Part IX: The First Rival
"So, who exactly is Dawn?" Misty asked nervously, finally broaching the topic she had wanted to broach but was hesitant to do so. "You've mentioned her but haven't really told me anything about her."
"Oh, she's great." Ash said completely clueless to his girlfriend's worries. "The first friend I made on my journey and my first traveling companion."
Misty sighed. She loved Ash and his cluelessness was one of the many traits about him that she found endearing but at times, especially when talking about other women, it could be tough when he didn't realize the issue at hand. Still, Misty persevered. They were going to see Dawn today and she was important to Ash so she needed to know about the other girl.
They were in Cerulean City, holding hands as they walked to the gym. They had gotten into the city late last night and immediately headed to Pokémon Center for the night. They had come straight from Saffron as the walk took less than a day but it had been long and they were too exhausted to do anything once they reached Cerulean. Dawn could wait, they needed their sleep first.
The only downside had been that their room had 2 sets of bunk beds rather than a double bed as the couple had wanted. That meant that they couldn't comfortably share a bed like they were now used to and had to make do on their own.
By contrast, Pikachu and Piplup were thrilled to get beds to themselves and slept soundly in them. That at least meant that no one woke them up that morning so they got to sleep in for the first time in a while.
After breakfast, and a little break to digest the amount that Ash ate, they had finally decided to head to the gym and see Dawn. Ash hadn't told Dawn that they were here as he wanted to surprise her, same with Brock for when they got to Pewter City in a few days, so they were about to startle an old friend.
It had been on the way that Misty had found the courage to finally ask about Dawn. She knew she had to ask, Dawn was Ash's friend and so Misty would have to get to know her but that didn't mean she didn't regret it.
"So how did you meet?" She asked as casually as possible.
"It was on my very first day as a trainer." Ash said then got a little sheepish at the memory. "I ran into her and, er, borrowed her bike to escape a flock of pissed of Spearows, that, er, I had been the one to piss off. Then Pikachu kinda fried it to a crisp while protecting me."
"What?" Misty said with a laugh despite her worries. "You fried Dawn's bike as well?"
"Yup, and May's if I am being honest." Ash admitted. "Not Iris though, she didn't have one. Instead Pikachu just shocked her because she was a little too aggressive with her affection."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said equally as sheepish from Ash's shoulder at his unhealthy habit of destroying girls bikes.
"So, it is a trait that you like to fry girls' bikes to symbolize a new region." Misty said teasingly. "Or at least fry the girl."
"Apparently so." Ash said with a shrug. "Though at least you knew it was a mistake and didn't hold it against me, or even tell me for a while as I didn't know at first. Dawn was furious, she is known for her temper and short fuse and in that case she was justified. She demanded to tag along until it was fixed. May used it as an excuse to join me."
"I see, so what you're saying is that I am better than them because I knew it was an accident." Misty said with a smile. "And didn't use it as an excuse to spend time with you. Good to know."
"Er…" Was all Ash managed before Pikachu hit him on the back of the head to shut up while he was ahead.
"So, she hated you at first?" Misty continued ignoring the fact that Pikachu had prevented Ash from putting his foot in his mouth.
"Yeah we butted heads a lot early on." Ash said remembering back to his earliest days. "Kinda like you and me but differently cos it was over different things. Dawn was already a trainer with 3 Pokémon when I met her so it was more about our personalities than training. We had some good banter back then."
"I see." Misty said trying not to feel jealous of Dawn for her time with Ash and deciding to move on to something less uncomfortable. "So, if she is a trainer and a gym leader, she must have a specialty. What is it?"
"Water." Ash responded immediately and Misty wasn't that surprised as the girl sounded like the kinda person to go with one of the more fluid types. "She absolutely loves the type. Maybe not as much as Gardenia and grass Pokémon."
"No one loves a type more than her." Misty said shuddering at the extreme level of love Gardenia had shown for grass Pokémon. "I honestly worry about it at times. Her obsession is not healthy."
"But Dawn is probably the second most enthusiastic about her type of anyone I know." Ash continued. "She claims that there isn't a water type that isn't cute. So long as a Pokémon is a water type it is cute to Dawn and she will try to catch it. Kinda like Iris with dragon types I guess."
"Wow, even Pokémon like Tentacruel or Gyarados?" Misty asked thinking over two of the more monstrous and scary water Pokémon she knew. "She thinks they are cute?"
"Even them." Ash confirmed with a nod. "We actually have a long-standing argument over Tentacool and Tentacruel. Dawn is the only person I know who thinks they are cute and defends them without hesitation, though given the fact that she once stopped a rampage by them she does deserve some credit for at least understanding them. Even her Psyduck who is not the most obedient, or the brightest, Pokémon is defended by her for being a water type. Well that and I am sure she has a soft spot for it despite its antics."
