AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I've always wanted to write my own spinoff of a Pokemon story, and now I'm finally here for it! I've recently played Pokemon Platinum just for good 'ol time's sake, and as a huge fan of that game, I absolutely loved it until the very end. I was also inspired by rhythmi's Platinum Bound series, which was pretty much my childhood Pokemon fanfiction (go check it out, it's amazing!)
Anyways, this will be a series that I'll be publishing in Archive of Our Own, though I posted the first chapter here already. Made Dawn, Barry and Lucas 17 here, since I always envisioned them being teenagers in Pokemon Platinum (whose plot I'll be basing off for this fanfic.) I also put Dawn x Riley (IronWillShipping) as the pair although it won't be my main focus, who knows what might happen. Critiques are welcome, and I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 1: "Surprise, You Thought You've Seen The Last of Us?"
A new day arises for Dawn Berlitz the moment she woke up from her deep sleep. She winced, both at the sudden light that illuminated her room, and her body aching a bit. Yeah… It's been rough and tiring moving into her new Villa yesterday, but it was worth it. At least now, she'll get to enjoy it all for herself.
Really, everything's been amazing for her ever since she defeated the Elite Four and became the Pokemon Champion. She's got her name in the Hall of Fame, how cool was that? Plus, she even got access to that ferry back in Snowpoint City, whose sailor she had always been pestering constantly pushed her away until she was finished with the Pokemon League. For some reason, Dawn needed to be Champion just so she could convince him. She'd even offer him money, but still wouldn't budge. That sure was a stupid rule. She had the blood of an adventurer, after all. She was always up for some travelling and discovery.
The ferry then led her to the Battle Zone, which by the way, is awesome. It was like a trainer's wet dream come true in this island. The Battle and Survival Area were bustling with all sorts of trainers challenging each other, even participating in events such as the well-known Battle Frontier. But Dawn felt worn out from all the battling, so she decided to be at peace here in the Resort Area for a long while. Lucky for her, she was given this Villa. Being Sinnoh's Champion rocks.
Dawn still couldn't believe it until now.
Convinced enough that she's fully awake, the seventeen year-old girl sat up. She looked around, double taking at her vanity mirror, showing her a reflection consisting that of long, black hair all messed up, blue eyes, and a pink nightgown that perfectly clung on her body. Dawn snorted to herself. She looked like shit.
She was about to get off from bed to get herself fixed, if not for the loud slam! that came from her bedroom door, causing Dawn to jump on her seat while she clutched onto her beating heart. Seeing who the perpetrator was, she didn't know whether she should be happy or mad for such a ruckus.
"Barry!" Dawn exclaimed at the blond, wide-eyed young man that bursted into her room.
"Asshole!" The foul word came out of Barry's mischievous smile. Not waiting for Dawn to scold him, he sprinted into the room and plopped down onto her bed, the male sinking into the soft and warm white sheets. Dawn raised a finger and open her mouth, ready to question Barry but she was immediately cut off by his laugh. "Your Pokemon let me in! Though your Empoleon isn't very good with opening doors with only a pair of flippers. He was the only one around, so we broke the doorknob instead." Dawn groaned. She just moved in and something in the Villa already broke. Great.
"Anyways, you didn't tell me you were here, too! Dad told me he saw you walking 'round these places! C'mon, our Pokemon battles were nothing personal, y'know! We're still best buddies, right?!" Barry quickly sat up. He was the same old boy that Dawn had knew since the very beginning; loud, energetic, a little prick…. "That's a 10 million fine for not telling me anything!" ...And quite fond of money, apparently.
"I don't owe you anything!" Dawn pouted, punching her best friend lightly on his shoulder before she stood up and walked towards her bathroom, leaving the door ajar. She faced the faucet and mirror, wrinkling her nose. She looked really horrible up-close. "How in the world did you know I lived here, anyway? I mean... " She turned on the faucet, cupping her hands to catch some cold water that poured down. "I was planning to tell you, alright? But now that you scared the living crap out of me, I'm starting to regret my life decisions." She splashed water on her face.
Barry laughed again, unbeknownst to him that Dawn was talking about him. "Regret your decisions? You're Sinnoh's Champ now, what's there to regret? You're a freaking celebrity! But since you're being such a whiny brat, you know I'd want this." He smirked. "Wanna battle for it, mate?"
Dawn rolled her eyes, responding after she finished washing her face. "Shut up. You may be my best friend, but I'm not about to give all this away to you. Try harder." She was smiling back at the boy. Barry snorted.
"Whatever. Smug as always. Say, have you tried the Battle Frontier yet? My dad heard all about you, after all, and he's inviting you to come at his place. Or maybe the Survival Area. That place is the shiiiit!" Dawn merely sighed at Barry's suggestions, responding with a shake of the head. Barry frowned at this, his eyebrow raising.
