When Ash first traveled to Sinnoh in the anime, Team Rocket didn't capture Pikachu, so Pikachu wasn't found in the forest by Dawn, so Ash and Dawn never met. Ash traveled across Sinnoh with Brock only, and Dawn traveled across Sinnoh by herself. However, both of them still achieved their goals over the years. Ash became a Pokemon Master and Dawn became a Top Coordinator. Eventually, they got married (not to each other!), and had children. Ash had a son named Alex, and Dawn had a daughter named Julia. But six years later, Ash's wife was killed. At around the same time, Dawn's husband divorced her. Both Ash and Dawn were heartbroken and were now left alone to raise their children. A year after his wife's death, Ash and his son left Pallet Town and moved away to Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh, hoping to get a new start.