Ash Ketchum: Type Specialist One Shots

Ash wouldn't understand until he was much older why he and his mother had to leave Pallet Town when he was four years old. Truthfully, he just remembered coming home from Kindergarten with a note from his teacher about a dina test, whatever that was, followed by Gary's family coming over. Gary and Ash had been swept into one room to play while their parents talked and yelled for a long time, and then Gary's mom came into the room, crying heavily, and took Gary's hand, and left. The next morning Ash didn't go to Kindergarten, his mama started packing up the house with Mimey, and by the end of the week they were all they way in the Johto Region, in a new town called New Bark Town.

New Bark Town was just as small as Pallet Town, with the biggest difference being that his mother had to restart her garden, and had to take up two new jobs, one as a research assistant with Professor Elm, the other as a waitress in a nearby diner, to make them some money while they waited for the produce to grow. For the first few weeks in the new town, after everything was unpacked in their new home on the outskirts of the town, Ash spent most of his time with Mimey as his babysitter while Ash waited to get accepted into his new Kindergarten.

Things didn't get much better after he started Kindergarten though. His classmates had grown up with each other, and knew each other well, having been in their own little groups since the days they were born, while Ash was an unknown. Ash was new, and children weren't known for adjusting to new things very well.

On top of being new, Ash was 'odd', he was hyperactive and attentive to Pokemon. Not to say the other kids weren't, but while the other kids had something else they liked, all Ash wanted to talk about was Pokemon. It didn't help that Pokemon seemed to love Ash just as much as he loved them, and tended to favor Ash when a volunteer brought a Pokemon in for the class to meet. Be it someones Hoothoot or Gyarados, Pokemon just seemed to favor Ash, which led to a lot of jealousy.

Ash's oddities on top of being new, different, and jealousy, made making friends impossible, and for the most part Ash was left alone, or in the worst case bullied. Ash found he couldn't even bring it up to any adults either, as the Teachers had known most of the students since they were babies, it was hard for them to see the others as doing anything as horrible as bullying, and they simply told him that the other kids were still adjusting, and his mother was so busy, working two jobs on top of keeping house and making them food that Ash just simply didn't want to bother her.

Things eventually settled down when Ash was 8. In four years Ash had adjusted to the change in scenery and his classmates learned to deal with him. Oh they didn't like him, he was still odd, and they were still jealous, but all they really did was call him names and occasionally trip him in the halls or outside. Delia still had to work two jobs, as her work load left her little time to start her garden back up, even when Ash took up cooking for them and Mimey handled most of the house work, she was too tired by the end of the day to do much more than watch television and share conversation with Ash before it was time for bed. Ash had even been able to pick up a hobby in the form of photography, a skill he had originally fell in love with due to a photography assignment he had to do for class. Delia had fished out her old polaroid camera from her time as a field scientist back in Kanto and gave him the camera and film for the project.

Ash had a lot of fun, scoping out the forest near his home, searching for Pokemon to capture on film. He got quite a few good shots, a Beedrill tending to its Kakuna, a pair of Murkrow playing air tag, a Marill floating lazily down the stream, all three Johto Starters playing tag outside Professor Elm's lab, he even got a picture of an Eevee evolving into an Jolteon at the Pokemon center! It was probably the first time he had ever gotten a perfect score on a project, and the teacher had called him a natural behind a camera lens! But nothing compared to the friends he acquired during the making of said project.

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Ash eyed the sky above, watching the sky as it darkened with the sun set. He didn't want to stay out too long, but he wanted some night time shots for his project. Dinner was already made back home, with a note to his mother explaining he went out to work on his project, so he had no reason to run back.

The eight year old boy pulled his coat closer, and ventured further into the forest near his house, camera up and ready to snap any photos of any interesting Pokemon he saw. At one point, he snapped a photo of a young Stantler playing with its parents, followed soon after by a Hoothoot taking flight for its nightly hunt, but after that there wasn't much else. Disappointed, Ash sat down on some stones and pulled out his near empty water bottle, taking a large gulp to finish it off.

