This is more of a platonic Pearlshipping fic than a Pokeshipping one, so ... sorry? I was struggling to find something for this letter so I just morphed another story idea I had and made it a pokeshipping one for this challenge. I've read an alarming number of fics that demonize Dawn, regardless of whether she's Misty's romantic rival or not. It makes me sad because she's such a great character!

Also wrote this because I have a very good friend who is male, and a lot of people assume we're dating. Someone once told me that we're probably going to end up together because of how close we are, and it pissed me off. You'll see a lot of that in this fic.

Enjoy :)

The tip of Dawn's tongue stuck out between her lips as she stared down at her toes. Each one need to be painted with perfect precision; Dawn didn't want to spend anymore time staring at her toes than she needed to. Toes were gross.

"I find it hard to believe he's 'just a friend' if you're painting your toenails for him," Ursula remarked, causing Dawn to blow at her fringe.

"I'm not painting my toenails for him," she huffed. "I'm painting them for myself, because I want pretty toenails to match my pretty fingernails. Okay?"

"Sure. If you tell yourself that enough times, you might actually believe it, too."

"Whatever, Ursula."

Why was she stuck in a Pokémon Centre with Ursula, of all people? Sure, she was the only coordinator Dawn knew who was competing in the Johto contest circuit with her, but it's not like they got along.

Didn't Ursula have enough money not to bunk at pokémon centres anyway?

"So what time's your date again?"

Dawn groaned. "It is not a date!"

"Fine," Ursula rolled her eyes. "What time are you meeting Ash, then?"

"Six thirty." She kept painting, not paying her rival any mind. "He's picking me up at the station."

"How sweet."

Dawn grit her teeth, forgetting that her tongue had poked itself out of her mouth again. "Ow …"

Ursula laughed. "Nice one, Dawn. I'm sure Ash is going to find that real attractive."

"Why are you so insistent on him being my boyfriend or something?" Dawn dipped her brush back in its bottle and twisted it closed a lot more aggressively than needed.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me there's nothing going on between you guys?" Ursula crossed her arms. "I mean, you travelled with him for forever. And you're going to have dinner with him. Just the two of you."

"There's nothing going on between us."

"You're close, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"Then there has to be something going on between you." Ursula relaxed back in her seat, crossing her legs and staring at Dawn with a sly smirk on her face. "Everyone knows a man and a woman can never be just friends."

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard!"

"Is it? How many of your relationships with a guy are strictly platonic?"

"Brock."

"That tall guy who was travelling around with you guys in Sinnoh? Too old, doesn't count."

"Barry."

"Gay."

"Kenny."

Ursula only raised an eyebrow, and Dawn had to fight a sigh. She might've only seen Kenny as a friend, but she wasn't stupid – she could read his crush on her loud and clear.

"You're not a lesbian, are you?"

"What?" Dawn waved her hands in the air. "No! I'm pretty sure I'm not a lesbian."

"Then you've got a thing for Ash. Or he's got a thing for you. Who knows, maybe you'll both fall in love with each other, in the end." Ursula twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "It's inevitable."

Dawn didn't think it was so inevitable, but she kept it to herself. Let Ursula believe what she wanted to believe; they weren't friends, and Dawn didn't have to waste time proving her wrong.

The walk to Goldenrod station and to her seat on the magnet train had done wonders for Dawn's irritation. Ursula was far, far away by now, and she'd hopefully be long asleep by the time Dawn got home. Dinner would go down normally, and she'd have nothing interesting to report to Ursula in the morning.

Good.

"Oh my goodness!" came a familiar squeal from the aisle, "Dane, is that really you?"

"It's Dawn," she muttered, but not too testily. Lyra might've been absent-minded – and Dawn certainly couldn't see herself spending extended amounts of time with her – but she never meant any harm. "You heading to Saffron too?"

"Yeah!" Lyra took a seat next to her. "I've been travelling Kanto, but I thought since I was in Saffron City I might as well take a quick trip back to Johto and visit my family. And now I'm on my way back to Kanto. This magnet train sure is convenient!"

