"Dawn… Dawn!"
Oh great, it was her again.
In the tall, ornate hallways that lined the main hall outside the Pokemon Contest auditorium, voices echoed and footsteps were heard. The loud booming sounds of the announcers came through the walls, recorded music echoing and the cheers of people coming through to fill the halls. Everyone was dressed up—from casual, 'night on the town' wear to the most ornate suits and gowns that the performers were wearing, dotting the scene with individual gorgeous radiance. The trappings of the halls—ranging from gorgeous silk, lavender-toned tapestries that were hung around the white stone columns, to ornate topiaries that had been attached to large iron hooks on the columns themselves, all the way up to the ceilings where complex murals of classical works had been painted—all bore the same tones and coloring of the city it belonged to: Hearthome City.
Hidden among complex decorations, a small front counter for a Pokemon Center was built into the wall. The traditional hardware that would normally only be seen in a Pokemon Center—trays for collecting Pokeballs, massive industrial healing beds, large displays that gave information to both trainers and the nurses that worked there—seemed out of place with the decorations of the Contest Hall—marble counters, wide archways, elegant flickering lamps, carefully constructed bouquets and classical paintings.
Dawn was standing in front of the counter, waiting, pretending she hadn't heard that voice moments earlier. Though she had been done up nicely—wearing a vibrant, rose colored dress that stood out among the pastel decorations around her—she looked frayed. Her eyes had a million-mile stare that was staring out at nothing, her lips pursed in an unusual, stressed way. Out of the corner of her eye, she was watching the display above the healing bed, waiting for the loading bar to reach the end of its end for her team of three.
"Dawn! Hey! Yoo-hoo!"
Nearly tripping, the new person who was entering the clearing in front of Dawn finally cleared the last ball gown she had stepped on it. It was a young girl—someone who reminded Dawn of herself from only a few years ago (or who she hoped she hadn't been). A girl in a white blouse with the sleeves rolled up, a warm-green scarf and long, skinny black pants that were rolled up just above her ankles, her pale feet in a pair of simple black flats. Freckles dotted her face, her thick brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail behind her head, bangs hanging just above her brow. A pair of green eyes matched the green streak in her hair.
Sage had lost her breath, having to take a moment to breathe that was longer than Dawn could take. She handed Dawn a short piece of paper, one that Dawn immediately snatched up and opened to read the small, penciled-in handwriting. It had a phone number, and 'missed call' written in the corner. Dawn's eyes narrowed on the phone number—something was awfully familiar about it.
"I'm really sorry about the whole 'giving you the wrong contest information' thing" said Sage, between wheezing, asthmatic breaths. "I had no idea it would be such a big deal—or that you'd go up against someone like Ursula! I thought she had totally disappeared!"
"A phone call? For me? Who is it from?"
Sage looked dizzy for a second. She then looked up at Dawn, thinking about the question before it even looked like she had an answer for her.
"Oh! It's from Ash."
Dawn stared at Sage. All of her rage melted away.
It took Sage a moment to fish out the key from her pocket, and then another moment to actually get the key in the slot on the door handle of her dressing room—the one with the Piplup painted on the door—to unlock it. Once in, the warm light of the inside bathed Dawn in its radiance, inviting them both in. Dawn had hurried ahead of Sage, moments before she had actually retrieved the key.
Dawn's cell phone was sitting on one of the counters that had been propped against a large vanity mirror, set aside from the many different boxes of makeup and accessories, largely where she had set it before leaving to go to her show. As she approached it, the screen lit up, showing everything that had happened during her performance in the Contest Hall.
A missed call, and a voice message—both from Ash. Quickly sitting herself down, she didn't hesitate to open it.
"Hey Dawn, it's Ash."
Dawn paused. Her breath had become excited, her eyes wide as she thought. A moment of silence as she looked to the ground and listened closely, only hearing Sage enter into the room just behind her.
"I… Sorry, it's very late. I didn't mean to call you this late—although, isn't it like night in Sinnoh or something? I—Never mind, sorry…
"I wanted to hear how you've been! It's been so long. I saw you in Unova, but that was what—two years ago? Two and a half? Anyway, it's been too long, and we really need to see each other. I've been home in Kanto for a bit—actually awhile since I've left Alola. Something like three, four months? And it's been great! I've been seeing everyone—Brock, Misty, the Professor… It's made me really miss my old friends.
"I've just been thinking this past week that—I don't know where I'm going next. And… I've always wanted to know how my friends are doing, ever since I've left them, but I've just been so busy in other place, you know? Now I actually have time, so, I was thinking, let's see each other? Like, for fun? Just see how we're doing? I mean—I—
"Oops! Sorry, the phone says I need to wrap it up. But, hey, let's meet sometime. I was thinking—"
It took Dawn a few seconds of listening to silence—and her own excited breaths—to realize that the message had cut out. When she looked over to her phone screen it was half-faded, moments before it went to sleep. Even when she pressed the button on the side, popping it back on, she saw that there was no more left to the message to listen to.
"Ash..." Dawn thought to herself quietly.
"Who's Alex?" asked Sage, her arms folded as she leaned in the doorway.
"Sage," said Dawn, getting to her feet. "I need you to make a phone call."
Sage blinked. "Wait, but don't we have another Pokemon Contest to compete in?"
"Nope. I'm… I'm leaving."