Chapter Text
“Well… we can’t just leave him here.” Dawn glances over at Emmet who is standing against the fence to the daycare, seemingly enjoying watching the Pokémon run around. “I don’t know how the hell he got here, since this has never happened before, but we probably shouldn’t drag him along with us. Maybe we can bring him back to the lab? That way if he ends up somehow going back they can examine the portal energy or something?”
“You’re the expert,” Barry shrugs.
“Sounds reasonable enough,” Lucas nods. “I’ll go call the Professor and let him know what happened.” He walks off, tapping the screen on his Pokétch.
Dawn glances sideways at Barry. He looks happier, all things considered. She nudges him with her elbow. “Feeling better?”
He sighs with a small smile. “Yeah, I guess so. Time travel or not, I’m still going to beat you next time we fight, though!” He points a finger at her. “Now that I know your secret, it’ll be simple. I’ll just think of what I’d normally do, and do the opposite!”
This idiot… Dawn lets out a breathy laugh and pulls him into a tight hug. “Never change, man,” she mumbles into his hair, relief prickling the corners of her eyes with moisture. He hugs back with a smile; always wearing his heart on his sleeve, that’s Barry for you.
They break apart when Lucas returns. “Everything alright?” He asks, looking between the two of them. Barry gives him a thumbs up. “My father is in the area, so he’ll come to us and escort Emmet back to the lab. We’ll just have to wait a few hours for him to get here, if that’s fine with you guys.”
“Oh, okay, that actually works great. Guess we can spend some extra time here then.” Dawn taps her foot, thinking. “How about this? You two can go visit the café up north; there’s a pair of tough ranchers and some rare Pokémon collectors there. Bring back a dozen Moomoo Milk, will you? Here—” She presses a wad of Pokédollars into Lucas’ hand. “And take a well-deserved break while you’re there. I’ll let Emmet know what the plan is and keep an eye on him… I could use a bit of downtime myself, to be honest.”
Lucas’ eyes gleam at the mention of rare Pokémon; she knew that would catch his attention. “Alright, sounds good. Hey—” He catches Barry by the shoulder as they turn to leave. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
The tips of Barry’s ears turn red as he visibly flushes with embarrassment. “You didn’t see any of that,” he insists. “I’m a big, tough guy, honest!”
“Mhm, sure…” Lucas smiles teasingly at him as they walk away, the sounds of Barry’s flustered protests fading into the distance. Dawn rolls her eyes at them and crosses the road to stand next to Emmet.
“So… Professor Rowan is the regional professor here, and he’s sending his assistant who also happens to be Lucas’ dad to come pick you up. That way we can make sure you’re not having any side effects from the whole… portal thing. Does that sound okay?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Emmet shifts his weight, swaying from side-to-side as though anxious.
The two of them stand there awkwardly. They make quite the pair: a short, tired-looking young lady and a tall, oddly-dressed man, both watching the Buneary run and play in the field beyond the fence. “How do you feel?” Dawn eventually asks.
“Hm… I feel lost. Confused and worried. My brother is strong, but we are stronger together. I hope he is okay.”
“I guess it’s only natural to be worried about him. I’m sure wherever he is, he’s missing you just as much.” She pauses, uncomfortably aware that promises to fix things may not hold much weight coming from her. “You’re not alone,” she eventually says. “We’ve got your back until things straighten themselves out, alright?”
Emmet turns to her with a small smile and nods. “Thank you,” he says again. “I am strong, I will be fine. Ingo is strong too, he will also be fine. I will wait to meet him again.”
“That’s the spirit.” Dawn catches a glimpse of the Lost Tower in the distance and purses her lips. She should probably go visit… “Hey, uh, I have a quick errand I need to go do. Are you good to stay here or… ah, you should probably come with me just in case.”
Emmet salutes. “I will come with you. Safety is important!” With that settled, Dawn leads them through the town toward the Lost Tower. On the way, she picks a few of the berries growing next to the Pokémart, hesitating for a long moment before replanting them.
