Chapter 4: Good Bye Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Nintendo and that Satoshi Guy do :P

When Ash returned to his room, he found that both Dawn and Brock were already in their beds. He sighed in relief as he won't have to tell them, at least for now. Quietly he made it to his bed where Pikachu was already sleeping. He didn't bother to change and just broke into his bed. He then just laid on his back with both his hands behind his neck and stared the ceiling. Then he closed his eyes to try and figure out the reactions he would be getting when he would deliver the terms of the 'proposal' to everybody. Of course they would want him to grab this once in a lifetime opportunity. He knew they would all be very happy for him or maybe as excited as he is. But then, he himself couldn't figure out if he was excited at all. He knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity but he wasn't sure if he would embrace it alone. This whole mental dilemma was now getting to his nerves. He grew more and more frustrated with every passing moment and it was now starting to affect him as his head began to ache. He clasped his palm to his head, creating a slight sound and as if luck would have it, Dawn heard it.

"Ash is that you?" She enquired while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

'Perfect!' He thought to himself while cursing his luck.

"Yeah Dawn it's me" He confirmed without moving an inch but his eyes now open.

She sat up on her bed and tried to find him in the dark room.

"So you're back" she paused for a bit before continuing, "How did it go" now looking towards her feet while playing with her hair. She was really nervous. She has had a bad feeling about this whole proposal stuff, she couldn't figure out why but she somehow knew it would affect 'them' somehow.

"Ummm, it was fine Dawn" he replied while twirling his fingers in nervousness. He wasn't able to put up the topic. He couldn't gather the courage to do that. Dawn's situation wasn't any better herself. As much as she wanted to know, what it was all about, in a corner of her heart, she wasn't so sure if she really wanted to hear it.

Dawn seemed to be better in gathering herself up because she was the one to break the silence, "So Ash, what was the proposition all about." Ash had thought that she would ask him in a really excited tone but she said so softly that he hardly got what she said but being him, he thought she was tired.

He sighed deeply and looked over to the sleeping electric mouse to say it, "Well she invited me to train with her as her apprentice."

"Appre…" Dawn mumbled with her eyes wide open. She was so sure that it would be like love related thing but to hear otherwise was, well how to say it was shocking for her. She wasn't sure if he had really said that or her mind was playing tricks with her.

"Wow Ash, you've got to be kidding me, train with her really?"

Ash jumped a bit off shock as another voice joined the conversation. He turned his gaze to see that Brock was up, looking as excited as ever.

"Uhh… Brock didn't know you were up" he explained his actions while giving him a slight nod.

"Wow Ash you really are lucky, spending most of your time with someone as beautiful as her" he said while clasping both his hands and stars twinkling behind him. Brock was really excited about this. It turned out to be a win – win situation. He knew how much getting stronger meant for Ash and he was really happy to know that things didn't turn out to be like what they had thought. He was really happy for Dawn as she wouldn't have to force herself after all.

Ash chuckled to his actions nervously while scratching his cheek with his index finger.

"I guess I am lucky" he admitted.

Dawn on the other hand was too shocked to respond and she just sat there like a statue. Ash then noticed that she hasn't said a word since the news. He wanted to know how she felt about it. He reached the lamp beside his bed and turned it on. Then he turned his gaze to look at her.

"What do you think about it Dawn?" he asked her.

Him, calling her name helped her to snap out of her trance. She was too delighted to know that it wasn't going to separate those two. In the spirit of the moment, she dashed towards him and tackled him down while wrapping him in her arms.

Ash knew she would be excited but he never saw that one coming.

"Congratulations Ash… Oooh am soo excited for you." She squealed while tightening her embrace.

"Umm t-thanks" He thanked her but in rather sounding quite awkward as he was taken aback by her actions.

Brock smiled to the interaction but knew that Ash was beginning to grow uneasy, so he decided to remind her what she was doing. So, he did a loud fake cough.

