Note - This story is inspired by A roommate from Kanto but is still different in some ways and could continue from where that fanfiction left.


"You got everything you need honey? Your clothes, phone charger, PC, and school application?" He nodded to his mother's words, packing the remnants of his belongings by stuffing them into his sturdy luggage. He glanced at his PC that occupied most of the space and felt a sense of dread crawling down his spine. He had a gut feeling that his beloved conduit to the online world might not make it throughout the lengthy journey, an unsettling and disturbing thought.

"Yeah mom I have everything already." With everything intact, He took his luggage to the front door, only to be met with a stern expression from his mother who has a less than pleased look plastered on her face.

"You have everything that I asked you about but not everything as you have everything except a place to stay." Right, he gets to go to a prestigious school meant for aspiring pokemon trainers at, only to get screwed over by the fact there is a lack of accommodations and the fact, he had to share an apartment with others, something which does not bold well for his antisocial nature.

"Well finding a roommate who is willing to share with me shouldn't be too hard, I am helping them split the cost of rent." While his personality may not be the warmest or friendliest for that matter, at the very least he could help split up the cost of rent. That should enough to win bargains and convince his future roommates that he is worth the investment.

"True, but what if you can't find a place to stay? Are you sleeping on the street?" A shrug from her son caused Delia to sigh. His nonchalant nature was something she worried the most, not everything in life would be sorted out naturally.

"Don't worry I can refer to the school and ask for their accommodations, but I might need to pay a bit more money."

"I need to pay more money." Delia pointed to herself with her finger while giving her son a deadpanned look.

"Yeah, that. All of this wouldn't have happened if Gary wasn't a dick." He was still salty over the fact that Gary stood him off. The initial promise of allowing him to move in with him was quickly broken when you add a pretty girl to the equation. Truly pathetic and disappointing that he so called "friend" would stood him off because of a girl. A mixture of betrayal and despair washed over Ash, though truthfully he would probably done the same thing.

"Now, now Ash, while I'm not thrilled of Gary making false promises and canceling your plans at the last minute, I still want you to be on friendly terms with him." The firm and affirmative tone of his mother didn't leave much room for a rebuke.

"Fine, fine, he's more popular than me anyway. Definitely do not want to stir the wrath of his lackies." As the grandson of the renowned pokemon researcher Professor Samuel Oak, he has earned much adoration from others. Combined with his undeniable handsome face, twatty smile and his narcissistic attitude that screamed edgy and cool, he has earned himself a cult following.

"Good boy, if you can't find a place to stay, give me a call and I will come pick you up." Ash begrudgingly sighed when his mother pulled him into a nice snugly hug, seemingly comforting him at the fact there was no shame of asking your mom for help in your time of need.

"Fine, but that would be my last option." Ash spoke in a stern tone as he placed his luggage into his mother's car, closing the car boot shut in the process. He turned to his house that he stayed for 5 years and felt a sense of sadness. It dawned on him that he was actually moving out, away from the comforts of home and the warm meals from his mother. He wasn't the most independent person in the world, but he was somewhat confident that he can manage by himself.

'Just stock up on cup noodles and frozen lasagna.' Placing his faith into those two food items sent by Arceus himself, Ash was certain he would survive the 1 year of studies and come out alive, without dying from heart attack at least.

"Alright let's go." Ash sat next to the driver seat and buckled up, feeling excited at the thought of moving out of his mom's house. Not that he loathed staying with his mother, he loved her more than anything but he finally gets to experience the life of a student before becoming a full fledged pokemon trainer. I mean how cool is that? His mother smiled at his enthusiastic mood and started the car, making their way towards Jubilife city.


"Are you sure you don't want me to wait? I can help you find a place to stay." His mother's voice of concern was loud and clear to his ear. He understood her concern over the lack of accommodations, but he didn't want to further burden his mother with his own problems. He was a grown man, he could handle this, no problem.

"It's fine mom, you have a meeting later right?" Delia scowled internally, not liking how Ash was using her career that she held dearly against her. That being said, her love for her son far outweighs any promising job advancement from her superior.

"Yeah but I will help you first."

