Dawn groaned as she had lost herself in a cave. She had Piplup in his poké ball, not wanting him to be in this situation with her. "How is it that I lost in a contest so easily? I came second in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, made it to the top three in the Jhoto Grand Festival, and I get beaten by some weird guy in a cacturne costume?"

Haha, Harley still terrorizes us!

Dawn sighed and looked at the cave ceiling. "I haven't won a single contest since I came to Hoenn...Now I'm lost..." She sighed. "Maybe it's because I don't have Ash and Brock to cheer me on..." She sat down and rested her chin on her knees.

Dawn, now fifteen, had traveled in several regions. She had lost in the Unova region festival, but gotten into the top three Jhoto Festival. She seemed to be having a rough streak in Hoenn, the origin of contests. She somehow managed to have made a rival out of this weird Harley guy, who, ironically, was a former rival of her friend May.

She was wearing a different attire than her blue and yellow outfit of Unova, because a fifteen year old in that kind of outfit was...Anyway, now she was styling a somewhat tight, light purple dress, and black leggings. She had pink sneakers that matched her pink necklace. Her blue hair was tied in low pigtails that rested over her shoulders.

She felt someone sit by her, but didn't acknowledge them at all. She probably was imagining it anyway. Who would be in this cave? The only reason she was in here was to escape the rain. The only reason she was lost was because she was curious and wanted to see what was in the cave. She had been lost for a good amount of time.

She sighed. "Maybe I need someone cheering me on in the stands again."

"Would you like me to cheer for you?"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, scared out of her wits. She looked back to see a a handsome young man with silver hair and a kind smile. He sweatdropped.

"Sorry Miss, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Startle me?! You scared the wits outta me!" She yelled. Her yell echoed and a bunch of zubats swooped down. The man grabbed her and pulled her into him, falling to the ground. After the zubats had finally dispersed, the man had let go of Dawn. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Miss, you really shouldn't yell in caves. You could startle a lot of pokémon." He scolded lightly.

Dawn blushed. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just so stressed out. I've been lost in this stupid cave for almost five hours! Everytime I try to find my way out, I get even more lost because it's so dark that I can't see more than a foot away!" She growled, kicking the wall. She winced and held her foot. The man chuckled. "What about you? Are you lost?" She asked.

"No. I know this cave like the back of my hand. What's your name?"

"I'm Dawn Skylar. I'm from Sinnoh."

The man smiled. "I thought I recognized you! You're the girl who got to second place in her first grand festival! I'm a big fan, your techniques are so breathtaking." He complimented. Dawn blushed and began to fiddle with her necklace. "I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Steven Stone."

She mulled the name over. "Oh yeah...you wouldn't be the same Steven Stone who used to be the champion of this region, would you?" She asked knowingly.

Steven rubbed the back of his neck. "Gee, I didn't think I'd still have that title hanging over my head. I gave that up a long time ago. This may seem kind of lame, but I collect stones now and study them."

Dawn blinked. 'What a weird alternative. If I become top coordinator, would I get bored and start collecting sea shells or something? Nah. I could always go into designing.' She shook her head. "No. That sounds...interesting." She chimed.

Steven seemed to buy her act. He took a hold of a box. "Would you like to see some of my evolution stones?"

"Evolution stones?"

"Yeah." He opened the box and took out a flash light. He set it on the floor and let Dawn examine them. "This is the thunderstone."

"Oh hey, that makes Pikachu evolve, right?"

"Yep." Steven chirped.

Dawn smiled. He seemed like an excited child when he talked about this stones. He had just about every evolution stone there was, even the everstone. Dawn had to say that her favorite was the shiny stone. Dawn saw an empty slot next to the dusk stone. "Looks like you're missing one."

Steven looked at the slot. "Yeah, the dawn stone." He sighed. "It's really pretty. I consider it more of a gem than a stone. Like the shiny stone. They've actually been put into jewelry before. It's one of my favorites. But it's really rare, so I haven't had any luck finding one." He smiled at Dawn.

Dawn cleared her throat. "Dawn stone huh?" She looked to the side. For some reason saying the name of the evolution stone made her fidgety. "Ah, maybe I can help you look for it. What does it look like?"

Steven closed his box and smiled. "Well, it's blue, and it sparkles in the sun, like eyes."

