Chapter 23. Enjoy!
Summary: Ash had just beaten Ritchie Speed, a friend he had met during the Indigo League, in his last double battle match, allowing him to move on to Driftveil.
Ash and Ritchie had just walked in, when Ash was immediately swamped by Dawn in a bear hug.
"Congrats on winning! You totally kicked Ritchie's ass!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Thanks." was all Ash managed to squeak out, as he was being choked by the hug. "I...can't...breathe!"
"Sorry!" Dawn said as she released Ash from her grip. "I'm just really happy for you. Now that you've beaten Ritchie, you can move on to the next stage!"
"I'm right here you know." Ritchie said, letting his presence be known.
"Oh, hi Ritchie, sorry about the earlier comments. I didn't see you there." Dawn replied meekly.
Ritchie, upon seeing Dawn's reaction to Ash's victory, quickly formulated a plan in his head.
"It's fine. Maybe I should let you have some alone time with your boyfriend."
Dawn immediately blushed at the comment.
"He-he's not my boyfriend." She stuttered.
"Yeah, we're just friends." Ash added. He also blushed at the comment, feeling that same feeling in his chest as before.
Why am I feeling this way?
"'Just friends' don't hug each other like that," Ritchie replied.
"Het Ritchie, can I talk to you for a second?" Asked a voice from behind.
The voice belonged to Brock, who had just arrived.
"Sure, I guess."
Ritchie and Brock headed out of the room, leaving a confused Ash. "What just happened?" He asked.
Outside, Brock and Ritchie started talking.
"What's this about?" Ritchie asked.
"Look, you've known Ash for a while, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know how dense he is?"
"I noticed it a little bit when you guys were traveling with Misty. She obviously liked him, but Ash didn't even notice."
"Exactly. Dawn likes Ash, which you've already figured out. Now, you may or may not have noticed, but Ash has feelings for Dawn. It's just that he doesn't know it yet." Brock said.
"I've noticed. All I have to say, is that they're gonna need some help getting together." Ritchie remarked.
"I'm working on it."
"Anything else?"
"No, that's it. Let's head back into the room. I wanna congratulate Ash on his victory."
The two walked back into the room to find Ash and Dawn talking.
"...yeah, I get to bring one guest that's a nonfamily member, and I wanted to know if you'd come with me." Ash said with a slight blush on his face.
"Of course! I'd love to come with you." Dawn exclaimed.
"Cool." Ash said.
"Congrats on your victory Ash." Brock said.
"Thanks. What were you talking to Ritchie about?"
"Don't worry about it," Ritchie answered. "Now let's go, I'm hungry."
"I'm with you on that one." Ash added. Upon hearing this, Dawn and Brock gave Ash questioning looks. "Oh yeah, I invited Ritchie to have dinner with us so we could catch up." Ash said, which seemed to satisfy the other two's curiosity.
/
Ash, Ritchie, Dawn, and Brock were seated at a table at the same restaurant that they've been going to all week. Brock sat next to Ritchie, and Dawn sat next to Ash. Pikachu was busy licking a bottle of ketchup on the far side of the table next to Ash. After having their orders taken, Ash started telling tales of his travels in Unova.
"So Ash, when did you get a Typhlosion?" Ritchie asked.
"I caught him as a Cyndaquil. He evolved into Quilava during the Lily of the Valley Conference, and again during the Unova League.
*Begin Flashback* (A/N Thoughts are in parentheses)
Ash was down to his last Pokémon. Gabite, Infernape, Floatzel, Sceptile, and Reuniclus had all been knocked out. Ash's opponent, Rick Daniels, still had two Pokémon left. Ash was battling in the semi-quarter finals, and he was in a tight situation. Rick's Emboar had just defeated Ash's Infernape in a tough battle, leaving only Quilava.
(Quilava can do this. Emboar is worn out from his battle with Infernape. One or two hits, and he's going down.)
"Quilava, I choose you!" Ash shouted, throwing a Pokeball.
The Volcano Pokémon appeared. He immediately flared the fire on his back upon seeing his opponent, ready for battle.
"And it is Ash Ketchum's Quilava! Will he be able to overcome the odds and bring the trainer from Pallet to victory?" The announcer asked.