"I know it's gonna be cool, but I decided it's about time I stay out of all the battling stuff, you know?" Dawn admitted, shrugging. "It's been a wild ride, after all, but that's enough. My Pokemon worked hard. They deserve a break too, you know."
Barry blinked, watching Dawn sit down on a chair, faced her vanity's mirror and started fixing her bedhead with the brush she picked up from the desk. "Mother of Arceus, what the heck happened to you? Why so serious?" He stood up, walking towards Dawn and placing a hand on her shoulder. He smiled. "Hey, hey, I understand, do what you want! Though if it means just sitting around here at your new home and acting like a locked-up princess, that I won't let you get away with."
Dawn looked up at Barry from the mirror, and grinned. "Who the hell do you think I am?" She leaned her head against his stomach, which resulted with Barry looking down at her weirdly but didn't push her away otherwise. "I didn't say we couldn't have fun, can we? We're not in Twinleaf Town anymore. I'm still the same person you know and love, Barry! Let's do some crazy stuff!"
A smile didn't crack out of Barry's lips. "Berlitz, if this has something to do with your girly Pokemon contests or gambling in the Game Corner, I'm having none of that. We're, like, seventeen now."
"Gambling are for ten year-olds. I've got something better." Dawn stood up from her seat, standing up and turning to Barry with a wide smile on her face. She placed both her hands on her shoulders. "Some of the Gym Leaders told me they were gonna pay me a visit tonight. You know what that means, bestie?"
"What, revenge for giving us a hard time and now we're gonna beat the crap out of them? That's a good idea, I've always hated Gardenia and her puny gardening club."
"Same." Dawn was getting war flashbacks when she battled Gardenia back in Eterna City. There were hardly any fire Pokemon in Sinnoh at that time, thus she and her Pokemon needed to go through a whole lot of grinding. Her Prinplup back then was not very effective. "We can save that for later. I've actually got something planned for today." She smiled. "Wanna come with?"
"What the hell, Dawn?" Barry frowned, walking and pushing the pushcart behind the girl as she walked down the halls of the nearby PokeMart. He looked around the place, watching people shop around for anything that can be found in particular: food, potions, Pokeballs, and so forth. There were Pokemon who followed their trainers around, too.
He looked back at Dawn, and frowned. Her Empoleon walked beside her. She wasn't looking around, though. With her hand on the other end of the pushcart, it was as if she has something in mind. Still, Barry has no idea what's up with all this. "Are you serious? Grocery shopping? You just spent half your life getting to kick Cynthia's ass only to tell me that this is what the Champion thinks is fun?"
Dawn peeked at Barry from her shoulder. "Calm down Barry, why are you so worked up about it?"
"Because this is damn lame. And why am I pushing this thing for you?!" Barry lightly pushes the pushcart off, crossing his arms and huffing. He furrowed his eyebrows down at the shorter trainer, looking really unhappy. Dawn stopped her tracks, and stared up at him uncharacteristically.
"Why don't you just tell me what you're up to, then?!"
Dawn blinked, then let out a laugh. Instead of answering her best friend, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Why don't you continue pushing the damn pushcart and follow me, then? You're being such a whiny brat." She placed her hands on her hips and shook her body, giving every emphasis on every word in her last sentence. She was totally doing it on purpose. She's really trying to piss Barry off. But of course, she does have an idea in mind, and she thought it was fun.
Even her Empoleon noticed the bantering between the two trainers. Being the supportive Pokemon he was, he stood behind Dawn and imitated what she did. Barry's eyebrow twitched at the both of them.
"Jerk. You know what, I'll just wait at a nearby cafe and earn some money by whacking everyone's asses while you're at it. You have my number, right?" Dawn was still smirking at Barry after he let out his steam. He's still the impatient guy who's all about Pokemon battles, but then she wouldn't complain. It was annoying at first, but eventually Dawn learned that the only way to deal with it is to try and be just as irritating.
"Yeah, it's about you stop running away from me so much and finally gave it to me for once," Dawn teased with a smug smirk, giving her Empoleon a high five. Barry flipped her off.
"Piss off! I'll fine you 100 million if you don't arrive after I whip all the bitches!"
Barry really was serious, rushing off and leaving Dawn all by herself. She wasn't bothered at all, in fact she was laughing, enjoying her best friend's annoyance towards her. Her Empoleon was cackling alongside with her, too.
Letting Barry do his own thing, Dawn continued shopping with her Empoleon. She tossed plenty snacks to provide her visitors and Pokemon in the evening. Money was the least of Dawn's concern; thanks to all the battles she had been, she had actually earned enough to pay Barry's ridiculous fines ever since the beginning. She was not going to tell him, though.
