Third Person's POV

Ash freezes upon seeing the girl laying on the ground with no signs of moving. "Dawn!" Ash cries out and runs towards her. "Shinx use spark to distract them!"

Ash kneels beside Dawn and is relieved to hear her breathe, they're really hard and heavy however. He feels her forehead and it feels like the magma of Cinnabar Volcano. "Guys we need to get away from them!" Ash says to the Pokémon and they nod in understanding.

He packs up their small campsite quickly before calling out to Shinx who is still busy shocking the daylight out of Team Rocket. The Pokémon sends one more burst into the ground, shooting up a mixture of smoke and dust in between them.

Ash picks up Dawn bridal style and bolts away with the Pokémon. The faster and more agile Pokémon pick up or help speed up some of the slower ones.

They run in no special direction, Ash's only goal is to get as faraway as possible. It would be nice if he's going in the direction of the next town...

Like his legs, Ash's mind is racing like a Latios. Questions like "how did she get so sick?" and "was it my fault?" are the two main ones.

If only he had asked her about it.

Maybe he could've prevented it.

What if... Ash shakes the thoughts out his head after spotting a lake in the distance.

He pushes through the last wall of trees and nearly collapses beside it in exhaustion. It's an area that makes you want to stop and relax but Ash can't do that right now.

He sets Dawn carefully on the lush grass, benefiting from the lake. "The handbook," Ash remembers and pulls it out of his backpack. In turn, spilling everything he hastily packed away.

Ash looks over at Dawn occasionally while flipping through the pages, almost as if he's waiting for her to tell him what page he needs to follow. Piplup is using his soft flippers to cool off her forehead with water, even he knows what to do.

"Water..." Ash mutters and a very important memory comes to him. "My mom would be a cold cloth on my head whenever I had a... uh..."

"Shinx!" The electric type tries to get the boy's attention.

Dawn is now shivering while curled up into a ball almost. Her face is scrunched up in pain, almost like her body is trying to tell Ash to hurry up.

He forgets about the book and throws a blanket over her. She subconsciously reacts and clutches it with her pale hands to bring it closer. Ash removes her beanie and hair clips in case they are making her head hot while the rest of her body is freezing.

He's not a doctor.

Ash sits down beside her and reaches over  for the book. "It's gotta be in here somewhere," He mumbles while scanning over each page carefully. "It's like she's on fire while sitting on an ice cube." He describes the symptoms to himself.

He begins to wonder if all of this reading is worth it but then a page pops out at him.

FEVER- Pokémon and Human Treatment.

Fevers can happen quite suddenly but do not stress too much about them. Every fever I have encountered wasn't because of anything someone did wrong, just the body reacting to an unusual change in lifestyle or it took something in the wrong way.

Fevers aren't very serious and can go away on their own with rest. But it's very important to keep the ill person safe from any factors like wind, rain, etc, since the smallest of things can make the fever worse.

So just remember to give them rest, fresh berries are always good, and if they have a very high fever it isn't a bad idea to wrap them in a blanket and keep their forehead cool.

"Alright," Ash says a bit more relieved while closing up the book.

"Okay everybody," Ash calls all twelve Pokémon over, minus Piplup who is busy. "Wait there's only ten of you plus Piplup." He takes a long look at the confused Pokémon before rolling his eyes.

"Wurmple now isn't the time," Ash says and the leaves of a nearby bush rustle. Ash stares at the bush and waits for a string shot to come firing out.

"Wurr," She crawls out with a sad look.

"Thanks Wurmple," Ash smiles and begins to address them again. "So it looks like we'll be here a few days so Dawn can get better."

"But there's nowhere better than a forest like this to get stronger in," Ash says and the Pokémon cheer approvingly. "I do have a few jobs for you guys first but after that you can train, swim, relax, or whatever your heart desires."

"Starly, Zubat, since you two can fly I want you to find some berries," Ash says and Starly grabs Ash's backpack before emptying it and flying off. "Should have been more specific," He shakes his head.

"Geodude, Cranidos, Shieldon, you three are going to be the muscle today so can you three help build a campsite?" Ash asks. "I'll be helping you guys but we should build some shelters in case in rains and you guys will stay dry."

The rock types nod and head off. "Magby I think you should be able to help me with the fire while the rest of you can do whatever you want," Ash smiles and heads towards his pile of belongings.

With the Pokémon's help, he puts up his tent and carries Dawn inside. Piplup wastes no time carrying a bucket of water inside so he can continue his job. "Good job Piplup," Ash chuckles while watching him and Shinx work together to keep Dawn comfortable.

Piplup doing the work while Shinx snuggles up against the girl.

Ash gives them a warm smile before heading outside and working with all the Pokémon. They got a few shelters that have a roof at the very least. Zubat and Starly found a lot of food, a backpack full to be exact.

And now the whole situation is feeling a little bit better. It's all about how you master what life throws at you, not necessarily how you master what has already come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day.

The morning sun has been shining down for about an hour now. The only sound being the quiet murmurs of the Pokémon who are enjoying the peaceful lifestyle in the forest.

