Chapter Text
You are a lie.
Conception of ‘here’ or ‘there’ is a lie. ‘Past’ and ‘Future’ do not matter, all things both equal and opposite are lies.
All things are one.
It does not care what you think. It does not care what you feel. You are part of it. Inextricable.
In that great primordial chaos from before the world was, a lost soul floated. Stranded in a place beyond space, time and antimatter. Ordinary minds shatter in its embrace. It does not matter how it arrived. It does not matter how it came to be.
It eats, swallows. The mind is forced to comprehend-
E v e r y t h i n g.
-And It drowns.
This is-
Light divides from Darkness-Nothing from Something-
Time-Space-Antithetical-
Threadbare Planes split and fold in on themselves as the third is sent away
The mind cracks.
This is-
The World-
Substance-
Hot becomes cold- Subatomic becomes atomic-becomes plasma becomes gas
Rock-Water-Planet-Star-
Knowledge-Emotion-Willpower
Joy-Sorrow-Experience-
It cannot bear this weight. Identity dissolves.
This is-
Life-
Every single Virus-Eukaryote Bacteria-Archea to exist, to have lived, that would ever live
Its contents spill out as it fights to keep its form intact. It fails.
This is-
This is-
Where…where is the line drawn?
This is-
Each and every last fathom of this thing called existence and non-existence alike-
Is it possible to…differentiate?
There is no ‘You’.
The mind is no more.
Spite rears its head. Juxtaposed against the paradoxicalunfathomable nothingeverything, a light appears with no witness.
It sees what its counterpart has done.
-And denies it.
Oh.
That’s right.
I…I…
Am.
It illuminated everything and yet nothing at the same time.
A harsh burning light that penetrated and cast no shadow.
A light that came from everywhere at once and skewered at all angles with its rays.
A light that shaped with a thousand arms.
…I am me.
With it came individuality. Difference. Being.
A single dewdrop in an ocean, lost and subsumed, yet with careful hand, extracted. Physicality is restored through exact precision. Atom by atom. Psyche marred, imperfect. The spiteful light grieves, for it cannot reclaim those missing pieces.
The light pulses. Primordial light which separated itself from the darkness so long ago, rising and falling in intensity like lungs intaking breath.
The lost soul winced at the brightness, covering eyes with the back of an arm.
A faint recollection burns. Eyes filled with light and emotion.
For the first time since time meant something, she was herself.
The light gradually lost intensity, prompting the traveler to lower the arm shielding her face. Eyes narrowed, she slowly managed to make out the silhouette of a creature the light appeared to be emanating from.
It was large, four legs, a long tail. A crest flowed from the back of its head, with golden rings emanating from the center of its body. The creature lowered its head, and she could tell, almost instinctively, that this was the light. Its personification, its vessel. Despite taking up so little space, its presence seemed to dominate. This creaturelightbeing despite only having two eyes, was somehow staringstabbing at her from every direction at once.
She felt a slight prodding at the edge of her mind, like the sound of knocking against a door on the other end of a building. The silhouette of the being’s physical form nodded encouragingly.
It appeared to be…asking for something?
The prodding grew into a slight poke, and not knowing how else to respond, the traveler hesitantly, slowly reached out and cracked open the metaphorical door.
Immediately, her scarred and rebuilt mind was almost overwhelmed. She threw the door back to only a nanometer, relief flooded through her system. This was more manageable.
“Greetings.” The dominating gaze seemed to burrow its way straight into her mind to deposit the thought.
She shivered as its hold solidified and a channel of thought was formed between the two, connecting their minds. Concepts flowed through the link, chaining themselves together into sequences of thought, their connection allowing them to float to the surface picking up shreds of words and phrases along their outside, gradually forming into something coherent.
She gasped as she felt the sheer amount of power that flowed into her mind through the link. It was almost entirely overwhelming, even shielded as the being was keeping her from itself. She felt like a puddle feeding into an ocean, an electric power cord plugged into the sun.
“I see that thou art in possession of quite the talent for metaphor.”
Ah! Whatever link between them flowed both ways. She could hear it and by extension it could hear her. Words and concepts flowed between them like an artery feeding smaller veins.
But did that mean that it could hear literally any stray thought going through her mind, or did she have to deliberately think at it in order for the meaning to go through?
“Thou may’st speak out loud if it be the mindspeak that troubles you so. Be that your preferential method of communication, I shall permit it. Have no fear, for I shall understand no matter the method.”
She gulped, her mouth suddenly dry. “...Whe-where am I? What-no, who are you?” The words stumbled out of her mouth with all the grace of a newborn stantler.
The being stood tall. “I am the being that which mortals have chosen to designate ‘Arceus’.”
Arceus. She didn’t quite remember where, but she had heard that name in the past. Her mind correlated it with a great power. She supposed it wasn’t far off the mark.
The lost soul tried to avert her eyes from the brilliant being in front of her, but found herself unable to look away. Its eyes bored into her no matter the direction she turned her head. She summoned up the will to speak again. “...But why am I…here? You…put me back together?”
“I have been seeking one such as ye. I found thee adrift and dissolving among this sea of chaos. Had I not salvaged thee, thou wouldst have lost thy existence entirely. I am sorrowful that ye experienced such.”
She sharply inhaled.
“Now, for my purpose in seeking thee.Ye have been chosen. If thou will it, a great task shall be yours for the undertaking.”
“A great task?” Her mouth flicked into a slight frown at the implications. Nothing good ever came from great and powerful beings giving great and powerful tasks. At least it did in stories.
“Yes. Thou shalt soon depart for a land in dire need of correction. Few trust. Unrest begins to stir. Space and time begin to waver. Creation collides with creation. Verily, should’st the world walk the dead path, ruin akin to the calamity of old shall come once more.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound that good,” She considered her options. “What happens if I refuse?”
