Chapter 1

Sowing Season

The crescent-shaped moon reflected off the lake's calm surface. The lake gave an enchanting look with a deep, vivid blue that appeared as polished glass and it acted as a large mirror for the phasing white moon The Kricketots graced the night time with the symphony of their melodic voices. A gentle breeze blew across the lake, breaking the water's perfect mirror illusion and now emulated a distorting mirror that could be found at sketchy carnivals.

The draft carried onto the bank of the lake. A couple sitting near the vast, beautiful lake accepted the cool breeze like a ghost passing through them. The green grass rustled around the two people creating a soft, crisp sound that relaxed the two.

The couple who chose the serene place as their date spot looked no older than eighteen years old. They sat in complete silence as they admired the breathtaking view and took in their surroundings.

Sitting almost completely still, the boy and girl cuddled. The girl's cascade of blue hair flowed onto the boy's shoulder as she leaned closer. Wrapping an arm to bring her closer, the brunette rested his head onto his girlfriend's head.

"Betray not your anger, lest it will come.

Weep not with sorrow, or it will draw near.

When joy and enjoyment come natural as the very air, that is happiness.

Let such be blessed by the hand of Master.

Those words were spoken often as customary"

The girl finished softly as if she was whispering a magical spell.

"What do you think of it?" she gently asked.

After a brief moment of silence, the girl stirred as she cocked her head to stare into her boyfriend's emerald eyes. Confused eyes, that reflected back ghostly moonlight, blinked at her.

He slightly frowned; dissatisfied that was he no longer in a comfortable position and was being given the "answer the damn question" look. He forced the frown back and gazed back into her light blue eyes. A wide grin slowly spread across his lips. In his cool, collected voice he responded, "That our love was made to be kept together or else IT will likely come for us." He chuckled in between, amused that it sounded more like a dreadful curse than an enchantment. "What a touching poem you made Dawn. Did you make it up on your way here?"

"No, it's not even a poem. It's a tale from Sinnoh's history," Dawn replied, turning to stare at the lake again. She focused her gaze on the bare, lifeless island in the center of the lake. "It's about the legendary Pokemon of the lake; Mesprit."

Roman rolled his eyes away from Dawn. "Not another fairy tale that your friend spouts," he rudely said, pulling his arm off her.

"Hey, they're legends, not fairy tales," Dawn adamantly defended. "And he didn't say it to me; I just read them in his book on Sinnoh myths."

"And that's where legends should reside- in books," Roman emphasized the word 'books' to Dawn's annoyance.

"What's the danger in hearing such tales?" she posed the question. Roman didn't immediately reply since his girlfriend decided to stand up. Dawn pulled the edges of her pink skirt and edged closer to the lake with her arms outstretched, waiting for the gust to take her flying through the air.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME, MESPIRIT! COME OUT AND-" Dawn bellowed at the top of her lungs. Two arms wrapped around her, pulling her back down as if she was a maniac lose in the streets.

"This is the reason why such legends should remain as intangible nonsense," Roman made his point finally taking his hand off Dawn's mouth. He placed his arm around her as to placate her before he hit her sensitive nerve. "No such proof of their existence has been presented, yet."

"Trying to get impossible proof," Dawn puffed her cheeks as if she suffered from an allergic reaction. "Then how about you present me with evidence disproving their existence. Devil's Proof! Have you even heard about what's been going on a Kanto? In Hoenn?"

Shiftily rolling his eyes onto Dawn, Roman realized it was getting late. "Alright, alright, you win. It'll be eleven soon. Far too late to be engaging in these kind of debates," he let out an over-the-top yawn.

"I guess so…"she responded wistfully. "But one last question." She turned to her boyfriend with a serious expression, gaining his full attention. "How would you feel if I took my pink boots over my red running shoes?"

"…Innn-different…"

Dawn tilted her head. Her expression was stern and unsettling.

"The ambivalence is overwhelming," she said embittered.

"Just wear what's more comfortable for traveling," Roman retorted with a better answer, "As long as it doesn't hinder your ability to traverse the entire Sinnoh region. Also, keep in mind…winter will be arriving soon."

Content with the reply, Dawn stood up to pat off the dirt off her skirt. Her boyfriend did so as well with his pants and stretched out his sore limbs.

"I'll clean up the leftovers," Roman said, referring to the simple picnic setup they had a few feet away.

"I can stay and help," Dawn offered.

