A Platinum Journey
Chapter One
Serendipity
It was another calm, peaceful morning in the town of Twinleaf. The sun, just barely over the horizon, was lightly touching its warm rays on the earth. Flocks of Starly flew over the small town, all in search of their morning feed.
As a result of early spring, a light snow covered the ground. It wasn't enough to deter anyone from their usual habits, though.
Early it may be, plenty of people were awake. Some were walking their Pokémon or heading off to work, and some for no apparent reason at all.
One person in particular was a little all too excited at such an early hour. Tapping his foot impatiently, he looked up at his friend's room with an eager, orange gaze. Bending down he picked up a pebble, and then tossed it at her window. It made a distinct 'ping' noise, and shortly after the girl appeared by the window mouthing for him to wait.
Angrily, he began to tap his foot in annoyance again. She was making them late, and late was something Barry hated to be. His motto: to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is to be dead, and fined...heavily.
After another treacherous moment of waiting, his friend finally came out of her house, still adjusting her white scarf. "Finally, Dawn," Barry groaned.
She rolled her eyes. "Pardon me. I'm sorry I forgot to schedule for my mom to be out of town."
At this, Barry grumbled. She could be such a pain...but a very cute pain. The way she could be all smiles one minute then dancing a temper tantrum the next. She may be his opposite, but Barry could confidently say that he liked her more than a friend should.
"You sure your mom isn't leaving for work for a few more hours?" Barry asked. Keeping Dawn out of trouble was something he tried to do, but was never really successful at it.
"Hopefully," she simply answered.
This was enough to suffice Barry. Now, the challenge he posed every time they went to the lake. "Race ya' to the lake," he proposed.
Dawn smiled. They had done this ever since they were little, and he usually won, but today, Dawn felt like she had a good shot. "Nah, I don't feel like running today," She said, with an inward smirk.
This made Barry sigh. "Fine, you're no fun anymore."
They began to walk towards the pathway that forked to go to Sandgem Town, and the lake. Making sure that Barry wasn't aware of her intentions, Dawn quickly began to run ahead. "Psych!"
Barry snickered. He figured as much. "You little- Dawn look out!"
Just in time for Dawn to hear his warning, she rammed into someone. They didn't fall, but the person had to support Dawn and his own weight. Quickly, Dawn stood tall, and back away, blushing out of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry!" She apologized.
The guy smiled nervously as he too began to apologize. "No, you're fine. I was the one not paying attention."
A few feet away, the three Pokémon that were following the boy watched the scene unfold. The little fire chimp began to take great interest in the girl though. The water penguin was taking interest in the blonde boy, and the grass turtle was taking interest in a patch of clover. "Chim..." the fire chimp mumbled, before sprinting over to the girl and leaping up on her shoulder. "Chim-Chimchar!" He greeted, flashing her his toothy smile.
Though Dawn was surprised by his welcome, she couldn't help but smile over how cute he was. "Now, Chimchar, that's not the proper way to approach somebody," the boy said, still speaking nervously.
Dawn giggled. "Well, if this is improper, than I guess running into somebody for a first impression is even less proper."
The boy laughed lightly at her remark. "By the way, I'm Lucas," he introduced.
As Dawn introduced herself and Barry, a feeling of disgust fell upon the blonde boy. Their giggle talk was making him want to gag himself.
That's when he noticed that the blue penguin had toddled over to him. "Pip-lup!" He called in a shrill tone. Out of the three starters traveling with the boy, Piplup was Barry's favorite by far. They turned into the powerful Empoleon, and with proper training, they could easily overpower the other starters.
"Well, I guess I'll introduce you all," Lucas began, glancing over the three Pokémon. "The one on your shoulder is Chimchar, the penguin is Piplup, and the grass turtle over there is Turtwig. He's my personal favorite," he introduced, all Pokémon smiling when their names were called.
"Are they yours?" Dawn asked, now holding Chimchar in her arms.
Lucas shook his head. "No, they belong to Professor Rowan. I'm just one of his assistants."
