Later that day, Dawn was happily practicing with her Pokémon, while Ash and Verity watched from the side, enjoying some boba they had gotten from a shop.
After the girls woke up, Zoey decided to go her own way since she didn't want to get an unfair advantage over Dawn, so they finally parted ways.
But not before Dawn put a basket full of high-quality accessories from the shop into her arms. No matter how much Zoey tried to refuse them, Dawn refused to take them back. She said the only way she would take them back was if Zoey got farther than her in the Contest.
And so, even though Zoey really didn't want to, she took the accessories and went on her way, leaving the main trio to hang out.
Meanwhile, now that Dawn had decided to lock in, she tied a long headband with VICTORY written on it and decided to take training more seriously, just like she said she would. Well… she was trying to, anyway.
"Piplup, use [Bubble Beam]!"
"Piplup!"
The little penguin Pokémon spun around, firing a stream of bubbles into the air. Dawn watched carefully, keeping her expression as serious as possible.
"Good! Now, follow up with [Peck]!"
Piplup leaped forward, his beak glowing as he popped several of the bubbles in quick succession. Unfortunately, he got a little too enthusiastic and ended up spinning himself around before landing on his belly.
"Piplup?!"
Dawn blinked, then quickly straightened her posture, "Ahem. That's alright! Just a small miscalculation. Let's try that again."
Ash took another sip of his boba, "She's really getting into it."
"She's been making that face for the last twenty minutes," Verity replied, watching Dawn with an amused smile, "I'm starting to think her face might get stuck like that."
"I'm not sure. She might need to keep it that way until the Contest."
The two shared a quiet laugh.
Dawn, meanwhile, was doing her best to ignore them. She had a competition to prepare for, and she wasn't going to let a couple of distractions ruin her concentration.
"Alright, Piplup! Let's try a combination this time. Use [Bubble Beam], then follow it with [Peck] to scatter the bubbles!"
"Piplup!"
This time, the combination went much better. Piplup fired its bubbles upward before jumping into them, popping them one after another with quick strikes. The sunlight caught the sparkling droplets, making the whole display look pretty.
Dawn's eyes lit up, but she quickly caught herself and returned to her serious expression, "Good work, Piplup. That's the kind of performance we're looking for."
Ash leaned toward Verity, "She's even talking like a coach now."
"Maybe we should start calling her Coach Dawn."
"Don't you dare," Dawn called out without turning around.
Verity raised an eyebrow, "Oh? So you can hear us?"
"I'm not deaf!"
"Then you're not concentrating very well."
Ash chuckled, taking another sip, "She's got you there."
Dawn took a deep breath and turned back toward her Pokémon. She wasn't going to let them get to her, even if she could hear them teasing her in the background, "Okay, everyone! Let's move on to the next exercise!"
Piplup saluted enthusiastically, while Buneary and Pachirisu followed along. However, they both seemed more distracted by trying to catch Pikachu's attention. Pikachu, meanwhile, was looking away from them, pretending everything was fine. He totally wasn't sweating bullets here.
After that, they finished the warmups and started working on the real training: their choreography. Specifically, they were working on a dance. Hearthome City's Contest worked a bit differently from others. Instead of the usual Appeal Round, this one was dance-based, so she had to prepare a dance for them.
Eventually, Ash finished his drink and stood up, stretching his arms, "Hey, Dawn?"
"Just a moment! I'm in the middle of something."
"Sure. I was just thinking we should go get an early dinner."
Dawn froze, "Dinner?"
"Yeah. You've been training for a while, and I don't want you getting hungry during the Contest."
"I-I don't need to eat right now!" Dawn replied, quickly turning back toward her Pokémon, "I'm perfectly fine! A professional Coordinator needs to be able to focus on her training!"
Ash tilted his head, "Are you sure? You haven't eaten since lunch."
"That's not true!"
Verity glanced at her, "It isn't?"
Dawn opened her mouth, then paused, "Well… I mean…"
Her stomach chose that exact moment to betray her with a rather loud growl. Piplup looked up at her, and Ash slowly raised an eyebrow, while Verity covered her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh.
