After training was done for today, Verity nearly fell over on the ground with her Piplup lying next to her head.
Dawn, meanwhile, wiped the sweat off her brow and took a sip of water, while her Piplup was trying his hardest to look cool and not fall over.
And over with Ash, he was fine, and his Pokémon were also tired, but they just sat around in a circle, passing around a bottle of water that Aipom stole from Ash's bag. But hey, Ash didn't mind; they needed a break.
Ash made a quick lunch as he hummed, looking over his shoulder, "I guess that's enough training for today, but after this, we're going out to catch Pokémon."
Verity lifted her head slightly from the ground, "How are you saying that so casually?"
Ash glanced over at her, "What?"
"You're acting like this wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done."
Ash shrugged, "It wasn't that bad."
Verity slowly pushed herself up, her arms trembling as she glared at him, "It wasn't that bad?! You had us running for hours!"
Dawn nodded while taking another drink, "I have to admit, it was pretty brutal."
Ash smiled, "See? Dawn's doing fine."
Dawn immediately frowned, "I didn't say I liked it."
"You're still standing."
"Barely."
Verity groaned and dropped her head back onto the grass, "You know, it's really easy to talk when you're already used to all of this."
Ash chuckled, "That's why you should get stronger."
Verity muttered something under her breath as she slowly sat up, "Easy for him to say..."
Ash kept cooking, but he put a plate of sandwiches on the table for them to eat as an appetizer while he kept cooking, "Come on, you two. Eat up. You're going to need the energy."
Verity reached for the sandwich Ash had just handed her, "Finally...food..."
She lifted it toward her mouth, closing her eyes, ready to take a big bite, but then a Starly suddenly swooped down from above and snatched the sandwich right out of her hand, and Verity's mouth closed around nothing.
She froze and opened her eyes. The Starly quickly flew up into a nearby tree, happily tearing into the sandwich.
Verity slowly looked up, "My sandwich..." She looked genuinely heartbroken.
Dawn covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, "Oh no..."
Verity pointed accusingly at Starly, "That was my sandwich!"
The Starly simply chirped happily as it finished the last bite.
Verity's shoulders slumped, "I was looking forward to that."
Ash looked up at the Starly, then noticed it suddenly flying back toward them. This time, however, it wasn't going for Verity or the other sandwiches on the table; it was heading straight for the large pot of food Ash had been cooking.
Ash raised an eyebrow, but he casually let out a whistle.
Riolu immediately looked up and jumped onto Ash's shoulder, then immediately jumped again, launching himself into the air. A glowing blue sphere began forming between his paws, then when it was ready, he pushed his paws out, letting out a [Aura Sphere].
The glowing orb shot toward the Starly and struck it directly. The Starly was knocked out of the air and fell toward the grass.
Riolu landed neatly on the ground, then immediately turned toward Ash, his ears perked up as he waited for praise.
Ash smiled and gave him a nod, "Not bad for your first time."
Riolu's face immediately lit up.
"But," Ash continued, raising one finger, "you put a little too much power into it, and it wasn't fast enough. Work on both of those."
Riolu nodded seriously, "Rio!"
Ash reached into his bag and pulled out a Poké Ball. With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed it toward the unconscious Starly. The Poké Ball struck the Pokémon, and Starly disappeared inside and clicked shut. It didn't even need to roll.
Ash walked over and picked it up. He looked back toward Verity, who was still staring at the empty space where her sandwich had been.
Ash shrugged, "See? Easy."
Verity stared at him and sighed, laying her head on the table, "I'm too tired to yell again…"
Ash walked back over to the cooking area, "Good."
He picked up a plate and started serving her another portion of food, and he put another sandwich on the plate as he placed it in front of her, "Here."
Verity stared at the plate, then at Ash, then back at the plate, "...You made me another one?"
Ash nodded, "Of course. You need to eat."
Verity's expression softened slightly as she accepted it, "Thanks."
Ash then turned toward Dawn and started preparing her plate as well, and he put it in front of her too.
Dawn accepted it happily, "Thanks, it's been a while since I tasted your food!" Dawn said as she started eating happily.
