AN: I know I said this was gonna be out pretty soon but I got swamped with people asking for me to do some music stuff for them and other shenanigans that did not allow me time to just sit and type.
I am now back in school (Woo!) so I got like 4 hours each day to do nothing but type which is made easier thanks to my new ipad mini! So unlike other people who have less time to work during the school year I get a few hours thanks to it so you can expect to see me updating my stories a little more often.
Not much else to say really other than thanks for the great response about the return of this story. From here on out it is nothing but new stuff and I will be attempting to fulfill my promises to you about an overall better story.
So let's get this show on the road!
Dawn fidgeted with her dress nervously as she talked to her mother on the phone. Despite the brave face she put on for her mother she was truly nervous about this whole thing. She always had someone right next to her cheering her on and she knew that her mother and Ash would be cheering for her, but neither would be right next to her like she was used to. Nonetheless she realized that she would have to get used to this. She wasn't a small child anymore, she was a coordinator and a trainer now which meant that in the eyes of society she was an adult and should be able to take care of herself.
Finding out that she had misplaced the choker that came with her dress did not help the situation though. Luckily before she could start full on panicking a Glameow appeared, her black choker on its spring like tail. She was than introduced to the orange haired trainer Zoey who was the Glameow's trainer. The two hit it off pretty well and Dawn was even impressed by Zoey's already having two ribbons.
Despite making a friend and her new mantra of "I'm an adult now," Dawn was still pacing back and forth in the dressing room as she waited for her turn to perform her opening number. She jumped in surprise when she felt a weight settle on her shoulder and even more shocked when she turned and saw a grinning Pikachu on her shoulder, a note in his mouth. She smiled and took the note and giggled as she saw Pikachu scamper off being chased by some of the ushers at the event. She looked down at the note and saw that Ash had written something for her,
'I know you're probably worrying your brains out right now going over what ifs but remember what I told you Dawn, "Keep calm and you'll be one hell of a trainer" and whether you win or lose just put you're all into it and your pokemon will do the same. Trust them and yourself and that's all you can ever do Dawn.'
Dawn could only smile as she read the note and whispered out, "No need to worry Ash, no need to worry."
She looked up as one of the stagehands motioned to her that it was finally her time to go on stage. She sweatdropped as she realized that she hadn't been paying attention to any of the other contestant's Appeals which was really bad. With a sigh to relieve what was left of her nervous jitters she composed herself and strode out to the stage.
Ash sat in the stands with Pikachu on his head and Umbreon on his lap watching the Appeals. Being honest he wasn't too impressed with what he saw. May had been doing much better than these people halfway through Hoenn. On top of that most of them were rather generic and flashy performances with no substance that didn't properly show off the POKEMON. All these Appeals were solely centered on damn near blinding the audience with various flashy moves.
He may not be a coordinator but he knew he could damn near take this whole contest like he was strolling through the park. The only one who so far stuck out was the orange haired tomboy Zoey. She had done pretty well in his opinion with her Misdreavus but she also fell into some of the more common coordinator habits. Given time though he had no doubt that she'd be a great coordinator in her own right.
When the curtain finally rose to reveal Dawn though Ash's jaw dropped. The dress that Dawn was wearing fit her perfectly. Often times Dawn bounced between being that casual girl next door and the beautiful princess and the pink dress that she was wearing accentuated the latter, truly giving the bluenette the appearance of a princess. With her hair styled into a bun with lengths of it framing her face Dawn looked like she had stepped out of a fairy tale.
"Alright Piplup! Spotlight!" called the exuberant bluenette as she tossed her pokeball in the air. In a stream of bubbles Piplup appeared happily dancing in mid air, which reminded Ash of one of his water pokemon.
"Piplup, Bubblebeam!" Dawn called out.
Piplup followed her call to the letter and fired a stream of glowing bubbles straight into the air above him, mixing his own bubbles with those that had been released by the ball capsule Dawn had used.
