Chapter Text
Loop ?
Dawn opens her eyes to the ceiling of her childhood room. Then she buries her face in the pillow and cries.
Loop 3
She remembers the first time she did this, how excited she had been to receive her first Pokémon and go on an adventure across the region. How naive and unprepared she was for the real world.
She knows better, now. She won’t make the same mistakes again.
Loop 2
“Hi, honey. Barry came calling for you a little while ago. I don’t know what it was about, but he said it was an emergency.” Her mom goes back to watching her contest shows, not noticing the way Dawn fidgets in confusion.
The last thing she remembers was being at Spear Pillar, facing down the legendary Pokémon alone, her Empoleon laying bruised and battered behind her.
“Um… Mom? What happened? Where’s my Pokémon?”
“What do you mean?” Her mother gives her a strange look. “Oh, did you dream that you were a trainer again? Don’t worry, sweetie, it’ll happen one day. There’s no need to rush it.” Her expression turns concerned. “Please don’t go into the tall grass looking for one. I don’t want you to get attacked by any wild Pokémon.”
Confused and distressed, Dawn barely manages to squeak out an “okay” before fleeing back up the stairs to her room.
Loop ?
After wiping her tears, she pokes around in her closet for her white scarf and wraps it around her neck. The last few loops have been colder than usual; she’s not sure if that has something to do with how time works, or if it’s just her going insane. Either is plausible at this point.
She lets her mother go through her spiel of not going into the tall grass like normal, nodding periodically to keep up the facade. After escaping through the front door, she crouches down next to the pond just outside her house and sighs, staring at her reflection in the water. By now, she’s learned that if she makes Barry wait for her, they’ll run into Professor Rowan on Route 201 instead of at Lake Verity, skipping the whole debacle with the briefcase and being attacked by wild Starly.
A few Magikarp surface nearby, mouths gaping curiously as they watch her, probably expecting food. Dawn smiles at their simple charm, heart aching a little. She had had a Magikarp, once or twice or more. The first one had evolved into a Gyarados, huge and sleek and always so protective of her. The second she had kept with her, until eventually she traded it out for a Shellos. The third, the fourth, the fifth…
She reaches into her bag pocket for some berries to feed them, but it’s empty. The whole bag is empty, the weight of extra Escape Ropes and Super Potions lifted from her shoulders. It shouldn’t surprise her by now, but it does. Her fingers itch for the smooth, round surface of a Pokéball. She stands, startling the fish Pokémon into leaving, and stretches.
It’s probably been long enough. Time to see what Barry’s up to.
Loop 3
Dawn waits as long as possible to visit Barry’s house. She knows it’s pointless to try and delay the inevitable (not because she’s tried it, but because with Barry’s impatience he’ll probably end up dragging her around anyway). Still, she makes her way around town and speaks to every single person, her battle with Palkia still fresh in her memory.
In the last loop, she had made it all the way to Sunyshore before it had reset. There had been some changes, mostly due to her own choices (but who knows, maybe Palkia was messing with her, too): Barry had taken Chimchar because she took Turtwig, different people won the contests since she didn’t enter, and so forth. Still, defeating Cyrus and Palkia hadn’t fixed her problem, and she’s really not excited to relive the journey a third time.
But she has to try. Maybe she’ll pick Chimchar this time, try out something new…
Loop ?
Nothing is new, anymore. Dawn deftly sidesteps Barry as he comes barreling out of his house and catches him by the arm. “Oh, hey, Dawn! I’m going to see Professor Rowan, you should come too-”
“What about your Bag and Journal?” He stares at her for a moment before glancing behind him, checking to see if they’re there.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. Thanks for the reminder!” He dashes indoors. Dawn waits for him, and after a minute or so he runs back out. “Alright, let’s go!”
It’s simultaneously heartwarming and aggravating to be around Barry like this. He’s not the same person she left behind in the other timelines, too innocent and arrogant, spirit not yet tempered by hard losses and weeks of soul searching. Nevertheless, his energy and optimistic nature are always a constant, no matter what loop she’s in, and she takes comfort in this fact. He’ll always be the same person, at heart.
As planned, they run into the Professor on Route 201, and he scolds them for trying to go into the tall grass. “Do you love Pokémon?” he asks.
“You can ask a hundred times, the answer will never change!” Barry blurts. “We’ll both answer a hundred times, we love Pokémon! Right, Dawn?”
She nods, feeling queasy. How true those words are… even after all this time, she’s never once said no to that question. The Professor gives her a look of concern, but she ignores it. There are more important things to be worried about.
“Professor Rowan? You left your briefcase at the lake…” And there’s Lucas, trailing behind with that dreaded briefcase in his hand. “Oh, is something wrong here?”
