POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Chapter 57 - Dawn and Kenny
In the main Team Vicious HQ, a dangerous place protected by fierce and embittered Pokemon, and by trigger-happy guardians, a sinister reunion was taking place, unbeknowst to the team of young heroes who had just witnessed the battle between Ash and Morty. The supreme leader of the criminal organization, the infamous Iron Masked Marauder, was now discussing with the latest ally to join his covenant, the cruel Grings Kodai. And the issues being discussed were not reassuring in the least...
"Very well, then... so, when are we going to do our young Sinnoh League champion in?" the corrupt businessman asked, toying with a pen he was keeping in his suit's pocket.
The Marauder raised one hand, asking him to be patient. "Let us not be so hasty. At the moment, the elimination of Ash Ketchum and his friends is not absolute priority." the masked felon answered. "For now, what we are trying to do is locate as many Legendary Pokemon as possible, and we have already obtained some results. We have already gotten the Flame Plate and the Steel Plate, and we even managed to contain and control a Deoxys that had been found by Team Rocket in Sevii Islands. At the moment, my agents are trying to locate more Legendaries and their whereabouts, in particular the so-called Regi Trio. We need those three to locate the fourth member of the group, Regigigas. To have him on our side will surely be the asset our organization needs."
Kodai nodded, annoyed by the fact that he had to wait before getting his revenge on Ash and his friends. Still, he knew it would be more convenient to him if he waited and saw how things would turn out. "Alright... that just means my men will immediately set out to look for the Regi Trio. We will find them soon enough, and they'll take us right to Regigigas." he answered, staring at his "ally" straight in his eyes.
The Marauder nodded as the door to his side slid open with a low hiss, and both criminal saw Hunter J walking in from the corridor, already equipped with some of her hi-tech gadgets. "We understand your impatience to even the score with Ash Ketchum. I bear a grudge towards the boy myself, ever since his intervention almost resulted in my own demise. But the opportunity for revenge will arrive, no doubt about it." she explained.
"Speaking of which, there is one thing I was curious about." Kodai said, turning to the grey-haired Pokemon poacher. "How was it that you survived the destruction of Team Galactic? I did hear that your aircraft had been shot down with you inside-"
"I was almost a goner, I will admit that." Hunter J muttered angrily. "I was just barely able to get to a nearby lifeboat and shelter myself in there. By sheer luck, my lifeboat survived relatively intact when my aircraft was destroyed, and I was able to climb out of it and make myself scarce before anyone could locate me." She shook her head. "But none of that matters now. What matters is, our informants in Johto are about to get in position, and the trap for Ho-Oh will be sprung soon enough. As for Lugia, it will take a little bit longer, but we do know of a potential ally that will aid us in capturing him."
"Excellent." Kodai answered with a grin. "As for what concerns Celebi and the Legendary Beasts of Johto... do we have news about them as well?"
"We still haven't found much on Celebi." J answered. "We are trying to track down Suicune, Entei and Raikou, but it's not exactly easy, even with our technologies. Anyway, we are confident that it is just a matter of time before they fall in our hands as well."
The Marauder stroke the short beard hanging from his chin. "This is great news, Miss J. We are making some tangible progress." he affirmed. "Keep this up, and do not neglect Hoenn. It's been a while ever since Groudon and Kyogre have been aroused, but I'm pretty sure all we need to do is give them the right incentive to wake up!"
"Do not worry about that. We already have an idea of what to do about them." the Pokemon poacher answered. "As for what concerns minor matters, our agent Damien asked for permission to carry out independent action against... an unspecified target. He only asks for a few men, and to be able to bring his Togetic - which I suspect to be a Togekiss by now - with him."
The Marauder seemed a little surprised by this request, but decided he might as well grant it. "I have no objection to that. But warn him tht I will not allow his whims to get in the way of our plans. He'd better bring results, or else I will not be lenient."
"It will be done." J said, bowing slightly before disappearing behind the sliding doors once again, leaving both the Marauder and Kodai alone in the room.
"I see that some of your man lack some discipline, huh?" Kodai asked arcastically.