“I shall attempt to retrieve another. For ye, I shall organize for your safe placement in a stable timeline.”
“But, huh? Can’t you just put me back where you picked me up?”
“That is an impossibility.”
Dread climbed up her spine.
“The timeline from which thou came from hath been erased, you cast adrift.”
No. No no no. She processed nothing for an unknown length of time. There was no reason to doubt Arceus at its word. It had been nothing but cordial and considerate.
She really had nothing to go back to huh?
That meant no one to disappoint.
“I’ll do it.”
Arceus literally beamed. “Before, thine departure, some words for thee. Pursue the one who hears the screams.”
Before she could respond to the glowing being’s cryptic words, the light surrounding the vessel of Arceus began to intensify once more. Arceus’ silhouette disappeared behind the glorious radiance of the divine light. The traveler began to struggle in place as the light reached out and surrounded her.
The light was burningfreezingtepidpleasantlycoolalmost comforting as it touched her skin. She felt the glowing being’s power wash over her as she felt her eyelids begin to droop. A sudden wave of tiredness caused her muscles to relax as she felt her body being drawn closer to the light that Arceus’ physical form had been subsumed into. As she ceased her struggle, she faintly felt something slip out of her left pocket and begin floating away from her.
She weakly reached out to try and retrieve the renegade thing, only to find that it was out of reach a few arm-lengths, and no matter how she reached she wasn’t to grasp it. What was it called again? She glanced at the light with her barely functioning tired eyes. “...Hey, Arceus?”
“Dost thou have an inquiry of me?”
“Yeah…could you grab that? My…phone? I can’t reach it.”
There was a brief silence, then the light reached out and covered the device in much the same way as it did her.
“Thanks.”
The lights surrounding Arceus began to spin like the arms of a great spiral galaxy, gradually increasing in intensity until her vision failed her.
“Seek out all pokemon, and thou shalt find me once more.”
The lull of sleep welcomed her.
The next thing she was aware of was the feeling of wind rushing past her.
She rubbed her eyes and managed to crack them open, only to see a huge expanse of water below her. It took her a moment to realize that not only was the water below her coming closer, but that combined with the very telling lack of solid ground underneath her delivered an epiphany like a punch to the face.
She was falling.
She began to panic as she haphazardly braced herself for impact, curling her limbs in to protect her torso. She faintly recalled once that falling into water from a large height hurt quite badly, but nothing would compare to the pain belly flopping from hundreds of feet in the air would bring.
SPLASH!
She hit the water front first, her skin burning with pain, the impact forcing most of the air out of her lungs.
It was only then that she realized that she didn’t know how to swim.
Panic began to bubble in her chest as she began to sink below the surface. The tentacles of dark water below her eagerly reached up to ensnare their prey, the abyss’ grip on her ankles ice cold.
Summoning all the strength she could in her to her legs, she kicked repeatedly, her mind beginning to cloud over. Her heart began to beat faster, depleting the meager levels of oxygen still stored in her lungs.
Breathe. Breathe. She couldn’t breathe!
Her lungs began to scream as they pleaded with her to open her mouth and take a breath. She adamantly refused clamping her mouth shut. Salt stinging her eyes she kicked with all the might she had left, waving her arms wildly in an attempt to breach the surface.
Air. Please, she needed air-
Just as the edges of her vision began to darken, she felt her hand come up above the surface of the water. A cold wind blew against the tips of her outstretched fingers.
Thanks to her water-dampened hearing, she was barely able to make out the sound of a mighty splash some ways away, followed up by a smaller one after barely a heartbeat. Suddenly something grasped her outstretched hand. Holding it firmly, she felt whatever it was pull with a strength unknown.
There was a rush of moving water and she suddenly felt something from below pushing her up towards the surface. Combined with the strong pull up, her head was able to break the surface. She opened her mouth and greedily gasped sweet tasting gulps of air.
She blearily made out the thing that had pulled her up guide her to shore and put her down on a sandy beach just as she began hacking the water out of her lungs. A strong hand patted her back while she coughed out the foul tasting liquid.
Air had never felt so wonderful. It ached as it traveled down her salt burned throat, lingering in her lungs for a glorious moment, before being forced out in a concerning sounding wheeze.
Oh heavens above, she would never take breathing for granted again-
“I should hope so, breathing is a rather marvelous thing, is it not?”
A masculine sounding voice tinged with a light air of pleasant jokingness cut over her thoughts. She blinked blearily as she attempted to get her vision to get her clear from tears that had fallen unnoticed to her.
“Di-did I…say that out loud?” Her voice felt raw in her throat as she climbed onto her knees in the thing most approximate to an upright position that she could manage.
“It appears that you indeed did.” The other voice responded, tinged with amusement and relief.
Her vision focused, revealing the speaker to be an older man in what looked to be his late thirties or early forties if she were to guess, wearing a bright white lab coat that was soaked along with his other clothes. A bright lavender tie decorated his shirt under the dark vest he was wearing. She could almost call the outfit tasteful in a way, if not for the giant ugly knit hat he was wearing in the same color as his tie.
“Why I never…Ugly?!” His face twisted into an expression of mild betrayal, his wet clothes doing him absolutely no favors.
She abruptly realized that she had just repeated the same mistake twice. This man had just saved her life, and the first thing she does is roast his outfit? Not very tactful. Weren’t people always beating the importance of a brain to mouth filter though her head? Apparently, delirious her would beg to differ.
They would always say-they would always say-huh?
What would they always say?
(...and who would always say it?)
She felt her breathing start to speed up. Her heart began to hammer.
Who? Who had those words belonged to? What would they say?
Who?
Who?
WHO?
