Secluded ever so slightly by a tree grove, our heroes found themselves in the Saffron City Park and training grounds. Though neither was quite ready to be particularly adventurous in the city in the evenings after last night's adventure, Dawn's contest was coming the next day, and they had to train for it. All they could do was take precautions by never straying too far from the view of other people. That way, they could maintain a low profile.
"Mamoswine, spotlight!" Dawn called, clicking open the pokeball of her team's largest member.
Both Empoleon and Pikachu chirped to greet the ice/ground type. Mamoswine, for his return greeting, trumpeted a bit before stomping on of his table sized paws.
"He looks like he's pumped up," Ash complimented.
She nodded. "He really has been, these days! I think he's eager for his chance to shine! After all, he had a really good run last time he was in a contest! Didn't you, Mamoswine?"
"Mamoooo!" he chimed, smile hidden beneath copious amounts of fur.
Nodding, Dawn clapped her hands. "We'll train some and then I'll get down to grooming you!"
"Right on! I thought I heard a familiar voice!"
Both trainers and pokemon looked over, slightly on edge, as they sought out the newest addition to their private affair. However, they relaxed upon seeing that it was just Dawn's rival, Maddox.
The man walked over, looming over Dawn. He put a hand atop her head and rubbed to and fro. "Good to see you, lil' punk!"
Slapping his hand with a grunt of anger, Dawn took a step back. "Excuse you!"
Grinning, Maddox stepped forward. He put his hand atop Dawn's hair and messed it up again. "Whatcha up to these days? I never got to tell ya congrats on the Wallace Cup win!"
Patience growing thin, Dawn curled her fist up and walloped Maddox on his bicep. "Knock that off!" Trying to brush her hair back into order with her hands, she answered, "I have a contest tomorrow."
"No way! Me, too! The one here?" Maddox asked as he punched Dawn in the shoulder.
Standing beside Mamoswine, Ash quirked a brow. "Those two have a really weird flow together. Maddox seems almost… friendly? But, man, Dawn's super pissed." He wondered if he should step in and do something, since the quarrel was coming to blows.
"Pikachu…" the mouse mumbled, leaning over from Ash's shoulder to pat Empoleon on his shoulder...
"Pol…" The water type trembled, growing worked up over the invasion of Dawn's personal space. His wings were even beginning to show a metallic glimmer.
After perhaps a solid minute of them just punching each other, Maddox finally laughed. "Aw, man, this is great, but I can't keep foolin' around like this! I gotta go train!"
"Well, bye!" Dawn snapped.
Turning around to walk away, Maddox waved over his shoulder. "Bye!"
"Goodbye!" Dawn yelled even louder.
"G'bye!" Maddox said back, also increasing his volume.
"BYE!"
"SEE YA!"
It was only once Maddox was out of her sight that Dawn genuinely gave up their inane little shouting match.
Walking over, Ash bent over a bit so he could look Dawn in the eye. "Hey, are you alright?"
Dropping to her knees in an extremely dramatic fashion, the girl whined. "He hits so hard! I'm already sore from last night!"
Empoleon was at her side at once. "Empo Empo! Empoleon!" He clenched his claws, raising a flipper to the sky. He'd get that punk!
She jerked her head around. "Mamoswine, use Ice Shard! I need some relief!"
Just as quickly as he'd gotten fired up, Empoleon had his feelings hurt. He could make ice, too!
Ash rolled his eyes as he helped her over to a bench. Mamoswine, meanwhile, walked over, creating an ice shard to leave on the bench with Dawn while she nursed her bruise. The shard he created was extremely tiny for his size, small enough to fit comfortably in Dawn's hand. She got a spare t-shirt out of her backpack to wrap it in before holding it against her shoulder.
"Ugh… What were we even doing before? Oh yeah. I need to figure out a nice set for Mamoswine. I want to use him to battle, but I know people are going to be wary after I used him against Quijote."
Sitting beside her, Ash tried to think as well. "Well, that was really cool, so it'd be a waste not to use it again." Snapping his fingers, he nodded. "Hey! Some battlers set up a combination where they'll put a pokemon to sleep just to use Wake-Up Slap on it! Why don't you break your own ice? Don't let anyone else get the points for it! That'd look cool, right?"