Of course the crowd ooh'd and aww'd at the display and even Ash had to admit that for being a pokemon she had barely gotten only days ago there was a rather large improvement. When Piplup had used Bubblebeam before it had taken quite a bit of effort on the blue penguin's part to direct the attack and sustain it. Now however the small water type was manipulating the bubbles in ways that it could not have done only days before. On top of that the bubbles themselves were much larger and glowed slightly brighter indicating the energy that Piplup had managed to put into them.
"We're not done yet Piplup! Do it!" Dawn called out. The excitement and amount of adrenaline running through showed as the smile on her face grew bigger and her voice got that much louder as to be heard over the crowd.
"Lup!" Piplup answered back as his beak started to glow a bright white. Much to the shock of those watching though it didn't stop there. Piplup's beak seemed to grow even larger and sharper due to the amount of energy it was storing in it, making it look as deadly as any blade.
Without further notice Piplup jumped into the midst of the falling bubbles, which was shocking due to how small its legs were. As Piplup reached the apex of his jump he began to use his massive beak to pop them all with such speed he almost seemed to be a blur. With all the bubbles popped and gravity making itself known, both Piplup and the bright powder like energy left from the popped bubbles came floating to the ground. In seconds the crowd was roaring in applause and even the judges were clapping and smiling at the show. This was a level of performance most coordinators didn't reach well into the contest circuit after many losses, yet here was Dawn only days into her journey executing the performance near perfectly.
Ash was of course clapping loudly for Dawn with both Umbreon and Pikachu crying out their names in an approving gesture. Ash had to admit that the bluenette's performance was rather impressive for such a new trainer. There were flaws of course but nothing that couldn't be improved upon. Where May had been a blank paper, Dawn was a well written essay needing revising.
With Dawn being the last of the coordinators to perform the scores were tallied and the pictures of those that would continue to the battle rounds were projected on the massive screen on the back wall of the contest hall.
Dawn waited with baited breath to see if her performance was good enough to earn her a spot in the battle rounds. She had put quite a bit of time and effort into pulling that performance together and her pokemon trusted that she would be the one to bring out their potential. She had tried her hardest to earn that trust and losing this early on would not at all help her.
One by one tiles flipped over revealing the faces of those that had scored high enough to gain entrance into the battle rounds. As the number of of said tiles dwindled down from the available eight spots Dawn's anxiety hit its peak, a sentiment shared by her partner Piplup.
Her new friend Zoey had of course made it, being one of the higher scoring appeals meant her tile had been shown pretty early on.
As the seconds ticked by only two tiles remained meaning that only two more coordinators out of the leftover six would have a chance at the ribbon.
For a moment it seemed like time had slowed down as the second to last tile turned over in slow motion. What it revealed had Ash grinning and Dawn left in a stupor of shock. There up on the massive screen was her trainer picture. She had done it. On her first ever try at a contest she had made it past the first round and now had even more of a chance at winning her first ribbon.
As the realization of what this mean began to hit Dawn a smile broke out on her face before the excitement of the moment took hold causing the young trainer to jump in joy, twirling her equally excited partner in a circle.
Back in Twinleaf town a proud mother smiled and clapped for her daughter.
'Thats my girl. Show them what we Berlitz women can do!'
A short five minute intermission was given to the coordinators so that they could get ready for the upcoming battle rounds while also giving the crowd the time to either grab a snack or make a quick run to the restroom. Watching fourteen appeals back to back took quite some time even with there being a two minute limit allotted to each coordinator.
Ash meanwhile made his way down to the locker room where all the coordinators would no doubt be attempting to come up with some form of a battle strategy. He smiled though when he saw Dawn smiling and talking pretty excitedly to the orange haired girl with the Misdreavous. He had never really been good with names and he hadn't been paying that much attention to the appeals as they were all kind of dull.
