Hello everyone, its me, The-Ell-Star. I'm really sorry for how long this has taken to come out. Again, college work is still piling up. For anyone that is interested in this, I passed my first year in all 4 subjects, and against many teachers recommendations, I have continued doing the 4 into my second and hopefully finale year. Now there are quite a few reasons for this being delayed, obviously the BIG one I've just explained. I had started writing this back in September/October last year. Then November hit...dear lord was that a game changer. Fallout 4 took up so much of my time, even now I'm still playing it. December rolled around, and thanks to PS Plus, I was devoted to Freedom Wars. This month mocks happened, and I finally got my hands on a copy of Persona Q, and boy is it great. Again, I'm sorry this took so long to write/upload.
But anyway, on with the chapter!
It was currently Monday of the students half term. Most, if not all, of the students had been partying the weekend before. It was tradition, or so the students would say, or at least the populars would. They'd party for the weekend, then spend the rest of the week revising, although some hadn't even started yet and others could not care and wouldn't bother at all. As you could probably guess, Ash didn't have any involvement with this. Parties weren't his style, he wasn't one for social gatherings, seeing them as nothing more than an obsolete activity. It was more as a benefit that he could not run into Drew and his mob of idiots, as they would often party their asses off, which meant he wouldn't have to put up with their idiocy. As for his revision, he had been prepping all year so he didn't need to spend all his time this half term hitting the books, sure he would do some last minute stuff just to make sure he was ready, but all in all, he felt confident.
Currently, Ash had just woken up from sleep. A beam of light had snuck by his curtains and landed on his face, causing the teen to rise from his slumber in mild annoyance. He glanced over at his clock, which sat upon his bed side table, which showed the time of 7:48 AM. Surprised as he generally didn't wake up before 9 AM, Ash returned his head to his pillow, deciding whether or not he should get up or try to go back to sleep. He finally decided to get up, seeing there no harm in getting up early on a non-school day for once. As he was pulling away his duvet, he glanced over to the other side of his room, where his Pokemon were currently snoozing. Mudkip and Pikachu were curled up in the respected beds, and Pidgey was asleep standing up on a bird pole.
Deciding not to wake them just yet, Ash crept quietly into his en-suite bathroom. Ash's parents were quite well off, thanks to mum running a daycare centre in a region called Hoenn, and his dad who was once a skilled and famous trainer. Although Ash hadn't seen his dad in ages due to work related stuff, he would always make sure his son and wife were looked after. The en-suite wasn't a grand affair, no diamond encrusted wall mirrors or bathtubs made out of solid gold, but it had everything Ash would need: sink, toilet, shower and a cabinet to store his toiletries. He hopped in the shower, quickly washing himself for the day. Once clean enough, he dried himself, and brushed his teeth whilst brushing his hair at the same time. Once satisfied again, he left the bathroom and headed for his drawers to find some clothes for the day, taking another glance at his snoozing Pokemon to ensure he hadn't woken them. Once underpants and socks were put on, Ash decided on a pair of navy jeans and a blue and white t-shirt, before leaving his room and heading downstairs.
Ash ended up looking in the fridge for something for breakfast. His mother, Delia, had gone into town. She wouldn't go around every store and buy the most expensive items in them, she merely went out for the fresh air. Ash's above mentioned father was still at work. Fortunately, Ash could cook quite well for someone his age, especially when it came to his favourite breakfast: Pancakes. He grabbed the pancake batter out of the fridge, and set about making breakfast. Lacing a frying pan with the batter, in mere minutes (and a quick toss in the air) the batter had hardened into a perfectly cooked pancake. He grabbed a plate, and effortlessly slid the pancake onto the plate, before dousing it in lemon juice and sugar. As Ash was about to sit down at the kitchen table, cutlery in hand, when he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. Looking, Ash realised the smell of food had woken his Pokemon up, as Mudkip and Pikachu came trotting down the stairs, and Pidgey was flapping above them.
"Guess you want feeding too huh?" The trio of Pokemon cried in agreement. Ash smiled, before heading over to kitchen cabinet where his Pokemon food was stored, and grabbing 3 bowls and 3 different containers of food. Pouring each container of food into separate bowls, Ash brought the trio of food bowls to where he was about to eat, and set them on the floor, where his Pokemon wasted no time digging into their breakfast. Ash, now seated and with nothing else to do presently, began devouring his breakfast. It didn't take long for the group to finish their food, to which Ash brought his plate, cutlery and Pokemon food bowls to the sink to wash up. As he was washing up, Pikachu's ears twitched, before realising he had just heard a "BEEP" sound coming from upstairs.
"Pika Pika" Ash turned his head to see Pikachu waving his hand, trying to get Ash's attention.
"Hmm? What it is Pikachu?"
"Pika Pikapikachu" Pikachu pointed upstairs.
"You heard something upstairs?" Pikachu nodded. "Ok I'll check it out."
Fortunately, Ash just finished washing up, so he headed straight upstairs. Figuring the noise came from his room, he checked that first. Pushing open the partial opened door, Ash saw no change in his room. "Ok…so it wasn't anything falling down…nor was anything moved." The next candidate in Ash's mind was his phone, given it makes a "BEEP" noise whenever a notification is received on it. he picked it up and switched it on, and sure enough, a notification popped up on screen:
Message received - PokeMessenger
Ash read the notification, before accessing the PokeMessenger app on his phone. Truth be told, he hadn't used it in a while, then again he hadn't had a reason given his apparent social status. He quickly tapped on the message icon, bringing him to another screen which showed previous conversations with people. However, the most recent one was what caught Ash's eye:
Message received 8:06AM
Dawn Berlitz: Hi Ash, I dunno whether you still use this or not, but if you do get this, can I ask you something?
Ash looked at her message status, which showed Dawn was still online. He quickly typed out a message and sent it.
Ash Ketchum: Yeah I still use this, don't know why though. Yeah sure, what is it?
