Warning: Contains SI OC
The world of Pokémon, ah yes, the swankiest of swanky digs – it's a great world, honestly. It is in laymen's terms, a world inhabited by Pokémon; hilarious because that explains nothing other than the fact that there is a thing called Pokémon in this world and the Pokémon clearly mean something important because they are practically the thing the world is named after. That sentence also makes no sense, but let's cut it short: Pokémon are cool as fuck animal-things that come with special abilities. The world is inhabited by Pokemon. Humans live alongside Pokémon as friends, pets (no one is sure which way it goes, but money is on the humans being the Pokémon's pets because what the fuck, Pokémon are also gods, they better as hell be leading the human race to enlightenment), companions for outrageous journeys or quests, nurses, fellow workers, etc. But yes, the world of Pokémon is the coolest place. It comes in tons of forms (or countries): Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos… there are many places inhabited by Pokémon.
Of course, the world of Pokémon is also fictional.
Until for one person, it isn't.
Which is pretty swanky.
For her anyways, losers better back up because ain't no one entering the Pokémon world except for this kid.
Who isn't really a kid since she's more of a weenie eighteen year old that acts twelve.
But who cares – anyways, girl plays Pokémon, dies (not from the game thank goodness; but that is also a liable cause because hello, epilepsy) from who knows what, and wakes up in Sinnoh.
As Dawn – or Hikari for those who prefer the Japanese version of things.
Ignoring the anime series, Dawn is a pretty swanky chick in the game, too.
Probably because she doesn't speak.
But hey, every main character is swanky because they don't open their mouths and force their opinions on people. Their silence is what allows us to truly be, they are simply avatars of a greater and more perfect being that has their own ideals and truths – they are masks for those who cannot have such.
Or some freaky philosophical shit like that - the main issue is that a dead adult woke up as tiny ten year old who just so happens to be the future savior of the Sinnoh region.
Not as swanky, but swanky all the way.
The adult – kid would be more accurate – is practically cool with it. Shock has yet to reach her and the day has yet to even start. It is three in the morning and she wants nothing more than to sleep and to let her headache pass. Although, it's not much a headache than two rivers of life colliding with one another; visions of experiences she has (or never) experienced flow through her mind and the output of memories is giving her migraines and all she wants to do is curl up and die. The rivers are rushing and fighting, cruelly merging into a single flow. She doesn't know which flow will win, but even then, she herself does not know which flow to even cheer for; she is but two people in one. But the night eventually grows old and the morning grows young, her body shuts down into a dark bliss as sleep approaches her, the migraines no longer give her pain – it feels like a dream.
She wakes up and the dream she imagined is not a dream, but the entire situation is so surreal that she goes about her day as naturally as possible. She gets out of bed and hisses at the unfamiliar (familiar?) aches in her gut, but braves her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth – she probably just got food poisoning, her ten year old(?) mind supplies – mom was cooking something new last night. Her older and more mature mind laughs at the innocence before fading away and melding with the younger once more.
The girl feels strange, like a stranger getting familiar with another, forming a bond of sorts with what seems to be the new kid in school. She doesn't know what to do, or even what to feel.
At least she has a week before she gets her Pokémon (May God (Pokémon? Arceus? Who knows who she's supposed to thank) bless the creator of the calendar). But why is she glad to get a Pokémon? Why is she feeling giddy at the thought of leaving her poor mother home alone to go on a dangerous adventure? Logic from before (but what before?) cuts like a hot knife through butter – and yet she cannot explain the blissful thought of having an unbreakable bond with such a wonderful friend like a Pokémon. But once again, it's fortunate that she has a week before she gets her Poke – no, not her Pokémon – she has a week to get her Pokémon – no! Not again! She has one week to her act together! One week. Act. Together. Yes.
Anyways, she (Dawn; her name is Dawn; Dawn also needs to get her act together) continues to the bathroom and is prepared for a new day. Minutes later, she walks out with a horrified look upon her face, but her ten year old mind is just going about in denial; traumatized and in sudden pain because clearly she has a severe case of food poisoning.