"Alright, time to find a roommate." Dragging his luggage with one hand and using his other to hold to his PC contained in a box, he walked towards a nearby public noticeboard with his mother and browse through the pamphlets that were looking for a roommate. Akin to an adventurer browsing through generic quests in a tavern, Ash sighed when most of the requirements for a roommate were far out of his depth. They were either looking for a female roommate, the willingness to participate in underage drinking every night, or have an attractive personality and look, or all of the above.

And Ash didn't satisfy any of the requirements.

"Damn it, am I really gonna sleep outside?" His hopes of finding a decent accommodation was dashed, broken and in tatters. With the sun setting in the horizon, Ash realized how dire his situation was if he does not find a suitable housing for himself. He gave an irritated groan, wondering why he registered the school at the very last minute. He didn't want to rely on his school for an accommodation, knowing full well that the campus would take advantage of his desperate state and charge him with a higher rent. Bastards.

"Come on man." Scrolling through the noticed board in a dejected manner, his eyes perked up immediately when he saw a promising looking offer that might be too good to be true.

"We are two girls looking for a dormmate. Requirements, anyone is fine (but if you are a guy don't try anything funny), don't be an ass, help split the rent." Ash murmured the necessary requirements to himself, wondering if he should really try his luck. The details stated were put in a blunt and direct manner, which was good because Ash can appreciate brutal honesty.

'They are girls though, and I don't think they would accept me. Then again, they did went out of their way to specify that guys are okay as long as they don't try anything. Ah well what the hell, might as well give it a shot.' Ash scrolled through the details, yet he never found any mobile number or even an email. Instead, only the address of the apartment was written there which was a little concerning.

"Hmm maybe they don't want to leak their phone number to the public?" Deciding his luck, Ash walked towards the supposed address with his heavy luggage in hand along with Delia. It was fortunate that the apartment wasn't far from school itself, but that didn't mean the heavy luggage wasn't taking its toll on Ash's fragile and skinny body. Passing through the street lights and rows of trees that made the city more lively, Ash was enthralled by the beautiful scenery of the area and Delia also liked the scenery. He paused momentarily when he noticed address of the building matched the one from the pamphlet. It was a white apartment that has 5 floors, with a nice little balcony to boot.

"This is the place." It was a rather nice place, it wasn't a huge apartment by any means but it seemed cozy and spacious enough. With huge deep breaths, Ash and Delia entered the building and glanced around the empty receptionist desk. Akin to a Deerling in headlights, Ash stood in front of the receptionist desk and place his box on top of the desk. The lack of warm reception made Ash sighed, perhaps he should wait for the receptionist return to their desk. He scrolled through his social media feed in the mean time, waiting for anyone to show up and help him.

"Hello, can I help you young man?" A woman, seemingly the receptionist of the place spoke in a friendly manner as she emerged from the nearby washroom. She sat down on her chair and pulled it closer to the desk as she shot Ash a dazzling smile. Finally, some much needed help.

"Uh hi my name is Ash Ketchum and I'm here to look for Misty Waterflower and Dawn Berlitz?" The receptionist nodded and logged onto her computer to locate Ash's details.

"Ah I see, are you a student here?" She spoke while searching up on Ash, tapping on her keyboard with much precision and speed.

"Yeah I just enrolled and I need a place to stay. I saw on a noticeboard that these two girls were looking for a roommate, so I was wondering if I can talk to them." Upon seeing Ash's name in the system and the fact he was a student of Jubilife High School, the pretty receptionist knew that Ash was being honest with her. She reached for the landline phone and gave him a friendly smile that calm his shaky nerves.

"Sure, let me call them and ask them to come down so they can discuss the matter with you." Fantastic, finally a receptionist that is both helpful and polite. A rare combination in indeed.

"Thank you, uh would you mind if I put my PC here for the time being, it's kinda heavy." She nodded while waiting for the two students to pick up the phone.

"Sure no problem. My name is Solidad by the way." Ash nodded, feeling quite confident that the two girls would accept him as their roommate. Though deep down, he knew he would be absolutely screwed if the girls reject him. Not that girls rejecting him would be surprising anyway, the times where a girl had his hopes up were uncountable.

"Thanks, Solidad." Leaning towards the counter, Ash glanced around the office and found it neat and tidy like any generic office he seen on TV shows. As he marveled the lobby. his attention soon return to the receptionist when she started to speak.