"Guess I should go home now." He pouted to himself, looking at the sky which had since darkened completely. Just as he pulled himself up, a loud howl echoed through the air, causing him to jump, and slip off the rock. Wincing, Ash looked up, coming face to face with a snarling black and brown dog pokemon with a skull like pattern on its face, this particular one had a noticeable scar that sat over the Pokemon's right eye. "Houndour!" Ash gasped in awe, remembering Professor Elm telling him about the small pack that lived in the forest. Sure enough, another five Houndour stalked out of the bushes, growling and snarling at him in warning as they surrounded him.

Ash held his hands up insubmission, keeping them where the pack could see them. The Houndour with the scar, most likely the leader due to its bigger size, started sniffing him, as if searching for something, most likely food, but as Ash hadn't brought anything other than a water bottle, coat, a few potions, and camera, the Houndour found nothing.

"Sorry I don't have any food for your buddy." Ash offered sadly, truly mournful that he had nothing to offer them. The Houndour ignored him however, continuing to search him until he stuffed his nose onto the boy's hoodie pocket, where Ash had shoved the few health potions he brought with him.

"Dour!" Houndour pulled his nose from the pocket and barked at it until Ash pulled it out.

"This is what you want?" The dog like Pokemon barked expectantly, voice rough and demanding as it turned around, and started walking off.

When Ash hesitated to follow, Houndour growled, and one of the other Houndour bit into Ash's coat sleeve, pulling on it expectantly. Slightly frazzled, Ash did as was instructed, and pulled himself up to follow after them. The Houndour surrounded him on all sides, as if fearful that he would run off, which admittedly, he probably should have done, but he couldn't. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong, wild Pokemon, especially pack Pokemon, didn't just walk up to humans unless they were in need of help, and Ash brough the potions specifically in case a Pokemon needed help, and he couldn't leave an injured Pokemon if he wanted to, it just wasn't in nature.

The Houndour lead him to a large cave, hidden behind the forest trees, and most likely their den. Sure enough, at the back of the den sat another Houndour, and three much smaller Houndour, most likely newly hatched. While two of the Houndour pups sprung towards the incoming pack, tails wagging and tongues lolling out of their mouths, the other laid still, ears folded and breaths coming out in heavy, gasping wheezes. The, presumed, mother narrowed her eyes at him as he approached, growling lowly until the leader Houndour, which Ash decided to nickname Scar for the sake of simplicity, barked at her. She didn't look all too happy, but let Ash approach, pulling her other two puppies closer to her.

Ash crouched next to the clearly ill puppy, and reached out. The puppy's head was hot, hotter than what was good for even a dual Fire type. Hissing, Ash ran his hand down the puppy's side until he reached it's hind leg, where it whimpered painfully. Looking closer, and squinting his eyes in the dark, Ash could make out what looked like a bite. If Ash knew his Pokemon, and he did, he would guess that it was Spinarak bite, painful and dangerous for Pokemon so young, and if the color was to mean anything, probably infected.

Pulling out the Potion, Ash sprayed the puppy's leg, causing him to gently hush the poor Pokemon as it whimpered in pain. Ash then stood, and walked over to a small water pool, ripped off a piece of his shirt, and dipped the cloth into the water. Returning to the Houndour's side, Ash set the wet cloth onto it's forehead, hoping to bring it's temperature down.

Ash glanced at Scar worriedly. "We need to take this little guy to Nurse Joy." Scar bared his teeth in protest, but Ash met his eye, unflinching as he talked to the pack leader. "The Potion will help a little bit, but it won't get rid of the infection." Ash growled back. "If its not seen by Nurse Joy I…" Ash heaved a mournful sigh, and turned back to the suffering puppy, carefully scratching behind its ear, earning the weakest little tail wag. "I don't think it will make it." Scar stopped growling, and stared at the puppy with calculating eyes. Grumbling, he nodded.