"We both know how your mother can be when you miss your curfew so hurry up," Roman implored, picking up the unfinished leftovers.

Dawn stopped herself from annoyingly sighing for she read somewhere that excessive sighing was a serious health concern. "Fine, I'll be leaving," she caved in to reason.

"Alright then! See you tomorrow!" She hugged him before setting off onto the trail leading back to town.

Dawn

Along the dirt pathway that has naturally formed by the years of people trudging through it, Dawn merrily made her way home. She did a light skip of joy and a swift twirl afterwards. She did it again, too happy to even care if anybody saw her in such a childish state. She felt like she was princess at a royal ball where she met her true love.

Planted in cold ground…our love has really grown into something special, she thought to herself in her trance.

Closing her eyes, she forgot she was on a dirty path between tall, green coniferous trees. She imagined the castle that lived in her imaginations. Dressed in an elegant blue dress that could only be found in a fairy tales, Dawn acted out the scene of a ballroom dance with her loved one who was also well-dressed. Her regal outfit fluttered as she moved across ballroom with such elegance that even the graceful Pokemon Liligant would be envy of.

She arrived to the path that led to her hometown. Yet, she was too occupied with her thoughts to notice a person jogging straight towards her. The rushed boy didn't seem to perceive Dawn as well since he didn't try to move out of the way being lost in his own stream of thoughts.

The inevitable collision happened with a loud, "OOF!" from the boy and a sharp "Ah!" from Dawn.

Her imagination crashed to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. She opened her eyes to see her castle breaking down around her. Her lovely prince was on the ground before her but she soon realized it wasn't the prince she was dancing with before. It was a boy who didn't have the appropriate prince attire but instead wore a black vest with a plain white shirt underneath. The bright red scarf draped around his neck as well a red beret gave the boy a foreigner look. Her blue dress was gone when she looked down to see she was also on the ground.

The boy that looked around Dawn's age got up before she could comprehend what happen. His red beret hat slipped of his head to reveal a messy set of raven black hair yet he didn't reach for the fancy hat. He looked down at the clueless girl with a serious face as if he was about to scold an unruly child.

"Hey, couldn't you watch where you were going?" he asked in a stern tone not blinking as if he feared that she will disappear before his eyes. Dawn looked back with a dumbfounded look. She felt like a helpless child not able to answer a serious question that an adult had asked her.

"I-I was just skipping along and-wait!" Everything that just occurred to Dawn finally caught up with her brain. She spoke up again with more authority than the adult who just posed a question. "Why are you acting so seriously all of a sudden, Lucas? We both are at fault here since we didn't see each other."

The adult figure facade disappeared from Lucas to reveal his true nature. His gray eyes drooped and his frown morphed into a half smile to create a more dimwitted-looking kid filled with vacuous thoughts. "My father said I needed to start acting more serious because I'm about to enter the adult world soon. So, I wanted to play that part for today," his tone became relaxed.

Dawn rubbed her noggin feeling the collision take a delayed effect. She held out her hand that Lucas firmly grabbed and pulled Dawn onto to her two feet. "Please don't act like that again," Dawn gestured to Lucas's black messy hair. "That personality just doesn't fit you no matter how hard I try to imagine it," she lightly giggled after seeing Lucas panicked when he realized he lost his hat.

Swiping the beret from the dirt ground, Lucas forcefully pulled it over his head to hide his hair disaster. "But I did get you for a few seconds," Lucas beamed with his usual goofy grin.

Lucas was Dawn's childhood friend from Sandgem Town. The adults around him described Lucas as a slow witted boy with a constant dopey expression. He was not as apathetic as people thought he was as Dawn knew he was a perceptive individual in any given situation.

"That collision knocked me out of my senses so it doesn't really count as tricking me," Dawn replied, "and what's with the whole serious act for today? Don't you have something important to prepare for this week" She crossed her arms. Lucas being here late at night could only mean that he's staying at Barry's house for a sleepover, she figured out Lucas must be in Twinleaf for the night.

"Barry dared me to do it and see if I can actually pull it off. Besides, I wanted to show it off to my dad so he can see I can be an adult when the day arrives," Lucas replied in a genuine tone.

Dawn pursed her lips. She knew how shaky the relationship Lucas and his father had, so she can't blame him for trying to play the part his father wanted. "Come on, lets head back. Your mother called Barry at his home. She asked if we could come and tell you it was getting late. We played a game to see who had to come and get you, and I lost." Lucas rubbed his sore arm. "I'm really should stop accepting his challenge to arm wrestle. "

"Thank you. It was getting past my curfew but I had to talk about certain things with Roman," she thanked Lucas. "I also tried to summon a legendary Pokemon to prove my point."