"Quilava, you have to defeat two Pokémon in order for me to win. Emboar is tired, so do your best. We can win this!" Ash encouraged.
"Emboar versus Quilava, begin!" The ref shouted.
"Quilava, use Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
"Emboar, get in close with Flame Charge!" Rick commanded.
Emboar started running in place, building up speed. Once he did, he burst into flames and charged towards Quilava. Quilava retaliated by sending a burst of flames at the Fire Fighter. All it did was get absorbed by Emboar, and he crashed into the smaller starter, sending him crashing in front of his trainer. Quilava struggled to get up after such a heavy hit.
"Come on Quilava, don't give in! I believe in you!" Ash shouted.
There was a look of pure determination on Quilava's face. He finally got onto his feet, and started glowing in a white light. His body got longer, and his posture went from all fours to standing on two legs. The flames on his back grew in size as well. The glowing stopped, revealing a Typhlosion.
"Typhlosion!" He roared.
"Awesome! You evolved into Typhlosion! Now use Eruption!" Ash commanded.
(Shit) "Emboar, dodge it, then go in for a Superpower!" Rick shouted.
Typhlosion's flames on his back grew to four times their normal size. Suddenly, a huge burst of lava shot out from them, covering Emboar. Emboar roared in pain, and collapsed from exhaustion.
"Emboar is unable to battle, Typhlosion is the winner!" The ref shouted.
"And with an unexpected evolution, Typhlosion was able to take out Emboar with a single attack! However, Rick still has one Pokémon left. Will Typhlosion's newfound power be enough to pull out the win?" The announcer asked.
"Emboar return. You did great, now take a rest." Rick said as he recalled his fallen Pokémon. He then turned to Ash. "Congratulations. You've beaten my strongest Pokémon. Unfortunately for me, I'm in a bit of a pickle, but I'm not going down without a fight." Rick then pulled out his last Pokeball from his belt. "Go, Ferrothorn!"
"Ferrothorn versus Typhlosion, begin!" The ref shouted.
(Finally, my lucky break) "Typhlosion, use Flamethrower on Ferrothorn!" Ash shouted.
"Iron Defense! Then go into Power Whip!" Rick countered.
Typhlosion shot a stream of flames from his mouth, aimed straight at Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn's body glowed silver, protecting him from significant damage. However, his extreme weakness to fire type attacks prevented him from completely escaping from harm. Ferrothorn then extended one of his three vine like appendages and swung it towards Typhlosion, who dodged it with arrogant ease.
"Another Flamethrower! Then follow immediately with Eruption!" Ash commanded.
"Iron Defense on that Flamethrower, then use Dig!" Rick shouted.
Typhlosion once again released a blast of flames at Ferrothorn, whose body was now covered in a metallic gleam. The flames reached their target, doing minimal damage like before. Typhlosion then flared up the flames on his back, and then unleashed a large amount of lava from them. Ferrothorn rapidly spun, drilling a hole deep underground, avoiding the attack.
"Big mistake!" Ash taunted. "Typhlosion, go up to that hole and fire a Lava Plume into it!"
"Ferrothorn, get the hell outta there!" Rick shouted.
Typhlosion ran over to the hole that had been dug and opened his mouth. A few seconds later, a jet of lava erupted from it, shooting down the hole like a bullet. A screech of pain could be heard, and a minute later, Ferrothorn shot up from the hole. When he landed, he was unconscious.
"Ferrothorn is unable to battle, Typhlosion is the winner!" The ref shouted.
"Ash Ketchum moves onto the quarter finals with this come from behind victory!" The announcer shouted. "This was the last match today, join me tomorrow for the final day of the semi quarter finals!"
*End Flashback*
So what happened after that?" Ritchie asked.
"I won the next match, moving on to the semifinals. After that, my Gabite evolved into Garchomp during the match, but lost to a super strong Serperior, and I got knocked out." Ash explained.
"Have you been to Kalos yet?" Ritchie asked.
"I'm planning on going there after the tournament. Now, enough about me, it's time for you to tell us what you've been up to." Ash said.
"Okay, before here, I was in Kalos..."
/
The conversation lasted for hours. The two parties went back and forth, each telling about their various adventures since they last saw each other. Finally, they decided to call it a day, and they left the restaurant, with Ash, Brock and Dawn heading back to the hotel.