"Well, you guys better enjoy it. After this, we're gonna go deeper into the forest," Ash said as he served the Pokémon too and gave them their designated Pokéblocks.
And only after everyone else had their stuff did Ash sit down with his own plate. Once everyone had been served, he took a bite while looking over at the two girls, "Alright, so here's the plan. After lunch, we're heading deeper into the forest. There should be plenty of Pokémon further in, so we'll see what we can find."
Dawn nodded, "And we're looking for my Buneary, right?"
"Yep," Ash said, "And there is one Pokémon I want. As for Verity..." He glanced toward her.
Verity was already eating another sandwich, looking much happier now that she had food in front of her. She looked up, "What?"
"You're catching something too," Ash said, not giving her the option to refuse.
Verity sighed, "Yeah, I figured."
Ash continued, "We'll probably spend the night at a Pokémon Center somewhere between these routes. Then tomorrow we'll head back to Jubilife City."
Dawn smiled, "So I can get ready for the Contest?"
"Exactly." Ash nodded, "You need time to prepare your team, figure out what you're going to use, and actually get ready for the Contest itself."
Dawn blinked, "Wait...you actually planned all of that?"
Ash looked at her like it was obvious, "Of course."
Verity raised an eyebrow, "You made an actual schedule?"
Ash nodded, "What, you think all I think about is training and battling? Jeez, how selfish do you think I am?"
Verity slowly looked at him, "Considering you dragged me out of bed this morning and made me run until I nearly died..."
Dawn nodded, "I can see why she'd think that."
Ash sighed, "You know, I literally saved both of you yesterday."
Verity scratched the back of her head, "Okay, when you put it like that..."
"And before that, I was making sure you guys had somewhere safe to sleep."
Dawn nodded, "He's got a point."
"Okay, okay, I get it. You care," Verity muttered, then she slowly looked back over, "Soooo, what's on the schedule for me?"
Ash looked at her for a moment, "...What about you?"
Verity blinked, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know." Ash shrugged, "You haven't told me what the heck you want to do."
Verity froze, and Dawn looked over at her.
Ash continued eating, completely unaware of the sudden awkwardness, "I know what Dawn wants. She wants to do Contests and eventually compete in the Grand Festival. I know what I'm doing. But you haven't actually told me what you want."
Verity slowly looked away, suddenly finding the grass extremely interesting, "...Oh."
Ash raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
Verity scratched the back of her head, laughing sheepishly, "Well...I guess I never really thought about how to explain it."
Ash waited.
Verity sighed and looked down at her hands, "I want to be a great Pokémon Trainer."
"That's pretty broad."
"I know." Verity laughed nervously, "But...I want to be like my mom."
Verity continued, "She's always been someone I looked up to. She's an amazing Trainer, and I want to reach that level someday. I want to travel, battle strong Trainers, raise strong Pokémon, and eventually prove that I can stand on my own."
She paused before smiling, "So...I'm going to participate in the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Dawn immediately smiled, "Really?"
Verity nodded, "Yeah."
Ash leaned back, "Then that's your goal."
Verity nodded again, more confidently this time, "Yeah. That's my goal."
Ash smiled, "Alright. Then we'll work toward that."
Verity blinked, "Really?"
"Of course, but that means in the end we'll be rivals, so you ready to work hard to battle little old me~" Ash smirked.
Verity pumped both her fists, "Alright, I'll work as hard as I can from now on!"
—
After lunch, they went on the move into the forest. Dawn kept a lookout for any Buneary around, since she really wanted one ever since she accidentally saw one just walking around, but that was back when she and Verity were running and she didn't have a Pokémon.
Now she had Piplup and was ready to get her bunny. Now finding that Buneary was proving to be much harder than they thought, Dawn looked all around but didn't see a sign of a Buneary.
And again, Ash could help her out, but you know the rules: the first Pokémon you caught had to be random. And hey, at least Ash knew that she was gonna get herself a Buneary, not like frickin' Platinum, who didn't catch her Buneary until right before Candice.