With a mischievous grin on his face Ash quietly walked behind Dawn, giving the orange haired coordinator the gesture for her to stay quiet which she only raised a brow at. Her unasked questioned was answered when the raven haired teen lifted Dawn into the air from behind, getting a very surprised squeak as a response.
When she realized just who it was that was carrying her she pouted, "Ash you jerk! You scared me!"
Ash only chuckled, "Sorry bout that but I couldn't resist. Besides think of it as my way of saying congrats on making it this far!"
Dawn smiled and hugged the taller trainer, "Well you did help me out so thank you."
"Pika!"
Dawn laughed at the indignant looking electric type, "And thank you for your help as well Pikachu."
Zoey interjected with a smile as well, "I wish I had an older coordinator to teach me when I first started out! Lucky you Dawn."
Ash just grinned and untangled himself from Dawn's hug and stuck a hand out in greeting, "Ash Ketchum and sorry but I'm actually a gym trainer. Only dabbled in contests once or twice."
Zoey's smile left her face almost instantly, "Oh. I...see. Maybe you should stick to what you do and leave our profession alone. See ya Dawn."
With that the orange haired tomboy turned on her feet and quickly left without another word.
Dawn was inwardly a little angry at Zoey for acting so rudely to Ash, the person who had taken her under his wing and someone who was an all around nice guy. He had done nothing to deserve such a cold treatment.
Ash on the others hand only sighed and shook his head. Seeing Dawn's somewhat irritated look he spoke, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's not that surprising that she acted that way."
Dawn turned an irritated gaze at her friend, "What do you mean? There was no reason for her to be so rude to you!"
"True but it has nothing to do with me or her really. It has to do with the whole feud between coordinators and League trainers."
Dawn's angry look faded into one of curiosity, "Feud? Why would there be a feud? I mean we're all just trainers right?"
"You're right but some don't exactly see it like that. When contests came up as a thing they were looked down upon by most League trainers as coordinators focus more on making a pokemon and its moves look good where League trainers focus on power and stuff. Most coordinators weren't happy about the insults hurled their way and so a sort of feud between the two came about to prove who was the better," Ash sighed.
That was one of the reasons Drew didn't like him. The green haired coordinator had thought he was trying to "corrupt" May into the gym trainer style of battling which couldn't have been farther from the truth. Sadly the prick had got it into May's head that that was what Ash was doing and that was why they had a sort of falling out when she decided to follow Drew to Johto.
No doubt Zoey now thought he was trying to do just that to Dawn as well.
"...and what do you think Ash?" Dawn questioned.
Ash knew that she was worried that he thought she was lesser to him because of her dream so he turned gentle brown eye on her, "Honestly? There is some truth. Due to our way of battling most coordinators would have a hard time winning in a straight battle against us League trainers. However that doesn't make coordinators any worse then us as trainers. The precision and focus needed to do what some top tier coordinators do would trump the power most League trainers go for. That's why Hoenn's champion Wallace is so powerful. He is both a strong battler and a damn good coordinator."
Dawn only smiled. For the most part Ash was a normal fourteen year old who loved his pokemon and wanted to be the best. However based on some of what Professor Rowan had told her about him and from what she had heard from his mother about dangerous situations she knew that wasn't all there was to him. She hadn't really asked him about these situations he found himself in but she could hazard a guess that they had left him some scars and changed him.
No more was this visible when Ash talked like this, like he wasn't just a fourteen year old but a travelled veteran trainer who had seen both the wonders and horrors of the world.
'I just hope Zoey doesn't think she can challenge him. I'm pretty sure even that Starly of his could give her a run for her money and he's only had it for a few days,' Dawn thought to herself.
"But hey this is about you! Remember just try your best and try and stay calm," Ash said with his usual grin.
Dawn returned the gesture with her own brilliant smile, "Hey no need to worry!"