The message sent was delivered in a couple of seconds. Soon it showed that Dawn had seen the message, and the icon appearing of three dots appearing and disappearing showed up.
Dawn Berlitz: Really? I was wondering whether or not I could possibly hang out with you? I mean, its ok if you don't want to.
Ash Ketchum: Yeah pretty much. Sure its fine, don't worry.
Dawn Berlitz: Are you sure?
Ash Ketchum: Of course :)
Dawn Berlitz: Ok, can we do some studying together? I think there are a few areas I could use some help on…
Ash Ketchum: Sure, where do you want to do it?
There was a slight pause before Dawn answered.
Dawn Berlitz: I guess at my house? If thats ok with you?
Ash: Yeah thats fine, tell me where you live and I'll be over later on today
Dawn sent Ash her address, and to his surprise, she lived quite close to him. Because of that, he told her he would be over in about 10 minutes, to which Dawn agreed. Shutting his phone off, Ash stuffed it in his pocket and began picking up various text books and a writing pad with notes on it before stuffing them into his bag and hoisting it on his back. Leaving his room once again, Ash made his way back downstairs, where his Pokemon were chatting amongst themselves.
"Guys?" Ash called out, gaining the attention of the trio of Pokemon who looked at him curiously. "I just got something from Dawn…you remember Dawn yeah?" The Pokemon trio nodded before Ash continued, "Right, well I'm about to head put and meet her at her house, she needs help revising some stuff, I was wondering whether you'd want to come with me?" All 3 Pokemon cried out in agreement, each one welcoming the chance to meet Ash's new friend again. Ash smiled at the response he got. "Ok guys, then lets go, I told her I'd be there in 10 minutes." The 3 Pokemon again cried out in acknowledgement, before following their trainer, who had his bag slung around his shoulders and was about to open the front door.
"Oh shoot." Ash suddenly exclaimed, before bolting back upstairs, whilst yelling back to obviously confused Pokemon: "Hang on, I almost forgot your Poke balls!" All 3 Pokemon sweat dropped upon hearing this, their trainer could get too energetic sometimes. After successfully finding his Pokemon's Poke balls, Ash dashed back downstairs, whilst attaching all 3 to his belt. "Got them." He exclaimed, before putting on a pair of trainers, grabbing a spare door key, and made his way out of the house, with his Pokemon close behind.
The walk over to Dawn's house was uneventful: It was sunny and quite warm, so Pikachu and Mudkip walked with Ash, whilst Pidgey stretched her wings by flying above them. The streets were quiet, but Ash had expected that, given it wasn't even 9 AM yet. It didn't take long for the group the arrive at the address Dawn had sent Ash: the house itself wasn't a luxurious affair, it was your a-typical house, with pure white paint coating the exterior and a black door shadowed by a wooden porch.
After calling for Pidgey to stop flying, Ash walked up to the black door, which had glass embedded all down the middle of the door. Pidgey was perched on his shoulder and Pikachu and Mudkip walking on the floor. Seeing no obvious door bell, Ash rapped his knuckles against the solid wood. He didn't hear anything for a few seconds, but a shout of; "HANG ON, I'M COMING!" betrayed any doubt that the house was empty. Ash waited a few more seconds before he could make out the blue haired girl in the door's glass unlocking the door.
"Hiya." Dawn greeted Ash once she had opened the door, giving him a welcoming smile at the same time. She was wearing a casual red and black plaid shirt, blue jeans and black flats.
"Hey." Ash responded, matching Dawn's smile as motioned to his Pokemon. "I er…hope you don't mind but I brought my Pokemon along." Dawn shook her head in response.
"It's fine." She simply stated, before pointing her thumb behind her, motioning to inside her house. "Piplup and Buneary are out of their Poke balls anyway. Besides…" A sly smile grew on her face, before adopting a sarcastic tone, "It's not like we're gonna get distracted, you know, with 5 Pokemon running about"
Ash sniggered upon hearing this, albeit he was also quite surprised at the comment: Dawn had never been obviously sarcastic for the sake of comedy. Then again, all the times Ash spoke to Dawn was in school, meaning the chance to speak to her like this had never occurred. Wanting to keep the bravado going, Ash turned to his Pokemon to address them: "You heard the nice lady, don't distract us too much. Oh, and try not to break anything yeah?" Dawn giggled at Ash's addressment to his Pokemon, whilst Pikachu and Mudkip merely gave him an amused look to say: "Like we would." before racing off into Dawn's house. Pidgey remained perched on Ash's shoulder, even though she had met Dawn and her Pokemon, she was not as outgoing as Pikachu or Mudkip, and preferred remaining within close proximity to her trainer.
Both humans chuckled at the Pokemons enthusiasm, whilst Ash gave Pidgey a small stroke on her small head, with the tiny bird squawking in enjoyment. Dawn gestured for Ash to enter, which he gladly accepted, and duo (plus Pidgey) found themselves in the hallway.
"So…where are we studying?"
Dawn thought for a second at Ash, presumably stating the obvious from his perspective, before settling on the living room. "In their." She pointed to a room on their left, before quickly adding "That is if you okay in there."
Ash turned to face her, giving her a calming smile. "Yeah why wouldn't it be?"
Dawn held her arm (with her other hand) and looked at floor, before shyly admitting, "I d..don't want to make you uncomfortable, I mean I feel like I've dragged you here on such short notice, I don't wanna be anymore of a burden."
Ash looked at Dawn for a second. "In all fairness you are right about the uncomfortable bit…" Dawn tensed up on hearing that, gripping her arm tighter, and taking in a sharp breath. "Let me finish. Yeah I'm uncomfortable, but thats not because of you, thats because this whole thing about meeting up with people ain't exactly what I'm used to, remember my 'social status'?" Dawn slowly nodded, before slowing lifting her head up to look at Ash, albeit with her hand still clenched to her other arm. "And being burden? Dawn there are two reasons you're not being a burden." Ash held up his hand and pointed one finger up. "First, from an academic standing, revising with you also tests me on my knowledge, given I'm probably gonna end up helping with things." Ash then raised a second finger. "Second, if it were Drew or one of them idiotic sods I was helping, I probably would consider it a burden. However, the fact it is you, a person I hold nothing against and actually get along with quite well, it's not a burden."