Dawn sweatdropped. 'Like eyes? That's a weird statement.' She shrugged her shoulders. "No need to worry. I'll make you a deal." Steven looked at her. "I'll help on the condition that while we're looking, you have to help me get out of here." She looked around. "This cave is creeping me out."

Steven nodded. "It's a deal, Dawn." He smiled. "Maybe I'll find some other rare stones." He said excitedly.

Dawn blinked. 'He's kind of a nerd...' She smiled. 'But I guess that's kind of cute.'

Dawn lifted a rock as she walked with Steven. She had let Piplup out so he could help with the search. She looked around and frowned. "We've been walking for two hours, and we haven't found one." She sighed. "Are you sure there are any dawn stones here?"

"Lup, piplup?" Piplup asked with annoyance.

Steven closed his eyes, wondering. "They are pretty rare. Maybe they aren't here." He sighed. "But I've found every other evolution stone here." He sighed. "I guess it's possible. There's one place left I wanna look." He sighed.

Dawn blinked as she watched him feel around the wall. She picked Piplup up. "What are you doing? I thought you knew this cave like the back of your hand." She questioned coyly.

Steven blushed. "Well yeah, I do. There's this secret passage around here, and it takes me a bit of time to find it." He admitted. Dawn let out an exhausted sigh. She leaned against the wall. Steven shone his flashlight at her face.

Dawn squinted. "Hey!" She hissed.

"Piplup pip!" Piplup whined.

He turned off the flashlight. "Sorry." He put his hand right on the side of her head. She sweatdropped.

"Um..."

"Got it."

"Got what? WHA!" She fell backwards as a door opened.

"The secret passage." He turned his flashlight back on. He walked past Dawn as she helped herself up and dusted off her bum. "You okay?" He asked as he walked further into the passage. Piplup looked at Dawn before running after the former champion.

"Hey, wait!" She stomped her foot. "Guys can be so rude..." She ran after them. Dawn blinked as she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. "Whoa!" Within the cavern were several glowing crystals. She looked around. "Awesome! Isn't it Piplup?"

"Piplup!" She heard a splash. She blinked and saw Piplup swimming.

"A hidden spring?" She saw Steven had taken off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs to his knees as he searched the water.

"Dawn, do you wish to join me? Sometimes I find rare stones in the river." He asked. He picked something up. "Hey, I found another dusk stone!" He smiled.

Dawn blinked. She shrugged. "Why not?" She took off her sneakers, her socks, and rolled up her leggings. She stepped into the water and shivered. "Cold..." She began to look around. She spotted something blue within a rock. "Piplup, use Drill Peck on that rock!"

"Piplup!" He pecked it until it broke.

"Good." She went through the rubble. She picked it up. "Oh, it's just a water stone..."

Steven walked up to her. "That was a great idea, Dawn. We can break some of the boulders to find the stones. I can't believe I never thought of that." He took out a poké ball. "Skarmory, help us!"

"Skar!"

Steven examined a large boulder. "Use Rock Smash!" Skarmory slammed it's beak on the top of the boulder. Steven dug through the rubble. He picked up a stone. "Too bad. It's just a everstone." He pocketed it.

She smiled. "I've got two pokémon who can really help. Buneary, come on out!" She called. Buneary came down and splashed in the water.

"Buneary!" She shrieked. She gave her jacket to Dawn, in fear of getting it wet.

"Mamoswine, Togekiss you too!"

"Mamo!"

"Kiss!"

"Alright you two, I want you to help Steven by smashing boulders that you think will have a rare stone in them." She instructed. "Before you smash them, have me look them over, because otherwise, it'll be a waste of energy." She looked at Piplup. "Piplup, you look in the water with us, okay?" She asked.

The three nodded and began examining boulders and the water. Steven smiled. "Wow Dawn, your pokémon are very impressive."

"Thanks!"

"Mamoswine!" The pokémon called.

Dawn ran up to her pokémon. She examined the large boulder. It was as big as her pokémon. "I guess there could be one in there. Mamoswine, use Ice Shard!"

"Mamo!" The special attack smashed the boulder.

Dawn and Steven rummaged through the rubble. Steven stood up. "Nope. No stones in this one."

"Piplup, Piplup!" Piplup called.