With one more hug Ash left to return to his seat in the crowd. Dawn meanwhile was running over every move combination she could think of and every little bit of knowledge she had when it came to battling. It was then she realized that this was going to be her first official Pokemon battle, another one of her firsts on her journey to become a great coordinator. It was put up or shut up time as the saying went.
Hearing her name called Dawn put on a brave face and confidently walked out onto her side of the battlefield. Her opponent was some kid from the Hoenn region...and that was all she knew about him. She hadn't been paying attention to the appeal rounds so she had no idea if he was any good or not, though she doubted he was anything special. If she was she would have known his name and face.
"And the match between first timer Dawn Berlitz of Twinleaf town and Randy Jameson from Hoenn is set to start!" DJ Mary said, further pumping up the crowd and egging them on even more. With a flourish of her hand she pointed to the sky, "Coordinators! Call out your pokemon!"
"Spotlight Buneary!"
"Let's give em a show Poochyena!"
In a flurry of sparkling dust and yellow stars the Normal type bunny appeared with a call of her name and a glint of determination on her face, a look shared by her trainer. Buneary wasn't exactly happy about being caught but she had been beaten fairly and Dawn was shaping up to be a good trainer. Besides that these contests were a perfect place to show off her beauty, which Buneary didn't exactly mind.
In contrast to the cute appearance of Buneary, the Dark type Poochyena appeared amidst a growing black fog that highlighted its glowing red eyes. While Dawn was confident in her abilities she would freely admit that the look of the Hoenn Dark type set her on edge.
In the stands Ash clenched his fists in worry. Dark types were some pretty feared pokemon not only because of their immunity to almost any Psychic attack, but also because most Dark types were known to be particularly vicious and cruel in and out of battle. The only real exception to this was Umbreon who were amongst the most docile of pokemon. Even still an angered Umbreon was something to be feared.
However Poochyena, and their evolved form Mightyena, were notorious even amongst Dark types for being particularly vicious, even when properly trained. Most times they had to be called back by their trainer just to get them to stop attacking an already downed opponent. What was worse was that clearly this Randy guy's Poochyena was experienced and looked to be on the cusp of evolving, shown by its larger size and even more feral look.
'C'mon Dawn you can do this.'
An unnerved DJ Mary wearily kept an eye on Poochyena as she raised her hand, "Coordinators ready?" Taking note of both competitor's nods she herself nodded, "Battle!"
Before Dawn could even gather a coherent thought Poochyena was racing across the stage with a hungry glint in its menacing red orbs and a maw full of razor sharp teeth open wide.
"Poochy! Use Crunch!" Randy called out with a grin.
Dawn's mind raced as she tried to come up with a solution as Poochyena's fangs began to glow an eerie shade of purple, ready to tear into the flesh of her pokemon.
Ash's voice rang in her head, telling her to keep a cool head. Taking a quick breath she focused her attention on the situation at hand, blocking out the roar of the crowd and DJ Mary's play by play.
With her opponent's pokemon not feet away a thought struck her and with a snap of her fingers she called out, "Ice Beam on the floor!"
The brown Normal type answered as fast as she could, a glowing orb of freezing cold energy gathering at the tip of her mouth.
A cry of "Buneary!" later and the whole stage in front of the small bunny was frozen solid. For a few seconds it looked like this had done nothing but distract some, but when Poochyena who had been racing across the stage began to skid around and yip as it lost its footing Dawn's plan became clear to everyone.
A grin came to her face seeing her plan come to fruition, but when Randy called out for his pokemon to use its claws to gain some form of traction she knew she couldn't bask in her small victory. This match was far from over.
"Dizzy Punch! Don't let him get footing!"
Like they had practiced so many times the day before Buneary skated across the ice like a professional. When she closed in on the Dark type who was struggling to stand upright she gathered the necessary energy to her ears, pulled back, and unleashed the attack, slamming her ear into the side of Poochyena.
