Chapter Text
Chloe and Dawn had decided to take a short break from competing in Kanto's contests to visit the Cerise family back in Vermillion City. It was a joy for Chloe to see her loved ones again and enjoy her parents' cooking, and unsurprisingly, Dawn easily became an eclectic part of the family in no time with her fawning over Talia's illustrations and accidentally electrocuting herself with the lab equipment. But with the Celadon City Contest coming up in a few days, the couple was now in Chloe's room doing some last-minute packing.
"Oh, I'm psyched for the contest," Dawn said as she frantically stuffed articles into her backpack. "Aren't you, Chloe? My Piplup and Plusle have been working really hard on their new combo, and I'm sure your Ponyta and Yamper are gonna do great, too!"
Honestly, Chloe wasn't all that psyched as she recalled how drab her last contest had felt, but she didn't want to put a damper on Dawn's enthusiasm. She must've accidentally sighed or groaned or something though, because she soon had her girlfriend asking her if something was wrong.
"I dunno, Dawn. I guess... I feel like I'm back where I started."
"Whaddya mean?"
"You know. The Pokémon Doctor thing." Chloe was referring to last month, when she and Dawn had happened to bump into Brock in Pewter City and lend him an impromptu hand at the Pokémon Center during an emergency. Seeing the calm passion Brock had for the subject, as well as looking into the eyes of those needy Pokémon as they received treatment, sparked a curiosity within Chloe, a "what if" that nagged at her every time she had made her entrance on the contest stage since. "I'm just not sure my heart's into the contest thing anymore."
Dawn sat down on the bed beside Chloe and squeezed her hand. "So then do the doctor thing! What's stopping you?” She flashed a smile. “You know I won't dump you if you stop doing contests, right?"
"Yeah, right, but..." Chloe groaned and shrugged. "It took him years to do that. Years, Dawn. What if I start and I'm like, I just wasted three years of my life?" She trailed off as she reached over to pet a fox-like Pokémon sporting dark blue scales, who had evolved from Eevee into a Dragon-type shortly after she committed to doing contests. "And, Draceon's happy doing contests. So that's that."
"Would you stop being a downer?" Dawn threw her hands in the air. "If you're not happy, then you gotta try something else! It's the only way you'll know, right?"
Chloe nodded slowly. "It just felt good to finally know." She squeezed Dawn's hand and appreciated the uncharacteristic silence between them, although her girlfriend's giddy foot-tapping was less than ideal for helping her sort out her thoughts.
"You know what?" Dawn eventually blurted out. "Let's stay here a bit longer."
"Dawn?" Chloe asked, glancing over to her side. "You sure?"
"No need to worry," she said with an easy shrug. "It's just one contest."
Chloe pulled her girlfriend into a tight hug and let out a sigh. "You're the best."
Dawn giggled. "Course I am."
Eventually, Chloe decided she should get ready for bed, and Dawn told her that she'd probably stay up a bit longer and not to wait up for her. Figures. Only Dawn would feel comfortable hanging out alone in her girlfriend's family's living room past midnight.
Chloe sat on the foot of her bed, the pastel pink walls of the room reminding her of the nights she had spent in this very spot throughout her childhood and adolescence wondering what her place was in this world, if not as the heir of the Cerise Laboratory. She saw her ribbon case sticking out of her backpack, and she reached over to open it. Three ribbons so far... that meant only two more to go. It'd be a shame to not even make it to the Grand Festival, right? She had rivals who were waiting to battle her there, and come to think of it, she hadn't seen them at her recent contests. Maybe that would help liven things up? ...But what if it didn't? The thought of dragging her feet through another halfhearted contest was uninspiring, to say the least.
As she turned off the lights and got in bed, she heard voices coming from downstairs... sounded like Dawn and Parker. Were they talking about her?
Whatever. She was too tired to care. She tossed and turned in the darkness for awhile, and the next thing she knew was that the early morning sun was beating down on a fully-dressed Dawn, who was shaking Chloe's shoulders and calling her name.
"Chloe, darling, remember our talk from last night?"
