Sorry about the wait for a story, everyone. This story is hopefully going to be my best yet. The reason is, to be honest, all my other stories were written from a seemingly good idea in my head, improvising as I went. This story, I have a plan and an outline! And I think it's awesome! I hope to have about 9 chapters, but I'll probably end up with less...or more! Get on with the stories. Oh, in case you slow people don't realize, these characters belong to the Pokemon Anime, not me...please enjoy!
"Oooooh…" Ash groaned, "What time is it, Max?"
"Uh…10:42," Max replied after glancing at his handy PokeNav. "You were gonna sleep through Brock's awesome breakfast!"
"I definitely don't get enough sleep around here…" Ash countered, only for Max to reel in his victory.
"Well, then, if you want sleep, then miss out on food!"
"Aw fine, I'll get up…"
"Good! You know, you're just like my sister! I had to wake her up the same way. You both love food too much!"
"What's not to love about food, Max? Right Pikachu?" Ash asked with a wide grin on his face, only for the stretching and yawning mouse to reply with a sleepy "Chaaaaa"
Max chuckled at Pikachu's reply, then said: "Whatever, Ash. We're out there waiting to be able to eat!" and left the tent.
Ash grumbled a little, then remembered he was getting up for food! Throwing on his usual outfit of his jacket, shoes, hat, Pikachu…wait a minute! Pikachu isn't an accessory! Oh right, Pikachu just likes to perch on Ash's shoulder.
Walking out of the tent, Ash took a look at the surroundings again, taking in all of the life in the woods. To his left was an impressive waterfall, which was just right to stand under as an improvised shower, as it was just weak enough. In fact, the waterfall was the reason he chose this spot to spend the night before traveling on again to claim the next Frontier Symbol that was rightfully his. The actual area the tents were placed in was a green-with-grass clearing, with many wonderful wild Pokemon just waiting to be watched.
Walking over to the makeshift kitchen they had set near Brock, Ash scooted onto the log, next to May, as he usually did. When he did so, May whispered to him urgently: "Come with me when I get more firewood, I need to tell you something…"
"Ash, wake up!"
Ash groaned, not wanting to wake up. He threw the covers over his head in order to escape the girl. Without even looking, he knew who it was. He was traveling with Dawn back to Pallet Town, after losing to none other than Paul in the Sinnoh semi-finals. He remebered she never changed outfits, with the pink miniskirt and go-go boots fitting her style. She also wore the same navy-blue vest over a white undershirt. The good news is that Paul lost the next battle.
"Ash! Come on! I wanted to at least spend this day on the boat doing something!" she exclaimed, throwing the covers off the bed and to a place he couldn't reach.
Getting up, he told Dawn: "I'm sorry, it's just that I keep getting woken up during the part of my dream I want to see most."
She pondered a moment, then asked: "Was this May you keep talking about in it?"
"Yeah, why?" he replied calmly.
"Oh, no reason…" she said, not getting the reaction she wanted.
"Well, I'm getting up, so what do you want to do, Dawn?" he asked, grabbing his day clothes and heading into the restroom to change.
"Oh! I want to…oh never mind, he won't hear me in there." Then she started talking to Pikachu, who was left out of the bathroom. "Pikachu, I'm going to get to tell him today!"
"Tell me what, Dawn?" Ash asked, getting out of the bathroom all changed.
Ash surprised her, so she got flustered trying to think of how to get out of it. "Er…just that I'm so excited to see your hometown!" She had very brilliant blushes peeking through her cheeks, but gladly for her, Ash didn't notice.
"Well, I didn't hear you say anything after I asked, but what did you want to do on the boat today so badly?"
"I wanted to spend the day with you!" Dawn told him with a smile, but dropped to an angry frown. "Not have someone sleeping all day like yesterday!"
"I'm sorry, I'll do whatever you want!"
"Well…since today we'll be docking…how about we spend this time to walk around the boat together!"
"Er…ok. I'd love to." Under his breath, he added: "Thank you! I thought I would have to spend an hour in the shops waiting for her to decide between hairsprays or something."
Upon reaching an unpopulated are of the deck, Dawn released Buneary. It looked around furiously for something, and hearts seemed to pop up in its eyes spotting its prey hanging near the guard rail. As Buneary hopped straight to Pikachu, Dawn wondered aloud: "I guess Pikachu finally gave up trying to get away from Buneary! I wonder what that would mean for us if our Pokemon fell in love with each other…" while nudging Ash in the side.
"I guess I would have to disown Pikachu, because I know something must not have been right in his head or something!" He exclaimed, earning a disgruntled Dawn.
"Ash! I was referring to the saying of 'if two trainer's Pokemon fall in love, the trainers are bound to follow'!"
"Oh…sorry. I forgot about that saying!" He paused to think… "Then what about May and I's Bulbasaurs, Pikachu? They love each other, don't they? So what does that mean about May and I, Dawn?"
"Oh…probably nothing!" she exclaimed hurriedly, "I'm sure there are exceptions!"
"Yeah…you're probably right. I couldn't imagine liking May like that. She's a very good friend of mine."
Shortly after the conversation, the boat docked in little Pallet Town, letting its passengers out.
"This place is beautiful! No wonder your Mom lives here!"
"Heh…well, if you want to compare cities, Floaroma Town is much better looking."
"Yeah, but Floaroma town is the most beautiful city in all of the regions!"
"Too bad I couldn't make Poffins right or else I might've enjoyed our stay better."
"Just because you burned them doesn't mean they're terrible, Ash."
"Yeah, you're right, Dawn! Hey Pikachu! You did like those Poffins I made, right?"
At this, the lightning mouse ran all the way back to Ash's house, causing the two friends to chase after it. Dawn was slightly behind, because she didn't know the way. They passed many houses, while nearly exhausting themselves, it was getting to be a large town. The most prominent site to Dawn was the large house in the back of the area, which remarked Prof. Oak's lab from the t.v. When Ash and Dawn reached the house, Pikachu had already gone to the door, waiting for Ash to open the door. When he did so, the electric mouse ran inside, sniffing the house, and ran up to his bedroom. When he walked into the Living Room, he found his mother, Delia.
"Mom! I'm home finally!"
Delia turned toward Ash with a warm smile. "How are you, dear?"
"Absolutely great! Hey, Mom, I'd like you to meet my friend, Dawn!" he replied, pointing toward the petite girl behind him as she walked him.
As she came in, his mother looked very surprised at the fact that he brought this girl home with him after his journey. She also seemed rather frightened of that fact also.
"…Mom, what's wrong?"
"…Oh! Nothing, I'm sorry! It's very nice to finally meet you in person, Dawn!" Her demeanor seemed to go back to pleasant and pleased mom, which Dawn seemed to wonder why she was like that at the sight of her.
"Likewise!" Dawn replied.
"Ash, there's a little surprise for you up in your bedroom for you coming back on your long journey. I'm sure you'll be very pleased! Go ahead up there and see what it is, you two."
"Ok, Mom." Ash said, the curiosity intriguing him as he and Dawn went up the same flight of stairs that Pikachu had shot up momentarily ago.
Thank you for reading! I am begging all readers, even unsigned, to review. The main reason I tried a different approach is because I felt my stories were seriously flawed, with good ideas, but terrible ways of telling them. This is the first chapter of hopefully nine, and I probably am going to start on the second right away! I got some comments and warnings (yikes!) about begging for reviews. Well, I haven't written in forever, and there was a reason. I'm just hoping people can enjoy my story. Thank you. And let me use the more common summary: rate and review