Dawn's cheeks turned pink, "T-That wasn't me!"
Ash looked around, "Oh? Was it one of the trees?"
"No!"
"Maybe it was Piplup?"
"Piplup?" The little penguin looked up in confusion.
Dawn immediately pointed at him, "Yes! It was Piplup! He's been working really hard, so he's probably hungry!"
Piplup stared at her with a blank look on his face. As he narrowed his eyes, he tried to yell at her, but Dawn quickly got down and covered his beak, "Yep, he must be starving. Maybe we should take a break," Dawn said while Piplup flapped his flippers angrily.
"Hmm, interesting. Well, I guess it would explain why he looks like he wants to peck your head. You haven't been feeding him enough~" Ash teased.
"Yep, sorry, Piplup, but I'll make it up to you," Dawn said helplessly, trying to get her little penguin to calm down.
Dawn looked down at Piplup, who was still flapping his little flippers angrily, before finally sighing, "Alright, alright! We'll take a break!"
Piplup immediately stopped struggling and gave her a satisfied little nod.
"See? Even Piplup agrees," Ash commented.
"Don't act like you won!" Dawn huffed, letting go of her Pokémon's beak.
Ash chuckled and stretched his arms again, "Besides, the Contest starts in about three hours, doesn't it? You've got plenty of time to eat and relax before then."
Dawn glanced toward the clock on her Pokétch, "Well… yeah, I suppose."
"Then let's call it here for now. You've been working hard, and your Pokémon could use a break, too."
Dawn looked over at her team. Piplup was already happily waddling toward Pikachu, while Buneary and Pachirisu seemed more interested in getting his attention than continuing their training.
"Alright, fine. I guess we've done enough for today." She crossed her arms, trying to look confident, "Besides, I'm feeling pretty good about our performance. I think we're ready!"
Ash raised an eyebrow, a small smirk appearing on his face, "Oh? Feeling confident, are we?"
"Of course! I've practiced plenty, and my Pokémon are doing great. What's there not to be confident about?"
"Nothing, nothing." Ash took another sip of his drink, "I was just wondering if you were planning on using my [Counter Shield] during your performance. If you are, I might need to get that copyrighted before you start taking all the credit."
Dawn's eye twitched, "I'm not going to use your [Counter Shield]!"
"Really? Because I could always have Pikachu teach your Pokémon a few moves. He does love breakdancing."
Pikachu perked up at the mention of his name, giving a cheerful little wave, "Pika!"
"See? He's even volunteering."
Dawn huffed, turning away, "I have my own ideas!"
"Of course you do."
Ash's smirk only grew wider, and Verity had to turn her head to hide her smile.
Dawn marched over to her bag and put it on her back, "Just you wait! I'll show you both! My performance is going to be amazing!"
"Uh-huh."
"Stop saying it like that!"
Ash raised both hands innocently, "I didn't say anything."
Dawn narrowed her eyes at him before huffing.
{Meanwhile inside of Dawn's head,}
A tiny, chibi version of Dawn was frantically scribbling in her notebook, her little hands moving way faster than they reasonably should. She was quickly crossing out something from her notebook: two words, one that started with C and the other with S.
Suddenly, a tiny chibi Ash kicked the door down, "Hey, hey! What are you doing?"
"Nothing!" Chibi Dawn quickly covered her notebook, "Wait, why are you in my mind?!"
Chibi Ash ignored her and narrowed his eyes, "You're totally planning to use my [Counter Shield] again, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not!"
"Then what's that in your notebook?"
"It's research!"
"Uh-huh. Sure it is."
Before she could protest any further, Chibi Ash scooped her up and started dragging her toward a nearby room.
"W-WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Taking you somewhere private. We need to discuss your little plagiarism problem."
"LET GO OF ME!"
Chibi Ash opened the door, walked inside, and closed it behind them. And then, he began doing 'unspeakable things'… Namely, pinching her cheeks.