Speaking of Manga Platinum, Ash got the chance to notice a few things about Dawn. First off, she was a Berlitz. She may not be the daughter of Mr. Berlitz and Yanase, but she was the current heir. She even had goldish-silver eyes instead of blue like Anime Dawn, but also, thanks to the fact that she grew up around him and the others, she isn't snobbish like Manga Platinum started out.
Though she is really smart. You may not know it, but Dawn got all A's in all of her tests by herself, and it all seemed like second nature to her. That's partly why Uxie is the one that will eventually choose her down the line.
Of course, Ash will let nature take its course. He won't push things too far. However, he is absolutely gonna make Dawn get her team up, because Manga Platinum didn't get her team until halfway through the arc.
Anyway, as for Verity, she was also carefully looking over all the Pokémon they saw, wondering what she should get. It got to a point where she saw a Burmy and she considered it for a good few seconds, but decided against it. Nothing wrong with a Burmy, just didn't fit her style.
Ash just kept leading them down a path, and that's when he got to the opening he was looking for.
Eventually, Ash slowed down.
Dawn noticed and looked at him, "What's wrong?"
Ash held up a hand, signaling for them to stop.
Verity immediately became alert, "What is it?"
Ash looked ahead through the trees.
There, standing in a small clearing, was a tiny green Pokémon. It was munching on some leaves, completely unaware that three Trainers were watching it.
Ash smiled.
"Turtwig."
Dawn's eyes widened.
Verity's eyes widened at almost the exact same time.
As Ash was getting a Poké Ball from his waist, Verity and Dawn both called out, "Now's my chance!"
The two girls slowly looked at each other.
Dawn whispered, "I saw it first."
Verity whispered back, "No, I did."
Dawn narrowed her eyes, "No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did."
Ash opened his mouth, "Okay, before you two—"
But they ignored him. Both girls reached for their Poké Balls at the exact same time.
"Piplup!"
"Piplup!"
They both stepped forward, but that made them both slam their heads directly into each other.
"OW!"
"OW!"
Both stumbled backward, clutching their foreheads.
Dawn glared at Verity, "You hit me!"
"You walked into me!"
"You walked into me!"
"I was going for the Turtwig!"
"So was I!"
Ash covered his face with one hand, "Oh boy…" Pikachu and Vee looked over his shoulder and also covered their eyes. This was hard to watch.
Neither girl was listening anymore. They both glared at each other before reaching for their Poké Balls again.
"Piplup, let's go!"
"Piplup, you're up!"
The two Poké Balls flew through the air.
Unfortunately, neither girl seemed to notice that they had thrown them directly toward each other.
So the two Poké Balls collided in midair, and they bounced away from each other before opening simultaneously.
Two Piplup appeared on opposite sides of the clearing. Both landed on their feet, just backwards. They looked around confused before turning around when their Trainers called out to them.
Dawn pointed toward the Turtwig, "Piplup, we're getting that Turtwig!"
Verity pointed toward it as well, "Piplup, we're getting it first!"
The two Piplup looked at each other.
Dawn's Piplup puffed out his chest, "Piplup!"
Verity's Piplup narrowed his eyes, "Pip!"
The two stared each other down.
Ash sighed, "Oh no."
Dawn's Piplup suddenly stepped forward, "Pip-lup! [Sit this out, I've got this]!"
Verity's Piplup stepped forward as well, "Piplup! [No way, I'll deal with it]!"
Dawn's Piplup pointed toward Turtwig, "Piplup! [What? You dare? I said go away, so you go away!]"
Verity's Piplup pointed toward Turtwig as well, "Piplup! [Make me.]"
The two began arguing back and forth.
Dawn looked confused, "What are they even arguing about?"
Verity crossed her arms, "Well, mine's going to win."
Dawn immediately looked at her, "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
Dawn's eyes narrowed, "My Piplup is obviously going to win."
Verity scoffed, "Oh really?"
"Really."
Meanwhile, the two Piplup were still arguing, and they started getting closer and closer to each other until they were practically nose-to-nose. They started pushing against each other, trying to push the other one back.
