Chapter Text
Ashley felt bad for sicking the reporters on Harry she really did. However she wanted to get away from those reporters asap and he just so happened to be the one she saw first. Still she made a silent vow to herself that his sacrifice will not be in vain.
As she managed to make it back to the hotel she let out a sign of relief. She had to start planning for her match against Ariel but first taking care of her team and a shower for herself.
Sneaking past the crowd at the lobby she paused as she spotted Dawn standing next to a woman who looked similar to her, probably her mother then she had an idea. She remembered when talking earlier that she worked part time at a grooming salon.
Sneaking up behind her she heard Dawn gushing about her performance causing her to smile slightly. Before she knew it she was standing right behind Dawn and she hadn’t noticed her yet.
Her mom however did as she looked highly amused
“I just want to know how she comes up with this stuff you know?” Dawn told her mother smiling clutching her weather mistress towel
“I’m sure you do” Johanna said with a smirk looking at her daughter and the coordinator standing behind her
Suddenly she put hand on Dawn’s shoulder causing the girl to let out a cute squeak and slight jump as she turned around and saw Ashley. “I’m glad you enjoyed it” she told her as she giggled watching Dawn turn red and put her face into her hands in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
“So I was going to pamper and groom my team before taking a shower and preparing for tomorrow. Would you like to help me” Ashley asked dawn as she perked up
“Really,” Dawn asked excitedly as she saw Ashley nod to her. “YES I would love to” Dawn shouted bouncing up and down
“Great just one more person to ask.” Ashley said before turning to Johanna, “Mind if I kidnap her for a little bit, I’ll try and return her in one piece”
Snorting at the Ashley’s question and seeing the hopeful eyes of her daughter nodded giving her permission “Yes you can kidnap my daughter a few hours”
She was interrupted by a hug that knocked the air out of her as Dawn held her in a vice grip. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
She let go of her mom as Ashley grabbed her hand and dragged her away with Dawn excitedly following. After a few minutes of waiting for the elevator they made it up to Ashley’s room where she was dragged inside.
After they were inside Ashley grabbed out her pokeballs before turning to Dawn. Waiting for a moment to let the suspense build she spoke “Dawn meet the Pantheon”
She released her team letting all ten out while Dawn was looking with wide eyes from where she was sitting on the bed.
“You Have a Lucario and an Absol. Plus Chione evolved oh my Arceus she looks beautiful” Dawn gushed looking at her team.
Chione let out a chuffed snort as if asking if it was ever a question. Meanwhile Ashley was enjoying her reaction with an amused smile on her face.
“Janus and Pluto are the newest members of the Pantheon. They didn’t join until after I got my fifth ribbon,” She then looked at Janus and snorted. “Plus Janus might kill me if I tried having him partake in a contest”
“I would only help if given good enough reason” Janus replied
“He can talk” Dawn yelped out, falling backwards in shock from the response.
“Less talking and more using aura to communicate telepathically” Ashley said laughing at her reaction. “Let me grab my supplies and we can get started just make sure to avoid Mars, Janus, and Pluto”
After going through her bag she brought out her grooming supplies. There were brushes of different sizes, body washes, scale polish, towels, bottles of spray for Proserpina, and even polish for Neptune’s shell.
After handing Dawn a brush Mercury jumped into her lap which caused dawn to start scratching his chin as Ashley grabbed another brush and started working with Pluto.
After some time with Ashley having worked on Pluto, Mars, Janus, and Proserpina and Dawn working on Mercury, Venus, Vulcan, and Chione they moved on to working with Neptune together.
Not able to help herself any longer, Dawn finally started asking questions.
“So what made you decide to do both gym battles and contests” she asked only to be shocked by the response she received
“Spite” Ashley immediately said with a wide grin on her face that did not match her answer at all.
“... WHAT” Dawn shouted out in shock at such an answer.
“Back in Fuchsia City I was training with Venus and Vulcan and two girls started insulting them saying that gym challengers and their Pokemon were barbaric.” Ashley said, shaking her head at the memory. “Venus though they looked fun and I wanted to prove them wrong not only did I enjoy them but we won while those girls didn’t even make it past the appeal round”
“Wow, I didn't expect that. I always knew I wanted to be a coordinator so I never thought of it happening like that” Dawn said surprised how her idol became who she was because of chance
“Let me give you some advice someone wise once said “A new day brings new opportunities; So don't be afraid to take a chance, it may lead to something wonderful””
“Who said that?” Dawn asked in awe as they were both now sitting on Neptune with dawn having her notebook out.
