Dawn yawned as she woke up. She stretched in her sleeping bag, trying not to kick Snivy, who was curled up next to her. She rolled onto her side and opened her eyes, seeing the pokémon egg. She smiled and sat up, gently holding the egg.
"Good morning." She greeted, kissing the egg. Snivy yawned and stretched her body, standing up.
"Morning Dawn," Snivy said,
"Morning." Dawn placed the egg down and prepared for the day.
"So, where to next?" Dawn asked.
"The next gym is located in Nacrene City," Cheren said, looking at his town map. "If we keep going on this route we'll reach it soon."
"How soon?" Paul asked.
"If I had to guess, probably a few days, a week at most," Cheren said. "But, is there anywhere we need to stop first?"
"Let me see," Dawn said, holding up her watch. A holographic screen appeared with a ringing phone icon. After a few rings Emi picked up.
"Hey Dawn, what's up?" Emi asked.
"We're on Route 3 right now. We were wondering if there's anything you needed us to do," Dawn said.
"We don't have anything that would lead us to route 3," Emi said. "Oh, but there is a small city nearby. Apparently they were having trouble with a bell tower. I think it would be good exposure if you checked on the tower keepers. Those poor pokémon used up a lot of energy trying to keep the bell tower from collapsing."
"What kind of pokémon are guarding the tower?" Paul asked.
"Two Darumaka and a Darmanitan," Emi said. "Darmanitan used up the most energy. Besides, I'm sure they wouldn't object to a battle, you could get some training in while you're there."
"Does that sound good?" Dawn asked.
"Sounds fine to me," Paul said. "Let's get going."
"Great," Emi said with a smile. "I'll be waiting for your report."
"Report?" Dawn asked.
"Of course, you didn't expect to do missions like these and not have to submit a report, did you?" Emi asked.
"I can say that I honestly thought we wouldn't have to," Dawn said.
"Don't worry, you can just call me and tell me what happened," Emi told her. She looked off screen for a moment before turning back to Dawn. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later." Dawn and Emi said goodbye and the call ended. The screen quickly turned to a map with a marker for the city in question.
"That's not too far," Cheren said.
"We'll arrive at lunch, stay the night and leave in the morning," Paul said.
"That sounds like a good plan," Dawn agreed, lowering her arm.
Dawn bit her lip as she saw Cheren walk into the town. He was holding her egg. Dawn jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder.
"Calm down troublesome," Paul said with a sigh. "He's not gonna let anything happen to your egg."
"I know," Dawn said, sighing as well. She fidgeted and quickly turned around, watching the town entrance. "But she hasn't even been born yet."
"Geez," Paul sighed. He gently hit her head and walked toward the entrance. "Come on troublesome."
"Don't hit me!" Dawn shouted, running after him. "And my name is Dawn! Use it sometime, you jerk!"
The two walked through the town, looking around. It seemed like the place was set up for a festival.
"What's with all the decorations?" Paul asked.
"It seems like there's a festival going on," Dawn said. "Maybe it's for Darmanitan."
"That would make sense," Paul said. He smirked. "What better way to make a start in this region."
"A festival celebrating a pokémon is the perfect place," Dawn agreed. As they crossed a bridge they noticed there was a huge crowd blocking off the street.
"And there's the audience," Paul said. They both transformed and calmly walked to the crowd. Dawn tried to look over the shoulders but huffed when she was too short to see. Paul snickered under his breath, earning a glare from his partner.
"Vine whip," Dawn muttered. Vines sprouted from her wrist and she used them to lift herself. She shook, trying to steady herself. "Wow, these things are really strong." She looked over the crowd, her eyes narrowing. "I see them." The vines disappeared and she landed on the ground.
"Right ahead?" Paul asked.
"Right ahead," Dawn replied, nodding her head. Paul tapped the shoulder of the person in front of them. He turned around and his eyes widened at the sight of them.
"Can we get through?" he asked. The guy nodded dumbly and moved, letting them pass. The crowd seemed to part like a sea after that. It wasn't long before Dawn and Paul were at the center. The three pokémon looked at them in confusion.
"Who are you?" one of the Darumaka asked.
"We're Legend Catchers," Dawn introduced, bowing. Paul bowed as well. The two smaller pokémon were about to run towards them when Darmanitan stopped them. He approached them slowly and circled them, watching them with narrowed eyes. Their audience was watching in tensed silence. Darmanitan looked down at them.
"Stand," he ordered. The two did as they were told. "I thought the Legend Catchers were extinct."
"Arceus would never leave this world unprotected," Dawn said.
"Our predecessors did disappear, but as you can see, the blood didn't die out," Paul told him.
"So you are their children," Darmanitan said, watching them closely. "What are you doing here?"
"We heard that you saved the bell tower," Dawn said. "We wanted to check up on you, see how you were recovering."
"Oh! I can't stand it anymore!" one of the Darumaka shouted.
"Papa, what are legend catchers?" the other asked.
"Legend Catchers secure and protect the gods. In ancient times Lord Arceus created this power and gave it to those he saw fit," Darmanitan said. "My mother told me they were wiped out."
"Not completely, as you can sees," Paul said, gesturing to the two of them.
"How are we supposed to know that you are real, and not some imposter?" Darmanitan asked, narrowing his eyes. Dawn looked at Paul, who smirked.
"How about a battle?" Paul suggested. The crowd broke out into a quiet murmur. Dawn looked at him nervously.