When Dawn stumbles down the stairs, crawls to the table (not even bothering to get on a chair), and just reaches her arm across the table to the toast – her mother is incredibly concerned. It's strange, because Dawn knows for sure that Dawn has never acted this way (and wasn't that thought peculiar too?), but yet her mother goes along with her act like the universe itself is bending to the poor girl's actions.
"Are you okay down there, honey?" Johanna peers at her daughter's baggy eyes and apathetic look as the girl chomps on her bread, loudly and most impolitely; clearly she can't chew like she has a secret and Johanna doesn't know what to do about the sudden bout of bad manners coming from her daughter.
"Noooo," Dawn moans from her toast, "Mom, I'm in pain." She drags out every syllable in emphasis and curls up on herself, "there is blood where there should not be blood and dear Arceus (she finally figured out the correct phrase when she skimmed her dumb journal) save meeee." She whispers the last part and her deadened eyes lock onto her mother's and –
And Johanna can't help but giggle.
"Oh honey, why don't you go up to the bathroom while I get you some things to help out with your cramps?" Because those things hurt like a motherfucker and hell yeah Johanna is going to help her daughter with her hormones – but she still giggles because her daughter is finally at the worst stage of her entire life and Dawn's reaction to the ordeal is hilarious.
Dawn (or would Dawn 2.0 be a more accurate description), who can't believe that of all things to follow her to a new world is her period pains, nods her head and drags herself to the bathroom. 'Of all things to be reincarnated as in the world of Pokémon, why oh why, did I have to return as a creature that suffers through period cramps?' she mentally weeps. She'd rather have been reincarnated as Lucas (he was cute – adorable in fact, and he had the cutest clothes, the cutest hat, and he didn't have to sacrifice blood to the earth every month).
A single hour later and an awkward conversation with her mother, Dawn is still in pain, but at least she has chocolate and her stuffed Pikachu plush toy to hug until the pain subsides.
It doesn't subside until the week is over and all Dawn can really do is clutch her stomach and try to navigate on the world's internet (it has Wi-Fi, which is great, but it also only has Internet Explorer – or PokExplorer to be more accurate, she doesn't know whether to be thankful or irritated that it still lags like a snail at a marathon). Of course, Dawn already knew about the Pokémon world, but it is always good to stay safe; and maybe check out what kind of TV shows there are to watch (there is a Supernatural with Pokemon showing on channel 7 at 14:00 every Wednesday and she cries over it each night because why – she doesn't need to see Sam and Dean as Pokémon trainers fighting demons and whatnot). But she curls up in bed and watches it anyways because right after it is a cool drama.
Once the week of suffering is over, Dawn is finally feeling freer than a Starly and changes into the day's outfit (because Lucas may be the cutest boy she has ever seen, but Dawn is also very cute). Her precious beanie is over her long hair, her socks are nicely tucked in her long pink boots, her scarf is neatly wrapped around her neck (a huge blessing because she gets cold easily), and instead of a short skirt, Dawn switches to a pair of fashionably black cargo shorts for their practicality and many, many pockets (she firmly tested each pocket and is happy to find that she can fit five calculators in each pocket). She also opts to wear a matching pink short-sleeve under her jacket for when the weather heats up.
Dawn is also careful to leave the house because she knows Barry, her monkey of a best friend/rival, will run into her and fine her $1 million. She sighs and wishes that she could have had Lucas as a best friend; how she yearns for his classy looks and cute beret – but no, she has Barry.
Barry who looks decent in his striped shirt and long black pants and green scarf; Barry the kind of friend and rival who starts out as annoying but grows onto the heart like fungus; but Dawn feels a certain kinship with Lucas who is a fellow main character – Lucas who has a white scarf (like Dawn), a hat (like Dawn), and a lack of a father figure (like Dawn).
She lets out a another sad sigh and steps out of her lovely two story house, and crashes into Barry because it is fate; rivals shall forever crash into each other for that is the will of Arceus.
"Hey, Dawn! Let's did you see the news report? Didya, didya?" He was so energetic, jumping up and down and fidgeting – it kind of physically hurts Dawn to reply in negative.
But she does anyways; shoots him down hard as she gets up from the ground, "I was busy watching that new drama – Manevoir, you know it? It's really good." She wonders if he'll catch a difference in her attitude or looks because she knows she's going out of canon; but he just goes with the flow, as if she has always been this way.
