(05/28/15)
thankfully i was finally able to get done with this chapter
now we just got chapter three to worry about ughhh then i'll proceed to chapter five! hopefully i won't take years to update
"Woah..." Dawn mumbled to herself, looking out the window while the airplane continued it's descent. She was able to make out some of the grand skyscrapers the city was known for, and she could see some Swanna flying in the distance. The sun was still high in the air, and the day seemed like a perfect day to go do pretty much anything outside. She continued to gape as she watched the scenery pass by until the plane had finally landed and everyone was allowed to exit the plane.
After finally being able to leave the airport - the traffic in there was unbelievable - Dawn found herself gaping even more at how everything seemed much more grand in Castelia than Jubilife, let alone her hometown. The town seemed so busy, with everyone moving around at their own pace and in different directions trying to get to their destinations. Billboards were hung up everywhere, advertising a wide variety of products, some promoting movies that came from the region's Pokestar Studios. She gripped her luggage a bit more tightly, worried about losing it in all the bustle, and decided to just start walking.
She had a very vague idea of where the hotel - the place where she needed to check in - could be, so she had decided while on the plane that she'd just do some harmless sightseeing first and find the hotel later. You didn't get to be able to travel to Unova everyday - yes, she was going to be in a competition that risked her life, but there was nothing preventing her from having just a bit of fun before heading in the Transforms. For now, she'd just put all that in the back of her mind.
Dawn started to go around the city but stuck to the main walkways, pausing for just a split second every once in a while to admire anything that caught her eye - from the buildings to the Pokémon that roamed about to the various people walking and running about. Being in a new city was amazing, and Castelia was probably one of the most amazing cities she had had the pleasure to see yet. Eventually, she was able to find the hotel named "Grand Arceus" and she walked inside, past a fountain of the Pokémon God itself and went straight for the main desk.
"Excuse me," she started, looking at the receptionist, whose hair was done neat in a bun. Said receptionist looked up for a moment before her eyes flickered back down to the computer screen in front of her. "Is this where I sign in? For the Pokémon Transforms?"
The employee - whose name tag read 'Elina' - looked up once again and sighed loudly before answering, "Yes, miss." Elina looked up at the clock before gasping in an exaggerated manner, her hand brought up to her mouth. "But it looks like you're too late..."
"Huh?!"
Dawn couldn't have possibly been that late. The plane got to Castelia as planned, she had only been out in the city for twenty minutes tops, and... and then she looked up to see the receptionist laughing. At her.
She stared blankly at her, a blush forming on her face. "...Oh, okay. I'd like to sign in now."
-o-
"Pip?"
Dawn opened her eyes to see Piplup standing over her, and it chirped what she assumed was a 'good morning'. She got up and let out a yawn while the penguin Pokémon made it's way to the coordinator's lap. "What time is it?" she murmured to herself, trying to find her Pokétch to check.
"It's eight in the morning?" She nodded to herself, getting out of the bed. Dawn headed towards the table that her hotel room had and grabbed a piece of paper she had placed there, skimming through the information written on it. "Guess I better get ready, since the ceremony begins at... ten." She sighed to herself, and began to get ready for the upcoming events.
-o-
She couldn't believe how many people there were in the cafeteria, all of them moving about whether they were trying to get their food or leaving the room all together. Dawn moved past a group of people, who were laughing as they walked by - at what, she didn't really know or care. Grabbing a tray, she got to the back of the line and waited for what she hoped would be waffles.
The meal of the morning was close to what she had wanted. It was steak. Dawn raised an eyebrow at it when the food was placed on her tray, but she didn't want to question it. Not out loud, anyways. 'Is steak a normal breakfast meal? Hmm, well... steak isn't bad for any meal of the day.' She also got some mashed potatoes, some vegetables, and some other random foods that she wasn't 100% sure of. Her main focus was eating the food because she had barely eaten anything since the plane ride - save for a delicious Casteliacone.
After leaving the line, she went to look for a place to sit before finding out that everyone in the competition had their own area to sit in while other guests sat in a separate area. A bit weird, but she was a bit apathetic to the whole thing so Dawn went to the area that was labeled as the 'Transforms Participants' and looked for a good place to sit without being bothered too much. She was still a bit tired and it usually took a while before she'd be ready for any kind of socializing.
She soon learned that the tables were further separated by each of the regions participating in the Transforms, and after sitting at her designated table, she found herself next to a loud, and what she assumed to be a trainer with a Staraptor by his side. He appeared to be talking to someone from across the table, but the conversation appeared a bit more one sided, seeing how the girl the conversation was being directed to was talking to the person on her right.
Dawn decided that the best thing to do was tell the blonde by her that he was basically talking to himself and touched him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around and reveal his eyes, the color of the sunset when the sun was just sinking into the horizon. It only took her a second before she realized that she had seen those eyes before, and that she knew only two people with those eyes: Tower Tycoon Palmer and his son.
"Barry?" she asked, cautious. 'Barry' opened his mouth, before furrowing his brow in confusion.
"...Dawn?"
She smiled in response. "Yeah, it's me!"