"...Uh-huh."
"Well, I know a friend who's just like you. And you're gonna meet her!"
Chloe rubbed her eyes. "Just like me how?"
"Loves trying all sorts of things! Come on, no time to waste!" Dawn exclaimed as she began to pull away the covers.
"Dawn, hey!" Chloe yelped, snatching the covers from Dawn's hands. "Please, just a few more minutes?"
Dawn pouted at Chloe before giggling and quickly breaking into a smitten smile. "Fine. Just a few more minutes," she said, climbing into the bed and wrapping her arms around Chloe, who slid easily into the embrace, resting her head on Dawn's shoulder even though she was the taller one. Chloe felt a soft warmth all around her, her arms huddled into Dawn's chest and Dawn's lips just barely brushing her forehead. Chloe's own lips twitched into a smile, and she was beginning to fade out of consciousness when...
"Hey! No falling asleep on me!" Dawn exclaimed, jolting Chloe awake by tickling her sides.
Chloe yelped and leapt out of the bed and onto her feet. "Okay, okay, I'm up!"
The giddy warmth of the couple's embrace evaporated as Chloe went through her morning routine, and as she went downstairs and popped two waffles into the toaster, the dreary reality of her predicament set back in. But when she tried to ask Dawn more about her "friend" and what on earth that had to do with their talk last night, she just giggled and said, "You're just gonna have to find out!"
From there, Dawn excitedly dragged Chloe out of the house, Yamper clinging to the latter's chest for dear life, and led her down the streets of Vermillion City until they reached a dome-shaped stadium. "And here it is! The Pokémon Ping Pong Arena! You ever been?"
Chloe squinted at the building as she told Dawn that no, she hadn't been inside, even though she'd walked past it several times. This was where they were going?
"Well, no time to wa–" Dawn was cut off by the sound of cheering from the stadium. "Oh, crap, did it already start?" She led Chloe to the check-in booth and glanced above at the monitor displaying the day's match-up's, breathing a sigh of relief as she bought two tickets, her treat.
"Phew, finally," Dawn said as she and Chloe took their seats on the bleachers. "I'm glad we still made it on time."
"Yeah, sorry if cuddling me was an inconvenience," Chloe said wryly, to which Dawn playfully squeezed her shoulders. "So, this 'friend,' she's a ping pong player?"
Dawn confirmed that with a cheerful grin, but as the current match concluded, Chloe found herself back in her own head rather than watching the game. Likes trying all sorts of things, huh? So this friend was a ping pong player and more? Chloe wondered what sort of inspirational life story they might have. After all, Dawn knew a myriad of interesting people – her mom was one, for starters, and being acquaintances with the Sinnoh Champion definitely wasn't something that could be said for everyone.
Chloe's train of thought was interrupted by a loud gasp from Dawn. "Ash should be here!"
"Why?"
"This is his friend, too! Here, lemme call." Dawn tapped her Xtransceiver and dialed Ash's number, but it went straight to voicemail.
"You still haven't learned that Ash never picks up?"
"Crap, you're right. Hmm... oh, lemme try Goh!"
Chloe cleared her throat, making Dawn realize that she should probably step outside to make the call. Man, Dawn can be oblivious sometimes, Chloe thought as she tried to find something about the game to distract her from her thoughts. This match was a Breloom vs. a Tranquill, the latter of which reminded Chloe of when she'd helped her family rescue an injured Pidove a few years back. She wondered how that Pokémon and its trainer were doing. They were part of some racing team, right? Perhaps they...
"Oh no, he's gonna miss it!" Dawn exclaimed as she sat back down beside Chloe. "Goh said that they're in Hoenn, and Ash has an important battle there in two days that he can't miss!"
"That's bad timing," Chloe sighed, though she would have been equally unsurprised if Ash had decided to hop on the next flight to Kanto after all. "But this friend, you'll get to see her again soon, right?"
"I hope?" Dawn said. "This is the first time we're seeing her in years! At least, I think? No, Ash woulda told me if– whoa!" she trailed off, pointing at the competing Breloom. Chloe followed Dawn's gaze and saw just in time as the Grass-type Pokémon did a flip and used its foot to return a shot at lightning-fast speed past the other team.