The Hoenn native yipped in pain as Buneary's furry appendage battered into his ribs, sending him sprawling across the frozen ground once more. Both Dawn and Buneary were quick to press their advantage, knowing that if they allowed Poochyena to gain any ground the more experienced and powerful battler would be able to take back the lost ground with a vengeance. They might be able to pull out the win still but not without taking some heavy damage.
Performing a quick pirouette, Buneary changed her direction and skated pass Poochyena, smashing yet another Dizzy Punch into the pokemon's side in the process.
This trend continued with Buneary utilizing the hit and run tactic to its fullest, only ever allowing Poochyena to almost pull her into its jaws. Randy and his pokemon were getting angrier as the time passed and their health meter on the screen above them ticked away, almost half gone at this point.
Randy had tried almost every one of his pokemon's moves, with even the ranged ones like Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse doing nothing due to how fast and easily Buneary was able to get around. They had managed to make some cracks in the ice from when Randy had thought to destroy his opponents advantage but the Normal type bunny was quick to attack, halting any progress they had made.
The Hoenn born trainer seethed in frustration as with each passing minute it looked like he would be knocked out of the battle rounds in the first round, by a newbie trainer no less.
That did not sit well with him.
An idea struck him though, a way out of this precarious situation that he had found himself in. As the plan rolled around in his head a grin stretched across his face. Dawn was however too caught up in her approaching victory to notice this new development.
As Buneary approached her downed and seriously dazed opponent with what looked to be the finishing move Randy called out his plan, "Dark Pulse around you!"
The confused Dark type struggled to obey its trainer's command, barely managing to release a severely weakened version of the Dark type attack, though it served its purpose; throwing Buneary off balance as well as breaking through the layer of ice that surrounded Poochyena.
However due to the beating the hyena pokemon had taken from Buneary's onslaught of Dizzy Punch it had also harmed itself in the process due to the bout of confusion that clouded its mind and senses. Thankfully Dark types like Poochyena were built to take pretty heavy beatings and still fight back, shown by the heavily bruised pokemon slowly rising back on all fours, a vicious snarl coming to its muzzle.
Buneary meanwhile struggled to regain her own footing on the ice, a feat made harder due to her fur offering zero traction on the slippery surface.
"Looks like our roles have switched eh newbie?" Randy grinned.
Dawn refused to answer, only biting her lip in panic as her pokemon was now the one struggling to regain its balance on the slippery field.
"Crunch Poochy! Show that bunny we mean business!"
With hatred and vengeance shining bright in its red eyes the Poochyena dashed across the stage, its sharp claws digging into the icy field to give it the traction it had struggled to gain before.
Its fangs glowing that haunting shade of purple once more the Dark type pounced, claws digging into the furred flesh of Buneary causing it cry out in pain. The Normal type's cries of pain only grew louder as Poochyena viciously bit into Buneary's side. Blood began to color the mix of cream and brown colored fur.
"Throw it for a ride Poochy!"
Showing the impressive jaw and neck strength it's species was known for Poochyena gave a heave of its neck, sending the already in pain Normal type tumbling across the stage in a heap.
Buneary may have seen her fair share of battle but she had never encountered a pokemon so vicious in its attack, normally running from battles with such tenacious opponents. Nonetheless she was not willing to just give up, struggling to stand on her legs and show its trainer and the audience that she was strong, that she could win this battle.
Blue eyes glistening with unshed tears Dawn watched helplessly as her pokemon struggle to its feet despite the obvious pain it was in. Part of her wanted to just throw in the towel seeing the state of her pokemon but she knew that pokemon, even young ones, were tougher than humans and could take attacks that could down a lesser a creature. She could also see that Buneary was far too determined to show her strength to just give in.
"Bounce Buneary!" Dawn called with a newly renewed vigor.
The Hoenn coordinator only grinned, "Take it Poochy."
Dawn briefly wondered what exactly her opponent had planned but with Buneary already in the air it was too late to change course. She could only hope that whatever it was that Buneary would be able to take it and possibly pull out a win.