"Sure is! I don't even feel like I'm travelling between regions."

"Which is why I didn't feel bad taking the break! Say, why are you heading to Saffron anyway?"

"I'm meeting a friend," Dawn said coolly. She knew what Lyra could be like.

"Anyone I know?" Lyra asked.

"Uh … remember Ash?"

Lyra's smile suddenly turned mischievous, and Dawn slapped a hand to her face. Oh, brother.

"I remember Ash, alright! How could I forget your cute friend? Is he still single?"

"As far as I know –"

"Oh but that doesn't matter as long as you're around, right?" Lyra leaned in, nudging Dawn's side. "Are you meeting him for dinner? Is it a date?"

"It's not a date."

"But you want it to be, eh? You like him, don't you? I always knew you did, I called it all those years ago."

"I don't – seriously? You're still on that?" Dawn shook her head. "I don't like Ash like that."

"Suuuuure you don't!" Lyra tapped her chin. "And I'm sure he likes you back too. A man and a woman can't be that close and not fall in love, after all."

…

Seriously.

"Look, Lyra!" Dawn jabbed the other girl in the shoulder, making sure she was listening, and she was listening well. "I do not like Ash, and he does not like me back! We are just friends, we always have been and we always will be!"

Lyra blinked, but was otherwise unfazed. "Jeez, Dane, you don't have to get so defensive. We're gal pals, so we're supposed to confide with each other."

Dawn took a deep breath, and pinched the bridge of her nose as she breathed out slowly. She was in public, and she wasn't going to lose her temper at Lyra, who only meant well.

She was too old for this.

"Listen –" she started, but her words died in her throat as she saw a tall man stop at her row. He tapped Lyra on the shoulder, and she jumped.

"You're sitting on my seat," he said, and Lyra scurried to her feet, allowing him to sit down.

"That's my cue to get going!" she said, throwing Dawn a wave. "It was nice seeing you again, Dane. Good luck on your date!"

"Later," Dawn murmured weakly and sunk into her seat. Maybe it wasn't time away from Ursula that she needed – maybe it was time away from people in general. Or at least, anyone she knew.

Well. Except one person.

Dawn quickly punched a number into her Poketch, and the call finally connected after a few rings.

"Hello?" Zoey's voice came through.

"Everyone thinks I'm going on a date with Ash."

"… Are you?"

"No, Zoey," Dawn sighed. "I'm just meeting up with him for dinner. I was at Goldenrod for a contest anyway, so I thought it was a good opportunity to catch up. And now everyone thinks it's a date."

"Who's everyone?"

"Ursula and Lyra."

"That doesn't sound like everyone."

"Both of them kept telling me that a man and a woman can't be just friends, apparently."

Zoey burst out laughing. "A man and a woman can't be just friends! That's the straightest thing I ever heard! Hey Candice, get this – Ursula thinks Dawn and Ash are dating because a man and a woman can't be just friends!"

"What?" Footsteps were heard as Candice made her way to wherever Zoey was situated. "You're joking, right?"

Dawn hated that her Poketch only had a speakerphone, and their conversation could be heard by anyone sitting in her vicinity. She was already receiving a glare from a young mother across the aisle, and Dawn sunk into her seat even further.

"H-hey Zoey?" Dawn said, a little quieter, "I think I'm just going to text you, okay?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I'm just on the magnet train right now."

"Oh, I get it. Am I making homophobes squirm in their seats?"

"Um –"

"Well, good! Because –"

Dawn hung up on Zoey before she could say anymore. The man sitting next to her was glaring at her from the corner of his eyes, and she glared right back – her conversation wasn't even as uncomfortable as the elbow he had jutting into her personal space.

Her Poketch vibrated – it was a new message from Zoey. As she read it once, and then over and over again, her expression morphed into one of horror.

Ok but in all seriousness Ursula might have a point.

