AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed or just took the time to read the story!

It seems there are quite a few people who want me to add in Cynthia to the pairing but I am sorry to say that in this fic I don't think it would work. With as serious as I'm making the Leagues take their duties and what not this also means the Champions will play much bigger roles than in the anime. A perfect example being Lance and his G-men. Cynthia won't have her own little detective force but will still have people working for her as well as many duties and responsibilities outside of maintaining the role/image of Sinnoh's Champion Trainer. As such the amount of time she would be allotted to spend with Ash, regardless of how much their paths may cross due to Ash's Chosen One status and the amount of shenanigans he gets into, would still be very little.

If you guys are still intent on having me turn this into a small harem story might I recommend maybe Hilda? Or maybe even Leaf! Those two I could easily work into the story. Maybe even Serena due to their canon-past.

As usual leave a review with your opinion!

EDIT: I'm sorry but this one struck me and I had to respond. To the Guest who reviewed with a comment about not "having my facts right" I'll say this, read closer. If you had paid any sort of attention and actually read what I wrote you would realize that I know Eevee evolves into Umbreon at night, it's STATED in the chapter. Ash's Eevee evolved into an Umbreon through the use of a Moon Shard, an item from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. So before you call me out on an "error", rather rudely I might add, I suggest actually reading what I wrote first yea? And even if I HADNT added that little tidit in SO. WHAT. This is fanfiction which means I get to distort and change whatever I see fit. If I want Eevee to evolve into Umbreon in daylight then you damn well can bet I can write a convincing enough reason for it to happen. So sit your ass back down and either enjoy the story or leave. Your choice.

"C'mon guys gotta keep going!" Ash called to his pokemon as he, Pikachu, Umbreon, and Quilava continued to run laps around a clearing.

Pikachu was easily maintaining the lead with Umbreon only just behind the little mouse. Quilava was doing its best to try and keep pace with the two speedsters but was straggling behind with Ash also attempting to keep pace with the Johto fire starter.

Ash and Dawn had decided to set up a small camp the night before in a clearing off to the side of Route 202. They had left Rowan's lab in Sandgem town rather late in the day and so were not able to make as much progress as Ash would have liked to. To make up for the lack of progress in getting to Jubilife Ash had awoken as soon as the sun rose and began his training regimen with his pokemon.

Dawn was shocked upon stepping out of her tent to see a plate of breakfast spread out for her on a tree a stump and Ash and his pokemon doing various exercises.

Ash's Noctowl was helping his newly acquired Starly learn how to fly for longer periods of time, Pikachu was working with Umbreon on speed, Ash himself was working with a Quilava on endurance by having it blast its Flamethrower full power on a nearby boulder, a Primeape was doing pushups…vertically…with boulders on its feet, and a Bayleef was using its Vine Whip attack on a Corphish who was trying its best to keep the vines at bay either by dodging or batting them away with its claws.

As she took in the sight of not only the pokemon, but Ash hard at work to better themselves Dawn could only stare in amazement. She had heard of how intensely top tier trainers and their pokemon trained to reach such levels of power, but to see it in person was a different matter altogether. To her this was not only a testament to the commitment Ash and his team had to becoming as powerful as they could but also a show of what she would have to do if she too wished to become as good as Ash or any other Elite level trainer.

Of course before she could really start her first official day as a licensed pokemon trainer the growing girl had to sate the grumbling of her empty stomach. She was delightfully surprised to find that not only was the food her traveling companion had prepared was good, but that it also rivaled the deliciousness of her mother's home cooking. With a smile on her face the young teen was all too happy to finish off the plate of food her fellow trainer had left for her.

Piplup however was an impatient young pokemon and so instead of waiting on its trainer ran off to try and join in on the training the other pokemon were doing but only fell flat on its beak when it attempted to do any of the exercises Ash's pokemon were doing. Dawn giggled at the sight of her pokemon attempting to lift a boulder much larger than it. However seeing as how she had finished her breakfast, Dawn figured now would be as good a time as any to begin preparing both herself and her pokemon for the coming journey.

Seeing how Ash was training his Quilava to use its Flamethrower for longer periods the bluenette figured that would also be a good place to start off training Piplup so that she could get a handle on things and adjust to working with the water starter.

