Surprise update cause I'm bored and impatient. Hooray!
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Dawn closed her eyes and happily breathed in the crisp autumn air. The sky was a dark gray blanket and hard to see through. Small white pieces of frozen water fell slowly to the ground, covering the ground in a thin layer of snow. The lake she was at with her Pokémon and the Professor already had a small layer of ice built up around the edges.

"Piplup?" A small blue penguin tapped Dawn's left leg. He had a light blue body made of slick contour feathers. Softer contour and plumule feathers, a darker blue in color, surrounded his head and lined around his neck. Fluffy white down feathers covered his face, made up of a small yellow beak and tiny black eyes. He had two yellow feet and small light blue flippers.

"Piplup!" he repeated, louder and more demanding.

Dawn opened her eyes and glanced down at him. His face was a mix of fear, worry, and confusion. Dawn laughed quietly to herself. "Don't worry, Piplup." She picked up the small blue penguin into her arms. She held him close to her and leaned her head over him in an effort to block the snow from falling onto him. Even still, a few icy particles landed onto the Pokémon. Piplup closed his eyes, annoyed for still having snow on him, but also grateful for his Trainer's compassion— even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Dawn, I really hope you're actually doing your work instead of playing with your Pokémon," a gruff, old voice spoke, full of responsibility and wisdom.

"Yes, Professor Rowan." Dawn turned and looked at the Sinnoh Pokémon Professor. He was crouching at the edge of the lake with a small notepad and pencil in his hands. Occasionally he would tap the ice on the edge of the lake or look at the Pokémon in the lake before writing something down in his notepad.

Professor Rowan was a tall man, standing at a height of 6' 1". He had white hair that flowed upwards, as well as a white mustache. He had bluish-gray eyes and pale skin. He had a tough-looking face with very few wrinkles, despite his age. Dawn was one of the few who had actually seen him when he wasn't so stern; he was very kind and gentle when he wanted to be. He had on a blue shirt and black pants, with a pair of brown shoes. A dark brown coat was draped over him, extending down to his knees. Often Dawn wondered why he was always dressed in neat attire, especially when they were outside with Pokémon most of the time. When she asked, he had replied with a simple "you never know when you need to look your best."

The Professor looked up from his writing and met Dawn's gaze for a second before returning to his task. "There are many Pokémon here; try seeing if you are able to catch one so we can collect more data on it."

"Of course!"

Dawn herself was a young girl full of endless energy. She was seventeen years old, turning eighteen come April. She had neat, dark blue hair, ending at her back. It was always brushed evenly, never a strand out of place. Two long strands from the back of her head were pulled up to the front and held in place by two pink hair clips above her ears. It was a unique style that only Dawn could pull off. Her face was soft and actually had a bit of color compared to other Sinnoh natives, but that was most likely due to the cold temperatures around her. She had gentle eyes, the same dark color as her hair. She had on a red coat, which cut off mid-thigh— as if it was a sort of dress. Pink buttons lined in pairs ran up the center, ending at a white scarf wrapped around the girl's neck. She had a white beanie with a pink Poké Ball pattern on her head and long white socks. Her pink shoes completed the outfit. Normally she had a pretty white duffel bag around her right shoulder, with everything she needed inside, but that was currently sitting on the ground beside her.

The blue-haired girl stayed still for a moment longer before setting her Piplup back down onto the ground, ignoring his chirps of protest and discomfort. She reached down and pulled out a small, pink device from her bag. It was mostly rectangular-shaped and had a tiny button along the side of it. Dawn pressed that button and the device opened itself up, almost like a book. She pressed another button and a circular-shaped piece came out from the side, but was still connected to the rest of the device.

She held it in front of her and slowly turned around in a circle. She stopped as the screen came to life, showing a picture of a gray Pokémon.

It had gray feathers, with darker feathers on its wings, tail, and head. It had a white chest and face, with two black eyes and an orange beak.

"Hmmm. . ." Dawn looked at the top screen of her device, reading the information it gave. "Another Starly. Maybe I could catch it to help out with the Professor's research."