He looks different too, although in her opinion it’s a much less drastic change than Barry’s. His eyes are not quite as sharp, his hair short enough to be tucked into his hat instead of the longer locks he had toward the end of her adventures. He clears his throat awkwardly, and she only realizes she’s staring when Barry nudges her with his elbow.
The Professor explains what’s happening and proceeds to convince Lucas that they deserve Pokémon of their own, but Dawn tunes him out because she’s heard it too many times. Lucas sets the briefcase down and the two clicks of him opening it abruptly jolt her out of her thoughts. “You can pick first,” Barry tells her after doing a little celebratory dance. “I’m practically a grown-up, so I have to show some class.” Practically a grown-up. If only you knew.
The panic in her mind starts to set in once she takes a look at the three Pokéballs, nestled innocuously in their case. Images flash unbidden to her mind: Turtwig, facing down Jupiter’s Skuntank while suffering from poison, Monferno crying out in pain as Saturn’s Kadabra bends his limbs in all the wrong ways. She grabs one without looking and backs away quickly, trying to calm her racing heartbeat and hoping that the others don’t notice.
“Then, I choose you! I’m picking this Chimchar!” Barry plucks one of the remaining Pokéballs out of the briefcase and clutches it to his chest like it’s a love letter from his crush. Hm… she must have picked Turtwig, then. The Professor talks a bit more, about responsibility and visiting his lab in Sandgem, and then he’s off. Lucas glances between the two of them before following his mentor through the tall grass.
Barry pokes Dawn’s arm. “Hey, we’ve both got Pokémon now. There’s only one thing to do, right? You up for this?” She’s tempted to tell him no, but she knows he’ll insist on it anyway so she nods instead. “Nice! I’ve always wanted to say this… I challenge you to a battle!” He throws the Pokéball and Chimchar comes soaring out, eyes wide and curious.
“Okay. Here goes.” Dawn throws her own Pokéball. But instead of a green, quadrupedal Pokémon, a blue and white feathered one comes out instead. Piplup chirps and squares up to the enemy.
Dawn’s so stunned that she barely reacts when Chimchar lands a Scratch on her Pokémon. This has never happened before. Barry always chooses the Pokémon with the type advantage over her. Something is different about this timeline. Something new.
She can barely contain her excitement.
Loop 3
Her shoes don’t quite feel right. They’re not the right shape, not the right style, and not worn in from traveling the region. Maybe when she goes back to the house, she’ll ask Mom about that pair of Running Shoes…
Loop 1
“That’s such a cute Pokémon!” Mom wipes her hands on a towel and rounds the kitchen counter to get a better look. “Hello, there!” Piplup chirps up at her agreeably, and Dawn smiles happily at her new partner. “Well, then, let’s hear it. Tell me what happened?”
THE Loop
Dawn mentally titles this timeline “THE Loop” to differentiate it from the others. It’s not like she really keeps track of anything that happens anymore, but the more differences she recognizes the more she becomes convinced that this timeline is important, more so than the rest.
“You know that lake where we always play at?” Barry asks. “People say there’s a legendary Pokémon there. Let’s catch it! That’ll make Professor Rowan happy, I’m sure of it.”
“We don’t have Pokéballs,” Dawn points out. He stops in his tracks.
“Oh yeah… good point. You think the Prof’d give us some if we asked?” At her nod he grins. “Okay, then! I’ll race you! First one to the lab in Sandgem wins!” Then he dashes off.
Dawn follows at a slower pace. She’s never once beat him at this race, and attempting to will only make her tired. Piplup seems to realize something is wrong and attempts to cheer her up by nuzzling her side. She gives him a sad smile. “It’s not your fault,” she reassures.
They battle together against a few Bidoof as they make their way through the route. Dawn doesn’t actively seek out any battles, but she does defend herself when needed, knowing that without experience she won’t make any progress. Lucas is waiting by the entrance to the town, and he waves when he spots her.
“Hey! The Professor is waiting for you.” He guides her to the lab, and she purposefully positions them so that he’s in front of the door instead of her. “This is our research lab. Let’s go-”
THUD!! The door swings open and Barry crashes through, falling practically on top of the other. “What the-” He stops and stares at Lucas’ face, inches away from his own, as if it’s his first time seeing it (which it might as well be, he was so distracted with receiving a Pokémon). “Oh, uh, it’s you.” He blinks, as if just realizing the intimacy of their position, and rolls off of the other boy. “Sorry, man. Oh, hey Dawn!” He rambles for a bit before running away. Dawn pretends not to notice the blush on his face. Funny… she’s never had to pretend before.
Lucas dusts himself off and pieces together the remains of his composure. “Well, shall we?”
Loop 1
The Pokédex feels nice in her hands; she takes it from the Professor gingerly, as if it were something fragile and not something built for fieldwork. She’s surprised he’s letting her hold it, let alone take it with her.
