Dawn put on her pink jacket and finished it off with her white scarf. Today was a new day, and a new start for the young girl. Barry was waiting for her impatiently, demanding that he'd fine her 10 million if she was late before he left her room.
"I don't even have that much money!" She said to herself, shrugging her shoulders. She walked down the stairs, her mother making dinner.
"Hey mom, I'll be back!" She yelled out, making her way to the door.
"Okay honey, have fun and be safe!"
Once she steps outside, the cold temperature hits her. Sinnoh is normal for having its bizarre weather, such as snow in July. Though born and raised in Sinnoh, she was bothered by the weather sometimes. As her mother stated, she was just like her father.
She expected Barry to come and say some wacky stuff to her, before leaving. But he wasn't there. 'Must be at home.' She thought to herself, walking her legs. The snow crunched beneath, making footprints. She didn't have to walk a long way, stopping in front of a beige house. She let herself into the house.
There was a woman in the kitchen, cooking soup. "Hm? Oh hello, Dawn! If you're looking for Barry, he's upstairs. Let me know if you need anything!" Barry's Mother said, without needing to turn around.
"Thank you!" The girl thanked her, walking up the stairs.
"And, please take your boots off. I don't want snow in the house." The woman said.
"Oh sorry!" Dawn apologized, going back down the stairs. She took off her boots and placed them on the side. She walked upstairs, to see Barry tossing out things from his drawer. He pulled out a notebook and bag.
"I'd better take my Bag and Journal, too!" He said, out loud.
"Ahem!" She coughs out loud, making the blonde hair boy turn to her.
"Oh, hey, Dawn!" He shouts at her, walking over and giving her a handfive. She returns it back, grinning at him. "I'll be waiting outside. OK, Dawn? If you're late, I'm fining you 10 million!" He runs out the room, and she hears 'thumps' until the door opens and is shut closed.
'Barry, you know I don't have that much money...' She thinks to herself, sighing.
He waits at Route 201, waiting near the tall grass. He blinks and looks to the right, where Dawn is. He grins. "Too slow!" He taunts her, acting so confident.
Dawn just gives him a glare, before she stands right beside him.
"All right! Let's get moving to Prof. Rowan's." He smiles.
"Did you forget we can't go into the grass?" She plainly says, giving him the side eye.
He was quiet.
"What? Don't go into the grass, right? No worries! No problem!" He took a step forward, just one step towards the tall grass. "It doesn't matter that we don't have any Pokémon. Trust me on this one. I've got an idea! Now listen."
She didn't trust him one bit, but she just nodded her head, about to listen to his crazy plan.
"You know how wild Pokémon jump out when you go into tall grass? So, what you do is, you scoot over to the next patch of grass before any wild Pokémon can appear! If we just keep dashing, we can get to Sandgem Town without running into wild Pokémon!"
She knows that won't work.
"OK, stick with me! OK, here goes! On your marks..."
"Hold it!"
Before he can take another step, a old man comes running up to her and Barry. They turn around, facing him.
"Hey, Dawn." He whispers to her. "This old guy... It's Prof. Rowan, isn't it? What's he doing here...?" He continues, still whispering to her.
She just shrugs, unsure on what to say.
"You two don't seem to have any Pokémon between you? Then, what is the meaning of going into the tall grass?!" Rowan shouts at the two kids, Barry hiding behind Dawn.
"We um wanted Pokemon." Dawn raises her hand up, a bit jerky.
"...They tried to go into the tall grass because they wanted Pokémon... Hmm... What to do...? Their world would surely change if they were to meet Pokémon... Is it right for me to put them on that path...?...You two."
Barry and Dawn stand up straight, serious now. He stops hiding behind her, standing beside her.
"You truly love Pokémon, do you?" He asks the two.
Barry and Dawn both smile with joy. "YES!" They shout in union. Rowan nods his head when they tell them that, placing his hand on his chin.
"A pair of reckless kids who foolishly try to enter tall grass without Pokémon of their own...? It worries me what people like that would do with Pokémon."
Barry gasps, clearly offended by something Rowan said. He steps forward, at the Professor.
"Uh...Well, I, uh...Well, then forget about me, but give a Pokémon to my friend here! I mean, it was me who tried to go into the tall grass and all..."
Dawn places her hand on him. "Barry, it's okay. We can ask some other day-"
"How big of you... Very well, then! I will entrust you two with Pokémon!"