Dawn realised her position and pushed herself away from him. Blushing furiously in a dark shade of crimson red, she apologized for her actions, "I… I'm sorry" She said in a shaking voice while her head bowed down. She was too embarrassed to look at him let alone making an eye contact.

"It's alright, no harm done" He ensured her and gave her a reassuring smile while tilting his head slightly.

'No not again' she said to herself, 'Why does he always has to smile in these situations" If it would have been possible, then her cheeks would have grown redder.

Ash being Ash didn't pay attention to any of that, he had far more important things which needed to be made clear.

"Well we are really excited about it Ash", "has she told you when you are leaving?" It was Brock this time who, unlike the dense raven haired trainer, had noticed the furious blush that Dawn had worn and was now grinning like a goof.

Ash lips curved into a frown. "No Brock, I am still to give her my response" Ash sighed. Here it comes.

"Bu…" Brock tried to ask why hasn't he already but was interrupted by him. "I don't know if am as excited about it either" he now held his head down while his hands crossed over his chest. As he gazed intently towards the sleeping form of his best friend.

Dawn gave him a puzzled look before adding, "But why Ash, we all know how much it means to you" What was on his mind? Why hasn't he already given an answer?

He rose his head to look at her, "Because she said I would not be able to see any of you until it's over and according to her, it would probably take at least 2 years if not more." He explained in a rather disappointed manner.

"You see guys I want to go and train with her. I know she can make me stronger. I'm sure she would lead me to my dream." He paused for a bit to look at the sleeping Pikachu, "But I'm not sure if I want to reach their without you guys." So this was it all about, thought the duo. They knew that if it was any other person it wouldn't have been an issue. But it was Ash they were talking about. The same Ash they knew that lived for and with his friends and Pokemon. To not being able to see them for such a long period would be a torture for him.

Silence took over the place for a couple of minutes. Everybody was staring their feet as no smiles flashed in the room, unlike just few moments ago. No one seeming to know what to say, or how to react to that particular detail. Dawn was the one to break the silence again. She lifted her head which contained a small smile or a fake one maybe and placed her hand over his shoulder. Ash raised his own head to meet her gaze.

She pumped her fist much like the way Ash does, before starting, "Aww common Ash, there's no need to be down, in fact there's no reason to be down, it's just a matter of 2 years, and after that we would all be together again and on the other hand you are going to have your Pokemon with you, so you won't be alone at least not completely."

Brock couldn't help but feel bad, he knew if anyone would be suffering those two years, it would be her but despite that he was too proud to see that she was there, encouraging him to pursue his dreams while she was well enlightened with the fact that all this time without him would be nothing better than night mare to her. He knew that if Ash not being there would effect someone the most, then it would be her.

Seeing that a smile curved on his face, she closed her eyes and smiled to herself. 'She had done it, she had convinced him to leave her and go, the very person she'd started to wakes up for. Just to see that goofy smile of his. Oh she was proud of herself.'

She raised her hand over her head and gave him a knowing smile. Ash had one of his own as he clasped her hand with his own, for their classic high five.

Dawn had woke up early next morning. Last night didn't turn out to be that bad. She kept assuring herself that it was just a matter of time and after that he would return to her and then she would confess to him. Actually she was pretty pleased with herself that she had done the right thing. Well she didn't just woke up early for no reason. She had done it to see him sleeping. She wanted to watch him when the first rays of the morning would hit his face, illuminating it. To her it was his innocence which did the charm for her. He looked so innocent sleeping but to her 'luck' he was nowhere to be seen, neither was Pikachu.

All her energy died down, as this was her last chance for a long time now, if she would ever get a chance again. She didn't know what hit her but she felt like exploding. All the emotions she was hiding beneath her surface, took over and she felt like she couldn't take it any longer. She rushed to the bathroom while the dwelling emotions flowing from her eyes, she turned on the shower with her clothes still on. Then she dropped to her knees and cried her heart out. She knew she was crying way too loud and Brock would might hear her but she didn't care cause she knew, if she would hold herself in then she might explode.