Dawn's eyes widened at Ash's points, well they mainly did for the second reason. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Y..you really mean it?" She probed, wondering if the male teen only said that to make her feel better.
"I really do." Ash emphasised, further proving it by locking his brown eyes onto her sapphire ones, to show he was not lying.
Dawn's blush deepened somewhat looking into Ash's eyes, whilst a small smile crept up on her face. Finally deciding to start what both had came for, Dawn brushed past Ash and made her into the living room, before stopping in the door way. "Come on then." Dawn called out, looking at Ash once again, before fully entering the living room. "Lets put you idea that I'm not a burden to the test shall we?"
Ash smirked, again quite surprised at Dawn's sudden change in behaviour. Though she seemed distant on the surface, Ash knew there was a different girl buried within, hell what she had just said was proof of that. Deciding to match her sudden behaviour, Ash called back.
"You're on."
The next few hours flew by without either teen realising. Despite Dawn's original plan to just cover some aspects, they ended up going over every bit of every subject. Surprisingly for Dawn, she'd discovered she could keep up relatively well with Ash, and hold her own when dealing with the questions Ash threw at her. Ash of course had no problems with the material and the questions, which was a given since he had revising the material for months. The two also worked really well together, a strong untapped chemistry if you will: despite focusing on revising, they still found time to have laugh, which actually helped in the long run.
Currently, the trio were still in Dawn's living room, just quickly going over a few last bits. Pidgey stuck with the two humans throughout their entire session, mainly because she wanted to near her trainer, but she was also quite curious about learning more about Dawn and about what ever the two humans were doing (yes she knew she'd never need to learn it, but she wanted to anyway). Whilst this was going own, the group of 4 Pokemon; Pikachu, Mudkip, Piplup and Buneary, spent the time either talking amongst each other or playing, occasionally making an appearance to their trainers.
"Ok, after all of this…" Ash addressed the bluenette, whilst closing his text book for what he assumed would be last time for today. "You should be fine and dandy for these exams, hell you could give me a run for my money."
Dawn raised an eyebrow at this, before confidently 'correcting' Ash. "Could? No no Ash, I will, you'll see"
Ash laughed upon hearing that. "I guess I was right, you weren't a burden after all." He implied at Dawn, who merely pouted a bit, causing Ash to laugh harder.
"In all seriousness though…" The male teen got out, after calming down from his laughter. "Assuming you don't go in there expecting to know every answer, and use my tips, you should be fine for these exams." He gave a thumbs up to the bluenette.
"Not only do I know I'm ready, I feel ready Ash." Dawn merely stated, before giving the male teen a soft smile. "Thanks Ash, having you here…it's helped me a lot."
"No problem." Ash merely said, before standing up and stretching his body. Sitting on a chair for hours in the same positions had rendered the male teen's muscles stiff. Noticing what Ash was doing, Dawn followed suit and stretched as well, she felt stiff after all the revising. The tiny bird Pokemon remained perched on the chair Ash sat in: she had flown around for a bit early and didn't feel in anyway stiff.
"I think we could do with doing something else for a bit." Ash suggested, then went on to elaborate when Dawn stared at him. "If we focus too much on this…" He gestured towards the pile of textbooks that had congregated on the living room floor. "…We're gonna end up with nothing going in. Even if we don't end up going back to this, I think we've earned a break."
Dawn, finding no reason to argue, completely agreed with Ash. She had worked hard and needed to relax for a bit. However just then an idea came into her mind, a idea that should help both of them bring their mind off their studies for a bit.
"Hey Ash?" Ash turned his attention back onto Dawn, nodding his head slightly to allow her to continue. "I was wondering…given how you said we need something to distract us from revising… we have a practice b..battle?"
Ash's eyes widened in surprise at hearing this; was Dawn, the same girl that only a few days ago said didn't like battling (or battling in front of people) asking for him to battle her? The surprise soon turned into sudden adrenaline. "A battle you say?" Ash grinned at the bluenette, who in turn gave him a somewhat nervous grin of her own. "You're on."
With that the duo, with Pidgey again perched on Ash's shoulder, made their way outside to Dawn's back yard (I'm not American, but it sounds better than garden). Ash wondered whether the back yard would be big enough to hold a Pokemon battle, but upon looking, it was definitely big enough, even with the trees, shrubs and other various plants. Both trainers walked up to the makeshift arena and called out for their Pokemon, wanting to assemble their battling forces for the upcoming battle.
Mudkip and Pikachu ran up to Ash, and lined up in front of him. Pidgey also came off her trainers shoulder and joined her two friends. Ash bent down so he was closer to his Pokemon, before thinking about his choice.
Whilst this went on, Piplup and Buneary stood in front of their trainer, whilst Dawn was deep in thought about her choice, all the while balancing her inner emotions; she was scared and nervous, but she WANTED to do this, she wanted to prove to herself she could do this, that she could hold her own in a Pokemon battle, even if it would be a one sided battle.
Both trainers finally decided on their choice, before manoeuvring into the trainer boxes on opposite sides of the battlefield. Noticing each other was standing, Ash called out to Dawn.
"I suppose I'll show off my choice first. Pidgey, you're up!"
The usually shy bird squawked in acknowledgement, and made her way onto the battlefield. She stood on the ground as apposed to taking to the skies, not wanting to use up energy before the fight even begun, and anticipated whom her opponent would be.
Dawn took in a breath to steel her nerves, before revealing her choice. "Piplup, lets go!" The penguin Pokemon cried in acknowledgement, before waddling onto the battlefield. Unlike his avian opponent, Piplup had to settle for a grounded stance. He was not bothered however; flight or no flight, he was going to do his best and be one heck of a opponent. Even if he lost, he was gonna down swinging.