Her spiral of thoughts was interrupted by a warm feeling leaning on her leg. It leaned in letting out a soft cooing sound. Her hand reached down and found short fuzzy fur. She absent mindedly stroked it as reality started to feel more real again.
She glanced down at the thing she was petting. A pokemon, short dark blue and cream colored fur, a long snout, and closed eyes. There was a small flame coming out of red marks on its back, the dancing light of the small flames barely bigger than a candle. Her hand passed right through them as she stroked its back. No burns, just a slight warmth barely more intense than the heat from the setting sun behind her.
She looked up at the man who saved her, his eyes widened in astonishment. She wasn’t doing anything weird was she? Following his gaze down to her moving hand, her eyebrows quirked at him in confusion.
“You…you are petting cyndaquil.”
“Uh, yeah? What about it?” She didn’t see what the big deal was, petting pokemon was perfectly normal. People did it all the time. If anything, it was the only thing keeping her grounded right now.
His eyebrows remained raised. “Allow me to reiterate. You are casually petting that cyndaquil.”
“Uh, yes? I am doing that thing. The thing that you just described.” Was this guy stupid? She really shouldn’t think that way about someone that was nice enough to save her life, but in her defense, he really wasn’t giving her a lot to work off of.
“Excuse me, if you wouldn’t mind me asking, why you are casually petting a pokemon?” The poor man looked like his heart was about to give out.
She raised her eyebrows, genuinely confused as to why he was even asking. “...Because it's fluffy?”
He turned around, massaging his temples, repeatedly muttering something that suspiciously sounded like Keep it together, old boy. He let out a loud sigh as he turned back around with a big smile on his face.
His voice betrayed his nervousness. “I do beg your pardon miss, but I do not believe that I have gotten the opportunity to introduce myself as of yet. Around these parts, I am known as Professor Laventon.” He extended one of his hands, a gesture asking for a handshake.
She extended her hand and met Laventon’s where he shook twice, and then pulled her to her feet. “Oh um, nice to meet you professor. You can call me-”
Her brain turned blank.
Her name. What was her name?
She couldn’t remember her name, just like she couldn’t remember the people from before. A deep anxiety crept up through the cracks in her mind. That couldn’t have been something that she lost back before Arceus saved her, right? She couldn’t have lost something that fundamental.
Right?
Her name was-her name was-
And just like the sun rising in the east, the clouds parted and it suddenly became clear, casting light on what was previously shrouded by darkness.
“Dawn. My name is Dawn.”
And the pieces came together at last. Dawn. She liked that name. A little on the nose, but hey, she wasn’t complaining.
A warm shiver of relief tingled down her nerves. She was Dawn. She repeated it again and again for fear that it would slip away again. Dawn. Dawn.
Nothing would tear that from her again. She vowed it.
“Then it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Dawn. You caused quite the stir, falling from the sky like that.”
Dawn froze. “Wait, back up. I what?”
Laventon made a concerned face. “You were not aware? You fell from the rift and landed in the bay right off of Prelude beach.” He pointed to a tall mountain peak a ways away, it dwarfed any other mountain on the horizon, standing imposing and unchallenged as its peak ascended into the heavens. Or it would have, if not for the giant swirling crack in reality stationed directly above it.
Dawn’s face fell in horror as she pointed at the giant swirling crack in reality disbelievingly. “I…fell…out of that?!”
“Yes, indeed you did. Quite curious” Laventon stated matter of factly.
“But-but that’s all the way over there! How did I fall all the way over here?”
Laventon tapped his foot. “Ah, yes that. The rift…appears in other places sometimes. That, regrettably, is all the information I have been able to gather on the subject.”
That was it? It just appears in other places and spits people out like the pit of a pecha berry leaving them to die? Not cool.
Oh, She still hadn’t thanked Laventon yet, had she? She bowed. “Thank you so much for saving me, Professor. Without you I probably would have drowned. I’m in your debt. ”
Laventon flushed a bit, turning his head to the side in hopes that it wouldn’t be as visible. It worked to limited success. “Now Dawn, there is no need to thank me. Without these pokemon here, I would have never found you in the first place. They broke out of my lab and I followed. Imagine my surprise when I see a young lady fall out of a rift and then proceed to nearly drown. I merely did what anyone else would have,” he began to mumble. “Besides without Oshawott here, I probably would have drowned myself…” He trailed off as he looked down at the trio of pokemon near his feet.
Something struck Dawn as odd about that explanation. “They broke out of your lab? How did they even know to come here to the beach in the first place?”
Laventon contemplated that for a moment before answering. “ I am not sure. They couldn’t have known that you would show up exactly here, exactly now when you were in dire need of assistance, could they? But then again, pokemon are such mysterious creatures…”
“You got that right professor man.” Awkward silence reigned for a second while she fumbled for something else to say. “But, still. If there’s anything I can do for you, just say the word! You help me, I help you. That’s my motto. I think.”
Dawn reached down and picked up the Oshawott. “You were the one who helped save me, weren’t you? I’d like to thank you too little guy.”
Just as Laventon shot her a look, the oshawott squirmed in her arms before letting loose a water gun right into her face. Dawn, now more soaked than she was before, let go of the oshawott to wipe her hands across her face.
She managed to pry open her eyes long enough to see the oshawott let out a victorious sounding cry before it ran away at full speed with the rowlet into a nearby field. The cyndaquil however, remained by Laventon’s feet.
“Why that little…” Dawn scowled, throwing her soaked hair to the side.
“Where do you think you’re going! Oh blast and bother! My darling pokemon, why must you make me chase after you like this?” he lamented quickly giving chase, leaving Dawn standing alone on the sandy beach where she had almost died earlier.
“Well, guess I know where I’m going,” Dawn quickly recovered and went after the man. ”Hey! Professor! Don’t just leave me here!”