"WHAT?!" The two kids scream, out of shock and surprise.
"However! You must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again. Now, then... Hm? Now, where...?"
"Professor Rowan! You left your briefcase behind at the lake. Is something wrong here?"
Another boy came along. He wore a blue jacket, with a red shirt underneath it. He had a white scarf around his neck. And in his arms, he was carrying a briefcase.
"Ah! There it is! Lucas, nice work. What I was about to do was to entrust these two with their own Pokémon." Rowan said to his assistant.
"Wha...?! Those Pokémon are crucial. You're giving them away?" He asked the Professor, looking back and forth at Dawn and Barry. The two kids waited there, still smiling.
"Hm! We exist side by side with Pokémon. There comes a time when people should meet Pokémon. There is a world that should be explored together. For them, today is that time. The place, right here." He turned to Dawn and Barry. "Go on! Open the briefcase and choose a Pokémon!"
Dawn tossed her boots outside, and entered inside her house. On her shoulder, was a Piplup. It, too, looked tired as she was. She threw herself on the living room's couch. Her mother looked at her.
"What's the matter, dear?" She asks her, her Glameow looking curiously at Dawn.
"...Me and Barry meet Prof. Rowan. I got a Piplup while he chose a Turtwig. Then we battled, and he kicked my butt." She sighed, as so did her Piplup.
"Wow. That's what happened to you?"
"Yeah. Barry was going to step into some tall grass before Rowan stopped him."
"...You and Barry are lucky to have met Prof. Rowan. Imagine if you didn't... I wouldn't like to think what the wild Pokémon might have done to you two."
"I know. I know, Mom." The girl sighs. Her mother looks at her.
"Dawn, go see Prof. Rowan, and thank him properly for your Pokémon. His lab is in Sandgem Town, isn't it? Now that you have your own Pokémon, the tall grass won't be so threatening." She says to her daughter.
She sits up straight on the couch, listening to her mother. She nods along to her, she knows Johanna has repeated these lines for several resets.
"Oh, I know! Dawn, put these on." Her mother gives her a box, and unwraps it infront of her daughter. Inside of the box are shoes. Running Shoes.
"Going to Sandgem Town is like an adventure in itself, right? With those Running Shoes, you can get to faraway places much faster." She explains to her. Dawn takes the shoes, and puts them on. She feels a bit faster than normal.
"Thank you, Mom."
"No problem dear!"
"That lake has a mirage Pokémon living in it. Everyone says it's just a legend, but I know I'm right." Barry points to the entrance of Lake Verity.
When she tried going to Sandgem Town, he interrupted her and asked if she wanted to do something before they left.
She did believe the mirage Pokemon existed in the lake.
"Hey, do you know about the Champion? There's this out-of-this-world tough Trainer who gets call that. Well, I'm gonna get so tough, the Champ has to battle me. You watch! With this little guy here, I'm sure I can get that tough." He punches her shoulder softly.
"Hmph. Sure you will." She sarcastically says to him, scoffing a bit at the end.
"Hey that's enough talking already. I'm itching to get going to the lake. Come on, come on!" He grabs Dawn's hand, forcefully dragging her along. They walk to the left, and eventually end up in Verity Lakefront. He looks to the sign in front, letting go of her hand.
"All right! We're at the lake! Get ready, because we're capturing that legendary Pokémon. Trust me on this one. It's here. It even says so on the sign!" He cheerfully says.
She sighs, and just goes with it. Once they enter, there aren't alone. There's a man, he has light blue hair.
"Ah. You're here. And another reset, I see. Getting bored already?" He says, without turning to them.
"What's going on...?" Barry asks.
"Which starter did you pick out this time? Oh wait, let me guess. A Piplup." The man says.
She freezes up, her Piplup blinking.
"You've chosen Piplup five times already. It's starting to get old." He keeps saying, before turning to her. "Make things a bit more interesting this time for me. I will always be waiting, Distortion World or not. Do not disappoint me." He walks away. "Oh and one more thing." He slightly looks back at her. "I'm not going easy on you this time."
"What was that about? Weird guy... OK!" Barry goes back to being an NPC. He goes back to being the rival, ignoring Cyrus' words.
Dawn takes in everything Cyrus said. How did he know her starter was a Piplup. She's confused about everything, and there's only one question on her mind.
How many times has this game been reseted?