Ash smiled at the leader, reaching out to pat his head. "I'll bring it back as soon as I can." He promised, and carefully hoisted the injured up onto his back. Even if it were the smallest Houndour Ash had ever seen, it was still a Houndour and was a considerable size compared to the eight year old boy(for context: the average Houndour are 2ft tall, that's the size of a Giant Schnauzer). Nodding to the worried pack, Ash took off out of the cave, only just noticing one of the other Houndour following after him when it went ahead of him, helping lead him out of the forest, which had grown dark, much too dark to navigate.

When they reached town Ash headed straight to the Pokemon center, panting heavily, and legs and arms aching. Nurse Joy didn't so much as ask a question when he stumbled through the door, she simply called for Chansy and carefully took the injured Houndour with a worried frown on her face.

With the pup safely with Nurse Joy, Ash let himself crash onto the ground, and fell against the Houndour that had accompanied him. The Houndour panted at him, russet jaws falling open, pink tongue lolling out before swiping gratefully against his cheek. Smiling warily at the Pokemon, Ash reached out to pet them, scratching their skull carefully.

After about two hours, Nurse Joy called him back. "Ash, the Houndour you brought in is healing right up!" She gushed, pulling a relieved sigh and joyful bark from Ash and the Houndour respectfully. "Luckily you got him here fast enough, the bite wasn't too deep, and the infection was easy to clean up. He still has a bit of a fever, but a good long rest and a good few meals and he'll be back to a rambunctious puppy in no time!"

"Thank you nurse joy." Ash said joyfully. "Can we go see him?"

"Of course, you can take him back home even, I'm sure your mother, and his, is worried sick." She said kindly, before leading them back behind the counter.

As soon as Ash entered the room he was met with a lap full of puppy, the Dark type having leapt at him and causing him to fall to the ground. The Houndour puppy yapped happily, still limping just a bit, and roughly licking his face, large paws holding him down so all Ash could do was laugh loudly and he shook his head back and forth, trying to dodging the slobbery kisses. Finally, the puppy settled down, and laid fully down in his chest, wanting him with wide black eyes as if he was the greatest thing in the world. With a hearty, joyful sigh, Ash pulled himself up into a sitting position, scratching the puppy's sides as he regained his bearings.

"Looks like you are feeling better." Ash grinned at him, getting another lick, from both Houndour, across the face that had him sputtering. "Ready to head back home? Your pack was pretty worried."

"Dour Dour!" They barked, their nubby tails wagging expectantly.

Gently moving the puppy off of him, Ash stood up, almost tripping over himself before straightening back out and standing fully. A yawn pulled itself from his mouth, and the boy shook his head to dispel the sleepiness. "Alright, lets get you home then. Thank you for everything Nurse Joy!"

The nurse, who had been watching the entire encounter with kind eyes, smiled down at him. "Of course Ash, it's my job after all! Now you guys get home safely, alright?"

"We will, thank you again!" Waving, Ash followed the older Houndour out of the Pokemon center, and towards the forest.

Due to the puppy's slight limp, and the lack of urgency, they were able to walk back to the Pack's den, the older Houndour in the lead while the puppy stuck close to Ash's side, big black eyes staring up at him occasionally and being met with gentle head scratches. Before long, they were back at the den, and the puppy broke off to run towards his mother, barking wildly as he was met with his siblings and his mother's joyful whimpers. The entire pack surrounded him, sniffing and barking happily at their healed pack member. With sparkling brown eyes, Ash pulled out his camera, lifted it, and snapped a photo of the reunion.

When the camera was down, he was met with ten pairs of eyes on him, each Houndour wagging happily at him before they all pounced, taking him down and showering him with kisses that made him laugh as he assured them he was happy to help.