For such an out of shape looking guy, Professor Laventon sure was fast. Goes to show that you shouldn’t underestimate old people.
Dawn huffed and puffed as she ran after him, she never was the best at running, but come on! kids were supposed to be more energetic than adults, so what if her legs were shorter! She looked ahead, seeing Laventon round a bend, she decided to take a quick break to catch her breath.
Beep Beep!
She had barely come to a stop, hunched over and breathing heavily when she heard something faint and electronic.Did someone lose their phone or something? She trudged over to a taller patch of grass just off the path, and listened closer.
Beep Beep!
She pushed aside some of the longer blades figuring that with her luck it was just some bug type pokemon lying in wait to make her its unwitting victim.
She reached down and picked the thing up. Huh, someone had actually lost their phone, and they sure had questionable taste.
It had a screen on one side, and it was white and awkwardly shaped. Like one of those luxury novelty cases, except the body of the device was just shaped that way. The middle had a gold colored ring sticking out of it, providing the device with a semi-convenient handle, she would give it that.
She examined the device from all angles taking in all the strange little thing’s quirks. Sure, from a distance it kinda looked neat, but neatness should not come before practicality! With the weird tail and…ears(?) it wouldn’t be able to comfortably fit in a pocket. A bag maybe, but who wants to carry around a bag all the time just to put their phone in? What terrible awful person designed this?
She hit the singular button on the front side, and the screen above it illuminated. Huh, no passcode. The screen showed a rather blank looking home screen before a singular notification popped up. With an instinct perhaps born of too much time online, she tapped it.
It led to the phone’s text conversations, all completely empty save for one. A singular text had been received from not a number, but an emblem resembling the ring on the edge of the phone. The emblem looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she had seen it before.
- Hark, I bestow upon thee this, thy Arcphone.
- I have placed my trust in thee for this, the task I have given you.
- Seek out all pokemon and thou shalt find me once more.
Wait a minute.
Arcphone. Seek out all pokemon. The emblem. That weird light that engulfed everything.
Arceus!
Dang it, I just asked you to grab my phone, not turn it into this!
This. This thing was really her phone. What had she done to deserve this punishment?
Her fingers migrated to the keyboard like it was second nature. Ready to offload onto the creator of reality exactly how she felt about it’s design decisions, but before she could hit send, the divinely mangled device let out a loud beep.
- This device shall return to its original shape upon the completion of thy mission. 🥰 👍
Oh thank all that was holy-
Dawn blinked, not quite sure how to process the fact that Arceus of all beings used emojis. She simply opted not to think about it.
“Hey, Professor!”
Dawn eventually caught up with the professor in a large field with some sparse trees, a few scattered boulders, and a small pond. He looked distressed, his head in his hands and the cyndaquil from before lounging at his feet. Dawn waved and ran up to him, her voice a little hoarse.
Laventon perked up at her sudden appearance, looking suddenly a great deal happier. “Ah, Dawn. Just the person I needed.”
“You need my help? Cashing in that favor pretty quickly I see.”
Laventon glanced down at the cyndaquil at his feet. “Er, I would much appreciate it. You see, these little ones aren’t really being the most cooperative. I tried catching them by throwing some pokeballs their way, but I’m not the best at it, you see.”
“No need to worry! I’m on the case!” She flashed a dynamic pose, a V for victory held over her forehead.
Laventon’s smile grew wider. “Well, you seem quite enthusiastic, but I would be wary, they are quite tricky to get a hold on.”
He motioned to the small pokemon she had been petting earlier. “This, I’m sure you know, is Cyndaquil, it is a fire type. They are quite timid creatures usually. They tend to curl up into a ball when they’re frightened. The flames on their backs tend to flare up as a defense mechanism. Although, I have noticed that this one does not seem to scare easily. It doesn’t seem to mind people either.”
Dawn nodded and he continued, pointing over at a copse of trees. “Now the one over there is Rowlet, a grass type, but it has been suggested that it may be a flying type as well. I have found that it seems to photosynthesize like a plant, although it prefers to be active at night. I would be wary of its feathers.”
“And last is Oshawott,” He gestured in the direction of the pond on the other side of the field. “A water type. Quite the impish little creature. It tends to use the scallop on its belly as both a tool and as a weapon to chop down its foes, or a ‘scalchop’ as I have taken to calling it, heh!” He crossed his arms, looking rather proud of the name. “It is that one that has always given me the most trouble,”
“Now, take these.” He reached into the pockets of his lab coat and shoved a few small wooden balls, into her grasp. They were around the size of her hand and had a bright red top, which appeared to be made of rough plant fiber. The two halves of the ball were separated from each other by a small metal latch.
“Uh-”
“This is what we call a capture sphere! Although recently, the term ‘Poke-Ball’ has been catching on more, rolls off the tongue better, I say!”
“But what does it do?” Dawn interrupted.
A passionate gleam flashed in Laventon’s eyes as a wide smile sprouted on his face. “Now that, my dear, is a fascinating topic! You see, the pokeball itself is a rather recent invention, and with the opportunities that it gives us, it has managed to reshape the entire field of pokemon research itself-”
“Sorry to rain on your parade sir, but I meant how it actually works. Like, how do I use it?”
Laventon’s smile fell. “O-oh. That is rather simple in theory. All you must do is throw the pokeball at the pokemon. The device’s internal mechanisms will do the rest.”
She tossed a pokeball into the air idly before catching it again. Her fingers clenched and unclenched with it. Something felt right about this. Besides, she already knew her first target.
“Just like that, huh?” Dawn shot the professor a quick thumbs up. “This’ll be easy.”
It was not easy.
“Professor, how do you do it?”
Dawn lay on the ground, limbs splayed out in all directions with the rowlet perched on top of her face, too tired and unmotivated to shoo it away.