Turtwig, meanwhile, slowly looked between them, so he slowly took one step backward, then another. Then he turned and took off running into the bushes.
Dawn's Piplup and Verity's Piplup suddenly stopped arguing, and they panicked and called out at the same time, "PIPLUP!"
They charged forward, but Turtwig jumped out of the way, and the two Piplup slammed directly into each other, hitting their heads against each other and dropping both.
Dawn's Piplup quickly jumped back to his feet and immediately pointed accusingly at Verity's Piplup, "Piplup!"
Verity's Piplup stared at him in disbelief, "Pip?!"
"Piplup!"
"Piplup!"
The two immediately started arguing again.
Dawn frowned, "Hey! Don't blame my Piplup!"
Verity immediately snapped back, "Your Piplup ran into mine!"
"He wouldn't have if yours hadn't charged at him!"
"Because yours was trying to get the Turtwig first!"
"Because we're trying to catch it!"
"So are we!"
The two girls stepped closer to each other.
Ash sighed.
Dawn pointed at Verity, "You know what? Fine! Let's settle this!"
Verity pointed back, "Fine!"
"We'll see whose Piplup catches it first!"
"Deal!"
Ash blinked, "You two realize the Turtwig is already gone, right?"
Neither answered. Ash just looked toward the clearing.
Turtwig was nowhere to be seen.
"...Guys?"
Dawn and Verity continued glaring at each other.
Ash sighed, "Okay, that's enough."
He walked between them and grabbed both girls by the tops of their heads.
"HEY!"
"ASH!"
With one hand on each of them, Ash pushed them apart, "Calm down!"
Dawn struggled against his hand, "She started it!"
Verity pointed at Dawn, "No, she did!"
Ash pushed them farther apart, "You're both acting like children!"
Dawn crossed her arms, "But—"
"No buts."
Verity frowned, "But the Turtwig—"
"The Turtwig is gone because you two were too busy fighting over it!" Ash slowly looked between them, "You didn't even battle it."
Dawn looked away while Verity scratched the back of her head.
Their two Piplup also slowly stopped arguing and looked toward their Trainers.
Ash sighed, "Congratulations. You both managed to lose the Pokémon you wanted without even throwing a single attack."
Dawn and Verity's faces both turned red.
Ash released them and crossed his arms, "Now, are we done?"
The two girls looked at each other.
Dawn muttered, "...Fine."
Verity nodded, "Fine."
Ash looked between the two girls for a moment, making sure they were actually done arguing. Once he was satisfied, the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a smirk.
"Good. Now that you two have calmed down, stay here."
Dawn blinked, "Wait, what?"
Verity looked at him suspiciously, "Why?"
Ash casually reached for one of his Poké Balls, "Because I'm going after the Turtwig."
Both girls immediately looked at him.
"What?!" Dawn exclaimed.
"You can't just—" Verity started.
But Ash was already backing away toward the trees, a mischievous grin spreading across his face, "Don't worry, I'll be back."
Dawn pointed at him, "Ash, wait!"
Ash suddenly stuck his tongue out at them, "Good luck!" And then he turned around and took off running into the forest.
"Ash!" Dawn shouted.
Verity stared after him in disbelief, "Did he seriously just do that?"
Dawn lowered her arm, "Yes. Yes, he did."
They both watched as Ash disappeared between the trees, followed closely by Pikachu and Vee.
Dawn sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I can't believe him."
Verity crossed her arms, "He did that on purpose."
"Obviously."
"He knew we'd try to stop him."
Dawn looked toward the forest, "So what do we do now?"
Verity shrugged, "I guess we stay here."
Dawn glanced at her, "You think he'll actually catch the Turtwig?"
Verity sighed, "Probably. He's Ash."
Dawn nodded reluctantly, "Yeah…"
The two girls stood there for a moment, neither really knowing what to do now that their impromptu argument had been interrupted. Their two Piplup sat beside them, both looking slightly embarrassed after their own argument.
Dawn eventually looked down at her Piplup, "Well...I guess we might as well wait."
Verity nodded, "Yeah."