Dawn's eyes lit up at the professor's name. She had always enjoyed programs about him and other region professors when she was younger, and she still found his work to be amazing. "You work for him? That's amazing!" Dawn beamed.
Lucas blushed. "Y-yeah, he just wanted me to take the Pokémon to the lake for some fresh air. Well, you know what I'm doing. Mind if I ask why you two are out so early?" He decided to ask, glancing from Barry back to Dawn.
Dawn shrugged. "Kind of a long story really," she answered, messing with the fur on Chimchar's head.
Looking up from Piplup, Barry gave her a questioning look. "Dude, we're sneaking out. How long of a story can that be?" He asked, almost in a mocking tone.
Deciding she didn't want to get into an argument with Barry, Dawn simply rolled her eyes at him, and turned back to face Lucas. "We should probably get going. We're heading to the lake, and I'd hate to take up your time," Dawn spoke, feeling a slight pain, almost as if she were upset that she was having to leave so soon.
Lucas felt a rise in hope. "The lake huh? That's where we were just heading actually."
Hearing this, Barry felt angry. How dare this guy try to intrude on their time together? He wasn't about to stand for this. "Hey, I-" Barry began, but a different voice cut in.
"Dawn Platina Berlitz! You better have a good reason for being out of the house!"
Dawn drew in a sharp breath, and her eyes widened. "Oh no," she mumbled, turning to face her mother, who was now only a few feet away.
"I don't know what you are doing, nor do I know who this is, but you had better start explaining," she threatened, glancing at the two boys and her daughter.
Dawn began to tremble. There was no way she could even begin to lie her way out of this, and Barry didn't know what to do either.
Chimchar squeaked a bit at Dawn's tightened grip, suddenly giving Lucas an idea. "A-Actually ma'am, they were just helping me with something," Lucas quickly spoke.
This gained the attention of Dawn's mother, but she was wondering if he was going to say something believable, or an obvious lie. "Oh, really? What exactly would that be?" She asked.
"I am one of Professor Rowan's assistants. We were taking the starter Pokémon out to the lake for some exercise, when these three escaped. Professor Rowan became very upset at this and told me to track them down and return them. I found Turtwig easily, but as I continued the search for Piplup and Chimchar, I came upon these two with them. Apparently, they were causing a bit of a disturbance, so I claim full responsibility for this," he spoke, ever so convincingly.
However, Dawn's mother was still skeptical. "Right, uh-huh," she glanced at Dawn. "Explain to me why you're completely dressed?" She asked.
Giving her a deadpan expression, she quickly said, "Do you honestly expect me to go outside in my pajamas? I mean, I figured Chimchar belonged to Professor Rowan, so I was sure I would have to go to Sandgem."
Dawn's mother nodded. It was believable enough. She had heard some rustling outside earlier, but she just assumed that it was Glameow messing around with a few of the other neighbors' Pokémon.
However, Dawn had gotten into the habit of stretching the truth lately, so she figured she should at least approach this cautiously. "Fine then, but I guess since you're up, you might as well get a head start on all the chores I was going to leave for you. Finish up this little meeting and get back to the house, unless you'd like to be grounded for a few months," she said, smirking before she left.
Dawn sighed. When it came to chores, her mother was the queen of finding complicated and unnecessary tasks. "I...better get going," Dawn said, blushing out of embarrassment. She began to feel angry for her mother yelling at her in front of them. It was so embarrassing.
Lucas gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's no problem, I understand," he said. Dawn gave Chimchar a light hug before handing him over to Lucas.
During that, his hands were atop hers, and she felt her cheeks get warm. Quickly, she returned her hands to her side. "Sorry about that!" Lucas apologized.
Barry rolled his eyes and looked down at Piplup, who was pretending to gag himself with his flipper. This made Barry chuckle. "Same here," he whispered. Piplup looked up, and chirped a giggle.
Chimchar gave a whimper of protest. He liked the girl far too much to leave so quickly! When he tried to squirm out of Lucas' grip, Dawn's hand fell atop his head. "Don't worry, Chimchar, maybe I'll see you again," she soothed, and then she looked up at Lucas. "You too," she added, the blush flooding back into her cheeks. His cheeks became a rosy pink, and just when he was about to reply, he was interrupted.