"Hello Miss Waterflower? Yes it's me Solidad. There's someone named Ash Ketchum who is looking for an accommodation, and it just happens that he saw your- ah yes he is right here in the lobby. Alright, I will let him know, thanks." Ash's anxiety was building within him, what did she say? Did Miss Waterflower reject him despite not meeting him in person? Was this a bad idea? Should he look for some place else? Questions began to stack on top of questions, and Ash was feeling his confidence slowly fading away.

"Miss Waterflower and miss Berlitz would be down here shortly." Ash breathed sigh of relief, he seemed to pass the first test. He nodded to himself and stared at a nearby mirror, hoping that he looks presentable enough. Never in his wildest dream would Ash thought he gets to share a house with two girls, but maybe, just maybe he could achieve that impossible goal. Patiently, he waited for their arrival in the lobby.

The sound of a card being scanned and glass door opening startled Ash, he calmed himself down and saw two pretty girls walking towards him. One of them appears to be a redhead with green emerald eyes. She had waist length hair and boy shorts that revealed her long slender legs. The other girl had rich dark blue hair that flow to her waist, she wore a black tank top that hugged her figure tightly and a mini skirt that leaves little to the imagination.

All in all, they were hot babes and Ash knew it.

'There's no way these two are the ones.' He was certain that he used up all of his good luck on pulling gacha. But the way they were looking at him seemed to be a good indicator that they were looking for him.

"Hi are you Ash?" Oh god they are, Ash couldn't believe his luck. He calmed himself down almost immediately, his brain trying to shut down his hormones that begged him to do something stupid and awkward in front of two attractive girls.

"Uh yeah that's me. Are you Misty and Dawn?" The duo stared at Ash, almost as if they were staring right through his soul to evaluate whether he was a decent person or not. That or they were genuinely unimpressed with him already, the latter seemed more possible.

"Yeap, we heard you looking for a place to stay."

"Y-Yeah I had a friend who promised me a place, only to stood me off because of a girl."

"Aww that sucks, well we're looking for a roommate too. But if you try anything funny on Misty or me, I will cut your balls off." Admittedly Ash expected such threat, but to have a girl to say in such an intimidating and unfazed manner, it really did have an impact on him. In the corner of his eyes, he caught wind of Solidad giving an amused smile as she watched their conversation with great interest.

"My son is not like that." Delia said and glared at Misty and Dawn who balked at seeing Ash's mother glare at them as they were surprised and scared and then Misty and Dawn smiled nervously at Delia who then nooded at them admitting defeat.

"S-Sure, I promise I won't try anything funny." Although he was stuttering he words, he was sincere and serious with his promise. Ash has his own code of morality and values he follows wholeheartedly, not taking advantage of his roommates kindness and generosity happens to be one of them.

"What do you think Dawn? Do you think he's alright?" Dawn huh? So the redhead must be Misty.

"Hmm." This girl right here, ultimately decides whether Ash get to sleep with a roof above his head tonight. He silently prayed to Arceus that she says yes, but he knew that first impression are important. Hopefully he looked like a nice respectful person, rather than a sleazy creep.

"I think he's alright, we can always kick him out if he tries anything." Again, the threats against him were spoken in such a casual manner, it made Ash wondered if they have done this before. The redhead stared at him with judgmental eyes, her piercing emerald eyes seemed to scream danger and authority, causing him to back off slowly out of sheer fear.

"Well if you say so. Alright then, you're officially our roommate now Ash." The young teen shouted in joy internally, perhaps enrolling into this school was the best decision he ever made! He couldn't believe his luck, these girls were awfully nice to him despite meeting him for only 10 minutes. They did make their decision in a hasty fashion, so it did raise some questions from the young lad.

"Thank you so much, I promise that I will stay out of your hair as much as possible." That last part was true, he would probably spend most of his time being confined to his room, cursing at his teammates for being useless while munching on unhealthy cup ramen.

"Mhmm, I will hold you onto that." Misty slide the card onto the scanner and opened door, allowing Ash and Delia to enter. He set his foot into the elevator robotically, and felt his anxiety skyrocketed when the two girls stood next to him. With his eyes stared directly at the elevator door, Ash stood in perfect stillness, so much so you would have mistaken him for a log.

