Deal with It
Disclaimer - I don't own Pokemon!
Summary - Dawn is finally able to start her Pokemon journey. Unfortunately, she ends up with a bratty Pokemon, a pessimistic 'emo' traveling companion, and an annoying rival who's crushing on her! What's a girl to do? Ikarishipping & one-sided Penguinshipping
A/N - Hi guys! Back with a new fanfic n.n It's Ikarishipping…I really love this shipping. :D (it has a bit of Penguinshipping too)
It is AU, obviously. Dawn isn't traveling with Ash. Which is good, because I am a total Advanceshipper! waves OTP flag
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"Dawn, honey, time to wake up!" Dawn heard the soft voice of her mother Johanna and mumbled something sleepily, pulling her covers up over her head.
"Dawn, Professor Rowan is here to see you!"
"W-What!" Dawn gasped, immediately sitting upright. "Professor Rowan?! But mom! I thought that you-"
"He's waiting downstairs right now." Johanna interrupted. "He wishes to speak with you. Hurry up and get dressed."
Dawn practically jumped out of bed, shooing her mother out of her bedroom and frantically throwing together her favorite pink and black outfit. She ran a comb through her hair and fastened it with two gold clips before deeming herself presentable and rushing downstairs.
She found Professor Rowan and her mother seated at the kitchen table, sipping cups of green tea and discussing something heatedly. Dawn lingered at the bottom of the stairs, eavesdropping.
"Johanna," The Professor began, "I know that you're afraid of letting Dawn go off on a journey after your husband's…incident, but she is fourteen years old now -"
"Professor, you have no right to judge me when you don't know what I've been through. I wouldn't be able to bear it if anything happened to Dawn, she's the only family I have left." Johanna interrupted harshly, her sapphire-colored eyes glinting with anger.
The Professor was quiet.
"I'm sorry for my rudeness." He apologized, "but this could be good for Dawn. She loves helping me out with the Pokemon at my laboratory; and I've found her sometimes pretending to compete in Super Contests with the Pokemon. She has talent, and I would hate for past events to hold her back from doing something she loves."
Johanna looked down at her tea.
"I can't lose her." She said softly. "There are all these crooks on the loose nowadays; and some new Team of criminals has been all over the newspapers."
"She'll be okay. She has spunk." The Professor replied, half-smiling and trying to lighten the mood. "If it feels better, I have a few other trainers around her age that help me at my lab sometimes - they don't have official jobs there. I' m sure one of them would be happy to travel with her; they're all very responsible and trustworthy."
Johanna looked up.
"That would make me feel a lot better." She said thoughtfully. She sighed. "Alright, I'll consider it…let me meet the trainer that would be traveling with her."
"I'll take her over the lab now. We can find her a traveling companion."
Dawn's eyes widened in excitement. Finally! After five years of pleading, she could finally start her Pokemon journey!
She raced back upstairs, grabbing her old yellow knapsack and emptying it of all the random papers inside. She then trotted back downstairs, slinging her empty knapsack over her shoulder.
She walked into the kitchen, her eyes shining happily. "I'm ready to go!" She exclaimed, before clapping a hand over her mouth.
"Dawn," Her mother said disapprovingly. "Were you eavesdropping?"
"N-No!" She stammered, mentally smacking herself. Professor Rowan looked amused. "Um, well, I might have heard something about a Pokemon journey…" She admitted, suddenly fascinated with her pink boots.
"Well then, are you ready to go to the lab?" Professor Rowan asked quickly just as Johanna was about to say something.
"You bet!" Dawn declared, walking over to him. She turned to her mother tentatively.
"Oh, sweetie, I know how much you want to train Pokemon. Just…" She hesitated, searching for the right wording, "…be careful, OK?"
"Don't worry, Mom." Dawn told her. "You were an amazing Coordinator, and I'm gonna be one, too!"
"I'll come watch you in the Sinnoh Grand Festival." Johanna said teasingly. Dawn frowned a little at her tone. She hated it when her mother didn't take her seriously.
"Alright then." Dawn replied. She hugged her mother quickly. "I'll call you all the time on my journey, OK? I'll get myself a Poketech, too, and -"
"You're not traveling yet, sweetie," Her mother said. Dawn blushed brightly. Her mother had a tendency to keep her down-to-earth.