"Did you shout? I think Mesprit responds to powerful emotions," Lucas recalled, leading the way home.

The cool breeze shook the trees bordering the dirt road. They talked about their plans for this upcoming fall. They finally graduated from their schools and were ready to take on adulthood.

"So, you're planning to leave on your Pokemon journey soon," Lucas brought up. "Even though your birthday was awhile back."

Dawn nodded in response. Her mind was already set on following her mother in her footsteps of becoming a great Pokemon Coordinator. The contest stages was a different experience then the Pokemon Gyms but she felt she could handle the pressure.

"I should have started awhile ago but I had to wait for Roman's eighteenth birthday so we can go on this adventure together," she reminded him that teens' journey began at their eighteenth birthday in Sinnoh. "I would love to visit this secret lake. Just like how my mom and dad found it together on their Pokemon journey. This lake must house a secret lake guardian. Mom and dad did say it roped them together! Whatever that means, I definitely need to find it!" she began to spout ideas on what she wanted to do on her journey.

"I don't know, these legendary Pokemon just seem to cause trouble whenever they appear," Lucas recalled the events a few months ago. "That Lugia in Kanto nearly decimated a town...those two Pokemon that did destroy a town in Hoenn."

"But not all legendary Pokemon are set on destroying the world," Dawn thought to see the brighter side. "Like some of the ones that your book highlighted."

Lucas was quite knowledgeable when it came to the legends of Sinnoh. His fascination for myths and tales started at at young age. Dawn shared his love for such history and always had his back when his father reprimanded him for focusing on such fiction.

"Sinnoh is rich with history intertwined with legendary Pokemon and I hope to fi-Oh wait!" Dawn snapped her fingers. Lucas gave her a perplexed look as if to ask what is it? "My bag! I must have left it back at the lake. I distinctively remember leaving close to those oran berry bushes."

Starlys tend to forage in those bushes. I need to hurry before they find my oran berry scented chap stick, Dawn imagined a flock of Starlys ripping her Pachirisu bag apart for a stick of chap stick.

"I'll meet you at the town entrance. This won't take too long." Dawn turned around and jogged back to the lake.

Dawn raced towards the famous Lake Verity. Despite being the only landmark close to Twinleaf, a single wooden sign pointed travelers to the quaint lake. Her running shoes gave her the extra speed to reach the entrance in record fashion, at least she felt it gave her more speed.

Slowing down to a stride to catch her breathe, Dawn swore she could hear voices. Was Roman still at the lake? Dawn wondered who he could be conversing with. Did my earlier outburst actually wake up Mesprit and is upset for being disturbed from its slumber? She cursed herself for trying to awaken beings beyond her understanding. A loud splash startled her, making her heart skip a beat.

It came from the lake! Dawn realized alarmed. She ran along the pathway towards the lake and into the clearing. The lake was in view but no danger was to be found.

She saw her boyfriend at the edge of the lake and was about to call out to him until she saw someone was with him. She nearly jumped into a bush when she noticed. She peeked through the branches to try and get a better look at the person. A long hair blonde girl stood next to him with a purple top and light gray skirt. Dawn recognized her as another student from her school.

Roman threw a rock into the lake. The rock skipped a few times before it was swallowed up by the lake. Preparing another offering to the lake gods, Roman addressed the girl with a smile. "Don't be mad Kylie. It'll be over soon, I promise you," he said, throwing the stone. His awful technique only managed to skip the stone twice.

"Why can't you just break up with that-that odd girl?" Kylie had to ask.

"You don't know who she really, do you?" Roman asked her in a serious tone.

Kylie huffed, throwing her arms in the air. "Well, what makes her so special then. Why did you even go out with her? I'm sure you didn't know much about her when you two met."

Dawn held her breath, growing anxious and with a hundred questions buzzing through her head. Kylie was a class beauty and led a girl group that bothered her during school. Roman knew how much she disliked Kylie and needed to know why he was with her.