"Ah well when you own a Pokémon it is different." Misty admitted. "So how long was she a traveling companion for you?"
"3 years." Ash admitted and Misty grimaced at that. It was hard not to be jealous of a girl who got to spend 3 years with Ash. "She was with me and Brock for my first journey in Kanto and my journey in Johto. She was also with me in the Orange Islands that I went on in between the two regions but Brock wasn't with us for that adventure."
"Those were your first 3 journeys." Misty noted, glad that it had been a few years since Dawn had been a constant in Ash's life. "Why did she come here?"
"Well this is her hometown so it was more a return home." Ash said. "It was after the Silver Conference. Here older sisters, who were the gym leaders at the time decided to go on a world tour because one of them won it in a contest or something and left Dawn the gym. At the same time her bike was finally fixed, or at least we found out about it, so she had no reason not to. I think it was only supposed to be temporary but she did such a good job that she fully embraced being a gym leader and became the permanent leader here."
"Must have been tough to separate after all those years." Misty said knowing that it was the truth even if she didn't like it. She couldn't imagine having to leave Ash's side after 3 years. "You two would have had so many adventures, it is always hard to give that up."
"Yeah it was painful, almost as much as you leaving the second time, but in hindsight it was the right move." Ash said, his clueless answer not helping Misty's jealousy. "I really missed her and knew it but Dawn needed to be back here and run the gym and I had to continue my path to becoming a Pokémon Master in another region. Plus, I knew I would see her again whenever I was home as we are only a few days from Pallet Town so it wasn't as bad as leaving you."
Misty didn't have anything more to say after that and just processed all that she learned. It was certainly tough to hear her boyfriend talk about another girl in that way but it also made her happy in a way. Ash had felt like this after 3 years with Dawn, he had felt a lot more after only a year with her and had just said as much. It meant that she was really special to him, at least that is what Misty told herself to help with her building insecurities around meeting Dawn.
"Huh, it's changed over the years." Ash said as they turned onto the path that led to the gym. "I gotta admit, it looks a lot better."
Misty was snapped from her own insecurities to look at the gym. She had to agree, it looked pretty nice. The building was modern with a water feature surrounding it and trees lining the path to it. It gave both a welcoming and imposing feel to the gym, the right balance for a building of its status.
The building itself was a testament to glass and steel, build it a diamond shape with a triangular roof made of glass that would let the sun shine on what Misty expected to be the battlefield. Over that were two more glass triangles that were split in the middle.
"It didn't always look like this?" Misty asked confused. "What was it like back when you challenged it?"
"Back when I challenged it, and I had to face Dawn for my badge her so I was her first true challenger though Team Rocket interrupted our battle, it was a lot tackier." Ash said recalling the building Dawn's sisters had called a gym. "It had none of these nice features or paths. It looked like a circus top with a giant ass Dewgong on it in the middle of the park. Not like a gym should. I like what Dawn has done with it."
Misty had to nod and agree, even if she didn't want to agree with Dawn on anything out of instinct. It looked very professional and clean, the way a gym should look. Despite her reservations about Dawn, she was looking forward to seeing the gym and likely watching Ash battle, and beat, his old friend in it.
"Well, let's see if Dawn is home." Ash said as they reached crossed the bridge and headed to the front door.
Misty just plastered a smile on her face and went with it. She could do this for Ash. Dawn was an old friend, possibly his first true friend, and she would meet her for him. Misty would never deprive Ash of his friends, she knew how important they were to him and as such they should be important to her as well. That was of course the moment everything went wrong.
"I am just going to the shops for a few supplies, do not use the pool for practice!" A girl's loud, annoyed, voice came from the gym. "Or dress up Azurill, I am not dealing with that again."
Ash and Misty had just reached the door when it was flung open and a girl around their age ran right into them. All Misty managed to see before she and Ash were knocked to the ground was a flash of yellow clothes, a lean figure, and bright orange hair. Piplup had been sent flying as he was not ready for it and rolled away painfully. Only Pikachu, who knew Dawn's voice, had enough sense to jump away and avoid the collision while everyone else fell to the ground in a daze.
"Gah, look where you are going!" Dawn roared as she got up, she had fallen on the newcomers who were here to likely challenge her and she was not happy. "Can't you see…"
Dawn trailed off as she got up and looked down on the newcomers, in particular the boy she had landed on. She was looking down to see a boy she knew very well. True he was older, taller, more muscular and had a different outfit and hat but Dawn would know that raven-haired boy anywhere. It also helped that there was a very familiar, concerned, looking Pikachu prodding his forehead as he lay there with swirls for eyes.