With the force of her fall aiding in her powerful limbs Buneary slammed her feet into Poochyena's back. Had the hyena Dark type been a lesser pokemon there would have been the worry of a possibly broken or fractured spine. However the pokemon only grinned viciously through the pain, already knowing what it's trainer had wanted.
"Poochy...use Payback."
Poochyena unleashed an almost blinding amount of pent up dark energy, using the damage it had taken to exact proper revenge on the small bunny, returning the force of her attack to her with a malicious edge to it.
Buneary was sent tumbling across the stage, breaking the already chipped ice and getting stabbed with some of the sharper shards further adding to her list of injuries.
Where the crowd had been roaring and cheering during the impressive display of skill from both coordinators they now went quiet, waiting with baited breath as they watched the unmoving form of Buneary. Nobody bothered to look at the massive screen that displayed the battlers' style points, too engrossed in the battle itself to even bother with it.
When a few minutes passed and Buneary made no sign of moving Dawn lowered her head, her long hair hiding her eyes as she recalled her unconscious pokemon and without a word turned and walked off stage, not bothering to wait for the official announcement that she had lost.
In the stands Ash calmly stood to his feet and made his way to the exit, knowing that Dawn would be devastated by this.
With Dawn her once calm stride had turned into a dead run, her head lowered as tears trailed behind her.
Ash came out of the Contest Hall just in time to see the young bluenette begin to run in a random direction. Ash took off after her, his longer stride helping him to catch up to her in no time. He grasped her hand, stopping her from her run and yet still Dawn kept her head down.
Not exactly being the greatest when it came to girls and especially crying girls Ash did the only thing he could think to do, he pulled her into a hug, his arms encircling her smaller frame. Dawn didn't respond, instead letting out the pent up feelings of sadness and frustration with shuddering sobs.
For a moment that's all they did, Ash letting the young coordinator vent her sadness into his chest. When her sobs eventually calmed into the occasional sniffle she spoke in a voice raw with sadness, "I'm sorry I let you down."
Ash laughed causing Dawn to turn her puffy blue eyes to him with a pout marring her face.
"Let me down? You did not let me down, in fact you made me proud! The way you battled was great and you tried to do all you could and that's all I could ever ask for."
"But I lost," Dawn said looking down again.
Ash laughed as he guided her to a nearby bench where he plopped himself down, Dawn taking a seat next to him.
"Dawn you are literally DAYS into your journey and yet you were still able to put up a good fight against a not only more experienced trainer, but almost won against said trainer with a pokemon you caught not a day ago. On top of that his Poochyena was already about ready to evolve and this was the first battle you had with Buneary," Ash said.
"But you had so much faith in me! I should have gone further!" Dawn cried out.
Ash looked at her for a bit before turning his head to the setting sun, "You know by all rights I shouldn't have gotten my first gym badge. The first time I battled Brock, the Pewter city gym leader, his Onix destroyed my Pikachu. When I went back for a rematch the only reason I walked away with a win was because of a faulty sprinkler system and his siblings worrying about his pokemon getting too hurt."
Dawn was shocked at Ash's admission. It just seemed impossible to visualize the trainer next to her who seemed so strong and knowledgable losing so badly and only winning on sheer dumb luck.
"Dawn we all gotta start somewhere. Even the strongest trainers like Lance and Cynthia had to start somewhere. They didn't just get a pokemon and instantly start winning battles. They got to where they are through hard work and determination. You are doing way better than what is to be expected of a trainer who barely started her journey only a few days ago. Give it some time and soon you'll be showing up people like that guy with no problem," Ash finished with a smile aimed at the younger trainer.
Ash rose to his feet and stretched a hand out to the still shocked Dawn, "C'mon. There's still a lot of time between now and the next contest. Enough time to get even better."