"PFFT-HEY! STOP THAT!" Dawn protested as Ash pinched her chubby cheeks.
"Look at these cheeks! They're practically begging to be squished!" Chibi Ash smirked as he pulled Dawn's face into a smile.
"LET GO! YOU'RE RUINING MY FACE!"
"Aw, don't be like that. You're much cuter when you're not plotting to steal my moves."
"AAAAAAAAH!"
—
Dawn shook her head, getting whatever thoughts she was having out of her head, as she instinctively rubbed her cheek and followed behind Ash and Verity.
After a quick dinner, with Verity choosing the restaurant this time, it wasn't anything fancy, but hey, they enjoyed it. The three of them made their way through the streets of Hearthome City, enjoying the evening breeze as the sun slowly began to set.
Dawn walked alongside Ash and Verity, occasionally glancing down at her Pokémon, who were happily chatting amongst themselves. She was still thinking about the upcoming Contest, though she was doing her best to keep herself from getting too nervous.
Eventually, the three reached a quieter area near the outskirts of the city. The buildings gradually became less frequent, giving way to patches of trees and open fields.
Dawn looked up at the sky, her eyes catching the beautiful blend of orange and pink spreading across the horizon, "Wow… It's really pretty."
Verity followed her gaze, "Yeah, it is. I guess we got lucky with the timing." She put her hands on the back of her head, "Not a bad way to end the day."
The three continued walking, enjoying the scenery, when suddenly Dawn noticed something moving across the sky, "Huh?"
A bright streak of light flashed overhead.
"Is that a shooting star?" Verity asked, looking up.
But as they watched, something seemed off. The glowing object wasn't simply passing across the sky. It was descending, and decelerating fast, but it wasn't heading toward them. The light continued falling, heading straight toward the forest beyond the outskirts of the city.
They waited for an explosion, covering their eyes, but nothing happened. There wasn't even a sound or anything.
Verity blinked, "…Huh."
Ash tilted his head, "That's strange."
Normally, something falling out of the sky would cause quite a commotion. But the city continued as usual. Since it was literally in the sky, a few people in town had also noticed it, but after it didn't make a sound or anything, they just shrugged and carried on with their evening. It must have just been their imagination, or maybe some flying Pokémon.
Whatever it was, nobody seemed particularly concerned. Nobody except Dawn. She remained staring toward the forest, her expression slowly changing.
"Dawn?" Verity asked.
Dawn didn't answer immediately. Something felt… wrong. She couldn't explain it. She hadn't heard anything, and she hadn't even seen where the object had landed. Yet, for some reason, there was an uncomfortable feeling growing in her chest. It almost felt like… pain.
Dawn brought a hand to her chest, frowning.
"Are you alright?" Ash asked, noticing her expression.
Dawn took a slow breath before looking between the two of them, "I… I want to go see what that was."
Verity blinked, "What? Why?"
"I don't know. I just…"
"Dawn, it was probably nothing," Verity said, glancing toward the forest, "Maybe it was just a Pokémon flying by. Besides, you have your Contest coming up. We shouldn't go wandering around the woods over something we didn't even get a good look at."
"I know, but…"
"Dawn," Verity continued, trying to reason with her, "You really should focus on your Contest. We can always check it out tomorrow if you're still curious."
Dawn looked down for a moment, biting her lip. She knew Verity was right. She had spent the entire afternoon training, and the Contest was only a few hours away. But that feeling wouldn't go away.
She looked back toward the forest before finally turning to Ash and giving him a pleading look. Ash was trying to stay silent and make a mental note of something for later, but when he saw Dawn's face, he tried to resist. Eventually, he sighed.
"Are you sure?" he asked, "You have your Contest later. I don't want you missing it because we went chasing after something in the woods."
Dawn gulped, then nodded, "I-I know. But… I don't know why, I just really want to go."
Ash stared at her for another moment before letting out a small sigh, "Alright, then."
Verity turned toward him, "Ash!"
