Yo! I got a little bit of positive feed back on my last Pearlshipping fix, I figured, "**** it, let's try another."

This one will have a few chapters. Not a one-shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. It's owned by (insert owners here).

"It's been a pleasure having you here, Dawn!" The Poke-Modeling agency worker said to her, before kneeling down to Buneary, "And of course, you too, Buneary!"

Dawn rubbed the back of her head. "Ah thanks! We had a blast, right Buneary?"

"Bun-EAR!" Buneary said, pumping her small fist into the air.

"We'll keep you on our list for the future...we would sure love to have you back sometime. What are you going to do now?" The worker asked.

"Thanks..." Dawn paused before going on, "I'm not actually sure. I've been on the road for awhile. Maybe I should go home and figure that out." She finished, rubbing the back of her head.

"Ha, well, good luck in whatever it is! Your payment will be sent in the mail!" The worker waved her off.

So Dawn began walking the the road, heading for Twinleaf town. Feeling a little lonesome, she called out Piplup to walk with her.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiplup. Pip." Piplup yawned and stretched.

"Hey Piplup. Mind if we talk? It's a little lonely walking by myself." Dawn said. Piplup nodded vigorously.

As the two began walking, Dawn stopped and noticed what looked like a dust could coming at her from down the path. It looked rather far away, but it was approaching fast.

"Maybe it's a Pokemon?" she wondered aloud. Whipping out her Pokedex, she pointed it toward the oncoming object.

"PIPLUP! LUP LUP PIPPLE!" Piplup squeaked anxiously, trying to get Dawn's attention.

"Quiet, Piplup..." Dawn said, flicking her Pokedex open.

"NO POKEMON DETECTED." Her Pokedex stated.

"Huh. Wonder what it-" Dawn didn't have a chance to finish the thought, unfortunately as...

BER-THUD!

...Barry ran directly into her, knocking them both to the ground.

Barry, of course sprang right up to his feet. "WHOA! Sorry there Dawn, just searching around, trying to fill up my Pokedex. You doing okay? I've been great!"

Dawn, however, sat up slowly rubbing her forehead. "Ugh...yeah Barry, real good. Just on my way back to Twinleaf."

Barry was practically twitching with the urge to take off running once more. "What, no adventure? That's boring! YOU'RE boring! What would Ash say? Just kidding. Anyway, I'M saying PEACE OUT Dawn, catch you later!"

And with that, Barry was off. However, a certain part of what Barry said struck Dawn.

Ash...

Dawn frowned. Piplup noticed and pat her hand, as it knew exactly why Dawn was down all of the sudden.

Ever since that boat to Kanto had departed, Dawn had spent a lot of time wondering how different things would be if she had gone with Ash. As much fun as Pokemodeling had been, she missed traveling with him.

They sent letters occasionally, as she learned Ash did with a lot of people he had adventured with, but deep down, Dawn missed hearing his voice and seeing his adventure-hungry expression.

Not to say that she didn't miss Brock too. Of course I miss both of them, she thought to herself, but Ash did so much to help me get where I am now. I just...UGH. Why do I think about him so much?

While not nearly as dense as Ash, Dawn herself was oblivious enough to not realize why exactly she felt this way.

But Piplup knew. "Piplup pip." It said smugly, crossing it's flippers.

Dawn looked at her Pokemon and blushed. "I wasn't thinking about him!"

Piplup just tilted it's head and stared at her. After a few moments, Dawn conceded, rubbing the back of her head, and admitted, "Yeah, okay, I'm thinking about Ash. Again. Doesn't mean I...like him that way. Right?"

Again, Piplup just stared at her, with an "Oh really?" expression on it's face.

"Hey, I didn't call you out just for you to accuse me of liking Ash. Just because I miss him,think about him a lot, really want to see him, remember the way he smells..." Dawn paused, and thought about what she was saying.

Piplup's expression, needless to say, changed to a smug one, as Dawn blurted out, "Holy crap, you're right, aren't you? I got it bad."

"Pip-pip-pip-pip!" Piplup laughed.

Dawn facepalmed as they walked down the road. "Well, it sure does explain why I've been thinking of him so much since he left. Him and his unkempt black hair, and his brown eyes, and the way he's so caring, and-"

Piplup cut her off with a Bubblebeam attack, knocking the coordinator down. She hopped back up to her feet and blushed. "Er thanks, guess I was rambling. So, what do you think we should do, Piplup? We finished the Pokemodeling thing, I just realized I'm completely lovestruck, and it isn't even lunchtime."

Before Piplup could answer, Buneary burst out of it's Pokeball, and began waving it's arms around frantically. "Buneary! Bunear-bun earybunbun. Ear!"

Dawn frowned. "Buneary...I know you want to see Pikachu, but I can't just drop in on Ash in Unova unannounced! It's rude! We don't even know where he is in Unova or..." Dawn looked off to the side sadly, "maybe he found someone else. I mean, he'd have to stop being so oblivious to that kind of thing, but it could happen, right?"

Buneary and Piplup looked at each other and broke out in to fits of laughter. Dawn couldn't help but laugh too. "I didn't say it was likely, just possible."

Dawn could see Twinleaf Town coming up on the horizon. Despite her newly discovered "condition," she was ecstatic to see her mother again. She re-called her two Pokemon and began sprinting down the path to her home.