Dawn tilted her head. "Yeah… We could ice everything over! Hidden Power goes watery, so Blizzard could freeze it all! We could even throw some Ancient Powers in there to make up for the fact that surf won't make as big an area to freeze! Then, with the rocks and the opponent pokemon wet then frozen, we can use Freight Train style Take Down!" She let go of the ice bag and clenched her fists. "Mamoswine, what do you think?!"
The big brown pokemon nodded in agreement. "Mamo!"
She stood. "Right! Let's see… Why don't you use Ancient Power over there, first?"
Stomping his foot, Mamoswine's eyes glowed blue ever so briefly before he launched a small cluster of rocks into the middle of the clearing they'd claimed for training.
"Good job!" Dawn praised. "Now, Hidden Power on those!"
Focusing his energy on the stones, Mamoswine launched off a clear distortion in the air. It turned into water after a moment and thoroughly drenched his target.
"Good! Now! … Hm." Dawn tilted her head. "Mamoswine knows Ice Fang, Ice Shard, and Blizzard… I'm not sure which one I want to use in the contest. Ice Fang is close range, but I don't know if I want to have to get close to every opponent. Take Down already lets me do that. Ice Shard isn't very strong, either, so if I get an opponent I need to knock out to make winning easier, that won't be good. Blizzard takes a lot of energy, too!" Dawn pulled at her hair. "Augh, I don't know what to choose!"
Ash chuckled. "Yeah, that's the problem of a strong pokemon! Lots of moves don't always make it easier!" He crossed his arms. "Why don't you go through each? Let Mamoswine show you what he's good at using. Pikachu can help break apart the ice so you can compare it all!"
"That's a good idea! Empoleon, if Pikachu uses Iron Tail on the ice, you could use Steel Wing! Mamoswine, do you mind redoing everything so much?" the girl asked.
The water type flexed as well as he could. "Empo."
"Swine!"
"You've become so patient lately, Mamoswine! I'll make sure to feed you lots of poffins when I groom you!" Noticing Empoleon's jealous look, Dawn rubbed the side of his stomach. "I'll groom you, too, and feed you!" She looked over. "Pikachu, you want in on this?"
"Pika!"
"Well, that settles it!" She giggled before facing her ice type. "Let's try Blizzard first!"
Tensing up, the big ground type stirred up a mighty breeze. Frost and snow clustered into it as well as shards of ice. Ash's hat threatened to blow off his head while Dawn's hair whipped wildly around her. When the tiny snowstorm passed, however…
None of the rocks were frozen!
"It missed!" Dawn lamented.
"Empoleon!"
"Pi!"
"A complete waste!" Ash agreed.
"Mamo…"
"Ash!" Dawn chided before patting her pokemon.
"Oh, oops! Hey, I didn't mean it like that! It just takes a lot out of you, doesn't it, Mamoswine? It's no good if you put all that effort into it and it misses."
His hurt pride soothed, Mamoswine nodded in agreement.
"Right. I don't want to rely on a move that's that uncertain." She sighed. "Let's try Ice Fang, next."
Ash moved to go sit on one of the nearby benches. They'd be here quite a while if Dawn had her way. She was just a bit meticulous about these types of things.
The rest of their day at the park was dedicated to Dawn's training with Mamoswine and eventually Buneary. Now, the coordinator was behind the stage while her boyfriend waited in the audience. She felt nervous back here. It was even more pronounced than usual, though. She couldn't help but feel as if she shouldn't be performing today. After all, less than two days ago, Officer Jenny had warned them that they should keep a low profile. Should she risk making such a big show of herself so soon after their tango with Team Rocket?
On the other hand, could she deal with the regret resulting from hiding in fear?
She mulled this over as the screen projected the current appealing coordinator. Paige was on screen with her Pikachu, who had just used Double Team. The flickering illusions all turned in unison, using their Sweet Kiss move. The auditorium was filled with the pale pink and red hearts from the move.
"She's using Nuzzle again," Dawn said quietly to Buneary as they watched.