The Marauder did not take the bait, and simply shrugged. "Agent Damien recently achieved a rather important success in an operation, which allowed us to get the Steel Plate. I would have rather captured Heatran, but the Plate is more than enough for the last part of our project." he explained. "But back to the plan, Mr. Kodai. The Hoenn Legendaries, as you've heard, are still beyond our reach. But we have found hints regarding the location ofanother Legendary Pokemon, one that will surely be a huge asset to us!"
"That does sound interesting." Kodai said, sharpening his ears. "And what Legendary Pokemon are we talking about, exactly?"
The Marauder smirked once again. "I am talking about a really unique Pokemon... Mewtwo, the first Legendary Pokemon to have ever been created by human hands!"
oooooooooo
Pallet Town, just another morning.
"Yaaaawn... oh, boy, it's seven o'clock in the morning already..." the blue-haired girl murmured, stifling a yawn. "I hardly slept nothing... Ow! And how is it that my legs are aching once again?"
Dawn rubbed her face with her hand as the early sunrays filtered through the window in the Ketchum household's guest room. It had not been a good night for her... two things had kept her from getting much sleep. First, the pain in her legs that had subsided over the weeks had flared up once again the day right after her casts had been reduced, and Dawn felt some short but annoying pangs of pain in the places where the fractures were knitting themselves together.
Second... well, that was more of a personal matter, about a certain someone that was very close to her and to whom she had decided to speak to as soon as she could. Indeed, the first thing she had resolved to do on that day was to speak with Kenny, and hope not to make a fool out of herself...
Well, time to get up at last. She and the rest of her friends from Sinnoh were going to practice with their Pokemon once again, after all.
"Hello, honey! Good morning!" her mom's voice was heard, just a moment before the former coordinator entered the small room to greet her daughter for theday. Dawn rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed, waving as cheerfully as she could.
"Hi, Mom! How are you doing?" she asked, trying to get herself in a comfortable position.
Johanna, as the attentive mom she was, immediately noticed that her daughter appeared to be a little drowzy yet. "Well, I've had a good night's sleep, for my part... what about you? To be honest... you don't look like you've slept much."
"Well..." Dawn started. Deciding it might have been a good idea to ask for her Mom's advice, the blue-haired preteen combed her hair back and cleared her voice. "Well... to be honest, you're right, I couldn't get much sleep tonight. Fact is, erm... well..."
"Yes, sweetie? Go on and tell me..." Johanna encouraged her.
"Boy, this is harder to say than I thought..." Dawn thought, feeling a familiar blush rising to her cheeks. Trying to buy herself some time, the blue-haired girl rubbed the back of her head and looked at her casted legs, which were now placed upon a couple of pillows. "It's no big deal, really... It's just that my legs have started aching once again, and... well, that's pretty much it, I had some trouble sleeping because of that. But it's nothing serious, Mom, really. I will probably just have to take an aspirin, and I'll be okay!"
"Oh... I'm sorry about that, Dawn... see, it's because your leg bones have only just healed, and your leg muscles must get used to moving once again, after you've been staying put for such a long time." Johanna answered... though she realized pretty soon that Dawn was trying to cover what she truly wanted to say. "Anyway... are you sure that's all you needed to say? Isn't there... something else you'd like to tell me?"
Dawn sweatdropped. "Was... that so o bvious, Mom?"
"Let's just say, you aren't very good at hiding things, sweetheart... in the end, you can't keep what you really feel off your face!" Johanna gently answered, sitting besides her daughter's bed. "Anyway... if you want to tell me about that, I'm ready to listen to you. And maybe I can even give you a few pointers!"
"Thanks, Mom..." Dawn answered, trying to find the right words. After thinking about it for a few seconds, the blue-haired girl was finally able to put it into words. "Alright, Mom, let's put it this way. There's a person you care about that you've known for the longest time... but in time, you are starting to feel something more than just friendship, if you know what I mean."
"Of course I do, my dear! I've been your age too, after all!" Johanna sagely answered as she winked at her daughter. When Dawn rubbed the back of her head again, now unable to further hide the red tint on her face, Johanna sighed and ruffled her hair, further messing it up. "Anyway, I'd try to talk to him first... I'd try and understand whether he feels the same about you, just to know what you can expect."