UNOVA REGION - LAST NIGHT - OUTSIDE ICIRRUS CITY

Ash looked around the darkened campsite. Pikachu was curled up in it's sleeping bag, as were Cilan and Iris. It had to be well past midnight, but Ash just wasn't tired. He had a lot on his mind.

Why does everything feel so...different? He thought to himself.

He loved the Unova region, all the cool new Pokemon and adventure. And as creepy as Team Plasma was to him, it wasn't like he hadn't been through this kind of thing before. No, something about this region just left him feeling slightly off.

He often found himself remember nights like this he had in Sinnoh, except it would be a little different...

FLASHBACK

Ash sat next to the fire, too nervous to fall asleep. Tomorrow the Lily of the Valley conference took place. He knew he needed to rest, but he had too much racing through his mind.

"Ash?" A sweet voice came from the tent behind him. Dawn crawled out in her pajamas.

"Oh. Hey Dawn." Ash greeted. He knew what was coming next...

"What are you doing up? You need to get some sleep for tomorrow!" Dawn said sternly.

Ash just smiled. "Oh come on. We stay up late and talk around the fire all the time. Besides, I can't sleep."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Fine. Just for a little bit. Just don't let this ruin your battles tomorrow!"

Ash sighed. He found himself remembering those nights a lot. Nights where him and Dawn would stay up, and just talk. I miss Dawn...I hope she got that letter I sent her a few days ago.

He caught himself in thought and remembered, Er, I miss EVERYONE. Not just her. Why am I doing that so much?

"Ash, what are you doing up?"

Ash jumped and turned around. Cilan stood up, stretching and yawning.

"Oh, hey Cilan. Sorry, sometimes I just can't sleep. I just have some stuff on my mind." Ash replied.

Cilan walked over and sat down across the fire from Ash. "Oh? What seems to be troubling you?"

Normally, Ash would've said it was nothing, and not to worry about it. But, he knew Cilan was a wise person. And maybe, he wanted answers about this weird feeling he's been having.

"Just...you ever...feel like you left something important behind?" Ash asked, not quite sure to word how he felt.

"Well we all feel like that sometimes Ash. Can you elaborate a little bit?" The connoisseur asked.

Ash felt a little embarrassed but continued. "Well...and before I begin, don't get me wrong, I love traveling with you and Iris...but something about this just feels different. Like something drastic changed when I started traveling here."

"Very interesting, Ash. Can you pinpoint the source of the change? I mean, it sounds like you've traveled to a wide array of regions, not to mention had many traveling companions - human and Pokemon, interweaving many different personalities to compliment your own!" Cilan asked.

Ash blinked. "Wait, what?"

Cilan laughed. "Tell me what you think about when you get this feeling of emptiness."

Ash sighed and continued. He had told Cilan and Iris about his old travels before, but These thoughts were a little more personal.

"Well...like you said, I've traveled with a lot of people. I guess...after Misty left...I just got used to people leaving. When I got done with the Battle Frontier, May left too...and yeah, I keep in touch with them and all but...something feels different about the way the last trip ended. I know Dawn wanted to come with me at first, and she was really torn up about it, but we keep in touch. But...I dunno. I just think about my old travels a lot." Ash said.

"And what is the ingredient missing from your travel souffle that has left you so deflated?" Cilan asked, beginning to understand.

"Like I said, I write to everyone, and never had an issue about this but...I...maybe I was closer to Dawn than the others? I just now have noticed how different it is not traveling with her..." Ash trailed off.

"Ash, you silly boy!" Cilan interjected, loudly, making Pikachu and Iris stir.

"Hey, Cilan, could you maybe keep it do-" Ash said, a little worried.

"EVALUATION TIME!" Cilan yelled, making Pikachu and Iris jump awake. They quickly rushed over in confusion.

"You!" Cilan said, spinning around and dramatically pointing at Ash, "Living in a constant, symbolic cycle of DEATH AND REBIRTH! New journey, fresh starts, leaving the past behind!"

"What's he going on about at this time of night?" Iris asked, yawning.

"Pika!" Pikachu said angrily.

"HOWEVER!" Cilan said, sliding to his left, "After your latest reincarnation, a certain issue from the perils of the GYM BADGE CHALLENGE, you did not fully draw closure from your past life!"

"Lives? Deaths? Rebirths? All I said was..." Ash said frantically, waving his arms around.

"You said it loud and clear Ash!" Cilan said, adding another spin, followed by a small dance, "I can safely deduce, that the reason you reminisce so much about the past, is due to the attachment of a young lass who gripped on to the cockles of your heart in the Sinnoh region."

Ash just stared completely dumbfounded. After a moment, Iris began to laugh.

"He says you love Dawn, dude." She said between bursts of laughter.

Ash blushed. "WHAT?"

"So, you and Ash huh?" Johanna asked her daughter teasingly.

"MOM! Stop, I just said I have a crush on him. He probably forgot all about me." Dawn said, masking a little bit of sadness in her voice.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Johanna replied, holding up the mail, "He just sent you this letter."

End of Chapter 1!

How did I do writing Cilan? I was worried about that. Funny guy. You guys want me to keep going?