And, indeed, the Pikachu was! The Nuzzles caused the clones to flash out of existence. This left only the original on stage, surrounded by her Sweet Kiss hearts.
"Okay, Pikachu, Heart Stamp!" Paige called.
Backstage, Dawn was rather pleasantly surprised by the visuals. A hot pink glow surrounded Pikachu's heart shaped tail as she cut through the amassed floating hearts. The performance had, overall, been very cutesy while also energetic.
The blue haired coordinator nodded. "She's gotten better."
As the Pikachu user came back stage, she let out a high pitched sigh. "Excellent job, Pikachu!" Spotting Dawn, the electric blonde walked over. "Oh, hey! Miss Dawn! I didn't get to go to the Wallace Cup, but you really did great! That's not the cutesy style you usually do, but it works, too!"
Laughing, Dawn shrugged. "I try to do a little of everything. Something sweet, something spicy, something tough, something smart, but always something beautiful!" She hugged Buneary closer. "Don't we?"
"Bun-neary!" the rabbit cheered.
"Pikachu," the little mouse said as well.
"Oh, oh, oh! Speaking of tough, looks like that scary punk guy's up!" Paige complained.
Sure enough, when Dawn looked up, Maddox was slightly shadowed on the field while his Pinsir took center stage. The long, green lights fading into nothingness suggested that he had just finished a rather well executed X Scissor attack.
However, when the bug seemed to throw itself towards the ground, Dawn was confused.
"Storm Throw, huh?" she repeated, echoing what Maddox had said moments before the move was used. "It looks a little… Reckless."
"He looks a little reckless," Paige mumbled.
However, that graceless charge faded into Swords Dance. It was clear that Pinsir's exoskeleton hid a well-developed muscular system. The sheer force and energy put into each wrathful jab and teeter of Pinsir's Swords Dance was testimony to this.
Finally, the brown bug's pincers opened wide. The snapping together, though, was so loud, so violent, so devastating, that for a brief moment after, all that could be heard was silence.
"He knows how to make an impression," Dawn mumbled as he came behind the stage.
It was her turn, now. There were many coordinators after her, so she couldn't dilly-dally.
Stepping onto the stage, Dawn's mind raced. What was she doing?! There could easily be a grunt directly seeking the two of them out to keep tabs on them, and here she was giving them exactly the kind of lead they needed!
"Spotlight, Buneary!" she said despite her anxiety.
"Bun, Bun- Buneary?" Bouncing onto stage for a brief moment, Buneary turned to look back at her trainer. Was Dawn okay?
Putting on a brave face, Dawn tried to continue. "L-Let's try Ice Beam, just like how we talked about!"
As Buneary created a massive, spiraling tower in the center of the stage, Dawn's eyes darted across the crowd. Was there a Seviper in the Torchic house? Giovanni said things would only happen if they acted up again, but what was good yesterday might only count for tomorrow. Furthermore, neither she nor Ash would really back down and let Team Rocket do as they wished! Did the organization know that, though?
"Bounce!"
As her normal type bound into the air, Dawn's hands shook. She looked blankly at how high Buneary was getting. She was halfway to the ceiling and just over halfway to the top of the tower.
"Jump Kick!"
Kicking against the tower of ice to propel herself higher, Buneary shattered it in the process with the sheer force of her blow. Among shards of ice glittering like jewels, she stood out beautifully.
"Dizzy Punch!"
Turning the shards to powder, Buneary fell in herself made snow. She landed with precision on top of the bottom half of the tower, but couldn't resist looking over her shoulder at her trainer. Dawn sounded scared!
"G-Good job, Buneary!" Dawn said, drowning out the judges, not that the audience could hear her over the speaker's sound system enhanced voice. "Let's go."
As soon as the judges had given their hesitant approval, Buneary obeyed. The two hurried backstage.
As soon as they were out of the prying eyes of the audience, Dawn held her rabbit close. Was this contest a mistake? Or, was the bigger mistake living in fear?
When her face flashed up on the screen, Dawn wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. When it placed her face on the screen next to Maddox, she grew even more anxious. Their styles conflicted so heavily that their matches were nothing short of captivating.