And while she shopped without worry, Barry's arrival only reminded Dawn of more people from her journey. She had always been keeping in touch with her mother, Johanna, so Dawn's assured that the woman's doing fine. Also, thanks to her completion of the PokeDex, Professor Rowan was progressing quite a lot with his research with regards to Pokemon evolution. Lucas is in Sandgem Town too, helping the Professor out as his assistant…
Dawn smiled to herself at the thought of her friend. That nerd. They haven't talked for sometime because he really had been busy lately. Empoleon patted Dawn's back, seemingly noticing his trainer's look and giving her a smug look. The trainer saw this, and yelped. "What?" The Pokemon just cackled while Dawn sighed.
Sinnoh's Gym Leaders… Roark of Oreburgh, Gardenia of Eterna, Maylene of Veilstone, Wake—Crasher Wake of Pastoria, Fantina of Hearthome, Byron of Canalave… Dawn suddenly stopped recalling their names, now trapped into such a special memory she had back her on journey in Canalave City. Iron Island, to be exact.
How was Riley doing lately?
The last time Dawn returned to the island to at least, get to talk to him before she left off with the Pokemon League. To tell him stories about her stopping Team Galactic and crazy encounters with Legendary Pokemon. To train with him before she faced Cynthia. To even show him the Pokemon that had hatched from the egg he had given her—A baby Riolu, now all grown up as a Lucario.
Dawn really only got to meet Riley once, but for some reason it felt like they've known each other enough. It was ridiculous, she knows. She doesn't even know where Riley even lived… Or how old he was. She doesn't have his contact number… Nor does she know where he was now. How was he doing? Is he alright?
Dawn bit her lip the more she realized how uncertain she is. She deeply sighed and shook her head to herself. Riley's a grown man, why was she thinking about him too much? Though she hoped… And she really does pray, that Riley meant what he had last told her:
"I really enjoyed your company. Oh, and take good care of the egg for me, okay? I hope we meet again…"
Meet again… Meet again… That's not enough, Riley. When will that ever be? Dawn thought to herself as if he would ever hear her.
With her Empoleon carrying the paper bags of what seems to be snacks and wine bottles, Dawn now searched for the cafe where Barry texted her he was after they shopped. In the midst of her search, she saw one youngster crying away in defeat. Dawn traced as to where the boy had come from, her eyes leading her to the place she wanted to see. Dawn sighed. That guy's must've gotten out of hand, she thought.
How in the name of Arceus was she able to purchase wine, even? Dawn was aware that she was still underaged to buy one, but hey, she is the Champion now, and she's got her perks. The cashier questioned her at first, but the moment Dawn mentioned that she beat the Pokemon League, said staff was out of words. He panicked for a little while before he went back doing his job and doing what the girl pleases. Dawn couldn't help but smirk at this. She was practically Sinnoh's queen now and it felt glorious. Those were gym leaders that were coming tonight, and Dawn is not one who would like to sit down with them and have some cheesy tea party or whatever.
If it's a visit they want, it has to be one blast of a visit they'll get. Dawn wasn't exactly well acquainted with them yet, but it's going to be a good time to show them what she's really made of, and not a girl that most of the guys whose head they'll pat and treat like a kid. She'll show them she's more than that!
Dawn walked her way towards the cafe, already thinking of scolding her best friend for being the conceited prick he was. Before she could do, something caught her glance, making her pause her tracks, putting her hand out in front of Empoleon to keep him from walking. Just a quick sight made her almost forget she was breathing, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. She could feel herself shake in all sorts of strong emotions.
"E-Empoleon… Is that really them?" She asked. The penguin-like Pokemon didn't seem to know what Dawn meant at first, until he followed where her trainer was looking at. From his calm demeanor, he now looked like as if he was about to kill.
There was a short, stout man walking down the street so casually, Dawn despised it. It didn't suit him, and definitely she knows at the back of her head that he wasn't up to anything casual at all. He was the least of her problems though, because he always seemed so inferior and didn't seem to do so much everytime she had encountered him. Behind him were two women, one with that of red hair and the other being purple.
Now that ticked Dawn off.
Charon, Mars, and Jupiter. They were part of Team Galactic, an evil organization that caused a mess all over Sinnoh back then. Whose plan was to remake the entire universe into nothingness, with the use of the Legendary Pokemon of Time and Space—Dialga and Palkia. Their boss, Cyrus, was long gone in the Distortion World thanks to the Pokemon of Antimatter, Giratina. But Dawn will never forget how despicable they have been, threatening around helpless people, harming her friends and Pokemon. The commanders were not as terrible as Cyrus had been, for he had only saw them as his mere pawns to put his ambition into reality, but Dawn knows how they practically saw Cyrus as if he were their savior, the epitome of their salvation.
They have always thought wrong. Cyrus never cared for them. He never cared for anybody. But they were dedicated and determined for such a notorious man. They're here to avenge him. To think of a plan to get him back. Dawn was not letting that happen.
She's not going to let those monsters get away with it. Not ever.
"Empoleon, after them!"