"What?" He shrugged, "If she's that worried about it, we might as well take a look."
"But her Contest!"
"Don't worry. We'll just have to move fast so we can get back in time for Dawn to get ready."
Dawn's face brightened, "Really?!"
"Yeah. But no wandering off, alright? We find out what happened, then head straight back."
"Got it!"
Verity looked between the two of them, letting out a defeated sigh, "You two are unbelievable…"
"You could choose to sit this one out," Ash said, peeking out of one eye.
Verity huffed and crossed her arms, "Fat chance. Fine, but let's hurry. I don't want to see Dawn cry because we miss her Contest," Verity teased.
"I would not cry," Dawn huffed, but she still let out a shaky breath. She didn't know why.
Ash put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, which soothed Dawn's worry. So, with one deep breath, they went into the woods.
{Time until Dawn's turn - 1:58:21}
—
Ash, Dawn, and Verity went into the woods. They didn't split too far from each other because getting lost would just be begging to waste time. As for lighting, Pikachu simply used [Flash] to light their way.
Now, the main problem was actually finding where the thing had fallen. Since it made no noise or anything particularly noticeable, they didn't have much to work with. Ash still sent out Staravia to scout ahead, but they all knew that it wouldn't find some big crater in the ground.
So all they could do was walk deeper in.
Dawn kept looking around, trying to spot anything unusual, "Are we sure we're going the right way?"
Ash glanced up at the sky through the branches, "Well, unless that thing suddenly changed direction halfway down, I'd say we're heading the right way."
"That's reassuring," Verity muttered.
"Hey, I'm trying to be optimistic."
"Maybe try being helpful instead."
Dawn giggled softly, but her smile didn't last long. That strange feeling was still there. In fact, the farther they walked, the stronger it seemed to become.
She slowed down, bringing a hand to her chest again.
Ash noticed almost immediately, "Still feeling something?"
Dawn nodded, "Yeah… It's like something is pulling me toward it."
Ash frowned slightly. He glanced at Verity, who seemed just as concerned.
"Pulling you?" he repeated.
"I don't mean literally. It's just… I can't really explain it."
"Hmm." Ash mentally made a note of something. He had an idea, but for now, he'd give it some time. Then he looked toward Pikachu, "Anything?"
"Pika…" Pikachu shook his head. He hadn't noticed anything unusual yet.
A moment later, Staravia returned from its scouting flight, landing on Ash's shoulder.
"Anything?" Ash asked.
"Staravia!" It chirped, shaking its head before pointing its beak farther into the forest.
"Guess we're going that way."
They continued walking, carefully making their way between the trees. The forest was surprisingly quiet. There were no particularly loud Pokémon calls, no rustling from nearby bushes, and barely even any wind.
Verity looked around, "Is it just me, or is it getting really quiet?"
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Ash replied.
Dawn swallowed, "Do you think something happened to the Pokémon here?"
"Could be," Ash answered, "Though I'd rather not jump to conclusions."
They walked for another few minutes before Pikachu suddenly stopped, "Pika?"
Ash paused, "What's up?"
Pikachu pointed toward a small clearing ahead, then looked at Ash and nodded. He turned off [Flash], leaving them in the dark, foggy forest.
Vee peeked out of Ash's bag, looking around. He sighed and walked out, stepping onto Ash's shoulder and rolling his own shoulder, warming up to beat any idiots who tried anything.
Meanwhile, both Dawn and Verity's Piplups quickly jumped out and stood in front of their trainers, respectively.
But before anyone could move or say anything, they suddenly saw a soft pink light coming from where Pikachu had pointed. It was very faint through the fog, but it was there.
Slowly, Ash led the way, walking toward the soft pink light. Ash reached out, grabbing the leaves separating them from the source of the pink light. Dawn and Verity peeked over Ash's shoulder as they held their breath.
Then Ash pulled the leaves to the side, and there they saw the cause of that light: an injured Cresselia lying on the ground.
Dawn blinked, looking between the injured Pokémon and Ash, "I-is that…?"