As they enter the tower, the air becomes solemn and quiet around them. Emmet looks around curiously, face blank. Maybe they don’t have this kind of mass gravesite in Unova? Dawn contemplates this as she heads up the stairs, keeping her eyes down. Her first visit she had been challenged by a handful of trainers eager to distract themselves from their mourning, but over time she’s come to understand the unspoken rule of the tower: if someone looks like they don’t want to fight, don’t bother them. With this strategy she makes it up to the second floor and moves toward the far corner, Emmet trailing behind her.
There is a certain grave that she tries to visit every loop to remind herself of why she always sticks to the moral path. The Roughneck, Kirby, is already sitting slumped over in front of the grave, his Cleffa by his side. As Dawn approaches, he looks up and they make eye contact. He makes to get up but she shakes her head to signal that she’s not looking for a fight, and he settles back down.
She approaches the grave and runs her fingers across the engraving there. Three Pokémon’s names, etched into cold stone. “My Pokémon were taken from me…” Kirby croaks. “Team Galactic did it… Ever since, I’ve never forgiven their faces.”
The first time they had this conversation, Dawn had been shocked silent, putting together the pieces that out of his entire team, only Cleffa had been spared due to Team Galactic’s obsession with space. The second time, she had tried to gather as much information as she could about what had happened. Now, though, all she can do is accept her own helplessness. The incident had happened months before the beginning of her journey, outside of the reach of the loops. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs. There’s nothing she can do to help.
The Roughneck takes a deep breath in, then exhales. “I’m not doing them any favors acting like this,” he mumbles. “I can’t be wallowing around forever. I gotta move on and turn the page.”
Moving on … Dawn lets her hand drop from the smooth stone. Although Marbles and the rest of her old Pokémon don’t have a physical grave, she’s come to see this one as a monument to them all. Innocent souls ripped away by Team Galactic… and those lost to time as well. The raw grief swells up in her throat for a moment before she chokes it back down, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Take your time,” she says to the man still sitting on the ground. “You can’t rush healing. The world will still be here tomorrow.”
Cleffa chirps her agreement and the Roughneck sighs. “You’re pretty wise for a kid,” he comments, glancing at her. “You lose someone to them, too?”
She nods and he makes a noise of understanding. A few more minutes pass in silence before Kirby gets up and brushes himself off. “Alright, time to go home,” he says, scooping Cleffa up off the ground. He nods at Dawn. “Take care of yourself, kid.”
“You too.” He leaves and that’s Dawn’s cue to head out too. She takes the handful of fresh berries she had just picked and places them at the foot of the grave as an offering. Most likely the Zubat in here will eat them, but it’s the thought that counts. “I’ll stop Team Galactic,” she whispers. “I promise.”
~
It’s afternoon by the time Lucas’ father arrives, and the trio say their farewells to Emmet. “Nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” Dawn shakes his hand.
“I am Emmet. We will meet again, and battle! It will be fun, okay?”
Lucas’ father hugs him and hands over a small bag of snacks as a gift before greeting Emmet and offering him a copy of the map so he can see where they’re headed. Dawn, Lucas and Barry wave goodbye as the two men walk down Route 209, turning the corner and disappearing from view. Dawn sighs. “Somehow things are getting even weirder around here.” She turns to the others, sipping from the chocolate Moomoo Milk they had given her. “Well, we should be able to get to Veilstone before sunset. Shall we?”
The tall grass is even taller here— just a little bit above eye-level— forcing Dawn to stand on her tiptoes in order to see over it. Because it’s a little too much effort to pull out their bikes just to get over the hill, the three decide to walk around it. The coarse blades of grass scratch at Dawn’s skin as she parts it with her hands and steps through, keeping an eye out for other trainers.
They make it through the field without incident, and Barry waves to a father-daughter duo of ranchers. They wave back, clearly recognizing him. He must have battled them like I suggested, Dawn thinks, smiling.
The smile drops from her face as they turn the corner to Route 215. Rain comes down in sheets, flooding the paths and drenching the unfortunate trainers that are training or passing through. Dawn likes a little rain, but this is ridiculous! The water soaks through her shoes and hat, trickling down her forehead and the back of her neck. The boys don’t seem to be faring any better: Lucas is fruitlessly trying to hide under his bag, while Barry’s hair looks like a sad Glameow.