Still, before they both headed up there, Maddox flashed her a thumbs up. Confused, she flashed it back with a quirked brow. This guy was a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
Unable to find the energy to puzzle out Maddox right now, Dawn gripped Mamoswine's pokeball tighter before standing up to follow him onto stage. When she stood across from Maddox, she felt a sudden chill.
"Raticate, let's rock the stage!" Maddox called out, tossing out the pokeball so hard it was a wonder his arm wasn't pulled out of the socket.
Landing on stage with a clack of his long incisors, Maddox's Raticate swished its tail with vigor. Its paws stretched wide. "Rati!"
Trying to steady her nerves, Dawn tossed Mamoswine's pokeball forward. "Spotlight, Mamoswine!"
Landing with a mighty thud, Mamoswine snorted upon seeing his meager opponent. Just a Raticate? He could handle that!
However, when Lilian announced the start of the match, Maddox was much quicker to the punch.
"Hyper Fang, Raticate!"
Leaping forward, the normal type sunk his teeth into Mamoswine's fleshy pink nose. The not-so-gentle giant reared back, flinching violently upon being bitten.
"Mamoswine!" Dawn called out, already antsy. She wasn't going to have to move out of his path, was she..?
"Right on!" Maddox encouraged. "A flinch on the first try. You're the boss, Raticate! Now, use Swords Dance! This guy's a brick house, so we gotta be a bulldozer!"
"Rati!"
Twisting and turning as it leaped about, the glowing vision of a pair of swords appeared above Raticate. As it did, Dawn's points dropped.
"Ugh, this isn't good," she mumbled. Her heart was pounding for real, now. "Ancient Power! Just like we planned!"
Stomping his foot, Mamoswine sent a bevy of stones straight for Raticate.
"Uh-oh," Maddox swallowed. "Uh… Use Flame Wheel, lil' dude! Get outta there!"
The rat tucked into itself, speeding gracefully around some of the rocks. The others, however, crashed into Raticate. Just as quickly as it had turned into a flaming ball to escape danger, it was knocked swiftly onto its tail.
Dawn exhaled, clutching the Unity badge that hung around her neck. "Good! Now, Hidden Power!"
"Mamoo!" The large pokemon trumpeted, firing a flurry of orbs at the battlefield.
Misunderstanding Dawn's strategy, Maddox called out. "Don't let that nail you down!"
Powerful fangs crushed a hindering boulder that had crushed Raticate, allowing the rodent to scurry out of the path of several splashes of mysterious energy. Dawn's points dipped.
"Even after taking a hit, Raticate shows off its burning and spirit and agility!" Lillian narrated.
"Not for long," Dawn muttered to herself, her expression unshaken. "Mamoswine-"
"Keep pushin', with Double Edge!" Maddox interrupted.
Still hyper and full of vigor, Raticate sprinted on still, slamming his entire body into Mamoswine's hide, giving a full-force tackle with no regard for the damage he'd take, himself.
Mamoswine winced, his knee buckling under the pressure. Swords Dance had certainly paid off.
"Mamoswine!" Dawn's brows knit downward, and she swore she was starting to sweat under the pressure. This really wasn't going in her favor. But she had something up her sleeve. "Blizzard!"
The mammoth pokemon cried, launching a full-blown icy storm in Raticate's path.
The shallow pool of water at Raticate's feet began to expand and freeze, the ice and climbing and conquering the stones laid out by Ancientpower. Before anything could be done, a net of ice had enclosed upon Raticate. Dawn's tactic had done its job, and created a beautiful field, to boot.
Maddox, who had previously been leading by a significant margin, dropped below half.
"Absolutely beautiful! Dawn caught her opponent totally off-guard! Is this the end of Raticate's performance!? It's hard to imagine it putting up much of a fight," Lillian narrated.
Ash, meanwhile, who'd been gripping his seat with white knuckles, fell back into the chair with a heavy sigh of relief. "Dawn had me worrying there... Something felt totally wrong. But now she's back on top! She's got this round in the bag!" Maybe she'd go into the next round feeling better.