“How do you make them stay in the ball?” She moaned pathetically as the rowlet snuggled deeper into its new nest.
Professor Laventon gave her a mareepish look. “My dear, I am afraid that you are asking the wrong person.”
Like all the worst things in life did, it had started out pretty well.
Things were looking up. Dawn was pumped. She had made her way over to the pond where the oshawott, her chosen prey, lay in wait, playfulling swimming around in circles, uncaring of her approach.
That should have been the first warning.
Careful not to alert her target, she took shelter behind a large rock near the water. Dawn liked to think that she had a pretty good throwing arm, so she attempted a shot. Attempted being the key word.
The pokeball left her fingertips in a beautiful picturesque parabola, soaring through the air with all the momentum that he could grace it with. The best shot that anyone without much of a sports background could hope for-
The ball splashed against the water with a pathetic flop. A solid meter from where she had been aiming. Oshawott stopped circling the pond at the noise. It looked from Dawn’s disappointed face and then back to the spot the pokeball had sunk, and then proceeded to shoot her the smuggest look she had ever seen on a face, human or otherwise.
That should have been the second warning.
Dawn was fuming, but she hurriedly managed to regather her dignity and attempt another shot, this time crouching behind a nearby tree, which ended similarly.
And so it went on, shot after shot, try after try, all ended by a small blue menace wearing a tacky looking shell. Pokeballs dodged, leapt under, even batted away into the bushes with its stupid ‘scalchop’.
She held up a pokeball with her left hand. This was it. The chosen one. This was the ball that would make her proud. Its red top shone dramatically with reflected light from the setting sun overhead.
So what if it also happened to be the last ball she had? That was neither here nor there. Shut up.
The little menace sat underneath the tree near the pond, snoozing the afternoon away without a care in the world. She could feel it in her bones. It was mocking her.
Nothing else mattered except this one shot. It was sleeping. Someone lesser would probably would call that cheap, but at this point she was sweaty, muddy and soaked; not a very nice combination when paired with a lethal side of almost delirious spite. At least this way it wouldn’t see her coming.
She snuck up with the grace of a liepard, and once more, her arm reared back.
Breathe in.
The world slowed down. Her arm came forward. Absolute focus.
She was the epitome of speed, technique, and accuracy.
Breathe out.
The pokeball flew. It soared in a magnificent arc, and then a moment later-
Thunk!
-It directly impacted the sleeping pokemon, a distinct clunking sound as it collided with its big white head, suddenly awake and eyes wide, the little creature was drawn into the pokeball. It dropped onto the grass where the ball wavered from side to side.
Dawn’s eyes widened. She did it! She did it!
One shake. Two shakes. Three-Suddenly a huge explosion of steam erupted from the pokeball, The pokemon’s distinct cry was the first thing heard before the pseudo smokescreen faded revealing the oshawott in one piece, uncaptured.
It took its scalchop off its belly and waved it around like a pom pom, before dancing around shaking its tail in her direction.
A sudden wave of exhaustion shot through Dawn. She wanted to scream.
She suddenly felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. A swift glance through her peripheral vision told her that it was the professor. His hand was warm through her slightly damp clothes, her outfit having dried some in the sun.
“Ah…that happens sometimes. Pokeballs aren’t foolproof I’m afraid.” His voice was tinged with an understanding sorrow.
A weighty sigh escaped Dawn’s mouth. “It’s okay professor. I think I’m going to focus on Rowlet for a bit.” She pushed his hand off her shoulder, and started her way before abruptly stopping and turning back. “Do you…have more pokeballs by chance?”
Fortunately, he did.
Which brings us back to the present moment, the rowlet making its home on an exhausted Dawn’s face, with a conspicuous lack of filled pokeballs.
“My dear, you have been at this for a long time now,” Laventon said, stating the obvious.
Dawn didn’t move.
“Do you propose we call the day done then? I will bring you back to the village and try for some sleeping arrangements for you. Then we can ask for someone’s help in the survey corps. They aren’t that good at using pokeballs either but…” The man trailed off.
“Wait,” Dawn’s voice came after an awkward pause, slightly muffled by all the feathers in her face. “There’s a village? You never mentioned a village.”
“Oh bother! I didn’t, did I?” Laventon berated himself. “I refer to Jubilife Village. It lies only a short distance from here. It is the village from which the Galaxy Team operates.”
“Galaxy…Team?” Dawn repeated slowly with the faintest feeling of deja vu. Where had she heard that before?
“Yes, although its full title is the Galaxy Expedition Team. It is an organization of people that have come here to the Hisui region to study this land. The survey corps, of which I am a part of, are a branch of it, specializing in the study of Hisui’s native pokemon.” The rowlet hopped off of her face and meandered into a nearby patch of grass to find something better to do.
“So, you study the pokemon here? That’s gotta be pretty hard.” Dawn refused to sit up despite her face’s newfound freedom.
“You are correct. It is very difficult when it is so hard to get close to a pokemon in the first place. Pokemon, especially in this region are widely feared and misunderstood. You see, despite everything, I do believe that it is possible for humans and pokemon to get along, if only we knew more about them. That is why I have made it my goal to record a complete index of all the pokemon species that call Hisui their home. A ‘Pokedex’ if you will,” he sounded quite fond of that name, a proud smile on his face, that fell soon after. ”If only it were easier to procure the research I need.”
A complete pokemon index? A recent memory flashed in front of her eyes.
Seek out all pokemon and thou shalt find me once more.
If Arceus wanted her to ‘seek out all pokemon’ whatever that meant, then this was a viable route to go about completing that, right?
Half forgotten feelings dredged up from the abyss of her mind. Warmth. People she knew she cared about but had no faces for. She clenched her fist so hard her nails began to dig into her palms.