Dawn’s honestly not sure if she’s ever seen this place when it’s not raining before. Usually when she’s alone she just sprints through as fast as she can, but now that there’s three of them she kind of feels bad for not stopping to buy umbrellas.
Thankfully, the temperature is tolerable, so they’re able to walk through without risk of hypothermia. Lucas enjoys a battle against a few rare fossil Pokémon, and toward the end of the route Dawn and Barry take on some Ace Trainers. The pair had whooped Dawn’s ass the first time she fought them, but between her Pokémon and Barry’s they luckily are able to make quick work of them.
The rain dies down as they step into Veilstone City. Although not as busy as Jubilife, Dawn can feel the big city energy in the air. The thorny Galactic HQ building looms in the distance, taunting her with its existence. The setting sun casts a brilliant orange sheen over the whole place.
Two Galactic Grunts stand at their posts outside of the Galactic Warehouse, eying them as they enter the city. Dawn gives them such an intense glare that one of them actually takes a step back. Ha, small victories. She would try and force her way into the warehouse for the Fly HM immediately, but she’ll end up needing the gym badge anyway to be able to use it, and she wants Looker as backup just in case. For legal reasons. So, first things first: get some rest. Then, to find Looker and challenge the gym.
The Pokémon Center thankfully has towels that they use to dry off. At least Lemon and Plum seemed to enjoy the rain. After that, a nice hot meal of rice and soup warms them up before they head off to bed.
The next day, Dawn discusses her plan with the boys. “Let’s go to the department store and stock up on supplies. After I’ll go do the gym challenge and you guys can hang out and try the Game Corner, or stay and watch, whichever one you want. Then Barry can challenge the gym, and while he’s doing that I have a plan to get the Fly HM. Sound good?”
“Alright, shopping first? Let’s do it!”
Walking into the Veilstone Department Store, the three are hit with a cold rush of air-conditioned air and the lingering scent of luxury. Velvet-lined cases filled with pristinely-packed Pokéballs, Potions and other medicines decorate the aisles of the ground floor. Dawn snags a 10-pack of Pokéballs and some other loose odds and ends before the three of them take the escalator down to the basement.
Here they pick up some onigiri for breakfast before getting some snacks for their Pokémon. Lucas uses a scoop to bag a variety of berries from the self-serve bulk section, while Dawn and Barry take a look at the imported food area. Dawn’s already seen it all before but being with her friends is making the experience so much more fun. The RageCandyBar is sold out as usual but she grabs a couple of Lava Cookies for her Pokémon.
They skim through the rest of the floors purchasing a few other bits and pieces— Dawn even decides to buy a stuffed Chatot doll to carry around with her— before heading out. This next gym is tough, but as far as she can remember not memorably so. The main bump in the road is Maylene’s Lucario, who has enough power to knock out most everyone on her team. Dawn’s… not quite sure what her plan is for that yet. She’s just going to wing it.
Stopping outside the gym, the boys wish her luck. “You’ve got this!” Barry slaps her on the back. “Don’t break their fighting spirit too much, I’m going next, remember?”
“You’ve got a good matchup,” Lucas gives a thumbs up. “We might go check out the rest of the city for a bit, but we’ll be back to root for you during the final match. Barry wants the intel,” he chuckles. Barry stomps his foot at having been sold out.
“You should go talk to the guy that lives behind the Pokémon Center then,” Dawn suggests, hiding a smile behind her hand at their antics. “He’s got an interesting Pokémon that I think you’d enjoy meeting.” And if she’s right about things, Lucas may find himself the happy owner of a new Porygon in the near future.
Upon entering the gym, the faint scent of salonpas and sweat fills the air. It’s warm inside from all the movement, so Dawn leaves her coat and scarf in a locker before rolling up her mental sleeves. Alright, it’s time to do this.
The gym puzzle is fairly easy after having done it a dozen times, although it had tripped her up when she had first tried it. Thankfully there is no requirement to actually kick or punch the punching bags, so Dawn like most of the other gym challengers simply braces herself and gives them a hard push to clear the way forward. The real challenge is the fights.