"Aaaaggghhhh! I don't care about dumb dramas! Dawn! Search for the Red Gyarados!"
"Red Gyarados are dumb," she pouts because how dare he diss such a good drama, "we can probably just make one, easy peasy, with food coloring and stuff. Besides – I bet our lake has a better legendary than their lake." It does, she totally knows because she caught it in the game after killing it nearly fifty times and having to restart the chase for the piece of shit, Mesprit.
"That's what I was thinking too!" Barry is pretty overfilled with joy and grabs Dawn by the wrist to drag her off to the lake. "Let's go, let's go!"
And then he realizes he forgot important things (which is ridiculous because they are literally just going to the lake next door; why would you need a journal for that?). Once again, Barry dashes off and Dawn is left behind to slowly trek behind him.
"Hello there, Dawn," Barry's mom smiles warmly and Dawn feels as though heaven's rays is lightly touching her skin. And then it turns icy cold when said woman giggles and says, "I heard from your mother that you finally became a woman."
Dawn can only reply with a, "Yeah…" before she scurries past her and climbs her way to Barry's room of sanctuary. "Barry, your mom is scary, please hurry up," she half whispers half speaks in horror, as she opens the door partially.
"My mom, be scary? Pffft – don't be silly," he shakes his head and then he's off again. He shoves her aside like the jerk he is and dashes downstairs screaming his head off about fining her $10 million if she's late to meet him. Personally, she thinks that he should be the one getting fined because he is clearly going pass the speed limit.
Anyways, it turns out that they are not going to the lake, but to Sandgem town for reasons quite unknown (to her anyways – oh wait, perhaps this is when they are supposed to see Prof. Rowan? She can't seem to recall, it's been so long since she's been at the beginning of an adventure).
"We shouldn't go into the grass," she says softly, but Barry is too energetic for that. He wants nothing more than to get to Sandgem and see Professor Rowan for a Pokémon. The blond brushes her comments aside, and tells her his theory of dashing through the grass and she wails at the thought because she just had her period and her cardio sucks and she hates running and her shoes aren't meant for this kind of strain and Barry is just about to start his stupid game; Dawn is just about to start crying because she knows she'll have to follow after Barry because she can't bear the thought of leaving the poor kid to face wild Pokémon by himself.
"Hold it!"
A loud voice booms and cuts through the air; Barry immediately halts and Dawn turns around to face Professor Rowan, his face is set stern and he looks enraged, Dawn wants to cower and crawl back home to the comforts of her bed.
"It's dangerous to go into tall grass without a Pokémon!" he admonishes the two children and they look down in shame; Dawn's foot slightly inches towards town, but she restrains herself because Starters. Then she remembers this is where she meets Lucas and shifts herself to get a better look behind the Professor.
"Tell me, do you love Pokémon?"
"…what?" She pauses in her endeavors and looks at the old man in wonder, "Why're you askin' me that? That's a dumb question," she says on impulse, "Everybody loves Pokémon – the real question is: why do you love Pokémon? And my answer to that is because Pokémon are great. They're friends, buddies, partners, parents (hint to Pokémon Black and White, hell yeah she has played the sequel and it is fabulous and full of wisdom, but it also kinda fucked her up), family, gods, food, helpers, providers – Pokémon are everything. And anyone who hates Pokémon clearly just hasn't met the right Pokémon to fall in love with."
But apparently her voice is too soft because he just ignores her and looks at Barry instead, who is stubborn and shouts loudly on how he'll (or they'll, since she is also getting a starter, so it only makes sense that the dork's talking about both of them) always say yes to loving Pokémon no matter what.
"Professor! I found it!" Ah, yes. Score, finally Lucas is here and Dawn can finally feel joy and kinship with her fellow cutie patootie.
She never gets to because she suddenly has to pick a starter; Barry being the douchebag straight man trying to get a hold of the better Pokémon via type advantage.
"Hurry up and pick on, Dawn!"
Barry is so excitable, she sighs and reaches for Piplup, "Hey, Barry, why don't you get a Chimchar? You'll be a nice match…"
But her voice is still too soft under Barry's joy, and she pouts when he grabs Turtwig. "Monkeys should get monkeys – I bet you guys could be hyper together and have tons of fun."
