Spring Regionals, The 13th. [Present Year]

The competition had been grueling. Battle after battle, clash after clash, stalemate after stalemate, and tie-breaker after tie-breaker, the struggling Trainers and their pokémon were forced to endure and excel within each. No end in sight seemed fathomable for the fighters, as the number of competitors this year far exceeded the last. An impressive amount of new official Gyms, Tourneys, and Challenges had been made in prior years - and now the culmination of their work bore fruit at this year's Spring, in the number of "Almost Champions" that were entered into the Golden Silver Cup.

Numbers alone didn't account for the attritional difficulty, however. Each "Almost Champion" competing had shown that they were worth their entry. No one gave way to their opponents easily. No defeat was made obvious. And no true winner could be foolishly guessed. Everyone had an equal chance at attaining the Golden Silver Badge. Which only proved that no one had a fair chance at gaining their hoped for victory.

Ash felt that now. He had thought that his initial sense of how the tournament would go was realistic, but the level of challenge his opponents gave him with every battle only made him rethink his childish judgments. If he didn't believe he had a good chance at victory here, he knew that by the end he'd find that he had no chance at all. He was sure his opponent felt the same.

The foe across the field called back his pokémon, a fainted Tyranitar, and fell to his knees. He was defeated. And the look on his face only showed that there was no surprise at his loss. Cheers swiftly boomed across the crowds as the hard-fought loss for the exhausted Trainer meant a hard-earned victory for the "Pallet Town Legend".

It was a title given to Ash by the voice on the loudspeaker. He didn't recognize the voice, but it seemed to have recognized him at his entrance. And the audience had recognized him as well. Ash didn't know he still had fans this many years into the competition - nor did he know that he had fans in the first place. He wondered if it was just some friends trying to cheer him on from an anonymous distance. Whichever it was, he was now a crowd favorite.

The favoritism didn't add or retract anything from what he felt now. Exhaustion. He barely won that fight, he shouldn't have won that fight, he didn't deserve to. But then, neither would his foe, if he had won instead. The battle was grueling. The victory was grueling. And the walk out of the arena, down its long, empty hall, was grueling.

His tiredness and senses of guilt vanished in an instant. The strange feeling inside his chest suddenly spiked. In less than a second of physical awareness, Ash realized that he was walking past Dawn. And at that moment, he was sure she had realized the vice versa. Their eyes had locked for a brief event that lasted forever in memory, but immemorable by time. Like the second hand of a clock twitching to its next destination, the moment was gone in an instant, and the two passed each other entirely. Without a word.

They were walking in separate directions, which only meant that Dawn was the next to battle in the arena. At any point, he realized, he could turn around and wish her luck. At any point, he realized, she could have turned around and asked how his battle had went. But at all points, neither occurred. Dawn entered the arena with a crowd cheering her also-famous name. And Ash vanished into the competitors' Pokémon Center, with no one to call after him.

He could have spoken to her. Even given her a second look. But he hadn't.

The feeling inside his chest was too much to bear. He couldn't look at her as long as he felt that way. 'That way' kept him at a stalemate; never allowing him to speak with her, despite its every desire to make him do so.

At what point, he wondered, did everything change? Though he could identify the obvious, physical event that had caused his present feelings to become so permanent, he wondered if it had started before even that. Or if it was a culmination of several things that added up to the uncomfortable state of affairs. Was Dawn's 'something' to blame? Or just his recognition of it?

The only thing he could do in response now was take care of his pokémon. He didn't need to do anything else. Tomorrow, if Dawn won her current match, he would face her in the semi-finals.

Winter Regionals, The 09th. [5 Years Pre-Present]

Wincing his eyes under the harshly bright sunbeam, Ash awoke to a new day. He looked around the room in curiosity, glancing groggily at the blinding window that greeted his morning senses. To his right, Serena remained asleep. Even in her pajamas, she looked fashionable as ever. And though she had given him many sour faces the night before, she slept now with a calming smile. On his lap, he found the light-snoring Pikachu. His best Pokémon friend had been unable to join him in the restaurant for the party, but was able to participate in the outdoor competitions that followed shortly after. The intense activities had tired out the Electric Type entirely. To his left, on a fold-out bed, slept the siblings Clemont and Bonnie. During, and even shortly after the event, Ash couldn't find the Lumiose City siblings anywhere. It was only when he returned to their room in the Pokémon Center, did he find the two of them already soundly asleep. Whatever they had done must have exhausted them.

He looked around the room one more time, wondering where Dawn was.

A pair of cold hands placed themselves on his shoulders, and massaged them lightly.

"Your back still hurt?" a voice behind him asked.

"No. It's a lot better now." he responded cheerily.

"That's good."

"W-Wait, don't stop. That felt good."

"Well aren't you selfish this morning."

"I don't remember when's the last time I got a massage." Ash admitted with a hint of selfish joy. Tilting his head back, he stared into his caretaker's eyes. "There you are."

Dawn blinked. "Hm?"

"Nothing. I just missed you."

"You keep saying that and you'll make me blush." she giggled happily and continued her massage.

Ash sighed in satisfaction. Staring into Dawn's blue hair and blue eyes every morning had become a private habit of his. Things seemed brighter and more clear after he caught a glimpse of them. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt that way or why he made a habit out of it, but he let it settle in his mind as a positive product of the Coordinator's finicky hygiene rituals. Something he took for granted in the past, but appreciated fully now.

Dawn was ready for the day. Dressed thickly in finely fashioned coats, layered pants, an accentuating scarf, wool-rimmed boots, and her signature beanie, the cold snow of the outside would find it hard to both freeze her and make her look bad. Her only weakness was the lack of mittens and muffs, which she kept removed for as long as she was giving Ash her full attention. The Coordinator was as trendy and as considerate as she always had been, but now, four years later in maturing, her appearance and demeanor had caught up with her expectations in herself.

No longer was she the young girl whose behaviors and attitudes towards life still showed signs of immaturity. All such growing flaws and been ironed out to become an 'ideal woman'. The kind that Misty would have worshipped as a kid, Ash thought. He sighed again, finding himself more than satisfied with being in the presence of the grown Dawn. The 'something' about her had become realized, more welcoming, more worthy of attention, and far more unforgettable. And he was glad to see it by his side. No morning would be complete without it.

Dawn gave a shy smile at his second sigh. "If you're trying to flirt with me, then you're a few years too late, Ash. I don't have time for a boyfriend. Especially one that travels around the world like you."

Ash tilted his head. "Flirt?"

The Coordinator giggled. Despite the years that had passed, the boy from Pallet Town was still a boy at heart. No ulterior motives or questionable ideas rolled around in his mind, unless they led to a Pokémon Battle, she considered. She was just as glad to be in his company once again.

A knock on the door quieted all cheerful thoughts.

Serena, Bonnie, Clemont, and Pikachu rolled and groaned in their sleep. If any of them woke, then the private moment he held with Dawn would disappear. Ash quietly signaled for Dawn to answer the door. She did so with a polite nod.

As the door opened, a loud wailing broke into the room.

Red-eyed and shaking, Tracey stumbled through the doorway, lightly pushing Dawn aside and latching onto Ash's shoulders in despair.

No would could stay asleep. The moment had disappeared.