was substituted out near the 60th minute, giving him one more rest before the final stretch of the game. He talked with his other teammates resting with him while he waited to return to the game.
"Man, we need to find some way to score a goal, we haven't got the ball past midfield once." He said, hoping for someone to give him a clever idea. Unfortunately, no response came, the team was stumped, as was Gary. How could they score?
75th Minute
Drew broke away from the final defender; he had taken a chance and had managed to maneuver around every Vermillion City defender, stumbling along the way, as the defense had messed up his footwork. He pulled his leg back and fired a shot on goal, which was stopped right in its track by the goalie, who with a flick of his foot sent the ball flying straight back the way it came, making Drew's efforts for nothing.
80th Minute
The Dragons were running out of steam once again, still trailing by one goal. With just under ten minutes to play, Gary knew he had to take control of the game. Taking the ball and sprinting towards the other end of the field, Gary pulled off some of the most ridiculous maneuvers anyone had ever seen. Dribbling between the legs of defenders, throwing a spin move in there to confuse them. It was like watching a professional against a bunch of 5-year-olds. Gary used every risky tactic he could think of, and they all paid off. With 3 defenders left, he faked a move to the left and pulled off a move that stunned everyone, both players, and fans, Gary tapped the ball through the defender's legs and followed by sliding right under them as well. He stood up and continued his pursuit. Brock ran down the other side of the goal, keeping one of the two remaining defenders busy, leaving one person left for Gary to beat.
Gary looked towards Brock, noticing the defender facing the other way. Gary approached the last defender and sent a kick towards the direction of Brock. Brock saw this but could do nothing; Gary's kick was far too low to make over the defender in front of him. Luckily for him, this was Gary's plan all along, a total long shot, but it worked. The ball sailed right into the back of the defender near Brock and bounced ahead back in line with Gary's path to the goal. The defender on Gary turned around stunned, as Gary had continued running and retook possession of the ball, with just the goalie in his way.
Gary let the ball roll while moving his foot from side to side of the ball, trying to confuse the goalie, who didn't seem to flinch an inch. Gary, knowing he'd need to do better, moved to the center of the goal. He faked a kick with his right foot and then planted it firmly into the ground on the left side of the ball. Gary then whipped his left foot around the back of his right leg, kicking the ball the opposite direction. It was too late for the goalie to realize what Gary had done, and even with his best diving attempt, he was unable to reach the ball as it rolled into the corner of the goal.
"Incredible! Gary Oak has tied the game on the most amazing drive to the goal I've ever seen!" The crowd roared, not entirely sure what they'd just witnessed.
"The game is tied 2-2! With 5 minutes left, we might be looking at overtime ladies and gentlemen!"
Gary ran back, being showered with hugs and pats on the back by his teammates. Gary ignored all this, as his mind was already back to focusing on defense, figuring that if they could hold Vermillion City off until overtime, the extra rest might give them a chance.
Gary's adrenaline continued to help him as he sprinted back and forth from each end of the field, following the ball wherever it went. While the ball stayed on their end of the field, the Voltorb's couldn't do anything with the ball, and they simply resorted to punting the ball back and forth until the refs blew the whistle, which meant overtime.
"Overtime will be a 15 minute period, if no winner is decided at the end of it, then we will go to a shootout!" The announcer said as everyone waited in anticipation.
The overtime began with the Dragons taking charge right from the start. Gary placed several passes perfectly towards Drew and Brock, but neither could convert. Vermillion City answered right back, pushing the ball closer and closer towards the Dragons goal.
The majority of the overtime was spent with both teams taking long-range shots, praying for one to go in. The Voltorb's continued to outrun the Dragons, but Kanto High's goalkeeper was playing at his best today, stopping nearly every shot that came his way.