"Dawn!" Came the distant voice of Dawn's mother.
"'Bye," Dawn curtly said, giving neither of the boys a chance to say anything.
Barry grinned. "She's going to have fun today. See ya'," he said, turning around to walk back to his home.
Lucas looked on in the direction Barry and Dawn had left, confusion evident in his eyes. "Strange guy," he commented, looking in the direction of Barry. Then he looked at Dawn, who was now barely visible on the slight hill. "But her," he began, "I think we'll meet again."
Chimchar nodded. He had the exact same feeling.
"Are you serious? This whole list?" A disgruntled Dawn asked.
"Yep, and that's only the front," her mother said, smiling.
As Dawn began to read the seemingly endless list of chores, her mother continued. "I have to work late tonight, so I expect that whole list to be done. I probably have to work really late and won't be home until midnight. If that's not enough time for you, then we're going to have some problems," she explained, not intending it to sound so much like a threat.
Dawn sighed. There was no way this was all going to be finished. With that, her mother left, and she began to work on the tasks at hand. Getting completely engrossed in her work, and not wanting to get into trouble, time practically flew by. Before she knew it, the clock had struck ten at night. All that was left was her room.
Walking over to her windows, she opened them to let the smell of the wood cleaner out. When she turned around to start cleaning, a light thump caught her attention. Cautiously, she turned back around, not knowing what to expect. Her sapphire blue eyes were met by the gray gaze of Chimchar. "Chim-ha-ha!" He squeaked, running over to the confused girl.
"Chimchar? How'd you get here?" She asked, picking up the fire chimp. He giggled a reply, and then pointed back at her window.
Dawn walked back over to her window then scanned the ground below. A bit down she street she spotted a frantic looking Lucas. She then looked at Chimchar and smiled. "Looks like you escaped for real this time, huh? Let's go see if we can have a little fun," she said, adding a playful wink to Chimchar. He flashed her a toothy grin in response.
Once outside on the porch, Dawn began to look around for Lucas. He didn't seem to be anywhere. "Let's go for a walk, Chimchar. He couldn't have gone too far," she said, Chimchar hopping down from her grasp.
While walking through the streets, Dawn made sure to keep an eye out for the stray Luxray that had been roaming around. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get hurt.
They had about reached the end of the town when a familiar face turned around the corner of a house. "Piiip?" The penguin seemed to ask, his beak curving into a smile when he saw Chimchar. "Piplup!" He called, hurrying over to the two. Piplup quickly explained to Chimchar where Lucas was then hurried off. Chimchar sighed before looking up at Dawn.
"He completely reminds me of Barry," she commented while laughing a bit. "But I guess we should follow him."
Dawn and Chimchar set off to follow their penguin guide, and he led them almost to the lake. "Starly, use Featherdance!" Came the familiar voice of Lucas.
Up ahead, Dawn saw Lucas battling what looked to be a Luxray. Her eyes widened at the sight. It was the Luxray that had been wreaking havoc around Twinleaf. Surly Lucas wasn't dense enough to battle it? Especially with a Pokémon who had the type disadvantage?
The feathers on the wings of the little Starling Pokémon began to glow, and then she spun around, sending the glowing feathers at Luxray. The electric Pokémon didn't take too kindly to this, letting out a roar of dissatisfaction.
Luxray's front paws began to glow with a black energy. "Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Lucas ordered. As soon as Luxray began to run at Starly, the bird Pokémon dodged with ease, letting the night breeze carry her in whichever direction.
Luxray became infuriated that his Night Slash failed to hit, so he began to charge up his electrical attack. "Lux," he hissed, blue electricity now cloaking his blue and black pelt. "Ray!" He hissed, firing the attack.
Lucas already knew what to use to dodge. Quick Attack wouldn't work because Starly would need time to move, but one certain move would work. "Aerial Ace!" The little gray and black starling did a quick loop in the air, circling around the electricity. She then went for Luxray.