Eventually, he was able to pull himself away from the dog pile, yawning loudly into his hand. "I really need to get home, my mom will be worried if I'm not there in the morning." The mother Houndour, as if understanding what he met, shoved her nose gently against his hand, as if assuring him. "I hope I can come see you all again." Ash murmured, before waving goodbye and heading out of the den.

Scar followed after him, brushing against his side to alert him, before barking lowly and using his nose to point before leading Ash back through the forest. Ash followed after him, and before long, they were back at his house. Gleefully, he scratched the Houndour leader on the head. "Thanks for leading me back!" He grinned. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Scar barked in agreement, brushing against his hand once more before vanishing back into the forest. Smiling after the Pack Leader, Ash turned around and quietly entered the house. Mimey, who was sleeping on the pull out couch, peered an eye open to see who had entered, but simply smiled at him when he realized who it was. Ash bowed his head in apology and went on to his room. He set the camera on his desk and collapsed on his Snorlax bean bag chair, almost instantly passing out.

When Ash woke up, it was noon and he was tucked into his bed, with his coat removed. Blinking blearily, he pulled himself from best, wincing as the cold hard wood touched his feet, and wandered from his room.

"Mime Mime!" Mimey greeted.

"G'morning Mimey." Ash murmured sleepily before walking into the kitchen.

Sitting on the table was a wrapped plate of food, and a note. Sitting in his usual seat, Ash pulled the food and note closer. 'Nurse Joy told me how you took an injured Houndour to the center last night, I don't mind you staying out late to do your homework, but please be careful honey. You're my whole world. I called the school and told them you wouldn't be in, so try to rest. I have tomorrow and Sunday off, and we can talk about how school and your project is coming. Love you and see you when I get home honey!' Smiling at his mother's note, he pulled the food closer and started eating.

When he finished eating, Ash washed his dishes, staring out the kitchen window to see four Pidgey flying. Just as he was about to put the plate in the drying rack, a bark caught his attention. Ash stilled before getting back to cleaning, thinking he had imagined the bark, but it sounded again. Pushing up on his tiptoes, Ash peered through the window and looked down. Sitting in his backyard, like he was meant to be there, was a very familiar Houndour puppy, tail wagging and rusty muzzle open wide in a doggy grin. Upon seeing that Ash had noticed him, the puppy stood up, nubby little tail wagging like crazy and he barked again.

Haphazardly, Ash dried his hands on his shirt and ran to the back door. As soon as he opened the back door Houndour clambered up to him, jumping on his hind legs to greet Ash, and making the boy gasp with an 'oof' as air was pushed out of his lungs. "What are you doing here, Houndour?" Ash asked wide eyed, though he pet the dog Pokemon regardless.

"Dour!" Houndour yapped, licking at his chin joyfully before falling back onto all four and pushing his way into the house.

Ash watched slack jawed as Houndour sniffed around the house curiously, jumping onto the couch to check out the cushions and somehow finding an old Pokeball colored baseball that Ash had sworn he lost outside, but that Houndour found under the couch. With the ball in his muzzle, Houndour made himself at home, plopping down on the living room carpet and rolling onto his back, like he had lived there for years.

Mimey, for his part, didn't even glance towards the intruder, continuing to sweep with his usual smile that was, perhaps, a bit wider.

However, Houndour seemed to be bored just laying there, and eventually rolled back over, bringing the ball over to Ash, where he sat it down at his feet expectantly. Watching the puppy, Ash picked the ball up, and rolled it across the floor, giggling when the puppy stumbled after it on clumsy puppy paws. Eventually, he grabbed it, and brought it back.

"I really shouldn't throw a ball in the house," Ash advised it, wincing as he thought about how much a broken window must cost to fix. "Let me go get dressed and we can play outside!" Excitedly, and much like a puppy himself, Ash ran towards his room, hurriedly pulling on some shorts and an old Pokemon League shirt, followed by his shoes. Before he left, he grabbed his camera, and ran out the back door with Houndour following behind him.