"Ash!" Dawn almost screamed as she picked him up off the ground and engulfed him in a hug.
Even after all these years, as Dawn rested her head against his rather firm chest and held him tight, she couldn't help but feel her heart beat faster and her cheeks heat up at the contact. Ash was insufferable, arrogant, annoying, tactless, all of that was true, and she had disliked him at first. That swiftly changed to friendship as she got to know the real him. That had in turned blossomed into a crush, deepened, and finally she had fallen head over heels in love with him.
That had been a few years back but even if her feelings had diminished since then, knowing that they could never truly be together with their different responsibilities, Ash was always in her heart. He would always have a special place there. Now, seeing him again, and in such a sudden and pleasant surprise, had unleashed some of those feelings once more.
"Hi Dawn." Ash said in a voice that was deeper than she remembered but that only added to his appeal as he wrapped her in his arms having recovered from their collision and pulled her closer much to Dawn's enjoyment. "It's good to see you again. It's been too long."
"Too long." Dawn agreed muttering into Ash's chest. "Far too long."
Misty groaned as she came back to her senses. She thought being run into by Barry was bad. Somehow this was worse. Blinking away stars, Misty looked up and felt herself go cold at the sight that greeted her.
Above her, a tall, leggy, clearly in shape, girl in yellow short shorts with a red top and a yellow vest thing that helped show off her small but perky boobs, and short, bright orange hair in a small side ponytail was hugging Ash. Not only that, she had her head against his chest and was snuggling into it the way only she was allowed to. Ash was hugging her back but she could tell it was one of friendship which at least made her feel a little better.
This had to be Dawn, Misty doubted anyone else here would react this way to Ash. Misty's worst fears, that Dawn had feelings for Ash, were being confirmed right before her eyes. Misty's jealousy and anger were going to be hard to control but she forced it down and cleared her throat loudly from the floor.
Dawn heard the sound and leapt back from Ash, blushing furiously and still holding his arms as she looked down to see his companion, vaguely remembering there had been someone with Ash when she ran into him. As soon as she saw who was with Ash, Dawn's natural instincts when it came to Ash and other women, namely those of uncontrollable anger and jealousy, kicked in. Admittedly, she did have cause for concern.
The girl still sprawled on the floor and now glaring daggers up at Dawn was very attractive if not downright beautiful. While Dawn was a tomboy through and through, this girl was clearly a girly girl and had no problems showing off her femininity.
She was taller than Dawn, even from the angle she could tell that, and had gorgeous red hair and blue eyes that reminded Dawn of the calm ocean, though the glare in the eyes showed a brewing storm. The girl wore a white beanie with a pink poke ball design on it, a black sleeveless top and white undershirt that hid an cleavage and a pink miniskirt with matching pink boots that showed off her legs really well.
Dawn had no idea who this chick was or why she was with Ash but she was here and clearly as pissed as Dawn was. That was not something Dawn was too pleased with. Ash meanwhile had realized the situation and had disengaged from Dawn to help his companion up.
He offered her a hand and she took it, looking to him and giving Ash a loving smile, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ash and Dawn instantly knew that this girl had feelings for him. She had seen that look several times before, even if Ash hadn't, and it always set off her jealousy and fueled her anger. Feelings that had lain dormant in Dawn for years were bubbling to the surface as if they were yesterday.
"Sorry about that Misty." Ash said to the girl as she got to her feet and brushed herself off. "I guess we managed to arrive just as Dawn was leaving. Been a while since I was knocked on my ass so I guess I was due for one. At least it wasn't Bianca or else I would have ended up in the water over there. That chick always knew when to run into me so that I would fall into a body of water. I never realized how many fountains there were in Unova until I met her."
"Yeah sorry about that." Dawn admitted, only sorry about knocking Ash over though. "Bad timing, it happens."
She was about to extend her hand to the new girl, Misty as Ash had called her, when she heard it. It was soft but Dawn heard it, nonetheless. The sound distracted Dawn from everything.
"Piplup?"
Dawn turned and instantly all her conflicting feelings towards Ash and this Misty person were forgotten. On the ground near them, getting up and looking around a little dazed was of all things a Piplup. It must have been with Ash when she ran into him and she deduced that Ash had been in Sinnoh recently if the water starter Pokémon from that region was here.
"He's so cute!" Dawn squealed and dashed towards the Piplup, ignoring a slightly surprised Ash and a now fuming Misty. "I can't believe I am finally meeting a Piplup!"
