Snow dusts the tops of the buildings, making the town look like some kind of heavenly being has poured icing sugar over it. The city is constantly under heavy snowfall however, so the citizens aren't bothered by it at all.
No, the citizens aren't bothered by it. But a tourist, up from the south of the region to visit her friend, is very much bothered by it.
She has vastly underestimated the temperatures in the northern reaches of the Sinnoh region. Assuming that simply wearing a winter coat over her usual outfit would suffice, the coordinator has journeyed up from Twinleaf Town, through Mt Coronet and into the almost silent city of Snowpoint. By the time she has finally reached the residence of Zoey, the friend she had decided to pay a visit, it was dark, and the snow looked eerie under the moonlight.
Dawn knocks on the door of the fellow coordinator's home. She waits. No answer. So logically, she knocks again. But she receives the same response of silence. Cursing herself (and Zoey, to an extent) for bothering to come up all this way, she trudges through the snow and into the Pokémon Centre. Her legs are shaking from the cold, making it difficult to walk more than a few steps without losing her balance. Her coat isn't blocking the frigid winds that were blowing down from the temple in the north of the town, and her scarf is doing an awful job of keeping her neck warm.
Even though the sun has already set, it's early evening, and Dawn realises she hadn't eaten all day. Fumbling in her bag, she manages to pull out a slightly squashed sandwich she had made before leaving her home. She sits down by the fire- she was so glad this building had one- enjoying the heat spreading through her body.
Dawn's mind wanders to why Zoey hadn't been home. Usually, the trainer stays at home most of the time, training her Pokémon for the next Grand Festival. Unlike herself, Zoey planned to compete in Sinnoh again, trying to win ribbons from places she hadn't succeeded in before. Dawn sighs quietly, frustrated that her efforts to see her best friend had been for nothing. Still, her visit was rather impromptu, and she couldn't place any of the blame on Zoey.
Lost in her thoughts, she's surprised to hear the automatic doors of the Pokémon Centre opening. The lobby was almost silent, apart from Nurse Joy and Chansey taking calls about Pokémon stuck in the snow just south of the town. So, another trainer entering the building was a surprise, and Dawn instinctively turns her head to the door.
Oh no.
Oh no.
His purple hair is distinctive enough, and the scowl that seems to be permanently stuck on his face sealed the deal. It was Paul, one of Ash's old rivals. She half hopes he wouldn't notice her, but being the only other trainer in the room, his eyes are immediately drawn to her. He glares (wasn't he always glaring?) in her direction, and she returns the favour. Clearly he has remembered who she was, even after the few months without contact.
Paul stalks up to the counter, begrudgingly handing over his Pokéballs to Nurse Joy. She asks him to take a seat, suggesting he warm up by the fire.
And even though he didn't want to have to talk to Dawn, he did admit to himself that he was cold, and sitting there was probably his best option.
"Hey." He hadn't even meant to say anything, but the syllable had escaped his mouth without his brain truly processing it. He mentally kicks himself for his own stupidity. Now, of course, she would want a conversation.
"Oh. Hi." She is quiet in her response, not sure what to say to an ex-rival of one of her friends. That had barely had any conversations before, just the two of them, so attempting to make conversation now felt foreign. She decides on an open ended question- "What are you doing up in Snowpoint?"
"I was going to challenge the Battle Pyramid, but apparently Brandon is 'too busy'. So I came here." He shrugs, as though it were obvious. "What are /you/ doing here?"
"I was going to visit Zoey- do you know her?" She takes the look of confusion for a 'no', and continues on. "She's a friend of mine," she explains quickly, "but when I went to her house, she wasn't in. I didn't tell her I was coming, so I'm not too worried."
"Ah."
Silence falls between the two. Paul isn't one for conversations, and even though generally Dawn was, she found it immensely difficult to summon up the words she wanted. Thankfully, Paul breaks the silence before she has to.
"You're a coordinator, right?" He asks, making Dawn jump in surprise.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I saw your match in the Grand Festival," he shrugs. She winces- he was talking about the final, the match she lost.
"Ah. Yeah. I didn't do too badly, not for a first go." She tries to make it sound better than she actually felt about the situation.
"You were good." Dawn stops. What had he just said? He can't have just praised her. This was Paul she's talking about- Paul, who had referred to her and her friends as 'pathetic' for a good while of their journey.
"Uh, thank you! It means a lot to have my Pokémon praised by someone who knows a lot about battling." She stares at her knees, unwilling to look him in the eye.
"Yeah."
More silence. There was no one else in the Pokémon Centre, and neither of the trainers could leave due to the heavy storm outside. They don't want to move from the fire- but awkward conversation was not on either's wish list.
"I'm going to bed," Dawn declares, picking up her bag, and heading toward the stairs.
"Okay." Paul doesn't move. She doesn't expect him to, but he doesn't even move his head, showing his lack of care.
"Goodnight." She receives only a grunt in response.
He's gone by the time she gets up. She can't say she's not surprised- his quest to defeat Brandon is seemingly never ending, and he wants to defeat him more than she wants to be Top Coordinator. She admires his determination.
Inspired by this unusual encounter, Dawn decides her instincts are right- she should go to Hoenn. And maybe some day she'll run into the mysterious purple haired trainer again, but she's not hoping for a miracle.
AN: IkariShipping requested by a guest! this has the potential to be turned into a multichapter thing, but I'm not sure. I'll write some stuff up and see how it goes!