Chapter Text
When she was ten years old, the future wasn't important. She was a fresh-faced trainer, getting her first Pokémon from Professor Rowan. With her mother's blessing, she left her home and went into the exciting unknown of the Pokémon world. Like all young trainers, she was excited to explore the world, battle fellow trainers, and compete to enter the Pokémon League. Sleeping in a tent out in the woods never seemed so awesome.
It didn't take long for the experience to turn sour. She was able to get her first badge, but she hit a roadblock after that. The second gym proved tougher than she expected, and the amount of battling she had to do to improve her Pokémon became boring. It wasn't necessarily fair for her to feel that way, since it was her Pokémon who were doing the battling, but she no longer felt riveted by the promise of the Pokémon League.
What she felt was her true calling appeared to her in Hearthome City. She had wandered past Eterna City after her second failure at the gym, needing to get her mind off her battling struggles. When she stepped into the city limits, she was immediately greeted by a flier stapled to a light fixture. Curious, she saw that it was advertising a Pokémon Contest. She had heard of them before, but she didn't know much about them. It sounded as good of a distraction as any, so she went to check it out.
Sitting in the audience, she was immediately blown away by the coordinators on stage. Rather than participating in battles, they used their Pokémon's moves to showcase their strengths. Whether that was their cuteness, their beauty, or how cool they were, the coordinators seemed to know exactly how to get the best out of their Pokémon. There were even combination moves early on that had her eyes glued to the stage. By the end, after the winner had been given their victory ribbon, she knew what she wanted to do. Gym battles just weren't for her: she wanted to be a coordinator.
That night, her badge case with the lone badge was thrown into her backpack, soon to be forgotten. She stayed the night in the Pokémon Center and the next day, she signed up for the coordinator trials and got herself a ribbon case. Now her training didn't seem so empty. Rather than focusing on battles, she worked hard to perfect her Pokémon's moves and looks. It was quite different for the Pokémon she had captured, but they trusted their trainer, and they quickly were working as hard as they could.
She stuck around in Hearthome while she trained, preparing to enter her first contest there. When she felt confident enough in the abilities of herself and her Pokémon, she entered the contest hall again. Instead of a spectator, she was a contestant. She was floored by the cheers when she stepped on stage, surprised that all those strangers wanted to see her. It didn't give her stage fright, though. In fact, it made her feel inspired to do the best job she could and win herself a ribbon.
When she returned to that stage, being congratulated on her victory, she was higher than the moon. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she bowed to the audience, accepting her winner's ribbon with as much grace as an excited ten year old could muster. Her first contest appearance had ended in a victory! That told her that being a regular trainer wasn't in the cards for her. Being a coordinator clearly suited her better, and she was so ready to become the greatest coordinator the region had ever seen!
Unfortunately, not all dreams were meant to be realized. It wasn't as if she failed as a coordinator: at least, not in the traditional sense. She trekked from city to city, winning contest ribbons and getting her name out there as a legitimate threat. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside to have people cheering her name when she stepped on the stage in a city she'd never been to before. They knew her name: they knew her. Every time it happened, it reassured her that this was what she was meant to do.
There was a plateau that she was bound to hit, though. She didn't know it at the time, but it would eventually rear its ugly head. The fact that it didn't happen immediately just allowed her to keep up the delusions of a young girl. For two years, she became a fairly well-known coordinator in the Sinnoh region. She won every ribbon there was to win in every large city and tiny town, and placed high in the grand coordinator tournaments.
First place continued to elude her, though. After two years of a happy coordinator life, her interest began to slowly wane. For the next four years, she continued within the coordinator sphere, but participating in the same contests every year lost its luster. She knew all the tricks of the trade that would get her high scores from the judges, to the point where she felt like a robot. All she would do was tell her Pokémon to do the same moves, and she would come away with the victory. Years of doing that made it feel hollow.