Ash and Houndour played nearly all day, playing fetch in the back yard until Mimey pulled them inside for drinks. When they got too tired to play anymore, Ash snapped some pictures of the sleepy Pokemon, before inevitably falling asleep beside him in the grass outside. Around dinner time, they went in and Ash started preparing dinner for him and his mother, while pulling out some Pokemon food for Mimey and Houndour. Seeing as Mimey was the only Pokemon they had, they only really had Psychic Pokemon food, which would not sit well in a Dark type Pokemon's tummy, so while the rice was cooking, Ash ran to the store with his allowance and bought a small bag of Dark type Pokemon food, Houndour of course trailing behind him. The Pokemon ate while Ash cooked, and his mother arrived soon after the last of the meat had finished cooking.

Delia bustled into the house, and set her work things on the couch. To her credit, she only spared the Houndour that slept next to his empty food bowl a single glance before continuing into the kitchen, where she greeted Ash with a kiss on the forehead before pulling down cups to serve the drinks.

"How was work, mom?" Ash asked, setting the food on the table with cutlery.

Delia set the cups down beside each plate and filled them each up with juice before joining him at the table. "It was very quiet today, probably because everyone is preparing for the newest batch of 10 year olds to start the journey soon. How was your day?"

Ash beamed at her, taking a bite of his food. "I mostly played with Houndour today! I even got some awesome shots of him sleeping and playing!"

Delia smiled wistfully at her son as she watched him fawn happily over his day. She was ashamed to say it had been a while since she had seen such enthusiasm from her son. "Will Houndour be staying?" She asked.

Ash's smile dimmed a bit and he shook his head. "I'll take him back to his pack after dinner. I'm pretty sure he just came to play."

Judging by how Houndour was pressed against her son's leg, Delia highly doubted that, but didn't say anything about it. "Well, if he decides to stay I don't mind. Mimey is great," she smiled at her beloved mime Pokemon. "But he doesn't exactly have the energy to play with energetic eight year olds. Besides, I think Houndour would make a lovely partner when you become a Pokemon trainer."

Ash put his fork down in thought. 'A Pokemon trainer. He thought numbly. 'When was the last time I thought about becoming a Pokemon Master? Or a Pokemon trainer of any kind?' The idea of him not thinking of that option should have scared him, but it didn't. Ash knew, logically, that he would always become a Pokemon trainer, he loved Pokemon too much not to become one, but when he thought about Pokemon Battles in that moment, he didn't feel the same rush, or desire he had felt once upon a time. 'What do I want to do?'

Like Ash had said, he walked Houndour back to his pack after dinner, the puppy following after him happily. When they reached the cave they were met warmly by the pack, who happily sniffed and rubbed against them in greeting. "Thanks for playing with me today, Houndour." Ash grinned down at the youngest Pack member, his chest a heavy. A bit sadly, Ash petted the pup's head a final time before turning away to walk back home.

The puppy stared after the retreating boy sadly, ears dipping as he watched him walk away. Scar walked up behind him, looking between his youngest pack member and the human boy who had helped them the night before. Huffing, the bigger male nudged the puppy forward, startling him. The pup tilted his head in confusion and Scar grumbled in return, jutting his head towards the human boy. The puppy perked up, and turned towards his mother, who stepped forward and nuzzled her cheek against his. Yapping thankfully, the puppy turned after Ash and took off running after him, the joyful howls of his pack following after him.

Hearing running paw steps behind him, Ash turned, just in time to be tackled by Houndour, who again started licking his face in greeting. Gently pushing the puppy off him, Ash sat up. "Houndour?"

"Dour! Dour!" Houndour barked happily, nuzzling into Ash's arms and wagging up at him, his big black eyes near begging.

Understanding and warmth flooded through Ash's veins as he stared down at the little Dark Type. "You want to stay with me?" He asked almost hopefully, getting another slobbery kiss in agreement. Joyfully, Ash wrapped his arms around the pup, hugging his close and he laughed.