Being low leveled, and the attack being not very effective, it did minimal damage. Luxray bared his fangs at Lucas. That's when he spotted Dawn. The female looked completely unprotected. Luxray smirked to himself. Gnawing on the female's bones would be most satisfying.
Luxray began to power up another Night Slash. When Lucas looked to where he was aiming, his heart sank. "Dawn," he mumbled. "Dawn, get out of here!" He yelled, Luxray already racing past him.
Dawn was completely frozen with fear; however, Chimchar wasn't about to let her get hurt. He blocked the attack with Double Kick, though received a good deal of damage. "Chii," he grumbled, standing up. The flame on his tail grew, and a red aura surrounded him. "Chimchar!" He screeched, spitting blobs of fire at Luxray.
The fire left little burn marks on his fur, leaving him a little stunned. This little guy sure was powerful. "Chimchar! Use Leer then follow up with Double Kick!" Lucas quickly ordered.
Chimchar glared at Luxray, making him shutter a bit, then the little chimp ran at the enemy. When he was at good distance, he jumped and began to rapidly kick his face. Luxray decided it would be best to leave these guys alone...however...revenge would be his later.
"Dawn, are you alright?" Lucas asked, approaching the frightened girl.
She blinked a few times then looked up at Lucas. "That was so cool," she said, giggling.
He couldn't help but laugh. "You almost just got killed, and that's all you have to say about it?" He asked.
Dawn continued to giggle, nodding a 'yes'. "Seriously though," she said, instantly calming down. "The way you battled, that was amazing!" She praised, blushing when she realized how lame that must have sounded.
Lucas adverted his gaze in embarassment. "I'm not that good. I'm surprised Starly held up so well," he said, the little bird now landing on his shoulder, chirping with pride. "Besides, in all honesty, I prefer contest battles," he admitted, quickly wishing he hadn't done so.
"You like contests?" She asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, pretty lame of me I guess," he said, still blushing.
"Oh, no!" Dawn said, shaking her head. "Not at all. I actually think it's really awesome if a guy is willing to admit that he likes contests. I've met plenty of amazing coordinators in my life, and just as many of them have been men as women," she continued, surprising Lucas.
Then it hit him. Berlitz. She was a Berlitz. When he really thought about it, her mother did seem familiar. "I think I remember hearing the last name Berlitz this morning. As in the Berlitz–Vanderbilt family?" He asked.
The two families we both well renowned for their contest endeavors. With the union of Dawn's mother, a Vanderbilt heir, and father, the Berlitz heir, their power in the contest world was unmatched.
And Dawn hated this.
She gave him a look that said she was angry, and her words showed that. "I really had hoped you didn't hear that...yes, I'm a Berlitz. If I could, I'd change my last name," she said, looking towards the lake.
The way the moon reflected on the smooth surface put her mind at ease just ever so slightly. "Why do you say that?" Lucas asked, also facing the lake.
As Dawn answered, she picked up Chimchar who had walked over to her seconds before. "There's just a ton of pressure for me to compete in contests, when in actuality, and I've never really told this to anyone else, I would much rather take on the gym challenges." At this, Lucas noted a shine of determination held within her deep blue eyes.
"Contests are nice and all, but whenever I think of appeals I would make, they're just appeals that show off the strength of a Pokémon. I think contests are fun, but like I said, battling just seems to be more of a thrill for me..." she stopped, realizing that she had been talking for quite some time. She smiled nervously. "Sorry, I've been rambling on about nothing."
Lucas smiled. "You're fine. It doesn't bother me in the least. But there's one thing I want to ask you, am I really the first person you have told about this? I figured you would have told–Barry am I right?" He said.
Dawn looked at him. "Well, I've hinted at it to Barry, but he's never really seemed to notice. So, sure, you're the first person to know," she explained.
After that, they continued talked. They both realized, throughout their conversation, there wasn't a single dull moment. Not a moment of pause, just constant back and forth with interest. Dawn couldn't explain it, but it felt like she and Lucas had known each other for at least a few months, not a few moments.
