I'm back everybody with another chapter to this sweet and fluffy mini-pearlshipping story.
I was frankly surprised at the amount of feedback it got, that reminds me. I said I would give you guys some review responses.
Guest: Well that's how I roll, you can never really know what's coming when it comes to my stories.
Unknown: Whoa dude watch your language, though I am glad you enjoyed the last chapter, hopefully this one doesn't disappoint.
Espeon44: Nice to know I wrote a good first chapter. Hopefully I wrote a second chapter that's just as good.
Guest 2: I don't know what you mean by 'Ding'.
Miami: I'm sure she will, let's keep hoping.
Halo Ash: You're fine, we all need a good place to rant every now and then. If they actually do make Ash release Goodra I'm going to lose a good portion of my respect for them. It's like they don't even listen to us(even if we're the ones keeping them in business).
DawnForever101: Well you'll just have to wait and read the chapter, yeah and you're not alone I have nothing against Serena, I just prefer Dawn over her. Will she be jealous? I don't know, well I do I just won't say. You'll have to find out for yourself, yep I'm just that evil. Runs in the family doesn't it sis?
LightRayPearlShipper: It's nice to see that my stories always carry something unique about them, and I have no idea why, but something about your review put me in the mood for Frozen song parodies.
Death Anger Reaper: Another one? Oh so you're a fan of more than one of my stories, that is very good to know.
Mysterio: I plan on continuing it for a few more chapters, but then sadly this story will have to come to an end.
Pearlshippingforever: Don't worry I plan too, but like I said it'll only be a few chapters long.
Sdarkynecro: And I have many more stories I'm currently working on and even more that aren't published, I'm a library just waiting for its next shipment of inspiration.
XxThatonegurlxX: Well hopefully this chapter makes the wait worth it.
SamanthaPearlzz: I'm glad you enjoy my work as much as you do, if only the anime creators listened to us. And technically they weren't talking about the same person directly, Ash didn't know he was talking about Dawn whenever he was referencing to Dusk's kid.
Well now that the long incredibly boring stuff is out of the way, let's get to the chapter shall we.
I don't own Pokémon, but oh the things I would do if I did.
-*X*x*X*-
"C'mon, c'mon… pick up," Ash said as he stood in front of the video phone. Pikachu was on his shoulder, a few rings later a familiar face came onto the video phone. "Mrs. Berlitz."
"Ash, is that you? How many times must I tell you to call me Johanna?" Johanna phone asked, "Arceus this is a pleasant surprise."
"Yeah it is," Ash said.
"Well anyway is there a reason why you are calling, are you looking for Dawn?" she asked and Ash felt his cheeks heat up a bit.
"Yeah actually I am," Ash said, "do you know where she is?" he asked.
Johanna thought for a minute, "Last time I checked with her she was on her way to winning her fifth ribbon in the Hoenn Contest Circuit." She said, "I don't know where she is now, but she's going to come back home next week, it is her birthday after all." She said, that sure caught Ash's attention.
"Really?" Ash said.
"Yes," she said, "You know if you're not busy, maybe you could come by, I told Dawn I'd have a big surprise waiting for her, the surprise would be even bigger if you were there." She said. If ash could describe this situation in one word, it would be 'serendipitous'.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu said in an enthusiastic voice. Ash looked at him, and then he looked back at the screen.
"Yeah Pikachu that sounds like a great idea," Ash said, "We'd love to come."
"You're going where?" Bonnie asked when Ash told them his plan.
"I'm going to take some time off my journey so visit an good friend in Sinnoh." Ash said.
"Why?" Serena asked, "What's wrong with Kalos?" she asked.
"Nothing, just had a lot on my mind," Ash said, "besides it's been a while since I've been to Sinnoh." Ash wasn't sure if it was a good idea to share that he was going for somebody's birthday.
"Can we come?" Bonnie asked, Ash was about to answer, but Clemont jumped in.
"Bonnie you're not old enough to travel to a different region, besides Mom and Dad need us to stay here." Clemont said.