Both Pokemon locked eyes, feeling the intensity and determination coming from each other. Both couldn't help but let smirks grow on their faces, both knowing that this battle was gonna be good. Ash, being the more accustomed battler, was already ready to begin, but held back in respect to his opponent, who he assumed would need a few moments to collect herself.
"Oh Dawn, you can have the first move whenever you're ready." Ash called out over the battlefield.
Dawn thanked Ash. She suddenly felt pumped and ready for the battle, the same feeling she had before the 2 on 2 battle a few days ago. This time however, she wasn't gonna let this energy slip by. She was going to embrace it, and prove she could do this. Taking one last breath, Dawn gave the first command, therefore jumping into unknown of the battle.
"PIPLUP BUBBLEBEAM!"
Responding immediately to her trainer's command, Piplup unleashed a torrent of bubbles at his opponent, hoping to land the first hit of the match and deal some damage. Of course Pidgey, and her trainer, weren't gonna let that happen easily.
"PIDGEY TAKE TO THE SKIES!" Pidgey didn't need to be told twice, as she launched off of the ground and raised her altitude, rendering the bubblebeam missed as it hit the arena floor.
"PIPLUP BUBBLEBEAM AGAIN!" Somewhat angered at his first attempt being dodged, Piplup fired off another bubblebeam, fully intending to actually hit his target this time.
"PIDGEY SWOOP LEFT THEN FIRE A GUST!" With sharp movements, the tiny bird Pokemon manoeuvring away from the onslaught of bubbles, before flapping her wings to create a strong gust, dealing some damage to the penguin Pokemon. Dawn gritted her teeth, clearly getting into this battle.
"PIPLUP USE BUBBLE!" Whilst Pidgey was still using Gust, Piplup managed to fire off a few bubbles, which scored a hit against his avian opponent, which was made apparent by the bird squawking out in pain and Gust stopping. Shaking off what pain it could, Pidgey continued staying airborne, locking eyes with her opponent once more.
"PIDGEY GET IN CLOSE, USE QUICK ATTACK!" Ash decided a purely ranged battle wouldn't go in his favour, so decided to mix things up a bit. Pidgey became enveloped a white light and lunged towards Piplup at an increased speed.
"PIPLUP MEET IT HEAD ON, USE POUND!" Piplups fin became surrounded in white energy, and the penguin shot off to meet Pidgey head on. The two Pokemon came closer and closer, until it looked like there going to collide with each other.
Ash had however planned for this. "PIDGEY BANK UP WHILST USING WING ATTACK!" The small avian Pokemon waited till the last second before twisting her body, so that her right wing was almost touching the ground, before channeling energy into said wing and sharply increasing her altitude, resulting in Piplup receiving a powered up blow, thanks to the quick attack, right under its chin (like an uppercut). This caused the penguin to be launched into the air, only to come crashing back down on the floor.
"PIPLUP! Are you okay?" Worry edged into Dawn's voice, yet at the same time she knew Piplup could take a few hits, thanks to her last battle. Piplup managed to get to his feet, shaking off the dizzy feeling to hopefully become more alert, and called out to signify it was ok. Dawn thought for a few moments, going in close range was dangerous down to Pidgey's speed, whilst sticking to range was also risky as Pidgey could easily evade any attack. She figured she would have to land a solid hit against the bird, then follow up with quick damage. "PIPLUP BUBBLEBEAM GO!"
Again, the penguin Pokemon unleashed a torrent of bubbles at his opponent. Ash called out for Pidgey to dodge, which she easily did.
"BUBBLE GO!" Piplup then fired fewer, but more faster, bubbles towards his opponent. Not given any time to dodge, Pidgey took the full brunt of the attack. She didn't crash into the ground, but she lost some altitude from that attack.
"NOW PIPLUP POUND!" The penguin again shot off towards the tiny bird, with one of his fins surrounded in white energy.
"MEET IT HEAD ON WING ATTACK GO!" Despite taking a painful hit, Pidgey channeled her energy into her wing once more and launched towards Piplup. Fin met wing as the two attacks collided, with each Pokemon being forced back from the attack. Despite looking like a stalemate, Piplup took some damage from that exchange. Despite the pain however, Piplup soundly lunged forward at Pidgey again, however this time both his fins where enveloped in a white light, both delivering two strong blows to Pidgey. The two blows forced Pidgey back even further, who had not expected a follow up attack that quickly.
Dawn stood dumbfounded at witnessing this attack, she didn't remember Piplup having a move that could do that, though it looked quite similar to pound, Piplup had never used a double pond before. Seeing the confusion on her face, Ash called out to her. "Dawn, the move Piplup just used is called Double Hit. It's like pound, only you attack twice in rapid succession. Piplup can't normally learn that attack, but it appears to be an unlocked egg move" Dawn nodded at Ash's explanation, before becoming more confused at 'unlocked egg move'.
"Ash what do you mean by 'unlocked egg move'?"
Ash thought for a second, before realising that explaining it during a battle wouldn't be a good idea. "I'll explain afterwards, okay?" Dawn only nodded. "Now, shall we continue?" Again Dawn nodded, so Ash gave out a command.
"PIDGEY GUST AGAIN!" Pidgey got up and back in the air, before flapping her wings once more, creating a strong wind.
"PIPLUP BUBBLEBEAM!" Again a torrent of bubbles came rocketing towards Pidgey. Ash smirked however, a plan beginning to formulate in his mind.
"CANCEL THE GUST AND CORKSCREW 'ROUND THE BUBBLES!" Pidgey quickly canceled the gust, before flying towards the bubbles, and began spinning around them with her back always facing the bubbles. Dawn was amazed at the grace of which Pidgey managed to circle around Piplup's bubblebeam. However it was gonna take more than amazement at this point to distract her.