Ash on the other hand was at the Pokemon Centre. He knew he had to let his mom and Professor Oak know about it all. He was too relieved to know that Pikachu was more than excited about this when he had let him know just after waking up earlier that day. He went over to one of the videophones and picked it up before grabbing his chin with his fingers thoughtfully.

"Hmm… now whom should I call first" he mumbled as he contemplated to himself.

"pika… pika pi Pikachu" Pikachu said while waving his paws, trying to explain him, what he thought was the right choice.

"Right buddy" Ash gave him a thankful nod before dialing an all too familiar number.

"Hello Ketchum residence" The screen showed a woman in her mid thirty's sitting in front of them.

"Hey mom, it's me"

"Pikaa" Pikachu squeaked from his position.

"Ohh Ash…. Pikachu, how are you? Oooh I'm sooo proud that you made it to the semi-finals." She said it all real quickly, making it almost hard to figure out what she meant. Ash chuckled while rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I'm fine mom, what about you?" She smiled and told him that she was doing just great.

"When are you coming home dear, I will cook all you favourite dishes for you. Ohh it's been so long since I last saw in person. Look at you, you're growing in front of my eyes." She squealed.

"Yeah about that mom" He hesitated a bit which she noticed.

"What is it Ash?" Ash heard another familiar voice and soon he was able to see the person whom it belonged to.

"Hey Professor, it's so good to see you" He greeted and was grateful that now he wouldn't have to explain him individually. Silently he thanked Pikachu who just gave him a smug look.

"It's good to see you too my boy" then he congratulated him for his great performance at the league. He sounded rather proud while he was doing it and he let Pikachu know that he had actually predicted that he would defeat the Latios which obviously made Pikachu beam with happiness. It was then that his mother asked him what he meant earlier. Now this was what he was dreading about. He didn't know how they would respond over what he was about to tell them. He knew it all depended on their decision, as he as hell wasn't going to go against their wishes. He just hoped they won't freak out, specially his mother.

Ash sighed and then calmed himself down and turned to his mother. He told them everything about Cynthia's proposition to train with her.

"So you see mom, I don't think I would be able to see you guys in anytime soon." He looked down at the moment he had said it. After a couple of moments of silence. He raised his head to see them looking at each other and then after a moment turning to face him with both wearing smiles of their own.

"It's fine with us Ash. Go train hard and show the world what my baby can do" Delia told him. The decision wasn't that hard for Delia. She knew what it meant for her Ash. She knew that it would kill her not to see her baby but then again he would just stay for a few days before heading to another adventure. So to her it was an obvious choice.

Now, on any other day, he would've shown annoyance on being called a baby but right now he was missing her way too much to do that, he just wanted to go there and hug her with all his life. After getting his emotions in line a bit he responded.

"I'll miss you mom, professor" He said while trying his hardest not to cry.

"We'll miss you too my boy" Samuel Oak told him while Delia just nodded. Ash nodded himself with a look of sheer determination. Now that he was being given the chance, he would make sure to make the most of it.

"Just one thing Ash, take care of yourself and yeah, don't forget to wear clean under wears."(Mooooom) she chuckled the atmosphere cooling down a bit and paused for bit to avert her gaze to look at Pikachu, "I don't trust him Pikachu, you take care of him Okay?"

"Pika" he squeaked while giving her a reassuring nod.

"Don't worry about Ash, I'll take good care of him" Ash turned around to see that it was Cynthia.

"Hey I can take care of myself" he made himself clear. Treating him like a baby when someone as Cynthia was present wasn't something he wanted and now he was totally embarrassed and sported a small blush and irritated pout.

Everybody laughed to it and Delia nodded and said "Yeah right" with sarcasm leaking from it, which made Ash to face fault and drop his head in resignation.

Delia then turned to look Cynthia directly into the eyes. "I'm trusting you with me baby"

Cynthia smirked and nodded to reassure her.