A few seconds passed, then Verity yawned.
Dawn glanced at her, "Tired?"
"I'm exhausted."
"You just spent all morning training."
"Exactly."
Dawn sighed, "Fair enough."
Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from deeper within the forest.
Both girls immediately turned around, "Who's there?" Dawn called.
An elderly woman slowly stepped out from between the trees. She had a kind expression on her face and carried a small woven basket in one hand.
She looked at the two girls for a moment, then smiled, "Oh, there you are."
Dawn blinked, "Excuse me?"
The woman chuckled softly, "I thought I heard some yelling coming from this direction."
Verity's face immediately became slightly embarrassed.
Dawn cleared her throat, "Ah...that was probably us."
The woman smiled, "I figured as much."
She walked a little closer, looking between the two girls and their Piplup.
"My name is Clara," she introduced herself, "I live in a small cabin not too far from here."
Dawn politely bowed her head, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Clara."
Clara smiled, "Oh, please, just Clara is fine."
She then looked at the two girls more closely, noticing how exhausted they looked, "You two look like you've had quite the day."
Verity immediately perked up at that, "You have no idea."
Dawn gave her a look, but Verity ignored it.
Clara chuckled, "Well, if you're tired, why don't you come back to my cabin? I can make some tea, and you can rest for a while."
Dawn immediately smiled politely but shook her head, "That's very kind of you, but we're actually waiting for our friend. He went after a Pokémon, so we should probably—"
Verity, however, suddenly stepped forward, interrupting her, "That sounds great!"
Dawn looked at her, but Verity quickly reached over and covered Dawn's mouth with one hand, "Mmph?!"
"We'd love to," Verity said cheerfully.
Dawn narrowed her eyes at her, but Verity smiled innocently.
Clara nodded, "Wonderful. It's not far at all."
Dawn continued glaring at Verity from behind her hand.
Verity whispered, "Tea."
Dawn's eyes narrowed even further.
"Rest."
Dawn's eye twitched.
"Warm cabin," Verity continued.
Dawn stared at her for several seconds before finally sighing through her nose. Verity slowly removed her hand, and Dawn didn't say anything.
Instead, she walked over to her Piplup, picked him up, and held him against her chest. Piplup looked up at her, confused, while Dawn huffed and started walking after Clara.
Verity immediately followed with a grin, "Score."
Dawn looked over her shoulder at her, "I heard that."
Verity shrugged, "What? I'm tired."
"You just wanted the tea."
"And the rest."
"You could have just asked."
"Would you have said yes?"
Dawn paused, "...Probably not."
"Exactly."
Dawn sighed as she sped up, walking next to Clara, "So, Clara, can you tell us about this place, and why you live out here?"
"Oh, of course. I'll do it over the tea. It's quite the story," Clara chuckled as she led them to her shack.
—
Ash, meanwhile, was walking casually in the woods. Did he feel bad? No, not really. They would have to learn to make up on their own, 'cuz he certainly isn't going to get into any arguments with them, and since they were gonna be partners, learning to cooperate was pretty important.
But Ash absolutely did not think they would have it done right now. But hey, it's a start for them to do something without him. Anyway, Ash continued tracking down the Turtwig.
Then, as he pushed a tree aside, there he saw him, Turtwig. He was trying to catch his breath because, hey, believe it or not, a turtle Pokémon isn't really made to run a lot. Go figure.
Ash is still annoyed at how OG Ash trained Turtwig, took a Pokémon that should have been a tank, and tried to make him into a fast physical attacker. Honestly, he's surprised that when he was a Grotle, he won enough to evolve into a Torterra, but then again, after he became a Torterra, he never won again.
Yeah, if he wanted a fast attacker, why didn't he just get a Budew? It becomes Roserade, and that's a way better Pokémon if he wanted speed, because OG Ash's battle style was always aggressive, fast attacks.
But that's not for now. That's not important, right now what was important was catching this turtle. So Ash grabbed the ball on his waist and threw it out, and as it landed, out came Chimchar, who was looking much more healthy and happy after the workouts Ash helped it do.