Dawn started to type an angry response when another text came in: Hear me out. We know /you/ don't like Ash but who's to say he doesn't like you? I'm not saying it's because guys and girls have to end up liking each other but when people are close with people they COULD be attracted to, things can happen. Does Ash like girls?

Dawn pouted. Ash, like her? She was pretty good at being able to tell when people were attracted to her – Kenny and Conway, for example.

And did Ash like girls anyway? Now that she thought about it, she wasn't actually sure. He certainly never paid any attention when girls were interested in him, but …

I don't know, Dawn typed out. She sent the message, wanting to type more but deciding Zoey might have more to say.

Did he initiate dinner?

This was an easy response, and Dawn typed it out quickly: Yep. He was in Saffron, so he offered to pick me up from the station so we could have dinner.

As Dawn typed it out, she realised how it sounded. But there was no other way to put it, since that was exactly what happened – she'd given him a call to let her know when she'd reached Goldenrod City, just like she always did when she reached the destination of her latest contest. He'd already told her he might be in Saffron City around the same time, and she'd been expecting to hang out.

Now that she thought about it, Ash only asking her to meet up for dinner was a bit odd – normally they planned to spend the entire day together, along with Brock or May or someone else they knew. Ash hadn't mentioned anyone else coming to this dinner. Was it …?

Dawn shook her head. Of course it wasn't a date! Ursula and Lyra had just gotten to her head. Her Poketch vibrated again, and Dawn checked out Zoey's latest message.

Sounds kind of like a date to me

Another vibration: Candice also thinks it's a date

You don't know Ash, Dawn sent back. He doesn't have a romantic bone in his body

She hardly had to wait for a response this time. Yeah but he knows Brock, and we all know which romantic bone Brock relies on the most

Yuck. Dawn didn't need to think about that right now. She was having enough trouble thinking about being on a date with Ash.

Anyway Candice says I'm spending too much time on my phone so let me know how it goes ok?

Will do, Dawn sent back, and finally put her Poketch to rest.

This was going to be one long ride.

By the time the train had arrived in Saffron City, Dawn was in a bad, bad mood.

And of course, Ash wasn't even at the station yet. Typical.

She'd been waiting around for fifteen minutes when he finally swerved into the pickup area in his swanky red convertible, no doubt one he subconsciously bought to one-up Gary Oak – they may have gotten along well now, but their rivalry was far from dead.

"Hey, Dawn!" he exclaimed, waving her over, "Get on in!"

"You're late," she said as she yanked her door open and took her seat.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. I left late, but I tried to go faster so I could get here on time, and then I got pulled over by the police." He gave her an embarrassed smile. "And then I nearly crashed into this girl's car."

"Who even gave you your license?"

"I'm not that bad, I promise!"

"Okay, Ash, you better be right." She did a quick scan of his car. "Where's Pikachu?"

Ash grimaced. "He's a little sick, actually." He shifted his car into drive and started pulling out of the station. "We got caught up in a rainstorm and I think it messed with his electricity levels. He's feverish. But he's at the pokémon centre now, so he's in good hands."

"Are you sure he'll be okay on his own?"

"I didn't want to leave him alone at first, but we haven't seen each other since the Indigo League!" He threw her a quick smile. "Pikachu wanted me to come, anyway. Is it okay if we drop by the pokémon centre after dinner?"

"Of course! I miss the little guy."

"But not me?"

"No, not really."

Ash pouted, making Dawn giggle, but she couldn't help but think of what this meant.

She and Ash were completely alone for dinner, and it was worse than she'd imagined. Sure, she'd kept Piplup in his pokéball, but it was only because she couldn't have him out on the train; she'd intended on bringing him out at dinner anyway. She'd expected Pikachu there at least, if no one else. It was still a trio, and after all the conversations she'd had today, she could still handle it.

But it was just her and Ash, and her and Ash alone. Just the two of them.

Alone.