Licorice makes for a very tiny figure versus the first trainer’s Machoke. He tanks a Low Kick well, but the Machoke’s other attacks do a little too much damage for Dawn to feel comfortable. During the fight Licorice learns Psychic, which is a big step up from the Confusion he was previously using. He even evolves into Kirlia right after the fight. But Dawn still isn’t sure about using him versus Maylene. Even Psychic can’t one-shot most of the opponents in the gym.
It’s during the second battle that she comes up with an idea. This trainer and Maylene both use Meditite, which poses much less of a threat to Licorice than Machoke. Using a combination of Calm Mind, Double Team and Super Potions, Licorice is able to set up safely and sweep the rest of the team. Dawn decides that’s the strategy she’ll use, with Pepper and Pumpkin in the back in case things go south.
Upon reaching Maylene, Dawn takes a moment just to look at her. In another life, Candice had invited the two of them to train with her after their gym battle, and after hours in the brutal cold they had retreated to Candice’s living quarters in the back of her gym to gossip and drink hot chocolate together. It’s one of Dawn’s most treasured memories, even if the two have no idea it ever happened.
But that’s enough reminiscing. Dawn’s here for a reason, and if she doesn’t concentrate she will lose this fight. She walks up the steps and greets Maylene. The battle begins.
Immediately things go horribly wrong. Maylene’s Meditite knows Fake Out, which while unfortunate wouldn’t have been a real problem… except it gets a critical hit! Licorice starts setting up her Double Teams, but she’s already at half health. Disgustingly bad luck.
It gets worse. Meditite’s next Confusion confuses Licorice, who starts to hurt himself while trying to get his stacks of Calm Mind. Rock Tomb also slows him down. He’s… gonna need to tank a few more hits than Dawn thought. At this point she considers abandoning the strategy entirely. But the moment she does so, there’s no way to start it back up with the right momentum. This is all or nothing.
The Confusion lasts 5 turns and the Meditite keeps getting crits. Dawn has to resist the urge to pull out her Pokédex and check the Meditite’s ability. There’s no way it has this much luck naturally, right?
Licorice limps through the fight with Meditite and Machoke, finally managing to set up and going for the killing blows. Lucario comes out with a narrow glare and Dawn weighs her options. Licorice’s at under half health and will definitely faint if hit a single time. Plus, he’s down 2 stages of speed, and the Lucario is several levels above him, so it will almost certainly be going first.
Dawn’s invested too much into this strategy to wimp out now and switch Licorice out. But should she try to heal Licorice, or go for the kill? If Licorice doesn’t manage to dodge, she’s not even sure the healing will matter. Lucario might still one-shot him. Plus, if she heals, Licorice will need to dodge two attacks in a row, statistically unlikely.
On the field, Licorice turns slightly and glances at Dawn over his shoulder. Trust me , his eyes say. I can do it. Dawn hesitates before nodding. She trusts her Pokémon. She takes the gamble.
“Psychic!”
Lucario goes for the kill, claws flashing metal sharp. He lunges and one of the many illusory clones on the field takes the hit, dissolving into nothingness. With hopefully eyes, Dawn watches as Lucario is enveloped in psychic energy and flung all the way across the field, slamming into the wall with full force. He slumps and faints.
“Yes!” The clones disappear and Licorice walks back, tired but glowing with happiness. Dawn hugs him and pats his head, giving him a berry as a reward and to heal him up a bit until they can get to the Pokémon Center. “You did great, I’m so proud of you,” she says. Licorice beams.
Maylene offers some words of congratulations and Dawn clicks the Cobble Badge into her badge case. 4 down, 4 to go. She thanks Maylene but stops herself from saying anything more. She doesn’t want to come off as some sort of parasocial fan. It’s best to just leave things alone, even if it hurts.
As she walks down the side of the gym toward the entrance, she notices the boys aren’t around. Hmm… it’s possible they just lost track of time at the Game Corner, but… she has a bad feeling about this.