Immediately upon hearing this, Piplup stepped forward, forgetting about his earlier coldness. "Pip!"

Dawn smiled at her partner. "Alright, Piplup, start off with Tackle!"

Piplup nodded and broke off in the direction that the Starly was. He tore through the clearing and ran into a small Pokémon, hiding behind a tree. The smaller creature fell to the ground, having been taken off-guard. Blue berries scattered around it.

Dawn took out a single red and white Poké Ball from her bag and threw it at the Starly. With a bright red light engulfing the avian, it was pulled into the Poké Ball. The ball shook once, twice, three times before stopping, signaling a successful catch.

The girl smiled and looked down at her Piplup. "Great job, Piplup! Thanks to you, I've caught a Starly for the Professor!"

Piplup smiled back and rubbed the back of his head with his flipper. "Lup. . ."

"Aw, no need to be so modest." Dawn patted his head and walked the short distance to the Poké Ball, where Starly was. She picked it up and held her earlier pink device up to it. A second passed before words and information came into the two screens.

"Starly, 'Dex number 10. . . They're weak by themselves, so they form tiny groups," she read aloud quietly. "So then why was this one alone?" She moved onto the bottom screen. "Male, Keen Eye ability, moves are Tackle and Growl. Level 2. . . Only four inches tall." She frowned slightly and opened the Poké Ball, releasing the Starly onto her device.

Now that she could see him up close, she realized just how fluffy his breast feathers still were.

"You're just a baby Pokémon, aren't you?" Dawn gently rubbed the bird's tiny head with her finger.

Starly closed his eyes and responded with a faint "Lee."

The girl then moved her finger in front of the avian, so that he could step onto it. Starly looked at her hand, then at her face, as if nervous about trusting her.

"I won't hurt you," Dawn told him, her voice soft. Starly nodded and stepped onto her finger. His small talons wrapped around her tightly, not wanting to fall off.

Dawn closed her device and put it into her coat's pocket before picking up the blue berries that Starly had had earlier. They were Oran Berries.

"Here you go." She held them in the palm of her hand so Starly could eat them. "I'm sorry for having Piplup attack you earlier," she said as he ate the berries. "I thought you were bigger than you are now."

"Star!" He blinked up at her and rubbed his head on her hand, having already eaten the berries. Dawn laughed and scratched his head.

"Ravia!" Both froze and looked up as a larger creature flew down in front of them. It looked a lot like Starly, only much bigger. It narrowed its eyes at Dawn and started to advance towards her slowly. Starly flapped his wings and called out to her.

"Oh, you must be Starly's mother, right?" She guessed, taking a small step back.

"Star! Via! Ravia!" She squawked, coming closer.

Dawn smiled kindly. "Alright. He's safe. Here you go." She cupped Starly in her hands and gently set him down on the ground. Immediately he ran towards his mother and into her wings.

The two embraced for a moment before the larger creature looked at Dawn. "Rave," she said, nodding.

"You're welcome," Dawn replied and watched as the two walked off back into the forest.

"Piplup?" Piplup sounded confused.

"Don't worry. I didn't want to keep him anyway; he was too young."

"Lup. . ."

"Dawn!" She lifted her head as Professor Rowan called out to her. "Let's both leave; I've got what we need from here, and this man would like to be left alone here."

Beside him was a man with blue hair. He wore a light gray jacket, with dark gray sleeves. His pants were the same shade of dark gray. His face was dull and plain. His eyes were dark and carried a heavy weight, as if he was under a lot of stress.

"Alright." Dawn picked up her bag and took out Piplup's Poké Ball. "Return, Piplup." A red light surrounded Piplup before he was sucked into the Poké Ball. Dawn put it into her duffel bag, along with the device in her pocket. Maybe now I can see him again in Twinleaf!

She watched as the Professor started walking away from the lake, Lake Verity. She followed him out of the forest, but stopped as she realized she forgot something. "I'll be right back!" She told him, but he didn't seem to hear. She ran back to Lake Verity's edge, noticing the man still there, staring into the still surface of the water and murmuring things quietly under his breath. Next to him was the Professor's brown briefcase, containing the other two Starter Pokémon as well as important research documents.