Maddox tugged at his spiked cuffs. He had other plans. "Good stuff, Dawn! Still keepin' it real. But Raticate ain't about to be held down! Rock your way out of there, with Flame Wheel!"
The frozen rodent at the center of the glacier began to stir, the ice around him visibly beginning to melt. Flames leaked through the cracks, subsequently shattering Raticate's prison.
"You go, Raticate! Run wild and real!" Maddox encouraged. A perfect way to stick it to the man.
Raticate had become a spinning ball of fire, running wild on the icy field that Mamoswine had set up. One cold block shattered and burst into embers after the next, ripping Dawn's creation asunder.
Dawn gasped, tempted to bite her nails. Maddox was turning her strategy against her!
"M-Mamoswine…! Take Down!"
In the coordinator's panic, she'd acted too late. Flame Wheel Crashed into Mamoswine's forehead, assaulting the large pokemon with flames, and Raticate's momentum, to boot.
Mamoswine collapsed under the pressure, swirls in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Dawn's score had nearly hit zero.
"Wow! Dawn started out with her usual pizzazz, but today, it just wasn't cutting it against Maddox's aggressive battling style! That means he's going on to the next round! Put your hands together for both of our contestants!" Lilian announced over a combination of gasps and cheers.
"...Thank you, Mamoswine." Dawn uttered weakly, quickly recalling her pokemon before shuffling off stage.
"Son of a gun," Ash muttered, a lightly balled fist supporting his cheek. "That was brutal."
"Pikachu…"
Relief washed over her like waves lapping at the shore. Between each crash, numbness ebbed within her. She had lost, absolutely. It wasn't even the loss that had bothered her. It was how she lost. Her own insecurities dragged her and, more importantly, her pokemon down. Looking down at Mamoswine's pokeball, Dawn clenched the empty fist.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "You did your best, big guy."
As the screen behind stage rumbled with the rowdy clashing of Maddox's Steelix against the opponent's Onix, a few younger coordinators approached Dawn. The most certain and sure of them walked with her chest out.
"Hey!" the youth belted out a bit louder than needed. "Aren't you that girl that won the Wallace Cup a few days ago?"
Assuming their intentions were good, Dawn answered kindly: "Yes. Sorry if you expected a better show today. I wasn't feeling my best."
"More like it was a fluke," a skinny little boy mumbled from behind the brazen young lady leading the group.
With the group's hunch confirmed, a portly young man spoke up as well. "I told you guys I remembered her from Sinnoh! She uses different pokemon every Wallace Cup! I bet she rents them so she can win."
"Or, someone gives them to her so she can win," the skinny boy quipped.
"I saw her modeling in Hoenn!" a nasally girl chimed in before Dawn could get a word in edgewise. "She's probably just some empty headed model."
Taken aback by the surprisingly sharp words of the foursome, Dawn visibly recoiled.
"Ugh, if you're gonna act like a bunch of brats, leave me out of it!" she quickly snapped.
Looking smug, the leader of the group stepped forward. "What are you gonna do about it?" she pressed. "You gotta rely on others, ya loser!"
Dawn's vision was filled with faded red and a teal so dark it bordered on pitch black.
"Ya know, my mom always said that people who spend their time puttin' down others are just jealous and don't have anything goin' on."
It was Ash, fists at his side. Pikachu bristled on one of the boy's shoulders. The teen towered perhaps a foot over the youths. It was clear by their sudden shift in demeanor that his superior size and physique was much more intimidating than Dawn herself had been.
"Well? How far did you guys make in the contest?" the trainer pressed. "Y'know, if you're jealous, just say so! Dawn would give you advice!"
"Ash," Dawn said quietly, touched by his defense. She reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder.
It seemed as if Ash's presence was only a temporary deterrent.
The skinny child crossed his arms. "So, what are you? Her groupie?"
The nasally girl squealed in anger. "She would get a big guy like him to rush to her aid! Pretty little airheads get everything."
"Ugh, that attitude you guys got is why you don't have any fans," Ash spat. "I've got way better taste than that, and I'm sure most people do, too."