To try and alleviate those feelings, she looked for other avenues to put her focus on. She considered becoming a speaker on coordination tactics, but there weren't any coordinators willing to listen to a girl barely older than they were. The older ones were even more dismissive, so she dropped out of that quickly with her tail between her legs. In desperation, she tried becoming a regular trainer again. Fishing out that long-forgotten badge case, she earned that second badge she struggled to gain, as well as three more. It always felt like she was forcing herself to go to the gyms just so she had something to do, though, so she never completed her journey.
When she turned sixteen, she dejectedly returned to her hometown. Her mother, friends, and neighbors congratulated her on the great work she had done as a coordinator, cheering for her like she had done something incredible. She smiled and thanked them, but inside she felt miserable. There was no reason to celebrate her. All she had done was become a good coordinator: not a great one. She had hit her ceiling, and that seemed more like a cause for commiseration rather than celebration.
That was also the day when she found out that becoming a trainer was just a scam. Maybe that was hyperbolic, but how else was she supposed to feel when her mother said she was glad that she had come home to get her education? Not only that, but a real job. That wasn't her misinterpreting what her mother said: she had explicitly said a real job. Wandering around the region battling or competing in contests didn't pay the bills, unless you were one of the best, which of course she wasn't. That was a sobering lesson for a sixteen year old.
She struggled to sleep that night. Lying in bed, she looked over at her nightstand. Her first ribbon case stood up there, open and revealing all the original ribbons she won. It gave her a momentary feeling of happiness, but that was quickly dashed when she remembered what was coming next. For the first time in her life, she had to truly think about the future: her schooling, her job, her life. It terrified her to think that the good times were over, and she had spent so much of it struggling. What had been the point?
Sleep did not come easy for her that night.
Over the next two years, she struggled to find herself. She knew that she had to decide on her future soon enough, but she didn't know what she wanted to do. Being a coordinator was all she knew, but she had clearly reached the endgame of that. She had been good, but that wouldn't get her a job in that field. For a time, she clung onto that idea, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she could become a contest judge or something in that vein. Eventually she let go of that dream and went back to the drawing board.
She spent a lot of time wandering around the town with her partner Piplup in tow. Unlike her fellow trainers, she hadn't evolved her starter Pokémon. She had grown attached to the little guy, and it didn't feel right to make him evolve. As far as she was concerned, he was perfect the way he was. At least one of them was. She kept him as-is, even if it got her teased upon her return to Twinleaf.
Eventually, her time began to run out. When she turned eighteen, she had to head to college. It was either that or spurn what everybody expected of her and attempt to become a coordinator again. While that seemed more appealing than schooling, she knew that it wouldn't last. She would feel like a waste to society, and that same society wouldn't bother with her anymore. They would whisper behind her back, judging her for the strange, poor choices she made in life. With great reluctance, she enrolled in the Sinnoh Higher Learning Academy in Jubilife City.
It became very apparent that higher education wasn't for her. Spending years of her life camping out around the region helped her live in an unfamiliar dorm room without any of her hometown support system around her. Going to classes was the difference that she couldn't deal with. Coming back from classes and having homework to do was a strange concept. Too often over her first couple of months at school, she just plain forgot to do it.
While she had been at home, dreading the future, she had done enough procrastinating for a lifetime. Now that she was at school, she had one school year to figure out what the rest of her life would be like. First year students took general classes that taught important life skills that most people would need, regardless of their future job. However, once their second year hit, they would be expected to have chosen a career and take the necessary classes. She had not come close to making a decision, and it haunted many of her lonely dorm nights.
What were her skills besides coordinating? If there was something within that that could be transferred into a legitimate profession, she hadn't come up with it yet. If she had to spend the rest of her life as a department store clerk, she might leave the school, run off into the Eterna Forest, and never return. She didn't mean to disparage those who were department store clerks, but she couldn't sit behind a desk for her entire life. How could they send her out into the wide open world for all those years, then expect her to sit like a lump for the rest of her days?