Whoa was right. Maybe this sport was cool after all.
"And now, for the final qualifying match, Casey and Electabuzz versus O and Ambipom!" the announcer's voice boomed.
Dawn squealed as a lavender-haired girl about her age donning an Electabuzz-striped jersey and black athletic shorts took her place across from a stoic-looking man.
"So your friend is the girl in the yellow, I take it?" Chloe asked Dawn as the athletes sent out their Pokémon.
Dawn nervously chuckled, a blush staining her cheeks. "You'll just have to wait and see!"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Dawn, you already gave it away with how loudly you cheered just now. You can admit it already."
"I'm not admitting anything!"
...Okay then.
The match got underway, with strategic shots from both sides. But Chloe noticed the way that Ambipom bounced up and back while guarding the net with its two long tails, gracefully outsmarting Electabuzz's strong and fast-paced serves.
"Wow, that Ambipom's good," Chloe exclaimed as the purple Pokémon delivered a spin shot and scored its team a point. "No offense, Dawn, but I think those guys are doing a better job than your friend."
Dawn flashed a cheeky grin. "Maybe so."
Chloe didn't know why Dawn was being so stubborn, but hey, it wasn't her problem. In the end, Casey and Electabuzz lost, and there was an intermission before the next set of games. Dawn dragged Chloe out of the bleachers and through the halls, and they saw Casey and O shaking hands. Chloe had just made eye contact with the woman and begun to wave when she saw a flash of purple swoop past her, followed by her girlfriend yelping and thudding onto the ground.
"Ambipom!" Dawn giggled, caressing the Pokémon's face. "It's been such a long time!"
"Long time?" Chloe echoed.
"Hi, Dawn," O said, coming over and extending his hand to Dawn to help her up. "What a nice surprise seeing you here."
She knew that man? But wasn't her friend a girl?
She looked down and saw Ambipom and Piplup happily greeting each other, like a reunion of sorts.
Oh shit...
Ambipom's the friend.
"So you're a friend of Dawn's?" O asked, extending his hand.
Chloe snapped out of her trance and chuckled as she shook the man's hand. "Yeah, uh, Chloe. Girlfriend, actually. Uh, you did great out there!"
"Thanks. Those two really gave us a run for our money," O said, pointing at Casey and Electabuzz behind him. "You know, their main sport is baseball, actually. But you'd never know it from watching them play just now."
Dawn raised her eyebrows at Chloe and smirked. "Ah! So they like trying new things, too!" She crouched down to Ambipom's level and looked at her intently. "Ambipom, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Chloe. She's between contests and medicine right now, and I thought you two might get along."
Ambipom tilted her head, seeming to consider her former trainer's words before approaching Chloe... and stealing her backpack, gleefully juggling it between her tails.
"Hey! What-"
"Oh, I think she likes you already!" Dawn said. "She did that to me and Ash all the time."
Ash? "Wait, was Ambipom also..."
"Ash's Pokémon? You bet." Dawn explained that Ash caught her first as an Aipom and earned some of his Sinnoh gym badges with her before she decided to pursue contests with Dawn.
"And Dawn here was kind enough to let her play Pokémon Ping Pong with me for the past five years," O chimed in. "But every now and then, she still likes to practice her old contest routines."
Chloe swore she could see tears forming in Dawn's eyes as the announcer's voice boomed, reminding the athletes that they had five minutes until the second round started. O bid a hasty farewell to the girls and let them know that they could come back after the game to chat.
"So that's it? Ambipom's done a lot of things? And that's why you wanted me to meet her?" Chloe whispered as they took their seats. "You could've just told me that!"
Dawn chuckled. "It's not the same as meeting her!"
Chloe dismissed this with a shrug, though she had to give Dawn kudos for managing to keep a secret for once. She cheered intently for Ambipom throughout the next matches, analyzing the way she played for hints of battle- and contest-like flair. The way she served the ball and hopped around struck Chloe as a bit different than the other Pokémon that she'd seen compete today, but was she just seeing things now that Dawn had put them in her head?