“Me I did” Ashley said with a smug grin
“You wise? Yesterday you decided to see how many marshmallows you could fit in your mouth” Janus questioned
“It was for science and was important to figure out besides I can be wise” Ashley defended sticking her tongue out at him
“Didn’t you read that quote off a fortune cookie a week ago” Janus continued
“Details, Besides I said someone wise said it not that I was the first” Ashley countered bantering back
Dawn couldn’t help but laugh at the play by play. She still looked up to Ashley but she was glad to see her like this and how down to earth she was. It made her for all her awe relate to her more making her believe she could be like her in the future
“So how did you become the weather mistress what made you decide to master it” Dawn asked intently
“It may surprise you but the Kanto gym leaders played a big part” Ashley said after thinking for a moment before responded
“Really” Dawn asked in surprise
“When I started my journey I went a different route than normal and went to Cinnabar first. That was where I met Vulcan.” Ashley started
“When I met Blaine I asked him to train me. I had two fire types and I wanted to train them correctly. He was the one who taught me how attacks should look and the importance of Sunny Day.” Ashley reminisced, “He was the one who helped me learn about power and the how of battling and moves how to use them and to make the most of them
“After that I trained with Koga. Unlike Blaine he focused on the why. Why you used a move, why you use it the way you do. He taught me to plan ahead and how to make the most of a move with the least amount and learning control” Ashley continued as Dawn was furiously writing down everything in her notebook.
“Erika taught me how to make the most out of my environment and how to stay calm under pressure. She helped teach how to present myself and how there can be elegance in battle” Ashley smiled remembering her talks with her
“Next was Brock who helped me expand my diversity and helped me improve my terrain manipulation. He taught me the importance of variety and helped show I still had ways to improve with terrain” Ashley said with a fond look on her face.
“Finally Surge put me through boot camp and helped teach me how to move. He helped with Stamina and dodging which is always helpful in battle. He also helped with strategy with our talks about it and debating on them” She shuddered remembering
“However, despite all that I made it my own. Never force yourself to be someone your not everyone is different and has different skills. That is one of the most important lessons I can teach you” Ashley said looking back at Dawn straight into her eyes to make sure she made her point
Dawn was still hurriedly writing everything down as if she stopped she would forget everything.
“They really helped you a lot didn’t they?” Dawn asked softly in awe after taking a moment to finish writing everything down.
If you looked at the notebook pages it was filled with notes on what she learned any why with several word underlined like control, presence, diversity and power
“They did. It’s getting late and almost time for you to return to your mom so let me give you one last piece of advice. Your team is more than just some Pokemon, they are your family. Respect them if you want them to respect you. They will trust in you if you trust them. They will take care of you if you take care of them always remember that as it is the most important part of being a trainer” Ashley said
As she said that her team gathered around her snuggling up to her as if to prove her point. Dawn was nearly in tears over how beautiful the scene was after a moment to collect herself she finally spoke
“I’ll make sure to always remember it as long as I live” Dawn said drying her eyes
As she was getting ready to leave and go back to her mom Ashley stopped her.
“Wait one last thing close your eyes for a moment” Ashley told her
Not having a reason to distrust her Dawn closed her eyes as she felt her hair move. After a few minutes Ashley spoke to her, “Okay open your eyes now”
Opening her eyes Dawn saw she was now looking at a mirror that Ashley was holding and as she looked she noticed something else. Her hair was now done up like Ashley's, including being held together by a Sakura hair pin. The same one Ashley typical wore during contests
“T-t-this i-is,” Dawn stuttered out before managing to collect herself. “I can’t keep this this is yours” She all but shouted trying to deny it.
“It was mine but now I have passed it on to you. Think of it as payment for your help as well as my way of saying I believe in you and your ability to be a top coordinator as well” Ashley told her smiling softly patting her head
Suddenly Ashley let out an oof as she fell to the ground. Laying on top of her was dawn hugging her as if she let go she would wake up and realize this was all a dream. Sitting there a moment she finally wrapped her arms around Dawn hugging here back
“There there no need to wo- VULCAN MERCURY NO” Ashley started to comfort but was interrupted as Vulcan and Mercury tackled into them joining the group hug. After a moment Venus and Chione joined in as well but with more decorum than jumping in.
Finally after a few minutes Dawn let go and stood up.
“Sorry about that I got really emotional” Dawn told Ashley with tears of joy in her eyes
“Don’t worry While a surprise it was a pleasant one” Ashley said waving of Dawn’s embarrassment
“Hey quick question who will you use in the battle round tomorrow” Dawn suddenly asked
“You're not getting it that easily. I already told you my appeal choice ahead I have to leave some surprises” Ashley countered with a smirk of her own as she saw Dawn pout at the response
“Well I’m heading back. Thank you for letting me help. You have no idea what tonight has meant for me” Dawn told Ashley, holding the door handle.
After Dawn left Ashley stood there for a moment before reaching out and rubbing behind Chione’s ears. “She’s going to go far one day I just know it” she said softly as her team around her listened to her speak.
“Well I need to shower and get ready tomorrow we are going to crush it
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Meanwhile with Dawn she was finally back at her room as as she walked in her mom looked at her with a smile.
The first thing she noticed was how her hair was done as she smiled to herself at seeing that. The next thing she noticed was how happy Dawn was. She was smiling so much her cheeks were threatening to split
“Enjoy your time with your Idol” Johanna asked Dawn
Instead of getting a verbal response Dawn rushed forward and hugged her mother before she started babbling and talking about what she had done and what Ashley had taught her.
“Coming here was definitely worth it. You’ve done more than you realize and I can’t thank you enough Ashley Ketchum” Johanna though happily as she saw how happy her daughter was as well as the new fire she noticed lit inside her soul