"So Ash where are you from?" Dawn broke the silence and stared at Ash with a bright smile, such infectious smile caused him to return the gesture without thinking. Immediately, Ash could tell Dawn was a bubbly and cheerful individual who loves to strike up a conversation with others. Which was concerning considering Ash wasn't really a people's person himself.

"I'm from Kanto actually, but I move to Sinnoh when I was 10 because of my mom's job." Dawn nodded in surprised, she turned to her best friend and poked her shoulders, grinning when she stared at her with an unamused expression.

"Oh, Misty is from Kanto too." Surprised by the revelation, Ash leaned forward and stared at Misty who nodded in agreement.

"Really? Which part?"

"Cerulean." The redhead spoke coolly, though Ash picked up that she was genuine interested in the conversation.

"Oh I heard that Cerulean is famous for its lakes." At the mention of the pride and joy of her hometown, Misty finally smiled and nodded, giving her attention to Ash every now and then.

"It is, pristine waters and majestic waterfalls, I really miss it." Missing home huh, it was a feeling Ash knew well enough. He too missed the lush rice fields of Pallet Town, watching the golden rays of the evening sunlight engulfing the paddy field in a bright shimmering glow.

Soon enough, the elevator stopped and its doors opened smoothly. Ash being the last one out, managed to escape the wrath of the elevator closing its doors in the nick of time. He held his luggage close to him and waited for Misty to unlock the door of his new apartment.

"Shoes off." What kind of psychopath wears their shoes in doors anyway? Why on earth was it necessary to tell others to take their shoes off before entering their house? Isn't it common knowledge? Still, Ash decided to humour her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Don't ma'am me." Dawn chuckled at their interaction and enter their dorm, smiling when Ash seemed amazed and pleased with the decorations. He looked around the rooms and could tell the rooms on the left was occupied, while the rooms on the right were as empty as his bank account.

"You're room is on the right." As he expected, he would be staying on the opposite side of them.

"Oh thanks."

"Unpack your things and come to the living room, we still have somethings we need to agree on." Does he need to sell his soul or something? A contract or agreement he needs to sign on? Why does she sound so serious and ominous?

"O-Okay." Nevertheless, Ash quickly walked to his newfound room and found it quite cozy. He was glad that the windows have binds on them, sparing him from buying the binds himself. There was even a neat study table that would be quickly transformed into his own personal gaming rig. Deciding to piece his PC together later, he unloaded his clothes and hang them on his wooden wardrobe that has a vintage vibe to it.

'Hmm I guess I can settle the rest later. My mom would help.' Delia soon started arranging Ash's belongings in the room and he walked back to the living room and saw the girls already sitting on the sofa, with Dawn reading a thick novel. Reluctantly, Ash sat on the other side of the sofa and waited for any of them to start the conversation.

"Ah you're done." Misty spoke while stirring her precious mug that had the sweet aroma of tea. She sat next to Dawn and passed on a document to Ash. Curiously, he took the paper and read through it, realizing that it was the agreement to splitting the rent. Surprisingly, the rent was evenly split between the three of them, Ash was more than prepared to be the one who has to pay more since he was the guy and the fact he was seeking refuge from them.

"Oh is that it?" He spoke slowly, raising the paper in his hand. He watched as Misty slowly sipped on her tea, giving him a slow nod.

"Yeap pretty much. Just sign it and we're done." He thoroughly go through the agreement one last time in case of any loop holes that might screw him over, knowing that he has to be careful once he is out on his own without his mother guidance. He read through the agreement 5 more times before signing it with a nearby pen and handed it back to Misty, who scanned the paper with her phone before placing it back on the glass table in front of her.

Seeing that Misty shifted her attention to her phone and the fact the conversation has ended, Ash too his cue and decided to return to his room.

"Well if there's nothing I'm gonna call my mom and let her know I found a place to stay." Misty turned towards Ash before snapping her fingers, seemingly remembered one last detail.