The first event to break the monotony was a guest speaker coming to the campus. It was no ordinary guest speaker, though. As soon as it was announced that the former League Champion Cynthia was coming to speak, the entire school was abuzz with excitement. Everybody had the date and time written down, and it seemed like every person on campus was trying to shove themselves into the biggest auditorium at the school. Even then, people had to stand in the aisles or in the back if they wanted to hear her speak. She was one of those people.
Flanked on all sides by her fellow students, she had to stand on her tip-toes to see over the head of a taller boy in front of her. Cynthia then came on stage, walking towards the podium to a deafening level of applause. She wore the same outfit she always had as the Champion, which made her cut an imposing figure. Clad in all black, she seemed like a woman who took nonsense from no one. When she began to speak, her voice held the same tone, though her words were gentle and encouraging.
"It makes me so happy to see all of you here today." That got another round of applause, though her own arms stayed at her sides. Not because she didn't think Cynthia was worthy of it, but because she felt completely blown away. Objectively, she had always known that Cynthia was a beautiful woman, but this was the first time she truly felt just how beautiful she was. Her voice was incredible as well, and it was a wonder that anyone so perfect would bother showing up to such undeserving kids.
"Education is more important than some of you may realize. I was like you when I was your age: coming home from my trainer journey, wondering what my place was going to be in the world. It was hard to think of having to get a job after all those years by myself." Her eyes widened, scarcely believing what she was hearing. It was as if Cynthia could read her mind, and she was laying her thoughts bare to everyone. Could someone like her really have gone through the same thing she was?
"The reason I became the Champion isn't because I was the best battler in school. It was because I didn't give up on my dream." Her eyes were bright, shining all the way to the back of the auditorium. She was captivated by them, unable to look away. "The most important thing I learned was that as long as you hold onto your dreams, and you put everything you have into them, you can become the person you want to be. That's why I'm happy to see you all today, because I'm looking down at all of your faces, and I believe in every one of your dreams. Please don't give up on them."
Again, the auditorium erupted in cheers. This time, even she was able to bring her hands together to clap for such a powerful speech. It was hard to believe that someone like Cynthia could have anything in common with them. She had been the Champion for years, and was renowned for her battling prowess throughout the region. Nobody considered her delusional for sticking with her battling passions as an adult. Maybe they just knew she was meant for greatness, and the rest of them weren't.
"Now, I must be off. There are adventures awaiting for me, same as they are for you." Cynthia stepped away from the podium, smiling at the cheers and ecstatic faces of the students. Dawn, however, had resumed her silence. She had said that she was going on an adventure. What kind of adventure? There were adventures waiting for all of them... That ending salvo made so many things click in her mind.
She understood what Cynthia was trying to say, but she truly felt that there was nothing for her in school. All she had to look forward to was choosing a career she would be stuck with for the rest of her life. The boredom would set in soon enough, and if it didn't, the anxiety over choosing the wrong career would get her eventually. Going on an adventure seemed much more appealing. She was used to being outdoors, and she could rough it with the best of them. Plus, who wouldn't want to go on an adventure with Cynthia? It didn't seem likely that anyone else there would be brave enough - or foolish enough - to ask her if they could accompany her, though. Everything she was going through was the perfect storm of circumstances to make her that brave fool.
While the rest of the students were still cheering, she started heading for the exit. She had to shove through a multitude of students, excusing herself each time until she was finally out in the hallway. It was a breath of fresh air, being away from the crushing throng, but she didn't have time to relax. She started heading outside the building, where she knew the auditorium exit door was. It was likely that Cynthia would head that way, and she had to make sure she reached her before it was too late.
To that end, she started sprinting as soon as she opened the doors and stepped outside. She held onto her hat, the only remnant on her from her previous trainer life, to make sure it didn't fly off from her sudden burst of energy. When she reached the side door, it remained close. She stopped in front of it, panting as she looked around the campus. There was no sign of Cynthia, and she couldn't have gotten that far unless she ran faster than a Luxray. She must have still been in the auditorium.