"Hmm..." Dawn thought for a moment, then turned to her mom and smiled radiantly. "Alright, Mom... I'll try and do as you say! I just hope I'm not going to make a dunce of myself!"
"I know you won't, dear!" Johanna answered as she brought Dawn's wheelchair closer to the bed. "Alright, dear, let's go downstairs now. I believe you'll still do some training with Kenny and Zoey, right?"
"Oh, that's for sure!" the young girl readily answered as her Mom helped her shift from the bed to the wheelchair, placing her legs upon the props before wheeling her towards the living room...
oooooooooo
Right after Dawn had finished breakfast, she had met with Kenny and Zoey in Pallet Town's main square, like they had taken the habit of doing in order to go train together on the outskirts of the cozy country village. That day promised to be a particularly beauiful one, with a warm springtime sun that made it comfortable to stay outdoors. One couldn't have picked a better day for a nice walk outside, and in fact, all three Sinnoh coordinators were eager to start, Kenny in particular.
"I'm really in the mood for pulling off some spectacular combination with Empoleon and Alakazam... and I've got some pretty good ideas as to what too!" the young marroon-haired boy said enthusiastically as he looked to the hills in the distance. Dawn giggled in amusement at his excitement, then took a deep breath and tried to think of how to start talking to him about what she had had in mind for a while. She hoped that, even in the worst case scenario, the two of them would remain friends. Dawn had never been in a similar situation, and she hoped she would say the right thing at the right time...
"Well... I do have some ideas for Mamoswine and Ambipom as well! It's been a while since they last took part in a competition, and I'd love to try something new with them as well!" the young girl answered, hoping some conversation would help her with her embarassment. "So, everyone... shall we go? The sooner we start... the more we can train our Pokemon, right?"
"You've gotten more perky ever since you got your casts reduced, Dawn." Zoey noted, nodding to her blue-haired friend. "Anyway, you're right, I don't like wasting time myself. You want more to push your wheelchair a bit, Dawn?"
"Actually, I would like to ask that to Kenny, if you guys don't mind that is..." Dawn answered, scratching her cheek in embarassment. Piplup, sitting in his trainer's lap, chirped something in understanding.
"Piplup, pip!" the cute blue penguin exclaimed, giving Kenny a glance as if inviting him to accept. Dawn felt a pang of excitement and trepidation at the idea. This was probably her best chance to start talking to her childhood friend, and start breaking the news to him...
Still, it seemed to work, since Kenny himself noticeably perked up at that. "No need for you to ask that, Dee-Dee... I'm more than willing to do it!" he answered. Dawn chuckled nervously to herself - she hoped he would not get too pumped up.
"Thanks, Kenny..." the bluenette answered. "And... um... say, in a later moment, when we are taking a break perhaps... there is something I would like to discuss with you. Do you... think it'd be possible? It's something... I would like to discuss with you, just the two of us, okay?"
The young boy blinked, both in surprise and in worry. He seemed to already have half a mind what his childhood friend wanted to speak about, and he wasn't sure whether he should be happy or anxious about it. Still, it was a favor his childhood friend was asking, and he wasn't about to refuse. So, after a moment of hesitation, Kenny rubbed the back of his head and nodded. "Yeah, no problem at all, Dee-Dee. Whatever... whatever it is you want to talk to me about, you know I'm always there for you."
Dawn sighed, feeling herself blush a little. "Thanks a bunch, Kenny!" she answered. Zoey gave the younger trainers a knowing look, halready having her idea about what they were about to discuss...
"Well, looks like I should not get involved this time." the redheaded coordinator said to herself. "Whatever it is, it will be something pretty important for them. I don't want to come across as a busybody this time."
oooooooooo
That afternoon, the three friends from Sinnoh had gotten to the place near the river they used almost every day to train together, and all of them had their Pokemon sent out: Alakazam and Empoleon for Kenny, Mamoswine and Pachirisu for Dawn, while Zoey had picked her Ninetales and her trademark Glameow. The training was in full swing, and Kenny had just using a combination of moves that had surprised both girls quite a bit: first, the young trainer had asked his Empoleon to use an Aqua Jet attack, and the steel-skinned penguin had tossed several small but speedy water blasts that had left a watery track on the ground. Then, before the Aqua Jet could fade, Kenny had given another order to his Psychic-type...