Dawn looked at her starter with curiosity. "Did you find a dawn stone, Piplup?" Piplup nodded with excitement. He ran to Steven and held up the stone.

Steven took it and smiled, patting the pokémon's head. "Sorry Piplup. This isn't a dawn stone, it's a shiny stone." He explained. Piplup then turned into a statue and eroded.

"Oh boy...Piplup, pull yourself together." The Piplup ash then returned to normal. Dawn smiled. "No need to worry. We'll find one." She chirped. She looked at a large boulder in the water. "Hmm...Togekiss Aura Sphere on that one!" She looked to the side. "Buneary, Dizzy Punch on that one!"

"To...Kiss!" Togekiss shot the elegant attack at a rock and demolished it.

Buneary's ears shone as she slammed them into the rock. "Buneary!" The rabbit sorted through the rubble.

"Anything?" Buneary shook her head sadly. "Too bad...What about you, Togekiss?" Togekiss held up an oval stone. "Hmm...Well, if I ever get a Happiny, I suppose this could come in handy..." She sighed.

It had been another hour before they decided to call it quits.

Steven stepped out of the water. "It's getting late. Come on Dawn, let's get out of here. I'll treat you to something." He pulled on his shoes.

Dawn put her socks on and slipped on her sneakers. "That'd be great. I'm starving." Steven smiled as she put Buneary's jacket back on. "Everybody, return!"

Dawn sighed contently as she exited a fast food restaurant. She was sipping a mint chocolate chip milkshake. She gave the rest to Piplup, who happily drank from the cup. Steven was drinking grape soda. "Man, I love their fries!" She chimed.

"We should get to the Pokémon Center. I'm sure you and your pokémon are tired. Mine are." He said, offering her his arm.

She smiled at the gentlemanly gester and took his arm. "Yeah, thanks." They walked in a comfortable silence. Once they arrived at the Center, Dawn released his arm. She looked at Steven with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry we didn't find the dawn stone." She said.

Steven smiled a guilty smile. "Actually, Dawn...I have a confession to make." The blunette blinked in response. Steven put his hand in his pocket. "Remember when Skarmory broke that rock, and I said it was a thunderstone?" He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out to her. He opened his hand to reveal a sparkly stone. "I had actually found a dawn stone." He admitted.

Dawn looked at the stone with fascination. "Pretty..." She looked at him. "But why did you say it was a thunder stone?"

Steven blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I just wanted to spend some more time finding stones with a cute girl." He laughed sheepishly.

Dawn stared blankly. She may have just fallen for the most harmless yet effective scam ever. "R-Really?" She asked. He nodded.

Steven registered a room. Dawn did as well. They walked to their rooms which were across the hall from each other. Steven looked at her as he held his doorknob. He blushed again at the younger girl. "Dawn, this is sudden, but...would you like to go out sometime?" He asked.

Dawn gave a startled expression. "Ah...s-sure." She chirped. "But no stone collecting."

"Shoot." Steven walked up to her, and hesitated. He kissed her. Her eyes widened.

Piplup made a face like this: OvO

He quickly parted from her, and opened his room door. He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Goodnight." He quickly entered his room. He licked his lips. "Tastes like ice cream..." He muttered.

Dawn leaned against her door. Piplup looked up at her. "Piplup lup?" He asked, staring at her, a smile on his face.

"He's definitely a nerd!" She laughed. She looked at Piplup. "Do you think he'll want to travel with us, Piplup?" She asked.

"Piplup?"

Dawn shook her head. "...Dawn Stone" She smiled. "Pretty."

THE END! HA! The first ever RareGemShipping fanfiction! Woo!

Why RareGemShipping you ask? Steven collects stones, so I thought of the dawn stone! It's practically a gem, and it's rare! So hence the name RareGemshipping! No one's ever thought of the pair, I looked it up to be sure! I thought of calling the couple DawnStoneShipping, but that's a bit too obvious for my taste. But just like OutCry/FarawayShipping (May and Paul) I suppose this pair can have two names. I haven't decided.

You guys can decide on which should be the name if you want. WOO! I CREATED A NEW SHIP! Please support!

Oh right! Please thank Clair de SolCrazie for the idea of the couple, even if she may not remember. It was a LONG time ago.