"Cresselia…" Ash answered quietly.
Verity's eyes widened, "Wait, Cresselia? As in, the Legendary Pokémon?"
"Yeah." Ash slowly furrowed his brows, his expression becoming more serious as he examined it, "What in the world happened to you?"
Cresselia was lying on its side, its beautiful crescent-shaped wings resting against the ground. Its body was covered in scratches, and its breathing was noticeably uneven. The faint pink light surrounding it flickered weakly, almost as though it was struggling to remain lit.
Ash narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin as he thought about something.
But while he was thinking, Cresselia slowly lifted its head.
Its eyes settled on the three humans standing nearby. The moment it noticed them, its faint pink glow abruptly stopped. Its expression changed, and despite its injuries, it tried to pull itself away, glaring at them weakly.
Dawn immediately raised her hands, "W-Wait! It's okay! We're not going to hurt you!"
Cresselia didn't seem convinced. Its eyes remained fixed on them, and the little light that had surrounded its body began flickering again.
Ash let out a quiet sigh. He could understand why it was being defensive. An injured Legendary Pokémon suddenly finding three strangers standing over it wasn't exactly an ideal situation.
"Easy there," he murmured.
He was just about to release a little Aura, hoping to calm Cresselia down, when something unexpected happened.
Dawn took a step forward.
Ash blinked, "Dawn?"
She didn't seem to hear him. Her legs were moving before she could even think about what she was doing. There was something about Cresselia that made her feel like she needed to approach it. The strange feeling she'd experienced earlier was now stronger than ever.
"Dawn, wait," Verity whispered, but Dawn continued forward.
Cresselia watched her cautiously, its eyes following every movement. It didn't try to attack, but its body remained tense, ready to defend itself if necessary.
Verity was about to get up and run after her, but Ash reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. He then gestured for her to watch.
Dawn slowly lowered herself, making sure not to move too quickly. She kept her hands where Cresselia could see them.
"It's okay…" she said softly, "We don't want to hurt you."
Cresselia stared at her.
"We just want to help," Dawn continued, her voice gentle, "You're hurt, aren't you? We can see that you're having a hard time."
The Legendary Pokémon's expression shifted slightly. Its eyes moved from Dawn's face to her outstretched hand, then back again.
Dawn swallowed, but she didn't pull away, "Please… let us help you."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the faint pink light surrounding Cresselia began to settle. The flickering became less erratic, and its tense expression softened just a little. It leaned its head forward and let Dawn rest her hand on its head.
For a few moments, Dawn simply stayed there, gently resting her hand against Cresselia's head. The Legendary Pokémon closed its eyes slightly, seemingly relieved by the contact.
Dawn smiled, "See? It's okay…"
Verity blinked, her mouth forming an O shape.
Ash hummed, looking between the two. He had a feeling this was the case. He closed his eyes and looked at his belt, where one of his Poké Balls was shaking. Ash just put it away and muttered, "Not your time, dude."
Then he looked forward and walked over, "Dawn?" he called gently.
She looked back, "Hmm?"
"Mind moving your hand for a second? I want to take a closer look at its injuries."
"Oh! Right, sorry."
Dawn carefully pulled her hand away, and Cresselia opened its eyes again. It looked toward Ash, its expression becoming a little more guarded.
"Easy," Ash reassured it, kneeling down, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you're alright."
Ash reached out with his Aura and placed his hand on Cresselia's head, calming it down. It lowered its head, allowing him to move over to its side and look for the injured area.
It took a bit, but eventually he found it under Cresselia's wing. There was a very visible burn mark that looked like it had been caused by electricity. It also looked like it had just been hit with something hard.
Ash hummed, then put his hand over it, beginning to channel some Aura, "Don't worry, I'll make it all better."
Cresselia felt the warm light wash over it. For the first time in a while, Cresselia felt safe. Slowly, it lowered its head, leaning into Dawn's hand and closing its eyes for a little nap.