A grin on her face Dawn excitedly pointed at a nearby boulder and began, "Alright Piplup use!...um…"

Piplup fell on his beak as he realized that his trainer had no idea what his moves were.

Before panic could overcome the newby trainer Ash softly placed his hand on Dawn's delicate shoulders. Turning her head she gazed into the warm eyes of the sweaty raven haired-trainer. The elder teen had long since discarded his leather jacket and hoodie, leaving him in only a plain white t-shirt that clung tightly to his lean build, built from years of trekking through several regions and training alongside his pokemon.

"Little stuck there Dawn?" Ash said calmly knocking Dawn out of her reverie. Blushing even more at being caught she merely nodded.

Ash chuckled, "Cool thing about the Dex is that it not only tells you about pokemon you bump into but if the pokemon is wild or yours it can tell you its ability, estimated level, gender, and known attacks."

Pulling out his upgraded Dex he continued, "Watch," and pointed the electronic encyclopdedia at Pikachu.

The robotic voice of the Dex intoned, "Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks. This Pikachu belongs to Trainer Ash Ketchum. Level: 60. Gender: Male. Ability: Static. Hidden Ability: Lightning Rod. Known moves: Thunder Wave, Thunder Shock, Thunder Bolt, Thunder, Agility, Light Screen, Quick Attack, Extreme Speed, Iron Tail, and Volt Tackle."

Dawn was not at all surprised to hear how strong Pikachu was and how impressive its move pool was for such a tiny thing. If the little mouse could bash around a legendary then it only made sense for it to be of such a high level. Turning to Piplup she pulled out her own pokedex and aimed it at the Sinnoh starter.

The Dex's robotic voice read aloud, "Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It's very proud, and its thick down protects it from the cold. This Piplup belongs to Trainer Dawn Berlitz. Level: 7. Gender: Male. Ability: Torrent. Known moves: Water Gun, Bubblebeam, Bide, and Peck."

Ash whistled, "That's not a bad starting point at all. Pretty good move pool you got to work with."

Piplup puffed out its chest in pride at receiving praise from the experienced trainer.

"Awesome Piplup! But what is Torrent? And how do abilities work?" questioned the ever curious Dawn.

Some of the stuff Ash was telling her about had never been covered by the exam she had to study for so she really couldn't be blamed for her lack of knowledge in some areas.

Ash went into 'lecture mode' and answered, "Abilities are almost as varied as Pokemon themselves. One species can sometimes have up to 3 abilities available to them but that doesn't mean one pokemon can have all 3. Usually the most a pokemon can have is 2; a primary ability that is usually always active and a hidden secondary ability. How abilities are used by a pokemon depends upon the ability itself. Piplup's Torrent ability for example can only be activated if he is tired or under intense pressure. Torrent is an ability most water pokemon are known to have and when the circumstances are right the pokemon will gain a pretty useful boost to their innate water powers."

As Ash was about to continue a small brown rabbit with yellow cotton like fur on its legs and ears wandered into the clearing. It looked in curiosity at the various other pokemon around the clearing before it caught the small yellow form of Pikachu scampering to its usual perch on his friend's shoulder. The small pokemon looked at Pikachu for a bit before blushing and grabbing its fur to cover said blush.

Dawn squealed at the cuteness of it, "Oh wow it's a Buneary! It'd be perfect for contests!"

Ash chuckled at the exuberant young girl and raised his pokedex to scan the pokemon, "Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. By quickly extending its rolled-up ears, it can launch a powerful attack against its enemies. This Buneary is wild. Level: 5. Gender: Female. Ability: Klutz. Known moves: Dizzy Punch, Bounce, and Ice Beam."

Ash whistled at the info, "Ice Beam? That's a really good elemental move and to know it so young? Impressive."

Dawn eagerly called out, "I got to have it!"

In a rush of excitement she attempted to throw a pokeball straight at the unsuspecting pokemon only to have her wrist caught by Ash. She turned and gave him a curious glance questioning his actions.

Ash wagged his finger at the young girl like a parent scolding their child, "Tut tut. C'mon Dawn you know better."