"PIPLUP WAIT FOR IT TO GET CLOSE THEN DOUBLE HIT!" Piplup stopped firing the bubblebeam and allowed his two fins to glow with energy. Little did either of them know, Ash had hoped Dawn would go with double hit, or a similar close range attack, and a smirk grew on his face. Pidgey continued traveling towards Piplup, with the latter almost in attacking range, before Ash made his move.
"PIDGEY BANK LEFT, THEN CIRCLE ROUND WITH QUICK ATTACK!" Pidgey did just that, narrowly avoiding the first of Piplup's double hits by banking left, then activating quick attack, letting her body being enveloped in a white light, and banked right so she would end up behind Piplup.
Dawn, only now realising the danger, called out quickly to Piplup. "PIPLUP BEHIND YOU!" Piplup managed to turn his body, only to see the tiny bird traveling at high speeds towards him. Ash, wanting to finish the battle, called out his command.
"WING ATTACK NOW!" Channeling energy into her wing, Pidgey slammed into Piplup at high speeds with her powered up wing. This caused the penguin to be forced backwards, doing several tumbles, before finally coming to a stop with swirls in his eyes. The last attack had been too much for the penguin.
Dawn rushed towards Piplup, memories of the last fight coming into mind as tears threatened to fall; the adrenaline had worn off and Dawn was now worried about her Pokemons health. Buneary too rushed towards her fallen friend, with both females making it to Piplup at the same time as he regained consciousness, with the penguin Pokemon reassuring the both of them that he was fine. During this, Ash had made his way across the field, towards Dawn.
"I'm sorry about that Dawn…I got a bit too carried away there." Ash apologised with a apologetic look, wary of how Dawn would react. Said women turned to face him, and to Ash's surprise, she was actually smiling, a big difference from her reaction to her last battle.
"It's fine Ash." Dawn said, still smiling. "Unlike what happened with May and her Torchic…" Dawn choked a bit as that memory flashed into her mind, tearing her away from looking at Ash. "You weren't torturing Piplup, nor were you taking great pleasure at causing damage to him either." Dawn returned her glaze back to Ash, the latter was somewhat speechless at Dawns answer. "And ultimately I asked you for the battle, and even if I didn't win, that shouldn't mean I can't have fun. Yeah I was worried about Piplup, but if anything that worrying should motivate me to become better at battling." Dawn finished her little explanation by looking Ash straight in the eyes to prove she was serious.
Ash kept quiet for a few moments, before smiling back at Dawn. He was about to respond to her with words, however he was interrupted by a certain Pokemons energetic cry.
"PIDDDGGEYYY!"
The tiny bird Pokemon didn't know what was overcoming her, all of a sudden she could feel immense strength building from within. She was pretty sure she hadn't felt like this before the battle, what was so different now? Why had this battle caused her to feel so weird? Out of curiosity, Pidgey looked down at her shiny coloured body, wondering if there were any external differences. To her surprise, it seemed like her entire body was being covered by a white light, one similar to her Quick Attack, only it seemed to be purer and radiating more energy in nature. With out warning, the light suddenly grew in intensity, earning a surprised squark from the bird. All eyes were on her at this point, both human and Pokemon alike, as they wondered what was going on and why Pidgey was suddenly enveloped in a light. All wondered…but Ash didn't. He knew exactly what was happening to Pidgey, and he couldn't feel more proud of the tiny bird Pokemon, of his Pokemon.
The strength feeling within Pidgey sudden grew tenfold, as it began to enveloped her entire body: from her head to the tips of her wings, she could feel it all over her body. Her eyes were forced shut at the now blinding white light, yet at the same time, her body began to change; her torso began to grow larger, her head too grew in size, as did her wings. Size wasn't the only difference Pidgey could feel; her body felt lighter despite the obvious increase in size, and her wings felt more powerful, despite not even using them yet.
Her eyes opened, the blinding light finally dying down, and looked at those staring at her. Tapping back into her shy personality, the female bird immediately looked down at the floor, inevitably taking her first glance at her new body. It was bigger than before, though the colour of it had not changed. Glancing at her wings, she noted they indeed increased in size. Shaking her head as she felt somewhat dizzy, the bird soon took to the skies in an astounding speed, trying out her new wings. As expected during the transformation, they were indeed much more powerful. After circling the skies a few time, the bird landed back on the ground, before letting out a new, evolved, cry.
"PIDGEEEOOOTTOOO!"
Everyone had watched the entire thing unfold, and all bar Ash were still shocked at what happened, their bodies numb and minds dumbfounded at the event that had just occurred. Whilst everyone else was frozen in shock, Ash walked towards his 'new' bird. "Pidgey…This is amazing, you've evolved into Pidgeotto!"
'So thats what happened.' Was the collective thoughts of 4 Pokemon and one bluenette. None had seen an evolution happening before, which explained why they were so surprised at witnessing one. Everyone was so engrossed in what happened they failed to notice someone else, who had seen the entire thing.
"Thats some Pokemon you have there…"
Everyone present suddenly jumped out in shocked, even the normally calm and composed Ash couldn't jump a bit, and their heads snapped to where the voice came from: a women standing a few feet away from the battlefield. When Ash saw her, he couldn't help but think she looked like a older version of Dawn, however this women had her blue her up in a bun (AN: I'm not sure how her hair is normally). She wore a long sleeved white shirt, a red apron, blue 3/4 trousers a and pink house slippers. Also noteworthy was the cat like Pokemon perched on her shoulder, a grey feline with an especially long tail that curled into a spring, and seemed to be looking curiously at the group in front of it, especially Ash and his Pokemon.
Dawn, only just recovering from enough shock to function her mouth, spoke out to older women. "M..mom? W..what a..re you doing here?" she nervously finished, only just realising what the women would probably think about the situation. The older women, now identified as Dawn's mother, flashed a sarcastic smile in response.
