Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. And no, I'm not saying something funny this time to go with this. So there.

Instead of doing a straight continuation, I figured I would do a perspective-flip on this, and do a parallel of how Dawn could feel with Ash gone. I may still do a proper continuation, I'm just on the fence on if I should and where I should go with it if I do. And no, I'm not just trying to pander for reviews, because it more boils down to if I can resolve it in a feasible way. But I do like reviews, of course.


"No, no, no, no." Dawn sighed out of frustration, crumpling up her sixth piece of paper and tossing it in to her garbage can. From her bed, Piplup gave his trainer's back a confused glance.

"Pip?" He asked.

Dawn looked over her shoulder and gave a forced smile. "No need to worry, Piplup."

"Pip lup lup Pip." It answered smugly.

Dawn knew it was saying what almost everyone said: that's when I worry most.

"You know how I get with this Piplup: my letters back to Ash have to be perfect." She said, propping her elbows on her desk and holding her head in her hands. "But then I read them over again, and they all sound stupid."

Piplup hobbled over to the garbage can and took out the latest one. But before he could open it and read it, Dawn grabbed it frantically, blushing. "Hey come on, that's private!"

Piplup stifled some laughter behind it's flippers. Dawn rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, lay off."

Dawn got out her seventh blank piece of paper, and scribbled Dear Ash at the top.

"Okay, so what should I tell him?" She asked, turning to Piplup.

Piplup sweatdropped. "Pip..."

"Yes, I know, this is the seventh time I've asked you." Dawn groaned, "But it has to be compelling. I have to make him want to respond, want to pick up some paper and answer right away, you know?"

"Piplup lup?" Piplup asked.

Dawn blushed at the question. "Well, I want him to still be interested in me. I mean...what if he met someone else? I mean, what if he and that Iris girl he's traveling with are...you know...how am I supposed to compete with that? I'm over here in Sinnoh, and she's with him everyday." She paused, and added sadly, "Like I used to be..."

"Piplup..." Piplup replied, trying to be comforting. Then it yawned, prompting Dawn to look over at her clock.

Past midnight already? Gah, this took longer than I thought... Dawn thought to herself.

Seven must have been her lucky number, or she was just rather tired, as once she finished, she finally felt satisfied with the letter she had written for Ash. But still...she felt something was missing.

Ah well, I'm beat. I'll figure it out in the morning before I send it out. She thought to herself.

Changing in to her pajamas, she and Piplup crawled under her blankets and got ready for bed. After a few minutes, Dawn heard Piplup's snores coming from next to her. But she couldn't seem to fall asleep quite yet. Her mind kept drifting off to the piece of paper on her desk.

Like I used to be.

Her travels with Ash and Brock were something she thought about a lot when she couldn't sleep. It had been the best year of her life. Everything she had experienced with them had helped her grow in to the person she was now.

She had traveled to Hoenn after Buneary finished Pokemodeling, but it it hadn't been the same on her own. Sadly, she had only gotten four out of the five necessary Contest Ribbons, so her trip hadn't lasted as long. But that wasn't what was bothering her. She had given it her all, she had come back with no regrets.

No, but she often had to deal with regret over something else.

I didn't tell him. She cursed herself, as she lay listening to Piplup's snores. And it wasn't the first time she'd thought this.

She remembered that day too well. The whole morning, she promised herself, I won't let him leave unless I tell him. If I tell him, and he loves me back, I'll go with him. Buneary will understand.

The whole morning, she tried to psych herself up. Told herself it was now or never. She knew that Ash was destined to travel the lands until he reached his dream. His dedication was something that made her fall for him. But if I don't tell him or go with him...when will I see him again?

That thought still haunted her. She wanted so badly to see his face again. In fact, his letter stating he still wanted to visit was probably the second best thing he could have written her (the best of course being a full-fledged love letter).

But I couldn't do it. The boat left, and I couldn't do it. She thought as she lay in bed, almost to the point of tears.

As the ferry got ready to leave...as he began to walk away...she wanted to reach out and grab him. To spin him around and kiss him. Tell him that she would follow him to the ends of the Earth.

She remembered calling his name, like second nature. He had turned around, confused.

Kiss him, Dawn! She had thought to herself at the time, Tell him you love him. Go with him.

But she choked. She raised her hand for their trademark high-five. And as the boat pulled away, she cried.

She rolled over in bed, and a lone tear slid down her cheek. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but not before thinking: My Ash...is it too late to make that happen?


She woke up the next morning to the smell of french toast. She smiled as she sat up. She had dreamed of him again. She often did. And it always made her wake up in a great mood.

"Piplup!" The penguin Pokemon exclaimed excitedly. It had been awoken by the smell as well.

Dawn groggily grabbed her letter before going downstairs. Next to it, a pile of pictures from her trips lay unsorted. For some reason, she realized now what the letter needed.

Just a little something to remind him who's waiting for him. She thought to herself.

Writing a short message on the back of the picture, she placed it and the letter in an envelope. With a sense of determination, she whispered to herself, "Ash...I won't choke when you come visit me. I'll tell you how I feel. Just please...be true to your word."


Not as happy of an ending for Dawn huh? Poor kid.

Note: The Hoenn thing I got from Bulbapedia. Apparently in Japan only they release a "Side Story" episode type thing where that's what Dawn did, and she met another young trainer girl with some esteem issues like she had earlier. Something like that. So I went with it. Not sure how it stands in the general sense of everyone's canon.