The leader stomped her foot. "Who are you talking about, mister! You're so freakin' old and you're starting crap with kids! We're only twelve!"
"I'm fifteen!" Ash said through gritted teeth. "If you're a trainer, act like it. You ain't a baby anymore."
"Tch. Hey, pretty airhead! Why don't you get your Mankey of a boyfriend in check! He's really bringing down the classiness of this contest," the rotund boy ordered.
Those snot-nosed little… Ash balled his fists, his blood pressure flying through the roof. "I'd rather be a Mankey than smell like one!" Ash seethed, leaving very little personal space between himself and the last to speak. Pikachu made a futile effort to pull his trainer back.
Deciding that the tension was a bit too high, Dawn hooked her arm through Ash's.
"Let's go," she whispered.
Obliging, Ash threw one last dirty look over his shoulder at the gaggle of gossipy preteens. They had circled around their largest member, who was currently checking his armpits for stench.
Saffron City's skyline slowly sunk behind our heroes as the climbed the hilly, densely wooded land that lay between them and Viridian City. Ash's last gym lay just beyond the wilderness, though Dawn didn't carry the same energy she usually did in anticipation of her boyfriend's gym matches. Empoleon was clearly favoring her more than usual, as evidenced by the way he kept nuzzling his beak against her shoulder. She only returned his affections with a forced smile before drifting off into her thoughts again.
This wasn't lost on Ash or Pikachu, either. "Hey. Why don't we set up camp once we reach the top of the hill? We'll have a great view of the stars! You've got Clefairy with you right now, don't you?"
Snapping out of her thoughts, the coordinator nodded. "Yeah! Empoleon, Buneary, Mamoswine, Clefairy, Pachirisu, and Houndoom." She perked up at the thought of her team. "I still owe Houndoom a lot of snacks!"
Seeing her smile, Ash felt himself calm, as well. "Right. Well, let's keep walking."
With that, the foursome continued to walk up the hill. Upon reaching the peak, they were greeted to a magnificent sunset. For in the distance, the sun was sinking on a horizon of thick, greening trees. The distant concrete of Saffron was bathed in orange while the forest turned inky black.
Standing beside his girlfriend, Ash was relieved to see that she seemed to be enjoying it. Whatever happened today didn't seem to be bothering her anymore, but he had to know what the issue had been.
"... How ya doin'? You were off your game today," he prompted as he looked for a nice sturdy tree to put his sleeping bag under. It was getting warmer out, which meant there would do doubt be dewfall in the morning.
"... I was worried what would happen if I drew too much attention to myself," she quietly said as she laid out her sleeping bag next to Ash's. "After the other night…"
Ash frowned, beginning to clear their campsite of any fallen limbs and sticks. He held them with one arm while Pikachu and Empoleon quickly worked together with their steel type moves to make a dish in the earth. The dirt would be safer to build a fire over than the grass.
"You can't spend all your time worried about Team Rocket. I'm not gonna do that, and I'll feel shitty if you end up killing your chance at the Grand Festival over their crap."
The trainer carefully built an almost pyramid shape with the wood he'd found.
The coordinator released her Houndoom.
"Flamethrower, please."
After he lit the blaze, Ash dragged over another log, providing ample seating for all present. Empoleon and Pikachu both plopped down on the log, quietly watching as their trainers spoke. Houndoom quickly joined them, whining at the tension in the air.
"You can't blame yourself for this, Ash. I chose to be a part of it."
She dug into her bag, getting out a few pans and the folding set up to cook over. Ash, meanwhile, got out their portions and the pokechow.
"Still! Dawn, this is big! We both swore we'd win this time, together!"
"... Right. I'll just feel better if we can lay low for a little while."
Understanding, the trainer watched quietly as she began dinner.
"It'll take us a few days to reach Viridian. Think your nerves will be in check by then?"
"I think so."
She looked up when he disappeared into the darkness, only to return with more logs. Those would likely be to keep camp from getting to cold while they slept. But, considering that the trainers had an abundance of pokemon to sleep with, she didn't really see the issue. Better safe than sorry, she supposed.