"Gee I wonder Dawn, what would I, your mother, be doing here, at MY house. I mean it sounds insane doesn't it?" The sarcastic smile turned into a coy smile, the older women clearly getting a kick out of embarrassing her daughter as she kept her gaze on the young girl. Said daughter was currently taking a keen interest in her feet and started fiddling with her hands, as the younger female had her head directed down, with a detectable blush apparent on her cheeks.
Dawn's mother then shifted her gaze onto Ash, the latter matching her gaze curiously, as if wondering what this women was going to do with him. The older Berlitz's coy smile suddenly doubled, as she reverted her gaze back onto her daughter. "And besides…" One of the mother's eyes raised in amusement. "…What are you doing bringing boys back to our house and being alone with them?" Dawn stopped playing with her hands and instead used them to cover her face that was heating up from embarrassment. Never in a million years did Dawn, and her mother to that extent, expect to be in this position, and yet here she was.
"At least it can't get any worse." A voice in the back of Dawn's mind suddenly called out, and Dawn found herself agreeing with that voice.
Oh how wrong she and her inner voice was.
"Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against you being alone with a boy, but you could've at least warned me incase I…'Interrupted' anything." Behind the shielded face, Dawn's eyes now widened at what her mother was implying. Before even realising, the younger Berlitz was looking at the older one, albeit with a heavy blush on her cheeks. She stole a quick glance of Ash, who was still standing there with Pidgeotto shyly nuzzling her new head in his hand. She noted he didn't seem that embarrassed nor surprised, only having a stoic and calm look on his face. Either he was too dense to figure out what her mother was implying, which Dawn seriously doubted, or he understood exactly what was being implied, and was masking his emotions well.
"N-n-n-no-no." Dawn tried to utter out, but with being flustered by her mothers 'accusations' she was failing miserably. Fortunately, Ash spoke in Dawn's place.
"Mrs…Berlitz? Nothing like that happened. Dawn messaged me earlier in the day asking for help for the exams coming up. We've spent the entire time revising…well bar from our little battle we just had." Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. Both Berlitzs' looking at Ash in recognition, with the older one looking directly into Ash's eyes for any sign of lying or backing down. After sensing he was speaking the truth, the mother figure looked at both teens before letting off a soft smile.
"I know that's what happened. I saw the mountain of books pilled up in my living room and put 2 and 2 together." She started, before turning her attention to male teen again. "And I assume you're Ash? My daughter speaks highly of you as both a battler and as a intellect." Ash sent Dawn and knowing smirk before replying.
"Yep I'm Ash, pleasure to meet you Mrs Berlitz."
The older woman shook her head at being called 'Mrs Berlitz'. "Please Ash, call me Johanna, Mrs Berlitz makes me feel old."
Ash chuckled softly at that, almost half expecting Johanna to use a rebuke like that. "Ok, will do."
Johanna smiled at Ash's friendliness before addressing both teens again. "I must say, that was a good battle. Brings back some of my old memories. back when I was your age. I'm quite impressed by you Dawn, given I know you're not the most avid battler." Dawn smiled sheepishly at her mothers praise, whilst a now recovered Piplup also gave a cry of agreement. Johanna smiled at her daughters antics, before addressing Ash with a serious tone. "Ash this might sound a bit odd but would you mind having a battle with me?"
Ash was somewhat surprised at the older women's request, but didn't speak as he assumed Johanna would explain herself. His assumption turned out to be correct. "The reason I ask is because I enjoyed your battle, you seem to know your way around a battle. Plus…" She paused, before adopting a guilty smile "…I wanted to see whether you are as good a battler as my daughter made you out to be. Hopefully I still have it in me to be a worthy opponent in your eyes Ash, I used to be a good battler and coordinator, and while I've not had a full fledge battle in a while, I don't think I've lost my edge."
Ash smirked at the potential for another fight, especially since he'd be up against a more battle harden veteran. "…Johanna, I hope you're ready for a hell of a fight, I accept."
Johanna smirked, then flashed a playful smile. "Let us begin then, I don't want you holding back on me ok?"
"The same to you…in spite of that, shall we do battle with our first Pokemon?"
"I see no reason not to." Johanna nodded, making her way to where Dawn had stood for her fight. Ash too had returned to his side, with Dawn and her Pokemon occupying the sidelines, eager to watch the upcoming battle.
As with the previous fight, Pikachu, Mudkip and Pidgeotto lined up infront of Ash, albeit with the latter feeling somewhat tired after her fight. "Right…Mudkip you're up for battle?" Said mudfish Pokemon responded happily, whilst the electric mouse next to him looked flabergasted.
"Pika Pikapi!"
Ash shifted his gaze onto Pikachu, understanding what the mouse was trying to get across, and gave him a soft smile. "Buddy, I'll use you the next time I battle ok?" Pikachu nodded in agreement, before he and Pidgeotto made their way over to Dawn, also intent on watching the battle. With that dealt with, Ash nodded to Mudkip, who waddled onto the battlefield. Johanna looked at Mudkip carefully from across the battlefield, before the cat on her shoulder leapt forward in the air, landing a few metres in front of Johanna and positioned itself, eyeing the mudfish Pokemon.
Ash eyed the cat carefully, trying to formulate a possible tactic. "Hmm…unless I'm mistaken…that Pokemon is a Glameow…which is a normal type. Right, gonna have to be careful with this one, that typing is notorious for diverse movesets, and with Johanna's experience, who knows what that cat can do…" Ash thought for a few more moments, finally deciding to test the waters to see what the feline could do, before trying to make a big tactic.
"You can have the first move Ash."
"Thank you." A breath was taken in before going into battle mode. "MUDKIP WATER GUN!"
Almost like the mudfish Pokemon had anticipated the move, Mudkip shot a fast and powerful torrent of water from its mouth towards Glameow.
"GLAMEOW USE SHADOW CLAW!"
The feline hastily gathered dark energy in its left paw, before using it to slash the incoming water, completely dissipating the attack.
"Should've known it couldn't be that easy, lets try a different approach." "MUDKIP WATER PULSE THEN FOLLOW UP WITH ICE SHARD!"