"Aw," she pouted before crossing her arms, "you're no fun." She muttered.
Ash chuckled before looking at the honey-blonde, "What about you Serena? I'd think you'd like Sinnoh." Pikachu wasn't so sure that was a good idea.
"Sure I'd love to," Serena said. "I'd like to meet this good friend of yours." Serena was praying to Arceus that this friend wasn't a girl.
Meanwhile
In the Contest Hall in Purika City a certain blunette was getting ready for another contest, but there was one tiny little problem… she couldn't get her hair perfect, it was filled with static and just wasn't cooperating with her. Dawn ran the brush through her hair, but it just didn't seem to be working.
Dawn sighed, "I really need to keep Pachirisu calm when I hug her." she muttered.
"Perhaps I could be a bit of assistance," a voice said behind her.
Dawn turned around to look at her traveling companion, he was a boy about a year older than she was. His sandy blonde hair was slightly messy and unkempt, but it seemed to fit him. He had sapphire blue eyes similar to Dawn's, but they held a different glint to them. They were more adventurous, and had a silly prankster feel to them. His skin was slightly pale and similar to Dawn's skin tone.
He was wearing a thin crimson red plaid shirt with a black collar and the sleeves rolled up to reveal that the inside of the plaid shirt was black, he was wearing it over a white V-neck shirt with vertical grey stripes, black jeans, brown boots and a fedora the same color of his plaid shirt with a white ribbon wrapping around it over his hair. Resting on the fedora were a pair of white rimmed shades with caramel brown lenses. On his left wrist was a grey Mega Ring. On his shoulder was a Pachirisu but while most Pachirisu have blue stripes, this one had pink stripes.
"Taylor, no offense," Dawn started to say, "but you're no PokéStylist." She said.
Taylor's hand went to his chest, "You wound me with your words," he said in a voice that couldn't help but make Dawn smile and giggle a little, Taylor gave a slight chuckle, "Don't worry, I'm not going to directly style your hair, Aira will just make it a little easier to work with." He said and in response to his words a small Pokémon leapt up from her perch on Taylor's shoulder and ran up to Dawn. She placed and paw against her hair and all the static seem to just fade away.
Dawn gasped and ran the brush through her hair again, her hair was cooperative again. "Taylor you're a life saver." She said almost running up and hugged Taylor tightly.
"No… problem, Volt Absorb comes in handy at a time like this," Taylor said between breaths, "Dawn… choking… not breathing." Dawn realized she was hugging him too tightly.
"Oh sorry," she said pulling away and Taylor took in a few deep breathes.
"Okay, I'm going to leave so you can finish getting ready and to lower the chance of me being suffocated again." Taylor said and Aira climbed back onto his shoulder and he started to walk out of the room, "Good luck Dawn, I'll be cheering for you." he said before opening the door and leaving the dressing room.
Dawn giggled when he was out of sight. Taylor really was good company, he was a little silly and sometimes a bit of an idiot, but never failed to put a smile on her face, and considering what she's been going through the past few weeks. It was what she needed.
She finished putting on her costume and looked it over in the mirror, it was a pink and lavender cocktail dress with a ruffled skirt that was longer in the back than it was in the front. She completed the ensemble with some silver bracelets and a set of silver heels. She looked in the mirror to finish styling her hair. She put it in a ponytail and left some of her hair framing her face so she could add some curls.
"Okay let's do this," Dawn said, "no need to worry." She said.
"That's when I worry the most." A familiar voice said.
"What?" Dawn asked looking around, when she looked back in the mirror she almost jumped when she saw a familiar raven-haired teen. Dawn blinked a few times and then the image was gone. She sighed, "I need to focus, I can't mess up again." She said.
Dawn was waiting for them to announce her, "Well look who it is," a female voice said nearby, "It's great to see you Dee Dee."
Dawn rolled her eyes, "Just knock it off Ursula, I'm not in the mood." Dawn said. One of her biggest rivals Ursula was right next to her. She was wearing a dress similar to the one she wore at the Sinnoh Grand Festival, the only difference was that it was green.