/
Ash was sitting on the bed, thinking over the day's events. Brock was busy looking something up in his field manual, and Dawn was in the bathroom getting changed for bed.
Man, I can't wait! I'm gonna get to battle so many strong Pokémon! I hope I can hold my own against them. And I'm really glad that Dawn accepted my offer, but why? And why do I always get that feeling in my chest whenever I'm around her?
Brock looked over at Ash. When he saw his cheeks turning red, he immediately figured out what, or rather who, he was thinking about.
"Hey Ash." Brock said.
"Yeah?" He replied, losing his train of thought.
"You know, if you were to get Dawn something, I'm sure that would make her happy."
"What for?" Ash asked.
God dammit! Why do you have to make things so difficult? "Well, she has been supporting you through this entire tournament, which has taken time out of her contest run." Take the hint, take the hint!
"You know what, you're right. Maybe I should get her something. It's the least I can do for her being such a great friend." Ash said.
That's progress at least.
"What should I get her?"
"Get her something small. Don't spend a lot of money, but also don't be cheap. What you buy is up to you." Brock answered.
"Okay." Ash said.
"And one more thing."
"Yeah?"
"Do not, under any circumstances, tell her I put you up to this."
"Why not?"
"Just don't. Trust me."
"Okay..." Ash started thinking about what he could get Dawn. Maybe a seal for a contest? No, that's too cheap.
"Ash, it's your turn!" Dawn said, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.
"Alright!" He called back. He picked up a change of clothes, and walked inside of the bathroom, brushing past Dawn in the process.
Ten minutes later, he reemerged wearing a black t-shirt and shorts. His teeth were brushed, so he headed into bed. Dawn was already under the covers, and Pikachu was at the foot of the bed fast asleep.
He climbed under the covers and was about to fall asleep when Dawn spoke.
"What are you gonna do tomorrow?" Dawn asked.
"I'm gonna go out. There's a few things I need to do." Ash replied.
"Can I go with you?"
"As much as I enjoy your company, I need to go alone."
"Oh, okay," Dawn replied, an obvious hint of disappointment in her voice.
"No need to worry though, I'm sure Brock will enjoy your company." Ash said. He could tell that Dawn was upset, so he tried to cheer her up. "It's nothing I have against you, it's just personal business I have to take care of."
"Okay, I guess I understand." What is he up to?
"Good night Dawn."
"Good night Ash."
/
Ash was the first one to awaken. He then noticed that for the first time since they started sleeping in the same bed, Dawn wasn't all cuddled up to him.
Bummer. Wait, what did I just say? Ash then shook his head clear of thoughts. He put on his shoes and then headed down to breakfast.
/
Ash had just finished eating, when he ran into Dawn on the way back to the room.
"Morning!" She chirped.
"Morning." Ash replied.
"Lemme guess, I was all cuddled up to you in your sleep, but you were able to manage to squiggle free, right?"
"No, actually you were rolled over to the other side. It felt kinda weird without you doing that though."
Does he even know what he's saying?
"Anyways, I'm gonna head back to the room, get changed, then leave, so I'll see you later."
"Alright then, see you later." Dawn said in a slightly dejected tone.
/
Ash was walking through the same mall that he had gone to the first day when he was with Dawn. He was deep in thought of what he should get her.
Man, what should I get? I'm not gonna buy her any jewelry, that's too expensive. I don't know a thing about clothes, so that's out of the question. God, why is this so hard?
"What do you think I should get her Pikachu?" Ash asked his starter.
"Pika! Pikachu pikapi!"
"You don't know either, huh?"
"Pika."
Ash sighed, and continued walking. He then came across a store.
"Any kind of gifts for any kind of Situation! Delibird's Gift Shop." The sign said.
Ash decided to head inside. Hopefully I can find something in here.
"Hello, welcome to Delibird's gift Shop!" A man said. Judging by what he was wearing, Ash figured that he worked here. He was wearing a white shirt withered pants, and had a red baseball cap on his head. He gave off the impression of a Delibird.
"Hi, I'm just looking for a gift for my friend." Ash said.
"Would it happen to be a lady friend?" The man asked.