Dawn smiled and wiped her face of the tears that had stained her face. She accepted the hand and rose to her feet and sent a dazzling smile towards Ash, "Thanks Ash. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"You'd still end up being a damn good coordinator. This is all you Dawn. All I've done is offer a few pointers," Ash said with conviction.
Dawn blushed at the thinly veiled praise. Her blush darkened when she realized that she still held onto Ash's hand, her smaller hand fitting nicely into his gloved one.
The raven haired trainer took note of where their hands were and nervously began to chuckle.
Before the situation could grow even more awkward both Pikachu and Umbreon grew tired of being ignored with the former taking his usual perch on Ash's shoulder and Umbreon nudging his trainer's legs with his head.
With the tension broken Ash spoke, "C'mon let's go get Buneary checked in at the Center. We'll head off tomorrow morning after breakfast."
"And where are we going oh wise one?" Dawn joked.
Ash responded by childishly sticking his tongue out at Dawn, throwing the coordinator into a fit of giggles, "Well I want to try and get my first badge in Oreburgh which is on the way to the next contest hall as well."
"To Oreburgh then Mr. Ketchum?"
Ash grinned and jokingly offered his arm to Dawn, "To Oreburgh Ms. Berlitz."
Dawn giggled and took the offered arm, wrapping both her arms around Ash's and leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Pika!" The yellow mouse called from his perch.
"Eon!" The eeveelution agreed.
Before they could take a step though a loud gurgle loudly announced itself from each of their stomachs.
Sweatdropping Ash chuckled, "How about to food first?"
Dawn nodded, "I don't disagree."
The two trainers began their slow walk towards the Pokemon Center, intent on filling their bellies with food and getting some much deserved rest in preparation for the coming day. It was a few days to Oreburgh after all.
Dawn meanwhile was happy. True she had lost, but she had done much better than what was to be expected of her and she had done the best she could and in the end that's all she could do. Nonetheless she was determined to win her next contest not only to prove herself but to prove that Ash had not misplaced his faith by believing in her. With a new fire of determination shining in her sapphire blue eyes she walked with her raven haired companion, excited for not only her future prospects but the prospect of seeing Ash participate in a gym battle.
The thought of seeing the traveled trainer show off the strength of his team made her giddy. She had see Ash battle Paul sure but that was more like a casual spar. The coming battle would be for his first badge in the Sinnoh region which meant the stakes were that much higher.
A thought struck her as she walked with her head still on Ash's shoulder, 'Do I...like Ash?'
AN: a tad shorter than I intended it to be but I had promised to get this out to you and I wanted to do so ASAP. Trying to find a good groove to work on all this so bear with me.
Also this is the first time I've attempted to do a contest scene. I apologize if it's rather lackluster. I tried my best and with some input I can hopefully get better at this.
Don't worry though Ash will be returning to the forefront for the next few chapters. Not to say Dawn won't grow and all that but this was a Dawn-centric chapter for obvious reasons.
In the next few chapters I'll be trying to implement those changes I talked about and hopefully you were able to pick out the hintings of that in this chapter as well.
I'm still taking some recommendations for both Ash and Dawn's teams so feel free to review or pm with ideas.
So far we got Ash getting: Growlithe (one from last chapter), and the pokemon he gets in canon...yeah not many people recommended much for our protagonist.
Dawn is getting an Absol, Swablu (Altaria eventually), Ponyta (Rapidash eventually), and that's about it.
Again feel free to pm and leave reviews on what others should be added to their teams (outside of canon pokemon and no Gen 6).
As a self promotion thing go check out the link at the top of my profile. One is to my personal YouTube channel where I post stuff. Right now it's just a few guitar covers but I will be adding some gaming stuff and whatever else I feel like.
The other link is my friends's channel. She has a few vids of us playing Battleblock Theatre and one of us playing Pokemon Showdown (I kick her ass at it). Subscribe to her cause I'll be popping up on her channel often.
Thanks for reading guys! It's good to be back!
Until next chapter
PEACE
OUT!