Dawn ran over and bent down to look at the adorable, proud water type. She knew about the Pokémon but they were rare in Kanto and she couldn't believe that one was right in front of here.
"You are such a handsome guy." Dawn cooed at Piplup, easily telling that it was a male by his posture. "Can I pick you up? It would be an honor to hold such a specimen of water type prowess."
"Piplup." Piplup agreed, standing tall and proud. Clearly whoever this was knew he was a big deal and she could hold him.
Dawn smiled and gently picked up Piplup and held him expertly in her arms, ignoring the fact that Misty was almost in fire from rage behind her, and cradled Piplup. She was a water master so she knew exactly how to handle any water Pokémon.
"My you have been raised well." Dawn cooed to the contented Pokémon, tickling his soft belly. "Your feathers are perfect, well-groomed and sleek. They even sparkle in the light that can only come from exceptional love and care. I can tell you are a strong Pokémon; you have the feel of a graceful fighter with a lot of experience. More power than a standard Piplup, I am sure of it."
Piplup smiled at the praise. He was drinking it in as this woman clearly understood him as well as Misty did, he was something else and this trainer knew it. She was feeding his ego and Piplup was not going to let her stop anytime soon. He knew he was one of kind, this just reinforced it.
"I guess Ash found you in Sinnoh." Dawn continued. "He always had a knack for finding starter Pokémon in other regions when no one else could. Though you have the look and feel of a contest Pokémon, not a gym Pokémon like Ash usually uses. Your too handsome for gyms. I wonder why."
That was it! Misty couldn't take much more of this. First this chick had not looked where she was going and run into her and Ash. Then she had shamelessly flirted with her boyfriend right in front of her. All of that was bad but somehow Dawn had managed to go further.
Now she was feeding her partner's massive, unending, ego and cooing to him while also thinking he was Ash's and complementing her work raising Piplup. If she wasn't holding his hand Misty was certain she would have become a fire type for a moment.
"Actually, he's my Pokémon." Misty said putting as much ice into her words that she was close to using an Ice Beam herself. "Not Ash's."
Dawn heard the words. She also heard the tone. The icy tone of a woman seething with barely controlled jealousy that was on the brink of snapping. Dawn knew that tone well; she had heard it in her own voice plenty of times in the past.
Turning, Dawn saw the other girl smoking in rage and sweat dropped at the sight, a hint of fear creeping into her. She could understand an angry female and she didn't want to piss of someone she had just met, especially because she was a friend of Ash. For Ash, Dawn could manage a little control. To a point.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Dawn said as she put Piplup gently down and approached Misty. "He is a fine water Pokémon; you should be proud of how you raised him."
"Oh I am." Misty said with a curt nod. "He is my first Pokémon and my constant partner."
"I see, I am sorry for any offense I caused, I can lose myself with water Pokémon." Dawn said before sticking her hand out to the other girl and trying to be friendly. "I am Dawn, the Cerulean City Gym Leader and an old friend of Ash's. Any friend of Ash's is a friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Misty." Misty said taking Dawn's hand in a firm grip and looking her dead in the eye before adding two words that Dawn never thought she would hear next to each other. "Ash's girlfriend."
The other girl was still holding Dawn's hand as her words sunk in. Dawn could feel a tick in her left eye and the vein in her forehead started bulge dangerously. Ash's girlfriend. The idea was so preposterous, so ludicrous that had her jealousy not decided to take hold of her Dawn would have laughed at the idea.
Then she looked down and saw that Misty was still holding Ash's hand, their fingers interlocked. Ash had also not said anything at all and was blushing, something she had almost never seen the trainer do before. Both were tells that Misty was telling the truth.
"His. Girlfriend." Dawn said slowly, her tone as icy as the a Glalie's body. "You, you are Ash's girlfriend?"
"Yes I am." Misty said a smirk on her face and Dawn knew that Misty had gotten under her skin. "It really is a pleasure to tell you that."
"Ash has a girlfriend." Dawn said not realizing she was still holding Misty's hand but they were both tightening their grips as they spoke. "There is no way. No way someone as dense as Ash Ketchum could manage that. Ash wouldn't know a girl if she hit him in the head with an attract attack."
"Er, actually it is true Dawn." Ash said finally speaking. "Misty and I started dating about 2 weeks ago."
"WHAT!" Dawn roared as her anger and jealousy finally burst and took full control of her, causing her to let go of Misty's hand in the process.
Both Ash and Misty fell over at Dawn's sudden ferocity. It had been years since her rage had reached this point but then again Ash, clueless, dense, adorable, sweet Ash was always great at that. Her Gyarados would be proud of her anger, maybe even a little fearful or her himself.