…She wanted to go home. But that wasn’t possible anymore.
What was there to be done then?
Nowhere to go but forward.
“Can I help you with it?” She almost didn’t recognize her own voice until she saw Laventon’s gobsmacked face.
“O-Oh, are you sure about that? Not that I doubt your abilities, it is just that-” he cut himself off, you know, like a liar. He glanced at the myriad of broken pokeballs littered across the ground from her escapade earlier.
She pulled herself into a sitting position. “I never said I was done.”
She scooted over to where the well behaved little cyndaquil still sat around Laventon’s feet and gave the little pokemon scratches underneath its chin. She pulled out the last few intact pokeballs she had on her and set them on the ground. “Besides, I’m not scared of pokemon. Isn’t that better than a lot of people in your Galaxy Team?” The cyndaquil let loose a very cute ‘Kweeeel!’ sound as Dawn continued to scratch it.
The professor looked stumped. “I suppose you do make a good point. Fearlessness towards research subjects is invaluable, and I don’t suppose you have anywhere else to go falling from the sky like that.”
“Nope. Nowhere,” The cyndaquil reluctantly shooed her hand away and wandered away, heading in the same direction as the rowlet. ”Plus, don’t I still have a favor to complete?”
The professor released a heavy sigh. “Alright, you’ve convinced me. Now what shall we do about these meddlesome little troublemakers?”
Dawn stood up and wiped the dirt off her legs. “I’ve taken enough of a break, just need to round these little stinkers up.” She looked to her side, and then to the other, finally noticing the absence of the pokemon she was petting earlier. “Where did Cyndaquil run off to?”
Almost like magic, a patch of tall grass began to rustle, and Cyndaquil stepped out of it, followed by the other more troublesome members of the trio. Cyndaquil looked rather proud of itself in stark comparison to the ignoble looks Rowlet and Oshawott wore.
Cyndaquil walked over to the remaining pokeballs she had left on the ground, picked one up in its short arms and held it out to Dawn expectantly.
Dawn confusedly took the capsule out of its paw. “Thank you?”
Cyndaduil trilled happily. It turned around and stood in a line with the other pokemon. Oshawott and Rowlet made no move to leave the formation.
Professor Laventon blinked at the display. “Well, I’ll be. This is the most cooperative I’ve ever seen them.”
Dawn looked down at the pokeball still in her hand. This was very much not how she pictured this going. She looked down at the fire type. “You…want me to catch you?”
Cyndaquil squeaked, followed by Rowlet chirping and Oshawott grumbling.
“Well, okay then.” She knelt down, pressed the pokeball to Cyndaquil’s forehead as the internal mechanisms drew the pokemon inside of it.
One shake. Two shakes. Three. The pokeball made a popping noise as it released a puff of steam. Click.
A small smile sprouted on her face that quickly grew into a joyful grin. Dawn’s heart soared. It felt so full it was about to burst. It screamed at her to let loose, shout her accomplishment so loud the entire world could hear.
“YEAH! I JUST CAUGHT A CYNDAQUIL!”
Rowlet and Oshawott were close behind. This time putting up little fuss when she pressed the pokeball to their heads, though just as a special treat for Oshawott, she threw the pokeball a little hard at its head while it stood still, a maniacal grin on her face. The ball made a satisfying clunk as it collided, and the deed was done.
Dawn beamed.
The feeling around them seemed infectious as Dawn followed Professor Laventon.
For the first time since she had woken up, it felt like she had something to work towards. Not so much happy as purposeful.
The sounds of the forest around them chittered with life, the light of the dying sun dyeing the leaves a dark gold. The woods around them cast long shadows, making it barely possible to make out indistinct silhouettes roaming on their own wild paths.
There was a sudden loud braying call from deep in the woods, and Professor Laventon urged her closer behind him.
“A Stantler. And so close to town too-I’ll have to warn the guards to be wary.” He mumbled.
Dawn’s eyes shifted in the direction of the sound. Was a pokemon like that really so dangerous?
“My dear, when it comes to wild pokemon, you must always exercise caution,” he warned. “If you happen to see horns shaped like eyes in the woods, please run very far away. Those who look into the horns of a Stantler have been known to fall asleep and never wake. It is far better to be safe, then sorry.”
Dawn nodded idly, and looked towards the horizon where large fluffy clouds had begun to gather and darken. The area might be in for rain soon.
The bay behind them wound out of sight with the path, making way for the trails of smoking chimneys ahead. Civilization.
Jubilife village was, to put it simply, not really what Dawn had been imagining.
The word village to Dawn implied something like a quaint, well established community, not very large, but with a beating heart of people and pokemon working in harmony for its betterment.
What she got instead was…not exactly that.
It got the small part right, there were small buildings surrounded by hills, with a canal running through the middle and a few water wheels. Visually, it looked the part.
It felt so…she didn’t really know, manufactured?
The buildings were all new, prepped carefully and constructed in style with one another. The canal was perfectly straight. There weren’t any wild grasses budding up around the edges. The paths were newly tramped down. It vaguely reminded her of new cheap furniture from that one store chain, plucked fresh out of a mass produced box with little to no personality to speak of.
The professor had brought her past the gate and into the boundaries of the settlement, walking with her down one of the streets toward the largest building she had seen so far in town, it looked something like a town hall, multiple stories and made of brick, adorned with metal statues on its roof.
“Welcome to Jubilife, my dear,” Laventon said warmly. Dawn wasn’t listening. The hair on the back of her neck started to raise, and she had started to realize why.
This place was silent.
There were no chatter of wild pokemon from the canal or trees, no winged pokemon in the skies. The air was dead. The only sound was the crunch of the dirt path underneath her sandals.
Worst of all were the eyes.
So many.
They approached and passed some villagers milling about their everyday lives, people of every kind, old and young, fit and sickly.