"Now, Alakazam! Use Kinesis on Empoleon's Aqua Jet!"
"Alakaaaa-zam!" the Psi Pokemon answered, pointing one of his spoons towards the water stream. With a single thought, Alakazam focused his telekinetic powers on the Aqua Jet so as to change its trajectory... and the water stream split in two smaller jets that sped in two opposite directions, and then converged again! Under Dawn and Zoey's eyes, the Aqua Jet drew a spectacular "figure eight" that would have been truly fitting for a line skating competition, but Kenny was not done yet...
"And now... Empoleon, use Bubble Beam!" he ordered. The Emperor Pokemon took a deep breath and shot out a furious barrage of water bubbles shimmering in rainbow colors, following the zig-zagging trails of the twin Aqua Jets. The effects were truly wondrous: as soon as the bubbles met the water streams, they exploded in a beautiful pattern of blue, red and green lights that scattered in the air, staying aloft for a few moments and creating a beautiful refraction effect before dissolving in a cloud of steam, followed by an applause from the impressed Dawn and Zoey.
"Congratulations, Kenny! That was quite a clever way of combining Empoleon and Alakazam's attacks!" Dawn cheered. The penguin-like Pokemon stood up and bowed elegantly, while Alakazam stood there stoically... and Kenny grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
"I just followed Miss Jasmine's teachings!" he answered. "She was the one who set me on the right way, and to show me that I was focusing too much on my Pokemon's strength... a move like Kinesis, on the other hand, may not be very useful in a fight, but it sure can make the difference in a competition!"
"True enough." Zoey confirmed. "And to think I was so critical of those who did both contests and Gym matches... I'd like to think I've changed my mind about that, just a little!"
"Yeah, but Nando could probably have stood to listen to your advice!" Dawn joked. "He didn't get that far in the Sinnoh Championship!"
"That's true! He sure did a great job in the contest against you, Zoey, but Ash quickly put a stop to him!" Kenny continued
The three of them laughed heartily at that. "Okay, okay, I guess not everyone can do both things after all!" Zoey joked as she petted her Glameow, who purred in satisfaction and rubbed her head on Zoey's hand. "So, what do you say, guys? We still have quite a lot of time on hand. Wanna take a break?"
"Fine by us!" Dawn answered after exchanging a knowing glance with Kenny. This could be the right moment to tell Kenny what she needed to... "But first... can we do some more training? I'd like to try out a combination I've thought up for Mamoswine and Pachirisu!"
"Pachi!" the electric squirrel exclaimed, speedily climbing on the massive boar's back, who nodded his great tusked head in a gesture of assent...
oooooooooo
About twenty minutes, several acrobatics and light shows later, both Pokemon and trainers were beginning to tire out, and Zoey's suggestion to take a break started to look all the more appealing. The red-headed coordinator rotated her shoulders, looking a little tired herself.
"Phew... man, I had no idea time had flown by so quickly." she stated. "I think this is the right time to take a break... actually, I think it would be a good idea if I went to the river to fill up our canteens. Do you guys need water?"
Kenny took a look at his own canteen and then gave it to Zoey. "Well... I kinda do, in fact." he said, as Dawn did the same thing.
"I'm not out of water... but almost so." the blue-haired pre-teen answered. Zoey took their canteens and nodded, while giving Dawn a quick wink to tell her that this was her chance.
"Alright. I'm gonna take a few minutes at most." the older girl said. "You guys and your Pokemon, take a seat in the shade and get rested. If you want to continue when I'm back, I'm all for it!"
"Thanks, Zoey!" the younger coordinators answered at the same time, as Zoey waved at them and began making her way towards the river, her Gallade and her Mismagius following her shortly after. Kenny and Dawn recalled their Pokemon, and then placed themselves under a nearby tree, in order to relax in a somewhat cooler place.