"Dawn...I was attracted to her at first. Cute and innocent, that sort of thing made me give her a try. I soon learn she was passionate which I found endearing and entertaining. She has her own little world where she wants everyone to be honest yet she isn't honest with herself. Superstitious and gullible, I found her to be quite bothersome after awhile," Roman's words stabbed Dawn's heart. "She soon introduced me to her parents. Her mother is actually a famous Pokemon Coordinator that retired from the scene, Johanna Berlitz. She disappeared from the media's eyes after announcing her retirement but to find out she's living in a quaint town like Twinleaf this whole time."

Dawn gulped down a lump in her throat. Of course, everyone knew who Johanna was. She was a renowned Pokemon Coordinator in Sinnoh that won countless Pokemon Contests. At the height of her career she announced her retirement out of nowhere. In order to raise her family away from the spotlight, she stopped all public appearances to live a quiet life in the countryside.

"Wow, such a klutz like her is related to the Johanna," the blonde said amused. "She does remind me of her but...is she really planning on following her mother's footsteps? She surely can't live up to her mother's skills."

"That's where you're wrong," Roman defended, catching Kylie off guard by his defensive tone. "She can battle well. Her mother trained her well and she even helped me become a better trainer. Her experience is in invaluable but most importantly this..."

Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She willfully peeked through the shrub to try an catch what Roman was pulling out of his pocket. Neatly wrapped in a blue plastic wrapper, Roman showed off the hard candy but only received a perplexed look but Dawn knew better to think it was just any old regular candy.

Realizing her expression, Roman felt the need to explain. "This medicine is prescribed to only a select few in the region. High class trainers received these at a point when their Pokemon are to strong to properly gain experience from normal battles. They're called Rare Candy and I managed to steal a few from Dawn's house from Johanna."

"You plan to use them? What if Dawn finds out on your journey," Kylie posed the question, not amazed by Roman's raspberry flavored candy.

"I was going to grab a few more from her mother's stash before we set out and then I planned to dump her at the start," Roman said without a hint of remorse. He was planning to leave Dawn behind after finding no more use for her.

She felt ill as if a supernatural fever overtook her, making it hard for her to breathe. Diseases always worried Dawn: they cause feebleness, confusion and loneliness. This ill feeling left her unable to move a step as tears began to form in her eyes.

She sucked in her gut and let a new emotion arise. Anger seethed within her and it gave her strength to jump out of her hiding spot. Anger made her rushed into her boyfriend, surprising the teenage boy by her sudden appearance.

"Dawn!" he shouted right before he was shoved with such strength that caught him off guard. A loud splash filled silent night, startling the local Starly population.

The blonde girl jumped back in shock as Dawn barreled pass her.

"Dawn! Babe-hold on!" the shocked teen gasped, aimlessly splashing around.

Dawn abruptly stopped in her steps. Hands clenched into fists at her side, she tried to contain the storm of emotions that her diminutive body kept bottled up. She spun around on the balls of her heels to meet Roman's bewildered eyes.

"I'm not your lover!" she shouted as hard as she could to get the message out. Her trembling figure betrayed her tough act she tried hard to portray. "I'm not your friend either! I'm not your tool!"

Dawn didn't wait for the retort and ran away from the site. Tears now came streaming down her face as she took the path towards Twinleaf.

"I'm just a girl who knows how to feel," she sobbed to herself.

Roman

He floated in the freezing water, as if he was waiting for a current to bring him back up onto the bank. He then motion for Kylie to help him. He grabbed her arm and pulled himself back to shore. He collapsed onto his knees, growing weak and numb. He felt shivers run down his back. However, these weren't shivers from the cold but from uneasiness. He felt as if he was being watched and suddenly a wicked pressure overtook him. He turned back and grew pale. His female companion collapsed onto her rump with a scream caught in her throat.

The lake's surface rippled, distorting reflections and making it harder to see. That wasn't enough to hide the dark figure that slithered in the water. A massive leviathan swam under the surface and briefly flashed it's brilliant red eyes. The surface settled, returning to its enchanting stillness. The dark serpentine figure was gone or perhaps it was never there to begin with.

"What was that?" Roman finally broke the unnerving silence. The intense malice he felt from the unknown creature completely vanished along with the suffocating pressure.

A/N: PCS is the acronym of Pokemon Champions of Sinnoh. A new story with new characters makes this such a refreshing start. The sequel to Pokemon Champions of Kanto but if you're new to my fanfic, don't fret as things from the last story won't start to appear until later in the story. I'm changing up my writing style a bit in hopes of better managing the pacing of the story and keeping updates consistent. Hopefully it's an improvement over my last long work.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Take care!