"I'm not a baby" This time he screamed, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

"hehe… Of course dear, now good bye and stay out of trouble Okay?" She ordered while almost tearing at the end. Ash noticed her and as now about to lose his own control. "mom" he mumbled under his breath.

With that Delia hung up the phone not wanting him, to see her crying when they were going to see each other for the last time in a while. And with that the screen went black.

"Good bye" he mumbled while a tear leaving his eye. Cynthia noticed it but she knew just the way to deal with it. She too could feel the emotions in the atmosphere but she had to cheer him. She smirked at him before mimicking his words, trying her hardest to sound like him "I'm not a baby" playfully. He chuckled to that and swept the lone tear with his shirt.

He then stood up of the seat and turned towards her. He bowed in front of her slightly, before saying, "Mistress Cynthia Shirona, please accept me as your apprentice." Naturally Cynthia was a little embarrassed by his actions but when she saw the slight smirk that he held, she knew that he was just being sore looser.

She smirked herself as she responded, "I do take you as my apprentice" She paused for a bit with her hand on her chin as if she was thinking about something, "hmmmm…. Mistress Cynthia hun? Have nice ring to it" She chuckled at the end with Ash joining her with his own.

"So what now" he asked her as they both calmed down, sounding a bit curious.

"hmm, I'll tell you after the award ceremony, till then hang out with your friends or rest a bit maybe" she replied with a nonchalant shrug before turning to leave.

"See you then"

He waved her bye and decided they should head back to their own room. When he reached to his room, he saw that Dawn was in her bed with her head buried in her knees and Brock was sitting next to her with his hand on her shoulder, as if he was trying to comfort her. He didn't waste another second and rushed to her.

"Dawn" he called her name but she didn't respond.

"Dawn!" he called her again but this time much louder than before almost yelling.

"uhh, oh hey Ash" She wasn't expecting for him to return so soon and almost jumped out in surprise.

"Are you alright?" he asked her in a very worried tone. Then he looked into her eyes and came to know that they were bloody red. 'Was she crying?' he thought to himself. But he couldn't think of a reason for her to cry. Did he do something wrong?

"Yea, I am fine, don't worry about me" she lied to him and curved her lips into a fake smile to support her statement.

Ash didn't buy it as he knew something was not right.

"No you are not Dawn and now I'm really starting to worry about you, what happened to your eyes?" he asked her while now taking a seat next to her. She quickly turned to hide her face as she knew it was a total mess.

Brock have had enough though. He knew how much this whole thing meant to him but he couldn't see Dawn suffer either. "She was crying" Brock informed him grimly. Ash was already aware of that and couldn't help but wonder if that was because of his leaving. So he just went for it.

"Is it because of me" Dawn quickly turned to look at him. Seemingly surprised with the question. She waved her hand in front of him frantically to tell him otherwise.

"Of course not silly" She assured him. She knew she had to do something or she might won't be able to hold herself back. She knew if she would stay with him, then she might do something crazy that later on she would regret. So she had to act brave. She knew she had to leave him somehow. As it would be much better than waiting for him to leave her. She then got an idea and she just hoped that he would buy it.

"I got a call from my home town, it was from the hospital." She paused a bit and turned her gaze to look into his eyes before continuing, "they said my mom was there" She sounded so genuine that he fell for it.

"Whaat? Johanna is in hospital" He was really shocked to hear it as he had never anticipated it coming as he watched her with wide eyes. She sighed mentally in relief. Well she just hoped he would forgive her when he would find out about her lie.

She nodded slowly while now staring out of the window. She then turned to see that he had stood up and was now approaching for his bag.

She watched him while raising a delicate eyebrow, "What are you doing Ash?"

"We are going to her" he said while giving her a look of finality.

She smiled to herself. That was her Ash, willing to sacrifice his everything for the sake of his loved ones. She was a bit surprised too. She knew he cared for her and it was her mother they were talking about but she had never that he would choose to be with her for her mother rather than to be with Cynthia for himself.

She shook her head slowly with her eyes closed and then looked directly into his eyes with a faint smile.