Dawn blushed in embarrassment as she realized that she hadn't even tried to weaken the pokemon by battling it first. She put her head down in shame, "Sorry about that."

In return Ash only smiled and patted his fellow trainer's beanie clad head and said, "Don't be. Besides I understand. Your first potential catch and you got excited. But remember; keep your calm no matter what. If you do that you'll be one hell of a trainer."

With his words of encouragement ringing through her head Dawn nodded at the raven haired youth with a look of determination glowing in her blue eyes. Turning to Piplup she spoke, "Piplup, I'm gonna need your help here ok?"

Hearing the determination in his trainer's voice the small blue penguin gave a strong and resolute, "Lup!" whilst thumping his flipper on his chest.

Both turned their gaze on the oblivious Buneary before Dawn called out, "Alright let's test the waters! Start off with a Bubblebeam!"

Piplup was all too eager to obey.

It had spent only a few hours in the company of Ash but seeing how strong his pokemon were and the power they wielded amazed him. He had heard stories of some pokemon reaching legendary status but had dismissed those tales as nothing but exaggerations but then he saw Umrbreon in action.

Obviously Umbreon was far from being close to legendary status and was only a year or two older than Piplup himself but still it was a strong pokemon, very strong. It of course heard all the talk the humans had been saying in regards to Pikachu and at first it was hard to believe but after talking to the yellow mouse and Ash's other Pokemon he found himself hard pressed to disagree. Even as young as he was Piplup, like all pokemon, was more in tune with things like nature and aura, more so than most humans were. As such he could almost feel the vast ocean of power Ash's Pikachu had at its disposal.

Being exposed to all of this had sparked something in the young penguin. He had always wanted to be given to a strong trainer and become strong himself but seeing what "normal" pokemon were capable of under the right care had made him want to reach even farther than he thought possible. He fully believed that he could achieve this with Dawn. He could feel the girl's innate talent like he believed Ash himself could and having Ash mentor Dawn meant that he was even more likely to achieve his new dream. And this was the first step to that dream, his first actual battle with his trainer. He would not disappoint.

With a mighty cry of, "Pip, LUP!" Piplup let lose a stream of glowing bubbles from its beak that rocketed towards the now on guard Buneary.

Buneary may have been young but being raised in the wild meant that she knew how to survive and battling was a big part of that. Buneary crouched and tensed her powerful leg muscles and just as the bubbles were about to impact she released the tension and shot off into the sky like a furry bullet.

"Dawn watch it! That's a Bounce attack and from that height it could do some serious damage!" Ash called out to his "student".

Without taking her eyes off of the battle she nodded, "Right! Piplup use Bubbleam to blind it and dodge!"

Looking up at the quickly falling form of Buneary Piplup nodded and let loose another stream of bubbles.

In the air the Buneary called out, "Bun, NEARY!" and from its mouth a sky blue beam of ice energy was released, freezing the bubbles solid and causing them to come crashing back down to the earth.

Piplup frantically tried to dodge all of the frozen balls but being young and inexperienced meant that he wasn't exactly experienced enough and so was clipped by some of the frozen bubbles while also being somewhat injured by the shards released by said bubbles as they exploded around him. Thankfully due to his impromptu dance he was able to dodge out of the way of Buneary's Bounce attack as she landed. Before he or his trainer could respond however the little ball of fluff was on him, its ears glowing a bright white.

Dawn worriedly watched as Piplup was turned into Buneary's personal punching bag while attempting to either dodge or block the rapid succession of Dizzy Punch attacks with his fins. Biting her lip the young trainer wracked her brain for a solution to her problem, panic rising as she witnessed her pokemon being pummeled mercilessly. As Dawn felt the tears of hot frustration about to break through the rough hand of Ash on her shoulder snapped her out of her pity party and turning to him she saw the look of confidence in his eyes, confidence he had in her. Spurred on by the silent cheerleading of her "mentor" a thought struck her. Piplup knew a move that could very well turn this battle around.

Turning her gaze back to the battle she called out, "Piplup! Use Bide!"