"Children," Darmanitan called. The Darumaka ran forward. Darmanitan walked away, sitting on the sidelines.
"Alright!" the younger one cheered.
"Time to battle!" The older one said.
"Ready?" Paul asked.
"I guess," Dawn said with a sigh. She raised her arms, as did Paul.
"Where are your pokémon?" they asked.
"You'll see," Paul said. "You can move first." The two Darumaka nodded and both tilted back their heads. Fire shot out of their mouths.
"Leaf Tornado!" Dawn shouted, throwing her hands out. A tornado of leaves surrounded them, creating a barrier. The crowd gasped, staring at them in shock. The Darumaka jumped back in surprise.
"Water gun!" Paul's hands glowed blue and water shot out of them, rushing towards the two fire types. They tumbled back, soaked.
"What was that?" the older one winced, rubbing his head.
"That really hurt," the younger one groaned.
"Vine whip!" Vines shot out of Dawn's wrists and wrapped around them, lifting them up. "It's my turn to shine!" Dawn declared, twirling. The Darumaka shrieked as they started to spin. The vines braided together, smacking the two pokémon together. The older one snapped out of it and spit embers at the vines. Dawn let out a shout as the vines out on fire. The fire quickly spread down the vines, heading towards her.
"Razor shell!" Paul jumped up and quickly sliced the vines before the fire could reach her. Dawn hissed as the remaining vines shot back into her wrist.
"That really hurt," she winced, rubbing her wrists.
"Sorry," Paul said. The two Darumaka landed on the ground, smiling at them.
"Enough," Darmanitan said, stepping between them. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," Dawn muttered.
"Let me see," Paul said, grabbing her wrists. He could see little spots of red on her gloves. He pressed his finger on them, only to have Dawn flinch and try to yank her hands away. Paul pulled his fingers away, looking at the red liquid on his fingers. "You're bleeding."
"I guess the vines are part of my body," Dawn said quietly.
"You two are new, aren't you?" Darmanitan asked, watching their exchange.
"Yes, we are," Paul said with a sigh. One of the Darumaka ran up to her and held up a sitrus berry.
"Eat it. It'll make you feel better," he said. Dawn knelt down and accepted the fruit.
"Thank you," she said, nodding her head. She stood up and bit the fruit. She smiled as she felt her wrists heal. "I guess berries affect us the same as well."
"We'll look it up later," Paul said. He blinked as he felt something tug on his pant leg. He looked down, seeing a little girl with pigtails. "What?" he asked.
"Are you pokémon?" she asked.
No," Paul answered.
"Then what are you?" a boy asked, running forward.
"We're human," Paul told them.
"But you used pokémon moves," another kid said. Dawn could see that Paul was beginning to get irritated and chuckled nervously, pushing him back.
"We were given power by Arceus," She told them. "He gave us the powers of pokémon, and the ability to communicate with them."
"Really?" the kids looked at them in awe.
"Wow, that makes you guys like superheroes!" one boy said excitedly.
"Uh, I guess," Dawn said.
"So, what are your names?" pigtails asked.
"We can't tell you," Paul said.
"And why not?" she asked. Dawn laughed as Paul got more and more irritated. She kneeled down and looked at the kids.
"Because, that would put us in danger," Dawn told her. "Plus if you knew, someone could hurt you to try and find out. We want to protect you, not hurt you."
"Duh! Haven't you ever heard of a secret identity?" one of the boys yelled at her. The girl shrank back.
"Hey, don't yell at her," Dawn said softly, stroking the girl's hair.
"So what are your hero names?" a boy asked.
"We don't have any," Paul said, crossing his arms.
"And why not?" another asked.
"Do you want to give us names?" Dawn asked.
"Can we?" a girl asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Sure," Dawn said.
"Can I make a suggestion?" Cheren asked, stepping forward. Dawn and Paul looked at him in slight shock.
"What do you have in mind?" Paul asked, a smirk slowly appearing on his face.
"Well, you two protect the weak and bring hope to people and pokémon alike," Cheren said. He placed a finger on his chin, thinking. "Celestial and Titan."
"Who are they?" the pigtailed girl asked.
"Celestial is the goddess of hope. She protected the weak and helped those in need." Cheren said. "And Titan is the god of punishment. He punishes the wicked and those that would dare harm others."
"Titan, huh?" Paul muttered. "I like it."
"It does fit you," Dawn said with a smile. "And I really like Celestial."
"They sound great!" the kids cheered, laughing with them.
"Alright, Celestial and Titan it is," Dawn said.
"So," Paul said as Cheren met up with them outside the village. Dawn smiled as he gave her her egg back. "Titan and Celestial, huh?"
"Yes, I learned about them a few years ago," Cheren said.
"That's not what I'm talking about," Paul said. "You've thought about this before."
"About what?" Cheren asked.
"Giving us names," Dawn said, nuzzling her egg.
"Well, I guess so," Cheren said, scratching his cheek. "You guys can't exactly call each other by name in public."
"Still, when were you gonna tell us?" Paul said with a smirk.
"Uh, well I, uh," Cheren said, his face turning red.
"Relax, he's just teasing," Dawn said with a smile.
"Troublesome, you're a killjoy," Paul said with a huff.
"To be honest, I don't know when I would have brought it up," Cheren confessed. "But those kids just gave me a great opportunity to bring it up."
"Well I like them," Dawn said.
"They are fitting," Paul agreed.
"So we're Celestial and Titan now," Dawn said, looking up at the sunset.
"Guess so," Paul said, crossing his arms.