Dawn gently cradled Cresselia's head as Verity slowly walked over, taking in the situation, "I… can't believe it. We're actually looking at a Cresselia."
Ash continued channeling Aura into the injured Pokémon, carefully focusing on the damaged area beneath its wing, "Yeah, well, I'd be a lot happier about it if we weren't finding it half-dead in the middle of the forest."
"Is it going to be okay?" Dawn asked, her voice full of concern.
"Physically? I think so. The burn is pretty nasty, but it's nothing I can't handle." Ash frowned slightly, "I'm more concerned about what caused it."
Verity crouched beside them, careful not to get too close, "How does it look?"
"Definitely looks like it got attacked," Ash said, "But I should be able to help it."
"Yeah, your healing thing. Can you fix it completely?"
"Technically, it's not healing. It just speeds up the recovery process," Ash said as he finally pulled back and let out a breath, "There, phew. Healing Legendaries still takes a little more out of me than regular Pokémon."
"Will Cresselia be alright?" Dawn quickly asked.
"Please, are you doubting me?" Ash huffed as he pointed to his chest, "There's no one better in the world at this than me. Cresselia will be fine. It should be fully healed in one hour."
Dawn's eyes brightened, "Oh, so we can stay here with Cresselia, and then still make it to my Contest!"
"Um, but what about getting out of here? I don't know about you, but I got lost ten minutes in…" Verity scratched her arm nervously.
Ash looked at her and slowly pulled out a Poké Ball, holding it up, "You realize I have Dragonite, right? I can just fly us out."
"Oh…" Verity blinked, then looked at him, "Wait, why don't you do that more often, then?"
Ash shrugged, "It's boring? Also, how will you guys train if I let you stay in towns all the time?"
Verity opened her mouth, then closed it and sighed, "Whatever, let's just take care of Cresselia," she said, looking away.
For a little while, the three simply stayed there, letting Cresselia rest while Ash recovered from using his Aura. Pikachu sat beside him, occasionally glancing toward the injured Legendary Pokémon, while Vee remained perched on his shoulder, keeping an eye on the surrounding forest.
Verity looked at Dawn, then at the sleeping Cresselia. Slowly, she went over and sat next to her, "So… um, how are you feeling?" She scratched her cheek, "That came out awkward…"
"I guess… So, the feeling you said you felt, was it from Cresselia?" Verity clarified. She might not know much about this, but she remembered back when she, Ash, and Sorrel went after Ho-Oh. It was some feeling that led them to the mountain, so maybe it was similar here.
"I don't know," Dawn admitted, "I just… felt like I needed to be here," she explained, "I can't really explain it."
"Well, maybe you were being called. It happens," Ash said.
The two girls immediately looked over at him. He noticed, then put on a clueless expression, "Then again, maybe you just felt like it. What do I know?"
That made Dawn and Verity huff before going back to taking care of Cresselia.
As they looked away from him, his smile slowly fell. He looked at Cresselia and thought about things. The most likely explanation was that Cresselia had sent out a distress call, and Dawn was one of the people who resonated most closely with Cresselia due to her personality.
Since, yes, it's already been established that different Legendaries feel things differently. That's why certain Legendaries only accept certain people, like Ho-Oh accepting Silver and Lugia specifically going with Ethan. Sure, most people think of it the other way around, but they resonate with the other one.
And something similar might be happening here. Which, if it was, good for Dawn. But doing this wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Ash had no problem letting Dawn catch Cresselia if Cresselia wanted to go with Dawn. The problem was what would happen afterward.
As he said before, Dawn was just too weak, and that wasn't him trying to be mean. She just was. Sure, Ash was around to protect her, but what about when he had to do other things? As much as he'd like to keep them safe 100% of the time, he couldn't. And that was the problem. If Dawn couldn't protect herself, then she couldn't protect Cresselia.
So Ash had to think of a way to explain this to Dawn without sounding like a complete asshole and hypocrite, since he had a Darkrai of his own. Well, he had time to think it over.
{Time until Dawn's turn - 1:18:57}