Piplup waddles around the lab, right at home. The Professor nods approvingly at her fond look. “Well, would you like to give him a nickname?”
She nods and thinks. “Hmm… I think Marbles is a nice name.” Marbles chirps happily in the corner.
“Marbles it is, then.”
THE Loop
“Well, would you like to give him a nickname?”
Dawn’s shaking her head before she even has time to process the question. No, no, absolutely not. The Professor raises an eyebrow in surprise, obviously not used to kids not wanting to nickname their Pokémon. “You sure?”
Marbles had been her first Pokémon, her first partner. Even now, when she looks at Piplup, she can see traces of him.
And then she sees his broken body, lying prone on the ground in front of Dialga like a sacrifice. She can’t do it. She will feel guilty about it later, but she’s trading him the first chance she gets. There’s someone she knows she can trust in another region, but until they get to Jubilife she’ll have to keep him with her. And nicknaming him will just make parting even harder.
“I’m sure.”
Hah. I’ve literally lost my Marbles.
~
Lucas shows her around town after they leave the lab, explaining how Pokécenters and Pokémarts work. She ignores him for the most part, having mastered the art of looking like she’s listening on loop 4 or 5. After he leaves her to her own devices, she goes and buys some Pokéballs, then heads back to Route 201.
The first Pokémon she comes across is a Kricketot, stumbling around in the tall grass. She seems a little weak, but Dawn’s always had a fondness for bug-types, and she needs to fill out her team anyway. So she catches her. Her name will be Peanut.
On the way back home she also catches a Starly, because having a flying-type has always been extremely useful when trying to get from one place to the other. Her name is Pepper. Piplup seems delighted to have company. Dawn’s heart hurts thinking about trading him away.
~
Finally, a decent pair of shoes. She flexes her toes as she runs back through Sandgem, enjoying the new comfortable fit. Lucas is waiting once more at the entrance to Route 202, and she nods at him in greeting as she approaches.
“Hey. If you want, I can demonstrate how to catch a Pokémon…” He trails off as she shows him her two new friends. “Oh.” There’s a moment of awkward silence, then he looks at her strangely. “Pardon me for asking, but… was that Piplup you got really your first Pokémon? You seem to act like a very experienced trainer,” he explains.
“My mom was a Pokémon coordinator,” she says. It’s not a lie, but it’s not technically what he was asking, either. He seems to pick up on this (he’s always been too smart for his own good), but thankfully he leaves it alone.
“Ah, alright. Well, I suppose you can use these better than I can.” He hands her five more Pokéballs. “I’ll see you later!”
“Thanks. See you.” For a moment, she thinks about telling him everything. But just as quickly, she casts the thought away. There’s no reason to draw others into this when they’re just going to forget about it next time.
Loop 3
Looker is an interesting character, and one she hasn’t met yet. Maybe it’s because of the fight with Palkia in the last loop?
Or maybe he’s always been there, and they just never noticed.
Loop 1
The Trainer’s School is a treasure trove of information. Dawn flips through dozens of books, talks to all the students, and reads everything written on the chalkboard before noticing that Barry’s doing the same thing.
“Hey, did you come to study too?” He’s shifting back and forth, eyes darting across the board restlessly. She unzips her bag and pulls out the parcel from his mother. “Huh, you’ve got something for me?”
The parcel is delivered, and she gets a Town Map out of it. In Barry’s words, “Score!”
THE Loop
She catches a Shinx on Route 202, knowing that she’ll need his Bite in order to even have a chance at defeating Fantina. His name is Cinnamon, and he’s a little feral beast that she loves half to death.
After meeting Looker, she stops Lucas from leaving with a gentle tug to his sleeve. “Hey, could you do me a favor?” She hands him the Parcel. “Give that to Barry? It’s from his mom. I have something really important to do here.”
“Oh, uh, sure!” He takes the package. “I saw him in the Trainer’s School earlier, I’m sure he’s still there. You have my word that I’ll get it to him.”
She smiles at him, the first genuine one she’s given in this timeline. “Thanks. It means a lot.” Lucas’s mouth quirks in response and he nods, turning to leave. Normally she’d deliver it herself, but it’s not like she needs a Town Map anyway. She knows how to get everywhere by heart, now.
Instead, she goes clown hunting. She seeks out each Pokétch clown in their respective hiding places: near the Pokémart, by the TV station, and in front of the Pokétch company building. The first time she did this, she remembers struggling with each question, not really knowing whether she was correct or not. Now, she answers each question easily, knowing the answers from experience. She collects all three tickets and heads back toward the Pokécenter.
The head of the company gives her a Pokétch, and she sighs in relief. Finally, she can talk to the one person who understands her. She punches in the number she knows by heart and holds the watch up to her face, hearing the tinny ringing of the call going through.
Then the ringing stops, and a voice speaks.
“Hey. It happened again?”