"Zu-Zu-Zubat!" A flock of Zubat called, gliding over the lake. One Zubat decided to detach from the group, and flew down near the humans. Using his echolocation he saw an image of the humans in his mind, and the female was taking interest in him.
Dawn, thinking he would fly away, held out her hand to see if he would perch on her. To her surprise, he landed on her index finger using his tiny feet. Dawn giggled. "You're so cute," she commented, making Chimchar look up angrily. He tried to tell himself that at least she was still holding him, even though being held with one arm wasn't particularly comfy.
"You don't strike me as the kind of girl who would like Zubat," Lucas commented, watching the Zubat continue to 'analyze' Dawn.
"I know, but I do. Go on now," she replied, now trying to shoo Zubat away.
He flapped his wings, and took a smooth glide up into the sky.
"I should probably get going back," Dawn said, feeling slightly disappointed. If only she wasn't at risk of getting into trouble.
"Want me to walk you back? I'd hate to see that Luxray come after you again," Lucas said, trying to buy some more time with her. Truthfully, he absolutely hated to see her leave. After all, they were just getting off to a great start!
Dawn gave him a shy smile. "That'd be nice," she said.
Before they left the lake, Lucas recalled all the Pokémon excluding Chimchar, who insisted on staying out.
While Chimchar ran ahead, Dawn and Lucas stayed behind to continue talking.
Once they got to Dawn's house, they said their goodbyes, but Chimchar wasn't too inclined to leave. Jumping into Dawn's arms, he tried to play the cute act once more. It worked, but knowing that he wasn't hers, Dawn knew he had to go back with Lucas. "I'm sorry, Chimchar. I'm sure we'll see each other some other time," Dawn said, handing him to Lucas.
"Definitely," Lucas said, still looking at Dawn.
Dawn nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I had fun," she stated, giving Lucas a shy glance. "I hope I see you again."
Lucas smiled. "I look forward to it."
Once Lucas was well out of earshot, he looked down at the Chimchar still in his arms. "Say," he said, an idea developing. "Wanna go organize some of the professor's paperwork?" He asked.
Chimchar didn't quite understand what he meant until he added, "I know those trainer applications are completely out of order."
Early the next morning, Dawn awoke with a jolt to the sound of the fire alarm. She smiled. "Oh, mom, when will you learn?" She asked, rhetorically. Figuring that now was as good of a time as ever to get up, she quickly got herself ready for the day.
When she went downstairs, she saw her mother looking very frustrated at the oven. "I swear, I can't even open the darn thing without it setting off the fire alarm," she grumbled, making Dawn laugh. When it came to cooking, her mother was excellent at it; her appliances just didn't like to cooperate most of the time.
Taking a seat at the table, Dawn watched as her mother took out a quiche from the oven, and sat it down on the tile counter. "Good job cleaning the tile grout, by the way," her mother complimented.
"In your spare time, do you just sit around and think of the most menial tasks for me?" Dawn asked, laughing slightly.
Smiling, she replied, "Maybe." Removing her oven mitt, she grabbed a letter off the counter, and walked it to Dawn. "Oh, by the way, you have some mail."
Dawn took the letter from her hand with a confused look. She wasn't expecting anything. As soon as she saw the address from where it came, her eyes lit up. "No way!" She exclaimed, ripping the letter open. It was her application form to receive a starter Pokémon to begin her journey from Professor Rowan. She had sent it in only a week ago, but had completely forgotten about it, thinking it would take much longer to get processed.
"Yeah, it came in last minute this morning. Any clue as to when we got a new mail Starly?" Her mother asked, crossing her arms.
"Mail Starly? No clue," she replied, continuing to read the letter.
Dawn's mother smiled. "I always knew this day would come. Have you decided which of the three you'll pick?" She asked.
Dawn nodded. "Chimchar."
"I take it you took a liking to the one from yesterday? That'll be a tougher contest appeal, but I think you'll handle it no problem." This was the sentence that Dawn dreaded the most.
She just gave her an absentminded, "yeah" before looking at the clock. It was close to eight. "I probably should get going," Dawn said.
Her mother nodded. "Yeah, just make sure you come back before going anywhere else, okay?" She said.