Even in its confused state Piplup was able to make out what Dawn said and his small form began to glow a vibrant white signifying his use of Bide. Buneary had by this time grown tired of "punching" the penguin and jumping away she fired off another Ice Beam attack. The frigid blue beam collided with Piplup who struggled to maintain its position but in his weakened state he was slowly being pushed back by the attack. It was clear to everyone watching that if the attack went on for much longer that Piplup would be out of the fight, Bide or not. Dawn nervously bit her lip as she watched Piplup valiantly continue to stand against the onslaught of freezing tempatures.

Luckily for Piplup, Buneary had tired herself out with her "hit hard and fast" tactic and had to stop the Ice Beam attack or risk unconsciousness, something she wanted to avoid. Right as the last remnants of the attack faded Dawn called out, "Now Piplup! Release Bide!"

Piplup cried out, "LUP!", letting loose a large beam of white energy from its beak aimed straight at Buneary. Too tired to move fast enough to dodge the attack Buneary took the full brunt of the impressive attack.

As the dust kicked up by Piplup's attack faded Dawn saw Buneary looking pretty beat up but still struggling to stand. Taking advantage of the situation Dawn tossed a pokeball at the struggling Normal type and soon the rabbit had disappeared into the ball. Dawn continued to bite her lip as she watched with bated as the ball wiggled on the ground. With Buneary too tired out from having used too much energy and taking a full return of her own attack in the form of Bide the ball "dinged" signifying a successful capture. Dawn excitedly cheered at having just won her first battle as well as having caught her first pokemon. In her excitement she ran up to Ash and threw her arms around his neck, laughing and smiling all the while.

Taken by surprise Ash did what his instincts told him to and placing his hands on Dawn's hips he twirled her around in a circle, the both of them sporting large grins. After having spun the bluenette around once he placed her back on the ground, his hands still placed on her hips and Dawn's arms still encircling Ash's neck. Opening their eyes at the same time they caught each other's gaze and began to blush realizing their rather intimate lookin position.

Ash was the first to act by nervously chuckling and as removing his hands from Dawn's hips. While doing so he noted how comfortably his hands fit around the smaller and younger trainer's hips.

Dawn was disappointed when Ash released his hold and was then left confused about why she was disappointed that his hands weren't on her waist anymore. Putting those thoughts away for later she smiled and removed her arms from his neck and walked over to the pokeball still laying on the ground.

She didn't know where it came from or why she did it but instead of crouching to grab the pokeball she instead bent over and thanks to her rather short skirt, gave Ash quite the view of her shapely rear.

Ash being a hormonal teen could not tear his eyes away from the sight and was left brain dead with the only thought being, 'Huh, I guess Dawn is one of those early bloomers Brock told me about.'

Ash regained himself when Dawn moved and went to go help out her injured Piplup. Putting what he just saw in the "Burn into my memory" part of his mind Ash walked to his bag and grabbed a couple of items and walked over to where Piplup and Dawn were. Ash kneeled down next to Dawn and saw that Piplup was attempting to look tough despite its wounds. Ash chuckled at the stubborn little penguin before he motioned for Piplup to come to him.

Piplup slowly made its way to Ash, wincing every so often as he went. Ash gently looked over the small pokemon taking note of when Piplup winced in pain. Ash sprayed some areas with a Potion and put some bandages on one of its flippers as it had gotten rather bruised with Piplup trying to use it defend itself from Buneary's Dizzy Punch barrage.

"Alright you're good! Just need a little rest and you'll be good as new in no time at all. Take it easy on that flipper though ok?" Ash said in a soothing voice. Piplup saluted Ash with its uninjured flipper and then waddled his way over to Dawn where he was picked up and received a gentle hug in return for its hard work.

Piplup still in her arms Dawn turned to Ash, "What about Buneary? She took quite the beating from that Bide attack."

"Yea but she should be fine just resting for a day in her pokeball. We should clean up camp and start heading for Jubilife city as well. Later tonight if we're not in Jubilife by then I'll look her over and see if she needs any sort of extra care but I highly doubt it." Ash said as he began recalling his own team. Only Pikachu and Umbreon remained outside of their balls as usual.