The pink-haired coordinator looked Dawn over, "I was just going to tell you to do your best out there," she said causing Dawn to look at her in surprise, "You really haven't been performing very well out there the past couple contests, and believe me you are so much better than that." Was Ursula actually… complimenting her?
"Thanks Ursula," she said still trying to get over the shock.
"Anytime," she said, "After all, I can't expect to win the ribbon unless my top competition is performing at her best, I mean seriously you're really starting to embarrass me." she said causing Dawn to laugh a little, that was the Ursula she knew. The heard the announcement that it was Dawn's turn to perform in the appeal round, she took deep breath before going to the backstage area.
Dawn got through the Appeal Stage with little difficulty, just like she usually did, but now it was time for the Battle Round, and her first matchup was against Ursula. It was a Double Battle so Dawn sent out Pachirisu and Buneary and Ursula sent out Gabite and Flareon.
On the screen above the stage Dawn's and Ursula's portraits appeared with a circle underneath each of them. A timer appeared, they had five minutes to get the other coordinator's points down enough to allow them to advance into the next level. "Ready… begin!"
"Sandstorm Gabite!" Ursula said and Gabite began to summon a cyclone of sand that covered both him and Flareon. Inside the sandstorm Ursula gave a more quiet command, "Scary Face Flareon." Flareon's eyes glowed red and he jumped up and his attack mixed with the sandstorm causing a large version of the Scary Face to appear on the outside of the sandstorm.
Slightly frightened Pachirisu ran behind Buneary almost using her as some sort of shield, Dawn's points went down, "Shake it off, Ursula's just trying to scare you." she said, "Buneary use Bounce."
"Bun!" she said before launching herself into the air with a powerful leap.
"Now use Ice Beam around Pachirisu." Dawn said, Buneary nodded and the light blue bean came out of Buneary's mouth and started to surround Pachirisu creating a sphere of ice around her. Buneary then began to fall landing right behind Pachirisu. The impact caused the ground the crack slightly and some land shot up laughing the ice sphere and Pachirisu into the air. Dawn was now a little nervous, she hadn't anticipated that. The clock was ticking and she didn't have that much time.
"C'mon Dawn, you can do this!" Dawn heard Taylor's voice call out.
"Pachi Pachi," Aira called out. Dawn turn to see where they were looking and for a split second she thought she saw Ash and Pikachu instead of Taylor and Aira.
Slightly distracted she gave a command to Pachirisu, "Pachirisu use Super Fang." She said, then she realized what she had done.
In the stands Taylor was confused, "What is she doing?" he asked silently, that wasn't what Dawn would usually do.
Dawn was internally panicking, she wanted Pachirisu to use Discharge not Super Fang. The EleSquirrel Pokémon heard her trainer's command and was slightly confused herself, but her teeth grew white and elongated before she started to spin.
The ice sphere glow white slightly before shattering with a series of sparkles and ice shards. Ursula's points went down a bit, Dawn relieved, but only slightly. What should she do now… improvise? "Buneary use Dizzy Punch on those ice shards." Buneary bounced up and the fluff on her ears turned multicolored and glowed slightly as she started to hit and now they were traveling straight towards their opponents as they surround Pachirisu, who was in the middle of using her Super Fang Shuriken. "Okay, Pachirisu keep the Super Fang up, but use Discharge." Pachirisu was still spinning, and now she was glowing blue and bolt of electricity shot in all directions, each hitting one of the shards of ice around it.
Ursula's points were going down, but she wasn't going to let that stop her, "Flareon get rid of the ice with Fire Spin and Gabite take on the electricity before using Dragon Claw." She said. Flareon took in a deep breath before a spinning line of fire came from his mouth. When the fire came in contact with the electrified ice it melted. then Gabite stood right in front of Pachirisu and his claws glowed green.
When Pachirisu came close Gabite swung his claws knocking Pachirisu back and the electricity went into Gabite, but he didn't take any damage. Pachirisu went back several feet, she looked weak and was having a bit of trouble standing up. Buneary bounced in front of her friend in almost a defensive way. Dawn's points increased dramatically, and she didn't have that much time left.