Ash is trying to make pancakes while Zubat blows the sweet (and slightly burned) smell towards the tent. The lure does eventually work and a drowsy blunette walks out.

Dawn looks completely different than usual but that doesn't matter to Ash. Her messed up hair, tired look, and wrinkled clothing will never be able to hide her beauty. However...

Ash can't help but laugh at the girl who takes hours a day making sure she's picture perfect.

"I look like a train wreck," Dawn sighs and picks up Magby who was happy to see the girl awake. "Get out your jokes now."

"It's not that," Ash chuckles. "I like your new style." He brings over a plate of slightly crispy pancakes to the picnic table.

"Thanks," She gives him a small smile before slowly eating up the breakfast. Almost like each bite takes all of her energy to perform. "How long I have been out?"

"Let's just say I grew a moustache during your sleep," Ash jokes and Dawn rolls her eyes.

"Only men have facial hair."

"You're back to normal," Ash winks while Dawn giggles herself.

"I never knew you had healing powers," Dawn states.

"It was a team effort," Ash looks around at all the Pokémon who are greeting Dawn.

"Well I should thank you all," Dawn beams, giving Ash a look to say more than thank you. She then massages her temple, obviously not felling a hundred percent yet.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine really, I've dragged you behind long enough."

"Starly went for a fly around the area and based on where he indented the map, we only have a few more hours of walking. So you should just take it easy until lunch."

"That lake does look inviting," Dawn eyes it up. "I need to clean myself up too."

"We have all day," Ash smiles. "Well technically not all day but you get the idea."

"Just stop talking," Dawn giggles. "Don't come into the tent Ketchum."

"But it's my tent," Ash smirks but the girl's glare ended that. "I'm just joking."

While Ash trained hard with most of their Pokémon, Dawn let her body catch up with everything it has had to endure.

After a quick swim and a long makeover, Dawn spent most of the time drawing in her sketch book. She didn't expect so many ideas to flow to her after leaving on the journey. All the sketches are dreams for another passion though.

Dawn's headache and other remnants of the fever go away, bringing her good health finally. After a nice carb filled lunch to boost her energy, the two get ready to leave...

"All the Pokémon are rounded up," Ash puts away his half of the pokeballs. Shinx takes his usual position on Ash's hat to signify that he's ready to go.

"Floaroma Town here we come!" Dawn cheers and the two head towards the direction Starly thinks they have to go.

"Not so fast princess!" A feminine voice says and a string shot hits Ash in the chest before pushing him against a tree.

"How does it feel now?" The Team Rocket Grunt James walks out with Jessie and Meowth.

"Shinx!" Ash calls out while Dawn watches, frozen in fear.

"No you don't kitty," Meowth throws a net over the electric type which absorbs the blow.

Shinx struggles to get free but doesn't get any closer to freedom. "This was easy," Jessie remarks while the three creep closer to Dawn.

"We forgot our motto," James realizes and Jessie gives him the look.

"Now is not the time," Meowth protests but...

"Is that a voice I hear?" Jessie sings but then string wraps around her.

"Forget about me?" Dawn winks and reveals a Wurmple behind her.

"Looks like she's awake this time," James smirks.

"Wurmple use tackle!" Jessie orders her bug type.

"Poison sting Dawn," Ash grunts while trying to escape the sticky substance.

"Use poison sting," Dawn calls out to her own bug type.

Wurmple shoots thin purple needles at the charging Wurmple. The poison type attack stops the Pokémon who is now trying to shake away any lasting effects of the attack.

"String shot!" Jessie yells.

"You too!" Dawn copies.

The two Wurmple-made strings hit their targets and start to cover one another. Their red colour disappears in white silk but then light starts to emanate from them.

The light swirls around them and there's now two new Pokémon there...

The one in front of Dawn has a beautiful silk colour with perfectly formed needles. She has soft red eyes that can warm you up, a beautiful Pokémon.

The one in front of Jessie isn't the same. She has a purple colour with sharp daring eyes that burn through your skull. Doesn't exactly scream grace and beauty.

"What an ugly Pokémon!" Jessie screams in disgust.

Dawn gets ready to defend her Pokémon but then notices that Jessie is yelling at her own Pokémon. But that isn't going to stop Dawn either. "That's your own Pokémon you're talking about!" Dawn screams in anger.

"So what?!" Jessie yells back.

"Piplup use your beak to free Shinx," Dawn growls, not breaking her eye contact with Jessie.

As much as Meowth wants to steal the shiny Shinx, now isn't the time. He's also a feline who loves drama and watching this unfold is more important than delaying their inevitable failure.

Jessie brings out the Pokémon's pokeball and crushes it in her hands which is both terrifying and aggravating. 

"Shinx shock them to the moon!"

__________________________

Looks like Team Rocket may be blasting off soon.

This is more of a setup chapter for a bigger grou— I should stop there. But I tried to make it exciting.

See you guys next chapter!!!!!!!!