A/N: Well looks like I decided to make another short story after all. Ash and Dawn are both 14 years old but sadly, Dawn isn't in this chapter. But she will be in the next *yey*

Anything contained in [] has to do with scene placement or time frames, you'll figure it out (feel free to tell me if they are annoying or uneeded) Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, though I wish I did so I didn't have to do this disclaimer.

Chapter 1: Leaving

It may have been a few years since I last saw her, but there is no way she changed that much. [fade to white]

[A few months before]

Ash was returning home to Pallet Town after competing in the Unova League where, once again, he was runner-up. "Man, I was so close to winning this time!" Ash threw his fist on the table but more because he was getting impatient with waiting for Cilan to finish cooking lunch – Ash's last lunch – in Unova. Ash was leaving Unova to go back home and figure out what he would do next.

"Cilan! Is the food done yet?"

"Almost ready Ash, the sweet and fragrant berries which..." Ash groaned and laid his head on the table as the green haired connoisseur continued rambling on about the food he was preparing.

I'm so hungry... It's not that I'm not thankful that Cilan is cooking extra since it is the last lunch I'll have in Unova. But if he was planning on making a five course meal, couldn't he have provided some bread sticks?

"Quit whining about your stomach, geez, you're such a kid," Iris said, cutting into his thoughts after walking back from gathering fruit.

"How many times are you going to say that I'm a kid! I'm not a kid!" he yelled back.

"Well you sure act like one," Iris stated, taking a bite out of an apple she found.

"Axew," the little dragon type poked its head out of Iris' massive purple hair and nodded as if agreeing with its partner.

Ash was just about to get in Iris' face and stood up, putting his fists in front of him, he was in the middle of inhaling to retort when...

"IT'S LUNCH TIME!" Cilan cried out, putting the feast on the table with the help of Pansage.

"Thanks for the help Pansage," he thanked his partner as the two finished setting out all the food a few minutes later.

"-Sage," it nodded its head and started eating with the rest of the pokemon.

"FINALLY!" Ash cried, attacking the mountain of food, otherwise known as his plate, with tears streaming down his elated face.

Both Cilan and Iris sweat-dropped at Ash's poor table manners and the gusto he ate with.

"I think I see after images of his arms," Cilan muttered to Iris before he started eating,

"he is such a kid," Iris replied once again, but Ash was too busy eating to care or even hear Iris' usual remark.

[later]

"Ahhhh, that was really good, thanks for cooking Cilan," Ash said contentedly, laying down on the grassy hill, it was a perfect day. Bright, yellow sunlight covering everything, a light-blue sky with puffy, white clouds. He looked forward and slightly down as he spotted the destination,

the port city of Driftveil.

[time skip]

"Ash, come on, the ferry to Sinnoh is going to be leaving soon and, unless you plan on staying in Unova a few more months, you don't want to miss it," Cilan told Ash.

"Hmm what to get..." Ash was looking through the various gift shops, scratching his head while wondering what to get his mom. "Hmm, my mom likes cleaning, so a new duster? Or maybe she would like a lint roller..." he muttered to himself, absentmindedly wandering through the rows upon rows of t-shirts, not bothering to read any of the print since every single one had various puns on them. He came to the end of a row and read the shirt in front of him. "Unova have a bad time in Unova," he read aloud, groaning.

"Wow, even I think that is bad, and it barely works." Ash shook his head in disappointment as he began walking to the counter to buy a lint roller, that is when he saw it;

a red scarf in the display case.

In an instant, memories flashed through his head, like sepia photos, with a certain blue-haired girl standing out among all the faded memories.

Ash rushed to the shopkeeper asking, "How much does that scarf in the display case cost!" almost yelling at the surprised man.

The shopkeeper, still slightly confused said, "What scarf? Oh you must mean that scarf on display. Well my wife makes them, and I didn't think anyone would want to buy them, but how about $30?"

I mean, it does look well made, and it looks really soft. But $30 is a lot to spend on a gift for mom... wait, mom doesn't even wear scarves... oh well looks like it is back to the lint roller. Ash thought to himself.

"$30 is a bit much for one scarf, I guess I'll take a lint roller instead."

The shopkeeper looked upset for a little, then an idea sprung to his head.

"Since you seem like you really want it, I'll sell you two scarves for the price of one, how 'bout it?"

"Well..." Ash began but was interrupted by the storekeeper. "No, wait, three scarves! Any color you like! I'll even throw in a free lint roller! Please, my wife won't stop making them and I'm running out of inventory room!"

But Ash didn't hear the shopkeeper's explanation, the instant Ash heard "free lint roller," he grabbed the storekeeper's hand and said, "you have yourself a deal!"

"Ash! There you are, the ferry leaves in less than a minute!" both Cilan and Iris said, bursting into the shop to warn their friend.

"What! shoot, I lost track of time!" Ash said, panicking as he grabbed the bag out of the shopkeeper's extended hands.

"Bye, and thanks for the scarves and free lint roller!" Ash called out as he bolted out of the shop, almost loosing Pikachu and his hat from how quickly he moved.

"BYE ASH! CALL US FROM TIME TO TIME!" Cilan and Iris stood on the dock, waving goodbye to the black haired boy.

Ash had almost jumped in the water in an attempt to grab the ship's ramp after rushing out of the shop, luckily a crew member noticed him and set the ramp down.

"BYE CILAN, BYE IRIS! I'M SURE WE'LL MEET AGAIN!" Ash yelled back, leaning so far over the railing that when then the ship's horn startled him, he almost fell into the water.

"What a kid," Iris said.

"I HEARD THAT!" Ash yelled back, causing Cilan and Iris to laugh at their friend's departing words as they turned around and started walking to the pokecenter.

"Well Pikachu, we are finally on our way back home, back to Kanto." Ash said, scratching his long-time pal's ear, as he looked out in the far distance towards the flat horizon where the light blue sky met the dark blue ocean, excitement shone in his eyes.

"Yes, we are finally going home," Ash said repeating himself, this time with a smile on his face.

[fade to white]

A/N: So for those who didn't get the pun it was [you neva (never) have a bad time in Unova]

If you saw something you didn't like, tell me, so I can fix it. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, I just discovered a new game. Don't forget to review, I need the feedback.

Thanks for reading!

- Javanos