I'll just grab it quickly so he doesn't notice me.

Dawn went over quietly to the brown case and lifted it up, not at all expecting it to be so heavy. There must be a lot of papers in here.

". . . The flowing time. . . The expanding space. . . I will make it all mine one day," the man continued his whispering speech. Now that Dawn was next to him, she could hear every word. "Cyrus is my name. Remember it. . . Until then, sleep while you can, Legendary Pokémon of the lake bed, Mesprit. . ."

The man then turned his head and stared at Dawn. His emotionless eyes bore through her soul, making her blood run cold. Something was not right with this man, Cyrus. She needed to get out of here, as fast as possible!

"S-sorry!" She grabbed the briefcase and bolted away from the lake, to where Rowan had gone. She could feel Cyrus stare at her as she left.

She ran through the trees and emerged onto a path, where she had arrived with Professor Rowan earlier. Dawn stopped to catch her breath.

The cold air was like fire, burning her lungs. She had run so fast that now it was hard to breathe.

Moments passed, and Dawn caught her breath and sighed quietly. Why was she worrying so much? Cyrus was probably just clarifying his childhood dream, like all kids do when they become Pokémon Trainers. Surely she was just overthinking the whole situation.

Relax Dawn. You need to stop just jumping to conclusions. She took a breath and focused on recollecting herself. He hadn't said anything to her... maybe he was just shy around people? That could have explained his intense gaze when he saw that she was there. Though still...

She heard Professor Rowan's loud shout from up ahead, and quickly abandoned her earlier thoughts as she lifted the briefcase and hurried in the direction of his voice.

——————

"STOP!"

Lucas slowed down to a stop and turned around quickly at the loud authoritative command.

Barry, however, halted immediately, though his inertia kept him moving forward. He stumbled, narrowly avoiding a Starly that had been sitting in the grass.

The blond teen whirled around. "Who yelled at me to stop?! Whoever it is I'm fining you-" He froze, seeing the stranger standing behind Lucas. "...Oh."

He went to his friend's side, hiding behind him slightly as they both stared silently at the man who had called out to them.

The man was about four inches taller than Barry, and had white hair. He was pacing back and forth, muttering things to himself, before suddenly stopping in front of the two boys. "What were you two thinking, running off like that?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I see no Pokémon on either of you, meaning that you are both defenseless out in the wild." He sighed, and added under his breath, "Kids these days and their invincibility. That's what's going to get them all killed..."

Barry nudged Lucas forward, giving him the silent command to speak for the both of them. Lucas shot him a glare; he'd have to do something in the future so he and Barry were even. But for now...

"Sorry Mr... man... Sir..." Lucas told the man, inwardly wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole from his embarrassment. What? This guy was intimidating! "We were just on our way to... Sandgem for.."

Barry sighed and knocked the back of Lucas's head lightly. "We are on our way over there to see Professor Rowan and get our Starter Pokémon," he finished for his friend. "Running over there was my idea though," he lied.

The man nodded his head slowly, deep in thought. "What do you think Professor Rowan would do though if he caught you two recklessly running through Sinnoh without any Pokémon to guide you?"

The two were silent, both knowing that if they were to ever be caught by the Pokémon Professor for their reckless behavior, they would be sent right back home without a Pokémon of their own. Suddenly Barry leaned down slightly and whispered into Lucas's ear. "I don't like this old dude. He looks so familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on who he-"

"Professor Rowan!"

The three males whirled around at the feminine voice. And then Lucas's eyes widened in horror as he realized what the person had just said.

Professor... Rowan? So this guy is actually the Pokémon Professor? Oh no...

He bit his lip worriedly and tried to focus instead on the stranger that was making her way over to them.

From the looks of it, she had dark, sapphire-blue hair and a pinkish-red dress-coat. She wore a white beanie and scarf, loosely tied around her neck. She seemed to be around his age, though she was much shorter than him and Barry. She had a gentle, dainty figure, though she hauled a massive briefcase with both her hands, showing that she was a lot stronger than she appeared.