Every single one of them had paused whatever they were doing and just stared at her.
Laventon’s shoes loudly crunched a leaf.
Her skin prickled. Palms grew clammy.
Her eyes shot around, taking in as much information as possible from the sudden sea of whispers. It was impossible to focus on one for too long.
A young woman that had stopped mid sweeping- “An outsider…Looks human…”
An older woman- “Suspicious clothes. Where did he dig her up?”
A rough man- “Another mouth to feed? We barely have enough as is…”
A mother and a son- “Hurry this way, time to go inside now dear.”
“Aww, but I wanted to see. Is she a Zoruark?”
A pair of guards-“The professor takes in stray pokemon, now outsiders too?”
She felt more suffocated in that moment than she had when she almost drowned.
She stared at the ground, letting her mind go blank as the direction of the professor’s legs guide her movement.
She walked forward-could still feel dozens of gazes boring into the back of her skull. Eventually, after what felt simultaneously like an eternity and a blink of an eye, they reached the end of the street, standing a stone’s throw away from the tall brick building sporting the same emblem that adorned the professor’s badge. The Galaxy team headquarters.
“Now, I must go give my report. The stray pokemon captured, your rather unexpected arrival-It won’t take long. Could you wait at the Wallflower until I return?” The professor held up three pokeballs, the ones containing the pokemon she caught earlier. She absentmindedly nodded in confirmation.
He was already out of sight before Dawn realized that she hadn’t even asked where the Wallflower was.
(The eyes-the eyes, I can still feel them-Come back-What do you mean, you’re just LEAVING me?)
She felt a vibration in her back pocket. A notification? She pulled out the Arcphone and pushed the power button making the screen light up.
The screen showed an overhead map of the village, her current position marked, and a flashing symbol blinking over a building not far away. Dawn looked down at the map, and followed the blinking icon to a small building on the other side of the dirt road from galaxy hall. A sign hung in front of the establishment penned in fine characters that read ‘Wallflower’.
So the arcphone had a self-updating map? That would be pretty useful. This was an unfamiliar place after all, and getting lost wouldn’t be all that great. (safe place please)
“Now aren’t you being awfully suspicious?”
Dawn’s spine snapped ramrod straight when a sudden voice knocked her from her thoughts. She hid the Arcphone behind her back and looked the angry adult in the eyes, an older man with graying hair wearing a weathered old apron that had clearly seen better days. He affixed her with a withering glare. “The Wallflower’s only open to the Galaxy team. Scram if you know what's good for you.”
Her tongue felt too big for her mouth as she struggled to get words out. ”Bu-”
“Do you look like a member of the galaxy team? No, you don’t.”
“I-”
“Don’t care. Stop loitering, It's bad for business.”
Dawn closed her mouth with a click and nodded very harshly. “MMHM!” His glare twisted as he went back inside his establishment, leaving her alone.
Alone.
Not alone.
The eyes- -I can’t-
Her feet began to move without her consent, breathing began to quicken, then to heave.
She left the front of the building hugging the outside wall of the canteen, her back pressed against the grain of the wooden wall, and slid down to sit with her hands on her knees.
Dawn covered her eyes with her right hand as the day started to catch up with her. She clenched a fist. This was stupid. This was all stupid. Everything was stupid.
A bone deep tiredness set over her body as tears pricked her eyes. Stupid Arceus. Stupid Oshawott. Stupid professor. Stupid village.
Couldn’t meet the eyes without cowering. Couldn’t say anything to that angry guy. Couldn’t even find this stupid place without a stupid map.
“I’m stupid, so so stupid…” She mumbled, snorting the snot away that was starting to gather.
Groooooooooooowwwwwllllllll…..
And to make it worse, the snorlax in her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since she’d fallen from the sky. Food.
If she were at home, she could have had all the food she wanted. A great big sandwich sounded like heaven. She’d even settle for a measly little slice of toast. That actually sounded pretty good, a warm slice of toast, she’d even take it without butter like…like…
…Someone always came over for breakfast before school, didn’t they? They would always bring some sort of homemade snack for when they would go out.
She felt a hollow pang in her chest at the hole in her memory. That person, she had a special bond with them.
They were always there. Always. If it was calm or stormy, happy or sad, morning or night, they were there. Would say-
“Hey, are you alright?”
Dawn jerked back to reality, finding herself in an impromptu staring contest with a boy with dark hair, eyes and a bright red hat.
She snorted away more snot on instinct. Her face was covered in it, her eyes were red and stinging. Girl, you look like a hot mess, no doubt about it.
She hurriedly wiped her eyes in a vain attempt to make herself look at least a little presentable. It didn’t do much. “Uh-h-Hi? III’m-fine!”
“Uh, are you sure?” The boy came a little closer, he looked skeptical. “I haven’t seen you in town before. Your garb is pretty strange. Are you from a far off place like the professor?”
A villager. Don’t mess this up, don’t mess this up…
“No ne-need to worry, but I-I supp-ooo-se you could say that?” Great going with that voice crack, genius. “I’m actually waiting here for him, but…”.
“Beni told you off, huh? Believe me when I say you’re not the first person he’s done that to. He did that to me on my first day. It's kinda like a rite of passage around here,” he offered with some humor. Dawn didn’t respond. His eyes shifted, and he continued with a slight gulp. “So did the professor vouch for you? You probably wouldn’t have been able to get in here without it.”
“Mhm,” She finally managed to clear her voice of grog. “He helped me out, so I wanted to help him with his pokedex project.”
The boy’s eyes went wide. “You’re helping with that? So…you must be here to join the Survey Corps then?’’
“He said something like that.” Dawn drummed her fingers on her knee.