"Yeah," Ash said, not realizing the significance in his words. "I just don't know what to get her. I'm not looking to spend a lot of money, but I don't want to be cheap either.
"Might I suggest you get her flowers then?"
"Flowers?"
"Yes. Flowers. I'm sure she'd appreciate the gesture."
"Okay, do you have any suggestions as to what kind?"
"What's her favorite color?" The man asked.
"She likes pink and dark blue." Ash answered.
"Then I suggest you get roses. Follow me."
"You're the expert." Ash said.
The man led Ash to the flower section, which had hundreds of different flowers to choose from. He stopped at the roses, and picked out a bouquet of pink ones.
"Are these good?" The man asked.
Ash eyed them over, making sure they were in good condition. Once he was satisfied, he answered.
"Yes, I'll take them. How much?"
"$9.99 plus tax." the man replied, handing over the flowers. Ash put them in a bag made especially for flowers, and headed over to the cash register.
The man rang them up, and the total came out to be $12.50.
Ash handed over the money. "Keep the change." He said, before heading out.
"Thank you, come again!" The man said.
Ash walked over to a bench and pulled out his Pokenav. He then proceeded to dial Brock's number. After a few seconds of ringing, Brock answered.
"Hey Ash, what's up?"
"Hey Brock. Listen, I got Dawn flowers."
Flowers!? Is this really the Ash I know?
"Okay." Brock replied. Dawn was standing next to him, and he didn't want her to get suspicious.
"When's the best time to give them to her?" Ash asked.
"How about lunch time. Hide them in your bag, and meet us at the Epic Scyther in an hour."
"Okay, I'll see you then. Bye."
"Until then," Brock said. A second later, a click was heard, signifying that Brock had hung up.
What am I gonna do for an hour? Ash asked himself mentally. He then turned to Pikachu. "What do you wanna do for an hour?"
"Pika Pikachu!"
"Sure, I just hope I don't lose track of time. Come on bud!"
Once Pikachu was on his shoulder, Ash started to walk out of the mall. He then passed by a newspaper stand, and a magazine caught his eye. He walked over to it and picked it up. The magazine, Hoenn Weekly, was well known throughout the Pokémon world, and it rivaled other magazines, such as Sinnoh Now! and Unova Times. There was a picture of this year's Hoenn League victor. It was a full body portrait of the same boy who Ash saw the other day when he was looking up to see if Max was competing.
The boy, Jake Smith, looked to be about sixteen years old. He had large, auburn eyes, and short brown hair. He had a hat on his head, which he wore backwards. A sliver of blue was near the back, which Ash assumed to be the brim. He wore a red zip up sweatshirt that was partially unzipped at the top, revealing a black t-short underneath. On his shoulder sat an Eevee, who was simply smiling at the camera. Ash noticed that Jake wore baggy blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers could be seen on his feet. He wore black fingerless gloves on his hands, like Ash's, minus the green outline. He was holding a Pokeball out towards the camera, and had a smile on his face. His posture was upright, and he looked fairly tall, at around 6'1 or 6'2. There was a caption underneath.
"Local Hoenn boy wins League for Second Time." It read.
"Hey, are you gonna buy that?" The man behind the counter asked.
"How much?"
"Five bucks."
Ash fished for his wallet, and pulled out the money. He handed it over to the man.
"Thanks, have a good day!"
"You too," Ash replied.
Ash then found a bench and continued to look at the cover.
"Full story on page 15." It read.
Ash turned to the page, and found a four page article. It listed various things about Jake, but the most notable was an interview with him. Ash decided to read it. Meanwhile, Pikachu sighed. He and Ash were headed out to do some training, but Ash had gotten distracted.
Ash decided to read the interview. (A/N this is just filler. Feel free to skip it)
"What's it like winning the Hoenn League for the second time?"
"Well, the first time through, I was inexperienced. I won, but after failing miserably in the Elite Four Challenge, I decided to continue my journey throughout the various regions. I had just come back from Kalos, and since the tournament hadn't started yet, I decided to enter. Luckily for me I didn't have to go to all the gyms. When I won, it was one of the best feelings. My Pokémon and I worked really hard, and it paid off in the end."
"Are you going to challenge the Elite Four again?"
"Yes. After I finish the Pokémon World Tournament, I plan on challenging the Elite Four."
