Ash and Dawn: The Indigo Heart

The Call... Again

        Ash plopped himself down on his bed, and the food coma settled in. He always ate too much when his mom cooked. Just as he reached the edge of passing out, he heard a ringing.

        Ughhh. Ash rolled over to grab his phone from his backpack. He almost forgot that he was in a bed, not on the ground. He only remembered when he landed flat on his back on the floor of his bedroom. A groan left him, and then he also remembered that his phone wasn't in his backpack; it was on his nightstand.

        He got up, and just when he grabbed it, his phone stopped ringing. It was already looking like it was going to be a bad day. Frustrated, he jumped back in bed, and then, of course, the videophone in his room rang. This was getting old.

        He made his way across the room, and pressed the accept button on the videophone console. Still rubbing the grogginess from his eyes, he moaned "Hello?" What he heard next made him freeze. It was the last thing he expected to hear.

        "Hi."

        "Dawn?" he asked, lowering his hands.

        "Yeah, it's me. Hi." Her face was down and her voice sorrowful.

        "Hey, Dawn, what's wrong?"

        "N-Nothing. I'm sorry about yesterday. I just wasn't expecting you to call. And I wasn't ready yet."

        "Ready for what?"

        That made her giggle, and she lifted her face. She always found it endearing that he was so clueless. "For the day, stupid." A smile played across her lips.

        "Don't take that tone with me, Shorty," Ash joked back at her.

        A long, but comfortable silence followed.

        "So... You're back in Kanto."

        "What?" Ash suddenly snapped into focus. He hadn't realized it, but he was staring into Dawn's eyes, and tuned everything else out.

        "You are in Kanto again, right?"

        "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I was... thinking."

        "What are you going to do now?" Dawn asked. She knew exactly what he was going to do, and everyone who knew him did too, but she wanted to keep talking.

        Ash chuckled. "I'm going to re-challenge the Indigo League. What else?"

        "Yeah, silly me. Speaking of which, I have some bad news for you. I saw Paul getting on a ferry to Kanto this morning."

        "This morning?" How early did this girl wake up?

        "Yes, Ash," Dawn giggled. "You have no idea what time it is, do you?"

        "Uhh, the morning?" Ash blushed in embarrassment.

        Dawn was laughing with earnest now. "Ash, it's three in the afternoon."

        Ash's eyes widened. "Crud! I'm late! I'm sorry Dawn, I was supposed to see Professor Oak today at two. I'll talk to you later."

        "Bye Ash," Dawn said, but he had already clicked the phone off.

        Ash threw his clothes on, and, subsequently, himself down the stairs. "Pikachu! Let's go!" But his little yellow buddy was already waiting for him at the door.

        "Pika Pika!"

        As he ran out, he scooped Pikachu up and then flung the door open and closed. He almost forgot about the steps leading down from his porch. He jumped over them and managed to not quite tumble over. He sprinted all the way over to Oak's lab. He took the shortcut through the lab's pokemon habitats, and, just as he suspected, his old Rapidash galloped up behind him and got Ash on his back. Ash still was amazed at how the firey mane didn't burn him. As they neared the back door, Ash leaped off of Rapidash's back and rolled to break the impact. Pikachu was running after him.

        He stormed in through the door to see his mother and the Professor looking at him, having tea.

        As Oak looked at his watch, he nodded and said "Impressive, Ash. Only thirteen minutes late this time. More than half an hour earlier than when we first met."

        "Thirteen? I thought we were meeting at two." Ash's brows were furrowed in confusion.

        "I see. Your mother must have planned ahead. Well done, Deliah."

        "Oh please, Ash," Mrs. Ketchum said to her son. "Do you think I don't know you at all?"

        Ash sighed, but he couldn't help smiling. "Thanks, Mom. Okay Professor, I'm here now. Let's get started."

        "Slow down there, Ash. You don't even know why you're here."

        "Well," he started. "I assumed it was to evaluate my Sinnoh pokedex."

        "Stop assuming," the professor admonished. "You're always wrong."

        Ash rubbed the back of his head in discomfort. He was pretty sure that Professor Oak was joking, but he was never 100% certain. "Umm, why am I here then?"

        "I'm sure you didn't notice in your hurry to get over here, but Brock has left." Thinking back, it was strange how empty the house was when he left. "His father has fallen ill, and Brock is needed to fill in for him at the Pewter City Gym until he recovers. It was rather short notice, so he asked me to tell you."

        "Well, I'm sorry to hear about his father," Ash began. "But I sure am excited to get to battle brock in a gym battle again."

        "Actually, he asked me to tell you something else as well. He said, in these exact words, Tell him not to battle me yet, because there's no way he can beat the gym's pokemon. I'm sure he meant no offense, of course."

        Ash felt hurt, even though he knew it was probably true. The last time he beat Brock at the gym was a fluke, and the gym pokemon can only have gotten better now.

        Well, maybe if I get Dawn t- oh yeah...

        He was suddenly hit with a wave of sadness. He couldn't count on Dawn being there anymore. "Uh, alright, I guess."

        "Don't worry, Honey, I'm sure by the time you challenge Brock you'll be more than ready."

        "Yeah." But that wasn't what was bothering him. He didn't know how well he'd do without his good luck charm. "Alright, if that's all, I think I'm gonna go home now."

        "Okay, sweetie, see you later."

        "Farewell, you youngster."

        He raised a hand in farewell, as he walked away and out the door. He decided to take the scenic route home. There was someplace he wanted to visit on the way.

        Walking through the forest of Professor Oak's lab, Ash listened to the pidgeys' songs, and the beedrills' buzzing. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and his shoulders fell as he let out a sigh. What was going on with him? Everything felt wrong.

        When he tripped over a large root sticking out of the ground, he knew he was there. His old hideout. He half-smiled to himself as he remembered when he discovered this place. There was a herd of ponyta chasing him through the forest, and, foolishly, he was constantly looking over his shoulder as he ran. He tripped over the root, and curled up. He saw a hole in the giant tree, and he squeezed himself in. 

        Ever since then, this was the place he would go whenever he was upset. It seemed like a good time to come back now. He had lost Dawn. (Lost? It's not like she belonged to him or anything.) He stood up and paced back and forth, getting frustrated. Dawn was his friend, so why, every time he thought about her, did it make him feel... like this. He didn't know how he felt, exactly. He knew it felt like he'd swallowed a golf ball. He knew that there was a strange and powerful tugging sensation inside his chest. Why were his happy memories of her making him feel bad? He was getting rather worked up. His frustration built to a breaking point, and, shouting in anger, he slammed his fist into the tree. He didn't notice the cracking sound. He began walking home, each step taking a great amount of effort. He missed how simple his life had been back during his journey in Sinnoh.