"Professor Rowan," the girl repeated, out of breath. She set the briefcase down beside him and put her hands on her knees. Lucas was acutely aware of Barry's narrowed gaze as he looked at the girl, deep in thought.

"Don't do that," Professor Rowan told her gruffly, patting her back. "It blocks the oxygen into your lungs."

"R-right." She stood up straight, rubbing her arms from carrying the weight of the Professor's research.

He nodded and turned to Lucas and Barry, causing the latter to snap out of his thoughts. "As I am sure both of you heard, yes, I am the Pokémon Professor of the Sinnoh region, Marcus Rowan. Though I would appreciate it if you refer to me as 'Professor Rowan.'" He frowned. "You both said you wanted a Pokémon from my lab in Sandgem?" They nodded slowly, and Rowan looked between the two of them. "Very well. Although the two of you were extremely reckless in your actions earlier, I can see your bravery and strength to do what's right. And as such, I will gift you both Pokémon, if nothing else than to keep you both from being killed on your journeys."

Wait, had he heard right? Was he really-?

I'm getting a Pokémon...

Lucas's gray eyes lit up at the thought, and he shared his excited gaze with Barry.

"Ahem." Once again the Professor directed their attention back to him. "There is a catch, though."

"What... what is it?" Lucas hesitantly asked, his smile faltering.

"With these Pokémon, I expect the two of you to help me explore the Sinnoh region and collect data in the hundreds of species residing in this vast place."

"Of course! Yeah!" Barry shouted, hardly taking any time to process his request. "Now when can I have my Pokémon?"

Suddenly the girl standing beside Rowan laughed softly, her cheery voice filling the air. "Still as impatient as always, huh, Barry?" She opened her eyes, her sapphire gaze meeting Barry's orange-brown one.

"Dawn!" He grinned and laughed as she gave him a hug. "I didn't think it was really you."

"Been a while hasn't it?" She asked him, smiling. "And you're so much... taller than I thought."

"Well, I-"

Professor Rowan coughed, making both teens freeze and quickly move away from one another. He raised an eye at Lucas's crossed arms as the boy stared at Dawn. "As I was saying... this girl here is my assistant, Dawn Berlitz. Like you two, she was given a Starter Pokémon and is tasked with collecting data on Pokémon. And, as she is my newest assistant, she will be the one to present you both with your first Pokémon."

"Yep!" Dawn stood up taller. "I haven't started helping him out until recently, but it's exciting to be able to give Trainers their beginning Pokémon- and to one of my friends, no less!"

As she kneeled down to open the briefcase, Lucas glanced at Barry for a second. How in the world do those two know each other so well? Is there something I'm missing..?

The bluenette opened the case and took out several huge stacks of papers, revealing two shiny red Poké Balls underneath. She lifted the case up and looked at Barry and Lucas, waiting for them to choose their Pokémon.

Only two? Lucas thought, looking at the pair of Starter Poké Balls. I thought there were three Starters..? He ignored the thoughts and glanced at Barry, waiting for him to take his pick.

"No, go ahead," Barry told him, grinning. "I wouldn't want to be a bad friend," his grin turned into a smirk. "Especially since your birthday is tomorrow."

Lucas flinched at that, and his eyes widened. "Barry!" He hissed annoyed, before quickly snatching the Poké Ball closest to himself. He could feel a calming aura surrounding himself as his fingers brushed against the freezing metal of the Ball, though he was still a bit annoyed with his friend.

Barry ruffled his hair and grabbed the remaining Poké Ball, not at all worried with what he might have ended up with. Lucas could easily imagine him saying something like "I already got the one I want, so there's no need to check if I'm right."

"Your birthday?" Dawn's cheery voice distracted him from his thoughts. "That's so awesome!" She put the papers back into their case and closed it, before standing up and smiling at Lucas. "How old will you be?"

Lucas said nothing and crossed his arms; he didn't like talking about his birthday, and hated being reminded of it.

"He'll be eighteen!" Barry said for him, throwing his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. He looked back at Dawn. "If I remember correctly, you'll be eighteen too in a few months, right?"