A blue sphere of aquatic energy was formed in Mudkip's mouth before he fired it off at Glameow, and quickly followed up by firing several ice shards from his mouth.
"GLAMEOW SHADOW BALL, THEN USE YOUR TAIL TO GET AIRBORNE!"
Similar to when it used shadow claw, the feline built up a concentration of dark energy in its mouth, forming a purple sphere, before firing it off in the direction on the water pulse. Whilst the two spheres collided and combined into a giant, beautifully coloured violet sphere that Dawn couldn't help but be mesmerised by, the shards of ice had continued their flight path and ended up puncturing the giant sphere, resulting in each shard being surrounded by violet coloured energy. Glameow attempted to get airborne, unfortunately for the feline the ice shards where faster, and Glameow was pelted by the shards, earning a yelp of pain, and forcing it back.
"Not bad Ash, however its gonna take more than that to bring us down." Johanna smirked, deciding now to play her trump card. "GLAMEOW SHOCK WAVE!"
Ash's eyes widened upon hearing that. "An electric type move? Uh oh…thats gonna hurt Mudkip badly." Glameow had been charging electric energy during Ash's thought process, and was almost ready to fire it. "Can't dodge it…we're gonna have to tank it!" "MUDKIP COVER YOURSELF WITH MUD SLAP!"
Not wanting the super effective move to hit, Mudkip happily obliged on launching a weak powered mud slap on itself, with both trainer and Pokemon hoping it would dilute the hit. Glameow fired off the shock wave, which crackled off in the air with unparalleled velocity. Mudkip braced for the pain when the electricity came close to him, and cried in pain when it did hit. Thankfully the ground type move had diluted the electricity, meaning Mudkip would've experienced much more pain had he remained 'uninsulated'.
"GLAMEOW HONE CLAWS INTO FURY SWIPES!" The more experienced veteran trainer, who was getting back into her 'grove', wasn't going to give Ash time to recover. The feline immediately responded by sharping its claws, resulting in an attack and accuracy booster, then shot off towards the still recovering mud fish Pokemon. To other trainers, this would be a deadly situation, Ash however couldn't stop the grin from growing on his face; Johanna had unknowingly made a mistake, and Ash was going to capitalise.
"MUDKIP AQUA TACKLE!" Ash threw a clenched fist up with his command. Mudkip sprang into action, using the initial momentum gained by both aqua jet and tackle to propel itself forwards whilst surrounding his entire body with water. Glameow, who had hesitated at the move coming towards it, could do nothing to stop to aquatic bullet from slamming into it, which sent the feline flying into air and crashing down onto the ground.
Johanna was gawking at the current events, she was pretty sure Mudkips' couldn't learn aqua jet, and yet this one had managed to combine it with another impact move. Despite this, she couldn't help but smile; she hadn't had a battle this good in ages.
"GLAMEOW SHOCK WAVE, AIM FOR THE WATER!"
Though dizzy from the attack, Glameow shook it off, and quickly charged and fired off the shock wave. Ash didn't even have time to call for Mudkip to dodge, as the electricity traveled towards the aqua jet, and became conducted into the water itself, trapping Mudkip in electrical torture.
"Mudkips' not gonna last much longer…as much as I don't want to…I'm gonna need to utilise the electricity." "MUDKIP HANG IN THERE BUDDY, USE FROST BREATH WHILE SPINNING!"
Barely enduring the pain the shock wave was continuously causing, Mudkip's gills twitched before he released chilling air from his mouth, freezing the tip of the aqua jet, before he spun his entire body caused the once jet of water to turn into an icicle drill with electricity still flowing in the water within. Dawn's mouth dropped on seeing this, both her and her two Pokemon were in awe; if witnessing violet coloured ice shards was amazing, there was no words to describe the ice drill Ash had created. Johanna was also impressed by the turn around Ash had created, even more so by using the super effective electric attack in his own move. However, she would not be so easily deterred.
"GLAMEOW HONE CLAWS AGAIN THEN MEET IT HEAD ON WITH A SHADOW BALL INFUSED RETURN!"
Glameow hastily sharpened its claws again, further increasing its attack and accuracy power, before charging a shadow ball quickly in its mouth, which once charged to the necessary level, Glameow surrounded itself in an intense bright light. Both Ash and Dawn had to shield the eyes initially at how bright it was. Glameow then released the shadow ball whilst charging straight into it, infusing the bright light with the dark shadows. With a cry of its name, Glameow finally charged at Mudkip and the ice drill. Both attacks met head on, resulting in a massive explosion, with a large wind stream resulting from it. All none battlers had to physically stop themselves from being blown away from said wind stream. In the eye of the explosion, the situation was far from the same; both feline and mudfish battled for control, trying to overpower one another. Whilst Mudkip had the combined power of water, normal, ice and electric typing in his attack, Glameow had doubled its attack power and was in control of a shadow ball infused return which, unbeknownst to Ash and Mudkip, was at maximum power because of the feline's happiness with her trainer.
The duo struggled for some time, neither giving an inch to the other, despite the strain of the struggle that was affecting both Pokemon. After what seemed liked an eternity to the struggling duo Mudkip finally faltered, the electricity in the water proving too much for the water type to endure. Sensing her opponent to be fading, Glameow continued pressing until it managed to overpower Mudkip, sending the mudfish flying backwards, resulting in a massive explosion and a painful impact with the floor for Mudkip. During this, neither trainer was able to see what was occurring in that fight, thanks to the lights and the resultant wind stream from the explosion given off. Thankfully, they both died down after a few tense seconds, revealing the final result of the battle: a collapsed Mudkip with swirls in its eyes, and a barely conscious, heavily panting Glameow.
With the battle over, Ash rushed towards his fallen Pokemon, and cradled him in his arms. "You did good buddy, good job." Mudkip cried out weakly as a response, which caused Ash to smile softly as he produced Mudkip's great ball. "Take a good rest now." Mudkip became enveloped in red light as it returned to its ball.