In any case, she struck her as quite the performer as she dazzled and finessed her way to first place. The girls went back to the locker room to congratulate both Pokémon and trainer. Chloe chuckled as she noticed Yamper sniffing Ambipom's tails, and a lightbulb seemed to go off in Dawn's head. "Hey, O, do ya mind if we borrow Ambipom for a bit?" Dawn asked.
O laughed. "Not at all. I always told you you could come visit anytime. Take your time, I'll be here when you're done."
"Thanks! We'll only be a bit!"
The girls rushed to the nearby Pokémon Center so Dawn could swap out her new Pokémon for her original team, and then they went outside and sent everyone out to play. As Dawn told animated stories about her early travels with Ambipom, the Pokémon in question scampered over to Dawn and whimpered, releasing a light Swift attack into the air.
"Oh, I get it! You wanna do an appeal!" Dawn exclaimed. She stood up and did a twirl before commanding Ambipom to use Double Team and then Swift into the center of the field. Then, she called for a Double Hit to break the stars into a shimmering light, but the neon green color emitting from the Pokémon's tails puzzled both coordinators.
"That move... that wasn't Double Hit, was it?" Dawn asked.
Chloe shook her head. "Looked like Dual Chop. Like Draceon."
"Oh, cool!" Dawn said, crouching down to Ambipom's level and petting her head. "You learned a new move while you were with O!"
Ambipom nodded gleefully before running over to Chloe and looking at her with eager eyes.
"Hey, Chloe, why don't you give it a try with Ambipom?" Dawn suggested. "Or wait, maybe you can show Ambipom that combo you've been working on!"
"Uh, okay," Chloe said, calling Yamper forth and releasing Ponyta from its Poké Ball. "Yamper, Charge! Ponyta, Heal Pulse!"
As Yamper's body became surrounded by yellow sparks, Ponyta's mane began to glow pink, transferring a wave of energy that turned the aura around Yamper into a scarlet hue. Chloe commanded Ponyta to release a Fairy Wind into the air, and the Electric-type Pokémon released a fierce Spark that zipped along the lengths of the pink breeze and broke it into shimmering dust.
"That was great, Chloe!" Dawn exclaimed as the dust settled, and Ambipom jumped and clapped her tails together to convey her agreement. But as Dawn was giving Chloe pointers about letting Yamper use Charge a bit longer before adding Ponyta to the mix, Ambipom approached Chloe and thrusted her tails in a punching motion, giving her a grin.
"What's she want now?" Chloe asked.
"Ooh, a battle?" Dawn suggested. "I think she wants to do a contest battle!"
Chloe nodded and sent out Draceon, and the Pokémon exchanged a series of flashy attacks before they took turns deflecting Ambipom's Swift with increasingly powerful Dual Chops, like a match of Pokémon Ping Pong. At one point during the exhilarating back-and-forth, it appeared to Chloe as if Draceon had added its own Swift attack to the mix, but that was impossible since it had forgotten Copycat after evolving. Right?
The two Pokémon spent some time after the battle nuzzling each other and chasing each other around the field, until Dawn remembered that poor O was still waiting for them at the arena. But when they went to return Ambipom, the purple monkey Pokémon clung to Dawn's side, making her choice clear.
"Always greener pastures, right?" O chuckled as he knelt down and bid a heartfelt farewell to his companion.
"I can't believe Ambipom's my Pokémon again!" Dawn gushed as they left the stadium. "I mean, that's not what I was trying to do, but uh, hey, I guess it worked!" She snapped out of her excitement and turned her attention towards Chloe. "Hey, you feeling any better?"
"I dunno. Sort of?" The exhilaration from their practice battle was wearing off, and now she was just tired from her earlier lack of sleep. Not to mention, still a bit confused about everything. "I mean, I get your point, but... just keep trying new things? I dunno if it's that–”
Dawn cut her off with a hum. "We should go see Ash."
"Huh?"
"I just have a good feeling about it."