"Flareon Shadow Ball," Flareon jumped forward and started to charge a Shadow Ball.
"Counter with ice Beam," Dawn said. Flareon released his attack just as Buneary released hers. The attacks collided and there was a slight explosion. Both coordinator's points went down. Dawn didn't have many points left.
"Iron Tail." Ursula said and from out of the smoke Flareon leapt out, his tail glowing and turning a shining silver color, he was heading straight for Buneary.
"Block it with Dizzy Punch." Dawn said. Buneary's ears glowed like they did before and leapt up to meet Flareon head on. Flareon's tail clashed with Buneary's ears and both of them flew away from each other due to the force of the impact. Flareon was lucky to land on his feet. Buneary on the other hand landed on Pachirisu's tail slightly scaring Pachirisu and causing her to accidently let loose a bit of electricity shocking Buneary.
The rest of Dawn's points went down and the circle turned black. Dawn's portrait had disappeared and Ursula's fit the entire screen, she had won and would be going on, which meant Dawn had been eliminated.
"Here you are Ms. Berlitz, you're Pokémon have recovered," Nurse Joy said handing Dawn the two pokeballs, "We hope to see you again." She said. Dawn nodded her thanks and walked to a nearby bench where Taylor was waiting with a sleeping Aira in his lap.
"Every time I hear that line the first thing that comes into my head is how Nurse Joy wants our Pokémon to get injured." He said, the comment made Dawn smile slightly, but it didn't really help her mood. "Well if it makes you feel better I think you did awesome, I totally need to teach Aira how to do that Super Fang Shuriken." He said. "What happened anyway?"
"I just lost my focus that's all," she said.
Taylor nodded and started stroking Aira's fluffy tail, "Thinking about Ash again?" he asked, but the tone of voice he said it with told her that he already knew they answer.
Dawn nodded sitting down next to him, "Every time I try to focus on my contests he just comes back to my mind throwing me off." She said.
"Maybe you just need a small break, clear your head a little." Taylor suggested, "Good thing we're going to Twinleaf to celebrate your birthday." He said and Dawn agreed.
"That's another thing, I keep trying to think of what my mom's big surprise will be." Dawn said.
Taylor shrugged, "Maybe she got a hold of Ash and got him to come to Sinnoh, wouldn't that be something." He said and Dawn playfully shoved him with her shoulder and the motion caused Aira to wake up, she climbed onto Taylor's shoulder.
"Get real Taylor," she said, but he was right. It would be an awesome surprise if that was the case. "There's no way she could've gotten a hold of Ash with him always traveling."
Taylor had to admit, she did make a good point, "Well I'm getting a little hungry, you want to go get some ice cream?" he asked, before Dawn could answer he was already running out the door, "Last one there pays!"
"Hey wait up!" Dawn said calling after him slightly annoyed, but she couldn't help but smile at his behavior.
-*X*x*X*-
I bet this chapter caused several questions to pop into your heads, mainly centered around this 'Taylor' character, and I assure you they'll all be answered in future chapters.
This chapter was a little difficult to type, mainly due to the fact I'm not used to writing about contests and what takes place.
I forgot to put the ages at the top of the chapter, here they are.
Johanna: I have no idea, mainly because I don't want to make her seem too old or too young, so I'm just going to leave this one up to you guys.
Dawn: 15, so yeah she's going to be celebrating her Sweet 16.
Taylor: 16
Ursula: 15, I know she probably only made a cameo appearance, I just had to put this here.
Well that takes care of that, be sure to leave a review, I'd like this chapter to have at least 5 reviews, but then again if my work is really as good as you say it is. I guess there's no need to worry.
Well I'll try to get the next chapter out when I can, and with it being Spring Break and have a week off of school. There's a good chance that it'll be soon, but until next time.
This is W. R. Winters signing off.
PS- If anyone has a Pachirisu with the ability Volt Absorb, let me know. I'm in the process of trying to get one, and I'm pretty sure I have something worth trading for it.