"Mhm!" Dawn nodded.

"Excuse me for interrupting everything," Professor Rowan began. "But Sandgem is several hours away, and I would like to get there before nightfall." And then he took the briefcase and began walking east, leaving the three teens behind to follow him.

Dawn and Barry laughed as they walked after the Professor, Lucas completely forgotten about and trailing behind them... Leaving him trailing after his only friend and a complete stranger... He glanced down at his Poké Ball. That's right, this was his Pokémon. The thought alone seemed foreign to him, though it did cause a bit of pride to grow in him. Even if he had no idea who his first partner was...

The group kept walking, the sun eventually rising and melting the thin layer of snow that had begun to harden. Several Pokémon, such as Bidoof, Kricketot, and even a Skwovet came out of hiding and watched the four pass by.

"Lucas..." Barry's tired whine brought the dark-haired teen back to the present. "How are you not tired? We've been walking for hours."

Lucas rolled his eyes, noticing his friend's slower steps. "Well, unlike you, I can actually handle long distances."

Barry frowned. "That's only because you're so much slower than me!" He huffed and stopped, pausing his walk to look at a herd of Deerling off in the distance.

"You two seem close," Dawn commented, choosing to walk on Lucas's other side. Her bright sapphire eyes gazed up at his gray ones, and the hint of a smile was shown on her lips.

"We are," Lucas told her simply. He looked off to the side, avoiding her smile.

Dawn laughed quietly. "Are you always this stern, Luke?"

"No." He glanced at her for a second. "And my name's not Luke. It's Lucas." He said nothing else.

"My bad," she apologized quickly. She was quiet for a few steps before continuing. "So how long have you two known each other..?"

"Could ask the same about you," Lucas muttered under his breath. He responded a bit louder, "Since we were kids. We've grown up so close that we're practically brothers at this point." He turned his head to her, an eyebrow raised. "Why are you even asking me all this? Are you trying to get me to tell him you like him or something?"

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed pink. "Oh, Arceus no! I mean.. I did have a small crush on him, but that was years ago. I've grown from that since then. For now I'm just happy to see an old friend again."

A smile appeared on Lucas's face for a second, a bit of the tension and unease about Dawn fading away. But even though his smile was only present for a second, it wasn't unnoticed by the younger girl beside him.

"Oh, look at that! You can smile!" She nudged his arm. "I was beginning to think that you were just an emotionless guy with no..." her grin faded and she trailed off, her gaze growing distant as if recalling something.

Lucas frowned and nudged her right back. "You alright?"

Her attention snapped back to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm fine." She smiled brightly and looked ahead again, neither one saying anything else. Finally she broke the silence again. "Barry didn't tell you how we met, did he?"

Lucas shook his head. "He hasn't mentioned you at all that I can recall..."

"Awesome! That means I can share the story again!" Dawn grinned and skipped happily. For someone the same age as me, she sure does act pretty childish... her taller companion thought silently to himself.

"Okay, so every couple of years, there's a Pokémon camp throughout the world. It's like a way to explore the different regions. You can learn about the different cultures, or try the different foods... though most importantly, you can learn about all of the native Pokémon that live there." She looked at Lucas for a second, as if sending his approval for her to continue speaking. "Well anyway, even I was around eight or nine, the summer camp was over in Alola. I really wanted to go and visit there, since the hot and humid climate was so much different than what we're used to here in Sinnoh, with the snow and all.

"My parents surprised me with the trip, and so I went all the way over there..." She froze. "Argh! Sorry! I didn't mean to ramble on about all this..."

"You're fine," Lucas told her, a bit amused by her embarrassment. Though he had to admit that she was much more enjoyable to listen to than Ms. Jun.

She flashed him a grateful glance before resuming her story. "I met Barry at that camp. He was running around, chasing all of the girls with a Pyukumuku." She laughed at the memory. "When he got to me, I wasn't scared of it, much to his surprise and annoyance. We became friends that afternoon, after realizing that we both were from Sinnoh. So yeah, that's basically it. We promised we would meet again sometime, and here we are, almost ten years later."