The door started to open, and she jumped away to make sure she didn't get hit. Cynthia walked out in all her impressive beauty, standing a good few inches taller than her. She had been excited for the first time in months at the thought of something new happening in her life, but now she felt intimidated. Doubt blossomed in her mind, making her wonder what kind of moron she was to think she could just tag along with the most popular trainer in Sinnoh.
"Oh, hello there. Is there something I can help you with?" She spoke as gently as she had on stage, as if she hadn't been bum-rushed by a random student. Dawn felt her mouth go dry, the request she wanted to make struggling to make its way out.
"Uh, I... My name's Dawn," she muttered, blushing when she realized she had introduced herself without being asked. "I really enjoyed your speech. It was really motivational." Up close, all the thoughts she had about Cynthia were magnified. She was much more intimidating, and much more attractive. Her body and mind were in sync with struggling to deal with it.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully it inspired you to keep focusing on your dream." Well, that was the problem, wasn't it? She wasn't sure what her dream was. Her ambitions, her goals, her future... It was all a mystery, and she hadn't figured out how to break through the fog that settled around her brain when it came to those things.
"I... I don't know what my dream is," she admitted, finding it difficult to look Cynthia in the eyes. If she was more confident in what she wanted to do, she could hold her gaze, but she wasn't even confident in herself. Then she remembered why she was there, and what she wanted to ask. It wasn't so much confidence as it was foolishness that buoyed her then. "But I know that I can't realize it here. I need to be out in the world to discover who I am. You're going on an adventure, right? Please let me come with you!"
"Huh?" That seemed to catch Cynthia off guard. She eyed Dawn curiously, and it wouldn't have surprised her if Cynthia could read every little secret running around her mind. There was something about her that made her feel like an open book: one that hadn't been finished because the author grew bored with the story and gave up. "You want to join me on an adventure?"
"Yes, I do. I miss spending my time outdoors, and I feel that I need this adventure to figure out what I'm going to do with my life." Truthfully, she wasn't sure if that was the case. She had spent all those years as a coordinator, and that hadn't helped her any. Why would one specific adventure with Cynthia change that? Maybe the real truth was that she wanted to cling onto any opportunity to be away from the school, since it was a symbol of the future that she couldn't decide on.
"Well, I wouldn't want to take you away from your classes..." That sounded like it should be the end of it, but Cynthia was apparently thinking about it. Dawn's eyes widened, wondering if she would be allowed to actually go on an adventure with Cynthia. She was rubbing her chin, seemingly sizing her up. "I suppose I could make sure it was okay with your advisor if you came with me, though you don't even know where I'm going."
"That just makes it more of an adventure." She was grinning from ear to ear, practically bouncing on her feet. As long as it didn't involve higher education or her future, she didn't care where they were going. Knowing Cynthia, she was sure it was something exciting. The former Champion didn't go to the supermarket for 'adventure'. She was so ready for this!
"Then I hope you're prepared for whatever is about to get thrown at you." Smiling, Cynthia pulled out her phone. "If I can just get your contact information, I'll let you know what your advisor says." Dawn eagerly gave her information to Cynthia, then the two of them said their goodbyes. She had to put some distance between them before she could pump her fist in celebration. They were going on an adventure together! She was going to put her schooling in the rearview, for however long their trip may last. The longer she could put her future on the backburner, the better.
Nothing was set in stone, though. First, her advisor had to approve her leaving the school for an indeterminate amount of time. There was a chance they would say no, and she would be right back where she was now. That was a sobering thought, but for once she was too excited to let that get her down. It felt like she would actually get to do this. With Cynthia's blessing, it didn't seem likely that her advisor would go against her. Despite being the former Champion, Cynthia still held plenty of clout in the region.
Smiling to herself, she started walking back to her dorm until she remembered that she had another class to get to. "Shoot..." This adventure couldn't come soon enough.