"Actually there is one more thing, Dawn and I like to take early showers, usually around 7 am. Just to let you know." Ash nodded in an understanding manner, knowing that he would had to give leeway to the girls who graciously took him in. Besides, the last thing he wants was to cause any unnecessary awkward situations to happen. He was not keen on being called a peeping tom by his roommates, his pride and reputation is on the line here.

"Also if you're bringing anyone back here, let us know beforehand." Dawn added on, snuggling onto the sofa pillow while reading her novel. Personally, Ash knew he would probably never bring in any friends up to the hostel, most of his time would probably be spent on grinding on game or binge watching the latest season of anime.

"Oh don't worry, I won't be bringing anyone back here." Misty raised her eyebrows, sitting upright in the process.

"You're a shut in aren't you." Ash gave Misty a deadpanned look, not liking the fact she was calling him out for who he is. At the very least, you can sugarcoat it right?

"Hey you don't have to call me out like that." The redhead before him chuckled as she placed her mug on the coaster, waving her hand off in a dismissive manner.

"No, no I don't meant it like that, it just that you should socialize with others. This is the perfect time to make friends and live out your life before we become adults you know?" Man why does she sound like his mom? As much as he liked to socialize and hang out with others, most of the people he knows are dicks. Apart from his friends such as Barry and Tracy, the rest of them were just assholes.

"Well I suppose, I'm talking to you two now, so that's already a huge step in my book." Dawn glanced at Misty, smiling in amusement before burying her nose back into her book.

"Mhmm, alright then. You enrolled into the trainer course? Or did you enroll into the other courses?" Ash nodded, thinking about the various course choices he had. Trainer, coordinator, performer, breeder and even acting school. There was a plethora of courses for young teens who are keen to work with the pokemon industry. For Ash, he applied into the standard pokemon trainer course.

"Yeap the standard trainer course, miss Erika is my homeroom teacher." The two girls before him blinked, giving each other a knowing smile before Misty crossed her arms, wondering if it was fate that they met each other.

"Really? Then we are classmates then." Roommates and classmates, what other English word in the dictionary ends with mates? Playmates? Soulmates? Alright maybe the last one was a bit too far.

"That's great then." Deciding to end the conversation there, Ash stood up and attempted to walk back to the sancturary and comfort of his room when Dawn piped in.

"You had dinner yet Ash?" She was concerned over whether he had dinner yet despite only meeting him for less than 30 minutes? Ash was truly surprised by how nice Dawn was. It may sound like something trivial to others, but to an anti-social dork like him, he appreciates her concern wholeheartedly.

"Not yet, I just plan to have cup noodles and call it a night." That spicy ramen he stock up was already waiting for him, crack open a can of soda and he was good for the night.

"Cup noodles already? Well Misty and I haven't eaten dinner yet, wanna join us?" Placing her novel down, Dawn took her phone and stood up next to Ash with her hand on her hip. The Kanto native glanced at her phone and could see a Kantonese style restaurant occupying the screen of her phone. His roommates were really nice despite their initial threats against him. To think they invite him for dinner already, maybe they were just using him to split the dinner bill? Surely that's the case right? No way that two hot girls that he just met would invite him to dinner with no ulterior motives. Ash had experienced a fair share of girls using him to do their bidding for them, it was humiliating just to think about it.

Still, he was very susceptible to nice offers.

"Uh sure."

"Alrighty then, we're going to nearby Yakiniku restaurant." Kantonese Barbeque is not exactly the most economical meal in the world, and Ash being a student with a tight budget is not keen on blowing his wallet away on the first week.

"Isn't Yakiniku expensive?" He lamented as Misty wore a fluffy looking light blue jacket around her, which admittedly did make her look cuter. Not that she wasn't, but she screamed more of the sexy tomboy type that can kick your ass than your typical cute neighbour next door.

"Nah its fairly cheap and we get a student discount as well. Unless you don't fancy it." Ash snorted, saying no to cheap yakiniku with a bunch of girls? Over his dead body.

"You kidding me? I love Yakiniku, it's barbeque with actual flavour." Misty smiled in amusement, crossing her arms under her breast while leaning forward with a teasing smile on her face.

"Spoken like a true Kantonese huh." Her body movement and teasing expression only drew a crimson red blush from Ash's face.