"Phew... it was getting pretty warm, huh?" Kenny said, fanning himself with his own shirt. Then, she took a deep breath and gulped, knowing it was the right time to discuss with Dawn about the issue she had spoken of... "Well... here we are, Dee-Dee! So... what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Dawn bristled a bit. "I'd rather not start this with you calling me that... but whatever, I guess." she said, rolling her eyes. She had resigned herself to the fact that she was probably going to keep that nickname for the rest of her life.
After getting mentally prepared for what she was going to do, Dawn wheeled herself towards her childhood friend, who sat down on a rock in order to look at her straight in the eyes. Dawn's Piplup happily skipped after his trainer, who bent down a bit and gathered the cute blue penguin in her lap.
A brief moment of silence feel between the two childhood friends, and Piplup looked to one, and then the other, as if asking himself what they were waiting for in order to start talking. They seemed like they had stumbled upon their own words... and finally, after several moments of hesitation, Dawn cleared her voice. "Alright... say, Kenny... can I ask you something first?"
The young boy nodded calmly. "Of course, Dee-Dee. What... erm... what is it?"
Dawn took on a funny expression of embarassment. "Could you... help me a bit? I... would like to get off this wheelchair for a bit and sit on the field. Could you... help me with that?"
"Piplup!" the blue penguin answered, rolling his eyes.
Kenny, for his part, blinked in perplexity. "Hmm? Dee-Dee, you sure about that?" he said, taking a look at the casts on Dawn's lower legs. "I mean, I'm no medic, but... don't you think your bones might be still a little frail? You... wouldn't want to waste a whole month of recovery, after all."
"You're right about that..." Dawn admitted with a wince. "But... well, I suppose nothing will happen if we're careful, right? And to be honest... I'm pretty fed up with being stuck here. Can we at least try? Come oooon..."
Dawn ended her sentence by glancing up at Kenny... and the young boy found himself facing the most powerful persuasion tool a girl could count on - the ever-reliable puppy dog eyes!
"Oh, man..." Kenny murmured, blushing a bit himself. "Well... Okay, Dawn, I think we can at least try! Alright, you and Piplup hold tight, I'll try to lift you up..."
Taking great care not to hurt Dawn, Kenny tried to pick her up, placing a hand on her back and one arm under her knees; then, he slowly lifted her, allowing her to dismount her wheelchair. Dawn winced a bit as the pain in her legs spiked up for a brief moment, and for a moment she was afraid of being too heavy for Kenny to lift... but luckily, it didn't last long before Kenny gently placed her to sit on a large flat stone that could serve well as a seat. Taking great care, Kenny sat his friend down on the rock and allowed her to place her casted legs on the grass. "Phew... I think this will do! You feeling okay, Dee-Dee?"
"Yeah, I'm fine..." she said, shuffling a bit on her improvised seat and allowing Piplup to sit more comfortably as well. The feeling of sitting on the ground, with the warm sun bearing down on her, and the grass blades tickling her bare toes, was truly priceless. The only problem was the pain in her left leg, still throbbing a bit... "Ow... aside from my left leg aching again... that was the one that was broken more badly..."
Piplup took action immediately and breathed a soothing cold gust on his trainer's leg... but what really surprised her was seeing a rather worried Kenny placing himself right in front of her, carefully taking her left leg and placing it on his lap. Then, he began massaging the places where she was hurting, so as to relax the leg muscles and ease the pain.
"Kenny?" Dawn asked, a little surprised by how anxious the young boy seemed. She knew he had a crush on her, but to see him so worried was something else. Piplup himself turned to him and looked at him in curiosity.
Kenny blushed a bit, surprised at his own boldness. "W-well... since your leg was hurting, I thought it'd be nice if I tried to help with that..." he said with an embarassed smile. "I... I hope this is okay..."
The blue-haired coordinator closed her eyes and relaxed, hugging her Piplup. She had to admit, Kenny was pretty good at this. "Thank you, Kenny... I feel better already, but if you can continue... I'd really love that!"