The restaurant was a short drive away and it wasn't anything fancy, which Dawn was thankful for since she hadn't dressed for the occasion. Neither had Ash, she noted, but she didn't expect him to dress up anyway. Not for dinner.

Probably not for a date, either.

Conversation flowed easily. As far as Dawn could tell, Ash wasn't acting odd, or strange, or doing anything unexpected of him. He didn't look nervous; he actually looked completely relaxed. He talked about food; he talked about pokémon – the usual. If anything, it was Dawn who was nervous; she was vaguely aware of her thumbs twiddling, her ankles crossing and uncrossing themselves, her inability to look Ash in the eye completely.

"Can I let Piplup out?" she asked suddenly. It was completely irrelevant to his spiel about burgers, and Ash blinked a few times.

"Uh, sure."

Dawn hastily rummaged through her purse for Piplup's pokéball and quickly let him out onto the table.

"Lup!" The indignant pokémon turned on his heel and started chastising Dawn for keeping him in his ball.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Dawn waved her hands in the air. "I just couldn't have you out on the magnet train!"

"Piplup!"

"Actually, ma'am," a voice said, and Dawn, Ash and Piplup jumped to find a waitress standing at their table. "We don't allow pokémon outside their pokéballs in the restaurant."

"What? Why not?"

"It's just our policy." The waitress paused to give them a very obviously fake frown. "Sorry."

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Ash asked.

"Oh, no! You don't have to do that!" Dawn sighed. "Piplup, I'm sorry but –"

"Piplup!" The water-type turned crossed its flippers and turned away.

Dawn sucked on her teeth as she pulled his pokéball back out. "C'mon, Piplup, they're gonna kick us out of here! I'll make your favourite poffins when we get back to Goldenrod!"

"Dawn'll let you out soon," Ash added. "We're going to meet Pikachu after dinner."

That caught Piplup's attention. Dawn used the distraction to catch Piplup in his beam and call him back into his ball. She gave the waitress an apologetic look. "Sorry about that."

The waitress chuckled. "It's fine. Newer pokémon can be difficult to manage."

Dawn had had Piplup for nearly ten years at that point, but she decided against pointing that out.

"Can we place our order now, or …?" Ash asked, impatient for his food as always.

"Of course!" The waitress got her notebook out.

"What would you like?"

Ash gestured at his menu. "I'll have two cheeseburgers and a, uh … fet-too-kine Alfred."

The waitress swapped a quick look with Dawn. "The fettuccine alfredo?"

"Uh, sure."

Dawn could see the judgement on the waitress' face as she turned back to her. "And for your date?"

Dawn blinked once. She blinked again. She let her breath escape slowly to her nose before opening her mouth to speak, but Ash beat her to the punch.

"Oh no," he said, frowning, "She's not my date."

Dawn took another big breath so this time she could heave a sigh of relief.

"Not his date," Dawn smiled, her body finally released of the tension that was building up over the last few hours. "We're definitely not dating."

"Okay," the waitress smiled back, but her eyes were telling Dawn that she didn't really care. "What's your order then?"

Dinner went down without a hitch from that point on. They spent the time catching each other up on all the things they never told each other over the phone, and finally going over Dawn's strategy for her next contest.

The drive to the Pokémon Centre was a little more eventful, however. Dawn really had to wonder how in hell Ash managed to get his license as the man navigated hastily around sharp turns, accidentally ran red lights and somehow almost crashed into a garbage truck, all in the space of fifteen minutes.

"I don't want to be anywhere near your car again," Dawn breathed.

"Aw, but it's a nice car!" Ash whined.

"Gary's is better."

"You –" Ash spluttered, flabbergasted. "What?! It is not!"

Dawn only shrugged in response to Ash's alarmed expression, and he growled. "That Gary …"

"Focus on the road, Ash," Dawn warned. "You want to get back to Pikachu in one piece, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter, we're already here."

And sure enough, Ash was pulling into one of the few parking spaces in front of the Pokémon Centre.

"That was quick," Dawn murmured.