Dawn agreed, and with that, she headed out the door. By now, she was so excited at the prospect of seeing Chimchar, and possibly Lucas, that she was trembling slightly. Also outside was Barry. He was hurrying to put on his orange and white jacket while reading a letter. "Hey, Barry!" Dawn called, making the blonde boy look up.
"Hey! You get your letter-thing back too?" He asked.
"Yeah. Quick huh?" Dawn asked, both of them now headed in the same direction. Barry gave her a confused look. There was something...different about her. Sure, she was wearing her summer clothes for the first time in awhile, but that certainly wasn't it. She was almost too...excited. "What's up with you?" He decided to ask.
This confused Dawn. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Barry rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't give me that junk. I know you. You're never this eager in the morning," he said.
"Sure I am. I'm a morning person for the most part," Dawn replied.
They went back and forth on the subject all the way to Sandgem Town. Wondering through the section of houses, the duo noticed a very large building ahead of them. Figuring that the building was their destination, they continued to walk.
"You're never gonna catch me!" The voice belonging to a young girl called. Running around the corner of a building, she almost collided into Barry.
"Gee, that looks familiar," Dawn commented, looking at Barry with a grin.
The young girl with Murkrow black hair looked up at Barry with apologetic eyes. "I'm so sorry!" She said, looking like she was going to cry.
Barry smiled. "No harm done," he told her.
"Anna, when are you going to learn to be more careful? Running into people isn't polite," the winded voice of Lucas said, turning the corner that the girl had come from.
Dawn continued grinning. "No, running into people isn't, is it Lucas?" She asked.
Looking up, Lucas couldn't help but laugh at what she said. "Hey, Dawn, hey, Barry," Lucas greeted, putting more emotion in Dawn's name.
When she heard the name Dawn, Anna looked up at her brother. "Is this the person you snuck out to see last night?" She innocently asked.
"Anna, I never snuck out to see anyone. I was returning the starter Pokémon and then working on paperwork all last night," Lucas said.
Anna gave him the look that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
Lucas shook his head. "Go home already," he said, shooing the younger girl away. She ran off, giggling.
Barry gave him an odd look. "You're just sending her off like that, huh?" He asked.
Lucas shrugged. "Yeah, we live one house down. Besides, her Pichu and Chikorita are around here somewhere," he answered.
Dawn was beginning to get irritated. She was really looking forward to getting Chimchar. "Oh, whatever, come on! We need to go get our starters."
Barry looked at her. "Is this how you feel when I tend to rush through things? Because I'm feeling kind of angry," he asked, watching as Dawn rolled her eyes.
"Oh, haha, maybe I should just pull a Barry and run off completely ignoring everything else!"
Lucas watched as they continued to argue back and forth. Once they hit a pause in their argument, he couldn't help but intrude. "You two fight like an old married couple," he commented, receiving a death glare from Dawn.
"Oh, please. If I was married to him, I'd probably go insane," she said.
Now it was Barry's turn to roll his eyes. "Gee, that makes me feel really good about myself, Dawn. Thanks."
Their arguing started up again, and Lucas decided that he had enough of it. "Well, if you would like, I'm heading to Professor Rowan's, so if you would like to join me, the offer is out there," he said, turning away a bit. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised. Dawn certainly didn't seem like the one to argue so easily.
Dawn was took him up on his offer, and Barry was quick to follow. However, the two didn't dare talk on the way there. After a couple of silent minutes, they arrived at the large building. Windmills lined the fields behind the building, and many Pokémon were roaming around the fields.
Inside, the lab was lined with high shelves of books and papers, and some of the lab's workers were busy working, completely oblivious to the teens' presence. Everything from there went smoothly. Dawn chose Chimchar for her starter, and Barry chose Piplup, much to the Pokémon's liking. This left Lucas with Turtwig.
Dawn and Barry were both given a Pokédex for their journey, and they also received a couple of long lectures on the emotions of Pokémon and a few other topics. Once all of that was over, the trio stood outside of the lab, closer to town. "Well, I've got to go check in with my mother before I go anywhere else. What about you, Barry?" Dawn asked, Chimchar in her arms.