The sound of the meat being sizzled was music to Ash's ears, the juices overflowing from the slab of meat with the sweet onions being caramelized under the spell of the fire was mouthwatering to watch. Ash could almost taste the beef in his mouth yet he refrained from picking the pieces of meat as the two girls next to him was as eager as he was. Deciding to be nice to the girls who took him in, Ash volunteered to be in charge of grilling duty while the two girls just chatted away with each other.

"Alright, here you go." Ash's chopstick skills were second to none, picking up the meaty chunks with much precision and skill. He placed the different variety of cuts onto Dawn and Misty's respective plates, ignoring the fact that Dawn was posting a picture of their luxurious meal onto her social media account.

"Thanks Ash. How do you like the restaurant?" The boy in question looked around the restaurant, admiring the traditional decors plastered all over the wall, with pictures of the Kanto pokemon hanging on it. The bustling scene before him and the joyous sound of the other customers chatting and laughing really brought out the atmosphere of the place.

"I like it, it's small but it's really cozy. The prices are cheap too, so that makes it taste better."

"Glad you like it, Dawn and I often come here."

"Really? I can see why. There's a lot of students here too huh."

"Yeah it's kinda famous. This is the only Kantonese restaurant in Jubilife, so expect it to be packed." Ash nodded in realization, grilling the Shitake mushroom with the help of his chopsticks.

"Misty, Dawn!" As a loud voice shouted for his two respective roommates, Ash turned his attention towards the feminine voice and widened his eyes when a beautiful and dare he say well-endowed girl ran towards his two roommates. The girl in question quickly gave Misty and Dawn a tight embrace before jumping up and down to celebrate their joyful reunion. Misty laughed and return the hug back, rubbing the mysterious girl's back in the process before getting a good look on her.

"May! Arceus you look great in that." Indeed she did. The brunette wore an orange sleeveless jacket and a pair of biker shorts that hugged her figure tightly. Her blue eyes were comparable to the highest grade of sapphire that were crystal blue. She was truly a beauty with a boisterous energy, to which caused Ash to ponder how many hot girls were in enrolled in this school. Nevertheless, he decided to remain silent and not to draw any attention to him and kept those less than honorable thoughts to himself.

"Aww thanks, I was about to call you two to hang out when I saw you sitting here. You never get bored of Yakiniku huh."

"I mean, can you blame us?" Dawn placed her hands on Misty's shoulders and peered over her, staring at May with a cheeky grin.

"Say, you found your new roommate yet? Or are you still looking?" At the mention of him, Ash double down on consuming his food and chow down the slices of beef on his plate, dipping them in the salty sesame sauce before devouring them whole.

"Oh we found one, in fact he's right next to you." May followed Misty's finger and glanced at Ash who was now busy stuffing grilled enoki mushrooms in his mouth. Upon noticing that he was being the center of attention, Ash turned to May and wave a simple hello to her.

"Hi." May blinked before smiling politely, waving hello to him the process. It was obvious, that she did not expect some random stranger next to he to be their new roommate and to be honest, neither did Ash himself thought it was possible.

"Oh hello, sorry I didn't know you were Misty and Dawn's roommate." Ash waved her off, drinking his cold green tea in the process.

"No worries." Once Ash returned to grilling duty, May stepped next to Misty and leaned towards her ear, whispering to her to ensure Ash didn't hear their conversation.

"A guy huh?"

"We were desperate for someone to split the rent."

"I suspected as much." May crossed her arms, staring at Ash for the briefest of moments before a loud call to her name cause May to turn her head, waving the person to come over.

"Mine if Drew and I join you guys then?" Misty shrugged, she wasn't particularly keen on sharing a table with May's boyfriend. Personally for the young Waterflower, he never liked Drew for his snobbish and arrogant personality. What did May see in him was a mystery, but as her friend she was still supportive of their relationship.

"Sure, sure." Drew walked towards them over the sea of crowds and placed his arm around May's shoulders, he coolly greeted Misty and Dawn before promptly ignoring Ash. While it won't normally bother Ash, it did irked him that this guy only has his eyes on the two girls in front of him instead of his own girlfriend. Sure, look at them in the eye to exchange eye contact out of politeness, but stop looking at them with a lecherous grin on your face. At least keep that to yourself you know?