"Speaking of nerves, what happened with you and those kids?" she asked.
"I just don't like bullying," he answered before sitting on the log, crossing his legs at the ankle.
Pikachu hopped over, allowing himself to be scratched under the chin. Seeing there were pets to be gotten, Houndoom mosied over as well, receiving a few between his horns.
"I was… kind of unpopular as kid. An outcast, kinda? I got bullied pretty bad." He shrugged. "I got good at taking it, and real good at dealing double what I got."
"Really?" Dawn asked, surprised somehow. "You've always seemed so cool to me! I would have never thought that."
He shrugged. "Like I said, I got good at dealing with it. It's hard to bully a guy who's real impressive, right? I already like pokemon, but if being a good trainer means everyone likes me…" He adjusted his cap. "Well, that's a pretty good bonus, isn't it?"
Dawn nodded along, silent for a moment. Her brows furrowed. "What would anyone pick on you for, anyway?" Ash always came off as incredibly sweet, if not stubborn and hot-headed.
"It's kinda stupid, now that I think about it." Ash admitted, absently tugging at his glove to keep it snug. "Word got around that my dad and grandpa were nobodies. They were both gone before I was even around, and were never heard from again. There were rumors that they ditched because they were such bad trainers that they were embarrassed to come home. Once kids picked up on that, I didn't hear the end of it. They said that, no doubt, I'd end up a loser, too!"
"Pika-Pika!?" Pikachu's cheeks inflated. He'd never even heard this story! It actually made him feel rather guilty about how he'd acted towards Ash when they'd first met.
"That's so rotten," Dawn fumed. "All because of something you couldn't help?!" Her knuckles were growing white. "When you put it that way… Maybe I shouldn't be so bothered by how famous my mom is."
"It wasn't fair, but that's what happened. I learned quick that if you were gonna make it by, you had to be twice as tough as the person out to get you… Besides, that was the time when I got to really appreciate pokemon. Whenever I'd run into them, they didn't care who I was or where I came from. They're just… Cool like that, I guess. That was when I really decided that I wanted to surround myself with them. To become the best trainer I could be, and show everyone what I'm made of!" He pumped a fist in the air, mirroring his younger self.
Catching himself in his cheesy display, Ash recovered with nervous laughter. "All things considered, I'm doing pretty well for myself! Don't you think?"
Smiling, Dawn passed Ash his plate of food. "I can't argue with that."
Seeing that their trainers were busy eating now, the pokemon turned to their bowls.
"I wasn't exactly bullied, but you know I was a cheerleader, right? After the… incident, I kinda got a reputation for being ditzy. They always said any idiot would have known not to squeeze a Plusle or a Minun." She shrugged. "I kinda compensate by overreacting when people are mean to me, I think. Like, with Paul? There was no real reason for him to remember my name, but boy, I sure got my feelings hurt." She laughed then.
"Yeah, he made me feel kinda worthless, constantly calling me pathetic and all."
"Hey, but he saw in the end, didn't he? And, I definitely see it. There's a lot of people who do," Dawn assured. "You're not pathetic at all."
By now, their meals were finished. The sun was long gone. There was only them, their pokemon, and the fire crackling in the center of camp.
"You're not stupid at all, either," Ash said back.
Quietly yet suddenly, he lifted his hand. He cupped her cheek. His dark eyes looked down into her light blue eyes and, for a brief moment, they just looked at one another.
"I'll always have your back if you always have mine," he offered.
She smiled. "That's a wonderful deal, Ash Ketchum."
Elated, the boy leaned down, briefly capturing Dawn's lips in a chaste kiss. He was still very new to romance, but he felt as if somehow they'd exchanged something romantically on the same level. It was like when they traded the pokemon that were now Floatzel and Ambipom so long ago. Though it was uncertain what the future held for them, this moment was certain and would have a lasting impression on him, he was sure.
And, if nothing else, his bond with her right now would help him with his bid for championship, just like Floatzel's presence in his team would.
So, for now, it was enough that they had each other and their goals. For that night on the lonely hilltop outside of Saffron City, Ash could think of little else he wanted except for what he already had there.