"You, Ash Ketchum, the densest, most clueless, most ignorant person when it comes to love in the world have finally gotten a hint." Dawn yelled turning her wraith on Ash and finally admitting her feelings to his face. "3 years! 3 fucking years I dropped you hints. 3 years I was as clear as I could be short of stripping naked and doing the hula for you with ASH TAKE ME tattooed across my chest, and you still didn't get it. Now you come here, with a girl who I have never met and who I have no idea how you two knew each other and yet she has somehow gotten through your thick skull when I couldn't!"
"Er I am not sure what you are talking about Dawn." Ash admitted, he always got a little lost when Dawn gave into her volcanic temper and zoned out a little. "I met Misty my first day in Sinnoh 2 years ago, she saved Pikachu from Team Rocket and then asked to travel with me and Brock. That's how we met."
"Oh, I am going to have words with that lover boy about this when I next see him." Dawn said before picking up the timeline. "Wait, 2 years ago? You said you have been dating for 2 weeks."
"Well yeah, you see." Ash began a in his adorably sheepish way that in any other situation would have calmed Dawn down. "When I was done in Sinnoh, Misty had to stay behind so I moved on to Unova where I challenged the league there. While there I ran into Misty there again and I, er, realized how much she meant to me when she left again, and after being called on it 3 months later I realized how I felt about Misty."
"Called on it?" Dawn asked seething. "You, were called in feelings and it got through?"
"Er, yeah." Ash said not sure what Dawn was angry about. "My friend Iris said I had a crush on Misty when I decided to go and watch Misty in the Johto Grand Festival after I was knocked out of the Vertress Conference. She called me out and after some thought I realized it was true."
"This Iris, she needs to be rewarded and slapped for this." Dawn growled. "So you finally noticed a girl, not me but a girl. Then what? What did you do? I know you Ash, you would have done something rash that was really sweet at the same time."
"You could say that." Ash admitted still unsure why Dawn was so angry. "I went straight there to see Misty in Johto. Then, in the aftermath of her loss in the finals and while I was comforting her Misty told me she liked me as much as liked her. After that we became an item. We are on our way to Pallet Town so I thought I would show Misty a bit of Kanto and meet my friends here."
"Friends." Dawn said the vein in her forehead very noticeable her jaw grinding out the word. "Yes, that is all I ever was to you, friends. I understand why we had to part ways even if I didn't like it one bit but that didn't mean I stopped having feelings for you, you idiot. Now you bring a girl here, a girl you traveled a long way to see and who somehow managed to pierce that skull of yours. How do you think I would feel?"
"Er that you would be happy to see me and meet Misty." Ash said unsure what Dawn wanted. "It has been a while so I thought it would be nice to visit."
"He is speaking the truth." Misty said stepping up for Ash who was clearly not getting what Dawn was saying even if she was. "I tried to drop really subtle hints in Sinnoh after I realized I liked him but it didn't work and I tried to move on. I realized I couldn't after seeing him in Unova. When he came to Johto for the Grand Festival and comforted me after I lost in the final, I finally confessed my love to him and that is what got through to him."
"Subtle hints won't work on Ash." Dawn said, her anger still raging. "Even obvious ones don't work. I swear, Brock's Onix has a thinner skull than Ash does. Anyway, stay out of this. This is between me and Ash, it doesn't concern you."
Misty seethed as Dawn ignored her and turned her anger back to Ash. She had been worried about seeing Dawn because of how important she was to Ash's past but it was that importance that had allowed Misty to push down her own worries and meet Dawn. However, she had not expected this.
Misty had had a gut feeling that Dawn at least previously liked Ash, though Misty was a little surprised that Dawn still had feelings for Ash. He did have a certain appeal that drew a certain person to him and Misty had to admit that she and Dawn were similar enough to both fall for Ash. However now she was being unreasonable and was now going off on a massive rant that was way over Ash's head. She needed to end this, now. Despite Dawn's words, Misty was very much part of this.
"That is, it!" Misty yelled giving into her own anger and causing Dawn to stop her tirade and look at her in confusion. "I've heard enough!"
Misty had had enough of the redhead's jealousy and ranting. Ash was Misty's, not Dawn's, and Misty was not going to stand here and take it anymore. She was going to put Dawn in her place and assert herself over Dawn as Ash's girlfriend. There was only one way to do so, one way to settle this once and for all and in a way that both Dawn, and Ash, would respect.
Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath to settle herself for what she had to do, Misty met Dawn's glare and pointed a finger into the taller woman's face. Misty had never felt so confident or assertive as she did when she next spoke.
"Dawn, I hereby officially challenge the Cerulean Gym!"