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From that Ash and Houndour were near inseparable. The only time the black and russet hellhound wasn't at his side was when Ash was in school, and even then Houndour was always waiting by the school gates when School finished up. When they could, they ventured into the forest to run around with the rest of the Pack, Ash even helped Scar evolve into a Houndoom when another Houndoom tried to take it over.

The addition to the Pokemon also caused a slight shift within the way Ash was treated. He wasn't bullied anymore, not a mean word was said to him, but nobody wanted to be his friend either. Ash didn't mind too much, it just meant people left him alone, but he was never really sure why they had one day decided to leave him alone.

He didn't know that the presence of a dark type, and the unintentional outwardly appearance change was what had caused it. See, without really realizing it, Ash's fashion world had tilted. While Ash was never one to care what he looked like, the idea that Houndour was usually with him made him unconsciously search for outfits that complimented the Pokemon. This resulted in dark, sometimes torn, jeans, dark tennis shoes or boots, and plain, or simple pattern shirts, usually with a dark jean or black leather vest to go with it. Ash's hair, which was already pitch black, grew long enough to be put in a ponytail, mostly because his mom was so busy he didn't want to bother her by asking for a haircut. This resulted in him looking like a punk, even if Ash was still the free spirited, and kind person he always had been, and made the other kids wary of him.

However, being treated that way simply because of the Type Pokemon he favored made Ash reevaluate the world. Dark Types were often looked down on for being 'evil' and 'underhanded', and the very idea of a Pokemon being evil made Ash laugh. It wasn't the Pokemon type that was evil, it was their trainers who twisted the Pokemon and their abilities. Ash decided then and there that Dark Type would be his type and if people didn't like it, then he could care less. Houndour just wagged with a dopey little pant as he laid on Ash's lap.

So, Ash's life eventually simmered down, not really changing until he was 10, and was therefore allowed to start his journey. Between ages 8 to 10, Ash didn't really think about what his journey would be about. With Houndour as his only friend, and an interest in Photography, his mind was mostly consumed by them. His Photography skills improved, and while Houndour, Mimey, and wild Pokemon were his main muses, word spread quickly in the small town, and sometimes people would ask him to Photograph weddings, birthdays, events, or take pictures of Pokemon for Professor Elm, earning Ash a nice sized nest egg before he even took off. With some of the earnings Ash even convinced his mother to quit one of her jobs and she finally had time to start her garden back up, which also supplied them with some income once they were ready for sale. Regardless, with all of that happening, Ash didn't really plan his journey, and it wasn't until his mother and Professor Elm brought it up that he even remembered.

Professor Elm pulled some strings to make Houndour his first Pokemon, and after some discussion, Ash decided to take off. He didn't have any plans to take on the Pokemon League, but he liked the idea of traveling around and taking pictures and meeting new people and Pokemon. He didn't even stay just in Johto, Ash traveled everywhere, taking pictures of every new Pokemon he came across, sometimes even selling some of his pictures to excited trainers.

He did battle occasionally, Pokemon Trainers were persistent buggers, and honestly dealt with legendary Pokemon and saving the world more times than Ash was comfortable admitting. Houndour eventually evolved into Houndoom, and Ash even caught more Pokemon, including but not limited to; an exiled Sneasel(later evolved into a Weavile), a shy Larvitar that Ash hatched(later evolving into a Tyranitar), a very persistent Absol(who was so insistent because Ash was a walking disaster), a very unique Sandile with sunglasses(later evolving into a Krookodile), and a playful little Zorua(who hated her Pokeball).

Unova was really the only Region he attempted the Pokemon league, and that was more so because his Pokemon were bored. While he liked battling, he didn't feel the same spark that Photography gave him. So, at age 14, after getting within the Top 8, Ash decided to venture to Sinnoh to try out Pokemon Contests.