And then Lucas has to leave and Dawn's mood lowers to the point that she doesn't want to battle. But according to canon, she has to and canon is strong because Barry won't take anything but yes for an answer.
"Please come out, Piplup," she says and carefully releases the tiny blue penguin of future doom, "and use Growl against the Turtwig."
The tiny blue thing does, but Growl is different in real life than in the game because Piplup lets out the biggest Growl in the entire universe that Dawn is quite possibly scarred for life. But Growl works well and Dawn can see that Turtwig has frozen out of fear and cannot attack as well.
She figure's it's the time to gather her bearings and strike, "Now tackle!"
Barry is prepared for the attack and calls on his Pokémon to use Withdraw, over, and over, and over again.
"Piplup, he's trying to wear us out!" Dawn relays to the penguin, "How about we fall back and wait for him to come out? His defense will be super high, but I bet we can still take him!" She shouts words of encouragement for her new friend and is happy to see Piplup follow her words.
Turtwig finally gets out of his defense and moves in for a tackle to which Piplup dodges. It continues on for some time while Dawn tries to strategize.
"Hey, Piplup, you're a bird-type too, right? Like maybe kind of? Just a little bit bird? Do you think you can use Peck? Because that'd be a great advantage for this sort of thing! Oh geez, how do I know what moves you can and can't do? Um, um, and if you can't use peck, do you think you can alternate between Tackle and Growl?"
It turns out that Piplup can use Peck, because the little Pokémon stabs its tiny beak into Turtwig's head like nobody's business (which is strange because Piplup couldn't do that in the game – but whatever; Pokeworld problems).
"Ah, good job, Piplup," Dawn shouts in surprise, "Turtwig's shell is going to be super hard from all those Withdraws, so be careful! Also, use Growl to stop him in his tracks – it'll help because his attacks should weaken – and then follow up with a few more Pecks and Tackles!"
It takes a while, but they manage a win with Piplup's health being too low for Dawn's comfort.
"You were great, buddy," she smiles and rubs his head gently. Barry's Turtwig is already back in his ball and the boy paid her half his money before dashing home. She doesn't return Piplup to the confines of his pokeball, if only because he feels nice and warm, and carefully walks home.
Her mother is horrified by Dawn's story, but is relieved that her daughter is safe and sound with a new friend. Being a former trainer, Johanna also takes a moment to teach Dawn first aid for her Pokémon. Dawn is forever grateful for the antiseptic and colorful bandaids; she gently places one on every single injury her eyes can spot. Piplup chirps happily at the colorful bandages and joins the small family for dinner, which is Dawn's favorite, seafood curry. The girl is careful to feed the penguin because of its lack of opposable thumbs, making sure to blow on each spoonful and alternating between scoops of seafood and vegetables. Dessert is a large bowl of watermelons, which is apparently Piplup's favorite fruit as he nearly ate the entire bowl.
The night is still young when trainer and Pokémon go to bed, and Piplup is practically hyped up on watermelon as he chirps all about the room. Dawn giggles when he sees her giant Lugia plush toy and tackles it into a giant cuddling fest.
"You like plush toys, don't you?" She asks and receives positive chirps, Dawn quickly rolls out of bed and walks over to her closet to fetch a large box she hid in the corner. She smiles conspiringly and whispers, "Don't tell mom. She doesn't like it when I have more than one plush out in my room – she says it makes it look messy."
And out comes the rest of her giant plush collection. Piplup is practically glowing with pride when he sees her giant Empoleon (who she lovingly dubbed Napoleon). Later in the night, Piplup manages to use his cuteness to full blast that Dawn ends up bringing out her smaller plush toys and the two of them pile plush toy upon plush to create the greatest plush bed they could have.
Neither of them regrets having to clean up the mess when Johanna walks in on their new bed the next morning.
Author's Note
Mm, yes, yes, welcome. This is indeed a Self-Insert fic. Leave a review, if you so desire, but I'm writing this purely for my own enjoyment, so I will continue to write this regardless of your actions.
Flames will be ignored because your opinions do not matter to me.
Critique will be appreciated, along with offers for beta-reading.
Compliments/favorites/follows are appreciated.