Author's Note: This is a non-profit fan-based story. Pokemon and all other rights are reserved to their own respective owners. I gain nothing from writing this...except maybe the praise of the readers, if there is any. (There have been quite a few Pokemon trolls going around on Fanfiction recently.) So if you don't like my story, then I'll just remove it. Easy as that.

Special thanks to Javanos. He helped me write this story.

It was a cold, dark February night in Pallet Town, Kanto. A thin layer of snow covered the ground making everything white. But this wasn't just any ordinary February night, it was Friday, the thirteenth day of the month; the night before Valentine's Day.

Taking some time off from their journeys, Ash and all of his friends were spending a few weeks visiting in Pallet Town. Everyone felt great, getting to see each other again. Everyone was much older now, too. Ash and Gary were 18, May was 17, Dawn was 16, and Misty and Tracy were both 19. We begin our story in Ash's house where he and his five friends are talking, catching up, enjoying themselves, and everybody is excited for tomorrow...everybody that is, except for Ash.

"So Ash," Gary said to his friend, "Are you excited for tomorrow?"

"No." Ash said plainly and matter-of-factly.

Trying to lighten the mood of his friend, Gary tried to have some fun and joke around with Ash a bit. This was nothing new, as Gary was known for making jokes to get under Ash's skin. "Why not? Did a girl dump you?"

"I just don't see the point of Valentine's Day. For me, anyway." Ash replied. Now, over his years of traveling, Ash's denseness about things like love had lessened, but romance was still the farthest thing from his mind. Like always, ever since he first started his journey, his mind had been focused solely on his Pokemon and training them.

"I just don't have time for things like love. I'm getting ready to challenge the Elite Four. If I beat them, I become the region's champion. Besides, I'm still young. I'll have plenty of time for that later. And if not, no big loss." May noticed that Dawn tensed up when Ash said this.

"So it's never even crossed your mind, not once?" Tracey asked in disbelief. "What about all the girls you've met throughout your Pokemon journey?"

Ash went on to explain to them that he was too young to understand love at the time, and judging by the way he felt today, he probably wouldn't have "loved" them, anyway. Besides, he figured that they had already found someone else by now after these years, so no big loss for any of them.

Hearing this, Dawn bit her lip as it threatened to quiver. "'Wouldn't have loved me, anyway?'" Dawn thought to herself.

"In short," Ash concluded, "If you guys like Valentine's Day, and have someone to celebrate it with, that's fine. But I don't care for it. I don't plan on falling in love. And frankly, I don't care about "loving" someone. So if I never have someone like that, it's no big loss."

Hearing Ash say that, Dawn couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and quickly walked away. When Ash called out, asking where she was going, she replied that she had to use the bathroom. The minute she was upstairs and in the bathroom, she locked the door and fell to the floor, breaking out into tears.

As she went into the bathroom, she passed Ash's mom, Delia, who was going to head downstairs. But when she noticed Dawn - who looked very upset - go into the bathroom, she knew something was wrong and she had to help. As Delia listened from behind the closed bathroom door, she heard a soft crying sound coming from Dawn. She gently knocked at the door asking Dawn if she could talk to her. After a few minutes, Dawn opened the door and Delia gave her a comforting hug, which Dawn returned.

"What's wrong?" Delia asked. "Do you want to talk about it?" When Dawn nodded a "yes", Delia suggested that the two of them go into her room for some privacy while they talk. Once inside, Dawn explained everything that Ash had said to her and the others. When Dawn had finished, Delia explained some things to her.

"I can't help that, nobody can. That's the way Ash has always been." she said to Dawn. "Ever since he was a kid, he's always had a one-track mind focused on Pokemon. Love currently isn't something on his mind. I know that you love him, and somewhere inside his heart, I know he loves you, too."

"How do you know that?" Dawn asked.

"Every time Ash tells me stories about the time he traveled across Sinnoh with you, he always has a look of happiness in his eyes. He talks about those journeys more than any of his others, and he always says that he's amazed about the moves you use in your contests and how they helped him become a better battler. Just give him some time, and I know it'll all work out. He'll come around eventually."

"Thanks, Delia." Dawn said, hugging her. "I feel a little better now."

Meanwhile, the remaining people in the house were still sitting on the couches, continuing the conversation, with everyone except Ash trying to hide the sad look on their faces that had appeared due to the things Ash had said, and Dawn's reaction to them.

"You know what, Ash?" said May. "Some people that fall in love are just too stubborn to admit it. Others don't even realize they're in love." Everybody could see that May was trying to turn things around. "I know that something will change your mind some day. I don't when or how or what it'll be, but it WILL happen!" she said confidently.

"I seriously doubt that, May." he replied.

None of them knew it, but they were being watched and heard by three Pokemon outside the window, who had heard the entire conversation.

Eventually, it got late and everybody had to go to sleep. Ash had a small house, so most people had to stay at the lab with Gary and Tracey. Dawn slept in the lone guestroom in Ash's house. Pikachu slept down on the couch with Piplup.

As Ash walked into his room to turn in for the night, he couldn't help but remember the conversation he had that night. Trying not to rule anything out and keep an open mind, he thought about the girls he had known and which one of them he had the closest relationship with, which had come the closest to being actual "love." The one he kept coming back to...was Dawn. His feelings were pulling him left and right concerning him where their relationship stood.

He could say that he cared for her. She was a great friend, the closest friend out of all the girls he had met or traveled with throughout his journey. But was that love?

On the other hand, the things he had said that night to everybody were pretty legitimate points, too. Maybe he was right in thinking she didn't love him. It had been years since they had traveled together, and she probably already found someone else to love.

Ash decided that some sleep would clear his head. Little did he know that tonight would be the most restless, moving, revealing, and strangest night of his life!

Author's Note: And there's chapter one. I got this idea after reading a similar story on FF, so I decided to do a Pokemon version.

I know it's short, but all the chapters will be pretty short in this story. Fortunately, I will be uploading one chapter a day, with the last one coming on Valentine's Day. Let me know what you think of it.