"I tried to get a restaurant closer to the Pokémon Centre. Most of the eating places here are further away from all the trainer facilities, but I didn't want to be so far away that I couldn't get back to Pikachu in case of an emergency."

Dawn's eyes widened. "Could there have been an emergency?"

"I don't think so. It's just a fever." Ash grimaced. "But you can't be too careful, I suppose."

The automatic doors opened for them as they made it to the front step, but Dawn put a gentle hand on Ash's arm, stopping him.

"I'm really sorry you had to leave," she said. "We could have rescheduled."

Ash shook his head firmly. "I was only supposed to be in Saffron in one night anyway. And like I said, Pikachu wanted me to go. I was just going to call you here, but he insisted." Ash kept walking forward. "Besides, I called backup, and she should be –"

"Ash!" Right on cue, a tall redhead in the waiting area jumped to her feet and came running towards them. "And Dawn!"

"Misty?" Dawn asked.

"When did you get here?" Ash breathed. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it."

"Me neither," Misty confessed, "But Violet came home from her Pilates class early, so I dumped the gym on her before she could even get a word in. She's not the strongest out of my sisters, but she'll do for a few hours."

"So you can't stay long?" Ash frowned.

She pursed her lips. "I'm sorry, Ash." She placed her hands on her hips. "But you were already gone by the time I got here, and they wouldn't let me see Pikachu! Why didn't you pick up your pokégear?"

Ash did a quick patdown of all of his pockets, and then grinned sheepishly. "I guess I left it with Pikachu."

Misty rolled her eyes at the same time Dawn muttered under her breath: "Typical."

Misty's attention was suddenly diverted to her presence. "Sorry, Dawn. How are you? The last time we met was …"

"Indigo League," Dawn finished for her. The only time she'd ever met Misty was when Ash won the Indigo League – which was weird, considering they were both equally close to him.

Misty nodded, and wrapped her arms around herself. "So, uh … did the two of your enjoy your date?"

Dawn's breath hitched. The word 'date' replayed in her head, louder and louder each time until it was the only thing she could hear or see or think.

And she'd had enough.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Dawn growled out before Ash could even get a word in, pointing a finger at the redhead. "You listen here and you listen close, Misty! Ash and I are just friends, nothing more and nothing less! And just because he is a boy and I am a girl and we are close, doesn't mean we have to be dating! It doesn't mean we have to be attracted to each other!"

"Yeah!" Ash took a step forward, although he didn't sound quite as indignant as Dawn. "We're definitely not dating!"

"And anyway, I have standards."

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry," Dawn rolled her eyes, "You're sweet, but I can't even think about being attracted to you."

Ash muttered under his breath, "Me neither, but that doesn't mean I have standards."

"You mean to say it doesn't mean you don't have standards."

"No, I meant – oh … wait …"

"I'm going to step in before Ash hurts himself," Misty interrupted. "Pikachu?"

"Right!" Ash jumped, and strode straight towards Nurse Joy, not even bothering to look back and see if the girls were following him.

"That was quite the reaction," Misty mused.

Dawn quickly let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I've had a long day. I really don't like him in that way."

Misty stared at Dawn for a while, and Dawn felt like she was almost being examined. "I believe you."

"Good. I actually feel a little bad for the girl that ends up with him. He's sweet, but his hygiene habits are a little …"

Misty chuckled. "Don't I know it." She licked her lips, watching as Ash negotiated with Nurse Joy and gestured to the two of them, no doubt asking her to let them in. "I guess whoever it is would have to whip him into shape, huh?"

Dawn squinted up at Misty's face, then at Ash's receding figure, and back at Misty. Dawn had never paid much attention to romance – she'd never needed to. But it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on here.

"I'm sure you'll manage," Dawn replied casually. She watched with a glint in her eye as Misty's expression went from confusion to alarm, and then went beet red.

"N-no … I wasn't – I-I'm not –"

"Good luck, though," Dawn trilled, a sweet smile on her face. "You'll definitely need it."