"Wow." Lucas blinked. He was trying to decide which was funnier: the image of Barry running around with a Pyukumuku, or of his dumbfounded face when Dawn wasn't scared of it.

"Yeah..." Dawn laughed and scratched the back of her head. "There's going to be another camp this summer, I believe. Over in Fiore... I think my little sister might be going over there for it, though I'm not completely sure..."

Lucas tilted his head. "Sister?"

"Yeah, she's—"

"DAWN!!" A young girl charged towards the bluenette, her light brown hair tied up into messy Tepig-tails.

"Kate!" Dawn scooped up the little girl, smiling. Their eyes were the same shade of dark blue, so it wasn't hard for Lucas to guess that this little girl was Dawn's sister.

They had finally reached Sandgem Town, ignoring Barry's muttered "Finally, civilization!" as Professor Rowan led him into his lab.

The young girl, Kate, stepped back and grinned at Lucas, two of her teeth missing. "Hiya! 'M Kate!"

Lucas couldn't help but smile, and he knelt dow to her height. "Hi Kate. I'm Lucas."

Kate stared at him blankly, before turning back to her sister. "Papa's waiting in the lab for you... And now that you're here..." She yawned. "I'm going back to our room to sleep... Bye."

"So much for that," Lucas grumbled, standing back up as the girl fled off back to her home. He glanced at the sky, noticing how dark it had become.

"Oh! Um, you should probably go over to the lab for the night. The rooms there are a ton better than the ones over at Pokémon Centers." Dawn hesitated, kicking a rock on the ground. "Come on, I'll take you there."

He found himself following her, although he could very easily tell her that he could find the place himself. She opened the front doors to the lab and he stepped inside.

The place was massive. White walls, with a high ceiling and tables scattered throughout. There were also a few containers in some corners, with various things inside. Along the far wall was a fridge and counter, with a larger table for meals.

The boy looked around silently, seeing Professor Rowan speaking time another man at one of the tables, a mug of coffee already in the older man's hands. The other man, from what Lucas could see, was a bit shorter than the Professor, and had dark brown hair and glasses.

"Oh... well since they're busy..." Dawn pointed star a set of stairs along one of the walls. "The last few rooms should be empty. You should rest in one of them for the night." She rocked back and forth on her heels, obviously uncomfortable with the silence.

Lucas cleared his throat. "Right. Thanks."

The two were silent, an awkward quietness surrounding them. "Well, bye!" Dawn blurted and spun around to exit the building before he could say anything to her.

Lucas shook his head. Girls are weird... He went to the staircase Dawn had showed him and made his way to the back rooms at the end of the hallway. He gingerly turned the doorknob of one, pleased to find that it was unlocked, and entered.

"Seems like Dawn and I both have being awkward with others in common," Lucas muttered to himself as he set his bag down and changed out of his clothes, thankful to finally be free of his white scarf.

From what it seemed like here, Sandgem was a small town, smaller than Twinleaf even. And much like how Lucas had only Barry to talk to, it seemed that Dawn was really only ever around the Professor or her sister; so he wasn't the slightest bit surprised by her farewell to him.

The seventeen-year-old went under the covers of his bed, shivering slightly. He pulled the blankets up tighter and closed his eyes. It would be his last night being this age...

He had hoped to drift off peacefully. Though, like every year, all he saw was a nightmare of the events that happened years ago...

——————
Lucas-
• Sandgem Town
• Badges: N/A
• Pokémon:
1. ???- "???" Lv. ???

    Heya, it's Zel.
    Okay, so yay for Dawn and Lucas finally meeting!! It's been one chapter too long. Oh well, now they can hopefully become friends now that they've met...
    And about Kate... I've recently fallen in love with the Pokémon Ranger games, particularly Shadows of Almia (thanks Jaiden). So anyway I've been planning to have Kate be Dawn's little sister for a few weeks..
    Finally, any thoughts about Lucas's Starter..? I'm sure a lot of you can already guess what he got lol.
   
    Oh, and really quick- the next chapter won't be for a week or two, since I'm trying to work on FoG. Soooo... yeah. See y'all in the next update.