"What's your favorite thing about major tournaments?"
"Oh, that's easy. The amount of shiny Pokémon. If you've never seen one, just go watch a tournament, almost every trainer has one. You'll be lucky to even see one in the wild, but so many trainers have them, you'd think that they were common."
"Why do you nickname your Pokémon?"
"I nickname them because then I feel a more personal connection to them when I do. Everyone may have a Gardevoir, but very few people will call that Gardevoir Grace."
"I see. Can you tell me about how your battling style?"
"Now that would be telling. However, I will tell you that it depends on who I use. I play to the strengths of my Pokémon."
"Okay, just a few more questions. How did you meet your Eevee?"
"I saved him from a poacher. After saving him, Eevee decided to come with me. I've never actually captured him, but we've remained best friends ever since."
"That's a touching story. Who did you look up to before you decided to become a trainer?"
"Two people. The first, Harrison James, is from my hometown in Littleroot. I didn't know him personally, but he was a family friend, and I followed his travels after he left on his journey."
"Who's the other?"
"Ash Ketchum."
Upon reading this, Ash raised an eyebrow. Wow, this kid looks up to me?
"Ash placed in the top 16 in the Indigo League, which was his first league. I decided to keep up with his journeys, and I've always admired his out of the box battling style. I'm hoping to battle him in the upcoming tournament."
"Final question. To any aspiring trainers out there, do you have any advice?"
"Yes. Two things. One, make sure your team has great type synergy. If you use all of one type, then you'll be easy to beat. But most importantly, you have to believe in your Pokémon. Have trust in them, and they will trust you. There's nothing more important than that."
"Alright, thank you for this interview. To all our readers out there, please be sure to catch the Pokémon World Tournament on TV! By the time this is published, the Driftveil rounds will be only a few days away! That's all for today folks!"
Ash finished reading the interview, and immediately took out his Pokenav. Let's see how good this guy really is.
He typed in the name, and Jake's profile appeared.
"Hmm. Two time Hoenn League winner. Top four in Unova, Kalos, and Sinnoh. Top eight in Kanto and Johto. All stuff I've seen before."
Ash continued scrolling down the page, and stopped when he saw the Pokémon section.
"Damn, he's got a lot. Most known for using Greninja, Luxray, Garchomp, Metagross, Swampert, and Blaziken. Not to mention he has a bunch of others."
Ash continued scrolling.
"Aha! He made it to Driftveil. I'm definitely gonna have to meet him."
While this was going on, Pikachu was merely sitting there, wondering why Ash was talking to himself. He had already given up on the notion of training before lunch, so he simply sat on his trainer's shoulder, bored out of his mind.
Ash continued to look through Jake's Pokémon, when a call appeared on screen. Ash answered it.
"Hello?"
"Ash, where are you? We've been waiting for twenty minutes for you to arrive. You're not training, are you?" Brock asked.
"No. I just got distracted. I'm on my way!" Ash then hung up. "Come on Pikachu, we're late!" Ash said. He then picked up the magazine, and basically sprinted all the way there.
So there's a little bit of back story in this chapter. To be clear, this fic is AU after the quarter finals of the Sinnoh League. Tobias doesn't exist, therefore Ash went all the way and won. Brock and Dawn traveled with him to Unova, where he placed in the top four. Iris doesn't exist, and Cilan is just a gym leader. Ash rotated his team, with many of his Pokémon evolving, most notably Garchomp and Typhlosion. He also caught different Pokémon than he did in the anime, although some of them are the same. Same goes for Brock and Dawn. Brock still wants to be a breeder, and Dawn competed in the contests there. If you have any confusion, PM me, and hopefully I can clear it up. Also, think of the Pokenav as a smartphone. And Pokegear as a tablet with a call function.
I also added in a commentator to refresh your memory on what it was like. The neutral option is still in the lead, and you have until the six v six matches start, which is in quite a while. Another question. Do you want those to be all in one chapter, or broken into halves? Let me know in a review or PM.
If you're wondering why I added the scene where Ash sees Jake, it's because I never really described what he looked like. I did in the dream, but that wasn't 100% accurate, since it was a dream. The interview was just filler, since I didn't want to do a time skip.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope y'all are enjoying your winter break. As always, read and review everyone!