The Future's Young Fingerprint

Veilstone City, Sinnoh. 27th October 2033, 7:46pm.

"Dawn, could you get us some water?"

"Hey Dawn, help! I'm running out of food!"

"Come on Dawn!"

"Hurry up, we're gonna miss dawn!"

Dawn. He'd been hearing that a lot. Wherever they'd been so far. Dawn. Dawn. Dawn. What was that supposed to mean? Was it a person? A place? A thing? Or was it just a fickle of imagination? Or a thought? Or even gibberish?

He didn't have time to think as his mother picked him up and ran to a railing near the edge of the cliff. Beautiful. The orange light lit up the sky as it awoke from the darkness of the night, casting a warm glow over the earth. His viridian eyes glimmered underneath the sun's rays that were starting to peek through.

Was this dawn? He wasn't sure. They said it at other times too, though. Almost like a person's name. His mother looked at him through strands of messy hair. "Look. This is dawn." she giggled then, and pointed to a blue haired woman. "She is also Dawn." the blunette waved excitedly. He thought for a moment.

Dawn means a time and a person? That's weird. His eyes looked back at the sky and then at the cheerful bluenette. Dawn.

He opened his mouth. "Aw" Everyone's attention turned to him. His mother looked at him encouragingly. "D-d" he focused on how everyone's mouth moved when they said dawn. Tongue touching the roof of the mouth. "D-" Mouth in a small circle. "Aw" Tongue touching the teeth. "N." The bluenette's eyes watered a little. "Dawn." He smiled childishly, showing off his teeth that were all half-grown.

Everyone cheered. His mother being the loudest. "He did it! His first word! Gary, did you hear? Liam's first word was Dawn!" His father joined her. "I know! Leafy! Aw… please don't cry!" His father wiped her tears and smiled at him and his mother. "I'm glad to have you two in my life, you know that? So, so glad." he hugged them.

Dawn, the adult bluenette came up to them, smiling softly. "Hey, can I hold him?"

The couple passed Liam over to her. She gave him a bright smile that made him smile too. He liked this Dawn better than the sky dawn. The other dawn made him amazed, but this Dawn made him smile.

A Boat in the Pokélantic Ocean, 27th October 2033. 10:56am.

"I'm Liam." he said, as he rowed the boat. Older Bonnie tapped her chin. "Cool. Isn't that the Oak's son's name?" she asked. Older Dawn nodded as Gary's eyes widened. "I have a son? With who?" he asked desperately wishing it was a certain green eyed woman. Older Paul spoke up. "Leaf," he said monotonously as he examined Liam's features. Then, he pulled back.

"You're Leaf and Gary's son, aren't you?" he asked knowingly. Liam paled. "How'd you…" Older Dawn gasped. "But- but Leaf and Gary's son is two!" she exclaimed. Older Max nodded. Older Bonnie thought for a moment. "You're from the future, aren't you?" Liam nodded.

Leaf and Gary went pale. "Our son? From the future?" They spoke in synch, each lost in their own thoughts. Ash nodded. "Yup! Your son from the future!" he confirmed as everyone except Leaf and Gary sweatdropped.

Liam cleared his throat as he turned the boat into the Slateport City Port. He helped everyone out. Misty looked around. "Where are we?" she asked. May and Drew replied immediately. "Slateport City." they said at the same time. Misty nodded.

Liam ushered them into a tunnel underneath the docks that led to a wooden door. Leaf looked around nervously. "Are you sure we should be here?" she asked shivering. Liam glanced at her for a moment. "Of course." he said as he pushed open the door and told everyone to follow him.

There, they were met with a staircase that led up to a locked metal door. Liam shushed everyone. "Stay here. I'll go unlock the door." he said as he started examining the lock. Hen he turned back. "It's a Corsolock. I'm gonna need a super thin piece of metal." he said.

Leaf looked in her bag. Sure enough, she could make out a shiny piece of metal in the darkness. She handed it over to her son. He looked at it before nodding and inserting the cold metal clip into the lock. There was a small click as the door unlocked. He motioned them to follow him inside. They did as they entered a cozy room. There, they could make out five figures that were being traced by the fire in the fireplace. Two adults, and three children.

"I'm back."

A pink haired woman turned around, smiling softly. "Hi Liam, are you-Drew!" she gasped and threw her arms around the teen. Drew looked confused, but recognized the woman as she pulled back. "Soledad!" he grinned. Soledad smiled as a tear streaked down her cheek. Drew wiped it away. "I thought you'd never forgive me after the wedding," she choked out. Deew furrowed his brows. "What?" he asked confused.

Liam stepped forward. "Aunt Sole, look closer. He's younger than the Drew now." he said. Soledad looked closer, examining Drew's features. "Are you-" "From the past? Yes." May stepped in. Soledad's eyes lit up. "May!" she said, enveloping the brunette in a hug.

She stepped back. "What're you doing here?" she asked after a couple minutes of talking. Leaf sighed. "We have to get to Larousse." she said. Drew raised a hand. Soledad nodded at him amusedly. "Why do I hate you in the future?" he asked, genuinely confused. Soledad cleared her throat. "Because I married Harley." she said setting her eyes on her husband as he tucked in the children. Drew, May, Max, and Ash recoiled. "What?!" She nodded. Drew felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. How could she?! he thought angrily. But then he remembered her tears when she saw him. They must've not talked for years. He sighed. Maybe he could let this go and give Harley a chance? He looked up to meet Harley and Soledad's hopeful eyes.

They really were in love, weren't they? Drew sighed. "One chance," he decided as Harley and Soledad hugged each other excitedly. "But that's it. And only because you make Sol happy." he huffed. Harley ruffled his hair. "Thanks bro." He said warmly. Drew glared. "Don't make me change my mind," he threatened.

"No sir!" Harley saluted before they both burst out laughing. May and Soledad shook their heads. Liam looked at the balcony, which was now pitch dark as it was a moonless night. He sighed. He hoped they could reach Larousse safely by tomorrow evening. Although he can't predict the future, he'd always learnt to trust.

Trust himself.

Trust the world.

And trust what dawn will bring.