"Oh, of course!" he answered with a nervous chuckle as he kept massaging Dawn's leg, and Piplup made himself comfortable on his trainer's lap. Kenny kept massaging Dawn's legs, switching to the right one for a few moments... and the bluenette stood there, enjoying the moment.
Still, the girl was not about to take advantage of Kenny's kindness for too long, and decided that a couple minutes were more than enough. "Thank you, Kenny, that was really nice of you." she stated with a gentle smile. "My legs aren't hurting any more, really!"
Kenny gingerly placed Dawn's plastered leg on the soft grass. "It's okay, Dee-Dee. No sweat at all." he answered kindly. "If you need anything... you know you just have to ask me."
Dawn and Piplup sighed in unison, as the girl tried to think about what else she should say before silence fell between the two of them once again. It was quite an unusual feeling for her... but she tried to tell herself that she could gather the courage necessary to reveal her own feelings to Kenny, for crying out loud!
It had been something subtle, at first. What she used to feel for Kenny was camaraderie, sympathy and, she had to admit, even admiration for the bravery and the convinction he was able to show in several occasions - such as, when he had challenged Ash right after his victory against Volkner, even though he had been defeated quickly enough.
But now, Dawn was convinced that she was feeling something more for her childhood friend. His gutsy nature, how he always tried to be there for her, even when she joked and taunted her about something... and now, in this period where she had been confined to that wheelchair, Dawn was sure that this feeling had turned into something more. Could that be considered her first crush?
In the end, Dawn decided she might as well take her chances. "Alright... I'm doing this! And if it doesn't work out... well, that won't be the first time things don't go the way I'd like. I'm not the crybaby I once was, after all!"
"Yeah, Kenny... there was something I needed to discuss with you, anyway..." the girl ventured, looking at the ground first, and then at her childhood friend, who seemed to be quite unsure of what to expect. When Kenny nodded for her to go on, Dawn cleared her voice and continued. "Well, I guess it has been some time since it started... but it's only been recently that I've truly started to understand it. You... well... you are a brave boy, and you're also kind, and I like hanging out with you... yes, there's the matter of that silly nickname, but it's not like I can't get over it... and we have quite a few things in common, I might add..."
Kenny did not interrupt and motioned for her to go on... and Dawn decided this was the right moment to spit it out. "Well... the truth is, Kenny, I like you!" she said in a single sentence, almost as if she feared to trip up on her own words. The girl felt her heart skip a beat when she realized that she had just said it, her face turned a deep shade of pink, and she stood in silence, waiting for Kenny's answer.
And the answer seemed to be late in coming, too. In front of that confession, Kenny had simply remained stunned, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes turning into black dots. It took almost a whole minute before he regained enough presence of spirit to speak... and when he did, he still found it hard to form meaningful sentences!
"Wh... Wh... What do you... Dee-Dee... you... you actually... I mean... it's not that... well... you... er... really... really... like me? I... I mean... You like me... 'like' me, or... you mean... er... you know..." he began rambling, causing the bluenette and her Piplup to look at him in confusion and worry. Finally, after what seemed like a whole five minutes of hemming and hawing, Kenny managed to calm down just enough to speak coherently! "Did... did I hear right, Dawn? You... you actually... like me? Really? You're not messing with me, right?"
"Hey! You know I would never joke on that!" Dawn exclaimed, placing her hands on Kenny's shoulders as to calm him down. Kenny halted, looking like he was about to hyperventilate... and after a while, he finally managed to take a deep breath and relax. "I mean, back in Sunyshore Town, you did challenge Ash because you were afraid he was about to steal me away from you, right? You did that... partly because you were hoping for me to give you a definite answer, right?"
Kenny blushed and turned away just a little... to which Dawn smiled and inched closer to him. "Well, now you do have my answer. Yes, Kenny, I do like you. I mean it. Really, we've been together for as long as I can remember, and I really don't see why I wouldn't like someone like you."