"Mom!" She hissed. Johanna chuckled. Dawn looked back at Professor Rowan to see that he was smiling broadly. Slightly horrified, Dawn walked quickly to the doorway.
"I'll wait at the car, Professor Rowan!" She squeaked before darting outside. She thought she heard faint laughter from inside.
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"Dawn, this is Madison." Three eccentric trainers later, Professor Rowan introduced Hikari to a brown-eyed girl hopping from one foot to another excitedly. Dawn extended a hand to the gangly brunette, and Madison shook it vigorously.
"Nice to meet you, Madison." Dawn said.
"Nice to meet you too!" Madison responded warmly. "I love grass Pokemon. Aren't they just the best? Turtwig is my favorite," here she paused to look down at the picture of a Turtwig on her T-shirt pointedly, "I wanna go on a journey with a Turtwig as my starter and catch zillions of grass Pokemon. I just adore them! I'll become a grass Pokemon Gym Leader! Maybe even as good as…Gardenia! She's my idol!"
Dawn blinked.
"Um, that's nice Madison. Maybe I'll see you around…?" Dawn trailed off awkwardly.
"Okie dokie! See ya around Dawn!" Madison chirped. Dawn sighed, turning to face Professor Rowan who was standing behind her.
"Professor, no offense, but…I don't think I could imagine myself traveling through Sinnoh with any of these people."
The Professor hesitated.
"Well, I do have another boy that helps me exercise the Pokemon, but…I don't think you two would get along very well. He can be quite difficult."
"Oh." Dawn said disappointedly. "Do you think that maybe…you could convince my mother to let me travel alone?" She said in a small voice, feeling childish at such a request.
"I believe that's out of the question, Dawn." He replied. "She's very protective of you, and I would prefer to stay on her good side."
Dawn sighed.
"I guess you're right. But before you take me home, would you mind if I played with some of the Pokemon for a little while?"
"Of course not." He said. "I have some work to do as well, so you would've had to stay here anyway. Most of the Pokemon are out back."
"Alright." said Dawn. She knew the way from experience, exiting the laboratory through a back door to see the large fenced-in area where several Pokemon played, ate, slept, and generally coexisted.
A few people were out there as well, nearest to her was a blonde man wearing a lab coat. He held a clipboard and seemed to be observing a small Turtwig.
Hikari entered the fenced area through a gate, making sure to lock it securely. She heard a loud chirping noise and looked down to see a Piplup at her feet, waving its flippers around dramatically.
"Oh! How cute!" She cooed, kneeling down to pet it. The Piplup eyed her warily and…pecked her quickly on the nose. "Ah!" She shrieked, toppling backwards and tentatively bringing a hand to her nose.
The Piplup chirped again and toddled away.
She heard a scoff and looked up to see a violet-haired boy towering over her. He looked to be around her age, albeit more mature. She expected him to be courteous and help her up, but he didn't, and after a few moments she got up herself.
Dusting her clothes off self-consciously, she extended a hand politely in an attempt to handshake. He didn't respond and she allowed her arm to drop limply to her side.
She noticed that the Piplup was hiding behind him. She glared at it quickly before returning her attention to him.
"Is this your Piplup?"
"No." He replied stonily. She fidgeted a bit under his cold gaze, uncomfortable.
"Oh!" She exclaimed after a few moments. "My name's Dawn, by the way. I come here sometimes to help Professor Rowan with the Pokemon." She smiled in a friendly way.
"I've never seen you around." He retorted.
"Well…I haven't seen you before, either. I guess we just come at different times."
He shrugged then, turning to walk away.
"Wait!" She cried. He turned around again to look at her.
"What do you want?"
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"
"Why would I bother to tell you my name?"
"Because I told you mine! It's only polite."
He scoffed again. "Whatever," He replied, before walking away.
Dawn rolled her eyes at his rudeness. She then suddenly remembered something. "He was probably the guy Professor Rowan was talking about." She murmured to herself. "He does seem like the difficult type."
She decided not to worry about him and enjoy her time with the Pokemon. She would just have to put up with her mother for three more years - then she was free to go on a Pokemon journey by herself.
"Can't wait." She muttered, exhaling slowly. "Just three more years of dealing with this over-protectiveness."
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Author's Notes - Don't worry guys! Lol Dawn isn't going to have to wait three years to go on a journey, obviously. Stay tuned to see what happens…
Review please, it motivates me to update quicker! hinthint