Of course before she could be recalled into her pokeball Bayleef made sure to let her trainer how much she cared for him…by charging at him and bowling him over where she nuzzled her muzzle into Ash's chest. Ash who was used to the odd quirks of all of his pokemon only laughed and played along before calming down the affectionate grass type. Seeing the display of affection Dawn could only giggle in amusement at seeing the somewhat mature and traveled trainer acting just like any young trainer with their pokemon.

After getting his loving Johto grass starter to return to her ball Dawn and Ash were able to clean up their campsite in minutes, leaving no trace that they had even been there in the first place. Dawn had of course asked why Ash did some of the things he did like covering up the fire or throwing the unused firewood back into the woods. In response he simply shrugged and stated, "Force of habit."

All packed and ready to go Pikachu assumed his usual perch on Ash's head and Umbreon padded alongside his trainer with Dawn walking on the opposite side, Piplup in her arms resting. The duo assumed a comfortable silence as both Ash and Dawn took in the scenery around them. Dawn had never really left her small town of Twinleaf so she was truly enjoying herself and each and every little thing brought a smile to her face.

It had been weird the first few hours being without her mom and being so far from home but with Ash's help she had been able to cope. It had been comforting to know that even someone as experienced and traveled as Ash still got homesick now and again.

"I miss my mom terribly sometimes. She's always been there for me and kind of coddled me, still does but as much as I miss her I also love being out and being able to see all the amazing things this world has to offer," Ash had told her while sitting near the campfire the night before, a small smile on his face.

Now that she was actually out of Twinleaf she kind of understood what he meant. Just the trees themselves were different somehow, as if she were seen the world around her brand new eyes.

Turning her head to glance at Ash Dawn asked, "Hey Ash?" which caused him to turn his head towards her, silently asking her to continue.

"Do you think I'll ever see some of the amazing stuff you've told me about?"

Ash looked to the sky, a pondering look on his face.

"Well it would be fun to visit some of those places again some of the things I've seen are once in a lifetime opportunities."

Dawn put her head down in disappointment.

Noticing her posture Ash added, "But that doesn't mean you won't have your own. This world is huge and vast and you just never know where life will take you so you kinda just gotta keep an open mind and be open to whatever may come."

Continuing with a grin on his face Ash spoke, "Some might call it insanity because it's so dangerous but what is adventure unless we risk our lives for what we love?"

Dawn could only nod with a similar grin on her own face.

"Cha!" chimed Pikachu as he stood on Ash's head a huge grin on his own yellow face.

"Lup!" called Piplup thumping its chest with its fin.

"Bre!" barked Umbreon a grin on its muzzle as it stared off into the distance.

Dawn turned to Ash and said, "Well there's no time like the present right?"

Ash chuckled at Dawn using his own words. Nonetheless he nodded his head in agreement. Dawn then grabbed his hand and began to run, looking back at the raven haired teen, "Well then come on! Let's go Slowpoke! Adventure awaits!"

Shaking his head at her exuberance he thought, 'There's something about this girl and whatever it is I like it!'

Grinning a mischievous grin he caught up to the bluenette and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her bridal style as he continued to run. Dawn "eep'd" at first but then laughed happily along with Ash as they raced off towards Jubilife City and whatever else Sinnoh had in store for them. Pikachu and Umbreon looked at each other before shaking their heads at their trainer's antics before they called out,

"Chu!"

"Eon!"

Both pokemon took off running trying to catch up their trainer, laughing as they went.

EDIT: I do hope you guys are enjoying the "facelift" I've given this story as I am honestly having quite a bit of fun going back and rereading these chapters as I edit and change them around. I admit that most of it is some grammar mistakes and such but I have also included some hints and what not at the future.

I would also like to remind you that there was a specific line in the last few paragraphs that I stole from Yungtown's Pokemon song. I highly suggest you check it out as it's a great song that I can never get tired of hearing. Guys really talented and wit would be awesome if you support him.

Another thing that I was I trying to change around was the progression of the romance aspect. I think I was pushing it along a little too fast so I'm trying to edit some parts to slow that down. Don't worry there will still be quite a bit of fluff and all that good stuff it'll just be more for the sake of fluff and less for advancing the relationship faster. It will happen of course just at a bit of a slower and more realistic pace.