"Well... to be honest, Dawn, that's the same for me! You're such a sweet and sensitive person... you always give it your all, and you care about everyone. And just as you said, we have several things in common, so... well, that's what caused me to grow to like you... in that way as well! I was... I was not sure whether you liked me back, after I made a fool of myself back in Sunyshore..." Kenny answered in deep embarassment.
Feeling both elated and confused, Dawn hugged her Piplup with one arm, and her other hand gripped the hem of her pink skirt. "You... you really didn't, Kenny, you actually looked pretty cool there! Well... I... I liked that you went that far for me, and now... ugh, listen to me, rambling on and on! I think I'm making a mess of this!"
"Well..." Kenny continued, trying to keep his cool and doing a somewhat better job at it now, even though his face was just as flushed as his childhood friend's. "In any event... you did help me not making a mess of it!"
After taking a deep breath, the young boy brought his face closer to Dawn's, who gulped in an attempt to calm her nerves, and got closer herself...
And just then, in that warm afternoon, Dawn and Kenny had their first kiss.
It was brief, since they were still young and inexperienced... and yet it was exciting enough to have them both on cloud nine!
They separated slowy, embarassed but happy, and Dawn brought two fingers to her lip, her eyes watering with emotion. Rarely had they felt such a rush of emotion in their lives... for Dawn, it was probably only after she had won the Grand Festival! And yet, this feeling was different... in some ways, it was even more fulfilling and exciting...
"Thank you, Kenny..." she finally said, her eyes locked into those of her childhood friend. "I... really don't know what to say! Thank you so much... I love you."
Kenny smiled warmly at her, putting an hand on her shoulder. "It's... it's oky, Dawn, really! And... well... I didn't do much, really, I just... well... said what was in my heart." he affirmed. The two pre-teens stared at each other warmly for a while yet, before Kenny finally turned on his cheeky grin once again! "Of course... that means you won't get annoyed if I call you Dee-Dee any more, right? Hehee..."
Dawn took off her hat and playfully smacked Kenny with it. "Buffoon..." she said in a fake offended voice. The two children shared a quick laugh about it before approaching each other once again...
...and this time, they were interrupted by a splash of cold water that Piplup had suddenly sprayed in Kenny's face, catching him off guard and slightly forcing him away from Dawn as he tried to wipe the cold water off his soaked face!
"Piplup! That was not nice!" Dawn repriminded her starter Pokemon... who answered by turning to her and make a pacifying gesture with one of his wings.
"Piplup, piplup! Piplup pip, lup!" the cute penguin-like Pokemon chirped... then, he looked at the surprised Kenny with the hawkish stare of an inquisitor, and finally went back to Dawn, his wings crossed proudly on his chest! "Piplup!" he exclaimed, nodding his short beak.
A stupefied Dawn blinked and stood in silence for a few moments... and then laughed heartily!
"Hahahahaaaa! I see, Piplup, I see! Thanks for the thoughts, anyway!" she exclaimed, stroking her starter Pokemon on the head. She then turned to Kenny, explaining what the Water-type Pokemon was saying. "Piplup wanted you to wait for his permission before you kissed me again! And, well, he said yes! I think this is not an issue any more!"
Seeing the funny side of the situation, Kenny gave an amused laugh as well. "Oh? Then I guess I should feel privileged!" he commented, before laughing along with his newly minted girlfriend!
Some distance away, Zoey and her Pokemon stood in silence, and the red-haired girl nodded in satisfaction, a pleased smile on her face.
"Just as I thought. All they needed was a chance to clear up their own feelings." Zoey commented. "What can I say, this has been quite the day... for both of them!"
"Glameow!" her Glameow exclaimed in approval.
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Note: Well, again, I must apologize. I haven't abandoned this story, but I've had many things to take care of, and I ended up not being able to make any progress here. That, and just when I was about to update, my Internet connection randomly decided to stop working, sending me into a rage.
Hopefully this is the final delay, and the new chapters won't take that long to be published, but I really cannot make promises on that.
In any case, Penguinshipping is the pairing that gets estabilished first, and I hope I did a decent job at that! I will get to work on next chapter as soon as I can... and hopefully, it wont take that long to update.
Thank you, all those who are still sticking with me. Please, leave a review if you'd like.