Pokemon High School

Chapter 7: Making It Count

Dawn groaned as she got out of bed. She had barely gotten any sleep, as her thoughts kept waking her up. She quickly forgot about such things while she was getting ready. They had school, so Dawn was happy to see her friends again. But her chances of seeing Ash were pretty low unless his mother knew Heal Bell. He seemed pretty bad when he left the site the day before.

It was an average school day, with nothing extraordinary happening. The only abnormal thing was Ash's absence, which had a reasonable, albeit stupid, excuse. Swimming for hours in the beginning of December isn't ever a smart decision.

Finally, the bell rang to announce the end of the school day. Everyone happily walked out of class, talking about different things concerning the upcoming holiday season and the winter prom. They went to the lawn to retrieve their Pokemon as normal. Dawn approached the lake, then stared at her Piplup in shock. It was riding on the back of an Empoleon, Piplup's final evolution, apparently enjoying himself.

"Piplup!" she yelled, "Get over here!" The two Water types turned to her, then swam quickly to reach her.

"Hey, what's going on?" someone called from behind Dawn. The blunette picked up her Piplup and turned around. Behind her was a boy roughly her age staring confusingly.

"My Piplup was riding on the Empoleon, and I was worried about it," Dawn murmured.

The redheaded boy raised his brow in confusion. "My Empoleon wouldn't hurt it, right?" he said worryingly. Suddenly, the Emperor Pokemon leaped out of the water, straight over Dawn and Piplup's head. It landed behind the boy as he patted its back. "Oh, my name's Kenny. Who is the lovely lady here?" he asked slyly. Dawn turned her head, flustered by the comment.

"Dawn, nice to meet you," she replied, outstretching her arm. Kenny shook her hand, then held onto it until Dawn jerked away. She then hurried off, as the situation made her feel uncomfortable.

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On her way home, she talked with the girls as Drew and Gary followed behind in their own conversation. The girls talked about winter prom, as they had all day when given the chance. Every time the subject was brought up, Serena would blush and look away from the others.

Dawn had noticed this wasn't the only strange thing Serena had been doing. She was spacing out more than normal,  and she was fiddling with her hair. Lyra had also noticed this, but appeared less confused than Dawn was.

As they split off, Dawn headed up the hill toward her house. She stopped halfway and turned her head.

Ash's house.

She hadn't ever been there, but she did want to see Ash and find out how he was holding up. She approached the door and rang the doorbell. After a minute or two, the door was opened by a lady that Dawn assumed was Ash's mom.

"Can I help you?" the lady asked.

Dawn nodded. "May I speak to Ash?" she asked nicely.

Ash's mother nodded back. "Yes, he's upstairs with another boy. I think his name was Brock,"

Dawn was stunned. She didn't expect Brock to be there, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She started up the stairs as Pikachu appeared out of nowhere and went down toward her.

"Pika, pikaka chu pi (Ash, Dawn is here!)!" The electric mouse called out. He followed Dawn up the stairs and led the way to Ash's room. Pikachu crawled through the crack as Dawn opened it slightly. Ash was lying in bed, and Brock was in a chair next to him reading a book.

"Oh, hey there!" Brock said, looking up from the book. Ash opened one eye, apparently not yet asleep, and gave a weak smile. Pikachu leaped onto the bed and curled up beside Ash.