Now he was facing Turtwig, and Ash called out from behind him, "You can do it, bud. Your first battle, let's do our best!"
Chimchar was a bit nervous, but Ash's words of encouragement made him smile and nod. Then he took a deep breath and raised his fists. He would try his best; that's about all he could promise.
Meanwhile, Turtwig, seeing that there was no escape, saw that he would have to fight, so he sighed and got ready for battle.
—
Dawn and Verity were sipping on tea while Clara sat across from them, feeding a few of the Pokémon she had in her cabin.
She already explained how she basically runs a medicinal herb garden, and she also helps injured Pokémon that come here, and that Turtwig is her little helper in a way. He protected the area for the weak Pokémon that came in until they were ready to leave, but because he was too strong, the Pokémon didn't want to leave.
If Ash was here, he would be getting a certain sense of déjà vu, but he wasn't. He was off having Chimchar hit Turtwig with the double knee drop from hell.
But here in the cabin, Dawn and Verity were listening to Clara's story carefully.
"Ah, so Turtwig is your Pokémon," Dawn concluded, "I'm sorry we tried to attack him," she said apologetically.
"Wait, Dawn, apologize later. We need to find Ash and tell him not to catch Turtwig." Verity shook Dawn's shoulder, making her almost spill her tea.
But Clara stopped them, "It's quite alright. No, Turtwig is not my Pokémon. He just helps out because he wants to repay me. I am far too old to be a good Trainer for Turtwig," she said, rubbing her shoulder.
"But your friend Ash, is he a kind and strong person?"
Dawn immediately smiled, "Yeah."
Verity nodded, "Definitely."
Dawn set her teacup down, "Ash is probably one of the strongest Trainers I've ever met. He's ridiculously strong, but he never acts like he's better than everyone else. He's always willing to help people, even if he doesn't know them."
Verity nodded enthusiastically, "And he's really dependable. He always tries to make sure everyone is happy together."
Clara smiled softly, "Well, if you both think he is kind and strong, then I say, if your friend catches Turtwig, I'd be happy to see him go off. Turtwig has a lot of room to grow. I can't let him stay here with an old woman like me."
Dawn and Verity stopped and both sat down again, "Are you sure? Ash would understand if you don't want Turtwig to be caught."
"I'm quite sure. As long as Turtwig is happy, I'll also be happy," Clara said, giving a kind smile.
"I see." Verity looked down, "You know, the more you talk about it, the more I feel bad for wanting to attack him…"
"Yeah," Dawn said sheepishly, then she looked at Clara, "Can you tell us more stories?"
Clara smiled and poured more tea for Dawn, "I'd love to."
So they continued listening to Clara recalling stories, and sometime while they were talking, a Budew that was chilling in the cabin waddled over and sat at the foot of Verity's chair.
Verity looked down at it as it looked up. It blinked slowly at her, while Verity looked confused.
Clara noticed and looked down, smiling, "Ah, it's that little rascal Budew," she said with a smile, "That little Budew has been here for a while. I found it injured, and it's been too timid to go back into the forest, but it seems like she likes you."
"Really?" Verity asked, looking down at the Budew.
Then Budew jumped up and landed on her lap, making herself comfortable and making Verity freeze up.
Clara chuckled, "Well, looks like she really has taken a liking to you. Tell you what, why don't you take her? You seem like a kind young woman, and Budew trusts you. Never question the judgment of a Pokémon, I say."
Verity blinked and looked down at the Budew, "Can I really?" She just had to make sure as she started patting Budew's head.
"If she wants to go with you, who am I to stop her?"
Verity nodded, and she grabbed an empty Poké Ball and held it out, "Um...Budew, do you wanna come with me?" This was genuinely her first time catching a Pokémon, so she really didn't know what she was doing.
But thankfully, Budew already liked Verity, so she tapped the button and turned into red light, getting sucked inside. With a click, Budew was caught.
Suddenly, the cabin door opened, "Well, well, well, look at what we have here."
Dawn and Verity both looked toward the door.
Ash stepped inside, as he had a Turtwig in his hands. He crossed his arms and looked at them.