With the final minute of overtime nearing its end, the Voltorb's made one final push, weaving through every defender the Dragons could throw at them, and sent a shot towards the right side of the goal, fast enough that the goalie wouldn't be able to reach it. Everyone looked on in horror as it looked like Vermillion City was about to take the championship. Gary closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable roar of cheers that would come from the Voltorb's bench, but it never came. Instead, he heard a loud clang, as the ball had just barely hit the side post, causing a scramble for the ball. The goalie for Kanto High somehow came out of it with the ball and sent it sailing back towards midfield. The referees decided this was enough and blew the whistle once again.
"That's all for overtime folks, it'll come down to penalty kicks to decide a champion, 5 kick for each team!" The announcer's voice echoed around the field as each team chose its 5 best players who would take the kicks.
"Since the Voltorb's are the visiting team they will kick first, while Kanto High will defend first."
The first player from the Voltorb's ran over and placed the ball between himself and the goal. He took several steps back, then charged forward, swinging his foot right through the ball. The goalie jumped but couldn't make it in time. Vermillion City leads 1-0, thanks to a perfect kick straight in the upper left corner of the goal. Kanto High's first kicker tried to send it right down the middle, hoping that the goalie wouldn't expect it. However, the Voltorb's goalie reacted perfectly, deflecting it with his hands, still 1-0.
Another goal by the Voltorb's, followed by a goal by the Dragons next kicker made the score stand at 2-1, with just 3 kicks left for each team.
The Voltorb's 3rd kick should have gone in, but was just an inch high and hit the top crossbar, giving Kanto High a chance to tie things up.
The crowd cheered as Brock Harrison ran out to take the next kick, everyone on the edge of their seats. Brock sent his shot rolling along the ground directly at the corner of the goal, beating the goalies diving effort by mere inches. The Kanto High stands cheered as Brock celebrated his goal. It was all tied at two, with two kicks left.
The Voltorb's weren't fazed in the slightest, nearly answering with another goal of their own, but was saved by a lucky guess from the Dragons goalie. Drew was up to take the 2nd to last kick for the Dragons. Drew, one of the best offensive players on the team, had plenty of experience with penalty kicks. Confident with his abilities he wasted no time in placing a perfect kick in the top right corner of the goal. The smirk on his face was wiped off his face, however, as he watched as the Voltorb's goalie made a superhuman jump to swat the ball out of the goal. It was all tied 2-2, with one kick left for each team.
The Voltorb's best kicker came out; the look on his face meant business. Gary and the rest of his team stayed silent, praying that he would miss, or that the goalie would be able to save it.
A quick flick of his foot and the ball was rocketed straight past the goalie and into the back of the net, earning a roar of applause from the Vermillion City fans. The Dragons were down to their final kick. Their team captain and leader walked onto the field, needing to make this shot to send the penalty kicks into sudden death, or it was all over.
Ash, May, and Dawn all stood in the stands shaking, both from the cold and from the nerves they felt. One kick could decide the difference between a historic win for Kanto High, or a gut-wrenching defeat. Everyone was silent, not a sound was heard except for the heavy breathing from Gary and goalie, who stared each other down. Gary thought back to all his memories playing soccer, from playing as a young kid, scoring his first goal, or making the varsity team at Kanto High in his freshman year, or breaking the all-time assists school record. Gary felt a sense of calm as he surveyed the ball and the goal in front of him.
The referee blew the whistle, giving Gary the signal to kick at any time. Gary took several steps back and picked a spot to kick the ball. In his years of soccer he had learned that goalies follow the kicker's eyes, so after choosing his spot he locked his eyes on the opposite side of the goal. With one final deep breath, he started his sprint forward, trying to get as much power behind the kick as he could. Gary closed his eyes, swung his leg with all his might and sent the ball flying. The next thing Gary heard was a resounding:
KLANK
Authors Note: First of all sorry for not updating in so long, now that I have some free time, ill be updating this story much more frequently. Now in regards to this chapter, no, Ash and Dawn will not end up together nor will there be anything else romantic between them. And don't worry more Advanceshipping moments will come eventually. Also, the next chapter will be the final one that contains any soccer and a focus on Gary, after that the story will shift more towards Ash and his adventures. Thanks for your patience everyone!