"Eh, my mom already knows I'm leaving, so I'll probably just going to Jubilife City. I'll probably see you later," he said, heading off in the opposite direction.
"Say, I was wondering," Dawn said, now looking at Lucas. "Unless you have something better to be doing, which you probably do, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me back to Twinleaf," she offered, trying to keep herself from blushing.
Lucas smiled. "I'd love to."
Dawn returned the smile, and they set off for their destination. While walking, Dawn felt like she should apologize for earlier. "Oh, and I'm sorry about earlier. Barry just has the tendency to really work me up," she explained, looking at Chimchar who was happily watching the scenery go by.
"It's no problem. I understand," Lucas said.
Once again, they began to talk, and they still found that they were able to keep their conversation going easily. They lost all sense of time, making it to Twinleaf quickly.
Dawn's mother was in the front yard, tending to some flowers with Glameow speculating her work when she noticed Dawn and Lucas. She stood up, and watched as the two continued on with their conversation. She thought it was interesting how well they seemed to be getting along. "Welcome back, Dawn. Who is this?" She asked, looking at Lucas.
"Oh," Dawn said, realizing that they had reached her house. "This is Lucas, he's one of Professor Rowans assistants. Though, I think we already established that yesterday," she answered, looking from Lucas to her mother.
"Good morning, Mrs. Berlitz," Lucas said, doing his best to remain calm. Last time he saw her mother she was obviously very angry. Though this time it seemed that she at least knew where Dawn had been.
Dawn's mother smiled. She liked how polite he was being. "I suppose you're planning to head off today?" She asked Dawn.
Dawn nodded a yes. "Yeah, I do plan on leaving if that's alright with you," she said.
"Like I told you earlier, I knew this day would come sooner or later, and besides, if you have a traveling companion, there certainly is no problem in it. Though, while you go pack, how about we have a talk?" Dawn's mother said, her eyes landing on a nervous Lucas.
Dawn smiled. "Alright! Come on Chimchar!" She said, hurrying inside.
Her mother laughed. "Remember to pack light!" She reminded, then turned back to face Lucas. "Now, it's not every day that I immediately trust anyone, much less a boy, to travel with my daughter. However, something tells me you're not like most hormone driven boys. Though, remember this: you do anything, anything at all in the slightest, I will hunt you down. But like I said, something tells me I can trust you," she explained.
Lucas felt a small sense of pride. Traveling with the heir to the Berlitz legacy, and he was trusted instantly. There was something to be said about that. "Well, Mrs. Berlitz, I hope I can prove to you that I will be a very trustworthy traveling companion for Dawn" he replied with confidence.
"So where are you both headed first?" Dawn's mother asked. "We haven't talked about it yet, but most likely we'll see if we can catch up with Barry in Jubilife City. Depending on when we get there, we'll probably head to Oreburgh City. I'll be sure to ask Dawn what she wants to do though," he answered.
Liking the answer, she gave a solid nod. Like any mother, she always worried about her daughter, but something in her knew that Dawn would be safe with Lucas. After all, Dawn wasn't one to trust males easily, and her trust in Lucas was enough for her.
Dawn returned in a few minutes, and to her mother's surprise, she actually packed light. "Well, I guess I'll see you two later. Make sure you keep in touch!" Dawn's mother said, as Dawn and Lucas began to leave.
Once she was out of listening range, Dawn said something. "You know, I figured she wouldn't let me travel with you," she commented, letting Chimchar leap from her grasp. Just down the road, he swore he spotted a Starly. Battle time.
"Well, I'm glad she did. Though I must say, your mother is very good with threats," Lucas said jokingly.
Dawn too laughed at that. She certainly was one to give a good threat.
AN:
welcome or whateves
i'm currently working on changing a lot of things. everyone's ages have been upped. for some reason, as i get older, the characters i write for have to be older as well.
maybe i'm just able to look back on myself at those ages and go, "no. sixteen year old me would not have a grasp on most of this."
idk yo
a lot has been changed from the original story. /if that was evident already
thank