Immediately, the two scooted together close enough to give each other a hug, not minding the one or two stares given to them by their fellow Sinnoh competitors. After a while, they let the other go and started talking animatedly. "How are you?" "Never mind me, how are you?" The two friends hadn't seen each other for the last few years, back when Dawn was still a traveling coordinator and Barry was trying to become a Pokémon Champion.
They transitioned to various topics: from what they were doing with their lives to reminiscing about their past together as childhood friends. Eventually, they reached to the topic of the competition itself. "So Dawn, what are you doing here anyways?" Barry asked, taking another gulp from his fifth refill of orange juice.
"Well..." Dawn started, her voice getting quieter. "Remember about my dad, you know, being part of the Transforms a couple years ago?"
Barry's eyes widening, and exclaimed an "Oh!" before remembering to turn down his voice a little and he repeated his statement, nodding solemnly. "Hmm... They let you in, even though they probably know how you and your dad are related?" He cut some of his steak and stuffed it in his mouth, savoring the flavor before continuing. "I mean, he disappeared, so it's weird that they'd let the daughter in too. It's sounds like one of those controversies you'd hear on the news, right? "
Dawn stared at him, her eyes narrowed down just a bit. "I'm not sure if you're being super sarcastic or if you're trying to be serious about this. In fact, you're kind of making no sense at all right now."
"Hey, I may be immature, but I'm definitely not as immature as I was a couple years ago."
"Yeah, yeah." Dawn shook her head in disbelief. "But yeah, now that you mention it, it is a bit weird, in a way. Maybe they didn't realize it or something?"
"Maybe. But it'd make sense for whoever's running this competition to be a bit more careful with who they let in, right? Having a child of one of the competitors involved in the famous disappearance is... hmm, well think about your mom for example. She lost her husband, and now there's the possibility that she could lose her daughter too. Someone getting the information about two disappearances caused by the competition and making that information public could get the officials into some deep controversial stuff."
She scoffed in response. "I'm not going to disappear, Barry. That 'incident' happened years ago." Admittedly, Dawn still had her reserves about the 'incident' really being an incident, but she didn't bring it up. It seemed her immature childhood friend was currently on a roll, as surprising as that was for her.
"But hypothetically, you could, right? Think of the headlines if it did happen: 'Daughter of the one of the top ten competitors in the famous Pokémon Transformations disappearance disappears in same competition!' Okay, maybe that's a really long headline, but you get my point."
"Hmm..." Dawn said, thinking of a way to turn the conversation around so that Barry would talk about himself. He would go on and on about himself if he was ever given the chance, and she wanted to think about what he had said, partly because he had given her a new perspective on the situation, but also because some of the things he had said made no sense. If he was in a debate team, he'd probably be able to convince you about something that was completely false - that was the best way she could think about it. "Well, then why are you here? You have some grand controversial plot going on too?" she said, a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"Nah, I just got a letter." Barry grinned. "But you know, what if it is controversial? I mean, I am a great trainer and whatnot..."
Dawn started to tune him out, giving him slight nods every few seconds to make it seem as though he had her full attention, and she decided to start finishing her food. She felt a little bad about not listening, but she knew that if she had listened to him from the beginning, she would have eventually tuned out anyways. She decided to focus on the reason why she was asked to join in the first place. Was it just because she was a relatively famous Coordinator? There were many other Coordinators that she had seen around or on TV before, so that could definitely be a factor in inviting her to the competition.
It couldn't have just be because of her father, right? Barry said himself that he was only here because he got a letter. His father was well known for being the Tower Tycoon and he was alive, and when she thought about it further, her mother was also famous for being a Pokémon Coordinator. Could it have something to do with their parents? Or relatives?
She sighed to herself. Dawn knew she was getting ahead of herself and making up random theories to fit the story but really, she was probably just invited because she was a good Coordinator, she had good credentials, and the fact that she was the daughter of one of the people who had been involved in the famous Disappearance of the Transforms was just a fact.
"Dawn, I'm heading for bed! Night." She blinked and she found herself staring at Barry, who wore a grin on his face. She was about to wish him a good night when she realized something, and she frowned to herself. He picked up his tray and was about to leave the table when Dawn stopped him.
"Hey, it's only..." She looked at her Pokétch before looking back at him. "...Nine thirty-two in the morning, why are you going back to bed?"
By the expression that Barry showed on his face, it was clear that he was confused.
"No, it's eight thirty-two at night." he stated, showing Dawn his own Pokétch with the time he proclaimed.
"What..." she muttered, bringing up her Pokétch next to his and putting them side by side. Barry then laughed, directing it towards Dawn, causing her to frown. "Oh, so this is a prank, isn't it? Wow, I should have known! You're still as immature as before!"
He laughed again, wiping a tear from his eye before answering. "Well, if I'm immature, then you're an airhead. You forgot to set the watch to Unova's time zone!" he said, his laughter toned down to some chuckles.
"Oh." She realized, and decided to set the time correctly when she realized something else. "And I am not an airhead!"
ending it there ok so yeah
have a great day (also tell me of any mistakes seen in here)
(also yea barry's reasoning kinda makes no sense even to me)