Ash had been surprised about all the different kinds of challenges and contests people could participate in, Gym Challenges, Contests, Showcases, Battle Trials, Mazes, and a bunch of others, and Ash wanted to try them all! Showcases, he deceived, would likely be the hardest as they were seemingly female specific, but he decided to cross that bridge when he came to it. For the time being, Ash was going to tackle being a Coordinator.

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May looked at Jubilife City's contest hall. When her Aunt Johanna asked her to accompany Dawn on her Journey, May had leapt at the chance. She hadn't performed in Johto as well as she had hoped to, and a fresh start was just what she needed, she even had a new Pokemon to accompany her, a little Poochyena she had caught when she visited home right after she returned from Johto, and who also happened to be sitting in her arms.

"Where do we sign up at?" Dawn asked, buzzing with excitement, Piplup equally as excited on her shoulder.

May giggled, her cousin was so adorable! "We can sign up here at the contest hall or at the Pokemon Center." The brunette pointed down the street where the Pokemon Center was.

Dawn looked between the line at the Contest Hall, and the Pokemon Center. "The Contest Hall is pretty packed, we should probably just sign up at Pokemon Center."

"Good idea, we should probably get our Pokemon checked up while we're at it." May smiled down at Poochyena, who looked up at her, his underbite making it look like he was pouting. "Isn't that right Poochyena?" Poochyena tilted his head in confusion. "Gah you are the cutest thing!"

"Piplup!" Piplup huffed in offense, he was the cutest thing, thank you very much!

Dawn giggled and pulled Piplup close to her chest. "Did you find a dress for the contest?" She asked her older cousin. Originally, Dawn was upset her mom made her cousin go with her like a babysitter, but the more time she spent with her cousin, and learning from her, the more Dawn was grateful she was traveling with someone who was so experienced. Yes, they were rivals, but they were also friends and having a rival already made Dawn all the more excited to compete against her. "Mom sent me the dress I forgot at home, she said Nurse Joy should have it!"

May nodded. "Yeah, I brought one with me from Hoenn!" She was excited, after all Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto didn't dress up, so it would be a first for her. "I've never dressed up for a contest before!" She beamed as they stepped foot into the Pokemon Center.

"That's still so weird to me," Dawn admitted, every contest she had ever seen the trainers were dressed up. Afterall, how can a Pokemon look good if the trainer is dressed in sweatpants and a baggy shirt?

May shrugged, she didn't want to get into another debate about what region did Contests better, after all both girls were biased and it only led to tension. For now they decided to agree to disagree. Instead of responding, she looked around the Pokemon Center and led the way to the counter. "Woah!" May pulled Dawn to a stop beside her, and pointed to the guy standing at the left side of the counter. "He looks scary."

Dawn followed May's finger and gulped. He couldn't be much older than May, and he was on the shorter side, but he wore ripped black jeans with a spiked belt, black boots, white shirt with a dark grey Houndour skull design on the front, and a messy dark jean vest. His hair was black, long, and pointing up in every which way, like he didn't know what a hair brush was. Oddly enough, from his neck hung a fancy instant camera. The guy was talking with Nurse Joy as she nodded along, eventually handing him six Pokeballs. Both girls watched as he grabbed the first, and last Pokeballs, and tossed them up, letting out an adorable black fox Pokemon, and a lean black and tan dog Pokemon with curved horns.

"We should probably stay away from a guy like that." Dawn decided, and May nodded.

"We kind of have to pass him to get to Nurse Joy though." May Pointed out. "Just don't make eye contact."

Both girls started walking, looking everywhere but the guy as they walked forward. "Excuse me," May cursed her rotten luck and carefully raised her head. Just as she feared, it was The Guy(™).

"Y-Y-Yes." May stuttered, shakily raising her head to look at him.

"Is that a Poochyena?" May followed his gaze down to her Poochyena, who stared at the guy's Houndoom in what could only be described as awe.

