Pokemon High School

Chapter 3: Confrontation

Ash had to wake up earlier than most, because he had more Pokemon than most. Due to his constant moving after the age of ten, he was able to capture a large amount of Pokemon. He chose five to take with him, as Pikachu always accompanied him. He walked out the door, Pikachu leaping onto his shoulder, and he headed off to school.

Dawn had a similar routine, except instead of taking care of a few dozen Pokemon, she was fixing her hair. Giving up on brushing it, she had Piplup use Bubblebeam on it, which was like getting a super-quick perm. Finally ready, she waved goodbye to her mom as she started down the road to get to school.

As she went with Piplup in her arms, she heard a noise down the trail. She kept going only to find Ash fighting another familiar boy. It was Paul. He wore a blue and black jacket and gray pants. Of course, the fighting was not hand-to-hand, but rather a Pokemon battle. Right now, Ash's Hawlucha was pitted against Paul's Druddigon. Paul commanded a Dragon Claw attack, which Hawlucha blocked with a Karate Chop. Dawn was confused, but was particularly annoyed that the boys were fighting in the middle of the road.

"Hey!" she shouted, "Continue this somewhere else, would you?" The boys looked at her, back at one another, and nodded. They recalled their Pokemon. Hawlucha definitely needed to stop; Druddigon could've probably kept going.

"In all honesty," Paul said obnoxiously, " I'd rather not waste my time with such a weakling. Be thankful your girl stepped in before I crushed you. But I won't stop the next time she bails you out,"

Paul walked off laughing at the threat. Ash growled in anger, as did Pikachu. Dawn approached Ash in a confused manner.

"What was that about?" she asked, starting to walk slowly so she could get to school on time. Ash trotted along after her, letting his partner hop off his shoulder to chat with Piplup. "Like Oak said, we fight alot," he murmured.

Dawn shook her head in disappointment. As nice as Ash seemed, it was unbelievable he would have such a conflict with Paul.

"Why do you two fight?" Dawn asked, the question boggling her mind. Ash let out a small laugh, slightly breaking the tension.

"It started as a friendly rivalry, but over the years, it only got less and less friendly," he said with a frown. Dawn was not satisfied with the answer, but it was the best she could get for the time being.

Suddenly, Gary and Leaf called out to the duo as they passed the Oak residence.

"So what were you talking about, huh? Was it her-" Gary was cut off by Leaf hitting him in the arm, as did her Bulbasaur. It was either her's or Misty's job to defend others of Gary's annoyance. Clearly, Misty did not drive the lesson far enough into Gary's thick skull.

Later, when they got to school, Gary tried to bring up the subject again; Misty elbowed him in the stomach. Drew remained silent during the endeavor, glancing over at May nervously. At least one of them understood. Dawn walked into the class ahead of the group, sitting down next to Paul, who was in class before she was. Ash glanced at him, clenching his fist at the sight of Paul. Ash sat down, but not before getting a piece of paper handed to him by Paul. He read the words on the paper, but suddenly stopped and turned white as a Froslass. He bit his lip, looked down, and twiddled his thumbs in worry. Dawn noticed this, as did the others, but nothing was said about it. Paul just sat with a smirk on his face, obviously enjoying Ash's reaction.

At lunch, the guys all sat at their table, and the girls did likewise. Everything seemed normal, except Ash was remaining completely silent throughout the day. He barely ate any of his food; normally it would've been wolfed down in two minutes. But he just sat there, dabbing at his applesauce with his spoon. Gary and Drew were concerned, but didn't dare to ask about it. The girls talked as if nothing was happening, but Dawn and Serena noticed; Dawn had been sitting next to him for the past three hours, and Serena was always staring at Ash. It was kind of creepy, really.

When the bell rang, Dawn exited the school to pick up her Piplup. She had no real reason for going quickly, but she sensed something was about to happen. Something did happen: Ash caught up to Dawn, clearly tired from his lack of breath.

"Please be careful," Ash said in a serious tone. Dawn simply looked at him with a blank face, not sure of what he meant.

"What's going on?" Leaf asked, butting into the conversation with the rest of the girls. Ash glanced at them, then back at Dawn.

"It's Paul. No time to explain. Just go!" Dawn turned and began walking, but ended up falling on the ground when she bumped into someone. Shading her eyes from the sun, she realized Paul was looking down at her, clearly not amused by her little trip. Misty and May rushed to her side and helped her up.

Paul continued his emotionless look before walking to Ash. "Do you want to settle this now?" he muttered unenthusiastically. Ash nodded as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder once again. The two trotted to the battle arena, not saying a word to one another. Everyone else remained motionless, staring at the two as they walked off.