"That was great battle Ash." Johanna said as she approached the crouched trainer. Glameow had once again taken her position on Johanna's shoulder.
"I'll say, look like you still have it huh?"
Johanna looked seriously at Ash, scanning for any kind of resentment or sarcasm, after all, he had just lost a battle to her. Finding nothing that would suggest so, Johanna smiled. "Seems so…though I think I only won because I have much more experience than you."
"Give it some time, I may come for a rematch." Ash replied with a confident smile plastered on his face
Johanna laughed softly at this. "I'll be waiting for it then." With that both trainers turned to see Dawn and all the other Pokemon walking towards them.
"That was amazing!" The blue haired teen almost shouted at the human duo. Ash still retained his smile as he responded to Dawn.
"Glad to hear you enjoyed it."
Dawn nodded happily, though her face looked like she had something to ask. "You're not upset that you lost are you?"
Ash chuckled for a bit, whilst Johanna let out a happy sigh as she closed her eyes. Dawn however, looked quite confused. "Dawn, what did you say after our battle? You had fun and wanted to become stronger because of it?" Dawn nodded her head, having an idea where this was going. "The same applies to me here; sure I lost, but ultimately I lost to someone who is much more experienced in battling than me, nothing to be ashamed of there."
"He's got a point there." Johanna began to explain. "Even so…it was quite close. That ice electro drill was amazing, I've never seen anything like that before…although I am curious as to how your Mudkip knows aqua jet Ash…"
"Why, isn't it an egg move Ash?" Dawn added, half hoping he'd keep his promise of explaining egg moves, and half also wanting an answer of Mudkip's 'unique' move.
"Mudkip normally cannot learn aqua jet in any circumstance." Ash began, pausing for a bit as he tried to think of how to explain it. "Pokemon can acquire new moves in various ways; level up, TM, move tutor or as an egg move. Level up is basically what a Pokemon will naturally learn by just getting stronger and become more experienced. A TM, or Technical Machine, is a disk that allows the user to teach one of his Pokemon a certain move, for example Mudkip's water pulse was learnt via a TM. Move tutors basically allow a Pokemon to learn moves that aren't on any TM or level up. Egg moves are the most complex of the 4, they are based off certain compatible moves from a Pokemon's parents, and are unlocked when a Pokemon reaches a certain requirement, which is usually when a Pokemon gains levels and become stronger. What is different is that not all moves would be available to the same species of Pokemon. Take your Piplup Dawn, just because it unlocked double hit, it doesn't mean another Piplup would also unlock the same move, and even if another Piplup could unlock it, it wouldn't necessarily unlock that move at the same time as yours."
The younger bluenette listened intently at the explanation given to her, whilst the older bluenette was quite impressed with the male teens knowledge. After a couple of seconds, Dawn asked the obvious question. "So…where does that leave aqua jet?"
"Honestly…I don't know." Ash spoke truthfully. If it was any other people, Ash wouldn't of said anything, however he found himself trusting the two bluenettes, especially as one of them was now a good friend. "So I asked Professor Oak if he could have a lo-"
"YOU KNOW PROFESSOR OAK?"
Ash was taken back at Dawn's sudden outburst, as the female suddenly gained stars in her eyes, whilst her mother merely sighed at her daughter's outburst, although was surprised by it at the same time.
"…Yeah I know him, my parents are good friends of his, but that is beside the point. Even he was stumped when he finally examined Mudkip. Even fellow professors he had asked for assistance in explaining had no idea. It seems no-one knows how."
The two females took in Ash's 'answer'. Neither were especially satisfied with it, but they both thought Ash wasn't either. Johanna soon had a disturbing thought about this, one she wanted Ash to answer.
"Ash…since I assume you'll be taking on Pokemon League after high school, will they allow you to use Mudkip in official battles given its illegal move?"
Ash's responded in a serious tone, one that the older bluenette realised was underlined with worry. "I honestly don't no…if anything thats the reason I'm going to Kanto to see professor Oak again…hopefully he would've found out something, anything about this…"
"I hope he does." Johanna responded, with a smile on her face. "If not, you still have Pikachu and Pidgeotto, both of whom seem equally powerful."
Ash flashed a smile and nodded at Johanna, as a thank for brighting up that situation. Both mentioned Pokemon also gave they respective cry upon hearing their name. Everyone fell into a warm silence, until it was broken by Johanna clapping her hands.
"Well then you two." She pointed at the two teens, addressing both of them. "Now that you've had your break, isn't it time to get back to revising?"
"I think it is." Ash replied, before looking at Dawn. "Assuming you still want me to revise with you."
"Hell yeah." Dawn confidently replied, taking her mother somewhat by surprise. "I need to make sure I've retained all that you've gone through with me." Dawn furthered explained, before making he way back into her house with Buneary and a still tired Piplup following. Ash closed his eyes and smiled, before following suit and re-entering Dawn's house, only with Pikachu and Pidgeotto going with him, rather than trailing. Johanna stood there and watched everyone else went back into the house. She sighed happily once they were out of earshot.
"What has happened to my daughter?" She chuckled softly to herself. Glameow merely purred in acknowledgement, also recognising a difference in her trainers daughter. "She certainly is changing for the better…and I think…it might be because of Ash." Johanna closed her eyes, trying to picture something, before opening them, a content sigh escaping her lips. With that, she and perched cat made their way back into the house, with Johanna wondering what the future might hold for Dawn. She was certain, however, that Ash was going to be apart of it.
Let me say, I was not expecting this chapter to be this long. I was expecting around 1.5k words, similar to the previous chapters. Still, not like I'm complaining. Also, upon some research, I've changed the rating of the story down to T, I'm 100% certain I ain't having any M rated scenes in this fic. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and that is was worth the wait, and hopefully I'll be able to continue writing, when I'm not working or playing video games.
See you next time!