"Fancy seeing you girls here." Ash slowly shifted his away when Drew and May sat down next to Misty, with a complete disregard to his presence. He watched as the couple take his hard earned grilled meat and devouring it without a single care in the world, causing the young Ketchum to blink. Those pieces of meat were supposed to be for Dawn, now they just finished it like it was nothing.

Annoyed by their attitude and their lack of manners, Ash decided to not raise the issue to avoid any conflict with someone he barely knew when a sudden notification from Ash's phone caused him to switch his attention. He titled his head to aside when the message he received was from someone unknown.

Unknown number: Come sit next to me.

Ash Ketchum: Who are you?

Unknown number: It's me Dawn.

Ash peered his head over to Dawn who waved to him, signaling that indeed she was the one who texted him. Shrugging to himself, Ash took his utensils and drink and stood up, knocking Drew in the elbow in the process. Ignoring his blunder, he sat down next to Dawn who was busy grilling meat in front of her. Maybe she was looking someone to talk to because Misty was busy talking to May and Drew?

"How did you get my number?" Dawn savored the meat that melted in her mouth before turning to Ash, holding her phone up that had his details on it. Ash squinted his eyes, mildly annoyed that the picture of him seemed to be less than flattering.

"I checked your details on the school website before we came down to meet you." Ah that's a big brain move right there, but also frightening that others have access to your personal details. Privacy concerns aside, Ash was nonetheless quite surprised when Dawn texted him.

"That explains it, but why did you called me over?"

"Well I saw Drew eat the pile of beef slices you grilled, so I knew you were annoyed." Annoyed would be an understatement. Ash was horrified. Drew just committed a crime against humanity.

"Well he did finish the meat I grilled for you and Misty, so I'm a bit salty about it." Dawn sighed, and placed a grilled piece of enoki mushroom wrapped in bacon to Ash's plate, in an attempt to make him feel better.

"Its fine Ash, this is all you can eat though so don't worry." Receiving her offer in a grateful manner, Ash devoured the mushrooms in a hasty manner, trying his best to ignore the thick smoke that came from the grill before him.

"Yeah but still."

"Just ignore Drew, he's like that."

"What did that girl May see in him? He seemed like an ass." He lowered his voice to ensure the lovey dovey couple next to him doesn't hear their conversation.

"He is, but hey gotta support you girl friends you know?"

"I guess." With the conversation near its end, Dawn decided to start a new topic to keep the conversation going. She genuinely wanted to know more about her new roommate who seemed to be introverted in nature. That and she can get a general grasp on his personality and character.

"You said you moved to Sinnoh when you were 10, where did you stay?"

"Twinleaf." At the mention of her hometown, Dawn's eyes sparkled and shuffled closer to Ash, eager to hear more about what he has to say.

"Really? I'm from Twinleaf too." Oblivious to her sudden closeness, Ash stared at Dawn in a curious manner before placing his chopsticks on his relatively empty plate in a neat and tidy manner.

"I never seen you before though."

"That because you never go out." The smug look from Dawn's face made Ash sighed inwardly, man do they like to rub that fact in.

"You and Misty like taking shots are me huh."

"Heh, but seriously, which part of Twinleaf did you live in?"

"Eastside."

"Ah that explains it. I live in westside of Twinleaf, maybe that's why we never met each other." Westside of Twinleaf seemed like a mythical dreamland to Ash, a neighbourhood reserved for the rich and influential. So it was no doubt in Ash's mind that Dawn came from a wealthy family.

"Honestly, Twinleaf really reminds me of Pallet town, my hometown in Kanto. I think my mom was trying really hard to find a place in Sinnoh that looks similar to my hometown."

"That's nice of her, must be difficult to leave a country you live for your entire life huh." Ash thought about Dawn's words, was it really difficult to leave the place he called home for 10 years? The momentary train of thought didn't last long as he stared at Dawn with a rather serious expression.

"Not really, growing up I didn't have much friends in school. Most of my fondest memories are with my mom and of course video games. But wherever I go, as long as I'm with my mom, that's home to me." To say she was surprised by Ash words was an understatement, she didn't expect him to say something so lovely. For Dawn, she held her own mother dearly in her heart, which was why she was infuriated to no end when her other friends spoke their parents in such a negative manner despite their efforts to provide for them.