“If you join the survey corps then that means we’ll be working together! I’m Rei, the professor’s assistant.” The awkward atmosphere lifted some as he grew more animated. He seemed to share the professor’s passion for his work, but something twinged at the edge of her brain.
Assistant? Where have I heard that before? And why...does it feel like I know him?
“Nice to meet you Rei. I’m Dawn.” She digested what he said. “Professor’s assistant, huh? You must know him pretty well then.”
Rei shifted his legs. “Yeah, he knows lots about pokemon. He means well, but that’s a dangerous field of study. I wonder how long he’ll last.”
“That’s kinda morbid…” Dawn trailed off. The babbling of the canal nearby combined with the sunset ambience of the village brought a peaceful ambience. At least not everyone here was all that bad.
“Unfortunately, Rei is correct. I am of a clumsy sort, am I not?” Both Rei and Dawn shot to their feet at the sudden voice.
“Ah professor! We were just talking about you!” Rei scrambled.
“Yes, you ought to be more careful of speaking about others behind their backs, how does the saying go again, ‘Speak of the Absol and it shall appear’?” Laventon grinned slyly.
Rei gave a strange looking salute. “Yes sir, I’ll mind my words from now on, sir!”
Laventon’s smile turned sour. “You know Rei, it is true that I do outrank you, but you don’t have to feel the need to act so stiffly when it is just the two of us, or when we have company.”
“Yes sir.” The professor sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time that day.
The scent of rain carried in on a gust of wind.
“So this is the potential recruit, Professor?” Dawn felt a pressure come over her as she shot to her feet.
A woman walked up to her from behind Laventon, standing with perfect posture. Shoulders straight, her arms held behind her back. She wore a well kept uniform embroidered with the same emblem that adorned the huge brick building across the way, her hair swept to the side above an expressionless face.
Everything about this woman exuded that she meant business. A sensation crawled up her back. She was being evaluated.
“Captain Cyllene, impeccable timing as usual.”
The woman stepped up and examined Dawn, her eyes leering down without moving. “Hm. Professor Laventon has requested that we take you in, provide you with food and shelter and in turn, you will contribute to the Survey Corps. He tells me you have a way with pokemon it seems.”
“You look to be about 15 years or age, correct? Old enough to work.” Dawn’s hands grew clammy; she didn’t have it in her to correct the aloof woman.
“Unfortunately, your recruitment still remains to be decided. We simply cannot take in a stranger without any idea of their abilities or skills. Tomorrow we will test your abilities in the field. Report to me in the morning for your assignment.” She turned around, much to Dawn’s relief and took a few steps.
“Cyllene, are you not going to stay with us for a meal?” The professor interjected before she could leave.
“I prefer to eat alone.” She replied without turning around, then resuming her walk towards the galaxy team headquarters.
“Ah, well then, I suppose it is time for a meal. After today you must be quite hungry, right?”
Dawn’s stomach answered for her. “But…isn’t that only for Galaxy team members?”
Laventon raised an eyebrow. “My dear, what do you think I am?”
The meal was far by the most awkward one she had in recent memory-the only one in recent memory. Beni, the shopkeeper that had told her off earlier, handed them a plate full of potato mochi, which a tired and hungry Dawn inhaled much to the surprise of both Rei and the Professor who were shocked at how much food she could put away.
“Where does it all go?” Rei asked, baffled.
Dawn winked. ”Secret.”
After the meal, Dawn was escorted to her quarters, a small one room house in line with many others of identical make on the right hand side of Galaxy Hall. It had all the makings of a residence- cupboards, a fire spit for cooking, many jars stacked up against the walls filled with a variety of things. An empty chest lay against the wall near the door.
The door closed, and she was gloriously alone.
She toed off her sandals near the door, and laid down-Okay, more like collapsed- in the futon provided with the residence.
She took in a breath, and gradually let it free.
For the first time since this whole thing started, she felt like she could breathe.
Dawn took some time to reflect on the day. She supposed that, for the first day being stranded in an unfamiliar world, it could have been a lot worse.
She could have drowned when she first landed. She could have been kicked out and forced to survive in the wilderness fighting rattata for scraps. At least she had somewhere to rest her head. For tonight at least. Who knows what tomorrow would bring.
She nearly drifted off completely when she heard a slight scratching sound at her door. She tried to ignore it at first, but it only got louder. Dawn blearily got to her feet to investigate. Did a bidoof sneak into the village or something? She cracked open the door, only for a flash of dark blue and cream colored fur to rush inside.
Dawn faltered, her exhaustion affecting her balance. She landed in a heap on the floor, the familiar shape of one of the pokemon she had caught earlier standing before her.
“...Cyndaquil? Aren’t you supposed to be with the professor?” She asked the little pokemon, her words fighting to stay in sequence.
"“Kweeel.” The little pokemon responded with a squeak.
“I’m too tired to go find him right now. I guess you’re stuck with me.” She reached over and scratched its head, which it leaned into.
She stumbled to her feet and headed back over to her futon. She got underneath the covers and closed her eyes, only for Cyndaquil to paw at her side.
“Sure, you can sleep next to me if you want to.” She picked up the fire type and placed it at the foot of the futon. It snuggled into the blanket.
“Kwil.” The small pokemon radiated warmth, something her aching body very much appreciated.
“Thanks for the help earlier little buddy.” A few heartbeats passed. ”You’re warm, like buttered toast. Yeah…I think I’m gonna call you Toast.”
The little pokemon’s reply was a soft grumble.
“Don’t worry, we’ll workshop…it.”
Sleep overcame them.
In the long hours of the night, the Arcphone vibrated. A new message appeared.
- Pursue the one who hears the screams
Thank you for reading. Have a sleepy boi.
Edit: 11/11/25: Remade the last Picture, so Imma just slide it in here too. What a few years does to an art style, huh?