"Uh yeah. He's my newest Pokemon." May offered awkwardly.

The guy's brown eyes instantly lit up and for some reason May was instantly reminded of an excitable Jolteon. "Can I get a Picture?" He asked hopefully, holding up the digital camera he fished out of his pocket.

Taken off guard, May nodded dumbly and set Poochyena on the nearest bench, watching as the guy leaned down to snap photos of him. The fox Pokemon on his shoulder eventually jumped down beside Poochyena, snickering before jumping up and coming back down as Poochyena. The real Poochyena barked happily and the two started playing. He wasn't phased though, and just took a few more pictures before standing up properly. Seeing as he was done, May picked Poochyena back up, getting a wet kiss to the cheek followed by a click sound. Looking back up, she saw the guy now had his instant camera. He pulled out the picture and handed it to her with a big grin.

"As thanks for letting me take a picture of him." Nodding, May accepted the photo of her Poochyena and watched as he, followed by his two Pokemon, vanished out the door.

"He actually seemed pretty nice." Dawn said after a moment, having been silently clinging to May for the entire interaction.

"I guess you really shouldn't judge people by their appearance." May agreed, shaking her head to clear it. She looked down at the photo and audibly gasped. The picture was the moment Poochyena licked her, her face was scrunched in surprise with a small smile while Poochyena's bushy tail was high up in the air. It was an amazing picture, and it made May want to go hunt him down and apologize for the assumptions she and Dawn had made.

"Come on, lets go sign up!" Dawn tugged her cousin's arm, pulling her towards the counter. May let herself be dragged along, pulling out her Ribbon Case to safely tuck the photo away.

'I hope I get to see him again, he seemed kinda cool.' May thought distantly, glancing towards the doors one final time.

====

"May! Look who's going first!" May jolted as Dawn pulled her towards the monitors, where Coordinators could watch the other contestants. Looking up, May openly gaped.

"Friend of yours?" Zoey, another Coordinator that she and Dawn had met after a wardrobe malfunction, asked but May didn't listen, instead staring at The Guy(™), who was now on the Performance stage with a Absol.

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"Coming to us from Johto, we have Ash Ketchum!" Marian called out, hyping up the crowd as Ash ran out on stage with a bright grin. Ash didn't dress much differently than he usually did, though he wore black leather pants, a pristine white shirt, and a seamless black jacket paired with stainless black combat boots.

"Absol, I choose you!" With a stormy cloud sticker on the ball capsule, Ash threw out Absol. The White furred quadruped took the stage, with black smoke rolling off her in dark waves.

"Sol." She cooed, standing elegantly in front of her trainer, standing out beautifully against his black attire.

"Double Team." Absol didn't so much as blink before five duplicates appeared on stage, perfectly uniform. "Now, Perish Song." A single Absol raised her head, and howled, the sound was oddly beautiful, though it sounded melancholy, like a song meant to send off those who had passed. Visual red sound waves fluctuated and ripped across the stage, tearing the clones made by Double Team apart, scattering white glittering afterimages everywhere. "Night Slash."The second Absol lowered her head, the horn on the side of her glowed bright white. Absol took off running, smashing her horn into each sound wave, destroying them and absorbing the excess energy and making the horn glow a soft melancholy red. She destroyed every sound wave until all that was left was Absol standing in the middle of the field, her horn glowing and reflecting off of her miraculous white pelt.

With their performance done, Ash and Absol bowed, and excused themselves, Absol bounding up to Ash happily, and jumping on him while he greeted her with bright praise and soft pets.

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May blinked away her awe as a new flair of competitive spirit took hold of her. May knew Contest Absol, she was rivals/friends with Drew after all, but she had never seen an Absol's moves be used like Ash, apparently that was his name,had. It was beautiful, and oddly dark and compelling.

A wild grin pulled at her lips. She couldn't wait to see him in the battle round!