"That's really sweet Ash."

"Shut up." Dawn chuckled at Ash's embarrassed expression, liking the fact the guy next to her was just a reserved person who can engage in a conversation if approached.

"Seriously that's really heartwarming though, most of the people I talk to don't get along with their parents."

"Well we're in our supposed "rebellious phase" right? Give them some time and they will realize how much they love their parents." Dawn nodded, feeling reassured at Ash's words that most of her friends will come around sooner or later.

"True." Feeling someone tapping his shoulders, Ash turned around and saw Misty and May waving to them, egging for their attention.

"Dawn, Ash, Drew and I are going to a party. Do you guys want to join?" While this may be the perfect time build up social circles and relationships with new people and climb up the popularity ladder in his school so to speak, Ash was not feeling it. Besides, the prospect of gaming in his new room seems more tempting.

"Nah I'm good, you guys go ahead." Already expecting such as answer from Ash, May and Misty moved their attention to Dawn who felt the social pressure to hangout with them. Not that she hated hanging out with May, but to go to a party of a complete stranger? It was a bit sketchy.

"Alright, Dawn?" Misty's facial expression almost pleaded Dawn to say yes, to which caused the young blunette to sigh inwardly. All she wanted right now is to go back home, take a nice relaxing shower and maybe play a few hours of Pokemon Crossing before sleeping. Now those plans are dashed into smithereens, and an out of control party awaits her.

"Drew behaves badly with girls so do not go to his party." Delia said and glared at Drew who balked at Delia glaring at him and trying to stop Misty and Dawn from going to the party. May was sad to see Delia glaring at Drew and she looked at the floor.

"I am not going." Dawn said.

"Then I am also not going." Misty said.

"That is bad!" Misty stretched her limbs, feeling satisfied with the meal. Such action caused her midriff to be revealed, allowing Ash to get a quick peak of her smooth and soft skin. This caused Ash to internally smacked himself in the face, with the moral and virtuous side of his brain giving him a firm lecture over leering at your own roommate.

"Bye Ash, see you next time!" Waving good bye to May, Ash stared at his phone and looked at the time that read 8:17 PM. Which meant that it was still early in the night, and he had ample amount of time to binge through a few episodes of an anime or grind on Ruins of Geneva, a huge MMORPG game form his childhood. Taking one last gulp of his drink, Ash stood up and exited the restaurant with his hands in his pockets, feeling the frigid wind of the night chilling his bones.


"Barry make sure you taunt the boss and cycle between your stuns, Tracy and I would focus on the DPS. Yeah? No no, change your talents to pure tank, leave out the DPS part to me and Tracy. Alright make sure you don't tank the cursed flames or else you're screwed." Ash fervently tapped all of this hotkeys for his spells, casting a barrage of high damaging projectile to the boss while his teammate Barry seemed to be doing well on distracting the boss. His attempt to communicate with his teammates over Discord proved to be useful as the two less experienced players were doing remarkably well on their first rodeo.

"Barry do you have divine protection? Wait you do? Cast it on yourself when he boss drops to 50% HP, he's gonna go super saiyan soon. Yeah, there's two phases. Make sure you hide behind the pillars when he's breathing fire, it does a crap load of damage." Between Ash's instruction and the group's coordination skills, a grin rested on Ash's face when he launched his barrage of arrows onto the boss who had a slither of health left, killing it completely. With the excessive and overexaggerated death animation being played before their eyes, he smiled when Barry and Tracy started to cheer like their favorite football team has won the world cup.

"Nice job guys. You guys did great considering this is your first time. Yeah, see I told you guys this game is fun, its an old game but the developers still care for it, and it ain't pay to win. What? Yeah, I mean they recently reworked the graphics and the mechanics of the game, which is why I invited you guys. We can go for another raid if you all want." Ash then glanced at his phone which said 12:02 AM.

"Alright, I am going to sleep." Ash said and saw messages of goodbye and then Ash shut down his PC and went to his bed which was set up by Delia. Ash then lay on his bed and then saw that his mother, Delia was lying on a cloth which was placed on the floor.