"We are not going to her Ash" he couldn't believe what she was saying. Johanna, her mother was in hospital and she said they won't go to her.

"But she needs us. We can't just leave her alone." He retorted exasperatedly with a frown.

"That's why I am leaving Ash, you and Brock stay here." Ash tried to oppose her but she interrupted him, "Please Ash, no more discussion" she pleaded to him.

"But Dawn" he whispered and dropped his head to stare his feet.

Just as Dawn was about to head towards him, someone knocked the door and Brock went to attend the person which turned out to be Nurse Joy. She greeted him and asked if she could talk to Ash Ketchum. She informed him that the final match was about to commence and he had to be at the stadium for the award ceremony which was to follow it. He thanked her as she left.

He then turned to face Dawn with a helpless look. He knew what that meant. She seemed to realize it too and decided that she should go first to make things easy for him. 'He already had so much on his mind after all.'

"I think this is it then" She paused for a bit before continuing "I won't be here after the match"

Ash's gaze dropped to hear that as he nodded his head understandingly. She then approached him and embraced him. Much to her surprise and joy, he returned the hug by wrapping his own arms around her. That made her smile despite all the pain she was suffering with at the moment.

"Thank you so much Ash" She whispered in his ear.

"Thank you for making me who I am today." She thanked him repeatedly and pulled herself away after a few moments from him.

She looked into his eyes to see that they were numb but it was all blurry as she was numb too. He just nodded with his world famous smile which was enough for her to make her smile back.

She then turned to Brock who had some tears of his own and hugged him too while thanking for everything he had done for her.

After few minutes, they all left their room and now stood at the exit of the hotel to see Dawn off.

"Take care of Johanna and yourself too, Dawn"

"Yeah, I will" she had let Piplup out of his Pokeball so that he could say his goodbyes to him and Pikachu. She then leaned towards the little mouse pokemon and grabbed him into an embrace. "Take care of yourself and Ash for me, will you?" she asked him while her eyes closed and her lips curved into a big grin.

"Pikachu~" He gave her an assuring nod and then she handed him to Ash. Who had a small smile seeing the interaction between the two.

"Hey you don't have to worry about me" he said in a silly manner. To tell the truth, he had said that sentence for a reason. He wanted to hear it for one last time.

She chuckled slightly, seemingly getting the message, before leaning forward with her hands on her hips. "That's when I worry the most Ash Ketchum." Trying to sound as serious as she could. He chuckled before giving her an assuring nod which made her own lips curve upwards.

She then turned to Brock and wished him bye with a small hug.

She then tried to call Piplup back to his pokeball be he dodged the beam and tried to hide behind Ash, making it clear what he thought about the situation. He didn't want to leave his friends. He gave Ash a pleading look as if asking for him to do something, but the latter picked him up and handed him back to Dawn.

"Piplup!" He yelled with tears streaming down his face as he struggled against his trainer's grasp. Dawn tried to calm his down but he was having none of it. Seeing no other option, even if he would be upset with her for some time, she recalled him and turned around to leave. She had only taken a few steps before turning back to see Ash in his eyes and extending an arm over her head.

He grinned before running to her and clasping his own hand with hers doing their signature 'High - Five' for one last time.

Author's Note: So guys here goes my fourth chapter. I know it was kind of late and I apologize for that. I wanted to dedicate it to Dawn cause Pearlshipping is my next favourite to amourshipping and to tell you the truth, it's gonna be really hard for me to continue the story without her (emotionally) xP. But the show must go on. I must promise to you guys that you aren't seeing her last time in the story. She is really important for my plot. And yeah about the plot… I know some of you must find it to be heading in a really predictable direction (Ash trains blah blah blah, becomes badass and returns to win a tournament) but I promise you it won't be like that. Just another chapter and then the foundation of the story would be set and the real story would begin. Am so looking forward to it and I hope you guys are too but lemme assure you 'IT'S GOING TO BE WORTH IT'.